To survive Japan on short notice, it will be helpful to know one of the three Japanese writing systems used in their shared communications. The third system of Japan's attempt to facilitate a writing system. It is called katakana and is used for any foreign words or any ultra modern or new words. It is to be distinguished from the other writing system, or hiragana which is used the learning tool for kanji, Japans words that are transmutable between two languages as vast apart as English and Japanese.Everyday business names especially the big car manufactures like Daihatsu, Mitsubishi, Toyota can be written in katakana, and they are more common than other types of words. Anything foreign is written in katakana. Even the word for bread, which the Japanese borrowed from the Portuguese, pan, is written in katakana. That is everything which is foreign from traditional Japanese, occurring. The giant advertisements on billboards throughout the USA and Japan seem to ride on the same trans-pacific airway. Any place you would suspect or can actual see a product that looks like it then those are the first places you will be seeing the script--o-moji.
To survive Japan on short notice, it will be helpful to know one of the three Japanese writing systems used in their shared communications. The third system of Japan's attempt to faciltate a writiing system. It is called katakana and is used for any foreign words or any ultra modern or new words. It is to be distinguished from the other writing system, or hiragana which is used the learning tool for kanji, Japans words that are transliquable between two languages as vast apart as English and Japanese.Everyday business names especially the big car manufactures like Daihatsu, Mitsubishi, Toyota can be written in katakana, and they are more common than other types of words. Anything foreign is written in katakana. Even the word for bread, which the Japanese borrowed from the portuguese, pan, is written in katakana. That is everything which is foreign from traditional Japanese, occurring. The giant advertisements on billboards throughout the USA and Japan seem to ride on the same trans-pacific airway. Any place you would suspect or can actual see a product that looks like it then those are the first places you will be seeing the script--o-moji.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
How to use word association to master your tango Japanese
How to Use Word Association to Master Japanese
A good goal when learning another language is to try to remember words so that you won’t ever forget them. That last sentence contains quite a lofty goal. You make absurd associations that are meaningful to you and in this way by making absurd associations between something that reminds you of the meaning of the word in Japanese but sounds like something you can relate to in English. The more absurd the associations, the less likely you are to forget them, unless you forget the association related to the words you are memorizing. Take the following for example: tanjo^bi = birthday, anchovies have birthdays too or tan Jo be chilling cuz it’s her birthday yo wassup! Mentally picture a tan person named Jo talking ghetto cuz she be this and be that! Go berserk on absurd.
I know what you are saying. This method is nutz, and you are correct but whatever it take to memorize a word quicker and will help you retain that word so that you might use it sometime later on down the line, then more power to it, non? Hopefully you are catching my drift about this style of word, phrase memorization but through another example or two you’ll catch on. You know what I’m saying. Get down and ghetto you can speak Japanese fluently only if you try. So this tan girl or guy named Jo be hunh? She be what? Who cares! As long as you can relate meaning to sound in a way that helps you remember the word until you reach the plateau of usefulness. Once a word that is new to you in another language is used, from the very first time to the 50th time, you get better with each use of the word.
Another good method I have found that when you are practicing your conversation skills, replace during the day any word that you would want and set aside 2 hours where you speak only in the target language at all costs. In all situations I find that even with minimal to limited vocabulary knowledge, speaking words in the target language is so critical to developing fluency I can’t bear not to scream in the language, and that wasn’t too good but it helped me. I found that sometimes I didn’t have to say or gesture a thing and everything that I wanted communicated was comprehended. Through gestures too someway or another you can always get your meaning across.
You have got to have an earnest desire, and a disciplined method of study, but I find that methods like these, albeit ludicrous or seemingly absurd techniques for learning a second language work wonders for my Japanese language progression.
So now what? Simple!
Let’s say you learned the word for paper that day, or you learned the phrase ha o migaku, to brush your teeth, do you
A. Tell your mom or your roommates or whoever you live with that you are going to brush your teeth?
B. You say to them in Japanese and to all who will listen and put up with your intense desire to speak fluently the Japanese language, IIE HA O MIGAKIMASU or something to that effect?
Japanese Word Association Examples
SURU – Suru was the guy who would take over the ship in Star Trek if Captain Kirk couldn’t be there, and he was a busy guy. Suru was the guy who always was doing something. Make an association between the verb to do, and the guy named Suru on Star Trek. You’ll never forget words if they are associated in a meaningful or in some way absurdly memorable way. SURU in Japanese is the verb to do.
NEKO – imagine Cleopatra with a long neck and her long neck cat called necko or neko for short etc.
MIMI – the little girl whose ears were so cute you would always grab her by the ears O-mimi with the honorific prefix means the honorable ears, the ones affixed to your head.
DENKI – the electric light is so very tiny & dinky in Japan image etc.
Tofu can fly = TOBU means to fly, jump etc.
MUHO^SHU^ moo + hoe +shoe = free service, the cow said moo you ho, shoe get out of here this ain’t no free service – thus was born the word meaning free service - muho^shu
Young children often KURAI in the dark, I mean cry in the dark!
To sneeze is easy, in Japanese it sounds more like what we actually do than the English word to sneeze. In Japanese to sneeze is KURAKUSHON SURU (クラクション する).
The word for paint is already absurdly similar to the Japanese word Penki ペンキ.
The word for
Sometimes you as a language learner will succumb to certain idioms or language ideas that are too strong to shake. One example I know for me and a lot of other gaijin living in Japan was the word morau (貰う)– which means, to get. So When speaking to other gaijin 外人 in Japan we would speak all English until some phrase came up where we said we got something from somebody or somewhere as in
I morau’d (貰う'd) a nice silk tie from him. Or you’re always morau’ing (貰う'ing) some good stuff! Meaning - I got a tie, or You are always getting stuff etc.
One of the first Japanese phrases I remember learning was the Japanese phrase for don’t mention it or You’re Welcome - the don’t touch my mustache or Do^ itashimashite principle. I was told then that the way to remember how to say,” You’re welcome" was Don’t Touch My Mustache, which is basically the same as Do^ itashimashite with a little effort put in.
Now don’t go overboard with too crazy an association keep it just absurd or not absurd enough that will help you remember the way a word is pronounced. Don’t be going hidari maki 左巻 on us. There must be a point at which you can enter back into real study mode to pull out the real words you are after and not just what they sound like. Why would you do this? Because there will come a time when your speaking skills will not get any better until you start your journey into the Kanji. Ooh scary stuff. Just kidding, don’t let it scare you! Kanji is actually quite bitchin’ and rad!
As Always, Ganbatte Ne! Do Your Best!
Makurasuki Sensei
http://www.rocketlanguages.com/japanese/premium/?aff=brettkun&type=nohop
A good goal when learning another language is to try to remember words so that you won’t ever forget them. That last sentence contains quite a lofty goal. You make absurd associations that are meaningful to you and in this way by making absurd associations between something that reminds you of the meaning of the word in Japanese but sounds like something you can relate to in English. The more absurd the associations, the less likely you are to forget them, unless you forget the association related to the words you are memorizing. Take the following for example: tanjo^bi = birthday, anchovies have birthdays too or tan Jo be chilling cuz it’s her birthday yo wassup! Mentally picture a tan person named Jo talking ghetto cuz she be this and be that! Go berserk on absurd.
