Learn 1000 kanji using the StudyJapanese Jouyou kanji practise sheets.

Jouyou kanji (常用漢字) is the set of 1945 kanji that the Japanese Ministry of Education has decided that school children must learn. We have compiled a list of the about thousand kanji that Japanese children learn from first to sixth grade. These first 1006 kanji are also called the Kyouiku kanji.

The following practise sheets are made to have the left part folded to cover the actual kanji, so you will have to remember the kanji, and not just copy it mechanically. If you are unsure of the stroke order, please use the kanji dictionary found on the right hand side of this site. Most kanji have stroke order diagrams attached.

• Jouyou Kanji Grade 1 (pdf, 0.9 MB)
• Jouyou Kanji Grade 2 (pdf, 1.7 MB)
• Jouyou Kanji Grade 3 (pdf, 2.1 MB)
• Jouyou Kanji Grade 4 (pdf, 2.1 MB)
• Jouyou Kanji Grade 5 (pdf, 1.9 MB)
• Jouyou Kanji Grade 6 (pdf, 1.9 MB)

Please let us know what you think of these practise sheets.

This article shows two ways to express ability to do something in Japanese; using dekimasu and using the potential form of a verb.

Dekimasu

One way of saying that someone can do something is to use the verb “dekiru”, meaning “to be able to.” The polite present form of dekiru is dekimasu.

To express being able to do something, add koto ga dekimasu to the plain form of a verb. After a noun, just add “ga dekimasu.”

マイクさんは漢字を書くことができますか。　（マイクさんは漢字を書けますか）
Maiku san wa kanji o kaku koto ga dekimasu ka. (Maiku san wa kanji o kakemasu ka.)
Mike, can you write kanji characters?

日本語を話すことができますか。 (日本語が話せますか。)
Nihongo o hanasu koto ga dekimasu ka. (Nihongo ga hanasemasu ka.)
Can you speak Japanese?

日本語を書くことができません。
Nihongo o kaku koto ga dekimasen.
I cannot write Japanese.

日本語ができません。
Nihongo ga dekimasen.
I do not know Japanese.

Potential form of a verb

The potential form of a verb indicates the ability to do it or the possibility of doing it. Let’s look at some examples.

日本語を話せますか？
nihongo o hanasemasuka?
Can (you) speak Japanese?

人間は時速50きろで走れますか？
Ningen wa jizoku 50 kiro de hashiremasuka?
Can a human run 50 km/h?

For ichidan (ru-dropping) verbs, the potential form is made by replacing the last syllable -ru by -rareru. (This is the same as the passive form for these verbs). For example, taberu -> taberareru, which can mean either “can eat” (potential) or “can be eaten” (passive).

For godan (u-dropping) verbs, use the stem ending in the vowel sound “e” and add -ru. In the examples above, hanasu -> hanaseru, hashiru -> hashireru.

Once you have the potential form obtained above, it inflects like an ichidan verb; so the polite present and past forms of hanaseru are hanasemasu, hanasemasen, hanasemashita, hanasemasen deshita, and its -te form is hanasete.

The potential form of kuru is kureru; for suru, you will usually use dekiru (explained above) as if it were the potential form of suru.

Learn how to count things in Japanese, using the special counters for each type of word. And learn how to make delicious apple toast at the same time!

Key Topics Covered

Dialogue

Here is a recipe for Shizu’s delicious Apple Toast. Please try it and let us know if you liked it.

りんごのトースト（四人分） ① １こ の りんご を うすく 切ります。 ② ４まい の パン を ようい します。 ③ りんご を バター で いためます。 ④ パン を 1まい トースト します。 ⑤ その パン の 上 に、③ の りんご を のせます。 ⑥ その 上 に、スプーン１ぱい の れんにゅう を かけます。 ⑦ 別 の１まい の パン を トースト します。 ⑧ ５番目 の 作り方 から くりかえします。 ⑨ あつい カップ を 四つ ようい して おきましょう。

Roomaji:

Ringo no toosuto (yonin bun) ① Ikko no ringo o usuku kirimasu. ② Yonmai no pan o youishimasu. ③ Ringo o bataa de itamemasu. ④ Pan o ichimai toosutoshimasu. ⑤ Sono pan no ue ni, san no ringo o nosemasu. ⑥ Sono ue ni, supuun ippai no rennyuu o kakemasu. ⑦ Betsu no ichimai no pan o toosutoshimasu. ⑧ Goban me no tsukurikata kara kurikaeshimasu. ⑨ Atsui kappu o yottsu youi shite okimashou.

English:

Apple toast (four servings / serves four people) 1. Slice an apple. 2. Prepare four slices of bread. 3. Saute the apple with butter. 4. Toast a slice of bread. 5. Put the apple from (step) 3 on the bread. 6. Spread a spoon of condensed milk over it. 7. Toast one more slice of bread. 8. Repeat the method from the fifth (step). 9. You’ll prepare four hot cups.

Vocabulary

Note: Here, the apple is counted as １こ (ikko), but things with 個 (ko) are also counted in another way “一つ、二つ…”. That means, you can use both of them (１こ or 一つ) for round and small things.

Counting Things

In Japanese there are some basic counters, that can be used for counting things in general. There are also some special words for counting different things, such as big animals, birds, flat things or years of age.

The hard thing about Japanese numbers are not the actual numbers, but how they are used to count things. For each thing you count, you have to add a suffix (ending) to the word, describing what type of thing you are counting. Let’s look at some examples.

General Counters

First of all, there is a way to count things in general. This can be used if you do not know the special counter for the type of thing you are counting.

Counting people

In some other cases counting things should be done with special words. For instance when counting people. The word for people is hito (ひと / 人). When counting, the same kanji is used, but it is read にん (nin) – except for when saying one and two people.

Examples

Japanese: ふたり 　の　がいじん　です。 さんにん　の　きょうだい　です。 よにん　の　ともだち　です。 わたし　は　ひとり　です。
。
Romaji: futari no gaijin desu. sannin no kyoudai desu yonin no tomodachi desu. watashi wa hitori desu.	English: (There are) two foreigners. (There are) three brothers. (There are) four friends. I am alone.

Other counters

There are numerous other counters in Japanese. Here are just a few:

Examples

Balls, round or small things are counted using the counter こ (ko).

