4 Ways to Negate Anything in Japanese
Beginning Japanese Grammar Lesson
How to say “but…” in Japanese.
It is never a wise idea to refute the ideas of others. However, in the normal processes of direct communication between two individuals or any number of individuals or groups of people involved in a discussion, it becomes necessary to use the preposition but. In modern Japanese, the preposition but can be expressed in at least four different ways. By learning these four ways of saying but, you'll be able to negate (In Japanese) anything or anybody you want.
These words are very powerful, so use with caution, especially when talking to someone like say . . . your boss! You wouldn't want to negate your boss no matter how much you wanted to impress him with your Japanese skills. Below I present four ways the preposition but is used in Japanese. After that comes the plug and play Japanese grammar construction samples and the G.A.B. (Ghetto After Blast). So have fun and enjoy the rest of the lesson.
Words for the preposition but
but – ga が
but - shikashi しかし(however)
but - kedoけど, keredoけれど, keredomo けれども
but – demo でも
Example 1 - I want to kiss her; but, she won't let me!
Kanojo ni kissu sasete moraitiai n'da keredomo, sasete moraenai n'da!
かのじょに キッス させてもらいたいの だけれどもさせてもらえないのだ
Example 2. Her English skills are not very good, but she sure can cook though!
Kanojo no eigo wa ammari yokunai da kedo, ryo^ri wa umai n'da!
かのじょの 英語はあまりよくないのだけど料理が甘いのだ
Example 3. He said he was a doctor, however to tell you the real truth, he is just an ordinary dentist!
Kare wa isha da to iutta tai, shikashi honto wa kare. . . tada no haishasan!
re-yaku - Ex. 3. Kare wa isha da tte! Demo honki wa taishita mon ja nai.
Ex. 4. The president has completely died, but his spirit lives on.
Daito^ryo^san wa shinde shimaimashita ga, kare no rei wa mada ikitsuzuite iru no desu.
.
(See ghetto grammar lesson #97 for the plug and play learning system to master the Japanese grammar Base TE shimau- to verb completely)
Example 5. But . . . I wanted the pink one!
Demo, pinku no yatsu ga hoshikatta no da!
でも,ピンクの奴が欲しかったのだ
Ex. 6. I like her, but don't you think she is kind of short?
Ore wa kanojo ga suki nanya kedo, chotto se ga hikui to omouwanai to desu ka?
It is usually easy to tell on hearing the Japanese syllable ga whether it is the participle ga, or the preposition ga. The preposition ga when it is meant to mean but, is usually accompanied by a small pause and its use is more formal than any of the keredemo or demo variations. It is better to remeber shikashi as however and the keredemo variations as but.
Ghetto after blast - GAB 2 point advice. Since the Japanese words shikashi, kedo, keredemo, demo, and ga, all basically mean the same thing, you won't have to remember as much, so beginners might find it helpful to pick just one. Just remember that shikashi and ga sound more formal than the kedo, and keremo. Oh yeah... I almost forgot to mention that the word for ribbit in Japanese is kero, so make sure your pronunciation of kedo doesn't make you sound like you are making love to a frog, unless of course you are a princess!
As always, Ganbatte Ne!
Do your best!
Makurasuki sensei
http://www.saketalkie.blogspot.com or http://japanetics.blogspot.com
http://squidoo.com/ghettogrammar/ or http://squidoo.com/phonesearch
http://spanishjapanese.blogspot.com
August 22, 2008
Japanese Grammar Fun Again
February 21, 2008
Days of the week in Japanese compared to other languages
日 This is the Kanji for the word, Sun. Words that use radicals1 containg this ji2 日are related to or usually have something to do with things of the sun, bright things, things that give off light, things that glow. Do you get the point? Japanese isn't that difficult to read, but it is our predisposition to believe that it is so that is why we fail before we even try. We look at the mess of Kanji or the Hieroglyphs and cower in self stupidity. If someone could just show others as I had learned on my own. The learning of another language wouldn't be such a daunting or formidable task. having in someway a connection with the light, bright etc. These words too have also have the kanji hi in them.
