Meowbrown

I love learning languages!
Language learning notebook for polyglots.

Ways to describe a lot of people

Today in class we talked about New Year’s Eve, and I noticed I’ve always been using たくさんの人

Time to add some other versions to my vocabulary!

多 (おお) くの人

like たくさんの人

多くの人が電車を待っています。
Many people are waiting for the train.

すごい人数 (にんう)

overwhelming number of people

駅にすごい人数が集まっていた。
There was an overwhelming number of people gathered at the station.

大勢 (おおぜい) の人

refers to crowds or large gatherings of people

  • Can only be used for people
  • Often used for events, concerts, or public spaces

コンサートには大勢の人が集まっていた。
A large crowd gathered at the concert.

人混 (ご) み

crowded places or areas, situations where you need to navigate through crowds, like the New Year’s Eve countdown event

駅の人混みを通りました。
I went through the station crowd.

One fun fact I learned was the New Year’s Eve countdown is called 大晦日 (おおみそか) のカウントダウン

Always fun to realize when I cannot find a word for that in Japanese, all I need to do is just Katakana-ize the English word 🤣

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How to Say “Ex-Company Employee” and “Ex-Boyfriend” in Japanese 💔💼

Ex-Company Employee

元(もと)社員

  • Metaの元社員 – Ex-employee of Meta
  • TikTokのエンジニア- Ex-TikTok engineer

Ex-Boyfriend

元(もと)カレ

This is the most straightforward translation. Think of it as the Japanese equivalent of just saying “ex.” It’s casual and widely understood.

元カレバッタリ会っちゃった…
I bumped into my ex…
(Casual, expressing surprise/discomfort)

元カレの話はもういいよ。
I don’t want to talk about my ex anymore.
(Direct and possibly irritated)

前の彼氏

This translates to “previous boyfriend.” It feels slightly softer and less abrupt than 元カレ.

前の彼氏とはまだ友達だよ。
I’m still friends with my ex-boyfriend.
(Neutral and informative)

前の彼氏から連絡(れんらく)が来たんだけど…
I got a message from my ex-boyfriend, but…
(Slightly hesitant, leading into a story)

別(わか)れた彼氏

This means “the boyfriend I broke up with.” It’s more descriptive and emphasizes the past relationship.

別れた彼氏のこと、まだ少し考えてる。
I’m still thinking about my ex-boyfriend a little.
(Honest and slightly melancholic)

彼氏だった人

This translates to “the person who was my boyfriend.” This is the most formal and distant option, often used when the relationship ended a long time ago, or you want to downplay its significance.

彼氏だった人とは、もう何年も連絡を取(と)ってない。
I haven’t contacted the person who was my boyfriend for years. (Formal and distant)

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meowbrown:

見つかった vs 見つけた

Today, in my diary, I wrote that I found a new app and used the wrong verb.

新しいアプリを見つけた。

I have to use 見つけた because I found/discovered the app. 他動詞

見つかった is 自動詞 and is used for something “to be found” like:

探していた本が見つかった。

Explain something with ~かというと、〜です

What sort of app did I discover?

I have a habit of asking and answering when I try to explain.

Before: どんなアプリですか?日記のためのアプリです。
After: どんなアプリかというと、日記を書くためのアプリです

Literally means: As for what kind of app it is, it is an app for writing a diary.

It does feel a bit too long and not conversational, but a good way to practice making sentences like this.

Another thing is that 日記のためのアプリ sounds a bit weird, should have used

  • 日記アプリ
  • 日記を書くためのアプリ – feels even more like explaining something, we’re using ための because of the noun in the end.

Note on ための and ために: If it’s ために, it feels like I have more to say:

日記をつけるために、新しいアプリをダウンロードします。
I’m going to download a new app for keeping a diary.

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見つかった vs 見つけた

Today, in my diary, I wrote that I found a new app and used the wrong verb.

新しいアプリを見つけた。

I have to use 見つけた because I found/discovered the app. 他動詞

見つかった is 自動詞 and is used for something “to be found” like:

探していた本が見つかった。

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帰っていく vs. 帰ってくる (0926 レッスンメモ)

This is an extension of the grammar ていく and てくる

Quick recap

  • ていく – moving away from the speaker
  • てくる – moving towards the speaker

For example, when I am the speaker:

彼は帰っていきます。
He is going home (to his home and moving away from me).

彼は帰ってきます。
He is returning home (I am at home, and he is moving towards me).

Reference

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Exploring English words ending in “-tion/-sion” becomes “-si” in Indonesian

-tion

  • Communication → Komunikasi
  • Activation → Aktivasi
  • Information → Informasi
  • Condition -> Kondisi
  • Migration -> Migrasi
  • Solution -> Solusi

-sion

  • Discussion -> Diskusi
  • Television -> Televisi
  • Version -> Versi

Fun fact:

Many Indonesian vocabulary ending “-si” (e.g.:administra-si) also are known from the Dutch vocabulary influence “-tie” (e.g.:administra-tie).
List of Dutch loanwords in Indonesian – Wikipedia

It’s a great example of how languages evolve and borrow from each other! 🌍🗣️

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2 Japanese resources that are good for N3 level

Sesame Street Japan

Sharing one of my favorite episodes, going to the beauty salon.

美容院 (びよういん) – beauty salon

エルモは可愛いです!世界で一番 (echo: 番番番)~~~~ you’ll get this after you watch it 😆

NHK for School

I used to think NHK stuff is boring until my Japanese teacher shared it with me today. They tried to “animenize” some dry topics like environmental topics. I find it quite cringe to watch the actor, but also much more fun if they didn’t do that.

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luckydoeslanguage:

Nostalgia Steeped | Blog Info

Image by lilliput-army. Two people sitting on a raised porch drinking Ramune and eating watermelon in summer.ALT

“you open the tin to find a letter, a dusty fountain pen and a pressed leaf.”

This blog is being made to encourage myself to keep up with my language learning endeavours. I suppose its a studyblr? well, its probably going to be more of an online diary. I’m not exactly the studious type, but language learning has slowly been growing into a passion for me. I also want an outlet to try typing in my target language, and maybe make some friends?

Goals for this blog:

  • document and encourage myself while learning. I kind of want to treat this blog as if I’m talking to an audience, but also I’m really just talking to myself lol.
  • organize any information i find useful, or want to remember.
  • update it semi-frequently? don’t expect a content hose or anything. this blog is for me, primarily.
  • document what I’m immersing in. Primarily using immersion based methods to study, and honestly id like to talk about the experience more than just gas-lighting myself into acquisition lol.
  • practice some self output. talking in my target language is still far a ways a way, but i still want to get used to flexing that muscle more.

so yeah. if you’d like to talk about language learning with me, please feel free to shoot me an ask or a dm. I’m far from an expert, more just soap-boxing on my own, but I’m always looking for new things to immerse in and love talking about media. 🙂

This is a side-blog, so it stays on topic. Interactions from me will probably go through my main! @lukrio99990

また同じ目的のブログを見つけて嬉しいです。

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て form song

There are so many て form songs on YouTube, but this is the one I learned in class a couple of years ago and I couldn’t find the exact one. So I’m recording it for backup purposes in case my memory fails me.

うつる->って

ぶむぬ->んで

く->いて ぐ->いで

す->して

くる->きって

する->して

例外 (れいがい)→行って

て form songmeowbrown

For る verbs like 食べる, all you do is replace る with て so no need to memorize.

I wonder how everyone else learned their て forms 🤔

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