Maggie’s Room (2022)

Hi everyone! Thank you for visiting Maggie’s room. 
Feel free to leave a message (Even just say Hello! 😉 ) or one or two simple questions.  (I don’t do translations, checking your long writing or helping your homework for school here. ) 
Love you all! 🐶❤️

 

252 Comments

  2. Good morning Maggie. I found a sentence and I’m not sure if my translation is correct.

    The sentence is as follows: ビスマルクは戦士提督から征服勝利を目指すそうです

    And my translation was: Bismarck appears is aiming for conquest victory from the admiral warrior. My translation is right?

  3. Hello Maggie Sensei! Casual reader of your blog from Malaysia here. Just dropping to say thank you for all the years I have been using your blog, back since 2015-2016 when I first started learning Japanese. Having passed N1 a few years back, using Japanese for work, and currently living with a Japanese spouse, none of them would be possible without your wonderful blog. I sometimes teach elementary Japanese on the side, and I would reference your explanations ask they are easy to understand and quite detailed.

    Once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart :)

    1. Hello Aki
      Awww that is so sweet of you. Thank YOU for your kind words.❤️
      It is just amazing that you have been using this site for 6~7 years.
      これからも皆さんのためにがんばってレッスンを作り続けますね。

      Love,
      Maggie

  4. Good morning Maggie. I found the following sentence and had difficulty getting a part of it and would like your help if possible.

    The sentence is as follows: それは氷のような砂糖菓子。
    触れれば冷たさに指先が凍り、
    舐めれば甘さに舌が痺れゆく。

    まさに至宝と慕うにふさわしい―――

    I can’t understand the part: まさに至宝と慕うにふさわしい

    Could you help me, I describe the functions of the particles and explain the meaning of the words?

    1. Hi Mutuio

      It is a bit dramatic expression to describe some sweet.
      I will give you the clues first.
      まさに means “precisely”
      ふさわしい “worthy”
      ~と = as
      慕うに is a formal (for written form) way to say 慕うのに to adore/respect/look up to/to love
      The particle に after 慕う is used with ふさわしい
      〜にふさわしい　appropriate for ~ / worthy of ~

  5. Hello maggie sensei,

    Thank you as always

    What is the meaning of 頭をもたげる

    thank you again

  6. Good morning Maggie. Could you tell me why the verb in the following sentence is in the volitional form: ペットの糞は飼主が持ち帰りましょう

    That sentence is on a sign and I don’t understand why the verb is in the volitional form and not just the polite form.

    1. Hi Mutuio

      Please read my volitional form lesson. Link is here
      As I mentioned in the usage 4), you use volitional form to tell someone to do something.
      It sounds friendlier than 持って帰ってください

  7. Maggie sensei
    This is Jens Hoeg in Denmark now mastering :-) Hiragana and a little Kanji
    I am struggling with this little sentence (from an account on ancient Japanese history year 600-900):
    八世紀 の なか ごろ, ….. (hasseiki no naka goro)
    I finally came to interpret “hasseiki”八世紀as something like “eight world history” so maybe it means in “the 8-hundreds”. Eight = 八 (hachi), history/narrative 世 (se), history account = 紀(ki)
    Can you help? (The text is about land ownership in ancient Japan)
    Jens Hoeg

    1. Hi Jens
      八世紀 means “the 8th century” (世紀=せいき=seiki=century)
      and なかごろ means “the middle of” so 八世紀 の なかごろ means “the middle of the 8th century”

      1. Maggie – Thanks a lot. That explains it. I have another little puzzle
        雨が 降る でしょ う から , 傘を も っ て いかれた方が よ ろ しいですよ 。
        Ame ga furu deshō kara, kasa o motte ikareta hō ga yoroshii desu yo.

        Is “いかれた” (IKARETA) the passive TA form og IKU? If so is it a polite (using passive) way of saying (plain) “ita ho ga ii desu”? Also, I guess “yuroshii” is more polite than just “ii”. Thanks again MAGGIE!

        1. Hi Jens,

          In this case いかれた is a polite form not a passive form.
          Check my 敬語（けいご） honorific expression lesson. Link
          And right. よろしい is a polite way to say いい

  8. Good morning maggie. I have a question about the following sentence: 街明かり照らした賑やかな笑い声.

    it was translated as: lively laughter illuminated by the city lights.

    I would like to know why the verb 照らした was translated into the passive form in the sentence and why the sentence didn’t end up like this: excited laughter that lit up the city lights.

    1. おはよう、Berly
      I agree with you.
      照らした is not a passive form so it means “the lively laughter illuminated the city lights”.
      If you translate the English sentence, it will be 街明かりに照らされた賑やかな笑い声

      1. Thanks for the reply maggie.

        I have one more sentence that I would like to know if the translation is correct. the phrase is: この未来を少しずつでも突き動かすよ and its translation was: Awakening, even if little by little, this new future.

        Unless I’m mistaken, the translation of 突き動かす should be stimulate, right?

        1. Yes, 突き動かす means to stimulate (someone) to do something, to stir up, to make something move, etc. So I guess the translator is focusing on the result after “stimulating the future” and make the future awake.

  9. Hello Maggie sensei

    not gonna ask a question.
    I want to thank you for your hard work. I think many japanese learner are helped by the site.

    Also thank you for a great year, hope you have a good life and good health.
    welcome the new year.

    1. Your kind message made my day!
      And thank you for always visiting this site to study with great energy!
      I will do my best to keep making more and more lessons.
      Stay 元気！！

      Love,
      Maggie

  10. good night maggie. I found the following sentence and I had doubts about the function of も: 悲しいことも隠して笑う.

    in the translated sentence there was no “too” or “even”, so I was wondering what the function of も is in this sentence.

  11. Good afternoon Maggie. I came across the following sentence: ゴミは出さない持ち込まない. I would like to know if it is correct, because I don’t know if two verbs in the negative form in a row are correct.

    1. Hi Kadoc,
      It must be a catchphrase so they combined two sentences.
      ゴミは出さない。 (そして(ゴミを)）持ち込まない
      It looks like one sentence but it is actually two sentences and omitted そして

  12. Hello sensei, thank you and have a nice day

    i want to ask, what is the meaning of
    蝮があの世で泣いている

    thank you very much

      1. Hello sensei,
        Is this some form of ことわざ？
        I see it when people (usually on twitter) feeling disappointed about something.

        1. Right. あの世で泣いている or 草葉の陰（くさばのかげ）で泣いている are the expression when someone does something bad and that makes their deceased family or friends (someone close) who are already dead sad or disappointed.

  13. Hello maggie sensei,

    always thank you for your help

    can ついでに and がてら used interchangeably?

    please show me the sentences

    1. Hello
      Ah, I think many dictionaries said がてら = ついでに = taking the opportunity
      but they are slightly different.
      AのついでにB (The main action is A. While you are at A, do B)
      AがてらB (the same as above or to do B because one gets to do A at the same time)

      For example,
      散歩のついでにパン屋に行ってきた。The main action is 散歩
      散歩がてらパン屋に行ってきた。You can use this when the main action is パン屋に行く and the speaker thinks going to the bakery will be a nice walk for him/her.

      運動がてら自転車に乗って会社に行った。
      I went to the office by bike because I can get some exercise at the same time.
      going to the office by bike = good exercises.
      運動のついでに自転車に乗って会社に行った is not natural.It sounds like the main action is doing exercises

      You can’t use がてら when you do two actions at the same place.

      スーパーに来たついでにバターを買った。
      X がてら

  14. Good night Maggie. Can you tell me why the verb 遅刻して is in the Te form in the following sentence: 遅刻して申し訳ありません。

    1. Hello Pepe,
      遅刻して申し訳ありません。 = I am sorry I am late.
      This te-form indicates the reason why you apologize →”for being late”

      1. Thanks Maggie for the reply. I have one more doubt. I found the following sentence: 友達が昨日とは違うことを言っていてムカつく

        I would like to know the role of と (after 昨日) in this sentence.

