Translation project: ハワイで大の学

So my latest translation project is going to be ハワイで大の学 - or Study of Hawaii. Despite the name, the book looks like this:

Cover of the book

It's going to be a challenge because they do not have hiragana over the kanji like it Yatsubato! If anyone has some recommendations on good ways of doing this via dictionary - I would welcome any advice!

Here is a snapshot of one of the pages - look for my attempts at understanding this book during the summer!

Japanese Lesson 3: Comparing Objects

During Japanese summer classes, I was absent during the week we learned about comparing objects. This was something I always regretted not learning and wished I didn't miss out on. Today, these anxieties will end as you and I learn the concepts involved in comparing objects and ideas. For this lesson you will need to know:

• Hiragana
• Katakana
• Basic Kanji

A is more than B

Unlike the English language, adjectives are not changed when comparing two objects. (ie: A is faster than B, A is better than B). Instead, certain endings are added to the nouns to indicate this. The format is as follows:

Object A のほうが Object B より adjective.

To better understand this, let us create some examples.

ハンバーガーのほうがとんかつよりおいしいです。
Hamburgers are more tasty than pork cutlet.

山田さんのほうが京子さんより面白いです。
Yamada san is more interesting than Kyoko san.

Asking which is better

When asking another person's opinion between two objects. The form is as follows:

Object A と Object B とどうちのほうが adjective.

Here are some examples:

東のエイデンとデスノートとどうちのほうが新しいですか。
Is Eden of the East newer than Death Note?

カナダとスウェーデンとどうちのほうが寒いですか。
Is Canada colder than Sweden?

For those who couldn't read Japanese but decided to look anyways, the basis for the 'A is more ___ than B' is A no houga B adjective. For 'Is A more ___ than B' the structure is A to B to douchi no houga adjective. There are a few ways to do this structure so please do not look at this as a be all and end all. Use it as a starting point in learning comparisons. This is definitely something you hear a lot in manga in anime (especially in shoujo when guys are being compared!).

Related Posts
Japanese Lesson 2: Let's translate it - よつばと！
Japanese Lesson 1: Translate the blog title

Let's Translate It: よつばと！

Here is the second installment of August's Japanese lessons. Today we will take a look at a raw page of Yotsubato!. I did some research and this came up as a good beginner manga to read in Japanese.

Yotsubato! Volume 1 front cover

Prerequisites

• Hiragana and Katakana
• Some Kanji

Here is a page from chapter 1 in the first volume. We will take each cell, state the romaji then translate it as best as we can. Please remember that I am learning with you. I probably won't get the translation at 100%. But as each of these lessons go on, my skills (as well as yours) will improve, raising the amount and difficulty of the context.

Click on the image to see a bigger screen

Navigation

We will be going from right to left in an up down pattern. So Cell #1 will be the one on the top right, Cell #2 is the top left, cell #3 is bottom right, etc ...

Translation

Cell #1:

Jumbo: Have you been well?
Yotsuba: Ah! Stop it!

Jumbo: Genki ni shitetaka?
Yotsuba:Uah! Yameru!

Cell #2:

Koiwai-San: Where's Yanda?
Jumbo: He had some business come up. That guy is no good.

Koiwai san: Yanda wa?
Jumbo:A-aitsu you ga haittekara koneette. Aitsu dame dawa.

Cell #3:

Yotsuba: Jumbo, you've gotten bigger since I've seen you last!
Jumbo: Oh? Where did you learn that saying?
Koiwai san: Oh well. Jumbo will just have to do two people's worth or work.

Yotsuba:Jumbo shibaraku uchi ni mata ooki kunatta!
Jumbo: O? Doko de oboeta sono serifu?
Koiwai san: Maa ii ka. Jumbo ga futaripun hatarakushina.

Cell #4:

Jumbo: No way. Not happening. I'm not working like that!
Koiwai san: Please work...
Yotsuba:I will work!

Jumbo: Sonna! Goto wa nai! Ore wa hatarakanai!
Koiwai san: Hataraite kure...
Yotsuba:Yotsuba ga hataraku!

Cell #5:

Jumbo: Oh! That's great Yotsuba! Your dad is no good eh?
Yotsuba:My dad is no good!

Jumbo: O! Eraizo Yotsuba! To chan wa dame dane!
Yotsuba: To chan dame da!

Related posts:

Lesson 1: Translate the blog's title

Japanese Lesson 1: Translate the blog title

Today we will translate the phrase:

"I am not Japanese"

1. If the subject of the sentence can be easily guessed, then leave the subject out of sentence. However, for translation's sake we will learn how to say I in Japanese (though a future blog will discuss different ways of saying 'I').
   
   
   
2. To mark that 'I' is the subject of the sentence, we must use the particle は. Though the particle itself is pronounced as 'ha', when it is being used as a subject marker particle, it is pronounced as 'wa'.
   
   
   私は
   (watashi wa)
   
   
3. The word Japanese is literally translated as 'Japan People' so there are two parts
   
   • Japan is presented by the characters 日本　(Nihon - which literally means land of the sun)
   • People is represented by the character for human 人. Placing it beside 日本, makes it a nationality (which can be done with all countries).
   
   
   私は日本人　
   (watashi wa nihonjin)
   
   
4. The verb part is usually last in the Japanese sentence structure. The verb for 'being' (ex: This is a chair, I am a 4th year university student) is です. That is in its present, long form. To speak more informally, we leave it out.
   
   
   私は日本人です。
   (watashi wa nihonjin desu)
   
   
5. To negate the sentence, we must use the negative present form. That is じゃあありません (ja arimasen). In short form (aka:informal speech), it becomes じゃあない.
   
   
   私は日本人じゃあありません。
   (watashi wa nihonjin ja arimasen)
   
   or in more common speech
   日本人じゃあない。
   (nihonjin ja nai)

By the end of this lesson, you should understand the meaning behind 'japanesejanai' and the witty fusion that was intended.

If you have any questions or corrections (I am fairly new at this language), leave a comment =D