Daily Nihongo (2003 - 2004)

torakris · May 13, 2003

we are going to leave the adjectives alone for a moment and talk about hamburgers, two new threads today got me thinking about this.

So for 5/14 we will discuss the difference between

ハンバーグ　hambaagu (hahm-bah-goo)

ハンバーガー hambaagaa (hahm-baah-gaah)

hambaagu is a hamburger patty usually made with onions, bread crumbs, eggs, liguids, etc it is served steak style with no bun. At most restaurants in Japan this will be the only hamburger on the menu. You usually have a choice of a multitude of sauces to top it with.

hambaagaa is a good old hamburger with a bun, in Japan these are usually only available at fast food restarants. Not even Denny's or Big Boy offer them (though they are available at places like Hard Rock cafe and Friday's).

So when you are trying to order a hamburger pay special attention to that last syllable or you could find yourself with the wrong dish!

torakris · May 14, 2003

word for 5/15:

箸　　はし

hashi (hah-shee)

chopsticks, most of you probably know this word but do you know all of these?:

http://www.anasuper.com/timeout/HashiManners.asp

and for those of you who have not quite mastered the art of using the chopsticks

フォークをください

fou-ku wo kudasai (fo-koo wo koo-dah-sah-ee)

Fork, please! :biggrin:

Edited January 8, 2005 by torakris (log)

torakris · May 15, 2003

word for 5/26:

割り箸 waribashi (wah-ree-bah-shee)

菜箸　さいばし　saibashi (sah-ee-bah-shee)

waribashi are the disposable wooden chopsticks that you get in most restaurants (wari from the verb waru meaning to break apart)

saibashi are the long chopsticks that are used for cooking

Edited January 8, 2005 by torakris (log)

torakris · May 16, 2003

word for 5/17:

let's get back the good stuff, food!

牛肉　gyuniku (gyoo-nee-koo)

beef (牛meaning cow 肉　meaning meat)

when referring to the animal, cow it is called ushi 牛

In Japan there are 3main types of beef:

和牛 wagyu

wagyu has many types, the most famous of which is Kobe. Wagyu refers to specific breeds of beef cattle that are born and raised in Japan, these are the "brand name" cows are can be quite expensive. These are almost exclusively of the "black hair" breed that has been in Japan since......well since cows have been in Japan!

国産 kokusan

Kokusan basically covers any other cows in Japan that are not wagyu (not all Japanese cows are wagyu!) Although kokusan means Japan born (koku meaning country, referring to Japan in this case and san from the verb umu which meand to give birth), it can also refer to cows that were born in a different country , brought to Japan and then slaughtered. Kokusan are usually of the Holstein breed (milk cattle rather then beef cattle).

輸入牛yunyugyu

Yunyu means import, and this is imported beef. Beef that has been slaughtered in a different country and then brought to Japan, the package will always indicate the country of origin, most like the US or Australia.

How to know if you are eating wagyu? Wagyu will always have a name! whether it is the breed of the cow or the name of the town it came from.

Edited January 8, 2005 by torakris (log)

torakris · May 17, 2003

word for 5/18:

豚肉　　ぶたにく

butaniku (boo-tah-nee-koo)

pork

There are "name brands" of pork in Japan, just like beef, the most popular being the kuro-buta or black pork. These are also broken down into kokusan (killed in Japan) and yunyu (imported pork). Most stores also list the prefecture (or country) or origin to people know where their pork is coming from.

torakris · May 18, 2003

word for 5/19:

鶏肉　　とりにく

toriniku (toe-ree-nee-koo)

chicken

the word tori actually refers to all birds in general with niwatori being chicken.

The most famous type of chicken in Japan in the Nagoya kochin (名古屋コーチン）sort of the Kobe beef of chickens.

