Handling a Frozen Maintenance Request App | Learn Japanese in English

Sentence explanations

1. メンテナンス依頼アプリは、送信を押したあとで固まりました。

   The maintenance request app froze after I pressed send.

   メンテナンス

   maintenance

   依頼

   request

   アプリ

   app

   送信

   sending

   押した

   pressed

   あとで

   afterward

   固まりました

   froze

   More detail

   メンテナンス means “maintenance.” It is commonly used in technical contexts, often in compounds such as メンテナンス中 (“under maintenance”). 依頼 means “request” or “service request.” In メンテナンス依頼, it specifies the kind of request: a maintenance request. Example: 依頼を送る。 — “I send a request.” アプリ is the shortened loanword for “application,” meaning an app. The compound メンテナンス依頼アプリ is a noun phrase: “maintenance-request app.” Japanese commonly places one noun before another to specify its type or purpose. 送信 means “sending” or “transmission,” especially of a message, form, or request. With を, 送信を marks sending as the object of the following action. Example: 送信を確認する。 — “I check the sending/submission.” 押した is the past plain form of 押す, “to press.” 押す changes to 押した for a completed past action. In 送信を押した, the omitted object understood from the interface is the send button; the wording literally uses 送信 as the thing pressed. Example: ボタンを押した。 — “I pressed the button.” あとで means “after” or “afterward” when it follows a completed action. Here, 押したあとで means “after pressing.” The pattern [plain past form] + あとで can connect an earlier completed action to a later one. Example: 食べたあとで薬を飲む。 — “I take medicine after eating.” 固まりました is the polite past form of 固まる, “to become stuck” or “to freeze” in this computing context. 固まる describes the app or device becoming unresponsive; it is different from 止まる, which more generally means “to stop.” The polite past ending ました presents the freezing as a completed event. Example: 画面が固まりました。 — “The screen froze.” Together, 送信を押したあとで establishes the time order: pressing Send happened first, and the app freezing happened afterward. The topic メンテナンス依頼アプリは identifies the maintenance-request app as the thing being described, and 固まりました says that it froze. Thus the utterance means: “The maintenance request app froze after I pressed send.”

2. もう一度試す前に、その依頼が履歴に表示されているか確認してください。

   Check whether the request appears in your history before you try again.

   もう一度

   one more time

   試す

   try

   前に

   before

   その

   that

   依頼

   request

   履歴

   history

   表示されている

   is displayed

   確認してください

   please check

   More detail

   もう一度 means “again” or “one more time.” もう contributes the sense of an additional occurrence, and 一度 means “one time.” Together, they specify another attempt, not a first attempt. 試す means “to try” or “to test.” It is the dictionary form; here its nonpast form modifies 前 in 試す前に, meaning “before trying.” The same form can refer to a future or habitual action depending on context. Example: 新しい方法を試す。 — “I will try a new method.” 前に means “before.” In 試す前に, the verb phrase before it identifies the action that has not yet occurred at the relevant point. に marks that temporal relation. A reusable pattern is verb-dictionary form + 前に (“before doing ...”). その is a demonstrative modifier meaning “that” or “the ... just mentioned.” It must appear before a noun, as in その依頼. Its exact referent is the request identified by the fixed translation and context; the form itself does not specify a noun’s grammatical gender or number. 依頼 means “request.” It is a noun and can also be used in compounds or with する, as in 依頼する (“to request” or “commission”). Here it refers to the request whose status should be checked. 履歴 means “history” or “record.” In this sentence, 履歴に marks the history as the place or record in which something may appear. Example: 履歴を確認する。 — “I check the history.” 表示されている means “is displayed” or “is showing.” It comes from 表示する (“display”) in the passive form 表示される, followed by ている. Here ている describes the resulting current state: the request is currently visible in the history. This is different from simply saying that someone displays it as an action. The phrase 履歴に表示されているか makes the question “whether it is displayed in the history.” 確認してください is a polite request meaning “please check” or “please confirm.” 確認する means “to check/confirm,” and 確認してください uses てください to request that the listener perform the action. It is not itself a question; the embedded か after 表示されている supplies the “whether” question. The sentence first sets a condition in time: もう一度試す前に (“before trying one more time”). The object of 確認してください is an embedded yes-or-no question: その依頼が履歴に表示されているか (“whether that request is displayed in the history”). Thus the whole utterance means: “Before you try again, please check whether that request appears in your history.”

