Learning Japanese – Common Blunders

Posted on 2016/02/07 by admin
Japanese Proper Confused
with similar		 Example / Note
kawaii cute kowaii horrible “Your baby is so “kawaii””
ningen People ninjin carrot “Look at all the people [carrots?!] riding bicycles home from work.”
written:  ai 合い written:  meet ai愛 love Texting can be more delicate than speaking: when in doubt use kana.
7(Nana)-Ji Shigoto mae, Otaku ni aimasyoo ka?  Do not use the kanji for “love” instead of “meet”. They’ll probably know what you mean, but why not save your friends’ patience for your more complex blunders?
Answering “No” to “Didn’t you arrive at 7 AM” In Japanese:

“Yes, I didn’t”
Answering “Yes” to “Didn’t you arrive at 7
AM”		 In Japanese: “No, I did.” Japanese logically answers the statement implied by your question.
Yes “unh” Sounds
like guttural dismay, a negative		 “Proper”,
but both sides need to exercise care
No “II desu” (yoii desu), [mo] ii desu
Answering “No” to “Didn’t you arrive at 7 AM” In English:
“No, I didn’t”		 Japanese logically answers the statement implied by your question.

It’s wise to avoid the common English “negative question”when speaking. But be ready to explain it by example if you are teaching English.
Answering “Yes” to “Didn’t you arrive at 7
AM?”		 In
English:“Yes, I did.”		 I prefer the Japanese now:
instead of a too-short Yes/No answer, it is clearer rephrase the whole statement, “I arrived at 0700.”
anko Bean
Confection		 unko feces “Do your pastries contain ”anko” ?”
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