ribi wrote:

This is basic Japanese but I am still stuck nonetheless.. I am slightly confused about when to use "~tai" e.g. tabetai, and when to use "hoshii"... e.g. hon ga hoshii. Is it safe to say that I use the former to denote the wish to do an action and the latter to denote the wish for an inanimate object? Also, I don't really understand the "shimasu verb" e.g benkyo shimasu. When do I use it? How is it different from say, tabemasu, ikimasu etc.... THANKS!

Don't worry about the basic stuff, everyone has to learn it eventually

It's the same in English; we have two types of the verb 'to want'.

The first is the simple, "I want (something)."
Eg:
I want food.

In this case, you use "Tabemono ga HOSHII." (�H�ו����~����)
Now, this isn't really a verb in Japanese; it's more like (well, IS) an adjective. It's kinda like saying, "Food is desirable."

The other is the auxiliary verb 'to want'.
Eg:
I want to eat.

This is represented as '-tai' attached to a verb.

There is one way that 'hoshii' can be used with verbs, and it's when 'you WANT someone TO DO something'.
Eg:
I want you to eat something.
���Ȃ��ɉ�����H�ׂė~�����B (anata ni nanika wo tabete hoshii.)


For your second question, the verb 'shimasu' is actually the present tense (although, don't get it in your head too hard that '-masu' = PRESENT) of the verb 'suru' which means 'to do'.

Some verbs in Japanese are actually derived from a noun.
In other words, �׋�(benkyou) is a NOUN which roughly means "the act of studying." Adding suru changes that NOUN into a VERB. So, �׋�����(benkyou suru) means simply "to study."

Don't worry about memorizing which verbs do this and which are regular verbs, it'll come naturally after a while.

Anyway, hope that helps at least a little

������
_________________

"I like the word 'indolence'. It makes my laziness seem classy."
-Bern Williams

Thanks so so much Kokuou..
You're really good in explaining Japanese to us here.

That really cleared up all the confusion that I was having when I was studying it yesterday night and was banging my head against the wall...

Now, I can move on to the next chapter...

[color=orange]���̓K�b�g�ł��B�ǂ�������낵�� ���肢���܂��B
I've Japanese's class,but I'm hot well.I want to know more.and I'm Thai,can I help u? [/color]

gatto_kung wrote:

[color=orange]���̓K�b�g�ł��B�ǂ�������낵�� ���肢���܂��B I've Japanese's class,but I'm hot well.I want to know more.and I'm Thai,can I help u? [/color]

Gatto, please read the rules before creating a new thread.
If you have specific quesions on Japanese, then ask them in the proper thread. Thanks

Merging...
_________________

"I like the word 'indolence'. It makes my laziness seem classy."
-Bern Williams

hey, can anyone please translate this ---> �~�̃����B�G�� into Romaji for me? I don't know how to read japanese.. Thanks in advance!
_________________

sashimi wrote:

hey, can anyone please translate this ---> �~�̃����B�G�� into Romaji for me? I don't know how to read japanese.. Thanks in advance!

fuyu no rivuiera (riviera).

hi, i had this question for a long time in my head. Can someone tell me when is the right time/ right context to use ureshi and tanoshi cos as far as i can understand they means happy, right? And what is the other words for 'happy'. I think there many more of it

one more question is what is the word we use to express 'very' other than 'katta'. 'Oishikatta' means 'very delicious', right?

onegaishimasu...

yuki881 wrote:

hi, i had this question for a long time in my head. Can someone tell me when is the right time/ right context to use ureshi and tanoshi cos as far as i can understand they means happy, right? And what is the other words for 'happy'. I think there many more of it one more question is what is the word we use to express 'very' other than 'katta'. 'Oishikatta' means 'very delicious', right? onegaishimasu...

ureshii is happy/glad/pleasant
tanoshii is fun/enjoyable
not quite the same

very ... could use "totemo".

katta doesn't mean "very", it is how you form the past tense of an adjective. oishikatta is "was delicious". Sushi wa oishikatta desu (the sushi was delicious).

Ohayo gozaimasu

loris wrote:

ureshii is happy/glad/pleasant tanoshii is fun/enjoyable not quite the same very ... could use "totemo". katta doesn't mean "very", it is how you form the past tense of an adjective. oishikatta is "was delicious". Sushi wa oishikatta desu (the sushi was delicious).

gomen nasai ashamed of myself

actually i got my translation from catching a little bit of here and there from the sub of the drama i watched! Think i heard or misplace the word and sound wrongly

thanx for the explanation of ureshi and tanoshi

other question (actually i got many more )

does zutto and itsumo share the same meaning? What is the difference between itsumo and itsumademo ?

onegaishimasu...

