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#beginners japanese
dokushoclub · 5 months
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Japanese Reading Resources for Absolute Beginners
A question I encounter often is "How much Japanese should I study before I can begin reading in Japanese?"
From my experience as a learner and reader myself and from managing a Japanese book club for other learners I can honestly say that you can start way earlier than you probably think!
There are many resources that only require knowing hiragana. Those texts usually teach vocabulary through pictures and only use basic grammar.
Some are even simpler than that: The Japan Foundation's Hiragana Books are great for those, who are still remembering hiragana characters. Every short book introduces only 1-2 new characters, so it's a great reading exercise for those who've just started.
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The free graded reader 「どうぞ、どうも」 by the NPO Tagengo Tadoku only uses the words 「どうぞ」 and 「どうも」 to write an entire story. Again, this makes for a great exercise in reading hiragana and understanding context. Another "level 0" recommendation by the same NPO would definitely be 「しろい?くろい?」. This book uses the full range of hiragana characters but the grammar is simple and all used vocabulary is illustrated.
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Another site with great resources for absolute beginners is Nihongo Tadoku Dōjō. If you have memorized both hiragana and katakana and know how the particles を and で work you will be able to read this text about stationary (ぶんぼうぐ) and understand everything by looking at the pictures!
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The resources linked so far can all be accessed completely free on the linked websites. If you have the money to spare, please also have a look at the box 「スタート」 from the series reberubetsu nihongo tadoku raiburarī published by the NPO Tagengo Tadoku and ASK (affiliate link). This box includes 8 little books in very simple Japanese.
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All these texts for absolute beginners will get you started reading in Japanese with very little knowledge of characters and vocabulary.
Reading in Japanese is a skill that requires practice. But once you get used to it, it can be such a valuable tool to reinforce new vocabulary and grammar. So please don't wait until you're "ready" before you start reading - start early at your own level!
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nordic-language-love · 4 months
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IRL Japanese 2: Things the kids I teach say all the time
If you're planning to work as an ESL teacher in Japan working with kids, this vocab is gonna be super useful for you! You'll pick up a lot as you go along, but it's good to have an overview from the start.
できた = done, finished (whenever they finish an exercise I've set them. The older kids will use the ます-form, but kids under like age 8 will use this one)
かえる?= is it time to go home? (lit: go home?)
わかった = got it (again, the older kids will use the ます-form)
わからない / わかんない = I don't get it (idk if わかんない is just dialect or if it's common overall, but I hear it more than わからない. Usually from the kids who don't wanna be there and are making zero effort)
ちがう = wrong / different (when they give an answer but realise it's not correct. It's basically like "wait, no")
ばか = idiot (sometimes boys say this to their friends)
全部?(ぜんぶ)= everything?! (asked in disbelief when I ask them to write more than one word)
やめろ = stop it! (used with friends when they're teasing each other)
いたいよ = that actually hurts, you know! (used with friends when they're rough-housing)
よし (more like 'yoshhh') = right then (filler word indicating the start of an activity or a change of activity)
水筒(すいとう)= water bottle (most kids bring one to class and frequently forget to take them with them when they go home)
忘れた(わすれた)= I forgot (usually in reference to the text book they left at home)
トイレに行きたい = I want to go to the bathroom
先生、大好き!(せんせい、だいすき!)= I love you, Sensei!
Other useful classroom/school vocabulary:
サイコロ = dice
トランプ = playing cards
ごろごろ = onomatopeia for the sound for rolling (I found the kids got confused if I just mimed rolling a dice/ball and said "roll!" but if I did the gesture and said "gorogoro", they understood)
ビリビリ = onomatopeia for ripping (useful for when you have tear-apart crafts in class)
ケシケシ = onomatopeia for erasing something (useful when you try to explain to a kid they spelled something wrong. Because it's easier to just say "A kesh-kesh, E" than "Not A, E. Okay great you wrote E, but A needs to go. No no no not the whole word, just A. Oh my God. Okay. Let me write it and you copy.")
