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[learnjapanesewithme]

using たら to make the conditional

たら is one of several words that can be used to make the conditional (if). 

To form this you use AたらB, where A is the event that will take place if B happens. 

Examples- 

日本に行ったら、着物を買います。= I will buy a kimono if I go to Japan

百万円あったら、車を買うんですけど。- If I had a million yen, I would buy a car

The た in たら relates to the short form past tense of the verb. 

conjugation table- 

Verbs= change into past tense short form + ら い-Adjectives = (～い) かったら な-Adjectives= だったら Nouns = だった + ら

[learnjapanesewithme]

how to form basic verbs in keigo / 敬語の動詞の形

n.b.: if you don’t know the difference between 尊敬語 (sonkeigo) and 謙譲語 (kenjougo), or much about 敬語 (keigo) in general, i recommend a quick google search or glancing over an article like this one! also, i won’t be glossing any kanji, bc i’m lazy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

みなさん、お久しぶりですね！ today i’m going to guide you guys through the verb forms for japanese 敬語. 敬語 can be pretty tricky, but the rules for forming 敬語 verbs (like many rules in japanese) are actually quite consistent. 

there are three 尊敬語 (honorific) forms i’m going to go over today: the Vください form, the Vになります form, and the “simple 尊敬語” form. i’ll also give a brief list of verbs that have specific forms in 尊敬語. after that, i’ll go over one 謙譲語 (humble) form, the Vします form, and then a list of 謙譲語-specific verb forms. さて、行きましょう！

尊敬語：お・ごVください

this form is used to say “please” to a superior, but it doesn’t use the 〜て form like in 丁寧語. here’s how to form it with ichidan, godan, and する verbs.

ichidan/godan verbs: おVますください

かける → かけます → ソファにおかけください

入る → 入ります → どうぞお入りください

する verbs: ごNするください

注意する → 閉まるドアにご注意ください

尊敬語：おVになります

this form is used as a more formal replacement for the usual Vます form, but shouldn’t be used with する verbs* OR verbs that have special forms in 敬語 (see below).

ichidan/godan verbs: おVますになります

書く → 書きます → この教科書は鈴木先生がお書きになりました

帰る → 帰ります → 何時にお帰りになりましたか

する verbs: ❌*

❌ ご説明になりました*

⭕️ ご説明なさいました・説明されました (see below)

*according to the textbook i’m using (see sources), these are incorrect. however, i have seen some posts online that say ごNになります is an acceptable form, so it’s not impossible you’ll see it in the wild (perhaps the times they are a-changing?).

尊敬語：簡単尊敬語 (aka the “active passive”)

have you ever seen a japanese verb in the passive and said to yourself, “actually that makes no sense at all”? it was probably one of these “simple 尊敬語” forms! they are used like the active voice but written like the passive, so you have to tell the difference from context. also, they are NOT used with ください.

ichidan verbs: Vないられます

食べる → 食べない → 刺身を食べられますか

godan verbs: Vないれます

読む  →  読まない → 今朝の新聞を読まれましたか

する verbs: Nするされます

紹介する → 先生が新しい学生を紹介されました

ください form: ❌

❌ 英語で話されてください

⭕️ 英語でお話しください

this form is not quite as formal as おVになります, and it comes across as a little more friendly or “気軽,” so be careful when you use it. it might be more appropriate to use with strangers, for example, than with your boss.

尊敬語： verbs with special forms

some verbs are actually completely different in 敬語, for reasons probably more complicated than i care to find out (lol). here is a list of some common ones for 尊敬語!

行きます・来ます・います → いらっしゃいます・おいでになります

言います → おっしゃいます

見ます → ご覧になります

飲みます・食べます → 召し上がります

知っています → ご存知です

します → なさいます

くれます → くださいます

寝ます → お休みになります

着ます → お召しになります

住んでいます → お住まいです

死にました → お亡くなりになりました

です → でいらっしゃいます

謙譲語：お・ごVします

when speaking about your own actions to a superior, you can use this 謙譲語 form to be more humble and formal than you would be using Vます. this form isn’t used with verbs with special 謙譲語 forms.

ichidan/godan verbs: おVますします

届ける → 届けます → この書類をお届けします

持つ → 持ちます → 社長の荷物をお持ちします

する verbs: ごNします

説明する → 先生に新しいパソコンの使い方をご説明します

a quick note about this form: generally when using 謙譲語, it is common to omit 私が at the beginning of sentences/phrases, since you are already referring to yourself by using humble language anyway.

