Japanese Classroom

[Officer Kaoko 142]

Finished!

Also, is the answer:

Kaoko :mrgreen:

You write them 100 times already ? LOL ! Congratulations ~

Your answer is right ~ Good job, Stopwatch-chan !

[Cheesus 6]

watatshi wa. (Does that mean i?)

When referring to children when do u use Karera wa or Kodomotachi Wa

[tengaku squared 291]

watatshi wa. (Does that mean i?)When referring to children when do u use Karera wa or Kodomotachi Wa

I think option 2 (kodomo) will work...

[Pr1me 101 15]

How do you say 'welcome aboard' in Japanese :grin: ?

いらっしゃいませ (irashaimase?)

Would be the closest (I think). It's more commonly used for saying "Welcome" though. Like when you have people entering your store or home.

watatshi wa. (Does that mean i?)

When referring to children when do u use Karera wa or Kodomotachi Wa

Did you read the answer I gave you for your last question?

Anyway, I'd use 子供たちは (kodomotachiwa). And watashiwa can be translated to "I Am."

Anyway your question reminded me.

Kaoko and I have been talking about this issue (okay arguing is more like it) but do you guys in here need romaji in order to learn Japanese? Because I don't recommend learning Japanese that way, but it appears to be the easiest (if not only) way that one can learn proper pronounciation.

[Kiel95 86]

いらっしゃいませ (irashaimase?)

Would be the closest (I think). It's more commonly used for saying "Welcome" though. Like when you have people entering your store or home.

Did you read the answer I gave you for your last question?

Anyway, I'd use 子供たちは (kodomotachiwa). And watashiwa can be translated to "I Am."

Anyway your question reminded me.

Kaoko and I have been talking about this issue (okay arguing is more like it) but do you guys in here need romaji in order to learn Japanese? Because I don't recommend learning Japanese that way, but it appears to be the easiest (if not only) way that one can learn proper pronounciation.

I think both should continue to be used... but that is until all hiragana and katakana are learned... then you can stop using romaji and just use them until we learn some kanji and such ^^

so use both romaji and hiragana for now (well that's what I personally believe)

sorry i'm not really on this thread very much anymore.... i use Kaoko~chan's website if i want to catch up with anything.... it's easier than searching through the thread >w<

[Officer Kaoko 142]

いらっしゃいませ (irashaimase?)

Would be the closest (I think). It's more commonly used for saying "Welcome" though. Like when you have people entering your store or home.

Did you read the answer I gave you for your last question?

Anyway, I'd use 子供たちは (kodomotachiwa). And watashiwa can be translated to "I Am."

Anyway your question reminded me.

Kaoko and I have been talking about this issue (okay arguing is more like it) but do you guys in here need romaji in order to learn Japanese? Because I don't recommend learning Japanese that way, but it appears to be the easiest (if not only) way that one can learn proper pronounciation.

Mmm... argument ? LOL!

I also don't recommend learning Japanese that way (in romanji) . See the first lesson? Anyway, I'll see what's Kenny-sensei's opinion on the thing I have in mind first before suggesting it with the class .

I think both should continue to be used... but that is until all hiragana and katakana are learned... then you can stop using romaji and just use them until we learn some kanji and such ^^

so use both romaji and hiragana for now (well that's what I personally believe)

sorry i'm not really on this thread very much anymore.... i use Kaoko~chan's website if i want to catch up with anything.... it's easier than searching through the thread >w<

Kiel-chan got the point here... we use romanji until both Hiragana and Katakana are learnt. And it's our website, Kiel-chan .

[Cheesus 6]

i say no. Studing from romanji messes up your japanese dialect

Memorizing Hiagana would be more memorable in Hiragana and not Romanji

[Stopwatch 36]

Yeah, I agree with the others. I reckon that you learn it better if you don't use the romanji once the hiragana is learnt. That way you actually use what you learn and it makes it easier to remember. It does work, I've even got an example!!

Once I was reading a set of books(Artemis Fowl series) and there was this code running along the bottom of the pages. So, I decided using the key at the back to translate it(I was in year 6 :oops: ). Basically what happened was that I started to remember certain letters so I didn't have to keep glancing to the key and by the end of the book I had memorised the entire alphabet. So, long rant over, using them helps you remember. :mrgreen:

(And I'm not wei- okay, I'm not that weird. Seriously)

[Officer Kaoko 142]

Hiragana: Lesson 6 - 10 Revision.

