How to pray in Japanese

Prayer Page


Begin your prayer with an invocation to God so any of the following is suitable for a christian prayer in Japanese if you ever are called upon to bless the food in a Country that is 92% Buddhist. If you are lucky enough to be called upon to bless the food and say grace as some Christian churches call it.

Invocation possibilities

TEN NO O-TO^SAMA

TEN NI MASHIMASU AI SURU KAMISAMA

AI SURU TEN NO CHICHI NARU KAMISAMA

After invoking the presence of the Creator who dwells in TENGOKU mainly and he is very well beloved or ai shite iru or the God whom we love dweller of the heavens

Chichi naru kamisama - God our Father

As I was saying, after you do the Ten no otosama part then you will want to thank God for your many blessings. So some typical stuff you might want to bless could be said like the following.

(_____) ga aru koto ni kansha shite imasu - or your are thankful for having (____) etc.

then after you give thanks then go on to bless people, circumstances, situations, anything that you feel needs to be blessed by God or have something good happen to it then you could do it like this by saying

(____) o shukufuku shite kudasai and say please bless that (____) will happen or please honorifically bless whatever I say in the (____) O Lord. Say for example, ai suru kazoku o shukufuku shite kudasai where some christians take their language to the extreme honorifics and say for suru nasaru, so it would be ai suru kazoku of shukufuku nasatte kudasai which means, please bless the family whom I love.


and for the closing benedicts choose something with Jesus' name in it so you could use any of the following for closing your Christian Japanese Prayer in/

Iesu Kirisuto no minna ni yotte o inori moshiagemasu --- amen---

In the name of Jesus Christ, I humbly pray.

The language one uses to pray in Japanese is a lot like when English sounds like the King James version of the Old and New Testament with thee 's and thou's and ye and for behold, etc. The reverence you bring by your wordage will and can affect your prayer, and altitude of your attitude in my opinion. I hope that everyone that searched for How to pray in Japanese finds my little blog on the subject and hopefully found some use for it and God Bless you all of you! ....

Always remember to speak to God in Honorifics and humble yourself sufficiently. If you are praying in Japanese correctly there will not be too many words that are spoken colloquially. That is not to say that speaking to God however you feel comfortable with is wrong, I am just saying that in Japan, they really exaggerate the difference in the politeness of their speech when they speak with well... A higher power, a Deity like Kamisama. Now remember, in Japan holding the Bible is a sacred event. It's not just another book, it;s the word of TEN NO OTOSAMA - FATHER who dwells in Heaven.


So in Recap here is a full blown prayer in 4 main parts divided as such
1.INVOKE
2.GIVE THANKS
3.BLESS ASK
4.BENEDICT

a-men
remember that amen is pronounced aaaah men like the men in ramen even.

In Japanese we can say the following things in stead
1. Ai suru ten no otosama
2. (___) o kansha shite imasu
3. (___) o shukufuku nasatte* kudasai or try other verbs like mamoru, michibiku, taskeru etc.

bless all of us by saying
- Watakushi tachi o
a. michibiite kudasai - please guide us
b. mamotte kudasai - please protect us
c. tasukette kudasai - please help us



As always do your best
GANBATTE NE!

How to pray in Japanese by
Makurasuki
Brett McCluskey

How to use Japanese to pronounce difficult English Terms like Habukkuk

When I hear badly pronounced Japanese, it’s like hearing fingernails scraping against a chalkboard. I have been known to turn red in embarrassment for the person committing the foul pronunciation. Why is pronunciation such a big deal? There are many reasons why language learners should practice pronouncing their words correctly. In this article I I’ll touch on a few topics I feel are important concerning learning, studying and practicing pronunciation in Japanese.

In speaking another language, the main goal is to try to get your message across, unless you are looking for some chit chat. You need to understand how important it is to be understood quickly, and, clearly. When your pronunciation isn’t very good, then that means it isn’t very legible, audible, excusable nor is it understandable. The time wasted correcting badly pronounced communication doesn’t outweigh the benefits of learning first to pronounce correctly before ever learning any of the tango (vocabulary). Even if the sentences had perfect grammar and style. What are the words by beginners who feel the topic of ‘pronunciation’ shouldn’t be treated as a ritual. If we are to be understood, we must use correct pronunciation. There is no way other way for communication to take place efficiently with more words understood per /1000 than can otherwise be had.