3. まだ読み込み中で、メッセージが送信されたかどうか分かりません。

   It is still loading, and I cannot tell if the message went through.

   まだ

   still; yet

   読み込み中

   loading

   メッセージ

   message

   送信された

   was sent

   かどうか

   whether or not

   分かりません

   cannot tell; do not know

   More detail

   まだ means “still” here: the situation has not reached its expected endpoint. It commonly appears with an ongoing state or action, as in まだ準備中です。 (“It is still being prepared.”). With a negative expression, it can also mean “not yet,” but that is not the meaning in this sentence. 読み込み中 describes a process currently in progress: 読み込み (“loading”) plus 中 (“in the middle of”). The word 読み込み comes from the verb 読み込む, “to load/read in,” while 中 turns the expression into a state of being in progress. For example, 画面は読み込み中です。 means “The screen is loading.” The connective で after 読み込み中 links this state to the following clause, roughly “and” or “while it is.” It does not itself mean “loading”; that meaning belongs to 読み込み中. メッセージ is the noun “message.” It is a loanword written in katakana. In a reusable noun phrase, it can be followed by a particle such as を: メッセージを確認します。 means “I check the message.” 送信された means “was sent” in this sentence. The base verb is 送信する, “to send/transmit”; 送信された is its past passive form, so the message is presented as the thing that was sent. The passive marker れる is part of the verb form, and た marks the completed event. Compare the active form 送信した (“sent [something]”), whose subject is the sender: 私はメッセージを送信した。 means “I sent the message.” かどうか marks an embedded yes-or-no question: “whether or not.” It follows the clause being evaluated, メッセージが送信された (“the message was sent”), and turns it into the question of whether that event occurred. A reusable pattern is Xかどうか分かりません (“I do not know whether X”): 予約が必要かどうか分かりません。 means “I do not know whether a reservation is necessary.” 分かりません is the polite negative form of 分かる, “to understand, know, or be able to tell.” In this context, it means “cannot tell” rather than simply lacking general knowledge. The polite affirmative is 分かります (“I know” / “I can tell”), and the plain negative is 分からない (“I don’t know” / “I can’t tell”). The person who cannot tell is understood from context as the speaker; Japanese does not require an explicit pronoun here. Together, まだ読み込み中で says that the loading process is still in progress, while メッセージが送信されたかどうか分かりません says that the speaker cannot determine whether the message was sent. The complete utterance therefore means: “It is still loading, and I cannot tell if the message went through.”

4. 問題をはっきり説明できるように、スクリーンショットを撮ってください。

   Take a screenshot so you can explain the problem clearly.

   問題

   problem

   はっきり

   clearly

   説明できる

   can explain

   ように

   so that

   スクリーンショット

   screenshot

   撮ってください

   please take

   More detail

   問題 means “problem” here. It is a noun and can also refer to an issue or question depending on context. A useful pattern is Nを説明する, “explain N”: 問題を説明する means “explain the problem.” はっきり is an adverb meaning “clearly” or “plainly.” It describes how the explaining is done. For example, はっきり話してください。 means “Please speak clearly.” 説明できる means “can explain” or “be able to explain.” The base verb is 説明する, “to explain”; 説明できる is its potential form. In this sentence, できる expresses ability, not permission. The nonpast form can describe ability in the relevant situation. For example, この問題を説明できます。 means “I can explain this problem.” ように connects the intended result with the action taken to achieve it. After a potential form such as 説明できる, Vように commonly means “so that someone can V” or “in order to be able to V.” Here, 問題をはっきり説明できるように means “so that [the person addressed] can explain the problem clearly.” スクリーンショット is the loanword “screenshot.” It is a noun. With the object marker を, スクリーンショットを撮る is the reusable expression “take a screenshot.” 撮ってください is a polite request meaning “please take [it].” The base verb is 撮る, “to take” a photograph or screenshot. Its te-form is 撮って, and 撮ってください combines that form with ください to make a polite request. The object is stated separately here as スクリーンショットを. Putting the parts together, 問題をはっきり説明できるように gives the purpose “so that you can explain the problem clearly,” and スクリーンショットを撮ってください gives the request “please take a screenshot.” The complete meaning is: “Take a screenshot so you can explain the problem clearly.”

