So you want to study Japanese?

That is very true. Though they have but 52 characters to learn, which makes a big difference.

I dunno, maybe 'cause I dont compare the grammar or try to translate in my head back and forth that Japanese isn't too hard. Just a crapload of vocab ^_^;

Question, minna-san. Some people believe that music from anime or J-music in general is a terrible way to help you with your Japanese. Do any of you agree with this?

I disagree, because the music did help me, before I even took the class. With singing along and reading the roomaji I started to understand the basic pronunciation, and that some words with the double consanents (like matte) indicate that its usually longer in the first part, especially if at the end of a lyric (sounds like "ma-ate"). Also, after seeing 2 different ways of it being spelled, but sounding the same in certain songs, I sorta made a self-note that "wa" and "ha" sometimes meant the same thing.

But yeah... do you agree or disagree with that notion??

I think that this is great idea. I never studied Japanese but I'm planing soon after I finish with toefl. :)
I love japanese animation, anime. My favourite anime is 'Spiritedaway' by Miyazaki. Also I love his other work. I have two songs from one anime serie called 'Robin, witch hunter' and I listen to them all day. Music from 'Ghost in shell 2: Innocence' is great. :)

I dunno, maybe 'cause I dont compare the grammar or try to translate in my head back and forth that Japanese isn't too hard. Just a crapload of vocab ^_^;

Question, minna-san. Some people believe that music from anime or J-music in general is a terrible way to help you with your Japanese. Do any of you agree with this?

I disagree, because the music did help me, before I even took the class. With singing along and reading the roomaji I started to understand the basic pronunciation, and that some words with the double consanents (like matte) indicate that its usually longer in the first part, especially if at the end of a lyric (sounds like "ma-ate"). Also, after seeing 2 different ways of it being spelled, but sounding the same in certain songs, I sorta made a self-note that "wa" and "ha" sometimes meant the same thing.

But yeah... do you agree or disagree with that notion??I agree with your notion on it. Music has helped me as well. Because of it, I'm pretty decent when it comes to pronunciation, as my teacher pointed out to me.

Using anime and music for pronunciations is great. In fact, that's what I've done for several things. However, do not use it for sentence structure. Anime and music do not use standardized sentence structures, so it would be best not to pay attention to that first.

Oh yeah, that's a given. I don't think I could even try to understand it when I first started learning, only having known the "desu" and "masu" forms of like, 13 verbs ^_^;

Japanese music isn't helping me with my Japanese yet, but the anime definitely is. I recognize words a lot now (which makes me very happy), and just hearing Japanese so much makes it easier to learn. I think why I never really got far in French was because I never heard it spoken.

Here are some things I'd like to know, though. I didn't learn these words from my book, but I picked them up from anime. Not sure if they're correct, though...
Mate = wait
Demu = but/however
Doshte (or something like that) = ? I keep hearing this word (or more than one word?) but I'm not sure what it means exactly.
Also there's this other word that the subtitles say means 'why', but I know (and have seen) that 'naze' is why. Is this other word a word for 'why' in a different context? Sorry if I can't be more specific... I understand if no one is able to help here :p .

"Dou****e" and "naze" both mean "why". Dou****e is just said to be used more conversationally.

I personally use naze when something unexpected is said (i.e. "to issho ni shuugakuryokou e ikimasen..." ::roughly:: We're not going on a field trip, "Honto? Naze?" Really? Why?). But that's just me ^^; I too have heard both used in anime.

i also watch anime alot that it makes me want to study japanese. !!!.. i'm juz confuse with these words: sore ga, sore wa,( wats their differences?) and: bokutachi wa, watashi tachi wa.. i think their meaning are us/we. and wats the difference wen we say 'ai****e imasu' , 'ski' .. i think ai****e imasu means ilove you(correct me if i'm wrong) and so was ski..thats it for now..

zyane..

i also watch anime alot that it makes me want to study japanese. !!!.. i'm juz confuse with these words: sore ga, sore wa,( wats their differences?) and: bokutachi wa, watashi tachi wa.. i think their meaning are us/we. and wats the difference wen we say 'ai****e imasu' , 'ski' .. i think ai****e imasu means ilove you(correct me if i'm wrong) and so was ski..thats it for now..

zyane..

Sore ga and sore wa have a slight difference, and it's really hard to explain...

Bokutachi wa = "We are" in masculin form... or male form. But sometimes women use this like in songs. So "boku" is "me/I" in male form and so is "Ore."

Watashi tachi wa = "we are" in feminine form...again, males uses this too, but rarely.

Ai****e imasu = Bingo, you're correct. It is "I love you".

Ski = "like/adore". Sometimes in anime the character say "ski desu" and in the subtitles it says "I love you". I don't think that's entirely correct.

Using anime and music for pronunciations is great. In fact, that's what I've done for several things. However, do not use it for sentence structure. Anime and music do not use standardized sentence structures, so it would be best not to pay attention to that first.

Haha, like Naruto. He uses very informal Japanese. If you talk like that to Japanese people that you barely know, you bet you'll get slapped.

Some interesting advice given here. I don't agree with all of it, but it is nice to see people interested in Japanese. But in response to Dobby, I don't think any Japanese person would ever slap you. Generally, Japanese are very gracious to a foreigner attempting to speak their language. If you use slang in the wrong context, they might look at you oddly but that is about it. I don't watch Naruto, so I am not sure what dialect is used. Kansai can get pretty racy, but it is obviously so. If you wouldn't say it to a stranger in your language, don't say it in Japanese. :p

I do have a question..why the interest in Japanese? Family? Travel? Anime? Work? BTW, I think anime and pop music are great ways to hear the language. Even if you can't understand it, you start to pick up the rhythms and pronunciations.


Muku-Muku san, Itsu Nihon e kimasuka? Nagano-ken ni tsunde imasu.

arigatou dobby san!! lolz.. soo it goes sumting like this 'ore no ****ta koto janai'(i dun give a damn') wen a male gender is talking....?? and for female is sumthing like this...?'watashi no ****ta koto janai'..........? lolz.

zyane! thank u very much

I had a friend in college who was coming from Japan, and he began to teach me his language, but now I'm teaching myself with a book and tapes. And it's harder. So I wanted to complain about the lack of cultural stuff in japanese here in France. I wish I had a lot of songs and movies to work with (like when I learned english), because those things are really helpfull!
Anyway, just a stupid question: does anybody know what the first name Sokyû means?

http://server73.totalchoicehosting.com/~yourname/transadv.php

you can find the answer there...

this is just a site for translating your name in japanese...

so ka.. sumimasen

It's OK...

Bokutachi wa = "We are" in masculin form... or male form. But sometimes women use this like in songs. So "boku" is "me/I" in male form and so is "Ore."
My sensei says "ore" is used my males who are, or want to sound more "masculine" or "tough".

And yeah, she also said nihonjin are pretty gracious when it comes to gaijin trying to speak the language. (I mean I imagine its like here when people try to speak English)


I do have a question..why the interest in Japanese? Family? Travel? Anime? Work?
It is one of my life long dreams to go and work and study in Japan >X'D I'd like to try teaching for a little bit and study how animation works there.

Anyway, just a stupid question: does anybody know what the first name Sokyû means?

Would you happen to have the specific kanji for it? Or it doesn't matter? 'Cause a few weeks ago I was looking for some random kanji for 'Akemi' and 'Yoko' and I had found quite a few interesting meanings for them.

if you are looking for a specific kanji here it is.. the first kanji(so) means manipulating, and the second kanji(kyu) means save.

arigatou dobby san!! lolz.. soo it goes sumting like this 'ore no ****ta koto janai'(i dun give a damn') wen a male gender is talking....?? and for female is sumthing like this...?'watashi no ****ta koto janai'..........? lolz.

zyane! thank u very much

That doesn't mean "I don't give a damn" though. It's more like "That's not something I did."

so desu k.. but its written in my dictionary.. anywiias thanks alot!!

watashi wa kyoo no otanjoobi omedeto desu.. i think thats how you say it..

I thought Sokyû was equal to Sokyuu... and since I had a little time on my hands, that's what I looked for ^^; But yeah, here are some of the things I found, Ginny24:

訴求 This sokyuu means "appeal"
遡求 this version means "redemption"

However, I only found "soukyuu" when I searched for just names. Here's an example - 桑鳩 The first kanji 'sou' means "mullberry" by itself and the second 'kyuu' means "dove/pigeon"

So...yeah. You can take your pick, or go with something else ^^; Courtesy of Jeffrey's J»«E Dictionary btw :tu:

watashi wa kyoo no otanjoobi omedeto desu.. i think thats how you say it..

Ah, kinou wa omae no tanjoubi de****a ka? Waa, tanjoubi omedetou fainaru chansu-san! ima, nansai desu ka?

(oh, and try switching around 'kyou' and 'watashi', and omitting the 'omedetou' part. It should be right then)

thanks to everyone who helped translating the name Sokyû. It's just a name I read in the credits of a movie and I thought it was cute...

Konichiwa!

What does 'Shinjitsu no Uta' mean (in English)? It's the title of a song... I'd just like to get some more opinions on the translation. :)

Um, just to confirm; does 'demu' mean 'but/however'? And does 'mate' mean 'wait'?

Arigato, everyone, for your help.

Sayonara.
(By the way, I don't know the spelling well of Japanese words, so please correct me if I spell something wrong!).

What does 'Shinjitsu no Uta' mean (in English)? It's the title of a song...You know, I answered your question to that in the Inuyasha topic here (http://www.cosforums.com/showpost.php?p=3259524&postcount=155)Um, just to confirm; does 'demu' mean 'but/however'? And does 'mate' mean 'wait'?Demo = but/however. Matte = wait

Oh, np Ginny24Y. And yeah, I think SSJ_Jup81 has covered just about all the translations for 'Shinjitsu no Uta', Ignolopi :agree:

On a different note, just some random questions for mina-san, that I will answer too. (cause I need to practice ^-^; )

1. Kokugai e ikitai desu ka. Dono gaikoku e ikitain desu ka. Dou****e wa gaikoku e ikitain desu ka. Gaikoku e nani o shini ikimasu ka.

(Do you want to go outside the country? Which (foreign) country do you want to go to? Why do you want to go to that country? What will you do in that country?)

-Atashi wa nihon to kankoku e ikitai desu. Nihon wa totemo omoshirokute, utsukushii desu. Kankoku mo. Nihon no ANIME ga daisuki desu. Dakara, Nihon e ANIME o benkyou shini ikimasu. Atashi mo kankoku no tomodachi ga takusan iimasu. Dakara, kankoku e kankokugo o naraini ikimasu.

I want to go to Japan and (South) Korea. Japan is very interesting and beautiful. Korea too. I love Japanese animation. Therefore, I will go to Japan to study anime. I also have many Korean friends. Therefore, I will go to Korea to learn Korean.

2. Ima, nani o kite imasu ka. (what are you wearing now?)

Atashi wa akai shatsu o kite ite, JIINZU o haite ite, shiroi kutsu****a o haite imasu. So****e, megane o kakete imasu.

I am wearing a red shirt, jeans, and white socks. And I'm wearing glasses.

Sorta rushed through this...Demo, kotaete kudasai~

I've always wanted to learn Japanese after getting into Naruto three years ago, but I haven't gained the time to do so. Anyway, I hope to get into this thread more so I can learn it but right now I have a small request. I'm doing this award thing and I wanted to say "Coolest Character Winner Envelope" When I use the word say, I don't mean as in say it aloud, just writing it out in the Japanese language. So, can anyone translate what the word(s) would be for "Coolest Character Winner Envelope"? It's a longshot, I know, but if someone could try it, I'd be extremely grateful.

You could just write it all out in Katakana to make it easier; no translating necessary. :p

:P Yes, that would be easier, maybe...

Give me a sec. I'll try and look 'em up.

おおきい ひと じゅそおしゃ ふうとう
Pronounced:
"oh-ki-" "he toe*" "jyo sa oh jya" "fu-toe-"
(Elongate all - and say each sound individually.)
*toe as in toe on your foot

That's a direct translation, probably absolutly wrong in actual structure. Exactly what I translated was:
"great person award winner envelope"

Ok, thanks for the help you two. It's up to me now...

If you're still taking suggestions, you could try 'saiko' in katakana (サイコ) - I read that it's teen slang for 'coolest' (opposed to its other meaning XD). Sugei (すげい) could work too for 'coolest' :agree:

:P Yeah, i'd take the slang one. Kinda hard to know those as my very limited knowledge only extends to that of a cheap dictionary's.

like someone else mentioned i've wanted to learn japanese after getting into naruto.. so i've got some basic questions to ask... these might have been answered but im not inclined right now to read the whole thread i only did the first page :D

firstly... in the show the subtitle "idiot" comes up everytime a character says one of these either baka or baga... so im asking which is the right one cause even after so many episodes and still cant decide if they are making a "k" sound or a "g" sound....

second.. i also noticed the use of "titles" such as, chan, san, kun, sama.. and was wondering when each of these titles would be appropriate and if they are used regularly in normal speech.. as i get more informed more questions will appear :D oh yes and thanks in advance for any help

also what is katakana that you guys are speaking of? and why are there questions marks randomly in ure posts?

