日本語、nihongo
#61: Borrowing stuff
Waka sensei was kind enough to teach me Japanese outside on her sunny flower filled wooden deck. This week we studied the verb “Kariru” which means to borrow. This is a very useful word you can use in everyday conversation. Sorry about the noisy dog in the background.
#60 Atarimae: It’s obvious
Today Waka sensei teaches us about the word “あたりまえ”(atarimae) which has a few meanings including, obvious, of course and to take something for granted. This is quite a useful phrase that you will hear in daily conversation to express that a fact or answer to a question is obvious. It can also be used to express the idea of taking things for granted.
Resources:
Atarimae example sentences
Don’t forget to check out the…
FORUMS
#58: Just cut it out will you?
I got together with Beb and studied how to tell someone to cut it out in Japanese. We had a look a standard and kansai dialects and learned a few more useful phrases along the way. Some of these phrases can be a little frank so be careful when using them.
#57 More self introductions in Japanese
Here is a compilation of all the self introduction lessons and videos we have posted previously. I thought it would be useful to group them together.
Lesson 54
Direct download
Makiko self introduction
Video Download
#56 Saving Energy
Holy energy saving lightbulbs ! It’s lesson #56 with Waka sensei and myself Alex to give you a lesson in saving energy in Japan although it can’t be said it happens much here. Maybe they are as bad as everyone else. But don’t give up friends, the polar bears are counting on us.
We also talked a little about the Japanese homes, double glazing and the death of the Nova Bunny. Quite a mixed bag this week.
So sit back, relax and enjoy the podcast.
#55: Basic questions in Japanese
In this week’s lesson we study some basic questions in Japanese. These are typical questions you might be asked when meeting someone for the first time in Japan. Therefore I hope you will find these very practical.
#53: Using an electronic Japanese menu
Why bother to learn Kanji when you can just use pictures ? In more and more restaurants today in Japan you can order food using portable electronic menus. The menu is an A4 touch screen device that sits on a charger on the table and can also be detached and hand held. It’s quite a sturdy piece of electronics that looks like it can handle a few splashes of beer or yakiniku sauce. The screen has an easy to navigate user interface with pictures and various menus for you to touch and order. Once you have selected your food you can touch the confirm prompt and it will send a relay to the kitchen for your food to be prepared and served to you. It’s an ingenious system that must save a lot of time and labour although you will need to read a little Japanese to use it. I was going to publish this as a Fun Friday but I thought, why wait?
#52: Ippai
In this week’s lesson, Beb teaches us how to use the word “Ippai”. Listen to the conversations and example sentences to get an idea of how to use this word.
Don’t forget to join the forums
#51: Beb interviews Makikomo
This week we took a little departure from our usual lesson format and listened to Beb interview Makikomo about her her various creative exploits which include handmade soap. You can see them here at Makikomo.com
#50: Emphasizing adjectives in Japanese
In this week’s podcast Rob, Makikomo and Beb teach us how to emphasize adjectives in casual conversations. Well we tried but the wine, ice cream and coffee didn’t help. WARNING: one or two expletives.
We also talked about people from Tokyo trying to speak in Osaka dialect, Japanese as spoken by high school students and Beb’s new track called “dancing“
#49 Natsubate
In this week’s lesson we talk about Natsubate, that summer exhaustion that gets you in Japan
#47 What do you like to do
In today’s Learn Japanese lesson we wanted to do a basic podcast on 好き(suki) a useful word to describe something you like. Today’s key phrase is あなたは何するのが好きですか/ Anata wa nani suru no ga suki desu ka ? / What do you like doing ?
#46 Shouting at old ladies in Japanese
This week you can learn how to shout angrily at those you love or hate in the Osaka dialect. Beb teaches us some fighting talk. So buckle up and get ready for some head on collisions.
Search Learn Japanese Pod
Recent Posts
- 34th Grand Sumo Tournament
- Hay Fever in Japan “花粉症” (Kafunshō)
- Tokyo Weekender on NHK
- Japanese Language Learning Links and Resources
- Tokyo Weekender Magazine
- Reading Practice – Japanese Graded Readers
- Climbing Mount Fuji
- Japan Links And Resources
- Learn Japanese Pod New Year’s Party
- Mt. Fuji in winter