Need a word or phrase translated?

[TheImmigrantSong]

This reliance on me is getting nowhere fast...How about do what you can this time and I'll step in with whatever needs to make it presentable to get you in this place, a deal eh ?

Ah! No! haha, I just didn't post what I had. Naturally I have written down my own version of things I would like to say during the interview. I just like to check it with you, but how are you supposed to know that if I don't post it? Sorry! Here is what I have so far, I looked up some words and checked the grammer but am still not so sure. There ARE some things in which I cannot even begin to know how to translate, but here is what I have.

Konnichiwa, watashi no namae wa Justin D*** desu. Watashi wa ju-roku sai to shibuya nippon ni sun de imasu. kyonen amerika kara nippon ni kimashita. Soshite ichinen nihongo wo benkyoushite imasu. Watashi wa nihongo wo manabu koto wo tottemo tanoshinde iru node, watashi wa koko, Kemei Gakuen de benkyou shitai desu. Watashi wa, ima kayotteiru gakkoude yorimo, kokodeno houga, yori ookuno koto wo manaberu to omoimasu. Watashi no shumi wa ongakou to gitaa desu. Watashi wa Prince aisu hokke chimu no menba mo, Shin Yokohama de. Suimasen, watashi no nihongo wa heta desu, demo ganbarimasu!

Thats it so far! I still need to touch it up, and learn a few more things! Sorry, I am in the states now, this computer has no kana or kanji, demo boku wa hachi getsu ju-ninichi nippon ni kaerimsau! So what do you think?

 

[Charles Barkley]

Konnichiwa, watashi no namae wa Justin D*** desu. :

No one really says watashi no namae wa ____. You can either say, Watashi wa ____ desu. OR _____ to moushimasu. or ______ desu. ____ desu is probably sufficient.

Watashi wa ju-roku sai to shibuya nippon ni sun de imasu. kyonen amerika kara nippon ni kimashita. :

I don't really know what you are trying to saying in the first sentence. Are you saying 'I am sixteen and am living in shibuya'? If so, you can't use 'to' the way you would 'and' to connect the two statements. Also, no need to say Nippon--they know shibuya is in nippon. Same with the next sentence--if you say you came from america, they know you mean 'to Japan' so no real need to say it.

Something like: Ima shibuya ni sunde imasu. Juu roku sai desu.

Of course they don't really flow together, but these are probably responses to direct questions, right?

Soshite ichinen nihongo wo benkyoushite imasu.:

To make one year a unit of time, you add -kan to the end, making ichinenkan. So, ichinenkan nihongo wo benkyou shite imasu.

Watashi wa nihongo wo manabu koto wo tottemo tanoshinde iru node, watashi wa koko, Kemei Gakuen de benkyou shitai desu.:

Benkyou seems like a much more appropriate word to describe something you like. Also, in the second bit here, what does koko refer to/why is it there? And, though I'm not 100% on this, node shouldnt be used when refering to something you want to do.

Maybe: nihongo wo benkyou suru no ga daisuki de(or desu kara), Kemei Gakuen de benkyou shitai desu.

Watashi wa, ima kayotteiru gakkoude yorimo, kokodeno houga, yori ookuno koto wo manaberu to omoimasu.:

This sentence really makes no sense. Kokodenohouga? Did you mean something like 'the one here is better?' Better to say the name of the school than koko. Also, too many yoris. Best to simplify this into a couple sentences I think.

Ima, hoka no gakkou de benkyou shimasu (could I say: gakkou ni haiteimasu??). demo, (benkyou to shite wa) kemeigakuen no houga ii gakkou da to omoimasu. sore de, kemeigakuen ni hairitai desu (gakuen de benkyou shitai desu).

Watashi no shumi wa ongakou to gitaa desu.:

Dont need watashi no. Who else's hobbies would they be? shumi ha ongaku to gitaa desu.

