You are here:
- Home
- Cultures
- Japanese Culture
- Japanese Language
Japanese Language/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Romantic context | 11/21/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: Hey I was wondering about this phrase" ... A: Yes, my apologies. I was focusing on the literal aspect of going back and forth when reading ... | ||
| Romantic context | 11/20/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: Hey I was wondering about this phrase" ... A: I'm not sure of the context, but the line appears to be saying: "In the final stages of the story ... | ||
| characters | 10/6/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I have what I think is a Japanese woodblock print. I have included a photo of the characters on the ... A: Unfortunately, I have no idea as the handwriting is highly stylized. I've asked around to some other ... | ||
| Common Japanese Greetings | 9/28/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I would like to know, do any of the common greetings in Japanese have meanings that are distinctly ... A: If by "meanings that are distinctly of the traditional world view of Japan/China" you mean "not ... | ||
| Oriental Language | 9/9/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: Can you the interpret the markings on the box and bottle of the after shave product know as "Jade ... A: Both Japanese and Chinese have these characters, of course, since Japanese writing was imported from ... | ||
| Another questions | 8/29/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: Another questionｓ： How do we say the following sentences in Japanese? 1.I can ... A: 1. ... | ||
| Phrase translation in kanji | 8/11/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I'm looking for some translations in kanji. I have taken Japanese classes for the last two years, ... A: Unfortunately, the question doesn't much relate to kanji selection as much as it does to proper word ... | ||
| Old Japanese Letter | 7/30/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I have attached a scan of the front cover of an old Japanese letter that I recently acquired. This ... A: Unfortunately, I cannot read much of this at all as it is quite old and quite handwritten! I looked ... | ||
| correct phonetic pronunciation of phrases | 7/22/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I have a short script, translated from English by an expert. However, I do not know how to correctly ... A: Rule 1: Vowel sounds always sound the same. A - Like 'a' in 'father'. I - Like 'ee' in 'eeny'. U - ... | ||
| Japanese tang translation | 7/13/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: i bought a sword a few years back and i'm just not getting round to looking into it i have been told ... A: It appears to be 関住藤原魚眞作. I'm not sure what the ... | ||
| Symbol for inner strength | 7/11/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I was wondering if you could tell me the symbol for strength. Not strength as in power, but more ... A: 精神力 "seishin-ryoku" (spiritual/psychological/inner strength) ... | ||
| Source to obtain reading primers | 7/10/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I would like to purchase official Japanese Reading primers for grades 1-6. I have tried Google, Bing ... A: MEXT (The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) provide a list of approved ... | ||
| translation of a quote from an anime called Lucky Star | 7/9/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: how do you say/pronounce "Heaven has abandoned us!" in Japanese? thanks for the help :) A: Typically, this proper "Heaven" is a reference to God, in which case you would use 神 (kami = ... | ||
| Kanji Symbol | 7/8/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: Can you please give me the Kanji symbol for the word "Go" as in 'to go somewhere', or 'to leave to ... A: To "go" is 行く (i + ku = iku) which is comprised of the root (written in kanji, the "i" ... | ||
| translation | 6/21/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: How would you say "You make me feel alive" in Japanese? Thank you very much in advance. A: That expression is not something given among the Japanese, but I suppose if it was, it would be ... | ||
| Can you please tell me what it says | 6/13/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I would appreciate your help A: ボクのケイタイデンワのヒ ... | ||
| Japanese Language | 6/12/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I've been trying to learn Japanese for the past few months and I've got the Hiragana and Katakana ... A: You'll use it everyday. They are two of three "alphabets" used to write Japanese with in any ... | ||
| Japanese grammar help | 5/29/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I need help with this short presentation for japanese, I think the grammer is ok but any help would ... A: Some corrections: What shall we see? "Nani wo mi mashouka" Note: I use "wo" since that's the ... | ||
| Japanese to English translation | 5/15/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: Can you tell me what the characters in this image mean? The top of the scroll is on the left in ... A: 精気神 seiki-gami "God of Energy" (not a formal god in Japan, but one of the ... | ||
| Japanese | 5/2/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I am an artist and linguist who loves the Japanese culture. I want to learn Japanese very much. I do ... A: こんにちは。私はアンジェ ... | ||
| Singular or Plural for an object | 5/2/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I am trying to translate a Japanese statement: ... A: Just for clarification, the sentence should read ... | ||
