Saturday 7 April 2012

Learning Japanese I think I'm learning Japanese I really think so (I am)


It was fun while it lasted, but I'm tired of seeing this in my most popular posts, so she had to go. The quest to stifle this blog's popularity continues...


You might be surprised to hear that my Korean language studies have actually been progressing adequately, which can be mostly credited to my occasional bouts of unrequited interest in nice ladies who for some reason or other decide not to hurl themselves into the destructive cyclone of a relationship with me. The lovely fools. You made the right decision.

Still, for my first couple of months in Korea I couldn't do much more than explain to people that I couldn't speak their language (bud heyo!) 'I can't speak' is the first thing they teach you, quite self-defeatingly, in all the various language courses I own produced by the same fairly well-known company that I won't name here. Let's call them 'Bimsleur.' It's like you shell out for these CD sets and then feel you can let yourself off the hook from working through the whole thing because at least you can express your ignorance accurately. I make me sick.

Obviously I did splash the cash on all these language courses I listen to, because I am a wealthy and moral man and wouldn't know the first thing about obtaining them through illicit channels (on a completely unrelated note, South Korea's fibre optic broadband really is a fresh of breath air after putting up with dodgy South East Asia connections for so long - almost as if those countries have more important things to spend their limited funds on than needlessly high bandwidth).

For a long time now, ever since I first considered teaching in Japan, I've had a basic Japanese course taking up space on my hard drive, comprising 8 x 30-minute lessons. I decided that mastering all the basic sentences contained in these four hours (of which most is pauses for me to speak in, and repetitions of the same phrases over and over again) will make me a master of Japanese. A sensei, if you will - a term taught to me by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles when I was about four, disproving that the animated adventures of talking, fighting reptiles were of no educational value. They literally taught me a thing.

But I needed some motivation, and what more precious incentive than the risk of an incomplete blog post? Unless you're learning Japanese too, you should switch off now and not read more, because the rest of this page will be filled with my study notes from eight Japanese lessons over eight consecutive days. There won't be any more morally ambiguous pictures or anything - this is even more explicitly for my own benefit than my blogs normally are anyway.


If you're not learning Japanese, this will be of no interest to you. Even if you are learning Japanese, I don't see how this will be of much use, unless you imagine the words being patiently recited by two Japanese actors interspersed with instructions from an arrogant American.


Lesson 1


sumimasen
excuse me

eigo
English language

eigo ga
English language, used in a sentence

wakarimasu
[I] understand

+ka
[to ask - ending]

wakarimasu ka
do you understand?

eigo ga wakarimasu ka
do you understand English?

iie
no [Like the Alton Towers ghost train sound effect]

eigo ga wakarimasu
I understand English

wakarimasen
I don't understand

-masen
[negative]

nihongo
Japanese language

nihongo ga
Japanese language, used in a sentence

nihongo ga wakiramasu
[I] understand Japanese

nihongo ga wakiramasen
[I] don't understand Japanese

sukoshi
a little

sukoshi wakarimasu
[I] understand a little

nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu
[I] understand Japanese a little

igirisu-jin
English nationality

anata wa
you, used in a sentence

desu
am/are

anata wa desu
you are

anata wa igirisu-jin desu
you are English ('you English are')

['I'/'you' are usually understood - 'wastashi wa' adds emphasis for comparison]

anata wa igirisu-jin desu ka
are you English?

watashi wa
I, used in a sentence

watashi wa desu
I am

watashi wa igirisu-jin desu
I am English

hai
yes

hai sukoshi
yes, a little

nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu
I understand Japanese a little

hai watashi wa igirisu-jin desu
yes, I am English


Lesson 2


ohaiyo gozaimasu
good morning (until 10/11AM)

ohaiyo
good morning [close friends/family]

+gozaimasu
[polite ending]

[Reply in kind]

ii
nice/good [extended sound]

otenki
weather

+desu
is / are

+desu ne
isn't it? / aren't you?

ee otenki desu ne
it's nice weather, isn't it?

so desu ne
isn't it? / aren't you? / don't you think? [when agreement is expected]

ja mata
see you [informal]

arigato
thanks

arigato gozeimasu
thank you

jozu
skilled

jozu desu / desu ne
you're skilled / aren't you

jozu ja arimasen
I'm not very good

nihongo ga jozu desu ne
you're skilled at Japanese, aren't you?

eigo ga jozu desu ne
you're skilled at English, aren't you?

watashi wa jozu ja arimasen
[watashi wa emphasises lack of skill]


Lesson 3


demo
but

demo mada jozu ja arimasen
but I'm not skilled

yoku
well

yoku wakarimasu
understand well

yoku wakarimasen
don't understand well

yana
bad

yana otenki desu ne
bad weather innit?

