|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 3:09 pm
This thread is for teaching the basics of stuff that's really best explained the long way - in English. I mean things like politeness levels and cultural phrases that have a variety of meanings depending on the situation, and are not very easily concisely translated into English. If nothing else, this should help you with understanding anime when you watch it subtitled. xd
Oh yes, please check out the Learning Links sticky. To get along best on this forum, you should probably at least learn the basics of the writing system, which I will discuss next.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 3:23 pm
Before I launch into an explanation of the Japanese writing system, please visit this link: http://www.autopenhosting.org/unicode/type-Japanese.html !! It is an awesome step-by-step guide to typing in Japanese, and I learned a lot from this page even though I'd already been typing in Japanese for years! Though if you know nothing about the writing system, you may want to read my explanation before visiting the link.
There are three "alphabets" in the Japanese writing system; 2 are phonetic (meaning they represent sounds), and one is a pictographic (meaning it's pictures representing ideas) system borrowed from Chinese long, long ago.
The first phonetic alphabet is called Hiragana (pronounced "Here-ah-gah-nah"). This is the most basic alphabet, and really the most important one to learn. The most important feature is that it's mostly used for words that are strictly Japanese in origin and for grammatical structures.
The second phonetic alphabet is called Katakana (pronounced "Caught-ah-kah-nah"). This is mainly used for loan words from other languages. Examples include things like ケーキ "Kay-key" which is "cake," パン "pawn" which is "bread" (and is borrowed from Dutch, I think), and アルバイト "Ah-rue-buy-to" which means "part-time job" and is borrowed from German. It's also used for emphasis in things like manga; in that case, think of it as italics or all caps.
Finally, the pictographic system is kalled Kanji (pronounced "Con-Gee"). It was borrowed from China back in the Heian age of Japan; they loved Chinese culture at the time and imported a lot of it. I've heard that the way they took Kanji to write Japanese would be like if we suddenly decided we wanted to use Arabic script to write English.
But don't let that deter you. Once you learn a few Kanji, reading becomes much easier and clarifies context. However, often in manga or anime, confusion will come up over the pronunciation of written names. This is because names are most often in Kanji, and those characters represent an idea, and have several possible pronunciations. Which actually makes it kind of fun, believe it or not. biggrin
Finally, I mentioned Romanji at the beginning. That's simply typing it out in our English letters. Just remember that there are only 5 vowel sounds:
"a" is pronounced "ah"
"i" is pronounced "ee"
"u" is pronounced "oo"
"e" is pronounced "eh"
"o" is pronounced "oh"
Okay, I think that covers it. Seriously, next post starts the phrases, I swear!
Oh, and don't forget to go here: http://www.autopenhosting.org/unicode/type-Japanese.html to learn to type in Japanese!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 6:13 am
Let's start with things you say when you meet someone for the first time.
To begin, you say, "Hajimemashite!" This roughly translates to "Nice to meet you!" or "How do you do?" It's sort of like a preface to a longer introduction.
はじめまして！
As a beginner, the more important phrase for you to know will be "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" This phrase is a little bit harder to translate, because it's used in so many different contexts. Most of the time, it will simply mean, "Nice to meet you!" or if you're meeting someone on the job for the first time, perhaps, "Looking forward to working with you!" but a more little translation is, "Please take good care of me."
よろしくおねがいします！
よろしくお願いします！
"Douzo yoroshiku" means exactly the same thing, but I think if you are a foreigner and especially if you are addressing someone older or higher rank than you, "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu" is better. If it's a particularly formal situation, you can also put it all together to "Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu!"
どうぞよろしくおねがいします！
どうぞよろしくお願いします！
You may also hear shorter versions of this phrase in less formal situations, cutting it down to just "Yoroshiku" or "Onegaishimasu," or even as short as "Douzo," but as a foreigner, you shouldn't try it. Seriously. Japanese tolerance of politeness bungles from foreigners only stretches so far.
よろしく
お願いします
どうぞ
Another kind of situation you might hear this phrase other than a first-time meeting will be if, for instance, you are at work, and a focus group is put together to solve a particular problem. Even if you already know everyone in the focus group, there will still probably be a round of everyone saying "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu" or one of the shortened versions thereof.
"Onegaishimasu" by itself simply means "Please." So, if you are delegating work to another or making an order at a restaurant or something along those line, you would use "onegaishimasu."
