Let's learn Japanese....

[Ore.Sama]

ano...it's irashai(welcome) or yo-koso(welcome)...^^
particle wo shows the object of a sentence, something that;s bein affected by the verb..
it's ussualy b4 the word tabemasu(eat), benkyoshimasu(learn),and many other things but i can't remember all of it...sumimasen..i hope thathelps everyone^^

etoo i think minna-san have done very well in this jap class.....i'm very proud of u guys ^^
sorry i'm the one that start this thread but can't reply many of ure Qs...and ore.sama is the one that keeps on repling...hontou ni gomen....to arigatou ore.sama-san^^

Betsuni, oyuasumi wa arimasu kara (I'm in a vacation)... Your explanasions at the end always saves the day since i don't know much ^^

Konnitiwa Ruisu-san! The way I'm spelling Japanese is according to what I have learned--it's called the mora system. Like si is pronounced as shi; zya--ja; ti--chi; and so on and so forth. But, I guess it would be easier to understand if I switched it the other way, ne? Sumimasen deshita.

aaa.. i've always wondered abt that... I thought it's a typo mistake lol.

arenizs... Okaerinasai ^^

minna ganbatterun desu (everyone is doing their best)

and who knows someday, we will join the other in doing the subtitles for jdoramas

do i think too much (how to say this in japanese?)

Hehe... why not, i feel like my jap. got alot better after joining this thread ^^

[makky]

Ore.Sama...
ano, i think its "yasumi" only not oyasumi.

because saying oyasumi is saying good night to someone .

you can simply say..."ima, yasumi nandakara" or "ima, hima nandakara" (its my vacation/free time anyway)

can anyone help me how to say it in formal way?..onegai shimasu!

[eth84]

wintersolstice084,

sorry but I'm curious, what's the mora system you were mentioning? I heard of the hepburn system...so am iinterested in knowing the main differences between the 2.

Anyway, I do not know very much, but I think:

it's actually douzo, hontou, benkyou etc, just that the 'u' is being lost somewhat when we hear them being spoken.

in long term, taking note of all these orthographic(whether is it 'o' or 'u' or 'i' etc etc) rules can help a lot.

It's just a suggestion, because after everyone has learnt the basics and time to move on further to reading and writing(in jap characters), it may be hard to kick away the habits that have sank in earlier. Well, it may be too early to mention this now, but just for the sake of doing it I guess, so no offence okay?

Hmm,

sorry to point this out, but 'anata wa suki' is sorta like an invalid form for I like you, in this case, 'ga' is used instead of 'wa'. In jap grammar, one of the most met with problems is actually when to use 'wa' and when to use 'ga', at times both can be used, but it depends on the structure of the sentence as well as various other grammatical conditions.

[MizTsukuura]

Elloooow....
i'm very intrested in learning japanese language...! so, maybe any of u can help little by little?? i knew sum words but not much,, 'coz my 1 of my boss is a japanese man. so i think i kinda need 2 learn it since we got sum japanese clients too [who is only a few who can speak english well], right??!
now, where do i start?? ^o^

[arenizs]

minna san..
I just found out about those Japanese Transcription..
Basiclly there are two forms transcribing JAPANESE into ENGLISH..which is :
1. The Yale Transcription which is the official adopted transcription by the Japanese government..
2. The Hepburn Transcription..

The Yale transcription helps clarify the relationship between the various kana(Yale: ta-ti-tu-te-to).
the Hepburn transcription is far more practical when it comes to the correct pronunciation (Hepburn:ta-chi-tsu-te-to).

Examples :

Hepburn transcription:

Mitsubishi
Ninja
Fuji

Yale transcription:

Mitubisi
Ninzya
Huzi

Hope this will help you guys understand more about Japanese...

[Ore.Sama]

Ore.Sama...
ano, i think its "yasumi" only not oyasumi.

because saying oyasumi is saying good night to someone .

you can simply say..."ima, yasumi nandakara" or "ima, hima nandakara" (its my vacation/free time anyway)

can anyone help me how to say it in formal way?..onegai shimasu!

Soukka... arigattou ne ^^

[Eternal Snow]

heeh.. narohodo.. so.. which one is the easiest way to learn japanese??

[wintersolstice084]

minna san..
I just found out about those Japanese Transcription..
Basiclly there are two forms transcribing JAPANESE into ENGLISH..which is :
1. The Yale Transcription which is the official adopted transcription by the Japanese government..
2. The Hepburn Transcription..

The Yale transcription helps clarify the relationship between the various kana(Yale: ta-ti-tu-te-to).
the Hepburn transcription is far more practical when it comes to the correct pronunciation (Hepburn:ta-chi-tsu-te-to).

Examples :

Hepburn transcription:

Mitsubishi
Ninja
Fuji

Yale transcription:

Mitubisi
Ninzya
Huzi

Hope this will help you guys understand more about Japanese...

Arenizs-san arigatoo gozaimasu! Whenever I try to explain things, I think I confuse the person even more Sumimasen...

[Enishi]

heeh.. narohodo.. so.. which one is the easiest way to learn japanese??

watch dramas, another way is reading manga. Especially those with furigana (kanji with small hiragana characters). A good way would be to talk/practice with friends who can speak Japanese, preferably Japanese people since they'll be using more casual style of speech rather than the polite formal one. And you get to catch up on trendy/popular words as well. Such as "Cho" used to be very popular among girls on Tokyo, and can be used for almost anything such as "Cho kawaii ne" - meaning very/extremely
Another example would be "Yabeh". I'm sure you guys know it means something like '****'. Japanese youngsters especially guys use this word not only to describe their frustration, but its also used in a good way like "gohan yabeh!" - this meal is the shits! (as in the good ****) LOL

[quashlo]

heeh.. narohodo.. so.. which one is the easiest way to learn japanese??

