Many slang words are used on the internet.
Especially on Twitter, people often use them because of the limitation of number of characters.
(You can write much more in Japanese than English though!)
Here are some slang words I often see on the internet.
オタ (ota) / ヲタ (ota)
otaku
うｐ (upu)
to upload
ようつべ (youtsube)
Youtube
オフ会 (ofukai)
off-line meeting
ググる (guguru)
to search something with Google
コピペ (kopipe)
copy and paste
ネタバレ (netabare)
spoiler
*ネタがバレる (neta ga bareru) "the contents are exposed"
リア充 (riajuu)
A person who enjoys his/her "real life" (i.e. not only on the internet)
*リアルが充実 (riaru ga juujitsu) "the reality is fulfilling"
ヤフオク (yafuoku)
Yahoo auction
ディスる (disuru)
to disrespect
ポチる (pochiru)
to buy something on the internet
*ポチ is the sound of click
Have you seen any of them before?
Well, I'll try to make a sentence using some of those words.
この前オフ会行ったらヲタっぽい男の子がかわいいＴシャツ着てたから、帰ってからググったらヤフオクに出てて早速ポチっちゃった。
(このまえ オフかい いったら ヲタっぽい おとこのこが かわいい Ｔシャツ きてたから、かえってから ググったら ヤフオクに でてて さっそく ポチっちゃった)
I went to an off-line meeting the other day and one otaku-looking guy were wearing a cute T-shirt there, so I Googled it at home, found it on Yahoo auction and I bought it immediately.
Slang is not used in a formal situation and some people don't really like using them. (I think the situation is same as slang in other languages.)
Actually I don't really use them by myself even with my friends either.
But I see so many slang words on the internet and I enjoy reading posts using slang.
For advanced Japanese learners, I highly recommend reading Japanese posts (Twitter, FB, forums... whatever) written by ordinary people in addition to articles, novels etc.
The biggest point which is different from reading serious articles is that if you find a slang word you can't understand, you can just skip it.
That word/post shouldn't be so important.
You can choose some favorite/interesting posts, read them and ignore other posts.
On the internet, you can find short posts very easily and you don't need to "prepare" to read them unlike news articles or long novels.
If you are a Twitter user, Kazu https://twitter.com/arapanman deserves to follow.
His tweets are about politics, news, anime, TV, food, animals... anything and his writing style is not too formal but not too casual.
He doesn't use slang but I see many slang words in his RTs.
(His RTs are interesting, informative or just so funny, too.)
I know him only on Twitter but I enjoy his amusing tweets everyday!
Also for all levels learners, I recommend you post something on SNS in Japanese.
Even if it's a very short sentence, like おなかすいた。"I'm hungry", it must be different from just thinking by yourself.
Maybe you'll get response in Japanese and have a conversation in Japanese.
Maybe you made a small mistake there and will notice it.
Maybe you need to use a dictionary for posting it in Japanese.
For me, I don't really have a chance to use English... I mean I hardly ever have a conversation in English since basically I don't use English in my lesson and most of my non-Japanese friends speak Japanese.
So, having a conversation in English via FB/Twitter is important for me.
At first, I was nervous to post anything in English and shocked to know how low my English skills are.
There are some super bilingual people in my SNS world.
Also some people are very offensive and disrespect (ディスる！) my English/knowledge.
But it's often happened on the internet life anyway, right.
You shouldn't care too much about them if those were the reasons you hesitate to use Japanese there.
Having communication with different people... that must be one of the biggest goal of studying a language I think.
Make maximal use of internet life for communicating with people in Japanese!
Friday, July 25, 2014
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Apps for studying Japanese
I've been interested in what kind of Apps are used among Japanese learners and asked a question on Twitter.
"I'm making a list of Apps for learning Japanese. Does anyone have any recommended Apps for studying Japanese?"
AND! I had so many response to my tweet. (Thank you very much, my Twitter friends!)
I checked all of those 27 Apps/websites on the internet.
Some of them are only for iOS or Android. Some of them are not App but you can use them online.
I was going to choose some popular ones, but I decided to put all of them here on my blog instead.
Each person has each way of studying Japanese and I don't think there is any "best way" or "wrong way".
Every App/website looks very interesting and I imagined how people use/study each of them.
OK, here is a long list of "Apps for Japanese learners" and let me write how I think about studying using App.
First, those three Apps look very famous, user-friendly and popular among my Twitter followers.
(The descriptions are copied from each website, NOT my comments.)
