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JF Ossan
 
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Join Date: Jun 2007
08-03-2008, 04:53 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wasabista View Post
Both sentences are wrong, as you've figured out.

In principle "de" means "with/using" and "ni" is a general locative or dative particle.

Saji de shiru o tabeta. I drank my soup with a spoon.
Hon no naka ni wa mushi ga ita. A bug was inside the book.


But Japanese uses "de" when describing an action, in places where we would say "in," not "with":

Watashi wa Ikebukuro de hataraite imasu. I work in Ikebukuro.
O-sento de kaminoke o aratta. I washed my hair in the public bath.
These are different uses of DE...correct, but just different.

Saji de shiru o tabeta.

And soup is "drank" (nomu) not eaten (taberu). I hear supuun (spoon) much more often than saji (almost never).
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