謙譲語： verbs with special forms

just like with 尊敬語, 謙譲語 has verbs whose forms change entirely. here are some of the most common ones!

行きます・来ます → 参ります・伺います

います → おります

言います → 申します (in 自己紹介)・申し上げます

見ます → 拝見します

飲みます・食べます → いただきます

知っています → 存じております (thing)・存じ上げております (person)

思います → 存じます

します → いたします

あげます → 差し上げます

もらいます → いただきます

会います → お会いします・お目にかかります

聞きます → お聞きします・伺います

あります → ございます

です → でございます

sources

the examples in this post are mostly taken from the textbook 新にほんご敬語トレーニング, which i have started working with recently! expect more 敬語-related posts in the future :D

[learnjapanesewithme]

Using みたいです to say ‘looks like’

みたいです follows a noun and expresses the idea that someone/ something looks like the person described by the noun. 

Example- 私の友達は猫みたいです。- my friend looks/acts like a cat

みたいです can also follow a verb and expresses the idea that something appears to be the case. 

Example- 雨が降ったみたいですね。- It looks like it has rained, doesn’t it?

[learnjapanesewithme]

If you want to gain confidence speaking, mimic. Sing along to songs, and say lines from shows in your target language.

And do it with enthusiasm! Try different voices, put emotion into it! Act it out!

Speak to yourself in the language. Treat it like your native one. Make up dumb little songs that you mutter under your breath while doing something. Swear in the language!

Learn some phrases you use a lot. “Estoy Cansada” (I’m tired) and “Quiero comer algo” (I want to eat something) are good ones to start with. By trying to speak your target language you also get an idea of what grammar and vocab you are missing.

[learnjapanesewithme]

yea so what if you speak your target language with an heavy accent?? so what if you screw up grammar??? so what if you stutter and have to ask them to repeat themselves 20 times?? at least you’re speaking and guess what??? you’re doing better than the 40% of the world that only speaks one language so ig you’re pretty badass

[learnjapanesewithme]

japanese emojis — meaning

emoji – meaning – origin

��️ here – ココ 

🈂️ service – サービス 

🈷️ month/moon – 月 (げつ / がつ / つき)

🈚️ free of charge / there isn’t  – 無料 (むりょう) / 無し (なし)

🈶️ not free of charge / there is  – 有料 (ゆうりょう) / 有り (あり)

🈯️ reserved –  指定 (してい) 

🉐️ bargain – 得 (とく)

🈹️ discount – 割引 (わりびき)

🈲️ prohibited – 禁止 (きんし)

🉑️ acceptable – 可 (か)

🈸️ application – 申請 (しんせい)

🈴️ passing grade – 合格 (ごうかく)

🈳️ vacancy – 空室 (くうしつ) 

🈵️ no vacancy – 満室 (まんしつ) 

㊗️ congratulations – お祝い (おいわい)

㊙️ secret – 秘密 (ひみつ)

🈺️ open for business – 営業 (えいぎょう)

💮 well done/good job – 大変よくできました (たいへんよくできました)

[learnjapanesewithme]

[learnjapanesewithme]

english and japanese medical terms - part two

panic attack - パニックほっさ

side effects - ふくさよう

antidepressants - こううつやく

suicide - じさつ

post traumatic stress - しんてきがいしょうごストレス

toxicity - どくせい

symptoms - しょうこう

sexual dysfunction - せいきのうしょうがい

angry - おこる

lack of energy - せいりょくがない

shame - しゅうちしん

guilt - ざいあくかん

hyperactive - かかつどう

[learnjapanesewithme]

What’s the right way to say something nice about one’s family members publicly in Japanese in Japan? Like “my mother is a really awesome cook, she made this delicious dish”.. they usually consider it arrogant to talk like that, though, right, about one’s own family members?

Hi there! Thank you for your ask!