Watashi wa Prince aisu hokke chimu no menba mo, Shin Yokohama de.:

What does the mo here mean? Also, ending a sentence with de, though doable, is a little informal. Maybe something like:

Shin yokohama de aisu hokkei wo shimasu. Price aisu hokke to iu chimu no membaa desu.

Suimasen, watashi no nihongo wa heta desu, demo ganbarimasu!:

Again, don't need 'watashi no nihongo.' Just nihongo ga heta desu. Or, to make it sound better, nihongo ga heta desu kedo, ganbarimasu.


Ending with yoroshiku onegaishimasu never hurts either.

 

[Elizabeth]

Ah! No! haha, I just didn't post what I had. Naturally I have written down my own version of things I would like to say during the interview. I just like to check it with you, but how are you supposed to know that if I don't post it? Sorry! Here is what I have so far, I looked up some words and checked the grammer but am still not so sure. There ARE some things in which I cannot even begin to know how to translate, but here is what I have.
Konnichiwa, watashi no namae wa Justin D*** desu. Watashi wa ju-roku sai to shibuya nippon ni sun de imasu. kyonen amerika kara nippon ni kimashita. Soshite ichinen nihongo wo benkyoushite imasu. Watashi wa nihongo wo manabu koto wo tottemo tanoshinde iru node, watashi wa koko, Kemei Gakuen de benkyou shitai desu. Watashi wa, ima kayotteiru gakkoude yorimo, kokodeno houga, yori ookuno koto wo manaberu to omoimasu. Watashi no shumi wa ongakou to gitaa desu. Watashi wa Prince aisu hokke chimu no menba mo, Shin Yokohama de. Suimasen, watashi no nihongo wa heta desu, demo ganbarimasu!
Thats it so far! I still need to touch it up, and learn a few more things! Sorry, I am in the states now, this computer has no kana or kanji, demo boku wa hachi getsu ju-ninichi nippon ni kaerimsau! So what do you think?

Honestly ? It is a very good effort for a first year student (Ichinen kan nihongo wo benkyou shite iru gakusei...) but you are absolutely going to have to simplify. There are still a lot of mistakes in the way things are strung togehter that you are probably not have time now to correct and/or relearn. Just keep in mind, until you're confident otherwise, that whatever can be broken into two or more shorter sentences, go ahead and do it.

....All the interviewer is basically going to want is to understand your Japanese at a very basic level and to see a potential student that can speak with confidence and enthusiasm. The more complicated it gets, the more confusing, the more communication (and you) start to break down...

Starting with 1. Watashi wa ju-roku sai de shibuya ni sunde imasu.


OK, well, that said so much for my translations...anyway, feel free not to use the difficult parts but here's what I came up with for the 5 questions. When you arrive back on Hachi gatsu ni juu ni nichi the furigana version will be awaiting.

１．私は日本語（にほんご）を勉強（べんきょう）するのをとても楽しん（たのしん）でいます。それが、あなたの学校（がっこう）に入学(にゅうがくしたい理由(りゆう）です。

1. Watashi ha nihongo wo benkyou shite iru no wo totemo tanoshinde imasu.
Sore ga, anata no gakkou ni nyuugaku (enter a school) shitai riyuu desu.

２．ここのほうが前（まえ）の学校（がっこう）より、はるかに良く（よく）習う（ならう）ことができると 思（おも）います。

2. Koko no houga mae no gakkou yori, haruka ni yoku (tremendously more)
narau (think this is better than manabu in this case) koto ga dekiru to omoimasu.

３．私はまた、新横浜（しんよこはま）プリンスというアイスホッケーチームのメンバーで、全（ぜん）日本人（にほんじん）の選手(せんしゅ）とプレイしています。

3. Watashi ha, mata shiny yokohama prince to iu aisu hokke chimu no menba
de, zen nihonjin (all Japanese) no senshu (athletes/sportsperson) to purei shite imasu.


