In Japan it is common for Companies and social groups to hold parties called 忘年会 (ボウネンカイ/bounenkai). These forget the year parties are good opportunity for all members of organizations to mingle casually. Check out this Japan Talk article to read more about this unique aspect of Japanese culture.
The kanji in this word are all read with onyomi. 忘 (ボウ/bou) means to forget, the second kanji 年 (ネン/nen) means year, an the final kanji 会 means (カイ/kai) means meeting or party.
Friends of Aomori presents 必需品 (ひつじゅひん/hitsujyuhin) which means essential item. This word is especially important as we enter the winter months, there are many 必需品 specifically helpful when dealing with cold weather!
The first kanji that makes up this word is, 必 (kunyomi: かならず/kanarazu onyomi: ヒツ/hitsu) which means inevitable and certain. The second is, 需 (onyomi: ジュ/jyu) which means request or need, and the final kanji is 品 (kunyomi: しな/shina onyomi: ヒン or ホン/hin or hon) which means article or goods.
This week Friends of Aomori would like to introduce the word 合同 (ごうどう/goudou) which means combination, congruence, and incorporation. The first kanji 合 which can be read read as あう/au or ゴウ/gou, means to fit, suit, or join and the second kanji 同 same, equal, or agree and can be read as おなじ/onaji or ドウ/dou.
This week’s long awaited word is 真面目 (まじめ/majime) which means diligent and serious. This word is a na-adjective and is commonly used to describe personality.
An example sentence could be: 彼は真面目な学生です。(かれはまじめながくせいです。/kare wa majimena gakusei desu.) Which in english reads, “He is a diligent student.”
For this Word of the Week, Friends of Aomori presents 文化 (ぶんか/bunka) which means culture. Culture is especially important to Friends of Aomori, as we aim to share the culture of Maine and Aomori!
This weeks Word of the Week is 勇気 (ゆうき/yuuki) which means courage. This word also means bravery, nerve, and boldness. This word is especially relevant to students beginning a new school year in the coming weeks!! The first kanji 勇 indicates bravery, and high spirits. The second kanji 気, which is most commonly read as き/ki, means feelings and moods.
How will having courage help you in the coming months?
This week Friends of Aomori is excited to share the second Word of the Week. This week’s word is 挑戦 (ちょうせん/chosen) which means challenge! This word, in certain contexts, can also mean defiance, dare, and attempt. The first kanji (Chinese character) is 挑 which can be read as either ちょう or いど(む) which alone means ‘to challenge’. The second kanji 戦 can be read as せん along with many other readings, and means war, battle and match. When combined the two kanji form a powerful and inspiring word!
Friends of Aomori’s Social Media network will now feature a weekly Japanese word of the week, in order to showcase the beauty of the Japanese language, and expand the cultural exchange to include knowledge of Japanese language!
Edit: Please note that the graphic erroneously reads 2016, it should read 2017. Please excuse this mistake!
The first weekly word is: 友達 (ともだち/tomodachi) which means friend! This word includes two Kanji, which are Japanese characters adopted from Chinese, together they form the most commonly used word for friend!
You can also find FOA’s word of week on Instagram @FriendsofAomori and on Facebook @friendsofaomori
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