Need a word or phrase translated?

[Elizabeth]

Ah, I see.

Note that 見える is a potential form, which always screws with particles.

私は本を読んでいる。 vs. 私には本が読める。
"I am reading a book" vs. "I can read a book."

I'm at work so writing isn't possible now but shouldn't this be 私は本が読める ? I've never seen 私には本が読める。:?

 

[LloydVincent]

As I explained, 私は本が読める is used when stating what I'm able to do, 私には本が読める is a statement of who is able to read the book. It's a matter of where the focus is.

"...には本が読める" of course is less common because we don't often have occasion to say it, but definitely possible.

Check the google.jp search for "にはできる", and see that it commonly follows words like 僕、 あなた、 ～～さん、 and so on.
"にはできる" - Google 検索

Also try "にできる", although this search also shows lots of adverb-marking に usages.

 

[Elizabeth]

As I explained, 私は本が読める is used when stating what I'm able to do, 私には本が読める is a statement of who is able to read the book. It's a matter of where the focus is.

Check the google.jp search for "にはできる", and see that it commonly follows words like 僕、 あなた、 ～～さん、 and so on.
"...には本が読める" of course is less common because we don't often have occasion to say it, but definitely possible.

Google

Also try "にできる", although this search also shows lots of adverb-marking に usages.

Of course it is grammatical to emphasize the possibility of a skill the speaker possesses in contrast to others but sounds very strange as an affirmative statement in isolation. Adding "hazu" or something after yomeru I can understand (although that is normally 2nd or 3rd person) to express I should be able or it ought to be OK for my level etc.

 

[undrentide]

～には読める can be used to state something is readable (despite the fact that something is written in a messy way, for example)

e.g.
（彼の字は下手なので、たいていの人には読めないが）私には読める。
（他のひとには理解できないが）私にはわかる。

but when talking about one's own reading ability, we do not use it, except in a very specific situation (or sentence/phrase to be more precise).
Even in such a case, it would be more common to say ～になら読める.

 

[Toritoribe]

EDIT: Alright, now that I've had time to ponder, could you please tell me if my usages and understanding are correct?

今晩雨降るらしい。It appears it'll rain this evening. (was told it'd rain or logical deduction from clouds)

今晩雨降るそうだ。I heard it'll rain this evening. (heard it on 天気予報)

今晩雨降りそうだ。It seems it'll rain this evening. (because of clouds or other indicator)

If I've got it right, does this mean that ~rashii and ~isou da/desu are essentially interchangeable?

No. It's more likely らしい overlaps both with the two そうだ.

天気予報によると、今晩雨が降るらしい。 ＝ 天気予報によると、今晩雨が降るそうだ。(hearsay)
あの雲からすると、もうすぐ雨が降るらしい。 ＝ あの雲からすると、もうすぐ雨が降りそうだ。(logical deduction)

EDIT 2: For logical deductions that are also observations, would I use sou but NOT rashii?
「ｃｈｅｅｓｅ」は「チーズ」で、「ｃａｋｅ」はケーキですから、「ｃｈｅｅｓｅｃａｋｅ」はチーズケーキだそうですか。
I'm sure my use of the 'wa' particle and whatnot is absolutely butchered, but what I was trying to get across was "Since cheese is 'chiizu' and 'cake' is 'keeki', would 'cheesecake' be 'chiizukeeki'?"

"noun + だ + そうだ" is hearsay "I heard~". I would use simply チーズケーキだろうか/でしょうか for the case.
Confusingly, there are another similar expressions ようだ and みたいだ.

I know they are now, or just (の)よ！for women speaking in anger, I was talking about original usage.

Do you mean for instance "original usage in Edo Period" by "original usage"?

私にはこの本が読める : I can read this book. (usage: explaining who can read the book)
私はこの本が読める : I can read this book. (usage: explaining what I can do)

These sentences are OK, thus, この is crucial for this case.

As to whether or not we could interchange に with から, I'd say it's possible in the case of your example because of the nature of the verb, but perhaps not the most natural word choice here.

Yeah, I, too, think that から is acceptable but に is more natural.

Just to clarify, 見える is not a potential form, but rather a unique verb that is inherently potential.

見える is spontaneous(自発) rather than potential in this case. 見られる(見られはじめた/見られるようになった) also can be used here.

 

[Rei Yahya]

No. It's more likely らしい overlaps both with the two そうだ.

