Time for a Japanese lesson, 行くぞ！

[Princess Azula]

Thanks a lot!

But I have a question. If you want to say 'my', do you still use 'watashi' or something else?

[Dreams]

You use the possessive particle 'NO' (の) to create the word 'my'.
(Refer to my thread on particles.)

So it's just NOUN + NO.
Watashi no (私の) = "my".
And you can put whatever you want after it...
Watashi no kêki　(私のケーキ) = "my cake".

FYI, watashi no mono (私のもの) = "mine".

[Princess Azula]

Thanks!

[Dreams]

and once you begin to learn more complex sentences, you will need to use it no matter what (not just as the predicate verb).

一体何のことを言ってるの？「だ/です」使わずに文をしきりに話してる/書いてる。

Iru/aru replace a lot of use that desu has as well. And in fluent speech, desu does not come up as often as you think.

[Tsuchi]

i am very much still learning kana and kanji so any sites or books you recommend to help in learning them would be great.

thx

[Trishina]

I'm using an old book when I was a begginer it's called practical japanese by naoe naganuma.

[Dreams]

http://www.kanachart.com is a nice place to learn your kana.

I learned written Japanese from "Kanji & Kana" by Wolfgang Hadamitzky and Mark Spahn. It's got the full jouyou kanji list in it, plus some extras used in names. So 2,000-something kanji are in the book. It's an excellent starting point. Shows you stroke order, stroke count, compound words the kanji's used in, radicals, etc. Except over the years I've discovered that they've left out common readings of some kanji in there, but it's few and far between.

[Yuki~]

i used different books for every part...
I used a green book for Hiragana, a white book for Katakana and for Kanji, we've been learning acording the level we are on noryokushiken.
We're doing the level 3's book this year. ^^

[Trishina]

hey meiko I think you are really enrolled in a formal japanese class but I think tsuchikami plans on self study but I'm not so sure either.

[Tsuchi]

i plan on self study for a almost a year on and off until the school i wish to attend starts

[Trishina]

oh so I'm right.

[Tsuchi]

the school i want to go to is in japan and has already started this year so i have to go next year. so i will be studying on my own whenever i get spare time until june next year

[Trishina]

good luck.

[Tsuchi]

yea thx, its 8 months of school, 26 or 28 hours of school a week (pretty easy) and i'll be staying with a "homestay family" - its required for anyone under 18

[Trishina]

yeah your schedule are not so tight.

[geishaboy]

yea thx, its 8 months of school, 26 or 28 hours of school a week (pretty easy) and i'll be staying with a "homestay family" - its required for anyone under 18

Can I ask just what and where this school is?