on Japanese verb bases

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

Polite sake?

It has been said that there are few cusswords in Japanese. There are some words like baka, aho, however that if you actually heard in person, would shock you into thinking otherwise. The use of baka and aho in Japanese ranges from being a super harsh cussing term to just a mildly sarcastic remark. Just as in English, depending on what type of voice and kind of inflection displayed, and targeted intent behind the word determines how bad of a word it really is. When translated literally the word baka means horse-dear. Baka might mean jack-ass or as it is most often translated, fool. But does fool do the word baka or horse deer justice? It really seldom suffices to translate the word baka into English by translating it as fool.
Translation becomes difficult a lot of times betwixt the two languages. Sometimes there is no equivalent translation at all. O-negai shimasu is a perfect example of a word that cannot truly be understood from a western point of view. It cannot be fully understood with an explanation in words. It must be experienced to understand fully what is meant when the Japanese say words or phrases from Japanese to English because there is no way for either culture to understand the other culture’s view without fully being born and growing up in that country. Golden Grahams, and Romper Room are to Americans what, and pokki and punky kizu are to the Japanese. But try explaining either to the other. The word baka means so much more than just fool. Even screamed at the top of our lungs, calling somebody a fool nowadays in English means buddy or friend more than it means dickhead or asswipe. Baka is a personal term that takes on meaning through the person expressing it. The severity of the word is determined by the tone of voice which utters the two syllables ba and ka. I must admit I only really heard baka said once to realize how much meaning can be contained in one word. I think the word baka is the foulest word in the Japanese language.
I will share an experience where me and a friend were riding our bikes in Saga, Japan.My friend being a hot shot bicyclist from Arizona who was a cocky acne prone American punk with no manners but was very capable of riding wheelies longer, going faster, bunny hopping even his ten-speed and skitchin’ behind Toyotas that had wheels like the Cars at Disneyland and he liked to show off to his ill-mannered very typical of some cocky young American. At a shingou (stop light) I had already crossed and he went ahead and ran the red light to catch up to me who had already passed through. Crossing the street he was almost hit by a car or two as he swerved in and out to miss him with what great stupidity I watched as I fully heard the word BAKA loud and clear come from the window of one of the cars. A young college aged Japanese male spoke loud and clear intending it to reach the ears of all within hearing range. He said, “BAKA” in the most hideous of tone directed at my cocky buddy who I was riding with. It made me sink on the seat of my bike for him to hear a Japanese native use the term baka in a way I never knew existed. Now this was the first time I had heard it like a cuss word but I felt so low and embarrassed for him, I knew then and there, I would never want to be called a “BAKA” myself or have anyone around me be called it neither. Somebody told me previously that baka meant fool but they didn’t explain how much of a fool it meant. There is no way that baka meant just fool. It sounded worse than a two edged sword and could cut through to one’s core and shake it and slice the flesh off of me. So terrible was its use that day and the impact that it had on my future was far reaching. It meant more than just “you fool!” it meant “you f***ing a***ole mother f***ing b**ch” or worse. But it was a very bad word to say the least. So the Japanese do have cuss words, baka being one of them. Other ways of cussing will be explained below. The way of cussing is different but still very penetrating. The way in which you cuss in Japanese is to use low level speech. What we speak in what is called plain form level or lower we are essentially without cussing it could be construed as speaking in a vulgar manner.
It’s possible to sound foul mouthed simply by staying in the lowest level of politeness. The lowest form or levels of politeness can be the same as cussing every other word in English. Like I said words are very powerful, mightier than the sword, so be extremely careful to choose the words that come out of your mouth cautiously and remember to bridle your tongue just in case.
Their are many intricacies of honorific Japanese but for ease of understanding they are usually 4 basic levels of politeness. From least polite, to talking with an Emporer, King, Duke, or magistrate, we can divide Japanese speech into 4 grades or levels that are distinctive in their use and level of politeness exhibited.
Let’s take verbs for example. The verb iku could become ukagau iu becomes ossharu, suru becomes nasaru, dictionary, but also I am a gaijin and not a native speaker. I have heard aho - similiar to asshole or dickweed perhaps. The verb to eat can be expressed in a very vulgar manner or delicately and honorably eaten like the Empress herself. Meshi of Kuu means to eat some rice, gohan o taberu, a little better, gohan o tabemasu, and finally o-kome of meshiagarimasu.

