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[RangerBAD]

So I'm writing a message introducing myself in Japanese and I need feedback.

こんいちは！　レンジャーバッドです。　一年間に日本語を勉強しています。　俺がだれかに練習を話してくれたいです。　よろしくお願いします。

Ultimately, I wanted to say I was looking for someone to practice speaking with, but I wasn't sure how. I'm pretty poor at constructing sentences. What have I done wrong, JapaneseLearningGAF? lol

 

[AmethystEnd]

So I'm writing a message introducing myself in Japanese and I need feedback.

こんいちは！　レンジャーバッドです。　一年間に日本語を勉強しています。　俺がだれかに練習を話してくれたいです。　よろしくお願いします。

Ultimately, I wanted to say I was looking for someone to practice speaking with, but I wasn't sure how. I'm pretty poor at constructing sentences. What have I done wrong, JapaneseLearningGAF? lol

Well, to begin with, your こんにちわ is spelled wrong .

Gimme a sec, just got home. Will edit this post with more.

Edit:

レンジャーバッドです。 Should be fine. と申します instead of です if you need to be more polite.

俺がだれかに練習を話してくれたいです。　Definitely wouldn't use 俺 for the sake of politeness. Beyond that, you've already been talking about yourself so you don't really need "I" in the sentence at all.

The rest of the sentence is odd to me. 練習を話したい would be "I want to speak practice", for example.

I'd say 練習のために誰かと話したいです。 "For practice, want to talk to someone." Though, if there's a native speaker in the thread, please tell me if this is an unnatural way to ask.

 

[RangerBAD]

Well, to begin with, your こんにちわ is spelled wrong .

Gimme a sec, just got home. Will edit this post with more.

Genki teaches it the way I did it, so I just did what I learned.

 

[Darksol]

Genki teaches it the way I did it, so I just did what I learned.

It's こんにちは

 

[RangerBAD]

It's こんにちは

Oh, yeah, I see the typo now.

 

[AmethystEnd]

Oh, yeah, I see the typo now.

Bleh, sorry it took so long. I accidentally refreshed the page and lost everything I typed the first time.

 

[Porcile]

僕にスカイプで話して。日本語で話さないから、言葉をおねがいします。かわいい日本人、ありがとう。

Surely that would work?

 

[AmethystEnd]

僕にスカイプで話して。日本語で話さないから、言葉をおねがいします。かわいい日本人、ありがとう。

Surely that would work?

Thought you were being serious until the last sentence.

 

[Porcile]

Thought you were being serious until the last sentence.

...buuuttt the rest of it?!?!

 

[elhav]

So I'm writing a message introducing myself in Japanese and I need feedback.

こんいちは！　レンジャーバッドです。　一年間に日本語を勉強しています。　俺がだれかに練習を話してくれたいです。　よろしくお願いします。

Ultimately, I wanted to say I was looking for someone to practice speaking with, but I wasn't sure how. I'm pretty poor at constructing sentences. What have I done wrong, JapaneseLearningGAF? lol

in this part: 俺がだれかに練習を話してくれたいです
you can use: ”練習をしてもらいたい” or ”練習を手伝ってもらいたい”.

話す isn't the right verb here, but you have several other options to choose from. The other problem with it is that you can't write てくれたい. You can write ”てくれませんか” as in a polite question, but if you want to write it in the same manner' you'll have to use ”てもらいたい”

 

[AmethystEnd]

...buuuttt the rest of it?!?!

僕とスカイプで話してください。日本語で話せないので、全部教えてください。払いますから。

 

[elhav]

僕にスカイプで話して。日本語で話さないから、言葉をおねがいします。かわいい日本人、ありがとう。

Surely that would work?

Well, you better make sure the japanese person you're writing to is indeed cute but yeah, AmethystEnd gave you all the right fixes and adjustments

 

[AmethystEnd]

Well, you better make sure the japanese person you're writing to is indeed cute but yeah, AmethystEnd gave you all the right fixes and adjustments

Whoa, whoa, don't take my post seriously either, haha. I thought we were messing around. I said I wanted them to teach me everything and even offered to pay.

 

[Porcile]

Whoa, whoa, don't take my post seriously either, haha. I thought we were messing around. I said I wanted them to teach me everything and even offered to pay.

I'm actually quite happy I understood the serious amendment - haha. So in fact, I did actually learn something tonight. Thank you, 先生.

