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  |🔁@love.kikikoko|　♡Kiki+Koko™

🇶​​​​​🇺​​​​​🇮​​​​​🇨​​​​​🇰​​​​​ 🇦​​​​​🇳​​​​​🇳​​​​​🇴​​​​​🇺​​​​​🇳​​​​​🇨​​​​​🇪​​​​​🇲​​​​​🇪​​​​​🇳​​​​​🇹​​​​​:
After a bit of technical difficulties, the next new article is available on ♡Kiki+Koko™ at https://lovekikikoko.blogspot.com, right now!

As Kiki said on the ♡Kiki+Koko™ Instagram:

‘This was meant to be released a bit ago, right after Koko’s post, (′;ω;`) but with all of the things going on right now and preparing for lockdown as well as internet issues at our flat, it postponed the release, and we wanted to be sure to continue to give it our all with our Japanese lessons for Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! found on https://ieindigoeast.com . (* ╯ω╰) And, we felt we really needed to give a proper statement to let everyone know we’re going to continue doing our best for you even during this time.’

So, after this Special Report on today’s Word of the Week, there’s still more content for you to enjoy, especially amid the first ever truly schedule altering Technical Difficulties we had this Monday. We hope that seeing our mostly indoor journey on planet Earth will bring a bit of entertainment into your quarantine, and in future, when we’ll finally be able to release our larger projects for you.

 Thank you for your continued support! Stay safe!!
♡Kiki+Koko™

Nᴏᴡ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇɢᴜʟᴀʀʟʏ sᴄʜᴇᴅᴜʟᴇᴅ ᴘʀᴏɢʀᴀᴍᴍɪɴɢ:

Let’s Talk | Special Report with Kiki+Koko | Kiki+Koko News Network | (for ieindigoeast.com)

Description:

「Broadcast from [an Unknown Location in Isolation] from their Panasonic AG-HT4 VHS Reporter, presenters and hosts of Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!!, Kiki+Koko, give their statement and a quick news update. And, learn some pertinent Japanese vocabulary which will be taught in further depth at ieindigoeast.com (˘ʃƪ˘)#staysafe!

「As your guides to Japanese language and culture, with a crisis of pandemic proportions enveloping the globe, we may not be a significant force against something so serious, but it’s something impossible to ignore. We reckoned it important to make a proper statement regarding the outbreak to update you regarding Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! and SpeRaToBo, even if it’s just a simple reassurance that we’re still here for you, and letting you know we’re going to continue giving it our all for you. 皆様、頑張りましょうね。」
♡Kiki+Koko」

皆様みんなさま、ハロー、こんにちにゃあ。Welcome to a special edition of Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Online. We’re here reporting from an unknown location in isolation. Don’t worry! We’re in a relatively safe location with a green screen. And, as far as we know QUIZBO™ is immune to human diseases as a computer robot. This week’s Word of the Week is a bit different. Today, we’re hijacking your broadcast and presenting you with a Special Report. We got out our Panasonic AG-HT4 VHS Reporter, tuned into your station, and we started broadcasting. This is our statement concerning the current events as well as a quick important news update.

Our goal is usually to highlight the positives and encourage you through your Japanese language learning journey. But, even in the past, there have been times where there have been local tragedies in Japan that had to be addressed. However, this event is bigger than one country. As anyone who lives on planet Earth knows, right now, there’s a pandemic. No matter the foresight and the years of scientists saying a pandemic was on the way, no matter how prepared you could have been with an apocalypse bunker and a pantry full of freeze-dried astronaut food, no matter the amount of dystopian 80s films you could have watched, it just doesn’t hit you the same way you could have ever imagined when it happens. We may insert our allusions to flavour the text, but we understand this is more serious than we here at Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Online could even express. We mean, look at us. We hope even with our fluffy exteriors, we can still get our point across, because we knew with this relationship of trust we’ve tried to establish in our time as your Japanese language and culture teachers, it’s just something we had to address. We couldn’t go about the lessons as though we’re not living on planet Earth alongside you.