Konnichi wa minna! I hope you are all doing fine and doing good in your Japanese study.

Now that we've learnt the second section (k) of the Japanese characters, which are: か, き, く, け, and こ. Now we are going to review them.

Now, if you still have problems with them, I recommend you write them again (exercise in your textbook). Memorize the order of the strokes, the sound of it (pronunciation), their shape, etc. Easy!

Here're some Japanese words having only the characters you've learnt so far (not including any Romanji)... tell us if you could read them :

1. 顔 = かお (face)
   
2. おく (to put; to place)
   
3. かおこ (...)
   
4. 子 = こ (child)
   
5. ここ (here)
   
6. 訊く = きく (to hear; to listen)
   
7. 恋 = こい (love; affection)
   
8. 愛 あい (love; affection)
   
9. 五 = ご (5)
   

I will include more if I could think of any.

Here are the characters we have learnt so far :mrgreen: (try to be familiar with them):

Oh, I'll try to answer to the replies in a bit ...

[Officer Kaoko 142]

i say no. Studing from romanji messes up your japanese dialect

Memorizing Hiagana would be more memorable in Hiragana and not Romanji

That's what we meant, Cheesus-kun. Now, we'll just have to wait what Kenny-sensei says.

Yeah, I agree with the others. I reckon that you learn it better if you don't use the romanji once the hiragana is learnt. That way you actually use what you learn and it makes it easier to remember. It does work, I've even got an example!!

Once I was reading a set of books(Artemis Fowl series) and there was this code running along the bottom of the pages. So, I decided using the key at the back to translate it(I was in year 6 :oops: ). Basically what happened was that I started to remember certain letters so I didn't have to keep glancing to the key and by the end of the book I had memorised the entire alphabet. So, long rant over, using them helps you remember. :mrgreen:

(And I'm not wei- okay, I'm not that weird. Seriously)

I'm glad you think of it that way, Stopwatch-chan. Your example is amazing! That what I use to do, too (when I just got to know the Japanese characters). And don't worry, I don't think you are weird at all :mrgreen:

@Kenny: Our members are gorgeous! They are more willing and determined than they seems to be !

[Inspector Gin 45]

when will the next Lesson be?

[Pr1me 101 15]

@Kenny: Our members are gorgeous! They are more willing and determined than they seems to be !

I can see that. They can't get enough of your lessons.

Let's go with ditching romaji once everyone's learned hiragana. I don't think anyone needs romaji when learning katakana do they?

[Officer Kaoko 142]

I can see that. They can't get enough of your lessons.

Let's go with ditching romaji once everyone's learned hiragana. I don't think anyone needs romaji when learning katakana do they?

LOL! We can just Hiraganize the Katakanas in the lessons before we get to know about them ^^

The Katakana characters isn't much used anyways.. I mean not as frequent as Hiragana characters .

---

Now that we've learnt the vowel and 'K' sections, we are now moving on to 'S' section!

Hiragana: Lesson 11 - 'さ' [sa] & 'ざ' [za]

さ, in hiragana, or サ in katakana, is one of the Japanese kana, which each represent one mora. Both represent [sa]. The shapes of these kana originate from 左 and 散, respectively.

Like き, the hiragana character may be written with or without linking the lower line to the rest of the character.

Pronunciation:

'さ' is romanized 'sa' and pronounced 'sa' as in 'sakura'.

Word beginning with 'さ':

1. 酒 = さけ (sake -> sake [alcohol])
   
2. 猿 = さる (saru -> monkey)
   
3. 桜 = さくら (sakura -> cherry blossom)
   
4. 魚 = さかな (sakana -> fish)
   
5. 寒い = さむい (samui -> cold [adj.])
   
6. 殺人 = さつじん (satsujin -> murder)
   

Stroke Order:

The character 'さ' may be combined with a dakuten, changing it into ざ in hiragana, and za in Hepburn romanization. The pronunciation is also changed, to [za]. さ + " (dakuten) = ざ (look below)

Word with 'ざ':

1. わざわさ (wazawaza -> doing something especially rather than incidentally (wazawaza is more like a phrase))
   

Note: You shall write 'さ' & 'ざ' 50 - 100 times in your textbook. If you want, like with the previous lessons, write 'さ' 70 times and 'ざ' 30 times . Memorize the shape, the stroke order, the sound, the pronunciation (echo the sound of the character each time you write it down), etc.

Good luck !

[Cheesus 6]

lol the s's are soo easy

[tengaku squared 291]

I have missed too many lessons...better catch up...

