I was studying some grammar, until I encountered this sentence.
私は今日本語を勉強しています。(I am studying Japanese now)
The way I see it, it could be read 2 different ways.
Watashi wa ima nihongo wo benkyou shiteimasu
Watashi wa kyou hongo wo benkyou shiteimasu
Should I write “ima” in hiragana so that it isn’t read wrong, or is it just common sense that it would be read the first way. Or is the second one just completely wrong. I’m not sure, I put “hongo” into google translate and it said “Some word”. Anyways, any answers or discussion would be appreciated. I apologize for what might be apparent stupidity to someone. Thanks
First of all, never use google translate.
I’m pretty sure 本語 isn’t a word, so I doubt anyone would misread your first sentence. Also the use of 今 ties in nicely with ~ています. (But I would go with いま anyway.)
In hindsight, it seems like a pretty stupid question now. I think I understand now, thanks for the replies, they are all helpful and insightful. You guys are sure quick to respond to posts.
It’s not that it’s a stupid question, it just doesn’t really apply in this case. There are certainly times where you can create ambiguity if you’re not careful. Japanese speakers make strategic use of hiragana and word order to avoid making things confusing most of the time.
@Leebo is right, this sort of thing does happen occasionally in japanese sentneces, often solved through changing word order or inserting hiragana. Another way japanese people frequently get around it is by inserting commas into the sentence specifically to break apart clusters of 5 or more kanji into the pieces you should read together, so keep that in mind too– unlike english, not all commas are for pauses or syntax.
from Psychology study