いっこ	。	ikko	。	One (round thing)
にこ		niko		Two (round things)
さんこ		sanko		Three (round things)
よんこ		yonko		Four (round things)

Making Sentences

Japanese numbers are usually put in the following places in the sentences. It can be placed before the descriptive particle の (no). The counter can also be placed after the object marker を (o).

Examples

Japanese: 四人　の　けいさつかん　を　みました。 けいさつかん　を　四人　みました。 いっこ　の　りんご　を　たべました。 りんご　を　いっこ　たべました。
。
Romaji: yonin no keisatsukan o mimashita. keisatsukan o yonin mimashita. ikko no ringo o tabemashita. ringo o ikko tabemashita.	English: (I) saw four policemen. (I) saw four policemen. (I) ate one apple. (I) ate one apple.

Notes

• Read more about numbers in the Language Reference’s Numbers and Counters and for a more extensive description of different counters, see List of Counters.
• The word no “の” is often used as a possessive marker in Japanese, but as you have seen here, it can also be used to describe the word after “no” by the word or phrase preceding “no”, as in the example, “yonin no tomodachi“, which would be something like “four-people-number-of-friends” (“friends numbering four people”, “friends to the extent of four people”). Read more about the particle no in possessive form.

Author

This lesson was written by Shizu and Johan. Please let us know what you think of the article. And if you made the toasts, did you like them?

In this lesson you will read about a tense situation in the office, while you learn more about the particle に (ni), how it can be used in various ways, and how they differ.

Dialogue 1

Mr. Hayashi is in a taxi which is heading for his office. He had a cold, and had to see a doctor before going to the office because of that.

Japanese:

林：		すみません、急いでください。９時半に会議があるんです。
運転手：		ええと、右に曲がっていいですね？
林：		はい。そうだ、会社に電話しよう。
		He makes a call to the office, and his coworker Mr. Aoki  answers the phone.
青木：		あ、林さん、今どこですか？
林：		タクシーに乗っています。どうやら、会議に出られそうですよ。
青木：		それはよかった。では、また後で。
After the meeting, Mr. Hayashi and Mr. Aoki go to a coffee shop near the office to have lunch. When they get back to the office, their boss Mr. Kimura is waiting for them irritably.
木村：		(Arrogantly) どこに行っていた？
青木：		近くの喫茶店に。お昼を食べに行っていました。
木村：		林は、今朝遅れて来たな？
林：		すみません、病院に行っていました。
木村：		そんな事を言い訳にするのか。
青木：		会議がだめになったわけじゃないでしょう？
木村：		(Angily) 黙れ、お前に言ってない。
Miss Katou opens the door.
加藤：		お話中に申し訳ありませんが、木村さんにお客様です。
木村：		(In a pompous tone) わかった、すぐに行く。 (To the two men) よし、話は後だ。一日に何度も言いたくないが、俺は忙しいんだ。
青木：		(In his mind) 怒るのに忙しいんだろうね。

Roomaji:

Hayashi:		Sumimasen, isoide kudasai. 9 ji han ni kaigi ga aru n desu.
Untenshu:		Eeto, migi ni magatte ii desu ne?
Hayashi:		Hai. Sou da, kaisha ni denwashiyou.
He makes a call to the office, and his coworker Mr. Aoki answers the phone.
Aoki:		A, Hayashi-san, ima doko desu ka?
Hayashi:		Takushii ni notte imasu. Douyara, kaigi ni deraresou desu yo.
Aoki:		Sore wa yokatta. Dewa, mata ato de.
After the meeting, Mr. Hayashi and Mr. Aoki go to a coffee shop near the office to have lunch. When they get back to the office, their boss Mr. Kimura is waiting for them irritably
Kimura:		(Arrogantly) Doko ni itte ita?
Aoki:		Chikaku no kissaten ni. Ohiru o tabe ni itte imashita.
Kimura:		Hayashi wa, kesa okurete kita na?
Hayashi:		Sumimasen, byouin ni itte imashita.
Kimura:		Sonna koto o iiwake ni suru no ka.
Aoki:		Kaigi ga dame ni natta wake ja nai deshou?
Kimura:		(Angrily) Damare, omae ni itte nai.
Miss Katou opens the door.
Katou:		Ohanashi chuu ni moushiwake arimasen ga, Kimura-san ni okyakusama desu.
Kimura:		(In a pompous tone) Wakatta, sugu ni iku. (To the two men) Yoshi, hanashi wa ato da. Ichinichi ni nando mo iitaku nai ga, ore wa isogashii n da.
Aoki:		(In his mind) Okoru no ni isogashii n darou ne.

English:

Hayashi:		Excuse me, but please hurry. I have a meeting at 9:30.
Driver:		Um, we turn right here, correct?
Hayashi:		Yes. Oh, I’ll call my office.
He makes a call to the office, and his coworker Mr. Aoki answers the phone.
Aoki:		Ah, Hayashi-san, where are you now?
Hayashi:		I’m in a taxi. Looks like I’ll make it to the meeting.
Aoki:		Thank goodness. Well, see you soon.
After the meeting, Mr. Hayashi and Mr. Aoki go to a coffee shop near the office to have lunch. When they get back to the office, their boss Mr. Kimura is waiting for them irritably.
Kimura:		(Arrogantly) Where were you?
Aoki:		In a coffee shop nearby. We went there to have lunch.
Kimura:		Hayashi, you got here late this morning, didn’t you?
Hayashi:		I’m sorry, I had to go to a hospital.
Kimura:		What kind of excuse is that?
Aoki:		But that didn’t interfere with the meeting, did it?
Kimura:		(Angrily) Be quiet, I’m not speaking to you!
Miss Katou opens the door.
Katou:		I’m very sorry for interrupting while you are talking, but a guest is here to see you, Kimura-san.
Kimura:		(In a pompous tone) I see, I’ll be there right away. (To the two men) Okay, I’ll speak to you later. I don’t want to have to say it over and over again, but I am a busy man.
Aoki:		(In his mind) Probably busy getting angry!

Vocabulary

Notes on the Dialogue

As you can see, the particle “に” has lots of usages, and some of them don’t always correspond with particular English preposition or other word. In this article we will cover a couple of usages, as listed below. You can find many more in a detailed grammar book, such as for indicating time.

• Direction of an action
• Receiver of an action
• Position of something
• Purpose of an action
• Adverbs and other combinations

Direction of an action

Probably the clearest usage is when the particle is used to indicate a direction or destination of the action, or a place where an action is performed. It is probably also easy to understand when it is used to show the time when an action is done.

