tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-65480849300258747132024-02-20T01:27:25.837+09:00Online Japanese lessons and translationsWelcome to my blog! Let me know how I can help you learning the beautiful Japanese language.Júlio Pereirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15004338247403350256noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6548084930025874713.post-4441027548408467702009-12-27T14:01:00.002+09:002009-12-27T14:15:40.769+09:00Japanese readings for KanjiHello there!! 毎度です。<br />I haven't been posting for a while and felt it was time to drop some lines in here.<br />I have some topics in mind and will be posting more regularly in addition to putting more videos on my youtube account.<br /><br />Anyway, today's topic is about why is it so difficult to learn Kanji.<br />The main reason for that is that contrary to Chinese and Korean, where <span style="font-weight:bold;">IN PRINCIPLE</span> there's only one reading for each character (<span style="font-weight:bold;">了,的,得,地,行 </span>are some of the exceptions I can remember in Chinese), Japanese might have several readings.<br />The reason for that is that the Chinese characters were borrowed during 3 different periods and that resulted in the following readings:<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">呉音</span>(go'on: go reading: readings brought to Japan from the 4th through 6th century)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">漢音</span>(kan-on: kan reading: readings brought to Japan starting from the 7th century)<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">唐音</span>(tou-on: tou reading: readings brought to Japan during the Heian period, which started in 794 and the Meiji period, which finished in 1912).<br /><br />The readings above are included in the <span style="font-weight:bold;">音読み</span>(on-yomi: phonetical reading for the Kanjis).<br />In addition to the readings above, Japanese also use the kun-reading(<span style="font-weight:bold;">訓読み</span>), which is an adaptation of Japanese words to the Kanjis.<br />For example, the kanji <span style="font-weight:bold;">学</span> can be read as "manabu" in Japanese but has its on-reading as "<span style="font-weight:bold;">gaku</span>" (similar to the Korean reading of the same character).<br /><br />I made the following video for youtube recently and hope it helps shedding some light on this subject:<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htgVK9p5zc4<br /><br />Cheers!!Júlio Pereirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15004338247403350256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6548084930025874713.post-73122282078720097992009-03-05T02:13:00.000+09:002009-03-05T02:27:40.437+09:00Kanji in daily life 2Hello there!! こんにちは! After a while without posting I've decided to give continuity to the kanjis series.<br /><br />Today we'll learn the kanjis in the following sign:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG_ahOOyzFoGKvwbsQIhHNFX-rje22EULsY6MTdDoHNC2hvIzeHwjMc3PPh1YzX3kQF-gNStfr9qL1FyKj8vwzD6dPGXgfZsJjG0llxocA4YkPadHwg4vWZN48WERxzJuAWnUpqe4aLCQ/s1600-h/%E5%BC%B5%E3%82%8A%E7%B4%99%E7%A6%81%E6%AD%A2jpg.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG_ahOOyzFoGKvwbsQIhHNFX-rje22EULsY6MTdDoHNC2hvIzeHwjMc3PPh1YzX3kQF-gNStfr9qL1FyKj8vwzD6dPGXgfZsJjG0llxocA4YkPadHwg4vWZN48WERxzJuAWnUpqe4aLCQ/s320/%E5%BC%B5%E3%82%8A%E7%B4%99%E7%A6%81%E6%AD%A2jpg.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309382369891350418" /></a><br /><br />The kanjis on the sign are:<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">紙</span>(kami): paper in the word <span style="font-weight:bold;">はり紙</span>(harigami): placard<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">禁止</span>(kinshi): prohibition<br /><br />Which means this sign says "placards forbidden".<br /><br />One can also see the word 「禁止」in the following kanji combinations:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">駐車禁止</span>(chuusha kinshi) : No parking<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">飲酒運転禁止</span>(inshu kinshi): No drinking when driving <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">禁止命令</span>(kinshi meirei): Injunction<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">禁止装置</span>(kinshi souchi): Prohibitive measures<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">禁止地帯</span>(kinshi chitai): Prohibition zone<br /><br />Well, I hope you learned lots of used words and bear in mind 「<span style="font-weight:bold;">挫折禁止</span>」(zasetsu kinshi): Giving up is forbidden!!!Júlio Pereirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15004338247403350256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6548084930025874713.post-82266819748723102842009-02-25T03:31:00.001+09:002009-02-25T03:58:53.975+09:00Gratitude in JapaneseHi there!! 