#日本語の勉強

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部屋探し｜Apartment Hunting

Let me share with you my current struggles on finding a place to stay in Japan with this long vocabulary list!

住宅（じゅうたく）housing, residential building

住宅街（じゅうたくがい）residential area

最寄り駅（もよりえき）nearest train station

共同住宅（きょうどうじゅうたく）residential complex, apartment house

不動産屋（ふどうさんや）real estate agent

物件（ぶっけん）object, property (real estate)

ネット上（じょう）on the internet

掲載する（けいさい）post, insert (advertisement)

家賃（やちん）rent

共益費（きょうえきひ）common fee, utility fee

加算する（かさん）add

月額（げつがく）monthly amount

初期費用（しょきひよう）initial costs

入居する（にゅうきょ）move into

翌月（よくげつ）next month

翌月分（よくげつぶん）next month's rent

礼金（れいきん）key money (fee paid for rental rights)

敷金（しききん）deposit

保証金（ほしょうきん）deposit

清掃費（せいそうひ）cleaning fee

火災保険料（かさいほけんりょう）fire insurance fee

内見（ないけん）viewing

賃貸（ちんたい）lease, rent

賃貸借契約（ちんたいしゃけいやく）rental contract

借り主（かりぬし）debtor, tenant

貸主（かしぬし）lender, landlord

大家さん（おおや）landlord

一時に（いちどき）at once

滞納（たいのう）falling behind (with a payment)

Moving into a Japanese property comes with high initial costs which can be broken down into numerous different fees. Unfortunately, share houses are not necessarily fully excluded from this, but it really depends on the company. I'm glad that I could take some time to work and save up money before going to Japan. The first month will be very expensive.

[sheeeshvangi]

Keeping up with my goals!

I'm struggling a lot with the reading section and I really don't know how to fix my reading skills. Everyone suggests to read more but it's so hard to focus and keep reading when you don't understand things and get demotivated. If anyone has any tips for me I would really appreciate it!

Hope you guys are doing great!

[isshonihongo]

JLPT N5 - している [Part 2]

Hey everyone, welcome to Part 2 of talking about している. This N5 grammar point is very basic but also very important. Let’s get into it shall we!

But first, here is your vocabulary:

【English Helping Verbs】

As I mentioned in Part 1, the “して“ in している can stand for any verb in て form. Sometimes it is actually する, but most times it will be some other verb.

Ok great, but what is the いる part?? Take a look at the following English sentences:

① Traffic accidents often occur here.

② I am eating.

③ The window is open.

Two of these sentences have both a helping verb and a main verb. In #1, there is only a main verb, which is “occur”. In #2 the main verb is “eating” and the helping verb is “am”. In #3 the main verb is “open” and the helping verb is “is”. Notice that one of the main verbs has the -ing suffix while the other two don’t. Make a mental note of this for later. 😉

【The いる in している】

Japanese also has helping verbs. Allow me to introduce you to one of the most common ones: いる！

The いる helping verb* adds nuance to the main verb. But here’s the thing - there are different versions of いる！In the している Part 1 article, you actually saw what I call the いる of Repetition. This いる does not translate to the -ing form of our verbs in English. If you see よく起きている for example, you should think “often occur(s)”. This is similar to example #1 above.

Examples #2 and 3 are not actions of repetition. For them, we need the other いる, which I call the いる of State or Condition. This いる sometimes makes us use that -ing suffix in our English translations. So if you just see 食べている, by default it would mean “started eating and then stayed in that state for some period of time”. Instead of all that, in English we would simply say “is eating”. This is similar to example #2 above.

開く is a different type of verb than 食べる**. Because of this, the いる of State or Condition does not lead to us using the -ing form. In this case, something is open and stays in that state for some period of time. We don’t say “is opening”. Instead we just say “is open”. For verbs like 開く, their English translations won’t use that -ing form. Instead they will be like example #3 above.

The key to the している grammar point is understanding what kind of main verb you have, and then which helping verb いる you are reading/hearing!

【いる of State or Condition】

Here are some examples where the helping verb いる expresses a state or condition.

This is how you say example #3 in Japanese.

= Tom is currently in the Philippines.

Interestingly, you could also say the following:

⑥ トムはフィリピンに来ています。***

⑦ トムはフィリピンにいます。

#5, 6 and 7 all say that Tom is in the Philippines but the nuance is different in each of them!

