Learn some Japanese

Here is yet another grammar construction that you can use plug and play style. What I mean by this is that you stick verbs into the construction and you can make sentences that make sense. Practice speaking Japanese by inserting in the place of To say that someone seems ‘about to’ verb in Japanese, use the following construction:

Japanese Grammar construction #109 Verb (Base II) + So^ desu.


This one is an easily constructed grammar principle. First take a Japanese verb of our choosing then transform it or put it into base II. It is a pre-requisite for learners just beginning their study of the Japanese language to know thoroughly the concepts surrounding verb conjugation and how to put verbs into bases. There are five bases which correspond to the first five syllables (also called mora) of the Japanese language.. If you want to start using this grammar today however, I can cheat for you just this once so that you can start speaking today without even knowing anything about verb bases and Japanese verb conjugation. But… I might get reprimanded and other teachers may call me ghetto. Oh thats righ… this is ghetto grammar…it is JPPGG or Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar … I forgot….

Don’t delay too long, the study of the Japanese verb bases and how to use them and what they do etc. However, just today, I’ll make it easy for anybody to start speaking Japanese with the verbs you choose from a dictionary you might have or online. All you need is a dictionary or have in your possession or knowledge Japanese verbs. (I hate any Japanese dictionary that allows you to read it in Roman letters (Romaji), but for today’s purpose of getting you to be able to speak in the Japanese language quickly, we will bypass a few things, cut corners and proceed without too much hassle. Today I’ll even let you use the despised Romaji EI-WA dictionary.)

Use any verbs or action words you like at all. Some examples might be

Go – IKU
Leave – DERU
Love – AI SURU
To be absent - SHUSSEKI SURU


I’ll explain to you how to put verbs into base II, but first let me briefly state a few ke points to keep in mind about Japanese verbs. All Japanese verbs will end in some sort of consonant + u combination. U itself is an ending as are the following. (Please refer to a katakana chart or hiragana chart to find the middle row that contains the syllables that end in u)our letter the u (pronounced ooh in Japanese), and it also may end with 9 other possible consonant combinations.

Instructions for putting regular Japanese verbs into base II:

1. Look in your English Japanese dictionary for the verb you want to use.
2. Put your chosen verb into base II


(In order to use the JPPGG (Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar) system, you’ll really need to know how to we put Japanese verbs into their various bases. I admonish you to begin your study now if you intend on having any degree of skill speaking in the Japanese language.)

I can tell you that all verbs listed in the dictionary are in a form know as plain form. All verbs will end in one of the following syllabic combination

ku,
su,
tsu,
nu,
h, (no fu line)
mu,
y, (no yu line)
ru,

and u

Instrutions: Take the dictionary form and decide which type of verb it is, whether it be an ichidan or a yodan verb. This distinction will determine how to make it base II.

I’ll bet you didn’t know that in Japanese grammar, there is an I before E except after C type rule. Now you should realize the two types of Japanese verbs. Verbs ending in eru or iru are called ICHIDAN verbs. The other type of verbs, that is, any verb that doesn’t end with the three roman letters of eru or iru, are called Yo^dan verbs.

With each of the these verbs comes distinctly separate rules or ways to form them, or put them into base II. Today’s grammar construction says to put the verb into base II then add + so^ desu. If we can form this construction, we will then be able to makes sentences that make sense and convey meanings to other speakers of Japanese. So First we must learn how to put verbs into base II.

Rule #1
Putting ICHIDAN verbs into base II:

Drop the final syllable of the verb, “ru”, so that only either i or e remain.

Here is an example of putting an ichidan verb into base II. Ochiru ends in iru making it an ICHIDIAN verb, we drop the ru and leave the i., so that

ochiru – ru = ochi
ochiru in base II is ochi

OCHIRU (落ちる) - to fall - Ochiru (base II) = OCHI


Ochi would be considered the stem before putting the verb into any base, as is the case with ichidan verbs. It is often referred to as the stem.

Rule #2
Putting Yodan verbs into base II is to drop u and change u into an i with whatever consonant may have preceded it.

Possible outcomes -

If verb ends in ku then the verb in base II will end in ki,
If verb ends in gu then the verb in base II will end in gu,
If verb ends in bu then the verb in base II will end in bi,
If verb ends in pu then the verb in base II will end in pi,
If verb ends in su then the verb in base II will end in shi,
If verb ends in tsu then the verb in base II will end in chi,
If verb ends in nu then the verb in base II will end in ni,
If verb ends in mu then the verb in base II will end in mi,
If verb ends in ru then the verb in base II will end in ri.