ちょっと = a little, soon, wait a little (useful if the kids are getting a bit antsy and ready to go home a bit too early/don't want to wait their turn. Don't use it with parents though!)
がんばれ = do your best / you can do it!
あぶない!= dangerous / look out! (useful if a kid unexpectedly runs in front of me while I'm carrying a table)
せえの!= Altogether now! (When I need the kids to repeat something after me)
だめだよ = Don't do that (for when the kids repeatedly do something I've asked them not to do)
少々お待ちください(しょうしょう おまち ください)= polite form of "please wait a moment". Useful if you have a parent talking to you and you need to go get something (e.g. a communication sheet for them to point at so you know what they're trying to say)
授業参観 (じゅぎょうさんかん) = parent observation (PO). A couple of times a year, parents are invited into the classroom to watch the lesson (absolutely not a thing in the UK, not sure about other countries). The past two months I've had POs at my various schools, and so the parents come to the door and ask me if it's PO week. I don't understand most of the question, but I can pick out this one word and a question particle and figure out what they're asking.
It's also obviously a good idea to learn vocabulary related to stationery (eraser, pencil, crayon, pen, notebook, textbook, pencil case etc) because kids forget/lose their stuff all the time and will inevitably ask you if they can borrow something.
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Energy Explained in Other Systems
There is a lack of measurable evidence because any person that has worked with energies have had different experiences but were able to understand and manipulate energies according to their own will.
Energy has been used in many ways within culture and religion and have set beliefs depending on the system being practiced.
Next, are some given definitions defining energies within diverse philosophies.
Hindu = Prana
Chinese = Qi /Chi
Japanese =Ki
Greek = Pneuma
Hawaiian = Mana
Tibetan Buddhism = Lung
Hindu Philosophy
A Sanskrit word for "life force" or "vital principle" is often referred to as Prana. It is described as first coming down from the Sun and connecting all elements of the Universe. It has been invoked within the Hindu scriptures of the Vedas and Upanishads.
Prana is the belief of vitality surrounding all living beings. This energy is responsible for all bodily functions. There are five types of pranas, collectively known as the five vāyus.
1. Prāṇa:              Beating of the heart and breathing. Prana enters the body through the breath and is sent to every cell through the circulatory system.
2. Apāna:             Elimination of waste products from the body through the lungs and excretory systems.
3.Uḍāna:              Sound production through the vocal apparatus. It represents the conscious energy required to produce the vocal sounds corresponding to the intent.
4. Samāna:          Food digestions, repair or manufacture of new cells and growth, and heat regulations throughout the body.
5. Vyāna:             The energy that is needed for the body to have proper circulation, and the functions for the voluntary muscular system in which there is expansion and contraction processes throughout the body.
Chinese Philosophy
The earliest texts in which Qi or Chi is described was in 'Analects of Confucius' where it could mean "breath" and was combined with the Chinese word for blood.
Xue-qi, "blood and breath."
Living beings are born because of an accumulation of qi, and as the beings live out their lives the qi declines eventually resulting in death. This indicates that xue-qi referred to all living things, but it is believed that qi or chi exists within all things tangible.
For example, the wind is the qi or chi to the Earth, and the cosmic concepts of yin and yang are "the greatest of qi"
Yin and Yang which means "bright-dark," and "positive-negative" are the opposing forces needed in order to complement the concept of balance. There are thoughts that this duality symbolizes contradicting energy forces which manifest as light and dark, fire and water, expansion, and contraction. With this said, Chinese medicine states that the balance of negative and positive forms in the body are believed to be essential for overall satisfactory health.
Japanese Mythology
During the sixth and seventh centuries the Chinese word qi (or chi) was written using the same kanji script for their interpretation for energy being "Ki"
However, the meanings are a tad different.
