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[Masked Man]

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.

Just use them arbitrarily--write them down, etc. I just learned the kanji for "ring" (指輪, yubiwa) a few days ago, and it's already set in my memory. Focus on using the proper stroke order and painting a picture in your mind. Pretend to draw the kanji a few times by closing your eyes and trying to visualize the kanji coming together as your hand feigns the motions of sketching it out. I might also recommend saying the word itself as you do this.

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.

Precisely. 食べる can also be taken to mean "I will eat." That's a trend that holds true for most basic verbs, as far as I can tell.

And your last example is grammatically correct, although it might sound better as 誰かが泣いています。("Somebody is crying.")

 

[Metroid Killer]

The application for this years JLPT is due September 26th here in Copenhagen. I was wondering if I should do level 4, just so that's out of the way later on.

But the fee is pretty expensive, so I don't wanna go in and fail the test.

I've studied Japanese at the Copenhagen university for a year now(will be year and a half when the test comes), and I got around 600+ kanjis down.

I've heard from others that lvl 4 is a piece of cake... So should I sign up for it?

 

[Masked Man]

The application for this years JLPT is due September 26th here in Copenhagen. I was wondering if I should do level 4, just so that's out of the way later on.

But the fee is pretty expensive, so I don't wanna go in and fail the test.

I've studied Japanese at the Copenhagen university for a year now(will be year and a half when the test comes), and I got around 600+ kanjis down.

I've heard from others that lvl 4 is a piece of cake... So should I sign up for it?

From what I've heard, it might be better to simply save yourself the money, wait a while, and eventually just take one of the upper-level tests.

 

[Metroid Killer]

From what I've heard, it might be better to simply save yourself the money, wait a while, and eventually just take one of the upper-level tests.

Ok, for some reason I've understood that you can only take lvl 1, if you have passed lvl 2 etc.

Saves me some money then. Thanks!

 

[Angelus Errare]

Here's a Japanese -> English / English -> Japanese dictionary for windows and OSX

http://ziggr.com/mayjay/

Should add it to the main page

 

[Hitokage]

Here's a Japanese -> English / English -> Japanese dictionary for windows and OSX

http://ziggr.com/mayjay/

Should add it to the main page

Uh....... I see no reason why somebody would use this and not J-E Dict given the choice between the two.

 

[Angelus Errare]

Uh....... I see no reason why somebody would use this and not J-E Dict given the choice between the two.

Because J-E Dict doesn't work on Windows?

 

[sprsk]

Because J-E Dict doesn't work on Windows?

Go to: http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1C in firefox, right click the keyword box then click add a keyword to this search, type in jdic or whatever you want, and voila, jdic whenever you want! It's so easy! Just type jdic then the word you want in your address bar and it gives you the result!

 

[Askia47]

Just use them arbitrarily--write them down, etc. I just learned the kanji for "ring" (指輪, yubiwa) a few days ago, and it's already set in my memory. Focus on using the proper stroke order and painting a picture in your mind. Pretend to draw the kanji a few times by closing your eyes and trying to visualize the kanji coming together as your hand feigns the motions of sketching it out. I might also recommend saying the word itself as you do this.



Precisely. 食べる can also be taken to mean "I will eat." That's a trend that holds true for most basic verbs, as far as I can tell.

And your last example is grammatically correct, although it might sound better as 誰かが泣いています。("Somebody is crying.")

thanks for the insight, ill try it out.

 

[test_account]

I have some questions about som japanese words.


Kirei = I see that this means pretty and (?) clean, but are those 2 different meanings? Is it like "a pretty picture" and "a clean car"? A car can be ugly, but still clean, so are we talking clean as in "washed/cleaned" or clean as in "pretty"?


Benri = Convinient. Is this a noun or an adjective, or both? Like "it is convinient" and "that car is convinient" (if its possible to say it like that)


Dokidoki = Excited. Can this word be used for anything that you're excited about? The reason why i ask about this is because the word is listed under "dating words", so i wonder if its only excitment around dating and love etc. I guess its not though, but i'll ask so i'm sure


Hitorikko = Only child. More of an english question, but is this when you dont have any brother(s) or sister(s)?


Ehagaki = Picture post card. Also more of an english question, but is this one of those "tourist" postcards with pictures of stuff (sometimes pictures of the country where you buy the postcard) that you write on the backside of it?

 

[Hitokage]

benri = Convinient. Is this a noun or an adjective, or both? Like "it is convinient" and "that car is convinient" (if its possible to say it like that)

It's a pseudoadjective. Grammatically it's more of a noun, but it's used as an adjective. Usually this means it's a chinese loanword and not a native japanese word, much like how you have verbs that conjugate on their own and verbs that use suru.

