English To Japanese Questions

[kazuichikun]

hello, how do u say..."thanks for coming"...in the context of someone coming over to your house or coming to see u play in a concert

[yume]

hm, i guess it depends on whom you're talking to? a superior or someone on your same level...

hmmmm, i wanna say "kite kurete arigatou ne." for people who are your close friends. if they come to your house or your concert, i guess that is ok to say, but sometimes i find saying, "kyou wa arigatou" is also fine. this means, literally, "thanks for today." make it "arigatou gozaimasu" if they're not on your same level.

[kazuichikun]

i was wondering if anyone here knew the japanese equivalent to the phrase..."i am half chinese and half white." or any other race can be inserted in there.....okay, thanks

[niko2x]

Gaijin. It makes no difference whether you are half chinese, half martian. If you are not full JPN, you are a �h�O�l�h�B

[Neko]

Most mixed race kids were referred to as plainly Ha-fu (without any nastiness intended! Konketsu no hito is someone of mixed race

Chuukokujin to hakujin no konketsu
would mean somone half chinese half white

I dunno - konketsu sounds quite negative, though thats a reflection on societies impression of mixed race being a negative. A mixed race marriage for example is a kokusai (international kekkon) which sounds quite stylish!

Hopefully someone will know a nice new word, but I would have just said haha ha hakujin (my mothers white) to chichi ha chukokujin (father is chinese) (or vice versa)

[Andocrates]

I always say �悭��������₢�܂����@
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[Andocrates]

I love Japan, the Japanese and the language - but that doesn't mean I'm blind. The truth is the truth even when it hurts. I think hafu is plenty nasty. It's a term to remind you you're not as good as the rest of the shin no nipponjin.

It means you're a half-breed. Faggot is new-hafu. Japan has a long way to go with racial relations and removing words like hafu is a good start.
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[yareyare]

I'm not sure of a nice way to say half-chinese and half-white, but I do know that words like "nikkei jin" which means person of japanese decent might be a good approach, I don't know if there's a word for "person of chinese decent" but that might be a better descriptor...

later...

[niko2x]

yareyare wrote:

I'm not sure of a nice way to say half-chinese and half-white, but I do know that words like "nikkei jin" which means person of japanese decent might be a good approach, I don't know if there's a word for "person of chinese decent" but that might be a better descriptor... later...

that term is used to describe the JPN descendants whose grandfathers first immigated to their respective countries. For example:

Yamada Taro = FOB JPNese in, let's say Peru
His son, Yamada Ichiro = Issei (1st line born in a foreign country)
Ichiro's son, Yamada Daiichiro = nissei (2st line born in a foreign country)
Daiichiro's son, Yamada Ryuichiro = sansei (and it continues)

BTW it can apply to girls or boys as well. But getting back to the root of the question: It doesn't apply to anyone who is half CHN and half JPN.
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[Neko]

That sounds quite formal though, so perhaps you would not use that with your mates, except in an exaggerated sense

[yareyare]

jules wrote:

If I'm not mistaken �Ƃ� / toka usually used when you're trying to remember something or when you're uncertain about 'choosing/deciding something' The meaning of 'Makudo ka kenchiki ka,...' and 'makudo toka kenchiki...' might be the same. But the use of particle 'or' is more proper in 'makudo toka kenchiki...'

That's excellent, thanks a lot jules, that makes sense, given the context

[dummyuser12]

nothing wrong with saying ___ to ___ no haafu

That's the usual pattern... and not very offensive.

Neko wrote:

Most mixed race kids were referred to as plainly Ha-fu (without any nastiness intended! Konketsu no hito is someone of mixed race Chuukokujin to hakujin no konketsu would mean somone half chinese half white I dunno - konketsu sounds quite negative, though thats a reflection on societies impression of mixed race being a negative. A mixed race marriage for example is a kokusai (international kekkon) which sounds quite stylish! Hopefully someone will know a nice new word, but I would have just said haha ha hakujin (my mothers white) to chichi ha chukokujin (father is chinese) (or vice versa)

[Neko]

Well anyone I have heard use the word 'hafu' have been lovely open people so I don't have problems with the word.

Konketsu however can be quite negative - can't you use it in the context of calling someone a mongrel and a 'half-breed'. Not very nice.

So if you have a problem with either of those - best to say where your parents come from and problem solved!

[FierceStriker]

I am mixed myself, chinese and german. I worked with some japanese agencies and I always referred myself as Chugoku-jin to Doitsu-jin, I think it sounds better than hafu, it is more self-explanatory too, I think.

One question though, is it true that in order to pursue a modeling or acting career in Japan, one has to have at least some Japanese blood? How do they treat mixes? The same as Gaijin?

[Neko]

Same methinks! Be more difficult for someone who is asian looking though unless they really are model / actress material, unlike some of the eejits in Tokyo who think they are something else because they are models when often the reason they got work is due to the gaijin novelty factor!

[Bedi]

Quote:

nothing wrong with saying ___ to ___ no haafu That's the usual pattern... and not very offensive.

I agree
I always used �h�C�c�l�ƃg���R�l�̃n�[�t�@(doitsujin to torukojin no ha-fu) yet and since it's a fact... well poor those who are seeing mixed nationalities as a low half-breed.
It's superb knowing 2 languages like your mother tongue. However It sucks anyway to take races too serious >_< Sometimes it's interesting to know where someone was living before, what kind of cultural background he has but everyone who sees another race or nationality as low or non integrable or whatever should be thaught that he is wrong.
Say I'm a human, thats it

[lovelessemotion]

yume wrote:

"Nan da?" "Nan nan da yo?!" I guess it all depends on the tone in your voice, but in general, I am sure someone can offer a more impolite way to say it, but I think this is quite sufficient enough. One shouldn't go around being rude anyway, right?

yup in a MEAN tone of voice "NAN DA YO"

[lovelessemotion]

ahochaude wrote:

Same thing in negatives. I know where you got confused by the "or" part. But, "And" is the phrase being implemented in this particular sentence.

i looked it up again in my japanese book...and ur right!...stupid me...

[FierceStriker]

"unlike some of the eejits in Tokyo who think they are something else because they are models when often the reason they got work is due to the gaijin novelty factor!"

Neko san, I agree completely. There is that half japanese half what the f Actress in Japanese doramas (she was in Beauty 7, Tengoku ni Ichiban Chikai Otoko 2), Umemiya Anna �~�{�A���i. I don't think she is attractive, nor is she a good actress; she can't even pronounce Japanese correctly. The only reason she is in it and always play beauty roles is because she looks Foreign. Does anyone else think so?

[ahochaude]

Bedi wrote:

Quote: "what the hell do you want?" pronounced like nani tendayo = would be like "What the hell are you talking about" but remember this isn't the prefered polite version

You forgot the "ii" in the beginning of your "tendayo".

S/B "Nani iitendayo??" (Literally> What the hell did you say?!)