Fun with Japanese

[Jembru]

Re: Fun with Japanese

Didn't know where else to put this and don't think this PAGAN forum for PAGANS needs any more bloomin' Japanese threads. I really want to share some cool videos that Wes at Gengo no Tabi made (that's who I address in Japanese on my youtube vid). They don't get nearly the attention they deserve considering the amount of effort he puts into making them. So for a fun and playful way to learn or just practise your listening, check these out. They use plenty of casual style too, which is good for those who want to get away from 'watashi wa teineigo niwa unzari desu'* style sentences!

Don't go full screen or it is a pain, because it relies on you making selections on the screen!

My favourite is this one. It's a lot of fun (if Japanese gets ya going), it's vast, and I learnt some cool ways to insult people that I didn't know before, so that was cool.

Please, please check them out and have a play around. Like I say, Wes and his collaborators have worked really hard on these videos. It's possible that we might work on a few projects together in the future too, and I'll of couse keep you posted if this comes up.

Douzo, tanoshinde kudasai!

*this says 'I'm sick of polite style language' and is written in polite style language. teehee, see what I did there?

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Haha, I just read that stuff I wrote in Japanese ages ago and found mistakes. For a start, the te form of narau is naratte. I wonder how many more I'll spot this time next year? ^^

[AmaraKasumi]

Re: Fun with Japanese

日本に行った事がありますか。
Nihon ni itta koto ga arimasu ka?

I think you asked: Have you ever been to Japan?

Answer: Iie. Demo, nihon ni ikitai desu!
(No. But I want to go to Japan!)

Q: Shumi wa nan desu ka.

(I am still not very good at Japanese so this may be a little hard for me and my Japanese may be too simple/formal, but I'm gonna try anyway!! T_T I've only done two years of high school Japanese and some self-studying...)

[Jembru]

Re: Fun with Japanese

I think you asked: Have you ever been to Japan?

Answer: Iie. Demo, nihon ni ikitai desu!
(No. But I want to go to Japan!)

Q: Shumi wa nan desu ka.

(I am still not very good at Japanese so this may be a little hard for me and my Japanese may be too simple/formal, but I'm gonna try anyway!! T_T I've only done two years of high school Japanese and some self-studying...)

Oopse, I totally missed your reply somehow.

Yes, that's what I asked!! Actually, you've made me think that translations would be an idea. Might get more people joining in if they didn't have to look things up themselves. Also, no one minds how good or not we are, everyone is learning. I rely heavily on dictionaries, especially for typing in kanji! So..

A)趣味は水泳やヨガやジョッギングです。 おりがみも楽しみます。言うまでもなく、日本語の勉強することも大好き。 ほかにげんじゅつにも興味があります！

Shumi wa suiei ya yoga ya jogingu desu. Origami mo tanoshimimasu. Iu mademo naku, nihongo no benkyou suru koto mo daisuki. hokani genju ni mo kyoumi ga arimasu!

My hobbies include swimming, yoga and jogging. I also enjoy origami. Needless to say, I love studying Japanese too. Besides that, I am also interested in witchcraft.

Q) 何人家族なんすか？
nannin kazoku na n'desu ka?

How many people are there in your family?

[Jembru]

Re: Fun with Japanese

hokani genju ni mo kyoumi ga arimasu!

Sorry, I left out a 'tsu' when I was romanizing. This should read, 'Hokani, genjuTSU ni mo kyoumi ga arimasu'. As a forum with many Japanese studying witches, I thought it was important to correct this word!

[AmaraKasumi]

Re: Fun with Japanese

Watashi no kazoku wa gonin desu. kazoku wa haha to sara-chan to ashurii-san to jeremaiya-san to watashi desu.
My family has 5 people. My family is my mother, Sarah, Ashlea, Jeremiah, and myself.
(I live with my friend's mother who I call mom, and her children, and her boyfriend, to explain that answer.)

(Agh, I have a feeling I said that totally wrong >.> ughhh. Also another anoyance, I can read the hiragana on my screen but the kanji don't show up! It's not like I can read most kanji anyway BUT I STILL WANT TO SEE THEM! -pouts-)

Anata wa terebi geemu ga suki desu ka?

