Japanese Classroom

[Cheesus 6]

It's preferable to know your kanas before starting that, but that's done relatively quickly (I learned them in 4 days in a very academic fashion : writing them over and over again).

MAN YOU LEARNED HIRAGANA AND KATAKANA IN 4 DAYS. I applaud you sir.

[Officer Kaoko 142]

Hi there! Well, uhm, can I join? If it's not too late...

This club has been closed! Only current members are allowed to contribute!

...

Joking~ Welcome Yellowglow! Welcome to Japanese Classroom ! We recommend you to start from the first lesson if you yet haven't learnt the Japanese characters .

It's never too late...but let's see what Kan-chan thinks.

Who gives you the permission to permit people to join? HUH !!? Joking ~ Anyone who is determined to learn Japanese are welcome !

yay another member.

Hopefully you ask questions and stuff and not lurk ._.

Well said, Cheesus . It is to them!

To those who would like to study japanese (and particularly kanji), I suggest using James Heisig's "Remembering the Kanji". I've been using the french translatd version (since it's my first language) for about 2 months now and I know how to write a little less than 1 000 kanji. I use this site to train and make sure I remember them properly on a long term basis. The issue with that book is that it doesn't teach you how to pronounce or use them in a sentence, but I think that mastering hundreds of kanji is already a big step, though only a small one in fully mastering the language, obviously.

Oh, thank you, Wakari. But wow, how many Kanjis do you know now ? I'm studying Kanji with this book:

It is also very good and simple, I thought Kanji was really difficult, but when I used this book I learnt that they are all just a bunch of simple kanji put together. But I will take a look at the site you recommended .

Thanks fo the info but none of us are at that level yet

Haha, sorry for not posting lessons lately. I am currently working on the hiragana 'tsu'. But I am having a difficulty in explaining one of the parts. I will have to get Kenny-sensei to look at it first (so to edit it) before posting it.

It's preferable to know your kanas before starting that, but that's done relatively quickly (I learned them in 4 days in a very academic fashion : writing them over and over again).

Wow, that's he exact method I did when I was learning Hiragana and Katakana . First I do the vowel section, writing them over and over again, then I went with the k section, I write from ka to ko over and over again, and then from vowel section and k section, in order and repetitively, over and over again, etc. till my textbook is really full!

[Cheesus 6]

Dont worry Kaoko if ppl are dedicated they should continue ebery day

Now to start Katakana -.-

[Officer Kaoko 142]

Hiragana: Lesson 18 - 'つ' [tsu] & 'づ' [dzu]

つ, in hiragana, or ツ in katakana, and the variant form ㋡, is one of the Japanese kana, each of which represents one mora. Both are phonemically /tu͍/ although for phonological reasons, the actual pronunciation is ‘tsu’. In the Ainu language, where the sound /tu͍/ does exist, it is often written as ツ゚ or ト゚.

Pronunciation:

'つ' is romanized 'tsu'.

Words with 'つ':-

'つ' at the beginning:

1. 土/つち (tsuchi -> earth; soil; dirt)
   
2. 月/つき (tsuki -> moon)
   
3. 次/つぎ (tsugi -> next)
   
4. 翼/つばさ (tsubasa -> wings)
   

'つ' in the middle:

1. 殺人/さつじん (satsujin -> murder)
   
2. 美しい/うつくしい (utsukushii -> beautiful)
   

'つ' at the end:

1. 警察/けいさつ (keisatsu -> police)
   
2. 待つ/まつ (matsu -> to wait)
   
3. 勝つ/かつ (katsu -> to win; to gain victory)
   
4. 術/じゅつ (jutsu -> method; technique)
   

Stroke order:

______________

The character 'つ' may also be combined with a dakuten, changing it into ‘づ’ [dzu]. つ + " (dakuten) = づ (look below)

Pronunciation:

‘づ’ is romanized ‘zu’.

Note: 'づ' [dzu] isn't used as the first letter for words anymore. It's kinda like 'ぢ', used once then poof *gone*.

______________

The sokuon: it may also be called 小さな つ (chiisana tsu) or ちいさい つ (chiisai tsu), meaning 'small tsu'. You'll often see this in between words and wonder why 'つ' is unusually small. Well, The sokuon is used for various purposes. The main use is to mark a geminate consonant, which is represented in rōmaji (romanized Japanese) by the doubling of the consonant. In speech, the protocol is to motion the mouth into pronouncing the consonant that follows the sokuon and then stop, allowing a slight pause before voicing the consonant.

