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[FINALFANTASYDOG]

I really like the SRS method but at times I'm way too lazy to go making my own sentences,

Does anyone know of any books that come with a ton of sentences/passages with grammar points(I see this so often with Japanese Manga meant for learning English)? Most textbooks actually seem really skimpy or just way too easy on passages/sentence examples.

 

[angelfly]

Basic Japanese Sentence Patterns That's what I use for sentence practice.

 

[Angelus Errare]

For the most part I do. I'm mainly wondering where to buy the kanji drill books and the elementary school textbooks that Zefah and others mentioned before.

Use this until you buy a book

http://japanese.about.com/library/blkodgrade1.htm

Abe has been doing the about.Japanese site since 1997, she has pretty much all 1k daily kanji in their correct grade setup. Basically the same setup as a Japanese child

Personally what I did was make cards for mnemosyne, based on the grades Abe has provided.

Works wonders

 

[Dabookerman]

Yo!

Was wondering: What does this mean?
外箱に多少のスレがあります

 

[Jamesfrom818]

I wonder why I have such a hard time remembering katakana. Hiragana is a snap but I always seem to forget katakana.

 

[typhonsentra]

Probably because a lot of them look so similar. Shi and Tsu.... grrr.

 

[Dabookerman]

Probably because a lot of them look so similar. Shi and Tsu.... grrr.

N and So

well, it's not as bad as Shi and Tsu.

 

[Zoe]

Well, the hurdle with katakana is it isn't used anywhere near as much as hiragana. I know I'm still hard-pressed to remember how to write some of the least common ones.

The シツンソ thing is probably easier to recognize in hand-written text. The stroke directions make a difference.

 

[RevenantKioku]

I really like the SRS method but at times I'm way too lazy to go making my own sentences,

Does anyone know of any books that come with a ton of sentences/passages with grammar points(I see this so often with Japanese Manga meant for learning English)? Most textbooks actually seem really skimpy or just way too easy on passages/sentence examples.

Well, you should never be making your own sentences. But the Grammar Dictionaries I listed in the first post are pretty good for giving you a nice mix of stuff.

 

[Masked Man]

Yo!

Was wondering: What does this mean?
外箱に多少のスレがあります

How many threads are outside of the box?

 

[Rpgmonkey]

The シツンソ thing is probably easier to recognize in hand-written text. The stroke directions make a difference.

Took me so long to get used to those (compared to the other ones anyway)...

And assuming I got transitivity down, a transitive verb only uses を, and I can't use that when using an intransitive verb, correct?

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Yo!

Was wondering: What does this mean?
外箱に多少のスレがあります

It would translate as: "The outer casing is a bit scuffed (worn out)."

Does this have to do with a guitar or some other instrument by chance?

 

[Heidalloon]

This has been bothering me for a few days, but I'm not sure why the te-form is used for a verb in some instances. For example, there'll be a sentence like "早くきてよ" or "名前おぼえてよ"
Why is the te-form used here? It's used at the end of the sentence so it isn't connecting to anything and it's also not something like ～ている, unless something is being omitted. This is probably really simple and I'm just forgetting something, but I still can't figure it out. ^^;

 

[Zoe]

This has been bothering me for a few days, but I'm not sure why the te-form is used for a verb in some instances. For example, there'll be a sentence like "早くきてよ" or "名前おぼえてよ"
Why is the te-form used here? It's used at the end of the sentence so it isn't connecting to anything and it's also not something like ～ている, unless something is being omitted. This is probably really simple and I'm just forgetting something, but I still can't figure it out. ^^;

下さい

 

[Heidalloon]

下さい

Thanks. It makes sense now.

 

[FINALFANTASYDOG]

Random Question here: do any of you folks ever find that after picking up intensive grammar books it actually ends up making your comprehension of Japanese slower and less capable overall?

Case in Point: I've had some free time, and for the past week I've basically just set in my room reading Japanese grammar books designed for deciphering literature(Jay rubin's and some others, all essentially linguistic like books)

I then went out to go sell some games today and could no longer properly comprehend what people were saying to me/how to respond because I was sitting there in my mind wondering how the use of ga vs wa other particles worked in the sentence people were saying, what was thier true meanings/why did they use ,te in that sentence, where is the ,te pointing to, what is the writtern form/origin of that sentence, etc. When the people really were not thinking about their grammar at all and when I didn't think about it I didn't have trouble understanding them.

I'm assuming it's just over analysis of thing , but even Manga that just to be ridiculous easy has turned hard in this past week due to me getting in this mindset that every sentence contains some weird grammatical puzzles.

not so fun.

 

[zoku88]

Ok, so I want to say
I want to habitually go ...

so, like would it be a combination of itte iru

and the -tain form of iru?

So like, ...行って居たいん or something?