If you want to be a well liked and a well respected speaker of Japanese then put pronunciation practice at the top of your priority list for things you need to study. Bad pronunciation is not cool. It is simply irresponsible for a beginning Japanese language learner to continue learning Japanese without making attempts to improve upon their own particular pronunciation situation. A good steward of SLA makes sure that he/she is pronouncing the words they use in conversation correctly. A learner of the Japanese language must never neglect pronunciation in their studies. The art or skill of the lips the teeth and the tip of the tongue can spell the difference between effective communication, or, utter confusion.

A tongue defines the soul and character from which tribes are made. How words are communicated amongst individuals also shows clearly to foreign outsiders trying to take a peek through the Japanese window, to find themselves in an onsen at Unzen. And it defines the type of people they represent; The Japanese have a very long heritage and lineage of traditions, festivals, and ceremonies that have been passed down through the generations. I mean Santa Claus is one thing but, carrying the big Butsudan all through town in a thong, at those types of butsuri, matsuri.

Giving a little extra effort in your practice of correct pronunciation displays a sincere desire to understand the people and culture through the words of their mouth. Words of a language were not just some accident. Or were they?
Japanese pronunciation is probably one of the easier aspects of the language to learn yet it is often put aside due to the seemingly lack of similarities between the two languages.

Japanese vs. English.

I use to think that if I just copied the way native speakers spoke then I should be ok, right? Well, in retrospect I do believe it is a good thing to copy speak when it comes to simple pronunciation of words, but be careful not to copy speak grammar or sentence structure because that can turn out to give you trouble later on. Mimicking native speakers is good as long as you aren’t copying their bad habits also. Men should never copy the speech of women.

It is a good thing to sound like a Japanese native when speaking, so on is allowed to copy native’s pronunciation, but stay very far from women’s nuances, sentence endings, and their use of certain words if you are male Japanese language learner. If a male Japanese language learner pronounces words or copies the speech, expressions in a like manner to the words and sentence endings he hears because he has copied a Japanese females nuances, this could prove disastrous and could portray an overzealous Japanese SL male learner as an okama (homosexual). If you don't want to be considered an OKAMA, you must pay attention to the way men use the words for you and I as well as sentence ending particles and other nuances. Careful attention should thus be given to sentence ending particles like na no (なの), no da (のだ), or sa (さ), or za (ざ), or ze (ぜ), zo (ぞ) or soi (そい), zoi (ぞい), kusa (くさ).

Unaccompanied particles can be quite rude in the mouth of a gaijin. That’s harsh and if you don't know what an okamaオカマ is, look it up in the Sanseido Wa-Ei and if you don't have one go to my lens http://squidoo.com/japponics wherein is a link to the Sanseido publishing company. It is so important to have a dictionary as an aid for studying Japanese it goes without saying. So get one if you don't already have one.

If you are going to learn to speak Japanese please try to speak with correct pronunciation. It shows bad manners, and lack of commitment. It also sends a message of disgrace for your native country. It is important also while in Japan to show that you love your country. They are quite accepting of many gaijins (foreigner in Japanese) in this respect. Especially since you'll usually be the only gaijin within a couple of hundred miles so make your pronunciation count.

One cool thing about Japanese pronunciation is that vowels do not vary as they do in English. They stay straight, and you are never fooled as to their pronunciation. English combines and distorts the mouth and fashions its shape by using the 5 letters a e i o u to make around 20 vowel sounds. In Japanese 5 vowels sounds make 5 vowel sounds. In English the vowels vary in shades of pronunciation. The wider or thinner the lips are stretched or cheeks are pulled apart, how open the throat is, how nasal you want to get etc. all make for quite a lot of different vowel sounds. That is why if you ask an Englishman from England to pronounce for you , “apple” you will hear it differently than if you were to ask an American to pronounce “apple”.
In English you find words that elide. The same is true in the Japanese language (and do other crazy things). A careful study of dipthongs of a language should be beneficial to its study. In general pronunciation and diction should rank high on your list of things to study habits.