"Yoroshiku" by itself can mean "regards." As an example, "Please give my regards to you mother." "Okaa-san ni yoroshiku o-tsutae kudasai." It can also be used as the shortened version of "yoroshiku onegaishimasu," but in a sentence, and this IS something you could use. As an example: "I would be grateful for your help with this work." "Kono shigoto wo yoroshiku tanomimasu."
おかあさんによろしくおつたえください。
お母さんによろしくお伝え下さい。
このしごとをよろしくたのみます。
この仕事をよろしく頼みます。
"Douzo" by itself means "please" or "certainly." It would be a response to a request from someone else (like to use the phone) or if you are offering something to someone else, you can say this to encourage them to take it (like offering someone a place to sit).
どうぞ
Okay, I think that basically covers it for now! I'll make another post soon with more phrases that are used at specific times.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 1:21 pm
OHH!!! This is like the Human Japanese app from the app store!! cool. nice job.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2009 6:27 am
AlCaponed16 OHH!!! This is like the Human Japanese app from the app store!! cool. nice job. Thank you very much! ^_^ I took a look at the app you were talking about; I do not have an iPhone or an iPod Touch, but it does look like a good program. I'll put it up on the learning links. It really is kind of like the high-tech version of what I want to accomplish here, I guess. xd
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 4:07 pm
how u get the japanese symbols?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 3:50 am
Edge von Blood how u get the japanese symbols? It depends on what Operating System (OS) you use. Are you using Windows or a Mac?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:16 am
omg the japanese vowels are just like korean vowels XD
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 5:58 pm
i can sing the second song on my playlist! its jappanese.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 6:02 pm
Ivy, the link you provided for how to type Japanese actually varies a little from how it is on a Mac. For instance, it says to type with an l OR an x in front of a vowel to get the small version (あ->ぁ）but on a Mac, if you type La, you get ら.
You have to use an X in front of a vowel, using an L will give you the r-form.
I haven't worked out other variations, and I didn't notice anything else that I thought should be pointed out, but if I do I'll let you know.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 8:33 am
Yay thank you so much for this! I tried downloading the Japanese typing thing and it said something about I don't have the correct operating system crying Is there one somewere for Windows XP?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 11:57 am
XxMoCixLLaWli3TxX Yay thank you so much for this! I tried downloading the Japanese typing thing and it said something about I don't have the correct operating system crying Is there one somewere for Windows XP? Try this page: http://greggman.com/japan/xp-ime/xp-ime.htm XP has the ability built-in most of the time. My XP machines did, so this should work for you too. Hopefully. ^_^
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 5:44 pm
Crimeny! Does anyone know if it's possible to change the order of replies? xp I need to add more lessons, and I kind of wanted the commentary to come after.... Ah well.
Okay, let's get down to phrases used at particular times of the day. How about hello?
おはようございます！(Ohayou Gozaimasu!) Good morning! (polite)
おはよう! (Ohayou! Pronounced like Ohio) Good morning!
You may also hear shortened versions of this in casual speech.
こんにちは！(Konnichiwa!) Good afternoon!
Note that although you can add "Gozaimasu" onto "Ohayou" to make it polite in "Good morning," you cannot add it onto "Konnichiwa." Also, although the end syllable is pronounced "wa," it is written "ha."
こんばんは！(Konbanwa!) Good evening!
Similar to konnichiwa, in that you cannot add "gozaimasu," and although the last syllable is pronounced "wa," it is also written "ha."
おやすみなさい！(Oyasuminasai!) Good night! (polite)
おやすみ！ (Oyasumi!) Nighty-night!
As in, "I'm going to bed now." Similar to "Sleep tight!" "Sweet dreams!" etc.
I'll get to more of these set phrases later. sweatdrop
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 6:24 pm
I actually have no idea how to change the order.
If possible, maybe we should include, somewhere in the guild, the most commonly used phrases in other dialects.
Other dialects being not-standard-Kanto (?)-Japanese
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 5:52 am
juunishikyou I actually have no idea how to change the order. If possible, maybe we should include, somewhere in the guild, the most commonly used phrases in other dialects. Other dialects being not-standard-Kanto (?)-Japanese Ahh, yes. Kansai-ben. Bane of my existence! Lol. xd I do at least have that link up to the book on Google regarding it; that's a good reference. And the couple other slang dictionary type links. But, yeah, I see your point.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
