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[vas_a_morir]

Totally glossed over most of this stuff since I'm not into sentence correction but I saw this in your last post and instantly knew what you had done without even reading it. I know it's easy to think you can translate something you say in English to Japanese by using the equivalents, but something like "on the other hand" doesn't work like the way you wanted to use it in Japanese. I think that's a major, major mistake a lot of people have when learning this language. There is a lot of shit that is not 1 = 1 but often 1 = 1.52325 or even something further off. Simply put, it doesn't sound natural going word by word from one language to the other. This isn't a criticism, just a friendly tip. You won't know till you try, so that's great.

So, if I were to use "しかし” instead, would it still be fucked up? I'm here to learn with no pretense, so If you wouldn't mind, I'd love for you to elaborate on why "一方" is such a majorly bad mistake in this context. Why is it wrong?

Oh, and thanks for your advice. I'm going to be using this thread a lot from here on, but I promise I won't annoy you guys with sentence corrections.

 

[I'm an expert]

So, if I were to use "しかし” instead, would it still be fucked up? I'm here to learn with no pretense, so If you wouldn't mind, I'd love for you to elaborate on why "一方" is such a majorly bad mistake in this context. Why is it wrong?

Oh, and thanks for your advice. I'm going to be using this thread a lot from here on, but I promise I won't annoy you guys with sentence corrections.

I didn't mean your use of the phrase was a major mistake, just how you wrote the sentence in your mind in English first, then proceeded to translate it word for word. That works sometimes, and often times doesn't. I don't even really know how to explain it, especially with this language. I always felt book/structure studying with J-go was useless (for much other than testing) because it's so fundamentally different in practice than the way it's presented in any type of educational literature. Anyway, I didn't mean to interject and not be helpful, but others can handle giving you syntax tips.

 

[vas_a_morir]

I didn't mean your use of the phrase was a major mistake, just how you wrote the sentence in your mind in English first, then proceeded to translate it word for word. That works sometimes, and often times doesn't. I don't even really know how to explain it, especially with this language. I always felt book/structure studying with J-go was useless (for much other than testing) because it's so fundamentally different in practice than the way it's presented in any type of educational literature. Anyway, I didn't mean to interject and not be helpful, but others can handle giving you syntax tips.

I gotcha. For me, I wanted to express that exact concept. I did it in a way I feel was grammatically correct, but if Zef's reaction is indicative of anything, it apparently cannot be understood as written. So, ultimately, I want to express that same idea in Japanese, and I don't really know how else to do it. I'm not interested in changing it to something similar but different, but I do acknowledge I may have no choice. :jnc

 

[Gacha-pin]

So the last sentence of the first one, what you wanted to say is 「韓国の政治とアメリカの政治を、単純に比較することができないことは理解しているが、それでも今回の選挙結果をもって進歩的な国と言うことはできないと思っている」?
I completely got it wrong.


@I noticed you switched "Itsumo no you ni" to after the subject. I had it like that before, actually. I believe i've seen it used before the subject, but it may change the connotation.

Order is not important in Japanese.
ex)私は/いつも/7時に/学校に/行く/
・いつも7時に学校に私は行く。
・7時に学校に私はいつも行く。
・私は学校に行く。いつも7時に。


@Was toshite wrong, or is it simply you feel dakara is better?

I think として is not right for this case.

As an interpreter, I work at a Japanese company.
（私は通訳として日本の会社で働いている）

As a member of the Conservative Party, she would likely not be one to have progressive ideas.
（保守党の党員として進歩的な考えを持っている人ではないだろう）

ummm

 

[bigmit3737]

So the last sentence of the first one, what you wanted to say is 「韓国の政治とアメリカの政治を、単純に比較することができないことは理解しているが、それでも今回の選挙結果をもって進歩的な国と言うことはできないと思っている」?
I completely got it wrong.


@I noticed you switched "Itsumo no you ni" to after the subject. I had it like that before, actually. I believe i've seen it used before the subject, but it may change the connotation.

Order is not important in Japanese.
ex)私は/いつも/7時に/学校に/行く/
・いつも7時に学校に私は行く。
・7時に学校に私はいつも行く。
・私は学校に行く。いつも7時に。


@Was toshite wrong, or is it simply you feel dakara is better?

I think として is not right for this case.

