What are you Japanese study goals for 2017? Do you want to learn the basics of Japanese? Would you like to learn phrases for traveling in Japan? Would you like to learn how to read manga or understand Anime? Perhaps you want to learn something specific like Japanese for getting an IT job or gaming.
Whatever it is I would love to hear what YOUR Japanese study goals are. Now here’s what I want you to do. Write a comment below with the following 3 points:
What is your Japanese study goal?
What steps will you take to achieve it?
What is your deadline to achieve it?
That’s it! If you write that down below, we can start a discussion on how to achieve it in more detail.
Good luck and I look forward to getting your comments.
Hoorah! It’s my 2nd vlog and I’ve got a fantastic free resource for you if you are starting to study kanji and not sure where to start.
It’s a free downloadable PDF entitled 外国人のための生活漢字 / Kanji for daily life for foreigners It contains 82 pages of examples and quizzes that teach you the very basic kanji for everyday life in Japan. There are 13 chapters that cover basic kanji for topics such as going to the doctor, shopping, travel, disasters and emergencies and more.
It also contains pictures, sentence examples, exercises and review quizzes to teach and consolidate your kanji knowledge. Therefore, it’s a great free self contained Japanese course perfect for beginnings in kanji. In terms of level, it’s probably good for students who are studying the N4 or N3 level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. However, there’s no reason why complete beginners couldn’t use it. You will have to be able to read Hiragana to understand the basic readings of the kanji as there is no romaji pronunciation in the PDF.
I would recommend downloading and then printing it on double sided A4 paper and then binding it into a booklet for easy storage and portability. You could also use it with your Japanese teacher at school as a beginner’s kanji course.
The other thing I like about this text is the high frequency and practical nature of the kanji. That means you are definitely going to encounter the kanji in real life on a recurring basis. That makes it more useful and easier to remember.
So, try download it and see what you think. If you do download it, let me know what you think by leaving a comment below or sending an email.
So, after some delays, Pokemon Go has finally come to Japan. And…
It…was…nuts…
Being completely out of it and knowing next to nothing about Pokemon Go, my suspicions were first aroused when walking into Yoyogi park. There, congregating under a tree was a crowd of mostly young guys with backpacks, staring at their phones, the kind of guys you could tell hadn’t been outside or in a park in a long time.
Slightly confused as to what they were doing, I decided to think nothing of it and head to the main fountain area in the middle of the park. But there was no escape. There they were, a huge army of backpacking, nerdy t-shirt wearing Japanese Pokemon hunters. I counted at least 100 but I wouldn’t be surprised if over the course of the day more than 1000 people turned up.
In all my years living in Japan, I have never seen anything like it before. The only time I have seen crowds like this were at festivals or large outdoor gigs.
Is this a new digital-social phenomenon, or just a tamagochi flash in the pan? It will be interesting to see.
In this video, Tomoe will teach you some useful slang related to the internet, email and texting. These phrases are actually used by Japanese people in real life so they are definitely worth learning. Check out the list below to see what they mean and don’t forget to watch the video.
Are you planning to study Japanese in a classroom environment? Perhaps you are taking a class at college. Maybe you have enrolled in night school or your Japanese friends are going to teach you. If so, you’ll need some basic phrases to help you when studying with a Japanese teacher.
When I studied Japanese at university in Japan, the following phrase below and in the video were absolutely essential to me. This was partly because the other students in my school didn’t speak English well and my Japanese teacher enforced a Japanese only speaking environment.
So, I created this video to help you when you get stuck and you don’t understand what’s going on in your Japanese class. My advice would be to listen to and repeat the phrases in this video as many times as you can so you can say them without thinking. Learn these phrases well young Japanese student Jedi, they will serve you well and they definitely helped me when I was studying in university.
In this video Yoshiko and Alex talk about what they did the night before which included Alex missing the last train and Yoshiko going on a date. Find out how to talk about all of this in natural Japanese in the transcript below with English translations. [responsive_vid]
Watch the other Street Japanese Videos 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07
A: kinō wa osokatta no
B: sō sō. shuuden nakkata kara takushii de kaetta yo
A: e, mottainai
B: wakatteru. yoshiko wa
A: watashi wa kono aida no ikemen to deeto shiteta yo
A: Were you up late last night?