1st level - Honorific speech. The level of highest politeness. In this level you are in essence raising the status of the person with whom you are speaking. Your speech raises them above your own field of existence and exalts their very being. Words are mightier than the sword. In this case Words are powerful to exalt those with whom you speak. Exaltation never made anyone feel bad, and as such usually brings the point of o sewa, their o-tsukaresama, and kochira koso, and other points exhibited or portrayed by these words in Japanes. Honorifics involve lowering yourself and at the same time raising others. is elates them. The feeling you get when being spoken to in honorific Japanese is that you are a member of a royal family. When I was being spoken to in keigo, I felt powerful. It made me feel very wanted or in some sense loved. It also made me feel like I was needed. I felt like I belonged and that they wanted me there. I certainly had a place.

Now with the next level politeness where you have masu and desu. This is more strict and straight polite level verbs, then or an important feature of this royal family. I was important. It actually empowers you. The words spoken make you feel comfortable and you also have a feeling of responsibility that comes with this nobility. Thinking in terms of Maslowe’s heirarchy of needs, being spoken to in keigo would fit the bill of social acceptance and fulfill that level in the Maslowes pyramid of needs. I only wish we had some of this honorific speech more often in America. Here all that is flourishing is ghetto grammar. Shucks!

To do while verbing - the Nagara principle

So if you like to multitask this grammar principle is for you. I straight up copied my own copy to give you my best, I hope you enjoy.

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

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

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

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

Ghetto Grammar Formulation Breakdown –

1. Put verb in base II

a. ex 1. The verb arau (to wash) with direct object sara (dishes) is sara o arau - to do the dishes.

b. arau in base II becomes arai.

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

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

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

Past tense, polite ending –

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

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

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

Past tense, polite ending –

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

Ex. 3. Famicon or yarinagara shukudai ga dekiru. I can play nintendo while I'm doing my homework.

Ex. 4. Gamu o kaminagara kuchibue mo dekiru. I can chew gum while I'm whistling.

Ex. 5 Nenagara jishin ga atta. While I was sleeping there was an earthquake.

Do your best! Ganbatte Ne! Makurasuki sensei Yori.

About the Author:

makurasuki Sensei has enjoyed teaching for a majority of his life whether it be music or Japanese. He says He Likes Japanese and Music but not necessarily Japanese music. If you like what he has done in this article please visit his other web pages which are well made for Beginning to advance learners of Japanese at http://squidoo.com/ghettogrammar

Worthy repost

Table 1 - The 46 Syllables of the Japanese Syllabary (romanized)
a ka sa ta na ha ma ra ya wa n
i ki shi chi ni hi mi ri
u ku su tsu nu fu mu ru yu
e ke se te ne he me re
o ko so to no ho mo ro yo wo

あ か さ た な は ま ら や わ ん
い き し ち に ひ み り
う く す つ ぬ ふ む る ゆ
え け せ て ね へ め れ
お こ そ と の ほ も ろ よ を

The above are the 46 syllables of the Japanese Syllabary. Individually they are called mora. Plurally they are called morae. One mora in particular is the focus of this article. The Tsu mora.
When the tsu syllable is added before the consonants k,p, and t, a hardened double consonant sound is produced. You spit out the words Like the sound of the doubled k in bookkeeper, adding the syllable tsu to ka, ki, ku, ke, ko . This special pronunciation of the doubled consonant is denoted by lowered case or subscript tsu in either hiragana or katakana. Some examples are as follows:

1. makka – deep red
2. jikken – experiment or test
3. shuppan – publish , shuppatsu – departure
4. zettai – suredly, absoluteness
5. tokkyo – not the city toukyou which has the elongated
6. happi – the English word happy in katakana

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



When n is not connected to a vowel as in the very last syllable of the Japanese syllabary which in fact is just n or , it is like a syllable unto itself. It receives a full count if language were a music it would receive the same amount of time that a 2 lettered syllable receives., and is denoted by the apostrophe ‘. For example:
1. Kin’en this is Japanese for no smoking not kinen or the word for anniversary.
so it has 4 syllables and the word for anniversary has 3.

To say the ra ri ru re ro line of the syllabary say first in English eddy then make sure the tip of your tongue is touching delicately behind the upper front teeth. If you say it like this you come close to a true pronunciation of the Japanese word for collar, or eri.
To learn more haya ike!
http://squidoo.com/japperverbs2
or
http://squidoo.com/exaltedjapanese

As always Ganbatte ne! Do your best! Makurasuki Sensei yori Ja mata kondo!

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.

