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Showing posts with label - Japanese vocabulary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label - Japanese vocabulary. Show all posts

Sep 8, 2018

September 08, 2018

Country names in Japanese


In this article, let's check the country names in Japanese!




What is your country called in Japanese?


After you remember what your country is called in Japanese, please remember how to introduce your country:
How to introduce yourself in Japanese - I am from ... >>



In Japanese, Katakana is basically used for country names, because they are loan-words from foreign countries.
For further information, please check this:
When should we use Katakana? - Loan-words from foreign countries >>


Also, if you still don't remember all the Katakana, please check this:

  Katakana chart >>


After you remember all the Katakana characters, please use this to confirm your memory of Katakana:

  Katakana quiz >>




Below is the list of the country names in Japanese!


EnglishKatakana
Hiragana
Romaji
Afghanistanアフガニスタンa fu ga ni su ta n
Albaniaアルバニアa ru ba ni a
Algeriaアルジェリアa ru je ri a
Andorraアンドラa n do ra
Angolaアンゴラa n go ra
Antigua and Barbudaアンティグア・バブーダa n tei gu a
ba bu da
Argentinaアルゼンチンa ru ze n ch i n
Armeniaアルメニアa ru me ni a
Australiaオーストラリアo su to ra ri a
Austriaオーストリアo su to ri a
Azerbaijanアゼルバイジャンa ze ru ba i ja n
Bahamasバハマba ha ma
Bahrainバーレーンba re n
Bangladeshバングラデシュba n gu ra de shu
Barbadosバルバドスba ru ba do su
Belarusベラルーシbe ra ru shi
Belgiumベルギーbe ru gi
Belizeベリーズbe ri zu
Beninベナンbe na n
Bhutanブータンbu ta n
Boliviaボリビアbo ri bi a
Bosnia and Herzegovinaボスニア・ヘルツェゴビナbo su ni a
he ru tsu e go bi na
Botswanaボツワナbo tsu wa na
Brazilブラジルbu ra ji ru
Brunei Darussalamブルネイbu ru ne i
Bulgariaブルガリアbu ru ga ri a
Burkina Fasoブルキナファソbu ru ki na fa so
Burundiブルンジbu ru n ji
Cambodiaカンボジアka m bo ji a
Cameroonカメルーンka me ru n
Canadaカナダka na da
Cape Verdeカーボベルデka bo be ru de
Central African Republicちゅうおうアフリカきょうわこくchu o a fu ri ka kyo wa ko ku
Chadチャドcha do
Chileチリchi ri
Chinaちゅうごくchu go ku
Colombiaコロンビアko ro m bi a
Comorosコモロko mo ro
Congo (Republic of the)コンゴko n go
Costa Ricaコスタリカko su ta ri ka
Cote d'Ivoireコートジボワールko to ji bo wa ru
Croatiaクロアチアku ro a chi a
Cubaキューバkyu ba
Cyprusキプロスki pu ro su
Czech Republicチェコche ko
North Koreaきたちょうせんki ta cho se n
Democratic Republic of the Congoコンゴko n go
Denmarkデンマークde m ma ku
Djiboutiジブチji bu chi
Dominicaドミニカdo mi ni ka
Dominican Republicドミニカきょうわこくdo mi ni ka kyo wa ko ku
Ecuadorエクアドルe ku a do ru
Egyptエジプトe ji pu to
El Salvadorエルサルバドルe ru sa ru ba do ru
Equatorial Guineaせきどうギニアse ki do gi ni a
Eritreaエリトリアe ri to ri a
Estoniaエストニアe su to ni a
Ethiopiaエチオピアe chi o pi a
Fijiフィジーfui ji
Finlandフィンランドfui n ra n do
Franceフランスfu ra n su
Gabonガボンga bo n
Gambiaガンビアga m bi a
Georgiaグルジアgu ru ji a
Germanyドイツdo i tsu
Ghanaガーナga na
Greeceギリシャgi ri sha
Grenadaグレナダgu re na da
Guatemalaグアテマラgu a te ma ra
Guineaギニアgi ni a
Guinea-Bissauギニアビサウgi ni a bi sa u
Guyanaガイアナga i a na
Haitiハイチha i chi
Hondurasホンジュラスho n ju ra su
Hungaryハンガリーha n ga ri
Icelandアイスランドa i su ra n do
Indiaインドi n do
Indonesiaインドネシアi n do ne shi a
Iranイランi ra n
Iraqイラクi ra ku
Irelandアイルランドa i ru ra n do
