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Book/Guide: Tae Kim’s Guide to Japanese Grammar

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Tae Kim’s Guide to Japanese Grammar is one of the best, general use Japanese grammar guides I’ve seen.

The guide caters to learners of all different levels, from the very new beginners, to the advanced learners. I’ve been reading the guide myself for some time and I’ve found it to be very informative. Practice exercises and reviews are available too, to help you reinforce your learning.

The best part? The guide is free (unless you want the physical book), and available in all sorts of formats. You can view the guide from the website, download the pdf version, read from your phone using the iOS app or Android app, or for traditionalist, buy the physical book from Amazon.

There’s a slight downside though. Unlike many guidebooks that have split their material by JLPT levels, this guide does not make such a differentiation, and as such, might not be ideal for those of you who are cramming in bid to past that particular JLPT level.

Still, with so many available formats, there is no excuse for you not to check it out!

Amazon link: A Guide to Japanese Grammar: A Japanese approach to learning Japanese grammar

The post Book/Guide: Tae Kim’s Guide to Japanese Grammar appeared first on Nihongo Manabu - Learn Japanese.


Kanji Spotlight: Of trees, books and lumber

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I got a whiteboard sometime back, and since I love writing on whiteboards, here are three words that I’ll highlight…

2015 07 18 21 06 44

The first kanji we’re looking at is 木, meaning tree or wood.

As you can see in the second kanji, by adding a single stroke, we get 本, meaning book.  The 木 kanji can also be used as a radical, as seen in the last kanji 材. Knowing how the parts of a kanji is broken down, especially the meaning of the radical can be extremely helpful in helping you remember how to read/write the kanji. Often times, the radical hints at the meaning of the word. As in this case, 材 – lumber, comes from trees.

Here’s a look at the kanji stroke order:

2015 08 23 14 14 25

Stroke go from left to right, top to bottom, and inside to outside.

2015 08 23 14 15 43

Now this one is easy right? Just add a single stroke more. 

2015 08 23 14 22 12

For this kanji, you start off with a shrunk down version of 木. Since it’s a radical, the last 4th stroke is kept small – otherwise you won’t have space for the rest of the word! Divide the left and the right sides equally for this kanji, so you have roughly the same spacing for each side of the word. Also keep the lengths of both sides similar, and place the vertical strokes on the same plane in order to have a symmetrical looking word.

Explanations too confusing? Check out the image below:

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Here’s another look at the word without the red lines.
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Also notice that you apply less pressure towards the end of the horizontal line or a stroke, so the ends leave kind of like a ‘tail’. That makes the word prettier.

So now you know how to write some pretty kanji! Remember – practise makes perfect!

Hope you found this interesting!

The post Kanji Spotlight: Of trees, books and lumber appeared first on Nihongo Manabu - Learn Japanese.

Vocabs: Fruits and vegetables 1

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果物 (くだもの, kudamono) – fruits

野菜 ( さい, yasai) – vegetables

りんご (ringo) – apple

(なし, nashi) – pear

オレンジ (orangi) – orange

レモン (remon) – lemon

トマト (tomato) – tomato

鰐梨 (わになし, waninashi) – avocado; alligator pear

アボカド (abogato) – avocado

西瓜 (すいか, suika) – watermelon

メロン (meron) – melon

胡瓜 (きゅうり, kyuuri) – cucumber

The post Vocabs: Fruits and vegetables 1 appeared first on Nihongo Manabu - Learn Japanese.

Japanese Through Songs!

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Heeey!

This is my first ever contribution to our site! (wooah~) And this entry will be all about learning Japanese!

Like J, I’m also a beginner in learning Japanese, despite my 10 years of exposure to anime, manga, and doramas. But I have always been content with subtitles, that I never really bothered to learn. All throughout the years, I picked up a word or two (or a hundred) in Japanese, but never got to learn how to use it or even construct a sentence.

And then there was a time, when the TV shows I love ceased to get subbed. I struggled and that really motivated me to learn the language more. I have been an avid fan of this Japanese Idol group called “Arashi”, so if you do hear me talk a bit of Japanese you will notice that I use the masculine form. LOL! What do you expect? My daily companions are these 5 middle-aged “supposed idols” dorks.

Besides TV Shows and Doramas, I got my vocabs through songs as well. And because I’m the type to sing her heart out when the music is playing, lyrics in hand (with English translation) help me a lot with my Japanese skills (or almost the lack of. :p). By learning a Japanese song, you’re already hitting two birds with one stone! You get to add new vocabularies in your arsenal, and you could polish your intonation, and pronunciation! Cause let’s face it, there are really difficult to utter words in Japanese. (teehee!) It also helps if the song is quite catchy and has an upbeat rhythm to it, but a slow ballad could also help you catch the words.

This can also help you memorize the kanji. When I listen to my playlist, I would read the kanji lyrics along. That kinda help me read the characters faster. Then after, try to check the English translation of the song too, and try to pinpoint words and it’s Japanese equivalent. It’s like a vocabulary exercise. I think all of you should try that! :)

So here are my top 6 8 songs!

 

1. BITTERSWEET – Arashi (嵐)

I know I did say I’m a fan of these adorkables, but if you try to listen to the song, it’s quite catchy and tbh, after the 2nd time I heard the song, I already nailed the first stanza! And no, I’m not forcing you to like those 33-year old men. Haha!

Still, if you like them enough, consider supporting the artist by buying the single. XD

Amazon: [Limited Edition] [Regular Edition]
CDJapan: [Limited Edition] [Regular Edition]
HMV: [Limited Edition] [Regular Edition]
Play Asia: [Limited Edition] [Regular Edition]

 

2. Mou Sukoshi Mou Sukoshi – Atsumi Saori

This one, is the ending song of the anime “Midori no Hibi” (美鳥の日々). This one isn’t lively, but the words used are easy to pronounce. And like the first song, I nailed the whole song by the 3rd time I heard it. And this should really be in the number one spot on my list. But I’m biased and I love Arashi. LOL

 

Amazon: Mou Sukoshi Mou Sukoshi Single
CDJapan: Mou Sukoshi Mou Sukoshi Single
HMV: Tokyo Cramzy Days Compilation Album
Play Asia: Mou Sukoshi Mou Sukoshi Single

 

3. Sakura Kiss – Chieko Kawabe

This one I absolutely love. It’s an upbeat, fast song, but the words are like water on my mouth. LOL!


Amazon: Sakura Kiss Single
CDJapan: Ouran Koko Host Club Soundtrack & Charasong Shu Part.1 [Regular Edition]
HMV: Sakura Kiss Single
Play Asia: Sakura Kiss Single

 

4. First Love and The Flavor of Love – Utada Hikaru

I chose these two songs from Utada Hikaru, cause they are ballads and they are really beautiful.


First Love:
Amazon: First Love
CDJapan: First Love
HMV: First Love
Play Asia: First Love

Flavor of Love:
Amazon: Flavor of Life
CDJapan:Utada Hikaru Single Collection Vol.2
HMV: Flavor of Life
Play Asia: Flavor of Life

 

5. Wild at Heart – Arashi (嵐)

This one is a super fun song. So I think you’ll enjoy the dance number! and though it’s a fast song, you can still catch up with the words!


