Day 25:
日本語: I read a lot of 伯爵と妖精 31.
中国語
中国語: I read an intermediate entry on Mandarin Bean, one page of 擅长捉弄的高木同学, and a ton of 孩子最爱读的中国民间故事. It took forever, but I finished the first story!!
19 Likes
Can anyone decipher what’s written in this panel? I can make out this much：
ケルベロスなんて長？ぎ？
せっかく かっこええ名前をかえるみたいに？？？
On another note: I just learnt this kanji and now I am seeing it in ‘the wild’. It’s good for reinforcement. Now I don’t think I will find myself forgetting how to read this kanji when it comes to ‘burn’ it months later.
Thank you. Right away I saw some expressions that Kero chan was using so this will help me understand his speech.
16 Likes
Okay best guess:
ケルベロスなんて長すぎてー！！せっかくかっこええ名前をかえるみたいに略すなー！！
(also I saw that and my first thought was “is that japanese??” lmao what a wild font)
15 Likes
Day 26: January 26th
365日にっぽんのいろ図鑑
Time spent: 24 min
Today’s color: 憲房色 (けんぼういろ) - I would characterize this as sort of a red-brown. The book characterizes it as black with a hint of orange. This is kind of an aside gripe, but it seems like this book and the internet do not always agree on what these words refer to, because the link above is closest to what the color looks like in the book, but internet sources having it looking much closer to the orangish-black description, like this. What is the truth
Today’s color was actually named after the famous dyer in Kyoto who invented it: 吉岡憲房 (according to the internet, his name is read as よしおかけんぼう…or よしおかけんぽう what is the truth)
Some good words
- 考案 (こうあん) - plan; device; idea; design; contrivance; conception; invention
- 兵法 (へいほう) - art of war; strategy; tactics
- 師範 (しはん) - instructor; (fencing) teacher; model
- 剣法 (けんぽう) - (art of) fencing; swordsmanship
- 大切にする (たいせつにする) - to cherish; to treasure; to prize; to set a high value on; to take good care of; to look after
- 色濃い (いろこい) - marked; pronounced; showing a strong tendency (towards)
- 代名詞 (だいめいし) - synonym; classic example; pattern; byword; representative
まいにち暦生活 日本の暮らしを楽しむ365のコツ
Time spent: 6 min
Today’s reading talked about 福寿草 (ふくじゅそう) - pheasant’s eye (species of buttercup, Adonis ramosa). It blooms right at the start of spring. Apparently it is poisonous and looks a lot like フキノトウ, an edible delicacy, when it’s first sprouting, so uh…be careful lol
What else did I read?
お前、タヌキにならねーか? Vol 1
Amount read: 10 pages
Time spent: 19 min
The chapter today made me teary-eyed, the whole thing was just so sweet. Today, instead of こがね丸, we get Old Man Tanuki helping someone out (I don’t think he has a name yet, they’ve just been addressing him as 長老). But it was so sweet because he finds this little girl lost in the woods and apparently tanuki can shapeshift into different people (not just take on one specific human form), because while they’re waiting out a rainstorm together under a tree, Old Man Tanuki shapeshifts into the form of her dead mom to comfort her and give her a hug 
It sounds kind of weird when I say it like that but it was really heart-warming in the manga
Good words
- ちゃっかり - shrewdly; smartly; calculatingly; astutely; cunningly
- サービスタイム - happy hour
- 真っ青 (まっさお) - ghastly pale; pallid; white as a sheet (can also mean deep blue/bright blue)
- 辿る (たどる) - to follow (road); to pursue (course); to follow up; to follow (hyperlink)
- クリームシチュー - chicken and vegetable stew with bechamel sauce or fresh cream
Ohhh, handsome! 
Not exactly what I was picturing but 
nonetheless
24 Likes
Update January 25 and 26
- First chapter of からかい上手高木さん yesterday, second today.
- Animal Crossing A lot of pointless wandering around my island.
Haven’t been able to focus. Had to say さようなら猫姫様 to my little lady cat yesterday. She was my study buddy, whenever I had to take mental breaks she was there. So I’m struggling to focus on my reading right now.
22 Likes
Oh, I’m terribly sorry to hear that. I’m sure she loved being your study buddy every bit as much.
In these kinds of situations I really think it’s impressive to manage to continue doing anything at all where this sort of mental work is concerned.
