ＨＥＬＬＯ！ Ｉ　ＡＭ　ＱＵＩＺＢＯ™！I am your here with Kiki and Koko in order to aid you in your advancement in Japanese language learning! With a gap betwixt Monday and Friday that can leave one without a single drop of knowledge amongst the usual flow of learning. However, the middle of the week provided a perfect opportunity for quick learning opportunities. Thus was born Wednesday’s Japanese Word of the Week! This is meant to be a fun little segment that keeps you thinking and learning whilst still having a bit of a break, depending on how you prefer to study. Remember, do not think of these times as study times, try to think of it as an oasis where you are expanding your horizons, experiencing new things, and ultimately bettering your understanding of the world around you. You are wonderful the way you are, and you are going above and beyond already, so think of any small step further as an accomplishment of which you can be proud. And, with this segment comes another achievement to unlock in your journey!

If you would like to learn how to apply these words to your own basic sentences, feel free to take a look at a few of Kiki and Koko’s articles on this subject in Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Japanese Language Essentials.

We will begin by introducing you to a new word that you may possibly have never experienced before. I will read it aloud to you and you can repeat after me. Be sure to repeat it aloud when you are in a space where you can do so! Engaging more senses will ultimately help you encode this into your memory more easily. That is why, with the help of Kiki+Koko, I will read and create sentences for you to help you with the presented word. Connecting these to concepts will help it become more concrtee in your mind. But, repetition is key!

The sentences are spoken in real time as it would be too much to absorb in one sitting with unnecessary vocabulary when you are first attempting to memorise the new word(s). But, the best thing to do is to try to create your own sentences with Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Japanese Language Essentials. This will give you the tools you need to form basic sentences with the given vocabulary. 

This corner is for any learning level, as well. This will assist you in learning more about sentence structures, grammar, and expand your vocabulary. Many words that you may hear often may be considered an advanced learning level, so it is a lot more efficient to cater to all skill levels.

We will also be joined again by Kiki and Koko with their Helpful Hints on the Word(s) of the Week!

Without further ado, let us NihonGO!!

Word(s) of the Week:

食べる【たべる】※
taberu
verb (ichidan, transitive)
1. to eat
2. to subsist on; to live on

Bonus Word(s) of the Week:

食べ物【たべもの】
tabemono
verb (ichidan, transitive)
1. food

※Helpful Hints with Kiki+Koko

Photo via @kikikokoNihonGO on Twitter

Hello, there!

We’re Kiki and Koko from Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! We’re here to give a little bit of context to the main word of the week along with the bonus word along with a couple of important notes on usage for the verb. The topic of food and eating in Japanese has so many culture points and notes that we can’t relegate it to one Quick Culture Corner. Of course, an easy way to experience a culture is by experiencing the food! It may only give you a little peek into another world, but it’s still a fun way to share and partake in something new in an easy and enjoyable way. We’ll definitely continue to cover food topics in future lessons, everything from phrases to manners! But, in the meantime, let’s take a moment to focus on how to use 「食べる」! Then, we’ll take a quick look at how these two words can give you building blocks to looking for context clues.

Take this, it’s dangerous to verb without this valuable language tool.

So, as we always mention, there is a casual, or dictionary form, that is important to know, but there is a basic polite form that you should definitely use. If you would like to know how to use basic transitive verbs, we definitely recommend taking a look at our Japanese Language Learning Essentials lesson concerning particles. Clicking or tapping the thumbnail next to this paragraph should lead you there. But, in the meantime, here is the dictionary form and the basic polite form of the verb:

食べます【たべます】
tabemasu

You’ll notice that the stem of this verb is: 食べ, tabe, used in words like 食べ物, tabemono, or something important to know when you’re conjugating verbs in future. And, easily enough, 「食べ物」literally breaks down into 食べ, tabe, for eat and 物, mono, is thing, or stuff. Many words have this sort of structure in Japanese which can help you break down the meanings of words you don’t quite know, yet. In this case, if you know how to say to eat, or just the kanji 食、shoku, for foodstuffs, then you’ll be able to know the word pertains to food. And, when you see our special versatile 物, mono, you’ll know it’s a… well.. a thing. There are times this refers to both living and inanimate objects, as well.

So, even if you only know a little, you can suss out at least something from larger pieces of text. But, of course, for specific context, specifics are important, like if you see a packet in a box or a bag that says: 「食べられません。」, taberemasen. This means: Cannot eat, or may be translated as ‘Do not eat’, but the actual Japanese version is less bossy. They let you know you can’t eat it, but they don’t tell you what to do with your life.

Overall, context will help you get the general idea, but stick with us, and we’ll help you get the full picture! We hope that helps!! Until the next lesson!
♡Kiki+Koko

Thank you, Kiki and Koko! It is definitely important to know the proper grammar and other vocabulary surrounding words even with context. But, it will at least give you a sense of happiness to know a little more than you did before. And with that, it is time to present this week’s example sentences which Google has categorised as a podcast, though our true podcasts are in the planning and recording stages. It is a bit early to announce, but something to which you can look forward. So, without further ado, onto the sentences:

Example Sentences:

The first row is in Japanese with Kanji. The Next row is in hiragana, then romanised using rōmaji with the final row translated into English.
(Japanese→Hiragana→Rōmaji→English)

Example #1:

[casual speech]
来て欲しいの？今夜、日本の　食べ物を　食べてるわ。
きてほしいの？　こんや、にほんの　たべものを　たべてるわ。
kite hoshii no? konya, nihon no tabemono wo tabeteru wa.
Wanna come over? We’re eating Japanese food, tonight.

Example #2:

[basic polite speech]
稲荷寿司だけを　食べて生きることが　出来ますか。
いなりずしだけを　たべていきることが　できますか。
inarizushi dake wo tabete ikiru koto ga dekimasuka.
Can you live on just inarizushi?

Example #3:

[casual speech]
誰が　食べ物もなく　パーティーを　開くの？　寿司食べたいわ♡
だれが　たべものもなく　ぱーてぃーを　ひらくの？　すしたべたいわ♡
dare ga tabemono mo naku paateii wo hiraku no? sushi tabetaiwa♡
Who throws a party without food? I wanna eat sushi♡~

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Thank you so much for learning with us!
♡QUIZBO™