Topic: Learn Japanese

[UruseiNeo]

If anyone is interested in learning some Japanese, I can put what I've learn in this topic ^_^

But since I can't double post, people need to reply in order for me to post something new 


EVERYTHING COMES DIRECTLY FROM THE "GENKI" TEXTBOOK! I GIVE FULL CREDIT TO THE WRITERS:

Eri Banno
Yutaka Ohno
Yoko Sakane
Chikako Shinagawa

[cata]

You have my permission to double post in this specific thread. ^^

[UruseiNeo]

Last time I tried to double post, it wouldn't let me T_T

Lesson 1: Greetings

Ohayoo----------------------Good Morning
Ohayoo Gozaimasu-----------Good Morning (Polite)
Konnichiwa-------------------Good Afternoon
Konbanwa--------------------Good Evening
Sayoonara-------------------Good-Bye
Oyasuminasai-----------------Good Night

Arigatoo----------------------Thank You
Arigatoo Gozaimasu-----------Thankyou (Polite)

Sumimasen-------------------Excuse Me; I'm Sorry
Iie---------------------------No; Not at all

Ittekimasu--------------------I'll go and come back
Itterasshai--------------------Please go and come back
Tadaima----------------------I'm Home
Okaerinasai-------------------Welcome Home

Itadakimasu-------------------Thank you for the meal (Before Eating)
Gochisoosama-----------------Thank you for the meal (After Eating)

Hajimemashite-----------------How do you do?
Doozo Yoroshiku---------------Nice to meet you

(Once I see people using these enough, I'll post the next bit)

[DarkDevil]

Very good.

[FallinG_StaR]

Konbanwa...

... I tought you where gonna teach how to read Kanji or something like that... XD

Ittekimasu... XD

[UruseiNeo]

I can't read Kanji, and I dun know Katana quite yet. I can read Hiragana fine... but I don't know how to type it so I can't.

[FallinG_StaR]

Tadaima... XD

Ok... no problem... just keep them coming... I see that Dark likes it... XD

I'm leaving again... Ittekimasu... XD

Oh... btw, спасибо за все ваши хлопоты

[UruseiNeo]

wtf is that?

[FallinG_StaR]

LoL... Russian... meaning... Thank you for your trouble... LoL

I didnt find it in japanese... so I went with russian... XD

[UruseiNeo]

what's the easiest way to type Hiragana?

[FallinG_StaR]

I don't know... maybe... Copy paste... XD

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiragana

[veehive]

what's the easiest way to type Hiragana?

Buy a Japanese keyboard.  :laugh: :?

Barring the couple-hundred-dollar investment in one of those, have the Japanese Language Pack installed (if it isn't already) and enable it with these instructions: http://greggman.com/japan/xp-ime/xp-ime.htm  It's a PITA to use but it gives you access to kanji and both 'kana.

(thought I posted this before ...?)

[UruseiNeo]

Updated in Japanese characters (this thing is pretty cool ^_^)

おはよう。----------------------Ohayoo----------------------Good Morning
おはようございます。--------------Ohayoo Gozaimasu-----------Good Morning (Polite)
こんいちは。--------------------Konnichiwa-------------------Good Afternoon
こんばんは。--------------------Konbanwa--------------------Good Evening
さよおなら。---------------------Sayoonara-------------------Good-Bye
おやすみなさい。----------------Oyasuminasai-----------------Good Night

ありがとう。--------------------Arigatoo----------------------Thank You
ありがとうございます。-----------Arigatoo Gozaimasu------------Thankyou (Polite)

すみません。-------------------Sumimasen-------------------Excuse Me; I'm Sorry
いいえ。-----------------------Iie---------------------------No; Not at all

いってきます。------------------Ittekimasu--------------------I'll go and come back
いってらっしゃい。---------------Itterasshai--------------------Please go and come back
ただいま。---------------------Tadaima----------------------I'm Home
おかえりなさい。----------------Okaerinasai-------------------Welcome Home

いただきます。-----------------Itadakimasu-------------------Thank you for the meal (Before Eating)
ごちそうさま。------------------Gochisoosama-----------------Thank you for the meal (After Eating)

はじめまして。-----------------Hajimemashite-----------------How do you do?
どうぞよろしく。-----------------Doozo Yoroshiku---------------Nice to meet you

[DarkDevil]

can't see the characters.