It can also be seen at the end; A glottal stop or “choked sound”.

• あっ！ Ah!
  

Again, the sokuon: a small form of つ (tsu). In romanization, this is represented by doubling the following consonant. The equivalent in katakana is ッ.

• いっぱい — ippai (lot of; much; full)
  
• もっと — motto (more; even more)
  
• すっぱい — suppai (sour)
  
• 学校 /がっこう — gakkou
  

Task: You shall write 'つ' & 'づ' 50 - 100 times in your textbook. If you want, like with the previous lessons, write 'つ' 70 times and 'づ' 30 times. Memorize the shape, the stroke order, the sound, the pronunciation (echo the sound of the character each time you write it down), etc. You may also want to practice the small 'つ' (っ): how you should write it, it is just the same how you write the ordinary one (つ) except smaller.

And after you've done that, write 'た', 'ち', and 'つ' one after each repetitively (た, ち, つ, た, ち, つ etc.) 50 times (100 if you have time).

[Southpaw 61]

The character 'す' may also be combined with a dakuten, changing it into ‘づ’ [dzu]. つ + " (dakuten) = づ (look below)

I think a little edit is in order...

[Officer Kaoko 142]

I think a little edit is in order...

Ah, sorry. I was kinda tired yesterday... There, I edited it.

Thank you for pointing it out by the way ;-).

Hiragana: Lesson 19 - 'て' [te] & 'で' [de]

Kaoko: Hehe, I thought I would do some entertaining once in awhile, so I invited a guest to join us for today’s lesson. And of course, she also has a connection to our today’s subject. And her name is... TENTEN!

Tenten: Hi. How are you guys doing? You see, I have two ‘te’s in my name... that’s why Kaoko invited me for today’s lesson. よろしく お願いします ね~

Kaoko: Plus! She will be our guide.

Tenten: Hai! 頑張るよ! So, mmm.. you are dealing with the character ‘te’, right?

Kaoko: Yes. Mind explaining it to us?

Tenten: Sure. て, in hiragana, or テ in katakana, is one of the Japanese kana, each of which represents one mora. Both represent [te]. How its written and how it is pronounced is really easy to remember. We’ll cover it in a moment.

As we are here, you may also want to hear some of my name’s trivia. Tenten, "Ten", in Japanese means heaven or heavenly. So in this case, it means "heavenly, heaven". "Tenten" can also mean, "little by little" in Japanese, "this and that", "here and there", or "dot". It is also a possibility that my name insinuates "Ten out of Ten," a reference to my skill in hitting targets-

Kaoko: You are going off-topic.

Tenten: あ, ごめん.

Kaoko: Oh, can you name anything that begins with ‘te’, Tenten?

Tenten: Mmm, the first thing (or word) that comes to mind would be ‘敵/てき’. Meaning ‘enemy’, it could also mean ‘opponent’. That reminds me... I once had a opponent who is so strong... her name also begins with ‘te’.

Kaoko: Woah, ほんとう です か?

Tenten: Yup. Her name is Temari. I had a match with her in the chuunin exam... but, I- I was defeated.

Kaoko: Tenten...

Tenten: まあ いい. I have some photos of the event. いっしょ に 見ましょう?

Kaoko: Sure!

This panel has decided our destiny (see my wonderful name?).

We confronted each other, ready for the match.

This was just so embarrassing... but as you can see,

I was defeated...*sigh*

Kaoko: Wait, wait... seeing your name again, it was written in Katakana...

Tenten: What's wrong with that?

Kaoko: But we are having a Hiragana lesson here...

Tenten: まあ いい, at least they had learnt some useful facts.

Kaoko: But, but...

*Closing for the time being*

______________

Pronunciation:

'て' is romanized 'te'.

Words with 'て':

'て' at the beginning:

1. 手/て (te -> hand)
   
2. 敵/てき (teki -> enemy)
   
3. 手紙/てがみ (tegami -> letter)
   
4. 天気/てんき (tenki -> weather)
   
5. 点/てん (ten -> dot; point; mark)
   
6. 帝国/ていこく (teikoku -> empire)
   
7. 照る/てる (teru -> to gleam; shine; sparkle)
   
8. てんぷら (tenpura -> a Japanese dish made from seafood, chicken, or vegetables dipped in batter and deep fried)
   
9. 天井/てんじょう (tenjou -> ceiling)
   

'て' in the middle:

1. 最低/さいてい (saitei -> least; lowest; worst)
   
2. お手洗い/おてあらい (otearai -> toilet; restroom)
   
3. 迚も/とても (totemo -> very; exceedingly; awfully)
   

'て' at the end:

1. だって (datte -> but; however; still; even though)
   

Note:

Stroke order:

______________

The character 'て' may also be combined with a dakuten, changing it into ‘で’ [de]. With the dakuten added the pronunciation is changed, to 'de'. て + " (dakuten) = で (look below)

Pronunciation:

‘で’ is romanized (pronounced) ‘de’ as in ‘demo’.

