Video: Introduction to Japanese

Here's a great video for extreme beginners who would like to learn Japanese. All the basics are covered here, so if you're planning to learn the Japanese language, this is a good video to start with.

Link: YouTube

Japanese Stars Before and After

I discovered a video clip that reveals the faces of Japanese stars before and after they became famous. I'm amazed at the amount of plastic surgery done to these faces. This just proves that money can buy you good looks and anyone who wants to look great can do so given the right resources.

Kanji Pict-o-Graphix

One of the toughest parts of learning Japanese is memorizing the thousands of Kanji characters necessary to read and write Japanese. So I'm always open to any techniques that might make things easier for me. Kanji Pict-o-Graphix is a great book that helps me remember what the Kanji characters mean by associating them with various mnemonics. It might not work for everyone, but it's worth taking a shot at.

Grammar: Particles

Particles in the Japanese language confuse the bejessus out of me. And since they're used so often in spoken and written Japanese, I have to learn them and learn them soon if I want to proceed in my quest to learn the language. That's why I'm going to make it my mission today to understand particles.

Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide looks like a nice place to start...

Particles:

Generally, particles are used to associate a noun with another noun. It's one or two hiragana characters that attach to the end of a word to define what grammatical function that word is serving in the sentence. Using the correct particles is very important because the meaning of a sentence can completely change just by changing the particles.

The 「は」 topic particle

The topic particle essentially identifies what it is that you're talking about, basically the topic of your sentence. It is written with the character 「は」. Now, while this character is normally pronounced /ha/, it is pronounced /wa/ only when it is being used as the topic particle.

The 「も」 inclusive topic particle

Another particle that is very similar to the topic particle is the inclusive topic particle. It is essentially the topic particle with the additional meaning of "also". Basically, it can introduce another topic in addition to the current topic. The inclusive topic particle is the 「も」 character.

The 「が」 identifier particle

Ok, so we can make a topic using the 「は」 and 「も」 particle. But what if we don’t know what the topic is? What if I wanted to ask, “Who is the student?” What I need is some kind of identifier because I don’t know who the student is. If I used the topic particle, the question would become, “Is who the student?” and that doesn’t make any sense because “who” is not an actual person.

This is where the 「が」 particle comes into play. It is also referred to as the subject particle but I hate that name since "subject" means something completely different in English grammar. Instead, I move to call it the identifier particle because the particle indicates that the speaker wants to identify something unspecified.

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Dummies.com gets into the nitty gritty without being too technical. Think of it as a mini-Japanese Particles for Dummies book. Here's an exerpt which describes particles in the simplest way possible...

Forming Sentences in Japanese:

The basic word order in English is subject-verb-object, but the order in Japanese is subject-object-verb. Instead of saying I watched TV, you say I TV watched. Instead of saying I ate sushi, say I sushi ate. Now you know the pattern. So repeat after me: Put the verb at the end! Verb end! Verb end! Go ahead and try it! I sake drank, I karaoke did, and I money lost! Good, you the basic word order in Japanese have.

Introducing particles

Subject-object-verb is the basic word order in Japanese, but object-subject-verb is also okay. As long as the verb is at the end of the sentence, Japanese grammar teachers are happy. For example, if Mary invited John, you can say either Mary John invited or John Mary invited in Japanese. Like I said, as long as the verb is at the end, the order of other phrases doesn't matter.
Although it sounds great, a smart person like you may be saying, "Wait a minute! How do you know who invited whom?" The secret is that Japanese use a little tag called a particle right after each noun phrase. The particle for the action performer is ga, and the particle for the action receiver is o. So, both of the following sentences mean Mary invited John:

Marî ga Jon o sasotta.
Jon o Marî ga sasotta.

Actually, ga is the subject-marking particle, and o is the direct object-marking particle. They can't be translated into English. Sorry, it's just Japanese.

Other Japanese particles include kara, made, ni, de, to, and ka. Luckily, they can be translated into English words like from, until, to, with, by, at, in, on, and, and or. But each particle is translated differently depending on the context. For example, the particle de corresponds to in, by, or with in English:

Bosuton de benkyôsuru. (I'll study in Boston.)
Takushî de iku. (I'll go by taxi.)
Fôku de taberu. (I eat with a fork.)