There seems to be so much more meaning contained in an ideograph than do letters that represent sounds that together represent meaning. Here is one example of a kanji that looks fairly difficult. This kanji is made in 9 strokes of the pen and after learning that 日means the sun, or signifies words related to the sun then we could make a fairly good estimate at what this next kanji means . 星 has the sun kanji in it as well as the kanji for the word birth, or to give life to. 生 is the kanji sei which means depending on tense of the word, life. In its future use tense this it contains one other syllable mu む、Put 生and mu or む together and you have Umu or in Japanese 生む which according to Sanseido's Daily Concise Japanese- English Dictionary means 1. to bear a child, to give birth to a baby. 2 to lay eggs or spawn.(49) Now before reading the answer on pg 8 take an educated guess at what the meaning is. Think or ponder for a second how these two kanji put together make a different yet totally logical word out of two other words. Just like Englishes prefixes and suffixes in words like lithograph, literally stone write, or engraving . The words birth of something and the word hi fused together make the word star. Now next time you see a couple of kanji just take a guess, your chances of being right are better than 50%.
Better than 50% chance is usually all that linguists worry about when tring to find the similiarities of language. if you can guess more than 50% of the words given some system like the above then the language is said to be related to your own family.
There are 6 main language families from whence all other languages stem. These are the Indo-Eurasiatic, the Urallic, the Anuit eskimo, the and the ..
Since it has never been proven that there was one all powerful might mother tongue, which by the way is called nostratic tongue, it is fair to assume that there was one. The languages of the world although apparently can seem so different, and it is true that we are confounded by them, one culture are confounded by the words of another. The problem is, is that there is no proof because there is no evidence of the writings or digital recordings of ancient peoples to tell us that there really was only one language. One thing we can say for fact is that there were less people. That is fairly obvious. Therefore on that assumption, we can assume that there were less languages than there are now. Can't we further say then that the further back we go there were still less and less people.Therefore as x ( the number of people on the earth at any certain time) approaches 2, y =1. Because there is no communication without two person. There isn't much need for a language if there is nobody to communicate with. From 2 people perhaps came 16 others, children of those 2 people therefore now it is possible to start having different languages.
February 16, 2008
Small Japanese tip for U guys!
Created to help you improve your Japanese quickly
Follow this tips to really gain ground helping you masterJapanese
faster than you ever thought possible.
Todays Tip: How to easily turn any known noun into asay a noun is noun'ish' For example. In America when we want to say something has style we might say it is stylish, or technically that it bears strong resemblance of the noun style. Or pertains or bears an air of the noun. In Japanese we use noun+ ppoi. You could think of it this way, pretend you are in Hawaii dipping your words in poi and your word will come out looking like the thing you dipped it in. For example in Japanese . Its similiar to the -ly of adverbs If we want to say the car is sluggish ) osoppoi. Just like in English where we can stick ish on the tail end of just about any word
Througout these mini- japanese language tutoring lessons I'll be giving you a lot more useful tips to help you master that nihongo.
Without Fail
Why Certainly!
Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar #112
How to say something is for sure in Japanese
Noun + CHIGAI NAI
I. Noun + NI CHIGAI NAI – Noun for sure!
To be (noun phrase) without fail !
The Japanese bunpo^ NOUN+ NI CHIGAI NAI grammar construction is used quite regularly, and in expressions where you want to impart an unwavering definiteness as to the outcome. CHIGAI itself is a noun meaning difference. It is in base II in similitude to other verbs that change into nouns by putting them into base II. See my article on verb bases for more information. comes from the verb CHIGAU –v. to be different, to vary, to disagree, to be unlike.
Ex. 1 ZETTAI KARE NO SAIFU NI CHIGAI NAI. –
Its definitely his wallet . . .for sure! Or
It’s his wallet for sure definitely
Ex. 2 NATSU GA KURU NI CHIGAI NAI –
Summer will be here without fail.
Ex. 3 MAI HARU WASHI GA CANADA NI KAETTE KURU NI CHIGAI NAI –
Every spring the eagles return back to Canada without fail.
Ex. 4 SO^ NI CHIGAI NAI! –
That’s the way it is man! FOR SHIZZLE!
It’s my way, my way or the highway!
II. A TO B NO CHIGAI GA WAKARU (WAKARANAI) –
Can (can’t) tell the difference between A and B.
Ex.1. HONMONO TO NISEMONO NO CHIGAI GA WAKARANAI. –
I can’t tell the difference between the fake and the real thing.
See my other Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar articles by visiting the index. Beef up your current stock of word power with my Japanese Vocabulary Blasters also found on the index. Finally, take your skills and head over to the Japanese Conversational Practice Palace to solidify your Japanese language training and to help fortify your Japanese language skills.
http://squidoo.com/jppgg
As always,
Do Your Best! Ganbatte Ne!
