In this video lesson you will learn about “housework”. Don’t forget to write a comment.

家事　－　かじ

Key phrases:

せんたくを　しました              -　I did the washing.

そうじきを　かけました       – I vacuumed the floors

せんたくものを　ほしました   – I hung out the washing

トイレを　そうじしました          – I cleaned the toilet
Learning Japanese online is cheapest and most effective way to learn Japanese. I think it is even better than taking private Japanese lessons. There is lots of free quality content, including Japanese podcast lessons, video lessons and lots of blogs and sites teaching Hiragana and Katakana. Start learning Japanese today.

The lessons below comes with video tutorials – to learn more visit Read Japanese Fast

Reading Practice Vocabulary　 読み練習の単語を覚えましょう 1 来る くる To come 2 毎日 まいにち Every day 3 良い よい Good 4 天気 てんき Weather 5 食べ物 たべもの Food 6 多い おおい Many, lots of 7 大きい おおきい Big 8 小さい ちいさい Small 9 見に行ってきました みにいってきました Went and saw 10 千 せん A thousand 11 来週 らいしゅう Next week 12 百 ひゃく A hundred

Email の読み練習

おにいちゃんへ こんにちは。ニュウヨークへ来て、２週間がすぎました。毎日良い天気です。こちらのレストランでは、食べ物がとても多いです。そして、みんな大きい人たちばかりで、私は、とても小さいです。 今日は、がっこうを見に行ってきました。とても大きいキャンパスで、千人いじょうせいとがいるそうです。がっこうは来週の金曜からはじまります。とてもたのしみです。 アパートがみつからないので、まだともだちのところにいます。週に百ドルくらいのアパートをさがしています。来週の火曜か水曜ぐらいまでには見つけたいとおもいます。 では、またメールするね。

Grammar Points

みんな大きい人たちばかりで	ばかり means all or only. In this case “everyone”
とてもたのしみ	たのしみ means “to look forward to”
アパートがみつからないので	みつからない is the negative form of  the verb みつける　－　to find. “(Since) I haven’t been able to find an apartment..”
見つけたいとおもいます	見つけたいis the “tai” form of みつける　to find.Adding とおもいます expresses a hope or expectation. “I hope to find an apartment”

]]> http://talksushi.com/kanji-lessons-read-kanji-characters-in-conext/feed/ 1 http://talksushi.com/speak-japanese-fluently/ http://talksushi.com/speak-japanese-fluently/#comments Sun, 08 Feb 2009 05:07:16 +0000 Nick http://talksushi.com/?p=514 To speak Japanese fluently is usually the ultimate goal of anyone studying the Japanese language. To reach the level where you can speak Japanese fluently can become quite a time consuming challenge. Not because the language is so difficult, but because most of the methods people use to learn or study Japanese are unproductive and too confusing. In my experience the best foreign speakers of Japanese are usually people who have taken no formal Japanese classes, can’t read or write hiragana or katakana, don’t  know any kanji and don’t have a clue about Japanese grammar. They are also usually non-English speakers as well. How are they able to speak the language so well? They are forced to because of there job. Due to their environment or situation they have no option but to speak Japanese.

When living in Japan I met hundreds of English teachers who could speak Japanese, but never at a fluent level. They were taking classes, studying for the Japanese Language ProficiencyTest, and investing quite a lot of money on text books and audio programs. They studied hard but just couldn’t get to a fluent level. Then occasionally I would met someone from Turkey or India. They would speak the language like a native. Yet, they had taken no classes or purchased little in the way of study material. These speakers of Japanese wouldn’t learn or study the language in the traditional sense. They wouldn’t spend time learning hiragana or katakana. They certainly wouldn’t learn kanji or study grammar. In fact they would no nothing about the language except they could speak fluently. They would just soak up and use the language from their environment. They learnt the language from example and experience. The fastest and most effective way to study anything, especially a language.

In order to speak Japanese fluently you need to surround yourself with Japanese speakers and also not speak your native language. If you put yourself in a situation where you are forced to speak the language daily your Japanese will improve in leaps and bounds. If you spend too much time on rules about the language you will become knowledgeable about the structure of language and whatnot, but your speak ability will progress very slowly.

To develop the ability to speak you must observe how Japanese interact and then basically model what you see over and over. You have to become a bit of a actor and become Japanese. Japanese has to become a part or most of your life. Now, the problem is not many of us can just drop what we are doing and  fly of to Japan. So how can you learn to speak Japanese without studying the language?

Surround yourself with as much Japanese as possible. Immerse yourself in real language as much as possible. This means making Japanese friends, getting a Japanese girlfriend or boy friend, watching Japanese television and listening to Japanese radio. You need to listen to Japanese speaking the real thing. Don’t listen to podcasts that are designed to teach you Japanese. There is too much in the way of explanation and unrealistic examples. Most of what is taught is too formalized anyway. Focus your life on mimicking Japanese. Speak to yourself in Japanese. So now you know what you need to do if you want to speak Japanese fluently. If you follow my advice you end up saving yourself a whole lot of time and money.

Watch the video kanji lesson below.

Let’s revise!

車　has two readings;  くるま and  しゃ. Which one is the Chinese reading?

Here are the questions and vocabulary from the video;

車をもってますか　　－ Do you own a car?

車をもってません      － I don’t own a car

車はたかいですね　－　Cars are expensive

車　－　　　　　くるま　　－　　　kuruma         –  car

車椅子　－　　 くるまいす　－　kurumaisu   -   wheelchair

自動車　－　    じどうしゃ　 －   jidousha       -   motor vehicle

自転車　－　     じてんしゃ　－ jitensha          -   bicycle

書庫　 　－  　 しゃこ　　　　－　shako             -   garage

駐車所 　－ ちゅうしゃじょ　－ chuushajyo   -  car park

車輪　　  － しゃりん　　　　－　sharin             -  wheel

What did you think?

Katakana is the second Japanese alphabet used to express non-Japanese words in written Japanese. The other alphabet is called Hiragana. Then there is Kanji. Hiragana is the basic alphabet that children first learn in order to read Japanese. As students progress, Katakana and Kanji is then introduced as the student’s vocabulary expands. For foreign students it makes sense to approach reading Japanese in the same way. Please visit our sister site ReadHiragana.com to learn how to read Hiragana.

Katakana is not just about English loan words.It also used for onowords, emphasizing words in manga and children’s books that would normally be written in Kanji or Hiragana, terminologies in the fields of study like science and medicine, and foreign names. If Kanji represents the traditional “language culture” of Japanese, then Katakana represents the modern and evolving “language culture”. In fact, Katakana is very much a part of the modern evolving culture of Japan as new words named after or tagged to new trends and cultural discoveries are usually always based on English words and written in Katakana.

Why is it import to learn Katakana?

Katakana, like Hiragana, is indeed worthwhile learning as it ensures you are speaking Japanese correctly. Often English native speaking students of Japanese make the mistake of half learning Katakana or skip learning it all together. Making the assumption that you can get by because most atakana words are English loan words is a big mistake. If you can’t read atakana you can be sure that you’re not pronouncing words well. If your pronunciation is slightly off you will have trouble being understood. So please come and visit us often. You can also sign up for a sample of our video course that helps you master and read Katakana fast. Juts fill in the forum below and check your email.

Learning katakana is not only about “loan words”. If Kanji represents the traditional “language culture” of Japanese, then Katakana represents the modern and evolving “language culture”.

Katakana is used for:

1. Onomatopoeic words

2. Emphasizing words that would normally be written in Kanji or Hiragana

3. Foreign names

4. Terminologies?- words and phrases used in a particular subject or field.