http://forum.gaijinpot.com/ Practise Your 日本語 Here. en Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:30:36 GMT vBulletin 60 http://forum.gaijinpot.com/images/misc/rss.png http://forum.gaijinpot.com/ http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125562-I-want-to-become-pera-pera&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:24:39 GMT So far I have three semesters of Japanese from a school in America. Currently, I am studying abroad in Nagoya. My japanese has seen an improvement. I think. Sometimes I can speak it all day - who knows if it is correct - and some days I simply cannot speak it at all. I am reading faster than I... So far I have three semesters of Japanese from a school in America. Currently, I am studying abroad in Nagoya.

My japanese has seen an improvement. I think. Sometimes I can speak it all day - who knows if it is correct - and some days I simply cannot speak it at all. I am reading faster than I was at the beginning of the semester, and on paper I certainly can understand a lot of the new grammar structures thrown at me.

My problem is really on the speaking side of things. I use really simple structures and I have a hard time remembering to throw in what I learned. Maybe I am just being lazy.
Anyways, what can I do to help my speaking skills? I talk as much as I can but I don't feel like I am getting there. If you have any advice, please throw it my way!

thanks ]]> Learning Japanese ZombieoutbreakNagoya http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125562-I-want-to-become-pera-pera http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125556-Japanese-School-for-the-Next-12-Months-Naganuma-KCP-KAI-KLS&goto=newpost Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:35:53 GMT Hi there. I'm from the UK and moved to Japan just under a couple of years ago. I have been sporadically teaching myself Japanese since then and, as of the last 10 weeks, have also been taking twice-weekly evening classes in Japanese at Naganuma school in Shibuya. I'm currently at what you might loosely class pre-intermediate level.

However, from Autumn (September/October) onwards, I intend to start studying Japanese full-time on a daily basis until I can speak comfortably on a variety of topics, handle relatively complex conversations and be able to pass at least JLPT Level 2. I have two decent university degrees but feel that, without competent Japanese, my qualifications are more or less meaningless here in Japan. Therefore, I am committed to working hard - as hard as necessary - to improve my Japanese as soon as possible. I welcome as much rigor in my studies as necessary, in that respect.

I have heard fairly good things about the regular intensive course at Naganuma, as well as a couple of other schools like KCP, Kichijouji Language School (which is also very close to where I live in Mitaka) and KAI. At the moment, I'm trying to decide between these four schools. I want somewhere that doesn't take it easy on its students, somewhere that will help me reach my goal of being quite competent in Japanese within the next 12-18 months, somewhere where there is enough opportunity to talk (i.e. class sizes aren't too huge and the teacher talk time isn't too high) - somewhere where the teachers and their methods are of a very good standard.

I was wondering if anyone has any experience of any of the above four schools, and if so, would you be able to share them? If you have experience of more than one, I would love to hear your thoughts on how they compare. As for technical things like visa and accommodation, I won't need any of that. That's all fine.

Anyway, thank you for your time and help. Hope to be able to read some of your thoughts. ]]> Learning Japanese Dabs84 http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125556-Japanese-School-for-the-Next-12-Months-Naganuma-KCP-KAI-KLS http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125539-Did-you-learn-through-self-study&goto=newpost Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:33:07 GMT Please do not reply to this thread if you cannot read kanji or are not at N1 level Japanese. Now that we got that out of the way. Did you learn through self-study? How many years did it take you in total? Please do not reply to this thread if you cannot read kanji or are not at N1 level Japanese.

Now that we got that out of the way. Did you learn through self-study? How many years did it take you in total? ]]> Learning Japanese iidesune http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125539-Did-you-learn-through-self-study http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125538-Good-Podcasts-for-Advanced-learners&goto=newpost Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:22:09 GMT Hello,
I was curious if somebody could recommend some good podcasts that I should subscribe to and that you like to listen to.
Some of those that i am listening on a daily basis:
- NHK ラジオニュース (great for getting your 15min. summaries of daily news) - I need to admit though that for my level the content can be challenging when it comes to the specifics.
- TBS Radio...火曜のWanted...ことばラボ。。。this is one of my favorite ones as they talk about how Japanese use various words in their langauge these days and why - easy to understand and follow.
-Japanesepod101 advanced lessons..well I liked the series where they talked about Japanese authors and literature.
SBS Japanese - great and easy to understand - interviews in with interesting Japanese by a broadcaster that operates from Australia.