Translation is not always the best way to figure out a foreign language, so remember the particles in terms of their general functions, not their exact English translations.

Hug (Japanese version) by 東方神起: English translation

Here's my English translation of Hug by 東方神起. It's my very own translation; I phrased each line so that it would still match the music (so that you can still sing it), but I tried to stick to the original structure of the Japanese lyrics as much as possible.

It's not final yet, since I'm still revising some lines. :-)

I wanna let you know how I feel about you, oohh baby
But somehow I can't get the courage to say it to you, cannot say a word

I don't know how, can't explain
I can't say it out loud, can't proclaim
Cause it seems like everything's gonna fade away, wow wow

I'm right here with wide open arms
I'm right here entirely for you
Take you in my arms, never let you go
Can't tell you how much I want to

Despite everything that I do
I'm still missing, longing for you
And when I'm with you, I just start to shake
Can't tell you what's in my heart
I love you

If I just wait around, love won't come to me, oh baby
I feel like I'm gonna lose you if I don't do a thing, must show you my love

Right now I feel so anxious
Can you even tell that I'm nervous?
What is your heart feeling, can you let me know? Wow wow

I'm right here with wide open arms
For you and your innocent smile
Wrap you in my arms, never let you go
Can't tell you how much I want to
Always and forever baby
From within your beautiful eyes
Make them shine for me, so that I will be
Born again just because
I love you

In my arms, in my soul
I wanna hold you baby
I know my heart is not lying, really baby
My feelings overflow, I'm drowning in my love
Forever and a day

I'm right here with wide open arms
I'm right here entirely for you
Take you in my arms, never let you go
Can't tell you how much I want to
Don't want us to ever part
Won't let anyone take you from me
Now I realize, I can't let you go
And whisper because baby,
I love you

Here's the original Japanese lyrics of Hug by 東方神起:

この想いを伝えたいのに Ooo baby
なぜか素直に声に出せない、いえないよ

なんとなくだけど
言葉にすることで
なにもかも消えてしまいそうで Wow wow

両手を広げて
キミのそのすべてを
この腕で受けとめて
抱きしめたいんだ

でもまだぼくには
なにかが足りなくて
頼りなく揺れている
いえない想いは
I love
you

愛はきっと移ろうもので Ooo baby
待たせてばかりいたら 必ずなくすから

焦るこの気持ち
気づいてるのかな？
その胸はなにを思ってるの Wow wow

両手を広げて
むじゃきなその笑顔
この腕に包み込み
抱きしめたいんだ
いつも、いつまでも
その瞳の中で
輝いていれるように
生まれ変わるから
I love you

In my arms
In my soul
抱きしめたいんだ
いつわりのないこの心で
あふれていくキミへの想い
止まらない

両手を広げて
キミのそのすべてを
この腕で受けとめて
抱きしめたいんだ
決して離さない
誰にも渡さない
気がつけば抱きよせて
囁いてたんだ

Translating Hug by 東方神起: Part 9

Here are the last two verses of Hug by 東方神起. After I translate these, I'll look over my translation of the whole song again to make sure that everything goes well together.

This next verse is exactly the same with the one from part 5.

両手を広げて

• 両手 (りょうて) - (with) both hands
• 広げて - to widen; to broaden (広 - ひる)

キミのそのすべてを

• キミ - you
• その - that; those; the
• すべて - entirely; whole

この腕で受けとめて

• この - this; the
• 腕で - arm (腕 - うで)
• 受けとめて - take; reaction; catch (受 - う)

抱きしめたいんだ

• 抱きしめたいんだ - I want to hug you (抱 - だ)

Literal translation for this verse would be:

I'll widen both hands
For the whole of you
I'll take you in my arms
I want to hug you

After polishing it up a bit here's my version:

I'm right here with wide open arms
Right here entirely for you
Take you in my arms, never let you go
Can't tell you how much I want to

Next up is the very last verse!

決して離さない

• 決して (けって) - never; by no means
• 離さない (はなさない) - to part; divide; separate

誰にも渡さない

• 誰にも (だれにも) - cannot... anybody
• 渡さない (わたさない) - to hand over

気がつけば抱きよせて

• 気がつけば (きがつけば) - become aware of; realize
• 抱きよせて (だきよせて) - embrace

囁いてたんだ, I love you

• 囁いて (ささやいて) - to whisper; to murmur
• たんだ - tender

I have a correction to that last line... It's actually...

