Are you herbivorous or carnivorous? ~Trendy Japanese~

Minasan konnichiwa!

I want to tell you about ‘trendy Japanese’. That doesn’t mean fashions or music! I’m talking about language.

We Japanese love making up new words or phrases that are trendy for a while, but quickly go out of fashion. They’re usually quite funny too.

Here are some to start with.

草食系男子
Sōshoku-kei danshi – men who are not aggressive towards career, love or sex. Tend to be modern, neat and posh guys

肉食系男子
Nikushoku-kei danshi – who are opposite to "Sōshoku-kei danshi"; some people may say it's a traditional Japanese men..(!?)

Actually, sōshoku-kei danshi literally means “herbivorous male”! And yes, nikushoku-kei danshi means “carnivorous male”. But it’s nothing to do with their eating habits. It’s more their attitude to life.

“Herbivorous men” are more attractive to girls in Japan today. It’s because they’re less demanding; the modern Japanese woman wants to be free to live her life as she pleases.

And now, there’s a new word for these women too:

肉食女子
Nikushoku joshi – carnivorous females! Run for cover, guys!

Nowadays, Japanese women are much more proactive in their love lives as well as their careers. They seem to be inspired by media images like the four women in “Sex and the City”.

And there’s another type of “carnivorous female”:

ホルモン女子
Horumon joshi – “yakiniku girl” (horumon (=hormone/ organ meat) is another word for yakiniku)

These are women who love eating at yakiniku (barbecued beef) restaurants and don’t mind eating alone there. These used to be places for middle aged salary-men or company employees. But now, to meet increasing demand from “carnivorous females”, some yakiniku (barbecued beef) restaurants have rearranged their interiors so that single customers (“o-hitori-sama”), particularly female ones, can eat there alone.

Here are related articles in Japanese.
http://www.j-cast.com/2009/01/02032952.html
http://opi-rina.chunichi.co.jp/topic/20100519-1.html

Seems like it’s lonely being a meat-eater in Japan!
Ah, Yakiniku tabetai!  (I wanna eat Yakiniku!)

More trendy words coming soon.

Jaa ne!

–Kazue

Minasan konnichiwa!

I just love old Japanese proverbs. Some of them are so funny! So I’m going to introduce the best ones here.

Here’s one of my favorites:

サルも木から落ちる

Saru-mo ki-kara ochiru

“Even monkeys fall out of trees!”



Monkeys aren’t supposed to fall out of trees. They’re supposed to know what they’re doing! But you know – even monkeys fall out of trees?

Got it? It’s what people say when someone has made a mistake they’re not expected to make.

In English, people say “Well… No one’s perfect” Or “We all make mistakes.” But I prefer that mental image of a monkey falling out of a tree. What would the other monkeys say to make it feel better?

Here’s another one that means almost the same thing:

弘法にも筆の誤り

Kōbō nimo fude no ayamari


“Even (the famous calligrapher) Kobo (Taishi) made mistakes with the brush”

It’s not so funny, is it?

If you look these up in a dictionary, you might find this one in English:

“Even Homer sometimes nods”

But I don’t think you would ever say this – would you??

I’d rather think of that monkey falling out of its tree.





More funny Japanese proverbs coming soon!

Jaa mata ne

–Kazue

Japanese Signboards

Minasan konnichiwa!



Japanese signboards are fascinating and attract a lot of photographers from overseas. The best ones are huge, three-dimensional signs that look more like characters in a manga.

This is probably the most famous one of all. It’s a sign for a restaurant called Kani Dōraku in Dōtonbori, Osaka. Can you guess what the restaurant sells…?



…YES! It’s a crab restaurant! The sign is six meters across, and would you believe, the legs on the crab actually move! It was built in 1960 and is still moving!!

I’m fascinated by Japanese signboards as well. When they’re cute, I just have to stop and kiss them.



Want to know who I’m kissing here?



The answer is “kaaru ojisan”
(Ojisan means, middle aged man)

Kawaii ne?
Cute, isn’t it?

Actually, I was not kissing him, I was trying to get the snack from him...

Jaa mata ne!

P.S. The answer of the last post is "koin landorii": coin laundry (=laundromat).
:)

–Kazue

Scenery in my hometown

Minasan konnichiwa!

