Japanese Language Help...

[Shia Kyosuka]

afureru = to flood, to overflow, to brim over

tada = free of charge, mere, sole, only, usual, common

[Myoti]

[quote]Hooookay… “deâ€

[Aka-chan]

Well, "umi" technically means "ocean", but when you say "Let's go to the sea" even in English, it generally means you're going to the beach. It's kind of one of those terms that gets blurred a bit.

Feel free to ask your questions--I'll do my best to answer them, or others will. (I will also be gone for a couple of weeks, so ask with patience. ^__^)

[Tsukuyomi]

Ooh, thank you so much Shia! I see the word 'nara" alot. Did someone ask about that before?

[Aka-chan]

"Nara" is pretty much "if". But there are rules to the usage, so make sure you don't go just tacking it on anywhere.

[Tsukuyomi]

OOh thankies Aka-Chan ^_^ I was watching Passions today and there was a Japanese woman on there. She said something like,"Hontou no shiranai ne... " I know what "hontou no" means, but not "shirenai". If I'm bugging you please just let me know ^_^

[Shia Kyosuka]

Mou ichijo, kudasai!

What are the Japanese sentence structures? I know there's more than one.

How do you say the following in japanese (if you want, give an example):

To say the least,
even though,
though,
under,
(insert age here) years old,
over,
too much
can't think of everything here. I'll make more of a list, later.

Is the following right?

Chigau! Inu no hou ga neko yori suki ja ne tebbayo sa! Honto yo! Neko no hou ga ii suki da.
(No! I don't like dogs more than cats! Really! I like cats more!)

(of course, I know not to talk like this during formal situations )

^_^

[Aka-chan]

Saa...hisashiburi da na~!

OOh thankies Aka-Chan ^_^ I was watching Passions today and there was a Japanese woman on there. She said something like,"Hontou no shiranai ne... " I know what "hontou no" means, but not "shirenai". If I'm bugging you please just let me know ^_^

"Shiranai" means "I don't know." As you are aware, "hontou no" means "the real one", and she's left off the relational o, so she's saying "I don't know the real one" or "I don't know the truth/what's real/something along those lines." And, no, it's no problem at all. I love Japanese, so this is loads of fun. ^__^

Mou ichijo, kudasai!

What are the Japanese sentence structures? I know there's more than one.

Japanese sentence structures? That's very broad. I mean, of course there are many grammatical structures, whether you're saying something exists, is something, does something, whatever. Maybe I'm not understanding your question--could you elaborate?

How do you say the following in japanese (if you want, give an example):

There are a lot of nuances to using these words/phrases, so you'll probably want to consult a Japanese speaker about what to use in each case. For instance, some ways of saying "but" are simply turning around the idea, while others denote disappointment in the way things happened.

To say the least = hm...that's a tricky one to translate]Is the following right?

Chigau! Inu no hou ga neko yori suki ja ne tebbayo sa! Honto yo! Neko no hou ga ii suki da.
(No! I don't like dogs more than cats! Really! I like cats more!)

(of course, I know not to talk like this during formal situations )

^_^[/QUOTE]
I haven't taken a careful look at the nuances of the dattebayo grammatical structures (plus, I've never heard anyone but Naruto use it--it sounds weird to use) but that part looks all right. However, you would just say "Neko no hou ga suki da." to denote your preference for cats. No "ii" necessary.

[Myoti]

Okei... I heard from someone that it's easier to learn vocabulary if you learn kanji, so I'm starting on it, but I wanted to ask about something.

Referring to this page, I wanted to know when exactly do you use the other meanings? The page lists them in both the "Chinese" version and native version, but when do you use each?

I'm supposing that adding "tsu" to the numbers changes it ('ichi' + 'tsu' = hitotsu?), but what about changing "juu" to "to", or "sen" to "chi"? Is it just based on what other kanji/kana are near it? Especially referring to the others, such as the one for mother, friend, etc.

[Myoti]

Another quick couple of questions:

In writing, what is a small 'e' katakana for? Does it extend a sound or is it used as some sort of break?

Also, I noticed a small 'ka' hiragana in sentence. I don't know if this was a mistake or if it has an actual meaning

[Aka-chan]

Okei... I heard from someone that it's easier to learn vocabulary if you learn kanji, so I'm starting on it, but I wanted to ask about something.

Referring to this page, I wanted to know when exactly do you use the other meanings? The page lists them in both the "Chinese" version and native version, but when do you use each?

I'm supposing that adding "tsu" to the numbers changes it ('ichi' + 'tsu' = hitotsu?), but what about changing "juu" to "to", or "sen" to "chi"? Is it just based on what other kanji/kana are near it? Especially referring to the others, such as the one for mother, friend, etc.

Yeah, the various readings depend on the usage of the kanji. Usually, you’ll use the Japanese reading if the kanji is by itself, but the Chinese reading if it’s in a compound (the exception is numbers.) By reading and practicing a lot, you learn which ones get read how and when. Mostly, though, I’d suggest looking at what’s around it, though that’s not absolutely foolproof.

Another quick couple of questions:

In writing, what is a small 'e' katakana for? Does it extend a sound or is it used as some sort of break?

Also, I noticed a small 'ka' hiragana in sentence. I don't know if this was a mistake or if it has an actual meaning

When you ask stuff like this, I’d recommend giving some context. I do, however, think I know what you’re referring to. I’m thinking you saw something like “分]â€

[Myoti]

Okay. That's about what I thought (on the first two points).

So then the "ka" one is sort of treated like the small "tsu", but more specific?

