My 「すみません、わかりませんでした」 Lette

[ruisu81]

Someone wrote me a letter that I don't understand.
Is this reply okay (grammatically at least)?

すみません、わかりませんでした。
私はあなたの手紙に勉強しています。
私に時間をください！
じゃあ、またね

[richvh]

わかりませんでした>>まだわかりません
手紙に>>手紙を
私に時間をください - grammatically correct, but I think it is probably unnatural. I think something using 待ってください is better.

[AJBryant]

Would we be safe in assuming that the person who wrote you that note is *not* a native speaker of Japanese? It reads like a note by a first-year student of Japanese.


Tony

[Nibble]

ruisu81 wrote it...

[ruisu81]

Lol...yeah, I've been studying in my free time for the past 3-4 months...

Ahh, baka, I know matsu too =/
That does sound more natural...thank you.

[a_iwai]

Uh...m, it seems to be not unnatural to me excluding　"手紙は" to be "手紙で". Of course, it was written by quite simple and short sentences. So, it is just like a message which was written with a mobile telephone or something.

Sorry, I could not understand your letter.
I'm studying by your letter.
Please give me the time to study.

To use "(私に)時間を下さい" for "please give me the time (to do something)" is common sentence in Japan.

これって所謂、誤爆なのかな？

[ruisu81]

Hi a_iwai! I was reading 下さい as shitasai. I will have to look out for that in the future!

I don't understand your last question, could you please give me the meaning in English?

[richvh]

"Is this what is called, friendly fire?" or something like that.

[ruisu81]

Ah, nice twist on an old expression. Sure, I guess it is

BTW, glad to know I can use 待ってください or 時間をください
And could shita sai be said to mean underage?

[Yudan Taiteki]

And could shita sai be said to mean underage?

No. Underage is 未成年（みせいねん）.

[a_iwai]

"下さい" is kanji translation of "ください".

"誤爆" is Japanese slang which is used for "when a message like a E-mail was not sent to a right address by mistake".

my last line meant
"Is this so-called "誤爆"?"
(So I wanted to know other native Japanese person's comments about this.)

I think, if you have sent a message which was written in English to "someone", this message are available as a reply to your message. But, if you don't know "someone", it seems to be "誤爆".

[ruisu81]

Oh, no it's not. I contacted them with some simple Japanese, and they wrote back with some pretty natural Japanese. Hence, my response.

I'm just going to stop contacting people in Japanese for a few (dozen) more chapters.

BTW, after you showing me 下さい, I began to actually see it elsewhere B)

I wonder when my book is going to drop the kana for it.

[a_iwai]

Thank you very much .

I was wondering whether the person who sent the message is a native speaker of Japanese as AJBryant-san posted above. And then I realized that the assumption that the person who wrote you that note is not a native speaker of Japanese is true from your reply.