A Kingdom of Isolation @neuroticqueenelsa - Tumblr Blog

Business Japanese Review Part One: Emails!

I'm not sure how many posts I'll make about Business Japanese, but probably more than one so I say the part one is warranted, haha.

Feel free to add anything or any questions in the notes! Like I said, this isn't a fully comprehensive infographic. Also, what do people think of the lined paper style background for the title page/intro? I think they look kinda cute for the introduction, but not for the informative parts...

One thing I will add that I couldn't fit on the slides: I think some textbooks don't have super clear distinctions between 「謙譲語Ⅰ」　「謙譲語Ⅱ」 and 「ていねいご」, so I only specifically mention 謙譲語 broadly here. Parts of 謙譲語Ⅱ and ていねいご are both described as "extra-modest" in some things, for example! Just keep in mind that my post is a simplification, and if you're interested in formal language, maybe start at learning all of the different keigo categories and what they involve!

Vocab list note: The set phrases in the greetings and closings are all comparable to set phrases in English for greetings and closings of emails. I'm putting these set phrases in their entirety in the list, with a comparable English set phrase as the definition. Do not take these as equivalent phrases! They have a similar feeling, but I am not asserting that they have identical meanings. I'm just offering something comparable in case it helps a person make more sense of them!

The full vocab list + a transcript of the post is under the cut!

#nihongo #japanese grammar #important #reference

anza-langblr

接続詞（せつぞくし）

conjunctions - words that are used to link phrases together

情報を加える // Adding information：

しかも　besides そのうえ　moreover, on top of that さらに　moreover, on top of that そればかりか　not only that, but also... そればかりでなく　not only that, but also...

情報を対比する // Putting into contrast：

それに対して　in contrast 一方　whereas

他の可能性・選択肢を言う // Giving alternatives：

あるいは　or perhaps (presenting another possibility) それとも　or (presenting another option within a question)

結論を出す// Drawing a conclusion：

そのため　for that reason したがって　therefore そこで　for that reason (I went ahead and did...) すると　thereupon (having done that triggered sth. to happen) このように　with this (adjusting a conclusion to the arguments given beforehand) こうして　in this way

理由を言う // Giving a reason：

なぜなら...からだ　the reason is というのは...からだ　the reason is

逆説を表現する // Expressing a contradiction：

だが　however, yet, nevertheless (contradicting what one would have expected) ところが　even so (spilling a surprising truth) それなのに　despite this, still それでも　but still (despite a certain fact, nothing changes)

説明を補う // Amending one's explanation：

つまり　that is, in other words (saying the same thing using different words) いわば　so to speak (making a comparison) 要するに　to sum up, in short

説明を修正する // Revising one's explanation：

ただし　however (adding an exception to the information stated beforehand) ただ　only, however もっとも　however (obviating any expectations that might arise through the previous statement) なお　in addition, note that (adding supplementary information)

話題を変える // Changing the subject：

さて　well, now, then (common in business letters after the introductory sentence; is often ignored in tranlations) ところで　by the way

#grammar #japanese grammar #nihongo

tiktoks-for-dead-pope

jadedresearcher

I love this post so much I have done everything in my power to make sure I will never forget it via reblogging it every October 5th, in memory of discovering it for the first time

#lol

ig-braving

imagine trying to learn english and hear this

funnyinstagramvideos

the worst part is that this makes perfect sense to me

blanket-fish

There is no one in earth stronger than people who learn English as a second language. I bow to you

hey netizens! i'm not sure how many people are aware, but youtube's been slowly rolling out a new anti-adblock policy that can't be bypassed with the usual software like uBlock Origin and Pi-Hole out of the gate

BUT, if you're a uBlock Origin user (or use an adblocker with a similar cosmetics modifier), you can add these commands in the uBlock dashboard (under My Filters) to get rid of it!

youtube.com##+js(set, yt.config_.openPopupConfig.supportedPopups.adBlockMessageViewModel, false) youtube.com##+js(set, Object.prototype.adBlocksFound, 0) youtube.com##+js(set, ytplayer.config.args.raw_player_response.adPlacements, []) youtube.com##+js(set, Object.prototype.hasAllowedInstreamAd, true)

reblog to help keep the internet less annoying and to tell corporations that try shit like this to go fuck themselves <3

When what looks like onyomi is actually kunyomi:

Especially in business and financial contexts, you might see words such as the following, made up of two kanji put together. You might expect them to be pronounced using the onyomi readings that would typically be used for such kanji compounds, but instead they’re read with their kunyomi readings. It’s possible it’s the noun form of a compound verb from which the hiragana has been omitted! See below for the two-character versions (left) and how you would write them with full hiragana (right).

