Making things negative with JANAI | Japanese From Zero! Video 17

[@japanesefromzero]

Power up your Japanese on FromZero.com (lessons, quizzes, games, ask-a-teacher)

[@johannescelestino899]

Starting to grow fond of these props. The blue scissors, the bug spray and the black pen. Anyone else?

[@sheaferguson1184]

haha

[@japanesefromzero]

They are SO conveniently just sitting on the desk. I should give them names.

[@angelinegarino1795]

hahahahaha

[@OmegaDarkMage]

I want to see Eevee more lol

[@kylejohnson6061]

Still waiting for the challenger to make an appearance.

[@monicasantosmusic]

I will never forget the day I learnt JANAI when I was riding my bike to work in Tokyo, pretty fast, and suddenly an old lady turned up in her bike and I couldn't break in time that I hit her bike and made her fall off it. In my basic poor Japanese I said "daijobu desu ka?" To which she replied angrily "daijobu JANAAAAIII" 😌

[@SweetTooth1102]

LOL

[@Rekaert]

So, I was in Sendai selling balloons ... don't ask me why. .. I love George's random segues.

[@maximus4375]

why were you in Sendai selling balloons?

[@maximus4375]

Oh nevermind im pretty much braindead lol

[@japanesefromzero]

@@maximus4375 To make some money.

[@markopolo_]

@@japanesefromzero that reply is the embodiment of "better late than never"

[@daveshusband2606]

my name is kira yoshikage, i am 33 years old

[@Aiii83]

Keep on ranting Joji-sensei, those little insights into how to properly address people in Japan are probably the most informative thing I am learning from these videos, really helps to understand how to apply what I am learning. often I find study material skips past reasoning and just sticks to learning you grammar and individual words, which is okay, but doesn't really stimulate properly thinking about why you are using certain forms and words in conversations.

[@GeodineLange]

Totally agree there with you! It's so easy to get bogged down with grammar and vocabulary that one becomes tunnel visioned and lose sight of real, versatile conversation. I do think stories like these help put things in perspective to help us understand the context or scenario.

[@cyberwebr2758]

"Yo bruh, we goin be lernin some real cool stuff"...I died.

[@moebacca]

I literally paused the video after cracking up SUPER hard over the 'Pen-janitis' joke and went to Amazon and bought the first book. Also subbed to Patreon. This is definitely the most fun I've had learning Japanese.

[@StarLad9]

Talking to my girlfriend and her friends, she said they found it very cute when foreigners use formal more often than casual. It won't be awkward, and you'll avoid being rude.

[@silviemonk5556]

I love your rants, George! Keep ranting! And your stories are always entertaining, too. Thanks for the lesson. Excellent! Oh, I also have pen janai desu of the liver.

[@tomokotomoko]

Thank you for letting me know his channel. Subbed! :)

[@MizriaHex]

It's Tomoko desu~ ೭੧(❛▿❛✿)੭೨

[@tomokotomoko]

Echo Genesis Yep! ;-)

[@silviemonk5556]

***** You're welcome! George is awesome!

[@RestoredMedia]

Does he always call scissors a pen?

[@88KeysMan]

I like your teaching style. It makes the lessons fun!

[@vegarito9427]

LOL "I know what you did to me Jennifer!"

[@BillTarling]

I've found the rants quite helpful, because you're given a situational explanation which helps make more sense of the usage 👍

[@halo4176]

" is that water?" "Not water!" Don't know why I laughed ht at that so much😆

[@Wyrmixx]

Like a caveman with limited grammar lmao

[@victimizeakaboomsta8995]

You can start off with “yo bro!” Whenever you want. I’ll have same respect for you! Love the content. Mad respect 💯

[@ridewyoming]

That was a really cool story about Yoko's grandfather. Stuff like this adds a cultural side to the lesson which is just as important (if not more) as the language when visiting Japan. I studied Japanese in college 20 years ago (language and culture, my Sensei was from Kanazawa and we're still friends today) and been to Japan many times, I'm enjoying these lessons and the extra knowledge that comes with them. Anwyay, 1800 Likes and only 15 Dislikes in this one, must be some kind of KZbin record. Good Job Jiooji-san. Omoshiroi desu :)

[@sierrarichter6125]

I have learned more Japanese in 5 lessons with this than I have in French with on and off learning of 10 years. I’m really enjoying it too.