I think most people would agree Hepburn is easiest, since the Romanization follows the actual sound very closely. In fact, this is the most popular form of Romanization, although there are slight variations when it comes to dealing with long vowels. But frankly, a random person off the street will more likely pronounce "Mitsubishi" correctly if it is spelled this way as opposed to "Mitubisi."

But there are times when knowing other systems may be a slight advantage... When you're typing in Japanese for example, you can type "shi" as "si" or "tsu" as "tu" instead and come out with the same kana, thus saving additional typing.

[arenizs]

wintersolstice084 : don't feel bad about it..If You don't explain at first, I wouldn't know also..

[bluemoo21]

hey everyone!.. i know its a different question but has anyone been to yesjapan.com?
Is everything there good? well what i mean is.. does it make sense now a days?
is it old or more modern?

btw: i'm still in lesson 1

[Eternal Snow]

heeh,, i see.. Arigatou.. ^^

[biniBningPunkista]

sorry peeps... i haven't introduced my self formally in japanese yet...


konbanwa.... (bowing) hajimemashite!!! (extending my hand to everyone)
watashi no namae wa shaneen.. watashi wa 20 desu.
yoroshiku onegaishimasu... arigatou gozaimas!!!



so.. how do you construct japanese sentence. coz, while i was constructing these sentences i didn't know how i will put every word... a friend of mine said that the subject is usually placed in the end of the sentence or even the noun? i don't get that... and the words like: to, is, the... how do they use it in japanese?

tasukete kudasai, arigatou gozaimas!...


[img]http://randomc.animeblogger.net/image/H ... -%2018.jpg[/img][/list]

[myteddi]

Hi Makky & Austen thanks for helping me out.

are you an isha (doctor) or a kangofu (nurse)?

I'm a kangofu and it is so embarassing for me to cough so that the children
will know that I am asking them if they have a cough luckily for some they
understand but majority can't.

I will practice saying those translation. I just know the children will be surprise
that somehow I am getting better with their language. Thanks again.

[wintersolstice084]

do i think too much (how to say this in japanese?)

you can simply say..."ima, yasumi nandakara" or "ima, hima nandakara" (its my vacation/free time anyway)

can anyone help me how to say it in formal way?..onegai shimasu!

"Kangaesugimasu ka?' (Do I think too much?) ---not really sure about this translation though
For the second one, I think "desu" or "arimasu" after "yasumi" or "hima" makes it formal. But, I think you can end it with "kara" and still be formal???

[Enishi]

heeh.. narohodo.. so.. which one is the easiest way to learn japanese??

I think most people would agree Hepburn is easiest, since the Romanization follows the actual sound very closely. In fact, this is the most popular form of Romanization, although there are slight variations when it comes to dealing with long vowels. But frankly, a random person off the street will more likely pronounce "Mitsubishi" correctly if it is spelled this way as opposed to "Mitubisi."

But there are times when knowing other systems may be a slight advantage... When you're typing in Japanese for example, you can type "shi" as "si" or "tsu" as "tu" instead and come out with the same kana, thus saving additional typing.

yes, and thats one of the reason why most universities uses hepburn.

[Ore.Sama]

minna san..
I just found out about those Japanese Transcription..
Basiclly there are two forms transcribing JAPANESE into ENGLISH..which is :
1. The Yale Transcription which is the official adopted transcription by the Japanese government..
2. The Hepburn Transcription..

The Yale transcription helps clarify the relationship between the various kana(Yale: ta-ti-tu-te-to).
the Hepburn transcription is far more practical when it comes to the correct pronunciation (Hepburn:ta-chi-tsu-te-to).

Examples :

Hepburn transcription:

Mitsubishi
Ninja
Fuji

Yale transcription:

Mitubisi
Ninzya
Huzi

Hope this will help you guys understand more about Japanese...

Omoshiroi... Arigatou ne ^^

[Dreamfall]

OK...watashi no namae wa Junsui ( Katarina) <3 <3<3
watashi wa juu-nana desu.watashi wa kick-box o yatte imasu.
...Nihon-jin ja arimasen...Dakara ,dozo yoroshiku!

Corect my mistakes please!!!

Well...that is all I can say for now...To say more I need to know:How to make sentence??? Like ...how to say things happening in past,prezent n future??? Can someone explain how to say all words like: I,you,he,she,it,we and they???

[dmthomas]

OK...watashi no namae wa Junsui ( Katarina) <3 <3<3
watashi wa juu-nana desu.watashi wa kick-box o yatte imasu.
...Nihon-jin ja arimasen...Dakara ,dozo yoroshiku!

Corect my mistakes please!!!

Well...that is all I can say for now...To say more I need to know:How to make sentence??? Like ...how to say things happening in past,prezent n future??? Can someone explain how to say all words like: I,you,he,she,it,we and they???

Other than some spelling arguments like ja versus jyaa versus zyaa (stupid romaji), I would say it's really good. Instead of saying "I do kickbox." I think it's more natural to say, "Watashi no shumi wa kick-boxing desu." ("My hobby is kick-boxing"). Or "Watashi wa kick-boxing ga suki desu." ("I like kick-boxing.") But that makes it sound you're a fan and not a participant.

Past, Present, Future are usually dictated by conjugations of the verbs being used, but also by time words. That can get quite tricky to easily teach. Even words like I, you, he, she aren't so simple. Often the subject is inferred from the sentence and what's going on. It's quite a jump from English in some respects.

[austen]

how do you construct japanese sentence. coz, while i was constructing these sentences i didn't know how i will put every word... a friend of mine said that the subject is usually placed in the end of the sentence or even the noun? i don't get that... and the words like: to, is, the... how do they use it in japanese?

