Learning Japanese

[Vexx]

Well... crap. That should teach me for letting the "Microsoft kanji insertion" module do my work for me. I wasn't even paying attention. O.O

thanks for noting that. (corrected)

[onehp]

ピアノの音がどこからともなく聞こえてきます。

What does the bolded mean and how can I use it in another sentence?

[Rembr]

It's actually a combination with dokokara.

Dokokaratomonaku, exact translation meaning 'not from anywhere' which in turn will roughly mean 'out of nowhere' in most contexes. Basically saying that the sound of piano is coming from out of nowhere.

Here's another example:

俺様がどこからともなくやって来て、貴方にとても分かりやすい答えをあげてくれました。

[NervZero]

Hey how are you all doing.. I was wondering if anyone could help me out.. I'm as I have already said attempting to learn japanese I am currently using free software from www.byki.com I was wondering if anyone had any recommandations for me. So i can make this easyer on myself.. I'm currently just doing a lesson a day.. So I have been doing this for about 3 days so I know how to say the 4 different seasons (Haru, Natsu, Aki, Fuyu) I also know some animals (Kuma, washi, mitsubachi, tyou, gokiburi, and others) and I have also learned how to say different types of food (ninjin, jagaimo, painappuru, ringo, banana, and others..) So as you can see the software is good but i was wondering if anyone else had others that might help.

Also, watching anime helps me because i can hear japanese being spoken and I often pick up on the words I know..

[Bou]

I do not use software, I teach myself by playing little games with words, spelling them with cards and stuff. It really does work!
It doesn't work for everyone, you could just memorise and get family or friends to quiz you.

There is loads of Japanese teaching websites..

[escimo]

Originally Posted by NervZero

Hey how are you all doing.. I was wondering if anyone could help me out.. I'm as I have already said attempting to learn japanese I am currently using free software from www.byki.com I was wondering if anyone had any recommandations for me. So i can make this easyer on myself.. I'm currently just doing a lesson a day.. So I have been doing this for about 3 days so I know how to say the 4 different seasons (Haru, Natsu, Aki, Fuyu) I also know some animals (Kuma, washi, mitsubachi, tyou, gokiburi, and others) and I have also learned how to say different types of food (ninjin, jagaimo, painappuru, ringo, banana, and others..) So as you can see the software is good but i was wondering if anyone else had others that might help.

Also, watching anime helps me because i can hear japanese being spoken and I often pick up on the words I know..

Couple of links I've found useful in learning the basics.
http://animeworld.com/japanese/lesson1-1.html
http://www.learn-japanese.info/lesson01.html
If you're trying to learn the spoken language first and then reading and writing I'd recommend buying "Japanese for Busy People Romanized version" published by AJALT.
Here's a good link for romanizing written Japanese.
http://www.kawa.net/works/ajax/romanize/japanese-e.html

There are also many relatively good online dictionaries. Google helps with them.

[LiberLibri]

Possibly you'll find the answer in this thread .

[Theowne]

Some translation help...Just need some short sentences in simplistic sentence form...romaji...

"This is a photo of the Merlion. It is a water fountain. The shape of it's head is a lion. The shape of it's body is a fish. It is very popular." And also, to say, "I was born in <blank>" and "I visited <blank> two years ago."

[LiberLibri]

Originally Posted by Theowne

Some translation help...Just need some short sentences in simplistic sentence form...romaji...

"This is a photo of the Merlion. It is a water fountain. The shape of it's head is a lion. The shape of it's body is a fish. It is very popular." And also, to say, "I was born in <blank>" and "I visited <blank> two years ago."

1. kore ha ma-raion no shashin desu. (ma-raion ha) funsui desu. atama no katachi ha raion desu. karada no katachi ha sakana desu. totemo yuumei desu.

2. watashi ha ___ ni umare mashita.

3. ni nen mae, watashi ha ___ wo otozure mashita.

I hope they will do.

[Vexx]

Sounds to me like you just did someone's homework for them.......

