Is Your Glass Half Empty or Half Full?

Is the glass half empty or half full? You may have heard of this question. Though we see the same situation, how one expresses depends on one's point of view. Not only this expressions, half empty or half full, what we say conveys how we see the world.

Speaking of Japanese language, we can use both は or が to describe the same situation, but there's an implicit meaning in each sentence. I mean, which I use depends on what I focus on. (Check this page to see the difference between them!)

I've been tried to explain about the nuance of meaning in terms of point of view (what the speaker focuses on or how it sounds to the listener), rather than just picking up grammar rules. Well, it might not a clear explanation as I'm not a teacher nor a kind of language specialist. :( So excuse me, and please feel free to ask me if my explanation doesn't make sense!


*Japanese Word of the Day*
1) コップ(こっぷ)に水(みず)が少(すこ)し残(のこ)っている。
/koppu ni mizu ga sukoshi nokotte iru/
2) コップ(こっぷ)に水(みず)が少(すこ)しだけ残(のこ)っている。
/koppu ni mizu ga sukoshi dake nokotte iru/
3) コップ(こっぷ)に水(みず)が少(すこ)ししか残(のこ)ってない。
/koppu ni mizu ga sukoshi shika nokotte nai/

*コップ(こっぷ) /koppu/ a glass
- I guess it's one of 外来語(loan words), from "a cup” in English. But コップ usually means " a glass", and we say カップ(かっぷ) as "a cup" in English.
*水(みず) /mizu/ water
*少(すこ)し /sukoshi/ a little, a bit
*残(のこ)っている /nokotte iru/ to remain, to be left
- In daily conversation, we often omit い and say 残ってる.
- 残って(い)ない is the negative form of 残って(い)る.

All these three sentences can be translated as "A little water remained in the glass". As you guess, it reflects how the speaker feels. Let's have a closer look at each of these sentences.

(1) コップ(こっぷ)に水(みず)が少(すこ)し残(のこ)っている。
This sentence just describes the situation. There's a glass of water, which has a little water.

(2) コップ(こっぷ)に水(みず)が少(すこ)しだけ残(のこ)っている。
Here I added だけ to emphasize there's only a little water in the glass. It focuses on the small amount of water.

誕生日(たんじょうび)を覚(おぼ)えていてくれたのは彼(かれ)だけだった。
/tanjoubi wo oboeteite kureta nowa kare dake datta/
It was only him who remembered my birthday.
*くれた (the past form of くれる) indicates the speaker feels thankful. (Here's more detailed explanation about くれる)

からかっただけだよ。
/karakatta dake dayo/
I was just teasing you.

(3) コップ(こっぷ)に水(みず)が少(すこ)ししか残(のこ)ってない。
It rather can be translated as "there's little water in the glass". しか always makes the verb negative.

この方法(ほうほう)しかない。
/kono houhou shika nai/
I have no choice except this way.

As you see, it focuses on the negative aspect. There's nothing but something. It's kinda like "half empty". Do you get the picture? :) Now I'd like to add one more sentence.

(4) コップ(こっぷ)に水(みず)が少(すこ)しだけしか残(のこ)ってない。

Here, you see both だけ and しか in one sentence.The base of the sentence is (3), so the speaker thinks there's LITTLE water. It's not enough, or too little. He sees its negative aspect. And だけ lays emphasis on the amount of water.



(1) 日本語（にほんご）を少（すこ）しだけ話（はな）せる。
/nihongo wo sukoshi dake hanaseru/

(2) 日本語（にほんご）を少（すこ）ししか話（はな）せない。
/nihongo wo sukoshi shika hanase nai/

(3) 日本語（にほんご）を少（すこ）しだけしか話（はな）せない。
/nihongo wo sukoshi dake shika hanase nai/

Now you know what the nuance of these 3 sentences, do you?



That's all for today! Thank you for reading, and see you soon! ;)

It Takes Time

In my previous post, I wrote about transitive verbs and intransitive verbs.

- A transitive verb is a verb that takes objects, and it expresses an action of its subject. The particle を comes after the object.
- An intransitive verb, on the other hand, describes the movement of its subject. So you should use the particle は/が which marks the subject of the sentence.

