Japanese

[Dimitri13]

Re: Japanese

十三時です

?

So why is it 13. I understand why it's 10 first that was a silly mistake hehe but are we in 24hour clock or something?

Argh I'm teh sorry. It was late (I think) and I wasn't thinking.
jyuusan is a character name in a game I play -.- I meant jyuu ni lol.

[Coolboyrulez0]

Re: Japanese

Very interesting. Was going to learn japanese but realized how darn complicated it is.
But I still need to learn a third language

[SethSquall]

Re: Japanese

For next lesson I need to like write about myself like. But like all I've got is,

私はジョーダンです。
I am Jordan

Maybe

私はさくらんぼやいちごすきです。私のたんじょうびを十八しーがつ

Supposed to say "I like cherries and strawberries. My birthday is on the 28th of April."

But I know it's probably horribly wrong. Look forward to your corrections lmao. Oh and does anyone know anything else I could say.

[Tibs]

Re: Japanese

Tell them you're into hardcore rapist death metal.

[SethSquall]

Re: Japanese

Hahahaha.

[Crashfan3]

Re: Japanese

Ooh... this thread is pretty cool. I need to try and speed-learn some basic Japanese before summer and I think this will be quite helpful. One of the best threads I've seen this week imo.

[Silvuh]

Re: Japanese

When you say you like something, you use "noun がすきです。". If you like two nouns you probably use "noun と noun".
April twenty-eighth is "四月二十八日" (しがつにじゅうはちにち). I forget if you put the day or month first... I'm not exactly sure how to say "My birthday is on [date]", but it's probably something more like "たんじょうびは四月二十八日があります。"... The を connecting a noun and a date like that doesn't seem right.
Something else about yourself you could say is "I am # years old" or "私は＃さいです。", if I recall correctly.

As for the colors in the opening post... 青い (aoi) is the adjective "blue" and 青色 (aoiro) is the color "blue". Just a note. "Ao" might work by itself, though. Not sure.

A list of the Kana isn't much of a lesson... Especially if all it is is a list. They way I started memorizing them is by associating sounds with pictures made from the Kana. For instance, the Hirigana "tsu" resembles a tsunami wave. After learning them like that, you eventually recognize them when you see them without having to think of the picture. Flash cards can help for beginners. Also, writing them out multiple times... People learn differently. I've found that using vocabulary in sentences helps me teach myself better than flash cards. But I use flash cards to help keep them memorized.
Oh, and pronouncing the Japanese syllables isn't hard at all. They're the same as the vowels in Spanish. "A" like the A in "water", "I" like the E in "me", "U" like the OU in "you", "E" like the E in "let", and "O" like the O in "go". All the consonants are pretty much pronounced like in English except for the "R", which sounds like a combination of R and L. I forget exactly how to describe it. I feel like I'm forgetting something here...

As for Kanji... jeeze, I looked at all the Kanji you need to know for the college Kanji proficiency test... So you should have them all memorized after 300 hours of College Japanese... I recognized about 90 of the first page of the list, but I couldn't, like, read and use all the ones I recognized. I don't think all Kanjis come from China. It seems reasonable that only Kanji with on'yomi (Chinese pronunciations) came from China. Kun'yomi are the Japanese pronunciations. Typically, on'yomi are shown in Katakana and kun'yomi are shown in Hirigana.

Here's a link to a pretty neat site.
http://kanjidict.stc.cx/

[STD_Dimitri13]

Re: Japanese

“チョコレート” (read as “Choo Ko Re To”) sounds almost the same as when you say it in English.

If it's choo, then there's an u after the chi and small yo.

おなまえは？- onamae wa - What’s your name.?

You'd put desu ka at the end.. And the first o is very formal.. So you don't need it if you're just talking to someone your age really..

きょのことば kyo no kotoba-word of the day

It's kyoo, so there's an u at the end.

For next lesson I need to like write about myself like. But like all I've got is,

私はジョーダンです。
I am Jordan

Maybe

私はさくらんぼやいちごすきです。私のたんじょうびを十八しーがつ

Supposed to say "I like cherries and strawberries. My birthday is on the 28th of April."

But I know it's probably horribly wrong. Look forward to your corrections lmao. Oh and does anyone know anything else I could say.

