A2 lesson nine – doing things despite other things happening first

Another week, another grammar point. This week we all felt as though we had already studied the grammar point our teacher gave us, but I can’t find it in my AS notes.

~ても is used to describe an event being true even if another event happens.

A ても B means B, even if A. Or put another way, B will still happen even if A happens first.

雨が降っても、ピキニックに行きます。Even if it rains, I will go on a picnic.

~ても is used to indicate that something will happen despite something else.

The more straightforward “if – then” sentence construction uses ~たら.

雨が降ったら、ピクニックに行きません。If it rains, I won’t go on a picnic.

~ても is formed by adding も to the ~て form of the verb, noun or adjective.

Verb: ~て form plus も

~い adjective: change the ending from ~い to ~くて plus も

~な adjective: drop the ~な and add ~でも

Noun: add ~でも

~でも can also be put into the negative by using the short form negative of the verb, noun or adjective.

Verb: ~ない form acts as an ~い adjective, changing to ~なくても

~い adjective: the ~い changes to ~くない in the negative, which then changes to ~くなくても

~な adjective: ~じゃない form acts as an ~い adjective, changing to ~じゃなくても

Noun: ~じゃない form acts as an ~い adjective, changing to ~じゃなくても

~ても form does not have a tense of its own, but takes the tense from the rest of the sentence.

日本語の授業が難しくても、取ったでしょう。I would have taken the Japanese class even if it would have been difficult.

And now for the next 1o Kanji!

単　タン single, simple　Word: 単純　たんじゅん simplicity

指　ゆび,シ finger　Words: 指す　さす to point　指導　しどう guidance, leadership

要　かなめ,ヨウ principal, main point　Word: 必要　ひつよう necessary

故　ゆえ,コ past, former, cause　Words: 故に　ゆえに past　事故　じこ accident

重　おも,ジュウ heavy, serious　Words: 重い　おもい heavy　重要　じゅうよう important

面　メン face, mask, surface　Word: 面接　めんせつ interview

洗　あら,セン wash　Words: 洗う　あらう to wash　洗濯　せんたく laundry

相　アイ,ソウ each other, reciprocal　Word: 相談　そうだん advice, consultation

退　しりぞ,タイ retreat, repel　Words: 退く　しりぞく retreat　退学　たいがく dropping out of school

昨　サク past, yesterday, last (week, year, month)　Word: 昨年　さくねん last year

A2 lesson eight – transitive and intransitive verbs

The new pattern of our lessons seems to be studying a grammar point for the first half of the lesson and then going through the next section of 鼻 that we prepare during the preceding week.

This week’s grammar point was transitivity pairs, or pairs of verbs that describe situations in which people act on things (transitive verbs) and that describe changes that happen to people or things (intransitive verbs).

For example, a person can open a door (where to open is a transitive verb) and a door can be open (where to be open is an intransitive verb). In English and in Japanese, intransitive verbs don’t have a direct object, whereas transitive verbs do. In English, though, intransitive verbs are synonymous with the passive voice of an active, transitive verb. In Japanese, there is a separate passive tense for verbs which is distinct from the intransitive verbs. As we learnt in lesson four, in Japanese the passive tense is used specifically to express dissatisfaction at being inconvenienced by someone else’s action.

Our teacher gave us a long list of verb pairs with sentences showing how they compare in usage.

Transitive		Intransitive
開ける (あける)	to open	開く (あく)	to be open
閉める (しめる)	to close	閉まる (しまる)	to be closed
入れる (いれる)	to put in	入る (はいる)	to go inside
出す (だす)	to take out	出る (でる)	to go out
つける	to turn on	つく	to be turned on
消す (けす)	to turn off	消える (きえる)	to be turned off
壊す (こわす)	to break	壊れる (こわれる)	to be broken
汚す (よごす)	to make dirty	汚れる (よごれる)	to become dirty
落とす (おとす)	to drop	落ちる (おちる)	to be dropped
わかす	to boil water	わく	water boils
切る (きる)	to cut	切れる (きれる)	to be cut
止める (とめる)	to stop	止まる (とまる)	to be stopped
始める (はじめる)	to start	始まる (はじまる)	to be started
売る (うる)	to sell	売れる (うれる)	to be sold
なくす	to lose	なくなる	to be lost
集める (あつめる)	to collect	集まる (あつまる)	to be collected
直す (なおす)	to repair	治る (なおる)	to be cured
変える (かえる)	to change	変わる (かわる)	to be changed
気をつける (きをつける)	to take care	気がつく (きがつく)	to notice
届ける (とどける)	to deliver	届く (とどく)	to reach
並べる (ならべる)	to align	並ぶ (ならぶ)	to form a line
片づける (かたづける)	to tidy up	片づく (かたづく)	to be tidied up
戻す (もどす)	to put back	戻る (もどる)	to return
見つける (みつける)	to find out	見つかる (みつかる)	to be found
続ける (つづける)	to continue	続く (つづく)	to be continued
上げる (あげる)	to raise	上がる (あがる)	to go up
下げる (さげる)	to hang	下がる (さがる)	to hang from
折る (おる)	to break	折れる (おれる)	to be broken
起こす (おこす)	to wake someone up	起きる (おきる)	to get up
掛ける (かける)	to hang up	掛かる (かかる)	to be hung up
焼く (やく)	to burn	焼ける (やける)	to be burnt

I turn the light on.

