How Do you Say Laced With Cyanide in Japanese?

For those of you who have a Casio EX-word dictionary, try looking up 混入 (こんにゅう) , and check out the 2nd sample sentence.

「そのコーヒーにはシアン化合物が混入されていた。」

The coffee had been laced with cyanide. 

Japanese you can use!

- Harvey

Casio XD-GP9700 - Better than the GW9600

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ve probably heard me raving about my favorite electronic dictionary, the Casio GW9600. Maybe you even want one too!

But wait! Put the wallet, DOWN!

A new model has just been released, the Casio XD-GP9700.

I haven’t seen it in the stores or tried it yet, but according to the Casio XD-GP9700 product summary over on The Japan Shop, the greatest new features include that the dictionary now pronounces the Japanese and that it has a backlit screen. It also seems to have a larger J-E dictionary than before.

Clay at the JapanShop mentioned that if you already have the GW9600 it’s probably not worth shelling out the cash to upgrade. If you’re about to buy your first electronic dictionary though, I would personally skip over the GW9600 and get this new one.

Now that this new model has been released do I regret buying my GW9600 just last fall?

Not really. I have gotten so much use out of it so far that I think it would have been counter-productive putting off the purchase. I’m alright. I won’t cry…

Remember, you might be able to get the dictionaries cheaper on Amazon.co.jp if you can get through the ordering process in Japanese, be sure to shop around!

- Harvey

TheJapanShop.com Random Sale

Hey everyone, just a heads up. TheJapanShop.com is having another random sale good until February 20th. So if you are looking to buy that Kanji-geek-special-interest friend something useful for Valentines Day, now’s the time to shop.

You can use the TheJapanShop coupon code “cp108″ and get 5% off of pretty much anything except the MP3 files for JLPT study.

Note: Be sure that you enter the coupon code before you click the checkout button. The text field for the coupon code is down on the bottom of the shopping cart page. A little hard to spot, so keep your eyes peeled, like a kumquat.

The helpful Genki Textbook Series is available as always… If you’re beginner to intermediate level and can  have only  one Japanese textbook, this is the one to get.

…As is the always powerful GW-9600 Sharp electronic dictionary (I’m still lovin’ it. I’ve reached the point where I can write Kanji into the dictionary with my fingernail while standing on a semi-crowded train)…

Other than those two, I would also recommend taking a look at  the following JLPT prep-books.

These are the exact books (well, same series, these have been updated since I used them in 2003!) that I used to prepare for the  JLPT level 1.

JLPT Level 1 Grammar Complete Master 

The Same book series for Level 2 is also available: JLPT Level 2 Grammar Complete Master

This book covers the grammar on the JLPT exam. It eventually introduces you to all the patterns that are used on the exam, and plenty of example sentences and problems. Once you have taken your time to get through this book you’ll be ready for the grammar part of the exam for sure. It really works. There is no CD, but you won’t need one for grammar study. You can take a look at scans of the inside of the book on TheJapanShop page.

Note, I only used the Level 1 book, but I’m sure the Level 2 book is just as good.

The same 完全マスターseries also makes a Kanji book which I also used to prepare for the Kanji on the exam, but TheJapanShop doesn’t seem to have it at the moment. Keep an eye out for it, it was good as well. Really it was just a giant list of Kanji… But they -were- the Kanji that appear on the exam, so it’s valuable. I distinctly remember cramming the provided Kanji list down before the exam while waiting in the hallway…

This next book was great because it includes the actual JLPT test from the previous year right in the book, with answers.

2006 1,2 Levels Japanese Language Proficiency Test with CD

The JLPT exams are extremely similar from year to year, so if you can handle the sample test in this book, you’ll be able to handle the actual exam… Assuming of course that the pressure of the actual event doesn’t break you… That silent room… The clean white desk with nothing on it but an exam and a pencil… The tick of the clock… Scary.

Seriously though, what better way to study for the exam could there be? A CD is also included that has the listening portion. There is only one sample exam, so I would recommend taking it before you start studying anything at all to see how much work you need to do, and then taking it again maybe 1 month before the exam for a final check. Hopefully your preparation period will be long enough that you forget the actual test questions between the 1st and 2nd time you take it. Of course, if you have a memory like a vault you can always order other previous exams from the JapanShop as they have them stocked as well.

