#japanese vocab

[goodplan-ipromise]

[haru-dipthong]

Did you know that the english word “star” and the japanese word 星（ほし）don’t actually mean the same thing?

Language does not simply name pre-existing categories; categories do not exist in 'the world'

— Daniel Chandler, Semiotics for Beginners

I read this quote a few years ago, but I don’t think I truly understood it until one day, when I was looking at the wikipedia article for “star” and I thought to check the Japanese article, see if I could get some Japanese reading practice in. I was surprised to find that the article was not titled 「��」, but 「恒星」, a word I’d never seen before. I’d always learnt that 星 was the direct translation for “star” (I knew the japanese also contained meanings the english didn’t, like “dot” or “bullseye”, but I thought these were just auxiliary definitions in addition to the direct translation of “star” as in "a celestial body made of hydrogen and helium plasma").

To try and clear things up for myself, I searched japanese wikipedia for 星. It was a disambiguation page, with the main links pointing to the articles for 天体 (astronomical object) and スター（記号）(star symbol). There was no article just called 「星」.

It’s an easy difference to miss, because in everyday conversation, 星 and star are equivalent. They both describe the shining lights in the night sky. They both describe this symbol: ★. They even both describe those enormous celestial objects made of plasma.

But they are different - different enough to not share a wikipedia article. 星 is used to describe any kind of celestial body, especially if it appears shiny and bright in the night sky. “Star” can be used this way too (like Venus being called the “morning star”), but it’s generally considered inaccurate to use the word like this, whereas there is no such inaccuracy with 星. You can say “oh that’s not actually a star, it’s a planet”, but you CAN’T say 「実はそれは星ではなく惑星だよ」 (TL: that’s not actually a hoshi, it’s a planet). A planet IS a 星.

星 is a very common word, essentially equivalent to “star”, but its meaning is closer to “celestial body”. I haven’t looked into the etymology/history but it’s almost like both english and japanese started out with a simple, common word for the lights in the sky - star/星 , but as we found out more about what these lights actually were, english doubled down on using the common word for the specific scientific concept, while japanese kept the common word generic and instead came up with a new word for the more specific concept. If this is actually what happened, I’d guess that kanji probably had something to do with it - 星 as a component kanji exists inside the word for planet, 惑星, and in the word for comet, 彗星, and in the scientific word for “star”, 恒星, so it makes sense that it would indicate a more general concept when used standalone.

This discovery helped me understand that quote - categories don’t exist in the world, we are the ones who create them. I thought that the concept of “star” was something that would be consistent across all languages, but it’s not, because the concept of “star” is not pre-existing. Each language had to decide how to name each of those similar star-like concepts (the ★ symbol, hot balls of gas, twinkling lights in the sky, planets, comets, etc), and obviously not every language is going to group those concepts under the same words with the same nuance.

Knowing this, one might be tempted to say that 恒星（こうせい） is the direct translation for “star”. But this isn’t true either. In most of the contexts that the word “star” is used in english, the equivalent japanese will be simply 星. Despite the meanings not lining up exactly, 星 will still be the best translation for “star” most of the time. This is the art of translation - knowing when the particulars are less important than the vibe or feel of a word. For any word, there will never be an exact perfect translation with all the same nuances and meanings. Translation is about finding the best solution to an unsolvable problem. That's why I love it.

[onigiriforears]

やばい Alternatives | Vocab

Step 1 of 「伝える力」 が伸びる! 12歳までに知っておきたい語彙力図鑑 focuses on teaching you synonyms for words you would typically use to describe your emotions. There are synonyms for words like やばい, エモい, and the like. This particular post will focus on the information that they've given about やばい。

The book also ranks the words' difficulty level, with 1 star being an "of course you know this" to 5 stars being "even adults probably don't know this and you're about to blow them away with your vocabulary and make them pull out their dictionary." Because of this, you may see words that you encountered quickly as a Japanese learner (that a native speaker 12 year old may not have encountered yet) and vice versa on the list below.

