Obsolete: The Japanese Language Help Thread

[D-ryukei]

コピー is almost a verb; it's closer to "copying" than "how many copies." The counter for CD's and DVD's is 枚(mai), 冊(satsu) for books, 本(hon) for tapes, and, hmm, dunno for game carts (I'd guess 個(ko)).

I'd explain the word コピー"kopi".
Japanese "kopi", coming from English "copy", means only "machine-copying" or "machine-copied documents". We don't use the word for the copied things other than paper/documents such as CDs.
For example, if you say 本のコピー(hon-no kopi), which can be directly translated to "a copy of book" , actually means "a document made by copying some pages of the book".

Here is some counters of Japanese:
枚(mai) for thin things such as paper, CDs, cloth, etc.
冊(satsu) for books and book-shaped things such as notebooks, diaries, etc.
本(hon) for slender, cylinder-like things such as pens, sticks, bottles, etc.
台(dai) for vehicles and machines.
個(ko) is used for many things, sometimes instead of other counters.

 

[I Started A Cult]

Okay, given what I've got, I'd like to make sure I'm saying what I think I am:
Here's what I'm saying.
Here's what I think it means.
Anyway, here we go...
こんにちわ､ [DATA EXPUNGED]｡
Hello, [DATA EXPUNGED].

[DATA EXPUNGED]のCDをかいたいとおもいます｡
I would like to buy a copy of [DATA EXPUNGED].

アメリカまでのゆそうひってなんですか。
What are the shipping costs to send one to America.?

ありがとうございます､ -excessivesparetime
Thanks a lot, -excessivesparetime

(ぼくのにほんごがじょうずじゃなくてすみません。
(Sorry my Japanese is off.

ぼくはアメリカのだいがくせいです｡ いちねんせいです｡)
I'm an American college student. It's my first year.)


So, is that anywhere near accurate?

 

[Kamikazen]

OK, I'm a little stuck here (sry to break the monotony | ). I'm having a little trouble with the word "mama." I know it means "as it is" or "present state" as stated in my Oxford Beginner's Japanese Dictionary, and I know it most likely follows the demonstrative pronouns "kono" and "sono," but I don't know how the heck to use it. Can someone give me a tutorial (sorta) on how to use this?

Ru-kun's Post
I have a few questions so please bear with me. First off are these sentances correct?

日本語を話すことができますI can speak Japanese.

日本語は話すことができません。I cannot speak Japanese.



When I use ことができません, do I use を or は to highlight the word 日本語.



My next question is, in Japanese how do you say "I need to"?



Also how do you say "I should"?



Finally how do you say "I have to"?



I don't want someone just to translate those short phrases but I want to know how to use them along with other verbs in Japanese. Lke these:

"I should eat" or

"I need to drink" or

"I have to go"
Ru-kun's Post end (yeah I fail with quoting)


If you want to convey that you should do something, I think you would go on with your sentence but add "hou ga ii" to the end of the dictionary form of the verb.
Also, if you want to convey that you have to/need to do something, you would conjugate the verb to the negative form and add "nakereba narimasen" ("nakereba naranai" when politeness isn't needed). For example take the sentence "I have to walk home today."
You would take the verb "aruku" and change it to "aruka" and add "nakereba narimasen." The sentence would become: Kyou, (watashi wa) ie ni arukanakereba narimasen.

First sentence is correct, second is not.
In my eyes, the sentence "Nihongo wa hanasu koto ga dekimasu." translates as "Japanese can speak." It gives the impression that "nihongo" is showing the ability to speak, not you (Ru-Kun) showing the ability to speak Japanese.
When you use "koto ga dekimasu," it shows you can do something, that something is the direct object, therefore it should be marked with the particle "wo/o."
Like this:
"(Boku wa) nihongo o hanasu koto ga dekimasu."

"Wakarimasu ka?"

 

[Kanjo]

@excessivesparetime
yeah, that seems pretty perfect to me
for ゆそうひ, はなんですか might be more "correct" but I, and natural speaking Japanese people use って for that kind of thing. I approve ;P

@kamikazen
"sono mama de ii" means "it's good as it is" is the only example of mama I can think of.

 

[I Started A Cult]

Thanks a lot, Kanjo.

 

[Kanjo]

As a supplement to Kamikazen's assistance (i.e. this may be tl;dr):

Should
*normal sentence with plain form verb + ほうがいい(you can add です or と思います(など）to make it formal) exact translation: "...would be good(better)"
you could add it to a negative verb for "it would be better to not do..."
or a past verb for "it would have been better if you..."

