Home
History
Understanding Anime
Know Japan
Through Anime
Featured Anime
Other Wallpapers
Terminology
Anime Reviews
What's new?
 |
Terminology
About Japanese: A Short Description
The Japanese language is a unique and fascinating language. It's written form consists of various picture image characters called kanji (ex. the character to the left stands for learning). The kanji were imported from Chinese written language to create the base of the Japanese written language. Japanese also contains picture characters called kana, which are two syllabaries derived from kanji. Hiragana is akin to cursive kana, and katakana (Square-looking characters) is akin to italics. Kanji is used more to convey meaning, whereas hiragana are used to indicate functions of words, and katakana is used to emphasize words. Japanese is a language with strong foundation in and connections to the social organization, way of thinking, customs, and habits of Japanese culture. This is evidenced in their preference for polite, and non rude or boasting speech.
A popular form of 'Americanized' Japanese called Romanized Japanese has been used in the U.S. in order to make it easier and faster to learn the spoken language. Romanized Japanese enables one to learn the spoken language without knowing the written format ( i.e. memorizing all of the written characters). This is the method that is utilized by this page, since a lot of people don't have the Asian fonts installed and active.
Japanese Syllables
- Short and Long syllables
- Short syllables are the Japanese basic unit of pronunciation. But, letters with a bar over them are long syllables. They need to be pronounced for twice as long. For example: Tokyo should be pronounced like To-o-kyo-o.
- Table of Basic Japanese Syllable Structure
- These are the basic sounds that are used to form Japanese words. The left hand column consists of vowels. Each corresponding row consists of sounds utilizing that vowel. These sounds are used to form the words that make up the Japanese language. The consonants below are pronounced pretty much the same as in English, but refer to the next lesson for vowel pronunciation technique. Notice how there is no sound in Japanese equivalent to the English sounds 'l', 'v', or 'r'. Also note that the only consonant that can be written alone is n.
a ka ga sa za ta da na ha pa ba ma ya ra wa -n
i ki gi shi ji chi ni hi pi bi mi ri
u ku gu su zu tsu nu fu pu bu mu yu ru
e ke ge se ze te de ne he pe be me re
o ko go so zo to do no ho po bo mo yo ro
kya gya sha ja cha nya hya pya bya mya rya
kyu gyu shu ju chu nyu hyu pyu byu myu ryu
kyo gyo sho jo cho nyo hyo pyo byo myo ryo
- A Japanese Syllable consists of a vowel alone, a combination consonant + vowel, or a consonant + glide + vowel. There are also two types of syllabic consonants, one which is used to double consonants other than n and m in a non-initial syllable, and another (-n), which is used to double the consonants n and m, or can be at the end of another syllable.
Japanese Vowels and How They Are Pronounced
Vowel Pronounced as in the Word:
a father
i macaroni
u zulu
e edge
o oasis
Note: The vowels i and u are often devoiced or whispered when spoken.
Japanese Numbers
Japanese English
ichi one
ni two
san three
yon four
go five
roku six
nana seven
hachi eight
kyuu nine
juu ten
ni juu twenty
san juu thirty
yon juu fourty
go juu fifty
roku juu sixty
nana juu seventy
hachi juu eighty
kyuu juu ninety
hyaku one hundred
sen one thousand
Japanese Colors
Japanese English
aka red
orenji orange
ki (iro) yellow
midori green
aoi blue
murasaki purple
momoiro pink
Useful Japanese Phrases
Japanese English
1. o hayou gozaimas 1. good morning
2. kon-nichiwa 2. good afternoon
3. konban wa 3. good evening
4. oyasuminasai 4. good night
5. wakarimasen 5. I do not understand
6. Anata no namae wa nan to
iimasu ka? 6. What is your name
7. o-ai dekite ureshii desu 7. nice to meet you
8. o-genki desu ka 8. how are you?