天気予報によると、今晩雨が降るらしい。 ＝ 天気予報によると、今晩雨が降るそうだ。(hearsay)
あの雲からすると、もうすぐ雨が降るらしい。 ＝ あの雲からすると、もうすぐ雨が降りそうだ。(logical deduction)


"noun + だ + そうだ" is hearsay "I heard~". I would use simply チーズケーキだろうか/でしょうか for the case.
Confusingly, there are another similar expressions ようだ and みたいだ.

Thank you so much! So if I understand correctly,

HEARSAY:
~sou da
~rashii

LOGICAL DEDUCTION
~isou da
~rashii

So ~rashii 'overlaps' into both categories? As far as I remember, both ~you da and ~mitai da could be translated 'seems'.

 

[FinancialWar]

先生方
せんせいほう or せんせいかた？

 

[Mike Cash]

せんせいがた

 

[FinancialWar]

せんせいがた

lol, I'm a fail on so many levels.

 

[Mike Cash]

lol, I'm a fail on so many levels.

Anytime you see something like that which can tack on as a suffix and which can change pronunciation with the dot-dot or the circle (か、さ、た、は, etc), be sure to include those inflected pronunciations among your options.

 

[Toritoribe]

Thank you so much! So if I understand correctly,

HEARSAY:
~sou da
~rashii

LOGICAL DEDUCTION
~isou da
~rashii

So ~rashii 'overlaps' into both categories? As far as I remember, both ~you da and ~mitai da could be translated 'seems'.

Yes, that's right. The nuance could be different, though. For instance, らしい expresses the thing is less-probable than ようだ/みたいだ when used as deduction. Also, as Lloyd-san explained in this post, there are some cases that those expressions are not interchangeable.

 

[Andromedashun]

This is a colloquial expression I don't understand:

いやなら断ったら

As I guess it is: ''should I decline?''
What is the literal translation for this. The conditional suffix ら here confuses me.

 

[PhungTM]

Hi guys, new here.
I just started learning 3 weeks ago. So help me out thanks

I'm trying to translate this: The bird ate the vegetable yesterday.
きのう の小鳥わやさいをたべました。

Is it right?
What if I want my sentence to be: The bird ate the vegetable I planted yesterday.

 

[masaegu]

Hi guys, new here.
I just started learning 3 weeks ago. So help me out thanks

I'm trying to translate this: The bird ate the vegetable yesterday.
きのう の小鳥わやさいをたべました。

Is it right?
What if i want my sentence to be: The bird ate the vegetable i planted yesterday.

It is close but there are two errors.

「きのう小鳥はやさいをたべました。」

One does not say きのうの小鳥 unless one is comparing that bird to another bird that one saw on another day.

---------- Post added at 13:01 ---------- Previous post was at 12:58 ----------

This is a colloquial expression I don't understand:

いやなら断ったら

As I guess it is: ''should I decline?''
What is the literal translation for this. The conditional suffix ら here confuses me.

The sentence is not about the speaker; It is about the addressee.

"Why don't you decline if you don't like/want it?"

 

[PhungTM]

It is close but there are two errors.
「きのう小鳥はやさいをたべました。」
One does not say きのうの小鳥 unless one is comparing that bird to another bird that one saw on another day.

The sentence is not about the speaker; It is about the addressee.

"Why don't you decline if you don't like/want it?"

Thanks for your help!
I thought there must be particles in between.

けさのあさごはんはパンとたまごをたべました。
I ate bread and egg for breakfast this morning. Is it correct?
What does choshoku means?

 

[Andromedashun]

OK. Thank you for the answer.

 

[Mike Cash]

Thanks for your help!
I thought there must be particles in between.

けさのあさごはんはパンとたまごをたべました。
I ate bread and egg for breakfast this morning. Is it correct?
What does choshoku means?

It means "breakfast".

 

[PhungTM]

Can anyone check whether these are right? I tried it myself and couldn't trust Google Translate so...

けさのあさごはんはパンとたまごをたべました。
I ate bread and egg for breakfast this morning.

あなたのひるごはんをなんじにたべましたか。
What time did you ate your lunch?

まいにちわたしのかぞくのばんごはんはにくとやさいをたべる。
My family eats meat and vegetable for dinner everyday.

Thanks alot!

 

[I Am A Baka]

Can anyone check whether these are right? I tried it myself and couldn't trust Google Translate so...

