| 05/29 |  |
Japanese Language School |
NIC Japanese Language School
現在 6月 昔 水無月（みなづき）
いわれ［意味］：若い稲（早苗 さなえ）を田んぼに移す月＝早苗月の略
水無月は水のない［無］月と書くが水かないわけではない。
水無月の無はないという意味ではなく神無月の「な」と
同じく「の」にあたる連体助詞「な」で水の月という意味である。
花：紫陽花（あじさい）、花菖蒲（はなしょうぶ）。
衣替え（ころもがえ）日本では夏に入る6月1日から夏の着物、制服に変える習慣がある。
これは中国から伝わり、「更衣」という宮中行事から発したものと言われている
江戸時代は年4回の衣替えが義務付けられていた。
季節：現在の6月は梅雨の季節。 雨が多く蒸し暑いが晴れた日は盛夏のよう。
行事：現在日本では8月と並んで、国民の祝日が無い。
その上盆のような休暇も取れない月ともいえる。
しかし一部に時の記念日（6月10日）や夏至（6月21日頃）の休日化を目指す動きもある。
連体助詞:(れんたいじょし)：adnominal particle 紫陽花： hydrangea
花菖蒲：a kind of irises 更衣（こうい）：gowning 「更衣室(こういしつ) dressing room」
衣替え(ころもがえ)：changing dress for the season
義務付け（ぎむづけ）: make ~ compulsory 梅雨（ばいう、つゆ）rainy season
蒸し暑い（むしあつい）：muggy 盛夏（せいか）：midsummer
夏至（げし）：summer solstice
来月に続く See you next Month “July”
NIC instructor Keita Suzuki
http://nicjapanese.com
現在 6月 昔 水無月（みなづき）
いわれ［意味］：若い稲（早苗 さなえ）を田んぼに移す月＝早苗月の略
水無月は水のない［無］月と書くが水かないわけではない。
水無月の無はないという意味ではなく神無月の「な」と
同じく「の」にあたる連体助詞「な」で水の月という意味である。
花：紫陽花（あじさい）、花菖蒲（はなしょうぶ）。
衣替え（ころもがえ）日本では夏に入る6月1日から夏の着物、制服に変える習慣がある。
これは中国から伝わり、「更衣」という宮中行事から発したものと言われている
江戸時代は年4回の衣替えが義務付けられていた。
季節：現在の6月は梅雨の季節。 雨が多く蒸し暑いが晴れた日は盛夏のよう。
行事：現在日本では8月と並んで、国民の祝日が無い。
その上盆のような休暇も取れない月ともいえる。
しかし一部に時の記念日（6月10日）や夏至（6月21日頃）の休日化を目指す動きもある。
連体助詞:(れんたいじょし)：adnominal particle 紫陽花： hydrangea
花菖蒲：a kind of irises 更衣（こうい）：gowning 「更衣室(こういしつ) dressing room」
衣替え(ころもがえ)：changing dress for the season
義務付け（ぎむづけ）: make ~ compulsory 梅雨（ばいう、つゆ）rainy season
蒸し暑い（むしあつい）：muggy 盛夏（せいか）：midsummer
夏至（げし）：summer solstice
来月に続く See you next Month “July”
NIC instructor Keita Suzuki
http://nicjapanese.com
| 05/24 | |
Japan trivia Japanese launguage |
NIC Japanese Language school
This corner answers foreigner's doubt
about Japanese language. No.2
Foreigners feel some difficulty to understand spoken Japanese.
But Japanese has the similar experience as they do.
The following article, which is written in Zatsu Gaku Nippon
(Japan Trivia) p. 225 published by Kodansha, seems to explain
this matter well.
We would like to introduce it for the foreigners’ convenience.
Q: Why does Japanese have so many personal pronouns ?
A: When the Japanese first study English in junior high school,
they often hesitate to translate ”I” as the first-person pronoun watashi
and “you” as the second-person pronoun anata. Though children of
that age might use the word watashi, they seldom call other anata.
Instead, they’re more likely to use the less formal omae or anta.
Goody-goody students call each other kimi, while the tougher kids
use the coarser temee. Nerdy types who like cartoons say otaku.
When referring to themselves, boys usually say boku or ore.
Other variants for ”I” include watashi, atashi, jibun and atai.
Thus Japanese has a much larger number of personal pronouns than
other languages. The main reason for this glut is the use of
honorific language.
Since ancient times, the people have used difficult personal depending
on their social and personal relationship to the people they are speaking to.