Hitorikko = Only child. More of an english question, but is this when you dont have any brother(s) or sister(s)?

Yes.

 

[test_account]

It's a pseudoadjective. Grammatically it's more of a noun, but it's used as an adjective. Usually this means it's a chinese loanword and not a native japanese word, much like how you have verbs that conjugate on their own and verbs that use suru.

Yes.

Ok, so you can both say something like "benri no kuruma" (a convinient car) for example and "benri desu" (it is convinient)?

Ok, then i know for sure what hitorikko means

Thanks for the help, much appriciated!

 

[okno]

Ok, so you can both say something like "benri no kuruma" (a convinient car) for example and "benri desu" (it is convinient)?

Ok, then i know for sure what hitorikko means

Thanks for the help, much appriciated!

As I understand it, benri(na) is used more to say something is conveniest, such as "my house is close to the train station, it's convenient", but is NOT meant to be used to say "it is a convenient car". To say "that car is convenient" works, though.

 

[Masked Man]

Dokidoki = Excited. Can this word be used for anything that you're excited about? The reason why i ask about this is because the word is listed under "dating words", so i wonder if its only excitment around dating and love etc. I guess its not though, but i'll ask so i'm sure

Yep. ドキドキ is actually an onomatopoeia--in essence, your heart beating faster out of nervousness or excitement. It can thus be used for nervousness, worrying, excitement, and so forth.

 

[test_account]

As I understand it, benri(na) is used more to say something is conveniest, such as "my house is close to the train station, it's convenient", but is NOT meant to be used to say "it is a convenient car". To say "that car is convenient" works, though.

Ah ok, convinient in that way. What is "(na)" by the way? I guess i havnt gotten to that thing yet in my japanese study Thanks for the help, much appreciated!

Yep. ドキドキ is actually an onomatopoeia--in essence, your heart beating faster out of nervousness or excitement. It can thus be used for nervousness, worrying, excitement, and so forth.

An onomatopoeia, cool Sorta like "dunk dunk" from a beating heart, right? My native language is not english, so i had to look up onomatopoeia, but now i've learned what that word means as well But now i know that dokidoki can be used for different types of excitement and worrying etc. Thanks for the help, much appreciated!


By the way, i think it also was cool to know what the word "dokidoki" ment when i saw this word and the translation of the word in my japanese teaching book (or what i shall call it). When i think of dokidoki i have thought of the Famicom game Doki Doki Panic (the game that the american and european version of Super Mario Bros 2 is based on). If course, i guess i could have looked up the word "dokidoki" before i read it in my japanese teaching book, but i guess i havnt really though of looking it up. But now i know what Doki Doki means atleast

 

[Cheesemeister]

Ah ok, convinient in that way. What is "(na)" by the way? I guess i havnt gotten to that thing yet in my japanese study Thanks for the help, much appreciated!

In Japanese, there are two types of adjectives: i-adjectives and na-adjectives. The na is basically what we use to denote adjectives that don't end in i.

Examples of i-adjective usage...

やさしい人
おもしろいゲーム
いそがしい時

Examples of na-adjective usage...

便利なバス
かんたんな試験
ほうふなぼくじょう

 

[test_account]

In Japanese, there are two types of adjectives: i-adjectives and na-adjectives. The na is basically what we use to denote adjectives that don't end in i.

Examples of i-adjective usage...

やさしい人
おもしろいゲーム
いそがしい時

Examples of na-adjective usage...

便利なバス
かんたんな試験
ほうふなぼくじょう

What is denote? Sorry, my native language isnt english :\ I'm past the i-adjectives so i basicly know how those work, like you dont have to add a "no" particle (like "akai kuruma" instead of "aka no kuruma"), atleast thats the way i understood it, but i havnt gotten to the na-adjectives yet it my studies How does the na-adjectives work compared to the i-adjectives?

 

[Cheesemeister]

What is denote? Sorry, my native language isnt english :\ I'm past the i-adjectives so i basicly know how those work, like you dont have to add a "no" particle (like "akai kuruma" instead of "aka no kuruma"), atleast thats the way i understood it, but i havnt gotten to the na-adjectives yet it my studies How does the na-adjectives work compared to the i-adjectives?

Denote means to indicate or show.

The words just go "adjective noun" like in English.

赤い車 = red car
便利な車 = handy car

Note that の is not used in either case. It's another subject entirely, which you'll learn later. For a na-adjective, the な is used in the same spot where the い would be if it were an i-adjective.

 

[test_account]

Denote means to indicate or show.

The words just go "adjective noun" like in English.

