• PAGE 1: Main Gaming Guide
• PAGE 2: Basic Grammar Guide
• PAGE 3: (1) Leave Comments (2) Links (3) Update Log (4) Questions & Answers

Welcome to my new tag board! (The old one went out of business).

FYI & Updates:

If you're interested in the accuracy of this guide, it was originally authored by myself, edited by my dearest friend (2nd generation Japanese, nisei), reviewed by an old Japanese professor (Japanese national), and finally reviewed recently by a Japanese former-FFXI player. (just FYI, trying to keep this guide as accurate and helpful as possible!)

[7.17.2007] - Hohohoho, I finally updated! Made a printable version of the main page, edited some of the comments, and added more links!

[7.16.2006] - My good friend has started doing Japanese lessons on youtube.com. She was born and raised in Japan, and has been a teacher on and off through the years. So not only is she fluent in Japanese and English - she can teach! So if you are interested please send her a request or comment on her youtube site for more Japanese lessons. Alyssa's Youtube Site: http://youtube.com/profile?user=hapaloha

[6.5.2006] - Slowly making changes to the comments page! Added a 'links' section.

[6.4.2006] I've decided to try to make better use of this page with helpful links and resources for people interested in learning more about the Japanese language or culture.This was inspired by multiple people who said the guide and the game have peaked their interest in learning more Japanese - which is fabulous! Currently, I'll be working on the 'links' section breaking it down into (1) Japanese language resources (2) Forums for questions about the Japanese language (3) Information about the Japanese culture. My hope is that I'll create a list of links that are reliable sources of information - basically as accurate as possible.

Also in the works: updates to the guide (answering the questions from comments and e-mails), possibly a mailing list for people interested in when I update the site (since it's so sporadic), and reviewing my notes to figure out how or what information I should add to the grammar section.

[5.11.2006] Hey all, thanks for the suggestions! I'm working on another revision, but please be patient. A common problem I have is that people want translations for words that aren't originally Japanese (typically game terms). The challenge is figuring out how Japanese speakers in the game would use those words, because anyone that doesn't play will have no idea what I'm talking about. So it's tough. I also just received a really thoughtful e-mail from asking about donations to the site. (Really nice of you to ask!) update 6.4.06 - BIG thanks to James aka Yuenglyng on Valefor for being the first person to donate! It's really appreciated!

[3.24.2006] Just got back from several weeks of traveling, and I received an e-mail about an e-guide being sold on E-bay.com that plagiarizes the work from shigemo.com's Japanese-English site and other FFXI FAQs. The links to the auctions are on my journal. Please, DO NOT support their plagiarism by buying these e-guides from ebay. Thank you.

[2.17.2006] Hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day! Normally Valentine's is always good to me, because it's also my birthday, lol. Well, I made a small change just now (upon request). The phrase of the day is: "Jitsuha nihongo anmari shirimasen. "Shigemo's FF11 Guide" wo tsukatteru dakedesu." (Actually, I don't know much Japanese. I'm just using "Shigemo's FF11 Guide".) w

[1.5.2006] Akemashite Omedetou! Happy New Years! Changes have been made! Most of these new changes were inspired by correspondences I had during my time in FFXI. I had a few Nihonjin (Japanese) friends in the game that I would write notes with, and I saved most of the notes, so now I can pass on a few more phrases! I've marked most of the changes with **, including a new section "After the Party Is Over".

[12.11.2005] Made changes to the main page. Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season! Feel free to make more suggestions or ask questions! ~Kris

[9.3.2005] I've been having a crazy summer, full of traveling and getting tan. It's going to slow down for me, and once it does I'll have time to update the guide again for those who are interested. Hope everyone's had a GREAT summer! w00t!

[5.18.2005] If anyone sees a duplicate of my guide on another site, or forum post, please let me know. For those who acknowledge my site on those rip-offs, thank you very much! I appreciate it.