[FallinG_StaR]

I can... but, doesn't help me at all... XD
Unless I have a very good photographic memory... to memorise all that words in Japanese writing

[dak]

i agreed with you in this sir FallinG, especial with someone who have bad memory like me

[UruseiNeo]

I'm gonna post the Hiragana translations here:

　　　あ　　　     ã„　　　     ã†ã€€ã€€ã€€     ãˆã€€ã€€ã€€     ãŠã€€
     a            i            u           e           o

　　　か　　　     ãã€€ã€€ã€€     ãã€€     ã€€ã€€ã‘　     ã€€ã€€ã“
     ka          ki          ku          ke          ko

　　　さ　　     ã€€ã—　　     ã€€ã™ã€€ã€€     ã€€ã›ã€€ã€€     ã€€ã
　　　sa        shi          su          se          so

　　　た　　    　ち　　      　つ　     ã€€ã€€ã¦ã€€ã€€     ã€€ã¨
     ta         chi          tsu        te           to

　　　な　　     ã€€ã«ã€€ã€€     ã€€ã¬ã€€     ã€€ã€€ã­ã€€ã€€     ã€€ã®
     na          ni          nu          ne          no
 
　　　は　　     ã€€ã²ã€€ã€€     ã€€ãµã€€     ã€€ã€€ã¸ã€€     ã€€ã€€ã»
     ha          hi          fu           he          ho

　　　ま　　     ã€€ã¿ã€€ã€€     ã€€ã‚€ã€€ã€€     ã€€ã‚ã€€ã€€     ã€€ã‚‚
     ma         mi          mu         me         mo

　　　や　　　          　 　　　ゆ　　　　　          　　よ
     ya                Â       yu                Â      yo
 
　　　ら　     ã€€ã€€ã‚Šã€€     ã€€ 　る　　     ã€€ã‚Œã€€     ã€€ã€€ã‚
     ra          ri          Â  ru          re          ro

　　　わ　　　　　　　                     ã€€ã€€ã€€ã€€ã€€ã€€ã€€ã€€ã‚’
     wa                                              wo
 
ã‚“
n

[cata]

This thread is quite useful! ^^ I already use frequently some words you posted UruseiNeo. That's why sometimes people are like: "wtf you just said? portuguese please... we're not crazy as you... --' "

xD

Domo arigatoo UruseiNeo-kun.

[UruseiNeo]

and now for the first "Dialogue".

Mary, an international student who just arrived in Japan, talks to a Japanese student.

（１）

メアリー： 　すみません。　いま なんじですか。
Mearii     Sumimasen. Ima nanji desu ka.

たけし：　　 じゅうにじはんです。
Takeshi   Juuniji han desu.

メアリー：　 ありがとう　ございます。
Mearii     Arigatoo gozaimasu.

たけし：　　 いいえ。
Takeshi    Iie.

（２）

たけし：　 　あの、　りゅうがくせいですか。
Takeshi  Ano,   ryuugakusee desu ka.

メアリー：　ええ。　アリゾナだいがくのがくせえです。
Mearii    Ee.    Arizona daigaku no gakusee desu.

たけし：　　 そうですか。　せんもんは　なんですか。
Takeshi   So desu ka. Senmon wa nan desu ka.

メアリー：　にほんごです。　いま　にねんせいです。
Mearii    Nihongo desu. Ima ninensee desu.
------------------------------------------------------------
Translation:

(1)

Mary: Excuse me. What time is it now?

Takeshi: It's half past twelve.

Mary: Thank you.

Takeshi: You're welcome.

(2)

Takeshi: Um... are you an international student?

Mary: Yes. I am a student at the University of Arizona.

Takeshi: I see. What is your major?

Mary: Japanese. I am a sophomore (2nd year) now.

[cata]

Can you explain to me one thing UruseiNeo? =S How does a dialogue like this one help us when "newbies" to Japanese don't know the meaning of all those words. Almost every word is new to them so they would spend a long time using the dictionary. =S

[Shutaro]

Japanese isn't really something i'm good at, but I do know all the Hiragana and Katakana and the first 100 Kanji.

To perfect my Hiragana and Katakana I used this

http://www.gyford.com/japanese/

[UruseiNeo]

Can you explain to me one thing UruseiNeo? =S How does a dialogue like this one help us when "newbies" to Japanese don't know the meaning of all those words. Almost every word is new to them so they would spend a long time using the dictionary. =S

I had put the translation after the dialogue. Now, I DON'T expect you to learn or memorize any of that. This dialogue is just to show everyone what you should be able to say after this first lesson.

