It’s been a long time, huh? I suppose the vacation I took from the blog was rather long, but no worries. Believe it or not, I have actually been hard at work in my spare time. Despite my lack of time online, I’ve been personally tutoring a few of my friends and it’s been going well. They have learned so much! Especially this one friend I have who is reading very well. I’m proud~!
I think that maybe school and housework has been taking its toll on me. That’s not to mention all of the other random side projects I have going on. Anyway, after the rest during the holidays, I feel good. Speaking of which, I am rather late with those greetings (happy holidays~!) I am getting up to date with all of my posts; finishing the ones that I’ve been too lazy to edit. It will take a while before everything is uploaded.
Speaking of which, this is a Vocaloid song that is like the anthem of procrastination:
Would you believe that I’m starting to write my own songs? Maybe I should invest in a copy of Vocaloid. I have been working one that I’m excited about. I’m so unorganized, I know!
As for the thunder
There is such warmth in its voice;
It’s a lullaby.
Lightning strikes the ground below
In Japanese, adjectives come in many forms.
An i-adjective always ends in [い] as its name implies. To directly modify a noun with an i-adjective, no change to the adjective is necessary. You can simply stick it in front of the noun, like so:
楽しい友達 [たのしいともだち] a fun friend
Some other i-adjectives:
いい good
かっこいい cool; handsome
忙しい [いそがしい] busy
温かい [あたたかい] warm, genial (like in my haiku above)
On the other hand, na-adjectives do not always end in [な]. Its name has to do with the way they describe nouns. They can directly modify a noun when you stick a [な] between the adjective and the noun, like so:
元気な人 [げんきなひと] healthy person
There are a few na-adjectives end in [い], like きれい and 嫌い [きらい]. These are exceptions that must be carefully remembered.
好き [すき] – likable
静か [しずか] – quiet
きれい – clean, pretty
嫌い [きらい] – distasteful, hateful
You can use adjectives to describe nouns by saying that something is/is not/was/was not ____. This is done with the state of being. In Japanese, 好き (“like”) is a na-adjective, not a verb. You can think of it as meaning “desirable” or “likable”. The same thing goes for 嫌い (“hate”). It’s better to think of it as “hateful” or “distasteful”.
ゲームは好きだった. (ゲームはすきだった.)
lit. Game was desirable. (In English, this would mean “(I) liked the game.”)
That’s just a quick introduction to Japanese adjectives. Go forth and describe the world!
清潔は敬神に最も近い. [せいけつはけいしんにもっともちかい.] Seiketsu wa keishin ni mottomo chikai.
That is the Japanese equivalent to the idiom “Cleanliness is next to godliness.”
I was in the process of cleaning my room when that phrase came to me. The truth is, nothing ever stays clean for very long. Which is why you must build discipline and clean all the time. Well, I’ve been really busy lately, so I give myself a quick pass. Though I’m supposed to be cleaning, I took the time to post this~!
The idiom, “Cleanliness is next to godliness” means different things to different people and surely, it can be interpreted in many ways. I asked my dad what the phrase meant to him and he answered simply, “Perfection.” People of many cultures associate cleanliness with sacredness. In religions, there is usually some form of purification to prepare for worship or as part of the practice. Many beliefs about cleanliness in Japan stem from deep purification rituals. This can be seen in the way Japanese Buddhists clean themselves at the tsukubai of temples. Christians keep their churches looking nice, Muslims clean their mosques and the Jewish maintain their synagogues. (I’m sorry if I didn’t list your religion. It’s nothing personal. ._.)
In Japanese Buddhism, a basin called a tsukubai is provided at Buddhist temples for cleansing oneself in ritual purification.
I take this phrase to mean that cleanliness is second only to spiritual awareness. On the list of things that human beings should strive for, being clean and orderly is way up there. Cleanliness, to me, can be the quality that makes something special and beautiful. As a Zen Buddhist, I’ve developed a sense of urgency to keep my personal space clean. It’s not just that I need the discipline. It’s also much easier to meditate without clutter everywhere. Plus, I get the chance to clear my mind while doing the physical cleaning. I can’t explain the exact experience for you (because you are supposed to let people experience enlightenment and realization for themselves.)
The Japanese have an obsession with keeping things clean. Not all people feel that way, course. To some, the Japanese obsession with clean is ridiculous. At first, it does seem to be a bit overboard but there is logic to why the Japanese feel so strongly about keeping their personal spaces as clean as possible. For one thing, the world outside of one’s home is filled with grime and sickness. With so much dirtiness on the outside, isn’t it natural to want the home to be a safe and clean space? There is also scientific evidence that clean spaces invoke positive emotions and clear thinking. Cleanliness helps prevent the spread of viruses and disease. Also, a clean space just looks and feels more welcoming!
In Japanese culture, there is a habit of separating areas into “clean” and “unclean”. The contact between these areas is minimized. The inside of the home is considered “clean” and outside the home is considered “unclean”. Actually, this belief is generally true in all Asian cultures. Simply taking shoes off before entering the house is a way to separate the unclean world from your house. In a Japanese homes, shoes should never touch the clean area.
