フリーしか勉強しない

毛むくじゃら 「けむくじゃら」 - hairy, fuzzy

慈母　「じぼ」 - affectionate mother

稽古　「けいこ」 - practice, trainning

師範　「しはん」 - teacher, instructor

指南　「しなん」 - instruction (in martial arts), coaching

鍛錬　「たんれん」 - toughening, training

幾星霜　「いくせいそう」 - many months and years

塵界　「じんかい」 - this drab world

物干し竿　「ものほしざお」 - pole on which to hang laundry for drying

くねくね - wiggling, swaying

物々しい　「ものものしい」 - impressive, imposing

蔓延る　「はびこる」 - to grow thick, to spread

呪縛　「じゅばく」 - binding spell

餌食　「えじき」 - prey, victim

奥義　「おうぎ」 - secret techinques (of a skill/art)

通力　「つうりき」 - mysterious power

給わる　「たまわる」 - (sonkeigo) to bestow, to give

流離　「さすらい」 - wandering (exile, lifestyle)

- - - -

四字熟語/yojijukugo :

問答無用　「もんどうむよう」 - there being no use in arguing (about it)

A new, wide-ranging, multi-faceted learning brand has been announced, offering the most comprehensive approach to learning Scottish Gaelic in a generation.

Chapter 9

Aside from 音読み (おんよみ) and 訓読み (くんよみ), there is a type of kanji reading called 当て字. This reading is the phonetic reading of a character, and there are three types.

1) The first type are words that use the phonetic reading of the characters. This is common in the kanji names of foreign countries. The names of countries were written using kanji that matched the phonetic pronunciations. The shortened versions today come from those original names.

America was written 亜米利加 (あまいりか) ➡ 米国 (べいこく) - rice

France was written 仏蘭西 (ふらんす) ➡ 仏国 (ふっこく) - Buddhism

Thus, the kanji associated with these two countries don’t necessarily relate to the countries themselves, but to the 当て字 used to write them. Most country names are now written in katakana.

America 亜米利加 (あまいりか) ➡ 米国 (べいこく) ➡ アメリカ

France 仏蘭西 (ふらんす) ➡ 仏国 (ふっこく) ➡ フランス

Portugal 葡萄牙 (ぽるとがる) ➡ ポルトガル

寿司 (すし) is also an 当て字 word, which is why the word is made up of the characters for longevity and government official.

2) The second type are words that borrow the meaning of the characters but not the reading. These words derive from words that existed in Japanese before kanji were conscripted, and since there was no existing character for that word they borrowed a different kanji.

Tobacco (煙草 - たばこ) is made up the characters for smoke and grass, and the reading matches the loanword from the Portuguese, who brought it to Japan. Today it’s normally written in katakana.

Shrimp (海老 - えび) and seaweed (海苔 - のり) are also this type of 当て字.

3) The third type of 当て字 use both the reading and the meaning of the word. This comes from kanji that already matched the reading and meaning of words (usually foreign).

合羽 (かっぱ) is the one that you usually learn in Japanese class. This word means raincoat and was introduced by the Portuguese (capa). The kanji for join and wings were selected to make this word - apparently it reflects a bird’s wings coming together to protect from the rain - and the reading already matched.

Today, most foreign loanwords are written using katakana, so 当て字 words are usually from before the Meiji Era. Most country names and words like tobacco are written using katakana now, but you still see the kanji names of countries in the news.

当て字 in Names

当て字 is also commonly used in names. When parents select a name for a child, they want auspicious kanji that will match the reading but provide a meaning that will bring luck, make them a good person, or even have an auspicious number of strokes in the whole name.

Here is a masterpost of MOOCs (massive open online courses) that are available, archived, or starting soon. I think they will help those that like to learn with a teacher or with videos.  You can always check the audit course or no certificate option so that you can learn for free.

American Sign Language

ASL University

Sign Language Structure, Learning, and Change

Arabic

Arabic Without Walls

Madinah Arabic

Moroccan Arabic

Armenian

Depi Hayk

Bengali

Learn Bangla (Register to see course)

Catalan

Parla.Cat

Speak Cat

Chinese (Mandarin)

