[stekun]

MMM has some good comments, and I will venture a few of my own.

Originally Posted by 82riceballs

1. what's the difference between
-naide and
-nakute

i know that u use naide for kudasai (wasurenaide kudasai), but i'm not sure what "nakute" is. i'm pretty sure they're both "continuative" forms of "nai".

oh wait, is "nakute" from "arimasen" or soemthing?

As you said, they are similiar. Here's how I think of it:
"Naide", as MMM said above, is for a command... specifically a negative command. So use it when you are telling someone not to do something. (ie. Tabenaide kudasai = Please don't eat. Also, Soko de magaranaide, masugu ni itte kudasai = Don't turn there, please go straight.)

"Nakute", on the other hand, would be translated not as a command, but a neutral statement (in the negative conjugation) followed by the word "and" (that is, it's continuative, as you said). (ie. Tabenakute, dekakemashita = I didn't eat and went out, or I went out without eating).

That's the gist anyway.

2. why is that after nouns, there is sometimes a "no nai" or a "no something else"
e.g. はずのない、かけがえのない、しまうのなら、etc.

This pattern is generally followed by a noun. So hazu no nai in full context is going to be something like naku hazu no nai otoko which would mean "a man that one would not expect to cry". Likewise, genki no nai hito would be "an unhappy person" or more directly "a person with no high spirits". Translating without the following noun to give context would be tough. Maybe someone else has a better explanation?

3. 不思議なくらい- can someone break this down & translate it? I think it means "it's so wonderful". (fushigi na) + (kurai), but what's "kurai"?

Not sure here. I wonder if you mean gurai? Fushigi na gurai is a phrase I have heard several times, although I'm struggling with a good translation. Something like, "It's so weird, I might even call it fushigi". Yuck, that's a bad translation. If you do mean kurai, however, then it sounds a little funny to me, but MMM's translation as "a mysterious darkness" is a good one.

4. what's 数えきれぬ？ i know that kazoe = number, but i don't get the rest. (btw, it's from the song "Jewel Song" by BoA.)

Kazoe-(ru) is a verb meaning "to count". Kireru is to "cut off" or "to end". The nu at the end is an archaic/poetic way to say -nai (the negative verb conjugation). Put the pieces together and you get "Counting that doesn't end" or "Uncountable" which implies "infinite" or "endless".

5. can someone help me with translating this:
諦めるよりも辛いよ (Giving up is more painful than)
「失くすこと」に慣れちゃ (getting used to losing)
何もしない後悔より (???????????????)
…いっそ　打たれてたい (i'd rather be punched)

Ugh... as mentioned above, translating songs is a crummy way to study language, as they break the rules all the time, or say things in poetic language, which is far from what is spoken on a daily basis. I mean, if you communicated in English using language from song lyrics, people would look at you funny! That said, I'll take a stab at it, just for fun, but I'll let you determine how accurate you think this is!

It's more bitter than giving up (I use "It's" because the context is unclear)
Getting used to losing
is better than regrets from doing nothing
I'd rather be hit/punched/whatever

That last line is funny...! I wonder what the full context is on that one?

Anyways, hope that helps a little.