        1. Hi Pepe,
          One of the usages of と is to expresses the relationship between two things/parties.
          A is the same as B. = A は Bと同じ
          A is different from B. = AはBと違う
          So in this case A: 昨日まで友達が言っていたこと and B 今日言っていること

  15. Hello Maggie sensei,

    Thank you very much and have a good day

    can i ask you the difference of these below words?

    夜半・真夜中・夜中・夜分

    You can also explain me both in English or Japanese if you need to put a detail.

    Again thank you very much sensei

    1. 1) 夜中 = middle of night (It is a general term to refer to middle of night)
      2) 真夜中 = around midnight (You use it when you emphasize 夜中)
      3) 夜半 (technically around 23:00 ~ 1:00) Compared to 1) and 2) it is used more in written form or formal news.
      4) 夜分 The most common way to use this word is 夜分遅く (late at night) and when you apologize for bothering someone late at night.
      夜分遅く申し訳ありません。Sorry to bother you this late.

  16. Maggie せんせい
    マレーシア には
    rice plant = padi
    rice (raw grain) = beras
    rice (edible/cooked) = nasi
    日本 は という ですか
    ぜんぶ 「ごはん 」 ですか
    ありがとう

    1. こんにちは soleyman
      rice = 米 = こめ
      rice plant　= 稲 = いね
      rice (raw grain) = 米粒 = こめつぶ
      rice (edible/cooked) = ご飯 = ごはん (It also means “meal” in general)

  17. good afternoon maggie. I found this phrase and I had some questions that I wish you could answer. the sentence is:
    主を守り、主を助け、主の為に尽くす―――
    盾持ちや首捕り武者なぞ遠く及ばぬ、 これこそ我らが忠道なり。

    1) what does it mean: 遠く及ばぬ? I didn’t understand the function of 遠く in this sentence
    2) what does it mean: 忠道なり?
    3) why is 捕り as a noun and not a verb?

    1. Hello
      This is classical Japanese
      1) 遠く means “far”
      及ばぬ in modern Japanese is 及ばない
      So 遠く及ばぬ means nowhere near / far from ~ (it doesn’t have to be the physical distance.)
      The people like 盾持ちや首捕り武者　can not not reach us.
      2) 忠実なり　in modern Japanese is 忠実である　 = our faith
      3) 〜捕り is a noun. headhunter(s)

  18. Good afternoon teacher Maggie. I found two sentences and I have some doubts. The first sentence is: ランダムに生命を作っていたらあるとき人間のオスそっくりで筋力旺盛な魔獣が生まれた。

    I would like to know the function of で in this sentence

    The second sentence is: そうして、我々の歴史は幕を閉じた。宇宙からの侵略が始まって ９０日。地球は完全に漂白された惑星なった。

    I would like to know the function of の in this sentence (after 宇宙から)

    1. Hello Kulio34

      1) The function of で in the first sentence is “and”　そっくり is a na-adjective (そっくりな）.
      When you connect na-adjective or a noun, you use で

      2) You see the structure here?
      宇宙（noun) + から (particle) + の + 侵略 ( noun )
      the invasion from the universe
      I have a lesson on this の　Check this lesson. The link is here.

  19. Good morning Maggie, I ended up coming across the following sentence: 一度の奇跡で魔術王と呼ばれた王さまソロモン. I would like to know two things: 1) if there is any difference if i replace 一度 with 一 and 2) why they used 一度 instead of 一

    Thanks,
    Paulo

    1. Hello Paulo

      You can not replace 一度 with 一
      一度 means “one time/once”. 度 is a counter for how many miracles happened. In this case, it happened once.
      If you count miracle itself, you can say 一つの奇跡

        1. Yes, but the nuance changes.
          一つの奇跡 = one miracle
          一度の奇跡 = one-time miracle (←the miracle that happened once)

  20. こんにちは、先生

    “暗示にかける”という意味はちゃんと理解できませんので先生にお尋ねしたい。

    例えば、”暗示にかけられた人”という文を英語に翻訳すると”The person who is being hypnotized”と思われますがもっとじっくり検索するとhypnotizeという単語は日本語では”暗示にかける”ではなく”催眠術をかける”となっております。

    それは合っているかどうかはわかりません
    マギー先生はそれについてどう思いますか。
    もし間違いと思った場合、”暗示にかける”に相当する英単語はなんでしょうか
    私だったら多分”hypnotize”が相応しいと思いましたがついでに違う可能性も中々高いと感じました。

    ところで、自分の勉強不足で励んで正しい日本語を書いてみましたがあまり自信がなくてもし間違いがある場合何卒お伝え下さい。

    1. こんにちは、奇跡が起こるといいですね。😁
      そうですね、being hypnotizedは、催眠術にかけられたという意味で、暗示よりも強い意味になります。
      「暗示にかける」は、to convince someone or make someone believe that ~ が近いかもしれませんね。

      （日本語、よく書けていると思いますよ。全部は直しませんが、少しだけ気になったところを直しますね。

      私だったら多分”hypnotize”が相応しいと思いましたがついでに違う可能性も中々高いと感じました。
      →私は、多分”hypnotize”が相応しいと思いますが、違う可能性もかなり高いと感じています。
      自分の勉強不足で励んで日本語を書いてみましたがあまり自信がなくて
      →勉強不足なのでがんばって日本語で書いてみましたがあまり自信がないので）

      1. 添削してくれてありがとうございます。質問よりも添削した文のほうがもっと有意義的で感謝いたします。
        今後ももし先生が良かったら一部でも結構ですので文章添削のほうもよろしくお願いたします。

  21. Hello Maggie sensei,

    A question concerning 下手 vs. 貧弱.
    下手 is the word beginners learn, such as in: 日本語が下手です.
    It seems to carry the nuance of ability/skill, being good or not at something.

    Would the word 貧弱 also be appropriate in some circumstances, where ability is not the issue? For example:

    A: 私の日常会話能力は貧弱です.
    B: 何故ですか.
    A: 語彙が小さすぎるから.

    As a roughly literal translation from English, this sounds more “normal” to me because skill/ability is not the problem, but rather a small vocabulary size.

    I realize that making literal translations from how I think in English does not always work. Native speakers of a different language just think/talk differently.

    Thanks for your assistance.
    Michael

    1. Hello Michael
      A: 私の日常会話能力は貧弱です.I guess you can say that but you might see/hear more with 低い with 能力.

      When you are talking about 語彙, you can say 貧弱な語彙 /語彙が貧弱
      A: 語彙が小さすぎるから.
      →語彙が少ないから
      You can also say 語彙力が乏しい (= とぼしい)

      1. Thank you very much.

        My problem was as much with English as it was with Japanese, since there are many ways in which I could talk in English about poor vocabulary.
        For example, it is common for beginners in English to confuse “few” with “small” (it depends partly on the noun being used).
        So, I was having the same problem, but in the opposite direction.

        When you (as usual) give examples with alternate words and alternate grammar, it helps me develop my intuition for the creative aspect of language.

        I like the word 乏しい. It comes close to what I was trying to say.

  22. Hi Maggie sensei

    Please can you explain to me the difference between: saisho, mazu, hajime and hajimete and also the contexte in which each is used as some of them May mean the same thing . I get a little bit confuse, because i read many of these words can mean “the beginning”, “first”, “firstly”, “first of all”.

    Thank you for your help

    1. Hello, Yenicall

      When you talk about something in order,
      firstly/ first of all →you can say either “mazu”/”hajimeni”/”saisho ni”

      When you does/did something for the first time
      hajimete

      in the beginning of something you use hajime/saisho

      Ex. hajime or saisho kara wakatte ita. = I knew from the beginning.

