Japanese Language Questions? Ask Here.

amran wrote:may i know the definition of inori and hoshii?
and another question...is urusai and uzai has the same meaning?

inori ( ‹F‚è ) = prayer/wish
hoshii ( —~‚µ‚¢ ) = want/desire/craving

i think saying uzai makes it sound rude

What connotation does the sentence ending particle ‚Á‚‚¤ carry? I often hear it coupled with ‚Ì to form ‚Á‚‚¤‚Ì, but I can understand this compound particle once I know the meaning of ‚Á‚‚¤. (a good example would be Tsukushi from Hana yori Dango's common phrase uƒAƒŠƒGƒiƒC‚Á‚‚¤‚́v)

Also, maybe this is too difficult to answer, but I'll ask anyway. I am aware that Japanese often contracts sounds to simpler sounds in colloquial speech, as well of historical contracting which has since permeated the language (the best example I can think of is the past tense conjugation, like: `‚¢@¨@`‚­‚ ‚Á‚½@¨@‚©‚Á‚½). I was wondering if ‚Á‚½‚ç is also historically a contraction of ‚Á‚Ä‚©‚ç. I know that now the meanings are different, but they are still somewhat related. ‚Á‚Ä‚©‚ç expresses a temporal ordering of two events, whereas ‚Á‚½‚ç expresses a conditional. These are somewhat similar concepts, I believe, which is what led me to this question. Another possibility is that ‚Á‚½‚ç is a historical contraction of ‚Á‚½‚È‚ç, which would bring the meanings closer to each other as well.

Can anyone shine some light on these questions for me? Thanks!

EDIT: By the way, I realize it's going to be quite ironic if the answer to my first question turns out to be that it's a contraction as well, but I can't seem to find the answer online alone.

vega12 wrote:What connotation does the sentence ending particle ‚Á‚‚¤ carry? I often hear it coupled with ‚Ì to form ‚Á‚‚¤‚Ì, but I can understand this compound particle once I know the meaning of ‚Á‚‚¤. (a good example would be Tsukushi from Hana yori Dango's common phrase uƒAƒŠƒGƒiƒC‚Á‚‚¤‚́v)

This is actually a contraction of ‚Æ‚¢‚¤‚Ì (or, in more colloquial terms, ‚Á‚Ä‚ä`‚Ì).
When written, you can write it as you have (‚Á‚‚¤‚Ì), but I've more commonly seen it written@‚Á‚`‚Ì.

You seem to be pretty knowledgeable, so you probably know that ‚Æ‚¢‚¤‚Ì is an expression often used in colloquial Japanese. It literally means, "it's called...", but is used more like we use "..., you know" in English.

vega12 wrote:
Also, maybe this is too difficult to answer, but I'll ask anyway. I am aware that Japanese often contracts sounds to simpler sounds in colloquial speech, as well of historical contracting which has since permeated the language (the best example I can think of is the past tense conjugation, like: `‚¢@¨@`‚­‚ ‚Á‚½@¨@‚©‚Á‚½). I was wondering if ‚Á‚½‚ç is also historically a contraction of ‚Á‚Ä‚©‚ç. I know that now the meanings are different, but they are still somewhat related. ‚Á‚Ä‚©‚ç expresses a temporal ordering of two events, whereas ‚Á‚½‚ç expresses a conditional. These are somewhat similar concepts, I believe, which is what led me to this question. Another possibility is that ‚Á‚½‚ç is a historical contraction of ‚Á‚½‚È‚ç, which would bring the meanings closer to each other as well.

This one I'm not sure of. I'm not sure asking a native speaker of Japanese would help, either. This is the kind of thing we study in linguistics (my major at university), in particular historical linguistics.
I can see where you would draw such a conclusion, but I would be hesitant to agree without some further research.
You might be better off searching on the internet or going to a library.

Good luck! :mrgreen:

‘‰¤š

Hey guys... could anyone tell me how to write (in romanjy and kanji) - "Creating Future"... :fingerscrossed: It would be soooo helpfull plz guys!!! Thx a looot!

Claus76 wrote:Hey guys... could anyone tell me how to write (in romanjy and kanji) - "Creating Future"... :fingerscrossed: It would be soooo helpfull plz guys!!! Thx a looot!

I'm not too sure what you mean by "Creating Future" (maybe Creating the Future?), but here's one idea:

–¢—ˆ‚ð‘n‚èo‚· (mirai wo tsukuri dasu)

HTH,

‘‰¤š

Thanks a lot!!! Well by "Creating Future" i refer to... mm... like openning new posibilities, or something like that. Is more like a slogan.

Well, thanks a lot!!! :victory:

What is the long form of "utau" (to sing) and "tatsu" (to stand up)? Thanks.

RedRum wrote:What is the long form of "utau" (to sing) and "tatsu" (to stand up)? Thanks.

if you mean the conjugated form of the verb

Utau - Utaimasu

Tatsu - Tachimasu

Ah okay thanks. Somehow it sounded weird to me. :crazy:

RedRum wrote:Ah okay thanks. Somehow it sounded weird to me. :crazy:

you're welcome.

What is the hiragana for ŽO“úŒŽ?

I thought it was ‚Ý‚©‚‚« at first because that's how I could type ŽO“úŒŽ in WinXP. But it seems like it should be ‚Ý‚©‚¸‚«? Is ‚Ý‚©‚‚« the old way? :crazy:

what's the meaning of youni?

RedRum wrote:What is the hiragana for ŽO“úŒŽ?

I thought it was ‚Ý‚©‚‚« at first because that's how I could type ŽO“úŒŽ in WinXP. But it seems like it should be ‚Ý‚©‚¸‚«? Is ‚Ý‚©‚‚« the old way? :crazy:

To be honest, I'm not sure what that entire phrase is.
But ŽO“ú is written "mikka" (‚Ý‚Á‚©), and you know ŒŽ "tsuki" (‚‚«).

dochira wrote:
To be honest, I'm not sure what that entire phrase is.
But ŽO“ú is written "mikka" (‚Ý‚Á‚©), and you know ŒŽ "tsuki" (‚‚«).

Actually, RedRum is right in that the Romanization is "Mikazuki," but it's ‚Ã ('tsu' with ten-ten, not 'su'). You can get that in Windows by typing "du."

ŽO“úŒŽ (‚Ý‚©‚«) - Crescent moon.

HTH,

‘‰¤š

leigh1381 wrote:what's the meaning of youni?

youni (‚悤‚É) = in order to/so that :mrgreen:

kokuou wrote:

Actually, RedRum is right in that the Romanization is "Mikazuki," but it's ‚Ã ('tsu' with ten-ten, not 'su'). You can get that in Windows by typing "du."

ŽO“úŒŽ (‚Ý‚©‚«) - Crescent moon.

HTH,

‘‰¤š

New vocab for me.

Thanks. :woot:

Ah I see. Thanks kokuou and dochira.:)

what's the meaning of "konayuki"???

Orion wrote:what's the meaning of "konayuki"???

i believe it means powder snow •²á

I asked this in the Japanese to English thread but I'm hoping someone will be able to help me here since I didn't get a response there.

Does anyone know what a Birigen-san is?

Thanks!