In Japanese, first and second pronouns are frequently omitted, but just for review, here are some of the most common first and second person pronouns : (Note: because of the complexity of the Japanese language, i.e. politeness, gender, context etc. not all of the possible pronouns are listed below. However, this is a pretty comprehensive list)
わたし/私 = [...]
20
2010
First and Second Person Pronouns
20
2010
Shunbun no hi – Vernal Equinox Day
March 21st is “Shunbun no hi (Vernal Equinox Day).” It is designated as a national holiday in Japan. Since spring break starts around this time, I wasn’t as excited about this holiday as other holidays when I was at school. “Shunbun” is written with a combination of the kanji characters for “spring” and “to divide“. [...]
14
2010
More Quantifiers
Continuing from the previous post, here are some more quantifiers:
余り/あまり = not often, not much
うどんは余り好きじゃありません = I don’t like udon that much.
(うどん = udon. は = subject marking particle. あまり/余り = that much/not much. すきじゃありません/好きじゃありません = don’t like)
時々/ときどき = sometimes, from time to time.
私は時々公園で遊びます = I play at the park from time to time.
(わたし/私 = I. [...]
10
2010
Quantifiers
Quantifiers are words that express how often you do/don’t do things and how much you like/dislike certain things.
Here is an example of a common quantifier よく:
よく勉強します = I study often. (よく = often. 勉強します = べんきょうします/study)
Another common one is とても:
それはとても便利ですね = That’s very convenient, isn’t it?
(それ = that. は = subject marking particle. とても = [...]
10
2010
Learning Kanji
Have you started learning kanji? I recently created the, “Most Frequently Used Kanji” page, which lists 50 of the most frequently used kanji in Japanese newspapers. Clicking the link of each kanji character will take you to a page where you can learn how to read and write it. If you want to learn more, [...]