Adjectives

Ohh, I've been slacking considering my last post was more than a week ago (pictures don't really count, do they?). Whilst I've been slow, Rene has been publishing so many posts on numbers & time ~ i'm really stressed out now!!!! Now look who's the slave-driver (We've been taking turns calling each other that). I've much catching up to do ..

Ok, here's my little contribution. I've covered verbs previously. Now comes the adjectives.
2 types of Adjectives : I-Adjectives & Na-Adjectives.

Below is my list of I-Adjectives (end with i, thus called I-Adjectives)

Warm - Atatakai 　あたたかい
Cool - Suzushii 　すずしい
Hot (Temperature & Touch) - Atsui 　あつい
Cold (Temperature) - Samui 　さむい
Cold (Touch) - Tsumetai 　つめたい
Spacious - Hiroi 　ひろい
Limited space - Semai 　せまい
Cute - Kawaii 　かわいい
Ugly - Minikui 　みにくい
Frightening - Kowai 　こわい
Gentle - Yasashii 　やさしい
Difficult - Muzukashii 　むずかしい
Easy - Yasashii 　やさしい
Long - Nagai　 ながい
Short - Mijikai 　みじかい
Delicious - Oishii 　おいしい
Bad Taste - Mazui 　まずい
Big/Large - Ookii 　おおきい
Small - Chiisai 　ちいさい
Heavy - Omoi 　おもい
Light - Karui 　かるい
Late - Osoi 　おそい
Early/Quick - Hayai 　はやい
Near - Chikai 　ちかい
Far - Tooi 　とおい
Interesting - Omoshiroi　 おもしろい
Boring - Tsumaranai 　つまらない
Expensive/Tall - Takai 　たかい
Cheap - Yasui 　やすい
Low/Short - Hikui 　ひくい
Good - Yoi / II 　よい / いい
Bad - Warui 　わるい
New - Atarashii 　あたらしい
Old - Furui 　ふるい
Busy - Isogashii 　いそがしい
Noisy - Urusai 　うるさい
Fun - Tanoshii たのしい

The adjectives describes nouns & they precede the nouns they describe.

Kore wa mijikai enpitsu desu / This is a short pencil
Koko wa ookii ie desu / This is a big house

I-adjectives with past tense => drop -i, add -katta
Negative I-adjectives => drop -i, add -ku nai
Negative past I-adjectives => drop -i, add -ku nakatta
To make it formal, just add a desu at the back

Let's take the example, Omoshiroi

Omoshiroi hon / The book that is interesting
Omoshiroku nai hon / The book that is not interesting
Omoshirokatta hon / The book that was interesting
Omoshiroku nakatta hon/ The book that was not interesting.

Ok, now lets look at the other type of adjective, ie Na-adjectives.

Convenient - Benri 　べんり
Inconvenient - Fuben 　ふべん
Healthy - Genki 　げんき
Strange - Hen 　へん
Beautiful - Kirei 　きれい
Clever - Rikoo りこう
Kind - Shinsetsu 　しんせつ
Quiet - Shizuka　 しずか
Famous - Yuumei 　ゆうめい

Let's take the example, Shinsetsu

Anata wa shinsetsu desu / You are kind
Anata wa shinsetsu dewa arimasen / You are not kind
Anata wa shinsetsu deshita - You were kind
Anata wa shinsetsu dewa arimasen deshita - You were not kind

I think Na-adjectives is much easier, right?
Just to take note when a na-adjective is used, -na must be dropped. However, if a na-adjective is placed before a noun, a -na is added

Yuumei na hito / A famous person
Genki na hito / A healthy person

Okie, I finally finish what I have on adjectives. My mind is now in a blank as to what I should write for my next post (Maybe its late & I'm close to dozing off ^-^ Zzzz time). Please, pls keep reading, thank you v much! I'll be back again once I think of something.

Posted By : Jasvale

Labels: Grammar and Vocab

じかん (jikan) - Time

To tell time, just add じ (ji) to the number.