  23. Hi maggie
    What is the meaning of the following? This is a song by the way.
    大人 の 振り して　諦めちゃ
    奇跡 の 謎 など　解けない よ
    もっと ワイルド に もっと 逞しく 生きて ご覧

    To give up being an adult is like an unsolvable miracle puzzle OR
    Stop being an adult is hard.
    Did I get it right?
    ありがとう

  24. Hello Sensei,

    いつもお世話になっております

    少しお尋ねしたいことがあります
    「悪びれる」と「後ろめたい」は基本的に同じ意味を持っているのでしょうか？

    返答をよろしくお願いたします

    1. こんにちは、
      「悪びれる」と「後ろめたい」の意味は英語ではどちらも feel guiltyなのですが….
      「後ろめたい」は、なにか悪いことをやってしまったという後悔の気持ちを表すのに対し、
      「悪びれる」は否定分で使うことが多いです。
      悪びれることなく 〜
      悪びれる様子もない 〜
      何か自分が悪いことをやったという気持ちをまったく表さない態度を表します。

      While 後ろめたい means “feeling guilty about something” and expresses one’s feelings of regret
      「悪びれる」 expresses one’s attitude and you usually use 「悪びれる」 in a negative sentence.
      悪びれることなく
      悪びれる様子もない
      The literal meaning, without showing one’s guilty feelings.
      Even though you did something bad, you behave/act as if you don’t feel bad in an unapologetic manner

      1. 承知いたしました。

        つまり意味がほとんど似ている割に使い方は違うことが多いということでいいでしょうか

        最後にもうひとつの質問ですが「慢性的」と「批判的」は同じの意味ですか？

        よろしくお願いします

          1. ありがとうございます。先生のお陰で勉強も着実に捗ります。

  25. Maggie-sensei a new question to you

    Using “nasaru” (なさる) in the short combination form なさい (nasai):
    e.g.: この kono 本hon をwo 読みyomi なさいnasai = read this book.
    Is this an ORDER and therefore not Polite? My grammar books says so.
    BUT you also say : お帰りなさい (o-kaeri nasai = “do coming back” / welcome home)
    A hotel in Hokkaida has the name ” XXX kaeri-nasai” = XXX do come back, and this must be polite!
    So how “careful” do you have to be in using なさい (nasai) in polite and respectful conversation?
    If you wish to say “please read this book” in a really COURTEOUS way I guess you would say:
    “Kono hon o yonde kudasai” (please read this book)
    OR very, very polite: “doka, (anata wa) kono hon o yonde kudasaimasen deshou ka” (would you not please read this book?) (“would you not please give to me reading this book)
    OR even: “doka, (watashi wa) kono hon o yonde itadakemasen desho ka?” (please, could I not receive “from you” reading this book)
    Jens Hoeg

    1. Hi Jens

      おかえりなさい means 1) Go home now. 2) Welcome back
      おやすみなさい 1) Go to sleep/Sleep now. 2) Good night.
      These two expressions have two meanings. One is for giving an order and one is to greet someone.

      Other than these two greetings(If I think of other example, I will add it to this comment later) , you should be careful who you use なさい (=nasai) with.
      You can only use this form when you want to tell someone to do/not to do something in a strong way.

      どうか ( = douka) adds the nuance of “I beg you” and express one’s strong desire

      So the formality level is

      very formal

      このほんをよんでいただけませんでしょうか
      Kono hon wo yonde itadakemasen deshouka
      or このほんをよんでくださいませんでしょうか
      Kono hon wo yonde kudasaimasen deshouka?
      ↓

      このほんをよんでください。
      Kono hon wo yonde kudasai.
      Please use this book.

      ↓
      (casual) このほんをよんで
      = Kono hon wo yonde
      ↓
      (command)
      このほんをよみなさい
      = Kono hon wo yominasai
      ↓
      (much stronger command
      このほんをよめ
      = Kono hon wo yome

      Please check my meireikei lesson. The link is here.

      1. Thanks MAGGIE
        Wjat you say reflects exactly what is stated in my Essential Japanese Grammar Book. I asked because my friend Yusa-sensei at Nara Josei Daigaku said that he felt no offense in using ###-nasai. But I guess he was thinking of special uses and occasions! What yoy say agrees with my feeling that NASAI is something a teacher might say to pupils and reflect a request which is almost a command.
        The degree from very polite request to the very strong command like “YOME” is clear to me now. I also now that the “strong command” can be used in like in “GANBATTTE” where it does NOT reflect a command but rather an encouragement.

        1. Right. When you cheer someone up, or encourage them, you do say Ganbatte or Ganbare.
          And as for nasai, when parents tell their children to do something, they use ~なさい.
          I wouldn’t say it’s offensive at all. It is just a matter of your relationships.(older people →younger people, adults →children, etc.)
          But you don’t use nasai or ~te to a stranger.

  26. Maggie-sensei From Jens Hoeg your very recent patron :-) Question: how would you say “all over the world in Japanese” Like all over the world: Would you use “yo (no)” or “sekai (no)” for “world” and would “all over be “itaru tokoro (de ni) or “doko demo” or something like “doko ni mo”
    I guess “itaru tokoro (de ni) or “doko demo” is more like “everywhere”? Sensei, it is O.K. to include kana in your reply, I am ascending the learning curve and you cannot penetrate into Nihon-go without using kana.

    1. Hello Jens,

      all over the world
      →There are a few ways to say this.
      The most common one is
      = せかいじゅう ( = sekaijuu)
      But as you said, you can also say せかいのいたるところ +に/で( = sekai no itaru tokoro ni/de) or せかいのあらゆるところ+に/で ( = Sekai no arayuru tokoro + ni/de)

      anyway in the world will be
      せかいのどこでも = sekai no doko demo

      I hope it helps. :)
      And ありがとう for considering to join my Patreon！

  27. Hello Sensei. Can you tell me the meaning of しっかり and しっかりできている in this sentence: 彼と戦う覚悟は、 しっかりできている。?

    1. Hello Paulo

      しっかり means “solid, firmly” and it modifies 覚悟ができている = made up one’s mind
      →made a solid decision

  28. Maggie-sensei, sumimasen ga, anata ni shitsumon ga arimasu:
    Concerning Potential forms of Verbs you can use “V-koto ga dekiru) or the true Potential form (V+eru/rareru). For the latter, where is the accent? Example “oyogu” (swim) How is the pronounciation of Vmasu (oyogimasu) compared to Vpot (oyogenasu)? Or “kakimasi” vs. “kakemasu (can write)” same for RU verbs. Where is the accent in e.g. “miraremasu” (can see). Jens Hoeg in Denmark – Copenhagen no Daigaku but often at Nara Josei Daigaku :-)

    1. Hello Jens,
      I wish I could link the audio file for you here.
      Basically the accent falls on ま with whether it’s regular masu-form or potential masu-form.

      およげます

      かけます

      みられます

      1. Maggie-sensei. Anata no benri-na henji o, arigato gozaimashita. Yoku wakarimasu! Watashi wa ima Nihon e Nara Josei Daigaku de hataraki-ni ju-kai gurai ita-koto ga arimasu Mo yoku chotto Nihon-go o hanashite imasu ga, zannen desu, kana to kanji ga mada wakarimasen. Shikashi saikin ni Kana no “flashcards” o katte benkyo-shite imasu. Kana o wakaru-no wa mukashi-kunai da to omoimasu. Sorai ni anata ni kana de shitsumon o o-tazune itasu to nozimimasu. Iensu

          1. Hai Maggie senxse. Nihon-go o yoku benkyo-koto suru tame ni, watakushi wa mamonaku anata no hosho-nin ni narimasu. Chotte matte kudasai! Harau-koto suru tame ni Mastercard o mitsukenakute wa narimasen yo!

  29. こんにちはマギー先生！教えてくれてありがとう。
    質問があります。

    The ないで/ずに grammar structure, how can you add an additional verb or action.

    Example: 食べないで出てしまった = I left without eating.
    What if I want to say “I left without eating and sleeping” how would I say and?