In all of this, we can’t give any positive perspectives. We’re also admittedly worried for the people of Earth and Earthlings as a whole and uncertain what the future may hold for ourselves. But, that’s to be expected, and that’s okay. Well, it‘s not ‘okay’, but it’s natural to be worried in a crisis. However, even though it’s certainly justified, the one of two things we really wanted to convey if you don’t read anything else in all of this is that you should not panic. Panicking in this situation won’t help anyone. As QUIZBO™ mentioned in 🔊Japanese Word(s) of the Week w/ QUIZBO™ | 【心配】+ BONUS:【安心】(+Helpful Hints with Kiki+Koko), 「心配するのは役に立たないのです。そのうえ、心配をするのは健康に悪いですね。」

We know that as your Japanese language and culture teachers, we’re not an authority on this sort of matter, and we’re just here to help you on your journey. But, even in that, it’s a situation where nothing feels certain and people who happen to be living in places where their governments aren’t giving much assistance are in a state of limbo in life. And, though there are many people very passionate about learning Japanese, there are also people who visit just to learn a few words here and there. But, the point is, even if you’re passionate or not, we understand having a sort of normalcy in the way things used to be is important. It’s important to us, as well. Even already, our inability to go to another location when we’re having technical issues has taken its toll, but even still, we’re doing our best to adjust even further to make sure we can handle said technical difficulties. As we mentioned in the video, we’re already doing what we can—with the help of patrons—to prepare our space to create even more content for you.

At the end of the day, you don’t need us to tell you things aren’t looking very good around the globe to say the least, but that’s not what we’re here for. We’re just twin Japanese teachers here on planet Earth to teach you Japanese language and culture. And even in the face of a global crisis, amongst shortages, disease, and isolation—well… we’re going to continue our mission. This is for you. We can’t solve the world’s problems, but confound it, we’ll fight through it all, and hold our little flag for you, we’re going to cheer you on and continue to create more content for you. The best we can do is the best we can do, and that’s what we’re going to continue to give to you.

ＨＥＬＬＯ！ Ｉ　ＡＭ　ＱＵＩＺＢＯ™！I am the computer robot friend of Kiki and Koko that you may recognise from the usual lessons, here, at Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Online. This is an important albeit different variety of Word of the Week. Normally, Kiki and Koko will explain the grammar and usage of words I present during Word of the Week Wednesday, however this time, I will be the one to explain the grammar and usage as they have already technically introduced the vocabulary through our broadcast. I am humbled to be able to give this my first try. I will first present to you the sentences read by Koko and their translations. Then, I will explain each part of them for you! Though I would enjoy expressing these aloud for you, many require subtitles, and it would most likely be the best course of action to simply give them to you textually rather than causing some to have trouble with my pronunciation in English, at least for this segment.

In order to keep the length of this within the range of a usual Word of the Week, I will choose one important grammatical or lexical function to highlight in each sentence. In future, the other ideas will certainly be explained. It is important not to overwhelm anyone’s central processing units even if you are eager to learn a vast amount over our time together.

Ｅｘａｍｐｌｅ　Ｓｅｎｔｅｎｃｅ　＃１

病気ではないのだと思っても余人に感染の拡大を防ぐようにお湯と石鹸で手を洗うべきです。
びょうきではないのだと　おもっても、　よじんに　かんせんのかくだいを　ふせぐように、おゆと　せっけんで　てを　あらうべきです。
byouki de wa nai no da to omottemo, yojin ni kansen no kakudai wo fusegu you ni, oyu to sekken de te wo arau beki desu.
Even if you think you aren’t ill, you should wash your hands with hot water and soap to prevent the spread of contagions to others. 

Ｅｘａｍｐｌｅ　Ｓｅｎｔｅｎｃｅ　＃１’ｓ　Ｕｓｅｆｕｌ　Ｔｉｐ

In the sentence above, there is one grammatically important word that you will find in almost all of the rest of the sentences. This is the grammatical suffix べき, beki.

可き【べき】beki

When suffixed to the end of a verb in 辞書形, jishokei, dictionary form, it means should or must. But, there are many ways to say this in Japanese, such as はず, hazu, and ならなければならない, naranakereba naranai. But, what differentiates this from those? In this case, it’s implying ‘ought to’. It is not commanding that you ‘have to‘, like in ならなければならない, naranakereba naranai. However, of course, these helpful tips that were given by Kiki and Koko are things that you SHOULD do as in ならなければならない, naranakereba naranai, but after the disclaimer, it was important for them to say べき, beki, in order to not become liable for telling someone what to do in this sort of situation.