1 o'clock - いちじ (ichi ji)

2 o'clock - にじ (ni ji)

3 o'clock - さんじ (san ji)

4 o'clock - よじ (yo ji)*

5 o'clock - ごじ (go ji)

6 o'clock - ろくじ (roku ji)

7 o'clock - しちじ (shichi ji)

8 o'clock - はちじ (hachi ji)

9 o'clock - くじ (ku ji)*

10 o'clock - じゅうじ (juu ji)

11 o'clock - じゅういちじ (juuichi ji)

12 o'clock - じゅうにじ (juuni ji)

* Note: Please note 4 and 9 o'clock are slightly different.

~ Half past ~

Half past 1 - いちじはん (ichiji han)

Half past 2 - にじはん (niji han)

~ Minutes ~

Minutes are either ぷん (pun) or ふん (fun).

1 min - いっぷん (ippun)

2 min - にふん (nifun)

3 min - さんぷん (sanpun)

4 min - よんぷん (yonpun)

5 min - ごふん (gofun)

6 min - ろっぷん (roppun)*

7 min - ななふん (nanafun)

8 min - はっぷん or はちふん (happun or hachifun)*

9 min - きゅうふん (kyuufun)

10 min - じゅっぷん (juppun)*

11 min - じゅういっぷん (juuippun)

12 min - じゅうにふん (juunifun)

13 min - じゅさんぷん (juusanpun)

14 min - じゅうよんぷん (juuyonpun)

15 min - じゅうごふん (juugofun)

16 min - じゅうろっぷん (juuroppun)

17 min - じゅうななふん (juunanafun)

18 min - じゅうはっぷん or じゅうはちふん (juuhappun or juuhachifun)

19 min - じゅうきゅうふん (juukyuufun)

20 min - にじゅっぷん (nijuupun)

30 min - さんじゅっぷん (sanjuupun)

* Note: Please take note of 6, 8 and 10 for the slight variation.

~ A.M. and P.M. ~

A.M. - ごぜん or 午前 (gozen)

P.M. - ごご or 午後 (gogo)

Ready to tell time?

Example:

1:15 - いちじじゅうごふん (ichi ji + juugo + fun)

1:15 PM - ごごいちじじゅうごふん (gogo + ichi ji + juugo + fun)

9.32 AM - ごぜんくじさんじゅうにふん (gozen + kuji + sanjuu ni + fun)

==> But how do you tell length of time?

How would you answer a question such as "How long does the journey take?" or "How long does it take to run a marathorn?"?

For just hours and minutes, refer back to the example of "1:15" from the above.

But if it crucial that you include seconds as well, then you would need to add びょう or 秒 (byou).

Example: 1hr 15 min 35 sec - いちじじゅうごふんさんじゅうごびょう (ichiji + juugofun + sanjuugo byou)

~ Rene ~

Labels: Time and Date

Japanese Kids Web

Came across this cutesy site for Japanese kids. Has a small simple section on learning Japanese.

Labels: Links

すうじ (suuji) - Numbers (Part 4)

~ Hundred Thousands ~

There are no special counter for this. The numbering is still the same as the "Ten Thousands" previously.

Example:

234,567 - にじゅうさんまんよんせんごひゃくろくじゅうなな (ni juu san man + yon sen + go hyaku + roku juu + nana)

~ Millions ~

1,000,000 - ひゃくまん (hyakuman)

As you probably can see, 1 million in Japanese is actually 100 of 10,000s but the numbering goes the same way as the "Ten Thousands".

Example:

2,345,678 - にひゃくさんじゅうよんまんごせんろっぴゃくななじゅうはち (ni hyaku san juu yon man + go sen roppyaku nana juu hachi)

12,345,678 - せんにひゃくさんじゅうよんまんごせんろっぴゃくななじゅうはち (sen +ni hyaku san juu yon man + go sen roppyaku nana juu hachi)

I guess this concludes the numbering for now. If you are interested in further reading, you can check these links.

1. Chart of numbers

2. Large numbers

3. The number system

Happy numbering!

さようなら

~ Rene ~

Labels: Numbering

すうじ (suuji)　- Numbers (Part 3)

If you have ever shopped in Japan, you will noticed that alot of their pricing comes in hundreds and thousands. So this segment is good to know.

~ Thousands (せん - sen) ~

Just like for the hundreds, the system is the same, with special attention to numbers like 3,000 and 8,000.

