how to say what is your major in japanese
Ane useful pull a fast one on for language-learning is to make a betoken of figuring out how to inquire for help early on.
If you lot're visiting a traditional Japanese inn and the front desk staff just asked you a question, your trip is going to go a lot more smoothly if yous can clue them in to the fact that you don't have a inkling what they said.
In that vein, the phrase "I don't know" or "I don't sympathise" can be a life-saver.
How do you say "I don't know" in Japanese?
The two standard ways to say 'I don't know' in Japanese are 「知りません。」 (shirimasen) and 「分かりません。」 (wakarimasen)." T here are ii main means to say y'all know or understand something in Japanese. The first of these is 知る (shiru), a verb meaning "to know," and the second is 分かる (wakaru), closer in meaning to "to sympathise."
Both are godan verbs ending in -ru, which means the negative is formed in the same way for both. 知る becomes 知らない (shiranai) or, more formally, 知りません (shirimasen), while 分かる becomes 分からない (wakaranai) or 分かりません (wakarimasen).
Another option is the quondam-fashioned 心得ません (kokoroemasen).
There are a few other verbs which mean "to know," merely they are typically reserved for specific situations or aren't typically used in a mode that means "I don't know."
In most cases, you should use 知りません or 分かりません instead.
知る and 分かる: 2 slightly unlike verbs for "to know"
The almost common Japanese words that mean "to know" are 知る (shiru) and 分かる (wakaru).
The principal departure between the two is that 知る means know in the sense of "to be aware of" and 分かるimplies that y'all empathise something as the result of enquiry, written report or expertise.
If someone were to say 「あ、知っています!」 you might think of this equally meaning "Ah, I've heard of that!"
分かる, on the other hand, is typically reserved for intellectual matters, so 「分かっています!」 might be more similar "I've got it!"
Both these verbs are "godan" verbs, which means to go the base form y'all only remove the る from the stop.
Considering the based course is what'due south used to form the negative, knowing this is important if yous're trying to say "I don't know."
Examples
「この質問を知っていますか?」
"Exercise you know this problem?"
「この質問を分かっていますか?」
"Do you empathize this problem?"
These two examples make clear the subtle difference between the two words.
Imagine these "problems" are math problems on a homework assignment.
In the commencement example, the question could be rephrased as "do you lot know of this problem?" Basically, the speaker is asking if the listener is aware of the specific problem.
In the second, the speaker is asking more than forth the lines of "do you lot know the solution to this problem?"
Saying "I don't know" with 知りません (shirimasen)
In virtually contexts, the best way to say you don't know something is to apply the word 知りません.
This is the polite negative class of the verb 知る.
Equally already established, 知る means "to know," a fact reinforced by its beingness written with the kanji 知, meaning "wisdom" or "noesis."
Again, this is "to know" in the generalized sense. It can also be used to refer to people.
If you're speaking casually, y'all can say 知らない (shiranai).
Examples
「知らないよ、あの本!」
"I don't know that book!"
「彼は誰も知りませんでした。」
"Nobody knew him."
Proverb "I don't understand" with 分かりません (wakarimasen)
Unlike 知りません, 分かりません should just exist used when you literally don't empathise how to do or say something.
This ways information technology tin can be a good stand-in for "I don't know" when someone is asking you questions about language, math, or another academic topic.
Nevertheless, keep in mind that it does technically mean more like "I don't sympathize."
In a less formal setting, yous can apply 分からない (wakaranai) instead of 分かりません.
Examples
「すみません、マーラーの交響曲第4番はどう始まりますか?」
「分かりませんよ、そんなこと!」
"Excuse me, how does Mahler's fourth symphony start?"
"I don't know annihilation virtually that!"
「エリカさん、"I don't know"は日本語でどう言いますか?」
「え?ごめん、分からない。」
"Erika, how practise y'all say 'I don't know' in Japanese?"
"Huh? Sorry, I don't know."
In these examples, 分かりません tin exist translated as "I don't know."
Using 心得ません (kokoroemasen) for "I don't understand"
The verb 心得ません (kokoroemasen) is a third option that tin can be used in some cases to mean "I don't know."
The kanji in this give-and-take are 心 (kokoro), pregnant "centre" or "mind," and 得る (eru), significant "to proceeds" or "to become." Literally, then, this word means you "get [something] in your mind."
Much like 分かる, 心得る carries a connotation of intellectually understanding something.
In fact, 心得る is essentially an onetime-fashioned synonym for 分かる.
心得る is an ichidan verb, so to get in negative you drop the る and add ない or ません.
This gives us a negative form of 心得ません (kokoroemasen) or 心得ない (kokoroenai).
Y'all probably wouldn't use this discussion to say you don't know or don't understand something.
Notwithstanding, in some contexts, like formal essay writing, it may be advisable.
A notation on subjects
Information technology'due south worth mentioning that none of the case sentences above include a specific subject.
Japanese is a loftier-context language, so it's not normally necessary to include one.
Without any context,「知りません。」technically but tells you lot that someone doesn't know something.
To explicitly include yourself, you would need to say「私は知りません。」or「私は分かりません。」
However, including the word for "I" really simply puts the focus on you.
That is, it sort of implies that while some people might know something, y'all certainly do not.
For that reason, it's usually best to just say「知りません。」or「分かりません。」without any explicit subject. People will empathise what you mean.
Hey fellow Linguaholics! It's me, Marcel. I am the proud possessor of linguaholic.com. Languages have e'er been my passion and I accept studied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics and Sinology at the University of Zurich. Information technology is my utmost pleasure to share with all of you guys what I know about languages and linguistics in full general.
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