Prompted to reflect on Roots and writing a blog about Japanese learning, I naturally had a look at how to say "root" in Japanese. The interesting thing is that the character to say «root» (根・こん) also means "perseverance", "stamina", "mental energy". So, reflecting on roots being the source of our stamina and energy, I looked..
どちらかが彼女を殺した～第２章～２
My reading notes for the second part of chapter 2. 練馬区・ねりまく is a special ward in Tokyo. Now, I have always wondered what was exactly a 交番・こうばん. It seems to be a small neighborhood police station. In the novel, two police officers 警官・けいかん come from the nearest 交番 to secure the area while the detectives 刑事・けいじ will later come..
星の王子さま～２
My reading notes for the second part of Le Petit Prince in japanese. (p11 to 16). The narrator meets the Little Prince for the first time and draws several sheep. (Notes for the first part) 砂漠・さばく desert 不時着・ふじちゃく emergency landing (不時・ふじ means emergency, unexpectedness) 整備士・せいびし mechanic (person). 整備・せいび means maintenance, servicing, outfitting and it is one of those words I..
About those “boring hobbies”
At school, I remember we sometimes had to fill forms about where we lived, what our parents were doing and so on. I had difficulties in filling two fields: what I want to do when I grow up and what are my hobbies. Because at school, my hobby was: reading books. And later, my hobbies..
Make that grey cat stand out
This is my response to the wordpress daily word prompt, which was “gray”
To stay motivated, don’t forget that language is only a tool.
The Learning process usually looks like: reading books (I don't care about) in order to improve my reading skills Watch TV shows (even if I hate watching TV) in order to improve my listening skills write a diary (What happened today? Ah yes, I am writing my diary in order to improve my writing skills)..
Inside that audiobook
To improve one's listening skills, there is no other way than to listen, listen, listen. And one good way to listen to something in the target language is to acquire audiobooks. Audiobooks advantages: You can purchase the book and the audiobook, which means you can improve your listening and your reading skills and easily check..
星の王子さま～１
原生林・げんせいりん Virgin forest 猛獣・もうじゅう wild animal 大蛇・だいじゃ big snake 再現・さいげん reproduction えもの・獲物 prey まるごと・丸ごと in its entirety 冒険・ぼうけん adventure p8. ...絵を描きあげた The あげる here is not «to give» (in this case, it would be 描いてあげた but «to be finished, completed» which is constucted with -masu stem. 傑作・けっさく masterpiece めざす・目指す to aim at 操縦・そうじゅう flying a plane 見わける・みわける to recognize 持ち歩く・もちあるく to carry with oneself 冴える・さえる to be clear-headed..
すーちゃん～３
My reading notes for the third story of すーちゃん by Masuda Miri. (p19 to 24) 気合を入れる・きあいをいれる means to motivate oneself, to give it one's all. I had learnt this expression in one of my N2 books but it is the first time I encounter it. Maichan says 行くぞ・いくぞ to herself. I thought ぞ was very rude and..
Becoming a Genius overnight…
...is difficult but don't give up and keep trying! Somedays, I wake up and I have become a Genius overnight. I know I can read anything in japanese, I just need to trust myself! So, I get prepared and head to a bookshop, eager to test my new ability. I pick a book which looks..
すーちゃん～２
My reading notes for the second story of すーちゃん by Masuda Miri. (p12 to 18) 水菜・みずな Some kind of green vegetable, the best thing to do is to Google-image it. キッシュ haha, didn't recognize it. Quiche, from french. いつもの usual, habitual. So, Suchan explains that a Customer in her coffee shop said «same as usual» when she asked what..
すーちゃん～1
My reading notes for the first story of すうちゃん by Masuda Miri. (p5 to 11) In the first story, Suchan goes to a Self Udong restaurant セルフうどん. From what I understand, it is a place where you can choose every ingredient that compose your udong, from the quantity of noodle, to toppings, condiments and seasonning...