1,000 - せん (sen)

2,000 - 二せん (ni + sen)

3,000 - さんぜん (san + zen)*

4,000 - よんせん (yon + sen)

5,000 - ごせん (go + sen)

6,000 - ろくせん (roku + sen)

7,000 - ななせん (nana + sen)

8,000 - はっせん (ha + s + sen)*

9,000 - きゅうせん (kyuu + sen)

So, now let's move on to those combination numbers such as 1,234. Just think of it in Chinese but drop the 1 for the thousand.

1,234 - せんにひゃくさんじゅうよん (sen + ni hyaku + san juu + yon)

2,345 - にせんさんびゃくよんじゅうご (ni sen + san byaku+ yon juu + go)

~ Ten Thousands (まん - man)~

This part is really easy, as there are not special numbers to take note of, but for the 10,000, you would need to add in the number 1.

10,000 - いちまん (ichi + man)

20,000 - にまん(ni + man)

30,000 - さんまん (san + man)

40,000 - よんまん (yon + man)

50,000 - ごまん (go + man)

60, 000 - ろくまん (roku + man)

70,000 - ななまん (nana + man)

80,000 - はちまん (hachi + man)

90,000 - きゅうまん (kyuu + man)

And the combination numbers goes the same way as the Chinese too. For eg. 12,345 in Chinese would be 一万两千三百四十五, except that the 两 is replaced by the number 2.

12,345 - いちまんにせんさんびゃくよんじゅうご (ichi + man + ni + sen+ san + byaku + yon + juu + go)

I'll continue with Hundred Thousands and Millions in the next post.

Happy numbering!

さようなら

~ Rene ~

Labels: Numbering

Food Binge Time

This post will be different from the rest of our previous posts. Nothing to do with the learning of the japanese language..Just wanna share a few pics of some nice food I've tried. I can finally put my camera to some good use instead of letting it collect dust until my next holidays materialise. I've seen so much pictures on foods in other people's blogs & I think its not a bad idea to do that here as well.


It's flat noodles & duck slices served chilled with a special duck broth dip (hidden under the little red plate). I've never been a big fan of cold noodles at all, so I just "stole" a few mouthfuls from my friend's & hey, its not bad. I like the texture of the noodles, firm & chewy. The duck broth for dipping the noodles is thick & tasty too. Cold soba is more common in local restaurants here but this is really worth a try!


A very familiar dish - Tonkatsu Don. It comes with a generous amount of eggs (my favourite, the more the merrier). The pork is very tender & each piece comes with a little fatty bit but I'll rather do without the fatty bits though ~ fattening haha


The restaurant's signature is grilled skewers. This is black pepper yakitori & shitake with pork wrapped with seaweed. If you like black pepper, you'll like the strong black peppery taste of the yakitori.


Dessert time!!! The left one is my all time favourite ~ Yuzu Sherbet & the right one is Red Bean ice-cream. I've first tried the Yuzu Sherbet years back at another different restaurant & its always a must-have whenever I'm there. It comes with a few small bits of the fruit, has a very refreshing & slightly citrus taste so its still easy to "stomach" it even if I'm already full. In fact the scoop is never enough :)
For those with a very sweet tooth, you'll like the red bean ice-cream. Its very sweet & rich with milk as well.

Ok, that's all for now. Will post other oishii food again in the future. If you have recommendations for nice japanese food, please feel free to share!

Posted By : Jasvale

Labels: Food For Soul

すうじ (suuji) - Numbers (Part 2)

So ready for more numbers?

~~ 20, 30, 40, 50, etc ~~

This is really easy. 20 in Chinese is 二十, and in Japanese, it is the same. に (ni) is for 2 and じゅう (juu) for 10. So put together, you get にじゅう (nijuu).

30 - さんじゅう (san + juu = sanjuu)

40 - よんじゅう (yon + juu = yonjuu)

50 - ごじゅう (go + juu = gojuu)


~~ 21 - 99 ~~

In Chinese, 21 would be 二十一. Similarly, in Japanese it is にじゅういち (ni + juu + ichi).

More examples?

32 - さんじゅうに (san + juu + ni)

54 - ごじゅうよん (go + juu + yon)

67 - ろくじゅうなな (roku + juu + nana)


~~ Hundreds ~~

100 - ひゃく (hyaku)

1,000 - せん (sen)

I feel that this is one of the most important part for learning, cos most of the things in Japan are in hundreds and thousands.


