If you are reading this blog, you are likely a subscriber of my YouTube channel, I believe.
Thank you, if so.
As I have just recently talked about Japanese language especially on the general idea among those who are learning Japanese and are familiar with Western languages (or English, at least) that in Japanese language, the subjects are often eliminated. (The link: http://youtu.be/GuiGe8nT_os)
Even though I have already TALKED about it in the video above, I decided to give some further examples comparing more real-life, longer sentences both in Japanese and English.
I will try to write the English sentences as natural as possible, so I believe it should sound natural unless you try to nitpick or I make big mistakes. Then, I will write the same thing in Japanese as closely to the English sentences as possible. I will not translate what each Japanese word and sentence means, or I will not write the Japanese sentences again with hiragana or romaji. In today's Internet-based world, you must be able to look up on the Internet like Google or any translator.
I hope you will see some differences between Japanese and English in their natural sentences.
So, here we go.
Yesterday, I decided to go to the cinema to watch "Amazing Spidermam" with my family today, since on every 1st day of a month is a day that we can watch movies for 1,000 yen each. I was looking forward to it because I love wtching movies, and Amazing Spiderman was one of the movies I currently wanted to watch.
To get to the theater early in order to buy the tickets in time, we had to wake up at 8 am. However, when I woke up, it was already 10 am! I checked the living room, but there was nobody. My family had already gone (and actually the movie had already started according to the schedule), and I was so shocked. I thought I had set the alarm on 8:00, but I didn't hear any sound.
But good news is that I will go to the cinema again on the following Wednesday since it's another "special day" when a pairs of people can watch movies for 1,000 yen each. I will go with my mom, and I will have her pay for me!
毎月一日は映画が1,000円で観られるから、今日家族と「アメージング スパイダーマン」を観に行こうって昨日からなってた。今観たい映画の一つだったし、俺映画が大好きだから楽しみにしてた。
早めに映画館に着いてチケットを買うためには朝8時に起きないといけなかった。でも起きたらもう10時だった！リビング見てみたけど誰もいなかった。もうみんな行っちゃってて(実はもう既に映画も始まってた)、かなりショックだった。8時に目覚ましセットしたつもりだったんだけど、何も聞こえなかった。
でも良い事があって、次の水曜日も映画が二人で行けば1,000円で観られる「スペシャルデー」なの。だから母と行って、お金払ってもらおうと思ってる。
Okay, that's it. You know what? Having written those sentences in Japanese, I kind of felt odd with the sentences. Grammatically, there should be not (at least big ones) mistakes, but it just feels odd to write Japanese sentences... I think I would write more casual way if I am to write about this kind of daily event.
Or let me write the same thing in maybe different sentences.
If I try NOT to make the sentence sound closer to the English sentences, I think it will be natural.
一日は毎月映画が1,000円で観られるから、今日家族でアメージング スパイダーマン観に行こうってなってて、俺映画大好きだしスパイダーマンも見たかったから楽しみにしてた。
朝8時には起きないと早めに映画館に着いてチケット買えない感じだったから、朝8時に起きる予定だったんだけど、起きた時はもう10時だった。リビング見てみたらもうみんな行っちゃってたの。マジでショックだった。8時に目覚ましかけといたはずなんだけど、何も聞こえなかった。
でも、次の水曜も二人で行けば映画1,000円で観られるから母と行って、そんでお金も払ってもらって映画観ようと思う。笑
Having written the same ideas in English and Japanese, I've noticed that each requires different ideas, thinking, and techniques. Having to, or trying to, write the same sentences in Japanese and English respectively, it was kind of difficult. I'd rather write only in English or Japanese, or using only some words or phrase that I can't express only with Japanese or English. That works better for me.
Kouhei
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Cup Noodle, Ice Bar, and Lightsaber
Hello. I realized that this Random Japanese Stuff has the fewest posts. lol
Whatever.
So, today I had these for lunch. Cup Noodle Kalbi, ice candy bar called Gari-gari kun, and a Lightsaber!
Whatever.
So, today I had these for lunch. Cup Noodle Kalbi, ice candy bar called Gari-gari kun, and a Lightsaber!
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First, this is Cup Noodle Kalbi, called KalbiST. What? Plus, in Japanese on the packages says, "For those who love salt kalbi from the bottom of heart." Seriously.
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And next, this ice candy bar. Look! Obi-Wan Kenobi is on the package! It's collaborated with Star Wars ep. 1 coming up on March 16th in 3D in Japan. So cool.
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| And then, on the bar has a print of Obi-Wan's lightsaber. This kind of ice candy ガリガリ君 has loto, 当たり (you won the lotto), or ハズレ (if you didn't win, it says nothing). With regular ガリガリ君, if you get an 当たり, you can get another bar for free. But with this Star Wars version, you will get a limited T-shirt. Man, I want one! |
For those who were wondering, YES, I had ice candy and cup noodle at the same time for lunch. I had ice candy first, and then cup noodle. What's the matter? NOTHING.
Kouhei
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
梅干し - Umeboshi
This is a picture of umeboshi, sour/salt/sometimes sweet Japanese food. It's plum.