Israelイスラエルi su ra e ru
Italyイタリアi ta ri a
Jamaicaジャマイカja ma i ka
Japanにほんni ho n
Jordanヨルダンyo ru da n
Kazakhstanカザフスタンka za fu su ta n
Kenyaケニアke ni a
Kiribatiキリバスki ri ba su
Kuwaitクウェートku e to
Kyrgyzstanキルギスタンki ru gi su ta n
Lao People's Democratic Republicラオスra o su
Latviaラトビアra to bi a
Lebanonレバノンre ba no n
Lesothoレソトre so to
Liberiaリベリアri be ri a
Libyaリビアri bi a
Liechtensteinリヒテンシュタインri hi te n shu ta i n
Lithuaniaリトアニアri to a ni a
Luxembourgルクセンブルクru ku se m bu ru ku
Madagascarマダガスカルma da ga su ka ru
Malawiマラウィma ra u i
Malaysiaマレーシアma re shi a
Maldivesモルディブmo ru di bu
Maliマリma ri
Maltaマルタma ru ta
Marshall Islandsマーシャルしょとうma sha ru sho to
Mauritaniaモーリタニアmo ri ta ni a
Mauritiusモーリシャスmo ri sha su
Mexicoメキシコme ki shi ko
(Federated States of) Micronesiaミクロネシアれんぽうmi ku ro ne shi a re m po
Monacoモナコmo na ko
Mongoliaモンゴルmo n go ru
Montenegroモンテネグロmo n te ne gu ro
Moroccoモロッコmo ro k ko
Mozambiqueモザンビークmo za m bi ku
Myanmarミャンマーmya m ma
Namibiaナミビアna mi bi a
Nauruナウルna u ru
Nepalネパールne pa ru
Netherlandsオランダo ra n da
New Zealandニュージーランドnyu ji ra n do
Nicaraguaニカラグアni ka ra gu a
Nigerニジェールni je ru
Nigeriaナイジェリアna i je ri a
Norwayノルウェーno ru e
Omanオマーンo ma n
Pakistanパキスタンpa ki su ta n
Palauパラオpa ra o
Panamaパナマpa na ma
Papua New Guineaパプア・ニューギニアpa pu a
nyu gi ni a
Paraguayパラグアイpa ra gu a i
Peruペルーpe ru
Philippinesフィリピンfi ri pi n
Polandポーランドpo ra n do
Portugalポルトガルpo ru to ga ru
Qatarカタールka ta ru
Republic of Koreaかんこくka n ko ku
Republic of Moldovaモルドバmo ru do ba
Romaniaルーマニアru ma ni a
Russian Federationロシアro shi a
Rwandaルワンダru wa n da
Saint Kitts and Nevisセントクリストファー・ネイビスse n to ku ri su to fa
ne i bi su
Saint Luciaセントルシアse n to ru shi a
Saint Vincent and the Grenadinesセントビンセントおよびグレナディーンしょとうse n to bi n se n to o yo bi gu re na di n sho to
Samoaサモアsa mo a
San Marinoサンマリノsa m ma ri no
Sao Tome and Principeサントメ・プリンシペsa n to me
pu ri n shi pe
Saudi Arabiaサウジアラビアsa u ji a ra bi a
Senegalセネガルse ne ga ru
Serbiaセルビアse ru bi a
Seychellesセイシェルse i shi e ru
Sierra Leoneシエラレオネshi e ra re o ne
Singaporeシンガポールshi n ga po ru
Slovakiaスロバキアsu ro ba ki a
Sloveniaスロベニアsu ro be ni a
Solomon Islandsソロモンしょとうso ro mo n sho to
Somaliaソマリアso ma ri a
South Africaみなみアフリカmi na mi a fu ri ka
South Sudanみなみスーダンmi na mi su dan
Spainスペインsu pe i n
Sri Lankaスリランカsu ri ra n ka
Sudanスーダンsu da n
Surinameスリナムsu ri na mu
Swazilandスワジランドsu wa ji ra n do
Swedenスウェーデンsu e de n
Switzerlandスイスsu i su
Syriaシリアshi ri a
Tajikistanタジキスタンta ji ki su ta n
Thailandタイta i
The formar Yugoslav Republic of Macedoniaマケドニア・きゅうユーゴスラビアきょうわこくma ke do ni a
kyu yu go su ra bi a kyo wa ko ku
Timor Lesteひがしティモールhi ga shi te i mo ru
Togoトーゴto go
Tongaトンガto n ga
Trinidad and Tobagoトリニダード・トバゴto ri ni da do
to ba go
Tunisiaチュニジアchu ni ji a
Turkeyトルコto ru ko
Turkmenistanトルクメニスタンto ru ku me ni su ta n
Tuvaluツバルtsu ba ru
Ugandaウガンダu ga n da
Ukraineウクライナu ku ra i na
United Arab Emiratesアラブしゅちょうこくれんぽうa ra bu shu cho ko ku re m po
United Kingdomイギリスi gi ri su
United of Republic of Tanzaniaタンザニアta n za ni a
United Statesアメリカa me ri ka
Uruguayウルグアイu ru gu a i
Uzbekistanウズベキスタンu zu be ki su ta n
Vanuatuバヌアツba nu a tsu
Venezuelaベネズエラbe ne zu e ra
Vietnamベトナムbe to na mu
Yemenイエメンi e me n
Zambiaザンビアza m bi a
Zimbabweジンバブエji m ba bu e