毎度!<br />This is a video I made some time ago but had trouble posting at the time. I really hope you like it and help me make better ones.<br /><br />Cheers!!!<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxzH4iM_OjwjbbGLCkUhpGemO0eGRE1Dq8vNG4Fey2KRAfqCqc1NFmwYej1CLQLQQrvBlfPeTflHv7Uutuj' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Júlio Pereirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15004338247403350256noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6548084930025874713.post-5551830131227842662009-02-16T02:01:00.002+09:002009-03-11T15:31:05.516+09:00Proverbs in JapaneseSince my time as a student at Rio de Janeiro Federal University (UFRJ) I used to learn a lot of proverbs because my teacher would impose them but I realized they might be useful and also give an amazing impression about your Japanese.<br /><br />Here are some proverbs you might listen or want to use:<br /><br />1) <span style="font-weight:bold;">虎穴に入らずんば虎児を得ず</span> (koketsu ni irazunba koji wo ezu): Literally you can't get the tiger babies without entering the tiger's den, i.e., <span style="font-weight:bold;">no pain no gain</span>.<br /><br />2) <span style="font-weight:bold;">可愛い子に旅をさせ</span> (kawaii ko ni tabi wo sase) : Literally "let the cute child travel", which means that people must experience all sorts of things in order to grow up.<br /><br />3) <span style="font-weight:bold;">塵も積もれば、山となる</span> (chiri mo tsumoreba, yama to naru: Literally "if dust piles up it will become a mountain", i,e, "Many drops make a shower".<br /><br />I hope you like these proverbs and don't feel discouraged if you don't use them right away because as the proverb 「<span style="font-weight:bold;">五重の塔も下から組む」</span>(gojuu no tou mo shita kara kumu:" Even a five story stupa must be built from below" so take your time and enjoy learning Japanese.<br /><br />matane!! see ya!!Júlio Pereirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15004338247403350256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6548084930025874713.post-1150671876950014792009-02-03T02:27:00.001+09:002009-02-03T02:35:15.190+09:00Kanji in everyday lifeLooking around my neighborhood I finally realized I'm surrounded by signs written in Kanji but totally forgot that my friends who come to visit me might have no idea what's written in them. Also, sharing some of these signs here could be useful so here comes the first sign:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBM9jbossjU2sRcaTeWQWZQ3dLungM_1YArHjygUL8pDBlTrALPvQHXmMDPSl7WLZewRMai9FJZ4rpALZtC_PZxZXId2EHEqxf79I582XrBN_beJStIPxkRYHZuy0NlF98GfH-5K9cco/s1600-h/%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E9%8A%80%E8%A1%8C.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIBM9jbossjU2sRcaTeWQWZQ3dLungM_1YArHjygUL8pDBlTrALPvQHXmMDPSl7WLZewRMai9FJZ4rpALZtC_PZxZXId2EHEqxf79I582XrBN_beJStIPxkRYHZuy0NlF98GfH-5K9cco/s320/%E4%BA%AC%E9%83%BD%E9%8A%80%E8%A1%8C.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5298253625106489698" /></a><br /><br />This is a sign I see every time I take my son to the dentist and is composed by these two words:<br />1) <span style="font-weight:bold;">京都</span> (kyoto). Even though I live in Osaka, it's very close to Kyoto.<br />2)<span style="font-weight:bold;"> 銀行</span> (ginko): bank<br />In other words, Bank of Kyoto. There are other banks that are worth quoting:<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">東京三菱銀行</span>: Tokyo Mitsubishi Bank, <span style="font-weight:bold;">りそな銀行</span>: Resona bank.<br />Anyway, keep your eyes open for the kanjis 銀行 because it might be the place to withdraw some money!!!<br /><br />See you next time!! またね!!!Júlio Pereirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15004338247403350256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6548084930025874713.post-4475872322955565822009-01-31T02:09:00.000+09:002009-01-31T02:40:49.544+09:00Expressing gratitude in JapaneseI would like the first lesson on this blog to be about gratitude since the Japanese people are very polite and put a great value on thanking people for using their time and effort for somebody else.