Breakdown of kanozyo ha hito ga ooi tokoro de nihongo wo hanasuno wo hazukasigaru keredo, ie de ha yoku rensyuusite iru.
Questions & Answers about kanozyo ha hito ga ooi tokoro de nihongo wo hanasuno wo hazukasigaru keredo, ie de ha yoku rensyuusite iru.
Why is it 人が多いところ and not something like 多い人ところ?
Because 人が多い is a full clause meaning there are many people, and that whole clause modifies ところ (place).
So:
- 人が多い = many people are there / there are many people
- 人が多いところ = a place where there are many people
This is a very common Japanese pattern:
- 雨が降る日 = a day when it rains
- 私が住んでいる町 = the town where I live
Japanese often puts the descriptive clause before the noun it modifies.
Why is the particle が used in 人が多い?
In 人が多い, 人 is the thing being described as many, so が marks it.
- 人が多い = there are many people / people are numerous
This is the standard pattern with adjectives like 多い and 少ない:
- 学生が多い = there are many students
- 店が少ない = there are few stores
Even though English might make you expect something like many people in a place, Japanese naturally says people are many.
What does ところ mean here?
Here, ところ means place.
So:
- 人が多いところで = in a place where there are many people
Depending on context, this can mean:
- a crowded place
- a place with lots of people around
- in public
It does not mean a very specific physical spot only. It can be broader and more situational.
Why is there a で after ところ?
What is 話すの doing here? Why is の needed?
The の turns the verb 話す (to speak) into a noun-like phrase: speaking.
So:
- 日本語を話す = to speak Japanese
- 日本語を話すの = speaking Japanese
This is necessary because 恥ずかしがる is reacting to the act of speaking Japanese, so that action has to be treated like a thing.
A very natural English comparison is:
- She is shy about speaking Japanese
Japanese expresses that by nominalizing the verb with の.
Why is it 話すのを恥ずかしがる? What is the を marking?
The を marks the thing she feels shy about.
So:
- 日本語を話すの = speaking Japanese
- 日本語を話すのを恥ずかしがる = to feel shy/embarrassed about speaking Japanese
This pattern is common when an action is turned into a noun phrase with の and then becomes the object of another verb.
You can think of it as:
- [speaking Japanese] is the thing she is embarrassed about
What is the difference between 恥ずかしい and 恥ずかしがる?
This is a very important point.
- 恥ずかしい = to feel embarrassed / embarrassing
- 恥ずかしがる = to act embarrassed, to be shy about, to show embarrassment
Why use 恥ずかしがる here?
Because Japanese often avoids directly stating another person’s inner feelings with an adjective like 恥ずかしい, unless the speaker has special knowledge or is reporting it in a certain way. For third person, 〜がる is very common because it describes observable behavior or tendency.
So:
- 彼女は恥ずかしい can sound odd or incomplete in many contexts
- 彼女は恥ずかしがる = she acts shy / she is shy about it
In this sentence, it means she tends to feel shy or embarrassed about speaking Japanese in front of many people.
Why is there は after 彼女, and then another は in 家では?
These two は do slightly different jobs.
1. 彼女は
This sets she as the main topic of the sentence.
- 彼女は = as for her / she
2. 家では
This is で + は, and it creates contrast.
- 家で = at home
- 家では = at home, at least / when it comes to at home
The sentence contrasts two situations:
- 人が多いところでは shy
- 家では practices a lot
So は helps highlight the contrast:
- in public/crowded places → shy
- at home → practices often
What does けれど mean here? Is it just but?
Yes, here けれど means but / although.
It connects two contrasting ideas:
- she is shy about speaking Japanese where many people are around,
- but at home she practices a lot.
Compared with でも, けれど often sounds smoother and more connected inside a sentence. It can also sound a bit softer.
Very roughly:
Why is it 練習している instead of just 練習する?
〜ている here shows an ongoing or habitual state.
So よく練習している means:
- she is often practicing
- she practices a lot
- she has the habit of practicing
It does not necessarily mean she is practicing right this second. In many cases, 〜ている can describe repeated or continuing behavior.
Compare:
- 毎日日本語を勉強している = I study Japanese every day / I’ve been studying Japanese
- 彼はよく走っている = he runs often
What does よく mean here?
よく here means often.
So:
- 家ではよく練習している = at home, she practices often / she practices a lot at home
Be careful: よく can also mean well, depending on context.
Examples:
- 日本語がよく分かる = understand Japanese well
- よく行く店 = a store I often go to
In this sentence, because it is modifying 練習している, the meaning is often.
Is 人が多いところで日本語を話すのを恥ずかしがる a natural way to say she is shy about speaking Japanese in public?
Yes, it is natural and understandable.
Literally, it is more like:
- She feels shy about speaking Japanese in places where there are many people.
This carries the idea of:
- speaking in front of others
- speaking in crowded places
- speaking in public
So if the English meaning shown to the learner is something like She is shy about speaking Japanese in public, but at home she practices a lot, that matches the Japanese well.
Could 日本語を話すの be replaced with 日本語を話すこと?
Yes, it could.
- 日本語を話すのを恥ずかしがる
- 日本語を話すことを恥ずかしがる
Both are possible.
General tendency:
- の often sounds a bit more direct, immediate, or conversational
- こと can sound a bit more formal or abstract
In everyday speech, の is very common in this kind of sentence.
Why does the sentence use both ところで and 家で? Are they the same kind of で?
Yes, they are the same basic particle: で marks the location of an action.
- 人が多いところで = in places where there are many people
- 家で = at home
The difference is just the noun before で:
- ところ = place
- 家 = home
So grammatically they work the same way. The sentence is contrasting two locations/situations:
- in crowded places
- at home
That contrast is a key part of the sentence’s meaning.
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