Japanese Jungle

Omikuji ( おみくじ） Have you drawn an Omikuji when visiting a shrine to predict your fortune for the future? Omikuji is a paper slip with the result of fortune-telling written on it. The contents of the Omikuji show a persona's overall fortune for their future as well as a prediction for their health, work, love, business, study and travel. The descriptions of good luck are Daikichi (大吉) and Chuukchi (中吉), Chookichi(小吉)/Suekichi(末吉), while the bad fortune is Kyoo(凶) and Daikyoo(大凶). In addition, some Omikuji include poems that give us guidelines for daily life. The most important thing about Omikuji is not just to draw them for good or bad luck but to use their contents as a guideline for your future life.  Do you take your Omkuji home or leave it in the shrine? Some people say if your Omikuji shows bad luck, you should tie it to a tree branch or strings in the shrine so that the gods in the shrine purify your Omikuji. However, according to the Association of Shinto Shrines, y...

  29. (number)+Counter de Yen This structure pattern is used to tell the total price of things. orenji wa itsutsu de yonhyaku en desu.  The oranges are 400 yen for 5. kono nōto wa issatsu hyakugojūen desu. sansatsu de yonhyakugojūen desu. These notebooks are 150 yen for each and 450 yen for three. hon wa zenbu de ichiman-en desu.  These books are 10000 yen for all. "zenbu de" means in total, and it is often used with the sentence structure. 

Perceptions of Japanese Work Culture You may have heard that Japanese people are known for their hard work. This belief stems from the idea that they worked tirelessly to rebuild their nation after the devastation of World War II. In just 23 years, Japan transformed into the world's second-largest economy by 1968. The rapid economic growth during the 1960s contributed to the global image of Japanese people as industrious workers. 
 Current Work Patterns in Japan However, the reality today is different. Japanese people are not as hardworking as they used to be, and they actually work fewer hours. This shift may be due to increased prosperity and a desire to pursue hobbies and other personal interests. Additionally, the long working hours prevalent in the past have led to serious issues like death from overwork, prompting the government to implement measures to increase holidays and shorten work hours. Year 2000 2005 2010 2015 2019 Working hours ...

7. N1 desuka, N2 desuka? This structure pattern is used for making alternative questions. An alternative question is a type of question that offers the listener a choice between two. Don't use Yes or No when you answer the alternative question. Instead, respond with one of the alternative words or phrases in the question. This structure pattern is equivalent to "This or That questions" in English. A: リンさんは 学生ですか 、 先生ですか。      Rin-san wa gakusē desuka , sensē desuka ?  Is Ling a student or a teacher? B: リンさんは学生です。 Rin-san wa gakusē desu. Ling is a student. A: （あなたは） ジョンさんですか 、 エリックさんですか 。       (anata wa) Jon-san desuka , Erikku-san desuka ? Are you John or Eric? B: 私はエリックです。 watashi wa Erikku desu. I am Eric. A: これは 絵ですか 、 写真ですか 。  kore wa e desuka , shashin desuka ?      Is this a painting or photograph? B: それは写真です。 sore wa shashin desu. It is a photograph. In cases where you cannot assume two choices, use WH question word...

 6. kore/sore/are wa nan desuka? In Japanese, you can ask about the name of an object using a simple structure. By combining the words " これ kore" (this), " それ sore" (that), or " あれ are" (that over there) with the question word " なん nan" (what), you can easily inquire about objects.  To ask about the name of an object, you can use the following structure: A: これはなんですか？ (Kore wa nan desu ka?) - What is this? B: それはめがねです。 (Sore wa megane desu.) - It's glasses. In the first question, " これ kore" (this) is used to refer to an object near the speaker. By combining it with " なんですか nan desu ka?" (what is it?), you can ask, "What is this?" In response, " それ sore" (that) is used to point out that the object in question is glasses and refer to an object near the listener (A). When asking about an object that is further away from the speaker, use the following structure: A: あれはなんですか？ (Are wa nan desu ka?) ...

