xKotone & Tyleete's Japanese Thread

Ok, so it can be anything Japanese, but after seeing Chihiro's thread on Italian, thought I'd toss this up.
I'm starting this for in general for any thoughts, quick lessons learned, or questions on the Japanese language.
I for one, was recently confused by something someone told me in WL. I was trying to tell her good evening in Japanese.
Easy, Konbanwa, right? Well apparently not? She told me that Konbanwa isn't really a word.:/ Odd I thought. It's what all
my (yeah, I have a lot) Japanese grammar and dictionary/teaching books have taught me. So! Have you heard such a thing?
Or was she just a little nutters?
Let me know (anyone if they know) if someone has any input on this.
Me personally, I try to learn a few new words every few days. I've just been doing it through memorization to myself.
How's it going for and with you Kotone?

XDDD How dare you put up my name woman!
Konbanwa in a word, maybe the one telling you doesn't know sht bout it.
It literally means "Good Evening", even dictionary have that. (Now that I mentioned dictionary, where the heck did I put my dictionary I wonder xDD)
I'll try to input stuff that I remember. C:

____________________________________________________________
Let's start from common greetings;
Ohayo (gozaimasu for formalities) = (Good) Morning
Konnichiwa = Good day/afternoon
Konbanwa = Good Evening
Oyasumi (nasai) = Good night, or please have a good rest. Since the word 'yasumi' means rest itself.
(Please tell me if I've missed anything.)

____________________________________________________________
As for something that explains Me, You, Them (I can't find the words to describe this lol xDD);
For I --
Watashi = can be used by both gender.
Atashi = feminine and commonly used by girls. (But in certain occasion, like Urahara from Bleach, he pronounced himself as 'Atashi', but that doesn't mean he's feminine. It kinda means as 'I the humble seller'.)
Boku = polite and normally used by boys or gentle guys. (Boyish girls used this too.)
Ore = strong and kinda manly. Used by guys. (Shiba Kuukaku is an example of a girl that used 'Ore' to pronounce herself. But in real life, if girl used Ore, it'll be really weird.)
Ore-sama = strong and practically self-centered. (Atobe Keigo's an example of this. He's a narcissist.)
Watakushi = formal and normally used by royalties. Used by girl.
Washi = commonly used by elders. Usually guys. (Though Yoruichi used this.)
Waga = very formal 'my' or 'our'. ('Wagasha' means my company or our company.)
Uchi = used by girls, and can be translated as 'home' since it used the same kanji.
(there're some other I in slangs, but I don't know some of them xD)

For You --
Anata = normally used by women who addresses their lovers or husbands as 'Anata', which means Dear.
Anta = used to address someone familiar. Informal use only.
Omae = commonly used between men, people bout the same age or the one with higher status (or age), but should never be said to elders. (Women used this to express their anger)
Temee = Rude, normally used when the speaker's very angry.
Kisama = Means you punk, and described as rude. (Ulquiorra used this, because he was literally looking down at everyone.)

For He/She --
Ano hito = commonly used, means 'that person'
Ano kata = the same as above.
Yatsu = informal form and it literally means 'that guy'. (Okita Sougo used this to complain bout Hijikata to Gintoki.)
Soitsu/Soyatsu = Denotes a person or material nearby the listener. Analogous to 'he/she', 'it' or 'this/that one'. (from Wiki)
Koitsu/Koyatsu = Denotes a person or material nearby the speaker. Analogous to 'this one'. (from Wiki)
Aitsu/Ayatsu = Denotes a person or (less frequently) material far from both the speaker and the listener. Analogous to 'he/she' or 'that one'. (from Wiki)
Kare = he, boyfriend. Or that guy in an adoring way.
Kanojo = her, girlfriend. Or that female in an adoring way.

For Them/ You lots/ Suffixes to make it plural--
Kare-ra = commonly used.
Teme-ra = 'You lots' in a rude/ informal way.
Kisama-ra = means 'You lots' and prolly used by someone on the higher rank like Yakuza's oyabun to his underlings. (Nurarihyon said this to his underlings)
-ra = to plural in informal way.
-tachi = plural in polite manner.
-kata/gata = plural in REALLY polite manner. (If in anime, mostly royalties used this)
-domo = Casts some aspersion on the mentioned group, so it can be rude (from Wiki)
(There're supposed to be more, but I don't remember xD)