電気をつけます。

The light is on.

電気がつきます。

I turn the light off.

電気を消します。

The light is off.

電気が消えます。

Using ~ています means different things depending on whether the verb is transitive or intransitive.

For a transitive verb, this verb form refers to a state of action in progress.

For an intransitive verb, it refers to a state resulting from change.

I’m opening the window.

窓を開けています。

The window is open.

窓が開いています。

Vocabulary:

窓　まど　window

おもちゃ　toy

犬小屋　いぬごや　kennel, dog house

The Kanji for the week were:

述　の,ジュツ state, mention, describe　Words: 述べる　のべる state, mention　記述　きじゅつ describe (in writing)

参　まい,サン visit, go, worship　Words: 参る　まいる visit　参加　さんか participate

押　お push　Words: 押す　おす to push　押入れ　おしいれ storage closet

呼　よ,コ call, exhale　Words: 呼ぶ　よぶ to call　呼吸する　こきゅうする to breathe

直　なお,チョク,ジキ direct, straight　Words: 直る　なおる to be mended, get better　正直　しょうじき honest

易　やさ,エキ easy, trade　Words: 易しい　やさしい easy　貿易　ぼうえき foreign trade

妻　つま,サイ wife　Word: 夫妻　ふさい husband and wife, married couple

研　ケン research, sharpen, polish　Word: 研究　けんきゅう research

政　セイ government, politics　Word: 政治　せいじ politics

約　やく approximately, promise　Word: 約束　やくそく promise

A2 lesson seven – causative sentences

In this lesson, we had one main grammar point and then we started to read through the book we have to read for the exam. We are reading 鼻 (はな) by Akutagawa. We’re reading a very abridged version, but it’s still difficult to fully understand the grammar and the colloquialisms. Each week we are given a couple of chapters to prepare, and then in the class our teacher asks us to read a line each, which she then translates for us.

Our grammar point this week was the causative tense. This form of the verb is used to describe a situation where someone makes someone else do something or lets them do something.

~う verbs (group 1): change from the dictionary form (base 3) to base 1 and add ~せる, i.e.

~く becomes ~かせる

~つ becomes ~たせる

~む becomes ~ませる

~ぐ becomes ~がせる

~う becomes ~わせる

~す becomes ~させる

~ぬ becomes ~なせる

~る becomes ~らせる

~ぶ becomes ~ばせる

~る verbs (group 2): add ~させる to the verb stem.

Irregular verbs:

くる becomes こさせる

する becomes させる

The causative derivation is similar to the passive, which we covered in lesson 4.

The causative is used in sentences which describe one person (whom we could call the director) making another person (whom we could call the actor) carry out a particular action.

(Director) は (Actor) に (Action).

先生は学生に会話を覚えさせました。The teacher made the student memorise the conversation.

The causative verb can be interpreted in two ways: the sense of making someone do something or the sense of letting someone do something. You can only tell which sense the verb is used from the context of the sentence.

お母さんは子供に本を読ませました。This could mean either The mother made her child read the book, or The mother let her child read the book. You would need to know something of the nature of the mother to know which one it was!

Vocabulary:

会話　かいわ　conversation

As tempting as it is to type out each section of 鼻 that we read each week, I’m not going to. There are only so many hours in the day!

The Kanji for this week’s lesson were:

苦　くる,にが,ク  hard, difficult　Words: 苦しい　くるしい hard　苦い　にがい difficult　苦痛　くつう pain, anguish

放　はな,ホウ let go, release　Words: 放す　はなす let go　放送局　ほうそうきょく broadcasting station

効　き,コウ effect, efficiency 　Words: 効く　きく be effective　効率　こうりつ efficiency

泊　と,ハク berth, stay　Words: 泊まる　とまる to stop　宿泊する　しゅくはくする to stay in a hotel

到　トウ reach　Word: 到着　とうちゃく arrival

表　おもて,ヒョウ surface, table, chart　Word: 表示　ひょうじ sign

非　ヒ non-, un-, wrong　Word: 非常口　ひじょうぐち emergency exit

法　ホウ law, method, religion　Word: 方法　ほうほう method, way

制　セイ regulation, control　Word: 制限　せいげん limit, restriction

命　いのち,メイ life, destiny, fate　Word: 命令　めいれい order, command

A2 lesson six – explaining things and observing the wishes of others

We only looked at two grammar points in lesson six, both of them from the text book we used at GCSE level.

The first grammar point was ~んです. For some reason, saying this out loud makes me think of that song by Hanson, Mmm-bop. Don’t ask.

~んです is used to explain why something happened, rather than just reporting that something happened. So, if someone asked you why you were late for a meeting, you could either simply report that the bus didn’t come, or you could used ~んです to explain that the bus didn’t come and that is why you were late for the meeting.

バスが来ませんでした。The bus didn’t come. This is a statement reporting a fact.

