How To Study Multiple Languages!

Learn Japanese with me #1

Today is september 11, 2022

Let’s begin with numbers. I won’t use any kana for a time, we’ll introduce them later at a slow pace. 

1. The single numbers

   1 = ichi

   2 = ni

   3 = san

   4 = yon (shi)

   5 = go

   6 = roku 

   7 = nana (shichi)

   8 = hachi

   9 = kyuu (ku)

  10 = juu

The words in parentheses are alternative names for those numbers. Sometimes those names are evaded due to the fact that they’re pronounciations for other words regarded as unlucky words, like shi which is the same sound for death and ku which is the same sound for suffering.

2. The teens

These are very simple to work with, and the dynamics to build them are pretty much the same as those of roman numerals. What we do is that we take juu -10- and right after it we place a single number, like this:

11 = juu ichi

12 = juu ni

13 = juu san

14 = juu yon

15 = juu go

16 = juu roku

17 = juu nana

18 = juu hachi

19 = juu kyuu

3. The tens

For these numbers we take a very similar approach to the previous ones, just inverting the order. Like this:

20 = ni juu

30 = san juu

40 = yon juu

50 = go juu

60 = roku juu

70 = nana juu

80 = hachi juu

90 = kyuu juu

4. The hundreds

For 100 we use hyaku, and in order to make bigger numbers from it we just use it in a similar fashion to juu, with some exceptions:

200 = ni hyaku

300 = sanbyaku

400 = yon hyaku

500 = go hyaku

600 = roppyaku

700 = nana hyaku

800 = happyaku

900 = kyu hyaku

5. The thousands

For 1000 we say sen or issen. To build the multiple integers of 1000 we put the name of the integer before sen, with some exceptions:

2000 = ni sen

3000 = san zen

4000 = yon sen

5000 = go sen

6000 = roku sen

7000 = nana sen

8000 = hassen

9000 = kyuu sen

So now, we can build any integer number from 0 to 9999:

46 = yon juu roku

357 =  san byaku go juu nana

7569 = nana sen go hyaku roku juu kyuu

Notice how the name looks like we are adding 7000 + 500 + 60 + 9.

I’m gonna leave it here, today. Hope you may find this useful, and I’ll see you soon :3

がんばってね！

Which languages do you know? Nice blog🤗

Hi, thanks :)

I know Spanish (native) and English, I'm currently learning Japanese, I know some French from college classes I've taken, I'm looking forward to continuing learning it at a later point this year, probably once I graduate.

接続詞（せつぞくし）

conjunctions - words that are used to link phrases together

情報を加える // Adding information：

しかも　besides そのうえ　moreover, on top of that さらに　moreover, on top of that そればかりか　not only that, but also... そればかりでなく　not only that, but also...

情報を対比する // Putting into contrast：

それに対して　in contrast 一方　whereas

他の可能性・選択肢を言う // Giving alternatives：

あるいは　or perhaps (presenting another possibility) それとも　or (presenting another option within a question)

結論を出す// Drawing a conclusion：

そのため　for that reason したがって　therefore そこで　for that reason (I went ahead and did...) すると　thereupon (having done that triggered sth. to happen) このように　with this (adjusting a conclusion to the arguments given beforehand) こうして　in this way

理由を言う // Giving a reason：

なぜなら...からだ　the reason is というのは...からだ　the reason is

逆説を表現する // Expressing a contradiction：

だが　however, yet, nevertheless (contradicting what one would have expected) ところが　even so (spilling a surprising truth) それなのに　despite this, still それでも　but still (despite a certain fact, nothing changes)

説明を補う // Amending one's explanation：

つまり　that is, in other words (saying the same thing using different words) いわば　so to speak (making a comparison) 要するに　to sum up, in short

説明を修正する // Revising one's explanation：

ただし　however (adding an exception to the information stated beforehand) ただ　only, however もっとも　however (obviating any expectations that might arise through the previous statement) なお　in addition, note that (adding supplementary information)

話題を変える // Changing the subject：

さて　well, now, then (common in business letters after the introductory sentence; is often ignored in tranlations) ところで　by the way

“But a language, even a foreign language, is something so intimate that it enters inside of us despite the fissure. It becomes a part of our body, our soul. It takes root in the brain, it emerges from our mouths. In time, it nestles in the heart.”

