Describing oneself as a part of something

Fearabhata · 25 Jan 2022

Hello again, hope you are all well!
I waa daydreaming about how to say something like "Drinking tea daily is a part of my life" or "I am one of yours/I am on your side" and vice versa "you are a part of my life".
So specifically I would like to know how to express the portion of individuals/persons and things. Does it behave the same way like counting people or objects?

For instance I want to say: "I am one of you/an ally of yours" would it be like
"Watashi wa hitotsu anata no mikata imasu."
I know also the expression ichibu, would it fit better?

Thank you all in advance

Majestic · 26 Jan 2022

わたしはあなたのみかたのひとりです。

For "you are a part of my life" using the above as a guide → あなたはわたしのじんせいのいちぶです。

Make sure you understand Japanese syntax, otherwise you will have a long struggle ahead of you.

I am an ally of yours
Subject + verb + object

In Japanese the (simplified) syntax is Subject + Object + Verb.
In your target sentence, the object is an ally of yours, so that whole phrase goes in the middle. The verb "imasu" doesn't work here - it works for sentences where some living thing exists. When you are talking about someone "being" something: an doctor, a lawyer, a teacher, an ally, etc.. you use "desu".

Fearabhata · 26 Jan 2022

nice, thanks a lot
So on one side I can say something like
"watashi wa itsumo anata no sobani IMASU"
which is kinda corny..
But then again it is "mikatai desu"?

That is so... complicated ^^ Well not complicated but have to think about it whether it is desu or imasu. But then again it is with sore, dore, kore, and so on

mdchachi · 26 Jan 2022

Internal thought conversations are a great way of learning. I did/do it all the time. But I recommend sticking to the more practical.
Before tackling "drinking tea daily is a part of my life" perhaps consider "I drink tea daily."

Fearabhata said:
So specifically I would like to know how to express the portion of individuals/persons and things. Does it behave the same way like counting people or objects?

It all depends but in a lot of cases, you convert it to a thing (koto). Like:
watashi no jinsei no naka ni hitotsu no daiji na koto ha anata desu.
私の人生の中に一つの大事なことはあなたです。
One important thing in my life is you.

I'm not sure if that's what your after. Or maybe:
私はあなたたちの一人です。
watashi ha anata-tachi no hitori desu.
I'm one of you.

For this question we probably need specific examples because there are a variety of patterns depending on the specific thing you're trying to say.

Fearabhata · 26 Jan 2022

Well, I am kind of a patron/regalar customer in a japanese restaurant in Düsseldorf, Germany, where I get along with the staff. They are finished now with the reopening in a new location, and visited them regulary to help out.
Wanted to say something like " am part of your team, y'know"

Met them actually today and uttered "kono saikai wo yorokobubeki, watashi no matenai mo"
[I am happy with the reopening, I cannot wait anymore]. It was probably wrong but they got what I said, which is good, because there is nothing worse than that awkward moment of misunderstanding ^^

Majestic · 26 Jan 2022

Watch out when trying to translate word-for-word from a western language into Japanese. In Japanese the syntax is different, the phrasing is different, the idioms are different, etc... so trying to translate word-for-word usually results in a very weird translation.

Also another thing to watch out for (kind of related to the above) is that Japanese language often omits the subject of the sentence, whereas in romance/germanic languages we almost always tend to insert I and YOU and HE and SHE into the sentence. Doing this in Japanese can create sentences which sound awkward or self-centered.

kono saikai wo yorokobubeki, watashi no matenai mo would be a classic example of trying to overlay Japanese words on a western construction. Something like the below would be more natural/correct.

またあえてうりしいです
たのしみにまっていました

(I) am happy to meet you again.
(I) was looking forward (to it).

or something like that.

Toritoribe · 27 Jan 2022

Majestic said:
うりしい

Sorry for nitpicking, but it's a typo of うれしい.

Fearabhata said:
Met them actually today and uttered "kono saikai wo yorokobubeki, watashi no matenai mo"
[I am happy with the reopening, I cannot wait anymore]. It was probably wrong but they got what I said, which is good, because there is nothing worse than that awkward moment of misunderstanding ^^

I, a native Japanese speaker, would interpret "saikai" as 再会, i.e. "reunion/meeting again", not "reopening", i.e. 再開 in that sentence. Also 仲間 nakama is more appropriate than 味方 mikata in your context since mikata suggests the existence of enemy. Just like these examples, the context is the key to choose the correct wordings. They no doubt was happy to see your effort to speak Japanese, though.

Fearabhata · 28 Jan 2022

Thank you so much for explaining this to me/wo setsumei shite kurete hontouni kansha shimasu.
Instead of opening another thread, I would like to post my inquiry here, since I already told a little bit of my background ^^

"I feel like a guest, not just a customer"

Is there a proper way to translate this into Japanese? The reason is, they would probably know why I feel so engaged..

Thank you in advance!

Toritoribe · 28 Jan 2022

Unfortunately, both guest and customer are usually translated 客/お客さん kyaku/o-kyaku-san in Japanese, so I would say as follows.

ただのお店の客ではなく、友達の家に来たような感じがします。
Tada no omise no kyaku de wa naku, tomodachi no ie ni kita you na kanji ga shimasu.
I feel like coming to a friend's home, not just a customer.

Fearabhata · 28 Jan 2022

thanks again.. since the refinded concept of hospitality in japanese culture (omotenashi), I thought there would be more dicrepancy between those two words ^^
But in other words it can also mean that this is one and the same in all relationships, so there is no real necessity to have other wordings

Toritoribe · 28 Jan 2022

Kyaku/O-kyaku-san is usually interpreted just as "customer" in your context, i.e., used in a restaurant or something. Thus, 私は客だと思っています "Watashi wa kyaku da to omotte imasu" sounds like "I'm just a customer (implying "not your an ally of yours")" contrary to what you want to convey. On the other hand, if kyaku is used when you visit their home privately, it means "guest". The context is the key, as I already wrote.

Describing oneself as a part of something

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