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Japanese Coins Posted by Ginny on Jun 16, 2009
¥1. Is equal to a penny. Has a tree on one side and the number 1 on the other side. ¥5. Is about the worth of a nickel. Has a rice grain on one side and the year it was minted on the other side. This coin is interesting in that it has a…
Japanese Months Posted by Ginny on Jun 13, 2009
January: ichigatsu (一月)（いちがつ） February: nigatsu (二月) （にがつ） March: sangatsu (三月) （さんがつ） April: shigatsu (四月) （しがつ） May: gogatsu (五月) （ごがつ） June: rokugatsu (六月) （ろくがつ） July: shichigatsu (七月) （しちがつ） August: hachigatsu (八月) （はちがつ） September: kugatsu (九月) （くがつ） October: juugatsu (十月) （じゅうがつ） November: juuichigatsu (十一月) （じゅういちがつ） December: juunigatsu (十二月) （じゅうにがつ） The months are pretty straightforward. All you have to do is place the number of the month with the…
Labels of Japanese people Posted by Ginny on Jun 10, 2009
There are particular labels used to describe Japanese people who have left Japan to migrate to another country. Issei (一世) refers to people who were born in Japan, but have immigrated to another country. This term is especially used to refer to people in the U.S and Brazil. It’s also used to decribe the immigrants…
Sentoo Posted by Ginny on Jun 7, 2009
A sentoo (銭湯) is a public bathhouse. Even though people have bathtubs at home, a sentoo (銭湯) is a bit different from your ordinary bathtub. A sentoo (銭湯) will have separate sections for each gender. Male children up to ten years of age can go with their mothers. Other than that, the gender division is…
Japanese Onomatopoeia Part 2 Posted by Ginny on Jun 4, 2009
Alright, so this time around we’re going to look at the Japanese onomatopoeia that are called gitaigo (擬態語). Unlike giseigo (擬声語), which is what I discussed last post, gitaigo (擬態語) is the type of onomatopoeia that describes psychological conditions and physical states. ドキドキ : doki doki (describes nervousness) ピリピリ : piri piri (describes someone who…
Japanese Onomatopoeia Posted by Ginny on Jun 1, 2009
There are different types of Japanese onomatopoeia. Today we’re going to just focus on one of the onomatopoeia. I’ll do another post on the others later. Today’s onomatopoeia is giseigo (擬声語). Giseigo (擬声語) is the type of onomatopoeia that mimics actual sounds. You’ll actually see what I mean with the examples below. You can see…
Answers to the Kanji Exercise Posted by Ginny on May 31, 2009
1) Meaning: space, interval. Kun: ま. On: カン. 間 2) Meaning: three. Kun: み. On: サン. 三 3) Meaning: six. Kun: む On: ロク. 六 4) Meaning: eye. Kun: め On: ガン. 眼 5) Meaning: tree, wood. On: モク Kun: き. 木 6) Meaning: next, come. On: ライ Kun: くろ. 来 7) Meaning: power, strength. On: リイ Kun: ちから. 力 8) Meaning: weak. On: ルイ Kun: よわい. 羸 9) Meaning: cool, cold. On: レイ Kun: つめたい. 冷 10) Meaning: old age, elderly. On…