SAKETALKIE

Trashcan in Japanese

2008-12-23T21:07:00.000-08:00

Gomi ごみ - trash

hako 箱 - box

gomi ごみ + hako = gomibako = trashbox

we say trashcan they say trashbox

Step by Step Japanese translation lesson

2008-12-19T01:10:00.000-08:00

Gyara de kotowararete shimatta n desu

Gyara - guarantee
de - at (occurrence at, where the action takes place - particle)
kotowaru - to reject, refuse, decline, dismiss

Now we take the verb of the sentence kotowaru and say that this verb was done unto me with the verb kotowaru in Base I + reru so that adding the polite desu to a compounded grammar of
base I + reru + shimau
kotowarareru or the in base TE to form the extension to the completely verb grammar of shimau in past tense or shimatta so that we have

kotowararete + shimatta + no desu.

In the past tense, the Japanes verb shimau becomes shimatta using the TA form
Shimmatta n' desu is an abbreviation of shimmatta no desu which makes it an emphatic. " ...has been completely done unto me"

Here are my translations:

1. Due to the guarantee, I have been (utterly) completely refused

2. I was denied by the guarantee.

It has been completely determined by the guarantee for me. Which sorta sucks.

The "sorta suck" part, is in the "shimatta n desu" part because it leaves a negative impression that it wasn't a good thing and that it was utterly done to me (bad thing)

The grammar pattern that we can extract for future use is for this phrase,"
I have been completely verbed upon

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Japanese Adjectives –

2008-12-19T01:07:00.000-08:00

Japanese Adjectives –
Grammar construction for –
It seems like adjective

It seems like its tasty
They seem happy
She seems vexed.
He seems

followed by NI, descriptive nouns become adverbs
A descriptive noun is a word that gives more detail or describes the noun to which it is attachedin question.
D.N. + SO^ DESU = seems like adjective

Kawaiso^ ni = pitifully, shamefully.

Shiawase so^ na = happily, seemingly happy

Seems to have this form adjective + So^ na
Isogashiiso^ na furi o shite
忙しいそうな振りをして...– He feigns to be busy
(He is faking like he is busy.)

Kawai可愛いis the d.n. for cute. Intesified with the so marker and it becomes a different word.

Japanese adjectives

2008-11-23T23:28:00.000-08:00

Japanese Adjectives –
Grammar construction for It seems like adjective What is known as descriptive noun gives some detail as to the noun in question.
D.N. + SO^ DESU = seems like adjective

Kawaiso^ ni = pitifully, shamefully.

Shiawase so^ na = happily, seemingly happy

Seems to have this form adjective + So^ na
Isogashiiso^ na furi o shite
忙しいそうな振りをして...– faking like he is busy

Kawai可愛いis the d.n. for cute. Intesified with the so marker and it becomes a different word.

Intesifiers in Japanese

2008-11-23T22:39:00.000-08:00

Intesifiers in Japanese
Japanese intensifiers

Put a Japanese verb into its extensor form Base II, then add + any of these:

1. Yasui – easy; simple
2. Tsurai – hard to deal with, handle; hardship; difficult.
3. Nikui – difficult;hard

Yariyasui やりやすい – easy to play, do
Shiyasui しやすい – easy to do
Nomiyasui – easy to drink
Tabeyasui食べやすい – easy to eat
Noriyasui乗りやすい– easy to ride

Shitsurai or shizurai – hard to do*
Yarizurai – hard to do, difficult to play
Hikinikui引きにくい– hikitsurai – not easy to play or pull
Hanashinikui話しにくい– hard to speak
Minikui見にくい– hard to look at;ugly
Mizurai みづらい– can’t bear to look

• tsu becomes dzu or zu when compounded
o しづらい not しつらい
dzu not tsu after the shi in shidzurai (shizurai)

please see my other blog http:///saketalkie.blogspot.com

Words of Color in Japanese

2008-11-19T19:58:00.000-08:00

Japanese Colors
Aoi 青い
Midori みどり
Kiiroi黄色
Chairo 茶色
Kuroi 黒い
Haiiro 灰色
Nezumiiro
Murasaki むらさき- (紫)
Akai 赤い
Pinku ピンク
Shiroi白い
Orenjiオレーンジ

A different kind of question mark, TO^ in Hakataben

2008-11-10T01:00:00.000-08:00

The following pertains to the Japanese as spoken in the Hakata dialect of Fukuoka, Japan.

