Does anyone here speak Japanese?

[Manga Girl]

I know this is a rather silly question to ask, but I'm interested in the Japanese language and I'm just wondering how many people here can speak it. ^_^

[kiyomi]

Me..Mel..Chouchou...some other people I cant remember..do.

[Meganly-chan]

Not fluently, but I can speak and read decently right now.

[fujyoshi]

I can read really well but I have to work on speaking. Anyway I can only read hiragana and katakana >_<

[VidelCoolGirl]

............You sold yourself out Manga.....

I used to be able to. Not anymore. forgot it.

[Haku/白]

I'm self teaching... I know a couple hirigana and katakana, but I can count up to 999,999...

[fujyoshi]

............You sold yourself out Manga.....

I used to be able to. Not anymore. forgot it.

what does your member title say then??

[VidelCoolGirl]

Alpha Female...or woman...however you want to take it. Alpha...No...Onna

[KuroiKenshi]

i dont speak a word. nope, not at all.

i lie a lot :shifty:

[fujyoshi]

Alpha Female...or woman...however you want to take it. Alpha...No...Onna

crap that's right I'm dumb now >_<

[VidelCoolGirl]

No, it's just I should know what it says. I DID put it there.

[Sushikins]

I can read Katakana, Hiragana and some Kanji. As for speaking it, I'm not very good a putting together sentences on my own though I am pretty good at figuring out what others are saying sometimes.

[VidelCoolGirl]

That's the thing too. I can read Japanese Hiragana and Katajana just fine. I can read some kanji, it's jsut I have no idea what I'm reading means.

[GokuMew2]

I know enough to have a conversation. Not fluent by far but I converse with a lot of Japanese people online and they understand what I'm saying, and I understand what they're saying for the most part. I read much more than I write, kanji-wise. (Manga is great for learning to read kanji but it doesn't really help in writing it. .^^;)

I'm currently in Japanese 6 at my college (we're on quarter system so I'm closing out the second year), but I learned a lot of what I know by myself from just watching anime, reading manga, and conversing with Japanese people.

[Danju]

My mom is Japanese and lived with me until she divorced my dad when I was 8. I speak it but not fluently, as I only know as much as I picked up from my mom during that time. I can also write it, but I make a lot of mistakes. ;) I've been meaning to take some Japanese courses to sharpen everything up but I haven't found the time.

[Magami No ER]

I know this is a rather silly question to ask, but I'm interested in the Japanese language and I'm just wondering how many people here can speak it. ^_^
Question doesn't seem that silly, the majority here show some interest in it..
I'd been recently wondering exactly myself who here can actually speak/understand Japanese myself, compared to those who only know a small about and put Japanese all over the place anyway(such as myself and my "kaos" title.)...not that's a bad thing...
Myself, I just deal with katakana, since I have can refer to a chart and all...if my school offered it as a class then I'd certainly sign up.
BTW, can Suiko Eiji(sorry to just throw your name out there.^^; ) understand any kanji?

[fujyoshi]

I can remember some kanji but yeah. What I did is made up a thing to help me pratice and remember. Other then that I put video games and stuff like that in Japanese to help pratice and learn.

[Syunsuke]

I can speak fluently.
Well, I'm a native Japanese speaker :naughty:
So I can't speak english well ^_^

[Kohauru]

I'm learning how to speak and write it now.

[fujyoshi]

I can speak fluently.
Well, I'm a native Japanese speaker :naughty:
So I can't speak english well ^_^

I'm sure your english is really good.

[umeboshi_neko]

Nihongo Ohanashimasen :(
I'm still learning. I currently know the hiragana, and am constantly attempting Katakana. I have to hunt down courses somewhere.
At the moment, Japanese isn't the most useful language to me, as I'll be going to Israel in 2 weeks and the year after will be departing to france for 2 weeks.

[rosie-kun]

Wow i thought this was going to be weirdly special........yes special

[fujyoshi]

Nihongo Ohanashimasen :(
I'm still learning. I currently know the hiragana, and am constantly attempting Katakana. I have to hunt down courses somewhere.
At the moment, Japanese isn't the most useful language to me, as I'll be going to Israel in 2 weeks and the year after will be departing to france for 2 weeks.

