Confusions with Nihonggo

[gwendy85]

A book sale's been going on in our place lately and I managed to get Basic Japanese by Yukihiro Shimamura for a good price.
That's adding to my growing collection of Japanese/English dictionaries/self-study books, along with Takeo Fukoda's Japanese in One Month and Yoko Tajima's Japanese-English Dictionary.
But, I encountered a lot of conflicts with some spelling and grammar use. I was wondering if anyone could help me on this.
I need to have the right words/sentences used usually during the 1940s (so minus the modern Nihongo language).
All are stated by a Japanese person. Like I said, I am writing a novel and am in dire need of help.
I'm trying to learn as much as I can and I'm happy to say I'm making more progress than I ever had by just watching anime and such.
Still, I'm a novice who needs major help. To save time, you can just copy and paste whatever here and only provide me corrections.
Everything that's correct, you can just leave as is. Thank you so much for your time!
Example:
eg. 1.) all correct; 2.) all correct 3.) ____is wrong. The proper way is...

1.) Which is right?

*Konbanwa / Kombanwa? (Good Evening?)
*Hirripin / Firripin (Philippines)
*Nippon / Nihon (Japan)
*Nihonggo / Nihongo / Nihon-go (Japanese Language)
*Amaya wa doko desu ka? / Amaya wa doko e ikimasu ka? / Amaya wa doko ni ikimasu ka? (Where is Amaya?)
*cha / ocha (tea)
*ie / uchi (house)
*juu / jyu (ten *number)
*Ano kata wa oikutsu desu ka? / Kare wa oikutsu desu ka? (How old is he?)
*Minna-san / Mina-san (All/everyone)

2.) Differences between:

*Domo Arigato/ Domo/ Arigato / Arigato Gozaimasu (Thank You)
*** I read that 'gozaimasu' is usually ommitted when talking to equals, subordinates and intimate friends.
How about family members older than you (eg parents, grandparents, etc)?
*Doo itashimashite / Dozo, so ossharai-nai de kudasai (You're Welcome/ Please don't mention it ** as in after a thank you)
*(Kom)Konbanwa / Oyasumi nasai (Good Evening/Good Night?)
*** I read that "Konbanwa" is for when you meet at night and "Oyasumi nasai" is for when you
leave late at night. "Sayonara, oyasumi nasai" can also be used, right?
*Doshite desu ka? / Naze desu ka? (Why is it?)
*Aishite imasu / Aishiteru / Aishiteru yo (I love you)
*Ikaga desu ka? / Hajimemashite? (How do you do?) ** meeting for first time/ formal meeting
*Daijobu ka? / Ogenki desu ka? (**inquiry about well-being/health?)
*Watashi wa daijobu. / Genki desu (* answer to preceding question)
*Dozo okake nasai / Dozo okake kudasai (Please sit down)
*Dozo ohairi nasai / Dozo ohairi kudasai (Please come in)
*Shitsurei shimasu / Sumimasen (Excuse me)
*Gomen nasai / Sumimasen deshita / Gomen (I'm sorry)
*** I read 'gomen nasai' is more commonly used by women and children. What about men? (esp. soldiers/soldiers-to-be)
And sometimes, people only use 'gomen' ?

3.) When telling your name (formal greeting), do you say your family name first before your
first name, speak your whole name or simply your surname?

*Watashi wa Hollanes, Gwendy desu. >> I am Gwendy Hollanes.

4.) Which means which?

*kami / kaimi = god (deity) or paper ???
*hashi = bridge/chopsticks?!!!

5.) How do you pronounce these?

Ie (House)
Iie (No)
Nihongo (Japanese Language) -- ni-hong-go or ni-hon-go?
miemasen (eg. Kanojo wa Nihonjin ni miemasen *She doesn't look like a Japanese*)
bengoshi (lawyer) --- ben-go-shi? beng-go-shi? be-ngo-shi?
watashi (denoting self) --- a-ta-shi? wa-ta-shi?

6.) Dare and Donata both mean "Who", right? (as in Dare/Donata desu ka? *Who is it?) But Donata is more
polite than Dare. So, does that mean Dare is used for casual talk and Donata for formal talk?

i hope this isn't too much. thanks for your time! :relief:

[vorpar]

1.) Which is right?

*Konbanwa / Kombanwa? (Good Evening?)

Spelled the first way, pronounced the second.

