Quick and Dirty Japanese Q&A (5 minutes or less)

Anti-K' · Post by **Anti-K'** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 07:12

ShadowSonic wrote:Er ...pretty loaded question. Particle usage can vary quite widely depending on context.

So er....in what context do you want to see usages of these particles

To show where something is currently taking place and where something will take place. I always mix up ni and de.

Ni is also for time, right?

"o" is pretty straightforward though - it denotes direct objects. For instance:

パンを食べました。
Pan o tabemashita.

In this case "o" acts as the particle showing that "pan" is the direct object in the sentence.

Okay. Now I remember.

Post by **SonicTempest** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 18:02

OK, quick particle rundown:

ni - used to donate location, direction or time. For example:

Ie ni imasu
I'm at home.

Gakkoo ni ikimashita
I went to school.

Tanaka san ni hon o agemashita
I gave the book to Mr Tanaka

Kuji ni okimasu.
I wake up at 9.

In the context of direction "ni" and "e" can be used interchangeably (almost...I think e is considered more 'general' and ni is more specific).

de - used to indicate location or means. For example:

Toshokan de benkyoo shimashita
I studied at the library

(The difference between "ni" and "de" location-wise is that you almost always use "ni" together with imasu or arimasu. "de" is used when you're doing something at a particular location.)

Densha de kaisha ni ikimashita
I went to the company by train.

ga - topic marker. For example:

Ringo ga suki desu
I like apples.

As you can see it doesn't have a real English equivalent.

Anti-K' · Post by **Anti-K'** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 22:00

Alright. I get it now. Thanks.

Iori E · Post by **Iori E** » Thu Mar 15, 2007 23:54

Translation, please?

http://hightensionwires.blog78.fc2.com/ ... y-136.html

Thanks.

Post by **SonicTempest** » Fri Mar 16, 2007 21:24

Rough translation (PS will probably do a better job than me)

Title: A Touhou movie I liked

I'm envious of this person's "sense."
I wonder what sort of worldview he has (laughs)
It really works so well...I really want one like that (laughs)
The one who created it is "Iori E"...not bad, I must say. It's kind of surreal, or unique, I suppose (laughs)

His first work was "Touhou: Perfect Strangers", and from that I became a fan of his. That strange "sense" combined with 80's TV shows is just too wacky. (laughs)

I'd like to see more stuff from him. Actually, when I see "hot" stuff like this it really make me want to try my own hand at it. After all, I can't afford to lose out, can I? (laughs)

Alba Meira · Post by **Alba Meira** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 03:16

Made a seperate thread as requested sorry about that.

Post by **SonicTempest** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 04:14

PS isn't here at the moment, but I should probably reiterate that this thread is for "quick and dirty" translation requests. Something like your request should probably get a thread of its own.

That said, I really don't have time to plough through it now...maybe someone else with more time can give it a try?

Perfect Stranger · Post by **Perfect Stranger** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 07:25

Yeah, separate request thread please. As far as free time goes nothing's coming up soon though, so I can't promise when I'll work on it.

Perfect Stranger · Post by **Perfect Stranger** » Tue Apr 03, 2007 17:12

Renamed topic to remind people that more substantial translation requests (i.e. things that will likely take more than 5 minutes) need their own threads.

1718 · Post by **1718** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 08:54

how can i say "thanks for everything friend" in japanese?

Perfect Stranger · Post by **Perfect Stranger** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 09:52

The most natural way to say it that comes to mind would be something like "Maido Ari~", which is a contraction of maido arigatou. While it more or less means "Hey, thanks for everything, man" it doesn't literally have the word "friend" inside.

1718 · Post by **1718** » Wed Apr 11, 2007 09:57

coolness! thanks!

Zepy · Post by **Zepy** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 15:18

"Maido ari" is what you say to customers or a client, you do not say it to friends(Unless you have a very business-like relationship).

Try "itsumo arigatouâ€

Perfect Stranger · Post by **Perfect Stranger** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 17:52

Zepy wrote:"Maido ari" is what you say to customers or a client, you do not say it to friends(Unless you have a very business-like relationship).

Try "itsumo arigatou”

While of course it is true maido ari originated from the shopkeeper greeting maido arigatou, I've heard it used enough in conversational speech here among friends that I'm inclined to disagree that it is still strictly relegated to that business usage.

That said itsumo arigatou is of course fine for "Thanks for everything, friend" too.

Zepy · Post by **Zepy** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 21:21

I am aware of the usage that you refer to, however that is a local slang that you do not use in a global setting. Why don't you ask your friends if it is fine for a person who does not know japanese to say that phrase to a japanese friend?