やばい

Because やばい is a word that can be used to express nearly any emotion (much like how OMG can be used in many contexts in American English), the book did also make sure to put the contexts in which the alternative word would be appropriate.

危うい (あやうい)- dangerous; in danger; facing imminent danger ❖This is to be used when dangerous situations are imminent. The way they described it was "危険が迫っている状態" ▶︎Their example: 危うい所でピンチを脱出した。

危険 (きけん)- dangerous; risky; uncertain; precarious; in danger ❖This is to be used when a situation may lead to not-so-good/dangerous outcomes. ▶︎Their example: そんなに高い所からジャンプしたら、危険だよ。

驚異的 (きょういてき)- wonderful; astounding; marvelous ❖This is to be used when something passes a level of surprise that you can express. ▶︎Their example: 大谷選手の達成した記録は驚異的だ。

最高 (さいこう)- best; supreme; wonderful; highest; maximum; supreme ❖This is to be used when describing something of the highest status/dignity/ranking. (This is relative in comparison to other things.) ▶︎Their example: 夏休みに友達と見に行った映画が、最高に面白かった。

素晴らしい (すばらしい)- wonderful; splendid; magnificent ❖ This is used to describe something that's elegant/praiseworthy/splendid, things that are desirable, and things that admirable. ▶︎Their example: 富士山の山頂から眺める景色は、息をのむほどに素晴らしい。

Yojijukugo (四字熟語)

This section also includes four-character compound idioms (yojijukugo) that can be associated with the word we're focusing on expanding our vocabulary from.

絶体絶命 (ぜったいぜつめい)- desperate situation with no escape; being driven into a corner; being cornered; last extremity ❖ You would use this when you find yourself in a situation that there's no conceivable way you could think of making it out in the way that you truly desire. ▶︎Apparently you can use it in phrases like this 「絶体絶命のピンチ」 BONUS: I found an example online that also uses it to mean "stalemate" and the example is a cop and a suspect both pointing a gun at each other.

最上無二 (さいじょうむに)- there is nothing else like it in this world; it's an unparalleled marvel ❖They listed this one at 5 stars (aka, the adults are gonna be surprised that you know this and also go look it up) and I can certainly see why--I couldn't find any official English translations of it. Here's the definition the book gave: この世に二つとなく、最もすばらしいこと。「最上」は最もすぐれていること、「無二」は同じ物がないことを意味するよ。

SOMEONE PLEASE CORRECT ME IF MY UNDERSTANDING OF THIS LAST YOJIJUKUGO IS INCORRECT SO THAT I CAN LEARN IT PROPERLY!! I BESEECH THEE!! I IMPLORE YOU!!

Anyways, the next post will be alternatives words for かわいい and エグい

[nihongoseito]

here’s an interesting internet word i just learned:

垢作る（あかつくる） = to make an account (on a website)

the use of 垢 is as an ateji from アカウントを作る! 💻🖱

[corvid-language-library]

Japanese vocab: some words I messed up/forgot this week:

Colour indicates pitch accent (pink = high then falling, orange = remains high, purple = flat)

All sample sentences are from Renshuu app.

景色（けしき）- scenery, scene, landscape [noun] その国は山の景色が美しいので有名です。The country is renowned for its beautiful mountain scenery.

贈り物（おくりもの）- gift, present [noun] エミは素敵な贈り物に驚きました。Emi was surprised at the nice gift.

郊外（こうがい）- suburb, commuter belt [noun] 郊外から通う学生はバスで通学している。Students that commute from the suburbs come to school by bus.

最も（もっとも）- most, extremely [adv] 日曜日は私が最も暇な日だ。Sunday is the day I'm most free.

とうとう - finally, at last, in the end, ultimately [adv] とうとう私の姉は婚約した。Finally, my sister got engaged

適当（てきとう）- suitable, proper, appropriate [な-adj] 適当な時に彼にそれを言いましょう。I will tell him at the proper time.

無くなる（なくなる）- to be lost, to be used up [v1, intr] 彼女は元気が無くなった。She's not as energetic as she once was.

鳴る（なる）- to sound [v1, intr] 突然ベルが鳴った。Suddenly, the bell rang.

