Mixture of both with kanji, but most katakana is ENGLISH! If you hear someone say it, you know, but the written word can be mysterious.

BTW: Many of my JPNS friends feel "jap" is offensive , like "chink or gook." Don't care about any other thread on LYN, but here, those interested in language and culture should know about this, OK?

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tat explain why wow have censore d word japan...

anyway, u guys sure that desu should pronouce as dess? coz while im watching anime, i heard a few time the people say desu. not from 1 anime, well, alot of anime does. so... is there any different?

Both. The final -u is usually devoiced in normal rapid speech, meaning it is only air coming out without throat vibrations. However, for emphasis or special style, some people say it fully (but it does not sound like soo-oo-ooh). Like English "supreme" can be soo-preem,siu-preem, suh-preem or even ss-preem depending on how careful and how fast you are talking.

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This post has been edited by oneeleven: Oct 21 2007, 09:38 PM

erm... do u guys have any program that can write jap word? something like njstar but is write jap

なんで。。。 面倒臭いこれ。。。

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im using the one that comes with xp (ms IME )... and, i dont know if it has been posted here but for firefox user, u can try to use rikaichan extension...
this extension allow you to have the translation of highlighted Japanese word...
very good for me who suck at vocab/kanji , if not accurate at least u get the idea what is written, errmmm the kanji 面倒臭い=bothersome,difficult isnt?(using rikaichan)

hmm..i was wondering..based on lesson 2 from the 1st page..we learn how to pronounce syllables..are they like pinyin in mandarin?

if so..is it possible to learn japanese(not romanji) like we learn mandarin?
something like, we start off with a mandarin sentence, look up on every word with a dictionary to find its pronunciation(pinyin), then its meaning. that of course, we must know some basics beforehand.(in this case, for japanese)

do japanese dictionary like that exist?ive yet to see one so far. a dictionary that you can use its stroke or pinyin to find its word..exactly like a mandarin one, but for japanese..

will it be more effective this way?since as a chinese, i learn how to read mandarin like that in school

注意しなかったので、 これは親切でありたくないと思う

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ありがとうございます！　



This post has been edited by soitsuagain: Oct 27 2007, 10:07 AM

je beg to differ. Katakana is mostly used for foreign loaned words, not specifically English. In restaurants or places that require reservations, they usually write names in Katakana to avoid confusion when trying to read Japanese names.

even some Japanese words are written in katakana e.g. tabako (even though there is a Kanji for tabako).

Ok, how do one write beddo, wakatta all those in hiragana?

これ以上　－Bed べっど,　Wakatta わかった？

This post has been edited by dopodplaya: Oct 27 2007, 09:57 AM

how do we know its not read as bedtsudo? I'm confused.

this 以上 katakana or kanji? have yet to learn katakana but right now I think I can read hiragana with some decent speed.

This post has been edited by soitsuagain: Oct 27 2007, 10:20 AM

以上 are Kanji (read "ijou"), my dear Padawan.
the small っ indicates a small pause in between syllables. it is not pronounced as "tsu" like regular capital "tsu".

0000



I'm simply saying "for the above-mentioned (question) Bed べっど,　Wakatta わかった？" to reply to your answer.

The though of learning Kanji really make me sweat...but its better now or never...

OK exaggerated If you recognize French, German, etc words as well, life is easier around katakana.

"Tabako" is of Japanese origin?!?!

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I was talking about the Kanji, officially there is a Kanji for tabako, even though it is an English-loaned word. One of the exception but usually we use Katakana to write "tabako".

anybody know when/where is the JLPT for this year gonna be held and where can i apply for it?

U Freaking ROck Dude thanx alot!!!!

well i m so blur..jz came to this thread n started to learn japanese from the very basic.to learn japanese rite..should pick up hiragana 1st or katakana?or kanji?any different btween hiragana and katakana?coz they seems the same to me..so if i wan to learn..learn which 1 1st?i read 1st few pages of the thread but no1 mention..