Which you should use, a transitive verb or an intransitive verb, depends on what you want to focus on.


Today I'm going to talk about the verb かける/かかる. Guess which one is a transitive verb? かける/kakeru/ or かかる/kakaru/?

Hint:
開ける/akeru/ transitive verb <-> 開く/aku/ intransitive verb (to open)
閉める/shimeru/ transitive verb <-> 閉まる/shimaru/ intransitive verb (to close)
つける/tsukeru/ transitive verb <-> つく/tsuku/ intransitive verb (to turn on)

Well, this pattern isn't applied to all transitive verbs, but it would be one clue to guess.

Answer:
かける/kakeru/ transitive verb <-> かかる/kakaru/ intransitive verb
It has several meanings, but I want to pick up one of them. I show you some example sentences to help you understand its meaning. (I believe it's much better to know how it is used in a sentence than just to see the word to word translation.


かける/kakeru/ to spend time
1a) テスト(てすと)の見直(みなお)しに時間(じかん)をかける。
/tesuto no minaoshi ni jikan wo kakeru/
I spend plenty of time on reviewing the exam.

2a) 妻(つま)はいつも時間(じかん)をかけて化粧(けしょう)をする。
/tsuma wa itsumo jikan wo kakete keshou wo suru/
My wife always takes time on putting makeup on.

3a) 一週間(いっしゅうかん)かけて作品(さくひん)を完成(かんせい)させた。
/isshuukan kakete sakuhin wo kansei saseta/
I spent a week to complete my work.

かかる/kakaru/ to take time
1b) テストの見直(みなお)しに時間(じかん)がかかる。
/tesuto no minaoshi ni jikan ga kakaru/
It takes time to review the exam.

2b) 妻(つま)は化粧(けしょう)をするのにいつも時間(じかん)がかかる。
/tsuma wa keshou wo suru noni itsumo jikan ga kakaru/
My wife always takes time on putting makeup on.

3b) 一週間(いっしゅうかん)かかって作品(さくひん)が完成(かんせい)した。
It took a week to complete my work.

The sentence 1a and 1b, 2a and 2b, 3a and 3b are corresponding to each other. The meaning of the two sentences are very similar but not the same. What the speaker wants to tell, or how it sounds to listener is different. Let's take a closer look at each pair of sentences.

1a) テスト(てすと)の見直(みなお)しに時間(じかん)をかける。
1b) テストの見直(みなお)しに時間(じかん)がかかる。

*テスト /tesuto/ test, exam
*見直(みなお)し /minaoshi/ review, recheck, double-check

Let's say you have finished the test but still had some time. If you're careful, you'd double check your answer. (If you're not, you still had better do it, though!) You took time to check the answer on your own will. And this is what the sentence 1a implies. On the other hand, 1b implies that the speaker feels bothered or has hard time to finish it. Both 1a and 1b express the same situation (it takes time to do something) but it sounds different, isn't it?


2a) 妻(つま)はいつも時間(じかん)をかけて化粧(けしょう)をする。
2b) 妻(つま)は化粧(けしょう)をするのにいつも時間(じかん)がかかる。

*妻（つま） /tsuma/ wife
*化粧（けしょう） /keshou/ makeup

かける is often used before the verb like 時間をかけて〜する, but we don't say 時間がかかって〜する. If it's specific time like 30 minutes, two weeks or a day, besides if you're talking about the past or what you have done, then you can say  かかって〜した.  It's usually used with やっと/ようやく/ついに, which means finally, at last or after all.

2時間(にじかん)かかってようやく書(か)き終(お)えた。
/ni jikan kakatte youyaku kaki oeta/
After all it took 2 hours to finish writing it.

*書（か）く /kaku/ to write
*終（お）える /oeru/ to get something done
---> 書（か）き終（お）える to finish writing

Let's get back on the track. As かける intends the subject's own will, 2a implies that his wife takes time as long as she wants, and it's very slow. If he says 時間がかかる like 2b, it implies he thinks it's too long and feels bothered.



