JapanesePod101.com Blog

 Hi everyone! Welcome to Everyday Kanji! In this series, we're going to present pictures of kanji seen in various places in Japan taken by the team members at JapanesePod101.com. That's right - kanji seen and used everyday! The theme for this week is kanji found in a Japanese-language operating system of a computer. Let's take a look! ① 終了オプション (shūryō opushon) = shut down options When you’re ready to shut down your computer for the day, this is the button you press to see the different options. We have one word in kanji, 終了 (shūryō), and one word in katakana, オプション. 終了 means “end” or “completion”, and オプション means “options”. So literally this means “completion options”, or “shut down options”. In an English-language OS,... Show more

Shichi-Go-San (七五三 seven-five-three) is a traditional festival day in Japan when parents celebrate the growth of their children and pray for their future and well-being when their daughters turn three or seven and their sons turn three or five．Originally, this event was held on November 15th.  However, these days people often celebrate it on the nearest weekend because it is not a national holiday. There are some regions where they don't celebrate sons who turn three years old. Parents usually dress their daughters in kimono and their sons in hakama, which are formal Japanese skirtlike trousers. They then take them to a shrine or temple to celebrate their growth and pray for their health. They also take family pictures as a keepsake. ... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary In any society, a bridge is perhaps the most visible symbol of trust. And this kind of trust seldom comes into question. When most of us see a bridge, we assume it can handle the cars, trains, and gale-force winds bearing down on it. Lately, though, people in my neck of the woods realize that they can't take bridge safety for granted at all. In September, inspectors found a significant crack on the San Francisco Bay Bridge. (They wouldn't have done an inspection except for a rare circumstance, so this discovery shook our confidence considerably.) Crews labored to fix the problem, only to have the repair job fail weeks later, sending 5,000 pounds of steel crashing down... Show more

Hi everyone! Welcome to Everyday Kanji! In this series, we're going to present pictures of kanji seen in various places in Japan taken by the team members at JapanesePod101.com. That's right - kanji seen and used everyday! The theme for this week is kanji seen on an electric water heater pot. Let's take a look! ① 給湯 (kyūtō) = hot water supply The word written on this button is 給湯 (kyūtō), which means “hot water supply”. This is the button you press for hot water to come out. 給湯 (kyūtō) = hot water supply ● 給 (kyū) = grant, bestow ● 湯 (tō/yu) = hot water Sample Sentence: 「給湯」ボタンを押すと、お湯が出る。 ”Kyūto” botan o osu to, o-yu ga deru. If you press the “kyūtō” button, hot water will come out. ② ロック解除 (rokku... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary I came across an intriguing word: 過渡 (kato: (1) crossing; ferry; (2) transient; (3) changing old to new)     to pass by + to go through (life) It catches my attention for several reasons. For one thing, the spelling (but not the pronunciation) of the yomi reminds me of Kato Kaelin, made famous in the days of OJ's trial, then quickly forgotten. I love finding words such as karen and shaun, whose romanized versions are first names in English. Those "Names" in Kanji ... Beyond that, I like that 過渡 has such disparate definitions: "ferry" versus "transient." If you think poetically, this makes sense; as a boat glides across the water, its... Show more

Baseball fans in Japan and abroad are celebrating the win of the Yankees in the World Series, and the performance of one player in particular - Japanese baseball player Hideki Matsui, who helped lead the Yankees to victory and was named MVP. Matsui, who has been playing with the Yankees for seven years, is the first Japanese player ever to receieve the honor of MVP. Despite having been with the Yankees for seven years, Matsui still does his interviews all in Japanese. Here is one of his interviews conducted right after the Yankees amazing win with the original Japanese and an English translation.  Hideki Matsui interview ―今の気持ちは？ 松井秀喜外野手「最高ですね。この日のために１年間頑張ってきたわけですから。何年もここ（ヤンキース）にいましたけど、初めてここ（ＷＳ優勝）までこれて最高です」  ― Well, how... Show more

細かいところまで物事をきちんと行なう人や、決まりや約束を守って正確に処理する人を評して「几帳面だね」と言います。ところで、この「几帳面」ということばは、どのようにして生まれたのでしょうか。 まず、「几帳」とは、平安時代の貴族に愛用された移動式カーテンのことです。几帳は、おおまかに言って、Ｉの文字の上下の横棒を長くしたような形の木材と、布でできています。中心の棒の両側に、上の横棒から一枚ずつ布を掛けて、下の棒まで垂らしたものを想像してみてください。 平安時代、貴族の部屋は壁やふすま、板戸などが少なく、がらんとした大広間でした。そこを、この几帳によって間仕切りして使っていたそうです。貴族の調度品ですから、布にはきらびやかな模様が織られていたり、美しい刺繍が施されていたりしました。もちろん、布を垂らす木材も切り口や削り口をなめらかに丸く加工し、細かく刻み目を入れるなどの装飾がなされたとのこと。その刻み目は、細部にわたって丁寧に仕上げられていました。 几帳面の「面」は、削り落とされた後に出てきた「表面」を意味しています。このことから、江戸時代以降、「きちんとしていること」や「規則正しく正確である様子」などを指して「几帳面」と表わすようになったのです。 さて、あなたの性格はいかがですか。几帳面ですか？ ＝＝＝＝＝ A comment commonly made to a person who is detail oriented, keeps promises and is very accurate is kichōmen or 'very thorough'.　 Let's see how this word came about. ... Show more

 Hi everyone! Welcome to Everyday Kanji! In this series, we're going to present pictures of kanji seen in various places in Japan taken by the team members at JapanesePod101.com. That's right - kanji seen and used everyday! The theme for this week is kanji found on signs inside the train station. Let's take a look! ① 乗車券 (jōshaken) = ticket (usually refers to a train or bus ticket) 乗車券 (jōshaken) is a ticket used to ride a train or a bus. In this picture you can see the vending machine where you buy tickets for the subway. This word is includes the word 乗車 (jōsha, boarding) plus the word for ticket, 券. 乗車券 (jōshaken) = ticket (usually refers to a train ticket) ● 乗 (jō) = ride ● 車 (sha) = car ● 券 (ken) = ticket ... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary As I mentioned last week, the etymology of 残 (ZAN, noko(ru), noko(su)) contains the idea that it's cruel to hack someone up until nothing remains. But perhaps that's a glass-half-empty perspective. The glass-half-full view would be, "Hey, look! Something remains! In fact, what we have here are human remains!" The 残 kanji figures into many words about things left behind. For instance, take the following expression: 食い残す (kuinokosu: to leave food half-eaten)     to eat + to leave behind This verb has a noun form: 食い残し (kuinokoshi: leftover food)     to eat + to leave behind Just two weeks ago, we saw another... Show more

Introduction Awesome new upgrade available for the iPhone/iPod Touch application - WordPower Japanese and now available for Android (the Google phone). Social Networking Monthly Giveaways! - Every month, JapanesePod101.com will give away one 3-month Premium Subscription, one 3-month Basic Subscription, and two of our phenomenal iPhone applications. Become a subscriber to JapanesePod101's YouTube account, follow us on Twitter, become a fan on Facebook, or have a free lifetime account at JapanesePod101 to be eligible to win! Best Lessons and Blog Entries for October! - Find out what’s popular this month! The blog has some great content for you to see. Welcome to the JapanesePod101.com newsletter. These periodic newsletters will... Show more