Anyway, happy sale shopping!

- Harvey

Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary at The Japan Shop

Just a quick heads up! To all you Kanji geeks out there.

The Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary is available on TheJapanShop.com now. Kanji whee!

In addition, for those of you who have the incredible GW9600 Sharp electronic dictionary (like me) you can get the same Kanji Learner’s Dictionary on an SD card to load into your electronic dictionary. Sure, the dictionary itself costs a lot more in digital format, but hey, it’s crazy convenient… and for something as laborious as learning Kanji, a little convenience goes a long way!

Not only that, but the expansion card for the GW9600 is specifically made for English speakers learning Kanji. Most other expansion cards for the GW9600 target the Japanese market, but not this one. This one is just for the gaijin! There is a video online explaining the dictionary and it’s features, so sure to check it out, it’s well done.

I was already at an extremely advanced level when I discovered the Kanji Learner’s Dictionary so I have only used it in passing, but my friends who are slogging their way through all 1900+ of the jyoyo Kanji right now swear by it.

Speaking of Kanji, did you guys know there is a application called ‘Kanji Box’ on Facebook that let’s you study Kanji for specific JLPT exams? I just found out this week. It’s fun when it’s not crashing!

Happy Kanji-ing!

- Harvey

Getting your feet wet with Japanese

I got a question from a reader the other day asking for suggestions on how to learn Japanese slowly and casually.

The reader was straight-forward and said that he didn’t have enough time to spend hours everyday learning Kanji, and isn’t looking to become fluent anytime soon either. The goal is just to make Japanese not so “foreign”. That probably describes most people who are first starting out… So here is how I would do it.

1. Get a good basic textbook.

You’ll want to have a good textbook that will walk you through essential vocabulary, grammar points, and hopefully includes a CD so you can catch the audio as well. A lot of information for language learning is available on the web, but having a textbook helps a lot because of it’s more structured and paced approach.

We did a recommended textbook post on JapanNewbie a while back, and my opinion still stands. With the TheJapanShop.com sale this month you might be able to get stuff cheaper than on Amazon, so be sure to shop around.

I still recommend the Genki Series. Remember though, the CD-set for Genki is sold separately. (Why!?)

You can also get flashcards and workbooks and a super 200$ plus CD-set for Genki, but I don’t think anyone really needs all that unless they’re using Genki to teach Japanese…

New years is coming up, great time to start new things (that hopefully will continue past February!), also, it’s a good time to take advantage of the 10% sale off everything at TheJapanShop.com.

2. Get a lot of media.

If you don’t have tons of time it will also probably be difficult to motivate yourself to put in the 30 min or so that you hope to daily. School, work, YouTube, and Scrabble on FaceBook will all be competing for those last few minutes of useful brainpower remaining before you go to sleep, so the Japanese study component of your day has got to be entertaining.

There are a lot of subtitled and fun, Japanese movies available that are a great supplement to a regular study scheme. Anime is OK, but anime alone is dangerous because conversations about fantasy worlds, magic, and space travel just don’t happen often enough in everyday Japanese conversation. I’ll bet it won’t show up in Genki either, so it’s best so spend your time watching something that uses more everyday vocabulary. Shall We Dance is a great starting place. It might make you cry.

 3. Find a language exchange partner

I thought twice about making this my 3rd recommendation… But やっぱり, I gotta list it. It’s not always easy to arrange a language exchange partner… But I think for the casual learner it will really help. You can not only exchange language tidbits, but cultural information as well. Even if you can’t find someone who lives in your area, try to get some kind of pen-pal online. If you can keep it up I think it will help a lot. For advanced speakers I actually wouldn’t always recommend the language exchange thing, because most native speakers don’t know how to teach Japanese… For a beginner though, the extra language and culture contact itself is worth it.

Extra stuff: Hardware! 

If you can afford it, a good electronic dictionary is also a good thing to have, even for (especially for?) beginners who are just slowly introducing themselves to the language. You all know what my dictionary of choice is (the GW9600, more power!), but for absolute beginners maybe the less expensive Canon G55 will suffice.

That’s a wrap. Get the books. Get the audio/visual. Get some native speaker time. If you can afford it, get some technology to back you up… Stir and repeat. After a while Japanese won’t seem like such a “foreign” language after all.