For those who have tried them before and know what unrboshi is, what it tastes like, an image of it is sour and salty.
No, that's not true. If the kind of umeboshi you get where you live is cheap (usually riiculously red), probably they are all just unbelievablly sour and salty. That, even Japanese can't eat. Well, still some like it though.
However, if you try expensive ones, it's not just sour/salty but it's sweet. Not sweet like sugar, but it's more of sweet/sour.
The one of this picture is not that "expensive" package, but it is not just sour/salty. If you think umeboshi is just sour and you can't eat it, try real ones.
Oh, and I heard that there is the "highest grade" of umeboshi, which is like 500 yen for one body of umeboshi. It's almost as big as 5 cm or so, and it's in a special wooden case individually. Celebrity. lol
Kouhei
For those who have tried them before and know what unrboshi is, what it tastes like, an image of it is sour and salty.
No, that's not true. If the kind of umeboshi you get where you live is cheap (usually riiculously red), probably they are all just unbelievablly sour and salty. That, even Japanese can't eat. Well, still some like it though.
However, if you try expensive ones, it's not just sour/salty but it's sweet. Not sweet like sugar, but it's more of sweet/sour.
The one of this picture is not that "expensive" package, but it is not just sour/salty. If you think umeboshi is just sour and you can't eat it, try real ones.
Oh, and I heard that there is the "highest grade" of umeboshi, which is like 500 yen for one body of umeboshi. It's almost as big as 5 cm or so, and it's in a special wooden case individually. Celebrity. lol
Kouhei
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Gaijin, Foreigner, Alien?!
I believe you know a Japanese term gaijin and that it means "foreigner, outsider."
Yes, it means "foreigners." But literally, it means "outsider."
Also, we have another word that means the same, gaikokujin. This literally only means "people of outside countries."
I find it interesting and unique about Japanese culture how we use that word to refer to foreigners. You know in Japan, we have, so to speak "pure" Japanese. By which, I mean full Japanese-blood people. Of course, over the history of Japan, there must have been many people coming from outside Japan, especially from nearby Asian regions such as China, Russia, and Korean peninsula, and as a result of that, many Japanese should have non-pure Japanese blood.
But what I mean is that we don't have many immigrants (we do, but they are only immigrants, not citizens, though maybe you think of "immigrants" as people who/whose family originally came from foreign countries but technically are citizens of your country), or Japan is not a nation that was made by immigrants ("immigrants" here I mean people from a foreign "country" to a foreign "country").
The United States, for example, is a country that was made by immigrants originally from the England. However, on the North America continent where it's the US today were native tribes. So, today, there's no such an idea as "pure" American, or "American" only refers to those who have a citizenship of the US, not blood. So, even if a Japanese couple immigrate to the US, they are immigrants (what if they get citizenship, are they still called immigrants?) when they have children, those children are not immigrants, but citizens of the US. Those kids are children of immigrants, but they themselves are not immigrants. Well, that's my definition.
Back to the topic, it's clear when a foreigner, especially from the West, comes to Japan that he is not Japanese but a foreigner. So, when we say gaijin/gaikokujin, I think it means more of "non-Japanese."
One of factors as to why Japanese people use "foreigner" as such a wide meaning is, I think, because Japan was once isolated during the sakoku era. That being simply said, Japanese people are not used to seeing, or what's even more is dealing with, non-Japanese people. Still, when we see foreigners on the streets, they may get attention, if not huge. We may likely at least think "Oh, a foreigner."
I personally don't like using "gaijin" because it sounds a bit too discriminative (separating) toward "foreigners." If I have to say when one is not Japanese, I'd use "gaikokujin" instead, or if I know where he's from, his nationality. Or, even more formally, "外国の人/方" (gaikoku no hito/kata). It means "foreign people." And if you use 方 (read かた), it is even politer because 方 is a polite way to refer to people. (However, when you say 外国の人/方, it can mean "people abroad," like "people in other countries.")
A funny example is, I heard several times when some Japanese people used "foreigner (as in the English term)" and gaijin/gaikokujin (as in the Japanese term) improperly, that they referred the local people by "foreigners" when they went abroad. They said like, "There were a lot of foreigners, so I was so excited that I could try my English with them!"
OH NO. YOU were the foreigner.
Say, if a Japanese sees an American in Japan, he's is (most likely) a foreigner. BUT, if you see Americans in the US, they are not foreigners, but this Japanese is a foreigner.
Yeah.
Kouhei
Yes, it means "foreigners." But literally, it means "outsider."
Also, we have another word that means the same, gaikokujin. This literally only means "people of outside countries."
I find it interesting and unique about Japanese culture how we use that word to refer to foreigners. You know in Japan, we have, so to speak "pure" Japanese. By which, I mean full Japanese-blood people. Of course, over the history of Japan, there must have been many people coming from outside Japan, especially from nearby Asian regions such as China, Russia, and Korean peninsula, and as a result of that, many Japanese should have non-pure Japanese blood.
But what I mean is that we don't have many immigrants (we do, but they are only immigrants, not citizens, though maybe you think of "immigrants" as people who/whose family originally came from foreign countries but technically are citizens of your country), or Japan is not a nation that was made by immigrants ("immigrants" here I mean people from a foreign "country" to a foreign "country").