Beginner

Chinese for Beginners

Chinese Characters for Beginners

Chinese for HSK 1

Chinese for HSK 2

Chinese for HSK 3 I & II

Chinese for HSK 4

Chinese for HSK 5

Mandarin Chinese Level I

Mandarin Chinese Essentials

Mandarin Chinese for Business

More Chinese for Beginners

Start Talking Mandarin Chinese

UT Gateway to Chinese

Intermediate

Intermediate Business Chinese

Intermediate Chinese Grammar

Mandarin for Intermediate Learners I

Dutch

Introduction to Dutch

English

Online Courses here

Resources Here

Faroese

Faroese Course

Finnish

A Taste of Finnish

French

Beginner

AP French Language and Culture

Elementary French I & II

Français Interactif

Vivre en France - A1

Vivre en France- A2

Intermediate & Advanced

French Intermediate course B1-B2

Passe-Partout

Travailler en France A2-B1                    

Vivre en France - B1  

German

Beginner

Deutsch im Blick

German Project

German at Work

Goethe Institute

Gwich’in

Introduction to Gwich’in Language

Hebrew

Biblical Hebrew

UT Austin

Hindi

A Door into Hindi

Virtual Hindi

Icelandic

Icelandic 1-5

Indonesian

Learn Indonesian

Irish

Irish 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107

Italian

Beginner

Beginner’s Italian I

Introduction to Italian

Intermediate & Advanced

AP Italian Language and Culture

Intermediate Italian I

Advanced Italian I

Japanese

Genki

Japanese JOSHU

Japanese Pronunciation

Marugoto Courses

Tufs JpLang

Korean

Beginner

First Step Korean

How to Study Korean

Introduction to Korean

Learn to Speak Korean

Pathway to Spoken Korean

Intermediate

Intermediate Korean

Norwegian

Introduction to Norwegian I, Norwegian II

Norwegian on the Web

Persian

Easy Persian

PersianDee

Polish

Online Course

Portuguese

Pluralidades em Português Brasileiro

Russian

Beginner

A1 Course

I speak Russian

Intermediate

B1 Course

B1+ Course

B2.1 Course

B2.2 Course

Spanish

Beginner

AP Spanish Language & Culture

Basic Spanish I, Spanish II

Spanish for beginners  

Spanish for Beginners 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Spanish Vocabulary

Advanced

Corrección, Estilo y Variaciones 

Leer a Macondo

Swahili

Online Course

Turkish

Online Course

Ukrainian

Read Ukrainian

Speak Ukrainian

Welsh

Beginner’s Welsh

Discovering Wales

Yoruba

Yorùbá Yé Mi

Multiple Languages

Ancient Languages

More Language Learning Resources & Websites!

Sanseidō’s Top 10 New Words of the Year for 2020

ぴえん — Pien. Mainly used among young people on social media to express tears due to light unhappiness or disappointment, although it can also represent happiness or deep emotion.

〇〇警察 — – Keisatsu. The self-appointed “police” who set themselves up to check that everyone else is following rules and requests, like wearing masks and staying indoors.

密 — Mitsu. It has been a year to avoid “close” or “crowded” places, as in the ubiquitous san mitsu (three Cs) phrase.

リモート — Rimōto. From school to work to leisure time, much of our lives has been “remote” this year, conducted via the Internet.

マンスプレイニング — Mansupureiningu. The English portmanteau “mansplaining,” deriving from those men who particularly talk down and explain to women, established itself in Japanese this year.

優勝 — Yūshō. Not a new word in its standard meaning of “championship win” or “victory,” this started being used to describe a “really good” experience.

ごりごり — Gori gori. Used to describe someone “fanatical” about one particular thing, this may be positive in tone.

まである — Made aru. When something exceeds one’s own expectations, this phrase comes into play. For example, the phrase kōcha dokoro ka, kēki made aru becomes in English, “there’s not just tea, there’s even cake.”

グランピング — Guranpingu. Glamorous camping with spacious tents, well-equipped facilities, and gourmet food provided becomes “glamping” in this Japanese term.

thai alphabet consists of 44 consonant letters, and 21 vowel symbols with 32 vowel sounds. here i’ve listed down the 44 consonants with their identical sounds in english. and the symbols in the parenthesis are their coordinate ipa.

ก (k) : gala, games, goat, garlic, gun

ข (kʰ) : car, cry, calm, kin, candy

ฃ (kʰ) : can, could, because, kind, coffee *obsolete*

ฅ (kʰ) : cold, crab, keen, cup, care *obsolete*

ค (kʰ) : come, colony, carry, keep, call

ฆ (kʰ) : command, clock, cake, key, climb

ง (ŋ) : thing, cling, strong, painting, bring

จ (tɕ) : jewellery, judge, joke, enjoy, just

ฉ (tɕʰ) : chew, show, shark, shallow, pressure

ช (tɕʰ) : sharp, shadow, cheese, shine, should

ซ (s) : sell, seal, someone, solo, sing

ฌ (tɕʰ) : choke, shake, shore, shall, shame

ญ (j) : yellow, yard, yarn, yes, yam

ฎ (d) : damp, dull, dream, dog, dark

ฏ (t) : similar to ㄸ in korean, d in chinese (弟弟、豆腐、大、打)

