JapanesePod101.com Blog

Time for another Kanji Scrabble this week.  First off, our apologies for a post later in the week due to the Japan exclusive holiday "Golden Week" (found out more in our Culture Class #15 lesson） The Kanji for this week are as follows: (Remember, each compound must use the Kanji in the brackets .) Kanji Scrabble #03 　間、先、九、大、中、立、毎、見、長、火 (Learn How to Play Here) Answers posted tomorrow morning at 10am Tokyo time! Next week's will begin on Thursday like usual. @Hint: Starting this week, not all Kanji in the list this week will be used to help keep this interesting ;) 簡単すぎるゲームだったら、おもしろくないでしょう？ Kanji Scrabble, a JapanesePod101.com original game. (Learn How to Play Here) To start, all you need is a Twitter account and to follow... Show more

Today I came across VidTweeter, by Kevin Sherman. This is an awesome idea that lets you watch YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion videos on Twitter's website! Below is a snapshot of  our setup. Total time invested, 5 minutes. Here is a quick tutorial. Hope it helps. What you need:  All you need is a Twitter account and a link to some content on YouTube, Vimeo, or DailyMotion. We used content from our JapanesePod101 YouTube account and JapanesePod101 Twitter account. Step 1. Go to VidTweeter Step 2. Enter you Twitter Account Info, and select the Video site of the URL you will use. (We used YouTube) Step 3. Paste in the URL you wish to share.  Step 4. Get a preview of your page with the video on it by clicking... Show more

Today I came across VidTweeter, an awesome idea that let's you watch YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion videos inside Twitter! Below is a snapshot of  our setup. Total time invested, 5 minutes. How cool is this? Actually, it's pretty amazing. First, it's super easy. Seriously, a 2-minute tutorial follow up blog entry will explain. Although, it's really not needed. All you need is a Twitter account and a link to some content on YouTube, Vimeo, or DailyMotion. We used content from our JapanesePod101 YouTube account and JapanesePod101 Twitter account. To get going, simply go to VidTweeter.com and follow the instructions. Second, you can share any video, not just your own. So a Tweet like: I'm watching a JapanesePod101.com... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary It's May 1. So what does that mean for us? Well, it's a holiday in many parts of the world, but not for me, so that definitely wasn't on my mind. Wrong answer! May 1 is also my husband's birthday. Happy birthday! This year, after my birthday rolls around, we'll both have prime numbers as our ages. I don't think that's ever happened before. I also think it's highly insignificant in the big scheme of things (e.g., the study of Japanese), so forget that answer, too. The "proper" answer is that it's time for the May page of Alberto Sanz's beautiful haiku calendar:     The haiku again: あえかなる薔薇撰りをれば春の雷 Aekanaru bara erioreba haru no rai Choosing the... Show more

So what exactly is 和製英語 (wasei-eigo)？ Good question! Wasei-eigo literally means Japanese-made English. No, not the grammatically incorrect English you see on sites such as Engrish.com, but  pseudo-English expressions that are rendered in katakana that have become part of the Japanese language. Some of these wasei-eigo expressions more or less get their meaning across to English speakers, even if they are not phrases used in English: イメージチェンジ (ime-ji chenji = "image change"), for example, refers to getting a makeover or changing ones image. Not that much of a stretch. Others, however, are much less obvious and can cause confusion for English speakers: A コンセント (consento = "consent"), for example, refers to... a wall outlet!... Show more

Hello! Thanks to everyone who has been following us on Twitter and playing Kanji Scrabble lately! Here at JapanesePod101.com, we think that Twitter is great for communication and sharing information. We also think it makes for a powerful learning tool! So starting today, we'll be introducing Japanese vocabulary and phrases daily on Twitter that follow a set theme. Each day we'll tweet at 10 a.m. Tokyo time (except for the first one, which is already out!). Our first theme will be 和製英語 (wasei-eigo). You'll get the wasei-eigo term in katakana, followed by the romaji, the original English it comes from, and an explanation of its intended meaning (which is often different from the meaning of the English words!) So don't forget to... Show more

To help your Kanji studies, we came up with a fun game using Twitter! Kanji Scrabble, a JapanesePod101.com original game. (Learn How to Play Here) The Kanji for this week are as follows: (Remember, each compound must use the Kanji in the brackets .) Kanji Scrabble #02 　日、二、本、一、国、人、十、中、三、時 (Learn How to Play Here) To start, all you need is a Twitter account and to follow our Twitter account @japanesepod101 (What's Twitter you ask? Read our guide here.) We're waiting for your tweets and blog comments! @Hint: (deleted) Kanji Scrabble #2 Answers Kanji Kana English Meaning 一日中 いちにちじゅう Throughout the day 中中 なかなか Very, considerabley, easily, readily, quite, highly, rather, by no means (with negative... Show more

Thanks for playing and for all the great feedback on our first-ever Kanji Scrabble game! 30+ people played Kanji Scrabble #01 by putting their answers on Twitter. Several more visited the blog and offered feedback and advice. When we created the game, we had no idea how it would go.  You took a chance on us by playing, so we want to say "Thank You!" for help making the game a success. So what do you win? Everyone who answered on Twitter or commented on the blog entry gets a 1-month Basic Subscription ($8). Our way of saying thank you! What do you do if you've won? If you played, you won. Simply e-mail us contactus@japanesepod101.com with your JapanesePod101 username and Twitter username. (You'll need to be a member... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary First off, there's some housekeeping to attend to; I promised that today I would provide answers to the most recent contest and make the winners famous. The top three contestants did a great job. They also happened to be the only contestants! Congratulations to the following people: Devon Bartlett Naveh Mazenko Alberto Sanz (again!) You'll find answers and explanations at the link. Famous Sayings: Answers and Explanations ... These three people deserve credit not only for terrific research but also for feeling motivated enough to do extra work for no material gains. That is, they acted in the following way: 積極的 (sekkyokuteki: assertive, positive, active,... Show more

Thank you to all the Kanji Scrabble Twitter users and Bloggers! どうもありがとうございました! I think this is a really fun use of Twitter and am personally looking forward to each new game! We'll also post an update via blog post with detailed answers including the meaning and both Kana and Romaji readings to help you learn new vocabulary.  There were a few compounds that weren't noticed so this should be great for all levels of learners. Kanji Scrabble #1 Answers Kanji Kana English Meaning 日 ひ Sun, sunshine, day 一日 いちじつ One day, first off the month 一日一日 いちにちいちにち Gradually, day-by-day 一日中 いちにちじゅう Throughout the day 三十日 さんじゅうにち Thirty days, thirtieth day 三日 みっか Three days, the third (of the... Show more