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自由にできる / 本屋さん / それか / そうしようか / 病院に行って

eeky

先輩
8 Jun 2010
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Hi,


1. Someone has just asked if they should take a train to 伊豆. The reply is:

う~ん。バスのほうがいいんじゃないかと思うけど。自 由にできるから。

My translation "Hmmm, I think it may be better to go by bus. Then you can travel when you please."

Is this right? Is the implication that buses are more frequent, or the schedule is more convenient, or something like that?


2. Someone has asked about buying a dictionary.

一度、大きな本屋さんに行って、自分でいろいろ比べて みたらどうですか。やっぱり自分で見て、使いやすいの を選ぶのがいいですよ。それか、先生に聞いてみたらど うですか。先生ならいろいろ知っていますよ。

My translation: "How about you go to a big bookshop and compare various (dictionaries) for yourself? It would be good to look for yourself and choose one that's easy to use. Or how about asking your teacher? He/she will know of various (dictionaries)."

a) I thought 本屋さん meant the bookshop proprietor, but that seems odd with 大きな. Does it just mean the same as 本屋 here?

b) What does それか mean?


3. Person A is wondering what to buy someone as a gift. Person B has suggested sake and a tie. Person A then says:

じゃ、そうしようか。

I don't really understand this. Is it a question? Or does it mean something more like "Right, maybe I'll do that..."?


4. 一度病院に行ってみてもらったらいかがですか。

Is the speaker requesting that someone else do them the favour of going to the hospital? In what sort of circumstance might this be said? (There is no context given; it's an isolated example sentence.)
 
2b: the か is just the "or" か.

This is a case where a direct translation works fine: "That or _____"
 
1. Yes.

2.
a) 本屋さん could mean both the bookshop proprietor or the bookshop itself.
Same goes with パン屋さん、床屋さん、八百屋さん、肉屋さん、魚屋さん... etc.
b) "or" as Mike explained.

3. The latter.

4. 一度病院に行って(お医者さんに)みてもらったらいかがですか。
もらう in 診てもらう is more like passive, to have ~ seen (to).
Why don't you go to a hospital and have yourself seen (by a doctor), if literally translated.
 
Thank you both.

4. 一度病院に行って(お医者さんに)みてもらったらいかがですか。
もらう in 診てもらう is more like passive, to have ~ seen (to).
Why don't you go to a hospital and have yourself seen (by a doctor), if literally translated.
Who is the subject of もらったら? I thought ~てもらう meant that the speaker was having someone else do something for the speaker's benefit. Is that not the case here? Or am I getting mixed up with some other expression?
 
The subject is the addressee. The structure ~たらいかがですか is an interrogative sentence meaning "How about you...?". If the form is 診てもらえますか/もらえませんか/くれますか/くれませんか, the subject of 診てもらう is the speaker.
 
Thanks Toritoribe. Tricky! By the way, in this sentence do you perceive 診て as a completely different verb from 見て, or does it seem more like the same verb written with a different kanji to suit a specialised meaning?
 
The latter. As you know, Japanese borrowed Chinese characters in order to write not only Chinese origin words but also Japanese origin ones. The Japanese verb みる covers the concept of the Chinese words 見, 観, 診, 看 and so on, so we choose the most appropreate kanji depending on the context. But actually, it's just one verb みる whichever kanji is used.
 
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