日本語会話: The Japanese Conversation Thread

[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?

[Bato]

I'm just finishing my first two weeks (ever) in Japan.

I had surprisingly good results by erring on the side of over-politeness and saying

"Sumimasen, Kore onegai shimasu" or "Sumimasen, doko Makurosu/toransufoma desu ka?"

Generally, i got by with a lot of "sumimasen"s and pointing at things... ^^;;;

[GoktimusPrime]

"Sumimasen, doko Makurosu/toransufoma desu ka?"

Correction on this sentence: it should be
「トランスフォーマーはどこですか」
"Toransufōmā wa doko desu ka?"

You basically omitted the topic marker particle "wa" and had adverb "doko" in the wrong position. Remember that adverbs and verbs come towards the end of sentences in Japanese, as opposed to English which typically places them towards the front.

トランスフォーマーはどこですか
Where are the Transformers?

[Bato]

Sorry, yes, I would actually say "XXXX wa doko desu ka?".

Thanks for correcting me

(that's what I get for posting late-ish at night)