Katakana is actually easy once you get used to it but hiragana will always be easier for some reason.

[Amiki-chan]

I've taken a year of Japanese in college....so I I know a decent amount. I don't know a whole lot of kanji though (I think a bit over 150 or so). But, of course, I shall be continuing in the fall :thumbsup:

[VSh]

... I'll be going to Israel in 2 weeks...
You have got really hot time to go there. Though, any time would be "hot"...

Regarding my Japanese. Probably, in the next life?.. Or after retirement?..

[kiyomi]

All right..I admit..my nihongo isnt what it used to be..

It takes alot out of my poor brain cells to translate what I WANT to say from english to japanese..

Kind of like when I cook..

oh wait..I dont..

never mind.

[Shiroiyuki]

^ oh Kiyomichan, don't feel too bad. I have friends (moved here from Japan when they were 10) that can no longer read the language without help from their parents. All skills diminish if you don't use them regularly. Don't you have anyone to converse with? I'm sure if you just began using Japanese more often, it would come back to you ^_^.

Wait...you mean you don't cook? So, what are you doing with that pan...? Uh-oh....nothing good can come of this @_@.

*runs away with arms flailing about crazily* RUN!!!

^_^

[kiyomi]

Shiroisan...I used to have the pan..but had to give it up..so, you are safe.. ^_^

And yes, I have my mother who lives in Little Rock to converse with..but funny thing with that is..I talk to her in english and she talks back to me in Japanese.. :P

I can still speak the lingo..just not as well as I should.

[Chousho]

i dont speak a word. nope, not at all.

i lie a lot :shifty:
Hey, HEY! Hmmm, that might be true. You don't speak A word... you speak many, ahaha.

Me..Mel..Chouchou...some other people I cant remember..do.

Agh, I only know enough to say I can't speak it.

ぼくのスキルがちゃうねん。なんでやねん？

--edit--
kanji removed for mom

[kiyomi]

kanji..chouchou..I cant fricken read kanji!

so..I only got part of what you wrote in nihongo...

Should I just guess with the kanji?..I could..

But I'm too damn lazy..

[hiroaki]

ぼくのスキルがちゃうねん。なんでやねん？

なぜ関西弁？ What is Kansai's charm?

[umeboshi_neko]

You have got really hot time to go there. Though, any time would be "hot"....

I was forced to go, I have no bloody choice. I'm just greatful I'm not going during the "khamsin".
...80 to 100 degrees.....They tell me that 3 weeks before I leave..... *murmurmurmurgrumblemurmur*

[Samurai Drifter]

I know this is a rather silly question to ask, but I'm interested in the Japanese language and I'm just wondering how many people here can speak it. ^_^
I speak it. My job requires it, as I work at a Japanese language immersion camp. I work in the kitchen and have to take people's orders, and we're not allowed to speak English to the kids. Heh heh, it's kind of amusing sometimes. This is what it's like when kids come up to get something... say, bacon (we have an American breakfast every other day).

Me: Irrishaimase! Nan desu ka?
Kid: Bacon kudasai. (They've all been taught how to ask for food).
Me: Nan nin bun desu ka? <How many portions do you want?>
Kid: ...
Me: ...
Kid: Bacon kudasai.
Me: Hai, wakarimasu. Demo nan nin bun desu ka? Hitori, futari, san... *holds up fingers to show how much each is*
Kid: ...BACON KUDASAI.

It's not so much that it's difficult to learn, as some say, but just that it's very different from English. I've found the most difficult part is learning to read/write it.

[ZeroKun]

Me: Irrishaimase! Nan desu ka?
Kid: Bacon kudasai. (They've all been taught how to ask for food).
Me: Nan nin bun desu ka? <How many portions do you want?>
Kid: ...
Me: ...
Kid: Bacon kudasai.
Me: Hai, wakarimasu. Demo nan nin bun desu ka? Hitori, futari, san... *holds up fingers to show how much each is*
Kid: ...BACON KUDASAI.

Hahaha, that's awsome. Anyway, I do moderately. If I had someone IRL to talk to, I'd actually take time to learn more and such. Not really on my top priority list right now.