*normal sentence with plain form verb + べき
する is an exception, you just say すべき
specifically this means "you should/ought to do this", it's the most uncommon way because of it's direct meaning (directness being unjapanese by nature)
...べきじゃない is "should not do"
I guess you can say ...べきだった for "should have..." but I never heard it before so I'm just guessing

normal sentence with plain form verb + はず
this isn't recommending something but similar to "probably" or "I think". For example, "he should come today, he promised he would", "she should have played baseball yesterday as she usually does", "I should be ready for the test, I studied a lot" 今日彼は来るはずです。　昨日野球をやったはずだ。　うまくいくはずだな。
Also "that shouldn't be!" is そんなはずはない
It can go with verbs too
近いはず should be close
本気のはず should be serious
大丈夫のはず should be ok
For this, I'd recommend looking up example sentences on Jisho.org

need to/have to (same thing, aren't they?)
なければならない is normal, but a lot of people change なければ to なくちゃ and when they do that, they sometimes leave out the ならない so "have to" simply becomes plain, negative verb (e.g. しない) with the ない changed to なくちゃ (e.g. しなくちゃ ~"have to do)
there's another one too negative verb plus といけない (e.g. そうしないといけません ~"I have to do that") but people just leave out the いけない so it gets short again しないと (行かないと "if I don't go..." ~ "I have to go")


@kamikazen, you can also use it after verbs and after nounの like 窓を開けたまま寝る (sleep with the window open) 現状のままにしておく(leave it the way it currently is)
it can also be "as" 友達のまま (as friends)

 

[wildweathel]

Okay, given what I've got, I'd like to make sure I'm saying what I think I am:
Here's what I'm saying.
Here's what I think it means.
Anyway, here we go...
こんにちわ､ [DATA EXPUNGED]｡

こんにちは、

[DATA EXPUNGED]のCDをかいたいとおもいます｡

xxのCDが　かいたいのです。

Yeah, I know I said "と　おもう" last time. For some reason, のです is feeling better with this structure... 気のせいかも Strictly speaking, spaces are not grammatical, but it's so much easier to read.

アメリカまでのゆそうひってなんですか。

アメリカまでの　ゆそうひは　いくらですか。

Lol, you asked what "shipping to America" means. って is kinda tricky and not really suitable to this kind of (slightly) formal writing. いくら is the "how much is" for prices.

I'd then put a 「よろしくおねがいします。」 at the end (then your name on another line) and call it good.

(ぼくのにほんごがじょうずじゃなくてすみません。

ぼくの　にほんごが　じょうずじゃなくて　すみません。
If you want to use this, I'd put it first, after こんにちは、(not on the same line.)

ぼくはアメリカのだいがくせいです｡ いちねんせいです｡

Good. You can also combine those and say you're a 大学一年生（だいがくいちねんせい）--seriously, there's a word for everything.

----

First sentence is correct, second is not.
In my eyes, the sentence "Nihongo wa hanasu koto ga dekimasu." translates as "Japanese can speak." It gives the impression that "nihongo" is showing the ability to speak, not you (Ru-Kun) showing the ability to speak Japanese.
When you use "koto ga dekimasu," it shows you can do something, that something is the direct object, therefore it should be marked with the particle "wo/o."
Like this:
"(Boku wa) nihongo o hanasu koto ga dekimasu."

"Wakarimasu ka?"

いいえ、ちがいます。 は does not mean "this noun is doing the action." It means "this being the thing I want to make a statement or ask a question about" and can be used with pretty much anything: subjects, objects, locations, circumstances, etc, etc. Example:
その絵はレイちゃんが描いたよ。すごいな。
sono e wa rei-chan ga kaita yo. sugoi na.
That picture, Rei-chan drew it. Ain't it awesome?

This feature (は・も・ば-conditional, etc.) doesn't exist it English, so it's a little hard to understand and very hard to understand by translation.

 

[Kamikazen]

OK, I've been exploring conditional statements for a while and found something that is stumping me.

When you use the negative "root" nakattara, does that convey the past progressive/imperfect tense or something else?

 

[Kanjo]

No, it doesn't. I'm not sure how to make past conditional but I know that's not it.

 

[D-ryukei]

OK, I've been exploring conditional statements for a while and found something that is stumping me.

When you use the negative "root" nakattara, does that convey the past progressive/imperfect tense or something else?

"nakattara" can be used to say the past event. Actually, Japanese conditional expressions such as "nakattara" aren't affected by the tense: one expression can be used the past, present, and future tense.
"nakattara" includes the past particle "ta", but works in the same way as "nakereba", which doesn't include "ta".

Here is some examples:
<past tense>
彼が遊びに来なければ（来なかったら）, 彼女は昨日勉強していただろう。
kare-ga asobi-ni ko-nakereba[ko-nakattara], kanojo-wa kinou benkyou-shi-te i-ta-darou.
(If he hadn't come to play with her, she would have studied yesterday.)

<present tense>
彼が遊びに来ていなければ（いなかったら）, 彼女は今勉強しているだろう。
kare-ga asobi-ni ki-te i-nakereba[i-nakattara], kanojo-wa ima benkyou-shi-te iru-darou.
(If he don't come to play with her, she would study now.)

