Japanese Lessons

[Donkey Show]

What is this thread?
As you may have noticed there are various threads containing Japanese lessons throughout the Language Classes forum. Though it's obvious that on a Naruto Forum Japanese will be a popular language to learn, there's not much need in multiple threads for one cause. Therefore, in the interest of easy access for the readers and overall simplicity, I will be moving all lessons into this thread.

In summary, this is a thread where you will find Japanese lessons written by members of this forum.

How are lessons added?
In future any new threads containing such lessons will be moved here. Also if you wish to submit a lesson to this thread or edit one, you are very welcome to do so by PM :bmgai.

Where can I discuss these lessons and ask questions?
Discussion of these lessons can be had in the separate stickied thread, which is now named 'Japanese Discussion'. It is a great thread which is often visited by experienced speakers of Japanese and so I'm sure any queries you have will be answered fully.

Alternatively those using this thread might wish to visit The Japanese Learners and Speakers FC (http://forums.narutofan.com/showthread.php?t=123545) where you can practice your Japanese or simply ask questions.

[KWGoDのbrucelee]

Ok my intention here is to teach a particular grammar target using examples from Naruto.

This class is aimed at any level fom beginners to roughly 3kyu.smile-big

lesson 1
火影　に　なる!
hokage ni naru!
Become Hokage!

In Japanese the verb "become" is naru. Naru is an abreviation of "narimasu", but don't let tat bother you right now. Today we are studying the phrase "ni naru." which means "turn into" "change into" "become" "get". ok?
Here are some examples.

watashi wa hokage ni naru.
I will become hokage.

watashi wa Naruto in naru.
I turn into naruto

watashi wa kyubi ni naru
I will turn into kyubi/ I turn into kyubi.

watashi wa baka ni naru
I will get/become stupid

It's in the present tense but as there is no future tense in Japanese you can translate it into either present or future. For example the phrase

watashi wa hokage ni naru.
I will become hokage.

This is future "I will..." because Naruto isn't changing into the hokage any time soon right? The present tense is usually used for situations like " I TURN INTO a wolf EVERY SUNDAY" not for talking about the future. ok?

Try translating these into English

1. Watashi wa itachi ni naru
2. Itachi wa akatsuki memba ni naru
3. Naruto wa hiro- ni naru
4. Goku wa Supa- saiyajin ni naru (?_?)
5. Kisame wa same sushi ni naru

If you get stuck on some words check the vocab at the bottom. remember in English the VERB (doing word) comes in the middle of the sentence but in Japanese it always comes at the end. "Ni naru" Will always be last.

See if you can complete these examples by using the above examples.

1. Watashi wa ______ ni naru
I will change into gaara.

2. _______ wa _________ ni naru
I will become the kazekage.

3. ________wa chunin _________
I will become a chunin.

4. _________wa kyubi _________
Naruto will become kyubi

5. __________ wa ________ _________
(The) Hokage will get stupid.

Ok did you manage to do those? Remember, instead of "naru" you can use the slightly more polite "ni narimasu" if you like. Let's review the words we studied.
tango
watashi wa = I am
wa = subject marker
Baka = Stupid
= the (not used in Japanese)
Same = Shark
Hiro- = hero
Supa- = Super
bonus words
ore = I (male form)

As Naruto is a guy and quite a loud mouth he would not say "watashi wa" he would say "ore wa". So try and write down Naruto's dream. Here is a hint.

______ ___ ___________ __ ______ .

I will become the hokage!

moved here.

Ok my intention here is to teach a particular grammar target using examples from Naruto.

This class is aimed at any level fom beginners to roughly 3kyu.smile-big

but
Before this lessons it's good form to review the last lesson. Try to complete these...if you can't then go back to thread 1 and re-read it. ok?smile-big

1. Naruto wa hokage ni naru

2. Orochimaru wa sasuke ni naru.

3. Naruto will turn into kyubi.

4. Kabuto will turn in to a ███ (jpn -Supai)

5. _________ ___ _________ __ _________ (make your own)

__________________________________________________ ____________

lesson 2
螺旋丸　を　する
Rasengan wo suru
Do a Rasengan

In Japanese the verb "do" is suru. Suru is an abreviation of "Shimasu" and is an irregular verb. Don't let that bother you right now. Today we are studying the phrase "wo suru." which means "to do" or "to play" One important note is that the object marker "WO" is pronounced "O" as in "Oh my!"

ok?

Here are some examples.

watashi wa rasengan wo suru
I will do a rasengan. [I do a rasengan]

Itachi wa Tsukuyomi wo suru
Itachi will do Tsukuyoi [Itachi does Tsuykuyomi]

Watachi wa shiki fujin wo suru
I will do Shinki fuin (death god) [I do shiki fuin]

Watashi wa kagebunshin Wo suru
I will do kagebunshin [I do kagebunshin]

*All of these are in the present tense but as there is no future tense in Japanese you can translate it into either present or future. For example the phrase

watashi wa rasengan wo suru
I will do a rasengan. [I do a rasengan]

The present tense is usually used for situations like " I Do rasengan EVERY TIME I WANT TO PAWN SOMEONE" not for talking about the future. ok?