Note that when indicating a place where an action occurs, the particle で (de) is used.

会社に電話しよう。
kaisha ni denwa shiyou
I’ll call (my) office.

お前に言ってない。
omae ni itte nai
I’m not speaking to you.

In above case, the particle is used by putting it after an object or person which (who) is the target of the action. The similar examples:

車に乗る。
Kuruma ni noru.
I’ll get in a car.

友達にメールを送る。
Tomodachi ni meeru o okuru.
I’ll send an e-mail message to my friend.

Note that the particle を (o) is for getting out of a vehicle; for example, バスをおりる, getting off a bus.

Indicating the Receiver of an Action

On the other hand, the particle in the following example is used as “for”:

木村さんにお客様です。
kimurasan ni okyakusan desu
A guest is here for Kimura-san.
or
A guest is here to meet with Kimura-san.

Other examples:

林さんに手紙です。
Hayashi-san ni tegami desu.
Here is a letter for Hayashi-san.
or
A letter came here for Hayashi-san.

Indicating Position

When you are in a specific place, you can use the particle as English preposition “in”. This is used only for location verbs, like imasu, aru, and sumu. For action verbs, the particle should be で. It does not only work for yourself, but for anyone or anything you want to give the location of.

タクシーに乗っています。
takushii ni notte imasu
I’m in a taxi.

近くの喫茶店にいました。
chikaku no kissaten ni imashita
We were in a coffee shop nearby.

Indicating the Purpose of an Action

In this case, the particle is putting after the continuative form of the verb and indicates the purpose of the action.

お昼を食べに（そこに）行きました。

ohiru o tabe ni (soko ni) ikimashita.
We went (there) to have lunch.

Besides 行く (go), you can use verbs which express moving the place such as 来る (come), 出かける (go out // leave), 訪れる (visit), 寄る (drop in) and so on. But as for lots of verbs, you can’t use this form. Instead of “masu-stem + に”, another one like “the plain, dictionary form + ために” is used:

お昼を食べるために座りました。

Ohiru o taberu tame ni suwarimashita.

I sat down to eat lunch.

This expression is a little formal or written one rather than daily speech, but you can use this form about any verbs.

Adverbs and other Combinations

In the following case, “に” from “すぐに” isn’t used individually. Some Japanese adverbs include “に” at the end of the word such as 静かに (shizuka ni – quietly), 真面目に (majime ni – seriously) and so on. This one is used how the thing is doing.

すぐに行く。
sugu ni iku
I’ll go soon.

The following example is used by putting after a noun which is a reason, origin or motivation of the action. But this particle will be changed easily to another one depending on one after the subject, I guess.

そんな事を言い訳にするのか。
sonna koto o iiwake ni suru no ka?
Do you use such a thing as an excuse?

そんな事で言い訳をするのか。
sonna koto o iiwake o suru no ka.
Do you make an excuse with such a thing?

Indicating result of an action

In the dialogue, the following was said.

会議がだめになったわけじゃないでしょう？

Here, “だめになる” is used as a kind of an idiomatic phrase (be damaged) here, but anyway, this used as a result or change of the action.

とうとう冬になった。
toutou fuyu ni natta.
Finally it (the season) became winter.

結局失敗に終わった。
Kekkyoku shippai ni owatta.
after all, it ended up with failure.

Indicating the degree of comparison

In the dialog, the following expresson was used.

一日に何度も言いたくない。

In this case, the particle に (ni) is used to express about the degree of comparison or so.

５回に１回は満点です。
Go kai ni ikkai wa manten desu.
Once per five times is perfect (about exams) with me.

Author

This article was written by Shizu. What did you think of this lesson? Please give us your comments below!

Edited by Tony and Johan of the StudyJapanese Team

Learn to read hiragana and pronounce the Japanese alphabet through a song.

In the following video, you can see all the basic hiragana and listen to how they are pronounced. They say “Let’s learn fifty sounds” but I can only count it to 46. Anyway, good luck in learning hiragana!

You will find the transcript below the video.

Video Transcript

ごじゅうおん　を　おぼえよう
gojuuon o oboeyou
Let’s learn 50 sounds

 

まずは‥
mazu wa…
First of all…

 

あ ぎょう
a gyou
The a-row

 

あ・い・う・え・お
a i u e o

 

か ぎょう
ka gyou
The ka-row

 

か・き・く・け・こ
ka ki ku ke ko

 

さ ぎょう
sa gyou
The sa-row

さ・し・す・せ・そ
sa shi su se so

 

た ぎょう
ta gyou
The ta-row

 

た・ち・つ・て・と
ta chi tsu te to

 

な ぎょう
na gyou
The na-row

 

な・に・ぬ・ね・の
na ni nu ne no

 

は ぎょう
ha gyou
The ha-row

 

は・ひ・ふ・へ・ほ
ha hi hu he ho

 

ま ぎょう
ma gyou
The ma-row

 

ま・み・む・め・も
ma mi mu me mo

 

や ぎょう
ya gyou
The ya-row

 

や・ゆ・よ
ya yu yo

 

ら ぎょう
ra gyou
The ra-row

 

ら・り・る・れ・ろ
ra ri ru re ro

 

さいごに　みっつ
saigo ni mittsu
As for the last, three…

 

わ・を・ん
wa wo n

Learn about some traditional Japanese games in Shizu’s story on Japanese Games.

Spending Your Free Time

During お正月 (おしょうがつ – o-shougatsu – New Year Days), since nowadays lots of places are open, you can rent a DVD or video at ビデオ・ショップ (bideo shoppu – video shop), buy hot food at コンビに (conbini – convenience store), enjoy special バーゲンセール (baagen seeru – burgain sale) for お正月 (New Year Days) at デパート (depaato – department store) and so on. But before, most shops and stores were closed during these days, and we used to enjoy some different indoor 遊び (あそび – games/pastime) at home. Of course we also used to play outside, but when you live in a snowy region like here in Hokkaido, you can often be trapped inside the house by heavy snow.

