Japanese Animals

Thanks digitaldialects.com. :)

Ohayo!

Good morning, friends! Ohayo, Tomodachi (友達)! Tomodachi means friend. Also, Nakama means partner, comrade, associate, or circle of friends (on Yahoo anyway).

I always thought the virtual pets "tamagotchis" were named after the word for friend, but it turns out they're not. This is what Bandai says - the name is a portmanteau combining the Japanese word "たまご" (tamago) which means "egg", and the English word "watch" (as in timepiece). Consequently, the name is romanized as "Tamagotch" without the "i" in Japan.

Japanese Alphabet

So, now I own Rosetta Stone, which is going to be a huge help to me in learning Japanese. I did the first three lessons tonight, which refreshed my memory of the colors. (Color chart thanks to Enchanted Learning). I am also studying the Japanese alphabet. Check it out! :)

Learning Japanese - First Post

Hi! I am creating this blog to help me learn Japanese, and to share what I learn with everyone else.

Here is my background in Japanese. My father lived in Japan for several years in the '60s, so I've always been interested in Japan. I love Japanese art, culture, and Japanese language. The first animes I saw as a teenager were Fist of the North Star and Vampire Hunter D which made a big impression on me. I saw Japanese cartoons as a kid, and I loved Pokemon the first time I saw it. Now I run an anime club, I try to keep up with trends in anime, and I really love the book Japan Ai.

I came up with the idea to become fluent in Japanese while I was watching Howl's Moving Castle yesterday. I'm going to use books, like the Japanese textbook I still have from the Japanese 101 class I took at Georgia State a few years ago (but forgot most of), Manga University books like Kanji de Manga, movies, audiobooks, Rosetta Stone, and the internet. I may watch the Irasshai videos, too. Please let me know if anyone knows of any other resources, besides schools. I don't have time to actually go to school at the moment since I am a full-time librarian.

So, here is some of what I know so far about Japanese.

The language is called Nihongo.

Nihon is Japan - The sun's origin, like their flag.

Onegai Simasu (shee-mahs) or Kudasai mean please.

Watasi wa (wah-tashee wah) means I am.

Hello can be (taken from Yahoo!)

"Mornings...Ohayo (ohio), but more formal would be Ohayo gozaimasu (go-zeye-mahs).

Afternoons...Konnichiwa

Evenings...Konbanwa

Answering the phone...Moshi moshi, a more slang way of saying it would be mosh mosh.

“Long time no see” is commonly said – Sashiburi (sa-she-bu-ree)

Goodbye is Sayonara, of course.

(From In Japan blog)

The casual way of saying goodbye is Ja-ne (like jar-neigh!)

Japanese people will also say “bai – bai” can you imagine how this is pronounced? (Pro-tip: Bye bye)

If it’s very late then you will be more likely to say “Good Night” this is “Oyasuminasai” (Oi!-ya-sue-me-naa-sa-eye).

Wow! That is a lot of information already, and I do not know it 100% yet. I do know some other words, though. I certainly have a long way to go!! When I can call myself an intermediate student of Japanese, I think I will take a trip there. That will be so cool! :)


- Aya