Mattaku, Zenbu, zettai, zuibun, subete...

[okunote]

I was just wondering about some of the major differences between these words. If someone could give me some examples to help me distinguish between the meanings it would be much appreciated.

arigatou


Micah.

[Psy]

Mattaku is mainly said in the sense of "really" "quote" with a phrase or used on its own as a mild curse such as "jeez." An all purpose emphasizer: "you're *completely* wrong" or "this is totally new."

mattaku machigatte iru (you're completely wrong)
mattaku atarashii sofuto (TOTALLY NEW SOFTWARE!)
... ttaku!! (jeez!)

zenbu and subete are somewhat interchangeable in definition, though in practice "zenbu" feels more like "altogether" whereas subete feels more like "everything/everyone."

zenbu de ikura desu ka
how much is this all together?

kono teeburu no ue ni aru zasshi wa subete tsumaranakatta desu
all of the magazines on the table were boring.

zettai means "definitely" or "without a doubt." the prohibition sign "genkin" (厳禁) was once explained to me as meaning "zettai dame desu" and that example has stuck with me ever since.

zettai asobi ni kite ne!
You'd better come visit!

zuibun means "quite" or "very" and is less forceful than mattaku, but I daresay stronger than "totemo." For example "you're really busy" or "It's been a long time."

zuibun isogashiin desu ne
You're sure busy...

zuibun hisashiburi desu ne
"It really has been a long time, hasn't it?"

[eye08074430]

Hi all, can someone help me . I am absolute beginner in Japanese. In the lesson no 6 absolute beginner season 1, I keep hearing only さしぶり instead of ひさしぶり. Also it is so much easier to say if I drop ひ。
Thank you
Piyah

[ericf]

I can hear おひさしぶりです but the ひ is the quietest part, it almost sounds like い to me.

[eye08074430]

Thank you very much for your help. In spoken Japanese, does one pronounce the h in hi or as how some people says "herb" ?

Thank you

Piyah

[community.japanese]

eye08074430-san, エリックsan,
kon'nichiwa!

eye08074430-san, do you mean people drop "h" like "h" in "herb"?
If so, it's not quite same. Like エリックsan said, it sounds "almost" like い, but not really い
It's more similar to snakes' hissing sound
I'd say, if there's any letter to drop, it'd be "i" in "hi", not "h": becoming "ohsashburi desu".
Because "h" is what's called "unvoiced" consonant, it's easily dropped and even vowel "i" becomes voiceless.
As a result, some people find this sound more like hissing sound without vowel, and other people hear
voiceless [i] without consonant.

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com

[eye08074430]

Dear Natsuko
Thank you so very much for the explanation. Your explanation is exactly what I thought I heard, .
For the formal way of speaking, I thought I heard Oiss ta'shiburi desu or something like Oiss te'shiburi desu.
For the informal, I thought I heard i'sashiburi desu.
Would it be acceptable to say in the formal way, oiss sashiburi desu or o isashiburi desu instead of the proper O hisashiburi desu?
For the informal, can I say i'sashiburi desu, instead of hisashiburi desu, dropping the H to change to I sound.

I suppose my hearing will improve with time as I listen to more Japanese.

Thank you very much.
Piyah

[community.japanese]

Piyah-san,
you're very welcome
Glad I could help!

Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com