HELP ME WITH MY JAPANESE? PLEASE?

Posts

Pages: first 123 next last
Hi everyone!
I'm trying to teach myself how to read and write Japanese, but I have not much idea whether I'm doing this right or wrong. So, I'd like to ask any of you guys out there that know Hiragana: Could you please take a moment and tell me how I did?

Expand for Image. (warning, it's big)

Please forgive the bad resolution. I don't have a scanner, so...
~Just right click and Open Image in New Tab so you can see it better :)


Thanks :D
You did pretty well. you looked up the stroke order I assume? The line of "sa" and "ki" is usally not one stroke, it's disconnected. "ri" is also written in two strokes.
But might be another way to write it. It can be read just fine.

You might want to have the mu bottom line go to the right rather than down, with the ending tip coming up (so you place the last one on top of it). The second stroke of "ra" can be longer if you so choose. Doesn't really matter.

But as a general note .. nope, you technically aren't allowed to write you name in hiragana. Also, while you're fine writing them independently, you have a little bit of trouble having them lines up. But that's practice I guess.
There's a set amount of space a character takes (be it hiragana or kanji), it's a 2x2 square on the usual squared paper.
Thank you!
Yes I did look up the stroke order, though I got tired of following halfway and just did what felt natural :P
About 'sa', 'ki', and 'ri'; I got confused because these guides I'm reading have different styles for those symbols. I decided to just go with Tae Kim's.

Glad that they're readable, though :)


PS. I found the Kanji for my name: 際
Well that or this: 最
Maybe this: 再
Geez why are there so many?
Russian was easier >.<
soulkeeper. You don't wanna write yourself in kanji. If it's a foreign name, katakana is the only option.
It would only count additionally to katakana as a play on words - like, my mother's name is crane. So if you used the kanji for crane additionally and explained it, that'd be neat. Unless you have some flexibility and stylistic possiblities, katakana is the way to go for names.

Edit: Btw, I don't see your (w)o anywhere, did you leave it out or did I miss it? It's only used grammatically, but it's important.
Like this? シャイリル
But 'Sai' is my nickname, so I though it might fit.
You'd need to actually say your name to make it clear .. most names can't be put into them correctly. Mine is an easy case, though, hehe.

But if sai is the nickname, shai may not be the right start.
Wait, I wrote sha? Sorry, my bad. I can't read katakana yet, so yeah. I'm just using romaji input with IME :)

My name's kinda weird. It's Xyzryll (pronounced as Cyril). So it's サイリル.
Ah I see. Yep, that one fits. Shairilu could be fine depending on what is closer, but it obviously isn't.
author=karins_soulkeeper
My name's kinda weird. It's Xyzryll (pronounced as Cyril). So it's サイリル.

Well, I checked the pronunciation of Xyzryll on Google Translate, and I think it has a zai and zi? So I guess if your name is pronounced like that, it should be "zaiziriru", or ザイズィリル

eplipswich, it's pronounced as Sairil; where 'x' is pronounced as 's', and 'z' is silent.

I told you my name is weird :P
It looks like you labelled the Na line as the Ha line. But it also looks like there's a page break there. I notice you got the Ha characters right later, as well as Pa and Ba.

So it looks like you're doing pretty good!

Couple of small mistakes on the numbers: 9 should Kyuu or Ku (both are alternates of each other and acceptable), not Kyuchi. 10 should be Juu, not Jiyuu. じゅう <-- the small ゅ transforms Ji into Ju. Easy mistake to make! Watch for small ya, yu and yo with Ji, Shi and Chi. :>
I didn't notice that until now. I checked the paper, and yep. I accidentally cut the Na and Ba lines and fused them with the Ha and Pa lines.

Thank you nurvuss!

Ps. I didn't know at about the numbers. Thanks for telling me :D
Oh crap, didn't notice you could scroll right : D

Also, 6* is roku, not rokku. nurvuss already mentioned nine and ten
4 is alternatively yon, and you should note that you should much rather use yon instead of shi, as shi is associated with death (shinigami, shinu - to die, should all come to mind)
7 can alternatively be called nana, but that's not as important.
However, please note that April is Shigatsu, not Yongatsu. Similarly, July is Shichigatsu, not Nanagatsu.
Thank you guys :)

Ps. So the months are named after the numbers from 1 to 12 + gatsu?
That's pretty cool. (and convenient)

Assuming: Ichigatsu == January, Juunigatsu == December. Am I doing this right?
author=Kylaila
Also, 5 is roku, not rokku.

Umm...5 is not roku, but go. 6 is roku.

Here are the numbers from 1 to 10 by my memory:

1 - ichi
2 - ni
3 - san
4 - shi
5 - go
6 - roku
7 - nana/shichi
8 - hachi
9 - kyuu
10 - juu

@karins: Yep, you got it correct.

By the way, if it helps, you can go to this website: tangorin.com to learn Japanese words :) Try searching with Romaji.
Wah, sorry about that! It's not even 5 on the sheet ~.~
What a typo .. didn't really think about it. Just wanted to note the double k.
Thanks for the link eplipswich!

I have a question though, are the Japanese characters the same as the Chinese characters? Or are they just similar to each other?
author=karins_soulkeeper
I have a question though, are the Japanese characters the same as the Chinese characters? Or are they just similar to each other?

Majority of Japanese characters are similar to and even have the same meanings as traditional Chinese characters*, but there are several exceptions like several Japanese characters that either have an extra stroke or one fewer stroke that their Chinese counterparts or written slightly differently, several Japanese words whose meanings are either not the same as Chinese or whose Kanjis do not exist in Chinese, etc.

One example is 氷, which is ice. If you try to search 氷 in a Chinese dictionary, though, you won't find it. Its Chinese counterpart is 冰.

*Yes, Chinese has traditional and simplified versions. Most countries and China use the simplified versions, while a few countries like Taiwan still use the traditional version. That being said, Japanese Kanjis are mostly, if not entirely, derived from traditional Chinese characters.

EDIT: Oh, regarding Kylaila's example, to say 今日 in Chinese is uncommon, although this phrased word does exist in Chinese. Chinese will usually say 今天 instead. That's another difference. Just because 今日 is used commonly to mean "today" in Japanese doesn't mean it works the same way in Chinese.
Yep, what eplipswich said.
One main difference concerning learning them is that they have multiple pronounciations depending on how they're put together in Japanese. Single kanji usually have the Japanese reading, more kanji the Chinese one (they divide it like that, it's obviously not the exact same).
Unlike Chinese, you have to learn several readings for one kanji. (correct me should I have messed up something basic about Chinese)

今 - いま means now

If you add "day", then it becomes today, but will be read differently.

今日 - きょう means today

That's why you should always be a little bit careful with compositions.

Pages: first 123 next last