Nah, don't worry guys, I'm just teasing you!

不，別擔心，夥計們，我只是在逗你們玩!

This video is going to be in English.

這個視頻要用英文。

I know that some of you were introduced to the Japanese culture through anime.

我知道有些人是通過動漫來了解日本文化的。

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining!

不要誤會我的意思，我不是在抱怨!

It's actually a good thing!

這其實是一件好事!

In fact, on behalf of the Japanese people, I'd like to thank you for your interest in our culture.

事實上，我代表日本人民感謝你對我們文化的關注。

Some of you actually fall in love with the country and place going to Japan at the very top of the bucket list.

有些人其實是愛上了去日本這個國家和地方，把去日本放在了最重要的位置。

However, learning Japanese only by watching anime might not be the wisest choice.

然而，只靠看動漫來學習日語未必是最明智的選擇。

Oh, calm down!

哦，冷靜下來！

All right then, where to start?

好吧，那麼，從哪裡開始呢？

Well, first of all, I'm sorry to say that Japanese might be the trickiest Asian language to learn.

好吧，首先，我很抱歉地說，日語可能是最難學的亞洲語言。

No tones like in Chinese but they use three different alphabets: the hiragana, the katakana and the Chinese characters called kanji.

沒有像中文那樣的聲調，但他們使用三種不同的字母：平假名、片假名和被稱為漢字的漢字。

Of course, you can't learn just one of them and be thinking it'll be enough.

當然，你不能只學其中的一種，就以為夠了。

And you'll be missing so much by learning Japanese with the Latin alphabet.

而用拉丁字母學習日語，你會錯過很多東西。

On the top of that, unlike Mandarin in which each character is usually read in one unique way, the kanji on the contrary, commonly have two pronunciations.

最重要的是，與國語中每個字通常只有一種讀法不同，相反，漢字通常有兩種讀法。

We call them kunyomi and onyomi, respectively the traditional Japanese word associated to the character for its meaning and the pronunciation imported from China.

我們稱它們為kunyomi和onyomi，分別是與該字相關的繁體字，其含義和發音從中國傳入。

But of course, there are many exceptions and some characters can be read in many other ways, like this one!.

不過，當然，也有很多例外，有些人物也可以有很多其他的解讀方式，比如這個人物!

It can be read iku, yuku, okonau, KOU, or GYOU depending on the context.

根據上下文可讀iku、yuku、okonau、kou或gyou。

Now of course, some of you don't necessarily want to read and write but just learn enough of the spoken language to be able to interact with the people when you go there.

當然，現在有些人不一定要讀書寫字，但只要學會足夠的口語，到了那裡就能與人交流。

Fair enough!

足夠公平！

But like many Asian countries, Japan is a very hierarchical society.

但和許多亞洲國家一樣，日本是一個等級森嚴的社會。

So obviously, you won't be speaking to your friend the same way you'll speak to your boss, to your parents, or your spouse.

所以很明顯，你對你的朋友說話的方式不會和對你的老闆、對你的父母、對你的配偶說話的方式一樣。

What usually matters the most is the age and the social position.

通常最重要的是年齡和社會地位。

In a nutshell, there are the informal, the neutral, and the formal ways of speaking.

總的來說，有非正式的、中性的、正式的三種說話方式。

Let's just focus on the last one for now.

我們先關注一下最後一個問題。

There is the Teineigo, which is the neutral polite way of speaking.

有Teineigo，這是中性禮貌的說話方式。

Then you have the Sonkeigo, which is the honorific way of speaking about someone who is superior in the hierarchical ladder.

還有頌經，是對等級階梯中高人一等的人的尊稱方式。

And finally you have the Kenjougo, which is the way to humble yourself and thus making your position crystal clear.

最後你還有謙讓鄉，這是謙讓的方式，從而使自己的立場變得清晰。

Now some words can completely change from one category to the other.

現在有些詞完全可以從一類變成另一類。

Let's take the verb "to eat" for example.

我們以 "吃 "這個動詞為例。

In English, no matter the context, it's always going to be the same.

在英語中，無論在什麼情況下，都會有相同的情況。

In Japanese, the neutral way of saying it is "taberu," but if it's the president who is eating then it becomes "meshiagaru," and if you're eating next to the president, it'll be "itadaku".

在日語中，中性的說法是 "taberu"，但如果是社長在吃飯，那麼就會變成 "meshiagaru"，如果你在社長旁邊吃飯，就會變成 "itadaku"。

Speaking of which, does "itadakimasu" ring a bell?