There is even further separation between the toilet and the rest of the house. The toilet is often separate from the bathing area as well. Before, when toilets were outside of the house, shoes would have been worn of course. However, toilets are now indoors and still considered very unclean (despite the fact that other parts of the house may well be dirtier). To cope with this, many Japanese homes and some public toilets provide toilet slippers. They are usually right in front of the door and are expected to be used when in the toilet and removed right after leaving the toilet.
Toilet slippers are to be used when in the toilet and removed right after leaving the toilet. Don't forget to take off the slippers -- that's a serious mistake!
It’s no secret that the Japanese love clean. Of course, I don’t expect you to take it to any obsessive measures. Just maintain the space around you! Find some order and clarity in your life. It’s definitely something you need. And so, back to cleaning for me. =)
When you think of modern Japanese culture, do you imagine pretty girls dancing around and singing to intense beats?! o.o
パラパラ (Para Para) is a synchronized group dance that originated in Japan. Para Para began in Japan when european countries began selling new forms of music in Japan. Genres such as Disco and New Wave had a big influence in the country and the beats influenced Japanese dance. However, Para Para was not popular outside of Japan until the late 90s.
Of course, Para Para has strong ties to Eurobeat but it’s not like most club and rave dancing because there are specific synchronized movements for each song. It’s a lot like line dancing. Para Para dancing features mostly arm movements. Lower body movement is usually in the form of shaking hips or stepping into place. Some routines have intricate leg motions though.
Fans of Para Para dancing have a name for themselves: Paralists. Do you consider yourself a Paralist?
If you do, then you’ll definitely become an instant Hinoi Team fan! Unless you are one already. Hinoi Team was an all female Japanese pop group. Their performances and music videos usually feature a Para Para dance. Sadly, they are no longer active, but you can still listen to their songs of course! Hinoi Team was formed around Asuka Hinoi. Later, the other members, Keika Matsuoka, Hikaru Koyama, and Rina Takenaka came in as Asuka’s support. Most of their releases are covers of Eurobeat songs.
This is the alternate CD/DVD case for the Hinoi Team's single, "Ike Ike"
Ike Ike is a popular song performed by Hinoi Team; it means “Go, go!”. The song was originally written by three Italian men named Claudio Accatino, Federico Rimonti and Roberto Festari. However, Hinoi Team had their own version with Japanese lyrics written by Kenko-P. If you’ve ever watched the anime series Ichigo 100% then you’ve heard the song Ike Ike with the end credits. That’s also the song that 6 Flags used in their commercials. Even if you can’t follow what they’re saying, you can tell that it’s a party!
I gave you a small beginning range of possible questions but, I didn’t tell you how to answer them, huh? ._.
In English, when someone asks “where?”, you can give them a concrete location such as “my school” or “my workplace”. However, you could also direct them “here” or ”there”. We can learn some directional nouns that answer specific questions. First, let’s go over our previous questions!
誰? (だれ?) who?
何? (なん,なに?) what?
いつ? when? (how soon?)
どこ? where? (what place?)
どうして? (casual) why? (what for?)
なんで? (polite) why? (what for?)
なぜ? (formal) why? (what for?)
And now, I’ll add some new ones:
どれ? which one? (of 3 or more)
どちら? which way? which direction?
どう? how? in what way?
いくつ? how many?
いくら? how much? how many?
どいつ? who? (which person?)
There are so many questions… Let’s get some answers!
(誰, 何, どうして, なんで, なぜ, いくつ, いくら, and いつ will sit this one out. Don’t worry though. I’ll show you some answers for them after we get through this list. By the way, you will easily notice the pattern~!)
どこ? where? (what place?)
ここ here
そこ there
あそこ over there
どれ? which one? (of 3 or more)
これ this one
それ that one
あれ that one over there
どちら? which way? which direction?
こちら this way
そちら that way
あちら that way over there
どう? how? in what way?
こう like this, in this manner
そう like that, in that manner
どいつ? who? (which person?)
こいつ this person
そいつ that person
あいつ that person over there
Phew! We have lots of ways to answer our questions now. We can also use particles to get even more out of our question words:
~か
I’ve explained that the か particle is used as the question marker to show that you are asking something. It works similarly when used with question words; it has a sense of uncertainty. か has the meaning “some” when used with question words.
誰か somebody
何か something
いつか sometime
どこか somewhere
どうしてか for some reason
なんでか for some reason
なぜか for some reason
どちらか one way (of two)
どうか somehow
いくつか some number of things
いくらか some amount
~も
Allow me to introduce you to も. も is referred to as the inclusive particle; in sentences it introduces a new topic. As the inclusive particle, you can get the sense that it will refer to a large range of things. It’s meaning when used with question words is something like “all” or “nothing”. Observe.
誰も everybody or nobody (when used with negative tense)
何も nothing (when used with negative tense)
いつも always (for both negative and positive tense)
どこも everywhere or nowhere (when used with negative tense)
どうしても no matter what
どちらも both ways
~でも
でも usually has a meaning like ”but” or “however” in many sentences. The conjunction particle has the meaning “any” when used with question words.
誰でも anybody
何でも anything
いつでも anytime
どこでも anywhere
どちらでも anyway
どうでも anyhow
いくつでも any number of things
いくらでも any amount
There you have it~! I hope you will try out these new questions and answers. Questions are the foundation of learning, no? Ask questions everywhere you go! After all, how else will you get answers?
Miki