Actually recently I have been  casually studying Korean. I have a great textbook, I listen to KoreanClass101.com religiously, I have a Korean dictionary for my GW9600, and I meet with a language exchange dude weekly. (He’s a PhD student studying how Kansai-dialect remains with elderly Koreans who were forcibly taught Japanese under occupation by the Japanese military during WWII. Apparently most of the language teachers in Korea were from the Kansai area!)

The only thing I’m lacking is some good subtitled Korean media to watch or listen to. If anyone has any recommendations of Korean dramas or movies that I could watch over and over I appreciate any recommendations! Also, any Korean music with easy to understand lyrics would be great as well.

Happy learning!

- Harvey

TheJapanShop.com Sale

TheJapanShop.com is having a 10% sale on all of their items until December 31!

If you’re looking for a Christmas present to buy that Japanese studying someone, this is a good place to do it. Especially if you don’t live in Japan.

Some interesting items they offer include…

The Genki textbook series (recommended by yours truly)

Remembering the Kanji (I’ve always wanted to try this)

The Casio GW9600 Electronic dictionary, that’s my dictionary!

They also have Nintendo DS games oriented towards Japanese people who want to brush up on their Kanji, including the Kanji Kentei 2 game, which is one of the only 2 games I have for my DS right now! I don’t know if there is any other way to get this game outside of Japan, unless you order from Amazon.jp.

If you want more information about how to learn Japanese with your Nintendo DS, be sure to check out the Naruhodo Japan blog.

TheJapanShop is run by good people, and 10%-off sales are good. Happy hunting!

- Harvey

By the way, they also have a ton of JLPT stuff. Too bad the test is already over… Did anyone take it this year? How do you think you did??

Got my Dictionary! The Casio XD-GW9600

Back in October I broke down and picked up what has become essential in my Japanese study and translation work. The Casio GW9600 electronic dictionary!

(Also available on TheJapanShop at 10%  off until the end of Dec 2007!)

Little coffee shop, 50 yen Botchan, monster dictionary, gotta love it.

The sheer volume of information available in this dictionary is incredible. It has Kenkyusha’s New Japanese English Dictionary (the Green Goddess), and the Oxford Dictionary of English. Enough said about that.

It has great functionally as well. If you can’t read a Kanji, you can write it into the dictionary by hand using the pen and search that way. Even if you mess up the stroke order (which I often do) it will manage to find what you’re looking for.

It also has a “super jump” feature that lets you use any word mentioned in a definition or encyclopedia entry as a link, and search for that same term in any of the other dictionaries available.

Also, you can search through all of the dictionaries and encyclopedias on the device at the same time using the multi-dictionary search feature. This means you can see the English translation of what you’re looking for, as well as an explanation of the term in Japanese. I often use the encylopedias in a Wikipedia fashion when I’m listening to lectures and need to get background information about a particular topic. For example I was at an ACLU talk about the new requirement for foreigners to be photographed and finger printed upon entering Japan (Japan-VISIT) a few weeks ago and I was able to look up the history of the Foreigner Registration Card that we all carry around here.

I have recently been studying Korean, so I got the add-on Korean-Japanese dictionary as well. Now when I search for things in Japanese in the multi-dictionary search, I can also glance at what the term is in Korean. I’m still not used to Korean keyboard input, but that doesn’t matter much because I can use the pen to write the Korean characters into the dictionary!

This dictionary also talks! The target market for this device is mainly a Japanese audience, so most of the speech is for English words, but it also speaks the Korean as well so I’m good to go. Frankly, any non-native Japanese speaker using this dictionary probably would have no need to have the Japanese spoken anyway.

Did I mention it has a technical terms dictionary for IT and business?

Of course, the instruction manual is all in Japanese… But you can get a concise Casio GW9600 manual in English as well over on White Rabbit Press.

The only negative to this dictionary would have to be it’s price and it’s size. It is one of the most expensive dictionaries out there, but that’s because it’s one of the best. It is a little large. Bigger than a Palm Pilot or iPod or digital camera. It has a great form factor though, it’s wide, but thin. Lots of screen space to make it easy to read large encyclopedia entries and what not.