バスが来なかったんです。(I was late because) the bus didn’t come. This is an explanation.

The sentence ending ~んです takes the place of the unspoken part of the sentence.

~んです follows the short form of the verb, adjective or noun, which can either be positive or negative form, present or past tense.

Reminder:

Verbs in the present tense take the dictionary form in the positive and the ~ない form in the negative. Verbs in the past tense take the ~た form for the positive and the ~なかった form for the negative.

~い adjectives in the present tense keep the ~い ending in the positive and change to ~くない in the negative. ~い adjectives in the past tense change the ~い ending to ~かった in the positive and to ~くなかった in the negative.

For nouns and ~な adjectives, ~んです changes to ~なんです in the present tense for the positive. Otherwise, for the past tense in the positive, ~だったんです is used, and for the present and past tenses in the negative, ~じゃないんです and ~じゃなかったんです are used.

~んです is usually used when speaking. For writing an explanation, the more formal ~のです is used.

~んです can also be used as part of a question when the speaker wants to invite further explanation or clarification from the person they are speaking to.

どうしたんですか。What happened? (Why are you looking so sad?)

猫が死んだんです。My cat died. (That should explain why I’m looking like this.)

At GCSE, we learnt about using the verb stem with the ending ~たい to describe our own hopes and wishes. This week at A2 level, we learnt about modifying this ~たい form of a verb in order to describe or observe the hopes and wishes of other people. There is a helping verb, たがる, that is used in the ~ている form to indicate that you think somebody wants something from the way they are behaving. The ~ている form is たがっています and is added to the verb stem. This helping verb can only be used with the particle を.

トムさんはコーヒーを飲みたがっています。(From the way he’s behaving, I think that) Tom wants to drink coffee.

私もコーヒーを飲みたいです。I want to drink coffee, too.

There wasn’t anything new in the way of vocabulary for us in this lesson.

For homework we had a practice sheet for both grammar points, and the next 10 Kanji on the list:

性    さが,セイ,ショウ   nature, gender   Word: 性格   せいかく   character, personality

招　ショウ,まね call, beckon, invite    Words: 招く　まねく to call  招待　しょうたい invitation

板　いた,バン board, plank, plate    Word: 黒板　こくばん blackboard

念　ネン think    Word: 記念　きねん remembrance, memorial

的　まと,テキ target, react    Word: 的確　てきかく exact, precise, accurate

具　グ equipment, tool, utensil    Word: 具体的　ぐたいてき definite, concrete

服　ふく clothes, dress    Word: 服装　ふくそう dress, attire

価　カ price, value    Word: 価値　かち value, worth

泣　キュウ,な crying, weeping    Words: 泣く　なく to cry  号泣　ごうきゅう weeping, lamentation

並　ヘイ,なら side by side, together    Words: 並ぶ　ならぶ to queue up 平行　へいこう parallel, side by side, lined up in a row

In between stuff – a friend’s Japanese diary

I’m lagging behind with my A2 lessons, I know. Life has been busy and complicated lately, but I will catch up.

In the meantime, a friend I made when his band came to the UK in the summer keeps a diary about his adventures in the band A Page of Punk.

I’ve tried to translate his most recent diary entry, about a band competition. There is a lot of colloquial grammar and some unfamiliar words and idioms, so I’m not sure that I’ve understood all of it. I think I’ve got the gist of it though!

Here goes:

とりあえず更新して、また潜伏するパターン

“For the time being an update, and also a latent pattern”

イギリス日記を英訳しようと思って、ちょっと読み返してみたんですけど。
I think I will translate my England diary into English, but trying to read over it again is a little inconvenient.

止まらない。
I won’t stop.

味噌が手前なんですが、面白くね？
But the main point isn’t me, it’s to be interesting, isn’t it?
先日の企画、なんだかすごくいい日になりました。
Planning the previous day, somehow it became a very good day.

個人的に。
Personally.

左廻りのマサキさんに褒めてもらえて、寝れないパターン。
I received praise from Mr Masaki about the aforementioned tour, and I had a sleepless pattern.
ぼく、左廻りはパインさんとマサキさんしか見てないですからね。
For me, because on the aforementioned tour I didn’t only see Mr Pine and Mr Masaki, isn’t it?

長い付き合いでマサキさんが話しかけてくれたのも初だし。
In a long acquaintance it’s the first time Mr Masaki also spoke to me.

スーパーうれしい。
I’m super happy.

打ち上げで聞いたんですが、ロッキンレッカーの300円とかで売ってたデモが、980円でユニオンに並んでいるとか。
Although I heard it at the launch, the demo was being sold for about 300 Yen at Rocking Records, and has been lined up at about 980 Yen in Union records.

ＴＨＩＮＫ　ＡＧＡＩＮ、やっぱり凄いンすね。
“Think Again” is still amazing isn’t it?

タグに、「現ＴＨＩNK AGAIN」とあったらしいんですよ。
At the tag, the current “Think Again” is certainly apparent.

３人中２人アペイジなのに！！
Yet 2 out of 3 people for A Page!!

