Japanese Language Questions? Ask Here.

[ahochaude]

Takez0 wrote:

Instead of creating another thread I'll bump this one. My question is what's the difference on these words and when to use it or not use it atashi/ore/boku kimi/anata/anta(?)

Atashi is used by females. Ore is an informal way to say I/me used by mainly males. In some cases not too common you'll hear a female say Ore. My friend (she) uses it all the time. Not too good in taste if a female uses it, if you ask me. Boku is used by males to refer to themselves. (I/me) It is in the keigo (polite/proper) category of speaking.
Kimi is used by either sex but I mostly hear males using it because females tend to favor anata. Kimi and anata is the polite manner. Anta is something I would not really use. Anta could be used in an insulting demeanor. (Kind of like if you use omae or temee.)

[Takez0]

ahochaude wrote:

Atashi is used by females. Ore is an informal way to say I/me used by mainly males. In some cases not too common you'll hear a female say Ore. My friend (she) uses it all the time. Not too good in taste if a female uses it, if you ask me. Boku is used by males to refer to themselves. (I/me) It is in the keigo (polite/proper) category of speaking. Kimi is used by either sex but I mostly hear males using it because females tend to favor anata. Kimi and anata is the polite manner. Anta is something I would not really use. Anta could be used in an insulting demeanor. (Kind of like if you use omae or temee.)

interesting...

I kinda knew about boku and ore, I had no idea Atashi were used by females...

thanks

[ahochaude]

Takez0 wrote:

interesting... I kinda knew about boku and ore, I had no idea Atashi were used by females... thanks

It's kind of hard to pick up in a conversation if you're not around it everyday all day. The difference is really small but that "W" will make a gender statement of the speaker. So if you're a male, I suggest not to use atashi. If you're worried about others misinterpreting what you say between watashi and atashi, you can substitute watakushi or boku. If you ever read manga (Dragon Ball is a good example of this) you will see the female characters dialouge in hiragana which makes it easier to pick up and understand the difference.

[velvet_ice]

ahochaude wrote:

Literally "shiteru" means "doing at the present time". Dakara aishiteru means "I am loving you" (literally). Goes back to the discussion earlier (about "shita") Shita=I did. Shiteru=I am doing. Suru=I will do. Futher examples include the verb taberu. Tabemashita=I ate. Tabeteru=I am eating. Tabemashita=I ate. In some cases, you would use "deru" instead of "teru". For example the verb Nomu. Nomimashita=I drank. Nonderu=I'm drinking. Nomimasu=I will drink. Sorry if I got a little off track from the "love" question. For a more in depth analysis of the love subject........... http://www.jdorama.com/viewtopic_2045_0.htm

Oops. I better shut up and let the experts do the talking the next time

[velvet_ice]

wow thanks for that information.

now tht i have a clear idea on Japanese pronouns, I need to know when the following words are used:

e.g when some one says watashi WA/kimi WO, ore NI ...

i don't know what they're called in English, but anyway,
I suppose there are many of these in Japanese language, so anybody care to enlighten me on this? when and how do we use it?

[rabiz]

pronouns seriously reflect the level of politeness and sort of social division to different classes in old and modern japan.
Just as how you politely address people anata... you can know how people rate you the moment they call out for you... if you are ever called omae or anta or even kisama (which maybe you will only ever hear it in anime) You immediately know that the opposite side does not really rate you highly

�� (wa) is sort of like the topic/subject marker (IS, WAS, AM etc)
�� (wo) is like object marker eg Tom (subj) drank (verb) coffee(object)
in japanese Tom �� �@coffee �� ����
�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�isubj)�@�@(obj)�@�@ (verb)
�� is really ambiguous if we translate it directly it can mean BY, TO and a whole lot others

hope i enlightened you a bit

[velvet_ice]

rabiz wrote:

pronouns seriously reflect the level of politeness and sort of social division to different classes in old and modern japan. Just as how you politely address people anata... you can know how people rate you the moment they call out for you... if you are ever called omae or anta or even kisama (which maybe you will only ever hear it in anime) You immediately know that the opposite side does not really rate you highly �� (wa) is sort of like the topic/subject marker (IS, WAS, AM etc) �� (wo) is like object marker eg Tom (subj) drank (verb) coffee(object) in japanese Tom �� �@coffee �� ���� �@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�@�isubj)�@�@(obj)�@�@ (verb) �� is really ambiguous if we translate it directly it can mean BY, TO and a whole lot others hope i enlightened you a bit

Thanks so much for the info...

Does this mean tht 'wa' and 'wo' are strictly 'attached' to topic/subject and objects respectively?

i've heard of 'ga' as well. where does this come in?

about the 'omae' part, yes i've seen it in doramas b4.. kyumei byoto 2 had eguchi's character calling out 'OMAE' to everyone. those he called 'omae' were visibly irritated and i now see why. thanks.

[Dark^3nforc3r]

wow...that's a lot of info!!..
Wonder if i can digest it...
Hmm...sometimes i find it hard to form nihongo words...
Their grammars are different from chinese and english grammars...
Anyway,wats katakana,kanji,hiragana and stuffs?

[rabiz]

Quote:

Anyway,wats katakana,kanji,hiragana and stuffs?

