How would you say 'reading about X'?

[Zarion]

I'm fairly new to Japanese, but have been doing a pile of reading and self-study lately. I'm taking a Japanese course in university, but it's pretty basic so far, and most of what I've been learning has come from my own efforts. However, since I haven't found a good book dealing with the grammar side of things, most of what I know comes from class, and thus I'm pretty limited in the kinds of things I can express. (ie: simple present declarative statements, for the most part)

I wondering how one would say 'about' in reference to a topic. For example, 'I'm reading about Japanese', or 'I'm writing about comparative literature.'

Actually, the specific sentence I'm trying to compose should read like 'Recently, I've been reading about kanji.' The closest I have so far (I'm not sure if all of the other parts are correct or not) is
'私はさいきん (about 漢字) 読んでいます。'

I only just taught myself the relevant verb form an hour ago, so if I'm off-base, please let me know. Of course, I might be constructing the entire thing in the wrong way for that matter. Would something like '漢字は私がさいきん読んでいます。' work better? Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[JimmySeal]

私はさいきん[漢字について]読んでいます。

 

[Damicci]

について＝About
Xについて＝ About X

この ドラマ は オタク について と おもいます。
I think this drama is about Otakus.

 

[irukaai]

Damicci san, anata no foot note ni tsuite shitsumon ga arimasu. rieko says what?

 

[bakaKanadajin]

hehe...direct translations between Japanese and English are impossible but it says something like 'If your eyes are big, garbage will get in quickly'

Regarding your question, I think you could also just say 漢字の本を読んでいます.

 

[irukaai]

catchphrase no you na mono desu.
bakakanadajin san ha ii honyaku dekimashita. tensai mitai desu.

tabun damicci san no setsumei ga ichiban tadashii. damicci san no kotoba dakara.

but still i wonder... rieko says what?

 

[Damicci]

It says what bakakanadajin said.

If your eyes are big, Garbage quickly (immediately) get in them.

The misconception about people with larger eyes.

You could say 漢字の本を読んでいます。 but if you want to use about then...
漢字について本を読んでいます。
I am reading a book about Kanji.

That would probably work.

 

[Mike Cash]

Regarding your question, I think you could also just say 漢字の本を読んでいます.

You could say that....and it wouldn't be wrong. The only thing is that it is ambiguous. It isn't clear whether one is reading something written about kanji or something written in kanji.

 

[bakaKanadajin]

You could say that....and it wouldn't be wrong. The only thing is that it is ambiguous. It isn't clear whether one is reading something written about kanji or something written in kanji.

You're absolutely right. I find that I do this unwittingly sometimes because I'm starting to try to reduce the 'content' of my Japanese to the most succint construction possible as the Japanese do. However when the context of the entire conversation is not clear (as is technically so here, since we are not the true intended audience) the construct does come up a little short by itself.

So, as a footnote, perhaps you could get away with saying what I said if there was a pre-existing conversation taking place on, what.. language textbooks, what kind of book everyone is reading at the moment, etc. something that pre-clarifies the ambiguity Mike Cash pointed out.

 

[Taiko666]

You're absolutely right. I find that I do this unwittingly sometimes because I'm starting to try to reduce the 'content' of my Japanese to the most succint construction possible as the Japanese do. However when the context of the entire conversation is not clear (as is technically so here, since we are not the true intended audience) the construct does come up a little short by itself. QUOTE]

I haven't got this ambiguity thing nailed yet... especially in spoken Japanese. I either give too little information when to me it's as clear as day what I'm referring to, or I suddenly have a panic that I'm going to get my particles mixed up and say exactly the opposite of what I mean.

So now I try to take a deep breath and pad out my Japanese with essentially superfluous stuff, speaking slowly and empashising each particle, even throwing in the occasional 窶堋ｦ窶堋ｦ窶堙 or 窶堋ｳ窶堋?ﾂ。The result is that I get my meaning across, and my audience is more inclined to listen to me.

 

[Elizabeth]

漢字について本を読んでいます。
I am reading a book about Kanji.

That would probably work.

I think most naturally you need to say について の 本 but it could be simply that the nuance changes as well. ???

 

[Damicci]

I would think the difference would be specification on what's being read, e.g. internet, magazine, book. But since the book is mentioned it can answer any additional questions about the how the speakers is reading about Kanji.

I asked Rieko about it and she said it is a normal sentence. But with out 本, it's assumed your reading a website.

 

[Elizabeth]

I would think the difference would be specification on what's being read, e.g. internet, magazine, book. But since the book is mentioned it can answer any additional questions about the how the speakers is reading about Kanji.

I asked Rieko about it and she said it is a normal sentence. But with out 本, it's assumed your reading a website.

OK, at least the intention was there not of negating the book but to make it a Japanese "no."

について の 本を読んでいる is for sure correct.

について本を読んでいる could reach a different nuance but doesn't sound quite standard to my ear.

 

[Damicci]

OK, at least the intention was there not of negating the book but to make it a Japanese "no."

について の 本を読んでいる is for sure correct.

について本を読んでいる could reach a different nuance but doesn't sound quite standard to my ear.

I see what your saying. Maybe についての is more grammatically correct but の is often omitted?? I am home now so I will have to check with my personal resource. lol

 

[Mike Cash]

Note to the Original Poster: It is considered good manners to somewhat actively participate in your own thread. At the very least one should express thanks to others who have actively and seriously taken up the topic and in any other way tried to be of help.

 

[Damicci]

について の 本を読んでいる is for sure correct.

について本を読んでいる could reach a different nuance but doesn't sound quite standard to my ear

OK, In her opinion it depends on the person. Maybe colloquial differences, But she and many people she talks to would omit の in the case of について.

 

[Elizabeth]

OK, In her opinion it depends on the person. Maybe colloquial differences, But she and many people she talks to would omit の in the case of について.

Watch out not to pause 漢字について、本を読んでいる。 in the middle then or it just threw the game back to that topic already under consideration. "About/as for the kanji....I am reading a book (to learn them, refresh myself, etc)."

 

[bakaKanadajin]

OK, at least the intention was there not of negating the book but to make it a Japanese "no."

について の 本を読んでいる is for sure correct.

について本を読んでいる could reach a different nuance but doesn't sound quite standard to my ear.

I'm not as versed as everyone else here but I've been scolded for using too many の's where I shouldn't be; I over-possessive-ified everything when I first started studying. Re: the OT, I got the general impression that this was one of those cases where the の wouldn't be needed but now I see your point about the nuance.

Without it, you could be misinterpreted as saying:
Regarding kanji, I'm reading a book.

Instead of:
I'm reading a book regarding (about) kanji.

Especially if you add the pause that you mentioned. Either way I guess you'd get your point across although the nuance is definitely there.

So IMHO the の does assist in grammatical correctness but I also had the impression as Damicci did that it might get omitted during 日常会話。I think (to me at least) it stems from beginners rules like 'don't use の after verbs', so the て and の don't 'sound' like a good fit initially.