Amazon: [Limited Edition] [Regular Edition]
CDJapan: [Regular Edition] [Limited Edition]
HMV: Wild at Heart (Regular Edition)
Play Asia: [Limited Edition]

 


6. Troublemaker & Step and Go – Arashi (嵐)

 

Fun! Fun! Cute! 😀

Troublemaker
Troublemaker:
Amazon: [Limited Edition] [Regular Edition]
CDJapan: [Limited Edition] [Regular Edition]
HMW: [Regular Edition]
Play Asia: [Limited Edition] [Regular Edition]


stepngo

Step and GO:
Amazon: [Regular Edition]
CDJapan: [Limited Edition] [Regular Edition]
HMV: [Regular Edition]
Play Asia: [Limited Edition] [Regular Edition]

 

So I think that’s it! Though I end up introducing Arashi’s song after all! LOL! If you guys have a song in mind, don’t hesitate to share! :)

The post Japanese Through Songs! appeared first on Nihongo Manabu - Learn Japanese.

JPOP: Arashi’s new album, Japonism to be released on the 21st of Oct 2015

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So… Arashi’s new album has been announced! The album is titled “Japonism (ジャポニズム)”, and will be released on the 21st of October.

What’s Japonism? I turned to good ol’ wikipedia to find out:

Japonism (from the French Japonisme, first used in 1872) is the influence of Japanese art, fashion and aesthetics on Western culture. The term is used particularly to refer to Japanese influence on European art, especially in impressionism.

That’s an interesting title for sure. I wonder what sort of style the songs will have this time, following the ‘digital’ style in last year’s “The Digitalian” album. Seems like it’ll be a fusion of western and Japanese pop huh?

The title “Japonism” refers to the concept of looking at Japan from various different angles.

More about the album. This is Arashi’s 14th album. There will be a total of 16 tracks, including the A-side songs from the singles “Sakura” & “Aozora no Shita, Kimi no Tonari”. “Ai wo Sakebe” will not be included however. The leading track is produced by Hotei Tomoyasu (of Kill Bill OST fame). Of course, each of the members also have their own solo tunes. Including the solo songs, a total of 14 new tracks are in the album.

The theme of this album is “Japan = gratitude”.

A total of three editions of the album will be available. A limited edition, a one regular edition, and a Yoi Toko edition.

The limited edition will contain a DVD of the PV and making. It will also come with a photo booklet (song lyrics also included).

The regular edition has two CDs, and will come with 4 bonus songs, including the song “Furusato”. Since 2010, fans have hoped that the song “Furusato” will be included in a CD, the wish has finally come true. A booklet of the lyrics will be included.

Finally, the Yoi Toko edition also has two CDs. Disc 1 will have all the 16 songs. Disc 2 will come with 1 bonus song – a cover of the coupling song from Shonentai’s “Kamen Butoukai (仮面舞踏会)” single (released in 1985), “Nippon Yoi Toko Makafushig (日本よいとこ摩訶不思議)”  – as well as a “Japonism Talk”. The enjoyable talk by the members can only be heard here! The bonus track is the reason for the name of this edition. A booklet of the lyrics will be included.

The album artwork will be different for each of the editions.

This post will be updated as we get more information on the album!

Preorder your copy now!

CDJapan:
Japonism Limited Edition
Japonism Regular Edition
Japonism Yoi Toko Edition
Bundle set of all three editions

Play Asia:
Japonism Limited Edition
Japonism Regular Edition
Japonism Yoi Toko Edition

HMV:
Japonism Limited Edition
Japonism Regular Edition
Japonism Yoi Toko Edition

The post JPOP: Arashi’s new album, Japonism to be released on the 21st of Oct 2015 appeared first on Nihongo Manabu - Learn Japanese.

Vocabs: Sakurai Sho’s Josei Jishin 15th Sept 2015 Interview

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Some pick up vocabs from Arashi’s Sakurai Sho magazine interview in Josei Jishin (女性自身) 15th Sept 2015.

The interview basically asked Sho for his views on marriage, and his idea life partner.

結婚 (けっこん, kekkon) – marriage

結婚式 (けっこんしき, kekkonshiki) – marriage ceremony; wedding; nuptials

独身 (どくしん, dokushin) – bachelorhood; single; unmarried; celibate

夫婦 (ふうふ, fuufu) – married couple; spouses; husband and wife; couple; pair

困る (こまる, komaru) – to be troubled; to be worried; to be bothered; to be embarrassed; to be stumped

価値観 (かちかん, kachikan) – sense of values; values; value system

比較 (ひかく, hikaku) – comparison

憧れる (あこがれる, akogareru) – to long for; to yearn after; to admire; to be attracted by

必要 (ひつよう, hitsuyou) –
1. (as an adjective) necessary; needed; essential; indispensable
2. (as a noun) necessity; need; requirement

仲がいい (なかがいい, nakagaii) – close; intimate; on good terms

正直 (しょうじき, shoujiki) –
1. (as a noun) honesty; integrity; frankness
2. (as an adverb) honestly; frankly

白無垢 (しろむく, shiromuku) – white kimono
In the interview, they were referring to the traditional Japanese bridal dress.

新婚旅行 (しんこんりょこう, shinkonyuokou) – Honeymoon

The post Vocabs: Sakurai Sho’s Josei Jishin 15th Sept 2015 Interview appeared first on Nihongo Manabu - Learn Japanese.

2016 Anime and Manga Calendars Available for Pre-orders

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It’s September and we are steadily marching into the last quarter of 2015.

It’s three month till 2016 rolls around… but it never hurts to prepare ahead of time right? Pre-orders for 2016 calendars are up on CDJapan, and I headed over to check them out.

There’s ton of calendars available for pre-orders, with genres ranging from anime/manga, to cute animals, to actors and actresses.

Here’s a few that caught my interest!

Talk about Japanese popular culture… and animes and manga will invariably pop into the minds of many. That’s true for me as well, and indeed the first calendars to grab my attention were anime themed ones.

detective conan calendar
This Detective Conan calendar is probably my favourite out of the lot. No less because I’m fond of the manga myself. I’m still debating if I should get a calendar to brighten up my table and remind me of how fast days just fly by… but if I do, this will be the one I’m getting!

Naruto Shippuden Calendar
Naruto! Oh boy, this manga/anime sure has been going on for a long time huh? But I must say, I’m quite the fan of the manga series. If you love the yellow haired fishcake*, give this calendar a try!
*Naruto means fishcake in Japanese. Kudos to the mangaka for turning fishcake into such a famous manga!

Tonari no Totoro calendar
Tonari no Totoro is a really endearing anime, if you are a fan, do check out the calendar!

Yokai Watch calendar
This Tobidasu!! Yokai Watch calendar sure is cute. If you’re a fan of the role playing game, it’s worth checking out!

Pokemon calendar
Are you a Pokemon fan? I must confess, I am one. Though life and monetary circumstances does not allow me to be a hardcore fan, I really enjoy playing the RPG. Staring at other people play the game on their gameboy color when I was a kid… ah those were the day. I swear it was Pokemon that single handedly started my love for RPG games and gaming in general. Well, if you love Pokemon as much, or even more than I do, this Pokemon calendar is just the right thing for you!

Assassination Classroom Calendar
Oh Assassination Classroom! I started reading the manga after hearing about the movie. Managed to catch the movie in the cinemas as well and I LOVED it! Looking forward to the second movie! It’s been announced the Ninomiya Kazunari will be acting as the God of Death too, so he’ll actually appear in the movie this time, instead of just being a voice. Well, if you’re a fan of the manga/anime, do check this one out!

I’ve recently started reading One Piece and there’s a One Piece calendar available. No pictures though, so we have no idea what it looks like…
See more anime themed calenders here.

Rilakkuma calendar
This cute bear character has a lot of fans all over the world. With loads of Rilakkuma products already available, here’s one more to add to the collection of any Rilakkuma fan!

If Japanese anime isn’t for you, how about some western movies? Of course, being a Japanese retailer, there aren’t many imported goods sold.

