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Can you guess what this katakana spells out?

ブルジョワ

(read more for answer)

ブルジョワ = bourgeois (French pronunciation)

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From the article above:

Set A Small & Easy Goal Every Month.

Another reason most learners fail — they aim for goals like “I want to be fluent.” Oh yeah? How soon? How will you get there? When they realize they set a goal that they don’t know if they’ll ever reach – because it’s so big and vague – they quit.

Set a goal for yourself that is:

📌 Small & Easy – why? So you can easily achieve it.

Example: Learn 100 Japanese words in 1 month.

📌 Measurable – why? You’ll know how much you have left to go.

Example: 100 words is measurable.

📌 Has a Deadline – why? You’ll know when to reach it by. Otherwise, you’ll be forever wading through the same learning materials and never making progress.

Example: If you set a goal for 1 month, make the deadline the end of the month (e.g. December 31st).

📌 Doing this will guarantee that:

Your goal is a lot more realistic.

You’ll know how much progress you’ve actually made.

You’ll be inspired to aim a little higher – and make more progress. In other words, you’ll become consistent.

My Thoughts

Keep reading

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The Open University has over 1,000 free courses available. Of particular interest to my langblr followers (no Russian unfortunately :( ), they have a range of language courses available including courses on English as a secondary language, linguistics, translation as a career, and how to learn a language.

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Italian Space Vocabulary

Inspired by this list in Turkish

Il sistema solare (m): the solar system

Il sole (m): the sun

La luna (f): the moon

La terra (f): the earth

Mercurio: Mercury

Venere: Venus

Marte: Mars

Giove: Jupiter

Saturno: Saturn 

Urano: Uranus

Nettuno: Neptunus

Plutone: Pluto

La stella (f): star

L’asteroide (m): asteroid

L’universo (m): the universe

Lo spazio (m): space

Il satellite (m): satellite

L’atmosfera (f): atmosphere

L’aria (f): air

L’ossigeno (m): oxigen

La meteora (f): meteor 

La cometa (f): comet

La Galassia (f): galaxy

La Via Lattea (f): the Milky Way

Il cosmo (m): space, cosmos

L’eclissi (f): eclipse

L’alba (f): sunrise

Il tramonto (m): sunset

Il telescopio (m): telescope

La stazione spaziale (f): the space station

L’astronauta (m/f): astronaut

La navicella spaziale (f): space shuttle (space shuttle is also accepted in Italian)

Terrestre (adj): terrestrial 

Lunare (adj): lunar

Solare (adj): solar

Marziano (adj): martian

Galattico (adj): galactic

L’Astronomia (f): astronomy

Cosmico (adj): cosmic 

Allunare (v): to land on the moon

L’Allunaggio (m): moon landing

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this bish really did get her N5

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japanese phrases — explained

こんにちは → hello, good day

a lot of beginners wonder why “こんにちは” is spelled with a は instead of a わ. that is because こんにちは (in kanji, 今日は) is actually the beginning of a sentence, in which こんにち (今日, these days) is the topic, so the particle は is used! this sentence is:

“how are you these days?” 今日はご機嫌いかがですか? (こんにちはごきげんいかがですか?)

this also applies to “こんばんは” (good evening).

おはようございます → good morning

lit.: “it is early”

in casual speech this phrase is shortened to “おはよう”. the phrase “おはよう” is a combination of the honorific prefix お and the adverb 早く(はやく, early).

japanese adjectives used to end -ki. however, the /k/ was dropped during the muromachi period, and -ki adjectives became -i adjectives and their adverbial forms -ku became -u. while adjectives stayed in the -i form, the adverbial form reverted back to -ku, with only some expressions staying in the -u form.

/ohayaku/ → /ohayau/ → /ohayoː/

ございます is ~ ます conjugation of the archaic verb ござる (to be, to exist).

(おはようございます = honorific お + 早く, old adverbial form + polite conjugation of “to be”.)

おやすみなさい → good night

lit.: please rest

in casual speech this phrase is shortened to “おやすみ”. again, the honorific prefix お is used. this this it is combined with the 休みなさい (やすみなさい) which is the polite imperative of 休む (やすむ) “to rest”.

ありがとうございます → thank you

lit.: it is difficult to exist, it is welcome  

in casual speech this phrase is shortened to “ありがとう”. it originated from the  adverb ありがたく (welcome, nice to have). similar to おはよう, this adverb is also one of those expressions where the form with the dropped /k/ is still used. /ariɡataku/ → /ariɡatau/ → /ariɡatoː/

the etymology of the adverb itself can be seen through its kanji 有り難う. 有り (あり) “existence” derived from the verb 有る (ある) “to be” is combined with the archaic adjective 難い (かたい) “hard, difficult”, making it the adjective 有り難い (ありがたい) which is also used nowadays and means “welcome, nice to have”, literally however it would mean “it is difficult for something like this to exist” (which is why you’re thankful to have it :) ) 

this is combined with ございます, the ~ ます conjugation of the archaic verb ござる (to be, to exist).