TO^ or tou is used as the ? or question mark sometimes in Japanese. Observe the way TO^ is used in the following sentences,

"DOKO NI IKIYORU TO^?" どこに往きよるとう - "Where are you going?(Where do you think you're going?)

also heard "DOKO NI IKIYO^ TO^" どこに往きようとう - same meaning, but in this example the verb iku is in Base II then adds + yoru to^

Doko kara kiyo^ to^?
どこから来ようとう - "Where does he come from?" or "Where do you come from?".

another variety of this construction that will mask the true traditional Japanese language, but there is a way to make these type of constructions polite. I've heard it covered up this way -

DOKO KARA KIYO^ TO^ DESU KA?
どこから来ようとうですか? - Where do you come from.

This way of phrasing the question, " Where do you come from?", appears and sounds polite so that it passes for polite Japanese. This is definitely not a good way to speak polite Japanese. The best way to speak it politely is to use honorific forms of the verb. Yes I know it is cumbersome to not only remember the rules for honorific verb forms but it is quite something also to pronounce them well. Especially for verbs with au ending such as arawareru. That there will be a tongue tie if ever there was one, for a gaijin that is.

Conclusion: Add DESU KA to anything makes to make your Japanese language more polite. Or at least it will sound that way.

This is not a short "TO". This is a TO with a "^" attached so it is long "o". Granted this is probably not at all a polite way to speak in Japanese, but is very congenial speech.

Difference between Ichidan and Yo^dan Japanese verbs baby steps toward mastery

2008-11-04T03:31:00.000-08:00

In order to put verbs into bases, it’s necessary to understand the difference between Ichidan verbs and Yo^dan verbs. I was taught that there exists three types of verbs but these types are unrelated to the three types of English verbs. In English, the three types of verbs are passive, active and forms of the copula- to be.

With the exception of irregular verbs,
Ichidan verbs are any Japanese verb that end in eru or iru.

Examples of ichidan verbs

Iru
Eru
Obieru
Oshieru

Yo^dan verbs are any that do not end in eru or iru.

Examples of yo^dan verbs

Yaru
Utsu
Komu
Oyogu

The ^ carat symbol = the long vowel, or, double vowel sound, sometimes indicated with a ‘u’.

Japanese vowels as relating to Japanese verb bases

2008-11-02T19:31:00.000-08:00

The 5 pure vowels a, i ,u, e, o in Japanese correspond to the 5 verb bases. The verb nomu - to drink, in the 5 verb bases would be.

Base I - noma, (a. ah as in stick out your tongue and say...)

Base II - nomi, (i, pronounced ee as in meet),

Base III nomu, (u, pronouned ooh as in moo moo here and a moo moo...)

Base IV nome, (e, pronounced eh as in bed),

Base V nomo (o even the Hideo kind).

Japanese adjectives

2008-11-02T18:05:00.000-08:00

Kantan the Japanese adjective which by itself means easy or simple and the shiyasui simpletons. (Or things which are easy to do simple-folk).

In Japanese if you want to express that something is easy to do, use the following contsruction.

Verb (Base II) yasui.

Easy to do - suru in base II = shi, shi yasui = shiyasui

Easy to say -iu in base II = ii, ii yasui = iiyasui.

Easy to read - yomu (to read) in base II = yomi, yomi yasui = yomiyasui.

Easy to overcome - kokufuku suru (to overcome) *same as the above case with suru, or any verb that includes suru and that is a lot of verbs.

Easy to win - katsu (to win) in base II = kachi, kachi yasui = kachiyasui

Easy to drink - nomu (to drink) in base II = nomi, nomi yasui = nomiyasui

* The 5 pure vowels a, i ,u, e, o in Japanese correspond to the 5 verb bases. The verb nomu - to drink, in the 5 verb bases would be.

Base I - noma, (a. ah as in stick out your tongue and say...)

Base II - nomi, (i, pronounced ee as in meet),

Base III nomu, (u, pronouned ooh as in moo moo here and a moo moo...)

Base IV nome, (e, pronounced eh as in bed),

Base V nomo (o even the Hideo kind).

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As Always, Do you Best! Ganbatte Ne! Makurasuki Sensei.

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I found a cool vocabulary software please see it!

2008-10-31T08:01:00.000-07:00

A very interesting thing I came across today. It has to do with increasing your vocabulary. Wouldn't it be great to just one day be able to pick any word in the dictionary and say," Hey I know that word" For Realz. Here at Japanetics anything to improve ourselves in all ways, saying - Day by Day, in every way, I'm getting better and better.

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Japanese pronunciation for advanced beginners

2008-10-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

Intermediate Japanese pronunciation for beginning Japanese learners – An oxymoron

RA - ら, RI - り, RU - る, RE - れ, and RO - ろ
This article is on how to pronounce the unfamiliar sounds of this line of syllables in the Japanese language.

