Describe a span of time of 1 or 2 years, without being too literal












3















I'm looking for a word like "sometime ago", "a while ago", that is good for describing a 1-2 years span of time.



I feel like しばらく前 is for shorter spans of time, and 昔 is for longer ones. Is there something in the middle I could use here?



I wanna say something like:




I worked for that company sometime ago




Without being literal about how much time it has been since I've worked there




しばらく前、その会社で働きました。







words







share|improve this question


















  • 2





    Did you consider 以前?

    – Ringil
    9 hours ago











  • @Ringil No, not at all. Actually, I believe that's the first time i'm reading this word.

    – Felipe Oliveira
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    以前 is a great word for this situation!

    – ajsmart
    9 hours ago











  • @Ringil A quick answer with this word in a sentence, and why it's fitting would maybe be helpful for people visiting this question in the future.

    – Felipe Oliveira
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    「[前]{まえ}にその会社で働いてました」とか・・　（1～2年なら「しばらく前に、その会社で働いてました」でもいいと思うけど）

    – Chocolate♦
    19 mins ago


















3















I'm looking for a word like "sometime ago", "a while ago", that is good for describing a 1-2 years span of time.



I feel like しばらく前 is for shorter spans of time, and 昔 is for longer ones. Is there something in the middle I could use here?



I wanna say something like:




I worked for that company sometime ago




Without being literal about how much time it has been since I've worked there




しばらく前、その会社で働きました。







words







share|improve this question


















  • 2





    Did you consider 以前?

    – Ringil
    9 hours ago











  • @Ringil No, not at all. Actually, I believe that's the first time i'm reading this word.

    – Felipe Oliveira
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    以前 is a great word for this situation!

    – ajsmart
    9 hours ago











  • @Ringil A quick answer with this word in a sentence, and why it's fitting would maybe be helpful for people visiting this question in the future.

    – Felipe Oliveira
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    「[前]{まえ}にその会社で働いてました」とか・・　（1～2年なら「しばらく前に、その会社で働いてました」でもいいと思うけど）

    – Chocolate♦
    19 mins ago
















3












3








3








I'm looking for a word like "sometime ago", "a while ago", that is good for describing a 1-2 years span of time.



I feel like しばらく前 is for shorter spans of time, and 昔 is for longer ones. Is there something in the middle I could use here?



I wanna say something like:




I worked for that company sometime ago




Without being literal about how much time it has been since I've worked there




しばらく前、その会社で働きました。







words







share|improve this question














I'm looking for a word like "sometime ago", "a while ago", that is good for describing a 1-2 years span of time.



I feel like しばらく前 is for shorter spans of time, and 昔 is for longer ones. Is there something in the middle I could use here?



I wanna say something like:




I worked for that company sometime ago




Without being literal about how much time it has been since I've worked there




しばらく前、その会社で働きました。







words




words






share|improve this question













share|improve this question











share|improve this question




share|improve this question










asked 11 hours ago









Felipe OliveiraFelipe Oliveira

1,977719




1,977719








  • 2





    Did you consider 以前?

    – Ringil
    9 hours ago











  • @Ringil No, not at all. Actually, I believe that's the first time i'm reading this word.

    – Felipe Oliveira
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    以前 is a great word for this situation!

    – ajsmart
    9 hours ago











  • @Ringil A quick answer with this word in a sentence, and why it's fitting would maybe be helpful for people visiting this question in the future.

    – Felipe Oliveira
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    「[前]{まえ}にその会社で働いてました」とか・・　（1～2年なら「しばらく前に、その会社で働いてました」でもいいと思うけど）

    – Chocolate♦
    19 mins ago
















  • 2





    Did you consider 以前?

    – Ringil
    9 hours ago











  • @Ringil No, not at all. Actually, I believe that's the first time i'm reading this word.

    – Felipe Oliveira
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    以前 is a great word for this situation!

    – ajsmart
    9 hours ago











  • @Ringil A quick answer with this word in a sentence, and why it's fitting would maybe be helpful for people visiting this question in the future.

    – Felipe Oliveira
    9 hours ago






  • 1





    「[前]{まえ}にその会社で働いてました」とか・・　（1～2年なら「しばらく前に、その会社で働いてました」でもいいと思うけど）

    – Chocolate♦
    19 mins ago










2




2





Did you consider 以前?