Hopefully you are gaining a handle on this base II stuff. Ganbatte Ne. Do your best!


All we have left to do for this grammar construction and start making sentences that make senses is to add the + SO^ DESU to our verbs in base II. Simple. For IRU and ERU ending verbs (i.e. ichidan verbs) simply drop off the last syllable ru and add + SO^ DESU. For all other verbs put into i ending of the consonant combination that precedes the u and and add + SO^ DESU

When you practice pronouncing the sentences that you create by using the above construction remember the double vowels, to hold them longer on the So^ desu. Note the ^ symbol stands for the double vowel sound so So^ is sounded Sou ,or so with a long o.

HANASU (話す) - to speak -
Hanasu (base II) = HANASHI

NAKU ( 泣く) - to cry
NAKU (base II) = NAKI

By adding So^ + desu to a Japanese verb in base II, the verb takes on a nuance that the verb in question the action word is about to take place. It could also be interpreted to mean , “ It look like (seems, appears as if etc.) that they (he, she, it, them , us , we, her, my granddad etc) are going to verb soon. I find it unnecessary to think of the sentences I construct in this way as - seems ‘about to’ verb. On the verge of verb’ing

HANASHI SO^ DESU (話しそう)
HANASHISO^ DESU - It seems he is about to speak

OCHI SO^ DESU (落ちそう です)
OCHISO^ DESU - looks like they are about to fall down




As always, Ganbatte Ne!
Do your best!
Makurasuki Sensei


http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/Ahsh

A special thanks to NJ Japanese word processor which concocted the following _

話す - 話し -

落ちる- 落ち -

泣く - 泣き - 泣きそう

出席する

行く

愛 する

What in the world learn a ol Japanese language

Table 1 - The 46 Syllables of the Japanese Syllabary (romanized)
a
ka
sa
ta
na
ha
ma
ya
ra
wa
n
i
ki
shi
chi
ni
hi
mi

ri
u
ku
su
tsu
nu
fu
mu
yu
ru
e
ke
se
te
ne
he
me

re
o
ko
so
to
no
ho
mo
yo
ro
wo

Table 2 - The 46 Syllables of the Japanese Syllabary called the gojuon or 50 sounds (Hiragana)
¤¢
¤«
¤µ
¤¿
¤Ê
¤Ï
¤Þ
¤ä
¤é
¤ï
¤ó
¤¤
¤­
¤·
¤Á
¤Ë
¤Ò
¤ß

¤ê
¤¦
¤¯
¤¹
¤Ä
¤Ì
¤Õ
¤à
¤æ
¤ë
¤¨
¤±
¤»
¤Æ
¤Í
¤Ø
¤á

¤ì
¤ª
¤³
¤½
¤È
¤Î
¤Û
¤â
¤è
¤í
¤ò


When the tsu syllable is added before the syllables beginning with k,p, and t (ie. the consonants sounds of k,p, or t), a hardened double consonant sound is produced. You literally spit out the sounds or, as I like to put it, smack the consonants. To better understand where I am coming from, imagine two billiard balls sitting on a pool table. One of the balls is a word that contains a single consonant sound like k, the other ball is the syllable tsu. Now shoot the k ball with your cue ball and when they hit upon impact kk sound. when the consonant sounds are doubled. This doubled consonant phenomenon can be likened to the English word bookkeeper. In bookkeeper the sound of the consonant k is doubled, adding the syllable tsu to ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, ta chi, tsu, te, to or, pa,pi,pu,pe,or po doubles the consonant sound of the consonant sound of the syllable immediately following it.

Japanese pronunciation rule #1 - A small ¤Ä(tsu) doubles the consonant sound that immediately follows it.

Examples:
makka ? deep red, completely red
jikken ? experiment or test
shuppan ? publish , shuppatsu ? departure
zettai ? absoluteness
tokkyo ? patent (not the city toukyou which has the elongated
happi ? the English word happy in katakana
gakkou ? school
chotto ? a little bit, a dink
appuru - apple


When n is not connected to a vowel (ie. usage of the last syllable of the Japanese syllabary or ¤ó(n) , it is like a syllable unto itself. It receives a full count if language were a music it would receive the same amount of time that a 2 lettered syllable receives., and is denoted by the apostrophe ¡Æ. For example:
1. Kin¡Çen this is Japanese for no smoking not kinen or the word for anniversary.
so it has 4 syllables and the word for anniversary has 3.

