"How long" in Japanese

The question phrase "how long" is usually expressed using by any of the following: どのくらい and どれくらい. This source says that, according to the 日本文法大辞典, どのくらい was commonly used in the Edo era, but どれくらい became more common in the Meiji era. Google Search shows that both are still commonly used today. くらい is loosely translated as "about" or "approximately".

どのくらい/どれくらい待ちますか。
Dono  kurai/dore kurai machimasu ka?
How long will we wait?

 あなたは日本にどれくらい住んでいますか？
Anata wa Nihon ni dorekurai sunde imasu ka?
How long have you been living in Japan?

You can also be more specific by using 何日、何時間、何ヶ月, and so on.

毎日、何時間、仕事をしますか。
Mainichi, nanjikan, shigoto wo shimasu ka?
How many hours do you work every day?

何日ぐらい滞在しますか。
Nannichi gurai taizai shimasu ka?
About how many days will you stay?


Source:
jisho.org
Google search
Japanese for everyone

volitional + to omou ～おうと思う

"volitional + to omou" = "to intend to do such and such", "to think of doing such and such"

When talking about a third person, use "to omotte imasu."

ex. 今晩は薬を飲んで早く寝ようと思います。
Konban wa kusuri wo nonde hayaku neyou to omoimasu.
I think I will take some medicine and go to bed early tonight.

姉はアルバイトを探そうと思っています。
Ane wa arubaito wo sagasou to omotte imasu.
My older sister is thinking of looking for a part-time job.


Reference:
Schaum's Outline: Japanese Grammar

The word for "have": 持っている vs. には～がある/いる

Disclaimer: I didn't get this from any book, but this is something that I picked up by hearing these two expressions many times.

Consider the following sentences in English:

1. I have a car.
2. I have two brothers.
3. I have talent.

In English, the idea of possession of a "car", "brother", or "talent" are all handled by the same word, "have". However, in Japanese, there's another nuance that has to be taken care of.

What's the difference between having a car and a brother? One difference here is that you will always have a brother - it's something that's part of you - while you can buy or discard a car. Having a "brother" is inherent, and having a "car" is not. Note that this divide also holds for possession of animate/inanimate objects. Having a "cat" is inherent, but having a "house" is not.

In Japanese, these two nuances are covered by two different sentence patterns: ～を持っている (lit. to hold), and ～に～がいる/ある (lit. to exist in).

"while" - ながら

Note that when using ながら, the subject must be the same for the two actions that occur together! If not, use あいだ.

まだ + verb

Note that verbs that are used with まだ cannot be used in the past tense:

まだしませんでした。
should be replaced by
まだしていません。

The sentence means "I haven't done it yet", so since the state is ongoing, the progressive form has to be used.

まだ  can also be used with the present tense:

まだ寒いです。
Mada samui desu.
It's still cold.

まだ暖かくならない。
Mada atatakaku naranai.
It hasn't become warm yet.

How to say "popular" in Japanese: はやる and 人気

はやる "hayaru" and 人気 "ninki" are two different words that are both translated as "popular" in English. However, they are not exactly the same.

というか and ということ "to iu ka" and "to iu koto"

Much of this post was directly from Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar since I'm too lazy right now to write my own explanations.

Direct Passive vs. Indirect Passive

In English, the passive form is used to tell something that was done on an object. For example,

"The car was repaired by the mechanic."

Note that in English, only transitive verbs (verbs that require objects) can be converted into a passive form. Thus, there are no passive forms for verbs like "go", "sneeze", and "die".

There is an exact equivalent of the English passive form in Japanese, which is called the direct passive form. The passive form is constructed as follows:

1. Godan verbs:
nai-stem + reru

ex. 使う "tsukau" -- 使われる "tsukawareru"

2. Ichidan verbs (aka "iru" or "eru" verbs)
nai-stem + rareru

ex. 食べる "taberu" -- 食べられる "taberareru"

3. Irregular verbs

する "suru" -- される "sareru"
くる "kuru" -- こられる "korareru"

The following sentences can be translated into Japanese directly:

These tools are used in building a house.
これらの道具は家を建てるのに使われる。
Korera no dougu wa ie wo tateru no ni tsukawareru.

