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06-13-2008, 01:17 AM
I should have noticed and asked you about this at the same time I made my first post here about another mistake.
But 灯がともる is the usual phrase. I just cannot swear that i haven't heard 灯がとまる, though. As far as dictionary forms, the former would be the winner. |
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06-13-2008, 02:39 AM
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何もできはしない I don't remember seeing this before today. |
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06-13-2008, 03:59 AM
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Thanks MMM! 「何もできはしない」 means "There's nothing (someone) could do." It's more dramatic speech than everyday speech. You will hear it in plays, films, manga/anime, dramas, etc. You would look pretty strange if you said that orally in real life. However, you will see people using this phrase 「~~はしない」 in serious letters. My own translation of 「農家の窓にはあたたかい灯がとまっている。」 would be: "Warm light burned in the farmhouse windows." There's no verb 'wait' in that sentence at all. |
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06-13-2008, 04:08 AM
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I had heard 「~はしない」before, but not 「何もできはしない」. I suppose it does sound a bit overly dramatic. This was from the same light novel, and it is from the perspective of a person who basically threw his life away after a tragic event, and was making excuses to himself about his pathetic state. I'll try and post some more zingers...but if anyone else comes across a sentence or phrase that might make "the masters" think twice, please don't hesitate to share! |
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06-13-2008, 04:20 AM
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I felt the same thing from the original Japanese. While I wouldn't call this figurative speech, I really think that 'warm light' is an indirect way of expressing the tender, loving family atmosphere at dinner time or after dinner inside the house. |
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06-13-2008, 04:34 AM
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That's one of the fun, but frustrating things about deep language learning. Sometimes I know exactly what something means in Japanese, but I don't know how to describe it in English. |
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