Attempting Sample Sentences

Japanese Language
#1

I’m doing OK going from Japanese to English but struggle to compose sentences or recall English to Japanese vocabulary. This is my effort to work on that in between reviews. I made these up myself using Level 8 or lower kanji. It took way too long but feels worth it. Corrections are appreciated.

かれは未だ弟の思い出がありません

He still does not have a memory of his younger brother.

絵は今週全くに出来上がります

The picture will be completely finished this week.

そのお知らせには青い紙がほしい。

I want blue paper for that flyer.

長い船体で高い船は高いです

Tall ships with long hulls are expensive.

Edit: unlocked new items and have some time to kill so here goes. These sentences seem so awkward and childlike at this stage in my self education. They don’t actually say what I WANT to say but the general meaning is accurate (hopefully).

地上の人々は空に風船を見る。

People on the ground watch balloons in the sky.

かのじょの家は小さいと当たり前です。

Her house is small and ordinary.

向こうに牛が次々と歩いていくのを見ますか？

Do you see cows over there walking one after the other?

New Edit: more vocabulary and playing with particles

私立大学の住所は

What is the address of the private college?

朝ごはんは 他所 に行こう

Let’s go somewhere else for breakfast.

朝ごはんは他所で食べましょう

Let’s eat breakfast somewhere else.

この辺に支局がありますか

Is there a branch office around here?

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#2

It’s worth noting that 未だ is almost never written in kanji, so just be aware if you show sentences to Japanese people.

全く is an adverb, so while I won’t comment on how natural the word choice is, you don’t need に after 全く.

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#3

Thanks so much for your comments.
Regarding the first point: how does one know when to use/not use kanji? I assumed if we were learning it here, it would be of practical use. Is this one of those cases where WK is giving us examples that “real” people don’t use?

As for the second point, I was trying to say the picture would be totally done. Maybe I don’t completely understand how to use the adverb. I guess finished implies that it is complete??? so the adverb is not needed…but then there is the phrase “partially finished basement” that I hear all the time in English???

#4

Look up the word. Pretty much every J-E dictionary I’ve used will tell if you if the word is commonly written in kana only.

That is a bad assumption. You learn words here to reinforce kanji readings. It does not mean the word has broad practical use. There will be many words you learn here that are either usually only written in kana, are only used in formal writing, poetic writing, etc.

The example itself is fine. You just need to know that in normal writing you’re almost always going to encounter it as written using only kana as まだ.

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#5

And just to add, even though you will most often see まだ that does not mean you won’t ever see the kanji version. This is a book sold by Kinokuniya where the title does contain the kanji version as 未だ. So having learned the reading from WaniKani, you will know how the word is pronounced in the title.

Nothing you learn here is going to be entirely useless even if it’s not commonly used.

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#6

If I’m being anal, for the second phrase, just for consistency if you’re using お知らせ instead of 知らせ make sure to end the sentence with ほしいです。Putting お in front of nouns is usually done when being polite so です or ます form is used at the end so the sentence is consistently in ていねいご。

#7

Thanks. That’s great feedback. While I am aware of the honorific form, it did not click in my brain on that one. This BTW is why I am trying to actually use the kanji as I go along rather than waiting for them to show up in the wild.

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#8

I was just saying that に in your sentence is ungrammatical. I don’t know if a Japanese person would find 全く natural there or not.

Edit: I checked with my girlfriend who is a native and she thinks this affirmative usage of 全く sounds strange. We both acknowledge that it is in the dictionary, but she found the affirmative sentences in the dictionary to sound strange too.

A typical usage of 全く is to emphasize negative statements, such as 全くお酒を飲まない (I don’t drink alcohol at all).

For this affirmative meaning, 完全に is more common.

#9

Someone chime in if I am wrong here, but I have never seen 当たり前 used like this before. Generally, it is used more in the sense of “Of course” (examples below) or as an adjective meaning something along the line of obvious or natural or straightforward.

P1: Did you get an 100 on the test? P2: 当たり前だ。
P1: Wow you are so fast. 当たり前のことだよ。毎日鍛えるからだ。

For your sentence, you are probably looking for a word more like 普通 (ふつう）or something instead of 当たり前.

I might be wrong though. Maybe the usage you are using exists too. Just never seen it before, and it doesn’t sound quite right to me so I thought I would mention it.

:wink::turtle::upside_down_face:

頑張れ！

p.s. 当たり前のことですけど、先の例文は敬語使わずに書いたんだ。

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#10

I asked my girlfriend if she had seen it used like that before and she said she hasn’t seen it used like that at all. She understands what it is trying to say in English, but the Japanese is weird.

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#11

I wanted to do more sentences since new vocabulary came up but there are only so many hours in a day. I got caught up in reviews, graded readers and NHK. Your comments have been helpful:

  1. The context sentences for 全く seem to support its use in a non-positive manner. The last one is comical. I have not yet seen the kanji proposed as a better fit for my sentence so I will make a new one.

Context Sentences

これじゃあ、全く話にならないよ。

If you’re going to be like this, then I can’t take it seriously.

コウイチは、全く見かえりをもとめずに人助けをします。

Koichi never asks for anything in return when he helps people.

コンドームも全く安全だって訳はない。俺の友達はゴムを着けてたけど、軽トラにはねられたしな。

Condoms aren’t completely safe. My friend was wearing one and got hit by a pickup truck.

  1. 当たり前 is used secondarily as an expression along the lines of "naturally! "or “indeed!” I was going for the meaning closest to “commonplace” as in the house is nothing special i.e. basic. 当たり前 may be suggesting common in the sense of normal or expected (neutral rather than negative). I will work on that one too.
#12

Hi! Just to add on, と can only be used to connect nouns. I saw what other people are saying about the usage of 当たり前and I agree with them, but even without that change, it should read:

かのじょの家は小さくて当たり前です。

To connect い-adjectives like 小さいwith other adjectives, drop the last い and add くて.

I hope that helps!

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#13

ooo thanks for that tip. Maybe it will show up in Genki soon.

#14

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