I'm a Noob...got this from a book (slang book), so I may be off and someone can correct this if it's wrong.

Like Future Blues says, maybe a version of おっす

おっす　was originally a very formal word like a soldier saying "yes sir!".  I notice the Yakuza foot soldiers using it fiercely(and bowing) when the Big Bosses show up in the movie "Brother".  In a slang context it is kind of goofing on the original use. The book translated it as "what's up"....
Some variations-(think of a Japanese version of the old Budwieser commercials, with two friends going back and forth)

おっす -Whattup!

うっす -'Sup

ういっすー -Whazzap!

ういっすっす -Whazzzaaaaap!!!

Obviously the translations aren't literal or anything....but you get the idea.

The book is "Dirty Japanese" by Matt Fargo.  Really funny little book!

Last edited by TaylorSan (2009 June 09, 1:51 am)

おっす was discussed in a topic here very recently. I think it was claimed that it's originally from 空手.

Zarxrax wrote:

Next word: しばらく
wwwjdic gives it a variety of definitions referring to a range of time. However, these definitions range from "instant" to " a short while" to "quite a while".

WTF is that supposed to mean? I know some words can sort of change meaning depending on the context, but there is no way to tell with something like that!
Anyone got a better definition for this?

It means like "for a while", here's an example:
しばらくお待ちください.　Wait a while, please.

nice thing such a thread exists : )

I just stumbled across this one:
半径が３．１だから・・・
Does maybe anyone know how to pronounce 3.1 in Japanese?

saru_yo wrote:

nice thing such a thread exists : )

I just stumbled across this one:
半径が３．１だから・・・
Does maybe anyone know how to pronounce 3.1 in Japanese?

Need context, but most likely はんけいが　さんてんいち　だから. Here's an example.

円周率は3.14159265358979です = えんしゅーりつは　さんてんいちよんいちごーきゅーにーろくごーさんごーはちきゅーななきゅー　です。

Last edited by magamo (2009 June 12, 4:33 am)

Can someone explain to me the difference between ちちおや , ちち and とうさん ? とうさん is for other people's, ちち for the own father if I remember correctly, but ちちおや ?

magamo wrote:

lanval wrote:

Can someone explain to me the difference between ちちおや , ちち and とうさん ? とうさん is for other people's, ちち for the own father if I remember correctly, but ちちおや ?

ちちおや and ちち are often interchangeable. とうさん is a friendly word for "father" and slightly more informal than おとうさん. All these words can refer to either your own or another person's father. ちち and ちちおや are more formal than おとうさん and とうさん.

Sometimes ちち means the Father, i.e., God. Also, noun+の+ちち can have different meanings just like "father" in English. For example, バッハは音楽の父だと呼ばれている means "Bach is called the father of music." ちちおや and other synonyms don't have this kind of usage.

thanks for all the info

Tobberoth wrote:

What? This is the first time ever I've heard ちち called more formal than とうさん. After all, chichi is just the kanji, 父. とうさん is the same, but with a honorary suffix. おとうさん adds the honorary prefix. I can't imagine how 父 could possibly be more formal than 御父さん.

(Of course, you're the native speaker so I'm not calling you wrong or anything. I'm just extremely surprised.)

Also, let's not forget おやじ which is a very informal word used for your own father, often used by teens, the female version (of mother that is) being おふくろ.

Native speakers can be wrong. My understanding is that 父 is not a very formal word, but お父さん and 父さん sound more friendly so they are often used in more informal situations. For example, my boss can ask me "君のお父さんは何をしているのかね？" but I'd reply "私の父は公務員です。" My boss can use 君の父親, 君の父 or 君のお父さん. But I don't use お父さん or 父さん when talking with my boss. Also, kids use お父さん more often than adults. Actually no one would use 父 when they find a little kid walking alone and ask "Where is your dad?" Most likely they say "お父さんはどこにいるの？", "パパはどこにいるのかな？" etc.

Here's the definition of お父さん in 大辞泉 published by 小学館:

1: 子供が自分の父親を呼ぶ語。また、子供をもつ男性を親しんで呼ぶ語。「おかあさん」とともに明治３７年から使用した文部省「尋常小学読本」（国定教科書）に採用されてから、「おとっさん」に代わって普及した。
2: 芸妓・女郎が、置屋や茶屋の男主人を敬って呼ぶ語。

Meaning 2 isn't important to learners unless you're interested in those cultures, I guess.

Edit: Technically お父さん can be considered 尊敬語. But the sense of respect is weaker than other honorifics such as 尊父, お父様, 厳父 etc. I also found a blog where a curmudgeon is complaining that these days people don't use お父さん as a honorific.

Last edited by magamo (2009 June 12, 10:00 am)

さみし・い【▽寂しい／×淋しい】［形］［文］さみ・し［シク］「さびしい」の音変化。
It is just another version of さびしい. It uses the same kanji and has the same meaning.

What does 気にしないで mean? Google translate tells me it means "nevermind" but how does "nevermind" and the literal translation come together?

Nii87 wrote:

What does 気にしないで mean? Google translate tells me it means "nevermind" but how does "nevermind" and the literal translation come together?

I tend to translate 気にしないで as "Don't worry about it." That would fit all of magamo's examples, I think. Obviously it'll change depending on context, but I think that gets the general feeling across, at least in my experience.

I found another word for husband: うちの人. GODS japanese have many words for that. What is that one used for? I have so many husbands-cards in Anki, I need to name them somehow..