 

[elhav]

Whoa, whoa, don't take my post seriously either, haha. I thought we were messing around. I said I wanted them to teach me everything and even offered to pay.

shhhh it's okay if no one knows
Yeah no but seriously, a correct version would be like:
"僕とスカイプで話してくれませんか？日本語で話せないので、教えてくれませんか？かわいい日本人さん、答えを期待しています。

 

[RangerBAD]

in this part: 俺がだれかに練習を話してくれたいです
you can use: ”練習をしてもらいたい” or ”練習を手伝ってもらいたい”.

話す isn't the right verb here, but you have several other options to choose from. The other problem with it is that you can't write てくれたい. You can write ”てくれませんか” as in a polite question, but if you want to write it in the same manner' you'll have to use ”てもらいたい”

That's helpful.

Well, to begin with, your こんにちわ is spelled wrong .

Gimme a sec, just got home. Will edit this post with more.

Edit:

レンジャーバッドです。 Should be fine. と申します instead of です if you need to be more polite.

俺がだれかに練習を話してくれたいです。　Definitely wouldn't use 俺 for the sake of politeness. Beyond that, you've already been talking about yourself so you don't really need "I" in the sentence at all.

The rest of the sentence is odd to me. 練習を話したい would be "I want to speak practice", for example.

I'd say 練習のために誰かと話したいです。 "For practice, want to talk to someone." Though, if there's a native speaker in the thread, please tell me if this is an unnatural way to ask.

I see where I went wrong for the most part, and ために is very helpful. と is a pretty big glaring error as well. Why the の? Also, can I say 一年間に一人で as in I'm studying on my own (without classes or a teacher)?

 

[AmethystEnd]

That's helpful.

I see where I went wrong for the most part, and ために is very helpful. と is a pretty big glaring error as well. Why the の?

Because 練習 is a noun, so it needs a の before ために.

練習するために wouldn't.

 

[RangerBAD]

Because 練習 is a noun, so it needs a の before ために.

練習するために wouldn't.

For qualifying?

 

[Resilient]

For qualifying?

練習のために

Nounのために

ために is generally used to say, "for the sake of" or "in order to".

In this case, it means, "for the sake of the noun, I will do.../please give...".

The noun here being 練習.

 

[elhav]

と is a pretty big glaring error as well.

Technically it's okay to write your name and then です after it, so what you wrote is ok. However, it indeed would be more polite to write と申します. I would suggest writing と言います if you don't want it to sound too formal, but that's up to you.

 

[AmethystEnd]

For qualifying?

Yeah, to qualify the noun　ため with a verb, it's just verb ため (ex: 勉強するた&#12417.

But as you know, noun showing possession of another noun needs の (ex: 先生の&#23478. 練習 and ため are both nouns, so it would need to be 練習のために (for the sake of practice).

I hope I'm interpreting the question right.

Technically it's okay to write your name and then です after it, so what you wrote is ok. However, it indeed would be more polite to write と申します. I would suggest writing と言います if you don't want it to sound too formal, but that's up to you.

I think he meant the と after 誰か, but I'm not sure.

 

[RangerBAD]

Technically it's okay to write your name and then です after it, so what you wrote is ok. However, it indeed would be more polite to write と申します. I would suggest writing と言います if you don't want it to sound too formal, but that's up to you.

Well, I meant と as in "with", but that's helpful advice too.

 

[elhav]

Well, I meant と as in "with", but that's helpful advice too.

gotcha.
Now that I look at it though, if you would write the sentence with the same structure(てくれる、てもらいたい etc), you should stay with 誰かに and not 誰かと

 

[Jintor]

Well, I meant と as in "with", but that's helpful advice too.

と also pulls double duty as a quotation particle, so it indicates where a quote has just ended

edit oh I see. Ugh, tired

 

[AmethystEnd]

Well, I meant と as in "with", but that's helpful advice too.

I missed your edit from before. Yeah, adding 一人で would be fine.

 

[RangerBAD]

I also wanted to say I can help with their English too.

英語も手伝ってあげます。 Does this work?

 

[elhav]

I also wanted to say I can help with their English too.

英語も手伝ってあげます。 Does this work?

日本語を教えてくれる代わりに英語を教えてあげます would probably fit better.

You can add 私に at the beginning to make it more formal and stuff( 私に日本語を教えてくれる代わりに英語を教えてあげま&#12377. It all depends on the person you're talking to. You can also simply write: 代わりに英語を教えてあげます

 

[RangerBAD]

日本語を教えてくれる代わりに英語を教えてあげます would probably fit better.

