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Intransitive when transitive seems meant 2021/4/20 23:47
Just from a book:

「私、彼女に全然伝わらないようだ。」

I understand the meaning of tsutawaru here ("it looks like I'm just not getting through to her"), but I'm wondering why it would be used and not tsutaeru. The verb is clearly transitive; there's a subject and an object. Is there a different nuance in using tsutawaru here?

Thank you for any assistance.
by Blenheim (guest)  

Re: Intransitive when transitive seems meant 2021/4/21 10:59
I think there is a bit of shortening/omitting here. What they are trying to say is:
私(の言いたいことが)、彼女に全然伝わらないようだ。
(What I want to say/what I mean doesn’t get through = doesn’t get conveyed = at all.)
By omitting this “what I want to say” or “my intentions” and shortening it to “I/me” only, it emphasizes that “I’m TOTALLY not getting through to her at all.”

If you want to use the word “tsutaeru,” then I would have to phrase it as:
私は彼女に言いたいことを伝えられないようだ。
(I seem unable to convey to her what I want to say/what I mean.) I am using the potential form here.

“Tsutaeru” takes a person as the subject doing the action of “communicating,” and “tsutawaru” goes with the contents that get communicated (be it message, what one wants to say, etc.)
by AK rate this post as useful

Re: Intransitive when transitive seems meant 2021/4/21 12:22
Okay, that makes total sense. I see what was intended now. As always, thank you for your help, AK.
by Blenheim (guest) rate this post as useful

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