Intermediate Japanese pronunciation for beginning Japanese learners – An oxymoron
RA - ら, RI - り, RU - る, RE - れ, and RO - ろ
This article is on how to pronounce the unfamiliar sounds of this line of syllables in the Japanese language.
Explained in ghetto American English so that even the Author has a hard time understanding – I am just kidding when I say this…
Japanese pronunciation tips - JPPGG #102
These tips are my lazy explanation for lack of knowing the correct technical terminology for what I will be describing so gomen ne! Forgive! I am a born American and English is my native language. I did not start on my path towards Japanese language mastery, until I was 19 years old. I was taught at the University during a linguistics class that after the age of 12 the part of the brain that handles the understanding of languages hardens and solidifies to the point that pronunciation and the understanding of words
Understand how the English letters L and R are and D are pronounced in English then experiment with variations and cross-mixes by combining the letters as you do red, blue, and green in fine-tuning the color or warmth of a television set. RA - ら, RI - り, RU - る, RE - れ, and RO - ろ are pronounced by lightly flicking your tongue on the roof of your mouth at the hard palette area. The tongue it seems to me is softer and wider when flicking and flattening it at the top of your mouth. D is stiff, but "ra, ri, ru, re, ro" pronunciation is more flexibly soft when struck against the rooftop of your mouth.
Do you remember making a taco out of your tongue when you were a kid? Make a taco toward the tip of the tongue. It is a smaller taco than the one you played with as a kid. The taco is more towards the tip of the tongue and then flapped in directions as to lay the tongue back down into its normal location in the mouth. Ra is jaw dropping wide from nose to chin. Re is made with a cheeks wide smile, Ru is rounded lips in a circle, ro is both the dropped jaw of ra + ooh lala.
Here is more insight I give to serious Japanese wanna' speak it correctly soon Japanese language learners, in my non- technical jargon at-ed language sort of explanation. I hope you can bear this, because I am sure any linguist out there would kill me for shame and spite, thank you in advance. After making a canyon in your mouth or by pushing the tongue, forward to the upper harder palette at the roof of your mouth. Pretend as if your mouth was a hot potato and your tongue being separate when saying the ra RI Ru re ro line in the syllabary and that your tongue must come quickly off the roof of your mouth because it is hot.
The “r”’s in Japanese, of which there are but five are usually difficult for foreigners or non-native Japanese speakers to get correctly. You can simulate actual native pronunciation by pronouncing your "ra, ri, ru, re, ro" line to yourself like gooey l's or softened d's. The r’s are often miss-heard as d’s in English. I was saying some words to a junior Japanese language-learning apprentice and she heard the Japanese r’s at first as d’s. So go figure, and get out their and practice.
One note of caution, before you even attempt the “ra RI Ru re ro” line of the Japanese syllabary, master the first five syllables, which constitute the Japanese vowels.
In pronunciation:
Ah,
ee,
ooh,
eh, and
oh,
In short hand:
a,
i,
u,
e, and
o.
In Hiragana:
あ - a
い – i
う – u
え - e
お – o,
in Katakana:
ア - a
イ - i
ウ - u
エ - e
オ - o
Remember, the first five syllables or morae as they are known in Japanese, are the five vowels used in the Japanese language. If we first master the first five Japanese vowels correctly, then pronunciation for all the rest of the syllables shall fall into place in due time and learning hiragana and katakana should be a little easier to understand and memorize quicker.
The following is a link to the International Phonetic Alphabet or the IPA http://www.unc.edu/underling/images/ipachart.gif/ here you can see all about vowels as seen from the ears and mouth of international phonetic champions.
How to pronounce the 5 Japanese vowels –
a - あ ah - like when the dentist tells you, “Say ah.”
i - い ee - as in “leech” or me.
u - う not exactly ooh, but for beginning pronunciation masters
stick with the pronouncing “u - う” like ooh as in “ooh lala,” or the pooh part of “Winnie the pooh”.
e - え eh as in bed-head. (Edges of mouth as when smiling corners
of mouth stretched
outward.)
And,
o - お oh as in “boat”, or “note” (long, long, closed mid-back)
It is interesting to note that as we have in English the “e” at the end of the word “note”, that if it weren’t there, it would simply be - “not”. However, with the addition of the “e” at the end, it somehow takes the “o” of the word, which was pronounced as “ah”, and pulls on it, through the letter “t” forcing a long – “oh” pronunciation.
*It is interesting to note that in, the plosive bilabials, “pa - ぱ”, and “ba -ば” come from the aspirated “ha -は” in written kana in this order:
HAPA then BA.
は ぱ ( then ば.
or, ha -は then ha - はwith the degree symbol (ぱ), then ha - は with the ten ten marks (ば) or a single quotation mark – “. The order in the dictionary also follows that pattern in its other dignified grouping like that of "ta -た" going to "da -だ"; and "ka -か" going to "ga -が" in the velar group.
Makurasuki says “Ganbatte Ne!” 頑張ってね but needs to edit this weird take on Japanese pronunciation, I hope you enjoyed it….
Ganbatte ne!
頑張ってね
Do Your Best!
Makurasuki
Towards better Japanese - Japanese grammar, Japanese vocabulary, Japanese pronunciation, Japanese Verbs, Japanese sentences, Learn Japanese, Study Japanese, Live Japanese... Breathe Japanese - Japanese Language Mastery
Showing posts with label japanese pronunciation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label japanese pronunciation. Show all posts
Oct 28, 2008
Oct 19, 2008
How to pronounce the Japanese syllable "tsu"
 |
| The Tsu syllable |
Japanese pronunciation tips
How to pronounce the Japanese syllable “tsu”
Of the 46 syllables in the Japanese syllabary, three are frequently mispronounced by beginning Japanese language learners. The focus of this mini lesson is on one hard to pronounce Japanese syllable, the “tsu” syllable.
Even when native English speakers say the word of Japanese origin, tsunami, they seem to be saying sunami. When speaking in Japanese, the difference in meaning between words that start with su, and words that start with tsu is enormous. In other words, mispronouncing tsu for su could wreak havoc. Learning correct pronunciation is therefore important toward meaningful communication.
Japanese words that contain “tsu” or begin or end with this syllable, require a little cleverness, patience and consistent practice to master it's pronunciation.
The pronunciation of the "tsu" syllable is not overly difficult and can be understood by eliding two English words, eight suits. The English words, eight suits, when elided together gives a close verbal approximation of the way the Japanese syllable “tsu” should sound when pronounced correctly.
Improve your Japanese pronunciation by saying the following out loud:
eight suits, eight suits, eigh t suits, eigh t su its, eigh tsu its, eight suits
Continue saying aloud this phrase a few more times. Concentrate on the elision that occurs between the words eight, and suits. Say it faster and faster until you can feel the tsu come out of the phrase. The most correct or nearest equivalent that Japanese language learners can get to saying the “tsu” syllable is taking the t from the eight and adding the su to it as in the previous example. Once you have a feel for the way the "tsu" syllable is pronounced, practice sounding authentic by saying the following words that contain "tsu" -
tsuitachi 一日 – 20th of the month
tsu^yu^ 梅雨– the rainy season
itsu? 何時? (いつ) – when?
hachimitsu 蜂蜜– honey
itsutsu いつつ– 5 objects; object counter
itsumo^ 何時も– always
Motsuaruto モ-ツア-ルト – Mozart
Etc.
Of the 46 syllables in the Japanese syllabary, three are frequently mispronounced by beginning Japanese language learners. The focus of this mini lesson is on one hard to pronounce Japanese syllable, the “tsu” syllable.
Even when native English speakers say the word of Japanese origin, tsunami, they seem to be saying sunami. When speaking in Japanese, the difference in meaning between words that start with su, and words that start with tsu is enormous. In other words, mispronouncing tsu for su could wreak havoc. Learning correct pronunciation is therefore important toward meaningful communication.
Japanese words that contain “tsu” or begin or end with this syllable, require a little cleverness, patience and consistent practice to master it's pronunciation.
The pronunciation of the "tsu" syllable is not overly difficult and can be understood by eliding two English words, eight suits. The English words, eight suits, when elided together gives a close verbal approximation of the way the Japanese syllable “tsu” should sound when pronounced correctly.
Improve your Japanese pronunciation by saying the following out loud:
eight suits, eight suits, eigh t suits, eigh t su its, eigh tsu its, eight suits
Continue saying aloud this phrase a few more times. Concentrate on the elision that occurs between the words eight, and suits. Say it faster and faster until you can feel the tsu come out of the phrase. The most correct or nearest equivalent that Japanese language learners can get to saying the “tsu” syllable is taking the t from the eight and adding the su to it as in the previous example. Once you have a feel for the way the "tsu" syllable is pronounced, practice sounding authentic by saying the following words that contain "tsu" -
tsuitachi 一日 – 20th of the month
tsu^yu^ 梅雨– the rainy season
itsu? 何時? (いつ) – when?
hachimitsu 蜂蜜– honey
itsutsu いつつ– 5 objects; object counter
itsumo^ 何時も– always
Motsuaruto モ-ツア-ルト – Mozart
Etc.
Oct 2, 2008
Godzilla and how she/he got his/her namo
If you aren't quite sure how Godzilla got It's name, let me put it into a formula for you. You might also be curious to know or have wondered where the z or d in the name Godzilla came from then if Godzilla actually is just Gojira. The reason for the d and the z stems from the various ways westerners have come to represent graphically the sounds of the Japanese language. I personally think the z is for pizzazz. I mean what kind of killer, giant monsters don't have a z in their name.
In Japanese, Godzilla is pronounced Gojira, a combination of the words gorilla and whale. Gorira + Kujira = Gojira. Gorira meaning Gorilla + Kujira meaning whale combined becomes Godzilla. The ji of Gojira is sometimes written zi, to distinguish it from si or shi which is what it would be without the ten-ten mark. If you don't already know, the ten-ten mark is a single quotation mark put after other syllables to change the vocalization. IPA website on vowels here
Adding a " ten-ten mark to to the sa, shi, su, se, so line of of the Japanese syllabary *(See Mora(e): syllable like entities of which Japanese has 46.)transforms them into za, zhi, zu, ze, zo, or ja, ji, ju, je, jo, depending on the particular romanization used.
Ok I also wanted to mention here the proper nouns ikura written in Katakana which is the roe of salmon , and iruka is the word for a Porpoise. Avoid mixing these type of word together but use a tactic to memorize them. Here is a way I thought of to practice this kind of word in a phrase and being able to memorize them on long term memory for good. The way to memorize a word and not forget is to figure out a personal method, one which works best for you, something you can make memorable through associations you infer upon it.
If you thought that was easy then you might want to mix upo them up. If you were to say, "Iru ka?", it could mean, "Are you there? So all in all, there are three things iruka could mean.
Definitions of iruka:
1. (is) somebody or something (i.e. an animal since they too use iru in the form of to be etc.) there...
2. a porpoise, a dolphin
Towards Better Japanese
Ganbatte ne!
Do Your Best!
Makurasuki
Jun 11, 2008
What in the world learn a ol Japanese language
Table 1 - The 46 Syllables of the Japanese Syllabary (romanized)
a
ka
sa
ta
na
ha
ma
ya
ra
wa
n
i
ki
shi
chi
ni
hi
mi
ri
u
ku
su
tsu
nu
fu
mu
yu
ru
e
ke
se
te
ne
he
me
re
o
ko
so
to
no
ho
mo
yo
ro
wo
Table 2 - The 46 Syllables of the Japanese Syllabary called the gojuon or 50 sounds (Hiragana)
¤¢
¤«
¤µ
¤¿
¤Ê
¤Ï
¤Þ
¤ä
¤é
¤ï
¤ó
¤¤
¤
¤·
¤Á
¤Ë
¤Ò
¤ß
¤ê
¤¦
¤¯
¤¹
¤Ä
¤Ì
¤Õ
¤à
¤æ
¤ë
¤¨
¤±
¤»
¤Æ
¤Í
¤Ø
¤á
¤ì
¤ª
¤³
¤½
¤È
¤Î
¤Û
¤â
¤è
¤í
¤ò
When the tsu syllable is added before the syllables beginning with k,p, and t (ie. the consonants sounds of k,p, or t), a hardened double consonant sound is produced. You literally spit out the sounds or, as I like to put it, smack the consonants. To better understand where I am coming from, imagine two billiard balls sitting on a pool table. One of the balls is a word that contains a single consonant sound like k, the other ball is the syllable tsu. Now shoot the k ball with your cue ball and when they hit upon impact kk sound. when the consonant sounds are doubled. This doubled consonant phenomenon can be likened to the English word bookkeeper. In bookkeeper the sound of the consonant k is doubled, adding the syllable tsu to ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, ta chi, tsu, te, to or, pa,pi,pu,pe,or po doubles the consonant sound of the consonant sound of the syllable immediately following it.
Japanese pronunciation rule #1 - A small ¤Ä(tsu) doubles the consonant sound that immediately follows it.
Examples:
makka ? deep red, completely red
jikken ? experiment or test
shuppan ? publish , shuppatsu ? departure
zettai ? absoluteness
tokkyo ? patent (not the city toukyou which has the elongated
happi ? the English word happy in katakana
gakkou ? school
chotto ? a little bit, a dink
appuru - apple
When n is not connected to a vowel (ie. usage of the last syllable of the Japanese syllabary or ¤ó(n) , it is like a syllable unto itself. It receives a full count if language were a music it would receive the same amount of time that a 2 lettered syllable receives., and is denoted by the apostrophe ¡Æ. For example:
1. Kin¡Çen this is Japanese for no smoking not kinen or the word for anniversary.
so it has 4 syllables and the word for anniversary has 3.