As with beef and pork there are quite a few "brand name" chickens and they are normally double to triple teh price the of the no namers and the inport chickens.

torakris · May 19, 2003

word for 5/20:

魚　さかな

sakana (sah-kah-nah)

fish

not too much to say about this!

torakris · May 20, 2003

word for 5/21:

シーフード　（しーふーど）

shifudo (shee-ee-foo-oo-doe)

seafood

This of course is from the English, there doesn't really seem to be a Japanese word to cover the group of non-fish water dwelling creatures. The word seafood (shifudo) is is common usage today. They can be broken into groups such as:

貝　かい　kai --shellfish

かに kani ---crab

えび ebi---- shrimp

いか ika--- squid

torakris · May 21, 2003

word for 5/22:

海草　かいそう

kaisou (kah-ee-soe)

seaweed or sea vegetables

The characters for this word 海 which is pronounced umi means ocean, and　草 which is pronounced kusa means grass or small plants.

this covers everything from nori to wakame to hijiki to arame and many others.

海草サラダ　(kaisou sarada) Kaisou or seaweed salad is a very popular in restaurants as well as homes, packets are sold in the supermarkets containing a variety of sea plants that just need to be reconstituted in water and a dressing (usually included) added.

the kaisou thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&f=19&t=18733&

torakris · May 22, 2003

word for 5/23:

おつまみ

otsumami (oh-tsoo-mah-mee)

these are the normally spicy and/or salty foods served with alcohol. In Japan an order of alcohol will usually be served with a small dish of something to enjoy with it. Popular dishes are edamame, (green soy beans), ikonoshiokara (squid in its own fermented guts), a kinpira of some sort (a stirfy seasoned with sesame oil, soy, and togarashi-chile pepper), or some other house speciality. Supermarkets usually have a large section of packaged otsumami for eating in the home including dried squid or fishes, mixes of nuts, seeds, cheese and salami sticks, cheese stuffed fish sausages, etc.

Sometimes otsumami will be referred to as sake no sakana (sake's fish) or just sakana, though it may of may not be a fish product nowadays.

the otsumami thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&f=19&t=21446

torakris · May 23, 2003

word for 5/24:

パン

pan (pahn)

bread

パン屋

panya (pahn-yah)

this is a bakery, where the Japanese go to buy their bread, one of the most popular responses given when a young girl is asked what she wants to be when she grows up, is a panya-san (bakery owner), this is usually followed closely by a hanaya-san (florist) response.

For more information on Japanese breads, check out the bread thread!

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...T&f=19&t=21459&

Edited January 8, 2005 by torakris (log)

torakris · May 24, 2003

moving onto sweets:

word for 5/25:

和菓子

wagashi (wah-gah-shee)

wa, the first character, means Japanese style and the gashi (from kashi) means sort of a snack

so these are the Japnese style snacks such as youkan, dorayaki, manju, daifuku, etc

for more details check this thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...T&f=19&t=20045&

Edited January 8, 2005 by torakris (log)

torakris · May 25, 2003

word for 5/26:

洋菓子

yougashi (yoe-gah-shee)

'You' refers to Western and in this case western style sweets, cakes cookies, donuts, etc. All very popular in Japan, nowadays quite more popular then wagashi.

These two characters are quite important to know

洋　western style

和 Japanese style

for example, if you are visiting Japan pay attention to these characters written on the toilet door

洋式 youshiki -- western style toilet (the type we are all used to)

和式 washiki -- Japanese style toilet (oblong, in the ground, squat over type)- most foreigners have a hard time getting used to these!

Edited January 8, 2005 by torakris (log)

torakris · May 26, 2003

word for 5/27:

果物

kudamono (koo-dah-moh-noh)

fruit

This word kudamono is the general topic name for fruits, though the word　フルーツ(furuutsu from the English fruits) is becoming quite popular. The word furuutsu is usually used to describe a product that uses more then one type of fruit, so for example it is more more common to see a fruit tart referred to as a furuutsu taruto フルーツタルト rather than kudamono taruto.