赤い車 = red car
便利な車 = handy car

Note that の is not used in either case. It's another subject entirely, which you'll learn later. For a na-adjective, the な is used in the same spot where the い would be if it were an i-adjective.

Ah ok, so that is what denote means Ok, so the na-adjectives basicly works like an i-adjective, but -na in used instead of -i, or is it much more to it?

Ye, i guess i will come to the part about the na-adjectives some time in my studies Thanks for the help, much appreciated!


EDIT: I checked my japanese studying books now and i see that the next chapter were i'm at actually covers alittle of the na-adjectives It says that na-adjectives are more covered in the 3rd book in this serie (i'm currently on the 2nd book in this serie and i think there is 3 books in total if i'm not mistaken), so i guess there is some time until i get to read more up on na-adjectives.

 

[Link1110]

I'm going to a japanese bar in a week or so, so it's time for some cramming.

The first thing is, my knowledge of when to use pronouns is fuzzy, having never spoken to anyone in japanese outside of a class. In a bar setting, would 俺　or 僕 be better than 私?

How about for talking to people there? あなた?　君?

 

[TheExodu5]

Ok so I am taking up Japanese! I've already learned a tiny bit in the past, but we'll assume I'm starting from scratch.

Where should I start? Am I better off learning the oral language first, or should I be learning both at the same time? If I'm learning written, should I just start with hiragana, or should I do the whole shebang with kanji?

One nice thing about learning Japanese, is that since I'm also French Canadian, most Japanese pronunciation is pretty natural to me (other than the almost silent 'u' at the end of words, and the slightly different 'r' sound [closer to an l sound]).

 

[inner-G]

ぼくの日本語のクラスはむずかしになります。　:/

We're done with relative clauses now though, and starting the Food chapter, which I should be good at. ^_^

This thread has some good tips in it though. Thanks to the OP and contributors!

Where should I start? Am I better off learning the oral language first, or should I be learning both at the same time? If I'm learning written, should I just start with hiragana, or should I do the whole shebang with kanji?

I'd say get your kana down first.

I used a freeware game called 'Slime Forest Adventure'. It's like a DQ/FF clone with an animu protagonist that fights with a hoe as a weapon. It's lol. but you can get all your kana down in a couple days with it, check it out!

 

[Zoe]

Ok so I am taking up Japanese! I've already learned a tiny bit in the past, but we'll assume I'm starting from scratch.

Where should I start? Am I better off learning the oral language first, or should I be learning both at the same time? If I'm learning written, should I just start with hiragana, or should I do the whole shebang with kanji?

Learn concurrently. Get hiragana and katakana down so you can ditch romaji as quickly as possible, and then move onto whatever method you want for kanji.

Also, be sure to learn how to write the characters properly. Don't rely solely on recognition. Writing will help you retain the characters, and writing properly will make it easier to build upon the different components of more complicated kanji.

 

[vas_a_morir]

This is an odd question, but how would a Japanese native speaker express the following idea:

"I had not heard of that yet"

まだ聞いていませんでした　-This would be my guess, but for some reason, It translates too literally to English, and thus it can't be natural.

 

[takotchi]

This is an odd question, but how would a Japanese native speaker express the following idea:

"I had not heard of that yet"

まだ聞いていませんでした　-This would be my guess, but for some reason, It translates too literally to English, and thus it can't be natural.

まだ聞いた事は無い? I swear there's a better verb than "kiku" but I can't think of it at the moment. Actually, I don't know if the whole sentence is even "natural", I just remember using it in class a few times.

 

[marvelharvey]

I'm a little stuck with finding the Japanese footnote symbol. In English, we'd write something like:

GAF is awesome*

*subject to change


I seem to recall the Japanese version of our footnote '*' is an X with a dot inside each v, however I've no idea how to type it. Anyone know how? Or could someone just type it as a reply in this thread.

 

[RevenantKioku]

※
I found it in by typing きごう and searching through the options.

 

[marvelharvey]

※
I found it in by typing きごう and searching through the options.

Thanks, I've just added you to my Xmas card list!

 

[Jake.]

can someone tell me what this says? i'm a newjack and all i can make out is 'yes, when...'

はい　は　いつ聞いても元気にしてくれるよ！

 

[Zoe]

can someone tell me what this says? i'm a newjack and all i can make out is 'yes, when...'

はい　は　いつ聞いても元気にしてくれるよ！

You should always make "hai" energetic whenever you're asked!

 

[Jake.]

You should always make "hai" energetic whenever you're asked!

i didn't write it, it's from an email.

 

[Zoe]

i didn't write it, it's from an email.

Er... that's the translation.

 

[takotchi]

※
I found it in by typing きごう and searching through the options.

