Survival Japanese - Basic Phrases for Communication

[Cavistus]

Alright. I haven't seen a thread like this yet, so let's talk about Japanese phrases that you can use for simple basic communication. Seeing as many of us will be interacting with other Japanese players, it only seems proper that we brush up on some phrases.

My Japanese is very very basic and sub-par, but I can get by. I'll post some simple common phrases, and if anyone else has any others, feel free to add to them. I'll edit this post with your additions accordingly.

You SHOULD be able to simply copy and paste these phrases into your chat in-game. People with IMEs should already know how to convert hiragana to kanji, so I'll leave that as it is.

-----

English: Hello, may I join you?
-
Kanji: こんにちは、私も参加して良いですか？
Hiragana: こんにちは、わたしもさんかしていいですか？
Römaji: konnichiha, watashi mo sanka shite ii desu ka?



English: I don't understand Japanese well. I'm sorry.
-
Kanji: すみません。日本語がよくわからないんです。
Hiragana: すみません。にほんごがよくわからないんです。
Romaji: sumimasen. nihongo ga yoku wakaranain desu



English: I don't understand Japanese. Is it alright if I join you?
-
Kanji: 日本語がわからないけど、参加して良いですか？
Hiragana: にほんごがわからないけど、さんかしていいですか？
Römaji: nihongo ga wakaranai kedo, sanka shite ii desu ka?



English: Excuse me, I will be right back.
-
Kanji: ちょっと席をはずします.
Hiragana: ちょっとせきをはずします。
Romaji: chotto seki wo hazushimasu.



English: I'm back. (i've returned)
-
Hiragana: ただいま
Romaji: tadaima



English: Welcome back.
Kanji: お帰り。
Hiragana: おかえり。
Ｒｏｍａｊｉ： okaeri



English: I have things to do, so I will be leaving now. Thank you.
-
Kanji: 用事が出来たので、失礼します。どうもありがとう。
Hiragana: ようじができたので、しつれいします。どうもありがとう。
Römaji: youji ga dekita no de, shitsurei shimasu. doumo arigatou.



English: Let's play again sometime.
-
Hiragana: またよろしくね
Römaji: mata yoroshiku ne



English: Thanks for helping / Good work (good to use after a boss fight or an emergency code)
-
Hiragana: おつかれさま。(casual)
おつかれ (casual, shortened)
Romaji: otsukaresama (casual)
otsukare (casual, shortened)



English: Help!
-
Kanji: 助けて！！
Hiragana: たすけて！！
Romaji: tasukete!



English: That was fun!
-
Kanji: 楽しかった！
Hiragana: たのしかった！
Romaji: tano shikatta!



English: I understand. Sorry.
-
Kanji：　分かりました。　すみません。
Hiragana: わかりました。　すみません。
Romaji: wakarimashita. sumimasen.



English: I am a new player.
-
Kanji: 私は初心者です
Hiragana: わたしはしょしんしゃです
Romaji: watashi ha shoshinsha desu



English: Please follow me.
-
Kanji: 　付いて来て下さい。
Hiragana:　ついてきてください。
Romaji: tsuite kite kudasai



English: Good luck.
-
Hiragana: がんばって
Romaji: ganbatte



English: Congratulations!
-
Hiragana: おめでとう！
Romaji: omedetou!



English: Take care!
-
Kanji: 気を付けて！
Hiragana: きをつけて！
Romaji: ki wo tsukete!



English: Thank you for the party!
-
Hiragana: PTありがとう！
Romaji: PT arigatou!



English: I'm going to step on the switch, so wait here.
-
Kanji: スイッチ踏んでくるから待ってて
Hiragana: スイッチふんでくるからまってて
Romaji: suicchi fun de kuru kara matte te



English: Stay on that switch please.
-
Kanji: そのスイッチ踏んでおいて
Hiragana: そのスイッチ踏んでおいて
Romaji: sono suicchi fun de oite


-------

English: Can we go to OOO after this?
-
Kanji: これから、○○○ に行っていいですか?
Hiragana: これから、○○○ にいっていいですか？
Romaji: kore kara, ○○○ ni itte ii desu ka?

Replace OOO with:
-
English: Forest
-
Kanji: 森
Hiragana: もり
Romaji: mori

English: Volcano
-
Kanji: 火山
Hiragana: かざん
Romaji: kazan

English: Desert
-
Kanji: 砂漠
Hiragana: さばく
Romaji: sabaku




-------

English: Can we do the Emergency Mission?
-
Kanji: 緊急ミッションをやっていいですか
Hiragana: きんきゅうミッションをやっていいですか
Romaji: kinkyuu misshon wo yatte ii desu ka


HUGE addition to the list, thanks to Vylera:

English: Shall we move on to the next quest?
-
Kanji: 次のクエストをしましょうか？
Hiragana: つぎのクエストをしましょうか？
Romaji: tsugi no kuesto wo shimashouka?

English: CAN I GET A HEAL PLEASE? Can someone use Resta, please!
-
Kanji:　だれかがレスタを使ってください.
Hiragana: だれかがレスタをつかってください.
Romaji: dareka ga resuta wo tsukattekudasai.

English: Can my friend come as well?
-
Kanji: 友達も参加していいですか？
Hiragana: ともだちもさんかしていいですか？
Romaji: tomodachi mo sanka shite ii desuka?

English: Is it alright with just the two of us?
-
Kanji:　二人で大丈夫ですか？
Hiragana：ふたりでだいじょうぶですか？
Romaji:　futari de daijyoubu desuka?

English: Please wait! I fell behind!
-
Kanji: ちょっと待ってください！私が遅くなりました！
Hiragana: ちょっとまってください！わたしがおそくなりました！
Romaji:　chotto mattekudasai! watashi ga osokunarimashita!

English: I didn't finish my client quest yet. Sorry, can we repeat that last mission again?
-
Kanji: クライアントクエストはまだ仕上げない。すまない、先の任務を繰り返してもいいですか？
Hiragana: クライアントクエストはまだしあげない。すまない、さきのにんむをくりかえしてもいいですか？
Romaji: kuraianto kuesto ha mada shiagenai. sumanai, saki no ninmu wo kurikaeshite mo ii desuka?


English: Watch out!
-
Kanji: 危ない！
Hiragana:　あぶない！
Romaji:　abunai!

English: Let's take a short break, shall we?
-
Kanji: 少し休みましょうか?
Hiragana:すこしやすみましょうか?
Romaji:　sukoshi yasumimashouka?

English: We did it! (i.e. After killing a boss/completing a difficult emergency code)
-
Kanji: やりました！
Hiragana: やりました！
Romaji: yarimashita!

English: I'll go on ahead.
-
Kanji: 私は先に行く。
Hiragana:　わたしはさきにいく。
Romaji:　watashi ha saki ni iku.




Some other phrases you could add:

English: I'm sorry, I don't know/understand.
Kanji：　すみません、分かりません。
Hiragana: すみません、わかりません。
Romaji:　sumimasen, wakarimasen.

English: Could you explain it in a way that is easy to understand?
-
Kanji: 分かりやすく説明してもらえますか。
Hiragana: わかりやすくせつめいしてもらえますか。
Romaji: wakariyasuku setsumeishite moraemasu ka
-
(Casual) Kanji: 分かりやすく説明してくれる。
(Casual) Hiragana: わかりやすくせつめいしてくれる。
(Casual) Romaji: wakariyasuku setsumeishitekureru

For the next two, typing in hiragana would probably be better...^^;

English: Could you please type （that again) in hiragana?
-
Kanji: 平仮名でお願いします。
Hiragana: ひらがなでおねがいします。
Romaji: hiragana de onegaishimasu.

