Cultural goodness Trains. Trains are the soul of Japanese public transit. I have a love/hate relationship with the trains of Japan that typically depends on the time of day and where I am. In Tokyo, the train system is very complicated to someone who has never been there. Hundreds of stops, dozens of different lines to take, but you can get anywhere on foot with a little help of the public transit. It is insanely convenient. You can walk from nearly any housing area to a train station within 15-20 minutes, often times less than 10 minutes. Once the ride is over, you’re typically only another 10 minutes by foot to your destination. Bicycle parking is commonplace. If the walk is a bit too far, you can ride a bike and store it in a bicycle parking garage - some of which are very cool + Show Spoiler +
. And, if you’re feeling tired, you can take a nap on the train on your way. Sleeping on the train is actually very common. I didn’t expect too, but I fell asleep on the trains sometimes myself.
However, using the trains in Tokyo can be a nightmare. Some of you may have seen photos of employees physically pushing people into the train car because there isn’t enough room for them to fit without a little force. Well, that actually happens. I’ve been in a train during rush hour a few times when it gets that full. It is not comfortable. A lot of people will wait for the next train just minutes away in hope of finding a car with more space. + Show Spoiler [Photos] +
片仮名 Katakana
It’s time for some Katakana!
Long Vowels in Katakana In Hiragana we used a second hiragana character to create the long vowel sound. For Katakana, it’s a bit different, but much easier to learn and remember. When a single long stroke appears in Katakana, it represents a long vowel. ( ー )
Hiragana vs Katakana Some basics on when to use Hiragana or Katakana. Hiragana is used for Japanese words. By this I mean words that have not been borrowed from other languages.
Katakana is used for loan words, words taken directly from another language. Japanese uses the English (I think) word for “coffee” To write this in Japanese, use Katakana to match the sounds as closely as you can. コーヒー。koohii. (note the long vowel ー)
Katakana is also used for onomatopoeia, creating emphasis in some cases, or when trying to portray a robot voice. Typically you’ll be able to tell what is being conveyed when Katakana is used.
Pronunciation: All Katakana are pronounced exactly like their Hiragana counterpart. So for each Katakana, I will simply be showing the “sister kana” from the Hiragana syllabary.
Should be noted that katakana can be used for japanese words as well, which is similar to writing in capital letters or bold typeface in English, it's used for emphasis.
On May 31 2013 02:54 Tobberoth wrote: Should be noted that katakana can be used for japanese words as well, which is similar to writing in capital letters or bold typeface in English, it's used for emphasis.
It's in there, no?
Katakana is also used for onomatopoeia, creating emphasis in some cases, when trying to portray a robot voice. Typically you’ll be able to tell what is being conveyed when Katakana is used.
On May 31 2013 02:54 Tobberoth wrote: Should be noted that katakana can be used for japanese words as well, which is similar to writing in capital letters or bold typeface in English, it's used for emphasis.
Katakana is also used for onomatopoeia, creating emphasis in some cases, when trying to portray a robot voice. Typically you’ll be able to tell what is being conveyed when Katakana is used.
On May 31 2013 02:54 Tobberoth wrote: Should be noted that katakana can be used for japanese words as well, which is similar to writing in capital letters or bold typeface in English, it's used for emphasis.
It's in there, no?
Katakana is also used for onomatopoeia, creating emphasis in some cases, when trying to portray a robot voice. Typically you’ll be able to tell what is being conveyed when Katakana is used.
Oh, didn't read it as a list ^^
I guess I do need an "or" in there to make it a list
On May 31 2013 04:12 docvoc wrote: I've been greatly enjoying these, when the series finishes up, I'm going to be sure to go through all of them several times to learn it again .
Glad to know! I'm really looking forward to getting through all the kana so I can start getting into Grammar, which is where learning the language really begins. Learning Kana is just a necessary step that's best to learn straight away, I think. It's even more important for this kind of format, otherwise nothing could be learned or taught. Going through the Kana several times is a good idea. Keep practicing writing, you'll also have a lot of opportunities to use them in the future.
まりもっこり, I really like your blogs! Unfortunately I am learning Japanese as a hobby and I am a little farther past the blog each time. I am learning JPLT 2 kanji on memrise, but I should really go back and study the JPLT 1 first. On memrise, the JPLT 2 is much more popular than 1, so it shows up higher on the list. I thought the beginner's course was 1, and 2 was 2, but unfortunately after learning only some simple kana words I am now being launched into JPLT 2 kanji. It's a huge bump in the learning curve!
