Many Japanese people speak 「～じゃないよー」「～じゃないもん」「～じゃないっ !」to friends.
But when hearing people from foreign countries speak 「じゃありません」,I can’t help thinking they are from LOWER class. I don’ know why. But it sounds dirt. (I’m sorry, my English is too direct.)
I think the combination 「じゃ＋ありません」sounds not good.
When I say 「ありません」, I speak politely. So I say 「～ではありません」
When I say 「じゃ」, I speak very casually to my friends.
Some Japanese people say 「じゃありません」, but I think it’s a bit difficult for Japanese learners because it depends on the situations.
Anyway, I’m sure that most Japanese people see 「じゃ」and「じゃあ」dirt when people from foreign countries say it.

I don’t recommend you to say it.
If you are from LOWER class, I think you can say it.
When you speak to your close friends, it's OK.
But I think you should not write it.

I’m sorry, my English is not good!!!
:D :D :D

To build on what YuriTokoro said, じゃ is a contraction for では. In English, using contractions in formal writing is considered bad. Mixing じゃ and ます form is like that times a hundred.

Ok, I rewrote the text:


A) お誕生日おめでとうございます。これはイタリアからプ レゼ ントです。

B) おお、うれしいです。何ですか。

A) フィレンツェからステーコです。
かばんと時計がみました、Bさんのですか。

B) 時計は私のですがかばんはちがいます。


Is it correct now?
Just another question: why should Isay: かばんが見ました and not かばんを見ました?

Who said that? Read my first post carefully.

When speaking Japanese, foreign people often say「じゃーありません」or「じゃあーありません」instead of 「ではありません」.
If they can pronounce 「じゃありません」properly, it might sound OK (depends on the situation), but they say 「じゃあーありません」, and it sounds strange.

Ah, I got it...
you use が　because with the verb "見えます" かばん is the subject. But why should I say
かばんがみえます
instead of
かばんをみます ?

In questo caso 見えろ vuol dire "vedersi". Quindi la borsa si vede...borsa soggetto (riflessivo in italiano, ma non in giapponese). かばんが(la borsa)見える(si vede).
Hope it helps...

If I am sending emails to my penpal who is 18 and Japanese, and I am 24 and English if I use plain form (never use ます　form) and things like じゃ or じゃないよ　do I sound like dirt, or is it just casual and OK?

She sends me very casual English and when she writes in Japanese it seems very slangy and casual to me, I never knew that for foreigners it makes you sound of a lower class or anything! :eek:

I guess I feel that if someone can write in English slang over chat that it makes them sound more fluent and natural, so I thought it worked the same way?

Hi.
When sending emails to your penpal, writing じゃないよ is good.
It doesn’t sound dirt at all.

Between friends, saying じゃないよ is OK. It doesn’t sound lower class or something like that.

I meant that when non-native people speak じゃ　＋　ありません, it sounds strange.
You know that ～ありませんform is polite, don’t you?
When they speak じゃ　＋　ありません, many of them pronounce it じゃあ～ありません。
They speak じゃあ～ too strong.
It doesn’t sound polite. Very strange and something like offensive to the ear, I feel.

I’ve been wondering why they prefer じゃあ～ありませんtoではありません.
Do you have any idea about it?

Writing じゃないよ to your friends is OK.
When you speaking Japanese, you’d better not to say じゃありません because you may sound strange”じゃあ～ありません”.

Thank you for clarifying.

I only learnt from this thread that じゃありません sounds strange, they teach it to you in Japanese classes and books all the time as being normal polite.

I will use ではありません in it's place now.

Also I know what you mean about some people who say it like じゃああああ　。。。ありません。 I thought it was meant to be said really fast and together like じゃありません　but now I know it is best to never say it!