[Cheesus 6]

i have to say memorizing the characters helps when your reading a hiragana book and just finding the letters you know.

[Officer Kaoko 142]

Sorry for the late updates, guys. I got stuck here and I had difficulty in explaining stuffs. But it had been solved thanks to Kenny-sensei for helping with this lesson .

Hirgana: Lesson 12 - 'し' [shi] & 'じ' [ji]

し, in hiragana, or シ in katakana, and the variant form ㋛, is one of the Japanese kana, which each represent one mora. Both represent the phoneme /si/ although for phonological reasons, the actual pronunciation is 'shi' as in 'she'. The shapes of these kana have origins in the character 之. The katakana form has become increasingly popular as an emoticon in the Western world due to its resemblance to a smiling face.

Pronunciation:

'し' is romanized 'shi' and pronounced 'shi' as in the English 'she'.

Word beginning with 'し':

1. 死 = し (shi -> death)
   
2. 死ぬ = しぬ (shinu -> to die)
   
3. 知る = しる (shiru -> to know; to understand)
   
4. ４月 = しがつ (shigatsu -> April)
   
5. 指紋 = しもん (shimon -> fingerprint)
   

Other sounds:

The pronunciation of the character 'し' can also be changed to 3 different sounds.

Stroke order:

The 'し' stroke order is easy. It's just like drawing umbrella's handle; beginning from the top then smoothly slide it down and up a little.

______________

A dakuten may also be added to this character. But instead of changing the pronunciation to 'z' sound like the rest of the 's' characters... 'し' [shi] with dakuten added -> じ [ji] is pronouced 'ji' like with the English alphabet 'G'.

Words with 'じ':

1. じい (jii -> old man)
   
2. 自殺 = じさつ (jisatsu -> suicide)
   
3. 時間 = じかん (jikan -> hour; time)
   
4. 事件 = じけん (jiken -> case; affair; incident)
   

______________

YO-ON

In the Japanese language there are also contracted words called 拗音 (yo-on). They are made up of two letters written together. A hiragana ending with “i” such as ki (き), shi (し), etc... followed by a small ya (ゃ), yu (ゅ) or yo (ょ).

The hiragana’s ending with “i” also include their dakuten and handakuten versions.

The yoon’s for 'shi' are:

1. しゃ/sha (Pronounced: sha) Ex. 写真/しゃしん shashin (picture)
   
2. しゅ/shu (P: shu) Ex. 旬/しゅん shun (fresh)
   
3. しょ/sho (P: shyo) Ex. 初心者/しょしんしゃ shoshinsha (freshman/newbie)
   

The yoon’s for 'ji' are:

1. じゃ/ja (P: jiya) Ex. じゃあね jaane ([good] bye)
   
2. じゅ/ju (P: jyu) Ex. 塾/じゅく juku (tutor/tutoring center)
   
3. じょ/jo (P: jyo) Ex. 少女/しょうじょ shoujo (little girl)
   

A full list can be found here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%C5%8Don

______________

Task: You shall write 'し' & 'じ' 50 - 100 times in your textbook. If you want, like with the previous lessons, write 'し' 70 times and 'じ' 30 times . Memorize the shape, the stroke order, the sound, the pronunciation (echo the sound of the character each time you write it down), etc.

PS: The Hiragana: Lesson 7 - 'き' [ki] & 'ぎ' [gi] will be edited and upgraded shortly. We will inform you when it's fully done.

[Inspector Gin 45]

I have to learn ''Sa'' first before I begin with ''Shi''

Oh well

[Cheesus 6]

I memorized sa by thinking its Ka without one of the strokes

[Cheesus 6]

Good news people

I found a program that allows you to write in japanese. Its really easy to use to! You can write in Kanji as well

Download this.

http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~grosenth/jwpcemin.zip

Extract it to a folder or something and then run

jwpce.exe

[tengaku squared 291]

Good news people

I found a program that allows you to write in japanese. Its really easy to use to! You can write in Kanji as well

Download this.

http://www.physics.u...th/jwpcemin.zip

Extract it to a folder or something and then run

jwpce.exe

Oh...its for Windows.

Wait while I reboot my computer into Windows mode.

[Cheesus 6]

Question:

Once we learn all the characters how will we learn the meaning of these words. Will we google search the meanings of words we transtate to romanji.

