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?
