Beginners Japanese Thread!

[rosaline144]

Ooo... I'll try to introduce myself.

Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Rozarin desu. Igirisu no Rondon kara kimashita. Juu go sai desu. Watashi no tomodachi wa tanoshii desu.

Translation (If I got that right)

Nice to meet you. I am Rosaline. I'm from London, England. I am fifteen years old. My friend is fun.

I also have a question...
If the plural of watashi is watashi-tachi.. would the plural of friend be tomodachi-tachi? I wanted to say My friends are fun but I don't know the plural.

[Pink_Knight]

Me im currently taking a japanese 1 class at my high school so thats where i learned that from if you wanted someone could tach you japanese on this forum and allow you to grow with us and be able to understand what people say but the writing part you would probally need to get a e book or such. what you could do for writing is get a hiragana chart or a katakana chart off the internet and learn the alphabet. mata

[Vulgarism]

Originally Posted by Pink_Knight

Me im currently taking a japanese 1 class at my high school so thats where i learned that from if you wanted someone could tach you japanese on this forum and allow you to grow with us and be able to understand what people say but the writing part you would probally need to get a e book or such. what you could do for writing is get a hiragana chart or a katakana chart off the internet and learn the alphabet. mata

I wish we had a Japanese class at our school... We have 4 years of Spanish and 2 of French and that is it. I am learning what I can from E-books, software, and whatever sites I stumble upon.

[Pink_Knight]

I have to say I'm very lucky that i found it i switched schools so i could take it

[CrimsonNataku]

Pink_Knight: Watashi wa Boston no Massachusetts kara kimashita. John-san wa? (If the question is already understood, you don't have to complete the sentence when speaking in conversation).

Kira_2009: I've studied Japanese for 4 years. Part of that time I studied on my own, but I also took an intensive Japanese language immersion summer camp for two years. I attended only one Japanese class for a semester, and I am currently studying Japanese on my own and with a tutor because I keep placing out of the classes at the local community colleges. I also tutor a few students in Japanese, which also helps me remember/practice/learn.

rosaline144: Kochira koso yoroshiku, Rosaline-san. (Kochira koso yoroshiku basically means "Pleased to meet you too." It is the customary response to "Hajimemashite, yoroshiku onegai shimasu.") Rosaline-san no nihongo wa totemo ii desu ne. Dono kurai nihongo wo benkyou shimashita ka.
And to answer your question, the suffix to imply that a noun is plural is indeed "tachi," so saying tomodachi-tachi would mean friends. However, usually the plural is understood based on context, so it is often unneccessary.

[Pink_Knight]

Crimson: Ida no Michigan. hmm well i cant figure what else to say well... Crimson could you type something in romaji so i may learn it like umm how to say wow my winter break was great what wold that be great. so if i got this right it would be put like this Winter break was great, My self, __________ i know its verb but what should go there

[rosaline144]

Originally Posted by CrimsonNataku

rosaline144: Kochira koso yoroshiku, Rosaline-san. (Kochira koso yoroshiku basically means "Pleased to meet you too." It is the customary response to "Hajimemashite, yoroshiku onegai shimasu.") Rosaline-san no nihongo wa totemo ii desu ne. Dono kurai nihongo wo benkyou shimashita ka.
And to answer your question, the suffix to imply that a noun is plural is indeed "tachi," so saying tomodachi-tachi would mean friends. However, usually the plural is understood based on context, so it is often unneccessary.

Oh OK, I'll try to remember that. Doumo arigatou

"Rosaline-san no nihongo wa totemo ii desu ne."
Rosaline's Japanese is very good?

"Dono kurai nihongo wo benkyou shimashita ka."
Hmm... I don't understand this sentence A question about which.. dark(?) japanese... but I dont know what shimashita means

[CrimsonNataku]

Originally Posted by rosaline144

Oh
"Rosaline-san no nihongo wa totemo ii desu ne."
Rosaline's Japanese is very good?

Hai, sou desu. (Yes, that's right.)

Originally Posted by rosaline144

"Dono kurai nihongo wo benkyou shimashita ka."
Hmm... I don't understand this sentence A question about which.. dark(?) japanese... but I dont know what shimashita means

It actually means: "How long have you studied Japanese?

Dono kurai or gurai is a question word that means "how long" or "to what extent," etc.

Benkyou shimashita is the past tense form of the verb benkyou shimasu and it means "study."

Originally Posted by Pink_Knight

Crimson: Ida no Michigan. hmm well i cant figure what else to say well... Crimson could you type something in romaji so i may learn it like umm how to say wow my winter break was great what wold that be great. so if i got this right it would be put like this Winter break was great, My self, __________ i know its verb but what should go there

Ida no Michigan desu ka. Asoko wa dou desu ka.
Ida, Michigan? How is it over there? (this is question is often interpreted as a question regarding the weather or something like that.)

Winter break or vacation is: fuyu yasumi. (fuyu = winter, yasumi = break/vacation. Yasumi is used for any break (natsu yasumi = summer vacation, etc)

My winter break was great - Watashi (Boku) no fuyu yasumi wa totemo yokatta desu.
"yokatta desu" is the past tense form of good (in other words: "it was good"). "Totemo" means "very" and is used only with positive/affirmative sentences. Even though you would be really saying "My winter break was really/very good," it can easily and usually is interpreted as "it was great."

[rosaline144]

Originally Posted by CrimsonNataku

Hai, sou desu. (Yes, that's right.)



It actually means: "How long have you studied Japanese?

Dono kurai or gurai is a question word that means "how long" or "to what extent," etc.

Benkyou shimashita is the past tense form of the verb benkyou shimasu and it means "study."

."

Ah, honto desu ka? I'm no good at the past and future tense. Still learning the present
I decided to learn japanese last year, and I have been studying since then. I don't attend a japanese language school but I am looking for one. I learn mostly from podcasts, web pages and books. I don't know how to say that in nihongo.

I'm going to try a sentence.

Kinou wa watashi no zasshi kaimashita. Zasshi no namae wa KERA desu.

I'm not exactly sure how the structure of past tense sentences go, but hopefully I got the verb right.

[CrimsonNataku]

Originally Posted by rosaline144

I'm going to try a sentence.

Kinou wa watashi no zasshi kaimashita. Zasshi no namae wa KERA desu.

I'm not exactly sure how the structure of past tense sentences go, but hopefully I got the verb right.

Are you trying to say: "I bought a magazine yesterday. The magazine's name is Kera." ?

If so, you almost got it right; the second sentence is fine, but the first sentence needs a little work.

First thing, you don't need to attach the particle "wa" to words like Kinou, Ashita, and Kyou (there is an exception, but that gets a little complicated). Secondly, if you're trying to say "bought a magazine," you will need the particle "wo" to indicate a direct object, which would in this case be "zasshi."

So, here is the correct sentence:

"Kinou, watashi wa zasshi wo kaimashita. "