Explained in ghetto American English so that even the Author has a hard time understanding – I am just kidding when I say this…

Japanese pronunciation tips - JPPGG #102

These tips are my lazy explanation for lack of knowing the correct technical terminology for what I will be describing so gomen ne! Forgive! I am a born American and English is my native language. I did not start on my path towards Japanese language mastery, until I was 19 years old. I was taught at the University during a linguistics class that after the age of 12 the part of the brain that handles the understanding of languages hardens and solidifies to the point that pronunciation and the understanding of words

Understand how the English letters L and R are and D are pronounced in English then experiment with variations and cross-mixes by combining the letters as you do red, blue, and green in fine-tuning the color or warmth of a television set. RA - ら, RI - り, RU - る, RE - れ, and RO - ろ are pronounced by lightly flicking your tongue on the roof of your mouth at the hard palette area. The tongue it seems to me is softer and wider when flicking and flattening it at the top of your mouth. D is stiff, but "ra, ri, ru, re, ro" pronunciation is more flexibly soft when struck against the rooftop of your mouth.

Do you remember making a taco out of your tongue when you were a kid? Make a taco toward the tip of the tongue. It is a smaller taco than the one you played with as a kid. The taco is more towards the tip of the tongue and then flapped in directions as to lay the tongue back down into its normal location in the mouth. Ra is jaw dropping wide from nose to chin. Re is made with a cheeks wide smile, Ru is rounded lips in a circle, ro is both the dropped jaw of ra + ooh lala.

Here is more insight I give to serious Japanese wanna' speak it correctly soon Japanese language learners, in my non- technical jargon at-ed language sort of explanation. I hope you can bear this, because I am sure any linguist out there would kill me for shame and spite, thank you in advance. After making a canyon in your mouth or by pushing the tongue, forward to the upper harder palette at the roof of your mouth. Pretend as if your mouth was a hot potato and your tongue being separate when saying the ra RI Ru re ro line in the syllabary and that your tongue must come quickly off the roof of your mouth because it is hot.

The “r”’s in Japanese, of which there are but five are usually difficult for foreigners or non-native Japanese speakers to get correctly. You can simulate actual native pronunciation by pronouncing your "ra, ri, ru, re, ro" line to yourself like gooey l's or softened d's. The r’s are often miss-heard as d’s in English. I was saying some words to a junior Japanese language-learning apprentice and she heard the Japanese r’s at first as d’s. So go figure, and get out their and practice.

One note of caution, before you even attempt the “ra RI Ru re ro” line of the Japanese syllabary, master the first five syllables, which constitute the Japanese vowels.

In pronunciation:
Ah,
ee,
ooh,
eh, and
oh,

In short hand:
a,
i,
u,
e, and
o.

In Hiragana:

あ - a
い – i
う – u
え - e
お – o,

in Katakana:

ア - a
イ - i
ウ - u
エ - e
オ - o

Remember, the first five syllables or morae as they are known in Japanese, are the five vowels used in the Japanese language. If we first master the first five Japanese vowels correctly, then pronunciation for all the rest of the syllables shall fall into place in due time and learning hiragana and katakana should be a little easier to understand and memorize quicker.

The following is a link to the International Phonetic Alphabet or the IPA http://www.unc.edu/underling/images/ipachart.gif/ here you can see all about vowels as seen from the ears and mouth of international phonetic champions.

How to pronounce the 5 Japanese vowels –

a - あ ah - like when the dentist tells you, “Say ah.”

i - い ee - as in “leech” or me.

u - う not exactly ooh, but for beginning pronunciation masters
stick with the pronouncing “u - う” like ooh as in “ooh lala,” or the pooh part of “Winnie the pooh”.

e - え eh as in bed-head. (Edges of mouth as when smiling corners
of mouth stretched
outward.)

And,
o - お oh as in “boat”, or “note” (long, long, closed mid-back)

It is interesting to note that as we have in English the “e” at the end of the word “note”, that if it weren’t there, it would simply be - “not”. However, with the addition of the “e” at the end, it somehow takes the “o” of the word, which was pronounced as “ah”, and pulls on it, through the letter “t” forcing a long – “oh” pronunciation.

*It is interesting to note that in, the plosive bilabials, “pa - ぱ”, and “ba -ば” come from the aspirated “ha -は” in written kana in this order:

HAPA then BA.

は ぱ ( then ば.

or, ha -は then ha - はwith the degree symbol (ぱ), then ha - は with the ten ten marks (ば) or a single quotation mark – “. The order in the dictionary also follows that pattern in its other dignified grouping like that of "ta -た" going to "da -だ"; and "ka -か" going to "ga -が" in the velar group.

Makurasuki says “Ganbatte Ne!” 頑張ってね but needs to edit this weird take on Japanese pronunciation, I hope you enjoyed it….

Ganbatte ne!
頑張ってね
Do Your Best!
Makurasuki

Japanese Double Consonants

2008-10-15T17:55:00.000-07:00

My hubpage article about doubled Japanese sounds enjoy!