Sep 6, 2018

September 06, 2018

Fast and Slow in Japanese


In this article, let's study about how to say Fast and Slow in Japanese!


In addition to that, I would like to explain about Early and Late in Japanese.


In Japanese, Early and Late are very similar to Fast and Slow!


Please choose an item from the index below!






1. Summary table

Below is the summary of this article!


EnglishJapaneseRomajiKanji
fastはやいha ya i速い
earlyはやいha ya i早い
slowおそいo so i遅い
lateおそいo so i遅い

If you still don't remember all Hiragana, please check these:

If you want to test your memory of Hiragana, please use this:

If you don't know what Romaji is, please check this:



They are all adjectives.

If you study Japanese, you will see many words where the last character is "い(i)", like "はやい(hayai)" and "おそい(osoi)".

In most cases, they are adjectives.

They are the words describing the status of nouns.

If you want to check other adjectives, please check these:


(You don't need to care about the name "adjective" so much here.)

In this article, we will study adjectives to describe the speed of a noun.






In English, Fast and Early are different words.

In Japanese, they are also different words.

However, they sound the same.


But their Kanji characters are different.


EnglishJapaneseRomajiKanji
fastはやいha ya i速い
earlyはやいha ya i早い

As you can see from the table, the Hiragana is the same.

However, only the Kanji is different!




Let's check the examples!


1.
shi n ka n se n wa ha ya i de su


     Meaning :  "The bullet train is fast."
     
しんかんせん bullet train


If you don't know why "は(wa)" makes the sound "wa" instead of "ha", please check this:

If you don't know what "です" is, please check this:
  です(desu) >>


In this example, "はやい(hayai)" is used.

If we write this "はやい(hayai)" in Kanji, it is "速い".

If you are talking about the speed, the Kanji, "速い" is used.


2.
go ze n yo ji wa ha ya i de su


     Meaning :  "4 A.M. is early."
     
ごぜん4じ 4 A.M.


If you want to know more about how to say 4 A.M. in Japanese, please check this:
  Time of the day >>

If you don't know how to count number in Japanese, please check this:



In this example, "はやい(hayai)" is used.

If we write this "はやい(hayai)" in Kanji, it is "早い".

If you are talking about the time, the Kanji, "早い" is used.





3. Slow and Late

In English, Slow and Late are different words.

However, if we translate them into Japanese, they are the same word.

slowおそいo so i遅い
lateおそいo so i遅い

Both Slow and Late are "おそい(osoi)" in Japanese.

In the case of "はやい(hayai)", we need to be careful when we write it in Kanji.

However, in the case of "おそい(osoi)", the Kanji is also the same.



Isn't it easy?

Let's check the examples!


1. しゃ
ji n ri ki sha wa o so i de su


     Meaning :  "The rickshaw is slow."
     
じんりきしゃ rickshaw


In this example, "おそい(osoi)" is used.

Even if you want to write it in Kanji, you can just write "遅い".

You don't need to care whether it is about speed or time.


2. 11
go go ju u i chi ji wa o so i de su


     Meaning :  "11 P.M. is late."
     
ごご11じ 11 P.M.


In this example, "おそい(osoi)" is used, too.

Kanji is also the same as in the previous example.

It is "遅い".



Like above, both Slow and Late are "おそい(osoi)" in Japanese.



4. Conclusion

Please just remember the table blow!

