JapanesePod101.com Blog

十二月の末、日本では一年の汚れをきれいにするために「大掃除」を行ないます。この「掃除」という単語に着目してみましょう。 「掃除」の「掃」には「はく」という訓読みがあり、漢字の左側（てへん）は、「手」を表わしています。一方、右側の「帚」は「持ち手のついたほうき」を記号化したもの。そして、「除」の訓読みは「のぞく」。つまり、手でほうきを使ってゴミを取り除くのが「掃除」であるというわけです。 では、「てへん」を「女」に変えると？　「婦」という漢字になります。これは「婦人」（女性）や「夫婦」（夫と妻）等の熟語を構成し、「ほうきを持って掃除をする女性」を意味しています。 さらに「帰」という漢字にも右側に「帚」が書かれます。「家に帰る」などと使う「帰」という漢字は、一見すると「ほうき」とは何の関係もなさそうなのに、なぜ「帚」を右側に書くのでしょうか。昔、「帰」という漢字は「歸」という難しい文字を使っていました。それが簡略化されて現在は「帰」の形しか使っていません。「女性が結婚して、ほうきを持ち家事をするのは、古来からの役割分担に落ち着いた姿である」ということから、「帰」の文字は「元の所へ戻ってくる」という意味を表わすようになったのです。現在では、ほうきを持って掃除をするのに性別は問われませんが、漢字の中には「ほうきを持って掃除をするのは女性の仕事」という考え方や風習が残っているのですね。 ＝＝＝ At the end of December in Japan, we do 'spring cleaning' in order to clear up the dirt of the past year. Let's focus on the word 掃除... Show more

Quick LinksWelcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary Around the holidays, people like to hear old stories again, whether they involve Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer or the Ghost of Christmas Past. This time of year also fills people with hope, so much so that adults temporarily suspend fears of pedophilia and let their children sit on strange men's laps to spout off consumerist fantasies. You'll find both storytelling and hope with 望. You already know that it often means "hope," because we learned the following last week: 望 (BŌ, MŌ, nozo(mu): hope, wish, aspire to, desire, look afar, look forward to) As for the storytelling, a few sample sentences with 望 form a tale of hope and longing. We start the story with this... Show more

Hello everyone! We here at JapanesePod101.com hope you are enjoying the holiday season! We'd like to let you all know about the great lessons we have coming up for you in 2010. Here is our 2010 lesson schedule: JapanesePod101.com 2010 Lesson Schedule Mondays: Newbie Season 5 /Beginner Season 5 (rotation) Tuesdays: Lower Intermediate Season 5 /Upper Intermediate Season 4 (rotation) Wednesdays: Particles /New JLPT N4 Prep Course (rotation) Thursdays: Old lessons from the archive Fridays: Video Lessons Saturdays: No Lessons Sundays: News / JCC / Japanese Children's Song / Audio Blog Season 3 (rotation) After a break in the second half of 2009, both the Newbie and Beginner series will be coming back for a fifth season!... 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 vending machines. Let's take a look! ① 売切 (urikire) = SOLD OUT The word means that something is sold out. Usually, this word is written with a mixture of kanji and hiragana, as in: 売り切れ (urikire). However, it is possible to leave out one or even both of the hiragana. It will still be read the same way. In this case, only the two kanji are used in order to take up as little space as possible. 売切 (usually written as 売り切れ) = SOLD OUT ●売 (u(ri)) = to sell ●切... Show more

