Breakdown of tebineri ni kagirazu, rokuro mo eraberu.
Questions & Answers about tebineri ni kagirazu, rokuro mo eraberu.
How is this sentence read?
It is read:
てびねり に かぎらず、ろくろ も えらべる。
A more natural pronunciation without spacing would be:
手びねりに限らず、ろくろも選べる。
Word-by-word readings:
- 手びねり → てびねり
- 限らず → かぎらず
- ろくろ → ろくろ
- 選べる → えらべる
What does 手びねり mean?
手びねり refers to shaping pottery by hand, without using a wheel.
In pottery English, this is often called:
- hand-building
- hand-shaping
- sometimes hand-molding
So in this sentence, 手びねり is one pottery method being mentioned as an option.
What does ろくろ mean here?
What does に限らず mean?
に限らず means not limited to..., not only..., or not restricted to....
So:
- 手びねりに限らず = not limited to hand-building
- or more naturally, not only hand-building
This pattern is used when the speaker wants to say that something applies beyond the item just mentioned.
A useful way to think of it is:
A に限らず、B も ...
= Not only A; B is also ...
= It’s not limited to A; B is available too
Why is the particle に used before 限らず?
Is に限らず the same as だけでなく?
They are similar, but not exactly the same.
- A だけでなく B も = not only A but also B
- A に限らず B も = not limited to A; B too
In many sentences, the translation may end up very similar. But に限らず has a stronger nuance of scope or restriction.
So here:
手びねりだけでなく、ろくろも選べる。
= Not only hand-building, you can also choose the wheel.手びねりに限らず、ろくろも選べる。
= It’s not limited to hand-building; the wheel is also available.
The second one sounds a little more like the available options are broader than just hand-building.
What does the も after ろくろ do?
も means also or too.
So ろくろも選べる means:
- you can also choose the wheel
- wheel-throwing is also available
The も matches the idea introduced by に限らず:
- it’s not limited to 手びねり
- ろくろ is also an option
Without も, the sentence would sound less clearly contrastive.
Why is the verb 選べる instead of 選ぶ?
選べる is the potential form of 選ぶ.
- 選ぶ = to choose
- 選べる = can choose / be able to choose
So ろくろも選べる means:
- you can choose the wheel too
If it were 選ぶ, it would mean something more like choose or will choose, which does not fit the intended meaning here.
Who is doing the choosing? The sentence doesn’t say.
Japanese often leaves the subject unstated when it is obvious from context.
So this sentence does not explicitly say:
- you can choose
- customers can choose
- participants can choose
But in context, it probably means something like:
- You can choose not only hand-building, but also wheel-throwing
- At this workshop/class, hand-building isn’t the only option; the wheel is available too
The omitted subject is understood from the situation.
Is something omitted after 手びねり and ろくろ?
Yes, possibly.
In full, the sentence might conceptually mean something like:
- 手びねりのコースに限らず、ろくろのコースも選べる。
- 手びねりだけに限らず、ろくろも選べる。
But Japanese often leaves out repeated words when they are easy to understand.
So the sentence is compact:
- 手びねりに限らず、ろくろも選べる。
The listener naturally fills in the idea of method, course, or option.
Why is there a comma after 限らず?
The comma marks a pause between the two parts:
- 手びねりに限らず、
- ろくろも選べる。
This makes the contrast easier to follow.
It is similar to writing in English:
- Not only hand-building, you can also choose the wheel.
The comma is not absolutely the core of the grammar, but it is very natural in writing because に限らず introduces the first setup part of the sentence.
Is this sentence formal or casual?
It is fairly neutral, but slightly plain in style because it ends with 選べる rather than 選べます.
Compare:
- 手びねりに限らず、ろくろも選べる。 → plain style
- 手びねりに限らず、ろくろも選べます。 → polite style
Both are natural. The choice depends on context:
- ads, explanations, casual writing: plain form can be fine
- customer-facing speech or polite service language: 選べます may be more natural
Could this sentence be translated as not just hand-building, but wheel-throwing too?
Yes, that is a very natural way to understand it.
Even if the exact English wording changes, the grammar is expressing this idea:
- the choice is not restricted to hand-building
- wheel-throwing is also available
So translations such as these are all reasonable depending on context:
- It’s not limited to hand-building; you can also choose the wheel.
- Not only hand-building, wheel-throwing is also available.
- You can choose not just hand-building, but also wheel-throwing.
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