To get a better feel of how the Japanese say words that begin with ra, ri, ru, re, or ro, do this: First, say to yourself in English the word Eddy then, make sure the tip of your tongue is touching delicately behind the upper front teeth and say it again Pronouncing it with just the right amount of lightness of tongue and a flicking forward of the tongue in this manner, you will come close to an acceptable pronunciation of the Japanese word for eri or collar.
a
ka
sa
ta
na
ha
ma
ya
ra
wa
n
i
ki
shi
chi
ni
hi
mi
ri
u
ku
su
tsu
nu
fu
mu
yu
ru
e
ke
se
te
ne
he
me
re
o
ko
so
to
no
ho
mo
yo
ro
wo
Table 2 - The 46 Syllables of the Japanese Syllabary called the gojuon or 50 sounds (Hiragana)
¤¢
¤«
¤µ
¤¿
¤Ê
¤Ï
¤Þ
¤ä
¤é
¤ï
¤ó
¤¤
¤
¤·
¤Á
¤Ë
¤Ò
¤ß
¤ê
¤¦
¤¯
¤¹
¤Ä
¤Ì
¤Õ
¤à
¤æ
¤ë
¤¨
¤±
¤»
¤Æ
¤Í
¤Ø
¤á
¤ì
¤ª
¤³
¤½
¤È
¤Î
¤Û
¤â
¤è
¤í
¤ò
When the tsu syllable is added before the syllables beginning with k,p, and t (ie. the consonants sounds of k,p, or t), a hardened double consonant sound is produced. You literally spit out the sounds or, as I like to put it, smack the consonants. To better understand where I am coming from, imagine two billiard balls sitting on a pool table. One of the balls is a word that contains a single consonant sound like k, the other ball is the syllable tsu. Now shoot the k ball with your cue ball and when they hit upon impact kk sound. when the consonant sounds are doubled. This doubled consonant phenomenon can be likened to the English word bookkeeper. In bookkeeper the sound of the consonant k is doubled, adding the syllable tsu to ka, ki, ku, ke, ko, ta chi, tsu, te, to or, pa,pi,pu,pe,or po doubles the consonant sound of the consonant sound of the syllable immediately following it.
Japanese pronunciation rule #1 - A small ¤Ä(tsu) doubles the consonant sound that immediately follows it.
Examples:
makka ? deep red, completely red
jikken ? experiment or test
shuppan ? publish , shuppatsu ? departure
zettai ? absoluteness
tokkyo ? patent (not the city toukyou which has the elongated
happi ? the English word happy in katakana
gakkou ? school
chotto ? a little bit, a dink
appuru - apple
When n is not connected to a vowel (ie. usage of the last syllable of the Japanese syllabary or ¤ó(n) , it is like a syllable unto itself. It receives a full count if language were a music it would receive the same amount of time that a 2 lettered syllable receives., and is denoted by the apostrophe ¡Æ. For example:
1. Kin¡Çen this is Japanese for no smoking not kinen or the word for anniversary.
so it has 4 syllables and the word for anniversary has 3.
To get a better feel of how the Japanese say words that begin with ra, ri, ru, re, or ro, do this: First, say to yourself in English the word Eddy then, make sure the tip of your tongue is touching delicately behind the upper front teeth and say it again Pronouncing it with just the right amount of lightness of tongue and a flicking forward of the tongue in this manner, you will come close to an acceptable pronunciation of the Japanese word for eri or collar.
May 29, 2008
Japanese grammar yoku shita mono desu
This is JPPGG bunpo principle #87.
Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar Japanese Language Learning
By Makurasuki Sensei, Brett McCluskey
Towards better Japanese: Methods of Acquisition and Mastery.
To say in Japanese that you used to ~ verb, (at fairly regular intervals and at some point in the past) use the following construction:
used to ~ (~ is any verb)
yoku verb(base TA) mono desu.
The following examples will help you grasp today's JPPGG construction. After you get a feel for how this grammar is made, just keep plugging new verbs into the verb area in Base TA and then continue playing by making your own unique and interesting sentences. Don't forget to practice by saying all your newly created sentences out-loud. Drilling and killing, or plugging and playing your way to building a solid base from which your Japanese conversational skills will surely improve. Each new grammar principle you learn is like adding another weapon to your formidable Japanese language arsenal, which you will be able to use whenever the need arises.
Keep plugging and playing until your friends tell you they can't stand how much you practice your Japanese or until they say stop. But even if you start bugging people because you practice too much, just keep telling yourself its all for my own good. Just keep practicing the grammar constructions and saying to yourself new sentences of your own creation. If you want to improve your Japanese, don’t fret too much on annoying the slackers that don’t want to master another language as badly as you do. The following are example sentences to show you how the construction is typically used so you too can take it and make it your own. Once again the construction for #87 Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar is as follows:
English - used to ~ (where ~ is any verb)
Japanese - yoku verb(base TA) mono desu.
1. When I was younger, I used to go to school by bicycle.
Watakushi ga motto wakai koro, jitensha de yoku gakko ni itta mono desu.
{As for I, in the more young time, by bike often school went thing is.}[1] a. The main verb in 1. is iku - v. to go.
b. Putting the verb into its past tense -TA form ending gives you itta. c. Insert iku, verb(base TA) or in this case itta into the construction and
d. you have your new sentence.
yoku itta mono da or I used to go.
2. He used to cheat, but the teacher busted him, and now he is a good boy.
Kare wa mae yoku kanningu[2] shita mono desu keredomo sensei ni barete shimatte ima orikosan desu. 3. I used to play there a lot.
Watakushi wa soko de yoku asonda mono da. [3]
G.A.B. or the Ghetto After Blast - One point advice -
The Japanese verb nareru means, "To get used to" which is similar to the used to that you have been getting used to in this bunpo. Nareru is a really cool word, and you will hear it a lot in Japanese conversation.
Ex.1 He is used to that job.
Kare wa sono shigoto ni narete imasu.[4]
As Always, Do your Best! Ganbatte Ne!
Makurasuki Sensei.
[1] Given here in its' literal translation; its easy to see why not to translate literally as can be seen from the corruption madness of its form and sound.
[2] From the English adjective cunning.
[3] Non-polite plain form of the copula desu = da.
[4] See JPPGG Ghetto Grammar #88: 'Verbing' -verb (base TE) + iru or the Japanese Gerund.
Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar Japanese Language Learning
By Makurasuki Sensei, Brett McCluskey
Towards better Japanese: Methods of Acquisition and Mastery.
To say in Japanese that you used to ~ verb, (at fairly regular intervals and at some point in the past) use the following construction:
used to ~ (~ is any verb)
yoku verb(base TA) mono desu.
The following examples will help you grasp today's JPPGG construction. After you get a feel for how this grammar is made, just keep plugging new verbs into the verb area in Base TA and then continue playing by making your own unique and interesting sentences. Don't forget to practice by saying all your newly created sentences out-loud. Drilling and killing, or plugging and playing your way to building a solid base from which your Japanese conversational skills will surely improve. Each new grammar principle you learn is like adding another weapon to your formidable Japanese language arsenal, which you will be able to use whenever the need arises.
Keep plugging and playing until your friends tell you they can't stand how much you practice your Japanese or until they say stop. But even if you start bugging people because you practice too much, just keep telling yourself its all for my own good. Just keep practicing the grammar constructions and saying to yourself new sentences of your own creation. If you want to improve your Japanese, don’t fret too much on annoying the slackers that don’t want to master another language as badly as you do. The following are example sentences to show you how the construction is typically used so you too can take it and make it your own. Once again the construction for #87 Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar is as follows:
English - used to ~ (where ~ is any verb)
Japanese - yoku verb(base TA) mono desu.
1. When I was younger, I used to go to school by bicycle.
Watakushi ga motto wakai koro, jitensha de yoku gakko ni itta mono desu.
{As for I, in the more young time, by bike often school went thing is.}[1] a. The main verb in 1. is iku - v. to go.
b. Putting the verb into its past tense -TA form ending gives you itta. c. Insert iku, verb(base TA) or in this case itta into the construction and
d. you have your new sentence.
yoku itta mono da or I used to go.
2. He used to cheat, but the teacher busted him, and now he is a good boy.
Kare wa mae yoku kanningu[2] shita mono desu keredomo sensei ni barete shimatte ima orikosan desu. 3. I used to play there a lot.
Watakushi wa soko de yoku asonda mono da. [3]
G.A.B. or the Ghetto After Blast - One point advice -
The Japanese verb nareru means, "To get used to" which is similar to the used to that you have been getting used to in this bunpo. Nareru is a really cool word, and you will hear it a lot in Japanese conversation.
Ex.1 He is used to that job.
Kare wa sono shigoto ni narete imasu.[4]
As Always, Do your Best! Ganbatte Ne!
Makurasuki Sensei.
[1] Given here in its' literal translation; its easy to see why not to translate literally as can be seen from the corruption madness of its form and sound.
[2] From the English adjective cunning.
[3] Non-polite plain form of the copula desu = da.
[4] See JPPGG Ghetto Grammar #88: 'Verbing' -verb (base TE) + iru or the Japanese Gerund.
May 18, 2008
Learning Japanese isn't so hard
Why the learning of the Japanese language has been unfairly labeled as a difficult language, I feel that if you want to learn a language, try the Japanese language.The Japanese language is a fascinating language to learn. They use different letters and script for writing their words. Their system for writing words and communicating through ideographs is very old. The kanji (symbols-ideographs-ideas represented by pictures or even pictographs) has been used in Japan for quite a long time. is a very ancient tradition and the language has evolved Let me tell you something: You can do anything you put your mind to!Now having said that, I would like to give a couple of reasons why I feel that Japanese is in fact an easier language to learn than English.
The symbol shown above right is the Kanji, or chinese character, which represents the word ai, or love in Japanese. Start today to recognize parts of the kanji as you would a constellation. The ai kanji itself is made up of various components (the heart kanji among other ones) that will become easier to recognize the more times you see it. Who said a little drill and kill will hurt you?There are a lot of reasons why people might think that the Japanese language is a hard language to learn. People seem to think that learning Japanese is too big a task. A mountain can be moved with a little persistence and some good goals, so get to setting them up!
May 17, 2008
Japanese Langauge Learning Secrets
A Secret So Easy, it will turn the tedious and sometimes daunting task of learning another language into a fun and exciting adventure.
I know what is good for me!
Japanese Grammar Plug and Play #91
How to say, “I know what to verb so that it would be good.”
NAN NAN SHITARA YOI KA SHITTE IRU
Verb (Base TA) + RA + YOI
YOI is the word for good and for all intents and purposes is equivalent to ii so that
*YOI = ii in any case (pronounced ee)
YOKA – can be heard often in the Fukuoka region. It is a part of the hakata-ben dialect. It means essentially– “Nah...”, or “I’m good!”
TASHIKA is not an adjective like AKAI, UTSUKUSHII, AKARUI, OR SURUDOI. It is irregular like TOMEI therefore it uses the connective particle NA
As is true in the pursuit of any language mastery, you must have an understanding of what is meant by the phrase, “milk before meat”. You cannot expect to learn something hard or complicated, or expect to eat meat with fully-grown canines and flesh piercing teeth before you are able to ingest the milk from a tender mother breast. Therefore, it is wise for any language learner to begin at the beginning, and spend some time there… and hang out…even they should try singing songs about the alphabet. Alphabets being the small parts of a language that when strung together form words, and make languages, living organisms. Learning the alphabet or syllabary for the language you are learning right now will make your progress and improvement in that language easier later by doing so.
Herein lies a key to language mastery. If an alphabet is available for the language, start studying it! The best way for you to get close to a language is by studying, and saying in your mouth the little parts of the language, saying them repeatedly as we all do at one point or another in civilized society. Only through a careful study of the smallest and simplest parts of a language can you get to know it as intimately as you would get to know your native language.
As a child, who does not remember singing an alphabet song, reading a book for the first time, looking up a word in the dictionary for the first time, or simply reciting the alphabet? Language is something that must be learned, and it is true in English and Japanese. Get yourself some Hiragana and katakana flash cards and memorize the look, feel and shape of each one being able to correctly identify each one, just as you do with the English letters. Learning the alphabet in another language is the first step towards understanding.
Please take a moment to reflect on the first times you sang ‘The Alphabet Song', or recited your A,B,C’s. Now reflect upon how you came to know that 5 X 5 is = 25. I know that if you gain a solid grasp of the Japanese Syllabary, the 46 syllables that make up all the sounds of Japanese then learning Japanese will be as a piece of cake for you. It will be easy to learn the Japanese language. That’s it! The trick to learning a foreign language is starts with learning the alphabet. In the case of the Japanese language, their alphabet, is not an alphabet because it is not made up of just letters, it is made up of syllables. There are 46 syllables in Japanese, and even though it is more than the number of letters in the English language (English letters in the alphabet = 26) it really is not that many once you see how it is set up.
The Japanese syllabary consists of 46 syllables and represents all sounds necessary for the formation of any Japanese word. It is just like the English’s Alphabet but it is called the GOJUON, or chart of the 50 sounds. The GOJUON is grouped in a way that facilitates learning of Japanese, especially the adjectives. Endings of adjectives follow the first 5 syllables or the Japanese vowels; a, i, u, e , o. I admonish any aspiring Japanese language learner to study the 46 syllables of the GOJUON or Japanese alphabet in earnest.
By the time we are 12 years of age, we usually forget how we came to be able to speak and utilize the English language and are so familiar with the Alphabet that we have forgotten that it was due to its recitation that we would know what we know. Reading and Writing are two sides of a coin that are wholly influenced by its contributing language’s Alphabet as are Speaking and Listening to a lesser extent.
