Daily Nihongo (2003 - 2004)

[torakris]

word for 1/22:

りんご

ringo (rhingo)

apple

The Japanese grow some of the best apples in the world (in my opinion at least) and we will be discussing them over the next few days.

[torakris]

word for 1/23:

ふじりんご

fuji ringo (foo-jee-rhingo)

Fuji apple

This is considered the King of apples in Japan and sales account fot 51% of the apple market. Available most of teh year the Fuji is a cross between a Kokkou and Delicious apples.

The Fuji:

http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...ple/fuji.h2.jpg

[torakris]

word for 1/24:

つがる

tsugaru

The tsugaru apple, a cross between the golden delicious and kougyoku apples, entered the markets in the mid 70's and is currently the #2 apple in the country. It is an early season apple appearing in late August and continuing through winter.

This is my favorite.

tsugaru apple

http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...pple/apple4.jpg

[torakris]

word for 1/25:

紅玉　こうぎょく

kougyoku (koe-gyo-koo)

One of the first apples in Japan, this came from New York and is excellent for eating out of hand as well as for cooking.

kougyoku:

http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...pple/apple6.jpg

[torakris]

word for 1/26:

世界一　　せかいいち

sekaiichi (say-kye-ee-chee)

Sekai means world and ichi means one or first, so these apples are called "best in the world". Aomori-ken (prefecture) is famous for these apples that are a cross between delicious and golden delicious. On the market since the mid 70's these are some of teh biggest apples around, they average at about 400-600 grams (about 1 lb) but can be as big as 1 kg (over 2lbs)!

Edited February 16, 2004 by torakris (log)

[torakris]

Sorry about yesterday, I was having problems with my cable hook up and I couldn't get online for most of the day.

word for 1/28:

ジョナゴールド

jyonagoorudo (jyo-nah-goh-rhue-doe)

Joni-Gold

This apple, a cross between the golden delicious and the kougyoku, appeared on the markets in the early 70's.

picture:

http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...pple/apple8.jpg

[torakris]

word for 1/29:

王林　　おうりん

ourin (oh-rheen)

If you see a green apple in Japan it is probably this. The ourin has been in Japan for close to 50 years and despite its resemblance to the the Granny Smith apple it is not tart at all.

ourin:

http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...ple/apple10.jpg

[torakris]

word for 1/30:

千秋　　せんしゅう

senshuu (sen-shoe)

This is a great eating apple from Akita prefecture, with a nice balance of sweet and tart. It can be hard to find though.

picture:

http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...pple/apple5.jpg

NOTE*

The same pronunciation of this (senshuu) but with different characters (先週) means last week. Just to confuse you a little bit more.....

[gus_tatory]

a friend mentioned there are different 'counting systems' in Japan, depending on whether you are counting sheets of paper or pieces of sushi.

is this something for an immersive Learning Japanese course, or something you could discuss in passing?

[torakris]

a friend mentioned there are different 'counting systems' in Japan, depending on whether you are counting sheets of paper or pieces of sushi.

is this something for an immersive Learning Japanese course, or something you could discuss in passing?

So you want to learn how to count, do you??

I have been studying Japanese for 14 years and I still don't know all the counters and freuently mess them up.

There are probably close to 50 different "counters" or words used to describe objects being counted.

First you need to know the numbers:

1 ichi

2 ni

3 san

4 shi/yon

5 go

6 roku

7 shichi/nana

8 hachi

9 ku/kyu

10 ju

It would be simple if you could just take those numbers and pop them in front of the counter words, but nooo, they need to make it more complicated than that. Look at the examples below and you will see what I mean.

I will teach you some of the counters you will be likely to encounter in daily conversations, especially those related to food.

