Japanese Classroom

[Officer Kaoko 142]

Class room for learning Japanese!

Japanese Classroom (Nihongo kyoshitsu)

Koko ni nihongo wo benkyou shimashou!

• Help each other to improve their Japanese.
  
• Ask anything about Japanese language!
  

Rules:

1. When you post something in Japanese, please avoid translating it in English or at least put it in a Spoiler Box. So members would read the Japanese text rather than just reading the translated.
   
2. It would be better if you type in Romanji, too. Some people doesn't have Japanese software installed in their computer and they see only squares.
   

Tutor/Sensei: @Pr1me 101

Students:

Member List:

1. Officer Kaoko
   
2. xXLeration
   
3. blueberry
   
4. Henny-chan
   
5. Detective Gin
   
6. topgun741
   
7. Hatsu Anrika
   
8. Emy Ulfsdotter
   
9. Cheesus
   
10. Rom Yui
    
11. Tantei Shinichi
    
12. Kiel
    
13. Stopwatch
    
14. Southpaw
    
15. Xcommando
    
16. Tna Uchiha
    
17. Orangeburst
    
18. Conankoibito
    
19. Parkur
    
20. Kaitou1412
    
21. kirite
    
22. alicetama
    
23. Rye
    
24. Koukou-sei Tantei
    
25. Momoko-chan
    
26. Denz001
    
27. IdentityUnknown
    
28. Xenonkid
    
29. Vermouth-chan
    

Just say that you want to join and and tell us your the details of your knowledge and we'll add you to the list

Although that I'm just a student myself I'll aslo be teaching and share my knowledge of what I have learnt. Feel free to call me 'senpai' .

PS. This thread has created for all who are fond of learning Japanese. Kenny-sensei will currently be our tutor for now on

ANNOUNCEMENT: We just created a blog of our own! Here's the link -> http://japanese-ken.blogspot.com

Lessons & Courses

Japanese Characters - Hiragana:

1. Introduction to Japanese Characters & Hiragana: Lesson 1 - 'あ' [a]
   
2. Hiragana: Lesson 2 - 'い'
   
3. Hiragana: Lesson 3 - 'う'
   
4. Hiragana: Lesson 4 - 'え' [e]
   
5. Hiragana: Lesson 5 - 'お' [o]
   Revision of Lesson 1 - 5
   
6. Hiragana: Lesson 6 - 'か' [ka] (and 'が' [ga])
   
7. Hiragana: Lesson 7 - 'き' [ki] (and 'ぎ' [gi])
   
8. Hiragana: Lesson 8 - 'く' [ku] (and 'ぐ' [gu])
   
9. Hiragana: Lesson 9 - 'け' [ke] (and 'げ' [ge])
   
10. Hiragana: Lesson 10 - 'こ' [ko] (and 'ご' [go]) -> Lesson 6 - 10 Review
    
11. Hiragana: Lesson 11 - 'さ' [sa] (and 'ざ' [za])
    
12. Hiragana: Lesson 12 - 'し' [shi] (and 'じ' [ji]) (yo-on included)
    
13. Hiragana: Lesson 13 - 'す' [su] (and 'ず' [zu])
    
14. Hiragana: Lesson 14 - 'せ' [se] (and 'ぜ' [ze])
    
15. Hiragana: Lesson 15 - 'そ' [so] (and 'ぞ' [zo])
    

Edited April 1, 2011 by Officer Kaoko

[tengaku squared 291]

I will join...

I am complete beginner...

[Officer Kaoko 142]

I will join...

I am complete beginner...

Added

Please feel agree to ask any question here . But we'll also have to wait for Kenny-sensei to respond .

[tengaku squared 291]

Pr1me 101=Kenny?

[Officer Kaoko 142]

Pr1me 101=Kenny?

Kochi ->

[tengaku squared 291]

By the way, do you know the difference between the following:

ore

boku

atashi

watashi

washi

ware?

[blueberry 25]

I will join too but I know absolutely nothing

[HennyAng 4]

can I also join too?

I only know a little japanese

[Rom Yui 16]

Sorry, can I join...

[Pr1me 101 15]

^Everyone can join. Officer Kaoko and I made this thread so that everyone could benefit.

By the way, do you know the difference between the following:

ore

boku

atashi

watashi

washi

ware?

They're all words that mean "me" or "myself." The difference between them is how they're used. Ore is used in a sort of casual way, whereas Watashi is formal.

Another difference is who uses them. Like how Atashi is usually used by females and Washi is usually used by older people. Also, Ware means "we" (as in a group) rather than just yourself. Hope this makes sense ^^;.

[Inspector Gin 45]

I will like to join, if that okay... :grin:

[Officer Kaoko 142]

Aye! Everyone could join (added to the list)! Or if you don't wanna be added to the list is also OK ^^ you can just come here for updates and stuff. And.. aye! Me and Kenny-sensei made this thread

And xXLeration, I hope Kenny sensei's explanation was good (it's good and makes a lot of sense to me). Or, you can find more about Japanese Pronouns here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_pronouns

So, Kenny-sensei , this is my request;

I'm now studying a book of Japanese elementary second grade (I think ) and the first lesson is a story; The words and sentences are easy to read and understand.. but the problem is; I wanna translate it to English and it's kinda complicated to do it . I would like you to see and correct it for me, if you please .

