📚📚 Read every day challenge - Winter 2022 ☃❄

Summary post

I finished volume 2 of 七世物語 last night, and since it ended at a nice point, I thought I’d take a break to read something else before going on to volume 3. What I grabbed was 伊豆の踊り子, by Kawabata, sort of just to see if it was even doable, and also because it’s only 70 pages and I haven’t yet read a romantic story in Japanese. I managed 5 pages before becoming exhausted. The grammar is fine but the level of new vocabulary and names is much higher than I’m used to. However, I don’t think reading other books will make this any easier, so I think I will try to push through.

17 Likes

Just an update after my previous success in parsing out the grammar of a sentence for the first time today :slight_smile:

Two more pages of よつばと! down! I’m now at page 16 and, although Yotsuba is nowhere to be found and Jumbo is out looking for her, her father is thinking about throwing some trash away and a new cute female has entered the scene on a bicycle! CLIFF HANGER! :open_mouth:

17 Likes

I read today. But I’m so sleepy, I can’t say anything else.

14 Likes

Home post

Day 3:

日本語: I read some of 伯爵と妖精 29.
Read-aloud: We read a chapter of ハイキュー.

中国語

中国語: I read a beginner entry on Mandarin Bean and one page of 擅长捉弄的高木同学.

14 Likes

I see, thank you. That helps a lot.
Thanks to @Natsuha and @pocketcat as well.

@pocketcat I’ll check those resources out too, they look pretty good.

6 Likes

Summary post

Day 4: January 4th

365日にっぽんのいろ図鑑
Time spent: 28 min
Today’s color: (すみ) - a warmer black, the color of ink

Today I learned the phrase “墨に五彩あり,” meaning there are 5 “colors” of ink (although it seems like maybe the book got them mixed up a bit, because the book said 濃 was the darkest but the internet seems to say it’s 焦?). Anyway, this is what they look like:

After googling that, I accidentally started google image searching 墨絵 and ummm I wasted all my reading time, but look what I found :pleading_face:
Pretty mountains~

Cute animal 墨絵 from the internet

Images are linked to the artist pages when I could find them
Participants of the Fall Challenge might recognize this tiny friend
o0714108014904832898

Kittiesssss
20181012_99b7ea

Penguinnnnn :pleading_face: Why is it so small and soft :sob: This one is actually appears to be for sale, if you have 700,000 yen lying around and want a small fluffy penguin for your own

Oh yeah, I'm supposed to be learning a language
  • 先史時代 (せんしじだい) - prehistoric era; prehistoric times; prehistory (what a delightfully logical word)
  • 洞窟 (どうくつ) - cavern; cave; cave system; grotto
  • 壁画 (へきが) - fresco; mural; wall painting
  • 原始的 (げんしてき) - primitive; original
  • 煤 (すす) - soot (this is like the cutest word to me)
  • 濃淡 (のうたん) - light and shade; shade (of color) (can actually also refer to depth/complexity of flavor)
  • ぼかす - to blur; to shade off; to gradate
  • あわせ持つ (あわせもつ) - to have two things (at the same time) (e.g. good and bad points); to also have something (in addition to something else)

まいにち暦生活 日本の暮らしを楽しむ365のコツ
Time spent: 11 min

Lucky it was a short one today :sweat_smile: Today I learned about 仕事始め (しごとはじめ), which refers to resuming work after the New Year’s vacation or the first time that one works in the year. Traditionally, it’s January 4th mine was yesterday though lol. Also learned the word 御用始め (ごようはじめ) - re-opening of offices in New Year (usu. January 4). I love that there are specific words for these things xD

What else did I read?
Nothing because I got distracted by 墨絵 :upside_down_face: Oops

Literally what is this story :joy: “not the guy, the arms drink it” I cannot
Thank you for the most amusing thing I’ve read today

19 Likes

January 4 :snowflake: Home Post

Whew, another day down! I’ve been keeping a decent pace with ラストゲーム; I read another chapter today, so that makes one more this volume plus whatever random stuff it ends off with. Still absolutely loving it; I learned from the little author’s notes today that when (mild spoilers ig?) 相馬(そうま) breaks character he actually uses 東北弁(とうほくべん) sooo that explains some of my struggles :joy: now I have two characters in it where if I don’t really get what they’re saying I’m just kinda like “whatever they’re probably saying something weird again” lmao. 九条(くじょう) trying so hard to put herself out there and make friends is so :pleading_face: she’s such a sweetheart and deserves the world honestly, 頑張(がんば)って九条(くじょう)

I read a little more 錆喰いビスコ too; I actually read about two more pages last night after I posted and then today I finished off the little introduction section? It’s still really difficult of course, so much wild vocabulary from all angles but it’s interesting to see such a variety! It’s all a learning experience anyway, so as long as I can muster up the energy to push through why not.

