Japanese Learners Use Too Many Kanji!

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by Tsuruneru

Is it a problem putting things kanji?

Oh

1. それ would be used to refer to something you have experience with but I don't. For example, when talking of a vacation you went on that I did not, you'd say その旅は楽しかった。 If I'd gone with you, you would say あの旅は楽しかった。 Analogically, you should have used あれ instead. But I don't think that's even necessary here. Remember that Japanese is a subject-deleting language (that's not the right term...maybe our semi-resident amateur linguist can chime in with the proper terminology?).

2. You misordered 漢字 and 問題 to end up saying something like "kanji having to deal with problems" rather than "kanji problem." You would want 問題 close to the end of the phrase.

3. What you said was more like, "Is that a thing having to do with the insertion of things having to do with kanji that deal with problems?"

Try something like

漢字の使い方の問題でしょうか。
Isn't it's a problem with the usage of kanji?

Nice try. Practice is what makes perfect, and the fact that you're willing to make attempts, even anonymously over the Internet, means you are more likely to improve!

And now I'd like to pose a question to any natives in the crowd right now: Would 漢字使用問題 be permissible as a newspaper-type headline for this topic? I don't know what else to call these, but I'm always trying to perfect my "headline style" Japanese. For example, this comes right out of today's 毎日新聞:

痴漢容疑：税務署員逮捕、電車内で ガンダム像見に来京中

A pair of hiragana and "Gundam."

[Tsuruneru]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

Oh

1. それ would be used to refer to something you have experience with but I don't. For example, when talking of a vacation you went on that I did not, you'd say その旅は楽しかった。 If I'd gone with you, you would say あの旅は楽しかった。 Analogically, you should have used あれ instead. But I don't think that's even necessary here. Remember that Japanese is a subject-deleting language (that's not the right term...maybe our semi-resident amateur linguist can chime in with the proper terminology?).

2. You misordered 漢字 and 問題 to end up saying something like "kanji having to deal with problems" rather than "kanji problem." You would want 問題 close to the end of the phrase.

3. What you said was more like, "Is that a thing having to do with the insertion of things having to do with kanji that deal with problems?"

Try something like

Nice try. Practice is what makes perfect, and the fact that you're willing to make attempts, even anonymously over the Internet, means you are more likely to improve!

And now I'd like to pose a question to any natives in the crowd right now: Would 漢字使用問題 be permissible as a newspaper-type headline for this topic? I don't know what else to call these, but I'm always trying to perfect my "headline style" Japanese. For example, this comes right out of today's 毎日新聞: A pair of hiragana and "Gundam."

Eh thanks. Well i try at the end are you saying molestation charges tax man arrested, Tyuukyou Gundam statue come to see in the train? Confused here.

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by Tsuruneru

Eh thanks. Well i try at the end are you saying molestation charges tax man arrested, Tyuukyou Gundam statue come to see in the train? Confused here.

I didn't say it. It's a headline of a Japanese newspaper. It basically says "Chikan* suspect: Tax office employee arrested on a train. Come see the Gundam statute." I'm not sure what the heck 京中 means here—"In the middle of the capital"? I also don't know why these two headlines were put together. They are seemingly unrelated. The article says nothing about Gundam whatsoever, and reading the headline, I thought maybe the guy was carrying a Gundam statuette and dropped it somewhere, and it had become a local attraction.

毎日ｊｐ - 毎日新聞のニュース・情報サイト

*"Chikan" is a subway molester or someone who gropes women. Maybe it can be used in another sense, but I've only ever encountered it meaning "someone feeling up women on the subway." I prefer to keep it "chikan" rather than translating it. It seems like one of those words that ought not be changed. I'm not a translation expert, though. Maybe MMM has some insight as to whether this is the type of word that should be translated or left as "chikan."

Maybe for a translated newspaper article to be reprinted somewhere, translating it would be good. But here, or in casual conversation with others who know of Japan, I'd probably leave it as "chikan."

Also, my fingers keep trying to type "chicken" rather than "chikan." :\

[snbzk]

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

I'm not sure what the heck 京中 means here—"In the middle of the capital"? I also don't know why these two headlines were put together. They are seemingly unrelated.

The article mentions that the incident happened when the guy was on his way to see the life-size Gundam statue in Tokyo (maybe you weren't looking at the full article?). My guess is that 来京 中 = on the way to the capital, so ガンダム像見に来京中 = on the way to the capital to see the Gundam statue.

YouTube - 18-Meter Life-Size Gundam in Odaiba, Japan

[GTJ]

@KyleGoetz:

It seems the discussion has moved on from it, but I see Japanese people use 出来る on a regular basis. I'm sure there's a stylistic rule, but when it comes to young people it might just be to break up the look of the sentence, or a "when I feel like it" thing. Just thought I'd throw my ¥2 in there

Btw, are they STILL talking about that Gundam??

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by snbzk

The article mentions that the incident happened when the guy was on his way to see the life-size Gundam statue in Tokyo (maybe you weren't looking at the full article?). My guess is that 来京 中 = on the way to the capital, so ガンダム像見に来京中 = on the way to the capital to see the Gundam statue.

YouTube - 18-Meter Life-Size Gundam in Odaiba, Japan

I doubt I was. The "article" I saw was like two sentences.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by snbzk

The article mentions that the incident happened when the guy was on his way to see the life-size Gundam statue in Tokyo (maybe you weren't looking at the full article?). My guess is that 来京 中 = on the way to the capital, so ガンダム像見に来京中 = on the way to the capital to see the Gundam statue.

Quite close. It would mean more that he was in Tokyo for that purpose, and that did the thing during that time. Not actually during his trip to Tokyo. (Although that could be the case - but I doubt it.)
Even without the full article, it`s clear from the title.
Basically, the 来京中 is "while in Tokyo".
So "ガンダム像見に来京中" is "While in Tokyo to see the Gundam statue."

Newspaper headlines sort of have their own rules, and can be hard to understand if you aren`t familiar with them.

ETA;
Back on the original topic though.
The only time I see 有り難う御座います is on New Years cards...
出来る, on the other hand, is used EVERYWHERE in Japan. It`s one of the first compounds kids learn and use on their own, is easy and quick to write, etc. I`d say it`s totally normal to use.
下さい is ok, but 下さる is something I have to say I rarely encounter.
If my word isn`t good enough, not being Japanese and all - my husband would rather die than not write 出来る or 下さい in any correspondence.

It`s much better to use too much kanji, and in places not so common for a native than too little kanji or writing in hiragana when a native would write in kanji - that is much much more jarring when it comes to style.

[andylaurel]

I asked my girlfriend about whether Japanese write　出来る　and 下さい　in kanji.
She replied - Yes.

[IcewindDude]

This is an interesting topic. It's not something I've actually thought about before. There certainly are words that do have kanji that I spell out in hiragana simply because that is how I am used to seeing them. And then there are words that I spell out in hiragana because I forgot the kanji for them .

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by andylaurel

I asked my girlfriend about whether Japanese write　出来る　and 下さい　in kanji.
She replied - Yes.

Interesting. My Japanese professors literally marked my kanji use as incorrect in my essays and replaced them with できる.

Could it be that your girlfriend just isn't using "correct" style? Maybe I should limit my rule to just formal writing...

I mean, I am finding webpages in Japanese stating the rule I've stated, so it's not like it's just one white guy making up rules. There are Japanese people who agree with me.