Alright, here's the basic things I've seen: It's called TSPOV, or Time Subject Preposition Object Verb. Sometimes it's not always like this, but this is how I see it. I know there is another method, but I don't remember what it looks like.

Also, what I have noticed when some people are introducing themselves, they are saying "Watashi wa AGE desu." This isn't completely correct, although we understand. The counter for ages is "sai," so don't forget to add that bit after your age. For example: Watashi wa kyuu jyuu kyuu (99) sai desu.

Like DM was saying, past, present and future are implied by the dictations of the conjugations of the verbs. In other words:

POSITIVE NEGATIVE

PRESENT: Desu Dewa warimasen


PAST: Deshita Dewa arimasen deshita

That's just one way to say things. For example:

Kinou (yesterday), watashi wa go jyuu go (55) sai deshita. Kyou (today) wa otanjyoubi (birthday) desu!

I hope that clears up a few questions, if you have any more let me know.

[mawchan]

OK...watashi no namae wa Junsui ( Katarina) <3 <3<3
watashi wa juu-nana desu.watashi wa kick-box o yatte imasu.
...Nihon-jin ja arimasen...Dakara ,dozo yoroshiku!

Corect my mistakes please!!!

Well...that is all I can say for now...To say more I need to know:How to make sentence??? Like ...how to say things happening in past,prezent n future??? Can someone explain how to say all words like: I,you,he,she,it,we and they???

ano katarina-san
mmmm to make it easier u wanna say u like kick boxing...just say kicku-bokusing ga suki desu or ga daisuki desu..(yatte masu means ure trying it...)^^
when u say i'm 17 years old or describe ure age please dun forget to put sai in it
watashi wa ju-nana sai desu or else without the say ure sentence means i'm seventeen or i have 17 or everyone would get confused...haha...

u wanna say i'm not japanese: watashi wa nihon-jin jyanai desu...mmm it's esier to put it that way(but it's not very formal lol, but i think ppl would prefer to use not formal words to jap ppl these days...)mmm or instead u can say sumimasen, nihon-go ga heta desu(i'm sorry, i can't speak/i'm not very good at japanese)....



hmmm this is just my opinion or i dunno
ppl rarely say dozo yoroshiku(coz it's more like offereing sumthin)but i'm not sure about this either....ppl normaly say yoroshiku onegaishimasu...or yoroshiku ne...hmmmzzz i think it's more common than saying dozo yoroshiku....^^but either way is fine i think...^^

[mawchan]

how do you construct japanese sentence. coz, while i was constructing these sentences i didn't know how i will put every word... a friend of mine said that the subject is usually placed in the end of the sentence or even the noun? i don't get that... and the words like: to, is, the... how do they use it in japanese?

Alright, here's the basic things I've seen: It's called TSPOV, or Time Subject Preposition Object Verb. Sometimes it's not always like this, but this is how I see it. I know there is another method, but I don't remember what it looks like.

Also, what I have noticed when some people are introducing themselves, they are saying "Watashi wa AGE desu." This isn't completely correct, although we understand. The counter for ages is "sai," so don't forget to add that bit after your age. For example: Watashi wa kyuu jyuu kyuu (99) sai desu.

Like DM was saying, past, present and future are implied by the dictations of the conjugations of the verbs. In other words:

POSITIVE NEGATIVE

PRESENT: Desu Dewa warimasen


PAST: Deshita Dewa arimasen deshita

That's just one way to say things. For example:

Kinou (yesterday), watashi wa go jyuu go (55) sai deshita. Kyou (today) wa otanjyoubi (birthday) desu!

I hope that clears up a few questions, if you have any more let me know.

mmmm just in case u guys don't kno, whenever u say things like
kyo,kinou,konshuu,raishuu, ahita,senshuu,raishuu, yoku,tokidoki,mainichi,itsumo(today,yesterday,this week, tumoro, last week, every week, often, sumtimes, everyday, and always) you dun put any particles after that dun ever put wa or ni or other partciles coz it's wrong
tatoeba(for example): ashita machi e enzoku ni ikimashita(i will go to the city on an excursion tumoro)
kyo watashi no tanjyoubi desu( u put otanjyoubi for sumone elses bday...but u dun have to put o(o just makes it formal))

[mawchan]

how do you construct japanese sentence. coz, while i was constructing these sentences i didn't know how i will put every word... a friend of mine said that the subject is usually placed in the end of the sentence or even the noun? i don't get that... and the words like: to, is, the... how do they use it in japanese?

Alright, here's the basic things I've seen: It's called TSPOV, or Time Subject Preposition Object Verb. Sometimes it's not always like this, but this is how I see it. I know there is another method, but I don't remember what it looks like.

Also, what I have noticed when some people are introducing themselves, they are saying "Watashi wa AGE desu." This isn't completely correct, although we understand. The counter for ages is "sai," so don't forget to add that bit after your age. For example: Watashi wa kyuu jyuu kyuu (99) sai desu.

Like DM was saying, past, present and future are implied by the dictations of the conjugations of the verbs. In other words:

POSITIVE NEGATIVE

PRESENT: Desu Dewa warimasen


PAST: Deshita Dewa arimasen deshita

That's just one way to say things. For example:

Kinou (yesterday), watashi wa go jyuu go (55) sai deshita. Kyou (today) wa otanjyoubi (birthday) desu!