We take for granted our knowledge of the alphabet so that it becomes more difficult for us to learn other languages. In order to be a successful second language student we must become in essence, like children. For the purposes of learning how to read, write, speak and listen in English, it was necessary to study the core of the language at first, and that was The Alphabet. A good way to get at the core, or the heart of a language is by studying its alphabet. We can do that in a similar or even the same way you would learn your times tables. How much did you get for memorizing your times tables? Offer yourself a cookie and say to yourself, “If I start my Japanese study (or any language study) by learning the syllables that make up their words then I will be ahead of the learning game later on when it really gets complicated.
Milk before meat. A house is built on a solid foundation. In other words, boiling it down to what I am trying to relate to those desirous of the ability to speak in another language and communicate, down the line Don’t want to cheat myself out of learning Japanese and retaining it, but good! Your parents, masters, or mentors may have promised you $5 if you memorized the times tables up to 12, but you can also do it for free…on your own… and you can reward yourself with a big surprise.
Be consistently insistent on diligent Japanese study and you will be able to communicate. And the ability to communicate with others of another country can open up whole truck loads of cool stuff. Catch the fever… learn Japanese. Tell everyone at the PTA meetings that Japanese is not a hard language to learn. In my opinion it is much easier than English to learn.
Japanese Adjectives The adjectives follow the syllabic structure found in the vowel row of the Gojuon, or indeci showing the 46 symbols of the Japanese syllabary in this order: A, I, U, E , and O. that represent of all sounds necessary for Japanese word formation.
The first five syllables in
the GOJU ON A
あ I
い U
う E*
え O
お
The first five adjectivial endings + the irregular EI AI
あい II
いい UI
うい EI
,えい OI
おい
Example adjectives showing the various endings ARAI
あらい ATARASHII
あたらしい FURUI
ふるい KIREI*
きれい OSOI
おそい
* EI endings are for the most
TASHIKA itself is the adjective for our English term, “certain”. It is highly likely that the ka of TASHIKA has been artificially transplanted into adjectives in the Fukuoka region. TASHIKA means for certain in English and TASHIKA NI means certainly. As is the case with the irregular Japanese class of adjectives ending in EI, TASHIKA can be followed by the particle NI so that the NI can be roughly translated in sentences involving adjectives as –ly.
Below are some common Japanese adjectives that I have found most useful.
可愛 kawai かわい - cute
恐い kowai こわい - scary
近い chikai ちかい - close
鋭い surudoi するどい sharp
賢い kashikoi かしこい - smart
堅い katai かたい - hard
短い mijikai みじかい - short
細い hosoi ほそい - narrow
長い nagai ながい - long
明るい akarui あかるい - bright
太い futoi ふとい - fat
厚いatsui あつい - thick
暑いatsui あつい - thick
熱いatsui あつい - hot
寒いsamui さむい – cold
涼しいsuzushii すずしい – cool
激しいhageshii はげしい - violent
難しmuzukashii むつ"かしい - difficult
簡単kantan かんたん – easy
眠いnemui ねむい - sleepy
眠たいnemutai ねむたい - sleepy
低いhikui ひくい - low
高いtakai たかい - tall
珍しいmezurashii めずらしい - rare
大きいookii おおきいい - big
小さいchiisai ちいさい – small
古いfurui ふるい - old
若いwakai わかい - young
広いhiroi ひろい - wide
安いyasui やすい - cheap, easy
目覚しい mezamashii めざましい - alert
凄いtsumetai つめたい - chilly
強いtsuyoi つよい - strong
弱いyowai よわい - weak
柔らかい yawarakai - soft
早い hayai - fast
遅いosoi - slow
重い omoi - heavy
暗い kurai くらい - dark
重たい omotai おもたい - heavy
軽い karui かるい - light
恥ずかしい hazukashii はずかしい - embarassing
喧しいyakamashii やかましい – loud, obnoxious
静か shizuka しずか - quiet
素晴らしい subarashii すばらしい - wonderful
美味しい oishii おいしい – delicious
酸っぱいsuppai すっぱい - sour
甘い あまい amai あまい - sweet
狭い せまいsemai せまい – narrow
悔しい kuyashii くやしいvexing, mortifying
怪しいayashii – doubtful, suspicious
辛いtsurai つらい – hard, difficult
美しいutsukushi うつくし - beautiful
面白いomoshiroi おもしろい - interesting
chikarazuyoiちからずよい - powerful
かこいkakoi – stylish, handsome
惜しいoshii – regretful
http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/members/mybloglog1294a476cec8f56ae2cc
I know what is good for me!
Japanese Grammar Plug and Play #91
How to say, “I know what to verb so that it would be good.”
NAN NAN SHITARA YOI KA SHITTE IRU
Verb (Base TA) + RA + YOI
YOI is the word for good and for all intents and purposes is equivalent to ii so that
*YOI = ii in any case (pronounced ee)
YOKA – can be heard often in the Fukuoka region. It is a part of the hakata-ben dialect. It means essentially– “Nah...”, or “I’m good!”
TASHIKA is not an adjective like AKAI, UTSUKUSHII, AKARUI, OR SURUDOI. It is irregular like TOMEI therefore it uses the connective particle NA
As is true in the pursuit of any language mastery, you must have an understanding of what is meant by the phrase, “milk before meat”. You cannot expect to learn something hard or complicated, or expect to eat meat with fully-grown canines and flesh piercing teeth before you are able to ingest the milk from a tender mother breast. Therefore, it is wise for any language learner to begin at the beginning, and spend some time there… and hang out…even they should try singing songs about the alphabet. Alphabets being the small parts of a language that when strung together form words, and make languages, living organisms. Learning the alphabet or syllabary for the language you are learning right now will make your progress and improvement in that language easier later by doing so.
Herein lies a key to language mastery. If an alphabet is available for the language, start studying it! The best way for you to get close to a language is by studying, and saying in your mouth the little parts of the language, saying them repeatedly as we all do at one point or another in civilized society. Only through a careful study of the smallest and simplest parts of a language can you get to know it as intimately as you would get to know your native language.
As a child, who does not remember singing an alphabet song, reading a book for the first time, looking up a word in the dictionary for the first time, or simply reciting the alphabet? Language is something that must be learned, and it is true in English and Japanese. Get yourself some Hiragana and katakana flash cards and memorize the look, feel and shape of each one being able to correctly identify each one, just as you do with the English letters. Learning the alphabet in another language is the first step towards understanding.
Please take a moment to reflect on the first times you sang ‘The Alphabet Song', or recited your A,B,C’s. Now reflect upon how you came to know that 5 X 5 is = 25. I know that if you gain a solid grasp of the Japanese Syllabary, the 46 syllables that make up all the sounds of Japanese then learning Japanese will be as a piece of cake for you. It will be easy to learn the Japanese language. That’s it! The trick to learning a foreign language is starts with learning the alphabet. In the case of the Japanese language, their alphabet, is not an alphabet because it is not made up of just letters, it is made up of syllables. There are 46 syllables in Japanese, and even though it is more than the number of letters in the English language (English letters in the alphabet = 26) it really is not that many once you see how it is set up.
The Japanese syllabary consists of 46 syllables and represents all sounds necessary for the formation of any Japanese word. It is just like the English’s Alphabet but it is called the GOJUON, or chart of the 50 sounds. The GOJUON is grouped in a way that facilitates learning of Japanese, especially the adjectives. Endings of adjectives follow the first 5 syllables or the Japanese vowels; a, i, u, e , o. I admonish any aspiring Japanese language learner to study the 46 syllables of the GOJUON or Japanese alphabet in earnest.
By the time we are 12 years of age, we usually forget how we came to be able to speak and utilize the English language and are so familiar with the Alphabet that we have forgotten that it was due to its recitation that we would know what we know. Reading and Writing are two sides of a coin that are wholly influenced by its contributing language’s Alphabet as are Speaking and Listening to a lesser extent.
We take for granted our knowledge of the alphabet so that it becomes more difficult for us to learn other languages. In order to be a successful second language student we must become in essence, like children. For the purposes of learning how to read, write, speak and listen in English, it was necessary to study the core of the language at first, and that was The Alphabet. A good way to get at the core, or the heart of a language is by studying its alphabet. We can do that in a similar or even the same way you would learn your times tables. How much did you get for memorizing your times tables? Offer yourself a cookie and say to yourself, “If I start my Japanese study (or any language study) by learning the syllables that make up their words then I will be ahead of the learning game later on when it really gets complicated.
Milk before meat. A house is built on a solid foundation. In other words, boiling it down to what I am trying to relate to those desirous of the ability to speak in another language and communicate, down the line Don’t want to cheat myself out of learning Japanese and retaining it, but good! Your parents, masters, or mentors may have promised you $5 if you memorized the times tables up to 12, but you can also do it for free…on your own… and you can reward yourself with a big surprise.
Be consistently insistent on diligent Japanese study and you will be able to communicate. And the ability to communicate with others of another country can open up whole truck loads of cool stuff. Catch the fever… learn Japanese. Tell everyone at the PTA meetings that Japanese is not a hard language to learn. In my opinion it is much easier than English to learn.
Japanese Adjectives The adjectives follow the syllabic structure found in the vowel row of the Gojuon, or indeci showing the 46 symbols of the Japanese syllabary in this order: A, I, U, E , and O. that represent of all sounds necessary for Japanese word formation.
The first five syllables in
the GOJU ON A
あ I
い U
う E*
え O
お
The first five adjectivial endings + the irregular EI AI
あい II
いい UI
うい EI
,えい OI
おい
Example adjectives showing the various endings ARAI
あらい ATARASHII
あたらしい FURUI
ふるい KIREI*
きれい OSOI
おそい
* EI endings are for the most
TASHIKA itself is the adjective for our English term, “certain”. It is highly likely that the ka of TASHIKA has been artificially transplanted into adjectives in the Fukuoka region. TASHIKA means for certain in English and TASHIKA NI means certainly. As is the case with the irregular Japanese class of adjectives ending in EI, TASHIKA can be followed by the particle NI so that the NI can be roughly translated in sentences involving adjectives as –ly.
Below are some common Japanese adjectives that I have found most useful.
可愛 kawai かわい - cute
恐い kowai こわい - scary
近い chikai ちかい - close
鋭い surudoi するどい sharp
賢い kashikoi かしこい - smart
堅い katai かたい - hard
短い mijikai みじかい - short
細い hosoi ほそい - narrow
長い nagai ながい - long
明るい akarui あかるい - bright
太い futoi ふとい - fat
厚いatsui あつい - thick
暑いatsui あつい - thick
熱いatsui あつい - hot
寒いsamui さむい – cold
涼しいsuzushii すずしい – cool
激しいhageshii はげしい - violent
難しmuzukashii むつ"かしい - difficult
簡単kantan かんたん – easy
眠いnemui ねむい - sleepy
眠たいnemutai ねむたい - sleepy
低いhikui ひくい - low
高いtakai たかい - tall
珍しいmezurashii めずらしい - rare
大きいookii おおきいい - big
小さいchiisai ちいさい – small
古いfurui ふるい - old
若いwakai わかい - young
広いhiroi ひろい - wide
安いyasui やすい - cheap, easy
目覚しい mezamashii めざましい - alert
凄いtsumetai つめたい - chilly
強いtsuyoi つよい - strong
弱いyowai よわい - weak
柔らかい yawarakai - soft
早い hayai - fast
遅いosoi - slow
重い omoi - heavy
暗い kurai くらい - dark
重たい omotai おもたい - heavy
軽い karui かるい - light
恥ずかしい hazukashii はずかしい - embarassing
喧しいyakamashii やかましい – loud, obnoxious
静か shizuka しずか - quiet
素晴らしい subarashii すばらしい - wonderful
美味しい oishii おいしい – delicious
酸っぱいsuppai すっぱい - sour
甘い あまい amai あまい - sweet
狭い せまいsemai せまい – narrow
悔しい kuyashii くやしいvexing, mortifying
怪しいayashii – doubtful, suspicious
辛いtsurai つらい – hard, difficult
美しいutsukushi うつくし - beautiful
面白いomoshiroi おもしろい - interesting
chikarazuyoiちからずよい - powerful
かこいkakoi – stylish, handsome
惜しいoshii – regretful
http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/members/mybloglog1294a476cec8f56ae2cc
May 15, 2008
Japanese skills
A Secret So Easy, It will turn the tedious and sometimes daunting task of learning another language funto making language learning Easy
Japanese Easy
I know what’s good for me!
JPPGG© #91
How to say, “I know how to verb
NAN NAN SHITARA YOI KA
Verb(Base TA) + RA +
Yoi is the word for good and for all intents and purposes is equivalent to ii so that
*yoi = ii in any case
yoka – can be hear much in Fukuoka to mean – “Nah”, or “I’m good”
TASHIKA is not an adjective like AKAI, UTSUKUSHII, AKARUI, TOMEI, OR SURUDOI.
As is true in the pursuit of any language mastery, you must have an understanding of what is meant by the phrase, “milk before meat”. You can’t expect to learn something hard or complicated, or expect to eat meat with fully grown canines and flesh piercing teeth before you are able to ingest the milk from a tender mother breast. Therefore, it is wise for any language learner to begin at the beginning, and spend some time there… and hang out…even they should try singing songs about the alphabet. Alphabets being the small parts of a language that when strung together form words, and make languages, living organisms. Learning the alphabet or syllabary for the language you are learning right now will make your progress and improvement in that language easier later by doing so.
Herein lies a key to a language mastery. If an alphabet is available for the language, by all means start studying it! The best way for you to get close to a language is by studying, and saying in your mouth the little parts of the language, saying them time and time again as we all do at one point or another in civilized society. Through a careful study of the smallest and simplest parts of a language can you get to know it as intimately as you would get to know you native language.
As a child, who does not remember singing an alphabet song, reading a book for the first time, looking up a word in the dictionary for the first time, or simply reciting the alphabet. Language is something that must be learned, and its true in English and Japanese. Get yourself some hiragana, and katakana flash cards and memorize the look, feel and shape of each one being able to correctly identify each one, just as you do with the English letters. Learning the alphabet in another language is the first step towards understanding.
