Lesson 3 & 4

Episode 3 Yakuza & Hanafuda

Self-Introduction 私の名前は _______ です。 (Watashi-no nomae-wa _____desu/My name is ____)

Yakuza Phrases 任侠 (ninkyou) = Honor てめえ (temee) = Vulgar way of saying hello; (guys) シカと (shikato) = Ignore 花札 (Hanafuda) = Japanese playing cards お姉さん (Oneesan) = Big Sis (Yakuza way of referring females) ぼんくら (Bonkura) = Idiot

Hanafuda Phrases ぴかいち (Pikaichi): A hand consisting of only one good card あかよろしい (Aka yoroshii): Obvious Goodness

1900 Elementary School Revision There used to be different hiragana for one sound Too confusing; Meiji government revised hiragana for one hiragana per sound.

Episode 4 Kanji origins & Standard Japanese

Chinese & Japanese Kanji Long ago Japan did not have an alphabet When the Chinese brought Kanji, Japan used its phrases with Chinese Kanji. It means the same in both languages but they are different words.

Kanji Incorrect & Correct 振り仮名 (Furigana): Hiragana that is placed on the Kanji to easier read/understand Prevalent in Japanese comics, some Kanji have incorrect furigana, thus causing incorrect understandings 失恋 (shitsukoi): meaning inconsistence/ (shitsuren): unrequited love

Japanese Types 標準語 (Hyojungo): Standard Japanese - This is the standardized Japanese the powerful created to establish a uniform language 共通語 (Kyoutsuugo) = Common Japanese - This is the way Japanese is regularly spoken.

Common Japanese Examples Words like: desu and masu are examples of common Japanese, spread by samurai because of the geisha Zamasu is a word spread by the oira (courtesans) that means “to be”. Oikora! Is now commonly used in anger, but originally was used to get someone’s attention. De Arimasu is a word originating from Yamaguchi