Nihongo de Asobo!

[MMM]

Originally Posted by llewyn

chan: Is used with boys or girls that are close to you. using it towards girls just means they`re your friend. Also oneechan and oniichan are used to describe young adult boys and girls and doesn`t really have a bad image unless you use the wrong tone or are obviously talking down to them. oneechan and oniichan also mean sister and brother just in the fonder form

I wouldn't say "onee-chan" to a young woman I didn't know unless I was considering propositioning her. If I were going to use that phrase to address a boy or girl I didn't know, I would add "san" instead of "chan", though, as a foreigner, I probably wouldn't use it at all.

[enyafriend]

I don't know why but, funny thing is that...everytime I hear the word "onee-chan", it reminds me of nampa suru.

[MMM]

I agree...

It's like an family-only word, or a word a man uses to hit on a woman (and is probably a red-flag telling the woman that the man is drunk and/or horny).

[Jawful]

oneesan is perfectly acceptable to call a young woman, at least around here. I regularly get called oniisan. You can also call old women obaasan and men ojiisan. ojisan and obasan are ok for obviously middleaged men and women, but better to use onee and onii for people who are in their thirties. They are still pretty age-consious and like to pretend to still be in their 20s.

But I'm with MMM in that oneechan is pretty much the beginning of a pickup or at least with a "you're cute" tone, even if no nampa is taking place. Usually the person saying it isn't sober. I've never said it sober, anyway, heh.

[UkyoHimura]

Originally Posted by enyafriend

Actually, this should be in the Japanese Language Help thread instead of here.
However, since no one is answering this, I'll explain them here.

しょうがない is actually short for しかたがありません、しかたがない。We use しょうがないin colloquial speech. I often find this expression complicate, but at the same time, handy. Handy, because you can use this in many situations and complicate, because it's meaning can change accordingly.
Eg:
あの子はしょうがない子だ。 That child is impossible.
今日は厚くてしょうがない。It's just too hot today.
もう壊れたからしょうがない。It's already broken. There's nothing much that you can do about it.

やっぱり can be loosely translated as after all, indeed, anyway, etc. Again, this expression, like しょうがない、can be used in many ways and in varies situations.
Eg:
やっぱりそうだ！I knew it!
やっぱり行かないよ。I won't be going after all.
やっぱりダメだ。It's useless, indeed.

これみようがし is to flaunt, to show off, ostentatiously
Eg:
これ見よがしに見せる to flaunt
これ見よがしに～する to exagerate
胸をこれ見よがしに突き出す to flaunt one's bosom

Hope that helps.

It does but. ^_^

But I ask.

Could you maybe give the romaji for these phrases as well? Because everyone might not know all of there characters.

For example, I personaly don't know all my Kanjis I only 80 kanjis sofar.

[enyafriend]

Originally Posted by UkyoHimura

It does but. ^_^

But I ask.

Could you maybe give the romaji for these phrases as well? Because everyone might not know all of there characters.

For example, I personaly don't know all my Kanjis I only 80 kanjis sofar.

Well, I'm afraid that if you only have about 80 or so kanjis in your belt, then the explainations above may be way above your level. Honestly, it is not advisable for you to be learning lessons at random, irregardless of its level. It would confused you.

But anyway, here's one for the road. Kanjis that appeared above are:

あの子 = anoko
厚くて= atsukute
壊れたか= kowareta
胸をこれ見よがしに突き出す= mune o kore miyogashi ni tsukidasu

[Amnell]

Regarding the usage of onii-chan/onee-chan...

In anime, small children seem to often use this to address a person in their teens or early twenties, i.e. still young enough as to concievably be a sibling. Does this actually happen? Or is it just an anime'ism?

Also, in "Shakugan no Shana", there are two male characters about 16 years old who address an adult friend of theirs as "Marugori-neesan" (roughly, I think, 'Big sister Margery"). It could concievably fit with my first paragraph since the adult character looks to be about in her late twenties--not too big a stretch, I guess, for the sibling thing. Hey, I have a sister that's ten years older than me :P , and a brother that's fourteen older than I (who was just recently in Japan, lucky bastard).

