Do you mean like "to float on water", "playing" on the water etc.?
Coz you said "on the water" not "in the water".

I mean as in being on a boat/sampan on the water.

oh i see. the verb is "to cruise" = "nagasu"

hey guys...im confusing with same pronunciation with different kind of stroke for example ki..which one is commonly use in book or exam ki that join together or separated ?

You mean "き"

You can write either way >> continuous stroke or in two different strokes. Doesn't really matter.

Thanks, but I don't really mean 'to cruise' on the water. I mean like to just be floating on the water in a boat. Btw what kanji does that nagasu use. I'm asking because my dictionaries have only the entry for 流す　which means to pour. My dictionaries Bojinsha-Oxford and Kenkyusha's College.

wanna ask something..hope my spelling is right..if not correct me pls

What is the following?
so shite
sore wa
shitemasu
dou ishitte
okage sama de

What is the difference between these two wakarinai and wakarimasen ? Also wakarimasen is i dun understand, but how to say u don't understand??

Do you say irashimase (welcome) after someone says, "arigato gozaimasu"?

What is okage sama de?

desu ne and desu ka difference ( e.g ii otenki desu ka? or ii otenki desu ne?)

sukoshi nihon go ga wakarimasu (does this means i understand a little japanese)

hmm

"to float" on water like to surface the water? You can either use the verb "浮く" (uku) or "浮かぶ" (ukabu) or "浮き上がる" (ukiagaru)

btw 流すcould also means "to float". Different dictionaries give different meanings.

流す
# to drain
# to float
# to shed (blood)

---

Added on December 30, 2009, 8:12 amWhat is the following? (I think you could Google translate these)
soshite
sore wa
shitemasu
dou ishitte

What is the difference between these two wakarinai (you mean wakaranai) and wakarimasen ? Also wakarimasen is i dun understand, but how to say u don't understand??
>> it's the verb forms "-nai" and "-masen". These forms make the verb in its negative form.
>> the simple form to say "You do not understand?" is "wakarimasenka?" (literally "do not understand?"). If you like to use pronouns, just add "anata wa wakarimasenka?" (or any other pronouns you like to use)

Do you say irashimase (welcome) after someone says, "arigato gozaimasu"?
>> Are you welcoming someone to your shop/restaurant/place? BTW, you'd say いらっしゃいませ (irasshaimase) first when someone visits your place.

What is okage sama de?
>> お蔭様で (okagesamade) is a reply to thank someone's favor or for the food that you ate, like "Thank you for your help" or "Thank (GOD) for the food".

desu ne and desu ka difference ( e.g ii otenki desu ka? or ii otenki desu ne?) >> "ka" is a form of asking question, "ne" is simply stating the obvious but when you make the "question" tone, every sentences will sound like a question.

sukoshi nihongo ga wakarimasu (does this means i understand a little japanese)
>> yes, but you could also say "watashi no nihongo wa heta desu" (My Japanese is poor/weak).

OK, please "okagesama deshita" to me now. LOL.

This post has been edited by dopodplaya: Dec 30 2009, 08:13 AM

Thanks dopod for your explanation.

Just answering this cause I think dopod din't get what you mean. Irrashaimase is only for welcoming ppl into some place. It's not used for the 'thank you - welcome' exchange. If someone says 'arigatou' to you, you'd say something to play down whatever you did, as if you don't deserved to be thanked at all. The easiest would be ie, ie

Someone asked me "体はどうですか。” Does that mean how's your body literally or is that another common way of asking "how are you?" in Japanese. I'm quite sure it means the former, but better check with the sifu here before I make a boo replying wrongly. Thanks!

Does that mean how's your body literally ----- I think、 yes、

「how are you」　の場合だったら「お元気ですか」　と言います。

This post has been edited by azcrilez: Jan 29 2010, 08:52 PM

Thanks azcrilez.

How do I use verbs as adverbs. For example the verb 喜ぶ(よろこぶ）means to be joyful.

If I use the -て form the I can make a sentence She is happy and sings, she is singing because she's happy, she sings with pleasure and so on when I make a sentence 「彼女は喜んで歌います」. In this case the way she is singing and her mood are separate. 喜ぶ here describes the girl not her singing.

However, how can I use 喜ぶ to describe how she sings, as in She is singing happily? Can I say 「彼女は喜びで歌います」

If the sentence above is correct, can I assume I can change any suitable verb to an adverb using the pre-masu form + で　?

This post has been edited by mumeichan: Jan 3 2010, 12:33 PM

hello, can any1 recommend me a good japanese learning book for beginners? thx~

You you plan to do it seriously, Genki I is a nice book to start off with. But it could look a little intimidating at first. But actually the content is well organized and is made for people with zero knowledge in Japanese.

I used another book which I found quite fun, but I can't remember it now. I'll look through my book and update this later.

ow, can i know how much is it? n where can i get this Genki I book?? many thx !!

Kinokuniya or Amazon. About Rm120-160.

tq mumeichan !

konnichiwa!

You can try nihon no kiso 1

ohaiyo! well, i'm learning through anime. is kanji mean slang? like chinese got mandarin, hokkien, cantonese..... then are all anime using the same "slang"?