「ＴＨＩＮＫ　ＡＧＡＩＮに比べたら、アペイジなんてそんなもんだよねー」って言った瞬間、遠くでジンさん達と話してるツトムさんの「おお！やっぱり今アペイジきてる！！」って声が聞こえて苦笑い。
“Compared to Think Again, how can A Page worry about a thing like that?” said in a moment, from far away, Tsutomu’s voice was heard with a bitter smile talking with people, “Oh! As I thought, A Page is coming!!”

そのうち「現ＴＨＩNK　ＡＧＡＩＮ、現ＳＥＮＳＡＴＩＯＮＳ」になるんだろうな、、、。
Among that it seems to be “Current Think Again, current Sensations”…

毎回打ち上げであまり話す機会の無いゆうくんと、帰りの電車でよく話せた。
Every time at the launch I didn’t have much chance to speak with Yu, on the train home I could speak easily.

アペイジ対ゴロゴロのＤＶＤを撮ってくれたともやから入手。
“A Page versus GoroGoro” DVD was recorded and I received it from Tomoya.

ちゃんと編集してくれてて、正直物販で売りたい。
Let me edit it properly for you, I want to sell honest goods.

ゴロゴロのみなさんとそのＤＶＤ上映会したいって話から、とあるバンドマンへの悪口まで。
Because we discussed showing that DVD with everyone in GoroGoro, until a certain bandmember bad mouthed it.

ゆうくんは頭の回転が速い。
Yu thought quickly.

話のリズムがよくて話してて心地いい。
The rhythm of the story had a good feeling from often talking.

帰宅後、対決ＤＶＤを観た。
After returning home, I watched the DVD showdown.

うん、負けてない。
Yeah, I wasn’t defeated.

ありゃぼくらの勝ちだな。文句なく。
You don’t even exist, we win. Indisputably.

メンタルで負けかけてたメンバーはいたけど。
But there is a member who is defeated mentally.

最後、勝者がウイニングランで１曲やるってルールだったんですけど。
Finally, the winner in the winning run performed one song, because that was the rule.

結局サドンデスで決着つかず、じゃんけんで勝敗を決める事になって、もう決着つかないってことは互角なんですよ。
In the end, the amount wasn’t settled by sudden death, the outcome was decided by “Rock Paper Scissors”, the settling of the conflict was good.

引き分け。
It was a draw.

なのにじゃんけんに勝ったくらいでドヤ顔で演奏するぼくら。
Despite almost winning by “Rock Paper Scissors”, we will perform in the door face.

そして鏡越しに飛び跳ねて喜ぶぺいぺいちゃんの姿。
And, beyond the mirror the shape of Baby-Chan jumping and leaping in delight.

そうです、勝負は勝つから面白いんです。
So, because we won the contest, it is interesting.

反省点はすべて把握した。
I entirely grasped the point of consideration.

早くまたやりたい。
I want to do it again soon.

次はまず僕のとこにマイクが必要だな、マコトジョースターがお送りしました。

Next to start with a mic is needed for my place, Joe Makoto has reported.

I’m going to do as much of this week’s homework as I can manage today, and then I might type up some more of my notes later on.

A2 lesson five – deciding to do things, doing things regularly and trying to do things

This first term isn’t going well for me. I had to miss yet another lesson, this time due to illness. 先週、のどの痛みやせきや鼻水が在りました。楽しくなかったです。

Fortunately, my teacher has been able to tell me what the rest of the class studied – half of the time was spent going over the homework from last week, and the other half was spent looking at some new grammar points:

~ことにする

~ことにしています

~ようにしています

~ことにする is used when you want to say that you have decided to do something. It follows the short form present tense of the verb, which can be in either positive or negative form – i.e. you can say you decided to do something and you decided not to do something. It is the short form verb that is put into the negative, not する at the end.

e.g.

I have decided to buy a car.

車を買うことにしました。

I have decided not to buy a car.

車を買わないことにしました。

NOT 車を買うことにしませんでした。

I will not make too many complaints.

あまり文句を言わないことにします。

Using ~ことにする with 行く and putting する into the volitional form, you can use 行くことにしょう instead of 行こう to suggest that you want to do something, while implying that you have taken time to decide what it is you want to do.

Let’s go to Vietnam this summer.

今年の夏はベトナムに行くことにしょう。(This implies “I’ve thought about it, and let’s go.”)

cf. 今年の夏はベトナムに行こう。(This is just “Let’s go.”)

When you change する to している, the phrase changes its meaning. ~ことにしています is used to say that you’ve decided to do something as a regular practice.

e.g.

I make it a rule to go to bed at 11 every night.

毎晩十一時に寝ることにしています。

I have made a decision not to drink alcohol, no matter what.

絶対にお酒を飲まないことにしています。

The third grammar point of the lesson wasn’t covered by our text book, but only involved replacing こと with よう to create the phrase ~ようにしています. This is used to say that you are trying to do something.

I am trying not to drink alcohol, no matter what.