はなふだ – Hanafuda

The meaning of 花札 (はなふだ – hanafuda) is literally “flower cards”, and it’s a set of 48 flower cards. Possibly you might see the cards in a Japanese film, and some shady people like “yakuza” were playing wih these cards? Yes, the cards have been used for gambling. I’m not exactly sure how the cards are used in other areas, but at least here in Hokkaido 花札 (flower cards) are one of the games played especially during the New Year days. When I was a high school student, some students took these cards on a school trip, and our classroom teacher was so upset and said, “Do you know WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE play this game?!”. The teacher came from Tokyo, and it was really shocking for him to find students were playing with the cards. And that made us laugh, lol.

Apart from that, the card game is quite interesting. The cards have 12 sorts of 花 (はな – hana – flower), and each of the flowers has four cards. For example, there are four cards with pictures of 桜 (さくら – sakura – cherry blossoms), but each of the four cards has a different picture and is worth a different number of points in the game. The prettiest one is worth 20 points, the next one 5 points, and the remaining two cards have no points. But if you have lots of such “no points” cards by the end of the game, you might get big points.

Each of the 12 flowers (and trees) signifies a specific month. For example, 松 (まつ – matsu – pine tree) for January, 桜 (cherry blossoms) for March etc. Since they look colorful, playing with them is pleasant. The game has two or three 参加者 (さんかしゃ – sankasha – participants), depending on how it is played. Thus, if there are four people there and they have only one set of 花札 (flower cards), one person has to wait until one of the other three loses the game. When I was a child, my grandma always used to wait after me

I won’t give the ルール (rules) in detail, but the main idea is to gather pairs of the same suit (flower). The game with two people is more thrilling and interesting as a gambling game like poker, and the three person game is more peaceful.

かるた – Karuta

The word apparently comes from ポルトガル (porutogaru – Portugal) originally. If you’re familiar with Japanese history, you might know that some Western things were introduced from ポルトガル (Portugal) and オランダ (oranda – The Netherlands) some time ago. かるた means “card” originally, but this Japanese word reminds us of specific cards called いろはがるた (irohagaruta), which means “Japanese alphabet cards” or something like that. Some of you already know that the Japanese “alphabet” is “あいうえお (a i u e o)”, but before, it used to be “いろは (i ro ha)” instead.

Each of いろはがるた (cards for i ro ha) contains a 諺 (ことわざ – kotowaza – proverb). One proverb begins with the letter い, the next proverb with the letter ろ, and so on.

Well, apart from the set of the proverbs, there is another set of  cards which has the first letter of the proverbs and a drawing that corresponds to it. For example, the proverb which begins with the letter い is:

犬も歩けば棒に当たる。
いぬもあるけばぼうにあたる。
Inu mo arukeba bou ni ataru.

One card has only the sentence above, and another one which corresponds with it has only the letter い and the picture of a dog. The latter set of cards are put on the floor, and the 参加者 (participants) sit down around the cards. Only one person holds another set which has proverbs, and he or she reads the proverbs out loud. The 参加者 (participants) start to look for the card which matches the proverb among the cards on the floor as soon as they hear it, and the person who touches the card first can get it. After that, the next card is read, and the game continues until the floor is empty. The winner is the person who has the most cards, and sometimes you can also win a 賞品 (しょうひん – shouhin – prize) if the game is part of a bigger event.

Thus, the game is quite simple. But it needs speed, and sharp and exact action to get the proper card, and you should take care not to be injured, lol. Children often argue over a card, insisting “It’s mine!”, and even adults may do this if the winner gets a 賞品 (prize).

福笑い – ふくわらい – fukuwarai

This is a really simple game, and you don’t need to worry about quick reflexes or intelligence. On a big piece of paper which has a drawing of the outline of a face, you arrange some parts such as 目 (め – me – eye), 眉毛 (まゆげ – mayuge – eyebrow), 鼻 (はな – nose), 口 (くち – kuchi – mouth). You have to do it with a blindfold, so nobody knows how funny or terrible the face looks until it is completed. People around you may laugh a lot while looking at your “art”, and you may get some hints from the laughter.

“福 (ふく – fuku)” means “happiness”, and “笑い (わらい – warai) means “laugh/laughter”. We have a saying which means “laughter invites happiness” or something like that, so please laugh a lot so that happiness will visit you

Note

Recently some different かるた are sold at toy shops and book stores, and so on. For example, there are かるた depicting TV show or anime characters. In such かるた, each of the picture かるた has a character, and the other set has sentences which describe the characters instead of proverbs, as above. It sounds ridiculous for adults, but it is welcomed by little children, especially when they are great fans of the characters.

Author

This article was written by Shizu.

Edited by the StudyJapanese team

In this mini lesson you will learn a famous Japanese children’s song about small birds.

Lyrics

• 小鳥 はとっても 歌 が 好き
  kotori wa tottemo uta ga suki
  The small bird likes singing very much [Lit: regarding small bird(s), very much like song(s)]
  
• 母さん 呼ぶ の も 歌 で 呼ぶ
  kaasan yobu no mo uta de yobu
  It even calls on its mom through a song. [Lit: mom calling even through (a) song calling]
  
• ピピピピピ チチチチチ　ピチクリピイ
  pipipipipi chichichichichi pichikuripi
  [sounds of] pi pi pi pi pi  chichichichichi pichikuripi
• 小鳥 は とっても　歌 が 好き
  kotori wa tottemo uta ga suki
  The small bird likes singing very much.
• 父さん 呼ぶ の も 歌 で 呼ぶ
  tousan yobu no mo uta de yobu
  It even calls on its dad through a song.
  
• ピピピピピ チチチチチ　ピチクリピイ
  pipipipipi chichichichichi pichikuripi
  [sounds of] pi pi pi pi pi  chichichichichi pichikuripi

Glossary

You may know Christmas as a Western tradition, but the Japanese have taken Christmas to heart – although in a different way. Read more about this and Shizu’s Christmas memories in this article.

I’ve heard foreigners say: big Christmas trees are displayed here and there in town around Christmas season, but I never hear Christmas carols or anyone saying “Merry Christmas!” somehow… But that’s no wonder, because our Christmas has nothing to do with religion. So, if you want to hear Christmas carols you have to go to a church.

Perhaps the thing called クリスマス (kurisumasu – Christmas) was modeled on how it is celebrated in America, but the religious aspects seem to have been ignored. Anyway, lots of Japanese people think that クリスマス (Christmas) is the time for eating クリスマスケーキ (kurisumasu keeki – cakes for Christmas), for サンタクロース (santakuroosu – Santa Claus) to come with プレゼント (purezento – gift), for having a party, spending a romantic night with your lover etc.