Japanese isn't really something i'm good at, but I do know all the Hiragana and Katakana and the first 100 Kanji.

To perfect my Hiragana and Katakana I used this

http://www.gyford.com/japanese/

Thanks, this will be a good site to use for character practice ^_^
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay so I'm given you the greetings, I've given you a dialogue example. Now I'm gonna give you the vocabulary for this lesson. Each lesson has it's own set of vocabulary, this one has a page of "additional vocabulary" but I'll do that later.

After the vocabulary, we can finally start the GRAMMAR section. This is the part that teaches you how to put words together, this is the part you want. So hurry up and post so I can give you the grammar ^_^

たんご(Vocabulary)


あの                              ano                                 um...

いま                            ima                                  now

えいご                          eego                                English (Language)

ええ                             ee                                    yes

がくせい                        gakusee                             student

～ご                           ...go                                 language ex. にほんご
                                                                       (Nihongo) Japanese Language


こうこう                         kookoo                               high school

ごご                            gogo                                 P.M.

ごぜん                         gozen                                A.M.

～さい                         ...sai                                 ...years old

～さん                       ...san                                 Mr./Ms. ...

～じ                           ...ji                                   o'clock ex. いちじ　(ichiji) one
                                                                        o'clock

～じん                        ...jin                                  people ex. にほんじん
                                                                       (nihonjin) Japanese People


せんせい                    sensee                               teacher; Professor...

せんもん                     senmon                              major

そうです                     soo desu                            That's right.

だいがく                     daigaku                              college; university

でんわ                      denwa                               telephone

ともだち                     tomodachi                          friend

なまえ                      namae                                name

なん/なに                  nan/nani                             what

にほん                     nihon                                 Japan

～ねんせい                ...nensee                           ...year student ex. いちねんせい
                                                                    (ichinensee) first-year student


はい                       hai                                    yes

はん                      han                                    half ex. にじはん (nijihan) half
                                                                    past two

ばんごう                 bangoo                                number

りゅうがくせい           ryuugakusee                        international student

わたし                    watashi                               I

[FallinG_StaR]

Hmm... Sorry but can you make the hiragana... bigger when you post... cause its to small...

Keep it up... I want more... XD

[UruseiNeo]

K, I attempted to make it bigger. It kinda displaced the alignment of the translations. Can someone tell me how to us the table feature? I can't figure it out.

Now, keep in mind that currently you do not need to know the Hiragana. We're focusing on the words in Romanji first.

---------------------------------------------------------

GRAMMAR 1


(1) X　は　Y　です

"It is 12:30." "I am a student." "My major is the Japanese language." These sentences will all be translated into Japanese using an appropriate noun and the word desu.

                  [～です。    It is...]

   じゅうにじはんです。   (It) is half past twelve.
   ^{Juuniji han desu.}

   がくせいです。         (I) am a student.
   ^{Gakusee desu.}

   にほんごです。        (My major) is the Japanese language.
   ^{Nihongo desu.}


Note that none of these sentences has a "subject," like the "it," "I," and "my major" found in their English counterparts. Sentences without subjects are very common in Japanese; Japanese speakers actually tend to omit subjects whenever they think it is clear to the listener what or who they are referring to.

What are we to do, then, when it is not clear what is being talked about? To make explicit what we are talking about we can say:

   ______は　にほんごです。   _______is the Japanese language.
              ^{wa  nihongo desu.}


Where _____ stands for the thing that is talked about, or the "topic," which is later in the sentence identified as nihongo. For example,

   せんもんは　にほんごです。   (My) major is the Japanese language.
  ^{Senmon　wa  nihongo desu.}

Similarly, one can use the pattern X wa Y desu to identify a person or thing X as an item Y.

       [X は Y です。  X is Y. As for X, it is Y]

                _{す う  ï¼Šãã‚€}
   わたしは　スー＊キメです。　　　　　　　　　I am Sue Kim.　
   Watashi wa   Suu    Kimu desu.

   (Normally you put a dot between first and last names but I can't find the right key so ima gonna use a ＊ ^_^)

   やましたさんは　せんせえです。           Mr. Yamashita is a teacher.
   Yamashita san wa     sensee desu.