Please take a moment to reflect on the first times you sang The Alphabet Song, or recited you’re A,B,C’s. Now reflect upon how you came to know that 5 X 5 is = 25. I know that if you gain a solid grasp of the Japanese Syllabary, the 46 syllables that make up all the sounds of Japanese then learning Japanese will be as a piece of cake for you. It will be easy to learn the Japanese language. That’s it! The trick to learning a foreign language is starts with learning the alphabet. In the case of the Japanese language, their alphabet, isn’t an alphabet because it is not made up of just letters, it is made up of syllables. There are 46 syllables in Japanese, and even though it is more than the number of letters in the English language (English letters in the alphabet = 26) it really isn’t that many once you see how it is set up.
The Japanese syllabary is made up of 46 syllables and represents all sounds necessary for the formation of any Japanese word. It is just like the English’s Alphabet but its called the gojuon or chart of the 50 sounds. It is grouped to make the learning of it very easy. Set up in groups that follow the first 5 syllables or the Japanese vowels; a, i, u, e , o
By the time we are 12 we usually forget that we had ever even learned the English language and are so familiar with the Alphabet that we have forgotten that it was due to its recitation that we would know what we know. Reading and Writing are two sides of a coin that are wholly influenced by its contributing language’s Alphabet as are Speaking and Listening to a lesser extent. The alphabet I so ingrained into our language that we forget to take it for what it was when we try to apply these learning techniques to the way we would learn Japanese. For the purposes of learning how to read, write, speak and listen in English it was necessary to study the core of the language at first, and that was the Alphabet. A good way to get at the core, or the heart of a language is by studying it’s Alphabet. We can do that in a similar or even the same way you would learn your times tables. How much did you get for memorizing your times tables? Offer yourself a cookie and say to yourself, “If I start my Japanese study (or any language study) by learning the syllables that make up their words then I will be ahead of the learning game later on when it really gets complicated. Like I said...milk before meat. A house is built on a solid foundation. In other words, boiling it down to what I am trying to relate to those desirous of the ability to speak in another language and communicate, down the line Don’t want to cheat myself out of learning Japanese and retaining it, but good! Your parents, masters, or mentors may have promised you $5 if you memorized the times tables up to 12, but you can also do it for free…on your own… and you can reward yourself with a big surprise.
Be consistently insistent on diligent Japanese study and you will be able to communicate. And the ability to communicate with others of another country can open up whole truck loads of cool stuff. Catch the fever, learn Japanese. Tell everyone at the PTA meetings that Japanese is really not that bad. Also I ask all of those who may harrow in their souls hatred against the Japanese people to end it now so that we can live peaceably amongst each others, and learn from one another.
Japanese Adjectives The adjectives follow the syllabic structure found in the vowel row of the Gojuon, or indeci showing the 46 symbols of the Japanese syllabary in this order: A, I, U, E , and O. that represent of all sounds necessary for Japanese word formation.
KAWAI ATARASHII FURUI KIREI BOROI
TASHIKA itself is the adjective for our English term, “certain”. It is highly likely that the ka of TASHIKA has been artificially transplanted into adjectives in the Fukuoka region. TASHIKA means for certain in English and TASHIKA NI means certainly. As is the case with the irregular Japanese class of adjectives ending in ei, TASHIKA can be followed by the particle NI so that the NI can be roughly translated in sentences involving adjectives as –ly.
Japanese Easy
I know what’s good for me!
JPPGG© #91
How to say, “I know how to verb
NAN NAN SHITARA YOI KA
Verb(Base TA) + RA +
Yoi is the word for good and for all intents and purposes is equivalent to ii so that
*yoi = ii in any case
yoka – can be hear much in Fukuoka to mean – “Nah”, or “I’m good”
TASHIKA is not an adjective like AKAI, UTSUKUSHII, AKARUI, TOMEI, OR SURUDOI.
As is true in the pursuit of any language mastery, you must have an understanding of what is meant by the phrase, “milk before meat”. You can’t expect to learn something hard or complicated, or expect to eat meat with fully grown canines and flesh piercing teeth before you are able to ingest the milk from a tender mother breast. Therefore, it is wise for any language learner to begin at the beginning, and spend some time there… and hang out…even they should try singing songs about the alphabet. Alphabets being the small parts of a language that when strung together form words, and make languages, living organisms. Learning the alphabet or syllabary for the language you are learning right now will make your progress and improvement in that language easier later by doing so.
Herein lies a key to a language mastery. If an alphabet is available for the language, by all means start studying it! The best way for you to get close to a language is by studying, and saying in your mouth the little parts of the language, saying them time and time again as we all do at one point or another in civilized society. Through a careful study of the smallest and simplest parts of a language can you get to know it as intimately as you would get to know you native language.
As a child, who does not remember singing an alphabet song, reading a book for the first time, looking up a word in the dictionary for the first time, or simply reciting the alphabet. Language is something that must be learned, and its true in English and Japanese. Get yourself some hiragana, and katakana flash cards and memorize the look, feel and shape of each one being able to correctly identify each one, just as you do with the English letters. Learning the alphabet in another language is the first step towards understanding.
Please take a moment to reflect on the first times you sang The Alphabet Song, or recited you’re A,B,C’s. Now reflect upon how you came to know that 5 X 5 is = 25. I know that if you gain a solid grasp of the Japanese Syllabary, the 46 syllables that make up all the sounds of Japanese then learning Japanese will be as a piece of cake for you. It will be easy to learn the Japanese language. That’s it! The trick to learning a foreign language is starts with learning the alphabet. In the case of the Japanese language, their alphabet, isn’t an alphabet because it is not made up of just letters, it is made up of syllables. There are 46 syllables in Japanese, and even though it is more than the number of letters in the English language (English letters in the alphabet = 26) it really isn’t that many once you see how it is set up.
The Japanese syllabary is made up of 46 syllables and represents all sounds necessary for the formation of any Japanese word. It is just like the English’s Alphabet but its called the gojuon or chart of the 50 sounds. It is grouped to make the learning of it very easy. Set up in groups that follow the first 5 syllables or the Japanese vowels; a, i, u, e , o
By the time we are 12 we usually forget that we had ever even learned the English language and are so familiar with the Alphabet that we have forgotten that it was due to its recitation that we would know what we know. Reading and Writing are two sides of a coin that are wholly influenced by its contributing language’s Alphabet as are Speaking and Listening to a lesser extent. The alphabet I so ingrained into our language that we forget to take it for what it was when we try to apply these learning techniques to the way we would learn Japanese. For the purposes of learning how to read, write, speak and listen in English it was necessary to study the core of the language at first, and that was the Alphabet. A good way to get at the core, or the heart of a language is by studying it’s Alphabet. We can do that in a similar or even the same way you would learn your times tables. How much did you get for memorizing your times tables? Offer yourself a cookie and say to yourself, “If I start my Japanese study (or any language study) by learning the syllables that make up their words then I will be ahead of the learning game later on when it really gets complicated. Like I said...milk before meat. A house is built on a solid foundation. In other words, boiling it down to what I am trying to relate to those desirous of the ability to speak in another language and communicate, down the line Don’t want to cheat myself out of learning Japanese and retaining it, but good! Your parents, masters, or mentors may have promised you $5 if you memorized the times tables up to 12, but you can also do it for free…on your own… and you can reward yourself with a big surprise.
Be consistently insistent on diligent Japanese study and you will be able to communicate. And the ability to communicate with others of another country can open up whole truck loads of cool stuff. Catch the fever, learn Japanese. Tell everyone at the PTA meetings that Japanese is really not that bad. Also I ask all of those who may harrow in their souls hatred against the Japanese people to end it now so that we can live peaceably amongst each others, and learn from one another.
Japanese Adjectives The adjectives follow the syllabic structure found in the vowel row of the Gojuon, or indeci showing the 46 symbols of the Japanese syllabary in this order: A, I, U, E , and O. that represent of all sounds necessary for Japanese word formation.
KAWAI ATARASHII FURUI KIREI BOROI
TASHIKA itself is the adjective for our English term, “certain”. It is highly likely that the ka of TASHIKA has been artificially transplanted into adjectives in the Fukuoka region. TASHIKA means for certain in English and TASHIKA NI means certainly. As is the case with the irregular Japanese class of adjectives ending in ei, TASHIKA can be followed by the particle NI so that the NI can be roughly translated in sentences involving adjectives as –ly.
Japanese grammar - Base II + sugiru
In Excess – too much
When enough, is ENOUGH!
Verb (base II) + sugiru (過ぎる)
Do you overeat? Are there things which you indulge upon which others consider to be excessive. Gambling, money, sex, watching too much T.V.?
To say that you verb too much in Japanese, use the following construct:
Verb (base II) + SUGIRU 過ぎる
Any verb put into Base II can be added unto, with sugiru.
Example 1. yarisugi da ne やりすぎだね– you over do it man!
Example .2. oso^sugi 遅すぎ– used with adjectives becoming – “its too late”, hayasugi (too)
early), nagasugi 長過ぎ( too long), okiisugi 大き過ぎる(too big).
Example.3. ~tai of base II forming to want to endings becomes
Verb(Base II) + tasugi - even tai which is a form of the verb tagaru acts as adjectivial end meaning to desire the verb excessively
When enough, is ENOUGH!
Verb (base II) + sugiru (過ぎる)
Do you overeat? Are there things which you indulge upon which others consider to be excessive. Gambling, money, sex, watching too much T.V.?
To say that you verb too much in Japanese, use the following construct:
Verb (base II) + SUGIRU 過ぎる
Any verb put into Base II can be added unto, with sugiru.
Example 1. yarisugi da ne やりすぎだね– you over do it man!
Example .2. oso^sugi 遅すぎ– used with adjectives becoming – “its too late”, hayasugi (too)
early), nagasugi 長過ぎ( too long), okiisugi 大き過ぎる(too big).
Example.3. ~tai of base II forming to want to endings becomes
Verb(Base II) + tasugi - even tai which is a form of the verb tagaru acts as adjectivial end meaning to desire the verb excessively
May 8, 2008
genkan what is it?
A Brief History of the tradition of the Japanese Genkan.
By Makurasuki Sensei,
Brett McCluskey
These are some thoughts on the Japanese Genkan, or place typically; shoes are taken off before storming into a traditional Japanese house. You see, unlike in America where we could just jump up and down on our bed with our shoes on ( I have spent many an hour having fun turning the motel six twin size mattress box spring into my own personal trampoline) and not cause a stir, in Japan it is altogether another thing to consider. If you were to Jump on a bed in Japan with your shoes on, a Japanese traditionalist might just flip out on you. It is a no no in Japan to jump on anything inside of a house with your shoes on. That means tables, beds, chairs, must not be worn past the Genkan and should never be worn when standing upon furniture that is higher than the ground.
During my first stay in Japan, I used to get embarrassed because my American friend’s feet would give off the most putrid of odors, and for long distances too. The smell of his feet could cut through a stable full of horses and cattle chewing their cud. It was hard not to gag on occasion. I mean his feet stunk. I can’t really tell you if the odor emanated from his feet, or his socks, because, well it didn’t matter; they both stunk. I would be embarrassed for him and me, because I thought that I could control the way things smelled on other people or something, but alas I couldn’t.
Can you imagine eating at the dinner table or trying to have candid conversation with some new friends you just met only to find out the friend you had brought didn’t have control on his feet hygiene and the odor most unbearable. How atrocious! How outrageous! I thought to myself, be-gone you foul beast at once! Come back when you can be more civilized, or at least when your feet aren't noticeable to the olfactory senses at the distance of 6 feet.
Let’s imagine we are in Japan at a small gathering of some friends. Because it can get pretty chilly in the winter, are all gathered around a nice, warm, and fluffy kotatsu ((quilted) electric blanket \ table), to play the card game buta no shippo (Pig’s tail) Oh no! Not that smells again. Like incense rising up from the depths of odor hell, your friend subjugates everyone to that wretched, didn’t mean to know you, go home! Take a bath! Wash your feet! That wretched friendly scent of your friend’s sweaty polyester, fibrous odor drip that is by now smelling all too familiar.
In America, we wouldn’t have this problem because Americans go everywhere in their shoes, and it doesn’t matter, because you never have to take them off. You can keep your shoes on all day in America. Not in Japan. Before you step foot inside a Japanese dwelling you must take off your shoes. I am full blooded American and can remember as a kid going to sleep in my shoes a couple of times. They wouldn’t have had that in Japan. Also I remember accidentally stepping on some doggy doo and accidentally walking all over my mom’s carpets and then jumping on my bed. Well that sort of thing wouldn’t happen in Japan. Shoes are great, but in Japan, shoes can become cumbersome due to the limitations on living spaces, but more importantly the act of taking off one’s shoes before entering a home or dwelling is a tradition. A good custom as you shall see.
Like other countries of the East, the Japanese take off their shoes before entering houses, dwellings, apartments, condo’s, etc. When I first got to Japan it was awkward at first to take off my shoes, because I had shoes with laces and it was mendoukusai (tedious) when I left to tie my shoes up again after just un-tying them when I arrived. I followed the custom at first only because every one else was doing it. Yes! This was one of those times that if the whole Japanese country were going to jump off the cliff I was going to jump too. *When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do!* There were places I thought were abnormal for taking off my shoes like kindergartens, eating establishments, bowling alleys, karaoke rooms, lots of weird places you wouldn’t even think of taking your shoes off at in America, even the bathroom at bars and weirder places yet.
I had one friend who was so particular about this custom, he would insist on me taking off my shoes before getting into his car. I was obliged to follow the tradition. *When in Rome Do as the Romans Do!* This friend was a little more gung-ho than your average Akira, but it shows you just how far this tradition extends itself into everyday life. He was a little overly devout or passionate about keeping his car clean but at the same time did it for other beneficial, even religious type reasons which we will explore in the coming paragraphs.