If you purchase the GW9600, and are unsure how to take it out of the box… You can follow this GW9600 unboxing gallery. (Seriously though, have you guys noticed this “unboxing” trend? You can find step by step unboxing guides for all kinds of gear on the web now! It’s crazy!)

Anyway, that’s my new baby.

- Harvey

Other GW9600 Links:

GW9600 review at Tokyo Tsure Zure Gusa

GW9600 on the Official Casio Site

GW9600 usage tips and reviews on 1nichi1kai: Everything Japanese

Anki for Palm OS - Japanese Flashcards for your PDA

I ran across the coolest Palm application for studying languages today! Anki!

And it’s free.

Anki (暗記) means “to memorize by heart” in Japanese, and this is a flash card program for Palm OS that helps you ANKI-suru the vocabulary for whatever language it is you’re studying.

You can create your own flashcards using a Windows based builder, but if you’re too lazy to do that, there are lots of extremely well-done Anki databases created by the community available for download on their website.

They have everything: Jyoyo Kanji  lessons,  Heisig flashcards, Chinese lessons, Korean lessons, Thai, GRE vocab… and Gaelic. Seriously – “What you want, baby they got it. ♪” Some of the flashcard sets are based on particular textbooks, so if you’re serious it might actually be a good idea to go purchase the textbooks so you can use the program to complement your learning. Of course, you can always create your own flashcard set for whatever textbook you happen to be using. (Unfortunately the builder only runs on Windows… I’ll stay right here on my Mac thank you very much.)

No matter how long I stay in Japan, I’m sure a quick run through of a random set of the joyo Kanji flashcards while commuting to work will always do me some good.

They’ve even got a “Japanese Places” database, that has the Kanji for places in Japan, and it quizes you on the reading, the region it’s in, and also… wait for it… how to say GOUROUSAMA ご苦労様 in the local dialect.

For example, for Hyogo they say that the equivilant of GOKUROUSAMA is えらいですなー。 Hrm… I’ll buy that. Though I’m quite certain no one would ever use that in the office! In Kanagawa they say that ご苦労様 is ごせーができますね。Apparently in Chiba they say おあがんなせー. Huh? Never heard of it, but I guess it’s extremely local. Fun bonus knowledge anyway!

On a slightly unrelated “note”, if you’re memorizing music, the verb is ANPU-suru 暗譜する, the 譜 is the same character in “sheet music”, which is GAKUFU 楽譜… I’ve got a guitar mini-recital on Sunday so it’s kind of on my mind!

Go download Anki, it’s great!

- Harvey

JET ALT/CIR Interview - Part 2

We’ll continue the interview with Sugu, the JET teacher in Hamamatsu now. If you missed it, be sure to check out Part 1! In this section of the interview Sugu gives us information about his Japanese study methods, and the gear that helps him along the way.

Q: Just to ensure readers don’t get the wrong idea here, but you mentioned you sort through Japanese law as it pertains to ALTs needs as part of your job… But this is not to say you read Japanese law, in Japanese… Right? (Even me with my academic Japanese background would sweat if I had to do that!)

Well, I do read Japanese law….in Japanese. Does that mean I understand it all? Nope. My Japanese is nowhere near that level. But I read what I can, translate/interpret what I can, and ask my boss and other Japanese friends and fluent people for help when I can’t do it. In fact, oftentimes I don’t feel like my Japanese is getting better, but I’m becoming more resourceful at finding answers. For example, just the other day, I translated a web page about driving in Japan and how to pass the driving test for an ALT. Using my e-dictionary and many other resources (which I’ll talk about later), it was a very slow process and I’m sure that it would have been much easier for Harvey, but eventually I finished it. And yes, dear readers, Harvey has helped me on a number of translation questions, despite his modesty.

Q: I understand that despite the fact that you came to Japan with zero Japanese, you now speak quite a bit. How did you learn? Were there any particular books that helped you out? What advice would you give to other JapanNewbie’s regarding their language study?