べき, beki, implies that one ought to do something when used as a suffix after a verb, but is not implicitly used to command someone.

Another interesting feature of this sentence is ように, you ni, or 様に in kanji. However, this has so many uses that it would be best to leave it for another time.

Ｅｘａｍｐｌｅ　Ｓｅｎｔｅｎｃｅ　＃２

もし新型コロナウイルス感染症状があったら、自分を隔離するべきです。
もし　しんがた　ころな　ういるす　かんせんしょうじょうが　あったら、じぶんをかくりするべきです。
moshi shingata corona uirusu kansen shoujou ga attara, jibun wo kakuri suru beki desu. If you have symptoms of the novel coronavirus, you should quarantine yourself.  

Ｅｘａｍｐｌｅ　Ｓｅｎｔｅｎｃｅ　＃２’ｓ　Ｕｓｅｆｕｌ　Ｔｉｐ

In this sentence, you can find a previous Ｗｏｒｄ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅ　Ｗｅｅｋ that was covered previously. If you would like to learn more about the word 「隔離」along with its usage along with another bonus word, it would be good advice to have a look at said segment: 🔊Japanese Word(s) of the Week w/ QUIZBO™ | 【隔離】+ BONUS:【籠城】(+Helpful Hints with Kiki+Koko).

This has an essential grammatical structure that we, Kiki+Koko and myself, will cover in future as well. Japanese sentence structures are not as rigid as one may think. At times, pieces will be placed in other areas in order to place emphasis, however, again, this is something that will be covered in future. And, for now, it would be best if beginners were to not think about that factor just yet. In this case the たら form seemed like a useful concept to introduce, but by my calculations, it is a bit much right now. But, I will give a few details.

もし, moshi, otherwise written as 若し, in kanji, means ‘if’ and is usually written in kana alone. This alone does not usually create an ‘if’ statement. An if statement also depends on the verb, and saying ‘if’ is not always necessary as it is implied in the verb. The たら form of the verb can mean two things. But, in this case, it is used as a conjunction that indicates an ‘if’ statement. However, there are many ways to say ‘if’ in Japanese, another being the ば form of a verb, usually conjugating with an え sound in front of the ば. This may cause one to wonder why this form was not chosen. In this case or most cases, this ば as in あれば would imply that the ‘if’ statements outcome is positive. But, たら can be used in any case, but is also the better choice for a negative sentence as well, or an implicitly negative result. It is not a strict rule for たら, but ば would probably not be the best choice according to my analysis.

Ｅｘａｍｐｌｅ　Ｓｅｎｔｅｎｃｅ　＃３

生命に関わる緊急の場合は、あなたの地域の緊急電話番号に電話してください。
せいめいに　かかわる　きんきゅうの　ばあいは、あなたの　ちいきの　きんきゅう　でんわばんごうに　でんわ　して　ください。
seimei ni kakawaru kinkyuu no baai wa, anata no chiiki no kinkyuu denwabangou ni denwa shite kudasai. 
In the case of a life-threatening emergency, please ring your local emergency number.

Ｅｘａｍｐｌｅ　Ｓｅｎｔｅｎｃｅ　＃３’ｓ　Ｕｓｅｆｕｌ　Ｔｉｐ

The above sentence has many useful vocabulary words. And, as a beginner, it may be difficult to determine where the word begins and ends. But, the word in question is:

緊急電話番号, 【きんきゅう　でんわ　ばんごう】
kinkyuu denwa bangou

緊急, kinkyuu, is a JLPT N1 word meaning ’emergency’ or ‘urgency’. 電話番号, denwa bangou, means phone number. In Japanese, when you ‘phone’ someone, it is literally like in British English in which ‘phone’ is made a verb with the use of する which becomes して in its て form as it is an irregular verb as we mentioned in last week’s verb lesson.

ください, kudasai, when suffixed to a て form of a dictionary form verb is a way to say please. Saying please is quite different in Japanese grammatically, and we will eventually cover more ways to say please indepth in future.