English: I no good at reading kanji.
-
Kanji 漢字を読むのが上手でわありません。
Hiragana: かんじをよむのがじょうずではありません。
Romaji: kanji wo yomuno ga jouzudewa arimasen.


That being said, anyone who's unconfident in their Japanese should probably headline themselves with something like the following:

English: The truth is, I'm no good at Japanese. I just know a few useful phrases.
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Kanji: 実は,私の日本語は上手じゃありません。 ちょっと便利な言葉がしているだけです。
Hiragana: じつは、わたしのにほんごはじょうずじゃありません。　ちょっとべんりなことばがしているだけ です。
Romaji: jitsu ha, watashi no nihongo ha jyouzujya arimasen. chotto benrina kotoba ga shiteiru dake desu.

This can be used if someone says something to you that you can't understand at all. In which case, you can also follow up with statements that zgnumu provided, such as "type it in hiragana" or "explain it more easily."


A couple new phrases:

English: (It's) Over here! (used to indicate there's something of interest at your location. ie. boss)
-
Hiragana: ここです！
Romaji: koko desu!
Casualer Hiragana: こっちです！
Casualer Romaji: kocchi desu!

English: OOO Please come back. (replace OOO with persons name to specify, or remove to generalize)
-
Kanji: OOO戻って来てください。
Hiragana: OOOもどってきてください。
Romaji: OOO modotte kite kudasai.

English: You go on ahead. I'll catch up later
-.
Kanji:　先に行ってください。後で追い付きます。
Hiragana: さきにいってください。あとでおいつきます。
Romaji: saki ni ittekudasai. Atode oitsukimasu.

[Spellbinder]

Might just be me, but #3 looks a little odd.

Edit: I guess to be more specific, I'd probably say ちょっと待って or something first.

[LuneFox]

Nice tips for someone who doesn't speak japanese :3
P.S. I'd say またよろしくね instead of また、さんかさせてください

#3 looks okay, but I usually hear just すぐ戻る/ります　(without "ni")

[Zaix]

Some of the Romanji seems a tad off to me as well...

EDIT: I certainly don't claim to be great at Japanese. But I recognize some words that didn't seem quite right.

[Cavistus]

As I said, my Japanese is sub-par, so if anyone has any corrections, please let me know and I'll edit them accordingly :P

EDIT:

fixed my phrases with LuneFox's corrections :]

[Spellbinder]

If you can think of any phrases you'd want to be able to say, I can try to add on to this list if you'd like.

[Cavistus]

If you can think of any phrases you'd want to be able to say, I can try to add on to this list if you'd like.

cheers, much appreciated Spellbinder :)

[Rauten]

This... this thread is... it's a pile of s... sublime help for those of us who haven't the foggiest idea about japanese!
Straight to my bookmarks once I get back home (if I don't forget about it, that is).

Thanks.

[Geistarm]

How about phrases asking for heals or buffs?

[DemonMike]

Alternatively, if you want to pretend you're Japanese to annoy the English speaks, spam the following in party chat:

ホワイト　ピッグ　ゴー　ホーム！

You can also write it in English like this: ＷＨＩＴＥ　ＰＩＧ　ＧＯ　ＨＯＭＥ (I'm not sure if the game supports this character type =P)

[Shinji Kazuya]

Thanks for this, Cavistus! Will help tons! :3

[imarafan]

I'm bookmarking this, I'm sure it will come handy at some point.

Hope you keep this updated, I would also love to see some phrases with more context, like saying "thanks for buff/ingreviving/healing me"... Something tells me "good job" will not cut it in those moments...

Eh, some Japanese is still better than no Japanese at all. :D

[KatsujinkenKik]

http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194114

[DemonMike]

私のドラゴン淫具を使いますか？
Watashi no dragon ingu o tsukaimasuka?
Shall we go hunt the dragon?

Please don't use this!

[Spellbinder]

私のドラゴン淫具を使いますか？
Watashi no dragon ingu o tsukaimasuka?
Shall we go hunt the dragon?

In all seriousness, that's kinda gross.

[DemonMike]

In all seriousness, that's kinda gross.

The anti-dragon hunting lobbyists have arrived!

[Spellbinder]

The anti-dragon hunting lobbyists have arrived!

You do realize what you wrote right?

[DemonMike]

You do realize what you wrote right?

Shhh, just play the part of the lobbyist..

[KatsujinkenKik]

they'll get a good impression of you from that phrase i'm sure.

[Spellbinder]

How about phrases asking for heals or buffs?

I was thinking about this and just drawing a blank. :P Of course, "助けて!!" is an easy way to say you're in a pinch and need help.

Also it just dawned on me for #3. In what context do you mean be right back? I remember back in the old PSO すぐ戻る could also mean you're just going to town to do something rather than actually stepping away from the keyboard.

Another one you could add in addition is "ちょっと席をはずします" for going afk, and when you return "ただいま" for "I'm back".


Shhh, just play the part of the lobbyist..

I wouldn't want someone to say that trying to be funny and get blacklisted / make foreigners look bad.

[Coatl]

Wow, thank you!
I'll definitely be busying myself with this.
I don't want to seem antii-social to the japanese players. :c

[DemonMike]

I wouldn't want someone to say that trying to be funny and get blacklisted / make foreigners look bad.

Ah lighten up, foreigners are going to look bad no matter what they do to the majority of Japanese players.

[Spellbinder]

Ah lighten up, foreigners are going to look bad no matter what they do to the majority of Japanese players.

I'd like to think otherwise.

On topic:

Two phrases I found scrounging around the net that could be helpful when more puzzles / switches are in the game.

"スイッチ踏んでくるから待ってて" - I'm going to step on the switch, so wait here.

"そのスイッチ踏んでおいて" - Stay on that switch please.

Edit:

Just randomly trying to think of something I'd ask my friends.

"これから、○○○ に行っていい?" - Can we go to OOO after this?
"これから、○○○ に行っていいですか?" (more polite)

[Coatl]

Hey can you guys add these few more please?


1. I don't understand japanese very well. I'm sorry.
2. Can we go for a desert/forest/city run?

[Spellbinder]

Hey can you guys add these few more please?


1. I don't understand japanese well. I'm sorry.
2. Can we go for a desert/forest/city run?

1. すみません。日本語がよくわからないんです。

2. (kinda like what I wrote earlier)

砂漠に行っていいですか　
さばくに行っていいですか - Can we go to the desert?
森に行っていいですか
もりにいっていいですか - Can we go to the forest?

Honestly never paid attention to what they call the city, so this is improvising.

緊急ミッションをやっていいですか。
きんきゅうミッションをやっていいですか。 - Can we do the emergency mission?

[DemonMike]

2. Can we go for a desert/forest/city run?

What spellbinder said and no trolling this time, fill in the gaps with one of these:

森林: Forest
火山: Cave/Volcano
市街: City (maybe the wrong kanji)
砂漠: Desert

EDIT: My bad, didn't realise Spellbinder already did it! Didn't read the post fully!

[Cavistus]

Updated the original post with everyone's suggestions :) I took a handful of phrases from the thread linked earlier.

many thanks to spellbinder, again!

[Quatre52]

Awesome stuff, thanks for the work!
I'll be adding a number of these to short cuts when the OB starts.

To those who are worried that some look a bit off, I wouldn't be to worried about that, I've had numerous Japanese friends tell me that the majority of JP players will be happy enough that you're trying to communicate with them, most probably wont judge on incorrect grammar or words..