[@ClaireWhiteheadIrl]

One of the first things my Japanese teacher here in Ireland taught us to say was アメリカ人　でわ　ありません America jin dewa arimasen. Pretty important as we get assumed to be americans a lot. My teacher also thinks Japanese people are very like the Irish, in often being not-direct about what they say.

[@anonisnoone6125]

Irish people seem to be pretty direct.

[@rameshadhikari3617]

He really is a great teacher. I have never seen a teacher who has profound knowledge and makes the whole video entertaining.

[@belleaimee738]

I love the stories! It helps me stay more engaged in the lesson and I remember it much faster! Thank you!

[@asterasterisk1406]

I've actually grown quite fond of these videos :) they are definitely more entertaining than many other Japanese teaching videos on youtube...

[@japanesefromzero]

Ruby Madysyn - Keep watching. There are 60+ more!

[@MrDrinver]

I'm so happy I found your lessons! I see you are still posting regularly and that's great! I'm just starting Japanese as my fourth language and I thought it would be so hard and boring but you manage to make it so fun! あなたがだいすきです。

[@radxavier2269]

lmao getting scolded by an elderly japanese person for something you had no idea was offensive is the worst feeling ever 😢😢😢

[@aa-yt7wo]

Not a Japanese person that was in the Philippines during the war. The things the Japanese did there made the Nazis look like saints.

[@glengogo]

I remembered the first interactions between Leorio and Kurapika: "It's Leorio-san to you."

[@mythopoeic8236]

His humor and the Japanese language make me happy

[@notorioustofu3482]

I just want to say thanks for putting these up. They are a great jumping off point. I found these videos first now I'm ordering the books. Keep the videos and books coming! You're doing more for Japanese learning than most. I'll be sure to spread the word. btw, I try to remember to hit like on each one, sorry if I miss some

[@ghoulgaming4132]

BRO UR SO GOOD IN EXPLAINING AND MAKING ME REMEMBER NOUNS OMG I FINALLY FOUND MY DREAM TEACHERRRRR ありがとうございます

[@steveboily8138]

Great lesson, like the "rants" they serve as a glimpse of the japanese culture and tell us what to not do. As you said in the beginning I was brought into the japanese language with the 出羽ありません Sure I knew of the じゃない version but I was concentrating on the first one to be sure not to be impolite now I know that it's too much. Thank you M. Georges

[@Akemi-ig4zx]

Watching your lessons is always exciting. I love studying Japanese.

[@knightroartz3846]

I'm glad to have found u or that I make these in the first place. I tried apps and other things but I never really understood them I'm in and at English naturally. but having u explain it make hyaku Times more sense.

[@chrisdejong7010]

These little aside stories are great, never stop.

[@andresrosel821]

When is the Japanese From Zero! movie coming out? Great content, I'm back to learning Japanese :)

[@kwuneko]

Just found your channel George and I've been going through in order, all of the JFZ videos. It's already been said in the comments but please keep including your sidebar rants and comments in the videos. One of the biggest reasons I am watching your videos over other channels is because of this insight you provide with real-world context in which to apply what we are learning. There are no other channels that convey this information the way you do, and it's EXTREMELY HELPFUL! Thank you for all your hard work George!

[@link123a]

Whoa, those stories were amazing! Thank you for the lessons and the videos!

[@lunalee7282]

Thanks to you and your books my japanese is becoming better day by day ^-^ Best teacher ever really ^-^

[@halo4176]

"You know what you did to me, Jennifer!" That's what I got from this lesson...

[@maxdstel5202]

Love the rants, they help shape the concepts of the semantics so well.

[@TheRCrispim]

I'm from Brazil and I love your videos

[@LA_RAMOS]

Another thing about janai is you have to use it after NO-adjectives but i'm sure well know about that in the next lessons, just a advice for those who didn't know about that

[@Rollcollarpunk]

I really like the way you structure these lessons. Currently working my way through Genki 1 and your videos are an excellent supplement!　ありがとうございます。

[@MelBe11]

Thank you so much for your videos. I am studying Japanese and get bored of my teachers material. Watching your videos is so refreshing and I am learning a lot. Thank you =) Your explanations are very clear.

[@Prinren]

Sir, i like your ranting cause you add in those little stories and consequently teach us something else with it.