構う（かまう）- to mind, to care about [v1, /intr] ここに座っても構いませんか？Do you mind if I sit here?

しばらく - for a moment, for a minute しばらく考えさせてください。Let me think for a moment.

講義（こうぎ）- lecture [noun/v3] 講義の間、彼女はとても退屈だった。She was very bored during the lecture.

招待する（しょうたいする）- to invite [v3] 彼をパーティーに招待してもいい？Can we invite him to the party?

倒れる（たおれる）- to fall (over, down) [v2, intr] その男は倒れた木に座っていた。The man was sitting on a fallen tree.

[plague-of-insomnia]

What’s In A Title?: Variations on “Master” in Black Butler

旦那様・当主・ご主人様・マイロード・様・坊ちゃん

Throughout the manga, we see various titles used for Vincent, Real Ciel, and Our Ciel, with these being more obvious in the original Japanese than in translation.

This post will focus on Sebastian and Tanaka and the various terms they use at different points within the story.

I personally am not an expert on keigo (the most formalized of speech that Sebastian speaks almost exclusively in in Japanese), so I am not really going to be going into the subtleties there. (Other posts have tackled this already, and probably with more expertise than I could.)

I also want to emphasize I am only now beginning to read the manga from ch 1 in Japanese (I’ve only read bits and pieces until the most recent ~25 chapters or so), so it is possible I am missing some examples or variations mentioned in other parts of the 200+ chapters not brought up here.

However, I think we can still look at these subtle differences even if you are an English speaker who knows zero about formality levels/humble speech in Japanese. And if you’re willing to take this journey with me despite these caveats, keep reading.

旦那様・当主・ご主人様・マイロード・様・坊ちゃん

Before I get into the variations between Sebastian and Tanaka, let’s look at some of the titles used:

The variations are as follows:

Dannasama - 旦那様

Toushu - 当主

Shujin - 主人

Goshujinsama - ご主人様

“my lord” - ご主人様・マイロード

Lord Ciel - シエル様

Bocchan - 坊ちゃん

Tanaka

Tanaka uses #1, #2, #3, #6, and #7. Let’s look at him first.

Dannasama - 旦那様

Means “master of the house,” but is also a term you’d use with a boss or someone of higher status, akin to “sir” in some usages in English.

Tanaka uses this term only for Vincent, so far as I know.

Toushu - 当主

Means “present head of the family.”

Tanaka uses this when speaking about/to Our Ciel when distinguishing him from his father, the previous head. For example, in the murder arc when he points out that it isn’t appropriate for the master of the house to be upset by a servant’s death.

Shujin - 主人

Means “head of the household” or “master” (among other uses). This version does not have the added formality/humbleness of the versions that Sebastian uses (the go- prefix and the -sama suffix).

Tanaka uses this when speaking generally about “the master” or “one’s master,” for example, in the end of the murder arc when he tells Sebastian a Phantomhive butler shouldn’t die before his master.

Lord Ciel - シエル様

Just Ciel + the kanji for “sama,” is how Tanaka refers exclusively to Real Ciel throughout the manga, to the best of my knowledge, when speaking to or of him specifically, individually.

Above, we see how in the example on the right (in the present), Tanaka calls RC “Lord Ciel” directly, and in the example on the left, how he refers to him that way in the past as well when not directly addressing him. (OC is “you” or 貴方 there.)

Bocchan - 坊ちゃん

Means “young master,” and is how Tanaka refers to Our Ciel almost exclusively (except for the examples above), not only before the tragedy but after. He immediately knew that Ciel was OC and not his twin, and we know this because of the address.

Sebastian seems to have picked up the title from Tanaka, because he does not use it before they see him. Above, he even puts special emphasis on the title when he uses it for the first time. And as far as I know, aside from “my lord,” he refers to Ciel as such exclusively thereafter.

旦那様・当主・ご主人様・マイロード・様・坊ちゃん

Sebastian

Sebastian uses #4, #5, and #7.

Goshujinsama - ご主人様

Means “head of the household” or “master” (among other uses). This version does include the formal/humble prefix “go-” and suffix “-sama.”