[Lintor]

All you need to know is よろ　(よろしく） and おつ　（おつまい　／　おつかれさま）
Additionally it'd prolly be easier to just say 僕は日本語を話さない　（ぼくはにほんごをはなさない） (I don't speak Japanese)
Its easier, and more accurate to say you don't speak Japanese.

Yoro(yoroshiku) is commonly said when joining a game for some reason.

Extra Credit. 4649 = yon roku shichi kyuu = yoroshiku.
Thank you Elsword JP.

[Gardios]

^Throw in ＰＴありでした when you leave the party and you got a complete short phrase collection.

[zgnumu]

Great list Cavistus. As a (relatively) fluent speaker, it feels a bit inconsistent though, combining some formal language and some rather casual language, which to a Japanese person may seem a bit strange, so allow me to nitpick a few details:
[SPOILER-BOX]


English: Thanks for helping / Good work (good to use after a boss fight or an emergency code)
-
Kanji: お疲れ様でした。
Hiragana: おつかれさまでした。
Romaji: otsukaresama deshita

This is formal use, largely used in places of work/business. Casual shortened versions can be used in casual online environments if you want to be less polite/uptight.
おつかれさま - otsukaresama (casual)
おつかれ - otsukare (casual, shortened)



English: I understand. Sorry.
-
Kanji：　分かります。　すみません。
Hiragana: わかります。　すみません。
Romaji: wakarimasu. sumimasen.

Although technically grammatically correct, people generally don't talk like this. Use of the past tense, particularly in a stand-alone phrase is more common:
分かりました。すみません。



Kanji: 　付いて来て下さい。
Hiragana:　ついてくてください。
Romaji: tsuite kute kudasai

Hiragana:　ついてくてください。
Romaji: tsuite kite kudasai
The pronunciation of the kanji varies:
来て - kite
来る - kuru



English: Thank you for the party!
-
Hiragana: PTありがとうございました！
Romaji: PT arigatou gozaimashita!

also super-formal. Casualified:
Hiragana: PTありがとう！
Romaji: PT arigatou!
[/SPOILER-BOX]

Some other phrases you could add:
[SPOILER-BOX]
English: I'm sorry, I don't know/understand.
Kanji：　すみません、分かりません。
Hiragana: すみません、わかりません。
Romaji:　sumimasen, wakarimasen.

English: Could you explain it in a way that is easy to understand?
(Formal) Kanji:　分かりやすい説明していただけますか?
(Formal) Hiragana: わかりやすいせつめいしていただけますか？
(Formal) Romaji: wakariyasui setsumeishiteitadakemasuka?
(Casual) Kanji: 分かりやすく説明してくれる？
(Casual) Hiragana: わかりやすくせつめいしてくれる？
(Casual) Romaji: wakariyasuku setsumeishitekureru?

For the next two, typing in hiragana would probably be better...^^;
English: Could you please type （that again) in hiragana?
Kanji: 平仮名でお願いします。
Hiragana: ひらがなでおねがいします。
Romaji: hiragana de onegaishimasu.

English: I no good at reading kanji.
Kanji 漢字を読むのが上手でわありません。
Hiragana: かんじをよむのがじょうずでわありません。
Romaji: kanji wo yomuno ga jouzudewa arimasen.
[/SPOILER-BOX]



私のドラゴン淫具を使いますか？
Watashi no dragon ingu o tsukaimasuka?
Shall we go hunt the dragon?

Please don't use this!

I'd post a more accurate translation, but it would violate PSOW ToS so... meh.




Additionally it'd prolly be easier to just say 僕は日本語を話さない　（ぼくはにほんごをはなさない） (I don't speak Japanese)

note: 僕 (ぼく , boku) is gendered as young male (sometimes used by boyish girls), but almost never adults (mature ones, anyways). You could replace it with the correct term (私, 俺, etc.) or take the easy/lazy route and remove it (making the referral to self implicit) and throw a sumimasen on the front for good measure:
Kanji: すみません、日本語を話せません。
Hiragana: すみません、にほんごをはなせません。
Romaji: sumimasen, nihongo wo hanasemasen.

edit:
話さない = I don't/won't speak _____.
vs.
話せない = I can't speak _____.

[Lintor]

note: 僕 (ぼく , boku) is gendered as young male (sometimes used by boyish girls), but almost never adults (mature ones, anyways). You could replace it with the correct term (私, 俺, etc.) or take the easy/lazy route and remove it (making the referral to self implicit) and throw a sumimasen on the front for good measure:
Kanji: すみません、日本語を話せません。
Hiragana: すみません、にほんごをはなせません。
Romaji: sumimasen, nihongo wo hanasemasen.

edit:
話さない = I don't/won't speak _____.
vs.
話せない = I can't speak _____.

Yeah... I've gotten yelled at a lot for that. Frankly, I would personally omit Watashi/boku wa, but I was trying to be through.
I use boku a lot, which isn't really that wrong for a video game, but I guess its too masculine for a female char most people play (atashi is femenine, but no one IRL actually uses that, so just use watashi). Theres no reason to stress being proper/adult on a video game.

I would also use gomen instead of sumimasen. No I don't need a lecture on why that would be less advised.

'don't' in English can mean either unable to or choose not to... I didn't think about that... my bad.

Quite frankly, if you play many online game, people don't talk much, I could get away with just saying yoro and otsu, in romanji.

[Vylera]

^Throw in ＰＴありでした when you leave the party and you got a complete short phrase collection.

For reference purposes, party is パーティ in katakana. I just don't like the PT abbreviation, personally.

Also, for this one:

Kanji: 　付いて来て下さい。
Hiragana:　ついてくてください。
Romaji: tsuite kute kudasai

The Kanji is correct, but the hiragana and romaji are 1 character off.

Hiragana:　ついてきてください。
Romaji: tsuite kite kudasai

The "ku" sound in kanji 来る "kuru" becomes "ki" when modified by te form.

Also, for forest, I would personally just use 森, which is pronounced "mori."

And just to add the hiragana & romaji so that people can type it out on their keyboards:

English: Forest
-
Kanji: 森
Hiragana: もり
Romaji: mori

English: Volcano
-
Kanji: 火山
Hiragana: かざん
Romaji: kazan

English: Desert
-
Kanji: 砂漠
Hiragana: さばく
Romaji: sabaku


Here are some more.

English: Shall we move on to the next quest?
-
Kanji: 次のクエストをしましょうか？
Hiragana: つぎのクエストをしましょうか？
Romaji: tsugi no kuesto wo shimashouka?

English: CAN I GET A HEAL PLEASE? Can someone use Resta, please!
-
Kanji:　だれかがレスタを使ってください.
Hiragana: だれかがレスタをつかってください.
Romaji: dareka ga resuta wo tsukattekudasai.

English: Can my friend come as well?
-
Kanji: 友達も参加していいですか？
Hiragana: ともだちもさんかしていいですか？
Romaji: tomodachi mo sanka shite ii desuka?

English: Is it alright with just the two of us?
-
Kanji:　二人で大丈夫ですか？
Hiragana：ふたりでだいじょうぶですか？
Romaji:　futari de daijyoubu desuka?

English: Please wait! I fell behind!
-
Kanji: ちょっと待ってください！私が遅くなりました！
Hiragana: ちょっとまってください！わたしがおそくなりました！
Romaji:　chotto mattekudasai! watashi ga osokunarimashita!