While the Chinese use chi or qi to describe that energy exists in all things, animate and inanimate objects, the Japanese believe it is the creative flow and expressions used within our daily lives, martial arts, and symbolizes aspects of nature, and thusly the spirits. It is the transfer from living, animate beings in to inanimate which can change and manifest into various forms. It is the necessary intentions one wields.
Greek Mythology
Pneuma, "The breath of life" or "vital spirit" is composed of kinetic energies within the vessel, while Ignis is composed of thermal energies. All human beings need both kinetic and thermal energies in order to properly function.
In Greek medicine, pneuma is the form of circulation throughout the body's vital organs. Due to this the role, pneuma plays within the body to sustain consciousness. Some physiological theories suggest that the pneuma mediates between the heart, and the heart is regarded as the seat of the mind, and the brain.
In similar, Stoic philosophy, pneuma is the active and generative principles that are organized between the individual and the cosmos. The highest forms are the Gods, and the human soul. The human soul is believed to be fragments of the gods given life force in order to be born and given a vessel upon the physical plane. This exists within all animate and inanimate objects as energy transfers and changes.
Hawaiian Mythology
Mana, the spiritual energy of power and strength. This energy exists within places and people; however, it is said that mana is both external and internal concepts.
The Hawaiian people believe that individuals can gain mana or lose it depending on one's actions in everything that they do.
In mythology there were two ways to gain mana, and this was either done sexually or through violence.
To sexually gain mana one must invoke the god, Lono, deity of peace and fertility.
To gain mana through violence one must invoke the god Ku, deity of war and politics.
Tibetan Buddhism
Lung means the wind or breath. Exists as a key concept in Vajrayana traditions. Generally, it's concept relates to the understanding of the subtle body, and Three Vajras. Those three are the body, speech, and mind. Lung relates to the subtle flow of energy and the five elements. (Fire, Water, Earth, Space, and Air) Lung is mostly closely connected to the Air Element.
Lung has also been used to describe the winds or prana being used in conjunction with the subtle body during a time of exercise, but also more importantly everyday functions of the body and its own senses. There are five psychic winds which manifest into mahabhuta. These five relate to the lifeforce that animate the body-mind (namarupa) of all sentient beings.
The Five Root or Major Winds
The root winds support an element and is responsible for a function of the human body.
    The 'life-supporting wind' (Tib. སྲོག་འཛིན་རླུང་, sok dzin lung; Wyl. srog 'dzin rlung). Located in the brain, this lung regulates functions such as swallowing, inhalation, and concentration.
    The 'upward-moving wind' (Tib. གྱེན་རྒྱུ་རླུང་, gyengyu lung; Wyl. gyen rgyu rlung). Located in the chest and thorax, this lung regulates, among other things, speech, the body's energy and vitality, memory, mental endeavour and diligence.
    The 'all-pervading wind' (Tib. ཁྱབ་བྱེད་རླུང་, khyap ché lung; Wyl. khyab byed rlung). Residing in the heart, this lung controls all the motor activities of the body.
    The 'fire-accompanying wind' (Tib. མེ་མཉམ་གནས་རླུང་, me nyam né lung; Wyl. me mnyam gnas rlung). Found in the stomach and abdomen area, the fire-accompanying wind regulates digestion and metabolism.
    The 'downward-clearing wind' (Tib. ཐུར་སེལ་རླུང་, thursel lung; Wyl. thur sel rlung). Located in the rectum, bowels and perineal region, this lung's function is to expel faeces, urine, semen, and menstrual blood. It also regulates uterine contractions during labour.
The Five Branch Winds
The five branch winds enable the senses to operate.
    The naga wind (Tib.ཀླུའི་རླུང་, lu'i lung; Wyl. klu'i rlung). This lung connects with the eyes and sight.
    The tortoise wind (Tib. རུ་སྦལ་གྱི་་རླུང་, rubal gyi lung; Wyl. ru sbal gyi rlung). This wind connects with the heart and the sense of hearing.
    The lizard wind (Tib.རྩངས་པའི་རླུང་, tsangpé lung; Wyl. rtsangs pa'i rlung) associated with the nose and the sense of smell.