４．他の趣味（ほかのしゅみ）は、音楽（おんがく）とギターです。

4. Hoka no shumi wa, ongaku to gitaa desu.

５．すみませんですが、今は翻訳（ほんやく）に頼（たよ）らなければならないでしょう。

Sumimasen desuga, ima ga honyaku (this is like written translation -- did you mean you need an interpreter?) ni tayoranakerebanaranai deshou.


６．少し（すこし）私にについて

6. Sukoshi watashi ni tsuite...

 

[FrustratedDave]

Hi there
I know that..
「彼を後悔させる」 means to "make him regret it"
and that 「彼を後悔させてくれ」 or 「彼を後悔させてやってくれ」 - make him regret it for me..
But I seem to be having some trouble forming the setence, "Let me make him regret it". Or for that matter, "Let me make him happy".
How would you say that? Would the answer be simpler than I think?
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance.

Hi Elizabeth.

Yes, that is what I mean.

An example of the context would be, say in a conflict, a pupil says to his master, "There is no need for you do get your hands dirty, let me be the one to beat him up (let me be the one to make him regret it)".

Or a bully just beat up your best friend. So you say to the bully in dramatic fashion, "Allow me to make you regret what you have just done".

Now that I have typed it up, it may seem more natural to say "You're gonna pay for that!" or something to that effect, but for the sake of learning grammar, I would like to clarify the sentence "Let me make you regret it".

Thank you.

I am only going to translate what you want to say in its context.

お前はやらなくていいから、彼を後悔させてやる！ There is no need for you to do it, I will make him regret it!

"There is no need for you do get your hands dirty, let me be the one to beat him up (let me be the one to make him regret it)".

彼を後悔させるのやらせて. Let me make him regret....
Or 彼を後悔させるのを任せて。Leave it to me, I will make him regreat it.

 

[FrustratedDave]

A few questions;
-っけ as in でしたっか. What are the rules involving this things usage? Does it have to be past tense? Can you say something like：
彼はどこに住んでいるっけ？ （Ｗｈｅｒｅ ｉｓ ｉｔ ｔｈａｔ ｈｅ ｌｉｖｅｓ ａｇａｉｎ？）
Ｑｕｅｓｔｉｏｎ ｔｗｏ：
When using a word like らしい to talk about things you have seen/heard/are probably the case, how do you use the past tense? For example, I was on the phone with someone, and I want to say, in describing her during the call, that she seemed confused. My instinct is to say:
頭が混乱していたらしいです。
Ｉｓ ｔｈｉｓ ｒｉｇｈｔ？

彼はどこに住んでいるっけ, this is not right.

彼はどこに住んでたっけ？ Where was it that he lived again?
今、何言ったっけ？ What did you say just now?

I would not use らしい in this instance、but that is just me.
Eg, 電話していた時に彼女は混乱してたみたい。 When she was on the phone she seemed confused. 電話中、彼女は混乱してたみたい。 Same translation.

彼は正直者らしい。 I suppose he is an honest man.

 

[Harmonie Ace]

Thank you. That was a fun read. He sounds like a very cool guy.

So I guess you've confirmed the second one yourself, already ? That the picture is of the two pleasant friends that particularly enjoy talking with him day to day about those kinds of things.

Sort of! I kind of understood it...but I confused myself into thinking that I might be looking at it the wrong way, so I needed to ask. ^^

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Elizabeth]

彼は正直者らしい。 I suppose he is an honest man.

He seems/appears to be honest judging his reputation based primarily on the testimony & perceptions of others.

正直者のようだ
He gives the appearance/seems/appears to be honest based on personal assessment of the person's speech or behavior OR information obtained from secondhand sources.


Yo da /mitai is generally preferred of the two for "state of mind" descriptions/opinions such as "seems confused."

 

[FrustratedDave]

He seems/appears to be honest judging his reputation based primarily on the testimony & perceptions of others.

正直者のようだ
He gives the appearance/seems/appears to be honest based on personal assessment of the person's speech or behavior OR information obtained from secondhand sources.