Star Wars the force awakens calendar
Awaken your inner powers with this The Force Awakens calendar.

Inside Out
Or let your inner child run free with this quite Inside Out calendar.

Who can resist these adorable cats?

all star cats calendar
Aw just look at these cutesy cats! This all star cats calendar will bring a smile to your face at the end of every hard day.

Pokke cat calendar
Or maybe you prefer this Pokke cat calendar instead? Aw just look at those eyes!

If you’re an animal lover, it’s worth checking the rest of the animal calendars out.

If you’re looking for something more peaceful and quiet, then maybe check out the ‘art’ category of calendars. From artwork to photographs of shrines, these calendars will surely enable to find your inner peace.

Tokyo Skytree calendar
The new icon of Tokyo, the Tokyo Skytree (東京スカイツリ). This is the tallest building in Japan, and the second tallest structure in the world. Enjoy the beautiful architecture with the Tokyo Skytree calendar.

Japanese Shrines calendar
Looking to find your inner peace? This Japanese Shrines calendar might help you with that.

Factory night scene calendar
Who knew factories can look so pretty at night? Factory night scenery was the inspiration for Fukase Satoshi from SEKAI NO OWARI for many of his songs, including the hit song Starlight Parade. He conceived the song on one of his many night cycling adventures. For those of us who don’t stay near factories, you can draw inspiration from this factory night scene calendar instead.

Mt. Fuji calendar
A UNESCO World Heritage Culture Site, Mt. Fuji has long been an inspiration for artist, writers and poets. Be inspired by it’s majestic view with this Mt. Fuji calendar.

Lastly… what are calendars without some hot swimsuit models?

Mikie Hara calendar
Check out this Mikie Hara calendar and other calendars with model photoshots. There’s also many more in the aptly named ‘sexy’ category calendars.

There are many other themes available, check out the rest of the calendars on CDJapan now!

The post 2016 Anime and Manga Calendars Available for Pre-orders appeared first on Nihongo Manabu - Learn Japanese.

Vocabs: Fruits and Vegetables 2

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Check out Part 1 as well.

(いちご, ichigo) – strawberry

ブラックベリー (burakkuberii) – blackberry

ブルーベリー (buruuberii) – blueberry

桜桃 (さくらんぼ, sakuranbo) – cherry

芒果 (マンゴー, mangoo) – mango

パパイア (papaia) – papaya

バナナ (banana) – banana

ドラゴンフルーツ(doragon furuutsu) – dragon fruit

じゃが (じゃがいも, jyagaimo) – potato

(いも, imo) – tuber; taro; potato

さつま (さつまいも, satsumaimo) – sweet potato

The post Vocabs: Fruits and Vegetables 2 appeared first on Nihongo Manabu - Learn Japanese.


Perfume is on Apple’s iPhone 6s Advertisement!

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Apple fans might know this already… but the Japanese electropop sensation Perfume appeared on Apple’s new iPhone 6s advertisement!

I was watching the keynote last night, when Apple showed off their new iPhone ad. And for a split second (ok, just a tad exaggerated, but it really was just a fleeting glimpse), I thought I saw three girls with the likeliness of Perfume.

I’m not a Perfume fan per-say, so I had to double check on the Internet to be sure.

Lo and behold, plenty of news articles are out already (such as this and this) about the ad.

So here’s my share of screencaps from the ad.

Perfume appears in Apple iPhone 6s ad

Perfume appears in Apple iPhone 6s ad

Perfume appears in Apple iPhone 6s ad

I took it off the entire keynote address (which you can watch on their website). Just watch the entire thing and you’ll see it. Nah, just joking… Their appearances are in 121:38 and 121:54… But well, the whole keynote is kinda long, so why don’t you just spare a minute watch the iPhone 6s ad below?

They appear at 0:26 and 0:42.

I was pleasantly surprised by this. Not that I’m surprised about how Perfume got in the ad and not some other JPOP artist… I’m surprised that any Japanese idol was included at all. With Apple being a US company and all… Even right now they are more focused on the Chinese market than anywhere else. Still, I’m really glad they got on the ad! Hopefully that gives JPOP just a teeny bit more exposure.

I’m sure Perfume fans all over the world would be happy to see this ad. Just imagine the amount of people who’d see this ad… Apple airs it all over the world, and they have some much advertising power.

Well now, I mentioned earlier that I’m not a fan of Perfume per-say. I don’t follow them as I do with Arashi (I’m biased after all), but I have watched a number of their live performances and I enjoy their songs. My favourite would be their catchy hit ‘Chocolate Disco’.

In other news, Perfume released a DVD of their “Perfume WORLD TOUR 3rd” concert in July. The concert includes talks from their performances all over the world. Including Singapore! (It’s the concert I didn’t get to go to!)

They are also releasing a new Single titled “Star Train” on the 28th of October. Looking forward to see what songs they come up with this time!

CDJapan: Perfume WORLD TOUR 3rd (Bluray)
Play Asia: Perfume WORLD TOUR 3rd (Bluray)
CDJapan: Perfume WORLD TOUR 3rd (DVD)
Play Asia: Perfume WORLD TOUR 3rd (DVD)

 

 

Perfume Star Train RE

 

CDJapan: Star Train (Regular Edition)

 

 

Perfume Star Train LE

 

CDJapan: Star Train (Limited Edition)

 

 

Perfume Fan Service (Sweet)

 

Chocolate Disco Single:
CDJapan: Fan Service (Sweet) – Bluray
CDJapan: Fan Service (Sweet) – DVD

 

 

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Nintendo to Unveil Pokemon game for mobile

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If there’s any RPG that I love the most, it’ll be Nintendo’s Pokemon series.

From the days I’ve spent looking over people’s shoulders to watch them play on their gameboy… to all the times I tried (unsuccessfully) to convince my parents to buy me one.

There’s something about that catch ’em all, grind, and beat ’em all concept that just appeals to me. Time and time and again I’ve gone back to playing the games.

But no matter what, Pokemon stayed on in Nintendo’s consoles. Fine, they had mangas and animes (I watched and read them too), but game wise, it was also on their system. Even when mobile gaming took off and Square Enix brought Final Fantasy (another JPRG success story!) and Dragon Quest to mobile, Nintendo refused to budge.

That is, until half a year ago. Now, I’m playing Pokemon Shuffle on my iPhone. Yes, they finally have an official app on the app store. I’d say it still needs a lot of improvements, but it’s heartwarming to see that at least they are finally opening up.

Something greater is about to arrive on the mobile scene though, with Pokemon GO! Watch the trailer below.

Pokemon GO! is a augmented reality (AR) game that promises to let you catch wild Pokemon, trade Pokemon with friends, and battle with other people’s Pokemons. It also features cooperative play. At the end of the trailer, a huge crowd is featured working together to catch Mewtwo. Of course, how well and how smooth the gameplay experience translates out in the real world remains to be seen. Nintendo has partnered with Niantic, Inc. to develop the game. Niantic certainly is an expert in the field of augmented reality, having created Ingress, an AR game that uses GPS technology to create a global, sci-fi game.

Together with the mobile game, Nintendo has also developed a pokemon ‘watch’/device (call the Pokemon GO Plus) to alert you when Pokemons are nearby, so you don’t have to keep on checking the mobile app.

I’m definitely excited to see try out the game for myself, though I won’t be so sure about spending money to get the pokemon watch. I might be getting just a little too old for that perhaps. Still, I’m really excited to see Ninendo finally making the step forward. Because if there’s any one bad thing about Japanese people, I’d say that it’s the fact that they are… fairly conservative. They prefer to hold on to old ideas and concepts, and are afraid of breaking into new frontiers. (Even if that frontier is old to anyone but them.)