English: I didn't finish my client quest yet. Sorry, can we repeat that last mission again?
-
Kanji: クライアントクエストはまだ仕上げない。すまない、先の任務を繰り返してもいいですか？
Hiragana: クライアントクエストはまだしあげない。すまない、さきのにんむをくりかえしてもいいですか？
Romaji: kuraianto kuesto ha mada shiagenai. sumanai, saki no ninmu wo kurikaeshite mo ii desuka?

English: That Echo chick is pretty cute, isn't she?
-
Kanji: エコーちゃんは可愛いですね？
Hiragana:　エコーちゃんはかわいいですね?
Romaji:　ekoo-chan ha kawaii desune?

English: Watch out!
-
Kanji: 危ない！
Hiragana:　あぶない！
Romaji:　abunai!

English: Let's take a short break, shall we?
-
Kanji: 少し休みましょうか?
Hiragana:すこしやすみましょうか?
Romaji:　sukoshi yasumimashouka?

English: We did it! (i.e. After killing a boss/completing a difficult emergency code)
-
Kanji: やりました！
Hiragana: やりました！
Romaji: yarimashita!

English: I'll go on ahead.
-
Kanji: 私は先に行く。
Hiragana:　わたしはさきにいく。
Romaji:　watashi ha saki ni iku.

English: My inventory is full! Let me put some things in my bank. (Literal translation: My inventory can't hold anymore! I need some time to put things in my bank.)
-
Kanji: インベントリがもう持ったない!　少しアイテムをバンクに置く時間が必要。
Hiragana:　インベントリがもうもったない！　すこしアイテムをバンクにおくじかんがひつよう。
Romaji:　inbentori ga mou mottanai! sukoshi aitemu wo banku ni oku jikan ga hitsuyou.

I'm iffy on this last one ^. Not sure if oku is the right verb, or if describing your inventory as "can't carry more" is the right way.

That's all I can muster up for now.

[Shadownami92]

Might also be good to have a list of common responses. You know, so when you ask you might be able to understand if they say something like "Sure lets go" or "No, I want to go to ______ instead"

Basically common responses to these good to know comments.

[Lintor]

Might also be good to have a list of common responses. You know, so when you ask you might be able to understand if they say something like "Sure lets go" or "No, I want to go to ______ instead"

Basically common responses to these good to know comments.

Damn, someone figured out the flaw in pretending to know JP. I was ready with popcorn for when this all fell apart.

This is why I've been insisting on minimalism, and being upfront that you're not a native speaker and may not have had ANY proper training. But I've been trying not to directly rain on anyone's parade.

If you're really intent on doing this, try not to go overboard with the Japanese, and really do whatever to keep their responses simple first and foremost.

[Coatl]

Might also be good to have a list of common responses. You know, so when you ask you might be able to understand if they say something like "Sure lets go" or "No, I want to go to ______ instead"

Basically common responses to these good to know comments.

I don't think I'll be able to pick up what they will be saying though..
We are talking about Japanese gamers that probably won't be grammatically correct 100% of the time and will use different meanings to illustrate things that will seem arbitrary to non-japanese speakers.

So let's not get too complex..

[Vylera]

I don't think I'll be able to pick up what they will be saying though..
We are talking about Japanese gamers that probably won't be grammatically correct 100% of the time and will use different meanings to illustrate things that will seem arbitrary to non-japanese speakers.

So let's not get too complex..

Basically the problem here is that a conversation doesn't follow a machined path of predictable responses. People answer things differently, with different dialects, so as Lintor mentioned and as I tried to accomplish with the things I suggested, the safest way to go is to either ask questions that have a high probability in being answered with yes/no, or using expressions to state your condition and allow the people you're playing with to know what's going on, in which case understanding their response is most likely not necessary.

EDIT:

That being said, anyone who's unconfident in their Japanese should probably headline themselves with something like the following:

English: The truth is, I'm no good at Japanese. I just know a few useful phrases.
-
Kanji: 実は,私の日本語は上手じゃありません。 ちょっと便利な言葉がしているだけです。
Hiragana: じつは、わたしのにほんごはじょうずじゃありません。　ちょっとべんりなことばがしているだけ です。
Romaji: jitsu ha, watashi no nihongo ha jyouzujya arimasen. chotto benrina kotoba ga shiteiru dake desu.

This can be used if someone says something to you that you can't understand at all. In which case, you can also follow up with statements that zgnumu provided, such as "type it in hiragana" or "explain it more easily."

[ryoko227]

I was reading through this and noticing the changing back and forth between casual and formal language. Then got to page 4 and see that's already been addressed :P

Some things I might add/question..
If you are asking if it's okay to go someplace and are using the formal examples above, shouldn't your sentence end with
行ってもいいですか？
This is more for my knowledge then to be a J-grammar nazi

Someone also commented about the use of あたし which I completely agree with. I have yet to see this used in a J-game even by my female Japanese gamer friends. But do hear it pretty commonly in spoken language here in the Yokohama area. So probably best not to use it in game I would think, least be the nail that sticks out.

[Cavistus]

I've edited the main post with more of your phrases :)

Big thanks to zgnumu and Vylera for their contributions (and corrections; I KNEW that kanji didn't sound right)

Keep 'em coming, folks!

and please correct me on any mistakes I may have made. :)

[Spellbinder]

I can't think of any phrases to add. (There was one, but I forgot it while reading) Wanted to make some changes / comments / suggestions on new posts.


English: Could you explain it in a way that is easy to understand?
(Formal) Kanji:　分かりやすい説明していただけますか?
(Formal) Hiragana: わかりやすいせつめいしていただけますか？
(Formal) Romaji: wakariyasui setsumeishiteitadakemasuka?
(Casual) Kanji: 分かりやすく説明してくれる？
(Casual) Hiragana: わかりやすくせつめいしてくれる？
(Casual) Romaji: wakriyasuku setsumeishitekureru?

Here the two alternatives you gave are a very, very polite form of Japanese and a very, very casual form with no middle ground, so I'd like to add it in.

Kanji: 分かりやすく説明してもらえますか。
Hiragana: わかりやすくせつめいしてもらえますか。
Romaji: wakariyasuku setsumeishite moraemasu ka

I honestly wouldn't use the first one you posted because of it's very high politeness level. (That's something I would say to a teacher, boss at work, generally anyone who's higher than me from the perspective of social hierarchy).


note: 僕 (ぼく , boku) is gendered as young male (sometimes used by boyish girls), but almost never adults (mature ones, anyways). You could replace it with the correct term (私, 俺, etc.) or take the easy/lazy route and remove it (making the referral to self implicit) and throw a sumimasen on the front for good measure:

While 僕 (ぼく - boku) is the gendered word for "I", it's not restricted to young people and can still be used in some polite situations. However, it can indicate a level of intimacy between you and who you're talking to.

私 (わたし - watashi) - Standard for "I". Fairly polite and can show a sense of distance.

僕 (ぼく - boku) - "I" generally used by men (women use it sometimes but rarely). Can be used in polite situations, but I probably wouldn't use it in a polite situation unless I was the superior. Can also be used between friends with no problems.

俺 (おれ - ore) - A very masculine "I" (never heard a women say it). This one cannot be used for polite situations, only with friends.

note: 僕 and 俺 can both be used as "I" with speaking with friends, but once you pick one you have to stick to it. If you switch back and forth between the two your friends might find it strange (speaking from personal experience).


Kanji: クライアントクエストはまだ仕上げない。すまない、先の任務を繰り返してもいいですか？
Hiragana: クライアントクエストはまだしあげない。すまない、さきのにんむをくりかえしてもいいですか？
Romaji: kuraianto kuesto ha mada shiagenai. sumanai, saki no ninmu wo kurikaeshite mo ii desuka?