You are correct that speaking highly of your family members is generally considered bragging, but there are still ways you can talk about them without coming across as arrogant.

Firstly, let’s talk about the words we use to refer to parents. There are two sets: the ones we use to talk about our own parents, and the ones we use to talk about other people’s parents.

Our parents:

両親 ryoushin, parents

母 haha, (my) mother

父 chichi (my) father

Other people’s parents:

ご両親 goryoushin, (your) parents

お母さん okaasan (your) mother

お父さん otousan (you) father

If you’re in a particularly formal environment, you can use -sama instead of -san when referring to someone else’s parents, but that can sound pretty stiff.

How to Speak Positively About Your Family or Yourself

You know how “liking” something and “being good at” something are two totally different things? You may like knitting, but you wouldn’t force anyone to wear one of your hole-ridden sweaters, for example haha. 

Well, Japanese people often talk about liking something when they actually want to talk about being good at something.

Instead of saying, “My mom is an amazing cook,” say, “My mom really likes to cook.”

What you want to say: My mom is very good at cooking. 母は料理がとても上手です。 Haha ha ryouri ga totemo jouzu desu.

What you SHOULD say: My mom really loves cooking. 母は料理するのがとても好きです。 Haha ha ryouri suru no ga totemo suki desu.

What you want to say: My mom’s homemade pizza is the best. 母の手作りピザが最高です。 Haha no tezukuri piza ga saikou desu.

What you SHOULD say: I’m particularly fond of her homemade pizza. 母の手作りピザを特に気に入ってます。 Haha no tezukuri piza wo toku ni ki ni ittemasu.

You can also say something along the lines of “My mom can cook a little.” This will most likely lead to the Japanese person saying, “Oh, then I bet she’s very good!” and then you’ll have to say, “No, no, not really,” and unless you’re confident in your conversation skills, it can be a delicate dance of staying humble while singing praises haha.

[learnjapanesewithme]

INTERMEDIATES! THE CAKE WAS A LIE!

I found a quote from AJATT that perfectly sums up this week for me.

"This does not involve looking at an English sentence and translating it into Japanese. Do not translate from English to Japanese. Why? Well, because there are so many possible translations for a given sentence, how are you going to say which is right and which is wrong? Are you only going to count the one you’ve got written down? That’s too restrictive and too failure-prone. What’s more, if you get the Japanese sentence wrong, you haven’t just made a mistake, you’ve sown the seeds of bad Japanese. Good Japanese starts with mindlessly imitating good Japanese. Don’t go inventing your own Japanese; no one will understand you. You’ll be doing the Japanese equivalent of “all your base are belong to us” (Japanese discussion of the same) “全ての貴方のベースは私に属する”. It sounds weird…off."

So I've noticed recently that when a foreigner writes out Japanese I understand it PERFECTLY 100% of the time. Even if those sentences are long or complex. But Native Japanese sentences I don't understand at all, virtually ever. It's so frustrating!

But then I realized this is an extension of something else I've been saying, but haven't necessarily written down yet, and that is that what we're taught in textbooks and learning apps is WESTERNIZED Japanese. It's created for your learning ease. As such, not necessarily the grammar, but the vocabulary and sentence choices is built with your native language in mind. What will YOU understand easiest.

The first time it clicked to me that maybe it was time to step away from all the learning materials I had been using was when, in several instances, I noticed no one used the word 椅子(いす) for chair. I would set myself up to be listening for 椅子 in a scene and it just wouldn't come... was I listening wrong? Nope. The more common word is 席(せき). Not one place had taught me 席!

I didn't think about it much but on my tumblr blog I used to translate Japanese comics and pictures. And often I would say "this phrase literally says _____ but the FEEL of the sentence is closer to (completely different translation)." But I seemed to just repress this AHA! And continued on Japanglish-ing my sentences. Derp derp.

Now that I have people to talk to IN Japanese I'm finding I'm VERY CLOSE. The corrections I get are a particle here, a particle there, and the occasional word. And the replies I get show that I'm getting even complex stories across... but I suspect even with the corrections my sentences are strange... because I was fed strange example sentences. So I've been allowed to keep my western style of communicating... which makes my speaking manner at best, weird, and at worst, completely incomprehensible. The worst part is I can't just pop onto Duo or Memrise and do the Naturalized Japanese course to correct that. Now I have to data-mine TV shows, Dramas, News, Music, Movies none of which I can understand despite my supposed level... for sentences and vocab I should have been learning from day 1. Aaaaaahhhh

The cake was a lie. We've all been speaking Japanglish.