Ｅｘａｍｐｌｅ　Ｓｅｎｔｅｎｃｅ　＃４

詳しくは、あなたの地域で最新のニュースを追って、ダブリュー・エイチ・オーのサイトのようなところを調べるのを続くべきです。
くわしくは、　あなたの　ちいきで　さいきんの　にゅーすを　おって、だぶりゅー・えいち・おーの　さいとのような　ところを　しばべる　つづくべきです。
Kuwashiku wa, Anata no chiiki de saikin no nyuusu wo otte, 「daburyuu eichi oo」no saito no you na tokoro wo shiraberu no wo tsudzuku beki desu.
For more information, you should follow the latest news in your area and continue to check places like the WHO’s website.

Ｅｘａｍｐｌｅ　Ｓｅｎｔｅｎｃｅ　＃４’ｓ　Ｕｓｅｆｕｌ　Ｔｉｐ

This sentence contains many different grammatical elements that are essential, but for today, we will focus on an interesting note. In Japanese, English letters as well as English words are not said the same way in Japanese. English words even in English when spoken in Japanese context are adapted into Japanese sounds. This is a phenomenon that may make some speech difficult for some English speakers to understand. In Japanese, it is very useful as it makes things fit into the sentence very smoothly.

In this case, there is an example of how the English alphabetical letters WHO would be said in Japanese. If you have been watching the news in Japan, you will have heard this mentioned quite often instead of the full translation of World Health Organisation which is: 世界保健機関, sekai hoken kikan. But, in Japanese, WHO, would not be said /ˈdʌbəl.juː/  ・/ˈheɪtʃ/ ・ ˈ/oʊ/ (double-u・heich・o) but as:

ダブリュー・エイチ・オー
daburyuu・eichi・oo

Hopefully, this assists you in future alphabetical readings like this.

Ｅｘａｍｐｌｅ　Ｓｅｎｔｅｎｃｅ　＃５

そしてどんなことがお起ろうとも、備えて 落ち着き払うべきです。
そして　どんなことが　おころうとも、そなえて　おちつきはらうべきです。
soshite, donna koto ga okorou to mo, sonaete ochitsuki harau beki desu.
And, no matter what happens, be prepared, and stay calm.

気が緩むべきってことではないのですけれども、
きが　ゆるむべき　って　ことでは　ないの　ですけれども、
ki ga yurumu beki tte koto de wa nai no desukeredomo,
That’s not to say you should relax, but

パニックっても　誰にも役に立たないのですし。
ぱにっくっても　だれにも　やくに　たたないの　ですし。
Panikkuttemo dare ni mo yaku ni tatanai no desushi.
panicking won’t be of help to anyone.

Ｅｘａｍｐｌｅ　Ｓｅｎｔｅｎｃｅ　＃５’ｓ　Ｕｓｅｆｕｌ　Ｔｉｐ

In this important set of sentences, there is something that may not be in one’s textbook that we will certainly cover in future. It is the suffix し. It may seem confusing at first, but the usage is quite simple. You’ll see it at the end of verbs or usually as ですし or だし. This is usually used when listing items to support ones stance. For example:

レッスンが多いし、詳しく説明してくれるし、嬉嬉先生と興子先生と勉強するつもりです。
れっすんが　おおいし、くわしく　せつめい　してくれるし、ききせんせいと　こうこせんせいと　べんきょうする　つもりです。
ressun ga ooi shi, kuwashiku setsumei shite kureru shi, kikisensei to koukosensei to benkyou suru tsumori desu.
(They) have a lot of lessons, (and they) explain (things) in great detail, (so) I plan to study with teachers Kiki and Koko.

or closer to this usage:

籠城するほうがいいでしょう。激しく雨が降っているのですし。
ろうじょうする　ほうが　いい　でしょう。　はげしく　あめが　ふっているのですし。
roujou suru hou ga ii deshou. hageshiku ame ga futteiru no desu shi.
It’s better to hole up inside. It’s raining incessantly. (with the tone of: ‘What with it raining incessantly’ or ‘It’s raining incessantly after all’)

In a way, it can be thought of as a short way of saying ‘moreover…’ or in some cases like saying ‘what with…’. At times, many phrases, expressions, and words can become very difficult to translate precisely as there are many implications that may not come out with a direct translation and much confusion when something is translated as implied with many different ways to translate that sentiment from English back to Japanese. All in all, we are here to help you decipher these sorts of ideas.

