Quote:
Originally Posted by masaegu
Good to see you again, SP!
Young people rarely use polite speech any more even if they are talking to someone from their own age group for the first time. So, you did just fine this time. You won't sound rude by speaking plain unless you are talking to a teacher or any older person than you.
You could have said 「今忙しいの？」、「今ちょっと時間ない？」, etc.
「行かなきゃか？」 is incorrect by any standards. I couldn't say 「なきゃか」 even if I tried. You could have said 「（もう）行かなきゃダメ？」、「行かなきゃなんない の？」、etc.
Politely, it's 行かなければなりませんか.
Deciding how you should talk to them in emails is easy. You just write using the same level of politeness/casualness that y'all were using toward the end of your conversation in person.
It's never "bad" to speak politely, but that would throw them off if you have already spoken to them casually in person lately. I would assume it would be the same in other languages as well.
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Ahhh, thanks! They seemed to know what I meant by 「行かなきゃか？」 so I suppose it's alright though I'll try to remember the phrases you gave me next time.
Also, I asked them how to say 'nervous' in Japanese (in the sense that I don't have a lot of experience talking in Japanese so I'm nervous) and they suggested 「気を使う」. Is that the right expression to use here? I was under the impression 「気を使う」 meant more 'being bothered/concerned about something'.
Also, I kinda like it if you could look over the message I'm gonna write them to make sure I don't too retarded
I'm gonna send this to just the girl I talked to the most rather than send the same thing 4 times :P Here goes;
Hello! I meant to contact you the night before last but I was exhausted when I got home.
こんにちは！ おとといの晩、真央さんたちに連絡 す るつもりだったのだが、家に着いた時、私はたいへん疲 れていた。
And then yesterday I was a little busy. Sorry I'm slow at writing messages in Japanese since I'm not very good yet ><
そして、昨日はちょっと忙しいけど。 ごめん、まだあ まり上手ではないから私は日本語でメッセージを書くの はとても時間がかかる。 ＞＜
How are you? It was so nice meeting and talking to you! I was afraid my dad might have scared you when he approached you guys.
お元気？ 真央さんたちに会えて話してうれしかったよ 。 父が真央さんたちに近づいた時、びっくりするのではな いかと心配した。
And I was a little embarrassed at first since I wasn't sure if I'd be any good.
そして私は自分に自信がなくてちょっと恥ずかしかった 。
But you guys we so nice and encouraging that I became confident. I'm so grateful.
でも、自信を持つほど真央さんたちが親切に励ましてく れた。 ほんとに感謝してる。
Though I realize now I made a bunch of mistakes... When I was talking about the Iron Giant statue I said "Nemeteru robotto', What I meant to say was 'nemute iru robotto' ><
[I really don't know how to say the first sentence. Sorry. ] アイロン・ジャイアントの像のことを話したとき、「ネ メテルロボット」と言っちゃった。 ＞＜ 言おうとし ていたことは、「眠っているロボット」だった。
Ack, my pronunciation was awful. I need to practice more. Anyway, thank you so much for talking with me in Japanese. It was good practice and a lot of fun. I hope we can do it again.
ああ、発音は悪かった。 私はもっと練習することが必 要だ。 とにかく、日本語で話してくれて本当にありが とうございます。 いい経験でとても楽しかった。 ま た会えたらいいね。
Oh yeah, we lost our camera. My little sister is pretty upset about it since she probably took hundreds of photos...
ちなみに、カメラをなくしちゃった ；＿； 妹が写真 を何百枚撮ったでしょうからかなり悲しいんだ・・・
We may drive back to the University to look for it, though we might not since it's a two hour drive and the chances of finding it are pretty slim. We've been looking all over for it D': I hope it turns up.
カメラを探しにまたあの大学に行くことになるかもしれ ない。でも、見つける見込みはほとんどなくてここから そこまで車で２時間だから、行かないかも。 カメラを 家中探していた。 カメラが現れてほしいと思う。
If we end up driving back up there, maybe we can meet up again
How much longer are you guys gonna be in Alabama?
あそこに行くことになれば、[This is a somewhat weak suggestion, since I don't wanna bother them. How would you do that in Japanese?] ＾０＾ どのくらいアラバマに滞在するの？
Your English is very good. Did you learn in school? What made you want to learn English?
英語お上手だ。 学校で習ったの？ どうして英語を習 い始めたの？
By the way, please share this message to Shiori, Emiko and Misa too. I will email them too. Sorry I'm so slow D:
ところで、真央さん、栞さんと詠美子さんと未紗にもこ のメッセージを見せてください。[I'm a little afraid this sounds kinda rude, is it?] 彼女達もメールするつもりだ。 とても遅くてすみま せん。
Later
ではまた～ [Or would 「じゃあね」 look better?]
If any of this looks rude, please tell me. I don't care too terribly if it's unnatural since these girls know my Japanese isn't perfect (though I'd still like to know as I'm learning). Sorry for the length! Thank you