ＨＥＬＬＯ！ Ｉ　ＡＭ　ＱＵＩＺＢＯ™！You may recognise me as the robot computer that assists you with reading and quizzes, here, at here, at Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Online. Be sure to stay tuned this week for Kiki and Koko’s official broadcast about the time at hand. I do apologise for the delay, as it would have been best broadcast at an earlier date, but as  a young computer robot with humble Heisei hardware, my connection to the servers is not as speedy as it would be hoped. But, I will continue to do my best to complete its processing even during the time in which I am rendering the usual content for upload. Though our lessons are for every time of the week and any year from now into the far future, until language evolves past the point of speech, it is also a useful opportunity to connect the words to current events. Though, Kiki, Koko, and I would also be more likely to want to keep thoughts about current events out of our minds, it has to be admitted that there are very vital and useful terms you may not come across otherwise that you can connect with so many other senses. There are definitely times you will be able to use these vocabulary words outside of this experience, but it also can be useful if you are talking about this experience. And, they are words you may not be able to easily look up in the dictionary, or rather, at least the bonus word may be more difficult to think of looking up, as it is another useful Japanese word that requires more than one word in English. These words are not included on the日本語能力試験, nihongo nouryoku shiken, or the JLPT,  known in whole as the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, but they are common ones with kanji that are found on the highest level of N1. This is definitely the magic fitting of Word of the Week, as it exposes you to words at random that you may not have the chance to be exposed to during your everyday life or even your usual studies. But, for those of you who have never experienced Word of the Week Wednesday, please allow me to illuminate.

In the summertime, when the weather was hot—There stood a gap between Monday and Friday lessons devoid of learning. Though there were many lessons in which anyone should have taken the chance to look back and revise or study, there were still others who needed more learning opportunities. A few days can feel like an eternity when you are learning a language that is new to you. And, thus, Japanese Word of the Week Wednesday began. Not only did it remind people that they should go back and revise previous lessons, but it also kept minds active with new information. Whether you have only a few moments to look over the new words, or some extra time to really delve into the sentences and other vocabulary, it is useful for any learning level. As a beginner, do not let the JLPT number stop you from absorbing new vocabulary that is more complex. Words are simply words, and though there is a system in place for testing, life’s language learning journey is not always so linear.

What happens during Word of the Week Wednesday?, one may ask. With Kiki and Koko’s assistance for context, a Japanese word or phrase is presented along with a bonus word if it is a special week, with a definition and other useful information for grammar and usage. Kiki and Koko will usually give input on how to use the words in their Helpful Hints segment. And, I will repeat the word as many times as you wish, aloud. And, no matter if you are alone at your desk, or around a few other people, it is still important to try to repeat the word aloud. But, if you are more comfortable, and do not want to include some others in your studies, you can always save it for a time when you are alone. Engaging as many learning methods with the words as possible allows you to make more connections in order to properly learn the vocabulary.

However, you are not simply left without any context for the word. We provide an example sentence or two for you in order to see how the word is used as well as getting some inspiration for your own sentences. I will read them aloud as many times as you wish, but if you are a beginner, there is no need to repeat, as it is meant to be at full speed in order to help you pick out the vocabulary words in everyday speech. But, due to the sentences, you can actually glean even more vocabulary if you are in need of more incentive. We encourage you to try to create your own sentences as well at least using the basic grammar. We are currently focusing on verbs, so this is a very useful time to get more acquainted with these concepts. But, be sure to consult the grammar section of the Essentials, before embarking on your own composition junket, as Japanese sentences function much differently to English sentences. But, if you have any questions, feel free to ask us through our comment section, contact page, or social media.

However, it is now time to begin the vocabulary segment. Kiki and Koko will be joining us in their Helpful Hints segment of this corner to assist in today’s vocabulary.

Without further ado, let us NihonGO!!

