Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Let's Basic your Japanese!

This is going to be interesting -obviously, only for those of you who actually are curious about Japanese language. I've always been interested in linguistics and loved to share with everyone else.

Let's just start.
I'm going to stick with the Present tense for all of the examples I'm gonna use down below.

I/me/my is watashi (read: /wuh-tuh-see/ NOT /wuh-tuh-she/)

is/are is wa

Therefore I am = watashi wa

If that simple phrase is followed by an adjective or a noun, the sentence MUST be ended with desu (read: dass NOT dassoo).

Here are some examples:

I am Rad = watashi wa Rad desu. (read: /wuh-tuh-see wuh Rad dass/)
I am John = watashi wa John desu.

Take a look at these slightly more complicated sentences, and try to see the structure.

I am Rad from Indonesia = watashi wa Indoneshia no Rad desu.
I am Tanaka from Japan = watashi wa Nihon no Tanaka desu.

no is an article that belongs to the word before it and is used for possessions and origins. Here's another use of the article.

My name is Rad = watashi no namae wa Rad desu
My name is John = watashi no namae wa John desu

Where name = namae (read: /nuh-muh-eh/)

More examples

my house = watashi no uchi [wuh-tuh-see no oo-chi]
my friend = watashi no tomodachi [wuh-tuh-see no to-mo-duh-chi]
my mom = watashi no haha

So...

My mom's house = watashi no haha no uchi
My mom's friend = watashi no haha no tomodachi

My friend's house = watashi no tomodachi no uchi
My friend's mother = watashi no tomodachi no haha

Even more complicated ...

My mom's friend's name =
watashi no haha no tomodachi no namae

Now, if you have understood the structure, give me the right translation of these phrases:
  • My friend's mother's name.
  • My friend's house's name is John.


    • Or, you simply have an option to say in the comment that you're not so much interested in Japanese or learning a new language. Ahaha. That would be totally fine. I'm just going to have to come up with a good topic to talk about next. :p

    [Leave your comment(s)]


    Post Scriptum
    There will be a test this evening in the Japanese class today. But, I don't think I will be able to go because I'm scheduled for dinner out with family. If I don't go to the class today (which is fine as the teacher told us yesterday), I will have two extra days to study until Friday when the next class is going to be held.
    I don't think I will actually make a sequel to this boring lesson thing. I honestly was just in the right mood of sharing with you guys what I learned in the early lessons. It's gotten more advanced where we are in the class now. So, if I was to share the entire lessons over here, it would take you dying of boredom reading the post. Or, you might just skip the post right away... as some of you may have done with this one. Hehe

    30 comments:

    1. SeanWednesday, February 01, 2012 5:44:00 PM

      gosh, the rules are kinda confusing. i'm gonna stick to english and bahasa malaysia! thankfully, to order japanese food, we don't need to know about the grammar of the language (phew!) :D

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Rad SujantoWednesday, February 01, 2012 6:09:00 PM

        I knew this post was going to be rather useless! LOL

        Delete
      2. linaWednesday, February 01, 2012 7:56:00 PM

        My Japanese is the "pasar" Japanese. I guess that how it is when one didn't learn the basic through a teacher or through proper lessons. xD

        Looking forward to more lessons from you. :)

        Will you be sharing lessons on hiragana and katakana too? :)

        Delete
      3. linaWednesday, February 01, 2012 7:58:00 PM

        By "pasar" I mean, I don't really know how to speak "keigo" Japanese ;p

        Delete
      4. Rad SujantoWednesday, February 01, 2012 10:15:00 PM

        Oh, well, I don't think another lesson like this one would be interesting for others to read ahahha -as much as I'd love to share some more of the language! :)

        Delete
    2. CheqnaWednesday, February 01, 2012 8:56:00 PM

      watashi wa cheqna desu.

      ok, that's all for my Japanese lesson..hehe

      :-)

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Rad SujantoWednesday, February 01, 2012 10:15:00 PM

        See! You can now make an introduction in Japanese! ;)

        Delete
      2. CheqnaFriday, February 03, 2012 10:42:00 AM

        Most probably I'd only manage to say "hait!" (meaning yes ~ is that how it is spelt?..hehe..)

