Ai Love Tango

Get Your Japanese Language Podcast

2006-01-13T05:47:00.000-08:00

A little about the Japanese Podcast 101:

Our goal is to make Japanese, easy and fun, while incorporating culture and current issues into our lessons. We believe the more you speak the quicker you learn, so we have designed our program to get you speaking right away. Situational Japanese is heavily stressed, and our 4-member team role play various situations to demonstrate what form of Japanese to use when speaking with friends, customers, executives, etc. Knowing which form to use, separates good speakers from great speakers.

I admit, the dialogues are a little slow, but it's great listening practice and they break down vocabulary wonderfully. Also, you can' t beat having a native speaker.

GET YOUR PODCAST HERE: http://www.japanesepod101.com/

Chigau

2006-01-05T21:44:00.000-08:00

Possibly one of the most important verbs you'll learn in Japanese, Jim Breen defines Chigau as:

Chigau - (vb) to differ (from)

Chigau is a word you'll hear more often than you think. More than just 'different from' it's a usually used as a graceful way of saying no.

Because the Japanese society tends to be more group focused (as opposed to American/European societies, which tend towards a more individualistic focus), group harmony is something that is highly prized. As such, Japanese people tend not to say no straight out. It's considered polite to leave people a way to say no without saying no.

Hence, if you ask "would you like to get something to eat with me", the polite way to say it would be closer to 'would you not like to get something to eat with me'

Watashi to isshou ni nanika tabemasen ka?
Would you NOT get something to eat with me?

Leaving the possibility of refusing by saying yes. (though you'd probably just use a trailing sentance instead).

Chigau is a graceful way of saying no while still keeping things positive."I'm not saying anyone or anything is wrong, it's all just different"

This is a standard godan verb, so to make it standard polite you would say chigaimasu.

So remember, you don't have to just say no, just say different and chigau your way to polite refusal/rebuttal.

Aisatsu

2006-01-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

Aisatsu = Greetings

I just learned this from an awesome site I discovered:

http://www.languageguide.org/nihongo/

Not only does it have an organized list of vocabulary and phrases, but it also has streaming audio, so you can hear as well as see the words. Lastly, the site is hiragana, kanji, and romanji, for all levels of Japanese speakers.

So, many aisatsu to languageguide.org

Cute and Informative: AKEMASHIE OMEDETO GOZAIMASU

2005-12-31T14:08:00.000-08:00

The most important and most celebrated part of the holiday season in Japan is New Year's day, known as O-Shogatsu. It's a very busy time between the 24th of December, when school gets out, and the first of January.

Before the New Year, Japanese people clean their houses from top to bottom. Then they put up New Year's decorations, especially Kadomatsu which are made from bamboo, pine branches and strips of white folded paper. When the house is clean and decorated, then everybody gets busy preparing New Year's food.

One of the most important New Year's foods is Mochi. In our neighborhood, we have a mochi-tsuki party every year and make our own mochi. We gather on a Sunday morning in an empty lot. In one corner of the lot, someone starts to cook rice on an open fire. When the rice is cooked, it is placed in a special wooden dish and is pounded with a big wooden hammer. All of the neighbors take turns pounding until the rice mixture becomes a big ball of dough. Then everyone gets involved rolling small mochi balls which are eaten with different kinds of sweet or salty sauces and toppings.

muimi

2005-12-29T22:38:00.000-08:00

Today’s WOTD comes from “Making Out In Japanese”:

Muimi = meaningless (literally: nothing + meaning)

Yes, that’s the same kanji for ‘nothing’ that is nai. It’s the same Mu as in Muishi suru (to ignore).

The phrase I learned this word in was used in was in the “Breaking Up” chapter:

Kimi/Anata no sonzai wa muimi
Your existance is meaningless (to me)

Bonus: Sonzai = existance (in the metaphysical sense, not the iru/aru sense)

I/you/it exist(s) = Sonzai Suru.

Technorati: japanese, learn japanese

101 Survival Phrases for 20 languages

2005-12-29T16:33:00.000-08:00

Check out: www.linguanaut.com

A Linguanaut is a surfer in the language sea, just like an Astronaut in the outer space. The word came from Latin: [lingua: language + nauticus: sailor].

Linguanaut.com is a website designed to help people surf, discover and learn new languages by familiarizing themselves first with basic phrases and sentences that might be very useful for a first time conversation & for easy yet important expressions.

Mastering a language is not necessary to be able to communicate with natives of that specific language, basic words sometimes may do it, so if:

You don't have enough time and patience to learn new languages especially if you're in a short vacation to a foreign county.