Long ago, people would choose between kokomoto, temee, sessya, syoosei
and others terms to refer to themselves, and kiden, sochira, omaesama,
and sonka to refer to others.
The choice depend on the relationship between the speaker and the listener.
Today, the Japanese discriminate similarly between watashi, ore, boku, and
other terms for “I”, and kimi, anta, omae, etc, for “you”.
Vogue words are adopted and abandoned with increasing speed in Japan,
and the number of personal pronouns is also increasing.
watashi 私 anata 貴方 jibun 自分 sessya 拙者
syoosei 小生 kiden 貴殿 omaesama おまえ様 sonka 尊下
ore 俺 boku 僕
NIC :Japanese language school Instructor Suzuki
Email ： info@nicjapanese.com http ： http://www.nicjapanese.com
http://www.nicjapanese.com
This corner answers foreigner's doubt
about Japanese language. No.2
Foreigners feel some difficulty to understand spoken Japanese.
But Japanese has the similar experience as they do.
The following article, which is written in Zatsu Gaku Nippon
(Japan Trivia) p. 225 published by Kodansha, seems to explain
this matter well.
We would like to introduce it for the foreigners’ convenience.
Q: Why does Japanese have so many personal pronouns ?
A: When the Japanese first study English in junior high school,
they often hesitate to translate ”I” as the first-person pronoun watashi
and “you” as the second-person pronoun anata. Though children of
that age might use the word watashi, they seldom call other anata.
Instead, they’re more likely to use the less formal omae or anta.
Goody-goody students call each other kimi, while the tougher kids
use the coarser temee. Nerdy types who like cartoons say otaku.
When referring to themselves, boys usually say boku or ore.
Other variants for ”I” include watashi, atashi, jibun and atai.
Thus Japanese has a much larger number of personal pronouns than
other languages. The main reason for this glut is the use of
honorific language.
Since ancient times, the people have used difficult personal depending
on their social and personal relationship to the people they are speaking to.
Long ago, people would choose between kokomoto, temee, sessya, syoosei
and others terms to refer to themselves, and kiden, sochira, omaesama,
and sonka to refer to others.
The choice depend on the relationship between the speaker and the listener.
Today, the Japanese discriminate similarly between watashi, ore, boku, and
other terms for “I”, and kimi, anta, omae, etc, for “you”.
Vogue words are adopted and abandoned with increasing speed in Japan,
and the number of personal pronouns is also increasing.
watashi 私 anata 貴方 jibun 自分 sessya 拙者
syoosei 小生 kiden 貴殿 omaesama おまえ様 sonka 尊下
ore 俺 boku 僕
NIC :Japanese language school Instructor Suzuki
Email ： info@nicjapanese.com http ： http://www.nicjapanese.com
http://www.nicjapanese.com
| 05/15 | |
NIC Japanese Language School
日本にはたくさんの助数詞がありますが日本人でもあまりつかいません。
興味のある方は日本人のお友達をテストしてみませんか？
助数詞（数の単位） counter suffix
ワインなら1本、2本 紙なら1枚、2枚
下の品物はなんと言って数えますか？
1 宴会（えんかい） banquet
2 下駄（げた） Geta
3 だるま(達磨） Doll name
4 かつら hairpiece
5 折づる（おりづる） origami bird
6 お知らせ（おしらせ） announcement
7 保険（ほけん） insurance
8 煙（けむり） smoke
9 理由（りゆう） reason
10 あり（蟻） ant
答え
1 1席、2席（せき） 席＝イス
2 1足、2足（そく） 足＝アシ
3 1体, 2体（たい） 体＝からだ
4 1枚、2枚（まい） 枚＝平たいもの
5 1羽、2羽（わ） 羽＝羽のあるもの
6 1報,2報（ぽう、ほう） 報＝知らせる
7 1件、2件（けん） 件＝ことがら
8 1本、2本（ぽん、ほん） 本＝細長いいもの
9 1点、2点（てん） 点＝品物、作品にも使う
10 1頭、2頭（とう） 頭＝頭の数
Email ： info@nicjapanese.com
http ： http://www.nicjapanese.com
NIC （Nihongo Instructor Club)
Instructor： Suzuki
http://www.nicjapanese.com
日本にはたくさんの助数詞がありますが日本人でもあまりつかいません。
興味のある方は日本人のお友達をテストしてみませんか？
助数詞（数の単位） counter suffix
ワインなら1本、2本 紙なら1枚、2枚
下の品物はなんと言って数えますか？
1 宴会（えんかい） banquet
2 下駄（げた） Geta
3 だるま(達磨） Doll name
4 かつら hairpiece
5 折づる（おりづる） origami bird
6 お知らせ（おしらせ） announcement
7 保険（ほけん） insurance
8 煙（けむり） smoke
9 理由（りゆう） reason
10 あり（蟻） ant
答え
1 1席、2席（せき） 席＝イス
2 1足、2足（そく） 足＝アシ
3 1体, 2体（たい） 体＝からだ
4 1枚、2枚（まい） 枚＝平たいもの
5 1羽、2羽（わ） 羽＝羽のあるもの
6 1報,2報（ぽう、ほう） 報＝知らせる
7 1件、2件（けん） 件＝ことがら
8 1本、2本（ぽん、ほん） 本＝細長いいもの
9 1点、2点（てん） 点＝品物、作品にも使う
10 1頭、2頭（とう） 頭＝頭の数
Email ： info@nicjapanese.com
http ： http://www.nicjapanese.com
NIC （Nihongo Instructor Club)
Instructor： Suzuki
http://www.nicjapanese.com
| 05/07 | |
NIC Japanese Language School |
NIC Japanese Language schoolThis corner answers foreigner's doubt about Japanese language.