As an interpreter, I work at a Japanese company.
（私は通訳として日本の会社で働いている）

As a member of the Conservative Party, she would likely not be one to have progressive ideas.
（保守党の党員として進歩的な考えを持っている人ではないだろう）

ummm

として　is always confusing the heck out me. I seen it used so often and in many cases, but this clarifies it a bit. Thank you.

一方　also is confusing, though I haven't seen it used as often.

The last one is けど　which seems to be used as a filler word rather than "but" or something along those lines.

 

[vas_a_morir]

So the last sentence of the first one, what you wanted to say is 「韓国の政治とアメリカの政治を、単純に比較することができないことは理解しているが、それでも今回の選挙結果をもって進歩的な国と言うことはできないと思っている」?
I completely got it wrong.

I'll keep your approach to this sentence in mind moving forward. I feel like I understand where things went a little wrong. That sentence, btw, was one I was never going to publish, and is what inspired me to ask GAF. You might be able to tell that I actually spent a little more time on the other paragraph, and to be honest, I think I'm going to publish it as it was to begin with.

The first paragraph on Korea... well, the moment has passed, but I'd like to try to rewrite that one, as well. I'll do it in order to see if I can take the lessons I've learned from you guys and make a better paragraph. (I don't plagiarize, lol)

Thanks, Gach.

 

[LeroyPantwether]

Is there any alternative for kotoeri on mac? I sold my ipad to get a macbook pro and now I can't make kanjis anymore.

 

[KtSlime]

Is there any alternative for kotoeri on mac? I sold my ipad to get a macbook pro and now I can't make kanjis anymore.

What's wrong with kotoeri that you can't use it to type 漢字?

Edit: Google has an IME, but I don't use it, it should work, but so should kotoeri.

 

[OneEightZero]

Is there any alternative for kotoeri on mac? I sold my ipad to get a macbook pro and now I can't make kanjis anymore.

Never mind.

 

[LeroyPantwether]

What's wrong with kotoeri that you can't use it to type 漢字?

Edit: Google has an IME, but I don't use it, it should work, but so should kotoeri.

my problem was I had to turn off predicted text preferences and use the down arrow to select characters. Everything works now after some googling. Thanks for confirming the fact that my difficulties were strictly a user error.

 

[KidA Seven]

Can anyone explain the difference between these words? What is used more frequently?

内容
話題
課題
主題

 

[KtSlime]

Can anyone explain the difference between these words? What is used more frequently?

内容
話題
課題
主題

That really depends on what you are trying to say, and how specific or flexible you want to be in your language. While they can all be translated as "topic", they all arrive at this differently. 内容 refers to contents of the conversation, where as 話題 is often used as topic for arguments or essays. 課題 is I think most used as 'problem' on say homework or test, but can refer to the theme of works of performance art as well. 主題 is often used as title, or theme. Such as 主題歌 which is a theme or title song in a film or show. You can use them specifically or generally, but there are cases I am sure one makes more sense than another. In general I think of 話題 as closest to "topic of story/speech", if that's the meaning you are looking for. I think 内容 also works very well.

 

[KidA Seven]

That really depends on what you are trying to say, and how specific or flexible you want to be in your language. While they can all be translated as "topic", they all arrive at this differently. 内容 refers to contents of the conversation, where as 話題 is often used as topic for arguments or essays. 課題 is I think most used as 'problem' on say homework or test, but can refer to the theme of works of performance art as well. 主題 is often used as title, or theme. Such as 主題歌 which is a theme or title song in a film or show. You can use them specifically or generally, but there are cases I am sure one makes more sense than another. In general I think of 話題 as closest to "topic of story/speech", if that's the meaning you are looking for. I think 内容 also works very well.

That helped a ton. Thanks.

 

[kunonabi]

having trouble with the following:
konna ni 普通 de 当たり前 no日常 ga...

i know what the words are but i just don't understand the meaning. the second half of the sentence says she is trying finish in less than half a year.

 

[KtSlime]

having trouble with the following:
konna ni 普通 de 当たり前 no日常 ga...

i know what the words are but i just don't understand the meaning. the second half of the sentence says she is trying finish in less than half a year.

Not sure I can help you without the context/verb, but it looks like it says "Being this ordinary, it's only natural to (have) an ordinary life".

 

[kunonabi]

the second half is: hantoshi tarazu towaroushiteru. all the text before this talks about how super popular she is.

