If I could understand visual novels, would that prepare me for life in Japan? I ask because it's incredibly easy to look up text in such a format, what with text hookers and all. Though I suppose it might be the case that they avoid 'real-world Japanese'?
Name:
Anonymous2012-06-21 14:23
>>601
I don't really understand your question. The words they use in VNs are real words. If you only read fantasy ones (like say, Eiyuu Senki) then you won't be able to ask shit like "Where is the nearest grocery store", even if you might know how to say "We must defeat the demon lord before the world is destroyed."
You should just read what you want. If you're actually planning on moving to Japan, you should try to be exposed to things set in Japan, obviously.
Yeah, I wasn't entirely sure if it was a sensible question; I'd just heard people here and there saying so-and-so doesn't use 'real Japanese'. Never really got what 'fake Japanese' would've looked like, but figured I'd clarify. Thanks anon.
Name:
Anonymous2012-06-23 20:20
How would I say "I'm going out for a run(training)"?
走る kind of gives me the feeling of running with a goal in mind.
>>603
Most of that is in regards to the general rudeness of a lot of characters in anime/manga/etc. When people meet, they don't call each other お前 and speak in plain form unless they're yakuza or something. And even if they were, they'd probably still use polite form, just in case it happens to be their boss or something. Sometimes that sort of fiction breaks generally accepted rules of politeness. There's also the general fact that the way we speak (even in English) is not the same as the way we write, even when we're writing dialogue between characters.
Still anyone who says anime isn't "real Japanese" either has no idea what's going on and has been told that themselves, or else they're only considering certain anime.
Name:
Anonymous2012-06-23 22:36
>>604
走ってくる、走ってきます suffices. I said that to my roommate every time I left in place of the traditional 行って来ます. 走る can have the connotation of having a specific goal but its used most commonly for the 'running for exercise' kind of running too. ランニングしてくる is acceptable too but using a katakana-word really has the feeling that you're trying to distinguish something...and honestly if you're a foreigner, it just kind of...fits (not necessarily in a natural way though).
>>37
In trends of the sounds attached? Not at all. Same sound born from different language contexts (to differentiate them when the same sound follows in a word our name, e.g. みすず&つづく)
How would you say "Please forgive me if I say anything wrong" ?
Is もし変なことを言ったら許して下さい acceptable ? I'm supposed to take an interview in English tomorrow but if I'm asked to speak a bit in Japanese, I'd like the jury to at least understand I'm aware of how poor my Japanese is.
Name:
Anonymous2012-06-24 16:38
>>612
もし変なことを言ったら許して下さい is literally, "Please forgive me if I say anything strange". That's fine, but a mistake in Japanese (just like any language) could be "strange" or it could just be wrong from a grammatical or contextual sense. Saying this might make your audience think you're going to talk about how you like to stick a banana up your grandmother's ass. That's strange. Not necessarily "wrong".
(talking directly about your Japanese)
もし日本語を間違えたら、もし日本語を話すのに失敗したら、もし日本語が少し変に聞こえたら、
(talking about saying something strange, wrong, etc.)
もし違和感があることを言ったら、もし不自然なことを言ったら、
(varying levels of politeness [low to high])
許してください、お許しください、お許しくださいますようお願いします、お許しいただきたく、お願い申し上げます
>>613
Thanks, that's very helpful ! Since I barely know any keigo, I'll just stick with the lowest politeness level as the others would sound awkward followed by more regular sentences I think.
Name:
Anonymous2012-06-24 22:48
I'm just about done with learning ~1000 kanji. I know their kunyomi+onyomi+meanings, but from here, I'm not sure where to go.... of course I know there are a little over 2000 main kanji, but I feel like it would be more productive for me to go ahead and first learn the jukugo for the kanji I've already learned before I move on.
So, what should I do? Power on through ~1000 more kanji or tread back and learn the first 1000's jukugo before I move on?
I think what this very helpful anon >>616 is getting at is that it doesn't matter so much where you go from here, as you should be working on learning the language however you feel like; you'll have to both everything eventually, so the order is of relative unimportance. As you've said "I feel it would be more productive...", you should go with that. I'm assuming you're asking because you want to learn in the most efficient way possible, but doing compounds, sentences, kanji, grammar, or whatever else in a particular order will only confer any 'efficiency' if you're enjoying yourself, so if you feel X route is more productive, go for that.
>>615
It might come as a shock to you but there's a lot more to Japanese than kanji, which is what >>616 was trying to hint at. Why are you studying Japanese? I'm going to take a stab here and guess that it's not because you love kanji. Do you know enough grammar to put your kanji knowledge to use? How's your reading/listening comprehension? Writing? Speaking?
I actually really enjoy studying kanji, but you would be correct in guessing that's not why I'm studying Japanese, haha. I mostly just want to be able to read without too much of a problem. Novels, old poetry (though that is obviously a very distant goal), things like that. Right now I have no plans--near or distant future--to visit/live in Japan, so I'm not as interested in the speaking/listening. My listening is okay though anyway. My grammar is pretty all right I think, though I'm much better at figuring out what the hell is going on grammar-wise when I'm reading than listening.
