for me the grammatical structure and verb forms are what is difficult.
the grammatical structure (subject + object + verb)
the particules (wa, ga, wo, ni...)
memorizing the vocabulary (too different from other languages)
the untranslatable cultural words (irasshaimase, ojama shimasu...)
the verbs forms (-rareru, -te, -ttara...)
the politeness levels (keigo...)
the writing (especially the kanji)
understanding katakana words
the pronuciation
other (non listed, please specify)
for me the grammatical structure and verb forms are what is difficult.
I agree with Suki-Yaki ....
COUNTING !
This is where I feel the Japanese really dropped the ball !
It seems quite incredible to me that you'd even want to differentiate between counting thin objects, flat objects, fat objects, people, votes ..... you even have to think, sometimes, about which category covers the subject you have in mind !
.... I don't think I'll ever master it ... !
Do the Japanese actually bother with this in everyday life ?
Are there parallells in any other languages ?
Regards,
ジョン
Why have an electric toothbrush ... if you don't have electric teeth?
Hadnt thought about the counting but I can see where that may well become an annoyance. . .
But all that is secondary to the writing. . .my handwriting is atrocious in English and I've gone from what should be A quizzes to C quizzes because my te looked to much like fu. . .
Being left handed EVERYTHING i write leans to the right side. . .
But yea those counters. . .
Yep, it's quite common in Asian languages. Chinese, Korean and Thai, all have different measure words for different types of things. Actually, we have some in English too, although to a much lesser degree (five head of cattle,Originally Posted by Sensuikan San
three pairs of shoes).
I was really tempted to choose all the options in the poll. The thing is, if you hardly use the language in daily life, you kinda find yourself struggling to review those you've learned in the beginning.
For me, keigo is tough. My experience so far is that you can easily find books on grammar, kanji etc, but how about keigo? At least that's how it is with the japanese bookstore in my country. Keigo related books are available but published in limited scope and quantity.
So if there's anyone learning japanese who feels that he's good at keigo, well what to say..感心する。
"I'm still very early in my study of Japanese. For me the hardest part is studying for a week, feeling really good about what I've learned, then renting a Japanese movie... and not being able to understand a freaking thing!"
I can relate to that EnzoHonda, although I get a kick out of the bits I do understand!
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