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Wordly Wednesday: Learning Japanese. Katakana Digraph Blends: Kya, Kyu, Kyo and Sha, Shu, Sho.2/27/2019 Konnichi wa! It's time to review the katakana digraph blends. If you remember my post about the hiragana digraph blends (Rows 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the hiragana digraph table) you'll have no problem with the sounds as they are the same. I'll show you the hiragana digraph and its katakana counterpart side by side for comparison. Let's look at the chart: There are other sound blends that are not included on this table. For a discussion about the non-standard blends see this thread on StackExchange. For further information about the non-standard sound blends you can visit Wikipedia's Hepburn Romanization page. <-- This link (found in the StackExchange post) will take you right to the section on extended katakana. If you'll recall when writing these digraph blends the ya, yu and yo are written a bit smaller. If they're written full sized, the words not only sound very different, they also will have a different meaning. See my first lesson for more information (Hiragana Digraphs Kya, Kyu and Kyo). Let's review the digraph blends in the first row (kya, kyu, and kyo). These are their sounds: キャ Kya sounds like kyah キュ Kyu sounds like the beginning sound of cute kyoo キヨ Kyo sounds like kyoh Remember that the small (or chiisai) ッ, or sokuon is mainly used to lengthen the consonant sound. When writing a word containing the ッ in romaji the consonant letter is doubled (there are some exceptions to this). When speaking the word there seems to be a small pause between the syllables. Here are some words with the digraph sounds in the first row: キャンプ Kyampu = Camp (kyahm pooh) キャッチ Kyacchi = Catch (kyah chee) Also, remember that the ー symbol makes the vowel sound longer. Take a look at these examples: キュート Kyuto = Cute (kyoo toh) キューピッド Kyuppido = Cupid (kyoo pee doh) Now, let's look at the sounds in the second row (sha, shu, and sho). If you'll remember these sounds are: シヤ Sha sounds like the beginning sound of the word shop シユ Shu sounds similar to the word shoe シヨ Sho sounds similar to the word show Here are some words with the sounds in the second row: シャワー Shawa = Shower (shah wah) シャンプー Shampu = Shampoo Here are some more examples: シュレッダー Shuredda = Shredded (as in paper shredder) (shoo reh dah) シュート Shuto = Shoot (as in a ball) ショック Shokku = Shock (shoh koo) ショップ Shoppu = Shop (shoh pooh) Well, that's it for this week. You have two sets of digraph blends to practice so here's a free writing practice worksheet to help you learn to write them:
Thanks for reading. Meet you here next week and we'll go over the next katakana digraph set of blends. Mata ne.
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Last week we finished learning the katakana table: Just like with hiragana, some of these katakana characters have a different pronunciation when combined with the diacritics dakuten ( ゛) and handakuten ( ゜). If you'd like to refresh your memory, please refer to my hiragana lessons on these sounds: Diacritic Lesson 1, Diacritic Lesson 2, and the lesson that features the last of the characters that take the Dakuten and those that take the Handakuten. Remember that although the katakana characters are written differently than the hiragana characters, the sounds they make are the same. Okay, let's go over the katakana characters that take the dakuten and handakuten: Here are some words that use these katakana characters: ビール biiru = beer (bee roo) ゲーム geemu = game (gehee moo) ゴール goru = goal (goh roo) ダンス dansu = dance (dahn soo) デパート depato = department store (deh pah toh) パソコン pasokon = personal computer (pah soh con) There are even more katakana sounds blends. And we'll go over them in the next post. For now, here's the Japanesepod101.com video which reviews the katakana we've learned so far and these katakana characters that take the diacritic marks. (Yes, it's the same video from last week. It's always good to review, so I'm posting it again.) That's it for this week. Next week I'll have the last of the katakana sound blends I'll be going over. Until then, mata ne! Oops! I almost forgot this week's free practice writing sheet:
There you go. Okay, see you next time!
Konnichi wa, mina san! I thought I'd post a little information about how Valentine's Day is celebrated in Japan. And, it's is quite different than how we celebrate it here in the United States. First of all, did you know that on Valentine's Day in Japan, you probably won't be getting a card? In fact, on Valentine's Day only women and girls give out chocolate gifts. There are two main types of chocolate gifts given out on Valentine's Day by females to males: 義理チョコ (or ぎり チョコ) Giri choco = "obligation chocolate" (ghee rhee chock oh). This is chocolate given by women to males who are casual acquaintances, co-workers, bosses, or males that the women have no romantic feelings for. 本命チョコ (or ほんめい チョコ) Honmei choco = "true feeling" or "romantic" chocolate (hon may chock oh). This is chocolate (either hand made or quality chocolate) given by women to males who they do have romantic feelings for such as boyfriends, husbands, or males they would like to be their boyfriends in the future. But, if you're a male and living or working in Japan, hold your horses on receiving Giri Choco. According to recent reporting**, many women are pushing back on having to give the "obligation chocolate" in the workplace. After all, it's not as much fun at all being obligated, or forced, to give chocolate. So the times may be changing for this practice. Even so, for however long this custom lasts in Japan, if you are a male recipient of Giri Choco or Honmei Choco just be aware that it will be your turn to reciprocate on White Day (March 14th) with an equivalent chocolate gift to all those women who gave you a gift on Valentine's Day. For those of us in the United States on Valentine's Day, we're free to give and receive (or not to give or receive) chocolate without any societal pressure. In the spirit of Valentine's Day, here's a little freebie writing practice worksheet for you with these new words:
Okay, Happy Valentine's Day everyone. See you next week for our regularly scheduled Japanese lesson. Mata ne! Sources: **https://soranews24.com/2019/02/01/giri-obligation-chocolates-seen-as-power-harassment-more-japanese-companies-ban-practice/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giri_choco and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honmei_choco |
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