– Ringil
9 hours ago





Did you consider 以前?

– Ringil
9 hours ago













@Ringil No, not at all. Actually, I believe that's the first time i'm reading this word.

– Felipe Oliveira
9 hours ago





@Ringil No, not at all. Actually, I believe that's the first time i'm reading this word.

– Felipe Oliveira
9 hours ago




1




1





以前 is a great word for this situation!

– ajsmart
9 hours ago





以前 is a great word for this situation!

– ajsmart
9 hours ago













@Ringil A quick answer with this word in a sentence, and why it's fitting would maybe be helpful for people visiting this question in the future.

– Felipe Oliveira
9 hours ago





@Ringil A quick answer with this word in a sentence, and why it's fitting would maybe be helpful for people visiting this question in the future.

– Felipe Oliveira
9 hours ago




1




1





「[前]{まえ}にその会社で働いてました」とか・・　（1～2年なら「しばらく前に、その会社で働いてました」でもいいと思うけど）

– Chocolate♦
19 mins ago







「[前]{まえ}にその会社で働いてました」とか・・　（1～2年なら「しばらく前に、その会社で働いてました」でもいいと思うけど）

– Chocolate♦
19 mins ago












2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















2














So in my experience, if we want to describe a couple years without being specific, we would use the following:




何年か｛なんねんか｝




This seems to be what you are trying to describe, and I am sure that there are other ways to do it, but keeping it simple in this case is probably for the best.



Using the example phrase you provided, I would say the following:




何年か前、その会社で働いていました。




EDIT:
On further though of this answer, I thought that I should make some additional appendages.



何年か is not specific to the number of years, but it is typically implied to be more than 1, maybe 2 years, as the translation could reasonably be a few years ago.



If you're looking for something more specific, you could say 1，2年前, but that is probably more specific than what you are looking for.



If you're specifically trying to be non specific about when it was that you worked there, you can also just say: 前、その会社...



As has been stated in the other answer, 以前 can also work.






share|improve this answer


























  • I see, thanks a lot for the answer! I know this may probably be a different question, but why did you choose 働いていました over 働きました? Is it simply Was working vs worked? Or do you feel there is something else there that makes it more natural?

    – Felipe Oliveira
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    They are both grammatically correct. I see the working as an ongoing past-tense action, so using the ている form felt more natural to me. It might be wise to consider asking this in a separate question though, just to see what others think. jlptsensei.com/learn-japanese-grammar/…

    – ajsmart
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    Admittedly, my instincts have been known to be wrong before, but I think it also feels more natural.

    – ajsmart
    10 hours ago











  • Ok, I’ll try to read a bit about it and if I’m still not sure about it, I might ask another question, thanks a lot!!

    – Felipe Oliveira
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    Here's another answer I wrote about the construct. japanese.stackexchange.com/a/51701/22352

    – ajsmart
    10 hours ago



















2














以前 might be what you're looking for. From デジタル大辞泉




２ 今より前の時点。現在から見て近い過去。副詞的にも用いる。「―と違って今では」「―会ったことがある」




Note that some other dictionaries like 大辞林 and 明鏡 think the referred to time is relatively far in the past: 今よりもだいぶ前 for the former and 現在より（かなり）前 for the latter.　But I think this word fulfills your requirement for the vagueness of the time pretty well.



Using your example you might say:




以前、その会社で働いていました




I think it'd be fairly close to something like I used to work for that company in English.






share|improve this answer


























  • That's cool, thanks a lot for the answer!!!

    – Felipe Oliveira
    8 hours ago











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2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









2














So in my experience, if we want to describe a couple years without being specific, we would use the following:




何年か｛なんねんか｝




This seems to be what you are trying to describe, and I am sure that there are other ways to do it, but keeping it simple in this case is probably for the best.



Using the example phrase you provided, I would say the following:




何年か前、その会社で働いていました。




EDIT:
On further though of this answer, I thought that I should make some additional appendages.



何年か is not specific to the number of years, but it is typically implied to be more than 1, maybe 2 years, as the translation could reasonably be a few years ago.