    1. こんにちは Lee

      For that particular example it is unnatural to say
      X 食べないで寝ないで出てしまった。/X 食べずに寝ずに出てしまった。

      Connecting with vこと＋も
      何も食べることも寝ることもなく
      Connecting with masu-stem 食べ＋寝 +も
      食べも寝もしないで出て行ってしまった。

      Sometimes you mix the forms
      何も食べず寝もしないで
      何も食べることもなく寝ないで出て行ってしまった

      た

  30. I apologize for posting again. my notebook has a problem and i don’t know if the question is being sent.

  31. Hello Maggie. I have some doubts about the following sentence I found in a manga: 何? 驚くことはない。 夢みたいにものさ。目覚めれば忘れる.君に行ってほしいところがある。それなりに賑やかなところだよ。真面目な君のことだ。償い足りないなんて感じているだろう？うんうんわかるとも。
    1) what is the meaning of それなりに? would be something close to “kind of”, “quite” or “somewhat”
    2) what is the function of さ after もの?
    3) what is the function of とも after わかる?

    1. HI Rafael/Thiago/Marus/Berelo
      First I received all your questions. Sorry. Sometimes it takes time to approve the comments so please be patient. Since all the questions were the same, I deleted the previous ones.
      １）　それなりに in its own way. Maybe the place is not very lively but it is lively in its own way.
      I have a lesson on なりに　The link is here.
      2) さ is a casual suffix to express one’s opinion.

      3) This とも is to show one’s strong agreement or emphasize what comes before.
      わかる→わかるとも
      知っています→知っていますとも
      I know →I do know

  32. Hello sensei,

    Thank very much and appreciate your hard work

    I want to ask how do you differ 証明書と認定証

    Lets say

    家の所有書 = 家の証明書？
    TOEIC = TOEIC 認定証？
    車所有書 = 車証明書？
    他にいい例えがあれば載せていただけませんか？
    ありがとうございます

    1. Hello 世界に花を咲かす🌸

      They are both translated “certificate” and it could be confusing but
      認定書 is a document to approve one’s ability/ qualification/ license.
      証明書　 is a document to certify something/ to prove authentication
      I will give you some typical examples.

      インストラクター認定書 Instructor authorization
      大臣認定書 = certification from the Minister

      卒業証明書　 graduation certificate
      身分証明書　I.D.
      成績証明書 Academic transcript

  33. Hello sensei,

    Thank you for your hard work as always

    I want to ask something
    Yesterday My twitter account receive invitation of strange account
    (Apparently a boy on his age of 22)

    it says like this

    R-18垢、ほぼ見る専の童貞裏垢男子です。夜行性。
    22歳になりました

    Maybe it is a bad word (I’am not sure)

    What is the meaning of “ほぼ見る専” here

    thanks, sorry if it is rude to ask

    1. Hi カタリナ

      But ほぼ = almost
      見る専 is an abbreviation of 見る専門. So if it is for Twitter, he just reads people’s tweets and he almost never tweets.
      It sounds very suspicious so I think you should just ignore the invitation.

      1. Hello sensei, thank you for your advice.

        Already blocked him

        Sorry for late reply

        Thank very much 忝ない

  34. Hello again, Maggie sensei
    I have a question about べき and ものではない
    both have the same meaning and can i use it in casual conversation?
    For example: そんなことをすべきではない　－そんなことをするものではない

    Thanks again!

    1. Hello Rafael

      They are both a bit formal but you can hear them in conversation.
      But in casual conversation, you say
      そんなことはやってはいけないよ。
      →more casual そんなことやっちゃだめだよ。/やっちゃいけないよ

  35. Hello maggie sensei

    いつもお世話になっております

    Can you please tell me the difference between

    文・文書・文章

    Thank you very much

    1. こんにちは、ななしさん

      文 and 文章 both could be the same, a sentence.
      But 文 is one sentence but 文章 could be multiple sentences ( more than one sentence)
      文書 means “documents”

  36. Hello sensei

    Thank you for your help always

    Can you check this sentence whether it is natural or not?

    悲しくて泣いているではなく寂しいからです

    1. Hello ケンタおじいさん

      悲しくて泣いているではなく寂しいからです
      Your sentence is OK.
      You might see the full sentence more, though.
      悲しくて泣いているではなく寂しいから泣いているのです。

      Or if you want to finish the sentence with からです, you can also say
      泣いているのは悲しいのではなく寂しいからです。

  37. Hi Maggie,
    何なに も can mean everything / anything
    誰だれ も can mean everyone / anyone
    どこ も can mean everywhere / anywhere

    Is 何なに も and ぜんぶ interchange able? The following sentences have same meaning?
    ぜんぶ ほしい。 何なに も ほしい。 I want everything
    ぜんぶ たべました。 何なに も たべました。 I ate everything
    ぜんぶ みました。 何なに も みました。 I saw everything
    ぜんぶ きこえました。 何なに も きこえました。 I heard everything

    Is 誰だれ も and みんな interchange able? The following sentences have same meaning?
    うた を みんな で うたいます。 誰だれ も うた を うたいます。 I will sing songs with everyone
    いつも みんな に やさしい。 誰だれ も いつも やさしい。 always be kind to everyone
    はやく みんな に あいたい です。 はやく 誰だれ も あいたい です。 I want to meet everyone quickly

    Is this sentence correct?
    うんどうかい で 人間 ピラミッド を くずれました
    At the company sports meet, our human pyramid fell

    How do you say 店 for the following? – ten or mise
    A shop that sells handmade goods
    手づくり の 店。
    手づくり 店。

    ありがとう, せんせい

    1. Hello soleyman,
      1) 何なに も →You mean 何も ( = なにも）？ If so, 何も is used in a negative sentence and it means “not to ~ anything” “nothing” and it doesn’t mean everything. (何もない = There is nothing. 何も食べるものがない I don’t have anything to eat.)

      If you say 何でも then it means “anything” or “everything”
      You can say 何でも欲しい= I want anything.
      It is slightly different from 全部 = everything
      2) 誰だれ も →I think you mean 誰も ( = だれも）. And it means nobody / not ~ anybody
      Ex. 誰もいない = There is nobody. Ex. 誰も行かない = Nobody wants to go.

      FYI 誰でも means “anybody”
      Again, it is slightly different from みんな = everybody

      3) 人間 ピラミッド を くずれました→人間ピラミッドがくずれました

      4) 手づくりの店= みせ

      手作り店 is not common.

  38. こんにちは、マギー先生

    Hello sensei
    What is the meaning of 都合のいい男
    What is the difference between 都合のいいことをしか考えない

    Thank you for your help sensei

    1. Hello 太郎!
      都合のいい男 has two meaning.
      (someoneにとって）都合のいい男 = a convenient guy for someone (a person who says yes to everything) a guy who you can get advantage of.

      And it also means “a guy who acts selfishly and doesn’t think about other people.”

  39. Hello maggie sensei

    いつもお世話になっております

    I have a question about this sentence

    彼女に見透かされているようで、なんとなくシャクだった

    What is the meaning of “シャク” here?
    Thank you

    1. Hello! Wow! I feel flattered to hear your name. 😉
      シャク is from an expression 癪に障る = しゃくにさわる (something gets on one’s nerves)
      So なんとなくシャクだった here means “It was kind of annoying”

  40. Hello Maggie-sensei

    I have a question about ”ijou”. For example in this phrase: 一人でやると言った以上、他の人には頼めない。If i use ”kara” or ”node” will the meaning be the same?

    Thanks again!

    1. Hello Rafael,

      以上、から、ので they all indicates the reason (because/so) but　if you compare the following two sentences,
      1) やると言った以上他の人には頼めない
      2) やると言ったから/ので他の人には頼めない

      1) expresses much stronger will/commitment than 2)

      Now, からには is pretty similar to 以上は.
      3) やると言ったからには他の人には頼めない

      They both express one’s strong will/commitment.