絶対にお酒を飲まないようにしています。

Answering some of the exercise questions (練習問題) reminded me of grammar from the AS that I had forgotten about (I might get to them one day if I carry on typing up my notes from last year!):

short form + 時　at the time, when, while

~えれば　if, when

~ても　even if, even when

Vocabulary:

文句　もんく　complaint

絶対　ぜつたい　definitely, no matter what

小学校　しょうがっこ　elementary school

面接　めんせつ　interview

辞める　やめる　to quit

捜す　さがす　to look for

教える　おしえる　to teach

過ごす　すごす　to spend time with

Finally, the next 10 Kanji in the 200 we are learning this year:

対    タイ,ツイ   set, oppose, response   Word: 対立   たいりつ   opposition, confrontation

身    み,シン   body, position      Word: 自身   じしん   by oneself, personally

努    つと,ド  effort, endeavour   Words: 努める   つとめる   effort, endeavour     努力   どりょく   effort, exertion

没    ボツ   sink, lose, die    Word: 没収   ぼっしゅう   confiscate

囲    かこ,イ   surround, enclose   Words: 囲む   かこむ   surround   周囲   しゅうい   surroundings, environs

似    に,ジ   resemble  Words: 似る   にる   resemble   似ている   にている   resembling

判    わか, ハン,バン  judge, decide   Words: 判る   わかる   understand   判決   はんけつ   judgement

均    キン   equal, the same, identical   Word: 均等   きんとう   equality, uniformity

府    フ   prefecture (only Osaka & Kyoto)      Word: 京都府   きょうとふ   Kyoto prefecture

治    おさ, チ,ジ   rule, govern, cure, heal   Words: 治める   おさめる   rule, govern,  治療  ちりょう  medical treatment, remedy

In between stuff – ももたろう

Last spring, while we were at Crayon House in Tokyo, we bought a couple of children’s picture books in the 子どもよむ日本の昔ばなし/kodomo yomu nihon no mukashi banashi (Children Read Japanese Folk Tales) series published by Kumon.

After the AS exam was over, thinking that I wasn’t going to be having any more classes until September, I decided to try translating one of the books, ももたろう.

Here is my attempt. If anyone has any corrections or can suggest how to translate the parts I haven’t been able to find out (indicated by square brackets []), please leave a comment below!

「ももたろう」

“The Peach Son”

むかし、あるところに、おじいさんとおばあさんがいました。

Long ago, in a certain place, there was an old man and an old woman.

ある日、おじいさんは山へ柴かりにいき、おばあさんは川へせんたくにいきました。

One day, the old man went to the mountain for firewood and the old woman went to the river to do laundry.

おばあさんが川でせんたくをしていると、むこうから大きなももがごっくりごっくり、ながれてきました。

The old woman was doing the laundry at the river and, from the other side, a large peach flowed gulpingly along.

おばあさんは、「実のあるももなら、こっちへこい。実のないももは、あっちへいけ」といいました。」

The old woman said, “If the peach is fruit, it will come this way. If the peach isn’t fruit, it will go that way.”

ももは、おばあさんのほうへぷいこぷいこと、ながれてきました。

The peach [ぷいこぷいこ] and flowed in the direction of the old woman.

「ああよかった。うちへもってかえってじさと食べよう。」

“Oh, that’s good. I’ll take it home and eat it with the old man.”

おばあさんは、ももをどっこいしょとひろいあげると、うちへもってかえりました。

The old woman picked up the peach by heaving and took it back home.

しばらくすると、おじいさんが山からかえってきました。

A short time later, the old man came back from the mountain.

「じさ、じさ、きょう川でせんたくしていたら、大きなももがながれてきた。いっしょに食べようとおもってもってかえってきたよ。」

“Old man, old man, today at the river while I was doing laundry, a big peach flowed along. Thinking we could eat it together I brought it home.”

「そうかそうか。それはよかった。どうしてこんなに大きなももがながれてきたんだろう。まあ食べよう、食べよう。」

“Is that so? That’s good. How did such a big peach flow here? Well, let’s eat, let’s eat.”

おじいさんとおばあさんがももをわると、中から大きな男の子がぼこんとでてきました。

The old man and the old woman split the peach and, from inside, a big boy [ぼこん – sprang?] and emerged.

「こりゃまあ、たいしたことだ。これはめずらしい男の子だ。」

“Hey there, well, he’s going to be big. This is an unusual boy.”

「いったいなんて名まえにしたらいいだろう。」

“How on earth will we give him a good name?”

「ももから住まれたから、ももたろうにするか。」

“Since he was born from a peach, shouldn’t he be Peach Son?”

おじいさんとおばあさんは、男の子にももたろうと名まえをつけて、だいじにだいじにそだてました。

The old man and the old woman recorded the boy’s name as Peach Son and raised him very carefully.

やがて、ももたろうは大きくなり、つよい男の子になりました。

Before long, Peach Son became a big and strong boy.

ある日、ももたろうは、はたけにいってきびの穂をとってきました。

One day, Peach Son went into the fields and brought some ears of millet.

そしておばあさんに、「ばあちゃん、このきびでだんごつくってくれ」とたのみました。

Then he begged the old woman, “Old woman, will you make dumplings from this millet?”

「ああいいよ。つくってやろう。」

“Oh of course. I will make them.”

