皆様, こんにちにゃあぁ！Welcome to Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Online! We’re your disk jockeys, your radio hosts, Kiki and Koko, turning that Japanese language and culture learning mixtape to ＳＩＤＥＢ.  And, you may want to keep an 鉛筆, えんぴつ, around. But, not to wind the tape back in place. No matter how many times you play this cassette, you won’t find yourself tangled up ina veritable pile of 刻みのり, kizami nori, of magnetic strips. No, this 鉛筆, えんぴつ, is for 書くこと！That’s right. We’ll give you some examples of useful things you’ll be able to practise outside of the obvious sentence creation. We’ll be presenting even more Japanese vocabulary related to the classroom. But, again, these words are not just for classrooms or offices. These words are useful in so many situations! And, in fact, as verbs, they’re perfect to practise every day! (Do be sure to return to ensure you’re pronouncing them correctly, though.) Of course, this method works with every type of word, but the kinaesthetic nature of verbs can make using them along with the action something to properly ingrain these words into your mind and eventually into your natural speech!

🔊[QUIZ]Listening, Reading, & Translation Practice| Basic Classroom Vocabulary | TAPE 1 + TAPE 2 – SIDE A || Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Japanese Language Learning Essentials

These vocabulary words are not meant to simply stand on their own—even though, of course they can, as gathering more vocabulary is always useful—however, we have done something even more useful to you than simply providing random vocabulary. By not only tying these to a specific topic, we have anchored a more visualisable idea. But, also, we have been sure to provide other forms of speech for you. By having more than one part of speech with which to work, there is the ability to mix and match words and phrases in order to practise creating sentences, connecting ideas, using particles, and making it more natural to memorise. Though rote memorisation is useful for many things, it can feel more fulfilling to continue to gather words you can actually use in tandem with each other. Then, you not only have the chance to fit these words together and use them as early as you would like, but then you’re also consolidating these vocabulary as less to memorise. Well, they’re still the same amount of memorisation, but the point is that you’re able to group these ideas together and it makes it so much more organised in your mind.

🔊[QUIZ]Listening, Reading, & Translation Practice| Basic Classroom Vocabulary | TAPE 1 + TAPE 2 – SIDE B || Kiki+Koko: Let’s NihonGO!! Japanese Language Learning Essentials

When you were presented with adjectives and nouns, the ability to use them in conjunction in simple sentences became a bit clearer with the quizzes we provided:  🔊[QUIZ] SIDE A and 🔊[QUIZ] SIDE B. In each of these, you were not only testing your skills, but actually assisting yourself in the memorisation of these vocabulary words. It’s a useful form of practice. Though it’s impossible to completely consolidate learning a new language into something passive, these simple ‘tricks’ are just the natural ways human brains would do best learning. Of course, everyone is different, and if there are any learning styles that work best for you, feel free to communicate them to us! But, in the meantime, everyone can usually benefit from using as many learning styles at once as possible—as it can be a bit of a myth that someone only learns one way; many people learn best multiple ways or just by using any and all learning styles. There’s no harm in it as it’s simply exposing you to the vocabulary in different ways that make learning fun and engaging.

Speaking of combining the practice of many skills at once, we have something you may want to use that  鉛筆, えんぴつ, for! Writing is a useful way to practise your stroke order, of which we explain here. It’s a useful way to get a better grasp of some of these concepts by physically writing them, then eventually practising them without writing. But, even still, there will be many kanji in the future to practise, so you’ll certainly want to keep a ノート、のーと, handy! Basically, after learning the basics of Japanese verbs and how they function, you’ll find it useful to try to identify the verb stems as well as creating their マス形, ますけい, and conjunctive forms. For many, it’s easier to write these down rather than simply visualise it or say them aloud. In fact, it makes it much more manageable. But, before jumping into it, you’ll certainly want to be sure you understand the tools you’ll be using.

Also, many of today’s vocabulary relies heavily on 助詞, joshi, or particles. Many of these can change their meaning completely based on the particle used, more than just the implication, but the actual definition. Either way, you’ll certainly get a lot of use from doing your best to compose sentences using the previous vocabulary. If you’re confused about the particles you’ll need to use, we can assist you, but we’ll also try to have the proper examples to help you with each of these.

Simple Survival Sentence Study

Again, this lesson will be useful for so much more than simply building important vocabulary, but it will be another great opportunity to practise your grammar and maybe discover some more areas of grammar you may want to revise/review or need to learn in future.

A great way to use these would be opening a separate tab, window, or device where you can reference these to create sentences. Now, onto the vocabulary section~!

But, what would these vocabulary words be without knowing how to pronounce them? That’s why we have with us today, our good computer robot friend and quiz creator extraordinaire, QUIZBO™くん！(The ™ is silent)

Hello, there！僕、 QUIZBO™くんです！名詞を学ぼう！Let’s NihonGO!!

