hidarizama

Yookoso! (welcome)

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 16:43:34 GMT

Konnichiwa!

I wanted to welcome any of the WPI Japanese students who have found my blog!

There will be more updates in the future. For now, feel free to friend me. Please don't be offended if I do not friend you back, I occasionally use this as a personal blog, and thus don't friend many people.

For now, feel free to use this post as a thread for any Japanese questions that you might have.

Thu, 30 Jun 2005 11:07:48 GMT

Ohayou!

For some reason, as I get back into Japanese, I'm leaning more towards
classroom conventions. While the hiragana for "suiyoobi" reads "su i yo u
bi", it's pronounced "suiyoobi", not two "o"'s, but a two beat "o". Each
syllable in japanese is one beat, beginners often find it helpful to tap
their fingers against their thighs, discretely, to keep time, make sure
their pacing is good. A long vowel is two beats, a double consonant
(denoted by the kana for "tsu", but a.. subscript version, followed by a
syllable beginning with a consonant) is a beat skipped, where nothing is
pronounced. Beginners are also encouraged to keep their tone even, and
flat; while Japanese is quite tonal, and a wealth of information can be
conveyed from pitch and such, it takes a lot of familiarity with the
language to put that to correct use.

"suiyoobi" means "wednesday"; I've been spurning the textbook convention
of writing it that way and doing what native speakers of japanese do, when
writing e-mails or aims, and writing it "suiyoubi". But as I mentioned
above, the more I get back in the practice of using nihongo (japanese),
the more I think in textbook terms. "Sui" means "water"; and "bi" means
"day". "Bi" is also the same kanji that is used for the "ni" in "nihon",
which is, of course, "Japan". :)

dame desu ne...

Sat, 25 Jun 2005 02:49:37 GMT

頭が痛いので眠るために良くなって居たいと思います。
atama ga itai no de, nemuru tame ni yoku natte itai to omoimasu.

Vocabulary lesson 二（ni, two) - Greetings part II

Wed, 08 Jun 2005 23:39:28 GMT

Used for Goodbye

Goodbye - ちよなら。　(or ちようなら。)
sayonara (or sayounara)
-formal
-used when you won't see someone for a long time

bye - じゃ、また　ね。
jya, mata ne
-already informal, but jya ne ( ) is even less formal.

later -　でわ　また。
dewa mata

goodbye for now -　また　ね。
mata ne

byeーbye -バイバイ
bai　bai
-extremely informal

Lesson 三十二 (sanjuuni thirty-two) (女)

Wed, 08 Jun 2005 23:19:35 GMT

女

いみ (meaning): woman, girl

Pronounciation(s):

じょ　jo

にょ　nyo

おんな　onna

おみな　omina

め　me

usage:

女しょうふ jojoufu - heroine

女人 jonin, nyonin - woman

女女しい memeshii - effiminate, unmanly

女　の　子 onna no ko - girl

女　omina - sweetheart, female, girl, woman

子女 shijo - children (from last week, belated!)

Long vowels.

Wed, 01 Jun 2005 01:22:48 GMT

A note on how I　do things.

long vowels. Most syllables in japanese are held for one beat, but sometimes a syllable is held for twice as long.

In katakana there will be the syllable (say ko), with a dash following afterward, to show that it's a long ko.

ex. coohii (coffee)

In hiragana, you'd see the vowel following, except in the case of "o" where you see a "u" following.

ex.

おばあちゃん obaa-chan (grandma)

いいえ iie (no, which can also be pronouced ie)

しゅうまつ shuumatsu (weekend)

ええ ee (yes, less formal than hai)

きんようび　（金よう日） kinyoubi (friday)

Most of the time, in textbooks, you will see this extended vowel, in case of the double "o" sound, written as "oo", for example, kinyoobi. I use this method, which mirrors the syllables when translated, because I've seen native speakers use this format when typing in AIM.

See also kana lessons.

