Essential Japanese Vocabulary. Akira Miura
target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="#fb3_img_img_67c244d1-5270-5ce6-b60a-5f7e62b6d910.jpg" alt=""/>ru 愛する to love
The noun ai 愛 “love” and its verbal counterpart, aiuru 愛する “to love,” are both written expressions. Although some young lovers nowadays may use such words of endearment as Aishite-iru yo 愛しているよ (men’s speech) and Aishite-iru wa 愛しているわ (women’s speech) to mean “I love you,” such sentences still sound stilted because the verb 愛する aisuru is rarely used in speech. Kimi ga suki da 君が好きだ (men’s speech) and Anata ga suki yo あなたが好きよ (women’s speech) also mean “I love you.” The versions containing suki 好き (see SUKI) are more conversational and are perhaps more frequently used in speech than the versions with aisuru. As Donald Keene (p. 156) wisely points out, however, the most typically Japanese expression of love has been silence (although, in the rapidly changing society of contemporary Japan, this tradition too may be on its way out).
A
Aite 相手 means someone with whom one does something. Depending on the activity, therefore, aite could be either one’s partner or competitor.
EXAMPLES:
(1) kekkon no aite
結婚の相手
marriage partner
(2) ashita no shiai no aite
あしたの試合の相手
the opponent of tomorrow’s game/match
A
Akachan 赤ちゃん is normally a word for someone else’s baby.
EXAMPLE:
(1) Otaku no akachan wa hontō ni ogenki sō desu nē.
お宅の赤ちゃんは本当にお元気そうですねえ。
Your baby really looks healthy, doesn’t he/she!
Although some Japanese, especially women, use the word to refer to their own babies, the practice, in my opinion, is in poor taste. The word to be used in that case is akanbō 赤ん坊.
EXAMPLE:
(2) Kyō wa uchi no akanbō no tanjōbi na n desu.
きょうはうちの赤ん坊の誕生日なんです。
Today is my baby’s birthday.
A
When a New Year draws near, English speakers still new in Japan often ask their Japanese friends how to say “Happy New Year!” in Japanese. The answer is almost always Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu 明けましておめでとうございます (or its equivalent Shin-nen omedetō gozaimasu 新年おめでとうございます). Having received this answer, these English speakers practice hard to memorize this long salutation and, after finally learning it, they try it on their Japanese associates—most likely toward the end of December. Unfortunately, this Japanese greeting may not be used until New Year’s Day since it literally means “[The New Year] having begun, this is indeed a happy occasion.” This contrasts with the English salutation “Happy New Year!,” which is an abbreviation of “I wish you a happy New Year” and may therefore be used before the arrival of the New Year. The expression to be used before the old year expires is Yoi otoshi o omukae kudasai よいお年 をお迎えください “May you see in a good year!” However, this is a rather formal salutation and is rarely used among close friends. There is regrettably no informal equivalent, except for the shorter form Yoi otoshi o 良いお年を, which is sometimes used.
In America, New Year’s wishes are exchanged with vigor at the stroke of midnight among those present at New Year’s Eve parties. After that, however, “Happy New Year!” is, as it were, put away in mothballs fairly quickly in my experience. In Japan, Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu is heard at least through the first week of January and sometimes as late as the middle of the month.
Amai 甘い sweet
Amai 甘い primarily means “sweet in taste.”
EXAMPLE:
(1) amai kēki (chokorēto, kyandē, etc.)
甘いケーキ (チョコレート, キャンデー)
sweet cake (chocolate, candy, etc.)
Used figuratively, amai 甘い can mean “indulgent, lenient” or “overly optimistic.”
EXAMPLES:
(2) amai oya
甘い親
indulgent parents
(3) amai ten
甘い点
lenient grades (or marks)
(4) amai kangae
甘い考え
an overly optimistic view
Unlike English “sweet,” amai 甘い cannot mean “amiable” or “kind.” In English, calling someone a sweet person would be complimentary. In Japanese, on the other hand, amai hito 甘い人, if it means anything at all, can only be interpreted as either “an indulgent person” or “an overly optimistic person.”
Amari あまり too, excessively
Amari あまり means “too” in the sense of “excessively.” The word mainly appears in negative sentences.
EXAMPLES:
(1) Kyō wa amari samuku nai.
きょうはあまり寒くない。
It is not too cold today.
(2) Koko wa amari shizuka ja nai.
ここはあまり静かじゃない。
It is not too quiet here.
(3) Watashi wa amari nomimasen.
私はあまり飲みません
I don’t drink too much.
Amari あまり may be used in the affirmative if it appears in a dependent clause.
EXAMPLES:
(4) Amari nomu to byōki ni narimasu yo.
あまり飲むと病気になりますよ。
If you drink too much, you’ll get sick.
(5) Kami[noke] ga amari nagai kara, katte-moratta hō ga ii yo.
髪（の毛）があまり長いから、刈ってもらった方がいいよ。
Your hair is too long; you should get a haircut.
(6) Koko wa amari shizuka de sabishii-gurai desu.
ここはあまり静かでさびしいぐらいですよ。
It’s so