おばあさんは、石臼できびをぐるぐるとひいて、きびだんごをつけってくれました。

The old woman ground up the millet with a stone mortar and made millet dumplings.

ももたろうは、きびだんごをふくろに入れて、こしにつけました。

Peach Son put some millet dumplings in his pouch and wore it at his hip.

そして、「みやこをあらすわるい鬼をたいじしてくる」といって、鬼ｹ島へでかけました。

Then he said, “I’m going to confront the bad demon who is laying waste to the capital,” and then he went off to the demon island.

しばらくいくと、むこうからきじがとんできて、「ももたろうさん、ももたろうさん、どこへいらっしゃる」とききました。

After going for a little while, he met a green pheasant coming from the opposite direction and heard, “Peach Son, Peach Son, where are you going?”

「鬼ｹ島へ鬼たいじにいくところだ」

“I’m going to the demon island to confront the demon.”

「こしにつけたものはなんですか」

“What’s that you’re wearing at your hip?”

「奇妙頂来きびだんご。ひとつ、くえばうまいもの。ふたつは、くってならぬもの」

“A curious millet dumpling I received earlier. Firstly, it’s a delicious thing. Secondly, it’s irresistible.”

「ひとつくれたら、おともしましょう」

“If it’s the first, let me accompany you.”

そこで、ももたろうはきびだんごをひとつやって、きじをおともにしました。

There, Peach Son gave one millet dumpling and was accompanied by the green pheasant.

ももたろうときじがつれだっていくと、むこうからさるがやってきて、「ももたろうちゃん、ももたろうちゃん、どこへいらっしゃる」とききました。

As Peach Son and the green pheasant went along, a monkey was coming from the opposite direction and they heard, “Peach Son, Peach Son, where are you going?”

「鬼ｹ島へ鬼たいじにいくところだ」

I’m going to the demon island to confront the demon.”

「こしにつけたものはなんですか」

“What’s that you’re wearing at your hip?”

「奇妙頂来きびだんご。ひとつ、くえばうまいもの。ふたつは、くってならぬもの」

“A curious millet dumpling I received earlier. Firstly, it’s a delicious thing. Secondly, it’s irresistible.”

「ひとつくれたら、おともしましょう」

“If it’s the first, I’ll come with you.”

そこで、ももたろうはきびだんごをひとつやって、さるもおともにしました。

There, Peach Son gave one millet dumpling and the monkey also came along.

またしばらくいくと、こんどは犬がやってきました。

Again, after going for a long time, they met with a dog.

犬は、「ももたろうちゃん、ももたろうちゃん、どこへいらっしゃる」とききました。

They heard the dog say, “Peach Son, Peach Son, where are you going?”

「鬼ｹ島へ鬼たいじにいくところだ」

“I’m going to the demon island to confront the demon.”

「こしにつけたものはなんですか」

“What’s that you’re wearing at your hip?”

「奇妙頂来きびだんご。ひとつ、くえばうまいもの。ふたつは、くってならぬもの」

“A curious millet dumpling I received earlier. Firstly, it’s a delicious thing. Secondly, it’s irresistible.”

「ひとつくれたら、おともしましょう」

“If it’s the first, I’ll come with you.”

そこで、ももたろうはきびだんごをひとつやって、犬もおともにしました。

There, Peach Son gave one millet dumpling and the dog accompanied them, too.

ももたろうは、きじとさると犬をおともにつれて、鬼ｹ島へむかいました。

Peach Son, accompanied by the green pheasant, the monkey and the dog, headed for the demon island.

鬼ｹ島につくと、門がかたくしまっていました。

When they arrived at the demon island, unfortunately a gate was waiting.

そこで、きじが中へとんでいって門をあけました。

There, the green pheasant flew inside and opened the gate.

ももたろうたちは中へとびこみました。

Peach Son and the others jumped inside.

さるは鬼をひっかきまわり、犬もがんがんかみつきました。

The monkey scratched a demon and the dog also sat on a pounding god.

ももたろうは、鬼のたいしょうにとびかかり、力いっぱいなげとばしました。

Peach Son, springing upon a demon target the head demon, punished it with a full power throw.

そして、とうとう鬼たちをみんなたいじしました。

So at last, they conquered all the demons.

それから、ももたろうはきじとさると犬をつれて、おじいさんとおばあさんおうちへかえりました。

Afterwards, Peach Son took the green pheasant, the monkey and the dog and returned to the home of the old man and the old woman.

これっきりそう。

I heard that they never did this again.

