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Damicci · 6 Jun 2007

Heard this sentence the other day.

たまには父上らしい事をして下さい。
Once in while please do something like a father.

Is this a common phrase to say to do something like X
Xらしいことをして下さい。

例えば：
大学にいるけど、毎日遊んでよ。たまに学生らしい事を勉強するべきだ。
Your in college but you play everyday. You should study like a student once in a while. (As opposed to him being a student but not studying at all.)

Vagrant · 6 Jun 2007

I might be wrong, but it seems like there's a slight conflict in your example.

The 事 in らしい事 is ambiguous and unspecific, telling a person to do "something" like a father/student in general. Following it with something specific that must be done doesn't seem right.

To fix it, how about dropping the 事 and turning らしい into an adverb? That should give you the specific "Do [blank verb] like X" that you're looking for.

For example:
たまには大学生らしく勉強した方がいい。
"You ought to act like a college student every once in a while and study."
"Once in a while, you should study like a college student."

I'm not fully sure about this, but if you wanted to keep the らしい事 consruction, it seems like you could do that by turning 勉強 into an example of something that should be done by using とか or something similar.

遊んでばかりしないで。たまには、勉強とかなんとかいう大学生らしい事をしなさい。
"Don't just play around all the time. Act like a college student and study or something every once in a while!"

There are multiple ways to get across "like X" or "something befitting X," so maybe somebody will be able to explain an easier or more natural alternative to what I've suggested.

Damicci · 6 Jun 2007

Maybe in this case the content is needed, but the daughter was complaining that the father promised to teach her to play piano but he is now too busy to do so. She also states that she is working hard also and says "父上らしいことをして下さい".
Trying to get a sound sample.

epigene · 6 Jun 2007

Damicci said:
Heard this sentence the other day.

たまには父上らしい事をして下さい。
Once in while please do something like a father.

Is this a common phrase to say to do something like X
Xらしいことをして下さい。

Yes, the usage is common.

例えば：
大学にいるけど、毎日遊んでよ。たまに学生らしい事を勉強するべきだ。
Your in college but you play everyday. You should study like a student once in a while. (As opposed to him being a student but not studying at all.)

For this one, 学生らしい事を勉強するべきだ will at first glance seem awkward when taken out of context, as Vagrant said. From the context you have provided, however, it is used by the father to say that he should study "things that are deserving/desirable for a (college) student."

Damicci · 6 Jun 2007

SO I am not sure what the difference in usage would be.

Say I wanted to tell someone to be more like a friend instead of like a girlfriend.
いつも抱きしめないでいい、友達らしいことをしてください。人々は僕たちが恋人と思うかも。

Would that work?

Elizabeth · 6 Jun 2007

Damicci said:
SO I am not sure what the difference in usage would be.

Say I wanted to tell someone to be more like a friend instead of like a girlfriend.
いつも抱きしめないでいい、友達らしいことをしてください。人々は僕たちが恋人と思うかも。

Would that work?

I would recommend a more literal translation, as if you were looking to make a strong suggestion or heavy implication as you would in English....Why don't you try behaving more like a friend ???

いつも抱きしめないで。。。。どうして友達らしくふるまおうとしないのか。

undrentide · 6 Jun 2007

Damicci said:
SO I am not sure what the difference in usage would be.

Say I wanted to tell someone to be more like a friend instead of like a girlfriend.
いつも抱きしめないでいい、友達らしいことをしてください。人々は僕たちが恋人と思うかも。

Would that work?

Somehow it does not sound very clear to me whether you want to avoid the complication/misunderstanding or you are hinting you'd like to be mistaken for boyfriend/girlfriend.

If you want to say someone to behave more like a friend so that people won't think the person is your girlfriend, I would suggest:

もっと友だちらしく振舞ってください。そうしないとみんなに僕たちが恋人同士だと思われてしまうから。
(a bit formal)
友だちなら友だちらしく振舞ってくれないかなあ。みんなに恋人同士だって勘違いされると困るから。
(casual)

Mike Cash · 6 Jun 2007

My hairline is receding, and back in the days when I decided that if I ever wanted to have a ponytail I had better do it before I go completely bald one of my bosses, a man almost competely bald, remarked to me, ハゲはハゲらしく.

I told him it sounded so profound that someday I would have a good calligrapher write it on a 掛け軸 and hang it in my 床の間. Something I still might do, if I ever get a place with a 床の間.

Damicci · 7 Jun 2007

さぁ、「事」のところが必要じゃないか。

Mikeさんへ、
僕のハゲも出てくる、それから、全部髪の毛を剃ります。はぁ。

Elizabeth · 7 Jun 2007

友だちなら友だちらしく振舞ってくれないかなあ。みんなに恋人同士だって勘違いされると困るから。
(casual)

I was thinking it may be less messy to assume a friendship without question, in which case something like the following may go down a little easier...."Everyone will misunderstand our friendship and be convinced we are lovers..."

友だちらしく振舞ってくれないかなあ。みんなは、私たちの友情を誤解して、私たちがみんなに恋人同士だ（気がある？）と思い込んでしまうよ。

Damicci · 7 Jun 2007

Thanks everyone, I kinda get it, looks like one of those things that the more i hear it the clearer the usage will become.

Like a ~

Damicci

先輩

Vagrant

後輩

Damicci

先輩

epigene

相変わらず不束者です

Damicci

先輩

Elizabeth

先輩

undrentide

Japa'n vagyok

Mike Cash

骨も命も皆此の土地に埋めよう

Damicci

先輩

Elizabeth

先輩

Damicci

先輩

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