ฐ (tʰ) : team, teal, tan, tomb, tamarind

ฑ (tʰ) : total, torch, tool, tin, time

ฒ (tʰ) : tone, tear, teen, trade, tech

ณ (n) : know, now, need, no, night

ด (d) : don’t, dance, deal, door, doom

ต (t) : similar to ㄸ in korean, d in chinese (弟弟、豆腐、大、打)

ถ (tʰ) : tell, to, take, towel, tea

ท (tʰ) : trap, tower, troop, two, true

ธ (tʰ) : talk, try, toddler, tail, town

น (n) : never, new, nine, nanny, numb

บ (b) : about, break, brand, business, breathe

ป (p) : similar to ㅃ in korean, b in chinese (爸爸、笔、帮、拜)

ผ (pʰ) : pen, park, proud, play, plan

ฝ (f) : far, feel, fly, find, fin

พ (pʰ) : penny, power, paw, pebble, paper

ฟ (f) : for, fool, freedom, reflect, flower

ภ (pʰ) : people, party, pyjamas, place, pan

ม (m) : million, miles, me, more, moment

ย (j) : yank, you, yawn, year, youth

ร (r ) : the ร sound is neither american nor chinese r. it’s similar to the one in spanish, italian, russian, tagalog, etc.

ล (l) : love, alone, lay, lie, light (do take note that in informal conversations, most thai drop the rolling r sound from ร and pronounce it as ล instead)

ว (w) : way, wind, wheel, whale, walk

ศ (s) : start, side, seem, reason, seat

ษ (s) : sun, sand, sky, sea, soul

ส (s) : secret, search, seven, safe, sit

ห (h) : heart, heat, heal, hike, hollow

ฬ (l) : life, lake, loop, lean, low

อ (ʔ) : even, always, apple, amber, army

                                         Part 2.1: 对话

                                • ────── ✾ ────── •                                               

This time we will be looking at the dialogue spoken in Mandarin in I TOLD SUNSET ABOUT YOU. Bear with me ‘cause it’s gonna be pretty long.

In episode 1, after going on an exam, Teh called his mom and said, “不过，我觉得自己做得还可以哦。” (however, I think I did great.)

不过 means however

自己 means self (myself, yourself)

This dialogue of Yongjian and Yuexin is being repeated a couple times: on tv, written on script, and on Oh-aew Chinese new year performance.

“慢着！勇健！” (Yongjian, wait!)

“月欣！让开，我无法原谅你父亲所做之事。背叛者只有一个下场，那就是死！” (Yuexin, move. I can’t forgive what your father did. Traitor only deserve one end, which is death.)

“若你对我父亲下手，便如同你也杀了我一样。” (if you kill my father, it would means that you killed me too.)

On this scene here, Teh’s mom doesn’t speak Mandarin, but I just want to point out that she calls the customers as “ko, cik” which, I assume, is the Thai people’s way to say 哥哥 (older brother)and 姐姐 (older sister). This kind of pronunciation comes from the original Mandarin language, but the pronunciation evolve with the local language. As far as I know, ko and cik is also widely used in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

When Teh and Ko Hoon arrived home, mom said “妈妈的两个小英终于来了。” (Mama’s two little heroes finally come home.)

Ma called his two boys 两个小英 which means two little heroes ><

Student will call the teacher 老师 regardless of their gender. 老师 simply means teacher. On the first meeting, I heard laoshi said few sentences in Chinese, but I can’t catch it clearly since it’s smashed with the music. He said “做好”(sit down） and “今天是第一堂课高考补习班的。。” (Today is the first class of admission exam preparation class)

高考 means university admission examination

补习班 means class that you attend after school or cram school

Here there’s a little dialogue between Teh and his mom.

“怕考不上吗？不用着急。反正考都考完了。” (are you afraid you won’t get admitted? Don’t worry. The exam is over afterall)

”看也不顺眼，听也不顺耳。“ 

I have a hard time to translate this sentence. It literally means not pleasing to the eyes, not pleasing to the ear either. In this context, it is used to describe something that doesn’t sit right with your heart.

When Oh-aew came for tutoring, Ma said to Teh “教了朋友书。自己也要预习多。”(now you already teach your friend.(Don’t forget) You yourself (still) have to study.”

教书 means teach

预习 literally means preview. There are many ways to say study: 学习、读书、预习、复习. This particular word that Ma used means that she told Teh to study more, study to prepare for future classes.

放心 = rest assured

关心 = to care

伤心 = sad

What’s interesting about this scene is that they’re guessing flashcards for words that contain 心 (heart). We know that this scene is when Teh is feeling confused and sad because Oh-aew consider him the same as other friends. His heart felt so many emotions just like written on the flashcards, and lastly he feels ‘伤心’ sad right now. 