 

[Cheesecakebobby]

Anyone else spending Christmas day in Japan? I'm at my desk feeling very bored and pining for mulled wine and figgy pudding.

Anyway a top tip for other learners.

クリスマスケーキ

kurisumasu keeki (Christmas cake)

You probably know that the Japanese go mental for Christmas cakes; along with KFC they are the local traditional food. However, after the 25th December an uneaten Christmas cake is past its best. Similarly, it used to be said that a woman over 25 who is unmarried is also past her best. So if you want to be cheeky, you can call an unmarried 25+ Japanese woman a クリスマスケーキ too.

メリークリスマス！

 

[KtSlime]

the second half is: hantoshi tarazu towaroushiteru. all the text before this talks about how super popular she is.

Is it 割ろうとしてる, or と割ろうしてる?

Could it be こんなに普通で当たり前の日常が、半年足らず割ろうとしてる.?

Trying to split not even after half a year, being this ordinary, an ordinary life is only natural.

Sorry, I can't make much sense of it, I don't know how they are using 割る, I don't think I have ever seen it used to when talking about breaking something conceptual, only physical things. And if it is と割ろうしてる I don't know where that と's 'noun' is

 

[kunonabi]

Is it 割ろうとしてる, or と割ろうしてる?

Could it be こんなに普通で当たり前の日常が、半年足らず割ろうとしてる.?

Trying to split not even after half a year, being this ordinary, an ordinary life is only natural.

Sorry, I can't make much sense of it, I don't know how they are using 割る, I don't think I have ever seen it used to when talking about breaking something conceptual, only physical things. And if it is と割ろうしてる I don't know where that と's 'noun' is

my mistake, it's あとはんとし足らずで 終わろうしてる. not sure how i turned de into a to

 

[I'm an expert]

You sure you're still not missing something between owarou and shiteru? like the to? There's no "owarou shiteru". Just copy and paste the darn thing lol. Either way it just says "even before a half year has past this normal lifestyle is going to end". This is one of those don't bother word-by-word translating it sentences, otherwise it gets wordy and repetitive in English. You could translate it as "these normal, common sense (way of spending) every day(s), before a half year has transpired, are trying to end" but it sounds dumb, no? I'm assuming the above poster wants to translate the "de" after futsuu as "because" rather than the connective "and" from a "na" adjective which is where he's getting the "being blah blah" phrasing. It's just saying "normal and common sense/taken for granted/you get the point". It gets strange in English when you throw in nichijyou because it's the third time you've expressed the "regularity/normalness" of the days. Got it?

 

[vas_a_morir]

Does anybody else use Lang-8? I just started last week after asking you guys for suggestions on how to improve my Japanese. Regardless of how much it helps me, I think it's super fun! I actually posted the same thing I posted here, and the results were rather interesting. Things we kept, they changed. Things we changed, they kept. lol I guess this shit ain't science.

 

[Cranzor]

This may be a dumb question but I'm having a bit of trouble. Hopefully this isn't too unrelated to Japanese. I'm assuming if you can recognize the kanji then you probably can answer the question so that's why I decided to ask.

In RTK1, got to the kanji 穂. In the book it says that the character represents an "ear of a plant." What in the world is an ear of a plant? I tried searching but didn't find anything that was very helpful. Thanks in advance.

 

[scottnak]

This may be a dumb question but I'm having a bit of trouble. Hopefully this isn't too unrelated to Japanese. I'm assuming if you can recognize the kanji then you probably can answer the question so that's why I decided to ask.

In RTK1, got to the kanji 穂. In the book it says that the character represents an "ear of a plant." What in the world is an ear of a plant? I tried searching but didn't find anything that was very helpful. Thanks in advance.

Wikipedia is helpful! (Go to the japanese version of wiki, search, then hit English on the left side) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_(botany)

 

[Cranzor]

Wikipedia is helpful! (Go to the japanese version of wiki, search, then hit English on the left side) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ear_(botany)

Hmm, I didn't think of doing that. I'll keep it in mind if it happens again though. Thanks!

 

[scottnak]

Hmm, I didn't think of doing that. I'll keep it in mind if it happens again though. Thanks!

Doesn't work all the time, but certainly helps out most of the time when WWWJDIC isn't good enough.