   _{めありい}　　　　_{あめりか}
   メアリーさん　アメリカじんです。            Mary is an American.
   Mearii san wa     amerikajin desu.

Wa is a member of the class of words called "particles." So is the word no, which we will turn to later in this lesson. Particles attach themselves to phrases and indicate how the phrases relate to the rest of the sentence.

Note also that nouns like gakusee and sensee in the above examples stand alone, unlike their English translations "student" and "teacher," which are preceded by "a." In Japanese, there is no item that corresponds to "a," nor is there any item that corresponds to the plural "-s" at the end of a noun. Without background situations, a sentence like gakusee desu is therefore ambiguous between the singular and the plural interpretations; it may mean "We are/you are/they are students," as well as "I am/you are/she is a student."

[cata]

Grammar! This is what I need! ^^ Domo arigatoo! I suggest that you organize the vocabulary better like when you were reffering to hours and minutes you could have put it together instead of putting a few words between them.

[UruseiNeo]

I'm just copying the text book word for word.
PS: normally you don't put spaces between Hiragana, only for separating sentences in hiragana. I only do it so it's easier to match with the romanji below it.
----------------------------------------------------

(2) Question Sentences

It is very easy to form questions in Japanese. Basically, all you need to do is add ka at the end of a statement.


　　りゅうがくせいです。             (I am) and international student.
     ryuugakusee desu.

　　りゅうがくせいですか。^*1       (Are you) and international student?
     ryuugakusee desu     ka.

The above sentence, Ryuugakusee desu ka, is a "yes/no" question. Question sentences may also contain a "question word" like nan^*2 (what). In this lesson, we learn how to ask, and answer, questions using the following question words: nanji (what time), nansai (how old), nannensee (what year in school). Note carefully that the order of words in a sentence may be quite different from what you find in your language.

   ã›ã‚“もんは　なんですか。　　　　　　   ã€€ã€€ã€€ï¼ˆã›ã‚“もんは）　えいごです。
    Senmon wa        nan desu ka.                              (Senmon wa)        eego desu.
   What is your major?                    (My major) is English.


　　いま　なんじですか。　　　　　　　　　   ã€€ã€€ï¼ˆã„ま）　くじです。
    Ima     nanji desu ka.                                       (Ima)     kuji desu.
   What time is it now?                  It is nine o'clock.

　　_{めありい}
   ãƒ¡ã‚¢ãƒªãƒ¼ã•ã‚“は　なんさいですか。　   ã€€ã€€ã€€ã˜ã‚…うきゅうさいです。
    Mearii san wa        nansai desu ka.                         Juukyuusai     desu.
   How old are you, Mary?             I'm nineteen years old.


   ãªã‚“ねんせいですか。　　　　　　   ã€€   ã€€ã€€ã«ã­ã‚“せいです。
       Nannensee desu ka.                                             Ninensee desu.
   What year are you in college?     I'm a sophpmore (2nd year)


   ã§ã‚“わばんごうは　なんですか。　　　　  　１８６の７３４３です。
    Denwa bangoo wa      nan desu ka.                   Ichi hachi roku no nana san yon san desu.

   What is your telephone number?   It is 186-7343.



*1 It is not customary to write a question mark at the end of a question sentence in Japanese.
*2 The Japanese question word for "what" has two pronunciations: nan and nani. Nan is used immediately before desu or before a "counter" like ji (o'clock). The other form, nani, is used before a particle. Nani is also used in the combination nanijin (person of what nationality).

[cata]

Keep up the lessons, sensei.

[UruseiNeo]

(3)Noun₁のNoun₂

No is a particle that connects two nouns. The phrase Toozai daigaku no gakusee means "(a) student at Tozai University." The second noun gakusee provides the main idea^*3 (being a student) and the first one Toozai daigaku makes it more specific (not a high school, but a college student). No is very versatile. In the first example below, it acts like the possessive ("x's") in English, but that is not the only role no can play. See how it connects two nouns in the following examples.

  たけしさんの　でんわばんごう　　　　　　　　Takeshi's phone number
   Takeshi san no   denwa bangoo

   ã ã„がくの　せんせい                       a college professor
    daigaku no      sensee

   ã«ã»ã‚“ごの　がくせい                       a student of the Japanese language

    nihongo no      gakusee

   ã‚“ほんの　だいがく                          a college in Japan
    nihon no        daigaku

Observe that in the first two examples, the English and Japanese words are arranged in the same order, while in the last two, they are in the opposite order. Japanese seems to be more consistent in arranging ideas here; the main idea always comes at the end, with any further description placed before it.