 

Vocabulary:

桃　もも　peach

昔　むかし　long ago

ある所に　あるところに　in a certain place

ある日　あるひ　one day

柴　しば　firewood

洗濯　せんたく　laundry

向こう　むこう　opposite side

流れる　ながれる　to flow

実　み　fruit

拾い上げる　ひろいあげる　to pick up

暫くすると　しばらくすると　a short time later

じさ　old man (familiar)

割る　わると　to split

こりゃまあ　hey there, well

珍しい　めずらしい　rare, unusual

住まれる　すまれる　to be born

大事な　だいじな　precious

大事に　だいじに　carefully

やがて　before long

畑　はたけ　field

きびの穂　きびのほ　ear of millet

団子　だんご　dumpling

頼む　たのむ　ask, request, beg

石臼　いしうす　stone mortar, millstone

袋　ふくろ　bag, sack, pouch

腰　こし　waist, hip

都　みやこ　capital city

荒らす　あらす　to lay waste

鬼　おに　demon

退治する　たいじする　to conquer, confront

鬼ｹ島　おにがしま　demon island

雉　きじ　green pheasant

猿　さる　monkey

犬　いぬ　dog

飛ぶ　とぶ　to fly

開ける　あける　to open

引っ掻く　ひっかく　to scratch

大将　たいしょう　leader, head

飛びかかる　とびかかる　to spring at, jump at

In between stuff – cold remedy packaging

As well as going to class, I also read the odd thing here and there to see if I can understand the kanji written on it.

Today, my friend Chris, who is working as an ALT in a Japanese school in Yamagata, posted a picture on Facebook of some medicines he’d been given for a cold. It reminded me of our last holiday, where I caught tonsilitis and a cold from someone who sneezed on me on the bus. I ended up buying a cold remedy from the local pharmacy. I’ve just dug it out, so here goes with a translation of some of the kanji on the package:

第２類医薬品  (だい２るいいやくひん)

Category 2 drugs

総合感冒薬  (そうごうかんぼうくすり)

Combination cold medicine

ルキノンエース錠V  (ルキノンエースじょうV)

Lukinon Ace tablet V (not sure about this one!)

のどの痛み、熱、せき、たん、鼻水  (のどのいたみ、ねつ、せき、たん、はなみず)

Sore throat, fever, cough, sputum, runny nose

イブプロフェン、塩酸ブロムヘキシン、フマル酸クレマスチン、塩化リゾチーム、カンゾウ  (イブプロフェン、えんさんブロムヘキシン、フマルさんクレマスチン、えんかリゾチーム、カンゾウ)

Ibuprofen, bromhexine hydrochloride, clemastine fumarate, lysozyme chloride, licorice

対象年齢：１５才以上  (たいしょうねんよわい：１５さいいじょう)

Target age 15 and over

成人 (１５才以上)１回３錠、１日３回食後なるべく３０分以内に服用して下さい。

(せいじん(１５才以上)１かい３じょう、１にち３かいしょくごならべく３０ぷんいないにふくようしてください。)

Adults (aged 15 and over) 3 tablets once, should be taken 3 times a day preferably within 30 minutes after meals.

Useful vocabulary, then:

医薬品  いやくひん  medication, drugs

感冒  かんぼう  cold (illness)

薬  くすり  medicine

錠   じょう  tablets

のどの痛み  のどのいたみ  sore throat

熱  ねつ  fever

せき  cough

鼻水  はなみず  runny nose

対象年齢   たいしょうねんよわい   target age, age group

１５才以上   １５さいいじょう   15 and over

成人   せいじん   adult

１日３回   １にち３かい    3 times a day

食後    しょくご   after meals

なるべく    preferably

以内に   いないに   within

This might be a very appropriate post, come to think of it. I’ve been ill since Monday with a heavy cold – bad cough, sore throat and runny nose – so I might have to miss class tonight. 😦

In Japanese:

月曜日から、病気でしたので、今晩は授業を欠場する必要があるかもしれません。ひどいせきや、のどの痛みや、鼻水があります。

We’ll see…

Meanwhile, お大事に (おだいじに) – take care!

A2 lesson four – the passive tense

I was off to a wedding all day last Thursday, so had to miss lesson four of the A2. I managed to get my homework done and scanned in so that I could email it to my teacher. I asked her to let me know what they had covered during the lesson, so that I wouldn’t fall too far behind.

Fortunately, most of the lesson was taken up with going through the rest of the AS paper. The only grammar point that was covered was something that we had already had a look at at the end of last term, after the exam.

I wasn’t in work on Monday this week, so I was able to catch up with most of the work. The grammar point concerned the passive tense, which is used in a different way in Japanese to how we use it in English. In English, it just means that something happened to the subject, rather than was done by the subject. In Japanese, the passive tense is used to describe being inconvenienced by someone else’s actions, and is very much an expression of dissatisfaction.

I remember when we went over it at the end of last term, we all struggled to understand the concept in Japanese! So I guess it’s just one of those grammar points that you just have to go with and not question.

In the text book, the subject of the sentence is described as being the victim of a villain’s evil act. I think that’s a bit harsh, so I’m going with the subject being the recipient of the perpetrator’s inconvenient act. Semantics!

recipient は perpetrator に inconvenient act

The recipient, who is affected by the inconvenient act, is marked with a は or a が and the perpetrator, who performs the inconvenient act, is marked with a に. The inconvenient act is described using the passive tense of the verb.

To form the passive tense:

~る verbs – change the final ~る to ~られる

~う verbs – change the final ~う to ~あれる, for verbs with only ~う at the end you need to add ~われる

Irregular verbs – 来る becomes こられる and する becomes される

The passive form conjugates in the same way as regular Group 2 ~る verbs.