  41. Hello maggie sensei

    thank you as always

    can i ask you what is the meaning of
    強いて言うなら

    is it the same like (I don’t know exactly)

    1. Hello アルパカ
      強いて〜する = force oneself to do something
      so
      強いて言うなら means “If I must say / If I am forced to say”

  42. Hello Maggie Sensei

    Thanks as always for your lesson

    Can you please tell me about 建前 and 本音
    If I only read dictionary I don’t understand
    Why it is important? Maybe give some example or case

    (具体的な説明が求められているので英語で説明しづらい場合日本語で説明してお願いします)

    改めて感謝いたします

    1. Hello ずんだモン

      本音と建前
      本音 = one’s true feelings/opinion
      See if you express your real feelings or what you really thinks, you might hurt other people’s feelings or you may stand out being different from others.
      So you hide your 本音 and tell what please the listeners or what it sounds right for the others or society. That is 建前

  43. Hello Sensei,

    Thank you for your lesson

    I want to ask something, How do you say (Chewy) in japanese?

    食べ物を食べている時ぷにぷにしている食感。例えば、ガームを噛じっているとき「Chewy]と言います。

    Thank you very much.

    1. Hello,

      Chewyを表す言葉は食べ物によります。ガムだったら、「弾力（だんりょく）がある」ではどうでしょう。

      If you are describing meat, you say 歯ごたえがある (positive) or just かたい (negative) / かたくて噛（か）み切れない (negative)
      If you are describing noodles, 腰（こし）がある (positive)
      Hard snacks, fruits, baguette , 噛（か）みごたえがある

      1. I understand well what sensei has said but only one I don’t understand.
        When noodle why it is “Hip”? 腰？
        Literally means “There is a hip”
        This is actually right but what is the relation of food with “Hip (腰）”

        Maybe when you eat noodle because it is so smooth then it makes your hip vibrating or something?

        1. 腰/コシがある (you also say 腰/コシが強い) is an idiomatic expression to describe firm texture of noodles. (It is positive)
          I am not sure the etymology but your body is supported by your lower back.So if the noodle is nice and firm with chewy texture, it is like there is something like 腰 to support the firmness.

          3. Hello せんせい
            Is かみかみ also mean chewy?
            Eg
            きょう は はじめて の スルメ かみかみ が ありました。
            Today is my first time eating dried squid.

            For the following words is it ok/natural to pronounce them without the i sound?
            おいしくない >> 「oishkunai」
            うつくしくない >> 「utsukushkunai」
            いそがしくない >> 「isogashkunai」
            たのしくない >> 「tanoshkunai」
            むずかしくない >> 「muzukashkunail」

            ありがとう.

          4. Hello soleyman
            Not sure where you found the word but かみかみする is a sort of cute word from よくかむ for small children which means to chew well. There is a dried squid snack called スルメカミカミ.
            I ate the dried squid, Surume kamikami, for the first time today = きょうはじめて「スルメカミカミ」をたべました。

            As for the pronunciation question, I need to hear how you pronounce with “sh” but you do pronounce “i” sound.

  44. こんにちは、マギー先生
    お元気ですか。先生常にお元気になっているよう、お祈り致します

    少しご質問があります。
    生活の中で”適当”という言葉私がよく聞きます。
    例えばこの間友達に自分の家で誘われた時「適当に座っていいよ」って言われました。
    なんとなく意味が分かったつもりが多分「適当」の意味ちゃんと理解していません。
    英語に訳すと「Appropriate, Suitable, Proper」と意味なりますがニュアンスが掴まなくて
    意味が少しずれているところもあると思います。

    適当とはランダムの意味ではなかと聞いていますが先生的にどう思いますか

    この文書いたのは毎日練習となることあるのですべての文は正解かどうか分からなくてもし文のなかで違和感を感じっている場合修正して教えて下さると幸いです。
    よろしくお願いします

    1. こんにちは　そすんさー
      「適当に座っていいよ」の「適当」は、決められたところではなく自分の好きなところに座っていいよ。という意味です。
      他の例も一つ
      料理を適当に作る：きちんと材料を計って作り方の手順を見て作るのではなく、好きな材料を自分が思う分量で時間とかも自分が判断して作ること

      コメントの文章、とても丁寧な日本語を使っていてすごいなって思います。
      全部は直しませんが、一部だけ少し直してみますね。

      先生常にお元気になっているよう、お祈り致します
      →もし私が体の調子が悪かったら、「お元気になる」という言い方もできますが、幸い私は元気なので（😉）、→「お元気だったら嬉しいです。」で十分だと思います。
      ニュアンスが掴まなくて→〜が掴めなくて

      この文書いたのは毎日練習となることあるのですべての文は正解かどうか分からなくてもし文のなかで違和感を感じっている
      →毎日の練習のためにこの文章を書いてみましたが、全ての文が合っているかどうかわかりません。もし文章の中で不自然なところがあれば教えていただけないでしょうか？

      1. 日本語を丁寧に話したり書いたりするのはとても苦労したと思いますが先生のおかげで少しずつ自信が湧いてきました。下手な日本語ですみません。今後、ちゃんとした日本語で入力するよう頑張ります。
        ありがとうございます。

  45. Hi せんせい
    I got the following from a youtube video.
    It was a wedding ceremony.
    Priest 「おふたり は みず から すんで けっこん を のぞんで いますか」
    Couple「 はい、のぞんで いますか」

    What is the meaning for the first part? みず から すんで ?????
    Maybe I heard wrong for the first ???
    The second part should be [ Both of you wish to get married? ]

    Thanks

    1. Hi soleyman

      Did you dictate the dialogue?
      And the priest says
      みずからすすんで （自ら進んで）　not すんで　
      自ら進んで means “willing to do something/volunteered to do something”
      So in this case, it means “Are you two willing to marry?
      And I think the couple say はい、のぞんでいます。 or はい、のぞんでいますが.. (Yes, we do.)

  46. Hi sensei, may I ask the difference between

    誰でもない

    and

    誰もない

        1. OK
          誰もいない = There is nobody/ Nobody is here/there.
          誰でもない means “no one/nobody/nobody else ” and the usage depends on the context but for example

          私が好きなのは他の誰でもない、あなたです。
          The person I like is you. Nobody else.

  47. Hello Sensei,

    Thank as always

    Please check below sentence and correct it if it is wrong
    仕事と生活を均等にするため毎日欠かさず一日の時間割を決めていた。

    よろしくお願いします

    1. Hello
      均等にする　is slightly unnatural. How about 仕事と生活のバランスを取るため 〜 The rest is fine

      1. バランス is english word
        so there is no japanese word for this???
        if so I will use バランス from now on.

        1. Right.
          均衡にする means “to equalize” and you use it to divide something equally. If you are talking about the time for your life and work more precisely calculating the time, then you use it. But in conversation, バランス is more common.

          1. ありがとうございます
            マギー先生
            一応N1は合格しましたが日本人のように喋れるのにまだまだ及びません。
            これからもっと頑張らなければなりません。

  48. Hello Maggie Sensei,
    Thank you for this lovely site and for all that you do! I was learning a grammar point and I have a question:
    What is the difference between に比べて and と比べて?

    Thanks in advance!

    1. Hello Fluffy Books
      I would say they are a lot of time interchangeable.

      AはBに比べて〜
      AはBと比べて〜

      They both compare A and B but the nuance difference is
      AはBに比べて〜
      You are talking about A using B as a reference.
      A is >B or A is ＜B

      (Bは~ ) AはBと比べて〜
      Emphasizing the contrast comparing A and B.
      A⇄B

  49. こんにちは、Maggie先生！

    So there’s this song I quite like called 『心という名の不可解』 by Ado (the singer of the super-popular song うっせぇわ). I don’t know your taste in music, but I do recommend you give it a listen!

