Inside That Japanese Book

May 7, 2017

Stay motivated: Define your goalS

Let your big goal make babies “When I am able to read literature in Japanese, I will start by Nobel Prizes”. Thinking that I will read Kawabata and Oe in Japanese helps me stay motivated BUT if this were my only goal, I would feel discouraged and would eventually give up. Because it will be […]
May 6, 2017

すーちゃん～６

My reading notes for the 6th story of すーちゃん, p.39 to 45. Reading Notes Suchan’s mother asks “彼氏はおらんの？” I guess that she is asking her daughter whether she has a boyfriend or not but I don’t understand the structure. Same for Suchan’s answer, she says that whether she has a boyfriend or not, it has […]
May 6, 2017

どちらかが彼女を殺した～第３章～２

The second part of chapter 3 goes from p.105 to 119 Reading Notes 遠縁・とおえん　distant relative ノイローゼ　neurosis 性に合う・せいにあう　to be congenial, to agree with one 所轄・しょかつ　jurisdiction こだわる　to fuss over, to be particular about (it already appeared in the precedent part but I didn’t remember it 😫) 気のせい・きのせい　in one’s imagination 封印・ふういん to stamp, to affix a seal 蘇る・よみがえる　to […]
May 5, 2017

Bungo Stray Dogs: a gate to Japanese literature

The manga Bungo Stray Dogs (文豪ストレイドッグス) is a manga written by Asagiri Kafka (朝霧カフカ) and illustrated by Harukawa Sango (春川３５). One particularity of the manga is that the characters of the series are named after great literature authors. For example, the main character, a 18 year-old boy who can turn into a white tiger, is […]
May 4, 2017

坂本九～上を向いて歩こう～Sukiyaki

I have decided to also work on songs. I usually listen to instrumental music and I am not familiar with J-pop or contemporary Japanese music but it’s never too late to start! The very first song of this blog is 上を向いて歩こう・うえをむいてあるこう　from Sakamoto Kyu. It is a song from the early 60’s which had made its […]
May 3, 2017

Stay motivated: look back!

Take your measuring tape To stay motivated, measuring one’s progress is essential. Even small progress is worth celebrate. No matter where you are now, one thing is certain, you are further than when you started, you have a knowledge you didn’t have before you started Japanese. Measuring those progress and celebrate should punctuate your learning […]
May 3, 2017

すーちゃん～５

The 5th story of すーちゃん goes from p. 32 to 38. Looks like we will finally be introduced to manager Nakata! (see p.17) Reading Notes 発注・はっちゅう　placing an order Suchan is thinking that two colleagues are “saboting” their work because they are discussing and laughing together. I like this word “サボる”, it means “to be […]
May 2, 2017

Those old-fashioned skills 1: learning by heart

I am not a language learning specialist but learning languages is one of my favorite hobbies and I invest a lot of time in it. What follows is just advice based on my own experience. Learning by heart, a lost skill? I went to a private school and I remember that learning by heart was […]
May 2, 2017

どちらかが彼女を殺した～３章～１

The previous part is here. This is the first part of chapter 2, from p.99 to 105. A rather short one this time! Reading notes 葬儀・そうぎ　funeral service 絡み・からみ　involvement 煩雑・はんざつ　complex, troublesome 解剖・かいぼう　appeared in chapter 2-2, it means autopsy 縫合・ほうごう　suture, seam, stitch p99. “訊かないはずがなく、…” A double negative form, using the はずがない grammar which means, “cannot be, impossible”. […]
May 1, 2017

星の王子さま～３

Notes for 星の王子さま～２ are here. Where the narrator hears for the first time the words “other planet” and try to know more about where the Little Prince comes from. p.17 to 21. Reading notes 何もかも・なにもかも　everything たまたま　accidentally, by chance つながる・繋がる　to be tied together, to be connected “飛行機は描かないでおく” I wasn’t aware you could use the ておく grammar […]