Try translating these into English

1. Watashi wa rasengan wo suru
2. sandaime wa shiki fujin wo suru
3. Yondaime wa hiraishin wo suru
4. yamato wa ano jutsu* wo suru
5. gaara wa sabaku kyu wo suru

*ano =that. Therefore ano jutus =? (only manga readers will get this one)

remember in English the VERB (doing word) comes in the middle of the sentence but in Japanese it always comes at the end. "Wo suru" Will always be last.

part 2.
See if you can complete these examples by using the above examples.

1. Watashi wa _______ wo suru
I will do Chidori

2. _______ wa _________ wo suru
I will do a Amaterasu

3. ________wa _________ _____________
I will do tsubaki no mai

4. _________wa _________ ___________
Naruto will do kagebunshin

5. __________ wa honyaku ___________
Bruce lee will do a translation.

Ok did you manage to do those? Remember, instead of "suru" you can use the slightly more polite "wo shimasu" if you like. Let's review the words we studied.
tango
watashi wa = I am
wa = subject marker
ano = that [distant objects
= the (not used in Japanese)
honyaku = Translation

__________________________________________________

[The Black Knight]

EDIT: This is
English ----(to)--->Japanese
Japanese ----(to)---> English
......We can translate back and forth between the langauges....Sorry I didn't include this before. If you want to see about posting for JP --> EN see below

Want a random word or phrase translated to Japanese.....I thought I'd make this thread for ya'll to ask. We can translate name meanings too!

Just post the word/phrase and one of the Japanese speakers here, such as myself will translate for you. I don't know if others will use this format but heres how I'll offer the translations. You can also request an explanation of the grammar for phrases. You can request explanations at a basic, intermediate, or advanced level.

[original english word/phrase]
Romaji version of the japanese word
Version in Kana (hiragana/katakana)
Version in Kanji.

Ie. ...you ask the word for shadow/shade.
...here would be the response

Shadow/shade
Kage
かげ
蔭　；　影　；　陰　；　翳

In this case, there was more than one kanji for kage. If such a case arrives, they will be seperated by a semicolon. If there is multiple words, too, then there will be multiple forms



In order to see the kana and the kanji, you will have to go to the language options in your control panel and install east asian fonts with your windows cd.....as far as other operating systems, I have no clue, but google is your friend and will gladly help!



FOR JP ----> EN Translations:
If you have it written in Japanese please give that as it is preferred over Romaji. If you don't know the writing for it, or you heard in it a video, please try to give the best spelling you can in Romaji (roman alphabet...ex. a,b,c,d).
If you are unsure of the spelling please try to give us some context to help us figure out which one it is. We will inlcude the English word/meaning, romaji, kana, and kanji for the word when we translate it.


This might be made into a sticky! :amuse

Also if you can't see the kanji well press ctrl + +(plus sign) to make the text larger.


MAKING A REQUEST

Please include the kanji/kana if possible for japanese to English translations.
This ensures that the translation is as accurate as possible, especially for names! If requesting and English phrase/word please put the word in bold typeface.

Also, if requesting a single word, please try to include a description about the meaning, or use it in a sentence. Make sure you use the MEANING that you want, as just because a word has only 1 dictionary entry in English, it may have several different ones, each with different meanings in Japanese.

For you people studying out there, you can request explanations of the grammar; Please at the bottom of your request type Explanation : [level]. Replacing [level] with the level of the desired explanation (Beginner, adv, etc.).


GUIDE FOR SPELLING OUT JAPANESE SOUNDS IN ROMAJI
No consonants stand alone except for n. The only exceptions are double consonants, where the consonant sound is held twice.
Japanese consonants: K;S;T;N;M;H;R;Y;W;G;J;Z;Ts; D; B; P; N'
When "n" stands alone please type an apostrophe after
Japanese vowels: A, I, U, E, O
vowel = sound - example
A = ah - tada[b]
I = ee - Ch[b]ief, reek
U = oo - moo, loot
E = eh - fetch
O = oh - Oh!, pole

Also many constants can have "Y" sound after. Ex. (Kya, Nyu, Hyu, Kyo, Cha, Sha)

So start posting.....

JAPANESE SOUND LIST
This picture contains all Japanese sounds, choose your romaji from this list.
http://mural.uv.es/vicordo/japo/Kana/Katakana.png

Fire
There are a few ways to say fire...but for other words related to fire there are so many. There's also a different word for flame/blaze.

Romaji: hi
Kana: ひ
Kanji: 火

Romaji: kasai
Kana: かさい
Kanji 火災

Of course the kanji 火 can be read differently if used in a compound such as "Kazan(火山)" meaning "volcano."

Now for the other two.....sexy can be a very broad adjective, it can even be an adverb in some cases....please be specific before I give you a translation

And Jump too.....jump as a noun, or verb?

for sexy...I know of 2, the first being more common.

Romaji: Sekushi^
Kana: セクシー
Kanji: no kanji

Romaji: MoteMote
Kana: モテモテ
Kanji: No kanji



I know many for different kinds of the verb jump. There are different verbs for jump on, jump down, jump up and down, jump about, etc. (confusing, ne?) I chose 2 of the common ones that probably apply to what you are talking about.

