Isacksen

Reading Practice – Japanese Graded Readers

I haven`t been posting much the last few months. Things have been rather busy in my life.
I did want to write about this little gem I came across for reading practice.

My language partner gave me a set of Japanese Graded Readers for Christmas. This is the sort of book I have been looking for over the last 2 or 3 years. It has furigana for all kanji, pictures that help set the context, and a cd to follow along if you want to listen. This is sort of the Japanese version of the `I see Sam` or Dick and Jane books, but seem to be intended for second language learners.

My set came from Kinokuniya bookstore, but I looked up a few links in case this catches anyone`s interest.

Japanese Graded Readers website has some samples of the pages and audio.
The books on amazon: This is not my favorite place to buy, but probably the easiest access if you want to get your hands on them.

I looked at the website of the bookstore and you can only find them there using the Japanese title: レベル別 日本語多読 ライブラリー

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Friday, January 22nd, 2010 Isacksen Comments

I was made to do it – される/ させられる

I fell behind in my postings with the busy holidays and a little travel back home. Wordpress ate my first attempt at this a week or two ago. This is the grammar for describing something that someone made you do.

子供の頃に 母に ぼくは ありがとうの手紙を かかされた。
Kodomo no koro ni haha ni bokuha arigatou no tegami wo kakasareta.
When I was a kid, my mom made me write thank-you letters.

ビール先生に 10マィルを 走らされた。
Biiru Sensei ni 10 mairu wo hashirasareta.
Bill Sensei made me run ten milse.

The structure:
に indicates the person making the other person do the action.
は indicates who was or is being made to do the action
を marks any objects involved (thank-you letters)

う – verbs are conjegated as follows:
書く - 書かされる
走る - 走られる
買う - 買わされる

る – verbs: drop る add させられる
食べる - 食べさせられる

irregular vers:
する - させられる
来る - こさせられる

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Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 Isacksen Comments

Vocabulary list #4 – Outside

Currently I live on an island in the middle of a bay, near a peninsula, so a lot of these were very functional words for communicating. I find these a bit in stories that I am reading as well.

そと   outside 外
いなか countryside 田舎
いけ   pond 池
みずうみ lake 湖
わん   gulf 湾
いりえ  bay 入り江
たき   waterfall 滝
しま  island 島
はんとう peninsula 半島
もり    forest 森
たんぼ  rice field 田んぼ
はたけ  field 畑
いし    stone 石
いわ large rock 岩
ほらあな cave ほら穴
ほし    stars 星
そら   sky 空
くも    cloud 雲
かぜ   wind 風
きり    fog 霧
いなずま lightning
あめ    rain 雨
ゆき    snow 雪
みずたまり puddle 水たまり
くさ      grass 草
どろ    mud
はな     flower 花
にじ     rainbow 虹
き      tree 木
は      leaf 葉
にわ     yard 庭
おか    hill 丘
なみ     wave 波
すな   sand 砂
うみ     ocean/sea 海
すなはま   beach 砂浜

Stone / Rock:
The difference between いし and いわ was explained to me as いわ is something that goes from difficult to pick up and bigger. If you watched Okuribito / Departures, いし is what is used for the stones.

Fog is deep rather than thick:
きりが ふかい。

Beach – There are several ways to reference a beach, including the loan word ビーチ. I have been using the “Let`s Learn Japanese Picture Dictionary” to aid in my vocabulary selection since I like their grouping of common items. I have found several inaccuracies in the book including them listing Sand as すなはま, wich was how I first had the post listed. The two characters are actually sand shore, making one of the many was to say beach.

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Friday, November 13th, 2009 Isacksen Comments

Too much and Not enough

Recently I realized I hadn’t learned how to express too much of something or not enough of something and had some kind help in adding this to my new grammar / vocabulary.

