Also, I broke my nose.

It’s been a hectic couple of weeks.

But.

I have a shiny new toy for you. It’s called Getting Things Done.

Getting Things Done was the brainchild of management consultant / life coach David Allen. It’s essentially a way of thinking about life and how to best manage your “work.”

“Work” in this sense, refers to things you either want to, or are expected to do. It can be answering e-mails, writing a term paper, planning a birthday party, and yes, studying Japanese.

The goal of GTD is to have you focusing 100% on the task at hand and not on other things. If something else enters your mind, it’s probably something you still have to do, but are helpless to do anything about. So you just worry. And that wastes your mental energy.

So what you need to do when something else enters your mind is write it down somewhere, somewhere you know you’ll check later. If it’s someplace you know you’ll check later, then you can trust that you’ll get to it then, and stop worrying about it in the present.

Doing this regularly will allow you to completely respond to your “work” and focus yourself as best as possible.

I can’t summarize the whole book in this article, so you’ll just have to get it yourself here.

As far as Japanese goes, there are some really useful ideas for working on your Japanese in this book. Beyond the benefits of getting all the other thoughts out of your head, this book also stresses the importance of breaking down your long-term goals, like learning japanese, into smaller goals, like learning the jouyou kanji, into smaller tasks, like studying kanji for two hours a week.

I’ve been trying this system out for the past couple weeks, and I’ve noticed a big increase in my productivity as far as studying, schoolwork, and writing goes. Try it. It works.

I’ve touched on some key ideas in Getting Things Done, but I can’t summarize the whole book in this article, so you’ll just have to get it yourself here.

デブ

Reading: debu (usually written in katakana)

Definition: Fatty, or fat. Can be either a noun or a na- adjective. Rarely used in a positive context.

I have a special attachment to this word not only because derogatory colloquialisms are the best way to endear yourself to native speakers (sad, but true), but also because of a story my high school Japanese sensei told me.

My sensei was one of many young Japanese girls that came to America to teach Japanese and ended up marrying German newspaper reporters. Or maybe there weren’t that many. Anyways, the important part is that her husband and his family are hakujin (white people). And like any good hakujin family, her husband had a brother named Dave. Maybe you see where this is going already. Don’t spoil it.

It may surprise you to know that to the inexperienced Japanese ear, all the Vs in English turn into Bs, and just about every word ends in u. And that’s how my sensei that her brother-in-law was named “fatty” for years. Brings a tear to your eye that one does.

And this week, since I’m feeling extra generous, I’ll incorporate a bonus word. This one is a gitaigo, or onomatopoeia, and if there’s one thing you should know about Japanese people, it’s that they take their gitaigo seriously.

Anyways, ごろごろ is the sound a fat person makes when they roll down a hill. No joke. And it’s really not used for much else.

Here’s your practice sentence:

あのデブは階段で落ちて下までごろごろ転がった。ちょう面白かった。

ano debu wa kaidan de ochite shita made goro goro korogatta. chou omoshirokatta.

That fatty fell down on the stairs and rolled all the way to the bottom. It was hilarious.

Take care.

This song is one of my all time faves. What I really like about The Radwimps is that out of the many Japanese bands that frequently sing in English, their English is actually good. Like really good. I know that’s not exactly important to learning Japanese; but at the same time, it’s always frustrating to be focusing hard on learning Japanese from a song and all of a sudden hear “I rearry want you back.”

Just saying.

So enjoy this video, it’s one of the better YouTube music videos I’ve seen, and done all in Microsoft Paint. Check it OUT!

And thanks to loyal reader Joel, who rightfully hates Romaji, here are the lyrics in the appropriate kanji and kana. I’ll try to find the lyrics in actual Japanese as often as I can, but I’m just saying, sometimes you might have to deal with romaji, because I don’t have time to write the lyrics down myself. Sorry. Them’s the brakes.