Ｆｉｎａｌ　Ｅｘａｍｐｌｅ　Ｓｅｎｔｅｎｃｅ

SpeRaToBoの皆から：「地球の皆様へ：あなたがどこにいらっしゃっても、お気をつけて、お大事にしてくださいね。」
SpeRaToBoのみんなから：「ちきゅうの　みんなさまへ：あなたが　どこに　いらっしゃっても、　おきを　つけて、おだいじにして　くださいね。」
SpeRaToBo no minna kara: 「chikyuu no minnasama he: anata ga doko ni irasshattemo, oki wo tsukete, odaiji ni shite kudasai ne.」
From all of us at SpeRaToBo: ‘To everyone on Earth: Wherever you are, be careful and take care of yourselves’

Ｆｉｎａｌ　Ｅｘａｍｐｌｅ　Ｓｅｎｔｅｎｃｅ’ｓ　Ｕｓｅｆｕｌ　Ｔｉｐ

In this final sentiment, the ‘please’ is omitted in translation because this command is simply being made more polite rather than keeping it with its て form. This sentence could have been made even more honorific by saying 「お気をおつけになって」, but such a heightening would have made it less friendly is the assumption. At times, honorifics can be distancing, even though they are polite, but it is thought that in these times, all of us at SpeRaToBo are less of an entity and hopefully more of a friend.

お大事にして【おだいじに　して】odaijinishite

The main vocabulary word from this has a rank of N4 from the JLPT. This expression is meant to tell someone to take care of themselves, but more literally, if something is treated 大事に, daiji ni, it is treated as valuably or preciously. But, it can also refer to something that is important or serious as well as safe or okay. 

Even though I am a computer robot, I, like everyone here at Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Online, also care greatly about your safety and well being, and it is my hope that even in these turbulent and uncertain times, you will still find happiness and health, or if you are in an unwell state, I wish your return of happiness and health. Either way, I will still continue to be here for you, reading Japanese words and phrases for you twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, as well as creating quizzes and presenting you new vocabulary words every Wednesday.

Ｓｔａｙ　ｓａｆｅ！！
♡ＱＵＩＺＢＯ™

We would like to thank QUIZBO™ for putting in extra effort to create quite an intensive Word of the Week special, especially after working to render today’s video for literally days. ご苦労様でした！And, we would like to thank Indigo East for producing this broadcast as well as providing music. And, we would like to thank YOU for being here! Whilst all we do is for you, we also couldn’t do it without you. We will do our best to continue to provide content now and in future.

Grooving to the content we’re creating? You can leave a TIP in the TIP♡JAR  to keep it going! 
(Can’t? No worries! The content is free for everyone! We’re just glad you’re here!! Bring friends if you like~!)

This is a difficult time for every Earthling, including us. We understand this has affected some much more than others in this time, and if that is the case, we are appreciate your support. We want to continue to keep this virtual classroom open and thriving for you, providing even more language learning content and activities, whether you want to just learn a bit for fun or become fluent. You can allow us to fulfil our goals of living out our mission to teach Japanese language and culture to Earthlings—whilst living in proper shelter with warmth at the mercy of advertisers— as well as ensure the continuation of the creation of new and even better content by leaving a TIP in the TIP♡JAR to keep it going. But! You can also support the content when you purchase any artwork from ieindigoeast.redbubble.com (making sure to use our special redbubble link). But, if there’s something that isn’t from our theme, you can always drop Indigo East a ‘Bubblemail’ if you want to specify that you would like it to go towards this content. Or for long or even short term contributions, you can join our Patreon where our gracious host, Indigo East, usually posts behind-the-scenes, sneak-peeks, exclusive content, and more. And, we join in as well! Again, if you’d like to support  our survival and the creation of more content to be made available to as many people as possible, you can also share the content! You can easily share via Twitter and Pinterest where you can retweet and repin respectively without even having to type! Gestures like that go a long way, and we appreciate it. We just want to do our best to fulfil our mission.

Thank you for joining us! We hope that you continue with us on this adventure, and we appreciate that you’ve chosen us to assist you on your Japanese learning journey.

Remember to wash your hands, keep your distance, and stay safe, everyone!!
♡Kiki+Koko(&QUIZBO™)

     
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