Ogenki desu ka?
Watashi wa ima nihon no jikka ni imasu.
Now I'm in Japan, in my home town (Saitama).

The weather here is perfect past three days, nice, crisp, no clouds.
Totemo ii tenki de, kimochi ga iidesu.
It's been very nice weather and feel good.

Atsu sugizu, samu sugizu.
Not too hot or too cold.

Kono shashin wa uchi no kinjo desu.
This photo is taken in my neighborhood.



Tanbo - rice paddy.

My home town is a residential area and about 1hrs away from Tokyo by train.

Totemo shizuka desu. Very quiet.

Kyoo wa chotto kinjo o sanpo shimashita.

I took a walk in my neighborhood.

I just saw this signboard along the way.

Can you guess what shop is this?



Hehehe, if you cannot guess, please  learn Japanese Katakana!

http://learnjapanese123.com/HiraganaKatakana

You can download pdf sample textbook and practice Japanese from the above link too.

Kotae wa tsugi no blog post de!
I'll show you the answer in the next blog post :)

Mata ne!

Kazue

Japanese Language Tips: “ね:ne”

Minasan konnichiwa!





Have you heard Japanese people saying “ne?” at the end of a sentence – even when they’re speaking English?

Here are some examples:

––This is your tax form, ne?

––You understand, ne?



Crazy! But what’s it for?

You’ll see from this conversation:

A: Sumimasen, B-san no denwa bangō wa nan-ban desu ka?

B: 738-2910 desu.

A: 738-2910 desu ne?

B: Hai, sō desu.

---

A: Excuse me, B, what’s your telephone number?

B: It’s 738-2910.

A: 738-2910?

B: Yes, that’s right.

So here, “ne” is used to confirm that you heard something correctly, especially when you’re certain you’ve got it right.

“Ne” is also used to express a shared feeling or emotion, or to seek a person’s agreement.

A: Ii tenki desu ne.

B: Sō desu ne.

---

A: It’s nice weather, isn’t it?

B: Yes, it is. (indeed).

“ne” is quite close to English “isn’t it”, or “yes?”, or “OK?” at the end of a sentence.

Actually, if you listen carefully, you’ll even hear me saying it on my Japanese video course!   http://learnjapanese123.com/conversation You'll find a sample video there.

In fact, you’ll hear it everywhere you go in Japan. One little word to express all those things – Benri desu ne! (Convenient, isn’t it!)

Dewa, mata ne! (See you again – OK!)

–Kazue

Dekoboko friends

Minasan konnichiwa!

Kyoo no bideo wa 凸凹(deko boko) friends desu!

Totemo kawaii desu! zehi mite kudasai.
It's very cute, please watch it!


It has been broadcasting on NHK kyooiku
*Kyooiku means education
(Nippon Hoosoo Kyoku -Japan broadcasting corporation
-a government-run broadcasting) since 2002.

It's an animation for kids though, fun to watch for adults too :)



They always start with knocking door twice "knock knock",
in Japanese "トントン-ton ton".

(Btw, Japanese always knock twice when knock a door.)

Then, each  funny character appears and introduce oneself.

みなさんは どのキャラクターが すきですか？
Which character do you like?

I like "kuishinbon" -greedy hog.
He says, "mata kuru yo" -I'll come again- when he leaves.

.

.

Mata kuru yo.
Jaa ne!

-Kazue

If you cannot see -> にほんご

Minasan konnichiwa.

Hi, I'm just wondering if you see Japanese letters, such as
この日本語見える？

If you cannot view Japanese above, you need to change the setting of your browser. Please follow the instruction below:

Internet Explorer:
1. Right click then choose "Encoding"
2. Select "Japanese (Auto Select)"

For Firefox or Netscape
1. Go to "View" on the top and select "Character Encoding",
2. Choose "Japanese" or
Choose "Auto-Detect", and then "Japanese"

Hope you can see Japanese letters and learn something from this blog :)

Ja mata ne!
-Kazue

How to socialize with Japanese? -first time meeting-

Minasan Ohisashiburi desu. (long time no see, everyone)

Ogenki desu ka?