If you're looking for something more specific, you could say 1，2年前, but that is probably more specific than what you are looking for.



If you're specifically trying to be non specific about when it was that you worked there, you can also just say: 前、その会社...



As has been stated in the other answer, 以前 can also work.






share|improve this answer


























  • I see, thanks a lot for the answer! I know this may probably be a different question, but why did you choose 働いていました over 働きました? Is it simply Was working vs worked? Or do you feel there is something else there that makes it more natural?

    – Felipe Oliveira
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    They are both grammatically correct. I see the working as an ongoing past-tense action, so using the ている form felt more natural to me. It might be wise to consider asking this in a separate question though, just to see what others think. jlptsensei.com/learn-japanese-grammar/…

    – ajsmart
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    Admittedly, my instincts have been known to be wrong before, but I think it also feels more natural.

    – ajsmart
    10 hours ago











  • Ok, I’ll try to read a bit about it and if I’m still not sure about it, I might ask another question, thanks a lot!!

    – Felipe Oliveira
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    Here's another answer I wrote about the construct. japanese.stackexchange.com/a/51701/22352

    – ajsmart
    10 hours ago
















2














So in my experience, if we want to describe a couple years without being specific, we would use the following:




何年か｛なんねんか｝




This seems to be what you are trying to describe, and I am sure that there are other ways to do it, but keeping it simple in this case is probably for the best.



Using the example phrase you provided, I would say the following:




何年か前、その会社で働いていました。




EDIT:
On further though of this answer, I thought that I should make some additional appendages.



何年か is not specific to the number of years, but it is typically implied to be more than 1, maybe 2 years, as the translation could reasonably be a few years ago.



If you're looking for something more specific, you could say 1，2年前, but that is probably more specific than what you are looking for.



If you're specifically trying to be non specific about when it was that you worked there, you can also just say: 前、その会社...



As has been stated in the other answer, 以前 can also work.






share|improve this answer


























  • I see, thanks a lot for the answer! I know this may probably be a different question, but why did you choose 働いていました over 働きました? Is it simply Was working vs worked? Or do you feel there is something else there that makes it more natural?

    – Felipe Oliveira
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    They are both grammatically correct. I see the working as an ongoing past-tense action, so using the ている form felt more natural to me. It might be wise to consider asking this in a separate question though, just to see what others think. jlptsensei.com/learn-japanese-grammar/…

    – ajsmart
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    Admittedly, my instincts have been known to be wrong before, but I think it also feels more natural.

    – ajsmart
    10 hours ago











  • Ok, I’ll try to read a bit about it and if I’m still not sure about it, I might ask another question, thanks a lot!!

    – Felipe Oliveira
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    Here's another answer I wrote about the construct. japanese.stackexchange.com/a/51701/22352

    – ajsmart
    10 hours ago














2












2








2







So in my experience, if we want to describe a couple years without being specific, we would use the following:




何年か｛なんねんか｝




This seems to be what you are trying to describe, and I am sure that there are other ways to do it, but keeping it simple in this case is probably for the best.



Using the example phrase you provided, I would say the following:




何年か前、その会社で働いていました。




EDIT:
On further though of this answer, I thought that I should make some additional appendages.



何年か is not specific to the number of years, but it is typically implied to be more than 1, maybe 2 years, as the translation could reasonably be a few years ago.



If you're looking for something more specific, you could say 1，2年前, but that is probably more specific than what you are looking for.



If you're specifically trying to be non specific about when it was that you worked there, you can also just say: 前、その会社...



As has been stated in the other answer, 以前 can also work.






share|improve this answer















So in my experience, if we want to describe a couple years without being specific, we would use the following:




何年か｛なんねんか｝




This seems to be what you are trying to describe, and I am sure that there are other ways to do it, but keeping it simple in this case is probably for the best.



Using the example phrase you provided, I would say the following:




何年か前、その会社で働いていました。




EDIT:
On further though of this answer, I thought that I should make some additional appendages.



何年か is not specific to the number of years, but it is typically implied to be more than 1, maybe 2 years, as the translation could reasonably be a few years ago.



If you're looking for something more specific, you could say 1，2年前, but that is probably more specific than what you are looking for.