    The devadatta wind (Tib.ལྷས་བྱིན་གྱི་རླུང་, lhéjin gyi lung; Wyl. lhas byin gyi rlung) related to the sense of taste.
    The 'king of wealth deities' wind (Tib. ནོར་ལྷ་རྒྱལ་གྱི་རླུང་, nor lha gyal gyi lung; Wyl. nor lha rgyal gyi rlung). This wind connects with the body and the sense of touch.
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polyglot-thought · 22 days
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[Japanese→English] @panmaumau Tweet — Color Coded Translation
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何も知らない生き物の顔
なにもしらないいきもののかお
The face of a living thing that doesn’t know anything.
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Please correct me if I made a mistake
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peistudies · 1 year
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段々(だんだん) - Gradually, Little by little, Step by step
Can be thought of as meaning ‘step by step’, ‘stepwise’, or even ‘steadily’. だんだん is similar to ほとんど, in that it can modify the meaning of entire phrases, rather than just single words.
だんだん + (と) + Phrase
To use だんだん, simply put it before the phrase that you want to express as ‘(A) that is increasing steadily’.
*While だんだん can take the particle と, it is not required. In fact, と is very often omitted from adverbs/onomatopoeic words (words that represent a sound or motion) in Japanese.
*Don't mix it up with どんどん, which is essentially the antonym of だんだん. どんどん is an onomatopoeic word that represents loud banging (like on a drum), and is used to express fast changes/progression. 
だんだん雨が降ってきた。It is starting to rain. (Slow progression, does not imply great speed or severity)
どんどん雨が降ってきた。It is starting to rain. (Rapid progression, may imply great speed and/or severity)
友達が話している:「だんだんとあのやつの事が嫌いになってきていて、今は避けるようにしている。」 Chat between friends: "I gradually came to dislike that guy, and now I do my best to avoid him."
近所の人が話している:「来週からだんだん暖かくなるってニュースで言っていましたよ。」 Neighbors talking: "The news said that it will gradually get warmer from next week."
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hisui-dreamer · 7 months
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JP stitch event spoilers!!
the guys built a cottage using magic and stitch's help in one day wth
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riddle says that they were a bit confused on how to build the cottage, but stitch seemed to have a lot of experience
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i wonder why🤡
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for people who don't know lilo and stitch, stitch repeatedly destroys lilo's house in the movies and the series, so indeed he has a lot of experience
also floyd has a really big fixation on building a campfire, and tries convincing everyone they needed to build a campfire despite it not being necessary for survival
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but he manages to convince them, and stitch makes ukuleles and he literally has a ken moment where he just strums the ukulele in front of the campfire 😭
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oh and floyd being floyd, the wood he used for the campfire was the DOOR, he literally just took the door and burned it😭 (stitch smacks him for it)
also they put lilia in charge of gathering food, and he gave azul some "nutritious" fruit
azul passed out immediately and he said his mouth was numb rip your husband aubbie @azulashengrottospiano
lilia starts making everyone dance to the music, the first years all of fun, meanwhile azul and riddle compete over who can dance better (they're both complete amateurs, but riddle's movements are extremely stiff and azul makes fun of him and says he can dance better)
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tagging you guys cuz i think you'll be interested hehe @dove-da-birb @identity-theft-101 @officialdaydreamer00 @hheun @fukashiin @silvers-numberonefan @siren-serenity
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livingwithkami · 11 months
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Shinto Beginner Guide Version 5.8.2023
Hi everyone,
My apologies for the constant re-posting of this guide. There is always some errors I miss when I release a new version and I'm very thankful to those who help me edit and refine the guide over time.
This is the most recent version as of May 8th 2023. Instead of a zip file, I've compiled it all in a single PDF you can download Here
In addition, this time I've also made a convenient online version from this link: www.livingwithkami.com/beginner For a practical reference, there is a list of shrines overseas, where to receive sacred items, a reading list, and a list of Norito as well.
