Comments on: Beginner Lesson #23 - Bringing it All Together

by: markystar

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 06:38:29 +0000

yep, depends on context. in fact, japanese is classified as a “high context language,” because so much is based on, well, context. and that’s why it’s highly flexible and so much can be implicit.
english, on the other hand, is a “low context language.” which means we have to spell everything out in detail to get an idea across.

by: Jack

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 03:23:38 +0000

“basically there is no difference between your english examples, except that “this is john’s photo” could also mean it’s a photo he owns (but he’s not necessarily in the photo).”

That’s what I was going for. Okay, so the meaning is based on context? I know, I’m nitpicky!

Thanks for the help!

by: JapanesePod101.com

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:44:17 +0000

basically there is no difference between your english examples, except that “this is john’s photo” could also mean it’s a photo he owns (but he’s not necessarily in the photo).

so の in japanese can be translated both ways.
it can also be used in other ways like これはイタリアの車 which doesn’t mean “this is Italy’s car” but actually means “this is an italian car.”

by: Jack

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:22:28 +0000

Quick question about one of the first lines in this dialogue:

“Kore wa watashi no kazoku no shashin desu.”
“This is a photo of my family.”

Can this also be translated as “This is my family’s photo.”? This seems pretty clear in this context, but I’m wondering, if, say, you had “Kore wa John no shashin desu.”, there could be some confusion between the meanings “This is John’s photo” (possessive), and “This is a photo of John.”

Can anyone clarify if there’s any way around this, if I’m misunderstanding, or if the solution is always found in the context?

by: Ashurii Arekusandora

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 15:51:18 +0000

how would you say family members that are not immediate family?(Aunts, Uncles, etc.)

Doumo Arigato Gozimazu,
Ashurii

by: mayutaka8985

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 07:07:40 +0000

Hiya, great lesson ^^

I wonder if you’re aware though that in the PDF for the romaji –> english translation part, the sentence “gonin desu. chichi to haha to ani to imouto to watashi desu.” on the right hand side is translated to “five people. dad, mom, older brother, OLDER SISTER and myself.”

It should be younger sister ^^; Typo ne?

by: Kennerz

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 20:31:14 +0000

by: Shannon

Fri, 22 Dec 2006 21:26:55 +0000

Yay! I’m learning!

I understood everything in this one. I am so excited. You guys rock!!
Thank you!! ^.^!!

Shannon

by: John C. Briggs

Sun, 05 Nov 2006 00:38:13 +0000

Amandaさん、
No, the “u” is not generally silent. However, occasionally it is dropped by some speakers.
Often you will hear desu as “des” rather than “de su”. It seems to depend on the speaker. I don’t think there is any real rules here but I would guess that dropping “u” is more common at the end of a sentence.
jya mata
John

by: Amanda

Sat, 04 Nov 2006 21:33:37 +0000

is the “u” in every word silent? to me it sounds like its silent like its Nasuko…i dont really hear the “u” being said
is the “u” silent?