Beginners Japanese Thread!

[GoldenAkuma]

Originally Posted by Feng

my name is Feng and i'm absolute begginner in japanese and all i know is konnichiwa ogenki-desuka? watashi ha Feng desu. sayonara.
So you see i'm really crap at japanese so please can any one help me with everyday language and slang pleease. arrigato.

Hey Feng (Nice name btw... ) I was in your position a few months ago, and I found that site that I posted a link to in the message RIGHT before your first post, and it helped a LOT....
Stuff like that is good for the basics. then once you've got a basic understanding of Nihongo and how it works, it's best to use forums such as this.


And also, if you want, you can contact me on AIM (my screenname is listed on my profile) and I'll teach you some stuff on that, although i'm not an expert. =)

[thyagobr]

Konnichiwa. Watashi wa Thyago desu.
Burajiru-jin desu.
Watashi wa nijuu-ni sai desu.

Well, I'm another who knows pretty much nothing, all I learned was thru Learn Japanese - Japanese Language. This site looks very good, but nothing replaces people to talk with :P
Well, I hope I'll learn japanese with you guys' help, and help others when my knowledge gets better!

[thyagobr]

Oh, there's something I wanted to ask.
Could someone give me a "general rule" about how to form sentences in Japanese?
I already know about the Subject-Object-Verb style of japanese language, but if I want to say "I'm studying japanese". I suppose it is "Nihongo benkyousuru", not sure. But if this is correct, there are no particles? And where should I use the "desu"? I know it's used at the end of some sentences, but when exactly?

I basically want to be able to discover the meaning of any word and create a sentence with it. For example, I want to be able do find out how "japanese" and "study" is in japanese, and know how to create sentences with them.

Thanks a lot =]

[Kuroneko]

Originally Posted by thyagobr

Oh, there's something I wanted to ask.
Could someone give me a "general rule" about how to form sentences in Japanese?
I already know about the Subject-Object-Verb style of japanese language, but if I want to say "I'm studying japanese". I suppose it is "Nihongo benkyousuru", not sure. But if this is correct, there are no particles? And where should I use the "desu"? I know it's used at the end of some sentences, but when exactly?

I basically want to be able to discover the meaning of any word and create a sentence with it. For example, I want to be able do find out how "japanese" and "study" is in japanese, and know how to create sentences with them.

Thanks a lot =]

Nihongo o benkyousuru

Desu always comes at the end.

In the last sentence Desu is not needed because you have suru (to do) at the end. This makes it a complete sentence. Just sound it out, with enough knowledge of the language you should be able to make out what sounds good an what doesn't make sense. (with time and practice)

[IamKira]

A big thanks to the people who have posted on this thread.....The links are amazing...truely a big help....

[DreamKeeperLuna]

Originally Posted by GoldenAkuma

Ahh, I've found a website that is IMMENSELY helpful for absolute beginners! (Or at least it is for me... )

It has pronunciation rules, Hiragana/Katakana/Kanji charts as well as how to write and say each one, Vocabulary and Grammar lessons, and a lot more!

The site is: Nihongo o Narau - Learn Japanese


Enjoyy!!

I like the site.

[Ikotom]

Sometimes I say, "ですよね～！[desu yonee!]" when I agree someone's opinion. It's a abbreviation and it's not rude.

more polite: そうですよね！[soudesuyonne!]
　　　　　　　　　　

[Kuroneko]

Originally Posted by Ikotom

Sometimes I say, "ですよね～！[desu yonee!]" when I agree someone's opinion. It's a abbreviation and it's not rude.

more polite: そうですよね！[soudesuyonne!]
　　　　　　　　　　

but would this not be for women?

女の言葉ですか？

[Kurofune]

Originally Posted by Kuroneko

but would this not be for women?

女の言葉ですか？

That's mostly true. desu yo ne is more commonly used by women, but it's not necessarily feminine. You do hear men say it. Women are more likely to use the elongated form of ne (nee) in my experience. You really can break down the phrase "sou desu ne" a number of ways. (For those of you who don't know, sou desu ne can be translated "Yes, I agree" or "Yeah, that's it")

sou
sou, sou,
sou ne
sou nee
desu ne
desu nee
nee

They all have mostly the same meaning and usage, though women are more liklely to use some of them (like desu ne) in my experience.

[nightfallnightmares]

Originally Posted by DreamKeeperLuna

I like the site.

i also LOVE this site, i cant believe i never heard of it b4, i just went on it and can tell it will be emensely helpful, thanks!!!