These both mean jump/leap/hop/etc
Romaji: Haneru
Kana: はねる
Kanji: 跳ねる

Romaji: Tobu
Kana: とぶ
Kanji: 跳ぶ

a pretty casual way to say it is

ohayou min'na!
おはよう皆！

I would use this one
ohayou mina-san
おはよう皆さん

or you could be even be more polite by saying
Ohayou gozaimasu mina-san
おはようございます皆さん

[KWGoDのbrucelee]

This is my new language class in which I hope to take one extract from this weekes manfga and explain it in some detail. I may even add questions etc.

Anybody is welcome

lesson 1: 336

Hidan:
カクズと俺を離す気か？
You're trying to separate me from Kakuzu?

trans courtesy of njt.

ok let's look at the Japanese here.
カクズ----と-俺-を----離す--気--か？
kakuzu-to-ore-wo-hanasu-ki-ka
Kakuzu-and-me-[object marker]-seperate-spirit-[question marker]

カクズと俺を離す気か？

This is the crucial point today. a present tense verb +ki 気[spirit] +ka[question marker]

this contruction implies that someone has a will to do something or desires/wants to do something. Thereare many constructions with "ki" in them "ki wo nuku na" "ki wo tsukete" etc etc all with special meanings so be aware of the gramar around the word "ki", it very rarely only means "spirit".

Other examples:

殺 す 気 か
korosu ki ka
kill spirit [question marker]
Are you trying to kill [me]?

買わす気か
kawasu ki ka
buy [passive] spirit [question marker]
Are you trying to get [me] to buy ?

Here are some verbs you may or may not know.
1. taberu -eat
2. nomu -drink
3. hanasu -talk
4. shinu -die

Translate this examples and then make your own:

Godaime said to shikamaru before this mission:
"shikamaru...shinu ki ka?"
[I]remember to be quite liberal with your translation.

Are you going on a suicide mission?

well...after the overwhelming non-response from last week, I decided to continue again this week! Maybe this stuff is too ahrd for you guys?

lesson 2: 337

Statement's with KA

"Ka" as you probably know is the questionmarker in Japanese.

penu desu = it's a pen
Penu desu ka=is it a pen?

However, it is sometimes used in a differrent way. Used after a sentence or often a single word it can act to reinforce that word, even though no question is being asked.

An example is the reuniting of Sasuke with team 7. Sasuke sees Sakura and says:

"Sakura ka"
you might think this means "is that you Sakura?" But actually he is not in any doubt. He knows it is her. A good translation might be "Sakura, huh" or even "it's you is it, Sakura" (this English sentence is also a question that is not really a question)


ok~ onto examples from 337 [thank you p1noypr1de]


行く か･･･
iku ka
go [question marker]
I should get going...


浅い か･･･!
Asai ka
Shallow [question marker]
Too shallow.


Remember these are examples of real Japanese taken from Naruto, so they are extremely useful

Any questions?

after a long absence it's back!!!:omg

lesson 3: Shpippuden 1
Verbs + ka for statements

This week in honour of Shippuden, I will leave the manga and present a piece from Shippuden!
Sasuke: 知るかよ。。。そんな奴
Sasuke: Like I know who that is!

ok let's look at the Japanese here.
知る--か--よ。。。そんな--奴
shiru ka yo...sonna yatsu
know-[question marker]-[!]...that--guy

知るかよ。。。そんな奴



This is the crucial point today. a present tense verb +ka[question marker]

this contruction is a little tricky because under most normal circumstances a verb+ka would indicate an actual question. The difference is in intonation (speech). Whereas 'suru ka' (do +[question particle]) said with a rising tone would mean do [you] want to do it?/Will [you] do it? Said with a falling tone on 'ka' it would mean 'As if I would do that!' This construction is SO hard that 50% of the NF translators didn't spot it and had sasuke say 'Do you know that guy?' so be warned!

AS you can tell from the last example, this construction has quite a strong/rude sound to it. It is used often histronically and you can see it in One Piece quite often. It implies that the VERB (action) of the sentence is impossible or out of the question. Because it is quite histronic, the [!] marker 'yo' よ　can be added at the end for even more emphasis.

Other examples:

飲むか！
nomu ka
drink [question marker]
Like I'd drink that!

売るかよ！
uru ka yo
sell [question marker] [!]
As if I'm gonna sell that!

[Kingrazor]

Alright, as of yet I do not know any system to change ます form into dictionary form.

There are three types of verbs in Japanese:
Type I (よだん/ごだん)
Type II (いちだん/にだん)
Type III (Irregular)

There are only two type III verbs する (play/do) and くる (come)

All type II verbs end in る and have an い or an え sound before the る (this includes any い or え sound)
[ex:たべる]
Any verb that isn't type III or type II is a type I verb

My teacher taught me a "base" system, there are seven bases including the て and た bases

The て and た bases work a little different than the other five, so they have a seperate system:

For type I verbs:
う、つ、る==>って/った
ぶ、む、ぬ==>んで/んだ
く==>いて/いた
ぐ==>いで/いだ
す==>して/した

For type II verbs:
drop る add て/た

For type III verbs:
する==>して/した
くる==>きて/きた

The other five are pretty uniform:

For type I verbs: simply follow the kana chart
ex: かく
B1:かか
B2:かき
B3:かく
B4:かけ
B5:かこ

For type II verbs:
B1: drop る
B2: drop る
B3: dictionary form
B4: drop る add れ
B5: drop る add よう

For type III verbs:
B1: し/こ
B2: し/き
B3: する/くる
B4: すれ/くれ/これ
B5: すよう/こよう

I hope this helps someone.