If you're specifically trying to be non specific about when it was that you worked there, you can also just say: 前、その会社...



As has been stated in the other answer, 以前 can also work.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 8 hours ago

























answered 11 hours ago









ajsmartajsmart

4,19121237




4,19121237













  • I see, thanks a lot for the answer! I know this may probably be a different question, but why did you choose 働いていました over 働きました? Is it simply Was working vs worked? Or do you feel there is something else there that makes it more natural?

    – Felipe Oliveira
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    They are both grammatically correct. I see the working as an ongoing past-tense action, so using the ている form felt more natural to me. It might be wise to consider asking this in a separate question though, just to see what others think. jlptsensei.com/learn-japanese-grammar/…

    – ajsmart
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    Admittedly, my instincts have been known to be wrong before, but I think it also feels more natural.

    – ajsmart
    10 hours ago











  • Ok, I’ll try to read a bit about it and if I’m still not sure about it, I might ask another question, thanks a lot!!

    – Felipe Oliveira
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    Here's another answer I wrote about the construct. japanese.stackexchange.com/a/51701/22352

    – ajsmart
    10 hours ago



















  • I see, thanks a lot for the answer! I know this may probably be a different question, but why did you choose 働いていました over 働きました? Is it simply Was working vs worked? Or do you feel there is something else there that makes it more natural?

    – Felipe Oliveira
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    They are both grammatically correct. I see the working as an ongoing past-tense action, so using the ている form felt more natural to me. It might be wise to consider asking this in a separate question though, just to see what others think. jlptsensei.com/learn-japanese-grammar/…

    – ajsmart
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    Admittedly, my instincts have been known to be wrong before, but I think it also feels more natural.

    – ajsmart
    10 hours ago











  • Ok, I’ll try to read a bit about it and if I’m still not sure about it, I might ask another question, thanks a lot!!

    – Felipe Oliveira
    10 hours ago






  • 1





    Here's another answer I wrote about the construct. japanese.stackexchange.com/a/51701/22352

    – ajsmart
    10 hours ago

















I see, thanks a lot for the answer! I know this may probably be a different question, but why did you choose 働いていました over 働きました? Is it simply Was working vs worked? Or do you feel there is something else there that makes it more natural?

– Felipe Oliveira
10 hours ago





I see, thanks a lot for the answer! I know this may probably be a different question, but why did you choose 働いていました over 働きました? Is it simply Was working vs worked? Or do you feel there is something else there that makes it more natural?

– Felipe Oliveira
10 hours ago




1




1





They are both grammatically correct. I see the working as an ongoing past-tense action, so using the ている form felt more natural to me. It might be wise to consider asking this in a separate question though, just to see what others think. jlptsensei.com/learn-japanese-grammar/…

– ajsmart
10 hours ago





They are both grammatically correct. I see the working as an ongoing past-tense action, so using the ている form felt more natural to me. It might be wise to consider asking this in a separate question though, just to see what others think. jlptsensei.com/learn-japanese-grammar/…

– ajsmart
10 hours ago




1




1





Admittedly, my instincts have been known to be wrong before, but I think it also feels more natural.

– ajsmart
10 hours ago





Admittedly, my instincts have been known to be wrong before, but I think it also feels more natural.

– ajsmart
10 hours ago













Ok, I’ll try to read a bit about it and if I’m still not sure about it, I might ask another question, thanks a lot!!

– Felipe Oliveira
10 hours ago





Ok, I’ll try to read a bit about it and if I’m still not sure about it, I might ask another question, thanks a lot!!

– Felipe Oliveira
10 hours ago




1




1





Here's another answer I wrote about the construct. japanese.stackexchange.com/a/51701/22352

– ajsmart
10 hours ago





Here's another answer I wrote about the construct. japanese.stackexchange.com/a/51701/22352

– ajsmart
10 hours ago











2














以前 might be what you're looking for. From デジタル大辞泉




２ 今より前の時点。現在から見て近い過去。副詞的にも用いる。「―と違って今では」「―会ったことがある」




Note that some other dictionaries like 大辞林 and 明鏡 think the referred to time is relatively far in the past: 今よりもだいぶ前 for the former and 現在より（かなり）前 for the latter.　But I think this word fulfills your requirement for the vagueness of the time pretty well.



