Learn Japanese with Anime - What Do I Have To Fear?

Learn Japanese with Anime - Words Are Like Knives

Learn Japanese with Anime - How Does It Feel To Be Looked Down Upon By A…

Learn Japanese with Anime - We Have No Attachments In A World Where Shinnosuke Doesn’t Exist!

Learn Japanese With Anime I, Giorno Giovanna, Have A Dream

JLPT N3  Grammar  -　というより

Are you using it right??

Find out how to slightly and politely disagree with what someone has said about an opinion or situation in this episode of Bunpogo. We also cover the casual form,ていうか.

————-

Welcome to Benkyogo!

In our ぶんぽうご Real Japanese Grammar series, Nani and Mani are deep diving into the textbook grammar required for the JLPT, throwing out the stuff you’ll never use, and teaching you how to speak authentically whilst expressing your own personality.  

⭕️ You WILL:

- Understand grammar in real life context- Be told when and where to forget the BS - Get to listen to 2 random people free-talking about Japanese grammar  

❌ You WON’T:

- Sound boring when talking to your Japanese friends - Say anything rude to your Japanese boss - Speak like you’re fresh outta your favourite anime

We don’t claim to be experts, we’re just 2 Japanese speakers (one native, one second language) chatting about the DO’s and DON’T’s of Japanese grammar in the 21st century. Keep up, textbooks!!  

————-

Check out https://benkyogo.co.uk/for detailed hints, tips and resources to self-study Japanese.

⛩Check out our store at https://www.etsy.com/shop/benkyogo

JLPT N1 Grammar -  までだ

Are you using it right??

I was just kidding!! Or was I? Find out about the difference between までだ and だけだ in our 20th Episode of Bunpogo!

————-

Welcome to Benkyogo!

In our ぶんぽうご Real Japanese Grammar series, Nani and Mani are deep diving into the textbook grammar required for the JLPT, throwing out the stuff you’ll never use, and teaching you how to speak authentically whilst expressing your own personality.  

⭕️ You WILL:

- Understand grammar in real life context- Be told when and where to forget the BS - Get to listen to 2 random people free-talking about Japanese grammar  

❌ You WON’T:

- Sound boring when talking to your Japanese friends - Say anything rude to your Japanese boss - Speak like you’re fresh outta your favourite anime

We don’t claim to be experts, we’re just 2 Japanese speakers (one native, one second language) chatting about the DO’s and DON’T’s of Japanese grammar in the 21st century. Keep up, textbooks!!  

————-

Check out https://benkyogo.co.uk/for detailed hints, tips and resources to self-study Japanese.

⛩Check out our store at https://www.etsy.com/shop/benkyogo

1250/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: 6th

This character is a combination of 莫 a non-general use character meaning “must not/do not/be not” and 巾 cloth. 莫 itself depicts the sun sinking among the plants, and carries a meaning of “conceal.” Here 莫 is a phonetic element signaling the on’yomi, but it is also working to lend its own meaning. Together with 巾 this gives “cloth which conceals,” or a “curtain.” The other meanings have all developed through association.

1249/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 衣 clothing and 口 mouth. There are multiple theories for the origin of this character. One is that it represents covering the mouth with a cloth, or, in a figurative sense, “covering/stifling one’s (sad) feelings/thoughts and keeping them inside one’s heart.”

1248/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

Older forms of this character show that it was a combination of 虍 tiger, claw (backwards ヨ), and 几 (人) person. 虐 depicted a tiger catching/clawing a person, and came to represent “cruelty/brutality.” “Oppress” is an associated meaning.

1247/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 而 and yet/but/however and 寸 measure/hand. 而 itself developed from the image of a beard, and here is being used to express that meaning. 寸 here means “careful use of the hand.” 耐 is a pictograph that referred to “shaving off a beard,” which was a minor punishment (the next level up was shaving the hair). This in turn symbolized something that was  “not too bad” and “bearable.”

1246/2000

JLPT: N2

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 木 tree and 古 old. Here 古 is a phonetic element signaling the on’yomi. Some say that 古 developed from the image of a skull, giving it a meaning of something hard and old. It is likely lending that connotation here, giving 枯 a meaning of an old, hard, dried up tree. This then symbolizes “decaying” and “withering” in a more general sense.

1245/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character was formerly written 顯, a combination of 㬎 a Chinese-only character meaning “motes (small particles of dust)” and 頁 head. 㬎 itself is a combination of 日 sun and 絲 threads. One source says that 㬎 represents laying silk threads out in the sun. With the addition of 頁, this gives 㬎 a meaning of putting ones face out into a bright place/the light of day, letting it be clearly seen. This led to the meaning of “visible” in general, and also “manifest.”