There are many sounds in English that Japanese just doesn't have, and vice versa. In Japanese there are no v type sounds so in order to say the v sound a Japanese person will substitute b in its stead. There really isn’t an L sound in Japanese so they replace it with their r or d sound. There has yet to be a native Japaenese speaker that I could ask to pronounce for me the words world or squirrel or even url. It is impossibly difficult for the Japanese to prounounce these 3 words correctly. Now on the other hand try to get a gaijin to say for you in correct pronouciation words like tan’i or gen’in and you have a similar situation.

I like to cross reference both languages to find the true pronounciation of words that are difficult to pronounce. It is for this reason I find it easier to locate the pronunciation of any foreign word that is difficult to pronounce (i.e. Books or names in the Bible for example Habukkuk or Nebuchanedzar etc.) If you read those foreign names which are difficult to pronounce in English in Japanese, the pronunciation is straight forward and clear and there is no variance. It reads as it reads as to how it is pronounced. In Japanese it comes out closer than attempts I have made in English because the vowels never change when saying a word. Using both your native tongue (whether it be English or otherwise) and Japanese together to help you can come up with a closer approximation as to the true and correct pronunciation of any difficult biblical term.

Let me give you one example: In the book of Numbers in the Old Testament, chapter 13 there is a lot of names that who knows how to pronounce correctly. What I do is cross reference what I see in English with the Japanese pronunciation of each. So in Numbers 13:15 is written “Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.” How does one pronounce the word Geuel? That is 3 vowels in a row in English but I really have no idea of how to pronounce it. So I look in my Japanese Bible at Numbers 13:15 and see what it says. “ガドの部族ではマキの子ギウエル”

To find out how to pronounce the word Geuel then, I just dive into the pronunciation by saying everything ver batim. So we will have in the above Japanese quote, “Gado no buzoku dewa maki no ko Giueru”. Now when a word in Japanese ends in the eru (エル) that is the same as saying the English “el”, so that part is easy. The rest of that word is simply glottal gee ooh then add el. So Geuel’s pronunciation is English can be derived from the Japanese katakana or romaji pronunciation to get at the closer, more true pronunciation of it.

In Japanese, there are five vowels, and five vowel sounds. This makes learning Japanese easier than other languages. The order of the vowels is a little different so that might be the first thing to look at in your study of Japanese. The first five syllables in the Japanese syllabary are a i u e and o. It has to be said that if you were to gather a group of Japanese people and make a choir out of them, oh how satisfied the director would be because of the purity of their vowels. International phonetics could straightway use Japanese for these vowels written in Romaji as a i u e o. Or Hiragana as あ,い,う,えand お. The benefits of knowing another language are limitless. In this instance we found the pronunciation of difficult words easier by using Japanese + English...cool.

As always,
Ganbatte Ne!
Do Your Best!
Makurasuki
If you want a list of vocabulary to start your study of the Japanese language then go to http://squidoo.com/japanesevocabularyindex

unique Japanese Grammar Lesson on Base TE

Japanese Grammar featuring Base TE + kurenai
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)

Verb (base TE) + kudasaimasen ka?

Verb (base TE) + itadakemasen ka?

Won’t you do it for me? Where do it = some verb

Example 1.

Would you watch the kids for me?

Kodomo tachi o mite kurenai?

Example 2.

Won’t you do (wash) the dishes for me? Couldn’t I get you to do the dishes?

Sara o aratte moraenai?

Example 3.

Kashite kureru?

Would you loan it to me?

Example 4.

Kaite kudasaimasu ka?

Could I get you to write?

Next lessons will deal with causative like ikasete moraenai

As always,
Ganbatte Ne!
Do Your Best!