Wow, that was a lot. I can't believe how much free time I have right now xDD..
Anyway, moving on.
____________________________________________________________
Honorifics;
-san = commonly used in a polite manner. Used to address someone older.
-sama = in a formal way, usually means 'Master'
-han = Kansai dialect for -san I think.
-chan = addressing someone younger, usually girls. It's rude to address someone older with '-chan', but considering familiarities then it's a different story.
-kun = used to address younger boys, but in business setting; the superiors may call the girl as 'last name-kun'. Also can be used when male teachers addressing his female students. (Aizen's an example, since he called Hinamori as Hinamori-kun.)
-senpai = addressing senior. (Ryoma Echizen used this to address the senior in Seigaku.)
-kouhai = not commonly used, but it's used to address the juniors.
-gakusei = literally means student, but it's not a honorific.
-sensei = commonly used to address someone who achieved certain level, such as master in the Dojo, lawyers, doctors, teachers etc. It can also be used as stand-alone title. (Nizuma Eiji addressed Mashiro and Takagi as sensei, because they're mangaka who managed to get serialized.)
-shi = formal way of addressing someone whom speaker not used to talk to. (Hijikata addressed Gintoki as Sakata-shi, when he's in his otaku form)
-dono/tono = means 'Lord' or 'Master', but it doesn't mean that it's used as noble status. The level of respect resembling -sama and -san on certain level. (Rukia Kuchiki used -dono to address Kaien.)





I'll edit this later and add more. My sources are my brother, Jinhai and my retarded friend, Satoshi.

Yeah, I thought so. Girl was just nutters. Dumb people trying to look smart? I have a chart I quiz myself on every once in a while. It's only the Japanese words, to see if I can remember. I'll write what I can remember off hand, aside from what you've written. For me, I try to choose things that I would need to use and do in everyday speaking. That way it's easier. Such as a few things for my kids:
bakka-idiot
saru-go away
tomaru-stop
Yes, those are helpful things for them.
Most recent I tried the numbers
ichi, ni, san, yon, go, roku, nana, hachi, kyu, & ju.
If I have anything wrong that you know of, Please let me know. Won't find it offense, just helpful.
Kita-North, Nishi-West, higashi-East, & Minami-South
I need those with driving and moreso with my wanderings through the woods.
tobu-fly
hirashu-run
hurry-isogu
enter-hairu
hiyake-sunburn
kaminoke-hair
ban-night
kudasai-please
chotto sumimasenga- Excuse me
kee-tree
uchi-house
shinbun-newspaper
naka-inside
onamae-name
yokan-premontion
kodamo-child
neko-cat (Hard to know anything about Acchan and not know that word)
kekko desu-no thank you
shojiki-honest
otto-my husband
ikahodo-how much?
ii-very good
koun-good luck
aisatsu-greetings
tasuke-help
tasukete-Help! (yes, there's the diff. 1st is asking for help for something simple, 2nd is in emergency)
arashi-foot
okane-money
machigai-mistake
ozei-many (people)
ongaku-music
wanpisu-dress
te-hand
shoyu-soy sauce (VERY important to me)
koppu-cup
taberu-table
koppu-cup
ochawan-rice bowl
hon-book
haha oya-mother
osara-plate
koko-here
kiru-to hang up(phone)
kagi-key
wakarimashita-I see, fine
kamaimasen-it's all right
kawa-river
yama-mountains
otoko no ko-boy
onna no ko-girl
chikai-near
chikaku-nearby
iru-to need
hajimemashite-glad to meet you
iku-to go
tsukau-to use
to-door
genkan- entry for removing shoes (just custom in my house)
shoji-slideing screen
tatami-woven floor mat
futon-bedding
niwa-garden
roka-hallway
kaidan-stairway
mado-window
sofa-sofa (like this one, just pronounced slightly different)
ima-living room
isu-chair
daidokoro-kitchen

And uhm, aside form basics, that's about it?
It's also a bit confusing as to the pronunciations sometimes. The easiest ones I can remember are whey you don't pronounce i or u between the 'p,t,k,ch,f, h, s, and sh'. S, sh, and t are easier for me to remember personally. But it can be confusing.
And I'm STILL (and probably always) trying to reconfigure the sentence structure. Don't know about you, but it gets me.:/

And here's another question. Nihon=Japan, and Nihonese=Japanese, right? Or so I've read. But is that the way the Japanese refer to their country and countrymen? I've only heard Japan/Japanese before.:/
So yeah, that about sums me up. Oh! And Nakayubi of course, cause that's a favorite song of mine by BUCK-TICK. That's essentially giving the middle finger (or f-off).


As for something that explains Me, You, Them (I can't find the words to describe this lol xDD);
As for that, from what I understand, things like this are 'generalized'. In fact, if you don't need to say it (as in, it's obvious), it's simply omitted from the sentence.
Watakushi is used in saying yourself, so can say that for 'I' as well.
Anata - You
Watakushitachi - We
Anatatachi (as with all noun plurals, just add 'tachi' to make it a plural) - You (plural)
Karera - They
I know there's fancy for girls and boys, but as this is a learning process for me? I'm sticking with simple first.