「トマト」と「新聞紙」の共通点は何でしょう。 それは、左から発音しても右から発音しても、同じ読み方になるという点です。声に出して読んでみましょう。「とまと」「しんぶんし」。 このように、横書きの場合、左から読んでも右から読んでも、また縦書きの場合は、上から読んでも下から読んでも同じ読み方になることばや文章のことを「回文（かいぶん）」と言います。ただし、日本語として意味のある単語や文章であることが条件です。ことば遊びの一種ですね。英語では「Palindrome」といいます。今回はいろいろな回文を紹介しましょう。 ・竹やぶ焼けた（たけやぶやけた） ・ダンスが済んだ（だんすがすんだ） ・私、負けましたわ（わたしまけましたわ） まだまだたくさんあります。 さて、室町時代（今から約670年前）から、年明けに見る初夢を縁起の良い夢にするための方法として、次のような「おまじない」がありました。それは、七福神の乗った宝船の絵に 「長き夜の　遠の　眠りの　皆　目覚め　波乗り船の　音の　良きかな」 （ながきよの　とをの　ねぶりの　みな　めざめ　なみのりぶねの　おとの　よきかな） 【長い夜、深い眠りからみんな目覚めてしまうほど、七福神の乗った宝船は良い音を立てて漕ぎ進んでいく、という意味】」 という和歌を書いた紙を枕の下に入れて眠る、というものです。実は、これも回文です。 こんなに長い文章を考えつくなんて「ことばの達人」ですね。 ＝＝＝＝ What does tomato "tomato" and shinbunshi "newspaper" have in common? Both of these... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary I'd never thought about it before, but I've just realized that the English expression "looking forward" has two meanings: "gazing into the distance" and "happily anticipating." One kanji captures both meanings. We usually interpret 望 (BŌ, MŌ, nozo(mu)) as meaning "hope." A while back, though, we saw that 望 can also mean "looking afar" or "gazing into the distance." This duality helps us find several layers of meaning in the song title 望みの星 (Nozomi no Hoshi: The Wishing Star). If you're wishing on a star (or on the moon, as per the etymology), you're both gazing at a distant object and hoping that something will come true. Novelist Wendy Tokunaga cowrote this enka... 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 forms at the bank. Let's take a look! ① お引き出し (o-hikidashi) = withdrawal This is the form to fill out when you want to make a withdrawal at the bank. The verb 引き出します (hikidashimasu) means to take out, so the word for withdrawal is simply the masu stem of this verb (the verb without masu) with the honorific prefix お added at the beginning. お引き出し (o-hikidashi) = withdrawal ●引 (hi(ki)) = to pull ●出 (da(shi)) = to take out Extra: 金額 (kingaku) = amount of... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary Time for the final page of Alberto's beautiful haiku calendar! Explanation of the Haiku ... Now that we're at the last haiku of the year, I'd like to thank Alberto for the work he contributes to Kanji Curiosity. He puts an enormous amount of effort into explaining each haiku (in a language other than his native Spanish), and he accompanies his texts with gorgeous photos that add immeasurably to the haiku experience. I'm so glad he was one of the contest winners in the spring, or else none of this would have come to pass. ありがとうございます、アルバートさん！ Both the 季語 (kigo: seasonal keyword) of the poems and Alberto's wonderful photos put us in touch with the... 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 envelopes used to put money into for special occassions. Let's take a look! ① お年玉 (o-toshidama) = New Year’s gift of money The word お年玉 refers to a gift of money given to children and young adults on New Year’s. Typically, this money is put in a small envelope called an お年玉袋 (“o-toshidama bukuro”, o-toshidama + bag). The お年玉袋 in the picture has a tiger (虎, tora) because 2010 is the Year of the Tiger. お年玉 (o-toshidama) ● 年 (toshi) = year ● 玉 (tama) = ball ... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary Let's start with a quick quiz. From past weeks you already know this kanji: 渡 (TO, wata(ru), wata(su): to cross, extend, cover, range, span; to ferry across; build across; hand over, hand in, transfer) And you might know 世 from 世界 (sekai: world, world + world). Put these two key kanji together, and here's what you get: 渡世 (tosei: livelihood, subsistence; business)     to go through (life) + existence Now, add 人 to produce this: 渡世人 (toseinin)     to go through (life) + existence + person What do you think it means? A person earning a living? A business owner? Check the link for the answer. I think you'll... Show more