囁いて +　いた　+ のだ
short-te form + past tense + reason

I'm modifying my translation below and my final translation. Thanks to Kyoufu for helping me with this one.

Whew! Most of these words aren't in dictionaries and I had a terribly hard time translating them. I hope I got them all right. Anyway, here's the translation...

We will never part
I cannot hand you over to anybody
I realize and hug you
I whispered because, I love you

So, my version for that would be...

Don't want us to ever part
Won't let anyone take you from me
Now I realize, I won't let you go
And whisper because baby, I love you

Whoohoo! That's the last one! :-) Yay, I just finished translating my first song. In my next entry, I'll post my whole translation, and maybe change things around a bit.

Translating Hug by 東方神起: Part 8

I've got just a few more verses to go. :-) Here's the next verse of Hug by 東方神起...

いつも、いつまでも

• いつも - always
• いつまでも - forever

その瞳の中で

• その - that; those; the
• 瞳 (ひとみ) - eye
• 中 (なか) - inside

輝いていれるように

• 輝いて (かがやく) - to shine; to glitter; to sparkle
• いれる - make; turn on; include; insert
• ように - in order to

生まれ変わるから I love you

• 生まれ変わる (うまれ かわる) - to be born again; to have a fresh start in life
• から - because

Based from those definitions here's the translation that makes most sense...

Always, forever
Inside those eyes
Make them shine so that
I will be born again because I love you

My version for this verse would be...

Always and forever baby
Within your beautiful eyes
Make them shine for me, so that I will be
Born again just because, I love you

Here's the next verse...

In my arms, In my soul

抱きしめたいんだ

• 抱きしめたいんだ - I want to hug you (抱 - だ)

いつわりのないこの心で

• いつわり - lie; falsehood
• ない - do not have
• この - this; the
• 心 (こころ) - heart; mind; spirit

あふれていくキミへの想い

• あふれていく - overflowing
• キミ - you
• 想い - feelings; affection (想 - おも)

止まらない

• 止まらない - does not stop

I'm kinda getting the hang of this. So based on these, the translation would be...

In my arms, in my soul
I want to hug you
My heart is not lying
It is overflowing with feelings for you
It does not stop

Now here's my personal version...

In my arms, in my soul
I wanna hold you baby
I know my heart is not lying, really baby
My feelings overflow, I'm drowning in my love
Forever and a day

I'm kinda sad that I'm almost done. But at least I can start a new song after this one.

Translating Hug by 東方神起: Part 7

Here's part 7 of my translation of Hug by 東方神起. Why am I taking so long? Basically it's because I've just started to learn Japanese last week. Months (or years) from now I hope translating something like this won't even take 30 minutes. Then again that's just wishful thinking. Let's start...

焦るこの気持ち

• 焦る (あせる) - in a hurry; impatient
• この - this; the
• 気持ち (きもち) - feeling; sensation; mood

気づいてるのかな

• 気づいてる (きづいてる) - be concious of
• かな - (question particle)

その胸はなにを思ってるの Wow wow

• その - that; those; the
• 胸 (むれ) - chest
• なにを - what
• 思ってる (おもってる) - think; feel

So the translation would be the following:

This feeling of being impatient
Can you notice it?
What is your heart feeling?

I changed the words around to make it sound a bit better. Here's my translation...

Right now I'm so anxious
Can you tell the difference?
What is your heart feeling, can you let me know?

Next up...

両手を広げて

• 両手 (りょうて) - (with) both hands
• 広げて - to widen; to broaden (広 - ひる)

むじゃきなその笑顔

• むじゃきな - innocent
• その - that; those; the
• 笑顔 (えがお) - smiling face

この腕に包み込み

• この - this; the
• 腕 (うで) - arm; ability; talent
• 包み込み (つつみこみ) - to wrap up

抱きしめたいんだ

• 抱きしめたいんだ - I want to hug you (抱 - だ)

Given those definitions the translation would be...

I'll widen both hands
For that innocent smiling face
Wrap you up in my arms
I want to hug you

My translated version of this verse would be the following...

