Archive for October, 2009
Scary Japanese Films Posted by Ginny on Oct 31, 2009
This Halloween, why not take the time to watch some scary Japanese movies? Here are some movie titles to help you get started: リング – Ring. Is about a cursed tape that kills the person who views it. Will there be a way to stop the curse, or will it be doomed to continue forever?…
Japanese Ghosts Posted by Ginny on Oct 28, 2009
Generally speaking ゆうれい means ‘ghost’ in Japanese. However, there is a slightly negative connotation with the word ゆうれい. The word ゆうれい could imply a number of things such as: the ghost had died violently or suddenly, the ghost has some kind of grudge or unfullfilled desires of revenge, or the ghost had not received proper burial…
Health and Sports Day Posted by Ginny on Oct 25, 2009
体育の日 (Taiiku no Hi) is Health and Sports Day in Japan. 体育の日 is held in October to commemorate the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. To avoid the summer rains, Health and Sports Day is held in October, which is a fairly sunny month in Japan. Usually 体育の日 is held the second Monday of October, so…
The Past Negative Posted by Ginny on Oct 22, 2009
When forming the past negative polite tense, add the ending ませんでした to the conjugated stem of the verb. It’s helpful to know the present polite negative, because knowing how the present polite negative endings can help form the past polite negative. For example, the verb しゃべる (to chatter) in the present polite negative is しゃべりません…
Forming the Past Tense Posted by Ginny on Oct 19, 2009
The affirmative past tense in Japanese is formed by adding ました to the root stem of the verb. The best way to form the past tense is by remembering the formation of the present tense of the verb, leave off the ending, and add ました. For example, the present tense affirmative of かえる (to return) is…
で Particle Posted by Ginny on Oct 16, 2009
The で particle indicates where the action takes place. Take a look at this example: きっさてん で コーヒー を のみます. (きっさてん = cafe. で = location marking particle ‘de’. コーヒー = coffee. を = direct object marking particle ‘wo’. のみます = polite present tense verb ‘drink’.) In English, this sentence would mean, ‘[I] drink coffee at a cafe.’ The…
The を Particle Posted by Ginny on Oct 13, 2009
The を particle is the direct object particle. The を particle is used to indicate that the word is the direct object of the verb. For instance, おちゃ を のみます shows that おちゃ is the direct object of the verb のみます. (おちゃ = ocha. を = o. のみます = nomimas.) (おちゃ = tea. を = direct object…