This is the first term that Sebastian uses for Ciel when he shifts from “you” (貴方, anata) to “master,” when they first begin establishing the contract. He also uses a variation on this I’ll explain next, but THIS version, said exactly like this, he stops using after their visit to Tanaka.

You can see in the above examples that he uses this address both before and after he assumes his butler form.

I expect that this is likely how Sebastian has referred to all his masters as I believe it’s the most humble/formal way of addressing one’s master (aside from more specific titles that may be used).

My Lord - ご主人様 ・マイロード

Even before he adopts “bocchan,” Sebastian sometimes refers to Ciel in English as “my lord,” as Yana informs us via the katakana spelling on the kanji. Yet she still writes it in keigo, as if to reminds us of the manner in which Sebastian speaks, and that even if he has dropped the uber formal “goshujinsama,” he is, in a sense, still using it throughout the story.

Bocchan - 坊ちゃん

As I explained above, this seems to be a manner of address Sebastian picks up from Tanaka. It seems to imply that he does so partly because he recognizes that the old man is aware of Ciel’s real identity (unlike Madam Red, who assumes he’s RC, which is why Ciel looks so dead-eyed while Sebastian is smirking).

Maybe he does it to mock him at first, a reminder that Sebastian knows he’s a liar. Maybe he adopts it because he’s never had a young master before and decides it could be a fun change of pace.

Unless Yana says something or reveals more insight into Sebastian’s POV, however, we may never know exactly why he made this shift and stuck with it.

旦那様・当主・ご主人様・マイロード・様・坊ちゃん

And that’s my rundown of how “master” is used in Japanese by Sebastian and Tanaka, depending on who they’re addressing or referring to and at what point we are in the story. As you can see, most of it is lost in translation.

If you enjoyed this post, you may like to check out some of my other kuro translation posts, including my pronoun series, in which I explain why various characters use certain personal pronouns.

Reblogs and tips are also always appreciated!

[seherstudies]

名残

なごり

意味　【いみ】：(the sorrow of) parting

例文　【れいぶん】：

例文の英訳　【れいぶんのえいやく】：You've been a great help to me. I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a sense of remorse.

[tokyostudying]

LEARN JAPANESE WITHドラマ

みんなこんにちは！ i was watching Tokyo Swindlers 「地面師たち」　and i decided to make a vocabulary list and share it with y'all! i hope you guys will find it helpful! i'm only on episode one so i'll post more vocabulary lists as i'm watching! as always, feel free to correct me any time! 頑張って！

ᯓ★TOKYO SWINDLERS S1E1 VOCABULARY LIST:

経つ　➸　たつ　➸　to pass (of time), to elapse

時のたつのは早いものだ。Time flies.

もう　➸　already, by now, yet, soon, further, again, jeez

もう～、なにやってんだよ。Jeez, what are you up to? 彼はもう帰宅しました。He has already gone home.

仕事　➸　しごと　➸　work, job, labor, occupation, employment

あなたは仕事が気に入っていると思います。I believe you like your job.

言う　➸　いう　➸　to say, to utter, to call, to name, to declare

うそを言うな。Don't tell lies!

探す　➸　さがす　➸　to search for, to look for, to hunt for, to seek

仕事を探してるんだ。I'm looking for a job.

待つ　➸　まつ　➸　to wait, to look forward to, to anticipate

もう彼のことを待てない。I can't wait for him any longer.

契約　➸　けいやく　➸　contract, compact, agreement

それでは契約と違う。That's against the contract.

てめえ　➸　you (derogatory)

てめぇら、死にやがれ！ Fuck you all to hell!

野郎　➸　やろう　➸　guy, fellow, bastard, asshole

あの野郎は、いただきだ。I am going to get that sucker.

先に　➸　さきに　➸　previously, before, earlier, first, ahead (of)

私が先にそこへ着くよ。 I'll get there before you will.

打つ　➸　うつ　 ➸　to hit, to strike, to knock, to beat, to punch, to slap, to type, to send, to transmit

雨が窓を打った。The rain whipped against the window. 田中さんはタイプが打てるんでしょう。Ms. Tanaka can type, can't she?