If you remember from previous instalments, this is a portable version, QUIZBO™ Mini, who lives here on the site. He’ll be here to help sound out these vocabulary words for you. You can click the sound ‘bytes’ as many times as you’d like, QUIZBO™ won’t mind. ( Get it, bytes? … Computer?  …We’ll stick to teaching Japanese. )

You can click the 「▶」button as many times as you like, day or night, and he’ll repeat them. Return when these vocabulary words come to mind so that you can keep your pronunciation in check. Though he’s a robot, he’s quite skilled at speaking human language. He’s lovely with tones, as well, and he will read each mora so you can spell it properly in kana.

Are you ready!? Let’s NihonGO!!

Basic Classroom Vocabulary | 基本的な教室の単語 | Verbs | 動詞

‼ご注意‼ Many of these words have multiple definitions, but to keep this streamlined, we’ve made sure to include the applicable definitions. Many Japanese verbs have different actions or meanings or even implications depending on the context, and sometimes localisations and translations will adjust them to feel more natural to English speech. So, just be aware and double check or even ask us in the comment section or through social media if you’re not sure about a verb. Anyway! Onto the vocabulary!

聞く【きく】kiku

to ask※

質問が　あったら、先生に　聞くべきです。
しつもんが　あったら、せんせいに　きくべんきです。
shitsumon ga attara, sensei ni kiku beki desu.
If you have a question, you ought to ask the teacher.

「昼食は　いつなの？」とビリーくんが　聞きました。
「ちゅうしょくは　いつなの？」と　びりーくんが　ききました。
「chuushoku wa itsu nano?」to biriikun ga kikimashita.
‘When’s lunch?’ asked Billy.

Helpful Hints with Kiki+Koko:
※This isn’t the only way to say ‘to ask’, and it’s also not the only meaning of 聞く, but do be careful because depending on the particle, the meaning of 聞く, kiku, can change back to its usual ‘to hear’ OR ‘to listen’. Often, if it’s to do with listening to music, you’ll use 聴く rather than 聞く, however in legal context, you may use 聴く for asking. But, if you aren’t going to be reading legal Japanese documents, then simply think of the first,  聞く, kiku, as hear, ask, and listen, unless it’s music, then you’ll use 聴く. But, again, things are a bit less simple, but hopefully that’s useful enough to continue on.

質問をする【しつもんを　する】shitsumon wo suru

to ask a question; to ask questions

友達に　宿題について　いくつかの　質問を　しました。
友達に　しゅくだいについて　いくつかの　しつもんを　しました。
tomodachi ni shukudai ni tsuite ikutsuka no shitsumon wo shimashita.
I asked my friend a few questions about my homework.

答える【こたえる】kotaeru

to answer; to reply

その質問に　答えるのは　易くないですね。
そのしつもんに　こたえるのは　やすくないですね。
sono shitsumon ni kotaeru no wa yasukunai desu ne.
Answering that question isn’t easy.

「2 足す２は４」と　生徒は　答えました。
「に　たす　には　よん」と　せいとは　こたえました。
「ni tasu ni wa yon」to seito wa kotaemashita.
‘Two plus two is four’ replied the student.

We’ll be right back with more vocabulary and example sentences after these messages!

Thank you for helping us keep the lights on! Now, back to more vocabulary!

捨てる【すてる】suteru

to throw away; to discard

ゴミを　ちゃんと　ゴミ箱に　捨ててください。
ごみを　ちゃんと　ごみばこに　すててください。
gomi wo chanto gomibako ni sutete kudasai.
Please properly throw the rubbish into the rubbish bins.

あああ！！スプーンを　捨ててしちゃった！
あああ！！すぷーんを　すててしちゃった！
aaa!! supuun wo sutete shichatta!
Ahhh! I (accidentally) threw away the spoon!

置く【おく】oku

to put

本棚に　本を　綺麗に　置いた。
ほんだなに　ほんを　きれいに　おいた。
hondana ni hon wo kirei ni oita.
I placed the book neatly on the bookshelf.

鉛筆を　机の上に　置いてください。
えんぴつを　つくえのうえに　おいてください。
enpitsu wo tsukue no ue ni oite kudasai.
Please put (down) your pencil on the desk.

辞書を引く【じしょを　ひく】jisho wo hiku

to consult a dictionary; to ‘look up’ in the dictionary

言っていることが分からなかったら、辞書を　引いてもいいよ。
いっていることが　わからなかったら、　じしょを　ひいてもいいよ。
itteiru koto ga wakaranakattara, jisho wo hiitemo ii yo.
If you don’t understand what I’m saying, you can consult a dictionary.

調べる【しらべる】shiraberu

to look up; to examine; to check

辞書で　単語を　調べました。
じしょで　たんごを　しらべました。
jisho de tango wo shirabemashita.
I looked up the word in the dictionary.