I hope that clears up a few questions, if you have any more let me know.

sore kara biniBningPunkista-san, about the thing u ask where to put to,is ,the and stuff is completely up 2 the sentence...depends on wat r u saying

for example: watashi to minna-san mo (everyone and me)
particle to and mo ussually put after the word me or a subject...

and so on as i wrote in the first page of this thread i've explain evverything about particles and where to put them...
etoo, i'm sorry if u still dun get it please ask me...i'll try to explain it again...^^
jaa minna-san oyasumi, watashi wa nemasu dakara(well then everyone gud night, i'm goin to sleep)^^

hope that answers ppl qs.^_^

[mizune]

Mmm...
Not to sound overly critical or anything, but I think people will benefit more from any lessons or help in Japanese if the English explanations were written a little more cleanly (i.e. proper sentences, grammar, minimal use of internet chatspeak, etc)... Readability does help comprehension.

[xkawaiix]

hai hai! i agree with mizune!!!!

[austen]

u wanna say i'm not japanese: watashi wa nihon-jin jyanai desu...mmm it's esier to put it that way(but it's not very formal lol, but i think ppl would prefer to use not formal words to jap ppl these days...)mmm or instead u can say sumimasen, nihon-go ga heta desu(i'm sorry, i can't speak/i'm not very good at japanese)....

Let me stop you there; when you're trying to say "I'm not Japanese," you're going to want to say either "Watashi wa nihon-jin dewa arimasen," or "Watashi wa nihon-jin jyanai." These are two different endings that are used, and if you combine the two it won't make sense. I'm sure though we'll understand what you're saying, but it's not right.

ppl rarely say dozo yoroshiku(coz it's more like offereing sumthin)but i'm not sure about this either....ppl normaly say yoroshiku onegaishimasu...or yoroshiku ne...hmmmzzz i think it's more common than saying dozo yoroshiku....^^but either way is fine i think...^^

"Douzo yoroshiku" means "Pleased to meet you." When you meeting someone for the first time you will normally say this, i.e. You're on vacation and you have hired a translator for your journey, when you first me them, you will more than likely say this. Depends though.

"Yoroshiku onegaishimasu" is also used at the first meeting, but this time it means "Please take care of me." I know it sounds odd, but it's just a greeting, for example: Say there's a new transfer student at school, they introduce them self in front of the class and then they finish with "yoroshiku onegaishima." It can also mean "please take care of me," but hopefully you get the gist of it.

About my post earlier I made, there was supposed to be DESU box, which didn't turn out as I expected.

[mawchan]

Mmm...
Not to sound overly critical or anything, but I think people will benefit more from any lessons or help in Japanese if the English explanations were written a little more cleanly (i.e. proper sentences, grammar, minimal use of internet chatspeak, etc)... Readability does help comprehension.

i don't really get wat you mean...but i'll try my best...sorry if my english is not very good, but i'm just used to typing with unproper sentence with my friends...hontou ni gomenasai...
souka...sumimasen ne...when i say watashi wa nihon-jin arimasen i didn't mean to combine it
just want to tell dif sentence for it...

[Riee109]

Let me stop you there; when you're trying to say "I'm not Japanese," you're going to want to say either "Watashi wa nihon-jin dewa arimasen," or "Watashi wa nihon-jin jyanai." These are two different endings that are used, and if you combine the two it won't make sense. I'm sure though we'll understand what you're saying, but it's not right.

I also always thought that you can't use "ja arimasen". But actually I've already heard/seen many japanese people using this term. Though it might not be grammatically right, I think it's ok to use it.

[Ore.Sama]

Konnichiwa minna... Ohisashiburi ^^
ima Jugyou wa shizuka desu ne... zanen desu (class is quite now, right?... it's dissapopinting)
ma, minna-san isogashii kara shikatanai na... (well it can't be helped since everyone's busy)

mmmm just in case u guys don't kno, whenever u say things like
kyo,kinou,konshuu,raishuu, ahita,senshuu,raishuu, yoku,tokidoki,mainichi,itsumo(today,yesterday,this week, tumoro, last week, every week, often, sumtimes, everyday, and always) you dun put any particles after that dun ever put wa or ni or other partciles coz it's wrong
tatoeba(for example): ashita machi e enzoku ni ikimashita(i will go to the city on an excursion tumoro)
kyo watashi no tanjyoubi desu( u put otanjyoubi for sumone elses bday...but u dun have to put o(o just makes it formal))

Yes you are right, they're usually not followed by particles... but that's not always the case
tatoeba: Kyo wa sumui desu (today is cold).
kyonen no natsu wa atsukatta desu (Last year's summer was hot)
...hmm that's what i read

ma sore dake...correct me if im wrong ^^

[bluemoo21]

How do you say:
I wish for ___ & ___ to have a happy, wealthy and healthy life together forever. in Japanese?

Can anyone tell me how to say that in Japanese? and / or can someone suggest something else to put in a congratulations card for getting married?

[makky]

bluemoo21...

okekkon omedetto gozaimasu! (congratulations on your wedding)

oshiawase ni natte kudasai (wish you both happiness in life)


thanks wintersolstice084

[bluemoo21]

bluemoo21...

okekkon omedetto gozaimasu! (congratulations on your wedding)

oshiawase ni natte kudasai (wish you both happiness in life)


thanks wintersolstice084

sank u soo much! :

[makky]

bluemoo21...

daijoubu

dont hesitate to join in our class

[F4]

Konbachiwa minaa

i want to ask u guys what does this statement means?

anata no kaeru basho

one more thing ... omedetto means congrate i am right?

Arigatou

[Ore.Sama]

Konnichiwa F4-chan ^^

anata = you
kaeru = to go/return
basho = place
so maybe it means the place you return to?? "-_- not sure

And yes you are right... omedetto means congrates ^^

[cantiara]

Anata no kaeru basho = The place (that) you return to.

And a minor correction, "congratulations" is spelled "Omedetou", not omedetto.