:( no1 is replying... also i have another question... say i went to japan as an exchange student... i would take ALL classes in japanese?... stupid question of course i would... but how would one cope? has anyone gone for a japanese exchange?

like someone else mentioned i've wanted to learn japanese after getting into naruto.. so i've got some basic questions to ask... these might have been answered but im not inclined right now to read the whole thread i only did the first page :D

firstly... in the show the subtitle "idiot" comes up everytime a character says one of these either baka or baga... so im asking which is the right one cause even after so many episodes and still cant decide if they are making a "k" sound or a "g" sound....

second.. i also noticed the use of "titles" such as, chan, san, kun, sama.. and was wondering when each of these titles would be appropriate and if they are used regularly in normal speech.. as i get more informed more questions will appear :D oh yes and thanks in advance for any help

also what is katakana that you guys are speaking of? and why are there questions marks randomly in ure posts?


It's baka.

San: It's just a formal way of saying someone's name. It's like Mr./Miss/Mrs. But the weird thing is, you don't normally call a little kid Mr. [insert a name here], but in Japan it's not weird to call a little kid ______ san.

Chan: It's for little girls.
Kun: For little boys. I've seen this used for adult females/males also.

Sama: That's like a name for a king or master. I don't think it's commonly used now. Before people would say "ani sama" (older brother but s/he probably respects him a ton).

Katakana is a stlye of writing. It's basic Japanese. It's usually used when you want to write an English word. Like for example if you want to write "bus" in Japanese, you usually use katakana, not hiragana (another style of writing).

I don't know about exchange students. I bet they're expensive though. Living in Japan is pretty expensive now, if you want to live in the city.

Weird that I found this thread. I did actually study Japanese at school...I think it was a few years ago....but I never really got into it. It was kind of interesting but just not my type of thing. *shrugs*

It's baka.

San: It's just a formal way of saying someone's name. It's like Mr./Miss/Mrs. But the weird thing is, you don't normally call a little kid Mr. [insert a name here], but in Japan it's not weird to call a little kid ______ san.

Chan: It's for little girls.
Kun: For little boys. I've seen this used for adult females/males also.

Sama: That's like a name for a king or master. I don't think it's commonly used now. Before people would say "ani sama" (older brother but s/he probably respects him a ton).

Katakana is a stlye of writing. It's basic Japanese. It's usually used when you want to write an English word. Like for example if you want to write "bus" in Japanese, you usually use katakana, not hiragana (another style of writing).

I don't know about exchange students. I bet they're expensive though. Living in Japan is pretty expensive now, if you want to live in the city.

thnx for the help, and as for the exchange thing.. thats not really a problem..the bigger problem is im vegetarian so im screwed if i go... anyways back to japanese

i know that sensei is teacher/instructor but we call our head instructor (karate) shihan, is there a significance to that or is it just another word for it?

I guess there's a particular name for Karate instructor, I'm not too sure because I don't recall hearing it before (maybe I have, but just forgot).

There's always international schools there. Okinawa has a lot probably because there's a lot of American people/military there. Okinawa is very nice and just in case if you don't know, it's an island south of Japan. I'm more of a city girl, so I really liked Tokyo. So I don't know.

Yeah, they eat a lot of fish and some meat (not as much as here anyway). You can always eat ramen, that's something good and tasty.

I'm going back there less than 2 weeks. Wohoo.

godrics hollow, there are quite a few programs available for foreign exchange students to and from Japan. Usually they'll try to have you live with a host family who knows enough English, and is patient enough for you (as well as financially and mentally stable enough to support you for a year). But basically, just like if a Japanese student came to an English speaking country, you would take most of your classes in Japanese, but probably have English translations or versions of the literature and stuff. And I'm sure your host family would help you. Personal information would probably be sent before you left, so issues like you being a vegetarian wouldn't be a problem.

I've never actually been exchanged myself, but I've gotten one of my sources from a german exchange student in my last year's english class. The other source is my last year's sensei, who was deeply involved in the process and told us alot about it. She even wanted one of us to host a Japanese student, as she had done before the year prior (I think the guy's name was Masato... I didn't know him personally since he was older and was always hanging with his host brother and his friends). Unfortunately, no one stepped up to the plate for that. But yeah... and some of the programs arent bad in price either. I think the one my sensei wanted some of the sophmores and juniors to apply to was about $1,000. (I would've gone... but my freakin' school county wouldn't accept it as a year of school) I probably have the list of websites around for that kind of thing if you're interested godric hollow :agree:

And as for shihan, it can mean a type of instructor or model of some sort. If you break it down, 師, or shi means "mentor" and 範, han means "example" or "model". :D

Oh, and If you see random question marks in this post as well as others, then your computer probably doesnt support Japanese characters. Oh yeah, some more info on those questions u asked:

-san is equivalent to Mr/Ms/Mrs, but it is also just for politeness. A person is often reffered to as "Last Name"-san by a person of the same level.
-chan is for young people in general, or maybe petnames between friends or lovers (my sensei told us it's pretty "cutesy, childish" sounding though).
-kun is just like -san, but for boys usually at your level. (If its an adult male, you would probably use -kun for younger males) Also used for your (male) friends.
-sempai is for an upperclassmen of any sort.

katakana is for foreign words. Some exceptions (like "tabacco") are in hiragana, the standard sort of alphabet.

:P Yeah, i'd take the slang one. Kinda hard to know those as my very limited knowledge only extends to that of a cheap dictionary's.

I know what you mean ^_^;; I can't even find my lil ol' five dollar J=>E dictionary... and I only know a few that I've read up on. A friend of mine will randomly throw me one she's learned from a book once in awhile though.

Completely unrelated question.. but how do you pronounce your username, Qeomash? ^-^;

I'm going back there less than 2 weeks. Wohoo.

kicchou~~ ;__; (lucky)

Heh wow thnx Lil_G that cleared up a lot.. now i dont have access to any dictionarys (the library doesnt like me too much and the bookstore doesnt have any in stock now :() so can anyone make me a list of basic words and phrases such as

hello
how are you
my name is
or give me a link to a site with these things, if you can it would be much appreciated

"Hajime ma****e". Nice to meet you.
"Oaidekite ureshii desu. (formal)" I'm pleased to meet you.
"Hisashiburi." It's been a while.
"Ohayou gozaimasu." Good morning.
"Ohayou. (colloq.)" Morning.
"Konnichiwa." Hello/Hi/Good afternoon.
"Konbanwa" Good evening.
"Oyasumi nasai." Good night.
"Oyasumi. (colloq.)" Good night.
"Sayounara." Good-bye.
"Mata ne. (colloq.)" See you.
"Ja ne. (colloq.)" See you.
"Ogenki desuka?" How are you?
"Watashi/Ore/Boku/ no namae wa [insert name]" My name is _______.

www5.big.or.jp/~otake/hey/fude00.htm

This is a good place I think. It has katagana and hiragana chart as well.

"Watashi/Ore/Boku/ no namae wa [insert name]" My name is _______.Just thought I'd mention that you forgot "atashi" along with "watashi", "ore", and "boku".

Also, I don't think the "namae" is actually necessary there. Like, my name is "Wendy". I can just introduce myself by saying, "Watashi wa Wendy desu" instead of saying Watashi no namae wa Wendy.

"Hajime ma****e". Nice to meet you.
"Oaidekite ureshii desu. (formal)" I'm pleased to meet you.
"Hisashiburi." It's been a while.
"Ohayou gozaimasu." Good morning.
"Ohayou. (colloq.)" Morning.
"Konnichiwa." Hello/Hi/Good afternoon.
"Konbanwa" Good evening.
"Oyasumi nasai." Good night.
"Oyasumi. (colloq.)" Good night.
"Sayounara." Good-bye.
"Mata ne. (colloq.)" See you.
"Ja ne. (colloq.)" See you.
"Ogenki desuka?" How are you?
"Watashi/Ore/Boku/ no namae wa [insert name]" My name is _______.

Good list! :D

Also, I don't think the "namae" is actually necessary there. Like, my name is "Wendy". I can just introduce myself by saying, "Watashi wa Wendy desu" instead of saying Watashi no namae wa Wendy.
Yeah, true. I usually just say "Atashi wa ERU JII desu" in general now, but "Watashi no namae was _____ desu" was taught to me first too... but either is okie though. (Atashi wa ___ desu rolls off the tongue more tho ^^)

And I agree, that's a great starting list :agree: Here's some more phrases:
"Douzo Yoroshiku" Please to meet you
"Dou itashima****e" = You're welcome
"Ja matta" = See you
"Ja matta a****a" See you tomorrow
Ja, mata atode" Well then, see you

I dunno if they're colloq or not though ^-^;

Wait, isn't "Dou itashima****e" mean "you're welcome"? Or my Japanese is just really rusty?

Chikushou~ second time this week ^^; Thank you Dobby, you're right. I don't know why I've started mixing up 'dou itashima****e' with 'douzo yoroshiku'. ::should really stop posting right after she's just woken up too:: I've changed it. Doumo, doumo ^^

Arigato dobby-san. (was that the right use of san?) anyways i know the basic pronounciations of the words but then some like "Douzo" get me messed up. the "ou" would that make it sound like doughzo?

Kobanwa, minna-san! Hai, you used -san correctly. Here are other honorifics you can use as well:

Honorifics

-san: used for acquaintences, or as Mr./Mrs./Ms.
-kun: used as a sign of friendship, like how we use pet names if you wil, usually for BOYS
-chan: the girl version of -kun
-sama: lord, lady, someone like that
-chama: affectionate form of -sama
-sensei: used for a teacher or master of craft
-ka: used for a master of a craft (e.g. Manga-ka is a manga artist
-donou: archaic form of -sensei
-koi: this is added to a name if you romantically love that someone


Feel free to add onto this list I have complied. If you're wondering why I know, it's because I'm the President of my school's anime club. :D Otaku all the way!

thnx :D now that i've got this can someone give me some help for the pronounciations of the "ou" "ai" things like that then i think i can pronounce everything writtin in romanji is it?

"ou" is a longer "o" sound. When you say it you would extend the "o" a little longer. Its also romanized as "oo". Another one like that is "ei" (like in sensei), which is usually pronounced as a longer "e" sound. :agree: "Ai" is one of those that you actually say each hiragana sound (Ah-ee).

And youkoso, SakuraNenriki-san ^_^ Just the fact that your anime club goes over things like honorifics = your anime club >>>>>>> anime club at my school ^.^; Ours is just an excuse to watch the sponser's favorite Miyazaki films over and over :grumble:

"ou" is a longer "o" sound. When you say it you would extend the "o" a little longer. Its also romanized as "oo". Another one like that is "ei" (like in sensei), which is usually pronounced as a longer "e" sound. :agree: "Ai" is one of those that you actually say each hiragana sound (Ah-ee).

And youkoso, SakuraNenriki-san ^_^ Just the fact that your anime club goes over things like honorifics = your anime club >>>>>>> anime club at my school ^.^; Ours is just an excuse to watch the sponser's favorite Miyazaki films over and over :grumble:

Yes, writing Japanese words in our language is Romanji. Here's the help you wanted.


ai: pronounced "eye"
ou: pronounced "oh"
r: at first it seems complicated, but my friend who is pursueing a degree in Japanese gave me a tip- r's are pronounced like the r at the end of "butter"
ei: pronounced "eh", like Canada, eh?
i: always makes the "eeh" sound
oi: pronounced "oh-ee"
h: same, but not as hard as American "hah"
e: makes "ay" sound
n: same sound, but it takes up a syllable by itself
ts: pronounced like the ts in "footstep", but usually the t isn't heard
u: pronounced "ooh" like the oo in "hoot"


Those are the sounds people tend to have the most trouble with. If you have others, post them and I'll tell you how to say them. And my club didn't teach me this, nor have I taught my club that (ignorant fools most of them). Like most otaku (oh-tah-koo), that's a hardcore anime fan, I taught myself, with help from Random Sparkle and Zysk, two of my fellow otaku and my sensei (Japanese nouns by the way can be either singular or plural, totally depends on context). ^^ Love Miyazaki (Me-ah-zah-kee).

Ooh, I see. I like the Miyazaki films too, but we have almost only watched those, over and over, since I was a freshman ^_^; If we didn't watch a movie or two of one or two different anime, I don't think the club would survive (though it's not surviving that well now - most club members either switched to the new school in our area or gave up on the club -_-)

Oh, and great info, SakuraNenriki, though some of the pronunciations you've posted are a little different from what I've been taught.

I.E.,
Ou= Longer than standard "o"
E = Eh
Tsu = Like the end of the word "cats"
Any "R" = Instead of the "R" sound or "L" sound, you put your tongue on the roof of your mouth, close to the teeth, but not touching them.
N = Either an n sound (nn), an m sound (mm), or a sort of nasal sound (ng), like exhaling through your nose.
Miyazaki = Mee-yah-zah-kee

But yeah... Some more problem areas to add to the list:

Devoiced Vowels-
As you may have noticed, in some words some vowels aren't really heard.

Examples:
(name)Asuka= "Ahska"
(name)Yusuke= "Yooskeh"
(ending) -Masu/Desu= "Mahs" "Dehs"
(means 'Person')Hito= "H'to"

(Some english speakers do it too. Ex. "Baske'ball" "Foo'ball" "H'llo")

Equal Stress-
Unlike English, emphasis on syllables tend to be uniform in (general) Japanese. No one syllable should be accented more heavily than any of the other syllables in the word.

Ex: English- Kuh-GO-May
Japanese- Kah-Goh-Meh

English- O-Keh-Naw-WAH
Japanese- Oh-Ki-Na-Wa

Long Vowels in General- They matter more if you happen to have similar sounding words in the same sentence though.

