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Japanese Children’s Day – Kodomono-hi Posted by keiko on May 5, 2014
Today is May 5th, which is a national holiday in Japan, called Children’s Day (Kodomono hi, 子供の日、こどものひ) Kodomono-hi is the day to respect every child’s personality and to celebrate their happiness. But this day is also the day to be thankful for mothers. Originally, May 5th was called Tango no Sekku (端午の節句、たんごのせっく) to celebrate mainly boys…
Top 10 Most Common Japanese Words Posted by keiko on May 1, 2014
Many people have heard these Japanese words, such as “SUSHI(すし)”, “GEISHA(芸者、げいしゃ)”, and “FUJI(富士、ふじ)” in the past. With the recent use of social media over the internet, there are many other Japanese words that have become more commonly known to people outside of Japan. Below is the TOP 10 list of Japanese words that are getting…
Useful Japanese Adjectives – Part 1(い Adjectives) Posted by keiko on Apr 29, 2014
In Japanese, adjectives are called Keiyoushi (形容詞、けいようし). In any language, I believe that the more adjectives you know, the easier you can communicate. In Japanese, this is also true. Even though you might not know how to describe things in a complete sentence, if you know one key adjective, you can easily let the other…
Building Japanese vocabulary – Opposite word Posted by keiko on Apr 25, 2014
Learning opposite words is a great idea to build your vocabularies. I am sure everyone has done this when you were younger for your own native language. Here are some opposite word exercise in Japanese. 1. Hot – Cold 熱い（あつい,atsui）－ 冷たい （つめたい,tsumetai） Sentence example: I like drinking hot tea. (熱いお茶を飲むのが好きです。あついおちゃをのむのがすきです。)－Atsuiochawo nomunoga sukidesu. I like eating cold noodles. (冷麺を食べるのが好きです。れいめんをたべるのがすきです。)ーReimen…
Japanese Kanji Lesson – Action Words Posted by keiko on Apr 22, 2014
This time on Kanji (漢字、かんじ)lesson, I would like to cover some action words (verb). These are very simple Kanji’s to learn. I believe for beginner learners, it will be perfect place to start. Also, new in this article, I have included the link where you can print the worksheet out. So for those who would…
For basketball fans out there, watch Kuroko’s Basketball！ Posted by keiko on Apr 18, 2014
Here is for the basketball fans (who are also wanting to study more Japanese) out there. Try watching Kurokono Baske (黒子のバスケ、くろこのばすけ) online to enjoy one of the most popular Japanese animations on basketball. In the past, I have brought up the idea of watching Japanese news, movies, or animation, etc.. whatever you might enjoy watching…
Folding a Japanese Crane with Origami Posted by keiko on Apr 15, 2014
Have you tried Japanese Origami (折り紙、おりがみ)? Origami is a traditional Japanese art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD. Since then, it has been adapted as a modern art. Origami is very popular in Japan. Many of the toddlers start folding Origami papers and start making simple art objects with it. There are some…