Lesson 三十一 (sanjuuichi-one, thirty) (子)

Wed, 01 Jun 2005 01:05:14 GMT

子

いみ (meaning): child

Pronounciation(s):

し　shi

す　su

こ　ko

ご　go

usage:

子ども　kodomo - child

子女 shijo - children (it's a new symbol, but I'll put it up tomorrow!)

よう子 yousu - the state of things, appearance

子ぶん kobun - apprentice

Lesson 三十 (sanjuu, thirty) (人)

Sun, 29 May 2005 13:00:43 GMT

人

いみ (meaning): person

Pronounciation(s):

にん　nin

じん　jin

ひと　hito

びと　bito

usage:

人げん　ningen - human being (not to be confused with carrot)

人じん ninjin - carrot

人口　 jinkou - population

人手 hitode - a worker, hand

人人 hitobito - men, people, everybody；　ninnin - each person

人ぞう　人げん jinzou ningen - robot

人ぎょ ningyo - mermaid, merman

びとー人 same-bito - (wereshark, from World of Darkness, White Wolf)

Lesson 二十九 (nijuuku, nijuukyu, twenty-nine) (足)

Sat, 28 May 2005 13:12:02 GMT

足

いみ (meaning): foot, leg, walk, suffice

Pronounciation(s):

そく　soku

ぞく　zoku

あし　ashi

た　ta

usage:

足あと ashiato (footprint)
　
足び tabi (japanese socks)

まん足 manzoku (satisfaction)

ふ足 fusoku (insufficiency)

足手もと ashitemoto (encumbrance)

Vocabulary lesson 一 (ichi, one) - Greetings part I

Fri, 27 May 2005 21:17:57 GMT

Used for Hello

good morning - おはよう　ございます
ohayou gozaimasu
- (informal おはよう)
- used before 10am, or perhaps before noon.

good afternoon - こんにちわ
konnichiwa
-used late morning, and afternoon before 6pm.

good evening - こんばんわ
konbanwa
-used after 6pm and into the night.

good night - おやすみなさい
oyasumi nasai
- (informal おやすみ)

Lesson 二十八 (nijuuhachi, twenty-eight) (手)

Fri, 27 May 2005 20:33:50 GMT

手

いみ (meaning):

Pronounciation(s):

て　te

しゅ shu

usage:

手がみ tegami (letter)
　
あく手 akushu (handshake)

手くせ tekuse (kleptomania)

Like a 不死鳥, rising from the ashes

Fri, 27 May 2005 20:33:17 GMT

It is high time I resurrected this journal; given the looming specter of employment as a translator, I can use the practice.

You will need your browser enabled for japanese characters to read much of this.

If you want lessons on kanji, questions answered, and the occasional vocabulary or grammar lesson, feel free to read. Please do not be offended if I do not friend you in return, I occasionally use this journal for personal posts, and on a whim I decided that I would limit my friends list to 20.

I also finally finished up the likes/dislikes lesson.

All past lessons can be found in my memories.

Wed, 20 Oct 2004 15:59:20 GMT

Question for all my japanese-leet tomodachi...

to say something rose (using for an example
上がる
あ
agaru),
it would be
上がった (plain form)
(agatte).

to say something had risen,
would it be
上がって　いった? (plain form again)
(agatte itte)

I can't recall..

but I'm thinking that since the て (te) form plus いる (iru) means to be in the process of doing something, that the te form plus the past form of iru means to have completed the act of doing something, ie. risen.

also..

a friend of mine said that "heagaru" means to rise (no idea of the kanji), but I don't recognize it nor can I find it in my 辞書 (jisho, aka dictionary.. yeah, I just realized that in the context of this type of dictionary, I should probably use 辞典 (jiten) instead.

I think this friend is trying to say "the phoenix risen" or the "phoenix has risen".

Any ideas on which of the many "to rise" verbs would be most appropriate for this?

