SURVIVE! ~part.2~

I wrote about なんて/nante/ in the previous article. The phrase I will introduce to you today is also includes this word.

今更(いまさら)英語(えいご)なんて・・・。

/imasara eigo nante.../

The meaning (the function) of なんて in this sentence is same as the one in the phrase I introduced in the previous article. It emphasizes the word before it. In this sentence, なんて emphasizes 英語(English).

今更/imasara/ is often translated into "now" in English. But the word for "now " in Japanese is 今/ima/. 今更 is an adverb which suggest that the speaker feels it's too late for something. Let's look at some examples to make clear the difference between 今/ima/(=now) and 今更.

Your boss told you that he'll sack you and you said...

(1)そんな！今、くびだなんて！！

/sonna! ima, kubi da nante!/

(2)そんな！今更、くびだなんて！！

/sonna! imasara, kubi da nante!/

*くび/kubi/ to be sacked

Both can be translated as; No! It's too severe to fire me now!

(1) In this situation, you are very worried to be fired right now. Maybe you just bought a house and have to pay off your home loan, so it's really hard if he fired now.

(2) Maybe you have been working under the boss for a long time. You are surprised that you are sacked after such a long time.

A boy confessed his love to a girl, but she replied...

(1)今、愛なんていらない。

(2)今更、愛なんていらない。

I don't need love now.

(1) She has something important than love, so love isn't necessary for her right now.

(2) Maybe two of them had been dating before, but broke up the other day. After a long time, the boy confessed his love but it was too late for her.

Did you get it?

SURVIVE! ~part.1~

Have you seen the video in my previous article?
I'll pick up one phrase from that video and explain it.

So, today's phrase is...

おれなんて英検(英検)3級(きゅう)。
As for me, what I have is just 3rd grade of the English proficiency test.

英検/EI-KEN/ is one of major English proficiency test in Japan. Many students try this test. The highest grade is 1級(いっきゅう), and the lowest one is 5級(ごきゅう). The level of 3rd grade is junior high school graduates (of Japanese school).

At first, you have to choose one of the grade you'd like to take. Then, pay for the exam fee. It depends on the grade you'll take how much you must pay. The fee for 3rd grade is 2,500 yen. If you want to try 1st grade, you need to pay 7,500 yen. Do you think it's too expensive?

Above 3rd grade, there are two stages in the test. The first stage is paper test (vocab, reading, listening) and the second stage is an interview (speaking).

OK, if you passes the exam and got the 2nd grade, you can say:

英検2級に受(う)かった！

英検2級を取(と)った！

英検2級を持(も)ってる。

※受かる(pass)、取る(get)、持つ(have)

Or, simply say わたし英検2級。 You know, Japanese doesn't necessarily need any verbs.

Let's look on the phrase again.

おれ/なんて/英検3級。

おれ is a personal pronounce used by men (very informal). なんて has several meanings, but in this case, he put なんて after おれ to emphasis he only has 3rd grade.

For example:

A：昨日、彼女と別れたんだ・・・
I broke with my girlfriend yesterday.

B：元気出せって。おれなんて28年彼女無しだぜ？
Come on, lighten up. As for me, I've been single for 28 years.

How Japanese People Think of English

I found a Japanese interesting TV commercial again!



I showed you a commercial of Japanese lottery here. Do you remember?
(If you haven't seen it yet, check it out!)
I found that I didn't explain about the last scene. Did you make it why the man looks very surprised when he found his boss? The punch line of this commercial is this; the boss was buying a lottery ticket though he said he wasn't interested in it at all. You can see lottery ticket booths here and there in Japan.

And today, I'm going to translate the first part of the video above.


[グローバリゼーション] The Globalization

本日(ほんじつ)より、わが社(しゃ)の公用語(こうようご)を英語(えいご)にします。
From today, the official language in our company will be English.

ええ？！
What?!

何(なに)言(い)ってんだあの社長(しゃちょう)。
What is our boss saying?

おれTOEIC300点(てん)だし・・・。
My TOEIC score is only 300 points.

転職(てんしょく)ですな。
We should change our job, huh?

おれなんて英検(英検)3級(きゅう)。
As for me, what I have is just 3rd grade of the English proficiency test.

今更(いまさら)英語(えいご)なんて・・・。
It's too late to start learning English...

日本語(にほんご)だってあやしいのに。
I'm uncertain even of Japanese.

あれが新(あたら)しい上司(じょうし)か。
That man is our new boss, isn't he?

Hi

ハーイ！！(Hi)

Nice to meet you!

ネイティブ来(き)た～～～！！
Oh my good, he is the very native English speaker!!

すげえ良(い)い発音(はつおん)！！
What a fluent pronunciation!

無理(むり)無理(むり)無理(むり)
No, I cannot bare it!!

辞書(じしょ)無(な)いか、辞書(じしょ)？！
Does somebody have a dictionary? Give me a dictionary!

無理(むり)っ！！
I can't stand it!!

ひるむな、走(はし)れーーーー！！
Don't flinch! Run!!

わっと　いず　ゆあ　ねいむ！(What is your name)

...Pardon?

通(つう)じてません！！！！
He doesn't understand!!!

傷(きず)つくわ～。
That hurts.

Rの発音(はつおん)すっげー！
His pronunciation of "R" was brilliant!

英検(えいけん)3級(きゅう)なめんなー！！！
Don't mess with my 3rd grade of English proficiency test!!

ぐっど　もーにーん！(Good morning)

How are you?

ふぁいん、せんきゅー！あーんど　ゆー！？(Fine, thank you, And you)

[ハラが減(へ)っては、闘(たたか)えない]
An army marches on its stomach.


