Week 3

Nihongo Kon Kon!

Week 3! There was a lot going on this past week. I am trying to really increase my vocabulary on my own in addition to the words and verbage we learn in class. We learned several new concepts during this 3rd week that aren’t so much complicated as they are confusing. I am going to make sure I ask additional questions for clarification today in class. My ability to really form sentences (to start a conversation or ask a question) is still really bad. I have mentioned before that this first level of Berlitz really doesn’t focus on the details and “how” and “why” so much as it just stresses memorizing things. I’m finding though, that without really having a firm grasp of particles (joshi) and how they come into play in certain situations, I’m having a hard time knowing how to structure my sentences. I understand that Japanese is very, very flexible and I think, in that way, it’s so much easier than English. However, I am having trouble knowing where to put things in the sentences I am creating. I think I need to memorize instead of analyze … which is impossible for me to do *laugh* but for some things, I think I am making them more complicated. GEE BIG SURPRISE THERE! HAHAHAHA! It doesn’t take Mr. Brain to determine that I over-think things. I often refer to “Japanese Word Order” to keep my head straight as well as Internet articles on using “wa” and “ga” and other joshi.

Something I am still having trouble with from last week is the use of “no hou ga” (のほうが) in sentences. I think it is used in comparing two things or in some similar fashion but I don’t know how to use is. This is really eluding me and I asked several questions on it already. At the risk of annoying Nikki-sensei, I may have to really search the Internet for a clearer explanation and understanding.

One of the best exercises we did in class this week was examining Nikki-sensei’s handobaggu! *grin* She has an okii handobaggu! (big handbag) and she carries everything AND the kitchen sink (nagashi) in there! She pulled things out and named them which was great for learning vocabulary and we explored the usage of “Hoka ni ga arimasu ka?” ほかにがありますか (Is there anything else?) when she would pull something out and say “Kore dake desu” これだけです (This is it/This is all there is). It was a fun way of learning and practicing multiple things at once.

We also learned something I picked up pretty fast: ue (on top), shita (underneath), naka (inside). The usage is pretty easy to remember and it’s really opened up my ability to create even more complex sentences. Usage is like: pen wa tsukue no ue ni arimasu. ぺんはつくえのうえにあります. (The pen is on top of the desk). Also, okane wa saifu no naka ni arimasu. おかねはさいふのなかにあります. (The money is inside the wallet).