Hi Yuki,
I try to answer your question...as best I can. Could be wrong sometimes, then someone else will have to correct me and we all learn together.

Zutto = all along, never stop
itsumo = always

slightly different.

itsumademo = not 100% sure. Roughly it meant a certain end to it because of "made". Something like, "until today, always had been"

Hope this helps.
:)ww

yuki881 wrote:

does zutto and itsumo share the same meaning? What is the difference between itsumo and itsumademo ?

These are actually pretty straightforward dictionary questions. Do you have access to a good dictionary? I used Jim Breen's edict, because it is easy for me to use on the computer. (You can get it for free from here).

It may not be perfect, but it seems pretty good to me (well I don't know too much Japanese, I admit).

Anyway, from edict, we have:

(zutto) ������ /(adv) (1) direct/straight/(2) all along/the whole time/all the way/(3) for a long time/throughout/(4) by far/far and away/(P)/

(itsumo) ������ [���‚�] /(adv,n) (1) (uk) always/usually/every time/(2) never (with neg. verb)/(P)/

(itsumademo) �����܂ł� [���‚܂ł�] /(adv) (uk) forever/for good/eternally/as long as one likes/indefinitely/(P)/

I put the romaji at the beginning of each line, Breen doesn't use romaji, so you'd have to learn kana first, but that's not too hard.

(Also, there is a dictionary search at the top right of this page, just use the pulldown menu to select "JDict". It allows romaji input).

jayatidev wrote:

Hi , i am Jayati.I am appearing for Sankyu this year.I have a lot of problems with bunpou.i cant understand difference between sou and kamoshiremasen sou you rashii saseru ....what is the meaning when one says.....sasete itadakimashita....? rareu Please help. Thank you Jayati

Hi Jayati.

There's already a thread for questions on Japanese, with which I will merge this thread, so any other question you have, just ask there

As for your questions, here we go:

I'm not too sure what you mean by the difference between 'sou' and 'kamoshiremasen'. They mean two separate things.

'Sou' can mean 'so' like in English, but it also has other meanings.

'Kamoshiremasen' means 'perhaps' or 'maybe'.
Eg:
�ꏏ�ɍs��������������܂���B(Issho ni ikitai kamoshiremasen.)
Perhaps (I/he/she) would like to go with you.

By 'sou you rashii', I'm thinking you mean the difference between 'sou', 'you', and 'rashii'.


'Sou' means two things. It can mean 'looks like' or 'I've heard', depending on the way it's used.

Eg:
�ނ͍s���������ł��B(Kare ha ikita sou desu.)
"He looks like he wants to go."

�ނ͍s�����������ł��B(Kare ha ikitai sou desu.)
"I've heard that he wants to go."

OR

����͔����������ł��B(Sore ha oishi sou desu.)
"That looks delicious."

����͔������������ł��B(Sore ha oishii sou desu.)
"I've heard that is delicious."


'You' can also mean, 'looks like', but it has other grammatical functions. For this explanation, I'll stick to the similarities between 'you' and 'sou'.

���̂悤�ł��B(Sono you desu.)
"That's how it seems."

�ނ͍s�������Ȃ��悤�ł��B(Kare ha ikitakunai you desu.)
"It looks like he doesn't want to go."


'Rashii' is a little harder. It can mean '-like' (as in "man-like," meaning "manly), or it can mean 'looks like' or 'I've heard that'.

Eg:
�ނ͒j�炵���B(Kare ha otoko rashii.)
"He is manly."

�ނ͓��������炵���B(Kare ha atama ga ii rashii.)
"I've heard he's smart."

The difference here is that in the first sentence, since ��(kare) implies that the subject is a male, it has the meaning of "like a X" or "-like."
Since you can't infer that someone is smart by appearances (and partly because 'rashii' comes after an adjective - which I suppose would be one of the innate features of 'rashii', but don't quote me on that one), you have to assume that it's the second meaning.

As a general rule, 'rashii' after a noun means "-like," and after an adjective means "I've heard that."
Again, don't quote me on that because there may be exceptions that I can't think of right now.


And finally, 'saseru'.

'Saseru' is what's called the "causative" in English. We say 'let' or 'make', depending on the context.

�e�͎q���ɕ׋����������B(Oya ha kodomo ni benkyou wo saseta.)
"The parents made the child study."

Now, this could also mean "the parents LET the child study," but the former is more likely for two reasons:

(1) Usually, when the idea is that you "let" someone do something, the verb is in the '-te' form followed by 'ageru' (as a favor).
Eg:
�e�͎q���ɕ׋��������Ă������B

and

(2) What child do you know that actually WANTS to study.