| Japannese ? if so translate please | 4/27/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: The attached characters appear on tne bottom of a vase we own. Are they Japanese? I may have taken ... A: The picture is oriented correctly, however the word or name is not Japanese. The characters are ... | ||
| translation into kanji | 4/14/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I would highly appreciate if you can translate this saying " key to immortality is living a life ... A: I can't seem to find anything specifically that ties a quality life with the concept of immortality, ... | ||
| translation into kanji | 4/12/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I would highly appreciate if you can translate this saying " key to immortality is living a life ... A: Kanji are characters used to write the roots of verbs, certain nouns, and a set of old idioms. A ... | ||
| About zenzen heki,heiki | 4/11/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: Which is the real romanji for the meaning of I am ok. Heki or heiki? Or both are acceptable? I saw ... A: The correct romaji would be "heiki" as, in Japanese, there is an "i" sound and character present. ... | ||
| Japanese into English translation | 4/10/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: Please could you translate this message into English for me? The message is: ... A: Apologies for the delay. You can use this: ... | ||
| Japanese into English translation | 4/9/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: Please could you translate this message into English for me? The message is: ... A: It says: Hello and thank you for the mail. I uploaded the video to the address above (the ... | ||
| theres several | 4/8/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: During certain situations in my life, I would like to say something in Japanese but could never ... A: Sorry, it was an accident. ... | ||
| Kanji on Katana Tang | 4/7/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I inherited a very old katana from my father in law and would like to know what the kanji on the ... A: The engraving appears to be: 文治五年八月(日?) - The last ... | ||
| Name for a character... | 3/23/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I'm plan on playing a character in a game that I want to call either "The Silver Serpent" or "The ... A: Well, it depends on if you want the silver to represent the external color or the entire makeup of ... | ||
| Instription on | 3/17/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: Inscription on knife Mr. DePaula, Could you translate the inscription on this World War 2 era ... A: Looking at the "Scouts of China" (as they are called) web page (http://scouting.edu.tw), it says ... | ||
| Instription on | 3/16/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: Inscription on knife Mr. DePaula, Could you translate the inscription on this World War 2 era ... A: The inscription appears to be 中国童子軍 which means "The Chinese Boy ... | ||
| verify translation | 3/16/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I recently heard on the radio that a Japanese phrase, which was pronounced, "hara hachi bu," means ... A: The phrase, in its entirety, is: 腹八分目にする (hara ... | ||
| Japanese book | 3/16/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I have a Japanese book, which is somewhat similar to the schoolbooks you answered a question about a ... A: From the top (reading right to left, as they used to), we have: ... | ||
| Japanese book | 3/15/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I have a Japanese book, which is somewhat similar to the schoolbooks you answered a question about a ... A: The title is 日本地理初歩 (nihon chiri shoho), which translated ... | ||
| Japanese names for my goldfish | 3/12/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: I would like my pond goldfish to have Japanese names. One is named Maruten which I believe means ... A: Steven, "Maruten", to my knowledge, means a "dome" or "vault". Crown would be "冠" (kanmuri). ... | ||
| I don't get it | 3/10/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: My friend texted me this, "Chodo onaji koto kangaeteta." I would like an explanation to why its ... A: 丁度同じ事考えてた。 ... | ||
| Not sure | 3/2/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: onna mitai desu yo Could have the translation for this? I was told that it said looks like a girl, ... A: This sentence means that the subject is in some way like a girl. What that characteristic is comes ... | ||
| Double checking a translation | 2/22/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: Heya, I did a translation here and I was wondering if you look at something really quick: ... A: I guess I'm not up on the context with this particular story to know if it's discussing a feeling ... | ||
| Double checking a translation | 2/22/2011 | Michael DePaula |
| Q: Heya, I did a translation here and I was wondering if you look at something really quick: ... A: It reads (to me) just as it would in English, namely, that she didn't realize he had had feelings ... | ||
Michael DePaula
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
Anything pertaining to daily conversation, music, historical/modern forms of Japanese-character writing, computer/IT-related vocabulary, and aquatic sciences.
Experience
10 years of Japanese study with about 7 of those years in Japan.
Organizations
Global Underwater Explorers,
Okinawa Underwater Explorers,
Okinawa Freethought Society
Education/Credentials
Degree in Music Performance, University of Southern California.
8 years working the IT/computer programming world.
8 years of amateur translation assistance.
4 years in marine conservation/technical dive exploration in Japan.
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.