Apps/sites for learning Japanese

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 (にんずう)

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 🤣

Audio

Transcript:

昨日、さやさんの授業で、おおみそかのカウントダウンについて話した。
「大勢の人」や「人混み」と言いたかったけど、いつも「たくさんの人」ばかり使っていた。
他の言葉を考えたけど、思い浮かばなかった。
だから、覚えるために、新しいTumblrの投稿を書いた。

Vocabulary:

思い浮(う)かぶ – to recall

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Funny story of 草 (くさ)

The other day, my boyfriend’s sister sent this sticker to his dad on LINE.

Because 草 sounds like 操 in Mandarin, which is a curse word. His dad was very confused why he got cursed.

The more I look at it, it seems to be ridiculing me for some reason.

嘲笑 (ちょうしょう) – ridicule

Anyways 草 means rofl, since www means lol, and how it became:

笑う (warau) → (笑) → w
Multiple “w"s (wwwww) began being used to show stronger laughter
The repeated "w"s visually resembled grass, leading to the use of 草 (kusa)

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Two ways to write そ

How do you write your そ？

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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 (にんずう)

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
元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.

元カレと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

Difference between 帰って来る and 帰る

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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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