Why do the Japanese take off their shoes before entering a home or other things including cars? Why is it considered rude to stand on a chair, or a table or a sofa or seat etc. with your shoes on? In this lense I am going to share my experiences with the custom of taking off your shoes before entering a house and the traditions of the genkan (place where you place your shoes before stepping into a house.) And we will talk a little bit about the way the genkan has been extended in use in modern Japanese society. We are going to try to answer the reasons behind this strange custom and why this genkan thing exists. Also after relaying as much as I can about this custom, we will continue our JPPGG© or Japanese plug and play ghetto grammar sessions so that you will add one more grammar principle to your growing list of Japanese language weapons.
I’m not prejudice nor am I generalizing that all Americans have stinky feet, but, I know that even my feet have a tendency to get stinky when I sweat, run or wear keep my shoes on for too long to wear my shoes everywhere and anywhere in any situation at all times, even to bed, even jumping on the bed, even standing on chairs, cars, wherever on whatever, it didn’t matter. I, being an American having no background in Japanese customs and not having any tradition similar to taking my shoes off before entering the house, I felt quite comfortable doing as I always had done. It wasn’t until I saw the expression of horror, surprise and shear shock of my Japanese friend that I ever began to take seriously the Japanese tradition of taking off my shoes before entering places. I saw on a man’s face as I simply stood upon a chair to change a light bulb, mind you, I had my shoes on, but he gasped in horror and made me instantly get down from the chair. What on Earth could I have possibly done to make him gasp in horror? All I did was stand on a chair and was attempting to change a light bulb. I thought so what gives.
One thing to consider is that conformity may be an ally in these type of situations, because, “When {you are} in Rome, Do as the Romans Do”. It is important to recognize and respect another cultures traditions and customs, and I hope you agree, so that our humanity will flourish in mutual benefits. Conformity is the nature of the task. Group philosophy versus individuality. Well an incomplete writ that hopefully stirred your thought buds… Now on to the Japanese Grammar . . . Yoku verb(base TA) + aru
This is JPPGG© bunpo principle #87.
Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar Japanese Language Learning
By Makurasuki Sensei, Brett McCluskey
Towards The Mastery of Spoken Japanese
To say in Japanese that you used to ~ verb, (at regular intervals and at some point in the past) use the following construction:
I. (I/You/He/She/They/We/It) used to ~ verb.
I. yoku verb (base TA) MONO DESU.
The following examples will help you grasp today’s JPPGG construction. After you get a feel for how this grammar is made, just keep plugging new verbs into the verb area in Base TA and then continue playing by making your own unique and interesting sentences. And don’t forget to practice saying all your newly created sentences out-loud. Drilling and killing, or plugging and playing words into the constructions in this way are bound to improve your Japanese conversation skills quickly. Add grammar principles to your Japanese language arsenal, for your benefit to use any time necessary.
Continue in the fold, studying, pondering, researching, cross-referencing so that all that you learn can be ingrained within you, ne’er to be lost in the space-time continuum.
Keep plugging and playing until your friends tell you they cannot stand how much you practice your Japanese or until they say stop. But even if you start bugging people because you practice too much just keep telling yourself that the practice that I am doing will surely cause me to improve. Just keep practicing the grammar constructions and saying to yourself new sentences of your own creation until your friends or you go to sleep, whichever comes first. You want to get better at Japanese, don’t you? Well don’t bicker…do quicker! Here are some nice examples with an occasional ghetto phrase sprinkled in here or there to spice up the flavorful fun, so that you can have a good time studying Japanese.
1. When I was younger, I used to ride my bike to school.
Watakushi ga motto wakai koro, jitensha de yoku gakko ni itta mono desu.
{As for I, in the more young time, by bike often school went thing is.}1
2. He used to cheat, but the teacher busted him, and now he is a good boy.
Kare wa mae yoku kanningu shita mono desu keredomo sensei ni barete shimatte ima orikosan desu.
3. I used to play there a lot.
Watakushi wa soko de yoku asonda mono da.
G.A.B. or the Ghetto After Blast – One point advice
The Japanese verb nareru means, “To get used to” which is similar to the used to that you have been getting used to in this bunpo. Nareru is a really cool word, and you will hear it a lot in Japanese conversation.
Ex.1 He is used to that job.
Kare wa sono shigoto ni narete imasu.
As Always, Do your Best! Ganbatte Ne!
Makurasuki Sensei.
http://squidoo.com/genkan
http://squidoo.com/japanesevocabulary34
By Makurasuki Sensei,
Brett McCluskey
These are some thoughts on the Japanese Genkan, or place typically; shoes are taken off before storming into a traditional Japanese house. You see, unlike in America where we could just jump up and down on our bed with our shoes on ( I have spent many an hour having fun turning the motel six twin size mattress box spring into my own personal trampoline) and not cause a stir, in Japan it is altogether another thing to consider. If you were to Jump on a bed in Japan with your shoes on, a Japanese traditionalist might just flip out on you. It is a no no in Japan to jump on anything inside of a house with your shoes on. That means tables, beds, chairs, must not be worn past the Genkan and should never be worn when standing upon furniture that is higher than the ground.
During my first stay in Japan, I used to get embarrassed because my American friend’s feet would give off the most putrid of odors, and for long distances too. The smell of his feet could cut through a stable full of horses and cattle chewing their cud. It was hard not to gag on occasion. I mean his feet stunk. I can’t really tell you if the odor emanated from his feet, or his socks, because, well it didn’t matter; they both stunk. I would be embarrassed for him and me, because I thought that I could control the way things smelled on other people or something, but alas I couldn’t.
Can you imagine eating at the dinner table or trying to have candid conversation with some new friends you just met only to find out the friend you had brought didn’t have control on his feet hygiene and the odor most unbearable. How atrocious! How outrageous! I thought to myself, be-gone you foul beast at once! Come back when you can be more civilized, or at least when your feet aren't noticeable to the olfactory senses at the distance of 6 feet.
Let’s imagine we are in Japan at a small gathering of some friends. Because it can get pretty chilly in the winter, are all gathered around a nice, warm, and fluffy kotatsu ((quilted) electric blanket \ table), to play the card game buta no shippo (Pig’s tail) Oh no! Not that smells again. Like incense rising up from the depths of odor hell, your friend subjugates everyone to that wretched, didn’t mean to know you, go home! Take a bath! Wash your feet! That wretched friendly scent of your friend’s sweaty polyester, fibrous odor drip that is by now smelling all too familiar.
In America, we wouldn’t have this problem because Americans go everywhere in their shoes, and it doesn’t matter, because you never have to take them off. You can keep your shoes on all day in America. Not in Japan. Before you step foot inside a Japanese dwelling you must take off your shoes. I am full blooded American and can remember as a kid going to sleep in my shoes a couple of times. They wouldn’t have had that in Japan. Also I remember accidentally stepping on some doggy doo and accidentally walking all over my mom’s carpets and then jumping on my bed. Well that sort of thing wouldn’t happen in Japan. Shoes are great, but in Japan, shoes can become cumbersome due to the limitations on living spaces, but more importantly the act of taking off one’s shoes before entering a home or dwelling is a tradition. A good custom as you shall see.
Like other countries of the East, the Japanese take off their shoes before entering houses, dwellings, apartments, condo’s, etc. When I first got to Japan it was awkward at first to take off my shoes, because I had shoes with laces and it was mendoukusai (tedious) when I left to tie my shoes up again after just un-tying them when I arrived. I followed the custom at first only because every one else was doing it. Yes! This was one of those times that if the whole Japanese country were going to jump off the cliff I was going to jump too. *When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do!* There were places I thought were abnormal for taking off my shoes like kindergartens, eating establishments, bowling alleys, karaoke rooms, lots of weird places you wouldn’t even think of taking your shoes off at in America, even the bathroom at bars and weirder places yet.
I had one friend who was so particular about this custom, he would insist on me taking off my shoes before getting into his car. I was obliged to follow the tradition. *When in Rome Do as the Romans Do!* This friend was a little more gung-ho than your average Akira, but it shows you just how far this tradition extends itself into everyday life. He was a little overly devout or passionate about keeping his car clean but at the same time did it for other beneficial, even religious type reasons which we will explore in the coming paragraphs.
Why do the Japanese take off their shoes before entering a home or other things including cars? Why is it considered rude to stand on a chair, or a table or a sofa or seat etc. with your shoes on? In this lense I am going to share my experiences with the custom of taking off your shoes before entering a house and the traditions of the genkan (place where you place your shoes before stepping into a house.) And we will talk a little bit about the way the genkan has been extended in use in modern Japanese society. We are going to try to answer the reasons behind this strange custom and why this genkan thing exists. Also after relaying as much as I can about this custom, we will continue our JPPGG© or Japanese plug and play ghetto grammar sessions so that you will add one more grammar principle to your growing list of Japanese language weapons.
I’m not prejudice nor am I generalizing that all Americans have stinky feet, but, I know that even my feet have a tendency to get stinky when I sweat, run or wear keep my shoes on for too long to wear my shoes everywhere and anywhere in any situation at all times, even to bed, even jumping on the bed, even standing on chairs, cars, wherever on whatever, it didn’t matter. I, being an American having no background in Japanese customs and not having any tradition similar to taking my shoes off before entering the house, I felt quite comfortable doing as I always had done. It wasn’t until I saw the expression of horror, surprise and shear shock of my Japanese friend that I ever began to take seriously the Japanese tradition of taking off my shoes before entering places. I saw on a man’s face as I simply stood upon a chair to change a light bulb, mind you, I had my shoes on, but he gasped in horror and made me instantly get down from the chair. What on Earth could I have possibly done to make him gasp in horror? All I did was stand on a chair and was attempting to change a light bulb. I thought so what gives.
One thing to consider is that conformity may be an ally in these type of situations, because, “When {you are} in Rome, Do as the Romans Do”. It is important to recognize and respect another cultures traditions and customs, and I hope you agree, so that our humanity will flourish in mutual benefits. Conformity is the nature of the task. Group philosophy versus individuality. Well an incomplete writ that hopefully stirred your thought buds… Now on to the Japanese Grammar . . . Yoku verb(base TA) + aru
This is JPPGG© bunpo principle #87.
Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar Japanese Language Learning
By Makurasuki Sensei, Brett McCluskey
Towards The Mastery of Spoken Japanese
To say in Japanese that you used to ~ verb, (at regular intervals and at some point in the past) use the following construction:
I. (I/You/He/She/They/We/It) used to ~ verb.
I. yoku verb (base TA) MONO DESU.
The following examples will help you grasp today’s JPPGG construction. After you get a feel for how this grammar is made, just keep plugging new verbs into the verb area in Base TA and then continue playing by making your own unique and interesting sentences. And don’t forget to practice saying all your newly created sentences out-loud. Drilling and killing, or plugging and playing words into the constructions in this way are bound to improve your Japanese conversation skills quickly. Add grammar principles to your Japanese language arsenal, for your benefit to use any time necessary.
Continue in the fold, studying, pondering, researching, cross-referencing so that all that you learn can be ingrained within you, ne’er to be lost in the space-time continuum.
Keep plugging and playing until your friends tell you they cannot stand how much you practice your Japanese or until they say stop. But even if you start bugging people because you practice too much just keep telling yourself that the practice that I am doing will surely cause me to improve. Just keep practicing the grammar constructions and saying to yourself new sentences of your own creation until your friends or you go to sleep, whichever comes first. You want to get better at Japanese, don’t you? Well don’t bicker…do quicker! Here are some nice examples with an occasional ghetto phrase sprinkled in here or there to spice up the flavorful fun, so that you can have a good time studying Japanese.
1. When I was younger, I used to ride my bike to school.
Watakushi ga motto wakai koro, jitensha de yoku gakko ni itta mono desu.
{As for I, in the more young time, by bike often school went thing is.}1
2. He used to cheat, but the teacher busted him, and now he is a good boy.
Kare wa mae yoku kanningu shita mono desu keredomo sensei ni barete shimatte ima orikosan desu.
3. I used to play there a lot.
Watakushi wa soko de yoku asonda mono da.
G.A.B. or the Ghetto After Blast – One point advice
The Japanese verb nareru means, “To get used to” which is similar to the used to that you have been getting used to in this bunpo. Nareru is a really cool word, and you will hear it a lot in Japanese conversation.
Ex.1 He is used to that job.
Kare wa sono shigoto ni narete imasu.
As Always, Do your Best! Ganbatte Ne!
Makurasuki Sensei.
http://squidoo.com/genkan
http://squidoo.com/japanesevocabulary34
Japanese language and on learning a foreign language?
Take for example the days of the week. First off in almost every single language in the world there is a day denoted as the Sun’s day or the day of the Sun, and a moon day, or day of the moon. the words for the days of the week in Japanese, we are liable to pass it off as mere coincidence, the similarities are striking. The following table shows the words for days of the week in Japanese and in English.
Kasei are made of two kanji, ka and sei, or fire and star. Kasei translates as fire day. In English our equivalent of fire’s day is Tuesday, named after the Tiu the god of war and the sky. But before the Germanic peoples renamed the second day of the week Tuesday, the Romans had a system of naming the days of the week after their god and had called it dies martis ‘day of mars’, after the war god (source of French Mardi ‘Tuesday’). (Ayto, 544)
The kanji for Saturday being read do or basically the term for dirt or dirt’s day but is also the root of the Japanese word for Saturn, which is Dosei.