It is said by everyone that (I'm/it's) strange.
みんなに変だと言われます。
Minna ni hen da to iwaremasu.

There is also another "form" of the passive in Japanese, called the indirect passive. This can also accommodate intransitive verbs, and has no direct equivalent in English. It is used to denote an action that was done by someone on the subject that is out of the subject's control. Most textbooks on Japanese call this the suffering passive, as this form is mostly used to denote an event that is unfortunate. An interesting insight by Tae Kim is that there is no such thing as a "suffering" passive: what makes the passive indicate "suffering" is that the action is done on the object without the object's control. This may make it easier to understand for some learners of Japanese.

The agent responsible for the inconvenience is followed by に. Compare the following sentences:

あの犬が足をかんだ。
Ano inu ga ashi wo kanda.
That dog bit (my) leg.

あの犬に足をかまれた。
Ano inu ni ashi wo kamareta.
(I) was bitten in the leg by that dog.

In Japanese, the 2nd sentence (which uses the passive form) indicates that the event is something unfortunate or something outside the subject's control (i.e., you couldn't help it but you were bitten in the leg by the dog), whereas the 1st sentence is more neutral.

When an intransitive verb is used in the passive form, that is most definitely a case of the indirect passive.

ex. 夫に死なれた女性は未亡人と呼ばれる。
Otto ni shinareta josei wa miboujin to yobareru.
A woman whose husband has died is called a widow.

In the example above, there are two verbs in the passive form: 呼ばれる and 死なれる. 呼ばれる is used in the direct passive sense (i.e., there is no indication of something unfortunate). The use of the passive form "shinareta" 死なれた indicates that the action of the husband dying affected the woman in some way.  Contrast this with a sentence using the active form instead:

夫が死んだ女性は未亡人と呼ばれる。
Otto ga shinda josei wa miboujin to yobareru.

This is a more neutral construction, and the tone conveys a matter of fact.


Reference:
Ultimate Advanced Japanese, Random House.
Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese blog. http://www.guidetojapanese.org/blog/2005/09/09/no-suffering-passive/
jisho.org (for example sentences)

noun +「とする」、「となる」

We've already discussed

は + となる "to naru"

in a previous post. It means "to become ". Now let's discuss something which I have never seen discussed in any grammar book, the pattern   + とする.

は +とする = To consider/define/describe noun A as noun B.

Ex.
彼がもっとも得意としているジャンプです。
He considers this as his specialty jump.

この正方形の一辺の長さをxとする。
Define the length of this side of the square as "x".


Reference:
http://thejapanesepage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=16875

How to use まるで

まるで "marude" has two basic meanings:

1. "just like"

When used in this manner, まるで is often followed by よう or みたい.

スミスさんは日本語が上手で、まるで日本人（のよう）だ。
Sumisu san wa Nihongo ga jouzu de, marude Nihonjin no you da.
Smith is good in Japanese that he speaks like a Japanese.

あの老人はまるで赤ん坊（みたい）だ。
Ano roujin wa marude akanbou mitai da.
That old man is just like a baby.

2. "completely"

In negative sentences, まるで has the same function as まったく "mattaku" and ぜんぜん "zenzen". However, まるで implies the speaker's negative judgement.

Reference:
Miura, Akira. Essential Japanese Vocabulary, Tuttle.

「このごろ」と「このあいだ」 kono goro vs. kono aida

「このごろ」 "kono goro" means "these days", while 「このあいだ」"kono aida" means "the other day". That is, "kono goro" refers to something which has been going on for a while, while "kono aida" is used for a particular event that occurred recently.

