Japanese Help Questions/Translations

[Rovian]

Wakarinain desu ga

Im not at home right now to check if I spelled that correctly but is this a better phrase to say instead of 'wakarimasen'?

The phrase was from one of the NKH japanese videos.

Thanks in advance

[chibibecci]

if I was to say "bakansu wa dou deshita ka?" would that make sense as "how was your holiday?"

[masaegu]

To Rovian,

It's not a question of which of those two sentences is better. They are equally good.

However, while 'Wakarimasen' only means 'I don't understnad', 'Wakaranain desuga' means 'I don't understand; please explain.' I know this may not make sense to you but that's how the Japanese communicate with each other, which is without saying everything.

If a sentence ends with that 'ga', the listener automatically understands that the speaker is seeking assistance, which in this case would consists of providing the speaker with more information or details about something he has already mentioned.

A little off topic, but because of that 'ga' ending, Japanese who are studying foreign languages may at times end a sentence with the word 'but'. I know I used to do that myself.

[masaegu]

Originally Posted by chibibecci

if I was to say "bakansu wa dou deshita ka?" would that make sense as "how was your holiday?"

Most Japanese would understand the sentence 'Bakansu wa dou deshitaka?'. Those who don't would be either very old or young because they aren't familiar with the word 'bakansu'. That word comes from French and it still sounds pretty 'affected' to some Japanese. So you might opt for the word 'Oyasumi' just to be safe. It all depends on what type of a person you are talking to.

[chibibecci]

Originally Posted by masaegu

Most Japanese would understand the sentence 'Bakansu wa dou deshitaka?'. Those who don't would be either very old or young because they aren't familiar with the word 'bakansu'. That word comes from French and it still sounds pretty 'affected' to some Japanese. So you might opt for the word 'Oyasumi' just to be safe. It all depends on what type of a person you are talking to.

Thanks... but isn't oyasumi the shortened version of good night??

[masaegu]

OMG I knew you'd say that. Oyasumi also means a vacation. Trust a native speaker, please.

[chibibecci]

Okay sorry.. I was just a bit confused. Thankyou though.

[masaegu]

I suggest you try looking up the following words in your dictionary so you will be able to remember them for a long time:

Natsu-yasumi
Huyu-yasumi

I just added 'o' in front of 'yasumi' in my last post just to be on the more formal side. In September, you will hear Japanese kids asking each other 'Yasumi dou datta?' = 'How was your vacation?'. Kids drop the 'o' when they talk to each other.

[chibibecci]

Okay thanks for the help

[shinjitsu]

Originally Posted by masaegu

OMG I knew you'd say that. Oyasumi also means a vacation. Trust a native speaker, please.

Is yasumi in "good night" and vacation the same? Havent seen the kanji so far for "good night", vacation is of course ｢お休み」. it would make sense since yasumu also means something like "to rest".