When learning foreign language, building vocabulary is a key, as you know. In this article, I would like to introduce you to a simple word game that helps you build vocabulary. You can do this game anywhere, and it is pretty fun!

The game is called Shiritori(しりとり) in Japanese. This is a word game that is played by more than two people.  Each person takes turn to say one Japanese word at a time. The rule is, a word has to start with the “Last Kana” of the previous word, and the word you mention cannot contain “ん”  at the end as there is no Japanese word that starts with  “ん”.  The person who says the word ending  “ん” loses the game.

So, quick summary of the game is:

• Two or more people take turns to play.
• Only nouns are permitted.
• A player who plays a word ending in “ん”  loses the game, as no Japanese word begins with that character.
• Words may not be repeated.

Let’s get started….

The first person normally decides the first word which can be any noun as long as it does not end with “ん”.  In this dialogue below, I have used the names, Ken and Yuki as an example.

Ken: しか (shika, deer)

Yuki: からす(karasu, crow)

Ken: すいか (suika, watermelon)

Yuki: かぶとむし (kabutomushi, Japanese beetle)

Ken: しまうま(shimauma, zebra)

Yuki:マイク (maiku, microphone)

Ken: くるま(kuruma, car)

Yuki: マットレス(mattresu, mattress)

Ken: すずめ (suzume, sparrow)

Yuki: めだか (medaka, killifish)

Ken: かばん (kaban, bag)**

So, the last word Ken mentioned here ends with “ん” , so he loses this game. Check out the following video, this is called Animal Shiritori where words used here are all about animals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7icybUAAt8

Here is another shiritori exercise.  Enjoy!

You can customize this game however you like. Animal Shiritori, Sports Shiritori, Fruits Shiritori, etc…