[5.6.2005] I'll be revising the guide again soon. I recently had another Nihonjin specializing in Japanese/English review the guide, although they don't play games so they weren't familiar with a lot of (in-game) terms. I'm debating on changing some of it to be more consistent - polite versus informal Japanese. It's probably better to be consistent and stick with polite Japanese, but in-game I find it can get very casual. Have a good weekend!

[4.2.2005] The amount of questions about using Japanese in FFXI has dwindled down, but in case people still have questions I'd like to have one source with the answers. My hope is that if people have the same questions about the guide, then they can refer here. I also noticed people using the tag-board on shigemo.com for comments about the Japanese guide, so I thought I'd just place it here as well. The tag-board will now save all the comments, auto-refresh, etc. So, feel free to comment above, or write to me: kristy@shigemo.com with questions, comments and such. As long as you don't mind, I may add your e-mail question/comment here. =)

Some Questions and Answers:

Q: HI was reading your Japanese guide, and I have a few questions. I'm currently trying to learn Japanese, and I've been memorizing Hiragana. Currently I only know a, e, i, o, u, shi, ku, and ki, but I've only spent a few hours on it. :x

Anyways, where would you reccommend looking for more help? What should I be learning after I get a decent amount of Hiragana down?

A: I think starting with hiragana is an excellent start. I didn’t learn the Japanese I know through traditional means, but I know it’s the foundation for all the words in Japanese.

Depending on what works best for you, and if you're only studying on your own or if you plan to take classes.

In terms of online resources [please refer to the LINKS section for more information]. (edited 6/4/06)

As far as workbooks are concerned, I know some people have recommended workbooks on some of the forums. The following are books, or CDs I’ve seen and could recommend although they focus more on the romanized version (without as much use of characters). Using a CD is good if you would like to learn how to pronounce the words. Some sites online also have audible vocabulary. The Rosetta Stone language program is also highly recommended, as it drills Japanese into your brain by not using English at all.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1931102244/qid=1087002960/sr=1-9/ref=sr_1_9/104-7611677-5145525?v=glance&s=books
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1400020190/qid=1087003124/sr=1-24/ref=sr_1_24/104-7611677-5145525?v=glance&s=books

After you learn Hiragana… well for everyone it’s probably different, but I would recommend getting an understanding of grammar. One of the fundamentals that will help you are particles. It’s vital to understand how they work. Then you could move onto conjugating verbs, and understanding adjectives, and work on putting together sentences. After this it would help to understand the counting system, there are different ways to count certain objects. Then the time system, days, etc. All the while during this it might be good to set goals for yourself in learning the vocabulary. Say, you memorize 5 words a day, or make flashcards, or print out labels for objects around the house so you remember them. It’s also worthwhile to learn about the culture and how certain words or phrases are applied, because it can be very different than how you may use it in English. If you have any Japanese friends, or can make some online, it would help greatly. Many Japanese words, or phrases, don’t translate directly into English, but hopefully most of the links I gave you can help explain this. Actually, I think this site may help illustrate what I am talking about: http://www.city.gamagori.aichi.jp/kikaku/kikaku/Judy/english/nihongo1.html .

Q: Anata wo cheku shittemo iidesuka – can I check you please? Sound about right?

A: Actually the phrase you listed is fine to use, although there are spelling errors. Try using "Anata wo chekku shitemo iidesuka." I thought you might be interested in a forum dealing with the topic of asking to check a Japanese speaking person: http://forums2.warcry.com/read.phtml?f=128&thread=176763&page=4

There are multiple ways to convey the sentiment. Some other people may use what is written on that forums page (although there was a typo in that romaji – I fixed it): Sumimasen. Soubi wo mite mo iidesuka? (Excuse me. Can I see your equipment)

Either way, I think it’s best to use a concise phrase and not make it too complicated. Hope that helps!

Q: Kanji, hiragana... So this is hiragana, and that's what they teach students as... sort of a simplified version of kanji, right? And kanji itself is the usually highly detailed, complex characters? Just curious, trying to sort out the different ones. I've noticed that they interchange and mix and match a lot on them. I guess it's akin to the way we switch back and forth between cursive and printed lettering. =) I did remember that you said you couldn't read it yourself, but I assumed that you had friends or relatives that could. *grins* Thanks again so much.