I know what you are saying. This method is nutz, and you are correct but whatever it take to memorize a word quicker and will help you retain that word so that you might use it sometime later on down the line, then more power to it, non? Hopefully you are catching my drift about this style of word, phrase memorization but through another example or two you’ll catch on. You know what I’m saying. Get down and ghetto you can speak Japanese fluently only if you try. So this tan girl or guy named Jo be hunh? She be what? Who cares! As long as you can relate meaning to sound in a way that helps you remember the word until you reach the plateau of usefulness. Once a word that is new to you in another language is used, from the very first time to the 50th time, you get better with each use of the word.
Another good method I have found that when you are practicing your conversation skills, replace during the day any word that you would want and set aside 2 hours where you speak only in the target language at all costs. In all situations I find that even with minimal to limited vocabulary knowledge, speaking words in the target language is so critical to developing fluency I can’t bear not to scream in the language, and that wasn’t too good but it helped me. I found that sometimes I didn’t have to say or gesture a thing and everything that I wanted communicated was comprehended. Through gestures too someway or another you can always get your meaning across.
You have got to have an earnest desire, and a disciplined method of study, but I find that methods like these, albeit ludicrous or seemingly absurd techniques for learning a second language work wonders for my Japanese language progression.
So now what? Simple!
Let’s say you learned the word for paper that day, or you learned the phrase ha o migaku, to brush your teeth, do you
A. Tell your mom or your roommates or whoever you live with that you are going to brush your teeth?
B. You say to them in Japanese and to all who will listen and put up with your intense desire to speak fluently the Japanese language, IIE HA O MIGAKIMASU or something to that effect?
Japanese Word Association Examples
SURU – Suru was the guy who would take over the ship in Star Trek if Captain Kirk couldn’t be there, and he was a busy guy. Suru was the guy who always was doing something. Make an association between the verb to do, and the guy named Suru on Star Trek. You’ll never forget words if they are associated in a meaningful or in some way absurdly memorable way. SURU in Japanese is the verb to do.
NEKO – imagine Cleopatra with a long neck and her long neck cat called necko or neko for short etc.
MIMI – the little girl whose ears were so cute you would always grab her by the ears O-mimi with the honorific prefix means the honorable ears, the ones affixed to your head.
DENKI – the electric light is so very tiny & dinky in Japan image etc.
Tofu can fly = TOBU means to fly, jump etc.
MUHO^SHU^ moo + hoe +shoe = free service, the cow said moo you ho, shoe get out of here this ain’t no free service – thus was born the word meaning free service - muho^shu
Young children often KURAI in the dark, I mean cry in the dark!
To sneeze is easy, in Japanese it sounds more like what we actually do than the English word to sneeze. In Japanese to sneeze is KURAKUSHON SURU (クラクション する).
The word for paint is already absurdly similar to the Japanese word Penki ペンキ.
The word for
Sometimes you as a language learner will succumb to certain idioms or language ideas that are too strong to shake. One example I know for me and a lot of other gaijin living in Japan was the word morau (貰う)– which means, to get. So When speaking to other gaijin 外人 in Japan we would speak all English until some phrase came up where we said we got something from somebody or somewhere as in
I morau’d (貰う'd) a nice silk tie from him. Or you’re always morau’ing (貰う'ing) some good stuff! Meaning - I got a tie, or You are always getting stuff etc.
One of the first Japanese phrases I remember learning was the Japanese phrase for don’t mention it or You’re Welcome - the don’t touch my mustache or Do^ itashimashite principle. I was told then that the way to remember how to say,” You’re welcome" was Don’t Touch My Mustache, which is basically the same as Do^ itashimashite with a little effort put in.
Now don’t go overboard with too crazy an association keep it just absurd or not absurd enough that will help you remember the way a word is pronounced. Don’t be going hidari maki 左巻 on us. There must be a point at which you can enter back into real study mode to pull out the real words you are after and not just what they sound like. Why would you do this? Because there will come a time when your speaking skills will not get any better until you start your journey into the Kanji. Ooh scary stuff. Just kidding, don’t let it scare you! Kanji is actually quite bitchin’ and rad!
As Always, Ganbatte Ne! Do Your Best!
Makurasuki Sensei
http://www.rocketlanguages.com/japanese/premium/?aff=brettkun&type=nohop
A learning system Japanese Grammar
Japanese learning can be a joy!
If you are studying Japanese right now, and are desirous to improve your speaking ability, then this article is for you. In this article, I am going to share with you my Japanese learning method called, JPPGG or Japanese Plug and PLay Ghetto Grammar.
The benefit of using this system is that while you are building up your vocabulary you will be given the power to create exciting sentences which serve to reinforce the retention of your vocabulary and significantly increase your Japanese speaking ability. The only thing holding you back, is the amount of vocabulary that you yourself will commit to learn, and memorize.
Towards the bottom of the article, I give 10 commonly used Japanese grammar constructions that you can manipulate to 'drill and kill' your way towards better Japanese. All you have to do is plug in your favorite verb, and play.
Plug and play style of learning Japanese is a lot of fun. When first learning Japanese it seemed like an insurmountable task to learn such a different language from my own. So I took everything I was given to learn with and purposefully made it interesting in any way I could think of. I wouldn't practice this way in front of everybody, but when I was alone or with a good friend, I always had a good old time when I started messing with what words I used in the grammar I had been taught.
One thing which delighted me no matter what sentence I used it in was the word for, "to fart". Knowing that single word made the dull process of learning grammar fun. Now, learning Japanese and Japanese grammar was exciting because each new grammar meant new and funny sentence i could make. And let me tell you, I would be making funny sentences all year long which helped me get better at Japanese. For example, from the constructions below you could say, "I eat beans in order to fart." - onara suru tame ni mame o taberu - This type of sentence makes me laugh; its fun and helpful to my Japanese language learning. I mean the verb, to go, is fun and all, but other verbs, like fart, burp, burp, belch, squeak or whatever makes sentences come alive, and all the tediousness of second language learning goes away. I hoot and laugh just contemplating the potential meanings of the new and clever sentences I have constructed.
But seriously, there was a time that I would do whatever it took to improve my Japanese. Using JPPGG© in this un-orthodox way has certainly helped me achieve my Japanese language ability and Japanese vocabulary goals. I now boast a vocabulary of over 7000 words using my plug and play system.
Below are just 10 Japanese grammar principles for you to start plugging your vocabulary into. I will give more in later articles, but for now here are 10 really basic ones. These construction all use verbs in their plain form or base III. If you aren't familiar yet with these terms, base III verbs are your every day action verbs taken straight from a dictionary. They have yet to be conjugated or altered in any way. To use the JPPGG©, just pick and choose some verbs that you know or look them up as you like, then plug them into the constructions and start making your own unique sentences.
*If you are serious about learning Japanese, I recommend getting a dictionary. If you are unsure which kind to buy, I recommend dictionaries from Sanseido Press. There are basically two types of dictionaries. The Wa-Ei (Japanese to English) dictionary, or, the Ei-Wa (English to Japanese) dictionary. Larger dictionaries that contain both the Ei-Wa and Wa-Ei in a single volume are also available. The average Wa-Ei Dictionary costs around US $14.
