A List of Words Part 1

Last time I wrote, I talked about different ways to learn vocabulary.
Well, I was working on vocabulary myself the other day, and I made a huge list of words that I'm going to look up to help improve my vocab. Some of the words I already know, some I've learned before and don't know fully yet, and some I don't know at all.

Heavy, ceiling, window, music, sound, sing, dance, video, Internet, computer, type, dresser, closet, room, home, house, bookshelf, study school, desk, chair, rain, umbrella, books, read, stuffed animals, pillow, blanket, carpet, rug, paper, pencil, pen, notebook, floor, Bible, box, storage, organize, mail, letter, files, wings, lamp, ruler, measuring tape, fabric, clothes, sewing, cut, pattern, nails, nail polish, glitter, fingernails, finger, hand, front, back, palm, arm, shoulder, elbow, fore arm, chest, stomach, neck, collar bone, chin, cheeks, ears, mouth, teeth, nose, snot (eww...), eyes, eyebrows, forehead, hair, head, face, back, legs, knees, feet, toes, toenails, bottom, sit, stand, walk, jump, run, spin, fall, lay, sleep, make, cook, hold, held, hide, seek, tag, find, look, search, cry, laugh, smile, frown, happy, sad, excited, upset, folder, plastic, truth, lie, socks, tights, skirt, pants, jeans, underwear, shirt, blouse, dress, jacket, cardigan, coat, necklace, bracelet, earrings, stickers, makeup, eat, drink, liquid, solid, gas, air, sky, clouds, weather, leaves, trees, bushes, grass, branches, ground, building, road, grow, mailbox, fence, discover, river, creek, lake, stream, ocean, boat, swim, rope, float, swimming suit, novel, soak, salt, pepper, fruit, vegetables, meat, kids, boy, girl, play, toys, nursery, snack, lesson, color, coloring page, crayon, colored pencil, marker, art, draw, create, absorb, sponge, clean, tidy, kitchen, shelf, stove, microwave, oven, refrigerator, dust, dirty, stuff, storage, table, messy, covered, uncovered, over, under, spoon, fork, knife, plate, bowl, cup, thirsty, hungry, tired, exhausted, pigtails, ponytail, hair (a repeat), braid, cute, cool, accessory, language, speak, learn, new, old, many, few, clip, zip, zipper, close, open, elastic, ruffle, shorts, skort (mix of skirt and shorts. doubt there's a Japanese word for it...), drive, go, explore, leave, come, contain, pin, scissors, snip, write

Told you it was a huge list. Anyways, over the next few posts, I'm going to put the Japanese versions of these words. Maybe it will help some people! I really don't know, but if I can help others, that would be great!

Bye for now!

Just a note, I think it's funny to trace my train of thought with the list. It reminds me of my Psychology class that I took in the first semester of college. ^-^

Building Vocabulary

Building vocabulary in 日本語(nihongo) is hard for me. It doesn't help that I've  even had trouble building vocabulary in English...

Some of the best advice I've gotten, though, is this:
When you go into a room, try to name everything around you in Japanese. If you can't, look up the words you don't know.

Another piece of advice that I've gotten is to ask someone who knows the language when you don't understand a word or phrase or when you don't know a word or phrase. During my school last semester, I would ask my すごい先生(sugoi sensei) if I had questions, and he would help me a lot! I also have one of my best friends that I can ask. ^-^

So, my suggestion to you is to try these ways if you can!

And also, especially if you are a beginner, but also if you've been studying for a while, focus on verbs! If you get the verbs then making sentences will be so much easier! I'm definately no grammar expert, I think I've mentioned such before, but it's true. This goes for any language, if you know the verbs, you can make sentences much easier. In 日本語(nihongo) it's even easier because the basic sentences are subject and verb. ^-^

I didn't learn verbs first because I was stubborn and didn't want to have to deal with grammar and now I struggle with making sentences. That may be part of why I don't make sentences on here very often...

I'm working on learning verbs too, so let's do our best!

Thank you for reading! ありがとうございました！(arigatou gozaimashita)
I'll try to write soon!
さよなら！(sayonara)

日本語の Musings 3

日本語の勉強。(nihongo no benkyou)
For foreign students studying Japanese, it is an interesting experience. The main thing that gets so many people is the writing system. Or, the three writing systems I should say:Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.

Hiragana is kind of like a basic alphabet if you want to relate it to English. The characters represent two letter sets with the exception of the vowels and the letter "n." The characters can be combined to make three letter sets to make even more sounds and words. Any Japanese words can be spelled out in these characters, though they may leave some ambiguity between words that are pronounced the same but have different kanji characters to help tell which is which. Hiragana is the first writing system that Japanese kids learn.

Katakana is used for foreign words. English words, German, French, Russian... Any foreign words that the Japanese adapt and add to their language will most likely be written in Katakana.

Kanji are the characters that the Japanese adopted from the Chinese a long time ago. they are like pictures that are made up of different parts. Those different parts are called radicals and when you combine the radicals in certain ways you end up with Kanji. At least, that's a basic understanding of how it works. I don't know many Kanji yet so I don't have a full understanding.

The Japanese use each of these writing systems together. When reading Japanese, you can come accross all three systems in one sentence. It's really kind of cool and fascinating!

Thanks for reading another 日本語の Musings!
Also, if you have something you want me to talk about, leave a comment!
Likewise, if I got something wrong, let me know! I'm still learning too! Thanks!
I'll see you again really soon!