[Theowne]

Well, sort of, I wanted to include some more complex sentences for an assignment...so far we've just learned the basics, like "kore wa __ desu", etc...maybe impress the teacher or something..

Thanks, LiberLibri!

[Rembr]

Impress teacher with other's effort? I should try that out.

[richvh]

I think all the "ha"s may clue the teacher in.

[qtipbrit]

Originally Posted by richvh

I think all the "ha"s may clue the teacher in.

Don't get it.

Do Japanese classes generally teach "ha" to be romanised "wa" when used as such?
(I've never taken a course, so I wouldn't know.)

The main reason I came here:
I see a lot of characters with "weak bodies" in fansubs of anime, referring to falling sick easily or having been sick a good deal of one's life and such. Some random examples: Yutaka of Lucky Star, Asa Shigure of Shuffle!, Nagisa of Clannad, etc.
I doubt that it would pop up that much and that literally, so is there an expression in Japanese for such an idea? (a person who is prone to falling ill and has done so many times in the past.)

[Vexx]

Japanese classes (in the US at least) teach that the proper romaji for the subject particle is "wa" when written in romaji or spoken... BUT to use the "は” when actually writing in hiragana.

They also teach using the "o" particle in romaji and speaking but to use "を” when writing it.

And so on.... (and of course the Microsoft typing extension needs to be told "ha" or "wo" when typing "は” or　”を”　 for proper display in hiragana).

As far as the "weak bodies" staple of anime.... I've never seen it categorized in an expression I can remember. It does seem endemic to the various stories though --- odd since it doesn't often appear in modern life. It makes more sense to me in settings prior to the 1970s, when healthcare was less standardized and tuberculosis or asthma was more common and less treatable.

[tripperazn]

Originally Posted by qtipbrit92

Don't get it.

Originally Posted by richvh

I think all the "ha"s may clue the teacher in.

Using "ha" instead of "wa" is an extremely common romanization mistake among Japanese natives. When you see "ha" in karaoke fansubs, it's a good indication that the translator is a native Japanese, or at least learned in Japan. It's very rare that someone learning Japanese would make that mistake, especially since Theowne apparently hasn't even gotten to hiragana yet, and shouldn't know the ha/wa distinction.

[Asamidori]

Originally Posted by tripperazn

When you see "ha" in karaoke fansubs, it's a good indication that the translator is a native Japanese, or at least learned in Japan.

Or someone that constantly types Japanese. (Read: Me. =\ God-knows-how-many-times I've written "wa" as "ha" by now and have to go back to fix it afterward...)

[LiberLibri]

Oh, I believed it was a greeting message of a visiting student to Japanese friends or something like that Japanese natives, including me, are so familiar with the "ha" ⇔ "は" conversion that "wa" is often confusing.

If it is for a Japanese language class assignment, "wa" is preferable, as others told.

As for the "weak body", the most appropriate word is "病弱 byou-jaku". The character type is a palody of classic Japanese literature in early 20C. In those days, authors got influenced by Thomas Mann and loved to write stories of which stages are Sanatria. The main characters are usually "weak body" persons who are obsessed with such abstract thoughts as their own death, the meaning of life, the destiny of the world and so on. The combination of desease-tragic-introspective-daydreaming implies to readers the atmosphere of old dramas and provokes a retrospective smile.

[Theowne]

How do you write "therefore" type sentences? Or "because"?

Like, "Because I like Japanese music and films, I decided to learn Japanese"

or "I liked all fruit, therefore I like oranges"?

So how would you connect those two thoughts.

Impress teacher with other's effort? I should try that out.

The teacher obviously knows that it wasn't my effort since she hasn't taught it yet. That wasn't quite what I meant.

[LiberLibri]

Originally Posted by Theowne

How do you write "therefore" type sentences? Or "because"?

There are many conjunctive expressions. Basically, you say as followings:

A, because B: A, nazenara B. [B is the reason for A]
A, therefore B: A, dakara B. [A is the reason for B]