Episode 2 - Writing Japanese [15:41m]:
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In the previous episode I covered how to pronounce the alphabet. Now let’s discuss writing Japanese.
Episode Topics:
Japanese writing systems: hiragana, katakana, kanji, romaji, typing romaji on a computer to display hiragana/katakana/kanji
Kaa-chan Corner:
Kaa-chan talking about what life is like in Okinawa and growing up there in that “back in my day we didn’t have shoes and used to walk 20 miles in the snow” kind of way, which is growing up in poverty-stricken post-war Okinawa in a polygamist family amidst patriarchal traditions and the American military presence (conversation with Kinomura-san continued from previous episode)
Vocabulary List:
aaiu: that kind of. ああいう
asonde: play(ing). 遊んで [あそんで]
baka: stupid. 馬鹿 [ばか]
bakuon: explosion. 爆音 [ばくおん]
benkyou: study. 勉強 [べんきょう]
chounan: first born/eldest son. 長男 [ちょうなん]
chourei: morning assembly. 朝礼 [ちょうれい]
chuudan: interruption. 中断 [ちゅうだん]
chuugoku: China. 中国 [ちゅうごく]
daibu: much, quite, rather. 大分 [だいぶ]
daigaku: university. 大学 [だいがく]
daiji: precious, important, serious. 大事 [だいじ]
doa: door. ドアー
esa: feed, animal food. 餌 [えさ]
futsuu: normal, generally, usually. 普通 [ふつう]
fuu: wheat gluten. 麩 [ふ]
gochisou: a feast. 御馳走 [ごちそう]
hadashi: barefoot. 裸足 [はだし]
haka: grave, tomb. 墓 [はか]
hanbun: half. 半分 [はんぶん]
heru: reduce, decrease, wear off/out. 減る [へる]
hito kurasu: one class. 一クラス [ひとクラス]
hondo: the (Japanese) mainland. 本土 [ほんど]
hotondo: almost all, nearly all. 殆ど [ほとんど]
hougen: local dialect. 方言 [ほうげん]
ii to omou: I think it’s good. いいと思う [いいとおもう]
ipputasaifuu: like polygamy, polygamist style. 一夫多妻風 [いっぷたさいふう]
iroiro: (a lot of) various things. 色々 [いろいろ]
issai: all, everything. 一切 [いっさい]
jidai: period, era, time. 時代 [じだい]
jiki: time, period, season. 時期 [じき]
jimen: ground. 地面 [じめん]
jinan: second born/eldest son. 次男 [じなん]
jugyou: instruction, teaching. 授業 [じゅぎょう]
kankou: tourism, sightseeing. 観光 [かんこう]
juumin: resident, inhabitant. 住民 [じゅうみん]
kaji: household work. 家事 [かじ]
kankyou: to be influenced by one’s environment. 環境 [かんきょう]
kashizuku: wait on, attend to. 傅く [かしずく]
keizaiteki: economically. 経済的 [けいざいてき]
kekka: result, consequence. 結果 [けっか]
kichi: military base. 基地 [きち]
kimochi: feelings. 気持ち [きもち]
kodomo: child, kid. 子供 [こども]
koukou: high school. 高校 [こうこう]
kuraberu: compare. 比べる [くらべる]
kyuuryou: pay, wages, salary. 給料 [きゅうりょう]
mazushii: poor. 貧しい [まずしい]
meiji (jidai) umare: born in the Meiji period (1868-1912). 明治生まれ
[めいじうまれ]
mendou wo miru: look after, take care of. 面倒を見る [めんどうをみる]
moro ni hairu: (in the context of this conversation) can hear it all,
overwhelmed by the sound of (the explosion). 諸に入る [もろにはいる]
muchi: ignorance. 無知 [むち]
mukashi: a long time ago. 昔 [むかし]
mukou: other side, the other party. 向こう [むこう]
mushi: to ignore, disregard. 無視 [むし]
nakayoku yatte imashita: (everyone) got along well. 仲良くやっていました
[なかよくやっていました]
nantoka: something or other. 何とか [なんとか]
naranai: (in the context used in the conversation) won’t grow. 生らない
[ならない]
nokori: the remainder, the rest. 残り [のこり]
obon: a major holiday in Japan based on the lunar calendar and therefore
not held on a set day(s) throughout the nation using the Gregorian
calendar (July in some parts, August in other parts); Buddhist custom
for commemorating one’s ancestors when they return to this world. お盆
[おぼん]
okane: money. お金 [おかね]
okoshita: caused by. 起こした [おこした]
okusan: wife. 奥さん [おくさん]
oshikomu: forcibly, push. 押し込む [おしこむ]
otto: husband. 夫 [おっと]
ryukyu, -jin: Ryukyu, Ryukuan person, pertaining to Okinawa prefecture
which was formerly the Ryukyu Kingdom. 琉球[りゅうきゅう], 琉球人[りゅうきゅうじん]
sabetsu: discrimination. 差別 [さべつ]
saikin: recently, lately. 最近 [さいきん]
sangyou: industry. 産業 [さんぎょう]
seikatsu: livelihood, existence. 生活 [せいかつ]
seimeisai: Taoist-influenced custom introduced to Okinawa in 1768 where
families gather at ancestral tombs and honor ancestors with a picnic.