B: Yeah, I missed the last train so I took a taxi back.
A: Eh? What a waste!
B: I know. How about you Yoshiko?
A: I went on a date with that hot guy (we talked about before)
Notes:
終電 shuuden – The last train
When in Tokyo and other cities in Japan, be careful not to miss the last train or 終電 shuuden
as it is called. Generally speaking the only transport that runs 24 hours a day is taxis.
In this video Alex oversleeps and is late for an appointment with Yoshiko. Yoshiko forgives him, almost and they decide to go to go get some coffee together. This is the 6th in the series of Street Japanese videos which teach you natural Japanese as it is really spoken in Japan. All the videos connect together in order to create a longer conversation so watch them all![responsive_vid]
Watch the other Street Japanese Videos 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06
A: arekkusu osoi B: gomen, nidone shichatta A: shō ga nai naa B: toriaezu sutaba ikō
A: Alex, you’re late!
B: Sorry. I overslept.
A: Oh well, it can’t be helped I guess
B: So for now, let’s go to Starbucks.
Notes:
二度寝 – nidone – to oversleep / fall asleep again
Ni do ne literally means 2 times sleep. It refers to when you wake up but then fall asleep again. In this case, Alex woke up, fell asleep which is why he was late for the appointment. To say you overslept in Japanese you can say 寝坊する nebō suru
ちゃった – chatta – verb ending to show regret
…chatta means you did something with a slight feeling of regret. For example, 日本語のテキストを忘れちゃった nihongo no tekisuto wo wasurechatta – I completely forgot my Japanese textbook. In the case of this dialog 二度寝しちゃった nidone shichatta – I completely overslept
とりあえず – toriaezu – for the mean time let’s…
The great thing about Japanese are these one word phrases that have so much meaning embedded within them and toriaezu is one on them. It’s a non-committal suggestion to try and do something. Use tend to use toriaezu when deciding to order food and drinks like this:
とりあえずコーヒーで – toriaezu koohii de
For now I’ll have a coffee
とりあえず生 – toriaezu nama
For now, I’ll have a (draft) beer
Minimal use of words to convey meaning based on context
Another fantastic thing about Japanese is the minimal amount of words you can use to convey meaning. However this is based on the context of the conversation. And this is demonstrated nicely when Yoshiko says to Alex:
アレックス遅い – arekkusu osoi
This literally means “Alex, late”. On the face of it, that doesn’t make so much sense. However, if we take into account the context, Alex just rushed up to Yoshiko looking apologetic and she shouts at Alex, you can be pretty sure she is saying “Alex YOU ARE late”.
Yoshiko could have also said:
アレックス遅い, 怒ってるよ！ Arekkusu osoi. okotteru yo.
This literally means Alex late, really angry. So that’s quite minimal but you can be pretty sure it means “Alex YOU ARE late. I AM really angry.”
So there you have it, you can use less words to say more in Japanese. The only thing you have to be careful about is the confusing vagueness of the language. So make sure you understand the situation so you can understand the conversation.
This is video number 5 in our series of street Japanese videos which teach you natural daily conversation, phrases and slang. In this video, Alex and Yoshiko talk about dating and hunting for boyfriends and girlfriends.
Watch the other Street Japanese Videos 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05
This is the 4th in the series of Street Japanese videos which are designed to teach you natural
everyday Japanese as it is spoken by real Japanese people. In today’s lesson Yoshiko and Alex
teach you the phrase “sasuga”. Check out the dialog below to see how it used in natural Japanese
conversation.
Watch the other Street Japanese Videos 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05
[responsive_vid]
Audio
A: saikin ii koto atta
B: deeto no yakusoku shitan da
A: sasuga. doku ni iku no
B: mada kangaechuu
A: fuun. mata oshiete ne
B: dō shiyō kana
A: Anything good happen recently?
B: I’m going on a date
A: Way to go! Where are you going?
B: I’m still thinking.
