Japanese syntax question

nobody?

I always say
Kore-wa oishii so-desu.
Sore-wa nihongo ni kikimasu.

That would be my guess.

'Sonna' Means more "that kind of..."

Sonna koto...that kind of thing
donna hito....what type of person?
konna gohan ... this kind of rice

Hmmm. Yeah. Adverbal nouns are challenging.

i always think of the english pick up line.

"Are you always this beautiful?"

itsumo konno-ni utsukushi desu ka?"

In this example "konna-ni" is taken as "this" but in reference to the degree of beauty. Making the phrase about if the person is allways THIS besutiful as opposed to askig if they are allways beautiful.

But bacck to the original question.

I'm wanting to be able to express how something effects my senses.

"That looks delicious" as opposed to "That is delicious (it is so.),"


Why do you use "sore" as opposed to sono, sonna, sonna-ni? I'd use sore for a tangable object but a word seems odd.

Perhaps: Sono-kotoba wa nihongo ni kikimasu.

Also, I think I'm using the wrnog verb. Kik(u) is to hear/listen. I need the verd for "makes sound" or similar.

THANKS FOR THE HELP! Keep posting. I like discussion Japanese language.

onegai onegai!

Did you two formally study Japanese? Just sort of pick it up?

I bought a "learn Japanese at Home" tape set a few years ago, but got no where with it.

I am a half japanese american. I didn't learna word at home. My father doesn't know any japanese. I studied japanese for 4 years formally, and I have been on two stud tours of Japan to develop my language skills. In the last 5 and a half years, I have studied independantly and took advantage of any pportunity I have to practice.

Oh, and for fun.

I wonder if anyone can translate my avatar. It's pretty funny.

I lived in Japan for a while. First in Nagoya and then in Nagano and Fukushima. I go back once in a while.

It is a wonderful place. Subarashi-desu yo!

Andy

Neat. I've been to Nagoya.

Subarashi so! Kirei mo desu ne?

Why do you go to Japan Andy? Friends? Family? School? Work?

"This looks delicious"
Kore-wa oishi-sou desu.

Notice the shortening of the "i" vowel of "oishii". If you don't shorten it and instead say "Kore-wa oishii sou desu" it means "I've heard that this is delicious".

-sou attached directly to an adjective is very useful for expressing the "X looks --" idea.

More examples:

"Sono resutoran-wa taka-sou desu" -> That restaurant looks expensive. ("takai--> takasou")
"Kono natto-wa mazu-sou desu" -> These fermented soybeans look like they taste awful. ("mazui"--> mazusou")
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"That sounds Japanese"
Sore-wa nihongo ni kikoemasu.

Notice the use of "kikoeru" instead of "kiku". "kiku" means to listen to or to hear. "kikoeru" means "can be heard" or, in this case "to sound (like)".

Also, "sore-wa" is good here, rather than "sonna". "sonna" is usually followed by a noun phrase, or a nominalizer.

"Sonna koto nai yo!" -> That's not true! (lit. 'It's not that thing')
"Sonna-no wakaranai yo!" -> I don't know that (sort of thing - "no" is a nominalizer here)

If you want to use "sonna" as an intensifier preceding an adjective, you add "ni" before the adjective:

"Sonna-ni samui tte souzou shinakatta." -> I didn't imagine it would be that cold.
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Your avatar says "nihonjin kanojo boshuu-chuu"-> I'm in the market for a Japanese girlfriend (lit. I'm recruiting a Japanese girlfriend).

Cute

Thank you very much. Allow me to practice. The use of Kikoeru makes sence.

"Kono onraku wa warusou ni kikoemasu yo!"
"This music sounds horrible!"

Thank you so much. Please keep posting. This is good. I may be able to answer some of my hardest syntax questions here.