Couple Questions

[Tomii515]

Hello everyone ~

So, anyways.
For anyone that cares, I wanted to let you know that the school I'm going to go to next year (I'm moving) has Japanese 8D lmao

anyways again............

So, I had like 3 random questions...
i had another one, but if i forgot
if i have any random questions in the near future, i'll guess ill post them here.

so:

1. Is there are words that contain を? Or is it only as a particle?

2. In Japanese, how would you say for? for example:
- for me
- The book is for Mary.
etc...

3. ... damn i forgot this one too ><

thanks!

-Tommy

 

[Toritoribe]

1. As for contemporary/modern kana usage, を is used only as a particle. In historical kana usage, わ行(わcolumn) was written as 「わゐうゑを、ワヰウヱヲ」. So you can see these kana in archaic texts.
かをく: かおく(家屋); house
ゐなか: いなか(田舎); country
ゑほん: えほん(絵本); picture book

2. Depending on context.
- for me: 私へ/に/にとって/のために...
- The book is for Mary.: その本はメアリーに向いている/メアリー向きだ。

 

[nice gaijin]

Toritoribe answered #1 better than I could have.

For #2, it's important not to think in terms of "this equals that" when going across a language barrier, especially for words with grammatical functions. There are a lot of different uses for "for," and there are different ways to phrase it in Japanese; especially for Toritoribe's examples for "for me," each of which translate to different contexts in English.

 

[Tomii515]

ohhh ok thanks. that makes sence~And as for 'for', i wondering like this sorta:

A: Hello.
B: Hello.
A: This is for you.
B: For me?
A: Yes.
B: Thanks!

i looked up 'muku', and it means like 'to be suited for' or something, so i guess in that case, would this work?

A: こんにちは。
B: こんにちは。
A: これはＢさんに向きます/に向いています。
B: 僕に向きますか？/僕に向いていますか？
A: はい。
B: どうもありがとうございます！

I'm not sure which (if this is correct) i should use. 'muku' or 'muiteiru'. :|

or something to that extent XD
---
And I remembered my other question~

3: since the verb in japanese 'to help' is 手伝う, to help out for help would you just use like 手伝って！手伝って！ or would you use the polite forum as 手伝ってください！Or both? I suppose you would use the first one if you were saying "help! help!" and the second if saying "Please help!". but i wasnt sure, so i brought it here x]
Thanks~~

-Tommy

 

[Elizabeth]

ohhh ok thanks. that makes sence~And as for 'for', i wondering like this sorta:
A: Hello.
B: Hello.
A: This is for you.
B: For me?
A: Yes.
B: Thanks!
i looked up 'muku', and it means like 'to be suited for' or something, so i guess in that case, would this work?
A: こんにちは。
B: こんにちは。
A: これはＢさんに向きます/に向いています。
B: 僕に向きますか？/僕に向いていますか？
A: はい。
B: どうもありがとうございます！
I'm not sure which (if this is correct) i should use. 'muku' or 'muiteiru'. :|
or something to that extent XD

This may be more casual than what you were intending....please let us know the status, age, gender etc of the people involved and I (or someone ) can make adjustments.

"This is for you" is これ、どうぞ～ ！
"For me?" maybe 本当？僕にくれるのですか？ うれしい！！．
"Yes, for you" はい、 name/あなた/きみ にあげます。


私には向いていないと思います。 Sounds, as you said, really like it isn't appropriate for you...

 

[Tomii515]

"This is for you" is これ、どうぞ～ ！
"For me?" maybe 本当？僕にくれるのですか？ うれしい！！．
"Yes, for you" はい、 name/あなた/きみ にあげます。


私には向いていないと思います。 Sounds, as you said, really like it isn't appropriate for you...

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Ohh, so what I said what too casual? Or what you said is more casual... lol

Uhmm, ok. i understand where your translations come from... i think haha

uhm. about the last part, as i said? wait what did i say? and how is it not appropriate for me? please elaborate >< sorry

 

[Toritoribe]

Ah, my answer might confuse you, sorry. I wanted to say,

"for" in "The book is for Mary" can have even the meaning "suit for/appropriate(向き)" depending on context.