Makurasuki

Learn Japanese Now! by Makurasuki Sensei

#17 in a 25 part series aimed at overcoming second language acquisition
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Memory techniques applying tried and true techniques that are
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Lesson #17 – Putting verbs into the TA –form た-form

The abilitiy to put Japanese verbs into the various bases quickly without pause is a pre-requisite for speaking fluently and being perceived as being a capable conversationalist. Of all the verbs Bases (I, II, III, IV , V, TA, and TE) the TA form ranks high in usage as one of the top three most used bases for verbs only after TE-てand Base-III or root form. I am focusing on it now in order to prepare you for the quick powerful grammar secrets that employ Base TA verbs which will catapult your Japanese speaking ability through the roof. I’ll be discussing many grammar rules that use the verb in Base TA. One of the main things you should know about the TA form of a verb is that it is used to put verbs into past tense plain form. A verb in base TA form is equivalent to English’s have done or past tense perfect. The TA form of a verb has evolved from the classical form tari and it still has many uses (see lesson #23 and #19)
Tip #17 How to put a verb in Base TA

Vowel Stemmed verbs (i.e. those ending in either eru or iru)
to put a verb into the TA form when the verb has a vowel stem simply add ta
Base III
Dictionary form
Stem
Base Ta
Meaning
kanjiru
oboeru
kangaeru
deru
iru

kanji
oboe
kangae
de
i
kanjita
oboeta
kangaeta
deta
ita
To feel becomes to have felt.
To remember becomes to have remembered.
To think becomes to have thought.
To leave becomes to have left.
To be becomes to have been. (was, were)

Try putting your favorite verb ending in iru or eru into the TA form today and get your Nihongo more Jozu!
And remember…
MORE WORDS MEMORIZED = HIGHER RATE of FLUENCY.
Want more information on how you can use your memory and the laws of attraction to master any language you so choose!
Memorizer

Until next time. Ganbatte ne! Do your best!
Makurasuki Sensei
Looking for more ways to be successful in all that you do including mastering a language?
Japanese Language Advancement

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à http://japanetics.blogspot.com

For the one and only Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar series on Squidoo go to à http://squidoo.com/ghettogrammar or

Begin your quest of the mastery of the Japanese language by starting first with vocabuarly. Start memorizing Japanese vocabulary with my Japanese Vocabulary Blaster pages also on squidoo.com. The Japanese Vocabulary Blasters are sets of useful Japanese words. Each list is comprised of 15 essential words in the form of nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs, as well as a typical phrase or two. Don’t waste any more time memorizing words that you will never use, get a blast now at
à http://squidoo.com/japanesevocabulary3

or use the index at
http://squidoo.com/japanesevocabularyindex

As always,
Ganbatte Ne!
Do Your Best!
Toward Better JapaneseMakurasuki Sensei.

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?”

How to say after 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.)

Some serious Talk about Sake

In Japan you have your sho^chu and your sake. We don't pronounce sake like it looks, which is to say like, 'for pete's sake', we say the ke like the ke in keg. So instead of for pete's sake, you say, sa with a dropped jaw and ke like kay, so in effect you are really saying sakay. The problem with this pronunciation is that you will have failed to say SAKE correctly. Let me try this... one more time... In Japan, you have for your alcoholic beverage satisfaction, 1 of 3 choices which may or may not fit your pallete. Upper or middle or indifferent and otherwise, your choices all boil down to how much rice and in what way it was fermented.
The three choices for alcoholic beverages in Japan are; 1. Sho^chu, 2. Sake, or 3. Bi-ru. Sho^chu are the honorific 'spirits' made of all sorts of wheat + fermented rice. Sake is the Japanese equivalent of our fermented grape wine, and Bi-ru is beer made from fermented rice. You may be familiar with some of the well known Japanese beers, but you may not know that they were made more out of rice than from anything else.
As for alcoholic content, ranges are from anywhere past the Sake threshold of 15º degrees all the way up to 37º-39º or thereabouts. Sake varies in alcoholic content anywhere that our equivalent grape wine varieties exist, that is roughly between 7-15 % or as the Japanese 7º-15º degrees. And of course beer as we might be familiar with comes in at from between 3.5% to sometimes nowadays with "Wicked ale" or "Bastard Ale" up to a whopping 8% or 8º.
This brings me to formulate a hypothesis about what the º sign means in English. If in English we say 15% in Japanese it is said to contain 15º. With that said, it is to say that º = %. Got that?

Plain Form + to Japanese grammar transformations

The Japanese particle to has usage similar to the more easily facilitated toki ni, and some could say that it is perhaps a distant relative of the tte morpheme denoting " quotes.

