どうぞ！！

[felipemullen]

こんにちは、みんあ！
私のなまえはFelipeで,そして二十歳ですよ。。。
日本語のかっくせいです、でも、まだじょうずじゃないね。。

Ok, I will spare you all from my mediocre Japanese for now =p
anyway, I live in San Diego, California but I was raised in Brasil so I enjoy learning languages, and Japanese sounded like a good idea! I am not taking any classes but I am doing what I can and using all the resources I can find... がんばっていますね

I would definitely like to talk with anyone who is willing! I'll be exploring the site for now, on the forums and the chat, so feel free to send me a message anytime!

[luneris]

Hey there, I recently joined the community and newbie in Japanese as well. (newbie? damn i only know hiragana yet )

and a question for experts:

こんにちは、みんあ！

the latter word, mina.. Isn't it mi-na rather than mi-n-a?

[Dustin]

and a question for experts:

こんにちは、みんあ！

the latter word, mina.. Isn't it mi-na rather than mi-n-a?

みな or みんな works

Another romanization problem, commonly someone will MEAN to write みんな and type minna

The way to get around this is either to type minnna or min'na



By the way Welcome to TJP

[micahcowan]

Welcome to TJP! どうぞよろしく。I hope you enjoy your stay!

日本語のかっくせいです、でも、まだじょうずじゃないね

I'm guessing that should be 「がくせいです」; and I think Nilecat once said that じょうず isn't really used to refer to oneself, so apparently 「まだ（あまり）うまくないね」 would be preferred.

[Dustin]

I think Nilecat once said that じょうず isn't really used to refer to oneself, so apparently 「まだ（あまり）うまくないね」 would be preferred.

I have come across the わたしは - じょうず structure a LOT in my studies, especially when used in in the negative. Not only has it been directly taught in most sources I've found, but a simple google search for "私は上手" returns just under 7million hits.

While I can agree that it may be a bit strange to hear someone simply use 上手　about themselves, given either the correct context and honorific level, or using it in a negative circumstance, I'm pretty sure it's completely acceptable.

Any natives feel free to chime in and butcher my explanation though ^_^

[felipemullen]

hey thanks for the feedback on that guys... i definitely meant to write みんな but I didn't realize that the IME picked it up as "min-a" from the romaji input...

as far as the use of じょうず　when referring to oneself, I really don't know if it is accepted or not in this case. I looked it up real quick and I guess とくい is a better substitute if you are saying that you are "good" at something since it means you are "comfortable," instead of "skilled," avoiding self-praise/boasting.

so I would venture to say じょうず is correct because I am denying any skill...

but please correct me if I'm wrong!

in any case, nice meeting everyone!

[chikara]

フェリペさん, TJPへようこそ　

..... 私のなまえはFelipeで,そして二十歳ですよ。。。

私のなまえはFelipeです

.....日本語の......です、でも、まだじょうずじゃないね ...

Be careful with mixing politeness levels. You are ending sentences in です but then switch to the plain negative じゃない. You should use じゃありません.

がんばって

I think Nilecat once said that じょうず isn't really used to refer to oneself, so apparently 「まだ（あまり）うまくないね」 would be preferred.

I have come across the わたしは - じょうず structure a LOT in my studies, especially when used in in the negative. .....

That has been my experience also. To say 私の＿＿上手です would sound odd but 私の＿＿上手じゃありません is OK.

From Pimsleur Japanese I, lesson 3.

A. あぁ、日本語が分かりますね。
B. はい、少し、でもまだ上手じゃありません。