I hope this can help our community and be an accessible resource.
I give my deep thanks to Kami-sama and everyone who helped me write and edit this guide, who contributed towards it, and who guided me through the years.
This guide was not written by myself alone but with the help of Kami-sama and the community.
I am only posting it here to begin with but please feel free to share it anywhere you like.
I may have to update it again this Autumn depending on the changes in the community, but this is the most recent version.
Thank you very much.
Sincerely,
Rev. Olivia
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adhd-languages · 11 months
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If you’re learning a language — which do you do ?
Maybe elaborate in the tags? I love knowing what people pick and why
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Hello Tumblr
i have been on the platform since 2012 but i have never actually wrote any posts so i finally made a decision to create a new personal account (even tho that account have been created and been empty since 2020 but these last four years were hard for everyone). I graduated from a university in 2021 and got a translator degree but due to various reasons (in the world and in general) it was hard to apply it in job searching. and i've been feeling super lost and depressed all these years. and i decided to give a chance my small coding dream since i had since high school (in my country we need to pass entry exams at school and my computer science teacher prohibited me even trying passing the exam and during that time i was listless and AGAIN a lost teenager who had no idea what to do with their life so i didn't even try fighting and just gave up the idea and chose a path of my other passion: languages /after graduation i picked up japanese so i keep learning new stuff and it helps me a lot to cope ig/) so here i am just turned 26 this month and started learning how to code last month only. i had a slight idea of how html worked plus we had python usage in linguistic at university (for some reason it was super weird lol) i have been practicing for 10 days straight so i thought it's gonna be a good idea to participate in 100 days of coding as almost a complete beginner and track my progress (plus i haven't actually been practicing english that much so it is also a good reason to start that blog) so my progress in the last 10 days looks like that: 1. revised html basics 2. started css journey
i use online video courses on Youtube by freeCodeCamp.org and creating an actual web styling with a tutor does actually help a lot! i enjoy studying but i do understand that i need much more time to practice myself
after i am planning to start JavaScript but we'll see how it will go and i am still not sure which path to choose but ig front-end sympathise me a lot plus i am planning to pass JLPT N3 this year so maybe i will post some updates too but i am not sure yet is it better to participate in summer or winter exam i don't think anyone will be interested in my journey but when i see people posting their progress in any sphere it inspires me a lot
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kokodei-i · 30 days
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Telling the hours in Japanese
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Time table, from Genki 3rd Edition
The unit of an hour is called じ (kanji: 時 / Ji) in Japanese. If you want to say a certain time, you say “number + じ / 時 (ji)”. For example: One o'clock = いち じ (一時) Ichi Ji It's two o'clock = にじです (ニ時) です Ni Ji Desu Three o'clock = さんじ (三時) San Ji
The chart below, also from Genki, illustrate from one to twelve.
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*Not only 4 (Yoji) is a irregular (it's not YonJi), but also 9 (Kuji) is not it's most common form (Kyuu). In the case of 7, you could either say Shichi (しち) Ji or Nana (なな) Ji. Both are ok, but people tend to avoid Shichi (しち) Ji because it may be confused with Ichi (いち) Ji.
*時 (ji) is a unit and 時間 (jikan) is a counter for time. So, you use "時 (ji)" when you're telling the hours, as in "It's two and thirty right now", but use "時間 (jikan)" if you're talking about a specific time-frame, as in "It took me two hours to do that".
Now, look at the first chart again. The unit of minutes is called ふん (分 / fun). So, if you want to say "two minutes", you say にふん (二分 / nifun). But, if you want to say "one minute", you say いっぷん (一分 / ippun).
Numbers 1, 6 and 10 all use ぷん (pun) instead of fun;
Numbers 2, 5, 7 and 9 all use ふん (fun);
And numbers 3, 4 and 8 accept both forms.
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For, "Three hours and two minutes", we would have さん�� にふん.
