Japanese 101

[Ashley]

We all know anime is fun to watch, but here's another reason to add to your list of pros: it's educational! I mean really, how many of us know more than a few words of Japanese because of our favorite shows? (Those of us that watch the subbed form, anyway). Examples of words I picked up solely through anime:

Nani!?
Sempai
Doushite
E-tatata! (my favorite--and one I have used in real life before)
Mo.... (as in "geez!")
All the san, chan, sama, etc.

So what about you guys? What have you learned about the land of the rising sun through anime?

[Lynx]

usagi! i picked up that one from sailor moon.

[Gypsy]

I've been catching myself saying "ano ..." (no idea if that's spelled correctly) instead of "umm ..." Also, "demo" get's used in my head instead of "but" and "hai" has become a regular in my vocabulary. Scary ...

I think maybe that I've been watching a bit too much anime ...

[teepanee]

Other than words and phrases (i.e. sensei, okari, wakatta, iie, daijobu), I've learned a lot more about the culture and customs of the Japanese people. Like actually making chocolate for the boy you like? ;D Or that utmost respect and humility commands bowing, especially down on the knees. The Japanese perform many acts of courtesy, like saying "itadakimasu" before eating and "ittedekimasu" before leaving the house. In real life I have observed that they tend to nod their head deeply when greeting or saying their farewells (sayonara, ja mata).

^_^

[TheMelodyMaker]

From watching Hamtaro, I've picked on the word "heke" (his word for "Huh?") which is supposed to be a derivitive of another Japanese word, according to the official site. I've forgotten what it is, so I'll have to look it up later and get back to you all on it.

[shooraijin]

For 'huh?' usually I just hear, 'eeee?' (pronounce it like a lengthened short "e", like the /e/ in "head").

[TrigunX89]

What's e-tatata mean?

I've learned nani, all the san, chan, kun, sama, etc., a few curses lol, and some other simple stuff that I can't think of. In real life, I find myself saying things like "nani?" or "baka!" I've also learned some stuff online, but not too much. When I get to college I'm going to take a class.

Hey that's funny Gypsy. I also sometimes use "demo" in my head instead of "but."

[CDLviking]

I can't remember which words I learned from anime, and which I learned from shinkendo. I know that I learned oro?, nani, and baka from anime.

[SigmaKnight]

What's e-tatata mean?

o.o *Pops in for a moment* From what I can tell... itai means painful and etatatata (or is it itatatata?) is sort of like saying "ow ow ow ow".

^.^ As for me Ive picked up saying Ano... and saying "So da, So da.." ("yes yes" or "really really" if i remember correctly) in my head at times.

[Little T-chan]

OMG!! You're RIGHT!! Yeah! I learned like...aishiteru...hana...kaze...'watashi wa--'...and gomen...and stuff...Haha that's a good point!! Yay for anime!! ^_^ That rhymed!! Cool!!

[Master Kenzo]

I think it's spelt Annou...but don't quote me on that.

I've leart quite a few words from anime...like the stuff you say before/after a meal, gomen(nasai), arigatoo(gozaimasu) ... and enough motivation to pick Japanese up as a hobby.

Me and "baka" go back a long way though...I don't use it much, but back when I didn't know Japanese, one kid in my class thought it fun to take advantage of that. That was last year.

Also, I've learned a couple interjections, such as "wai" and "kawaii" ... and the extreme broadness of the word "hai" (Notice how it's used for nearly every affirmative answer?)

And then there's the sushi words My family is a huge sushi fan, and it's funny listening to certain members pronounce everything Japanese wrong. He/she is working on it, however.

Just out of curiosity, does oro? mean anything in particular?

[CDLviking]

It kinda means something like, "huh?"

[Mithrandir]

If my memory serves me correct, oro doesn't mean anything. Kinda like, "Sup?" in english. That one's a contraction, though, and I don't know what oro means. If you want an easy way to learn a lot of japanese vocab, hit the web site I put together to learn it. It has a radically new interface that only Inky has seen. You can sign up for an account, and customize your preferences to get the most out of it. Be sure you hit the "student" link. Oh, and also, if you really want to self-study, this site is customized to precisely parallel the books, Learn Japanese I and Learn Japanese II by University of Hawaii press. Just go to:
http://dlc.deanza.fhda.edu/

[Kawaiikneko]

I think oro is a fx used in manga that usually isn't said outloud... its like confusion... you know, like how kenshin uses it. the fact that he actually vocally says oro is what makes it funny.... at least thats what I've heard.