9. ja 9. so long
10. Toire wa doko desu ka? 10. Where is the bathroom?
11. So desu ka 11. Is that so?
12. Do itashimashite 12. You are welcome
13. O-negai shimasu 13. I beg of you
14. Sumimasen 14. I am sorry
15. Kekko desu 15. That's fine
16. Meri Kurisumasu 16. Merry Christmas
Useful Japanese Words
Japanese English
1. Eigo 1. English
2. watashi 2. I
3. watashi tachi 3. we
4. anata 4. you (singular)
5. karera 5. they
6. yoi 6. good
7. kanai 7. wife
8. shujin 8. husband
9. musume 9. daughter
10. musuko 10. son
11. okaasan 11. mother
12. otousan 12. father
13. tomodachi 13. friend
14. Sayonara 14. Goodbye
15. Sensei 15. Teacher
16. hon 16. book
17. eiga 17. movie
18. seito 18. student
19. isha 19. medical doctor
20. kirei 20. pretty, neat, nice
21. doko 21. where
22. dare 22. who
23. nani 23. what
24. itsu 24. when
25. kekko 25. fine, good, excellent
26. koko 26. here
27. soko 27. there
28. no shita ni 28. under, beneath
29. no ue ni 29. over, above
30. suru 30. to do (the verb)
31. shiru 31. to know (the verb)
32. hoshii 32. desired, desirable
33. kau 33. to buy (the verb)
34. aiji (na) 34. important
35. dekiru 35. to be able to do
36. tanoshii 36. pleasant, hapy, enjoyable
37. negau 37. desire, wish for
38. utsukushii 38. beautiful
39. dame 39. no good
40. tomodachi 40. friend
41. shin'nen 41. New Year
42. omisoka 42. New Year's Eve
How to Form Sentences
- The Japanese form their sentences differently than we do in English. The usual word order in Japanese is as follows:
- Subject -- Object -- Verb or
- Subject --Adjective or
- Topic (Notional Subject) -- Immediate subject -- Verb
- Many times, sentences are begun with an introductory 'topic' word that sets the stage for the later content of the sentence.
Singular VS Plural
- Japanese nouns have no plural forms. i.e. the word neko can be used to mean cat or cats. This means one must infer whether it is singular or plural from the context of the sentence.
Suffixes: Usage and Meaning
- Japanese Name Suffix
- -san
- Term of respect that is used when referring to a person
older than yourself, or with whom you are not very familiar
- -chan
- Term used to indicate affection or endearment (used among
friends)
- -sama
- Term used to indicate formal respect. Often used when
addressing ones teachers.
- -kun
- Term used towards male friends or acquaintances who are
younger or the same age as you
- -ko
- Used as a permanent suffix on a female name, or can be used
to make a shortened 'nickname' form of a name for someone
who you are romantically involved with. (ex: in Sailormoon,
Mamoru is heard calling Usagi 'Usako')
Common Anime Expressions<
Japanese English
arigato gozaimasu thank you
baka idiot or fool
bara rose
bishojo pretty or beautiful girl
chibi little
densetsu legend
fuku clothing-in this case, sailor suits
gekko moonlight
ginzuishou Imperium silver crystal
gomen nasai I'm sorry
hai yes or ok
henshin transform
iie no
kanji ideograms used to write Japanese
kawaii cute
kokoro heart, spirit, or mind
konban wa good evening
konnichi wa good afternoon
manga Japanese comic
minna everyone
moshi moshi hello (when answering the phone)
mugen infinity
nani what?
neko cat
odango atama dumpling head
ohayo gozaimasu good morning
ofuda nti-evil scroll
oyasumi nasai good night (used before bed)
seiya starry night
seiyuu voice actor/actress
sempai senior or superior
senshi warrior or soldier
shine die (shouted threat by enemies)
shojo young girl
shonen young boy
Usagi rabbit
yoma monster
yume dream
Note: If you have any
other informations, corrections, or suggestions please e-mail me!
Resources:
http://www.loveofanime.com/aojapanandanime.htm
|