Also called plain form verbs, base III verbs always ends by iteself or in some sort of u vowel ending syllable cluster like, u, ku, gu, su, zu, tsu, tzu, bu, fu, mu, nu, yu, etc. Feel free to plug any verb that you are fond of into these JPPGG© constructions. Using 'off the wall' verbs like skate boarding, surfing, frying, laying, squatting, will help you retain the essential Japanese grammar longer over time in your long term memory. In this way your vocabulary will have time to develop without being stagnated by your grammar ability (if that made any sense). I guarantee that you will not only have a blast making sentences and learning Japanese in this way, but you wlll also remember your vocabulary words faster, and retain them longer.
Don't feel obligated to use common verbs. Instead, think of some neat, obscure verb that you would like to use then look it up in the dic (as my mom used to like to call it) and go for it! Be a rebel! I dare you to get out of that old school mentality and utilize some word like, onara suru (v. to fart). Nobody will ever know what you are saying unless you take it outside and use it on somebody but hey, even the great Tennoheika, or Emporer himself has occasions where he will honorifically fart. What would you say then? Small asides, jokes of no consequence here --- So get on with the grammar Makurasuki Sensei Geeze maneeze---
**Preliminary one point ghetto advice from a plug and play master **
- wa is the particle that I have always defined as , "As for ~" where ~ is anything at all, even nothing. Although there is not always an exact equivalent for a Japanese word to some words in English, I have found that thinking of the Japanese word, 'koto' as "the thing of ~". So koto ga and koto wa together, its meaning does sound weird to the ears of a gaijin (foreigner), as tripped out as any English we have ever heard might be, but you learn to accept these kinds of differences between languages because we know that a little disregard for proper sounds will help with our eventual improvement in our Japanese speaking ability.
As of yet I have found no better way of describing these Japanese words in English, and they seem to be sufficient interpretations in the situations in which they were used.. Again, although they might at first sound a little awkward, we overlook the formalities for our long range goals of Japanese language mastery, and we get over it. This is JPPGG%uFF69, It won't cost you anything but a commitment to self and a little time, and plus, if it works--- it is beautiful. Back to seriousville here, geez, Koto wa or koto ga could roughly be translated as "As for the thing of~ ".
1. Verb(base III) koto ga, koto wa - the thing of verb, the thing of verbing
2. Verb(base III) tame ni - in order to verb
3. Verb(base III) mae ni - before I verb, before verbing.
4. Verb(base III) koto ga arimasu - Sometimes I verb
5. Verb(base III) koto ga yoku arimasu - I do a lot of verb or I often verb.
6. Verb(base III) koto ga amari arimasu - I don't often verb, I rarely verb.
6. Verb(base III) koto ga dekimasu - I am able to verb, I can verb
7. Verb(base III) deshou - I will probably verb, or the verb will probably happen, or it might verb.
8. Verb(base III) koto ni suru - decide to verb, I resolved within myself to verb, I have chosen to verb, etc.
9. Verb(base III) hou ga ii desu - Its better to verb, or you should verb
10. Verb(base III) yo(u) ni - so that verb, like verbing, in similitude of verbing
In the old days, when the grammar-translation methods of foreign language teaching were king, my JPPGG© and other similar methods were known as, substitution drills. I prefer to call this way of studying Japanese JPPGG©, or, Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar. Instead of substituting, we plug and instead of drilling, we play. I prefer playing to drilling any day. Hopefully by now you understand the idea behind JPPGG© and that my goal in creating this language learning system is to help you get better at Japanese in less time than it would take traditionally.
I'm big on multitasking and didn't want to see young Japanese language learners held back by the amount of vocabulary they know. Instead, my hope was that while the Japanese language learners learn more and more vocabulary (nouns, verbs, adjectives, expressions, salutations, adverbs, particles etc.) the amount of grammar knowledge they have wouldn't prevent them from being able to say at least some simple sentences. Once they understand how the constructions of the grammar principles are made, they can then make altogether new sentences, drilling home Japanese into the fibers of their being making them capable Japanese conversationalists.
The system works no matter what the name you substitute and drill or you plug and play new words into the grammar constructions as you learn them. Go ahead, drill and kill your way, or should I say, plug and play your way towards better Japanese, I dare you.
As always do your best! Ganbatte Ne! Makurasuki Sensei.
If you are studying Japanese right now, and are desirous to improve your speaking ability, then this article is for you. In this article, I am going to share with you my Japanese learning method called, JPPGG or Japanese Plug and PLay Ghetto Grammar.
The benefit of using this system is that while you are building up your vocabulary you will be given the power to create exciting sentences which serve to reinforce the retention of your vocabulary and significantly increase your Japanese speaking ability. The only thing holding you back, is the amount of vocabulary that you yourself will commit to learn, and memorize.
Towards the bottom of the article, I give 10 commonly used Japanese grammar constructions that you can manipulate to 'drill and kill' your way towards better Japanese. All you have to do is plug in your favorite verb, and play.
Plug and play style of learning Japanese is a lot of fun. When first learning Japanese it seemed like an insurmountable task to learn such a different language from my own. So I took everything I was given to learn with and purposefully made it interesting in any way I could think of. I wouldn't practice this way in front of everybody, but when I was alone or with a good friend, I always had a good old time when I started messing with what words I used in the grammar I had been taught.
One thing which delighted me no matter what sentence I used it in was the word for, "to fart". Knowing that single word made the dull process of learning grammar fun. Now, learning Japanese and Japanese grammar was exciting because each new grammar meant new and funny sentence i could make. And let me tell you, I would be making funny sentences all year long which helped me get better at Japanese. For example, from the constructions below you could say, "I eat beans in order to fart." - onara suru tame ni mame o taberu - This type of sentence makes me laugh; its fun and helpful to my Japanese language learning. I mean the verb, to go, is fun and all, but other verbs, like fart, burp, burp, belch, squeak or whatever makes sentences come alive, and all the tediousness of second language learning goes away. I hoot and laugh just contemplating the potential meanings of the new and clever sentences I have constructed.
But seriously, there was a time that I would do whatever it took to improve my Japanese. Using JPPGG© in this un-orthodox way has certainly helped me achieve my Japanese language ability and Japanese vocabulary goals. I now boast a vocabulary of over 7000 words using my plug and play system.
Below are just 10 Japanese grammar principles for you to start plugging your vocabulary into. I will give more in later articles, but for now here are 10 really basic ones. These construction all use verbs in their plain form or base III. If you aren't familiar yet with these terms, base III verbs are your every day action verbs taken straight from a dictionary. They have yet to be conjugated or altered in any way. To use the JPPGG©, just pick and choose some verbs that you know or look them up as you like, then plug them into the constructions and start making your own unique sentences.
*If you are serious about learning Japanese, I recommend getting a dictionary. If you are unsure which kind to buy, I recommend dictionaries from Sanseido Press. There are basically two types of dictionaries. The Wa-Ei (Japanese to English) dictionary, or, the Ei-Wa (English to Japanese) dictionary. Larger dictionaries that contain both the Ei-Wa and Wa-Ei in a single volume are also available. The average Wa-Ei Dictionary costs around US $14.
Also called plain form verbs, base III verbs always ends by iteself or in some sort of u vowel ending syllable cluster like, u, ku, gu, su, zu, tsu, tzu, bu, fu, mu, nu, yu, etc. Feel free to plug any verb that you are fond of into these JPPGG© constructions. Using 'off the wall' verbs like skate boarding, surfing, frying, laying, squatting, will help you retain the essential Japanese grammar longer over time in your long term memory. In this way your vocabulary will have time to develop without being stagnated by your grammar ability (if that made any sense). I guarantee that you will not only have a blast making sentences and learning Japanese in this way, but you wlll also remember your vocabulary words faster, and retain them longer.