3a) 一週間(いっしゅうかん)かけて作品(さくひん)を完成(かんせい)させた。
3b) 一週間(いっしゅうかん)かかって作品(さくひん)が完成(かんせい)した。

*作品（さくひん） /sakuhin/ art work
*完成（かんせい） /kansei/ completion, accomplishment
 -> 完成する to be finished or to be completed
 -> 完成させる to get something done, to complete or finish something

Okay, I'll give you a quiz. =)
There's an artist who's working on a large painting. He never  slack off on any works, and he always spends enough time until he's satisfied. Which sentence implies that he devoted himself to completing his work? 3a, or 3b?



That's all for today, thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave your comment ;-)

Let's start!

A few months ago, my father started to learn Chinese. He said he's really bad at studying and always got a terrible grade in a language class when he was a student (long long ages ago!!). So I introduced him a great teacher who can teach him step by step in a fun way, for free! Who's that? ...It's me!! XD


*Japanese Word of the Day*
外国語(がいこくご)の勉強(べんきょう)を始(はじ)めました。
/gaikokugo no benkyou wo hajime mashita/
I've started to learn a foreign language.

*外国語(がいこくご) /gaikokugo/ ＝ 外国(foreign country) + 語(language)
*勉強(べんきょう) /benkyou/ learning, study
―勉強する /benkyou suru/ to learn, to study
*始(はじ)める /hajimeru/ to start, to begin
I added ました(the past form of ます) to make the sentence polite.

I've featured this verb 始める before in this post.
ブログ(ぶろぐ)を始(はじ)めて1年(いちねん)になります。
Please look at the original post to see its translation and additional explanation. Now as you know, 始めて/hajimete/ is so-called te-form of 始める. Japanese verbs end with te(or de) when it connect to the following words. I'm not going to explain about grammar in detail, but I picked it up again because I want to tell you about a confusing word, 初(はじ)めて/hajimete/. And this was a question from Arman. Thank you Arman! :)

Both 始めて and 初めて are pronounced as /hajimete/, but they're totally different words. 始めて is a verb as I explained above, but 初めて is an adverb. It means "for the first time".

初(はじ)めてすしを食(た)べた感想(かんそう)は？
/hajimete sushi wo tabeta kansou wa/
How did you feel when you first ate Sushi?

初(はじ)めて彼(かれ)が笑(わら)っているのを見(み)た。
/hajimete kare ga waratteiru no wo mita/
I saw he lauging for the first time.

Speaking of which, "for the first time" cannot always be translated as 初めて. Please check out this post to see how we say it in Japanese.



Now I want to introduce another verb which is closely related to 始める. Let's see an example sentence to begin with.

もうすぐ新学期(しんがっき)が始(はじ)まる。
/mousugu shingakki ga hajimaru/
The new semester will start soon.
*もうすぐ /mousugu/ soon, before long
*新学期（しんがっき）new semester
*始(はじ)まる /hajimaru/ to start, to begin

It's confusing, I know. 始める and 始める, and they're both translated as "to start" in English. Though we never say 勉強を始まる or 新学期が始める. What's the difference?

These verbs are usually explained as (1)transitive verbs and (2)intransitive verbs. Well, I won't (can't!) give you a detailed grammatical explanation but you'll find a lot of website and Youtube videos if you want to know more about it. :P

I give you some example sentences and its simple explanation!


(1)transitive verb ―勉強を始める
It is a verb which has an object. を is a particular which comes after the object.
ドア(どあ)を開(あ)ける /doa wo akeru/ open the door
予定(よてい)を決(き)める /yotei wo kimeru/ decide the plan
成績(せいせき)を上(あ)げる /seiseki wo ageru/ improve the grade
声(こえ)を出(だ)す /koe wo dasu/ utter a voice
All of these sentences omit the subjects, but it's talking about the action what the subject does.


(2)intransitive verb ―新学期が始まる
It just describes a situation. It usually implies that the occurance or movement is not intended.
ドア(どあ)が開(あ)く /doa ga aku/
―The door opens but the one who opens the door isn't the speaker, or the speaker doesn't intend to open the door but it does.
予定(よてい)が決(き)まる /yotei ga kimaru/
―It doesn't matter who decided the plan but the speaker is talking about what happened on the plan.
成績(せいせき)が上(あ)がる /seiseki ga agaru/
声(こえ)が出(で)る /koe ga deru/
―This sentence implies that the voice comes out without intention.