Word(s) of the Week:

隔離【かくり】
kakuri
noun (名詞), suru verb（「名詞＋する」の動詞）, no-adjective（ノ形容詞）
1.(noun) isolation; separation; quarantine
2.(verb) to isolate; to quarantine; to set apart

jlpt n1 kanji| common word (常用語) | usu. medical term (医学用語)

Bonus Word(s) of the Week:

籠城【ろうじょう】
roujou
noun (名詞), suru verb（「名詞＋する」の動詞）
1. be besieged; holing up
2. confinement (in one’s home or room); staying at home; staying indoors**

Also spelt: 篭城 【ろうじょう】roujou, or ろう城 【ろうじょう】roujou.

lower secondary / middle school kanji + jlpt n2 kanji

Quick Helpful Hints with Kiki+Koko:
**When using this word, remember, these ideas imply that it’s staying inside due to something that’s a threat outside that is keeping you from going out. It doesn’t have to be something life-threatening, though. You’ll usually use or hear this when it’s pertaining to rain or snow or weather conditions usually. 

※Helpful Hints with Kiki+Koko

Photo via @kikikokoNihonGO on Twitter

Hello, there!

We’re Kiki and Koko of Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! We hope you are staying safe and wish you 安心 even in a time of 心配 and constantly 手の洗い to prevent the spread of 感染 and becoming 病気. We’re currently 籠城しています, roujou shiteimasu, and currently, we know many of you are as well. It’s a bit impossible to totally distract oneself from that fact, but we hope you’ll get some form of benefit from today’s segment, if only just having something to fill the time whilst learning something to benefit you long after all of this. Honestly, something that can be very useful in these sorts of times along with reading can be writing. We chose these words because we reckoned they would be useful if you did want to keep a bit of a sentence journal. When you’re first learning, it’s fine if your sentences aren’t a veritable Chikamatsu of Japanese writing. Just getting a few simple thoughts written, especially by hand can be very useful. It can get you thinking about how to create sentences and practising your stroke order whilst also putting your daily life into words which can be therapeutic for some, but at least educational for everyone. Because today’s words can also be used as verbs, we reckoned it important to give you a bit of assistance with making it useful in your writing and speaking.

This week, we’ve been continuing our introduction to Japanese verbs, in our introduction of verb stems which has inevitably brought us to introducing the types of verbs. Previously, we mentioned 辞書形, jishokei, dictionary form, and マス形, masukei, masu form. But, then, there were the different types of verbs themselves. You may already realise that する is such a widely used verb, it’s like a magical verb making machine– one of which we’ll cover soon, but despite it being used so often, this is one that is an irregular verb. That is why even though we’ll be helping you with its conjugation a bit, it doesn’t quite follow the usual ideas which is why it may feel a bit confusing when you try to apply the rules for other verbs to this one. But, that’s why we’re here! We’re here to help you be able to actually use these verbs. If you’re going to want to actually use these verbs, you’ll want to know their polite form.

Here’s the non-past polite form of 隔離する, kakuri suru, and 籠城する, roujou suru:

隔離します。
kakuri shimasu。
(I will) quarantine / (I) quarantine / to quarantine

籠城します。
roujou shimasu。
(I will) (stay inside/staying home /hole up)*/ (I) (stay inside/staying home/ hole up) / to (stay inside/stay home /hole up)

In the latter case, think of how someone may say ‘hold down the fort’ except in Japanese, this sort of idiomatic idea is meant to mean staying inside rather than taking care of something inside.

What if you are CURRENTLY and/or continuously doing these things? Here’s the polite present progressive (or present continuous) tense of 隔離している, kakuri shiteiru, and 籠城している, roujou shiteiru:

隔離しています。
kakuri shiteimasu。
(I) am quarantining.

籠城しています。
roujou shiteimasu。
(I) am (staying home/indoors).

Here’s the past tense polite form of 隔離した, kakuri shita, and 籠城した, roujou shita:

隔離しました。
kakuri shimashita。
(I) quarantined.