For information on some Japanese fruits:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...T&f=19&t=20046&

we are just coming into sakuranbo and biwa season!

torakris · May 27, 2003

word for 5/28:

野菜

yasai (yah-sah-ee)

vegetables, this refers to any kind of vegetable whether of Japanese or foreign origin.

The character 野(no or ya) means field and 菜 (na or sai) means vegetable though more specifically greeens.

Edited January 8, 2005 by torakris (log)

torakris · May 27, 2003

A NOTE ON JAPANESE CHARACTERS

The Chinese characters used in Japanese writing today obviously came from China, when they did they came with the Chinese pronunciation (in a form adapted to the Japanese sound system), but since the Japanese already had their own word equivalents they ended up with two (and sometimes more) reading for the same character.

the ON (ohn) reading in the Japanized Chinese reading

the KUN (kuhn) reading is the original Japanese word reading

so for example 子　which means child has two readings the ON reading of 'shi' and the KUN reading of 'ko'

Most words usually have only one or two ON and KUN readings but then there are kanji like

上　 (which means up) that has 2 ON readings and 8 KUN readings

enough to make a foreigner go batty! :biggrin:

Edited February 29, 2004 by torakris (log)

torakris · May 28, 2003

OK let's go on to trying to read menus in Japanese restaurants

word of 5/29:

前菜

zensai (zehn-sah-ee)

appetizer

these can be served as part of a course meal (or like a kaiseki meal) in which case there are usually a variety of small dishes consisting of a bite or two. Like Western style appetizers they can be made from any type of ingredients. In non course meals you can order them of of the zensai portion of the menu, in which case they will be larger portions.

zensai are not much different from tsumami (the snacks eaten with drinks), though zensai tend be more formal and elaborate while the tsumami are more like finger foods.

Zensai are rarely prepared in homes.

Edited January 8, 2005 by torakris (log)

torakris · May 29, 2003

word for 5/30:

定食

teishoku (tae-shoh-koo)

these are "set" meals that include a main dish, rice, soup, and pickles, sometimes a salad, sometimes another small side dish and usually some hot tea.

These are very popular lunches and can usually be had for quite a good price.

they are often referred to by the name of the main dish, so for example:

tonkatsu teishoku (breaded pork cutlet）

shogayaki teishoku (pork stirfry with a ginger sauce)

ebi furai teishoku (deep fried panko coated shrimp)

here are some pictures of very typical teishoku:

http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~mohso/kyoz...ING/TEISHOK.HTM

Edited January 8, 2005 by torakris (log)

torakris · May 30, 2003

word for 5/31:

一品

ippin (ip-peen)

this is sort of like a la carte and often is the same foods that you can eat with the teishoku, but all sold separately.

At izakaya style restaurants, most of the menu will consist of ippin. It is quite a common menu heading.

Edited January 8, 2005 by torakris (log)

torakris · May 31, 2003

word for 6/1:

単品

tanpin (tahn-peen)

tan means single and pin (hin or shina) means article or item, so it means a single item not much different from yesterday's word of ippin. They are normally used on different types of menus though.

ippin is more more common at general restaurants and izakaya style places where there is a very wide and diverse menu.

tanpin is seen more with sushi places (especially delivery) and fast food. These are places where people tend mostly to order from "sets". another difference is that unlike ippin, the word tanpin is often spoken when placing the order, to clarify that the single item not the set is wanted.

So for example if I am at McDonald's and I want a big nac set for me but just a single hamburger for my soon, I would order my set then add

ハンバーガー一個単品で

hambaagaa ikko tanpinde

Edited January 8, 2005 by torakris (log)

torakris · June 1, 2003

word for 6/2:

Today we are going to take a short break and learn a little history.

On todays date 144 years ago the Port of Yokohama was opened (it is not a major holiday but all the kids in Yokohama are off from school :angry: ), it was through this port that a lot of new items were introduced to Japan. Important food items included ice cream and beer and Yokohama was the site of the first bakery in Japan as well as being famous for the creation of sukiyaki!

torakris · June 2, 2003

word for 6/3:

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