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[blurr]

Yes, and it's called the Rikaichan plugin for Firefox with the Japanese Names library .

Ohh yea, I use rikaichan, didn't know about that library, thanks

 

[urfe]

Is there a reference book/guide/dictionary of sorts to understand how to read Japanese names? hitting a brick wall every time I'm trying to read something.

The kanji in many common names have multiple readings so there's many times no way to know

 

[blurr]

The kanji in many common names have multiple readings so there's many times no way to know

Yea, there's that but I figured there might be a guide of sorts.

 

[Sitrus]

Yea, there's that but I figured there might be a guide of sorts.

Check out ENAMDICT.

 

[RangerBAD]

Tobira does a great job of taking what you learn individually in genki chapters and mixing it all together at once. Genki never did that with the exception of a couple exercises at last chapters, unless you were taking a class.

The intermediate Japan times textbook is pretty good too and less of a leap than tobira.

Can only seem to get those used off of Amazon.

 

[Porcile]

Can only seem to get those used off of Amazon.

Order Tobira off Amazon.co.jp? Although, I'm not quite sure where you're looking but on .com it is $50 new, .co.uk is £58 and .jp is 3,564 yen.

 

[RangerBAD]

Order Tobira off Amazon.co.jp? Although, I'm not quite sure where you're looking but on .com it is $50 new, .co.uk is £58 and .jp is 3,564 yen.

I'm talking about the Japan Times book.

 

[muteki]

Can only seem to get those used off of Amazon.

Amazon.co.jp (middle click or it is redirecting me to .com for some reason):

link.

link.

I think I got mine from Kinokuniya:

link.

I'd also reccomend getting the teachers guide if you are doing self-study, as it has translations for all the dialogs, readings, and example sentences. Tobira is the better textbook and much more interesting (at least as textbooks go) but has a higher difficulty for entry than the Japan Times intermediate book IMO coming from Genki.

 

[Resilient]

From memory Ramger, you only started studying recently right? I'd guess you haven't really gotten the N4 level stuff down yet so Tobira could be a big jump. Try the Nihongo Challenge series , N4 for Grammar. That book is sweet. I would link but I'm still in bed. The covers are pink!

 

[RangerBAD]

From memory Ramger, you only started studying recently right? I'd guess you haven't really gotten the N4 level stuff down yet so Tobira could be a big jump. Try the Nihongo Challenge series , N4 for Grammar. That book is sweet. I would link but I'm still in bed. The covers are pink!

No, around 10 months. I guess it's recent in the sense that learning a language is a long journey.

 

[Porcile]

I'm liking all the textbook suggestions in here. I'll keep a bookmark on this page for the day I graduate from being this thread's resident scrub.

 

[Resilient]

No, around 10 months. I guess it's recent in the sense that learning a language is a long journey.

Yeah that's what I meant. Not trying to knock you.

I'm just plucking these, how familiar are you with the following patterns?

~ことにする
~つもりだ
~ようだ
~後で
~為に
~より。。。ほうが
X と Y と ~ どちら
~だろうと思う
~ようとする
~と言う
Person1 が Person2 に Verb「ら」れる
~ているところ
~が見える and ~が聞こえる
~ばかりです
~てくる and ~ていく
~てもかまわない

If you're pretty familiar you can probably get a cheap N4 test book, smash through it to confirm you've learned all of that stuff, and then move on to Tobira etc like the other peeps mentioned!

Nihongo Challenge N4 Grammar
Nihongo Challenge N4 Vocabulary

As always, it's usually cheaper to get it from Amazon.jp (but double check that lol).

 

[TheSporkWithin]

Yeah, I'll second Nihongo Challenge (at least the grammar one) as an excellent way to quickly refresh yourself on all the content of Genki 1 and 2, with truly useful and concise breakdowns of each grammar point and good example sentences. I don't like the Sou Matome books (by the same publisher) as much as Kanzen Master, but Nihongo Challenge is good stuff.

 

[Skinpop]

I'm wondering about "プログラム+ する" which supposedly means to program. To me it sounds a bit wrong, considering プログラム also means 'computer program'. So my intuition tells me "program wo kaku / tsukuru" would be better", but I'm not sure about it - so is "プログラム+ する" a legit translation for "to program"?