Edited:　My gut is telling me 仕上げる is no the word for this situation. I usually see it when referring to finishing a job or work, cooking, making things, etc. I'm not native so if anyone else can comment feel free. 任務 in the context of a game also seems fairly unnatural to me. At the very least, here's an alternative that can be used.

クライアントオーダー(or just オーダー)はまだクリアしていないです。ごめん、もう一度やってもいいですか。




Kanji: 私は先に行く。
Hiragana:　わたしはさきにいく。
Romaji:　watashi ha saki ni iku.

Just want to add the polite form to keep it consistent with the rest of your contributions.

Kanji: 私は先に行きます。
Hiragana: わたしはさきにいきます
Romaji: watashi wa saki ni ikimasu

Also watch out for particles. Although it's the hiragana "ha", it's read "wa" when used as a particle.


Kanji: インベントリがもう持ったない!　少しアイテムをバンクに置く時間が必要。
Hiragana:　インベントリがもうもったない！　すこしアイテムをバンクにおくじかんがひつよう。
Romaji:　inbentori ga mou mottanai! sukoshi aitemu wo banku ni oku jikan ga hitsuyou.

That sentence looks odd. Here's an alternative. If my also seems a little off someone feel free.

Kanji: インベントリがいっぱいです。ちょっと倉庫に入れてきます。
Hiragana: インベントリがいっぱいです。ちょっとそうこにいれてきます。
romaji: inbentori ga ippai desu. chotto souko in irete kimasu.


Kanji: 実は,私の日本語は上手じゃありません。 ちょっと便利な言葉がしているだけです。
Hiragana: じつは、わたしのにほんごはじょうずじゃありません。　ちょっとべんりなことばがしているだけ です。
Romaji: jitsu ha, watashi no nihongo ha jyouzujya arimasen. chotto benrina kotoba ga shiteiru dake desu.

Just going to suggest a slightly different version.

Kanji: 実は、日本語は上手じゃないです。ちょっと便利な表現を使っているだけです。
Hiragana: じつは、にほんごはじょうずじゃないです。ちょっとべんりなひょうげんをつかっているだけです 。
Romaji: jitsu wa, nihongo wa jouzu janai desu. chotto benrina hyougen wo tsukatteiru dake desu.

Personal pronouns are used a lot in English, but they can be picked up from context and be a little odd of overused.

Also, じゃありません while obviously polite is a form more common for writing than speaking. I was surprised the first time I came to a school in Japan, and when doing my homework using じゃありません (which I learned in the states), the teacher corrected me saying to use じゃないです。 Would be a few years before I learned the reason why.


Some things I might add/question..
If you are asking if it's okay to go someplace and are using the formal examples above, shouldn't your sentence end with
行ってもいいですか？
This is more for my knowledge then to be a J-grammar nazi

行ってもいいですか。
行っていいですか。

Both of these are perfectly fine. The only difference is not using も is more colloquial.

[Ifrian-x]

Back in PSO most people in the Jp server were kind to me and willing to speak in english :3
But this will be helpful, i am supposed to make the effort to communicate as well.
Thanks.

[Scionni]

Awesome! Sticky this, preebs! :D

[Spellbinder]

Another recommendation for a phrase I saw up there.

I am a new player.

初心者です
しょしんしゃです

or

私は初心者です
わたしはしょしんしゃです

[Cavistus]

Another recommendation for a phrase I saw up there.

I am a new player.

初心者です
しょしんしゃです

or

私は初心者です
わたしはしょしんしゃです

Fixed :) Thanks again.


---

On another note, would it be possible to get this thread stickied? How would I go about that?

[Spellbinder]

Fixed :) Thanks again.


---

On another note, would it be possible to get this thread stickied? How would I go about that?

Anytime. Don't forget my previous post with a bunch of notes in it. :) Seems most bases are covered by everything here now.

[zgnumu]

Thanks for adding detailed explanations that I was too lazy to type, Spellbinder. Usually my Japanese is almost abrasively colloquial (its just my style) so when I try to speak politely it often comes out overly formal... >_<

Cavistus, could I ask you to replace my too-formal addition you've tacked onto your OP with Spellbinder's less-formal-but-still-polite version? Thanks. (info below)
[SPOILER-BOX]
English: Could you explain it in a way that is easy to understand?

Replace:
(Formal) Kanji:　分かりやすい説明していただけますか?
(Formal) Hiragana: わかりやすいせつめいしていただけますか？
(Formal) Romaji: wakariyasui setsumeishiteitadakemasuka?

With:
Kanji: 分かりやすく説明してもらえますか。
Hiragana: わかりやすくせつめいしてもらえますか。
Romaji: wakariyasuku setsumeishite moraemasu ka

2nd, I noticed that I misspelled the romaji in the casual phrasing for the above phrase set:
Please correct "wakriyasuku" => "wakariyasuku".

also, I guess you could drop the question mark on the casual one for consistency.

Thanks
[/SPOILER-BOX]

A couple more very simple phrases, but yeah, I also think most of the basics are down.
[SPOILER-BOX]
English: (It's) Over here! (used to indicate there's something of interest at your location. ie. boss)
Hiragana: ここです！
Romaji: koko desu!
Casualer Hiragana: こっちです！
Casualer Romaji: kochi desu!

English: OOO Please come back. (replace OOO with persons name to specify, or remove to generalize)
Kanji: OOO戻って来てください。
Hiragana: OOOもどってきてください。
Romaji: OOO modotte kite kudasai.

English: You go on ahead. I'll catch up later.
Kanji:　先に行ってください。後で追い付きます。
Hiragana: さきにいってください。あとでおいつきます。
Romaji: saki ni ittekudasai. Atode oitsukimasu.
[/SPOILER-BOX]

[Ryo]

I'm glad my old thread got linked here! ^_^

私は嬉しい！

[Cavistus]

Fixed and added, Zgnumu. :)


EDIT: Sorry by the way, Ryo. I hope you don't mind that I took some phrases from your thread ;P

[Spellbinder]

Edited a previous post regarding the following:

Kanji: クライアントクエストはまだ仕上げない。すまない、先の任務を繰り返してもいいですか？
Hiragana: クライアントクエストはまだしあげない。すまない、さきのにんむをくりかえしてもいいですか？
Romaji: kuraianto kuesto ha mada shiagenai. sumanai, saki no ninmu wo kurikaeshite mo ii desuka?

[Swaggerjak]

Yeah, totally not going to be able to memorize this. I'll stick to english and german. xD

[Windadept]

By the way, for anyone that doesn't know, if you're in hiragana typing mode, you can switch to katakana by pressing alt+caps lock (in Japanese Windows IME), for some it might be ctrl+caps lock.
Out of personal preference, I don't like to use personal pronouns when using Japanese.
I find being impersonal a bit more polite.
So I like to use こち ]kochi (lit. here) or I'll just omit the pronoun completely if possible.
For example, in a situation when another player has finished preparing and says:
準備はできている -じゅんびはできている - junbi ha dekiteiru - preparations are finished/I'm done preparing (colloquial).
I would respond with something like:
こっちのほうもう - kocchi no hou mou - Me too (colloquial, literally "on my side as well")

[Chik'Tikka]

hmm, i love this thread and made one auto word and four shortcut phrases!!! but when i join a party and ask if it's all right, how do i tell if they say "yes" or "no" or "get the f*** out nao!!" +^_^+

[Cavistus]

hmm, i love this thread and made one auto word and four shortcut phrases!!! but when i join a party and ask if it's all right, how do i tell if they say "yes" or "no" or "get the f*** out nao!!" +^_^+

they can say a variety of things

はい (hai) = Yes (acknowledgement)

いいです　(ii desu) = It's okay

大丈夫です (daijyoubu desu)　= It's alright (same thing in this context)

どうぞ (douzo) = Go ahead / come on in


I doubt many of them will say no, but if they do, it'll most likely be

いいえ　(iie) = no

or

ごめん / ごめんなさい　(gomen / gomen nasai) = Sorry (but no)

[sugarFO]

Which do I use? Kanji or Hiragana one?

