April 29, 2008

The Bunpo of Masho^

Let's Do Something in Japanese

Today's bunpo will show us how to say, "let's verb" in Japanese. Then we can put this construction into question form by adding ka so that we will be able to invite or persuade someone to verb with us by asking, "shall we verb. . . ? Two polite forms of this grammar and their construction is as follows

Verb (Base II) masho^**** - Let's verb! and

Verv (Base II) masho^ ka? - Shall we verb?

**** Please note that in Ghetto Grammar the carat ^ is used to indicate long vowels i.e. a^ i^ u^ e^ o^.

To say, "Let's verb" in Japanese politely, you take any verb, ichidan or yo^dan, put it into base II, then add masho^ and presto! Instant langauge skills. The Masho^ bunpo is another very useful plug and play grammar principle that can help you in your daily Japanese conversations. Towards better Japanese in 9 months with 130 lessons using modern grammar principles using old school techniques.

Ex. 1. Let's go to eat sushi somewhere. - Dokka no sushiyasan de tabe ni ikimashou!

Ex. 1a. Shall we go eat sushi somewhere? Dokka no sushiyasan in ikimashou ka?

Ex. 2. Let's play baseball! - Yakkyu o yarimashou!

Ex. 2a. Shall we play baseball? Yakkyu o Yarimashou ka?

Ex. 3. Let's go check it out! Itte mimasho!

Ex. 3a. Wanna go check it out (The basebal game or whatever)? Itte miyo^ ka?

In example 3a, the familiar form yo^ is used in place of the masho^. This is used only when you are with close friends and is considered less polite.

As always, Do Your Best! Ganbatte Ne!

Makurasuki sensei and the Japanese Grammarian Logic Society of So Cal.

kirau, dake shika


JPPGG #78
Usage of Dake and Dake shika and shika

Hoshii dake or
Sore shika nai no da

Hoshikereba hoshii hodo


Kare dake shika imasen

Terebi dake shika arimasen





I think this way upon first glance that yes there is a woman and there is two rices but there is also a stabbing action going on like when you dislike something you put it on a pitch fork and chuck it away and yes since we live in a man's world, men probably made kanji first or were the only ones to use it and scribe it and thus this may have been seen as a womans job or it may have been seen as stabbing at the chick carrying the rice the one I hate. Either way excellent conversation and let me know what you think about the stable the rice wth a katana sideways for the kanji meaning theory hyposthesis. and check out my Japanese grammar pages and leave some comment too if you could I'm constantly trying to improve my lenses your help would be appreciated thanks in advance for everything and the discussion, I LOVE IT!
http://squidoo.com/japanese123

In excess - sugiru

In Excess
Verb (base II) + sugiru

Do you overeat? Are there things which you indulge upon which others consider to be excessive. Gambling, money, sex, watching too much T.V.?

To say that you verb too much use the following constructions

Verb(base II) + SUGIRU

Oh again

How To Say In Japanese
How to say "Hi" or "hello" in Japanese?
(konnichi wa)
How do you say "Bye" or "Goodbye" in Japanese?
(ja mata ne)
How do you say "pink" in Japanese?
(pinku)
How do you say "blue" in Japanese?
(aoi)
How do you say "red" in Japanese?
(akai)
How do you say "purple" in Japanese?
(murasaki)
How do you say "green" in Japanese?
(midori)
How do you say "yellow" in Japanese?
(kiiroi)
How do you say "black" in Japanese?
(kuroi)
How do you say "white" in Japanese?
(shiroi)

_____________________________________________________________
How to say "strawberry" in Japanese?
(ichigo)
How do you say "love" in Japanese?
(ai)
How do you say "I love You" in Japanese?
(ai shite iru)
How to say "bed" in Japanese?
(futon)
How to say "sexy" in Japanese?
(kakoi, sekushi, seiteki miryoku ga aru)
How to say "I dont speak Japanese" in Japanese?
(wakarimasen, wakannai)
Learn to speak Japanese quick and easy using the Rocket Japanese course. Impress the ladies and your friends. Order the full course or just get the FREE 6-Day Japanese course.
JPPGG the original
Say Other cool Phrases in Japanese
How to say "wonderful" in Japanese?
(subarashii)

How do you say "love motel" in Japanese?
(rabu hoteru)

How to say "yes" in Japanese?
(nod your head up and down)

How to say "no" in Japanese?
(nod your head to the left and to the right,
iie, chigau see http://squidoo.com/ghettogrammar112 )

How do you say "I hate it" in Japanese?
(sukan)

How do you say "happy birthday" in Japanese?
(O-tanjobi omedeto^ gozaimasu)

How do you say "chrysanthumum" in Japanese?
(kiku)

How do you say "welcome" in Japanese?
(yo^koso)

How do you say "please" in Japanese?
(O-negai shimasu)

How do you say "Japan" in Japanese?
(Nihon or Nippon)

How to say "thank you" in Japanese?
(Just sing that song by Styx)

How do you say "Even monkeys fall from trees" in Japanese?
(Saru mo ki kara ochiru)

How do you say "McDonald’s" in Japanese?
(Makudonarudo) – try it!

How to say "Merry Christmas" in Japanese?
(meri kurisumasu)

How do you say "stray cat" in Japanese?
(hiroi neko)

How to say "fool" in Japanese?
(baka) –the only cuss word you need in Japanese

How do you say "how are you?" in Japanese?
(O-genki desu ka?)

How do you say "spoiled" in Japanese?
(najite iru)
Other neat words in Japanese
How do you say "Summer Vacation" in Japanese?
(natsu yasumi)

How do you say "Autumn Vacation" in Japanese?
(aki yasumi)

How do you say "Spring Vacation" in Japanese?
(haru yasumi)

How do you say "Winter Vacation" in Japanese?
(fuyu yasumi)

How do you say "baby" in Japanese?
(akachan)

How do you say "tokyo" in Japanese?
(to^kyo^) –long o’, and kyo not kiyo

The age you become an adult in Japan?
(19)

How to say "old hag" in Japanese?
(baba)

How to say "dirty old man" in Japanese?
(jiji)

How to say "as for the topic” in Japanese?
(wadai wa)

How do you say "hungry" in Japanese?
(o-naka ga suita)

How do you say "wassup dawg?" in Japanese?
(oi genki?)

How to say "I ain’t your dawg, beeyotch!" in Japanese?
(nan kono baka yaro genki nantte ja ne yaro ya baka yaro ga omae ora)

On saying goodbye incom[let

How to Say Goodbye in Japanese
Ghetto Grammar Supplement #95

Just as in the English language we have many ways of saying ‘goodbye’, the Japanese language also has many different ways of saying ‘sayonara.’ It’s strange because of all the expressions used by the Japanese to say goodbye, I rarely and I mean super rarely heard the traditionally taught term for goodbye, ‘sayonara’.
I also remember being a kid in an American elementary school growing up in Southern California and pretending to be Asian, I would pull my eyes to make them appear slanted and having the look of an oriental person I would go around saying, “A So^. A so^, A so^ desu ka. I didn’t know at the time what I was saying but it was fun making fun of my oriental neighbors with whom my future was intertwined with in a way in which I could have not yet known. A so desu in English means, is that so? A so^ desu ka means,” Is that right?”

Japanese ooh lala

How To Say In Japanese
How to say "Hi" or "hello" in Japanese?
(konnichi wa)
How do you say "Bye" or "Goodbye" in Japanese?
(ja mata ne)
How do you say "pink" in Japanese?
(pinku)
How do you say "blue" in Japanese?
(aoi)
How do you say "red" in Japanese?
(akai)
How do you say "purple" in Japanese?
(murasaki)
How do you say "green" in Japanese?
(midori)
How do you say "yellow" in Japanese?
(kiiroi)
How do you say "black" in Japanese?
(kuroi)
How do you say "white" in Japanese?
(shiroi)

_____________________________________________________________
How to say "strawberry" in Japanese?
(ichigo)
How do you say "love" in Japanese?
(ai)
How do you say "I love You" in Japanese?
(ai shite iru)
How to say "bed" in Japanese?
(futon)
How to say "sexy" in Japanese?
(kakoi, sekushi, seiteki miryoku ga aru)
How to say "I dont speak Japanese" in Japanese?
(wakarimasen, wakannai)
Learn to speak Japanese quick and easy using the Rocket Japanese course. Impress the ladies and your friends. Order the full course or just get the FREE 6-Day Japanese course.
JPPGG the original
Say Other cool Phrases in Japanese
How to say "wonderful" in Japanese?
(subarashii)

How do you say "love motel" in Japanese?
(rabu hoteru)

How to say "yes" in Japanese?
(nod your head up and down)

How to say "no" in Japanese?
(nod your head to the left and to the right,
iie, chigau see http://squidoo.com/ghettogrammar112 )

How do you say "I hate it" in Japanese?
(sukan)

How do you say "happy birthday" in Japanese?
(O-tanjobi omedeto^ gozaimasu)

How do you say "chrysanthumum" in Japanese?
(kiku)

How do you say "welcome" in Japanese?
(yo^koso)

How do you say "please" in Japanese?
(O-negai shimasu)

How do you say "Japan" in Japanese?
(Nihon or Nippon)

How to say "thank you" in Japanese?
(Just sing that song by Styx)

How do you say "Even monkeys fall from trees" in Japanese?
(Saru mo ki kara ochiru)

How do you say "McDonald’s" in Japanese?
(Makudonarudo) – try it!

How to say "Merry Christmas" in Japanese?
(meri kurisumasu)

How do you say "stray cat" in Japanese?
(hiroi neko)

How to say "fool" in Japanese?
(baka) –the only cuss word you need in Japanese

How do you say "how are you?" in Japanese?
(O-genki desu ka?)