<br /><br />I believe that most people know the word "<span style="font-weight:bold;">Arigato" (有り難う</span>), which can pretty much show how much you appreciate what people have done for you but wouldn't be enough if you would like to thank for something people will do for you, which can be expressed with "<span style="font-weight:bold;">Arigato gozaimasu</span>" (ありがとうございます). Let's say that somebody promised you a Japanese dictionary and you had the chance to use the expression we have just learned. Right after the gift has been giving to you it would be nice to say<span style="font-weight:bold;"> "arigato gozaimashita" (ありがとうございました)</span>since "gozaimashita" is the past tense of "gozaimasu" (to have) and shows gratitude in the past. Well, before you freak out about this expression let's move on to the expression <span style="font-weight:bold;">"sumimasen" (すみません</span>), which shows gratitude in the sense that one might have bothered someone and "sumimasen" could be also a way of apologizing for having someone to do something for you. It is no wonder that many Japanese say "sorry" when actually they mean "THANK YOU". "Sumimasen" can also mean "Excuse me" and is a very useful word.<br /><br />When you want to thank for something GREAT that was done for you the most polite expression is<span style="font-weight:bold;"> "osewa ni narimashita" (お世話になりました)</span>and could be translated sort of as "I've been taken care by you" an is used specially at the end of the year with the set expression <span style="font-weight:bold;">"kotoshi wa iroiro osewa ni narimashita, rainen mo yoroshiku onegai shimasu" (今年はいろいろお世話になりました。来年も宜しくお願いします).</span>This expression means "I thank you for all the favor towards me this year and look forward to next year", which is very weird to be said in English.<br /><br />Last but not least, one could also say "<span style="font-weight:bold;">kansha shimasu" (感謝します)</span>for expressing one's gratitude.<br /><br />To wrap up this subject I would like to thank you for reading this posting but am confused if I should use <span style="font-weight:bold;">"arigato gozaimashita"</span> because I do hope you keep on reading my future postings so <span style="font-weight:bold;">"arigato gozaimasu"</span> would sound better or maybe<span style="font-weight:bold;"> "sumimasen"</span> since you invested your precious time reading my blog. Anyway,<span style="font-weight:bold;"> kansha shimasu</span> and see you next time!!!Júlio Pereirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15004338247403350256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6548084930025874713.post-40600050123096143842009-01-30T03:13:00.000+09:002009-01-30T03:16:53.066+09:00ご無沙汰しております。I've been absent for a long timeお久しぶりですがいかがでしょうか。It's been a long time and I wonder if you're ok. <br />最近になってまた投稿しようかと思っていますが何について書けばいいか悩んでいます。I've been thinking of writing again but am not sure what theme it should be about.<br />In my Portuguese blog I've made some simple videos and wonder if it will be ok to do the same here. Anyway, should you have any requests and/ or ideas I will try to do my best and keep on posting in English, Japanese and Portuguese.<br /><br />Peace out!! ほなな!!Júlio Pereirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15004338247403350256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6548084930025874713.post-57044925048001110992008-04-02T22:38:00.001+09:002008-04-02T23:19:32.078+09:00Books for studying JapaneseBefore giving more info on Japanese dialects I thought it would be useful to share some books I used for studying Standard Japanese or 標準語 (Hyoujungo) so that one might have a parameter to compare.<br />When I started studying Japanese at <a href="http://www.letras.ufrj.br/">UFRJ </a>I used the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4906224512?ie=UTF8&tag=servicosdetra-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=4906224512">Shin Nihongo No Kiso I</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=servicosdetra-20&l=as2&o=1&a=4906224512" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />, which was used in the first and second year. For the third and fourth year <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4906224822?ie=UTF8&tag=servicosdetra-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=4906224822">Shin Nihongo no Kiso II (Honsatsu Kanji) Vol. 2 (in Japanese)</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=servicosdetra-20&l=as2&o=1&a=4906224822" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />.<br /><br />The only problem with these books is that one can't use the books effectively until one learns to read in Hiragana and Katakana. In order to avoid that I started using the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/4770030096?ie=UTF8&tag=servicosdetra-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=4770030096">Japanese for Busy People I: Kana Version includes CD (Japanese for Busy People Series)</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=servicosdetra-20&l=as2&o=1&a=4770030096" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />, which allows the student to start studying without knowing any Japanese writing system until he/she is able to read.