         Noun₁  の  Noun ₂
            ^            ^
             |             |
             |          Main idea
     further description

A phrase of the form "noun₁ no noun₂" acts more or less like one big noun. You can put it wherever you can put a noun, as in the following example:

[ たけしさんの　おかあさん ]　は　[ こうこうの　せんせい ]　です。
Takeshi san no        okaasan            wa       kookoo no      sensee          desu.
Takeshi's mother is a high school teacher.


*3 Here is what we mean by the "main idea." In the phrase Takeshi san no denwa bangoo (Takeshi's phone number), the noun denwa bangoo (phone number) is the main idea, in the sense that if something is Takeshi's phone number, it is a phone number. The other noun Takeshi san is not the main idea, because Takeshi's phone number is not Takeshi.

[FallinG_StaR]

Yay... I can read hiragana... (most of it at least... still miss a few... too many look likes)

... Now comes the hard part... understanding what I'm reading LoL

Btw, can you put the variations that some hiragana get... like when they add the " and º

[UruseiNeo]

Like I said, the Hiragana is not important jut yet. I'll put the additional Hiragana up later.

[FallinG_StaR]

Ok... Thanks...

[UruseiNeo]

In regards to "uchi" and "datcha" :

uchi, the word Lum uses to refer to herself (instead of watashi I guess), actually means "home" or "house" or my home/ my house.

datcha: U already know that at the end of most sentences is "desu." Well in normal conversation, "datcha" basically replaces desu. You shouldn't use "datcha" in polite conversation. Also datcha is usually used by people from a certain part of japan (I think, that's what my teacher said, I'm kinda iffy on the details. There are other types of replacements)

She also said that the short form of desu would be "de/da" (didn't know which she mean XD)

Funny, everyone time a Japanese person sees my UY shirt, they know almost immediately that its Lum. I wonder if there are any japanese people who DON'T know UY?

I'm gonna post the exercises later, thing is I JUST got back from 3 hours of Japanese ^_^

[DarkDevil]

Interesting.

[veehive]

Very True.

[UruseiNeo]

PRACTICE

(1) Numbers

0　　ゼロ/れい
      zero   ree

1　　いち
      ichi

2　　に
      ni

3　　さん
      san

4　　よん/し/（よ）
      yon   shi   (yo)

5　　ご
      go

6　　ろく
      roku

7　　なな/しち
      nana   shichi

8　　はち
      hachi

9　　きゅう/く
      kyuu   ku

10　　じゅう
        juu

11　　じゅういち
        juuichi

12　　じゅうに
        juuni

13　　じゅうさん
        juusan

14　　じゅうよん/じゅうし
        juuyon      juushi

15　　じゅうご
        juugo

16　　じゅうろく
        juuroku

17　　じゅうなな/じゅうしち
        juunana      juushichi

18　　じゅうはち
        juuhachi

19　　じゅうきゅう/じゅうく
        juukyuu      juuku

20　　にじゅう
        nijuu

30　　さんじゅう
        sanjuu

40　　よんじゅう
        yonjuu

50　　ごじゅう
        gojuu

60　　ろくじゅう
        rokujuu

70　　ななじゅう
        nanajuu

80　　はちじゅう
        hachijuu

90　　きゅうじゅう
        kyuujuu

100　ひゃく
        hyaku

Just a small note, don't worry about the numbers with multiple translations. Just use the first one given for now.
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A. Write the following numbers in Romanji (ABC not Hiragana)

  (a) 5   (b) 9  (c) 7  (d) 1  (e) 10

  (f) 8   (g) 2   (h) 6  (i) 4   (j) 3

B. Write the following numbers in Romanji

  (a) 45  (b) 83  (c) 19  (d) 76  (e) 52

  (f) 100 (g) 38  (h) 61  (i) 24   (j) 97

C. What are the answers?

(a) 5+3     (b) 9+1     (c) 3+4     (d) 6-6     (e) 10+9     (f) 8-7     (g) 40-25



Note: I actually DID skip two things which I plan going over a little after the practice. I posted the Practice early cause it was highly requested. ^_^

[veehive]

'Neo asked for a post (so he could continue): c'est la.