How do you say "spoiled" in Japanese?
(najite iru)
Other neat words in Japanese
How do you say "Summer Vacation" in Japanese?
(natsu yasumi)

How do you say "Autumn Vacation" in Japanese?
(aki yasumi)

How do you say "Spring Vacation" in Japanese?
(haru yasumi)

How do you say "Winter Vacation" in Japanese?
(fuyu yasumi)

How do you say "baby" in Japanese?
(akachan)

How do you say "tokyo" in Japanese?
(to^kyo^) –long o’, and kyo not kiyo

The age you become an adult in Japan?
(19)

How to say "old hag" in Japanese?
(baba)

How to say "dirty old man" in Japanese?
(jiji)

How to say "as for the topic” in Japanese?
(wadai wa)

How do you say "hungry" in Japanese?
(o-naka ga suita)

How do you say "wassup dawg?" in Japanese?
(oi genki?)

How to say "I ain’t your dawg, beeyotch!" in Japanese?
(nan kono baka yaro genki nantte ja ne yaro ya baka yaro ga omae ora)

Incomplete thoughts and sentences happen in your native tongue too

Deal the Zeal : Enthusiasm and its effects on second language Acquisition
Goals for Japanese Fluency
By Makurasuki Sensei, Brett McCluskey

This article was created to help those that need a boost to start or re-continue there quest for the acquisition and mastery of Japanese unto fluency.

You can improve your Japanese by following a few techniques I will show you and briefly outline here. In no time your Japanese speaking skills will be better than you ever thought possible. Your success in second language acquisition should you accept the challenge, will be dependant upon the commitments you make to yourself to memorizing words part1, understanding, learning, memorizing then applying the basic Japanese grammar principlespart3+4 and finally your total amount of zeal you put into your efforts. The amount of success or failure you have in second language acquisition starts with you. The power is within you, now lets try to unlock
I want to share with you my zeal for learning another language and perhaps you might catch a little part of it and it might burn like the California fires of 2007 until you too have inspired others through your zeal and mastery of a foreign language. My roommates hated me when I was studying, because not only would I ask them to help me by quizzing me from my vocabulary list from which I studied without fail daily, but I would wake up very early in the morning to practice speaking Japanese. I would repeat sentences I learned like mantras until I got the chance to use what I learned in real life to see which ones actually worked. My roommates hated me. I had zeal for learning Japanese. It takes a great bit of it to be a successful language learner. You MUST HAVE ZEAL for learning the language or you will become complacent and lazy. Determine within yourself now that you will find a way to harness zeal and enthusiasm towards the improvement of your Japanese unto acquisition. You must also have a purpose for your zeal. My purpose was to be able to speak with the Japanese people themselves, to communicate with them with no impediments of speech. Like they say Quitters Never Win, and Winners Never Quit. So get going now and find your purpose and zeal it up.
The following is just one way and one example of what kind of language goals a person could set and realistically achieve, while at the same time making it challenging enough to maintain their interest. You might emulate these goals if you were learning Japanese, they are modeled after my own goals. They are in no way the only way to go, but they are, as I said, just one set of possible goals that tha you can use to help you attain fluency. They helped me acquire that ever elusive second language (Japanese) and if they are couple wth enough zeal it will be very possible that they will help you get fluency too. Remember though, the amount of zeal you put into your work is exactly how much success you will achieve out of it. With the right amount of zeal, you are bound to be speaking native like a Japanese senator in no time flat. May your Nihongo wa jozu ni naru.

It has been said to be fluent a person must know a minimum 4000 words

Vocabulary –n. a list of words, and often phrases, abbreviations, inflectional forms, etc., usually arranged in alphabetical order and defined or otherwise identified as in a dictionary, or glossary.
It goes on to say that vocabulary is also all the words recognized and understood by a particular person although not necessarily used by him, these may be an interrelated group of nonverbal symbols, signs, gestures, etc. used for communication or expression.

Now let’s do some math to see how long it will take us to learn 4000 words or what some have called the minimum amount of vocabulary one must have to be considered fluent.

7 days a week
52 weeks per annum
4 weeks per month
12 months per annum

How long will it take to obtain a 4000 word vocabulary?

Well if we learned 4000 words in one day it would only take us one day, but is it reasonable to assume that we will retain those words? Unless you have a photographic memory we should consider something else. How about 4000 words in 1 month? Is that a reasonable goal? I don’t think either of those goals are within a typical realizable amount attainable possible. We need a reasonable goal that is attainable that leaves us some breathing room to assimilate the vocabulary into our own speech system. I feel 6-8 words a day might be stretching us thin a little bit but it is the one I will recommend. Actually, the way I did it was to learn 15 words every two days but for sake of clarity lets stick with words/day.
We don’t want to memorize to many words because we will end up worse than learning only 1 word a week. At one word a week it would take us 4000 days, or almost 11 years to have such a vocabulary. That’s too long if you figure that for an accelerated college degree program you will be spending 4-6 years to obtain your B.A. and still wouldn’t be fluent either way, 11 years is too long. These goals will be set for you to learn 4000 vocabulary terms in 1 year and 1 month from your starting date. This is still a very lofty goal. In order to learn 4000 vocabulary in 1 year and 1 month you will need to learn 10-11 words / day
That is the goal 10-11 words / day, that is everyday with no rest.

Day 1 goal – memorize 10 words today, tomorrow and 10 new words everyday for the next 9 months. Don’t get discouraged after 9 months if you stick with your goals you won’t be pera pera (fluent), but you will be enabled to handle almost any conversation that comes your way.


Day 2 goal -


Day 3 goal –

Weekly goal

Monthly goal

3 month goal

6 month goal

Beginning

So what exactly is fluency?

How do we measure fluency? There are rest assured quite a few ways to perhaps measure fluency. I am not aware of any fluency machine that can instantly measure your fluency like we can take your temperature. I have heard it said at least once that fluency is dependant upon total vocabulary memorized. And they put a number on it of 4000 different words. I cannot say I totally agree with that statement. No doubt, other requirements for being fluent in a language exist other than just knowledge of vocabulary. Although many other complex processes are involved in fluency we will start with how to set goals in memorizing words to increase our vocabulary power. Setting goals to memorizing vocabulary is a good place to start. So how much vocabulary power do you have under your belt?
The amount of words that you know and are able to translate those words into and out of your native tongue and into and out of your target language. Know the meaning of words so thoroughly that you can interchange them instantly. Also the use of mneumonics I suggest as helpful ways to memorize words, especially in Japanese. Those two techniques are all to be had in my other two lessons Mneumonics and Circumlocution, how to use and apply them in both directions this is taking for granted and assuming that at least one language is known. Unilateral understanding. Fluency can be measured in terms of how many words one knows and that is what section 1 was all about (if you missed it check it here http://

Just as one can word or phrase or apply any manipulation to the language so that its suits our purpose and the main purpose and reason is to get our meaning across. Sharing a As long as the method we use suffices to get our message across it doesn’t even matter if we can speak Japanese or not. In any language, if you look like you gotta go ‘pee’ you don’t have to say a word people will understand you. If you look tired or motion your hands as if you are sleeping, our knowledge of Nihongo lets body language assume the role.
What is the shortest distance between you and getting what you want. You are allowed to use any and all means necessary to get your meaning across. Please see my article on circumlocution for sure fire ways to get your meaning across even if you don’t know the Japanese words for it. http://jappermon.com
Ones’s own Native tongue,
Just in mannerisms and the exact vocabulary and grammatical structure employed by the speaker can there be vast amounts of missed meanings to occur.
Japanese could be spoken in any number of differing ways;
intelligently, suave, brave, naive, sophisticated, charming, honorifically, stately, manly cunning, feminine, drunk, legendary all sorts of ways to speak like and just as we have the ish to make something in nihongo the word becomes ppoi.
Noun+ ppoi = noun ‘ish’
beautifully, wonderfully or bold or any other way you can think of
The levels keigo kokugou must know how to
manipulate verbs, while memorizing and strengthening your store of Japanese words to put into your goal oriented language arsenal. With that arsenal and using all of your faculties to summon together the ability to speak inside of another tongue, and also to be able to open your ears to such an extent that they become even more sensitive to different words, consonants, vowels phonemes.
Along with your noun memorization oath.( see appendix )noun (don't take for granted any place names that are presented to you on your quest for complete Japanese mastery. You have to commit yourself to a reasonable yet challenging goal.
Througout these mini- japanese language tutoring lessons

After you verb in Japanese

Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar JPPGG #109
Verb (Base TE) + KARA – after verb’ing
After, After, and After - 3 ways to say, “after verb’ing” in Japanese

To say that you will do something after doing something else in Japanese, use the following grammar construction:

Take verbs and put them into base TE.

Verbs ending in su becomes shi-te  shite
Verbs ending in ku becomes ku-ite 
Verbs ending in gu becomes ide 

HANASU (v. to speak) – HANASHITE

HON O YONDE KARA NERU TO OMOIMASU. I think I’ll sleep after reading a book.

TABETE KARA SHUKUDAI O SURU. – after I eat I’m going to do homework.

UNDO WO SHITE KARA SHAWA O SURU KOTO GA SUKI DESU. –
I like to take a shower after I exercise.

After verb – verb (base TA) + ATO DE –

SAKE O NONDA ATO DE NEMUKUNATTA –
I got sleepy after drinking some* sake.

After verb – verb ( base TA) + NOCHI NI

Nomu - (v. To drink) –
Nomu (base ta)
Bu, mu or nu
ta  nda
Nomu in base ta is NONDA

SAKE O NONDA NOCHI NI INU O SAMPO SHI NI ITTA –
(After I drank some sake I took the dog for a walk.)

Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar JPPGG #109
Verb (Base TE) + KARA – after verb’ing
After, After, and After - 3 ways to say, “after verb’ing” in Japanese

To say that you will do something after doing something else in Japanese, use the following grammar construction:

Take verbs and put them into base TE.