<br /><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=servicosdetra-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=4770030096&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=servicosdetra-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=4906224512&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><br /><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=servicosdetra-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=4906224822&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>Júlio Pereirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15004338247403350256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6548084930025874713.post-65669097330689672432008-03-29T20:56:00.000+09:002008-03-29T20:59:27.239+09:00An introduction to Japanese dialectsHey everyone!!<br />Today I decided to do something different and did some review about what I studied during my master's at Osaka University: Japanese dialects.<br />Even though it's a lot of stuff to cover I tried to create a podcast and talk about something that still blows my mind when I travel to other regions of Japan and struggle to understand what people are saying.<br /><br />Should you have any questions or comments, please let me know.<br /><br />ほんなら 左様ならJúlio Pereirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15004338247403350256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6548084930025874713.post-51022659129899311132007-01-06T00:39:00.000+09:002008-03-27T21:14:00.472+09:00Need Japanese lessons or translations?How about learning the language of the world's SECOND biggest economy and have an asset that will help you increase your opportunity to do business. Japan is still a place for new endeavors but communication can be a barrier if you speak only English. <br />Japanese is also a language to enjoy the ancient culture of Japan or something more modern like ANIME (cartoons), comic books and the booming OTAKU (geek) culture.<br />Whatever you're interested in learning about the language and/or culture, let me help you do it. <br /><br /> My name is <span style="font-style:italic;">Júlio Pereira</span> and I'm a Brazilian guy living in Japan since 1998.<br />I have a <span style="font-weight:bold;">bachelor's degree</span> in <span style="font-weight:bold;">Portuguese/Japanese </span>taken at <a href="http://www.letras.ufrj.br/">UFRJ</a>(Rio de Janeiro Federal University) and a <span style="font-weight:bold;">master's degree</span> in <span style="font-weight:bold;">Japanese/Sociolinguistics </span>taken at <a href="http://www.let.osaka-u.ac.jp/nihongogaku/thesis2001.html">Osaka University</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">I'm a multilingual professional</span> and besides <span style="font-weight:bold;">Portuguese(native) </span>I speak<span style="font-weight:bold;"> FLUENT Japanese, English and German</span>.I also have good <span style="font-weight:bold;">communicational skills in Spanish</span>. Since I know what it takes to learn a language I can guarantee that you will learn to speak Japanese in no time. Of course you will have to do your part in order to do that <br /><br />Besides extensive experience teaching Japanese I have experience working as a full-time translator at <a href="http://www.soschildren.org/">SOS KINDERDORF</a> in Rio de Janeiro translating <span style="font-weight:bold;">Portuguese, English and German</span> and at <span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://world.honda.com/RandD/tochigi/">Honda Motors</a></span> translating <span style="font-weight:bold;">Portuguese, English and Japanese</span>.<br /><br /><br />Should you have any questions on my services/fees don't hesitate to contact me by <A HREF="mailto:servicosdetraducao@gmail.com">E-mail</A> or<!--<br />Skype 'Add me to Skype' button<br />http://www.skype.com/go/skypebuttons<br />--><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://download.skype.com/share/skypebuttons/js/skypeCheck.js"></script><br /><a href="skype:servicosdetraducao?add"><img src="http://download.skype.com/share/skypebuttons/buttons/add_green_white_194x52.png" style="border: none;" width="194" height="52" alt="Add me to Skype" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.ipligence.com/webmaps/s/?u=a92cd59a723eeb654a8ade10608fb7e3&color=1&a=week"><img src="http://www.ipligence.com/webmaps/m/?u=a92cd59a723eeb654a8ade10608fb7e3&size=small&color=1&a=week" alt="ip-location" border="1"></a>Júlio Pereirahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15004338247403350256noreply@blogger.com3