I don't know I would really be "teaching" them though (since I'm not qualified), but that sentence encompasses everything a lot better. I'm just writing a general message that's not exactly aimed at a specific person, by the way.

 

[elhav]

I don't know I would really be "teaching" them though (since I'm not qualified), but that sentence encompasses everything a lot better.

So instead of 教える you can use 英語の勉強を手伝います（手伝ってあげる etc)

 

[RangerBAD]

Well, here's hoping I find someone to talk to.

 

[shanshan310]

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。

マジっすか？うれしい＾＾　男っぽいって言うのはちょっと恥ずかしくて驚くけど　笑　最近少年漫画を読むし、男の友達と話しているばっかりからかも。

Technically it's okay to write your name and then です after it, so what you wrote is ok. However, it indeed would be more polite to write と申します. I would suggest writing と言います if you don't want it to sound too formal, but that's up to you.

I agree with using と言います if you aren't going to continue using any more 謙譲語 after 申す.

 

[Mik2121]

I also wanted to say I can help with their English too.

英語も手伝ってあげます。 Does this work?

Others already helped you out with this but I would like to add a small detail that, it might be just me, but I usually tend to care about.

If you are just offering help even if the other person didn't directly ask for it (though you know they would appreciate it), I wouldn't use the あげます part. Just leave it as 英語の勉強を手伝います　(手伝いましょうか？etc...). Again, this might just be me but it feels like the あげます part makes it sound like the other person was begging for it. Nobody will call you out on it, obviously, but I tend to leave the あげます out of the phrase in many instances.

Some other people's opinions on this would be interesting though, specially someone native like Gachapin.

 

[Porcile]

Well, here's hoping I find someone to talk to.

Where abouts are you asking this question?

I need more speaking practice too. One hour a week isn't enough. So if you do find a speaking partner I would be curious to know where you're able to get one from.

 

[elhav]

Others already helped you out with this but I would like to add a small detail that, it might be just me, but I usually tend to care about.

If you are just offering help even if the other person didn't directly ask for it (though you know they would appreciate it), I wouldn't use the あげます part. Just leave it as 英語の勉強を手伝います　(手伝いましょうか？etc...). Again, this might just be me but it feels like the あげます part makes it sound like the other person was begging for it. Nobody will call you out on it, obviously, but I tend to leave the あげます out of the phrase in many instances.

Some other people's opinions on this would be interesting though, specially someone native like Gachapin.

I agree with you. It does sound more natural this way.

On a side note, I notice that people studying Japanese tend to write too formally when trying to write messeges and stuff.

For example, writing と申します Feels a bit too much. Writing your name and then です feels more natural to me.

Writing ないです instead of あらませわ feels less polite and more natural as well.

Properly using のです can also make your Japanese more natural and less stiff.

Obviously though, if the person you are talking to is the Japanese prime minister or something, try to be as formal as you can
But most Japanese people, I think, would prefer it not too formal.

 

[Jintor]

でも、仕事で挨拶も「と申します」を使うことはいいですか？

god i hope that made sense

 

[elhav]

でも、仕事で挨拶も「と申します」を使うことはいいですか？

god i hope that made sense

いいよもちろん

 

[AmethystEnd]

I agree with you. It does sound more natural this way.

On a side note, I notice that people studying Japanese tend to write too formally when trying to write messeges and stuff.

For example, writing と申します Feels a bit too much. Writing your name and then です feels more natural to me.

Writing ないです instead of あらませわ feels less polite and more natural as well.

Properly using のです can also make your Japanese more natural and less stiff.

Obviously though, if the person you are talking to is the Japanese prime minister or something, try to be as formal as you can
But most Japanese people, I think, would prefer it not too formal.

Do you mean ないです instead of ありません?

 

[elhav]

Do you mean ないです instead of ありません?

Yes it was a typo. I hate writing in Japanese on my Phone

 

[AmethystEnd]

Yes it was a typo. I hate writing in Japanese on my Phone

Ahh, yeah, me too.

 

[RangerBAD]

Others already helped you out with this but I would like to add a small detail that, it might be just me, but I usually tend to care about.

If you are just offering help even if the other person didn't directly ask for it (though you know they would appreciate it), I wouldn't use the あげます part. Just leave it as 英語の勉強を手伝います　(手伝いましょうか？etc...). Again, this might just be me but it feels like the あげます part makes it sound like the other person was begging for it. Nobody will call you out on it, obviously, but I tend to leave the あげます out of the phrase in many instances.