[@evolagenda]

The stories really reenforce the culture thank you.

[@zetzu6460]

Omg I love the feeling that I’m actually learning something😭 I love your rants. Makes the lessons more fun

[@davidmolina5758]

I find the stories super interesting, keep telling them, please. Thank you, joji- sensei.

[@peachy7776]

george is literally the most fun guy xD every video makes me laugh keep it up man

[@dailey291]

This guy and the bug spray is killing me LOL

[@smg3250]

Are you a bug?😂

[@HIasmr33]

@@smg3250 LOOL

[@lllamasama]

The rants help. Stories help me remember. Thank you.

[@lee403]

I like your rants more than other rants on youtube. At least I learn something from them.

[@matinsasan]

Please. "Rant". More. By all means, sensei. So insightful, and loved it!

[@Alius187]

I really love your videos!! Your style of teaching and all the stories and context really add to the book and other learning sources!

[@swil6966]

LOVE your stories!!!

[@ouichtan]

That rant was needed. Glad you made those mistakes for us to learn from it

[@lonerblader85]

Another great lesson, lots of funny moments. Really enjoying this course so far.

[@teklaroma9645]

In regards to the stories you've told to drop the "formaility" and ignore Desu etc. Everyone should learn to speak in the best formal way possible because once you've learned the formality and start being polite, you can always "drop" words like desu automatically. So learn the harder path first and then you automatically know the easier form by... ignoring words like "desu" or "San".

[@japanesefromzero]

I hope I didn’t say drop the desu and san. Dropping the formality is something that I say but even that is a mixed bag. I should probably clarify my thoughts on this since I don’t want a bunch of students with good intentions sounding rude. :-)

[@teklaroma9645]

@@japanesefromzero Haha don't worry, you're good. In this video (near the middle 7:38) you talked about the old japanese grandpa getting drunk, talking about war etc. and he screamed at you for dropping the formality. That's why I always learn the "hard" way first in order to be polite. Get to know the longer sentences first. Later on I can always learn how to drop "san" or "desu" in order to be more casual and non-formal, so I always recommend to learn the polite way first, that's why I've said that. Great videos by the way - currently watching them all and learn a lot. Thanks for everything! ♥

[@Karanagi]

Those anecdotes were really interesting!

[@janerodriguez9108]

7:51 you're a real story teller. Omg i laughed so hard to this 🤣🤣🤣

[@justsrad]

Thanks for the illustration on the importance the word "-san" and "desu". Really interesting illustration... :-)

[@AdnanAlsannaa]

These videos are so freaking immersive. Would love to take a class with you

[@pistonpkm]

Such tiny, yet important details to keep in mind! When interacting with Japanese friends ( virtually ), i just try to be myself, which means being a little casual. Have randomly dropped "desu" many times and probably gave off a pretty rude impression. Guess i'll never know what they think of me, since they are always so polite and never express their honest opinions openly, like you said, and on top of that, i don't ask because i'm afraid of the answer. But at the very least they know i new to the language. Sorry for the random rant. Thank you for another very excellent lesson George-Sensei!

[@Strong_uncle]

WOW what a great channel! its been very helpful in my learning! keep up the great work! you are very entertaining and great at teaching!

[@qwertyandroid1379]

is it polite if I use "Janai Desu" in office?? especially when we talk with our Boss,

[@dillonyoung5502]

maybe use ja arimasen? or de wa arimasen

[@SnakeO]

"Hurts right here in the pokeball". Too true brother. Too True.

[@riseofthought8438]

That insight on using or not using "san" was so helpful for me. Thanks for the random extra tidbits of super useful information you give!

[@jjrobledo]

the story part is very helpful

[@CRU22]

I like your stories.

[@michaelbuckingham8639]

That was eye opening, thanks

[@Konuvis]

Very important lessons in this one!

[@涼宮ハルヒのキョン]

That "Hurts right here in the pokeball" It cracked me up 😂😂😂

[@gwenchy6862]

I laughed when Joji-san said: "well it's pretty harsh, IT HURTS RIGHT HERE IN THE POKEBALL". hahaha. ^^.

[@kingdomofhaskaria3769]

Soooo uhh Duolingo has not been teaching me the greatest way to be speaking, I really respect you for teaching me this

[@MsRedNebulaPlays]

It's so important to learn from different sources! I like DuoLingo for the vocabulary and repetition, but for context, you need someone like this to help put all the pieces together.