Verbs ending in su becomes shi-te à shite
Verbs ending in ku becomes ku-ite à
Verbs ending in gu becomes ide à

HANASU (v. to speak) – HANASHITE

HON O YONDE KARA NERU TO OMOIMASU. I think I’ll sleep after reading a book.

TABETE KARA SHUKUDAI O SURU. – after I eat I’m going to do homework.

UNDO WO SHITE KARA SHAWA O SURU KOTO GA SUKI DESU. –
I like to take a shower after I exercise.

After verb – verb (base TA) + ATO DE –

SAKE O NONDA ATO DE NEMUKUNATTA –
I got sleepy after drinking some* sake.

After verb – verb ( base TA) + NOCHI NI

Nomu - (v. To drink) –
Nomu (base ta)
Bu, mu or nu
ta à nda
Nomu in base ta is NONDA

SAKE O NONDA NOCHI NI INU O SAMPO SHI NI ITTA –
(After I drank some sake I took the dog for a walk.)

April 23, 2008

norandoki - "Let's just not ride it ... ok?!" or " We'll just NOT ride that ____ for good measure. "

Base I
Norandoki
noru -->
noranai-->
noran-->

NORANDOKI - "Let's NOT ride it, and say we did!"

Imperitively - CONSTRUCT - can't be used with auxilliary verbs aru or iru or any form of the copula de aru could be a debatable issue

Ex.
shimesu na! - Don't show it!
iku na! - don't go!
miru na! - don't look!
suru na! - don't do it!

suru na

Verb(base III) + NA - DO NOT!

April 13, 2008

Japanese words

They say that the average American spends 17 hours per week inside their car. That is 884 hours per year or Living in Japan. There are a few words and key phrases in Japanese that, as a tourist in the Land of the Rising Sun, you would think that I could at least learn how to say the time. Since in Japan they use military time on occasion, more frequently than military time is used in America. , had I been acquainted with earlier on, would have saved me a lot of time, and prevented some of the confusion and disorientation for me upon my first adventures in Japan. In Japan, a lot of a persons life is spent at an Eki or train station spent getting on and off at the wrong train stations. Inevitably, tourists in Japan will have to use public transportation. It would be very convenient to know at least the basic words related to how to get around in Japan if you are going to spend any amount of time touring Japan. Some are quite easy for they are gairaigo or foreign borrowed terms which are usually English based (although a certain percentage can be French, Portuguese, Spanish, German, and Dutch.) Some are more difficult to get a handle on but are essential to your adventures in Japan. Because one way or another you'll soon see how the Japanese Rail systems are more part of their culture and the Japanese way of life than we might be accustomed to here in America.
First let’s learn the words for major transportation hubs like: bus stop, train station, airport, and subway.

basu tei - bus stop
eki - train station
ku^ko^ - airport

I remember getting on a bus and not knowing much Japanese other than how to say, "what time is it?" and feeling so embarrassed about not knowing where the heck I was going

Daremo Oran

The following supplement will help you increase your Japanese vocabulary by showing you how our good friend mo is more than just a particle. Mo is part of the family. . Have fun!
First, memorize the question words.
Who – dare,
What – nani,
where – doko,
when – itsu,
how many –ikutsu, nannin

Question word + mo with + positive verb with – negative verb
dare + mo anyone nobody
nani +mo anything nothing
doko + mo everywhere, anywhere nowhere
itsu + mo all the time, always none of the time, never
nannin + mo many people, a bunch of people not many people

The mo participle carries the meaning of too, or also. It is all inclusive. For example to say me too just add mo to me and there you have it. Watakushi mo. Easy, right? What if your friend wants to come with us too? Then just add mo and presto you have Watakushi no tomodachi mo. Him too.
We might ask,” is anybody home?”
Dareka oraremasu ka?
Nobody is here.
Daremo oraremasen.

Question word + ka with + positive verb with – negative verb
dare + ka someone nobody
nani +ka something nothing
doko + ka somewhere nowhere
itsu + ka sometime none of the time, never
nannin + ka so many people , this many not many people


Question word + demo with + positive verb with – negative verb
dare + demo anybody, whoever nobody
nani +demo, nandemo anything, everything nothing
doko + demo everywhere, anywhere nowhere
itsu +demo all the time none of the time, never
nannin +demo many people, a bunch of people not many people

learn more Japanese

The following supplement will help you increase your Japanese vocabulary by showing you how our good friend mo is more than just a particle. Mo is part of the family. . Have fun!
First, memorize the question words.
Who – dare,
What – nani,
where – doko,
when – itsu,
how many –ikutsu, nannin

Question word + mo with + positive verb with – negative verb
dare + mo anyone nobody
nani +mo anything nothing
doko + mo everywhere, anywhere nowhere
itsu + mo all the time, always none of the time, never
nannin + mo many people, a bunch of people not many people

The mo participle carries the meaning of too, or also. It is all inclusive. For example to say me too just add mo to me and there you have it. Watakushi mo. Easy, right? What if your friend wants to come with us too? Then just add mo and presto you have Watakushi no tomodachi mo. Him too.
We might ask,” is anybody home?”
Dareka oraremasu ka?
Nobody is here.
Daremo oraremasen.

Question word + ka with + positive verb with – negative verb
dare + ka someone nobody
nani +ka something nothing
doko + ka somewhere nowhere
itsu + ka sometime none of the time, never
nannin + ka so many people , this many not many people


Question word + demo with + positive verb with – negative verb
dare + demo anybody, whoever nobody
nani +demo, nandemo anything, everything nothing
doko + demo everywhere, anywhere nowhere
itsu +demo all the time none of the time, never
nannin +demo many people, a bunch of people not many people

Majority of languages includes Japanese

In the majority of known languages there seems to exist within each of their forms of communication a division of it into one that is uttered with a spoken language and its converse skill of listening and comprehending (interpreting the meaning, understanding of the message that is being sent. written language.
In Japanese the need arose in around the year 600 A.D. or so that a system of writing be established to more unitize the many warlords who were scattered across the various districts of Japan. Kanji (plural Kanji) are pictographs, borrowed from the chinese scripts and borrowed their system of writing to an exten. Kanji are capable of relaying and expressing much more meaning than can be gained through description of an idea or object with the phoenician alphabet. Westerners grow up in a world where our writing system is now such that we write our words alphabetically. a purely due to each kanji's graphical nature. and evolution a much deeper meaning contained within each one. It is usually difficult for westerners to comprehend such a a writing system wherein the words are still more ideographic than Much different than what us who are stifled by the alphabet. Kanji can be written in as many as 1 to 100 strokes of the pen of the stenographer. The simplest kanji are 1 stroke and there are six kanji that can be written in as few as 1 stroke(s)We can see the meaning of things inside the kanji. Therefore from the get go, we should try to ween ouselves from the temptation to look up words in romaji to decipher meaning. We should use a dictionary like sanseidos daily concise.
Week 1 verbs - Drink, Sleep,Eat, go hataraku. Put verbs in all bases. Nouns:coffee;tea;milk; water,coca cola,sake,aquarius,beer,juice.

Adjectives - oishii, sutekina, benri na, okiim nagai samui, atsui, chisaii, mijikai. Grammer masu, masen, masen deshita etc, BII +tai desu = I want to. polite form, lets = BII+masho long o etc
Adjectives- are fun to play with Practice putting the adjectives in front of a noun etc

LALALa

Oh won’t you do it for me? Will ya? Wouldn’t you like to be a pepper too
Verb (base TE) + kurenai (TE + kureru)
Verb (base TE) + moraenai (TE + Morau)

Japanese Days

Take for example the days of the week. First off in almost every single language in the world there is a day denoted as the Sun’s day or the day of the Sun, and a moon day, or day of the moon. Now when we take a closer look at what the words for the days of the week in Japanese, we are liable to pass it off as mere coincidence, the similarities are striking. The following table shows the words for days of the week in Japanese and in English.
Kasei has as its base fire, which would be translated fire day. In English our equivalent of fire’s day is Tuesday, named after the Tiu the god of war and the sky. But before the Germanic peoples renamed the second day of the week Tuesday, the Romans had a system of naming the days of the week after their god and had called it dies martis ‘day of mars’, after the war god (source of French Mardi ‘Tuesday’). (Ayto, 544)
The kanji for Saturday being read do or basically the term for dirt or dirt’s day but is also the root of the Japanese word for Saturn, which is Dosei.
As for the third day of the week, some languages call it the 3rd day or day 3(Vietnamese) In Japanese this day is denoted as Suiyobi or day of the water, water’s day. The Germanic peoples called this day woden’s day or day of Odin after one of their mightiest gods. It seems that Wednesday got all screwed up being filtrated through the evolution of languages. It makes sense because Wednesday is in the middle of the week and if there are going to be corruptions from the pure form from whence the original words came from then the word for the middle of the week makes sense. In Japanese the word for mercury is kasei which would find its relations to our Tuesday. The Japanese Suisei is the planet
Now Thursday was named after the god Thor (where our English thunder comes from) but in the Roman system of naming the days of the week the fourth day was names dies jovis or day of Jupiter. In Japanese the fourth day is denoted Moku sei or day of the tree which is from the same root as that for their word for Jupiter, and that word being Mokusei.
Now Friday is denoted as Kinsei or day of gold in Japanese which is the same root for the word for planet kinsei which is Venus. The Germanic peoples called it after Odin’s wife Frigg (Ayto, 241) ‘Frigg’s day’ was a direct adaptation of Latin Veneris dies “Venus’s day’ (whence French vendredi ‘Friday’)

Oh yeah On Japanese Baby

There is spoken language and the written language. 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. Nouns: coffee, tea , milk, water, coca cola , sake , aquarius, beer, juice.