Imiwa?
http://www.imiwaapp.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/imiwa-japanese-dictionary/id288499125?mt=8 (iOS)
This application is a multilingual Japanese dictionary for iPhone and iPod touch devices. It offers dictionary/kanji and example sentences full offline use. The dictionary contains 170000+ japanese entries and corresponding english translations, almost 15000 are translated in french, 94000+ in german and 7000+ in russian.
iKnow
http://iknow.jp/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iknow!/id417713473?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4 (iOS)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cerego.iknow (Android)
Study at any time, on a PC or mobile device. Bite-sized learning chunks personalized for you. Official courses are offered for studying Japanese, Chinese, and SAT English. The Japanese Core 6000 covers the 6,000 most commonly used words in Japanese, and the Chinese Core 2000 covers the 2,000 most commonly used words in Chinese. All words have sample sentences and audio.
Midori
http://www.jitouch.com/midori/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/midori-japanese-dictionary/id385231773?mt=8 (iOS)
Midori is a Japanese-English, English-Japanese dictionary for iPhone and iPad. It's a comprehensive tool for studying Japanese, with 146,000 entries, 150,000 example sentences, and many advanced features for serious learners of Japanese.
Review by Tofugu http://www.tofugu.com/japanese-resources-old/midori/
The following two Apps are online Japanese dictionaries. I use the first one EOW a lot, too.
EOW (英辞郎 on the web)
http://www.alc.co.jp/
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/ying-ci-lang-on-web-for-iphone/id365874160?mt=8 (iOS)
E-J J-E online dictionary
大辞林
http://www.monokakido.jp/iphone/daijirin.html
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/da-ci-lin/id299029654?mt=8 (iOS)
Japanese dictionary. 「大辞林」は、App Store での販売が27万本を超えるiPhone用国語辞典のベストセラーです。
This one is an App (quiz game) for advanced kanji learners.
漢字力5000
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/han-zi-li5000/id286722527?mt=8 (iOS)
読みにくい漢字や、間違いやすい漢字の読み方を入力し、楽しみながら”漢字力”を身に付けることができる漢字クイズゲーム。 問題数は5000問、問題の種類は一般、植物、魚介類、動物、四字熟語、外国や日本の地名、超難問があります。
And even more specific usage... App for searching Japanese years (!)
元号
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/yuan-hao/id288968943?mt=8 (iOS)
「元号」は、日本の年代呼称制度を素早く参照できるアプリケーション
and App for writing Japanese letter beautifully.
Japan Penmanship
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/japan-penmanship/id474439562?mt=8 (iOS)
Japan Penmanship improve your Japanese writing. Japanese is interesting language that has meaning on a letter. Don't you want to write Japanese letter beautifully?
Here are more Apps for studying Japanese.
JA Sensei
http://www.appbrain.com/app/ja-sensei-learn-japanese/com.japanactivator.android.jasensei
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.japanactivator.android.jasensei&hl=ja (Android)
Complete suite to Learn Japanese designed for phones AND tablets ! JA Sensei provides clear Japanese lessons and numerous interactive exercises to learn Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji, Japanese vocabulary, Japanese phrases for your trips, numbers, verbs, etc. Take audio, multichoice, self-validated or drawing quizzes (draw kanji to answer questions!) to memorize what you learn. Simply curious about Japanese, studying Japanese, or willing to take the JLPT, JA Sensei will become a priceless assistant.
Japanese
http://japaneseapp.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/japanese/id290664053?mt=8 (iOS)
More than a dictionary Look up words. Discover the language. Create vocabulary lists. Study using flashcards.
Review by Tofugu http://www.tofugu.com/japanese-resources-old/japanese-ios-app/
Learning Japanese (Tae Kim’s app)
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/learning-japanese/id377785100?mt=8 (iOS)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alexisblaze.japanese_grammar&hl=ja (Android)
Here you will find a wealth of information that will help you learn Japanese, all for free. This site has two guides to aid you on your way to full Japanese fluency with no compromises.
iKanji touch - Japanese Kanji Study Tool
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/ikanji-touch-japanese-kanji/id311920885?mt=8 (iOS)
iKanji touch is a powerful kanji study and training tool covering over 2,000 JLPT and school grade jouyou kanji.
