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Get started with Tabikaeru (Travel Frog) with these screen translations – Part One

Posted on by m_cheung0

Installed Tabikaeru? A bit lost in translation? Never fear, here’s your guide to start getting your little frog travelling 🙂

  • Screenshot_20180211-222558
  • We begin with a button stating スタート, simply meaning ‘start’. Go ahead and click it.
  • Screenshot_20180211-222603 The terms > Screenshot_20180211-222626
  • このゲームをプレイするには利用規約に同意していただく必要があります
  • （このゲームをプレイするにはりようきやくにどういしていただくひつようがあります）
  • “To play this game please agree to the terms of service”, the buttons say: 利用規約 “Terms of service”, 同意する “Agree”, 同意しない “Disagree”
  • Hopefully you agree and can click the left “Agree” button 🙂
  • Screenshot_20180211-222644   Screenshot_20180211-222650
  • And we’re in!
  • かえるがいます名前をつけてあげましょう
  • （かえるがいますなまえをつけてあげましょう）
  • “Let’s name your frog”
  • Screenshot_20180211-222701       Screenshot_20180211-222716
  • 名前をご入力ください（最大5文字）
  • (なまえをごにゅうりょくください　（さいだいごもじ）)
  • “Please enter your name (maximum 5 characters)”
  • 名前はあとから変更可能です
  • (なまえはあとからへんこうかのうです)
  • “You can change the name later”
  • Go ahead and enter a name for your frog – I’ve used my name, マイケル 😉
  • Screenshot_20180211-222724      Screenshot_20180211-222730
  • おうちのなかに入っていきました　なかをのぞいてみましょう
  • “He went inside the house – lets have a look inside”. Click the house icon ‘おうち’
  • Screenshot_20180211-222737
  • 旅に出かけるしたくをしています　マイケルの旅のしたくを少しだけ手伝ってあげましょう
  • (たびにでかけるしたくをしています　マイケルのたびのしたくをすこしだけてつだってあげましょう)
  • “He wants to go on a trip.  Let’s give him a little help preparing for his trip”
  • Screenshot_20180211-222744
  • 旅のしたくではおべんとう、おまもり、どうぐの３種類を用意することができます
  • （たびのしたくではおべんとう、おまもり、どうぐの３しゅるいおよういすることができます）
  • “You can pack three types of travel items: a lunchbox, charms and tools”
  • 今回は旅に欠かすことのできないおべんとうをしたくえしてあげましょう
  • （こんかいはたびにかかすことのできないおべんとうをしたくしてあげましょう）
  • “Let’s not miss out adding vegetables to the lunchbox since they are essential for travelling!”
  • Screenshot_20180211-222748       Screenshot_20180211-222752
  • 旅のもちものはみつ葉のクローバーを使って、おみせで買うことができますまずはみつ葉のクローバーを収穫しににわさきの畑まで行ってみましょう
  • (たびのもちものはみつはのクローバーをつかって、おみせでかうことができますまずはみつはのクローバーをしゅうかくしににわさきのはたまでいってみましょう)

  • “You can add travelling equipment by collecting clover leaves then trading them in the shop.  First, let’s go and get some clover leaves from the field!”

  • Click the ’garden’ button にわさき
  • Screenshot_20180211-222801
  • Now, we are in the garden we can harvest clover leaves 🙂

That’s the end of part one! Next time we will use our harvested clover leaves to buy things in the shop!

皆さん頑張ってくだだい

Mount Fuji

How to get your head around ‘must do’ and ‘must not do’

Posted on by m_cheung0

This article is part of the ongoing series “Japanese: the trickier bits”, which delves deeper into some of the more confusing parts of the language. Read the whole series

Primer

If you are studying with the JLPT framework, you will come across ‘must do’ and ‘must not do’ at N4 level. If you’re like me you’ll want to spend a while really wrapping your head around this interesting grammar point.

いけません ikemasen is a conjugation of the verb 行く iku ‘to go’, however it’s usually used to mean ‘is not good’. The grammar points for ‘must do’ and ‘must not do’ both use いけません.

Here are the conjugation rules:

must do = Verb + ない(nai) form + てはいけません

Simply conjugate your verb to 〜ない form then finish with てはいけません.

must not do = Verb + て(Te) form + はいけません

Simply conjugate your verb to 〜て form then finish with はいけません.

…confusing these could potentially cause some problems should you mix them up, which is natural unless you really solidify いけません as negative in your mind…

The confusion

Let’s start with ‘must not do’:

写真を撮ってはいけません (しゃしんをとってはいけません)
You must not take photographs

Unpacking this sentence we see that the verb 取る ‘to take’ has been conjugated to て form and then is followed by いけません ‘is not good’, and the topic is 写真 ‘photographs’.

Honestly, this makes perfect sense so long as you understand いけません to mean ‘is not good’:

“Taking photographs is not good”

Now onto ‘must do’:

写真を撮らなくてはいけません (しゃしんをとらなくてはいけません)
You must take photographs

This is almost the same as ‘must not do’ except we negate the verb 取る ‘to take’, then say いけません ‘is not good’. This means what we’re actually saying is:

“Not taking photographs is not good”

Yep. Double negative, meaning taking photographs is a must!

Take away

You should take some time to process these grammar points as they are confusing and could potentially cause some problems should you mix them up, which is natural unless you really solidify いけません as negative in your mind.

皆さん、happy practising 😀