Any sentence that you would use toki ni , you could substitute and instead use just to. Use it in times when you want to say, " at some non-specific time. Examples will show you so much better than I can explain, here are some for your understanding ponderances. Go Japanese learner Go!
Japanese grammar, studying Japanese words, anything that is not in English is good for your language health. Ever striving towards better Japanese.

ex. 1) gyu^nyu o nomanai to seicho wa shinai

You wont grow strong and tall if you don't drink your milk!



ex. 2) oeru to - when it ends

After doing these two examples it occurs to me that the particle to more often means if than when. Thanks for staying tuned to your favorite saketalkie midngight Japanese language smorgasbord!

As Always,
Do your Best
Ganbatte Ne!

Shioi neko shani no Monogatari

SHIROI NEKO “SHANI”
By Yayoi Hisamatsu

Haru no hajime no sawayaka na yoru deshita. Kuroi silk no you na yozora ni takusan no hoshi-tachi ga matataki (twinkling) ate imashita. Cheerful na hoshi no fairy-tachi ga kin no suzu (bell) o ashi ni tsukete odoru to usui kiri (mist) no you na dress no suso (the train) kara kawa no nagare no you ni melody ga umaremashita. Kidotta tsuki no fairy-tachi ga hoshi no fairy-tachi no melody ni awasete harp o kanademashita (play). Yozora wa utsukushii ongaku no kouzui (flood) ni narimashita.
Yagate yozora no melody wa chijou (on earth) nimo shitatari (dripping) nohara (field) no chiisai na ana (hole) no naka de 4 hikime no konko o omou to shite ita okaasan neko no karada o tsutsumimashita. Sono toki, okasan neko no o-naka ga pikutto ugoite koneko no Seany (Shani) ga umaremashita.
Shani wa yozora kara no utsukushii present o karada zentai de kanjite “mi---.” To chiisaku nakimashita. Okaasan neko wa Shani no karada o yasashiku namemashita (lap, lick).
Yozora no ongaku wa itsu no ma ni ka kie, ten mo chijou mo kamisama no seijaku (stillness) no naka e haitte yuki mo shita.
Shani ga umarete 2kai me no haru ga kimashita. Shani wa blue no hitomi (eyes) no utsukushii shiroi neko ni seichou shimashita keredo, Shani wa hoka no neko-tachi no you ni nezumi (mouse) ya mushi (insect) o oikakaeru koto o shimasen deshita. Sore yori Shani wa chiisa na doubutsu-tachi no karada kara afureru sound ni mimi o katamuke jitto shite iru no ga suki deshita.
Shani wa kyou mo nohara no o-ki ni iri no bashou de shizuka ni mimi o katamukete imashita. Shani no mimi no soba o mitsubachi(honey bee) ga awatadashii (in a hurry) oto o tatete tobisatte ikimashita. Hatarakimono no ari-tachi ga Shani no ashimoto o kisokutadashii (regular) rhythm de koushin (parade) shite ikimashita 2hiki no ookii na utsukushii swallowtail ga Shani no mawari o yuuga (elegance, grace) na oto o tsukurinagara toned imashita. Nohara wa ooku no inochi no oto de ippai deshita.
Shani no mimimoto de dareka ga sasayakimashita (whisper), “Ai suru Shani! Kon nichi wa.” Shani no me no mae no poppy no naka ni chiisa na chiisa na fairy ga tatte imasu. Sono chiisa na fairy niwa usui 2mai no hane ga ate karada niwa hikari no ito de anda (under) (crochet) dress o matoi (wear), atama niwa kin ni kagayaku kanmuri o tsukete imashita. Kaze ga kanojo no dress o yurasu (to shake) to dress kara takusan no flower ga umaremashita. Shani o yasashii haru no kaori ga tsutsumimashita.
“Anata wa Dare?” Shani wa bikkuri shite blue no hitomi (eyes) o pachipachi sasete tazunemashita. Fairy wa yasashiku hohoende (smile) kotaemashita.
“Ai suru Shani, Watashi wa haru no fairy no princess. Haru ni umareta subete no inochi ni kamisama no ai o ataeru tame ni hataraite iru no”
“Kamisama no ai yo!!”
“Sou yo! Shani! Subete no minamoto (original) de aru kamisama no ai yo!” Shani, Anata mo takusan itadaite iru deshou.”
“Boku mo?”
“Mochiron yo Shani. Kamisama wa dare hitori o-wasure ni naranai wa! Anata no karada niwa kamisama no utsukushii harmony no melody ga nagarete imasu.”