12 Likes
Funny, actually no, she hated it. I bothered her constantly, but I loved the way that she cried about receiving affection.
Luckily I find からかい上手高木さん pretty relaxing and the book club resources make it even more relaxing.
14 Likes
January 26 
Home Post
I love when I’m like “I’m too sleepy for much reading today, I’ll do a bunch tomorrow” and then like… I actually do? I read fifteen pages of 風つよ across three sessions and it’s been really great! I finished the first chapter which is pretty wild.
ムサ and 神童 (no pressure with a nickname like that lmao) are so wholesome, I forgot how much I loved them 
It’s pretty cool experiencing them with a Japanese-learning perspective actually; ムサ is a foreign exchange student, so it talks a lot about his struggles with the language and communicating with everyone, which is pretty neat and relatable haha. 神童 is the only one who goes out of his way to make sure ムサ understands everything, and explains colloquialisms and references and such and he’s just an absolute sweetheart really. I know what’s gonna happen and it’s gonna hurt me ahhhh
Anyway I’m still having a great time with it, and I really feel like I’m still in the introduction part honestly. Like where’s 王子 
and we haven’t even talked about the hakone ekiden yet and that’s like the whole plot lmao. I just wanna keep reading honestly, but alas I have real-world obligations 
~ Words ~
珍妙 - odd, fantastic
家鳴り - rattling of a house
俗語 - colloquialism, slang
お手上げ - given up hope, throwing up one’s hands
紳士的 - gentlemanly, well-mannered
見習う - to follow another’s example (this was about ムサ following 神童's example of not using a large amount of colloquialisms with him, and so ムサ sounds so polite and proper all the time and it’s really cute actually)
陥れる - to trick (into doing), to trap (in a difficult situation)
こぢんまり - snugly, neatly, cosily
23 Likes
Well, let me add my success too. 
Yesterday, on January 25th I’ve finally decently translated a news article! (Well, I needed to look for some words translation, but my interpretation was pretty close to original)
かんぱい！
18 Likes
I read 大聖堂 over the past few days (had a bit of a slow start, but I’m hoping I can finish this week’s assignment today). Also (in order to clean up my Bookmeter “Reading” list) I resurrected a manga I once started but then abandoned for a long time, it’s called 青の島と猫一匹 (volume 3).
Also, this morning I read a bit of an article in Nihon Keizai Shinbun. It was about Tesla’s business results. The best was that after I finished reading, my local news outlet also reported on the numbers. Sooo satisfying that I knew things already before they were reported in the national news 
Funniest word in the article was 半導体 - semiconductor 
I also exported my Demon Slayer 3 vocabulary for @chrisosaurus and anybody else who wants to use it.
21 Likes
Day 27 — Read pages 203-205 of Kiki. I had a lot of things to do today, so I’m glad I managed to read at least a little.
20 Likes
Tonight I read nine pages of Death Note, finishing off the first chapter. I’m starting to remember a bunch of new vocabulary, just from repetition. I write everything I look up down (actual pencil to paper), because that’s how I remember it best. I am, however, learning more words for death, criminals, and malicious behaviour than I ever wanted to know.
魘される------うなされる------to have a nightmare
指名手配------しめいてはい------(the police) wanting (someone) for questioning; having (someone) on
the wanted list.
19 Likes
January 27
君の名は , 9 pages.
Approaching the end of the novel already :o that’s crazy. I’m most likely going to start 星の王子さま on February. After that I need to look for another one, I will ask for novel recommendations at some point ^^ .
21 Likes
Homepost - Tigerdate: 20220127 
Tanuki Scroll XXVII: 中華まんレシピ 
Today I succumbed to the urge and looked up a dumpling recipe. It’s a few days later from super dumpling day but that’s okay because dumplings are meant to be enjoyed all day, every day.
It seems this too, as with the mochi, leads to disappointment as I do not have the necessary equipment, I have neither a bamboo steamer, or a regular steamer… but this could be resolved if I were to buy one. Perhaps it is worth the investment, since bamboo steamer = unlimited dumplings, and unlimited dumplings = unlimited happiness 
Regardless there’s a lot of good words here, there’s a video too for listening practice and for making you hungry.
☆ Learnings ☆
Food Words
日清「にっしん」ー This is the company name: Nisshin. But it is also a historical term, meaning Japan and Qing (Dynasty) China.
