Osaka-My-Heart

This is a blog devoted to my passion and love for Japan, and the Japanese language. You'll find useful tips about the language here, find cool pics, and hear all kinds of Japanese music. I just want to share my love! 皆さんこんにちは！ぼくのウェブログによこうそう！名前は マハリだよ！よろしくなー。子供時から今まで日本日本語がずっと大好きだった。今アメリカの大学でいるけど終わった時は日本に行くためにJETで働く。ぼくの夢だ！このウェブログで一緒に日本語を勉強しましょう！頑張って！（＾。＾）

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アメリカから皆さんおはようー（＾。＾） 今週は頑張ってよ～

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A Wonderful Resource!

こんにちは皆さん！元気にしてるねん？

Today I want to introduce a really good website with tons of outlets to various treasure troves of information on Japan. For those of you who already know about it, やった！！ For those who don't, check it out because you'll probably find something worth while!!

http://www.gaijinpot.com/

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--(^^)--

皆さんちょう久しぶりだよー

一緒に日本語が勉強ことをつづけましょうよ！

（＾＾）

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In the early stages of learning a language there's really only one thing you need to be focused on, and that's building your vocabulary.

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Rivaille | ORG: ➊ ➋ ➌ ➍

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漢字が本当にきれいなー

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Geisha-Geiko-Maiko

It has come to my attention that a lot of people are unaware what the differences among these words are. When I was in Kyoto, I learned a great deal about them and their meanings from the locals and I want to share what I learned!

行こう！

First, let's start with the standard definition of a "Geisha". In simple terms, it means a performer. The "paper" definition states that a Geisha is a Japanese hostess trained in the art of entertainment. They learn to weave conversation, perform amazing dances using fans and other traditional items, and also train in the art of tea ceremony. Contrary to popular belief, Geisha are very well versed in many fields such as history, politics, music. They command high prices for their fully clothed time, so they must be the best at everything they do. Geisha are not prostitutes, escorts, or for sexual hire. Their profession is art and entertainment, not sexual activity. There is much more that can be said on Geisha, but for this post's purposes I'll try to keep things brief.

Next we have the term Maiko. When a young girl decides that she wants to become a part of this enriched performing culture, she doesn't just jump from the bottom to the top. The Maiko stage is an apprenticeship necessary to become a full fledged Geisha that can take anywhere from 3 to 5 years. During this time, the young apprentice masters the arts mentioned earlier:: conversation, tea ceremony, playing the Shamisen, dancing and a variety of other things. The word Maiko literally means dancing child. "Mai"=Dance and "Ko"=Child.

Finally we come to the term Geiko.This term's meaning will change depending on who you ask. A person from Tokyo may have a large difference in opinion versus a person from Kyoto. I'll explain this as best I can according to what my host Mother explained to me. A Geiko doesn't have much difference in meaning than that of a Geisha. If one were to put a Geisha and a Geiko on the same stage they would look quite similar. The largest difference between the two words is the region in which they are used.

In the Kantou Region (Tokyo's location) people more often use the term "Geisha" but within the Kyotou Region people more often use the term "Geiko". In Kyotou, a different dialect of Japanese is used, meaning different words. "Geiko" is a derivative of this dialect and more often refers to those performers who come from the Kyotou Hanamachi. In Tokyo however, where a more standard form of Japanese is used the Geisha of the area refer to themselves and their apprentices as Geisha and Hangyoku respectively.

Interestingly, in Tokyo the more common term for Maiko is Hangyoku.

Tokyo- Hangyoku>Geisha

Kyoto- Maiko>Geiko

If you guys have any comments or questions, I'd love to talk about them! Submit something on my page!

[nipponnihon-blog]

新しくてべんりな単語**New and Useful Words

曇った「くもった」- Cloudy

涼しい「すずしい」- Cool

暑い「あつい」-Hot

蒸し暑し「むしあつい」-Humid

わるい天気「わるいてんき」- Bad Weather

いい天気「いいてんき」- Good Weather

To use these words in sentences, simply place the adjective first and attach the copula verb -です to the end of the sentence and you can describe the weather outsider!

ex:

いい天気ですねー？<---------> Good weather, isn't it?

わあああー涼しいですよー！<-----------> Ahhhhhhh, it's cool out!

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上手なげいこ。知ったの？京都でげいこ言葉はげいしゃ言葉よりもっと使う。面白いちいきだよ！

Talented geiko! Did you know? In Kyoto, the word "geiko" is used more often than "geisha".  Such an interesting region!

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本当に美しいだよー

：：Maiko in Kyoto!

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今日このドラマを見ることが始めった。今まで本当に面白くて楽しいだよーま、日本のドラマ大好きー

名前：シェアハウスの恋人　「Ｔｈｅ　ｌｏｖｅｒｓ　ｏｆ　ｓｈａｒｅｈｏｕｓｅ］

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だれかハムタロが覚えたの～

Does anyone remember Hamtaro!?

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となりの怪物くん～

いいなアニメだったよ！

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わあー

少し眠いけど寝られないねん。今からどしょうかなーーたぶん日本語を勉強するとかドラマを見る。どちらもっと楽しそう？

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こけつにいれずんばこじをえず If you don't enter the tiger's cave you will not catch his cub. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained"

Japanese saying

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--Speaking Japanese with fluidity--

皆さんこんにちはー

今日のポストのトピクはぺらぺら会話「かいわ」だよ！日本語がすごくとくないけどぼくにはこの方法「ほうほう」はすごくべんりだねー

Hi everyone! ^^* Today's post topic is fluent conversation! I'm not very fluent but to me this method is pretty handy!

So, my method isn't anything special. It's more-so a suggestion. I know that at the beginning, a lot of people want to study grammar hard core and assume that this grammar knowledge is synonymous with fluency and fluidity.

That isn't always the case

Often times, if you study only grammar you will have a great founding for writing but speaking will be more difficult because of your possible lack of vocabulary. If you know a bunch of grammatical points, you may not have spent any time finding filling [vocabulary] to insert into the points.

So----->::My suggestion::

When you start out and even as you progress balance your study time evenly when it comes to the grammar and vocabulary part of your session. Grammar and vocab go hand in hand, an imbalance in their equality will prove a very lopsided ability between speaking, reading and writing. 

皆さん頑張ってねー

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富士山！一日そこに行きたいなー

Mt. Fuji! I want to go there one day~