Breakdown of senshitsu ga chigau.
がga
subject particle
違うchigau
to be different
泉質senshitsu
the mineral composition of hot-spring water
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Questions & Answers about senshitsu ga chigau.
Why is が used in 泉質が違う?
が marks 泉質 as the thing that is different.
With 違う, the thing that differs is often marked by が:
- 味が違う = The taste is different.
- 色が違う = The color is different.
- 泉質が違う = The spring quality/composition is different.
If you used は instead, the nuance would change. は would make 泉質 the topic, often with a contrastive feeling:
- 泉質は違う。 = As for the spring quality, it’s different.
So が is the most neutral way to say that the spring quality itself is different.
Why is 違う not an adjective if English uses different?
Even though English uses the adjective different, Japanese uses 違う, which is a verb.
That is why it conjugates like a verb:
- dictionary form: 違う
- polite form: 違います
- past: 違った
- negative: 違わない
So 泉質が違う is grammatically more like The spring quality differs than The spring quality is different, even though the natural English translation may use different.
What exactly does 泉質 mean?