薄力粉「はくりきこ」ー Pastry Flour / Cake Flour
餡「あん」ー Red Bean Paste; can also mean filling (for a dumpling eg) (I feel I really should have seen this before now)
白菜「はくさい」ー Napa Cabbage / Chinese Cabbage
しょうが「生姜」ー Ginger (the food) (Another word I’m sure I should have come across by now)
長ねぎ「ながねぎ」ー Spring Onion / Green Onion (uses 本 as counter)
ひき肉「ひきにく」ー Minced Meat
ごま油「ごまあぶら」ー Sesame Oil
大さじ「おおさじ」ー Tablespoon
小さじ「こさじ」ー Teaspoon
せいろ「蒸籠」ー Bamboo Steamer
蒸し器「むしき」ー Regular Steamer
まな板「まないた」ー Chopping Board
耳たぶ「みみたぶ」ー Earlobe
The recipe states: 耳たぶくらいの固さになるよう水分を調整してください, to make something as “hard as an earlobe” sounds a bit weird, but I guess it makes sense
こねる「捏ねる」ー To knead
下準備「したじゅんび」ー Preliminary arrangements; Preparation
Japanglish Words
ベーキングパウダー ー Baking Powder
ドライイースト ー Dry Yeast
ラード ー Lard
スケッパー ー Dough scraper
グルテン ー Gluten
ベンチタイム ー Bench time; Rest time; Take a break
クッキングシート ー Parchment Paper; Baking Paper
New Meanings
生地「きじ」ー Dough; batter (Only knew as cloth before)
下ろす「おろす」ー To grate, as in cheese (looking at the list, this word has a lot of meanings)
塗す「まぶす」ー To sprinkle with
So sorry to hear about this 
These are really pretty!! I love the white & gold one!
22 Likes
Wow, now you have me wanting to attempt a recipe from my 食戟のソーマ recipe book (from the manga/anime). It would be fun to see what a fail the result might be, both from my translation and cooking abilities.
Your dumplings sound delicious.
8 Likes
1月22日〜27日
Materials:
地球星人
I dedicated all of my reading time to catching up with the Intermediate Book Club. After reading through Week 4, I am PERTURBED. First of all, I take back any sympathies I may have had for her sister and her mother. The next time we see Natsuki’s sister, she literally kicks her in the back while the girl’s talking with her friend on the phone. Meanwhile, the mother continues to insult her in both private and public. Natsuki says that she uses her as a “garbage can,” and I just…it’s beyond depressing and infuriating. Speaking of which, her freaking cram school teacher. The scene that ended the week’s reading made me anxious throughout. I am NOT okay. I know Natsuki wants to be obedient but…it’s one of those moments where you want so desperately to transport yourself into the book and help out the main character. Despite this, I’m having a good time reading it. Murata always knows how to hook me in.
Vocab
口ばっかり[くちばっかり]：all talk (and no action)
達者[たっしゃ]：
「あんたはいつもそう、ろくなことができないくせに口ばっかり達者で」
二けた[にけた]：double-digit number
カレンダーに書き込んだ、ゆうに会える日までのカウントダウンの数字は、ついに二けたになった。
露わにする[あらわにする]：to expose, to reveal
振り向くと、不機嫌さを露わにした母が、店の奥からでてきたところだった。
急かす[せかす]：to hurry
のろのろ：slowly
急かされて、わたしはのろのろと鞄の中からポーチをとった。
For those interested, I saw on Twitter a Japanese version of Wordle: https://taximanli.github.io/kotobaasobou/.
I shamefully lost yesterday on a word I most certainly should have known. I can only hope to redeem myself going forward. 
Those are so nice! I only have one that someone gave me from Hokkaido. It’s a generic one, but still quite pretty imo. 
I’m so sorry for your loss. This happened to me a couple of years ago with my own 猫姫 (who I called my “elder kitty” in her final years). Props to you for finding a way to stay productive, but don’t hesitate to take a break if you have to. Heck, I still tear up if I think about my previous cat for too long. Would love to see a picture of the sweet girl, if you don’t mind sharing.
22 Likes
Thank you, that’s super fun! Happy to say I got my first attempt in 4 guesses.
6 Likes
Ooh neat! I was wondering whether there was a Japanese version.
I got super lucky this time
spoiler warning!
which was nice, haha.
This will probably be pretty hard for me most of the time but also fun!
Thanks for sharing 
5 Likes