Words with 'で':

'で' at the beginning:

1. です (desu -> expresses politeness toward the listener)
   
2. でも (demo -> (particle で [de] + も [mo]) even; but; however)
   
3. 電気/でんき (denki -> electricity)
   
4. 電話/でんわ (denwa -> telephone)
   
5. 出る/でる (deru -> to appear, to come forth, to leave)
   

'で' at the end:

1. まで (made -> untill; as far as; up to)
   
2. 腕/うで (ude -> arm; skill)
   

Task: You shall write 'て' & 'で' 50 - 100 times in your textbook. If you want, like with the previous lessons, write 'て' 70 times and 'で' 30 times. Memorize the shape, the stroke order, the sound, the pronunciation (echo the sound of the character each time you write it down), etc.

And after you are done write 'た', 'ち', ‘つ’ and 'て' one after each repetitively (た, ち, つ, て, etc.) 50 times (100 if you have time).

Thank you very much for attending.

See you guys again next time! And good luck with

your homework!

[Officer Kaoko 142]

Hiragana: Lesson 20 - 'と' [to] & 'ど' [do]

Kaoko: Konnichiwa, minna! How are you doing today? I hope you are all in your high spirits and ready for the course.

Today's lesson is the for the final T Section's character, 'と'! と, in hiragana, or ト in katakana, is one of the Japanese kana, each of which represents one mora. Both represent the sound [to], and when written with dakuten represent the sound [do]. Ah, I forgot! We also have a guest today... Our character for today’s lesson is...!!

*Oink, oink...*

Kaoko: Eh ? *Turns to look* TONTON!!??

Pronunciation:

'と' is romanized 'to'.

Words with 'と':

'と' at the beginning:

1. 友達/ともだち (tomodachi -> friend)
   
2. 時/とき (toki -> time)
   
3. 時計/とけい (tokei -> watch, clock)
   
4. 取る/とる (toru -> to take, to obtain)
   
5. 所/ところ (tokoro -> a place, a scene, a site; an address)
   
6. と言う/という (to iu -> said, called thus)
   
7. 止まる/とまる (tomaru -> to stop)
   
8. 迚も/とっても (tottemo -> very, exceedingly, awfully)
   

'と' in the middle:

1. 勤める/つとめる (tsutomeru -> to work; to be employed)
   
2. それとも (soretomo -> or, or else)
   
3. 例え/たとえ (tatoe -> an example, a simile, a metaphor)
   
4. 例えば/たとえば (tatoeba -> for example, for instance, such as)
   
5. 中東/ちゅうとう (chuutou -> Middle East)
   
6. 
   

'と' at the end:

1. 外/そと (soto -> outside)
   
2. そっと (sotto -> softly, gently)
   
3. 旅人/たびびと (tabibito -> traveler)
   
4. もっと (motto -> more; even more; longer; further)
   

Stroke order:

______________

The character 'と' may also be combined with a dakuten, changing it into ‘ど’ in hiragana. With the dakuten added the pronunciation changes to 'do'. と + " (dakuten) = と (look below)

Pronunciation:

‘ど’ is romanized ‘do’, and pronounced ‘do’ as in ‘door’.

Words with 'ど':

'ど' at the beginning:

1. どこ (doko -> where)
   
2. どうぞ (douzo -> please (go ahead); help yourself; certainly you may)
   
3. 毒/どく (doku -> poison)
   

'と' in the middle:

1. 留まる/とどまる (todomaru -> to stay)
   
2. 鉄道/てつどう (testudou -> railway)
   

'と' at the end:

1. のど (nodo -> throat)
   
2. 粘土/ねんど (nendo -> clay)
   

Task: You shall write 'と' & 'ど' 50 - 100 times in your textbook. If you want, like with the previous lessons, write 'と' 70 times and 'ど' 30 times. Memorize the shape, the stroke order, the sound, the pronunciation (echo the sound of the character each time you write it down), etc.

After you finish with that, write 'た', 'ち', ‘つ’, ‘て’, and 'と' one after each repetitively (た, ち, つ, て, と, た, ち, つ, て, と, etc.) 50 times (100 if you have time).