[Cavistus]

The Kanji examples.

The Hiragana and Romaji examples are just for those interested in learning.

[LuneFox]

English: I no good at reading kanji.
-
Kanji 漢字を読むのが上手でわありません。
Hiragana: かんじをよむのがじょうずでわありません。
Romaji: kanji wo yomuno ga jouzudewa arimasen.

Little typo. It should be ではありません

And I would say it more simply,
漢字が下手です (kanji ga heta desu) - I'm not skilled at [reading] kanji.

[Buthor]

Is this really actually serving any kind of purpose or is this thread just to display your knowledge to other users here? I say this because a person without any knowledge of the Japanese language (the kind of people who would look at this in the first place) isn't going to be making any kind of informed decision on what to say to Japanese players other than just letting them know the obvious like: 大丈夫, はい, or いいえ through copy-and-paste. And, players who already have knowledge should be able to just type it in.


Yeah, totally not going to be able to memorize this. I'll stick to english and german. xD

This is my main point. This is just becoming a "learn Japanese thread" which I don't see serving any purpose as it is being written by non-professional sources here on this forum. If you're really interested in being able to use Japanese effectively then you just plain need to take several years of coursework and live there or Rosetta-Stone if you're really brave.
[SPOILER-BOX]

hmm, i love this thread and made one auto word and four shortcut phrases!!! but when i join a party and ask if it's all right, how do i tell if they say "yes" or "no" or "get the f*** out nao!!" +^_^+

Again, my point is proven here: how do you know what they respond with without referencing/memorizing the entire "master list" present here on the forum?


Which do I use? Kanji or Hiragana one?

Kanji will make you look like you know something and, you don't. That's why you're looking at this thread. (read below about mukanshin please)


Back in PSO most people in the Jp server were kind to me and willing to speak in english :3
But this will be helpful, i am supposed to make the effort to communicate as well.
Thanks.

This is another point that I would like to make. If you don't know Japanese then you should either play with other players who speak your native tongue or just type something like, "English OK?" Chances are many players will have an English ability better than your (copy-and-paste) Japanese ability - English is a mandatory part of the Japanese education.


I was reading through this and noticing the changing back and forth between casual and formal language. Then got to page 4 and see that's already been addressed :P

Some things I might add/question..
If you are asking if it's okay to go someplace and are using the formal examples above, shouldn't your sentence end with
行ってもいいですか？
This is more for my knowledge then to be a J-grammar nazi

Someone also commented about the use of あたし which I completely agree with. I have yet to see this used in a J-game even by my female Japanese gamer friends. But do hear it pretty commonly in spoken language here in the Yokohama area. So probably best not to use it in game I would think, least be the nail that sticks out.

Furthering my first point above, this thread is just opinion and is not from any professional source and therefore should not be a sticky of any sorts: it will only mislead players into pretending they can speak Japanese which isn't good for any party. But, if you do join a Japanese party and know what you're doing (because you've read the other guides which are written at the other end of this language barrier as translations rather than "suggestions") then it will run smoothly and the members might even make more of an effort to communicate with you in English because you typed "English OK?" when you joined.


Basically the problem here is that a conversation doesn't follow a machined path of predictable responses. People answer things differently, with different dialects, so as Lintor mentioned and as I tried to accomplish with the things I suggested, the safest way to go is to either ask questions that have a high probability in being answered with yes/no, or using expressions to state your condition and allow the people you're playing with to know what's going on, in which case understanding their response is most likely not necessary.

EDIT:

That being said, anyone who's unconfident in their Japanese should probably headline themselves with something like the following:

English: The truth is, I'm no good at Japanese. I just know a few useful phrases.
-
Kanji: 実は,私の日本語は上手じゃありません。 ちょっと便利な言葉がしているだけです。
Hiragana: じつは、わたしのにほんごはじょうずじゃありません。　ちょっとべんりなことばがしているだけ です。
Romaji: jitsu ha, watashi no nihongo ha jyouzujya arimasen. chotto benrina kotoba ga shiteiru dake desu.

This can be used if someone says something to you that you can't understand at all. In which case, you can also follow up with statements that zgnumu provided, such as "type it in hiragana" or "explain it more easily."

This is probably the most helpful post here. Just flag yourself right away but, the catch is that you don't need to do this in Japanese even: you can just type anything like, "American" or "English?" And, believe me, Japanese players are able to type back "NO".


I don't think I'll be able to pick up what they will be saying though..
We are talking about Japanese gamers that probably won't be grammatically correct 100% of the time and will use different meanings to illustrate things that will seem arbitrary to non-japanese speakers.

So let's not get too complex..

...


Damn, someone figured out the flaw in pretending to know JP. I was ready with popcorn for when this all fell apart.

This is why I've been insisting on minimalism, and being upfront that you're not a native speaker and may not have had ANY proper training. But I've been trying not to directly rain on anyone's parade.

If you're really intent on doing this, try not to go overboard with the Japanese, and really do whatever to keep their responses simple first and foremost.

Exactly. If you know and can speak then great but, if you don't and aren't committed to learning outside of reading this thread then really you don't need to do anything because you can just type in English and, they'll either type back in English or type something you can't understand in Japanese (and then you'll say nothing which is OK because bigger parties go faster and that's OK).


All you need to know is よろ　(よろしく） and おつ　（おつまい　／　おつかれさま）
Additionally it'd prolly be easier to just say 僕は日本語を話さない　（ぼくはにほんごをはなさない） (I don't speak Japanese)
Its easier, and more accurate to say you don't speak Japanese.

Yoro(yoroshiku) is commonly said when joining a game for some reason.

Extra Credit. 4649 = yon roku shichi kyuu = yoroshiku.
Thank you Elsword JP.

Again here, this isn't a professional source and so the "suggestion" of 僕 over use of 私 has been misleadingly given as something anyone can use when 僕 is to only be used by male players (or player characters if you're strict on role-playing). Even now I'm finding myself doing the same thing as everyone else here, correcting mistakes, as はなさない has been suggested when はなせない is correct ("cannot speak"/"do not have the ability to speak" - はなさない would mean "I am not (actively) speaking Japanese (now/future)").


Ah lighten up, foreigners are going to look bad no matter what they do to the majority of Japanese players.

This is true. I can tell everyone here that foreigners are seen through rose-colored glasses by the Japanese and if you can't speak Japanese and they can't speak English then those glasses never come off. You'll get the quests done faster if you just follow along in silence. (see below about mukanshin)


Wow, thank you!
I'll definitely be busying myself with this.
I don't want to seem antii-social to the japanese players. :c

You just need to take my suggestion and get some textbooks and start building muscle memory to remember the calligraphy (just write it over and over 100+ times).


As I said, my Japanese is sub-par, so if anyone has any corrections, please let me know and I'll edit them accordingly :P

EDIT:

fixed my phrases with LuneFox's corrections :]

...


Might just be me, but #3 looks a little odd.

Edit: I guess to be more specific, I'd probably say ちょっと待って or something first.

...


