Need a word or phrase translated?

[Elizabeth]

Hi everybody!
I think "buri" is very conversational.
"San nen buri, biiru nonde nai desu."
--> I haven't had a beer in three years.
(Did I get that right...?)

Actually come to think of it, I don't think "buri" works with negatives so this should probably be :

"San nen buri ni biiru nonda" (It had been an interval of three years since I'd had a beer).

"San nen buri ni biiru nomu" (It has been an interval of three years since I've had a beer).

or to merely tweak the original "San nen mo biiru nonde nai desu"

 

[Sasquatch]

Hey guys!

I'm getting better a my Japanese, but there are two words I can't figure out.

"aruto" whenever I try looking for it I just a bunch of stuff about Naruto.

and "nanode"

What do those words mean?

 

[NattyBumppo]

Hey guys!
I'm getting better a my Japanese, but there are two words I can't figure out.
"aruto" whenever I try looking for it I just a bunch of stuff about Naruto.☺
and "nanode"
What do those words mean?

They're very context-sensitive.

"Aru to" is a combination of the verb "aru" (to have, to exist) and the particle "to." The "to" here sort of serves to give the phrase an "if" or "when" meaning, like so:

自転車があると、うれしいです。
Jitensha ga aru to, ureshii desu.
When I have a bicycle, I am happy.

辞書があると新聞が読めるでしょう。
Jisho ga aru to shinbun ga yomeru deshou.
If you have a dictionary you should be able to read the newspaper, right?

"Nanode" is a variation of "node," which is similar in meaning to "kara" (because). "Node" is used like so:

夏目さんは本を書きおわったので、皆にビールを一杯おごっています。
Natsume-san wa hon o kakiowatta node, minna ni biiru o ippai ogotte imasu.
Because Mr. Natsume finished writing his book, he's treating everyone to a round of beers.

"Nanode" is similar; the only difference is that "node" follows an adjective or a verb, while "nanode" follows a noun or a 形容動詞 (na-adjective).

彼は学生なので、よく勉強します。
Kare wa gakusei na no de, yoku benkyou shimasu.
He's a student, so he studies often.

I hope that clears things up.

 

[Sasquatch]

They're very context-sensitive.
"Aru to" is a combination of the verb "aru" (to have, to exist) and the particle "to." The "to" here sort of serves to give the phrase an "if" or "when" meaning, like so:
自転車があると、うれしいです。
Jitensha ga aru to, ureshii desu.
When I have a bicycle, I am happy.
辞書があると新聞が読めるでしょう。
Jisho ga aru to shinbun ga yomeru deshou.
If you have a dictionary you should be able to read the newspaper, right?
"Nanode" is a variation of "node," which is similar in meaning to "kara" (because). "Node" is used like so:
夏目さんは本を書きおわったので、皆にビールを一杯おごっています。
Natsume-san wa hon o kakiowatta node, minna ni biiru o ippai ogotte imasu.
Because Mr. Natsume finished writing his book, he's treating everyone to a round of beers.
"Nanode" is similar; the only difference is that "node" follows an adjective or a verb, while "nanode" follows a noun or a 形容動詞 (na-adjective).
彼は学生なので、よく勉強します。
Kare wa gakusei na no de, yoku benkyou shimasu.
He's a student, so he studies often.
I hope that clears things up.

Thanks for the help.

My letter says" Watashi wa amari English ga wakarimasenn.
Nanode wakaranai English ga aruto omoimasu ga gomenn nasai."

So what I think it pretty much says is : I don't understand much English.
So I feel sorry."

I know it isn't exact but is that pretty much it?

 

[Sasquatch]

I got an email that says "NIHONGO WA TANOSHII(¡©(B

YUKI NO SYASIN MIMASITAKA(¡©(B" does anyone know what the things at the end are?

And mimasitaka?

 

[Charles Barkley]

That's a weird way of putting the japanese into romaji. She's saying:

yuki no shashin, mimashita ka? (have you seen yuki's photos?)

Those things at the end--you know how Japanese has 3 scripts--kanji, katakana and hiragana? Well, they are thinking of adding a fourth script for occassions when they want to send something in Japanese and have it be unreadable by the receiver's computer. What you received is a test sample of that script. Feel very privileged.

 

[NattyBumppo]

That's a weird way of putting the japanese into romaji. She's saying:
yuki no shashin, mimashita ka? (have you seen yuki's photos?)
Those things at the end--you know how Japanese has 3 scripts--kanji, katakana and hiragana? Well, they are thinking of adding a fourth script for occassions when they want to send something in Japanese and have it be unreadable by the receiver's computer. What you received is a test sample of that script. Feel very privileged.

Note that "yuki no shashin" could also be "the photos of the snow" instead of "yuki's photos." In Japanese it's clear which the writer means; in Romaji it's completely ambiguous unless you have further context.

And your explanation of those codes was ﾅ?D-larious.