Ex:
Ie = House
Iie = No
Shujin = Husband
Shuujin = Prisoner
Un = Yes (informal)
Uun = No (also informal)

Though this is just standard Japanese. My sensei is always mentioning how the Oosaka accent is completely opposite - I love it when she imitates it, it sounds so different but cool ^^

First of all, you are being taught formal Japanese. Not that this is bad, but unfortunately the way they teach it is confusing for people who come from Romantic language backgrounds. The y in Miyazaki isn't stressed, so much so it's almost unaudiable, so I spelled the pronounciation without it.
1) The advice you gave about r is still correct, and the way I put it is easier for newbies to understand and grasp.
2) It is not incorrect to pronounce n as "mm", but it is looked down upon slightly.
3) I knew I was forgetting something, the kinda silent u. I hate that u so much...
4) The h in hito isn't stressed, and the i is perfectly audiable in the pronounciation.
5) When it comes to Romanji spelling, Osaka is preferred.
6) The thing you said about syllable stressings is wrong. In fact, most of the Japanese language translation depends completely on the enuciation (stressed and unstressed syllables), because the Japanese language only have about 130 sounds and over 3000 words
Example: AH-me means "candy" while ah-ME means "rain", however they are both spelled ame.

I remembered two more honorifics.

-senpai: also seen as "sempai", but it is CORRECTLY spelled senpai, this is what you call upperclassmen, like if you are a Ninth Grader and you are speaking to an Eleventh grader, you call him Dude-senpai
-kohai: the exact opposite of -senpai, hat the Eleventh Grader would call you

hehe thnx guys! im learning fast :D well not really but somewhat (alot better than when my dad tried to force me to learn our language)
anyways i came across something i found quite funny while watching anime can someone tell me if this means anything to them (plz bear with the spelling) "erro sennin"

also the guy in my sig his name is sasuke so im happily reading the manga going "sah-soo-kee" then i watch the anime and they go "sas-keh" and i was like whoa! completely dif than what i thought haha

I am drawing a blank on that. I know a few phrases (namely from anime), but not that one. Though, sennin seems familar to me... I probably know it but can't remember. I need to know the context in which it was used.

well then lets see theres an old guy whos always checking out chicks, and naruto calls him erro sennin as a title instead of frog hermit...i think the one time he said it erro was subtitled perverted not too sure though

Probably perverted old man. hentai is also used for this.

Actually, I'm being taught formal and informal Japanese. I think it's just easier to start out with formal because its the safest bout. And imo, I think that informal and conjugations are easier after you've learned formal. But yeah, I get what you mean with "Miyazaki", and I wasnt trying to say you were wrong or anything. It really just depends how the person says it.

And in response~
1) Ah, to me though, the "r" sound generally sounds like "l", so just using an "l" sound would seem easier, whether or not you bother to put your tongue on your teeth (how most english speakers normally pronounce the "l" sound) or not. I was just quoting how my first sensei says nihonjin say it.
2) Hm, that's interesting. Hadn't heard of that.When my sensei was explaining this, she (as well as I) was just listing the possibilities for pronouncing 'n'.
3) I love the devoiced vowels ^__^ I dunno, I just picked up on those well ^^;
4) Like the english examples, when you're talking at conversation speed you don't always enunciate every single vowel. i.e. "asoko ni tanoshii hito ga imasu/iru yo." at conversation speed "hito" almost sounds like "h'to"
5) So you're saying when using roomaji the Osaka spelling is prefered? sorry, this one's weird ^^;;
6) See there, you're talking about the pitch. I'm talking about the actual spelling as well as pronunciation. With writing, all you have to do is make sure you're spelling the words right. However when speaking, it may not matter as much unless you're talking about two words that sound the same but aren't spelled the same in the same sentence. i.e., しゅじん shujin and しゅうじん shuujin. To differenciate the two, you'd pronounce "shuujin" a little longer than "shujin". Same with うん un and ううん uun (though a little nod or shake would prolly be just as acceptable with those two) :agree:

Judging from the honorifics explained from this page and previous pages...

-san
-chan
-kun
-sama
-sempai
-sensei
-ka
-donou
-koi
-kohai

have all been gone over ^__^ anyone know some more?

well then lets see theres an old guy whos always checking out chicks, and naruto calls him erro sennin as a title instead of frog hermit...i think the one time he said it erro was subtitled perverted not too sure though

Well I believe 'sennin' means 'hermit'... and "ero" in katakana is 'erotic' ^^;; So Erotic hermit could equal 'Perverted hermit' most likely ^-^;;

ah.. so i was right lol but this part And in response~
1) Ah, to me though, the "r" sound generally sounds like "l", so just using an "l" sound would seem easier, whether or not you bother to put your tongue on your teeth (how most english speakers normally pronounce the "l" sound) or not. I was just quoting how my first sensei says nihonjin say it.
2) Hm, that's interesting. Hadn't heard of that.When my sensei was explaining this, she (as well as I) was just listing the possibilities for pronouncing 'n'.
3) I love the devoiced vowels ^__^ I dunno, I just picked up on those well ^^;
4) Like the english examples, when you're talking at conversation speed you don't always enunciate every single vowel. i.e. "asoko ni tanoshii hito ga imasu/iru yo." at conversation speed "hito" almost sounds like "h'to"
5) So you're saying when using roomaji the Osaka spelling is prefered? sorry, this one's weird ^^;;
6) See there, you're talking about the pitch. I'm talking about the actual spelling as well as pronunciation. With writing, all you have to do is make sure you're spelling the words right. However when speaking, it may not matter as much unless you're talking about two words that sound the same but aren't spelled the same in the same sentence. i.e., しゅじん shujin and しゅうじん shuujin. To differenciate the two, you'd pronounce "shuujin" a little longer than "shujin". Same with うん un and ううん uun (though a little nod or shake would prolly be just as acceptable with those two) just flew over my head... ill wait till you guys come to a consensus before i start ingraining it into my head

Judging from the honorifics explained from this page and previous pages...

-san
-chan
-kun
-sama
-sempai
-sensei
-ka
-donou
-koi
-kohai

have all been gone over ^__^ anyone know some more?Yeah, "han". From what I was told, it's on *** same level as "san", only it's just a different dialect (kansai), which is commonly used in places such as Kyoto? If I'm wrong here, feel free to correct me.

Oh yeah, I read about that. That sounds about right :agree:

Some more I've found are

-Iemoto = a higher version of sensei; for the the top or best of the best.
-Senshuu = equal to -san, but for sports figures
-Hikoku = for the defendant or for a convicted criminal

Eeto, SakuraNenriki-san, doko ni iru? Let's come to a consensus (I love that word XD) Or someone pop in and give their opinion. :agree:

Sort of off topic but I've got to get into Naruto ^-^;; I see so many icons and signatures and references to it, but I haven't a clue what it's about.

I've never heard of the three you previously mentioned, but the others are right. There are actaully different types of honorifics as well. For example, -desu is an honorific/verb. Like Daijoubu-desu, it means "I'm all right/okay".

-desu: is the word "to be" (daijoubu-desu, I am all right), rule of thumb, -desu goes with nouns or adjectives
-masu: is the verb "to be" like to exist in a place, rule of thumb, -masu goes with verbs
-ka: used when asking a question (Daijoubu-desu-ka: Are you all right?)
-na: This is used with watashi, but I'm not a hundred percent on its translation


I know of a few others, but I'll have to read up on them real quick to be able to explain them.

oh i get it so if i said i live in canada is would use masu

and to say im feeling cold id say desu?

also if u pm me or if u go to the Narutohttp://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=38202thread we'll hook you up ;)

oh i get it so if i said i live in canada is would use masu

and to say im feeling cold id say desu?

also if u pm me or if u go to the Narutohttp://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=38202thread we'll hook you up ;)

-na: This is used with watashi, but I'm not a hundred percent on its translationI think you mean "no" is used with "watashi". As for "na", I'm learning that now. It's a particle used after certain adjectives, I just can't recall what type of adjectives. As far as I know, my teacher was saying there really isn't a translation for it.

::shakes head;: no, I mean -na. I just looked it up in my book. "Watashi-na Rei-desu." My name is Rei.

::shakes head;: no, I mean -na. I just looked it up in my book. "Watashi-na Rei-desu." My name is Rei.Thinking about it, to introduce one's self in that fashion, wouldn't you use "wa"? That's the only way I've ever seen it written.

Sure you're not mixing up the character wa with the character, na (な)? That aside, it could be just another way that I've never been aware of.

::double checks:: Oh! You're right, it is -wa! I got it confused with a phrase right under the one I copied. ^^; Thanks for pointing that out to me.

::double checks:: Oh! You're right, it is -wa! I got it confused with a phrase right under the one I copied. ^^; Thanks for pointing that out to me.Yatta!! I did something right! :lol: Glad to help. ^_^

Ah, but at least I never have to worry about nouns being singular or plural. In Japanese, nouns are both. They also only have four tenses, not six like us. I remember future was one of them, but I can't remember the others.

Ah, but at least I never have to worry about nouns being singular or plural. In Japanese, nouns are both.I love that! It makes forming sentences easier, in my opinion, and the structure to make a noun plural seems to keep the same pattern regardless of the tense. They also only have four tenses, not six like us. I remember future was one of them, but I can't remember the others.I'm going to assume past and present are two more. I couldn't see them not having those two tenses if they have a future tense.

Actually, I don't thank they have a past. Now that I'm think about it, I think they have present, future, and two of the perfect tenses.

Actually, I don't thank they have a past. Now that I'm think about it, I think they have present, future, and two of the perfect tenses.I just asked an online buddy of mine this question. He's taking Japanese and is in...year two, if I'm not mistaken and studying in Japan. This is what he said when I asked...I'm...not sure. There's present and past, anyway. And continuous, if that counts. No future.

Verbs are conjugated to show tenses, of which there are two: past and present, or non-past, which is used for the present and the future. For some verbs, that represent an ongoing process, the -te iru form indicates a continuous (or progressive) tense. For others, that represent a change of state, the -te iru form indicates a perfect tense. For example, kite iru means "He has come (and is still here)", but tabete iru means "He is eating"."

::nods:: Okay, that makes sense. I knew they left out one tense, just couldn't remember which one. Less for me to remember. :D

Ah, but at least I never have to worry about nouns being singular or plural. In Japanese, nouns are both.

I love that! It makes forming sentences easier, in my opinion, and the structure to make a noun plural seems to keep the same pattern regardless of the tense.

I agree! But all those "darn" counters make up for the lack of em >< If I could eliminate something from the language those counters definitely would get the boot (though you do start to see a pattern after a while...but still, too many ><).


I'm...not sure. There's present and past, anyway. And continuous, if that counts. No future.

Verbs are conjugated to show tenses, of which there are two: past and present, or non-past, which is used for the present and the future. For some verbs, that represent an ongoing process, the -te iru form indicates a continuous (or progressive) tense. For others, that represent a change of state, the -te iru form indicates a perfect tense. For example, kite iru means "He has come (and is still here)", but tabete iru means "He is eating"."

that's a great way to explain it... :tu:

also if u pm me or if u go to the Narutohttp://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=38202thread we'll hook you up :wink:

Sugoi ne. And yeah to live is a masu verb and I believe feeling is desu :agree:

::nods:: Yeah, it's not an easy language, but better than English.

Yeah difficult at times, but I hey. I'll prolly rant about the counters until I've got them all down pack ^.^;

Is anyone going to participate in Japan Bowl this year?

What's the "Japan Bowl"?

What in God's name is that?

Competition where three students on level 2 or higher compete with other students in the same level on Japanese knowledge. There's alot of extra studying to do (at least for high school) because you must know info on the history, geography, kanji, proverbs along with level-appropriate knowledge of the language. There's three members on a team, with 2 extras if something happens to the main members.

Last year there was a preliminary round for like... area schools and then one big contest for all the winners to compete. This year however there's only going to be one big competition. Didn't have enough funding, my sensei figures.

I went last year for my school at level 2... we didn't do as badly as I thought we'd do... we hardly ever got together to study, and in the two weeks prior to the contest we split the sections up to study instead of everyone knowing everything ^^; but yeah...we were 7th/13 ^__^;;;

Well then, that would automatically exclude me. I'm neither a High School student nor am I in level 2 Japanese and if I were participating in it, I'd probably blank out and freeze up due to being so nervous. :p

Only one high school in my area teaches Japanese. That school is across town, very elite, and I'm not going to it. So, no wonder I haven't heard of this before.:lol:

I think its not just for High school... I dunno, I gotta check my old packet (yeah, I don't throw away anything @_@). I was pretty nervous when I went... but its really private. All teams draw numbers, and then they send three teams to a private area with judges, a score keeper, and a person who asks questions. Some catogories was like they'd ask each team a question and then after the team talked it over, the captain would say the answer. Other sections it was free for all, or whichever team rung the bell first would get to answer, and any member would be able to say it.

Its the final round where everyone in the competition sits and watches the final three teams compete on a stage. (I didn't actually see the winning team win though... the other two members of my team rode in with our Level 3 team, and since the level 3 team did worse than they expected, they left early. And then my mom showed up and was like "since your alone, lets just go")

The competition is really formal. You're suppose to dress up for it or you'd be disqualified - or so they say. The group they eventually crowned the winners were all wearing t-shirts and jeans... Alot of people were complaining about that.