Too much - すぎる 

あまい -> あますぎる – い Adjective – drop い add すぎる
おおきい -> おおきすぎる

きれい  -> きれいすぎる – な Adjective – add すぎる
ふべん ―> ふべんすぎる

まつ ―> まちすぎる  - verbs: pre ます stem – add すぎる
たべる -> たべすぎる
のむ  -> のみすぎる

Irregular verbs:
する  -> しすぎる
くる  -> きすぎる

Not Enough – たりない

All adjectives have to be a noun then add たりない.
あまい -> あまさ -> あまさがたりない
おおきい -> おおきさ -> おおきさがたりない
べんり -> べんりさ -> べんりさがたりない
きれい -> きれいさ -> きれいさがたりない

Verbs – pre ます + たりない
あるく -> あるきたりない
たべる -> たべたりない

Irregular verbs:
する -> したりない
くる -> きたりない

Note that は is always the particle used for the subject (が does not get used).
A few example sentences for the feel of usage:

このコーヒーは あますぎる。 This coffee is too sweet
このコーヒーは あますぎます。 Same sentence in masu form
けさのコーヒーは あますぎた。 This morning`s coffee was too sweet.

このコーヒーは あまさがたりない。 This coffee isn`t sweet enough.
このコーヒーは あまさがたりません。 Same sentence in masu form
けさのコーヒーは あまさがたりなかった。This morning`s coffee wasn`t sweet enough.

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Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 Isacksen Comments

Vocabulary list #3 – House and Rooms

This list is back to the basics of what I am trying focus on with my vocabulary.   I have been rather happy with the way flashcards are working out for my independant study so far.  I do feel that they would be much less effective if I weren`t handwriting them.

いえ     house           家

へや             room            部屋

だいどころ  kitchen        台所

しんしつ         bedroom      寝室

いま       living room  居間

よくしつ     bathroom    浴室

ゆか        floor              床

かべ        ceiling          壁

てんじょう     roof               天井

かいだん    stairs           階段

まど        window         窓

だんろ      fireplace      暖炉

えんとつ     chimney      煙突

かがみ      mirror         鏡

たな          shelf             棚

ほんだな    bookshelf     本棚

おしいれ    closet           押入れ

ゆぶね       bathtub       湯ぶね

いす       chair             椅子

つくえ     desk             机

こんろ       stove

ながし     sink              流し

げんかん   entrance      玄関

れいぞうこ   refrigerator 冷蔵庫

ごみばこ    trashcan      ゴミ箱

かたい     hard              固い

やわらかい  soft               柔らかい

せまい     narrow         狭い

ひろい     wide             広い

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Monday, October 26th, 2009 Isacksen Comments

Fune have an oshiri

I was at a recent gathering with several of the people I practice martial arts with and the 3 year old of one of the practitioners was talking about a woodpecker she saw in a tree.  She was describing how the bird would hit the tree with its nose. 

One of the barriers I run into speaking is knowing that there is (most likely) an exact word for something and rather than using “nose” in such a speaking situation the 3 year old was in.  My sentence would have been derailed since I didn`t know “beak.”

On that note, I recently found out, though a little childish, that ふね fune (boats), ひこうき hikouki (planes), しゃりょう sharyou (traincars), and バスbasu (buses) all have both an あたまatama (head) and an おしりoshiri (bottom/butt) to use for describing location.

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Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 Isacksen Comments

Vocabulary list #2 – Halloween flavored items

I have heard Halloween celebrations in Japan are pretty limited to a few gaijin riding around on the trains in costume, but I wanted to do a list with these sorts of things that aren’t considered that high of a priority in text books.  I thought this time was appropriate to pickup some words I have run into in books and movies that were previously unfamiliar.

