10.Mar.2010 Shimau
As I mentioned in my article “Beware of Fake Amazons,” the verb しまう is a pretty interesting one.
Adding it to the end of a て-form verb gives the feeling of having “completely” or “totally” done whatever the previous verb suggests. Note that the main verb always takes the て form and that tense is expressed [...]
30.Jan.2010 Fukusuukei
複数形 [ふくすうけい] – plural (grammatical term)
複 [フク] – double; multiple
数 [スウ・ス・かず] – number; figure
形 [ケイ・かた] – shape; form
Most Westerners have heard of the kanji 数 (sorta), even if they aren’t aware of it. That’s because it’s one of the characters that make up the name of the popular number puzzle “Sudoku” – 数独 [すうどく]. While [...]
08.Jan.2010 Jikka
実家 [じっか] – home (of one’s parents)
実 [ジツ・み] - reality
家 [カ・いえ] – house; home
Notice that today’s word is pronounced じっか instead of じつか。This is a euphonic change, and happens quite a bit in Japanese. Heck, it even occurs in one pronunciation of the word “Japan.” 日本 can not only be pronounced にほん, but also にっぽん. [...]
25.Dec.2009 Grammar: affixes
Let’s take a journey into the world of Japanese grammar. Before you groan too loudly, what I intend to with this series of articles differs from what you may be accustomed to if your exposure to Japanese grammar is limited to the “Japanese for Idjits” ilk of books. I plan to talk about [...]