sup3rbon Wrote:Okay I think we should start compiling a formal list of these, because some of them are priceless. Also it'll make me feel less guilty about buying KO2001 and then switching to pretty much only using the smart.fm lists in KO order.

We should make it into an anki deck. I'd seriously do it once I'm done with KO in a couple of weeks. I just crack up some of the sentences.

All in all KO is pretty good though. I can't decide whether or not I think it's boring or funny, entertaining or a total drag. It's a mixture of all those things. For sure I can say it's really drilling in all the JLPT3 level grammar pretty solidly. I'm starting to really get a feel for where things a used and why they do what they do to a sentence. I think that's pretty cool.

Oh god the sentence about the cold war is kinda funny. They make it sound like the cold war JUST finished.

Hahaha, just had to post this:

サルやゴリラの社会についての本を読んだ。私の会社に似ている。
I read a book about monkey and gorilla societies. They are similar to my company('s structure).

WTF!?!?!?

彼と結婚することにした。でも、私の家族は彼との結婚に反対だ。

Just funny because it's a guy saying it...

Best translation so far:

"The heroin of 'Roman Holiday' is Audrey Hepburn."

"I was born in 1977. In that year, Star Wars was released."

Had to lol, that is an extremely useful sentence!

aphasiac Wrote:"I was born in 1977. In that year, Star Wars was released."

Had to lol, that is an extremely useful sentence!

dude, everyone needs to know how to star wars.

Also just noticed:

SF映画を見た。少年がタイムカプセルに乗って、１０００年後の未来に行く。
"I saw a Sci-Fi movie in which a boy rode in a time capsule and went 1000 years into the future."

What movie does this refer to?? I wonder where they got these sentences, they're pretty imaginative..

私はビール１杯で酔う。３杯以上飲むと、次の日二日酔いになる。

1 glass of beer is enough to make me drunk. 3 or more and I'm hungover the next day...

hahahahahaha. WEAKKKK.

aphasiac Wrote:Also just noticed:

SF映画を見た。少年がタイムカプセルに乗って、１０００年後の未来に行く。
"I saw a Sci-Fi movie in which a boy rode in a time capsule and went 1000 years into the future."

Just realised this probably refers to Futurama!! Sweet!!

憶測で話をしない方がいい。違っていたら、大変だ。
We'd better not talk hypothetically. If we are wrong, we would be in trouble.​

LOL.

the thought police are watching you.

Hahaha!

I found another one... It wasn´t funny when I first read it, but now, doing my reps, I realised how STUUUPID this sentence is:

切手を貼らないで、手紙をポストに入れてしまった。
I have put a letter in the mailbox without a stamp.

From now on, when I review this sentence, I will always imagine a stupid kid with a weight problem, drooling near the mailbox!

この病院は放射線を使ってガンを治療している。
In this hospital, they cure cancer with radiation.​

Wow. KO even cures cancer.

このレコード店でCDを２枚買うと、抽選で１０人DVDプレーヤーが当たる。
Buy 2 CDs in this record store and 10 people could win a DVD player each in a lottery.

The English should read something more like:

Buy 2 Cd's in store and be into win one of 10 DVD players!

I guess that's the difference between paying attention to how a phrase is ACTUALLY used in a language and just taking a wild stab in the dark.

I don't know about funny, but seeing "The springtime of life is only once. However, youths are not aware of it." during your second hour of drills alone in front of your computer is certainly quite poignant.

dawhite Wrote:I don't know about funny, but seeing "The springtime of life is only once. However, youths are not aware of it." during your second hour of drills alone in front of your computer is certainly quite poignant.

Yes, how many people are wasting their springtime studying Japanese?

Is the worst/funniest sentence the first line of the preface?


"I assume Japanese learners learn Kanji for the purpose of writing e-mails and reading business documents in Japanese."

I don't know about you, but that first line is so dry and lame. Seriously, it's the worst preface ever, considering the quality of the japanese is so high.

Yeah, that's got to be the worst sentence in the book but it does explain the tendency for lame business oriented sentences. (v___v)

Word. I tell you though, KO works no doubt. I'm about 30 pages away from finishing book 2, and I just played thru the sound novel game "いまびき草”　on wii last weekend, and could understand most of it with hardly any snags. Feels pretty good...........

zazen666 Wrote:Word. I tell you though, KO works no doubt. I'm about 30 pages away from finishing book 2, and I just played thru the sound novel game "いまびき草”　on wii last weekend, and could understand most of it with hardly any snags. Feels pretty good...........

I'm inclined to agree.

The bonus to having all the business and news oriented stuff in there is it rounds out your learning and you're able to understand those things which is a real bonus when you think about it.

but seriously for the purpose of reading and writing business emails? Don't make me laugh! Kanji is way to good to waste on that.

bombpersons Wrote:「私の右手の方が左手より大きい。」

Uh...

This is actually a common and ordinary phenomenon. Of course, it's usually not that noticeable.

I remember there's one Sherlock Holmes story -- The Red-Headed League, in fact -- where Sherlock identifies a man as "having at some time done manual labour" because one of his hands is larger than the other. Perhaps the same is true of whoever said that Japanese sentence.

- Kef

aphasiac Wrote:

aphasiac Wrote:Also just noticed:

SF映画を見た。少年がタイムカプセルに乗って、１０００年後の未来に行く。
"I saw a Sci-Fi movie in which a boy rode in a time capsule and went 1000 years into the future."

Just realised this probably refers to Futurama!! Sweet!!

I dont think the authors are watching Futurama. They seem to pic examples that most japanese people would know about.

I think that sentence refers to an older famous manga。 I think the title was 未来少年
or something like that.....

M社は総合商社だ。石油、材木、ロケット、ワイン、あらゆる物を扱っている

M Inc. is a general trading company. They deal with all sorts of things such as petroleum, lumber, rockets and wine.​

ROCKETS!!!????

What kind of "general trading company" is this??

mezbup Wrote:M社は総合商社だ。石油、材木、ロケット、ワイン、あらゆる物を扱っている

M Inc. is a general trading company. They deal with all sorts of things such as petroleum, lumber, rockets and wine.​

ROCKETS!!!????

What kind of "general trading company" is this??

lol! The best kind?

The catchphrase of the Mitsubishi corporation is 「ラーメンから航空機まで」... everything from Ramen to Aeroplanes. But if ja.wikipedia is anything to go by, 飛行機 used to refer to aeroplane parts. In particular, Missiles

mezbup Wrote:M社は総合商社だ。石油、材木、ロケット、ワイン、あらゆる物を扱っている

M Inc. is a general trading company. They deal with all sorts of things such as petroleum, lumber, rockets and wine.​

ROCKETS!!!????

What kind of "general trading company" is this??

M社 must be 三井物産
http://www.spaceref.co.jp/news/5Fri/2005_01_15com.html

In that case I'd like a cask of wine and crate of rockets!