Let’s hope that we’ll get to play with Pokemon for years to come!

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Vocabs: Ohno & Kids’, Future Art Exhibition in Miyagi Website

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Hi all! It’s been a while since I did a random vocabulary post. I was looking at the special site for Ohno’s art exhibit in Miyagi and picked out a few vocabulary of note.

Ohno future art exhibit in Miyagi homepage

Home page of the art exhibition website.

堪能 (たんのう, tannou)
1. proficient; skillful
2. enjoying; satisfaction; satiation; having one’s fill (of)

This appeared in Ohno’s message. He requested that the visitors take their time to enjoy the art works.

財団 (ざいだん, zaidan) – foundation

Foundation as in “an institution established with an endowment”, not your building foundation or other definitions.

To that effect I’ll also introduce two other words:

財団法人 (ざいだんほうじん, zaidan houjin) – incorporated foundation; juridical foundation

一般財団法人 (いっぱんざいだんほうじん, ippan zaidan houjin) – general incorporated foundation

This is what the Marching J Foundation is.

開催 (かいさい, kaisai) – holding a meeting; open an exhibition

柔軟 (じゅうなん, jyuunan) – flexible; lithe; soft; pliable

多数 (たすう, tasuu)
1. great number
2. countless; majority

They received a large number of entries for the exhibition.

応募 (おうぼ, oubo) – application; subscription; entry (competition, raffle, etc.); enlistment

保護者 (ほごしゃ, hogosha) – guardian; protector; patron; parent

They thanked the parents and guardians for their help in the submission, since the submissions were all from primary school kids. The parents would probably have to guide the lower primary kids a little, and do things like send in the entries. You can see the Japanese culture in this, I know if it was in Singapore, they wouldn’t mention anything about the parents at all, much less thank them for their help.

手荷物 (てにもつ, tenimotsu) – hand luggage; hand baggage

Ah this. They requested that the public not bring any large items with them, and to keep any hand baggage as small as possible so as not to inconvenient other visitors. Again, this is a reflection of how the Japanese as a society are constantly being mindful of their behavior and trying to be considerate to others.

As for the word itself, 荷物にもつ means luggage or baggage. means hand, so it all adds together nicely.

預かる (あずかる, azukaru)
1. to look after; to take care of; to keep; to hold on to; to keep in custody
2. to take charge of; to be entrusted with; to receive on deposit
3. to reserve (judgment); to leave undecided

In the ‘Access’ page, they mentioned that the organizers are unable to help people take care of their belongings, nor are they any coin lockers available in the vicinity, that’s why they urge people not to bring big items to the venue. It’s likely to be really crowded after all, as far as all Arashi events go. So carrying around say a huge box of whatever is definitely going to be a nuisance. Not just to others, but I think it’ll be such a chore too.

So that’s all for this post. All definitions are from Jisho.org, while the definition of ‘foundation’ was from google.

The post Vocabs: Ohno & Kids’, Future Art Exhibition in Miyagi Website appeared first on Nihongo Manabu - Learn Japanese.

Breath Palette – Toothpaste with a Difference

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Ok. It may seem weird that I’m talking about toothpaste in this blog. But hey, it’s a Japanese brand toothpaste that exhibits the elegant simplicity and attention to detail in a most Japanesque way; so I think it’s justified.

breath palette

31 flavors of Breath Palette toothpaste

I chanced upon this product while shopping in Tokyuu Hands (here for the SG website, here for the Japan website). I absolutely love this store to bits. Love the goods they sold there. Granted, some are pricey in the way Japanese + imported goods are, but they are just so hard to resist. Good quality, great design, over the chart cuteness… I’ve probably spent too much time (and money) in this store for my own good but… that’s just how attractive it is. Especially love their selection of pens and stationary. Way more than the regular bookstore in Singapore, AND, the multi colored pens are arranged with a Japanese precision and neatness, that makes shopping just so much more aesthetically pleasing.

Breath palette - Bitter Chocolate and L'Espresso

Breath palette – Bitter Chocolate and L’Espresso

True to it’s world renowned culture of simplicity, the breath palette toothpaste are packaged in plain white. The design is minimalistic, and I must admit, it took me a while to deduce that ‘breath palette = toothpaste’. And what a unique toothpaste it is, coming in 31 different flavors. One for each day of the month – their website advertises. I couldn’t resist and decided to pick some flavors for myself. It was hard to pick. I love peppermint and cinnamon, but in the end I decided that peppermint is sort of similar to the usual mint flavored toothpaste available, and decided to leave the cinnamon for next time. So I walked away with flavor no. 25 – bitter chocolate, and flavor no. 28 – L’Espresso. I don’t usually drink coffee because I get a headache when I have too much caffeine, but I figured it’ll be fine since I don’t swallow my toothpaste. Plus, a little coffee (flavoring) might help wake me up in the morning.

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Breath palette toothpaste

Breath palette toothpaste uses microbeads and doesn’t foam up.

I was in for a surprise when I used the toothpaste. It doesn’t foam up like your usual Colgate. Instead, they use ultra-fine microbeads with Xylitol to clean up, and natural extracts for the flavoring. It certainly felt weird at first, without the foam. But I got used to it instantly. I was glad even – I hate foam. I’ll be honest about it. Every time I brush I have to be careful not to get the foam too deep into my mouth (especially when rinsing out), because otherwise my gag reaction would kick in and my eyes turn teary as I choke and try to spit the foam out. With this, plus the cool flavors, I may actually start looking forward to brushing up.

On the flavors… personally I like the L’Espresso more than the Bitter Chocolate. The latter is, by the way, not bitter at all. I’d say it was sweet even, and came with a strange hint of mint. I don’t dislike it but I think I’d try something else the next time. The L’Espresso on the other hand was great. I didn’t expect to like it all that much since I’m not a coffee lover, but it tastes like coffee, and in a subtle but not easy to miss way. It had just the right amount of flavor for my liking.

The toothpaste comes in a 25 g tube. Not a huge tube really. You don’t need much for each brush, half of what is show in the photo is more than enough. I squeezed on more for photo taking purposes, but the paste isn’t a really ‘hard’ paste that stays in shape as with the usual variety, so it’s in an ugly lump as seen in the picture. Still, it remains to be seen how much mileage I can get with a tube though.

Margaret Josefin has also made a no. 0 – a tongue scrub gel. No flavors specified for that though. Here’s a full list of flavors below:

  1. Tongue scrub gel
  2. Amajio (Slightly salted)2. Tropical Pineapple
  3. Peppermint
  4. Freshness Yogurt (Fresh Yogurt)
  5. Ichibanzumi Greentea (Freshly Picked Greentea)
  6. Rose
  7. Monkey Banana
  8. Honey
  9. Kiwi Fruit
  10. Café au lait (Coffee with milk)
  11. Plum
  12. Tsugaru* Apple
  13. Vanilla
  14. Indian Curry
  15. Strawberry
  16. California Orange
  17. Kyofu Powdered Greentea (Kyoto-styled Powdered Greentea)
  18. White Peach
  19. Kishu Ume (Kishu Plum)
  20. Lavender
  21. Darjeeling tea
  22. Cinnamon
  23. Kyoho (a type of grapes)
  24. Lemon Tea
  25. Bitter Chocolate
  26. Blueberry
  27. Caramel
  28. L’Espresso
  29. Grapefruit
  30. Pumpkin Pudding
  31. Cola
    *Western region of Aomori Prefecture

Plenty of interesting flavors, I’m sure you’ll find something to your liking. The yogurt, cinnamon, cola and caramel all looks attractive to me. I’ll like to try them next time.

