That's why I do it! :D

:3 Yay music and japanese lessons xD

It's an interestin way of learning :3

I learned a lot this way. At first I would sit down with a transcription of the lyrics (CD insert, animelyrics.com, whatever) and look everything up in my dictionary. As my skill has improved I've become increasingly able to follow along by ear (it helps to have a pause button when I need to consult a dictionary) or at least do the transcriptions myself.

:3 I sometimes print out the song and try to translate but i havent done it in ages xp

Heh, I've learned a few words/phrases this way too. In fact, I used a phrase that I learned (神さまなんでいないだけど何か信じたい/"There is no God, but I want to believe in something") on one of my art projects. My professor and classmates were pretty impressed XD

I like the part from Gackt's song Mirror.

何かを得るために何かを失って誰もが傷ついてる
nanika o eru tame ni nanika o ushinatte daremo ga kizutsuiteru
In order to get something, you have to lose something and someone will be hurt

still learning the kanji for stuff so i had to google for the kanji :p

"dare mo" = "everyone", not "someone" (you're confusing it with "dare ka", like the "nani ka" earlier in the lyric).

So I parse that more as "If you lose something so that you can gain something, then everyone will be hurting." In other words, it's saying that no one benefits when you have to make a trade-off.

Remember, while 「Xて、Y」 literally translates to "X, and Y", it's stronger than just the two things happening -- it implies a connection between the two things. The most frequent meaning is "X is how Y happens", either as a cause or as a means. So for example, 歩いて行く(aruite iku) is "going by means of running", and (*thinks of an example*) 食べ過ぎて死ぬ (tabesugite shinu) is "dying from eating too much".

And then there's "X and Y happen together as one thing"; for example, 食べて飲む (tabete nomu) is "eating and drinking".

Less common but not unusual is "X is followed by Y"; for example, 食べて寝る (tabete neru) is "eating, then sleeping". But even in this case there can be the implication that you're sleeping BECAUSE you ate.

As you can see it's all pretty closely related, so even if you don't know the exact context you should be able to figure out what's intended.

Translation practice time!

I went to a Tanabata festival yesterday and they sang a traditional Tanabata song. Here are the lyrics! Try to translate them. :)

笹の葉　さらさら　(sasa no ha, sarasara)
軒端に揺れる　(nokiba ni yureru)
お星さま　きらきら　(ohoshisama kirakira)
金銀砂子　(kin gin sunago)

五色の短冊　(goshiko no tanzaku)
私が書いた　(watashi ga kaita)
お星さま　きらきら　(ohoshisama kirakira)
空から見てる　(sora kara miteru)

It's okay to use a dictionary! I had to. XD Plenty of kanji in there I don't know.

*stares at.. brain explodes..* I know sora.. and the onomonopeia thingy kirakira sounds familiar but cant remember it.. i see watashi ga.. that i know..

OMG how long do I have? ono is there a turn in date for this test?

Take as long as you need. :) Focus on understanding the song, and feel free to ask questions.

Edit: kirakira = glittering

ouo i knew i knew that one

〇　◎
　﹏

Okay I'm excited XD I just found the symbols from my japanese keyboard...

Also: finally. I'm home.

おかえりなさいアズさん！

Welcome home Azu!

すみません。　(sumimasen) Sorry.

I feel bad for being gone for sooo long...

だいじょうぶ　おかえりなさい！

its alright Welcome back! ^-^

度も　有賀と　ございます。

Do we have a recipe spot here?　For i have some recipes that would be great to share with others!