 

[Gacha-pin]

This may be a dumb question but I'm having a bit of trouble. Hopefully this isn't too unrelated to Japanese. I'm assuming if you can recognize the kanji then you probably can answer the question so that's why I decided to ask.

In RTK1, got to the kanji 穂. In the book it says that the character represents an "ear of a plant." What in the world is an ear of a plant? I tried searching but didn't find anything that was very helpful. Thanks in advance.

The left part of the character 禾 (nogi-hen) is a shape of rice grass. And the right part 恵 means blessing. 穂 is a blessing part of a grass (Japanese live on rice. And also rice was used as kind of a currency in the past).

If you see a character a part of it is 禾, generally, the character is related to rice.
秋 (fall) --> rice harvest season (in Japan)
税 (tax) --> earnings of a government

 

[kunonabi]

You sure you're still not missing something between owarou and shiteru? like the to? There's no "owarou shiteru". Just copy and paste the darn thing lol. Either way it just says "even before a half year has past this normal lifestyle is going to end". This is one of those don't bother word-by-word translating it sentences, otherwise it gets wordy and repetitive in English. You could translate it as "these normal, common sense (way of spending) every day(s), before a half year has transpired, are trying to end" but it sounds dumb, no? I'm assuming the above poster wants to translate the "de" after futsuu as "because" rather than the connective "and" from a "na" adjective which is where he's getting the "being blah blah" phrasing. It's just saying "normal and common sense/taken for granted/you get the point". It gets strange in English when you throw in nichijyou because it's the third time you've expressed the "regularity/normalness" of the days. Got it?

yeah the redundancy is what was throwing me off about the first part. it's from an old dreamcast game so i cant copy/paste but that is exactly how it is in the game. i suppose it could be a typo and they just forgot the to.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

yeah the redundancy is what was throwing me off about the first part. it's from an old dreamcast game so i cant copy/paste but that is exactly how it is in the game. i suppose it could be a typo and they just forgot the to.

Take a picture and upload it if you can.

 

[Cranzor]

Does anybody have any tips for motivation? Over the break I just don't really feel like learning new kanji or reviewing. I'm still doing it anyway, but I almost dread doing it in a way. The only thing I am doing is Remembering the Kanji 1. That may be contributing to me being burnt out. I did reach 1000 kanji (well, 1001 but that's not the milestone) in RTK1 today so I'm pretty happy about that.

Also, does anyone know how to transfer an Anki deck to another computer? I got a new computer and I'm not exactly sure how to transfer stuff from Anki.

 

[PKrockin]

Also, does anyone know how to transfer an Anki deck to another computer? I got a new computer and I'm not exactly sure how to transfer stuff from Anki.

It's been a while since I did that, but I think you have to open the deck, choose Export, save it as an .anki file, then you can Import it on your new computer.

 

[Grokbu]

The phenomenon is called rendaku

http://www.tofugu.com/guides/rendaku-sequential-voicing/


as to why the difference between kazan and fujisan....


don't know for sure, maybe because kazan is considered a single word and fuji san two? (or the ji in fuji has already been rendaku-ed so maybe no double rendaku? )

but yeah, you'll see common patterns when you learn kanji even if you never hear about the phenomenon. Can be a pain in the arse sometimes though >_>

I think there is no strict rule for this. easier to read and better to sound.
As for ふじさん, the じざ is harder to read than じさ and sounds not right (at least to Japanese).

Oh, wow. This is quite a bit of a late reply, but I just wanted to drop in and thank you guys very much for the help with this.

 

[Cranzor]

It's been a while since I did that, but I think you have to open the deck, choose Export, save it as an .anki file, then you can Import it on your new computer.

Thanks! That seemed to work. None of my stats transferred over though. I may have to look into that a bit more.

 

[Arctic Feather]

Thanks! That seemed to work. None of my stats transferred over though. I may have to look into that a bit more.

Set up an AnkiWeb account and sync it that on the old computer so all your progress is saved online.

Then on the new computer, you can download that deck from AnkiWeb along with your progress. (and you can keep it synced so you can use more than one device)

 

[Cranzor]

Set up an AnkiWeb account and sync it that on the old computer so all your progress is saved online.

Then on the new computer, you can download that deck from AnkiWeb along with your progress. (and you can keep it synced so you can use more than one device)

I'm not able to make a new account on AnkiWeb with the version of Anki I'm using. I will be able to if I switch to Anki 2 though. Have you tried Anki 2? I really don't know anything about it.

