「さがす」と「見つける」と「求める」 (sagasu vs. mitsukeru vs. motomeru)

さがす (sagasu) means "to search for", 見つける (mitsukeru) means to "find". In English, there is a difference between the two. However, in some cases, what we "look for" in English, we "find" in Japanese.

仕事を見つけるのはむずかしいだろうと思う.
Shigoto wo mitsukeru (not sagasu) no wa muzukashii darou to omou.
I think looking for a job is difficult.
(Although, finding a job is actually more difficult!)

さがす (sagasu) is also for concrete things. For abstract things like happiness and peace, 求める (motomeru), which means "seek", should be used.

多くのひとが幸福を求めている。
Ooku no hito ga koufuku wo motomete iru (not sagashite iru).
Many people are looking for happiness.

気分 vs. 気持ち (kibun vs. kimochi)

気持ち is more psychological, and is closer in meaning to 感情. On the other hand, 気分 is more physical, something you can't change at will. So when you feel physically sick, you say 気分が悪い. Using 「気持ちが悪い」 means you're in a bad mood.

Full details are found here. I'm copying it verbatim below just in case the site goes down. Note that there are some cases where both can be used interchangeably.

Kore, sore, are

When the referred object can be seen/sensed:

kore/kono = near the speaker
sore/sono = near the listener
are/ano = far from both the speaker and the listener

When the referred object is abstract, or something which cannot be seen/sensed, the nuances are different:

sore/sono = the speaker doesn't know about OR the speaker thinks that the listener doesn't know about it (at least one person is unfamiliar with the object)
are/ano = the speaker knows that the listener knows about it (both are familiar with the object)

A: きのう「るろうに剣心」という映画をみました。
Kinou "Rurouni Kenshin" to iu eiga wo mimashita.
I watched the movie "Rurouni Kenshin" yesterday.

B1: あれは面白い映画ですね。
Are wa omoshiroi eiga desu ne.

B2: その映画はどうでしたか。
Sono eiga wa dou deshita ka?

B1 has already watched the movie and so both A and B1 are familiar with it. That's why he uses あれ. On the other hand, B2 hasn't watched the movie yet, so その is used.


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

歩く vs. 歩いていく (aruku vs. aruite iku) + other forms

You use 歩く (aruku) when you are referring to any of the following: (1) act of walking, (2) your destination, or (3) where you are actually walking:

あの人は歩くのが速いですね。
Ano hito wa aruku no ga hayai desu ne.
That person walks fast, doesn't he?

学校まで歩く。
Gakkou made aruku.
I walk to school.

あそこを歩いている人はだれでしょう。
Asoko wo aruite iru hito wa dare deshou.
I wonder who walks over there.

Note the particles used for  歩く : まで and を. If one wants to use に or へ, then 歩いていく or  歩いてくる would be the proper forms used:

学校に歩いていきます。
Gakkou ni aruite ikimasu.
I go to school on foot.

When one talks about walking up an incline, the appropriate verb is  歩いて登る (aruite noboru) or simply 登る ("climb"). The 歩いて before 登る can be thought of as an adverb meaning "on foot".

階段を歩いて登る/登る。
Kaidan wo aruite noboru / noboru.
I walk up / climb the stairs.

When one talks about taking a stroll, the correct verb is NOT 歩く, but rather, 散歩する (sanpo suru).

どんなに vs. いくら + ~ても (donna vs. ikura + temo)

Both どんなに and  いくら, when preceding a verb + + ~ても, mean "no matter how much ..." However, using どんなに requires an expression in the negative sense, while   いくら does not.

The following sentences come from the Japan Foundation Basic Japanese-English dictionary, Bonjinsha, 1986.

どんなに急いでも、汽車には間に合いません。
Donna ni isoidemo, kisha niwa ma ni aimasen.
No matter how much you hurry, you will not make it in time for the train.

Note that for nouns, どんな is used in the affirmative sense. It indicates something incompletely known to the speaker.
あの人に聞けば、どんなことでもわかります。
Ano hito ni kikeba, donna koto demo wakarimasu.
If you ask that person, he knows anything.

On the other hand, we can use いくら for both positive and negative verbs:

いくら高くても買います。
Ikura takakutemo kaimasu.
I'll buy it no matter how expensive it is.

いくら呼んでもへんじがありません。
There's no reply no matter how often you call.

～きる and ～きれる (-kiru and -kireru)

Admittedly, this is a grammar point that I learned only recently (I kept hearing it in Japanese documentaries). ～きる and ～きれる are verb endings, attached to the i-stem of the verb. The kanji 切 is used for き in both words.

 ～きる　～切る
There are two main meanings:
1. to finish, to completely do something

ひとつの料理をたべきらないうんちに、もう次の料理が出てきました。
Hitotsu no ryouri o tabekiranai uchi ni, mou tsugi no ryouri ga dete kimashita.
While I still haven't finished the first dish, the other dish was served.

Note that this construction is very similar to ～てしまう。However, ～きる doesn't have the implication of regret or unintentional action that ～てしまう does. When to use which? When there's a sense of intention, then ～きる seems to be the preferred form. When there's regret, ～てしまう is used. However, there are a lot of intermediate cases: for more details, please refer to Derek Schaab's reply.

2. to dare to do something

This is common for verbs like 思う and 言う. Literally, 思い切る and 言い切る mean to think or say something with finality. Personally, I treat these words as separate items in my vocabulary as they carry a certain nuance that other ～きる verbs don't.

高いところから思い切って飛び降りました。
Takai tokoro kara omoikitte tobiorimashita.
I made up my mind and jumped from a high place.

いやなことはいやだと言い切る勇気をもてなければいけない。
Iya na koto wa iya da to iikiru yuuki wo motenakereba naranai.
[You] need to have the courage to say that you don't want what you don't want.

～きれる　～切れる

This can be thought of as the potential form of  ～きる = "can finish, can complete".

こんなにたくさんの料理はとても食べ切れません。
Konna ni takusan no ryouri wa totemo tabekiremasen.
I can't finish eating this much food.

表現しきれてない、滑りきれてない自分が悔しかった。
Hyougen shikiretenai, suberikiretenai jibun ga kuyashikatta.
I was frustrated with myself because I couldn't express well, I couldn't glide well.

I've also heard this used in the positive sense (in some news program, I think), although I still have to look for an actual example.

と+verb vs. に+verb (to vs. ni)

What's the difference between

田中さんと話す.
Tanaka-san to hanasu.

田中さんに話す.
Tanaka-san ni hanasu.

Both are grammatically correct. However, when we use the particle と, there is a sense of doing the action in the verb together. The first sentence can be translated to:

I speak with Mr. Tanaka.

On the other hand, when one uses に, the action is one-way:

I speak to Mr. Tanaka.

Other verbs where both  と and に can be used are 会う (au = meet) and 相談する (soudan suru=consult). The nuance in Japanese can be easily carried over to the English translation (ex. "I met her" vs. "I met with her".) However, some verbs like 結婚する(kekkon suru = marry) or けんかする (kenka suru = quarrel) require  と. In English, the words "marry" and "quarrel" can only be used in one way, although differently from their Japanese versions:

Correct: I married her.
Incorrect: I married with her.

Correct: I quarreled with my friend.
Incorrect: I quarreled my friend.

Reference: The Japan Foundation Basic Japanese-English Dictionary, Bonjinsha 1986. One of the best dictionaries ever printed.