Basic Japanese Sentence Structure

[jj8585]

kore=this, not that (which is sore, or are based on context)

[drewsky684]

how do you know where one word ends and another begins in japanese? Most of the writing I see is all cramed together with no spacing.

[xreev0x]

Kanji is used for words and Hirogana is for grammar. After knowing all the Hirograna you will then know what are the Kanji. Some Kanji will use Hirogana to change the tense or something like that, but it is pretty easy to identify. As such, you don't need spaces.

[LotusFrog]

@xreev0x

HiRAgana, you cockwaffle.

Christ, you shouldn't be allowed to teach, even on Youtube..

[Cossetteliar3876]

So to learn Kanji is much harder or easier than romanji?

[xreev0x]

Romaji is just Japanese words spelled phonetically using western (aka "Roman") characters. In other words, letters like the ones used in English, Spanish, Italian, French, etc. Kanji is much more complex. They are symbol which represent ideas. The combination of these symbols can change both the meaning and the pronunciation. It is something which is very hard to start learning, but at a point becomes much easier once you identify patterns. I find it the most rewarding but most difficult.

[jk777kashi]

tottemo yakunitattatte, nihongo no hanashikatta ni mo setsumei shitara ii da to omou. demo arigatou ne! wareware ha akiramezu ni nihongo wo naraou! wara omoshiroi kokugo desu kara kanaaaa. wara. un. boku ha oosutoraria jin desu. hajimete ni ha nihongo ga boku ni totte muzukashikatta yo. shoujiki ni. da ga, dandan yasashiku naru yo ne, xreev0xsan sou omou??? teka....un. dake deshou...wara. ganbatte ne minna!

[JeremiDesuyo]

Also,

Kore wa- This is,

Sore wa- That is

:)

Thanks for the revision.

[dgk990]

Ok, I know how the S V O goes in Japanese.

But I was wondering more on how you would write down Katakana symbols.

I know how to write them, just uhm, do you write them left to right and put a period at the end of the sentence like in english. Do you have to split up the words like in english or is it all conjoined symbols across the page?

thanks.

[xreev0x]

Well, first of all, really you wouldn't write a sentence in Katakana. That is what Kanji are for (which is why it is so hard to read until you know Kanji). Normally, on paper, you would start in the upper right corner, and progress down the page in columns, one character at a time, with no spaces and ending with a period (which looks like a degree symbol but at the bottom of the grid, rather than the top). As you could imagine, this is quite hard to read, especially for those new to Japanese.

[dgk990]

oh ok thanks a lot that actually helped.

sorry one more question.

would japanese people understand a sentence that is written in i think it is called romaji?

like actually using english letters.

would they understand "Neko" if you wrote it down on a piece of paper? or would you have to use the symbols?

thanks :P no more questions I promise lol

[xreev0x]

No problem, I don't mind answering questions. Japanese people would understand sentences written in Romaji, Hirogana, or Kanji. However, even after all these years I find it hard to read something that is only written in Hirogana. The reason is because Romaji is written with spaces just like English making it much easier to distinguish words from particles. As such, it would be written from left to right, top to bottom just like English.

[dgk990]

oh ok cool.

thanks for answering my questions.

that helped a lot.

[darkskyBAO]

actually kanji is the most complicated to fully understand, our instructor sez almost 3000+ kanji characters, I initially learned hiragana characters(symbols?) then currently learning katakana bit by bit. But speaking to japanese people in real life can be challenging I speak slow to moderate japanese and I doubt if japanese people may understand what you, cuz the way they casually speak is so damn FAST

[xreev0x]

Actually, there are more than 4000 kanji, but just over 2000 are taught by graduation from high school (which are considered "common kanji"). Additionally, reading level for the Japanese newspaper is only about 1600 of those common kanji. Kanji are complicated, but they are the core of the sentence structure. Once you understand them, reading is much easier, especially since virtually nothing is actually written in hiragana in Japan.

[darkskyBAO]

yeah, I see numerous books, flyers magazines and many more printouts. a lot of it is combination of all 3 characters. seems daunting at first so I usually have my pocket japanesse alphabet chart just in case hehe. funny thing is it feels like you've been reverted back to a clueless toddler that just starting how to talk and read. but its fun.