Maybe one day the whole learning method can be revamped. This sucks.

[learnjapanesewithme]

I know I need to hear this, so I’m pretty sure some of you do, too:

It’s absolutely okay to take a break or a hiatus from practicing your target language due to physical and/or mental illnesses/disabilities!

I know it seems like everyone who’s learning languages is always organized and studies religiously every day. That may be the case for some, but it’s not so for all of us!

Language learning is a not a race or a competition! It’s a love affair and a process, and it’s absolutely okay if you don’t have the energy to study every day or if you need to take a weeks’/months’/years’ long break.

Your target language(s) will be there for you when you’re ready to come back, no matter how many breaks you take, or how long they last!

Drink your water, take your meds, charge your (medical) devices, decorate your (mobility) aids. Be kind to yourself!

[learnjapanesewithme]

Okay so a couple of Japanese grammar questions:

1) When do you use 話せます vs 話します?

2) When talking about days/seasons etc, when do you use the に particle and when do you use the は particle?

3) What’s the difference between 聞く and 聴く?

[learnjapanesewithme]

How to learn a language and its culture together

1 Learn typical recipes (maybe try to recreate them)

2 Watch movies (not only the genres and themes you prefer, but watch their classic movies that everyone there already watched)

3 Listen to music (same as 2)

4 Watch and read the news (follow the news on social media)

5 Watch people travelling around the country

6 Follow youtubers (the vloggers who visit buildings, who talk about festivals and holidays and do stuff at the town)

7 Read books (you can read in english and then re-read in the target language, it’ll make easier)

8 Follow random people on social media (in that way you’ll can see the everyday language, photos of some city, political stuff, etc)

9 Follow meme pages - memes aren’t spaceless and timeless, they talk about some subject the people from that culture are talking about

10 Talk to natives and ask them about their daily lives

[learnjapanesewithme]

I want to spread the word on here about Asian Boss.

They are an independent media company that focuses on the many pressing issues within the global asian community, aiming to showcase the diversity of asia, hosting in-depth interviews to recognize various asian voices and tackle topics such as comfort women in ww2, the importance of sex education, the discrimation towards asians in this time of COVID-19, the dangers of mental health stigma, colourism towards darker skinned asians and anti-blackness in general, the homophobia in our community, and MANY more. In addition to this, they have raised several fundraisers, including one that raised enough money to pay for the highschool tuition of a teen mom in the philippines. They have done so many great things with their platform, but.

Unfortunately, they are currently months away from being shut down due to the lack of funding because of the pandemic. Linked is their video on it where they further discuss the situation.

https://youtu.be/CgoSDj6AQGc

Information is vital, and I am sad to see this happen to an organization that has been so helpful in spreading knowledge about asian issues and supporting asian voices. Here is their gofundme, any donations can help, reblogging and spreading the word can help a lot as well! So far they have raised $21,962. Please boost!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/saveasianboss

[learnjapanesewithme]

Any recommendations of LGBT+ japanese YouTubers you might know? And similarly, and Finnish ones?

Hi! I’ll write down a few! I mostly watch wlw couple channels. The wlw representation in Japanese media (or any media let’s be honest) is scarce, but in the last couple of years Youtube has become a great asset in taking control of the narrative.

TabiEats: A middle-aged gay couple in Tokyo introduce Japanese foods to international audiences in English.

Taiki & Noah: A Japanese-Korean gay couple channel with English subs. They also happen to be beautiful male models with legs for days so perhaps not the most relatable lifestyle out of the bunch, but their channel is very charming haha. Plus I’m endlessly interested in other couples who don’t share the same first language as that’s my everyday reality too.

Kazue-chan: A Youtube pioneer who over the years has interviewed lgbtq people and their family members from all over the country, bringing hope to the community in the knowledge that we are everywhere and our lives are worth living.