these are my 4 channels I listen to on a regular basis.
But I'd love to expand the list...looking for something that is advanced level but not totally impossible....it'd be great if someone could recommend to me a channel with Japanese history (even univ. podcasts), or Japanese stories (I have a few channels for this but the classical literature is often very hard to follow..). Of course any channel geared to Japanese advanced learners (really liked Nihongo Juku by Rieko..but she doesn't do them anymore) would be also helpful.
Last but not least, are there any free audio books anywhere online that one can download? (it's easy to find these for English). I'd like to listen to an audio book - a novel - in Japanese. Again, it can't be the classical stuff yet because for that my Japanese is not good enough.

What are you listening to? ]]> Learning Japanese todaisei http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125538-Good-Podcasts-for-Advanced-learners http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125461-Teaching-Japanese-(skype)&goto=newpost Wed, 12 Jun 2013 08:43:50 GMT I've been considering teaching Japanese via Skype for a while now.

I'm Japanese Brazilian but I've lived in Japan all my life so I'm comfortable with the Japanese language.

I don't want to get into teaching advanced level Japanese since I know I won't have the time to provide the materials & exercises
but I figured I might be able to help the beginners since I'd understand if they have a question in English.

If I go through with the plan I was thinking of maybe 1,000 per 40minute class.
Does that seem like a decent price?

Thanks in advance! ]]> Learning Japanese m_ringu http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125461-Teaching-Japanese-(skype) http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125396-Please-help-me-check-this-JPOP-translation&goto=newpost Fri, 07 Jun 2013 18:16:08 GMT Hi Kids
I'm trying to decipher the lyrics to "Close My Eyes" (from http://newsinslowjapanese.com/)
but my translation doesnt match what the website says. I'm using Halpern's "Kanji Learner's Dictionary."
Will someone please take a stab at this? Arigato :)

CLOSE MY EYES
瞳をとじて
朝目覚める度に　君の抜け殻が横にいる
ぬくもりを感じた　いつもの背中が冷たい
苦笑いをやめて　重いカーテンを開けよう
眩しすぎる朝日　僕と毎日の追いかけっこだ
あの日　見せた泣き顔
涙照らす夕陽　肩のぬくもり
消し去ろうと願う度に
心が体が君を覚えている

MY TRANSLATION:
Close my eyes (literally: close my pupils)
When I wake up, I'm a mere shadow of myself.
I try to go back to sleep but it's always cold
... Let's open the heavy curtains
... It's good to seek
One day seeing tear-stained face

WEBSITE TRANSLATION:
I wake up just to find the empty space
I try to get to sleep again and imagine you’re here
I thought I heard you whispering my name
I try to reach my arms to you
But you’re not there
Then I realize it’s just a dream
I have to face another day -- the night is over
Sun shines through my window now I see
I have to face the truth again that you’re really gone
How should l know why everything’s the same ]]> Learning Japanese kaptain_krispy http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125396-Please-help-me-check-this-JPOP-translation http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125392-Wtf-is-up-with-the-people-in-power-and-kanji&goto=newpost Fri, 07 Jun 2013 16:20:50 GMT Ok no doubt this has come up before and in many forums, however as someone newly learning Japanese I want to b*tch about it and hopefully get an answer to the above. As I study Japanese I am finding it quite straightforward however I can't but help notice how wasteful kanji is. Anybody who doesn't recognise that kanji is a problem and that it needs to be changed is a bigot of some sort.

Kanji is difficult and takes time to learn for Japanese and foreign students.
Native Japanese people have problem with kanji.
Kanji can even be stressful for Japanese people.
Kanji takes time to write.
Japanese are loosing their skills in writing kanji due to computers which may have implications when hand writing.
Even computers don't like kanji due to the amount of memory they use on smaller devices.
Kanji isn't even necessary.

