I'm going to try and figure out the meanings of a lot of words here, so please bear with me... Time [quo]*Quote:* - Getsu & Gatsu. They both mean month from what I understand. How can I know when to use each one? Is Getsu describing how long in length something happened, while Gatsu describes a single point of time? - Raishu. I know this means next, but is it only used during time frames? - What is this sudden doyubi and kinyobi? :P - mae. In the example for the grammar lesson, it says "In front of the supermarket" as "Ginko no mae desu" but in the tests it uses it as a two week ago saturday? I understand now that "nishukan" has to do with two saturdays, but what is it "two saturdays in front" when it is going in a past tense? ...and now that I think of it, is "saturday" "shukan?" [/quo] Verb Changes [quo]*Quote:* - Why exactly do some verbs change from their "i" form to "e" form? I think I understand it as "being able to" do something, but I am not quite sure. Can this be verified? [/quo] [quo]*Quote:* On quiz Quiz 1.9.2 I was wondering why I got the question "Raishū no kinyōbi wa nan gatsu nan nichi desu ka?" incorrect. The calendar shows Feb. 14 Saturday. and next Friday would be the 20th. So I put "Nigatsu nijyū nichi desu." But supposedly the real answer is "Nigatsu hatsu-ka desu." What is this "hatsu-ka?" :shock: ---- Looking over the questions, I am also guessing "nichi" is for past tense days while "ka" is for present + future tense? ----- On Quiz 1.7.14, is there anyway I could get the translation for the following words? : Tamago toriniku Namamono Agemono Nabemono Tsukemono Karaimono Amaimono I know it's quite a few words :p Just want to improve my vocab though! [/quo] That is all my questions, thank you for the time in reading!

Konnichiwa! Thank you for your many questions. I will try my best to answer each one of them. If I forgot one, please don't hesitate to ask me again! :P :idea: 1. *Gatsu* and *Getsu* Yes, they both mean "month". However, *GATSU* is always tacked on after a number, and expresses the months of the year such as: *Ichi-gatsu* "January" *Ni-gatsu* "February" *San-gatsu* "March" ...and so on. (**You could say that *GATSU* does not translate to "month") While, *GETSU* is tacked on (as you have correctly said) when describing a length in time as well saying "THIS month" "LAST month" and "NEXT month". *GETSU* does translate directly as "month". Here are some examples: *Ikka-getsu* "One month" *Ni-ka-getsu* "Two months" *San-ka-getsu* "Three months" *Sen-getsu* "Last month" *Kon-getsu* "This month" *Rai-getsu* "Next month" :idea: 2. *Raishū* actually means "next week" The *RAI* part is "next" just as you see in *Rai-getsu* "Next month" and *Shū* is "week" :idea: 3. *Doyōbi* is "Saturday" while *Kinyōbi* is "Friday". *~Yōbi* is the suffix for "day of the week" :idea: 4. *MAE*does mean "in front" however when saying "two weeks ago" or "an hour ago" you can also use *MAE*. It's a bit confusing, but as it can mean "in front" and "ahead" it can also express something BEFORE now, such as "former" "last" and "ago". *nishūkan* translates as "two weeks" *shūkan* is a suffix for "length of weeks". *Doyōbi* is "Saturday" Here are the days of the week: *Getsu-yōbi* "Monday" *Ka-yōbi* "Tuesday" *Sui-yōbi* "Wednesday" *Moku-yōbi* "Thursday" *Kin-yōbi* "Friday" *Do-yōbi* "Saturday" *Nichi-yōbi* "Sunday" :lol:

:idea: *Verbs* When you want to express that you CAN do something, or are ABLE to do an action - this is the pattern you must follow: :arrow: For *U* ending verbs change the final *U* to *E* and adding *RU* Au --> Aeru "can meet" Kaku --> Kakeru "can write" Yomu --> Yomeru "can read" :arrow: For *RU* ending verbs change the final *RU* with *RARERU* or the polite form *RAREMASU* Taberu --> Taberareru "can eat" Okiru --> Okirareru "can get up" Kariru --> Karirareru "can borrow"

