Monday, April 11, 2011

Learning from Burger King

Last week Tokyo Five briefly mentioned the new promotional Burger King sandwiches, which are available now exclusively in Japan (lucky us): the All Heavy Whopper and the Meat Monster Whopper. I don't think these are getting as much coverage in the blogosphere as McDonalds' Big America burgers (probably because there aren't a whole lot of Burger King locations in Japan). They've had some interesting offerings in the past, though.


Man, looking at these things I'm kinda glad there are no franchises in Kansai. If there were I might be tempted to try one out.

While these beastly burgers don't do most of us any good, I noticed a few interesting and useful kanji in the above advertisement that I thought I'd point out. Yay - real kanji in everyday life action!

At the top of the poster, kind of hiding a little behind the All Heavy, we can see a splatter mark containing the kanji 「増量 無料！」Let's break that down:

増量 (ぞうりょう) = weight increase
無料 (むりょう) = free

It's funny because they really are offering you free weight gain, though I assume in this case they're referring to the weight of the extra toppings. 無料 is an absolutely pivotal word to know and recognize. You definitely want to understand when you're being offered something for free!

Next let's look at the Meat Monster's splatter. It reads 「追加自由！」.

追加(ついか) = addition(al), supplement(al)
自由 (じゆう) = freedom

So I guess here they're saying you're being granted even more freedom to have it your way. Wow, what a swell company. 自由 is another one that you'll want to be familiar with. One place you'll see it is on the Shinkansen. 自由席 = unreserved seat


This lesson is brought to you by Burger King, apparently.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

11 comments:

  1. ChrisApril 11, 2011 at 11:56 PM

    I love Mcdonalds more because I grew up near one but Whoppers are the shiznit too!! Heart attack with a smile....and mayonaise on the face...not a bad way to go out...beats gettin hit by a car ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Blue ShoeApril 11, 2011 at 11:57 PM

    Trying to eat healthier these days but I'd almost definitely go get a Whopper for lunch if there were a BK around.

    ReplyDelete
  3. renechongApril 12, 2011 at 12:48 AM

    Learned some new Kanji today thanks to Burger King (and Blue Shoe)!

    ReplyDelete
  4. linaApril 12, 2011 at 12:48 AM

    What a way to learn kanji!

    Love that "増量 (ぞうりょう) = weight increase" - my thoughts immediately went to one's weight gain after consuming those burgers too. XD

    ReplyDelete
  5. Blue ShoeApril 12, 2011 at 12:49 AM

    Yay new kanji! Thanks for the comments, Rene and Lina.

    I find that textbooks only go so far for me - seeing kanji in some kind of real life context makes them a lot easier to remember.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousApril 12, 2011 at 8:17 AM

    This is awesome! One of the best parts about actually being in Japan is getting little lessons like this in unexpected places. Hurray for immersion!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Blue ShoeApril 12, 2011 at 8:19 AM

    Thanks Alice! Agree 100%! Man, my Japanese is gonna plummet when I leave.

    ReplyDelete
  8. KaoriApril 12, 2011 at 9:07 AM

    I don't get 追加自由...does that mean you can pile as much meat on it as you want? If so, the name "meat monster" is perfect! lol.

    Great way to learn new things ;D

    ReplyDelete
  9. Blue ShoeApril 12, 2011 at 9:08 AM

    Kaori - good question. I'm not sure, actually. Maybe just because it's another type of Whopper, so it's an additional choice.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Tokyo FiveApril 12, 2011 at 10:29 AM

    Thanks for the link.

    And 「無料」(no charge) has always been one of my favorite kanji! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Blue ShoeApril 12, 2011 at 6:52 PM

    T5 - Sure thing. Me too - love seeing that kanji.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)