The purpose of this Blog is to help you learn how to speak Japanese and become familiar not only with the Japanese language but also with Japanese culture. Master simple but useful Japanese words/phrases that Japanese people use in everyday life!
Disclaimer: I make reasonable efforts to provide you with correct information, but inaccuracies and errors may be inevitable. Please use the information provided on this site with your own responsibilities.
Thank you for visiting Speak Real Japanese. Aside from memorizing complicated Japanese alphabets, speaking Japanese is not as hard as you would think. On this Blog, I'll give you simple Japanese lessons. I hope you will become familiar with the Japanese language and our culture.
This blog is part of the Web site SpeakRealJapanese.com, launched on August 26, 2005. Click the URL below:
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About Me:
I'm a native Japanese speaker living in a city near Tokyo. My interests are learning languages, playing the guitar, listening to music, and watching movies.
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First of all I want to say congratulations to Italians upon their first World Cup championship in 24 years. I couldn't watch the final match, but what happened to Zidane? He appeared very angry at the Italian defender Marco in the pictures I saw on the Internet. Maybe Marco said something insulting to Zidane? Even if Marco did so, Zidane shouldn't have attacked him. It's kind of sad to see Zidane's career end this way, for I always liked watching his amazing soccer skills.
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Here are some useful Japanese words:
Zidane wa sugoi. (in romaji) ジダン はすごい。 (in kana) ジダンは凄い。 (in kana and kanji) (Zidane is awesome.) (English translation)
Zidane wa okotta. ジダンはおこった。 ジダンは怒った。 (Zidane got angry.)
*okoru = おこる = 怒る = get angry
Zidane wa ninki ga aru. ジダンはにんきがある。 ジダンは人気がある。 (Zidane is popular.)
Zidane wa yu(u)mei da. ジダンはゆうめいだ。 ジダンは有名だ。 (Zidane is famous.)
France wa hontouni yoku tatakatta. フランスはほんとうによくたたかった。 フランスは本当によく戦った。 (France played really well.)
This time, we will be learning the months of the year in Japanese.
January = ichi gatsu, いちがつ, 一月, or 1月
February = ni gatsu, にがつ, 二月 or 2月
March = san gatsu, さんがつ, 三月, or 3月
April = shi gatsu, しがつ, 四月, or 4月
May = go gatu, ごがつ, 五月, or 5月
June = roku gatsu, ろくがつ, 六月, or 6月
July = shichi gatsu, しちがつ, 七月, or 7月
August = hachi gatsu, はちがつ, 八月, or 8月
September = ku gatsu, くがつ, 九月, or 9月
October = ju(u) gatsu, じゅうがつ, 十月, or 10月
November = ju-ichi gatsu, じゅういちがつ, 十一月, or 11月
December = ju-ni gatsu, じゅうにがつ, 十二月 or 12月
The first one is written in romaji, the second in hiragana, the third in kanji, and the last in Arabic numerals and kanji mixed. We normally use the third and the last scripts. "Gatsu (月)" means month. All you need to remember is numbers and gatsu. It's simple, isn't it?
Here are some usage examples: Ichigatsu wa samui desu. 一月は寒いです。 It's cold (samui, さむい, or 寒い) in January (一月).
Hachigatsu wa atsui desu. "八月は暑いです。 It's hot （atsui, あつい, 暑い) in August (八月).
The translation for the word season is kisetsu, きせつ, or 季節.
Besides the four seasons, we have a rainy season called "tsuyu."
5) tsuyu, つゆ, or 梅雨
It's tsuyu (梅雨) in Japan now; we've had lots of rain (雨) for the past few weeks. It's depressing (ゆううつ). Tsuyu (梅雨) will end next month, and the muggy summer (むしあつい夏) will come.