Sou iutte, fairy no princess wa Shani no hana ni atatakai (heartfelt) shukufuku no kiss o shimashita. Shani wa kiss o sareru to kokoro de honou (flame) ga moeru no o kanjimashita. Sono honou (flame) wa dondon hirogari, Shani no karada o atsuku moyashimashita. Sou shite Shani wa kamisama ga fukaku jibun o ai shite iru koto o kanjite yorokobi de ippai ni narimashita.
Shani wa mawari no inochi-tachi ga kamisama no ai no naka ni ari, subete ga toutoku. Subete ga yasashiku subete ga atatakai to shirimashita. Itsumo anata o mite imasu. Subete o ai shinasai! Soshite, subete no mono no tame ni anata no melody o tsukainasai! Anata ga ai o ookiku sureba suru dake anata no melody wa utsukushii o mashimasu. Tenshi-tachi ga anata no melody ni kouki (noble) na onkai (musical scale) o ataeru deshou.” Shani, Anata ni ooku no shukufuku o...”Fairy no princess wa sou iu to ato iu ma ni hikari no naka e kiete ikimashita.

Shani no mawari o yasashii haru no hikari ga tsutsumikonde imashita.

To be continued…

The Shiroi Neko “Shani”
By Yayoi Hisamatsu
1991 Nen 10 Gatsu 14 nichi
Fukuoka Japan

Japanese vocabulary blaster excerpt

Japanese Vocabulary Blaster #37
Eat, drink and sleep your vocabulary to death
Rinse and Repeat
The Promised 15

1. ichirui – 1st base
2. nirui – 2nd base
3. sanrui – 3rd base
4. honrui – home base
5. yakkyu^ - baseball
6. sakkyoku suru - to compose
7. akubi o suru – to yawn
8. nonbiri – quiet, easy, carefree
9. ninki – popularity
10. ninki ga aru – to be popular
11. abara - ribs
12. haji o shire – shame on you
13. tsuno – horn, antlers
14. kyo^kasho^ - textbook
15. kakujitsu – certainty, reliability




As always,
Do Your Best!
Ganbatte Ne!

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Awesome tactics for counting in a language other than your own - Japanese

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.

To intend to verb tsumori Japanese Grammar

Japanese Language Mastery in 130 modernized lessons.
Ghetto Grammar Lesson #115 – The Japanese bunpo of Intentions

In Japanese it is easy to construct sentences that tell others your intentions. To say that you intend on doing something in Japanese, put a verb in either baseIII or baseI (i.e. iku or ikanai) and add 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[1] 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.

Practice Tip – Take all the Japanese verbs you know and put them into the tsumori bunpo. Have fun with words like fart, choke, drown, dumpster dive etc. Remember Ghetto Grammar is not only useful, its fun. Just be careful not to get too ghetto and always use the polite form for verbs. Steer clear of anything plain form or lower. 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.They are usually so far from what is really being said that the meaning comes out all wrong. 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.






[1] For more about how verbs are put into bases in Japanese see http://squidoo.com/

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. So 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 lets 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!

Comparison of Exalted and Humble Japanese Family words

Family words
This is a Quick Japanese Vocabulary Chart demonstrating humble and exalted forms of family words for those serious in making Japanese their SL2.

Humble –when speaking of ones own, of oneself Exalted

Father chichi O-to^san (^ denotes long o)
Mother hahao O-ka^san (long a)
Older Brother ani O-ni^san (long i)
Younger Brother ototo O-totosan
Older Sister ane O-nesan
Younger Sister imoto imotosan
Parents ryo^shin (long o) Go-ryo^shin (long o)Husband shujin (lit. my lord) Go-shujin
Wife kanai okusama, or okusan

sama versus san - san is less exalted but still polite and most commonly used as with any word in column on the right. San can be exchanged for sama in any case and is dependant on how polite you choose to speak. Don't over do it. A Japanese person will always win a verbal joust to see who can be more humble and exalt another.