I got mine for SGD 4.00 a tube, and they sell for 200 yen (before tax) in Japan. They are also available on Amazon – sold individually or as sets.

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Vocabs: Matsumoto Jun – Jweb – Enjoy Vol. 128

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So… Jweb is well, a website by Johnny’s Entertainment. It contains informations about their various artists, and gives fans a place to get official news about their idols. Some of the artists have their own blogs too, and Matsumoto Jun (of Arashi, I’m an Arashi fan, sorry) has a blog called ‘Enjoy’. So here’s some vocabs I picked up from his latest entry. I decided to spend more time reading the entry properly because well… Apparently JE’s translator didn’t do a good job translating this entry, and it made Jun seem as if… he was really depressed. Suicidal even. But no, that’s not true at all. It’s just a mistranslation.

Anyway, on to the vocabs. Not that many vocabs, it’s not a long entry after all. All definitions are taken from jisho.org.

ドタバタ (dotabata) – noisily (esp. the noise of heavy feet)

It’s an onomatopoeic word, and here Jun used it to refer to Arashi rushing around/being very busy.

本格 (ほんかく, honkaku)
1. original method or procedure
2. serious; orthodox; classical; genuine

In the entry, the word usage would mean ‘serious’. Jun was saying that if they don’t start serious preparations for their concert soon, all hell would break lose! Nah, he didn’t actually say all hell would break lose. But the consequences would be disastrous indeed! (The concert dates are announced already! Just 1 months to go!!!)

構成 (こうせい, kousei) – organization; organisation; configuration; composition

Jun was saying that he’s doing the organization of the concert. Well, his whole entry, save for the first 3 lines, was about the upcoming Japonism concert tour.

真っ最中 (まっさいちゅう, massaichuu) – midst; middle of; height of

強敵 (きょうてき, kyouteki) – formidable enemy; strong enemy; tough enemy

Referring to the new album being a ‘strong enemy’, a tough one to tackle.

真っ暗 (まっくら, makkura)
1. total darkness; pitch dark
2. bleak future; poor prospects

In the entry, Jun was talking about how he’s still in total darkness, unable to see any light. AND he’s referring to the tour preparations/deciding the tour contents. That’s why in the next part he says that he’ll keep on listening to the album and visualising ideas in his head till he sees the light.

Ganbatte Jun! We’ll be waiting! I’m sure you will come up with a stunning concert!

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Vocabs: Sakurai Sho GQ Magazine Interview July 2010, No. 86

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Here’s some vocab I picked out while reading Sho’s magazine interview in the GQ magazine. It’s not the MOST exciting magazine interview out there, but it’s still pretty interesting. Like. How Sho managed his time in his university days, taking the night train back to Tokyo after having work elsewhere, just so that he can catch the lecture the next day. Amazing guy really. He also shared about how he loves travelling, and would travel overseas even if he has just a few days off. He’d travel at a moment’s notice too. On his trip to India in 2008 (when he bought incense back for the members), he only booked the trip 2 days before departure.

Anyway, here are the vocabs, arranged in the order that the appear! Definitions from jisho.org.

仕事人 (ごとにん, shigotonin) – professional; person good at a particular job; person who does their job without mistakes

In the magazine, they described Sho as one of the busiest professionals in Japan at the time of interview.

好評 (こうひょう, kouhyou) – popularity; favorable reputation; favourable reputation

Their (then) new single ‘Monster‘ received favorable reviews!

纏まる (まとまる) – to be collected; to be settled; to be in order

抵抗感 (ていこうかん, teijoukan) – ていこうかん

Sho was starting to dislike how he has gotten too used to appearing on TV.

流す (ながす nagasu)
1. to drain; to pour; to spill; to shed (blood, tears)
2. to wash away
3. to distribute (e.g. electricity over wires, music over a PA system, etc.); to circulate; to broadcast; to beam
4. to cruise (e.g. taxi)
5. to float; to set adrift
6. to call off (a meeting, etc.)

One of those words with a multitude of meanings. In the interview, Sho said that he didn’t like to just cruise through work.

姿勢 (せい, shisei) – attitude; posture; stance; approach; carriage (of the body)

In the article, when Sho mentioned the word it was on the meaning of stance/approach rather than physical posture.

接する (せっする, sessu)
1. to touch; to come in contact with; to border on; to adjoin; to be adjacent; to be close
2. to receive (e.g. visitor); to attend to; to serve; to take care of; to look after; to deal with; to see
3. to receive (news); to get; to hear
4. to encounter; to come across
5. to be tangent to
6. to make touch; to bring into contact with; to bring adjacent to; to bring close; to connect

Another of those words with plenty of meanings! In the interview, Sho mentioned that he thinks it’s good to come into contact with people younger then him, because they motivate him and spur him on.

薦める (すすめる, susumeru) – to recommend; to advise; to encourage; to offer (wine)

Sho watches movies, stage plays and concerts recommended to him by others on his days off.

積極的 (せっきょくてき, sekkyokuteki) – assertive; positive; active; proactive

He proactively seeks out things to watch…

話題になる (だいになる, wadaininaru) – to be in the news; to be talked about; to become a popular topic of conversation; to become the talk of the town; to become topical

Of course, the recommendations he gets are for things that would likely become the topic of conversation.

引き出し (ひきだし , hikidashi)
1. drawer
2. withdrawal; drawing outnot
3. variety of knowledge and experience useful for handling things impromptu

In the interview, it’s definition 3 that it’s referring to. Sho watching all the hot stuff to be kept in the loop, so that he’ll have things to say on TV.

貪欲 (どんよく, danyoku) – avarice; greed; covetousness

Still on the same paragraph. Sho is hungry for knowledge.

見聞き (きき, mikiki) – information; experience; observation; seeing and hearing

間接 (かんせつ, kansetsu) – indirection; indirectness

Sho talked about how his private life and work life can be indirectly linked.

結びつく (むすびつく, musubitsuku)
1. to be related; to be connected; to be joined together
2. to result in; to lead to; to bring about

Again, about the private the work life being related to each other. What he does in this private time often spills over to work.

駆け込む (かけこむ, kakekomu) – to rush in (at the last minute); to stampede

Sho rushed to the travel agency 2 days before departure to book his trip to India.

And that’s all for the vocabs folks!

The post Vocabs: Sakurai Sho GQ Magazine Interview July 2010, No. 86 appeared first on Nihongo Manabu - Learn Japanese.

Vocabs: AnShi 29th Aug 2015 edition

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Ok. I picked out a really long list of vocabs from this episode. Probably the longest I’ve done so far from a single episode…. As usual, the vocabs are in order of appearance in the show, so that it’s easier for you to spot the word when it’s used in the show.

Overall, I really enjoyed watching this episode. From the shouting of bugs while eating spicy food, to watching Ohno make a birthday present for Jun… to Jun being completely freaked out in the haunted house. This episode is definitely worth watching!

Definitions from jisho,org and weblio.jp.

頑張り屋 (がんばりや, ganbariya) – someone who battles on in difficult circumstances

Okada praises Yaotome for being a “頑張り屋”.

ロンダート (rondaato) – roundoff (gymnastics)

Miyake and his roundoffs…. XD The Japanese literally translates to round out in English…. but the move is actually called roundoff in English.

 

バク転 (バクてん, bakuten) – backward somersault; back handspring; backflip

側転 (そくてん, sokuten) – cartwheel

くねる (kuneru) – to bend loosely back and forth; to wriggle; to be crooked

Roundoff is something like is twisted cartwheel.

逆ギレ (ぎゃくギレ, gyaku gire) – being angry at someone who would normally be angry at you; situation wherein the offender is angry at the victim

Inohara’s 逆ギレ incidents with Ohno and Aiba.