なんやかんやと　溢れてるけど
ここにあるもの　ここにないもの
それで全てです

今言えること　それはなんだろう
生きてることと　死んでくことと
それくらいです

他にも何かないかと思いまして　歌を歌ってるわけです

あなた一人と　ほか全人類
どちらか一つ救うとしたら
どっちだろかな？
迷わずYOU!!!!

Monday　泣いて
Tuesday　吐いて
Wednesday　やってらんねぇってなっても
Saturday Sunday　笑っていいんですか

I hope your coming with me today
It’s a shame, it’s a shame if you’re clogging your mind

Now don’t you ever say it’s like the end
It’s OK, it’s OK, not even started yet

I hope you remember this word I said
Then everyday, everyday will be a holiday

OPQRSTUVW double you and me let’s slide along side
Both you and me let’s slide along side

In accordance with the whole new Sunday Sing-Along idea, I thought you all should be made more aware of the best way to convert songs into knowledge.

Alright, first things first. Listen to the song a couple of times. Don’t look at the lyrics yet, they don’t matter. Just listen to the song a couple of times and try to figure out what it’s about. You don’t have to know every word, just figure out the situation.

Why is the singer singing the song? Who is the song to? What’s the purpose of the song?

Once you’ve done that, you can start looking at the lyrics. Use the lyrics to guide you through times when the singer is unclear and you’re not quite sure what they’re saying. It doesn’t matter yet if you don’t know certain words. Look at words you know, then keep trying to figure out what the song is saying.

Think of each verse and chorus as its own chapter in a book. Each of these “chapters” will be about a more specific person, place, thing, or event, while the whole “book” (song) tells a story connecting the chapters. Try to see how that’s done.

Now you can bust out your dictionary. Look up words you don’t know, and if they’re not in there, look up the root word. Then look around on the internet for colloquial conjugations or just try to figure out what it means by context. The words you find in songs are often quite different from the ones you find in textbooks.

Keep looking up words until you understand the song. If you have the time, you can translate it as well. It certainly won’t hurt your Japanese. If you don’t want to translate the whole thing though, you can choose some of the choicer sentences and plug them into your SRS to study later.

Good Luck!

That’s why I’m introducing the Sunday Sing-Along. I know today’s not Sunday, but that’s not important. Every Sunday from now on I’ll post a YouTube video of a Japanese song and accompany it with the lyrics. Watch the video and Sing-Along. Then do it again. Actually get a feel for the song. Sing with some moxy. My high school Japanese teacher really advocated this approach, and its really effective.

Here’s an example of what this kind of thing will be like. This is the first song I learned in Japanese. Enjoy Banzai, by ULFULS

IEEEI kimi wo suki de yokatta
kono mama zutto zutto
shinu made happy
BANZAI kimi ni aete yokatta
kono mama zutto zutto
la la la futari de

tsumaranai koto de kimi wo komarasete
omoi dasu tabi akaku naru
waracchimau kurai ni mainichi wa
tada mou sugiteku a tto iu ma ni

sugee sugee shiawasena kibun no toki wa
kaeri michi de kimi wo omidasu
combini wo uro uro shinagara
omoidashi warai wo kami korosu

dassai kakko wa shitakunai
toshi wa toranai you ni
tsukuri warai nanka shitakunai
dakara BABY soba ni oide yo

IEEEI kimi wo suki de yokatta
kono mama zutto zutto
shinu made happy
BANZAI kimi ni aete yokatta
kono mama zutto zutto
la la la futari de

ii on’na wo mireba furikaeru
honto sukebe ore no ataman’naka
demo yappa gutto kuru hodo no on’na wa
kokoro no naka ni hitori dake

kiza na kotoba wa terekusai
kakko tsukezu ni ikou
itsumo futari de jaretetai
dakara BABY koko he oide yo

IEEEI kimi wo suki de yokatta
kono mama zutto zutto
shinu made happy
BANZAI kimi ni aete yokatta
kono mama zutto zutto
la la la futari de

dakara BABY BABY
soba ni oideyo

IEEEI kimi wo suki de yokatta
kono mama zutto zutto
shinu made happy
BANZAI kimi ni aete yokatta
kono mama zutto zutto

IEEEI kimi wo suki de yokatta
kono mama zutto zutto
shinu made happy
BANZAI kimi ni aete yokatta
kono mama zutto zutto
la la la futari de

Now go forth and SING!