地図を　調べ、「トルコ」の位置を示しなさい。
ちずを　しらべ、「とるこ」の　いちを　しめしなさい。
chizu wo shirabe, 「toruko」no ichi wo shimeshinasai.
Examine the map, and indicate the location of ‘Turkey.’

使う【つかう】tsukau

to use

このテストに　カンペを　使っても　良いです。
この　てすとに　かんぺを　つかっても　よいです。
kono tesuto ni kanpe wo tsukattemo yoi desu.
For this test, you can use a crib sheet.

こんなに易しい問題を　解けるに　計算機を　使うことは　要らない。
こんなに　やさしいもんだいを　とけるに　けいさんきを　つかうことは　いらない。
konna ni yasashii mondai wo tokeru ni keisanki wo tsukau koto wa iranai.
You don’t need to use a calculator to solve such an easy problem.

Helpful Hints with Kiki+Koko:
※This can also be used in the expression: to eat a bentou or boxed lunch: 弁当を使う, bentou wo tsukau.

食べる【たべる】taberu

[Find out from this Word of the Week with QUIZBO™くん]

Support your kinaesthetic learning along with even more Japanese language and culture lessons in new and more extravagant formats with this notebook and more with this design available at ieindigoeast.redbubble.com

切る【きる】kiru

to cut

鋏で　紙を　切りました。
はさみで　かみを　きりました。
hasami de kami wo kirimashita.
I cut the paper with scissors.

ちゃんと　切りたかったら、鋏は　要りますよね。
ちゃんと　きりたかったら、はさみは　いりますよね。
chanto kiritakattara, hasami wa irimasu yo ne.
If you want to cut it properly, you’ll want scissors.

Helpful Hints with Kiki+Koko:
Be sure to differentiate the pronunciation of 切るand 着る, to wear, in certain contexts. You wouldn’t want to mistakenly say you’re going to cut some clothes rather than wear them. 

計る【はかる】hakaru

to measure

紙の　長さを　計るに　三角定規のほうが　いいの？
かみの　ながさを　はかるに　さんかくじょうぎの　のほうが　いいの？
kami no nagasa wo hakaru ni sankakujougi no hou ga ii no?
Is it better to use a set square to measure the length of the paper?

定規は　長さを　計るのです。
じょうぎは　ながさを　はかるのです。
jougi wa nagasa wo hakaru no desu.
Rulers measure length.

詰める【つめる】tsumeru

to pack

修学旅行に行くから、弁当を詰めなければならない。
しゅうがくりょこうに　いくから、べんとうを　つめなければならない。
shuugakuryokou ni iku kara, bentou wo tsumenakereba naranai.
I’m going on a school trip, so I have to pack my lunch.

お母さんは　弁当を　詰めたの？
おかあさんは　べんとうを　つめたの？
okaasan wa bentou wo tsumetano?
Did you mum pack your lunch?

Well, well, well! We’ve reached the end of today’s vocabulary! No worries, though, this won’t be the last you’ll see of these useful vocabulary words. Even though we’ve reached the end of ＳＩＤＥＢ, that doesn’t mean you can’t turn it back over any time you like! And, don’t worry, this is certainly quite a few vocabulary words to learn, but we’ll continue to assist you with them every step of the way. We’ll help you use these to bolster your grammar and conjugation skills and knowledge, as well! There’s no end to the possibilities of what you can learn with these. And, in the meantime, we encourage you to use these as often as you can, creating your own sentences. If you’d like, you can always submit your sentences to us! Don’t worry if they’re not correct, learning is about making mistakes, and we’ll do our best to assist you with them and explain them so you’ll soon be able to survive with these tools.

Also, you may have noticed the use of a lot of hiragana. Well, it’s essential to learn how to read and write if you want to do your best with Japanese language! And, also, it’s just fun. Whether you’re just learning for the first time, or you want to improve your handwriting and reading skills, we recommend our Reading and Writing lessons. We’ll be there for you, cheering you on! Don’t feel as though you have to rush yourself. It’s a brand new language with its own writing system. Just give it your best and celebrate every one of your accomplishments. Whether it’s a few hiragana or every one of the main kanji, it’s important to appreciate what you know and how far you’ve travelled! We’ll have a new location for you to travel with new tips, tools, and tricks to help you on your way every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!

But, maybe you already had been following the lessons since the beginning, but couldn’t catch the latest because you may have lost track of the days of the week or you didn’t get to see when our content is usually, posted, or maybe you just want to start staying in the know, never missing out on anything again as of this moment forward! Stay up to date without even having to look at the calendar by subscribing to the Electronic Mailing List of Tomorrow, today, found usually at the bottom of the site page or the sidebar on desktop. You’ll get the latest tools and resources to surviving in Japanese language in straight to your inbox. That’s articles, videos, podcasts, and more.

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Stay Safe!!
♡Kiki+Koko

     
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