つ

[KickAss_Danieru]

k, in my mangas i got, lots of sentances have つ in it, but in some words u dont say the "つ" part? can ne 1 explaine this?.. coz i dunno if i need to read it as: blah blah blah つ blah blah, or leave the つ out?! im lost.. ( i gues its a dumb question but it makes me confused.

[PaulTB]

k, in my mangas i got, lots of sentances have つ in it, but in some words u dont say the "つ" part?
Quoting a sentence or two would be a good start.

[David Hallgren]

I agree with, PaulTB, a sample would be great. But without that my best guess is that you havn't noticed the size difference of the diffirent つs:
かった (Katta)
かつた (Katsuta, not a real word but I couldn't think of any example with real words) ^^

[PaulTB]

I agree with, PaulTB, a sample would be great. But without that my best guess is that you havn't noticed the size difference of the diffirent つs:
かった (Katta)
かつた (Katsuta, not a real word but I couldn't think of any example with real words) ^^
Ah yes highly likely.

Note also that there is no size difference in the つ's shown in furigana.

e.g.

かつて
勝手に

As an aside I'll note that in classical Japanese there is no difference in size in normal text.

[KickAss_Danieru]

sorry, i couldnt write the sentance then.. i didnt tha mangas with me.

ah ****.. i forgot to bring them this time again.. but yeh they is a few sentances, i do see a slicht size difference tho. so if its a small tsu its silent kind of? so i guess i gotta look a bit closer when reading then.. thnx ppls

[King of Tokyo]

sorry, i couldnt write the sentance then.. i didnt tha mangas with me.

ah ****.. i forgot to bring them this time again.. but yeh they is a few sentances, i do see a slicht size difference tho. so if its a small tsu its silent kind of? so i guess i gotta look a bit closer when reading then.. thnx ppls

Well, it's not so much silent, it's just it doubles the proceeding letter.. like David Hallgren showed.

[KickAss_Danieru]

hm ic.. thanx.. :)

so, for nissan (the car) you would write: にっさん　？？　（how do u write small symbols on computer? i had to copy and past the small tsu)

[Mike Cash]

Forgive my normal brusqueness, but it's hard to believe that you have progressed to the level of actually reading stuff without ever having learned about the small "tsu". I'm guessing that you learn almost 100% through self-study and that this was just one of those things that fell through the cracks.

The way you write the small symbols? Try typing "nissan" while in Japanese IME mode. Just as it is there. n-i-s-s-a-n.

I don't know if you're also trying to pick up speaking/listening skills in addition to reading manga, but if you are, then you really need to learn about the small "tsu" and the role it plays in pronunciation. Properly pronouncing what is indicated by the small "tsu" and of elongated vowels tend to be two things that English speakers (at least) brush off and ignore. Which is very unfortunate, since it makes what they are saying very difficult to comprehend sometimes.

Also, if you are unable to recognize the difference in speech, it will cause you all sorts of problems with mishearing things.

[KickAss_Danieru]

i basicly been self taught, along with a couple webpages for hiragana and katakana symbol table, a few japanese friends have taugt me some stuff to speek, but learning to read and write, i had basicly no help except from a sh1t loads of practice.. and ofcorse still practice everyday just to learn to read quicker and quicker.. i know jack all kanji, but i dont realy have much time to myself now that im in college, but i get enough practice. when i started reading manga, when i came to words with a small letter next to it i (may not belive me but..) i tried playing around how to say it (at this time i wasnt in college and i didnt know any japanese ppl or had the net or w/e) and eventually when i came to college i made friends with the ESOL students and double checked with them how i was reading was correct. but tsu confused me.. it just didnt sound right after a proper sized symbol.. so i always been stuck on that 1.. cant blame me for not getting it if i wasnt showen how to read it.. :/

but yeh, thnx alot for u ppls help. ^_^

i hope to go to japan after college, and learn more..

[PaulTB]

1.. cant blame me for not getting it if i wasnt showen how to read it.. :/
Yeah you only have your teacher to blame. Oh, wait.
i basicly been self taught
You know, you can get text books. In fact I'd expect you can get text books for free from your library.

[KickAss_Danieru]

ok, i realy dont mean to sound like an ass now but, im in college, i can barely afford to go to it, my family is poor, its hard for me to learn japanese esp since my college is far in the country (new zealand remember) and it is about a 2 hr drive to the nearest town that has a book shop or a libary.. i use what little kas i got to come here (internet room)and try to learn as much japanese as i can. (not trying to sound like an ass or sumthing) but it is hard having a) not much money b) being far away from any good shops c) not having much time to learn japanese with my studys and d) learning how to do this stuff pretty much by myself.

sorry if it sounds stupid to you ppl, but where im from is hard to get by. and with what little spare time and money i have.. i learn japanese. (go ahead and laugh and think its all bullshit or w/e..)

oops,, kas = kash (cash) :/

[PaulTB]

ok, i realy dont mean to sound like an ass now but, im in college
Your college doesn't have a library? Even when I was back in Comprehensive School you could make book purchase suggestions - they'd probably look favourably on an educational book even if they may not be able to handle inter-library loans. Seriously you should check it out.

[KickAss_Danieru]

accucally my school dosnt have a libary, its not like the big flash americian schools or w/e.. its just a small place, the place relys on donations to keep it going, and new buildings...

because of this its expencive, but the qualifications (dunno how to spell) are worth it.

[PaulTB]

accucally my school dosnt have a libary
Well what can I say but - That sucks.

I've already given away all my early Japanese text books and dictionaries otherwise I'd offer to send you some. :relief:

[KickAss_Danieru]

yeh, like i said, i really am not trying to sound like a dick about it.. but its all truth.. i g2g now ne ways.. cya

[PaulTB]

This
http://www.mlcjapanese.co.jp/Download.htm
is about the closest I could find to an actual text book online.

[Mike Cash]

Do the best you can with whatever resources you can manage to scrounge together, Dan. Everybody is in a different situation when it comes to availability of materials and teachers, and I think it's easy for us to lose sight of that sometimes.

[PaulTB]

I think it's easy for us to lose sight of that sometimes.
Yeah, frankly I thought New Zealand was better than that.

[KickAss_Danieru]

yeh it is.. but not in the part im in.. lol.. im from the city origionaly, but my school is in the country.. and thnx for the webpage..

this is pretty good page i think.. :)

[Mayuka]

Hello, Daniel!

I was more or less in the same predicament as you are before I took a class. (I'm not in college yet.) My local library had a grand total of two books on Japanese, and after working through them, I found that they didn't teach me all that much.

Well, desperate people get resourceful. :) I found a lot of places online. I typed them out on another post (http://www.jref.com/forum/showpost.php?p=95995&postcount=4).

:) Good luck!

[KickAss_Danieru]

oo cool.. thnx :) ... looks like these could help alot..

wow.. especially http://www3.telus.net/public/vua/ . good for remembering the symbols :) thnx alot.