 

[Sasquatch]

Note that "yuki no shashin" could also be "the photos of the snow" instead of "yuki's photos." In Japanese it's clear which the writer means; in Romaji it's completely ambiguous unless you have further context.
And your explanation of those codes was ﾅ?D-larious.

Thanks for the help guys. I actually was able to figure it out by myself this morning!

I'm getting better.

Oh yea and the yuki was for snow, because I got a picture of a snowy place.


(Charles Barkley)
"Those things at the end--you know how Japanese has 3 scripts--kanji, katakana and hiragana? Well, they are thinking of adding a fourth script for occassions when they want to send something in Japanese and have it be unreadable by the receiver's computer. What you received is a test sample of that script. Feel very privileged. "

What do you mean be forth script? It's a privileg?

 

[Sasquatch]

I'm not quit sure how to reply in 日本語.

If my email said "NIHONGO WA TANOSHII(I¡©(B

YUKI NO SYASIN MIMASITAKA(I¡©(B"

Would it make sence to say "Hai, Nihongo wa totemo tanoshi desu.

Syasin o tenkanoshou desu."

Does that say "Japanes is very fun." and "the picture has nice scenery."

Or maybe I should say Shasin o sugoi desu.

Sugoi can mean great or terrible right? maybe shouldn't use it if it can be read wrong.

 

[Charles Barkley]

nihongo wa totemo tanoshii desu, is fine. Good sentence.

I would recommend using the romaji 'shashin,' its better for both japanese and native english speakers. shashin o tenkanoshou-- I have no idea what your mistake is here, the second part of the sentence makes no sense. I think something like 'suteki na shashin desu ne' would get your point across.

NB: Good call about yuki being an object, that possibility slipped my mind. No context is difficult...

 

[NattyBumppo]

What do you mean be forth script? It's a privileg?

It was a joke.☝

 

[Sasquatch]

nihongo wa totemo tanoshii desu, is fine. Good sentence.
I would recommend using the romaji 'shashin,' its better for both japanese and native english speakers. shashin o tenkanoshou-- I have no idea what your mistake is here, the second part of the sentence makes no sense. I think something like 'suteki na shashin desu ne' would get your point across.
NB: Good call about yuki being an object, that possibility slipped my mind. No context is difficult...

Thanks for the help. I'm glade I made a good sentance.


I got the "tenkanoshou" from a website called animelab, it said it meant beautiful scenery or maybe it was tenka no kachi.

I just got a email that says "¤Þ¤¿£È£Á£×£Á£É£É¤Î¤·¤ã¤·¤ó¤¯¤À¤µ¤¤¤Í"

How in the world can i figure that out??? I fell lika a computer is talking to me or something.

 

[NattyBumppo]

Thanks for the help. I'm glade I made a good sentance.
I got the "tenkanoshou" from a website called animelab, it said it meant beautiful scenery or maybe it was tenka no kachi.
I just got a email that says "¤Þ¤¿ﾂ≫??#200;ﾂ≫??#193;ﾂ≫?卍×ﾂ≫??#193;ﾂ≫??#201;ﾂ≫??#201;¤Î¤·¤ã¤·¤ó¤¯¤À¤µ¤¤¤Í"
How in the world can i figure that out??? I fell lika a computer is talking to me or something.

That's not anything that I can manage to decode. Tell the sender it's "mojibake" (garbled characters) and to try sending it again.

 

[Sasquatch]

That's not anything that I can manage to decode. Tell the sender it's "mojibake" (garbled characters) and to try sending it again.

I said I don't understand and I got one back that said "Gomenne(I¡£(B
Mata HAWAII no syasin okuttene(I¡£(B

I think that might mean " sorry
again/also hawaii no picture...... send ???

Geez.... sorry for the load of questions.

I don't know how to figure out some of the words without asking.

 

[undrentide]

I said I don't understand and I got one back that said "Gomenne(I¡£(B
Mata HAWAII no syasin okuttene(I¡£(B

I think that might mean " sorry
again/also hawaii no picture...... send ???

Geez.... sorry for the load of questions.

I don't know how to figure out some of the words without asking.

I'm afraid that it is impossible to guess what your friend wrote without asking...
Does your friend use mobile phone to send you those messages?
If so, the reason of the gabled text could be because s/he is using
Japanese two-byte characters and/or e-moji, which is a kind of animation used only between mobiles.

Please ask your friend not to send any message in "zenkaku" or "e-moji", and ask to use only "hankaku ei suu ji". "zenkaku" means two-byte characters, "hankaku ei suu ji" here means ordinary one byte alphabets/numbers.

(If your friend does not understand English, you can say:
"anata no meeru ga tokidoki mojibake shite, yomemasen. emoji ya zenkaku no kigou/moji wa tsukawanaide kudasai ne. onegai shimasu."
(Your e-mails sometimes get garbled and I cannot read them. Could you please do not use any two-byte characters or animation.)