(ありがとうございます = ありがとう, the adverbial form of 有り難い (ありがたい) “welcome, difficult to exist” + ございます “to be”)

いただきます → thank you for the food

lit.: i receive

this phrase is said before eating and means something along the lines of “let’s eat!” or “thank you for the food”. it is the polite ~ます conjugation of the humble verb 頂く(いただく) to receive.

ごちそうさまでした → thank you for the food, it was delicious

lit.: it was a feast, you ran around a lot

this phrase also means “thank you for the food”, but it’s used after you’ve finished eating. in casual speech this phrase is shortened to “ごちそうさま”. the honorific prefix ご is used in front of the noun 馳走 (ちそう) and the honorific suffix 様 (さま) is attached simply for politeness . the archaic meaning of 馳走 (ちそう) is “running about” and it also means “feast or treat” because someone must’ve worked (ran about) a lot for that. then the past tense of the copula です “to be” → でした  is attached.

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Finishing off 4th grade kanji by doing some tests. sorry for not showing much of grammar practice - tho it is because I'm mostly just reviewing it on my phone, watching 日本語の森 videos and practising through reading. oh and also on this app called bunpo which has lessons and questions 🌼🌸 How are you learning Kanji? By JLPT level or school grades???

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honestly. kinda excited for this school year i feel like somethin good's gonna happen.

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Langblrs

Hey there! I haven't been very active lately in my language studies and I need new langblr blogs to follow because most people I follow are inactive! So like or reblog this so I can follow you, especially if you post about:

Linguistics

French

Italian

German

Japanese

Chinese

Portuguese

Spanish

English

History

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Weather & Seasons | In Japan Hey guys, today we’re gonna talk about the seasons and weather in Japanese! It’s common to talk about the weather in any language when making small talk, so let’s check out what you might say in Japanese! Winter・冬・ふゆ In Japan Winter is from December to February! In Northern and Central Japan you’re likely to experience snowfall during Winter. Spring・春・はる In Japan Spring is from March to May! The Cherry Blossoms bloom during Spring. Summer・夏・なつ In Japan Summer is from June to August! There’s a month long rainy period during Summer in Japan. Besides the rainy season it’s generally very hot and humid. Autumn・秋・あき In Japan Autumn is from September to November! Autumn in Japan is very cool and breezy. Vocabulary Seasons・季節・きせつ Autumn・秋・あき Dry Season・乾季・かんき Four Seasons・四季・しき Rainy Season・雨期・うき Spring・春・はる Summer・夏・なつ Winter・冬・ふゆ Weather・天気・てんき Cloud・雲・くも Cloudy・曇り・くもり Cool・涼しい・すずしい Cold・寒い・さむい Flood・洪水・こうずい Fog・霧・きり

Evening Fog・夕霧・ゆうぎり

Morning Fog・朝霧・あさぎり

Hail・雹・ひょう Heavy Rain・大雨・おおあめ Heavy Snow・大雪・おおゆき Hot・暑い・あつい Humidity・湿度・しつど Hurricane・ハリケーン Rain・雨・あめ Snow・雪・ゆき Sun・太陽・たいよう Sunny・晴れ・はれ Temperature・温度・おんど Thunder・雷・かみなり Tsunami・津波・つなみ Typhoon・台風・たいふう Warm・暖かい・あたたかい Weather Forecast・天気予報・てんきよほう Wind・風・かぜ You can add the word 「とても」, which means ‘very’, before the phrases to emphasise the weather. For example, to say that it’s very cold 「とても寒い」or very hot「とても暑い」. Expressions: e.g.  風が強いです。         It’s windy.         今日はいい天気です。         The weather today is nice.         ひどい天気ですね。         Terrible weather, isn’t it?I         外は雨が降っています。         It’s raining outside.         ここ最近はとても暑いですね。          It’s been very hot lately, hasn’t it?

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行きます｜つもり｜ようと思う Hey guys, it’s been a while since I’ve made a post on this blog! I’ve been so busy with university and then as soon as my last exam was over I traveled back home to see my family! I finally have some time to myself so I thought I’d make a new post! This is all about how to say doing something in Japanese. This post won’t go into too much depth regarding these sentence patterns, so feel free to look them up for more information on how to use them! 行きます・Going to do: To say, “I’m going to__” in Japanese, you can follow this sentence pattern. Sentence pattern = subject+を+verb stem (ます form without the ます) +に＋行きます・行く。 e.g. 何をしますか？        What are you doing?        映画を見に行きます。        Going to see a movie. つもり・Plan to do: But what about how to say you intend on doing something, or you plan on doing something? In that case, you can use つもり! Sentence pattern = verb dictionary form+つもり+です・だ。

e.g. 明日は何をしますか？        What will you do tomorrow?        カラオケに行くつもりです。        I intend to go to karaoke. ようと思う・Think I’ll do: To say that you’re thinking of doing something, you can follow this sentence pattern: Sentence pattern = verb volitional form+ようと思う e.g. で今晩こそ早く寝ようと思う。         I think I’ll go to sleep early tonight.