A: Tell me later
B: I wonder if I will…
Notes: さすが sasuga is an interesting word with many uses. However, in the case of this dialog, it is
used in response to what someone has. It’s an encouraging response that means something like
“That’s great”, “That’s wonderful” or perhaps “Way to go”. Use it when someone tells you about
something great they did.
の no – is a particle that sometimes goes at the end of sentences to make a question during
casual conversation – どこに行くの doko ni iku no? Where are you going?
かな kana – goes at the end of sentences to make them more uncertain in tone. Example: 行くよ
iku yo – I’m (definitely) going. 行くかな iku kana – I might go / Not sure if I’ll go
A: sō ieba ittakke?
B: n, nani
A: kono aida ikemen to tomodachi ni natta
B: yaru ne, sore de?
A: rain kō kan shita yo
A: By the way, did I tell you?
B: Huh? What?
A: I met (made friends with) a hot guy
B: Way to go! Then what happened?
A: We exchanged Line contact addresses.
Did you know…
イケメン ikemen – is constructed from “ike” which comes from iketeru which means cool, good looking or stylish. “Men” comes from possibly the kanji 面 men – which means face or more likely from the English word “men”.
In last week’s video we learned the phrase “dotakyan“. In this week’s Street Japanese video Yoshiko and I teach you what shoganai means and how it is used naturally in daily conversation.
Shoganai means something like, “that’s life” or “it can’t be helped” or even “Oh well then…”
A: kono aida wa gomen ne. nanika gochisō suru kara yurushite
B: shō ga nai naa
A: arigatō. nani ga ii
B: jaa sutaba no koohii
A: ryōkai
A: Sorry about the other day. I’ll treat you so please forgive me!
B: Oh well, it can’t be helped
A: Thanks. What do you want?
B: A Starbucks coffee
A: Got it!
Hey there you good-looking Learn Japanese Podders and welcome to my Street Japanese series of videos. I made these videos to teach natural Japanese as it is really spoken on the streets in Japan. Each video in the series links to the next one in order to create a long conversation so be sure to watch all the videos. You can also download PDF shownotes, an mp3 of the video and read about the grammar and culture featured in the videos.
Be sure to check back every Wednesday when we put up a new video. Enjoy!
Watch the other Street Japanese Videos 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05
In this video we look at the phrase ドタキャン dotakyan which means to suddenly cancel going to a meeting. Here’s the dialog as we did it in the video. A) ヨシコ、ひどいよー B) え？なんで？どうしたの？ A) この間、ドタキャンしたじゃない？ B) あ、ごめん。これからは絶対しないから A) 本当に?!
A) yoshiko, hidoi yo B) e? nande? A) kono aida dotakyan shita ja nai? A) a, gomen. kore kara zetai shinai kara B) hontō ni?
A) You’re terrible Yoshiko
B) Eh? Why? What’s the matter?
A) The other day you cancelled on me at the last minute!
B) Ah, sorry. I’ll absolutely never do that again!
A) Really?
Now here’s a little history for you…
Dotakyan comes from 土壇場キャンセル dotanba kyanseru – Last moment cancel. Japanese love to shorten long phrases so “dotanba kyanseru” changes to dotakyan.
But, where does 土壇場 come from?
During the Edo period, executions were carried out by stretching out the guilty horizontally on a small mound of earth. Then they would be decapitated by sword. That mound of earth was a 土壇場 dotanba. 土 do is earth, 壇 tan means a mound and 場 ba means place. During the Edo period 土壇場 came to mean “the place of execution”.
In modern use, 土壇場 dotanba means at the last moment, or at 11th hour. This probably comes from the idea that an execution is the very last minute of life.
There, I bet you didn’t know that AND it’s used all the time. So, try that out on your Japanese friends to amaze and amuse them.
In this video, I caught up with my buddy Niko, the creator of Nihongo Shark, an awesome website for those interested in learning Japanese.We mostly talked about how he built systems to study Japanese by himself. He also talked about how he overcame various barriers to speaking fluent Japanese and living in Japan.
This video will give you some ideas on how to study Japanese and how to overcome any difficulties you will inevitable encounter on your own path to mastering Japanese.
