28th July – 文月 Nearly 2 months has passed since I started studying Korean. For native Japanese speaker, it seems easier to study Korean rather than English or other languages, as Japanese and Korean have the same grammar and there are many words that have similar pronunciation with same meanings. Here are just a fewContinue reading “日本語と韓国語 (Nihongo to Kankokugo) – Japanese and Korean”
Category Archives: Word
難しい日本語 (Muzukashii Nihongo) – Difficult Japanese
24th July – 文月 Learning 日本語 (Nihongo = Japanese) can be very difficult, as there are words that cannot be easily translated into 英語 (Eigo = English). Just like other languages, some words can be slightly different to the translated words in other languages, therefore those words are hard to use correctly for non-natives. 侘び寂びContinue reading “難しい日本語 (Muzukashii Nihongo) – Difficult Japanese”
オノマトペ -Onomatopoeia No. 3
21st July – 文月 オノマトペ (=Onomatopoeia) describes sounds, moves, conditions in words, especially in Japanese there are heaps オノマトペ exist used in everyday conversation. This blog previously has introduced about オノマトペ several times and this is going to be No. 3! Many Japanese use オノマトペ properly in the different occasions – adapting オノマトペ to explainContinue reading “オノマトペ -Onomatopoeia No. 3”
回文 (Kaibun) – Palindrome
9th June – 水無月 回文 (Kaibun) – is the wording (sentences) that are the same when you read from the top to bottom, and bottom to top. For instance, there are Kaibun in English as well; -Now I won -Borrow or rob? If you read this from the end letter to the first, it isContinue reading “回文 (Kaibun) – Palindrome”
蛙 in ことわざ (Kaeru in Kotowaza) – Proverbs with frogs
8th June – 水無月 梅雨 (Tsuyu = rain season) has started in western to middle mainland and I can hear many frogs are singing outside. There are various proverbs in Japan but today I would like to introduce the ones with frog in it. 蛙の子は蛙 (Kaeru no Ko wa Kaeru) Frogs’ kids are frogs Meaning:Continue reading “蛙 in ことわざ (Kaeru in Kotowaza) – Proverbs with frogs”
早口言葉 (Hayakuchi Kotoba) – Tongue twister
28th May -皐月 早口言葉 (Hayakuchi Kotoba) is the sentence to say quickly, the sentences have similar sounds or related sounds repeated several times, therefore those are hard to pronounce correctly. As well as tongue twister exists in English, so does in Japanese. Japanese 早口言葉 often have following sounds , which makes the sentence difficult toContinue reading “早口言葉 (Hayakuchi Kotoba) – Tongue twister”
日本語言い回し (Nihongo Iimawashi) – Japanese word expressions
15th May – 皐月 In the most of languages, there are unique expressions (wording) that non-native speakers cannot understand at first. Something like sentences that do not mean the actual wordings but create other meanings. Today’s theme is Japanese ことわざ (Kotowaza=proverbs) you can use in the normal conversations. -へそで茶を沸かす Heso de cha wo wakasu =Continue reading “日本語言い回し (Nihongo Iimawashi) – Japanese word expressions”
苗字 (Myouji) – Surname
4th May – 皐月 It is said that Japanese surname exists around 300,000 and there are very common ones to the rare one only 1 household owns. There are 3ways to say surname in Japanese: 苗字 (Myouji), 名字 (Myouji) and 姓(Sei). 苗字 was often used in Edo period, 苗 means seedlings so it has theContinue reading “苗字 (Myouji) – Surname”
オノマトペ : 動物 (Onomatope : Doubutsu) – Onomatopoeia No. 2:Animals
3rd April – 卯月 Japanese uses onomatopoeia a lot in the conversation, as I said on the previous blog. For the sound of animal barking, Japanese hear it differently to the other countries. -小鳥 (Kotori) Little bird: ピヨピヨ – Piyo Piyo -烏 (Karasu) Crow: カーカー – Car Car -猫 (Neko) Cat: ニャー – Nya- -犬 (Inu) Dog: ワンワンContinue reading “オノマトペ : 動物 (Onomatope : Doubutsu) – Onomatopoeia No. 2:Animals”
キラキラネーム (Kirakira ne-mu) – Shining Name
2nd April – 卯月 キラキラネーム is the name for people which uses abnormal Chinese character (Kanji) and / or can be read differently to the actual pronunciation. Kirakira name have started to appear from the mid of 1990’s in Japan (aroud 1995), and in 2000’s the number of Kirakira name has increased rapidly. In JapaneseContinue reading “キラキラネーム (Kirakira ne-mu) – Shining Name”
Little Japan Dictionary 