Yo da /mitai is generally preferred of the two for "state of mind" descriptions/opinions such as "seems confused."

"He seems/appears to be honest judging his reputation based primarily on the testimony & perceptions of others. " Yes and another way of saying this is 彼は正直者らしい。 "he seems to be an honest man" . But in this case that I was thinking
A：彼は正直者か？ "Is he an honest man?"
B：うーん、彼は正直者らしい..なぁ "Yeah... I suppose he is an honest man.

Now this may be hard to get over the net, but in conversation you can use らしい to give this kind of feeling. Even though others may think this guy is honest ,although I believe everyone, I still show some hesitation when answering, hense the word suppose being used.

ようだ、みたい Should not only be used for describing a persons state of mind, like I said in my earlier post the different time to use them can be really confusing, but that being said ようだ、みたい, らしい are pretty much useable in most scenarios.

I don't have much time now, but I will give you an example

 

[Elizabeth]

ようだ、みたい Should not only be used for describing a persons state of mind, like I said in my earlier post the different time to use them can be really confusing, but that being said ようだ、みたい, らしい are pretty much useable in most scenarios.

Very valid points. I wasn't not implying either that was the only way that よう worked or that there wasn't any overlap among how you can expect to see these sentence endings (+ そう） in real conversation. Of course there is a lot. The lines along which the breakdowns come tend to be quite context dependent, though, which is why I attempted to give a sense of one contrast. And I also need a break so I'll stop going on so until we have another example.


言葉なので絶対的なルールではありません。

 

[FrustratedDave]

Very valid points. I wasn't not implying either that was the only way that よう worked or that there wasn't any overlap among how you can expect to see these sentence endings (+ そう） in real conversation. Of course there is a lot. The lines along which the breakdowns come tend to be quite context dependent, though, which is why I attempted to give a sense of one contrast. And I also need a break so I'll stop going on so until we have another example.


言葉なので絶対的なルールではありません。

My fault, I was in a rush and I didn't explain what I was intending to say. As with everything written and spoken don't always translate the same way and to make things even more difficult, the way something is said can affect the meaning. I will try to stick more to the direct translation, if I can remember!

言葉なので絶対的なルールではありません。 その通り！

 

[TheImmigrantSong]

Ah, again thank you very much for the help. I used suggestions from both and put it together again. So here is the revised version.

"Sukoshi watashi ni tsuite... Watashi wa Justin D. desu. 16 sai desu. Shibuya ni sun de imasu. Kyonen amerika kara nippon ni kimashita. Ichinen kan nihongo wo benkyou shite imasu. Watashi wa nihongo wo benkyou shite iru no wo totemo tanoshinde imasu. Sore ga, anata no gakkou ni nyuugaku shitai riyuu desu. Koko no houga mae no gakkou yori, haruka ni yoku narau koto ga dekiru to omoimasu. Watashi wa, mata Shin Yokohama prince to iu aisu hokke chimu no menba de, zen nihonjin no senshu to purei shite imasu. Hoka no shumi wa, ongaku to gitaaﾂ desu. Suimasen, nihongo ga heta desu kedo, ganbarimasu."

From what I understand, I am given the oppertunity to tell a little about myself, then he asks the questions. That is why I put this together. I am pretty content with what I have here, I had to look up the meanings of a few words, but I pretty much understand what I am saying. The only thing that I don't like about this is...

"16 sai desu. Shibuya ni sun de imasu." Can I make these two short sentences flow a little better? I obviously was using "to" incorrectly, and I kinda knew that because it is not like "and" in English. But I do not know any other linking particles other than "ya" and I know that is not correct.

But anyway, I really appreciate the help, it must be a pain in the *** to see such simple questions, but yet you still continue to help! Thanks very much!

 

[Elizabeth]

"16 sai desu. Shibuya ni sun de imasu." Can I make these two short sentences flow a little better? I obviously was using "to" incorrectly, and I kinda knew that because it is not like "and" in english. But I do not know any other linking particals other than "ya" and I know that is not correct.