[Dekinakatta]

OK...watashi no namae wa Junsui ( Katarina) <3 <3<3
watashi wa juu-nana desu.watashi wa kick-box o yatte imasu.
...Nihon-jin ja arimasen...Dakara ,dozo yoroshiku!

Corect my mistakes please!!!

Someone already did correct some mistakes, but I wanted to add something.
First: Stay with one style. If your use desu-masu-style for the text, use it in all the sentences.
Second: If you decided on one style, stay with it and don't mix it with other styles. Try to avoid using informal abbreviations like "ja" in desu-masu.
Third: Don't forget to use numerals. When you say your age, you should add "sai" (for years of age) after the number (as in "juu nana sai).
Furthermore: Japanese try to avoid personal pronomes which is why in many situations you wouldn't say "Anata wa...", but "Whateveristhename-san/chan/kun/sensei wa...". Therefore Japanese would never say "Watashi no namae wa... Watashi wa...". Most of the time you'll just hear (i.e.) "Lastname firstname desu. Juu-nana sai desu...".

[makky]

And a minor correction, "congratulations" is spelled "Omedetou", not omedetto.

gomen nasai! i'll remember it

[Dreamfall]

Thanks Dekinakatta!!! I didn't know all that...English and my motherlanguage confuses me a lot...
Thanks for making that clear .
Since u know japanese that good (I envy u!) how can I say:
You gave me something that I didn't have ;I was too weak to give ;Too strong to lose; My heart is under arrest again ;But I break loose ;My head is giving me life or death ;But I can't choose...
..those are parts of song...can u translate this...doesnt have to be completly same...Anyone????

[Dekinakatta]

Thanks Dekinakatta!!! I didn't know all that...English and my motherlanguage confuses me a lot...Thanks for making that clear .
Since u know japanese that good (I envy u!) how can I say:
You gave me something that I didn't have ;I was too weak to give ;Too strong to lose; My heart is under arrest again ;But I break loose ;My head is giving me life or death ;But I can't choose...
..those are parts of song...can u translate this...doesnt have to be completly same...Anyone????

No problem.
I did try to translate it, but it's hard to translate parts of a song when you don't know the basic emotions behind it. But I did my best. Other suggestions are welcome.
I've taken some liberty on the grammar so as to keep the flow of the original lyrics.

You gave me something that I didn't have;
I was too weak to give;
Too strong to lose;
My heart is under arrest again;
But I break loose;
My head is giving me life or death;
But I can't choose

With Kanji:

持っていない物をくれた
弱いからあげなかった
強いから負けなかった
心がまた逮捕された
でも逃げ出す
頭から命か死か
でも選べない

In Hiragana:

もっていないものをくれた
よわいからあげなかった
つよいからまけなかった
こころがまたタイホされた
でもにげだす
あたまからいのちかしか
でもえらべない

And once more in romaji, because I don't know if you know Hiragana... :

Motte inai mono wo kureta,
yowai kara agenakatta,
tsoyoi kara makenakatta,
kokoro ga mata taihosareta,
demo nigedasu,
atama kara inochi ka shi ka,
demo erabenai.

[makky]

Dekinakatta...

sugoi...nihongo umai desu ne

[xiaoxin22]

can someone tell me what's "maidoari" mean?

[quashlo]

can someone tell me what's "maidoari" mean?

A short, more intimate form for Maido arigatou gozaimasu (毎度ありがとうございます), meaning, "Thank you for always coming [to shop here]." Used mainly by shopkeeper, store employee, etc., towards a customer.

[xiaoxin22]

oic.. thank alot

[Dreamfall]

Dekinakatta you are great!!! I know hiragana but i dont have japanese one my computer..and I can not have it..unfortunatly...THANKS FOR HELP!

There is something i noticed..word KARA appears a lot...how is it translated..how is it used?

These verbs: aishitekureteta,kizutsuketeta,mitsumeteta,waratteta,dakishimeteta : they all have ..TETA on their ends...what does it mean...Example:why isn't DAKISHIMETE but DAKISHIMETETA??? What is different???


Also there are words :terasarenagara,yurasenagara: ending with ..AGARA ..There are many words ending same..but I dont get it...Can u explain that...Also u can give examples(I'm a bit slow...), some variations( how verbs are changed in past,present...)PLEASE?

[zenitse]

There is something i noticed..word KARA appears a lot...how is it translated..how is it used?

These verbs: aishitekureteta,kizutsuketeta,mitsumeteta,waratteta,dakishimeteta : they all have ..TETA on their ends...what does it mean...Example:why isn't DAKISHIMETE but DAKISHIMETETA??? What is different???


Also there are words :terasarenagara,yurasenagara: ending with ..AGARA ..There are many words ending same..but I dont get it...Can u explain that...Also u can give examples(I'm a bit slow...), some variations( how verbs are changed in past,present...)PLEASE?

kara can mean "because", or just state reason. But it can also mean "from", or "(made) of" and so on.

-teta is contracted "-te ita". It is form similar to english past progressive tense. Dakishimete is very generic form which can have several meanings but dakishimeteta means "was hugging".

-nagara means "while ... ". Dorama wo minagara cha wo nondeta - I was drinking tea while watching a dorama.

Examples how is are the verbs changed in past/present ... you mean in general or some particular verb form?

[Dreamfall]

Arigatou! I just want to know how can I say things happening in past,present,future....I don't know how to recognize what is the time when something happened...Like in english: I am...I was...I would...I should...I will....Is there a way to recognize it???

[zenitse]

Arigatou! I just want to know how can I say things happening in past,present,future....I don't know how to recognize what is the time when something happened...Like in english: I am...I was...I would...I should...I will....Is there a way to recognize it???

You can't tell apart future from present, unless exact time is specified or progressive form is used. But past is different.