A couple of more Japanes language thoughts for food

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

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

3 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
kuko - 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

Keigo primer think Japanese

5 Tips perfecting your Foreign Language fluency
These tips and insights were created to help you start speaking in your target language fluently in less time. As they say, “It is all in our minds.” This seems to hold true just as much in language learning as it does in any other field. The limits we impose on ourselves are our only obstacles to obtaining anything we desire. .
Tell yourself always that you will be a more efficient speaker and in no time your SL2 speaking skills will be better than you ever thought possible. Your success in second language acquisition should you accept the challenge and attempt to gain one, is dependant on how much you are willing to commit yourself to memorizing words part3, understanding and applying the basic grammar principlespart4 (as outlined in Part 4 essential grammar )and how much you can adjust physically and mentally to a differing culture and mindset.
What are you waiting for? Start today
Starting today.
The following is just one way \ example, that any person of average intelligence could realistically accomplish the language goals which they themselves set up for their own betterment and challenge. These language learners set goals which are challenging enough to keep them interested, but not too difficult as to stifle enthusiasm or to wane in the interest of the language. This discourages younger learners from wanting to press forward with their language study and pursuit of fluency.
Let me tell you something about learning a language in less than a year. If it is not your primary or your native language and you are not living in the country where that language is spoken, the chance of you becoming fluent are very minimal unless you possess 3 qualities of the worthy steward of the gift of tongues, or the ability to speak and understand two languages. You need 1. An unnatural amount of enthusiasm, 2. Overpowering motivation and desire to learn the language, 3. And the potential learner of Japanese or the second language must be zealous to the point near madness. To Reiterate, YOU MUST HAVE ENTHUSIASM, MOTIVATION and ZEAL when learning a language because without those 3 traits/qualities, there will develop a lackluster attitude which tends towards fruitlessness.
The tendency for the learner to become complacent, lazy, and uninspired, is always greater than the tendency to succeed in the pursuit of Japanese fluency. You have to want it bad enough else it will not come. If you are older than 13 -14 years of age some say that your tongue and brain areas that process the stuff that languages are made out of are by this age hardened and cannot be retrained to accept different input. If you have those three qualities above and really desire the ability to speak however you can obtain it.
I must say however that true pronunciation and true mastery may never be attained for anybody at any age that studies any language, there is just too much information to absorb and too short a life span to absorb it all. Therefore determine now that you want it! You must want it (the ability to speak in another language. You must want it more than any other earthly thing. You must want it severely else stop reading this page right now. You have not a desire strong enough to obtain fluency and the training will do you no good. However, if you desire this thing to obsession you can have the object of your desire (fluency).
Any old grammar translation teacher of old can say, “Listen and Repeat, or the immortal, "Ecoutez et Repetez” or any Joe Dirt could have learned how to say, “My name is Dirk.” or “This is a pen.”, but not many people can sit down and jam out a whole sew of sentences and rap like a native in a conversation with the natives and in similitude as one, with proper pronunciation, diction, inflection, meaning, or sharing a common message and communicating.
Determine within yourself now that you want to be one of those that possess superior fluency and work on it until you can say it truthfully. Determine within yourself now that you will find a way to harness zeal and enthusiasm and motivation to the betterment of your second language acquisition. Quitters never win, and Winners never quit. Plug away little by little and you will eventually get there. Here is just one set of possible goals that help me acquire that ever elusive second language (In this case Japanese).Convince yourself by saying, “I’ll be speaking like a native in no time!” and really believe it else all is for naught. Here are some example goals that you might set up for yourself if you really wanted to become fluent in another language.



Once you grasp the idea about how much of your passion and desire is involved you will begin to realize this axiom stated by someone, "The more one knows… the less that one can possibly ever know.

