掲示板 Forums - Example Sentences Wanted/Mnemosyne Project

Hello. I'm using renshuu.org for my kanji and vocabulary study to test myself. However, for my day to day memorization, I'm using a flash card software called Mnemosyne Project. http://mnemosyne-proj.sourceforge.net/

I think they are both very good study tools. I actually used renshuu.org's resources to create my own lists to import into Mnemosyne. What I did was to choose a JLPT level, selected the Vocab Group with the kanji, kana and translation and hit the "compact display" link. This created a list that I could copy and paste into a .txt file and import into Mnemosyne. The key was finding a list where it used the following format:

word (tab) word

or

word (tab) word (tab) word

In order to important, you need to hit the TAB key for it to work properly. This site has been a huge time saver.

In addition to using the JLPT vocabulary, you can also create your own materials. A glaring weakness in my Japanese study are verbs. I'm going to create my own .txt files specifically for this.

What I would like to find is example sentences for the different levels of the JLPT. There are lots of sites out there to study kanji, but I would like to find some sites where I can copy and paste example sentences or different drills according to one grammar point. Ideally, something along the format of:

example sentence with kanji (tab) example sentence hiragana (tab) English translation

It seems like most people that create Japanese content sites use Jim Breen's databases etc. but I don't understand how to use them. In addition, it looks like version 2 here will have more content etc. along with example sentences.

Is there a way that we can get access to a .txt file of this information?
Maybe this can be a community project where people choose a grammar point, and create some example sentences. Any help is welcomed and hopefully we can all benefit.

Comments? Anyone interested?

I think the current site is really good and am looking forward to version 2.0. One stop shopping is indeed the best, but a site that "plays well with others" will go a lot further.

Right now, I really like the fact that I can customize the material I want to study and use the Leitner type of system for memorization. I think your site excels in so many areas, like emails to study, content, variety and more.

If my Japanese study were golfing, your site is like the golf bag and all the clubs. However, Mnemosyne is like my favorite sand wedge that I like to use from time to time. It doesn't mean that the rest of the clubs are inferior, it's just that I really like the sand wedge. (I know, shitty analogy)

I'm looking forward to seeing what else you cook up on version 2. I look forward to contributing content. I am in Japan too and my Japanese wife can help me come up with more example sentences/content etc. and I would like to share with the community and progress with my own learning.

Excellent news all around especially that 2.0 makes extensive use of Leitner's system!

I find that a piece-by-piece translation can often be detrimental, because it tends to ignore what you stated, the 'HOW'. In other words, certain elements in one language or another can be expressed by a single word/suffix, although it may not be as simply stated in the opposite language. Because of this, single example sentences are almost never sufficient; it usually helps to have many sentences so that you are able to stop focusing on strict translations, and focus more on trends that a particular element enforces on meaning of the sentence. *especially* with JLPT material, I often see 3 or 4 grammar structures that, if translated into an 'easy to understand' english definition, all appear to be the same. Likewise, the translations often focus more on a superficial understanding (as there is so much to memorize) than really digging into the nuances of the language.

As to the sentence you mentioned, it's the first time to see '危篤', but I'd say it translates to
"My friend caused a traffic accident and is in serious condition". The を is acting on the traffic accident, specifically, 'caused a traffic accident'. There is no 'special' form hidden in the grammar that suggests that it's causative, it's simply a foregone conclusion that because of the traffic accident, they are on the verge of death.

Although the more polite form of Japanese begs to differ, most natural Japanese does do as much as English does to simply, contract, and shorten speech. So, check out the sentence below.

My friend caused a car accident, beacuse of that they are in critical condition. / Because my friend caused a car accident, they are in bad shape.

*or*

My friend caused a car accident and they are in critical condition.

I would argue that the second in more natural, easier to understand, and strips out unnecessary information that is understood from the context of the sentence.

Two notes on this: I plan (in the future) on having japanese 'levels' within the site. Depending on the level you select, more and more of the text, labels, and instructions on the site will be displayed in Japanese instead of English. Because of this, some of the instructions could come out that way.

In a different attack, I want to make it easy for users to mix in 'vocab' packs into their studies. These will be thematic sets of vocabulary. An example would be ぎたいご and ぎおんご, also known as onomatopoeia to us. They are used a ton, but are rarely covered in textbooks. If/when this comes to fruition, you could simply drag a vocab list into your study zone or whatever, and then they'd get automatically rotated into your materials.

Unfortunately, I don't think the sources are as prevalent as you think. I'm not in the position where I can just strip material copyrighted to a site like Amazon - the future of renshuu.org has paid features alongside the free tools, and so I don't want to risk taking text off of a site =/.