Ganbatte ne! Do your best!
Makurasuki Sensei

How to say please and please don't in Japanese

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 . (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,

http://brettkun.japan7625.hop.clickbank.net/

A Taifu is seriously not a fun time to be in love

I would like to share an experience of my own now. I don't know that vanity had anything to do with my derision but I really relate to Araby because I can see how our minds become overruled by infatuation. I lived in Fukuoka, Japan in 1990-1994 roughly and I met a girl who I really couldn't get off my mind. She was super, fantastic, the best looking girl I had ever seen. I didn't waste time using every method I could to further develop a relationship with this super, super fantastically gorgeous girl. Everything about her was awesome. I couldn't find a flaw. She was sophisticated, learned, cultured and she was an artist with extraordinary skill. Her name was Yayoi, a real rare name that translates to March in English. I thought it was cool to be called March because although in English we have names like April, August, Sunday, June, Mae etc. we didn't have a March. This added to my unfounded adoration.
I had managed to secure a date to go out to eat together one afternoon. We made a promise (yakusoku or appointment) the day before to meet at her house in Takamiya to the north of Fukuoka at 4:00 p.m. I was so head over heals in a dream about her, I couldn't wait for tomorrow to get here. I kept telling time Hurry up! Hurry up! I couldn't sleep fast enough. I kept waking up and it was still 3:18 or 4:20. When I really woke up later that morning, I decided to visit my other friend, Akiko.
In Japan they have a whole season of rain in August or July, where it rains every day, it is called Tsuyu, or simply translated the rainy season. A constant downpour of water. It rains big time, umbrellas and rain suits are pretty much useless. No kidding , non-stop rain 24 hours a day for about one month of every year. Many other Asian nations get to experience this rainy season too, but Japan is surrounded by water. That is the definition of an island. Every year during the rainy season, torrential storm currents oftentimes develop into massive taifu or typhoons, with great destructive potential. The houses windows are usually reinforced by wooden, aluminum, or steel panels to further aid against the potentially life threatening taifu that is coming to town. In California we have drop, duck and roll, fire drills, or earthquake drills all very potentially hazardous. The best way to describe a taifu is a tornado but coupled with a million gallons of water flying though Kansas at a million miles an hour. I had experienced two taifu before this incident. No big deal. We duct taped our windows because we didn't have the luxury of panel reinforcements, and we stay inside. Everything we want to keep we put indoors. Bikes, cows, cars whatever could just be strewn around. So I had no excuse for not knowing the power and affects of a taifu.
You would think that I would understand the necessity of giving respect to such an awesome force like mother nature's very own water powered tornado the taifu, but there was another force working inside of me that was even stronger than the taifu at work outside of me. I had become infatuated, what the Japanese term in a verb muchu ni naru or to become directly in the middle or center of a dream about her, maybe starry eyed would be a better translation.
I was at the other part of town in the south, about close to a 50 minutes bike ride to Takamiya my most important destination for that time in my life. Getting to meet her, spend time with her and getting to know her meant more to me than anything. happen at around 10:00 in the morning. Visiting another friend and she was in her own right a very beautiful princess herself. She would have been quite a catch. But to me she was my kindergarten friend. We played piano together. I had travelled by bicycle to her house and it just seemed like another one of those tsuyu days.
Even if I did wear a rain coat, Japan is so humid that my sweat creates rain inside my suit, in other words it was hard to stay dry. It was overcast, but I didn't look so bad. It didn't look like a taifu was headed our way and was going to hit our city, nobody had many anything to me before .As my other friend and I were playing around on her piano and looking at pictures a news warning on TV told us that we are now in a state of emergency blah , blah, blah. Prepare for the arrival of a taifu immediately they said. No one was to have activities outside, only that we should batten down the hatches quickly and get to somewhere safe fast. and get ready for some mighty swirling water wind.
