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Alternatively, you can also use “l” to type smaller characters (l for “little”? haha).
Or rather, you can in the default Windows IME. I’m assuming Google’s will too.
主人公 is the only way I’ve ever seen it said, so you should be fine there. I’ve always seen people referring to fictional characters in the same way we would, that is, as if they were “real” but in the context of knowing you’re talking about a character. From what I’ve seen though you don’t have to worry about honourifics and whatnot.
I’d love to make some videos like that as well, but have nowhere near the cojones to do so. XD
大切 is a な adjective, which means it needs な to modify a noun. In this case it is not negating anything.
何か can mean “something” if I’m not mistaken.
So to my eye the sentence is saying: “The image(s) that remind(s) me of something important.”
Or summat like that. I could be wrong. :P
Sweet, that sounds about right to me. Respect to you.
I spoke a little today on an outing to my usual food spot (basically the ONLY place I can speak Japanese, and thus my wallet hates me…) I sounded like a complete twonk, but meh, it’s a start.
On a semi-related note, a Japanese customer sitting next to me was using “俺” whilst speaking in polite Japanese. Is this acceptable? I always thought otherwise.
I have made the (tentative) decision to start studying Japanese again. First thing I want to do is become less cowardly towards speaking it. Which brings me to my question: what would be a good, humble way to say “Please forgive my lousy Japanese”?
I don’t want to come off as a know-it-all when I clearly don’t, so I’d like to make it clear that I appreciate people putting up with my stilted, halting mangling of their language.
I know “kaban” is the usual word for “bag” (i.e. briefcase, handbag, satchel, et al) but I’ve seen one or two occasions where “baggu” was used for “purse” (as in a woman’s purse). Is this at all common or was that one just an exception to the usual rule?
@Mister: Yes and no. I still haven’t decided what to do.
I’m in a sort of “limbo” with it and have been for some time. I’ve maintained a few of the “immersion” habits I used, and occasionally still practise it (mostly out of habit), but I am no longer actively studying. I keep saying I’m gonna go back to it, but I never do. Part of me still wants to do it, but another part no longer sees any real benefit to it.
For months now, Anki has sat unused and I’ve not even visited Lang-8. I still habitually gather up new vocab words/kanji, but have not studied/drilled any of them. The only speaking practise I still do is the occasional trip to the local restaurant where I might rattle off what little I already know.
Regardless, my phone/game consoles/software are still set to Japanese, I still listen to Japanese music/podcasts, still play Japanese games, still watch Japanese TV/DVDs/Youtube, and sometimes (attempt to) read a bit. Again, mostly out of habit, but I guess also because of the part of me that doesn’t want to give it up.
That’s one of the reasons I can’t get back into studying the language, is vocab. When I was learning English (my second language) as a youngster, it took me nearly 20 years to amass the vocab I have today, and that’s considering I used to read dictionaries for fun. I’ve managed to attain native fluency in English (I can honestly say I might even speak it better than some of my mates who are native speakers) and nonetheless still encounter unfamiliar words on occasion.
When I think of having to go through that gruelling journey once again for Japanese, potentially taking 20 years to gather as large a vocabulary as I have in English (maybe longer) and attain native fluency, I honestly don’t think I have the stamina for it.
I could get super excited over learning the core 1000 (or 2000 or 6000) and then realise that I still have the vocabulary of a grade schooler, and I don’t think I have the patience for that any more, at my age.
Ah, that sounds right. I actually thought of something similar to “what are you looking for?” but I wasn’t sure if that was a very common or “official” (for lack of a better term) in Japanese stores. I remember “いらっしゃいませ” from prior experience (the staff at my favourite restaurant say it to all their Japanese speaking customers).
Thanks for the help, mate. Now just gotta find the “cojones” to actually use it sometime. XD
I was wondering, how would “How can I help/assist you?” be said in Japanese? Or rather, what phrase would be used in Japanese retail stores to correspond to that?
I’ve been trying to figure it out myself, but can’t really work out a way that sounds “right” to me. Plus, I wondered if there is a specific phrase that’s always used.
Part of it’s curiosity, and part of it’s me wanting to surprise the one Japanese customer that sometimes comes into my store by spontaneously saying it (yeah right, as if I had that much courage lol). XD
My “aha!” moment in making my primitive gaijin brain comprehend kanji readings was by thinking about it like my native alphabet.
Example, how do I know when “C” is read like a hard or soft C? I realised that I don’t think about it, I just KNOW automatically that “car” is a hard C and “centre” is a soft C. I know how to say the words, therefore I know the correct “reading” for C.
So that’s how I’ve been tackling kanji now. I make it 100% vocab focused. I find it (generally) works like a charm. So I don’t know WHY a certain word uses a certain reading, I just know that it DOES, and that’s all I really need to know.
It had the added benefit of me being able to memorise several readings for a kanji without really trying. I found myself able to guess at names (notorious for using random kanji readings) containing the same kanji in the vocab words I studied and surprising myself by pulling out readings I never knew I knew.
Wow, that is an extremely generous offer, mate! While I did hope to see a bit of the city life, I’m certainly not averse to the countryside, and Yonago looks like a lovely small city (looks similar in “feel” to Kasukabe, which is my target city). Certainly don’t mind covering food and all.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to rake up enough quid in time, but if I can, I’ll most definitely keep your offer in mind. Cheers a million!
So it looks like my trip to Japan isn’t gonna happen. At least, not this year anyway. The money’s simply not working. I tried to save up bit by bit, but my situation’s just beyond tight right now and I’m finding myself having to dip into the savings I’d set aside for the trip just to pay for petrol… There is no way I’m going to have over 5 grand ready by November at this rate…
Disappointing, to say the least. Oh well, I guess on the bright side I now have more time to plan it…
Listening to a variety of tracks as I create an all-Initial D soundtrack playlist to listen to while driving. X)
@Joel: Yamanote line is a must-do for me for sure. Always wanted to try it. I might visit some shrines as well, if I happen across one that catches my eye. Might do the one in Kasukabe and make the Lucky☆Star pilgrimage, lol.
@l337jacqui: That’s good to hear! 3 weeks is not so far off from a month, and I fancy myself an EXTREMELY frugal person when I need to be, so I might just be able to get away with $5000, perhaps a little more. I might even skip souvenirs altogether to travel even lighter and cheaper.
Also, a question. Looking online at hotels and hostels (most likely lodging for me) and all of them say they don’t allow booking for a month’s stay. What’s the best way to go about this? I really don’t wanna have to cut my trip short, but also would prefer not to hop from place to place.