As for the third day of the week, some languages call it the 3rd day or day 3(Vietnamese) In Japanese this day is denoted as Suiyobi or day of the water, water’s day. The Germanic peoples called this day woden’s day or day of Odin after one of their mightiest gods. It seems that Wednesday got all screwed up being filtrated through the evolution of languages. It makes sense because Wednesday is in the middle of the week and if there are going to be corruptions from the pure form from whence the original words came from then the word for the middle of the week makes sense. In Japanese the word for mercury is kasei which would find its relations to our Tuesday. The Japanese Suisei is the planet
Now Thursday was named after the god Thor (where our English thunder comes from) but in the Roman system of naming the days of the week the fourth day was names dies jovis or day of Jupiter. In Japanese the fourth day is denoted Moku sei or day of the tree which is from the same root as that for their word for Jupiter, and that word being Mokusei.
Now Friday is denoted as Kinsei or day of gold in Japanese which is the same root for the word for planet kinsei which is Venus. The Germanic peoples called it after Odin’s wife Frigg (Ayto, 241) ‘Frigg’s day’ was a direct adaptation of Latin Veneris dies “Venus’s day’ (whence French vendredi ‘Friday’)
Kasei are made of two kanji, ka and sei, or fire and star. Kasei translates as fire day. In English our equivalent of fire’s day is Tuesday, named after the Tiu the god of war and the sky. But before the Germanic peoples renamed the second day of the week Tuesday, the Romans had a system of naming the days of the week after their god and had called it dies martis ‘day of mars’, after the war god (source of French Mardi ‘Tuesday’). (Ayto, 544)
The kanji for Saturday being read do or basically the term for dirt or dirt’s day but is also the root of the Japanese word for Saturn, which is Dosei.
As for the third day of the week, some languages call it the 3rd day or day 3(Vietnamese) In Japanese this day is denoted as Suiyobi or day of the water, water’s day. The Germanic peoples called this day woden’s day or day of Odin after one of their mightiest gods. It seems that Wednesday got all screwed up being filtrated through the evolution of languages. It makes sense because Wednesday is in the middle of the week and if there are going to be corruptions from the pure form from whence the original words came from then the word for the middle of the week makes sense. In Japanese the word for mercury is kasei which would find its relations to our Tuesday. The Japanese Suisei is the planet
Now Thursday was named after the god Thor (where our English thunder comes from) but in the Roman system of naming the days of the week the fourth day was names dies jovis or day of Jupiter. In Japanese the fourth day is denoted Moku sei or day of the tree which is from the same root as that for their word for Jupiter, and that word being Mokusei.
Now Friday is denoted as Kinsei or day of gold in Japanese which is the same root for the word for planet kinsei which is Venus. The Germanic peoples called it after Odin’s wife Frigg (Ayto, 241) ‘Frigg’s day’ was a direct adaptation of Latin Veneris dies “Venus’s day’ (whence French vendredi ‘Friday’)
wierd Japanese words
Many words in Japanese don’t have exact, equivalent translations in English. Japan has a very old national history dating back to at least 600 A.D. The Japanese language has been evolving since even before that time. Customs and traditions are different and unique to each country’s environment and history. Words, phrases, and expressions also are unique to each country's environment and history. Here are some Japanese phrases that have evolved in Japan that we just don't have in English.
(御) お- 世話 様 でした – O-SEWA SAMA DESHITA – You did a terribly awfully nice favor for me and I am completely grateful and you really helped a lot.
御 苦労 様 でした - GO-KURO^ SAMA DESHITA – You worked very hard today and we pay thee much respect and thanks for your hard efforts, it must have been a lot of hard work but good going and thanks.
御 疲れ 様 でした - O TSUKARE SAMA DESHITA - You tired yourself out and did a great job. Thanks for the great work you have done.
余計なお-世話 だ! - YOKEI NA O-SEWA DA! – It’s None Of Your (Darn) Business!
おりこさん- ORIKO SAN – He is such a good kid, or she is so well behaved.
じゃね - JA NE – see ya, later, adios, ciao, lates, see you on the flipside, peace out
でわ また- Dewa Mata – until next time, see you later, talk at you soon, peace out
(御) お- 世話 様 でした – O-SEWA SAMA DESHITA – You did a terribly awfully nice favor for me and I am completely grateful and you really helped a lot.
御 苦労 様 でした - GO-KURO^ SAMA DESHITA – You worked very hard today and we pay thee much respect and thanks for your hard efforts, it must have been a lot of hard work but good going and thanks.
御 疲れ 様 でした - O TSUKARE SAMA DESHITA - You tired yourself out and did a great job. Thanks for the great work you have done.
余計なお-世話 だ! - YOKEI NA O-SEWA DA! – It’s None Of Your (Darn) Business!
おりこさん- ORIKO SAN – He is such a good kid, or she is so well behaved.
じゃね - JA NE – see ya, later, adios, ciao, lates, see you on the flipside, peace out
でわ また- Dewa Mata – until next time, see you later, talk at you soon, peace out
May 7, 2008
Vocab lesson in Japanese with links
Japanese Vocabulary Blaster #25
15 Words Every 2 Days.
Learn, Memorize, Study, Ponder
Rinse, Get Quizzed, Repeat
Now Blast!
1. boeki - trade
2. teian - suggestion
3. teian suru – to suggest
4. kemushi - caterpillar
5. kitai hazure – let down
6. kigen ga kireru – time limit, expiration date
7. kyo^ryo^ku suru – to cooperate
8. doryo^ku suru – to try
9. giri no oto^san* – father-in-law
10. nokogiri – a saw
11. jika – ear doctor
12. jibika – ear and throat doctor
13.songai - damage
14. tsune = itsumo, usually, always, commonly
15. noritsu - efficicient
As Always,
Ganbatte Ne!
Do Your Best!
Makurasuki Sensei
to see the list of the last 15 words you should have already memorized go to Japanese Vocabulary 24 or go on to memorize your next 15 here at
Japanese Vocabulary 26
http://squidutils.com/lensmaster/brettkun.rss
438510347X
15 Words Every 2 Days.
Learn, Memorize, Study, Ponder
Rinse, Get Quizzed, Repeat
Now Blast!
1. boeki - trade
2. teian - suggestion
3. teian suru – to suggest
4. kemushi - caterpillar
5. kitai hazure – let down
6. kigen ga kireru – time limit, expiration date
7. kyo^ryo^ku suru – to cooperate
8. doryo^ku suru – to try
9. giri no oto^san* – father-in-law
10. nokogiri – a saw
11. jika – ear doctor
12. jibika – ear and throat doctor
13.songai - damage
14. tsune = itsumo, usually, always, commonly
15. noritsu - efficicient
As Always,
Ganbatte Ne!
Do Your Best!
Makurasuki Sensei
to see the list of the last 15 words you should have already memorized go to Japanese Vocabulary 24 or go on to memorize your next 15 here at
Japanese Vocabulary 26
http://squidutils.com/lensmaster/brettkun.rss
438510347X
One Japanese Secret that may help in your quest for mastery
A Secret So Easy, It will turn the tedious and sometimes daunting task of learning another language fun to making language learning Easy
Japanese Easy
I know what is good for me!
JPPGG© #91
How to say, “I know how to verb
NAN NAN SHITARA YOI KA
Verb (Base TA) + RA +
YOI is the word for good and for all intents and purposes is equivalent to ii so that
*YOI = ii in any case (pronounced ee)
YOKA – can be heard often in the Fukuoka region. It is a part of the hakata-ben dialect. It means essentially– “Nah...”, or “I’m good!”
TASHIKA is not an adjective like AKAI, UTSUKUSHII, AKARUI, TOMEI, OR SURUDOI.
As is true in the pursuit of any language mastery, you must have an understanding of what is meant by the phrase, “milk before meat”. You cannot expect to learn something hard or complicated, or expect to eat meat with fully-grown canines and flesh piercing teeth before you are able to ingest the milk from a tender mother breast. Therefore, it is wise for any language learner to begin at the beginning, and spend some time there… and hang out…even they should try singing songs about the alphabet. Alphabets being the small parts of a language that when strung together form words, and make languages, living organisms. Learning the alphabet or syllabary for the language you are learning right now will make your progress and improvement in that language easier later by doing so.
Herein lies a key to language mastery. If an alphabet is available for the language, start studying it! The best way for you to get close to a language is by studying, and saying in your mouth the little parts of the language, saying them repeatedly as we all do at one point or another in civilized society. Only through a careful study of the smallest and simplest parts of a language can you get to know it as intimately as you would get to know your native language.
As a child, who does not remember singing an alphabet song, reading a book for the first time, looking up a word in the dictionary for the first time, or simply reciting the alphabet? Language is something that must be learned, and it is true in English and Japanese. Get yourself some Hiragana and katakana flash cards and memorize the look, feel and shape of each one being able to correctly identify each one, just as you do with the English letters. Learning the alphabet in another language is the first step towards understanding.
Please take a moment to reflect on the first times you sang ‘The Alphabet Song', or recited your A,B,C’s. Now reflect upon how you came to know that 5 X 5 is = 25. I know that if you gain a solid grasp of the Japanese Syllabary, the 46 syllables that make up all the sounds of Japanese then learning Japanese will be as a piece of cake for you. It will be easy to learn the Japanese language. That’s it! The trick to learning a foreign language is starts with learning the alphabet. In the case of the Japanese language, their alphabet, is not an alphabet because it is not made up of just letters, it is made up of syllables. There are 46 syllables in Japanese, and even though it is more than the number of letters in the English language (English letters in the alphabet = 26) it really is not that many once you see how it is set up.
The Japanese syllabary is made up of 46 syllables and represents all sounds necessary for the formation of any Japanese word. It is just like the English’s Alphabet but its called the gojuon or chart of the 50 sounds. It is grouped to make the learning of it very easy. Set up in groups that follow the first 5 syllables or the Japanese vowels; a, i, u, e , o
By the time we are 12 we usually forget that we had ever even learned the English language and are so familiar with the Alphabet that we have forgotten that it was due to its recitation that we would know what we know. Reading and Writing are two sides of a coin that are wholly influenced by its contributing language’s Alphabet as are Speaking and Listening to a lesser extent. The alphabet I so ingrained into our language that we forget to take it for what it was when we try to apply these learning techniques to the way we would learn Japanese. For the purposes of learning how to read, write, speak and listen in English it was necessary to study the core of the language at first, and that was the Alphabet. A good way to get at the core, or the heart of a language is by studying it’s Alphabet. We can do that in a similar or even the same way you would learn your times tables. How much did you get for memorizing your times tables? Offer yourself a cookie and say to yourself, “If I start my Japanese study (or any language study) by learning the syllables that make up their words then I will be ahead of the learning game later on when it really gets complicated. Like I said...milk before meat. A house is built on a solid foundation. In other words, boiling it down to what I am trying to relate to those desirous of the ability to speak in another language and communicate, down the line Don’t want to cheat myself out of learning Japanese and retaining it, but good! Your parents, masters, or mentors may have promised you $5 if you memorized the times tables up to 12, but you can also do it for free…on your own… and you can reward yourself with a big surprise.
Be consistently insistent on diligent Japanese study and you will be able to communicate. And the ability to communicate with others of another country can open up whole truck loads of cool stuff. Catch the fever, learn Japanese. Tell everyone at the PTA meetings that Japanese is really not that bad. Also I ask all of those who may harrow in their souls hatred against the Japanese people to end it now so that we can live peaceably amongst each others, and learn from one another.
Japanese Adjectives
The adjectives follow the syllabic structure found in the vowel row of the Gojuon, or indeci showing the 46 symbols of the Japanese syllabary in this order: A, I, U, E , and O. that represent of all sounds necessary for Japanese word formation.
The first five syllables in
the GoJu On
A
I
U
E*
O
AI
II
UI
EI
OI
Example adjectives showing the various endings
KAWAI
ATARASHII
FURUI
KIREI*
BOROI
TASHIKA itself is the adjective for our English term, “certain”. It is highly likely that the ka of TASHIKA has been artificially transplanted into adjectives in the Fukuoka region. TASHIKA means for certain in English and TASHIKA NI means certainly. As is the case with the irregular Japanese class of adjectives ending in ei, TASHIKA can be followed by the particle NI so that the NI can be roughly translated in sentences involving adjectives as –ly.
Below are some common Japanese adjectives that I have found most useful.
可愛 kawai かわい - cute
恐い kowai こわい - scary
近い chikai ちかい - close
鋭い surudoi するどい sharp
賢い kashikoi かしこい - smart
堅い katai かたい - hard
短い mijikai みじかい - short
細い hosoi ほそい - narrow
長い nagai ながい - long
明るい akarui あかるい - bright
太い futoi ふとい - fat
厚いatsui あつい - thick
暑いatsui あつい - thick
熱いatsui あつい - hot
寒いsamui さむい – cold
涼しいsuzushii すずしい – cool
激しいhageshii はげしい - violent
難しmuzukashii むつ"かしい - difficult
簡単kantan かんたん – easy
眠いnemui ねむい - sleepy
眠たいnemutai ねむたい - sleepy
低いhikui ひくい - low
高いtakai たかい - tall
珍しいmezurashii めずらしい - rare
大きいookii おおきいい - big
小さいchiisai ちいさい – small
古いfurui ふるい - old
若いwakai わかい - young
広いhiroi ひろい - wide
安いyasui やすい - cheap, easy
目覚しい mezamashii めざましい - alert
凄いtsumetai つめたい - chilly
強いtsuyoi つよい - strong
弱いyowai よわい - weak
柔らかい yawarakai - soft
早い hayai - fast
遅いosoi - slow
重い omoi - heavy
暗い kurai くらい - dark
重たい omotai おもたい - heavy
軽い karui かるい - light
恥ずかしい hazukashii はずかしい - embarassing
喧しいyakamashii やかましい – loud, obnoxious
静か shizuka しずか - quiet
素晴らしい subarashii すばらしい - wonderful
美味しい oishii おいしい – delicious
酸っぱいsuppai すっぱい - sour
甘い あまい amai あまい - sweet
狭い せまいsemai せまい – narrow
悔しい kuyashii くやしいvexing, mortifying
怪しいayashii – doubtful, suspicious
辛いtsurai つらい – hard, difficult
美しいutsukushi うつくし - beautiful
面白いomoshiroi おもしろい - interesting
chikarazuyoiちからずよい - powerful
かこいkakoi – stylish, handsome
惜しいoshii – regretful
Japanese Easy
I know what is good for me!