A: As far as I understand it, schools start with hiragana and katakana, then teach kanji. Hiragana and katakana are essentially the Japanese alphabet (equivalent to the A,B,C's) and Kanji is different (as it's derived from Chinese). Katakana is used to write non-Japanese words, like an American name or an American food for example. I normally spell my name in Katakana - "Kurisutei." There are certain words in Japanese that are prounounced the same way, so Kanji helps the reading of these words through different characters. Hiragana is a sort of "filler" for the Japanese language, as it tends to be used for words in between the Kanji, like the particles and such which help complete sentences. I think this site is a good reference for this topic (look under 'writing system'). I’m not the best person to ask about this, but hopefully that helps. You can use all of them to create sentences, but hiragana, katakana, and kanji are not the same. And yes, fortunately I do have friends and relatives who help me with this~ You’re welcome – good luck!

edit: since the writing of this letter I have learned hiragana and katakana, and am trying to learn as much kanji as possible. muzukashiiyo~!

I Appreciate Your Comments!

- Pome: Wow, you're guide is so helpful. Espeically when some Japanese players are "JP ONLY", its really annoying ; ;

- Alyssa: heheheh dude your nihongo guide is so intense!! sugoi sugoi

- Endurra: Ran into ur site while doing a google search on kanji for ffxi. /em adds site to her Favorites list. Great artwork and love the translation guide^^

- Omar: Konnichiwa After a year of playing FFXI, I must say that your guide has helped me a lot with most JP PTs I have been with. Thanks so much and I hope to see more updates for the guide.

- Kea: Hi!　I found your guide and it is very helpful. I am teaching myself and is hard alone. My struggle is reading. I hope to be friends, chat about experiences. Email: team[at]i-kea.com

- Emrys: o0o0o0o...stumbled across your FFXI japanese guide...very nice intro japanese ...well just saying hi *waves* eek 1*beep*2, nihongo no testo shimasu! *runs off* jaa mata kurisutina-san!

- CobyKoby: Wow, Thank you so much for the wonderful job with the FF11 japanese language guide. proven very useful ^^. Makes the game an awful lot easier too =D. <-- Alexander server ^.^

- Foxshade: Arigatou Gozaimasu ^.^ Your guide to Japanese language is great!

- Ivan: Hey, i just want to thank you for you japanese/english page. I´m mexican, and i dont know anything of japanese, so you guide help me a lot in FFXI. Thanks again. Take care.

- Halvar: I am from Sweden and my LS is japanese(StarCarrots). Your japanese/english guide has helped me a lot. arigatou Shigemo-sensei(*'-')/

- Your language guide has been very helpful. I play on Fairy server, and even though Fairy has mostly NA players, I still enjoy partying and communicating with Japanese players. Thanks for taking the time to put together this guide.

- Ran into your site from the Japanese(ffxi) reference site, a friend linked me. Very awesome, and very useful (not to mention I can finally understand half the crap I hear when I watch anime now). Great site too, checked out some of the graphic art and whatnot, the EQ page rocks too... haven't played in years though. ...

- Your website is soooo helpful, thank you for having it up!!

- Thanks for the wonderful translation guide. It's immensely useful considering my linkshell uses 3 different languages.

- This is without question, not only the most useful guide ever for idiomatic phrases but an excellent tool to learn to speak Japanese! Sugoi!

- A friend gave me a direct link, dunno where they picked it up. Once my new LS gets a handle on our website(or perhaps after I take over that duty) I will be sure you link you. Awesome news about the site youre working on, Ill be looking forward to it for sure. Also good to hear about your break from EQ, that means more time for rad webstuffs and FFXI, although Im sorry to hear youre on Siren. If ever you are inclined to start anew though, Id be happy to pick up a worldpass and help you catch up lost levels and such. Anywho, GL with the site(s) and your character...