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1247/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 而 and yet/but/however and 寸 measure/hand. 而 itself developed from the image of a beard, and here is being used to express that meaning. 寸 here means “careful use of the hand.” 耐 is a pictograph that referred to “shaving off a beard,” which was a minor punishment (the next level up was shaving the hair). This in turn symbolized something that was  “not too bad” and “bearable.”

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1253/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 宀 roof/building and 番 number. Here 番 is a phonetic element signaling the on’yomi, while also lending a meaning of to “know (thoroughly).” It is also likely lending a connotation of “systematic/in order.” One explanation is that 審 originally referred to “thorough knowledge of a building,” and over time came to mean “have thorough knowledge” in general. In this case, the meanings of “judge” and “investigate” developed through association.

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Hello!

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1220/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character has a somewhat obscure origin. Older forms show that it was written as a combination of 女 woman and 𦣝 an obscure component that was associated with the emperor Huangdi. 𦣝 was used phonetically to express the name of the river where emperor Huangdi was believed to be born. 姫 originally referred to women of the Huangdi line. Later, 姫 came to mean “princess / noble lady” in general. One theory even says that there were many beautiful descendants of this line, so 姫 came to have an association with beautiful women.

The current form is written as a combination of 女 woman and 臣 staring eye/retainer. This may have occurred due to an assumption that 姫 was meant to refer to a woman who is guarded or protected.

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Japanese hospital vocab

国立病院　（こくりつびょういん）- national hospital

大学病院　（だいがくびょういん）- university hospital

診療所　（しんりょうじょ）- diagnosis and treatment centre

クリニック・医院　（いいん）- clinic

保健所（ほけんじょ）- health centre

救急車（きゅうきゅうしゃ）- ambulance

医者（いしゃ）- doctor

看護婦（かんごふ）- nurse

看護士（かんごし）- male nurse

薬剤師（やくざいし）- pharmacist

受付（うけつけ）- reception

病棟（びょうとう）- ward

診療室（しんりょうしつ）- consultation room

レントゲン室（レントゲンしつ）- x-ray room

検査室（けんさしつ）- examination room

手術室（しゅじゅつしつ）- surgery room

集中治療室（しゅうちゅうちりょうしつ）- intensive care room

リハビリテーション室 - rehabilitation room

薬局（やっきょく）- dispensary/pharmacy

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Japanese Word of the Day

#Japanese #WordoftheDay 短刀 (たんとう/tantou) ‘short sword, dagger, dirk’ Example: まだだ 短刀を取り上げるまでが訓練だ

— Learning Japanese (@LearnJPBOD) May 29, 2020

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Japanese Word of the Day

#Japanese #WordoftheDay 警戒 (けいかい /keikai) ‘vigilance, precaution, watch, lookout, alertness, to be vigilant, to be cautious, to guard (against)’ Example: 首都を一気に狙ってくるかと警戒しておれば

— Learning Japanese (@LearnJPBOD) March 13, 2020

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Japanese Word of the Day

#Japanese #WordoftheDay 先発 (せんぱつ/senpatsu) ‘starting in advance, starting first, going first, going ahead, starting (in team sports)’ Example: 先発ピッチャーはバッター 一人を投げきるまでは交代できないのです。

— Learning Japanese (@LearnJPBOD) February 13, 2020

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Japanese Word of the Day

#Japanese #WordoftheDay 手裏剣 (しゅりけん/shuriken) ‘shuriken, small throwing blade, small edged weapon often used for throwing, throwing star’ Example: 本当に忍者なら手裏剣 投げてくれよ！

— Learning Japanese (@LearnJPBOD) February 3, 2020

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Japanese Word of the Day

#Japanese #WordoftheDay 改装 (かいそう/kaisou) ‘remodelling, remodeling, reorganization, reorganisation’ Example: 古城を改装した施設ってだけあって

— Learning Japanese (@LearnJPBOD) January 26, 2020

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Japanese Word of the Day

#Japanese #WordoftheDay 後衛 (こうえい/kouei) ‘rear guard’ Example: ウシワカ これで後衛に下がる

— Learning Japanese (@LearnJPBOD) January 13, 2020

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示

※   ジ、シ

※   しめ.す

※   point out, indicate, display, show, express

展示 • てんじ • exhibition, display

示唆 • しさ • suggestion, hint, implication

示す • しめす • to denote, to show, to point out, to indicate, to exemplify

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Japanese Christmas Vocabulary

Time to practise your katakana! Given that Christmas is a non-Japanese holiday, many of the associated vocabulary words are in katakana.

クリスマス  |  Christmas

サンタさん  |  Santa

妖精  |  ようせい  |  Elf

煙突  |  えんとつ  |  Chimney

トナカイ  |  Reindeer

クリスマス　ツリ  |  Christmas tree

装飾  |  そうしょく  |  Decoration

靴下  |  くつした   |  Stocking

クリスマス　キャロル  |  Christmas Carol

プレゼント  |  Present

雪だるま  |  ゆきだるま  |  Snowman

雪  |  ゆき  |  Snow

雪の結晶  |  ゆきのけっしょう  |  Snowflake

ヒイラギ  |  Holly

クリスマスケーキ  |  Christmas cake

キャンデイケイン  |  Candy Cane

家族  |  かぞく  |  Family

家族の集まり  |  かぞくのあつまり  |  Family gathering

クリスマスの夕食  |  クリスマスのゆうしょく  |  Christmas dinner

 七面鳥  |  しちめんちょう  |  Turkey, I’ve also seen it written as ターキー                 

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Sorry I’ve been away, I’ve been in a few rough spots lately (among other things). Hope to be back in action soon.

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Miscellaneous Tasks

that make for good language practice

translate captions on Instagram photos/ tweets

translate headlines from news websites

watch a movie trailer for a new/ your favorite movie

type vocab words into google images to understand subtle differences

translate text in photos of stationary 

shop Amazon in your target language, focusing on sections and item descriptions

read menus and advertisements

watch commercials and look for context clues

say the date and time in your target langauge (e.g. your birthday, when you wake up, when you are supposed to meet someone)

learn the sounds animals make in different languages

see what’s trending in a country of your target language (YouTube, Facebook, News, Spotify, etc)

letter game: pick a letter/syllable/character and write as many words as possible that start with that

switch social media page or an app to target language and record vocabulary/sentence templates

practice ordering food in your target language

translate your favorite book quotes or music lyrics

read the comments on videos/posts from native speakers

try to name as many objects as possible as you pass by them (good for a long bus ride or walk)

listen to let’s play videos/ gaming videos

look up something in wikipedia, then read the same article in your target language

find out what the titles of your favorite books or movies are in your target language

[nihongoaday]

Sorry I’ve been away, I’ve been in a few rough spots lately (among other things). Hope to be back in action soon.

[nihongoaday]

Question of the Day: What picturesque part of Japan is your favorite?