JPPGG© #91
How to say, “I know how to verb
NAN NAN SHITARA YOI KA
Verb (Base TA) + RA +
YOI is the word for good and for all intents and purposes is equivalent to ii so that
*YOI = ii in any case (pronounced ee)
YOKA – can be heard often in the Fukuoka region. It is a part of the hakata-ben dialect. It means essentially– “Nah...”, or “I’m good!”
TASHIKA is not an adjective like AKAI, UTSUKUSHII, AKARUI, TOMEI, OR SURUDOI.
As is true in the pursuit of any language mastery, you must have an understanding of what is meant by the phrase, “milk before meat”. You cannot expect to learn something hard or complicated, or expect to eat meat with fully-grown canines and flesh piercing teeth before you are able to ingest the milk from a tender mother breast. Therefore, it is wise for any language learner to begin at the beginning, and spend some time there… and hang out…even they should try singing songs about the alphabet. Alphabets being the small parts of a language that when strung together form words, and make languages, living organisms. Learning the alphabet or syllabary for the language you are learning right now will make your progress and improvement in that language easier later by doing so.
Herein lies a key to language mastery. If an alphabet is available for the language, start studying it! The best way for you to get close to a language is by studying, and saying in your mouth the little parts of the language, saying them repeatedly as we all do at one point or another in civilized society. Only through a careful study of the smallest and simplest parts of a language can you get to know it as intimately as you would get to know your native language.
As a child, who does not remember singing an alphabet song, reading a book for the first time, looking up a word in the dictionary for the first time, or simply reciting the alphabet? Language is something that must be learned, and it is true in English and Japanese. Get yourself some Hiragana and katakana flash cards and memorize the look, feel and shape of each one being able to correctly identify each one, just as you do with the English letters. Learning the alphabet in another language is the first step towards understanding.
Please take a moment to reflect on the first times you sang ‘The Alphabet Song', or recited your A,B,C’s. Now reflect upon how you came to know that 5 X 5 is = 25. I know that if you gain a solid grasp of the Japanese Syllabary, the 46 syllables that make up all the sounds of Japanese then learning Japanese will be as a piece of cake for you. It will be easy to learn the Japanese language. That’s it! The trick to learning a foreign language is starts with learning the alphabet. In the case of the Japanese language, their alphabet, is not an alphabet because it is not made up of just letters, it is made up of syllables. There are 46 syllables in Japanese, and even though it is more than the number of letters in the English language (English letters in the alphabet = 26) it really is not that many once you see how it is set up.
The Japanese syllabary is made up of 46 syllables and represents all sounds necessary for the formation of any Japanese word. It is just like the English’s Alphabet but its called the gojuon or chart of the 50 sounds. It is grouped to make the learning of it very easy. Set up in groups that follow the first 5 syllables or the Japanese vowels; a, i, u, e , o
By the time we are 12 we usually forget that we had ever even learned the English language and are so familiar with the Alphabet that we have forgotten that it was due to its recitation that we would know what we know. Reading and Writing are two sides of a coin that are wholly influenced by its contributing language’s Alphabet as are Speaking and Listening to a lesser extent. The alphabet I so ingrained into our language that we forget to take it for what it was when we try to apply these learning techniques to the way we would learn Japanese. For the purposes of learning how to read, write, speak and listen in English it was necessary to study the core of the language at first, and that was the Alphabet. A good way to get at the core, or the heart of a language is by studying it’s Alphabet. We can do that in a similar or even the same way you would learn your times tables. How much did you get for memorizing your times tables? Offer yourself a cookie and say to yourself, “If I start my Japanese study (or any language study) by learning the syllables that make up their words then I will be ahead of the learning game later on when it really gets complicated. Like I said...milk before meat. A house is built on a solid foundation. In other words, boiling it down to what I am trying to relate to those desirous of the ability to speak in another language and communicate, down the line Don’t want to cheat myself out of learning Japanese and retaining it, but good! Your parents, masters, or mentors may have promised you $5 if you memorized the times tables up to 12, but you can also do it for free…on your own… and you can reward yourself with a big surprise.
Be consistently insistent on diligent Japanese study and you will be able to communicate. And the ability to communicate with others of another country can open up whole truck loads of cool stuff. Catch the fever, learn Japanese. Tell everyone at the PTA meetings that Japanese is really not that bad. Also I ask all of those who may harrow in their souls hatred against the Japanese people to end it now so that we can live peaceably amongst each others, and learn from one another.
Japanese Adjectives
The adjectives follow the syllabic structure found in the vowel row of the Gojuon, or indeci showing the 46 symbols of the Japanese syllabary in this order: A, I, U, E , and O. that represent of all sounds necessary for Japanese word formation.
The first five syllables in
the GoJu On
A
I
U
E*
O
AI
II
UI
EI
OI
Example adjectives showing the various endings
KAWAI
ATARASHII
FURUI
KIREI*
BOROI
TASHIKA itself is the adjective for our English term, “certain”. It is highly likely that the ka of TASHIKA has been artificially transplanted into adjectives in the Fukuoka region. TASHIKA means for certain in English and TASHIKA NI means certainly. As is the case with the irregular Japanese class of adjectives ending in ei, TASHIKA can be followed by the particle NI so that the NI can be roughly translated in sentences involving adjectives as –ly.
Below are some common Japanese adjectives that I have found most useful.
可愛 kawai かわい - cute
恐い kowai こわい - scary
近い chikai ちかい - close
鋭い surudoi するどい sharp
賢い kashikoi かしこい - smart
堅い katai かたい - hard
短い mijikai みじかい - short
細い hosoi ほそい - narrow
長い nagai ながい - long
明るい akarui あかるい - bright
太い futoi ふとい - fat
厚いatsui あつい - thick
暑いatsui あつい - thick
熱いatsui あつい - hot
寒いsamui さむい – cold
涼しいsuzushii すずしい – cool
激しいhageshii はげしい - violent
難しmuzukashii むつ"かしい - difficult
簡単kantan かんたん – easy
眠いnemui ねむい - sleepy
眠たいnemutai ねむたい - sleepy
低いhikui ひくい - low
高いtakai たかい - tall
珍しいmezurashii めずらしい - rare
大きいookii おおきいい - big
小さいchiisai ちいさい – small
古いfurui ふるい - old
若いwakai わかい - young
広いhiroi ひろい - wide
安いyasui やすい - cheap, easy
目覚しい mezamashii めざましい - alert
凄いtsumetai つめたい - chilly
強いtsuyoi つよい - strong
弱いyowai よわい - weak
柔らかい yawarakai - soft
早い hayai - fast
遅いosoi - slow
重い omoi - heavy
暗い kurai くらい - dark
重たい omotai おもたい - heavy
軽い karui かるい - light
恥ずかしい hazukashii はずかしい - embarassing
喧しいyakamashii やかましい – loud, obnoxious
静か shizuka しずか - quiet
素晴らしい subarashii すばらしい - wonderful
美味しい oishii おいしい – delicious
酸っぱいsuppai すっぱい - sour
甘い あまい amai あまい - sweet
狭い せまいsemai せまい – narrow
悔しい kuyashii くやしいvexing, mortifying
怪しいayashii – doubtful, suspicious
辛いtsurai つらい – hard, difficult
美しいutsukushi うつくし - beautiful
面白いomoshiroi おもしろい - interesting
chikarazuyoiちからずよい - powerful
かこいkakoi – stylish, handsome
惜しいoshii – regretful
Apr 29, 2008
kamo ne
Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar (JPPGG) #109
PLAIN FORM + KAMOSHIRENAI - to probably verb
In Japanese, to say that something will most likely happen in the future or to say that something has probably already occurred, we use the word ~kamoshirenai. Both Japanese nouns and Japanese verbs in plain form (i.e. Base III) can be used to which we can attach one of three variable endings which vary in politeness.
When used after nouns, or verbs in plain form, KAMOSHIREMASEN means: maybe noun, maybe verb, might have been noun, might have verb'ed, or probably noun, or probably verb etc. Although by definition, KAMO, by itself, is the word for duck, the origin or roots of the word KAMOSHIREMASEN come mainly from the verb to know, or, SHIRU. In this case, SHIRENAI means unable to know. The KA and the MO pose even more uncertainty when put together because KA is the question mark (?) particle, and MO is the also particle.
KAMO without SHIRENAI or SHIREMASEN is less polite but still understood. To use KAMO by itself is permissible when speaking with close friends or acquaintances. However, since saying just KAMO is less polite, beginners should avoid saying it. Its best to always use the most polite form KAMOSHIREMASEN, but it's ok to say KAMOSHIRENAI when you are in company of close friends etc.
If you were to listen to 10 minutes of any random Japanese conversation, you would most likely or probably (pun intended) hear the word KAMOSHIRENAI within that time. KAMOSHIRENAI is always used in Japanese conversation. Verbs in base III are equivalent to what is known as plain form, of the verb, sometimes designated in JPPGG© Ghetto Grammar as P.F.
P.F. Verb+ KAMOSHIRENAI - most common, but less polite
P.F. Verb+ KAMOSHIREMASEN - more polite
P.F. Verb+ KAMO - least polite and funny to the ear
1. TORARETA KAMOSHIREMASEN
It might have been stolen
2. SOTSUGYO SHISO?
SURU KAMOSHIRENAI
Are you going to graduate?
It's possible! (Maybe!)
3. ARE WA KAMO KAMO
It's a duck, probably.-or-
It's most likely a duck.-or-
It's probably a duck.-etc.
4. OISHII KAMO NE!
Its probably tastes pretty good! (Doesn't it?)
(Tasty duck hunh)
As always, Ganbatte Ne!
Do your Best!
Makurasuki Sensei.
for more on Japanese Grammar please see http://squidoo.com/japanesegrammar89
Brett McCluskey Enjoys sharing his knowledge of Japanese grammar with those serious about second language acquistion. See more of his unorthodox learning methods at http://www.jappermon.com/ or http://squidoo.com/japanesejoy further Japanese grammar study can be found at How to count in Japanese - http://squidoo.com/ichinisan
PLAIN FORM + KAMOSHIRENAI - to probably verb
In Japanese, to say that something will most likely happen in the future or to say that something has probably already occurred, we use the word ~kamoshirenai. Both Japanese nouns and Japanese verbs in plain form (i.e. Base III) can be used to which we can attach one of three variable endings which vary in politeness.
When used after nouns, or verbs in plain form, KAMOSHIREMASEN means: maybe noun, maybe verb, might have been noun, might have verb'ed, or probably noun, or probably verb etc. Although by definition, KAMO, by itself, is the word for duck, the origin or roots of the word KAMOSHIREMASEN come mainly from the verb to know, or, SHIRU. In this case, SHIRENAI means unable to know. The KA and the MO pose even more uncertainty when put together because KA is the question mark (?) particle, and MO is the also particle.
KAMO without SHIRENAI or SHIREMASEN is less polite but still understood. To use KAMO by itself is permissible when speaking with close friends or acquaintances. However, since saying just KAMO is less polite, beginners should avoid saying it. Its best to always use the most polite form KAMOSHIREMASEN, but it's ok to say KAMOSHIRENAI when you are in company of close friends etc.
If you were to listen to 10 minutes of any random Japanese conversation, you would most likely or probably (pun intended) hear the word KAMOSHIRENAI within that time. KAMOSHIRENAI is always used in Japanese conversation. Verbs in base III are equivalent to what is known as plain form, of the verb, sometimes designated in JPPGG© Ghetto Grammar as P.F.
P.F. Verb+ KAMOSHIRENAI - most common, but less polite
P.F. Verb+ KAMOSHIREMASEN - more polite
P.F. Verb+ KAMO - least polite and funny to the ear
1. TORARETA KAMOSHIREMASEN
It might have been stolen
2. SOTSUGYO SHISO?
SURU KAMOSHIRENAI
Are you going to graduate?
It's possible! (Maybe!)
3. ARE WA KAMO KAMO
It's a duck, probably.-or-
It's most likely a duck.-or-
It's probably a duck.-etc.
4. OISHII KAMO NE!
Its probably tastes pretty good! (Doesn't it?)
(Tasty duck hunh)
As always, Ganbatte Ne!
Do your Best!
Makurasuki Sensei.
for more on Japanese Grammar please see http://squidoo.com/japanesegrammar89
Brett McCluskey Enjoys sharing his knowledge of Japanese grammar with those serious about second language acquistion. See more of his unorthodox learning methods at http://www.jappermon.com/ or http://squidoo.com/japanesejoy further Japanese grammar study can be found at How to count in Japanese - http://squidoo.com/ichinisan
After verbing
Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar JPPGG #109
Verb (Base TE) + KARA – after verb’ing
After, After, and After - 3 ways to say, “after verb’ing” in Japanese
To say that you will do something after doing something else in Japanese, use the following grammar construction:
Take verbs and put them into base TE.
Verbs ending in su becomes shi-te shite
Verbs ending in ku becomes ku-ite
Verbs ending in gu becomes ide
HANASU (v. to speak) – HANASHITE
HON O YONDE KARA NERU TO OMOIMASU. I think I’ll sleep after reading a book.
TABETE KARA SHUKUDAI O SURU. – after I eat I’m going to do homework.
UNDO WO SHITE KARA SHAWA O SURU KOTO GA SUKI DESU. –
I like to take a shower after I exercise.