Progressive form is formed by -te form and verb iru (informally contracted to -ru). You further inflect only the iru verb to change anything (level of politeness, conditional, causative, perfect form, negative and so on). For example if you replace iru by ita (plain past of iru), result is past progressive form. Densha wo notte iru (notteru) - I am going by train (right now). Densha wo notte ita (notteta) - I was going by train.

Otherwise, past is formed the same way as -te form (I suppose you know, don't you?), you just replace -te by -ta. Densha wo notta - I went by train.

To be exact, I was talking about informal forms. Formal form in present is formed by -masu to the verb stem. Suru - shimasu, noru - norimasu, miru - mimasu, etc. In past, you use -mashita. Shimashita, norimashita, mimashita. As for progressive form, I already wrote before, you just simply use formal form of "iru" which is "imasu".

Japanese can also express completely finished, perfect action (which is in some cases identical with present perfect tense in english). It is formed by -te form + shimau. Hon wo yonde shimatta (or shimaimashita) - I have read the book (finished it). Colloquially, -te(de) shimau can be replaced by -chau(jau). Previous sentence would be Hon wo yonjatta.

Everything clear?

[heidecute]

beside she's just 14 yrs old
minnasan
konnichiwa
hajimemashite
watashiwa heide desu
watashiwa juukyusai desu
watashiwa philippine de sunde imasu
watashiwa firipinjin desu
watashiwa gakusei desu
watashiwa nakagai hito desu
douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu
^^

[Dekinakatta]

@Heidecute:
If I may quote myself:

Furthermore: Japanese try to avoid personal pronomes which is why in many situations you wouldn't say "Anata wa...", but "Whateveristhename-san/chan/kun/sensei wa...". Therefore Japanese would never say "Watashi no namae wa... Watashi wa...". Most of the time you'll just hear (i.e.) "Lastname firstname desu. Juu-nana sai desu...".

Don't use "Watashi wa..." all the time. The Joshi "wa" is used to indictate the topic, so once it's clear that you're talking about yourself (which in situations of introducing yourself is pretty clear even without saying it ) you won't say it again all the time.
It's like in english you would say "Well yes, about myself, I'm XY. And about myself, I'm 19. And about myself..." and so on.

[ruisu]

@Heidecute:
If I may quote myself:

Furthermore: Japanese try to avoid personal pronomes which is why in many situations you wouldn't say "Anata wa...", but "Whateveristhename-san/chan/kun/sensei wa...". Therefore Japanese would never say "Watashi no namae wa... Watashi wa...". Most of the time you'll just hear (i.e.) "Lastname firstname desu. Juu-nana sai desu...".

Don't use "Watashi wa..." all the time. The Joshi "wa" is used to indictate the topic, so once it's clear that you're talking about yourself (which in situations of introducing yourself is pretty clear even without saying it ) you won't say it again all the time.
It's like in english you would say "Well yes, about myself, I'm XY. And about myself, I'm 19. And about myself..." and so on.

No wonder my penpal never wrote back:

はじめまして　どうぞよろしく。　私の名前はルイスです。　二十五歳です。　美穂さん、　田舎はどちらですか？

おやすみなさい！

[Dekinakatta]

No wonder my penpal never wrote back:

It's not wrong to say "Watashi no namae wa...". If you read my quote again, you'll see that I said, Japanese would never say "Watashi no namae wa... Watashi wa... (and so on)".
It's about repeating "Watashi wa" all the time that's wrong. If you use it once to make clear that you're talking about yourself, it's perfectely fine.
So it might not be about you using "watashi no namae wa" that your penpal didn't write back.

[F4]

Ore.Sama-chan and cantiara-chan

Arigatuo Gosaimsu

[Dreamfall]

Zenitse...I think I've got it this far...just need to practise it.Do you study japanese? I mean...you're from Czech Republic...n you're 17..so how do you know japanese that good??? [/quote][/spoiler]

[Dreamfall]

Zenitse...I think I've got it this far...just need to practise it.Do you study japanese? I mean...you're from Czech Republic...n you're 17..so how do you know japanese that good???

[ruisu]

Dekinakatta, I know I was just kidding my pen pal just doesn't like me


If anyone is relying on this thread for information, I should point out that www.thejapanesepage.com has some pretty active forums. Some people there have an high-and-mighty attitude, but that's not always a bad thing when they're just trying to get you to learn the right way. Anyway, cool place, tons of resources.

Also, anyone using the Genki I textbook? I am and would be glad to practice the pair work with anyone over skype or aim, etc.

[zenitse]

Zenitse...I think I've got it this far...just need to practise it.Do you study japanese? I mean...you're from Czech Republic...n you're 17..so how do you know japanese that good???

I am, actually I have been studying it for two years. Three months ago I started attending lesson for the first time but that's just for some conversation practise. Otherwise I have been studying on my own. And I am trying to study as much as possible.

[Dekinakatta]

@Zensite:
I don't mean to sound like a teacher here, but I have a small correction.

Densha wo notte iru (notteru) - I am going by train (right now). Densha wo notte ita (notteta) - I was going by train.

In the example you used "Densha wo noru" are two mistakes.
First: "noru" is always used in combination with the joshi (particle) "ni", not with "wo" because noru is an intransitive verb and can't be used with object marker "wo".
Second: The translation is wrong. The correct sentence should be "Densha ni notte iru", which means "I'm getting onto the train" and not "I'm going by train".
By train would be "Densha de" with either iku (going) or kuru (coming). "De" is a particle used to indicate the intrument of action. I.e.: Densha de kimashita. I came by train.

[zenitse]

@Zensite:
I don't mean to sound like a teacher here, but I have a small correction.

