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Learning through examples in manga

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Posted on December 16, 2018April 12, 2020

Wasted effort with せっかく~のに

せっかく and のに are used together when great effort has been put into something, yet that effort may be going to waste.

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Posted on December 16, 2018April 12, 2020

Taking advantage of an opportunity with せっかく~だから

せっかく and だから are used when a rare or unexpected situation has come up, and it would be a waste not to make use of it.

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Posted on December 16, 2018December 16, 2018

Speaker’s conviction with ~た+つもり

つもり marks the speaker’s conviction for having done something when following a past-tense verb.

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Posted on December 13, 2018March 31, 2019

Conjecture with ~らしい

らしい generally expresses conjecture based on what the speaker believes is reliable information they have heard, seen, or read.

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Posted on November 26, 2018January 27, 2019

Previous experience with ~たことがある

Past experience is conveyed by appending ことがある to the past-tense form of a verb. こと turns the phrase before it into a noun.

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Posted on November 7, 2018

Words with 眠

The character 眠 is a combination of 目 and 民. 眠 has the meaning of sleeping, as in “falling asleep”.

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Posted on November 6, 2018September 27, 2020

Words with 冷

The character 冷 combines 冫 (relating to ice) and 令 (relating to commands). The command of ice results in: cold, which 冷 relates to.

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Posted on November 4, 2018November 7, 2018

Words with 海

The character 海 means sea. It is a combination of ⺡ (from 水, “water”) and 毎 (“every”).

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Posted on November 4, 2018November 4, 2018

Words with 姉

The character 姉 refers to an elder sister. Alone, it is pronounced あね. However, in an honorific form お姉さん, it is pronounced ねえ.

The Chinese-originated pronunciation is シ, and appears in words such as 姉妹(しまい) (sisters).

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Posted on November 4, 2018November 5, 2018

Words with 服

The character 服 is used with the meaning “clothes”, and also with the meaning “submit” (submission). In both cases, it is pronounced as ふく.

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