5. kore/sore/are wa N desu. "kore/sore/are wa N desu" is used to talk about a name of an object using the demonstrative pronouns kore ( これ ), sore ( それ ), and are ( あれ ).  Kore (this) - We use "kore" when we want to talk about something that is close to the speaker. kore wa shāpupen desu. これ はシャープペンです。 This is a mechanical pencil. Sore (that) - When we want to talk about something that is close to the listener, we use "sore." sore wa shūsēeki desu. それ はしゅうせいえきです。 That is a whiteout (/correction) fluid. Are (that over there) - If we want to talk about something far from the speaker and listener, we use "are." are wa nōto desu. あれ はノートです。 That is a notebook. Let's see some examples of conversations using these pronouns: A: sore wa bōrupen desu ka? それ はボールペンですか。 Is that a ballpoint pen? B: hai sōdesu. kore wa bōrupen desu. はい、そうです。 これ はボールペンです。 Yes, it is. This is a ballpoint pen. A: are wa e desu ka? あれ は絵ですか？ Is that over there a pictu...

4. N1 mo N2 desu N1 も N2 です。 This sentence structure is used to refer to another topic, and it means "also" or "too." 私は学生です。 (Watashi wa gakusei desu.) - I am a student. リンさん も 学生です。 (Rin-san mo gakusei desu.) - Ling is also a student. 私は学生です。 (Watashi wa gakusei desu.) - I am a student. リンさん も 学生ですか？ (Rin-san mo gakusei desu ka?) - Ling, are you a student too? 私は会社員ではありません。 (Watashi wa kaishain dewa arimasen.) - I am not a company employee. リンさん も 会社員ではありません。 (Rin-san mo kaishain dewa arimasen.) - Ling is not a company employee either. You can use " も " in both negative and question sentences. However, when answering a question in the negative form, you need to change " も " to " は " (wa). A: 私は学生です。田中さん も 学生ですか？ (Watashi wa gakusei desu. Tanaka-san mo gakusei desu ka?) - I am a student. Is Mr. Tanaka a student too? B: いいえ、彼 は 学生ではありません。 (Īe, kare wa gakusei dewa arimasen.) - No, he is not a student. Note that you sho...

3. N1 wa N2 desuka? In Japanese, we use "N1 wa N2 desuka" to ask questions. A: (anata wa) Maiku-san desuka? Are you Mike?
 B: hai (watashi wa) Maiku desu. Yes, I am. Add "ka" to the end of a sentence to form a question. For instance, "anata wa Maiku-san desuka?" means "Are you Mike?" To reply, you can omit "watashi wa" if it's clear who is being referred to. So, if asked, "Maiku-san desuka?" you can answer with "hai, Maiku desu." When responding "yes," use "hai" followed by an affirmative sentence. For "no," use "īe" followed by a negative sentence. A: Chin-san wa sensē desuka? Is Chen a teacher?
 B: īe Chin-san wa sensē dewa arimasen. No, Chen isn't a teacher. You can also use "hai sō desu" to answer "N1 wa N2 desu ka" questions. A: Maiku-san desuka? Are you Mike?
 B: hai, Maiku desu. Yes, I am. However, note that "hai sō desu" cannot be u...

2. N1 wa N2 dewa arimasen "N1 wa N2 dewa arimasen," is used to express a negative sentence. It's the opposite of the affirmative sentence pattern, "N1 wa N2 desu." Let's look at some examples: Watashi wa Maiku dewa arimasen . (I am not Mike.) Watashi wa nihonjin dewa arimasen . (I am not Japanese.) Watashi wa gakusē dewa arimasen . (I am not a student.) You can use this pattern with people's names or pronouns as N1. However, it's not polite to use pronouns like "anata/anatatachi" to refer to someone senior to you. Instead, you should use their surname with "-san." For example, if someone's name is Tanaka, you should call them "Tanaka-san." If you want to address a group of people, you can use "minasan (everyone)." In daily conversation, we also use "N1 wa N2 ja arimasen" instead of "N1 wa N2 dewa arimasen." For example: Watashi wa Maiku ja arimasen. (I am not Mike.) That's a...

1. N1 wa N2 desu. This sentence pattern is used to talk about a person's name, nationality, or occupation. N1 is used to introduce the person, and N2 is used to describe their name, nationality, or occupation. Pronouns like watashi (I), kare (he), or kanojo (she) are often used for N1. Let's take a look at some examples: Watashi wa Maiku desu . (I am Mike.) Watashi wa Amerika-jin desu . (I am American.) Watashi wa gakusē desu. (I am a student.) Instead of using a pronoun in N1, you can also use a person's name, like Tanaka, Yamada, or Hanako. You should use an honorific like "-san" or "-sensei" after their name. However, "-san" is not used when talking about oneself, and "-sensei" is usually only used for teachers and doctors. For example: Tanaka-san wa Nihon-jin desu. (Mr. Tanaka is Japanese.) That's all there is to it! This pattern can help you describe people's names, nationalities, and occupations in Japanese.