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初めまして vs 始めまして

Posted on October 21st, 2017 by Art Vandelay
In general, one of the phrases that a Japanese learner learned in the very first stage is “はじめまして”. However, in terms of Kanji, which one do you think is appropriate for this phrase: 初めまして or 始めまして?
 
Personally, I thought it should be “初めまして”. The reason is that… well… somehow… I don’t know… it should be that way. (embarrassed…) However, there are different explanations in different dictionaries. Some say that it should be “始めまして”. In contrast, some say “初” is the way to describe the “time”, and “始” is to describe “things” or “event”. However, they also say there is no an absolute answer for that.
 
After the investigation, my understanding is that there is a trend for the usage whereas both Kanji are correct for “はじめまして”.
 
When it comes to the meaning of “start”, you should use “始”. In contrast, when it comes to “the first time”, you should use “初”. Let’s practice by the following examples.
 
９時ちょうどになったら、テストをはじめてください。(始めて)
 
はじめてこのセミナーに参加される方は、ここに名前を書いてください。(初めて)
 
先月から日本語の勉強をはじめました。(始め)
 
日本語の勉強は　はじめてですか？(初めて)
 
See you next week!

Typical mistakes made between “うれしい” and “楽しい” – Episode 1

Posted on October 13th, 2017 by Art Vandelay

Don’t be surprised! Yes, that’s right. Many students misuse these two words because they both mean “happy”. From this week I will introduce how to distinguish the difference. Let’s first go through 4 typical misused examples to consider why they are not appropriate.

Example 1
オウ：先生、キムさんは昨日、久しぶりにチンさんと会えました。
(せんせい、キムさんはきのう、ひさしぶりにちんさんとあえました)
Kim-san met with Chin-san yesterday since a long time ago.
教師：それは　よかったですね。
(それは、よかったですね)
キムさんはチンさんに、ずっと会いたがっていましたものね。
(キムさんはちんさんに、ずっとあいたがっていましたものね)
That’s good. Kim-san wanted to want to meet with Chin-san.
オウ：はい。キムさんは　とても　うれしかったです。
(はい、キムさんはとても嬉しかったです)
Yes, Kim-san was so happy yesterday.

Example 2
キム：先生、きのう　初めてアルバイト代をもらいました。とても楽しかったです。
(せんせい、きのうはじめてあるばいとだいをもらいました。とてもたのしかったです)
I got my first part-time payment yesterday. I was so happy.

Example 3
ソウ：先生、この学期は　とても　うれしかったです。
(せんせい、このがっきはとてもうれしかったです)
I had a lot of fun this semester.

Example 4
マリ：先生、きのう陳さんの家へ遊びに行きました。
(せんせい、きのうちんさんのいえへあそびにいきました)
I went to Chin-san’s home.
教師：それは　よかったですね。
(それはよかったですね)
That’s good.
マリ：陳さんは　みんなに　うれしい話をしてくれました。
(ちんさんはみんなにうれしいはなしをしてくれました)
Chin-san talked a lot of funny things.

I will announce the answer next week so try to do your best to guess.

Typical mistakes made between “うれしい” and “楽しい” – Episode 2

Posted on October 13th, 2017 by Art Vandelay
Hi, guys! How is your guess doing? I will introduce the answer for the 4 examples.
 
Example 1
うれしい/楽しい is used to express ONLY the feeling about the speaker, that is, it is not appropriate to describe the feeling of the third party. Thus, you could adjust the phrase as below to describe キムさん’s feeling.
– キムさんはとてもうれしそうでした。
– キムさんはとてもうれしかったと思います。
 
Example 2
うれしい is used to show the feeling at a particular moment. In contrast, たのしい is about a continuous feeling. Thus, you should うれしい in this case.
 
Example 3
たのしい should be used under the situation where you participate in something yourself. In contrast, うれしい is about the instantaneous feelings. So you should use たのしい in this case.
 
Example 4
As うれしい is about personal feeling, it is not appropriate to use it with words like みんな. In contrast, たのしい is about general feeling. Thus, you should use たのしい in this case.
 
See you next week!

So many wives! – history about 妻(つま), 嫁(よめ), 女房(にょうぼう), 奥さん(おくさん), 家内(かない) and かみさん

Posted on September 29th, 2017 by Art Vandelay
Continuing our topic, I will introduce the last two vocabularies about wife: 家内(かない) and かみさん.
 
家内(かない)
 
家内(かない) used to mean “inside the house”. However, interestingly, a huge “revolution” happened to this word in 明治時代(めいじじだい, 1868 – 1912). During that period, Japan had gradually transformed to have the same social system as western countries. Then, it turned out that men go to work in offices and women become full-time housewives. As a result, this kind of family has been increasing by a huge number. Therefore, a wife became the person who stays at home, eventually, it turned out to be家内(かない).
 
However, it is common that a female has a job at present time. Therefore, calling your wife “家内(かない)” is relatively not appropriate.
 
かみさん
 
Original かみさん is 上様 (かみさま), the people who are superior to you. Thus, かみさん is not appropriate for the wife who has an equal relationship with the husband.
 
I hope you have enjoyed the history of different words of wives. See you next week!

So many wives! – history about 妻(つま), 嫁(よめ), 女房(にょうぼう), 奥さん(おくさん), 家内(かない) and かみさん

Posted on September 22nd, 2017 by Art Vandelay
Last week we have learned about the history of妻(つま), 嫁(よめ). Do you still remember the difference? 妻(つま) is the female who is permitted by parents to live with a male. 嫁(よめ) is “son’s wife”. Today I will introduce女房(にょうぼう) and 奥さん(おくさん).
 
女房(にょうぼう)
 
In 平安時代(へいあんじだい, 794 – 1192), there had always been several mates working in the high nobility houses. That is the group of people who take care of cooking, cleaning the house and other chores. They usually live their bosses’ house. In particular, the room in which female mates live has a special name called “房(ぼう)”. Interestingly, somehow those females live in “房(ぼう)” turned out to be “女房(にょうぼう)”. Therefore, 女房(にょうぼう) means the female assistant. So it is not appropriate to call you wife as女房(にょうぼう).
 
奥さん(おくさん)
 
The very first奥さん(おくさん) was recorded in北条幻庵覚書(ほうじょうげんあんおぼえがき) in 1562. It actually came from the word of 奥方(おくがた). 奥方(おくがた) means the inner room of a house. In the past, the partner of highly aristocratic male usually lives in the奥方(おくがた). People call those female奥方(おくがた) to show their respect. However, the name has gradually changed from奥方(おくがた) to 奥さん as time flies by. Therefore, 奥方(おくがた) means other people’s partner who lives in the inner room. So it is not appropriate to call your wife奥方(おくがた).
 
I hope you like it. See you next week!
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