Learn Japanese FAQ

Q: Konnichiwa Richard-sensei! I’m really happy to get help from this site, it’s mega-über-ultra-awesome! But anyways, I would like to know how to say “voice” in japanese, Or such as ” You’ve got a pretty voice” and also, how do you say “Japanese is a beautiful language”?

Doumo arigatou! - Emi

A:  Hi Emi,

Thanks for the nice words!

The word for voice is 声 = koe.   So to say that someone has a pretty voice you’d just say “声がかわいい” = koe ga kawaii.   Very easy!

To say “Japanese is a beautiful language”? sort of depends on the situation, but I guess an easy way would be “日本語は美しい” = nihongo wa utsukushii

Q: Your site is super helpful! I have a question, though. When you’re telling time in Japanese, how do you do minutes, like 6:30, 5:45, etc.? And how do you add AM or PM? – Sofi

A:  Good question!

The word for “minute” is 分, the tricky part is that sometimes you read it as “pun” and sometimes as “fun” so for example;

1:01 = 一時一分 = ichi ji ippun

But 2:02 is ２時２分 = ni ji ni fun

Hmmm… I tell you what if enough of you are interested (Hit the facebook like button on the web version of this page) I’ll see if I can make a song for these!

AM and PM is much easier, and very funky!

AM is 午前 = go zen = “horse” “before”

PM is 午後 = go go = “horse” “after”!

Just as the traditional Chinese/Japanese zodiac was split into twelve animals, so were the hours of the day.   “Horse” is around midday, so PM is after the horse, AM is before the horse.

Cool eh!

Q: Hey Richard,
I just wanted to know, Is there a way to tell if a person is Chinese or Japanese? ‘Cause I don’t wanna walk up to someone who speaks Chinese and start speaking Japanese to them. That would be embarrassing. So how do i tell? - Wendy
P.S. I love your site. Its helped me a lot. Thanks

A:  Hi Wendy,

This is a very loaded question!

Whatever you do, don’t ever try to judge someone by their appearance and try to change what language you speak based on that.  To me that sounds like the pathway to a black eye and a trip to the ER!

When travelling the rule I always use is:

“stick to the language of the country you are in.”

So if you’re in Japan, speak Japanese.  If you’re in China, speak Chinese.   In (most parts of) the US, stick to English.    Then listen to how the person responds.  If they respond in Chinese or Japanese, cool, that’s your cue and off you go!  But if they reply in English then stick to English, unless later you find out naturally that it would be easier for them to speak another language.   Language and identity are a big issue for many people, so it’s always best to play it safe at first!

One of the requests I most often get is for more Japanese grammar lessons.

Well, aside from the fact that most modern spoken Japanese is in single word form (communication isn’t the forte of the current generation!),  grammar study doesn’t really help you learn how to speak a language.

Grammar is more for linguistics students who take a language, chop it up, look inside,  try to figure out how the individual bits work and then try to make rules out of what they find.

Think of a frog.

It’s a funky little creature that hops and jumps and sticks out its tongue.

You’ll never know everything about it, but the best way to learn is to watch it.

Listen to it.

See how it moves and how it lives.

That’s how you learn what it’s like to be a frog.

But if you chop it up, look inside, try to figure out how the individual bits work and then try to make rules out of what you find….

You just end up with a dead frog!

Japanese is the same.   It’s alive.

So rather than chopping it up,

Watch it,

Listen to it,

See how it behaves.

Then do the same.

That’s how you learn to speak Japanese!

Q:  Dear Richard

My Japanese teacher has always taught our class to say ‘yon’ instead of ’shi’. Also to say ’shichi’ instead of ‘nana’ when counting.  I was wondering when would you use ’shi’ or ‘nana’? Also why is it not used like ’shichi’ and ‘yon’?

Cheers,
Olly

A:  Hi Olly,

I’ve covered this a few times before but it keeps coming up, so yeah, I guess the teacher just wants to simplify things (or maybe they are re-hashing the old “shi means death” myth which doesn’t apply here) but teaching you to say “yon” instead of “shi” is like saying “always say fifteen hundred instead of one thousand five hundred”   Both are real Japanese and both are used.

So a couple of definite examples.  You always say “shi” for …

四月 = shigatsu = April  (obivously a pretty important one this one!)

四国 = shikoku = one of the four big islands of Japan (and where I live!)

四角 = shikaku = a square i.e. “four” “angles”  (guess what 三角　means!)

There isn’t really a rule as such, but in compounds like this it often changes to “shi”

And for “nana” the most common use I find is over the phone when “shichi” and is sometimes hard to hear. e.g. if someone says “七時”  as shichiji (7 o’clock)  and you didn’t pick up up you could reply with 七時 ?- nanaji?  same kanji, same meaning, just a different way of saying it to confirm exactly what you are talking about.

Don’t worry too much though, again it’s one of those things you just pick up with practice.