Finish! We finished the T Group! Let’s move on to N Group!

[Cheesus 6]

jeez kaoko. REALLY ADVANCED ON THE EXPLANATION!

[Officer Kaoko 142]

jeez kaoko. REALLY ADVANCED ON THE EXPLANATION!

Ah, really ? Thanks, but... what exactly do you mean ?

Which explanation? XD

[Tna Uchiha 23]

Kaoko-chan, thanks for listing me as a member

TO for anime characters maybe I could give some

Tomoyo Daidouji (Cardcaptor Sakura)

Kanji -> 大道寺 知世　/　ともよ だいどうじ (Tomoyo Daidouji)

Touya Kinomoto (Cardcaptor Sakura)

Kanji -> 桃矢 木之本　/　とおや きのもと (Tooya Kinomoto)

May it could be helpful

[conankoibito 21]

Can i be a student,too??

[Officer Kaoko 142]

Kaoko-chan, thanks for listing me as a member

TO for anime characters maybe I could give some

Tomoyo Daidouji (Cardcaptor Sakura)

Kanji -> 大道寺 知世　/　ともよ だいどうじ (Tomoyo Daidouji)

Touya Kinomoto (Cardcaptor Sakura)

Kanji -> 桃矢 木之本　/　とおや きのもと (Tooya Kinomoto)

May it could be helpful

Wow, Tna-chan... thanks a lot! But... I already did the 'to' lesson. And the 'to' character I chose was Tonton . But I really do appreciate your effort .

Can i be a student,too??

Of course you can . Anyone who are determined to learn Japanese are welcome to join !

You may want to follow us in Blogger -> http://japanese-ken.blogspot.com

And like us in Facebook -> http://www.facebook.com/pages/Japanese-Ken/145766895483785

Begin with our first lesson ! -> http://japanese-ken.blogspot.com/2011/01/introduction-to-japanese-characters.html

[conankoibito 21]

Can i join too..

i know few or moderate word or verbs like:

Suru,shitte,iru and arimasu..

Family calls like

Oniichan,oneechan,odou san and okasan

and other basic words like

kon'nichiwa,hajimemashite,kombanwa,otanjobi omedeto,omedeto gozaimasu,akemashite omedeto gozaimasu,and other basic basic and moderate words....

since i've learning how to be a VOICE ACTOR...

[conankoibito 21]

Tnx....^^

[Cheesus 6]

You know the characters?

[Tna Uchiha 23]

Wow, Tna-chan... thanks a lot! But... I already did the 'to' lesson. And the 'to' character I chose was Tonton . But I really do appreciate your effort .

Haha I've just come up with those two characters idea a little bit too late , すみません

So, the next lesson will begin with "Na"? Then you could use ナルトうずまき for the main character ~ but he's using katakana

Ja, I'll wait for the next lesson

[Kazu 8]

I think she is doing 平仮名 (Hiragana). ナ is a katakana. She may teach you な first. She won't use ナルト like in the manga. But she can use なると　like this picture:

[Tna Uchiha 23]

I think she is doing 平仮名 (Hiragana). ナ is a katakana. She may teach you な first. She won't use ナルト like in the manga. But she can use なると　like this picture:

Ah~ you meant narutomaki?

Well, well, Uzumaki Naruto I suggested just for main character of the topic lesson ( な ), like Tenten and Tonton before

[conankoibito 21]

Shalala itsuka kitTO,though it's from Naruto OP....(i don't know where it is)but it's titled Hotaru no Hikari(ホタルの光)

it depends on the explanation,though "と" is a used for quoting...

it is used as "if,when,and & with...

I have many learned from "TO" letter...^^

[Parkur 165]

<3 TenTen

[Cheesus 6]

GAWD DAMMIT PARKUR TENTEN IS TURRIBLE

[Parkur 165]

GAWD DAMMIT PARKUR TENTEN IS TURRIBLE

2 things

1. She's not terrible because she isn't you

2. This coming from a genta fan?

[Cheesus 6]

1) Probably one of the worst chars in Naruto

2) Yes.

[Kaitou1412 4]

omg what is this? Is this the official DCW page for learning/teaching Japanese? xD

and wow, Kaoko! : D

[tengaku squared 291]

omg what is this? Is this the official DCW page for learning/teaching Japanese? xD

and wow, Kaoko! : D

Not technically official yet...Kaoko has yet to edit the title.

Do you wish to join?