Japanese Double Consonants

Japanese words

2008-10-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

This is a reprint of my squidoo lens therefore it has no kanji right now but please enjoy.

The usefulness of these words will depend on whether you can hear them as they are in their natuaral native state or tongue; and, while it is one thing to see a word on paper, it is yet another matter whether your ears can hear it as it is used in its natural setting.

It is important when studying Japanese to devote a specific portion of your study to pronunciation. Learning to pronounce words will get you understood. Natives who hear correct pronunciation have only one choice as to their comprehension, and that is they will understand you and they will understand what you are saying. As long as you pronounce words as a native would, you shouldn't have any problems getting your message across.

3 Greetings - 3 aisatsu
O-hayo^ gozaimasu - good morning
konnichi wa - good afternoon
konban wa - good evening

sayo^nara - goodbye (for a long while)
ja ne - goodbye (later dude)
ja mata - goodbye (Talk at ya later, See ya next time, Until next time)

o-genki desu ka? - How is it going? or How are you?
genki desu. - I'm fine thank you.

Ikaga desu ka? - Would you like some _ or How would _ be, where you fill in _ with some beverage or food item or occasionally is used as a how are you?

Itadakimasu - I humbly partake (You Must say this before you eat a meal in a Japanese household, weird to westerners, but if you neglect to say this before you eat you could be considered weird yourself. Don't be bashful just say itadakimasu and eat away no problems.)

go-chiso^-sama-deshita - excellent meal, or that was a feast thankyou. (Say this after you eat so to show appreciation of the feast you just partook of.)

Arigato^ gozaimasu - thank you
arigato^ - thanks
do^mo - right on, thanks
do^mo arigato^ - thank you
do^mo arigato^ gozaimasu - thank you very much

ki o tsukete kudasai - please be careful

O-jama shimasu - I humbly invade or intrude.(To be said as one enters beyond the genkan and threshold of a Japanese home or apartment, dwelling or room, signifying your respect to the home and the arrival of your presence.)

Irrashai (mase) - Welcome, or come on in. (This is verbalized loudly to get you to come in the store or shop or to welcome you, even at the gas stations you will be greeted with this one.)

see my ghettogrammar for the word wakaru to complete your initiation.

Japanese word naku

2008-10-13T15:07:00.000-07:00

Japanese word of many colors - Naku

Naku 泣く is a verb of many colors. A chameleon of Japanese words so to speak. What naku can do in one word takes English 13 or more words for it is the word used for cats mewing, dogs barking, birds chirping, horses neighing, frogs croaking, crows crowing, cawing or cooing. It is also the word for yelping, mooing, warbling and quacking, The Japanese verb naku鳴く means to cry. The Japanese verb naku 泣くstanding water means to cry also, as when humans cry.

Let’s put naku泣くinto the 5 grammar bases of Japanese

Naku in Base I = Naka 泣か
Naku in Base II = Naki 泣き
Naku in Base III = Naku 泣く
Naku in base IV = Nake 泣け
Naku in base V = Nako 泣こ

honorific adjectives in Japanese grammar

2008-09-24T01:24:00.000-07:00

ai adjectives in Japanese become long o in honorifics

examples

hayai becomes hayo^ gozaimasu or hayou gozaimasu thus when someone says o-hayou gozaimasu we are really saying it is honorifically fast or good-morning

abunai - goes to abuno^ gozaimasu

mijikai - goes to mijiko^ gozaimasu

semai - goes to semo^ gozaimasu

chisai - goes to chiso^ gozaimasu -

On African Americans in Japan - The Shock Factor

2008-09-20T01:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a question about racism in Japan, and here are the way. Are Japanese People racist against black people? I plan to go to Japan, so I want to know. I don't want to have a bad time you know (Please - I don't want to offend any Japanese people so I am sorry If I offend anyone of you.)

The Japanese are not racist in general. All Japanese people are not racist like the kkk would be in America. They pretty much are a changed nation since they got atomicized in two of their major cities. The thing is, is that kokujin are rare, extremely rare in Japan, and you may be looked at as an oddity, or rarity. You are for sure going to get special care because you are so rare. They will marvel at you. For in Japan you guys aren't born there naturally. Even me a white guy from america is pretty rare so I was always looked upon in amazement because my nose is so tall, and my eyes are so round, and I am generally taller because I ate more potatoes than rice and fruit loops than miso soup etc.

Gaijin as a whole are stereotyped and are poked fun of usually but it is all in jest with no serious racial prejudices against anybody. Gaijin is any foreigner that is not Japanese. Kokujin is the rare type of gaijin that has different features yet so they are going to be shocked.

If you plan on going to Japan and you are an African American be prepared to shock the Japanese people. You are basically going to shock at least a few people that you will come across. But the Japanese people are a modern peaceful nation, some of the Japanese may have never seen kokujin so they are naturally going to be shocked that there are other types of the same brothers of the human race than they.