Q: Hi richard!
I have been watching your videos and its got me really intersted in going to Japan.

I am really worried about not beening able to learn Japanse because of my learing disability. (I am Dyslexic).

My mom is also dyslexic and she tells me learning a new langauge will be harder for me then other people.

So my question is do you have any advice for people with learing disabilitys to learn Japanese? – Anthea

A:  Hi Anthea,

Advice?  Very easy : “Don’t worry about it!”

Your dyslexia won’t cause any problems with learning a language as, if you’re doing it correctly,  that’s all done by listening and speaking!

With some European languages the dyslexia only comes into play once you want to move on to the writing.

But the cool thing about Japanese is that because the kanji is pictographic you don’t actually “read” quite like in English.  You can actually “scan” a page and pick up most of the meaning.  This means that for some people with dyslexia it’s actually easier and quicker to read Japanese than English.  Which is pretty cool!

The hiragana and katakana still cause the same problems, but as there is so much kanji it becomes a huge, huge help and you end up wanting English to use kanji as well!

Enjoy!

July 7th is the Tanabata festival where people write wishes on pieces of paper and tie them to bamboo trees.

So that’s the theme for this month’s free calendars.

Thanks to everyone for all your support!

There are more posters in the Genki Japan Download Pack and if you’d like to see another calendar for next month then please tell your friends and “like” this page on Facebook and I’ll see what I can do!

Q: Hi Richard,
First off I love your site (http://genkijapan.net/)!! So right now I’m aslihtly concerned.  I’ve studied Japanese for over a year now and in August I’m going to Japan to be a foreign exchange student for six months.  To be more specific, I’m going to Okinawa.  I know in Okinawa and the rest of the Ryukyu Islands there is a Ryukyuan language spoken mainly by the older people called Uchinaguchi.  It’s not this that I am worried about.  I’ve learned that in different areas of Japan different dialects are spoken.  I’ve also heard that people from the mainland have trouble understanding the people in Okinawa because of their accent or dialect.  My host sister is currently in America and I have talked to her before in Japanese and have had no trouble.  So what I’m concerned about is when I continue to learn Japanese in Okinawa will I be able to speak and understand Japanese people in places like Tokyo?  Will they be able to understand me? – Jon

A:  Hi Jon,  good news is you have nothing to worry about!

Thanks to TV and the 国語 = kokugo = national language- lessons in schools, everyone under the age of 90 in Japan speaks pretty much the same Japanese.  The pronunciation and accent are all the same, and the regional “accents”  aren’t accents as such, you just change the word endings a little bit, the pronunciation is always standard so it’s really, really easy to understand!

Think the difference between Seattle and Portland, rather than Scotland vs. Brooklyn!

60 years ago, maybe a few problems occured, but not these days.  So enjoy the lovely Okinawa lifestyle whilst learning Japanese you can use anywhere!

Q: Hi Richard, thanks for sending us such an informative and fun newsletter.
It may be a weird question, but are Japanese college students really crazy smart? I am an artistic person and although educated, definitely don’t have the traditional Western education, and although I’ve wanted to work or study in Osaka for a long time (animation/screenwriting fields), I don’t want to feel stupid or unable to hang out with people who are way above me mentally. Also, is Japan an open society, or is it still a bit closed to expatriates or foreign students?  Thanks!  -Anna

A:  I think those of us who know lots of Japanese students are probably getting a big smile from this question!  Yes there probably are lots of smart students around, but in general you’d never know it!  Outside the more famous universities, the academic level of the students seems very, very, very low.  In fact I often get university teachers asking me for help and the things they are teaching are the same things we’re teaching in primary schools!   It’s mainly the education system, high school is all cramming for tests (as opposed to learning anything) and university is a time off before starting work.  So I wouldn’t worry too much.  There are smart people out there, but they’re quite cool with it.

As for the open society, just like anywhere you get the insular racists, and you will be quite a novelty in the countryside, but in general everyone is really friendly to everyone else over here so you’ll have no problem making friends and getting along.   Beer is what makes the country go around though, so partake of plenty of “nomikai” or drinking parties, that’s where you get to know everyone.  And no worries if you don’t drink, just order uloncha tea and everyone will be cool!

Wow, that was a long answer!

Be genki,

Richard

Q: How do you think it’s best to pronounce English words in a Japanese conversation if you are originally an English speaker? ‘combination’ for example.   com-buh-nay-shun (as in usual english)

or

コンビネーション (konbineeshon, as a Japanese speaker would)  - ThisLittleElf

A:  You should definitely try to do the Japanese pronunciation.  In fact if you don’t there’s a very, very good chance that the other person will have no idea what you are talking about!

But it’s hard though!  Kanji, no problem.  Japanese words, no problem.  But can I pronounce McDonald’s (マクドナルド )  the proper way in Japanese?  Not a chance!

You still gotta try though!