To get a better feel of how the Japanese say words that begin with ra, ri, ru, re, or ro, do this: First, say to yourself in English the word Eddy then, make sure the tip of your tongue is touching delicately behind the upper front teeth and say it again Pronouncing it with just the right amount of lightness of tongue and a flicking forward of the tongue in this manner, you will come close to an acceptable pronunciation of the Japanese word for eri or collar.

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Lesson #17 – Putting verbs into the TA –form た-form



The abilitiy to put Japanese verbs into the various bases quickly without pause is a pre-requisite for speaking fluently and being perceived as being a capable conversationalist. Of all the verbs Bases (I, II, III, IV , V, TA, and TE) the TA form ranks high in usage as one of the top three most used bases for verbs only after TE-てand Base-III or root form. I am focusing on it now in order to prepare you for the quick powerful grammar secrets that employ Base TA verbs which will catapult your Japanese speaking ability through the roof. I’ll be discussing many grammar rules that use the verb in Base TA. One of the main things you should know about the TA form of a verb is that it is used to put verbs into past tense plain form. A verb in base TA form is equivalent to English’s have done or past tense perfect. The TA form of a verb has evolved from the classical form tari and it still has many uses (see lesson #23 and #19)

Tip #17 How to put a verb in Base TA



Vowel Stemmed verbs (i.e. those ending in either eru or iru)
to put a verb into the TA form when the verb has a vowel stem simply add ta
Base III

Dictionary form
Stem
Base Ta
Meaning

kanjiru

oboeru

kangaeru

deru

iru


kanji

oboe

kangae

de

i
kanjita

oboeta

kangaeta

deta

ita
To feel becomes to have felt.

To remember becomes to have remembered.

To think becomes to have thought.

To leave becomes to have left.

To be becomes to have been. (was, were)




Try putting your favorite verb ending in iru or eru into the TA form today and get your Nihongo more Jozu!

And remember…

MORE WORDS MEMORIZED = HIGHER RATE of FLUENCY.

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Until next time. Ganbatte ne! Do your best!

Makurasuki Sensei

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Counting in Japanese - Some study strategies

On Counting in Japanese: a study strategy

1 – ichi
2 – ni
3 – san
4 – shi, yon
5 – go
6 - roku
7 –shichi, nana
8 – hachi, ha
9 – kyu, ku
10 – ju, to
11 – ju ichi
12 – ju ni
13 – ju san
etc
20 –ni ju
21 – ni ju ichi
22 – ni ju ni
30 – san ju
31 - san ju ichi
95 – kyu ju go
99 – kyu ju kyu
100 – hyaku
101 – hyaku ichi
108 – hyaku hachi
197 – hyaku kyu ju nana (shichi)
200 – ni hyaku
300 – sam byaku
400 – yon hyaku
500 –go hyaku
600 – roppyaku
700 – nanahyaku
800 – happyaku
900 – kyuhyaku
1000 – sen
1001 – sen ichi
2000 ni sen
Etc

Some of my best spent hours studying Japanese were when I recited to myself the numbers in Japanese from zero to one million, and then back to zero again. Yes it got a little tedious and after a while I would think to myself, “O.K. Enough is enough! I mean gee… to 1 million and back… that is going a little out of the way just to learn some language don’t you think?” Not to a die-hard that really wants to speak the language. I was extremely determined to master Japanese, that is why I recited the numbers from zero to one million and then back again over and over again.

Other things I did which are strategies worth considering was that I would count from 0 to 1 million by 2’s, by 3’s, by 4’s and by 5’s, 6’s, 7’s, 8’s, 9’s, and 10’s. Some numbers seemed for some reason or another harder than the others, so I would concentrate more on the hard ones. I don’t think I tried 11’s but it could produce the same results. It surely stems from basically the same idea. The more your mouth and brain coordinate their efforts in the target languages the better prepared you will be to use them in the real world. So go ahead use you try some of these out until you can say them without hesitation.

Below, are ways to practice counting in Japanese. Always practice with correct pronunciation. Start off counting slowly, then build up speed and swiftness of speech. Counting in Japanese will help you get better at speaking in it.

