Could someone help me with Japanese?

Question

I'm using one of those language-learning programs, and I'm getting confused because they use pictures rather than direct translations, so it's pretty much up to you to decipher what's happening in the picture and therefore learn the words for it. Right now I'm on:

onnanohito wa suwatte imasu ka.

iie, suwatte imasen.

If you want to give me a direct translation, that's fine but what I really want is to know what I'm reading. Is it asking a question? I've tried looking up words individually, but that just doesn't work with Japanese.

Remember, I want to /learn/ Japanese, so any help you can give me on grammar/usage/what words mean when in what order/etc. is fantastic.

Answer 1

If you want to learn Japanese ditch the useless program and find a class or tutor. If there are none in your area then wait until you are able to attend one because you will never learn using Rosetta Stone or anything else.

Is the woman sitting?

No, [she is] not sitting.

Onna no hito = the woman

wa = shows she is the topic of the sentence

Suwatte imasu = sitting

ka = placed at the end of a sentence to make it a question

Iie = no

Suwatte imasen = not sitting

"She" is implied and not directly stated in the sentence. Japanese often does this.

Answer 2

I'll start with a direct translation:

"Is the woman sitting?

No, she is not sitting."

'onnanohito' translates literally as 'female person'. In this case, it makes more sense translated as 'woman'. 'wa' is a particle which indicates that the preceding word is the focus of the sentence. ie. 'woman'. 'suwatte' is the te form of 'suwaru', or sit. 'imasu' is polite form of 'to be'. When placed behind a te form of a verb, this indicates that the focus of the sentence is currently in the act of performing the verb - in this case, she is sitting. ka, is simply a particle indicating that the sentence is a question. Traditionally, Japanese people do not use question marks as we know them. However, these days it is quite acceptable to stick a question mark on the endd of your sentence.

'iie', obviously means 'no', and 'imasen' is the polite negative equivalent of 'imasu'. Therefore, the woman is not in the act of sitting.

I hope this explanation helps.

Answer 3

yes its a question because most questions end with Ka.

the second one is a response.