洗替　　洗い替え araigae

組立　　組み立て kumitate

組付　　組み付け kumitsuke

売上　　売り上げ uriage

押出　　押し出し oshidashi

引合　　引き合い hikiai

切替　　切り替え kirikae

取組　　取り組み torikumi

釣合　　釣り合い tsuriai

取崩　　取り崩し torikuzushi

引当　　引き当て hikiate

借入　　借り入れ kariire

取下　　取り下げ torisage

Luckily, most dictionaries have both variations under the same entry, so looking up the two-character version of the word shouldn’t prevent you from finding the meaning. Once in a while the two-character version can also be read with onyomi (such as 借入, shakunyuu).

And this may or may not be related, but I’ve noticed that my coworkers like to shorten English words similarly, in ways that I’m not expecting as a native English speaker. Here are some examples!

F/L forklift

I/P input

S/V supervisor

#nihongo #japanese grammar

nihongonoto

plain, polite, humble, honorific expressions

these charts are gonna be useful someday:

#nihongo #japanese vocabulary

chouhatsumimi

How to use a corpus (collection of language) to find answers about Japanese

The question under investigation was, では次に、こちらのグラフを（　　　）。 a) ごらんください b) ごらんでください c) ごらんしてください Here’s how to use a corpus to answer this and similar questions. 1) The corpus I know about can be found here: http://nlt.tsukuba.lagoinst.info/search/ It brings you to this page:

2) Next, type the term you’re looking for into the search bar. I was looking for ‘goran’. First I tried ご覧 with no results, so I tried just 覧, but it turned out that typing it in hiragana was what worked.

3) Now we get this screen, which has various ways in which you can use ‘goran’ listed in the column on the left. I usually just click around until I find what I’m looking for ^^;

4) I couldn’t find it, so I tried using this tab:

5) Then I clicked around and scrolled some more, and eventually found what I needed. There were lots of examples of ご覧なさい, which was enough to convince that that expression is grammatically correct in Japanese.

Note that this method of searching is useful to find existing examples of Japanese sentences, and to find the frequency of expressions, so this method is useful for finding the answer to grammar-related questions.

If your question is about vocabulary, all the answers may be grammatically correct, so they might all appear in the corpus. However, it would give you a sense of which word is used more commonly, or show you examples of sentences in which the word(s) is/are used.

#nihongo #reference

kyousukebei

jibunstudies

Transitive and Intransitive Verb Pairs

a few months ago I wrote a post about transitive and intransitive verbs in Japanese grammar, but here’s a fairly comprehensive list of verb pairs in Japanese for quick reference!

format: 他動詞（たどうし）transitive verb　　・　　自動詞（じどうし）intransitive verb

-asu → -eru

出す（だす）to get out　　・　　出る（でる）to go out

逃す（にがす）to let escape　　・　　逃げる（にげる）to escape

溶かす（とかす）to melt (something)　　・　　溶ける（とける）to melt

枯らす（からす）to let wither　　・　　枯れる（かれる）to wither

-yasu → -eru

増やす（ふやす）to increase (something)　　・　　増える（ふえる）to increase

冷やす（ひやす）to cool (something)　　・　　冷える（ひえる）to cool down

生やす（はやす）to grow (something)　　・　　生える（はえる）to grow

-osu → -iru

起こす（おこす）to wake (something)　　・　　起きる（おきる）to wake

降ろす（おろす）to take down, to drop off　　・　　降りる（おりる）to descend, to get off

落とす（おとす）to let fall　　・　　落ちる（おちる）to fall

過ごす（すごす）to spend (time)　　・　　過ぎる（すぎる）to pass (time)

