2014年10月26日日曜日

the last - last

I am sorry that I have been lazy about writing my English blog. So I am writing one more post this month. It is short though...
Here is a question for you. How do you translate these?
  1. The last Saturday in October
  2. The last two people
  3. Last Saturday
  4. Last time
The answers are:
  1. 10 gatsu no saigo no doyobi
  2. saigo no futari
  3. senshu no doyobi, kono mae no doyobi
  4. zenkai, kono mae no toki
You can translate “last” two different ways, but the difference is simple when you compare them. “The last” (the antonym of “the first”) is “saigo no”; and “last” (the antonym of “next”) is “kono mae no”.
the last (saigo no) the first (saisho no)
last (kono mae no)  next (tsugi no)
When you confuse “saigo no” and “kono mae no”, it’s good to think of the antonym of the “last” that you’re using in English. 
However, both work on this English sentence:
When was the last time you went to an onsen?
saigo ni onsen ni itta no wa itsu des ka? 
kono mae onsen ni itta no wa itsu des ka? 


2014年10月19日日曜日

deru (出る)

A couple weeks ago, a volcano in Japan erupted. This eruption is a tragedy because there are many victims. At the same time, I realized again that the earth is a living thing. Japan has 110 active volcanoes and its highest mountain, Mt. Fuji, is one of them. An active volcano is one that has erupted within the past 10,000 years. The time we have lived is nothing more than one fleeting moment compared to the history of the earth. By the way, Mt. Fuji last erupted in 1707.

It is rather boring to talk about details of Japanese grammar after having a topic as big as the grand history of the earth, but I’d like to discuss the word “deru” (出る) today.


The kanji “” is familiar even to non-Japanese because you often see signs with “出口” on them at stations. “” means “out” and “出口” (out mouth) means “exit”. This is an easy example of kanji words. 
The verb for this kanji is “deru”.
  • Uchi o hachi ji ni deru. (I leave my house at 8). 
  • Densha wa nanji ni eki o deru? (What time is the train leaving?)
Meaning: to go away from a place, leave a place and go somewhere else
The point is, you should use (o) when you leave places, such as uchi o , eki o. This indicates the starting location.

Then, what is the meaning of following examples?
  • Kare wa ashita no shiai ni deru.
  • Kaigi ni deru.
  • Denwa ni deru.
“Shiai ni deru” is not the same as “shiai kara deru” (leave a game). This is actually “play in a game”. The meaning of “deru” here is basically the opposite of its meaning in “uchi o deru” from earlier, isn’t it?
The meaning of “deru” changes depending on whether or you use “ni” or “o”.

Meaning: to go to a specific place to do something

  • Shiai ni deru: to go to a game in order to participate in it.
  • Kaigi ni deru: to attend a meeting
  • Denwa ni deru: to answer the telephone
When you use “deru”, think carefully about whether to use “o” or “ni”.


2014年8月3日日曜日

Sorry and Excuse me / gomen and sumimasen

The hot summer has begun. Even though the heat is unpleasant, the arrival of summer is always exciting. Complicated, isn’t it?

Today, I will study the differences between “Sorry” and “Excuse me” and the Japanese equivalents “gomennasai” and “sumimasen”. It seems that everybody knows these expressions, but there might be some things about them that you don’t know.
According to Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, “sorry” has three definitions. I will list them and add Japanese translations to each English sentence.
1. feeling sadness or regret
I am sorry to say that I won't be able to accept the job. (sono shigoto o hikiukerarenai no wa zannen des.)
I am sorry to hear of your father's death. (okuyami moushi agemas.)
When you say "I am sorry to say that" or "I am sorry to hear that”, you should use “zannen des”. Also, since “zannen des” is, by itself, not quite sufficient to express your sadness at someone’s passing, “okuyami moushi agemas” would be a good phrase to add.

2. full of shame and regret, apologetic
If you say you are sorry, we will forget the incident. (anata ga gomen to ittara,/ayamattara, watashitachi wa kono ken o wasuremasho.)
Aren't you sorry for what you have done? (jibun ga yatta koto o warui to omowanai no?)
Saying “gomennasai” or “sumimasen” is an act of apologizing. For the second example, you should use “warui to omou” rather than “gomen” because the sentence only refers to feeling apologetic, not actually apologizing.

3. used to express mild regret, disagreement or refusal
Can you lend me a pound? No, I am sorry I can't. (1pound kahiste kureru?  gomen/ warui kedo, kasenai.)
I am sorry I am late. (okurete gomen/ sumimaen.)
When you convey your refusal or disagreement with “I am sorry but…”, it is natural to start with “warui kedo”. It is okay to simply use “gomen(nasai)” or “sumimasen” for the second sentence, but don’t forget to use the te-form of the verb (before “gomen” and “sumimasen”) if you also state your reason for apologizing.

Next, here is the definition of “Excuse me”:
used as an apology when one interrupts, disagrees, disapproves or has to behave impolitely
Excuse me, is anybody sitting here? (sumimasen, koko ni dareka suwatteimas ka?)
Excuse me, can I get past? (sumimasen, toottemo ii des ka?)