What is the name of the text you use in your class, 'Neo (and the name of the author/authors)?

And, finally (I've been saving these up): you don't know how lucky you are, 'Neo, finding a class for learning Japanese. I've been looking locally and have found NOTHING . Frustrating, very very frustrating :mad:. The closest I have found (so far) would be at Kent State University (yes, the famous "four-dead-in-o-hi-o" Kent State U), a 120-mile (200Km) round trip. I cannot afford that!!

[UruseiNeo]

The book is called "An integrated course in elementary japanese Genki I" or something like that. There are 4 names listed:
Eri Banno, Yutaka Ohno, Yoko Sakane, and Chikako Shinagawa.
---------------------------------------------------------------

Expression Notes 1

おはよう/ありがとう ＞ Ohayoo is used between friends and family members, while ohayoo gozaimasu is used between less intimate acquaintances, similarly with arigatoo and arigatoo gozaimasu. The rule of thumb is: if you are on a first-name basis with someone, go for the shorter versions. If you would address someone as Mr. or Ms., use the longer versions. To give a concrete example, the social expectation is such that students are to use the longer variants when they speak with a professor.

さようなら ＞ There are several good-bye expressions in Japanese, the choice among which depends on the degree separation. Sayoonara indicates that the speaker does not expect to see the person spoken to before she “turns a page in her life”; not until a new day arrives, or until fate brings the two together again, or until they meet again in the other world.

　　じゃあ、また。        Jaa, mata.
　　(Between friends, expecting to see each other again fairly soon.)
　　[Note, I never really use this one.]

　　しつれいします。    Shitsureeshimasu.
　　(taking leave from a professor’s office, for example.

　　いってきます。        Ittekimasu.
　　(leaving home)



すみません ＞ Sumimasen means (1) “Excuse me,” to get another person’s attention, (2) “I’m sorry,” to apologize for the trouble you have caused, or (3) “Thank you,” to show appreciation for what someone has done for you.

いいえ ＞ Iie is primarily “No,” a negative reply to a question. In the dialogue, it is used to express the English phrase “Don’t mention it,” or “You’re welcome,” with which you point out that one is not required to feel obliged for what you have done for them.
[Basically it’s a reply to sumimasen, is what they are trying to say]

いってらっしゃい / いってきます / ただいま / おかえりなさい ＞ Ittekimasu and itterasshai is a common exchange used at home when a family member leaves. The person who leaves say ittekimasu, which literally means “I will go and come back.” And the family members respond with itterasshai, which means “Please go and come back.”
   Tadaima and okaeri are used when a person comes home, The person who arrives home says tadaima (I am home right now) to the family members, and they respond with okaerinasai (Welcome home).


Expression Notes 2

あの ＞ Ano indicates that you have some reservations about saying what you are going to say next. You may be worried about interrupting something someone is currently doing, or sounding rude and impolite for asking personal questions, for example.

じゃい / ええ ＞ Both hai and ee mean “yes” in response to yes-no questions. Compared to hai, ee is more conversational and relaxed. In more informal situations, un is used.
   Hai is also used to respond to a knock at the door or to the calling of one’s name, meaning “Here,” as follows. (Ee cannot be replaced in this case.)

　　　　      ã™ã¿ã™
   Teacher: スミスさん？    Mr. Smith?
                Sumisu san?

   Student: はい。                 Here.
                 Hai.

そうですか ＞ Soo desu ka acknowledges that you have understood what was just said “Is that so?” or “I see.”

Pronunciation of は ＞ The particle はis pronounced “wa,” not “ha.” It should be written with は. All other instances of “wa” are written with わ.

   わたしの　でんわばんごうは　３７－８６６７です。
   Watashi no denwa bangoo wa san nana no hachi roku roku nana desu.
    My telephone number is 37-8667.

There are a few exceptions, such as konnichiwa (good afternoon) and konbanwa (good evening). They are usually written with こんいちは and こんばんは.

Numbers ＞ Many number words have more than one pronunciation.

       ぜろ
   0　ゼロ [zero]　and  ã‚Œã„ [ree] are both commonly used.
  
   1　いち [ichi], but pronounced as  ã„っ in いっぷん [ippun] (one minute) and　いっちい [issai] (one-year old).

