Japanese Help Questions/Translations

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by StonerPenguin

Brief question on dialogue;
「奥座んな」
What does 「奥」 mean here? The speaker takes a guy into a room with a table and two chairs (placed across from each other; they're going to discuss a business deal). I'm not sure what chair 奥 is referring to

奥 means the spot that is further away from the addressee.

[cloud9]

(For reference:「小林さん、旅行が足が出たせいかこのごろ元� �がありませんねえ。」 )

Originally Posted by masaegu

Incurring a deficit is an action.

The way you explain this makes sense
but I remember answering a question in class, 「。。。どうして相撲は伝統的なのだと思いますか 。」
my response was, 「相撲は日本に一番古いからです。」
and my instructor corrected it to で 「相撲は日本で一番古いからです。」
I can't figure out the action here

[pwsgary]

Japanese language is very nice and I'd like to learn on that language..

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by cloud9

Would the difference between
「忘れないうちに友達に電話しよう。」
and
「忘れないうちに友達に電話しておこう。」
be that the first one simply states, 'I should call my friend before I forget.' and the second one is, 'I should call my friend nowbefore I forget?

The difference is really minimum to nonexistent. The two would be interchangeable.

If I had to look for a difference, then I could say that the second phrase showed just a tad bit more precaution on the part of the speaker, but that would mostly be nitpicking.

Oops ...does the volitional form (ておこう) in this case mean 'should' or 'probably should'? I tried to look for different volitional form usages... but failed >< so I translated as 'we/let's' because 行こう=let's go?

It is saying "I will make the call before I forget." Yes, it's fairly close to "should". You are telling yourself that you intend to do something.

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by cloud9

The way you explain this makes sense
but I remember answering a question in class, 「。。。どうして相撲は伝統的なのだと思いますか 。」
my response was, 「相撲は日本に一番古いからです。」
and my instructor corrected it to で 「相撲は日本で一番古いからです。」
I can't figure out the action here

There is no action there. It's just saying "oldest in Japan". Particles are not that simple.

One needs to remembner the following as a set phrase.
"Place + で + 一番 + Adjective"

Replace the で with に and the phrase's meaning will change completely.
= "The most (adjective) for Japan"
～～に　＝　～～にとって

[cloud9]

Originally Posted by masaegu

There is no action there. It's just saying "oldest in Japan". Particles are not that simple.

One needs to remembner the following as a set phrase.
"Place + で + 一番 + Adjective"

Replace the で with に and the phrase's meaning will change completely.
= "The most (adjective) for Japan"
～～に　＝　～～にとって

Ok got it ^_^<

[cloud9]

Originally Posted by masaegu

The difference is really minimum to nonexistent. The two would be interchangeable.

If I had to look for a difference, then I could say that the second phrase showed just a tad bit more precaution on the part of the speaker, but that would mostly be nitpicking.



It is saying "I will make the call before I forget." Yes, it's fairly close to "should". You are telling yourself that you intend to do something.

Thank-you so much Masaegu, I really appreciate it

[illstyle]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

Are you studying Japanese?

Yes, self paced.

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by illstyle

　
What is your favourite colour?
anata wa nani okiniiri iro wo desu ka?

What are your favourite Japanese movies?
anata wa nani okiniiri nihongo eiga desu ka?

Your birthday is coming up!
anata wa tanjo-bi wo chikaku ni desu

What are you doing for your birthday?
anata wa tanjo-bi no suru desu ka?

Do you have a Facebook account?
anata wa akaunto FACEBOOK te iru ka?

Do you play* any sports?
anata wa supotsu wo saisei ka?

What do you do during your spare time?
anata wa nani aki jikan wo suru ka?

Where abouts do you live?
anata wa doko wo raibu ka?

What school do you go to?
anata wa nani gakko wo ni iku ka?

When are you moving back to Japan?
anata wa nihongo wo ido ka?

Do you have a boyfriend?
anata wa boifurendo wo te iru ka?

When can I see you?
anata wa toki wo miru ka?

In just one post, you used the word あなた more times than the average Japanese person would in his lifetime. Have you not noticed that your buddy never uses it in her messages to you?

What is your favourite colour?
好きな色は？

What are your favourite Japanese movies?
好きな日本映画は？

Your birthday is coming up!
もうすぐ誕生日だね。

What are you doing for your birthday?
誕生日に何かするのかな？

Do you have a Facebook account?
フェイスブックに登録してたらユーザー名教えて。

Do you plan any sports?
何かスポーツやってる？

What do you do during your spare time?
暇な時はなにしてるの？

Where abouts do you live?
どの辺に住んでるの？

What school do you go to?
どこの学校行ってるの？

When are you moving back to Japan?
いつ日本に戻るの？

Do you have a boyfriend?
彼氏とかいるの？

When can I see you?
いつ会えるのかなあ。

All casual without being slangy.

[lucagalbu]

Can you please tell me how to use the verb 会います? For example, what is the difference (if any) between:
８時に友達に会います。
and
８時に友達と会います。
?
Thanks