Topic: Japanese (language) discussion thread

Ok I found out more about it, it seems to just be made up slang, and used as a much more offensive version of otaku, but I get what you mean about calling myself otaku, maybe I'll change it soon...

@LordOtakWiiU Use whatever word you want, but the meaning tends to change when it moved outside of its own country, that happens with all languages. That's the original meaning here anyway. Can you please still tell me what word you're referring to?

Also, I just edited my previous message with the translation for nerd.

@Tsuchinoko: Sorry, I didn't mean perverted or something like that D: But yeah, if you know the structure of the word everything is way too clearer. And when I said "it could be an insult" is because I thought friends can call like that between each other (you know how friends are) just for the laughs.

What's odd is that on Tokyo Eye, an English language program run by NHK, they were talking about large tourist destinations for anime fans, and labelled it as the "Otaku Tour".

Despite being a Japanese program, they weren't using the term in a negative light, and even had guests whom live in Japan that described themselves as otaku, and let others know it.

@Jahir Yeah, it is used that way a lot, with friends making fun of each other.

@RR529 Yeah, I don't watch NHK too much, but I do know those English programs tend to not be made for an everyday Japanese audience. They seem to really be made in the frame of mind to appear to the foreign audience, and oftentimes they have foreign staff.

Yeah, I have heard of these types of things, and sadly that's somewhat pandering to a certain niche. But hey, foreign anime/manga fan tourists bring a lot of money into the country.

Anyway, I think we've exhausted this topic.

Okay, to change things up a bit, I've always been a tad confused by "thank you".

I've oftentimes heard it as "arigatou", but have also heard "arigatou gozaimasu", and some sources even had "gozaimasu" by itself.

Any clarification on this?

@RR529:
I think ありがとう (arigato~) is like saying "thanks".
ありがとうございます (arigato~ gozaimasu) is like "thank you". In a formal way like tbd said.
And ありがとうございました (arigato~ gozaimashita) is like "thank you very much". Also very formal... I forgot to point that out D:

@Tsuchinoko: 'weeaboo', while a stronger insult than 'otaku' is here in the west, kinda sums up the general idea of the slavering idiot who drools over anime twelve-year-olds in bunny costumes, goes out of their way to purchase token Japanese foods like pocky and sushi (even if their budget can't support it), buys kimonos off ebay and finds some way to wear it to school, work, or wal-mart for the weekly shopping trip, spends an entire trip to Disney World in the Japan section of Epcot, and proclaims Japan is the best and most tolerant country in the world without knowing a damn thing about it or their history outside what a Samurai Warriors game has shown them. weeaboos won't even look at people who aren't in some way asian (if not Japanese entirely) in terms of dating or a potential love interest, and that's if they can tear themselves away from their manga or anime versions of people in the first place. a weeaboo learns Japanese from anime alone instead of using anime as a tool alongside books, schooling, and conversation with native speakers, then proclaims themselves an expert on the topic of anything Japanese even if all they've done is read a few webpages about the given subject and copied some random kanji onto their school notebook. They know everything there is to know about Japan (except the rude awakening that awaits upon their first actual visit ).

think of them as 'Japanese otaku', if you will — they are obsessed with anything Japanese to the point of driving away friends and family. probably the single worst thing about weeaboos IMO is that they're not in it out of any respect of the culture and the people of Japan. weaboos cannot be reasoned with as they are; their only hope is that they eventually snap out of their absurd worship.

btw, the word itself has nothing to do with anything Japanese. :3

@RR529: 'gozaimasu' makes things formal in terms of politeness — Japanese has several levels of politeness that are sometimes hard to navigate. 'arigatou' can pretty much be said to anyone, (kinda like 'thanks') but if you're saying it to maybe someone in a position of authority (like the head CEO of your company who just gave you something nice) or if you're a shop owner thanking someone after a transaction, you'd use 'arigatou gozaimasu' or the super-polite 'domo arigatou gozaimasu'. if you're in a very informal situation among friends and you're in a hurry or something, you could get away with just 'domo' (because they'd know what you meant), but you'd never say that kind of thing to your boss (unless he was a really cool guy D: )