For the Group 2 verbs, the passive form looks the same as the potential form that we had covered early in the AS course. Context, then, is everything!

Example sentences:

John is often laughed at by Mary.

ジョンさんはメーリさんによく笑われます。

I was annoyed with the person next to me for smoking.

私はとなりの人にたばこを吸われました。

Having said all that about the Japanese use of the passive being different to English usage, the text book also says that not all passive sentences report unfavourable events:

I was invited to a party by a friend.

私は友達にパーテイーに呼ばれました。

That’s the same way we use the passive tense in English. Who knows?!

Other vocabulary:

紹介する　しょうかいする　to introduce

誘う　さそう　to invite/ask out

呼ぶ　よぶ　to invite

尊敬する　そんけいする　to look up to, respect

So all that is left is the next 10 kanji:

位　くらい　イ　grade, rank    Word: 一位　いちい　first grade

声　こえ　セイ　voice    Word: 音声　おんせい　sound of a voice

投　な　トウ　throw, fling, abandon    Words: 投げう　なげる　throw, 投手　とうしゅ　baseball pitcher

初　はじ　ショ　beginning    Words: 初め　はじめ　beginning, 最初　さいしょ　beginning

希　のぞみ　キ　rare, wish    Word: 希望　きぼう　hope, wish, ambition

低　ひく　テイ　low, short    Words: 低い　ひくい　short, 低温　ていおん　low temperature

決　き　ケツ     decide, fix, settle    Words: 決める　きめる　decide, 決定　けってい　decision

求　もと　キュウ　want, desire, request    Words: 求める　もとめる　request, 求職　きゅうしょく　job hunting

告　つ　コク　tell, inform, announce    Words: 告げる　つげる　tell, 告白　こくはく　confession, admission

完　カン　complete, perfect   Word: 完成　かんせい　completion, perfection

A2 lesson three – saying you’ve heard something (~そうです)

We ran through the kanji we had been set for homework last week at the start of the lesson, then worked through Q4 from this year’s AS paper, which we’d also prepared for homework.

Vocabulary from the AS paper:

全然　ぜんぜん　never (use with verb in negative)

試合に勝つ　しあいにかつ　to win the game

徹夜する　てつやする　 to stay up all night

安全　あんぜん　safety

係りの人　かかりのひと 　person in charge

生徒　せいと　pupil

父母　ふぼ　father & mother

質　しつ　quality

量　りょう　quantity

質と量　しつとりょう　quality & quantity (idiom)

まずい　bad tasting

お金をもうける　おかねをもうける　to get more money

Next, we moved onto Q6 from this year’s AS paper, with Q5 being set for homework.

Vocabulary from Q6:

機会　きかい　chance, opportunity

首都　しゅと　capital

など　etc.

開く　ひらく　to start, to open, to hold

関係　かんけい　relationship

関係ない　かんけいない　nothing to do with, e.g. 私には関係ない　It’s nothing to do with me.

Our next A2 grammar point was ~そうです which is used to mean “I hear that”. It looks like the ~そうです grammar point we learnt in the AS, but which is used to say that something looks like something else. This version can only be used with adjectives.

~そうです when used to report what you have heard takes the short form of verbs, adjectives and a noun + です:

Verb – dictionary form + そうです

~い adjective + そうです

~な adjective, replace な with だそうです

noun + です, replace です with だそうです

e.g.

I heard that she speaks Japanese.

彼女は日本語を話すそうです。

I heard that this cake is delicious.

このケーキはおいしいそうです。

I heard that she is fine.

彼女は元気だそうです。

I heard that he is a student.

彼は学生だそうです。

~そうです can also be used with ~によると before sources of information, such as a newspaper, weather report or tv, to report something you have heard according to the specific source, e.g.

According to the weather report, tomorrow will be a nice day.

天気予報によると、明日は晴れるそうです。

Vocabulary:

天気予報　てんきよほう　weather report/forecast

晴れ　はれ　fair or fine weather

晴れる　はれる　to clear up (weather)

We were given more homework (!), including reading Q7 from the AS paper to make sure we understand it, sentences to copy out and translate, plus another 10 kanji to learn for a test next week:

曲　ま　キョク　bend, twist   Words: 曲がる　まがる    bend, 作曲　さっきょく　compose

老　お　ロウ　old age    Words: 老いる　おいる　grow old, 老人　ろうじん　older person

任　まか　ニン　trust, duty    Words: 任せる　まかせる    entrust, delegate, 責任　せきにん　responsibility

各　カク　each, every    Word: 各国　かっこく　every country, most countries

件　ケン　matter, case    Word: 事件　じけん　incident

共　とも　キョウ　together, common, joint    Word: 共存　きょうぞん　co-existence

印　しるし　イン　sign, stamp, seal    Word: 印　しるし    sign, signal

危　あぶ　キ　dangerous, risky, hurt    Words: 危ない　あぶない    dangerous, risky, 危険　きけん　danger, hazard, risk

存　ソン　be, exist    Word: 存続　そんぞく　duration

究　きわ　キュウ　go to extremes    Words: 究める　きわめる　go to extremes, 研究　けんきゅう　study, research

Phew! That’s a lot of work.