Thus, Japanese ケーキ屋さん (keekiyasan – cake shops) are really busy around this season. Possibly, they might be even busier than サンタさん (santa-san – Mr. Santa). When I was a child (long ago) we used to buy a クリスマスケーキ (Christmas cake) on the 24th of December, perhaps on the way home from work. But now, lots of us make reservations to buy one as early as the beginning of December or the end of November. A cake shop sends you a reservation ticket, and you take it to the shop on the 24th or 25th and pay for the cake. Of course it’s expected that the shop counter will be unbelievably crowded (especially at a popular cake shop), so you might buy クリスマスケーキ (cakes for Christmas) somewhere else like コンビに (konbini – convenience store).

In my childhood, the cake was usually 生ショート (なまショート – nama-shooto), which is a big round sponge cake decorated with fresh whipped cream and strawberries. Another type has butter cream frosting instead of 生クリーム (なまクリーム – namakuriimu – fresh cream), with a pink rose also made of frosting instead of いちご (ichigo – strawberry). Some shops had a chocolate version of the latter type, but they didn’t have many different types of cake for クリスマス (Christmas). But now, they have many different types, and you can even get Christmas sweets of other countries at ケーキ屋さん (keekiyasan – cake shop) and パン屋さん (panyasan – bakery shop).

And how about gifts?

Of course children long for this season, and some of them believe firmly in the existence of サンタさん (Santa-san). Since recent children ask サンタさん for more expensive プレゼント (purezento – gift), the parents who are false Santa-san have to ask their own parents for help in paying for the presents. Parents used to go to おもちゃ屋さん (omochayasan – toy shops) before, but nowadays, they also have to go to other shops like パソコン・ショップ (pasokon shoppu – computer shop). Sometimes the プレゼント are quite big and heavy, so I suspect that Santa-san’s 袋（ふくろ – fukuro – sack) must be pretty heavy-duty and the トナカイ (tonakai – reindeer) must be very strong, lol.

In addition to 親 (おや – oya – parents) buying presents for their children, you might be busy buying gifts for your 家族 (かぞく – kazoku – family), 友達 (ともだち – tomodachi – friends) and 恋人 (こいびと – koibito – lover). The town is crowded with such Christmas shoppers, and lots of shops have Christmas bargain sales.

By the way, things are usually lively even on Christmas day itself. Some 家族 spend the night at home with some ご馳走 (ごちそう – gochisou – lots of tasty food and cuisines) including Christmas cake, but younger people might prefer spending time with their friends at レストラン (resutoran – restaurant), 居酒屋 (いざかや – izakaya – pub) and カラオケ (karaoke – karaoke place) etc. Most　レストラン have a special menu for クリスマス , and many 居酒屋 have special food for Christmas parties. It’s safer to reserve the seats earlier, but you might not have enough time to plan the party because of your work. Since we are not クリスチャン (Christians), we don’t have any Christmas holidays. So, if  クリスマス・イブ (kurisumasu ibu – Christmas Eve) falls on Saturday or Sunday, the town is livelier and noisier.

In addition to the parties in eating places, some events like コンサート (konsaato – concerts) are held on Christmas day. Some are in concert halls, and in kindergartens children may have a クリスマス・パーティー (kurisumasu paatii – Christmas party) if Christmas day is a weekday. Lots of schools enter 冬休み (ふゆやすみ – fuyuyasumi – winter holidays) around the 25th, so it’s a delicate matter when the students have the party. But this is here in Hokkaido, and winter holidays are sometimes shorter in other regions. At any rate, lots of students and younger people like to have a Christmas party at someone’s house, and you might enjoy homemade cooking including cakes. You might enjoy exchanging Christmas gifts, some of which are cheap and funny or ridiculous instead of more serious expensive ones.

Christmas Party!

At your workplace, you might have クリスマス・パーティー (Christmas party), but it may or may not be enjoyable. If your company or office is more friendly, the party might be comfortable. But in a bigger company with lots of workers, they can be tiresome. You may have to make many preparations for the party, such as decision about where it will be, reservations at a restaurant or pub, buying drinks, games and the prize, confirming who will attend, gathering and counting the money for all of that, and so on. The party may be quite lively and can be pleasant, but you still have to talk with your boss in 敬語 (けいご – polite and modest words) as always. If you don’t tolerate alcohol well, you might be sick because of that, but you can’t go home early. Even after the party is over, some people might complain to you about the eating place or the cuisine or the prize, etc., etc., etc. Such a Christmas party is meaningless and rubbish, don’t you think?

If you have kids, you might enjoy displaying クリスマスツリー (kurisumasu tsurii – Christmas tree) at home together with them. We used to do this in my childhood, and it was 松の木 (まつのき – matsu no ki – pine tree), not 樅の木 (もみのき – momi no ki – fir tree). Around here pine trees are seen commonly in gardens, and recently some people decorate them with colorful small light bulbs during Christmas season. But lots of people display the ツリー (tsurii – Christmas tree) inside the house, and it takes up a lot of space. So, you might buy quite small ツリー (Christmas tree) which is put in a plastic box. The tiny tree is already decorated more simply, and all you do is put the box on your 机 (つくえ – tsukue – desk), dinner テーブル (teeburu – table), 本棚 (ほんだな – hondana – book shelf) or wherever you want. Since the tree is not natural, you don’t have to take care of it, and you can choose different sizes depending on the size of your room, or on the price.

Thus, even if you live alone in a small appartment, you can have a taste of Christmas time. But you might want another person’s company. Maybe it’s because you think this season should livelier or more romantic.

Language Notes

We use katakana to write words and phrases from foreign countries (with the exception of older words from China), and lots of Christmas terms are written in katakana for that reason.

Recently more Western type sweets have been introduced together with the original names, which are converted to katakana, but some of the pronunciations are far from the original ones. Besides, some of the names are strange mixtures of different languages, so it might be difficult to figure out the original names.