Makurasuki Sensei
Ghetto After Blast G.A.B. - one point advice – when you want to refute a point made by another soften your phrase up by saying CHIGAU TO OMOU or I think it’s a little different. Unless you want to make it clear that the other person is wrong then you would say CHIGAU! – You are definitely wrong! In English CHIGAU can simply mean nope! or NO ITS NOT! Or even NO you are WRONG! Or Not even! That is why this is the GAB, the ghetto after blast because the effects could ripple through the time space continuum. JA NE! LATES!
This lens needs improvement. You can help by adding your suggestions to the group comment box below. Thanks in advance for allowing this non-wiki yet wiki wiki wiki!
Brett McCluskey 2008
February 14, 2008
Japanese pronunciation guide
Japanese Pronunciation Guide
I decided to make this guide because I have been embarrassed too many times by other gaijin who give my Japanese a bad name. I want the Japanese people themselves to lift the embargo of their already hardened idea and assumption that gaijin cannot speak their language. In America, a full blown Japanese person, or a Chinese person, or a Korean person, or anybody from any other country is thought as strange if, in America they don’t understand English. So instead of outright ringing the necks of Japanese learners who fail to take into account their lips, teeth and tongues when studying the pronunciation of Japanese, working with great care for the progress of their own improvement in the field, I created this article.
Although it’s not recommended to learn Japanese pronunciation on your own, this article can be used as reference in your for those with a sincere desire to help me save gaijin face by giving them more an impression that there are gaijin who can speak their language, and speak it like a native. So by reading this article you can help me change the world a little, well at least change the minds of a lot of Japanese people and their already hardened thoughts and pre-assumed, generalized opinion that if you are a gaijin, then it follows that you can’t speak Japanese like a native. My best advice to beginning learners is to live by the adage, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
Of all the facets of Japanese language learning, pronunciation isn’t one of the harder ones. The three toughest things about Japanese language which a SL2 learner will face in regards to pronunciation will be 1.) The pronunciation of the syllable tsu, 2.) The ra, ri, ru, re, ro row of the Hiragana and Katakana syllabary (and their words) and 3.) The words that contain an apostrophe between 2 syllables where one syllable ends with an n. The rest of pronunciation can be mastered quite quickly. It may take some time to actually develop the tongue or the workaround for being able to speak the language like a native.
The similarities between Japanese and English
1. Even stress or accent given to each syllable.
2. Rising pitch for questions
3. Stressing of words for emphasis
In Japanese there are times when the meanings of words can change dramatically. Depending on the length of time a vowel sound is sounded. There are two types of vowel sounds you will want to get familiar with in your Japanese studies. They are: 1.) Long vowels and 2.) Short vowels. We can see how these vowel sounds affect the meaning of words by taking a closer look at the Japanese words for grandmother and aunt, or o-baasan and o-basan. In the first word the longer aah in o-baasan means grandmother while if you shorten the length of that ah but just to a quick ah and pronounce it o-basan the meaning changes with minimal effort. So it is wise to pay very close attention to the length of vowels when memorizing words and developing our Japanese vocabulary. with no elongation of the vowel.
Another area worth consideration in your quest to master Japanese pronunciation, is the use of double consonants. Although in English there isn’t quite an equivalent sound so hard as there will be in Japanese, something similar in English can be found
Mono da
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.
To the extent that you HODO
Hodo – to the extent that
Ex. 1 sureba suru hodo shiyasukunaru – The more I do it the easier it gets.
Ex. 2 Aeba au hodo suki ni natte shimau – the more I meet you the more I begin to like you.
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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 this word by taking a closer look at its meaning. Tsumoru is the verb to accumulate or to be piled or stacked up. Also note that tsumeru means to stuff, pack, or cram, although the kanji is not exactly the same it seems 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. 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
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[1] For more about how verbs are put into bases in Japanese see
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Knowing the way verbs can be fashioned to derive more meanings is crucial to your fluency. .Don’t begin your conquest of the Japanese language without learning basic strategy. Basic strategy says always speak in the most polite level of language that can be afforded. . Verbs manipulation is a good course of action for the SL2 learner who is in high gear on short on time.. The boxes are the most basic way verbs are formed. Become familiar with them by using the plug and play grammar boxes below.
