Re: [Lingo] explanation for いなくて寂しい

[Jim Breen <jimbreen@example.com>]

On 12 September 2015 at 14:30, steve <sjs@example.com> wrote:
> Can someone explain this expression to me.  Since いなくて is the
> negative te form of いる and 寂しい means lonely, it seems like
> いなくて＋寂しい should mean "to be not + lonely."  Is this just one of
> those quirks of the language or am I missing something?

"Being without" -> "lonely".

Examples:

僕は友達がいなくて寂しい． I feel lonely because I don't have any friends around me.
あなたがいなくて寂しかった。 It just wasn't the same without you.
お帰りなさい、あなたがいなくて寂しかったです。 : Welcome back - we missed you.

Jimmu

-- 
Jim Breen
Adjunct Snr Research Fellow, Japanese Studies Centre, Monash University