So for now I think I will go back to 1. I would really love to get a job as a translator someday. Maybe I would go through JPLT 3 eventually. As of now I'm just trying to learn 10 kanji per day. It seems that the words in JPLT 4, including kanji for numbers 1-10, should be more elementary than 4... but anyway. It's just an awkward area for me to learn on my own without a teacher guiding me every step of the way.
The grammar lessons would help me quite a lot. Also the stroke order images are really nice to have. I use the ones from your topic.
Thanks for these. It's interesting to learn more about the culture of Japan, so I would appreciate more emphasis on that section in the future! Good blogs as always!
Also if you wouldn't mind I'd like a recommendation on a flex nib fountain pen, for use in practicing kana and kanji.
Edit: Cool that you're working to become a bartender! I've wanted to do that at one time in my life. Are you also flipping bottles or just mixing drinks?
On May 31 2013 12:49 hp.Shell wrote: まりもっこり, I really like your blogs! Unfortunately I am learning Japanese as a hobby and I am a little farther past the blog each time. I am learning JPLT 2 kanji on memrise, but I should really go back and study the JPLT 1 first. On memrise, the JPLT 2 is much more popular than 1, so it shows up higher on the list. I thought the beginner's course was 1, and 2 was 2, but unfortunately after learning only some simple kana words I am now being launched into JPLT 2 kanji. It's a huge bump in the learning curve!
So for now I think I will go back to 1. I would really love to get a job as a translator someday. Maybe I would go through JPLT 3 eventually. As of now I'm just trying to learn 10 kanji per day. It seems that the words in JPLT 4, including kanji for numbers 1-10, should be more elementary than 4... but anyway. It's just an awkward area for me to learn on my own without a teacher guiding me every step of the way.
The grammar lessons would help me quite a lot. Also the stroke order images are really nice to have. I use the ones from your topic.
Thanks for these. It's interesting to learn more about the culture of Japan, so I would appreciate more emphasis on that section in the future! Good blogs as always!
Also if you wouldn't mind I'd like a recommendation on a flex nib fountain pen, for use in practicing kana and kanji.
Edit: Cool that you're working to become a bartender! I've wanted to do that at one time in my life. Are you also flipping bottles or just mixing drinks?
The reason the jlpt material looks illogical is you're doing them in the wrong order. Level 5 is the easiest and 1 is the most difficult. Many people stop at level 2 as that's what most study abroad or entry level jobs with a japanese requirement look for.
On May 31 2013 12:49 hp.Shell wrote: まりもっこり, I really like your blogs! Unfortunately I am learning Japanese as a hobby and I am a little farther past the blog each time. I am learning JPLT 2 kanji on memrise, but I should really go back and study the JPLT 1 first. On memrise, the JPLT 2 is much more popular than 1, so it shows up higher on the list. I thought the beginner's course was 1, and 2 was 2, but unfortunately after learning only some simple kana words I am now being launched into JPLT 2 kanji. It's a huge bump in the learning curve!
So for now I think I will go back to 1. I would really love to get a job as a translator someday. Maybe I would go through JPLT 3 eventually. As of now I'm just trying to learn 10 kanji per day. It seems that the words in JPLT 4, including kanji for numbers 1-10, should be more elementary than 4... but anyway. It's just an awkward area for me to learn on my own without a teacher guiding me every step of the way.
The grammar lessons would help me quite a lot. Also the stroke order images are really nice to have. I use the ones from your topic.
Thanks for these. It's interesting to learn more about the culture of Japan, so I would appreciate more emphasis on that section in the future! Good blogs as always!
Also if you wouldn't mind I'd like a recommendation on a flex nib fountain pen, for use in practicing kana and kanji.
Edit: Cool that you're working to become a bartender! I've wanted to do that at one time in my life. Are you also flipping bottles or just mixing drinks?
Is there a particular aspect of the culture you are interested in?