 

[RoyalFool]

I try to think to myself in Japanese when I'm going to sleep (well, its a nice and quiet time to get some practice) but got a bit stuck on what seems like a super easy sentence.

"It would have been good/better if I had gone.."

Tried out the usual culprits/conjugations but none of them sounded right.. e.g.
店に行ったら良い.
店にいったも方がよかった
店に行ってばいいと思い。

Any help would be most welcome

 

[MadraptorMan]

行けばよかったな～

 

[RoyalFool]

行けばよかったな～

Of course, thanks was having a brain fart.

 

[TacticalFox88]

Question: Is there a reason the Japanese have English Alphabet letters scattered randomly throughout their various big cities and on game box arts that will NEVER even come to the US?

When I saw the Metal Gear Rising Box art it baffled me. The title was in complete English. Can the average joe read that?

 

[MadraptorMan]

They can read it with Japanese pronunciation, sure.

Metaru Gia Raijingu!

 

[RoyalFool]

In games I assumed it's because stuff like 'PRESS START' takes up less space than スタートボタンを押してください and everybody will be familiar with that in English.

 

[shanshan310]

Question: Is there a reason the Japanese have English Alphabet letters scattered randomly throughout their various big cities and on game box arts that will NEVER even come to the US?

English words are cool. Same thing happens in the west

 

[Synth_floyd]

In Japan, English is used basically the same way that Latin is used in the US. Just because it's cool. Or at least the way Latin was used 100+ years ago.

 

[Cranzor]

I upgraded to Anki 2, synced it, and now everything is all set up on my new computer. The only thing that bothers me in Anki 2 is that there doesn't seem to be a category that lists the kanji in the order they appear in RTK1 so I have to manually search for the new ones I want to add. Still, everything's working pretty well.

 

[Synth_floyd]

I was watching a "Let's play" on youtube of someone playing Metal Gear 1 for the MSX and some of the dialogue is in Japanese and some is in English and the guy who was playing it had a hard time understanding some of the English.

Though I also watched someone do a let's play of a visual novel and that guy had trouble with some of the kanji and everyone was making fun of him in the comments (I guess it was easy kanji).

 

[KtSlime]

Question: Is there a reason the Japanese have English Alphabet letters scattered randomly throughout their various big cities and on game box arts that will NEVER even come to the US?

When I saw the Metal Gear Rising Box art it baffled me. The title was in complete English. Can the average joe read that?

What's 26 more characters?

 

[KidA Seven]

What's the difference between 世の中 and 世界?

 

[I'm an expert]

yo no naka - the world around you, including you and other life/air/things. essentially encompasses all existence within any context.. but more in concept form than physical form

sekai - a world, not necessarily this world, in the general sense and dependent on context, leaning more towards the physical form

yo no naka also has "in the" intrinsically attached to the connotation while sekai is simpy "world" and would need something like de to make it more specific

 

[HisshouBuraiKen]

And then there's 世間　(せけん, not せか&#12435 which is basically 社会 which is more like "The world you live in" i.e. society and all the rules and expectations that come with it.

 

[ys45]

Hi guys ,

I decided to try to learn Japanese.

I know we all have our own method to learn something so i'm willing to try these books in this thread and see if it work for me .

But what I'd like to get is a plan and I'm not sure where should i start .

My initial goal is simple : i want to be able to recognize some kanji and be able to know what some phrases mean, for reading and games (mostly games) .

I know it wont be easy and it's going to ask a lot of time and practice but i need to know where should i begin .

Should i learn Kanji first or start with Hiragana and Katakana , i need some tips from you guys who started from scratch like me .

 

[KidA Seven]

Hi guys ,

I decided to try to learn Japanese.

I know we all have our own method to learn something so i'm willing to try these books in this thread and see if it work for me .

But what I'd like to get is a plan and I'm not sure where should i start .

My initial goal is simple : i want to be able to recognize some kanji and be able to know what some phrases mean, for reading and games (mostly games) .

I know it wont be easy and it's going to ask a lot of time and practice but i need to know where should i begin .

Should i learn Kanji first or start with Hiragana and Katakana , i need some tips from you guys who started from scratch like me .

Hiragana and katakana should be first. The kanji method from the op will just be the meanings of every kanji. You won't be able to actually read them. I don't know why the OP encouraged that method of learning.