[Murasaki-x93]

Nope, not really. I know quiet a few words though, enough to get me started on talking to a japanese person... ^.^

[sailornyanko]

I know very little. In some grammatical ways Japanese is decently similar to Spanish so I prefer to think in spanish while speaking it. I do know one friend who has also taken Japanese classes at my university faculty, but she's in a different semester so we don't see eachother that much. She was a little bit more advanced than me

I did take some classes a few years ago, but it was only twice a week for 3 months. Kinda a sort of crash course on hiragana and some very basic phrases.

[Chousho]

I know very little. In some grammatical ways Japanese is decently similar to Spanish so I prefer to think in spanish while speaking it.
I was aware that people would say the pronunciation is similar, but not grammar. How is it grammatically similar?

[Victory]

I was aware that people would say the pronunciation is similar, but not grammar. How is it grammatically similar?
from memory both languages are pro-drop in that the subject may be omitted if it obvious from context
however spanish has SVO sentence structure, doesn't use particles, conjugates verbs by person and has gender/number for nouns and number for adjectives

¿adónde vas?
どこに行くの?
where are you going?<

sorry can't come up with more

[regus 5000]

I speak it. My job requires it, as I work at a Japanese language immersion camp. I work in the kitchen and have to take people's orders, and we're not allowed to speak English to the kids. Heh heh, it's kind of amusing sometimes. This is what it's like when kids come up to get something... say, bacon (we have an American breakfast every other day).

Me: Irrishaimase! Nan desu ka?
Kid: Bacon kudasai. (They've all been taught how to ask for food).
Me: Nan nin bun desu ka? <How many portions do you want?>
Kid: ...
Me: ...
Kid: Bacon kudasai.
Me: Hai, wakarimasu. Demo nan nin bun desu ka? Hitori, futari, san... *holds up fingers to show how much each is*
Kid: ...BACON KUDASAI.

It's not so much that it's difficult to learn, as some say, but just that it's very different from English. I've found the most difficult part is learning to read/write it.


wow, i acctually understood everything u said in there. so i guess i can answer yes to the question in some way :P

[Soluzar]

I was aware that people would say the pronunciation is similar, but not grammar. How is it grammatically similar?

Ya know, it came as a huge surprise to me to note just how similar the pronunciation is. I saw some anime dubbed into spanish, and the names not only sound almost exactly the same as they do in Japanese, but they also sound perfectly natural in a Spanish accent.

Not like that's relevant to what you asked, but it struck me as interesting at the time, and I wondered if it was just my imagination or what.

[SakuraDreamer]

My Japanese friends say im fluent, but i dont think so yet.

[sailornyanko]

from memory both languages are pro-drop in that the subject may be omitted if it obvious from context
however spanish has SVO sentence structure, doesn't use particles, conjugates verbs by person and has gender/number for nouns and number for adjectives

¿adónde vas?
どこに行くの?
where are you going?<

sorry can't come up with more

I guess Victory couldn't of said it better than myself. I was surprised the word bread is the exact same word in both spanish and japanese: Pan

I wouldn't be surprised those portuguese conquistadores had something to do with this by donating words to the language.

Sometimes I'd find it funny to actually use pronouns in certain cases in spanish. What tense is it? Uhh... pasado pretérito or whatever, I don't recall using pronouns a lot using that tense. I'd rather say Qué pasó than Qué te pasó. I'm not surprised spanish verbs is a living nightmare to a native english speaker though I find it to be amazingly easy once you get used to it.

I've heard Japanese verbs is extremly easy and that Japanese doesn't have a future tense per se.

[DazzleKitty]

I am planning on learning it this fall. I just hope I don't get frustrated and give up like I do on everything else. :unsure:

[Chousho]

I've heard Japanese verbs is extremly easy and that Japanese doesn't have a future tense per se.

