Friday 28 November 2014

サプライズサプライズ!


サプライズサプライズ!

あなたはナイバシャでヘルズゲートに行きたいですか。

すべての興味は歓迎されている。

我々はそこに行くためにストラスモアバスを使用します。

私たちは公園でまともなレストランで昼食を持つことになります。

地形とその穏やかな環境を表示することができます。

みなさん、いっしょにいきましょう。
 

いつ                      126日(金曜日に)

どこで                  :私たちは、ジャンクションスーパーで午前7時に会う予定

いくら                  :昼食のバス包括的なによる輸送のため3500

ふぞくしている:とざんぐつ

お問い合わせ     :レマ(Tel. 254-01540)

Wednesday 26 November 2014

How to invite someone for an outing


For last week’s Friday class, we learnt how to invite someone for an outing in order to spend time with them. We went through a conversation that demonstrated how it is normally done by the Japanese people.
I shall write down the conversation in bits translating and explaining to you in order for you to understand better.

さとうさん: ミラーさん
ミラーさん:なんですか
Miss.Satou approaches Mr. Miraa and says his name in order to probably catch his attention. He responds by saying nan desuka? (なんですか) This can be translated into English to mean “what is it?” only that in Japanese it is not considered rude to respond like this.

さとうさん:あしたともだちとおはなみをします。ミラーさんもいっしょにいきません。
ミラーさん:いいですね.どこへいきますか。
さとうさん:おおさかじょこうえんです。
Miss.Satou then goes ahead and asks him to go out with her and her friends for flower viewing. 
She tells him that the following day she is going with her friends for flower viewing and asks Mr.Miraa if he could come with them. Note that she says ikimasen(いきません)which means “not to go”. To ask in the negative tense is considered polite in the Japanese culture as one does not want to seem as if they are forcing the other party to go out with them but politely asking them if they could join. It leaves the other party with the option of agreeing or disagreeing.
Mr,Miraa asks them where they are going for the flower viewing. She responds by telling him that they are going to the Oosaka gardens.

ミラーさん: なんじですか
さとうさん: 10じです。おおさかじょうえんえきであいましょう。
Mr.Miraa proceeds to ask Miss.Satou what time they should meet.
She tells him 10 o’clock and that they should meet at the Oosaka garden’s train station.

さとうさん:じゃまたあした。
ミラーさん:わかりました。
The conversation ends with Miss.Satou telling Mr.Miraa, “See you tomorrow” and Mr.Miraa responds by saying wakarimasen (わかりません) which means “I’m not sure”. 

New Vocabulary

ともだち( Tomodachi)- Friends
おはなみ (Ohanami)- Flower  viewing
おはなみをします(Ohanami wo shimasu)- To go flower viewing
じょこう(Jokou)- Garden
えき (Eki)- Train Station
あいましょう(Aimashou)- To meet

Friday 21 November 2014

Kana Simplified

The first knowledge to behold when learning Japanese or にほんご as it is put in the Japanese characters is to know about the characters themselves. There are two types of characters that is, Hiragana (curvy) and Katakana( Less curvy). 
Below is a chart that summarizes both characters at a go. 

The best way to learn anything whether complex or even easy is to learn it in steps. In these steps, a faithful way to get through to the end is to simply make it fun, challenging and whole as you grasp the fountain of knowledge present within the steps. 
Here are 14 steps that if followed to the letter, present a case where the content of Hiragana and Katakana can simply be mastered in just 2 weeks!! 14 steps=14 days=2 weeks


-Courtesy of Kana 101-

Success!

Self Introduction

How do you introduce yourself in Japanese.?

English- 

Hello,
My name is Maria. 
I am an student.
I live in Lang'ata.
Nice to meet you. 

Japanese-

Konnichiwa
Watashi wa Maria desu.
Gakusei desu,
Lang'ata karakimashita.
Hajimemashite. 

Written; 
こんいちわ
わたし は マリア
がくせい です
ぁんがた からきました
はじめまして

Let's spice it up a little bit.