Whatever the case is, the consensus is that Gaijin should not use onee-chan on a Japanese girl? Ever? How about onii-chan? Or using san instead of chan?

[Kuroneko]

Originally Posted by Amnell

Regarding the usage of onii-chan/onee-chan...

In anime, small children seem to often use this to address a person in their teens or early twenties, i.e. still young enough as to concievably be a sibling. Does this actually happen? Or is it just an anime'ism?

Also, in "Shakugan no Shana", there are two male characters about 16 years old who address an adult friend of theirs as "Marugori-neesan" (roughly, I think, 'Big sister Margery"). It could concievably fit with my first paragraph since the adult character looks to be about in her late twenties--not too big a stretch, I guess, for the sibling thing. Hey, I have a sister that's ten years older than me :P , and a brother that's fourteen older than I (who was just recently in Japan, lucky bastard).

Whatever the case is, the consensus is that Gaijin should not use onee-chan on a Japanese girl? Ever? How about onii-chan? Or using san instead of chan?

Yes Japanese children do actually say nee-san to (roughly) 16-25 year old girls (nii-san for boys) its not so much big sister/big brother (this is what it literally means) but more as a way for them to connect on a small scale, as most children are taught to be polite to there elders, nee-san is just away of being polite (plus it makes them sound cute ^_^) when children address older people (i.e. 50-100 year olds) obasan/oji-san. (grandma/grandpa) is used.

Teens and young adults using nee/nii-san to a person not that’s not to fair out of there age group is mostly used for someone they know very well. And on occasion has been used as a pick up line to hit on girl. Sometimes you hear older men say this to younger girl. Its very rare and its sounds creepy to these girls. (My girlfriend told me about some old guy that said it to her and it freaked her out.) You don’t really hear girls saying nee-san to hit on guys though.

As for us Gaijin’s we don’t really use it. It sounds really odd coming from a Gaijin if not just plain creepy. I my self have used it for one of my friends/teacher but I had gotten to know her a lot before that. (And was a bit of an inside joke.) For the most part you won’t use it unless you’re talking directly at your older sister/brother. (If they can understand Japanese)

[Renica]

On the topic of this whole Onee-chan/ Onee-san thing...
Wouldn't it be more appropriate to call an older girl or boy Ane-san(For girls)/Ani-san or aniki (For boys)?

And on the subject of -chan in general, I have read that it is simply a word to be used towards close female friends. -kun is used towards male friends or people who are younger than you. (E.G., in Fruits Basket, Hatori refers to Tohru as "Honda-kun".)

Really the most improper thing to call someone is their given name with no honorific. It is considered rude to do that without permission from the addressee.
On the other side of the coin, if you have permission or are very close to this person (Lovers, spouses, very close friends) it can be considered a compliment, or show of affection to call their name without an honorific.

I hope I got that right. I am very sorry if I did not.

[Kuroneko]

Originally Posted by Renica

On the topic of this whole Onee-chan/ Onee-san thing...
Wouldn't it be more appropriate to call an older girl or boy Ane-san(For girls)/Ani-san or aniki (For boys)?

And on the subject of -chan in general, I have read that it is simply a word to be used towards close female friends. -kun is used towards male friends or people who are younger than you. (E.G., in Fruits Basket, Hatori refers to Tohru as "Honda-kun".)

Really the most improper thing to call someone is their given name with no honorific. It is considered rude to do that without permission from the addressee.
On the other side of the coin, if you have permission or are very close to this person (Lovers, spouses, very close friends) it can be considered a compliment, or show of affection to call their name without an honorific.

I hope I got that right. I am very sorry if I did not.

In a nut shell it looks fine to me.

About Ane-san/Ani-san it can be used at your own discretion. I believe that onii/onee are more poilte then ane/ani, but really its just a matter of choice. Aniki is a bit father out there, its more of people that you really know well. Often you hear this from yakuza, gangs (mostly from movies that I'v seen ), or even high school students.