I remember being stuck at her house wanting so badly to brave the taifu to get to my dream date. I tried everything to get to go. But they didn't have to persuade me for very long. A taifu is dangerous. Don't get stuck out ion one that is for sure, they might never find you or you might get hurt. My other friend's father cautioned me 'there will be no way to go anywhere now at all 'as he pointed to the grey sky and ominous looking things developing outside. I was torn between feelings. I felt meeting her was my sole purpose now in life. Nothing else mattered. Not the best piano music or anything. Missing that chance, I felt somehow deprived of all that is dear to me. My mind wanted to go ,but for safety's sake I was talked out of leaving Akiko's house eventually being persuaded by myself. It wouldn't even be possible. The winds were howling outside. Your hair blew up in your face like grass being blown in a field as the strong winds gave no mercy to civilization. as more important to die in a taifu in an attempt to make it 50 minutes away. In reality, not even the dumbest of fools would have attempted to ride their bike in a taifu. NOBODY! and to get to see her than it was to be safe get I told the dad if I really hurried on my bike a wouldn't be in danger. He knew far better than I did the destructive force of a taifu, you would be crazy to brave the taifu on a bike to get to He denied my pleading to take leave while even though I tried being super nice to him by emphasizing how good of a host he had been to me.
So there were my circumstances. I was so devastated. I had to face the fact that I couldn't meet her today. Nature prevented me from getting what I wanted and from getting where I wanted to go. Fate would have it that way. It sucked. I was miserable and I couldn't not show it even though I tried. Akiko's family tried cheering me up by saying that we could all have a picnic in their home and wait until the storm cleared then it would be safe to leave. I countered that remark to myself by saying, but I can't wait around until the storm clears, I have to see her now, at 4:00.
I really wanted that date. It was the only one I had. I had no insurance that I might get another. I asked, " How could the weather change so fast,; if I leave now, I could make it to my other date before the edge of the taifu even got to us." The fact was, that while I was playing with my other friend the taifu had already edged its way in. The winds were getting louder, and stronger. The news said the winds would get upward of 200 Kph. I took one last look outside Akiko's front door to see if all this stuff was true, thinking to myself maybe I could escape. (That would be disrespectful to Akiko's family who graciously hosted me and harbored me during that taifu. But my infatuation with Yayoi left me inconsiderate of others hospitality, and I became their sandtrap)I opened one of the doors, and as I did the my hand was still attached to the knob as it threw me around. I struggled to close it back up. I realized, I wouldn't even be able to hold my bike up let alone ride in it. The taifu was raging. From the edge of the taifu to the Eye of the taifu it took probably 3 hours. After that three hours we entered into the calmness of the Eye. I tried in vain again trying to get someone to believe that the storm is over. Its all calm now", I said "I can't hear the winds any more. No more winds." The mother taught me that in the center of the whirling taifu was the core and that their house was entering it now. For about 30 minutes it was really calm, but after it passed over, or by us then I could hear the winds. I thought... another three hours. So we ate our picnic, and I tried to make the best of my worst situation.
What a crazy fool I was. I wanted to see her so bad, I was gripping fists and biting my tongue, gnawing and gnashing my teeth in rebellion to this mother nature who had taken my happiness from me. I was in a bit of silent rage cursing mother nature and the taifu she rode in on, all the while asking in vain why couldn't the taifu have been any other day of the last 30yrs. Just perfect timing I guess. I had to learn from it. I didn't like the chiding. I wanted my freedom, to move about, but mother nature shoved it in my face and said nanny, nanny. My great natural powers indeed will stop a man. It did.
I gave up and decided it was useless to sit around thinking I could possibly leave in time to meet her. I resignedly called Yayoi to talk to her about it. She just said come and talk to her later and we can do it some other time. I WANTED TO GO NOW! I had become angry. Angry at wind angry at my captors (Akiko's family) Angry at everything. If I didn't learn anything else, this little episode in my life taught me patience, and it taught me that some things in life simply can't be overturned, or bypassed. The power of nature showed its full face to me that day, but I hated every second of it because of what it deprived me of.

But we must have control of ourselves at all times. We mustn't lose our place in space or time to any emotional setback or backlash where we lost our very conscious and forget who we really are. Don't give in to your emotions. If an emotion strikes that can overpower us, we must counter instantly with our minds and take back control of ourselves once again. But it is these types of emotions that empower us to learn at an accelerated pace or to do great things. To master a foreign language takes a serious amount of personal sacrifice and commitment. The tower of babel didn't make things any easier to those desirous speak a language other than one's native tongue.