_Quiz 1.9.2 I question "Raishū no kinyōbi wa nan gatsu nan nichi desu ka?" The calendar shows Feb. 14 Saturday. and next Friday would be the 20th. So I put "Nigatsu nijyū nichi desu." But supposedly the real answer is "Nigatsu hatsu-ka desu." What is this "hatsu-ka?" _ YES. "20th" is a special one. It doesn't follow the general rule of adding *NICHI* "day" or *KA* which also expresses "day". 20th is __ALWAYS __ *Hatsuka* - sorry, you must memorize this one. And here are the translations for the following words: *Tamago* "Egg" *Toriniku* "Meat" *Namamono* "Raw food" *Agemono* "Fried food" *Nabemono* "Hot-pot" *Tsukemono* "Picked-food" *Karaimono* "Hot/Spicy-food" *Amaimono* "Sweet-food"

Arigato Sayaka-san for hatsuka, is there anymore "nichi no gatsu wa" [days of the month] that require uniqueness? :] The translated words, "mimasu"[I see] that the "mono" is being added on as "food." I know it means "thing" 'demo mimasu' [But, I see] how it can be used in different ways. For Toriniku, I notice that it means meat and so does "niku" if I remember correctly. Is there a difference to the two meats? "Arigato no" all the support, I learned so much from "kono"[this] post and "Hanaseru"[i can say] that section "ichi" [1] is completely done for "Watashi"[me]! I got it all learned! Wakarimashita Arigato. demo...I will go over it again of course, in case I missed anything ;) [ hope I used all those japanese words correctly :) ]

Konnichiwa! I'm very sorry, I was mistaken - *Toriniku* is actually "Chicken-Meat" or more naturally, just "Chicken" but referring to the meat to eat. *Gyūniku* is "beef" (the lit.translation is "cow-meat") *Butaniku* is "pork" (literally "pig-meat" Sorry about the confusion! :lol:

Ok, (ima) it makes sense :P. Arigato :lol:

Dō itashimashite!! :lol:

What is the difference between kono and kore? I had known "kono" for "this" for quite awhile...in members newsletter 7, it says "kore"... :?:

I think it has to do with この　if you notice uses の and thus is more specific in referring to This ___ (or この＿＿＿＿は) Whereas I believe これ is more about this general area or the objects in this general area. So based upon my speculation: このアニメはだいすきです！ I love this anime (that I'm specifically pointing to)! vs. これはだいすきです！ I love this (*said as he sees random anime*)! But again I'm merely speculating so until my speculation is confirmed or disproved by Sayaka... わからない! (We don't know!)

So I know that Sorewa means "that is." "Sorewa yokatta desu" means "that is nice to hear." so does this make the verb for "to hear," yokau? thanks for the last message derek, we'll see what sayaka says if she sees these posts :p

*]Ko - So- A - Do[/i:3dxvhsis] Words* Let's first review the _*Ko, So, A, Do*_ words... *_KO_* words imply closeness to the speaker *_SO_* words imply closeness to the listener and distance from the speaker *_A_* words imply a distance from both the speaker and listener *_DO_* words are used for questions :idea: *_Kore_* corresponds to pronouns such as "this" or "these" and refers to an item close at hand. While *_Kore_* is a stand-alone word meaning "this/these", *_Kono_* is a modifier that can only be used together with a noun and translates as "this one/these ones". The particle *_no_* must always be added when modifying a noun. -Sayaka

mo hitotsu... I notice there are quite a few ways of asking "how long"... the two I'm going to ask about are "dore gurai" and "kan desu ka"?... I learned about itsu desu ka already ^.^

Konnichiwa! _*Dore gurai*_ literally translates as "Which-about". :arrow: _*Dore*_ corresponds to "which?" or "which (one's)?" :arrow: _*gurai*_ or _*kurai*_, after a number or quantity indicates it is an approximation: _"about ~ / ~ or so."_ The combination of _*Dore*_ & _*gurai*_ combined indicates approximate amount or extent: "about how much?" This expression is often used as noun modifiers by adding _no_. :idea: So _*Dore gurai*_ by itself means "About how much?" and _*Dore gurai no jikan?*_ asks "About how much time?" or "About how long?" The ending _*~kan desu ka?*_ has the counter _*~kan*_ which expresses "time". As in, _*Nan jikan desu ka?*_ asks "How many hours?" This ending does not suggest an approximation such as the expression _*Dore gurai*_. :lol: Sayaka

I remembered the audio lesson saying gurai meant "about" but it kind of confused me. Thank you for clearing that up :p

*Mochiron!* Of course! :P - Sayaka