Densha wo notte iru (notteru) - I am going by train (right now). Densha wo notte ita (notteta) - I was going by train.

In the example you used "Densha wo noru" are two mistakes.
First: "noru" is always used in combination with the joshi (particle) "ni", not with "wo" because noru is an intransitive verb and can't be used with object marker "wo".
Second: The translation is wrong. The correct sentence should be "Densha ni notte iru", which means "I'm getting onto the train" and not "I'm going by train".
By train would be "Densha de" with either iku (going) or kuru (coming). "De" is a particle used to indicate the intrument of action. I.e.: Densha de kimashita. I came by train.

I admit the ni/wo mistake, sorry for that.

And I know about the second one. Usually I would use "noru" as "Densha ni notte iku". But I wanted to form as simple sentence as possible and this was the first sentence that came to my mind - so I simplified it because I thought the exact meaning was irrelevant. Sorry again

[Dekinakatta]

I admit the ni/wo mistake, sorry for that.
And I know about the second one. Usually I would use "noru" as "Densha ni notte iku". But I wanted to form as simple sentence as possible and this was the first sentence that came to my mind - so I simplified it because I thought the exact meaning was irrelevant. Sorry again

No need to apologize. I just wanted to make it clear, because even if you know the right way and I know it, not everyone here does. And "noru" is a word used quite often. No need to get mistakes in such basic vocabulary.
Even if the sentence has to be simple, it should still be correct, ne?

[zenitse]

Well, the sentence was meant to be correct, I only messed up the particle and I admitted my fault And also the translation but that doesn't make the Japanese sentence wrong

[F4]

i am sorry guys...
but i have many questions hope that is ok with u

i wanna to know each sentence means what ??

1- xxxx-kun ga daisuki desu

2- what is the different between daisuki desu and suki desu??

3- Ore mo, kimi no koto, daisuki desu

4- shinpai shinaide

5- ABUNAI YO

6- kaeru

7- wakarimashita


Arigatou in advance

[zenitse]

i am sorry guys...
but i have many questions hope that is ok with u

i wanna to know each sentence means what ??

1- xxxx-kun ga daisuki desu

2- what is the different between daisuki desu and suki desu??

3- Ore mo, kimi no koto, daisuki desu

4- shinpai shinaide

5- ABUNAI YO

6- kaeru

7- wakarimashita


Arigatou in advance

1. I like xxx-kun very much (or you can say I love...there's another word for this but they still use this more often)
2. "dai" itself means "big", so it's just emphasis. "I like" versus "I like very much"
3. "I love you as well" said by man
4. "Don't worry"
5. Literally "It's dangerous", but you can also say "Be careful!" or sth like that.
6. To return home (if used as verb), or "frog" if as noun
7. "I understood"

[Dekinakatta]

1- xxxx-kun ga daisuki desu
I love xxx-kun.

2- what is the different between daisuki desu and suki desu??
Daisuki is translates as "to love", suki as "to like".

3- Ore mo, kimi no koto, daisuki desu
I love you too. (Said from a male!)

4- shinpai shinaide
Don't worry.

5- ABUNAI YO
Watch out!

6- kaeru
I'm leaving / I'm going home. It can indicate something like "I've had it. I'm leaving", but that's not neccessary.

7- wakarimashita
Understood / Got it.

edit: Well, zenitse was faster.

[ruisu]

so far i've only seen kaeru as kaerimasu or kaerimasen. can someone give an example of when it would just be kaeru?

[requiem]

so far i've only seen kaeru as kaerimasu or kaerimasen. can someone give an example of when it would just be kaeru?

kaeru is the dictionary form of kaerimasu. Dictionary form is usually used in informal situations when speaking Japanese, or particularly when you are using it in a description or relative clause.

Informal vs. Formal

In this case, if you are talking to a relatively close friend (or perhaps a child, although I don't feel worthy of talking down to one with my ability), you can use dictionary form.

Ashita shigoto kara kaeru. = "Tomorrow I will come home from work."
Ashita shigoto kara kaerimasu. = "Tomorrow I will come home from work." (Formal, Polite)

There are several other levels (honorific/humble forms) to address status, but that's a bit complicated. ^_^

Description

This one can have several variants:

Ashita kaeru koto ga dekimasu. = "Tomorrow I will be able to return home."
Kaeru koto ga kantan desu. = "It is easy to return home."

Of course, there are other, even more complicated expressions.

Kaeru tsumori kara, yuushoku tsukutte kudasai. = "Because I intend on returning home, please make dinner."
Kaeru no wa North Pole kara chotto muzukashii da to omoimasu. = "I think returning from the North Pole is a little difficult."

Relative clause

This is the most difficult approach to dictionary verbs I've seen. Basically, since Japanese effectively prepositions many functions in its languge, describing something at a length usually calls for a relative clause, or a fully independent sentence used as description is placed before the noun it describes. The best way to understand this is to look at examples.

Kaeru hito no namae wo shitte imasen. = "I don't know the name of the person who is going home."
Nemukute kaeru kanojo wa dame desu yo. = "The sleepy girl who is going home is terrible."

Even after that it may still not make any sense, but it's important in the language itself, too.

EDIT: I stand corrected on a rather silly error concerning "~koto ga aru" expressions. "~koto ga aru" applies best to past tense informal verbs, which in this case is kaetta koto ga aru. Thanks to zenitse for the correction.

[F4]

Dekinakatta-chan and zenitse-chan

Arigatou gosaimsu

i really approciated it.. and i enjoy these lessons as well ... domo

[ruisu]

wow, everything after description is way over my head. but thanks for trying to explain it. i'll remember it. once i make sure i understand what you're talking about i'm pretty sure i'll feel like i've acompllished something

[zenitse]

Tori no tsubasa de kaeru koto ga arimasu ka? = "Have you ever returned home on the wings of a bird?"