*Hirripin / Firripin (Philippines)

Second way is probably right

*Nippon / Nihon (Japan)

Both

*Nihonggo / Nihongo / Nihon-go (Japanese Language)

If the different spellings are for pronounciation, the second (like the ng in mango)

*Amaya wa doko desu ka? / Amaya wa doko e ikimasu ka? / Amaya wa doko ni ikimasu ka? (Where is Amaya?)

All

*cha / ocha (tea)

Both

*ie / uchi (house)

Both, ie may be close to "home"

*juu / jyu (ten *number)

In Japanese, jyu is pronounced juu. Check the transliteration sections for a pronounciation guide. Jyu or じゅう is the spelling.

*Ano kata wa oikutsu desu ka? / Kare wa oikutsu desu ka? (How old is he?)

I would use nansai desuka

*Minna-san / Mina-san (All/everyone)

I think it's both


3:

Surname

4:

They are homographs

[Takakoo]

4.) Which means which?

*kami / kaimi = god (deity) or paper ???
*hashi = bridge/chopsticks?!!!
It depends what kanji you use. Also, when speaking, people will put emphasis on different syllables to differentiate between words.

With hashi, you pronounce "bridge" as ha-SHI and "chopsticks" as (o)-HA-shi

5.) How do you pronounce these?
Ie (House)
Iie (No)
Nihongo
miemasen
bengoshi (lawyer)
watashi (denoting self)
i-E; i-i-e; ni-HO-n-go; mi-e-ma-SE-n; be-n-GO-shi; wa-ta-shi/a-ta-shi
In the case of 私, there are several readings, including watashi and atashi, both to be used at your own discretion.

[Kinsao]

I heard that "nan-sai desu ka?" when asking someone's age, is generally used if you are speaking to a child (is that right?). Duuuuuh - I can't remember now the more 'formal' way of saying - it's in my notes which I left at home. :sorry:

[Glenn]

I'm guessing ikutsu desu ka is the more formal version.

[Gaijinian]

Glennさん大丈夫ですか？New Orleansに住んでましたし・・・。

[Takakoo]

To be even more polite you can add the honorific and make it oikutsu desu ka.

[Glenn]

Glennさん大丈夫ですか？New Orleansに住んでましたし・・・。

大丈夫ですよ。実はニューオーリンズに住んではいませんでした、バトンルージに住んでいました。しかし、八月十七日からホノルル に住んでいますので、カトリナがニューオーリンズに到着した時には私はその地方からずっと離れた んです。ありがとうございます。

[Takakoo]

大丈夫ですよ。実はニューオーリンズに住んではいませんでした、バトンルージに住んでいました。しかし、八月十七日からホノルル に住んでいますので、カトリナがニューオーリンズに到着した時には私はその地方からずっと離れた んです。ありがとうございます。

Glad to hear you're all right.
Did you say you were in Hawai'i?

[Gaijinian]

大丈夫ですよ。実はニューオーリンズに住んではいませんでした、バトンルージに住んでいました。しかし、八月十七日からホノルル に住んでいますので、カトリナがニューオーリンズに到着した時には私はその地方からずっと離れた んです。ありがとうございます。

よかったですね。 Honoluluは常設の在住になりましたか？いいなー。

[Elizabeth]

大丈夫ですよ。実はニューオーリンズに住んではいませんでした、バトンルージに住んでいました。しかし、八月十七日からホノルル に住んでいますので、カトリナがニューオーリンズに到着した時には私はその地方からずっと離れた んです。ありがとうございます。
ホノルルに居住している間、Glenn さんは知っている日本人が大勢いるでしょうね。

中国語か日本語かどちらかを勉強したいと思っています か？
アジアに行きたいときに、行ければということなら、す ばらしいことですよね。
またまた、羨ましいですねえ！ :p

[Glenn]

よかったですね。 Honoluluは常設の在住になりましたか？いいなー。

いいえ、臨時の在住です。ハワイ大学に通っているんで すよ。

ホノルルに居住している間、Glenn さんは知っている日本人が大勢いるでしょうね。

中国語か日本語かどちらかを勉強したいと思っています か？

実は今はそんなに大勢いないんですが。これからは増え ていくと思いますが、そうだといいですねえ。

今日本語を勉強していますが、中国語も学びたいです。 来学期中国語の授業をとるかと思っています。

[gwendy85]

Thank you so much for your help guys! appreciate it, though i may need some help later on...later...hehehe. thanks again!

[gwendy85]

i need more help on these, like I said before. thanks so much!!! Oh, yeah, i'll need it in romaji since my novel's in english. everything is set in the 1940s

>>>Differences between:
*Domo Arigato/ Domo/ Arigato / Arigato Gozaimasu (Thank You)

*** I read that 'gozaimasu' is usually ommitted when talking to equals,
subordinates and intimate friends. How about family members older than
you (eg parents, grandparents, etc)?

