Japanese Grammar Fun Again

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.

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(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

Supermarket Shopping in Japan

It would be an understatement to say that the supermarkets in Japan are different than those in America. Since the land upon which food grows, is harvested, is planted, the type of soil on an island versus a larger continent less Hawaii etc. there is so many things that are different that it would be better to compare the similarities.

Instead I wanted to share a few things of note about the cost and types of food that I have come across personally. There is a huge difference in the quality of goods in a Japanese supermarket, and an American supermarket. In Japan, on the whole, the quality of fruits and vegetables is more than excellent. The Japanese are very picky about what they eat, and the quality of service is so competitive, it makes for good groceries. Unless the fruit or vegetables are 100% blemish free then to the Japanese the produce is deemed unrepresentable.

Sake talkie will be taking a look at the Japanese GOBO, or burdock root, in future editions. For now, I want to discuss 牛乳 or gyu^nyu^ milk. Milk in Japan does not come in gallons and they don't often buy as much at a time as Americans (2 gallons for $6-7 bucks). And Japanese milk tastes terrible. There were two things I wanted when I came back from a trip to Japan; the first thing was a good old glass of USDA pasteurized whole fat milk. Because the way Japanese milk is pasteurized is different is why I suspect it tastes so bad. I read on the label that they pasteurize it at a much high temperature in less time than Americans. Like 128º for 15 sec. vs the American pasteurization technique which typically is 68ºC (145ºF) for 30 minutes. The other thing being peanut butter, because the Japanese have none!