This morning I was per chance perusing an old French school book that claims that I can “learn by yourself”. Inside I saw the never ending struggle with verb conjugations. But, unlike French, English, Spanish, or Italian, Japanese doesn’t have a multitude of conjugations that must be memorized for any given verb. In Japanese learn the four basic ordinal points in language learning. .l To help you start speaking Japanese quicker, learn how to put verbs into the most common polite level and plain form structures. Always practice saying out loud all sentences in both standard politeness levels and plain forms. In Japanese it is easy to fall in a plain form rut because usually that is what is being spoken around us. People are of course going to be shitashii. But we must be careful not to get into a habit which may degrade our high and lofty goals to speak an eloquent Japanese. One that is pure, natural, free from vulgarity and as honorable sounding as we can make it. If we are to be dining with greatness we should speak the part.. This lesson shows the boxes of verb of all we need to be able to say and politely I might add is; 1. a verb in the affirmative present or future 2. a verb in the negative future or present. 3. a verb in the affirmative past, and 4. a verb in its negative past.
Here is a quick example of how this works: Using the verb hanasu to speak, the 4 basic tenses would put the verb into the following English: 1. I will speak – hanashimasu, 2. I won’t speak – hanashimasen, 3. I spoke – Hanashimashita, 4. I didn’t speak – Hanashimasen deshita.
Plain form may be used in embedded questions but always practice putting verbs into the polite ending of -masu, because when you speak politely to others, others treat you with more respect and even speak it back to you but usually even more humbly and you feel so good when spoken to in this way. For those interested in learning to speak Japanese it is somewhat of a bonus feature and even a motivational factor that instead of a plethora of different conjugations that we must study and memorize, in Japanese all we have to do is be able to manipulate 4 conjugations. I like the fact that Japanese can be understood with only 4 tenses of a verb because in that old French school book which I perchance was perusing I saw these scary looking words. In that French book there was 5 pages of conjugations for one verb. If you can’t get my drift in this part of the lesson, what I am saying is that Japanese is easier to speak perhaps than anyone has ever thought or cared to discuss. So spread the word don’t let Japanese intimidate anyone and look at all the benefits of Japanese over our traditional romance grammar translation guru pound cake.
B.
DESU
(polite; state of being.) + -
Present DESU. (is , am)
DEWA ARIMASEN.
(isn’t , am not)
Past DESHITA. (was)
DEWA ARIMASEN DESHITA. (wasn’t)
C.
MASU
(Polite form verb endings.)
+ -
Present MASU
(Will, do, shall)
MASEN
(will not, do not, shall not)
Past
MASHITA
(did, would) MASEN DESHITA
(did not, would not)
The above box is your model for polite speech. When in doubt, use this when conjugating your verbs. It is adequate to almost all formal situations, where everyone except the Emperor will be attending.
Plain Form
(Use with those close to your social circle, never to a boss or an Emperor!) + -
Present
Base III
(will verb, do verb) Base I + nai
(won’t verb, don’t verb)
Past
Base TA
(did verb) Base I + nakatta
(didn’t verb)
Degrading from the polite form
Plain form - to be + -
Present de aru, da.
(is, am) dewa nai
(isn’t, am not)
Past de atta, datta
(was) dewa nakatta
(wasn’t)
D.V. Plain Form + -
Present stem + i
(is)
stem + kunai
(is not)
Past
stem + katta
(was)
stem + kunakatta
(was not)
Just as sushi connotes a certain image for many Americans so does the thought of studying Japanese. and came upon these lovely terms about verbs: indicative mood, present, imperfect, past definite, perfect, pluperfect, past anterior, future anterior, conditional present, conditional past, imperative mood, subjunctive mood, Infinitive mood present, and on, and on. Our culture almost automatically assumes if it isn’t one of the traditional romance languages then it must be hard to master, or would serve no good or useful purpose.. But they are wrong!. Let there be no doubt about it, Japanese is a just as hard as any language to master. You must learn Japanese in small steps, just let the accumulating of vocabulary be a good part of your goals for Japanese acquisition method. Of course we must have our milk before meat. But we do eventually we do want to get to the meat… eventually.
Ganbatte ne! Makurasuki Sensei.
Repost
When I hear badly pronounced Japanese its like scraping hearing fingernails scraping against a chalkboard. I have been know to turn red in embarassment for the person committing such an offense. Please if you want to be well liked and a well respected speaker of Japanese then put pronunciation on the priority list thankyou. It would be a whole other article just telling you why bad pronunciation is uncooth. Let it suffice to say that I feel that it is uncooth, uncivilized, uneducated, unnatural and simply irresponsible of a learner of the Japanaese language to neglect this all important aspect of communicating in a second language. Don't worry prounciation tip #4 the vowels will show you how to get started on perfecting your Japanese pronunciation so that you will be the rage of your Japanese sphere of influence.