[@samanthahieber4777]

Love these videos.Put up a rating with the book btw. Keep doin this stuff!!

[@Dadiddy97]

Boku wa Kira janai is so engrained in my mind!

[@さいとう-c6b]

What is "Boku wa Kira janai"? or is it boku ga kirai janai desu ka?

[@Dadiddy97]

齊藤真明 It’s a line from Death Note. Fix your life and watch Death Note! It means « I am not Kira »

[@さいとう-c6b]

Indeed

[@jazminmartinez7654]

is there a video where you explain how come some words certain vowels are not pronounced..like suki (ski), janai (jan(eye) not jana(ee)

[@lordaryan8287]

わたしたちの先生はかっこいいです

[@NoobixCube]

My Japanese teacher explained janai by saying "... de wa. dewa, dwa, djwa jwa ja", in a long string with more intermetiate steps, but I'm not going to confuse everyone with IPA transciption. His point was that "Ja" is just a modern, relaxed form of "de wa".

[@tonyshoeball7759]

I can't believe that after all these years, I am using this video for a grad paper covering Keigo and the use of honorifics.

[@GrifonSong]

I am an MD and I just laughed really hard at "penginitis" :D :D I already read your textbook (or should I say kyoukasho?) and thought watching the videos would be a waste of time... turned out I was horribly wrong, they are great :) I am looking forward to studying next volumes :)

[@troycantdraw1972]

"yah brah we gon' be learnin some reeeeal cool stauf" best quote ever

[@SlainByTheWire]

I think I have a good way to remember janai, simply it sounds like deny, which practically means the same. I'm English so I'm going to deny/janai that I'm American.

[@MindyLangg]

I have a quick question! My Japanese teacher last semester asked me if I liked Japanese sweets, and I responded with “嫌いじゃないけど. . . .” And she told me to use “好きでも嫌いでもありません” Is there any particular reason for this? Wouldn’t they mean the same thing, essentially?

[@japanesefromzero]

Actually the nuance is different. The version your teacher gave you is "I don't like nor dislike them". I think also your teacher was trying to make you not say JANAI which I have heard other people say about their own teachers. But Japanese people say JANAI all the time. Teachers often push a narrative (as do I) so it's good to question them from time to time. I wonder if perhaps your teacher's goal that day was how to to use ～でも、～でもない and wanted to guide you to that style of answer.

[@MindyLangg]

Very informative! Thank you! ^_^

[@VworksArt]

Your story about respect terrifies me. I don't think i will ever speak informally in Japanese if I can help it. I'm actually a little afraid to converse period until I get the language 100% down now.

[@alipacheco5877]

Do you have any recommendations on other sources to use to supplement your books? Looking to get a solid grasp of the language, but so far I've only tried your material, and I'm enjoying it mixed with your very entertaining youtube videos. If you could recommend some I'd be very grateful, I am a beginner :) thanks for your time.

[@Shapio]

"And don't ask me why, but i was selling balloons" I don't know why i found this so funny lmao. Makes it sound like not even YOU know how you got there, lol

[@lennarthoekveen9339]

2:25 sounded exactly like Judau from Gundam ZZ !!! so cool!

[@kazitox]

Probably a really dumb question, but in Japanese culture, when entering a relationship, is it declared/clarified like it is in american culture, or is it just assumed? for example, in English you'd ask "will you be my girlfriend?" or something to that effect, to which they would reply either yes or no, thus making it "official" (or not, as the case may be). when reading manga or watching anime (which are probably not the best mediums through which to learn accurate Japanese culture), when someone confesses to someone else and their feelings are vocally reciprocated, it is usually just assumed by the character that they are then together (boyfriend and girlfriend). I never see them directly asking said other person if they will be their boyfriend/girlfriend. It could also just be that it's unnecessary to show or something, I don't know, but I figured I'd ask anyway.

