What do I do when tired

Now if you are tired in Japan, what do you do?  You can rest or sleep to fix being tired.  Resting as understood by a native speaker would mean sitting down, while sleeping is really just that, sleeping.


I need to rest.
休まなくちゃいけない。

I need to sleep.

ねなくちゃいけない。
寝なくちゃいけない。
寝るしなければいけない。

Feeling Tired In Japanese

One of my cognitive stumbling blocks when going from English is to express being tired, which is quoted from Mac OS X Dictionary:

tired |tīrd|
adjective
in need of sleep or rest; wear

In Spanish we have SEUÑO and CONSADO, and in Japanese we have NEMUI and TSUKARETA.

Here's different usages in Japanese:

(1)
運動したから、疲つかれた。
After doing exercise, I am tired.

(2)
薬を飲んだので、眠ねむい。
I took medicine, so I feel tired now.

(3)
花粉のせいで眠い。
The pollens cause me to feel tired.

(4)
昨日、暑くて眠れなかったので、疲れた。
Because last night was so hot, I couldn't sleep, so now I am tired 

Seogang University's Program

In all my studies in C-J-K (Chinese-Japanese-Korean) and Romance Languages (French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish), Seogang University has by far the best language program I have come across for any language.  They focus on quality rather than quantity, and their reputation proceeds them.  Undoubtedly, if you ask around, you'll find accolades and high recommendations for the program.

In the class, you'll find students constantly pushed to the edge through competition and the use of games.  Each lesson is exhausting, with memorization of 80+ vocabulary words for even beginner courses.  After the 3rd week though, I was able to start understanding people in the street and ask them basic questions.  Now in USA, when I speak with Koreans, they think I am fluent, as I am conversent and my pronunciation is accurate.  I shock them when I tell them I'm in 일급 (Level 1).

Now the books are something really special.  They are very well organized with related grammar and vocabulary organized through miniature dialogs that can be directly applied in the streets after practicing them.  This is sharp contrast to other Korean language programs, or even Japanese texts for Japanese, where one studies disjointed grammar rules with sparse vocabulary, and only polite formal speech patterns useful in speaking only to the teacher, or other esteemed persons.

The topics and patterns I think are a good model to follow for not only Korean, but Japanese as well.  So, if you have any Japanese background, the organization in these books are great for organizing Japanese studies as well.

Japanese Text Books = 悪い

I don't want to say Japanese books are bad, but they perhaps are not as mature as let's say textbooks for Spanish or French.  Often they follow the rigid philosophy that one must memorize tombs of grammar before speaking, enforce extreme formal polite pattern of speech useful to speaking only to sensei (teacher), and have topics used in perhaps 1% of situations one will encounter in Japan.  Sure, I'm sure going to the post office or hospital are important, but I don't see this as a common conversation topic useful in practicing grammar, especially for beginners.

An even greater problem is the introduction of grammar rules.  For one, they are not aligned to what you would take in JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Exams).  Secondly their introduction is both disjointed and incomplete, which limits their usefulness.  The grammar rules become little islets in these texts.  I think many might find it difficult to connect the scattered grammar rules.  (I'll show specific examples in future posts).

These texts like Genki and SFJ (Situational Functional Japanese) make learning Japanese difficult and inefficient.  Unfortunately though, these texts are probably some of the best text books out there.

JLPT4: 51 Important Expressions: Review of WA

This is the rule set I'm working on at the moment, extracted from Unicom's JLPT4 book.

[2-1]　Part A

• 〜は　〜です
• 〜は　〜（し）ます

Rule:  おだいの　ことばの　あとに　《は》を　つかう。

[2-1]　Part B

• 〜を　〜（し）ます＝ 〜は　〜（し）ます

Rule:  を→は。

[2-2]　Part A

• 〜は　〜ない
• (negative sentence)

Rule:  《が》《を》→《は》。

[2-2]　Part B

• Xは　〜が、Yは
• (contrastive sentence)

Rule: 「バナナが　すきです。」＋「メロンがきらいです。」→
　　バナナはすきですが、メロンはきらいです。

These are some words or related kanji:

• 説明　　せつめい　　explanation
• 掃除　　そうじ　　　cleaning, sweeping, wiping
• 洗濯　　せんたく　　washing clothes
• 覚える　おぼえる　　to commit to memory
• 全部　　ぜんぶ　　　all, the whole, total

JLPT4: 51 Important Expressions: Review of GA

This is the rule set I'm working on at the moment, extracted from Unicom's JLPT4 book.

[1-1]　Part A

• 〜が　〜（し）ます
• 〜が　〜です

[1-1]　Part B

• 〜が　ほしいです
• 〜が　すきです
• 〜が　すきです
• 〜が　きらいです

Rule:  「ほしい」「すき」「きらい」の前に、《が》をつかう。

[1-2]　Part A

• 〜が　できます
• 〜が　わかります

Rule:  「できる」「わかる」の前に、《が》をつかう。

[1-2]　Part B

• 私は写真を撮りました。→　私が撮った写真です。
• I took a photograph. → This is a photograph taken by me.

Rule: 名詞を説明する文の中で：《は》→《が》

These are some words or related kanji:

• 旅行　　りょきょう　trip, travel
• 空　　　そら　　　　sky
• 地下鉄　ちかてつ　　subway
• 野菜　　やさい　　　vegetables
• 作る　　つくる　　　to make, to create
• 作文　　さくぶん　　composition
• 撮る　　とる　　　　to take photo
• 写真　　しゃしん　　photograph
• 重要　　じゅうよう　important

Beginning JLPT Studies

My finals are over for Spring 2010, and now I am free to study anything.  I chose to  review Japanese form the basics and iron out all the pieces I am missing.  I will review for the JLPT Level 4 (the most basic level).

I found an awesome book in Japan titled 実力アップ!日本語能力試験4級入門総まとめ 文法・漢字・語彙, or in English The Prepartory Course for The Japanese Language Proficicy Test, Level 4 - Basic Japanese - Grammar, Kanji & Vocabulary.

Though is the really basic material, and some would probably laugh that I'm even bothering with it, there's still some minor subtle areas that are worth reviewing, and this book is a really good start to review.  After this, you can move onto Level 3, or take the test for 4 to get a sense of acomplishment and encouragement.