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

japanese words

平均 -average
均整 - 
制限 -seifuku
こころよい -
勢力 -seiryoku - influence

影響 -eikyou
速度 Pleasant
快晴 -
均整の取れた
営農人-
本野 - honno
うぬんぼれるーTo be conceited
芸能\u20154 人 -Geinojin
群れ-Flock or herd, birds, group crowd
酸素 Sanso
炭酸―\hich Carbonation
反則-Violation
源速―\u12288  Principle General rule
災害―\hichDisaster
復古するー fukko suru
金属製―\hichMetallic
属 A bug indoors a genus ZOKU
仮の Temporary
きょうみーInterest to show interest in
関心 Interest or concern kanshin
To revive,reconstruct
のこぎり-nokogiri a saw
期限が切れる - kigen ga kireru
決心 To decide or make up one’s mind to do‘
義理のお父さん giri no otosan
義のお母さんgiri no otousan
期待外れ  kitai hazure - mis expectations                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

yo

By adding the syllable mo (inclusive particle) to The following supplement will help you increase your Japanese vocabulary by showing how to branch off known words to make many new ones. First, memorize the question words. Who, what, where ,when, how many, Have fun!

Question word + mo with + positive verb with – negative verb
dare + mo anyone nobody
nani +mo anything nothing
doko + mo everywhere, anywhere nowhere
itsu + mo all the time, always none of the time, never
nannin + mo many people, a bunch of people not many people

The participle mo represents inclusiveness. The English equivalent being the words also or too.

Table1
100 Japanese Verbs Romaji English
園芸する engei suru to be amused
なかす nakasu to cause to cry
支持する shitai suru to expect
うごかす ugokasu to physically move something
うごく ugoku to move, to make motion or movement
そなえる to prepare, to provide
穂門する senmon suru sen is wrong
年とる toshi o toru to age
混乱する konran suru to be confusing
頼る tayoru to rely, to depend
区別する kubetsu suru to separate, to distinguish
結婚する kekkon suru to marry
とこにすく toko ni suku old way of saying to go to bed
あずける azukeru same as azukaru intrasitive
拒む ayumu to apologize
あわれる awareru to appear
たずねる tazuneru to ask
うかがう ukagau to ask, or visit
たたかう tatakau to attack
できる dekiru to be able, can
もしあげる moshiageru to be called
みちる michiru to be filled with
込む fukumu to be included
欠く fuku to be insufficient, to lack
暴れる abareru to be jittery unstable, to act up
節足する fusoku suru to be unsatisfactory, to be not enough
しんじる shinjiru to believe
炊く fuku to blow
増す fukuramasu to blow up
ふかす fukasu to blow up (baloon)
励ます fukuramasu to blow up(balloon) to fill up with
かりる kariru to borrow
かう kau to buy
はこぶ hakobu to carry
祝う iwau to celebrate
変化する henka suru to change shape, transform
かえる kaeru to change, to return
閉める shimeru to close
くらべる kuraberu to compare
文句する monku suru to complain
確かめる tashikameru to confirm
正す tadasu to correct
なく naku to cry
減る heru to decrease
希望する kibou suru to desire
うつす utsusu to develop( film), to get on print
死ぬ shinu to die
握る horu to dig
みわける miwakeru to distinguish, tell apart
わる waru to divide, to break in half
離婚 する rikon suru to divorce
まね する mane o suru to do an impression of
やる yaru to do, to play
運転する unten suru to drive
まわる mawaru to encircle, to go around in a circle
はげます hagemasu to encourage
終わる owaru to end
はいる hairu to enter, to go in
定める sadameru to establish
攻める sadameru to establish
運動する undou suru to exercise
説明する setsumei suru to explain
爆発する bakuhatsu suru to explode
ふる furu to fall,
みつける mitsukeru to find
したがう shitagau to follow
正解する seikai suru to get something right
もしわけする moshiwake suru to give an excuse
かえす kaesu to give back
産む umu to give birth
あげる ageru to give, to bring to boil
はげる hageru to go bald
つり する tsuri suru to go fishing
壊れる abareru to go hog wild, to get out of hand
嫌う kirau to hate
揉む awaremu to have mercy
満足する manzoku suru to have plenty of, to be satisfied
たすける tasukeru to help
持つ motsu to hold
頂く itadaku to humbly partake
急ぐ isogu to hurry
つもる tsumoru to intend, to pile up, to plug
蹴る keru to kick
ころす Korosu to kill
みちびく michibiku to lead
預かる azukaru to leave with someone
あずかる azukaru to leave with someone, to entrust
かす kasu to lend
しらせる shiraseru to let know
好む konomu to like
負ける makeru to lose
失う ushinau to lose something
愛する ai suru to love
たてかける tatekakeru to make
たてる tateru to make
失敗する shippai suru to make a mistake
蜜tめる tashikameru to make certain, to double check
イジケル ijikeru to make fun of
もたらす motarasu to make someone hold something
まじわる majiwau to mix
おこる okoru to occur, to happen
開ける akeru to open
圧倒する atto suru to overwhelm
参加する sanka suru to participate
はらう harau to pay
なぜる nazeru to pet (the cat)
ひろう hirou to pick up, to gather
えらぶ  erabu to pick, to choose
おく oku to place
指す sasu to point
指差す yubisasu to point with finger
簡便する junbi suru to prepare
備える sonaeru to prepare
保存する honzai suru to preserve
さまたげる samategeru to prevent
禁止する kinshi suru to prohibit
引く hiku to pull
押す osu to push
たよる tayoru to rely on
のこる nokoru to remain
再婚する saikon suru to re-marry
尊敬する sonkei suru to respect
子劇する sonkei suru to respect
復習する fukushuu suru to review
上がる agaru to rise, to go up
さがす sagasu to search, to seek
相談する soudan suru to seek advice, to consult
うる uru to sell
はなれる hanareru to separate
離れる hanareru to separate, to tear
分かち合う wakachiau to share
しめす shimesu to show
閉まる shimaru to shut
ねる neru to sleep
ニコニコする nikoniko suru to smile
そなえる sonaeru to sound
話す hanasu to speak
あまえる amaeru to spoil ( a kid)
ひろがる hirogaru to spread across, to widen
立つ tatsu to stand
始める hajimeru to start
はじめる hajimeru to start, to begin
成功する sieko suru to succeed
足りる tariru to suffice
たりる tariru to suffice, to have enough
狙う nerau to take aim
語る kataru to talk about
あじわる ajiwaru to taste
つたえる tsutaeru to tell
伝える tsutaeru to tell
見分ける miwakeru to tell apart
差別するe sabetsu suru to tell the difference
証する akashi suru to testify
かんがえる kangaeru to think
つや区する tsuuyaku suru to translate from written text to written text
動力する douryoku to try
尽くす tsukusu to use completely, exhaust
待つ matsu to wait
おこす okosu to wake up, to cause to get up
歩く aruku to walk
欲しがる hoshigaru to want
あたためる atatameru to warm up(food)
ひろげる hirogeru to widen, to spread out
かつ katsu to win
願う negau to wish, to plead to beg
願う negau to wish, to want
書く kaku to write

How to say please In Japanese . . ?

How to really say please… in Japanese.

In another article, I wrote about how to say ‘please’ in Japanese. You can say please, but you will need to know the what in please what? Please what? Look at the words related to please like the verb to please. It means to satisfy someone, or to make them happy about something you did . Pleasure is a word also related to the word please. What’s the magic word? Please! What would be pleasing to say today. Today just as in Japanese to please someone to make them tell you that you did a good job. That you are pleasant to be with can be described as pleasant an adjective. Pleasant isn’t the kudasai but neither is the please. I mentioned earlier that kudasai comes from the verb kudasaru which means to kindly do something for (someone). V It has the kind of fun’iki (atmosphere) that one does this favor for you because you can’t. It is a very honorific word. Kudasaru, to honorably accepting your doing of this for me elegance. There are 3 most basic politeness levels. The highest form of politeness is when you speak to someone that you have much respect for. You speak in Honorifics when you are speaking to someone older, a person with a higher status than you such as your boss, and when speaking to someone who you have as yet to determine their status, someone new to you until you can establish their ranking. IN this sense you can say that in Japan people are typecasting with their language as well as keeping the caste system alive. It is also to be said that After putting verbs into base (TE)

YOKU Verb (Base TA) + koto ga aru

A Brief History of the tradition of the Japanese Genkan.
By Makurasuki Sensei,
Brett McCluskey