Nice tips for someone who doesn't speak japanese :3
P.S. I'd say またよろしくね instead of また、さんかさせてください

#3 looks okay, but I usually hear just すぐ戻る/ります　(without "ni")

...
[/SPOILER-BOX]tl;dr A bunch of supporting quotes.

This... this thread is... it's a pile of s... sublime help for those of us who haven't the foggiest idea about japanese!
Straight to my bookmarks once I get back home (if I don't forget about it, that is).

Thanks.

This thread is an excellent collaboration of knowledge and a shining example of how the PSO-W community can really come together to teach one another something but, that isn't my point here. It is that for those of you "who haven't the foggiest idea about japanese!" you really should just take the time to really study the language in-depth and thoroughly (professional instruction that is not Rosetta-Stone is a huge help - and I say this from my own educational experience and having attempted to use Rosetta-Stone to just keep it fresh in my mind and being disgusted at their immersion-only approach).

Reasons that silence is better:
Mukanshin(無関心) - tl;dr: Japanese people don't say anything to each other so don't worry about them not saying anything to you.
[SPOILER-BOX]
This is a social construct in Japan that has really developed right along-side the population level itself. You see, because there are so many people in cities like Tokyo, most Japanese (because "most" live in enormous cities) have developed a sense of "non-interest" in others' and their affairs or even their existence (and I use "non-" because "dis-" would indicate a "lack of interest" and that is not the case here; rather, the notion of there ever being the ability for the person to develop a lack of interest is 無=null/moot/void, that is: it never existed). So, for those of you who feel there may be some need to fill some kind of "awkward" silence in your PSO2 sessions with Japanese players that you can't understand in the first place, you have nothing to worry about: they don't even register your existence outside of your virtual character's appearance in their party - AND THAT'S OK. Mukanshin is not something unusual or scary or negative in any way. It is as normal for Japanese as breathing. If you're not Japanese and you don't believe me, I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to go and live somewhere like Tokyo (yes, I'm sure you've figured it out that I used to live there but am now back in the States hence any notion to connect with English speaking players at all). If you're Japanese and you think I'm wrong: 申し訳ありませんが上智大学に行ったし、日本文化論を勉強しました。
[/SPOILER-BOX]Honne and Tatemae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honne_and_tatemae)(本音と建前) - While these boundaries may be "blurred" in an online game; regardless, Japanese usually only get "buddy-buddy" in their speech with their friends they are playing with or at least other Japanese speakers. You're not really making "friends" with them if you're neither of these.

[Spellbinder]

Just curious, is the reason you called out quotes followed by ellipses simply agreeing with the quoted statements? And I guess congrats for attending Sophia University.

[Buthor]

Just curious, is the reason you called out quotes followed by ellipses simply agreeing with the quoted statements? And I guess congrats for attending Sophia University.

No it's that those quotes further prove my point. And, thank you but congrats aren't anything I'm worthy of here - it's not actually that rigorous of a university it just has a good reputation heh.

[LuneFox]

Mukanshin(無関心) - non-interest in others
...many people in cities like Tokyo, most Japanese have developed a sense of "non-interest" in others' and their affairs or even their existence...

Oh, then it explains why I didn't pay attention to your giant post with alot of quotes.

[JeyKama]

Wow, the OP's list makes my Japanese feel super-casual. Then again, when I do MPs the Japanese I talk to are also super-casual @_@

Some minor ones I use often that aren't too complicated-

お邪魔します。よろしくです。
Hi, butting in. (joining ongoing party)

整理いってきます。
I'm going to go vendor/bank (i.e. back to the campship)

すみません。離席します。
Sorry, I must AFK

ＷＣいってきます
Going to the bathroom!

そろそろ休憩します。ＰＴありがとうございました。
Going to take a break (as in leave party). Thanks for the party.

乙
casual punny shorthand for "otsukare"

[Buthor]

Oh, then it explains why I didn't pay attention to your giant post with alot of quotes.

I know you've contributed a lot to this thread LuneFox but, perhaps you should read this part of my "giant post with alot of quotes."


...This thread is an excellent collaboration of knowledge and a shining example of how the PSO-W community can really come together to teach one another something but, that isn't my point here. It is that for those of you "who haven't the foggiest idea about japanese!" you really should just take the time to really study the language in-depth and thoroughly (professional instruction that is not Rosetta-Stone is a huge help - and I say this from my own educational experience and having attempted to use Rosetta-Stone to just keep it fresh in my mind and being disgusted at their immersion-only approach)...

Are you asking for a "tl;dr"?

tl;dr: learn the language and sage this thread, it's not a guide.

[Raxrenol]

This is my main point. This is just becoming a "learn Japanese thread" which I don't see serving any purpose as it is being written by non-professional sources here on this forum. If you're really interested in being able to use Japanese effectively then you just plain need to take several years of coursework and live there or Rosetta-Stone if you're really brave.

I've read through all your supporting quotes and I'm very impressed at the length at which you go to justify your points. However I do feel you segregate the types of people who'd view this thread into categories that are too extreme on either end. Yes, players who have absolutely no knowledge of Japanese wouldn't be able to fully understand a Japanese player's reply, maybe a disclaimer should be put up in the opening post to caution against going overboard. Similarly, a player fluent in Japanese would have no need for this thread, but that much is obvious.

The recommended phrases here do help to quickly get a message across though, and there have been numerous accounts of people having conversations with Japanese players over Google translate, so I wouldn't say someone without Japanese knowledge is completely helpless.

But more to the point, the real merits of this thread come to those who know the basics of Japanese, or are moderately skilled at it. Say someone who took a couple courses over a school break or did a few modules for interest. This person would have a base grasp of hiragana, katakana, some kanji, but he'd probably not have the vocabulary to express a wide variety of useful phrases for in-game situations. That's where this thread comes in.

Additionally, someone who's learning Japanese but simply does not have the time or motivation for a full time pursuit in the language can benefit in the interim by having a one-stop go-to guide for all the phrases he may find useful, and then proceed to focus on honing his Japanese later through professional lessons. Games are a great way to learn a language, playing online games while growing up greatly strengthened my grasp of English (I'm not a native speaker) through reading and application. There can be many ways to learn a language other than the conventional means.

My point is, there are many degrees of people in between the two extremes you've listed that could benefit from this thread (like me), thus I'd say saging it would be a tad overzealous.



Reasons that silence is better:
Mukanshin(無関心) - tl;dr: Japanese people don't say anything to each other so don't worry about them not saying anything to you.
[SPOILER-BOX]
This is a social construct in Japan that has really developed right along-side the population level itself. You see, because there are so many people in cities like Tokyo, most Japanese (because "most" live in enormous cities) have developed a sense of "non-interest" in others' and their affairs or even their existence (and I use "non-" because "dis-" would indicate a "lack of interest" and that is not the case here; rather, the notion of there ever being the ability for the person to develop a lack of interest is 無=null/moot/void, that is: it never existed). So, for those of you who feel there may be some need to fill some kind of "awkward" silence in your PSO2 sessions with Japanese players that you can't understand in the first place, you have nothing to worry about: they don't even register your existence outside of your virtual character's appearance in their party - AND THAT'S OK. Mukanshin is not something unusual or scary or negative in any way. It is as normal for Japanese as breathing. If you're not Japanese and you don't believe me, I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to go and live somewhere like Tokyo (yes, I'm sure you've figured it out that I used to live there but am now back in the States hence any notion to connect with English speaking players at all). If you're Japanese and you think I'm wrong: 申し訳ありませんが上智大学に行ったし、日本文化論を勉強しました。
[/SPOILER-BOX]

True, this is very prevalent behavior in Japan, but to say that all of them don't care about other people around them is over generalizing. There are a decent number of friendly Japanese players who do try to speak to foreigners, as many scenarios on this forum can attest, so again I'd refrain from lumping every Japanese player into one big socially apathetic stereotype.