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日曜日は勉強の日。公園で勉強したかったけど、人が多くて(まあ日曜日はみんな休みだからね)できなかった。

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One of the questions I get asked the most often is “How do I make my Japanese more colloquial?” or “How do I sound more like a native?” There’s also a lot of discussion about “Textbook Japanese” versus Japanese you’ll hear while on the train, in line at the store, or out with friends.

This post is quite long and explanatory, so here is a list of what’s covered under the cut!

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Plain form 2. Dropping particles 3. です to だ 4. Sentence ending particle の 5. 〜ています → 〜ている → 〜てる 6. て form does not always equal command 7. じゃない & じゃん 8. と to って 9. さ 10. なんか 11. なんて

Keep reading

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Nomizo Falls

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N5 verb list

会う　（あう）- to meet

開く　（あく）- to become open

開ける　（あける）- to open

上げる　（あげる）- to give

遊ぶ　（あそぶ）- to play, to make a visit

あびる - to bathe, to shower

洗う　（あらう）- to wash

ある - to be, to have (inanimate)

歩く　（あるく）- to walk

言う　（いう）- to say

行く　（いく）- to go

居る　（いる）- to be, to have (animate)

要る　（いる）- to need

入れる　（いれる）- to put in

歌う　（うたう）- to sing

生まれる　（うまれる）- to be born

売る　（うる）- to sell

起きる　（おきる）- to get up

置く　（おく）- to put

教える　（おしえる）- to teach, to tell

押す　（おす）- to push, to stamp

覚える　（おぼえる）- to remember

泳ぐ　（およぐ）- to swim

降りる　（おりる）- to get off, to descend

終わる　（おわる）- to finish

買う　（かう）- to buy

返す　（かえす）- to return something

帰る　（かえる）- to return, to go back

かかる - to take time or money

書く　（かく）- to write

かける - to call by phone

貸す　（かす）- to lend

借りる　（かりる）- to borrow

消える　（きえる）- to disappear

聞く　（きく）- to hear, to listen, to ask

切る　（きる）- to cut

着る　（きる）- to put on 

曇る　（くもる）- to become cloudy/dim

来る　（くる）- to come

消す　（けす）- to erase, to turn off

答える　（こたえる）- to answer

コピーする - to copy

困る　（こまる）- to be worried

咲く　（さく）- to bloom

差す　（さす）- to stretch out, to raise

散歩する　（さんぽする）- to stroll

死ね　（しね）- to die

閉まる　（しまる）-  to close, to be closed

閉める　（しめる）- to close something

締める　（しめる）- to tie

知る　（しる）- to know

吸う　（すう）- to smoke

住む　（すむ）- to live in

する - to do

座る　（すわる）- to sit

掃除する　（そうじする）- to clean, to sweep

出す　（だす）- to put out

立つ　（たつ）- to stand

頼む　（たのむ）- to ask

食べる　（たべる）- to eat

違う　（ちがう）- to differ

使う　（つかう）- to use

疲れる　（つかれる）- to get tired

着く　（つく）- to arrive at

作る　（つくる）-to make

つける - to turn on

勤める　（つとめる）- to work for someone

出かける　（でかける）- to go out

できる - to be able to

出る　（でる）- to leave, to go out

取る　（とる）- to take something

撮る　（とる）- to take a photo or film

鳴く　（なく）- to chirp, roar, croak etc

無くす　（なくす）- to lose something

習う　（ならう）- to learn

並ぶ　（ならぶ）- to line up, to stand in line

並べる　（ならべる）- to line up, to set up

なる - to become

脱ぐ　（ぬぐ）- to take off clothes

寝る　（ねる）- to sleep, to go to bed

登る　（のぼる）- to climb

飲む　（のむ）- to drink

乗る　（のる）- to ride, to get on

入る　（はいる）- to enter, to contain

はく - to wear, to put on trousers

始まる　（はじまる）- to begin

走る　（はしる）- to run

働く　（はたらく）- to work

話す　（はなす）- to speak

貼る　（はる）- to stick

晴れる　（はれる）- to be sunny

引く　（ひく）- to pull

弾く　（ひく）- to play an instrument

吹く　（ふく）- to blow (wind)

降る　（ふる）- to fall (rain, snow)

勉強する　（べんきょうする）- to study

曲がる　（まがる）- to turn, to bend

待つ　（まつ）- to wait

磨く　（みがく）- to brush teeth, to polish

見せる　（みせる）- to show

見る　（みる）- to see, to watch, to look

持つ　（もつ）- to hold

休む　（やすむ）- to rest

やる - to do

行く　（ゆく）- to go

呼ぶ　（よぶ）- to call out, to invite

読む　（よむ）- to read

練習する　（れんしゅうする）- to practice

分かる　（わかる）- to be understood

忘れる　（わすれる）- to forget

渡す　（わたす）- to hand over

渡る　（わたる）- to go across

[ikana-kodomo]

Hi! I’m just wondering what resources you use for learning grammar/sentence structure I really struggle with the subject verb object order and how other parts of the sentence work in that and nothing I’m reading is helping!!