KanjiSenpai
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.rodriguez.kanjisenpai.android&hl=ja (Android)
Kanji Senpai will help you learn Japanese vocabulary and kanji. By using a spaced repetition system (SRS) you can memorize the different aspects of each vocabulary: meaning, pronunciation, reading, listening, writing, etc. Included it's the N5 level of the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) vocabulary list and you can download (for free!) all the levels (though N1). Ah! This app assumes you've already mastered hiragana and katakana.
obenkyo
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Obenkyo&hl=ja (Android)
Learn japanese hiragana, katakana and kanji, and test yourself by drawing, or multiple choice.
Anki
http://ankisrs.net
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ankimobile-flashcards/id373493387?mt=8 (iOS)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ichi2.anki (Android)
Anki is a program which makes remembering things easy. Because it's a lot more efficient than traditional study methods, you can either greatly decrease your time spent studying, or greatly increase the amount you learn.
Memrise
http://www.memrise.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/app/id635966718?mt=8&&referrer=click%3Da500c5a9-6ec9-4ad1-a461-e43d556fd6f8 (iOS)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.memrise.android.memrisecompanion (Android)
There are thousands of courses on Memrise - all free and all created by other members of the community. Courses are available in many languages, for many languages and other subjects. If we don't have what you want, join in and make your own!
JED
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.umibouzu.jed&hl=ja (Android)
JED is an offline Japanese Dictionary.
Ankidroid
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ichi2.anki (Android)
Memorize anything with AnkiDroid! AnkiDroid lets you learn flashcards very efficiently by showing them just before you will forget.
kanji box
http://kanjibox https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/kanjibox/id322311303?mt=8.net/ios/ (iOS)
KanjiBox is your one-stop iOS app to mastering Japanese. It provides a complete set of simple, yet powerful, drill-based exercises to help you improve and evaluate your skills in nearly all aspects of Japanese studies: kanji, vocabulary, reading, kana, grammar etc.
Simple Kanji Flashcards
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/simple-kanji-flashcards/id702449884?mt=8 (iOS)
Learning kanji starting with 来, 週, 行 and 今? If so, this is the app for you. There are dozens of kanji apps, but most teach you in the order favoured by the Japanese education system - which is quite different to the one often used when teaching English speakers. Simple Kanji Flashcards groups the kanji in the order you'll recognise, starting with 来 and 週.
Japanese Verbs Free
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/japanese-verbs-free/id463430024?mt=8realkana.com (iOS)
Learning Japanese? This app provides a simple way to learn the conjugation of essential verbs via on-screen flashcards.
Quizlet
http://quizlet.com/https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/quizlet/id546473125?mt=8 (iOS)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.quizlet.quizletandroid&hl=ja (Android)
Study anything, anywhere. Flashcards familiarize you with new vocabulary (with fullscreen images and audio). Learn mode tests what you know and don't know. Match makes studying into a fun and competitive game. Take all of your study sets and your classes on the go with offline support (even for audio).
Kanji LS
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/kanji-ls-touch-writing-learning/id304848819?mt=8 (iOS)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jb.asials.kanjils (Android)
practice all Kanji with system or handwriting font - strokeorder guidelines for all 5012 Kanji in the program’s database - 10.000 sample words (all have reading, english, german & french translation)
jlpt study
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/jlpt-study-1-5-level-kanji/id330922255?mt=8 (iOS)
This application will help you study the vocabulary for the Japanese Language Proficiency Tests (JLPT), level N5, N4, N3, N2 and N1 (N5 being the easiest and N1 the hardest).
Next, these are not App but you can use them online.
Lang-8
http://lang-8.com/ (website)
Let our community of native speakers support your language learning. A new language learning platform where native speakers correct what you write.
Real kana
http://www.realkana.com/ (website)
Hiragana and Katakana Practice
rikaichan
https://addons.mozilla.org/ja/firefox/addon/rikaichan/ (Firefox Add-ons)
Japanese to English/German/French/Russian dictionary. Just hover the mouse on top of a word, and a popup appears. Automatically de-inflects verbs and adjectives.
Denshi Jisho
http://jisho.org/ (website)
Online Japanese dictionary
Youtube review about iOS Apps by a British man Top iOS Apps for Learning Japanese.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fkLyl_i6xI&feature=youtu.be
Have you used any of those Apps/websites?
Or is there anything you want to try?
Some people believe writing (on a paper) practice is the most important for Japanese learners.
Very important for learning grammar, vocabulary in addition to remembering kana and kanji.
I still think writing is an important practice but I think using those Apps is very helpful and effective, too now.
I encourage my students to use their smartphones in my lessons, too.
