Need a word or phrase translated?

[Elizabeth]

I'm not liz but I think gold coin is 金貨(kinka)
so you could say 金貨を集めてる(kinka wo atumete (i)ru)。or 金貨を集める(kinka wo atsumeru)。
or
趣味は金貨を集めることです。（shumi ha kinka wo atsumeru koto desu)
my hobby is collecting coins/ collecting coins is my hobby

金貨を集める alone most likely refers to the future tense.

How about simply 私の趣味は金貨集めです。? My hobby is gold coin collecting.

 

[crunch]

excellent explanation

thanks a lot, epigene. that helped so much!

 

[The7thSamurai]

How heavy?

How do you ask how heavy something/someone is?

重さは何kgですか?
or
どの位重いの？

 

[deadhippo]

You can just say 何キロですか

or possibly 重さはどれぐらいですか。

 

[Elizabeth]

You can just say 何キロですか

or possibly 重さはどれぐらいですか。

（それは）どれ位の重さですか？ is good as well.

 

[The7thSamurai]

Thanks guys, however, now I'm more confused

Why is it ok to say "どれ位重さですか"? 重さ is a noun, right? So why with other questions do they have you say, for example, どの位大きいですか, where 大きい is an adjective? Would どの位重いですか be ok? I.e. the adjective for heavy.

I guess I'm confused over the use of どれ位 and どの位 and where it's appropriate to put a noun or adjective.

 

[Elizabeth]

Thanks guys, however, now I'm more confused

Why is it ok to say "どれ位重さですか"? 重さ is a noun, right?

Did you hear this from a native speaker ? I would have said it isn't correct....at least without the の. （どれ位の重さですか）

XXXの重さはどれくらい（です）ありますか is the only use I've come across
(never with 重い).

 

[epigene]

All of these suggestions made are correct:
重さは何ｋｇですか?
どの位重いの？
何キロですか？
重さはどれぐらいですか？
（それは）どれ位（どの位）の重さですか？
どれ位（どの位）重いですか？
ＸＸＸの重さはどれくらいですか（ありますか）？
どれ位の重さですか？

However, these are NOT used for human weight.
Use the word 体重（たいじゅう）

あなたの体重は？
体重はどのくらい？ etc.

Be prepared to get slapped on your cheek when you ask this...

 

[Buntaro]

I used to teach my Japanese students how to say, "How much do you weigh?" in English.

I always made sure they knew the phrase, "Don't ask such a personal question!"

 

[Elizabeth]

All of these suggestions made are correct:
重さは何ｋｇですか?
どの位重いの？
何キロですか？
重さはどれぐらいですか？
（それは）どれ位（どの位）の重さですか？
どれ位（どの位）重いですか？
ＸＸＸの重さはどれくらいですか（ありますか）？
どれ位の重さですか？

However, these are NOT used for human weight.
Use the word 体重（たいじゅう）

あなたの体重は？
体重はどのくらい？ etc.

Be prepared to get slapped on your cheek when you ask this...

ありがとう epigeneさん！
普通のことについて話しても、 やっぱり日本語って奥が深いですね。


'Don't/you shouldn't ask such personal questions' I've never had to worry about in Japan.
but could you use 立ち入った質問、個人的な質問 or is something like
そんなに私的な質問をするべきではない more natural ?

 

[GaijinPunch]

'Don't/you shouldn't ask such personal questions' I've never had to worry about in Japan

Touche'. A country where people have no qualms commenting to someone on how much weight they've gained.

 

[Lavendercase]

Just a question-does anybody know what the word "Shinasai" means? And does anyone understand how the -sai prefixes works. Like Urasai isn't found in the dictionary, so for sure it isn't a regular word but perhaps it is combined with another? And if so, how does that word out? Is it the same as "-nai"? What does it mean? And how is it used?

 

[Elizabeth]

Just a question-does anybody know what the word "Shinasai" means? And does anyone understand how the -sai prefixes works. Like Urasai isn't found in the dictionary, so for sure it isn't a regular word but perhaps it is combined with another? And if so, how does that word out? Is it the same as "-nai"? What does it mean? And how is it used?

No, "(na)sai" means "you must" -- it is the formal imperative form, so "shanasai" would be "Die!" Is this from a movie or anime by chance?

I'm not sure where "urasai" would come from, unless you're thinking of the adjective "urusai" (annoying, noisy, etc) :?

 

[Lavendercase]

No, "(na)sai" means "you must" -- it is the formal imperative form, so "shanasai" would be "Die!" Is this from a movie or anime by chance?

I'm not sure where "urasai" would come from, unless you're thinking of the adjective "urusai" (annoying, noisy, etc) :?

Actually it's from a kids book: Tigger Movie. I just need some help translating certain words that I don't know. "Urasai" is like supposed to mean "be quiet" or "it's a little loud". Something like that. I did not know that "Shanasai" meant "Die". The sentence was:

kazega [fuyuno junbiwo shinasai] to iu no mo kikazuni.