Don't feel obligated to use common verbs. Instead, think of some neat, obscure verb that you would like to use then look it up in the dic (as my mom used to like to call it) and go for it! Be a rebel! I dare you to get out of that old school mentality and utilize some word like, onara suru (v. to fart). Nobody will ever know what you are saying unless you take it outside and use it on somebody but hey, even the great Tennoheika, or Emporer himself has occasions where he will honorifically fart. What would you say then? Small asides, jokes of no consequence here --- So get on with the grammar Makurasuki Sensei Geeze maneeze---
**Preliminary one point ghetto advice from a plug and play master **
- wa is the particle that I have always defined as , "As for ~" where ~ is anything at all, even nothing. Although there is not always an exact equivalent for a Japanese word to some words in English, I have found that thinking of the Japanese word, 'koto' as "the thing of ~". So koto ga and koto wa together, its meaning does sound weird to the ears of a gaijin (foreigner), as tripped out as any English we have ever heard might be, but you learn to accept these kinds of differences between languages because we know that a little disregard for proper sounds will help with our eventual improvement in our Japanese speaking ability.
As of yet I have found no better way of describing these Japanese words in English, and they seem to be sufficient interpretations in the situations in which they were used.. Again, although they might at first sound a little awkward, we overlook the formalities for our long range goals of Japanese language mastery, and we get over it. This is JPPGG%uFF69, It won't cost you anything but a commitment to self and a little time, and plus, if it works--- it is beautiful. Back to seriousville here, geez, Koto wa or koto ga could roughly be translated as "As for the thing of~ ".
1. Verb(base III) koto ga, koto wa - the thing of verb, the thing of verbing
2. Verb(base III) tame ni - in order to verb
3. Verb(base III) mae ni - before I verb, before verbing.
4. Verb(base III) koto ga arimasu - Sometimes I verb
5. Verb(base III) koto ga yoku arimasu - I do a lot of verb or I often verb.
6. Verb(base III) koto ga amari arimasu - I don't often verb, I rarely verb.
6. Verb(base III) koto ga dekimasu - I am able to verb, I can verb
7. Verb(base III) deshou - I will probably verb, or the verb will probably happen, or it might verb.
8. Verb(base III) koto ni suru - decide to verb, I resolved within myself to verb, I have chosen to verb, etc.
9. Verb(base III) hou ga ii desu - Its better to verb, or you should verb
10. Verb(base III) yo(u) ni - so that verb, like verbing, in similitude of verbing
In the old days, when the grammar-translation methods of foreign language teaching were king, my JPPGG© and other similar methods were known as, substitution drills. I prefer to call this way of studying Japanese JPPGG©, or, Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar. Instead of substituting, we plug and instead of drilling, we play. I prefer playing to drilling any day. Hopefully by now you understand the idea behind JPPGG© and that my goal in creating this language learning system is to help you get better at Japanese in less time than it would take traditionally.
I'm big on multitasking and didn't want to see young Japanese language learners held back by the amount of vocabulary they know. Instead, my hope was that while the Japanese language learners learn more and more vocabulary (nouns, verbs, adjectives, expressions, salutations, adverbs, particles etc.) the amount of grammar knowledge they have wouldn't prevent them from being able to say at least some simple sentences. Once they understand how the constructions of the grammar principles are made, they can then make altogether new sentences, drilling home Japanese into the fibers of their being making them capable Japanese conversationalists.
The system works no matter what the name you substitute and drill or you plug and play new words into the grammar constructions as you learn them. Go ahead, drill and kill your way, or should I say, plug and play your way towards better Japanese, I dare you.
As always do your best! Ganbatte Ne! Makurasuki Sensei.
Memorizing your tango
How to Use Word Association to Master Japanese
A good goal when learning another language is to try to remember words so that you won’t ever forget them. That last sentence contains quite a lofty goal. You make absurd associations that are meaningful to you and in this way by making absurd associations between something that reminds you of the meaning of the word in Japanese but sounds like something you can relate to in English. The more absurd the associations, the less likely you are to forget them, unless you forget the association related to the words you are memorizing. Take the following for example: tanjo^bi = birthday, anchovies have birthdays too or tan Jo be chilling cuz it’s her birthday yo wassup! Mentally picture a tan person named Jo talking ghetto cuz she be this and be that! Go berserk on absurd.
I know what you are saying. This method is nutz, and you are correct but whatever it take to memorize a word quicker and will help you retain that word so that you might use it sometime later on down the line, then more power to it, non? Hopefully you are catching my drift about this style of word, phrase memorization but through another example or two you’ll catch on. You know what I’m saying. Get down and ghetto you can speak Japanese fluently only if you try. So this tan girl or guy named Jo be hunh? She be what? Who cares! As long as you can relate meaning to sound in a way that helps you remember the word until you reach the plateau of usefulness. Once a word that is new to you in another language is used, from the very first time to the 50th time, you get better with each use of the word.
Another good method I have found that when you are practicing your conversation skills, replace during the day any word that you would want and set aside 2 hours where you speak only in the target language at all costs. In all situations I find that even with minimal to limited vocabulary knowledge, speaking words in the target language is so critical to developing fluency I can’t bear not to scream in the language, and that wasn’t too good but it helped me. I found that sometimes I didn’t have to say or gesture a thing and everything that I wanted communicated was comprehended. Through gestures too someway or another you can always get your meaning across.
You have got to have an earnest desire, and a disciplined method of study, but I find that methods like these, albeit ludicrous or seemingly absurd techniques for learning a second language work wonders for my Japanese language progression.
So now what? Simple!
Let’s say you learned the word for paper that day, or you learned the phrase ha
o migaku, to brush your teeth, do you
Tell your mom or your roommates or whoever you live with that you are going to brush your teeth? You say to them in Japanese and to all who will listen and put up with your intense desire to speak fluently the Japanese language, IIE HA O MIGAKIMASU or something to that effect?
Japanese Word Association Examples
SURU – Suru was the guy who would take over the ship in Star Trek if Captain Kirk couldn’t be there, and he was a busy guy. Suru was the guy who always was doing something. Make an association between the verb to do, and the guy named Suru on Star Trek. You’ll never forget words if they are associated in a meaningful way to you. SURU in Japanese is the verb to do.
NEKO – imagine Cleopatra with a long neck and her long neck cat called necko or neko for short etc.
MIMI – the little girl whose ears were so cute you would always grab her by the ears O-mimi with the honorific prefix means the honorable ears, the ones affixed to your head.
DENKI – the electric light is so very tiny & dinky in Japan image etc.
Tofu can fly = TOBU means to fly, jump etc.
MUHO^SHU^ moo + hoe +shoe = free service, the cow said moo you ho, shoe get out of here this ain’t no free service – thus was born the word meaning free service - muho^shu
Young children often KURAI in the dark, I mean cry in the dark!
To sneeze is easy, in Japanese it sounds more like what we actually do than the English word to sneeze. In Japanese to sneeze is KURAKUSHON SURU.
The word for paint is already absurdly similar to the Japanese word Penki
Sometimes you as a language learner will succumb to certain idioms or language ideas that are too strong to shake. One example I know for me and a lot of other gaijin living in Japan was the word morau – which means, to get. So When speaking to other gaijin in Japan we would speak all English until some phrase came up where we said we got something from somebody or somewhere as in
I morau’d a nice silk tie from him. Or you’re always morau’ing some good stuff!
