July 2018 – Learning English and Japanese

Toru Jul 31, 2018Jan 01, 2024 0 Comments coarse, low-grade, respect, tea, visitor

Socha (粗茶 – “Coarse Tea”)

Socha 粗茶 In Japan, when serving tea to visitors, we sometimes say “socha desuga” (粗茶ですが). 日本では、来客にお茶を出す際に「粗茶ですが」と言うことがあります。 Since ‘so‘ (粗) means Read More

Essay Etymology Onomatopoeia Uncorrected

Toru Jul 30, 2018Jan 01, 2024 0 Comments barely, close, deadline, limit, out, time

Giri-giri (ぎりぎり – “Barely”)

Giri-giri ぎりぎり Today I ‘giri-giri‘ (ぎりぎり – “barely”) met a deadline. 私は今日、ある締め切りに「ぎりぎり」間に合いました。 Giri-giri is an onomatopoeia that represents that something Read More

China Essay Etymology Kanji Uncorrected

Toru Jul 29, 2018Jan 01, 2024 0 Comments character, dynasty, era, Han, kanji, period

Kanji (漢字 – “Chinese Character”)

Kanji 漢字 Japanese people often use ‘kanji’ (漢字), which are characters born in China. 日本人は、中国発祥の文字である「漢字」をよく使います。 The term kanji is written Read More

Diary Science Uncorrected

Toru Jul 28, 2018 0 Comments atmosphere, headache, pressure, typhoon, website

Tyhoon No. 12

Tyhoon No. 12 台風12号 It is raining cats and gods. 激しい雨が降っています。 This is because Typhoon No. 12 is approaching. 台風12号が近づいているからです。 Read More

Essay Kanji Uncorrected

Toru Jul 27, 2018Jan 01, 2024 0 Comments beef, desire, feeling, mountain

Yamayama (山々 – Mountains)

Yamayama 山々 “Yama” (山) means “mountains,” and the kanji 々 means a repetition of the last character. 「山」は “mountain,” 漢字「々」は直前の漢字の繰り返しを意味します。 Read More

Essay Etymology Uncorrected

Toru Jul 26, 2018Jan 01, 2024 0 Comments cockroach, dish, eating utensils, gnaw, hide, wear

Gokiburi (ゴキブリ – Cockroach)

Gokiburi ゴキブリ Many people don’t like ‘gokiburi‘ (ゴキブリ – cockroach). 「ゴキブリ」は、多くの人間から嫌われています。 I talked about ‘gokiburi‘ a few times on Lang-8, Read More