Some other people's opinions on this would be interesting though, specially someone native like Gachapin.

Well, I made the change anyhow.

Where abouts are you asking this question?

I need more speaking practice too. One hour a week isn't enough. So if you do find a speaking partner I would be curious to know where you're able to get one from.

It's italki and I expect very little. I'll probably have to actively seek someone rather than someone approaching me.

 

[elhav]

Well, I made the change anyhow.



It's italki and I expect very little. I'll probably have to actively seek someone rather than someone approaching me.

Try Interpals.net

It's pretty fun, and you'll find a ton of Japanese speaking folks there who want to learn English and other languages, and can help you with your Japanese

 

[AmethystEnd]

Welp. Just got out of my Japanese midterm which had a heavy focus on 尊敬語.

Part of it was a listening thing where 4 people were talking and you had to place them in order of their position above or below each other based just on the way they spoke/ what word forms they used.

Aaaaand I assumed highest position -> lowest position left to right on the answer sheet.

Turns out I did every single one of those backwards. I told my teacher "So uh...all of my answers are backwards for this part" and he said he'd "take it into consideration" but damn it all any way.

Ugh. Whatever, it was 5 points of the whole midterm.

 

[elhav]

Welp. Just got out of my Japanese midterm which had a heavy focus on 尊敬語.

Part of it was a listening thing where 4 people were talking and you had to place them in order of their position above or below each other based just on the way they spoke/ what word forms they used.

Aaaaand I assumed highest position -> lowest position left to right on the answer sheet.

Turns out I did every single one of those backwards. I told my teacher "So uh...all of my answers are backwards for this part" and he said he'd "take it into consideration" but damn it all any way.

Ugh. Whatever, it was 5 points of the whole midterm.

Well at least you were right....

 

[AmethystEnd]

Well at least you were right....

That's partially how I feel too. Obviously I understood the conversations properly if all 5 answers are written correctly but in reverse because of how I interpreted the answer sheet. I could understand him doubting me if I was like "Uhh, the first and third ones are backwards but the other three are right", but all 5 are backwards in this case.

 

[Resilient]

Welp. Just got out of my Japanese midterm which had a heavy focus on 尊敬語.

Part of it was a listening thing where 4 people were talking and you had to place them in order of their position above or below each other based just on the way they spoke/ what word forms they used.

Aaaaand I assumed highest position -> lowest position left to right on the answer sheet.

Turns out I did every single one of those backwards. I told my teacher "So uh...all of my answers are backwards for this part" and he said he'd "take it into consideration" but damn it all any way.

Ugh. Whatever, it was 5 points of the whole midterm.

1. Dominated!
2. Unfortunate they were backwards..
3. Like elhav said, at least you know you dominated it!

 

[RangerBAD]

I'm really worried that my studies are going to stall because none of the books I'm looking at are in stock.

 

[Resilient]

I'm really worried that my studies are going to stall because none of the books I'm looking at are in stock.

It will happen; just revise existing content or do flash cards till the books arrive or are in stock. That's the nature of learning a language. If you get desperate I'll try and scan you some stuff.

Also, a while back I said I'd get some N4 content for people - my tutor wasn't able to source any, so that's why I wasn't able to pass it on to you all - apologies!

 

[Jintor]

i feel like i got this weird burst of "I can do it!" over the weekend that led to me listening to albums and trying to learn the lyrics and looking up words etc and all that good stuff. Like something clicked. Not in terms of speaking/reading necessarily, like... in terms of learning.

 

[Resilient]

i feel like i got this weird burst of "I can do it!" over the weekend that led to me listening to albums and trying to learn the lyrics and looking up words etc and all that good stuff. Like something clicked. Not in terms of speaking/reading necessarily, like... in terms of learning.

usually when i read something that i struggled with ages ago, or understand something properly on first pass, i get that little burst. you probably did something special, like understand what one of those dirty mags you were reading said

 

[shanshan310]

I'm really worried that my studies are going to stall because none of the books I'm looking at are in stock.

Hey, don't worry. There are so many other ways to study outside of textbooks. Just work on revising what you know, and try to study through other means. Look up vocabulary from tv shows / books / songs and learn grammar with that tae kim site. This is a great chance for you to use the language in context while you take a break from textbook study.

You might also want to check site like white rabbit press and kinokuniya, both of which have pretty big ranges and ship internationally as far as I know.