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language help

thereisnospoon

Baka Gaijin
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Can someone please help me with the following phrase:



(I) want to eat: Tabi tai des
(You) want to eat: Tabi maska?
(I) want to drink: Nomi tai des
(You) want to drink: Nomi maska?
(I) don't want to eat: ??????
(You) don't want to eat: ?????????
(I) don't want to drink: ????????
(You) don't want to drink: ?????????
Speak Slowly: ?????? hanasimas

Are these correct, and what should be the phrases where I put the ? mark.

Also what is the correct pronunciation and/or is there an English equivalent for the phrase "I know" : Sshhh teymas.


Domo Arigato
 
I'm not 100% sure
I'll try
(I) want to eat: Tabitai desu
do (You) want to eat: Tabitai desu ka?
(I) want to drink: Nomitai desu
do(You) want to drink: nomitai desu ka?
(I) don't want to eat: tabitakunai desu
don't(You) want to eat: tabitakunai desu ka?
(I) don't want to drink: nomitakunai desu
don't(You) want to drink: nomitakunai desu ka?
Speak Slowly(again): (mou ichido) yukkori hanashite kudasai
 
MtoM's got it. Just one small mistake: yukkori --> yukkuri

Also for the "do you want to forms", typically people will say "nomimasu ka?" Literally it means "will you drink?" but that is the more natural way to say it. I'm trying to think... you rarely, if ever, hear the -tai form in a question asking about what another person wants to do. It's always "will you...?" or "won't you ...?" (like, "won't you have a drink?").
 
Is it rude to use tai form when asking a person? I know among friends it's ok. I suppose if you were to ask a superior, it would be "Tabemashou ka?".
 
Originally posted by beluga
Is it rude to use tai form when asking a person? I know among friends it's ok. I suppose if you were to ask a superior, it would be "Tabemashou ka?".
Click to expand...

Using "tabetai" is definitely NOT formal. "tabemashouka" is more formal, meaning more like: "Shall we go eat?"
 
kore o tabete mo ii desu ka?
kore o tabete mo kamaimasen ka?

they mean"Is it O.K. to eat this?"
 
Last edited:
Originally posted by Keiichi
Also, eat is tabe, not tabi: Tabetai desu.
Click to expand...

Ops spelling mistakes

(I) want to eat: Tabetai desu
do (You) want to eat: Tabetai desu ka?
(I) don't want to eat: tabetakunai desu
don't(You) want to eat: tabetakunai desu ka?

explanation to "thereisnospoon"
taberu>>tabemasu>>tabe>>tabetai
nomu>>nomimasu>>nomi>>nomitai

negative past past negative
tabetai>>tabetakunai tabetakatta tabetakunakatta
nomitai>>nomitakunai nomitakatta nomitakunakatta
 
Thanks, for the help guys.

How about the correct pronunciation of the english phrase (I know)
 
to beluga
if your ask a superior at meal time, you should say "itadaki masen ka?"
"itadaku" is formal lines of "taberu".


Originally posted by MtoM
kore o tabete mo ii desu ka?
kore o tabete mo kamaimasen ka?

they mean"Is it O.K. to eat this?"
Click to expand...

to MtoM
right.
 
i have just started learning japanese, and am having a little trouble with the sentance structure, i know it goes subject, object, vowel, but i'm having trouble working out whats the subject and whats the object, so I'll put a sentance up, and could someone please tell me if it's correct please.
"Watashi wa mise desu"
 
It isn't clear without context, but could mean you are at the store. Another way to say it is "Mise ni imasu."
 
Well, watashi wa mise desu could mean you are at the shop given the right circumstances, like someone is asking where you are. Or, if someone says something like watashi wa resutoran ni imasu, you could follow it up with watashi wa mise desu and that would mean that you're at the shop. But this is perhaps a bit advanced for you at this stage. Although, to be fair, probably no one would ever interpret watashi wa mise desu to mean you are a store, but I don't think it would be natural to say, for instance, out of the blue, watashi wa (ima) mise desu or something like that.

Here we can say that this structure is different than kore wa pen desu, even though the two sentences on the surface look exactly the same structurally. This is due to the topic marker wa, and the wonderful world it represents, as well as the use of the copula to substitute for verbs sometimes. But like I said, that's probably a bit advanced for you at this stage.
 
I don't think I'd ever say "Watashi wa mise desu." "Mise ni imasu" maybe. But never the other.
 
There isn't a problem. Something like ((Ima) Watashi wa) mise desu" is perfectly natural informing another party of your location. Like if you have arranged to meet, just arrived at the station or whatever.
 
Elizabeth said:
There isn't a problem. Something like ((Ima) Watashi wa) mise desu" is perfectly natural informing another party of your location. Like if you have arranged to meet, just arrived at the station or whatever.
Click to expand...
Strictly speakeing I wouldn't ever say "watashi ha mise desu". Maybe "mise in iru" or "mise ni tsuitatoko" in the situations you are describing. Especially when it is in the form of speach.
 
FrustratedDave said:
Strictly speakeing I wouldn't ever say "watashi ha mise desu". Maybe "mise in iru" or "mise ni tsuitatoko" in the situations you are describing. Especially when it is in the form of speach.
Click to expand...
Oh, really ? Of course I usually leave out the "Watashi wa," but everyone I've ever asked has said they understand and it is no problem in everyday usage...
 
Elizabeth said:
Oh, really ? Of course I usually leave out the "Watashi wa," but everyone I've ever asked has said they understand and it is no problem in everyday usage...
Click to expand...
No,no, don't miss understand me. It is only a rare situation where I would refer to myself as "watashi ha" , not saying it is wrong at all.
 
This discussion reminds me the "unagi-bun(うなぎ文)" problem in Japanese Grammar. That is, "Boku wa unagi da(僕はうなぎだ)" can mean, for instance, "A bowl of rice topped with grilled eel(うな丼), please" in some context, not "I'm an eel." It would be a bit advanced for beginners, as Glenn-san pointed out, though.
 
FrustratedDave said:
Strictly speakeing I wouldn't ever say "watashi ha mise desu". Maybe "mise in iru" or "mise ni tsuitatoko" in the situations you are describing. Especially when it is in the form of speach.
Click to expand...

Here's what I was thinking of:

Everyone's on the phone with each other (3-way or conference call), and they're trying to figure out where the others are.
A) 皆さんはどこですか。私は今家にいます。
B) 私は映画館です。
C) 私は店です。

Of course, this assumes everyone knows the store you're talking about. Yes, I know the situation probably wouldn't come up all that often. The other one was more like this:

Two people on the phone who were supposed to meet at a restaurant, but one of them is a bit late.
A) 私は今レストランに着いたところですよ。
B) わかりました、私は店です。今すぐ会いに行きます。

Maybe that could be better, but I'm tired and I think it serves its purpose. Do those seem more acceptable to you? At any rate, this is why I answered the way I did in the original response about stating you are a place of business -- it was simpler that way.
 
My take,
A) もしもし、今レストランに着いたところですよ。
B) わかりました、店にいるから、すぐ行きます。

There is no reason to emphasize that it is you when they already know it is you.

As for a three way conference call, I still believe that it would not be necessary to say watashi when everyone knows who you are. If they didn't a "私" would be met with a "誰" and probably ask for your name.

I am not saying that this is wrong, just mearly stating that in the real world in speach most times there is no need to say "I" as we do in english.


Along the same lines of (僕はうなぎだ) ,what about ,

"僕はビルだ"
 
Last edited:
Yeah, that's better, and I think I'm getting rusty. I haven't even been reading all that much lately in Japanese.
 
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