The Nuance Thread 📔

SOON:tm:

3 Likes

Any moment now…

1 Like

So i just unlocked 氏 and WK say it’s family name or surname but how is this different to 名字 or to 姓?

2 Likes

安藤氏 (Mr. Andou),森氏 (Mr. Mori).
名字 is literally surname.

1 Like

Unrelated to your question. When I learned the reading for this, I was really hoping that it would be でぱつ

4 Likes

I just found out about this thread, this is amazing!

5 Likes

同じ意見です!凄い!

1 Like

I’ll try to write some more word comparisons this week or so :3

3 Likes

Not really sure what’s going on but… Ta-da! :partying_face:

Now, onto the questions~

Unfortunately, there isn’t a concrete rule associated with attaching 事 to a vocabulary. It’s just a common kanji used in many vocabulary words (e.g. 仕事 しごと家事かじ記事きじ) and is something that needs to memorized as is. Although, you could always utilize it as a mnemonic to help you personally remember these words.

I’d be happy to help :laughing:

幸せ and 幸福 both mean happy/happiness. The only difference is in formality. 幸せ is conversational while 幸福 is more formal.

Example Sentences

Using as a noun:
I am happy. :grinning:
私は (幸せ・幸福)です。

Using as an adjective:
I ate a lot of ice cream (my favorite food) so I feel happy. :icecream:
大好きなアイスクリームをいっぱい食べて(幸せ・幸福)な気分です。

幸い, while it does contain the kanji 「幸」 doesn’t mean happiness but is more along the lines of “fortunately.”

Example Sentence

I wasn’t sure if I could finish the homework by tonight, but fortunately, the teacher extended the deadline until tomorrow.
私は今夜こんやりまでに宿題しゅくだいわるかどうか不安ふあんでしたが、幸いなことに先生が締め切りを明日までばしてくれました。

To see how the other happy word, 嬉しい fits in here (as asked by @Greya), please refer to post #79.

Did you mean「ほじする」instead of「保する」? (the latter isn’t a real word)

Please expand for detailed answer

These two words can be used interchangeably when they mean “to preserve” as in the following example:
This cake has preservatives to preserve its freshness.
このケーキには新鮮しんせんさを(保つ・保持する)ため、防腐剤ぼうふざいが入っています。

Where the usage differs is when you use the words to describe holding a title/record.
Take a look at these two examples:

私は100メートル平泳ぎひらおよ世界記録せかいきろくを保っています。
I hold the world record for the 100 meter breaststroke [and I continue to practice to maintain/preserve this record].

私は100メートル平泳ぎの世界記録を保持しています。
I hold the world record for the 100 meter breaststroke [and I may or may not still be practicing].

In both cases, the person has obtained the world record. The difference lies in whether that person is actively working to preserve/maintain that record. For 保つ, it tells us that the person has the world record and implies that they are actively practicing to preserve/maintain that world record. 保持, on the other hand, only tells us that the person has the title. We don’t know whether the title-holder is still practicing to keep the record or if they have stopped swimming (e.g. due to injury, retirement, etc).

*If you want to say that either you or someone else holds a title/record, it is more common to use 保持.

8 Likes

I’m not sure if this is appropriate for the nuance topic, but here goes:
日焼け
WaniKani meanings: Sunburn, Suntan, Tan

I can draw some comparisons to English where we might say

Looks like you got some sun

And that might mean sunburned, or simply tan, but aside from that the words aren’t interchangeable. At least, I wouldn’t recommend that to someone learning English. So I’m wondering, is there a tendency for 日焼け to mean tan vs burn or vice versa? Or is this Japanese term less precise absent any context?

日焼け means suntan. There actually is no one specific word for “sunburn.”

If you wanted to say that you got sunburned, you would need to say something like the following:

  1. 日焼けしすぎて火傷やけどになってしまった。
    I suntanned too much and it (the suntan) became sunburned.
    *This is a direct translation saying that the suntan turned into a sunburn. A more natural translation is “(I) spent too much time in the sun and got sunburned.”

  2. 日焼けしすぎていたくなった。
    I suntanned too much and it (the suntan) became painful.
    *This is also a direct translation. Similar to the example above, the suntan turned into a sunburn (and that’s why it hurts). A more natural translation is “(I) spent too much time in the sun and my sunburn hurts.”

Hope this helps to clarify 日焼け a bit! :smile:

Side Note: 日焼けめ is sunscreen! :sunny:

5 Likes

Love this thread. Not sure if someone posted this already, but there’s a nice Japanese site with a lot of those nuances things 違い アーカイブ - 言葉の救急箱

6 Likes

Ohhh, good idea! I could link a bunch of websites that people can visit to check nuances! Will do it once I find the energy to think of it. Thanks for sharing :grin:

6 Likes

:sunny::fire::crabigator::fire::sunny:
Totally, thanks!

1 Like

Here’s another site you could add: http://www.chigai.org

6 Likes

How are you so kind?! :durtle_love:

Thanks :grin:

1 Like

Edited the explanation of 想定 for clarity and a more consistent tone, compared to the other explanations in the set.

2 Likes

Since you seem to be a person well-versed in happiness, would you be able to explain how this other happy word 嬉しい (adj.)/嬉しさ (noun) fits into all this as well?

My apologies for the delay! This is a really good follow-up question.

嬉しい is used to express joy or delight. 幸せ is used to express a feeling of satisfaction.

This distinction was stronger in the past, but nowadays, people tend to use these words interchangeably. In addition, people use 幸せ more often and more casually these days. In the past, 幸せ was seen as something that is harder to achieve (e.g. achieving purpose of life, etc) whereas 嬉しい was used as a general expression of joy/delight.

6 Likes

外国人 is the formal/politically correct term for “foreigner”. This is often used on the news, in newspapers, and other similar things.

外人 is often used conversationally. This word has various different connotations attached to it and requires context (e.g. tone) to identify it. On one hand, 外人 has a negative connotation used as a slur to express negative emotions/opinions of foreigners. On the other hand, 外人さん can be used as a friendly way to address foreigners. However, it can also be neutral and so again, context is important.

よそ者 takes on a slightly different meaning of “foreigner.” Whereas the words 外国人 and 外人 refer to people outside of one’s own country, よそ者 isn’t limited only to countries. Its meaning is similar to the word “outsider.” For example, if you live in a small, rural town and someone from the city moves in, you could call that person a よそ者. Even if that person is from the same country, because they are new to that community, they are seen as someone different, an outsider.

10 Likes