- Translating Myself and Others by Jhumpa Lahiri (2022)

14.1) Conditional Forms (なら)

In section 13 we talked about Japanese compound sentences and the different ways to form them. Now let’s talk about a very important kind of compound sentence - the conditional. Let’s look at one of the conditionals - なら.

As always, here is your vocabulary:

【The Grammar of なら】

なら can be attached to all of the Japanese 4 main parts of speech. Take a look at the following chart:

For the verbs and adjectives, I separated the non-past and the past forms on purpose. More on that later. 

You may be thinking, “Wow, なら is a very special particle!” It turns out that なら is not actually a particle. More on that later as well.

【The Compound Sentence Connection】

なら ties in well with section 13 and compound sentences. Before, we talked about 2 or more clauses that came together to make one longer sentence. The clauses we looked at before were independent clauses - this means each clause was its own sentence.

Compound sentences with なら are a little different. The first clause is dependent. This means that it can’t stand on its own. It’s the same with English. “If I go” is not a complete sentence because it leaves you hanging.

When we look at examples using なら, the first clause will be dependent (because it sets up a condition) and the second clause will be independent (it can be a full sentence by itself).

【Context Is King】

なら basically means “if”. However one very important thing to understand is that なら requires previous context. For example, if you tell your sister that you are going to the store, the conversation might go as follows:

You: I’ll be right back, I’m going to the store.

Your Sister: Oh in that case, can you get me a soda?

The “Oh in that case” takes the context of you going to the store and makes it a condition. IF that condition is true, then the request applies. Without context (if you use なら out of the blue) your listener or reader may be caught off guard because the “condition” part will seem to come out of nowhere. 

Notice that in English, “oh in that case” refers to going to the store. In Japanese, なら often seems like it is repeating the same thing twice. This is OK because it simply shows that there is context. Keep this in mind as we look at 4 different ways that you might see なら used.

【なら Is Not Certain】

The next thing to understand is that you can only use なら if the condition is not certain. For example, in Japanese you couldn’t say, “If New Years comes, let’s celebrate.” using なら. It’s the same reason why “When New Years comes” sounds more natural in English - New Years is definitely going to come. For conditions that will definitely happen, we will need a different conditional.

【1-Conditionals】

Now let’s get to the main way you will see なら used - talking about conditions.

①｛友達が来るなら｝、｛ピザを注文する｝。

= if friend comes, order pizza

= I will order pizza if your/my friend is going to come

Remember that there must be some context. This might be a couple talking about the next day’s plans. Before example 1, maybe one person said “Oh my friend is coming”. That would be the context necessary to use なら.

The next thing to understand about なら is the translation of clause 1. 友達が来る can mean 2 different things: ”friend comes (many times)” OR “friend is going to come (one time)”. なら forces the second meaning. Example 1 doesn’t say “every time my friend comes, I will order pizza.” That is a different conditional form!

The action attached to なら is a future condition. Clause 2 will happen first IF clause 1 is going to happen in the future. If the friend is going to come, the ordering of the pizza will happen beforehand. This is why in the English translation, I switched the order of the clauses and I used the “is going to come” version. 

Here are 4 translations of the verb 行く used with なら:

You can see that the past forms of the verbs have no alternate meaning to worry about.

【More Examples】

②｛近いなら｝、｛歩きましょう｝。

= if close, let’s walk

= Let’s walk if it’s going to be close.

③ ｛あの大学に行くなら｝｛自転車が便利｝。

= if go to that university, bicycle is useful

= A bike will be useful If you are going to go to that university.

④ ｛外からなら｝｛撮ってもかまいません｝。

= if from outside, taking a picture is no problem

= It will be no problem if you are going to take the picture from outside.

【2-Recommendations】

Another way you might see なら used is in advertisements for products or places. You can think of this pattern as “If you are going to A, B is for you”.

⑤ {東京のマンションを買うなら｝、｛グッドコムアセット｝

= If you are going to buy an apartment in Tōkyō, Good Com Asset (is for you)

The picture above says “If you are going to read manga, Book Live (is for you)”

The nuance here is that it is a recommendation because the writer or company has knowledge about the place or product. This is the context behind this usage of なら. For more examples of this usage, type “なら CM” into Google Search and check out the images that come up.

