蟻が十匹
ありがじゅうひき
10 Ants
十 = 「じゅう」; 「とお」
蟻が十
ありがとう
Thank you
Got it?
Friday, February 27, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
The 5 People You'll Meet in Japan
Look at that - working on my click-bait titles! Maybe I've been seeing too many Tofugu headlines in my social media feeds (I kid).
Recently I've been reflecting a little on my JET time, and it occurred to me that there are certain types of people who you tend to run into a lot. I suppose these archetypes can be more broadly applied to anyone you meet in Japan, actually.
I know it can be unfair to generalize and place people into categories, but hey, let's do it anyway:
The Japan Nerd - This person was way into Japan before they arrived, whether their gateway drug was anime, manga, martial arts, or Japanese classes in school. Maybe they're not what some would call an "otaku," but there's a good chance their friends think of them as "the Japan guy/girl." It should be noted that the evolution of the Japan Nerd isn't so clear cut. Sometimes they travel to Japan and cocoon themselves in the culture they love so dearly; they may never want to leave. Other times they'll become jaded with less likable aspects of life in Japan. Often, I think, they achieve some healthy balance.
The World Citizen - This is the one who's been to at least a dozen other countries. During vacations they most likely won't travel around Japan. No, they'll be off to Thailand, Hong Kong, Cambodia, China, or some other Asian country that they haven't checked off yet. I've found that the World Citizen tends to be either really interesting and fun or else super arrogant and borish. They won't be in Japan for more than two or three years, most likely.
The Casual Visitor - Japan, huh? That sounds like an interesting place. The Casual Visitor is the person who doesn't have a particularly strong connection to Japan, and perhaps didn't travel very much outside of their home country before arriving. Maybe they'll learn some Japanese; maybe they won't. They'll definitely visit every temple they can, though. The Casual Visitor is often just taking a year away from their real job to come teach English and expand their horizons.
The Lover - Their significant other is in Japan, so they are, too. Sometimes the object of their affection is a Japanese person who they met abroad, and they followed them home. On occasion, the Lover is a mutation of another form - perhaps a Casual Visitor who was planning to return home after a year but then met the love of their life and decided to stick around. And this person can also often be the spouse of someone who decided to embark on JET or who was sent to J-Land as an expat by their company/government.
The Plague Bearer - The yellow fever, it has taken hold! This guy (it's almost always a guy) is just in Japan because he loves the women, and his chances are so much higher of getting an Asian girlfriend in Asia. Maybe he doesn't even like Japan. But he likes Japanese women. Often this guy is a total creeper and a toolbox. Perhaps sometimes he is just the victim of forces beyond his control. Either way we pity him.
Many of the people you meet over in J-town will probably be amalgams of the above models, though some do seem to fall pretty neatly into one category. It probably works better if you don't look deep down at the real underneath.
Image Sources:Black Nerd;Gadling;Nikkei; Japan Times; Quickmeme
Recently I've been reflecting a little on my JET time, and it occurred to me that there are certain types of people who you tend to run into a lot. I suppose these archetypes can be more broadly applied to anyone you meet in Japan, actually.
I know it can be unfair to generalize and place people into categories, but hey, let's do it anyway:
The Japan Nerd - This person was way into Japan before they arrived, whether their gateway drug was anime, manga, martial arts, or Japanese classes in school. Maybe they're not what some would call an "otaku," but there's a good chance their friends think of them as "the Japan guy/girl." It should be noted that the evolution of the Japan Nerd isn't so clear cut. Sometimes they travel to Japan and cocoon themselves in the culture they love so dearly; they may never want to leave. Other times they'll become jaded with less likable aspects of life in Japan. Often, I think, they achieve some healthy balance.The World Citizen - This is the one who's been to at least a dozen other countries. During vacations they most likely won't travel around Japan. No, they'll be off to Thailand, Hong Kong, Cambodia, China, or some other Asian country that they haven't checked off yet. I've found that the World Citizen tends to be either really interesting and fun or else super arrogant and borish. They won't be in Japan for more than two or three years, most likely.
The Casual Visitor - Japan, huh? That sounds like an interesting place. The Casual Visitor is the person who doesn't have a particularly strong connection to Japan, and perhaps didn't travel very much outside of their home country before arriving. Maybe they'll learn some Japanese; maybe they won't. They'll definitely visit every temple they can, though. The Casual Visitor is often just taking a year away from their real job to come teach English and expand their horizons.