5. 同じ依頼をもう一度送信したくありません。

   I do not want to send the same request again.

   同じ

   same

   依頼

   request

   もう一度

   again; one more time

   送信

   sending; submission

   したくありません

   do not want to do

   More detail

   同じ means “same” here and comes directly before the noun it describes: 同じ依頼 = “the same request.” It is a な-adjective in many grammatical descriptions, but before 依頼 it uses the form 同じ, not 同じな. Example: 同じ問題 means “the same problem.” 依頼 is a noun meaning “request.” It can also be used in the useful compound 依頼する, “to request” or “to ask someone to do something.” In this sentence, however, it is the object being sent, not the act of requesting. もう一度 is an adverbial expression meaning “again” or “one more time.” 一度 means “one time,” while もう adds the sense of an additional occurrence. Example: もう一度説明してください。 means “Please explain it one more time.” 送信 is the noun-like stem used in the compound verb 送信する, “to send” or “to submit,” especially a message, form, or request electronically. The observed text has 送信 before したくありません; the する part is represented by し in that combined form. Example: メッセージを送信する。 means “send a message.” したくありません expresses “do not want to do.” It is built from する (“do”) through したい (“want to do”), then its negative polite form したくありません. In this sentence, it applies to 送信する, so 送信したくありません means “do not want to send.” The polite negative ending makes the statement courteous and formal. Example: 今は電話したくありません。 means “I do not want to call now.” Together, 同じ依頼 identifies what is being sent, もう一度 says that the sending would happen again, and 送信したくありません states that the speaker does not want to perform that action. The complete utterance therefore means “I do not want to send the same request again.”

6. 少し待ってから、新しい依頼を始める前にアプリを確認してください。

   Wait a short time, then check the app before starting a new request.

   少し

   a little; a short time

   待ってから

   wait, then

   新しい

   new

   依頼

   request

   始める

   start

   前に

   before

   アプリ

   app

   確認してください

   please check

   More detail

   少し means “a little.” With a time-related verb such as 待つ (“wait”), it expresses a short amount of time here. Example: 少し休みます。 — “I will rest for a little while.” 待ってから means “after waiting, then.” 待って is the て-form of 待つ, and 〜てから presents one action as happening after another: first wait, then do the next action. Example: 読んでから答えてください。 — “Please read it, then answer.” 新しい means “new.” It is an い-adjective and directly modifies the noun after it: 新しい依頼 means “a new request.” Its contrasting adjective is 古い (“old”) when describing an old thing. Example: 新しい方法を試します。 — “I will try a new method.” 依頼 means “request” or “task request.” In this sentence it is the thing being started, marked by を. Example: 依頼を確認します。 — “I will check the request.” 始める means “to start” something and is a transitive verb, so the thing started can be marked by を, as in 依頼を始める. Do not confuse it with 始まる, “to begin” or “to start” without presenting the event as something someone starts. Example: 作業を始めます。 — “I will start the work.” 前に means “before.” After a verb in its plain, non-past form, 〜前に means “before doing ~”: 始める前に is “before starting.” Example: 出かける前に、鍵を確認します。 — “Before going out, I check the keys.” アプリ means “app” and is a noun. Here it is marked by を as the thing that should be checked. Example: アプリを開きます。 — “I open the app.” 確認してください means “please check” or “please confirm.” It consists of 確認する (“to check/confirm”) in the て-form, 確認して, followed by ください, a polite request pattern: Vてください. Example: 名前を確認してください。 — “Please check the name.” Putting the parts together, 少し待ってから sets the order: wait for a short time first. 新しい依頼を始める前に sets the deadline for the check: before starting a new request. The final request, アプリを確認してください, asks the listener to check the app. The whole utterance therefore means: “Wait a short time, then check the app before starting a new request.”