くも                        - spider

くものす                - spiderweb               くもの巣

こうもり                  - bat

ねずみ                -  rat

がいこつ             –  skeleton       骸骨

かいぶつ            -  monster       怪物

おばけ                -  ghost / spirit    お化け

ゆうれい            – spirit from a person 幽霊

おおかみおとこ – werewolf        狼男

きゅうけつき       –  vampire        吸血鬼

まじょ                  -  witch           魔女

あくま          -   devil           悪魔

あくりょう             –   demon            悪霊

ミイラ                  -   mummy

はか           –  grave           墓

ぼち                   –  graveyard        墓地

ち                   –  blood           血

しゅっけつする – to bleed          出血する

とりつかれて いる – haunted

おばけやしき         –  haunted house   お化け屋敷

ちかろう                  -  dungeon

きみがわるい         – spooky

のろい                     – curse          呪いをかける curse someone

つき        -  moon          月

まんげつ        - full moon        満月

かぼちゃ                - pumpkin

かめん                   –  mask           仮面

いしょう          - costume         衣装

ちょうちん             – lantern          提灯

びっくりする          - to be surprised

おどろく                - more formal way of saying surprised

こわい                   – scary

きょうふ                 – fear                                      恐怖

こわがらせる        - to frighten

ひめい                  - a scream out of fear or for help n.       悲鳴

ひめいをあげる   – to scream out of fear / for help v.

さけぶ                  - shout / scream (loundly yelling something) 叫ぶ

いたずら              - trick

にせもの              - fake           偽物

にせもの の こうもり – fake bat

**Notes

かぼちゃ  -  pumpkin, comes from a communication error on a ship when pumpkins were being imported to Japan.  A Japanese person on the ship tried asking what “that” was, but the English speaker thought the question was “where is that from?” and the response was Kambodia

おばけ – is the general term for spirit or ghost.  Totoro and the spirits from “Spirited Away” are all おばけ.

かめん – used for costume type masks, but not the medical “mask”

あくりょう  - This is the kind of demon that you hear about in Japanese stories of people trying to beat or outwit that often get the better of the person.

にせもの の。。。 – fake item, this can be used for the  fake sushi in windows at shops as well as many of the decorations used for halloween.

さけぶ – the kind of shouting you would attach words to for what is shouted.

Thursday, October 15th, 2009 Isacksen Comments

Word usage – mazui ・ まずい

まずい is used for describing the horrible flavor of something, but is also used as an expression by itself.

まずい is used to comment on something you see coming that you are dreading.

You went drinking instead of studying last night and your teacher asks everyone to close their books and take out paper. まずい!

The kids you are watching just got into chocolate covered coffee beans. まずい!

*This was just a little language point I was taught stemming from my vocabulary list.  I will likely alternate weeks between something like this and more vocabulary.

Friday, October 9th, 2009 Isacksen Comments

Japanese Vocabulary list #1 Food and Flavor

School vocabulary always seemed rather limited to survival words.  I have tried to create a list around a general theme each week to study to keep building on the words I know.  I will be posting my vocabulary lists regularly, though they are a little behind my regular study.

たべもの           food                         食べ物 :
におい          smell                        匂い
あじ           taste / flavor        味
すっぱい        sour
にがい          bitter                         苦い
からい         spicy                        辛い
しょっぱい        salty
おいしい        tasty / yummy       美味しい
まずい        disgusting              不味い
にく           meat                         肉
うし            beef                          牛
ぶた               pork                          豚
にわとり       chicken                    鶏
さかな          fish             魚
たまご        eggs                        卵
ぎゅうにゅう     milk                          牛乳
やさい        vegetables              野菜
くだもの       fruit                           果物
まめ         beans                       豆
こめ         rice                            米
しお           salt                            塩
しょうゆ       soy sauce
さとう         sugar                       砂糖
キャベシ       cabbage
ブター         butter

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Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 Isacksen, Member's Articles Comments

Isacksen’s LJP Blog – My Study Method

I have been studying Japanese for over 2 years through formal classes at a non-profit language school in San Francisco, California. I became frustrated with the school’s program at their upper intermediate level and have decided to see how I do on a self-study program.

I am not doing this completely alone. San Francisco has a fairly sizeable Japanese population and one friend Taka and my girlfriend Kana are both native speakers. I have been fortunate to have these people to turn to for questions that come up.

Vocabulary has been a big focus in the beginning of this self-study program. Weekly vocabulary lists hand-written onto flashcards are helping me focus on things I want to be able to talk about.

Writing was a big focus at the school I attended. I am going to be keeping up with that practice by hand writing and later posting something along the lines of essays.

Conversation is practiced with both Kana and Taka, both coaching me through unfamiliar words I need to get a story across. Recently I struggled through a description of the storyline of the movie District 9.

