日本語の練習 第118週
Japanese Practice Week 118
2022年02月27日「日」第118週
Hello everyone! Starting this week off with what I think about when it comes to Japan. So, let’s continue.
日本語のイベント／EVENT IN JAPANESE
日本といえば、どんな思いが浮かべますか？僕として、趣味以外では、桜、富士山、日本のことを考えている。２３日は富士山の日で天皇誕生日でした。日本に旅行したことがないけど、日本はきれいな国だと思います。日本に旅行したら、富士山に登りたいと思います。
N3 文法
[ないことはない]
can, is not impossible
Used to express that with hard work or effort that anything is possible.
V[ないーform] + ことは(も)ない
N + では/じゃ+ ないことは(も)ない
いーAdj （drop い）+ くないことは(も)ない
なーAdj では/じゃ+ ないことは(も)ない
Ex: 今復習すればテストが合格しないことはもない。
(We can still pass the test if we review now.)
Ex: 亡霊を信じらない人じゃないことはないけど、亡霊があるかどうかわからない。
(It’s not that I’m a person that believes in ghosts, it’s just that I don’t know if they exist or not.)
Ex: この方法はのほうがよくないこともないけど、この方法がしか知らないから。
(It’s not that this method isn’t better, it’s just the only one I know.)
Ex: 「できる」と思ったら、こんな状況は無理じゃないことはない。
(If you think “I can do it” then a situation like this isn’t impossible.)
[なんか・なんて・など]
such as, things like
There are a few ways you can use this grammar:
- Give examples
- Being humble about something
- Make light of or look down on something
- Express a feeling of surprise
So what’s the deal with have three different ways to say this? All depends on how informal or formal you want to be. Plus there is a difference on spoken and written Japanese.
なんか is used informally. なんて is less formal but more polite than なんか. Then there is など, which mainly used in written Japanese than spoken like the first two. It is more formal.
N + なんて/なんか/など
Phrase + なんて
Ex: 今勉強中だから、大きい音なんて邪魔だよ。
*Giving an example
(I’m studying right now, so something like loud noises get in the way.)
Ex: 彼女は僕なんてには話しかけてくれようとしないだろう。
(She wouldn’t talk to someone like me.)
Ex: そんなセリフを聞くなんて恥ずかしいですよね。
*To belittle
(It’s embarrassing hearing that kind of line.)
Ex: 僕はそんな理由なんていらないよ。やりたいものがあるなら、やります。
*Make light of
(I don’t need a mere reason. If there’s something I want to do, I’ll do it.)
Ex: 先生がゲーマーなんて踊りきました。
*Express a feeling of surprise
(Surprised that the teacher is a gamer.)
N3 動詞／N3 VERBS
協力（する）
きょうりょくする
cooperation; collaboration
協 = co-, cooperation
力 = power, strength
This one is very self explanatory. Cooperating with someone else. Putting your power with a group or another person to do something. Like the spirit bomb from Dragon Ball or how Naruto uses Shadow Clones to beat the crap out of a Chuunin in the first episode. Or how Kyon is telling Haruhi to start her club without him because he wants nothing to do with her (spoiler alert = Haruhi doesn’t take no for an answer).
対話／DIALGOUE
Sibling wants to play a game. Wonder what it is.
[兄弟とゲームする]
A: ね、兄貴、ゲームをしたい。
B: どんなゲーム。
A: マインクラフト·ダンジョンズ。
B: こんなゲームって、なんで。
A: すっごく楽しいよ。お願い、休みはつまらないし、久しぶりゲーム一緒にするし。
B: ったく。いいよ。２時間だけだな。あとで、ワンピース見てる。
A: ありがとう、兄貴。
B: へえへえ。
[Siblings Playing a Game]
A: Hey bro, I wanna play a game.
B: What kind?
A: Minecraft Dungeons.
B: Why that one?
A: It’s really fun. Please, the break’s been boring and we haven’t played a game together in a while.
B: Geez fine. Only 2 hours, alright. After that, I’m watching One Piece.
A: Thanks, bro.
B: Yeah, yeah.
実況から勉強する：キングダムハーツ
LEARN FROM LET’S PLAYS: KINGDOM HEARTS
Let’s make are way down to the cavern and get that Navigation Gummi. But what else the boys find there?
①ナビグミを手にいれた！
さ、みんなのところに戻（も）ろう。
- Obtained Navi-Gummi!
- Alright, let’s head back to everyone.
- EN: Let’s go back and join the others.
※戻ろう is the volitional form of 戻る which means to return or to go back. You can use the volitional form to express “let’s do…”, hence the let’s head back that I used here.
🎮I wonder how Cid put that gummi block inside the wall like that.
②少（すこ）しは休（やす）まなきゃ。
。。。うん。
- Gotta rest up a bit.