I’m sorry for not being updated for a while.

I conducted a seminar this week and I had been busy for preparing for it... (iiwake desu ne.. -am I excusing? hehe sorry..)

Today I’d like to introduce you one Japanese business tip from the seminar, about do and don’t while socializing with Japanese.

First step:

Here are the things you can talk about in the first time meeting. –Just general topics.

Onamae wa? What’s your name?

Oshigoto wa? What’s your job?

Osumai wa? Where do you live?

gokazoku wa? How’s your family?

goshusshin wa? Where are you from?

Building a good relationship with Japanese in business

Generally, it takes longer time to build a good relationship with Japanese compared to that in other countries. There are some topics you want to avoid in the first time meeting. Such as..

gokekkon wa? (Are you married?)

Okosan wa? (Do you have any children?)

Otoshi wa? (= oikutsu desu ka? / nan-sai desu ka? – How old are you?)

If you ask such questions, normally Japanese will give you a wry smile.

Actually it depends, as younger generations tend to be more open and casual, but the chances are still high. If you want to ask such questions, you may want to become a volunteer yourself first, such as marital status -but not in the first meeting- and wait until they open up to you.

hehe, is it "mendokusai?" -bothersome?

Smile and get used to it :)



Have a great friendship with Japanese!

Jaa mata ne!

Kazue

Conversational Japanese Video Course Launched!

Minasan Konnichiwa!

Today, I have a very special announcement.

The Conversational Japanese Video Course is just launched!

Please check this out!

http://learnjapanese123.com/conversation

Now it comes with 2 irresistible bonuses!
So please don't miss out this opportunity!

You might probably wonder...
"So What about the course?"

"What are the irresistable bonuses?"

Let's find them out!

http://learnjapanese123.com/conversation

Yoroshiku onegai shimasu!

-Kazue

moshi moshi

Minasan konnichiwa!
Kazue desu.

Have you heard this phrase “moshi moshi”

Moshi moshi is like “Hello”, used in a telephone conversation.

“moshi moshi, ano.. terebi asahi desu ka?”  -excuse me, (eh..) Is this Asahi TV?   - "Ano… " is a hesitation.

However, in an office, you’re supposed to say “Hai, --(co. name) no ( your name) desu.”.

“Moshi moshi"  is too casual in a business situation.

During casual conversation, we sometimes say “moshi moshi” for the meaning of  “are you listening me?” ironically.

Also, “moshi moshi” has a meaning of “Hello, excuse me” when you talk to a stranger.

Let's learn practical Japanese!

Dewa mata!

Kazue

chotto...

Minasan Konnichiwa!

Ogenki desu ka?

Kyoo wa totemo suzushii desu!

It’s very cooling here now.

Today, I’d like to talk about a phrase “chotto”

If you learnt Japanese before, you might heard a phrase “chotto...”

So what is chotto means?

Its literal meaning is “a little” but chotto can be used in different way too.

1. To get attention:

e.g. chotto!  Excuse me!, Lesten! (very informal, used when angry)

*sumimasen and chotto are commonly used together.

e.g. sumimasen, chotto iidesu ka?  -Excuse me, attention please!.

2. Hesitation

e.g. chotto sumimasen.  Sorry to disturb you..

3. Little

e.g. miruku o chotto irete kudasai. 　Please add a little milk.

e.g. sumimasen, ima chotto iidesu ka?  Excuse me, do you have a minute now?

4. Very (negative)

e.g. Uu-n chotto muzukashii desu ne.  hmmm.. it sounds a bit difficult.

(Actually it could be “very difficult” and they often say “chotto muzukashii” with very difficult facial expression.

5. No.

e.g. A: eega o mimasen ka?  Would you like to watch movie?

B: Sumimasen, chotto…  Sorry, no.

To avoid saying exact meaning, there are varieties of expressions in Japanese.

Such as gurai(about), goro(about, around), hodo(about), tabun(maybe), etc. In addition, they like to say in a roundabout sort of way, like “Probably it seems that they say ..” if it’s literally translated into English.

They use vague expressions often because they don’t want to lose the other party’s face, as well as they try to avoid unnecessary argument especially when they have to say something negative.

Is it confusing? or interesting? It’s a culture.

