Why I started this blog.

As many percieve it, Japanese is a difficult language to learn.  It is the language that all of your favorite anime characters use, or the language that was used to create games like Super Mario Bro. and consoles like Nintentdo and Playstation.

But the question is, “Is Japanese really that difficult?”.

The answer, is obviously “YES”, but so are learning other languages. But what makes Japanese so difficult is 1) grammatical structures that are none like Latin-based languages 2) the conceptualization of the world (or the way the Japanese language “views” the world) ,  this combined with the fact that Japan has long history of being isolated from the rest of the world, keeps the language and culture so intact that it has less influence (or less similarities) to other languages.

This blog will focus on “hacking” the Japanese language. This means 1) easier ways to “formulate” sentences 2) understanding nuances/implications in certain words and phrases.  this will be done through the comparison between the English language.

Even being ethnically Japanese, with all my relatives being born in Japan, I still had the problem of understanding the language and also the cultural aspects that are so closely tied to the language itself.  As I have struggled my way through to unraveling the culture, I would like to share whatever I know so that those with ambitions for the language can do the same to others.

 

Difference between used of に and で

Usual rules as follows, but in many cases often in colloquial languages に and で are also interchangeable, hence making it difficult to understand.

conceptual place に

physical location　で
actual opportunity で

thanks to Lucia, Felipe and Justin-san : )

How to say “Never”

A question I get asked often is how to say “Never” in Japanese.
This is a tricky question, so I would like to give you some explanation.

Here is the word for the word “never”
絶対（ぜったい）に　

however, the literal meaning of the word means “absolute(ly)

example.
絶対にない
absolutely none
= Eng. Absolutely not (Never)

the above sentence is followed by a negative phrase,
HOWEVER, when used in with conjunction with a positive phrasing, the meaning turns around 180 degrees and becomes a positive, or the connotative meaning is the antonym of “never”

example.
絶対に　おいしいに　違いない。
Absolutely must be not mistakenly delicious
= ENG It absolutely must be delicious = coll ENG. It must be delicious.

Hence there is no word for “never” and “eternally” (well… for “eternally” there is 永遠に but assuming from the word structure, this is presumably a word adopted from another foreign language)
The way to somewhat express these words are:

never = 絶対にない (absolutely not)
always = いつも

there doesn’t not seem to be an Japanese equivalent for the English word “ever”….

Uses for 申し訳ない

申し訳ない
state that of being apologetic, being sorry for

example.
申し訳ない　気分になりました。
My feelings became “that of an apologetic tone”

申し訳ないです。
(I am) in the state that of an apologetic one.
= Eng. I feel sorry (for the situation)

I remembered it 思い出しました。( おもいだしました）。

思い出しました。　I remembered it.

Good to use, when you literally, “remembered something”… something you might say in a language lesson, or a language exchange session.

Example.
ああ、思い出しました！
Yes I remembered it!

今日は　レッスンが　ないこと　（を）　思い出しました。
I remembered the fact that there was no lessons today
=Eng. I just realized that I didn’t have a lesson today.

How to say “That’s surprising to me” 驚きです。

Good way to react in a conversation is to say that you are “startled” “astonished” or “surprised”.
You can express these feelings (reactions) with the word 「驚き」 or the phrase 「驚きです」。

驚き（おどろき）=surprise, astonishment

example.
それは　驚きです。
That is surprising (to me)

そんなに　日本語を　話せるなんて　驚きです。
It’s a surprise that you can speak Japanese as such (or much as you are “right now”)
= It’s surprising that you can speak that much Japanese.

How to say “Badass” or “Cool”

かっこいい or かっこいい　　badass or good looking/cool looking

example.
日本の足袋は　かっこいいです。
Tabi (traditional workman socks) that of Japan, is really cool looking (badass!)

You can also use カッチョいいー！　or カッケ―！ for extra slangish conversation.

example.
この　音楽　めちゃ　かっちょいい！　
This music is so badass! ( This music is such a blast!)

スゲエ　かっけー！
Wow definitely badass! (or This is definitely a blast! )

Great Resource for Essential Japanese

I found the wikitravels website to be really handy. It covers quite a lot of the essential phrases and also covers some basic grammar.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Japanese_phrasebook

How to say “must do”

The tone of voice for phrasing “must do” in Japanese sounds like you are saying “I am inclined to–” or “one(a person) must —” .

Versions of “must do” (if do not do, its no good)
Neg-い+きゃ ならない(/なりません) = (very casual)
Neg-い+ければ ならない(/なりません) = formal

Neg-い+きゃ いけない(/いけません)＝(very casual)
Neg-い+ければ いけない(/いけません)= formal

Ex.
今日の夜(/今晩)、勉強しな ければ ならないって。
今日の夜(/今晩)、勉強しな きゃ ならないって。 (more casual)
I hear (from Mary) that she has to study tonight.

Other ways to say is with 　basic formVERB + べき + （です*optional）

時期（じき） timing (in relativity to an time frame, such as “life” “eternity””during adolesence”)

時期（じき） timing (in relativity to an time frame, such as “life” “eternity””during adolesence”)

the perfectionist 完璧主義（者）

the perfectionist
完璧主義（者）

わたしは　完璧主義者です。　だから　作業が　遅くなってしまいます。
I am a perfectionist. Therefore (that is why) (my) work is (time to time) late.
*() = implications

1. Justin Palmer 1.7.17