The worst enemy of studying foreign language is "feeling stress" I think.
(Yes, I feel the same about my studying English!)
Let's look for a helpful Apps/websites, use them and I hope you will be less stressed.
Have fun studying Japanese!
"I'm making a list of Apps for learning Japanese. Does anyone have any recommended Apps for studying Japanese?"
AND! I had so many response to my tweet. (Thank you very much, my Twitter friends!)
I checked all of those 27 Apps/websites on the internet.
Some of them are only for iOS or Android. Some of them are not App but you can use them online.
I was going to choose some popular ones, but I decided to put all of them here on my blog instead.
Each person has each way of studying Japanese and I don't think there is any "best way" or "wrong way".
Every App/website looks very interesting and I imagined how people use/study each of them.
OK, here is a long list of "Apps for Japanese learners" and let me write how I think about studying using App.
First, those three Apps look very famous, user-friendly and popular among my Twitter followers.
(The descriptions are copied from each website, NOT my comments.)
Imiwa?
http://www.imiwaapp.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/imiwa-japanese-dictionary/id288499125?mt=8 (iOS)
This application is a multilingual Japanese dictionary for iPhone and iPod touch devices. It offers dictionary/kanji and example sentences full offline use. The dictionary contains 170000+ japanese entries and corresponding english translations, almost 15000 are translated in french, 94000+ in german and 7000+ in russian.
iKnow
http://iknow.jp/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iknow!/id417713473?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4 (iOS)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cerego.iknow (Android)
Study at any time, on a PC or mobile device. Bite-sized learning chunks personalized for you. Official courses are offered for studying Japanese, Chinese, and SAT English. The Japanese Core 6000 covers the 6,000 most commonly used words in Japanese, and the Chinese Core 2000 covers the 2,000 most commonly used words in Chinese. All words have sample sentences and audio.
Midori
http://www.jitouch.com/midori/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/midori-japanese-dictionary/id385231773?mt=8 (iOS)
Midori is a Japanese-English, English-Japanese dictionary for iPhone and iPad. It's a comprehensive tool for studying Japanese, with 146,000 entries, 150,000 example sentences, and many advanced features for serious learners of Japanese.
Review by Tofugu http://www.tofugu.com/japanese-resources-old/midori/
The following two Apps are online Japanese dictionaries. I use the first one EOW a lot, too.
EOW (英辞郎 on the web)
http://www.alc.co.jp/
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/ying-ci-lang-on-web-for-iphone/id365874160?mt=8 (iOS)
E-J J-E online dictionary
大辞林
http://www.monokakido.jp/iphone/daijirin.html
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/da-ci-lin/id299029654?mt=8 (iOS)
Japanese dictionary. 「大辞林」は、App Store での販売が27万本を超えるiPhone用国語辞典のベストセラーです。
This one is an App (quiz game) for advanced kanji learners.
漢字力5000
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/han-zi-li5000/id286722527?mt=8 (iOS)
読みにくい漢字や、間違いやすい漢字の読み方を入力し、楽しみながら”漢字力”を身に付けることができる漢字クイズゲーム。 問題数は5000問、問題の種類は一般、植物、魚介類、動物、四字熟語、外国や日本の地名、超難問があります。
And even more specific usage... App for searching Japanese years (!)
元号
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/yuan-hao/id288968943?mt=8 (iOS)
「元号」は、日本の年代呼称制度を素早く参照できるアプリケーション
and App for writing Japanese letter beautifully.
Japan Penmanship
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/japan-penmanship/id474439562?mt=8 (iOS)
Japan Penmanship improve your Japanese writing. Japanese is interesting language that has meaning on a letter. Don't you want to write Japanese letter beautifully?
Here are more Apps for studying Japanese.
JA Sensei
http://www.appbrain.com/app/ja-sensei-learn-japanese/com.japanactivator.android.jasensei
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.japanactivator.android.jasensei&hl=ja (Android)
Complete suite to Learn Japanese designed for phones AND tablets ! JA Sensei provides clear Japanese lessons and numerous interactive exercises to learn Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji, Japanese vocabulary, Japanese phrases for your trips, numbers, verbs, etc. Take audio, multichoice, self-validated or drawing quizzes (draw kanji to answer questions!) to memorize what you learn. Simply curious about Japanese, studying Japanese, or willing to take the JLPT, JA Sensei will become a priceless assistant.
Japanese
http://japaneseapp.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/japanese/id290664053?mt=8 (iOS)
More than a dictionary Look up words. Discover the language. Create vocabulary lists. Study using flashcards.
