荷物 Luggage

     Today I sent an eight kilogram box filled with my summer garb to my mother in the US. I had expected it to cost around two hundred dollars, but to my surprise, it was only sixty eight dollars. Wow! I decided to send it by boat (ふね） instead of airplane (ひこうき） so that I could have more money to spend on last minute souvenirs (おみやげ） for friends and family. I had a bunch of summer kimono (ゆかた） packed in the box as well. I plan to give one to a friend, as it does not suit my taste all that much. I`m also beginning to write my farewell speech that I`ll deliver in front of my school. Once I finish it, I will upload it onto this blog for everyone to read!

Best regards,

Sarah Swanner 須和奈　星羅　（すわな　せいら）

Learn Japanese: Basic Verbs

　

日本語の基本的な動詞　

 

＊にほんごのきほんてきなどうし＊

     Hey guys! For those of you getting ready to depart for Japan, whether it be a year or a semester or even a summer program, it`s important to learn a little Japanese before you go so that you don`t feel so lost, right? If you have just started studying Japanese, or have been learning for around a year or so, but feel like you aren`t prepared or that you need more matierial, here is a list of some of the most commonly used verbs that I can scrape up off of the top of my head. These are verbs that you will use often yourself, and will hear others use these in conversation and in written context. Whether you`re at school, at home, or at the train station, these verbs will be of great use to you! Let`s get started!

いく　(行く） to go
くる　（来る） to come
もどる　（戻る） to return, to come back (もどってくる）
かえる　（帰る）　to come home, to return home (かえってくる）
あげる　to give (you give to someone; someone does a favor for someone excluding yourself and those related to you)
くれる to give (someone gives to you; someone does a favor for you or someone in your family)
もらう/*いただく　to recieve, to have someone do something
*いただく　is the respectful form of the verb もらう 　　　　｛そんけいご　尊敬語｝
はなす　（話す）　to speak
しゃべる　（喋る） to talk
いう/ゆう　（言う） to say, to tell
どなる　（怒鳴る） to yell
なく　（泣く） to cry
わらう　（笑う） to laugh
ほほえむ　（微笑む） to smile
おならをする　to fart, to pass gas
はく　（吐く）　to vomit, to puke
くしゃみがでる* to sneeze
げっぷがでる* to burp, to belch
あくびする to yawn
*（でる＝出る）
たべる/くう*　(食べる・食う） to eat, to consume
のむ　(飲む） to swallow, to drink (often used in the expression くすりを飲む to take medicine)
かむ　（噛む） to bite, to chew
Ａでむせる　（咽る） to choke on A
*食う is male language and is not a very polite word to use, especially as a female.
のる　（乗る） to get on, to ride (train, bus, etc.)
おりる　（降りる） to get off (train, bus, etc.)
のりかえする　（乗り換え）to switch trains
まちあわせる　（待ち合わせる） to meet up, to rendezvous
むかえにくる　（迎えに来る）to come and pick someone up
むかえにいく　（迎えに行く） to go and pick someone up
つくる　（作る） to make
つかう　（使う） to use
すてる　（捨てる） to throw away, to get rid off
おす　（押す） to push
ひく　（引く） to pull
Ａにぶつかる to run into A, to bump against A
きる　（切る） to cut
おぼえる　（覚える） to remember
わすれる　（忘れる） to forget
おもいだす　（思い出す） to recall, to come to mind
おもう　（思う） to think
かんがえる　（考える） to decide, to think about, to consider
かんじる　（感じる）　to feel (emotions, etc.)
あるく　（歩く） to walk
はしる　（走る） to run
すべる　（滑る） to slip
ける　（蹴る） to kick
たつ　（立つ） to stand
すわる　（座る） to sit
おきる　（起きる） to get up, to rise, to wake up
ねる　（寝る） to sleep, to go to bed
ねぼうする　（寝坊） to sleep in, to oversleep
てつやする　（徹夜） to stay up all night, to pull an all-nighter

Best regards,

Sarah Swanner 須和奈　星羅　（すわな　せいら）

お正月 （おしょうがつ） New Year

     Hello, everyone! It`s December 12th, 16:00 right now here in Japan. I thought I`d update everyone on what`s been going on here in Japan and with my exchange. It`s definitely winter, that`s for sure. In the Kansai region, during the summer it`s unbelievably hot and during the winter it`s butt-freezing cold. Yet as cold as it is I must continue to wear my uniform skirt to school. I`ve caught a cold three times already, but I made it to Japan so I won`t complain!
     The New Year holiday is fast-approaching, and with it come mail from AFS informing me of my nearing departure. Everyone here is busy writing New Year`s cards, or as they say in Japanese 年賀状　（ねんがじょう）. For those of you learning Japanese, here are some great phrases to remember during the New Year holiday:

・　明けましておめでとうございます　（あけましておめでとうございます）　Happy New Year
・　今年も宜しくお願いします　（ことしもよろしくおねがいします）  I'll be indebted to you/relying on you this year too

There are also these two expressions, which mean basically the same thing as what I mentioned above:

・　謹んで新春のご挨拶を申し上げます
(つつしんでしんしゅんのごあいさつをもしあげます）
・　旧年中はひとかたならぬお世話になり、誠にありがとうございました　
（きゅうねんちゅうはひとかたならぬおせわになり、まことにありがとうございました）

That`s it! Pretty easy, huh? Try to write some Japanese ねんがじょう　to your friends and family in your country and share they Japanese culture with them! According to the Chinese calender, the year 2014 is the year of the horse, so all ねんがじょう will have a horse drawn on them. Here is an example of a ねんがじょう!


 

 


     My New Year plans include visiting my host grandmother in Kyoto and and taking a trip to Tokushima to stay at a hotel on the beach! I`m going to save up my money and buy a furisode to wear on New Year`s day when we visit my grandmother. It`s going to be cold, but I`ll be okay, hopefully!

Best regards,

Sarah Swanner 須和奈　星羅　（すわな　せいら）