During my first stay in Japan, I used to get embarrassed because my American friend’s feet would give off the most putrid of odors, and for long distances too. The smell of his feet could cut through a stable full of horses and cattle chewing their cud. It was hard not to gag on occasion. I mean his feet stunk. I can’t really tell you if the odor emanated from his feet, or his socks, because, well it didn’t matter; they both stunk. I would be embarrassed for him and me, because I thought that I could control the way things smelled on other people or something, but alas I couldn’t.
Can you imagine eating at the dinner table or trying to have candid conversation with some new friends you just met only to find out the friend you had brought didn’t have control on his feet hygiene and the odor most unbearable. How atrocious! How outrageous! I thought to myself, be-gone you foul beast at once! Come back when you can be more civilized, or at least when your feet aren't noticeable to the olfactory senses at the distance of 6 feet.
Let’s imagine we are in Japan at a small gathering of some friends. Because it can get pretty chilly in the winter, are all gathered around a nice, warm, and fluffy kotatsu ((quilted) electric blanket \ table), to play the card game buta no shippo (Pig’s tail) Oh no! Not that smells again. Like incense rising up from the depths of odor hell, your friend subjugates everyone to that wretched, didn’t mean to know you, go home! Take a bath! Wash your feet! That wretched friendly scent of your friend’s sweaty polyester, fibrous odor drip that is by now smelling all too familiar.
In America, we wouldn’t have this problem because Americans go everywhere in their shoes, and it doesn’t matter, because you never have to take them off. You can keep your shoes on all day in America. Not in Japan. Before you step foot inside a Japanese dwelling you must take off your shoes. I am full blooded American and can remember as a kid going to sleep in my shoes a couple of times. They wouldn’t have had that in Japan. Also I remember accidentally stepping on some doggy doo and accidentally walking all over my mom’s carpets and then jumping on my bed. Well that sort of thing wouldn’t happen in Japan. Shoes are great, but in Japan, shoes can become cumbersome due to the limitations on living spaces, but more importantly the act of taking off one’s shoes before entering a home or dwelling is a tradition. A good custom as you shall see.
Like other countries of the East, the Japanese take off their shoes before entering houses, dwellings, apartments, condo’s, etc. When I first got to Japan it was awkward at first to take off my shoes, because I had shoes with laces and it was mendoukusai (tedious) when I left to tie my shoes up again after just un-tying them when I arrived. I followed the custom at first only because every one else was doing it. Yes! This was one of those times that if the whole Japanese country were going to jump off the cliff I was going to jump too. *When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do!* There were places I thought were abnormal for taking off my shoes like kindergartens, eating establishments, bowling alleys, karaoke rooms, lots of weird places you wouldn’t even think of taking your shoes off at in America, even the bathroom at bars and weirder places yet.
I had one friend who was so particular about this custom, he would insist on me taking off my shoes before getting into his car. I was obliged to follow the tradition. *When in Rome Do as the Romans Do!* This friend was a little more gung-ho than your average Akira, but it shows you just how far this tradition extends itself into everyday life. He was a little overly devout or passionate about keeping his car clean but at the same time did it for other beneficial, even religious type reasons which we will explore in the coming paragraphs.
Why do the Japanese take off their shoes before entering a home or other things including cars? Why is it considered rude to stand on a chair, or a table or a sofa or seat etc. with your shoes on? In this lense I am going to share my experiences with the custom of taking off your shoes before entering a house and the traditions of the genkan (place where you place your shoes before stepping into a house.) And we will talk a little bit about the way the genkan has been extended in use in modern Japanese society. We are going to try to answer the reasons behind this strange custom and why this genkan thing exists. Also after relaying as much as I can about this custom, we will continue our JPPGG© or Japanese plug and play ghetto grammar sessions so that you will add one more grammar principle to your growing list of Japanese language weapons.
I’m not prejudice nor am I generalizing that all Americans have stinky feet, but, I know that even my feet have a tendency to get stinky when I sweat, run or wear keep my shoes on for too long to wear my shoes everywhere and anywhere in any situation at all times, even to bed, even jumping on the bed, even standing on chairs, cars, wherever on whatever, it didn’t matter. I, being an American having no background in Japanese customs and not having any tradition similar to taking my shoes off before entering the house, I felt quite comfortable doing as I always had done. It wasn’t until I saw the expression of horror, surprise and shear shock of my Japanese friend that I ever began to take seriously the Japanese tradition of taking off my shoes before entering places. I saw on a man’s face as I simply stood upon a chair to change a light bulb, mind you, I had my shoes on, but he gasped in horror and made me instantly get down from the chair. What on Earth could I have possibly done to make him gasp in horror? All I did was stand on a chair and was attempting to change a light bulb. I thought so what gives
So the tradition of taking off shoes before entering a dwelling has many roots in Buddhism.















This is JPPGG© bunpo principle #87.
Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar Japanese Language Learning
By Makurasuki Sensei, Brett McCluskey
Towards better Japanese Mastery.

To say in Japanese that you used to ~ verb, (at fairly regular intervals and at some point in the past) use the following construction:

I. (I/You/He/She/They/We/It) used to ~ verb.

I. yoku verb(base TA) mono desu.

The following examples will help you grasp today’s JPPGG construction. After you get a feel for how this grammar is made, just keep plugging new verbs into the verb area in Base TA and then continue playing by making your own unique and interesting sentences. And don’t forget to practice saying all your newly created sentences out-loud. Drilling and killing, or plugging and playing words into the constructions in this way is bound to improve your Japanese conversation skills quickly. You’ll be adding yet another grammar principle to your Japanese language arsenal, for your benefit and use at any time you see fit. Keep plugging and playing until your friends tell you they can’t stand how much you practice your Japanese or until they say stop. But even if you start bugging people because you practice too much just keep telling yourself that the practice that I am doing will surely cause me to improve. Just keep practicing the grammar constructions and saying to yourself new sentences of your own creation until your friends or you go to sleep, whichever comes first. You want to get better at Japanese, don’t you? Well don’t bicker…do quicker! Here are some nice examples with an occasional ghetto phrase sprinkled in here or there to spice up the flavorful fun, so that you can have a good time studying Japanese.

1. When I was younger, I used to ride my bike to school.

Watakushi ga motto wakai koro, jitensha de yoku gakko ni itta mono desu.
{As for I, in the more young time, by bike often school went thing is.}1


2. He used to cheat, but the teacher busted him, and now he is a good boy.

Kare wa mae yoku kanningu shita mono desu keredomo sensei ni barete shimatte ima orikosan desu.



3. I used to play there a lot.

Watakushi wa soko de yoku asonda mono da.


G.A.B. or the Ghetto After Blast – One point advice
The Japanese verb nareru means, “To get used to” which is similar to the used to that you have been getting used to in this bunpo. Nareru is a really cool word, and you will hear it a lot in Japanese conversation.

Ex.1 He is used to that job.
Kare wa sono shigoto ni narete imasu.

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

The NO Particle in Japanese

The no particle の

In Japanese, The no particle indicates possession. Like the dog’s food. Inu no esa. Or like Tom’s car – Tommu no kuruma. You might be asked, “ who’s is this?” to which you could reply its mine or its your’s or it’s his, or its their’s or its our’s. In each case の(no) would be used thus:
it’s mine – Watakushi no
it’s your’s – anata no (plural anata tachi no)
it’s his – kare no
It’s her’s kanojo no
it’s their’s – karera no
it’s our’s – Watakushi tachi no
who’s? - dare no?

ghetto grammar one a day plus iridium

Ganbatte Ne! Do Your Best! Makurasuki Sensei.

On Japanese Numbers and Counting

On Counting in Japanese: a study strategy

1 – ichi
2 – ni
3 – san
4 – shi, yon
5 – go
6 - roku
7 –shichi, nana
8 – hachi, ha
9 – kyu, ku
10 – ju, to
11 – ju ichi
12 – ju ni
13 – ju san
etc
20 –ni ju
21 – ni ju ichi
22 – ni ju ni
30 – san ju
31 - san ju ichi
95 – kyu ju go
99 – kyu ju kyu
100 – hyaku
101 – hyaku ichi
108 – hyaku hachi
197 – hyaku kyu ju nana (shichi)
200 – ni hyaku
300 – sam byaku
400 – yon hyaku
500 –go hyaku
600 – roppyaku
700 – nanahyaku
800 – happyaku
900 – kyuhyaku
1000 – sen
1001 – sen ichi
2000 ni sen
Etc
Some of my best spent hours studying Japanese were when I recited to myself the numbers in Japanese from zero to one million, and then back to zero again. Yes it got a little tedious and after a while I would think to myself, “O.K. Enough is enough! I mean gee… to 1 million and back… that is going a little out of the way just to learn some language don’t you think?” Not to a die-hard that really wants to speak the language. I was extremely determined to master Japanese, that is why I recited the numbers from zero to one million and then back again over and over again.
Other things I did which are strategies worth considering was that I would count from 0 to 1 million by 2’s, by 3’s, by 4’s and by 5’s, 6’s, 7’s, 8’s, 9’s, and 10’s. Some numbers seemed for some reason or another harder than the others, so I would concentrate more on the hard ones. I don’t think I tried 11’s but it could produce the same results. It surely stems from basically the same idea. The more your mouth and brain coordinate their efforts in the target languages the better prepared you will be to use them in the real world. So go ahead use you try some of these out until you can say them without hesitation.

Ways to practice counting so as to get better in speaking Japanese, always practice with correct pronunciation and begin slowly and then build up speed and swiftness of speech.

1. Count from 0 to 1 million and go backwards once you arrive at a million to get to zero once again. Again if 1 million seems tough, it would be o.k. to go as far as you can, but maybe stretch yourself a little, a least 99000 or something. You want to get good don’t you?
2. Count up the odd numbers from 0 to 1 million
3. Count up the even numbers from 0 to 1 million
4. do #2 and #3 backwards from 1 million
5. count through your numbers by 3’s, 4’s 5’s etc
6. do long division by saying out loud in Japanese the problem
Here are some nice handy math words that will give you hours of word play:
To add – tasu
To divide – waru
To multiply -kakeru
To subtract – hiku

Until you’ve actually recited the numbers from zero to one million (1,000,000) a couple of times through without hesitation and eventually to do it without even thinking about it. That is one of the secrets of fluency. It sprouts from one’s ability to think in the target language. If you catch yourself thinking in the target language that is a good sign; if you catch yourself dreaming in the target language you have reached bliss, SLA bliss. You are heading towards fluency. I got to a point where my dreams would be in Japanese and it didn’t matter who or what type of people were in my dreams, everybody spoke in Japanese. I remember my mom and dad who aren’t too familiar with the Japanese language, but in my dreams were conversing with me full on like natives themselves. So what is the point of all this? The point is akin to the old adage,’when in Rome do as the Romans do’.
The more one thinks in the target language the more apt they are to acquire the language. Lets face it there is no quick road to fluency except hard work, goal oriented study, persistent practice and an iron will coupled with an abundance of motivation. I hope this little lesson won’t discourage anyone about learning languages. Because there will be some that are too lazy start the training, their motivation will be sub par for their needs, and thus they will not make it to fluency. But those who persevere and but instead will inspire people to go for it, even though the road to fluency isn’t yellow nor bricked. These are things that I know of that will enable an SL learner how to speak in a foreign tongue and bring them closer to near perfect fluency.