You can visit Denshi Jisho at jisho.org.

Some things are just simpler, and easier-to-use versions of other things in a way that makes them immensely successful. Macs did this to PCs, Google to other search engines and the list goes on. You can’t build a better mousetrap, but you can build one with less packaging and less time to setup.

This is essentially what Jisho.org did for Jim Breen’s WWWJDIC dictionary . Jisho.org, also called Denshi Jisho, even uses the same definition files as WWWJDIC, so you know your information is accurate, it just uses the search better and is overall more user friendly.

Ease of Use: 9

The search box for WWWJDIC is intimidating, and fails to highlight the options that are really important. Denshi Jisho trims down the extra stuff you don’t need and leaves you with the three most important options: which dictionary you look in, common words only, and kana/romaji.

The most important of these is “Common Words only,” which is a button that is not made obvious enough on WWWJDIC, and is a button you’ll want to press on 95% of searches. The times when the “Common Word” is not the one you want are few and far between.

Other than that, the site lets you type in Japanese words in romaji, look up kanji by running your mouse over the character, and see sample sentences with the word you looked up with one easy click. Easy. Convenient.

Authenticity: 7

Denshi Jisho has a similar problem to WWWJDIC of not always having the ideal word float to the top, especially if “Common Words Only” isn’t selected. You usually have to scroll down a bit to find a definition that seems appropriate.

However, the example sentences used on DJ are easy to access and well edited, providing a good sense of context. Before you use a word in a paper, look at the sample sentences to see if they make sense.

Quantity of Knowledge: 10

Denshi Jisho has all the words from Jim Breen’s dictionary, with the addition of kanji information from other sources. Lots of good stuff.

Price: 10

Ever so free.

Fun: 7

Denshi Jisho is still a dictionary, so you won’t believe me if I tell you it’s too fun. But you get results quickly and there are interesting sample sentences to read, even some funny ones. DJ is far from the mind-numbing despair I get from WWWJDIC.

Overall: 8.7

Although there is room for improvement, mainly in kanji lookup and the order of words that show up on a search, Denshi Jisho is currently my favorite online dictionary. You get all the knowledge of WWWJDIC without the hassle. I recommend.

Reading: (usually written in kana alone)  nanpa

Definition: Flirt, pick up girls, chase skirts…

This word doesn’t make the cut for most textbooks for obvious reasons. Well, not quite so obvious reasons. If (When) I make a textbook, this word will definitely be in it. I mean come on, it’s not hurting anyone. But yeah, most textbooks don’t really include any words that have any sort of sexual subtext or anything you’d ever really want to do. But don’t worry, old Todd is here.

This is a word used often among younger guys in such phrases as “nanpa shiyou” (let’s pick up some girls!) and “nanpa umai, Takeshi wa” (Takeshi is great at flirting.) This is one of those words you can use to encourage your Japanese friends to come out of the woodwork and go actually meet people. That’s how I use it.

And here’s your example sentence:

Chotto nomisugite shimatte, nanpa heta ni nachatta

I drank a little too much and I became terrible at picking up women.

Go get ‘em tigers.

Alright, so San Francisco is pretty much fantastic. That’s why it’s taken me so long to post. It’s the kind of place that lends itself to long bike rides, beautiful views, overwhelmingly large lunches and afternoon naps. Definitely my kind of place.

I really haven’t had a free second until now to post, but this morning I seem to be awake well before my friend Andrew who I’m staying with (maybe because my internal clock is 2 hours ahead), and I’m going to take advantage.

Anyways, on to today’s tip.

Play Japanese video games.