 

[stump sock]

I'm wondering about "プログラム+ する" which supposedly means to program. To me it sounds a bit wrong, considering プログラム also means 'computer program'. So my intuition tells me "program wo kaku / tsukuru" would be better", but I'm not sure about it - so is "プログラム+ する" a legit translation for "to program"?

I don't know WHY it is, but most loan words (nouns) are "verbed" by adding suru.

 

[Jintor]

Well they do verb-ise a lot of normal japanese words by adding suru, i.e. 運動 is exercise or physical extertion, but 運動する is 'to exercise'... right?

 

[Kurita]

Yeah that's what I was going to say.

 

[urfe]

I'm wondering about "プログラム+ する" which supposedly means to program. To me it sounds a bit wrong, considering プログラム also means 'computer program'. So my intuition tells me "program wo kaku / tsukuru" would be better", but I'm not sure about it - so is "プログラム+ する" a legit translation for "to program"?

As people said, する after a noun just makes it a verb: to program.

Like in English, to program, to write a program and to make a program are all different. Not sure if the latter two are used though, but a simple google search of the phrase should tell you.

ググれば？

 

[stump sock]

for all cases of __月, remembering if it's supposed to be がつ or げつ is going to be my eternal downfall

 

[Kurita]

for all cases of __月, remembering if it's supposed to be がつ or げつ is going to be my eternal downfall

If it's a length (i.e. 2 months) it's げつ, if it's just the name of the month it's がつ

 

[Gacha-pin]

for all cases of __月, remembering if it's supposed to be がつ or げつ is going to be my eternal downfall

1月（ひとつき）、2月（ふたつき）、3月（みつき）、4月（よつき）......以下略 ;p

 

[stump sock]

If it's a length (i.e. 2 months) it's げつ, if it's just the name of the month it's がつ

sure but then there's 何月 (が&#12388 and 毎月 (げ&#12388 and oh man

1月（ひとつき）、2月（ふたつき）、3月（みつき）、4月（よつき）......以下略 ;p

haha yeah but those are a whole other bag. doesn't help that the don't necessarily follow the same pattern as 1日, 2日, etc either.

 

[shanshan310]

日本語とあんま関係ない質問なんだけど、誰かが教えてくれないかな。実はどうしても日本のじゃん拳のルールが理解できないからｗｗ　二人でやったらオーストラリアでやるゲームとほとんど同じなのでそんなに問題がないが、人数が多くなると誰が勝ったことがますます難しくなっていく。助けてくれ！いつもやってるときに誰かが「シャンシャンおめでとう！」か「シャンシャン、残念！」のようなことを言う時までゲームを考えずに続くから、今。　笑

 

[Gacha-pin]

sure but then there's 何月 (が&#12388 and 毎月 (げ&#12388 and oh man

何月& 毎月 follow the rule kurita expained. 何月 it asks the name of the month and 毎月 is one of the way to say a length. As for 毎月, I think まいつき is a popular way to read it. I rarely hear まいげつ .

日本語とあんま関係ない質問なんだけど、誰かが教えてくれないかな。実はどうしても日本のじゃん拳のルールが理解できないからｗｗ　二人でやったらオーストラリアでやるゲームとほとんど同じなのでそんなに問題がないが、人数が多くなると誰が勝ったことがますます難しくなっていく。助けてくれ！いつもやってるときに誰かが「シャンシャンおめでとう！」か「シャンシャン、残念！」のようなことを言う時までゲームを考えずに続くから、今。　笑

Rock paper scissors と同じじゃないの？
3人以上でやる場合は、グー、チョキ、パーの全部が出ちゃうかみんなが同じやつを出したら「あいこ」でやり直す。

 

[TheSporkWithin]

日本語とあんま関係ない質問なんだけど、誰かが教えてくれないかな。実はどうしても日本のじゃん拳のルールが理解できないからｗｗ　二人でやったらオーストラリアでやるゲームとほとんど同じなのでそんなに問題がないが、人数が多くなると誰が勝ったことがますます難しくなっていく。助けてくれ！いつもやってるときに誰かが「シャンシャンおめでとう！」か「シャンシャン、残念！」のようなことを言う時までゲームを考えずに続くから、今。　笑

It's late and I don't have it in me to respond in Japanese right now, sorry.

Basically, people are eliminated each time there are only two (of the three) signs thrown. If even one person throwas the third sign it's considered a draw for everyone. You do the whole bit with 最初グーじゃんけんポン！ and then repeat with quick あいこでしょ until only two signs are thrown. All people who threw the weak sign are eliminated. Last person in is the winner (of course, this can often occur from three or four people remaining, if one person throws rock and everyone else throws paper).