Take heart you are going to love their treatment of you, you are rare, so live it up and soak all that extra attention in without getting upset because you like me are still just gaijin and xenophobia does exist that is my words for you.

2008-08-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

Basic Japanese Grammar Crash Course
Accelerated Japanese Mastery
Base II + NASAI なさい – Lesser command form
To boss people around, or tell people what to do, commanding them in Japanese you will need to know this Japanese Grammar construction:

Verb (base II) + NASAI なさい - Do verb! Command form.

Examples
1. Suwarinasai! 坐りなさい!
“Take your seat!”
a. Suwaru 座る - v. to sit down
b. suwaru 座るin base II is suwari 坐り
c. suwari坐り + nasai なさい = suwarinasai坐りなさい Sit!

2. Shukudai o shinasai! 宿題をしなさい
“Do your homework!”
a. suruする – v. to do
b. suru in base II = shiし
c. shiし + nasaiなさい = shinasaiしなさい “DO IT!”

3. Ikinasai!
“Go!”
a. iku 行く– v . to go
b. iku in base II is iki行き
c. iki + nasai = ikinasai行きなさい “GO!”

Plug in your favorite Japanese verbs into this Japanese Grammar Construction and start making your own cool sentences then test them on your Japanese friends.

As always,
Ganbatte Ne! 頑張ってね
Do Your Best!
Makurasuki まくらすき

http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/tABO

200 blogposts

2008-08-24T23:47:00.000-07:00

201st post for a blog my friend help me call sake talkie, hope you have had fun learning Japanese here, to 200 more!

Japanese Grammar Fun Again

2008-08-22T17:07:00.000-07:00

4 Ways to Negate Anything in Japanese
Beginning Japanese Grammar Lesson
How to say “but…” in Japanese.

It is never a wise idea to refute the ideas of others. However, in the normal processes of direct communication between two individuals or any number of individuals or groups of people involved in a discussion, it becomes necessary to use the preposition but. In modern Japanese, the preposition but can be expressed in at least four different ways. By learning these four ways of saying but, you'll be able to negate (In Japanese) anything or anybody you want.

These words are very powerful, so use with caution, especially when talking to someone like say . . . your boss! You wouldn't want to negate your boss no matter how much you wanted to impress him with your Japanese skills. Below I present four ways the preposition but is used in Japanese. After that comes the plug and play Japanese grammar construction samples and the G.A.B. (Ghetto After Blast). So have fun and enjoy the rest of the lesson.

Words for the preposition but

but – ga が

but - shikashi しかし(however)

but - kedoけど, keredoけれど, keredomo けれども

but – demo でも

Example 1 - I want to kiss her; but, she won't let me!

Kanojo ni kissu sasete moraitiai n'da keredomo, sasete moraenai n'da!
かのじょにキッスさせてもらいたいのだけれどもさせてもらえないのだ

Example 2. Her English skills are not very good, but she sure can cook though!

Kanojo no eigo wa ammari yokunai da kedo, ryo^ri wa umai n'da!
かのじょの英語はあまりよくないのだけど料理が甘いのだ

Example 3. He said he was a doctor, however to tell you the real truth, he is just an ordinary dentist!

Kare wa isha da to iutta tai, shikashi honto wa kare. . . tada no haishasan!

re-yaku - Ex. 3. Kare wa isha da tte! Demo honki wa taishita mon ja nai.

Ex. 4. The president has completely died, but his spirit lives on.

Daito^ryo^san wa shinde shimaimashita ga, kare no rei wa mada ikitsuzuite iru no desu.

.

(See ghetto grammar lesson #97 for the plug and play learning system to master the Japanese grammar Base TE shimau- to verb completely)

Example 5. But . . . I wanted the pink one!

Demo, pinku no yatsu ga hoshikatta no da!
でも,ピンクの奴が欲しかったのだ

Ex. 6. I like her, but don't you think she is kind of short?

Ore wa kanojo ga suki nanya kedo, chotto se ga hikui to omouwanai to desu ka?

It is usually easy to tell on hearing the Japanese syllable ga whether it is the participle ga, or the preposition ga. The preposition ga when it is meant to mean but, is usually accompanied by a small pause and its use is more formal than any of the keredemo or demo variations. It is better to remeber shikashi as however and the keredemo variations as but.

Ghetto after blast - GAB 2 point advice. Since the Japanese words shikashi, kedo, keredemo, demo, and ga, all basically mean the same thing, you won't have to remember as much, so beginners might find it helpful to pick just one. Just remember that shikashi and ga sound more formal than the kedo, and keremo. Oh yeah... I almost forgot to mention that the word for ribbit in Japanese is kero, so make sure your pronunciation of kedo doesn't make you sound like you are making love to a frog, unless of course you are a princess!

