First post and G'day

[RichT]

from Richard in Australia. ( how do you say g'day in Japanese ? )

I am curious, I am doing the podcasts and enjoying them very much, I am up to lesson 5/6 and using the PDF's. How long is one expected to spend on each lesson. I am either not that bright and taking quite a few goes to get it to sink in, or it is meant to take a while to learn ?.

Thanks to Peter and the gang on the podcasts, they are fun and that makes the learning all that much easier.

Cheers

Richard
Perth, WA.

[Solvi]

Hi, and welcome to the forum! I've only met amazing people from Australia, and that's a fact. Actually I've only met one person, my professor in popular music, but anyway...

I listened to the first lessons tons of times, I needed to get my ears used to the sound of Japanese if you know what I mean. The break-downs of the words were crucial. But now it flows more easily, I can usually visualize all syllables the first time I hear a word, and can go straight to the job of memorizing it. Don't give up!

[Alan]

Hi Richard,

Well there's Good Morning, Good Afternoon & Good Evening for starters

ohayou gozaimasu = Good Morning
konnichiwa = Good Afternoon/Hello
kombanwa = Good Evening

Konnichiwa literally means 'Good Day'

How long you spend on each lesson varies with the individual. I find it is best to listen a couple of times, move on to the next days & then review the previous stuff after a day or two & then again after a week. That way a fair bit sticks, without getting bored with endless repetition. Of course, everyone's different, so it's worth experimenting with different learning/review schedules to see what works best.

Gambatte kudasai

Alan

[Airth]

Hi RichT, a g'day or a konnichiwa to you too. I've also just joined here, though I've been studying Japanese for quite some time.

I guess the simple answer to your question is that each lesson takes as long as it takes! Everyone is different, and the beauty of these lessons is that you can go at your own pace. If this is your first experience of Japanese then I would say it'll take a fair bit of time for it to sink in, but you should find it gets easier as you go along. After that it gets harder again, then easier, then harder and so on.

I was never able to learn French or German at school no matter how hard I tried, but for some reason I could pick up Japanese with some perseverance. Good luck, don't give up and just shout if you have any questions.

[RichT]

well I guess G'day is a general greeting, that can be used at any time, and is not sun/clock related

I spend probably 3 or 4 days ( and I guess a 1/2 - 1 hours a day ) on each lesson, then move on, and I am doing as you suggest, reviewing a few days later. It took longer at the start but it is getting faster I think.

I am heading to Tokyo for a conference in October. I am a student of Tosogu 刀装具 and will be in Japan for 8 days. My first trip and I am very excited.

all the best

Richard

[RichT]

and Arigato gozaimasu for all your greetings and advice

best wishes

Richard

[Bueller_007]

well I guess G'day is a general greeting, that can be used at any time, and is not sun/clock related

Richard

You might try:
やあ！("Yaa!", which is like "Yo!" or "Hey!")
But you wouldn't use it on strangers.

[Belton]

or おす。(os)
A bit macho and again not one for strangers.

I always thought it was an extreme contraction of おはいよございます。（ohaiyo gozaimasu -- good morning) but used at any time of day. However I also found kanji associated with it
押忍 and I don't think they're ateji (assigned readings)

you could also try the kansai ben もうかりまっか (moukarimakka -- how's buisness / how's it going? ) (reply ぼちぼちだな　bochi bochi da na -- not bad / oh you know... ぼちぼち = bit by bit ) That should get a laugh.

Is that enough to confuse a beginner yet?

ganbatte.

[RichT]

I have more than enough ammunition to make a fool of myself I think.

Cheers alll

Richard

[Jason]

:-) I have more than enough ammunition to make a fool of myself I think.

There's more where that came from if you need it.

[Bueller_007]

or おす。(os)
A bit macho and again not one for strangers.

I always thought it was an extreme contraction of おはいよございます。（ohaiyo gozaimasu -- good morning) but used at any time of day. However I also found kanji associated with it
押忍 and I don't think they're ateji (assigned readings)

Belton, you're right about "オス". I've looked into this before. Try this link:
http://www.fsinet.or.jp/~fight/illust/gal3/OOYAMA.HTM