One of the first Japanese phrases I remember learning was the Japanese phrase for don’t mention it or You’re Welcome - the don’t touch my mustache or do itashimashite principle. I was told then that the way to remember how to say,” You’re welcome" was Don’t Touch My Mustache, which is basically the same as do itashimashite with a little effort put in.
Now don’t go overboard with the associations. Don’t be going hidari maki on us. There must be a point at which you can enter back into real study mode to pull out the real words you are after and not just what they sound like. Why would you do this? Because there will come a time when your speaking skills will not get any better until you start your journey into the Kanji. Ooh scary stuff. Just kidding, don’t let it scare you! Kanji is actually quite bitchin’ and rad!
As Always, Ganbatte Ne! Do Your Best!
Makurasuki Sensei
A good goal when learning another language is to try to remember words so that you won’t ever forget them. That last sentence contains quite a lofty goal. You make absurd associations that are meaningful to you and in this way by making absurd associations between something that reminds you of the meaning of the word in Japanese but sounds like something you can relate to in English. The more absurd the associations, the less likely you are to forget them, unless you forget the association related to the words you are memorizing. Take the following for example: tanjo^bi = birthday, anchovies have birthdays too or tan Jo be chilling cuz it’s her birthday yo wassup! Mentally picture a tan person named Jo talking ghetto cuz she be this and be that! Go berserk on absurd.
I know what you are saying. This method is nutz, and you are correct but whatever it take to memorize a word quicker and will help you retain that word so that you might use it sometime later on down the line, then more power to it, non? Hopefully you are catching my drift about this style of word, phrase memorization but through another example or two you’ll catch on. You know what I’m saying. Get down and ghetto you can speak Japanese fluently only if you try. So this tan girl or guy named Jo be hunh? She be what? Who cares! As long as you can relate meaning to sound in a way that helps you remember the word until you reach the plateau of usefulness. Once a word that is new to you in another language is used, from the very first time to the 50th time, you get better with each use of the word.
Another good method I have found that when you are practicing your conversation skills, replace during the day any word that you would want and set aside 2 hours where you speak only in the target language at all costs. In all situations I find that even with minimal to limited vocabulary knowledge, speaking words in the target language is so critical to developing fluency I can’t bear not to scream in the language, and that wasn’t too good but it helped me. I found that sometimes I didn’t have to say or gesture a thing and everything that I wanted communicated was comprehended. Through gestures too someway or another you can always get your meaning across.
You have got to have an earnest desire, and a disciplined method of study, but I find that methods like these, albeit ludicrous or seemingly absurd techniques for learning a second language work wonders for my Japanese language progression.
So now what? Simple!
Let’s say you learned the word for paper that day, or you learned the phrase ha
o migaku, to brush your teeth, do you
Tell your mom or your roommates or whoever you live with that you are going to brush your teeth? You say to them in Japanese and to all who will listen and put up with your intense desire to speak fluently the Japanese language, IIE HA O MIGAKIMASU or something to that effect?
Japanese Word Association Examples
SURU – Suru was the guy who would take over the ship in Star Trek if Captain Kirk couldn’t be there, and he was a busy guy. Suru was the guy who always was doing something. Make an association between the verb to do, and the guy named Suru on Star Trek. You’ll never forget words if they are associated in a meaningful way to you. SURU in Japanese is the verb to do.
NEKO – imagine Cleopatra with a long neck and her long neck cat called necko or neko for short etc.
MIMI – the little girl whose ears were so cute you would always grab her by the ears O-mimi with the honorific prefix means the honorable ears, the ones affixed to your head.
DENKI – the electric light is so very tiny & dinky in Japan image etc.
Tofu can fly = TOBU means to fly, jump etc.
MUHO^SHU^ moo + hoe +shoe = free service, the cow said moo you ho, shoe get out of here this ain’t no free service – thus was born the word meaning free service - muho^shu
Young children often KURAI in the dark, I mean cry in the dark!
To sneeze is easy, in Japanese it sounds more like what we actually do than the English word to sneeze. In Japanese to sneeze is KURAKUSHON SURU.
The word for paint is already absurdly similar to the Japanese word Penki
Sometimes you as a language learner will succumb to certain idioms or language ideas that are too strong to shake. One example I know for me and a lot of other gaijin living in Japan was the word morau – which means, to get. So When speaking to other gaijin in Japan we would speak all English until some phrase came up where we said we got something from somebody or somewhere as in
I morau’d a nice silk tie from him. Or you’re always morau’ing some good stuff!
One of the first Japanese phrases I remember learning was the Japanese phrase for don’t mention it or You’re Welcome - the don’t touch my mustache or do itashimashite principle. I was told then that the way to remember how to say,” You’re welcome" was Don’t Touch My Mustache, which is basically the same as do itashimashite with a little effort put in.
Now don’t go overboard with the associations. Don’t be going hidari maki on us. There must be a point at which you can enter back into real study mode to pull out the real words you are after and not just what they sound like. Why would you do this? Because there will come a time when your speaking skills will not get any better until you start your journey into the Kanji. Ooh scary stuff. Just kidding, don’t let it scare you! Kanji is actually quite bitchin’ and rad!
As Always, Ganbatte Ne! Do Your Best!
Makurasuki Sensei
Japanese Grammar Te oku
Japanese Plug and Play Ghetto Grammar or JPPGG©
Lesson #101: Verb (base TE) + Oku – To verb for later
By Makurasuki Sensei, Brett McCluskey
When translating from Japanese to English, whether text or spoken conversation, there are times when it is quite impossible to extract an exact equivalent or expression having the same meaning in both languages. Today’s lesson is will focus on one such grammar principle. This particular bunpo will take a little more time for westerners to absorb than some of the easier Japanese grammar.
Today’s bunpo uses the verb oku. Knowing the meaning of this verb and how it is used by itself will help in understanding the meanings of the sentences and phrases we can make with today’s grammar construction, however as I have said before this particular grammar has nuances and meaning which cannot be expressed with an exact equivalent. As Always, Do Your Best. Ganbatte Ne!
Verb (base TE) + Oku - To verb for later
Oku means to put, place; lay down, leave (it as it is), or the biggie in relation to how we will use it in today’s bunpo is to pawn. Oku, the verb, in and of itself, is easy to understand. For example, to say,
“I will place the cup on the table” you could say, “Te^buru no ue ni kappu o oku”, or “Te^buru no ue ni kappu o okimasu.” Polite version
Here is another example of using oku the verb.
“Please put it over there.” or, “Asoko ni oite* kudasai”.
*If you need a refresher of how to put verbs into base TE, please see. http://ezinearticles.com/?Learn-Japanese-Grammar-To-The-Tune-Of-Silver-Bells&id=493900. In general the verb oku means to place an object somewhere or to put something in its place, or spot etc. However, when sentences are constructed using the verb (base TE) + oku bunpo, the meanings of the possible sentences are not so easily derived. When a verb is put into base TE followed by oku the meaning extract to pawn. Let us go over in our minds how we ue the word pawn in English. We pawn jewelry at the pawn shop etc. People use other people as pawns in their grand scheme. Pawning means in the base Te + oku sense to give something to someone to hold as a sort of ransom for return later on. I hope you get my drift, or wakaru? (See http://squidoo.com/japponics/
Ex. 1. Sara o aratte okimasu – (I, he, she, it etc.) will do the dishes (so that I will have clean ones to use later on) for later.
