Makoto #52: The Fun Japanese Not Found in Textbooks

By Clay Boutwell and Yumi Boutwell

Makoto E-Zine series #52

Recommended for beginners and lower intermediates of Japanese.

Now includes handy QR codes on each page to scan and instantly hear that page's sound files. (You can still download the sound files and PDF for no extra charge)

FREE sound files of the stories read by a native Japanese speaker--download link found on the last page. Listen while reading.

The Fun Japanese Not Found in Textbooks. If you like our readers and lessons, you will love Makoto, the e-zine filled with articles on kanji, culture, idioms, proverbs, geography, history, etymology, JLPT tips, Japanese trivia, and much more. Not only that, but every issue will include a brand new reader with newly recorded high-quality MP3s for you to download for no extra charge.

In this Issue:
* Laughs, Jokes, Riddles, and Puns
* Vocabulary: 血も涙もない
* Prefecture Spotlight: Nagano
* Etymology: デカ
* Anime Phrase of the Day
* Haiku : 夏目漱石
* Kanji Spotlight: 人
* Grammar Time! だけ
* Japanese Readers: Japanese Pancakes (beginner) + Yamaha (Intermediate)

Buy now and start reading in seconds.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kotoba Inc
• Release date: May 26, 2022

Book preview

Laughs, Jokes, R­iddles, and Puns

Q.日本人(にほんじん)は物事(ものごと)を白黒(しろくろ)つけるのが下手(へた)だと思(おも)いますか？

・思(おも)う ２１％(パーセント)

・思(おも)わない ７％(パーセント)

・どちらともいえない ７２％(パーセント)

Question: Do you think Japanese people are not good at making definite, black-or-white decisions?

Answers:

· I think so: 21%

· I don't think so: 7%

· I can't say either: 72%

Vocabulary:

ジョーク jo-ku―a joke

日本人 nihonjin―Japanese person/people

は wa―(indicates the sentence topic)

物事 monogoto―things; everything

を o―(indicates the direct object of action)

白黒つける shiro kuro tsukeru―to make definite decisions; to determine whether something is right or wrong; to make something clear; to settle a matter [白黒(しろくろ )(black and white; right and wrong) + つける (determine; get into; put on; apply)]

の no―(nominalizer) [turns the part preceding it into a noun phrase]

が ga―(indicates the object of emotion)

下手 heta―bad; poor; not good

だと思います da to omoimasu―to think…; I think…; you think… [how to form: Noun + だ + と思います]

か ka―(question marker)

思う ２１％ omou nijuu ichi pa-sento―(I) think so: 21% [思(おも)う (to think; to consider)]

思わない ７％ omowanai nana pa-sento―(I) don’t think so: 7% [思(おも)わない is the plain negative form of 思う (to think; to consider)]

どちらともいえない ７２％ dochira to mo ienai nanajuu ni pa-sento―(I) can’t say either: 72% [どちらともいえない ((I am) not sure, (I) can't say which)]

Want more jokes? Get our new book, Jokes in Japanese, a part of our Japanese Culture Bundle: http://www.TheJapanShop.com/bundles

Vocabulary

Idiom or Saying

Learn Useful Words

Japanese Saying

Look for the MP3 in the download link on the last page.

血 ( ち ) も 涙 ( なみだ ) もない

chi mo namida mo nai

cold-blooded; hardhearted; unfeeling; inhuman

Used when someone is cold, unfeeling, or insusceptible to pity.

Literally, without blood or tears. A similar expression is 人でなし hito de nashi - inhuman; a brute; a