Speaking Japanese
- Thread starter Jdzspace
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- Thread starter
- #53
i thought it meant moon, but i plugged "moon" into a translator to get the japanese word and it came back "mun"
now i'm even more confused
usually i have to use the other translators i have to make sure rosetta stone is on point, but with this word it gave me the right word and all the translators i have are giving me the wrong one.
ugh
now i'm even more confused
usually i have to use the other translators i have to make sure rosetta stone is on point, but with this word it gave me the right word and all the translators i have are giving me the wrong one.
ugh
- Thread starter
- #55
i'm trying to find a resource to help me with some verbs. the only ones i have learned are derived from desu and masu
but all of the things i look at, i can't find anything with these particular verbs. maybe its there, i just don't know how to look, or i'm barking up the wrong tree. But I can't seem to find anything on these two verbs. I want to get these down so i can make up my own sentences on the fly, but i'm not super strong on the variations of desu and masu.
please help
but all of the things i look at, i can't find anything with these particular verbs. maybe its there, i just don't know how to look, or i'm barking up the wrong tree. But I can't seem to find anything on these two verbs. I want to get these down so i can make up my own sentences on the fly, but i'm not super strong on the variations of desu and masu.
please help
Angel Valis
黒川
- 15 Jul 2010
- 290
- 27
Yeah, online translators a notoriously bad, especially for languages like Japanese.
I would highly recommend a dictionary like JDIC (mentioned above). I use Denshi Jisho - Online Japanese dictionary.
Another very good online dictionary is ALC, it's all in Japanese, but just put what you're looking for in the text box and click the button immediately to the right (英和・和英).
ALC covers some ground that Jisho doesn't, so it's useful to use them both.
LewiiG
先輩
- 27 Dec 2012
- 221
- 13
Desu and the masu you are thinking of aren't verbs. You are using Rosetta Stone. Either you aren't far enough or It hasn't covered it well enough. What you need to look at is basic sentence structures that include desu and move on to using verbs (they are related to masu). Everything I learned has been for free so far just using the web and apps. But Imagine a solid textbook would be nice as suggested. Also, translators are the worst dictionaries. If you have an iOS device "imi wa?" Is an amazing free app that has every use for a Japanese dictionary you could ever want.
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If you want to learn more about verbs, there are some pretty good books for beginners that focus on verb bases and common combinations of verbs. If you are still learning about desu and masu, you probably just haven't gotten to that point yet, as LewiiG said. But I still stand by saying that RS alone probably won't have as much to offer you as a variety of books (at least while learning about verbs.).
An easy to find book that I used when I was just starting out is Japanese Verbs and Essentials of Grammar. I see it at almost every American bookstore, though I have the old edition, I'm sure it would still do the trick for you. The grammar section of the book definitely isn't the best, and I would not suggest it for that, but their verb section is easy to understand quickly with little previous knowledge required. There are much better books out there, but if you want to avoid Amazon, I would suggest picking it up at your local bookstore.
Also, since you're in California, there are a few Kinokuniya book stores that you may find interesting to visit. Since most of it is imported, it can get a little expensive though, depending on what you may buy.
Also, since you're in California, there are a few Kinokuniya book stores that you may find interesting to visit. Since most of it is imported, it can get a little expensive though, depending on what you may buy.
- Thread starter
- #60
i have an android and tango master isnt there. i've been using ja sensei and human japanese thus far , any other android apps you know of?
- Thread starter
- #61
I don't have a solid text, but I am not fully reliant on rosetta stone either. I am reading the lessons in "human japanese" and "ja sensei" to compliment it.
and yes, I am very much in the beggining. Rosetta stone hasn't gotten into sentence structure just yet, just a few particles and your SUPER basic structure i.e. noun(wa)noun(o)verb. so it isn't too complex just yet, but I want to read up ahead of where i am in the respective programs so i can kind of build up my foundation outside of those materials.
but thank you for the suggestion, and i will look....if it's on ios, it should be on android as well
- 15 Mar 2002
- 16,758
- 2,298
Do yourself a huge favor and buy a proper pedagogically sound textbook to learn from instead of doing the linguistic version of Moses wandering in the desert for forty years. Seriously, the way you're trying to go about this is ineffectual and sometimes downright counterproductive.
OoTmaster
先輩
- 23 Oct 2012
- 738
- 122
If he would like to give me an Ip and a mac address I would love to work on it with him.
- Thread starter
- #64
you might be putting a little too fine of a point on things Mikes, I have learned SOOOO much, and am getting better at what I am doing.
sure there are some blips and inconsistencies, and what not. But that doesn't mean everything else i'm doing isn't working.