Japanese verbs are straight forward (most of the time). There are only 2/3 irregular verbs you need to know. Other than the differences in -te form, they are pretty close.
Here's pretty much all you need to know. I used si, ti, tu, etc. Instead of the more commonly used shi, chi, tsu to give a better view that you just move up a vowel here or there.

verb type - dictionary form - long form - te form - short past - short present neg - short past neg
irr - suru - simasu - site - sita - sinai - sinakatta
irr - kuru - kimasu - kite - kita - konai - konakatta
ru - taberu - ~masu - ~te - ~ta - ~nai - ~nakatta
u - kau - ~imasu - ~tte - ~tta - ~wanai - ~wanakatta
u - matu - ~timasu - ~tte - ~tta - ~tanai - ~tanakatta
u - toru - ~rimasu - ~tte - ~tta - ~ranai - ~ranakatta
u - aru - ~rimasu - ~tte - ~tta - *nai - *nakatta
u - yomu - ~mimasu - ~nde - ~nda - ~manai - ~manakatta
u - asobu - ~bimasu - ~nde - ~nda - ~banai - ~banakatta
u - sinu - ~nimasu - ~nde - ~nda - ~nanai - ~nanakatta
u - kaku - ~kimasu - ~ite - ~ita - ~kanai - ~kanakatta
u - iku - ~kimasu - *~tte - *~tta - ~kanai - ~kanakatta
u - isobu - ~gimasu - ~ide - ~ida - ~ganai - ~ganakatta
u - hanasu - ~simasu - ~site - ~sita - ~sanai - ~sanakatta

* means it's an exception. They might seem like alot now, but if you consider that most of those are u - verbs that just have a slight difference, then it becomes easier.

[ladykurai]

I speak it. My job requires it, as I work at a Japanese language immersion camp. I work in the kitchen and have to take people's orders, and we're not allowed to speak English to the kids. Heh heh, it's kind of amusing sometimes. This is what it's like when kids come up to get something... say, bacon (we have an American breakfast every other day).

Me: Irrishaimase! Nan desu ka?
Kid: Bacon kudasai. (They've all been taught how to ask for food).
Me: Nan nin bun desu ka? <How many portions do you want?>
Kid: ...
Me: ...
Kid: Bacon kudasai.
Me: Hai, wakarimasu. Demo nan nin bun desu ka? Hitori, futari, san... *holds up fingers to show how much each is*
Kid: ...BACON KUDASAI.

It's not so much that it's difficult to learn, as some say, but just that it's very different from English. I've found the most difficult part is learning to read/write it.

:lol: I guess the kid didn't know how to order in japanese? I know how to speak a little, but when it comes to food I use my finger to point X]

[fujyoshi]

I need help in my Japanese 0_0 Not really but just like yeah.

[MIKE123]

Japanese verbs are straight forward (most of the time). There are only 2/3 irregular verbs you need to know. Other than the differences in -te form, they are pretty close.
Here's pretty much all you need to know. I used si, ti, tu, etc. Instead of the more commonly used shi, chi, tsu to give a better view that you just move up a vowel here or there.

verb type - dictionary form - long form - te form - short past - short present neg - short past neg
irr - suru - simasu - site - sita - sinai - sinakatta
irr - kuru - kimasu - kite - kita - konai - konakatta
ru - taberu - ~masu - ~te - ~ta - ~nai - ~nakatta
u - kau - ~imasu - ~tte - ~tta - ~wanai - ~wanakatta
u - matu - ~timasu - ~tte - ~tta - ~tanai - ~tanakatta
u - toru - ~rimasu - ~tte - ~tta - ~ranai - ~ranakatta
u - aru - ~rimasu - ~tte - ~tta - *nai - *nakatta
u - yomu - ~mimasu - ~nde - ~nda - ~manai - ~manakatta
u - asobu - ~bimasu - ~nde - ~nda - ~banai - ~banakatta
u - sinu - ~nimasu - ~nde - ~nda - ~nanai - ~nanakatta
u - kaku - ~kimasu - ~ite - ~ita - ~kanai - ~kanakatta
u - iku - ~kimasu - *~tte - *~tta - ~kanai - ~kanakatta
u - isobu - ~gimasu - ~ide - ~ida - ~ganai - ~ganakatta
u - hanasu - ~simasu - ~site - ~sita - ~sanai - ~sanakatta

* means it's an exception. They might seem like alot now, but if you consider that most of those are u - verbs that just have a slight difference, then it becomes easier.