To and ya are only for nouns and noun phrases.

How about in this case "Shibuya ni sunde iru 16 sai no Amerikajin desu." Although on the chance you may want to play down your nationality or they already know it, identifying yourself as a student or giving your year in school is also very natural (totemo shizen da yo). Going that route actually provides more information and makes it flow a little better overall. We now have "Shibuya ni sunde iru 16 sai no gakusei/Koukou (1,2,3) nensei desu." etc.

 

[Shillelagh]

The characters in this are Chinese, but of the eleven views it has in the "Chinese Language" forum, several are probably me, and, out of the one's that aren't me, no one has replied yet so I'll try it here.

What's the romanised translation of 公司以份额? The English is "company with shares".

 

[fine82]

Hello

The passage below is taken from a conversation on a message board discussing how well accepted female gamers are in society. The speaker is expressing his opinon that guys are generally interested when girls bring up the topic of videogames.

However, in this particular sentence, I can't understand "who" in particular the speaker is referring to.

私は昔、複雑なゲームが分からないという事で、
ノートにマップ書いたり、一緒にプレーしたりして、
なんか雰囲気が「良い感じ」になった、という子が2人います

What does the above mean?

If the sentence was simply, "私は昔、複雑なゲームが分からな(かった)", I would take it to mean, "In the past, I didn't know how to play complex games".

What confuses me about the sentence is well… the rest of it. Especially the part "という子が2人います". Does the speaker mean that these 2 people (using the word "子", I assume the people he is referring to are girls) are the ones who didn't know how to play complex games?

Would anyone be able to clear this up? Thanks a lot.

P.S. An observation I have made though, is that the spoken language is almost completely different to what is learnt through the textbooks!

P.P.S And this probably isn't my place to ask, but it seems that a very active member, undertide hasn't been around recently. She has been very helpful in the past. Thank you.

 

[FrustratedDave]

Hello
The passage below is taken from a conversation on a message board discussing how well accepted female gamers are in society. The speaker is expressing his opinion that guys are generally interested when girls bring up the topic of video games.
However, in this particular sentence, I can't understand "who" in particular the speaker is referring to.
私は昔、複雑なゲームが分からないという事で、
ノートにマップ書いたり、一緒にプレーしたりして、
なんか雰囲気が「良い感じ」になった、という子が2人います
What does the above mean?
If the sentence was simply, "私は昔、複雑なゲームが分からな(かった)", I would take it to mean, "In the past, I didn't know how to play complex games".

Would anyone be able to clear this up? Thanks a lot.

The above sentence by itself is simple, but you need to give me the whole situation/conversation to correctly identify exactly who he is referring to. Can you copy and past a little more of the conversation ?

What confuses me about the sentence is well… the rest of it. Especially the part "という子が2人います". Does the speaker mean that these 2 people (using the word "子", I assume the people he is referring to are girls) are the ones who didn't know how to play complex games?

Using "子", does not necessarily mean he is referring to girls, but this is why I need more information, as he could be referring to two people and him being one of them, you would really have to ask the poster what he was thinking. It was him who was not good at complex games ,but the people who he played with had a good atmosphere that came about after playing with this person or persons. I get the feeling that that person/persons helped him play complex games .

P.S. An observation I have made though, is that the spoken language is almost completely different to what is learnt through the textbooks!
P.P.S And this probably isn't my place to ask, but it seems that a very active member, undretide hasn't been around recently. She has been very helpful in the past. Thank you

That is a very good observation, although text books serve there purpose, if you spoke like that in conversation you would sound like a robot.

 

[nova]

What does this mean?:

既存にありがとう。

 

[undrentide]

What does this mean?:

既存にありがとう。

I'm afraid it does not make sense.
既存 means (already) existing. Where did you find this sentence? Any context?