Review by Tofugu http://www.tofugu.com/japanese-resources-old/japanese-ios-app/
Learning Japanese (Tae Kim’s app)
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/learning-japanese/id377785100?mt=8 (iOS)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alexisblaze.japanese_grammar&hl=ja (Android)
Here you will find a wealth of information that will help you learn Japanese, all for free. This site has two guides to aid you on your way to full Japanese fluency with no compromises.
iKanji touch - Japanese Kanji Study Tool
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/ikanji-touch-japanese-kanji/id311920885?mt=8 (iOS)
iKanji touch is a powerful kanji study and training tool covering over 2,000 JLPT and school grade jouyou kanji.
KanjiSenpai
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.rodriguez.kanjisenpai.android&hl=ja (Android)
Kanji Senpai will help you learn Japanese vocabulary and kanji. By using a spaced repetition system (SRS) you can memorize the different aspects of each vocabulary: meaning, pronunciation, reading, listening, writing, etc. Included it's the N5 level of the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) vocabulary list and you can download (for free!) all the levels (though N1). Ah! This app assumes you've already mastered hiragana and katakana.
obenkyo
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Obenkyo&hl=ja (Android)
Learn japanese hiragana, katakana and kanji, and test yourself by drawing, or multiple choice.
Anki
http://ankisrs.net
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ankimobile-flashcards/id373493387?mt=8 (iOS)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ichi2.anki (Android)
Anki is a program which makes remembering things easy. Because it's a lot more efficient than traditional study methods, you can either greatly decrease your time spent studying, or greatly increase the amount you learn.
Memrise
http://www.memrise.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/app/id635966718?mt=8&&referrer=click%3Da500c5a9-6ec9-4ad1-a461-e43d556fd6f8 (iOS)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.memrise.android.memrisecompanion (Android)
There are thousands of courses on Memrise - all free and all created by other members of the community. Courses are available in many languages, for many languages and other subjects. If we don't have what you want, join in and make your own!
JED
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.umibouzu.jed&hl=ja (Android)
JED is an offline Japanese Dictionary.
Ankidroid
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ichi2.anki (Android)
Memorize anything with AnkiDroid! AnkiDroid lets you learn flashcards very efficiently by showing them just before you will forget.
kanji box
http://kanjibox https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/kanjibox/id322311303?mt=8.net/ios/ (iOS)
KanjiBox is your one-stop iOS app to mastering Japanese. It provides a complete set of simple, yet powerful, drill-based exercises to help you improve and evaluate your skills in nearly all aspects of Japanese studies: kanji, vocabulary, reading, kana, grammar etc.
Simple Kanji Flashcards
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/simple-kanji-flashcards/id702449884?mt=8 (iOS)
Learning kanji starting with 来, 週, 行 and 今? If so, this is the app for you. There are dozens of kanji apps, but most teach you in the order favoured by the Japanese education system - which is quite different to the one often used when teaching English speakers. Simple Kanji Flashcards groups the kanji in the order you'll recognise, starting with 来 and 週.
Japanese Verbs Free
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/japanese-verbs-free/id463430024?mt=8realkana.com (iOS)
Learning Japanese? This app provides a simple way to learn the conjugation of essential verbs via on-screen flashcards.
Quizlet
http://quizlet.com/https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/quizlet/id546473125?mt=8 (iOS)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.quizlet.quizletandroid&hl=ja (Android)
Study anything, anywhere. Flashcards familiarize you with new vocabulary (with fullscreen images and audio). Learn mode tests what you know and don't know. Match makes studying into a fun and competitive game. Take all of your study sets and your classes on the go with offline support (even for audio).
Kanji LS
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/kanji-ls-touch-writing-learning/id304848819?mt=8 (iOS)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jb.asials.kanjils (Android)
practice all Kanji with system or handwriting font - strokeorder guidelines for all 5012 Kanji in the program’s database - 10.000 sample words (all have reading, english, german & french translation)
jlpt study
https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/jlpt-study-1-5-level-kanji/id330922255?mt=8 (iOS)
This application will help you study the vocabulary for the Japanese Language Proficiency Tests (JLPT), level N5, N4, N3, N2 and N1 (N5 being the easiest and N1 the hardest).
Next, these are not App but you can use them online.
Lang-8
http://lang-8.com/ (website)
Let our community of native speakers support your language learning. A new language learning platform where native speakers correct what you write.