Are you sure with the verb form? As far as I know, there should be kaetta, since this construction is formed using plain past form.

[requiem]

Tori no tsubasa de kaeru koto ga arimasu ka? = "Have you ever returned home on the wings of a bird?"

Are you sure with the verb form? As far as I know, there should be kaetta, since this construction is formed using plain past form.

Indeed you are right, kaetta is the correct form there...^_^;;
Let it be known even though I've finished beginner and intermediate level courses, I can make simple mistakes like everyone else. :-P

I actually have my own question now - recently I wrote a paper in Japanese and had my Japanese friend correct it. After tearing apart my terrible grammar, he changed something that I wasn't sure was an error: is there a difference between ~naide and ~zuni?

食べずに高校に行ってしまった。 Without eating I went to school.
食べないで高校に行ってしまった。(Without eating?) I went to school.

Is it more Japanese to use ~zuni, or am I missing something?

[F4]

i got an email from my japanese friend.. she challenged me if i can understand this sentence

can you help me guys to translate it in english,, i'll be more that grateful

春暖快適の候、貴社ますますご盛栄のこととお喜び申し上げます。平素は格別のご高配を賜り、厚くお礼申し上げます。

[anoney]

Let's break it down (kanji first, then kana, then romaji, then a small explanation of components, then english translation):

春暖快適の候、
しゅんだんかいてきのこう、
Shundankaiteki no kou,

Shundan = warm spring weather, spring warmth
Kaiteki = pleasant, aggreable, comfortable
no = possesive particle
Kou = weather, season

Put all those components together, and we get something along the lines of:
"The season of pleasant spring weather,"

---------------

貴社ますますご盛栄のこととお喜び申し上げます。
きしゃますますごせいえいのこととおよろこびもうしあげます。
Kisha masumasu go-seiei no koto to o-yorokobi moushiagemasu.

Kisha = (your) company
Masumasu = increasingly, more and more
Go-Seiei = "go" is generally an honourific for nouns, and "Seiei" means to flourish in business.
O-Yorokobi moushiagemasu = "o" is another honourific used before some nouns and verbs. There is a general rule that "go" is used with nouns with a reading of Chinese origin, and "o" is for nouns and verbs with readings which originated in Japan. However, this rule doesn't always work so it's usually best to just memorise how they are used. "Yorokobi" means "joy, delight, pleasure" and "moushiagemasu" means (in this context, specifically following a verb) "delighted, pleased".

So a rough english translation would go something like this:
"I/we are delighted that your company has increasingly begun to flourish."

---------------

平素は格別のご高配を賜り、厚くお礼申し上げます。
へいそはかくべつのごこうはいをたまわり、あつくおれいもうしあげます。
Heiso ha kakubetsu no go-kouhai wo tamawari, atsuku o-rei moushiagemasu.

Heiso ha = in the past
Kakubetsu = exceptional, particular
Go-Kouhai = (good) courtesy
Tamawari (tamawaru) = to be given, to be granted, to be honoured with
Atsuku (atsui, te-form) = lit. to make thicker (when used with "o-rei moushiagemasu" it means "thanks warmly"
O-Rei moushiagemasu = (I am/to be) grateful

So it can be roughly translated as:
"I/we am/are deeply grateful for the exceptional courtesy which you honoured us/me with in the past."

If we put it all together, then we end up with something like this:
春暖快適の候、貴社ますますご盛栄のこととお喜び申し上げます。平素は格別のご高配を賜り、厚くお礼申し上げます。

"During the season of warm weather, I/we are delighted that your company increasingly begun to flourish. I/we am/are deeply grateful for the exceptional courtesy which you extended towards us/me in the past."

(I am more likely to lean towards using "we" as opposed to "I" in the english translation as it seems that one company is expressing their thanks and gratitude to another company in a very polite way.)

EDIT: The meaning of "Go-Seiei" corrected.

[anoney]

I actually have my own question now - recently I wrote a paper in Japanese and had my Japanese friend correct it. After tearing apart my terrible grammar, he changed something that I wasn't sure was an error: is there a difference between ~naide and ~zuni?

食べずに高校に行ってしまった。 Without eating I went to school.
食べないで高校に行ってしまった。(Without eating?) I went to school.

Is it more Japanese to use ~zuni, or am I missing something?

～ずに (~zuni) is traditionally used in writing and is much more polite/formal than using　～ないで (~naide). They mean exactly the same thing, so there's nothing extra to memorise, except how to conjugate it with the various verbs.

The only thing to remember when conjugating it, is that where you normally say __ないで you replace it with ずに. The verbs する and 来る are exceptions (as always) which conjugate to せずに and 来ずに（こずに） respectively. Some examples of group 1 and group 2 verbs below:

行かないで
行かずに

忘れないで
忘れずに

読まないで
読まずに

答えないで
答えずに

Hope that helps!

[anoney]

Kaeru tsumori kara, yuushoku tsukutte kudasai. = "Because I intend on returning home, please make dinner."
Kaeru no wa North Pole kara chotto muzukashii da to omoimasu. = "I think returning from the North Pole is a little difficult."

Just nitpicking now, but I noticed a few grammatical errors in the sentences above.
Firstly,
"Kaeru tsumori kara, yuushoku tsukutte kudasai."
There should be a "da" between "tsumori" and "kara" because the plain form of "tsumori desukara" is "tsumori dakara".

Secondly,
"Kaeru no wa North Pole kara chotto muzukashii da to omoimasu."
There shouldn't be a "da" after "muzukashii" because the plain form of i-adjectives don't have "desu" or "da".

Sorry, just thought I should point them out.