Japanese pronunciation is probably one of the easier aspects of the language to learn yet it is often neglected. Simply put mimicing native speakers is not always the best way to go about learning pronunciation either. You have to be selective especially in Japanese. Men should never speak similiar or even in like manner if you don't want to be considered an okama! Thats harsh and if you don't know what okama is, look it up in the sanseido waei and if you don't have one go to my site www.jappermon.com there is a link to the sanseido publishing company. There dictionaries are absoluteyly invaluable. 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 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. English uses the 5 letters a e i o u to make around 20 vowel sounds. You have many elided or dipthongated vowel sounds that Japanese just doesn't have. it is for this reason I find it easier to find the pronunciation of any foreign difficult word like words in the Bible deuteronomy
that you'll never figure out or philosophical names and the like, if you read those foreign difficult name type words in Japanese it comes out closer than attempts I have made in english. Actually using both your native tongue and Japanese together you can come up with the pronunciation of any difficult biblical term. Let me give you one example. IN Japanese there are 5 vowels and 5 vowel sounds. That makes things easy to learn.
The order is a little different so that might be the first thing to look at. The first 5 syllables in the Japanese syllabary are a i u e and o
It has to be said that if you were to gather a Japanese ensemble and make a choir out of them, oh how satisfied the director would be. Because they only use 5 vowels and they are pure. International phonetics could straightway use Japanese for these vowels written in Romaji as a i u e o. These are alos the first
Bad pronunciation in Japanese, easy to do!
When I hear badly pronounced Japanese its like scraping hearing fingernails scraping against a chalkboard. I have been know to turn red in embarassment for the person committing such an offense. Please if you want to be well liked and a well respected speaker of Japanese then put pronunciation on the priority list thankyou. It would be a whole other article just telling you why bad pronunciation is uncooth. Let it suffice to say that I feel that it is uncooth, uncivilized, uneducated, unnatural and simply irresponsible of a learner of the Japanaese language to neglect this all important aspect of communicating in a second language. Don't worry prounciation tip #4 the vowels will show you how to get started on perfecting your Japanese pronunciation so that you will be the rage of your Japanese sphere of influence.
Japanese pronunciation is probably one of the easier aspects of the language to learn yet it is often neglected. Simply put mimicing native speakers is not always the best way to go about learning pronunciation either. You have to be selective especially in Japanese. Men should never speak similiar or even in like manner if you don't want to be considered an okama! Thats harsh and if you don't know what okama is, look it up in the sanseido waei and if you don't have one go to my site www.jappermon.com there is a link to the sanseido publishing company. There dictionaries are absoluteyly invaluable. 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 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. English uses the 5 letters a e i o u to make around 20 vowel sounds. You have many elided or dipthongated vowel sounds that Japanese just doesn't have. it is for this reason I find it easier to find the pronunciation of any foreign difficult word like words in the Bible deuteronomythat you'll never figure out or philosophical names and the like, if you read those foreign difficult name type words in Japanese it comes out closer than attempts I have made in english. Actually using both your native tongue and Japanese together you can come up with the pronunciation of any difficult biblical term. Let me give you one example. IN Japanese there are 5 vowels and 5 vowel sounds. That makes things easy to learn. The order is a little different so that might be the first thing to look at. The first 5 syllables in the Japanese syllabary are a i u e and o It has to be said that if you were to gather a Japanese ensemble and make a choir out of them, oh how satisfied the director would be. Because they only use 5 vowels and they are pure. International phonetics could straightway use Japanese for these vowels written in Romaji as a i u e o. These are alos the first
Have you ever been to Disneyland?
Have you ever…? The bunpo of experiences. How to say, “Have you ever ‘verbed’ ” in Japanese.
This bunpo’s construction is as follows: Verb in Base TA + koto ga aru.
Ex. 1. Have you ever been to Disneyland before?
Dizunilando ni itta koto ga arimasu ka?
Funny Japanese Genkan Anecdote
mamori masu mamorimasen
mamorimashita mamorimasen deshita
mamotta mamoranakatta
mamori[1]masu
mamorimasen
mamorimashita
mamorimasen deshita
mamotta
mamoranakatta
[1] ra –base1, ri-baseII, ru- plain form or base III, re – base IV, ro- base V. All polite endings for non-irregular verbs
How to start thinking in the native Japanese. Utilize counting straties.
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 frontward 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 etc.
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 etc.
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.
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