杯　hai (cupfuls, glassfuls, bowlfuls, spoonfuls)

1 ip-pai

2 ni-hai

3 san-bai

4 yon-hai

個　ko (general object counter, especially sperical or cube shaped, like apples)

1 ik-ko

2 ni-ko

3 san-ko

4 yon-ko

枚　mai (flat objects, paper, pizzas, etc)

1 ichi-mai

2 ni-mai

3 san-mai

4 yon-mai

箱 hako (boxes, boxfuls)

1 hito-hako

2 futa-hako

3 mi-hako/ san-pako

4 yon-hako

本　hon (long objects, like pencils, beer bottles)

1 ip-pon

2 ni-hon

3 san-bon

4 yon-hon

匹　hiki (for counting animals)

1 ip-piki

2 ni-hiki

3 san-biki

4 yon-hiki/shi-hiki

UNLESS you are counting large animal like elephants then you use tou (頭) and birds and rabbits have their own counter wa (羽)

人 nin (people)

1 hito-ri

2 futa-ri

3 san-nin

4 yo-nin

皿 sara (helping or courses of food)

1 hito-sara

2 futa-sara

3 mi-sara

4 yon-sara/yo-sara

束 taba (bundles or bunches, like leafy vegetables in the supermarket)

1 hito-taba

2 futa-taba

3 mi-taba/san-taba

4 yon-taba

膳　zen (pairs of chopsticks or bowls of rice, though the counter hai is also used for bowls of rice)

1 ichi-zen

2 ni-zen

3 san-zen

4 yon-zen

Have I confused you yet? Did you even make it this far?

When in doubt you can almost always use the generic counter "tsu"

1 hito-tsu

2 futa-tsu

3 mit-tsu

4 yot-tsu

5 itsu-tsu

6 mut-tsu

7 nana-tsu

8 yat-tsu

9 kokono-tsu

10 tou

11 juu-ichi

The counter "tsu" is not used for numbers past ten, and from 11 on, the "regular" words for numerals are used.

So if you are in a store and see something you want, just point at it and say:

hitotsu kudasai one please

futatsu kudasai two please

mittsu kudasai three please

etc, etc.....

There will be a test next week!

[torakris]

back to the apples!

word for 2/2:

北斗　　ほくと

hokuto (hoe-koo-toe)

This is a larger than average sized apple from Aomori prefecture, it was created in the early 80's as the cross of a Fuji.

http://image.www.rakuten.co.jp/syokutaku/img1053812209.jpeg

[torakris]

word for 2/3:

節分の日　　せつぶんのひ

setsubun no hi (seh-tsu-boon-noh-hee)

February 3rd of every year is setsubun no hi. This is the day the Japanese throw beans (mame maki) to rid their house/lives of the ogres/goblins and to bring in happiness for the year. There are often bean throwing festivals at schools and families do it in the house as well. While throwing the beans you chant "oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi" which translates roughly as "ogres/goblins out, happiness in". The beans can later be eaten.

For some more information look here (with a picture of the beans):

http://www2.gol.com/users/stever/setsubun.htm

[torakris]

word for 2/4:

むつ

mutsu (moo-tsu)

These are some of the oldest apples in Japan and are mostly from Aomori prefecture. They come in two colors red and yellow and they are very noticable in the stores because there are no other colors really like them. The red is actually more of a pink and the yellow is really yellow.

The picture I found doesn't really show them at their best colors :

http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...pple/apple9.jpg

NOTE*

don't try to impress someone while speaking by adding the honorable "o" to the beginning of this word, because then you will be talking about diapers.....omutsu

[torakris]

word for 2/5:

クラブりんご

kuraburingo (koo-rah-boo-rheen-goh)

crabapples, there are a couple different types in Japan we will look at them over the next couple days.