First off, It would be 私は さくらん(or whatever cherry is) と いちご が すきです。

As for the birthday (let me get my notes out..).. It's 四月二十八日 に 生(うま)れた。 (Not completely sure, just wait for someone more proficient than I to correct me lol)

You can use そして(it's like a [sentence]. And, [sentence]) to join them, like: 私は さくらん(or whatever cherry is) と いちご が すきです。そして, 四月二十八日 に 生(うま)れた。

[Silvuh]

Re: Japanese

I just got ninja'd about the "chocolate" thing. Also note that the E is extended.

お名前は？ should be correct. That's how I've heard it.

But, yes, the "kyo" does need the extra U to be "today".

[gausmaster]

Re: Japanese

100 credits to the first FFR Elite Supporter who can translate my tattoo.

Gausmaster

[STD_Dimitri13]

Re: Japanese

I just got ninja'd about the "chocolate" thing. Also note that the E is extended.

お名前は？ should be correct. That's how I've heard it.

Which is that for, what is your name?

If so, I still think (あなたの)名前は何ですか。 should be the way to say it..

100 credits to the first FFR Elite Supporter who can translate my tattoo.

Gausmaster

My main account(Dimitri13) just ran out of sub this morning.. But it's ginoza. Do I still win?

[Afrobean]

Re: Japanese

Im quite confused over this. First you say speaking and learning Japanese is diffrent between here (im assuming america on this one) and there (and im assuming japan), then you go on to say they both use 12 hour day system as the norm.

Not being the norm does not equate to not being in use.

For example, you'd never see time denoted as "13 o clock" in America, yet the Japanese "equivalent" is just fine, even if it's not used the majority of time.

When you say you like something, you use "noun がすきです。".

A time like this would be a good time to elaborate on the difference between "wa" and "ga" since a lot of people struggle to grasp the concept. I'd do it myself, but to be totally honest, I'm not 100% on the exact difference myself.

If you like two nouns you probably use "noun と noun".

If I were you, I'd be clarifying that that particle can only be used with nouns and that adjective/adverb conjunction requires another particle (that, incidentally, slips my mind at present).

April twenty-eighth is "四月二十八日" (しがつにじゅうはちにち). I forget if you put the day or month first...

Quick switch to Japanese mode on my computer tells me " 2008年3月12日". Incidentally, it also changed my time display to 24 hour format.

I'm not exactly sure how to say "My birthday is on [date]", but it's probably something more like "たんじょうびは四月二十八日があります。"... The を connecting a noun and a date like that doesn't seem right.

Shouldn't some kind of kanji be used for tanjoobi? That definitely looks like the word "yoobi" in there, so logically it should have that kanji there at the very least. And actually, I just put "birthday" in a google translate and it gave me "誕生日", so yeah, I'd say so.

Something else about yourself you could say is "I am # years old" or "私は＃さいです。", if I recall correctly.

That's correct, although the leading "私は" is not needed.

As for the colors in the opening post... 青い (aoi) is the adjective "blue" and 青色 (aoiro) is the color "blue". Just a note. "Ao" might work by itself, though. Not sure.

Yeah, I made comment of this. The "ao" reading is when it's used as a noun. For example, "my favorite color is blue" has the word "blue" as a noun, while "I have a blue car" is using it as an adjective. No different in English, but it is different in Japanese, although, to be honest, you could probably slip by anyway.

A list of the Kana isn't much of a lesson... Especially if all it is is a list. They way I started memorizing them is by associating sounds with pictures made from the Kana. For instance, the Hirigana "tsu" resembles a tsunami wave. After learning them like that, you eventually recognize them when you see them without having to think of the picture. Flash cards can help for beginners. Also, writing them out multiple times... People learn differently. I've found that using vocabulary in sentences helps me teach myself better than flash cards. But I use flash cards to help keep them memorized.
Oh, and pronouncing the Japanese syllables isn't hard at all. They're the same as the vowels in Spanish. "A" like the A in "water", "I" like the E in "me", "U" like the OU in "you", "E" like the E in "let", and "O" like the O in "go". All the consonants are pretty much pronounced like in English except for the "R", which sounds like a combination of R and L. I forget exactly how to describe it. I feel like I'm forgetting something here...