You want to impress one of your friends whose native language is not English.

You want to have a general idea about a language before learning it.

Then this website would be a good start for you!

This Website contains 101 Phrases/ Sentences in 20 languages:

American Sign Language

Arabic

Chinese (Mandarin)

Dutch

English

Esperanto

Farsi

French

Indonesian

German

Hebrew

Hindi

Italian

Japanese

Korean

Portuguese

Russian

Spanish

Turkish

Urdu

By memorizing these 101 survival phrases you will be able to express yourself more, speak without barriers, it includes phrases that you may need most (greetings, getting directions & help...). If you master these 101 phrases in all the 20 languages you will be able to communicate with 90% of the planet, plus the fun and the joy that learning a language provides. Surf in the sea of language! Be a Linguanaut!

languages

Shomin

2005-12-28T21:55:00.000-08:00

Jim Breen defines:

Shomin - (n) masses; common people.

Where I heard this word:

In Hana Yori Dango, Doumiyouji describes his date with Tsukushi as a ‘common person date/poor person’s date’ or shomin no daato.

It’s repeated so often, you can’t help but pick up the phrase.

So, let’s give a shomin shoutout to us common folks ; )

Japanese to English Translators Wanted

2005-12-28T08:33:00.000-08:00

Anime Fansub : Translators "Japanese to English":

Hell-Fansub is currently taking on 2-3 translators to join the team. Not much is required but dedication to the fansub is a must. Requirements for the position are listed below:

Requirements:

+ Decent Understanding of the Japanese Language
+ 8 Hours Free a week to logon IRC
+ Subtitle Skills (NOT REQUIRED but will help )

If you would like to apply for this position either visit their irc channel and message an operator or visit the website and apply online.

WebSite: www.hell-fansubs.org

Irc: irc.rizon.org

Channel: #hell-fansubs

(from sci.lang.translation)

Online Japanese/English Vocabulary Trainer

2005-12-28T02:33:00.000-08:00

This looks pretty neat. It asks you multiple choice questions and you answer them. In the end, it gives you an assessment of your skill level. If you’ve been through Heisig’s Remembering the Kanji, some of the stuff might be pretty easy to figure out even if you don’t know the Japansese words, but it’s fun anyway.

Try it Here: http://icecube.berkeley.edu/~dima/stuff/japanese/japanetr.html

Subareru?

2005-12-27T21:40:00.000-08:00

Most of us students of Japanese are quickly familiarized with the concept of Kansai-ben, but as with most langauages, many dialects of Japanese abound. I stumbled across this one while attempting to translate the trailer for ‘Shinobi-Heart Under Blade’

The word that tripped me up:
Subareru.

Turns out, this is a synonym for a word we all probably know:

Samui - to be cold.

Another Miyagi-ben version of this is ‘shibareru’.

Want to learn more about Miyagi-ben?

Check out this comprehensive site: http://members.tripod.com/MiyagiAJET/miyagi-ben04.html

Hisashiburi (desu ne)

2005-12-27T07:51:00.000-08:00

Hisashiburi (adj na) = a long time

A common Japanese greeting:
Hisashiburi desu ne/Hisashiburi ne.
This basically means (as my Japanese friend told me) ‘it’s been a long time’ (hasn’t it?).
Other example:
Hisashiburi ni kita.
It took a long time to come.

Considering how long it’s been since I’ve posted, hisashiburi felt like it was a perfect WOTD.

WOTD: Uragiru

2005-12-17T14:06:00.000-08:00

Today’s WOTD comes from my watching of Hana Yori Dango (final episode out in Raw Format at D-Addicts; all other episodes are currently subtitled and available at D-Addicts also, from SARS fansubs.):

Jim Breen defines:

Uragiru: to betray; to turn traitor to; to double-cross; (P)

It includes all kinds of double crossing, including, as it was used in Hana Yori Dango, for if you feel betrayed that someone cheated on you. (or if you think they cheated on you)

This is a regular Ichidan (ru) verb.

Watashi wo uragita.
You betrayed me.

Uraginaide yo
Don’t betray me.

Uragiru kimochi.
Feelings of Betrayal.

Another fun use of this word is in the intransitive:

Watashi ga uragirareta.
I was/am betrayed.

Special Note: The Kanji for this are literally: Ura - Inside/behind + kiru (voiced to giru) - to cut/stab. Hence uragiru is to stab from behind.