This is the first page of the story.

Fuki no tou - Page 1:

ふきのとう

あさの 光 を あびて、

竹やぶの 竹 の はっぱが、

『さむかったね。』

『うん、 さむかったね。』

と、 ささやいて います。

雪が まだ すこし のこって、

あたりは しんと して います。

Here's the romanji:

Asa no hikari wo abite,

takeyabu no take no happaga,

"Samukatta ne."

"Un, samukatta ne.

to, sasayaite imasu.

Yuki ga mada sukoshi nokotte,

atari wa shinto shite imasu.

Here's my English translation:

The morning light showered at the leaves of the bamboo forest.

"It's cold, isn't it?", "Un, it's cold isn't it?" so, they were wishpering.

Bits of snow still remains

and the surrounding were quite.

[Edit] In case you are all wondering what kind of book it is... here's the book cover :

[Guest Hajime Kindaichi]

.

[J3nny 22]

I'm a complete beginner, I only know some words through watching sub

Ashiteru

Nani

Onii-chan

Itsukimaida

Tadaima

Konichiwa

Ohayou (don't know the spelling)

Daijoubou

Neechan

Ojisaan

[Emy Ulfsdotter 6]

I think I will join, I only know a little, but then again I might know more then I think

[Cheesus 6]

Ill join i know some words and know some phrases

otokonoko

onnanoko

imasu

hashitte

kare wa

Numbers from 1 - 29

otokonatachi wa yonde imasu

Some other words like that.

btw some help t people who dont know:

あさの 光 を あびて、

A phrase like that can be comprehendable.

If you know the sound one of the letters above makes

ex: na

Just sound them out until you can write it in Romanji

also im pretty postive verbs go in the end of a phrase

ALSO

is this going to be based on Kanji or Katakana?

ROSETTA STONE FTW!

[Tantei Shinichi 3]

I want to join as an Absolute Beginner.

[Officer Kaoko 142]

I would like to join I know like 4 words :mrgreen:

Accepted

I'm a complete beginner, I only know some words through watching sub

Ashiteru

Nani

Onii-chan

Itsukimaida

Tadaima

Konichiwa

Ohayou (don't know the spelling)

Daijoubou

Neechan

Ojisaan

Useful vocabulary

Accepted!

I think I will join, I only know a little, but then again I might know more then I think

Accepted... be our sensei

Ill join i know some words and know some phrases

otokonoko

onnanoko

imasu

hashitte

kare wa

Numbers from 1 - 29

otokonatachi wa yonde imasu

Some other words like that.

btw some help t people who dont know:

あさの 光 を あびて、

A phrase like that can be comprehendable.

If you know the sound one of the letters above makes

ex: na

Just sound them out until you can write it in Romanji

also im pretty postive verbs go in the end of a phrase

ALSO

is this going to be based on Kanji or Katakana?

ROSETTA STONE FTW!

Oh, gomenasai. I totally forgot to put it in Romanji . There, edited it And I also displayed the cover of the book

I want to join as an Absolute Beginner.

Okay, accepted... but, I thought Shinichi is influenced in Japanese??? LOL!

[Emy Ulfsdotter 6]

Kaoko I meant that I only know what I've learned from watching too much anime^^ but I don't know how much that is. I think I'll borrow a Japanese book from the library next time I'm there, just to figure out how much can understand, probably not much...

[Officer Kaoko 142]

Kaoko I meant that I only know what I've learned from watching too much anime^^ but I don't know how much that is. I think I'll borrow a Japanese book from the library next time I'm there, just to figure out how much can understand, probably not much...

I was only teasing you a little , LOL!! Don't worry, I understand what you mean

[Officer Kaoko 142]

Learning how to write and read Japanese is very important. So I recommend you should learn how to write and read Japanese first before going any further .

IMPORTANT (too): While learning how to speak the Japanese language, do not rely too heavily on Romanized Japanese or romaji (Japanese written in English letters). It is not used in Japan nor is it widely known in Japan. It is very important to learn kana (the Japanese alphabets - hiragana and katakana) to avoid many issues that can come from using romaji as a crutch .

The modern Japanese writing system uses three main scripts:

1. ひらがな (Hiragana): Hiragana is used to write native words for which there are no kanji, including particles such as から kara "from", and suffixes such as さん ~san "Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms." Likewise, hiragana is used in words for which the kanji form is obscure, not known to the writer or readers, or too formal for the writing purpose. Verb and adjective inflections, as, for example, be-ma-shi-ta (べました) in tabemashita (食べました, "ate"), are written in hiragana, often following a verb or adjective root (here 食) that is written in kanji. Hiragana is also used to give the pronunciation of kanji in a reading aid called furigana. The article Japanese writing system discusses in detail how the various systems of writing are used.
   