[Buthor]

I've read through all your supporting quotes and I'm very impressed at the length at which you go to justify your points. However I do feel you segregate the types of people who'd view this thread into categories that are too extreme on either end. Yes, players who have absolutely no knowledge of Japanese wouldn't be able to fully understand a Japanese player's reply, maybe a disclaimer should be put up in the opening post to caution against going overboard. Similarly, a player fluent in Japanese would have no need for this thread, but that much is obvious.

The recommended phrases here do help to quickly get a message across though, and there have been numerous accounts of people having conversations with Japanese players over Google translate, so I wouldn't say someone without Japanese knowledge is completely helpless.

But more to the point, the real merits of this thread come to those who know the basics of Japanese, or are moderately skilled at it. Say someone who took a couple courses over a school break or did a few modules for interest. This person would have a base grasp of hiragana, katakana, some kanji, but he'd probably not have the vocabulary to express a wide variety of useful phrases for in-game situations. That's where this thread comes in.

Additionally, someone who's learning Japanese but simply does not have the time or motivation for a full time pursuit in the language can benefit in the interim by having a one-stop go-to guide for all the phrases he may find useful, and then proceed to focus on honing his Japanese later through professional lessons. Games are a great way to learn a language, playing online games while growing up greatly strengthened my grasp of English (I'm not a native speaker) through reading and application. There can be many ways to learn a language other than the conventional means.

My point is, there are many degrees of people in between the two extremes you've listed that could benefit from this thread (like me), thus I'd say saging it would be a tad overzealous.



True, this is very prevalent behavior in Japan, but to say that all of them don't care about other people around them is over generalizing. There are a decent number of friendly Japanese players who do try to speak to foreigners, as many scenarios on this forum can attest, so again I'd refrain from lumping every Japanese player into one big socially apathetic stereotype.

Yeah maybe I went a little overboard. I'm just passionate about the language is all. I would rather have people learning so they can really have a good time than just using this C&P method. I've been really enjoying using this game to brush up on my Japanese again because, since I lived there, I haven't used it for a while now. Just saying, if you really wanna have a good time then you really should put some serious effort into learning the language, it'll really pay off regardless whether or not you travel to Japan.

[chihiro]

The only thing I see in this thread relating to thanks is "thanks for the hard work". How do you say thanks after getting rezzed or thanks after getting congratulated for levelling? Just casually. Not a five word statement of thanks that uses formal kneecrawling apologies. Would be appreciated ORZ.

[Valymer]

rez is 復活, so I guess you go with the safe 復活ありがとう, or if you are feeling brave 復活してくれてありがとう, which literally means "thanks for doing the rez to/for me"

For leveling up congrats I usually don't say anything, but ありがとう is always a safe thing to respond with I guess

[chihiro]

Thanks!

[Coatl]

Hey. Sorry to necro this thread. I didn't think it'd be appropriate to make an entirely new thread.

Can someone post a good translation, or at least something in the lines of, "Follow me! I'm in <pos>!" in japanese

[Piddle]

They usually say "現在<pos>(に進行中/を移動中)" and others who like to play leader get a little more creative with it.

[kyojin]

imo this thread should be stickied, this is a great guide to at least communicate with the JP players
ahh my bad its already linked at the stickypage

[Coatl]

What do people type in for their party title when saying
"S ranking Boss run" or something along those lines?

[Sephirah]

What do people type in for their party title when saying
"S ranking Boss run" or something along those lines?

Something like "ボスラッシュ S ランク" Although the graphic says rank in english if I'm remembering right, so "ボスラッシュ S Rank" would probably work too.

[gigawuts]

I usually see ボス周回S, I think. Something similar to that.

This is me learning itty bitty bits of japanese as I go along.

[Coatl]

Thank you both of you.
:>

[Acel]

Seriously? Have nobody ever watched this Youtube video before?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuFe5lqBAYE
Remember to check out Part 2! :P

[サマー]

-----

English: Hello, may I join you?
-
Kanji: こんにちは、私も参加して良いですか？
Hiragana: こんにちは、わたしもさんかしていいですか？
Römaji: konnichiha, watashi mo sanka shite ii desu ka?



English: I don't understand Japanese well. I'm sorry.
-
Kanji: すみません。日本語がよくわからないんです。
Hiragana: すみません。にほんごがよくわからないんです。
Romaji: sumimasen. nihongo ga yoku wakaranain desu





the romaji for こんにちは is supposed to be konnichiwa, and the romaji for わからない is supposed to be wakaranai, maybe a typo? :p

[Maronji]

the romaji for こんにちは is supposed to be konnichiwa, and the romaji for わからない is supposed to be wakaranai, maybe a typo? :p

The first one is a non issue (I think). It's because "wa" often tends to be written as "ha" (it was something like that, right?). I forget why, though. You'd be better off asking a native speaker (or someone more knowledgeable than me, at least) about that one.

The second one may also be a non-issue, but I guess it depends on how you prefer to romanize the sentence. Google Translate actually translates it pretty well, surprisingly.

[hoangsea]

how to write those common words about AQ at most of japanese party 's comment ?

[Coatl]

how to write those common words about AQ at most of japanese party 's comment ?


浮遊大陸周回 PW:あ


エリア１、２道なり バースト出口と角狙い
バースト入り口と角狙い



Floating Continent AQ Pass: あ

Kill everything in area 1 and 2
Aim for exit bursting
Aim for entrance bursting

I guess you could just copy paste it into the game. Here's a guide: http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207323

[mandraxx]

The reason that "Wa" is often written as "Ha" (or the other way around) is because the visual Japanese letter for "Wa," which is so often used in Japanese language because it is used as subject delineation, other parts of grammar, and many words, is the same pictorial for "Ha." This pictorial is seen as thus: は

However, note, that "Ha" is not used as often as "Wa," but people see the same picture and translate it into "Ha" when using romaji, which in and of itself is not incorrect, but when used together with the rest of the sentence, is incorrect.

There is, in fact, a different pictorial for "Wa" in Japanese, but this is not used as often as "Ha." This "Wa" is the one which is written in a long flowing way, わ. The other "Wa" is written with two separate symbols, like so: は.

Hope this clears up the matter.

[mandraxx]

Also, don't forget the time differences when communicating.

When the sun is up here, in America, you should say "Konbanwa." But, once the sun sets, you should then say "Konnichiwa," indicating the different times of day.

Do note, however, that konnichiwa is a universal expression and can even be used at night, but it is more customary to use "konbanwa." Also, I've noticed that many Jpn players understand romaji, so if you don't have the JPN keyboard down, or the autowords ready, romaji will do. Many times I have had a conversation with JPN players in romaji. They still usually reply in Japanese, yet the conversation holds still.

Also:
Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu - nice to meet you. Something to say AFTER you finish playing with someone or meeting someone in PSO.

[hoangsea]

Floating Continent AQ Pass: あ

Kill everything in area 1 and 2
Aim for exit bursting
Aim for entrance bursting

I guess you could just copy paste it into the game. Here's a guide: http://www.pso-world.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207323

thank you so much

[quickasker]

have a bump, it'll a bit used in ngs and i have to copypasta some words again

[ArcaneTechs]

just use fleet discord, be faster

[Tymek]

naw man