Springer-JCCC

Chapter 4 Kanji Poster 大学校先生  This week in class we began learning our first kanji. It's an exciting landmark. When I first attempted to learn Japanese 15 years ago, I found out the following: 1) You'll have to learn three syllabaries: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. 2) There are 48 characters in both the Hiragana and Katakana. 3) They suspect there are 40,000+ Kanji, although only around ~2,000 are commonly used in Japanese today. I learned the Hiragana before I burned out and couldn't continue. Granted, it was a long time ago and there wasn't quite the wealth of ready-at-hand resources that there are today. I learned one syllabary, but had no way to use  what I had learned. And what next? Then I would have to start learning the Kanji?  Imagine if I had known that each Kanji can have (at least) two ways of pronouncing it! So it feels like a landmark today to learn my first Kanji, because it shows I've come further than ever before in my Japanese studies. Sure, there...

  Today I read another Level 0 book on Tadoku.org , called "Chiwawa no Hanasuke" (Onesan Gomenasai!), or "A Chihuahua named Hanasuke (Sorry Older Sister!)".  It was a funny little story about a Chihuahua named Hanasuke who is left to his own devices once his owner, (whom he calls "お姉さん") leaves for the day. Once  おねさん leaves the apartment, Hanasuke decides on what he wants to do for the day. He finds that  おねさん has left her purse behind, and decides to play with it. Unfortunately for Hanasuke, that's when disaster strikes... the bag was torn! "Oops," Hanasuke says, "Onesan's bag broke ( / Onesan's bag is in a difficult situation)". 😅 Hanasuke decides to lay low until Onesan gets home. Upon her return, Hanasuke greets her at the door and declares "いいこだったよ!" (I've been a good boy!). This of course is not completely true, as Onesan soon discovers when she finds her bag totally taihen'd in the next room. When...

  Today I read another Level 0 book on Tadoku , titled "Crow and Water Jug: from the stories of Aesop". The short story centered around a thirsty crow on a very hot day. He needed a drink of water! When he found a water jug, he was excited at first, but then later was dismayed to find the water level in the jug was too low for him to reach.  Then the crow had an idea: if he brought enough pebbles and dropped them into the jar, the water would rise and he would be able to reach it for a drink! The crow worked hard and brought many pebbles. After dropping a few into the jug, he tried again to drink but the water was still too low. Finally, after more hard work and many pebbles, the water level of the jug rose enough for the crow to drink. "Delicious!" he cried in relief. To me, this story was about using your wits and working hard. When I reflected upon this fable and how it might occur to my current life, I immediately though of my pursuit of learning the Japanese la...

 My First Japanese Essay March 3rd marked a new milestone in my Japanese journey: I wrote my first essay in Japanese! Now, even though: It was not incredibly long. It was not incredibly interesting. It was incredible that I could do it at all! These nine lines are awesome because of all that they mean beyond the words themselves. Being able to write a short description of my day meant I knew how to write the language, I knew enough grammar to properly construct the sentences, and I knew enough vocabulary to communicate the ideas. And most of all, that I had worked really, really hard to learn enough in those three areas to do it!  So what does the essay say? Here's the English translation: Every morning I wake up at 7:00am. Around 7:30 I get in the shower. Around 8:00 I eat breakfast. I like eggs. I go to work at 8:30. At 12 in the afternoon I eat lunch. Afterward, the dog and I go for a walk. Around 1 in the afternoon I work again. Interesting, isn't it? :) As I said, not ...

SUMIMASEN / EXCUSE ME  With all due respect:::::::----> What the hell kind of language am I learning right now?  What even is this? KORE WA NAN DESU KA I watched the first episode of "Kimi No Petto" on the DramaJapan Youtube . I've watched "Japanese Dramas" before on this channel* but this was the first I've watched with English subtitles to display the meaning. (*if that's even what they show, which I have further questions about... I'm misled but I'm ok with it)  I had so many thoughts and questions while watching the episode. So many that I was kind of glad that youtube now shows unskippable ads, because I needed a few minutes to process what in the hell I just heard.  Not saw, no: Heard. Having spent a whole (single.) entire (only 1 single one.) year in the general .... Japanese .... learning... sphere(?) , I've heard some intro stuff enough that it when it comes across again, I try to consider it more deeply. Because why do they kee...

  Today I read a "Level 0" story in Japanese called "ちょっと…". This short story follows a day in the life of college student Marina, and how she uses the Japanese expression "ちょっと…" ("chotto...") throughout her day.  From context clues throughout the story, we learn that "chotto..." has several different meanings. It seems similar to the English phrase "a little bit...", which can also carry a different meaning depending on the context. It could literally mean "a little bit" as in "a small amount". In the story, when Marina makes an omelette, the recipe requires a little salt: ”しおを ちょっと いれます” - Add a little salt. It could be used paradoxically, to mean the opposite. In the story, Marina has to ride her bike to the University, because it's "a little far", meaning it is too far to walk: ”だいがくは ちょっと 遠いです” - The University is a little far. It can also be used to say "sorry" or "excu...