Japanese Language Questions? Ask Here.

j_rock wrote:how to say "nice to meet u,can i meet u again?"

The phrase when you first meet someone is, "Hajimemashite, yoroshiku onegaishimasu" Whether or not she wants to meet you again depends on her reaction to that! :sweat: [/list:u]

When in a restaurant, I want to order tea, i would say " O-cha kudasai", how about if I want to ask for more tea (when my cup is empty!)?

fayewolf wrote:When in a restaurant, I want to order tea, i would say " O-cha kudasai", how about if I want to ask for more tea (when my cup is empty!)?

you could say 'okawari onegai shimasu' while showing empty cup. it's basically asking for a refill. or 'mata ocha onegai shimasu' - more tea please.

Ok, can anyone tell me why so many female names end in Žq - ko?
Because doesn't that mean "child"?

Keps wrote:Ok, can anyone tell me why so many female names end in Žq - ko?
Because doesn't that mean "child"?

at a guess i'd say it was because it sounds gentle and less masculine much like paula from paul or danielle/daniella from daniel.
and yes it does mean child.

Keps wrote:Ok, can anyone tell me why so many female names end in Žq - ko?
Because doesn't that mean "child"?

My best guess is that it's just a cultural thing, like a lot boys names ending in "ro" : Taro, Ichiro, Jiro, etc. [/list:u]

Thank you kenjilina and gaijinmark. :)

^ So, does the "ro" of male names mean anything?

Keps wrote:

^ So, does the "ro" of male names mean anything?

that would depend on which kanji is used. my name kenji is common but i've seen it spelt with many different kanji.

kenjilina wrote:

that would depend on which kanji is used. my name kenji is common but i've seen it spelt with many different kanji.

Ah, of course. :doh:
Cheers!

Yes, the kanji for "rou" means "son". For example:

Ichirou
Soichirou
Tarou
Jirou

So, in the case of Ichirou, it means "first son" and Jirou means "second son".

@˜Y - this is the kanji I've seen most often for "ro" when used in a male name.

Hmm, this thread seems to be PERPETUALLY off topic...

I think I'm gonna to lock it.

quote from BMWRacer in another thread. Now check page 91 of THIS thread and see who's off topic! :angry: [/list:u]

Adjective questions- The i-adj and na-adjectives are starting to confuse me...

I cant' tell which one is which when they end with an "i", e.g. Kirei is a na adjective, but it ends on i ??

Also, things that end in -nai; i'm confused of whether it means negative or just part of a word?

Sorry for these dumb questions...

fayewolf wrote:Adjective questions- The i-adj and na-adjectives are starting to confuse me...

I cant' tell which one is which when they end with an "i", e.g. Kirei is a na adjective, but it ends on i ??

Also, things that end in -nai; i'm confused of whether it means negative or just part of a word?

Sorry for these dumb questions...

Perfectly fine questions to ask.

For "i" adjectives, they usually end in "shii". That's what I usually go by, but I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule. Just takes a little memorization. Here's a good page to check out:

http://www.timwerx.net/language/jpadj/lesson1.htm

As for the -nai form, it is actually the "short form" for making a verb a negative. For example:

iku -> ikimasen (negative form)
iku -> ikanai (short form, negative)

aru -> arimasen (negative form)
aru -> nai (short form, negative)

Hope that helps.

gaijinmark and eightysix - I've just found this site about Japanese names - it looks very informative -
http://www.aboutnames.ch/japanese.htm

@ eightysix - that link about adjectives seems really good (I'm clueless about them right now).

eightysix wrote:

Perfectly fine questions to ask.

For "i" adjectives, they usually end in "shii". That's what I usually go by, but I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule. Just takes a little memorization. Here's a good page to check out:

http://www.timwerx.net/language/jpadj/lesson1.htm

As for the -nai form, it is actually the "short form" for making a verb a negative. For example:

iku -> ikimasen (negative form)
iku -> ikanai (short form, negative)

aru -> arimasen (negative form)
aru -> nai (short form, negative)

Hope that helps.

Thanks!! THats very helpful!! i'll go check out the site now. :)

Sorry to be asking more questions. :sweat:

I've got a Domokun calendar (or rather, ‚ǁ[‚à‚­‚ñ) No, I am not ashamed of this. :mrgreen:

Anyway, for the 7th of July, it says ƒqƒ^ (hita)...or possibly ƒZƒ^@(seta), although I tend to think it's the former.
However, I cannot find what this means.

According to this online calendar, that day is Tanabata, but that doesn't sound like either of the above.
http://web-jpn.org/kidsweb/explore/calendar/july/tanabata.html

What is this?

Keps wrote:Sorry to be asking more questions. :sweat:

I've got a Domokun calendar (or rather, ‚ǁ[‚à‚­‚ñ) No, I am not ashamed of this. :mrgreen:

Anyway, for the 7th of July, it says ƒqƒ^ (hita)...or possibly ƒZƒ^@(seta), although I tend to think it's the former.
However, I cannot find what this means.

According to this online calendar, that day is Tanabata, but that doesn't sound like either of the above.
http://web-jpn.org/kidsweb/explore/calendar/july/tanabata.html

What is this?

tanabata is the festival of the weaver. the kanji is seven and yu (as in evening) which looks like the katakana for ta.

kenjilina wrote:

tanabata is the festival of the weaver. the kanji is seven and yu (as in evening) which looks like the katakana for ta.

Yer a veritable fount of knowledge. Cheers kenjilina! :dancing:

Anyone know Kai means?
I chose this name but I only knew the meaning of my first name... :sweat:

Daichi should be great/vast land
Kai:...???

Anyone??? Thanks before...

Daichi Kai wrote:Anyone know Kai means?
I chose this name but I only knew the meaning of my first name... :sweat:

Daichi should be great/vast land
Kai:...???

Anyone??? Thanks before...

There are several "kai's" 1)@‰ï@this "kai" means meet, meeting, or association [/list:u] 2)@ŠE - world [/list:u] 3)@ŠL - shellfish [/list:u] 4) ‰ñ@turn around or a counter for the number of times you do something [/list:u] 5)@ŠC - sea or ocean [/list:u]@There's more, but I'm running out of room, hope this helps. [/list:u]