Well, Japan tied Croatia, 0-0, in the World Cup soccer game Sunday. The game was pretty exciting, especially when Kawaguchi made an excellent save on a penalty kick, but I wondered why the Japanese strikers were so hesitant to shoot the ball at the goal. They have to shoot the ball into the goal instead of passing it in order to win the game. I'm a llittle jealous of teams like England and Germany because they have great forwards. Anyway, Japan is going to face Brazil in 17 hours or so, but I'm pessimistic about the game. How could Japan make a goal against the World Champion? I think I am just going to enjoy the game and try not to expect too much from Team Japan.
The word of the week:
Tanoshimu たのしむ 楽しむ
meaning:
enjoy; have fun
Pronunciation:
This word is pronounced like "tah-noh-shee-moo." Read aloud the word several times. Try to articulate each vowel equally. Then, shorten all the vowel sounds and say the word quickly.
Tips:
Some of you may find the following phrases useful:
Eiga wo tanoshimu えいがをたのしむ 映画を楽しむ (enjoy movies)
Kanojo wa eiga wo tanoshinda. かのじょはえいがをたのしんだ。 彼女は映画を楽しんだ。 (She enjoyed the movie.)
Watashi wa soccer no shiai wo tanoshinda. わたしはサッカーのしあいをたのしんだ。 私はサッカーの試合を楽しんだ。 (I enjoyed the soccer game.)
Watashi wa kinou concert wo tanoshinda. わたしはきのうコンサートをたのしんだ。 私は昨日コンサートを楽しんだ。 (I enjoyed the concert yesterday.)
I am disappointed about the result of last night's soccer game, Japan vs. Australia. That was a must-win game for Japan in order to advance to top sixteen, but we lost miserably. Japan played pretty well for the first 45 minutes; Japan was leading 1-0. But after the half time, most of the Japanese players got so slow (because of the heat, I guess) that Japan lost three goals in the last ten minutes. That was crazy. Now Japan has to beat both Brazil and Croatia. Unfortunately, it seems to be next to impossible. If Japan loses the next game, I'll be rooting for Germany.
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The phrase of the week:
Mijime na kibun desu. みじめなきぶんです。 (in hiragana) 惨めな気分です。 (hiragana and kanji mixed)
Meaning:
I feel miserable.
pronunciation:
"Mijime na" is pronounced like "mee-jee-meh nah." This part means miserable. Shorten the vowels. The rest of the phrase is pronounced like "ki-bun des" with a slight stress on "ki."
Tip:
Here are usage examples:
mijime na seikatsu みじめなせいかつ 惨めな生活 (a miserable life)
mijime na kurashi wo suru みじめなくらしをする 惨めな暮らしをする (to live a miserable life)
I'm sorry it took such a long time to update the blog. My life's been hectic lately.
Well, the World Cup Soccer will soon take place in Germany. I'm jealous of those who get to go to Germany and watch games! I guess I'll just stay in, sit in front of the TV set, and root for Japan. I think it's going to be very tough for the Japan team to advance to the tournament, as they have to face Brazil and Croatia in the first league tournament. I am sure that the Australian team is strong too. I'd really love it if the Japan team beats Brazil, because people arround the world think Japan can't stand a chance of taking Brazil.
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The phrase of the week:
Dohshita no?
Meaning:
What's the matter?
Pronunciation:
This phrase usually gets three beats. Say, "doh-shita no" with a slight stress on the first syllable (doh). "Shita" is pronounced like "shee-tah" but the vowels should be very short.
Tip:
To say, "What's the matter with you [him / her], place "Kimi [kare / kanojo] in front of the phrase.
Did you know that good many drivers are distracted from driving because they are picking their noses? I read about this gross but amusing fact in an online article months ago. Wouldn't it really awful if you got involved in a car accident because of a nose-picking driver? I think it's wise to check your rearview mirrow often and to be watchful for those mucus people while operating the vehicle.
Anyway, here's the word of the week:
hana-kuso
Meaning:
booger; nasal mucus; snot
Pronunciation:
Pronouncing "hana-kuso" is easy. Repeat, "hah-nah-koo-soh" slowly several times, and then shorten all vowels and say the word more quickly.