魂消る (たまげる, tamageru) – to be astonished; to be startled; to be appalled

Yamada was astonished/amazed by Aiba’s abdominal muscles.

選手権 (せんしゅけん, senshuken) – championship; title (of champion)

The spicy food eating + sweating championship they had with Takenaka Naoto-san.

誇る (ほこる, hokoru) – to boast of; to be proud of

Takenaka Naoto – one of the actors the Japanese movie industry is proud of. That guy really acts all sorts of roles really well. In particular all the funny/strange characters. He’s a genius at it I tell you.

滅法 (めっぽう, meppou) – extraordinary; absurd; very; in chaos; incoherent

目がない (めがない, meganai) – extremely fond of; having a weakness for

can mean eye/sight… but don’t be fooled! This phrase does not mean “have no eyes!” Rather, think of it as something like “can’t turn your eyes away from XXX”.

序の口 (じょのくち, jyo no kuchi) – this is only the beginning (the real work having yet to begin)

じょ here means order (as in a list of things), and くち means start. So together, it means that something is only at the very start of the list, or the very beginning.

刻む (きざむ, kizamu)
1. to mince; to cut fine; to chop up; to hash; to shred
2. to carve; to engrave; to chisel; to notch
3. to tick away (time); to record the passing moments
4. to etch (into one’s mind); to remember distinctly

A word with multiple meanings! (Including two other archaic uses not included here.) In the show, they used to when talking about minced chilli peppers.

本場 (ほんば, honba)
1. home; habitat; center; centre; best place
2. authentic; genuine

I hear this being used to mean authentic/genuine a lot more then home on variety shows. Maybe it’s just the shows I watch or something… Anyway, in this episode, they were talking about how the authentic the Mabo Tofu dish is.

選りすぐる (えりすぐる, erisuguru) – to choose the best

香辛料 (こうしんりょう, koushinryou) – spices; condiment

Loads of spices used in the various dishes they tried!

手元 (もと, temoto)
1. at hand; on hand; nearby; close at hand
2. way of moving one’s arms; skill
3. money at hand; pocket money
4. grip; handle

In the show, it was used as an adverb – use the towel close at hand to wipe their sweat.

拘わる (こだわる, kodawaru)
1. to fuss over; to be particular about
2. to be obsessive; to be fixated

Something that Takenaka fusses over when eating spicy food – yell out names of insects instead of complaining that it’s spicy.

鍬形 (くわがた, kuwagata) – stag beetle

Ok, here comes a whole slew of bugs! Some of them have already been mentioned in the themed vocabs posts before, but many are new!

甲虫 (かぶとむし, kabutomushi) – rhinoceros beetle (esp. the Japanese rhinoceros beetle, Trypoxylus dichotomus)

螳螂 (かまきり, kamakiri) – praying mantis (esp. the narrow-winged mantis, Tenodera angustipennis)

金蚊 (かなぶん, kanabun) – drone beetle (scarabaeid beetle) (Rhomborrhina japonica)

苦悶 (もん, kumon) – anguish

Ohno and his anguished look when eating the ‘death udon.’

大鍬形 (おおくわがた, ookuwagata) – giant stag beetle (Dorcus hopei)

蝉 (せみ, semi) – cicada; locust

お絞り (おしぼり, oshibori) – wet towel (supplied at table); hot, moistened hand towel

Ohno wiped his running nose on a wet towel.

途轍もない (てつもない, todetsumonai)
1. extravagant; absurd; unbelievable; preposterous; unreasonable
2. enormous; tremendous; extraordinary; monumental

ざらつく (zaratsuku) – to be rough feeling

皇室 (こうしつ, koushitsu) – Imperial household (of Japan)

由緒正しい (ゆいしょただしい, yuishotadashi) – having an ancient and honorable origin

The hat shop that Ohno visited is a really famous shop with a long and honorable history. That have been patronised by many celebrities, and even the Imperial household.

収める (おさめる, osameru)
1. to dedicate; to make an offering; to pay (fees)
2. to supply
3. to store
4. to finish; to bring to a close
5. to restore (something to its place)
6. to achieve (e.g. a result)

Again in the same sentence of the video – the shop supplies hat to celebrities and the Imperial household.

画鋲 (びょう, gabyou) – drawing pin; thumb tack

They used thumb tacks to hold the material in place on the mold to shape the hat.

風通し (かぜとおし, kazetooshi)
1. ventilation
2. communication (within an organisation); openness

The shop owner helpfully suggests that Ohno can use ‘it’s good ventilation’ as an excuse to explain to MatsuJun why the hat is so thin (if the end product failed that way). Good thing Ohno didn’t have to use it.

窯 (かま, kama) – stove; furnace; kiln

After stretching and securing the material for the hat on the mold, it’s time to dry it in the furnace.

装飾 (そうしょく, soushoku) – ornament

Ohno comments that Jun always promises to use the hats he gifted as ornaments/decorations. (Not for wearing!) But Ohno believes Jun doesn’t even do that. Poor Oh-chan! 😛

仕上げ (あげ, shiage) – end; finishing touches; being finished
顔が濃い (かおがこい, kaogakoi)
Ok. This phrase is not found in jisho.org, though it’s a common Japanese phrase. It means having strong (or deep set) facial features. (Actual phrase used in the video was かおさ.)

鬱陶しい (うっとうしい, uttoushi)
1. gloomy (e.g. mood); depressing
2. irritating; troublesome
3. heavy (weather); cloudy

MJ doesn’t like haunted houses. Well, he’s just scared… but he claims they are irritating/troublesome. Because he’s just the kind of person who likes to act cool… made more so by the theme of his segment.

清め (きよめ, kiyome) – purification

The MJ Girl and her purification salt. XD

戦慄 (せんりつ, senritsu) – shudder; shiver; tremble with fear; horrible; terrible; hair-raising

MJ, and the hair-raising maze.

修行 (しゅぎょう, shugyou)
1. ascetic practices (Buddhist term)
2. training; practice; discipline; study

MJ and his haunted house training.

頼もしい (たのもしい, tanomoshii) – reliable; trustworthy; hopeful; promising

The MJ Girl thought MJ was reliable… but nah, he’s just acting cool and lying.

入念 (にゅうねん, nyuunen) – careful; elaborate; scrupulous

保険 (けん, hoken) – insurance; guarantee

Because right after boasting, MJ carefully laid out excuses – as some sort of insurance/safety net so that his pride won’t come all crashing down when he fails.

突入 (とつにゅう, totsunyuu)
1. rushing into; breaking into; storming
2. plunging into (war, etc.); embarking on (a new venture)

無数 (すう, mosuu) – countless number; infinite number; innumerable

There are countless number of traps set up in the Fuji Q haunted house, waiting to scare the daylights out of the next victim.

レントゲン (rentogen)
1. X-ray
2. roentgen (unit of ionizing radiation)

This is an abbreviation for レントゲンせん. It’s named after the man who invented it, Wilhelm Röntgen (Thanks to frutsen for the info!). A more common word for X-ray though, is X線エックスせん. せん means line, ray etc, so that makes much more sense.

関門 (かんもん, kanmon) – barrier; gateway

襲う (おそう, osou)
1. to attack; to assail; to make an assault; to strike; to hunt down
2. to succeed (someone in a post, role, etc.)
3. to make a sudden visit

What do you get in a haunted house? Zombies and all sorts of ghosts assaulting you of course.

