別に。 @etto-etto - Tumblr Blog

JRR #3: November 10, 2023 I successfully revamped my entire resources page, but I made the mistake of copying the code with all links and new order and... not pasting it. (: This was a month ago and I still haven't found the energy to do it all over again (not to mention that the entirety of October was a literal nightmare), so for now I'll just stick to sharing some resources...

・Migaku & Migaku's Pitch Trainer: A handful of people love Migaku in a Discord server I'm in, but I don't have the patience to figure the whole thing out (a browser extention similar to Language Reactor but better, and you may need to sub to the higher tier to use it with places like Netflix... which I did not, and I paid annual). Anyhow, I specifically skipped the free trial so I could use the subscriber-only pitch trainer feature. Other than Dogen's course, I haven't come across too many decent resources specific to pitch accent, so I'm giving this a month or two and may review it later. So what's this like? You have an area where you learn to recognize individual pitches, eventually progressing to multi-pitch words and then phrases. There's also a separate area for training where you can parse your level and improvement. When streaming videos, you also have an option to color-code words based on their pitch.

・Yomu Yomu: Du Chinese's Japanese spin-off! For those who don't know, Du Chinese is a graded-reader app, but I've loved using it so much that I wished there was a Japanese version of it (excluding Satori). They recently launched and it appears to be free for the time being, although stories are limited – some of which are just the Japanese versions of what's on Du Chinese, but I know they will be adding new content in due time. I'm also hoping they'll work on making the audio more expressive, but I do appreciate how they've broken up the beginner level into three sections before jumping into elementary – you can really see the difference in The Diary of a Cat (beginner I) vs. Reincarnated Rick (beginner III).

・Nihongo no Mori (日本語の森): For tackling JLPT N3 - N1 in Japanese, but the books are now a separate purchase (Tofugu review here) in addition to the monthly/annual website subscription. I've heard the N3 course is doable without the book, but I can't verify this myself (I did order the N3 book, so...). I've been subbed for almost a year and finally getting around to using it – I love the videos! They're full of little quizzes, include jp cc, and if you're at the appropriate level you should be able to understand the gist if not completely (depending on your listening/reading comprehension).

・Speak Japanese Naturally (Phonetics Course): Fumi runs a Youtube channel mainly focused on listening and speaking with some videos specific to pitch, pronunciation, and shadowing, but she also launched her own phonetics course this year! There's a video that covers the details here, and there are currently two pricing plans: $15 USD/month or $5 USD/month. The latter includes everything the more expensive plan does but exists for those who can't afford the higher cost. This is also another resource I'm paying for, so I might give this one a review later on.

#mango's jrr #japanese langblr #japanese studyblr #jpn resources #langblr #nihongo no mori #speak japanese naturally #migaku #pitch trainer #yomu yomu #jlpt #pitch accent

≛ Vocab | Feb 5 - Feb 13 ≛

高層・こうそう・high-rise (building)

いたずら電話・いたずらでんわ・prank call

勧誘・かんゆう・solicitation

神経質・しんけいしつ・highly strung

差し込もう・さしこもう・to insert; put in; thrust in; plug in

玉砕（する）・ぎょくさい・complete rejection when professing one’s love

片想い・かたおもい・unrequited love

両想い・りょうおもい・mutual love

両片想い・りょうかたおもい・a mashup between 片想い and 両思い that means a feeling is mutual but thought to be unrequited

-ごっこ・playing at (something); game of make-believe; something done together

Bonus:

交換日記・こうかんにっき・exchange diary ☆ (first time I’ve even heard of this!)

#japanese studyblr #japanese langblr #vocab list #langblr #studyblr #単語 #japanese vocabulary #mine: vocab list

Nothing consistent about this, but I thought I might start sharing some of the unfamiliar grammar points I come across -- if it helps anyone, cool! But I’m also hoping it’ll help cement the grammar a little more firmly into my own memory. There might be a few different uses of individual grammar points I note down, but the meanings I share are ones based on the context I find them in. I’m also perpetually learning, so I’ll be up front about anything I’m uncertain about and always welcome corrections. ♡

#japanese langblr #studyblr #japanese grammar #たびに #たび #をめぐって #にまつわる #もとになる #grammartime!#grammar: gt #mangogrammar

the-nihongo-adventure

Spy x Family Vocabulary | Episode 1 👨‍👩‍👧✨

i started watching this anime day before yesterday and am so in love with it!! it totally lives up to its hype and is definitely going to be one of my favourite anime of all time😍🥰

🕵️📝sharing some words I picked up from Ep. 1:

1. 大使館　【たいしかん】　→　embassy

2. おそらく　→　perhaps, likely, probably

3. 外交官　【がいこうかん】　→　diplomat

4. 戦争　【せんそう】→　war

5. 職業　【しょくぎょう】→　occupation

6. 養う　【やしなう】→　to adopt (a child)

7. 黄昏　【たそがれ】→　twilight [🕵️]

8. 冒険　【ぼうけん】→　adventure, venture

9. ワクワク　→　thrilled, getting excited (onomatopoeia)

10. 秘密　【ひみつ】→　secret

_________________________________________

(that's all I had noted - would keep adding more vocab as i keep watching if it helps! (◍•ᴗ•◍))

#vocab list #vocab: spy family

rizasei

Kuchisabishii

(口寂しい)

When you're not hungry, but you eat because your mouth is lonely.