7. それでも固まる場合は、建物のメンテナンスに直接連絡したほうがいいですか。

   If it still freezes, should I contact building maintenance directly?

   それでも

   even so; still

   固まる

   freeze; become unresponsive

   場合

   case; situation

   建物

   building

   メンテナンス

   maintenance

   直接

   directly

   連絡したほうがいいですか

   should I contact ...?

   More detail

   それでも means “even so” or “still.” それ refers back to an understood situation, while でも adds a contrast: despite that situation, the following condition remains possible. Here it carries the “still” meaning in the fixed translation. 固まる is the dictionary form of the intransitive verb “to freeze” or “become unresponsive.” In this sentence, the subject is understood from the context as the app or its operation, so it means that it stops responding. The form 固まる is non-past and appears naturally in a conditional pattern such as 固まる場合は (“if it freezes”). It can also describe something physically hardening, but that is not the meaning here. 場合 means “case” or “situation.” The pattern X場合は means “if/when X is the case,” with は setting that situation as the topic for the advice that follows. Thus, 固まる場合は means “if it still freezes.” 建物 is the noun “building.” Its useful compound-like pattern here is 建物のメンテナンス: の links the two nouns, giving “maintenance for/of the building.” For example, 学校の建物 means “the school building.” メンテナンス is a noun borrowed for “maintenance.” In this sentence it identifies the building-maintenance service or contact point, rather than describing the act of contacting. 直接 is an adverb meaning “directly.” It modifies the contacting action, so the intended action is to contact building maintenance without an intermediary. For example, 担当者に直接連絡する means “contact the person in charge directly.” 連絡したほうがいいですか uses the reusable recommendation-question pattern V-たほうがいいですか, meaning “should I V?” or “would it be better to V?” Here 連絡する is the dictionary form “to contact,” and 連絡した is its past-form shape used before ほうがいい; it does not mean that the contact has already happened. ほうがいい presents the action as the preferable choice, and ですか makes the question polite. The complete quoted construction therefore asks whether the speaker should contact the building maintenance service. Putting the parts together: それでも固まる場合は sets the condition “if it still freezes,” 建物のメンテナンスに marks building maintenance as the destination of contact, 直接 says to do so directly, and 連絡したほうがいいですか asks whether that is the preferable action. The whole utterance means: “If it still freezes, should I contact building maintenance directly?”

8. 直接連絡して、アプリが動いていないかもしれないと説明してください。

   Contact them directly and explain that the app may not be working.

   直接

   directly

   連絡して

   contact; get in touch

   アプリ

   app

   動いていない

   not working

   かもしれない

   may; might

   説明してください

   please explain

   More detail

   直接 means “directly” here. It modifies the contact action, so the requested contact is made without an intermediary. For example, 直接聞いてください。 means “Please ask directly.” 連絡して is the te-form of 連絡する, “to contact” or “to get in touch.” The te-form links this action to the following request: 連絡して、説明してください means “Contact [them] and explain.” The object is omitted in Japanese; the fixed translation identifies the intended object as “them.” アプリ is the noun “app.” In アプリが動いていない, が marks the app as the grammatical subject of the condition: the app is the thing that is not working. 動いていない is the negative form of 動いている, from the base verb 動く, “to move” or, for a device or application, “to operate/work.” In this sentence it means that the app is not working. The ている form presents an ongoing state or condition, and ていない negates that state. For example, パソコンが動いていません。 means “The computer is not working.” かもしれない expresses possibility: “may” or “might.” It follows the plain-form clause アプリが動いていない, producing “the app may not be working.” A polite variant is かもしれません; the form in the fixed sentence is the plain form. 説明してください consists of 説明する, “to explain,” in the te-form 説明して, followed by ください, which makes a polite request. Thus it means “please explain.” This is separate from the earlier 連絡して: both are te-forms, but the final ください makes the request attached to 説明する. As a whole, 直接連絡して、アプリが動いていないかもしれないと説明してください。 asks someone to contact them directly and explain that the app may not be working. The particle と marks the content of the explanation: アプリが動いていないかもしれない is what should be explained.

