Family Wednesday, Dec 7 2005
Level 1 1:49 pm
Parents - Go Ryoushin (ごりょうしん)
Father - Otousan / Chichi (おとうさん・ちち)
Mother - Okaasan / Haha (おかあさん・はは)
Brothers - Kyoudai (きょうだい)
Sisters - Shimai (しまい)
Elder Brother - Oniisan / Ani (おにいさん・あに)
Younger Brother - Otoutosan / Otouto (おとうとさん・おとうと)
Elder Sister - Oneesan / Ane (おねえさん・あね)
Younger Sister - Imoutosan / Imouto (いもうとさん・おもうと)
Children - Kodomo (こども)
Husband - Dannasan / Shujin (だんなさん・しゅじん)
Wife - Okusan / Tsuma (おくさん・つま)
Son - Musuko (むすこ)
Daughter - Musume (むすめ)
You may have notice that 2 different words are representing the same meaning. They are used in different way. Here’s how :
Q : What is your father’s name? - Anata no Otousan no o namae wa?
「あなた の おとうさん の お なまえ は?」
A : My father’s name is John - Watashi no Chichi no namae wa Jon desu
「わたし の ちち の なまえ は ジョン です」
Q : How old is your mother? - Anata no Okaasan wa o ikutsu desu ka?
「あなた の おかあさん は お いくつ です か?」
A : My mother is 48 years old - Watashi no Haha wa 48 sai desu
「わたし の はは は 48 さい です」
Meaning : Namae (Name), Ikutsu (how old - age), Sai (years old - age)
When you are talking about other people’s father, you have to use “Otousan”. For own father, use “Chichi”. Same goes to Mother, Elder / Younger Brother / Sister.
You may also notice the “O” (o namae & o ikutsu). By adding “O” is to show your respect to the person you are talking to (like your boss, customer, etc)
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December 8th, 2005 at 6:26 am
hmm… How does the name suffixes work? What are all the options? Adding ‘-san’ to the end of name means respect and ‘-kun’ means close relationship… ? How does it change according to the gender? Thanks for explanation
December 8th, 2005 at 9:05 am
Yeah, you are right, to show respect, you should use “-san” (ie. Analitiku-san) where “-kun(male) & -chan(female)” is normally use within friends and those elder or pioneer than you. When using “-kun or -chan”, it is not necessary to use surname but second name is use too. Example : Watanabe-kun (male - surname), Tomoko-chan (female - second name)
Hope this help.
December 12th, 2006 at 2:01 am
Just a quick one–what’s the difference between an surname and a second name??? I’ve just never really understood that part….
December 12th, 2006 at 4:56 pm
Chinese, Japanese, Korean and many other races do have a surname. For example : Kobayashi Kenichi - Surname (Kobayashi) Name (Kenichi). Kobayashi Kenichi’s children will be all start will Kobayashi and his son’s children will also be Kobayashi blah blah. This will be used at each generation.
December 13th, 2006 at 12:48 am
So… it’s kinda like putting an English last name before the first name. What you said makes perfect sense, I’m just trying to find an Eglish equivalent.
Thanks so much for your reply!
December 13th, 2006 at 10:03 pm
It’s my pleasure AJ
April 5th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Q : What is your father’s name? - Anata no Otousan no o namae wa? << i’ve questions about this..is the sentence “Anata no Otousan no o namae wa?” same with “Anata no Otousan no o namae wa nan desu ka”?
1) is the first sentence a short-cut of the second sentence?
2) does the second one mean something else?
3) is the second one grammatically incorrect? haha i’m so sorry for asking so many questions..it’s just i really want to learn how to speak nihongo so bad..arigatoo gozaimasu!! ^_^
April 5th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Hi Rejina,
A : Yes, it is the same
1. Yes, it is shortcut (polite) without the need of “nan desu ka”
2. It is the same
3. The second one (with “nan desu ka”) is correct.
You can ask as many questions as you want and I will be glad to answer all of them
Thanks
April 6th, 2008 at 8:39 am
thanks so much! =D hey u think i can really learn how to speak nihongo fluently without needing to actually immerse myself in japan? ahihi..
April 6th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Hi Rejina,
In order to master the language, you need to practice more by communicating with Japanese. I have a friend who learn Nihongo for more than 8 years and he still doesn’t understand what the japanese is talking about. On the other hand I have a friend who has never study nihongo in school but only through self-study (net, dictionary, etc) and he speaks quite well.
May 11th, 2008 at 2:29 am
Hi there,what do ya mean o by this sentence “Anata no Otousan no o namae wa?”
May 11th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Hi Dodo,
The sentence either with or without “o”, the meaning is the same. With an “o”, the sentence will be more polite.
May 11th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Hi,Thanks for your reply..So if talking to friends and without o is “Anata no Otousan no namae wa?” Pls amend me if i am wrong
May 11th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Hi Dodo,
Yes, you are right
May 11th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Thank you V much…^^