Btw For people who dont know:

Pronouns:

watashi - I

anata - you

kare - he

kanojo - she

watashitachi - we

anatatachi/anatagata - you (plural)

karetachi/karera - them (when referring to a group that includes males) kanojotachi/kanojora - them (for an all-female group)

also a little tip:

Study in the morning

Your brain is very receptive to information first thing in the morning. Studies have proven that kids do better in their 1st hour classes.

[Pr1me 101 15]

Question:

Once we learn all the characters how will we learn the meaning of these words. Will we google search the meanings of words we transtate to romanji.

Btw For people who dont know:

Pronouns:

watashi - I

anata - you

kare - he

kanojo - she

watashitachi - we

anatatachi/anatagata - you (plural)

karetachi/karera - them (when referring to a group that includes males) kanojotachi/kanojora - them (for an all-female group)

also a little tip:

Study in the morning

Your brain is very receptive to information first thing in the morning. Studies have proven that kids do better in their 1st hour classes.

That looks exactly like the first lesson I taught in here (or first question I answered to be precise).

Although Kaoko and I have yet to discuss how we're going to teach everyone words, you can safely assume we're not going to be using google translater. That thing can't be trusted, I've seen far too many phrases and sentences that thing has messed up.

That studying in the morning thing is interesting though .

[Kiel95 86]

That looks exactly like the first lesson I taught in here (or first question I answered to be precise).

Although Kaoko and I have yet to discuss how we're going to teach everyone words, you can safely assume we're not going to be using google translater. That thing can't be trusted, I've seen far too many phrases and sentences that thing has messed up.

That studying in the morning thing is interesting though .

i'm like failing my first block class... then second block i have an A+.. in third.. i'm like failing (lunch block) and fourth i have like... another A+

[Officer Kaoko 142]

Question:

Once we learn all the characters how will we learn the meaning of these words. Will we google search the meanings of words we transtate to romanji.

also a little tip:

Study in the morning

Your brain is very receptive to information first thing in the morning. Studies have proven that kids do better in their 1st hour classes.

Wow, arigatou for sharing this with us! And that study in the morning tip do seems interesting .

And to your first question there... umm... nope, as Kenny stated, automatic translation (including Google) cannot be trusted.

That looks exactly like the first lesson I taught in here (or first question I answered to be precise).

Although Kaoko and I have yet to discuss how we're going to teach everyone words, you can safely assume we're not going to be using google translater.

Yup! Once we are done with the characters, you'll all see !

Having to memorize list of vocabularies will only give you headaches... and it's hard to stick them to your head... I have a better way in mind ~ :mrgreen:

i'm like failing my first block class... then second block i have an A+.. in third.. i'm like failing (lunch block) and fourth i have like... another A+

Hmmm... ??

---

Moving on to the next 's' character... す 'su'!

Hirgana: Lesson 13 - 'す' [su] & 'ず' [zu]

す, in hiragana, or ス in katakana is one of the Japanese kana, each of which represents one mora. Their shapes come from the kanji 寸 and 須, respectively. Both kana represent the sound [su͍]). In the Ainu language, the katakana ス can be written as small ㇲ to represent a final s, and is used to emphasize the pronunciation of rather than the normal [ɕ] (represented in Ainu as ㇱ).

Pronunciation:

'す' is romanized 'su'.

Word beginning with 'す':

1. すな (suna -> sand)
   
2. すし (sushi -> Japanese dish)
   
3. すてき (suteki -> beautiful; lovely)
   
4. すばらしい (subarashii -> wonderful; splendid)
   
5. すごい (sugoi -> incredible; impressive)
   
6. する (suru -> to do)
   

Stroke order:

______________

The character 'す' may also be combined with a dakuten, changing it into ず in hiragana, and 'zu' in Hepburn romanization. With the dakuten added the pronunciation is changed, to 'zu'. す + " (dakuten) = ず (look below)

Pronunciation:

‘ず’ is romanized (pronounced) ‘zu’ as in ‘zoo’.

Word with 'す':

1. 水/みず (mizu -> water)
   
2. まずい (mazui -> not good)
   
3. まず (mazu -> first [of all]; to start with)
   

Task: You shall write 'す' & 'ず' 50 - 100 times in your textbook. If you want, like with the previous lessons, write 'す' 70 times and 'ず' 30 times. Memorize the shape, the stroke order, the sound, the pronunciation (echo the sound of the character each time you write it down), etc.

And after you've done that, write 'さ', 'し', and 'す' one after each repetitively (さ, し, す, さ, し, す, etc.) 50 times (100 if you have time).