Hi everyone! Thank you for visiting Maggie’s room. Feel free to leave a message (Even just say Hello! 👋 ) I don’t do translations, check your long writing or help your homework for school here but I can answer one or two simple Japanese questions. Love you all! 🐶❤️
23 Comments
Good evening Maggie. Does the kanji チャージ refer to the payment required for a service/product or does it refer to the fee/charge for a product/service? Or can it mean both, depending on the context?
Hi Bruno
The word チャージ in Japanese is used
1) (noun) A fee or charge required for a service (Ex. テーブルチャージ = table charge)
2) (verb) to charge (add money) onto a prepaid card
(Ex. Suicaに2,000円チャージした。= I charged 2,000 yen onto a Suica card)
Good evening Maggie, I would like you to tell me the function of にして in this sentence: 山の中を本拠地にして通行人を襲う盗賊。It’s the only part I don’t understand.
おはよう Matheus
OK here’s the basic pattern
AをBにする = to make A into B
→When you continue the sentence AをBにして + do something = to make A into B and do something
It describes what kind of 盗賊 they are →山の中を本拠地にして( + 通行人を襲う） make the mountains into their base (and attack passersby)
thank you
Anytime! ☺️
Good evening Maggie. I would like to know the function of the particle で (next to the particle は) in the following sentence 単体では攻撃力の低い通常モンスターでしかない。
I would also like to add the adjective 下級 to this sentence, qualifying the word モンスター. How would you make this sentence? If you want, you can remove the kanji 通常.
こんばんは、Pedro
単体では攻撃力の低い通常モンスターでしかない,
The で in 単体で marks the state/condition. Just like in 一人で戦う (to fight alone) or チームで戦う (to fight as a team).
単体で means “when alone” or “as a single unit”, emphasizing that the monster, by itself, has low attack power.
The は shows the contrast. It implies, while it may be weak alone, it could have a different role or power in another context.
And you can rephrase it with 下級 as follows.
単体では攻撃力の低い下級モンスター(or 下級のモンスター）でしかない。
If you want to leave the word 通常
下級の通常モンスターでしかない
thank you!
Anytime! ☺️
Hello! I’ve just came across your website via an Anki Card Pack mention. Your website looks like a great resource to learn Japanese. Having only dabbled in learning it, I wanted to know your opinion on two things.
1) Which is better, learning Kanji and Hiragana before or after learning how to speak Japanese? I’ve been debating on it since learning how to write seems a lot harder than learning how to speak it.
2) What do you think of Duolingo and such things in the aid of teaching someone Japanese?
Thank you and hope you two have a lovely day!
PS: Maggie is very cute. <3
Hi Dan
OK, here’s my advice
1) I know everybody has their preference and way of studying Japanese, and it depends on their goal, but if you are an absolute beginner, I would recommend learning hiragana/katakana and speaking at the same time, as it helps strengthen both speaking and reading skills together, even if you rely on romaji at the beginning to learn speech patterns. Once you’ve mastered hiragana/katakana, you can gradually start learning kanji.
2) I think Duolingo is a great tool for building up vocabulary and sentence structures. I would recommend you use it in your spare time as a helpful supplement to your studies.
And thank you! 😊
Have a lovely day too!
Good evening Maggie. In this sentence, is the dictionary form of 摘まれたら つまむ or つむ?
お腹摘まれたらこんな顔しそうですね。
And in this sentence is it つまむ or つむ?
妻ドラウパディーが求めた花を摘みに行ったビーマは。。。
Hello Rafael
お腹摘まれたらこんな顔しそうですね。
→the dictionary form つまむ = to pinch
妻ドラウパディーが求めた花を摘みに行ったビーマは。。。
→the dictionary form つむ = to pick (flowers/tea/fruits)
Hello Maggie sensei,
I have a question about these two sentences:
1. 私は日本の歴史に興味があります。
2. 私は日本の歴史に興味を持っている。
Especially with an abstract object such as 興味, what is #2 implying with 持っている, instead of あります?
The reason why I ask is that curious Japanese often ask me about what I am doing in Japan. So, it is a frequent topic. If there is a meaning difference between #1 and #2 then it might be useful for me. For example, does #2 put more emphasis on the personal interest, and #1 is a more neutral statement of fact?
Thanks.
Hi Michael
この間は、☕️有り難うございました！☺️
Does #2 put more emphasis on the personal interest, and #1 is a more neutral statement of fact?
→Yes, you are right!
They could be translated the same way, but
1) 私は日本の歴史に興味があります
= I’m interested in Japanese history.
It simply expresses your interest as a fact.
2) 私は日本の歴史に興味を持っている
= I have an interest in Japanese history.
It emphasizes that you actively hold this interest, so it sounds stronger than 1)
There are some untranslatable Japanese words/grammatical forms that I am finally beginning to get a feel for.
But, this is also true for any two languages. One word in language A does not always have an exact translation in language B. Sometimes you need an entire sentence in B to explain the meaning of one word in A.
You’re absolutely right! Every language has words and expressions that don’t have a direct equivalent in another, and that’s part of what makes language learning so fascinating.
Your interpretation of the difference between the two phrases is very accurate, which means you’re getting to know the nuanced differences.
Good afternoon Maggie, I have a question about the following sentence: 聖剣のアルトリアより合理的、かつ冷静になってはいるが、人間性は失われていない。
I would like to know the function of は in なってはいる and why not just use なっている.
Hi Pedro
You can say なっている as well. When you want to emphasize or highlight the contrast between different aspects, you add は.
2025年になりました。みなさん、明けましておめでとうございます。
今年もどうぞよろしくお願いします。🐶🩷
去年は大変お世話になりました。
Dear Michael
今年もよろしくお願いします。☺️