I find myself answering with hai and iie/iya then people stare at me weird... I usually think little Japanese phrases more than saying them outloud... like itadakimasu and ittekimasu and tadaima. oh and shimata (which I'm pretty sure is like "oh man!" or something similar ==; ) of course baka is now a regular word in my vocabulary. How fun it is to insult someone and have them be clueless heheh ^^; pretty much all the phrases I've read in this thread so far. I learned a whole lot from http://www.yesjapan.com. Its a great site, but theres a subscription. I thought it was worth it though cause they have sounds for pronunciation from natural speakers and other teachers to answer questions. Not to mention the HUGE japanese-english online dictionary O_O
on another note, I can sing lots of Japanese opening themes from memory but I have no idea what they mean. lol anyone else?

[Master Kenzo]

Oldphil...I like the hiragana practice sheets

[Kawaiikneko]

Oldphil what's the link to your site?

[Ashley]

http://dlc.deanza.fhda.edu/

[Kireihana]

I've learned:

arigatou, arigatou gosaimas (or something like that >.<)
hai
sugoi
demo
and others... but I haven't watched any subbed anime in a while.

[Mithrandir]

Huh... Is the link above not working for you? Oh, maybe it looks like that's part of my signature...

[TheMelodyMaker]

From watching Hamtaro, I've picked on the word "heke" (his word for "Huh?") which is supposed to be a derivitive of another Japanese word, according to the official site. I've forgotten what it is, so I'll have to look it up later and get back to you all on it.

I took a look, and I was wrong -- "heke" isn't taken from anything]http://www.hamtaro.com/ham-ham_words.html[/url]

[Mithrandir]

That's interesting. It could have easily been from the phrase "hekieki suru" which sorta translates out as feeling overwhelmed - that could be used for "huh?" I'd think.

[CDLviking]

I forgot, forgive my spelling, ohaiyo -- good morning

[AngelSakura]

on another note, I can sing lots of Japanese opening themes from memory but I have no idea what they mean. lol anyone else?

lol Yeah, when I was really in to DBZ, I used to amaze my friends and scare my brother (Tidus20) by singing "Cha La Head Cha La" from memory and knowing what it meant from looking up the lyrics. I still know a ton and I can sing "Beautiful Alone" in English thanks to www.animelyrics.com.
I learned a lot of my Japanese words from DBZ, cuz that's the only thing I have the originals of. I learned "nani?" from the great prince Bejita himself, coresty of the first Bururi movie.

[Lehn]

I’ve picked up a lot from bad fan fiction. You know the ones where the characters live in Japan, talk in really bad Japanese (Ja ne baka for brains!), and then go out to Pizza Hut?
Then I can understand bits and pieces of it from my, uh, obsession with Escaflowne. From/For fan fic writing, I’ve have a good chunk of a lot of the episodes memorized by the English dialogue, so I just put on the Japanese audio and just listen every once in a while, picking up phrases

[Htom Sirveaux]

I've been trying to dig up the Japanese transcription (in romanized text) to the Mr. Sparkle commercial, but I can't seem to find it.

[teepanee]

I tried to get my Japanese friend to saying something interesting so that I could say "So desu ka?" (really?) as an immediate reply. Ya, ima dork. ^_^ I love Japanese.

[shooraijin]

> I think it's spelt Annou...but don't quote me on that.

Okay, because it really *is* spelled あの or あのう (depending on how long you hold it) (for non-kana viewers, ano or anoo).

> ohaiyo

Actually, it's おはよう (ohayoo) from the adjective hayai (early).

[Aka-chan]

Well, hrm...I learned baka right off...
Also some very rude words from watching various heros/antagonists battle it out in various shonen anime (I ask whatever sensei is available at the moment about words that aren't in my dictionary, and they all think I'm some yakuza child now... )
And some not particularly rude words/phrases (though not all necessarily ones girls should use):
iya
bakana
heiki
taihen
nani sorya?/nani sore?
suki na shiro
hara hetta
iteeee~
aa

[Kisa]

OOO OOO! I have learned a bunch of words andstuff too! LOL
Neko, the victory sign, onigiri (yummy), and more . . . can't think of em all now . . . too early, lol. But I use em way to much and ppl look at me wondering what I said, lol. ^^
Konichiwa! ^_~

[Kawaiikneko]

slightly a little off subject, has anyone heard of ubbidubbi? Its a weird language they use on a show called Zoom I never watched, but anyway, you put ub after every vowel and it sounds really weird if you can talk fast. Me and my friends go to the mall after school cause its right across the street and talk in ubbidubbi and the cash register people start anounciating their words and talk really slow. Its really funny, especially when we answer them in regular English like nothing's weird.

and I feel really stupid for not seeing the link heheh... I'm such a dork.