血も涙もない

This is maybe the most frustrating aspect of studying kanji. You start learning 山 as やま. Cool, one kanji memorized. Wait… it can also be read as さん.

Wait. All your other kanji have 2 or 4 extra readings too! Some are on'yomi. Some are kun'yomi.

Why does this have to be so complicated?!

It may seem confusing at first, but if you learn the difference between on'yomi/kun'yomi readings, where they came from, and how they work, we promise it will make learning kanji a lot easier.

Listen to this kanji-tastic episode where Kristen explains all this and more. When you’re breezing through kanji like a pro, you’ll be glad you did.

Kanji version of words usually written in hiragana

While these words are usually written in hiragana, sometimes you’ll see them written in kanji instead, so learning to at least recognize them is pretty helpful. Trust me on this, I got confused by 沢山 way too many times already haha

有難う（ありがとう）ー thank you 幾つ（いくつ）ー how many 流石（さすが）ー as one would expect 更に（さらに）ー furthermore, again, after all 既に（すでに）ー already 沢山（たくさん）ー a lot 丁度（ちょうど）ー just, exactly, precisely 出来る（できる）ー to be able 尚（なお）ー furthermore, still, yet 何故（なぜ）ー why 等（など）ー et cetera 程（ほど）ー degree, extent, approximately 然し（しかし）ー however 居る（いる）ー to be (people, animals) 有る（ある）ー to be (things) 恐らく（おそらく）ー probably, likely 下さい（ください）ー please (give me, do for me) 只（ただ）ー only,  just; free of charge 及び（および）ー and, as well as

熟字訓 Jukujikun

I’ve made a post on this before, but these are words that have pronunciations that don’t line up with the readings of the kanji they use. 

明日「あす」　Tomorrow (formal)

大人「おとな」 Adult

母さん「かあさん」  Mother

父さん「とうさん」Father

兄さん「にいさん」Older brother

姉さん「ねえさん」 Older sister

河原「かわら」River bed

昨日「きのう」 Yesterday

今日「きょう」Today

果物「くだもの」 Fruit

今朝「けさ」 This morning

景色「けしき」Scenery

今年「ことし」 This year

清水「しみず」Spring water (also used as a surname)

上手「じょうず」skillful

下手「へた」unskilled

七夕「たなばた」 Star Festival

一日「ついたち」 First day of the month

時計「とけい」Watch

博士「はかせ」Doctor (PHD)

二十日「はつか」Twentieth day

二十歳　「はたち」Twenty years old

一人「ひとり」 One person

二人「ふたり」 Two people

二日「ふつか」 Second day, two days

部屋「へや」Room

迷子「まいご」Lost child

真面目「まじめ」Diligent

真っ赤「まっか」Bright red

真っ青「まっさお」Deep blue

眼鏡「めがね」Glasses

八百屋「やおや」Greengrocer

可愛い　「かわいい」Cute

お土産　「おみやげ」Souvenir

小豆　「あずき」Adzuki beans

白髪　「しらが」White/grey hair

田舎　「いなか」Rural

五月雨　「さみだれ」 Early summer rain

足袋　「たび」Japanese-style socks

煙草　「たばこ」Tobacco (from dutch)

馴鹿　「となかい」Reindeer (from Ainu)

My Japanese supplies

These are my favorite books, textbooks and supplies in general for studying Japanese. Sorry if it’ s a big post.

These are my textbooks. The Genki II and its workbook are good for practicing but they have many group activities which suck if you study on your own. The tobira is really good, it has many reading activities and cultural notes but it’s a bit more advanced.  For the living language books, I’d say the advanced one is more intermediate but they’re good for practicing and learning vocabulary.

These are my dictionaries. Tbh, I don’ t like the essential kanji dictionary, I don’t find it useful. The Japanese Verbs is a really good book, it has all the conjugations and examples and it explains them to you. The picture dictionary is a really fun way to learn more vocabulary.

These are my readings books. The ones about the cat are really easy to read, the folktales one is a bit harder but still very entertaining and Read real Japanese is more difficult but enjoyable. 

These are the notebooks I use.I use 5mm notebooks for repeating kanji and a normal notebook f everything else.

These are some extra books that are useful for improving your Japanese and sounding more fluent. 

And at last but not least, I use a lot of flashcards for writing every new kanji I learn. If you have any questions just ask! ❤️

German Vocabulary: Die Stadt - The City

Picture: Town hall square and Alster lake, Hamburg, Germany.

