Japanese Help Questions/Translations

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by Maxful

Hi, I would like to know what exactly is the difference between "時間" and "時" as "time"?
高島屋で時を過ごす。
高島屋で時間を過ごす。

I do not think anyone would say the first sentence. It sounds too self-important and even funny. 時 is a much bigger word than 時間.

And also, when asking someone "What are you doing", should I say "何をしますか" or "何をしっていますか"?

Neither.

We say 「何をしているのですか。」 or, more colloquially 「何をしているんですか。」.

Both your sentences mean something very different than "What are you doing?".
何をしますか = What are you (or we) going to do? (future)
何をしっていますか = What do you know?

[Maxful]

Thanks, masaegu. Do you mind giving me a few examples between the differences of "時間" and "時" so I will get a better understanding of the usages.

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by Maxful

Thanks, masaegu. Do you mind giving me a few examples between the differences of "時間" and "時" so I will get a better understanding of the usages.

時間：
「高島屋へ行きたいが、その時間がない。明日にしよう 。」
「東京から大阪まで行くには何時間かかりますか。」
「昨日は５時間くらいゲームをしてしまった。」
「時間のある時に来てくれればフランス語を教えてあげ る。」
「時間にルーズな人はきらわれる。」

時：
「時は金なり。」 = A proverb.
「時の終わりまで、わたしはマサさんを愛し続けます。 」
「時に身をまかせなさい。」
「時の人」、「時の大統領」
「あの戦争から１００年の時が流れた。」

[Maxful]

By the way, am I right that "どうしますか" and "どうするの" stand for "What would you do?"? If that is the case, how different are "どうしますか/どうするの" from "何をしますか"?

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by Maxful

By the way, am I right that "どうしますか" and "どうするの" stand for "What would you do?"? If that is the case, how different are "どうしますか/どうするの" from "何をしますか"?

This is a good question because there seems to be a big confusion among many Japanese-learners regarding this.　　

「どうしますか/どうするの/どうしよう。」
These phrases are used ONLY as a reaction to something that has just occured unexpectedly.

Examples:
Guy A: "Damn! I lost my wallet!"
Guy B: どうしよう/どうしようか/どうする？

Gal A: "Masaegu is asking me out. どうしよう・・・"
Gal B: "どうするの？"

「何をしますか。」
This is used to ask what someone is planning or scheduled to do.

[Maxful]

I assume I could say "日曜日には何をしますか。(What are you going to do on Sunday?)"?

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by Maxful

I assume I could say "日曜日には何をしますか。(What are you going to do on Sunday?)"?

That is correct.

[Maxful]

Thanks for the detailed explanation, masaegu.

[delacroix01]

Hello! Can someone help me again with some words?

http://i.imgur.com/jIMhz.jpg
1. What is the word after 思わず? It looks like くらり to my eyes, but I can't find any word like that in dictionaries. The font isn't very clear, so I may have read the kana incorrectly.

2. Is the second Kanji 倒?

[Supperman]

Originally Posted by delacroix01

Hello! Can someone help me again with some words?

http://i.imgur.com/jIMhz.jpg
1. What is the word after 思わず? It looks like くらり to my eyes, but I can't find any word like that in dictionaries. The font isn't very clear, so I may have read the kana incorrectly.

2. Is the second Kanji 倒?

思わずくらりと倒れそうになりました。
おもわず　くらりと　たおれそうに　なりました。

おもわず＝unexpectedly
くらりとする、くらっとする＝feel dizzy

Unexpectedly, I felt dizzy and almost fell down.