Does this even make sense?

 

[Zoe]

Random Question here: do any of you folks ever find that after picking up intensive grammar books it actually ends up making your comprehension of Japanese slower and less capable overall?

Well, you can probably compare that to the way kids learn their first language (or at least this is how it works with English). Their first phase of grammar is actually more accurate than the next phase because they speak by repeating back what they hear (conjugation and such). But once they start to try to "figure out" what they're actually saying, the conjugation gets messed up because they apply rules in places that are supposed to be exceptions.

Sounds like you're somewhere in that second phase.

I think formal language instruction is supposed to get rid of that problem though, or at least lessen it. That's why lots of people end up learning more about English grammar in their foreign language classes than in their English classes :lol

 

[zoku88]

Ok, so I want to say
I want to habitually go ...

so, like would it be a combination of itte iru

and the -tain form of iru?

So like, ...行って居たいん or something?

Does this even make sense?

Bumping this since I kinda want to write an email to someone today and don't want to embarrass myself with poor grammar.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I don't really understand what you mean by "I want to habitually go ..."

 

[Link1110]

Something I've been noticing in some games: Is it normal under some circumstances for men to end their sentences with わ? Not as far as I know, but in Zelda for SNES, Ganon says: 世界を　支配するわがのぞみ必ずかなえてみせるわ！　Also, I forgot the exact sentence, but Slay/Rune in Phantasy Star 4 just said it as well. I know that gay men sometimes use it, but Ganon and Rune don't strike me as gay.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Something I've been noticing in some games: Is it normal under some circumstances for men to end their sentences with わ? Not as far as I know, but in Zelda for SNES, Ganon says: 世界を　支配するわがのぞみ必ずかなえてみせるわ！　Also, I forgot the exact sentence, but Slay/Rune in Phantasy Star 4 just said it as well. I know that gay men sometimes use it, but Ganon and Rune don't strike me as gay.

It is a different meaning than the effeminate わ. There are many circumstances where men will use わ.

 

[RevenantKioku]

You gonna help the dude out or are you going to stroke yourself to your Japanese knowledge like you've been apt to do recently?

 

[Deleted member 17706]

You gonna help the dude out or are you going to stroke yourself to your Japanese knowledge like you've been apt to do recently?

When did I stroke my Japanese knowledge? I can't think of a good explanation for when people use わ. I might try and write something up later, but I would recommend just learning through context at this point. I just didn't want him to think that Ganon was being portrayed as effeminate or as a homosexual and that there are indeed times when men will use わ.

 

[zoku88]

I don't really understand what you mean by "I want to habitually go ..."

Maybe it's a weird translation.

Like, you know how you can add -iru to the -te form of a verb and make it mean some kind of continuing action?

This is just curiosity now, since I already sent the email :lol :lol

 

[Zoe]

^ How about you give the full sentence of what you wanted to say? It's a little hard to get without the context.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Maybe it's a weird translation.

Like, you know how you can add -iru to the -te form of a verb and make it mean some kind of continuing action?

This is just curiosity now, since I already sent the email :lol :lol

By habitually go, do you mean like go to school or to a gym? You should use 通いたい (kayoitai) in those situations. I am sorry if I don't understand what you are saying.

 

[zoku88]

^ How about you give the full sentence of what you wanted to say? It's a little hard to get without the context.

Yea sure.

This is, more or less, the full context of the email:

"On mondays and fridays, I have a conflict. I want to go at 1 pm. Is that ok?"

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Yea sure.

This is, more or less, the full context of the email:

"On mondays and fridays, I have a conflict. I want to go at 1 pm. Is that ok?"

月曜日と金曜日は１時でも大丈夫ですか。

月曜日と金曜日は１時に行きたいのですが。

These might be okay. Where is it that you are going and who are you sending the mail to? Is it like a friend or someone that you should be paying respect to?

 

[Zoe]

Sounds like you were making it too hard for yourself :lol

Sometimes you'll find it's easier to try to think of what you want to say in Japanese from the start rather than think up something in English and then translating it. I would have just gone with something like 月、金曜日に予定があるので、1時はどうですか?

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Sounds like you were making it too hard for yourself :lol

Sometimes you'll find it's easier to try to think of what you want to say in Japanese from the start rather than think up something in English and then translating it. I would have just gone with something like 月、金曜日に予定があるので、1時はどうですか?

Indeed. Then again, the way you say it really depends on the position he is in. If someone is going out of their way to take the time to meet him, then you probably don't want to be using どうですか. It would really help if we knew where he was going and what his position is in the grand scheme of things

 

[zoku88]

Thanks for the help guys. To answer your question, it's actually one of my sensei I'm emailing.

It's not actually a meeting, it's classtime. We have lots of Japanese sections during the day, and I can't make the section I was assigned to on MF.