[Jembru]

Re: Fun with Japanese

I see no mistakes. Honestly, that was fine so don't worry! The last few days, I have been drawing blanks over really simple things. I think it's normal for language learners, but I have days where things flow well for me, and then days where I really struggle to remember basic phrases. Anyway, I'm glad to have some practice to brush off the cobwebs so..

'Also another anoyance, I can read the hiragana on my screen but the kanji don't show up! It's not like I can read most kanji anyway BUT I STILL WANT TO SEE THEM! -pouts-'

そうすれば、これから かんじ を つかいませんよ！わたし は かんじ が いつも まちがえて いるので ほんとに かまいません。
Sousureba, korekara kanji wo tsukaimasen yo! watashi wa kanji ga itsumo machigaete iru node hontouni kamaimasen.
If that's so, from now on I won't use kanji. I'm always messing up my kanji so I honestly don't mind.

テレビゲームというは「ビデオゲーム」でしょうか。 しからば、きらい じゃない けど、めったに やりません。ほんとは、みること の ほう が すき です。よく ボイフレンド が やるの を みています！
Terebigeemu to iu wa 'bideogeemu' deshou ka? shikaraba, kirai ja nai kedo, mettani yarimasen. Honto wa, mirukoto no hou ga suki desu. Yoku boifurendo ga yaru no ga miteimasu.
Is terebigeemu 'video game'? If so, it's not that I don't like them, but I don't play them very often. Actually, I prefer to watch them. I'm often watching my boyfriend when he plays.

That took me so much more effort than it should have. ^^

きにいりの うた が ありますか。
kiniiri no uta ga arimasuka?
Do you have a favourite song?

[Jembru]

Re: Fun with Japanese

Why do I always write the romaji wrong? Seriously, what is up with that? It should be easier to use letters from my mother tongue... Wrote ga instead of wo..

[AmaraKasumi]

Re: Fun with Japanese

Hai, terebi geemu wa bideogeemu desu.
(my sensei liked to teach us older, out of use words, because she's mean like that. so that's the one I always heard!)

Hai! kiniiri no uta wa "Danse Russe" desu.
(Yes! My favorite song is Danse Russe.)

kiniiri no kashu ga arimasu ka.
(Do you have a favorite singer?)

I'm not sure if I'm using that word right (favorite). I've never used it before...

[Jembru]

Re: Fun with Japanese

Cool! So we're both learning new things. I'd never heard terebi geemu, but I'll know it when I hear it now! Gonna have to come back to your question because I seriously can't think of anyone right now and also, I'm always at work when I see your replies but would like to have a look at some textbooks so I can ask questions that will be easy to answer. I keep thinking of things like, 'what is your favourite colour?' and 'how old are you?' but surely I can do better than that.

BUT I was so excited by the educational twist this has taken that I wanted to mention a few things.. Yup, you are using kiniiri fine. I was going to use 'ichiban suki na' and I actually don't know why I didn't. It is for some reason used when asking about favourites, although it is actually from the verb-phrase 'Ki ni iru' meaning 'to be pleased with'. You can use it in expressions like. 'ki ni iru to ii n'desu ga...' (I hope you like it), or 'ki ni itte kutete yokatta' (I'm glad you like it(for something the speaker did or gave)) Or in sentences like this, something I'll probably say in the New Year... 'saikin futotte, ki ni itte sukaato ga hakanakute kita' (I recently put on weight so I can't get into that skirt I like). You get the idea.

BUT

Verbs can be made into a noun by changing the final 'u' to 'I'. So you get 'ki ni iru' becoming 'ki ni iri' or as I wrote it 'kiniiri' a noun used to modify another noun, as you know, takes 'no' so really you just use it like you would in phrases like, 'watashi no hon' 'kyou no tenki' and so on..

Hope that made sense. Couldn't resist the little mini lecture while the other thread is quiet and I know you teach your friends so I thought it would be something interesting to tell them.

I'll keep thinking about the artist and get back to you.