You can learn such subtle cultural and linguistic differences in my Conversational Video Course!

Ja, mata ne.

-Kazue

Let's learn ひらがな(Hiragana) & カタカナ(Katakana)!

みなさん、こんにちは！
Minasan konnichiwa!

Do you know what is Hiragana (ひらがな) and Katakana (かたかな)?
Both are the original Japanese letters for reading and writing.
Japanese learn these letters in their primary schools.
If you walk in Japanese streets, you'll see these letters everywhere.

And it's vital to learn these Hiragana and Katakana when you visit Japan because most of the sign boards are written in Japanese!

Today I would like to inform you my new product:

Complete Hiragana & Katakana Workbooks with Video Tutorials

If you are keen to learn Japanese reading and writing, Please click the above link!

You might say, "Why do I have to buy it from you?"

The reason is, the free websites Hiragana lessons you see on internet have a lot of mistakes and  none of them are not complete or effective.

I don't want you to waster your precious time.
That's why I spent 100s of hours to create this material.

If you learn from this Complete Hiragana & Katakana Workbooks with step-by-step Video tutorials, you'll get a clear idea and will begin to read and write Japanese with confidence in a week.

Here is a demo video:


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Let's take a short cut in learning ひらがな Hiragana and カタカナ Katakana!
Learn more detail on:
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- かずえ

elevator girl

Why don’t Japanese look me in the eyes?

In Japanese society, looking at someone directly is sometimes considered as showing strong hostility, especially towards to your seniors (However, it matters what you want to communicate e.g. a questioning look, a puzzled look, a disagreeing look. Sometimes we need to look directly at somebody to convey these). This can be traced back to the strict class system during Edo period (1600-1867)

For a job interview, we are advised to look around the tie area of the interviewer. Of course, we should look at the interviewer’s eyes sometimes, but not for too long.

Have you noticed that elevator girl?  (a girl who presses the floor buttons for you at high-class department stores, such as Mitsukoshi) They normally wear a wide-brimmed hat so that they can avoid direct eye contact with customers.

Anyhow Japanese are generally shy and not used to looking at the opponents’ eyes directly for long time. So please don’t worry even if they seem not to be looking at you. They are still listening to you!

doozo oagari kudasai

どうぞお上がりください。: doozo oagari kudasai.
literal translation is "please go up".

What is that mean?

It's "Please come in"

(This phrase is for your guests at home, not  at office.)

Why is that?
Because of...

the structure of genkan (entrance space) of a house. This genkan space is for taking off your shoes.
As you see, inside of the house is one step higher than the area connected to outside.

This genkan space is very useful for changing shoes to slippers (you can sit and change if necessary.)  Also, you can keep the house clean). In case of rain, you can open or close your umbrella inside the house so that you won't get wet.

After taking off your shoes, you have to turn your shoes back so that you can put it on smoothly when you go out (as well as it looks better).

You can learn this kind of Japanese culture in my conversational Japanese Course.  http://learnjapanese123.com/conversation

Dewa mata!
-Kazue

omu soba

Looks delicious?
or yacky?
No No, this is extremely delicious. Totemo oishii desu.

This is omu-soba I had in Osaka.  Yakisoba (fried noodle) is in this omelet.
Actually, Osaka is a famous place for Okonomi-yaki, a Japanese pancake (cabbage, egg, flour, yam, plus whatever your favorite ingredients such as mochi (sticky rice cake), cheese, shrimp, pork, etc.)
This time, I had this omu-soba and tomato okonomi-yaki. :) kore mo oishikatta! (This one was also delicious)

Basically, there are two types of Okonomi-yaki: Osaka style and Hiroshima style. Osaka one mix all ingredients before grilling on teppan (heated iron plate) On the other hand, Hiroshima-style's ingredients are layered rather than mixed together.

By the way, Osaka is the place to eat. There are so many restaurants and food stalls along the streets.

The photo above is a famous icon in dooton-bori street. His name is Kuidaore Taro. Kuidaore means " eat until you  knocked out"
A company that used own this doll closed down few years ago, and now it's sold to photo shop for tourists. It's pity that we cannot take photo with Taro.

