夜カフェ 2 Book Club - Chapter 4
Hope everyone managed to have a productive and/or restful break! If you didn’t get as much done as you had originally planned, rest assured there will be one more break after chapter 6. Also keep in mind that even if you’re not reading along at the same pace as the group, you’re always more than welcome to discuss and ask questions in the threads whenever you’ve caught up!
This is an offshoot book club for 夜カフェ which we originally read with the Beginners Book Club. Please follow the links below to guide you to the proper jumping off point if you’re not quite ready for chapter 4, volume 2 yet.
Start date of current chapter: 20th August 2022
Next chapter: Chapter 5
Previous chapter: Chapter 3
Home thread: 夜カフェ 2 Offshoot Book Club Home Thread
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Vocabulary List
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Page 46 (physical): grammar question
I have a question, kind of, about two sentences on this page.
トッピングにはナッツにチーズ、ゆで卵にオニオンフライ、ウインナーもあるわよ。それから、フルーツもあるの。バナナにキウイ、りんご、パイナップル。
I was wondering about the にs. Am I right that it is just the normal に for [thing]にある? I don’t think I’ve seen it like this before, but at some point, I think I’ve read about it here on the forum (perhaps someone asking the grammar question thread). So you use に as you say the different things that are there. I guess the 、are replacing に too (or possibly も). Have I got that right?
Because I checked the Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar, as well as the Intermediate and Advanced editions, and couldn’t find another に that fit (unless there is an omitted verb other than ある, because all editions have many entries with に[some verb] and I didn’t check any of those; only the many に particle entries (which I think are 8 total)).
I procrastinated a bit on this chapter because it was longer than chapter 1 and 2, and then it turned out it was mostly a chapter of dialog so it went by quick.
As for story details (spoilers)
Hanabi has it bad for Yamato.
Poor Lisa/Risa seems like she didn’t quite get the conversation with Hanabi that she wanted. I wonder what she would have said to Natsuko’s offer if she’d been allowed to speak her mind. Perhaps Risa is just a bit shy. That is what I hope. Because otherwise I can see a scenario where she felt her wishes for what to do/feel was ignored. But maybe, I’m just very aware of when quiet characters are completely railroaded/overruled by more outspoken ones.
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I asked my husband for his opinion and although he can’t confidently comment on the grammar aspect, he did confirm that と can be used in place of に and still be grammatical correct.
He also feels that the choice of に adds more impact on the amount of ingredients used (like “hey we used this many ingredients, are you ready to try it?!” sort of feeling) whereas と is just generally listing two or three items.
Forgot to mention that it also feels more rhythmical written in this fashion: AにB、(break) CにD (break), etc.
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Thanks for asking your husband! As I mentioned, I was pretty sure I’ve seen someone ask about a similar use at one time, and I couldn’t find another alternative in DoBJG/DoIJG/DoAJG, and it made sense, so I didn’t think it was anything different. But it is an interesting use, which is why I posted. (And to make sure I wasn’t completely missing another possibility of a missing verb or something.)
And I agree with you on the rhythmical feel. It also kinda makes sense when you’re listing a lot of things verbally, doesn’t it? In English, you’d probably loosely group them too with like “banana, pine apple and kiwi. Sausages and pastrami.” It also makes room for breathing, which I hear is important. xD
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I own Kodansha’s A Dictionary of Japanese Particles, and it includes this usage of に: “Placed after a noun, lists a number of things. Interchangeable with the particle と, but に implies an additive sense. English approximation: ‘and’ ‘with’”
This one’s helped me out quite a bit, and if you’re looking for (or wouldn’t mind having) another reference book, I definitely recommend it
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I can actually buy that from a local (online) retailer, so I’ll definitely think about it. It would be so nice if the grammar dictionaries I had covered everything, but alas. 
If I find more particle uses not covered, this book will probably go from a maybe to a yes.
Although I’ll admit, right now I use the dictionaries I have about 50% for myself and 50% to answer questions here on the forums. xD
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