Ex. 2. Te^buru no ue ni kappu o oite okimasu – I’ll set the cup on the table for later (just in case). This uses the verb oku inside of the verb (base TE) + oku bunpo. Yes lot’s of interesting ways to use this bunpo. Oku in base TE is oite + oku = oite okimasu
Ex. 3. Azukatte okimasho^ ka? Shall I hold this for you for later? Shall I take this in my care and hold it for you until you come back?
Ex. 4 Shitokan to akan yo! *see http://squidoo.com/ghettogrammar/ – You better frikkin' do this or things ain’t going to be good later on! This is an abbreviated version of what should be shite okanai to ikemasen in Hakata Dialect, but is often heard in that region.
Lesson #101: Verb (base TE) + Oku – To verb for later
By Makurasuki Sensei, Brett McCluskey
When translating from Japanese to English, whether text or spoken conversation, there are times when it is quite impossible to extract an exact equivalent or expression having the same meaning in both languages. Today’s lesson is will focus on one such grammar principle. This particular bunpo will take a little more time for westerners to absorb than some of the easier Japanese grammar.
Today’s bunpo uses the verb oku. Knowing the meaning of this verb and how it is used by itself will help in understanding the meanings of the sentences and phrases we can make with today’s grammar construction, however as I have said before this particular grammar has nuances and meaning which cannot be expressed with an exact equivalent. As Always, Do Your Best. Ganbatte Ne!
Verb (base TE) + Oku - To verb for later
Oku means to put, place; lay down, leave (it as it is), or the biggie in relation to how we will use it in today’s bunpo is to pawn. Oku, the verb, in and of itself, is easy to understand. For example, to say,
“I will place the cup on the table” you could say, “Te^buru no ue ni kappu o oku”, or “Te^buru no ue ni kappu o okimasu.” Polite version
Here is another example of using oku the verb.
“Please put it over there.” or, “Asoko ni oite* kudasai”.
*If you need a refresher of how to put verbs into base TE, please see. http://ezinearticles.com/?Learn-Japanese-Grammar-To-The-Tune-Of-Silver-Bells&id=493900. In general the verb oku means to place an object somewhere or to put something in its place, or spot etc. However, when sentences are constructed using the verb (base TE) + oku bunpo, the meanings of the possible sentences are not so easily derived. When a verb is put into base TE followed by oku the meaning extract to pawn. Let us go over in our minds how we ue the word pawn in English. We pawn jewelry at the pawn shop etc. People use other people as pawns in their grand scheme. Pawning means in the base Te + oku sense to give something to someone to hold as a sort of ransom for return later on. I hope you get my drift, or wakaru? (See http://squidoo.com/japponics/
Ex. 1. Sara o aratte okimasu – (I, he, she, it etc.) will do the dishes (so that I will have clean ones to use later on) for later.
Ex. 2. Te^buru no ue ni kappu o oite okimasu – I’ll set the cup on the table for later (just in case). This uses the verb oku inside of the verb (base TE) + oku bunpo. Yes lot’s of interesting ways to use this bunpo. Oku in base TE is oite + oku = oite okimasu
Ex. 3. Azukatte okimasho^ ka? Shall I hold this for you for later? Shall I take this in my care and hold it for you until you come back?
Ex. 4 Shitokan to akan yo! *see http://squidoo.com/ghettogrammar/ – You better frikkin' do this or things ain’t going to be good later on! This is an abbreviated version of what should be shite okanai to ikemasen in Hakata Dialect, but is often heard in that region.
Japanese Grammar 101 again
GhettoGrammar Lesson #100 - Have you ever ... verbed... (before)?
The koto ga aru construction will be useful in many different situations where you may want to strike up a conversation with someone. Through this construction you will be able to ask questions like, "Have you ever been to Hokkaido", or "Have you ever snowboarded, windsurfed, hang glided, sky jumped, base jumped, bungie jumped, eaten a rhubarb pie or seen a bear in the woods?"
In different scenarios. a very useful grammar construction that I find myself using quite a lot. This bunpo will come in handy in your daily Japanese conversations.
The construction is as follows:
Verb (Base TA) Koto ga arimasu ka? Have you ever ...verbed...?
Put the verb in your question into base TA then add koto ga aru where aru can assume various levels of politeness. I think it will be better understand through examples so here goes.
ex.1 Have you ever been to Disneyland? Dizunirando ni itta koto ga arimasu ka?
The verb in example 1 is iku - to go. Put into base TA iku becomes itta. Add koto ga aru where aru has been changed to it's more polite form arimasu and presto instant have you ever verbed.
ex. 2. Have you ever drank sake before? Sake o nonda koto ga arimasu ka?
notice that in this grammatical construction the verb is always in past tense, so in the first example we have to go in past tense or its equivalent been while in example 2. we have drink in its past tense of drank followed by the addition of koto ga aru which literally means to have such a thing of...etc
If you need to reply to such a question as, "Have you ever drank sake before?" with a negative response simply change aru to its present negative form either in plain form or in any of its levels of politeness ever gozaru. So that one response to example 2. could be Iie, sake o nonda koto ga arimasen, or, No, I have never taken a drink of sake before.
Possible responses to example 1.
a. Dizunirando ni itta koto ga arimasu (I have been to Disneyland before) or
b. Dizunirando ni itta koto ga arimasen. (I haven't been to Dinsneyland Before)
As always, Do Your Best! Ganbatte Ne!
Makurasuki Sensei and the Jappermon Grammatical Society Unorthodox Civilians for Careful Considerate obvservation of Japanese language learning
The koto ga aru construction will be useful in many different situations where you may want to strike up a conversation with someone. Through this construction you will be able to ask questions like, "Have you ever been to Hokkaido", or "Have you ever snowboarded, windsurfed, hang glided, sky jumped, base jumped, bungie jumped, eaten a rhubarb pie or seen a bear in the woods?"
In different scenarios. a very useful grammar construction that I find myself using quite a lot. This bunpo will come in handy in your daily Japanese conversations.
The construction is as follows:
Verb (Base TA) Koto ga arimasu ka? Have you ever ...verbed...?
Put the verb in your question into base TA then add koto ga aru where aru can assume various levels of politeness. I think it will be better understand through examples so here goes.
ex.1 Have you ever been to Disneyland? Dizunirando ni itta koto ga arimasu ka?
The verb in example 1 is iku - to go. Put into base TA iku becomes itta. Add koto ga aru where aru has been changed to it's more polite form arimasu and presto instant have you ever verbed.
ex. 2. Have you ever drank sake before? Sake o nonda koto ga arimasu ka?
notice that in this grammatical construction the verb is always in past tense, so in the first example we have to go in past tense or its equivalent been while in example 2. we have drink in its past tense of drank followed by the addition of koto ga aru which literally means to have such a thing of...etc
If you need to reply to such a question as, "Have you ever drank sake before?" with a negative response simply change aru to its present negative form either in plain form or in any of its levels of politeness ever gozaru. So that one response to example 2. could be Iie, sake o nonda koto ga arimasen, or, No, I have never taken a drink of sake before.
