What Can You Find Here?

You can click on the category titles to see the posts under the category:

Korean Through Hanja 한자어 정선: Each blog post will have some Sino-Korean words with a common Chinese character. If I were to learn 5 new Sino-Korean Words a day, that means I can learn more than 1800 words a year.
All entries will use Traditional Chinese, the standard used in Korea. Take note that there will be differences with Japanese Kanji and obviously Simplified Chinese.

Canto Mando Menu 菜單指南 I love Chinese food, and eventually I would like to learn how to read a Chinese menu entirely and be able to order in Mandarin and Cantonese. Blog posts will be in English and Japanese.

Yoji-Time 四字熟語: Learn how to use some common 4-character Japanese idiomatic expressions.

Kotowaza Corner ことわざ・コーナー Learn how to use some common Japanese idiomatic expressions.

Observations on Language Learning: Just as the title says!

Please visit my all-Korean practice blog by clicking here..
Go to my personal blog by clicking here.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

中上级单词 Upper-Intermediate Chinese Vocabulary #1

I will learn 100 new words from this article - which is about positivity in the workplace.
我从这篇文章能学到 100个新单词。


  1. 社区【shèqū community.
  2. 召开【zhàokāi convene; convoke.
  3. 指望【zhǐwang look to; count on; prospect; hope.
  4. 主旨【zhǔzhǐ purport; substance; gist.
  5. 发言人【fāyánrénspokesman.
  6. 哈佛【hāfóHarvard University.
  7. 讲授【jiǎngshòu lecture; instruct; teach.
  8. 热门【rèmén in great demand; popular.
  9. 冥想【míngxiǎng deep thought; meditation.
  10. 激励【jīlì】 encourage; impel; urge; inspire; drive; excitation.
  11. 摆脱【bǎituō】 cast of; shake off; break away from; free (extricate) oneself
  12. from.
  13. 中的【zhòngdì】 hit the mark; hit the nail on the head.
  14. 灰暗【huī'àn murky grey; gloomy.
  15. 情绪【qíngxù】 morale; feeling; mood; sentiments; depression; moodiness; the sulks.
  16. 满脑子【mǎnnǎozihave one's mind stuffed with.
  17. 振作【zhènzuò】 bestir oneself; display vigour.
  18. 心态【xīntài point of view; attitude.
  19. 消极【xiāojí】 negative; font-family:mingliu;passive; inactive.
  20. 雇主【gùzhǔ】 employer.
  21. 聘请【pìnqǐng engage; invite.
  22. 融合【rónghé】 mix together; fuse; merge.
  23. 事务【shìwù】 work; routine; general affairs.
  24. 大批【dàpī】 large quantities (or numbers, amounts) of; mass criticism.
  25. 推行【tuīxíng carry out; pursue; practise.
  26. 思维【sīwéi thought; thinking.
  27. 承担【chéngdān bear; undertake; assume.
  28. 失业【shīyè lose one's job; be out of work; be unemployed.
  29. 威胁【wēixié threaten; menace; imperil.
  30. 之际【zhījì at the time of.
  31. 面向【miànxiàng turn one's face to; turn in the direction of; face; be geared to the needs of; cater to.
  32. 指责【zhǐzécensure; criticize; find fault with.
  33. 得以【déyǐ so that ... can (or may) ....
  34. 逃避【táobì escape; evade; shirk.
  35. 业绩【yèjī outstanding achievement.
  36. 有益【yǒuyì profitable; beneficial; useful.
  37. 业务【yèwù vocational work; professional work; business.
  38. 活跃【huóyuè brisk; active; dynamic; enliven; animate; invigorate.
  39. 氛围【fēnwéi atmosphere.
  40. 相互【xiānghù mutual; reciprocal; each other.
  41. 鼓舞【gǔwǔ inspire; hearten.
  42. 利润【lìrùn profit.
  43. 愉悦【yúyuè joyful; cheerful; delighted.
  44. 思路【sīlù train of thought; thinking.
  45. 开阔【kāikùo open; wide; tolerant; widen.
  46. 创造性【chuàngzàoxìng creativeness; creativity.
  47. 公报【gōngbào communique; bulletin.
  48. 失误【shīwù fault; muff.
  49. 给予【jǐyǔ give; render; offer.
  50. 评价【píngjià appraise; evaluate.
  51. 辅导【fǔdào give guidance in study or training; coach.
  52. 传授【chuánshòu pass on; impart; teach.
  53. 处事【chǔshì the way one conduct oneself in public.
  54. 技能【jìnéng technic ability; mastery of a skill or technique.
  55. 困境【kùnjìng difficult position; predicament; straits.
  56. 在于【zàiyú lie in; rest with; be determined by; depend on.
  57. 混乱【hùnluàn confusion; chaos.
  58. 厄运【èyùn adversity; misfortune.
  59. 采用【cǎiyòng adopt; use; employ.
  60. 新手【xīnshǒu new hand; raw recruit.
  61. 往往【wǎngwǎng often, frequently; more often than not.
  62. 思绪【sīxù train of thought; thinking; feeling.
  63. 期望【qíwàng hope; wish.
  64. 回报【huíbào report back on what has been done; repay; requite; reciprocate;
  65. retaliate; get one's own back.
  66. 感激【gǎnjī feel grateful; be thankful; feel indebted.
  67. 钦佩【qīnpèi admire; esteem.
  68. 赞美【zànměi praise; eulogize.
  69. 注意【zhùyì pay attention to; take note (or notice) of.
  70. 集中【jízhōng concentrate; centralize; focus; amass; put together.
  71. 不假思索【bùjiǎsīsuǒ without due consideration.
  72. 上好【shànghǎo first-class; best-quality; tip-top.
  73. 标签【biāoqiān label; tag.
  74. 负面【fùmiàn negative; negative effect.
  75. 灌输【guànshū instil into; inculcate; imbue with.
  76. 疾病【jíbìng disease; illness.
  77. 障碍【zhàng'ài hinder; obstruct; obstacle; obstruction; barrier; impediment.
  78. 长岛【ChángDǎo Place Name - Area code: 0535, Postcode: 265800 (山东省).
  79. 名誉【míngyù fame; reputation.
  80. 学院【xuéyuàn college; academy; institute.
  81. 赢得【yíngdé win; gain.
  82. 大师【dàshī great master; master; Great Master - a courtesy title used
  83. to address a Buddhist monk.
  84. 犹太教【yóutàijiào Judaism.
  85. 常见【chángjiàn common.
  86. 信条【xìntiáo article of creed or faith; creed; precept; tenet.
  87. 有助于【yǒuzhùyú contribute to; be conductive to; conduce to..
  88. 得出【déchū reach (a conclusion); obtain (a result).
  89. 更替【gēngtì replace.
  90. 改革【gǎigé reform.
  91. 不知【bùzhī unknowing(ly).
  92. 变化【biànhuà change; vary.
  93. 长远【chángyuǎn long-term; long-range.
  94. 过早【guòzǎo premature; too early; too soon.
  95. 下结论【xiàjiélùn perorate.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