200 - にひゃく (ni + hyaku)

300 - さんびゃく (san + byaku)*

400 - よんひゃく (yon + hyaku)

500 - ごひゃく (go + hyaku)

600 - ろっぴゃく (ro + p + pyaku)*

700 - ななひゃく (nana + hyaku)

800 - はっぴゃく (ha + p + pyaku)*

900 - きゅひゃく (kyu + hyaku)

* Note:
You have have noticed that 300, 600 and 800 are not your standard combo. There is a slight variation to the standard ひゃく (hyaku).

So how do you say numbers like 123? Easy! Think of how it goes in Chinese? 一百二十三! Except that in Japanese they don't add in the 1 for the 100.

123 - ひゃくにじゅうさん (hyaku + ni + juu + san)

234 - にひゃくさんじゅうよん (ni + hyaku + san + juu + yon)

345 - さんびゃくよんじゅうご (san + byaku + yon + juu + go)


So are you ready for more? Or the numbers are swimming in your head? (^.^)

I'll continue with thousands and millions in the next post.

Happy numbering!

さようなら

~ Rene ~

Labels: Numbering

すうじ (suuji)　- Numbers

I've finally figured out how the numbers go. This is VERY important when you are going shopping. But if you are really worried that you can't remember all the numbers, there's always pen and paper or a calculator. (^.^)

~~ Numbers 1 - 19 ~~

0 - ぜろ (zero)

1 - いち (ichi)

2 - に (ni)

3 - さん (san)

4 - よん (yon)

5 - ご (go)

6 - ろく (roku)

7 - なな (nana)

8 - はち (hachi)

9 - きゅう (kyuu)

10 - じゅう (juu)

Thereafter, Japanese numbering system is just like Chinese (eg. 十一， 十二，十三，etc).

So if 10 is じゅう (juu), then 11 is じゅういち (juu + ichi = juuichi).

Need another eg? 12 would be じゅうに (juu + ni = juuni).

Got it? Ahh.... But mind a few exceptions and you are on your way.

** EXCEPTIONS **
There are three numbers which are just have other variation. So take note of the numbers 14, 17 and 19. But if you can't remember, you could still use the above numbering system.

14 - じゅうし (juu + shi = juushi)

17 - じゅうしち (juu + shichi = juushichi)

19 - じゅうく (juu + ku = juuku)

I'll continue with the numbering system in the next post.

Happy numbering!

さようなら。

~ Rene ~

Labels: Numbering

JBox

While reading some bento blogs, I came across some blogs recommending this site for cute knick-knacks. I go there to look at the cut-throat-pricing bento boxes. Hehe...

~ Rene ~

Labels: Links

Basic Grammar

The sentence structure :

Indirect subject wa grammatical subject ga "adjective" + desu is used to describe to want something, like/dislike and skills.

To Want
Saying "I want (something)" is pretty easy. Just say the thing you want and add ga hoshii to it.
The negative of hoshii is hoshiku nai

Nomimono ga hoshii desu / I want a drink
Ke-ki ga hoshii desu ka / Do you want cake?
Watashi wa asa-gohan ga hoshiku nai desu / I dont want breakfast

Want To Do
Sentences may be transformed to express wishes by changing o into ga & masu into tai desu
First get the masu form of the verb. Then drop the masu and add tai.

Tabemasu (To eat) becomes Tabetai (Want to eat)
Nomimasu (To drink) becomes Nomitai (Want to drink)
Shimasu (To do) becomes Shitai (Want to do)

Watashi wa hon ga yomitai desu / I want to read a book
Watashi wa hana ga mitai desu / I want to see flowers
Watashi wa netai desu / I want to sleep
Ke-ki o tabetai desu ka / Do you want to eat cake?
Anata wa nani ga shitai desu ka / What do you want to do?

I Dont Want To
You can make negative statements by converting tai desu into either taku arimasen or taku nai desu. The direct object may be followed by either ga or o.
My examples below uses the latter.

Watashi wa hon ga/o yomitaku nai desu
I do not want to read a book

Ototo wa arukitaku nai desu
The younger brother does not want to walk

You can form the negative past tense by changing taku nai desu into taku nakatta desu. The direct object can be followed by ga or o as above.

Kinoo watashi wa benkyou ga/o shitaku nakatta desu
Yesterday, I did not want to study

To Like
It is easy to like something and to say it! Just add ga suki after the object that you like.
For something you dislike, just add ga kirai after the object of dislike.