[Aka-chan]

So then the "ka" one is sort of treated like the small "tsu", but more specific?

Sort of, I guess; I didn't think of it that way. Or maybe it's like permanent furigana, making sure you don't read it the wrong way. ^__^ Your idea makes sense.

[Myoti]

Idea? I just thought that's how it was. o.o

What exactly is the difference in "furigana?"


Oh, there was something Shia told me awhile back. He said when you say you "like" something, you don't put "(w)o" in front of the object, but instead you put "ga".
Example:

"Boku wa yuki ga suki." [SIZE](I think that's right.)[/SIZE]

Isn't "yuki" what's being "liked?" So why isn't "o" used?

[Shia Kyosuka]

suki isn't a verb.

It's an adjetive. Verbs end in u, not i.

"wo" is for the direct object of verbs.

[Myoti]

It's an adjective (I did wonder why it didn't end like the others)? Why is it an adjective and not a verb?

[Aka-chan]

Hiragana=the more script-like phonetic alphabet (developed by women simplifying kanji)
Katakana=the blockier alphabet (developed by monks taking radicals of kanji)
Kanji=Chinese characters
Kana=phonetic characters (hiragana or katakana)
Okurigana=the kana that goes with a kanji (before or after) to make it a word, like adding "meru" to "ki" to make "to decide"--only the "ki" is written in kanji
Furigana=the kana written in small type over kanji to tell you pronunciation

More on "suki" to follow when I get time.

[Aka-chan]

Anyway, regarding "suki", my sensei taught me to think of the "Goddess of Omas" or "ga desu of o masu". That is, keep in mind that if the object is labeled with a "ga" the end of the sentence will be a "desu". ("Sore ga suki desu", "Are ga kirai desu"). If it's labeled with a "wo/o", the end will be "masu". ("Yakyuu o yarimasu" "O sushi o tabemasu"). Ne? ^__^

[Neko Niisan]

When saying english otaku, which is correct?

Otaku no eikoku
or
Otaku no ingurando

[Shia Kyosuka]

I'm pretty sure it's eikoku otaku.

I've actually had a question I've been meaning to ask.

I'm trying to learn different sentence structures, and this is one that I observed while watching japanese shows and anime.

Saying:

nan ni miru ka, omae wa?

is the same as saying:

Omae wa nan ni miru ka?

right?

[Aka-chan]

When saying english otaku, which is correct?

Otaku no eikoku
or
Otaku no ingurando

As in, an otaku from England? You could say Eikoku no otaku or Ingurando no otaku. I don't see a difference. You could even say Igirisu no otaku. Be warned, though, "otaku" means something different in Japanese and has more of a negative connotation to it. You can hear the unspoken "loser" in the usage.

I'm trying to learn different sentence structures, and this is one that I observed while watching japanese shows and anime.

Saying:

nan ni miru ka, omae wa?

is the same as saying:

Omae wa nan ni miru ka?

right?

It's "nani miru ka...", but anyway, the idea is the same. The first is more like "Hey you, what do you see?" while the second is more like "What do you see?". The tone and formality differs slightly, but that's about it.

[Neko Niisan]

As in, an otaku from England? You could say Eikoku no otaku or Ingurando no otaku. I don't see a difference. You could even say Igirisu no otaku. Be warned, though, "otaku" means something different in Japanese and has more of a negative connotation to it. You can hear the unspoken "loser" in the usage.

Is there a less loser implied idiom in Japanese?

[Aka-chan]

As far as I've heard, they seem to use "fan" (in their case, pronounced with more of an "ah" sound) for most everything. I'll let you know if I find another term.

[Neko Niisan]

Whats this 'akiba-kei' thing I have heard so little about?

[Aka-chan]

I hadn't heard that one before, but when I looked it up, it seems that it's becoming less derogatory. It is a direct reference to a place, though, (Akihabara) so I don't know if it would sound strange coming from a non-Japanese or someone who had not been to Akihabara much.

[Myoti]

What exactly is "sou", and how/when do you use it? I believed it to be something like saying "Really?" or something, but it seems to have more meaning.

[Neko Niisan]

I hadn't heard that one before, but when I looked it up, it seems that it's becoming less derogatory. It is a direct reference to a place, though, (Akihabara) so I don't know if it would sound strange coming from a non-Japanese or someone who had not been to Akihabara much.

Domo Arigato.

[Aka-chan]

What exactly is "sou", and how/when do you use it? I believed it to be something like saying "Really?" or something, but it seems to have more meaning.

It's surprisingly similar to an English usage of "so" as in "sou desu ka" = "is that so?" More informally would be "sou?" which means the same thing, but is made a question by voice tone. If you said it as a statement: "sou." or "sou da.", it would be "Yeah." "That's so/ that's right." or something like that. "Sou ne" is more like "Yeah..."--thoughtful agreement. And stuff like that. Does that clear it up?

Domo Arigato.

Dou itashimashite! ^__^

[Neko Niisan]

This phrase came up in a flask animation I was watching.

Otaku no baka ja nai

(May have been gramatically different and this is probably spelt wrong but anywho...)

I think that I get the first half of the phrase but what does the "ja nai" part imply?

[Myoti]

It's surprisingly similar to an English usage of "so" as in "sou desu ka" = "is that so?" More informally would be "sou?" which means the same thing, but is made a question by voice tone. If you said it as a statement: "sou." or "sou da.", it would be "Yeah." "That's so/ that's right." or something like that. "Sou ne" is more like "Yeah..."--thoughtful agreement. And stuff like that. Does that clear it up?

Okay, that's about what I thought. Just wanted to make sure. Thanks. ^_^