 

[Kennin]

In the reihō of some of the dōjō of the martial art I study, I have heard the word "do ryoko" (or with "ō" instead of any of the three "o", or maybe a double "k" in rōmaji...).
Nobody could have told me what it means, however, lest be how it is properly written in rōmaji. I didn't even started thinking about kanji!
Now I have looked this up on the internet, and I might have gotten a sollution.
On a site in the Portuguese language it says "empenho". I know that "nh" is spoken "ny" (like "piranha" should be pronounced "piranya") and that this "nh" in Spanish is "ñ". So I grabbed my Spanish dictionary (yes, I know, quite a quest) and I found that "empeño" means either "obligation", "duty", "pawn" (as in "pawn broker"), "preseverence".
Now I have lots of completely different meanings, combined with lots of possible ways of writing it correctly in rōmaji.

I have searched for a while for this needle in a haystack, with only one little result, being "道力行".

What do you guys think of this? Does any of you KNOW what "do(u) ryok(k)o(u)" might be, when you know it means "empenho" in Portuguese or "empeño" in Spanish... thus the whole list in English...?

 

[undrentide]

Kennin,

I noticed that Bujinkan employs a lot of special terms for their arts which are not found in dictionaries and not know to ordinary people including natives.
I think you'd have a better chance to get correct reply if you make inquiry to organization or dojo itself or its related forums...

 

[Charles Barkley]

In the reihō of some of the dōjō of the martial art I study, I have heard the word "do ryoko" (or with "ō" instead of any of the three "o", or maybe a double "k" in rōmaji...).
Nobody could have told me what it means, however, lest be how it is properly written in rōmaji. I didn't even started thinking about kanji!
Now I have looked this up on the internet, and I might have gotten a sollution.
On a site in the Portuguese language it says "empenho". I know that "nh" is spoken "ny" (like "piranha" should be pronounced "piranya") and that this "nh" in Spanish is "ñ". So I grabbed my Spanish dictionary (yes, I know, quite a quest) and I found that "empeño" means either "obligation", "duty", "pawn" (as in "pawn broker"), "preseverence".
Now I have lots of completely different meanings, combined with lots of possible ways of writing it correctly in rōmaji.

I have searched for a while for this needle in a haystack, with only one little result, being "道力行".

What do you guys think of this? Does any of you KNOW what "do(u) ryok(k)o(u)" might be, when you know it means "empenho" in Portuguese or "empeño" in Spanish... thus the whole list in English...?

天敵

The teacher is probably saying doryoku. 努力 どりょく This word means something like 'effort.'


ETA: Ignore the first kanji. That's the kanji for 'natural enemy' (tenteki). Not sure why its there, must have accidentally copied it earlier...

 

[Charles Barkley]

The discussion on らしい ようだ etc up above--I've gotta admit, it confuses me. Is there a website that deals well when do use which of the various you, mitai, rashii, sou terms? Quite a weak point of mine at the moment.

 

[undrentide]

The discussion on らしい ようだ etc up above--I've gotta admit, it confuses me. Is there a website that deals well when do use which of the various you, mitai, rashii, sou terms? Quite a weak point of mine at the moment.

Expressing similarity - Tae Kim's Japanese grammar guide

 

[Fuumei]

「ばあちゃん、この二、三日ご飯ばっかりでおかずがないね」
「明日は、ご飯もないよ」

I'm sure this is rather simple, but once again I'm not sure so I'd like to ask.

ご飯ばっかりでおかずがないね = (By just 'eating' rice, there's not much left is there?)
I don't feel that is correct. Could anyone take a look? I appreciate it. =)

 

[Charles Barkley]

It looks to me like おかず means something like a side dish/dish of some sort. So the sentence would read something like:

-Grandma, we've only eaten rice the past few days, there haven't been any other dishes.
-Well, tomorrow there won't even be rice.


Did you read the で as a 'by means of'? Seems to me more like an 'and so' connector in that sentence.

 

[Kennin]

The teacher is probably saying doryoku. 努力 どりょく This word means something like 'effort.'

That really makes sense!
どうも有難う御座居ました。