Uki Uki mini 6

May 25, 2016 - May 25, 2016
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Language Lesson past event

Q1 from Khoi Thin: What does びびる mean?

The word ビビる means to be freaked out or intimidated by something. It’s slang, so it may seem like a modern word but it appeared in the Heian period roughly 1000 years ago!

Let’s say your friends suddenly pop out from the corner to scare you.
You may say, “おお~、ビビった。(Oo, bibitta.) ” Oh, you scared me.

ビビる can also express nervousness in an intimidating situation, like right before walking out to the stage in front of 1000 people.

Q2 from Juliet K: Is Manga a good way to learn Japanese speech pattens?

Absolutely yes. Manga is normally written in the spoken style, so it shows how people naturally speak. But I recommend that you select the types of manga you read carefully. For instance, action and fantasy manga are fun, but the speech patterns tend to be a bit extreme like in a battle between the super hero and the villain. So pick manga with stories and characters that are in everyday settings, e.g. at schools, offices, and homes. This applies to anime as well.

Q3 from salvador sarmiento: Why don’t all the questions end with the particle か?

A polite question typically ends with ~か? But in casual Japanese, you don’t really use it. You just raise the tone at the end to indicate that you’re asking a question.

土曜日のカラオケ、行く?(Doyoubi no karaoke, iku?) Are you going to Karaoke on Saturday?
うん、行く。(Un, iku.) Yep, I am.

ダークチョコ、好き?(Daaku choko, suki?) Do you like dark chocolate?
うん、好き。(Un, suki.) Yep, I do.

新しいルームメート、日本人?(Atarashii ruumu meeto, nihonjin?) Is your new roommate Japanese?
うん、日本人。(Un, nihonjin.) Yeah, Japanese.

今、何時?(Ima, nanji?) What time is it now?
4時。(Yoji.) It’s 4.

Q4 from Koronbia Yin: What are different ways of saying “but”: でも、しかし、ですが、けど

Like in English, there are many ways to say "but" in Japanese. But the nuance, the level of formality, and its position in the sentence differs greatly.

でも and しかし are similar, but しかし is far more formal. It’s often used in academic papers, legal documents and formal speeches. Both でも and しかし need to be placed at the begining to start a new sentence, not in the middle of the sentence.

昨日はずっと雨だった。でもひまだったから外に出かけた。(Kinou wa zutto ame datta. Demo himadatta kara, soto ni dekaketa.) It rained all day yesterday. But I had nothing to do, so I went out anyway.

地球温暖化は深刻な環境問題である。しかし、大企業は利益ばかりを追求し、具体的な解決策を講じようとはしない。(Chikyuu ondanka wa shinkokuna mondai dearu. Shikashi, daikigyou wa rieki bakari o tsuikyuushi, gutaitekina kaiketsusaku o koujiyou towa shinai.) Global warming is a serious environmental concern. However, the profit-minded mega corporations do not take serious action in proposing concrete solutions.

Finally, let’s look at けど and が. These work very well in the middle of the sentence.

ケンとゆみは全然性格が違うけど、もの凄く仲がいい。(Ken to Yumi wa zenzen seikaku ga chigau kedo, monosugoku naka ga ii.) Ken & Yumi have completely different personalities, but they get along extremely well.

iPadとApple Pencilはすごく高いですが、日本語を書くのにはとてもいいツールですよ。(Aipaddo to appuru penshiru wa sugoku takai desuga, nihongo o kakuno niwa totemo ii tsuuru desuyo.) iPad and Apple Pencil are super expensive, but they’re an amazing tool for writing Japanese.

  • May 25, 2016 at 12:00 am