[Leahzebelle]

great, this vids very good. ive been taking a jap course through my school and have had a lot of trouble with sentence structures, its dead confusing sometimes, as well as those darn particles! you just explained them perfectly.

[Quantumlogik]

not pronouncing desu right its not the E sound in pet its the A type of sound in lay

[xreev0x]

I'm tired of people who think think they know about Japanese correcting me without even looking at my profile. I have studies Japanese for 7 years. I have worked with Japanese people for 5 years. I have lived in Japan for 3 years. I know how to pronounce desu. Read a book or take a class before trying to tell someone else how to do things. This saves you from looking like an idiot and me from having to correct yet another person who thinks they know Japanese more than me but doesn't.

[xreev0x]

Now, the only way in Japanese to make an "A" sound like in the English word "lay" is to use the vowel combination "ei" like in the word "sensei". Notice how the first e has the same sound as in "pet" while the second does not. That is only because of the trailing "i". Several vowels are used this way to make sounds other than the standard "ah", "ee", "oo", "eh", "oh" (a, i, u, e, o).

[Quantumlogik]

your first few sentences are contradictory to your last ones. trust me my friend the japanese plan vowels are the same as in italian and are the ones you put in your last sentence unless im reading them wrong. its pronounced desu with the e in desu being said like the a in lay. i suggest for you to listen to a sound clip

[xreev0x]

I don't have to listen to a sound clip. I have been speaking with Japanese I have worked with for 5 years. My two college professors are native Japanese. Are you telling me that EVERY Japanese person I have spoken with is speaking their language wrong because your "friend" says the vowels are the same as they are in Italian. That's quite some gull. Lastly, I think you need to get your hearing check since the last two times I say it (4:57 and 5:05) are spoken correctly.

[xreev0x]

In addition, you have not responded at all to my example of the word "sensei". In fact, rather than giving an educated response, you simply said "but my friend said so." Clearly you didn't listen to a sound clip yourself, because if you did you would not have responded as you did. Over my studies, I have had 2 learning audio discs, used 3 different learning software, including Rosetta Stone, all of which with an speech practice feature. You, however, don't have any experience with Japanese.

[Quantumlogik]

lol shows your reading skills. I said trust me, my friend, type of sentence not my friend said read the sentence over. you have a very american english accent and you just dont sound right at all when saying desu or any japanese words for that matter. and even in 4:57 its not the e in pet its the a sound in pay. and im sure they are saying it right. you, my friend, are not

[xreev0x]

At 4:57 is probably the most similar to how those from Tokyo pronounce it, with a very prominent "e" as in "pet". Additionally, the reason why I speak with an American accent because this is designed to be a casual introductory, not a hard-core lecture. Additionally, pronunciation of characters is covered in a completely different post.

[Quantumlogik]

also, i didnt know u were gonna post this just came back to here... my suggestion is for you to listen to an anime and look for desu. the only situation where the e makes a pet sound is when its alone. other then that it doesnt also listen to /watch?v=4V9uWnFgj7Y most of the desu's there are pronounced the way i said only like 5 or 10 are pronounced your way

[xreev0x]

Fortunately I am familiar with Rozen Maiden and know that that character is supposed to speak with a "country accent". If you had a Fan-sub with translator notes you would know that. This is about the equivalency saying the person form Arkansas speaks correctly while the new new anchor is saying it wrong.

[Quantumlogik]

k go listen to some naruto. every anime ive watched have pronounced it the same way do u have aim or something? lets talk 1 on 1

[xreev0x]

Mainly because you are questioning my reliability publicly, therefore I feel it only appropriate to defend myself publicly. One thing to remember is just like America, there are different accent for different areas. In addition, there are different dialects as well (which we don't have). Just like shows such as CSI have characters who have accents (typically for character background) so do Japanese shows. This does not change how formal Japanese is pronounced.

[xreev0x]

The pronunciation of vowels and the word "desu" quite literally is day 1 of Japanese 101. As I mention in another post, I have never heard of any acceptation to the pronunciation rules of Japanese. This is because while in English we pronounce a word based on how it is spelled, in Japanese you spell a word based on how it is pronounced (since the original writing is actually Kanji, rather than Kana). Therefore, every "e" no in conjunction with another vowel will pronounced "eh".