9. 何が起きたのか分かるまで、画面を開いたままにしておけます。

   I can keep the screen open until I know what happened.

   何が起きたのか

   what happened

   分かるまで

   until I know

   画面

   screen

   開いたままにしておけます

   can keep open

   More detail

   何が起きたのか means “what happened.” 何 asks “what,” and が marks it as the subject of 起きた, the past form of 起きる (“happen”). のか turns the question into an embedded question: 何が起きたのか分かる means “know what happened.” A shorter variant is 何が起きたか. 分かるまで means “until [I] know.” 分かる means “understand” or “know,” and まで marks the endpoint of a time span. Japanese uses the nonpast form 分かる here even though the knowing occurs at a later point. The subject is understood as “I” from the fixed translation; the form itself does not show that subject. 画面 means “screen.” It is a noun that can be used in compounds such as 画面表示 (“screen display”). In this sentence, 画面を marks the screen as the object affected by the following keeping construction. 開いたままにしておけます expresses “can keep [it] open.” 開いた is the past-form shape of 開く (“open”), but before まま it describes the resulting state: “open.” まま means that the state remains unchanged. The pattern 〜たままにしておく means “leave or keep something in the state of having become 〜”; しておけます is the potential form of しておく, so it expresses ability: “can leave/keep.” Example: ドアを開いたままにしておきます。 — “I will leave the door open.” This example teaches the same 〜たままにしておく pattern with a different object. Together, 何が起きたのか分かるまで sets the time limit, “until I know what happened.” 画面を開いたままにしておけます says that the speaker can keep the screen open during that period. The whole utterance therefore means: “I can keep the screen open until I know what happened.”

10. そうすれば、メンテナンス担当者はスクリーンショットを使って、何がうまくいかなかったのか理解できます。

    Then maintenance can use the screenshot to understand what went wrong.

    そうすれば

    then; if you do that

    メンテナンス担当者

    maintenance staff member

    スクリーンショット

    screenshot

    使って

    using

    何が

    what

    うまくいかなかった

    did not go well

    理解できます

    can understand

    More detail

    そうすれば means “if that is done” or “then, by doing that.” そう refers to the action or situation just mentioned, and すれば is the conditional form of する. This is a reusable way to connect a preceding action with its result: そうすれば、… = “If you do that, …” or “Then, …”. メンテナンス担当者 means “the person responsible for maintenance.” 担当者 is a useful noun for a person in charge of a task or area; メンテナンス specifies the area here. The phrase identifies the actor who can understand the problem; it does not mean maintenance as an abstract activity. スクリーンショット is the Japanese loanword for “screenshot.” It is a noun and can be marked as the object of an action with を, as in スクリーンショットを使う (“use a screenshot”). 使って is the te-form of 使う (“to use”). Here it links the means to the main action: スクリーンショットを使って = “using a screenshot” or “by using a screenshot.” The te-form can connect actions without making them separate finite clauses. 何が means “what” with が marking the thing being identified. In 何がうまくいかなかったのか, it introduces an embedded question: “what did not go well.” The が marking belongs to 何, which is the subject of the embedded clause. うまくいかなかった is the past negative form of うまくいく, literally “to go well.” うまくいく describes an attempt, process, or situation succeeding; its past negative form says that it did not go well. In this sentence, it describes the earlier problem rather than saying that someone failed to understand. 理解できます means “can understand.” It is the polite form of 理解できる, the potential form built from 理解する (“to understand”). The potential form expresses ability or possibility here, not a command or obligation. A related contrast is 理解します (“understand / will understand”), which does not itself mark ability. Together, 何がうまくいかなかったのか理解できます means “can understand what went wrong.” The particle のか closes the embedded question, while 理解できます gives the main ability. Combining the parts in order, そうすれば、メンテナンス担当者はスクリーンショットを使って、何がうまくいかなかったのか理解できます。 means: “Then, the maintenance staff member can use the screenshot to understand what went wrong.”