nan ji desu ka

[Bueller_007]

Yes, I did overlook those vital aspects.

Sorry!

Where is it that men use わ? Kyushu?

And as for の, I meant in the informal type of speech. Yeah, it probably would be girlish if you ended polite sentences with の.

Also, now that I think about it, how about dropping だ in informal speech? It seems that's a pretty definite distinction between male and female speech, being that women don't use it at the end after nouns and な-adj.'s.

わ in men's speech is Kansai-ben (only Osaka-ben?), but yeah, like other Western Japanese words, it might extend out to Kyushu as well.

[CrazySwayzee]

perhaps you should say arigato gozaimasu after you get learn the time as well?

saying thank you seems to always go a long way in politeness no matter what language your speaking.

[Brody]

Very good advice, Swayzee. "Thank you" is probably the most important phrase to learn in any language.

[Bueller_007]

perhaps you should say arigato gozaimasu after you get learn the time as well?

saying thank you seems to always go a long way in politeness no matter what language your speaking.

I think "sumimasen" might be better than "arigatou" in this "thank you" situation. Telling someone the time probably isn't important enough to warrant an "arigatou".

[Brody]

Still, it's important to show a polite air, even if it's wrong. But yes, I stand corrected, sumimasen would be more natural.
(For anyone wondering, I think you use "sumimasen" because you've made the person go to the trouble of doing you a favor. Japanese people are much more conscious of this than English speakers, I think.)

[Bueller_007]

Still, it's important to show a polite air, even if it's wrong. But yes, I stand corrected, sumimasen would be more natural.
(For anyone wondering, I think you use "sumimasen" because you've made the person go to the trouble of doing you a favor. Japanese people are much more conscious of this than English speakers, I think.)

Using "sumimasen" instead of "arigatou" (when appropriate) will get praise LAVISHED on you, because most foreigners throw arigatou's around left and right.

Oh, your Japanese is so good!

[Brody]

Heh, heh. You mean they'll be telling the truth this time?

[Bueller_007]

Heh, heh. You mean they'll be telling the truth this time?

Yeah... It's unbelievable.

[Liz21]

LBRapid -
Many thanks for that awesome link!!
www.jisho.org/sentences/

[seasurfer]

As far as I know nan ji desu ka means

what is the time?

ha, just to add something, nan ji desu ka (何字ですか。) can also means what word it it?

[CrazySwayzee]

Still, it's important to show a polite air, even if it's wrong. But yes, I stand corrected, sumimasen would be more natural.
(For anyone wondering, I think you use "sumimasen" because you've made the person go to the trouble of doing you a favor. Japanese people are much more conscious of this than English speakers, I think.)

Using "sumimasen" instead of "arigatou" (when appropriate) will get praise LAVISHED on you, because most foreigners throw arigatou's around left and right.

Oh, your Japanese is so good!

would sumimasen or a "more polite" version of arigatou (domo arigatou, arigatou gozaimasu) get more praise?

[Jason]

Still, it's important to show a polite air, even if it's wrong. But yes, I stand corrected, sumimasen would be more natural.
(For anyone wondering, I think you use "sumimasen" because you've made the person go to the trouble of doing you a favor. Japanese people are much more conscious of this than English speakers, I think.)

Using "sumimasen" instead of "arigatou" (when appropriate) will get praise LAVISHED on you, because most foreigners throw arigatou's around left and right.

Oh, your Japanese is so good!

would sumimasen or a "more polite" version of arigatou (domo arigatou, arigatou gozaimasu) get more praise?

Well, the issue here isn't really with flat out politeness. The issue is knowing the subtle differences between すみません and ありがとう and when it's more appropriate to use which. It shows you've taken the time to learn and come to understand those little details. Native speaker's will likely appreciate that more than an "I'll just be as polite as possible" approach since it takes more time and effort to get to know things like that.

For example, it would be more appropriate to use すみません for someone giving you directions to get to somewhere. ありがとう would be more appropriate if they actually took the trouble of taking you there themselves.

Of course this isn't just limited to すみません and ありがとう.