xxx 2 Posted August 23, 2003 Share Posted August 23, 2003 Apart from generaly politeness levels and keigo and difficult stuff like that, I always have big problems with stupid little things that should be quite easy to master. Like how to address people properly (san, anata, etc) and the words to use when talking about myself and own family (watashi, boku, etc) and things like that. It really bugs me. Link to post Share on other sites
dancing_barefoot 0 Posted August 23, 2003 Share Posted August 23, 2003 Parts of Nihongo I have most problems with? Most of it, most of the time Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted August 24, 2003 Share Posted August 24, 2003 O.K., this is a good topic and I would really appreciate some help in these areas: 4 is either yon or shi; 7 is either nana or shichi and 9 is either kyuu or ku. However, 4 o'clock can only be yoji and 7 o'clock can only be shichi ji. So what about 9 o'clock can it be both kuji as well as kyuu ji? How about for minutes? Are both variations acceptable for 4, 7, 9, 14, 17, 19 etc.? Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted August 24, 2003 Share Posted August 24, 2003 Good points Markie, and things that I should have the definitive answers for, but I don't. Over to you, anyone >>>>> Link to post Share on other sites
mort 0 Posted August 24, 2003 Share Posted August 24, 2003 Prioritising what to learn next, there is just so much of it! Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted August 24, 2003 Share Posted August 24, 2003 I always have problem when I make business lettrer. Of course we have to use Keigo and Kenjogo for that, but if we use too much, sounds very strange. So I always take time to make letter and wonder "Should I put 'O' here or threre or both??? What is the Kenjogo for this word??? Dictionaly isn't good enough for Keigo and Kenjogo. None of Japanese are professional. Don't worry about Japanese everybody!! Dozo okigaru ni otoiawase kudasai. Link to post Share on other sites
woywoy 0 Posted August 24, 2003 Share Posted August 24, 2003 Markie, as far as I know, "9 o'clock" can only be "kuji". I haven't heard people say "kyuuji" much at all. As for the 4,7,9,14,17,19 question ... I think that "4 minutes" is "yonfun". The "shi" is not used for minutes. "7 minutes" is "nanafun" and "9 minutes" is "kyuufun". As I said, this is what I "think" is right. Please feel free to correct me. I find the counting system pretty tough in Japanese. Especially the "counters" that you must use when counting different things. Even the days of the month are no easy task. Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 I hate getting business letters to translate. Nobody dares tell Il Presidente of the publicly listed company, "Look Governor, you can keigo your head off until you're blue in the face, O11 is going to translate the whole 4 lines of archaic formulaic elegance as 'Greetings'." And the absence of singulars and plurals can be a problem. When Il Presidente receives a case of wine from some Mafioso in another country, and conveys his thanks via me, and I translate it as 'Thanks for the bottle of wine', it doesn't reflect well on Il Presidente's sexy little secretaries and communications infrastructure. Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 Thanks woywoy. O.K., now I understand that for minutes, pun is used instead of fun for 1,3,6,8 and 10. However, in the crappy book I am using (written in Chinese) for 4 mins. it uses yonpun on one page and then yonfun on another. So my next question is: are they both correct or else which one is? Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 Yonpun. Link to post Share on other sites
Markie 0 Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 Thanks Ocean 11. I think that out of the gaijin in this forum, you and Mogski probably have the best knowledge of Nihongo, so I'll definitely take your word for it. Link to post Share on other sites
miteyak 0 Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 So you've been introduced to someone, forgot their name, but you need to refer to them in conversation. Is it that impolite to say, 'anatasan'. A particular problem of mine, as I can never remember names, but here it appears to be unacceptable to forget ANYONE! Link to post Share on other sites
badmigraine 0 Posted August 25, 2003 Share Posted August 25, 2003 My problem is, even after mastering the basics and approaching intermediate level, I often have no idea what anybody is talking about. It's a 2-part problem: 1 part insufficient vocabulary, and 1 part inability to comprehend their high-speed utterances. Re the latter, I had the same problem in French and Italian. It could have been that I wasn't used to the voices/styles of different speakers, but really, I think this is a brain-ear wiring problem that I need to address somehow. Merely trying harder or getting more practice doesn't seem to help. Link to post Share on other sites
MistaSparkle 0 Posted August 26, 2003 Share Posted August 26, 2003 bm- I have the same problem. I go through phases when I feel like I'm kicking-butt and can understand and communicate well, but there are still times where due to lack of vocabulary and inability to think fast enough to comprehend rapidfire conversation, I'll totally lose everything said... Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted August 26, 2003 Share Posted August 26, 2003 It sure can go from feel-good to a feeling of hopelessness in seconds. Link to post Share on other sites
ProbablyaCrazyPerson 2 Posted August 26, 2003 Share Posted August 26, 2003 I have problems maintaining my level where it is and seem to forget things I had studied before. It all comes down to not being able to spend enough time on it and not being able to practice as much as I should, and unfortunately there's not much that I can really do about those things right now. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted August 26, 2003 Share Posted August 26, 2003 I have problems with everything between "wa" and "-masu". Besides that, I have a few other problems. Link to post Share on other sites
scoobydoo 0 Posted August 27, 2003 Share Posted August 27, 2003 Simple things (well, it is my level) like when to use different particles (?) - wa, ga, ni, e.... etc. They drive me mad. Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 I just have problems improving and getting my accent better. When I speak I feel like I'm getting it nailed, but if I listen to a tape it brings me right back down to (below) earth. Link to post Share on other sites
Roger's head 0 Posted August 31, 2003 Share Posted August 31, 2003 I have a problem knowing the best way to get people's attention. I'm always unsure how to do that. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted August 31, 2003 Share Posted August 31, 2003 To get someones attention I use 'moshi moshi'. It works. Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted September 1, 2003 Share Posted September 1, 2003 Roger's - How about saying "あのさ"? As in あのさ、それメロンスは巨大（きょだい）。 Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 Maybe not the most appropriate way to address the boss, that. Isn't "ano-sa" a bit of a girly expression? Link to post Share on other sites
scoobydoo 0 Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 I was told that moshi moshi was mostly used as a telephone greeting. Link to post Share on other sites
MistaSparkle 0 Posted September 2, 2003 Share Posted September 2, 2003 I think "chotto matte yarou!" is always a nice way to get someones attention. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts