Japanese Phrase thread

kekaru

Completely Average High School Student
{provided bu Adamcube}

です[desu]
The polite copula; goes at the end of a sentence equation one thing to another.

と [to]
Basic word for "and", used within sentences. わたしはりんごといちごがすき。 [Watashi wa ringo to ichigo ga suki. -> I like apples and strawberries.]

なに [nani]
General "Say, wuh?" ("What?") on its own, but can also be used in sentences. Usually if you what to use "what" in a sentence, in its common English sense, なん [nan] is the better word. これはなんですか。 [Kore wa nan desu ka. -> What's this? (Polite)]

あした [ashita]
Tomorrow. じゃ、またあした、ね。 [Ja, mata ashita, ne. -> Well then, see ya tomorrow, okay? (Informal: probably heard it in anime - sure as hell I have.)]

きょ [kyo]
Today. きょはげつようび。 [Kyo wa getsuyoubi. -> Today is Monday.]

Pronunciations for numbers:
1: いち [ichi], 2: に [ni], 3: さん [san], 4: よん or し [yon or shi], 5: ご [go], 6: ろく [roku], 7: なな or しち [nana or shichi], 8: ひゃく [hyaku], 9: きゅう [kyuu], 10: じゅう [juu]. Where more than one pronunciation is given, the first is most common in my experience. Learn where to use which case by case.

おはようございます [Ohayou gozaimasu]
Good morning, set phrase.

こんにちは [Konnichiwa]
Good day, or general "hello", set phrase.

こんばんは [Konbanwa]
Good evening, set phrase.

おげんきですか。 [O-genki desu ka.]
Are you well? How are you? This is really polite.

Between equals だいじょうぶ [Daijoubu] is far more common, which can be used both as a question with rising intonation, and as an answer with an afirmative tone.

げんきです。 [Genki desu.]
I'm well, quite polite, again see だいじょうぶ [Daijoubu].

おなまえはなんですか。 [O-namae wa nan desu ka.]
What is your name? This is very polite, in most cases you could just say あなたは [Anata wa] with a rising intonation, prefixing it with "sorry", すみません [Sumimasen], to soften it's harshness a tad.

There are many ways to answer this. In most cases, if it's clear you're the person being talked about, you may skip the whole わたしは [Watashi wa], just saying NAME です [NAME desu]. There are more polite ways, but generally you won't need these.

Generally, a polite introduction will go like this:

はじめまして。わたしはadamcubeです。どぞうよろしく。 [Hajimemashite. Watashi wa adamcube desu. Dozou yoroshiku. -> Pleased to meet you. I am adamcube. Please treat me kindly.]

There are infinite variations to work with, depending on social status, but you won't go far wrong with that general one.

はい / いいえ [Hai / Iie]
Yes and No. Be careful with the pronunciation of いいえ [Iie]; if you fail to stress the double "i" then it becomes いえ [Ie], or house.

わかります / わかりません / わかりますか。 [Wakarimasu / wakarimasen / wakarimasu ka.]
I (he, she, it, ect.) understand(s) / I (he, she, it, ect.) do(es) not understand / Do(es) you (he, she, it, ect.) understand? For the most part, in rudimentary Japanese speech, subject is ambiguous, and is understood from content.

ありがとう / ありがとうございます [Arigatou / arigatou gozaimasu]
Thank you / thank you very much.

どもう [Domou]
Thanks.

The above two can be combined for greater politeness and emphasis; どもうありがとう / どもうありがとうございます [Domou arigatou / Domou arigatou gozaimasu -> Thank you so much / Thank you so, so very much. (Haha - these are horrible approximations!)]

おねがい [Onegai]
Please. This actually means a wish or request. Add -します [-shimasu] to the end, and the translation is "please do it" or "please take the discussed action".

いくらですか [Ikura desu ka.]
How much is it (that)? Talking to a taxi driver: しんじゅくまではいるかですか。 [Shinjuku made wa ikura desu ka. -> How much is it to the Shinjuku district (of Tokyo)?]

どぞ 「Dozo]
Please, go ahead. This has several meanings, but usually indicates "you first" in a polite sense. It could be said allowing someone to pass through a door ahead of you, or when handing them a drink. Keep in mind that it is very polite; you probably won't hear it that much between equals.

わたしとたべませんか。 [Watashi to tabemasen ka.]
Won't you eat with me? Would you eat with me? The "shi" sound in わたし [watashi] is often softened in fast, fluent speech, leaving a sound like "watash to". This should not be said on purpose, you will find naturally that as you speak faster, the sound will soften naturally.


useful phrases:


what is your name? - o namae wa nan desu ka? (o nam-aie wa nan deh-su kah)

my name is - Watashi no namae wa *NAME* desu (wa-tah-shi no nam-aie wa *NAME* dehsu)

welcome - Irasshaimase (e-ras-shaie-mase) (this is usualy said as you enter a shop, not so much basic shops)

nice to meet you - Dozo yoroshiku (doh-zo yo-ro-shi-kue)

yes - hie (high)

no - iie - (e-eh)

do you understand - wakadimasu ka (wah-ka-di-mahs-u kah?)