[RokinMan]

Ok you guys I've attempted to put this in as easy to understand form as possible, this will contain both words to learn and how to use them in sentences.

If you need help, please just send a pm to me

enjoy and I hope it helps, please tell me what you think to see if I should continue or not
this is only the first of many if it goes well

First off
__________________________________________________ ___________

__________________________________________________ ___________

lines will separate grammar points

also I will be using hiragana/katakana, and maybe some kanji in this so it's VERY important you install a japanese language pack

How to do so:

1)Simply get your operating system installation disc (ex. XP, Windows 2000, exc.)
2)Go to control panal, click on regional options
3)Check japanese under the general tab in "Language settings for the system" and click OK

from there it will start to install the language pack and then ask for your installation disc

4)Simply put in the disc

and when it's done it will ask you to restart your computer and your set


To type in japanese just look here :
http://forums.narutofan.com/showthread.php?t=139107


Ok time to start now

__________________________________________________ _______________

HIRAGANA

For Japanese there are 3 different writting systems

Hiragana
Katakana - mostly used for foreign words however some just use it because it just looks cooler to them so it's not always foreign :D
Kanji - these can be used in a lot of different ways but the best way to say it is they're just picture words, simple and easy to understand the concept, just learning them all is a bit different

Ok, so we'll start off with hiragana

there are 46 letters and work kind of like our alphebet
hiragana generally work in pairs of 2
in english we have single letter sounds and combine them all together in any order, however hiragana is a bit different


The only parts of hiragana that DONT have 2 sounds in them would be the vowels

A - あ　　I - い　　U - う　　E - え　O - お

Each　of these vowels combine with either K, S, T, N, H, M, Y, R, W, or (another) N

KA - か　KI　－　き　KU　－　く　KE　－　け　KO　－　こ
SA　－　さ　SI（SHI)　－　し　SU　－　す　SE　－　せ　SO　－　そ
TA　－　た　TI(CHI)　－　ち　TU(TSU)　－　つ　TE　－　て　TO　－　と
NA　－　な　NI　－　に　NU　－　ぬ　NE　－　ね　NO　－　の
HA　－　は　HI　－　ひ　HU（FU)　ー　ふ　HE　－　へ　HO　－　ほ
MA　－　ま　MI　－　み　MU　－　む　ME　－　め　MO　－　も
YA　－　や　YI　－　(none) YU - ゆ　YE - (none) YO - よ
RA　－　ら　RI　－　り　RU　－　る　RE　－　れ　RO　ー　ろ
WA　－　わ　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　WO（O)　－　を
N（only other letter besides the vowels to not have a pair) ん

Now, to the hard part, pronounciation

I've decided to do 2 things here, one an example with stuff you already know, and 2 with others saying it.

PRONOUNCIATION
1) あ　－　is simliar to ah, as in ah! that freaking hurt!
2) い - is similar to the E, in ear
3) う - think of ooh, as in (closest thing I could think of) when a ghost says boo, but without the B
4) え - look at excercise, the very first E in excercise is pronounced the same way
5) お　ー　as in OH D*MN!
6) か - this one is easy, KAKASHI, same way
7) き　- also easy, its pronounced EXACTLY like key
8) く　－　this is a little hard for me to think of an example but just combine K with う and it's just like it
9) け - I personally like this example, say k, as in kk, same
10) こ　－　just like the co in coin

Notice how all this is, is combining the vowel sounds with K

11)さ - sake this is pretty simple sa, and ke さけ, a few people like to say saki, but for this example, its sake
12)し - this is NOT like si, this is one of the always present exceptions, si is more closely shi, pronounced just like she, as in she slapped you.
13)す　－　su is normal, it's pronounced just like sue, I'm going to sue you!
14)せ - this one we all know how to say, sensei
15)そ - this is just like the english so, so what

16)た - this is a simple combination, T + A, so tah
17)ち - this is also an exception, ti isn't right, this of it as CHI, as in inner chi
18)つ - this is another exception, but really easy to get.....tsunade
19)て - this is just te, like template, or temari
20)と　－　to, we all know this also, naruto

21)な - just like last one, naruto
22)に　－　this one is pronounced EXACTLY like knee
23)ぬ　－　this is like new, or noodles
24)ね - neji
25)の　－　ino い　＋　の

２６）は　- ha, just like hahaha, as in laughing ha
27)ひ - hi, just like he, as in he is stupid
28)ふ　－　an exception too, its not hu, but more like mount fuji
29)へ　－　my head hurts
30)ほ - I could go for the obvious one but instead I'll say Home