In this video, I go over the names and the readings of some of the most common rice balls you’ll find in your average convenience store in Japan. Although, English is being used more and more on things such as station names and menus, convenience store rice balls seem to still exclusively use hiragana and kanji on the packaging.
So this video helps you to read the kanji on rice ball packaging so you don’t have to play onigiri roulette when buying a snack in Japan.
Japanese
Pronunciation
Meaning
おにぎり
onigiri
Rice ball
梅
ume
Salted Japanese plum
紅鮭
beni shake
Salmon
おかか
okaka
Dried bonito flakes and soy sauce
たらこ
tarako
Cod roe
明太子
mentaiko
Seasoned cod roe
筋子
sujiko
Salted salmon roe
ツナマヨネーズ
tsuna mayoneezu
Tuna mayonnaise
焼豚
yaki buta
Grilled / BBQ’ed pork
五目ご飯
gomokugohan
(5 ingredients) Rice
焼きおにぎり
yaki onigiri
Grilled rice ball
Extra flavours
Here are a few other flavours not mentioned in the video that you might find in Japan
If you would like to know the single most useful phrase when shopping and eating out in Japan, you are in the right place.
The phrase you need to know is…drum roll…
これをください
Kore o kudasai
This means “This please” or “I’ll take this one”. This is a super useful phrase and can be used to order food and buy almost anything in shops. In fact the joke goes, every restaurant in Japan serves the dish “kore” (This).
The other thing you need to know is how to order multiple things as in “I’ll take two of these”, “I’ll take three of these” etc. Check the vocabulary list below. maaa
Japanese
Pronunciation
English
これをください
kore o kudasai
I’d like this please
これをひとつください
kore o hitotsu kudasai
I’d like 1 please
これをふたつください
kore o futatsu kudasai
I’d like 2 please
これをみつください
kore o mitsu kudasai
I’d like 3 please
これをよつください
kore o yotsu kudasai
I’d like 4 please
これをいつつください
kore o itsutsu kudasai
I’d like 5 please
One last thing to remember is that in many Japanese restaurants, you can make use of the menu which usually has pictures for the food. In this way, you can simply point and say これをください and you’ll be fine.
konnichi wa, kyou wa nanika wo chumon shitari omise ni itte nanika o kau toki wo benkyou shimasu. ichiban kantan na yarikata desu. mazu menyu o mite, kore o kudasai, kore o hitotsu kudasai, kore o futatsu kudasai, kore o mitsu kudasai, kore o yotsu kudasai, kore o itsutsu kudasai. kore dake de tanomemasu. menyu ga yomenakutemo toriaezu nanika wo chumon sureba daijoubu ja nai deshou ka.
Hello, today we’re going to study how to buy and order things in a store or restaurant. And this is the easiest way to do it. First of all, have a look at the menu and say “kore o kudasai” (This please), kore o hitotsu kudasai (I’ll have one please), kore o futatsu kudasai (I’ll have two please), kore o mitsu kudasai (I’ll have three please), kore o yotsu kudasai (I’ll have four please), kore o itsutsu kudasai (I’ll have five please). You can order just with that. Even if you can’t read the menu, just go ahead and order something. You’ll probably be OK, right?
konnichi wa kyō wa resutoran ni haitta ato chuu mon no shikata wo benkyō shimasu. zenkai de resutoran ni haitta toki no seki made no yari kata o benkyō shita no de, sore o mitenai hito wa mite kudasai.
mazu teeburu ni tsuite tennin san ga kimasu. “go chuumon okimari desu ka” toiu fuu ni kikaretara, (eto, maa) nannin ka teeburu ni suwatteru no de hitori ga “biiru nomu hito, nihonshu nomu hito, wain nomu hito” kiite, “biiru ga futastsu, wain ga mitsu, nihonshu ga yotsu, orenji juusu ga hitotsu onegaishimasu”. Kore dake desu.
First of all, when you get to your table the waiter comes. If you are asked “Are you ready to order?” one of the people in your group can say “Who’s drinking beer? Who’s drinking sake? Who’s drinking wine?”. You then say “2 beers, 3 sakes, 4 wines and 1 orange juice please”. That’s it.