For practicing Kana and Kanji I would not recommend a flex pen. Using a flexible nib adds some real beauty to English, but Japanese actually looks a little awkward with it. The cheapest flex nib fountain pen currently available is probably a Noodler's Konrad or Noodler's Ahab (both $20). They don't always work 100% out of the box, I'm actually having a few issues with mine that I'm going to try to fix soon. The next cheapest flex pens will be $100+ (ie, Namiki Falcon (not true flex, but a soft nib that does have decent give)). That said, I enjoy my Konrad for writing Japanese simply because the line is very fine when you don't add any flex. I try not to flex at all when I write Japanese. However, there are fude nibs which are designed to create lines which resemble brush strokes. I don't have one and have never used one, but that may be something which will interest you. I think Sailor makes a few pens with a fude nib that are relatively cheap IIRC ( < $20). I imagine that they'll produce much more attractive Japanese than a flex nib.
Now this doesn't mean you can't produce beautiful Japanese with a flex nib. This guy has really nice handwriting and he's using a Namiki Falcon. Though he doesn't flex it in a lot of characters - it still looks good when he does.
When I practice writing I actually use a drawing pen with a very fine tip. Ohto Graphic Liner 0.05mm. It might be better to learn them with a larger tip 1mm+ (Don't have anything to support this other than that's how we learn to write as kids, nice and big, probably due to lack of motor skills) but I really like very fine lines so I stick to the thin stuff.
As far as bartending goes, I plan on learning flair to throw in, but for now I'm just learning the methodology of mixing drinks. I've been waiting tables for a few years (excellent pay for a part time job) and the restaurant I'm in now needed another bartender for the summer and they asked me to do it.
And like the above reply stated, the JLPT starts at N5 as the easiest progressing to N1 as the hardest. I'm only at about N3 level, maybe not quite there yet.
This wound up being a longer post than I was hoping for, haha.
Since you're interested in the culture and spelled my name with Hiragana, I thought you might like to see where the name comes from. There's a character from Hokkaido called まりもっこり.
まりも is a ball of green algae.
もっこり is slang for an erection.
Combining the two words you get まりもっこり - this guy: + Show Spoiler +
On May 31 2013 12:49 hp.Shell wrote: まりもっこり, I really like your blogs! Unfortunately I am learning Japanese as a hobby and I am a little farther past the blog each time. I am learning JPLT 2 kanji on memrise, but I should really go back and study the JPLT 1 first. On memrise, the JPLT 2 is much more popular than 1, so it shows up higher on the list. I thought the beginner's course was 1, and 2 was 2, but unfortunately after learning only some simple kana words I am now being launched into JPLT 2 kanji. It's a huge bump in the learning curve!
So for now I think I will go back to 1. I would really love to get a job as a translator someday. Maybe I would go through JPLT 3 eventually. As of now I'm just trying to learn 10 kanji per day. It seems that the words in JPLT 4, including kanji for numbers 1-10, should be more elementary than 4... but anyway. It's just an awkward area for me to learn on my own without a teacher guiding me every step of the way.
The grammar lessons would help me quite a lot. Also the stroke order images are really nice to have. I use the ones from your topic.
Thanks for these. It's interesting to learn more about the culture of Japan, so I would appreciate more emphasis on that section in the future! Good blogs as always!
Also if you wouldn't mind I'd like a recommendation on a flex nib fountain pen, for use in practicing kana and kanji.
Edit: Cool that you're working to become a bartender! I've wanted to do that at one time in my life. Are you also flipping bottles or just mixing drinks?
Yeah... I'm pretty sure you got that upside down. Start with L5, then work your way up to L1. Although, since you're saying numbers are in L4, it seems like Memrise uses the old 4-levels JLPT. It was changed to range from level 5 to 1 a while ago to make the gap between the former 2 and 3 smaller. Numbers should be L5 right now, at least that's where they were in my anki sets which I got from http://www.tanos.co.uk/jlpt/. It also has some more info on the JLPT levels.
So, are you learning just the vocab that is new in L2, excluding the L3 and L4 (in the old system) vocabulary right now? Because that's kinda awkward :D
LOL trying to learn 1 then 2 is brutal. I passed 2 a few years ago but 1 is so much more work =(
Learning katakana is really cool for reading menus and stuff in restaurants since all the english words are in katakana and you can read them without knowing much japanese. Its nice if you're going on a short visit and want to impress your friends.
On May 31 2013 18:16 13_Doomblaze_37 wrote: LOL trying to learn 1 then 2 is brutal. I passed 2 a few years ago but 1 is so much more work =(
Learning katakana is really cool for reading menus and stuff in restaurants since all the english words are in katakana and you can read them without knowing much japanese. Its nice if you're going on a short visit and want to impress your friends.
