Basically if you have a question about the language, ask it and fellow 4channers might see it and answer it for you.
To start it off. When an animate object (iru) dies, is it considered inanimate(aru)?
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-03 6:40
>>957
Casual gamers are not very few, especially among mid 30's or younger. It sure is geeky if you play games like everyday but games are OK unless you're obsessed with them. But games are relatively new so adults who are, say, over 40 may not like gamers very much while virtually every Japanese have grown up with manga.
There is a line separating books for intellectuals and ones for otaku fags. Those who love books in the former category, literature, tend to be snobbish and look down on books in the latter category, light novels. So, average guys who don't like reading think "Light novels are for otaku fags because smart guys say so. And I heard of some anime adaptations of them. You know, anime are for kids or perverts and so are light novels."
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-03 8:40
>>957
I forgot to mention that *moe* manga that exist mainly for fanservice can be regarded as kinda Hentai in Japan. So if you say you're interested in Negima and such, people think you're an otaku fag (assuming they know the titles you mentioned). Also, not everyone in Japan knows what light novels are. I'm not sure how many Japanese are familiar with the term "light novel," but I don't think it's very popular. People who have no clue about light novels probably don't read other books either, and light novels may sound like normal novels to them. But if you show them such a book containing illustrations drawn in the moe style, probably they'd think it's for otaku just like moe fanservice manga.
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-03 18:26
>>962
I see, thanks.
I don't necessarily care too much about light novels, I just find them as a good resource for learning the language as it's not too hard, and not too easy.
I wish I could read English novels more comfortably, if not easily... I still find a few (or sometimes several) unfamiliar worlds on like every single page. But reading books sure improves my English (and Japanese in your case).
Good luck with your studies!
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-04 11:40
I don't know how it is with Japanese, but with English, not being my native language, I found myself deducting the meaning of words fairly easily while my vocabulary still was very limited.
I'm not sure if it's the context being clear or etymology of words helping out, but I'm wondering if it's the same for people learning Japanese?
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-04 21:10
>>965
Definitely, there's countless times where I learn new words without ever looking them up. Etymology kind of helps too I guess, because you can just analyze each kanji in a kanji combination to get a vague idea on what it's about; however, in speech, it's probably a bit harder, as Japanese doesn't have many unique sounds, so when you hear コウ you wouldn't have any idea what kanji it is, because there's about a million different kanji that use コウ
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-07 8:19
Couple of stupid questions.
First, how common is it for guys to say 俺? It's all over everything I read, even more serious novels, and I can't get a sense of how common it is here in reality. Like, is it really just tough guys that say it, or would the average man on the street use with good friends, or what?
Second, I was in a used book store the other day, and there was a book that seemed to be filled with nothing but kanji written in various different scripts. I figured it was showing the evolution of the characters or similar, but I didn't have time to take a proper look and I forgot what it said on the cover right after I left. (All I remember is that 典 was there somewhere - not much help.) Can anyone tell me what it was? I tried google but I wasn't sure what I should be searching for, and the book store is far from where I live.
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-07 11:16
>>967
Virtually all Japanese men use 俺 when talking with close friends. I'm not sure what kind of book you're talking about. Perhaps it was a 漢和辞典 (a dictionary providing definitions of kanji and kanji compounds) or maybe just a book in Chinese.
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-07 20:43
You use 俺 among friends, 僕 in front of relatives, 私 is for speaking to important customers.
>>971
like, when you want to have gay buttsex with a japanese guy
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-16 14:54
>>971
More like, don't forget about your appointment on Sunday.
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-17 1:43
couple questions
why arent kanjis always used? e.g. いう over 言う
and
how do you write peoples names when typing in Japanese? e.g. one's name is kattou, you can't simply just type kattou and hit space bar to get 甲藤, you will only get the word and not the name
is the only way of doing it is typing like kinoe + numberous space hits, then fuji + space?
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-17 3:28
>>974
I dunno, why do Chinese use the characters they do? It's what they have, is all.
Pretty much, unless it's a popular name. But once you go through the numerous keypresses, next time it'll pop right to it.
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-17 8:25
>>970
The two are almost the same, but 日曜日 sounds slightly more polite than 日曜. So if you're writing, say a formal letter to your boss, then it may be better to use 日曜日.
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-17 9:30
>>974
>why arent kanjis always used? e.g. いう over 言う
Each author and publisher has their own rules about which words should be spelled in kanji. So, some write できる but others use 出来る for aesthetic or another reason. In general, kanji adds formal, intellectual flavor. But you may look pretentious if you abuse them.
As for names, if you're using a major input tool such as IME and ATOK, you can customize it so that you can get any kanji (or even a set of symbols like ^^;) from a specific roman input. The way to do it depends on your OS and the version of your input tool.
>>983
りんごの尻のジェーンズの意味がわからなくって、探さないといけなかった。けっこう可愛いジェーンズ。セクシーだな。
ところで、Is there a past tense form of the informal have to do, as in the formal form, 探さないといけななかった？
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-20 13:48
>>985
I guess a more simple way of putting it would be the past tense form of なくちゃ as in 行かなくちゃ。行かなくちゃった？
>>983
探さないとダメだった or 探さなきゃダメだった might be better because they are informal, unisex, and widely used both in real life and on the internet. >>987's examples are also spoken form of "have to search for something" but they're either dialect or mostly used on internet forums like 2ch.
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-21 12:29
>>988 >>987
both make sense, i thought i was conjugating it wrong, now i understand, thanks
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-21 16:47
When expressing hypothetical situations, what potential particle is to be used? For example,
京都へ行_新幹線がいいです
Should I use 行くなら?
Name:
Anonymous2008-03-21 17:22
>>990
formal and polite: 行かれるのでしたら (京都へ行かれるのでしたら新幹線がよろしいでしょう)
neutral: 行くなら or 行くのなら (京都へ行くなら新幹線がいいです)
informal and spoken: 行くんだったら (京都へ行くんだったら新幹線がいいよ)