#5 says that Tom went to the Philippines and stayed there. This means that the speaker is NOT in the Philippines. On the other hand, #6 says that Tom came to the Philippines and then stayed there, meaning that the speaker is also there. #7 simply says that Tom is in the Philippines. We don’t have any information about where the speaker is located.

= Mizuki is wearing a white skirt and hat.

#8 has several things that I want to point out: First is that the て form of a verb can mark the end of a comment. Example 8 has two comments of equal value. This is one version of a Japanese compound sentence.

The second thing is that the ending helping verb can actually apply to TWO DIFFERENT main verbs! Native speakers hear #8 and understand the verbs to be both はいています as well as かぶっています.

The last thing is that verbs connected to clothes are very interesting. When you attach the helping verb いる, they can sometimes express the state of wearing something. However, in some contexts they can instead express the action of putting something on. For the N5 level luckily you won’t have to distinguish between wearing and putting on clothing so no worries. It is good to keep this tidbit in the back of your mind for the future though.

【Conclusion】

So there you have it. Now you know that the している grammar point can express several situations. You could have:

・Repetition - there will be a word/phrase that indicates that the action happens repeatedly. The English translation won’t use the -ing form of a verb

・State or a Condition - there MAY or may not be a word/phrase indicating repetition. The main thing to focus on is whether the verb is an action verb or not. This will help you decide if you need -ing or not.

As always, keep your eyes and ears open for different kinds of examples and try to notice patterns. You can do it!

Rice & Peace,

– AL

👋🏾

*I purposely say “the helping verb いる“because there is also the regular いる verb. It’s the same with the “be”, “do” and “have” verbs in English. “Am” in “I am a teacher” plays a different role than the one in “I am eating.”

** 食べる is a transitive verb while 開く is an intransitive verb. Usually transitive verbs will translate to -ing and intransitive verbs won’t. Of course there are exceptions so keep an open mind.

*** When choosing between 来ている、行っている、and いる think about where the speaker is located as well as if you want to stress the movement of the subject.

[noctuadora]

About the Japanese relationship charts circulating around RE Twitter…

I've been seeing these images used to spark discussion... and arguments. Shipping wars aside, I was more intrigued by this Japanese term used to describe Leon and Ada’s relationship.

I want to explain these words in more detail, so this post will be about that + answering questions that some might ask. I'm also including Leon and Claire's chart as well.

Note: I am currently studying Japanese. I made this post partly because I like to understand advanced terms that are unique to a specific language. Despite this, my explanation is not immune to errors.

Leon and Claire’s relationship chart in Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness (2021).

Explaining this first because this is fairly easy to understand.

信頼関係 (しんらいかんけい・shinraikankei) - A relationship of mutual trust.

Kanji breakdown:

信頼 > reliance, trust, faith, confidence // 関係 > relationship

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Leon and Claire trust and rely on each other.

Q. ‘Is the term exclusively used for them only?’

No. 信頼関係 was also used to describe Leon's relationship with President Graham (and Jason or Patrick).

Leon and Ada’s relationship chart in Resident Evil: 6 (2012).

This is the term that others can't seem to grasp well (I mean they kinda do, but they also misinterpret it weirdly). In the English version, their relationship is described as ‘fatal ties’, but I don't care about that - I'm focusing on the Japanese version.

腐れ縁 (くされえん・kusareen) - an undesirable but inseparable relationship.

Kanji breakdown:

腐れ > to rot // 縁 > relations

The highlight of this word is the kanji 腐��, which is a negative verb used to describe something rotting/decaying.

The "inseparable relationship" part may be interpreted as romantic to some; as some shippers say, 'they are fated' (more on that later). But first, we need to understand what 腐れ縁 means in more context. Here are some excerpts I've taken from multiple sources.

離れようとしても離れられない関係 - A relationship that you know you should let go of, but can't. (This is consistent with OG RE4 Leon's line of 'she's a part of me I can't let go'.)

Note: 離れ (はなれ・hanare) mostly means 'to let go (of something/someone)' and 'to separate/to give up/to part ways'.

離れよう、縁を切ろうとしても断ち切れない好ましくない関係 - An unfavorable relationship that you can't cut off no matter how much you try to.

Note: 好ましい (このましい・konomashii) means desirable. 好ましくない (このましくない・konomashikunai) is the negative conjugation of it. 好ましくない関係 - undesirable relationship.

Just from this alone, you can see that their dynamic is difficult to understand. And that's what 腐れ縁 is.