• シュトーレン – shutooren – German Christmas sweets “Schtolen”
  Recently it’s often seen around Christmas season.
• パネトーネ – panetoone – Italian Christmas sweets “panettone”
  It’s getting popular recently.
• シュークリーム – shuukuriimu – French sweets “chou à la crème” + English word “cream”
  This is a very popular sweet in Japan.
• プリン – purin – pudding
  We love sweet puddings.
• パウンドケーキ – paundokeeki – pound cake
  This has been a common sweet for a long time.
• アップルパイ – appurupai – apple pie
  There are some types of apple pie at cake shops, bakeries and fastfood shops.
• バームクーヘン – baamukuuhen – German sweets “Baumkuchen”
• Recently we have several flavours of this, such as chocolate,　banana, melon, coffee, spicy, maple etc.
• We address and call someone with “さん (san)” as you already know maybe, and we also use this for shops and the people who work in them. The word “屋 (や – ya” means “shop”, and it’s often used together with “さん”.
• ケーキ – keeki – Western type sweets
• ケーキ屋（さん） – keeki -ya (-san) – cake shop or cake shop worker
• パン – pan – bread
• パン屋(さん) – pan-ya (-san) – bakery shop or shop’s worker

Author

This article was written by Shizu

Edited by the StudyJapanese.org Team

Learn about the Year of the Ox and how the ancient the traditions of 十二支 are still thriving in Japan.

Note: This article has a lot of vocabulary in it. You can find translations of all Japanese words in the vocabulary listings, as well as a translation next to each word if holding the mouse pointer over the white space between the brackets.

New Calendar Designs

Around the end of October, you can find some things for the upcoming year, such as カレンダー (karendaa – calendar) and 手帳 (てちょう – techou – pocket planner) at 本屋 (ほんや – honya – book store) and 文房具店 (ぶんぼうぐてん – bunbougu ten – stationary shop). They have different designs, but you might notice the same animal featured regardless of the design. For example, now it’s 2008 when I’m writing this article, and you would notice some different 牛 (うし – ushi – ox/cow) on things for 2009. That means, 2009 is 丑年 (うしどし – ushi doshi – the Year of Ox), but guess what?

There is an animal cycle called 十二支 (じゅうにし – juuni shi), and the twelve animals are as follows. Can you spot them in the picture on the right side?

Animals of the cycle, as written in ordinary Japanese:
ねずみ － nezumi – rat
牛　－　うし – ushi – ox
虎　－　とら – tora – tiger
兎　－　うさぎ – usagi – rabbit
辰　－　たつ – tatsu – dragon
蛇　－　へび – hebi – snake
馬　－　うま – uma – horse
羊　－　ひつじ – hitsuji – sheep
猿　－　さる – saru – monkey
酉　－　とり – tori – rooster
犬　－　いぬ – inu – dog
猪 － いのしし – inoshishi – wild pig, boar

Each of these animals comes in order, so it’s easy to know which one for the particular year. 2009 is 丑年 (うしどし – ushi doshi – the Year of Ox) as I mentioned, and 2010 is 寅年 (とらどし – toradoshi – the Year of Tiger).

As Western people do at Christmas time, we send 年賀状 (ねんがじょう – nengajou – New Year’s Card) in December, which is delivered 元旦　（がんたん – gantan – the first of January). You can buy 年賀状 (nengajou, New Year’s Card) at 郵便局 （ゆうびんきょく – yuubinkyoku – post office), 本屋 (honya – book store), 文房具店 (ぶんぼうぐてん – bunbougu ten – stationary shop), コンビニ (conbini – convenience store) and so on, and you can find different designs of 牛 on the cards. It’s fun to choose which cards to buy, and it’s fun also to receive cards with
some different 牛 in 2009 from different people. Some of them might draw 牛 by themselves, instead of just sending a simple printed one. Some of them might take a picture of the paticular 動物 (どうぶつ – doubutsu – animal) at 動物園 (どうぶつえん – doubutsuen – zoo), and paste it on the 年賀状. But it’s quite difficult to take one of a dragon…

If you have an アルバム (arubamu – album), it might have pictures or drawings of the animal of your birth year. For example, 2009 is 丑年 (the Year of Ox), and 12 years ago of it, namely 1997, was 丑年 as well. If you were born in 1997, and if your parents bought the アルバム for you at that year, it might have ox/cow drawings. We often talk about the birth year with the animal, and such topic brings us interesting discussion, pleasant feelings and disappointment at times. When you realized that a person was born in the same animal year as you although you had no idea about his/her true age, you may start thinking the age while adding 12 years or the opposite, lol. Since most of your classmates were born in the same animal year, the topic may move to your school age if the speakers realize that they have the same animal year, or one nearby.

Year of the Ox

If now it’s 丑年, and if you were born in 丑年, it means that you are 年男 (としおとこ – toshi otoko – man of the year) or 年女 (としおんな – toshi onna – woman of the year) depending on your gender. That doesn’t have special meanings maybe, but at least it’s easy to count your age for others, lol. Actually we tend to enjoy the topic like this, and even TV news announce the number of 年男 and 年女 of the year at the beginning of the year.

If you like 占い (うらない – uranai – fortune-telling), you can enjoy this matter more. Some books say that each of the animals symbolizes the character of a person, or tells you something good possibly. For example, if you were born in 蛇年 (へびどし – hebidoshi – the Year of Snake), you might have luck with money regardless of the specific year. I’ve heard it said that if a company or an working office has three persons who were born in 蛇年 (the Year of Snake), the company will be successful economically. Interestingly, the number should be “three” exactly. Two persons are not enough, and four or more is too much, it seems. And a person who was born in うさぎ年 (うさぎどし – usagidoshi – the Year of Rabbit) is quieter and tends to like being alone, it’s said. Therefore, if two persons who were born in うさぎ年 (the Year of Rabbit), they won’t get married, or will be quite “quiet” couple, a book says.

There is a Connection to Directions and Time as Well 

As each of the animals corresponds with the particular year, each does with the particular time as well. For example, 子の刻 (ねのこく – ne no koku – the time of rat) means 12:00 midnight. In addition, each animal indicates a particular direction; for example, the rat stands for 北 (きた – kita – north). If you encounter the mysterious expression like this when reading novels in 江戸時代 (えどじだい – edo jidai – Edo period), that’s it. But these expressions are not used in the modern life mostly.

Names of directions:
東　（ひがし – higashi – east)
西　（にし – nishi – west)
南　（みなみ – minami – south)
北　（きた – kita – north)

But Where is the Cat?