[torakris]

word for 2/6:

ヒメりんご

This crabapple is rarely seen in stores, its most popular use is more making ringo-ame (apple-candy) or candied apples. These are popular during festivals when they are sold from stands:

Here is a great picture of both the stand and the candied apple:

http://enenen-web.hp.infoseek.co.jp/eat0ringo.htm

[torakris]

word for 2/7:

アルプス乙女

arupusu otome (ah-rhue-pooh-sue-oh-toe-may)

This is the most popular crabapple for eating out of hand, these ping pong ball sized apples start appearing on supermarket shelves around October.

http://www.tsuji.ac.jp/hp/zai/gif/arupu.gif

[torakris]

I think we have all had enough of apples so let's move on!

word for 2/8:

梨　なし

nashi (nah-shee)

Usually referred to as Asian pears, we will be discussing these the rest of the week.

[torakris]

first a quick word about nashi or Asian pears, they are generally divided into 2 categories:

aka-nashi ("red" meaning brown in color)

ao-nashi ("blue" meaning green in color)

we will start off with the green ones...

[torakris]

word for 2/9:

二十世紀梨　　にじゅうせいきなし

nijuu-seiki-nashi (knee-jew-say-key nah-shee)

Nijuu-seiki means 20th century, and these are one of the most popular nashi in Japan. Over 50% of them are grown in Tottori prefecture and you can find them in the markets between August and October.

picture:

http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...iki/nijuss2.jpg

[torakris]

words for 2/10:

Most of the other green (blue) nashi don't really make appearances in the markets outside of their growing areas. You either need to order them from the orchard yourself or be lucky enough to have a relative who is kind enough to send you some every year. Many nashi have a very short season, lasting anywhere from about 2 to 4 weeks in September.

Some of the other green varities are

菊水　きくすい kikusui

八雲　やくも yakumo

新星　しんせい shinsei

[torakris]

word for 2/11:

建国記念の日　けんこくきねんおひ

kenkoku kinen no hi (ken-koe-koo-key-nen-noh-hee)

Today is a National holiday in Japan called National Founding or Foundation Day.

The National holiday on 11 Feburuary, held to commemorate the founding of the Japanese nation, is known as "Kenkoku Kinen-no-hi", or National Foundation Day. It was originally called "Kigen-setsu", and is said to be the day on which Japan's first Emperor, the Emperor Jimmu, ascended to the throne. The holiday was abolished after the Second World War and was reinstated under its present name in 1967.

[torakris]

word for 2/12:

幸水　こうすい

kousui　(koe-sue-ee)

This is the most popular of the red or brown variety and was created by crossing two nashi varieties in 1941. This is only of the earlier varieties ripening in mid August, though you may see some as early as July that come from greenhouses.

As with most nashi, these are best enjoyed if they are refrigerated only about 2 hours before eating, chilling for longer periods can lessen their sweetness.

the kousui:

http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...sui/kousui2.jpg

NOTE

kousui written in characters like this 香水　means perfume.

[torakris]

word for 2/13:

薪水　　しんすい

shinsui (sheen-sue-ee)

Another of the red (brown variety), these ripen a little slower than the kosui and you can find them in September.

shinsui:

http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...sui/shinsu2.jpg

[torakris]

word for 12/14:

豊水　　ほうすい

housui (hoe-sue-ee)

this is another very popular one of the red (brown) nashi. Available for most of the month of September, it peaks in the middle of the month.

housui:

http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...sui/housui2.jpg

[torakris]

We have covered the most popular nashi in Japan but there are so many others and I don't even know them all. Many are specific to a local area and are pretty unavailable to other parts of Japan except for direct sales from the orchard.

There are a couple new ones that are popping up in the markets that are worth keeping our eyes on, we will cover a couple of those.

First a list of the most popular nashi in Japan

1. Kousui

2. Housui

3. Nijuuseiki

word for 2/15:

南水　なんすい

nansui　(nahn-sue-ee)

This one is very sweet and can keep for quite a long time, 1 month at room temperature and even longer in the refrigerator. Its best selling point is the fact that it comes onto the market when all the others are leaving, from the middle of September into October.

nansui:

http://www.maruka-ishikawa.co.jp/veg-fru/i...nii/nansui4.jpg