Whether you’re a complete and uninitiated Japanese-speaking newbie or a seasoned veteran who speaks like a native, learning Japanese never goes out of style or use. For said newbies, never fear, stress, or feel out of the loop; we’ve got some useful words and links for your express use.
School-related Japanese
| Types of schools | |||
|
Kanji |
Kana |
Reading |
Meaning |
| 学校 | がっこう | gakkou | school |
| 小学校 | しょうがっこう | shougakkou | elementary school |
| 中学校 | ちゅうがっこう | chuugakkou | junior high school |
| 高校 | こうこう | koukou | senior high school |
| 工業 | こうぎょう | kougyou | technical school |
| 商業 | しょうぎぃおう | shougyou | commercial school |
| 農業 | のうぎょう | nougyou | agricultural school |
| School subjects | |||
|
Kanji |
Kana |
Reading |
Meaning |
| 英語 | えいご | eigo | English |
| 数学 | すうがく | suugaku | Mathematics |
| 社会 | しゃかい | shakai | Social Studies |
| 国語 | こくご | kokugo | Japanese |
| 理科 | りか | rika | Science |
| 美術 | びじゅつ | bijutsu | Art |
| 技術 | ぎじゅつ | gijutsu | Industrial Art |
| 家庭 | かてい | katei | Home Economics |
| 体育 | たいいく | taiiku | Phys. Ed. (PE) |
| 音楽 | おんがく | ongaku | Music |
| School events | |||
|
Kanji |
Kana |
Reading |
Meaning |
| 始業式 | しぎょうしき | shigyoushiki | Beginning-of-term ceremony |
| 体育大会 | たいいくたいかい | taiikutaikai | Sports Day |
| 運動会 | うんどうかい | undoukai | Sports Day (same event, different name). |
| 文化祭 | ぶんかさい | bunkasai | School Culture Festival |
| 終業式 | しゅうぎょうしき | shuugyoushiki | End-of-term ceremony |
| 中間試験 | ちゅうかんしけん | chuukanshiken | Midterms |
| 期末試験 | きまつしけん | kimatsushiken | Finals |
| 参観日 | さんかんび | sankanbi | Parents Visiting Day |
Some popular Japanese foods
|
Kanji |
Reading |
Description |
| 牛丼 | Gyuudon | Beef and onions with a sweet soy sauce, based on rice. |
| 天丼 | Tendon | Tempura on rice. |
| チキン南蛮 | Chicken nanban | Miyazaki specialty; sweet-and-sour fried chicken usually served with tartar sauce. |
| 定食 | Teishoku | Set menu; usually it means a meal comes with rice, soup and salad, and sometimes even with a dessert and drink included. |
| うどん | Udon | Thick white rice noodles in broth. |
| そば | Soba | Fairly thin, brown – sometimes gray – buckwheat noodles served in broth; hot or cold. |
| ラーメン | Ramen | Noodles in various broths; not to be confused with the cup noodle variety. |
| カレーライス | Kareraisu | Curry and rice. The Japanese varieties are different from Thai, Indian or other types. |
| 餃子（ぎょうざ） | Gyouza | Pork dumplings |
| 肉 | Niku | Meat, e.g. pork (豚肉), beef (牛肉), chicken (鶏肉) etc. |
| 豚 | Buta/ton | Pork |
| 牛 | Gyuu | Beef |
| 鳥 | Tori | Chicken |
| 魚 | Sakana | Fish |
| 野菜 | Yasai | Vegetables |
| 果物 (くだもの) | Kudamono | Fruit |
Other useful links
- Tofugu: excellent all-round Japanese advice, online textbook and interesting Japanese news and culture articles.
- Tae Kim’s Guide to Learning Japanese: another great resource with free lessons, grammar explanations, practice exercises, and downloadable guides.
- JLPT: the official website for the Japanese Language Proficiency Tests.
- Tanos: an extensive and FREE resource site for all JLPT levels. Also has resources for HSK, the Mandarin equivalent of the JLPT.
- NHK Japanese online lessons: Great for beginners.
- Denshi Jisho: Known to be one of the more accurate English – Japanese dictionaries.
- Verb Conjugator: A really useful Japanese verb conjugator.
- Gengo: The ultimate online Japanese dictionary.
- Miyazaki Dialect Database: Comes in Japanese only, though.
miyazakiajet.org 