【3-Showing Trust / Knowledge】

A related way you might see なら used is to express trust in, or show that you are knowledgeable about someone or something. One way to translate this usage is “Knowing A, B.”

⑥ 自身を持ちなさい。｛あなたなら｝｛出来ますよ｝。

= Have confidence. If you, can do it

= Have confidence. Knowing you, you can do it.

⑦｛この車なら｝、｛６人乗れる｝。

= If this car, six people can ride

= Knowing this car, 6 people can fit inside.

For these examples the context is that the speaker knows the listener in example 6 and the car in example 7 well. You’ll notice that with this usage, なら mostly attaches to nouns and pronouns.

But if なら ends the first clause, how can it be a particle? The answer is that なら is actually the conditional form of the copula! This is why it can attach to nouns to end clauses.

【4-A Substitute For は】

Finally, なら sometimes acts like a substitute for は. Remember that は has two functions - it can mark the topic and/or it can place a spotlight on whatever it is attached to.

⑧ ｛今なら｝、｛安いよ｝。

= if now, it’s cheap

= If you go / do / buy it now, it will be cheap.

⑨ ｛ダイソーなら｝｛何でも買えるよ｝。

= if Daisō, anything can be bought

= If you go to Daisō, you can buy anything.

In example 8, it is because it’s now that it is cheap. If it were any other time, maybe it wouldn’t be cheap. Likewise in example 9, you can buy anything because it’s Daisō*. Any other store and this might not be the case.

You can see how you might replace なら with は and keep the same nuance.

【Conclusion】

So that was an in-depth look at なら and the 4 ways you might see it used in everyday Japanese. Later on, we will look at comparisons between the conditional forms, but for now just remember that (1) なら needs context and (2) it attaches to a future condition. If the first clause is going to happen, the second clause will happen before it.

If you have any questions let me know. See you for the next post in this series on conditional forms!

Rice & Peace,

– AL (アル)

👋🏾

*Daisō is a 100-yen shop where most products are 100 yen. Be careful going there without knowing exactly what you need; you’ll end up buying WAAY more than you necessary! 😅

Study some Common Hospital Care Related Words in #Japanese! 🏥 PS: Learn Japanese with the best FREE online resources, just click here: https://www.japanesepod101.com/?src=tumblr_special_infographic_hospital-care_image_111920

Simple Japanese: Eccentricity

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Study French with me #1

... and English, too XD 'cause my native language is actually Spanish, but I think that studying a 3rd language in my 2nd language might be more interesting... I'm probably wrong, I hope I'm not, let's cross fingers dXD (that just looks like an XD with a cap).

Today is septembre 10, 2022

It's been a lot of time since my last French class, so I'm retaking it on my own now. Today, I practiced the pronunciation of the "most frequent" syllables, and I also started studying the definite article le, la, and l'.

So, here is what I read today:

The definitive article in French has a gender, which must match the gender of its noun. I don't remember if there are any gender neutral words in French, but the book I'm studying from kind of suggests that all words in French are either femenine or masculine... please correct me on that if we're wrong. Anyways, here are some examples of femenine nouns:

la banque (the bank)

la boutique (the store or shop)

la femme (the woman, wife)

la jeune fille (the girl)

la langue (the language)

la voiture (the car)

Next, we have masculine nouns:

le chat (the cat)

le chien (the dog)

le cours (the class or course)

le frére (the brother)

le garçon (the boy)

le livre (the book)

It seems like all femenine nouns end in -e, however this is not a general rule. There are femenine words that do not end in -e, for instance think of l’infant (the child) which can stand for a boy or a girl, notice too that distraction (amusement) is also femenine -it goes with la- and yet it doesn’t end in -e, then we also have la fleur (the flower), la fourmi (the ant), la radio (the radio), and many more. 

So, yeah... guessing the gender of a noun in French can be hard.

Now, in regards to the shorter form of the definite article l’, we use it when our noun starts with a vowel or with mute h so that we pronounce the whole thing together. Two straight forward examples are l´emploi (the job) and l’homme (the man)... which ends in -e but is masculine...

Alright, I think that’s enough for this post already... I don’t want to make too long entries. 

Top 10 Myths about Introverts

Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.

This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.

Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.

Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.

On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.

Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.

Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.

Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.

Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.

Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.

Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