#vocab #lonely mouth #kuchisabishii #faves

onigiriforears

Recommendation: Apps for Japanese Learning

Over the years, I've downloaded and tester many apps. Though my favorite app was discontinued (I miss you, mindsnacks Japanese), there are still others that I don't think I'll be removing from my phone any time soon. In light of duolingo's horrible update causing a large migration and search for other apps, I thought I'd share some of my favorites. Also, some of these apps have websites or discords for you to interact with other users or to ask support questions.

For those who cannot use/don't like the graphics, the written out version is below the break.

#lsb resource

Hello! I’m doing a research project at uni about Japanese self-studiers and kanji. If you are over 18 and self-study Japanese, could you fill out the 10-minute survey that’s on my blog (preferably by this Friday)? ありがとうございます！ :)

Sure thing! Just submitted my response. 😊

nihongoseito

How to write formal Japanese emails・正式な日本語のメールの書き方

The nonprofit I work for recently gave all us interns a really informative talk on the protocol for writing profession emails in Japanese, so I thought I’d share what I learned with you guys! Just so you know, I’ll be using some advanced vocab (including 敬語) in this post and pretty much won’t gloss any kanji. So if you’re feeling up to it, then let’s go! 行きましょう！

Subject line

For some reason our presenter did this one last, but I’m going to put it at the beginning. As in English subject lines, be plain and mention the specific purpose of your email. I have temporarily lost SO many work emails due to inane or repeat subject lines. Include your last name in the subject line if you think it’s necessary. Here’s a sample subject line for an internship application:

インターンシップ申し込み（XX大学・［名字・名前*］）

Here’s one for the nonprofit I work for:

【［非営利団体］】トピック３：コロナウイルス（11月9日開始）

Please don’t ask what I do here…it’s semi-ridiculous. (And I don’t even get paid.)

*If you have a Western name where your given name comes before your family name, it’s more up to you which order you put them in and which one you use in general, especially if you don’t know if your Japanese recipient will be able to recognize which is which (or if you’re like me and your last name is nigh unpronounceable in kana). You might want to think about this on a case-by-case basis.

Addressing the recipient

Usually the first thing you do in an English email is greet who you’re talking to. This is the same in Japanese. Here’s a basic template:

株式会社ABC XX部［名字・名前］様

First, you name the company* your addressee works for; second, the department; and third, their full name, accompanied by 様（さま）, not さん!

*Be careful here: not all companies are 株式会社. Basically, the first line is for their workplace. If you’re a university student like me, you might be emailing someone who works for ABC大学.

Introducing yourself

Next, you should say who you are. The format for this varies on whether you are telling them who you are or reminding them, i.e., if this is your first time emailing them or not. Here’s an introduction template for a university student:

初めてメールをお送りいたします。ABC大学XX学部YY学科*の［名字・名前］と申します。

With a first email, you state that it’s the first email and introduce yourself using 申す to be extra polite. You also state your university (if they don’t work for it already, presumably), your major, and 学科* if necessary. If you’re a double major like me, you can write XX学部 twice in a row.

Here’s a template for a second email:

いつもお世話になっております。ABC大学／XX学部の［名字］です。

Basically, you thank them for talking with you again and briefly reintroduce yourself, depending on if your university or your major is more relevant. No need to use 申す.

*I’ll be honest: I don’t really know what a 学科 is or how it differs from 学部／専攻／専門. Our presenter called it a “sub-major.” No clue what that means. Concentration, maybe? Tread carefully, my friends.

Email body

Just as in English emails, Japanese emails should be simply written and get to the point as immediately as possible. That’s more basic email etiquette than anything—after all, does anyone really want to be reading emails?

You should also use 敬語 in the email body if you can. Pick whether to use 尊敬語 or 謙譲語 and then stick with your choice for the entire email. I gotta say, I have no idea how to decide which one to use! 敬語 is so hard! Do your best!!!

(Also, here’s a 敬語 Quizlet I made a while ago!)

Here are some useful phrases to include in your email body:

XXを添付しておりますので、ご確認お願いいたします。 = I have attached XX for you to check.

