2級 Grammar 131-135

Another week, another grammar entry. I actually wrote all the definitions down really early today, but then stopped when I realized there was nothing really on my mind that could yield 5 example sentences. I also figured I'd get started on this sooner...but I figure a lot of things.

SO. In the interest of finishing these off so I can hunker down over some more kanji before sleeping, the sentences for this week are going to be about...things in my range of vision. Fair warning, though, I will embellish freely when appropriate, and sometimes when not.

131)　～につれて, X
as ~, X also happens
~ happens along with X
～とともに
～にしたがって

Knowing "つれて"'s usual meaning, this is a pretty simple point. The only part to look out for is that につれて　can only come after the plain dictionary form of a verb.

Ex. 僕は毎週の文法を書いて始まるにつれて、大事な電子辞書を開く。でも今日忘れたので、想像な辞書を使ってしまう。


132)　～にとって　・　～にとっては　・　～にとっても
for ~,
～からみて (pt 3o)

This is another one that you've probably already heard if you've been immersed in Japanese for a length of time, my first usage of this one went something like "英語しか話せない外国人にとって、日本語はやっぱり難しいだろう。". "For foreigners who only speak English, Japanese is, as expected, difficult." The clincher - only use it after nouns.
Ex.　僕の彼女はきれいなことが好きだから、いつもなんかが汚れられたら、彼女もうすぐに掃除する。僕にとって、食べかけのパスタやぬれたタオルを置きっぱなしでいいでしょう。


133)　～にとっての
for ~
see above

This one is almost exactly like 132, with the grammatical difference that it must be followed and preceded by a noun, and it's possessive. I couldn't change the example sentence I snuck into grammar point 132's explanation because I'm not saying "the foreigner's Japanese". Another way to put it - the using this grammatical form makes the subject whatever comes AFTER the grammar point instead of before it.
Ex.　友達にとっての一番の忘れたものはシャツです。例えば、ソファから三枚を見える。


134)　～に伴って　・　～に伴い　・　～に伴う　（伴＝ともな）
as ~,
See 131

The only difference I see between につれて　and に伴い is that the former is more sequential, ie A changes, then B changes along with it. For に伴い, though, the two are closer to simultaneous. Remember, though, that A and B in these cases are not interchangeable. Just because as A happens, so does B, does NOT mean as B happens, so does A. The other big difference - this one can be paired up with verbs and nouns alike.

Ex.　テレビのリモートコントロールの電源ボタンを押すに伴ってテレビが爆発した。それは変でしょう？普通はそのボタンを押すとホットココアに注がれる。　

(you are crazy if you think I'm googling "chocolate shower")


135)　～に反して　・　～に反する (反＝はん）
To be inconsistent with~
Contrary to ~,
The OPPOSITE of 85, ～とおり

反 is a good kanji to know all by itself as a general opposition kanji. 反対, 反面教師, etc etc. Knowing this makes this definition more or less self-explanatory. When using the ~に反する version, there should be a noune on either side. For ~に反して, just a noun to the left will do. It is most commonly paired with 予想, 期待 and other predictiony/evaluative words.

Ex.　任天堂Wiiの天候チャンネルの予報に反する雨が上海に降っている。

2級 Grammar 121-125

I don't know if last weeks Tuesday post served to rouse anybody's interest, but rest assured steps are being taken to make good on the promise. Until then, I have employed the help of my friend Vanessa to make today's sentences and pictures. Just like with Jeff, I was given five random words. Completely unlike Jeff, I got to choose my own pictures. I will, however, leave them in the order she gave me. HERE WE GOOO!

121)　～に相違ない
~must be so.
~is definitely the case.
Undoubtedly, ~.

If you know that "相違" （そうい） means dissent, difference, and other negating words, this one comes naturally. Another note - this is a very formal way of saying it, so save it for your boss. We have one for your friends down the page.
Ex.　それで最初の人間対ワニの両手じゃんけん大会は終わりました。もちろん来年も同じ悲劇で終わりたいに相違ない。理由は：面白かったです。



122)　～に沿って　（～にそって）
along with ~
parallel to ~

This one can be used with both physical and intangible things. You can go alongside the river to the ocean just as well as you can follow along with fashion trends.
Ex.　奴隷解放宣言以上に、アメリカの内乱戦争に沿ってこの超美味いぺろぺろキャンディーが出ました。やっぱり時々戦う価値がある。


123)　～に対して　・　～に対する　（～にたいして・する）
towards~
to~
for~

Lots of potential uses for this guy. The fact that one of the definitions is simply "~に" should emphasize how many different potential uses you're looking at. Not sure how to clarify it down any more than that...
Ex.　やっと、このでかいレンチで本物のガンダムに対する作る可能性があった。


124)　～に違いない　（～ちがいない）
There's no mistake that ~
~ is definitely the case.