Possible responses to example 1.
a. Dizunirando ni itta koto ga arimasu (I have been to Disneyland before) or
b. Dizunirando ni itta koto ga arimasen. (I haven't been to Dinsneyland Before)
As always, Do Your Best! Ganbatte Ne!
Makurasuki Sensei and the Jappermon Grammatical Society Unorthodox Civilians for Careful Considerate obvservation of Japanese language learning
Japanese Vocabulary
Japanese Vocabulary Blaster #25
15 Words Every 2 Days.
Learn, Memorize, Study, Ponder
Rinse, Get Quizzed, Repeat
Now Blast!
1. boeki - trade
2. teian - suggestion
3. teian suru – to suggest
4. kemushi - caterpillar
5. kitai hazure – let down
6. kigen ga kireru – time limit, expiration date
7. kyo^ryo^ku suru – to cooperate
8. doryo^ku suru – to try
9. giri no oto^san* – father-in-law
10. nokogiri – a saw
11. jika – ear doctor
12. jibika – ear and throat doctor
13.songai - damage
14. tsune = itsumo, usually, always, commonly
15. noritsu - efficicient
As Always,
Ganbatte Ne!
Do Your Best!
Makurasuki Sensei
*To see the list of the last 15 words you should have already memorized go to
Japanese Vocabulary 24 or go on to memorize your next 15 here at
Japanese Vocabulary 26
http://squidutils.com/lensmaster/brettkun.rss
15 Words Every 2 Days.
Learn, Memorize, Study, Ponder
Rinse, Get Quizzed, Repeat
Now Blast!
1. boeki - trade
2. teian - suggestion
3. teian suru – to suggest
4. kemushi - caterpillar
5. kitai hazure – let down
6. kigen ga kireru – time limit, expiration date
7. kyo^ryo^ku suru – to cooperate
8. doryo^ku suru – to try
9. giri no oto^san* – father-in-law
10. nokogiri – a saw
11. jika – ear doctor
12. jibika – ear and throat doctor
13.songai - damage
14. tsune = itsumo, usually, always, commonly
15. noritsu - efficicient
As Always,
Ganbatte Ne!
Do Your Best!
Makurasuki Sensei
*To see the list of the last 15 words you should have already memorized go to
Japanese Vocabulary 24 or go on to memorize your next 15 here at
Japanese Vocabulary 26
http://squidutils.com/lensmaster/brettkun.rss
How to count in Japanese
On Counting in Japanese: a study strategy
1 – ichi
2 – ni
3 – san
4 – shi, yon
5 – go
6 - roku
7 –shichi, nana
8 – hachi, ha
9 – kyu, ku
10 – ju, to
11 – ju ichi
12 – ju ni
13 – ju san
etc
20 –ni ju
21 – ni ju ichi
22 – ni ju ni
30 – san ju
31 - san ju ichi
95 – kyu ju go
99 – kyu ju kyu
100 – hyaku
101 – hyaku ichi
108 – hyaku hachi
197 – hyaku kyu ju nana (shichi)
200 – ni hyaku
300 – sam byaku
400 – yon hyaku
500 –go hyaku
600 – roppyaku
700 – nanahyaku
800 – happyaku
900 – kyuhyaku
1000 – sen
1001 – sen ichi
2000 ni sen
Etc
Some of my best spent hours studying Japanese were when I recited to myself the numbers in Japanese from zero to one million, and then back to zero again. Yes it got a little tedious and after a while I would think to myself, “O.K. Enough is enough! I mean gee… to 1 million and back… that is going a little out of the way just to learn some language don’t you think?” Not to a die-hard that really wants to speak the language. I was extremely determined to master Japanese, that is why I recited the numbers from zero to one million and then back again over and over again.
Other things I did which are strategies worth considering was that I would count from 0 to 1 million by 2’s, by 3’s, by 4’s and by 5’s, 6’s, 7’s, 8’s, 9’s, and 10’s. Some numbers seemed for some reason or another harder than the others, so I would concentrate more on the hard ones. I don’t think I tried 11’s but it could produce the same results. It surely stems from basically the same idea. The more your mouth and brain coordinate their efforts in the target languages the better prepared you will be to use them in the real world. So go ahead use you try some of these out until you can say them without hesitation.
Ways to practice counting so as to get better in speaking Japanese, always practice with correct pronunciation and begin slowly and then build up speed and swiftness of speech.
1. Count from 0 to 1 million and go backwards once you arrive at a million to get to zero once again. Again if 1 million seems tough, it would be o.k. to go as far as you can, but maybe stretch yourself a little, a least 99000 or something. You want to get good don’t you?
2. Count up the odd numbers from 0 to 1 million
3. Count up the even numbers from 0 to 1 million
4. do #2 and #3 backwards from 1 million
5. count through your numbers by 3’s, 4’s 5’s etc
6. do long division by saying out loud in Japanese the problem
Here are some nice handy math words that will give you hours of word play:
To add – tasu
To divide – waru
To multiply -kakeru
To subtract – hiku
Until you’ve actually recited the numbers from zero to one million (1,000,000) a couple of times through without hesitation and eventually to do it without even thinking about it. That is one of the secrets of fluency. It sprouts from one’s ability to think in the target language. If you catch yourself thinking in the target language that is a good sign; if you catch yourself dreaming in the target language you have reached bliss, SLA bliss. You are heading towards fluency. I got to a point where my dreams would be in Japanese and it didn’t matter who or what type of people were in my dreams, everybody spoke in Japanese. I remember my mom and dad who aren’t too familiar with the Japanese language, but in my dreams were conversing with me full on like natives themselves. So what is the point of all this? The point is akin to the old adage,’when in Rome do as the Romans do’.
The more one thinks in the target language the more apt they are to acquire the language. Lets face it there is no quick road to fluency except hard work, goal oriented study, persistent practice and an iron will coupled with an abundance of motivation. I hope this little lesson won’t discourage anyone about learning languages. Because there will be some that are too lazy start the training, their motivation will be sub par for their needs, and thus they will not make it to fluency. But those who persevere and but instead will inspire people to go for it, even though the road to fluency isn’t yellow nor bricked. These are things that I know of that will enable an SL learner how to speak in a foreign tongue and bring them closer to near perfect fluency.
1 – ichi
2 – ni
3 – san
4 – shi, yon
5 – go
6 - roku
7 –shichi, nana
8 – hachi, ha
9 – kyu, ku
10 – ju, to
11 – ju ichi
12 – ju ni
13 – ju san
etc
20 –ni ju
21 – ni ju ichi
22 – ni ju ni
30 – san ju
31 - san ju ichi
95 – kyu ju go
99 – kyu ju kyu
100 – hyaku
101 – hyaku ichi
108 – hyaku hachi
197 – hyaku kyu ju nana (shichi)
200 – ni hyaku
300 – sam byaku
400 – yon hyaku
500 –go hyaku
600 – roppyaku
700 – nanahyaku
800 – happyaku
900 – kyuhyaku
1000 – sen
1001 – sen ichi
2000 ni sen
Etc
Some of my best spent hours studying Japanese were when I recited to myself the numbers in Japanese from zero to one million, and then back to zero again. Yes it got a little tedious and after a while I would think to myself, “O.K. Enough is enough! I mean gee… to 1 million and back… that is going a little out of the way just to learn some language don’t you think?” Not to a die-hard that really wants to speak the language. I was extremely determined to master Japanese, that is why I recited the numbers from zero to one million and then back again over and over again.