同じ　➸　おなじ　➸　same, identical, equal, anyway, in either case

みんな同じなのよ。They are all the same.

疑い　➸　うたがい　➸　doubt, uncertainty, suspicion, distrust

疑いの余地はない。There is no room for doubt.

無残　➸　むざん　➸　cruel, merciless, cold-blooded, miserable

彼の希望は無残に砕かれた。His hopes were shattered.

姿　➸　すがた　➸　figure, form, shape, appearance, dress, state

自分の姿を鏡にうつして見なさい。Look at yourself in the mirror.

一瞬　➸　いっしゅん　➸　instant, moment, for an instant

それは私にとってはらはらする一瞬だった。It was a nervous moment for me.

[translations101]

Japanese titles of Disney movies

白雪姫　しらゆきひめ

白　しら white

雪　ゆき snow

姫　ひめ princess

= Snow White

眠れる森の美女　ねむれるもりのびじょ

眠れる　ねむれる　sleeping

森　もり forest

の (place holder) means "of" in this case

美女　びじょ beautiful girl

Sleeping beauty of the forest

= sleeping beauty

ラマになった王様　らまになったおうさま

ラマ　llama

に　(place holder) / to

なった became

王様　おうさま king

The king that became a llama

= the emperors new groove

シュガーラッシュ　Sugar Rush

= wreck it ralph

アナと雪の女王　アナとゆきのじょおう

アナ　Anna

と and

雪 ゆき snow

の (place holder)

女王 じょおう queen

Anna and the snow queen

=Frozen

ノートルダムの鐘

ノートルダム　Norte Dame

の place holder/ of

鐘 かね　bell

The bell of Norte Dame

= the hunchback of Notre Dame

[goodplan-ipromise]

[anime-academia]

Today's kanji! (2024.10.23)

Again...readings aren't comprehensive,.just the most common

九 🔹️ ここの/ク/キユウ 🔹️nine

月 🔹️つき/ゲツ/ガツ 🔹️moon/month

見 🔹️ み.せる/み.る 🔹️see/ hopes/ chances/ idea/ look at/ opinion/ visible

五 🔹️ いつ/ゴ 🔹️five

午 🔹️ ゴ 🔹️ noon/ 11:00 - 13:00/ sign of the horse/ 7th Chinese Zodiac

後 🔹️ あと/うし.ろ/ゴ 🔹️ behind/ back/ later

[polyglot-thought]

Japanese Vocabulary from

Goodnight Moon

おやすみなさい　おつきさま

by Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd, and Teiji Seta

Read on OpenLibrary

Disclaimer: The original writing is all in hiragana, but I made it all in kanji with no spaces for this post. I encourage you to read the book before reading this post.

———

風船

ふうせん

「赤い風船一つ」

“There is one red balloon”

絵の額

え　の　がく

「絵の額が二つ」

“There are two framed drawings”

雌牛／牝牛

めうし

飛び越す

とびこす

腰掛けてる

こしかけてる

「それは雌牛がお月様を飛び越す絵と三匹の熊が椅子に腰掛けてる絵」

“This is a picture of a cow jumping over the moon and a picture of three bears sitting in chairs.”

手袋

てぶくろ

一揃い

ひとそろい

「手袋一揃い」

“(There is) one set of gloves”

櫛

くし

「櫛とブラシ」

“A comb and a brush”

お粥

おかゆ

一碗/一椀

ひとわん

「お粥が一碗」

“There is one bowl of rice gruel.”

number + measure word for small animals ↓

一匹

いっぴき

「小鼠一匹」

“There is one baby rat”

二匹

にひき

「子猫が二匹」

“There are two kittens.”

三匹

さんびき

「三匹の熊が椅子に腰掛けてる絵」

“A picture of three bears sitting in chairs”

———

Please correct me if I made a mistake

Buy me a coffee

[onigiriforears]

Vocab pt. 1 | 「伝える力」が伸びる! 12歳までに知っておきたい語彙力図鑑

I've recently started reading 「伝える力」が伸びる! 12歳までに知っておきたい語彙力図鑑 (or what I only refer to as "Words You Ought to Know as a 12-year old") as a means to up my vocab game before the JLPT.