Please Do And Please Don't

Today’s Ghetto Grammar
Lesson #116
The please do and the please don’t bunpo with special guest - verb in base TE

A quick and easy way to say, “Please verb” in Japanese is to put the Japanese verb into base TE and add the word kudasai<1>. (You can use my tips here as to how to put verbs in base TE). So our plug and play grammar for the day will look like this.

Verb (base TE) +Kudasai. = Please Verb.
Verb (base I) + naide + Kudasai = Please Don’t Verb.

kudasai comes from the verb meaning -to be kind enough to do for (me) - More on how to get someone to do something for you or to receive the service of somebody next lesson. For now here are some examples just plug your favorite verb in the place of the following and Practice! Practice! Practice!

Ex. 1. Please listen to this music.
Kono ongaku of kiite kudasai. (verb-kiku (baseTE))

Ex.2 Please don’t touch my handbag.
Wataskushi no handbag o sawaranaide kudasai

Ex.3. Go Ahead, Please eat.
Dozo, Tabete kudasai. (Verb – taberu (base TE))

Ex. 4 Please don’t go
Ikanaide kudasai. (Verb- iku (verb (base I +naide)

Cont… 117

Ganbatte ne! Do your best! Makurasuki Sensei Yori,






<1> On how to put verbs into base TE go to
http://ezinearticles.com/?Learn-Japanese-Gra mmar-To-The-Tune-Of-Silver-Bells&id=493900/

tsumori - japanese grammar - intentend to verb

Japanese Language Mastery in 130 modernized lessons.
Ghetto Grammar Lesson #115 - The bunpo of Intentions - Intend to Verb

In Japanese it is easy to construct sentences that tell others your intentions. To say that you intend on doing something in Japanese, all you do is take a verb and put it in either baseIII or baseI (i.e. iku or ikanai) and add tsumori desu. For example to say ,” I intend to sleep early”. Take the verb to sleep ( neru, nemuru, toko ni tsuku, yasumu) Hayaku nemuru tsumori desu. I intend on getting to bed early hayaku toko ni tsuku tsumori desu.
As long as the locutor has a handle on the pronunciation of the tsu syllable (see pronunciation tips #13), then his/her spoken intentions will also be easily understood. Tsumori is the word we use when we want to show an intention. Putting tsumoru into baseII gives you tsumori.
We can understand more about the bunpo of intentions (today’s grammar principle) by taking a closer look at the meaning of the word tsumori and/or its etymology. Of course don’t neglect to listen to your surroundings especially when you are blessed with an immersive environment. If you are not already in Japan, try listening for words you have learned via Japanese T.V. or from any other means to feel the way in which those words are used by native Japanese speakers. Paying attention to how it is used in the real world. Tsumoru is the verb to accumulate or to be piled or stacked up. Also note that tsumeru means to stuff, pack, or cram, and although the kanji is not exactly the same, they both seem to have stemmed from a common source. Tsumori is also related to the widely used common term tsumaranai which is the word for something that is worthless or trivial or something that is not worth your time worrying about.

Ghetto Grammar Lesson #115 – Intend to verb

English Japanese
-intend to + verb verb (Base III) + tsumori
-no intention to + verb verb (Base I) + tsumori
You must add the polite form of the verb to be (de aru) after tsumori to show politeness as well as to show whether the intention was a past or present, negative or positive intention. A few examples will show you how to use this bunpo principle.

ex.1 - I intend to win.
- Watakushi wa katsu tsumori desu.

ex.2 - He intends to speak with her.
- Kare wa kanojo to hanasu tsumori desu.

ex.3 - I don't intend to go.
- Ikanai tsumori desu. (Rarely used)

ex.3a - I have no intentions to go.
- Iku tsumori wa nai desu. (More frequently)
- Iku tsumori wa arimasen. (More polite)

ex.4 - It was my intention to do the dishes.
- Sara o arau tsumori deshita.

ex.4a - I had intended to go
- Iku tsumori deshita.

Most often literal translations of Japanese to English rarely come out in a comprehensible fashion. Usually they are so far from what we really are saying that they are anything but true or correct interpretations. In studying a language it is sometime good, however, to learn about word etymology if possible. Try listening for other uses of the same term. By getting use to hearing a certain phrase more than one way, you are setting the stage for solid language acquisition. In our tsumori bunpo we would want to know how meanings would affect our usage. Since tsumoru means to accumulate, to be piled or to be stacked up, when we literally translate example 1 above it becomes something like this - I have accumulated much the act of winning, Or, -I have a lot of winning put aside, the winning is all piled up over there. I hope you get my point here. It may sound a little wacky but remember… this is ‘ghetto’ grammar baby! Intentions are like a stack of things piled so high that the shear weight of it gives verbs and our ghetto grammar principles intentional potential.

This lesson brought to you by Makurasuki Sensei, Brett McCluskey Wishing all the best in your endeavors toward improving your Japanese. Ganbatte ne! Do your Best! Ja Mata Kondo! If you found this article helpful and want to really get good at Japanese or any language for that matter look for my articles at squidoo.com and also check out http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-2328430-10446709/ for the best dictionary in the galaxy.




Go Daddy $1.99 Domains



EzineArticles.com Basic Author

10 Japanese Grammar principles all with verb in base III

I am going to put here some very useful Japanese grammar that will hopefully benefit your Japanese language learning. These grammar principles are commonly used in everyday Japanese conversation. 10 principles are henceforth and coming below that may help you towards better Japanese. In the old days, when grammar-translation methods of teaching a foreign language were king, my JPPGG would have been called a substitution drills. I prefer to call this way of studying Japanese JPPGGゥ or Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar. The idea behind JPPGGゥ is while you are learning your vocabulary (nouns, verbs, adjectives, expressions, salutations, adverbs, particles etc.) the grammar won't be holding you back. Once you learn a grammar principle you simply continue to plug in more and more learned vocabulary.
It’s a lot of fun too. I always use the word for, "to fart", and it makes the learning of Japanese fun. I mean the word,"to go" is fun and all, but the verb to burp or fart makes sentences come alive and all the tediousness of second language learning disappears, like magic. Honest Joe! I'll laugh and laugh about the new constructions I've made. But seriously, I would do whatever it takes to improve my Japanese skills and using JPPGGゥ in this un-orthodox way seems to have certainly helped me. I know boast a vocabulary of over 7000 words using my JPPGG method. So wherever you are at in your Japanese studies, just keep plugging and playing your way to a healthy and stout Japanese mouth. God luck!
Now below I am going to show you 10 Japanese grammar principles that all use a form of verbs commonly called base III verbs. If you aren't familiar with the term, base III verbs are verbs in their pure dictionary form. Un-adulterated pure words in the form of an action word, or predicate, which are taken straight from any old Wa-Ei (Japanese to English) or Ei-Wa (English to Japanese) dictionary.
Also called plain form verbs, base III verbs always ends by itself or in some sort of u vowel ending syllable cluster like, u, ku, gu, su, zu, tsu, tzu, bu, fu, mu, nu, yu, etc. Feel free to plug any verb that you are fond of into these JPPGGゥ constructions. Using off the wall verbs like skate boarding, surfing, frying, laying, squatting, will help you retain the essential Japanese grammar longer over time in your long term memory. In this way your vocabulary will have time to develop without being stagnated by your grammar ability (if that made any sense). I guarantee that you will not only have a blast making sentences and learning Japanese in this way, but you will also remember your vocabulary words clearer, faster, and retaining them longer.
Don't feel obligated to use common verbs; instead think of some neat, obscure verb that you would like to know, look it up in the dic. Go for it! Be a rebel! I dare you to get out of that old school mentality and utilize some word like, onara suru (v. to fart). Nobody will ever know, unless you start using it on someone. Uh oh! Even the Emperor will honorifically fart on occasions. What would you say then? Small asides, jokes of no consequence here --- So get on with the grammar Makurasuki Sensei Geeze Maneeze!!!---
Preliminary one point ghetto advice from a plug and play master **
**- Wa is the particle that I have always defined as, "As for ~" where ~ is anything at all, even nothing. Although there is not always an exact equivalent for a Japanese word to some words in English, I have found that thinking of the Japanese word, 'koto' as "the thing of ~". So koto ga and koto wa together, its meaning does sound weird to the ears of a gaijin (foreigner), as tripped out as any English we have ever heard might be, but you learn to accept these kinds of differences between languages because we know that a little disregard for proper sounds will help with our eventual improvement in our Japanese speaking ability. As of yet I have found no better way of describing these Japanese words in English, and they seem to be sufficient interpretations in the situations in which they were used... Again, although they might at first sound a little awkward, we overlook the formalities for our long range goals of Japanese language mastery, and we get over it. This is JPPGGゥ, It won't cost you anything but a commitment to self and a little time, and plus, if it works--- it is beautiful. Back to Serious-Ville here, geeze, koto wa or koto ga could roughly be translated as "As for the thing of~ ".

1. Verb (base III) + koto ga, koto wa - the thing of verb, the thing of 'verbing'.
2. Verb (base III) + tame ni - in order to verb
3. Verb (base III) + mae ni - before I verb, before ‘verbing’.
4. Verb (base III) + koto ga arimasu - Sometimes I verb
5. Verb (base III) + koto ga yoku arimasu - I do a lot of ‘verbing’. or I often verb.
6. Verb (base III) + koto ga amari arimasu - I don't often verb, I rarely verb.
6. Verb (base III) + koto ga dekimasu - I am able to verb, I can verb
7. Verb (base III) + deshou - I will probably verb, or the verb will probably happen, or it might verb.
8. Verb (base III) + koto ni suru - decide to verb, I resolved within myself to verb, I have chosen to verb, etc.
9. Verb (base III) + hou ga ii desu - It is better to verb, or, you should verb.
10. Verb (base III) + yo (u) ni - so that verb, like ‘verbing’. in similitude of ‘verbing’.