Tip:
The word "hana-kuso" is slang. If (you think) you are a decent person, you may want to avoid using it. The word itself is not offensive, but if you say it to somebody, he or she may get angry.
Today is the last day of the Golden Week, the longest national holidays in Japan. The Golden Week starts on April 29. According to the news I saw on TV, more than a half million Japanese people traveled overseas during the last 9 days. Those people must be pretty rich.
I didn't do anything exciting during the Golden Week. I just stayed home, picked my guitar, watched baseball on TV, browsed Web sites, and worked a little. I could have gone to Tokyo or somwhere, but I wanted to save money for the future.
Anyway, here's the phrase of the week.
Arigatou
Meaning:
Thank you.
Pronunciation:
This phrase is pronounced like "ah-ree-gah-toh." Try to pronounce each syllable clearly and read the word aloud slowly.
Tip:
If you would like to speak politely, add "gozaimasu."
Arigatou gozaimasu.
Here are some useful phrases:
Tasukete kurete arigatou gozaimasu. (Thank you for your help.)
Someone asked me on which syllable of a Japanese word to put the stress. I've received similar comments before, so it seems that some people are at a loss where to put the stress when trying to pronounce a Japanese word. Please allow me to briefly explain the pronunciation of Japanese words.
In English, you learn where to place the stress when coming across a new word. For example, take a look at the word atrabilious. I'm sure most of you know this word, but let's suppose it's new to you. To pronounce atrabilious, you probably look it up in a dictionary and learn where to put the stress(es). In this case, the first and third syllables need to be accented. Then, you can pronounce atrabilious correctly.
In Japanese, on the other hand, you don't really need to learn where to place the stress when learning a new word. That's because pronoucing a Japanese word is kind of like reading alphabets. When you read a chunk of alphabets like "BBCCDDEEKKTTPPDDSSTTBDBD," where would you put the stresses? You don't really know, right? But as long as you pronounce each alphabet clearly, people will understand you.
Now, let's have a look at the Japanese word we learned last time, which is muzukashii. I said that this word is pronounced like "moo-zoo-kah-shee." Where to place the stress? I don't really know. It's depends on how the word is used in a sentence. For this reason, if you are thinking about the pronunciation of muzukashii alone, you don't need to learn which syllable(s) to emphasize. (*If you are trying to read a sentence, it's a different story. )
If a word is written in Romaji, Hiragana, or Katakana, Japanese people can almost always read the word correctly whether or not it's a new word. For example, can a Japanese kid pronounce "こちらかつしかく かめありこうえんまえ はしゅつじょ(kochirakatsushikaku kamearikouenmae hashutsujo)"? The answer is yes. And easily. They don't need to know the stresses or anything. They can pronounce this phrase because they know how to pronounce the syllables. In a nutshell, you should be able to pronounce any Japanese word as long as you know how to pronounce all the Japanese syllables. Remember that every rule has its exception, and note that I'm not talking about reading kanji, or Chinese characters here. One of the exceptions is words like kaki and hashi. These words you have to learn which syllable to emphasize. "KAki" means "牡蠣(oyster)" while "kaKI" means "柿（Japanese persimmon）." (The catipalized letters are stressed here.)
There's one thing, however, I need to point out. We do emphasize certain syllables when talking or reading a passage aloud. Also, syllables get different (musical) tones. Some vowels are shortend while some are lengthen. These charactaristics I can't explain very well on the site. After all, you need to listen to the sound of Japanese and to have a conversation with a Japanese if you are very serious about acquiring the native-like pronunciation of Japanese.
The purpose of this Blog is to give beginners the basic ideas of Japanese for FREE. You can't expect too much from me. Please understand this point.
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--- P.S. I am not going to argue with anybody over how I teach and stuff. It may sound like I'm a selfish guy, but I just don't like to argue. Thank you.