 

[Sasquatch]

Thank you.
Would it be disrespectful to ask that?

To say "I will send pictures of Hawaii." would you say "Hawaii no shashin okurimasu" Is that alright?

And what is the word for "or" in Japanese? または?

Is "Tegami mataha E meru?" understandable?

 

[Elizabeth]

Thank you.
Would it be disrespectful to ask that?
To say "I will send pictures of Hawaii." would you say "Hawaii no shashin okurimasu" Is that alright?
And what is the word for "or" in Japanese? または?
Is "Tegami mataha E meru?" understandable?

Apologies for not reading the full discussion. I'm totally out of the loop on who is sending what where and how but "Letter or email" = "Tegami ka me-ru ka" (one or the other, not both, this is what you meant?)

 

[Sasquatch]

Apologies for not reading the full discussion. I'm totally out of the loop on who is sending what where and how but "Letter or email" = "Tegami ka me-ru ka"

Oh yea, I forgot the ka


Ka also means or?

 

[augne]

Hello,

Could anyone help me with these into romaji please?

"How long have you been staying in Bali? Does your job require you to be in Bali always? Right now I'm not in Bali anymore. . . I'm back in Surabaya, but will be coming to Bali again around February 15th. Keep in touch yah!"

Thank you in advance!^^

 

[Elizabeth]

nihongo wa totemo tanoshii desu, is fine. Good sentence.
I would recommend using the romaji 'shashin,' its better for both japanese and native english speakers. shashin o tenkanoshou-- I have no idea what your mistake is here, the second part of the sentence makes no sense. I think something like 'suteki na shashin desu ne' would get your point across.

'Tenkanoshou' is not to be confused with an everday phrase. Nevertheless the meaning is clearly there as beautiful scenary and one possible equivalent expression off the top of my tired brain spells it out in natural language as "Kono shashin ni ha, (subarashii, utsukushii...) keshiki ha totemo suteki desune (sutekinayou desune).

Oh yea, I forgot the ka


Ka also means or?

Yes. And there could be, I don't know, fifteen or twenty or more other expressions that do similarly. What is the precise complete sentence "Letter or email" ? either comes after or fits into ?

 

[Sasquatch]

'Tenkanoshou' is not to be confused with an everday phrase. Nevertheless the meaning is clearly there as beautiful scenary and one possible equivalent expression off the top of my tired brain spells it out in natural language as "Kono shashin ni ha, (subarashii, utsukushii...) keshiki ha totemo suteki desune (sutekinayou desune). ﾂ



Yes. And there could be, I don't know, fifteen or twenty or more other expressions that do similarly. What is the precise complete sentence "Letter or email" ? either comes after or fits into ?

Well, I was gonna ask if I should send pictures in an email or in a letter, but I decided I'll just do it in a letter.

To say "i'll send pictures of Hawaii " or something like that would "Hawaii no shasin okurimasu" be okay?

 

[kameron]

Hey guys, I've recently started reading an interesting book called 外発法：おもしろ絵本 which has a heap of stories about silly things foreigners do when living in Japan as well as cool pictures to keep me interested. One thing I noticed after reading the first page was this strange "てん" form that was at the end of most sentences which I later realised was 関西弁.

So far I've picked up that "てん" is the equivalent to "た" but I've seen "へん" occuring a lot.

So my question is:

Does anyone know what meaning "へん" has in 関西弁？
Is this just a negative form of "てん"? i.e. "ない" form?

Thanks.

Edit: Found the answer here.

Yes, "へん" is the equivalent to "ない".

 

[Elizabeth]

Hey guys, I've recently started reading an interesting book called 外発法：おもしろ絵本 which has a heap of stories about silly things foreigners do when living in Japan as well as cool pictures to keep me interested. One thing I noticed after reading the first page was this strange "てん" form that was at the end of most sentences which I later realised was 関西弁.
So far I've picked up that "てん" is the equivalent to "た" but I've seen "へん" occuring a lot.
So my question is:
Does anyone know what meaning "へん" has in 関西弁？
Is this just a negative form of "てん"? i.e. "ない" form?
Thanks.
Edit: Found the answer here.
Yes, "へん" is the equivalent to "ない".

It's the -ません ending but not used alone to mean 'not' or 'isn't'.
The word ない is あらへん。

 

[Trapt]

I'm making a group of companies similar ti Richard Branson's Virgin Group. What is the proper form of group to use in this case? I've looked it up on freedict, and hear are all of the relevant translations it gave: mure, bumon, nakama, shuudan, ren, guru-pu, kei, kuntserun, and keiretsu.

 

[Elizabeth]

I'm making a group of companies similar ti Richard Branson's Virgin Group. What is the proper form of group to use in this case? I've looked it up on freedict, and hear are all of the relevant translations it gave: mure, bumon, nakama, shuudan, ren, guru-pu, kei, kuntserun, and keiretsu.

You should use guru-pu.