籠城しました。
roujou shimashita。
(I) stayed inside.

But, what if you need to tell someone to do these things? Just for example, we’ll use the more emphatic but still technically polite version that’s more formal which makes it feel more serious. The polite command form of: 隔離して, kakuri, and 籠城して, roujou shite.

隔離しなさい。
kakuri shinasai。
Quarantine.

籠城しなさい。
roujou shinasai。
Stay indoors.

So, no matter what happens, you’ll be able to write about the current events, and what will hopefully become only history to us all. Wash your hands, keep calm, stay prepared, and 頑張ってね.

We hope that helps!! Until the next lesson!
♡Kiki+Koko

Thank you, Kiki and Koko. 籠城, roujou,  and 隔離, kakuri, may not be very fun, but at least knowing how to say them in Japanese will give something to help you express and communicate whether now or in the far future. At any rate, let us continue to the sentence portion!

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:

感染防止のため、皆は　自宅で　無理矢理籠城させられた。
かんせんぼうしのため、　みんなは　じたくで　むりやり　ろうじょうさせられた。
kansen boushi no tame, minna wa jitaku de muriyari roujou saserareta.
In order to prevent infection, everyone was forced to confine (themselves) at home.

Example #2:

一週間だけが経ってたけど、隔離するところのためのスナックがもう尽きた。
いっしゅかんだけが　たってたけど、かくりするところのための　すなっくが　もうつきた。
isshukan dake ga tatteta kedo, kakuri suru tokoro no tame no sunakku ga mou tsukita.
It’s only been a week, but the quarantine snacks are gone.

Example #3:

感染が広がらないように、この地域で皆は隔離して社会的距離しなければならないのです。今、日本では、「コロナショック」と呼ばれています。
かんせんが　ひろがらないように、　このちいきで　みんなは　かくりして　しゃかいてききょりしなければ　ならないのです。いま、にほんでは、「ころなしょっく」とよばれています。
kansen ga hirogaranai you ni, kono chiiki de minna wa kakurishite shakaitekikyori shinakereba naranai no deus. ima, nihon de wa, ‘korona shokku’ to yobareteimasu.
In this region, everyone has to quarantine and socially distance as not to spread the infection. It’s now being called ‘Corona Crisis’* in Japan.

(lit. korona shock)

Example #4:

隔離しながら、日本語の勉強を始めるつもりだぞ! 危機は去ったら、日本語をたくさん知るのだろう。
かくり　しながら、　にほんごの　べんきょうをはじめるつもりだぞ！　ききは　さったら、にほんごを　たくさんしるのだろう。
kakuri shinagara, nihongo no benkyou wo hajimeru tsumori da zo! kiki wa sattara, nihongo wo takusan shiru no darou.
Whilst isolating, I’m gonna start studying Japanese! Once the crisis is over, I’m gonna know so much Japanese.

 🔊Japanese Word(s) of the Week w/ QUIZBO™ | 【頑張る】|(+Quick Culture Corner)

That is all for today! But, maybe you would this was not quite enough vocabulary for you? Would you like even more vocabulary? Well, we have something you may find useful during these trying times: 🔊Japanese Word(s) of the Week w/ QUIZBO™ | 【頑張る】|(+Quick Culture Corner). It may be weeks old, but it is still as fresh as ever. Go on, give it a try. Or, if that is not for you, or you still want more, there are plenty more available on our Word of the Week  page. Or, you can be sure you are caught up with the latest with the sidebar link: 今週の単語 | Word of the Week. These segments alone serve as weeks of material. Share these segments with your friends and family who may be interested in broadening their Japanese vocabulary, that is if you would like to spread the knowledge and show the fun things you are learning with us. Be sure to return often to keep your pronunciation properly in check, as well! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us, and we will do our best to assist how we can. We hope to see you at the next lesson!

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♡QUIZBO™

    
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