[Quantumlogik]

first i didnt mean to offend you in your last post i just thought it would be faster to talk on aim... secondly on your last sentence are u saying it like the canadian eh? also look at the word modore like in sentence Furi kaette mo ano koro ni wa MODORE nai. this is pronounced exactly the way i said and there is no vowels near it. also i think now its just a battle of the way you pronounce like tomato, to MAH to, type of thing after hearing it more and more today i kinda think its a mix between

[Quantumlogik]

your way and my way i definetly dont think its a complete PET sound and not a complete PAY sound. but kinda in the middle

[xreev0x]

You didn't offend me. I just wanted to explain why I would prefer posting here where I am limited to only 500 chars. I agree that it is somewhere between "pet" and "pay". But for clarity, a distinct "pay" sound comes from the vowel combination "ei" where it is not so distinct when by itself. Additionally, modore must be changed to modora when becoming a negative (as it is used in your sentence). Lastly, the "eh" I used the same as in the phonetic usage in dictionaries.

[Quantumlogik]

k cool i dont wanna keep this going i dont like arguing im glad were at an agreement? i hope? and i got that from a song and thats how they said it so i dont know

[campo1992]

Thank you for the video. I'm having problems in japanese structures. But I'm getting in to it. Arigato gonzaimasu!

[underwearmodel1928]

Great video, really helped.

[manni788]

your not pronouncing the particles properly which makes it hard to understand exm. の　your saying it like no, pronounce like the work 'Knock' except take the K sound off the end

[xreev0x]

After 7 years of studying Japanese and 3 years of living in the country I have never had any problems with anyone understanding the pronunciation of my particles. Additionally, の is pronounced like no (or know), while な is pronounced like "knock". Please know what you are talking about before commenting. Also, な is another particle, so it is quite possible that you have the two confused (thought they are used for completely different purposes).

[Kaykayrose26]

thanks for clarifying!!!

[GothGurl011]

thanks for posting this, ive always had a problem with forming sentences in japanese but now im getting a bit of an understanding... arigato ^_^

[trumdatpiano]

nrboboob

[Firegrubs]

It's not trolling your vids, but honestly, it's quite full of mistakes which other ppl also commented on, and why not give the people the exact info as it is? And I'm not meaning like you have to teach every single thing in detail since it's a vid targeted to newcomers, still, to say a very small amount of other adjectives other than -i is not true, there are almost as many -na adjectives as -i adjectives.

[Firegrubs]

You said: "almost all adjectives end in -i" who told you that? There are TONS of adjectives (形動)that don't end in -i as they are usually catergorized into -i or -na adjectives. 立派、元気、素敵、結構、近代的、重要、さんざん、活発 etc. and the list goes on and on. You should get some of your facts straight dude otherwise it confuses some new learners.

[xreev0x]

I didn't say that all adjective end in "i" I said almost all because the vast majority do. There are a very small amount of adjectives which are eceptions and just more than half as many "na" to "i" adjectives. If you would have preferred me saying "about two thirds" then so be it, but that's about the right percentage. I would prefer that you stop trolling my videos with nit-picky technicalities. This is to teach newcomers, not debate details.

[silvergenko]

Thanks for posting this, it really helps. ^^

But at the end, I assume you meant 'subject-object-verb'? ^^;;

[xreev0x]

OMG! I said the sentence structure for English. I clearly wasn't listening to what I was saying. I'm glad you still understood what I thought I was saying. ;)

[Blizzard60893]

nice.really helped.thanx

[robotadventures]

that was a nice video. do you think English speakers remember the parts of speech?

[xreev0x]

I think that they don't think about it when they talk, but they understand if they take the time to think about it. At least for simple sentences. The more complex the less likely someone would identify the parts (like prepositional phrases or indirect objects)

[beltino500]

I really do appreciate you taking the time to make these videos. I have one week to study all of this, yay!

[xreev0x]

What happens in 1 week?

[beltino500]

Nothing really, I just have a much needed break from college, but one of my friends has been helping me, as she knows lot about the language too =]

[xreev0x]

ah, wakatta ;)

[beltino500]

Hmmm, which was that? =]

[xreev0x]

wakarimasu = understand

wakatta is a tense change of the verb and roughly means "I get it" or "gotcha". ^_^

[beltino500]

I see, i've got more studying to do, lol