XはYです

Howdy folks! It's been a long time. My roommate got busy and then needed to learn Spanish for a job. So, I've been gone also learning Spanish. The rad news is that thanks to an online acquaintance, I learned about Duolingo. Duolingo is for PC's, Windows, Macs, iPads, Androids, and iPhones and is a very awesome language learning program that is 100% free to users.

Following up on the sentences you translated for L:6, the next thing I want you to do is parse the sentences. Underline and label the parts of the sentence, including what the particles are, the functions of the particle, as well as labeling the x, the wa, the y, and the desu. Here are the sentences. (Answers under the cut)

1. As for me, I am [insert your own name].

2.As for me, my nationality is [insert your own nationality].

3.As for Mary, they are Swedish.

4. As for Kim’s major, is History.

PS I told my roommate to make up a sentence for his toothbrush. So, he told me: "Watashi no toothbrush wa amerikajin desu." (My toothbrush is an american)

My roommate had some questions about L:6 and I will answer them here for anyone who might have the same questions. However, as I've never had these questions before, so, I expect to be a bit wordy until I've had a chance to practice answering them a few times.

1. Q: Regarding the XwaYdesu sentence structure what is this "as for___" stuff about?

A: You can replace the "as for" with an equal sign or the word "is". However, replacing it with the word "is" causes a few problems.

1. Some folks then try to slip adjectives for the Y. X and Y can only be nouns. (for example: Mary is a nurse (works). Mary is green (does not work.)

2. "is" is what is called a "to be" verb.

And Japanese verbs most commonly come at the end of a sentence.

Not to mention that "wa" is not a verb and does not mean "is". Desu is a verb that means is/arm/am.

So, we can think of the sentence as this: Mary, the subject, a nurse , is: Mary (x), the subject (wa), a nurse (y), is (desu).

So, whilethe correct translation of Mary san wa isha desu" is "Mary is a doctor" I want you to remember that "wa" is not a verb, it is a subject particle. Hence why I first introduced you to the sentence as: As for Mary, they are a doctor. I wanted to show you an equivalent relationship between the nouns, without having you see "wa" as "is".

3. Q: When did we learn "they"?

A: We didn't. I am using they as a singular pronoun as part of the translation because it is necessary compensation when I used "as for". Here, try the sentence in English without adding a "they": As for mary, is a doctor.

7. Q: What is a particle

Please forgive me for typos. I started this at 3am!!

Today we will learn how to construct basic sentences in Japanese using the structure known as XwaYdesu (which, happens to be the name of this tumblog! :D)

We also have a new set of vocabulary for you to learn.

For the grammar:

XwaYdesu can be understood as "As for X it is Y". Or "X is/am Y"

For example: Watashi wa Usagi desu. "As for me, I am Usagi." Or "I am Usagi"

Another example is: Mary sensei* wa isha desu. "As for Mary, they are a doctor." Or "Mary is a doctor."

Below is a grammar card further explaining how XwaYdesu works.

Using your new vocabulary and the XwaYdesu sentence structure, try translating these sentences. Take your time, this can be very difficult when you are first trying. Always use an honorific (such as "san") after someone's name (do not use an honorific after your own name though.) Make sure to review particle の. (Answers, notes, and Yoda under the cut).

1. As for me, I am [insert your own name]. I am [insert your own name].

2.As for me, my nationality is [insert your own nationality]. I am [nationality]

3.As for Mary, they are Swedish. Mary is Swedish.

4. As for Kim's major, is History. Kim's major is History.

PREVIOUS LESSONS

L1: Pronunciation and basic greetings

L2: Counting to 10 and keeping a study journal

L3: Learning to use the particle の

L4: Counting to 100

L5: Counting to 100,000

ANSWERS BELOW

I spotted this gem this morning while reviewing the new vocabulary I picked up from bakemonogatari. Mind you, the word was mattaku and was unattached from either sentence.

This is beyond the first year level, but, I wanted to put it out as a warning to use more than one translator, and to trust your gut if something feels wrong. The moment I saw "she/girlfriend" (彼女 or　かのじょ or kanojyo） in the first example, I knew that the English sentence did not match the Japanese sentence.

Mattaku = completely [something]. It can also be an abbreviation of Mattakumou = Good grief! (an expression of exageration).

Before checking Google Translate, I tried to translate the sentence on my own. It came out to: "She/The girlfriend is ignorant that he is a person of the world." The connotations are different. I wonder which is correct? I'm biased in favor of my own. But, I could be wrong?

I just thought of something! While I wait to post the next lesson, let's play a listening comprehension game! To start, each follower can pick 1 anime series. From the first episode, I will pick out various vocabulary words. Then, you watch the episode and try to find them all while you listen.

Tip: it helps if you memorize the words before trying to listen for them. ;)

I find that an anime series will use some words over and over again: ie a swimming anime will have words like water (mizu), swimsuit (mizugi), pool (puuru), and swim (oyogu).

Though, some of these words will be conjugated into different tenses. The point is just to get used to listening for it, even if you don't know which tense it is in or how to conjugate it for yourself. So, today I will keep an ear out for words that repeat themselves and try to jot them down and look them up.