That's a VERY helpful chart Chousho. Any new Japanese learners' should try and study this it will be very helpful. Japanese isn't that hard of a language. As long as you know the rules like above, and study the words to put sentences together with the right particles and you'll be fine. Be thankful your not learning Mandarin or Cantonese..those seem WAY more difficult.

[Matsu'o Tsurayaba]

From what i have said here,i can read,speak and write it.I am no master at it,but slightly above a normal level.

[Chousho]

That's a VERY helpful chart Chousho. Any new Japanese learners' should try and study this it will be very helpful. Japanese isn't that hard of a language. As long as you know the rules like above, and study the words to put sentences together with the right particles and you'll be fine. Be thankful your not learning Mandarin or Cantonese..those seem WAY more difficult.

Hey, it's what I'm here for (cramping my hands, that is). Actually, if you learn Chinese vocally, as opposed to by books, it's much much easier. Not to say you should only concentrate on speech, but it certainly helps in instances with languages like Chinese, Viet, Thai, etc.

[MIKE123]

Hey, it's what I'm here for (cramping my hands, that is). Actually, if you learn Chinese vocally, as opposed to by books, it's much much easier. Not to say you should only concentrate on speech, but it certainly helps in instances with languages like Chinese, Viet, Thai, etc.

Lol, well the crampin of your hands will pay off for the Japanese learners here =P.

I have Chinese friends who speak Mandarin or Cantonese. And obviously the Chinese characters are going to be hard as hell. But, I find the pronounciation is just really difficult compared to Japanese. In my opinion, Japanese is just way easier to learn, and atleast for characters, Japanese has easy ones like Hiragana and Katakana, and has the Furigana sometimes to help with Kanji pronouncation. Not saying mand or canto are bad languages, I'd love to learn 'em someday, it's just too hard right now.

[Mercuric Oxide]

Does anyone wanna practice Japanese?
I'm intermediate (~4000 words, ~1500 kanji), so I can answer plenty of questions.
So if you can converse on at least a basic level, then IM Sephirothmoon7.

[Laharu]

I speak and write pretty well. Not fluent (working on it). I know all of the hiragana and katakana, and about like 200 kanji or so, + lots of kanji combinations. :3

[Chef Wun]

I don't do a word

But can anyone tell me what this hiragana and katakana is?

[Suiko Eiji]

I don't do a word

But can anyone tell me what this hiragana and katakana is?

Hiragana and Katakana are phonetic alphabets that contitute words. The strict usage protocols for them are that one uses hiragana for Japanese words, such as breaking down kanji to thier actual pronounciation or to use a Japanese word without using kanji (and can be confusing). Katakana holds a similar principle in that it is the pronounciation of foreign (non-Japanese) and are typically not associated with kanji. You might run across the occasional person who talks about 'furigana' - this is when text is written on a more "adult" level and the hiragana pronounciations are written to the side for the kanji; this is typically done in youth manga or warning labels.

EDIT: Guess I should have checked this thread earlier, since my name was invoked on page 2.

BTW, can Suiko Eiji(sorry to just throw your name out there.^^; ) understand any kanji?

Yeah, I think I know a fair amount being a non-native and not having been to/lived in Japan. Depends on what I'm reading; I'll fumble through the entertainment section of a newspaper but I can get the sports blurbs and joke repeats on variety shows. I've also translated books on martial arts, manga for Shin-Getter, and the occasional historical Wiki.

I'm porbably one of the rare Non-Native, Non-Residents that requests people write more in kanji, especially on the "Translation plz" threads. Sorry, I'm lazy and kanji are the quickest way to the most accuracte translation.

[fujyoshi]

I'm better at reading then speaking

[Prons]

I'm better at reading then speaking

So I take it you're LOVING that manga?

[Chousho]

So I take it you're LOVING that manga?
Uh oh... RUN AWAY, Rebekah! He'll get you too!

[Suiko Eiji]

Uh oh... RUN AWAY, Rebekah! He'll get you too!

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/Akaisuisei/1149580107707.jpg

[DFAx]

i can speak very little japanese ^_^

[kiyomi]

me no speaka anry enrish...

[kenshinbebop]

I can speak basic Japanese and can read it somewhat.

[tokyotrash]

Kinda~
I kinda read most of it, understand most of it.