The Lover - Their significant other is in Japan, so they are, too. Sometimes the object of their affection is a Japanese person who they met abroad, and they followed them home. On occasion, the Lover is a mutation of another form - perhaps a Casual Visitor who was planning to return home after a year but then met the love of their life and decided to stick around. And this person can also often be the spouse of someone who decided to embark on JET or who was sent to J-Land as an expat by their company/government.
The Plague Bearer - The yellow fever, it has taken hold! This guy (it's almost always a guy) is just in Japan because he loves the women, and his chances are so much higher of getting an Asian girlfriend in Asia. Maybe he doesn't even like Japan. But he likes Japanese women. Often this guy is a total creeper and a toolbox. Perhaps sometimes he is just the victim of forces beyond his control. Either way we pity him.
Many of the people you meet over in J-town will probably be amalgams of the above models, though some do seem to fall pretty neatly into one category. It probably works better if you don't look deep down at the real underneath.
Image Sources:Black Nerd;Gadling;Nikkei; Japan Times; Quickmeme
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Dance of the flurries
I just learned a cool J-go turn of phrase from one of my colleagues, who came in from his smoking break to inform me that it was flurrying out:
「小雪が舞う」
(ゆきがまう)
Normally in Japanese, we say 「雪が降る」 (ゆきがふる) to express that white stuff is falling from the heavens. 「小雪」(こゆき), literally "small snow," apparently means "flurries."
And 舞う (まう), which means "to dance," can be somewhat poetically applied here. You can picture it, can't you? A beautiful little snowflake, dancing its way down from the sky. I was told that 「舞う」can also be used to describe falling flower blossoms. Elegant, huh?
「小雪が舞う」
(ゆきがまう)
Normally in Japanese, we say 「雪が降る」 (ゆきがふる) to express that white stuff is falling from the heavens. 「小雪」(こゆき), literally "small snow," apparently means "flurries."
And 舞う (まう), which means "to dance," can be somewhat poetically applied here. You can picture it, can't you? A beautiful little snowflake, dancing its way down from the sky. I was told that 「舞う」can also be used to describe falling flower blossoms. Elegant, huh?
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| This GIF doesn't particularly apply, but I like the Peanuts, so. |
Friday, February 6, 2015
Drink your milk
In the US, we've had some memorable marketing campaigns for certain generic foods or beverages."Got milk"" and "Behold, the power of cheese" come to mind. A comparable line of commercials in Japan uses the jingle 「牛乳に相談だ」, which is a little difficult to translate directly, but is probably something like "Milk can help."
They tend to advertise that milk can work to enhance attributes like your strength, beauty, or powers of concentration:
This one I saw recently uses its tagline a little more literally. The jingle can also be translated as "Consult with milk." So that is what this girl is doing:
She says that she's been dieting but isn't healthy. And she is told that the milk advises she...drink milk. Word.
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
More Mobile J-Gaming: Hero Emblems
Generally I get my J-gaming fix from Kairosoft mobile games, which pop out of the localization engine onto our shores every few months. I should do an update post to recap some of my favorites sometime soon... It's been about half a year since their last iOS release, though (this month they did just come out with an Android game, so at least it doesn't look like they're dead) Correction - they just came out with new Android and iOS games a day or two ago! And Papa needs to keep up his Japanese, preferably while gaming.
Enter Hero Emblems.
I'm a sucker for a good mobile game, though there are certain formulas that are more likely to rope me in. When you combine a match-3 with fantasy RPG elements (I'll pass on Candyland), you've got me. It really helps if the artwork is solid, which in this case it is.
I'm not going to say too much else about Hero Emblems. The gameplay is simple enough to jump in and quickly feel comfortable with, yet layered enough that there can be a little bit of strategizing involved. I especially like how your party shares hp and armor, and kind of fights as a unit. Definitely an interesting concept!
There are also three language options, which is the main point of all this! The English version is bad, in a charming kind of way. Definitely playable. The Chinese, I have no idea - if you speak Chinese, feel free to give it a whirl and let me know. I imagine it's good, since it looks like the developer is Chinese. The Japanese localization feels a lot better than the English. Granted, I'm just a humble student of the language, but it seemed natural (or manga-ish) enough to me.
Anyway, if you're a fan of match-3 games, I definitely recommend you stop by the appropriate mobile shop and pick up this bad boy. And if you're looking for a little J practice while you're at it - bonus!
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