I am more likely to remember vocabulary if I can learn what it is, then encounter it several times. If I am learning it in context, for example, watching people swim and then using words that connect to swimming at the same time, this helps me to remember it even more.

So, here I go! You are welcome to try this with the anime you like as well. :)

How to make hand roll sushi

PS you can use other ingredients. I personally enjoy avocado, smoked salmon, carrots, cucumber, that sort of thing.

If you are on a bit more of a budget, you can also just use these ingredients to make a very simple, beautiful lunch out of rolls: 1. sushi rice

2. lunchmeat

3. roasted seaweed.

Cut a piece of lunch meat in half or quarters (you don't want too much or it will overpower the taste of the rice and seaweed, and it will be hard to roll, so experiment with this.) Spread out your rice as shown in the video, lay the lunch meat flat across the rice, and roll. If your sushi is cracking and crinkling, dip your finger in water and draw it across a few places were the seaweed must be tucked to roll. Not too much though.

When finished, it looks a little like a rose and tastes delicious!

First, how is everyone doing with these online tips I've been posting?  Feel free to leave me a message about your progress. I'm looking forward to hearing from you! :)

Now, for those interested in being tutored: I've checked the prices of others online, and the going rate is $30 and up. Though, if you live in San Francisco there is a community learning center that offers classes for $6 an hour.

While I charge $15/hour for tutoring, if you pay for 5 or more hours a month, that cost goes to $10/hour (starting from beginner 101 working towards 103 level). In both cases, it is up to you to show up for all of the hours you've paid for in a month. I do not do carryovers or refunds for unused hours.

One reason why tutoring is often very costly is because a tutor can put 1-3 hours or more into each lesson plan outside of the tutoring session itself. (The longest i've spent on a lesson was 30 hours! It involved finding new technology and then lots of research on how to use it :P) Tutors also have to buy their own materials, with many textbooks costing more than $50. There are other reasons, but these are some of the main ones.

Time is something I have on my hands right now because of an illness that keeps me at home. So, I am fortunate to be able to offer online tutoring for as little as I do. In addition, I am interested in being able to tutor folks who wouldn't otherwise be able to afford lessons.

Right now, I offer first year Japanese level. I prefer to work with students starting at 101 and progressing with them to 102 and then 103. To go in a different order I would have to charge $40 an hour, because it is out of sync with my current lesson planning schedule. Please contact me if you have any questions. I would be happy to answer them. :)

One important note, however: I did a lot of volunteer tutoring with a local university last year, when I was a teaching assistant for 1st year Japanese. Some students were not serious about the class. And, when they were failing and asked for me, I refused to tutor them, My sensei (teacher) allowed me this. I don't like to feel that I am putting my heart into something when others are not appreciating that, not giving their best effort in return. I reserve the right not to tutor students who aren't putting in their best, rigorous effort to learn. If I find that a student I am working with has started to slack, I will discontinue our lessons.

There is no difference between a person who gets an A and a person who gets a D. So long as they are doing their best, I want to give them my time and energy. If they are not giving their best, I will not tutor them.  If you are worried because you struggle with language acquisition, I am a very good tutor for people who struggle. At the university, my sensei sent me the students who struggled. They most often improved between 1 and 2 full grades on their test scores and in the overall course. I will go the distance with you.

Warm regards,

As for keeping your memory for numbers sharp, we will soon begin telling time. If you don't have a solid grasp of basic counting, you won't be able to keep that separate from time counting. Important differences between the two different sets changes the meaning. So, you won't want to mix them up!

So far, we have covered how to count to 100. Using that, and adding just 8 new numbers, we will teach you how to count to 100,000.

Before starting, please review counting 0-10, and counting to 100.

Here are the flashcards that will help you learn how to count to 100,000 in Japanese

Once you've studied the flashcards, translate these numbers into Japanese (don't forget to watch out for the exceptions, also listed under the cut for review):

1, 329

5,874

10,011

43,860

100,002

(Answers under the cut)

Here is what we have covered so far:

PREVIOUS LESSONS:

L1: Pronunciation and basic greetings

L2: Counting to 10 and keeping a study journal

L3: Learning to use the particle の

L4: Counting to 100

This evening we will learn how to count to 99 using the basic counting you learned in L2 .

First, review L2 in link above, counting to ten in Japanese.

To count to 11, do some basic addition:

Juu = 10

Ichi = 1

10+1= 11. Say this as Juuichi

12 is juuni

13 is juusan... continue in this way until you get to 20.

20 = 2 x 10. So, Nijuu.

21 = nijuuichi (2x10+1)

22 is nijuuni (2x10+2) and so on until you reach 30.

30 is just 3x10 so, sanjuu.

31 is sanjuuichi (3x10+1) etc. up to 40.

40 = yonjuu

50 = gojuu

60 = rokujuu

70 = nanajuu

80 = hachijuu

90 = kyuujuu

100 is special. It gets it's own word: Hyaku.

Here are some flashcards to help you practice counting to 100.

PREVIOUS LESSONS:

L1: Pronunciation and basic greetings

L2: Counting to 10 and keeping a study journal