ang.diwata

Oh, I find the two syllabary in Japanese quite easy. I tried memorizing how to count in Korean, but I find that hard, so I stopped learning the language, and switched to learning Japanese instead. I promise to come back and learn Korean again, though. Thanks for the feedback. ^^

I normally use Google Translate when I'm browsing in a Chinese, or Japanese and sometimes a Korean website. However, it totally lacks the proper nuances and context, plus it has really bad grammar, tat I find myself preferring the original untranslated page, rather than the translated page.

Hmmn. When we reviewed for our professional licensure exam, one classmate of mine asked what's the english word for 'santol'. I actually answered, 'Where, bro? (San, 'tol?)' but that's just me trying to joke. Haha. Anyway, if you know the english counterpart for that one, kindly post it here.

Now, that's an interesting take on its history, since, I suddenly woke up one day seeing memes of Vaness Wu with a the 'Boomvaness' caption. Haha.

This is so true! Sometimes I wish other languages are as easy to spell as in our language. When I was in grade school and used to enter spelling bees, I always land on the runner-up spot because some words like 'reservoir' are not spelled the same as it is pronounced!

On unnecessary double letters, we do have that in our language, like, 'mangga' (mango). But I do agree it's more of an exception rather than the rule.

I agree with most of the answers here that changing or discontinuing the use of Philippine English is already moot. I think the best solution would be to improve our knowledge on the actual English meanings aside from how it is commonly used in our country.

I think 'kilig', should be added to the list. I remember that this word was featured once in Word Porn, a language page in Facebook, and most people thought it was 'killing'. Haha. Anyway, on topic, I don't know if there's a direct English translation for this one.

I really don't mind people speaking in Taglish. But as a personal rule, I speak in plain English or plain Tagalog, depending on the situation. Honestly, what I find sad are people laughing at someone who speak in deep and pure Tagalog. Well, it might be unusual, but there's a more proper reaction than laughing and ridiculing them.

Good for you, then. My friends say this every time they hear something witty, something funny, even something really bland. It does not add context to what was said, so I find it annoying to hear often. I think saying 'Push mo yan!' is way better than saying 'Boom! Panis!' But that's just me.

Should probably add the following too:

[list type=decimal]

[*]

Hello/How are you? - Kumusta?

I am fine - Mabuti

Goodbye - Paalam

Please - Paki

Thank you - Salamat

Your welcome - Walang anuman

Where is the ...? - Saan ang ...?

Left - Kaliwa

Right - Kanan

Up - Taas

Down - Baba

Here - Dito

There - Diyan

Money - Pera

How much (money)? - Magkano?

Expensive - Mahal

Cheap - Mura

How many? - Ilan

Wait a minute - Sandali lang

Do you have ...? - Meron ka nang ...

Do you like ...? - Gusto mo ...?

I would like ... - Gusto ko ...

[*]

This is the only one I can think of right now:

-pasang krus (in relation to having a mole in your shoulder) means you'd be carrying a big burden.

Oh, there's also 'hugas kamay' which means not taking responsibility for a deed that was done.

This is the latest craze right now. Every time there seems to be a quotable quote, or something that other finds, I don't know, funny (?) they say this. What does it even mean? I think this is just as annoying as when people started texting in jejemon.

I am currently studying Japanese, and plans to study Korean once I'm finished. I am finding Japanese hard to study, like Mandarin. Can someone tell me if Korean is as hard or harder than the other two? Which part is hard for you?

I have friends and students who text this way. It's very annoying. I usually tell them, especially my students, to not text me that way since if they do, I would instantly delete their messages without reading them, even if it's really important. It may sound harsh, but c'mon, if it's important, you wouldn't have me deciphering jejemon text, and just plainly tell me what you want to say.

Listening to music helps me a lot, especially with learning new vocabulary and pronunciation. When I was younger, I used to memorize anime opening and ending songs, and sing them. Once I'm finished with studying Japanese, I'm gonna go and look for the anime songs I used to sing, and translate, just so I know what I actually sang when I was a kid. Haha.

I find hiragana hard because I can't do curves well, and hiragana have a lot of curving storkes. Haha. On the other hard, I find katakana hard because I confuse some of the characters with some hiragana characters. Plus, I still can't tell the difference between, 'tsu' and 'shi' in katakana.

Hey, thanks for these! I only know one way of introducing myself in Japanese, so these are really helpful.

I used to use romaji when learning the lyrics of an anime song. I also used that when I started seriously studying Japanese. However, as soon as I had memorized hiragana, I stopped using romaji, since it kind of slowed me down when it comes to pronunciation. I used audio files instead, to know the proper way to pronounce the characters, since I think romaji tends to be more English.

I sing some anime songs, so I guess that counts. The first one I memorized is the theme song from Voltes V. Haha. And then, from DBZ, Yu Yu Hakusho, Flame of Recca and Hunter X Hunter.  Other than that, I don't know any other Japanese songs.

Hey, thanks! You're really knowledgeable. Are there any other honorifics used?

BTW, WHAT. IS. KEIGO? OMG, here I am I'll be done once I'm finished with kanji. Seems like I have a lot more to learn.  :cry:

Hmm, it depends on what you like. If you like anime/modern Japanese culture, then you definitely want to stick to Tokyo and places like Harajuku, Akiba, etc.

If you like more of the traditional stuff, Kyoto/Osaka is probably the best place to go. They have lots of shrines, temples, castles, etc.

Now, I'm really torn. I love modern Japanese culture as much as the traditional. Maybe I'd go for a mix of both. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'm self-studying Japanese too, and I'm getting by, even though there are parts that I find really challenging. I guess the key to this would be motivation and focus, plus practice. I practice writing and reading at least an hour or two a day. Then read any online resource that would come my way. I signed up with a website to help speed things up a bit. They have quizzes and lessons that are really useful. And I bought a dictionary, too, plus those other books teaching useful phrases for travelers. It really takes a lot of time and effort.

Japanese are respectful people, so they have a lot of honorifics in their language. I've always noticed that in the animes I watched as a kid. Now, here's a question: What is the difference between the honorifics used by Japanese, say for example, -san, -sama, -chan, -tan? when do you use which? Hope you could enlighten me with this one, since it is my understanding that the improper use of honorifics can cause offense to the person being spoken too.

Thank you.

I guess the reason why I started learning Japanese is because there's always been a part of me who like to know things, whatever it is. Then, there's my love for travelling, and my belief in the saying, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do." So I decided to learn other languages from countries I'd like to visit, so when I go there, I'd be speaking their language.

Plus, there's also my exposure with Japanese animation as a kid. And my curiosity with Japanese culture and history.

Since, I've only just started learning Japanese, but what has been challenging to me is learning kanji. Even though I learned Mandarin when I was in college, I still find it difficult since there's just so many of them and most of the time, I'm confusing them with other characters.