Two ways to write そ

How do you write your そ？

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 🤣

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)

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.

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。

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

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.

ばんぐみ一覧 | NHK for School

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

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 🤔

tokyo–blue:

しわ

しわ – wrinkle, crease

• スーツを着る前に、しわをアイロンで取りましょう
• Before wearing this suit, let’s remove the wrinkles with an iron.
• 最近、顔にしわが増えてきた
• Recently, the wrinkles on my face are increasing.
• 私は４０歳けど、しわがない
• I’m 40 years old, but I don’t have wrinkles.

This reminds me of カタオモイ from Aimer

シワが 増えても それでも良いんだ

シワ here is the same as しわ, I’m guessing it’s a “song” thing like the song’s name using カタオモイ instead of using 片思い.

tokidokitokyo:

Seitokai Discord・May Japanese Bookclub

This month we are reading わたしの幸せな結婚 in novel format in the Seitokai Japanese Bookclub!

Join us in the Seitokai Discord Server and grab the Japanese bookclub role to get started!

The book club starts May 1st! There’s also an English book club if you’d like to join that!

この読書会に参加したいん！