-asu → -u

減らす（へらす）to decrease (something)　　・　　減る（へる）to decrease

沸かす（わかす）to boil (something)　　・　　沸く（わく）to boil

乾かす（かわかす）to dry (something)　　・　　乾く（かわく）to dry

喜ばす（よろこばす）to give delight　　・　　喜ぶ（よろこぶ）to be delighted

-eru → -u

開ける（あける）to open (something)　　・　　開く（あく）to be open

届ける（とどける）to deliver (something)　　・　　届く（とどく）to reach

育てる（そだてる）to rear　　・　　育つ（そだつ）to grow up

立てる（たてる）to stand up (something)　　・　　立つ（たつ）to stand

-seru → -ru

乗せる（のせる）to let board　　・　　乗る（のる）to board

寄せる（よせる）to let near　　・　　寄る（よる）to approach

-su → -ru

返す（かえす）to bring back　　・　　返る（かえる）to return

通す（とおす）to let through　　・　　通る（とおる）to go through

回す（まわす）to turn (something)　　・　　回る（まわる）to turn

直す（なおす）to repair (something)　　・　　直る（なおる）to get repaired

渡す（わたす）to hand over　　・　　渡る（わたる）to cross

-su → -reru

離す（はなす）to separate　　・　　離れる（はなれる）to break up

外す（はずす）to release　　・　　外れる（はずれる）to disengage

倒す（たおす）to throw down　　・　　倒れる（たおれる）to tumble

汚す（よごす）to dirty　　・　　汚れる（よごれる）to become dirty

現す（あらわす）to reveal　　・　　現れる（あらわれる）to appear

壊す（こわす）to break　　・　　壊れる（こわれる）to be broken

-eru → -aru

決める（きめる）to decide　　・　　決まる（きまる）to be decided

閉める（しめる）to close (something)　　・　　閉まる（しまる）to close

集める（あつめる）to collect　　・　　集まる（あつまる）to gather

始める（はじめる）to begin (something)　　・　　始まる（はじまる）to begin

見つける（みつける）to find (something)　　・　　見つかる（みつかる）to be found

掛ける（かける）to hang (something)　　・　　掛かる（かかる）to hang

助ける（たすける）to save (something)　　・　　助かる（たすかる）to be saved

-eru → -waru

変える（かえる）to change (something)　　・　　変わる（かわる）to change

加える（くわえる）to add (something)　　・　　加わる（くわわる）to join

-u → -eru

焼く（やく）to burn (something)　　・　　焼ける（やける）to burn

売る（うる）to sell　　・　　売れる（うれる）to be sold

抜く（ぬく）to draw out　　・　　抜ける（ぬける）to come out

解く（ほどく）to loosen　　・　　解ける（ほどける）to come loose

見る（みる）to see　　・　　見える（みえる）to be visible*

* be careful with this pair! 見える (to be visible) is not the same as 見られる (to be able to see). A mountain can either be visible (見える), or you are able to see a mountain (見られる). Keep this in mind!

various others

聞く（きく）to hear　　・　　聞こえる（きこえる）to be audible

消す（けす）to delete　　・　　消える（きえる）to extinguish

入れる（いれる）to put in　　・　　入る（はいる）to enter

終える（おえる）to end (something)　　・　　終わる（おわる）to end

example sentences for comparison

見る　　vs　　見える・外を見ると、雨が降ってる。そとをみる、あめがふってる。　Looking outside, it is raining. ・陸が見えてきた。りくがみえてきた。　Land came in sight.

売る　　vs　　売れる・本を安く売った。ほんをやすくうった。　I sold my books cheaply. ・日本車は海外でよく売れる。にほんしゃはかいがいでよくうれる。　Japanese cars sell well overseas.

回す　　vs　　回る・ドアの取っ手を回した。ドアのとってをまわした。　I turned the doorknob. ・葉が空中でぐるぐる回っていた。はがくうちゅうでぐるぐるまわっていた。　Leaves were swirling in the air.

If you’re still having trouble with transitive and intransitive verbs, just remember that transitive require something to act on something else, while intransitive verbs require action that is independent (the 自 in 自動詞 means “self; oneself”).

勉強頑張ってね！

my posts

#nihongo #japanese grammar