Q. ‘Is the word 'rotten relationship' an accurate translation of the term?’

Google Translate translates this word LITERALLY. I think there is no true English equivalent of 腐れ縁, but yeah, 'fatal ties' is the term closest to it.

Q. ‘Can Leon and Ada be described as 'fated'?’

The answer is yes... and no. Here is another excerpt I find to be interesting:

「運命の相手」 を思わせるようなニュアンス ですが、 実際に��好ましくない関係に使われることが 多い言葉です。- The term 腐れ縁 does have a nuance that is reminiscent of "destined/fated partner (or in other words, 'the one')", but in reality, it is often used to refer to undesirable relationships.

Q. ‘So... Is their relationship that bad?'

The answer to this question will depend on your own interpretation of Leon and Ada's dynamic - and that's why people are quite divided when it comes to them. It is said that 腐れ縁 can be positive... in the sense that if you experienced it before, you can now have a better judgment of people (lol). But in some cases, a long-lasting rotting relationship (like theirs) could mean that they at least have some level of mutual trust only they understand. It can work... but even the article I've read wasn't so clear on how it can work, so.

If you made it this far, I hope you found this interesting. :)

[lupusmaxima]

2023/07/21

now that my summer school is over, i’ve got two free days from work, so i’m picking up japanese again! my writing is abhorrent, so, sorry

[languagelvlup]

i love when i go back to a book or comic or drama that used to be too hard and........actually understand it. nothing gives me a better sense of progress or improves my motivation more. a million times better than passing a test for me.

[wolfish-trickster]

My dad just gave me the best reason to keep studying japanese.

My second year of uni started, it's getting pretty tough and with my mental and other issues it's been really difficult to even work on my comic, let alone keep studying japanese. Long story short i haven't done a thing to improve my speaking or reading skills in the past two months.

But today my dad was cleaning up his work space/packing up his stuff. He's changing works. He brought home lots of stuff, including this funny looking usb. He gave it to me to check it out. He said he has downloaded a movie on it a long time ago and forgot to give it to me (guess constantly forgetting stuff runs in my family 😅). So today i put the usb in my pc and i found a single movie there: anthem of the heart. I was so happy! Until i played it. Just japanese, no subtitles. And i couldn't understand as much as i thought i would.

So, i'm rolling my sleeves up and logging into my renshuu account, dusting my grammar book that has been successfully collecting dust on my bookshelf, pulling out my study notebook and continuing studying!

And here i thought satoshi kon would keep me going but i already have all his work with subtitles so i guess that wasn't such a strong motivation...but this? Yup, it sure seems like a challenge! Also side eying my no longer human copy written in japanese 👀

[gretheresa]

29th April 2024

Day 27th of 100 Days of Productivity

Things I managed to get done:

vocab of almost all the chapters that are going to be on the test(3 chapters to go)

read the text thoroughly

went for a walk, the weather was lovely today

wrote 200 of the 800 characters required for the essay I need to submit

cleaned out my desk and completely got rid of the clutter (as in threw the stuff I didn't need but kept telling myself I might need it someday kinda cleaning). also watched a few Gilmore Girls episodes while cleaning.

[365-nature-life]

[better-and-happier]

Hey fellow Japanese langblrs! Any suggestions for YouTubers/bloggers that make videos exclusively in Japanese? I’m not necessarily looking for instruction videos, but something casual I can listen to and get a feel for, preferably daily life vlogs or video essay type videos. If you have any recs pls lmk!

[anza-langblr]

オフィスで耳にした単語（１）

名詞 // Nouns

演習（えんしゅう）practice 開発費（かいはつひ）development cost 奇数（きすう）uneven number 後半（こうはん）latter half 借金（しゃっきん）debt, loan 実践（じっせん）practice, implementation 消防設備点検（しょうぼうせつびてんけん）Fire Safety Equipment Inspection 消防（しょうぼう）fire fighting 設備（せつび）equipment 前半（ぜんはん）first half 貸与（たいよ）loan, lending 点検（てんけん）inspection 添付ファイル（てんぷ）attached file 備品（びひん）fixtures, furnishing, equpiment 部署（ぶしょ）department 予算（よさん）budjet

動詞 // Verbs

該当する（がいとう）meet (qualifications), falling under, being applicable 加担する（かたん）assist, participate, support 換算する（かんさん）convert (currency) 記載する（きさい）list, note, record 計算する（けいさん）calculate 実施する（じっし）carry out 借金する（しゃっきん）borrow money 出社する（しゅっしゃ）go to the office 請求する（せいきゅう）demand, charge, bill 使いこなす（つかいこなす）handle, master 投資する（とうし）invest 並び替える（ならびかえる）arrange 配布する（はいふ）distribute 儲ける（もうける）make profit, earn

