Jun's Progress on Japanese 1
Not too long ago I've started to learn Japanese using a game for the NDS called "My Japanese Coach".
It's a good (maybe a bit slow) but also fun way to learn Japanese. (The minigames are addictive)
So now I'm here to share what I've learned and to give as much details as possible. Though I'm sure that a lot of people know much more than I do, this could be useful for those who consider to learn Japanese and I was also hoping that I would be able to learn something from the readers.
I'm going to cover the first lesson from the game.
I'm currently at lesson 17. (Just mastered all hiragana characters)
If anything is wrong, feel free to comment and correct me.
These are the words you'll get when you start the first lesson.
They didn't mention on how to use them or anything else on this one, so instead I'll make some notes about them.
(English - Romaji - Hiragana)
good - ii - いい
bad - dame - だめ
yes - hai - はい
no - iie - いいえ
hello - konnichiwa - こんにちは
goodbye - sayonara - さよなら
this - kore - これ
that - sore - それ
thank you - arigatou - ありがとう
I (formal) - watashi - わたし
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I've heard that it's rude to say "iie" to other people under certain conditions.
It seems that you should only use this when "talking" to yourself or objects or
Instead, you have to use "chigaimasu" which also means "no, that's not true, it ain't like that".
Or sometimes I hear people (in anime) say "chigau".
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Depending on the context, saying "iie" isn't always rude. It can actually be polite.(quoted from ahbonk's comment)
For example, if someone praises you or thanks you, saying "iie" is the way to go. It's to show that you're humble and you don't truly deserve the appreciation or praise.
"Nihongo, umaku natta ne." - "You have become better in Japanese."
"Iie, sonna koto nai yo. Mada mada da." - "No such thing! I still have a long way to go."
"Kite kurete arigatou!" - "Thanks for coming!"
"Iie." - "No problem."
Also, raise your right palm facing left to your neck level and wave them left and right for full effect :)
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The last character used for "konnichiwa" is は which is "ha".
This is most likely because it used to be "konnichi wa", but they kept the "ha" in it.
"wa" is a particle that is written as "ha".
"kore" and "sore" can only be used when you say "this is" or "that is".
If you want to add a person or an object after "this" or "that" ("this person, that person") you need to use "kono" or "sono" instead. ("kono hito, sono hito")
"sore wa ie desu" (that is a house)
"sore wa kirei desu" (that is pretty)
"sono ie wa kirei desu" (that house is pretty)
LOL I'm also playing that game.
Keep it up!! I'm at lesson 19 at this moment btw :P
I played that game a few months back but left it cause I was kinda too lazy to continue it ^^" Will go back to play it once I have time :3 And i'm part of the "I'm Japanese group", better know my own language lol ^^"
Depending on the context, saying "iie" isn't always rude. It can actually be polite.
For example, if someone praises you or thanks you, saying "iie" is the way to go. It's to show that you're humble and you don't truly deserve the appreciation or praise.
"Nihongo, umaku natta ne." - "You have become better in Japanese."
"Iie, sonna koto nai yo. Mada mada da." - "No such thing! I still have a long way to go."
"Kite kurete arigatou!" - "Thanks for coming!"
"Iie." - "No problem."
Also, raise your right palm facing left to your neck level and wave them left and right for full effect :)
Just to add, saying "u-un" to replace "iie" can make it more casual.
And no one says the full "doitashimashite" these days. "Iie" or something to that effect is mostly used.
Pardon me if I'm wrong but "sore wa kirei na desu" and "sono ie wa kirei na desu" sounds weird.
Which part? I think you don't need to use "na" in those sentences. Sure, "kirei" is "na-adjective", but it's not necessary to use them in these formats.
yupyup tamerchris is right
na-adjectives only end with "na" when u're describing an object directly after it ("sore wa kirei na ie desu") or some other grammar constructs.
but if you end a sentence, the "na" is to be taken out.
that's goood it lokks like your on your way to fluently read, write, speak japanese :)
(makes me envious lol)
oh this is good ^w^
the reason why I learned Japanese is to understand anime without subs ^w^ and also to understand the anime songs which I really really like (even at times I don't understand them) XD
now that I'm somewhat capable of understanding japan moon speak - I like it even more ^w^
いいえ is not rude - I use it all the time XD
Ah thx for all those comments, it seems more complicated than I thought xD.
So instead of "sore wa kirei na desu" you have to say "sore wa kirei desu" ?
iie is not rude depending on how you use it?
That is correct. ^^
Yupyup that's right :)
I'm also studying Japanese here in Tokyo. Been a year already.
Isshoni ganbarou!
Let's do our best indeed.
I might be going to Tokyo next summer holidays. :D (For the first time)
There's a start, good work. I studied Japanese last year so I'm a bit futher than you know, but I feel everything slipping away now that I don't have time to study daily...really need to fix that ^^;
I think it's already great enough to put effort into learning an unknown language ^^.
Very nice,
I just bought myself japanese for busy people kana version level 1 so I can start learning japanese.
:]
Yeah Learn Japanese XD
I'm learning too. Just started about a year ago.
I will be taking the JLPT4 at the end of this year hope I pass >.<
Wooh good luck, must be pretty tough.
I just took a quick glimpse on wikipedia to check what exactly it is. (I only knew that it was some test)
Seems like in 2008 an average of 63.35 percent passed the level 4 test.
That's just a little more than halve >_<.
I got 100% on the quiz at the beginning and it's still trying to teach me katakana. ^ ^;
Can't it see that I know all that alrighty? Teach me something I don't know! That thing was a bit too slow for me. The quiz skipped a number of lessons but not enough...
You mean with the game?
I thought you could only skip to lesson 10 or something, while katakana starts at lesson 17.
Hiragana finishes at lesson 17.