Let's recap the point:
- A transitive verb has an object, and the particular を is following after the object. It's talking about the action.
- An intransitive verb sometimes imply that it happened by itself or it's not intended by the speaker. It's talking about the situation.

transitive verb	intransitive verb
（〜を）始める	始まる
（〜を）開ける	開く
（〜を）決める	決まる
（〜を）上げる	上がる
（〜を）出す	出る

<< Quiz >>
Let's say that you're a teacher and going to start the class. Which sentence is correct?
1) 授業(じゅぎょう)を始(はじ)める。
2) 授業(じゅぎょう)が始(はじ)まる。
*授業 /jugyou/ class, lesson
Incidentally, from students' point of view, which sentence is more appropriate?


You're watching a movie and it was so heart warming that impressed you a lot. You found that a tear's running down your cheek. Which sentence is more appropreate?
1) 涙(なみだ)を出した。
2) 涙(なみだ)が出た。
*涙 /namida/ tears
*出した(past form)＝出す // 出た(past form)＝出る



That's all for today! If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment! Thank you for reading. :)

Never Stand Someone Up!!

Do you think you are forgetful?

I am a very forgetful person, indeed. I usually write a memo so as not to miss appointments, but the other day I even forgot to review the memo and I stood my friend up! X( I feel bad. I should have set a reminder.

*Japanese Word of the Day*

約束（やくそく）をすっぽかしてしまった。

/yakusoku wo suppokashite shimatta/

*約束(やくそく) /yakusoku/ an appointment, an agreement, a promise

*すっぽかす /suppokasu/ to blow someone off, to stand someone up, to miss an appointment

―すっぽかされる is its passive form

*しまった /shimatta/ is the past form of しまう /shimau/

We add this word after verbs to show that we did something bad or cannot help doing things that actually we shouldn't have done.

あの人(ひと)の顔(かお)を見(み)ると笑(わら)ってしまう。

/ano hito no kao wo miruto waratte shimau/

(I know I shouldn't but) I can't help laughing when I see that person.

水(みず)をこぼしてしまった。

/mizu wo koboshite shimatta/

(I feel bad because) I spilled water.

So you can indicate that you feel bad by adding しまう/しまった after the verb!

Here's one more expression which means "to get stood up", すっぽかされる;

待(ま)ちぼうけを食(く)らう or 待ちぼうけを食う

/machibouke wo kurau/ or /machibouke wo kuu/

Speaking of which, it was a heavy snowy day when I got stood up by my boyfriend. I was waiting outside in snow for an hour... Did he finally show up or did I give up waiting and left? I don't remember.

雪(ゆき)の中(なか)、1時間(いちじかん)待ちぼうけを食(く)らった。

/yuki no naka, ichi jikan no machibouke wo kuratta/

I got stood up for an hour in snow.

Have you ever got stood up?

That's all for today. Be careful not to miss any appointments! (I will!) Thank you for reading and please feel free to leave your comment. :)

Don't see my feet!!

Well, when did I write my blog last time? July 1st? I have been slacking off for a month...

The reader might have been gone away. :'( I wish you guys will come and read my blog again.

It's not an excuse but I really haven't been feeling well these months. Now I feel better, so I'd like to start learning languages which I've held off for a while: Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, Persian and English.

I just found Pontia's blog My Persian Courner has updated. Her blog introduces Persian culture, language and beautiful places in Iran. She also shares some Persian musics with its lyrics and English translations. I love it! :)

Today I learned a new word from her latest post which means something is more expensive than it should be. (Visit her blog if you want to know how to say it in Persian!) In Japanese, we say it as ぼったくり /bottakuri/.

それって、ぼったくりじゃない？

/sorette bottakuri ja nai?/

Isn't it a rip-off?

Here's one more expression which is related to this word.

足元（あしもと）を見（み）る

/ashimoto wo miru/

足(あし)/ashi/ means "leg" or "foot", and the meaning of 足元（あしもと）/ashimoto/ ranges over "step" and "underfoot". 見（み）る /miru/ is a verb "to see" or "to watch". So it literally means "to see one's feet".