Today's Vocabulary

おいしい oishii  : delicious

うまい　umai : delicious ("damn good", but not decent way to say)

-Kazue

http://learnjapanese123.com 

oikura desu ka?

What if you are at a shop and cannot find a price tag, what to do?

Yes, you need to ask the price. How?

Sumimasen, ikura desu ka? or more decently,
Sumimasen, oikura desu ka?

What is this "o" in front of "ikura"?
This "o" is a prefix showing politeness. It just sounds nicer.
This "o" can attach to most of Japanese words, but not all of them.

Examples:
kane -> okane money
heya -> oheya room
sushi -> osushi sushi
miyage -> omiyage souvenir
denwa -> odenwa telephone

Also, you cannot attach "o" to foreign words.
Thus, we don't say "okonpyuutaa"(computer) or "otakushii" (taxi)

Some words start with "o", but it doesn't mean polite or not.
e.g.  ohayoo (good morning). However, "hayoo" doesn't make sense.

dewa mata!
-Kazue
http://learnjapanese123.com

ロマンスの神様 ~God of romance~

On yesterday's blog, I mentioned about shrine for love. So it reminds me this song.  ロマンスの神様　romansu no kamisama: God of romance.
A bit old but so popular that you'll hear this song in many places in Japan, especially during winter.

Here is a small Japanese lesson:
~♪ romansu no kamisama, kono hito deshoo ka?♪~

~deshoo ka? : (I'm) wondering if ~
kono hito: this person
Thus, this sentence means, "I'm wondering if this person (is Mr. right)."

other examples:
Ashita wa ame deshoo ka? : Wondering if it's going to rain tomorrow.
Kare wa kuru deshoo ka? : Wondering if he comes.

dewa mata! :)
-Kazue
Learn Japanese Extremely fast -> http://learnjapanese123.com

Shrine for love

There are more than 81,000 shrines in Japan.
What a surprise!  During new year days, Japanese people visit shrine(s) for a prayer.
About Jinja (Shinto Shrine ->http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto_shrine

Each shrine has its own specialty(ies). Shrines  for business, promotion, study, family safe, fertility, easy labor, health, wealth, ample harvest, traffic safety, ridding of bad luck, etc.
If you have any particular wishes, you go to its specialized shrine.

The photo below is a famous Jinja, Ikuta jinja, in Kobe. This shrine is for love (romance). Oh! so many people were queuing up. I missed a chance to offer a prayer with a vow. haha.
By the way, Japanese like to wear dark and monotonous color outfit.. including me.. I just noticed.



One of the fun parts of visiting shrine is food!
There are many food stalls along the roadside.

My friends got a grilled squid.
- Yaki ika-.  It was delicious. Oishi katta!

-Kazue

駅弁 eki ben

Bento sold at station, called eki ben.

The guy in the right was selling eki ben at Hakodate sta. in Hokkaido when I visit there last year end.

In Japan, you can find so many kinds of eki ben. Eating eki ben when you visit the region is one of the attractions of the trip. Eki ben is normally made with ingredients which are particular in the region.

My favorite eki ben is Tooge no kamameshi --> http://eki-ben.web.infoseek.co.jp/10gunma_yokokama.htm#yokokama

Kamameshi is "rice cooked with vegetables and chicken in a small individual pot". I remember I ate this tooge no kamameshi when I was young. In winters, my family used to go ski by a train, and it stops at Yokokawa sta. for about 5mins and people rush to the platform to buy this kamameshi. It was kind a thrilling and enjoyable moment. :)

Nowadays, you can buy many kinds of eki ben at department store. haha.
New Vocab:
駅弁 えきべん box lunch sold at railway stations
駅　えき eki: station
弁当　べんとう bentoo: box lunch (it not necessary to be a "lunch" though);p

-Kazue
Learn Japanese Effectively: http://learnjapanese123.com

How to say "What time is good for you?"

Vocabs:
itsu : when
ii : good
itsu ga ii ? : when is good for you?
nan ji : what time

nanji ga ii? : what time is good for you?
- ji wa doo? : how about -- o'clock?
sanji wa doo? : how about 3 o'clock?

You can learn casual Japanese like above from
http://learnjapanese123.com/conversation

Hope you like it :)