EDIT: I did think of something though. I probably should have used the honorific 'o'. so 'okiniiri' I'm not terribly sure if it is okay to drop this in casual speech, but you should probably use it in polite style for sure. Don't learn my bad ways!

[Jembru]

Re: Fun with Japanese

じゃ、たいへんでしたけど よく かんがえてから やっと きめています。 すきなかしゅは スーボーすよ！じょうだんじゃなくて。。。
ja, taihen deshita kedo yoku kankaetekara yatto kimeteimasu. Suki na kashu wa SU-BO- desu yo! Joudan ja nakute...
Well, it was tough but after much thinking I've finally made up my mind. My favourite singer is Subo (Susan Boyle). I kid you not...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PECmXi8dv9s

かわいい おんな でしょう？
kawaii onna deshou?
She's a cute lady, don't you think?

にほんりょうりの なかで なにが すきですか。 よく たべますか。
nihon ryouri no naka de nani ga suki desu ka. Yoku tabemasuka.
What do you like out of Japanese food (awkward translation, sorry)? Do you eat it often?

[AmaraKasumi]

Re: Fun with Japanese

tempura ga suki desu yo! iie, yoku tabemasen. demo, nihon ryouri ga kirai desu.
(I like tempura! I don't eat it a lot. But, I don't like Japanese food.)

I wanted to say, I don't generally like Japanese food but, I don't know how.

[Maria de Luna]

Re: Fun with Japanese

tempura ga suki desu yo! iie, yoku tabemasen. demo, nihon ryouri ga kirai desu.

I understood more of this than I realised...
wheee anime!

[AmaraKasumi]

Re: Fun with Japanese

I forgot to ask a question!

Anata no donna fuku ga suki desu ka.

(What kind of clothes do you like?)

[Jembru]

Re: Fun with Japanese

You must watch A LOT of anime Maria! I'm not surprised you have picked up so much then. JP learnt almost entirely from anime, and then from speaking to me and friends. He never sat down with a textbook to study, although he will now. He was complaining that his Japanese is all instinct and he doesn't get grammar, so I got him a cool book called 'Japanese the manga way; an illustrated guide to grammar and structure', for Christmas. It uses real manga to illustrate points and is all in the style he speaks, so seemed perfect for him.

Aaaanyway...

Jibun ni totte fuashion wa amari taisetsu ja nai 'n desu ga, fuku ga suki desu. Mezurashikute hen na mono wo kiru no ga suki desu. Tatoeba, ookii sukaato ya hade na kutsushita ga yoku haite imasu. Nekomimi mo tokidoki kaburimasu. Kodomo no you na fuku desu yo. Watashi ga akachanningen desu kara!

For me, fashion isn't that important, but I do like clothes. I like to wear weird and unusual things. For example, big skirts and brightly coloured socks. I also sometimes wear cat ears. It's like children's clothes. I'm a kiddult you see.

Ano.. shashin wo ikutsu tsuite agemasu.. douzo...
Erm.. I'll attach some photos.. here..






Motto jimi na no..
A plainer one..



Hidoi na kao ga yoku miemasen kedo.. yokatta!
You can't really make out my horrible face though.. Luckily!


Tsugi no shitsumon wa..
My next question is..

Manga wo shotchuu yonde imasu ka?
Do you often read manga?

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Hope it's not too late to merge posts. After I posted this, I thought of a cool idea. I want to record myself reading my posts because it will be good speaking practice for me and it lets people hear what it sounds like spoken (albeit by a non-native). So here's my soundcloud..

https://soundcloud.com/jembru/answering-clothes-question

For now, I can't work out how to embed, but I'm sure there is a way. Once I find the code I might start using soundcloud in my blog lessons too!

[Jembru]

Re: Fun with Japanese

I wanted to say, I don't generally like Japanese food but, I don't know how.

I'd probably just use 'amari suki ja arimasen'. 'Generally' in the context you mean it, is 'gaishite', so you could say, 'Gaishite, amari suki ja arimasen', but it's not necessary to use 'generally'. I get thrown a lot too, by trying to say things in Japanese, the way I'd word it in English.