“Sumimasen” is a very useful phrase because you can use it for both “I am sorry” and “Excuse me” and it can also be used for expressing feelings of gratitude. However, it can’t be used for the first definition of “sorry” and does not always fit with the second and third ones either. Thus, it is important to remember the situations in which it is appropriate and sentence patterns as well.


2014年6月26日木曜日

A study of “yasumi”

It is June now and I think that many of you are planning your summer vacation. How long will your summer vacation be? That depends on the type of work you do, your company, and your country, right? As you know, people often point out that Japanese summer vacations are short. This is due to our national character, company rules, and also people’s personal points of view, but I think that Japanese people are satisfied with shorter vacations compared to people from other countries. Of course, we are not happy if we can’t take any vacation time at all, though.

Not only are Japanese summer holidays short, but it is also well known that Japanese office workers don’t take paid holidays very often. They feel guilty when they take holidays despite having a pile of work to do or despite their colleagues continuing to work busily. When everyone feels this way, it becomes more difficult to take days off.

I often discuss this topic with non-Japanese people working in Japan and, the other day, one student told me, “There is only one word for ‘yasumi’ in Japanese. On the other hand, there are many such words in English, such as vacation, holiday, day off, leave and break.” This is certainly true.

According to the dictionary:

yasumu: to pause your work or activity and relax physically and mentally (“yasumi” is its noun form)

If you break apart the kanji for “yasumi” (), on the left side stands for a person and  on the right side represents a tree. The person is leaning against the tree to relax his or her body.

Here are the definitions of the English words.

Vacation/holiday: period of time away from everyday work, used especially for travel, recreation and rest
Leave: permission given to an employee to be absent from work for a special reason
Break: interval especially between periods of work

When you look at them all side by side like this, you can see that the word “yasumi” can stand in for all of the English words. Indeed, both one-hour breaks and one-week summer holidays are, ultimately, time to relax away from work and are essentially the same to the Japanese.

Of course, it is possible to divide “yasumi” into different words in Japanese, too. For example, national holidays are “shukujitsu,” paid holidays are “yukyu kyuka,” and short breaks are called “kyukei.” However, they are all just various types of “yasumi” and can each be replaced by the word “yasumi.” Also, the phrase “oyasumi nasai,” which we always say before going to bed, tells you to finish the day’s activities and go to sleep, so sleeping is yet another example of “yasumi”.

The definition of “yasumi” is simple yet broad. A mere five-minute-break could be considered a “yasumi.” Therefore, when a “yasumi” lasts for two weeks, we might feel that it is too long and that is why we usually end up having a short summer vacation. What do you think about this conclusion? 


2014年4月16日水曜日

toriaezu

It is good fun living in Japan and dining out with Japanese people, isn’t it? First of all, Japanese food is good overall, and you can often learn various aspects of Japanese culture at the restaurant. Well then, have you heard or used “toriaezu nama beer” when you place the first order at a restaurant or izakaya? What does this toriazezu mean?

Let’s have a look at a Japanese-English dictionary. In the English translation, there is not only one word for toriazezu.
  1. toriaezu ima wa watashi no pen o tsukatte. (Just use my pen for now.)
  2. toriaezu mise no mae o soji shite oite. (Clean up in front of the shop first.)
  3. dekiruka doka wakaranai kedo, toriaezu yatte miru. (I don’t know whether I can do it, but I will try anyway.)
When you see toriaezu from the English translation, all the meanings seem different. However, the above examples appear to have something in common to Japanese people who know the meaning and usage of this word.

This commonality is
Do something you should or want to do now, and in the meantime put aside other things or something you can do later.

The following are definitions and examples in the Japanese dictionary.
1. To do something first while leaving other things for later. 
 
example) daigaku no shiken ni gokaku shita! toriaezu haha ni gokaku o shiraseyo. (I passed the entrance examination for college! I will let my mother know first.)

example) toriaezu okane ga hitsuyo da. (The first thing I need is money.)
2. To do something immediately
example) jiko da! toriaezu kega nin ni okyushochi o shiyo. (Let’s give first aid to the injured person as an emergency/temporary measure. )
3. Without considering the future, for the present
example) toriaezu kono mama ni shite oku. (We will leave it as it is for the time being.)

Even though the translations of these examples are different, can you see all the previous examples have a common meaning?

Let’s get back to the first phrase, “toriaezu beer”. The thing you have at the start of a meal is beer, and you are not thinking now about what you order later, or think about it later. If a waiter hears this phrase, he probably assumes that you will order additional items afterward. However, if I realized that I made the wrong choice after entering a restaurant, I would go ahead and say “toriaezu beer” and make the waiter believe me. And then, I would drink the beer quickly and leave there without ordering other things!

For your information, the “nama” in nama beer means “raw” or “uncooked”. In other words, nama beer is unpasteurized beer, so it is in the same condition as nama zake (unpasteurized sake) nama zakana (raw fish), nama yasai (uncooked vegetable), nama tamago (raw egg), and so on.

kanpai! (Cheers!)