This one lends itself to easy explanation, since "違う" just means "wrong". So "違いない", but a tiny leap of imagination, can mean naught but...well... "not wrong". This is the less formal equivalent of number 122, and arguably the easier remembered of the two.
Ex.　「我慢！」顔しても、ペッパースプレーがありえないぐらい痛いに違いない。

125)　～について
about ~
concerning ~

Anybody who reads this page enough undoubtedly knows this grammar point already, or at least they should since I'm certain I've used it multiple times in example sentences. Arguably the less formal form of "に関する", this phrase's pre-built-in "て" makes it easy to verb about something. For example, "何々について書く" is "to write about something, "何々について考える" is "to think about something". It's naturally not limited to this use, but it's good to know nonetheless.
Ex.　日本にいる時間は一週間以上に過ごすとアメリカのハムサンドについて夢をよく見るようになる。でもそれはただの夢だよ、この写真みたいなサンドが全然ないから。

Aannnd that wraps up Tuesday, even thought today is a national holiday. I swear, the things I do sometimes for you people...

As ever, your comments and feedback are appreciated. Feel free to guess the exact words that led to these images getting found. The award for our winner - MORE GRAMMAR POINTS!

Japanese Language Trivia of the Day: 酒

Or, the post that only Nirav could bring you.

As many of you may already be aware, I'm visiting Japan at the moment. One of my favorite things about Japan, and probably what I was looking forward to the most before coming, is the alcohol. At first glance, especially to American sensibilities, that seems like an odd, if not downright alcoholic, thing to say. It's true that, when I'm in Japan, I have a tendency to possibly, sometimes, depending on how you look at it have an eency-weency bit too much to drink. However, when I say that alcohol is one of my favorite things about Japan, I don't necessarily mean the availability of it, the amount of it, or even the types of it available (don't get me wrong, though - I highly appreciate all of those things, too). What I mean is that I enjoy the way that alcohol is entwined with the culture here, how drinking and all of the other social customs play off of each other in some way or another. As one might expect, alcohol is also highly linked to Japanese language, so today's trivia is a list of お酒 related terms and phrases that I enjoy. Of course, there are far too many of them for this to be an exhaustive list, so I'll have to continue it some other time.

酒に飲まれる
さけ　に　のまれる
sake ni nomareru
This neat turn of phrase literally means "to be drunk by your sake," or, in other words, to have far too much to drink and end up doing something stupid or meeting some otherwise unpleasant fate. It is often used by itself, but is also present in the commonly voiced admonition:

酒を飲んでも飲まれるな
さけ　を　のんでも　のまれるな
sake wo nondemo nomareruna
When you get drunk, make sure the sake doesn't drink you!


酒は百薬の長
さけは　ひゃくやく　の　ちょう
sake ha hyakuyaku no chou
Sake is the best medicine. (It sure makes me feel better!)

酒は百害の長
さけ　は　ひゃくがい　の　ちょう
Sake ha hyakugai no chou
Sake is the worst of all poisons.

自棄酒
やけざけ
yakezake
Most commonly, you only see the "sake" part of this one written in kanji. It literally means "the alcohol of throwing oneself away," and might be put into English as "drowning one's sorrows."

利き酒
ききざけ
Kikizake
Sake-(or wine-) tasting or pairing
Often times, restaurants will have someone who is a 利き酒師 (ききざけし kikizakeshi), or essentially a sommelier specifically for sake.

Japanese Language Trivia of the Day:

I meant for this to be a short and sweet post based on something that once happened to me, but as it turns out, it didn't mean quite what I thought I did.

I once heard someone say that the problem with learning by immersion is misapplication. It's easy to pick up a new word, but a lot of times, since you've only noticed the word in one context, you haven't really understood the nuance of it. I learned the phrase 「はっきり言って」 by hearing it repeatedly from other English teachers, and was told that it meant "speak clearly." But when I tried to use it as "Speak up" or "Don't garble your words," I found out that it actually means more like "Say what you mean; Express yourself plainly."

Brett learned 衣替え as "change of clothing," which is technically accurate, but if you were to ask someone to bring a 衣替え、in case we decide to go swimming or stay the night, they'd be pretty confused.

So, I had today's trivia applied to me when I asked someone to pass me a piece of pizza, despite the fact that there was another plate of pizza right next to me. The out-of-reach pizza, however, was from Costco in Fukuoka, while the pizza at my side looked like this.

いいとこ取り
いいとこどり
ii toko dori

I got all kinds of confused at first, because I thought they said itoko-douri, which translates as "cousin road." And that's just weird. But the way it actually breaks down is "Good place picker-upper."

This happened last year, and I've spent all of my time, until today, believing that the full purpose of いいとこどり was to refer to those who swipe the best bits, in a very concrete, food related way. Not so.

いいとこどり is more of a general philosophical outlook, describing someone who looks for the good in things and ignores the bad. An optimist. A silver-lining seeker.

Check out this book about how to live an いいとこどり life (Step 1: Get a hybrid car).

