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The Japanese grammar is way more consistent (almost without exceptions) then all western languages. And in Chinese you get multiple pronunciations for the same

The Japanese grammar is way more consistent (almost without exceptions) then all western languages. And in Chinese you get multiple pronunciations for the same character all the time!

SerLava 9y ago
Yeah except for counters. Those god forsaken counters. You can't just say five pencils. You have to say 5 long thin object even-numbers-4-and-under-and-odd-numbers-5-and-over-counter pencil Go hon enpitsu The pattern for which is Pon Hon Bon Hon Hon Pon Hon Pon Hon Pon etc. They can't simply say the number of clouds the same way they say the number of machine presses. Or count small animals the same way they count apples. Or demigods the same way they count flat objects. Small round objects and military brigades would obviously be counted the same way though. Obviously. There's also a unique counter specifically for armed naval vessels and slices of fish on top of balls of rice. And one just for straw mats. And one for graves, CPUs, wreaths, and dams. And while small animals and arthropods have one counter, and large animals have another counter, you count butterflies using the counter for large animals. Oh and the first 10, 14th, 20th and 24th days of the month essentially have unique names. I knew a native Japanese guy who spent 4 years mostly away from Japan, and he started to have trouble remembering the days of the month.
- smallnamespace 9y ago
  Although if you just use the generic 个 for everything besides (formal) people, people will understand what you're saying and give you a pass for being a non-native speaker. At this point for me, the measure words are actually a help instead of a hindrance when I encounter a new noun that I don't know -- it hints strongly enough at what sort of noun I'm dealing with that the context usually allows meaning to more readily snap into place. More useful than memorizing generic masc./feminine/neuter for most Indo-European languages.
  - SerLava 9y ago
    Oh that's cool- so if they are talking about CERN and say "one particle accelerator" the counter might help you figure that out? (Assuming it isn't just like.. "parutikkuru akuseroreta" or something)
  - Manishearth 9y ago
    This seems to be true in Chinese as well. I know perhaps 10 measure words, but folks seem to be ok with it when I default to 个. (Chinese is also much simpler when it comes to measure words)

The Japanese grammar is way more consistent (almost without exceptions) then all western languages. And in Chinese you get multiple pronunciations for the same character all the time!

SerLava 9y ago

Yeah except for counters. Those god forsaken counters. You can't just say five pencils. You have to say 5 long thin object even-numbers-4-and-under-and-odd-numbers-5-and-over-counter pencil Go hon enpitsu The pattern for which is Pon Hon Bon Hon Hon Pon Hon Pon Hon Pon etc. They can't simply say the number of clouds the same way they say the number of machine presses. Or count small animals the same way they count apples. Or demigods the same way they count flat objects. Small round objects and military brigades would obviously be counted the same way though. Obviously. There's also a unique counter specifically for armed naval vessels and slices of fish on top of balls of rice. And one just for straw mats. And one for graves, CPUs, wreaths, and dams. And while small animals and arthropods have one counter, and large animals have another counter, you count butterflies using the counter for large animals. Oh and the first 10, 14th, 20th and 24th days of the month essentially have unique names. I knew a native Japanese guy who spent 4 years mostly away from Japan, and he started to have trouble remembering the days of the month.

smallnamespace 9y ago
Although if you just use the generic 个 for everything besides (formal) people, people will understand what you're saying and give you a pass for being a non-native speaker. At this point for me, the measure words are actually a help instead of a hindrance when I encounter a new noun that I don't know -- it hints strongly enough at what sort of noun I'm dealing with that the context usually allows meaning to more readily snap into place. More useful than memorizing generic masc./feminine/neuter for most Indo-European languages.
- SerLava 9y ago
  Oh that's cool- so if they are talking about CERN and say "one particle accelerator" the counter might help you figure that out? (Assuming it isn't just like.. "parutikkuru akuseroreta" or something)
- Manishearth 9y ago
  This seems to be true in Chinese as well. I know perhaps 10 measure words, but folks seem to be ok with it when I default to 个. (Chinese is also much simpler when it comes to measure words)