Watashi wa tenisu ga suki desu / I like tennis
Watashi wa ninjin ga kirai desu / I dislike carrots
Anata wa nani ga suki desu ka / What do you like?

The negative of suki/kirai desu is suki/kirai de wa arimasen

Betty-san wa ringo ga suki de wa arimasen / Betty does not like apples

I Am Good At That
Good (at a particular skill) / Jouzu
Bad (at a particular skill / Heta

Ojiisan wa Nihon-go ga jozu desu / Grandfather is good at Japanese language

Below are addditional information :)

I Think
You believe what you say, but are not 100% sure. It is also used to show one's opinion, just add to omoimasu at the end.

Sakana wa oishii to omoimasu / I think fish is delicious

Become
To show the state of to become something, use ni narimasu. The ni is placed after what is becoming something. The narimasu means to become. Nouns and -na adjectives use ni narimasu.
The negative future tense is obtained by changing narimasu into narimasen

Yoru ni narimashita / It has become night (mashita shows past)
Tomodachi ni narimashou / Let's become friends (mashou means "Let's")
Yoru gakkou wa shizuka ni narimasu / At night, school will be quiet
Ashita wa atsuku narimasen / It will not be hot tomorrow

-Ing
This is a very important grammar point. It corresponds to the English "-ing" form.
It is used to describe things happening now.
To use the form, change the first verb into the 'te' form. Then add the 'imasu'.

Ima anata ni hanashite imasu / I am talking to you now
Ima gohan o tabete imasu / I am eating rice now

This form is also used when stating things that are done on a regular basis (even if you are not presently doing the activity)

Mai nichi, nihongo o ichi jikan benkyou shite imasu / Everyday, I study Japanese for an hour.

Ok, I hope the above information & examples helps :))

Posted By : Jasvale

Labels: Grammar and Vocab

Verbs ~ Action Words

One of the characteristics of the Japanese language is that the verb generally comes at the end of the sentence. Since Japanese sentences often omit the subject, the verb is probably the most important part in understanding the sentence

Masu-verbs are used for the polite style of speech, which is the most commonly used style.
Its appropriate for general use so I'll be using only masu-verbs in my notes.
Below is a list of masu-verbs which I've came across. The list is not exhaustive though, I'll add on more as & when I come across them :)

Too many words to learn at one go, isn't it? Probably you can start to memorise a few at a time till such time when the words just come naturally to yr mind & you can proceed on with the next few & so forth! Well, learning japanese has made me feel like a small small kid all over again learning how to write, speak & understanding its meaning. Learning is really fun, ya?
(Have to tell yrself its fun even when it's too hard, ya?) SO, even if the going gets tough, try motivating yourself & persevere!
A new language if mastered well is both a skill & an asset, agree? YES!!!

Wash - Araimasu あらいます
Speak - Hanashimasu 　はなします
Buy - Kaimasu 　かいます
Sell - Urimasu 　うります
Write/Draw - Kakimasu 　かきます
Listen to/Hear - Kikimasu 　ききます
See/Watch - Mimasu 　みます
Learn - Naraimasu 　ならいます
Drink - Nomimasu 　のみます
Eat - Tabemasu 　たべます
Take - Torimasu 　　とります
Send - Okurimasu 　おくります
Make - Tsukurimasu 　つくります
Read - Yomimasu 　よみます
Wait - Machimasu 　まちます
Sleep - Nemasu 　ねます
Know - Shirimasu 　しります
Play - Asobimasu 　あそぶます
Walk - Arukimasu 　あるきます
Go - Ikimasu 　いきます
Come - Kimasu 　きます
Leave - Demasu 　でます
Do - Shimasu 　します
Return - Kaerimasu 　かえります
Meet - Aimasu 　あいます
Enter - Hairimasu 　はいります
Begin - Hajimarimasu 　はじまります
Have - Mochimasu 　もちます
Think - Omoimasu 　おもいます
Sit - Suwarimasu 　すわります
Stand - Tachimasu 　たちます
Wake Up - Okimasu 　おきます
Stop - Tomarimasu 　とまります
Arrive - Tsukimasu 　つきます
Sing - Utaimasu 　うたいます
Understand - Wakarimasu 　わかります
Laugh - Waraimasu 　わらいます
Teach - Oshiemasu 　おしえます
Get off - Orimasu 　おります

Present Tense
Japanese verb forms have two main tenses, the present and the past. There is no future tense. The present tense is used for future and habitual action as well.