Yes it does look pretty but that in no way justifies all the negatives.
Yes reading is easy but writing is still hard and it still doesn't justify the negatives.
Yes it helps to solve the problem of homonyms (when writing) however people speak to and understand each other without using kanji, all languages have homonyms but we understand each other, and there are other ways to deal with the problem of homonyms without using kanji.
Cultural heritage isn't a good reason either, nobody is saying to make the script disappear, put it in a museum if you must and look at it all day, leave it on your temples if you must for aesthetic reasons, just don't force it on the people when you don't have to.

All the sounds in Japanese and words can be learnt in kana. Yes it is difficult to read kana paragraphs but there are other ways this can be solved easily e.g. using a more readable alternate/new alphabet.

The compromise situation seeks to manage but doesn't deal with the original problem which is the kanji itself. In addition to the 2000 daily use kanji you really need to know 3000 to be considered capable of reading advanced textbooks. Wouldn't it be better to just change the alphabet so that you don't need to know any?

The Koreans did it, I believe the Chinese have scrapped hanzi and adopted pinyin, when will the Japanese follow suit? It's so obvious that kanji is a problem and needs to be changed. Kanji is old, outdated, problematic and unrequired. I don't understand why the government hasn't done something about this, honestly whoever is still promoting kanji in this day and age deserves to be shot.

Kanji needs to go and a new script used. Why have they not done this already? what are they waiting for? Why hasn't somebody been shot?
Perhaps if Japanese people spent less time learning and writing kanji they could have spent more time making babies and wouldn't be faced with population related economic disasters. Of course like the kanji they have adopted equally great ideas to solve their problems; robots!

Anyway, that's my rant over. I don't expect that anything will be done about this in my time so I'll just get on with it but I'm pretty pissed that I have to do it in the first place. ]]> Learning Japanese GoodGainjin http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125392-Wtf-is-up-with-the-people-in-power-and-kanji http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125363-もう、既に、もう既に-differences&goto=newpost Wed, 05 Jun 2013 04:36:24 GMT Yay a boring thread for a change, who can explain to me the difference in usage amongst those 3.

I always use もう　for "already", but today I picked up 既に which I have heard before but never registered and also seem to mean "already" ]]> Learning Japanese wernst http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125363-もう、既に、もう既に-differences http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125346-Oral-presentation-please-help&goto=newpost Mon, 03 Jun 2013 15:47:07 GMT Hello!

I have to do this presentation, so I want it to be great! Please correct or point out grammatical mistakes and weird expressions, if you find any. That would be much appreciated! ^^ Thank you!
I see that there's some question marks when I post this, but I can't see them in editing mode, so I don't know how to delete them! Please excuse them.

Opening
失礼します。
お忙しいところ、お越し頂きありがとうございます。
Julianeと申します。よろしくお願いします。

Topic sentence
私は漫画家と家族生活について調べましたので、今から 発表させていただきます。まずはじめに、発表の内容に ついて簡単にご説明いたします。

内容
まずは私の選んだ理由です。そして、目的を説明します 。その後、本文があります。本文は三つのパートに分かります。最初は漫画家の定義で、次に漫画家の ライフスタイルと仕事を話し、そして漫画家と家族のパ ートがあります。そこで、三つのパートの結果を纏めます。次にバクマンのあらずじと実際と の比較です。最後は参照のリストです。

選んだ理由
私がこのテーマの選んだ理由の一つは、「バクマン」というアニメを 見たからです。このアニメは漫画家の家族生活を描きま す。
さらに、テズカオサムの自伝を発見しました。自伝は非 常に興味深く、私はそれのいくつかを読みたくなりました。
この春、私はオーフスで日本の会議に行ってきました。そこで、ある発表 者が私が興味を持っていたアニメーターについてプレゼンテーションを開催しました。だから、私は漫画家についても っと知りたいと思いました。

目的
まずはこのプレゼンテーションで、「漫画家」の定義と漫画家のライフスタイル と仕事を説き明かします。私はフリーターと人気漫画家を比べてみます。
その後、漫画家の家族生活を分析します。
最後は漫画家の実際と「バクマン」というアニメを比較 します。

