Welcome to Gaia! ::

Right now this is a sample thread. If this thread is considered helpful, and deemed worthy by Freakezette, I will make more of these. :3




Setting: Imagine you are in a room with a friend. There is a desk right next to you, and a person standing by your friend. In the distance, there is a chair.

ひらがな

ともだち：　それはなんですか。
きみ：　これはつくえです。
ともだち：　はい、そうです。
きみ：　そのひとはだれですか。メーちゃん？
ともだち：　いいえ、ちがいます。このひとはどもくんです。　 domokun
きい：　とてもはずかしいい！ごめんさい、どもくん！
どもくん：　いいです。
きみ：　そうですね。。。でも、あれはなんですか。
ともだち：　あれはいすですとおもいます。
きみ：　そうですね。
ともだち：　はい。さようなら。
きみ：　さようなら。
どもくん：　さようなら。

Romanji

Tomodachi: Sore wa nan desuka?
Kimi: kore wa tsukue desu.
Tomodachi: Hai, soudesu.
Kimi: Sono hito wa dare desuka? Me-chan?
Tomodachi: Iie, chigaimasu. kono hito wa domokun desu. domokun
Kimi: Totemo hazukashii! Gomenasai, Domokun!
Domokun: Iidesu.
Kimi: Sou desu ne...Demo, are wa nan desuka?
Tomodachi: Are wa isu desu to omoimasu.
Kimi: Sou desu ne.
Tomodachi: Hai. Sayounara.
Kimi: Sayounara.
Domokun: Sayounara.

English

Friend: What is that (near you)?
You: This is a desk.
Friend: Yes, so it seems.
You: Who is that person (near you)? Me-chan?
Friend: No, it's different. This person is Domokun. domokun
You: Very embarrassing! I'm sorry, Domokun!
Domokun: It's good.
You: So it seems...But, what is that over there?
Friend: I think that over there is a chair.
You: So it seems.
Friend: Yes. Good bye.
You: Goody bye.
Domokun: Good bye.

Confused? Good! Let's clear this mess up. :3



は (wa) = topic marker
が (ga) = subject marker
の　　 (no) = Ownership particle (i.e. Me-chan's, Domokun's...)
と (to) = Connecting nouns particle (also, in this case, used with "to think" as well as other verbs that YOU do.)
でも (demo) = But (new sentence, not connecting)
だれ (dare) = Who
なん/なに (nan/nani) = What
そう (sou) = It seems/I heard/It looks as if (formally used with desu)
とても (totemo) = Very
これ　 (kore wa) = This wa
それ　 (sore wa) = That (near you) wa
あれ (are wa) = That (over there) wa
この (kono wa) = This no [noun] wa
その (sono wa) = That (near you) no [noun] wa
あの　 （ano wa) = That (over there) no [noun] wa
ちがいます (chigaimasu) = To be different
おもいます (omoimasu) = To think
はい (hai) = Yes
いいえ (iie) = No
きみ (kimi) = You (Lower than or equal to you in status, used more by men)*
あなた (anata) = You (safest form culturally)*
ともだち (tomodachi) = Friend
ひと (hito) = Person
つくえ (tsukue) = Desk
いす (isu) = Chair
はずかしいい (hazukashii)= Embarrassing
ごめなさい (gomenasai) = I'm sorry.
さようなら (sayounara) = Good bye.

*NOTE: There are many yous. We will get into that later. :3







To simply ask what "this" is, point and ask the question. This gives no specific entity to the item in question. The object must be next/within touching distance of you.

これわなんですか。 Kore wa nan desuka? What is this?

To simply ask what "that (near you)" is, point and ask the question. This gives no specific entity to the item in question. The object must be near the person you are asking.

それはなんですか。 Sore wa nan desuka? What is that (near you)?

To simply ask what "that (over there)" is, point and ask the question. This gives no specific entity to the item in question. The object must be quite a bit away from you and the person you are asking.

あれはなねすか。 Are wa nan desuka? What is that (over there)?

Now, to ask who/where/why a noun is, you drop the "re" and replace it with the possessive particle "no". The same distance rules apply.

このひとはだれですか。 Kono hito wa dare desuka? Who is this person?
そのいぬはどこですか。 Sono inu wa doko desuka? Where is that dog (near you)?
あのえんぴつはどうですか。 Ano enpitsu wa dou desuka? Why is that pencil over there?





If you are not sure about something, but you think it's right or wrong, say a regular sentence and then add the particle "to" and the verb "omoimasu".

わたしはメーちゃんですとおもいます。 Watashi wa Me-chan desu to omoimasu. I think I am Me-chan.





If it seems that way, or you have heard it's that way, or it looks as if it's that way, you simply add "sou" before "desu" [if you are speaking formally].

わたしはメーちゃんそうです。　　Watashi wa Me-chan sou desu. It seems that I am Me-chan./I heard that I am Me-chan./It looks as if I am Me-chan.

*There will be more of "sou" in the future, when I bring up "i" and "na" adjectives.



1.) Practice your Hiragana/Katakana. If you know these already, go to The Kanji Site and pick ten kanji to review and learn over the next week or two weeks. Write out the hiragana, katakana, and/or kanji you know after you have practiced each individual character four times. It's a pain after a while, and your hand cramps--But trust me, it helps!

2.) Write out your own conversation! Like the one at the top. It doesn't matter what it is about or how proper your grammar is, just write it! Time yourself for ten minutes. ONLY write in hiragana and katakana. If you do not know these yet, write it in romanji. But if you at least know hiragana, write it! Practice!

**Thank you Hermonie Urameshi for picking up on a couple of my mistakes!

Thank you so much.^^ It's been a while since I've tried to tutor anything, and I thought it would help me keep up on my Japanese if I did. @.@ I felt brain dead last night...thanks again!

A couple of mistakes I noticed



You need to have the plain form だ with おもいます

あれはいすだとおもいます



That literally says "How about that pencil over there", it's the sort of response you would give someone if they were asking for something to write with

どうしてあのえんぴつはあれにありますか？ - "Why is that pencil over there?"



Remember to explain the differences between the two (with nouns at least, you said you would explain adjectives and that later)

そのものはどもくんだそうですI heard that thing is a domo kun
そのものはどもくんそうですThat thing seems like a domo kun