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あります versus います Posted by Ginny on Dec 28, 2009
あります can be used to indicate that something “is” or “exists” at a certain location. For example, あそこ に びょういん が あります = There’s a hospital over there. (あそこ = over there. に = ni particle. びょういん = hospital. が = ga particle. あります = there is.) There are a couple of things to note here. The が particle…
The へ Particle Posted by Ginny on Dec 25, 2009
The へ particle indicates that one is heading or setting out to head towards a goal or direction. The へ particle is often confused with the に particle and for a good reason. The へ and に particle can somtimes be interchangeable and yet produce a slighly different meaning. に is used when the destination…
Top Ranking Japanese Universities Posted by Ginny on Dec 22, 2009
As the New Year approaches, maybe you’ve already made some new resolutions for the coming year. Perhaps one of your resolutions is to learn the Japanese language, or to travel to Japan. Have you thought about applying to a Japanese university in an effort to learn Japanese or live in Japan? If so, here is…
“Place/Items” Vocabulary Posted by Ginny on Dec 19, 2009
The last two posts described how to talk about the location of places and items in Japanese. Here are some vocabulary words that you can insert within the formula that was mentioned in the last two posts. いえ (家) : home, house うち : home, house えき (駅) : station おしる : castle おてら (お寺)…
Wagashi Posted by Ginny on Dec 16, 2009
わがし is a term used to describe traditional Japanese confectionary. Today’s we’ll look at four different types of わがし. あんみつ is a Japanese dessert composed of white translucent jelly made from seaweed. A small pot of sweet black syrup called みつ is poured over the jelly. Usually a sweet bean paste called あんこ and some…
Describing Where Things Are Part 2 Posted by Ginny on Dec 13, 2009
となり – next to となり can only be used when the two places/items being stated are in the same category. When the two places/items are in contrast, よこ are used. For example, it sounds better when you say, “でんわ は ねこ の よこ です“. (でんわ = telephone. は = topic marking particle. ねこ = cat. の = no particle. よこ…
Describing Where Things Are Located Posted by Ginny on Dec 10, 2009
First let’s take a look at these location words: ここ – right here そこ – right there あそこ – over there なか – inside うえ – on/above した – under/beneath まえ – in front of うしろ – behind みぎ – right ひだり – left そば – near ちかく – near The formula for describing the…