Name:
Anonymous2012-06-26 8:49
私はその人にデートに誘われました
Ok, so Genki has that sentence in the section on passive sentences, talking about how you can use them to describe things that happened that displeased you, but uses that, along with three others, as examples of the same sentence structure that don't involve being displeased.
So I have two questions; firstly, why use them in that sentence structure if you're not expressing a dislike of the situation? I'm guessing that the clue is in the name, and that it's simply because it's a passive act; something that 'happened' to you, but would like to clarify; secondly, could it be interpreted as a bad thing? Say, you really don't like the person, but didn't want to upset them, or they were a mate's ex and it's awkward, etc., or would saying it this way always be taken as simply something that 'happened' in the neutral?
Name:
Anonymous2012-06-26 9:48
>>620
First: Because Japanese has the suffering passive, but it has the normal passive too. Whether or not you suffered from a passive action depends on the content and context of the sentence. 誘われた is very normal to say, BUT, given the correct context could express suffering. That's why Japanese people usually avoid using it in reference to uchi or in places where it might be assumed to have a negative meaning. Passive form isn't just suffering passive. For example, its also respectful (どこに行かれますか？）when speaking to a social superior about their actions.
>That's why Japanese people usually avoid using it in reference to uchi or in places where it might be assumed to have a negative meaning.
Sorry, I didn't get that part. Could you elaborate? Thanks.
Name:
Anonymous2012-06-26 10:36
>>622
Uchi would be their in-group. I or we. So they try to avoid the passive in some situations where it might be imply that something "was done" to them and that affected them negatively.
Do you mean they wouldn't use that form concerning someone in their group, or to their group?
As in, would they use that form when speaking in their group when it was about someone who wasn't part of their group?
Name:
Anonymous2012-06-26 12:50
With "私は病気の友達に元気になってほしです", does the 病気の友達 imply that the friend has a long-term sickness, or can it be used to say someone has, say, a cold? The translation uses 'sick friend', but that comes across to me as the kind of person who'd been in hospital for quite a while.
Name:
Anonymous2012-06-26 13:36
>>625
Could be either. But its probably not a terminal disease.
Name:
Anonymous2012-06-27 9:38
Watashi Faggoto
Name:
Anonymous2012-06-27 10:16
>>624
In. But its not like they avoid it like the plague, they're just conscious of its usage. That's all.
Name:
Anonymous2012-06-27 11:53
How long did it take you to become somewhat fluent (conversationally - you could actually live in Japan with this level of Japanese)?
It's been 6 months and I feel like it's going to take me a long long time before I become comfortable with my level of comprehension and expression.
You can actually live in Japan with very basic Japanese.I have friends who've lived in Japan either during highschool or been married to a Japanese and I was definitely at their level or better in speaking and listening after about 8 months of studies(although very intensively, about twice the university speed). They've never cared much for kanji's though, being the normalfags they are.
You can make yourself understood with very limited grammar and vocabulary. You just need to get used to speaking.
I'd say one year of normal university courses(using that as the only point of reference) to comfortably have small chats. About two years to be able to at least fool people into thinking you're fluent.
Even after just 6 months, try having conversations in japanese as often as possible, you'll get used to it quickly and find that it really is a lot, lot easier than you thought.
And how much is the 'university speed'? When I did physics I must've been doing about 4 - 6 hours a day - surely you're not saying I should be doing 8 - 12 hours a day?
Not at all that much. University speed is still very casual. I'd say that if you can study without interruption and fully concentrated, it'd average out at like 2-3 hours a day. If you really can study 6 hours a day with full concentration, you're awesome.
Haha, I doubt I'd manage it with Japanese; I only got so far with physics/maths because towards the end I'd get stuck on a problem and end up stubbornly trying to figure it out. Anyway, thanks, 2/3 hours seems a perfectly reasonable amount of time.
-------------------------------------------------------------
My God, have pity on my soul; my God, have pity on this poor people.
William the Silent,1584
Name:
Anonymous2012-06-28 23:52
Could somebody please help me with this? I'm translating something for /h/, but this one section just makes no fucking sense to me at all. Especially the > parts. Thank you.
>>636
あんな that kind of (i.e. "that" i.e. "sex"
でも or things like that, something, anything etc.
一応 tentatively, for the time being, tentative
夫婦 (married) couple
なの feminine ending
With absolutely no context given:
-I mean, you knock boots too, right?
-I only do that kind of stuff as a couple/in a relationship/that kind of stuff should really be between couples/etc.
-Sorry
-I have a better idea!/How about this!/etc.
-I'll let you do even more!
Name:
Anonymous2012-06-29 0:29
So I can read Hiragana and Katakana. I can't translate things though. I'm at a very early stage. Problem is, I sorta need the skills at this very moment. I asked /r/, but there doesn't seem to be anyone who can speak the language. It's not anything important or emotional (to most people anyway), but it's kinda important to me, personally. It's actually about Pokémon, and I wanted to send a message to one of the higher ups via image on Twitter. Would it be okay to ask here, even if this is a learning thread?
>>639
Well, it's like a page or 2 long. So if someone's up to the task, I would be pretty darn grateful. The best way I could describe it would be with >>>/r/10098918 and >>>/vp/9586480 (I hope crosslinking to boards works here). Read the entire second thread if you want to get the full idea.