Does anyone know the correct form of rendering a plural in English of a Japanese word? Is it appropriate to simply make it plural following standard English grammar rules (ie. adding 's' ), or would it be better to use the Japanese plural form? Or can the word itself be either singular or plural depending on context?

I'm thinking primarily about the words: miko and youkai.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Well, I don't think you'd pluralize them. Or at least I don't when I'm writing (especially with youkai). It just sounds wrong to me, though I'm not aware of any specific rule -- it's more of a gut reaction.

That's sort of what I thought, but I wondered if there was an actual rule to back me up somewhere . Good to know I'm not alone in doing that, though!

Not sure about the rules since other than how to pronounce words I really don't remember any rules from when I took Japanese, and I was still in the beginning either way. I have often wondered if these two were supposed to be plural, but mikos and youkais just wouldn't sound or look right hehe. I tend to think of Japanese words in English sentences like the word 'fish', it's singular and plural at the same time, and just sounds funny if you add an S/ES.

So far it's looking like that's the consensus -- I'm just a language geek with too much time on my hands, and I couldn't find anything useful about plurals online.

Thanks for your input though!

From what i have read you DO NOT pluralize any words in Japanese. I read this while trying to learn the language but i don't remember if it was in the book, the game , or on one of my disks.

Curious. I kinda figured, given that Japanese is highly pictographic in nature -- I guess context makes it clear whether the noun is intended to be plural or singular? My other guess, however, was that there was some form of prefix or suffix that would signify dual, class and standard plurals -- hence asking the question in the first place .

However, survey says: no plurals. Which makes life easy, I suppose.

... There's a game? HOMG can I play? XD

First off, I am in no way sure of anything I say. Thats said;

all of the anime/manga I read/watch/listen to never seems to use plurals, and I've never noticed any characters in front denoting a plural. I think that like you said, the plural is just understood according to context.

Thats my two cents. Love you, Nefret! *blows kiss*

Maru

No, they don't use plurals, the closest thing they have to it is giving an approximate number or using a word like "many" in front of what ever they're trying to pluralize. Otherwise its just something you have to pick up from the conversation. I took Japanese for three years in high school and I did pretty good so I'm pretty sure this is right.

Thanks everyone for your input!

I'm glad there's no plural form - that makes my life easier .

*blows kisses back at Maru, and runs off with his two cents* BWHAHAHAHA.

Theres no plural in Japanese in the way there is in english.
Multiplies of things are indicated in the sentence with the use of a Classifier/counters. Japanese counters are divided into two main groups - animate and inanimate objects. then divided again within those groups.

If I were to say 2 dogs it would be inu nihiki

inu + ni + hiki
Noun + amount+ counter
DOG - TWO - counter for small animals



But for the purpose of fanfiction, just indicate the number. Like serveral kimono, 2 sumo, 5 katana.

Just dont put "s" on Japanese words... Its soo annoying to see that XD

I know this is rinse, repeat, lol, but Japanese is to Hawaii as Spanish is to the States, so I can understand and speak well enough. Very good for an anime lover as myself, lol. As stated above . . . the Japanese language does not have plurals as we do w/English. If one does exist, it is another word altogether or is joined by a counter. Different counters exist for different objects. But if no specific amounts are indicated, then . . .

Japanese 101

Hon = book(s)
(Anata wa) hon ga suki desu ka? = Do you like the book(s)?

Inu = Dog(s)
Watashi no inu wa doko desu ka? = Where is/are my dog(s)?

shinbun = newspaper(s)
Kono shinbun wa ikura desu ka? = How much is/are this/these newspaper(s)?

Example of counters . . . Hmmm

_____-ji (___ o'clock)

ichi-ji: 1 o'clock
ni-ji: 2 o'clock

Ok, yah . . . I hope I wrote them correctly, lol. Had to dig deep for the basics. Been awhile.

As stated in the above posts, there is no specified plurals in the Japanese language like the 's' in English that specifies more than one.
There are, however, additive words you can use that imply more than one, or specify a group altogether.

For example, consider the following:

Senpai (senior in school/work) refers to only one person
Senpai-tachi refers to a group of seniors in one general area on an overall level. Kind of like how there is 'subete' and 'zenbu' which both mean the same thing, in one essence or another, but are formal and informal.
Another, easier to comprehend example would be "Inu-tachi" as mentioned in Inuyasha, the anime (if you watch the subbed version), which literally translates to "Dog-group" or something close to it.

Another way to address a whole group of people would be to call them 'minna', which means "everyone". It's the most informal way to address a group of people, and is often reserved for a group of people you are most close to (i.e. calling your best friends "minna" ). When in formal conversation, using 'minasan' (sama works, too, but usually reserved for when addressing guests in a whole) is the polite way to go.

I dunno if it makes sense to you, but I hope it helped. ;D

Fascinating responses, everyone! Thanks for your time and energy.

I'd always heard '-tachi' being tossed around, but I didn't know what it meant.

A question about counters, though (and I may just be being thick here):

Does a counter signify that there is a multiple of the noun, and the number attached specify how many? Are there different counters for different objects?

For the purposes of fanfic I'll settle with specifying how many of an object (eg. 4 kimono) should that be necessary, and avoiding the dreaded '-s' plural, but I'm curious.

In my studies so far, I've read that there are different counters for everything from apples to pieces of paper.

MomoDesu wrote:
In my studies so far, I've read that there are different counters for everything from apples to pieces of paper.


That sounds like the most headache-inducing system ever invented.

I apologize in advance, lol. This got kinda long.

True Momo . . . that was the hardest part in Japanese classes I've taken, the seemingly unending amount of counters. The main thing besides learning different ones that stick people is the word changes based on the specific number. This doesn't apply to all counters, mind you. But some counters, such as minutes, have a slight play on the words that get confusing for the masses. Take for instance . . .

fun/pun = minute(s)

1 min = ippun
2 min = nifun
3 min = sanpun
4 min = yonpun
5 min = gofun
6 min = roppun
7 min = nanafun
8 min = happun
9 min = kyufun
10 min = juppun

It's counters like these, that cause subtle changes in the conjunction, that mess people up most often.

Um, as for the kimono reference, Nefret, I believe one would use the -tsu form of counting, which applies to most objects. Keep in mind, however, that many objects do have thier own "specific" counters, such as flat objects, people, age, month, yada yada yada. So although I say objects, the -tsu form is like a general counter, I guess one could say; good for most, but not all. Disclaimer aside, here we go, lol:

ikutsu = how many
hitotsu = 1
futatsu = 2
mittsu = 3
yottsu = 4
itsutsu = 5
muttsu = 6
nanatsu = 7
yattsu = 8
kokonotsu = 9
to = 10

Example of usage:

I bought 4 kimonos. = (Watashi wa) kimono o yottsu kaimashita.
Could I have 3 more colas, please? = Kora o mo mittsu kudasai.

Have my fingers crossed that my Japanese isn't rusty, lol. Don't wanna steer anyone wrong. Been awhile since I used it, since I quit the job I spoke it for a few years back.

Thanks, Smoke Goddess - that's totally fascinating.

It's seems like a frustrating but fascinating system. Does the amount of different kinds of counters have something to do with the way it's written (ie. the counters affect/go along with the kanji somehow)? I'd be curious to know how such a system evolved, since it seems a bit cumbersome (though, I suppose you get used to it if you speak the language often enough - eventually anything can become second nature ).