*Edit* Okie, yeah it is only for high school... but now that I think about it, alot of those people there looked older ^_^;;

Well, I can introduce mysefl in japanese :D

I learnt japanese last year but I've forgotten most of them :P

That's pretty cool, but I know for a fact I'd get too nervous and my mind would go incredibly blank. Out of curiosity, what part of Virginia is the Japan Bowl usually held?

That sounds like Knowledge Bowl (also known as Quiz Bowl), only for Japanese. How cool.

Lessee.... It was at GMU last year, and the Nationals are always in DC I believe. And I know what you mean with the blanking mind. I was suppose to memorize kasanekotoba (onomatopoeias), politics, geography, and castles. By the time the competition rolled around I thought I had them down, and when we stepped into the room my mind cleared of the castles and geography ^_^;; Glad there was only like 2 questions on those.

Ano, Konban wa, (i'll see if I can katakana it) keidii_shiikuuru-san. Youkoso!

wel thats sounds cool... but what are the counters ure talking bout? and are u gonna do this japan bowl this year?

Ah, you know how in English you can generally count anything with the standard numbers? In Japanese, there's a special counter for flat objects, mechanical things, small animals, big animals, birds, long cylinder objects, bounded objects, floors, etc. Very convient, huh? ^_^#

And yup, seeing as there's only three other people in my class, there's no doubt I'll be going to Japan Bowl even if I didn't want to -- But I do. Badly. I wanna beat Oakton soo much (the school that won last year despite them wearing casual clothes) as well as TJ (the usual winners of the Japan bowl, and where my first sensei decided to switch to). It wouldn't hurt to win either ^_~ Ganbarimashou~!

cool good luck..

but why the need of diferent ways for counting? so just knowing ich ni san chi isnt gonna get me anywhere?

cool good luck..

but why the need of diferent ways for counting? so just knowing ich ni san chi isnt gonna get me anywhere?For the record, it is "shi", not chi. And, apparently, yep, guess it is a necessity. The person I quoted earlier, mentioned something about counting, but I never did ask him more on it.

It's sorta like how one says 40 is yon-juu as opposed to shi-juu or 70, which is nana-juu as opposed to shichi-juu.

Speaking of counting, I like that counting system. It's typical addition for numbers 11-19, and multiplication when you get to the higher numbers. My teacher was saying, if you can count to ten, you should be able to count to one hundred easily, which it is.

010 = Juu
011 = Juu-ichi (Juu = 10/ichi = 1), so it's pretty much saying (10 + 1)
012 = Juu-ni (10 + 2)
013 = Juu-san (10 + 3)

And so forth.

020 = Ni-juu (Ni = 2/juu = 10), so it's pretty much saying, two tens 2(10)
030 = San-juu (San = 3/juu = 10) which is pretty much 3(10)
040 = Yon-juu
050 = Go-juu (Go = 5/juu = 10)
060 = Roku-juu
070 = Nana-juu
080 = Hachi-juu
090 = Kyuu-juu
100 = Hyaku

Not sure how to say 101 - 109, but I'm assuming it follows the same pattern for 110 and up...Hyaku-juu (110), Hyaku-juu-ichi (111), Hyaku-juu-ni (112), Hyaku-juu-san (113), Hyaku-juu-shi (114)...Hyaku-ni-juu (120), etc, the pattern starting over. Anyone mind confirming this for me?

Thank you, I'll try my best ^^ And Ichi to infinity is good for math, addresses, and phone numbers, but for counting specific things...gotta know those darn counters :shrug: I don't know why there's so many different ways to count.

Here's a few:

Round Objects/Unclassified Objects

-Hitotsu
-Futatsu
-Mittsu
-Yottsu
-Itsutsu
-Muttsu
-Nanatsu
-Yattsu
-Kokonotsu
-Too

This is actually the actual Japanese 1-10. Ichi, ni, san, shi, etc is actually derived from the Chinese :agree:

People

Hitori*
Futari*
San-nin
Yo-nin*
Go-nin
Roku-nin
Nana or Shichi-nin
Hachi-nin
Kyuu-nin
Juu-nin

Bounded Objects

Issatsu*
Nisatsu
Sansatsu
Yonsatsu
Gosatsu
Rokusatsu
Nanasatsu
Hassatsu*
Kyuusatsu
Jyuussatsu

Small Animals

Ippiki*
Nihiki
Sanbiki*
Yonhiki
Gohiki
Roppiki*
Nanahiki
Happiki*
Kyuuhiki
Jyuuppiki*

Notice the ones with * are slightly different. You just have to memorize those. There's a little song we used to sing to memorize the Round/unclassified counter and the people counter. I'll post it up a little later if you want to start memorizing a counter or two now.

Speaking of counting, I like that counting system. It's typical addition for numbers 11-19, and multiplication when you get to the higher numbers. My teacher was saying, if you can count to ten, you should be able to count to one hundred easily, which it is.

I like the numbers too, it was one of the eaiser factors on J-1 (for some reason, I didn't have katakana completely down til nearly the middle of 2nd quarter. And even then I forget "nu" alot ^^; )

Ooo, I've seen those before!!! The counting for "round things" and people.

Yeah, they were the first ones I learned (which is probably why they got the little songs to go with them ^^; )

The first ten days of the month are really similar to the "Round/unclassified" counters too :agree: Which makes me wonder why I'm forever forgetting them ^^;

...:( to think i wanted to learn japanese.... im so in over my head... maybe i should find a teacher lol

i just noticed something interesting about the counting.... can it somewhat be compared to things like how we have a "school of fish" "gaggle or girl"

Yeah it is confusing, even going through this thread. Everyone is at different skill levels and the basics are all spreaded out on different pages.

I'm one who could study independently (since I bought both of my textbooks), but I really don't want to because a teacher does help me learn, as well as being able to actually practice with someone with the actual speaking. :agree:

If you're one like me, maybe a sensei or tutor could be beneficial. Until then, or even after, I (and I'm sure the others here) will try to help you along your way, while trying to improve our own Japanese ^^ :agree:

And about those counters... honestly you don't need to know them all now ^^; At this time, two years ago I had just only learned the first two.

I can count to ten...

ichi, ni, san, shi, go, roku, shichi, hachi, kyuu, juu

here's another counter...
another way of counting objects
1-Iko
2-niko
3-sanko
4-yonko
5-goko
6-locko
7-nanako
8-ha'ko
9-kyuko
10-jyu'ko

Large animals
1-ito
2-nito
3-santo
4-yonto
5-goto?
6-loto?
7-nanato
8-ha'to
9-kyu'to?
10-jyu-to

floors
1-ikai
2-nikai
3-sankai
4-yonkai
5-gokai
6-lo'kai
7-nanakai
8-ha'kai
9-kyukai'
10-ju'kai


i never understood why they use different counting systems for every little thing. It gets me on my nerves.
Why do they need so many characters as well?

They want to torture people learning the language of course! :agree: lol, j/k

I don't mind the characters too much, though.

Hey, could anyone go back and confirm what I said about numbers, about counting past 100? ^^ Oh, and I just noticed this here, so I'll try to answer as best I can.1. Kokugai e ikitai desu ka.Hai! lolDono gaikoku e ikitain desu ka.Nihon to Supein e ikitai desu.Dou****e wa gaikoku e ikitain desu ka.Wakarimasen. Nihon to Supein wa totemo omoshirokute (:p). I find both cultures fascinating for some strange reason. (If I could say all this in Japanese, I would lol)Gaikoku e nani o shini ikimasu ka.Sightsee.:p2. Ima, nani o kite imasu ka.Watashi wa aoi SHATSU to kasshoku PANTSU (??) to kuroi SOKKUSU wo haite imasu. So****e megane o kakete imasu. (Sorry, had to copy this, as it's true for me as well).

There's a little song we used to sing to memorize the Round/unclassified counter and the people counter. I'll post it up a little later if you want to start memorizing a counter or two now.Hey, mind putting up the song? I could use all the help I can get. :lol:I like the numbers too, it was one of the eaiser factors on J-1 (for some reason, I didn't have katakana completely down til nearly the middle of 2nd quarter. And even then I forget "nu" alot ^^; )I don't have either down, yet. I'm not studying as much as I should be, actually, due to distractions. -_-;;

For the lesson I'm on now, I'm learning some of those other counters, because I have to learn how to order things (tickets, etc.).

Hey, could anyone go back and confirm what I said about numbers, about counting past 100? ^^

:agree: You're exactly right with what you had. And 101-109 is also just as simple. It's just like before, only adding a hyaku in front. I.e. "hyaku-ichi" hyaku-ni" "hyaku-san" hyaku-shi" etc. For numbers like 200-999 you do the same thing as with 20-99 before, only for hyaku (i.e. 200 = ni-hyaku. 535= go hyaku san juu go) Same goes for a thousand, or sen. For 1001, 1002, and 1003 it would be "sen-ichi" "sen-ni" "sen-san" and 2000 and 2314 would be "ni-sen" and "ni-sen san byaku juu yon"

I hope that wasn't too confusing o_o;; But yeah, the sen part is especially useful in dates, because in Japanese they don't break up the year like in English. Noope, they have to say it like its an amount of money ot something. In other words...

In English...
1994 = nineteen ninety-four
Nihongo de...
1994 = sen kyuu-hyaku-kyuu-juu-yon nen (nen is year)

Great thing though is that we're in 2005, so its only "Ni-sen go nen".


Oh, and I just noticed this here, so I'll try to answer as best I can.

Oh wow, I totally forgot about that too ^^;


Nihon to Supein e ikitai desu. Wakarimasen. Nihon to Supein wa totemo omoshirokute (:p). I find both cultures fascinating for some strange reason. (If I could say all this in Japanese, I would lol) Sightsee.:p

Jouzu na :agree: Though, did you mean "Shirimasen" instead of "wakarimasen"? And in your case, it would only be "omoshiroi desu" because you didn't have another I-adj to follow it.
Oh and just a tip that I do if I don't know how to say something an action in Japanese - just tag on "o shimasu". (i.e. Sightsee o shimasu = basically "sightseeing"). It really helps ;)

Watashi wa aoi SHATSU to kasshoku PANTSU (??) to kuroi SOKKUSU wo haite imasu. So****e megane o kakete imasu. (Sorry, had to copy this, as it's true for me as well).

You made me realize I made a mistake when I answered myself ^^; (I went back and fixed it) From what I've learned so far is that we must use the right verbs for the right items (there might be another way, but so far this is all that I know) So "aoi shatsu" would have to be with "kite imasu" instead of "haite imasu". What you made me realize is that when you group two or more verbs together in a sentence you're suppose to put all the verbs except the last one in the sentence in "te" form -- I had forgotten the 'imasu' altogether instead of conjugating it into 'te' form with 'kite'.

i.e.

Atashi wa akai shatsu o kite, JIINZU o haite, shiroi kutsu****a o haite imasu. So****e, megane o kakete imasu.

when its really suppose to be

Atashi wa akai shatsu o kite ite, JIINZU o haite ite, shiroi kutsu****a o haite imasu. So****e, megane o kakete imasu.

So yours would be:

Watashi wa aoi SHATSU o kite ite, kasshoku no (cause its not an i-adj) PANTSU (this is right too) to kuroi SOKKUSU wo haite imasu. So****e megane o kakete imasu.

Notice how you put the pants and the socks together, and I didn't? Either works.


Hey, mind putting up the song? I could use all the help I can get. :lol:

Sure thing :agree:

For Round or Shapeless Objects In the tune of "1,2,3 little Indians"

Hitotsu, Futatsu, Mittsu no hanbaagaa
Yottsu, Itsutsu, Muttsu no hanbaagaa
Nanatsu, Yattsu, Kokonotsu no hanbaagaa
Tou no hanbaagaa

(1,2,3, hamburgers
4,5,6, hamburgers
7,8,9 hamburgers
10 hamburgers)

musha musha musha musha
Hanbaagaa wa oishii
musha musha musha musha
Hanbaagaa wa oishii
musha musha musha musha
Hanbaagaa wa oishii
Hanbaagaa wa oishii nee

(munch munch munch much
Hamburgers are good
munch munch munch much
Hamburgers are good
munch munch munch much
Hamburgers are good
Hamburgers are delicious)

For People (same tune)

Hitori, Futari, Sannin no kodomo
Yonin, Gonin, Rokunin no kodomo
shichinin, Hachinin, Kyuunin no kodomo
Juunin no kodomo

(1,2,3 children
4,5,6 children
7,8,9 children
10 children)

Wai wai gayagaya
Kodomo wa tanoshii
Wai wai gayagaya
Kodomo wa tanoshii
Wai wai gayagaya
Kodomo wa tanoshii
Kodomo wa tanoshii nee

( ::sounds of children playing::
Children have fun
::sounds of children playing::
Children have fun
::sounds of children playing::
Children have fun
Children have so much fun)

For bounded Objects (same tune)

Issatsu, nisatsu, sansatsu no kyoukasho
Yonsatsu, gosatsu, rokusatsu no kyoukasho
Nanasatsu, hassatsu, kyuusatsu no kyoukasho
Jyussatsu no kyoukasho

(1,2,3, textbooks
4,5,6, textbooks
7,8,9 text books
10 text books)

nihongo o
benkyou shimashou
nihongo o
benkyou shimashou
nihongo o
benkyou shimashou
naratte imasu yo

(Let's study
Japanese
Let's study
Japanese
Let's study
Japanese
I'm learning!)

