Japanese Help Questions/Translations

[Maxful]

By the way, I am curious to know if there is any other way to greet people?

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by ponkikki

I almost posted like this:

I think there isn't any difference between the two sentences.

After reading masaegu's post above however, I am embarrassed at what I might had posted .
Masaeguさん, your post makes a lot of sense, Japanese is my mother tongue though.
Your contribution to this thread is not only useful for Japanese learners but also for English learners like me (even as to Japanese, again which is my native languege as well as English).

失礼いたしました。ありがたいお言葉を頂戴していたに も関わらず読み逃しておりました。私としてはもっと若 い皆さんに積極的に回答して頂いた方が良いのではない かと考えていたところです。

４年もやっておりますと摩擦疲労のようなものを自身で も感じてしまい、また間接的に若い方から語学力を磨く 絶好の機会を奪っているような気さえもいたします。ど うぞ今後は気軽に発言していかれるようお勧めいたしま す。今回の予期せぬコメント、誠にありがとうございま した。

[OzukakiBurasuki]

I have some questions on these sentences. :S

I am now in Japan.
今、私が日本でいます。 or 今は私が日本でいます。 Or should I use 日本に instead of 日本で?

Ms. Tanaka is fine. Mr. Yamakawa is not fine. (I assume by fine they mean 大丈夫)
田中さんは大丈夫です。山川さんは大丈夫じゃありませ ん。 ?

I went to the mountain with a Japanese man and woman.
私は日本人の男の人と女の人で山に行きました。 (do I need to classify both as 日本人 or is it assumed?)

I ate dinner with my friend on Tuesday.
私は火曜日に友達と晩御飯で食べました。 (Would i need to put 火曜日に before 私は? Also does it sound okay?)

On Wednesday, I drank a lot of alcohol. And then I saw a video.
私は水曜日にたくさんお酒を飲みました。それから、ビ デオを見ました。 (Would I need 、 after それから? Does it sound right? )

I dislike cold mornings.
私は寒い明日がきらいです。 (does this sound right)

Let's watch the movie tonight.
今晩はこの映画を見ました。 (would 今晩 need to be the topic? It just doesn't sound quite right to me.)

I'm just going from げんき, so don't be too harsh. D:

ありがとうございます。

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by OzukakiBurasuki

I am now in Japan.
今、私が日本でいます。 or 今は私が日本でいます。 Or should I use 日本に instead of 日本で?

First off, there has been some heavy discussion about は vs が the past couple weeks on JF. It appears you have completely missed that discussion.

1. You need は not が
2. You need に not で: you do not use で with ある／いる; you use に

Ms. Tanaka is fine. Mr. Yamakawa is not fine. (I assume by fine they mean 大丈夫)
田中さんは大丈夫です。山川さんは大丈夫じゃありませ ん。 ?

A number of native speakers have, over the past year or two, pointed out that じゃありません sounds bad to their ears because you're mixing a casual じゃ with non-casual ありません. Either ではありません or じゃない. Here, ではありません since you've used です already.

I went to the mountain with a Japanese man and woman.
私は日本人の男の人と女の人で山に行きました。 (do I need to classify both as 日本人 or is it assumed?)

You should use 男性 and 女性, not 男／女. Also, you only need 日本人 once. Also, if you go with someone, you と, not で. Using で here makes it sound like the people were tools you used to get to the mountain.

I ate dinner with my friend on Tuesday.
私は火曜日に友達と晩御飯で食べました。 (Would i need to put 火曜日に before 私は? Also does it sound okay?)

を, not で. Also, don't use the kanji for ご in ご飯. It looks weird. I know at least masaegu will back me up on that one.

On Wednesday, I drank a lot of alcohol. And then I saw a video.
私は水曜日にたくさんお酒を飲みました。それから、ビ デオを見ました。 (Would I need 、 after それから? Does it sound right? )

Japanese has very few rules about using 、. It is fine there. It may not be necessary, but it is OK. The rules in Japanese are far less...helpful to learners...than the rules in English.

I dislike cold mornings.
私は寒い明日がきらいです。 (does this sound right)

You said you dislike cold tomorrows. 明日＝tomorrow, 朝=morning.

寒い朝 = a cold morning

Let's watch the movie tonight.
今晩はこの映画を見ました。 (would 今晩 need to be the topic? It just doesn't sound quite right to me.)

You said "we watched," not "let's watch." "Let's watch" = 見ましょう or 見よう.

I think you really, really need to slow down and re-read everything. You have a particularly obvious problem with particles, even in the simplest of sentences. You also appear not to have read anything about the volitional form. I know that comes very early in Yookoso! textbooks. It probably comes early in Genki, too.

Go back to practically the beginning and work more slowly. My best guess is that you're moving on to new things before understanding the first things, considering you made pretty basic mistakes in every example.