domo
indeed/very much

domo arigato gozaimasu
thank you very much [polite]

konnichi wa
good afternoon/hello [from mid morning until evening]

nihon
Japan

watashi wa nihon-jin desu
I am Japanese

anata wa nihon-jin desu ka?
are you Japanese?

watashi wa nihon-jin ja arimasen
I am not Japanese

watashi wa amerika-jin ja arimasen
I am not American!

watashi wa igirisu-jin desu
I am English

[to ask 'and you?' just say 'you?' - anata wa]

watashi wa igirisu-jin desu - anata wa?
I am English - and you?

demo nihongo ga wakarimasu
but I understand Japanese

ii, yoku wakarimasu
no, I don't understand well


Lesson 4


hanashimasu
speak [you/I is understood]

jozu ni
well [as in skilled]

jozu ni hanashimasu
you speak well

jozuh ni hanashimasu ne?
you speak well, don't you?

scoshi hanashimasu
I speak a little

DIRECTIONS

eki
station [name + eki]

koen
park [name + park]

doko
where

doko desu ka?
where is it?

... wa doko desu ka?
where is ...

koko
here

koko desu
it's here

koko desu ka?
is it here?

hai, koko desu
yes, it's here

ii, koko ja arimasen
no, it's not here

asoko
there / over there

asoko desu
it's over there

asoko ja arimasen
it's not over there


Lesson 5


nanika
something?

shitte imasu
I know

wakarimasen
I don't know [or I don't understand - depends on situation]

FOOD

tabemasu
eat / I eat / I'm going to eat

tabemasu ka?
are you going to eat?

hai, tabemasu
yes, I'm going to eat

tabemasen
I'm not going to eat

nanika
something

nanika tabemasu
I'm going to eat something

tabimasen ga?
won't you eat? [insinuation]

nanika tabimasen ga?
won't you eat something?

nomimasu
drink / I drink / I'm going to drink

nomimasen
I'm not going to drink

nomimasu ka?
are you going to drink?

nanika nomimasu ka?
are you going to drink something?

ii, kekko desu
[to decline any offer - sort of like no thank you]

watashi wa tabemasu
I'm going to eat [emphatically]

so desu ne
let me see [slow, killing time - also agreement]

ii, demo nanika tabemasu/nomimasu
no, but I will eat/drink something


Lesson 6


watashi wa Cola nomimasu
I am going to drink Coca Cola

eh
yeah [informal]

eh, tabemasu
yeah, I'm going to eat

doko de?
where at?

doko de tabemasu ka?
where are we going to eat?

tokoro
place

+ de
at

watashi no tokoro
my place

watashi no tokoro de
at my place

watashi mo
me too

watashi mo tabetai desu
I would like to eat too

eh, watashi no tokoro de
yes, at my place

itsu
when?

ima
now

itsu tabemasu ka?
when are you going to eat?

ato de
later

eh, demo ato de
yes, but later

ato de tabemasu
I'm going to eat later

ii desu
fine / it's alright [like weather]

ii desu ne?
it's alright, isn't it?


Lesson 7


koko de
here

koko de ja arimasen
not here

yoku arimasen
not okay [different from yoku in lesson 3]

resutoran
restaurant

resutoran de
at the restaurant

nani
what

nani o nomimasu ka?
what would you like to drink?

nanio tabimasu ka?
what would you like to eat?

wakarimasu ka?
you don't know?

osake
sake, rice wine or alcohol in general ['o' makes polite]

osake o nomimasu
I'm going to drink sake

biiru
beer

biiru nominasu
I'm going to drink beer

hoshii
[used to explain one's own desire]

osake ga hoshii desu
I would like some sake ['some' is usually understood]

biiru ga hoshii desu
I want some beer

hoshiku arimasen
I don't want any


Lesson 8


Tanaka-san
Mr/Mrs/Miss Tanaka [common Japanese surname]

Sato-san
[another common Japanese surname]

hirugohan
lunch

hiruhogan tabemasu
I'm going to eat lunch

Sato-san, naninka nomimasu?
Mr Sato, would you like something to drink?

Sato-san, nani o nomimasu ka?
Mr Sato, what are you going to drink?

ni
two

ni hon
two bottles [counting word for long, narrow objects]

biiru ni hon
two bottles of beer

onegai shimasu
please [polite to add to requests]

onegai
favour

osake o gie shimas?
sake, could you please?

ka
or

biiru ka osake?
beer or sake?

Tanaka-san, biiru ka osake nomimasu ka?
you know the score by now

nanio shimasu ka?
what are you going to do?

hoteru
hotel

hoteru de
at the hotel

ki mas
buy

naniko ki mas
I'm going to buy

biiru o ki mas
I'm going to buy beer

dare to?
with whom?

eh, anata to
yes, with you

Sato-san to
with Mr Sato

dare?
who?

demo dare toh?
but with whom?