The first two I was taught by my sensei, and in my text. However, the last one I made up myself ^_^ (thats why it doesnt really flow ^_^;;; )

nicely done! now if only i knew the tune to 1,2,3 lil indians i could memorize those... although thnx to ure song i know understand who the legendary sannin are in naruto! they're just 3 legendary people! haha gj G uve taught me something today

Maybe this (http://www.homepagez.com/misak/mb10littleindians[1].mid) will help some? And woot ^^v keep picking it up :tu:

nicely done! now if only i knew the tune to 1,2,3 lil indians i could memorize those...I'm surprised. I thought everyone knew that tune. Oh yeah! I have a nice way to remember the body parts (some of them). I'll put it up later when I have more time. My break is almost up. Speak o' the devil...it's up now as I type this. :lol:although thnx to ure song i know understand who the legendary sannin are in naruto! they're just 3 legendary people! haha gj G uve taught me something todayI noticed this too. When I saw "Sanin", I was like "Cool!! I get it now!"

Yup. Sanin--the three people. :D Who ever said anime is uneducational.

Okay all, here's that body-part song I mentioned. The tune is that "Head and shoulders, knees & toes, knees and toes". I'm sure you all know this song. What pre-school based television show didn't sing that at some point. lol

Body Parts Song
atama kata hiza ashi, hiza ashi
atama kata hiza ashi, hiza ashi
me to mimi to kuchi to o-hana~~~
atama kata hiza ashi, hiza ashi

head, shoulder knee toe, knee toe
head, shoulder knee toe, knee toe
eye and ear and mouth and nose
head, shoulder knee toe, knee toe

Pretty much a direct translation, just no "and" between "knee" and "toe".

Yup. Sanin--the three people. :D Who ever said anime is uneducational.

me... all ive learned from naruto is how to curse at my friends :D

well now that i've got some things down i got another noob question... was is the "wa" for, like in watashi-wa and so on so forth i've noticed a couple of words with "wa" added onto them

I'm not quite sure. I'm still learning about watashi.

well now that i've got some things down i got another noob question... was is the "wa" for, like in watashi-wa and so on so forth i've noticed a couple of words with "wa" added onto themTo be honest, I can't really explain it other than "wa" is a particle. In the sense of "Watashi wa", "Atashi wa", "Watakushi (sp?) wa", "Boku wa", "Ore wa", etc., it's pretty much saying "I am".

If you're wondering which you would use above when addressing yoruself, it depends on the age, person, and gender.

Stuff like "Kimi wa", "Anata wa", etc., pretty much translates to "you are".

Anywho, speaking of addressing oneself, can anyone here explain "Waga na wa <insert name here>"?

Um... think of "wa" as a topic marker. Usually what ever comes before wa is the subject of the sentence.

I.E.

Atashi no sensei no itoko wa totemo kawaii nee
=
My teacher's cousin is very cute.

The 'wa' shows you that the sentence is about the teacher's cousin. 'Wa' also provides emphasis for a negative sentence.

I.E.

Gakkou de boushi o kabutte wa ikemasen
=
Wearing a hat in school is not allowed.

'Wa' here is emphasing the "is not" part.

It's kind of weird, but sometimes thinking about it too hard makes it even harder ^^;

I think we should vote that "wa" sucks and should join the list of annyoing things about Japanese. It will be up there with "r" and "gaijin".

Hey, what's so annoying about 'gaijin'? And don't forget those awesomely annoying counters >:P

Gaijin means foreigner... and its a very bad insult. If you are tall or have don't look Japanese, you are like a social second class citizen. If you are called gajin it's not a good thing. Feel free to whoop whoever calls you this's a**. They deserve it.

One of the first things I told my teacher when asked why I want to learn the language, was, "Well, I don't want to have to walk around only knowing how to say "Sumimasen, watashi wa gaijin desu". :p

lol i dont know what it really means but im guessing something in "help im a foreigner!" lol well now that we know gaijin is bad... wat else would one need to look out for in japan?

Not crime. The crime rate is very very low there. One show I watched said a buglary will take place every two to three months. People in the downtown don't even lock their doors it's so safe.

lol i dont know what it really means but im guessing something in "help im a foreigner!" lol well now that we know gaijin is bad... wat else would one need to look out for in japan?Sumimasen = I'm sorry or excuse me. Sumimasen is a polite way of saying it, as well as a more "adult way". What I was trying to say, pretty much, was "I'm sorry, I am a foreigner" as an apology for my ignorance on the Japanese language if I ever were to visit without knowing the basics.

anything wa is the subject then wa right after.
I am
You are
We are
He is

That's pretty much it.

i really wanna learn this language because it's my biggest dream to go to japan but the problem is--tokyo is the most expensive city to live in. so i should really start saving money. my mum used to stay there but she almost forgot all of the things she learned. :c

Gaijin means foreigner... and its a very bad insult. If you are tall or have don't look Japanese, you are like a social second class citizen. If you are called gajin it's not a good thing. Feel free to whoop whoever calls you this's a**. They deserve it.

I know what 'gaijin' means, and I have also heard and read all about the controversy that surrounds it. Like several words in all languages, some nihonjin do use 'gaijin' for discriminatory purposes, while some don't. There are quite a few people who don't mean it in a bad way, and use it out of habit, especially when they're around people who don't mind it. And then there are some who also don't mean it in a bad way, but don't use it because they realize the animosity towards it from foreigners.

I myself don't particularly care, especially since I don't hear the word often anyway. Whether if I'm called 'gaijin' or 'gaikokujin', I'm not going to start off on the wrong foot for what could be a simple misunderstanding ¯\(- o)/¯

Konnichiwa, lemon-cherii-san, vorudii-voruvoru-san. ^^ Yeah, Japan can be pretty expensive - Just think... finding a place to stay, getting a drivers license, bank accounts, mail, hanko, and just in general getting use to the differences... pretty overwhelming @__@. For the first time, I'd like to go over either during school for a year, or maybe for an internship(though the first prize for Japan Bowl is roundtrip tickets to Japan :D!).

I believe Tokyo is one of those places that is nice to visit but not live in, especially if you're like me and like your space. However, I'm all for one day moving to Kyoto or the Hokkaido region. Of course, that would mean I'd have to stop being so blunt American-like... :nc:

I believe Tokyo is one of those places that is nice to visit but not live in, especially if you're like me and like your space.

:agree:

I'd like to visit up and down the islands before choosing a place to live - though my sensei now is like "You'd like Hokkaido... It's really beautiful with lots of snow and people would like your ice skating :wink::wink::" and my sensei before was like "Kyoto is really historical and beautiful two. Great place to be at during all the seasons ::cough::cough::wink::"

Funny how it is... I really wanna check out Oosaka actually :p

i like japanese too but i have no teacher :( the smartest few people here should mke lessons for the people who cant learn. it would help soooo much and be reely nice :D

That would be a cool thing.

A short tutorial on the basics of Japanese can be found here (http://www.planetnintendo.com/goldensun/japanese/). Some of the info isn't ALL there is about the particles, but it is a very good place to start.

It'd be easier to post explanations here, especially when you're at work and technically not supposed to be surfing. :p

That aside, I thought of something that will be very useful to us beginners. As you know, there are two ways of saying zero (zero/ree), four (shi/yon), and seven (shichi/nana). In what situations would you use them? I already know how they're used in basic counting and the months, just don't know much of anything else.

Konnichiwa, Appuru_senseeshon-san ^_^ and that's an interesting idea you have. That's something to think about. Oh, and youkoso, Muku-muku-san ^^- it's been awhile since you've last posted :agree:

That is a pretty decent site, Kiomashu-san (I think I botched that ^.^; ). A nice list of of particles ^-^ (they mispelled 300 and mixed up the 'ku' and 'i' in the colors though ^^; )

For the numbers, in my case I hardly use 'rei' for zero - but thats just because I haven't learned any specific uses for it yet -- but words like "subzero" (reika) and "absolute zero [for temp]" (reido) have it in them.
Shi/yon, shichi/nana, ku/kyuu are interchangable for some things, but then you have to use one of another in other situations..

i.e.

Shigatsu = April =>why => Just the way it is (or so I'm told)
Yonin = four people =>why => because "shinin" is 'dead person'
Kyuuusai = nine years old =>why=> because "kusai" is 'smelly' :p

Cool; I just read over the last go pages in this thread and jotted down about ichi-hyaku notes.:clap:

There's a tango that keeps popping up (or maybe it only seems to be popping up because I notice it)... what does 'so****e' mean? (I think that's the word...)

And how do you say 'what does -- mean?' so I can say it in Nihongo every time I need to ask something? :p

This thread is great; arigato everyone for all that I have learned already!
(And please correct my Nihongo when it needs correcting, like if I use the numbers incorrectly....)

For the numbers, in my case I hardly use 'rei' for zero - but thats just because I haven't learned any specific uses for it yet -- but words like "subzero" (reika) and "absolute zero [for temp]" (reido) have it in them.
Shi/yon, shichi/nana, ku/kyuu are interchangable for some things, but then you have to use one of another in other situations..

i.e.

Shigatsu = April =>why => Just the way it is (or so I'm told)
Yonin = four people =>why => because "shinin" is 'dead person'
Kyuuusai = nine years old =>why=> because "kusai" is 'smelly' :pThanks for that. Funny too.

Teacher: How many people are here?
Me: Shinin desu.
Teacher: o_O;;;
Me: ??

I could so see myself saying something like that due to my not knowing. :lol:

Didn't know about the "nine" thing either. I'll keep that in mind. When saying someone is nine years old, I'll remember to say "kyuu" as opposed to "kuu".Cool; I just read over the last go pages in this thread and jotted down about ichi-hyaku notes.:clap:One hundred is "hyaku", no need for the "ichi" there.There's a tango that keeps popping up (or maybe it only seems to be popping up because I notice it)... what does 'so****e' mean? (I think that's the word...)So****e means "and". Another way of saying "and" is "to", but "to" is used for sequences, like, "Nihon to Supein to New York e ikitai desu" (I'd like to go to Japan and Spain and New York.) I hope I said that right. ^^;;

For so****e, it'd more so be like, "Watashi wa Wendy desu, so****e, Nihon e ikitai desu". (My name is Wendy and I would like to go to Japan). It connects sentences and phrases I was told. Please, experts here, correct me if I'm wrong. lol I was going to say I am 24 years old, but I think saying "Watashi wa Wendy desu, so****e, watashi wa ni-juu-yon sai (I think that's how I'd say it)" would be too much or something.

Oh yeah, what does "tango" mean? Does it mean "word"? If so, the only word for "word" I know is "kotoba"..I think.And how do you say 'what does -- mean?' so I can say it in Nihongo every time I need to ask something? :pGood question there. Maybe you can use Nani kore? (What is this?). Like I said before, please correct me if everything I've said so far is wrong! >< lol

Tango...tango... oh yeah, it also means "word" or "vocabulary". One difference is kotoba can also mean language.

And EsuEsuJee_Jyupu-san (yeah i'm practicing roomaji/katakana), you've got it pretty much down ^^:tu: The only thing is 'so****e' is used at the beginning of a sentence, so you'd just make it into two sentence, i.e. "Watashi wa Wendy-desu. So****e, nihon e ikitai desu."

It's easy to include your age. Because it's a noun, you can replace all the "desu" with "de" except the last one (this is also the same for na-adjectives). Ooh yeah, you don't have to repeat 'watashi wa' over if its obvious that the subject is you. (this is because so far I've been taught that there can be only one 'wa' in a sentence)

But yeah...Therefore you can say it in a variety of ways:

1) Watashi wa Wendy desu. Watashi wa ni-juu-yon-sai desu. So****e, watashi wa nihon e ikitai desu.
(good, but repetitive..)
2)Watashi wa Wendy desu. Ni-juu-yon-sai desu. So****e, nihon e ikitai desu.
(Better, but you can still make it shorter)
3)Watashi wa Wendy de, ni-juu-yon-sai desu.(So****e) Nihon e ikitai desu.
(Best.You can omit the so****e if you want)

And how do you say 'what does -- mean?' so I can say it in Nihongo every time I need to ask something? :p

Hm.. at the top of my head, you could say

"(tango) no imi wa nan desu ka?"
which is
"What is the meaning for (word)?"

You could also twist it around and ask

"(tango wa eigo de) wa nihongo de nanto iimasu ka?"
which means
"How do you say (word in english) in Japanese?"

I will never forget that last one because in J1 I could never memorize it o_o;

Thanks for the explanation on "so****e". At least I wasn't completely off. Oh, as for my using it in the middle of the sentence, I blame that on my having English as first language where I use semi-colons and for that type of sentence where I did use So****e. :lol:

Still some good stuff here. As for "de", what other ways can it be used?

Like with the nouns, you can use 'de' when you want to describe something with a lot of na-adjectives ('de' is the copula for 'desu'):

i.e. JEIMII-san wa shizuka de, kirei de, genki desu nee.
Jamie is quiet, pretty, and healthy.

The particle 'de' is used for:

Tools, meaning "with" -- "Hashi de tabemasu ka." => "Do you eat with chopsticks?"

Tools, meaning "by,with,on, in" -- "Tomodachi to denwa de yoku hanashimasu" => "I talk to my friend on the phone alot."
"KONPYUUTAA de eigo no REPOOTO o TAIPUshima****a" => "I typed my english report with/by a computer."

Transportation, meaning "with, by" -- "Watashi wa gakkou e BASU de kimasu" => "I come to school by bus."

