I also have the DSiLL from Japan but don’t have any experience with the DSiWare titles, just games I’ve bought in-store. I too am slightly frustrated at times by the inability to change the system language.. however, it is what it is.

If I stumble across anything, i’ll let you know, and please do the same ;)

There can be problems both ways.

i.e.) If I tell you my name is Japanese, it won’t be clear which Kanji I use for my name.

or If you see my name written in Kanji, it won’t always be clear how to pronounce it.

There are MANY common names which most Japanese people know how to read when they see it. There are, of course, always exceptions. Some names have more than one reading and the normal reading is not always the one used for people’s names.

Kanji – (Normal Reading) – Actual Name
東雲 – （とううん） – しののめ
東海林 – (とうかいりん） – しょうじ
九十九 -（きゅうくうきゅう）- つくも
(these can be seen as family names in Japan)

当て字 – is more when parents choose a completely unrelated reading for their kid’s first name. In recent years, new parents have been adopting a trend of choosing kanji based on style, stroke count or meaning and associating readings or pronunciations which would not commonly be associated to said kanji.This makes it nearly impossible to know how to say one’s name simply from looking at the kanji and requires furigana or someone to tell you.

The only example I can come up with right now would be
月 – (つき) – ライト (yes, I know this is from Death Note, but it meant to serve as an example of what I am talking about)

Yes, exactly.
食べに行きたい（ですか）？

行きたい by itself is want to go.

i didn’t hear what you heard I guess. I’m sure you noticed, but the lyrics are on the right side of the page, and the romanji version also say futari (the line I assume you are referring to)

You can also use 始める as a verb conjugation to mean start an action. (same with 終わる)

ie) ３０分前食べ終わった。(I finished eating 30 min ago)
(it is added to the pre-ます form)
For studying (勉強する), because the する verb is used, i am not 100% sure, but it would either be, 勉強し始めた or simply 勉強始めた。I will ask my friend to confirm.

@HypnoCrown
#5 – 信じられない！ (means I can’t believe it)
this is very common in many such situations

As for particles, I think I have seen them used more than once in a sentence… Just like in English.
ie) I went to the store to buy some milk. (“to” twice, but of course with different meaning)
牛乳を買いにコンビニに行った。(However in Japanese, that same sentence doesn’t use　を twice, but it does use に twice)

As for negative questions, it is somewhat similar to English negative questions.

We don’t really ask in English, ‘Do you not eat sushi?’ If we don’t have any idea whether they do or not, we ask (a) ‘Do you eat sushi?’ and they will answer yes or no.

If we have some suspicion that they do indeed eat sushi we would ask. (b) ‘You eat sushi, don’t you?’ and if we suspect that they don’t eat sushi, we would ask (c) ‘You don’t eat sushi, do you?’ and if we think they don’t and are surprised by such but also want to confirm such fact, we would ask (d) ‘Don’t you eat sushi?’

(a)　すしをたべますか？
(b)　すしをたべるじゃないですか？
(c)　すしをたべないじゃないですか？
(d)　すしをたべませんか？

for statement (b) and (c) でしょう is also commonly used to ask for confirmation of a fact you believe to be true.

(b)　すしをたべるでしょう？
(c)　すしをたべないでしょう？

• This reply was modified 13 years, 5 months ago by  KiaiFighter.

@Michael: I don’t necessarily think that is true. I will admit my spelling is atrocious, but I have no problems with my grammar. (I am also a native English speaker teaching English in Japan. I work at an eikaiwa.) At my school they have their Japanese teachers who are in the position you are describing. Their grammar is great but they encounter the same problems in English that we encounter in Japanese. We can read a text book and recite it for someone, but when it comes to describing subtle nuances in difference (such as the other thread about の and こと) you need a native speaker to really be able to split hairs.

I’ve been asked to teach lessons on slang, colloquialisms, rude English and everything in between that you generally don’t find in a textbook.

@Josh: What Rachel and CorrBlimey said is your best advice.

@Hattori: Depending on your native language, there may be an opportunity to teach that in Japan as well. If you have that in combination with a high English fluency, your chances will be much higher. I have a friend in Japan in a similar situation. His first language is French and he is fluent in English and he has been teaching in Japan for 10 years and now has his own school.

• This reply was modified 13 years, 5 months ago by  KiaiFighter.
• This reply was modified 13 years, 5 months ago by  KiaiFighter.