- EN: We should rest up.
- Sure.
- EN: Okay.
③闇（やみ）の奥（おく）の光（ひかり） かーー
ああ ばあちゃんのおとぎ話？
- The light within the darkness huh…
- EN: A light at the end of the tunnel…
- Oh, from that old lady’s fairy tale, right?
- EN: Oh, your grandma’s story, right?
※ The word おとぎ話（お伽話）means fairy tale. You might remember this word form a “What’s in a Title” about anime that cam out in Fall 2021.
④そっか ずっと一緒（いっしょ）だったもんね。
笑（わら）っちゃうよな。
- Oh that’s right. We were always together.
- EN: That’s right. We were together.
- It’s funny.
- EN: You know what’s funny?
※ Kairi’s a bit taken aback at first here. She was probably thinking how does he know about that. Then she realizes, oh right it’s because we were always together. The because comes from もん. It is used to give a reason to something.
※ The 笑っちゃう here literally means to end up laughing. The verb is 笑う which means to laugh, to smile, or to be dumbfounded.
※The ちゃう part is another conjugation that is used to express that something is completely done. In this case, it means just happen to laugh. So, I thought saying something like “It’s funny” would get the point across before Sora goes into the ironic line coming up next.
⑤世界中（せかいじゅう）さがしまわったのにこんな近（ちか）くにいたんだもんなあ。
ま 会（あ）えたからいいけど。
- I looked all over for you and yet you were always close by.
- EN: I looked everywhere for you, buy with me all along.
- Well, I guess it’s fine since I got to see you again.
- EN: Finally, we’re together, Kairi.
※ The verb げ回った（さがしまわった）means to look around for. The のに in this case means “even though” or “and yet”.
🎮That’s pretty funny. Kinda goes back to the campy quote “The treasure was the friends we made along the way”.
⑥あとは リクだけか。
また ３人（にん）いっしょに笑えるかな。
- Now there’s just Riku.
- EN: Now, it’s time to get Riku back.
- Wonder if the three of us will be able to laugh together again.
- EN: You think it’ll ever be the same again between us?
🎮You know since Riku went evil and tried to kill Sora… things are going to be awkward.
⑦リクの心（こころ）は 闇にーー
俺（おれ）だってハートレスになったけどカイリが助けてくれたろ。
- Riku’s heart is in the darkness…
- EN: Riku’s lost his…
- I became a Heartless but, you saved me, right?
- EN: When I turned into a Heartless, you save me, remember?
⑧深（ふか）い闇にのみこまれていたんだ。
まっくらで 何（なに）もわからなくて。
- I was swallowed up by this deep darkness.
- EN: I was lost in the darkness.
- It was so dark that I couldn’t see anything…
- EN: I couldn’t find my way. As I stumbled through the dark,
※The verb わからなくて comes from わかる, which means to understand. However there are many more meanings for this verb and of them was “to see”. The て at the end of わからなくて is kind of used for Sora to continue his sentence. Hence the ellipsis in my translation.
⑨自分（じぶん）のこともみんなのこともどんどん忘（わす）れて。
闇に吸い込まれそうだった
- I gradually started to forget myself and everyone…
- EN: I started forgetting things– my friends, who I was.
- As if I was being absorbed by the darkness.
- EN: The darkness almost swallowed me.
※ The verb 吸い込まれそう comes from the verb 吸い込まれる which means “to absorb” in this context.
※The そう at the end is used to describe that something seems to be the case. In other words, it seems that Sora was being absorbed by the darkness.
⑩でも カイリの声（こえ）が聞（き）こえて 目（め）が覚（さ）めたんだ。
カイリのおかげだよ。
- But I heard your voice and I woke up.
- EN: But then I heard a voice–your voice.
- It was because of you Kairi.
- EN: You brought me back.
※ The word おかげ means “thanks to” someone or something. Usually a noun or a name will go here. (Ex: N+おかげで -> ブログのおかげで、日本語がもっと好きになった。= Thanks to this blog, I have started to like Japanese more.)
⑪私（わたし）は ソラを忘れたくなかっただけだよ。
そうか！俺たちの心は つながってる。
- I just didn’t want to forget about you.
- EN: I didn’t want to just forget about you, Sora. I couldn’t.
- Right! Our hearts are connected.
- EN: That’s it! Our hearts are connected.
⑫心のつながりが光になって 闇の奥までとどいてーー
俺の心を助けてくれたんじゃないかな。
- That connection becomes a light that can reach even the deepest darkness.
- EN: And the light from our hearts broke through the darkness. I saw that light.
- Maybe my heart helped me out.
- EN: I think that’s what saved me.
⑬”どんなに深い闇でもその奥には必（かなら）ず光がある”
あれは おとぎ話なんかじゃないんだ。
- “No matter how deep the darkness, there is light.”