本文
• 「漫画家」の定義
日本における「漫画家」は、漫画作品を作るうえで作画 の主体者を指します。脚本のみを担当し作画を行わない 者は「漫画原作者」、作画において補助的な役割を担う 者は「アシスタント」と呼ばれ、作画の主体者である「 漫画家」とは明確に区別されます。作画の主体者であれ ば、脚本と作画の両方を担当する者も作画のみを担当す る者も「漫画家」があります。ただしアマチュアが増加 していることを考慮すると、漫画の作家全般と捉えるこ ともできます。
会社や団体組織に正社員や職員として所属せず、 時給や日給による給与を主な収入源として生活する人の ことです。恒常的なアルバイトを主な収入源とする人と ほぼ同義です。彼らは漫画での収入によって自分を支え ることが出来ないので、漫画家志望者はフリーターです。

• 漫画家のライフスタイルと仕事
漫画家の仕事中のイメージとは、原稿用紙に向かってペンでガリガリと絵を描い ているシーンだと思いますが、それは漫画家の仕事全体の中でも最 終段階です。

絵を描くだけが漫画家の仕事ではなく、キャラクターを作り、世界観を構築し、物語を生み出すのが漫画家の 仕事です。
その作業は「プロット」⇒「ネーム」⇒「下描き」⇒「ペン入れ」⇒「仕上げ」という工 程で完成に至ります。
この作業を進めるときに、編集部の担当編集者と打ち合 わせを繰り返し行い、作品を描きあげる段階では、アシ スタントの協力を得て完成させます。

このグラフはしいばしひろしという漫画家の仕事の予定 です。しいばしは新しい漫画の章を土曜日に開始します 。まずは編集者との打ち合わせです。ここでネームの計画を立てます。火曜日の朝までネームの仕事が続きます。次はまた編集者との打ち合わせで す。火曜日の昼の後に、カラーイラストを描き、水曜日にはアシスタントが来ます。土 曜日の朝で、しいばしは章を作り終わります。一週間を 通してしいばしは睡眠不足に苦しみます。月曜日に たった ２時間だけ寝る時間があります。しかも、余暇が限られています。実際に、一週間に３時間だけ休息 できます。家族を持つには時間が足りなかったとのこと です。

• 漫画家と家族
前述のように、テズカオサムは自伝を書きました。本の 中で、親子の関係が述べられています。テズカはお母さ んが好きで、お父さんが一度もいったと思いました。子 供のときお母さんは夢を実現させようとテズカを激励す るため、スケッチブックを買い与えました。
お母さんはお見合いも手配しました。そのお見合いのお かげで、テズカは結婚しました。しかし、忙しすぎて奥 さんとは話していられませんでした。彼があそこまで仕 事をしなければもっと奥さんと話していられる時間があ りました。関係に影響しました。その上、親は老いた時 、テズカの家に引っ越してきました。お礼のことでした 。もちろん、テズカの仕事にともない、奥さんが親面倒 を見ざるを得なかった (What is formal form of this?)。全体として、彼は家族を幸せにするため に 一生懸命働いたのに、家族と触れ合う時間がなかった (This should also be formal)。
残念ながら、彼は働きすぎて、結局は病気になってしま った。

結果
漫画家には多くの余暇がないと結論することができます。家族を持つ彼らの 可能性に影響を及ぼして、恋愛関係に係わりそうであり ません。

討議
• 「バクマン」のあらすじ
バクマンは二人の主人公についての話です。中学3年生� ﾌ真城最高は、高い画力がありながらも将来に夢を持た� ｸ、ただ流されて普通に生きていくだけの退屈な日々を� 翌ﾁていました。 そんな真城の叔父はかつて週刊少年ジャンプに連載し、 その作品がアニメ化もされた漫画家・川口たろうであっ たが、連載打ち切りとなりその後の過労により亡くなっ た過去がありました。

ある日、些細な出来事をきっかけに、クラスメイトで原 作者志望の高木秋人に、「俺と組んで漫画家にならないか」と誘 われます。はじめは 一緒に漫画を描くことを拒絶していたが、声優を目指し ている片思いのクラスメイト・亜豆美保と、「アニメ化 したら結婚します」と約束したことから漫画家への 道を志すことになります。高木もクラスメイトと恋に落 ちます。あの女の子の名前はミヨシカヤです。

真城は祖父から叔父が使っていた仕事場を譲り受け、高 木とともにそこに籠って処女作の執筆に専念します。そ んな中で手塚賞に準入選した新妻エイジ が同年代であることを知りライバル視します。 やがて二人三脚で苦労しながらも完成した作品を、ジャ ンプ編集部に持ち込んだ二人は敏腕の編集者・ハットリ アキラと出会い、漫画家としての資質を認められます。
つまり、漫画家になる二つの道の始まりです。