1. Count from 0 to 1 million and go backwards once you arrive at a million to get to zero once again. Again if 1 million seems tough, it would be o.k. to go as far as you can, but maybe stretch yourself a little, a least 99,000 or something. You want to get good don’t you?
2. Count up the odd numbers from 0 to 1 million
3. Count up the even numbers from 0 to 1 million
4. Do #2 and #3 backwards from 1 million
5. Count through your numbers by 3’s, 4’s, 5’s etc
6. Do long division by saying out loud in Japanese the problem

Here are some nice handy math words that will give you hours of word play:

To add – tasu
To divide – waru
To multiply -kakeru
To subtract – hiku

Until you’ve actually recited the numbers from zero to one million (1,000,000) a couple of times through without hesitation and eventually to do it without even thinking about it. That is one of the secrets of fluency. It sprouts from one’s ability to think in the target language. If you catch yourself thinking in the target language that is a good sign; if you catch yourself dreaming in the target language you have reached bliss, SLA bliss. You are heading towards fluency.

 I got to a point where my dreams would be in Japanese and it didn’t matter who or what type of people were in my dreams, everybody spoke in Japanese. I remember my mom and dad who aren’t too familiar with the Japanese language, but in my dreams were conversing with me full on like natives themselves. So what is the point of all this? The point is akin to the old adage,’when in Rome do as the Romans do’.

The more one thinks in the target language the more apt they are to acquire the language. Lets face it there is no quick road to fluency except hard work, goal oriented study, persistent practice and an iron will coupled with an abundance of motivation. I hope this little lesson won’t discourage anyone about learning languages. Because there will be some that are too lazy start the training, their motivation will be sub par for their needs, and thus they will not make it to fluency. But those who persevere and but instead will inspire people to go for it, even though the road to fluency isn’t yellow nor bricked. These are things that I know of that will enable an SL learner how to speak in a foreign tongue and bring them closer to near perfect fluency.

Japanese counters

More Japanese Counters
continued…

The final Countdown

10 – ju
9 – ku
8 – hachi
7 – shichi, nana
6 -- roku
5 – go
4 – yon
3 – san
2 – ni
1 – ichi
0 –zero, rei, o-maru, maru
-----------------------------------

soku – pair of counter, (socks, tabi socks etc.)

ichi (1*) + soku = issoku, (etc.*). ni-soku, san-zoku, yousoku, go-soku, roku-soku, nana-soku, ha-ssoku, kyu-soku, ju-soku, ju-i-ssoku, ju-ni-soku etc.

ken – larger buildings, houses etc.

i-kken ni-ken san-gen, yon-ken, go-ken, ro-kken, nana-ken, ha-kken (This is also the verb to discover, no relation ,just a homonym**.)

ma – room (1, 2 , 3 bedroom house etc.)

ichi-ma ni-ma, san-ma, yon-ma, go-ma, roku-ma, nana-ma, hachi-ma, kyu-ma, ju-ma, ju-ichi-ma, ju-ni-ma etc

retsu – line (line-up), straight line etc.

ichi-retsu, ni-retsu, san-retsu, yon-retsu, go-retsu, roku-retsu, shichi-retsu, nana-retsu hachi-retsu, kyu-retsu, ju-retsu, ju-ichi-retsu, ju-ni-retsu etc.

Special cases - Sounds the same but is not written the same.

The Japanese language contains many homonyms (Words that sound the same yet have different meaning).** I am reminded of the Japanese word kiku. If you look up kiku in a dictionary there you will find at least 3 different ways of writing the sounds that for ”kiku” (“key coo”) yet written in 3 distinct ways. In Japanese since words are represented by symbols (kanji) Kanji is system for writing down words borrowed from the Chinese yet evolving into something Japanesque being formed into almost entirely new system of writng scripts.

A lot of times although the Japanese borrowed a kanji for probably at some point in history was a word that meant basically the same thing but, if you write tegami or two kanji for the word which is in Japanese letter, you write the same two kanji and ask a Chinese person to tell you what it means and they wll say toilet paper. One example I am particularly fond of is that unto itself different meanings for the same utterance of sound. They are written in entirely different ways of course in KanjiLearn all three meanings for kiku by listening to the way it used in natural speech. Depending on context it could be a 1. kiku v. to be effective, 2. kiku n .chrysanthemum, 3. kiku v. to listen.