[@sagearviso1979]

Was your question ever answered 0.0

[@kazitox]

@@sagearviso1979 negative on that. 😭

[@sagearviso1979]

Tristan Forthe Awee sorry to hear that

[@rain040103]

Haha love the story time in your video's

[@fortheloveofchocolat]

I always learn something and you always make me laugh :)

[@filkollinz]

Fantastic lesson George! I've been learning Japanese with Pimsleur teaching material for a while and they teach 'ja arimasen'. I think your teaching on this is really insightful and I'll adopt your recommendation from now on. Interestingly, Pimsleur also teach 'kekko desu' as 'Nevermind' and yet my girlfriend who is Japanese tells me she never uses this expression. What expression/words would you teach for this? Also, I agree with Aiii - your teaching on how to correctly address Japanese people is gold dust! I've realised that I should have been addressing a female Japanese friend with 'san' attached when talking about her to my Japanese girlfriend. My girlfriend has never complained, but I will adjust how I refer to this other woman from now on. Thank you!

[@sortitus]

Alternatives for "nevermind" include "kinishinaide kudasai" (please don't let it bother you / don't worry about it) and "nanimo nai desu" (it's nothing). "Kekko desu" feels more like a way to decline something ("no thanks" is the translation that springs to mind) than a way to say "nevermind" to me. "Betsuni nai desu" (nothing in particular) can also be used to say "nevermind", now that I think about it, similarly to "nanimo nai desu", and "betsuni" alone can be used casually and in more sentences than "nanimo".

[@japanesefromzero]

If your girlfriend has been around foreigners she will understand why you don't use SAN. Mine at the time only knew me so she put Japanese values on me. All things change when a Japanese person isn't "raw" Japanese. KEKKOU desu does NOT mean "Nevermind". It means "No thank you" for when you are refusing something. A better way to say it though is DAIJOUBU DESU (I'm okay). I would say the closest thing to nevermind would be きにしないで for "do worry about it" or もういい (when you are a bit irritated this works)

[@tomokisakurai7130]

I love this guy

[@aa-yt7wo]

In English if we are being very casual we do the exact thing the Japanese do routinely and it can still be formal in their language - drop the subject. If a Japanese person said things like "like the plan" instead of "I like the plan" it comes off in English as being very casual which in a formal environment could be seen as discourteous.

[@japanesefromzero]

We don’t typically drop pronouns. Keep this in mind that English loves to say “he”, “she”, “I” etc, however Japanese doesn’t. Sure we could answer “Are you American?” with “Am” but I think 99 out of... 99 people would say “I am” in English.

[@aa-yt7wo]

@@japanesefromzero Maybe it's a regional thing, I've heard it happen in English but it just sounds like the person was too lazy or couldn't be bothered to say the whole sentence.

[@aa-yt7wo]

@@japanesefromzero Try dropping the subject in a few sentences in English. In English it sounds dismissive. It sounds like the speaker thinks the listener isn't worth the time and effort to say the whole sentence.

[@DreamBelief]

Whenever you say Mamico I get an image of a store selling supplies for mums with young kids or babies ie mummy co

[@vandalpaulius]

"Hurts right in the pokeball" had me giggling for the rest of the video :D

[@loulirose6302]

arigatogosaimasu sensei.. ur awesome💪✔💥

[@ReneColin-sg2hi]

The docter said: i got pen janai desu 😂😂 your jokes are amazing.

[@angelishius]

There is one thing i did not get, you say you can use janai if you want to turn a noun or a -na adjective to negative. I get why suki is a -na adjective, but isn't kirai an -i adjective and should go with kunai maybe? Keep up the good work, your videos help me a lot!!!

[@angelishius]

maybe i just dont get what -i adjectives are, i thought they are the adjectives that end whith い

[@manuel0578]

kirai is not an i adjective. not every adjective that ends with i is an i adjective :)

[@RelaxSimmer]

Always wondered about this, Thanks! What about the cases where a person is talking about someone and that someone corrects that by replying to that statement by "Te janakute ..." and something similar to that when is that used?

George I won't be offended if you open your next video talking like a Harlem gangsta from a 70's blacksploitation movie.

[@kaibsix]

since your "not Tanaka" would you answer Tanaka"san" janai desu?

[@Azel247]

Hi! Great video, as always. I understand that you don't add "san" to your own name, but in the example you mentioned, you are not Tanaka, so Tanaka isn't your own name. In that case, would it not be rude to not use "Tanaka San ja nai desu?" Thanks!

[@russellward4624]

So I've got a Brazilian nickname Mr Aguia(Mr Eagle). What would it be in jaoanese? I guess other people could say Washi San? But how would I say it to other people?