Past Tense
The past tense is used to express actions completed in the past (I saw, I bought etc.) and present perfect tense (I have read, I have done etc).

Take off ~masu , and add ~ mashita

Present Negative
To make sentence negative, verb endings are changed into negative forms

Replace ~ masu with ~ masen

Past Negative
Add ~ deshita to the formal present negative form

Examples :
Present Tense
1) Nomimasu
2) Tabemasu
3) Mimasu

Past Tense
1) Nomimashita
2) Tabemashita
3) Mimashita

Present Negative
1) Nomimasen
2) Tabemasen
3) Mimasen

Past Negative
1) Nomimasen deshita
2) Tabemasen deshita
3) Mimasen deshita

Forming Sentences
Otoosan wa shinbun o yomimasu / Father reads newspapers
Watashi wa nihon-go o naraimasu / I learn Japanese
Imooto wa pan o tsukurimasu / The younger sister makes bread

Would you like to __?
Negative masu-verbs + ka means Would you like to __?

Eiga o mimasen ka / Would you like to see a movie?
Kore o yomimasen ka / Would you like to read this?

Posted By : Jasvale

Labels: Grammar and Vocab

This, That, and (That) Over there

Japanese has many different words for this & that. When you talk about a thing or person, Kore, Sore & Are are used.

Kore これ　- This (indicates a thing/person near the speaker)
Sore それ　- That (indicates a thing/person near the listener)
Are あれ　- That over there (indicates a thing/person away from the speaker & listener)
Dare だれ　- Who
Dore 　どれ - Which

Kore is used when "this" is not connected to a noun
Kore wa nan desu ka / What is this?
Kore wa neko desu / This is a cat.

When you put "this" before a noun, it changes to Kono （この）
Kono neko wa pochi desu ka / Is this cat, Pochi?
Iie kono inu wa pochi desu / No. This dog is Pochi.

Similarly, When you put "that" & "that over there" before a noun, it changes to Sono （その）& Ano （あの）respectively.

When you refer to other people to whom you have to show yr respect, such as teachers or elders, Kochira (This), Sochira (That) & Achira (Over there) are used.

When you talk about this & that related to a place, Koko, Soko & Asoko are used.

Koko - This place (a place near the speaker)
Soko - That place (a place near the listener)
Asoko -That place over there (a place away from speaker & listener)
Doko - Where

Posted By : Jasvale

Labels: Grammar and Vocab

Simple Expressions

Here are some simple expression which I thought are quite useful for daily use.

(A) おはよう
ohayoo
(Good morning)

Or in the case of a formal situation ...
おはよう　ございます
ohayoo gozaimasu
(Good morning)

(B) ありがとう
arigatoo
(Thank you)

Or in the case of a formal situation ...
ありがとう　ございます
arigatoo gozaimasu
(Thank you)

(C) さようなら
sayoonara
(Goodbye - use when you don't expect to see the other party in the near term)

じゃあ、また
jaa, mata
(Goodbye - use when you expect to see the other party soon)

しつれいします
shitsureishimasu
(May I please be excused?)

(D) すみません
sumimasen
(I'm sorry/Excuse me/Thank you for your trouble)

(E) いいえ
iie
(Not at all/No)

(F) ええ
ee
(Yes)

(G) えつ、なに？
etsu, nani
(Pardon?)

(H) いま、なにてごんましたか？
ima, nani tegonmashita ka
(What did you say?)

(I) あの
ano
(Erm ...)

(J) はい
hai
(Yes)

(K) そうですか
soo desu ka
(I see)

(L) またおあいしましょう
mata oaishimashoo
(See you again)

(M) そのとおりです
sonotoori desu
(That's right)

(N) なにも知りません
nanimoshirimasen
(I don't know)

(O) わたしもそうおもう
watashi mosoo omoo
(I also think so/I think so, too)

(P) ああ、おみだした
aa, omidashita
(Oh, yes, I remember now)

(Q) かまいません
kamaimasen
(I don't mind/I don't care/That's fine with me)

(R) いいえ、けっこうです
iie, kekkoo desu
(No, thank you)

(S) どういたしまして
douitashimashite
(You are welcome)

Posted By : Rene Self Introduction

While Jas is busy filling the blog with notes on the basics, I am still sorting out in my mind how to go about posting my notes. My notes will be slightly different from Jas' as I started off with the hiragana and katakana (or collectively known as kana). As much as possible, I would like to keep my notes in hiragana, as I am not well versed in katakana yet. So hopefully, these notes might be of some use to you.