31)ま　－　as in, mama :D
32)み　- me, bring me a cookie
33)む　－　like moo, from a cow
34)め　－　just like medal
35)も　－　like more, i want more

36)や　－　this is just like yacht, You wish you had a yacht
37)ゆ　－　you, you are going to be slapped
38)よ　－　yo, or, yo-yos are boring

ok with the R's, it's not like our R's, they're pretty much a mix of our L's and R's. Think of the difference between how freaking Cartoon Network says Naruto, and the way they say it in the dubs

so since there arn't any really words in english with this since they don't use the same pronounciation, just think of the way u say their R/L's and combine them with A - O

Don't worry though, I'll be posting a link with others saying it

39)ら　－　
40)り　－　for this though, just think of Lee, it's written りー
４１）る　－
４２）れ　－　if you've seen evangelion, think of Ayanami Rei
43)ろ　－　

44)わ　－　if you've had it, wasabi
45)を　－　just like O(お）, but don't use it just yet, you'll see where to use it a while from now

46)ん - this is just like mmm, like mmm good cookie :D


Heres the link so you can hear it yourself:
http://sp.cis.iwate-u.ac.jp/sp/lessonj/doc/hira.html

Ok, in that link, you saw rows K, S, T, and H, with like '' symbols next to them, those alter the sound a bit

K with '' turns to G, to ka ki ku ke ko, turns to ga gi gu ge go
S with '' turns to Z(with some exceptions) SA turns to ZA, SHI turns to JI, SU turns to zu, SE turns to ZE, SO turns to ZO
T with '' turns to D(with some exceptions) TA - DA, CHI(i was told turns to ZI but your not likely to ever really see it) ZI, TSU (same thing with chi except ZU) TE - DE, TO - DO
H with '' turns to B, HA - BA, HI - BI, FU - BU, HE - BE, HO - BO

Now there is ONE more thing for H but doesn't happen on any of the others
this is a small open circle in the same place as the ''

all it does is change the H to a P, and they're pronounced just like when it turns to B except to P.

What you also saw on that page was slides

if you see one big letter with a smaller letter, they're smashed together

so きょう turns to kyou
じゅう　turns to jyuu
みょうじ　becomes myouji
exc

the last thing about hiragana would be the pauses

if you ever see a small つ(tsu) next to a letter, its a pause and puts a silence in the word

しゃっくり　is written in romanji as shakkuri
2 K's to show the small tsu.


one thing I'd like to add before the end of this lesson is taht when writing/reading it's not really like english (at least not to the extent) where you have silent letters, if I say watashi it's written exactly like how it sounds わたし (obviously some exceptions)

Also from what I've seen, the most dropped sound would be う, something like Desu, can become just des, but that just depends on you
__________________________________________________ _______________

First time greetings - using です(desu)

はじめまして（haji me mashite)
How do you do - used for first time greetings

です(desu) is like to be. as in, you are something desu, i am something desu

now for use on は, here is one exception to that letter, when you are saying a sentence, the topic of the sentence is marked by putting は directly after it

when it's used as the topic marker, it's pronounced wa

so I am something desu would be like

I (wa- since I'm the topic) something (desu - since i am that)

so わたしは　(name) です

to finish the greeting you can add　どうぞ　よろしく(douzo yoroshiku)
Nice meeting you.

So when meeting someone try saying

はじめまして
(hajimemashite)
わたしは　(name) です
どうぞ　よろしく


or you can slightly change it to

はじめまして
(name)です
よろしく

One other thing I'd like to add in right now is that at the end of a sentence you'll see this: .
a period for us is just a dot

however when writing in japanese it becomes 。


Daily Greetings


おはよう　（ございます）
ohayou (gozaimasu)
Good Morning ............the gozaimasu is really just more polite, it's not NEEDED but I'd recomend you say it until you really know what your saying.

Next is Hello for afternoon use
These next 2, don't use ございます since they're as polite as they can be already, also they are NOT used with family members, there are other sayings used for those things


so hello for the afternoon would be

こんにちは　konnichiwa

yes, i used the hiragana for ha, this is just one of those exceptions so just remember writing it this way

and for hello in the evening:

こんばんは　konbanwa

same thing with konnichiwa and ha




I decided to add addressing others in here also since they'll be used at same time anyways

NEVER use name endings with yourself

for example i would never say
わたしは　rokinさん　です
watashi wa rokinsan desu

no, don't do it

however there are a multitude of name endings and yes, せんせい is one of them

example:
たなかせんせい
tanaka sensei
たなかさん
tanaka-san
たなかさま
tanaka-sama

there are others you learn along the way, just know the basic ones like san for now at least

[RokinMan]

I've decided to go farther into this and see if i can build up to the more advanced stuff faster

any input from qualified people is kindly accepted

take as long as you wish and advance at your own pace!

__________________________________________________ ______________

Good Byes


Ok a small thing on good byes real fast.