I’ll start with resources I used. My first grammar resource was Tae Kim’s Guide. On the topic of sentence structure, this article may be helpful: Debunking the Japanese sentence order myth. And this: Relative Clauses and Sentence Order. And this: The essence of sentence construction. Basically, I like this guide because it’s free explanations are clear, examples are very easy and translations are as close to original text as possible. This guide is a good starting point. Nowadays I just google whatever I need. So, if you find this guide suitable for you, and if you’re willing to try Anki, there’s this deck that has sentences from this guide with diagrams.

Next. At the time I was struggling with sentence structure, apps like Lingodeer or Duolingo really helped me. Particularly that part where you have to construct a sentence out of given words. Constant drilling through the same sentences practically burned sentence order in my brain. This is how it looks in Lingodeer.

And this is Duolingo.Btw if you ask me which one of the two I prefer I’d say Lingodeer all the way. Even though screenshot I provided isn’t all that impressive.

Last, but not least. Reading practice. While reading native Japanese texts you’ll pick up natural sentence patterns and how they work. Reading bilingual texts is especially helpful. Otherwise I’d recommend NHK Easy News. Articles are written with simple, natural language and they use commas very generously to separate clauses within a bigger sentence so it’s easier to read.

So, sentence order in Japanese could be confusing. Firstly, because it’s surprisingly more flexible then just Subject-Object-Verb. Secondly, because typical Japanese sentence is all relative clauses and nominalizers. You’d be reading a sentence and right when you think it’s about to end BANG! A noun! and the text goes on acting upon that noun. That’s nominalizers for you.

To this very day I sometimes find myself lost in the middle of a massive sentence consisting of two or more clauses where both subject and object are described with a whole new relative clause that too has yet another clause within it like matryoshka dolls. It could be overwhelming, yeah.

Just as I set the ladder I brought from a garage against a tree on which the cat climbed; scared by the noise cat jumped down on top a fence between (ours and) neighbor’s garden and run away.

Something like ↑this↑ I guess. Probably the most massive sentence I ever produced. Not the most natural definitely. I sure hope there are no mistakes. Anyway, what do I do now so as if not to get lost in this mess.

See where the verb is. Within a clause verb (or state of being copulas) always comes last.

Pay attention to particles (は, が, を, に, の, から etc.) and conjunctions connecting words and bigger clauses within a sentence (ために, だが, etc., here とたんに). They define which role a word/clause that directly precedes them has within a sentence. As long as particle/conjunction is in the right place, some subclauses could be moved around within a sentence quite freely.

Try dissecting a bigger sentence. Try isolating bigger clauses and deal with them one by one. Try to see the core of a sentence. Which clauses are essential and which just add details?

Here I have two big clauses connected by とたんに. 途端「とたん」 is an adverbial noun basically meaning ‘moment’ so it works as nominalizer. By attaching it in the end of a first clause I can treat the whole thing as a noun and proceed with describing what else happened in that moment.

Now, within every big clause I’d like to find the culprit who does the thing. Within the first one it’s me, in the second it’s my stupid cat. It’s easy to find as both have は particle. Next I look for the main verb and the subject of an action (if there is one). Here subject has を particle and the verb conveniently follows it (which is not always the case, I might’ve as well put the whole ‘猫が上った木に’ between 梯子を and かけた). So, if I drop all secondary clauses, the core of sentence remains as follows:  私は梯子をかけたとたんに、猫は飛び降りて逃げた。And this would be pretty much functional sentence, in a context where I already talked about the cat, the tree and the ladder I brought. It’s not even that important where to the cat jumped. All the rest little subclauses just add details.

So this is basically my approach to bigger sentences. I hope something of the above helps. Thanks for asking and have a good day.

[ikana-kodomo]

Over the past week, I’ve been making notes on kanji radicals using Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese. I’ve used these to make notes on the kanji I know (just those where the radical is on the left hand side or the bottom of the kanji), their meaning and the types of kanji they’re used in.

I’m looking for some resources so that I can make notes on the radicals not covered by this book. I find that understanding radicals helps me remember kanji better because I can better picture in my mind how they fit together.