It was... longer than I thought XO I'll explain some phrases in detail next time ; )
Let me know if you have any questions (or any problems) in my translations!

See you later!

How To Deal With Your Stress?

Everybody would have thought that life can be stressful.
Many people wants to get rid of their stress.

But is the stress a completely BAD thing?
Do we have to struggle against the stress all the time?

Do you have a positive image of the stress? Well, I do. I think we need the stress to some extent.


A psychologist experimented what happens if people have to be in the no-stress situation. After 80 to 90 hours, the subjects lost their power of resistance to the external stimulus. They had a problem with their thermoregulation. And they suffered from a groundless imagination, become suggestible. They couldn't stand still when they were said "You cannot stand!"

Dr.Yerkers-Ddson's experiment showed that the stress shouldn't be too less or too much. The proper amount of stress can lead the best performance.



To begin with, the stress is a necessary react to survive for animals (and for primitive man). Their stress is caused when they must run away from enemies or when they lash on its prey. It raises their heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, and the pupils of the eyes expand, the body temperature rises...

That is to say, the stress is the function so as to protect your life, to fight, to escape from the danger. Some people say the animals which have a certain stress (it doesn't mean very stressful situation) even can live longer than the animals with no stress!



Anyway, the life without any stress... sounds very boring, isn't it?!
The stress is spice of life, I think :) Of course I hate the stressful life, though!

One's impression of the stress can be effect on his body reacting to the stress.
I found an interesting blog this morning, here's the link below.
<Rethinking The Stress Mindset:Can You Find The Upside of Pressure?>

So, don't take the stress for an entirely evil thing.
The stress is a color. Let's paint out our lives colorful!




Agh, it was very stressful to write such a sober article in English!!Lol
There should be a lot of mistakes. I'd be glad if you let me know it.

Thank you for reading today!


*Japanese Word of the Day*
癒(いや)し系(けい)グッズ
/iyashi kei guzzu/
smoothing/relaxing items, something which has healing effect

癒し系 can be used to describe a person, too!
My dog Ginta is also 癒し系. He comforts me a lot. XD

Do you have any 癒し系グッズ or know someone who is 癒し系?

Weekend Trip to Tainan

Last weekend I visited Tainan, the southern part of Taiwan, and ate many typical dishes. There are lots of historical structures which attract travelers.

This pic is of the house which is covered over by trees. It was very mysterious. I loved it.

The Sword Lions. People in this city hang this symbol above the gate or on the wall to protect them from evil. This custom is very similar to Okinawa's シーサー in Japan. I've made a pair of シーサー when I traveled around Ishigaki island in Okinawa prefecture.

This is the シーサー I made! I gave them to my parents.

In fact, I love Japanese food and sometimes I miss my mom's dishes. But the street foods in Taiwan is also yummy. Here, you would see how I love eating!! :P

 The picture above? Yeah, as you see, I cannoned my husband. Lol



By the way, I've started learning Tai Ji Quan and the foot massage. I'll be more busy, but I will keep on writing this English blog! I promise. (I'm sorry my dear friends, I can't log in Skype lately...)


*Japanese Word of the Day*
次（つぎ）、どこ遊(あそ)びに行(い)く？
/tsugi, doko asobi ni iku?/
Where shall we go next?

*遊びに行く : to go out to play/visit/have fun
*食べに行く : to go out to eat

Popular TV program in Japan

Rain has gone, please don't come back on the weekend!
It was toasty today. How's the weather in your city?

Have you ever heard of serial TV novel in Japan? It's a 15 minute program that is broadcast in every morning. I got up at six thirty, prepare our breakfast, fold the laundry, and sooner or later that TV program starts. When the opening theme music starts, I sit on a couch with my husband.



This program titled "Amachan" is very popular in Japan. Even a cat loves watching it.
The characters in this drama speaks a dialect in Tohoku area. One of the dialect phrase is now in vogue. Many people suspect that the term "じぇじぇ!!" would set to become the buzzword of the year.

"Je, je!!" is said when one is surprised. The interesting thing is, the number of "je" sounds increases according to how surprised a person is. So, if a person was horribly surprised he or she will shout "Jejejeje!!!"

By the way, the standard Japanese phrase that is said when one is surprised is "え！/げ！/うそ？！/まじ？！"

"げ！" is a exclamation of surprised, disappointment, disgust, or worry. It's used in an awkward situations. "うそ！" is literally means "a lie/a fib." We say this phrase when something that unbelievable thing has happened or you can't believe what one said. "まじ！" or "まじで！" is slung words. It means like as "Really?."

*Japanese Word of the Day*

あの人、まじかっこいい～！

/ano hito, maji kakkoii/

That man is sooo cool!

うそ？あんたってB専（せん）ね。

/uso? anta-tte B-sen ne/

Are you kidding? You like ugly men, don't you?/

*あんた is very familiar way of あなた(you). Sometimes it sounds rude.

*B専＝ブサイク専門/busaiku senmon/ : The woman who prefer only ugly men or the man who prefer only ugly women.

A little bit difficult today? :P

Traffic Accidents

Hi, how was your weekend? Did you have fun?
I'm getting used to hanging out in a rainy day. It always rains on the weekends.

Today I went to the biggest bookstore in Taipei city, and I've seen a traffic accident twice.
Both of them were crash between motorcycle and car. Fortunately, there seemed to be no people got injured.

I have, also,  caused a motorcycle crash before.

This is a photo of when I was a student. Now I don't ride a motorcycle or a car because
I currently live in Taipei city. Why? You'll get it if you google "taipei trafic."


*Japanese Word of the Day*
気を付けてね！！
/ki wo tsukete ne/
Have a safe trip!

I miss my motorcycle... :'(