rayman.the.one.and.only1 wrote:So, I keep using certain particles at the end of a sentence, but now I'm wondering if I should be. So I've used the particle wa to end some of my sentences since I heard it was a feminine thing to do and it makes some sentences sound more natural.
Yes, ending sentences with
wa is a feminine thing. It's not the same as the topic-marking particle
wa; this is easy to see in Japanese writing as the topic-marking
wa is written は while the sentence-ending
wa is written わ.
I've also used no to end a sentence, although I think that might be a masculine thing to do, so maybe I shouldn't use that.
No, I think using
no at the end of a sentence is another feminine thing. Both
wa and
no are used after plain-form verbs or adjectives, apparently to make the sentence a little less direct. I'm not really sure how you decide whether to use
wa or
noExamples lifted from a story I read recently. The speaker is a woman who has just opened her Christmas present, a set of haircombs that she has always wanted:-
あ、あのくしだ
わ！あの店のくしだ
わ！これ、前から欲しかった
の。
あ、あの くし だ
わ！ あの みせ の くし だ
わ！ これ、まえ から ほしかった
の。
A, ano kushi da
wa! Ano mise no kushi da
wa! Kore, mae kara hoshikatta
no.
Oh, it's those haircombs! The haircombs from that shop! I've wanted these for ages.
I also use yo and ne a lot. now what I've heard is that yo expresses confidence in what you are saying, while ne leaves room for doubt (if that makes any sense) like for instance if I said "sono ga jagaimo desu yo." I'm saying "that is a potato." and the yo makes it sound like I know for a fact that it's a potato.
I guess the most basic and simplistic difference between
yo and
ne is that
yo is used when telling someone something they don't know or don't appreciate while
ne is used when telling someone something you think they already know or will agree with.
But if I said "sono ga jagaimo desu ne" I'm saying "that is a potato" but the ne makes it sound like I'm not entirely sure it's a potato. Is that the correct way to use yo and ne?
Yes, pretty much, I think:
ne is working like a "tag question" in English. Something like "that's a potato, isn't it?" or "that's a potato, right?", which you might say if you're not sure and also if you
are sure and just want to make sure the other person agrees with you.
I've also heard ne used sort of like a question. "Kirei desu ne?" or "Isn't it beautiful?" Sort of like ne is saying that I want to hear if the other person thinks that it's beautiful. Is that correct?
Yes, I think so. Again,
ne is working like a tag question, so
kirei desu ne is similar to "beautiful, isn't it?"
Also I've been wondering about the word koto, I've seen it translated as experience, but it is used in places where I can't make sense of it. Does koto's meaning change when put in certain contexts?
It's a lot like a particle in that it tends to disappear when you translate into English. It's a nominaliser, meaning that it changes the preceding verb or verb-phrase into a noun, similar to how adding "-ing" to a verb in English makes the verb into a noun. You can say "I like eating" but you can't say "I like eat". Another example from a story I read recently, describing how wealthy the King is:-
欲しいものは、何でも買う
ことができます。
ほしい もの は、 なんでも かう
こと が できます。
Hoshii mono wa, nademo kau
koto ga dekimasu.
He could buy anything he wanted.
Any help is appreciated.
Domo arigato gozaimasu!
You can't use
arigatou to mean "thanks in advance" because it's specifically a comment about a favour that's already been done. The phrase that equates to "thanks in advance" is
yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
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