Q.How old are you?
    Nansai deska 
    なんさい ですか
A.I am nineteen years old. 
    Watashi wa juukyusai desu.
    わたし は じゅうきゅさい です




Here is an interesting link to a video that is very helpful.
Feel free to add any vocabulary in the comment box below.






Thursday 20 November 2014

Japanese Lifestyle

The Japanese culture and lifestyle has evolved over the years.Some of which have been continued over the generations and of course others which have been done with.

A few of their interesting lifestyles include:

a) Personal Space-(ろてい)
Japanese peoeple tent to observe and respect their personal space. This is why they prefer to bow other than to hug or shake hands. The angle of bowing depends on the level of authority.





It is clear that the world is full of cultural diffresnces, Might you know others? Feel free to hit us up with more.

b) Art of sitting on the floor (星座)
Instead of using dinning tables and couches, the Japanese prefer to sit on the floor which is covered with tatami(たたみ) . They refer to it as proper sitting or quiet sitting.

 Tatami covering the flooring and area of siiting.

c)Gift Giving
The art of gift giving is fully embraced in Japan. It is a token of gratitude to whoever it may concern.


I believe the art of gift giving is one culture that should be fully embraced all over the world. It does not have to be something big and expensive a simple "Arigato gozaimasu (ありがとございます) Thank You" is all that is needed.

d) Sliding doors (しょじ)
Did you that the Japanese Architecture prefers to use sliding doors rather than opening doors in
order to save space. That is actually such a cool technique to use.


They encrypt their house walls with wallpaper making it look very artistic and beautiful. It is referred to as a paper ornament.


e) No shoes in the House

Entering the house with shoes on is not taken well in Japanese Home. You will find notices on the door saying "Please remove your shoes"



New Vocabulary- 
Cooking- Ryouri suru koto (りょうりすること)
Japanese Food- Nihon ryouri (日本りょうり)
Rice- Raisu (らいす)
A Basic meal

Japanese Numbers



The Japanese numbers could be summarized in the table below.
English
Romaji
Hiragana
One
Ichi
いち
Two
Ni
Three
San
さん
Four
Yon
よん
Five
Go
Six
Roku
ろく
Seven
Nana
なな
Eight
Hachi
はち
Nine
Kyu
きゅう
Ten
Juu
じゅう
Hundred
Hyaku
ひゃく
Thousand
Sen
せん
Ten thousand
Man
まん
Hundred million
Ichioku
いちおく

It is also easy to learn other numbers as the Japanese just combine the names of the numbers that make the figure.
For example:
English
Figure
Romaji
Hiragana
Eleven
11
juuichi
じゅういち
Twenty two
22
nijuuni
にじゅうに
Three hundred
300
sanhyaku
さんひゃく
Four thousand
4,000
yonsen
よんせん
Fifteen Thousand
15,000
ichimangosen
いちまんぎせん
One million two hundred and thirty five thousand
1,235,000
hyakunijuusanmangosenhappyaku
ひゃくにじゅうさんまんぎせんはっぴゃく
One hundred  and twenty six million
126,000,000
ichiokunisenroppyakuman
いちおくにせんろっぴゃくまん

To close this lesson, we will teach you how to tell different ages in Japanese.
わたしもなんさいでか?
I’m basically asking you how old you are.

English
Romaji
Hiragana
One years old
issai
いっさい
Two years old
nissai
にっさい
Five years old
gossai
ごっさい
Eight years old
hassai
はっさい
Ten years old
juusai
じゅうさい
Eighteen years old
juuhassai
じゅうはっさい
Twenty years old
hatachi
はたち
Twenty one years old
Nijuuissai
にじゅういっさい
Twenty three years old
nijuusansai
にじゅうさんさい

You should have noticed that apart from “twenty years old” you basically just add “ssai” to the number that represents your age. In some cases you have to omit some words from the number for example saying “hassai” instead of “hachissai”