中上级单词 Upper-Intermediate Chinese Vocabulary

To try to build up my Chinese vocabulary, I will choose an article from a Chinese website, parse it, and then list any unknown vocabulary here. I will list the links to the original article so that any of you who are interested can see how the vocabulary is used in context. I will post a new article as soon as I feel that I have fully understood and memorized the vocabulary I chose to study from the previous article.
加油!

Daily Korean Verb and Adjective # 2

The Korean and English example sentences are from the Naver Dictionary.

salty 塩辛い
Example:
캐비어는 맛이 짜고 가격이 아주 비싸다.
Caviar is an salty and expensive food.
キャビアは味が塩辛くて価格がとても高い。
鱼子酱味道咸价格贵。 / 魚子醬味道鹹價格很貴。
Ang caviar ay maalat at mamahaling na pagkain.

걷다 to walk 歩く
Examples:
1) “너 거기엔 어떻게 갔니?” “걸어갔어.”
How did you get here?' ‘I walked.'
「どうやって来たの?」「歩いて来た」
“你是怎么来的?”“我走路来。” / “你是怎麼來的?”“我走路來。”
”Paano ka p
umunta dito?""Naglakad ako."


Friday, May 7, 2010

Daily Korean Verb and Adjective # 1

The Korean and English example sentences are from the Naver Dictionary.

가지다
to bring / to have 持つ

Examples:
1) 돈은 얼마나 가졌니?
How much money do you have?

お金はどこのぐらい持っているの?
你有多少钱? / 你有多少錢?
Magkano ang (perang) dala mo?

2)손에 가진 게 뭐야?
What do you have in your hand?
手に持っているのは何?
你的手里有什么东西? / 你的手裡有麼東西?
Ano ang nasa kamay mo?