Papi life: A charming lesbian couple channel that does frequent live streams. (I’m using gay and lesbian as umbrella terms for these couple channels but some of them may and do idenfity as bi.) They just moved into a new flat and omg i’m so excited for them!!! They have a great double act chemistry that’s fun to fun watch. I just love them!!

L BIAN TV: Another wlw couple channel! They were one of the first Japanese wlw channels as far as I know. Their content is pretty varied from sitdown videos to vlogs. I am all the comments screaming how cool U-chan is when she drives.

Wagashi channel: Another lesbian couple channel that started soon after Lbian TV. Unfortunately I tend to pass out from watching their videos because they ooze such cool model vibes.

Ukapeko channel: A young lesbian couple from Fukuoka! They’ve been together since middle school which is pretty wild. Peko-san is the cool sempai we all wish we had lol.

Yobu to Yobo channel: A Japanese-Korean lesbian couple channel that I discovered recently. I’m pretty new to them but omg they’re so charming and such pleasant talkers and really funny and quickly becoming my faves.

Obabian channel: A most wholesome channel by a group of thirty and fortysomething lesbian obasans. They should have a tv show, this is the content we need to see.

Shiba and Koji: Just two dudes being ridiculously beautiful in ridiculously beautiful environments.

Kanataimu: Personal channel of a trans man with a very nice, calm presence. The channel is fairly new, Kanata first started as a Youtuber with his roommate on another channel but they parted ways because the roommate was abusive. He grew up with a deaf parent, so he also makes videos about Japanese sign language. Please note that the Japanese trans community uses terms that non-Japanese people may not be comfortable using, so if you’re not trans, make sure you know the terms preferred by your local community!

Kareshi wa mousugu otokonoko: A ridiculously cute couple channel by a trans boyfriend and his cis girlfriend who met while working at a convenience store. They look so happy & in love and I love them. Again, please note that the preferred terminology may not be the same outside of Japan!

I’m saving the best ones for last! Both of these are actually Korean channels, but I’m putting them here anyway because I want the world to experience them. These are my two favourite channels, nothing else comes close.

Mango couple: This is a vlog channel by a gay couple who have been together for seven years. Kim is the ambitious president of a queer rights organisation in Seoul and works a demanding corporate job. Pack who edits the videos is more of a free spirit with depths of emotional intelligence. Not much happens in their videos, yet each is a story that leaves you with a thought. I just really relate to these people on such a profound level. I’m around their age, I have been with the same person for over nine years which is most of my adult life, I have watched someone I love work themselves to exhaustion in the East Asian working culture. This channel feels like such a real representation of life with another person, as well as the struggle of being in your early 30s.

Channel Gimcheolsoo: Gim Cheolsoo was the first gay Youtuber in Korea to reveal his face. There are so many Korean gay couple channels now, but before him there was nothing. This channel is one of a kind. He doesn’t upload that often unfortunately, but when he does, it’s usually a video of an ordinary moment that is now gone. Moments alone, moments with his cats, moments with his boyfriend. The real magic of this channel is how you’ll watch a ten minute video of his boyfriend eating noodles and you will feel content because you know you have seen a person who is truly loved.

Sadly I don’t really vibe with the Finnish Youtube scene, which is a shame really now that I’m unable to go back there because of the Japanese travel restrictions for who knows how long, with no other Finnish speakers around but myself. :( I do like watching Valtteri Sandberg’s vlogs from time to time when I’m doing chores. He’ll cook and clean and talk about anxiety and insomnia for forty minutes so it’s relatable content lol. The podcast he does with his boyfriend is also pretty funny and down to earth. Kaksi äitiä ja kaksoset a channel by lesbian moms raising twins. Henny Harjusola is a pretty big trans youtuber though I don’t personally watch her content (it’s a small country of five million people so 100k subscribers is a big channel.) Tuure Boelius is a gay youtuber that teens watch but I’m way too old for his content haha. He released a song called Lätkäjätkä-Ville (hockey dude Ville) a couple of years ago where he makes out with a hockey jock in the locker room and it caused this whole controversy because hockey is like a religion in Finland and the toxic masculinity surrounding it is crazy.

This isn’t a comprehensive list by any means but I hope it helped!