Actually there are some subtleties in other consanents, but they go mostly overlooked. Things like the fact that most Americans don't actually pronounce the T sound correctly, or little things like the difference between ぢ and じ (or how about the fact that じ is often oversimplified in a way that removes its similarity to the accented S group).

As for Kanji... jeeze, I looked at all the Kanji you need to know for the college Kanji proficiency test... So you should have them all memorized after 300 hours of College Japanese... I recognized about 90 of the first page of the list, but I couldn't, like, read and use all the ones I recognized. I don't think all Kanjis come from China. It seems reasonable that only Kanji with on'yomi (Chinese pronunciations) came from China. Kun'yomi are the Japanese pronunciations. Typically, on'yomi are shown in Katakana and kun'yomi are shown in Hirigana.

Actually, part of the definition of kanji is that the character's come from China. Not sure about where readings or meanings stand, but the characters themselves are Chinese.

You can use そして(it's like a [sentence]. And, [sentence]) to join them, like: 私は さくらん(or whatever cherry is) と いちご が すきです。そして, 四月二十八日 に 生(うま)れた。

My understanding was always that so****e was more of a "and then" type of thing. More of a way to explain an order of events.

ps @ tattoo: does appear to be ginoza. What's the relevance? And by the way, since you seem to not be aware, that is katakana and even sharp beginners can read that.

[Maid]

Re: Japanese

100 credits to the first FFR Elite Supporter who can translate my tattoo.

Gausmaster

Why in the world would anyone want to tattoo ギノザ　on their arm? At least should have used kanji, why katakana?　宜野座

[xinpig]

Re: Japanese

are there any sites where you can teach yourself japanese?

[Silvuh]

Re: Japanese

A time like this would be a good time to elaborate on the difference between "wa" and "ga" since a lot of people struggle to grasp the concept. I'd do it myself, but to be totally honest, I'm not 100% on the exact difference myself.

"Ga" is used to introduce a noun. "Wa" is used when the noun has already been brought up. If you were introducing your umbrella to a conversation, you might say, like,　私のかさがきのうてきだ。 My umbrella is functional. But if, like, someone asked you if your umbrella worked, you'd use "wa" because your umbrella has already been introduced as a noun.　私のかさはきのうてきだ。 sounds more like "As for my umbrella, it's functional."

Actually there are some subtleties in other consanents, but they go mostly overlooked. Things like the fact that most Americans don't actually pronounce the T sound correctly, or little things like the difference between ぢ and じ (or how about the fact that じ is often oversimplified in a way that removes its similarity to the accented S group).

Actually, part of the definition of kanji is that the character's come from China. Not sure about where readings or meanings stand, but the characters themselves are Chinese.

Oh, really? Thanks for those clarifications. And do you think you could explain those subtleties?

If I were you, I'd be clarifying that that particle can only be used with nouns and that adjective/adverb conjunction requires another particle (that, incidentally, slips my mind at present).

Right, yeah. I thought about mentioning that, but I forgot to. The adjective conjuction is different for い and な adjectives.
To say "My house is large and clean", you'd say （私の）家は大きくて、きれいだ。 You replace the い with くて when an い adjective comes first. "My house is clean and large" would be （私の）家はきれい... Well, darn, I forgot how to conjoin な adjectives.

Shouldn't some kind of kanji be used for tanjoobi? That definitely looks like the word "yoobi" in there, so logically it should have that kanji there at the very least. And actually, I just put "birthday" in a google translate and it gave me "誕生日", so yeah, I'd say so.

Yeah, that's the Kanji for birthday. I didn't know that first Kanji there, though. And the previous poster used hirigana, so I thought I may as well. Same reason why I didn't use the Kanji for 好き (like).


Oh, and here's another random fun note.
も can be a particle for "also". すしが好きだ。うなぎも好きだ。 I like sushi. I also like unagi. ... Yeah, that was just one of those things I learned at the same time I learned the "～が好きです。" thing.

(Just to note, the だ at the end of the sentence I've been using is the short form present of な adjectives and nouns. これはえんぴつです。 is more formal than これはえんぴつだ。 But I believe that people often skip the だ, too, and say これはえんぴつ。　Unless it's emphasized, like, you wouldn't say これはえんぴつよ。 You'd keep the だ when using よ or　ね.)

P.S. All corrections are welcome.