「～ばいい」と「～たらいい」と「～といい」

～ば, ～たら and ～と are all conditionals. They are not always interchangeable, as I have written here. But what does it mean when they follow the adjective いい "ii"?

「ごろ」と「ぐらい」goro vs. gurai

ごろ (goro) is used to indicate specific points in time:

3時ごろ
sanji goro
about 3:00

7月ごろ
shichigatsu goro
around July

何時ごろですか。
Nanji goro desu ka?
About what time is it?

ぐらい (gurai) is used for quantities:

300メトルぐらい
sambyaku metoru gurai
about 300 meters

「を出る」と「に出る」 wo deru vs. ni deru

クラスを出る。
Kurasu wo deru.
I will leave class.

クラスに出る。
Kurasu ni deru.
I will attend class.

Basically, the particle depends on the direction in which you're leaving. If you're leaving something, use を; if you're leaving for something, use に.

花になれ (Hana ni nare) by Sashida Fumiya (指田郁也) -- lyrics and English translation

This is a song that I recommend to those studying the language. It is easy to translate and provides a lot of practice on verb conjugation. The pronunciation of some words are not standard (for some reason the singer pronounces "wa" as "fa", for example), but overall, the pace is slow enough to understand some words.

Japanese lyrics from this site. I provide the transliteration and translation after the Japanese text. Unfortunately, much of the lyricism in the original is lost in my translation. ごめんなさい。

By the way, Yuzuru Hanyu, 2012 Japanese Figure Skating Champion, skated to this music in his exhibition program for the 2012-2013 season.

EDIT: replaced translation for "sorezore" to "our own" instead of "each other's"
EDIT: finally understood the nuance of "makenai"; don't know why I didn't get it before....

あなたは今笑えてますか? Anata wa ima waraetemasu ka?/Can you smile now?
どんな息をしてますか? Donna iki wo shitemasu ka? / How do you breathe? (Lit. What kind of breath do you take?)
人混みに強がりながら Hitogomi ni tsuyogarinagara / While pretending to be strong in front of people
「負けないように」と Makenai you ni to
歩いているんだろうAruite irun darou / You must be walking, as though there were no problem (lit. som that you won't lose)
足許のその花でさえ Ashimoto no sono hana de sae / Even those flowers beneath your feet
生きる事を 迷いはしない / Ikirukoto wo mayoi wa shinai / don't hesitate to live

「生きてゆけ」/  Ikite yuke / Keep on living
僕らは今、風の中で / Bokura wa ima, kaze no naka de/ Now, in the wind
それぞれの空を見上げてる / Sorezore no sora wo miageteru / We look up at our own skies
ぶつかっていいんだ / Butsukatte iin da / It's okay to bump into each other
泣いたっていいんだ / Naitatte iin da / It's okay to cry
どこかに答えはあるから / Dokoka ni kotae wa aru kara / Because somewhere out there, there is an answer
「あきらめないで」/ Akiramenaide / Don't give up
どんな明日も苦しいほど / Donna ashita mo kurushii hodo / No matter how painful the future will be
その命は強く輝く / Sono inochi wa tsuyoku kagayaku / Your (lit. that) life will shine brightly (lit. strongly)
風に立つ一輪 / Kaze ni tatsu ichirin / One flower stands in the wind
僕たちも花になれる / Bokutachi mo hana ni nareru / We can become flowers, too

あなたは今気づいていますか? / Anata wa ima kizuitemasu ka / Have you realized?
大きな力はその手にあること / Ookina chikara wa sono te ni aru koto / That you have power in your hands (lit. That there is big power in your hands)
勇気は今、光になる / Yuuki wa ima hikari ni naru / Courage will become light
未完成でいい / Mikansei de ii / It's all right even if you're not ready (lit. it's incomplete)
立ち向かえる/ Tachimukaeru / You can still fight (lit. oppose, face)
その胸に抱いてる種は / Sono mune ni itaiteru tane wa / The seed that you hold in your chest
いつかきっと 夢を咲かすよ / Itsuka kitto yume wo sakasu yo / will someday bloom dreams, for sure

