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The Everything Japanese Guide


 

 

 

E d 's  J a p a n e s e  B l o g

(A r c h i v e s)

 

Ed's Japanese Blog Archives Home

 

 

November 8, 2009

Using for two purposes simultaneously: 兼用する　

 

兼用する　（けんよう　する）　to use a thing as both…and….

 

 

Usage examples and variants:

 

男女兼用の　（だんじょ　けんよう　の）　serving for both genders; unisex

 

男女兼用の名前 a name that is suitable for either boys or girls

 

 

 

 

November 7, 2009

An idiomatic Japanese expression for you today.....

 

十八番（じゅうはちばん）one's specialty; forte; a trick, performance or technique that one is especially good at

 

Usage example:

この歌は智子さんの十八番です。Tomoko is especially good at this song.

 

 

November 6, 2009

JAPANESE LANGUAGE QUIZ

Which of the following relate to the concept of “diversity” or “variation”:

 

  1. 多岐にわたる
  2. 多様性
  3. 多難な
  4. 多忙な

 

Answer: You no doubt noticed the common kanji in all of these words, 多 . This kanji means many. Now let’s examine the definition of each term:

 

多難な（たなん　な） = difficulty; full of troubles. The second kanji is the same one used  in 難しい（むずかしい） = difficult.

 

多忙な（たぼう　な） = busy. The second kanji is the same one used  in 忙しい（いそがしい） = busy.

 

多岐にわたる　（たき　に　わたる） to diverge. Here is an example of the word in a sentence:

 

争点は、景気対策、社会保障、外交・安全保障政策、「政と官」のあり方、地方分権など多岐にわたる。 --Yomiuri Shimbun

 

多様性　（たようせい） variety; diversity. An example sentence for this item is included below:

 

黒人初の米大統領に就任したオバマ大統領らしく、「変革と多様性」が選考の基準となった。--Jishi Tsushin

 

Based on these definitions, certainly B is correct; and A could also be correct as well.

Supplementary vocabulary:

 

 

 

October 30, 2009

JAPANESE LANGUAGE QUIZ

In Japan typhoons are commonly referred to by number rather than name. The excerpt below from the Japanese press refers to the eighth typhoon　（台風８号・たいふう　はちごう）of the 2009 season.

 

Based on the excerpt, which fact is apparent?

 

  1. The U.S. and Taiwan do not have formal relations.
  2. The U.S. and China do not have formal relations.
  3. China and the United States are close allies.
  4. Relations are tense between the United States and China.

 

米軍は１６日、台風８号で壊滅的被害を受けた台湾への人道支援を目的に、沖縄の基地からＣ１３０輸送機を派遣した。米国防関係者が明らかにした。  

米軍機の台湾入りは、１９７９年の米台断交以来初めて。輸送機には防水ビニールシートが積まれていた。

 

 

Answer: For decades after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, Washington did not recognize the government in Beijing as the legitimate government of China. U.S. policy recognized the Nationalist government in Taiwan as the rightful authority of both Taiwan and China. Relations between the United States and China vacillated between hostility and mutual avoidance.

Nixon’s historic trip to China in 1972 was hailed as a breakthrough in Sino-American relations. By the beginning of the 1980s, diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China would be “normalized.” But Beijing demanded the U.S. acknowledge the PRC as the “real” China. Accordingly, the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979 severed formal relations between the United States and Taiwan.

This is the historic fact reverenced by the following phrase: １９７９年の米台断交. The term米台断交　（べいたい　だんこう） = break in relations between the U.S. and Taiwan. Therefore, the correct answer is A.

 

This excerpt contains a number of other words that would be useful to know:

 

 

October 27, 2009

JAPANESE LANGUAGE QUIZ

Read the following headline from the Japanese-language version of CNN.com:

 

イラクで同性愛者への暴力が激化　国際人権団体が報告

 

Which of the following statements can be gathered from the headline?

 

  1. Violence against religious minorities in Iraq is increasing.
  2. Sectarian violence in Iraq is increasing.
  3. Violence against foreigners is increasing in Iraq.
  4. Violence against human rights groups is increasing in Iraq.
  5. Both A and B
  6. None of the above

 

Answer: The Japanese word 同性愛者（どうせいあいしゃ）= homosexuals. The headline identifies this group as the target of intensifying violence in Iraq. This means that the correct answer to the question is F, none of the above.

 

Note the definitions of the other important words in the headline:

 

 

 

 

October 19, 2009

JAPANESE LANGUAGE QUIZ

2007年10月1日 ... 考えてみると、そんなに吸いたくもないのに惰性で吸っていたので、節煙することにしました。

 

Which of the following statements is true?

