なす (nasu), やる (yaru), する (suru) べきこと (beki koto)

ihitokage

Senior Member
Czech
こんにちは
how do these three differ? It seems like なす (nasu), やる (yaru), する (suru) are quite interchangeable, just やる (yaru) cannot be used to turn nouns to verb, right? なす (nasu) can be? I was surprised to see that なす (nasu) and する (suru) share the same kanji 為.
I know that the verbs used with べきこと (beki koto) mean "the thing I should do" or kind of "my duty", right? Do they differ somehow? Do some of the words sound, for example, more strong or decisive?
よろしくお願いします
 
  • Very generally speaking, なす has a higher register and is used in written or more formal contexts. する is the basic verb and can be used in nearly all situations. やる is more colloquial, and depending on the situation, could even be offensive.

    Also, we don't usually use べき to translate the idea of "should" in everyday speech. It also has a higher register. That is, while べき is indeed used, there are other constructions that are used more often.

    It would help if you gave us a sentence in English that you want to translate, along with a specific situation (context), and we can tell you what would sound natural in Japanese.
     
    Thanks, I don't have any specific sentence. I just heard these words a lot and wanted to know when should one use them. Your explanation is good!
    ありがとうございます
     
    I wish to point out the fact that なる is usually written as 成る in kanji whereas 為る is usually する. Also you'll see the former in kanji a lot more, and I mean a lot more, than the latter, especially in modern texts.
     
    In a text I happen to be translating, I just now came across an example of the use of 為す (なす).

    ...することは、当業者が適宜為し得るものと認められる。

    This text is very formal (from a legal document produced by a government agency). The above fragment translates to "doing this is recognized as something that a person skilled in the art could do as needed."

    And of course we also have the 敬語 of なさる, which also means "to do." This word is used in everyday speech in forms such as ごめんなさい. And another word that means "to do" and is used in formal texts is 致す (いたす).
     
    Na-su 為す‣成す= na-ra su/seru 成らせる = make/force (to) bear fruit(s) 実を成らせる・実らせる = achieve/accomplish something big/great by much endeavor.
    する = a neutral basic verb.
    やる・遣る = cast/send away/off > do something half-heartedly/semi-playfully/non-diligently, as if semi-casting it off/about/around nonchalantly.
    ドイツ語をやっております。= I'm doing/smattering/dabbling_with・on・at a bit of the German language half in sport = just for fun, but not studying it so hard/earnestly/seriously.

    PS

    子をなした仲 = (a married/lovers couple on the) sexual terms resulting in begetting/having/producing a_child/children.

    為せば成る。=Only if you will/are_willing_to keep acting/working hard to make things happen or to achieve those things, they surely really *will* happen/get_achieved for you.
     
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