        Delete
      3. Rad SujantoFriday, February 03, 2012 2:29:00 PM

        It's hai for yes.
        And, iie (read: /ee-ya/) is no :)

        Delete
    3. UnknownWednesday, February 01, 2012 9:26:00 PM

      Oh dear... this is tough. I think i'm too old to pick up another language...

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Rad SujantoWednesday, February 01, 2012 10:17:00 PM

        I think it is because not everyone is actually interested in the language, and you just happen to be one of those people ahahaha ;p ;p

        Delete
      2. UnknownThursday, February 02, 2012 8:17:00 AM

        hahahha yea...you are right on. =D i'm too lazy too..

        Delete
      3. Rad SujantoThursday, February 02, 2012 9:33:00 AM

        ;)) no you're not lazy! especially when it comes to eating nice! yum! i want those Japanese satay you just had recently! ;))

        Delete
    4. [SK]Wednesday, February 01, 2012 11:28:00 PM

      hahaha, somebody is trying to be a japanese language teacher to the bloggers huh?? cool, but you should have also recorded audio teaching so that we know the correct pronunciation and tone, haha.. oh, talking about that, no video clip today to teach?? :p

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Rad SujantoWednesday, February 01, 2012 11:32:00 PM

        LOL! No! I didn't mean to teach anybody really. I was more of sharing a bit of my knowledge ;))

        I might just talk a bit in a video about some Japanese words but since I want to keep every video I make under one minute long I can't talk that much

        Delete
    5. missyblurkitWednesday, February 01, 2012 11:29:00 PM

      cool:D

      i wish there is somewhere in kl when i can pick up japanese based on romaji alone. no kanji. i'm fine with hiragana and katakana.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Rad SujantoWednesday, February 01, 2012 11:34:00 PM

        Here's there is a special class for anyone to take if they want to just focus on hiragana and katakana. My class has been focusing on romaji until we get to a more proper level or stage where we are ready to write sentences in hiragana and katakana :)

        Delete
      2. missyblurkitSunday, February 05, 2012 4:23:00 PM

        brilliant. we spend a couple of weeks doing romaji and thereafter its hiragana for the 1st semester. katakana and kanji i the second term.

        Delete
      3. Rad SujantoSunday, February 05, 2012 7:06:00 PM

        oh! you're learning Japanese too?!

        we were taught how to write in hiragana and kitakana in the early lessons so we're not focusing more on the grammar :)

        Delete
    6. ConnieThursday, February 02, 2012 8:46:00 AM

      Rad,I think I got lost in that lesson somewhere. haha! I know a little Spanish besides English, but Japanese is beyond me, I guess. :) Good luck with your test when you take it.

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Rad SujantoThursday, February 02, 2012 9:34:00 AM

        I'm pretty sure when I am much older I will have much less interest in learning new languages. I was aware when I wrote this post that not everyone would enjoy it ahaha.

        thanks for the wish! :D

        Delete
    7. gerandisThursday, February 02, 2012 11:03:00 AM

      watashi wa grandis desu
      watashi no uchi no jayapura

      *err

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Rad SujantoThursday, February 02, 2012 11:11:00 AM

        Good!

        However, the second sentence is slightly wrong.

        watashi no uchi no Jayapura means my house's Jayapura -which doesn't make sense.

        If you wanted to say my home is Jayapura, you would say watashi no uchi wa Jayapura desu.

        Hope that helps you a bit! :D

        Delete
    8. இ Baŋäŋaz இThursday, February 02, 2012 11:31:00 AM

      Watashi no namae wa バナナ desu..~;).

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Rad SujantoThursday, February 02, 2012 11:55:00 AM

        Oh! I like the pronunciation of the word banana in Japanese! ;))

        Delete
    9. dan saparThursday, February 02, 2012 11:39:00 AM

      watashi no namae wa Dan Sapar desu
      watashi wa Indoneshia no desu
      #eh

      ReplyDelete
    10. The Yum ListThursday, February 02, 2012 2:39:00 PM

      The best way to learn is to teach someone else!

      ReplyDelete
      Replies
      1. Rad SujantoThursday, February 02, 2012 3:36:00 PM

        It is an act of reminding ourselves of the lessons we've previously learnt, huh?

        Delete
    11. kyhTuesday, February 07, 2012 3:51:00 AM

      haha thanks for the post! cos am one that loves to learn languages! :D

      ReplyDelete

     

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