All in all it feels really good to be reading more Japanese, so here’s to keeping it up!

Fun words!!

交流(こうりゅう) - interaction, mingling; aka 九条(くじょう) doing her best!!
横暴(おうぼう) - oppression, tyranny; aka 藤本(ふじもと) lmao
素早(すばや)い - quick, agile
(すさ)まじい - terrific, tremendous, dreadful
亀裂(きれつ) - crack, crevice, fissure (ビスコ really did a number on that little shack)

18 Likes

Summary Post

Day 4: Today I read a page of よつば&!

20 Likes

I fell off the wagon HARD once the holiday season rolled around, but I really want to get back on it! This challenge was a lot of fun last time. Here’s to reading more books and encouraging others to do the same! :clinking_glasses:

:snowflake: Main Tracking Hub :snowflake:
1月
01 02
03 04 05 06 07 08 09
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
2月
01 02 03 04 05 06
07 08 09 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28
Goals

For now, my only goal is to read a small amount of Japanese every day. Once I reestablish my habit of reading nearly every day, I’ll add in other goals.

  1. Read for 10 min. each day.
  2. Catch up with the Intermediate Book Club.
Reading Material

I’m going to start small this time around and only add things if I’ve caught up on a couple of the items on here.

:red_square: かがみの孤城 by 辻村 深月

:red_square: 地球星人 by 村田 沙耶香

:green_square: 月刊少女野崎くん3 by 椿 いづみ

:white_large_square: TODAI articles

Key

:red_square: 0% 〜 33%
:orange_square: 34% 〜 66%
:yellow_square: 66% 〜 99%
:green_square: 100% Complete!
:white_large_square: progress not trackable

23 Likes

Yeah I‘m not yet convinced that we’ll make it to the end :sweat_smile: But let’s see…

I must confess that I only discovered now that it’s a series! :woman_facepalming: I read it in German so long ago that I guess the other books hadn’t been written yet. I don’t remember when exactly I read it, but I know that I recommended it to somebody about 18 or 20 years ago, so there‘s that :grin:

Anyways, we’ll see what we can do! We plan to get together on Friday to discuss the prologue. Hope I can finish it on time :sweat_smile:

9 Likes

I read eight pages of a magazine called ちゃお (four yesterday, and four today). It took me a while because I had to look up a bunch of vocabulary.

These were new to me/most interesting

イケ面-----イケめん-----shown as イケメン-----good-looking guy

万能-----ばんのう-----the primary meaning is “all-purpose/utility/universal”, but it used the secondary
meaning of “all-round (e.g. athlete)”.

さばさば-----relieved; refreshed​ (Onomatopoeic or mimetic word)

20 Likes

Well done! This is pretty much the point I was at this time last year, stumbling through one page of こぐまのケーキ屋さん at a time - and now I can read a few pages of it casually before bed and have made it through several novels. It all gets easier from here!

14 Likes

Home Post :snowman:

Reflection :snowflake:
While I didn’t really touch スパイファミリー again (master procrastinator as you can see), I did read my first manga (not complete) in Japanese without relying on any dictionaries at all. I also learnt how to draw Komiさん :slight_smile:

Stats
image
(Didn’t include the manga time because I forgot how many pages I read and left the book at school =) )

*And I’m kinda thinking of dropping スパイファミリー and focusing more on また、同じ夢を見てた

Anyways, good luck everyone :four_leaf_clover:

23 Likes

I got these for christmas! its going to be slow going for a new learner like me. Any tips?

10 Likes

Welcome @Rhiannonsalter :slight_smile:
Perhaps you could check out the amazing wanikani book club for this book ! It’s happening right now and it’s ok if you are slower than the expected pace, there are always friendly people (from my experience with other book clubs) who will help you :slight_smile:

11 Likes

:house:

Day 5! Today I read pages 133-135 of Kiki, which took me about 10 minutes. My time management sucks :grimacing: I procrastinate reading until I have barely any time left before my ideal bedtime, and then exceed it lol.

It was easier reading than I expected — maybe those pages were just generally simpler. I’m puzzled why I still find it so difficult to pick up and read books in Japanese when it’s not strenuous anymore… compared to my addiction to English books. I’m glad this challenge is ongoing, because it really is motivating when I’m updating every day for accountability :slightly_smiling_face:

Oh, and thanks @NicoleIsEnough and @saidahgilbert for the mentions of The Pillars of the Earth. I googled it and now it’s added to my want-to-read list. In English of course, lol.

20 Likes

This is great to hear! I don’t mind stumbling through at all, but it would be fantastic to read like that a year from now. Thanks for sharing this!!!

