Recent searches
Search options
Administered by:
I'm not sure I understand when Japanese use English loanwords (in katakana) instead of Japanese ones (given that there are both). Like there's the word 贈り物 for "present, gift" but then プレゼント is used. The same thing with 吸血鬼 for "vampire" and ヴァンパイア.
I wonder if there's inner logic, rule or it's just preference 
#LanguageLearning #Japanese
@ivaliya I often wonder the same
@ivaliya Hi. I suppose that they (we) introduce the loanwords into Japanese speech as a kind of synonym, chiefly for enriching vocabulary, just as English has similar words such as "understand", "figure out", "grasp", "comprehend", etc.
As for the examples you gave, "贈り物" is rather a formal expression which are used in general contexts, while プレゼント is usually used for happy and intimate action such as birthday.
Similarly, 吸血鬼 is a common explanation, description or meaning of blood-sucking monsters. And ordinary comic/anime/game fans will take the word "ヴァンパイア" as being accompanied by specific properties, especially the Western folklore and mythology.
As a whole, words with Chinese characters tend to be formal, and katakana loanwords are often taken as casual, cool, friendly nuance, IMO.
@mikoto @ivaliya seconding this! Additionally, if you like video explanations you might find this one helpful. I like this guy a lot and he's a linguist by profession, so you can count on him knowing what he's talking about. https://youtu.be/BfY8R12f0O0
@mikoto Thank you for the answer! I knew they were synonyms but couldn't figure out how appropriate it would be if I used a loanword instead of the "pure" Japanese one, whether there are any nuances or they are completely interchangeable. And as I suspected, it comes round to a case-by-case basis and a specific situation. I guess the full understanding comes with a more advanced level of language 
@ivaliya Thank you for your reply.
It seems that there are no grammatical rules for imported words and they often depend on the common usage and individual rhetoric.
If you encounter katakana borrowed words that have complicated nuances and you could post questions about them, perhaps I can offer my own understandings of those expressions.
@mikoto That's a very sweet offer on your part. Thank you!