@happyaddict:
"Jaa na" is a shortened form of "jaa mata" じゃあまた。 It's just a casual way of saying "see you later".
"Jaa mata ne" is used in several different…good byes. The closest thing to it in English is "See you". "Jaa mata ato dene" is like "See you later!". There is also "Jaa mata kondo ne" (see you around) and "Jaa mata rai nen" (see you next year), and "Jaa mata ashita ne" (see you tomorrow) etc. Again, I'm just giving out helpful information to people. o-o;
Sayonara isn't "cliche", it's actually a pretty normal way of saying goodbye. You wouldn't use it to say it to your teacher, since you'll be seeing the person again the next day. One of my teachers said, "don't use sayonara to me unless you plan on going off and dying". She has funny humor. But conversely, you see it everywhere as friends using it casually. It pays to know when to use the right word.
It totally depends on the situation. It is usually used when you won't be seeing someone for a while. Or, if it is unclear when you will be seeing them next. If you are moving to another city, or farther, you would probably say "Sayounara" to class mates, teachers, etc. You might even say it when you go on vacation. However, some people don't like saying it when they are going on vacation, because they feel it's too "final". As I said, it depends on the person entirely.
Everyday, my Japanese class would start like this:
Teacher: Hai, hajimemashou! person-san.
Person (person in charge of duties that day): Kiritsu! Rei!
Class: bow Konnichi ha
Person: Chaku seki!
Teacher: roll call
End of class:
Teacher: Hai, person-san.
Person: Kiritsu. Rei.
Class: bow Sayounara.
"-san" As many, many of us has mentioned is just a proper suffix following someone's family name. It's proper for either sex.
It doesn't have to follow the family name. A lot of the Japanese people I've talked to have said "firstname-san". Ok….name name name....Sanabe Yoriko. You can call her "Sanabe san" or "Yoriko san". Just go with what other people call her. If you are her class mate, you will probably call her "Sanabe san" (her last name). If you are her friend, you might call her "Yori chan", or even "Yoriko". If you are her mother/father, you might call her "Yocchan!". There are other ways too. To be super cute (cho kawaii) you could say "Yori tan~!" or something. There are so many different ways to address people, but "san" is the safest. If you aren't sure, just use "lastname san". :)
@Ramza:
isnt it bisexual? i remember hearing it in ouran…
OKAMA is used like all of the other words we have for effeminate men. Be they gay, flamouyant, transvestite, bisexual, or trans-gendered, they can be called it.
Just like the word "gay" it can be used positivly and negativly. They can call something "okamappoi" and it will mean "(something is) fruity" or "gay".
Okama can be used to mean "gay man, transvestite, queer, fruitcake, faggot, fag, pansy, flaming fag, flaming fruit, 'queen', shemale, twinky".