So in the spirit of this bit of trivia, I choose not to reflect on the fact that I haven't really understood this phrase and have probably been using it awkwardly for a long time, but I'll focus on the fact that today's 表現 and trivia are perfect complements. Anyone who says "渡る世間に鬼はない" is definetly　いいとこどりしている.

Feel free to use it in the food sense as well, but don't be surprised if the Japanese people you use it with are impressed at your ability to craft high concept jokes.

Also, enjoy Colin, who comments on The Yoji sometimes and has a funny song related to optimism, as well as this one anthemic song about his time in Japan: tell me you don't hear an desperate attempt at いいとこどり reasoning in the chorus.

2級 Grammar 46-50

It's been a while since I put up one of the grammar posts, so I'll try and make my sentences related, like Brett's been doing, though I can't promise to live up to his special brand of hilarity. Here's the next in the series, which brings us up to over 25% of the 2級 list! Yay.

We begin with the last of the ことｓ

46) ～ことはない　・　こともない
~there's no need for
~you don't have to
～しなくてもいい
～する必要はない

This is basically a more polite way to say, しなくてもいい, when you want to be able to say "There's no cause for...," in a formal situation. It gets used often with わざわざ sentences and なにも sentences.

Ex. すみません、社長。今、なにも返事することはないですけれども。。。ずっと愛していますよ。

47) ～際　・　～際に　・　～際は
~at the time of
~on the occasion of
～のとき
～の場合

This one is also a formal phrase, or as my book calls it, あらたまった表現。Add to the plain, conjugated form of verbs, or a noun + の. Use as below!

Ex. 社長に初めて紹介された際は、夢みたいでした。

48) ～最中に　・　最中だ
~ just as
~ exactly when
～ちょうど　－　しているとき

The subject doesn't have to be the same, but think of this one as "Right when I was in the middle of.." and you'll have it down. It can be used with progressive verbs, adjectives, or nouns +　の.

Ex. 離婚の最中に、あなた様に会えたおかげ、愛に信用がよみがえました。

49)～(で)さえ
~ even/not even
～も
～でも
～からして

This one is really hard. Look back at the からして post and see what you can do with it. My book has a lot of intense notes explaining that the nuance of さえ is in that it implies abnormality.

Usually, humans don't eat mice, but :食べ物がなくなれば、人間はネズミさえ食べる。
Usually, little kids shouldn't know things about explicit sex, but: インターネットのせいで、子供さえ｢Double-frosted donkey punch」 の意味をしている。

Ex. 自分でさえ、この禁物の愛は本当になると思いませんが。。。

50) ～さえ～ば
~ even if only... then
~just... will suffice to...
～だけ～ば
～それでいい

This one's easier. ネズミさえ食べれば、生きれる。Even if you have only mice to eat, you can survive.

Ex. 社長は｢私も愛している」さえ言ってくれば、ガマンできると思います。それに、給料を上がってくださいませんか？

五里霧中

ごりむちゅう
gori muchuu

I think that this yoji describes how it can feel studying Japanese sometimes. I know that when I first started, I could barely introduce myself, much less do more important things like ask where the bathroom was or pontificate on the legal status of the Ainu in late Taisho/early Showa Japan. I think the seeming impenetrability of the language, at least for English speakers, is part of what keeps otherwise capable people from its pursuit. For those people who do take the plunge, I think there's a point where you realize just how much effort goes into learning Japanese, a point where it can really feel like you're just pushing on but not necessarily making progress towards a real goal. Luckily, as I went on, I think I got a better grasp of where things were going, and my Japanese ability began to take shape. I can definitely see the same thing happening to certain other people whom, I believe, I don't need to name.

As some of you may know, a 里 (り, ri) is an old measure of distance imported from China, which the interwebs inform me is equal to roughly 4 miles. 霧, read as む(mu) here but きり (kiri) in kun-yomi, is fog. 五里霧中 is what happens when the future, represented by the 20 miles or so in front of you, is shrouded in uncertainty, represented by a dense fog.

Definition:
霧に隠されているがごとく、先行きがつかめず困っている状態
(people studying for 1/2-kyuu, I think you're supposed to know what -ga gotoku means, right?)

Translations:
1) not knowing how things are going to turn out (and being nervous about it)
2) the opposite of "shrouded in the mists of time" (ie, shrouded in the future mists rather than those of the past)


例文：
今先どこの進国でも製造業部門が五里霧中で、それに依存する地域は特に見込みが暗い。
At present, the manufacturing sectors of all the developed countries are facing an uncertain future, and those regions dependent on manufacturing are the subject of particularly bleak predictions.

Often times, people will use this when trying to be encouraging. Although I feel weird saying this, especially because I've gotten so much worse at Japanese since coming back to the US, for those of you having a hard time seeing the light at the end of the Japanese-study tunnel:

日本語の勉強が難しくて五里霧中になってもあきらめずにがんばれ！