As always, Ganbatte Ne!
Do your best!
Makurasuki sensei
http://www.saketalkie.blogspot.com or http://japanetics.blogspot.com
http://squidoo.com/ghettogrammar/ or http://squidoo.com/phonesearch

http://spanishjapanese.blogspot.com

2008-08-11T03:48:00.000-07:00

Table 1 - The 46 Syllables of the Japanese Syllabary (Romanized)

a ka sa ta na ha ma ra ya wa n
i ki shi chi ni hi mi ri
u ku su tsu nu fu mu ru yu
e ke se te ne he me re
o ko so to no ho mo ro yo wo

あかさたなはまらやわん
いきしちにひみり
うくすつぬふむるゆ
えけせてねへめれ
おこそとのほもろよを

The above are the 46 syllables of the Japanese (alphabet) Syllabary. Individually they are called mora. Plurally they are called morae. One mora in particular is the focus of this article. The Tsu つmora. When the tsu つsyllable is added before the consonants k, p, and t, a hardened double consonant sound is produced. You spit out the words Like the sound of the doubled k in bookkeeper, adding the syllable tsu つ to ka, ki, ku, ke, ko makes pronunciation double succinct as in the following:

Tsu っ+ ka か= kka っ
Tsu っ+ ki き= kki っ
Tsu っ+ ku く= kku っ
Tsu っ+ ke け= kke っ
Tsu っ+ ko こ= kko っ

This special Japanese pronunciation of the doubled consonant is denoted by a lowered case, subscripted tsu っ in either hiragana平仮名
or katakana片仮名. Some examples are as follows:

速い行け!

1. makka 真っ赤– deep red
2. jikken 実験– experiment or test
3. shuppan 出版する– publish , shuppatsu – departure
4. zettai ぜったい– suredly, absoluteness
5. tokkyo – not the kyou which has the elongated
6. happi ハッピ– the English word happy in katakana

Note the use of the doubled consonant sound in Japanese is indicated by a lower case tsu ッ followed by the doubled consonant sound.

When the last Japanese syllable n (ん) is not connected to a vowel, as in the very last syllable of the Japanese syllabary which in fact is just n or , it is like a syllable unto itself. It receives a full count if language were a music it would receive the same amount of time that a two letter syllable receives., and is denoted by the apostrophe ‘. For example:

1. Kin’en 禁煙 is Japanese for “No Smoking@!” not, kinen 記念, or the word for anniversary.
Kin’en 禁煙 has four syllables and the word for anniversary kinen 記念 has 3.

To say the raらriり ruる re れ ro ろ line of the syllabary say first in English name, “Eddy”, then make sure the tip of your tongue is touching delicately behind the upper front teeth. If you say it like this you come close to a true pronunciation of the Japanese word for collar, or eri 襟.
To learn more haya ike! はや行け!

http://japanetics.blogspot.com
or
http://squidoo.com/japanesevocabularyindex

As always,

Ganbatte ne! 頑張ってね
Do your best!
Makurasuki

Ja mata kondo! じゃまたこんどう

A few Thoughts ON learning Japanese

2008-08-11T03:03:00.000-07:00

There is spoken language and the written language. The Japanese language is not so unique as it has borrowed kanji or characters from Kanji has deep meanings contained within each character which represents meaning like words. Much different than what we, who are stifled by the alphabet, are use to. We can see the meaning of things inside the kanji also.

Therefore from the get go, we should try to wean ourselves from the temptation to look up words in a romaji dictionary because it makes it harder later or at least less easier to learn Japanese in depth if you cannot read the language. At the beginning there is no choice other than to study and memorize words that to decipher meaning. We should use a dictionary like sanseido’s daily concise wa-ei jiten.
Week 1 verbs - Drink, Sleep, Eat, go hataraku. Put verbs in all bases. Japanese Nouns: coffee, tea , milk, water, coca cola , sake , aquarius, beer, juice.

Japanese Adjectives - oishii, suteki na, benri na, okii, nagaim samui, atsui, chisai, mijikai.

