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[Shouta]

Poor Ryotas everywhere.

 

[Axalon]

How the hell do people memorise over a 1000? it just boggles my mind.

im scared now of the heisig book arriving.

The same way you memorize over 1000 words. Don't think of it as one huge mountain, but small little bits of path. Heisig's book is broken up into manageable chunks. Just go lesson by lesson, and don't think about the fact that the book covers 2000 some odd kanji and that you'll have to cram it all in. It'll just happen, if you pace yourself and work at it. Also, the vast majority of kanji are compounds of other "primitives", which makes it immeasurably easier. (時, for example, is a compound of 日 and &#23546.

 

[YYZ]

Is the progression in Heisig's supposed to go from Rembering the Kanji 1-3 then onto Remembering the Kana?

 

[Carton]

Is the progression in Heisig's supposed to go from Rembering the Kanji 1-3 then onto Remembering the Kana?

I did the kana first; it's only about 6 hours worth of lessons. I haven't moved onto 'Remembering the Kanji' yet, but i strongly recommend 'Remembering the Kana' - it is fantastic.

 

[tnw]

Right, it could as well been maiyu, or maiyuki or some other variation.

I think girl names are harder than guy names, just because most boys are named "ryota" anyway hahaha.

well I disagree with you. Female names tend to use extremely common kanji that you know how to read . After awhile you know it's not 'maiyuki' because that doesn't even sound like a Japanese name. Guys have horrible names like yasuhiro, satoshi, nobuyuki, masaki etc. that use kanji that are only used in names or special readings for normal characters. ie, can't even guess at a reading.

with girls it's like 2 easy kanji +ko. na na ko, yu mi ko, etc.


Probably the most frustrating thing I remember about names was when I was living in inaka, and the area I lived in had tons of people with the kanji 'black tree' as there last name. They were divided, though, between kuroki and kurogi. There was seriously no way to know which one they were without asking them first. So retarded >_>

 

[bigmit3737]

When do use:

Wakarimasu
Wakarimashita


What's the difference between the two?

Thank you.

 

[YYZ]

There are two versions for each of the numbers 4 and 7 right? When do you use either one?

 

[Hitokage]

There are two versions for each of the numbers 4 and 7 right? When do you use either one?

3, actually, not including counted items and units.

 

[Zoe]

And it's not just 4 and 7...

 

[Hitokage]

Native Japanese numerals (1-10 only):

1 ひとつ
2 ふたつ
3 みっつ
4 よっつ
5 いつつ
6 むっつ
7 ななつ
8 やっつ
9 ここのつ
10 とう

Sinojapanese numerals (Any number)

1 いち
2 に
3 さん
4 し, or よん, which is based on よっつ
5 ご
6 ろく
7 しち, or なな, which is based on ななつ
8 はち
9 きゅう
10 じゅう
and so on...

Much of the time, し／しち and よん／なな are interchangeable, but when naming months, し and しち are always used(along with くがつ for 九&#26376. On the other hand, counting days starts with a set based on native numerals, with irregular readings for 14, 20, and 24. When counting people, ひとり and ふたり are used before さんにん and so on. Oh, and always watch out for pronunciation changes.

 

[Shouta]

When do use:

Wakarimasu
Wakarimashita


What's the difference between the two?

Thank you.

Present Tense
Past Tense

 

[bigmit3737]

Present Tense
Past Tense

Ahh, Thank you!

 

[bigmit3737]

リョーマ


I need some help here.

What's the line in the middle stand for?


ー



^ That one.


The first letter is Ryo then Ma, but what's the character in the middle?

Thanks.

 

[angelfly]

I missed this auction (had it watced but forgot about it) on these grade 1-6 kanji posters. I've been searching around but can't find them anywhere else. Anyone know where I can buy them or something similar? Heres a picture of the posters:

リョーマ


I need some help here.

What's the line in the middle stand for?


ー



^ That one.


The first letter is Ryo then Ma, but what's the character in the middle?

Thanks.

Means it's a long sound. Like using う in hiragana.

 

[Zoe]

What's the line in the middle stand for?

It's a vowel extender, indicating that you're supposed to hold the リョ a beat longer.