ご質問などございましたら、遠慮なくお申し付けください。 = If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

ご不明な点などございましたら、お気軽にご連絡ください。 = If anything is unclear, please feel free to contact me.

クッション言葉 (cushion phrases)

In classic Japanese fashion, クッション言葉 are phrases used to soften requests, questions, apologies…basically all manner of inconvenience or imposition. These can get pretty long, which seems to go against the general rule of concision in emails, but in Japanese these are very important. Use them in your email body.

Asking for help, making a request:

恐れ入りますが… (note: 入 here is pronounced い)

お手数おかけいたしますが…

ご迷惑おかけいたしますが…

Asking a question:

少々お尋ねしたいことがあります。

Making an apology:

誠に／大変申し訳ございませんが…

There are probably lots more of these to be discovered. Maybe someday a Japanese person will write YOU an embarrassingly polite email!

Closing

Ah, conclusions—the worst part of any piece of writing. Luckily, we have more templates. This is another case where the format varies depending on whether you’ve emailed this person before. Here’s the template for a first email:

お忙しいところ、お手数おかけいたしますが、何卒、よろしくお願い申し上げます。

Probably the most commas I’ve ever seen used in one Japanese sentence. This is all 謙譲語.

Here’s a template for if you’ve emailed them before:

今後とも／引き続きよろしくお願いいたします。

Basically, you have to thank them for their continued support/tolerance of you.

Signature

And here we have just what we did for the addressee at the beginning, but now for you, the sender.

［名字・名前］ ABC大学XX楽部XX学科* 携帯番号：XXX メール：YYY@

Optionally, you can also link any webpage you might have (like LinkedIn) or include your home, school, or business address. I’m not totally clear on what the protocol is surrounding your cell phone number, since in the US at least I would never give that out in an email signature, but you can probably delete it or easily replace it with a work number.

*Again, substitute your place of work if necessary.

お疲れ様でした！

Yikes, that was a lot of content at once, especially since most of it is just canned phrases to memorize or keep on hand. I hope this will help you guys in all your scary email-writing endeavors!! またこの次までね！

#phrases #email #long post

happy morning — or evening or night, wherever you are — everyone! we have a new member in the Genki Study Group Discord server who’s currently on lesson four (genki 1) and looking for some study partners! I thought I’d reach out into the void and extend an invite to anyone who’s around the same spot and would be interested!

we also have a couple people planning to move on to genki 2 after the new year, if that interests anyone.

to join, just send me a message and I’ll get back to you with an invite link. ✨

as a heads up: although we still have study guides from previous G1 and G2 groups, I likely won’t be updating these or overseeing anyone work through the textbooks. I am busy being slaughtered by tobira’s workload, but I’m also applying to the nursing program next year and currently working on checking stuff off for that. that said, myself and others are still available for support if needed.

positive studies ✌🏻

#japanese studyblr #langblr #japanese langblr #genki study group #a shout into the void #📣

etto-etto

For my own sanity and well-being, I have to put the grammar challenge on hold until at least this Sunday or Monday. I don’t think it’s an interest to many, but it’s something that really helps me pause and look back at the older grammar points I haven’t touched in a while (or, tbh, completely forgot about). The last few weeks have been especially difficult, and when I got home last night I almost felt like crying because I am so stressed out. Obviously I need to prioritize and drop a couple things temporarily, so that’s what I’m doing.

I’ll be working on finishing the remainder of Genki’s Lesson 21, review the second half of it this Sunday, and then start a much-needed two-week review period. Things should be a little easier by then, and not just because I won’t be hustling through a lesson. (｡□ﾟﾉ)ﾉ

etto-etto

Sorry, guys. I know I said Sunday or Monday, but things haven’t been working out this week. My mom is not in the best of health right now (not covid-related), and I have more responsibilities and stress than usual. I’m not dropping the challenge or anything, just taking things day by day.

☆(･ω･*)ゞ

#mango stuff

A cup to pair with my notebook✨ Hopefully it will remind and inspire me to write more often in Japanese.

#mango's weekly goals #study update #japanese studyblr

Wow! Your Tumblr layout is really cool! Haha

thank you! I always thought it was cute ha ha (ノ*゜▽゜*)

I was thinking I might change it soon!

#asks #ikukokoko

linguistika

I love it when language textbooks are like:

Here’s the names of all the chapters! Here are the textbook’s main characters; they’re all secretly in love! Here’s how to say hello!

#genki be like #MaRY and TAkesHI... (((;#misc

JRR #2: August 1 - August 13, 2020

If you saw this earlier and noticed it was a giant wall of text, that’s because posting drafts from mobile seems to erase all links and other formatting in my posts. Note to self. Anyway: here’s to another set of resources.