8 Likes

Day 5! My article choice was inspired by chatting with a new tutor last night about how when I started watching 最愛 (which I still haven’t finished - no spoilers please!) I struggled with the dialect used by the characters. Turns out he grew up where that dialect is spoken!

Anyways, 「最愛」の方言が可愛い!ドラマ内で出てくる岐阜の飛騨弁フレーズまとめ - or roughly ~ Beloved’s dialect is cute! A collection of phrases from the Gifu/Hida dialect in Beloved.

Some words I looked up

飛騨弁 - Hida-Ben. I’m honestly just terrible at place name kanji.
北陸地方 - Houkuriku region
ふとした - impulsive; on a whim
しっくりくる - to fit to a T; to feel right

Turns out the dialect used in 最愛 is the same one used in 君の名は which I remember also struggling with! I’m clearly not good at dialects, haha. 関西弁 (dialect of Kansai) is the only ‘non-standard’ one I’m really comfortable with at the moment.

19 Likes

1月4日 ~ Day 4 / Back to Home

I had every intention to post this yesterday, but somehow down the line my draft got deleted… so I took it as a happy birthday sign from the universe to stay off the Internet for most of the remainder of the day. (Save for reviews of course!)

I technically reread the sections multiple times so I could keep a record of the kanji I knew and didn’t. I decided to combine today’s readings into this post as well.

なぜ?どうして?みぢかなぎもん (1年生) - 4 pages:
Question 5: “What does「あかんべー」mean?”

I bet Chico-chan knows!

The narrator guesses the reader has been in a situation where they’ve fought with a friend or teased them and in order to purposely make them angry, gave them the 「あかんべー」eye. (Cue nodding first graders.)

The action of「あかんべー」refers to pushing down your lower eyelid in order to show the red area behind it. Originally, the term comes from 「あかんめ」(red eye). It makes the person who see it feel bad. If you look at the words for lonely [さびしい」and 「さみしい」the first one takes the 「び」sound and replaces it with the 「み」sound. Likewise, for 「赤んめ」the 「め」is changed to the 「べ」sound and that’s where 「あかんべー」came from!

Pretty easy explanation to decipher and pretty interesting read. I didn’t have any trouble with anything that I could remember. Just asked my husband to help decipher the base verb of からかったり。

Already Learned Kanji

友達・ともだち・friend

時・とき・time

相手・あいて・partner

所・ところ・place

見せ付ける・みせつける・to make a display of/show off

仕草・しぐさ・gesture/movement - This is the kind of word I like running into because I would absolutely miss burning it if I saw it after a while without context.

元々・もともと・originally

言う・いう・to say

意味・いみ・meaning

表す・あらわす・to express - Another WK vocab I would’ve long forgotten if I hadn’t seen it in a book.

成る・なる・to become

New Kanji

喧嘩する・けんかする・to fight

揶揄う・からかう・to tease

態と・わざと・on purpose

怒る・おこる・to be angry

下瞼・したまぶた・lower eyelid

押し下げる・おしさげる・to push down

裏・うら・behind

寂しい・さびしい・lonely

替わる・かわる・to replace

入れ替わる・いれかわる・to change places

Question 6: “Why does the Maneki-Neko raise its front paw?” (3 pages)

I think I know..

The narrator asks the reader if they’ve ever caught sight of a Maneki-Neko decoration (a cat whose front paw is raised like it’s beckoning you) in a restaurant before.

Long ago, the Maneki-Neko inside of a temple would be beckoning to people, a gesture that suggested it was helping people. It was said that its beckoning invited more and more customers and money to come, and so it would make stores prosperous.

A Maneki-Neko can also be lifting either its left or right paw. If it’s raising its right paw, it’s inviting money. If it’s lifting its left paw, it’s inviting customers. About 140 years ago, its popularity spread between people running shops.

This one had a few sentences that were structured in a way that I found it difficult to decipher, but an overall interesting story. I was surprised by how many verbs were associated with Maneki-Neko.

Already Learned Kanji

前足・まえあし・foreleg

見かける・みかける・to catch sight of

丸で・まるで・as if

昔・むかし・long ago

お寺・おてら・temple

人助け・ひとだすけ・helping another person

お客さん・おきゃくさん・guest/customer

店・みせ・store

所で・ところで・by the way

間・あいだ・between

広まる・ひろまる・to be spread

New Kanji

招き猫・まねきねこ・Maneki-Neko

蕎麦屋さん・そばやさん・Soba restaurant

置物・おきもの・ornament

片方・かたほう・one side

手招き・てまねき・beckoning

招き寄せる・まねきよせる・to beckon

繁盛する・はんじょうする・to be prosperous

招く・まねく・to invite

1月5日 ~ Day 5

Question 7: “Why do (children) get お年玉 for New Year’s?” (4 pages)

Better yet, why don't adults get お年玉?