Places, meaning "at,in" (only with action verbs) -- "Toshokan de benkyou o shima****a" => "I studied at the library."

Totalizing -- "Zenbu de sanDORU go-jyuu-SENTO desu." => "For everything is 3 dollars and fifty cents."

メリークリスマス、みなーさン！ ^__^

I've got some free time right now, so here are of my favorite Christmas lyrics in Japanese(not official, as I've heard different lyrics to the same tune):

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

おめでとうクリスマス
おめでとうクリスマス
おめでとうクリスマス
おいわいしましょう
みんな して あそびましょう
おめでとうクリスマス
おいわいしましょう

(Omedetou kurisumasu
Omedetou kurisumasu
Omedetou kurisumasu
Oiwaishimashou
Minna ****e asobimashou
Omedetou kurisumasu
Oiwaishimashou)

おめでとうクリスマス
おめでとうクリスマス
おめでとうクリスマス
おいわいしましょう
みんな して あそびましょう
おめでとうクリスマス
おいわいしましょう

(Omedetou kurisumasu
Omedetou kurisumasu
Omedetou kurisumasu
Oiwaishimashou
Minna ****e asobimashou
Omedetou kurisumasu
Oiwaishimashou)

おいしい おかし を
おいしい おかし を
おいしい おかし を
つくりましょう
みんな して あそびましょう
おめでとうクリスマス
おいわいしましょう

(Oishii okashi o
Oishii okashi o
Oishii okashi o
Tsukurimashou
Minna ****e asobimashou
Omedetou kurisumasu
Oiwaishimashou)

おめでとうクリスマス
おめでとうクリスマス
おめでとうクリスマス
おいわいしましょう
みんな して あそびましょう
おめでとうクリスマス
おいわいしましょう

(Omedetou kurisumasu
Omedetou kurisumasu
Omedetou kurisumasu
Oiwaishimashou
Minna ****e asobimashou
Omedetou kurisumasu
Oiwaishimashou)

Rough Translation

Congrats to Christmas*
Congrats to Christmas
Congrats to Christmas
Let's celebrate
Everyone, let's have fun
Congrats to Christmas
Let's celebrate

Congrats to Christmas
Congrats to Christmas
Congrats to Christmas
Let's celebrate
Everyone, let's have fun
Congrats to Christmas
Let's celebrate

Yummy sweets
Yummy sweets
Let's make yummy sweets
or
Let's make
Let's make
Let's make yummy sweets

Congrats to Christmas
Congrats to Christmas
Congrats to Christmas
Let's celebrate
Everyone, let's have fun
Congrats to Christmas
Let's celebrate!

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

それ は クリスマス の しずかな よる の こと
おくり もの を たのしみ に して
サンタクロース の ゆめ を みた

(Sore wa KURISUMASU no shizuka na yoru no koto
Okuri mono wo tanoshimi ni ****e
SANTA KUROOSU no yume wo mita）

しろい おひげ の サンタ は
ママ の おともだち ね
ふたり で なに か わらって いる の
うれしい そう な まま

(Shiroi ohige no SANTA wa
MAMA no otomodachi ne
Futari de nani ka waratte iru no
Ureshii sou na MAMA)

それ は クリスマス の しずかな よる の こと
おくり もの を たのしみ に して
サンタクロース の ゆめ を みた

(Sore wa KURISUMASU no shizuka na yoru no koto
Okuri mono wo tanoshimi ni ****e
SANTA KUROOSU no yume wo mita)

やさしい パパの おかお に
よく にた サンタさん
ママ に やさしく キッス した
でも その サンタは パパ

(Yasashii PAPA no okao ni
Yoku nita SANTA san
MAMA ni yasashiku KISSU ****a
Demo sono SANTA wa PAPA)

~

This one is a bit tougher to translate ^^; It seems though the singer in this version already knows that Santa is really daddy, unlike its english counterpart.

~

Kiyoshi Kono YoruSilent Night

きよし この よる ほし は ひかり
すくい の みこ は まぶね の なか に
ねむりた もう いと やすく

(Kiyoshi kono yoru hoshi wa hikari
Sukui no miko wa mabune no naka ni
Nemurita mou ito yasuku)

きよし この よる みつげ うけし
まきびとたち は みこ の みまえ に
ぬかずきぬ かしこみて

(Kiyoshi kono yoru mitsuge ukeshi
Makibito-tachi wa miko no mimae ni
Nukazukinu kashikomite)

きよし この よる みこ の えみ に
めぐみ の みよ の あした の ひかり
かがやけり ほがらか に

(Kiyoshi kono yoru miko no emi ni
Megumi no miyo no a****a no hikari
Kagayakeri hogaraka ni)

~

This song is even harder to translate ^^; But reading different translations of it sows that it stays pretty close to the point of the English Version (unlike We Wish You a Merry Christmas ^^; )

Yatta~! Oiwaishimasu ^_^v

:lol: We sang We Wish You a Merry Christmas in Japanese before we broke for break. Also did Rudolph, too...

.. anyways i gots another noob question.. aan-chan and nee-chan... when are they used? and what do they mean? thnx alot

:lol: We sang We Wish You a Merry Christmas in Japanese before we broke for break. Also did Rudolph, too...

:lol: lucky! We didn't do anything for Christmas.. but we did have soba and mochi early ^__^ (omg soba is sooo good XD)

And godorikusu haroo-san, I'm not sure what you mean by aan-chan (do you mean ani/e?), but nee-chan is what you would address your older sister. You would use ane-chan when talking about your older sister.

I got several Japanese learning books and CDs for Christmas so I expect you will see me hanging around this thread soon. ^_^ I look forward to the day when I can watch my anime and read my comics without a translation present.

:lol: lucky! We didn't do anything for Christmas.. but we did have soba and mochi early ^__^ (omg soba is sooo good XD)

And godorikusu haroo-san, I'm not sure what you mean by aan-chan (do you mean ani/e?), but nee-chan is what you would address your older sister. You would use ane-chan when talking about your older sister.

sorry bout any misunderstandings with aan-chan but on the anime i watch there were two brothers fuujin and raijin who called each other aan-chan (well thats how im guessing you spell it) so i thought it would be a way of talkin about ure twin or something because ni-san is for older bro (i think:S)

sorry bout any misunderstandings with aan-chan but on the anime i watch there were two brothers fuujin and raijin who called each other aan-chan (well thats how im guessing you spell it) so i thought it would be a way of talkin about ure twin or something because ni-san is for older bro (i think:S)I think it's pretty much a more casual way of anniki (sp?). Not sure, though, but I've heard some refer to their brother as Aniki. Those two brothers did seem to say "an-chan" a lot, and I just think it's short for aniki.

Sorta like how oniisan means brother, but depending on the person, some may use oniichan, niichan, niisan, niisama, or even oniisama.

Ooh, I get it :agree: aniki can mean "older brother", so it sounds like SSJ_Jup-san is right about the situation.

Yatta!! I was right!!! :clap:

Okay, I have another question. When watching some shows, I tend to hear, as an exclamation what sounds to be, "Nandesde!". I'm assuming it's really "nan desu de". Mind explaining what it means? I'm assuming it's along the along the lines of meaning, "What's this!?!" or "What's that!?!" like an interjection to an absurd suggestion or reqeuest.

Hm... well I can't really tell, and I haven't watched anything in Japanese for awhile now ^^; What sort of situation is the person in when they say it? If someone doesn't pick this up by Tuesday, I can asked my atarashii sensei (yeah, my third now ^^; ) for you :agree:

Well, let's say you were eating, and then you get the bill and you may shout that. Or, you say something under your breath, and the person you're speaking of, may reply in that way. I've only noticed this for goofy anime stuff, though. Like in Pokemon for Musashi, Kojirou, and Nyaasu.

I think I know what you're talking about... it sounds really familiar :agree: I didn't get to ask my sensei on Tuesday (gomen :( ), but I'll try to ask tomorrow.

Okay, no problem.

We-ell I didn't ask on Friday, cause I completely forgot the phrase ^^; gomen... kayoubi de, kayoubi de, danzen da yo :agree:

And just some questions for anybody:

ー）a.If you go to a class, do you use your real first name, real last name, or a Japanese name?
b. If you use your real name, how do you spell it? Have you found a kanji spelling for it?
c. If you use a Japanese name, what is it, and do you use a kanji spelling for it?

二）If you don't go to a class, do you know how to spell your name anyway? How do you spell it? Have you found kanji that fits with your name? If so, what is it?

三）Any particular Japanese name you like? Any one that you wouldn't mind calling yourself, or do you have Japanese name for yourself?

My answers are:

1)a.We generally use our first name, though we know how to spell both our first and last. One guy in my class uses his last name though, because last year we had two 'Jason's so we had him use his last name to differenciate the two, and this year... it stuck on him ^^

b.I've seen two ways to spell it, but I use 'モニーク' or 'Moniiku' :agree: I've found 2 kanji that supposively translate into my name on a website, but I'm not too sure, because the second readings didn't match when I looked them up in 2 kanji books. It's "孤独" or "kodoku", which means "solitude". I plan on asking my sensei next quarter though - thats when we're suppose to try our luck with it in class.

3) A few Japanese first names I like are Hikari, Shinji, Shuji, Makoto, Chie, Mineko, Keiko, Mio, Kyoko, Misao, Chiaki, Maho, Asuka, and Yukito. If I had a J-name, I'd like Misao ^^

We-ell I didn't ask on Friday, cause I completely forgot the phrase ^^; gomen... kayoubi de, kayoubi de, danzen da yo :agree:No problemo.ー）a.If you go to a class, do you use your real first name, real last name, or a Japanese name?Real name.b. If you use your real name, how do you spell it? Have you found a kanji spelling for it?I spell it in Kana, don't have a kanji for it, and I doubt I ever will, unless you know of a place where I can find a kanji for my name.

I'd type it up now, but I can't type out Japanese text on this computer (I'm at work), and I don't have a Japanese word processor. I can only view Japanese text on here.三）Any particular Japanese name you like? Any one that you wouldn't mind calling yourself, or do you have Japanese name for yourself?I seem to really like the name "Miki" for some reason. I also like the names Ai, Keiko, Miyako, Kyoko, Takeru, and Satoshi.

Honto. Omoshiroi nee. Oh and my sensei said that it's pretty much "What's that?!" or "What's this??" or even a "Huh??" (just like you assumed ^^), which sounds right in the situations you described :agree: The "de" part is a dialoge emphasis - things that are common when you talk, but you wouldn't write them.

And just some questions for anybody:

??a.If you go to a class, do you use your real first name, real last name, or a Japanese name?
b. If you use your real name, how do you spell it? Have you found a kanji spelling for it?
c. If you use a Japanese name, what is it, and do you use a kanji spelling for it?

??If you don't go to a class, do you know how to spell your name anyway? How do you spell it? Have you found kanji that fits with your name? If so, what is it?

??Any particular Japanese name you like? Any one that you wouldn't mind calling yourself, or do you have Japanese name for yourself?

1. I don't go to a Japanese class, if that's what you meant.
2. Yes. I learned how to spell my name in katakana and hiragana, not sure which is right :p No, I've only just started looking at kanji.
3. Yes! I like a lot of Japanese names. They're fun to say... I guess because they're so different from everyday (N.)American names. I've mainly only heard Japanese names from anime, so that's why... well, that's why they're all from anime (or manga). Nuriko, Suichi, Nabiki, Kagome, Seshomaru (and lots of other names ending in 'maru'), Kamui, Akira, Hatsuharu, and Daisuke. There are more, I just can't think of them :p. If I would give myself a Japanese name, it would be something like Skadi or Mai (maybe).

Yasashisa (is that it?) means kindness or something, right?

'Happy' wa nihongo de nanto iimasu ka?

Hi!!
I'm interested in this thread because I'm Japanese, and I live in Japan :)

'Happy' wa nihongo de nanto iimasu ka?


'Happy' wa 'Uresii' desuyo :) lol.

Nanika situmon ga areba douzo kiite kudasai!

(did you get that?)

Zoe...

:welcome: ShriekforSpice, nice to meet you and lucky you. You have good practice with Japanese everyday. :p

Anywho, just thought I'd randomly mention to you all that I'm finally getting up to counting. Last lesson, I had to learn how to count in units, how to count people, and how to count days. Counting days is pretty easy to remember; counting people is even easier (thanks to Naruto, it helps me to remember it). Now units...not so much, although, the counting pattern for units isn't that hard. It's just remembering when to use it, that's the actual challenge.

Oh yeah, just wanted to confirm a couple of things on counting days. I know that the following are different from the rest:

04 (yokka?)
14 (yonka?)
24 (hatsu-yon-ka?)

How do I say those? I just remember that for 14, I'd use "ka" as opposed to "nichi". Oh, and what exactly is "8" when counting days. I think I missed that. ^^

Getting right down to it, could someone put up a list of counting days up to 30 just to make sure I have my list here in my binder right? I think I may have copied some of this wrong.

'Happy' wa nihongo de nanto iimasu ka?

ShriekforSpice-san are answered that, but I just wanted to say - you using that sentence just made me happy ^__^

And youkoso, ShriekforSpice-san! You're really lucky to be in Japan right now :agree: What part are you living in? I heard that it's snowed alot this year in Japan - was it in your area?

Oh and attempting to translate what you said.. is it along the lines of "If you have any other questions, please ask"? The 'nanika' and the 'are-' sort of threw me...so please tell me if I'm close or totally off ^^;;

And yatta SSJ_Jup-san for starting the counters ^_^v I'm glad you picked them up faster than I did, particularly those days (the first ten...@__@).