Die Stadt (f) - The city

das Gebäude (n) - the building

die Straße (f) - the street

der Bürgersteig (m) / das Trottoir (n) (Switzerland & Austria) -  the pavement

das Hochhaus (n) - the tower/high-rise building 

der Wolkenkratzer (m) - the skyscraper

die Ampel (f) - the traffic light

das Verkehrsschild (n) - the traffic sign

das Auto (n) - the car

der Bus (m) - bus 

die Bushaltestelle (f)  - the bus stop

der Zug (m) - the train

die Bahn (f) - the train (less formal)

der Bahnhof (m) - the train station

der Zebrastreifen (m) / der Schutzweg (m) (Austria) / der Fussgängerstreifen (m) (Switzerland) - the crosswalk

das Taxi (n) - the taxi 

das Fahrrad (n) - the bicycle

das Krankenhaus (n) / das Spital (n) (Switzerland & Austria) - the hospital

die Gasse (f) - the alleyway 

die Kreuzung (f)  - the crossing

die Garage (f) - the garage

der Parkplatz (m) - the parking space/parking lot

das Parkhaus (n) - the multi-story car park

das Rathaus (n) - town hall

der Verkehr (m) - the traffic

das Haus (n) - the house

der Platz (m) - the square

die Apotheke (f) - the pharmacy

das Kino (n) - the cinema

Die Post (f) / Das Postamt (n) - the post office

das Hotel (n) - the hotel

das Restaurant (n) - the restaurant

die Bank (f) - the bank 

die Schule (f) - the school

die Universität (f) - the university

der Flughafen (m) - the airport

das Stadion (n) - the stadium

der Park (m) - the park

der Spielplatz (m) - the playground

der Kindergarten (m) - the kindergarten

der Fluss (m) - the river

der Hafen (m) - the harbor/port

die Philharmonie (f) - the philharmonic

die Oper (f) - the opera

das Theater (n) - the theater

die Kirche (f) - the church 

die Kathedrale (f) / der Dom (m) - the cathedral

Die Moschee (f) - the Mosque

Die Synagoge (f) - the Synagogue

Do one thing today that moves you one step closer to your goal!

Japanese Music Vocabulary ・音楽についての単語

I re-watched my favorite anime, Nodame Cantabile. The feels and obsession are real, like the heaps of music-themed vocabulary I learned from it! Here you are! EVERYONE, WATCH NODAME CANTABILE, I AM SERIOUS!  (のだめカンタービレ)

「楽しい音楽の時間だ」

The nice thing about music vocabulary is that there are some Kanji that keep appearing again and again, making the words easier to remember (the readings)

General Stuff

音楽・おんがく・music

弾く・ひく・to play (an instrument)

楽器・がっき・Instrument

楽譜・がくふ・sheet music

クラシック・classical music

演奏・えんそう・performance

演奏旅行・えんそうりょこう・tour

手中・しゅちゅう・concentration

奏法・そうほう・way of performing, playing

公演・こうえん・performance

Some instruments

ピアノ・piano

バイオリン・violin

オボエ・oboe

ティンパニ・tinpani

ファゴット・fagott

トランペット・trumpet

フルート・flute

ギター・guitar

チェロ・cello

コントラバス・contrabass

ビオラ・viola

ピッコロ・piccolo

ドラム・drum

マンドリン・mandolin

Compositions

作曲・さっきょく・composition (also a する verb)

楽曲・がっきょく・composition

器楽曲・きがくきょく・instrumental piece

練習曲・れんしゅうきょく・étude

交響曲・こうきょうきょく・symphony

協奏曲・きょうそうきょく・concerto (eg. ピアノ協奏曲 piano concerto)

狂奏曲・きょうそうきょく(yes, the same as in concerto)・rhapsody

曲名・きょくめい・title 

Artists and Ensembles

音楽家・おんがくか・musician

奏者・そうしゃ・player, musician

指揮者・しきしゃ・conductor

デュエット・duet

室内楽・しつないがく・chamber music

オーケストラ・orchestra

Music Theory

音楽理論・おんがくりろん・music theory

器楽・きがく・instrumental

長調・ちょうちょう・major key

短調・たんちょう・minor key

和音・わおん・accord

協和音・きょうわおん・consonant accord

不協和音・ふきょうわおん・dissonant accord

小節・こぶし・measure

音符・おんぷ・note

休符・きゅうふ・rest, pause (playing)

絶対音感・ぜったいおんかん・perfect pitch

楽想・がくそう・theme

作品・さくひん・opus number (e.g. 作品18 - op. 18)

楽章・がくしょう・movement (e.g. 第1楽章 - first movement)

Hi! 

I’m really getting into the autumn/winter spirit right now so I thought I’d suggest a little study challenge for October! You can find the prompts below.

Some notes:

tag your posts with #octoberstudychallenge so i can see them! 

You don’t have to participate each day, and you can join later if you want.

Post what you like! Masterposts, pictures, text posts… The prompts are open for interpretation and a little tweaking.

Please reblog this post so more people can see it. :) 

Prompts: 

1. Hello October 2. Weekly Tasks 3. Handwritten 4. Productivity 5. Study Spaces 6. Late Nights 7. Autumn Feels  8. Outdoors 9. To Do List 10. Languages 11. Planning 12. Stationery 13. Friday the 13th 14. Warming Up 15. My Studyblr Story 16. Exams  17. Study Snacks 18. Organising and Planning 19. Arts and Doodles 20. Time Management 21. Take a Break 22. Long-Term Goals 23. Early Mornings 24. Note Taking 25. Music 26. Inspiration 27. Favourites 28. Cosy Vibes 29. Self-Care 30. Motivation 31. Trick or Treat!

I’m looking forward to seeing your posts! I will participate as well! :)