Question
Updated on
29 Nov 2022
- Simplified Chinese (China)
-
English (US)
-
Japanese
Question about English (US)
Which sounds more natural?
1. I know a little Japanese and Korean.
2. I know a little about Japanese and Korean.
Which sounds more natural?
1. I know a little Japanese and Korean.
2. I know a little about Japanese and Korean.
1. I know a little Japanese and Korean.
2. I know a little about Japanese and Korean.
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29 Nov 2022
Featured answer
- English (US)
I know a little Japanese and Korean.
2番
about Japanese and Korean.
この文の意味は文化
Read more comments
- English (US)
I know a little Japanese and Korean.
2番
about Japanese and Korean.
この文の意味は文化
- Simplified Chinese (China)
@JayB7 Thanks. So if I mean I know a little about the Japanese and Korean languages, I shouldn’t include “about”, right?
- English (US)
@studiousboy
I know and little japanese and korean = I speak japanese and korean
I know a little about japanese and korean (cultures) = I know about the people
- Simplified Chinese (China)
@JayB7 That’s very clear. Thank you! If it’s not a problem, can you look at this question too?
Which sounds more natural?
1. I don’t know much French.
2. I don’t know much about French.
Which sounds more natural?
1. I don’t know much French.
2. I don’t know much about French.
- English (US)
@studiousboy
1. I don’t know much French. (language)
2. I don’t know much about France. (the country)
- Simplified Chinese (China)
- English (US)
I don’t know much about Japan | the country
I don’t know much about Japanese | the culture / people
I don’t know much Japanese | I dont speak the language
- Simplified Chinese (China)
- English (US)
@studiousboy
so...
"France" is the country (place)
"French" = 語 is the language
"The french" =人the people / culture
"french people" = the people / culture
"Japan" is the country (place)
"Japanese" = 語 is the language
"The Japanese" =人the people / culture
"Japanese people" = the people / culture
"Spain" is the country (place)
"Spanish" = 語 is the language
"Spaniards" =人the people / culture
"America" is the country (place)
"English" = 語 is the language
"Americans" =人the people / culture
- Simplified Chinese (China)
- English (US)
I wouldn’t interpret “I know a little about Japanese and Korean” as “I know a little about those cultures” unless I was already in a conversation where people were discussing the cultures of different countries. The reason is that we generally only use those words as nouns when talking about the languages. So outside of any sort of context, I would understand that sentence to mean “I know a little about the Japanese and Korean languages”. You most likely don’t speak them, but maybe you know their history or certain grammatical aspects of the languages.
If you want to talk about culture, then you would just say that.
I know a little about Japanese and Korean culture.
You could also say:
I know a little about Japan and Korea.
But that’s a little more general.
Highly-rated answerer
- Simplified Chinese (China)
@bsloan7 Thank you! Then if you want to talk about the Japanese and Korean languages, which sentence would you say? Or which sentence sounds more natural to you?
1. I know a little Japanese and Korean.
2. I know a little about Japanese and Korean.
1. I know a little Japanese and Korean.
2. I know a little about Japanese and Korean.
- English (US)
@studiousboy It depends on what you’re trying to say. If you mean you speak a little Japanese and Korean, then you should use 1. If you don’t speak them but you know certain facts about the languages, then use 2.
Highly-rated answerer
- Simplified Chinese (China)
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