「負けないで」/ Makenaide / Don't lose
誰もが今、時の中で / Daremo ga ima, toki no naka de / Now, in time,
それぞれの明日を探してる / Sorezore no asu wo sagashiteru / everyone looks for the future
傷ついていいんだ / Kizutsuite iin da / It's all right to be wounded
間違っていいんだ / Machigatte iin da / It's all right to make mistakes
何度も立ち上がればいい / Nandomo tachiagareba ii / Stand up no matter how many times you fall (lit. It would be good if you can stand up many times -- has the suggestive tone)
ただひとつだけ / Tada hitotsu dake / Just one thing
その未来へ手を伸ばして / Sono mirai e te wo nobashite / Reach out your hand to the future
真っすぐに咲く花のように / Massugu ni saku hana no you ni / Like the flower that blooms upright
人は誰も強くなれる / Hito wa daremo tsuyoku nareru / Everyone can be strong
あなたもきっとなれる / Anata mo kitto nareru / So can you

答えのない毎日に立ち止まっても / Kotae no nai mainichi ni tachidomatte mo / Even if we stop at each day without an answer
その涙は始まりのサイン / Sono namida wa hajimari no sain / Those tears are a sign of a beginning
ほら太陽が / Hora taiyou ga / Look, the sun
優しい風が / Yasashii kaze ga / and the gentle wind
僕らを見つめているから / Bokura wo mitsumeteiru kara / are gazing at us


「生きてゆけ」/  Ikite yuke / Keep on living
僕らは今、風の中で / Bokura wa ima, kaze no naka de/  Now, in the wind
それぞれの空を見上げてる / Sorezore no sora wo miageteru / We look up at our own skies
ぶつかっていいんだ / Butsukatte iin da / It's okay to bump into each other
泣いたっていいんだ / Naitatte iin da / It's okay to cry
かならず答えはあるから / Kanarazu kotae wa aru kara / Because for sure, there is an answer

「あきらめないで」/ Akiramenaide / Don't give up
どんな明日も苦しいほど / Donna ashita mo kurushii hodo / No matter how painful the future will be
その命は強く輝く / Sono inochi wa tsuyoku kagayaku / Your (lit. that) life will shine brightly (lit. strongly)
風に立つ一輪 / Kaze ni tatsu ichirin / One flower stands in the wind
僕たちも花になれる / Bokutachi mo hana ni nareru / We can become flowers, too

風に咲く一輪 / Kaze ni saku ichirin / One flower blooms in the wind
僕たちも花になれる / Bokutachi mo hana ni nareru / We can become flowers, too

～というと

According to Edict:

1: (Usually written using kana alone) if one were to speak of ..., then certainly; if it were the case that ..., then certainly; if it were a ..., then certainly; phrase used to indicate the inevitability of what follows it (based on what precedes it);2: so that means (when used in sentence-initial position)

Ex. 初恋というと、まずなにを思い浮かべますか。
Hatsukoi to iu to, mazu nani wo omoiukabemasu ka?
When you say "first love", what is the first thing that comes to mind?

You can also use this to refer to your own question:

Ex. どうしてあきらめたかというともうがまんできいなかった。
Doushite akirameta ka to iu to mou gaman dekinatta.
The reason why I gave up is because I couldn't take it anymore.
Lit. If you ask me why I gave up, I couldn't take it anymore.

Reference: Maggie's site

Uses of ほど

Maggie's site gives a nice detailed lesson for ほど. I summarize the basic idea here, together with some expressions that are noteworthy.

ほど indicates degree or extent, and is usually used with a negative verb. It follows the pattern:

A wa B hodo [adjective]-nai.

Ex. Kumiko-san wa Mai-san hodo sei ga takakunai.
Kumiko is not as tall as Mai.

Ex. Kumiko-san wa Mai-san hodo Eigo ga heta ja nai.
Kumiko is not as bad in English as Mai is.

