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Describing the use of "some"

Damicci

先輩
4 Nov 2003
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For example.

"Hey whats that?"
"This? I don't know. Some toy I guess"

I guess this could be equivalent to some kind of.

"Hey you wanna see a picture of my boyfriend?"
"What? I don't to see a picture of some guy!"

In this case it is used to mean an unknown person.
Was trying to explain the difference to my girlfriend but having a hard time.
TIA ☝
 
I'm guessing the Japanese versions would be どんなおもちゃか for "some toy" and 男の寫眞なんて for "a picture of some guy" in that usage.

The first example is like you said, some kind/sort of thing, and it's used to be ambiguous or indefinite about the thing you're talking about. It has a more emotional and stronger sense than "a(n)" to me.

I think the second example is close to that, except it shows the strong emotion of disgust at the suggestion proposed in the previous statement. So, it's similar to "a(n)," but more emotive. These are my personal impressions. Does that help?
 
Yes that does help alot. I wasn't exactly sure how to describe the second one. I had an idea (like you said) that describing an item of unknown intent would be "some kind of" statement. As for persons didn't know if "some kind of" would be appropriate as we normally wouldn't say that in english. Thanks

ところで、この漢字「寫眞」の読みはなんですか? ありがとうございました。
 
はは、「しゃしん」です。日本人は旧字だと言うんですが、香港や台湾ではまだ使われています。ご迷惑をかけて申し訳ございません。
 
Glenn said:
窶堙坂?堙債、ツ「窶堋オ窶堙。窶堋オ窶堙アツ」窶堙??堋キツ。窶愿コ窶怒ツ人窶堙坂?ケナ椎スナ。窶堋セ窶堙?陳セ窶堋、窶堙ア窶堙??堋キ窶堋ェツ、ツ債?港窶堙「窶佚、ヒ徘窶堙??堙坂?堙懌?堋セナスg窶堙ュ窶堙ェ窶堙??堋「窶堙懌?堋キツ。窶堋イ窶禿?ヒ彷窶堙ー窶堋ゥ窶堋ッ窶堙?申窶堋オ窶禿ウ窶堋イ窶堋エ窶堋「窶堙懌?堋ケ窶堙アツ。
窶堋サ窶堙ェ窶堙?スv窶堋「窶堙懌?堋オ窶堋ス窶堋ェツ、ナ?ツソナスナ。窶堙才?。窶堋、窶堋ゥ窶堙ァツ、窶ー'窶堙坂?怒窶懌?凪?「ツェ窶堋ゥ窶堙ァ窶堙遺?堋ゥ窶堙≫?堋スツ。ツ 窶堙懌?堋ス窶堋?窶堙ィ窶堋ェ窶堙??堋、窶堋イ窶堋エ窶堋「窶堙懌?堋オ窶堋スツ。
 
Glenn said:
I'm guessing the Japanese versions would be 窶堙??堙ア窶堙遺?堋ィ窶堙?窶堋ソ窶堙。窶堋ゥ for "some toy" and 窶冕窶堙娯?コツ催。テ≫?堙遺?堙ア窶堙 for "a picture of some guy" in that usage.
Yeah, I would say 窶冕窶堙固ステ環真窶堙遺?堙ア窶堙?ナ陳ゥ窶堋ス窶堋ュ窶堙遺?堋「窶堙ヲ) or 窶堋サ窶堙ア窶堙遺?冕窶堙固ステ環真 ;
窶堋ィ窶堙?窶堋ソ窶堙。窶堙遺?堙ア窶堙 or 窶ーツス窶堋ゥ窶堙娯?堋ィ窶堙?窶堋ソ窶堙。ツ。:?

I would say normally though "Oh, just Some + noun" means responding neutrally to a question, without devaluing or showing contempt for the thing, just for whatever reason it obviously is something that the other person didn't recognize as such.
 
I think that "just some" also carries a bit of devaluing, though. Probably mostly because of the presence of "just" more than "some" in this case, but still it's more of a devaluing statement than "it's a noun."
 
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Kinda of like "how" you say it. "pfft it's just some toy"

compared to

"hey whats that?"
"oh just some song, hey check out this song!"
 
If someone were to say that something is "just some (thing)" then I'd feel that that certain thing is not of any importance or relevance. "Oh, it's just some toy. [Nothing important.]"

"some" as an adj is basically just describing that something is unknown or unspecified.

"What is that?"
"Some toy." (what the toy is is unknown)

"Who is that?"
"Some girl." (not specifying who the girl is or the identity of the girl is not known)
 
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Glenn said:
I think that "just some" also carries a bit of devaluing, though. Probably mostly because of the presence of "just" more than "some" in this case, but still it's more of a devaluing statement than "it's a noun."
Yeah, it must have been the exhaustion on top of the slight intoxication last night. :p Seriously, though, I realized after thinking about it a little how much "just" gets added to "some" in the case of something I see in passing or wasn't really concentrating on that much or even if I was slightly irritated by the question. "Oh, I don't know, (just) some toy I guess" type of thing.

Anyway, that's sort of off the original question and at least either of those is more innocent sounding to me than the disgusting and contemptuous tone of a Oh, I don't know, really, it's..."just a" something or other utterance. :eek:
 
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