I believe the days of the month are:

First - Tsuitachi
Second - Futsuka
Third - Mikka
Fourth - Yokka
Fifth - Itsuka
Sixth - Muika
Seventh - Nanoka
Eighth - Youka
Ninth - Kokonoka
Tenth - Tooka
Eleventh - Jyuu-ichi-nichi
Twelfth - Jyuu-ni-nichi
Thirteenth - Jyuu-san-nichi
Fourteenth - Jyuu-yokka
Fifteenth - Jyuu-go-nichi
Sixteenth - Jyuu-roku-nichi
Seventeenth - Jyuu-shichi-nichi
Eighteeth - Jyuu-hachi-nichi
Nineteenth - Jyuu-ku-nichi
Twentieth - Hatsuka
Twenty-first - Ni-jyuu-ichi-nichi
Twenty-second - Ni-jyuu-ni-nichi
Twenty-third - Ni-jyuu-san-nichi
Twenty-fourth - Ni-jyuu-yokka
Twenty-fifth - Ni-jyuu-go-nichi
Twenty-sixth - Ni-jyuu-roku-nichi
Twenty-seventh - Ni-jyuu-shichi-nichi
Twenty-eighth - Ni-jyuu-hachi-nichi
Twenty-ninth -Ni-jyuu-ku-nichi
Thirtieth - San-jyuu-nichi
Thirty-first - San-jyuu-ichi-nichi

Its weird how typing the English seemed harder than typing the Japanese ^^;

And youkoso, ShriekforSpice-san! You're really lucky to be in Japan right now :agree: What part are you living in? I heard that it's snowed alot this year in Japan - was it in your area?

Oh and attempting to translate what you said.. is it along the lines of "If you have any other questions, please ask"? The 'nanika' and the 'are-' sort of threw me...so please tell me if I'm close or totally off ^^;;




I live in Yokohama :)
It hasn't snowed yet, but it might snow tomorrow! :tu:


Nanika situmon ga areba douzo kiite kudasai!

Means

If you have any questions, go ahead and ask me!

'areba' means 'if you have',
And 'Nanika' is just a polite way of saying 'Any'! Close enough, though :D

Zoe...

After in college I want to live in Tokyo or Okasa (hope I spelled that right) for a year.I'm in 6th grade right now so I have a long way to go.

Good luck, Candy Girl! What might be easier is if you get a foriegn exchange during high school and take a simester/year of school over there!

Yeah I heard about that. I think I will get WAY homesick because it's so far away and I will be very scared too.But when my sister was visiting a highschool she was trying to get in, the French teacher said every other year the students go to France and stay with families.She said at first they were scared but then they got comfortable with the family and cried when they had to leave.

You don't have to go for all through High School. You can go as long as you want-- a friend of mine went to France for just a simeseter.

Yeah I heard about that. I think I will get WAY homesick because it's so far away and I will be very scared too.But when my sister was visiting a highschool she was trying to get in, the French teacher said every other year the students go to France and stay with families.She said at first they were scared but then they got comfortable with the family and cried when they had to leave.

Yeah, that's how it was with this German exchange student we had. She was crying her eyes out on the second to last day (she didn't bother come the last day ^^; ), even though she was debating on going back in the first quarter.

Oh and youkoso, candy_girl ^__^ I wanted to go to live Japan since 8th grade, and the years seem to have flown by since then - so I'm sure it wont seem so long for you either. By any chance do you know if your middle school or high school offers Japanese?

Nanika situmon ga areba douzo kiite kudasai!

Means

If you have any questions, go ahead and ask me!

'areba' means 'if you have',
And 'Nanika' is just a polite way of saying 'Any'! Close enough, though :D

Woot :D

There's about 13 exchange students in our school right now who have come from Australia. They seem pretty well, and although I haven't actually talked with them before because they're two years older than use, they seem pretty relaxed :)

Slightly off-topic, but has anyone heard about the Tsutomu Miyazaki case? We kinda went off topic in class on mokuyoubi when a girl said that she saw something about it on the International News. My sensei explained it mostly in Japanese, but she left a lot of the details out in her translation (She kept shaking her head and saying "It was so bad... that guy is crazy"), so I sought out the full story when I got home on kinyoubi :agree:

Now, something on topic... also on mokuyoubi my J-3 class went to help the IFL teacher with the Japanese section of the course ^__^ We were fifteen minutes late looking the 2234 classroom (a, my school doesn't realize that room 2234 should be after 2232.. and b, it ended being in 2274, which was in the 2100 hallway), but it was all good.

We taught the kids there the basics, like 1-10, ohayou gozaimasu, konnichiwa, konban wa, sayounara (to this day, I don't know why we use 'sayounara' in J-3 when we used the more casual 'Ja matta' in the first two years...), watashi, boku, -san, -chan, -kun, hiragana, katakana, kanji, and Naruto and Gohan's name meanings. Mind you, this was in 24 minutes, and its safe to say I think they only grasped the numbers and watashi/boku ^^;

It reminded me kinda like a jumbled forum - I don't me to critisize the four of us, but it was like... one wanted to explain everything there was to know, one person just knew everything she said was right, one didn't give a c***, and one didn't stick out enough to make a difference ^__^; We go back getsuyoubi and suiyoubi, so hopefully those will be smoother.

I only know that konichiwa means "hello" and watashi wa means "I" (am I right?). I have always wanted to learn Japanese, since I love Japan and the cultures so much! Boo hoo........I want to go to Japan!

Slightly off-topic, but has anyone heard about the Tsutomu Miyazaki case? We kinda went off topic in class on mokuyoubi when a girl said that she saw something about it on the International News. My sensei explained it mostly in Japanese, but she left a lot of the details out in her translation (She kept shaking her head and saying "It was so bad... that guy is crazy"), so I sought out the full story when I got home on kinyoubi :agree:.


Yep, it was on the news. He gets the death penalty.......

Oh, and never mind about the teaching. Japanese isn't the easiest language on earth :)

It's hard for me because I've lived in England for most of my life. I mean, Japanese is sooooo hard, escpecially (sp?) the Kanji :(

What's the Tsutomu Miyazaki case? It's not that case with that guy who killed a bunch of kids in a school, is it?

ShriekforSpice, do you like any particular Japanese music groups or artists, by chance? It'd be cool to learn of some from someone who's actually residing in the country. :cool:

Tsutomu Miyazaki is the man that killed, sexually assaulted, and mutilated four little girls in 1988-89. And afterwards he taunted the families with calls, postcards, letters of confession, and even the remains of one or two of the girls (I don't remember...). When the police finally caught him they found a huge library of pornography, as well as photos and film clips of the little girls.

I heard that they deemed him as a schizophrenic with multiple personality disorder - but still well aware of his actions, so I guess that's why they've upheld the dealth penalty.

I dunno, the man sounds creepier now that I read indepthly into the case...

On a brighter note ^__^;;; to incorporate what I've been studying recently...

1) Konban, atashi wa SUKEETO ****e mitai desu.
Tonight, I will try to skate.

2) PENNE no taragoae wa mazu sou desu kara, kaasan wa PENNE no taragoae o tabete mitakunai desu.
Because PENNE no taragoae looks unappetizing, my mother doesn't want to try it
(Got the food from a cookbook my sensei let me borrow. Does anyone know what it is?)

3) "CHARENJI wa tanoshi ne! Boku wa CHARENJI ga daisuki desu ne!" "Honto. CHARENJI wa 'tanoshii' desu kara, GAMU o go-jyuu-mai kande mite kudasai. Ima. ^__^"
"Challenges are fun! I love challenges!" "Really. Because challenges are 'fun', please chew fifty pieces of gum. Now. ^__^"

Tsutomu Miyazaki is the man that killed, sexually assaulted, and mutilated four little girls in 1988-89. And afterwards he taunted the families with calls, postcards, letters of confession, and even the remains of one or two of the girls (I don't remember...). When the police finally caught him they found a huge library of pornography, as well as photos and film clips of the little girls.

I heard that they deemed him as a schizophrenic with multiple personality disorder - but still well aware of his actions, so I guess that's why they've upheld the dealth penalty.I never heard about that case. That's highly disturbing. That aside, I didn't even know that Japan had the death penalty.

Oh yeah, I noticed your sig; the lyrics to Namie Amuro's song, Come song. I love that song a lot. I'm in the mood to hear it now. lol

Edit: Oh yeah, I just thought of something I can ask, or get some feedback on. When do you use the particle "wa" and when do you use "ga"? I know you use "wa" like when you're introducing yourself, and the impression I get is that it's mostly dealing with whatever the subject is; ga, the predicate.

konichiwa minna san.. atashii wa kim desu., oaidekitte ureshii desu! atashi wa ANIME ga daisuki desu ne. honto ni ikitai desu.
anyway i really need help here!! i would be REALLY GLAD if sum one could answer my questions. ok here it comes

1. how to say HAPPY NEW YEAR in japanese?
2. wat is 100 in japanese??( i forgot)
3. how to say "wat is your name?" in japanese?


anyone who could help this poor soul here?

hi kimsoso
i know how to say wat your name is......onamae wa nan desu ka
but im sorry i cant help you with the others
sorry

its ok.. thank you for answering one of my questions!

Konnichiwa, kimoso, natalie!

Happy New Years wa nihongo de "Akema****e Omedetou Gozaimasu"

Hundred wa nihongo de "Hyaku"

Ja matta ~ ima gakkou e ikite iimasu.

arigatou natalie san so****e lil G135!!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

no prob ^^

Oh yeah, I just thought of something I can ask, or get some feedback on. When do you use the particle "wa" and when do you use "ga"? I know you use "wa" like when you're introducing yourself, and the impression I get is that it's mostly dealing with whatever the subject is; ga, the predicate.

Yeah, 'wa' and 'ga' are weirdness. The basic thing is 'wa' is talking about the topic while 'ga' is talking about the subject. But also, I've been taught there can only be one 'wa' in a sentence, so 'ga' could easily replace 'wa' in some situations.

'Ga' is also for 1) emphasis on the subject, 2) question words and the answers, and 3) when you first introduce something.

'wa' can be used in 3) after that something has been introduced.

i.e.,

1)Momoko-chan ga hanette mitai desu! Momoko wants to try to jump!
2) Dare ga oyasumi desu ka? Who's absent? - Alishia-san ga oyasumi desu Alicia is absent.
3) MADAGASUKAARU de, onna no ko ga sunde ima****a. Onna no ko wa utsukushi desu. In Madagascar, there lived a Girl. She was beautiful.


However, I know it gets deeper into that. I've heard some stuff about 'ga' in subordinate phrases and 'wa' to show contradiction - yet 'ga' can do that too sooo... yeah. One step at a time at our level ^^;

What's the Tsutomu Miyazaki case? It's not that case with that guy who killed a bunch of kids in a school, is it?

ShriekforSpice, do you like any particular Japanese music groups or artists, by chance? It'd be cool to learn of some from someone who's actually residing in the country. :cool:



Sorry I haven't been here for a long time. Here's a few of my fave Japanese artists.

1. BUMP OF CHICKEN
they are a really great rock group. The lyrics are the best in the world!!!!:tu:
I've got some pictures with part of a song on it so here it is...

http://chivmaru.hp.infoseek.co.jp/cgi-bin/gallery/img/65.gif
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b33/white_dolphin_/BUMP%20OF%20CHICKEN/k.gif
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b33/white_dolphin_/BUMP%20OF%20CHICKEN/pura3.gif

2. SMAP
They are a pop group that have been going on for 15 years. One of their songs was played in a space rocket (or something like that) for the wake-up call. The space shuttle is the one which Souichi Noguchi went on.

3. Ken Hirai
His voice is fabulous. He writes his own songs.


That's about it...

i also listen to some japanese songs.. and i like DEPAPEPE, ayumi hamasaki, orange range and chemistry.. try DEPAPEPE and its really COOL.

Orange Range is good too, although I haven't got any CDs.
DEPAPEPE isn't too big here...I'll try and look for their CDs, though.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b33/white_dolphin_/BUMP%20OF%20CHICKEN/k.gif
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b33/white_dolphin_/BUMP%20OF%20CHICKEN/pura3.gif


Those are awesome. :D

I never heard about that case. That's highly disturbing. That aside, I didn't even know that Japan had the death penalty.

Yeah, me too ^^; A girl in my class though, finds it interesting and was telling us all about how its done ^..^;; I had found a site that explains the case indepthly -- but it's rather... detailed so I don't think I should post it. (anyone can owl me if they want it though).

Oh yeah, I noticed your sig; the lyrics to Namie Amuro's song, Come song. I love that song a lot. I'm in the mood to hear it now. lol

Even now I've heard more songs - it's still the best to me ^__^ Funny thing is I know the lyrics to the song, but half the kanji in my sig makes me go "wha..?". But just to be sure they were at least halfway right I looked them up before I put 'em in my siggy :agree: I've just about memorized 'akari' (灯り) now though ^^

Konichiwa, minna!
Arigato gozaimas for minna's (erm, should I use plural there?) help on my last batch of questions, now I have mote! :)

So would the correct way to say 'I am happy' be 'watashi wa uresii desu' ?
(Similarly, "sad" wa nihongo de nanto iimasu ka?)

Are there any particular rules on using ore, bakku, or atashii instead of watashi?