說到這裡，"板田基瑪蘇 "有沒有印象？

Itadakimasu!

板達基瑪斯！

It's what Japanese people say before starting their meal.

這是日本人在開始吃飯前說的話。

Let's also add the familiar one which is "kuu."

我們還要加上一個熟悉的，那就是 "kuu"。

All these words mean the same thing… to eat.

這些詞都是同一個意思... 吃。

You see how tricky it is already?

你看這已經很棘手了吧？

And it's just the tip of the iceberg!

而這只是冰山一角!

For example, there is also a distinct way of speaking between men and women.

例如，男女之間也有不同的說話方式。

Stop with your gender role bullsh*t already!

別再拿你的性別角色說事了!

Hey, I didn't invent the Japanese society, all right?

嘿，日本社會不是我發明的，好嗎？

Where was I?

我說到哪裡了？

Oh yeah, women usually finish their sentences with "yo," "wa," "no."

哦，對了，女人通常用 "喲"，"瓦"，"不 "來結束她們的句子。

It's actually called "onnakotoba" women's words, and here are a few examples.

其實這就是所謂的 "onnakotoba "女人的話，下面是幾個例子。

[Japanese] I'm strong, right? What kind of kid is he?

[日語]我很強壯吧？他是個什麼樣的孩子？

[Japanese] He's good looking! Are you going?

[日語]他很帥！你要去嗎？

[Japanese] What is it about?

[日語]這是怎麼回事？

By the way, most of the Japanese teachers are women, so if you're a cis male you better pay attention to this style of speech because the devil is in the detail.

對了，日本的老師大多是女老師，所以如果你是一個同性的男性，你最好注意這種說話風格，因為魔鬼就在細節中。

Back to anime now!

現在回到動畫裡去!

if you've watched some of them, you know for a fact that a lot of characters are… let's say special.

如果你看了其中的一些， 你知道一個事實，即很多字元是... 讓我們說特殊。

And that obviously goes with a certain way of speaking.

而這顯然與某種說話方式相配合。

[Japanese] I just cut the explosion.

[日語]我只是切斷了爆炸。

[Japanese] My Foxfire Style allows me to cut something with fire and also cut flames.

我的狐火式可以讓我用火切割東西，也可以切割火焰。

[Japanese] Hey Aniki, Kids these days are broke!

嘿，安木，現在的孩子都沒錢了！

[Japanese] Idiot, that's why I told you to stop going for kids!

笨蛋，所以我才叫你不要再去找孩子了！

[Japanese] It's not my fault!

這不是我的錯！

[Japanese] I tilted by accident.

[日語]我不小心傾斜了。

[Japanese] If you have a complaint, go tell Yamcha!

如果你有什麼不滿，就去告訴山茶吧!

Kin'emon from One Piece speaks like a samurai.

One Piece裡的Kin'emon說話像個武士。

The gangster conversation was pretty obvious, and Master Roshi is the caricature of an old man speaking.

黑幫的對話很明顯，羅師傅就是一個老頭子說話的漫畫。

Now you're probably asking yourself, "what kind of content should you watch?".

現在你可能會問自己，"你應該看什麼樣的內容？"。

Well, anime for children would be a good start because that's how Japanese kids learn it.

嗯，兒童動漫會是一個很好的開始，因為日本的孩子就是這樣學習的。

Anpanman & Doraemon are great options, also because they are classics in Japan.

Anpanman & 哆啦A夢是很好的選擇，也因為它們是日本的經典之作。

Otherwise, dramas that are more representative of real life.

否則，更能代表現實生活的電視劇。

But again, try to analyze the hierarchy and how people interact with each other.

但又要試著分析等級制度和人與人之間的互動。

All right, after watching this video, it might feel daunting to start learning Japanese.

好了，看完這個視頻，可能會覺得開始學習日語很艱辛。

My goal is absolutely not to discourage anyone.

我的目標是絕對不打擊任何人的積極性。

It's definitely worth learning it!

絕對值得學習!

Don't hesitate to share this video to anyone who's interested in the language, and if you're a Japanese teacher, feel free to show it to your students.

不要猶豫，把這個視頻分享給任何對語言感興趣的人，如果你是日語老師，歡迎給你的學生看。

[Japanese] Thank you so much for watching until the end!

謝謝你看完了！