I’ve been thinking about it since the very begining. Talking japanese with someone - how do you know what what are they talking about, when so many word have the same spelling? For example how do I recognize if someone is ‘within the car’ - しゃない or ‘within the company/in the house’ - also しゃない? I know that context might change the meaning, but if there is none?
1 Like
There most definitely is always context you can pick up on when speaking, it’s not like someone will say 社内 randomly then not proceed to talk about it. Just try to think with longer phrases in mind rather than one word on it’s own, and even if you become confused about what they are talking about, there is no harm in asking.
4 Likes
I agree with @OhKieran
If someone says something out of the blue, with no lead-in, and zero context given, no one will know what they’re talking about, be it a native or a foreign language student.
If I say “washing,” right now, that doesn’t mean anything. Washing what? Washing how? Washing why? Washing when? What kind of washing?
Words without context isn’t communication, so you’re never without it when someone tries to communicate with you. 
There can of course be misunderstandings and vocab bumps along the way, but that’s to be expected in any language. Stay the course on strengthening vocab and having exposure to the language, and you’ll get there. 
8 Likes
So the following conversation in japanese is rather imposibiru?
- where are you?
- in the company/in the car (both しゃない), call you back, have to go.
Thanks for the answers. As I still cannot communicate in japanese it was just my curiosity.
1 Like
These words are highly unlikely to be used that way in conversation. They are written language for things like 車内改札 (checking of tickets within a train) or 社内弁護士 (in-house lawyer). They aren’t conversational Japanese vocab.
If you want to say “I’m in the car” it would be something like 車に乗っている or 車の中にいる
EDIT: By the way, 社内 expresses the concept of “inside a company,” which is not a physical space. It’s not “inside a building.” This is things like “internal email.” So even if you did use them the way you proposed, they are differentiated by one being physical space, and the other being within a concept or organization.
26 Likes
That’s what I was looking for. Cheers!
If you wanted to say, “I’m in the car right now, I’m doing 90 on the freeway.” How would it be?
1 Like
Context usually helps. For example, I was listening to a podcast and the hosts were discussing カジノ, For a few phrases my mind went blank “家事のwhat? 火事のwhat?” but then gambling was brought up and it clicked! “Ah! They’re talking about casinos!”. Usually the context will provide enough clues to which it is, but as @Leebo said, most of these words with the same reading are usually used more in writing than in speech, so you’d encounter them less often in speaking anyway.
5 Likes
If someone said “I bought a bat” how do you know if they mean an animal that flies around at night, or a wooden stick?
If someone writes out “We have a new record” how do you know if they’re talking about pressed vinyl, or a measurable achievement?
How often in English do you have instances where there is no context whatsoever and you’re totally clueless what someone is talking about?
8 Likes
I’d say, “Hey Slim, I drank a fifth of vodka, dare me to drive?”
3 Likes
Words that are read identically in Hiragana usually have a difference in pronounciation.
Take for example the different あめ’s or はし’s, if you listen to their pronounciations, there is quite a difference which can help you recognize which あめ or はし is being talked about.
One time in which this DOES come into play is when setting dates for things. If some wants to meet you on 三月四日 サンガツヨッカ it can sound very similar to 三月八日 サンガツヨウカ。So at least when dealing with dates, make sure you heard them correctly 
I’m a beginner so this is definitely a beginner’s problem, but this has been more of an issue for than not knowing whether someone was talking about 酒 or 鮭 、橋 or 箸
This topic was automatically closed 365 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.