If you like the Live Action Hana Yori Dango, feel free to check out the anime:

やばい！Yabai

2005-12-15T21:55:00.000-08:00

I've fallen in love with Tae's explanations, hence today's WOTD comes from nihongo.3yen.com:

Let’s say you woke up at 8:00 in the morning. You look at the alarm clock and you realize that you are totally late for school. If you are a robot like those characters in Japanese textbooks, you might say something like 「どうしよう」 to mean “What shall I do?” (Lit: “How shall do?"). Now let’s say you’re a real human being, you’re late, and you’re in deep shit. In Japanese, you would very likely say, 「やばい！」.

A）授業は、もう始まっちゃっているぜ。- Class has already
started, man.
B）マジで？！やばい！- For real? Oh crap! (Lit: Dangerous!)

Techniques for memorizing Nihongo Vocab

2005-12-15T18:01:00.000-08:00

Article by Tae Kim:

Memorizing Japanese vocabulary is much more difficult than many other languages not only because they usually bear no resemblance to English but also because you have to memorize the Kanji, the reading, and the definition. Multiply that by the tens of thousands of words in the language, and you've got a hefty job on your hands. While you need to spend a lot of time on grammar in the first 1-2 years, after that, it's all about memorizing one word after another after another. In fact, I'd say over 80% of the total study time required for fluency would probably be for vocabulary.

So to give you a helping hand in such a monumental task, here are my tips for effectively transferring vocab from the dictionary into your long-term memory bank.

Memorizing for tests is not productive:

Because we are so used to studying for tests, we often fall into the trap into thinking that memorizing for tests is an effective way to learn vocabulary. It is not. It is a convenient method for teachers to gauge mastery, but that does not mean it's a good method to learn vocabulary.

The most common method of memorizing vocabulary is to take a set number of words and memorize them commonly in forms of lists and index cards. This is a great method to prepare for a test, not for learning vocabulary in general.

Remember, doing well on tests is a means to an end, and a poor one at that. If you don't restrict yourself to a set number of words, there is a much faster method for learning a great deal of vocabulary with a lot less headaches.

Language is trained not reasoned

Now, I'm no expert in psychology, but one thing I'm sure about is that learning a language is not a cognitive process. Rather, mastering a language requires training much in the same way as learning how to ride a bike. Just think about how you use words in your native language when you read, write, listen, or speak. The words you have memorized come to mind almost instinctually as you need them. That is the level you want to ultimately attain.

Omoshiroi (more than just interesting)

2005-12-14T20:58:00.000-08:00

Omoshiroi = Interesting.

That's how it's defined in at least in most textbooks I've read. But the English definition 'interesting' doesn't really do the word justice. In fact, sometimes it can be just the opposite.

For example:

Jodan shita no? Omoshiroi ne...
You were joking, right? How interesting...

In English, that sort of interesting has nothing to do with funny. However, in Japanese, omoshiroi has everything to do with funny. Watch a few dramas, or even better, find a native speaker and try it out. Jokes in Japanese aren't just funny, they're interesting.

Of course, if you translate that thought into Chinese (may you live in interesting times) it means the joke is on you.

Ikinari

2005-12-13T21:13:00.000-08:00

Jim Breen defines いきなり / ikinari:

(adv) (uk) abruptly; suddenly; all of a sudden; without warning

Discussion/Thoughts:

In my experience, ikinari is a word I often hear in anime and doramas. There, it's used in what seems to me a less removed/formal sense than the word 'suddenly/abrubtly/all of a sudden' is used in English.

Eg: In Hana Yori Dango (Live Action), Tsukushi uses the word ikinari at the beginning of her sentance, to emphasize how suprised she is that Doumiyoji turns around and decks a cafe worker...seemingly without reason. In English, tone of voice: "You just decked that dude" or a more extreme expression: "You came out of nowhere and just decked that dude" seems like it would be closer to the actual 'in use' meaning of the ikinari.

12/13/05: Natsukashii

2005-12-12T19:53:00.000-08:00

Jim Breen's Dictionary defines:

懐かしい (Natsukashii) as: (adj) dear; desired; missed.

However, in practice, it means more than that.

When you get that hint of nostalgia, ie: run across something that reminds you of something warm and fuzzy from your past, you can exclaim 'natsukashii' and it will be understood. A sip of hot chocolate that makes you smile because it reminds you of mom, it's 'natsukashii'. The feelings that come from reading a favorite book from childhood, that's 'natsukashii'.

So remember, when you get swept up in that bittersweet feeling of memory, it can only be 'natsukashii'.

Not the Dance, but the Words

2005-12-12T17:29:00.000-08:00

That's 単語, the words, not the dance.

Do you love Japanese Words? Do you want to keep your vocabulary on the 'grow'.

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