The tips that he gave about memorizing this word is also interesting because it connects so much with the emotion that he’s feeling right at that moment. “Just think about these two character, their roots are from human (人). Plus 力 means force. And this word 心 which means heart. When these two combine, it’s like two people using force against each other’s hearts, which means ‘sad’.”

That’s such a beautiful way to remember 伤心 :）

                                 • ────── ✾ ────── • 

                                         Happy learning!

「梅・桜・桃」の違い、わかりますか？

どれもバラ目バラ科サクラ属の植物なので、似ているのも当然です。種類によっては例外もありますが、見分けるポイントは花の付き方と花びらの形、そして咲く時期です。

__

Differences between:

Ume / 梅 / plum blossom

Sakura / 桜 / cherry blossom

Momo / 桃 / peach blossom

These Rosaceae family of flowers are all culturally cherished throughout history of Japan, symbolising the beginning of new year and spring. Yet they are often confused!

月经 (yuè jīng) period

老朋友 (lǎo péng you) period (slang)

大姨妈 (dà yí mā) period (slang) 

例假 (lì jià) menstrual leave (euphemism) , menstrual period 

月经没来 (yuè jīng méi lái) to miss one’s period

来月经 (lái yuè jīng) to have a period

换… (huàn) to change, to exchange  (sanitary towel/tampons/menstrual cup) 

卫生巾  (wèi shēng jīn) sanitary towel /pad 

姨妈巾 (yí mā jīn)  sanitary towel (coll.)  

卫生棉条 (wèi shēng mián tiáo) tampons  

月经杯 (yuè jīng bēi) menstrual cup

月亮杯 (yuè liang bēi) menstrual cup 

绞痛 (jiǎo tòng) cramps  

痉挛 (jìng luán) cramps (med. term)   

偏头痛 (piān tóu tòng) migraine 

昏厥 (hūn jué) to faint 

妇科 (fù kē) gynaecology

阴道 (yīn dào) vagina (med. term) 

卵巢 (luǎn cháo) ovary (med. term) 

荷尔蒙 (hé ěr méng) hormone 

乳房 (rǔ fáng) breast (med. term)  

乳房胀痛 (rǔ fáng zhàng tòng) tender breast 

血 (xuè) blood 

子宫 (zǐ gōng) uterus  

心情变化 (xīn qíng biàn huà) change of moods  

经前综合症 (jīng qián zōng hé zhèng) PMS (premenstrual syndrome) 

更年期 (gēng nián qī) menopause

止痛药 (zhǐ tòng yào) Painkiller  

热水袋 (rè shuǐ dài) hot-water bottle

While the lessons are mostly in Korean please don’t be put off. The teachers speak slowly and clearly so even low intermediate learners should have no problem understanding :)

아임달imdal Korean teacher

Grammar and vocab videos both TOPIK specific and more everyday content. Beginner through to high intermediate level.  I really like all of the videos I have watched. In some of her videos she sets ‘homework’ and asks viewers to post in in the comments and she will personally mark it for you! 

현명한 선택,知好樂

Mainly intermediate level grammar comparison videos (ie, what is the difference between similar grammar points). She takes requests from viewers.

10분한국어 10min Korean

As the channel name suggests most of her videos are around 10 minutes long. Predominately intermediate and advanced grammar lessons but she also has videos on hanja. 

베이직 코리안 basic Korean

Beginner content from reading and pronouncing hangul through to basic grammar. Videos are in Korean but have English subtitles. 

PARKSSEAM OK-KOREAN

compare with the real kanji

First up we have:

Compare with 太

The original kanji means “to gain weight”. But it adds the コ “ko” and ロ  “ro” katakana symbols at the top to represent the weight you gain while staying home due to the corona virus.

Then we have:

Compare with 会 

The original kanjij means “meeting”, but the lower radical is changed to look more like a “Z” to represent Zoom meetings. Thus, the new kanji means “web meetings” or “zoom calls”

And of course another social distancing one:

Compare with 話 

This means “to talk” or “chat”, but it’s changed simply to show the two radicals social distancing from one another as we should also while holding conversations nowadays.

Transitive or intransitive? Verb drill flashcard set!

If you’re anything like me, these pairs of verbs are just finicky to remember. So I made a drill set and added it to the Quizlet study group (you don’t need to be part of the study group to use the flash cards!).

HOW DO

On one side of a card is the transitive verb. On the other is its intransitive counterpart. See card. Try to remember corresponding word. Flip over. Rinse and repeat.

The translations are only there for additional understanding, please remember words have nuances.

Prefer using Quizlet’s Write mode? No worries. Anything inside parenthesis doesn’t count, so you only have to write the word you’re being tested on!

This is  drill set for practicing remembering the transitive/intransitive versions of verbs. There are no example sentences.

An update to this flash card set, long overdue!