The Ryukyuans Posted by Ginny on Mar 4, 2010
What do famous people like あらきゆ, あむろなみえ, and なかまゆきえ have in common? Other than the fact that they’re famous in Japan and in the music/acting industry, they all have one thing in common. That commonality comes from being a group of people called りゅうきゅうみんぞく or the Ryūkyū People. Currently, many Ryūkyūans live in the おきなわ and かごしま Prefectures. The Ryūkyūans…
が Particle Posted by Ginny on Feb 28, 2010
We’ve seen the が particle used in certain grammatical expressions like: 先生が好きです = I like the teacher. (先生 = せんせい/teacher. が = ga particle. 好きです = すきです/like) and 傘がありません = I don’t have an umbrella. (傘 = かさ/umbrella. が = ga particle. ありません = don’t have) There are also other uses of が. The が…
The Seven Lucky Gods Posted by Ginny on Feb 25, 2010
The 七福神 (しちふくじん) or the Seven Lucky Gods are deities that occur frequently in Japanese art and mythology. 布袋 (ほてい) is the god of good health and abundance. He is depicted as a plump and bald man with a protruding belly. Somtimes he is seen holding a bag full of presents. He also symbolizes happiness, which…
から Posted by Ginny on Feb 22, 2010
から can be used in a variety of situations. One way から is used, is to express when something begins. 昼御飯は午後十二時からはじまります. (昼御飯 = ひるごはん/lunch. は = topic marking particle. 午後 = ごご/pm. 十二時 = じゅうにじ/12 o’clock. から = from. はじまります = begins) In English this sentence would mean, “Lunch begins at 12pm”. から can also…
Toyota Posted by Ginny on Feb 19, 2010
Toyota (トヨタ) has been in the news recently, and not for very postive reasons. A series of recalls, including the most recent recall for anti-lock brakes in Toyota hybrids, has consumers worrying about the safety of Toyota cars. The recalls have coincided with Toyota’s struggle to emerge out from the recession. Due to the recalls, Toyota plants in…
Te Form Posted by Ginny on Feb 16, 2010
The て form will be useful to learn because it’s used for various grammatical purposes. First, let’s learn how to form the て form. In the next post, we’ll learn the various uses for this form. With RU verbs, the て form is constructed by taking off the る and adding て: おきる (to get…
Prime Minister Posted by Ginny on Feb 13, 2010
This year in the U.S., Presidents Day will be the fifteenth of February. I thought I’d take this opportunity to introduce Japan’s equivalent of a president. In Japan, instead of a president, the head of government is the prime minister. In Japanese, the prime minister is called そうりだいじん. In order to qualify as a prime…