 

[tnw]

There are two versions for each of the numbers 4 and 7 right? When do you use either one?

you almost always use yon/nana when speaking about the numbers alone.

just go with that really.

 

[AmMortal]

im doing the japanese all the time thing for a week now, im gonna try and just listen to japanese all day long for year.

i'll see if i made progress in 6 months.

 

[Jade Knight 08]

Native Japanese numerals (1-10 only):

1 ひとつ
2 ふたつ
3 みっつ
4 よっつ
5 いつつ
6 むっつ
7 ななつ
8 やっつ
9 ここのつ
10 とう



am i seeing some genitals symbols in # 1, #9, and # 10? Or maybe i'm reading too dayum hard! :lol

 

[RevenantKioku]

wat.

...

......

.........

Fuck you.

 

[bigmit3737]

im doing the japanese all the time thing for a week now, im gonna try and just listen to japanese all day long for year.

i'll see if i made progress in 6 months.

I have been my own version of Japanese all the time...

Been listening to podcasts naps...

I am talking to myself in Japanese as well...

I was boiling water..and saying Mi-zu...

And then just random words...

My brother was like, what the hell are you saying...

It's been about a week as well...I want to see how long I can keep this up for.

EDIT:
I wanted to start talking to the sushi guy in Japanese, at my supermarket.
He barely speaks English, but I need to learn some more Japanese before I approach him.

 

[tnw]

am i seeing some genitals symbols in # 1, #9, and # 10? Or maybe i'm reading too dayum hard! :lol

no, I don't see it.

'mizu' technically means cold water, so you wouldn't call boiling water mizu it would be called 'yu' or 'oyu'

 

[bigmit3737]

no, I don't see it.

'mizu' technically means cold water, so you wouldn't call boiling water mizu it would be called 'yu' or 'oyu'

Ahhh thank you.

 

[bigmit3737]

Wa is written as the Hiragana sound Ha?

Am I missing something or is this correct?

Are there any other words that are written differently than their sound?

 

[Zoe]

Only when it's being used as a particle. And drop the consonant on を and へ when used as particles.

 

[bigmit3737]

What are some good sites for breaking down the strokes on Kanji for writing?

For example, I want to see how "water" is written, stroke by stroke.

Thank you.

 

[zoku88]

The classes at MIT have some videos of certain kanji.

http://web.mit.edu/21f.502/www/kanji/kanji08.html

The one for water is on that page.

 

[bigmit3737]

The classes at MIT have some videos of certain kanji.

http://web.mit.edu/21f.502/www/kanji/kanji08.html

The one for water is on that page.

Thank you.

One more question.

What do "On" readings and "Kun" readings refer to with regards to Kanji?

 

[Zoe]

For the most part, you use the 'on' reading in compounds and the 'kun' reading in standalones.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanji#Readings

 

[RevenantKioku]

What are some good sites for breaking down the strokes on Kanji for writing?

For example, I want to see how "water" is written, stroke by stroke.

Thank you.

If you happen to be using OSX, the JEDict program that I linked earlier does this for most of the basic kanji.

 

[bigmit3737]

If you happen to be using OSX, the JEDict program that I linked earlier does this for most of the basic kanji.

Nope, Windows XP Pro.

 

[bigmit3737]

The classes at MIT have some videos of certain kanji.

http://web.mit.edu/21f.502/www/kanji/kanji08.html

The one for water is on that page.

The videos don't seem to work for me. They just freeze.
Anything I need to have them work?

 

[bigmit3737]

My mind is boggled.

There are two forms of past tense verbs.

The formal way and the plain common way!


Itta
Ikimashita

Tomatta
Tomarimashita



AHHHH!

Needed to let that out.

 

[RevenantKioku]

Hehehe...

 

[Blackace]

Right, it could as well been maiyu, or maiyuki or some other variation.

I think girl names are harder than guy names, just because most boys are named "ryota" anyway hahaha.

I always feel that guys names are harder, but both can get crazy. I mean so crazy that native speakers have to ask how to say certain names. But I am naming my boy this 竜馬

 

[sprsk]

りゅうま？

Are you worried about your family not being able to pronounce his name? For some reason thats really important, to have a name my family and her family can deal with.