I'll probably post a review about the book once I actually finish it.

But in the meantime, here are some of the words that I learned just from reading the sections about how to use the book and all 5 of it's sections. I was quite pleased at the amount of words that I've already learned (and how many of them were N2 words).

語彙力 (ごいりょく)- (the extent of) one's vocabulary

図鑑 (ずかん)- field guide; illustrated reference book

目指す (めざす)- to aim at (for; to do; to become); to try for

各 (かく)- each, every, all [prefix]

繰り返す (くりかえす)- to repeat; to do over again

基礎 (きそ)- foundation; basis

言い換える (いいかえる)- to say in other words; to put another way; to rephrase

言い換え (いいかえ)- putting in other words; paraphrase; rephrasing; rewording

状況 (じょうきょう)- state of affairs; circumstances; situations; conditions

鍛える (きたえる)- to drill; to train; to discipline; to forge; to temper

変換 (へんかん)- change; transformation; conversion

観察眼 (かんさつがん)- observing eye

目の付け所 (めのつけどころ)- focus of one's attention; what one is looking for; viewpoint; point one is trying to make

文豪 (ぶんごう)- literary master

候補 (こうほ)- candidate; contender; prospect; pick; choice; list

まつわる- to be related; to concern; to be associated with

登場 (とうじょう)- entrance; appearance; arrival

表現 (ひょうげん)- expression; representation; description; representation (of a group)

解決 (かいけつ)- settlement; resolution; solution

ワンパターン - following a single pattern; conforming to the same pattern; repetitive; stereotyped; predictable [Wasei-eigo]

Hopefully, I'll be able to consistently post some of the vocab lists that I continue to compile for this. I'm in the Step 1 section of the book where it gives you synonyms and explains the connotations behind them/situations in which to use them. The first section I read was for やばい~

[nihongoseito]

3語の間違えやすい動詞

飽きる（あきる） = to get tired of, bored of

呆れる（あきれる） = to be amazed; to be shocked

諦める（あきらめる） = to give up

[corvid-language-library]

Colour coding pitch accent

I use colour coding to denote pitch accent in my Japanese vocab posts because I find it helpful for me personally and, you know, this is my blog. But I've started compiling all my vocab into a LibreOffice spreadsheet (finally) so I can search for it easily and also organise it by category for easier studying.

I still like including the vocab I've come across on my JLPT journal logs because 1. every time I write it out it helps my brain flag it as "familiar word I should know" (and usually by the third or fourth time I'm at least like "clearly this is a word I need to practice" and go out of my way to learn sample sentences/mnemonics to help me learn it) and 2. when I look back through my blog, it's always motivating to see words that I use regularly/comfortably were once words I had to look up.

But I'm wondering, should I continue to include pitch accent colour coding? It takes time on my part (albeit not a huge amount) and I'm not sure if anyone else actually finds it helpful. If it is helpful then I'll continue to include it, but if not I'll spare myself the effort.

What do you think?

[haku2naomi420]

• 披露宴 「ひろうえん」 - reception (e.g. wedding), banquet, celebration, party

• 露呈 「ろてい」 - exposure, disclosure

• 露見, 露顕 「ろけん」 - discovery (of a plot, misdeed, etc.), detection, exposure, disclosure

• 露骨 「ろこつ」 - 1. open, unconcealed, undisguised, blatant, plain, frank 2. broad, lewd, indecent, crude

• 暴露 「ばくろ」 - disclosure, exposure, revelation

• 露 「つゆ」 - 1. dew2. tears

• 披露 「ひろう」 - announcement, presentation, demonstration, displaying, showing, introducing, exhibiting, unveiling, revealing, showcasing, performing, giving a rendition

• 露店 「ろてん」 - street stall, stand, booth

• 露出 「ろしゅつ」 - exposure, laying bare, baring (e.g. skin)