日本語会話: The Japanese Conversation Thread

[TAAUBlaster]

From this post in the Transformers Questions thread with the MP Cheetor translation request
http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showpo...postcount=8865

Recently I have been using scans like this to try and help me study kanji rather than selectable text (so I can't take the lazy way out and just copy/paste them into a translator ) I use a website to search for each kanji by their radicals which is also helping me to learn how each kanji is made up - and makes it a little easier for me to recognise them (I know - its a strange way to do it, but it works for me. )

Anyway my question is, What are the two kanji after ”ボディ”　at the start of the second line of text? I couldn't for the life of me find them the way I usually do (and I was probably mistaking the radicals when searching. )

[GoktimusPrime]

表面 = ひょうめん = surface

[TAAUBlaster]

Thanks Gok

I was mistaking the radicals as it turns out haha

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

What is this radicals site you're using Blaster?

Searching for a Kanji I've never come across is the bane of my JP study!

[TAAUBlaster]

What is this radicals site you're using Blaster?

Searching for a Kanji I've never come across is the bane of my JP study!

I use www.jisho.org They have a "radicals" search just to the left of the main search box. It's really handy because all you have to do is even just select one of the radicals, and it auto searches and shows all the kanji that include it. And you can choose multiple radicals, to narrow the results. It's made searching kanji so much easier for me personally.

[kup]

I may be going to Japan very soon so I wouldn't mind some Japanese Role playing. My Japanese has become rusted to crap as most of it was learned when I was a little kid and not in a 'fluent' environment where it was frequently spoken.

Let's start with typical tourist scenarios to see if I can bring it back to existence - Please keep in mind that this is more about the spoken language than written. I also would appreciate brief corrections to bad grammar or sentence structure.

*I walk into a store and notice a Transformers toy on the window that I am interested in. I point to it and ask*

Konishiwa, Kore wa Toransufoma desu ka?

[GoktimusPrime]

Konnichiwa.
Otherwise everything else in your sentence is correct.
And just to clarify, you are saying, "Good day, is this a Transformer?"

Now having said that, it's unnatural to start off with good day. You'd be better off saying:
「すみません、これはトランスフォーマーですか。」
sumimasen, kore wa Toransufōmā des ka?