Did you know?

Airplanes

Mel talks about why she lives in the US. How did she do that? Did she get a visa? Let's find out!
She's using grammar points from Genki 1,2. Simple and Easy, but some of the sentences would be a little challenging because she combines different grammar points in a sentence,  which Japanese people do all the time.
You get to hear natural Japanese with Tokyo pitch accept  
** Patreon ; patreon.com/Melu1142 Transcript, more formal ones/bonus episodes/informal ones are available there!


Thinking out loud in Japanese

アメリカにすんでいる　りゆう１

During this episode I'll talk about the unfiltered history of Crete, without Gods and mythology.

Noémie voyage en Europe

L’histoire sans filtre de la Crète

SANDRA: So … what should we do?
JULIE: Well, I like to do arts and crafts, and I’m really good at
drawing. What do you think?
SANDRA: Hmm … how about playing a board game? That would 
be more fun.
JULIE: OK. Let’s play Scrabble! I’m really good at spelling, too!
SANDRA: Oh, yeah? We’ll see about that!

LANGUAGE NOTES
• So … Notice how the “o” sound is drawn out here, combined with the intonation, which 
shows boredom.
• I’m really good at “Really” means “very” and is used to emphasize “good.” It goes before 
the adjective.
• What do you Notice the pronunciation here — it sounds like “Whaddaya.”
• Hmm … is used to show that the speaker is thinking. It is also used to show that the speaker 
disagrees with an idea.
• How about is used to make a tentative suggestion. The speaker is introducing an idea and 
doesn’t want to sound too strong.
• Let’s is used to make a strong suggestion. The speaker feels confident about the plan.
• Oh, yeah? We’ll see about that! “Oh, yeah?” is used in a joking way to show a bit of friendly 
competition. Notice the emphasis on “that,” which refers back to “good at spelling.”

English Conversation practice (30-day challenge)

Day 22: What you are good at!

Many of us know that learning a second language isn't easy — it takes a lot of time and practice. It can be very rewarding, but also very frustrating, so many people might not even think about trying to learn a third language.

But it may not be as difficult as you think.

In fact, many polyglots — that is, people who speak many languages — say that learning a third language is actually easier than learning the second.

But why?

One reason could be that, when learning a third language, you have a better understanding of different language structures.

When we learn our first language, as children, we don't really learn how the language works — we just naturally start using it.

But when you learn a second language, you start getting used to language structures, including ones that might be different from your first language. In some languages, for example, nouns are often either masculine or feminine — while in English, there's no such difference.

Learning these things in our second language often makes it easier for our brains to recognize different structures like this in other languages.

When you learn a second language, you also develop different skills, like memorization techniques. These skills can then be used when learning your third language, making the process faster and more efficient.

Finally, learning your second language might have felt scary at first, but you did it! This may give you more confidence when learning your third language, because you have more of an idea of what to expect.

If you'd like to learn a third language, it might be helpful to choose one that's part of the same language family as one of your other languages, because the similarities could make the process a lot easier.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Why Learning a Third Language Is Easier than a Second

みなさんはドイツの９ユーロチケットを知っていますか？
これは、９ユーロで１ヶ月間ドイツ国内のバスや電車などの公共交通機関が乗り放題になるチケットです。今、ガソリン代が高くなっているので、ドイツ政府が車に乗らなくても人々が移動できるように始めました。6月から8月まで利用することができます。

私は先週このチケットを使ってデュッセルドルフに行って来ました。私の家からデュッセルドルフまでは片道4時間ほど掛かります。通常なら往復で50ユーロ以上掛かると思いますが、このチケットのおかげで、たった９ユーロで往復することができました。ちなみにこのチケットでは新幹線のような高速列車を利用することはできません。

ところで、みなさんは「乗り放題」の意味が分かりますか？「乗り放題」の意味は決められた金額を払えば、何回でも乗ることができるという意味です。つまり、１ヶ月乗り放題のチケットは９ユーロ払えば、１ヶ月何回でも乗ることができるチケットです。
みなさんは「食べ放題」に行ったことがありますか？これは食べたいだけ食べることができるという意味です。居酒屋やファミリーレストランには「飲み放題」のメニューがあります。これは飲みたいだけ飲むことができるという意味です。

ちなみに、「やりたい放題」という言葉もありますが、これは「他人のことを気にせずに自分のやりたいようにやっている」という意味です。「あなたはいつもやりたい放題だね」と言われたら、それは「あなたがわがままだ」という意味です。

みなさんは乗り放題や食べ放題、飲み放題などを利用したことがありますか？
それがお得だと思いましたか？
よかったら、私のレッスンに来て教えてください。


国内：こくない　domestic
公共交通機関：こうきょうこうつうきかん
高速列車：こうそくれっしゃ　high speed train
お得な：おとくな　good deal
通常：つうじょう　normally
片道：かたみち　one way 
往復：おうふく　round trip
往復する：go and return
制限：せいげん  limit
何回でも：なんかいでも 　as many times as you want
〜たいだけ： as much as you want 　　
お得な：おとくな　good deal
他人：たにん　others
気にする：きにする　care about
わがまま：selfish

Nihongo Short Story by Noriko

乗り放題-Today’s Word

烤、爆、炒、煎、煸、熘 [kǎo、bào chǎo 、jiān、 biān 、liū]：
roast/grill；stir fry；fry；pan fry；stir-fry before stewing；quick fry
烹饪 pēng rèn：cooking
聚焦 jù jiāo：focus；concentrate
家常菜 jiā cháng cài：home-cooked；home-made
加热 jiā rè：heat
导热 dǎo rè：heat conduction
搅拌 jiǎo bàn：stir
勾芡 gōu qiàn：thicken soup
翻面儿fān miànr：flip side
直接 zhí jiē：directly
火力 huǒ lì：fire; heat power

Journey on the Tip of the Tongue“舌尖上的中国话”

Cooking Styles 1 烹饪方式[pēng rèn fāng shì]

Be careful with packaging that describes food as "No Salt".
Also, an explanation of the expression "Take something with a pinch of salt".

The Social Evolutionary

What does "NO SALT" mean? No salt, right?

With doubts and worries in their hearts, the two finally graduated from college. “Should I stay in Beijing or go back to Africa? ”This is the biggest problem between them.