I plan to post my vocabulary lists, essays after a friend has corrected them, any grammar tidbits I pickup, and how particular approaches to study turn out.

Thanks for reading and I hope my contributions prove to be useful to people.

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Thursday, September 24th, 2009 Isacksen, Member's Articles Comments

Childhood Memory Essay

This is a short story I just wrote as practice about one of my childhood experiences.  I have done a loose translation of the feeling I was trying to capture with the essay rather than direct word for word. Some of the sentences I have intentionally made more casual to express the emotion rather than maintain the desu/masu endings in every sentence. Kanji typed is kanji I used in my handwritten version.
*A few vocabulary notes at the end with a few uncommon words and things that had been changed when someone looked over it for me.

子供のころ、夏のある日、家族と バフロー・リバーと言う川に行きました。  いつも川に行った時は、火を点けたり、料理したり、およいだりしました。 この時は ジャック・クストーが大好きで、スキュバダイバーに なりたかった。 シュノーケルとマスクを 持って行きました。

One summer when I was a kid, I went with my family to the Buffalo River. Anytime we went, we always made a fire, cooked, and swam in the river. At this time, I was really interested in Jacques Cousteau and wanted to become a scuba diver and had brought my mask and snorkel with me.

大きい岩のところでおよぎました。 川はふかくなかった。 この岩はつつみと川の中にありました。いちぶの岩の下でおよげました。 ぼくは ワクワクしました。小さいほらあなみたいだった。 すぐ、たくさんのきいろいしまのかめを見られました。

I ended up swimming around a very large rock in a part of the river that wasn’t too deep. Part of this rock sat on the riverbank and part extended into the river. I discovered an area under the rock that I could swim under that felt like a small cave. Soon after that I found that there were turtles with yellow stripes under there.

ぼくは川からいそいで出ました。「お父さん! お父さん! かめをみた!」と 言いました。
父が「行ってとれば?」と 言いました。
父に「どうやって?」と聞きました。
ちちが「あしでとる」と こたえました。

I hurried out of the river to tell my father, “Dad! Dad! I found turtles under the rock!”
My dad just responded, “Well, why didn’t you catch one?”
I asked him, “How do I catch one?”
He simply told me to grab one by the leg.

ぼくは川に入って岩ノ下でおよぎました。 かめは 十二ひきぐらい いました。 半分のかめの頭は 水の上にありました。 ぼくは 近くに行った。 水の下に頭があるかめが ずいぶん いそいで 岩の下から出ました。 ぼくは かめの足をつかみました。

I turned around and went back into the river and back under the large rock. There were maybe 12 turtles under there. Half had their heads above water. As I got close to them, those with their heads below water shot off with surprising speed. The other turtles didn’t see me and I reached forward, catching one by the leg.

岩の下に出て かめを引きました。 かめは ていこうしました。 ぼくのうでは かめに つめで きずつけられました。 つぎに ぼくは かめのからを つかんで 頭の上に あげました。
「とった! 見て、とった!」と言いました。

I backed out from under the rock, pulling the struggling turtle with me. I managed to get a scratch on my arm from the turtle’s clawing. I then grabbed the turtle by the shell, holding it over my head. “I caught it! Look, I caught it!” I announced.

水の上で かめは 重くて大きかった。 つつみに いそいで行きました。 父と母がかめを 見た後で、かめを にがしました。 ぼくは とっても うれしかった。

Above the water, the turtle was much bigger than it looked under the rock and rather heavy. I took it to the bank of the river where my parents were. After they had a chance to see the turtle, I let it go back into the river quite pleased with myself.

とる – to catch
岩 – いわ This is a large rock, generally bigger than what a person can lift as opposed to 石 いし which is a stone.
いちぶ – a section / part
つつみ – riverbank
ほらあな – cave
みたいだった – casual way to say “looked like” past tense of みたい
ワクワクする – to be excited about something
いそいで – quickly / fast, used the same way as 早い – はやい but when referring to yourself or the subject rather than something you are witnessing.
つかむ – to grab
かめのから – Turtle’s shell
にがす – release (allow to run away)

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Saturday, September 12th, 2009 Isacksen, Member's Articles Comments