   2　に [ni] all the time. When you are reading out each digit separately, as when you give your phone number, it may be pronounced with a long vowel, as にい [nii]

   3　さん [san]   all the time. The part that follows it may change shape, as inさんぷん [sanpun-three minutes], instead of  ã•ã‚“ふん [sanhun].

   4　よん [yon] is the most basic, but forth-year student is よねんせい [yonensee] and four o’clock is よじ [yoji]. In some combinations that we will later learn, it is read as 　し [shi] (as in しがつ [shigatsu], April). The part that follows this number may change shape too, as in よんぷん [yonpun] (Four minutes).

   5　ご [go] all the time. When read out separately, it may be pronounced with a long vowel, as ごう [goo].
  
   6　ろく [roku], but pronounced as ろっ in ろっぷん [roppun].

   7　なな [nana] is the most basic, but seven o’clock is しちじ [shichiji].

   8　はち [hachi], but usually pronounced as はっ in はっぷん [happun](8 minutes) and はっさい [hassai] (8 years old).

   9　きゅう [kyuu] is the most basic, but nine o’clock is くじ [kuji].

10   ã˜ã‚…う [juu], but pronounced as  ã˜ã‚…っ in  ã˜ã‚…っぷん [juppun] (ten minutes)  and じゅっさい [jussai] (10 years old).

Giving one’s telephone number ＞ The particle no is usually placed in between the local exchange code and the last four digits. Therefore, the number 012-345-6789 is zero ichi ni, san yon go no, roku nana hachi kyuu.

せんせい ＞ The word sensee is usually reserved for describing somebody else’s occupation. Watashi wa sensee desu makes sense, but may sound slightly arrogant, because the word sensee actually means an “honorable master.” If you (or a member of your family) are a teacher, and if you want to be really modest, you can use the word kyooshi instead.

さん ＞ San is placed after a name as a generic title. It goes both with a given name and a family name. Children are referred to as chan (and boys in particular as kun), rather than san. Professors and doctors are usually referred to with the title sensee. San and other title words are never used in reference to oneself.
[I think they are leaving some details out in this area… but until otherwise said, we’re stuck following these rules]

Referring to the person you are talking to ＞ The word for “you,” anata, is not very commonly used in Japanese. Instead, we use the name and a title like san and sensee to refer to the person you are talking to. Therefore, a sentence like “Ms. Hart, are you Swedish?” should be:


　  ã¯ã‚と　　        ã€€ã™ãˆãˆã§ã‚“
   ハートさんはスウェーデンじんですか。
   Haato san wa sueedenjin desu ka.
　　　　　　　     　  ã¯ã‚と　　　　    ã€€         　　　すええでん　　　　
        Instead of 　 ハアトさん、あなたは　スウェーデンじんですか。
                          Haato san, anata wa sueedinjin desu ka.

Japanese names ＞ When Japanese give their names, they say their family name first and given name last. Usually, they don’t have middle names. When they introduce themselves, they often say only their family name.

----------------------------------------------------
The next excercise will take place in the SPEAK JAPANESE topic!!!!

[PrincessJenni]

thanks these expressions are really helpful

[veehive]

Here's a demonic little game to help learn the color names in Japanese. I've posted the link to the English-language version (as I am a lazy mono-language Uh-murr-uh-kin) (gomen nasai).

http://www.excite-webtl.jp/world/english/web/?wb_url=http%3A%2F%2Fflashfabrica.com%2Ff%5Flearning%2Fbrain3%2Fbrain03.html&wb_lp=JAEN&wb_dis=2

Remember -- you have to match the JAPANESE NAME of the color with the displayed "problem" color. Your score is given in Brain Age (lower is better).

Ganbatte!

[UruseiNeo]

I remember some time ago someone explained how to set your computer to allow u to type japanese characters (I dunno if it was this topic or another, cant be sure).

Well right now I need to know how to undo whatever I did some time ago cause one of my windows only comes up in japanese characters (can't read it all)

[cata]

Janus is the right person to help you with that!

[Kroptik]

Which Windows do you have? Vista, XP, or 7?

If by any chance you have Vista, try this:
- Open your control panel
- Open regional and language options
- In the administration tab, click on change system's region (give admin permission)
- Change it to your country, press OK, and agree it restart your computer

It should be fine now.

[UruseiNeo]

No Vista, Windows XP

XP