You can remember Fast and Early are almost the same in Japanese.

Slow and Late are completely the same in Japanese.

Only when you write Fast and Early in Kanji, you should be careful!


EnglishJapaneseRomajiKanji
fastはやいha ya i速い
earlyはやいha ya i早い
slowおそいo so i遅い
lateおそいo so i遅い


Do you remember?



I hope this article helps you study Japanese!
Thank you for reading!



Aug 28, 2018

August 28, 2018

Tall and Short in Japanese


Hello. I'm Kosuke!


In this article, let's study how to say Tall and Short in Japanese!


In English, we can say "Tall" for both people and buildings.

In Japanese, they are a little different...


I recommend you to check the video below before reading this article!



Below is the index of this article!





1. Summary table

Before discussing details of Tall and Short, let's check the overview regarding them!


Tall and Short:

EnglishJapaneseRomajiKanji
tall
(person)
せがたかいse ga ta ka i背が高い
tall
(object)
building
mountain
たかいta ka i高い
short
(person)
せがひくいse ga hi ku i背が低い
short
(object)
ひくいhi ku i低い

If you still don't remember Hiragana chart, please check this:

If you want to test your memory of Hiragana, please use this:

If you don't know what Romaji is, please check this:



Also, I will explain about other adjectives in this article!

I'll explain about the tables below:


High and Low:

EnglishJapaneseRomajiKanji
highたかいta ka i高い
lowひくいhi ku i低い

I will explain about High and Low below:



Long and Short:

EnglishJapaneseRomajiKanji
longながいna ga i長い
shortみじかいmi ji ka i短い

I will explain about Long and Short below:



They are all adjectives.

If you study Japanese, you will see many words where the last character is "い(i)", like "たかい(takai)", "ひくい(hikui)", "ながい(nagai)", and "みじかい(mijikai)".

In most cases, they are adjectives.

They are the words describing the status of nouns.

If you want to check other adjectives, please check these:

(You don't need to care about the name "adjective" so much here.)

In this article, we will study adjectives to describe the height of a noun.






Basically, "Tall" is "せがたかい(se ga takai)" in Japanese.

However, "せがたかい(se ga takai)" is an adjective used only for a person's stature.


If you want to say "tall building" or "tall mountain", just "たかい(takai)" is enough, instead of "せがたかい(se ga takai)".


EnglishJapaneseRomajiKanji
tall
(person)
せがたかいse ga ta ka i背が高い
tall
(object)
たかいta ka i高い


The phrase "せがたかい(se ga takai)" includes "たかい(takai)".


"せがたかい(se ga takai)" consists of "せ(se)", "が(ga)", and "たかい(takai)".


person's height,
(someone's) back

たかい high


If you don't know what "が" is, please check this:

Also, I will explain more about "たかい(takai)" in this article below:


So if we translate directly, the phrase "せがたかい(se ga takai)" means "Someone's height is high".

In Japanese, this is often used as "tall" for people.




Let's check the examples below!


1.
ta na ka sa n wa se ga ta ka i de su


     Meaning :  "Mr. Tanaka is tall."
     
たなか Tanaka
(person's name)
さん Mr., Ms.


If you want to know more about "さん(san)", please check this:

If you don't know why "は(wa)" makes the sound "wa" instead of "ha", please check this:

If you don't know what "です" is, please check this:


In this example, "せがたかい(se ga takai)" is used instead of "たかい(takai)" because たなかさん is a person.



2.
a no ta te mo no wa ta ka i de su


     Meaning :  "That building is tall."
     
あの that
たてもの building


In this example sentence, just "たかい(takai)" is used because the building is not a person.




Like the examples above, when we translate "tall" into Japanese, we need to care about whether it is a person or not.


If you speak about a tall person, "せがたかい(se ga takai)" should be used.

If you speak about other things, like buildings or mountains, just "たかい(takai)" is enough.






Just like "tall", when we translate "short" into Japanese, we also need to care about whether it is a person or not.

As we say "せがたかい(se ga takai)" for a tall person, we say "せがひくい(se ga hikui)" for a short person.

When we mention about low-rise buildings or short mountains, we just use "ひくい(hikui)".



By the way, in English, short has another meaning.
It is the opposite meaning of "long".

If you want to know about this usage of "short", please check this:



Regarding "Short" for height, please check the table below:

EnglishJapaneseRomajiKanji
short
(person)
せがひくいse ga hi ku i背が低い
short
(object)
ひくいhi ku i低い


The phrase "せがひくい(se ga hikui)" includes "ひくい(hikui)".