清明祭 [せいめいさい]
seizei: as far as possible, at most. 精々 [せいぜい]
semai: narrow, small. 狭い [せまい]
sensou: war. 戦争 [せんそう]
shadan: intercept, cut out (noise). 遮断 [しゃだん]
shigoto: job, employment. 仕事 [しごと]
shikamo: moreover, besides, on top of that. 然も [しかも]
shinseki: relatives. 親戚 [しんせき]
shuunyuu: income, earnings, revenue. 収入 [しゅうにゅう]
sonna kanji: it’s like that, that kind of thing. そんな感じ [そんなかんじ]
sono kawari: alternatively, instead. その代わり [そのかわり]
sosen: ancestors. 祖先 [そせん]
souiu hito: that kind of person. そういう人 [そういうひと]
sugoi: wow, amazing, very. すごい
sukunai: few, limited. 少ない [すくない]
suruki: the desire to do something. する気 [するき]
tabemono: food. 食べ物 [たべもの]
taihen: serious, difficult, troublesome, a lot of. 大変 [たいへん]
tasukeru: to help, to assist. 助ける [たすける]
tayotteru: depending on, relying on. 頼ってる [たよってる]
tonikaku: anyhow, anyway. とにかく
torarete: taken away, seized. 取られて [とられて]
touji: at that time, in those days. 当時 [とうじ]
tsugu: inherit, succeed. 継ぐ [つぐ]
umaku: skilled, good, do something well. うまく
urusai: noisy, annoying. 煩い [うるさい]
ushiro: (in the) back, rear. 後ろ [うしろ]
usumete: thin something out, dilute. 薄めて [うすめて]
utsusu: move, transfer. 移す [うつす]
wakeru: to divide (among, between), distribute. 分ける [分ける]
wareware: we, us, our. 我々 [われわれ]
yachin: rent. 家賃 [やちん]
yaru: to do, to give. やる
yasui: cheap, inexpensive. 安い [やすい]
yousu ni: it’s like, appears to be, the state of affairs. 様子に [ようすに]
zaisan: estate, property. 財産 [ざいさん]
zeitaku: luxury, extravagance. 贅沢 [ぜいたく]
zenbu: all of it, everything. 全部 [ぜんぶ]
zenzen: not at all. 全然 [ぜんぜん]
zutto: all the time, throughout. ずっと
Further Reading:
50-on alphabet chart with drawings of the mouth’s formation and audio of the sounds (hiragana/katakana, click on the 01-06 links above for dakuten readings)
Kyouiku kanji entry at Wikipedia
Jyouyou kanji entry at Wikipedia
Jinmeiyou kanji entry at Wikipedia
Omniglot: Japanese (Nihongo)
Sound and Symbol: the Case of Romaji
Okinawa Prefecture
Seimeisai
Okinawan tombs
American military on Okinawa
Transcript:
Episode transcript PDF (Japanese portion includes furigana) (interview not transcribed)
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Episode 2 – Writing Japanese
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