Please allow me to introduce myself in Japanese.

(A)
はじめまして。
hajimemashite
(How do you do?)

(B)
わたしは Rene です。
watashi wa Rene desu.
(I am Rene)

Or in the case of a formal situation ...
わたしは Rene ともうします
watashi wa Rene to mooshimasu
(I am Rene.)

(C)
どう ぞよろしく。
doozo yoroshiku
(Nice meeting you)

In case you would like to know how to reply to the above, read further.

After my greetings (A) and self introduction (B), you might like to reply the same with:
はじめまして。
hajimemashite

わたしは xxです。
watashi wa xx desu.

After my final greeting (C), you might like to reply the same with:
こちら　こそ　どう ぞよろしく。
kochira koso doozo yoroshiku
(Nice meeting you, too)

** Note **
As Japanese language is highly contexture, most of the time the people involved would make certain assumptions. Such as in (B), I would assume that you know I am talking about myself, so I may simply just say "Rene です。" and drop the "わたしは". And of course, when replying you may also drop the "わたしは".

Posted By : Rene Particles

Japanese has little words called particles, usually made up of one or two syllables (such as wa, ga, o etc). Particles , not word order indicate subjects & objects in sentences.

For eg, o is placed after direct objects and wa/ga is placed after subjects.

Regardless of word order, it is always clear in a Japanese sentence which word is the subject & which word is the direct object. Only verbs have fixed location ~ the verb comes at the end of the sentence or just before if ka / ne/ yo follows the verb.

Particles can be very confusing & I'm also one of them getting confused over it.
Below is what I've read from references & hopefully you'll find it a little useful.

Wa is the main topic particle of the conversation
Ga is the subject particle of the conversation

Eg Watashi wa Tom desu (I am Tom)
[Tom is the topic and now this is known, it won't be repeated unless the topic changes]

Neko ga suki desu. (I) like cats
["Cats" are actually the 'subject' here]

Ga with Question Words :
Question words always use ga. When a question word such as "who" and "what" is the subject of a sentence, it is always followed by "ga," never by "wa." To answer the question, it also has to be followed by "ga."

Dare ga kimasu ka - Who is coming?
Yoko ga kimasu - Yoko is coming.
Nani ga oishii - What tastes good?

O is the direct object particle
Hon o yomimashita - (I) read a book
[The book is the object]

Ni is a multipurpose marker. Can be used in the following :

Shows movement (to)
Nihon ni ikimashou - Let's go to Japan!
[There is movement going to Japan]

Shows time (at)
Roku ji ni ikimashou - Let's go at 6!

In/at a place
Tokyo ni sundeimasu - (I) live in Tokyo

Purpose (to)
Koohii ni shimashou - Let's have coffee.

The particle de following a noun has two uses. One is to indicate "how" or "with what instrument" something is done.
Watashi wa inu o mizu de araimasu - I wash a dog with water
Otosan wa tegami o pen de kakimasu - Father writes a letter with a pen

The second use of de is to express "action in a place". It can mean in/at/on

Nihon de asobimashou - Let's play (have fun) in Japan!
Watashi wa zasshi o basu de yomimasu - I read a magazine on a bus
Watashi wa e o yama de kakimasu - I draw a picture at a mountain

The particle ne at the end of a sentence solicits agreement from the listener.
It can mean "Isn't it?", "Don't you?", "Won't you?" etc
Ara wa hon desu ne - That is a book, isn't it?
Anata wa ringo o tabemasu ne - You'll eat an apple, wont you?

When the particle to follows a person, it means together/along with.
Watashi we eiga o Hanako san to mimasu - I watch a movie with Hanako
Ranchi o watashi to tabemasen ka - Would you like to eat lunch with me?