 

[Zoe]

Then yeah, you'd definitely want to go with Zefah's tone :lol

But you know, my Japanese teachers always used to communicate with us in English for official stuff like that.

 

[zoku88]

Then yeah, you'd definitely want to go with Zefah's tone :lol

But you know, my Japanese teachers always used to communicate with us in English for official stuff like that.

Our teachers will usually use Japanese for simple things and both English and Japanese for more complicated things.

She actually replied in Japanese, even though she actually used kanji (and the word itself) that hasn't been taught yet >.>

 

[Jupiter_Shrooms]

bah! This is going to sound newbish, but how do I type つ, but with those marks at the top, so that it's pronounced ず?

 

[Zoe]

bah! This is going to sound newbish, but how do I type つ, but with those marks at the top, so that it's pronounced ず?

du

 

[Hitokage]

Any good websites that cover japanese etymology, but written for a student of the language?

 

[vas_a_morir]

日本のＧＡＦＦＥＲＳ．．．　質問がある。

酔っ払うと酔うの間の相違は何ですか？　　

And, in case I'm horribly, horribly wrong when asking that question(Likely), as I am still a low-level learner...

What is the difference between these two godan verbs: Both meaning to get drunk in their un-conjugated form.

酔っ払う

Ａｎｄ

酔う？

Really, I'm sure they mean the same thing. But, as I'm sure you guys know full well that drinking is an important part of Japanese culture, am I looking at the difference between "drunk" and "intoxicated?" When do I use one, when do I use the other? 手伝ってください。

 

[vas_a_morir]

One more question:　This one isn't as stupid. Still stupid, though.

騒げ

Ｖｓ．

騒いで。　

僕に教えてください。

 

[Zoe]

騒げ - command
騒いで - request

 

[vas_a_morir]

騒げ - command
騒いで - request

(Sung to the tune of My God is an awesome God)

My Zoe, is my awesome bro.
He helps, me with nihongo.
When most, would just say no
My Zoe, is my awesome bro.

 

[vas_a_morir]

Question Withdrawn.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

日本のＧＡＦＦＥＲＳ．．．　質問がある。

酔っ払うと酔うの間の相違は何ですか？　　

And, in case I'm horribly, horribly wrong when asking that question(Likely), as I am still a low-level learner...

What is the difference between these two godan verbs: Both meaning to get drunk in their un-conjugated form.

酔っ払う

Ａｎｄ

酔う？

Really, I'm sure they mean the same thing. But, as I'm sure you guys know full well that drinking is an important part of Japanese culture, am I looking at the difference between "drunk" and "intoxicated?" When do I use one, when do I use the other? 手伝ってください。

酔っ払うと酔うの間の相違は何ですか？

You might want to phrase it this way instead: 「酔っ払う」と「酔う」との違いは何ですか？

Anyway, the two are fairly interchangable, except that 酔っ払う comes off stronger and kind of implies that the subject is more than just drunk or 酔う. Kind of like getting "shitfaced", but not quite so vulgar. Also, while 酔っ払っている is generally only used in regards to being drunk on alcohol, 酔う is used for a lot more than alcohol related intoxication.

You can say 乗り物に酔う to say you get motion sickness, or say 車酔い to express car sickness. You can also say something like 勝利（しょうり）に酔う to say you are high / intoxicated off your victory. You can use 酔う for quite a few things.

 

[BuRT!]

Quick question; what conjugation is this, if any?

"僕が泣いてる"

I'm assuming the base word is なく but I haven't been able to find info on this "いてる" conjugation.

 

[Hitokage]

なく -> ないて (conjugation)
ないて いる -> ないてる (contraction)

 

[Askia47]

Up to 1500 kanji and RTK...and ive been stuck there for weeks..... Also my grammar and Vocab Have gotten bad too. MUST FOCUS.

 

[Hitokage]

Up to 1500 kanji and RTK...and ive been stuck there for weeks..... Also my grammar and Vocab Have gotten bad too. MUST FOCUS.

Cram less, read more?

 

[NotMSRP]

Discount ends 9/25.

 

[Askia47]

Cram less, read more?

yeah that makes sense. I stopped reading alot over the summer. These days i just read RTK at sometimes at night, but then i forget alot of the kanji i just read over. Its frustrating. I read 50 kanji on Thursday, but i don't really remember many of them now.

 

[BuRT!]

なく -> ないて (conjugation)
ないて いる -> ないてる (contraction)

ohhh, ok.

I'm taking a break from learning more grammar, so I havent gotten to the て form yet but I have heard of it. So it would be like 私はたべる vs 私は食べている; I eat vs. Im eating?

I'd assume 誰かが泣く isn't grammatically correct but maybe it just sounds weird in english.