If I said 足元を見られた, it means that I was taken advantage of my helpless condition. Let's say I was walking on my way home from shopping. I carried a big shopping bag full of fruit and vegetables but I was still a long way from home. I was exhausted but there was hardly any taxi. Fortunately, I found a taxi and hailed it. The taxi driver said it's 3000 yen, but I (and the driver) knew it was much more expensive than it should be. But I had no choice but to accept it because I was too tired to walk home. The driver "saw my feet".

Have you ever had 足元を見られた experience?

That's all for today! thank you for reading and feel free to leave your comment! :)

Feeling Sluggish in Summer

I found an interesting video on Youtube! :D

I don't feel like doing anything because of the summer heat... *sigh* Actually, I'm still 体調が悪い these days. Well, but I have to cheer myself up!



*Japanese Word of the Day*
夏（なつ）バテで、体（からだ）がだるい。
/natsubate de karada ga darui/
The summer heat got me feel sluggish and unenergetic.

*夏バテ /natsubate/ suffering from the summer heat, getting exhausted from summer heat

Do you feel unenergetic, tired and worn out during summer? Or if you're losing your appetite because of the summer heat, that must be 夏バテ!!

夏 /natsu/ summer + バテる/bateru/ (to be worn out) = 夏バテ

*体 /karada/ body

*だるい /darui/ to feel sluggish, to feel heavy



That's all for today! Thank you for reading!

Something's wrong with...?

I think summer is the coldest season in Taiwan. It's indeed boiling hot outside, BUT, once you get on a bus or train, you will understand what I mean. It's freezing cold!!! Guess what will happen if you're exposed to the extreme temperature swings everyday? Well, I feel sick...

So, today I'm going to tell you about how to say "not feeling well" in Japanese.
These are the 3 most common expressions.

(1) 具合(ぐあい)が悪(わる)い。/guai ga warui/

(2) 調子(ちょうし)が悪い。/choushi ga warui/

(3) 体調(たいちょう)が悪い。/taichou ga warui/

All these phrases can be translated as "I'm not feeling well". Let's see their nuances of meaning.



(1) 具合 and 調子 can also be used for machines but 体調 can't.

体調 is only used when we talk about health or body condition, as it has 体 (=body) in its word. 調 of 体調 is of 調子, which simply means "condition".

体調　＝　体（body）＋　調子（condition）


(2) We use 調子 when we're talking about its performance.

Then what's the difference between 具合 and 調子? It's just my opinion, but I guess 調子 also means "performance" as well. I couldn't find the dictionary which says it means "performance", though.

Let's say, you are good at playing tennis. One day you're palying with your friend but you can't play as good as you usually do. Your friend would ask you:

どうしたの？今日(きょう)は調子(ちょうし)が悪(わる)いね。
/doushita no? kyou wa choushi ga warui ne/
What's wrong? You are not yourself today.

Since he's talking about your performance, it can't be 具合 in this case.

Or, if you play very well in your match, your tennis coach would say:
その調子(ちょうし)！！
/sono choushi/
Way to go!!

You cannot say その具合(ぐあい). It sounds very strange.


(3) 具合 sees its condition. 

It basically means "condition". We often use it with other verbs.

仕事(しごと)の進(すす)み具合(ぐあい)はどう？
/shigoto no susumi guai wa dou/
How's your work coming along?
進む（go ahead）＋ 具合 ＝ how it goes, the degree of progress

肉(にく)の焼(や)け具合(ぐあい)がちょうどいい。
/niku no yake guai ga choudo ii/
The meat cooked just right.
焼く（grill, bake, fire, roast）＋ 具合 ＝ how it cooked, the degree of doneness
You can also say いい具合(ぐあい)に焼けている。


具合(ぐあい)がいい / 具合(ぐあい)が悪い also mean "convenient / inconvenient".
今(いま)その話(はなし)をされると具合(ぐあい)が悪(わる)い。
/ima sono hanashi wo sareru to guai ga warui/
It's inconvenient for me to talk about it right now.

I think the key of the meaning of 具合 would be 合 (=to fit, to suit, to adjust, to match). 具合が悪い indicates that it doesn't fit what you want. You don't feel as well as you usually do. Or the schedule dosen't suit you.



Well, that's all for today. Thank you for reading!