Real kana
http://www.realkana.com/ (website)
Hiragana and Katakana Practice
rikaichan
https://addons.mozilla.org/ja/firefox/addon/rikaichan/ (Firefox Add-ons)
Japanese to English/German/French/Russian dictionary. Just hover the mouse on top of a word, and a popup appears. Automatically de-inflects verbs and adjectives.
Denshi Jisho
http://jisho.org/ (website)
Online Japanese dictionary
Youtube review about iOS Apps by a British man Top iOS Apps for Learning Japanese.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fkLyl_i6xI&feature=youtu.be
Have you used any of those Apps/websites?
Or is there anything you want to try?
Some people believe writing (on a paper) practice is the most important for Japanese learners.
Very important for learning grammar, vocabulary in addition to remembering kana and kanji.
I still think writing is an important practice but I think using those Apps is very helpful and effective, too now.
I encourage my students to use their smartphones in my lessons, too.
The worst enemy of studying foreign language is "feeling stress" I think.
(Yes, I feel the same about my studying English!)
Let's look for a helpful Apps/websites, use them and I hope you will be less stressed.
Have fun studying Japanese!
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
What do you think about "keigo"?
Business Japanese
Make the following e-mail message to formal/business style.
田中さん
こんにちは。
明日の打ち合わせの時間ですが、１４時に変えてもらえませんか。
すみません。
スミス
↓ ↓ ↓
田中様
お世話になっております。
明日の打ち合わせの時間ですが１４時に変更させていただけませんでしょうか。
直前の変更でご迷惑をお掛けして申し訳ございません。
よろしくお願いいたします。
スミス
たなかさま
おせわになっております。
あしたの うちあわせの じかんですが １４じに へんこうさせていただけませんでしょうか。
ちょくぜんの へんこうで ごめいわくを おかけして もうしわけございません。
よろしくおねがいいたします。
スミス
★Point★
お世話になっております : You usually write this sentence first for the business e-mail to someone NOT from your company.
For an e-mail among co-workers, お疲れ様です should be used instead.
～させていただけませんでしょうか : causative verb + いただけませんでしょうか → Would you mind if I…?
～させてもらえない？ is for a casual conversation.
Yes, keigo is very difficult and the rules are quite complicated.
Honorific, humble, polite, special verbs… whatever.
I personally think the important point is how you show your respect for the person.
Super complicated keigo is not always necessary.
We, Japanese people don’t really say よい週末をお過ごしください (Have a great weekend) in a business e-mail, but I would feel good if someone write to me something like that.
Emphasize what you want to write to the person so that your e-mail will never be rude. :-)
Make the following e-mail message to formal/business style.
田中さん
こんにちは。
明日の打ち合わせの時間ですが、１４時に変えてもらえませんか。
すみません。
スミス
↓ ↓ ↓
田中様
お世話になっております。
明日の打ち合わせの時間ですが１４時に変更させていただけませんでしょうか。
直前の変更でご迷惑をお掛けして申し訳ございません。
よろしくお願いいたします。
スミス
たなかさま
おせわになっております。
あしたの うちあわせの じかんですが １４じに へんこうさせていただけませんでしょうか。
ちょくぜんの へんこうで ごめいわくを おかけして もうしわけございません。
よろしくおねがいいたします。
スミス
★Point★
お世話になっております : You usually write this sentence first for the business e-mail to someone NOT from your company.
For an e-mail among co-workers, お疲れ様です should be used instead.
～させていただけませんでしょうか : causative verb + いただけませんでしょうか → Would you mind if I…?
～させてもらえない？ is for a casual conversation.
Yes, keigo is very difficult and the rules are quite complicated.
Honorific, humble, polite, special verbs… whatever.
I personally think the important point is how you show your respect for the person.
Super complicated keigo is not always necessary.
We, Japanese people don’t really say よい週末をお過ごしください (Have a great weekend) in a business e-mail, but I would feel good if someone write to me something like that.
Emphasize what you want to write to the person so that your e-mail will never be rude. :-)
Monday, May 12, 2014
Special gift wrapping for you
Have you asked a shop clerk to gift-wrap in Japanese when you buy a gift for someone?
For gift-wrapping, you would ask
プレゼント用にお願いします。
(purezento youni onegaishimasu)
Please make it gift-wrapped.
When it's for yourself, i.e. you don't need gift-wrapping,
自宅用です。
(jitaku you desu)
It's for my own.