So what exactly is fluency?
How do we measure fluency? Rest-assured, there are lots of ways to measure fluency in a language. The one that I am considering here is the amount of vocabulary one has under one’s belt. The amount of words that you know and are able to translate into and out of your native tongue can be a measure of your fluency. . Know the meaning of words so thoroughly that you can interchange them instantly. Also the use of mnemonics I suggest as helpful ways to memorize words, especially in Japanese. Those two techniques are all to be had in my other two lessons Mnemonics and Circumlocution, how to use and apply them in both directions this is taking for granted and assuming that at least one language is known. This could be considered a unilateral understanding. Fluency can be measured in terms of how many words one knows and that is what section 1 was all about (if you missed it check it here http://
Just as one can word or phrase or apply any manipulation to the language so that its suits our purpose and the main purpose and reason is to get our meaning across. Sharing a As long as the method we use suffices to get our message across it doesn’t even matter if we can speak Japanese or not. In any language, if you look like you got to go ‘pee’ you don’t have to say a word people will understand you. If you look tired or motion your hands as if you are sleeping, our knowledge of Nihongo lets body language assume the role.
What is the shortest distance between you and getting what you want? You are allowed to use any and all means necessary to get your meaning across. Please see my article on circumlocution for sure fire ways to get your meaning across even if you don’t know the Japanese words for it. http://jappermon.com
An individual's own natural or native tongue, just in mannerisms and the exact vocabulary, grammatical structure which is employed by the speaker gives way to miss-understandings and a certain amount of missed meanings will infiltrate the conversation clouding the meaning. Japanese could be spoken in any number of differing ways; intelligently, suave, brave, naive, sophisticated, charming, honorifically, stately, manly cunning, feminine, drunk, legendary all sorts of ways to speak like and just as we have the ish to make something in Nihongo the word becomes ~ppoi. Beautifully, wonderfully or bold or any other way you can think of
Noun+ ppoi = noun ‘ish’
The levels keigo kokugou must know how to manipulate verbs, while memorizing and strengthening your store of Japanese words to put into your goal oriented language arsenal. With that arsenal and using all of your faculties to summon together the ability to speak inside of another tongue, and also to be able to open your ears to such an extent that they become even more sensitive to different words, consonants, vowels phonemes.
Along with your noun memorization oath, (see appendix) noun (don't take for granted any place names that are presented to you on your Japanese quest. You have to commit yourself to a reasonable yet challenging goal.
Throughout these mini- Japanese language tutoring lessons

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.

