Quote:
Originally Posted by Maxful
Thanks, masaegu san. I would also like to know what are the differences between "なんでもない" (Nothing) and "べつに" (Nothing).
And also, I am very curious to know the differences between "わかりません" and "知りません" when referring to "I don't know?".
I understand that "わかりません" usually stands for "I don't understand" but somehow I think that it can also be use when saying "I don't know" as well. Do correct me if I am wrong.
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The difference between "なんでもない" and "べつに" is that the latter sounds pretty curt when the former is a near sentence.
You don't say べつに in situations where you are expected to speak with a certain level of formality. On the other hand, if you change the ない part of なんでもない to ありません, then you can say it almost anywhere. べつに can only be said among close friends and others that you know well who are as old as you or younger.
The difference between "わかりません" and "知りません" is unclearer than most Japanese-learners seem to think. If someone thinks that the difference is the same one between "I don't understand" and "I don't know", then that is plain wrong and that person doesn't know much Japanese.
We use わかりません incomparably more often than 知りません.
To answer the following questions negatively, you say わかりません. It doesn't matter that English-speakers would use "I don't know" instead because English is not the language we are discussing here.
1. Do you know that girl's name?
2. What is the capital of China?
3. Can you tell me the answer to this math question?
4. Do you know what you want to do after college?
Answer with 知りません to these questions and you will sound
very foreign. Say 知りません at the risk of sounding indifferent to the content of the other person's question. Say 知りません at the risk of sounding like you are saying "I couldn't care less about that."
In conclusion, we rarely say 知りません just to mean "I don't know (something)". Use it when it's only natural that you don't know something. In other words, use it when you naturally have all the reasons to not know something like a stranger's email address.