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by OzukakiBurasuki

I have some questions on these sentences. :S

I am now in Japan.
今、私が日本でいます。 or 今は私が日本でいます。 Or should I use 日本に instead of 日本で?

Use 「私は」 and 「日本に」. No 「は」 after 「今」, except for a longer sentence as below.

You may be addicted to using 「が」 all the time like so many Japanese-learners I've spoken to. You need a reason to use it. For example, to say "My sister was in Japan last month and now I am in Japan.", you use 「が」 for the second part.

You do not use 「で」 unless it precedes an action verb. 「いる = to be」 is a stationary verb. There are only a few other stationary verbs --- 「住む」「滞在する」「ある」, etc. Action verbs are numerous (and endless) -- buy, kill, run, eat, teach, study, watch, etc.

Ms. Tanaka is fine. Mr. Yamakawa is not fine. (I assume by fine they mean 大丈夫)
田中さんは大丈夫です。山川さんは大丈夫じゃありませ ん。 ?

Correct by children's standards. Better speakers do not combine the highly casual 「じゃ」 with the not too casual 「ありません」.　 Do use 「では」instead of 「じゃ」.

In Kansai, however, 「じゃありません」 might sound more acceptable to adult speakers. Around Tokyo, you will not sound too cool saying it.

I went to the mountain with a Japanese man and woman.
私は日本人の男の人と女の人で山に行きました。 (do I need to classify both as 日本人 or is it assumed?)

It is assumed. The only mistake is the 「で」. Use 「といっしょに」.

You can say 「３人で行きました。= went in a group of three」 , but not 「ＡとＢで行きました。」


I ate dinner with my friend on Tuesday.
私は火曜日に友達と晩御飯で食べました。 (Would i need to put 火曜日に before 私は? Also does it sound okay?)

Are you addicted to using 「で」 as well? Why 「で」 there of all possiibilities? Definitely 「を」. Nothing else is even remotely correct.

On Wednesday, I drank a lot of alcohol. And then I saw a video.
私は水曜日にたくさんお酒を飲みました。それから、ビ デオを見ました。 (Would I need 、 after それから? Does it sound right? )

Excellento! No comma neededo. (Don't be laughing at my pronunciation. I'm a Japanese-speaker; I've gotta throw in an extra vowel here and there to feel like one.)

Can you put the two sentences into one, though? That will sound a lot smarter.


I dislike cold mornings.
私は寒い明日がきらいです。 (does this sound right)

Why 「明日 = tomorrow」? Use 「朝」.

For advanced learners, the sentence「私は寒い朝がきらいです。」, while being grammatical, sounds like it was translated from a foreign language. More native speakers would say it 「朝が寒いのは苦手です。」

Let's watch the movie tonight.
今晩はこの映画を見ました。 (would 今晩 need to be the topic? It just doesn't sound quite right to me.)

Your English and Japanese do not match up. 「見ました」 = someone watched. Use 「見ましょう」.

今晩はこの映画を見ましょう。 <-- Watching movies at night is a very common event for these people. "We watched A last night, so let's watch B tonight!"
今晩この映画を見ましょう。<-- Someone just thought of watching a movie tonight.

ありがとうございます。 <-- We say this ONLY after the service has been rendered, not before as in European languages. You can say 「よろしくお願いします。」.

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

を, not で. Also, don't use the kanji for ご in ご飯. It looks weird. I know at least masaegu will back me up on that one.

I sure will. I kinda overlooked because I was concentrating on the particles.

[OzukakiBurasuki]

Originally Posted by masaegu

I am now in Japan.
今、私が日本でいます。 or 今は私が日本でいます。 Or should I use 日本に instead of 日本で?

Use 「私は」 and 「日本に」. No 「は」 after 「今」, except for a longer sentence as below.

You may be addicted to using 「が」 all the time like so many Japanese-learners I've spoken to. You need a reason to use it. For example, to say "My sister was in Japan last month and now I am in Japan.", you use 「が」 for the second part.

You do not use 「で」 unless it precedes an action verb. 「いる = to be」 is a stationary verb. There are only a few other stationary verbs --- 「住む」「滞在する」「ある」, etc. Action verbs are numerous (and endless) -- buy, kill, run, eat, teach, study, watch, etc.

Yeah, the book made me slightly addicted to using が for いる/ある while not explaining yet why it switches between が / は. I suppose が would be for certain cases or the addition of another topic?

Ms. Tanaka is fine. Mr. Yamakawa is not fine. (I assume by fine they mean 大丈夫)
田中さんは大丈夫です。山川さんは大丈夫じゃありませ ん。 ?

Correct by children's standards. Better speakers do not combine the highly casual 「じゃ」 with the not too casual 「ありません」.　 Do use 「では」instead of 「じゃ」.

In Kansai, however, 「じゃありません」 might sound more acceptable to adult speakers. Around Tokyo, you will not sound too cool saying it.

