how can you tell if a word is in common use?

Majestic said:

Sure, that is one way to do it. That or YouTube. And asking here. Or, if you are feeling adventurous, asking on one of the Japanese Q/A sites (OK Wave).

Just to confuse you even more, you also have the option of using モダン, or even モダーン.
最新式 sounds very antiquated (if you'll pardon the irony of the word for "modern" sounding out-of-date)

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Majestic said:

Sure, that is one way to do it. That or YouTube. And asking here. Or, if you are feeling adventurous, asking on one of the Japanese Q/A sites (OK Wave).

Just to confuse you even more, you also have the option of using モダン, or even モダーン.
最新式 sounds very antiquated (if you'll pardon the irony of the word for "modern" sounding out-of-date).

And, as always, the context will probably steer you in the direction of what word works best.

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letslearn said:

Hi guys,
sorry for the vague question but i was wondering if i could get some tips on determining if a word you are searching for is in common use.
i'll give an example.
The word "Modern"
In my dictionary there are quite a few translations.
One is 近代的 another is 最新式。
both have about the same number of search results on google.
both have similar example sentences in my dictionary.
Would it be possible to use frequency numbers?

よろしくお願いします

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Toritoribe said:

In the first place, 近代的 and 最新式 are completely different in meaning. It's more than the problem of which one is more commonly used. What are the example sentences and the explanations about those translations in your dictionary?

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Mike Cash said:

Not to sound flippant or anything, but the traditional way of figuring this sort of thing out is a combination of copious amounts of both exposure to the language and getting befuddled reactions or giggles.

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letslearn said:

I saw a sign in English saying....get on board japans most modern bus fleet.
that is why i was asking about how to say modern.

I was trying to say this in japanese. I came up with,

日本の一番近代的なバスたちに乗り込んで!

does that give the same meaning as intended by the English saying?

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Mike Cash said:

1. Don't use たち to pluralize バス

2. 乗り込もう

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letslearn said:

thanks mikesan.
does japanese have collective nouns like English? like herds, fleet, swarms, flocks etc?

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johnnyG said:

You could check Halpern--I remember they used word frequencies to decide what to include. If it's there, it's common.

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letslearn said:

Including the sentence from my previous post.
彼は新式の穀物生産方法を学びにアメリカへ渡った。

also for 近代的 there is
彼の事務所の家具なかなか近代的だ。
both seem to mean up to date.
also
新しい学校は単純で近代的な様式で建てられている。

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Toritoribe said:

You can check other dictionaries.
modernの意味 - goo辞書 英和和英

近代的(or 現代的) is used as the antonym of ancient, classical, medieval, (古典的, 中世的), so 近代的なコンピューター is used in the context that it refers to "computers" we are using now as the contrast to archaic/classical "computers" such like soroban or slide rule. On the other hand, 最新式のコンピューター means "the newest / new model", as in the kanji.

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