This doesn’t mean beat Pokemon in English for the 4^th time, nor does it mean play those language-learning games that are thinly-veiled flashcard programs.

What I mean is that you should play the same kind of games you normally do, except in Japanese.

You like Pokemon? Of course you do. Everyone likes Pokemon. So rather than beat it in English again, go download a Game Boy Advance emulator and some Pokemon ROMs . Seriously though, this site will let you search for ROMs by country. It’s really great for finding ones in Japanese. If you’ve never used an Emulator before, click here .

Or if Pokemon’s not your style, take advantage of all the other emulation resources on the web. Excluding the current generation of game systems, you can find almost any game for any system for free on the internet if you look long enough. And most of them in Japanese.

And if you don’t want to deal with the whole download process, you can buy games straight from Japan for all your favorite consoles from Play-Asia.com . Keep in mind, most systems other than the Nintendo DS and the PC have region codes, so you’ll need a Japanese Xbox to play Halo in Japanese. But you should definitely look around the site, you’ll find something you like.

But why am I recommending this? What does it matter what language you play a video game in?

First of all, this is another thing in the long line of daily activities I like to modify to include Japanese training, like watching Japanese TV and reading a Japanese book before bed. If you change what are essentially wasted hours playing video games into Japanese study as well, you don’t need to feel as guilty about playing because you’ll know you’re learning as well.

The big thing though, is that playing video games in Japanese, specifically ones with stories that have text on the screen (no Halo), will REALLY help your Japanese. When you have to figure out a puzzle in addition to figuring out the instructions it adds an extra level of challenge, and this can really motivate you to try and figure out what people are saying based on the words you know. This is AMAZING for your survival Japanese, where you just have to go off what you think the person means and hope your right. I mean, if you can survive Final Fantasy 7, you can probably survive a trip to the konbini.

And it’s fun. The addition of language can make simple games like Pokemon more challenging and exciting. Some sections of games are dull, but when there’s Japanese to figure out, you’ll have more vested interest. It makes for a great gaming experience.

And if you’re not a gamer, don’t worry. This post is for you too. Maybe you never got into games because you thought they were a waste of time, and you were probably right. But playing games in Japanese is really helpful, so find something that looks simple and just give it a try. I’ll recommend some games down the road to help you out.

Alright, that’s it for this week. I’m about to go to a diner that apparently serves pancakes the size of frisbees. Yum.

You know, tossing a frisbee on the beach, catching some waves, and of course, seeing all the best Japanese stuff the Golden Gate city has to offer. Now I’m not stupid, I know the influence in San Francisco is predominately Chinese and Seattle is a much better place to visit for Japanese culture, but San Fran just has to be better than Chicago, and I aim to prove it.

You should all feel proud of yourselves. I’m taking a vacation, but I’m taking you with me. And there will be pictures.

But.

I need your help. The last time I was in San Francisco I was 7 years old, and I barely remember it. Does anyone know any cool Japan-related stuff I should check out there? I’d love to do a field report.

Let me know.

雰囲気

Reading: ふんいき (funiki)

Definition: Atmosphere (of a situation), mood. This is generally used as a broadened use of kanji, meaning feeling, to apply to a setting or situation. For example, you might say an awkward date had a henna funiki (weird atmosphere) or a restaurant had ii funiki (good atmosphere).

I’m calling special attention to this word today because, of the Japanese people I’ve talked to, the general agreement is that funiki is the most often mispronounced word by foreigners. I know one of our favorite things about Japanese is that even the most complicated words are blissfully easy to pronounce once you know the sounds, except for this one.

Most gaijin read this word and say it how they say any other word fun-i-ki. That’s where the problems start. This isn’t one of those stereotypical easy to pronounce words. It’s a toughy. To try to phoeneticize it, the actual way it’s said goes something like fu-in ki. I don’t know how to describe it better. When Japanese people say it, it sounds like the n comes both before and after the i, but not in the way that would sound in English. Ask a Japanese friend to say it for you, I can’t describe it well enough.