 

[Zoe]

I would have guessed りょうま

 

[Blackace]

りゅうま？

Are you worried about your family not being able to pronounce his name? For some reason thats really important, to have a name my family and her family can deal with.

りょうま

His nickname will be Leo.

 

[Blackace]

I would have guessed りょうま

you would have guessed correctly.

 

[sprsk]

I had a student who was half and actually had a middle name. On her lafuda it said Ayaka Amanda something or other. It was kinda weird, but not a bad idea.

 

[Blackace]

I had a student who was half and actually had a middle name. On her lafuda it said Ayaka Amanda something or other. It was kinda weird, but not a bad idea.

the wifey suggested it. might go the middle name route but not sure.

About to close on my house so baby plans have been the talk of the evenings lately

 

[okno]

My mind is boggled.

There are two forms of past tense verbs.

The formal way and the plain common way!


Itta
Ikimashita

Tomatta
Tomarimashita



AHHHH!

Needed to let that out.

That's cake compared to French, oi. Two is better than six for past, six for present, and six for future @_@

 

[Axalon]

That's cake compared to French, oi. Two is better than six for past, six for present, and six for future @_@

Pretty much all romance languages.

In Spanish:

Yo quiero apprender Japones.
Tu quieres apprender Japones.
El/ella quiere apprender Japones.
Nosotros queremos apprender Japones.
Vosotros quereis apprender Japones. (not sure about this one, as nobody uses it ever)
Ellos/ellas quieren apprender Japones.

And we also get masculinity and femininity of nouns. Latin was awesome.

My mind is boggled.

There are two forms of past tense verbs..

The formal and casual forms are easy enough. Unless they're your friend, you use the polite form. Also, I know you can't wait, but get ready, because tenses aren't the only types of conjugation in Japanese! There's also whether you want to do something, whether you should do something, whether you want someone to do something, whether you're referring to the action as a noun (a gerund), whether you're inviting someone to or helping someone do something, whether you feel something should be done, whether something is done too much, oh, it's a blast! (though, it's not so bad, as it's changing the implied meaning, so something else is said, rather than some odd form that says the same thing. I find it interesting, as it's kinda nifty how the modification is done inside the verb itself instead of modifiers outside the word. Call me a grammar nerd.)

 

[RevenantKioku]

Having studied German I found conjugation in Japanese to be a piece of delicious cake. Almost fun in a way.
The only bitch is honorific/humble speech. Ugh.

 

[Shouta]

I always feel that guys names are harder, but both can get crazy. I mean so crazy that native speakers have to ask how to say certain names. But I am naming my boy this 竜馬

Have you been watching Getter Robo lately?

 

[Blackace]

Have you been watching Getter Robo lately?

I don't even know what that is. But the name comes from my one of my favorite historical figures.

 

[Shouta]

I don't even know what that is. But the name comes from my one of my favorite historical figures.

Just a joke. =P

 

[tnw]

The formal and casual forms are easy enough.

plus the casual form is used in combined forms (itte kimashita, etc.), so it's really easy.

the only thing hard about japanese is kanji, end of story.

and the on readings for characters are based off the chinese pronounciation while kun readings are based on the native japanese reading. In general on readings are for jukugo (kanji combinations) and kun readings are for characters by themselves. easy enough.

 

[bigmit3737]

There seems to be no pattern for common way...

Ikimashita = Itta


Drop everything but the I and add tta?


Tomatta
Tomarimashita


Drop everything but the Toma and add tta?

I will look into more verbs to see if I can find a pattern..

Thanks for the help.

 

[RevenantKioku]

http://www.guidetojapanese.org/verbs.html

Give that a good read. You're not entirely off but I don't want to see you hurt yourself by guessing too much.

 

[Blackace]

There seems to be no pattern for common way...

Ikimashita = Itta


Drop everything but the I and add tta?


Tomatta
Tomarimashita


Drop everything but the Toma and add tta?

I will look into more verbs to see if I can find a pattern..

Thanks for the help.

verbs fall into certain patterns for example iku (to go) the word ends with ku sooooo you always change and verb that ends with ku the same way. the way you change comes from the root word not the "common way"