You've learned how to say hello already and by now it should seem pretty simple, but how do you say goodbye?

there're a multitude of ways to say good bye for different scenarios

for example
a normal good bye could be as simple as
さようなら
(note the lack of romanji)
this is used quite frequently

there is also
じゃあ、　また
(directly: well, again) which is just like, see ya later
this is pretty casual, so I wouldn't recommend saying it to someone like your boss
it can also be shortened to just じゃ

Saying good-bye changes with who you talk to though

so for an example, if I was talking to a teacher, しつれします would be a good choice, its literal translation is like I am commiting a rudenss

not only can you use that as a good bye however, if you enter a classroom late, use it, or if you have to leave early also
__________________________________________________ _______________

Polite parts of speech

adding ございます　can change the attitude of a sentence
for example: ありがとう = thanks so ありがとう　ございます　doesn't change the literal meaning but adds more respect, changing its attitude.
どうも（very)　ありがとう　ございます
(keep in mind, adding ございます to everything doesn't work, wait for an example or unless you already know for sure before adding ございます to it)

when すみません is said, it can mean sorry, or excuse me.
just like for us, if you bump into a person you might say sorry, but it works just like excuse me in that case.

and just for random knowledge あのう（our version of umm)　すみません can be used for getting someones attention

also if you make a mistake or something, saying どうも　すみません　is good (as in very sorry)

Now, let's say you've helped someone, and you want to say something like your welcome どういたしまして would be used, however that can just be shortened to いいえ, just no :D
__________________________________________________ _______________

Random Knowledge

Just like the title, this is random, but with this, you can ask the name of anything in japanese

What do you call this(english word) in Japanese
I'll break this down first
Now this might be known to you but I'll add it in anyways
Japan is really にほん　or 日本(kanji), so Japanese is にほんご（日本語） I'll explain the ご later
なん　or なに　is what
at the very end of this sentence you'll see か, adding か at the end of a sentence makes it a question,
so だれ(who) ですか
would mean who are you

so now I'll go back to
What do you call this(english word) in Japanese
(English word)は　にほんごで　なんと　いいますか
so What do you call book in Japanese
Bookは　にほんごで　なんと　いいますか

for the next 3 examples, theres one more thing to look at
これ、　それ、　あれ
think of これ　as this
それ　as that
あれ　as that over there

so if there's an object closer to you than the person your talking to, use これ
when its closer to the person your talking to than you, それ
and when its far from both of you, あれ
so:
これは　にほんごで　なんと　いいますか
それは　にほんごで　なんと　いいますか
あれは　にほんごで　なんと　いいますか

as for answering it
let's go back to book
ほん（book)
ほんと　いいます

one thing I'd also like to add for those who don't know

あなた means you, however if you know the persons name, use that instead

(talking to tanaka-san)
is this your dog
たなかさんの　いぬですか
＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

Words to know!

あおいBlue
あかいRed
あさMorning
あしLeg
あたまHead
あめRain
いけPond
いしゃDoctor
いすChair
いぬDog
いもうとYounger Sister
うちHouse
うでArm
うまHorse
えPicture
えきStation
えんぴつPencil(looked kinda fuzzy to me put thats a pi)
おおきいBig
おかあさんMother
おかしcandy
おじいさんgrandfather
おとうさんfather
おとうとyounger brother
おなかstomach(more like belly)
おにいさんolder brother
おねえさんolder sister
おばあさんgrandmother
かおface
かぎkey
がくせいstudent
がっきmusical instrument
がっこうschool
かぜwind
かばんbag
からしmustard
からだbody
かわriver
きtree
きくchrysanthemum(it's a type of flower :D)
きってstamp
きっぷticket
ぎゅうにゅうmilk(katakana version later)
きゅうりcucumber
きょうtoday
きんじょneighborhood
くすりmedicine
くちmouth
くもcloud
くろいblack
こうこうhighschool
こうちゃblack tea
こおりice
こっきnational flag
さけsake
さっかwriter
ざっしmagazine
さとうsugar
さんびゃく300(bi)
しおsalt
しっぽtail
しゃしんphoto
しゃっくりhiccup
しゅっぱつdeparture
しょうがつNew Year's Day
しょっきtableware
しろいwhite
せかいworld
せっけんsoap
せんせいteacher
そこbottom
たかいhigh or expensive
たきwaterfall
ちいさいsmall
ちずmap
ちょっかくright angle
つきmoon
てtrain
てんぷらtempura
でんわtelephone
とおりstreet
とけいclock or a wrist watch(theres another term for wrist watch also - pronounced とけえ)
とりbird
ながいlong
にくmeat
にっきdiary
にほんごJapanese language
にんぎょうdoll
ねこcat
ねっとうboiling water
のどthroat
はっぱleaf
はなnose
はなflower
はれclear weather
ひくいlow, or flat
ひげbeard
ひざknee
ひとperson
ひゃく100
びょうきsickness
ひるafternoon
ふうせんballoon
ふえflute
ほしstar
みじかいshort
みみear
みょうじlast name
むすめdaughter
めeye
やまmountain
ゆきsnow
ゆびfinger
よるnight
りっぱなmagnificent(or gorgeous, depends on how you look at it - rippana)
りょうdormitory
りょこうtrip