A taifu story

A lot of people have come across something in their lives that has a tendency to highly influence our actions, wants, and desires. Some things outright possess us. Johnny is in to baseball cards and won't quit until he gets that 97' Donruss platinum press proof signature card of Mark MacGwire, and Derek won't stop playing guitar until his fingers hurt, or Chrysalis records affords him a recording contract. When other things rather than our goals and worthy pursuits, take us away from what we really should be doing, we find ourselves akin to what James Joyce in his Araby would call, "...a creature driven and derided by vanity...". Because we give these our infatuations, adorations, admirations a lot of attention, we lose track of where we are, who we are, and what we are doing. We could term a "confused adoration" or obsession with someone an infatuation. In Araby we see how this obsession, or romantic adoration (infatuation) has a way of controlling the main character's (whom no name is given) actions, ideas, and thoughts as he progresses through the story. In reading Araby, we can see how his intense adoration for a one Mangan's sister, takes over his world. It takes over his attitude toward school, the things which he should be doing and seems to compel to the sudden realization(epiphany) that he has been on the wrong track for the wrong reasons.
From a distance, the young man (the main character of Araby) has a youthful crush on Mangan's sister after scoping her out through the eyes of pious rendering. The story is set in the early 1900's in Dublin Ireland. A time at which every proper person feels it necessary for some sort of church and state. We find out that his house used to belong to a priest, now deceased.The imagery we get about the neighborhood, in which they live, is a very serene, not so post- Victorian Dublin, Ireland. Joyce is very descriptive in giving the setting. I particularly like the way he describes the way the boys play ,"We played 'till our bodies glowed. Have you ever played football after school, when the air is cold and stingy? You work up a sweat and your body seems to glow with the hot perspiration inside your coat, when you take it off your body sort of glows. The young mans aunt has a concern about the Freemasons causing a ruckus at dearly beloved Catholic church. No good Irish man could be without his Catholicism. So to begin the tale, we find the tone of the story to be somewhat, religious. As the story progresses, we come to see how the young man becomes overtaken with his adoration for Mangan's sister.
The young man tells us the way in which he first sees her. The narrator in first person tells us that she would call for her brother to come to tea. "I stood by the railings looking at her." So to begin with, he does a lot of looking. The young man describes her, "Her dress swung as she moved her body and the soft rope of her hair tossed from side to side."In the early 1900's it was still a big thing to see a girls petticoat. That petticoat, idealized in the young mans mind, repeating over and over in his mind mental images of this girl, could be seen as one way the author Joyce found to perpetuate his infatuation.
As far as character is concerned, the young man is rather round. We know a lot of a little bit, everything but his name.We are given details that he is young, in school and that he lives with his aunt and uncle. You ever notice other stories in which the main characters live with their aunts and uncles. Like uncle Owen and Aunt Em for Luke Skywalker in Star Wars or Dorothy's uncle Oz (just kidding). I wanted to ask ,' Where is his real mother and father? Will these details given by the narrator perpetuate the mood in which we see his infatuation?'
We know nothing of his relatives, and Mangan's sister would appear to be somewhat flat. But as we analyze her character with a little post thought, we come to find out many things which the author only implies. I would say with careful thought she is a rather complex character affecting the whole gamut of this short story.We know that she has a white neck and a really sexy petticoat and other minute details. It doesn't really matter that we know a lot about the girl. What we do know is our young man is 'head over heels' about her, and it affects his thoughts and deeds.What we should do, is find out how this adoration is affecting him.We also know that when the young man and Mangan's sister first talk, they discuss a fair, entitled Araby, that is going to take place soon and whether or not he is going. The young man now finds the impetus that drives his infatuation. When she tells him that she cannot go due to obligations concerning a retreat at her convent, he unwittingly obliges himself to bring her something back. Since she is involved in nunnery, we could possibly label her as a good girl, but due to the young man's extreme idealism, to him, she might be viewed as a sort of Madonna, a woman that is near perfect.
From this point on, the young man determines to bring her something from the fair, thus, perpetuating another meeting with his most adored. (Perhaps the only type of women that were around in his town were nunnish.) The young man views her almost as a religious artifact, her image was his chalice, and every where the young man went, he imagined that he "...bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes." Everything seems colored with this religious tone. It even seems as if he prayed to her. "I pressed the palms of my hands together until they trembled, murmuring: "O Love! O Love!" many times." His idealized sweetheart, the girl he so much adored, was his holy Grail. "Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance." No matter what pressing matters were at hand, no matter how much distractions he might have had, he stayed true to his adoration keeping her image with him through the day.
His mind was occupied constantly with this 'confused adoration'. I feel the theme of Araby is a theme of extreme adoration or infatuation and the way in which it has an affect on our well being, on our actions and even how we think and act towards others. Are we driven by our obsessions, or do we drive them. The next few paragraphs will be on incidents that occur in the story that can show us how this overwhelming adoration, unquelled had affected him. It really affected him, and vanity could certainly drive and deride us, if we are not careful.
We can see how a his preoccupation to thoughts on her led his teacher to suspect that he might be beginning to idle. Even other people notice the changes brought about by his infatuation. He didn't have much motivation to do anything, that didn't concern Mangan's sister. He only wanted to see her again, he had been given the chance to impress her with vanity by bringing her something cool back from the fair.James Joyce's use of diction in the following excerpt helps illustrate how the young man felt about anything that didn't have to do with her, " I chafed against the work of school." Did he get a rug burn or something? This is probably just another way of saying that he felt his school work was getting in the way. Getting in the way between that which he desired and that which was tedious.When we are obsessed with something or someone, we don't appreciate things getting in the way of our adoration. He says, "... I wished to annihilate the tedious intervening days... and could not call my wandering thoughts together. I had hardly any patience with the serious work of life's which, now that it stood between me and my desire, seemed to me child's play ugly monotonous child's play." See cause being in love with somebody is serious adults business right?