Other things I did which are strategies worth considering was that I would count from 0 to 1 million by 2’s, by 3’s, by 4’s and by 5’s, 6’s, 7’s, 8’s, 9’s, and 10’s. Some numbers seemed for some reason or another harder than the others, so I would concentrate more on the hard ones. I don’t think I tried 11’s but it could produce the same results. It surely stems from basically the same idea. The more your mouth and brain coordinate their efforts in the target languages the better prepared you will be to use them in the real world. So go ahead use you try some of these out until you can say them without hesitation.
Ways to practice counting so as to get better in speaking Japanese, always practice with correct pronunciation and begin slowly and then build up speed and swiftness of speech.
1. Count from 0 to 1 million and go backwards once you arrive at a million to get to zero once again. Again if 1 million seems tough, it would be o.k. to go as far as you can, but maybe stretch yourself a little, a least 99000 or something. You want to get good don’t you?
2. Count up the odd numbers from 0 to 1 million
3. Count up the even numbers from 0 to 1 million
4. do #2 and #3 backwards from 1 million
5. count through your numbers by 3’s, 4’s 5’s etc
6. do long division by saying out loud in Japanese the problem
Here are some nice handy math words that will give you hours of word play:
To add – tasu
To divide – waru
To multiply -kakeru
To subtract – hiku
Until you’ve actually recited the numbers from zero to one million (1,000,000) a couple of times through without hesitation and eventually to do it without even thinking about it. That is one of the secrets of fluency. It sprouts from one’s ability to think in the target language. If you catch yourself thinking in the target language that is a good sign; if you catch yourself dreaming in the target language you have reached bliss, SLA bliss. You are heading towards fluency. I got to a point where my dreams would be in Japanese and it didn’t matter who or what type of people were in my dreams, everybody spoke in Japanese. I remember my mom and dad who aren’t too familiar with the Japanese language, but in my dreams were conversing with me full on like natives themselves. So what is the point of all this? The point is akin to the old adage,’when in Rome do as the Romans do’.
The more one thinks in the target language the more apt they are to acquire the language. Lets face it there is no quick road to fluency except hard work, goal oriented study, persistent practice and an iron will coupled with an abundance of motivation. I hope this little lesson won’t discourage anyone about learning languages. Because there will be some that are too lazy start the training, their motivation will be sub par for their needs, and thus they will not make it to fluency. But those who persevere and but instead will inspire people to go for it, even though the road to fluency isn’t yellow nor bricked. These are things that I know of that will enable an SL learner how to speak in a foreign tongue and bring them closer to near perfect fluency.
The Japanese Gerund
Japanese Grammar Made Easy – Base TE-て
By Brett McCluskey
Lesson #18 Insights on learning how to use the Base TE-て form of the verb.
Remembering how verbs are put into base te can be a challenging part of Japanese Grammar, but by singing the following syllables in the following order to the music of Silver Bells will help you better remember which verb ending syllable goes with what te ending.
(To be done to the music of Silver Bells, Bing Crosby’s version works well)
BU MU NU NDE
U TSU RU TTE
KU ITE
GU IDE
That’s the way we put verbs in base te ------
(Play it again Sam) repeat
*Verbs ending in BU, MU, or NU become NDE. Verbs ending in U, TSU, RU become TTE or. Verbs ending in KU become ITE and verbs ending in GU become IDE.
Verbs ending in these syllables
Become these base Te endings
BU, MU, NU
NDE
U, TSU, RU
TTE
KU
ITE
GU
IDE
Here are a few examples of putting a verb into base te. The first example, asobu ends in bu so you can either use the above chart or sing the song!
Ex. 1. asobu - to play – becomes asonde
1. asonde iru = playing
2. asonde kudasai = please play
3. asonde wa naranai = you can’t play here, its against the rules to play
Ex. 2. kamu – to chew – becomes kande
1. kande iru – chewing
2. kande kudasai – please chew
3. kande wa naranai – you mustn’t chew
Ex. 3. shinu - to die – becomes shinde
1. shinde iru – dying
2. shinde kudasai – please die
3. shinde wa naranai – you mustn’t die
Ex 4. harau – to pay - becomes haratte
1. haratte iru – paying
2. haratte kudasai – please pay
3. haratte wa naranai – you had better not pay.
Ex 5. inoru – to pray – becomes inotte
1. inotte iru – praying
2. inotte kudasai – please pray
3. inotte wa naranai – its bad to pray here
Ex 6. utsu – to hit becomes utte
1. utte iru – hitting
2. utte kudasai – please hit
3. utte wa naranai - its bad to hit here
Ex 7. hataraku – to work – becomes hataraite
1. hataraite iru – working
2. hataraite kudasai – please work
3. hataraite wa naranai – it is forbidden for you to work.
Ex 8. oyogu – to swim – becomes oyoide
1. oyoide iru – swimming
2. oyoide kudasai – please swim
3. oyoide wa naranai – you shouldn’t swim around here
Ganbatte ne! Do your best
Makuarsuki Sensei yori,
By Brett McCluskey
Lesson #18 Insights on learning how to use the Base TE-て form of the verb.
Remembering how verbs are put into base te can be a challenging part of Japanese Grammar, but by singing the following syllables in the following order to the music of Silver Bells will help you better remember which verb ending syllable goes with what te ending.
(To be done to the music of Silver Bells, Bing Crosby’s version works well)
BU MU NU NDE
U TSU RU TTE
KU ITE
GU IDE
That’s the way we put verbs in base te ------
(Play it again Sam) repeat
*Verbs ending in BU, MU, or NU become NDE. Verbs ending in U, TSU, RU become TTE or. Verbs ending in KU become ITE and verbs ending in GU become IDE.
Verbs ending in these syllables
Become these base Te endings
BU, MU, NU
NDE
U, TSU, RU
TTE
KU
ITE
GU
IDE
Here are a few examples of putting a verb into base te. The first example, asobu ends in bu so you can either use the above chart or sing the song!
Ex. 1. asobu - to play – becomes asonde
1. asonde iru = playing
2. asonde kudasai = please play
3. asonde wa naranai = you can’t play here, its against the rules to play
Ex. 2. kamu – to chew – becomes kande
1. kande iru – chewing
2. kande kudasai – please chew
3. kande wa naranai – you mustn’t chew
Ex. 3. shinu - to die – becomes shinde
1. shinde iru – dying
2. shinde kudasai – please die
3. shinde wa naranai – you mustn’t die
Ex 4. harau – to pay - becomes haratte
1. haratte iru – paying
2. haratte kudasai – please pay
3. haratte wa naranai – you had better not pay.
Ex 5. inoru – to pray – becomes inotte
1. inotte iru – praying
2. inotte kudasai – please pray
3. inotte wa naranai – its bad to pray here
Ex 6. utsu – to hit becomes utte
1. utte iru – hitting
2. utte kudasai – please hit
3. utte wa naranai - its bad to hit here
Ex 7. hataraku – to work – becomes hataraite
1. hataraite iru – working
2. hataraite kudasai – please work
3. hataraite wa naranai – it is forbidden for you to work.
Ex 8. oyogu – to swim – becomes oyoide
1. oyoide iru – swimming
2. oyoide kudasai – please swim
3. oyoide wa naranai – you shouldn’t swim around here
Ganbatte ne! Do your best
Makuarsuki Sensei yori,
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