    Anyway, I’ve been listening to it since it came out back in January, but yesterday I finally decided to sit down, write out the lyrics and try translating the ones that I couldn’t immediately translate while listening. Of course, I almost immediately got stuck on this lyric:
    　『故にどんな顔して笑おうと、カルテに書かれないことは信じるに値しないんだ』
    For a bit of background in case you don’t know, the song kind of talks about the heart as a medical mystery that can’t be understood. So I translated those words as
    　”So no matter what kind of face you make to smile, anything that’s not written on your patient chart isn’t worth believing.”

    I guess my first mini-question is, why does she say 書かれない instead of 書かれてない?

    My second mini-question is, is どんな～おうと just another way of saying どんな～ても? That’s what I assumed.

    But the big thing that had gotten me stuck was the last part: 「信じるに値しない」.
    Since 値する means (at least I think it means) “to give worth to something,” shouldn’t that ‘something’ be a noun? That is, shouldn’t 信じる be nominalized and we should have 「信じる【こと・の】に値しない」instead? Was this another case of song lyrics omitting words and particles for poeticness??

    After searching Jisho, Weblio and Reverso for sentence examples, I realized that using the dictionary form with に値する is just how it is for some reason.
    　　尊敬に値する – a noun is being used
    　　読むに値する – a verb is being used, and it doesn’t need to be nominalized
    But other than this, I’ve never come across に being used directly after the dictionary form of a verb. It’s always either
    　　Verbことに（は）
    or
    　　Verb-Stem に (行く, etc)

    I guess my question is: is ～に値する a special case? Or are there other cases in which に can come directly after the dictionary form of a verb?
    If there are such cases, is it a grammatical concept that I can look up (like ‘Nominalization’ or ‘どんな～ても’)? Or are there just special verbs that happen to allow weird things with their particles?

    It’s a doozy of a question 😅 but thanks for your help if you can!
    Sora

    1. Hi Sora

      Yes, I knot that song. 😉
      1) 書かれていない is more general but 書かれない is more poetic.

      Here’s the grammatical difference.
      書かれない things that are not going to be written
      書かれてない things that are not actually written

      2) ~おうと is a volitional form. どんなに〜おうと　No matter how much you are trying to ~

      3) 信じるに値しない

      When it is used with a noun,
      noun + に値しない
      but when you use it with a verb,
      verb dictionary form + に値しない

      この本は読むに値しない
      この映画は見るに値しない

      1. Thanks so much, Maggie先生！

        Do you know if there’s any particular reason why the dictionary form of the verb is used before に in this case? Usually, you have to say Verb + ことに
        　　e.g 人類は宇宙に乗り出すことに成功した。
        or Verb + ように
        　　e.g 毎日運動するようになった。
        or Verb stem form + に
        　　e.g 先週公開された映画を見に行くつもりです。
        My point is, usually に is never used directly after the dictionary form of a verb.

        Does 【Verb (dictionary form) + に】 mean something specific?
        Or is 値する the only case in which we can use Verb(dictionary form) + に?

        Thanks!
        そら

        1. You are right. You usually have to use verb + こと/ の to nominalize a verb.
          I don’t think there are many but I believe there are a few more expressions that you use a verb dictionary form as a noun form with に
          I believe they are from old Japanese patterns.
          For example, verb dictionary form (or sometimes you add の）に相応しい
          Ex. 信頼される（+の）に相応しい

          And this is not　〜に but in
          好きにするがいい (literal) = 好きにしなさい (Do whatever you like)

          1. I see, thank you so much as always Maggie先生! I love the way you explain things, and I’ve made a list of some of your old posts to go back and study this summer. I hope you also have a great summer!♡

            Sora

  50. Hello 先生
    When speaking which one is correct? Can I use both?
    1) ふゆ の 後あと に はる が くる。
    2) ふゆ の 後のち に はる が くる。
    ありがとう.

  51. Hello sensei, thank you as always

    I want to ask what is the meaning of いずれにする
    英語で説明しづらい場合、日本語で教えても構いません。
    正確性が求めたいので具体的な説明をしたら大変有り難いです。

    改めて、よろしくお願い申し上げます

    1. Hello,
      OK いずれ is a literal way to say どちらにする
      for example if you ask someone to choose either A or B, you say
      AとBのいずれにするか決めてください。
      Please pick either A or B.

      (日本語で教えても構いません→日本語でも結構です。 is more natural)

      1. thank you for pointing my mistake, also thank you for the explanation.
        ありがとうございます

  52. 先生、こんにちは。
    質問があります。教えていただけませんか。

    １０００円の読み方は　せん円です。
    ５１０００の読み方は　ごまんせんえんです。あるいは　ごまんいっせんえんです。
    どちら　正しいですか。
    先生、お願いします。

    1. こんにちは、Ha Thao!
      どちらも正しいですが、会話では”ごまんいっせんえん”の方が、はっきりわかるのでよく使われると思います。

      1. 先生、こんにちは。
        はい、分かりました。
        先生が返事してくれて、どうもありがとうございました。

  53. Hello maggie sensei,

    I want to ask something, how can I say “consistent” in Japanese?
    let me write a sentence to make you understand better about my question

    一貫して動画を作り続けることできっと視聴者も増えます

    So is this 一貫して means “consistent”?
    If I’m wrong please tell how to say “consistent” in japanese

  54. Hi Maggie, What is the difference between 悪業 and 悪行 ?
    「悪業」と同じ読みの語に「悪行」があります。
    「悪行」は、「人の道に外れた悪い行い。あっこう」。という意味です。
    「悪業」も「悪行」も悪い行いをいいます。
    しかし、「悪業」が、主に前世での悪事をいう点 が違います。
    Please help me to understand the second sentence. Google translate don’t make sense.
    Thanks.

  55. Maggie Sensei,
    Can you please tell me what’s differences of
    ことにしている
    ことにしていた
    ことにする
    ことにした
    I’m so confused because their meaning looks like similar…

    1. HI ルアン
      OK, did you check my lesson? ことになる・する

      Let me change one of my example sentence from that lesson.
      Ex. 1) 毎朝、ジョギングをすることにしている = I make a habit of jogging every morning.
      (focusing on your current habit)

      You decided to jog every morning and you have been jogging for certain period of time.
      Ex. 2) 毎朝、ジョギングをすることにしていた
      = I used to jog every morning.
      (talking about the past habit) You used to jog every morning but not anymore.
      Ex. 3) 毎朝、ジョギングをすることにする
      = I am going to jog every morning.
      (expressing your decision “now”) You decided to go jogging every morning from now on.
      Ex. 4) 毎朝、ジョギングをするすることにした
      = I decided to jog every morning.
      (expressing your decision that you made in past)
      You have made up your mind (recently) to go jogging every morning from now on.

      1. thank you very much Maggie sensei, you answer is very helpful and easy to understand

  56. Hello Maggie Sensei! Your lessons are on point and very helpful. This is what I really need to enjoy Japanese, unlike the one from textbook which is I guess more needed if you want to pass JLPT.

    I have a question. What Japanese term is used to address the taxi driver? or someone on the street say for example you will ask something?

    1. Hello jerikku

      Happy to read your comment! :)
      to address a taxi driver
      If you talk to the driver directly, you say
      運転手さん = うんてんしゅさん

  57. Hello Maggie sensei
    can you tell me the difference between ”nikui” and ”gatai”?

    For example: 信じがたいことだが、これは事実だ。can i use this sentece with nikui?

    Thanks you again!

    1. Hello Rafael

      にくい is more general.
      がたい is more literal and you use it when something is extremely hard to do. The verb that you can use with がたい is very limited.

  58. Hello Maggie Sensei,
    can you tell me if my meaning is correct.

    彼が「やりたいのにやらせてもらえない」という仕事は、本当に彼が満足できる仕事なのだろうか

    He likes to do a job, that he has not given permission to do, but he could be fulfilled doing this job.

    1. Hi Mark
      OK,I’ll make this sentence more simple first so that you can see the structure.
      The writer doubts that kind of job makes him satisfied or not.