I'm still SUPER new to this, and I am feeling very confident in what i have learned up to this point, with the exception of a few words being a little odd.
like tsuki meaning moon, and shallow bowl and about 40 other things. But that all things that will be made clear when i'm a little further in.
OoTmaster
先輩
- 23 Oct 2012
- 738
- 122
Do yourself a favor and stop using online translators. If you really want to know what a word means or how to say a word in Japanese you can ask here. Heaven forbid if you learned that 雨 means rain, 飴 means candy, but are both pronounced ame. And that is only one example.
- Thread starter
- #66
thank you so much for that link. it is incredible!!
I have been waiting for the moment when I would kind of see just how deep and complex the language is........and that did it.
its a good thing. I can't wait to get past this basic part and really get into the meat of the language
- Thread starter
- #67
yeah, tsuki is the first word that I have bumped into that has given me that issue, but i'm sure that there are HUNDREDS more.
only other issue ive had is ohnanoku wa always seems to translate to "womans voice"....but I don't remember having that issue earlier in my lessons, so it's probably me just being lazy with my pronounciation
well that and trying REALLY hard to say "teacher" as in "kyoshi" i think i keep unintentionally putting the "i" that is in Ki, instead of saying it as Kyo, i'm saying it as Kiyo....but it's still hit and miss with the translator. but i can read it and understand it when it is said...just can't say it for crap
- 15 Mar 2002
- 16,758
- 2,298
thank you so much for that link. it is incredible!!
I have been waiting for the moment when I would kind of see just how deep and complex the language is........and that did it.
its a good thing. I can't wait to get past this basic part and really get into the meat of the language
If that last paragraph is true, then buy an ****** textbook and get there instead of dicking around with websites, dictionaries, online translators, and trying to guess crap from RS pictures.
- Thread starter
- #70
correction, I am using websites, dictionaries, online translators (apps), using "texts" i.e. human japanese IS a textbook. and Ja Sensei, which is more of a teaching you how to draw them, but has a fair amount of text lessons as well. and i am using rosetta stone to teach me new words and so i can get familiar with how the words look and sound (which textbooks don't give you) and Rosetta stone is still the only thing that has REALLY helped me on my pronunciation
the thing that i'm REALLY struggling with is my pronunciation sounding right, and rosetta stone is still the best teacher of that out of all the other resources I have.
i'm not ignoring your suggetions, but I don't think you get that my issue is with speaking it, sure some of the words are messed up and Rosetta stone doesn't do a great job of explaining certain things i.e. difference between konichiwa, konbonwa, ohayo , etc. etc.
but I have other "texts" that fill in the blanks. its the pronunciation that I need the help with. so adding more text seems counter productive. now if i 'm WAY off base, which could be, since I am brand new to this and for all intents and purposes ignorant to the whole of the language. Than let me know, but your suggestions don't seem to address my primary issues. maybe it's my ignorance speaking, I don't know. you tell me
- Thread starter
- #71
man, just one letter changes everything....it's crazy! I guess my "w" in "wa" just isn't coming through...stupid lazy american tongue
- Thread starter
- #73
you know what i mean.....lol
nekojita
先輩
- 14 Jan 2009
- 1,660
- 444
A good textbook will have audio that comes with it (usually in the form of an attached CD).
Or there are some online lessons from reputable sources like the Japanese Foundation and NHK World. (Probably best in conjunction with a textbook rather than instead of).
Or there are some online lessons from reputable sources like the Japanese Foundation and NHK World. (Probably best in conjunction with a textbook rather than instead of).
LewiiG
先輩
- 27 Dec 2012
- 221
- 13
I suggest learning kana ASAP. The reason your pronounciation isn't as good as you want it to be is probably because you are still using romaji or just haven't learned to pronounce romaji the "Japanese" way. (I know you said you are beggining, but it's either learn kana or learn how to pronounce the romaji then the kana that corresponds).
There are various ways of writing Japanese using roman characters, and they aren't consistant. You don't really ever know the correct way to pronounce something if it's written with roman letters, and this could lead to incorrect pronounciation and as you've done above not noticing/knowing subtle but important differences.
So if you learn hiragana and katakana then you should have no problems with pronounciation because the sound of Japanese characters are basically consistant (but not fully, depending on how you look at it). IMO this makes pronouncing Japanese much easier compared to other languages.
Also, are you using speech recgonition to translate? I've never ever seen a perfect speech recognition device. They are all way too unnaccurate to be using to measure how good your pronounciation is probably.