取り乱す (とりみだす, torimidasu)
1. to put in disorder; to mess up; to disturb; to scatter about
2. to be upset; to lose one’s composure; to lose self-control; to go to pieces; to be shaken up; to break down; to be flustered; to blow one’s cool

MJ and the MJ girl broke down when the door wouldn’t open. :)

自尊心 (そんしん, jisonshin) – (spirit of) self-respect; self-importance; conceit; pride

At the end of it all, the staff decided to let Jun do a special segment to regain his pride – have him scare other people instead.

仕組み (くみ)
1. structure; construction; arrangement; contrivance
2. plan; plot; contrivance

 

Girls at fake street interview: Answers questions faithfully
MJ sticks hands out of the box and scares them
Girls: So that was the plan…
MJ reveals himself
Girls: KYAAAAAAAAAAAA

満悦 (まんえつ, manetsu) – great delight; rapture

The pure look of bliss on Jun’s facing after having girls fawn over him… XD

街頭 (がいとう, gaitou) – in the street

MJ did make tons of mistakes (uncool moves) listed by interviewees in the street interview. But oh wells. MJ will be MJ.

 

Ok, that’s the end of a very long list! (Which too me really long to compile and write up!)

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Vocabs: Sakurai Ariyoshi Abunai Yakai 15th Oct 2015 edition

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Ok! Well, these vocabs are actually only from the first half of the show – the Sakurai in Miyagi segment. Following last year’s invasion of Sho’s hotel room during the Hawaii Blast concert, they invaded his room again during the Miyagi Blast concert this year. It was a really fun episode/segment! Showcasing just how adorable that dorky Sho can be. Of course, Aimiya invading the room was an added bonus. And they totally trolled the Keio boy with the military camouflage outfits. (Aibaka meanwhile, almost locked himself out of his room again.)

Still, you can absolutely sense the member love here. Even though I can’t differentiate between the % of love and % of troll in this… at least… they cared enough to risk going out after the concert just to get the military camouflage presents for Sho. Even if it was to troll him. shrugs

Ok! Without further ado, I present to you the vocab list! All definitions taken from jisho.org.

恒例 (こうれい, kourei) – established practice; custom

The 恒例 invasion of Sho’s hotel room during concerts, and the 恒例 personal belongings check!

相変わらず (あいかわらず, aikawarazu) – as ever; as usual; the same; still

Poor Sho! He got labelled as being ‘as unfashionable as ever’.

乱入 (らんにゅう, rannyuu)
1. trespassing; intrusion
2. to barge into; to burst into; to trespass

First it was Jun and Ohno, this time, it’s Aiba and Nino who invaded/barged into Sho’s room.

展開 (てんかい, tenkai)
1. development; evolution; progressing; unfolding
2. expansion; spreading out; extending; deployment; building up

What sort of happening will unfold when Aiba and Nino barges in? Watch the show to find out!

提案 (ていあん, teian) – proposal; proposition; suggestion

Apparently Abunai Yakai has a new format now (it’s been a while since I watched that show). Guests are supposed to propose something for the audience to try. Sho’s was to get people to eat more of his favourite food: shellfish. Yum!

主宰 (しゅさい, shusai) – 1. supervision; chairmanship

Sho, the Yakai chairman.

あざとい (azatoi) – clever; sly; cunning; pushy

Daikichi-san and his alleged cunning use of the Arashi badge.

揉める (もめる, momeru) – to disagree; to dispute; to fight (over)

切ない (せつない, setsunai)
1. painful; heartrending; trying
2. oppressive; suffocating; miserable

Sho and his heartbreaking marriage discussion in his previous Yakai.

咄嗟 (とっさ, tossa) – moment; instant

How to make Sho delighted in an instant? Feed him shellfish!

寛ぐ (くつろぐ, kutsurogu) – to relax; to feel at home

Sho relaxing on the sofa after the concert…

論調 (ろんちょう, ronchou) – tenor or drift of an argument

Sho complained about how people are saying that his clothes are unfashionable. Sho’s counter argument: He’s there for work, not a fashion show.

機能 (のう, kinou) – function; facility; faculty; feature

To Sho, function > fashion. Same here! Functionality and practicality beats fashion any day for me.

前置き (まえおき, maeoki) – preface; introduction

An interesting word the literally means ‘put in front’. Well, which is kinda what a preface/introduction is. Something you put at the front.
In the show, the narrator complained about Sho’s long preface, which was in reality, more like an excuse.

がましい (gamashii) – look like; sound like; savor of; smack of

The long preface that sounds like nothing but excuses.

着心地 (ごこち, kigokochi) – (good or bad) feel when wearing something

Sho likes the feel of the sweats given to him by the staff.

滑々 (すべすべ, sube sube) – smooth (skin, etc.); sleek; velvety; silky

Because the sweats feels ‘sube sube’.

疲労 (ろう, hirou) – fatigue; weariness

Oh dear. Here comes the criticism again. Sho’s special suit that is supposed to reduce fatigue unfortunately doesn’t look particularly appealing/fashionable.

炸裂 (さくれつ, sakuretsu) – explosion; bursting

Somehow Sho later exploded into a passionate discussion about briefs…

海獺 (らっこ, rakko) – sea otter (Enhydra lutris)

Sho got called a sea otter for his love of shellfish.

熱狂 (ねっきょう, nekkyou) – wild enthusiasm; being crazy about

地味 (み, jimi) – plain; simple; subdued; sober

赤貝 (あかがい, akagai) – blood clam (Scapharca broughtonii); ark shell

Ahhh akagai. I’ve never had those for sashimi before. Though in Singapore, blood cockles are really common, and cheap too. We usually boil (not too long, it’s not nice if it’s overcooked!) them and eat them plain. It’s also used in dishes like laksa and fried kway teow too. I believe those we have here are a slightly different species from the ones eaten as sashimi in Japan though… Would love to try akagai sashimi! starts looking in Google for resturants in Sg

幻 (まぼろし, maboroshi) – phantom; vision; illusion; dream; apparition

慌てる (あわてる, awateru)
1. to become confused (disconcerted, disorganized, disorganised); to be flustered; to panic
2. to be in a hurry; to rush

一切れ (ひときれ, hitokire) – slice; small piece

Literally means one cut. So, one slice/one piece made by one cut of the knife.

Sho: What? You mean this single akagai is 3000 yen?
Staff: Yes…
Sho: quickly eats another piece

ホッキ貝 (ホッキかい, hokkikai) – Sakhalin surf clam (Pseudocardium sachalinense)

In the show the word ‘貝’ was omitted. I’m not sure if it’s usually mentioned with or without the ‘貝’ but it was clear enough that they are talking about the shellfish anyway. Oh yes, 貝 means shell or shellfish. Anyway… this shellfish is often seen in Singapore… and it’s yummy too.

お勧め (おすすめ, osusume) – recommendation; advice; suggestion; encouragement

You hear this pretty often in shows… like when they talk about food especially… say the recommended dish in the menu. Or, say a recommended place to visit. Yeah, it’s quite a commonly used word.

つぶ貝 (つぶがい, tsubugai) – whelk (esp. Neptunea and Buccinum spp.)

Oh whelk! The glorious whelk! One of my favourite dishes at Sushi Tei! The ones I’ve had are nice and crunchy. It doesn’t have a very strong taste, but instead it’s the ごたえ, or feel (consistency) of food while being chewed, that made me fall in love with it. It’s refreshing too. And well… it’s relatively more affordable than say… fresh, sashimi grade abalone in Singapore. And well, more readily available too.

鮑 (あわび, awabi) – abalone

I’ve had abalone sashimi twice so far, once in Singapore, and once in Australia, and I love it! It’s really nice and… chewy? The consistency is really nice. It’s chewy but not rubbery. Much less so then when it’s cooked. Again, the taste is not very strong, so it’s more about the texture than the taste. Love it too! If only it wasn’t so expensive here…

当分 (とうぶん, toubun) – for the present; currently; presently; at this time; for the next while

It seems like Sho does not have any marriage plans at present.

