# Are you sure that



## chu_bun

For example, someone wants to exchange a product but we don't think it's ours.  We like to say:
    Are you sure you bought this product from me?
Does this sounds OK?
    この製品を私の店から買ったことを確かめてください。


----------



## mikun

Hi,
The orthodox question will be ,
お客様のお持ちになったこの商品は私どもの所でお求めになったものでございましょうか？
There are many variations of course.


----------



## xiaolijie

mikun said:


> Hi,
> The orthodox question will be ,
> お客様のお持ちになったこの商品は私どもの所でお求めになったものでございましょうか？
> There are many variations of course.


That's right, but if you think the sentence is too formal, here is something simpler to say:
この品物はここで買ったんですか？


----------



## uchi.m

xiaolijie said:


> That's right, but if you think the sentence is too formal, here is something simpler to say:
> この品物はここで買ったんですか？


それはどこで買ったんですか？うちですか？


----------



## chu_bun

Thank you for the replies.  Is there an equivalence for "Are you sure" in Japanese that can be used to ask the listener to confirm a decision or a prediction.  For example:
"Are you sure you want to marry her?"
"Are you sure your company stock price will go up tomorrow?"
...


----------



## Flaminius

Not surprisingly, *chu_bun*, the answer is no.  There is no single Japanese equivalent that can replace "are you sure" in any context.  Admittedly they can use a common construction:


> "Are you sure you want to marry her?"
> "Are you sure your company stock price will go up tomorrow?"


First one translates into:
彼女と結婚したいという気持ちは確かですか。

while the latter
明日株価が上がるというのは確かですか。


The construction xは確かですか COULD be used in your first example but you would not want to sound very incredulous to a customer.  I'd say:
この商品は、確かにお客様がこちらでお買い上げになったものでございますか。


----------



## chu_bun

Thank you for the sample sentences and explanations.  They are really helpful!


----------



## uchi.m

Hello-o 


Flaminius said:


> First one translates into:
> 彼女と結婚したいという気持ちは確かですか。


This is not exactly what the English original asks; the backward translation of this sentence, Flaminius-sensei, into English would be _Is it true that you'd like to marry her?_ 

The answer to this new, backward-translated question confirms the truthfulness of what is being asked but not whether the answerer has decided or not to marry her, which is the intent of the original question.

What I mean is that the following translation best suits Matto-  chu-bun needs:Xさんとけっこんしたいのは決めた？


Flaminius said:


> while the latter
> 明日株価が上がるというのは確かですか。


This one is okay because there's no way for anybody to 決め-rize the stock prices, can them?


----------



## chu_bun

"Xさんとけっこんしたいのは決めた？" sounds like I'm asking whether he makes a decision which I don't think is a correct translation.

"Are you sure some_decision_here" implies the person already makes up his mind.  It's I who questioning the wise-ness of his decision.  

The second one has nothing to do with 決め.  I'm seeking a confirmation for a prediction.  For example, the person may have insider information that supports his prediction: "We will announce winning a big contract latter today.  The stock will surely jump after the announcement".


----------



## uchi.m

chu_bun said:


> "Xさんとけっこんしたいのは決めた？" sounds like I'm asking whether he makes a decision which I don't think is a correct translation.
> 
> "Are you sure some_decision_here" implies the person already makes up his mind.  It's I who questioning the wise-ness of his decision.


That's why Flaminius-sensei always calls for context. But, as awkward as it may seem, Flaminius-sensei translated your sentence ad hoc and you agreed with her translation as if you both had a previous agenda which I was, of course, not aware of.


chu_bun said:


> The second one has nothing to do with 決め.  I'm seeking a confirmation for a prediction.  For example, the person may have insider information that supports his prediction: "We will announce winning a big contract latter today.  The stock will surely jump after the announcement".


That's exactly what I said: no kime. And, now, one more time: I am NOT sukebei.


----------



## Flaminius

The sentence Xさんとけっこんしたいのは決めた？ is ungrammatical.  There is no discussing what its meaning would be in any context.

Correct me if I am wrong but, *chu_bun*, are you saying that the English sentence is never a neutral question asking how strong one's desire to marry the girl?Are you sure you want to marry her?​ 
My Japanese translation is more neutral but can serve as a discreet expression of objection.彼女と結婚したいという気持ちは確かですか。​
If you want to be more straightforward, you would simply say: 本当に彼女と結婚したいんですか。



uchi.m said:


> But, as awkward as it may seem, Flaminius-sensei  translated your sentence ad hoc and you agreed with her his translation as  if you both had a previous agenda which I was, of course, not aware  of.



My agendum was to demonstrate how the two sentences can be translated with は確かだ.  It awkwardly coincided with what *chu_bun* wanted to know.



> And, now, one more time: I am NOT sukebei.


I doubt if anyone ever called you _sukebe_.


----------



## uchi.m

Thank you for all inputs.


----------



## chu_bun

These are just examples and are not really relevant.  I like to have a structure that can be used in different situations and find Flaminius San's "は確かだ" structure very useful.
Btw, these "agenda" and "sukebe" talks do make me think that there is a problem with someone's head.


----------