So it's less common translation.

and for 3.
In some situations, it might be translated as 助けてください！, same as Saku (the lead character) cried in the movie 世界の中心で、愛をさけぶ

 

[Elizabeth]

Ohh, so what I said what too casual? Or what you said is more casual... lol

Cause I didn't know what situation were after so just wrote whatever way, all the possibilities.... Anyway, to state directly "This is a present for you" :
これ、あなたへのプレゼント。。。


でも、できるだけ語尾を統一するように、書き直してみてくださいね。

Rewrite my dialog to suit yourself.

 

[Tomii515]

Thanks so much ^^

I also remembered my original question and had another one!

original: When writting the traditional way, or whatever it's called, up and down, when you write 一 二 三, is it written the way ー is like in トミー (Haha)

another: what lvl JLPT would u be able to take after completely finishing Genki 1?

 

[nice gaijin]

when writing vertically, 一、二、三 do not change direction.

after completing Genki 1, you might be ready for JLPT 4

 

[Tomii515]

どうもありがとうございます~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Tomii515]

I thought of another question...

電話をかける ＝ To make a phone call

Would there be a different word for "to call" as in:

A: Here's her phone number.
B: Thank you. I'll call Mary tonight.

or would you jsut be like

A: でんわばんごうをどうぞ。
B: ありがとう。ぼくはめありーさんにこんばんでんわをかけます。

どうもありがとうございます

 

[Toritoribe]

A: 彼女の番号です。
B: ありがとう。今晩(メアリーさんに)かけてみます。

To say simply 「かける」 means 「電話をかける」 in the context. It might be similar to "to call".

 

[nice gaijin]

you can also say 電話する, but as Toritoribe said, in this context it's not necessary to specify 電話. かけてみます is probably best.

 

[Tomii515]

ohh ok thanks

what is the purpose for the "~te mimasu"?

 

[Chidoriashi]

ohh ok thanks
what is the purpose for the "~te mimasu"?

te mimasu, is usually used to indicate a trial or attempt at something. For example, take for instance a food you have not tried, or someone's cooking you have not tried... instead of just saying 食べます、or 食います、you could say 食べてみます/みたい。to indicate your intention/eagerness to try it

 

[nice gaijin]

It's a statement of attempting something tentatively, kind of like "I'll try to call her"

 

[Chidoriashi]

so nice gaijin was literally saying something like..."I will try and give "someone" a call."

 

[Tomii515]

ohh ok. so basically it's like "to try (to do something)"?

for example:

明日うちに帰ってみます。
I will try to return home tomorrow.

make sence?

Thanks!

 

[nice gaijin]

well, as I said, it's more a tentative thing. You could use it for the first time you try something like Chidoriashi's example, or for trying something and seeing the result. It's less an "I'll try to do this" than an "I'll try this and see how it goes" structure.

so no, you couldn't use it with 帰る

 

[Elizabeth]

ohh ok. so basically it's like "to try (to do something)"?
for example:
明日うちに帰ってみます。
I will try to return home tomorrow.
make sence?
Thanks!

This is a special sentence that's going to depend a lot on the situation. Can you give us any details into your intention please ?

 

[Tomii515]

Oh ok. thanks~

So, like it's which you're going to first try something you've never tried before?
Like, if you go to an amusement park, and your friend wants you to go on a rollercoaster you've never been on, and you could say like "I'll try riding it, but I don't know if i'll like it." or something like that?

And since that's for the first time thing, how would you do that regular 'to try' thing?

like my other sentence before?

And to Elizabeth, i guess it could mean just being out and then coming home, or it could mean running away and for the first time trying to come back home...? I dont know.

 

[nice gaijin]

why would you say "try to return home"? It sounds like you're either being held prisoner, or your parents are really mad at you.

 

[Damicci]

Could be outside circumstances such as traffic, transportation access, and or weather.

 

[nice gaijin]

For "trying" in the sense of making an attempt at something (with a slim chance of actually accomplishing the goal), One could use "volitional+to suru,"

For "trying" in the sense of doing something tentatively, "~te miru." Accomplishing the action is not in question, but rather, the outcome after the action is completed.

You are being held captive, and are planning your escape: nigeyou to suru.
Your parents are mad at you, and you've been staying at your friend's house to wait for them to calm down: kaette miru.