• 漫画家の実際と「バクマン」というアニメの比較
この討議で大きい問題は以下の通りです：バクマンは、 現実に相当しますか。答えは、ある部分は現実に相当す るとも言えますが、そうではない部分もあります。
バクマンには真城の家族だけで示されます、そして、彼 らは真城を支えるようです。これは、テズカの自伝でも 、見られました。
対照的に、恋愛関係に関して、バクマンは非現実的です 。真城、高木とライバルの2人には関係があって、全員� ﾍ結婚して終わります。マシロとアズキの関係は西洋人� ﾉとっては珍しいかもしれません。しかし、それは日本� ﾅは奇妙なことではありません。
高木とミヨシの関係は真城とアズキよりもはるかに早く 進展します。いくつかの嫉妬の問題のため、高木はミヨ シに提案し、彼らは結婚します。手塚の妻のように、ミ ヨシは、働く誰かと結婚することがいかに困難なことか を経験します。
結論として、バクマンは、いくつかの修正を加えた現実 を示しているアニメです。

Ending
ご清聴ありがとうございました。 ]]> Learning Japanese Concreteface http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125346-Oral-presentation-please-help http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125335-Practicing-Japanese&goto=newpost Sun, 02 Jun 2013 08:22:33 GMT 心が痛いんだ, ばかばか何だぜ ... その出来事はぼくにつけるのでした。 ... 恋水を流す。 でも、 この恋水は心痛につけをできないでしょう。 ... でも, しかたないな .. 恋水をできるのそれだけだ。 ... それだけだ。 ... (T ^ T)　＜ーーー　Please try to correct this for me if I have had said this right.. please teach me as well about this... Thanks! ]]> Learning Japanese pauro06 http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125335-Practicing-Japanese http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125306-When-do-you-use-deshou&goto=newpost Tue, 28 May 2013 02:13:39 GMT I've been using deshou so many times, but I used it as something that ask for an approval of an action like synonymous to 'isn't it'. but I've heard native speakers use this in statements as well like it was interchangeable with desu.. So my question is what are the usage and true meaning of deshou? Thanks! ]]> Learning Japanese pauro06 http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125306-When-do-you-use-deshou http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125304-Do-I-need-to-know-kanji-in-my-situation&goto=newpost Mon, 27 May 2013 22:14:03 GMT Guys

I want to learn japanese so that I can get to a level where I can sound smart and have intellectual conversations on things like politics, economics etc. I don't really need it for work or anything like that and not too bothered if I can't read signs. I just need it for anime and having high level conversations.

1. Can I learn to speak japanese to the level I want and have intellectual conversations without learning any kanji? I mean can you become fluent in japanese or communicate advanced topics just by knowing kana and not knowing kanji or would you sound a bit retarded?

2. If I do need to know kanji how much would be required? I'm guessing the basic 2000 is for daily stuff but that wouldn't be enough to read a book on politics or economics? how much would one need to know in order to read or write a book on economics? I hear the avergae university grad knows 5000 so is that more near the mark.

3. If you havn't done a lot of reading due to not studying kanji will you still be able to construct advanced sentences and speak smart assuming you will learn enough vocabulary for the topics you discuss?

Cheers ]]> Learning Japanese GoodGainjin http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125304-Do-I-need-to-know-kanji-in-my-situation http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125298-Summer-Language-Program-for-19-year-old-in-July&goto=newpost Mon, 27 May 2013 02:46:53 GMT Hi everyone, Anyone heard anything about Akamonkai Summer Program? Would it be good for a true beginner to learn Japanese (19 year old, never been to Japan) for 2 weeks? http://gogonihon.com/en/summercourse Thanks Hi everyone,

Anyone heard anything about Akamonkai Summer Program? Would it be good for a true beginner to learn Japanese (19 year old, never been to Japan) for 2 weeks?

http://gogonihon.com/en/summercourse

Thanks ]]> Learning Japanese eam http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthread.php?125298-Summer-Language-Program-for-19-year-old-in-July