32254
How to say that I (or someone else) wants to do something less (for example I
want to sleep less) in Japanese? What about I want to have less of something?
(For example I want to eat less, or I want to have fewer problems.)
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-17T19:14:28.097
32247
2016-02-18T08:55:28.187
2016-02-17T21:11:25.217
1628
11958
question
english-to-japanese
How to say "less" in Japanese (I want to do X less)
`less` is a powerful English word which doesn't have a direct equivalent in
Japanese for all cases. It depends on the action you're talking about. For
sleep, you could say:

> [毎日]{まいにち}もっと[短]{みじ}かく[寝]{ね}たいな。
>
> Gloss: Every day - more - shortly - want to sleep - eh
>
> TL: "Man, I wish I could sleep less every day."

Here we see "more + adverb" that fits the verb (referring to time here).

Another way to get around this is to say something grammatically different but
functionally the same (re: to have less of something):

> 服をちょっと[減]{へ}らした[方]{ほう}がいいんだな
>
> Gloss: Clothing - a little - ought to reduce - eh
>
> TL: I should really get rid of some of this clothing. (while inspecting
> one's overflowing closet, for instance)
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-17T20:02:05.550
32248
2016-02-17T20:02:05.550
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
8021
32247
answer
Literal translations such as 「(もっと/より)少なく + verb + したい」 would sound
unnatural... There would be several ways to say that, but off the top of my
head right now, I think you could probably use 「～を少なくしたい」 or 「～を減らしたい」, as in:

> 睡眠時間/寝る時間を減らしたい。  
>  睡眠時間/寝る時間を少なくしたい。  
>  I want to sleep less. (lit. I want to decrease sleeping time.)
>
> 食べる量を減らしたい。  
>  食べる量を少なくしたい。  
>  I want to eat less. (lit. I want to decrease eating amount.)
>
> 問題を減らしたい。  
>  問題を少なくしたい。  
>  I want to have fewer problems. (lit. I want to decrease problems.)
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-02-18T08:55:28.187
32254
2016-02-18T08:55:28.187
9831
32247
answer