<future tense>
彼が遊びに来なければ（来なかったら）, 彼女は明日勉強するだろう。
kare-ga asobi-ni ko-nakereba[ko-nakattara], kanojo-wa ashita benkyou-suru-darou.
(If he don't come to play with her, she will study tomorrow.)

 

[Kamikazen]

"nakattara" can be used to say the past event. Actually, Japanese conditional expressions such as "nakattara" aren't affected by the tense: one expression can be used the past, present, and future tense.
"nakattara" includes the past particle "ta", but works in the same way as "nakereba", which doesn't include "ta".

Here is some examples:

Spoiler

<past tense>
彼が遊びに来なければ（来なかったら）, 彼女は昨日勉強していただろう。
kare-ga asobi-ni ko-nakereba[ko-nakattara], kanojo-wa kinou benkyou-shi-te i-ta-darou.
(If he hadn't come to play with her, she would have studied yesterday.)

<present tense>
彼が遊びに来ていなければ（いなかったら）, 彼女は今勉強しているだろう。
kare-ga asobi-ni ki-te i-nakereba[i-nakattara], kanojo-wa ima benkyou-shi-te iru-darou.
(If he don't come to play with her, she would study now.)

<future tense>
彼が遊びに来なければ（来なかったら）, 彼女は明日勉強するだろう。
kare-ga asobi-ni ko-nakereba[ko-nakattara], kanojo-wa ashita benkyou-suru-darou.
(If he don't come to play with her, she will study tomorrow.)

This clears up some things. Another set of concerns that have arisen is whether or not the conditional indicator "nara" is affected by tense shifts like "nakattara" is, and whether or not "naraba" is used like "nara."
Also, about kanji, how do you know when to use the on-yomi and kun-yomi readings? A few examples would suffice.

And another thing, when reading words, i tend to slip on when a rendaku is present. If you don't mind, could you please explain under what circumstances rendakus occur in a word/kanji reading.

Arigatou gozaimasu.

 

[Hyatt]

Simple question - how do you say this in polite masu/masen form
行かない→行かなくて (ikanai > ikanakute
行きません→？ (ikimasen > ?)
Is it simply ませんくて？ (masenkute)

 

[wildweathel]

Polite te-form is まして and negative polite te-form is ませんで, but the first is rarely used and I'm pretty sure I've never seen the second in the wild.

Usually, te-form is used in the middle of sentences and polite form only at the end, so they don't go together very often.

 

[I Started A Cult]

Thanks a lot.
Just curious:
What does "I'm going to light your [X] on fire" translate to?
I mean, beyond the basics, I know that ひにおつてけ has something to do with "to light on fire" or "to set fire to," but that's pretty much it...

 

[D-ryukei]

This clears up some things. Another set of concerns that have arisen is whether or not the conditional indicator "nara" is affected by tense shifts like "nakattara" is, and whether or not "naraba" is used like "nara."
Also, about kanji, how do you know when to use the on-yomi and kun-yomi readings? A few examples would suffice.

And another thing, when reading words, i tend to slip on when a rendaku is present. If you don't mind, could you please explain under what circumstances rendakus occur in a word/kanji reading.

Arigatou gozaimasu.

Dou itashimasite!
And, I'll explain "nara" and "naraba".
Both of them can be used interchangeably, as far as I can imagine.
Unlike "nakattara", which includes the tense expression ("ta"), "nara" and "naraba" doesn't include any tense expression. Therefore, another tense expression are added before "nara" or "naraba". The added tense expression determines the tense of that clause.
Here's the examples:
<past tense>
彼が来ていたなら（ば）、彼女は昨日勉強していただろう。
kare-ga ki-te i-ta-nara(ba), kanojo-wa kinou benkyou-shi-te i-ta-darou.
彼が来たなら（ば）、彼女は昨日勉強していただろう。
kare-ga ki-ta-nara(ba), kanojo-wa kinou benkyou-shi-te i-ta-darou.
(If he had come, she would have been studying yesterday.)

彼が来ているなら（ば）、彼女は今勉強しているだろう。
kare-ga ki-te iru-nara(ba), kanojo-wa ima benkyou-shi-te iru-darou.
(If he come(=if he were here), she would be studying now.)

彼が来るなら（ば）、彼女は明日勉強するだろう。
kare-ga kuru-nara(ba), kanojo-wa ashita benkyou-suru-darou.
彼が来たなら（ば）、彼女は明日勉強するだろう。
kare-ga ki-ta-nara(ba), kanojo-wa ashita benkyou-suru-darou.
(If he comes, she will study tomorrow.)