けさのあさごはんはパンとたまごをたべました。
I ate bread and egg for breakfast this morning.

あなたのひるごはんをなんじにたべましたか。
What time did you ate your lunch?

まいにちわたしのかぞくのばんごはんはにくとやさいをたべる。
My family eats meat and vegetable for dinner everyday.

Thanks alot!

I'm probably not the person to ask for this, but I'll give my opinion. Please, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

けさのあさごはんはパンとたまごをたべました。
I ate bread and egg for breakfast this morning. - I see no problem with this sentence.

あなたのひるごはんをなんじにたべましたか。
I'd drop the あなた and go with this:
なんじにひるごはんをたべましたか。
I guess it kind of depends on the situation.


まいにちわたしのかぞくのばんごはんはにくとやさいをたべる。
My family eats meat and vegetable for dinner everyday.
Seems okay to me - but remember, I'm no expert when it comes to this.

You're doing amazingly well if you've already learned hiragana and sentence structure in three weeks! That took me at least five months to learn enough vocabulary to easily and quickly string together sentences.

 

[Toritoribe]

This is a colloquial expression I don't understand:

いやなら断ったら

As I guess it is: ''should I decline?''
What is the literal translation for this. The conditional suffix ら here confuses me.

（あなたがそれをするのが）いやなら（、それをするのを）断ったら（どうですか）。

Does this make sense?

Can anyone check whether these are right? I tried it myself and couldn't trust Google Translate so...

けさのあさごはんはパンとたまごをたべました。
I ate bread and egg for breakfast this morning.

あなたのひるごはんをなんじにたべましたか。
What time did you ate your lunch?

まいにちわたしのかぞくのばんごはんはにくとやさいをたべる。
My family eats meat and vegetable for dinner everyday.

Thanks alot!

あさごはん/ばんごはんは～をたべる is not incorrect, but あさごはん/ばんごはんに～をたべる or あさごはん/ばんごはんは～だ is more common.

けさは あさごはんに パンとたまごを たべました。
けさの あさごはんは パンとたまごでした。

わたしの かぞくは まいにち ばんごはんに にくとやさいを たべる。
わたしの かぞくの ばんごはんは まいにち にくとやさいだ。

 

[Andromedashun]

（あなたがそれをするのが）いやなら（、それをするのを）断ったら（どうですか）。

Does this make sense?

So is it like: if you don't like doing that how about reject doing it?

Gosh. Japanese abbreviation really blow my mind.

 

[Poulpator]

A Japanese TV program will be recorded in France tomorrow. (J-Melo on NHK World) and if possible, I would like to say a few words to some guests.

Please, could you help me to translate these sentences in rōmaji ?

- Let me congratulate you for your wonderful retraining (reconversion?) in the theater. I saw you in Japan in your stage play "Name of the stage". I didn't catch all of it because I don't speak Japanese but your acting were fantastic!​

- There are so many things that I would like to tell you if I spoke Japanese.​

- Thanks so much for being here today.
I hope to see you soon in France or in Japan.​

Thank you so much to those who take the time to help me.

 

[Feliks]

Hi there! my first post I reading a book right now and sometimes I really don't know what a phrase means so I will probably posting here from time to time - please help me

What does: べたである mean? Thanks!

 

[Mike Cash]

It means "post the whole sentence".

Do you know what であるmeans?

 

[Macrobiotic]

I'm wondering how 求め安く should be translated here. This 安い is the word for "cheap" rather than "easy" I think so my guess is it translates freely, although not literally, to something like "reasonable" in a price related sense.

４日間連続のスウェーデン南部で行われた本の見本市に出展し、今年も新たな出会いや再会があり、有意義でした。今回は主に４から６種類のお茶を淹れ、お客様に振舞いました。新しい自社ブランドの子袋シリーズがお求め安く、またおしゃれだということで購入されたお客様が多かったですね。

I'm reading the おしゃれ part as "being/looking stylish" (because I know this new brand comes in newly specially designed packages) but can't say for sure this is the intended meaning, maybe it doesn't refer to appearance/looks at all.
So, "a lot of people bought the company's new own brand because it was reasonably priced and came in neat packages?"

Also, the 子袋シリーズ, does it mean "baby bags series (small test bags)" or "womb/prototype/budding/up and coming series" (because the line was just recently launched and these are the very first products available) etc?