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Kun’yomi and on’yomi are the readings of the kanji – on’yomi are pronunciations borrowed from Chinese, while kun’yomi are the pronunciations of the original Japanese words that existed before the kanji was given to it. For example, 犬, the kanji for dog, has いぬ as its kun’yomi and けん as its on’yomi (note that on’yomi are usually written in katakana in dictionaries, so you can tell which is which). けん comes from the Chinese pronunciation of 犬 – in modern Chinese it’s “quan”, so you can kind of see the similarity. いぬ is the original Japanese word for “dog” which already existed before Chinese writing came to the country. 犬 is read as いぬ when it’s standing on its own, and けん when it’s standing with other kanji (for example, 猛犬 = もうけん = vicious dog). Of course, there’s always exceptions – one notable one is 子犬, which is read as こいぬ.
Every rule in Japanese has exceptions. Including this one.
Hiragana tacked onto the end of kanji (for verb and adjective conjugations and whatnot) is called “okurigana”. These exist basically because verbs and verb conjugations existed in Japanese long before Chinese writing arrived. Essentially, almost all verbs and い-adjectives are of Japanese origin. Kanji with attached okurigana always, always use the kun’yomi – no exceptions. This is the exception to the “all rules have exceptions” rule. =)
For example, 走る – to run. The る is okurigana, and the kanji 走 takes its kun’yomi, はし. When you conjugate the verb, you change the okurigana, i.e. 走る－走らない－走った－走らなかった and so on. Also, 走ります－走りません et cetera.
It might be a proper noun. The Tsubameki Organisation. What game is this, exactly?
むすめがいる。
赤ちゃんのご誕生おめでとうございます！ =D
Welcome!
Seems like there’s been a bit of a rush of people joining from Australia – wonder why. So, where’d you go? Take any photos? =D
JAXA sites? That’s an interesting itinerary you’ve got in mind, there. =)
I reckon you’ll have a great trip regardless. Got any of the more traditional locations on your to-do list?
Oh yeah, that’s what I’m using – Staedtler pens. My university stopped stocking Artline.
Not a real big fan of ball-point pens (though they’re pretty much a must when you have to write on carbon paper…)
Welcome! I tend to waver back and forth between anime and drama. Currently I’m swinging over to the drama side of things. =)
why not just go for the singular Japanese language?
へえー、ほうかい。ちゃうねんやで。関西弁、知っとるかい。
=P
Yeah, I suspect it’s a typo.
Honestly, I’ve always wanted to learn another language. It was forced on me in school and I always pushed back against it, never putting in any real effort.
That’s cause they go “here, you can learn French, German or Chinese. Pick one”. I mean, I’ll grant there’s no way you’re going to get a teacher for every language, but you’re not going to get people excited about language learning by forcing them into one they’re just not interested in.
Though, I did enjoy learning Chinese at school enough in years seven and eight that I picked it as an elective in years nine and ten – but then they put me in a combined background/non-background class, where I was completely overwhelmed and absolutely hated it.
Been enjoying Japanese, though. =)
Artline pens (because the ink dries fast) on the notebooks I get from my university stationers… which apparently were made by a company called “Quill”.
But honestly, I’m not sure exactly what advice you’re expecting from us. Use what you like. =)
Pronunciations are almost invariably written in hiragana.
And “microphone” doesn’t have a kanji word in Japanese because the English word was just borrowed straight (マイク = “maiku” = mic).
before i start i would like to ask for advice. i want to play either final fantasy 3 which only includes hiragana and katakana or final fantasy 6 which also has kanji. which one you think is better for me (who knows up to what season 4 taught me
Kanji. Definitely kanji. If it’s got furigana (little hiragana written over kanji that indicate the reading) then go for kanji every time. Even if you can’t read the kanji, it helps you recognise it better, and with kanji it’s way easier to look up the meanings of words. Way way easier.
そのグルガンぞくのおとこは しずかにかたった・・・・
“The men of the Gurgan Tribe swindled quietly.” Though the verb could also be “chanted” – that’s why kanji helps.
このだいじしんでさえも たんなるよちょうにすぎぬと
Um. I think “Even this huge earthquake is just an omen of what’s to come” – but again, kanji would help.
Yeah, the “kanji” anki deck is basically for memorising the readings of kanji in a vacuum, without context. It’s… only partially helpful, in that it doesn’t give you a feel at all of which readings should be used in which situations. Context is your friend.
And yes, there are many kanji that aren’t ever found on their own in the wild, and always travel in packs.
Good question if it was the old or new level.. when did it change? a friend of mine took the N2 this year :) I’m nowhere near as good as her.
I don’t recall exactly when they changed it. Four or five years ago? Basically they stuck an extra level between 2 and 3, and shifted 3 and 4 to 4 and 5. Simply put, if there’s five levels in total, it’s the new JLPT. Four levels is the old one.
I’ll be sure to visit some tourist traps like (nearly everything in?) Kyoto or Nara or Ise or places like that, but I’d like to order a dish of udon in some backwater village as well without stumbling over my words.
Yah, Kyoto and Nara are certainly worth visiting. I never managed to get to Ise, though. Speaking of ordering dishes of udon, though, I did find myself in a restaurant in Koya-san which had an English menu, but not an English-speaking waiter. That was fun.
well I’ve got until May 2016 for that!
Oh? You’ve got an actual date in mind? This isn’t just a “someday when I get married, I’m gonna have my honeymoon in Japan”?
Congrats. =)
P.S.:I’m happy to have my english corrected as well if there are errors ;)
Been looking pretty good so far. I was almost hoping you’d make a mistake in this sentence for the pure irony of it, but all I can comment on is that “English” has a capital E. =P
@Joel: How’s Ni No Kuni? I’ve heard it’s pretty good and considered getting it myself. Not sure if I’d be able to understand much of it, even though it’s got furigana.
I’m surprised by how easily I can understand it, though admittely I’m occasionally missing the subtleties, and sometimes lines flash past too fast for me to read. It took me a little bit to get the hang of reading the furigana, because it’s kinda tiny, so a couple of the kana look a bit weird. Also, practically every second character speaks in a different dialect…
It wound up being fairly good practice for JLPT, because even though it wasn’t specifically teaching me words, it did give me a fairly good feel for what words and usages are more common and/or natural. It also, at one point, taught me 生える (はえる), a reading for 生 which I’d never encountered before – and you’ll never guess what the very first question of the N3 reading test happened to be. =P