"せがひくい(se ga hikui)" consists of "せ(se)", "が(ga)", and "ひくい(hikui)".


person's height,
(someone's) back

ひくい low


Also, I will explain more about "ひくい(hikui)" in this article:


So if we translate directly, the phrase "せがひくい(se ga hikui)" means "Someone's height is low".

This sentence is often used as "short" for people in Japanese.




Let's check the examples below!


1.
sa su ke sa ma wa se ga hi ku i de su


     Meaning :  "Mr. Sasuke is short."
     
さすけ Sasuke
(person's name)
さま Mr., Ms.


"さま(sama)" is a similar word to "さん(san)".
If you want to know more about "さま(sama)", please check this:


In this example, "せがひくい(se ga hikui)" is used instead of "ひくい(hikui)" because さすけさま is a person.




2.
a no ya ma wa hi ku i de su


     Meaning :  "That mountain is short."
     
あの that
やま mountain


In this example sentence, just "ひくい(hikui)" is used because the mountain is not a person.




Like the examples above, when we translate "tall" or "short" into Japanese, we need to care about whether it is a person or not.


If you speak about a short person, "せがひくい(se ga hikui)" should be used.

If you speak about other things, like mountains, just "ひくい(hikui)" is enough.






When I explained about "tall" and "short" above, we learned "たかい(takai)" and "ひくい(hikui)".


EnglishJapaneseRomajiKanji
highたかいta ka i高い
lowひくいhi ku i低い


These are the words which can be used in general for something high or something low.


Let's check the examples below!

1.
ka ku ri tsu ga ta ka i


     Meaning :  "The probability is high. (high probabiliry)"
     
かくりつ probability



2.
ka ku ri tsu ga hi ku i


     Meaning :  "The probability is low. (low probabiliry)"



3.
ku ra i ga ta ka i


     Meaning :  "The ranking is high. (high ranking)"
     
くらい ranking



4.
ku ra i ga hi ku i


     Meaning :  "The ranking is low. (low ranking)"



Like the examples above, in Japanese, high is "たかい(takai)", and low is "ひくい(hikui)".




However, there is one thing you need to be careful when you use "たかい(takai)" and "ひくい(hikui)".


That is the case when you talk about the price of something.

In English, we can say "The price is high".

Just like that, we can say "ねだんがたかい(nedan ga takai)" in Japanese.
"ねだん" means "price".

It is the same as English.


However, we can't say "ねだんがひくい(nedan ga hikui)".

Maybe, native speakers can understand the meaning.
But it sounds strange.

If you want to say this, please say "ねだんがやすい(nedan ga yasui)".
"やすい(yasui)" means "cheap".



Just in cause, let's check the table for "high price" and "low price" in Japanese:

EnglishJapaneseRomajiKanji
expensiveたかいta ka i高い
cheepやすいya su i安い


When you talk about the price, please use "たかい(takai)" and "やすい(yasui)"!






I have already explained about Tall and Short above.

For an extra information, let's check the different way to use Short!


Long and Short:

EnglishJapaneseRomajiKanji
longながいna ga i長い
shortみじかいmi ji ka i短い


As we checked above, when you are talking about height, "せがひくい(se ga hikui)" is the proper translation for a short person.

However, when you are talking about length, "みじかい(mijikai)" is used.


Let's check the example sentences!


1.
shi p po ga na ga i de su


     Meaning :  "The tail is long."
     
しっぽ tail


2.
ko no ro pu wa mi ji ka i de su


     Meaning :  "This rope is short."
     
ロープ rope

If you don't remember the Katakana for "ロープ", please check this:

If you want to check your memory of Katakana, please use this:



Like the example sentences above, Long and Short are "ながい(nagai)" and "みじかい(mijikai)" in Japanese!






Anyway! Below is the important tables in this article!

Tall and Short:

EnglishJapaneseRomajiKanji
tall
(person)
せがたかいse ga ta ka i背が高い
tall
(object)
たかいta ka i高い
short
(person)
せがひくいse ga hi ku i背が低い
short
(object)
ひくいhi ku i低い


High and Low:

EnglishJapaneseRomajiKanji
highたかいta ka i高い
lowひくいhi ku i低い


Long and Short:

EnglishJapaneseRomajiKanji
longながいna ga i長い
shortみじかいmi ji ka i短い