If there is a point to be made, it is that usually our obsessions and infatuations take over and control us , not that we have any control over or possibly could control our obsessions. Other than that which we adore things seem monotonous. Everything is more boring, and more dull than that which we adore. It just isn't as interesting. "Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand." Just her name was, if he heard it, "...was like a summons to all my (his) foolish blood ." Just her name and the name Araby were powerful influences over him. If someone so much as mentioned the word Araby it jostled his imagination of the exotic, "...it cast an Eastern enchantment over me." Even he recognizes that this infatuation controls and influences the stupid or foolish things which he might do for the cause of romantic obsession.
The young man seems to be a dynamic character. In a way even before his epiphany, he admitted to himself the possibilities of repercussions for having such a confused 'adoration'. The young man observed, "What innumerable follies laid waste my waking and sleeping thoughts after that evening." The evening in question is their simple meeting, where he actually conversed with her (the Madonna). His adoration rendered him incapable of dealing with his daily routine. Not being able to concentrate at school only worsened his condition to be driven by vanity. He thought only on the promise of going and seeing an exotic, enchanting bazaar, and the promise of meeting and talking with her again in hopes that he might impress her with the trinket or the 'something' he was going to bring back for her.
Here is another point to ponder. Julie proposed it to me in our reading of the great works. It is something like this. When we idealize things (or humans), we think the best of them. We only see what we want to see, even if the thing (or human) isn't really what our mind pictures or desires. We all have a pair of rose colored glasses with which to perceive and view our world and the persons in it. We can view them however we want even though we may not know a single thing of truth concerning what kind of person they are. So I keep that in mind as I consider how the young man must have seen things.
In Araby, he didn't know too much about Mangan's sister, after all, they only talked that once, but to him she was top choice. The young man never ever got to tell her that he likes her. Instead, the plot becomes such that he was given an opportunity to show her that he liked her by bringing her soemething back from the bazaar.
His sole purpose was to show her his adoration. He probably wasn't even very familiar with such a bazaar, but simply because it was the main topic of their sole conversation prompted him to treat this as a very important matter. The young man asked his uncle about going to the bazaar, but his uncle didn't give him 10% assurance about it. This uncertainty, almost like a fear, the what if? the what if I don't go? complex syndrome. When his mind turned to uncertainty abut getting to the fair his heart missed a beat, an actual physical manifestation. He says, "The air was pitilessly raw and already my heart misgave me. He had to wait till his uncle got home in order to get the shillings and the florin to enter the bazaar. Just imagine how dreadfully impatient he was that night. His uncle seemed somewhat compassionate and caring, but not as so as the aunt. Upon seeing how badly he wanted to go to the bazaar, his aunt became his spokesperson for love. In her simple language she pleads for her nephews cause, saying energetically, "Can't you give him the money and let him go? You've kept him late enough as it is. " Have you ever seen someone want something or want to do something soooo bad, that you help them get it. Joyce represents here in a very few words a very human experience, a plea for someone's cause due to their overwhelming desire to possess it.
The young man's extreme idealism had turned him in. This bazaar wasn't the great, fantastic, enchanted, magical place he had envisioned it. It was a bit unruly. He even had trouble remembering why he had come. Isn't that ironic. He would have just about died to get to this bazaar, but now he was getting nearer to a keen insight into his character, the epiphany. He noticed how this whole affair had affected him and what position he lay in now. At a bunk bazaar, with some stupid wench flirting with some guys not even caring about the wares. He must of thought to himself, ' Is this all?' That is where he saw how he was driven and derided by vanity, the vain puffed up stuff. Costly apparel, looking good in the eyes of others. Fancy buggies and expensive petticoats. He must have thought how worthless, how vain. Nothing could have been so ordinary; there was nothing so important or stifling even to have come in the first place. He realized that he was the sole proprietor of his actions, he concluded that he was a lowly creature like a pig in its mire.
The sudden realization or insight into who this young man really was helps us to add another point to what we consider the them. It is true that he was infatuated with her, but the reason was was because of the vain things of the world, just to be showy, like hey look at me in my new silk socks and look at all this very cool, tres hip stuff that we can get at the bazaar, got to get it or you aren't cool. To be liked by her he would have to be somewhat vain. The girl flirting with the guys is one way Joyce shows vanity. It is hard for the young man to come to grips with what was really driving his infatuation. He sums the realization up in the very last sentence of Araby and also the quote I used first in this paper, "Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature, driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger." The choice of words here makes me instantly think of a creature as being a lesser animal, but I particularly envisioned an owl. A creature driven by falsehood or deceit. Was he deceiving himself or was he being deceived?
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.

Morau

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

Repost

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.

Some tripped out Japanese Words

Many words in Japanese don’t have exact, equivalent translations in English. The same situations just don’t often happen exactly the same in both countries. Japan has a very old national history dating back to at least 600 A.D. Our Americanized English simply hasn’t developed in the same way. We simply don’t have the same circumstances in both countries. Customs and traditions being different and unique to each country’s environment and history.

O sewa sama deshita – You did a terribly awfully nice favor for me and I am completely grateful and you really helped a lot.

Go-kuro^ sama deshita – You worked very hard today and we pay thee much respect and thanks for your hard efforts, it must have been a lot of hard work but good going and thanks.

Yokei na sewa – its none of your business

Oriko san – He is such a good kid, or she is so well behaved.

Ja ne – see ya, later, adios, ciao, lates, see you on the flipside, peace out

Dewa Mata – until next time, see you later, talk at you soon, peace out

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

the 50on

a
ka
sa
ta
na
ha
ma
ya
ra
wa

n

i
ki
shi
chi
ni
hi
mi

ri


u
ku
su
tsu
nu
fu
mu
yu
ru


e
ke
se
te
ne
he
me

re


o
ko
so
to
no
ho
mo
yo
ro
wo

How to put verbs in base tte

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

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?