      ( ~ という ) 仕事は、本当に満足できる仕事なのだろうか
      I wonder if the job ( ) really makes him satisfied.

      And the description of the job is
      the job that he wants to do but not allowed to do

  59. Hello Maggie sensei

    Thank you for your lesson

    I am sorry I want to ask you what is difference between
    ふう and よう
    In english it translates into same word (Seems or like)

    I see that Japanese use it interchangeably in conversation
    But in test (mostly JLPT), if you have to pick between those two choices
    how do you differ them
    (試験を受けるときに２つの単語を使い分けると簡単な見分ける方法があるかどうか聞いています）
    どうもありがとうございます

    1. Hello,

      ふう = 風
      1) style
      和風 = わふう = Japanese style
      フランス風 = French style
      今風 = いまふう= modern (style)

      X 和よう・フランスよう・　今よう
      2) way
      こんな風に+ verb = to do something this way
      どんな風に+verb = どんなふうに + verb = how to do something

      Xこんなように X こんなように

      のように + verb = to be/do like ~
      マギーのようになりたい = I want to be like Maggie.
      X マギーの風に

      verb + ように + verb = to do something as someone does/did
      マギーが言ったように私もがんばります。
      I will work hard as Maggie told me.
      Xマギーが言った風に

      For more details 　ように, you can check my lesson

  60. お久しぶりです、Maggie先生！遅いけど、明けましておめでとうございます！

    For the sentence below:

    『AとBの他の違いが分かっていますが、これを誰かに説明するつもりなので間違ってることを教えてないかなって確かめたかったのです！』

    I was told that the first が (the one after 違い) should be a は instead.

    It’s been a while since I’ve struggled to differentiate between は and が、but I’m really stumped this time. I can’t tell why が is wrong. Are we only supposed to use は in the phrase before 「ですが」 or something？ If you’re able to explain, that’d be really awesome. Thank you!

    1. Hi Sora!
      今年もよろしくお願いしますね。☺️

      The basic difference is
      〜がわかる　　 Focusing on the fact that you know something
      〜はわかる Focusing on what you know. (or showing the contrast. Maybe I don’t know ~ but I KNOW ~ )

      So when the two sentences are connected with “but” (ですが・ますが・けど) you show the contrast of the idea so you use は

  61. Hello Maggie Sensei, I have a question about this phrase: 出来上がった料理を、お客さんのところに持っていってください。How can I use this ”agaru”? I thought it was just an verb, but i saw some other examples and i’m a bit confused. Other example: 研究のレポートを一日で書き上げた。
    終わる and 上がる has the same meaning?

    Thank you!

    1. Hello Matt,
      Verb+ 上がる: means ” finish up (doing something) /completed something
      出来る to finish
      出来上がる　to finish up/to be completed

      書く to write
      書き上げる finish writing / complete one’s writing
      You can say 書き終える as well.
      書き上げる adds the nuance of “after all one’s work, it is finally done.”

  62. Hello Maggie sensei! I wanted to know how one says: “Are you in line?” for courtesy purposes. Thank you!

  63. Hello, Sensei :) I need help (help regarding the use of “made”). I tried to post the comment in your lesson post, but it doesn’t make me post the comment (the error page comes out, saying my message is spam ), for this reason I write it here

    I thought I understood the meaning of made, but I found a sentence where I can’t understand the meaning of “made”
    The sentence is as follows: Yaku wo kimeru made owaraseru
    what does it mean?
    I thought it could mean “until …”, but the verb that follows it (owaraseru) confuses me.
    (I don’t think it makes much sense to “let it finish until the role is decided”…..or does it mean “let me finish, until I decide the roles”? )

    I’m so sorry for asking for help, but I would really like to understand everything well during my studies

    1. Hi luli

      Sorry that you couldn’t post your comment in “made” lesson.
      Yaku wo kimeru made owaraseru
      Where did you see the sentence? In your textbook??
      “owaraseru” means “to make it finish/let it finish” so as you said, it doesn’t make sense.
      It should be

      役を決めるまで終われない/終わらない = Yaku wo kimeru made owarenai / owaranai
      役が決まるまで終われない/終わらない = Yaku ga kimaru made owarenai/owaranai
      = We can’t/won’t finish (this meeting) until we decide the roles.

  64. Hello Maggie sensei,

    Thanks for your lesson again

    can you explain the differences between みたい・らしい and とか（で）？
    For example: 二人は来年結婚するらしいです。
    二人は来年結婚するみたいです。
    二人は来年結婚するとか。

    ありがとうございます！

    1. Hi Rafael

      They all could be the same but the　basic differences are

      〜らしい You heard/saw the information from someone.
      ~みたい You heard/saw the information from someone. Or you assume from what you have heard/saw. So it involves one’s assumption/judgement more. Compared to らしい, you are less certain about the fact.

      〜とか simply means “I heard ~” and it doesn’t involves one’s judgement/assumption.

  65. Hello Maggie-sensei!
    I just want to ask about differences between
    ―　になる and になっている
    ー　になった　and になってきた
    for example
    – 明日から寒くなります
    – 明日から寒くなっていきます
    both of them mean “it will be more cold from tomorrow” right?
    or
    – 日本に来てから、日本語が上手になってきた
    – 日本に来てから、日本語が上手になった
    “since i came to Japan, my Japanese become better”

    it seems like the same :((, can you tell me how and when to use each of them please?

    1. Hello ルアン

      明日から寒くなります(focusing on the result more)
      明日から寒くなっていきます(focusing on the process more)
      They both can be translated “It will be cold from tomorrow” but なっていきます describes the gradual changes more vividly
      So, “It will get colder from tomorrow” might work better.

      The same thing you can say about these two sentences as well.
      日本に来てから、日本語が上手になった My Japanese got better since I came to Japan. (focusing on the result more)
      日本に来てから、日本語が上手になってきた My Japanese has been getting better since I came to Japan. (focusing on the process more)

  66. Hello maggie sensei

    thank you for your lesson
    I want to ask something

    when you meet the word 親等
    I don’t really understand what it means

    let’s say
    2親等の親族

    If I am a child of my father/mother
    that means my grandfather/grandmother is 2親等の親族 ??
    so where is 3親等の親族

    1. Hi 貴教くん
      親等　is the degree of relationship. Think you are “Zero”
      The relationship between you and your parents is １親等
      The relationship between you and your spouse, you and your children is １親等 as well.
      ２親等 is the relationship between you and your grandparents, you and your brothers/sisters
      3親等 is the relationship between you and your uncle/aunt, their spouse, you and your nephew/niece. You and your great-grandparents

  67. Hi Maggie-sensei! I wanted some advice on phrases that I could say in order to protect myself in case something happens, as I might be doing a solo trip to Japan once Covid has calmed and I’ve seen some worrying videos/comments. Any suggestions would be great, though how does one also go about saying “I’ll call the police”? どうもありがとう!

    1. Hello Wulf
      I don’t know what kind of situations but

      警察を呼びますよ
      Keisatsu wo yobimasu yo
      = I’ll call the police, OK?

      誰か警察を呼んでください (to people around you)
      = Dareka keisatsu wo yonde kudasai
      = Call the police, please.

      誰か助けてください
      = Dare ka tasukete kudasai
      = Somebody help!/ Help me!

  68. Hello Maggie Sensei

    I have a question about Verb takei form and Verb て＋ある
    Ex: 宿題はもうやってあります　and 宿題はもうやった. if there is any difference, in what situation do I use it?

    1. Hello Rafael

      やってあります focuses on the result.→ The homework is done already.
      And もうやった focuses on the action.→ I finished my homework.