If you ask them to gift-wrap, they usually wrap it with beautiful paper/bag and a ribbon or sticker.
Do you know there is another option for gift-wrapping in Japan?
It's のし (noshi).
Noshi is a gift wrapping paper printed the type of gift and your name.
Noshi is usually used for a formal gift as a traditional style like wedding gift, baby gift etc.
There are some very strict rules for using the design like how many strings there should be for wedding gifts. The number of strings for wedding gift is different from the one for baby gifts. The way of tying the strings, the color...
http://www.kataoka.com/enjoy/gift/wrapping/
Most of Japanese people can't explain the detailed rules and actually recently we don't really use noshi.
It's just a very traditional Japanese gift style.
BUT! On the other hand, I think if you give a gift to your friend using noshi, it must be super cool.
The type of gift and your name is printed on a Japanese traditional paper and it's usually free! Cool, isn't it.
Let's try to ask a shop clerk to gift-wrap with noshi and give the special present for your friend!
I'm asking noshi for my friend's birthday present today.
Let's go!!
Most of department stores offer noshi wrapping service. (Casual shops might not offer it.)
You can buy anything you want but sometimes they charge you for a gift box because they usually need a box when they wrap with noshi.
I recommend you go to a food department and choose a box of assorted sweets so that they won't ask you about a box.
1. Choose a gift.
「すみません、これ、お願いします。」
(sumimasen kore onegaishimasu)
Excuse me, I'll have this one.
2. Ask のし wrapping service. (The most important part!)
「プレゼント用にお願いします。のしをつけてもらえますか。誕生日プレゼントです。」
(purezento youni onegaishimasu. noshi o tsukete moraemasuka. tanjoubi prezento desu.)
Please make it gift-wrapped. Could you put noshi on it please? It's a birthday present.
3. The clerk confirmed me if the title is OK with 誕生日御祝(tanjoubi oiwai) "birthday celebrating"
「はい、それでお願いします。」
(hai, sorede onegaishimasu)
Yes, please make it so.
*You don't need to know the detailed rules for noshi I mentioned above. They will choose an appropriate one depending on your purpose.
4. The clerk asked me what name I want them to print there.
The shop I went had a special paper for ordering noshi and I just wrote my name there.
(There are three boxes here because sometimes you want to give a gift with some other people.)
Some shops don't have this kind of paper but they usually ask you to write (not "say") your name on a paper anyway.
Kanji, hiragana or katakana, anything would be fine.
(Usually you put your full name or family name there.)
I asked to print あこ (Ako) this time.
I'm sure alphabet would be OK, too but I guess they will ask following questions like if it's OK to print it as vertical writing or something.
5. The clerk goes somewhere to print your noshi and finally you can get a special original gift!
In addition to a birthday present, these are some other choices for a casual gift you might want to know.
御出産祝 (goshussan iwai) baby gift
御結婚祝 (gokekkon iwai) wedding gift
母の日 (haha no hi) Mother's Day
父の日 (chichi no hi) Father's Day
The staff I talked today asked me if I was sure I wanted noshi instead of a birthday message card because using noshi for a birthday gift is not so common.
But actually there are so many choices for using noshi and it's up to you unless the situation you give the gift is very formal.
This is free "noshi printing" service
http://www.noshi.jp/
See 3.上書きを選ぶ and you'll see so many types of noshi there including 御誕生日祝い birthday wishes.
If you try to ask noshi wrapping, let me know how it goes please.
Also if there is a special wrapping system in your country, let me know about it, too!
1,000yen cookies look pretty gorgeous now, don't they!
For gift-wrapping, you would ask
プレゼント用にお願いします。
(purezento youni onegaishimasu)
Please make it gift-wrapped.
When it's for yourself, i.e. you don't need gift-wrapping,
自宅用です。
(jitaku you desu)
It's for my own.
If you ask them to gift-wrap, they usually wrap it with beautiful paper/bag and a ribbon or sticker.
Do you know there is another option for gift-wrapping in Japan?
It's のし (noshi).
Noshi is a gift wrapping paper printed the type of gift and your name.
Noshi is usually used for a formal gift as a traditional style like wedding gift, baby gift etc.
There are some very strict rules for using the design like how many strings there should be for wedding gifts. The number of strings for wedding gift is different from the one for baby gifts. The way of tying the strings, the color...
http://www.kataoka.com/enjoy/gift/wrapping/
Most of Japanese people can't explain the detailed rules and actually recently we don't really use noshi.
It's just a very traditional Japanese gift style.