As always do your best!
Ganbatte Ne! Makurasuki Sensei.

on Japanese verb bases

-Base I – stem ends in あ(a). +++ stem vowel directly related to negative present or negative past tense of verbs. Verbs in base I, 2,3,4 or 5 will be denoted herein as VI, V2, V3, V4, common constructions are:
Base II – stem extender is in base II with the I of the syllabary
ROOT – Base III
Base IV – the conditional form of the verb. Equivalent to if___. (Insert statement here)
Base V -- Grandpa mode insert the Oh vowel syllable.
There are 5 bases which allow us to manipulate verbs. These modifications taken from the first five syllables あ いう eh and お of the Japanese syllabary. Base I is made by adding あ to the stem

Japanese 4 all

Plug and Play
Japanese Ghetto Grammar #107
Jappermon Alliance of Japanetic enthusiasts.
Let's say that one day, while visiting Japan, you find yourself wanting to tell someone in Japanese that you need them to do you something. We must tell them that we are desirous of something. We need to be specific... I mean you can't just want any old thing, I mean... watcha what do you really want?! What in the world could YOU possibly want? If the sushi is not up to your liking and you find yourself wanting rather a good ole' fashioned American Apple Pie, then you are going to need to tell the Japanese in their language. This will help you say this kind of stuff and more. Furthermore... by plugging in your favorite verbs into the construction, you can take your ghetto grammar over to the east side if you want. Even to a deluxe apartment in the sky. Let’s hope that everybody's Japanese is moving on up! Ok so where was I... Oh yeah about you wanting things done or just stuff you might want in General. Sometimes if I felt myself start to miss my family back in America I would want to see a good ole American movie. I wasn't happy unless I got to see a real American Movie. Not a Chinese movie starring Jackie Chan overdubbed in Japanese for my viewing pleasure... oh no...I wanted something specific and I wouldn’t be satisfied unless I got to watch my favorite American movies starring James Dean or Harrison Ford? (Those are the only movies in English that one could rent at the video store in Japan. Yeah not much of a selection but hey I can recite Rebel without a cause to you without a script.
Well, this is about to show you via my Japanese Plug & Play Ghetto Grammar or Japanese to the P squared G squared JPPGG method, how to say that you want something or that you want something done (by someone or something else).
The Japanese word around which we are basing today’s ghetto grammar is hoshii. Hoshii is a Japanese adjective and its meaning according to Sanseido’s daily concise Japanese English Dictionary is a want, or a wish for. Its kanji is made up of two radicals which resemble the words for tani (valley) and ketsu (lack, or missing, but is also in words related to thirst and throat) and together inside of the kanji for this word hoshii, it makes me think of somebody out in the middle of Death Valley California having no water but really, really wishing that they had something to drink. That is a wish or a want for something.
The Japanese construction for the equivalent English phrase of
--- I want noun - noun ga hoshii desu or emphatic no desu
Ex. a.) I want an apple! - Ringo ga hoshii desu!
Ex. b.) I want it now! - Ima hoshii! Etc.
--- I want you to verb - Verb (base TE) + hoshii desu. Polite form
Plain form would be verb (base TE) + hoshii without any copula, or by adding the emphatic all purpose sentence ending ...no da. This is less polite.
Super polite form would be - verb (base TE) + hoshuu gozaimasu. This may be a little too polite for any circumstance. Because you are in the personal realms anyway because you are sharing with someone else that you wish for or want somebody to do something. This bunpo will work when asked questions like the following:
Ex. 1) What do you want done? Nani shite hoshii desu ka? Or, simply Nani o shite hoshii? (Not as polite meaning what do you want me to do?)
Putting hoshii into its negative present form you can get sentences that mean I don't want you to do something as in ex 2.
ex. 2) I don't want anything done. Nanimo shite hoshikunai desu! (Without the copula)
ex. 3) I want you to see a television show that I like. Suki na terebi no bangumi o mite hoshii desu!
Since this adjective serves as an auxiliary, you can also put hoshii into the past or past negative as in ex.4
ex. 4) Kite hoshikatta kedo konakatta - I wanted you to come but you never came. (This little phrase turns out to be quite the alliterative tongue-a-twisty.) Say it 5 times fast! I dare you!)
Or
ex. 5) Kurisumasu puresento o akeru no o matte hoshikatta, ammari akete hoshikunakatta no desu, zannen... Mo^, shikata ga nay - I wanted you to wait before you opened the Christmas presents, I really didn't want you to open them at all. Too bad and so sad but I guess there is nothing we can do about it now...
Hoshii can be made into a verb by adding dropping the final i, forming the plain form stem hoshii and adding + ku adjective linker + adding the verb to become nark (One of the most used verbs in all Japanese)naru becoming hoshikunaru. Another way of saying the same thing would be by dropping the final i of hoshii and adding + garu becoming hoshigaru (v. to wish for, want),
A common mistake made in Japanese is to miss-pronounce double vowels as single vowels. Two ii together in Japanese needs to be pronounced like two different i's. Actually you re-utter the second i. A lot of times double vowels will sound like the same vowels just drawn out.
Here is a good example of which witch is which. Don't mistake hoshii, the adjective for wanting, with hoshi, the noun for the word star. The former being having its final vowel sound i held twice as long.
***BONUS SENTENCE - not available in any text book anywhere! ***
***Zutto mae kara kanojo o hoshigatte iru no ja nai to desu ka? Didn't you want to make her your girlfriend forever now? Or, "You have been wanting that chick for a while now haven't you?”
This concludes today's Japanese Ghetto Grammar Plug and Play bunpo method JPPGG for the month of July. Stay tuned for more incredible methods to help improve your Japanese language skills.
What about a * on the middle school teenager girl who died because she was 1-2 minutes late to school and the gate closed in on her. Japan is strict yo! No joke about that. Conform! Conform! Conform! Conform! ... Just kidding.
Ganbatte ne! Do your Best! Makurasuki Sensei.

April 7, 2008

More NAGARA bunpo

Ghetto Grammar - Japanese Bunpo lesson #106
Today’s lesson focuses in on the ghetto grammar principle:
Verb (base II) + nagara - to do while 'verb'ing.

You are able to express past tense and current tenses with this bunpo. After reading the following examples, plug in your favorite Japanese verbs and play, it makes learning Japanese fun!

Example.1. Sara o arainagara, kuchibue o fuku. – While doing the dishes, I whistle.

Example 2. Enka o kikinagara, sake o nomu – While listening to an enka(Japanese folk song), I drink sake.

Ghetto Grammar Formulation Breakdown –

1. Put verb in base II
a. ex 1. The verb arau (to wash) with direct object sara (dishes) is sara o arau - to do the dishes.
b. arau in base II becomes arai.

2. Fuse arai and nagara to make arainagara, or the phrase while washing… Plugged
And played.

Past tense, non-polite (familiar), plain-form ending –

Ex. 1. Sara o arainagara kuchibue of fuita. I whistled while doing the dishes.

Past tense, polite ending –

Ex. 1.Sara o arainagara, kuchibue of fukimashita. – While doing the dishes, I (politely) whistled.

Past tense, non-polite (familiar), plain-form ending –

Ex.2. Enka o kikinagara, sake o nonda. While listening to a Japanese Folk Song, I drank sake.

Past tense, polite ending –

Ex.2. Enka o kikinagara, sake o nomimashita. While listening to a Japanese Folk Song, I (politely) drank sake.

Do your best! Ganbatte Ne!
Makurasuki sensei Yori
For some grammar straight from the ghetto go checkout Leroy’s homework at

http://forums.eog.com/online-sportsbooks-and-gambling-discussion/ghetto-grammar-test-88595.html

Japanese Masho^ bunpo

Let’s Do Something in Japanese
Today’s bunpo will show us how to say let’s verb in Japanese. We can invite someone to do something by saying shall we verb…? Two polite forms of this grammar VII + mashou –

To say let’s verb in Japanese politely you take any verb, ichidan or youdan, and put it into base II add + mashou and there you go another great plug and play grammar principle to improve your Japanese. Towards better Japanese in 9 months with 130 lessons using modern grammar principles using old school techniques.

Ex. 1. Let’s go to eat sushi somewhere. – Dokka no sushiyasan de tabe ni ikimashou!

Shall we go eat sushi somewhere? Dokka no sushiyasan in ikimashou ka?

Ex. 2. Let’s play baseball! – Yakkyu o yarimashou!

Shall we play baseball? Yakkyu o Yarimashou ka?

Ex. 3. Let’s go check it out! Itte mimasho!

Wanna go check it out? Itte miyou ka?

Ex. Shall we play a game. Gamu o yarimashou ka?

And there you have it plug and play Japanese grammar to impress your friends with .
Ganbatte ne! Do your best.

Duplicate of Kamoshirenai bunpo

Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar (JPPGG©) #109
PLAIN FORM + KAMOSHIRENAI – to probably verb

In Japanese, to say that something will most likely happen in the future or to say that something has probably already occurred, we use the word ~kamoshirenai. Both Japanese nouns and Japanese verbs in plain form (i.e. Base III) can be used to which we can attach one of three variable endings which vary in politeness.
When used after nouns, or verbs in plain form, KAMOSHIREMASEN means: maybe noun, maybe verb, might have been noun, might have verb’ed, or probably noun, or probably verb etc. Although by definition, KAMO, by itself, is the word for duck, the origin or roots of the word KAMOSHIREMASEN come mainly from the verb to know, or, SHIRU. In this case, SHIRENAI means unable to know. The KA and the MO pose even more uncertainty when put together because KA is the question mark (?) particle, and MO is the also particle.
KAMO without SHIRENAI or SHIREMASEN is less polite but still understood. To use KAMO by itself is permissible when speaking with close friends or acquaintances. However, since saying just KAMO is less polite, beginners should avoid saying it. Its best to always use the most polite form KAMOSHIREMASEN, but it’s ok to say KAMOSHIRENAI when you are in company of close friends etc.
If you were to listen to 10 minutes of any random Japanese conversation, you would most likely or probably (pun intended) hear the word KAMOSHIRENAI within that time. KAMOSHIRENAI is always used in Japanese conversation. Verbs in base III are equivalent to what is known as plain form, of the verb, sometimes designated in JPPGG© Ghetto Grammar as P.F.