涎 (よだれ, yodare) – drool

Nino and the towel hanging around his neck for ahem wiping drool. LOL! (They often do that to wipe sweat… but drool…? rolls eyes)

格闘家 (かくとうか, kakutouka) – martial artist; fighter

修斗 (しゅうと, shuuto) –  shooto; martial arts competition leading to knockouts or submission

Read more about that form of martial arts in wikipedia.

量販店 (りょうはんてん, ryouhanten) – mass marketer; emporium; volume retailer

Aimiya took the risk and ran off to the emporium (really, with Japanese sometimes there’s no telling which of the X meanings they were referring to) to buy Sho his military camouflage set.

態々 (わざわざ, wazawaza) – expressly; specially; doing something especially rather than incidentally

Yup, they purposely went to the emporium for the sake of trolling Sho. If I were Sho, I’d be torn between feeling touched and smacking them on their heads. Oh, and in case you didn’t know, the ‘々’ character just means ‘repeat the kanji in front’.

隠れる (かくれる, kakureru) – to hide; to be hidden; to conceal oneself; to disappear

And that’s all for the vocab list! I hope you learnt some new words from this list, and I hope you’ll enjoy the episode too!

The post Vocabs: Sakurai Ariyoshi Abunai Yakai 15th Oct 2015 edition appeared first on Nihongo Manabu - Learn Japanese.

Vocabs: Arashi songs – Fly

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Fly is one of the coupling songs in the Limited Edition single of GUTS by Arashi. I really love this song, the tune is catchy and upbeat. It’s my favourite out of all the tracks in GUTS, coming a close second would be GUTS though. The single was released in 2014, you can still get the LE from PlayAsia, whereas the RE is available on both PlayAsia and CDJapan (Fly isn’t included though!).

Anyway, listening to songs is a great way to learn new vocabulary. It’s easier to remember the pronunciation while listening, and while reading the song lyrics you can remember the definition. The lyrics of this song is really beautiful, but with a lot of imagery used, it’s not that straightforward to understand, especially for beginner learners.

Here’s my selection of vocabulary from the song.

All definitions are from jisho.org.

滲む (にじむ, nijimu)
1. to run (of liquid); to spread
2. to blur; to blot; to be blurred
3. to ooze; to well up (of tears, etc.)
4. to show through (of feelings, emotions, etc.); to reveal itself

This appeared in the first line, with the meaning ‘to be blurred’.

擦る (なする, nasuru)
1. to rub in; to smear on; to spread on; to daub
2. to lay the blame on

Again, another word from the very first line, to mean ‘to smear’. This word is usually written in hiragana, as was the case with in the lyrics. But since I’m Chinese, it’s easier for me to get the meaning from kanji than hiragana alone. The kanji tells much more. The same kanji is also pronounced as こする (kosuru), meaning to rub or to scrub.

繋ぐ (つなぐ, tsunagu) – to tie; to fasten; to connect; to transfer (phone call)

From the second line! Connected constellations and so on…
Anyway, when talking about this term now, the first thing that comes to mind would be the 24hr TV charity event. Why? Because the theme this year was 「つなぐ ~時を超えて笑顔を~」 “Tsunagu ~Toki wo Koete Egao wo~”, which roughly translates to “Connecting ~Smiling through the times~”.

星座 (せいざ, seiza) – constellation; star sign; zodiac sign

In the song it was referring to the constellations in the sky.

零れ (こぼれ, kobore)
1. spilling; spill
2. leavings; leftovers

It was the first meaning used in the song, where the words that the person had an overflowing of words to say to his/her unrequited love.

募る (つのる , tsunoru)
1: to invite contributions, etc.; to solicit help, participation, etc.; to recruit (e.g. soldiers);
2: to grow violent; to become stronger; to become worse

The thoughts he/she has for the other party are getting stronger.

込める (こめる, komeru)
1: to load (a gun, etc.); to charge;
2: to put into (e.g. emotion, effort);
3: to include (e.g. tax in a sales price);
4: to hang over; to shroud; to enshroud; to envelop; to screen

The intense thoughts are put into a song.

贈る (おくる, okuru)
1. to give (as a gift); to present
2. to confer; to bestow; to award

And the song is meant to be a gift to the other party.

見つめる (みつめる, metsumeru) – to stare at; to gaze at; to look hard at; to watch intently; to fix one’s eyes on

気付く (きづく, kitsuku) – to notice; to recognize; to recognise; to become aware of; to perceive; to realize; to realise

深い (ふかい, fukai)
1. deep
2. profound
3. dense; thick
4. close (relationship)
5. intense; strong
6. late

In the song, it meant ‘deep’. To escape from the deep darkness.

闇 (やみ, yami)
1. darkness; the dark; dark
2. bewilderment; despair; hopelessness
3. black-marketeering; shady; illegal; under-the-table

On the same line as the previous word, escaping from the darkness.

果て (はて, hate) – the end; the extremity; the limit; the limits; the result

儚い (はかな, hakana)
1: fleeting; transient; short-lived; momentary; ephemeral; fickle; vain;
2: empty (dream, etc.); mere (hope); faint (possibility)

In the song, it referred to the second meaning.

飾る (かざる, kazaru) – to decorate; to ornament; to adorn

眩い (まばゆい, mabayui) – dazzling; glaring; dazzlingly beautiful

程 (ほど, hodo)
1: degree; extent; bounds; limit;
2: (Particle) (Usually written using kana alone) indicates approx. amount or maximum; upper limit

纏う (まとう, matou) – to put on; to wear; to be clad in

In the song it was used to describe how the light envelops both of them as they hug.

抱き締める (だきしめる, dakishimeru) – to hug someone close; to hold someone tight; to embrace closely

紐解 (ひもとく, himotoku)
1: to peruse (a book);
2: to untie a scroll

The word literally means ‘rope untie’. In the song, it was referring to how the person is trying to unravel the secrets of the other party.

彷徨う (さまよう, samayou) – to loiter; to putter; to prowl; to wander about; to roam about; to knock around

捨てる (すてる, suteru)
1. to throw away; to cast away; to dump; to discard
2. to abandon; to desert; to leave
3. to give up; to resign

Casting aside the words the leads him/her to roam about aimlessly, so that he/she can return to the side of other party.

甦る (よみがえる, yomigaeru)
1: to be resurrected; to be resuscitated; to be rehabilitated; to be revived; to be refreshed; to be restored;
2: to be recalled (e.g. memories); to be brought back

Being revived by the rain that won’t stop.

The post Vocabs: Arashi songs – Fly appeared first on Nihongo Manabu - Learn Japanese.

Movie: Assassination Classroom (Ansatsu Kyoshitsu)

Arashi ni Shiyagare Episode Guide

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I followed THIS episode guide and continued the numbering for later episodes. Remember: THIS IS JUST AN EPISODE GUIDE. #0 – [2010.04.24] Cream Stew #1 – [2010.05.01] Shimura Ken #2 – [2010.05.08] Nakamura Shido #3 – [2010.05.15] Takada Junji, Savanna #4 – [2010.05.22] Nakayama Hideyuki, Katou Cha Encounter the Unknown: Ramen (Ohno) #5 – [2010.05.29] Black Mayonaise Encounter the Unknown:... Read more »

The post Arashi ni Shiyagare Episode Guide appeared first on Nihongo Manabu - Learn Japanese.

News: Arashi BLAST in Miyagi DVD/Blu-ray out on 1st Jan 2016

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