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LadyElectric 08-24-2010 12:28 AM

How should I say...
 
Hello! My boyfriend is currently living and working in Yamagata, Japan, and graduated college with a degree in Japanese Language...Thursday will be one year since we started dating and I was hoping someone could explain to me how to say "happy one year anniversary" in both rōmaji and kanji, or if there is a different phrase that applies to a situation like that.

Thanks all, I really appreciate it!
:vsign:

KyleGoetz 08-24-2010 01:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyElectric (Post 825671)
Hello! My boyfriend is currently living and working in Yamagata, Japan, and graduated college with a degree in Japanese Language...Thursday will be one year since we started dating and I was hoping someone could explain to me how to say "happy one year anniversary" in both rōmaji and kanji, or if there is a different phrase that applies to a situation like that.

Thanks all, I really appreciate it!
:vsign:

I think 1周年の記念日おめでとう is OK, but I'd wait for a native.

steven 08-24-2010 02:00 AM

You might be able to get away with 1年おめでとう.
You could also say 1年記念日おめでとう.

I think Kyle's is more specific, though.

I'm with Kyle on waiting for the natives though! I'm curious to know what kinds of variations there are on this phrase.

Nyororin 08-24-2010 03:10 AM

I`m not a native, but I wouldn`t stick the 記念日 in there.
I`d just say 1周年おめでとう. Adding 記念日 seems really redundant.

Sashimister 08-24-2010 03:54 AM

Dunno... It must be my old school kinda thinking but I'd feel reluctant to say おめでとう when I myself represent 50% of the party involved.

So, here's mine:

:rheart: 祝! ふたりの一周年!:rheart:

steven 08-24-2010 04:44 AM

Yea I've never heard anyone say 記念日 in that phrase before... it had a few hits on google so I figured I'd try it.

After a year I remember my wife saying 1年おめでとう... she's Japanese (but sometimes I'm not so sure about her grammar...:confused: ).

"Dunno... It must be my old school kinda thinking but I'd feel reluctant to say おめでとう when I myself represent 50% of the party involved. "

That's interesting. I thought that for a second but I wasn't so sure... I feel like people would say either one although I totally understand where you're coming from.

Yamagata sounds like a cool place though. I've always wanted to go there. I used to have a penpal from there and she taught me a little bit of 山形弁, which was very interesting to say the least. I wonder how the folks in Yamagata would say this.

LadyElectric 08-24-2010 05:40 AM

Seriously, thank you for all your thoughtful responses! He is contracted there for three years and I will visit him in December and hopefully be moved over there by next summer...very nervous/exciting...although it's true I hear the dialect is considered very different from the majority of other regions.

I, being in the beginning stages of learning this amazing language on my own, have quickly discovered how specific certain meanings can become, and how slightly different the uses are for a diverse range of phrases...I'm constantly fascinated by it all

I kinda feel that 記念日 may often times be left out because of the formal/informal structure...even perhaps because it might be more "oldschool" :p (sashimister!) Like I said, I'm very new at this...trying to absorb as much of the living language as I can! I do various types of art as a hobby and wanted to incorporate the phrase in a piece I'm making to send over to him :rheart:

I'll keep all suggestions in mind, as I'm sure there are multiple ways to express this phrase...again, thank you so much!!
:vsign:

cranks 08-24-2010 05:43 AM

A famous Japanese writer from 明治 (Meiji) era called 夏目漱石(Natsume Souseki) once translated "I love you" as 「月が奇麗ですね。(The moon is beautiful)」. Things can be radically different in Japan. I like Sashimister's 祝! ふたりの一周年! if it's in writing. I don't know how you say it verbally though. Like him, I don't usually use 「おめでとう」for something that involves myself. It's a word I use to congratulate somebody. I feel going 夏目 style, like「一年たったね!(It's been a year!)」, sounds more natural, colloquially. Maybe saying something in 山形弁 is really cool, too bad I have no idea what it's like.

LadyElectric 08-24-2010 06:27 AM

That does make a lot of sense - I agree that 祝!ふたりの一周年!would be the best way to actually write it out, and you can't go wrong with 夏目漱石 to speak from the heart.

Nyororin 08-24-2010 07:02 AM

Going back through stuff from when my husband and I first started out...

今日で1年~

Was the extent of the "congratulations" we did. I don`t remember exactly what we said, but that is what is written on the photo we took together.