You can also type こめ because this supposedly comes from 米. There's a whole list of these IME things somewhere... like おなじ for ゝ so you can make a crazy emoticon nose: ^ゝ^

 

[scottnak]

Er... that's the translation.

:lol I was confused at first too... haha

おんぷ＝♪
にじゅうまる＝◎
さんかく＝∴△▼

buncha cool things you can find and create. haha

 

[Cheesemeister]

おんぷ＝♪
にじゅうまる＝◎
さんかく＝∴△▼

buncha cool things you can find and create. haha

ほし＝★☆※＊
しかく＝□■◆◇

 

[Jake.]

Er... that's the translation.

sorry, thanks alot. :lol

 

[Deleted member 17706]

You should always make "hai" energetic whenever you're asked!

Are you just plugging the Japanese into some automatic translator? I've seen some really weird translations coming out of your posts and you seem to post them with such confidence but they are all way off the mark.

It says, "Hearing the words "Hai" alone will make you feel better in any situation."

 

[RevenantKioku]

Is there a 2ch web app for iPhone yet?

 

[Jupiter_Shrooms]

Sorry to bump an old topic, figure this wasn't a big enough question to warrant its own thread. Can someone help me clear up some confusion. The book I have doesn't really explain it well.

日本へ留学するんです。

日本へ留学するの。

The above two sentences are the same right? Book says the 2nd one is the contracted male form of the first one. However, it feels like the 2nd one is a question while the first one isn't. It also doesn't help that I don't really get what the first one is saying. What does the -ん do to the sentence?

 

[Kabuki Quantum Lover]

Thanks for the "Remembering the Kana" mention. I ordered two of 'em (one for me and one for the girlfriend)--hopefully it'll arrive sooner rather than later.

 

[sasimirobot]

Knowing kanzi comes in handy in China. Beer, toilet, man/woman/, bank, etc...are all good things to know when visiting a foreign country.

 

[RevenantKioku]

There IS an app! I just need a Japanese store account. Bullhonkey.

 

[Link1110]

Sorry to bump an old topic, figure this wasn't a big enough question to warrant its own thread. Can someone help me clear up some confusion. The book I have doesn't really explain it well.

日本へ留学するんです。

日本へ留学するの。

The above two sentences are the same right? Book says the 2nd one is the contracted male form of the first one. However, it feels like the 2nd one is a question while the first one isn't. It also doesn't help that I don't really get what the first one is saying. What does the -ん do to the sentence?

The second one sounds more feminine to me.

 

[RevenantKioku]

のだ／んだ　pretty much gives the meaning of it being an explanation. Looking at my grammar dictionary, it points to there being more of a shared meaning between the people conversing. の only is definitely more feminine as far as I've always seen.

 

[abstract alien]

Question

What is the correct word(in jap) for "King"? Ive seen a few, but dont know the difference between them.

 

[Finaika]

Question

What is the correct word(in jap) for "King"? Ive seen a few, but dont know the difference between them.

王様 (Ousama)?

Btw I'm currently learning Japanese in Tokyo now for about 1 and a half years. I've been learning Japanese for around 7 years now (mostly part-time) but I've decided to fully immerse myself here so that I can truly be more fluent in the language. So I guess I shall use this thread & post here more often

 

[Kabuki Quantum Lover]

Beginner's Question:

I know the hiragana character set and want to start writing sentence out, but from what I remember, there's some odd things about the particles (wa, o, etc.). What would the particles be in hiragana? (wa is represented by 'ha', I think?)

 

[zoku88]

王様 (Ousama)?

Btw I'm currently learning Japanese in Tokyo now for about 1 and a half years. I've been learning Japanese for around 7 years now (mostly part-time) but I've decided to fully immerse myself here so that I can truly be more fluent in the language. So I guess I shall use this thread & post here more often

Even though I don't really know that word, that looks right, because I remember 国 is a king (&#29579 inside of the county (the box)

 

[marvelharvey]

Question

What is the correct word(in jap) for "King"? Ive seen a few, but dont know the difference between them.

Like pretty much everything in Japanese, it's contextual.

For 'All hail the king!', use 王様 (mentioned above)
For 'He is the king of England' use 王国
For 'I'm the king of Street Fighter 2' use 王者 or just plain 王

 

[marvelharvey]

Beginner's Question:

I know the hiragana character set and want to start writing sentence out, but from what I remember, there's some odd things about the particles (wa, o, etc.). What would the particles be in hiragana? (wa is represented by 'ha', I think?)

You are indeed correct.

(I'm assuming that your computer can read hiragana)

を= wo but is pronounced 'o'
は= ha but is pronounced 'wa' when a particle