- EN: No matter how dee the darkness, a light shines within.
- It’s not just a fairy tale.
- EN: I guess it’s more than just a fairy tale.
⑭リクを助けに行（い）こう！
カイリは来（き）ちゃダメだ。
どうしてよ。
- Let’s go save Riku!
- EN: Well, let’s go.
- You can’t come with us.
- EN: You can’t go.
- Why not?
※ V(drop ます) + に行く is a grammar point that means going(行く) to do something[V(drop ます)]. For example you could go shopping (買いに行く).
⑮これ以上（いじょう）危険（きけん）な目にあわせられない。
今（いま）までだって 一緒にいたから 危険だって乗りこえられたんだよ？
- I don’t want you going through anymore danger.
- EN: Because it’s way too dangerous.
- We’ve been together up till now so even if it is dangerous, we can overcome it together, right?
- EN: Cone on, Sora. We made it this far by sticking together.
※ The verb 目にあわせられない is the potential negative verb form of 目にあう which means “to go through” or “to experience”. It means to experience something unpleasant. And considering Kairi has been in enough trouble Sora wants to keep her safe.
🎮Major difference here is that your heart was with him and you are probably at Lv. 1 so taking you to the final boss would be like suicide. Would have been interesting to fight as Kairi though.
⑯ひとりの方が不安（ふあん）になるよ。
カイリ 離（はな）れても僕（ぼく）らはもうひとりじゃない。
そうだろ？
- I’ll be more worried if you go alone.
- EN: You can’t go alone.
- Kairi, even if we are apart, we’re not alone anymore.
- Right?
⑰足手（あして）まとい？
まぁ そういうこと。
そっか わかった 持ってって
- Would I be in the way?
- EN: I can’t help?
- Well… yeah.
- EN: You’d kind of be in my way.
- Oh okay… I see… take this with you.
- EN: Okay. You win. Take this.
※ The word 足手まとい can mean things like hinderance, burden, drag. So in the Japanese version Kairi is asking if she would be a hinderance to Sora and Sora sheepishly agrees with her. Kairi knows how to 空気読む(read the room).
⑱たいせつなお守（まも）りなんだから ぜったい返（かえ）してよ！
必ず 返すよ。
約束（やくそく）だよ。
- That charm is important so bring it back!
- EN: It’s my lucky charm. Be sure to bring it back to me.
- I’ll definitely bring it back.
- EN: Don’t worry. I will.
- It’s a promise.
- EN: Promise?
⑲約束する。
忘れないで 私が いつでもそばにいること
ソラは🗝約束の守りを手にいれた！
- I promise.
- EN: Promise.
- Don’t forget that I’m always with you.
- EN: Don’t ever forget. Wherever you go, I’m always with you.
- Sora obtained the 🗝Promise Charm!
- EN: Sora obtained 🗝Oathkeeper.
🎮Oathkeeper is definitely a cooler name.
⑳グミを見つけてきたようだな。取りつけてやるから、待（ま）ってるよ。
ナビゲーショングミはきっちり取りつけといたぜ！いつでも出発（しゅっぱつ）できらあ。
。。。すまねえな、ソラ。いつもいつも、おめえばっかりあぶねえ目にあわせちまってよ。
- So you found it. Wait here. I’ll install it for ya.
- EN: You found it? All right, I’ll go fix up your ship.
- Alright I installed the navigation gummi without a problem! You can take off whenever.
- EN: All set! You can get going any time.
- …Sorry, Sora. For always having you get into danger.
- EN: Kid, I gotta say, I wish you didn’t have to face all this danger.
㉑なんか用（よう）か？
買物（かいもの）させて！
グミブロック メニュー
世間話（せけんばなし）でも
また来（く）るよ！
- What d’ya want?
- EN: What do you need?
- Let me buy something!
- EN: I’m here to shop.
- Gummi Block Menu
- EN: Gummi Menu.
- Chat
- EN: Let’s chat.
- I’ll come again!
- EN: Oh, nothing.
㉒トラヴァースタウンの近くに新（あたら）しいワープホールができたよ！
いったい、どこにつながっているのかなあ。。。？
へんだな。あちこちのワールドにふしぎな魔力（まりょく）のはんのうがあるよ。
いろんな場所（ばしょう）を、もういちどしらべなおすといいかもね。
- There’s a new warp hole by Traverse Town!
- EN: There’s a new warp hole near Traverse Town.
- Wonder where it leads to…?
- EN: I wonder where it leads…
- That’s weird. I’m picking up a strange magic reading from different worlds.
- EN: Hmm. Some weird power is emanating from the worlds.
- It might be a good idea to revisit the worlds and check it out.
- EN: Might be worth revisiting some places again.
And that ends are trip through Traverse Town.
Next stop Hollow Bastion and then… we start the end game.