 

[stump sock]

何月（がつ） follows the rule kurita expained. It asks the name of the month.

that actually helps a lot.

 

[Grokbu]

Hey again. I just wanted to mention that I got a lot of help and tips from a lot of you here some pages back (over a month ago), and I wanted to say a big thank you for all the help and tips that you gave me. I also want to apologize for writing this so late.

 

[Resilient]

Hey again. I just wanted to mention that I got a lot of help and tips from a lot of you here some pages back (over a month ago), and I wanted to say a big thank you for all the help and tips that you gave me. I also want to apologize for writing this so late.

no big deal. ppl get busy. have you been studying heaps? going well?

 

[Jintor]

月曜日は「とびら」新しい教科書を着きました*！やった。ゆくり読んでできる！

*　届けられた？

 

[AmethystEnd]

月曜日は「とびら」新しい教科書を着きました！やった。ゆくり読んでできる！

「着きました」って、どういう意味ですか。パッケージですか。

Edit:

「...教科書がメールで来ました」は正しいと思います。

 

[GSR]

月曜日は「とびら」新しい教科書を着きました*！やった。ゆくり読んでできる！

*　届けられた？

「着きました」って、どういう意味ですか。パッケージですか。

Edit:

「...教科書がメールで来ました」は正しいと思います。

または、「教科書が届きました」も正しい。「何かが届く」＝「何かが到着する」/「何かがどこかまで行く」。でも「人が届く」とはちょっと変だと思う。。。

 

[Jintor]

分かる、どうも。

 

[Resilient]

または、「教科書が届きました」も正しい。「何かが届く」＝「何かが到着する」/「何かがどこかまで行く」。でも「人が届く」とはちょっと変だと思う。。。

気色悪いですね。。。

 

[shanshan310]

Rock paper scissors と同じじゃないの？
3人以上でやる場合は、グー、チョキ、パーの全部が出ちゃうかみんなが同じやつを出したら「あいこ」でやり直す。

まあね ww だいたい同じだと思うけど、子供ごろに3人以上でやることとやり直すこともやったことないからちょっとわかんなかった.ありがとう^^

It's late and I don't have it in me to respond in Japanese right now, sorry.

Basically, people are eliminated each time there are only two (of the three) signs thrown. If even one person throwas the third sign it's considered a draw for everyone. You do the whole bit with 最初グーじゃんけんポン！ and then repeat with quick あいこでしょ until only two signs are thrown. All people who threw the weak sign are eliminated. Last person in is the winner (of course, this can often occur from three or four people remaining, if one person throws rock and everyone else throws paper).

That's fine! I was quite tired when I wrote it too so I wasn't as clear as i could have been. Thanks for the clarification I've done it with 20+ people and since people just kept getting eliminated and I assumed all 3 moves were probably in play maybe there was some other rule about which is weakest or something. But that makes more sense.

 

[Gacha-pin]

That's fine! I was quite tired when I wrote it too so I wasn't as clear as i could have been. Thanks for the clarification I've done it with 20+ people and since people just kept getting eliminated and I assumed all 3 moves were probably in play maybe there was some other rule about which is weakest or something. But that makes more sense.

でも文章自体はかなり自然だよ。強いて難点（？）を挙げるとすれば、上の文章はすこし男っぽい。

 

[Jintor]

自然 - is this nature as in "it's in his nature", nature as in "surrounded by nature", or both?

 

[upandaway]

自然 - is this nature as in "it's in his nature", nature as in "surrounded by nature", or both?

If I understand "in his nature" right in english then I don't think it works, but it works for literal nature and things like "it's natural for him"

 

[AmethystEnd]

自然 - is this nature as in "it's in his nature", nature as in "surrounded by nature", or both?

Nature in "It's in his nature" is more like 性格.

自然 is like how Gacha-pin used it above: "The post itself was quite natural."

 

[TheSporkWithin]

自然 - is this nature as in "it's in his nature", nature as in "surrounded by nature", or both?

It means both "nature," as in "this area is known for its nature and wilderness;" as well as meaning "natural," as in "that sentence doesn't sound very natural."

Basically, it's a rare case of a word functioning nearly identically to a word ("natural" in this case) in English, including having similar connotations and multiple uses, so don't overthink it.

