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masaegu (Offline)
永遠の愛
 
Posts: 2,573
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Central Tokyo
06-14-2011, 04:24 PM

Quote:
Originally Posted by Darnellrbts View Post
Quick question I want to say I have 5 little brothers can I write it like this??
わたしは五おとうとがいます。
In Japanese, you need to use a counter. You cannot say "(number) + noun" like you do in European languages. The counter for people is 人(にん).

(わたしには)おとうとが5人(ごにん)います。You can drop the pronoun + particle. If you must use a subject (noun or pronoun), use には instead of just は because that is what sounds more natural.

Exceptions:
If you only have one or two little brothers, use 「ひとり」for one and 「ふたり」for two instead of 5人. For more than two, it is " (number) + 人(にん).

「おとうとが5人います。」 is the most natural-sounding way to say this. Notice the difference in the structure between Japanese and English.

「5人のおとうとがいます。」 would be the "English way" to say it but not in Japanese. This one is not incorrect but it does not sound as natural as the sentence above.

Learn the kanji 「人 = person」as it is super-easy.


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