This is the most common usage of ほど. It can also mean "to the level of", as in the following:

Ex. この漫画は、飽きるほど読んだ
Kono manga wa akiru hodo yonda.
I read this manga until I got tired of it.

More interesting, though, are some expressions which utilize hodo.

1. + ば +   + ほど + ....
This means "the more...., the more...."

Ex.  彼のことを知れば知るほどわからなくなる。
Kare no koto wo shireba shiru hodo wakaranai.
The more I get to know him, the more I don't understand.
(Lit. If I get to know him, I will not understand to the point that I know.)

As you can see, it's better just to understand this phrase as a whole. :)

Ex. あの人のことを好きになれば好きになるほど、心が痛い。
Anohito no kotowo suki ni nareba suki ni naru hodo kokoro ga itai.
The more I get to like him, the more my heart hurts.

2. にもほどがある (ni mo hodo ga aru)
"There's a limit to...."

Ex. 我慢するにもほどがある
Gaman suru nimo hodo ga aru.
There's a limit to my patience.
(Lit. There's a limit to how much I can bear.)

Ex. 冗談にもほどがある
Joudan ni mo hodo ga aru.
This is no longer a joke!
Lit. There's a limit to jokes.

3. これ、それ、あれ + ほど
Means "of this/that extent"

Ex. これほどむずかしいと思わなかった。
Korehodo muzukashii to omowanakatta.
I didn't think it would be this difficult.

Ex. それほどお金に困っていたらどうして一言、相談してくれなかったの？
Sorehodo okane ni komatte itara doushite hitokoto, soudan shite kurenakatta no?
If you were that desperate for money, why didn't you tell me?
(Lit. komatte -> komaru -> be in trouble)

expressions involving 以上（いじょう）

以上 means "above" or "more than". Sentences from Tanimori's Handbook to Japanese Grammar.

Examples:
18さい以上のひとしか入れません。
18さい以上のひとしかはいれません。
Only those above 18 years of age are allowed to enter.

そこまで行くのに一時間以上かかります。
If you're going there, it's going to take more than 1 hour.

彼は王様以上だった。
He was more than a king.

It is also often used with これ、それ、and あれ.

Examples:
これ以上ここで待てません。
I can't wait here any longer.

それ以上は無理です。
Any more than that is impossible.

It can also mean "above-mentioned".

Examples:
以上の理由でこれは中止になりました。
This was cancelled for the reasons mentioned above.

考える (kangaeru) and 思う (omou).

The difference between the two are summarized in TheJapanesePage. I write it now in my own words. This  is another reference.

考える (kangaeru) -- involves logical thinking; may involve weighing pros and cons over a long period of time; you think with your head
思う (omou) -- involves feeling, opinions; more sudden than 考える; you think with your mind or heart

try to do: -てみる vs. volitional+とする

Although both mean "to try to do something", there are some nuances involved, and the two are not interchangeable. Thanks to Elenkis' post here, I finally got a decent explanation for this.

1. -[te form]+ みる is used when you are trying to do something because you want to see what happens afterwards. The emphasis here is on what happens if you try.

2. -[volitional form of verb -おう or -よう] + とする , on the other hand, emphasizes the fact that you are going to try, regardless of the result. Note that  In fact, a similar construction (-ようとした), indicates failure ("I tried..., but I failed.).

As Elenkis said, there is a difference between  “I’m going to try drinking sake (and see what what it’s like)” and “I’m going to try to finish my homework tonight”.

Other similar constructions are [plain non-past form]+ ようにする. Another is [plain non-past form] +ことにする.

3. [plain non-past form of verb]+ ようにする means that you put your mind on something, and you're going to exert all effort, even if you fail, until you reach your goal.

4. + ことにする means that you have decided on doing something. It can refer to a single or a habitual action. This seems close to the construction  -[volitional form]+と決める（きめる）, as mentioned by Tae Kim, although I haven't heard or read the latter used.