By the way, I am a cat lover, and I used to be wondering why a cat is not a member of this cycle. And I heard of a story. Once upon a time, a god told animals to come to a 神社 (じんじゃ – jinja – shrine) one particular day. They should start at the same time, and the first twelve animals who arrive at the shrine can get the “position” of 十二支. A ネズミ (nezumi – rat) wanted to arrive there at first, but he is a little animal you know. So, he jumped on the back of a 牛 as soon as animals started to the shrine. Besides, the rat hated a ネコ (neko – cat), so he told the cat a false day actually. Thus, the cat was sleeping all the time during the competition.

As the rat expected, the first winner was supposed to be the ox. But since the rat jumped down the front of the god before the ox does, eventually the winner was the rat. On the other hand, the cat realized that he was cheated by the rat after things had finished completely. Since that time, a cat started to chase a rat, it’s said. I’m wondering if Tom and Jerry know this Eastern tale?

Language Notes

In Japanese, the gender of animals is often ignored. As for 牛, we can’t distinguish if the animal is male (ox) or female (cow), and normally we don’t care about that at all. However, we have some words which correspond with English ones such as 雄牛 (おうし – oushi – ox) and 牝牛 (めうし – meushi – cow). These are found mainly on translated Japanese books from English or other Western languages, or books about animals for example.

You might be aware of different kanji used for the same animal in the text above. In fact, an animal has often several kanji, and each of them is used differently. In our daily life, the kanji 牛 is used commonly as the animal cow. But when we talk about 十二支, another kanji 丑 is adopted. The twelve special kanji for the animals in the 十二支 are as follows:

子 (rat),　丑　(ox), 寅 (tiger), 卯　(rabbit), 辰　(dragon), 巳　(snake), 午 (horse), 未　(sheep), 申　(monkey), 酉　(rooster), 戌　(dog), 亥 (wild pig, boar)

But even when talking about 十二支, we often say 蛇年 (hebidoshi – the Year of Snake), for example, in daily conversation, not 巳年 (みどし – midoshi – the Year of Snake).

Apart from the reason above, animal names in Japanese can be written in different ways. Animals that were introduced to Japanese rather recent, mostly have their names written in katakana, like ペンギン (pengin – penguin). But if the animal had existed from early times in Japan, the name is written in kanji, hiragana or katakana depending on the situation or author’s taste etc. In books for children, animals are often written in katakana like サル (monkey) and ネコ (cat) for example.

Vocabulary

• カレンダ　karendaa – calendar
• 手帳　　　てちょう – techou – pocket planner
• 本屋　　　ほんや – honya – book store
• 文房具店　ぶんぼうぐてん – bunbougu ten – stationary shop
• 牛　　　　うし – ushi – ox/cow
• 丑年　　　うしどし – ushi doshi – the Year of Ox
• 十二支　　じゅうにし – juuni shi
• 鼠　　　　ねずみ　nezumi – rat
• 虎　　　　とら – tora – tiger
• 兎　　　　うさぎ – usagi – rabbit
• 辰　　　　たつ – tatsu – dragon
• 蛇　　　　へび – hebi – snake
• 馬　　　　うま – uma – horse
• 羊　　　　ひつじ – hitsuji – sheep
• 猿　　　　さる – saru – monkey
• 酉　　　　とり – tori – rooster
• 犬　　　　いぬ – inu – dog
• 猪　　　　いのしし – inoshishi – wild pig, boar
• 丑年　　　the Year of Ox
• 寅年　　　とらどし – toradoshi – the Year of Tiger
• 年賀状 　　ねんがじょう – nengajou – New Year’s Card
• 元旦　　　がんたん – gantan – the first of January
• 郵便局　　ゆうびんきょく – yuubinkyoku – post office
• 本屋　　　ほんや – honya – book store
• 文房具店　ぶんぼうぐてん – bunbouguten – stationary shop
• コンビニ　conbini – convenience store
• 動物　　　どうぶつ – doubutsu – animal
• 動物園　　どうぶつえん – doubutsuen – zoo
• アルバム　arubamu – album
• 年男　　　としおとこ – toshi otoko – man of the year
• 年女　　　としおんな – toshi onna – woman of the year
• 占い　　　うらない – uranai – fortune-telling
• 蛇年　　　へびどし – hebidoshi – the Year of Snake
• 巳年　　　みどし – midoshi – the Year of Snake
• うさぎ年　うさぎどし – usagidoshi – the Year of Rabbit
• 子の刻　　ねのこく – ne no koku – the time of rat
• 北　　　　きた – kita – north
• 江戸時代　えどじだい – edo jidai – Edo period
• 神社　　　じんじゃ – jinja – shrine
• ネズミ　　nezumi – rat
• ネコ　　　neko – cat
• 雄牛　　　おうし – oushi – ox
• 牝牛　　　めうし – meushi – cow
• ペンギン　pengin – penguin
• サル　　　monkey

Note: The system of 12 animals, often called the “Chinese Zodiac” in English, originated in China in relation to systems of divination. Scholars believe that this was some time before 1100 B.C. (BCE). It was brought to Japan, along with Buddhism, in the mid sixth century A.D. (CE).

Author

This article was written by Shizu

Edited by the StudyJapanese team.

This article gives you a brief introduction of one of the sections in the JLPT 4 test – the kanji and vocabulary section.

The JLPT is a well known Japanese language skills proficiency test.

Overview

The Kanji and vocabulary section is the easiest section on the test. In level 4 you only have 100 kanji characters or so to master. This can be easily done with some good old study. What is important to remember is to learn vocabulary rather than individual Kanji readings. So the he best way to learn Kanji for the JLPT is to learn words rather than individual Kanji readings. In the test you are not really tested on individual Kanji readings, but rather on ”Kanji vocabulary” readings. There is no point learning all the possible readings for 100 Kanji when you won’t be tested on theｍ anyway. It is far more beneficial and productive to learn vocabulary in context. So learning short sentences is a better way to learn Kanji and to learn how to read. Keep in mind you have about 800 words to learn for level 4 and 1500 words for level 3.

Let’s have a look at a question. Try answering the example question below. Choose the correct hiragana readings for each of the Kanji characters as quickly as you can.