Grammer masu, masen, mashita, masen deshita etc,
BII +tai desu = I want to. polite form. Without the desu its plain form.
Shall we +verb or let’s +verb = BII + masho (long oh vowel sound)

Be careful when studying Japanese for the first couple of times to make sure and pay attention to some awkward details that might throw your study off. The various types of Romanization techniques used to display the Japanese syllables to westerners varies greatly and should be duly noted. For example putting two a’s together doesn’t equal just one sound it will actually be a then a repeated after it as in okaasan or mother. in Japanese vowels can extend themselves into their double impressions where two vowels are connected into one yet the true pronunciation will be elongated double vowel sound.
Adjectives- are fun to play with Practice putting the adjectives in front of a noun etc
ex.
New car – atarashii kuruma,
Old house – furui ie
Big mouth – okii kuchi
Small flower – chisai hana

Remember that nouns have no plural as such as we do in our western tongue so new cars would still be atarashii kuruma, or big mouths would still be okii kuchi

Basic Japanese Grammar Base IV + BA

2008-08-11T02:34:00.000-07:00

Basic Japanese Grammar
The Japanese conditional form - verb in Base IV
After putting a verb into base IV, add the suffix particle BA ば to make sentences that take on an “iffy” meaning.

Verb (Base IV) + BA = IF VERB

To turn a Japanese verb into an “if” statement, put the verb into Base IV and add BA.

The first five vowels in the Japanese language correspond to the first five bases I, II, III, IV, and V , so that:

Verbs in Base I end in the a (あ) syllable.

Verbs in Base II end in the i (い) syllable.

Verbs in Base III end in the u (う) syllable.

Verbs in Base IV end in the e (え) syllable.

And

Verbs in Base V end in the syllable o (お).

Examples of putting a verb into base IV:

1. HANASU話す– v. to speak

Hanasu 話す (Base IV) = HANASE話せ

Add + BA ば

HANASE 話せ + BA ば = HANASEBA 話せば

HANASEBA話せば= If (I) spoke…

2. IKU行く– v. to go

IKU行く (Base IV) = IKE行け

Add + BA ば

IKE行け + BA ば = IKE 行けば

IKEBA 行けば= If (I) go…

3. – v. to go

IKU行く (Base IV) = IKE行け

Add + BA ば

IKE行け + BA ば = IKE 行けば

IKEBA 行けば= If (I) go…

That’s all for now Ganbatte Ne! Do your Best! Makurasuki

Japanese grammar plug and play for after verbing

2008-08-08T19:31:00.000-07:00

Japanese Grammar Plug and Play - Three Ways of Saying,"After Verb-ing" in Japanese.

There are three ways to form sentences that you can use when you want to say, "after verb-ing" in Japanese.

Here are the constructs:

I. Verb (base TE) + KARA
II. Verb (base TA) + ATO DE
III. Verb (base TA) + NOCHI NI

By themselves KARA, ATO DE, NOCHI NI all mean, after. All are similar to each other and are the equivalent for expressions relating to the English terms following or later, thereafter etc.

The first way to say that you will do something after doing something else in Japanese, is by using the kara bunpo (grammar):

I. Verb (Base TE ) + KARA = after verb-ing

Take verbs and put them into base TE-て.

Verbs ending in KU くbecome ITE いて.

Verbs ending in GU ぐbecome IDE いで.

Verbs ending in Uう, TSUつ, or RUる become TTEって

Verbs ending in BUぶ, MUむ, or NUぬ become NDEんで.

The verb suruするor verbs ending in SUす become SHITE して

After putting verbs into base TE, add + KARA (after) to complete the construction

1. HANASU 話す(v. to speak)
In Base TE-て the Japanese verb HANASU話す = HANASHITE話して
HANASHITE + KARA 話してから = after speaking , or after talking

CHOTTO HANASHITE KARA IKIMASHO^
ちょっと話してから往きましょう
Let's go after we talk a little.

2. YOMU読む (v. to read) -
In Base TE-て the Japanese verb YOMU読むbecomes - YONDE読んで
YONDE KARA 読んでから= after reading

HON O YONDE KARA NERU TO OMOIMASU.
本を読んでから寝ると思います
I think I'll sleep after reading a book.

3. TABERU 食べる (v. to eat)
TABERU 食べるin Base TE-て becomes – TABETE 食べて
TABETE KARA食べてから= after eating

TABETE KARA SHUKUDAI O SURU.
食べてから宿題をする
After I eat, I'm going to do homework.

4. UNDO^ SURU 運動する(v. to exercise)
SURU するin Base TE-て becomes - SHITEして
SHITE KARA してから= after exercising

UNDO^ SHITE KARA SHAWA WO ABIRU.
運動をしてからシャーワーを浴びる
I’ll take a shower after doing my exercise.

II. Verb (base TA) + ATO DE - after verb'ing

The second way to say "after verb-ing" in Japanese is by using the following construct.

Verb (base TA) + ATO DE - after verb'ing

Take verbs and put them into base TA. (Base TA is the past tense form of Japanese verbs.)

1. NOMU飲む (v. to drink)
For verbs ending in BU (ぶ), MU (む) or NU (ぬ),
The TA た form = NDA んだ
NOMU 飲む in base TA -た is NONDA 飲んだ (past tense of drink or drank)
NONDA ATO DE飲んだ後で = after drinking

SAKE O NONDA ATO DE NEMUKUNATTA
酒を飲んだ後で眠くなった
I got sleepy after drinking sake.