I learned probably the hardest way possible. I learned the hiragana and katakana alphabet right before I came. That enabled me to read……something. In Japan, I joined a semi-professional choir, and learned kendo at my schools and a dojo. Then, I would design my classes so that the students would teach me Japanese while they learned English at the same time. It seemed to work. Of course, my Japanese is very limited now to music, hitting people with swords, and boogers. I didn’t really learn from books, but I talked to EVERYBODY I could. Grocery store clerks, convenience store clerks, banking tellers, choir people, my teachers, bartenders. Everyday, I played real-life Taboo. I would highly recommend doing what I did…as a MINIMUM. Study hard but speak to everyone possible.

One thing that helped me was that for everything I wanted to say in English, I would test myself and see how to say it in Japanese. If I didn’t know how, I would ask someone. All of my Japanese was built on top of each other. But now, after three years of living here, I realize that my Japanese, unlike other languages I’ve studied, is still very foreign to me. Rather than picking up the language, I’ve picked up pieces of the language, random and erratic. I can’t talk about how the cat is on the chair, but I can say with relative ease that honestly, I can’t eat anymore of Mr. Ed but I’ll have another glass of beer.

So because of my random Japanese, I started studying for the Japanese Proficiency Language Test, hoping that that will more than anything else, plug in the gaps.

Q: On that note, any books, gadgets or other gear you would recommend to people wanting to learn Japanese?

Of course. My significant other’s brother’s hobby is actually keeping up to date on electronic dictionaries and he keeps an entire arsenal of them. As an additional service, he keeps me up to date on the best value, and as a result, here is my list, depending on need.

First, if you can find it, the Seiko RM-2000 is a good buy for complete beginners. Everything about it is in the roman script, so learners can read. Unfortunately, they don’t make them anymore, but it might be possible to get a used one. My girlfriend actually uses this and it has helped her a lot. And I’ve been able to see it in action.

However, I bought my first dictionary into my second year. I personally hated learning Japanese through the roman alphabet, so I was ok with the Japanese kanji. It was a Sharp PW-M800. Small, compact, but basic. One of those good-enough-for-now-types. I outgrew it eventually, but it was great while I had it. I used it all the time and I got a lot out of it.

My new baby, however, is the Casio Ex-Word XD-GW9600. Amazing piece of gadgetry. You can actually write the kanji as you see it (stroke order is irrelevant) and if it can identify it, you can still look it up. It also comes with the Oxford Dictionary of English (English to English) and their Thesaurus (which I’ve found invaluable in many of my writings).

Other tools at my disposal were Declan Software’s Read/Write Kanji. This is one of the first programs that I bought while learning Japanese. It teaches all 1,895 of the common kanji, as well as stroke order, meanings, and readings. It tests you on them 10 at a time, so if you learn one, that particular one is removed, but replaced by the next one in the list. That way, you’re always learning 10 at a time (or more, if you choose) with various difficulty.

I also use KanjiQuick, a really good dictionary program for the computer. You can search all sorts of different words, but also add words to your own custom dictionary. It doesn’t go into sentence construction or grammar or those rules, but it definitely helped me with learning the kanji.
Outside of gadgetry and technology, I use the following books:

Jack Halpern’s Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (which is also available as an add-on dictionary for my Casio e-dictionary). To use a JapanNewbie term, freaking amazing! This book offers a new way to look up the kanji that makes more sense to a foreigner. Halpern’s method does not require knowledge of radicals or even accurate stroke count. It has error entries, ie. how most learners would mistakenly count a kanji is there with a correction, so the learner won’t be lost. Also, scattered throughout the web is a lot of praise and accolade for Jack Halpern’s translation of the different kanji. Apparently his translations and meanings are not only far more accurate, but also understandable for a learner.

Boye Lafayette De Mente’s Japan’s Cultural Code Words. When one learns language, invariably, one has to learn culture with it. This book takes a good look at some of the nuanced phrases that the Japanese know and “live” by. Helps to understand important concepts behinds the words. For example, Western culture tends to view the heart as the emotional center of a person. Japanese view the stomach as that same center. As a result, phrases like “stomach twisting” take a different meaning in Japan than they would in the West.

That’s a lot of gear! Thanks! Actually I plan to buy the GW-9600 dictionary as well. Hopefully soon… As soon as my wife lets me afford it…

That’s a wrap for part 2. Stay tuned for part 3 which will be posted in a few days! In part 3, Sugu tells us more about what it is that would make a JET stick around in Japan for 3 years.

Official JET homepage

GuruSugu.com - Sugu’s website