[RokinMan]

ok just so you guys know where I stand on this, I've decided to follow what the school do and go over polite/standard ways first, (mostly cuz thats the part i no best until i get to common speech lol
__________________________________________________ ______________
Countries/Languages/People

ok, it's now time to explain why にほん(Japan) turns to にほんご to make Japanese

In Japanese, it's so much easier than english to do this

For us, we add to the ending of the country name to differ from the country/their language/their people
So do they however, they have a SET change

In english, the ending changes depending on the country
Country/Lang./People
Example: Germany/German/German
Japan/Japanese/Japanese
Notice how the ending is different as you already know but also how the language and people of the country are the same
In japanese, thats all different and easy to understand
Country: Country Name
Lang: Country Name + ご（語）
People: Country Name +　じん（人）

Now let's do America
(America is written in katakana, but I'll put a subtitle in hiragana since that hasn't been done yet)
アメリカ（あめりか）
now here is one example
do americans speak american? no, they speak english, therefore
えいご(english) memorize it as a set thing for now
now they are americans, so it is still アメリカじん

another example is mexico

メキシコ（めきしこ）
however, they speak spanish, so スペインご（すぺいんご　－　spanish)
and メキシコじん（めきしこじん）　stays the same

knowing that, I'll list off some countrys to work with
にほん
アメリカ（あめりか）
メキシコ（めきしこ）
カナダ（かなだ）　－　(side note, they speak french/english for those who don't know)
かんこく　(Korea)
ちゅうごく　（China)
オーストラリア（おーすとらりあ）　Australia (english)
フランス（ふらんす）France
スペイン（すぺいん）spain
ロシア（ろしあ）Russia
イタリア（いたりあ）Italy
イギリス（いぎりす）England
ドイツ（どいつ）Germany

I realize there are others but those will be good to start
__________________________________________________ ______________

Negative Sentences

You already know ～は　～です
So now, how do you say Me/you/him/whatever isn't something
you can say what they are, but what about what they arn't

the は part is still the same since you still have a topic in the sentence, the part that changes is です
to make it negative, just change です to じゃないです、　or じゃありません

(little side note, but = でも）

Example:
わたしは　アメリカじん（あめりかじん）　です
でも、　わたしは　ドイツじん　じゃないです　or　じゃありません
__________________________________________________ _____________
Questions

as I said before, adding か　to a sentence makes it a question
and also I'd like to point out when you add か, you do NOT, need to add ? after it, the letter alone is enough

so since we already know ～は　～です
to ask a question is straight forward
～は　～ですか
たなかさんは　せんせいですか
is tanakasan a teacher?

now to answer it
simply say ええ/はい　そう　です
or いいえ、　そう　じゃありません/じゃないです

but obviously if you want you can just say はい/ええ or いいえ

think of はい、そうです　as yes, that's correct
and いいえ、　そうじゃありません　as no, that's incorrect

so if someone asks you, Are you coming?
you wouldn't say yes, thats correct

one more thing I'd like to add is that if someone asks you something, such as
たなかさんは　せんせいですか
you could say はい、　そうです but saying はい、　せんせいです, would make it seem your more apart of the conversation (or at least to me)
__________________________________________________ ______________
Using no to describe nouns
ok by now, you can say a few odd things, but lets go onto describing stuff you can see

in english use adjectives to describe nouns, but we also use nouns to do so
same in Japanese

saying old TV would be an example of Adjective + noun
but Japanese Textbook would be an example of Noun + noun

for us, when we combine nouns with other nouns, just we just the descriptive noun first, same thing in Japanese except instead of just saying them together, add の

so Japanese Textbook would be にほんごの　きょうかしょ
or Japanese Student にほんごの　がくせい
(interesting tidbit - looking at the words male ( おとこ) and person ( ひと）, to create man = おとこの　ひと、 and incase I didn't bring this up earlier, plurals don't exist in Japanese, so man, and men, are the same thing - おとこの　ひと）
one way to make this easier to understand is that adding の　also shows ownership
such as, my book（わたしの　ほん）
therefore you can think of it as, Japanese's book, kinda like the idea of Japanese owns it
__________________________________________________ _______________
Random Stuff

for those who are worried about this, let's look at your major (せんこう）

What is your major?
せんこうは　なんですか　or あなたの　せんこうは　なんですか

I don't have a major
せんこうは　ありません

Undecided
せんこうは　まだ　わかりません
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

What is your name?
（in this case, the お, is honorific and is not part of the name itself)
おなまえは　なんですか
or just なまえは（casual)

For those of us in school, what year student are you
たなかさんは　なんねんせいですか

now with this answer, the meaning changes sepending what school your in, for example, if your in highschool (こうこう） よんねんせい　is a senior, since you've spent four years there (for america at least), while in Japan, 3 years is the norm, so さんねんせい　is senior

let me break this down to make this easy to see
Numbers(1 - 10 for now):
1-いち
２－に
３－さん
４－よん/し
５－ご
６ーろく
７－なな/しち
８－はち
９－きゅう/く
１０－じゅう
Year: ねん/とし
Last　part: let's take a look at がくせい(student), kinda wierd that よんねんせい　ends with せい and relates to school isn't it?

Where are you from?