That's how I learned it anyhow.
And for plurals that are not nouns, there's no need to change the word at all. It's up to the listener to decipher it.

Well, there were slight romanji typo on what you've typed down,
but by how it was pronounced and the meanings, they're correct. xD

Here, what I tried to fix--;
Bakka (Baka or Aho in Kansai slang)
Kaminoke (Kami no ke or Kami for short), Kami no ke means hair strands.
Kee (Ki)
Kodamo (Kodomo)
Ikahodo (Ikura desu ka) [Idk bout ikahodo, if there's such word. I'll ask my bro bout it xD]
Arashi (Ashi), since Arashi means Storm.
Taberu (Teburu or Taku). Think Taberu means eating or something.
To (Tobira or Doa)


Words without the honorific 'O'--'
The honorific O made things sounds less vulgar. But both words can still be used so don't worry ^^
p/s; O's can be a honorific to call a female, eg; Otae-san. When her name's Tae. So probably the question was asked to a girl.
Or 'O' as in big. But I don't remember the example for this.
Okane (Kane) - Money
Ochawan (Chawan) - Cup
Onamae (Namae) - Name
Osara (Sara) - Plate
(there're more, but i'm taking those outa Tylette's examples)


Different meanings--;
Kami could mean God or paper.
Uchi could mean I.


Bout the pronunciations on the alphabets, I'm not sure on how westerners tongue rolled, since I'm Asian. It just come naturally to me. xD
"Iru" are typically pronounced as "Ilu", just like Chinese when they pronounced Ran as Lan and vice-versa.
I also remember hearing someone saying Li as Ri in Japanese. Not sure if it's correct though.

Nipponjin would be Japanese. (Nationality)
Watakushi shouldn't be used as simple, since they're actually too formal.
Like I mentioned, it's commonly used by royalties. Try sticking with Watashi/Watashi-tachi instead, because they're more simple.

Cool! Thanks!
So the 'o', is it just not pronounced then?
Such as in the
Okane (Kane) - Money
Ochawan (Chawan) - Cup
Onamae (Namae) - Name
Osara (Sara) - Plate
?
You had commented that it sounded weird or, vulgur? I can relearn those above words without the o. But wondering for future reference when seeing words that begin with the letter 'o'.
Trial and error!:/ Glad I have someone to bounce this stuff off of though finally.
And about the Nipponjin, if I were in Japan (one day I hope), is that usually how it's referenced then? Not Japanese, but Nipponjin?
Thanks again on the help.

Tyleete wrote:

Cool! Thanks!
So the 'o', is it just not pronounced then?
Such as in the
Okane (Kane) - Money
Ochawan (Chawan) - Cup
Onamae (Namae) - Name
Osara (Sara) - Plate
?

It's something like "Oh", then again, my tongue's a natural Asian, so Idk how westerner's tongue roll. xD

Tyleete wrote:

You had commented that it sounded weird or, vulgur? I can relearn those above words without the o. But wondering for future reference when seeing words that begin with the letter 'o'.

It doesn't mean that without 'O' would make it totally vulgar. It just made it sound slightly polite?

Tyleete wrote:

And about the Nipponjin, if I were in Japan (one day I hope), is that usually how it's referenced then? Not Japanese, but Nipponjin?

You can say Nihonjin or Nipponjin, and I'm certain of that because I've asked some stalker bout it xD

Thanks! As for how to pronounce most, I think I'm ok with that, so long as I can recall which vowels to omit between the silent consonants.
Like I said, I grew up a number of years with a friend that spoke that language with her mum frequently, and all the books I've got have been pretty good (I thought anyhow) in giving the 'proper' ways to say certain letters.
I wish there was somewhere around here that taught the language. Hence why I've just been trying to do it myself.:/
But ALL help is appreciated! So again, thanks!
So tell me, what's the difference in Kansai dialect? I've heard once it's more slang, but that can't just be it. So curious now.

If I may say, Kansai dialect sounds more lively than usual Japanese.
The sample I could give you would be the;-
- Visored in Bleach (Since they spoke in Kansai-ben)
- Oshitari Yuushi from Prince of Tennis. (He annoys people with his dialect)
- Osaka from Azumanga Daioh.
- My own brother. LOL (He spoke in this dialect.)
- Ichimaru Gin from Bleach. and more. o.e

Here an example of Hiyori and Shinji speaking in Kansai, also Orihime and Sado speaking in ordinary Japanese.