Departments
E d 's J a p a n e s e B l o g
(A r c h i v e s)
Ed's Japanese Blog Archives Home
May 12, 2008
NOT A DIFFICULT KANJI
無
This is the kanji with a negative attitude, as its meaning is “not, negation.” The kun reading of this character, na(i), is most often written in hiragana in contemporary Japanese texts. This is also true of its conjugated kun forms, like naku naru 無くなる (=get lost; go missing; to die). There are two on readings, MU and BU. These are located at the beginning of many compound words, and the high frequency of both readings makes the distinction between MU and BU mostly a memorization task:
MU-beginning words:
無色（むしょく）colorless
無口（むくち）taciturn
無休（むきゅう） no holidays; never close (said of a store or business
BU-beginning words:
無事（ぶじ）safe and sound
不気味（ぶきみ）eerie
無用心（ぶようじん）unsafe; lacking caution
Words that end with the kun reading:
A few words, like mottainai 勿体無い (=wasteful) end with the kun reading.
Words that end with the on reading:
Words that end with the on reading of 無 are rare:
皆無（かいむ）nothing; nil
有無（うむ）existence; presence
虚無的（きょむてき）nihilistic
May 04, 2008
北半球
きたはんきゅう
Northern Hemisphere
The excerpted article below discusses the phenomenon of winter. Included are the Japanese words for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
冬は四季の一つで、一年中で最も寒い季節である。北半球では1月が一番寒さが厳しい。南半球は季節が逆になるので7月が冬となる。
日本の気象庁では一日の最低気温が0℃以下の日を冬日（ふゆび）、また、その日の最高気温が0℃未満の日を真冬日と呼んでいる。およそ四国九州以北では、このような日は一月を中心に十二月から三月にかけて生じるから、このあたりが冬の範囲にはいる。なお、南半球では6月・7月・8月
Source: http://ja.wikipedia.org
真冬日 まふゆび dead winter, the middle of winter
四季 しき four seasons
一年中 いちねんじゅう all year round
一番 いちばん number one ; the most
寒さが厳しい さむさ が きびしい the cold is severe
南半球 みなみ はんきゅう Southern Hemisphere
逆になる ぎゃく に なる to be reversed; to be opposite
未満 みまん under; less than
中心 ちゅうしん the center
範囲 はんい range; scope
April 26, 2008
"So many people in Russia studying Japanese"
Russia and Japan haven’t always been on the friendliest of terms. Tension between the two countries began in the late nineteenth century, when both wanted to control Manchuria and Korea. Then there was the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5, which the Japanese won. Since the end of WWII, Japan and Russia have had a dispute about the ownership of the South Kuril Islands.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t seem to be hurting the popularity of Japanese language studies in Russia, as this article notes:
[Japanese Prime Minister] Fukuda earlier visited a school in Moscow to watch a Japanese class being taught.
After meeting with pupils from the lycee, he said: "I am very surprised that so many people in Russia are studying Japanese."
There are currently 14 schools in Moscow teaching the language.
"The Japanese government intends to continue efforts to popularize the national language and expand programs for Russian-Japanese exchanges," he said.
Read the complete article here.
Tutorial: The Acquisition of Profits
利潤の獲得
rijun no kakutoku
Nihon no kigyoo wa tashu-tayoo na seihin no seisan o okonau koto ni yotte rijun o kakutoku shi, seichoo shimasu.
日本の企業は多種多様な製品の生産を行うことによって利潤を獲得し、成長します。
"Japanese companies acquire profits and grow through the production of a wide variety of products."
April 20, 2008
A Japanese-language article about campus life in the U.S.
The university discussed here is the University of Cincinnati, which happens to be my alma mater:
大学生らが銃の携帯を主張 キャンパスでの護身に必要と
米オハイオ州シンシナティ（ＣＮＮ） 米国の大学キャンパスなどで銃乱射事件が続発している事態を受け、一部学生らの間で最近、自衛のために銃を携帯したいとの声が高まっている。
Read the complete article here:
Key Vocabulary:
大学生ら （だいがくせいら） university students
銃の携帯 （じゅう の けいたい） carrying guns
主張する （しゅちょう する） to insist on
護身 （ごしん） self-defense
必要 （ひつよう） necessary
銃乱射事件 （じゅうらんしゃ じけん） random shooting incidents
続発する （ぞくはつ する） to occur one after another
自衛 （じえい） self-defense