III. verb ( base TA) + NOCHI NI - after verb'ing
The third way of saying "after verb-ing" in Japanese, is to substitute the word+particle NOCHI NI のちに or 後に, , for ATO DE あとでor 後で. ATO 後 and NOCHI 後 actually use the same kanji as you can see. This being the case you can use them interchangeably and the meanings will stay the same. As a general rule, you can use NOCHI with NI (different particle) any time you would use ATO DE.

NOCHI NI and ATO DE are interchangeable thus: NOCHI NI = ATO DE

Verb (base TA) + NOCHI NI - after verb'ing

1. SAKE O NONDA NOCHI NI IE NI KAETTA
酒を飲んだ後に家に帰えた
I went home after drinking some sake.

2. SAKE O NONDA NOCHI NI INU O SAMPO SHI NI ITTA
酒を飲んだ後に犬を散歩しに行った
After I drank some sake, I took the dog for a walk.

As you can see from these examples, there are two sides to every sentence. On one side is verb 1 that comes before transforming it into its TE or TA base, and verb 2 which occurs after KARA, ATO DE, NOCHI NI

- Verb 1 in base TE + KARA and Verb 2
- Verb 2 can be past, present, negative or positive, but Verb 1 must be in base TE.

I hope that you too can start-up some cool and interesting conversations using these Japanese plug and play grammar constructions. Test your creations out on your Japanese friends to see if they fly. If not revise and do it again. Plug and play is drill and kill for Japanese language learners of the 21st century. Good luck in all your Japanese learning endeavors.

As Always,
Ganbatte Ne! 頑張ってね
Do Your Best!
Makurasuki まくらすき.

Japanese grammar

2008-08-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

How to say, “You should…” in Japanese.
Japanese Grammar Lesson Ho^ ga ii desu 方がいいです

Ho^ or Hou (方 ) (Pronounced like a Santa’s chuckle …ho, ho, ho…) is the focus of today’s Japanese grammar lesson. I always associated the Japanese word Hou (方 ) to the English word, “way” or “the way”. The kanji for hou (The Chinese character printed next to the word) looks as if it were indicating some direction or person offering a path or showing the way. I also associated Hou to another Japanese word Houhou (方法)which means method or the way of doing things. When we say in English that you ought to lean this way or that way, I could replace them straight way with the Japanese words kono hou or sono hou.

Today’s grammar uses hou after a verb in base TA (た) to help form sentences that indicate that you should, or shouldn’t do something. This isn’t a way of telling someone that they must do something, but only that they should do something.

To say that you should do something in Japanese, use the following Japanese grammar plug and play construction to make your own interesting Japanese sentences:

Verb TA (た) + hou ga ii desu (方がいいです) – …should verb…

First, put a Japanese verb into base TA then add + hou ga ii desu (方がいいです)

Example –
Dasu (出す) – v. to send
Dasu (出す) in base TA = dashita (出した)
Add + hou ga ii desu (方がいいです)
And presto… a new interesting sentence has been born.

You should send that letter. – ano tegami o deshita hou ga ii desuあの手紙を出した方がいいです

To say that you should not do something in Japanese, use the following Japanese grammar plug and play construction to make your own interesting Japanese sentences:
Verb base I+nai (ない) + hou ga ii desu (方がいいです)- …shouldn’t verb…

Example –

Dasu (出す) – v. to send
Dasu (出す) in base I + nai (ない) = dasanai (出さない)
Add + hou ga ii desu (方がいいです)
And presto… a new interesting sentence has been born.

In the negative construction, you first put a verb into base I, add nai (ない), then add hou ga ii desu (方がいいです)

1.Ume o tabeta hou ga ii desu. 梅を食べたほうがいいです – “You** should eat a Japanese plum.” (ume 梅 - plum)

2.Byo^in ni itta hou ga ii desu. 病院に行ったほうがいいです “You should go to the hospital.” or “You better get yourself to a hospital.”

3.Nakanai hou ga ii desu. 泣かないほうがいいです “It is better not to cry.”, or “You shouldn’t cry.”

4.Konai hou ga ii desu. 来ないほうがいいです “You shouldn’t come.”

**In English, subject pronouns are rarely omitted during the discourse of a two way conversation. In Japanese, however, the subject is usually, omitted. In Japanese, it is more common to omit the subject than to say specifically who, or what was doing the action in a sentence. Unless you get specific, there is no need to say as for me, or as for you, or as for them etc. The Japanese usually omit subject pronouns, since it is generally understood in the course of a Japanese conversation, who or what is doing the action in a Japanese sentence.

As always,
Ganbatte Ne!
Do Your Best!
Makurasuki まくらすき,