1244/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character was formerly written 緣, a combination of 糸 thread and 彖 a Chinese-only character meaning “pig/hedgehog.” Here 彖 is a phonetic element signaling the on’yomi, while also lending a meaning of “dangling edge” (from the image of a pig with a rounded, hanging stomach). Together with 糸 this gives “threads used for edging/hemming” or “threads used for decorating/embroidering the edges of clothes/cloth.” Over time 縁 came to mean “edge” in general. The meanings of “relations” and “ties” are thought by some scholars to be the result of borrowings.

1243/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 糸 thread, here meaning “cord,” and 帝 emperor, acting as a phonetic element signaling the on’yomi. 帝 itself developed from a pictogram of three vertical lines tied together (there are different interpretations of what exactly it represents), and carries a meaning of “to bind firmly.” Together with 糸, this gives “to bind firmly with a cord.” It has since come to also mean “tighten/shut,” and is even used in a figurative sense as “conclude/tie up.”

1242/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 日 sun/day and 斬 behead/kill. Here 斬 is a phonetic element signaling the on’yomi, while also lending a meaning of “brief.” 日 is being used to mean “time.” Together, they give “brief time.”

1241/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 扌 hand and 最 most. Here, 最 is being used in its original, literal sense of “take by force.” Together with 扌 this gives “take (by force) with the hand,” or “pluck/snatch.” It has also come to be used for “taking photographs,” likely due to the idea of a quick action.

1240/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 隊 corps/unit and 土 earth/ground. Here, 隊 is being used in its original sense of “fall down a hill,” with 土 reinforcing the meaning. It has since come to mean “fall” in a broader sense.

1239/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 口 mouth and 賁 a non-general use character meaning “decorate.” The origins of this character are somewhat obscure due to the obscure nature of 賁. One source says that 賁 also carries a meaning of “to boil up/to break out/to get excited.” With 口, this gives 噴 a meaning of “to burst forth from the mouth.” By extension this came to mean “vent/emit” in a broader sense, including “spout” and “gush.”

1238/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of ⺊ a variant of divination (crack) and 鼎 round kettle (here simplified as 貝). Here 鼎/貝 is a phonetic element signaling the on’yomi, but also being used to express “request/seek.” Originally 貞 meant to “seek to learn the will of the gods by divination.” Its current meanings of “chastity” and “virtue” are thought by some to be a borrowed meaning. Others believe it to be an extended meaning, as in “acting in a manner approved of by the gods.”

1237/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 月 flesh/of the body and 包 wrap/envelop. Together they give “part of the body which envelops (a baby),” or the “womb.” “Placenta” is an associated meaning.

1236/2000

JLPT: N2

School Grade: 6th grade

This character is a combination of 扌 hand and 罙 an element that initially was a combination of 穴 hole, 又 hand, and 火 fire. 罙 referred to the idea of a hand reaching into a hole, and also carries a connotation of “deep.” With 扌, this gives 探 a meaning of “groping about” for something, leading to the meanings of “search” and “probe.”

1235/2000

JLPT: N1

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 糸 thread and 逢 a non-general use character meaning “meet.” Here 逢 is a phonetic element signaling the on’yomi, while also lending its own meaning to express “join.” With 糸 this gives 縫 a meaning of “join with thread,” or “sew.”

1234/2000

JLPT: N2

School Grade: Junior high school

This character is a combination of 巾 cloth and 畐 a Chinese-only character meaning “full.” Here 畐 is a phonetic element, signaling the on’yomi, while also lending it’s own meaning of “full / to fill to the brim.” With 巾 it gives 幅 a meaning of the full “width” from one edge of a cloth to the other. It later came to mean “width” in general. “Scroll” is an associated meaning.

1233/2000

JLPT: N2

School Grade: 6th grade

This character is a combination of 糸 thread and 工 work. One explanation is that 工 is being used to express the meaning of 烘, due to them both having the same on’yomi, コウ. 烘 means roast or bake, but also can has a meaning of “bonfire/campfire.” Here, it is being used to express “red like fire.” Combined with 糸, it gives “threads/cloth dyed red.”

Another theory is that 工 is working phonetically to express “pink,” and possibly also the idea of a “process.” Together with 糸, this gives “(processed/dyed) pink threads.” Over time it came to mean “pink” in general, and then eventually “red/crimson/rouge.”