Yup! 8D I did fine on the quiz, but I know there were some things I missed and didn't understand so I want to do that so I can better understand. More practice really.
I've read that somewhere too... P: Never really gave it much thought though. Just a "oh that's interesting." XD
I think so, for both. I used to know some kind of phrase that was supposed to help you remember generally which letters aren't pronounced at the ends of words, but I've forgotten it...
Is 知らなかった used for the more "That's interesting" type of [I didn't know that] or could it also be used as a response to something? Like if someone showed you how to do something or told you something implying that you should know and you reply like "Well, I didn't know that."
I'd say なるほどね is more likely to be used for "That's interesting" and 知らなかった is more likely to be used for emphasizing you did not have the knowledge of it when someone implies you should know it.
re: Katakana - Yeah, a lot of words don't come from English but instead come from other languages. It makes sense when you consider the first contact with Japan was from non-English speaking European countries, such as the Portuguese and the Dutch. My assumption is that older katakana words are more likely to come from languages other than English. Most new words either come from English or are made up using a combination of Japanese and something foreign-sounding.
Here's a few more katakana if you want more practice:
By the way, I like that listening website! If only I had something like that when I was just starting out! My listening training was pretty bad and I struggled for awhile after I arrived since things sounded "too fast". But now that I speak Japanese everyday, often more than English, I passed lesson 12 on the first try at normal speed.
I thought なるほど means 'I see'... finally understand something that a person should know...?
pan... bun?
hocchikisu... not hot chicks... is it? XD lol.
bebiikaa... baby car~
biniru... I just know what it means after hearing it for a lot of times! bi is vi right? vinyl~
zuupan? span... I know only English in the western region language.
sukinship... I can't get this one. XD
kikkubesu... it won't be kickbase...
sumato... SMART! 8D
As for listening, 95% of the time, I know what they are talking about, but if to answer the comprehension question, I need to re-listen because I tends to forget what they said. -__-;; especially the match making ones. lol. I would mess up details of different people. I jot it on note. I thought the kikitori's so call normal speed... seem to me rather slow? as I don't think the speed is as 'normal' as NHK news.
Yeah, it's fairly slow in the first few lessons. But when I listened to lesson 12 it sounds fairly normal. It was a conversation between a doctor and a patient and it sounded pretty natural to me.
Here's the answers to the katakana:
SPOILERX
Quote:
パン = bread (from Portuguese)
ホッチキス = stapler (also written as ホチキス, comes from the name of the inventor, Hotchkiss)
ベビーカー = stroller or buggy (literally read as "baby car")
ビニール (e.g. ビニールぶくろ, ビニールがさ) = comes from "vinyl", but when used with "bag" or "umbrella" it means "plastic" in general. So a "plastic bag" or a "plastic umbrella".
ジーパン = jeans (short for "jean pants"). Can also be written as ジーンズ but I've been hearing ジーパン more and more.
スキンシップ = it's a made-up English word by mixing "skin" (i.e. closeness) and "ship" (i.e. relationship). So it means the bond between mother and child, closeness, or intimacy.
キックベース = Kickball, the childhood sport. I guess the full word is "Kick Base Ball" but I've never heard anything other than "kick base".
スマート = Lately it's been used to mean intelligent, like "smart" is normally used in America, but usually it means "slim" or "stylish"
I'd say なるほどね is more likely to be used for "That's interesting" and 知らなかった is more likely to be used for emphasizing you did not have the knowledge of it when someone implies you should know it.
すげえ~どうも。
Re listening: Woo, go Ferra! ;D Glad they seem pretty natural too!
Listening isn't my strong point, even in English so it seems kind of natural for me to struggle with it for Japanese. xP
The NHK news site has some listening stuff on there, but a lot of the stuff just seems above my level. @ [email protected]
Re katakana: Woo! I remembered some!
The ones I didn't know at all were ビニール, キックベース, and ジーパン. For the last one I'm more familiar with the ジーンズ one.
All good to know! \ o /
It's kind of confusing at first, but it's incredibly useful once you get used to it. I use it everyday and Japanese people use it all the time. I used it in a post on the last page too:
@xuvrette: It depends on the kind of sentence you're making. という is often used to connect clauses, like my quoted sentence in the post above. And there are a lot more examples in the link I posted.
It's kind of confusing at first, but it's incredibly useful once you get used to it. I use it everyday and Japanese people use it all the time. I used it in a post on the last page too:
どうも! Will definitely be slowly digesting how it works and how to use it. P:
Quote:
Originally Posted by xuvrette
I thought you have to add こと or もの at the back of という…?
Ikuku~
メイク Meiku... make up!
レンジ Renji... range?
ドライバ Doraiba ~ Driver. 8D
アンケート Ankeeto...? Is that English? XD
メイク- Correct all around~
レンジ- Range like microwave! 8D Or stove too, I think.
ドライバ- Like screwdriver!
アンケート- questionnaire, like a survey \ o /
今、お母さんはイギリスでですか。
Hmm, I don't know if I understand the second sentence...
Are you saying that .. every generation leaves for a month? And so now you have to do all the chores? XD
だいだい一ヶ月ちかくでいえをいません…
(She will be gone for almost a month...)
しょくじや、せんたくや、ぜんぶじぶんでやらなきゃ…
(I have to do all chores including cook and cleaning...)
かわいそうに…
(PITIFUL ME!!!) <--- this is the MAIN POINT!