*Doo itashimashite / Dozo, so ossharai-nai de kudasai (You're Welcome/ Please don't
mention it ** as in after a thank you)

*(Kom)Konbanwa / Oyasumi nasai (Good Evening/Good Night?)
*** I read that "Konbanwa" is for when you meet at night and "Oyasumi nasai" is for when
you leave late at night. "Sayonara, oyasumi nasai" can also be used, right?

*Doshite desu ka? / Naze desu ka? (Why is it?)
*Aishite imasu / Aishiteru / Aishiteru yo (I love you)
*Ikaga desu ka? / Hajimemashite? (How do you do?) ** meeting for first time/ formal
meeting
*Daijobu ka? / Ogenki desu ka? (**inquiry about well-being/health?)
*Watashi wa daijobu. / Genki desu (* answer to preceding question)
*Dozo okake nasai / Dozo okake kudasai (Please sit down)
*Dozo ohairi nasai / Dozo ohairi kudasai (Please come in)
*Shitsurei shimasu / Sumimasen (Excuse me)
*Gomen nasai / Sumimasen deshita / Gomen (I'm sorry)
*** I read 'gomen nasai' is more commonly used by women and children. What about
men? (esp. soldiers/soldiers-to-be) And sometimes, people only use 'gomen' ?

>>>Is it necessary to have 'desu' at the end or is it okay to omit it? I saw one time in the anime, "Rave", Ellie introduced herself as "Watashi wa Ellie" only. When is 'desu' necessary/unnecessary?

*I am Gwendy. >> Watashi wa Gwendy desu.
*He is Mr. Matsushima. >> Kare wa Matsushima-san desu.
*He/She is my friend. >> Kare wa/Kanojo wa watashi no tomodachi desu.
*You are my love. >> Anata wa watashi no ai desu.
*Miss Gwendy is a writer. >> Gwendy-san wa sakka desu.

>>>>Male or Female?

"He" = "Kare wa" and "She" = "Kanojo wa" (as in Kare wa/Kanojo wa sensei desu *He/She is a teacher*)
What about this thing on "Watashi wa" and "Ore wa" (I : myself) ? I watched almost every HunterXHunter episodes and found Kurapika referring to himself as "Watashi wa" (cheerful mood) but at times, "Ore wa" (evil mood). This caused some confusion with fans as to his gender (some still think of him as a girl). So, is "Watashi wa" exclusively for females and "Ore wa" for males or is "Watashi wa" now widely accepted for all genders? How about in the 1940s?

And I find that Ore wa is still commonly used by some overly male characters in anime?

How about the Japanese counterpart for "mine" (possessive)? "Watashi no" is commonly used but I also heard of "Uchi no", which is said to be used by males? But I thought uchi means house? Or is it "Ore no" I'm confused...

"Karera" is the plural form of "Kare", which means "he" (therefore, Karera=they *males*) and Kanojo tachi is for a group of females. But this book says "Karera" is used when referring to a group of both sexes? Which is commonly used?
E.G.
Are wa karera no kuruma desu. >> That is their (males) car. (far away) ???
Are wa kanojo tachi no kuruma desu. >> That is their (females) car. ???

Kanojo-san = Miss
Kare-san = ????? Mister ????

What's the plural form of "Men" and "Women" (Onna) ? As in, exasperated sentence: "Men!" / "Women!"

>>>I still don't get the deal with the ff. words after the names: --san, --chan, --kun and --sama. I know --san usually refers to mr., mrs., miss, but is it for formality and acquaintances? Then, I heard of this --chan, which is said to be for intimate friends? I even heard some kids refer to their older siblings as onichan and onechan instead of the usual onisan and onesan? Then, there's in "Sakura Wars", wherein Capt. Ogami refers to Sakura as "Sakura-kun" and Sakura refers to Ogami as "Ogami-san". Sakura is Ogami's subordinate, but they're somewhat "close". There's also times when a character would call his superior as (name)-sama (eg. Bejita-sama, Sanzo-sama).

Is ---sama a term used for royalty or for denoting a master/mistress?

>>>Dare and Donata both mean "Who", right? (as in Dare/Donata desu ka? *Who is it?) But Donata is more polite than Dare. So, does that mean Dare is used for casual talk and Donata for formal talk?


Hope this isn't much. Thanks again for all your help! :blush