KyleGoetz 08-24-2010 12:46 PM

Thanks for the tip about おめでとう, Sashimister and cranks.
Nyororin, you and your husband sound cute ;)

steven 08-27-2010 12:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cranks (Post 825705)
A famous Japanese writer from 明治 (Meiji) era called 夏目漱石(Natsume Souseki) once translated "I love you" as 「月が奇麗ですね。(The moon is beautiful)」. Things can be radically different in Japan. I like Sashimister's 祝! ふたりの一周年! if it's in writing. I don't know how you say it verbally though. Like him, I don't usually use 「おめでとう」for something that involves myself. It's a word I use to congratulate somebody. I feel going 夏目 style, like「一年たったね!(It's been a year!)」, sounds more natural, colloquially. Maybe saying something in 山形弁 is really cool, too bad I have no idea what it's like.

I've heard of that before! We did that in a class and one kid who'd never heard of it before said something like "カエルのなきごえってきれいだね” or something like that. It was the most しぶい thing I've ever heard a 12 year old say haha.

When I really think about it, after a year I do remember saying 1年たったな after my first year. We did both say 1年おめでとう though for sure, and we did cheers after that and ate dinner... I think it was kind of a tongue in cheeck thing on my wife's part though.

About Yamagata ben, I've not really heard it spoken full throttle before, but what I have heard of it has caused me to come to a couple conclusions. It's really cold up there, therefore things get super abbreviated. The first thing my friend taught me was that in place of "食べる?" they say "く?" and instead of "食べろよ", they say "け". Also, a lot of the か row becomes が, which is sometimes true around here as well (but it's not really acknowledged).

KyleGoetz 08-27-2010 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by steven (Post 826070)
I've heard of that before! We did that in a class and one kid who'd never heard of it before said something like "カエルのなきごえってきれいだね” or something like that. It was the most しぶい thing I've ever heard a 12 year old say haha.

When I really think about it, after a year I do remember saying 1年たったな after my first year. We did both say 1年おめでとう though for sure, and we did cheers after that and ate dinner... I think it was kind of a tongue in cheeck thing on my wife's part though.

About Yamagata ben, I've not really heard it spoken full throttle before, but what I have heard of it has caused me to come to a couple conclusions. It's really cold up there, therefore things get super abbreviated. The first thing my friend taught me was that in place of "食べる?" they say "く?" and instead of "食べろよ", they say "け". Also, a lot of the か row becomes が, which is sometimes true around here as well (but it's not really acknowledged).

To be fair, they're not just saying く. They're saying 食う(くう), meaning the same thing as 食べる, but it is more rude in Tokyo. Then, if they're truly saying け, it's just a quicker contraction of 食え(くえ).

steven 08-27-2010 12:49 AM

I'm aware of that, but I'm pretty sure if you were to transcribe what they were actually saying it would just be く and け. I have a general idea of where the phrases come from... I'm not so sure abuot け being 食え though. It makes sense judging by the sound, but the conversation would be like this (if I understood it correctly)

A: く?
B:け

In other words:

A:食べる?
B: うん、食べる

Besides, doesn't 食え mean like 食べ... I thought it was like 命令 when said that way. I've never said 食え and have never been told 食え as far as I remember though, so it's not something I use every day... but I don't think someone would say 食え to mean that they (personally) are gonna eat something.

EDIT: Haha, incidentally I had it all backwards, which makes way more sense now. け=食べる? く=食べるよ.

Realism 08-27-2010 02:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyElectric (Post 825671)
Hello! My boyfriend is currently living and working in Yamagata, Japan, and graduated college with a degree in Japanese Language...Thursday will be one year since we started dating and I was hoping someone could explain to me how to say "happy one year anniversary" in both rōmaji and kanji, or if there is a different phrase that applies to a situation like that.

Thanks all, I really appreciate it!
:vsign:

Congrats.

What type of job does he have?

He graduated with a Japanese degree and he has a Job in Japan now?

I graduated with an Economics degree and a Japanese degree and I can't even get a job in Japan.

KyleGoetz 08-27-2010 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Realism (Post 826083)
I graduated with an Economics degree and a Japanese degree and I can't even get a job in Japan.

JET Program. Google it.

MMM 08-27-2010 04:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz (Post 826088)
JET Program. Google it.

Hardly an easy program to get into now. They are dropping their numbers as more and more people apply.

KyleGoetz 08-27-2010 04:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MMM (Post 826089)
Hardly an easy program to get into now. They are dropping their numbers as more and more people apply.

I had no idea. Interesting.

I have multiple friends who graduated with degrees in Japanese from UT in 2006 and did JET the following year. Maybe even 4 or 5. And that's just from a small program at one university.

I had no idea it is tougher now.


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