The narrator declares that otoshidama is the one thing that most people look forward to on New Year’s. But do you know why they call it otoshidama?

Well, a long time ago, when a new year approached, people prayed to the God of New Year for the next year to be filled with happiness. Then people would get a blessing called a 「たまもの」from the God.

Since ancient times, Japan has gotten a gift from god called an 「お年玉」which we have the habit of sending each other. Things like katana, sake, and if someone had kids, a battledore or other toys would be given as presents.

After that, they would start sending handmade fans from their families as gifts. Then, in private universities, juniors and children would receive tenugui cloth. They’ve only started giving money as gifts instead of things since about 100 years ago.

After reading question 5, I was expecting お年玉 to be a rewriting of a different kanji like落とし玉 or something like that, but that was an interesting story about Japanese culture. I’m kinda curious what started the money exchange vs giving things as presents. And why お年玉 are mainly for kids now, but cool to know that adults used to get them too!

Already Learned Kanji

楽しみ・たのしみ・looking forward to

多い・おおい・many

昔・むかし・long ago

新しい・あたらしい・new

幸せ・しあわせ・happiness

年神さん・としがみさん・god celebrated at the beginning of the New Year

神様・かみさま・god

来る・くる・to come

古く・ふるく・ancient times

送り合う・おくりあう・to send each other

刀・かたな・ katana

お酒・おさけ・sake

他・ほか・other

子供・こども・children

家・いえ・house

その後・そのご・after that

自分・じぶん・my(self)

作る・つくる・to make

私大・しだい・private university

目下・めした・subordinates/juniors

物・もの・thing

前・まえ・before

New Kanji

迎える・むかえる・to approach

祈る・いのる・to pray

贈り物・おくりもの・present

賜物・たまもの・gift

習慣・しゅうかん・habit

羽子板・はごいた・battledore (early form of badminton racket)

玩具・おもちゃ・toy

扇子・せんす・hand fan

手拭・てぬぐい・tenugui cloth

Question 8: “Why do we decorate small bamboo with our wishes on Tanabata?” (4 pages)

What do you think?

Tanabata is on the 7th of July. You attach a special paper with your written wish as a decoration onto the small bamboo. In China, there’s a legend about Orihime and Hikoboshi. In ancient Japan, there is an event called 「たなばたつめ」where you approach a god who’s weaving a cloth on the waterside.

The Chinese legend and the Japanese event are connected and that’s how Tanabata was born. Small bamboo is a flexible and strong plant that stretches straight up. To the people back then, they recognized it as a valuable thing that they could feel came from god. That’s why they wrote their prayers on special paper and attached them to the plant, in hopes that their prayers would reach god.

After the next day of Tanabata, the small bamboo with their decorations would be washed in the river or sea. It meant that the small bamboo along with any disasters or calamities attached to it would be washed away.

This went into a different direction than I thought. I vaguely knew the story about Orihime and Hikoboshi, so I thought they were going in that direction. But surprisingly, they did focus on the meaning behind the wishes. Again, there was a little difficulty in deciphering the exact translations, but it wasn’t bad.

Already Learned Kanji

願い事・ねがいごと・prayer

作る・つくる・to make

付ける・つける・to attach

書く・かく・to write

昔・むかし・long ago

水辺・みずべ・waterside

行事・ぎょうじ・event

今・いま・now

強い・つよい・strong

通じる・つうじる・to be understood

感じる・かんじる・to feel

届く・とどく・to reach

思う・おもう・to think

次・つぎ・next

海・うみ・sea

一緒・いっしょ・together

考える・かんがえる・to think

New Kanji

笹竹・ささたけ・small bamboo

飾る・かざる・to decorate

祭り・まつり・festival

折り紙・おりがみ・folded paper

飾り・かざり・decorations

短冊・たんざく・long, narrow strip of paper on which Japanese poems are written - Hey, I just learned that first kanji at level 12 today!

祈る・いのる・to pray

織り姫・おりひめ・Orihime

彦星・ひこぼし・Hikoboshi

伝説・でんせつ・legend

布・ぬの・cloth

織り・おり・weave

迎える・むかえる・to approach

棚機つ女・たなばたつめ・female weaver

結びつく・むすびつく・to be connected

真っ直ぐ・まっすぐ・straight ahead

伸びる・のびる・to stretch

嫋か・しなやか・flexible

植物・しょくぶつ・plant

尊い・とうとい・precious/valuable

流す・ながす・to wash away

災い・わざわい・disaster

18 Likes

I’ve hit my goal of reading the past two nights. One page of Fruits Basket takes me about 15 minutes, with look ups and trying to puzzle out some of the sentences.

Is there a place to get sentence help? I don’t want to make a thread every time I have a question or pollute the forum lol

18 Likes