"ki-te i-ta"(past) and "ki-te i-ru"(present) determine the tense of each clause. Past and present tense, in this case, likely to be the subjunctive mood. (So is the case of "nakattara".)
If you use past-form verb such as "ki-ta" with "nara(ba)", it will usually be the past tense, but it can also be future tense, according to the context.

Next, "on yomi" and "kun-yomi". Basic ideas for division are:
"on yomi" is used the word imported from china, often having abstruct or complicated meaning, often forms the "jukugo"(熟語/idiom) such as 会社(kaisha/company, corporation), and 仏教(bukkuou/buddhism).
"kun yomi" is used the Japanese native word. These words include many verbs, adjective, and the nouns for basic things. For exapmle, 走る(hashiru/run), 大きい(ookii/big), 水(mizu/water).
As you can see, if the kanji character appears separately, the kanji likely to be read as "kun yomi".

Last, rendaku occurs the head of the latter component of a compound, such as "manga-bon"(manga/comic + hon/book). But rendaku doesn't always occur and whether a compound includes rendaku or not cannot be predicted.

 

[Kamikazen]

Dou itashimasite!
And, I'll explain "nara" and "naraba".
Both of them can be used interchangeably, as far as I can imagine.
Unlike "nakattara", which includes the tense expression ("ta"), "nara" and "naraba" doesn't include any tense expression. Therefore, another tense expression are added before "nara" or "naraba". The added tense expression determines the tense of that clause.
Here's the examples:
<past tense>
彼が来ていたなら（ば）、彼女は昨日勉強していただろう。
kare-ga ki-te i-ta-nara(ba), kanojo-wa kinou benkyou-shi-te i-ta-darou.
彼が来たなら（ば）、彼女は昨日勉強していただろう。
kare-ga ki-ta-nara(ba), kanojo-wa kinou benkyou-shi-te i-ta-darou.
(If he had come, she would have been studying yesterday.)

彼が来ているなら（ば）、彼女は今勉強しているだろう。
kare-ga ki-te iru-nara(ba), kanojo-wa ima benkyou-shi-te iru-darou.
(If he come(=if he were here), she would be studying now.)

彼が来るなら（ば）、彼女は明日勉強するだろう。
kare-ga kuru-nara(ba), kanojo-wa ashita benkyou-suru-darou.
彼が来たなら（ば）、彼女は明日勉強するだろう。
kare-ga ki-ta-nara(ba), kanojo-wa ashita benkyou-suru-darou.
(If he comes, she will study tomorrow.)

"ki-te i-ta"(past) and "ki-te i-ru"(present) determine the tense of each clause. Past and present tense, in this case, likely to be the subjunctive mood. (So is the case of "nakattara".)
If you use past-form verb such as "ki-ta" with "nara(ba)", it will usually be the past tense, but it can also be future tense, according to the context.

Next, "on yomi" and "kun-yomi". Basic ideas for division are:
"on yomi" is used the word imported from china, often having abstruct or complicated meaning, often forms the "jukugo"(熟語/idiom) such as 会社(kaisha/company, corporation), and 仏教(bukkuou/buddhism).
"kun yomi" is used the Japanese native word. These words include many verbs, adjective, and the nouns for basic things. For exapmle, 走る(hashiru/run), 大きい(ookii/big), 水(mizu/water).
As you can see, if the kanji character appears separately, the kanji likely to be read as "kun yomi".

Last, rendaku occurs the head of the latter component of a compound, such as "manga-bon"(manga/comic + hon/book). But rendaku doesn't always occur and whether a compound includes rendaku or not cannot be predicted.

Your advice has helped me a lot. I fully understand this now.
Again, Doumo arigatou gozaimasu.

 

[make_it_worse]

What's the difference of using Ji (じ,ぢ), then Zu (づ,ず)

 

[wildweathel]

@make_it_worse

In modern kana usage, the rules are:
ぢ immediately following ち in the same word:
ちぢまる -- to shrink

づ immediately following つ in the same word:
つづく -- to continue

But not kanji compounds:
いちじかんご - after an hour had passed

Compound words add　点々 to the original kana:
はな (nose) + ち (blood) = はなぢ (nosebleed)
き (ki / spirit) + つく (be stuck on) = きづく (to notice)
くつ (shoe) すみ (black ink) = くつずみ (black shoe polish)

All other cases are usually じ or ず

Older spelling is irregular.

 

[Jackal Queenston]

Uh~ I speak japanese, but not much. Watashi no baka! :3 (I know what I said, dont worry.)

 

[Sweet Veil]

I practiced my Japanese sentence writing and would like to ask if my sentences are correct please and thank you

Hey! I'm a samurai.
Oi! Watashi ha samurai.
おい！わたしはさむらい。

This hat is green.
Kore midori ha boushi desu.
これみどりはぼうしです。

That car is red.
Sore akai ha kuruma desu.
それあかいはくるまです。

Water is blue.
Mizu ha aoi desu.
みずはあおいです。