no i dont understand - Iie, wakarimasen (e-eh wa-ka-ri-mah-sen)

where is it? - doko desu ka? (do-ko deh-su kah)

thank you (very much) - domo arigato (goziemasu) (doh-mo ari-gat-oh (goh-zie-mas-u))

please onigishimasu (on-ee-guy-she-mas-u)

how much dose it cost - Iku ra desho ka? (iku-rah deh-sho kah)

like (enjoy) -suki (ski)

please (go ahead) - dozo (doh-zo)

excuse me - sumimasen (sum-ee-ma-sen)

sorry - gomennasai (go-men-e-sie)

what are you going to eat - nani o tabemasu ka? (nah-ni o tabi-masu kah)

what are you going to drink - nani o nomimasu ka? (nah-ni 0 nomi-masu kah)

wont you eat with me? - watasto tabimasen ka? (wa-tash-toh tabi-mas-sen kah)

wont you drink with me? - watasto nomimasen ka? (wa-tash-toh nomi-mas-sen kah)

im going to eat something - nanika tabemasu (na-ni-kah tabi-masu)

Well, let me see - sou desu ne (souh deh-su neh)


in that cast (or makeing up of mind) - ja (jah)

idiot (every one should know this ^^) - baka (bah-ka)

see you tomorrow ja atashta (jah at-ash-tah)




{provided by Kurogane}

I; Watashi, watakushi, ore, boku, kimi, atashi,

My; Any of the above + no

e.g: boku no namae kurisu (desu) = My name is Chris

or... watashi wa kurisu (desu) = I am Chris



Verbs:

すごい, sugoi - Great

すさまじい, susamajii - Terrible

きれい, kirei - Pretty

きれい, kirai - Hate

Objects:

えんぴつ, empitsu - Pencil

かみ, kami - Paper

くるま, kuruma - Car

ケ一キ, ke-ki - Cake

Places:

トイレ, toire - Toilet

えき, eki - Train Station

ほにゃ, honya - Bookstore

にくや, nikuya - Butchers
 
I'm learning Japanese as well. But I learned on many different sites and a book that you don't pronounce the 'u' in 'desu'. So, what's the correct way to say 'desu'? Or does it depend on the context?
 
SchoolRumble4Ever! said:
I'm learning Japanese as well. But I learned on many different sites and a book that you don't pronounce the 'u' in 'desu'. So, what's the correct way to say 'desu'? Or does it depend on the context?

To be honest. It really doesn't matter, srsly. Since Desu never needs to be said 'it is'.

And just to note, You pronounce it Des.
 
SchoolRumble4Ever! said:
I'm learning Japanese as well. But I learned on many different sites and a book that you don't pronounce the 'u' in 'desu'. So, what's the correct way to say 'desu'? Or does it depend on the context?

You're right, it's pronounced 'dess'.
 
Doberman Pharaoh said:
kekaru said:
im also going to wright in Japaneses script

Maybe you should work on your English first before learning Japanese, eh?

hmm the phrase, no i already have a grade C GCSE English thank you, comes to mind.
SchoolRumble4Ever! said:
I'm learning Japanese as well. But I learned on many different sites and a book that you don't pronounce the 'u' in 'desu'. So, what's the correct way to say 'desu'? Or does it depend on the context?

ya, its an abbreviation (for example we say don't when its do not) you can say "desu" and people will understand it but dess is more widely used
 
This is a nice idea and I too am keen to learn a few bits of Japanese. I'll get to practice in a couple of weeks when I'm over there (have I mentioned that I'm going to Japan? :p )

But I think that there are one or two people on here who'll go nuts when they see this thread!!
 
I'm jealous now! I really wnat to go to Japan but I'm a bit low on money, I only have like..........£10-12 in my moneybox.

Bokumo namae wa Kurisotowaa desu.

EDIT: Meaning:

My (male version) name is Christopher.
 
kekaru said:
harkins said:
This is a nice idea and I too am keen to learn a few bits of Japanese. I'll get to practice in a couple of weeks when I'm over there (have I mentioned that I'm going to Japan? :p )

But I think that there are one or two people on here who'll go nuts when they see this thread!!

go nuts... is that a good thing or a bad thing :)

SchoolRumble4Ever! said:
Bokumo namae wa Kurisotowaa desu.

Kurisotowaa san, konichiwa o genki desu ka?
 
kekaru said:
go nuts... is that a good thing or a bad thing :)
A bad thing. I've noticed that there's a faction in the anime community that have some sort of beef with taking an interest in Japan in general; especially the language. Anyway nevermind.

I was wondering if anyone could clear up the various ways of saying 'goodbye' for me. Everyone knows the formal/polite 'sayonara' and I know dewa mata, jaa ne and mata ne (which are all roughly variations of 'see you' (I think) but there is one that is said at the end of the Kurosawa film Sanjuro. It sounds like 'a-bye-o' but said quickly. It's subtitled as 'So long' which I assume is correct. It's just that I've never heard it said in any anime I've watched and I've never seen it in any language books or websites.
 
harkins said:
kekaru said:
go nuts... is that a good thing or a bad thing :)
A bad thing. I've noticed that there's a faction in the anime community that have some sort of beef with taking an interest in Japan in general; especially the language. Anyway nevermind.
This is me, to an extent. It's all well and good people want to take Japanese and type Japanese and whatever, Japanese sentences are fine, infact I think it's GREAT that people are doing it. It's just when you mix Japanese and English together in a sentence which gets to me it's just so... lame. Like: "I ai Naruto." When people say things like that gets on my nerves, badly. ;_;

Anyway, you missed a few obvious and over-used words that are used in the anime community.
 
Lupus Inu said:
Anyway, you missed a few obvious and over-used words that are used in the anime community.

ya i gathered that they would already know it



SchoolRumble4Ever! said:
Anata wa nihon-go ga totemo joozu desu.

arigato goziemas, demo boku wa yolk arimasen
 
Back
Top