Basically they are 3 different writing systems in the language
Kanji are the chinese characters like in all the artists names

hiragana are sort of cursive scripts derived from kanji
like �� comes from ��, don't you think they look ait alike...

katakana is like the straight line scripts derived from hiragana.
like �Z comes from ��. katakana is usually used for foreign words converted into japanese phonetics (like �R�[�q�@kohi actuallys stands for coffee)

all 3 are used daily in japanese so it's like 3 different sets of alphabet.
but the library of kanji is really huge just like chinese

[ahochaude]

velvet_ice wrote:

Thanks so much for the info... Does this mean tht 'wa' and 'wo' are strictly 'attached' to topic/subject and objects respectively? i've heard of 'ga' as well. where does this come in? about the 'omae' part, yes i've seen it in doramas b4.. kyumei byoto 2 had eguchi's character calling out 'OMAE' to everyone. those he called 'omae' were visibly irritated and i now see why. thanks.

"GA" is pretty much the same type of particle as "HA" (wa).
You'd attach these 2 particles with the subject of conversation.
Ex. "Ore ga .............." "Ore ha............." "Kimi ga.................." "Kimi ha............" "Ore no kutsu GA chou boroboro da yo/Ore no kutsu HA chou boroboro da yo" (My shoes are so tattered.)
"O" (wo) is a function marker you'd attach before the verb. (There are some exceptions though which I'll explain a little later.)
Ex. "Tegami O kakimashita" (I wrote a letter) "Eiga O mimashita" (I saw a movie)
Basically "O" (wo) is an action particle.
Now the exception to this rule is "NI" or "HE" (same thing.)
You'd apply these 2 function markers to "Iku" (go) and "Kuru" (come). Literally these particles mean "to".
Ex. "Mise NI ikimashita" (I went to the shop) "Kare ga Hawaii ni kimashita" (He came to Hawaii)
This rule applies to the verbs "take" and "bring" as well. This is because the 2 verbs mentioned above have "Iku" and "Kuru" as a part of the word.
Take- Motteiku Bring-Mottekuru
The "Motte" comes from the verb "Motsu" (to have (in possession))
Mostu + Iku = to have in possession and go (Motteiku=Take)
Motsu + Kuru = to have in possessin and come (Mottekuru=Bring)
So you'd apply "NI" or "HE" when you use the words Take and Bring.
Hope this helps. (I'm not really good in explainations.)

[ahochaude]

rabiz wrote:

Quote: Anyway,wats katakana,kanji,hiragana and stuffs? but the library of kanji is really huge just like chinese

Yeah, and even native Japanese don't know every single one of them. You'll see some Japanese at times who forget how to write some or even read some.

Sucks. I hate Kanji!!!!
-But it's essential. Shougane~ na.

[arashinokoto]

actually for a chinese and a not understanding a lot of japanese person.. the kanji that appears everywhere helps a lot in explaining stuff.. in varieties especially..

[fatma]

polnareef wrote:

Hello..it seems to me that 2 of the gals in the forum like to learn Japanse,I would be glad teaching them for free...In this forum.. Well any one who interested,please e mail me at [email protected].. Then we discuss it when and the date... Okay! bye[IMG]www.neogeotemple.com/yamazaki_sadotaunt/0.1.gif[/IMG]

i wanna it pleaz...

[Tokeida Yuji]

Do you happen to know what janakute means?

Does anata, anta, kimi, omaiwa mean the same thing =you?

[ahochaude]

Tokeida Yuji wrote:

Do you happen to know what janakute means? Does anata, anta, kimi, omaiwa mean the same thing =you?

Yes. Anata, anta, kimi and Omae means the same thing = you. Your omaiwa must be what you heard but actually is spelled "omae" and the wa you applied must be the "ha". Like Kimi ha ...........
Check this thread if you have more questions about the usage of these words.

http://www.jdorama.com/viewtopic_304_135.htm

"Janakute" basically means "janai" (short for dewa arimasen). "Janai" is used at the end of a sentence. Ex. "Sono koto janai." (That's not it.)
"Janakute" is applied similarily but instead of just being the end of a sentence, it extends the sentence giving the speaker opportunity to finish with why it isn't so or with what it really was supposed to be. Ex. "Sono koto janakute, *blah blah blah blah*."
Hope this helps.

[Tokeida Yuji]

Ah... arigato..

i've just started learning basic japanese at a center..

watching doramas you tend to pick up a few words that they tend to use more often hence janakute and so on...

anyway... i havent read all the threads yet but so far in class i'm having trouble particularly with the PARTICLES eg wa, ga and so on....

whats the best way of understanding particles??

[ahochaude]

Tokeida Yuji wrote:

Ah... arigato.. i've just started learning basic japanese at a center.. watching doramas you tend to pick up a few words that they tend to use more often hence janakute and so on... anyway... i havent read all the threads yet but so far in class i'm having trouble particularly with the PARTICLES eg wa, ga and so on.... whats the best way of understanding particles??

I also have that posted in the same thread.

http://www.jdorama.com/viewtopic_304_135.htm

(Towards the bottom part.)

[Bedi]

After reading some of you passed level 2 and up of the JLPT I'm wondering if there are any people who are going to take the JLPT test this year (7th Dec.)
I'm goingt to take the level 4 (easiest one) this year after learning Japanese ca. 10 - 11 months
For the case there are some of you who never heard about JLPT yet: JLPT Info

[arashinokoto]

Bedi wrote:

After reading some of you passed level 2 and up of the JLPT I'm wondering if there are any people who are going to take the JLPT test this year (7th Dec.) I'm goingt to take the level 4 (easiest one) this year after learning Japanese ca. 10 - 11 months For the case there are some of you who never heard about JLPT yet: JLPT Info

ganbatte bedi.. and anyone who's taking ti this year.. i took jlpt 4 last year but haven't started on studies for 3 yet.. probably after my normal studies..

[Bedi]

Thanks much ^_^
I hope to take Level 3 next year. I hope everything works fine ^_^ maybe we pass together