You may not realize it, but you’re probably using a lot of Japanese words in day-to-day life. With the rising popularity of Japanese culture, food, and ideas, we English-speakers are getting more and more exposure to the Japanese language. Don’t believe me? How about the words “sake,” “samurai,” “mottainai,” “kaizen,” “kimono,” “anime”….I’m sure you’ve used or heard at least a couple of these words recently.
Unfortunately, many of these Japanese words are mispronounced by English-speakers In this episode, Aaron and I cover just a few of these commonly mispronounced words and go over how they should be pronounced. Although it’s not 100% necessary to pronounce Japanese words “authentically” all the time, we figured that it would be good information to pass along to anyone learning Japanese and to those who want to travel to Japan in the future.
Being that it is the end of the ‘holiday’ season for us here in the USA, and for that matter most of the Western world, I thought I’d share some info on Japanese holidays with you.
If you really want to learn Japanese, then it is also important that you learn the culture because the two really are inseperable. A culture’s culture and its holidays are often tightly intertwined. With this in mind, here is a list of the Japanese holidays:
Month
Name (Romaji)
Holiday
January 1st
Shougatsu/Ganjitsu
New Year’s Day
2nd Monday of January
Seijin no Hi
Coming of Age Day
February 11th
Kenkoku Kinin-bi
National Founding Day
March 21st
Shunbun no Hi
Spring Equinox Day
April 29th
Midori no Hi
Greenery Day
May 3rd
Kenpō Kinen-bi
Constitution Day
May 4th
Kokumin no Kyûjitsu
National Holiday
May 5th
Kodomo no Hi
Children’s Day
3rd Monday of July
Umi no Hi
Marine Day
September 13th
Keirō no Hi
Respect for the Aged Day
Sepbember 23rd
Shunbun no Hi
Autumn Equinos
2nd Monday of October.
Taiiku no Hi
Health-Sports Day
November 3rd
Bunka no Hi
Culture Day
November 23rd
Kinrō Kansha no Hi
Labor Thanksgiving Day
December 23rd
Tennō Tanjo-bi
Emperor’s Birthday
The biggest holiday of the year by far is Ganjitsu, New Year’s Day. The New Year’s celebrations last for three days during which people pray for good health and fortune… and party like crazy! There are lots of traditions surrounding Ganjitsu which you can read more about here.
Okay, so I have never seen this from the outside, but I know what it feels like from inside the train! You have to experience it at least once in your life… but it would get really old if you had to live with it every day.
Here are some useful japanese vocabulary words related to trains
In this episode, Aaron and I cover just a few of these commonly mispronounced words and go over how they should be pronounced. Although it’s not 100% necessary to pronounce Japanese words “authentically” all the time, we figured that it would be good information to pass along to anyone learning Japanese and to those who want to travel to Japan in the future.
