Japanese Language Questions? Ask Here.

K.T.Tran wrote:


I don't think "anata" is all that rude.... :sweat: :sweat:

I think so too :sweat: But apparently, that person who told me that learned to speak Japanese because of his Japanese bestfriend. So I really need someone to explain this :mecry:

Anata should only be used to emphasize "you". It's more polite to use a person's name instead of "you". Kimi is more casual and is used among friends, mostly among women, or a man speaking with a woman. Omae is almost never used unless you're angry at someone or you want to tease a friend.

IZUMIgrad wrote:Omae is almost never used unless you're angry at someone or you want to tease a friend.

Hmm. Chiaki always uses the term "Omae" when referring to Nodame in Nodame Cantabile... :sweat:

I believe it's all to do with levels of politenes/formality.
anta - more formal
anata - formal/polite
kimi - less formal

Not sure about omae though.

bmwracer wrote:
Hmm. Chiaki always uses the term "Omae" when referring to Nodame in Nodame Cantabile... :sweat:

He had that whole superiority thingy so when he was talking to Nodame like its like he's the all high and mighty one and didn't have to show much respect. Least that's how i saw it

Anime Dad wrote:I believe it's all to do with levels of politenes/formality.
anta - more formal

Yikes. Actually, "anta" is a really rude way of saying "anata."

Here's more on the subject:
http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa100700.htm

Oops, I got that wrong. Gomen :)

It's been a while since I was reading about it, and I wouldn't use it myself anyway - I would probably use anata, since that's what I learnt. I've only really heard kimi in doramas and j-music.

K.T.Tran wrote:He had that whole superiority thingy so when he was talking to Nodame like its like he's the all high and mighty one and didn't have to show much respect. Least that's how i saw it

Yup.

That's the way the character was supposed to be...

cori wrote:
Yikes. Actually, "anta" is a really rude way of saying "anata."

Here's more on the subject:
http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa100700.htm

Thank you very much fir that link. :victory:

cori wrote:
Yikes. Actually, "anta" is a really rude way of saying "anata."

Here's more on the subject:
http://japanese.about.com/library/weekly/aa100700.htm

After reading that link again, something bothered me: I guess it's not so much that it's wrong, it just seems odd.
In Ai Otsuka's song "Yume Kui" the first line is "boku wa ima yume tabi no naka" which, of course, means Ai-chan is referring to herself using the male personal pronoun. I guess she used it because it fits better with the melody. Does that ever happen in Japanese society?

hi! to answer your question...
iru is part of the present tense conjugation.. to make a verb sound like something is happening right now at the very moment, you would say naiteiru or naiteimasu (naiteiru is short form and less casual). "doushite naiteiruno?" why are you crying (now)?
other examples using iru: shiteiru (now doing something), tabeteiru (now eating something), nondeiru (now drinking something), omotteiru (now thinking about something)

next, "no" makes it kind of a question

next, shiteru is actually shiteiru. you do not hear the "i" in "iru" because it is said quickly. so aishiteru is really aishiteiru. shiteiru itself means you are doing something now, but when you see it in verbs like "to love" (aisuru), you are actually just changing the suru to the "te form," and adding iru, making it aiSHITEiru. thats how you conjugate verbs into present active tense. te form+iru. tabako wo suu--> tabako wo sutTEiru;
sushi wo taberu---> sushi wo tabeTEiru; sake wo nomu---> sake wo nonDEiru

next, shite itself is the imperative form of "to do," making it mean "do it!" (like a command). if you see it in a verb like suwaru (to sit) as suwatTE, it means "sit!" Tabete, eat! Hashite, run!

lastly, those verbs come from "to be separated from" and "to be found"

hope this helps!

dmz_evolution wrote:i have some question:
from a song lyric
1."Doushite naite iru no"
Doushite = why
naite = crying
then what is the meaning for "iru" & "no"?

2. what is "~shiteru"?
e.g aishiteru, koishiteru

3. what is "~shite"?

4. what is "hanarenakute" and "mitsukaranakute"?

arigatou gozaimasu

I wonder..Normally people introduce themselves with only 'Chiba desu!' but in Gokusen, yankumi introduce herself with "yamaguchi kumiko to moshimasu'. is this the proper way to introduce yourself?Onegai..

chiba wrote:I wonder..Normally people introduce themselves with only 'Chiba desu!' but in Gokusen, yankumi introduce herself with "yamaguchi kumiko to moshimasu'. is this the proper way to introduce yourself?Onegai..

Yeah, that's more like "My name is...." or "I am called..." :)

Anime Dad wrote:

Yeah, that's more like "My name is...." or "I am called..." :)

Thank A.D!!Still waiting for any reply 'bout your question earlier. Still confused 'bout the usage of BOKU. As far as I'm concerned BOKU is only used for male..but in your question..no idea.. :doh:

Anime Dad wrote:

After reading that link again, something bothered me: I guess it's not so much that it's wrong, it just seems odd.
In Ai Otsuka's song "Yume Kui" the first line is "boku wa ima yume tabi no naka" which, of course, means Ai-chan is referring to herself using the male personal pronoun. I guess she used it because it fits better with the melody. Does that ever happen in Japanese society?

Actually, even women can use "boku." :victory: BoA has used it in her songs, even Van Tomiko. And some other female J-Popstars. :mrgreen:

chiba wrote:I wonder..Normally people introduce themselves with only 'Chiba desu!' but in Gokusen, yankumi introduce herself with "yamaguchi kumiko to moshimasu'. is this the proper way to introduce yourself?Onegai..

moushimasu is keigo (honorific/humble form). it is more formal and polite than desu

obentou wrote:


Actually, even women can use "boku." :victory: BoA has used it in her songs, even Van Tomiko. And some other female J-Popstars. :mrgreen:

So, its accepted in the society if I use boku? I thought its only for boys..Same goes with kun?can kun used for girls?

moushimasu is keigo (honorific/humble form). it is more formal and polite than desu

Thank you very much! :victory:

hi! hmm well if i were you, i wouldn't use kun for girls. i would be offended if someone referred to me with "kun"
i would wonder if they thought i was a guy

and actually now that i think about it, to me it would have the same weirdness as someone walking up to a female friend and saying "sup, bro!"
i dunno how others might feel

chiba wrote:
So, its accepted in the society if I use boku? I thought its only for boys..Same goes with kun?can kun used for girls?

I've never ever actually heard a girl using "boku" except in lyrics. Maybe Ootsuka Ai and other vocalists just didn't write the songs by themselves.