"Good luck" wa nihongo de nanto iimasu ka?

I've started learning hiragana now (I knew a tiny bit before), but I don't think I'm making much progress :(.
Oh well, I'll keep trying. I'm going to be taking a Japanese class in the fall, and I'm sure I'll be learning those, so I want a head start.
I'm more interested in learning how to speak it first, though :p .
Which is why I love this thread :)

All right, ja ne!

Konichiwa, minna!
Arigato gozaimas for minna's (erm, should I use plural there?) help on my last batch of questions, now I have mote! :)'s is possessive, not plural. ^^ For that there, all you have to say is "Arigatou gozaimasu, minna-san", or something along the lines of that.So would the correct way to say 'I am happy' be 'watashi wa uresii desu' ?
(Similarly, "sad" wa nihongo de nanto iimasu ka?)Yeah, you're right, to my knowledge. "Watashi wa ureshii desu!". For sad, I'm going to assume it would be, "Watashi wa kanashii desu."Are there any particular rules on using ore, bakku, or atashii instead of watashi?Yep, there is.

Ore: This is used only with males. It's very very masculine and seems to be associated with "macho" type guys.

Bakku: I'm assuming you mean "boku" here. Anywho, this is also only used for guys as well, only it's more so associated with young boys as opposed to adults.

Atashi: This is used with young girls, to my knowledge or "cutsie" type girls, if it's someone older.

Watashi: Pretty much used with girls and adults (male/female) and is polite.

Watakushi: Same as "watashi", only this way is just uber polite. I think this is on the level of "kiss butt" type nice. lol"Good luck" wa nihongo de nanto iimasu ka?Good luck, if I'm remembering correctly, is 'ganbatte' or either 'ganbare'. I'm not sure which would be used since I'm still a bit iffy with grammar points and conjugations, but I'm sure some of the more experienced members here could answer this better than I did.

Yeah, me too ^^; A girl in my class though, finds it interesting and was telling us all about how its done ^..^;; I had found a site that explains the case indepthly -- but it's rather... detailed so I don't think I should post it. (anyone can owl me if they want it though).I'm a bit curious about this case. I'll most definitely owl ya later to read it. As for execution....as strange as it may sound, what methods do they use? I mean, is it very rare of them to go to such extremes?Even now I've heard more songs - it's still the best to me ^__^ Funny thing is I know the lyrics to the song, but half the kanji in my sig makes me go "wha..?". But just to be sure they were at least halfway right I looked them up before I put 'em in my siggy :agree: I've just about memorized 'akari' (灯り) now though ^^That's pretty cool. I'm starting to memorize some kanji myself...only the characters that keep popping up in my text book, like 本 (hon). I don't know how to write it, but I can recognize it.

Oh yeah, a few weeks back, I answered the question you had about our names. Since I have my computer back (and it can read/type Japanese text again), I can show you how my name is written out and tryt to type out some Japanese here in general. I know, I'll reintroduce myself. lol.

こんにちわ, みんなさん. 私は ウエンデイ エリサー マツブライド です、そして、二十四歳 です。 私は読むことがすきです! 私の日本語のクラースはおもしろみです、そして、日本とスペインえいきたいです！ 私のポーストいいですか？

Konnichiwa, minna-san. Watashi wa Uendei Erisaa Ma(small tsu)buraido desu, so****e, ni-jyuu-yon sai desu. Watashi wa yomu koto ga suki desu! Watashi no Nihongo no KURAASU wa omoshiromi desu, so****e, nihon to supein e ikitai desu! Watashi no POOSUTO ii desu ka?

Hello all. My name is Wendy Elyssa McBride and I am 24 years old. I like to read! My Japanese class is fun, and I would like to go to Japan and Spain! Is my post good?

koninichiwa minna-san.. jzu droppin by to ask sum questions(agen) =)
1. how to say you, you are they, she, he and some other pronouns??
2. wen do we used anata wa, kimi wa, wareware wa?
thats i guesssss... thankss!

koninichiwa minna-san.. jzu droppin by to ask sum questions(agen) =)
1. how to say you, you are they, she, he and some other pronouns??
2. wen do we used anata wa, kimi wa, wareware wa?
thats i guesssss... thankss!

1. you = kimi, anata (formal), omae (rude), the rest idk :p

2. "wa" in japanese is like "verb to be" in English, I reckon
e.g. Watashi wa gakkusei(sp?) desu = I am a student

That's all I can recall, correct me if I'm wrong. I learnt Japanese 7 month ago, I think, and I've forgotten half of it and my romajji translation is bad plus I can't real or write katakana :lol: All I can remeber is to introduce myself:

Hajimemasite

Watashi no namae wa Ayu desu
Watashi wa ju go sai desu
Watashi wa gakkusei desu

dozo yoroshiku :bows:

koninichiwa. I thought that anata means husband?

For "they are", it's more than likely "kimitachi wa". I could be wrong about that, though. I just want to attach "tachi" onto everything. lol

Oh, and "anata" doesn't mean husband, it is just a formal, polite way of using "you". Husband is "aruji", I think.

Edit: Forgot to ask earlier, but does anyone here know how to say the days of the week? I've learned the months, just not the days.

I know, I have it in my notebook but my Hiragana sux, I can't read my own writting...

I need to learn some Japanese myself... I'm part, but I never learned.

Edit: Forgot to ask earlier, but does anyone here know how to say the days of the week? I've learned the months, just not the days.

Monday- getsu yobi
Tuesday- ka yobi
wednesday- sui yobi
thursday- moku yobi
friday- kin yobi
saturday- do yobi
sunday- nichi yobi

thanks for the help!

1. you = kimi, anata (formal), omae (rude), the rest idk

There is also an informal way of saying you. It is anta.

koninichiwa. I thought that anata means husband?

In Japan, the wives tend to call their husbands anata. You can see it in japanese tv shows and in cartoons a lot. Husband in Japanese is dan-ma-san.

Monday- getsu yobi
Tuesday- ka yobi
wednesday- sui yobi
thursday- moku yobi
friday- kin yobi
saturday- do yobi
sunday- nichi yobi


The "yo" part in all of them is lengthened. Just remember.

koninichiwa minna-san.. jzu droppin by to ask sum questions(agen) =)
1. how to say you, you are they, she, he and some other pronouns??
2. wen do we used anata wa, kimi wa, wareware wa?
thats i guesssss... thankss!

1. you = kimi, anata (formal), omae (rude), the rest idk

:agree: Those are good. About kimi, I've heard that is a masculine sounding "you" for a girl. And anata is also what a wife calls her husband (an affectionate 'you' or 'dear').
Also, after asking around, it seems omae isn't exactly rude - but it's really direct so depending on how you use it, you may come off as a little rude. Oh, and someone higher than you might use it on you (i.e. a boss). And finally, omae is one of those singing-words -- y'know, a word that's common in songs (without sounding rude). To make 'omae' a little more polite, just add a -san (like always ^_^; )

Ah, and hajimema****e! Atashi wa Eru Jii. Douzo yoroshiku ^^

For "they are", it's more than likely "kimitachi wa". I could be wrong about that, though. I just want to attach "tachi" onto everything. lol

I get -tachi happy too XD But yeah, you're right -tachi is basically 'they' and anything attached to tachi would be '____ and the rest' or something like that.

Now a few from me:

Anta is a really direct and/or familiar version of 'you' as well, and it can come off as ruder than 'omae' in certain situation (you might hear an obnoxious opponent use 'omae' in a game of something )

[i]Kisama is a vulgar sort of way of saying 'you' ^^; Onore is another insulting way of saying 'you'

And another way to say husband is shujin.

2. "wa" in japanese is like "verb to be" in English, I reckon
e.g. Watashi wa gakkusei(sp?) desu = I am a student

Actually, desu is the 'am' part of the sentence. 'wa' is a particle that marks the topic :agree:

Edit: Forgot to ask earlier, but does anyone here know how to say the days of the week? I've learned the months, just not the days.

Days of the week? Those would be..

Nichiyoubi - Sunday -- 日曜日
Getsuyoubi - Monday -- 月曜日
Kayoubi - Tuesday -- 火曜日
Suiyoubi - Wednesday -- 水曜日
Mokuyoubi - Thursday -- 木曜日
Kinyoubi - Friday -- 金曜日
Doyoubi - Saturday -- 土曜日

Konichiwa, minna!
Arigato gozaimas for minna's (erm, should I use plural there?) help on my last batch of questions, now I have mote! :)
...
Are there any particular rules on using ore, bakku, or atashii instead of watashi?

Something to add with SSJ_J-san's advice - since minna is 'everyone' already, minna-no or minna-san-no would be ''everyone's''
Also, atashi is like boku. Even though watashi is good for anyone, boku is a lil more masculine, and atashi is just a lil more feminine (and it rolls off the tongue better for me ^^; ).

"sad" wa nihongo de nanto iimasu ka
"Good luck" wa nihongo de nanto iimasu ka?

::huggles Ignolopi-san:: ^_^

I've started learning hiragana now (I knew a tiny bit before), but I don't think I'm making much progress :(.
Oh well, I'll keep trying. I'm going to be taking a Japanese class in the fall, and I'm sure I'll be learning those, so I want a head start.
I'm more interested in learning how to speak it first, though :).
Which is why I love this thread :)

Ah, ganbatte Ignolopi-san! You'll get the kana in the end :nod: And yeah, speaking is what gets me. I know what's correct in my head, but in class I'm very hesitant when speaking -_-;; while at home (alone) I can just go on without a thought ^^; I think if I practice speaking around more people, it will slowly (but surely) come out natural in any situation :agree:

Which is why I was thinking :: pokes fingers:: ...about recording myself sometimes and posting it here. I dunno yet though ^^;; (I age 10 years younger on the mic ~~;; )

こんにちわ, みんなさん. 私は ウエンデイ エリサー マツブライド です、そして、二十四歳 です。 私は読むことがすきです! 私の日本語のクラースはおもしろみです、そして、日本とスペインえいきたいです！ 私のポーストいいですか？

POSUTO ga jouzu! ii nee :agree: A few particles are off, but that's probably because of typing in kana (when I start using it, alot of my 'は's were 'わ's ^^;;) And you're learning fast! We didn't learn that 'stem form-koto' thing 'til this year ^^ Out of curiousity, how come you don't spell out the 'Mc' part in 'Mcbride'?

*Edit* Oh wow, I need to learn to not spend 10 minutes on a post -- or preview sometime anyway. Sorry for the repitition ^^;

Oooo...I'd love to learn Japanese. But it isn't offered at my school. I have one friend who is one-fourth Japanese and another that is half Japanese - neither speaks Japanese.

Youkoso ^^ Yeah, that's the deal with a lot of people. Hang around this thread for a bit; you're bound to pick up alot of vocab and a bit of grammar. :agree:

Out of curiousity, how come you don't spell out the 'Mc' part in 'Mcbride'?That's my my teacher spells out McBride for me. No idea why, but I think her pronunciation of it has a lot to do with it. My first day there, she had a hard time saying my last name. I figured it would've been メクブライド (Mekuburaido).

Arigatou gozaimasu SSJ_Jup81,voldyvolvol. I started to learn some japanese after watching the japanese tv series. I love to watch "Tazura na Kiss", "Shouta no sushi" and "Big Wing" because I love to watch Takashi Kashiwabara. :love:

Dewa mata.

That's my my teacher spells out McBride for me. No idea why, but I think her pronunciation of it has a lot to do with it. My first day there, she had a hard time saying my last name. I figured it would've been メクブライド (Mekuburaido).

Ooh. Yeah, I have a "Carolyn" in my class, but my first sensei spelled it, キャロリン (kyarorin) instead of カロリン (karorin) or ケロリーン (keroriin) because I think she got confused as well. Over the years she started to get the pronunciation right, but the spelling has stuck now ^^;

Those are good. About kimi, I've heard that is a masculine sounding "you" for a girl. And anata is also what a wife calls her husband (an affectionate 'you' or 'dear').

It is.

I need to get the japanese writing system on my computer so i don't forget it.

Dewa mata.

mata ne! demo mata koko ni kite ne! watashi mo koko ga hajimete desukala zenzen tsukau houhou ga wakalimasen. ma-ee ya...jaa ne...

ya....that looks really weird with the alphabet...

You could try here (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads/recommended/ime/default.mspx) if you're using a windows computer. I don't mind roomaji though, and its good for people who can't see the kana ^^

Since Valentine's Day is tomorrow, I was wondering if anyone knew about how Valentine's Day and White Day are celebrated in Japan :agree:

I think White Day is a clever idea, and I'm sure it makes the chocolate companies happy (just imagine if it was adopted into America ^.^;; )

And along with these holidays, does anyone know about any other upcoming holidays as well?

Don't know about White Day but I sure know how the Japanese celebrate Valentine's Day. Usually the girls will made their own chocolates and gave them to the guy their liked.

Don't know about White Day but I sure know how the Japanese celebrate Valentine's Day. Usually the girls will made their own chocolates and gave them to the guy their liked.

That's what I read in manga :D

I love to watch "Tazura na Kiss", "Shouta no sushi" and "Big Wing" because I love to watch Takashi Kashiwabara.

Dewa mata.

me too, He's cool :love:

Ah, I've been wanting to learn Japanese for a time now. I've seen Kanji, and it looks devastating to read. My brother has taken Japanese, and I believe he's really good at it. He even has a few Star Wars comics in Japanese. :lol: I'm sure I will learn a lot from this thread. :)