Yuki’s Japanese TV: He’s got a variety of video content from JLPT and grammar to vocab but also topics like food and life during a pandemic. What makes his channel extra special in my book (can you guess?) is that he speaks in Japanese. He does have some in English, and others where he speaks both, but as far as grammar—it’s in Japanese (from what I’ve seen). If that sounds intimidating, he hard subs a lot of his sentences (still in Japanese) and supplies graphics to help demonstrate points, so even if you don’t understand all that he says it’s still difficult to feel lost with Yuki.

Automatic Japanese: I am in love with Asari’s channel! Most of her videos are spoken in Japanese and accompanied by Japanese and English subtitles (that she herself makes). She speaks with clarity and in a fair pace that I feel isn’t too fast or too slow, plus she’s given me some pretty solid learning tips this week. I also recommend checking out her IG!

Learning Language with Youtube BETA: something I discovered from Asari! It’s similar to the LLN extension, but for YouTube.

Learn Japanese with Noriko: a podcast in Japanese for listening practice, of course. But I love this one a little more because she offers some (limited) transcripts on her site, and that makes it a little easier (and more fun) for me to follow along.

Erin’s Challenge! I Can Speak Japanese: having never used Erin’s Challenge, I’m not sure if this is an update of the old content or entirely new, but it’s here and ready to help you learn Japanese╭( ･ㅂ･)و ̑̑ ˂ᵒ͜͡ᵏᵎ⁾✩ It’s a series of basic and advanced skit videos with additional parts like key phrases, scripts, and manga for onomatopoeia. I went into Lesson 7 and found it to be, yeah–completely cheesy–but also fun!

Hito’s World: a fun game for learning kanji that I think is best for beginners–either that, or for hammering in the romaji spellings. Or at least in regards to the level I’ve worked up to. (And speaking as someone who never remembers which way is left or right–as in I literally bombed the same A&P quiz twice because I confused left and right–I really have to think about whether I need to type 右 or 左. It’s… a mental exercise.) I wish it allowed or accepted hiragana, but I know it’s a WIP. You can also join r/Hito and check out the road map.

Tobira Vocabulary: Anki deck for Tobira (obviously). Beware: although it says it’s a complete vocab set, I’ve read two comments that claim otherwise.

Tobira Kanji: includes kanji and vocab from all Tobira chapters. Another option if Anki’s not your thing (+ it may actually contain all vocab?). I’ve tried both the Tobira Anki deck and Memrise course, and I actually prefer Memrise in this case. But that’s just me.

Learning ENG & JPN: I did a lot of hunting to find this again, and I almost thought it was a lost resource---this is a blog run by a native Japanese speaker who is learning English. Posts are short and written in both English and Japanese while containing interesting tidbits about Japan and its culture.

Oshaberi Izakaya: this is a completely free way to get in some speaking practice with other learners organized by Japanese teacher Izumi Ise. They meet up a few times a month, but you’re not required to attend all meetings.

Japanese Learner Cafe: similar to the one above, this provides a means to practice speaking. The on-site English allows room for needed clarity, but this is also through Zoom and I therefore assume 100% free. If anyone decides to try it I’d be interested to know what your experience was like!

#mango's jrr #japanese langblr #japanese studyblr #jpn resources

For my own sanity and well-being, I have to put the grammar challenge on hold until at least this Sunday or Monday. I don’t think it’s an interest to many, but it’s something that really helps me pause and look back at the older grammar points I haven’t touched in a while (or, tbh, completely forgot about). The last few weeks have been especially difficult, and when I got home last night I almost felt like crying because I am so stressed out. Obviously I need to prioritize and drop a couple things temporarily, so that’s what I’m doing.

I’ll be working on finishing the remainder of Genki’s Lesson 21, review the second half of it this Sunday, and then start a much-needed two-week review period. Things should be a little easier by then, and not just because I won’t be hustling through a lesson. (｡□ﾟﾉ)ﾉ

#mango stuff

{The Challenge | Day 06}

Well, I finished this early today! Yay. I already feel so accomplished. Grammar points hidden under a read-more again, because it’s another long one.

#1monthgrammarchallenge #japanese langblr #japanese studyblr #grammar #comparisons #～より～方が #～の中で～が一番 #casual verb conjugation

{The Challenge | Day 05}

A week of sleep deprivation caught up to me yesterday and I was pretty much down and half asleep for more than half the day, but Monday is Monday: back to work. Today I cover the causal form of verbs in the present affirmative and negative, as well as how to say “I think..” using verbs, adjectives, and nouns---it’s all hidden under a read more line because this post got a little too long. Oops. I also worked on this for a while, so although it’s five til one AM here... it’s still Monday as far as I’m concerned.

#1monthgrammarchallenge #japanese studyblr #japanese langblr #grammar #*fixed some typing errors #～と思う #casual verb conjugation

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