Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! Your roommate tells you in Japanese, “I’m going to the grocery store. Is there anything you need?” You respond in Japanese, “No, I’m going on a hunger strike. I’m not eating, so I don’t need you to buy anything for me.” Your roommate inquires in Japanese, “Oh really? What’s the cause you’re supporting this time?” You explain in Japanese, “A few of my friends and I are trying to raise awareness of the plight of starving children.” Your roommate asks in Japanese, “And you’re doing this by starving yourself?” You respond in Japanese, “Yes…I’m donating the equivalent of the meals I’m not eating to these children.” Your roommate says in Japanese, “Wouldn’t it be more practical to just write a check for the meals and still eat yourself? I’m not sure how this really raises awareness.” You think about it for a second and reply in Japanese, “Well, it’s the principle of the thing. But I am really hungry and it’s been less than a day. You might have a point!”
Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Japanese Newbie lesson will show you how to form the negative version of Class One Japanese verbs. We’ll also teach you some informal Japanese greetings and phrases. Visit us at JapanesePod101.com where you will find many more fantastic Japanese lessons and learning resources! Leave us a message while you are there!
Review
|
Play
|
Popup
Dialog
|
Play
|
Popup
Premium Learning Center
Premium Lesson Checklist
 |
15 Comments » |
Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! Your friend asks you in Japanese, “What do you think of the idea?” Your answer, in Japanese, is tentative and slightly irritated, although not at your friend. “I don’t know. It seems simple enough. The students make their own lunches five times during the year. Why the hassle? It doesn’t make sense to me. How many days a year are the students in school?” Your friend offers an uncertain Japanese answer, “I’m not sure, maybe 180?” You correct him in your irritated Japanese, “Not really, more like 210 days. For them to make their own lunches only five days in all that time is less than one time in two months. Surely this is a trivial thing.” Your Japanese friend begins to understand why your attitude is different than that of others. He explains in Japanese, “Ah, maybe you don’t quite understand the cultural thing. Traditions here go back thousands of years. We don’t change things easily or quickly. Having our kids make their own lunches five times a year might seem like nothing to you, but it makes Japanese households very stressful five times a year. Do you understand?” You’ve studied enough Japanese language and culture to understand what your friend is saying. “Yes, I can see that. Thank you for making me understand…now you just have a few more households all over Japan to go.”
Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Japanese Lower Intermediate lesson reviews the Japanese causative that you’ve been studying for the past few lessons. You’ll have a deeper understanding of the Japanese permissive, coercive, and the emotional forms of the Japanese causative. Visit us at JapanesePod101.com where you will find many more fantastic Japanese lessons and learning resources! Leave us a message while you are there!
Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! Do you work in an office? Many people do. Do you eat lunch? Silly question; of course you eat lunch. Where? How do you get your food at lunch time? Do you go to a restaurant? That can take more time than you have for lunch, and you can’t be late returning. How about a fast food place? Quick, but often times the fast food is almost as expensive as a restaurant. In Japan, a new trend is growing among office workers. Many office workers are now bringing their own lunch from home. In the US, we’d say they were “brown-bagging.” In Japanese, they’re “bento-men,” that is, men who bring bento from home for lunch. Don’t think bento means just a sandwich and fruit in a box. Not at all; bento is an art. The food is supposed to be as good to the eye as to the tongue. Good bento starts your mouth to watering as soon as you see it. Japanese admire those who have mastered the art of bento. Best of all, bento saves lots of money. You can eat really well and cheaply if you to become a “bento man.”
Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Japanese Lower Intermediate lesson discusses the grammar of conjecture. You know about conjecture. You’re not sure about something, but you think it’s so, so you say, “It looks like…” Or, you might say, “Apparently…” You see things or hear things that appear to be true, but you’re not one-hundred percent sure. It’s the same idea in Japanese, but you must construct the words properly. You’ll be conjecturing right and left in Japanese at the end of this Lower Intermediate lesson. Visit us at JapanesePod101.com where you will find many more fantastic Japanese lessons and learning resources! Leave us a message while you are there!
About our Printer-friendly lesson notes
Kanji Close-Up
About our Review Audio Tracks
About our Lesson Audio
About our Dialog Audio Tracks
About our Grammar Audio Tracks
About our Videocasts
About our Learning Center
