Welcome to Gaia! ::

Okay you guys, I thought this might be helpful for me to set up since I've got a whole bunch of ponies that can, and will, be speaking Japanese. It's also an excellent way for me to practice, which I love to do. I figured it would be nice if I set up a translation page of sorts (*cough*It would be nice if the French-speakers would too*cough*). Please do wait to post until I get my six posts reserved, okay? After that, post any questions you'd like!

Contents:
[1]Introduction
[2]Pronounciations
[3]Grammer markers
[4]Suffixes and What They Mean
[5]Useful Phrases
[6]Word Glossary

Grammar Markers:

Some people say that these and verb tenses are probably the hardest things to learn in Japanese, and it's fairly close to the truth. I cannot yet, however, do anything terribly complicated with them so here is a simplified version. Don't worry much about understanding them. These are mostly so you can get what they mean, as they don't generally have a direct English translation though they are in the sentance.

Wa- is a topic marker. Used for subjects that "have already been introduced into the conversation, or that are part of general or shared knowledge".

Ga- Marks what the Japanese call the grammatical subject of a sentence.

O- Object marker. Used to link a noun and the action verb object.

No- basically means 's or of depending on the context. Also used with compound nouns and noun phrases.

Ni- Indirect object marker. With non-action verbs Ni means in, at, or on. In expressions of time, ni means at (clock time), in (month or year), or on (day).

Dake- translates English words such as only, all, just, no more than, as many as, and as much as.

De- Means in, at, or on with action verbs. Also translates by, by means of, with, in. Also includes a certain number, within a given length of time, or amoung or within a certain range. It can also mean made of/made from.

E- is used with verbs of motion to indicate to or toward.

Hodo- means as much as, and it is often used in negative constructions, although the meaning is positive. With things that can be counted, it means about or approximately.

Ka- Means '?'. Yes, they have a word for '?'. So if a sentence ends in ka it's a question. If not at the end of the sentance, it can mean or.

Kara- means from or 'from a certain time and continuing on'. The beginning of a period of time. Also means 'from' in the sense of origin.

Made- Usually paired with kara. It means until, as far as.

Made ni- Unlike the time limit usage of de (within), made ni means by (the time given), or not later than.

Mo- means also or too. It can also mean even in the sense of emphasis.

Shika- means only or just. Although the meaning is affirmative, it takes the negative form of the verb.

To- means 'and' with implication 'and nothing more'. Used when stating all possible iteams in a list. Also means together with. Also follows both direct and indirect quotations.

Ya- is used for and when stating a sample of, or some of the items in, a list. The implication is 'and others, amoung others, or such things as'.

Yo- is the word for '!'

Yori- Used when comparing things, it means than.

Useful Phrases:

Sometimes just translating the words directly isn't going to work for you. If it a commonly used phrase, I'll put it here to simplify things.

Ohayo (gozaimasu): Good Morning (the gozaimasu is used if making it respectful)

Konnichi wa: Good Afternoon

Konban wa: Good Evening

Oyasumi (nasai): Good Night (added respectful)

O-genki desu ka.: "How are you?"

Japanese Culture Notes:

Because my Naruto ponies are supposed to be from Japan, some of the culture will cross over. Here's some of it:

Sneezing for no reason and what it means: There is a Japanese superstition about sneezing. Supposedly when someone sneezes, it means that others have been talking about them. I have been told that negative remarks are not part of the superstition, even though it usually turns out that way in anime.

Japanese Blood Type Theory: Has a link, because it's detailed and is much more than I could ever hope to explain in a paragraph sweatdrop .