The United States, for example, is a country that was made by immigrants originally from the England. However, on the North America continent where it's the US today were native tribes. So, today, there's no such an idea as "pure" American, or "American" only refers to those who have a citizenship of the US, not blood. So, even if a Japanese couple immigrate to the US, they are immigrants (what if they get citizenship, are they still called immigrants?) when they have children, those children are not immigrants, but citizens of the US. Those kids are children of immigrants, but they themselves are not immigrants. Well, that's my definition.
Back to the topic, it's clear when a foreigner, especially from the West, comes to Japan that he is not Japanese but a foreigner. So, when we say gaijin/gaikokujin, I think it means more of "non-Japanese."
One of factors as to why Japanese people use "foreigner" as such a wide meaning is, I think, because Japan was once isolated during the sakoku era. That being simply said, Japanese people are not used to seeing, or what's even more is dealing with, non-Japanese people. Still, when we see foreigners on the streets, they may get attention, if not huge. We may likely at least think "Oh, a foreigner."
I personally don't like using "gaijin" because it sounds a bit too discriminative (separating) toward "foreigners." If I have to say when one is not Japanese, I'd use "gaikokujin" instead, or if I know where he's from, his nationality. Or, even more formally, "外国の人/方" (gaikoku no hito/kata). It means "foreign people." And if you use 方 (read かた), it is even politer because 方 is a polite way to refer to people. (However, when you say 外国の人/方, it can mean "people abroad," like "people in other countries.")
A funny example is, I heard several times when some Japanese people used "foreigner (as in the English term)" and gaijin/gaikokujin (as in the Japanese term) improperly, that they referred the local people by "foreigners" when they went abroad. They said like, "There were a lot of foreigners, so I was so excited that I could try my English with them!"
OH NO. YOU were the foreigner.
Say, if a Japanese sees an American in Japan, he's is (most likely) a foreigner. BUT, if you see Americans in the US, they are not foreigners, but this Japanese is a foreigner.
Yeah.
Kouhei
Japanese Repetitive Words
Hello folks.
This blog about Japanese has the fewest posts. lol That's because I make VIDEOS on Youtube, and that's more efficient to talk about Japanese.
So.
Today's about Japanese words, particularly adjectives that have a combination of the same word.
Just to give you an idea of the kib of words I mean, one word is ベタベタ. It is used to describe the condition of....like when you used glue and it's left on your hands. It's ベタベタ. If something on your hands (not necessarily hands but also body, feet, face, etc.) is oily, it's ヌルヌル.
It's totally onomatopoeiatic words, so you have almost no clue as to know what they mean but by sense or memorizing everything can you know what they mean.
Also, it seems they are written with katakana, not hiragana, but you can still write them with hiragana. The only difference when you write them in hitagana/kanakana is how the word "feels." Hiragana and katakana give different sense. ぬるぬる and ヌルヌル feel different to me, if not completely.
Okay now, here are lists of words with brief sense.
ポタポタ (potapota: like a drop of water dropping).
アツアツ (atsuatsu: very hot, or couples that are excessively showing their love to each other).
もたもた (motamota: someone/thing is being lazy, especially when in hurry, like when you are preparing and it's taking time).
どろどろ (dolodolo: sticky, like mud moving slow on a surface of something).
ビショビショ (bishobisho: soaking wet).
クルクル (kulukulu: curved, like wavey/curly hair).
ピカピカ (pikapika: shiny, glittering, like a new car).
プンプン (punpun: smell is reaching far, or someone is very angry).
and so on.
Got them? haha
Kouhei
This blog about Japanese has the fewest posts. lol That's because I make VIDEOS on Youtube, and that's more efficient to talk about Japanese.
So.
Today's about Japanese words, particularly adjectives that have a combination of the same word.
Just to give you an idea of the kib of words I mean, one word is ベタベタ. It is used to describe the condition of....like when you used glue and it's left on your hands. It's ベタベタ. If something on your hands (not necessarily hands but also body, feet, face, etc.) is oily, it's ヌルヌル.
It's totally onomatopoeiatic words, so you have almost no clue as to know what they mean but by sense or memorizing everything can you know what they mean.
Also, it seems they are written with katakana, not hiragana, but you can still write them with hiragana. The only difference when you write them in hitagana/kanakana is how the word "feels." Hiragana and katakana give different sense. ぬるぬる and ヌルヌル feel different to me, if not completely.
Okay now, here are lists of words with brief sense.
ポタポタ (potapota: like a drop of water dropping).
アツアツ (atsuatsu: very hot, or couples that are excessively showing their love to each other).
もたもた (motamota: someone/thing is being lazy, especially when in hurry, like when you are preparing and it's taking time).
どろどろ (dolodolo: sticky, like mud moving slow on a surface of something).
ビショビショ (bishobisho: soaking wet).
クルクル (kulukulu: curved, like wavey/curly hair).
ピカピカ (pikapika: shiny, glittering, like a new car).
プンプン (punpun: smell is reaching far, or someone is very angry).
and so on.
Got them? haha
Kouhei
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