Lesson 二十七 (nijuushichi, nijuunana, twenty-seven) (口)

Sun, 17 Oct 2004 14:50:59 GMT

口

いみ (meaning): mouth

Pronounciation(s):

こう　kou

く　ku

くち　kuchi

ぐち　guchi

usage:

いり口　iriguchi (entrance)

口火　kuchibi (fuse, spark plug, cause of war, origin of a quarrel)

口がい　する　kougai suru (to tell, to divulge)

口どく　kudoku (to persuade, to entreat, to woo, to seduce)

Lesson 二十六 (nijuuroku, twenty-six) (耳)

Sat, 16 Oct 2004 03:59:58 GMT

耳

いみ (meaning): ear, edge

Pronounciation(s):

じ ji

みみ mimi

usage:

耳目　jimoku (eye and ear; one's attention; informer)

耳　mimi (ear)

Lessons in Hiragana, part 2

Sat, 16 Oct 2004 02:03:26 GMT

some of the hiragana and katakana have voiced sounds, others have twisted sounds.

Voiced sounds add ゛ or ゜to change the consonant of a few syllables (the ka, sa, ta, and ha sets)

かきくけこ
ka ki ku ke ko

becomes

か゛き゛く゛け゛こ゛
ga gi gu ge go

さしすせそ
sa shi su se so

becomes

さ゛し゛す゛せ゛そ゛
za ji zu ze zo

たちつてと
ta chi tsu te to

becomes

た゛ち゛つ゛て゛と
da ji zu de do

はひふへほ
ha hi hu he ho

becomes

は゛ひ゛ふ゛へ゛ほ゛
ba bi bu be bo

OR

becomes
は゜ひ゜ふ゜へ゜ほ゜
pa pi pu pe po

Then we have the twisted sounds, which add a chisai (small) ゃ(ya), ゅ(yu), or ょ(yo) to the certain syllables (ki, gi, shi, ji, chi, ji, ni, hi, bi, pi, mi, and ri). Remember these are one syllable, not two. It's "Kyo-to", not "Ki-yo-to" (actually, I think it's Kyotou, but that's beside the point:)

き
ki

becomes

きゃきゅきょ
kya kyu kyo

き゛
gi

becomes

き゛ゃき゛ゅき゛ょ
gya gyu gyo

さ
sa

becomes

さゃさゅさょ
sha shi sho

さ゛
ja

becomes

さ゛ゃさ゛ゅさ゛ょ
ja ji jo

and etc. with

ち
chi (becomes cha, chu, cho)

ち゛
ji (becomes ji, ju, jo)

に
ni (becomes nya, nyu, nyo)

ひ
hi (becomes hya, hyu, hyo)

ひ゛
bi (become bya, byu, byo)

ひ゜
pi (becomes pya, pyu, pyo)

み
mi (becomes mya, myu, myo)

and

り
ri (become rya, ryu, ryo)

A great resource for learning the hiragana is Remembering the Hiragana by by James W. Heisig.

Lesson 二十五 (nijuugo, twenty-five) (目)

Fri, 15 Oct 2004 15:51:17 GMT

目

いみ (meaning): eye

Pronounciation(s):

め me

もく moku

ま ma

usage:

お目ぢとう　omeditou (congratulations)

目いしゃ　meisha (occultist)

目ろむ　mokuromu (to plan, scheme, or contemplate)

目ぶた　mabuta (eyelid)

Lesson 二十四 (nijuuyon, nijuushi, twenty-four) (小)

Thu, 14 Oct 2004 12:52:10 GMT

小

いみ (meaning): small, little, minor

Pronounciation(s):

しょう　shou

こ　ko

お　o

ちい（さい）　chii(sai)

usage:
小しん　shoushin (cowadice)

小まち　komachi (beauty, belle, queen) (from Ono Komachi, a famous beauty and poetess from the courtly era of Japan)

小ばさん　obasan (aunt)

小さい　chiisai (little)

Lesson 二十三 (nijuusan, twenty-three) (中)

Wed, 13 Oct 2004 18:48:35 GMT

中

いみ (meaning): middle, center, inside, within

Pronounciation(s):

ちぅう chuu

なか naka

usage:

中ごく chuugoku (China, "The middle country")

中 naka (middle)

Lesson 二十二 (nijuuni, twenty-two) (大)

Wed, 13 Oct 2004 03:37:49 GMT

大

いみ (meaning): big, large, great, grand

Pronounciation(s):

だい dai

たい tai

おう　oo

usage:

大とう、大ち daitou, tachi (longsword)

大きい ookii (big, large)

apparently concussions are good for my japanese

Progress?

