Help with sentences

[Shokai]

I am having trouble with some sentences I want to say in Japanese such as:

I hope you had a good year so far

Sorry for not writing in such a long time (gomen nasai tegami wo kakimasen)

Thank you so much for the calendar and the omamori (karendaa to omamori wo arigatou gozaimasu)

Thank you for your kind words (shinsetsu no dango wo arigatou)

I made an attempt to translate though.

Please write in Japanese though. The computer I am using at the time is able to read Japanese but not write it. Thanks  

[chinotenshi]

Many of these phrases do not have an appropriate Japanese equivalent, so I'll just do the ones that do.

Sorry I haven't written in a long time:
長らく御無沙汰して申し訳ありません。
ながらく　ごぶさた　して　もうし　わけ　ありません。
Nagaraku gobusata shite moushi wake arimasen.

Thank you for the calendar and the omamori:
カレンダーとお守りを下さってありがとうございます。
カレンダー　と　おまもり　を　くださって　ありがとう　ございます。
Karendaa to omamori wo kudasatte arigatou gozaimasu.

If you really want to translate "Thank you for your kind words" I'd say
優しい言葉をありがとうございます。
やさしい　ことば　を　ありがとう　ございます。
Yasashii kotoba wo arigatou gozaimasu.

It's not really something they'd say...

As for "Hope you had a good year so far", there really isn't any good way to say it. I can ask some of my Japanese friends if they can think of any good way to say it.  

[Tenzin Chodron]

★★★

I have no idea if this is correct or not but ...



Anata wa ii toshi o suru no ga kitai shimasu
You - good year - have/do - hope (verb)

[person]はいい年*をするのが期待**します

*とし
**きたい

★★★

 

[Shokai]

Thank you so much you guys! honto ni arigato gozaimasu! I should really get bak on my feet with Japanese again.

Oh and by the way, are there any good tips in memorizing grammar patterns?  

[Tenzin Chodron]

★★★

いいえ, しょかいさん!

★★★

 

[chinotenshi]

[ Jizo Bosatsu ]

★★★

I have no idea if this is correct or not but ...



Anata wa ii toshi o suru no ga kitai shimasu
You - good year - have/do - hope (verb)

[person]はいい年*をするのが期待**します

*とし
**きたい

★★★

I would like to point out that this is NOT a phrase that can be said in Japanese. "ii toshi o suru" cannot be used, it should be "ii toshi o okuru" as "okuru" is often used to convey spending time. HOWEVER, even that is not something that would be said in this context.

Also, "kitai" is a hope, but it's a hope that something will perform to level expected. Once again, cannot be used in this context.



The phrase "I hope you had a good year so far" CANNOT BE TRANSLATED into Japanese. I hate to say this, but deal with it. I'm still waiting to hear from my Japanese friends if there is anything that is similar enough to be used, but I doubt there is. If there is, I will post what I find.  

[chinotenshi]

We have word from two of my friends!

Shoko and Kae have both been generous enough to give us MULTIPLE phrases that could be used the same way as "I hope you had a good year so far".

None of them are exact translations, but they are APPROPRIATE phrases for the context.


Shoko says that this would be appropriate in a letter:
日々ご健勝のことと思います。
ひび　ごけんしょう　の　こと　と　おもいます。
Hibi gokenshou no koto to omoimasu.

A more formal version, but not really used in letters would be:
今までの日々が素晴らしいものであったことを祈ります。
いま　まで　の　ひび　が　すばらしい　もの　で　あった　こと　を　いのります。
Ima made no hibi ga subarashii mono de atta koto wo inorimasu.



Kae has four ways to say it:
1) ご健勝の由、心からお喜び申し上げます。
ごけんしょう　の　よし、　こころ　から　およろこび　もうし　あげます。
Gokenshou no yoshi, kokoro kara oyorobi moushi agemasu.
2) ご清栄のことと拝察申し上げます。
ごせいえい　の　こと　と　はいさつ　もうし　あげます。
Goseiei no koto to haisatsu moushi agemasu.
3) ご隆盛のこととお慶び申し上げます。
ごりゅうせい　の　こと　と　およろこび　もうし　あげます。
Goryuusei no koto to oyorokobi moushi agemasu.
4) つつがなくお暮らしの御事と存じます。
　　つつかなく　おくらし　の　ごこと　と　ぞんじます。
　　Tsutsukanaku okurashi no gokoto to zonjimasu.

She says that they're all a bit too formal, but #4 is the most natural of the 4.

As for "Thank you for your kind words", what I originally said in my first post IS usable. Kae also gave three other ways to say it, so if you want those I can post those later.