달다 to be sweet 甘い
Examples:
1) 나는 뭔가 단 것이 너무 먹고 싶었다.
I had a craving for something sweet.
私は何か甘いものを本当に食べたかった。
我很想吃什么甜的东西。/ 我很想吃甚麼甜的東西。
Gusto kong kumain ng matamis.

2)이 포도주가 내겐[내 입에는] 너무 달다.
This wine is too sweet for me.
このワインは私にとって(私の口にとって)とても甘い。
这个葡萄酒对我来说太甜。/ 這個葡萄酒對我來說太甜。
Masyadong matamis ang wine na ito para sa akin.

Old Video - Passing JLPT Level 1

I made this video when I found out I passed Level 1 of the JLPT. It was a very important milestone in my study of Japanese. This doesn't mean of course that I will stop studying Japanese. In many ways, it marks the beginning of another challenge, to find a career where I can use Japanese. It also means that I can finally study things that in the past may have seemed out of my league or impractical. Anyway, I hope this video inspires those who are learning Japanese, whether or not you are interested in taking the test. 頑張ってね!

Daily Korean Verb and Adjective

Everyday I will post a Korean verb and adjective with examples from the online Naver dictionary, and translate the examples into English and Japanese (and into Chinese if I can). I will do this so I can gradually build up my base of verbs and adjectives, which I currently lack. Hopefully, this will be helpful for other learners of Korean as well.

Monday, January 25, 2010

簡単な豆腐炒め

今日はスーパーで買ってきた材料で簡単な料理を作った。普通は豆腐と挽肉を買う時は、マーボー豆腐を作るんだけど、うちに豆板醤がなかったので「マーボー豆腐風」の料理を作った。



豆板醤の代わりにコチュジャン、料理酒と醤油を混ぜたソースを使った。玉ねぎ、ニンニクと挽肉を炒めて、コチュジャン・ベースのソースと豆腐を入れて、1~2分ぐらい煮込んだら完成!冷蔵庫に人参が有ったのでそれも多めに入れたんだ。

皆さんも作ってみて下さい。

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

スーパーで胡瓜のキムチある?

先月から色々な韓国料理を挑戦し始めた。それで何回も胡瓜のキムチを作った。でも実はレストランや店の胡瓜のキムチは何年も食べていないから、今日はスーパーで胡瓜のキムチを買いに行こうと思ったけど...見つからなかったんだ!普通は胡瓜のキムチを買わないけど、自分が作ったキムチとスーパーで売っているのをちょっと比べたかったから買いに行った。普通のスーパーでは売ってないの?

以下の写真は自分の手作り胡瓜のキムチ

Monday, January 18, 2010

今月からお金を貯めようと思ったのに

カメラは壊してしまった!!!最悪だぜ~!
今日は作ったご飯の写真をフェース・ブックにアップしたかったからご飯の写真を撮ったんだけど、SDカードを取り外してからカメラを起動した時に全然反応がなかった。問題があったら普通は画面に何かのエラー・メッセージが出てくるけど、今回は何もなかった。電池の問題かなと思って電池を充電してまた使おうとしたけどやっぱり起動しなかった。シオのウェブサイトにはレンズ修理は9000円もかかるとあるけど、しょうがない。新しいカメラを買いたいけど今のやつは勿体ないからさ。


でもなぜ突然壊れたかわからない。写真を撮った時にはカメラを出来るだけ食べ物の近くに置いて撮ったけど、その瞬間には食べ物から出た蒸気がレンズに入ったかもしれない。でも、ずっと前からそういうことをやってたけど全然問題はなかったけど、今回は不幸運に遭った。最悪!

Sunday, January 17, 2010

還有3個月就要離開日本了




三個月以後,我在日本的生活就要結束了。我去年決定不繼續在日本工作。在日本这一年半多的時間,我體驗到了很多東西:親眼看到了日本的學生是甚麼樣子,跟本地的人做朋友,也提高了自己的日語水平。於是我覺得自己已經達到了10年前定下的目標。


當時我是個中學生。我們一年級的學生都必須學日文。父母告訴我日文是一門很難學的語言,所以如果想要考試及格的話,就要認真的學習。不過我發現了其實是相反的。我越來越喜歡了日文和日本文化了。後來,我決定去日本留學,也想將來在日本工作一段時間。現在,我已經實現了這些夢想。雖然不是跟我想像的那麼理想,但還是很難忘的經歷。我已經不想將來再長期住在日本了。不過希望能找到一份可以每天用日文的工作。