BUT! On the other hand, I think if you give a gift to your friend using noshi, it must be super cool.
The type of gift and your name is printed on a Japanese traditional paper and it's usually free! Cool, isn't it.
Let's try to ask a shop clerk to gift-wrap with noshi and give the special present for your friend!
I'm asking noshi for my friend's birthday present today.
Let's go!!
Most of department stores offer noshi wrapping service. (Casual shops might not offer it.)
You can buy anything you want but sometimes they charge you for a gift box because they usually need a box when they wrap with noshi.
I recommend you go to a food department and choose a box of assorted sweets so that they won't ask you about a box.
1. Choose a gift.
「すみません、これ、お願いします。」
(sumimasen kore onegaishimasu)
Excuse me, I'll have this one.
2. Ask のし wrapping service. (The most important part!)
「プレゼント用にお願いします。のしをつけてもらえますか。誕生日プレゼントです。」
(purezento youni onegaishimasu. noshi o tsukete moraemasuka. tanjoubi prezento desu.)
Please make it gift-wrapped. Could you put noshi on it please? It's a birthday present.
3. The clerk confirmed me if the title is OK with 誕生日御祝(tanjoubi oiwai) "birthday celebrating"
「はい、それでお願いします。」
(hai, sorede onegaishimasu)
Yes, please make it so.
*You don't need to know the detailed rules for noshi I mentioned above. They will choose an appropriate one depending on your purpose.
4. The clerk asked me what name I want them to print there.
The shop I went had a special paper for ordering noshi and I just wrote my name there.
(There are three boxes here because sometimes you want to give a gift with some other people.)
Kanji, hiragana or katakana, anything would be fine.
(Usually you put your full name or family name there.)
I asked to print あこ (Ako) this time.
I'm sure alphabet would be OK, too but I guess they will ask following questions like if it's OK to print it as vertical writing or something.
5. The clerk goes somewhere to print your noshi and finally you can get a special original gift!
In addition to a birthday present, these are some other choices for a casual gift you might want to know.
御出産祝 (goshussan iwai) baby gift
御結婚祝 (gokekkon iwai) wedding gift
母の日 (haha no hi) Mother's Day
父の日 (chichi no hi) Father's Day
The staff I talked today asked me if I was sure I wanted noshi instead of a birthday message card because using noshi for a birthday gift is not so common.
But actually there are so many choices for using noshi and it's up to you unless the situation you give the gift is very formal.
This is free "noshi printing" service
http://www.noshi.jp/
See 3.上書きを選ぶ and you'll see so many types of noshi there including 御誕生日祝い birthday wishes.
If you try to ask noshi wrapping, let me know how it goes please.
Also if there is a special wrapping system in your country, let me know about it, too!
1,000yen cookies look pretty gorgeous now, don't they!
Wednesday, April 09, 2014
Discount, discount, discount!
割(wari) means "discount".
学割(gakuwari) "student discount" is common but it seems offering an original discount ○○割 is quite popular recently.
I went out to look for posters of a number of different discount and took pictures!
学割(gakuwari) student discount is a standard discount for mobile companies now.
平日割(heijitsu wari) "weekdays discount" if for people who use their service on weekdays not weekends.
パック割(pakku wari) "package discount" is for people who buy more than two of their items.
Finally, this is みんな割(minna wari) "everyone discount" (!)
If you buy an item with someone else like your family, friends, boyfriend or girlfriend, you will get a discount.
What kind of discount have you gotten?
I think there are more different types of discount. If you find any, let me know please!
学割(gakuwari) "student discount" is common but it seems offering an original discount ○○割 is quite popular recently.
I went out to look for posters of a number of different discount and took pictures!
学割(gakuwari) student discount is a standard discount for mobile companies now.
乗り換え割(norikae wari) "transfer discount" is another popular discount.
"If you will switch to our company from another company, we will give you a discount."
平日割(heijitsu wari) "weekdays discount" if for people who use their service on weekdays not weekends.
まとめ割(matome wari) "putting together discount" is same as パック割(pakku wari).
学生家族いっしょ割(gakusei kazoku issho wari) "student and family together discount" by Docomo and 家族の学割(kazoku no gakuwari) "family's student discount" by Softbank is that not only students, but also the students' family will get a discount.
If you buy an item with someone else like your family, friends, boyfriend or girlfriend, you will get a discount.
What kind of discount have you gotten?
I think there are more different types of discount. If you find any, let me know please!
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