After verb – verb (base TA) + ATO DE –
SAKE O NONDA ATO DE NEMUKUNATTA –
I got sleepy after drinking some* sake.
After verb – verb ( base TA) + NOCHI NI
Nomu - (v. To drink) –
Nomu (base ta)
Bu, mu or nu
ta nda
Nomu in base ta is NONDA
SAKE O NONDA NOCHI NI INU O SAMPO SHI NI ITTA –
(After I drank some sake I took the dog for a walk.)
Verb (Base TE) + KARA – after verb’ing
After, After, and After - 3 ways to say, “after verb’ing” in Japanese
To say that you will do something after doing something else in Japanese, use the following grammar construction:
Take verbs and put them into base TE.
Verbs ending in su becomes shi-te shite
Verbs ending in ku becomes ku-ite
Verbs ending in gu becomes ide
HANASU (v. to speak) – HANASHITE
HON O YONDE KARA NERU TO OMOIMASU. I think I’ll sleep after reading a book.
TABETE KARA SHUKUDAI O SURU. – after I eat I’m going to do homework.
UNDO WO SHITE KARA SHAWA O SURU KOTO GA SUKI DESU. –
I like to take a shower after I exercise.
After verb – verb (base TA) + ATO DE –
SAKE O NONDA ATO DE NEMUKUNATTA –
I got sleepy after drinking some* sake.
After verb – verb ( base TA) + NOCHI NI
Nomu - (v. To drink) –
Nomu (base ta)
Bu, mu or nu
ta nda
Nomu in base ta is NONDA
SAKE O NONDA NOCHI NI INU O SAMPO SHI NI ITTA –
(After I drank some sake I took the dog for a walk.)
Mar 31, 2008
To seem about to verb
To say that someone seems about to verb in Japanese, use the following construction:
Verb(base II) So^ desu
This one is an easily constructed grammar principle. First we take any verb we like and put it into base II.
Hanasu - to speak -Hanasu(base II) = hanashi
Ochiru - to fall -Ochiru(base II) = ochi
Naku - to cryNaku(base II) = naki
add So^ desu to the base II of Japanese verbs will make the verb take on the nuance of things which are about to take place or that look like they are going to do it soon, ie. seems about to verb.
hanashi so^ desuhanashiso^ desu - It seems he is about to speak
ochi so^ desuochiso^ desu - looks like they are about to fall downFor iru and eru ending verbs simply drop off the last syllable ru and and your So^ desu. For all other forms put into i ending.
Verb(base II) So^ desu
This one is an easily constructed grammar principle. First we take any verb we like and put it into base II.
Hanasu - to speak -Hanasu(base II) = hanashi
Ochiru - to fall -Ochiru(base II) = ochi
Naku - to cryNaku(base II) = naki
add So^ desu to the base II of Japanese verbs will make the verb take on the nuance of things which are about to take place or that look like they are going to do it soon, ie. seems about to verb.
hanashi so^ desuhanashiso^ desu - It seems he is about to speak
ochi so^ desuochiso^ desu - looks like they are about to fall downFor iru and eru ending verbs simply drop off the last syllable ru and and your So^ desu. For all other forms put into i ending.
Feb 17, 2008
Some necessary Japanese Learning
I have several articles for your Japanese learning enjoyment, the links I will list below. Most of the content of these articles are for intermediate to advance learners. Being exposed is a good thing in education. Being immersed would be the most ideal situation. You are thinking in a good manner to want to read it then speak it. I think that there are 4 categories or areas which must be developed when attempting to master a language: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. I know there are other terms for listening, like comprehension etc. but for our sakes I shall call it listening. There are two outflows of language, they are writing and speaking. Outflow of writing uses the medium of pen and paper to write symbols which will convey meaning, and the Japanese language is so very full of meaning in this way. There is so much to learn in the way of kanji. All terms having to do with water use the sui hen or water radical. Start memorizing the radicals of Kanji, this will help you immensely in your understanding of the language, but it may not help your amount of vocabulary. I would suggest this at first because if you try to attack the kanji too soon you might get discouraged, so I say its ok in order to learn how to speak in Japanese a lot of your words will simply be written in romaji. You must make a list and set a goal. I set a goal at first after deciding adamantly that I was going to be able to speak Japanese because I couldn't and was living in Japan. Must determination was so high and motivating that I did it. I can say it took me 9 months at least maybe 10 before my ears were open enough to hear the small intricacies of the language. But I'll never say that I have become fluent like a native, although when people talk to me over the phone they can't tell if I'm a native or a gaijin. Even the police when they pulled me over twice for speeding I was doing 45kph in a 30kph until I took off my helmet they didn't know and I almost scared the silly puddy right out of them once they saw my blonde hair. It really freaked those power ranger looking police officers that I, a blonde headed gaijin could speak as a native. It blew them away. But those are the rewards of all my diligence, determination, and steadfastness to my goals. My very first goal that I made was to memorize 15 words in 2 day. I did that at first but I did anywhere from 15 -30 words every 2 days, and I would constantly pester someone to quiz me on my new words. The way I memorized words was I made a list of all the useful words I could think of and the list grew very big and then I would do a review over and over, I repeated the words over and over in both directions into and out of English and Japanese, front ways and backwards. Every chance I got I would try to use my new words in sentences as the chance permitted. I woke up at 5 in the morning and studied my bootie off, because I was so determined to master it and be the best I could be as a speaker of Japanese. Next I had two grammar books and learned how to put verbs in bases, and then I could just plug and play with my Japanese grammar and my vocabulary list. It would be good to be able to simultaneously learn and memorize the kanji of a word on your vocabulary list as well as having just the romaji. Most often times I didn't have the luxury or time to study the Kanji, so I didn't start the Kanji until about a year into studying it. I was mainly concerned with my desire to speak Japanese quickly. But let me tell you. If you study the radicals of the kanji and just start learning your first year kanji then you will be able to see how words are made and how they may have originated. I mean kanji is a fascinating pictographically way of communicating. To me there is always more meaning in the Kanji of some word as opposed to the shallow no descript meaning of just the Phoenician alphabet. Before taking on any kanji though, master the kana, both hiragana and katakana. And practice writing the kana, these basic strokes are what forms kanji in the long run. Ok I am going to tell you my secret for getting good really fast. It worked wonders for me because I would sit and study, practice my Japanese in an odd way but it was so fun. This is what I did, it may not be like scholarly or a recommended way to do it but it sure worked wonders for me. I would laugh all over town practicing saying the word fart in every type of grammar I could find that accepted verbs. Because verbs are put into the bases I II III IV and V and verbs put into the various bases have various grammars, I would just put the verb to fart in any bunpo (grammar) I could get my hands on. For example, I like to fart. Onara suru koto ga suki desu. I even put it in polite form which to me is really funny. Or you could ask someone please fart! Onara shite kudasai. Or I must fart now! Onara shinakereba narimasen. Or you could have fun saying I just farted, Onara shita bakari desu. Well hopefully you will take the spirit of what I'm saying and not take it to the letter of the law. It was so much fun learning Japanese that way. Set your goals challenging yet not to the point of overload, neither are productive. If you need a list of words to start memorizing check the link below I have made a word list just for people like you. In essence the more vocabulary you know the more fluent you are (well that’s the idea or that is what someone told me once that if you have at least a 4000 word vocabulary you can be considered fluent, but I don't consider anybody fluent unless their pronunciation is well prepared). The amount of vocabulary must increase a little everyday. But you will need someone to check you on your vocabulary so all you have to do is this or something Here are my guaranteed steps to getting better at Japanese in the shortest amount of time.
Jul 29, 2007
Japanese Particle Practice
By adding the syllable mo (inclusive particle) to the following interrogatives supplement will help you increase your Japanese vocabulary by showing how to branch off known words to make many new ones. First, memorize the question words. Who, what, where ,when, how many, Have fun!
Question word + mo with + positive verb with – negative verb
dare + mo anyone nobody
nani +mo anything nothing
doko + mo everywhere, anywhere nowhere
itsu + mo all the time, always none of the time, never
nannin + mo many people, a bunch of people not many people
Question word +demo with + positive verb with – negative verb
dochi + demo whichever none of them
nani +demo anything nothing
doko + demo wherever nowhere
itsu + demo whenever none of the time, never
nannin + demo however many people not many people
Verb(base TE) + mo with + positive verb with – negative verb
dare + mo anyone nobody
nani +mo anything nothing
doko + mo everywhere, anywhere nowhere
itsu + mo all the time, always none of the time, never
nannin + mo many people, a bunch of people not many people
Dochi or which? If asked as a question The participle mo represents inclusiveness. The English equivalent being the words also or too. The mo particle does much mnore than it would seem at first glance. Mo might seem like just some your run of the mill uninspiring particle like ka, ga, wa, o, or no. However this very unordinary syllable has so many functions, mo is a grammar book unto itself.
Lets discuss some uses via example.
Example sentances using the mo particle
Ex. 1. Daremo imasen. Nobody is home
Ex. 2. Watakushi mo motte iru. I have one too, or I got one too.
Ex. 3. Nihongo no benkyo wa itsumo shite iru no desu ka? Itsumo to iu yori wa tama ni benkyo shika shinai. A so desu ka? Dakara mada nihongo ga heta nan desu yo ne!
Are you always studying your Japanese. Well, not quite always, occasionally would be a better word for my study. Is that right? That's why your Japanese still sucks so bad.
Ex. 4 Nanika motte kita? Gomen jikan ga nakute nanimo motte konakatta.
Did you bring something? I'm sorry, I didn't have time so I couldn't bring anything.
Question word + mo with + positive verb with – negative verb
dare + mo anyone nobody
nani +mo anything nothing
doko + mo everywhere, anywhere nowhere
itsu + mo all the time, always none of the time, never
nannin + mo many people, a bunch of people not many people
Question word +demo with + positive verb with – negative verb
dochi + demo whichever none of them
nani +demo anything nothing
doko + demo wherever nowhere
itsu + demo whenever none of the time, never
nannin + demo however many people not many people
Verb(base TE) + mo with + positive verb with – negative verb
dare + mo anyone nobody
nani +mo anything nothing
doko + mo everywhere, anywhere nowhere
itsu + mo all the time, always none of the time, never
nannin + mo many people, a bunch of people not many people
Dochi or which? If asked as a question The participle mo represents inclusiveness. The English equivalent being the words also or too. The mo particle does much mnore than it would seem at first glance. Mo might seem like just some your run of the mill uninspiring particle like ka, ga, wa, o, or no. However this very unordinary syllable has so many functions, mo is a grammar book unto itself.
Lets discuss some uses via example.
Example sentances using the mo particle
Ex. 1. Daremo imasen. Nobody is home
Ex. 2. Watakushi mo motte iru. I have one too, or I got one too.
Ex. 3. Nihongo no benkyo wa itsumo shite iru no desu ka? Itsumo to iu yori wa tama ni benkyo shika shinai. A so desu ka? Dakara mada nihongo ga heta nan desu yo ne!
Are you always studying your Japanese. Well, not quite always, occasionally would be a better word for my study. Is that right? That's why your Japanese still sucks so bad.
Ex. 4 Nanika motte kita? Gomen jikan ga nakute nanimo motte konakatta.
Did you bring something? I'm sorry, I didn't have time so I couldn't bring anything.
Jul 16, 2007
While Verbing - Base II + Nagara
Japanese Bunpo (grammar) lesson #106
Today’s lesson focuses in on the grammar principle:
Verb (base II) + nagara - to do while 'verb'ing.
You are able to express past tense and current tenses with this bunpo. After reading the following examples, plug in your favorite Japanese verbs and play, it makes learning Japanese fun!
Example.1. sara o arainagara, kuchibue o fuku. – While doing the dishes, I whistle.
Example 2. enka o kikinagara, sake o nomu – While listening to an enka , I drink sake.
Grammar Formulation Breakdown –
1. Put verb in base II
a. The verb arau (to wash) with direct object sara (dishes) is sara o arau - to do the dishes.
b. arau in base II becomes arai.
2. Fuse arai and nagara to make arainagara, or the phrase while washing… plugged
And played
Past tense, non-polite (familiar), plain-form ending –
Ex. 1 sara o arainagara kuchibue of fuita. I whistled while doing the dishes.
Past tense, polite ending –
Ex.1 sara o arainagara, kuchibue of fukimashita. – While doing the dishes, I
whistled.
Past tense, non-polite (familiar), plain-form ending –
Ex.2 enka o kikinagara, sake o nonda.
Past tense, polite ending –
Ex.2 enka o kikinagara, sake o nomimashita.
Do your best!
Ganbatte Ne!
Makurasuki
Today’s lesson focuses in on the grammar principle:
Verb (base II) + nagara - to do while 'verb'ing.
You are able to express past tense and current tenses with this bunpo. After reading the following examples, plug in your favorite Japanese verbs and play, it makes learning Japanese fun!
Example.1. sara o arainagara, kuchibue o fuku. – While doing the dishes, I whistle.
Example 2. enka o kikinagara, sake o nomu – While listening to an enka , I drink sake.
Grammar Formulation Breakdown –
1. Put verb in base II
a. The verb arau (to wash) with direct object sara (dishes) is sara o arau - to do the dishes.
b. arau in base II becomes arai.
2. Fuse arai and nagara to make arainagara, or the phrase while washing… plugged
And played
Past tense, non-polite (familiar), plain-form ending –
Ex. 1 sara o arainagara kuchibue of fuita. I whistled while doing the dishes.
Past tense, polite ending –
Ex.1 sara o arainagara, kuchibue of fukimashita. – While doing the dishes, I
whistled.
Past tense, non-polite (familiar), plain-form ending –
Ex.2 enka o kikinagara, sake o nonda.
Past tense, polite ending –
Ex.2 enka o kikinagara, sake o nomimashita.
Do your best!
Ganbatte Ne!
Makurasuki
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)