/jp/ - Otaku Culture

[Anonymous No.]

Since the Japanese will often use the other person's name when talking to them, how do I tell whether or not a sentence is talking TO a person or ABOUT a person in this kind of situation?

Here's an example from Genki:

りーさんのせんもんはぶんがくですね。
Which Genki says is:
"Ms. Lee, your major is literature, right?"

How do I know that it's this and not something like:
"Ms. Lee's major is literature, right?"

And don't try to tell me it's the ね on the end.

Pic not related.

[Furukawa Nagisa is Mai Waifu !NAGISAKjgA No.]

It's not the ね at the end.

It's all contextual. From that one line, you would simply imply that you're talking about that person to another person, unless that person was the one you were talking to. You wouldn't even be able to determine the gender with just さん either.

[Anonymous No.]

Context.

The example sentences mean both.

[Anonymous No.]

you best be trolling

[Anonymous of the Wujiao Court No.]

干嘛两母狗

[Anonymous No.]

Your sentence can mean both. Hurr durr