  69. Hello Maggie Sensei

    Thank you for your lesson
    Can I ask the polite word to say something like

    やる気を出させる

    or is it already polite?

    example >
    田中さんにやる気を出させたい

    1. Hello,
      First, you can’t say this to 田中さん directly because it implies 田中さん is not motivated now and it sounds impolite but if you are talking to the third person and 田中さん is not your boss, you can say
      田中さんにやる気を出してもらいたいです→more polite 田中さんにやる気を出していただきたいです。

      1. Thank you very much maggie sensei

        regarding to question
        I’m still confuse about how to use 貰う・頂く・呉れる

        I will try to translate random sentences and please check whether it is correct or not based on Sensei opinion

        田中さんにやる気を出して頂きたいです
        (I want to have Tanaka san to be motivated)
        彼女に食べさせて頂きたいです
        (I want to have my girfriend to feed me)
        その手見せてくれますか？
        (Can you show your hand?)

        1. 彼女に食べさせて頂きたいです
          If you are talking about your girlfriend, いただきます is strange.
          彼女に食べさせてもらいたいです。is more natural.
          The rest of them are good! :)

          1. 少し違和感があったのは多分文法的なではなくて風習かな？

            ありがとうございます先生

  70. Hello Maggie Sensei,

    What I like most about your website is that you give lots of example sentences for what you are discussing. It is very difficult to give exact translations from one language to another. Often, exact translations do not exist. So, you need many examples to learn to understand how a word or piece of grammar is used.

    I have been learning Japanese for about 1 year, and I use your method to figure out the meaning of words used in anime. For example, one word which gave me some problems was 別に. A dictionary translation didn’t cover all of the situations where 別に was being used. I collected a page of examples from different anime, using both the target sentence as well as the previous sentence, to understand the context, and then figured out what all the different situations had in common. Success!

    Another fun example was こらこら (usually said twice in this way). In this case, it is the tone of voice of the speaker which carries the subtle differences in meaning. I get a sense of progress when I begin to understand a language at the emotional level.

    Here is something that I am not sure about. You almost never hear 私達 in anime. The more frequent word is 我々. At first I thought this is just rude/tough guy or casual language used in anime. 我々 in anime is used by crime bosses and demons from another dimension saying how they and their minions are going to take over the planet. But I have recently also heard the word being used in the real world (on television .. sports broadcasts). Now I wonder if 我々 is used when the speaker is representing, or speaking for, an organization. The word ‘we’ is used in this way in English, where ‘we’ = ‘the team’. F1 race drivers often talk this way in interviews. But English doesn’t have a separate word for this usage.

    Is this an appropriate way to understand 我々 in the real (Japanese) world?

    Yes, I know. Simple question, but big introduction. Sorry.

    Michael

    1. Hello Michael
      Yes!! You are right.
      You rarely hear people use 我々 in daily conversation except when a group member/representative (usually a man) refers to themselves, the group or an organization they represent 我々 in a formal speech.

      (I like your introduction. Very interesting. )

      1. Thanks for your reply, and for your patience with my long introduction.

        It isn’t easy to learn how to use any language when you do not have exposure to that language in everyday life. I have been watching “unscripted” television programs (talk shows, game shows) to get a sense of how people talk normally, and also how different people talk differently. Language is a lot more fluid than a set of rules …

    1. Hi Otabek

      ようと: Verb volitional form
      ~ようとする trying to do ~
      逃げようとする = nigeyou to suru = trying to escape
      Check this lesson.

      ような and ように both mean “like” the difference is
      ような + noun
      ように + verb

      Check this lesson I explained the whole difference there. :)

  72. Sry wrong sentences please delete the previous

    こんにちは、マギー先生
    今日もマギー先生から助けを求めに来た

    下記の文を見て間違いがあったら訂正してくださいませ

    私は彼に１０００円を貸しました
    来月になったら現金を返したいと思って彼の所に行きました
    でも彼は返金を強く拒んだ
    まるで彼は私が彼に借りっぱなししたいかのようです

    1. Hello
      OK, I don’t proofread/translate the sentences here but
      来月になったら現金を返したいと思って彼の所に行きました
      来月になったら〜行きました doesn’t make sense.　来月になったら ＋ future
      翌月〜行きました
      That means, you wanted to pay back money to him.
      So →返してもらおうと思って
      でも彼は返金を強く拒んだ
      返金→お金を返すのを

      まるで彼は私が彼に借りっぱなししたいかのようです
      →Again, this sentence implies that you borrow the money.
      Also 借りっぱなしにしたいかのよう is not natural.

      How about 彼はお金を返すつもりはないようです。

  74. Hi Maggie sensei!
    Thank you for your quick reply!
    My question was solved perfectly, thanks a lot!
    Your explanations are always helpful to understand Japanese grammar well.
    Thanks again!

  75. Hello Maggie Sensei.
    what does

    すでに食事の準備はできている。

    mean?
    I thought it means:
    “The food has been prepared already”

  76. Hello Maggie Sensei

    あけましておめでとう～ございます
    今年もよろしくおねがいいたします

    I want to ask something

    Is there any difference between

    犠牲する、犠牲になる
    犠牲させる、犠牲にする

    分かりやすく説明すれば助かります
    説明し難い場合があったら日本語で説明しても構いません
    既に日本語をある程度学んだことがあるので結構理解出来ます
    よろしくおねがいいたします

    1. Hello 黒雲祓う春聯
      明けましておめでとうございます！！
      こちらこそ今年もよろしくお願いします。

      　まず、「犠牲する」　と「犠牲させる」　とは言いません。

      犠牲になる： to be sacrificed, to fall victim to
      自分が誰か、または何かの目的のために犠牲になる
      犠牲にする：make a sacrifice of ~
      何か、誰かを犠牲にする

      という違いがあります。

      1. ありがとうございますマギー先生

        それなら、
        「緊張する」と「緊張させる」と「緊張になる」と「緊張にする」の間に
        正しい日本語を元にしてどちらが正解なのですか

        「緊張」と「犠牲」は同じ名詞類なので私には少し分かりにくい
        こちらの２つを簡単に見分けるにはどうすればいいか教えてくださいませ

        追伸：コメントを何度も入力しても出てきません
        もし重複のコメントがあったら過剰な部分部分を消してくださいませ

        1. 黒雲祓う春聯
          重複したコメント一つ消しておきました。
          今、Cacheの調子が悪いのでコメントがすぐに表示されない不具合が出ています。
          でも私はどんなコメントも全て読みますのでもし同じことが起きたら時間を置いてまたチェックしてみてくださいね。

          「緊張する」 to be nervous
          「緊張させる」 to make someone nervous
          「緊張になる」 「緊張にする」 とは言いません。

          1. 承知しました。
            これからその文法に従うようにします

            ありがとうございます

  77. みなさん、明けましておめでとうございます！
    今年もよろしくお願いします！
    Happy New Year, everyone!

    From Maggie

    1. Hello Maggie,

      Is your website working correctly? I sometimes use VPN for my web browsing.
      When I use a Japanese or Australian server, then I can see this page (Maggie’s room 2022). However, when I log in from Europe or North America, then this page is empty .. I cannot see the comment field.

      I do have a question/comment about Japanese language, but I will wait until I know your site is working correctly.

      Thanks,
      Michael

      1. Hello Michael
        Thank you for letting me know the problem.
        Hmm I don’t know why but it must be some kind of glitch.
        But please feel free to leave a comment/question anyway.

    2. あけましておめでとうございます、maggie sensei！！
      Thank you for your explanation about the difference between わざわざ＆せっかく.
      But I have one question about the example sentence below.
      ❌ 彼はせっかく東京まで会いに来てくれたのに私は大阪にいて会えなかった。
      Is this sentence still ❌（no good)? I think this sentence was revised from 「✖️彼はせっかく東京まで私に会いに来た。」(wrong sentence). I think the revised one seems correct.

      1. Hello kkchn

        明けましておめでとうございます！ :)
        Ahh that ❌ was a mistake. I must have copied the part of the sentence and forgot to erase ❌
        彼はせっかく東京まで会いに来てくれたのに私は大阪にいて会えなかった。 is a correct sentence.
        Thank you for spotting the mistake and sorry to make you confused.
        I will fix the lesson right away.