EXERCISE
What time is it?
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Answers:
12:15 = じゅうにじ じゅうごふん || 十二時 十五分
7:15 = ななじ じゅうごふん || 七時 十五分
8:30 = はちじ はん* || 八時半* *Instead of writing 30 (sanjuppun), you can have はん (Han / 半), which means "half".
6:10 = ろくじ じゅっぷん || 六時 十分
7:15 = ななじ じゅうごふん || 七時 十五分
12:50 = じゅうにじ ごじゅっぷん || 十二時 五十分
5:05 = ごじ ごふん || 五時 五分
7:10 = しちじ じゅっぷん || 七時 十分
2:20 = にじ にじゅっぷん || ニ時 二十分
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despazito · 2 years
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Would like to take classes of schoolchildren each brought up to write in different writing systems or calligraphies and see how different groups tend to fare with linework. For example kanji demands a very controlled stroke and the line weight actually matters. Meanwhile I've seen many kids only taught in a non-cursive Roman alphabet write with 100% full pressure, who get stumped once they begin art classes and are asked to sketch things lightly. I think more than anything it's fine motor skills of the individual, but just like any muscle you improve that with practice. so it wouldn't surprise me if kids taught to wield pen pressure in a core subject like writing have better control on average.
Idk I think line weight and pencil pressure are very important fine motor skills you should try fostering in your children, not just the content of whatever they write/draw. Even just having them practice basic value gradients when they're small. it's silly those get treated as a high school level art exercise here!!
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nordic-language-love · 4 months
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N5 Grammar Review: Vない
The ない form of the verb is used to mean "not" or "don't". I'm going to make some posts about grammar that uses this form soon, but first I thought it'd be good to go over how exactly we get the ない form.
To make the ない form:
Group 1: change the last 'u' in the dictionary form to 'a', then add ない:
書く(かく)→ 書かない [to write -> not write]
話す(はなす)→ 話さない [to speak -> not speak]
立つ(たつ)→ 立たない [to stand -> not stand]
遊ぶ(あそぶ)→ 遊ばない [to play -> not play]
読む(よむ)→ 読まない [to read -> not read]
知る(しる)→ 知らない [to know -> not know]
Be careful! If the verb ends in う, it becomes わ:
歌う(うたう)→ 歌わない [to sing -> not sing]
買う(かう)→ 買わない [to buy -> not buy]
Group 2: add ない to the stem:
食べる(たべる)→ 食べない [to eat -> not eat]
寝る(ねる)→ 寝ない [to sleep -> not sleep]
見る(みる)→ 見ない [to see -> not see]
教える(おしえる)→ 教えない [to teach -> not teach]
Group 3 of course is a bit different:
する → しない [to do -> not do]
来る(くる)→ こない [to come -> not come]
The ない form is used in casual speech to mean "don't/doesn't do":
Particles in brackets because you can drop them in casual speech.
魚(は)食べない さかな(は)たべない = I don't eat fish
父(は)雑誌(を)読まない ちち(は)ざっし(を)よまない = My dad doesn't read magazines
コーヒー(を)全然飲まない コーヒー(を)ぜんぜん のまない = I don't drink coffee at all
Other than that, the ない form is used a lot as a base for more complex grammar. It's important to get to grips with it early on.
I'm still a beginner myself (I'm only N4 level!) so please let me know if I've made any mistakes!
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aiura-stan · 10 months
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good news y’all. I bought the entire saiki k manga so plan on doing a lot more translation and explanations of parts of the manga in my spare time!
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halfmoon-horse · 7 months
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lmao get rekd takeshi
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peistudies · 1 year
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pancake-breakfast · 1 year
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Minor CSM Manga Spoilers below...
Just realized that "Asa" (アサ) in Japanese can also be written as 朝, which means "morning," while "Yoru" (ヨル) in Japanese can also be written as 夜, which means "evening," so these characters are literally Morning and Evening and have a whole yin-yang thing going on with them fr.
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