I'm right here with wide open arms
For you and your innocent smile
Wrap you in my arms, never let you go
Can't tell you how much I want to

This one's a bit similar to this other verse, so it was easier to translate. Anyway, that's it for now. 'Till next time... じゃあまたあした!

Grammar: ～です and ～じゃありません

"~ desu （～です）" is equivalent to English "am," "are," or "is." Unlike English, it doesn't change its form according to the subject. "~ desu" always comes at the end of a sentence.

私は学生です (Watashi wa gakusei desu.) - I am a student.
こちらは山田さんです (Kochira wa Yamada-san desu.) - This is Ms. Yamada.
私達は友達です (Watashitachi wa tomodachi desu.) - We are friends.

When it is obvious to the other person what the topic is, it is generally omitted.

（私は）ひろ子です [(Watashi wa) Hiroko desu.] - I am Hiroko.
（私は）学生です [(Watashi wa) gakusei desu. ] - I am a student.

The negative form of "~ desu （～です）" is "~ ja arimasen （～じゃありません）" or "~ dewa arimasen （ではありません）." "~ dewa arimasen" is more formal, and "~ ja arimasen" is common in casual conversation.

学生ではありません (Gakusei dewa arimasen.) - I am not a student.
日本人じゃありません (Nihon-jin ja arimasen.) - I am not Japanese.

Source
About.com

Translating Hug by 東方神起: Part 6

I can do this... Here are the next lines up for translation...

愛はきっと移ろうもので Ooo baby

• 愛 (あい) - love

• きっと - no doubt

• 移ろう - to move (移 - うつ)

• もの - object; thing

• で - in; at; on

待たせてばかりいたら 必ずなくすから

• 待たせ - to wait

• ばかり - approximately; only; just

• いたら - being

• 必ず (かならず) - certainly

• なくす - to lose someone

• から - because

So that would translate to...

Love is a thing that no doubt will move
Losing someone because of just waiting is a certainty

So to match it up to the beat I'll change it to...

If I just wait around love won't come to me, Ooo baby
I feel like I'm gonna lose if I don't do a thing, must show you my love

The English translations end up to be so much shorter than the original Japanese lyrics that I have to elaborate a lot to match it to the music. But I'm not done yet. I still have around halfway to go. Bye bye for now. :-)

Translating Hug by 東方神起: Part 5

I can't believe how long this is taking me. I guess it's because I'm attempting to translate a song in a language I'm not even close to being good at. Anyway, I'm going to try to translate more lines today. Here's the next verse of Hug by: 東方神起.

両手を広げて

• 両手 (りょうて) - (with) both hands
• 広げて - to widen; to broaden (広 - ひる)

キミのそのすべてを

• キミ - you
• その - that; those; the
• すべて - entirely; whole

この腕で受けとめて

• この - this; the
• 腕で - arm (腕 - うで)
• 受けとめて - take; reaction; catch (受 - う)

抱きしめたいんだ

• 抱きしめたいんだ - I want to hug you (抱 - だ)

Literal translation for this verse would be:

I'll widen both hands
For the whole of you
I'll take you in my arms
I want to hug you

After polishing it up a bit here's my version:

I'm right here with wide open arms
Right here entirely for you
Take you in my arms, never let you go
Can't tell you how much I want to

I'm not totally happy with the second line of this verse but my creative juices are all squeezed out. That'll have to do for now. On to the next verse...

でもまだぼくには

• でも - but
• まだ - still
• ぼくには - for me

なにかが足りなくて

• なにか - something
• 足りなくて - missin; lacking (足 - た)

頼りなく揺れている

• 頼りなく continuing - (頼 - たよ)
• 揺れて - to shake; to sway (揺 - ゆ)
• いる - be present; have

いえない想いは, I love you

• いえない - cannot say
• 想い - feelings; affection (想 - おも)

So literally, that would mean...

But still for me
Something is missing
I continue to shake
Cannot say my feelings
I love you

My version for this verse would be...

Despite everything that I do
I'm still missing, longing for you
But when I'm with you, I just start to shake
Can't tell you what's in my heart
I love you

Whoa, that like went to a totally different direction. Hmmm, I'll see if I can some up with something better later but I'll keep this translation for now. I'm just too obsessed with keeping the rythym consistent with the Japanese lyrics. Oh well.