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Post by Sohma Momiji on May 16, 2010 15:52:14 GMT -5
Wakarimasu..."Wakarimasu" means "to understand"; that is the point of this thread, to help you understand the terms and phrases you will commonly see here on Rotten Fruits. The words you see written below are written in romaji -- Japanese words in Roman letters. Japanese is a fairly easy language to read when it's written in romaji as opposed to kana. Kana refers to the symbol alphabet most commonly associated with Japanese -- katakana [used mainly for words with no Japanese equivalent], and hiragana. As confusing as these two may appear, they're easier to memorize and understand than kanji, Chinese characters used to write Japanese words. You won't see any kana or kanji in the roleplay, though, so don't worry about having to learn them! Some rules of thumb when pronouncing words in Japanese:
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-san: a polite suffix. Used to refer to someone older than you, higher ranking, or a stranger.
-kun: generally used to refer to males; a suffix that indicates more familiarity, or to refer to a male younger than the speaker. Note: Shigure adds "-kun" when referring to Tohru because Tohru is commonly a boy's name.
-chan: generally used to refer to females and young children; a suffix that indicates familiarity. Note: adding "-chan" when referencing a boy either indicates extreme familiarity/young age, or is used as an insult. Can sometimes be used to refer to oneself, usually in a self-depreciating manner.
-sama: a very polite honorific. Its generally used for people of a higher rank, or someone you admire very much. Using "-sama" in reference to oneself is either used in a self-depreciating manner, or as extreme arrogance.
-chama: a baby form of "-sama", often used to refer to young children in a high rank.
Senpai, Sensei, and Kouhai: Upperclassman, Teacher, and Junior [classman], respectively. Kouhai is not often used as an honorific, however.
(o)nii, (o)nee: older brother/sister. can be attached to the end of a name as an honorific as well, with or without the 'o'.
imouto, otoutou: younger sister/brother. (o)kaa[-san], (o)tou[-san]: mother/father. (o)ba[-san], (o)ji[-san]: aunt/uncle. (o)baa[-sam]. (o)jii[-san]: grandmother/grandfather.
ohayou [gozaimasu]: good morning. konnichiwa: good afternoon/hello. konban'wa: good evening. oyasumi [nasai]: good night [as in going to sleep].
Hajimemashite! Anata wa [name]. Douzo yorishiku.: nice to meet you. I am [name]. It's a pleasure. Hajimemashite/Douzo yorishiku [as a reply]: nice to meet you.
(o)genki desu ka?: how are you? [lit. are you well] hai (sou desu). anata wa?: fine, and you? [lit. yes (i am). you?].
hai: yes. aa: yes [informal]. iie: no. itai: ouch! kudesai/onegai[-shimasu]: please. arigatou [gozamasu]: thank you [very much]. doitashimashite: you're welcome. sumimasen: pardon me/excuse me. gomen [gomenasai]: I'm sorry. nani: what nande/naze: why nandatou?: what did you say? kirei: pretty. kawai'i: cute/adorable. kowai: scary. daisuki [desu]: i like you/love you. aishiteru: i love you. kisama: "you", but very impolite. almost profanity. bakemono: monster. kuso: an all purpose curse word. generally used as 'damn', but can also mean 'shit' or 'shitty.' Kyou uses this word a lot in the context of 'kuso nezumi' in regards to Yuki. Most people [ie: in the official manga/anime translation] translate this to 'damn rat', but it could also be 'shitty rat'. chikusho or shimata: generally used as 'damn it', but can also mean 'shit', used as an expression of frustration or disappointment. itadakimasu: "thank you for the food", "let us eat" [lit. i humbly partake]. oiishi [desu]: yummy. baka/ahou: stupid/idiot/moron. [ahou is used in the Kansai (southern) dialect] damare-yo/urusai: shut up [urusai is lit. 'too loud!'] daijoubu [desu] ka?: are you ok? wakatta: I understand. shiri-masen: I don't know. demo: but. dare-ne? am i right? ne?: no? ne, ne: hey, hey. oi: hey. chottou matte: wait up, just a minute.
juunishi: the group of, or a member, of the zodiac. kami: God. neko: cat usagi: rabbit inu: dog tori: rooster nezumi: rat hitsugi: ram ryuu: dragon hebi snake saru: monkey ushi ox tora: tiger uma: horse inoshishi: boar onigiri: rice ball [used to refer to Tohru]
aiiya!: exclamation of distress or frustration. yatta!: exclamation of achievement, or "I did it!" ara?: noise of confusion, puzzlement. Much like "huh?" anou/etou: a noise made whilst thinking. Much like "umm" or "err".
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