Wed, 13 Oct 2004 01:21:38 GMT

Updated memories in this and the original journal to show kanji in subject line.

Japanese lessons - Likes/Dislikes part 1.

Fri, 17 Sep 2004 16:39:38 GMT

Random lessons from things in other peoples L.J.'s

Likes/Dislikes

vocabulary -

好き (suki) - like (i-adjective)
すき

嫌い (kirai) - dislike (na-adjective)
きらい

大好き (daisuki) - favorite, strong like
だいすき

daikirai - hate, strong dislike
大嫌い
だいきらい

Kanji -

好　su

meaning: liking, love. also pronouced yo, kou, and kono.

嫌　kira

meaning: dislike, hate. also pronouced iya.

大　dai

meaning: big, large. also pronouced ooki.

examples:

(noun + particle + adjective + copula)

1) I like ice cream.

アイス　クレム　が　好き　です。
aisu kuremu ga suki desu.

2) I don't like ice cream.

アイス　クレム　が　嫌いです。
aisu kuremu ga kirai desu.

3) Ice cream is my favorite!/I love ice cream!

アイス　クレム　が　大好き　です　よ。
aisu kuremu ga daisuki desu yo.

4) I hate ice cream.

アイス　クレム　が　大嫌い　です。
aisu kuremu ga daikirai desu.

5) Do you like ice cream?

アイス　クレム　が　好き　です　か。
aisu kuremu ga suki desu ka?

Wed, 01 Sep 2004 19:47:06 GMT

All of the previous Kanji and Kana lessons from jicklet's lj have been added to my memories. Future lessons given here will be added to my memories as well.

Now that I'm settled, lessons should start again soon. Expect 5 lessons a week.

Immersion Game

The immersion game will be a tabletop RPG game working towards the goal of a game played entirely in Japanese. (Don't feel intimidated, it will be a long time before we reach this point, if ever).

The days and times for this game have not yet been set. It will either be each week or every other week. It will run in Worcester, probably from my apartment near Chandler St.

The game will begin with a 1 hour Japanese language lesson. Once we've studied something, it will be included in the game, making this a fun way to learn and practice Japanese.

The game portion will be 3-5 hours. I will be running Kindred of the East, which is a White Wolf/World of Darkness game. The game will be set in modern day Japan, and will attempt to be culturally accurate. Characters will probably be required to be native Japanese. But I may make exceptions if I think you have a good concept. For those not familiar with Kindred of the East, your character is a normal person. Who has died and returned as one of the hungry dead in order to resolve some kharmic debt.

After the game will be a cultural activity. Ikebana, calligraphy, cooking japanese cuisine, going out for sushi, watching a subtitled Japanese film (probably NOT anime), or the like. I will also be keeping an eye open for cool Japanese art exhibits, theatrical performances, or other rare cultural experiences in the Boston/NYC area, and arranging field trips.

I am looking for 5 regular players. If you have already studied Japanese, you don't have to show up for the language class. If there is interest, I will take on additional players who don't need to show up at every session, but these will need to have studied some Japanese, or they'll be quickly lost.

The language class portion of the game will be open to people not in my game. But I will charge a fee of $5 per class to anyone who's not a player.

I will also be posting summaries of the lessons from this class in this blog.

左様

Tue, 17 Aug 2004 23:40:24 GMT

左様

ひだりざま

hidarizama

wicked way/left-hand path

these two kanji are the same as the さよ (sayo) in sayonara. Which is also pronouced sayounara.

The Kanji from previous lessons will be up, and lessons will resume, by next week.