Q: どちら（where - polite)から(from) いらっしゃいましたか(come, past tense, polite)
so どちらから　いらっしゃいましたか
or just どこ（where - casual)から　きましたか（come, past tense, casual)
so どこから　きましたか

A:placeから　きました
＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿
How to use and

before I end all this I'd like to get to how to use and

theres a few different types of and, I'll just hit 3

for one, theres と, which addes this and that (nouns), so lets say, this dog and taht cat, この　いぬと　あの　ねこです
and when you use と, it must but between all the options
example
A, B, C, AND D
we save and for right before the last option
for Japanese, it's between everything
so Aと　Bと　Cと　D and since D has nothing after it(for this example), theres no more と

there is also そして
which is and for things such as
My friend is a student at ccsn, and is a sophmore
わたしの　ともだちは　CCSNの　がくせいです　そして　にねんせいです

and for the last part, や
using や is almost the exact same thing as と except that it means your not including all the options

example:
I like pork, pizza, and beer, just to name a few (meaning theres others I have in mind but just don't want to name them all)
ピザ（ぴざ-pizza)や　ぶたにく（pork)や ビール（びーる-beer)が　すきです

you'll learn that example later but thats just to show how to use や

note how ぶたにく had にく in it, (meat)

just like とりにく(chicken) means bird meat, pretty simple, but if you want something like goose, even tho it is a bird, you'd have to be more specific if you want that

one last thing before i close this, も
think of も as, in addition to something, or another, like
わたしは　アメリカじんです
（if you are too then)
あなたも　アメリカじん　です

just remember it as that for now

[Bemmu]

Hiya all! Tonight I couldn't sleep, so I got the new shippuuden episodes and suddenly felt like writing a short Japanese tut. The subject is how to write Naruto characters (http://naruto-characters.bemmu.com/) and it contains an introduction to the writing system (which might be way too easy for some ppl here though).

[KWGoDのbrucelee]

Today's lesson is aimed at Naurto fans and Sasuke fans! The theme is negative sentences and positive sentences. Hopefully this will enable Sasuke and Naruto fans around the globe to argue with each other! :)

So let's look at one of the ways of making a sentence negative.

positive

1. Naruto wa baka desu.
Naruto -[subject marker] -stupid -is.

Naruto is stupid.

negative

2. Naruto wa baka janai
Naruto - [subject marker] -stupid -isn't.

So we can see that adding 'janai' will often negate a noun. Could it be any more simple?! Now for another example.
positive

1. Sasuke wa gei desu.
Sasuke -[subject marker] -gay-is.

Sasuke is gay

negative

2. Sasuke wa gei janai
Sasuke - [subject marker] -gay -isn't.

Ok so there you have it! Two of the most popular phrases on Naruto forums translated into Japanese. Now we'll add them to a conversation and we'll aslo add the word 'iie' which means 'no'.

Fan1: Naruto wa baka desu.
Fan2: iie, Naruto wa baka janai, sasuke wa gei desu
Fan1: iie, sasuke wa gei janai!
Fan2: gei desu
Fan1: gei janai!
Fan2: gei dattebayo!
Fan: baka!

Now practice the pronuncitation here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2qTsTKQ9p8
ok I took this video down because the sounds was fucked...why is the sound always fucked on youtube?

(NB: personally I couldn't care less if Sasuke was gay or if Naruto is stupid, but a lot of you 'fanboys' like to argue about this kind of stuff...right?)

[Donkey Show]

Additions by Kingrazor:


"Grammar structures"

Asking how to say something in another language:

~は (language) で　なん　です　か。
ex: えんぴつ　は　えいご　で　なん　です　か。(What is pencil in English?)

~は (language) で　なん　と　います　か。
えんぴつ　は　えいご　で　なん　と　います　か。(How do you say pencil in English?)

Inviting someone to do something:

[time] に (いっしょに) [act] を/に [verb in negative form]　か。
ex: あした　に　いっしょに　えいが　を　みません　か。(won't you watch a movie with me tommorow?)

Using prepositions:

[noun] は [point of reference] の [preposition] に/が　います/あります。
ex: ほん　は　つくえ　の　うえ　に　あります。(the book is on the desk.)

[point of reference] の [preposition] に [noun] が [amount] います/あります。
ex: としょかん の なか に ほん が たくさん あります。(in the library the have lots of books.)

Using because:

[reason/cause] から [result/effect]
ex: そと に あつい から ショーツ を はいている。(because it's hot outside, I'm wearing shorts.)

Comparisons:

A と B と どちら (のほう) が [adj] ですか。
ex: にほん と アメリカ と どちら のほう が おおきい です か。(out of Japan and America, which one is bigger?)

A/B のほうが [adj] です。
ex: アメリカ のほう が おおきい です。(America is bigger.)

A は B より [adj] です。
ex: アメリカ は にほん より おおきい です。(America, more than Japan, is big. (America is bigger than Japan.))

A は B ほど [adj in negative form]。
ex: にほんはアメリカほどおおきくない。(To the degree of America, Japan is not big. (Japan is not as big as America.))

Actions

[Dictionary form verb] こと/の ができる。
ex: およぐ こと が できる。(I can/am able to swim.)

[Dictionary form verb] こと/の が [adj] です。
ex: かく こと が たのしい (The act of) writing is fun.)