2. カタカナ (Katakana): In modern Japanese, katakana is most often used for transcription of words from foreign languages except Chinese (called gairaigo). For example, "television" is written terebi (テレビ). Similarly, katakana is usually used for country names, foreign places, and foreign personal names. For example, America is written アメリカ Amerika (America also has its own kanji (ateji) Amerika (亜米利加) or for short, Beikoku (米国), which literally means "Rice Country" – though the connection with the "rice" character, 米, is purely a phonetic one).
   
3. 漢字 (Kanji): Kanji is a Chinese character and has been adopted by the Japanese as their own.
   

HIRAGANA - ひらがな

So first, we are going to learn Hiragana. Hiragana has 48 characters with different styles and number of strokes (it's much more easier than Katakana [which will be introduced later]).

Hiragana Chart:

Introduction to Japanese Characters - #1 Hiragana: Lesson 1 - 'あ' [a]

あ in hiragana or ア in katakana (romanised a) is one of the Japanese kana that each represent one mora. あ is based on the sōsho style of kanji 安, and ア is from the radical of kanji 阿. In the modern Japanese system of alphabetical order, it occupies the first position of the alphabet, before い. Additionally, it is the 36th letter in Iroha, after て, before さ. Its hiragana resembles the kana no combined with a cross.

Pronunciation:

'あ' = 'a' is pronounced as 'ah' as in 'add'.

Word beginning with 'あ':

1. ありがとう (arigatou = Thank you)

2. あたし (atashi = me)

3. あし (ashi = feet; leg)

4. あなた (anata = you; dear)

Strokes order:

The Hiragana あ is made with three strokes:[1]

1. At the top, a horizontal stroke from left to right.
   
2. A downward vertical stroke starting above and in the center of the last stroke.
   
3. At the bottom, a loop like the Hiragana の.
   

So all who hasn't yet learn the alphabets, I recommend you to write 'あ' and repeat it for at least 50 - 100 times in your textbook (that if you don't have anything to do ). That's your homework for today .

Note: This is how I learnt the characters; by writing it numerous times in the textbook. There's much to it... but I think I'd discuss it later till you tell me what you all think .

Jaa na!

Next lesson ->

Hiragana: Lesson 2 - 'い'

Source: Wkipedia

[CarpetCrawler 280]

Introduction to Japanese Characters - #1 Hiragana: Lesson 1 - 'あ' [a]

'あ' is pronounced 'a' as in bad, mad, etc.

Pretty sure most people who speak the English language pronounce "bad" and "mad" in a different way than you think. It's pronounced like the word "add" in the English language. The way you're looking for is pronounced like "ah".

[Officer Kaoko 142]

Pretty sure most people who speak the English language pronounce "bad" and "mad" in a different way than you think. It's pronounced like the word "add" in the English language. The way you're looking for is pronounced like "ah".

Oh, arigatou . Thank you for pointing it out (there, edited it ). Then it's decided, you should be our editor and advisor .

[Pr1me 101 15]

So, Kenny-sensei , this is my request;

I'm now studying a book of Japanese elementary second grade (I think ) and the first lesson is a story; The words and sentences are easy to read and understand.. but the problem is; I wanna translate it to English and it's kinda complicated to do it . I would like you to see and correct it for me, if you please .

This is the first page of the story.

Fuki no tou - Page 1:

ふきのとう

あさの 光 を あびて、

竹やぶの 竹 の はっぱが、

『さむかったね。』

『うん、 さむかったね。』

と、 ささやいて います。

雪が まだ すこし のこって、

あたりは しんと して います。

Here's the romanji:

Asa no hikari wo abite,

takeyabu no take no happagam

"Samukatta ne."

"Un, samukatta ne.

to, sasayaite imasu.

Yuki ga mada sukoshi nokotte,

atari wa shinto shite imasu.

The morning light showered at the leaves of the bamboo forest.

"It's cold, isn't it?", "Un, it's cold isn't it?" so, they were wishpering.

Bits of snow still remains

and the surrounding were quite.

[/font]

You've pretty much got most of it. Here's my translation:

While soaking up the morning sun,

the bamboo leaves in the bamboo forest (were whispering,)

"It was very cold wasn't it?"

"Yes, very cold."

There was a little snow left,

Everywhere around them was silent.

I fused the 5th line of the original Japanese story with the 2nd line so it'd make sense in english. Hope this helps Kaoko. Nice job with the hiragana lesson BTW.

[Officer Kaoko 142]

You've pretty much got most of it. Here's my translation:

While soaking up the morning sun,

the bamboo leaves in the bamboo forest (were whispering,)

"It was very cold wasn't it?"

"Yes, very cold."

There was a little snow left,

Everywhere around them was silent.

I fused the 5th line of the original Japanese story with the 2nd line so it'd make sense in english. Hope this helps Kaoko.

ありがとう ございます、 ケンニエ せんせい！ (arigatou gozaimasu, Kenny-sensei )! That helped a lot ! I'll also be posting (later) the content of the second page if you don't mind

Man, the original story? That sounds cool. Do they have it in the web :grin: ?