 

[Jintor]

It means both "nature," as in "this area is known for its nature and wilderness;" as well as meaning "natural," as in "that sentence doesn't sound very natural."

Basically, it's a rare case of a word functioning nearly identically to a word ("natural" in this case) in English, including having similar connotations and multiple uses, so don't overthink it.

bizarre! this never happens

 

[Resilient]

bizarre! this never happens

lol i know right. Jintor, when are you due back in AU?

 

[Jintor]

来年の七月頃

 

[TheSporkWithin]

bizarre! this never happens

You can even make it into an adverb (自然&#12395 which can be used pretty much identically to the English word "naturally." 彼は自然に話した- he spoke naturally. 自然に植えたキノコ - naturally-grown mushrooms.

 

[Jintor]

this must be sorcery of some kind

 

[stump sock]

bizarre! this never happens

I came across another one a few days ago and it tripped me out. Wish I could remember what it was now

 

[AmethystEnd]

Is there a functional difference between　ほど　and ぐらい　in contexts patterned after the following?:

Edit 1: It seems くらい is more common than ぐらい in this structure, so please consider that instead

毎日食べられるほど好きです。

毎日食べられるぐらい好きです。

If there is, can I get a detailed explanation please? Or is one just unnatural compared to the other (in conversation as opposed to online)?

Edit 2:

The reason I ask is both seem equally common online, going by google search results for the following (including quotes so the searches are for the exact wording):

"毎日食べられるくらい"; 24,400 results
vs
"毎日食べられるほど"; 26,600 results

Those numbers suggest to me that both are usable and correct, so I'd like to know if there's a difference in nuance or subtle difference in meaning/function.

This is how I've generally checked if my wording is natural: I'll see if there are several thousand uses of the same exact phrase if I search with quotes on google and then browse through Japanese-only sites to make sure I'm not just catching Japanese learners making mistakes.

Edit 3:

Giving an example context:

A: とんかつが好きですか。

B: はい、毎日食べられるくらい好きです。|| はい、毎日食べられるほど好きです。

 

[elhav]

Is there a functional difference between　ほど　and ぐらい　in contexts patterned after the following?:

毎日食べられるほど好きです。

毎日食べられるぐらい好きです。

If there is, can I get a detailed explanation please? Or is one just unnatural compared to the other?

I would also like someone to answer regarding this specific case, because I'm not too sure myself.

To me personally, くらい feels wrong in this sentence. Although both can mean "as much as" among other things, ほど feels more appropriate, but maybe it's just me. The reason being that I personally use くらい as "to that extent" only when making a comparison between two things. like:
"俺があいつぐらい面白いだったらいいのに” as in "I wish I was as interesting as that guy".

ほど seems more fitting because its most basic meaning is "extent" or limit". So "I like to eat as much as I can" is like " I like being able to eat to my limit" or something like that.

I think you can also write it like this, though I'm not sure:
”毎日たべられるだけがすきです”

 

[Kurita]

Nvm misread

 

[AmethystEnd]

I would also like someone to answer regarding this specific case, because I'm not too sure myself.

To me personally, くらい feels wrong in this sentence. Although both can mean "as much as" among other things, ほど feels more appropriate, but maybe it's just me. The reason being that I personally use くらい as "to that extent" only when making a comparison between two things. like:
"俺があいつぐらい面白いだったらいいのに” as in "I wish I was as interesting as that guy".

ほど seems more fitting because its most basic meaning is "extent" or limit". So "I like to eat as much as I can" is like " I like being able to eat to my limit" or something like that.

I think you can also write it like this, though I'm not sure:
”毎日たべられるだけがすきです”

I appreciate the response. Please see my edits above for clarification.

Edit: I just realized I think you're misinterpreting the sentence.

毎日食べられるほど好きです
and
毎日食べられるくらい好きです

mean something to the tune of "I like [it] so much I could eat it every day.", not "I like to eat as much as I can".

 

[elhav]

I appreciate the response. Please see my edits above for clarification.

Edit: I just realized I think you're misinterpreting the sentence.

毎日食べられるほど好きです
and
毎日食べられるくらい好きです

mean something to the tune of "I like [it] so much I could eat it every day.", not "I like to eat as much as I can".

Well now it makes much more sense lol. Should have figured that out in the first place.

In that case I really can't find a any difference between the two, sorry :x

Would be interesting to hear from a native Japanese speaker which one feels more natural to them.