ヒトリゴト／JUST TALKING
タイトルを見る／WHAT’S IN A TITLE
異変、水虫、働く意味。
異変（いへん）
This word looks similar to 大変 which can mean things like difficult, great, or awful. Something that makes a big change. If you thought the same, then you are not too far off. The first kanji 異 means strange while the 変 in this context means change. So a strange change has occurred.
異変 can be used to describe a change for the worse. Like a disaster or an accident. I’ll go with the synonym for disaster, “catastrophe”. And that is quite accurate for this show.
水虫（みずむし）
At first sight I think this word would be water（水） and bug（虫）thrown together. But it is a medical condition for “athlete’s foot”. Why is that? Supposedly, it all started in the Edo Period.
During this time, there were many farmers who worked in the rice fields with bare feet. It was thought that since they put their feet in damp and muddy rice paddies and fields, it caused ringworm infection and worsened their symptoms.
Back then people thought that the symptoms were due to insects in the water biting their feet while they worked.
働（はたら）く意味（いみ）。
The verb 働くmeans “to work” but when a verb in it’s dictionary form is combined with 意味 which means “meaning” the combination of the verb + 意味 becomes “Meaning of (verb)”. So this would be best translated as “Meaning of Work”.
So here’s a translation:
Catastrophe, Athlete’s Foot, Meaning of Work.
Seems like a list so I think it would be best to go with this:
Catastrophe, Athlete’s Foot, and the Meaning of Work.
Pretty good. This title comes from Episode 9 （第九話）of Cells at Work Code Black or はたらく細胞BLACK. This anime is a spin off of Cells at Work, where we take a look inside what is going on inside a person’s body. Think Ozzy & Drix in anime form and you got Cells at Work. Then again, the body in Ozzy & Drix is more close to how things are working in Cells at Work Code Black. As a person with a biology degree these kinds of shows are fun to explore.
This anime tells the story of a body that is not being taken care of. On top of that, this person drinks, smokes, and eats excessively. Due to this person’s lifestyle, the cells within this person’s body have it way worse than the ones in Cells at Work. Won’t spoil anything for you, but there are some points in this anime where I think “Holy cheeseballs, this guy needs to get his life together.” and even though I don’t smoke or drink, “This makes me want to take better care of myself”.
It also kind of dives into a societal problem in the workforce: black companies or better known as ブラック企業 in Japan. These kind of companies take advantage of their workers and work them into the ground. Overworked, underpaid, dealing with seniors in the company （先輩）throwing all the work on you, terrible work-life balance, etc.
If you are curious about this culture, Mami Suzuki wrote an article and goes into further detail here.
Here’s a PV:
レイの日記
まず、チョウムの出番だ。ダグトリオを簡単に倒した。じしんやじわれやあなをほるを使って続けてが、外した。すなかけだけだった。便利な技、メガドレイン。次のはペルシャン。いやなおとがウザい。きりさくという技が強力だった。チョウムのヒットポイント１残りだった！
やべぇ、ニドクインとニドキングが持ってる？！チョウムはかみなりと１０まんボルトを外してサイコキネシスで二人を倒した。最後のポケモン：サイドン。ご苦労様チョウム。フリクリの出番だ。身代わりが十分だった。ルフィを出して、ちきゅうなげで倒した。
ふ～俺たちの勝ち！証拠はグリーンバッジだった。でも意外なあ。チョウムがとても役に立った。サカキは俺にじわれという技マシン２７をもらった。ロケット団終えるか。ちなみに、なぜ始めたかなあ。あ、いちゃった。あいつはポケモンを勉強に行くと言った。ロケット団が終わるかも。
REI’S JOURNAL
Used Choumu first. Took down Giovanni’s Dugtrio with no problem. It kept using Earthquake Fissure and Dig but it missed every time. Didn’t miss Sand-attack though. Mega drain came in handy. Next up was Persian. Screech was annoying and that Slash was powerful. Choumu only had 1 HP left!
He has a Nidoqueen and a Nidoking?! Choumu’s dodged Thunder and Thunderbolts and took them down with Psychic. Last Pokemon: Rhydon. Choumu’s done enough so switched to Furi Kuri. It’s sacrifice was worth it. Sent out Luffy and it’s Seismic Toss took it down.
Phew! We won! And we got the Earth Badge to prove it. Wasn’t expecting Choumu to carry the team to victory. Giovanni also gave me TM 27 “Fissure”. Oh, so he’s going to disband Team Rocket. Wonder why he started Team Rocket in the first place anyway? And he’s gone. Said he’s going to go study Pokemon. Guess that’s the end of Team Rocket.
In conclusion, I hope that this series is helpful with your journey to learning Japanese and/or taking an interest in the country’s culture. Until then… また来週！
Japanese Practice・日本語の練習 
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