 

  1. The blogger is smoking more.
  2. The blogger is cutting back on smoking.
  3. The blogger does not have a strong desire to smoke.
  4. Both B and C
  5. None of the above

 

Answer: Your understanding of this passage hinges on your grasp of two expressions:  惰性で and節煙する. 

Let’s being with 惰性で（だせい　で）, which means by force of habit. This means that answer C is correct; but we still need more information.  There is a series of words that begin with the kanji 節:

 

As you can see, all of these words relate to cutting back, curtailing usage, or economizing in some way.  

This realization tells us that B is also correct. The best answer for the question, therefore, is D, both B and C.

 

 

 

October 7, 2009

JAPANESE LANGUAGE QUIZ

 

The following is an excerpt from a Japanese newspaper (the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, 08/14/09) regarding the case of Myanmar (Burma) democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi. Read the sentence and pick the answer which best summarizes the main ideas of the excerpt: 

国連の安全保障理事会は13日、ミャンマーの民主化運動の指導者、アウン・サン・スー・チー氏に軍事政権が有罪判決を出したことに対し「深刻な懸念」を示す報道向け声明を発表した。

 

  1. The U.N. Security Council expressed “grave concern” over the fact that the military government handed down a guilty verdict on Burmese democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
  2. The U.N. Security Council expressed “grave concern” that the military government handed down a not-guilty verdict on Burmese democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
  3. The U.N. Security Council expressed “utter outrage” over the fact that the military government handed down a guilty verdict on Burmese democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
  4. The U.N. Security Council expressed “a high degree of satisfaction” over the fact that the military government handed down a not-guilty verdict on Burmese democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Answer: In order to answer this question, you need to know the following key words:

 

The answer, therefore, is A.  

Also note that the excerpt gives the 13th of the month as the date of UN announcement. The announcement is described as a statement aimed at the media  報道向け声明　（ほうどう　むけ　せいめい）.

 

 

September 20, 2009

JAPANESE LANGUAGE QUIZ

 

Which of the following words means a screech, or a squeal?

 

  1. 美声

  2. 鼻声

  3. 風声

  4. 金切り声

 

Answer: There is one kanji element that is common to all these words: 声. This kanji represents the word for voice, 声（こえ）. 

The items listed from A through D are all relatively advanced vocabulary. Unless your Japanese is quite advanced, you have likely not encountered them before.  

You will need a knowledge of kanji to extrapolate the definitions of the compound words. Consider the meanings of the following kanji:

 

美  beautiful, lovely

鼻 nose

風 wind; cold

金 metal, gold

切 cut

 

Now the definitions of the first three compounds: 

美声 （びせい）　a beautiful voice

鼻声　（びせい） a nasal voice

風声　（かざごえ） a hoarse voice (due to a cold)

 

The final item, D, literally means “a metal cutting voice.” The dictionary meaning is a screech; a squeal. It is commonly used in the phrase 金切り声を上げる　（かなきりごえ　を　あげる） to let out a scream.

 

 

 

 

September 15, 2009

JAPANESE LANGUAGE QUIZ

 

Which of the following adjectives are complimentary?

 

  1. 親切な
  2. 鉄面皮な
  3. 頭が切れる
  4. 腹が黒い
  5. A and B
  6. A and C
  7. A, B, and C
  8. none of the above

 

Answer: If someone uses two of the above adjectives two describe you, you should feel complimented. However, two of these words are definitely not complimentary. Let’s take a look at the definition for each word:

 

親切な　（しんせつ　な）　kind; kind-hearted

鉄面皮な　（てつめんぴ　な） brazen; shameless

頭が切れる　（あたま　が　きれる） clever; sharp-minded

腹が黒い　（はら　が　くろい） scheming; black-hearted

 

The answer, then, is F.　

 

 

 

 

September 13, 2009

JAPANESE LANGUAGE QUIZ

 

Define the term 後釜:

 

  1. aftertaste
  2. successor
  3. hindsight
  4. postponement

 

Answer:  This one is a bit tricky if you haven’t seen it before. I will assume that you are familiar with the basic kanji 後, which means after, following. But what about 釜? This relatively low-frequency kanji means iron pot/kettle.

            When you combine 後 + 釜, the resultant meaning is successor, so B is the correct answer to this question.

 

後釜（あとがま）is often used in the set phrase 後釜に座る（あとがま　に　すわる）,  to succeed another, to step into another person’s shoes.

            There are Japanese words for A, C, and D that begin with後. These are given below:

 

後味　（あとあじ）　aftertaste

後回し　（あとまわし） delay; postponement

後知恵　（あとぢえ） afterthought; hindsight