Same here, passed L2 in 2007 and didn't find it too taxing.. tried L1 in 2009 or such and while I was literally one question away from passing, it felt way too hard, so I never tried again, I think it was luck which allowed me to get so close to passing.
The jump from L3 to L2 is massive, but the jump from L2 to L1 is ridiculous, it's so much harder.
The highest level of JLPT is relatively hard, yes. You don't really need it for everyday life. However, if you are doing university studies in Japan or equivalent, you definitely need it (and more). I passed JLPT1 back in 2009 (when there just were 4 levels).
JLPT1 does have quite a bit of very rare grammar and such, though. There are a few I don't think I've ever seen outside of the test. On the other side, the listening section isn't too hard.
These lessons seem like a very nice introduction to Japanese. Keep up the good work!
On May 31 2013 14:27 Marimokkori wrote: Is there a particular aspect of the culture you are interested in?
Not particularly. But I have heard interesting things about Okinawa. Maybe you could focus on Okinawa and food or living areas.
Thanks for the pen recommendations as always... you're a true fountain pen master lol
As far as bartending goes, I plan on learning flair to throw in, but for now I'm just learning the methodology of mixing drinks. I've been waiting tables for a few years (excellent pay for a part time job) and the restaurant I'm in now needed another bartender for the summer and they asked me to do it.
That seems to be the only way to get a bartending job. Gotta get your foot in the door first. Nice perspective here. Well, I will live vicariously through you for a while if you plan on doing any bartending blogs in the future.
And like the above reply stated, the JLPT starts at N5 as the easiest progressing to N1 as the hardest. I'm only at about N3 level, maybe not quite there yet.
LOL, I was so shocked to read this. It's no wonder I couldn't find any N1 material! I just assumed the "beginner's course" which is slightly past katakana to be N1. So, I have scrapped my N2 learnings for a long time now and I will start with N5.
Since you're interested in the culture and spelled my name with Hiragana, I thought you might like to see where the name comes from. There's a character from Hokkaido called まりもっこり.
まりも is a ball of green algae.
もっこり is slang for an erection.
Combining the two words you get まりもっこり - this guy: + Show Spoiler +
Oh my god I was laughing so hard when I saw this! Is that kid safe? rofl
On May 31 2013 16:18 spinesheath wrote: Yeah... I'm pretty sure you got that upside down. Start with L5, then work your way up to L1. Although, since you're saying numbers are in L4, it seems like Memrise uses the old 4-levels JLPT. It was changed to range from level 5 to 1 a while ago to make the gap between the former 2 and 3 smaller. Numbers should be L5 right now, at least that's where they were in my anki sets which I got from http://www.tanos.co.uk/jlpt/. It also has some more info on the JLPT levels.
So, are you learning just the vocab that is new in L2, excluding the L3 and L4 (in the old system) vocabulary right now? Because that's kinda awkward :D
Since you're interested in the culture and spelled my name with Hiragana, I thought you might like to see where the name comes from. There's a character from Hokkaido called まりもっこり.
Nice lesson, I enjoy reading these. Culturally, katakana was also used for women's names for a time, so you can see many older women of a specific age with katakana first names. They often end in ko, looking like フミ子 and the like.
Since you're interested in the culture and spelled my name with Hiragana, I thought you might like to see where the name comes from. There's a character from Hokkaido called まりもっこり.
まりも is a ball of green algae.
So this is the "moss head" of One Piece? marimo
I have no idea. I've never watched/read One Piece.
On June 02 2013 21:42 Manifesto7 wrote: Nice lesson, I enjoy reading these. Culturally, katakana was also used for women's names for a time, so you can see many older women of a specific age with katakana first names. They often end in ko, looking like フミ子 and the like.
I never knew women used to use Katakana for their names, pretty interesting, thanks.
I have to work a double tomorrow, but have Wednesday off - should be posting a new entry then.
hehe I just went for a 2 week holiday in fukuoka and memorised all the katakana/hiragana (briefly) on the plane... after practicing reading every thing I could wherever I went I'm pretty happy with the speed of my progress. I definitely struggled with things like the small tsu... the weird positions of the ten tens on signs and handwriting styles in general... also how similar so and 'n' are in katakana except for the direction of the second stroke...
I initially came with a stronger knowledge of hiragana... but found katakana used on all the billboards/food names that it was impossible to get away with not knowing well.
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