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Can you teach me how to speak japanese

Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 12:38 am
by racoonangel
I've already learned a bit in Japanese if you know how to speak, read, and write japanese could you teach me. I'd like to know how to read it as well, I know some simple greeting and such but I now how to spell them but only using the english letter print, like hello= Ohayo gozaimas

Thank you = Arigatou

your welcome = dou itashimashite

nice to meet you = hajimemashite

What about you= Anata wa dou desuka

Can you speak english=Eigo ga hanasemaseka

I can speak a liitle japanese= Watashi was sukoshi nihongo ga hanasemasu

I'm from ( country )= Watashi wa (country) no syusshindesu

I'm ( age) years old: watashi wa ( age) sai desu

that's all I know if you guys can help me with further learning the language that would be great, and well appreciated

Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 1:36 am
by spartanx01
Baka: idiot
Bakana: impossible
Ryu: Dragon

Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 4:34 am
by Fuzzy Pickles!
Japanese isn't meant to be learned in Romanji.

In order to truly learn the language, you have to understand kanji, katanaka, and hiragana. Otherwise, its not going to help you in understanding communication, signs, or even watching the japanese version of Astro Boy.

I wonder if anyone here knows the language.

Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 12:34 am
by Tetsuwan Penguin
"spartanx01" wrote:Baka: idiot
Bakana: impossible
Ryu: Dragon

Baka can also be translated as "Fool".
During WWII the Japanese built a rocket powered plane that was actually a piloted missile. They called it the Baka. Guess they didn't have much faith in it (it didn't work) and the pilots who flew it were fools (or idiots).

I don't know how accurate the fan subs are in translation, but after watching Black Jack and Astro Boy I can sometimes pick up a few spoken words. I wonder if our Public Library has any copies of Rosetta Stone for Japanese?

Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 5:44 pm
by Astro-Rokku-chan
I'm the same as you, racoonangel, I know a teeny bit just from watching anime and listening to a lot of J-pop, but its all romanized and not the actual Kanji. :S

I am planning on going into linguistics, so hopefully Japanese will be one of the languages I learn. :)

Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2013 7:37 pm
by spartanx01
That's where I've learned it. My family asks me why I watch anime in Japanese. And I tell them "I'm learning it." Somethings I know, aren't used in conversations with work. Like Zangetsu which means "Cutting Moon Fang" or Tensa Zangetsu which means in full "Heavenly Chained Cutting Moon Fang." Stuff like that, but I do know a few conversational words. Like Nani meaning "what."

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 5:43 am
by Satus
Hello all.

I have been studying Japanese on and off for a while. But most of the resources I use require being able to read at least hiragana and katakana.

Even so, here are some tools I hope will be useful:
手書きブログ(Handwritten Blog) - Great for practicing reading other people's real handwriting, and writing your own. (Pages that might be of interest: Osamu Tezuka tag, Astro Boy tag, diary entries.)
JapaneseClass.JP - A website to practice vocabulary. It works kind of like an RPG, and once you get to level 5, it'll test your reading skills with online news articles as well. You need an account to record your process, but you can take the hiragana and katakana tests without an account here.
Jouyou kanji list - Jouyou kanji are kanji which are commonly in daily use.
Tangorin - A Japanese/English dictionary I use a lot because it provides example sentences.
Lang-8 - A site to write journals in a language you are learning, native speakers will correct your grammar and whatnot to help you improve. This is not for beginners though.
Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese - What it says on the tin.
Tofugu - A blog that talks a lot about Japanese culture. This site also has a few language learning tips, including body language.
Jump-Start Japanese - I have not checked this blog out thoroughly yet, but from a glimse it does seem quite useful.

Ganbatte kudasai. :)

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 7:45 pm
by Fuzzy Pickles!
Thanks for the resource. I really appreciate them. Now I need to start practicing again.

あえいおう

Just the vowels of the hiragana characters, but it might be good time for me to practice now with some nice Japanese music.

Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 3:40 am
by Satus
No problem.

Personally I am having trouble with kanji. :lol: It's hard to stick in my head. My grammar isn't too good either, I've been focusing on vocabulary building more than anything else.

Here's a few more:
How To Pronounce The Japanese "R" Sound - Entertaining yet useful YouTube video for pronouncing ら, り, る, etc.
Japanese lessons - Simple beginners stuff.
Denshi Jisho - Another dictionary site.
Anki - A spaced repetition software, good for memorizing vocabulary. It can even be used on phones.
Rikaichan - A Firefox extension, it's a dictionary that will tell you the meaning of Japanese words when you put your mouse over them.
Rikaikun - The Chrome version of Rikaichan.
Installing Asian text - For seeing and/or typing it.

Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 7:45 pm
by Astro-Rokku-chan
Wow! These are awesome! Have to check some of them out :)