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duo797 (Offline)
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03-13-2010, 08:29 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by pacerier View Post
is it more common to use 気が小さい or 気の小さい to describe a timid person?

also is 気がない more commonly used when compared to 気のない when describing an uninterested party
I'm sure you'll get an answer from Sashimister, but I'm gonna try to explain this to see if I grasp the concept myself. Take my answer with a grain of salt. I think in both cases it matters where the phrases are being placed in the sentence. If you're using 気が小さい to modify a noun that's following it (i.e. 気が小さい人) then you should use 気の小さい [気の小さい人]. This isn't required, but I've been told it sounds more natural and it also sounds softer. You can still use 気が小さい and be right, and I imagine it sounds better in certain places, but if it does that's a much more advanced topic than you or I need to be worried about at the moment. The same thing goes for 気がない. If you're using it to describe a word directly following it in the sentence, then say 気のない人.

If you're saying 'That person is timid' or 'I'm uninterested', then you would say あの人は気が小さい。 僕は気がない。 This is how I understand the differentiation, but obviously you should wait for someone much more talented than I to give you a definitive answer.
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