The book wanted me to use じゃ for speech and では for writing purposes, but I tend to forget between the two are time as じゃ is faster for me to write than では

I went to the mountain with a Japanese man and woman.
私は日本人の男の人と女の人で山に行きました。 (do I need to classify both as 日本人 or is it assumed?)

It is assumed. The only mistake is the 「で」. Use 「といっしょに」.

You can say 「３人で行きました。= went in a group of three」 , but not 「ＡとＢで行きました。」


I saw somewhere that 「私は日本人の男の人と女の人と山に行きました。」 worled fine. Would that be just as good as といっしょに?

I ate dinner with my friend on Tuesday.
私は火曜日に友達と晩御飯で食べました。 (Would i need to put 火曜日に before 私は? Also does it sound okay?)

Are you addicted to using 「で」 as well? Why 「で」 there of all possiibilities? Definitely 「を」. Nothing else is even remotely correct.

ごめん。 I just realized that I messed up here. >_< Since 晩御飯 is the direct object, I should have used を like you said.

On Wednesday, I drank a lot of alcohol. And then I saw a video.
私は水曜日にたくさんお酒を飲みました。それから、ビ デオを見ました。 (Would I need 、 after それから? Does it sound right? )

Excellento! No comma neededo. (Don't be laughing at my pronunciation. I'm a Japanese-speaker; I've gotta throw in an extra vowel here and there to feel like one.)lol

Can you put the two sentences into one, though? That will sound a lot smarter.


I haven't learned compound sentences yet, so I don't understand what you mean.

I dislike cold mornings.
私は寒い明日がきらいです。 (does this sound right)

Why 「明日 = tomorrow」? Use 「朝」.

For advanced learners, the sentence「私は寒い朝がきらいです。」, while being grammatical, sounds like it was translated from a foreign language. More native speakers would say it 「朝が寒いのは苦手です。」

OH GOSH NOT AGAIN! I was thinking 朝 and accidentally typed 明日 instead. ごめん。 >///< Thanks for the insight. :'D

Let's watch the movie tonight.
今晩はこの映画を見ました。 (would 今晩 need to be the topic? It just doesn't sound quite right to me.)

Your English and Japanese do not match up. 「見ました」 = someone watched. Use 「見ましょう」.

今晩はこの映画を見ましょう。 <-- Watching movies at night is a very common event for these people. "We watched A last night, so let's watch B tonight!"
今晩この映画を見ましょう。<-- Someone just thought of watching a movie tonight.

I'm such a mess up. >_< I completely forgot that it was supposed to be ましょう. I'm assuming since 今晩 is the topic, that is the reason why it is common?

ありがとうございます。 <-- We say this ONLY after the service has been rendered, not before as in European languages. You can say 「よろしくお願いします。」.

ありがとうございます。(kyle and masaegu) I was doing these at 3AM and actually fell asleep while doing them. I noticed that my particles tend to get crazy when I'm half-asleep as I tend to usually only study in the mornings/afternoon. I had to get Genki I lesson 5 finished before Monday, so I was speeding through the practices in the book/workbook. Sorry.

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by OzukakiBurasuki

Yeah, the book made me slightly addicted to using が for いる/ある while not explaining yet why it switches between が / は. I suppose が would be for certain cases or the addition of another topic?

I spent a few hours discussing 「は」 and 「が」 in the following thread last week. You might either find it informative or get even more terribly confused. Give yourself a few years because those are the two hardest words to use correctly in the entire Japanese language.

http://www.japanforum.com/forum/japa...%E3%82%8B.html

I saw somewhere that 「私は日本人の男の人と女の人と山に行きました。」 worled fine. Would that be just as good as といっしょに?

It is correct but using 「といっしょに」 would sound better because you already have used the particle 「と」 for a different meaning just before the second 「と」. Not using the same particle multiple times near each other is more reader/listener-friendly.

I haven't learned compound sentences yet, so I don't understand what you mean.

In that case, please disregard.

「私は水曜日にたくさんお酒を飲み、それからビ デオを見ました。」 was what I was referring to.

I'm assuming since 今晩 is the topic, that is the reason why it is common?

Exactly. This is what I call the comparative 「は」.

[chibibecci]

If I want to ask someone what sweets they missed the most from england, how would I say this in Japanese? So far I've got this, but I don't know how to say the miss part of the sentence at all.
イギリスのお菓子でどっちが一番ｍiss？
Also is the rest of the sentence written ok?
thanks

[KyleGoetz]

You should know that どっち is casual, so if you don't mean to sound casual, you should use どちら. どっち comes from どちら.

TO miss X = Xが恋しい

So, depending on your precise intent, something like
イギリスのお菓子の中でどちらが１番恋しいでしょうか 。
This is asking for the #1 sweet missed the most.