Foreigners feel some difficulty to understand spoken Japanese.
But Japanese has the similar experience as they do.
The following article, which is written in Zatsu Gaku Nippon
(Japan Trivia) p. 223 published by Kodansha, seems to explain this matter well.
We would like to introduce it for the foreigners’ convenience.
“ Q: Why is spoken Japanese so hard for foreigners to understand?
A: When foreigners are asked their impression of the Japanese
language, they say that the syllables so, yo, and ne are used
extremely often. This can be explained by the fact that sentences
in spoken Japanese often end with these sounds.
Many foreigners say that Japanese is difficult to under-
stand when it is spoken. The main reason is that Japanese
has almost no distinction between strongly stressed and
weakly stressed syllables. This lack of stress makes the lan-
guage sound monotonous. One word is difficult to tell
from another, so it is hard to catch the meaning.
Most other languages, especially those of Europe, have
distinct syllabic stresses. Accented syllables are pronounced
very strongly, while unaccented syllables are said weakly or
not at all
Take, for example, the word "hot dog." When Japanese
people say it, they pronounce each sound with the same
stress. In English, though, the first o receives a stronger accent
than the second. To Japanese ears, that pronunciation
sounds like hod, with the consonants t and g barely audible.
In other words, the reason foreigners have a hard time
understanding spoken Japanese is the same reason Japanese
can't understand other languages. The biggest barrier
to mastery of European languages by the Japanese is syllabic
stress.”
This corner will continue
NIC staff Suzuki
Email ： info@nicjapanese.com
http ： http://www.nicjapanese.com
http://www.nicjapanese.com
Foreigners feel some difficulty to understand spoken Japanese.
But Japanese has the similar experience as they do.
The following article, which is written in Zatsu Gaku Nippon
(Japan Trivia) p. 223 published by Kodansha, seems to explain this matter well.
We would like to introduce it for the foreigners’ convenience.
“ Q: Why is spoken Japanese so hard for foreigners to understand?
A: When foreigners are asked their impression of the Japanese
language, they say that the syllables so, yo, and ne are used
extremely often. This can be explained by the fact that sentences
in spoken Japanese often end with these sounds.
Many foreigners say that Japanese is difficult to under-
stand when it is spoken. The main reason is that Japanese
has almost no distinction between strongly stressed and
weakly stressed syllables. This lack of stress makes the lan-
guage sound monotonous. One word is difficult to tell
from another, so it is hard to catch the meaning.
Most other languages, especially those of Europe, have
distinct syllabic stresses. Accented syllables are pronounced
very strongly, while unaccented syllables are said weakly or
not at all
Take, for example, the word "hot dog." When Japanese
people say it, they pronounce each sound with the same
stress. In English, though, the first o receives a stronger accent
than the second. To Japanese ears, that pronunciation
sounds like hod, with the consonants t and g barely audible.
In other words, the reason foreigners have a hard time
understanding spoken Japanese is the same reason Japanese
can't understand other languages. The biggest barrier
to mastery of European languages by the Japanese is syllabic
stress.”
This corner will continue
NIC staff Suzuki
Email ： info@nicjapanese.com
http ： http://www.nicjapanese.com
http://www.nicjapanese.com