Yo at the end of a sentence highlights what the speaker is saying. It is similar to an exclamation mark in English.
Are wa watashi-tachi no basu desu yo - That is our bus!

The particle to when used between nouns is translated as and or both __ and __.
An apple and a tangerine - Ringo to Mikan

The particle ka when used between nouns is translated as or either __ or __.
An apple or an orange - Ringo ka Orenji

Particles may be separated into three categories depending on where they appear in sentences.

1. Ka, ne, yo : placed at the end of a sentence, after the verb meaning ?, Isn't it?, !
2. To, ka, no : put between words meaning and, or & posessive s ('s)
3. Wa, o de, to : describe & follow nouns/pronouns

Note that ka appears in two different locations for two different purposes in sentences.
One is for questions at the end of sentences & another to mean or between words.
To also appears in two different locations ~ One between nouns/pronouns meaning and & another after nouns/pronouns meaning with.

Oh-oh, reading back at what i've written, this is a rather lengthy post, haha! Hopefully after reading it through, it can help you shed some light over the use of different particles & not see stars instead *-*

Posted By : Jasvale

Labels: Introduction

Introduction to Japanese

Japanese sentences are written with a combination of characters called Kanji, Hiragana & Katakana. Kanji consists of old chinese characters & each Kanji symbol represents a full word, phrase or idea.
Hiragana & Katakana are two "alphabets". Each alphabet represents a syllable without any individual meaning, just like English letters.
Romaji is a way of writing Japanese using the English alphabet. Romaji is primarily used for the convenience of foreigners. With Romaji, one can read Japanese without knowing any Japanese writing system

Characteristics of Japanese
The Japanese language has only 5 vowels : A, I, U, E, O
Japanese nouns do not have special forms to show whether they are singular or plural & there are no articles (the, a, an). Ringo means an apple, apples, the apple or the apples. The same for pronouns ~hence this & these have the same word, Kore in Japanese

How To Read A Japanese Word
The easiest way to pronounce a Japanese word is to break it up using a slash(/) after every vowel (a, i, u, e, o) & to read each syllable separately

Good night is read as O/ya/su/mi/na/sa/i/

I am back now is read as Ta/da/i/ma

Word Order
English is a subject-verb-object language. Japanese is a subject-object-verb language.
Generally the subject comes first, then the object and the verb comes at the end of the sentence.

Subject ffffffffffff Object ffffffffffVerb
Tom-san wa ffff Ringo o fffffffTabemasu (Tom eats apple)

Posted By : Jasvale

Labels: Introduction

Japanese characters part two

Posted By : Rene

Labels: Katakana

Japanese Characters

Posted By : Rene

Labels: Hiragana

The Start

Curious over how this site come about? Well, its being started by 2 gals struggling hard (at least for myself, possilbly to Rene not at all) to learn Japanese each for our own good reason!
What motivates me to want to learn Japanese is a love for travelling.
Yes yes, Holidays ~ I guess most people are caught up with the travel bug ! Really hope that someday I'll know enough of this lovely language to explore the country on a free & easy basis, not just the usual touristy places but more of the lesser known & non-touristy ones. Sounds ambitious i know but that's my DREAM ( ^-^)
When watching japanese-related shows, I've always been awed by its lovely scenery & nice food prepared using the hearts if you know what i mean! Hmmm, hmmm ....

Posted By : Jasvale So You Really Wanna Learn Japanese?

Check this site. It gives quite a good summary about learning any language.

Posted By: Rene Why Japanese?

No, I am not a foreign language enthusiast. Neither am I am polyglot cos I can't write in Chinese even though I speak it. Then why on earth do I want to meddle with Japanese?

If you haven't really noticed that I have another food blog, I will let you in on a little secret. I am a big Jap food fan and so is my little princess. So I figured that the only way I would be able to do some Jap cooking myself is to be able to read their cookbooks. And boy do they have tons of them! Walking into one of Tokyo's Kinokuniya was like walking into my idea of heaven, except that this heaven doesn't speak my language. (-.-)

So this is my ultimate reason why I wanna learn Japanese. I want to be able to read Japanese cookbooks.

So what's your reason for learning Japanese?

Posted By: Rene Welcome

Welcome to our blog!

Here we will attempt to share notes and other whatnots that we can find online.

Please feel free to have your say on any posts by dropping your comments.

Posted By: Rene