形容詞 // Adjectives

細かい（こまかい）small 精神的��（せいしんてき）mental, spiritual, moral

その他 // Other

気合が入る（きあい が はいる）be motivated 掲題の件ですが…（けいだい）concerning the matter mentioned before (common expression in business emails) ご一読ください（いちどく）please, read it through 承知いたしました（しょうち）Understood 即座に（そくざ）right there on the spot 即興で（そっきょう）improvised, without any preperation 本日の勤務を終了いたします（ほんじつ は きんむ を しゅうりょう いたします）I am finishing work for today

[expiationist]

first full week of the semester core ☕️📝

[saltylangblr]

30 day language challenge part 5!

5)  お気に入りの季節は何ですか？それはどうしてでしょうか？

What is your favorite season, and why?

秋も冬も大好きだけど、その中で秋が一番大好きだと思います。暑い天気がなかなか嫌いなので、やっと涼しくなると嬉しいです。秋の紅葉は本当に美しくていつも写真をいっぱい撮ります。

その上、秋といえばハロウィンでしょ？楽しい祭りだけど大学生になる以来ハロウィン夜はなにもしないことになりました…ガッカリ…

えーと。とにかく。

秋には、新学期も始まる時なので、わくわくな感じがします。でも、学期の中でさらに遠くに行けば、行くほど忙しく苦しくなるので、楽しいことをする時間が少なくなる。たとえば、友達とスモーキー山脈にハイキング予定があったけど、勉強もバイトもしなきゃいけなかったからできなかった。

時々、秋の現実よりイメージが好きだと思います。ちょっと悲しい。

調べた単語とフレーズ

紅葉　こうよう leaves turning red (in autumn); autumn colors

その上 in addition; furthermore

「ｘ」の中でさらに遠く行く　to go deeper into something

スモーキー山脈　さんみゃく Smoky Mountains

イメージ image (in one’s mind); idea (of something)

[neu-tronstar]

Japanese JLPT N3 Study Post #3

Welcome to my third study post, everyone! Today, I'll be making notes on the grammar point 合う to mean "Do something together." So, let's get into it!

Grammar Point 合う/あう (au)

Meaning: "Do something together."

How to use it

Verb ます stem + 合う/あう

For those wondering what "Verb Stem" means, essentially, it's the conjugation of a verb into ます form, where you then remove ます。I'll make this clear, when I write out the examples. I will strike through ます where I remove it, to assist others with understanding how "Verb Stems" in Japanese work.

Examples

私達はその件について話します合いましょう。

私達はその件について話し合いましょう。

Let's discuss together regarding that matter.

2人は愛します合っている。

2人は愛し合っている。

Those two are in love with each other.

その2人はいつも競います合っている。

その2人はいつも競い合っている。

Those 2 are always competing with each other.

合うｖｓ会う

Now, this isn't explicitly related to this grammar point, but I know this is something I always used to have confusion over, so I thought I'd include a point on it. These two words are both spelt and pronounced the same way, but their meaning is different. I'll explain this down below.

会う (au)

Commonly used to mean "to meet" or "to see someone."

This word uses the kanji 会, which conveys the idea of "coming together."

It means to physically meet someone/a group of people.

Example

友達に会う。

To meet a friend.

合う (au)

合う means "to match", "to fit", or "to go well together".

This word uses the kanji 合, which conveys the idea of harmony or agreement.

合う is used when talking about things that are compatible, or people who get along well together.

Example

この靴は私の服に合う。

These shoes match my clothes.

彼と彼女は気が合う。

They get along well together.

I hope this helps clarify the difference between the two!

Twisted Wonderland Notes

Unfortunately, I haven't got much done on the translation of Volume 1 of the Light Novel. I ended up being far busier over the weekend than I had anticipated. I'm hoping to get started on it this week, so if you're looking forward to that, stay tuned!

References

I am unable to embed this link, but hopefully you can just copy and paste it, if you want to read more on 会うｖｓ合う。

Previous Posts

If you want to take a look at my previous grammar posts, here they are!

Conclusion

Thank you for reading, and I hope this was helpful! As always, feel free to write any suggestions down in the comments, or any other grammar points you would like me to break down!

[lupusmaxima]

2023/08/24

getting back into the swing of things after being down with a cold