Sample Question

肉　より　魚を　よく　食べる

A　肉           １　にっく         ２　にく           ３　ぎゅう          ４　ぎゅ

B　魚           １　さかな         ２　ざかな        ３　ぎょ             ４　ぎょう

C　食べる      １　のべる        ２　しべる        ３　くべる          ４　たべる

Answers (mouse over to display): A.２ にく,  B. １ さかな, C. ４ たべる

Did you try reading the sentence several times before looking at the Kanji readings. I am guessing you didn’t. The way the questions are written often make students focus only on the Kanji and neglect the whole question. Students all too often try to answer or guess the readings of the Kanji without spending enough time on reading the question. This is the wrong way to approach the Kanji and vocabulary questions. Two things are important for these questions, the content of the question and your first impression of the Kanji.

Read or try to read the question first before looking at answering the hiragana readings. Do this several times. If you can read it then you know you will be spot on and then you just choose the correct readings. If you understand only half of the question you then have a good chance of working out the rest from context. For example, in the question above if you knew the Kanji 食べる（たべる ) meant “to eat”  you then would have realized the other two Kanji 肉 and 魚 to represent  something that is eaten (or vis versa).  If you allow your mind to work a little you have better chances of recalling Kanji readings

The Kanji section is broken up into 4 sets of question. The first 2 sets of questions deal with Kanji and hiragana readings. You are being tested on your knowledge of Kanji and how to correctly read Kanji. The third set of questions tests your knowledge of vocabulary. The last set of questions deal with comprehension.

Important Tips for Section I Questions

1. Read (or try to read) the question or sentence several times before looking for answers. You will have a tendency to want to get to the answers quickly. Taking your time and pacing yourself is better than rushing through the questions. Understanding the Kanji in context will ensure you make the right choice.
2. Beware of long and short vowel Kanji. For example the word younger sister in Japanese – is いもと　or　 いもうと
3. Beware of the 　”　(だくてん)　- The small two lines  that mark hiragana to represent a change in the reading.  Here is an example　とand ど ( to & do). It is very easy to miss these. If you are not careful you can make the small mistake of  choosing the wrong answer

In the question below, please choose the proper pronunciations for the kanji used in the sentence.

Sample Question

土よう日に　妹と　買い物　に　行きます。

A　土よう日　１　とようび　　２　どようび　３　かようび　４　どようひ
B　妹　　　　１　おとうと     ２　いもと　　３　いもうと　４　むすめ
C　買い物　　１　かいぶつ　　２　がいもの　３　がいぶつ　４　かいもの
D　行きます　１　あきます　　２　うきます　３　いきます　４　ききます

Tip: A. beware of the だくてん (dakuten) and in B. the long vowles.

Answers (mouse over to display): A. ２ どようび, B. ３ いもうと, C. ４ かいもの, D. ３ いきます

Important Tips for Section II Questions

1. Read  the question or sentence several times before looking for answers. Because the whole sentence is written in hiragana you will have no trouble reading it.  Read it slowly and try to grasp the meaning in English.  Again, you will have a tendency to want to get to the answers quickly.
2. Eliminate choices you know are wrong.
3. Watch out for of swapped Kanji
4. Go with your instincts or first choice.
5. Think about the grammar of the sentence.

In the question below, please choose the proper kanji for the words given in the sentence.

Sample Question

きょねん　とうきょうに　すんだ。

A　きょねん　　　１　今年　　２　去年　   ３　来年   　４　毎年

B　とうきょう　　１　京都      ２　東京　　３　京東   　４　都京

C　すんだ　　　   １　休んだ　２　住んだ　３　済んだ　４　飲んだ

Tip: beware of swapped kanji in B

Answers (mouse over to display): A: ２ 去年 (kyounen, last year), B: 2.東京 (toukyou, Tokyo), C: 2.住んだ (sunda, lived[in])

Important Tips for Section III Questions

Read  the question or sentence several times before looking for answers. These questions are worth two marks each. In this section your vocabulary knowledge is being tested. Because the whole sentence is written in hiragana you should have no trouble reading it.  Read it slowly and try to grasp the meaning in English.  Again, you will have a tendency to want to get to the answers quickly.

Ask yourself focused grammar questions when looking at the question.

• Am I looking for a noun, and adjective and adverb ?
• What is the tense of the verb in the sentence or clause ?
• What is the subject; a person, an animal an object ?

Tips

1. Look at what comes before the underline.
2. Look at what comes after the underline.
3. What are the particles in the question; に、を、が、は、で
4. Watch out for ので,　ですが,　でも　and  から
5. Think in context to eliminate wrong choice.
6. Know your katakana – a katakana question is almost always in this part of the test.

Examples

In the questions below, please choose the most suitable word from the list below each question.

Sample Question

となりの　いぬは ＿＿＿＿＿＿。　いつも　ほえています。
１　げんき　　２　うるさい　３　かわいい　４　ながい

Tip: You are looking for an adjective describing a dog

Answer: 2. urusai (loud, noisy, annoying)

Sample Question

この　くるまは　ふるい　です　が、　よく　＿＿＿＿＿＿。
１　はしる　　２　とまる　３　こわれる　４　あるく

Tip: You are looking for a verb describing a car

Answer: 1. hashiru (goes/runs fast)

Sample Question

お母さんに　はなを　買って＿＿＿＿＿＿＿。
１　あげる　２　する　３　くれる　４　あがる

Tip: Who brought the flowers for who?

Answer: 1. ageru (give) “(I) bought and gave a flower to my mother” Note: kureru could also work, and the sentence would then mean that “my mother received a flower (by someone)”

Sample Question

さむいから　ヒーターを＿＿＿＿＿＿　ください。
１　けして　　２　かって　３ つけて　　４　きって

Tip: It is cold so what would you normally do with a heater?

Answer: 3. tsukete (turn on) “it’s cold, so please turn on the heater”. Note: 2. katte (buy) would also work, and would in that case mean “It’s cold, so please buy a heater”.

The 4th set of questions checks whether you can understand whole sentences. These ones are a little tricky and require more time than the other questions. Like the 3rd set of questions they are worth 2 marks each.

1. Read the underlined sentence over and over until you understand it. You need to read slowly.
2. Try to translate the sentence into English.
3. Ask yourself what you are looking for – what is the key word..
4. Read the other sentences and eliminate the wrong choices.

Sample Question

わたしは　やさいが　すきです。
１　いぬや　ねこなどが　すきです。

２　りんごや　バナナなどが　すきです。

３　トマトや　かぼちゃなどが　すきです。

４　サラダと　ジュースが　すきです。

Tip: Translated to English - I like vegetables
Answer (mouse over to display): 3. tomato ya kabocha nado ga suki desu

Credits