japanese help

[tanhql]

is the the top part of 筆 written like this http://www.mahou.org/i/k/b/492E.png

what is the name for each month? (please write in kanji and hiragana)

the shi/yon, shichi/nana and ku/kyuu confuses me.

what is the name of each DATE of each month? (please write in kanji and hiragana)

my japanese textbook says:

days of the month are generally called by their number + にち. but there are exceptions:

-first day of a month is ついたち.

-second day to tenth day uses a different number set which is of native japanese origin, different to those of chinese origins

how do you say the date in year, month and day?

what is the difference in using shi or yon for four, shichi or nana for seven, kyuu or ku for nine?

is ten minutes called jippun or juppun?

for father(and other family members), what's the difference between oyaji, haha and otoosan?

can the san in otoosan/okaasan/oniisan etc be change to chan? (eg, onnichan)

for long vowels, does the pronounciation have to be strictly twice the length of a short vowel? coz on japanese shows, i can't hear the complete じゃあ in じゃありません, only じゃりません

thanks.

[novemberfog]

It sounds like you don't have a very thorough Japanese textbook. I *highly* recommend that you get a better one, because all of the answers to your questions would be easily answered with an introductory text, such as "Yokoso" or "Nakama". What text are you using???

I don't have time to answer everyone of your questions as they take time to type out. I will try to answer later if I have time. Just a note though, you need to learn these things. "tsuitachi" is used instead of ichinichi" for the 1st of the month by everyone but small children who haven't learned the calendar yet. The calender and months should be fully spelled out for you in a decent textbook. You should also be able to find them in wikipedia or other internet reference sites. Try your search engine, there are lots of references for Japanese on the Internet.

Here are some easy answers though:

what is the difference in using shi or yon for four, shichi or nana for seven, kyuu or ku for nine?

>> 筆

Yes, that is correct. The top part is "take" (bamboo).

>> the months

いちがつ　

にがつ　

さんがつ　

しがつ　

ごがつ　

ろくがつ　

しちがつ　

はちがつ　

くがつ　

じゅうがつ　

じゅういちがつ　

じゅうにがつ　

>>is ten minutes called jippun or juppun?

juppun

>>for father(and other family members), what's the difference between oyaji, haha and otoosan?

oyaji is very very casual, and normally only used by boys when talking about their dads. When girls say it, it has a more deragatory meaning (normally an old guy who likes to hit on young girls, perhaps kind of a perverted guy, or a drunk, or what not--not a nice meaning). Only use it when talking about your own father, or when you want to stay something deragatory about an older man. haha and chichi are used to talk about your own family, okaasan and otoosan are used to talk about other people's family. If you directly address your mother or father, you should use okaasan or otoosan though. The distinction between usage of words is very very important.

>>can the san in otoosan/okaasan/oniisan etc be change to chan? (eg, onnichan)

Yes, casually, when talking about your own family. Onechan and oniichan are common, but I don't hear it for mother or father normally though. If you say otoochan or okaachan, it sounds kind of cute. Informally, you could use it when talking about your own family.

>>for long vowels, does the pronounciation have to be strictly twice the length of a short vowel? coz on japanese shows, i can't hear the complete じゃあ in じゃありません, only じゃりません

Yes, it confuses natives if you don't pronounce your long vowels. It is not always so strict, but there are times when it really matters. Try your best to pronounce them, even if you cannot hear them.

Seriously though, try to get a better textbook. I will try to answer you other questions later if time permits.

[novemberfog]

Wikipedia: Japanese Calendar

It answers all of your questions about dates and what not. Check it out.

[tanhql]

thanks a lot. coz i'm taking japanese classes now, and i find the class too slow, so i want to learn more on my own. maybe the sensei will give notes on the days of the month when she teaches that. and also, i'm still lacking 1 textbook(we're supposed to have 3; but the third one is out of stock) so maybe the missing info is in the third textbook.

and what's with 4, 7 and 9 in japanese?

[HashiriKata]

and what's with 4, 7 and 9 in japanese?

As you may already know, there are 2 counting systems in Japanese: one native reading and one borrowed from Chinese.

4: In general counting, you can use the borrowed reading but since shi (= 4) sounds like shi (= death), so the native reading yo/yon is often used for 4: yo'nin (4 persons), yonjuu (40), yonbanme (the 4th), yonkagetsu (4 months). However, you'll hear Shigatsu (April), and not Yongatsu.

7: Shichi is the borrowed reading and nana is the native for 7. Normally, you expect to see the borrowed reading used more often but since shichi (= 7) sounds too close to ichi (= 1), so the native reading nana is often used in place of shichi to avoid misunderstanding. However, I would say on the whole you'll just have to learn case by case as you go along, because the variations are based more on rhythm and habit than on logic: Shichigatsu (July), shichinin (7 persons), nanajuu (70), nanahyaku (700), nanaten (7 marks), etc.

9: Both ku and kyuu are borrowed readings and they seem to be free variations. However, I often hear kyuukai (9 times), kyuukagetsu (9 months) but ku'nin (9 persons), Kugatsu (September),...So my advice is you just have to observe and learn from native speakers which reading is used in which combinations. If you get it wrong, Japanese will still understand you but if you get it right, your prestige will increase!

By the way, Novemberfog is right about juppun (10 minutes) but older people also say jippun.

がんばって！！