Forum - View topicManga using polite (-masu) form
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sukotto
Posts: 2 |
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Hi, I know absolutely nothing about manga, but I live in Tokyo and am studying Japanese. I was hoping someone may know of manga that uses the polite verb forms. I think there are a few authors who do this.
Subject matter is not too much of a concern, it's kana practice that I am looking for. Thanks! |
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frentymon
Forums Superstar
 Posts: 2362 Location: San Francisco |
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As far as I know, manga with polite characters will use -masu form often. I don't think it's a matter of the author, just whether the manga has characters who are respectful in some way.
Almost all manga use "-masu" somewhere, I think. |
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sukotto
Posts: 2 |
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I had heard mention of authors who use it as the default level, as opposed to dictionary form. I don't remember who, though.
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Arkard
 Posts: 677 Location: Poland |
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Thats the same as asking which Western author likes using the semicolon (
 . You can try browsing the manga by genre. The more "serious" the manga is the higher the chance you will see a high percentage of "masu" forms. That being said, the overusage of -masu is totally unnatural in Japan. I guess higher class ladies would use that, but other than that, it`s just weird.
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alice20th
Posts: 74 |
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If I read you right, you want manga that almost exclusively uses the masu/desu forms because those are the forms that you know best, correct?
Then I'm afraid you'll have a rough time finding a manga for that purpose. The strength of manga (especially Shounen and Shoujo manga that has furigana) is that they are about strong bonds of friendship and love, and those subjects tend to lead the books to the intimate verb forms. Maison Ikkoku used a lot of masu/desu language, but they don't use furigana on the kanji, so you'll have to look up kanji by radical and stroke number to understand what's being said. I'll suggest what worked best for me. I started with a series from the 80s called Kimagure Orange Road by Izumi Matsumoto. It was popular, so you should be able to find it in Japanese bookstores and manga shops that carry used books. It uses a little masu/desu, but it's also a pretty good primer on intimate verbs as well. If you know the "te" forms of the verbs and what those forms mean, then you should get along fine with KOR. |
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hayakunero
Posts: 61 Location: 日本 |
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No offense Why don't you ask Japanese? You live in Japan, don't you? Is it too embarassing for you to ask them? Or no Japanese you know read manga? (Most grown-up Japanese don't read manga.) I think learning Japanese from manga is a wrong way if you really want to speak Japanese used in Japan. You need to take classes. |
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fighterholic
Posts: 9193 |
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I know this series is brought up all the time, but Honda Tohru from Fruits Basket always uses keigo, so you might be able to learn from her.
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dovienya
Posts: 8 |
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...Keigo is a totally different form than the regular "-masu" forms of verbs. It's a whole new level of politeness involving the humbling of oneself, and in several cases uses entirely different verbs than regular speech. |
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