polite way of saying "I want"

cheapshot · 15 Mar 2005

i have been using the "Pimsluers Japanese" tapes for a little while now (since christmas) and i am on lesson 18-19.

i have been having difficulty understanding this concept, partly because i do not have the text books to help me see the words written, i have to guess

take this as one of my poor examples (i apologise in advance for poor spelling and lack of hiragana, i'm on aworks computer )

my wife want's to drink coffee:

kanai wa koohee o nomitagate iru (then what sounds like) nnn desu ga

what is the nnnn sound?

also in this example: "I want to go shopping"

kaimono ga (sounds like)shita nnn desu ga

any help would be appreciated,

yorkii-san

Ben W Bell · 15 Mar 2005

The nnn sound is literally an n. As in the following sentence (actually used in Pimsleur lesson 16). Okane ga hoshii n desu ga.

I'm doing the Pimsleur as well and it can sometimes be difficult to make out exactly what it is they are saying to you.

cheapshot · 16 Mar 2005

Ben W Bell said:
I'm doing the Pimsleur as well and it can sometimes be difficult to make out exactly what it is they are saying to you.

true. thanks for the reply btw.

why is this nnnn sound included then? is it short for something??

just curious

yorkii

Ben W Bell · 16 Mar 2005

That I don't know, but would like to know the answer if someone does.

wallofdeath · 16 Mar 2005

"-n desu" (sometimes "nan desu") is used to show that a statement is intended to explain or emphasize something-- "kaimono ga shitain desu ga" is sort of like saying "the thing is that I want to go shopping..." I don't think it's something that always needs to be translated literally though.

japanese.about.com/blqow24.htm

Leroy_Brown · 16 Mar 2005

yorkii said:
my wife want's to drink coffee:

kanai wa koohee o nomitagate iru (then what sounds like) nnn desu ga

what is the nnnn sound?

also in this example: "I want to go shopping"

kaimono ga (sounds like)shita nnn desu ga

It's a form of contraction like "is not" becoming "isn't", i.e., in formal speech

it should really be "kanai wa koohee o nomitagate iru no desuga." and

"Kaimono ga shitai no desuga." But when spoken--in mostly colloquial and informal speech--the "no" contracts to just the "n".

Hope that helps.

cheapshot · 16 Mar 2005

yeah, thanks thats a real help,

cheers guys.

ill no doubt be back soon with more questions...! im just tackling verbs and their numerous endings at the mo

Leroy_Brown · 16 Mar 2005

yorkii said:
yeah, thanks thats a real help,

cheers guys.

ill no doubt be back soon with more questions...! im just tackling verbs and their numerous endings at the mo

Yorkii,

That looks like a Scandinavian flag on your avater. Your English skills are excellent!

Stutz · 16 Mar 2005

Quick question along with this, is the reason I keep seeing something like "no/n desu ga" to the end of these to soften the statement of wanting something? Only reason I'm asking is because the only thing I know how to say want is with just -tai desu and -tagatteimasu and it is odd that I see so many "no desu ga" hooked to the end of these around here.

Leroy_Brown · 16 Mar 2005

Stutz said:
Quick question along with this, is the reason I keep seeing something like "no/n desu ga" to the end of these to soften the statement of wanting something? Only reason I'm asking is because the only thing I know how to say want is with just -tai desu and -tagatteimasu and it is odd that I see so many "no desu ga" hooked to the end of these around here.

You don't use "-tagatteimasu" for yourself. It's for referring to a third person.

A simple declarative sentence would be "Ikitai desu" (I want to go). You don't need the ga.

When you say that by adding the "no/n desuga", you add an element of uncertainty. And with the "ga" added, there is more to it than the daclaration--it almost has the effect of "but".

Ikitai no desuga . . . Ittemo iidesuka? (I want to go, but . . . may I go?)

It might be considered polite to stop at the "ga" (to get the attention) before going ahead and asking the question, and that might become a habit with many people.

Ikitai no desuga . . . ikeruka douka mada wakarimasen. (I want to go . . . but I don't know if I can yet)

Hope that answers some of your questions.

Stutz · 16 Mar 2005

Yeah that helps and I know what -tagatteimasu is used for, I was just too lazy to label. Thanks for the clarification.

Ben W Bell · 16 Mar 2005

Leroy_Brown said:
Yorkii,

That looks like a Scandinavian flag on your avater. Your English skills are excellent!

Actually it's the flag of England. I should hope his English skills are excellent (though with the schools in this country now it's forgivable if they're not).

Leroy_Brown · 17 Mar 2005

Ben W Bell said:
Actually it's the flag of England. I should hope his English skills are excellent (though with the schools in this country now it's forgivable if they're not).

A red cross on white background? Never knew that.

Oh, pardon my ignorance.

Ben W Bell · 17 Mar 2005

Leroy_Brown said:
A red cross on white background? Never knew that.

Oh, pardon my ignorance.

Yeah it's the cross of St George. The Union Flag you see for the UK is composed of the flags of England, Scotland and Wales (and a slight bit of creative license). Don't worry about it though, the whole countries/UK thing gets complicated sometimes, especially when it comes to Northern Ireland.

Leroy_Brown · 18 Mar 2005

Ah sou. Wakarimashita. Ki o tsukemasu.

I spent most of my adult life pronouncing Edinburgh as "Ed 'n' Berg". Had no idea it was Ed 'n' Buhrah. I'm glad you folks came up with the modern English.

polite way of saying "I want"

cheapshot

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Ben W Bell

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cheapshot

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Ben W Bell

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wallofdeath

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Leroy_Brown

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cheapshot

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Leroy_Brown

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Stutz

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Leroy_Brown

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Stutz

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Ben W Bell

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Leroy_Brown

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Ben W Bell

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Leroy_Brown

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