@TheBlackDragon I had absolutely no idea this word existed. How weird. I actually don't even know what 4chan is though...To be honest, other than Ghibli films, I never watch anime or anything related to it, so I'm totally not a part of that world. In my mind, Japan is just a country just like any other. We get immigrants here just like anywhere else. I do find it annoying when I see the anime nerds though. Unlike what some users on here think, I don't think Japan is flawless. I mean, there are things that irritate me everyday. I will defend Japan to the ends of the Earth though, since I feel its my home now, but I do think as an immigrant here, I see tons of things that I have to either just accept or ignore, but anyway, whatever, I'm going against my own non-politics rule in this thread. Thank you for showing me the word though, its fairly interesting though, but not something I think I'd ever hear in real life.

@tat2 Thank you as well.

@RR529 Okay, on to your question. Yes, ありがとう means just thank you, very informal. ありがとうございます is more formal, I use this more with people I don't know. ありがとうございました is past tense, ございました is the past tense version of ございます、so its thanking someone for something they did for you in the recent past/past. Its a little vague though. In a lot of situations it can be used interchangeably, especially when its something that is still recent.

As for ございます, it has nothing to do with "thank you" specifically, but its a formal version for です, meaning..."it is", mostly (I wouldn't say its a 100% accurate translation). Like, if you're being really formal, you can say ジェレミーでございます (My name is Jeremy, though this is really formal), another more useful example would be if you worked for a company like Nintendo, you would introduce yourself at work related events with 任天堂のジェレミーでございます (I am Jeremy, representing Nintendo).

EDIT: Ah yes, どうも. I don't really use this word by itself. Its suuuper informal. It can also be used as a greeting though, so its meaning is a little...wide, I guess you can say.

EDIT2: I think I should clarify. I feel its annoying when I see anime nerds that come to Japan that have no interest in anything other than anime/video games. Nothing about the culture, language, or people interests them, just products.

Yeah and a weeaboos vocabulary has only Baka and kawaii in it and maybe the normal words you here

@LordOtakWiiU Well, it doesn't seem to be a likely thing for me to worry about.

@RR529 So are you more clear on the "Thank you" thing? I can give you all the different words for it if you want a more detailed explanation.

I want to learn Japanese so I can watch anime and read manga. Please teach me!

Protip for those wanting to learn Japanese. (desu)

@Tsuchinoko, I understand now, thanks!

...Are you making a joke?

I think he is but it's still not funny

I know Smexi is pretty into anime/manga, so I doubt he was making a joke at all, let alone one in bad taste, especially from the way he wrote it. Don't jump to hurtful conclusions; I believe he'd actually be grateful if anyone could lend him a hand with a few simple phrases.

Have been dipping and out of Japanese study these last few years though it's become abit of a hobby more then serious study... Hiragana and Katakana are all fine and dandy but... have you seen the Kanji?!? : /

Anyhow, nice forum topic. if anyone cares to throw afew sentences around, i'd happily join in... 一緒に日本語勉強しましょうね

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That's the kind of thing I made this thread for. Is there anything specific you want to know about? Would you like to try a simple conversation?

@LordOtakWiiU I'm really bad at picking up sarcasm or jokes in English these days, especially from online. I can never tell the tone the person is using. I had assumed it was a joke in reference to an earlier comment I said about not wanting to teach Japanese to someone as a means to an end. But I wasn't sure.

@GameLord08 I'm sure he's not trying to be insulting, but its best to be specific. Its hard to just go into a thread and say "teach me [topic language]", learning a new language is time consuming and difficult. If he has questions that are more specific that would help. I do get asked quite often on these sites to teach people Japanese, most of the times its so they can watch anime and read manga. Like I said I've been studying it for over 5 years, at least an hour a day. It takes a lot of time.