andy-san,
wow, that's brilliant that you're having such productive meetings!! It really sounds a brilliant
study opportunity for all of you. I'm simply glad that I could be of your help
Financial Times?
Difficult one! Definitely not the one for me
"Watashi no nihongo kara hoka no hito to chotto kinchou suru. [Name]-san to kinchou shinai."
(Because of my Japanese, I'm a little bit nervous with other people. I'm not nervous with you.)
=> In Japanese, slightly more detailed explanation for the part "because of my Japanese" would be better.
If you want to say "because I'm still a beginner" or similar,
"watashi wa mada nihongo ga jouzu janai node, hoka no hito to hanasu toki, kinchou susu. [name]-san to wa kinchou shinai".
Being modest is, as you might know, a typical part of our culture, so saying "I'm not good at Japanese yet" sounds more
"smooth" in this sentence.
"Watashi wa, tabete ni tsuite, hen na hito. Hoka no hito tabete ite wa, watashi ga mitakunai. Watashi wa tabete toki, hoka no hito mite, dame desu. Fudan hitorikiri taberu."
(I'm strange about eating. I don't like watching other people eat, I don't like people watching me eat. I always eat alone.)
=>
funny AND difficult sentences!!
"watashi wa, taberu koto ni tuite/kanshite chotto kawatte iru. watashi wa, hokano hito ga nani ka o tabete iru no o
miru noga suki ja nai. watashi ga tabete iru toki mo, dare ka ni mirareru no ga suki ja nai"
"Ano otoko no hito wa, kirei desu ka? Juu no naka de, nan desu ka?"
(is this man handsome? Rate him out of ten.)
=> You can actually use the word "handsome" in Japanese; "kirei" is more "beautiful", so it might be better to use "handsome" or "kakkoii".
"ano otoko no hito wa hansamu dato (OR kakkoii to) omoimasu ka? Juudankai hyouka de, dono kurai?"
"[Name]-san no okiniiri iro wa, nan desu ka?"
(What is your favourite colour?)
=> Close!! It's "okiniiri NO iro" with "no" in between. But you can say more simply:
"[name]-san wa nani iro ga suki desu ka?" OR "[name-san] no suki na iro wa nani iro desu ka?"
"[Name]-san no okiniiri doubutsu, nan desu ka?"
(What is your favourite animal?)
=> "[name]-san no suki na doubutsu ha nan desu ka?"
"London ni itta? Dou deshita ka? Doko de itta ka?"
(Have you been to London? How was it? Where did you go?)
=> We can use "...ta koto ga aru" for describing experiences, so;
"London ni itta koto ga aru? Dou datta? Doko ni itta?"
"Londond ni itta koto ga arimasu ka? Dou deshita ka? Doko ni ikimashita ka?"
"Bideo geemu o suru?"
(Do you play video games?)
=> Perfect!
"Itsu Nihon ni kaeru? Itsumademo koko de nokoritai!"
(When are you going back to Japan? I want you to stay here forever!)
=> "Itsu nihon ni kaeru? Itsumademo koko ni ite hoshii!"
"Watashi wa, guitaa o ensou shita. Demo yamete ita."
(I used to play guitar but I gave up.)
=> "watashi wa (mukashi) gitaa o hiite ita. Demo yamete shimatta". You can add "mukashi" to say "long time ago".
"Shikaku kami ga aru?"
(Do you have any square paper?)
=> Close! "shikakui kami" with "i" in "shikakui".
"shikakui kami, aru?" (you can drop "ga" in casual sentence like this; "shikaui kami ga aru?" is also fine, of course!)
"Watashi no shita wa hana ni sawaru koto ga dekiru."
(I can touch my nose with my tongue.)
=>
"watashi wa, shita de, hana o sawaru koto ga dekiru"
"[Musician] no [song] wa, kiku? Koi uta desu. Warawanai de kudasai! Watashi no okiniiri outa desu."
(Have you heard [song] by [musician]? It's a love song. Please don't laugh! It's my favourite song.)
=> "love song" is actually "love song" in Japanese too.
"[musician] no [song] wa kikimasu ka? rabu songu desu. warawanai de kudasai! watashi no okiniiri no uta desu."
"Warawanai de kudasai!"
(Please don't laugh!)
=> Perfect!!
"Kanojo wa tegowai hito desu"
(She's a tough girl.)
=> I think your sentence is fine, but depending on what exactly you want to say by "tough", there could be
some better words. Without context, it's difficult to say, though. It can be "kanojo wa tsuyoi hito desu" too.
"Igirisu wa ichiban koto ga nan desu ka?"
(What do you like most about England?)
=> "Igirisu no nani ga ichiban suki desu ka?"
"Chugoku no ginko wa, seifu desu. Sukkarakan ga nai"
(Chinese banks are safe. They won't go bankrupt.)
=> "chuugoku no ginkou wa anzen desu. tousan suru koto wa arimasen".
Bankrupt in Japanese is "tousan".
Good luck tomorrow!
Natsuko(奈津子),
Team JapanesePod101.com