Verb(Base III) + KAMOSHIRENAI – most common, but less polite

Verb(Base III) + KAMOSHIREMASEN – more polite

Verb(Base III) + KAMO - least polite and funny to the ear


1. TORARETA KAMOSHIREMASEN

It might have been stolen

2. SOTSUGYO^ SHISO?
SURU KAMOSHIRENAI


Are you going to graduate?
It’s possible! (Maybe!)




3. ARE WA KAMO KAMO


Figure 1 A KAMO

It’s a duck, probably.-or-
It’s most likely a duck.-or-
It’s probably a duck.-etc.

4. OISHII KAMO NE!

Its probably tastes pretty good! (Doesn’t it?)
(Tasty duck hunh~)

As always, Ganbatte Ne!
Do your Best!
Makurasuki Sensei.

Nothing I don't think Japanese

It is interesting to note that the word for you in Japanese is phonetically the same or apparently phonetically the same as the Buddhist’s belief on the 3 characteristics of existence selflessness or anatta


Three Characteristics of Existence

1. Transiency (anicca)
2. Sorrow (dukkha)
3. Selflessness (anatta)

Base Te Shimau - To completely verb in Japanese

Today’s lesson: Verb (BaseTE) + Shimau. – To completely verb (negative connotation)

Sanseido’s Daily concise Japanese English Dictionary defines the verb shimau as, “to finish completely, or to put an end to”.

For this plug and play grammar to work all you need do is take any Japanese verb and put it into base te. (If you need help putting verbs in bases, go here.) In Ex. 1 we have the verbs for taberu (to eat), and nomu (to drink). Putting them into base TE we have tabete, and nonde. Now adding the past tense of the verb shimau we have:

Ex. 1. Tabete shimatta! I ate it all,
Nonde shimatta! I drank it all!

o. Finishing it to the end you want to use base II + owaru.
i.e. Yomiowatta – I have finished reading it.
p. If we wanted to put this into the future tense leave the verb shimau in plain form or change into polite form shimaimasu.
i.e. Tabete shimaimasu - I will completely eat it. (Sometime in the future)

Ex.2. Tsukatte shimatta – I used it all, I used all of it. – (tsukau – to use)

Ex.3. Nakushite shimatta - I lost it all, or I lost all of it. (nakusu – to lose)

Ex. 4 Nurete shimatta – It got completely wet, or it’s soaked etc. (nureru - to get wet)


O-Shimai is often used to signify endings in a variety of nouns that have a beginning. . In Japanese you can think of Open / start (begin) as close / shut (end).

O-Shimai is often said to children get a hurried response from the child which basically is saying, “That’s it!…No more playing!.” at bedtime when a parent is desirous of hurrying a child to bed, expressing that “it’s time to go to bed it is officially over (O-Shimai)” Similarly the word that expresses, “oh crap” in Japanese is shimau in past tense or “shimatta.”. Shimatta in this case means, to be wrung, or wringed.

Start using your new base TE + shimau bumpo on your friends today! They’ll be glad you did. And don’t forget to Ganbatte Ne.! Do your Best! McCluskey

syllables Japanese

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


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

On Japanese counting

Since older beginners are said to have past the threshold of native pronunciation, once past that point, native pronunciation is unattainable. This may be physiologically true but we can through practice and hard work get close enough to fake a native or two. Once our tongues have hardened or the brain function coordinated with the muscles of the tongue are stuck in our primary language, they say this usually happens around the age of 12-14, then our tongue is no longer moldable and cannot attain the shape to pronounce things.past the point where the native pronunciation line can be drawn, we can draw near unto only a good pronunciation fter learning 1 through 10 On Counting in Japanese: a study strategy

It is rare with so many romance languages being touted around in the USA, with Mexico south of the border and French Canada high on its heels behind us yet close enough to have its influence felt. It is rare to find someone who has actually learned from a friend or a Japanese teacher how to count in Japanese. Americans are starving for some variety in the choices our students our given in the public or private schools. Where in the curriculum does it provide for Japanese, or Korean, or any of the 1000's of languages the world knows.

First learn the first 10 numbers in Japanese.

1 – ichi
2 – ni
3 – san
4 – shi, yon
5 – go
6 - roku
7 –shichi, nana
8 – hachi, ha
9 – kyu, ku
10 – ju, to

At this point, I just want to say that if you feel at all uncomfortable with the numbers up to 10 then stop and just study these numbers for a couple of days before going on. Use every opportunity to use Japanese. Give yourself two hours each day that you only speak Nihongo. If someone asks you what time it is answer in both Japanese and English. Try doing any simple math that you would normally find yourself doing around the house ; any calculations you find yourself in try to remember to keep pace with your goals. The price of your Stater Bros items and even say the total in Japanese as you are waiting to pay. That is a good way to study even if you are not in Japan. Just make sure you can first say from 1 to 10 in Japanese frontwards and backwards with your eyes closed and without any help from some book, however you decide to memorize the numbers The idea behind all of this is to get the locuter speaking more in the target language giving him opportunity to

Now on to the teens. Like most languages, the numbers become compound so 11 in Japanese is actually like saying ten one, ten two, ten three, ten four &tc.
11 – ju ichi
12 – ju ni
13 – ju san
...
and so forth... I'll let you finish studying the rest of the tens 14-19

Now on to the twenties. Here as in the teens the numbers are compounded so that you will be saying two ten, two ten one, two ten three &tc.
20 –ni ju
21 – ni ju ichi
22 – ni ju ni
and so on...

The 30's through the 90's are also done in this fashion. Once you have recited aloud the numbers 20 to 99 review them all and go on to do the 100's after you learn the word for
30 – san ju
31 - san ju ichi
95 – kyu ju go
99 – kyu ju kyu
100 – hyaku
101 – hyaku ichi
108 – hyaku hachi
197 – hyaku kyu ju nana (shichi)
200 – ni hyaku
300 – sam byaku
400 – yon hyaku
500 –go hyaku
600 – roppyaku
700 – nanahyaku
800 – happyaku
900 – kyuhyaku
1000 – sen
1001 – sen ichi
2000 ni sen
Etc
Some of my best spent hours studying Japanese were when I recited to myself the numbers in Japanese from zero to one million, and then back to zero again. Yes it got a little tedious and after a while I would think to myself, “O.K. Enough is enough! I mean gee… to 1 million and back… that is going a little out of the way just to learn some language don’t you think?” Not to a die-hard that really wants to speak the language. I was extremely determined to master Japanese, that is why I recited the numbers from zero to one million and then back again over and over again.
Other things I did which are strategies worth considering was that I would count from 0 to 1 million by 2’s, by 3’s, by 4’s and by 5’s, 6’s, 7’s, 8’s, 9’s, and 10’s. Some numbers seemed for some reason or another harder than the others, so I would concentrate more on the hard ones. I don’t think I tried 11’s but it could produce the same results. It surely stems from basically the same idea. The more your mouth and brain coordinate their efforts in the target languages the better prepared you will be to use them in the real world. So go ahead use you try some of these out until you can say them without hesitation.

Ways to practice counting so as to get better in speaking Japanese, always practice with correct pronunciation and begin slowly and then build up speed and swiftness of speech.

1. Count from 0 to 1 million and go backwards once you arrive at a million to get to zero once again. Again if 1 million seems tough, it would be o.k. to go as far as you can, but maybe stretch yourself a little, a least 99000 or something. You want to get good don’t you?
2. Count up the odd numbers from 0 to 1 million
3. Count up the even numbers from 0 to 1 million
4. do #2 and #3 backwards from 1 million
5. count through your numbers by 3’s, 4’s 5’s etc
6. do long division by saying out loud in Japanese the problem
Here are some nice handy math words that will give you hours of word play:
To add – tasu
To divide – waru
To multiply -kakeru
To subtract – hiku

I don’t think it sinks into your being until you’ve actually recited the numbers from zero to one million (1,000,000) a couple of times through without hesitation and eventually to do it without even thinking about it. That is one of the secrets of fluency. It sprouts from one’s ability to think in the target language. If you catch yourself thinking in the target language that is a good sign; if you catch yourself dreaming in the target language you have reached bliss, SLA bliss. You are heading towards fluency. I got to a point where my dreams would be in Japanese and it didn’t matter who or what type of people were in my dreams, everybody spoke in Japanese. I remember my mom and dad who aren’t too familiar with the Japanese language, but in my dreams were conversing with me full on like natives themselves. So what is the point of all this? The point is akin to the old adage,’when in Rome do as the Romans do’.
The more one thinks in the target language the more apt they are to acquire the language. Lets face it there is no quick road to fluency except hard work, goal oriented study, persistent practice and an iron will coupled with an abundance of motivation. I hope this little lesson won’t discourage anyone about learning languages. Because there will be some that are too lazy start the training, their motivation will be sub par for their needs, and thus they will not make it to fluency. But those who persevere and but instead will inspire people to go for it, even though the road to fluency isn’t yellow nor bricked. These are things that I know of that will enable an SL learner how to speak in a foreign tongue and bring them closer to near perfect fluency.