Note: 'saseru' is only used for verbs that use XX-suru (�׋�����, etc.).
Other verbs, like those below, change form:

�s������ (ikaseru) = "to make/let go"
��킹�� (arawaseru) = "to make/let wash"
�������� (arukaseru) = "to make/let walk"
�V�΂��� (asobaseru) = "to make/let play"

Et cetera.

Now, for 'sasete itadakimasu'.

For beginners, try to just think of this as 'suru'.
It means exactly the same thing, it is just polite.

But, here is a break-down of the meaning, just in case:

'sasete' = 'to let (someone do something)' (in '-te' form here because it is followed by another verb)

'itadakimasu' or 'itadaku' = 'to recieve'

So, for example, �׋������Ă��������܂� (benkyou sasete itadakimasu) means �׋����܂� (benkyou shimasu), but a literal translation would be something like this:

"(I) am receiving the thing of (you) letting me study."

which, in normal English, means

"I study."

You can see (I hope) how that would be polite.

Anywho, I gots me some fireworks to go see, so I gotta jet!

HTH,

������
_________________

"I like the word 'indolence'. It makes my laziness seem classy."
-Bern Williams

����H!�@ Merge hasn't been completed Kokuou. Shall I do it for you? Or is it in your plan?
_________________

ahochaude wrote:

����H!�@ Merge hasn't been completed Kokuou. Shall I do it for you? Or is it in your plan?

MY PLAN TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!?

�΂͂͂͂͂͂́I
����~�߂���҂Ȃ�Ă��̐��ɑ��݂��ʁI

ummm....

so anyway, yeah.

I was about to merge and then I had to leave to see the fireworks at the beach. They were pretty cool

thanks for the remider, brah.�@�i���n���C���Ɍ����Ă݂܂����j

������
_________________

"I like the word 'indolence'. It makes my laziness seem classy."
-Bern Williams

kokuou wrote:

I was about to merge and then I had to leave to see the fireworks at the beach. They were pretty cool

�ԉ΂��B�J�i�_�̋x�݂ł����B

kokuou wrote:

thanks for the remider, brah.�@�i���n���C���Ɍ����Ă݂܂����j

Ah, pidgin. More pidgin

wonderwabbitt wrote:

Hi Yuki, I try to answer your question...as best I can. Could be wrong sometimes, then someone else will have to correct me and we all learn together. Zutto = all along, never stop itsumo = always slightly different. itsumademo = not 100% sure. Roughly it meant a certain end to it because of "made". Something like, "until today, always had been" Hope this helps. :)ww

Good on ya!

'Zutto' and 'itsumo', like wonder said above, are slightly different.

Eg:
�����Ƃ��Ȃ��̖T�ɂ���B(Zutto anata no soba ni iru.)
"I'll be by your side forever."

�ނ́A���������o�����Ă���Ԃɂ����ƃe���r�����Ă����B(Kare ha, watashitachi ga dekaketeiru aida ni, zutto terebi wo miteita.)
"He watched TV the whole time we were out."

BUT

���‚����Ȃ��̖T�ɂ���B(Itsumo anata no soba ni iru.)
"I'm always by your side."

�ނ́A���������o�����Ă���ԂɁA���‚��e���r�����Ă����B(Kareha, watashitachi ga dekaketeiru aida ni, itsumo terebi wo miteita.)
"He always watched TV while we went out."


Does that make it any clearer, or completely confuse you?

'Zutto' has another use:

Eg:
�`�[�Y�P�[�L�́A�p�t�F��肸���Ɣ��������Ǝv���B(Chi-zuke-ki ha, pafe yori zutto oishii to omou.)
"I think cheesecake is much more delicious than parfait."


'Itsumademo', however, means 'forever'.
Literally, it means, "until whenever," but sounds a little prettier and more poetic than 'zutto' (to me, at lease).


I hope this has helped rather than confused, but if you still feel that you don't quite understand, you can always post another message and your friendly neighbourhood Kokuou will be here (or anyone else that beats me to answering... )

������
_________________

"I like the word 'indolence'. It makes my laziness seem classy."
-Bern Williams

Thanks for correcting me Kokuou! Learnt! Majestic Name btw!

plz help me....i always heard this word from somebody....what's the meaning of 'kimi ha tomodachi' ?....i really don't understand this word...and how we should say in japanese...' i'm busy today...sorry'...i need somebody's help.....plz... ....thanks for those who help me....
_________________

you're my friend.

kimi= you
tomodachi=friend