Using your example you might say:




以前、その会社で働いていました




I think it'd be fairly close to something like I used to work for that company in English.






share|improve this answer


























  • That's cool, thanks a lot for the answer!!!

    – Felipe Oliveira
    8 hours ago
















2














以前 might be what you're looking for. From デジタル大辞泉




２ 今より前の時点。現在から見て近い過去。副詞的にも用いる。「―と違って今では」「―会ったことがある」




Note that some other dictionaries like 大辞林 and 明鏡 think the referred to time is relatively far in the past: 今よりもだいぶ前 for the former and 現在より（かなり）前 for the latter.　But I think this word fulfills your requirement for the vagueness of the time pretty well.



Using your example you might say:




以前、その会社で働いていました




I think it'd be fairly close to something like I used to work for that company in English.






share|improve this answer


























  • That's cool, thanks a lot for the answer!!!

    – Felipe Oliveira
    8 hours ago














2












2








2







以前 might be what you're looking for. From デジタル大辞泉




２ 今より前の時点。現在から見て近い過去。副詞的にも用いる。「―と違って今では」「―会ったことがある」




Note that some other dictionaries like 大辞林 and 明鏡 think the referred to time is relatively far in the past: 今よりもだいぶ前 for the former and 現在より（かなり）前 for the latter.　But I think this word fulfills your requirement for the vagueness of the time pretty well.



Using your example you might say:




以前、その会社で働いていました




I think it'd be fairly close to something like I used to work for that company in English.






share|improve this answer















以前 might be what you're looking for. From デジタル大辞泉




２ 今より前の時点。現在から見て近い過去。副詞的にも用いる。「―と違って今では」「―会ったことがある」




Note that some other dictionaries like 大辞林 and 明鏡 think the referred to time is relatively far in the past: 今よりもだいぶ前 for the former and 現在より（かなり）前 for the latter.　But I think this word fulfills your requirement for the vagueness of the time pretty well.



Using your example you might say:




以前、その会社で働いていました




I think it'd be fairly close to something like I used to work for that company in English.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 8 hours ago

























answered 8 hours ago









RingilRingil

3,80021133




3,80021133













  • That's cool, thanks a lot for the answer!!!

    – Felipe Oliveira
    8 hours ago



















  • That's cool, thanks a lot for the answer!!!

    – Felipe Oliveira
    8 hours ago

















That's cool, thanks a lot for the answer!!!

– Felipe Oliveira
8 hours ago





That's cool, thanks a lot for the answer!!!

– Felipe Oliveira
8 hours ago


















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Alcedinidae

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Alcedinidae Martin-pêcheur à dos bleu ( Alcedo azurea ) Classification (COI) Règne Animalia Embranchement Chordata Sous-embr. Vertebrata Classe Aves Ordre Coraciiformes Famille Alcedinidae Rafinesque, 1815 Les Alcédinidés ou Alcedinidae forment une famille d'oiseaux plus connus sous les noms de martins-pêcheurs et martins-chasseurs. Sommaire 1 Description 2 Répartition et habitat 3 Systématique 3.1 Liste alphabétique des genres 3.2 Liste des espèces 4 Chez les Anciens : l'alcyon 4.1 Étymologie (Littré) 4.2 Oiseau « fabuleux » ? 5 Notes 6 Articles connexes 7 Liens externes 7.1 Bibliographie Description | Ce sont des oiseaux compacts de taille petite à moyenne (10 à 46 cm), au bec droit et long, en forme de poignard. Leurs pattes sont courtes, et ils portent un plumage aux couleurs vives. Répartition et habitat | Cosmopolites, ils fréquentent surtout
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Can an atomic nucleus contain both particles and antiparticles? [duplicate]

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9 $begingroup$ This question already has an answer here: What happens if we put together a proton and an antineutron? 2 answers Is it theoretically possible to make a "deuterium" atom containing a proton and an antineutron in its nucleus? Would the strong nuclear force cause attraction between a proton and an antineutron? Would such a nucleus be stable, or would the proton somehow annihilate the antineutron when close enough? nuclear-physics antimatter share | cite | improve this question asked yesterday
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