tG: Teaching Me Japanese

[the General]

So this shall be the first topic here I guess. Yeah like the title says I want to learns japanese.

[Noah Ivaldi]

I dunno' much, but I'll teach a little.
nasai = good, pleasant, pleasing, happy, happily, excited(ly), very, joyful, et cetera
oyasumi = night
gomen = apology
saihate = farewell
sayonara = goodbye
wakatta = [informal] I understand
wakarimasu = [formal] I understand
wakarimasen = I don't understand
tadai ima = I'm back
okairi = return
no = of
chotto = hey
fuji = apple

Gomen nasai. = I'm very sorry.
Okairi nasai. = Welcome back.
Oyasumi nasai. = Good night.
K: I said, "Oyasumi nasai."
Daniel: Gezundheit.
K: It means, "Good night."
Daniel: Oh. Wait, how?
K: -explains what's above-
Daniel: So, basically, it's "nighttime yay!"?
K: Haha, yeah, pretty much.

[the General]

Arigato gizaimasu

That by the wya means thank you very much.

Hmmm. This is gonna be a hard language to learn.

[Noah Ivaldi]

No, "arigatou gozaimasu" = "thank you very much". Close, though.

Well, yeah. I think that it's something like the third or fourth hardest in the world.

[the General]

And once I learn it onto german.

[K]

Good luck with that.
ja = later
ne = you
mata ato de ne = talk to you later
minna = all
na = much, very, et cetera

[the General]

Anata kawaiii Wa desu is something like you are cute
Nanimo is nothing
Kokoro is heart
Shougun is general
Kakarot is carrot

[K]

kawaii = cute
desu = so
wa = am/is/are
anata = butterfly/honey/sweertheart/darling
komoro = heart/mind
masuta = master

[the General]

Anata mean "you"
And it is kokoro

[K]

It only means "you" in an affectionate connotation, thus the definition that I gave.
Yeah, that was a typo.
sensou = war
kore or koi = love
boku = I am
watashi = I am [more feminine, though not totally restricted from straight guys]

Keep in mind that many words have a bunch of definitions. For instance, I once looked "mai" up because I had heard that it meant "little sister". I read a list of its definitions. It looked like a grocery list, which made me REALLY comfortable with the fact that it did indeed mean "little sister", as well. Now, we know how Japanese families are made. -facedesks-

[the General]

I see I have a lot to learn. Oh and Oriawai is the informal wasy to say I am

[Bianca]

I know very simple words...and thank you for the lesson, K. And the General, the very word "I" is different because it changes depending on your a) gender, b) familiarlity with the person/people you're speaking to and c) age/maturity.

So for example, "watashi" is used by both males and females and is polite, for example, meeting someone for the first time. But the two words "Boku" and "Ore" can only be used by males. "Boku" is used more for a) a person you are familiar with like a friend you talk to often enough and b) younger males, like young adult to older teenagers. "Ore" is used to a) show superiority over person/people you are talking to [like if you were talking to younger children who you wish for them to see you as an adult] b) casually to a very good friend, such as a male best friend or even c) to sound rude or obnoxious... many young males often switch "Boku" with "Ore" to show others that they are now at of an age of men where they wish to be taken very seriously.

This is the reason why you must be careful in the way you address others, for they could get the wrong impression before they even have a full conversation with you..."watashi" is the best way, while being careful with "ore". I suppose the best way to practice is actually understand phrases. So the General, why don't you try to introduce yourself? The phrase "Watashi wa _____ desu" is a common, polite, textbook way to introduce yourself. I'll break the words down for you:

watashi = I (with polite unisex way to say it),
wa = is sort of a subject indicator, where you are the subject,
_____ is for your name
desu = is literally "am" or to be something, for either yourself or others

"Watashi wa Shougun desu." (taking that shougun does mean "general", since I do not know this myself.)

Also, there is no such thing as "the" in Japanese, so you would have to leave it out...

Another way to start is to begin with numbers...once you get the pattern and practice you'll get it easy. Just for reference, I will place them all in here, with both the actual romanji spelling and how you would pronounce it in brackets.

Zero = rei [rei]
One = iti [ee-chi]
Two = ni [ni]
Three = san [san]
Four = si [si]
Five = roku [roku]
Six = go [go]
Seven = siti [see-chi] (like 'one' but with an s in front)
Eight = hati [hAt-chi]
Nine = ku [ku]
Ten = zyuu [ju]

Good luck.

[K]

@G: ^ What she said.

@Bianca: You're very welcome, and thank you for that clarification. While I did know most of that, some of those details were more than a bit foggy, so I'm glad that you cleared them up for me. ^_^

@Bill and others: By the way, you'll notice that she said that "watashi" is largely a unisex and polite term. She's entirely right, and that goes with what I was getting to. It fits the classic societal interpretation of women and should not be overused by either sex, but particularly by men. That's not to say that men are to be rude, but (as she said) the terms are used primarily depending on one's social status and sex (which, classically, were strongly related, as you know), so a respectable man should use the appropriate terms. I'm probably doing a shitty job of explaining it, but someone may get something from that...

Reference that no one will get: Ore wa John Smith!

[Bianca]

Yes I wholeheartedly agree with the "watashi" term...it's very common for Japanese males to start using "boku" not too long after using "watashi" with the people that they're speaking to. However it's much less common with a female as it could be said as almost rude or unladylike.

Though I know a lot of comedians like to use "boku" right when they start their skit, because they want to show familiarity with the audience.

[K]

Huh, how'd you edit that without the little edit counter . . .? I thought that only site admins could do that . . .

Yeah, an eastern shougun is basically the equivalent of a western general, although I would not call that a translation. Sure, the ranks are very similar, but they're not the same thing, not the same word in two different languages. Close, but no cigar.

Ah, that last part makes sense. That sounds familiar, too, though I'm not sure from where . . . I want to say that I read it on a comment on a YT vid of an Eager Love Revenge song, but that's a shot in the dark.