I thought it meant something like " "Prepare for the winter," the wind warned."

 

[epigene]

Actually it's from a kids book: Tigger Movie. I just need some help translating certain words that I don't know. "Urasai" is like supposed to mean "be quiet" or "it's a little loud". Something like that. I did not know that "Shanasai" meant "Die". The sentence was:

kazega [fuyuno junbiwo shinasai] to iu no mo kikazuni.

I thought it meant something like " "Prepare for the winter," the wind warned."

I think Elizabeth misread your post.
Die is "shiNInasai."
Shinasai is "do" in command form.
"Junbi shinasai" means "prepare."

If you mean "be quiet" or "turn down the volume," it is "urusai" and not "urasai," as Elizabeth says.

Hope it helps!

 

[Elizabeth]

I admit to being in a bit of a hurry :emoji_bow:, there is also a 死なさい that comes up in IME, though, so mistakes really do help us learn. :

 

[Lavendercase]

Oh ok. That's cool. Thank you Elizabeth, and thank you epigene. Just how does that "-sai" suffix work?

 

[GaijinPunch]

I admit to being in a bit of a hurry :emoji_bow:, there is also a 死なさい that comes up in IME, though, so mistakes really do help us learn. :

Don't switch to Linux. You REALLY gotta be careful. The IME is awful.

 

[deadhippo]

Oh ok. That's cool. Thank you Elizabeth, and thank you epigene. Just how does that "-sai" suffix work?

It's not a -sai suffix

but -nasai
you can add it after the first part of the verb
eg. ikimasu - ikinasai, tabemasu - tabenasai, oyogimasu - oyoginasai etc.

urusai is an adjective

and sai means rhinocerous, its also a family name and sometimes means festival...i think (of course these last examples have kanji and the previous ones don't)

 

[GoldCoinLover]

I need the following translated:
Your japanese is getting better.
Your japanesei is very good.
I collect gold coins (in romaji)
I understand japanese (nihongo wo wakarimasu?)
please help me understand the 'wo' or 'o' particle

thank you

 

[studyonline]

Your Japanese is getting better. ＝ あなたの日本語はうまくなりましたね。 日本語がうまくなりましたね。

Your Japanese is very good. ＝ あなたの日本語はうまいです。 日本語が上手ですね。

I collect gold coins (in romaji) ＝ 私は金のコインを集めます。

I understand Japanese ＝ 私は日本語が分かります。
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Above are just some samples. As for the sentence with gold coins, I was not sure if you wanted to say coins in romaji? So I ended up with that example. Gold coins like you already seem to know 金貨 sounds better to me. No need to use romaji there.

 

[J44xm]

I'm trying to say "I can't stop drinking" ("drinking" in the sense of alcohol, that is). Is "僕は飲むことを止めることができません。" correct?

Also, does "金のためだけに。" essentially mean "only for the money" or "because of money" or something like that?

Thanks!

Also, what's " ｪ上手"?

 

[Glenn]

I'm trying to say "I can't stop drinking" ("drinking" in the sense of alcohol, that is). Is "僕は飲むことを止めることができません。" correct?

Yeah, mostly. You'll probably want to say 酒を飲むこと・のを... to show that you're talking about alcohol. I think the の version may be more common, but I'm not sure.

Also, does "金のためだけに。" essentially mean "only for the money" or "because of money" or something like that?

Probably ためにだけ is the better way to say it. Also, unless you mean "gold" as a metaphor for money, you should use お金.

Also, what's " ｪ上手"?

It's mojibake. I fixed the post.

 

[J44xm]

Yeah, mostly. You'll probably want to say 酒を飲むこと・のを... to show that you're talking about alcohol. I think the の version may be more common, but I'm not sure.

This might be a dumb question, but what does the middle dot represent in this sentence, or what does it mean? I don't recall seeing that before. Is it something I should actually put in the sentence?

So you're suggesting either 僕は酒を飲むこと・のを止めることができません。 or 僕は酒を飲むこと[・?]を止めることができません。, right? Just want to be sure.

Probably ためにだけ is the better way to say it. Also, unless you mean "gold" as a metaphor for money, you should use お金.

I will. (お金のためにだけ。) Thanks!

 

[Glenn]

This might be a dumb question, but what does the middle dot represent in this sentence, or what does it mean? I don't recall seeing that before. Is it something I should actually put in the sentence?

It's functionally a slash. I just like it better in Japanese text than the slash. If you're using IME, try typing a slash in Japanese text, and you should get the dot.

So you're suggesting either 僕は酒を飲むこと・のを止めることができません。 or 僕は酒を飲むこと[・?]を止めることができません。, right? Just want to be sure.

I'm suggesting using either こと or の, i.e., either 酒を飲むことを... or 酒を飲むのを.... It may have been better for me to have used parentheses, but at least you got to learn about ・ this way.