Two Useful Tidbits of Japanese

Here are two really useful tidbits of Japanese that I didn't really know until yesterday. You'd be surprised how often they come up in conversation and how useful they can be:

1. 結構（な） kekkou (na). Kekkou is a Na-adjective that means good, decent, enough, or sufficient depending on the situation. The best use, and I can't believe I didn't know this until recently, is as "no, thank you" to either that third bowl of rice or watching Harry Potter 5 for the fourth time. Just say kekkou desu and all your problems will go away. Speaking of Harry Potter 5, it also has the word kekkou in the translated version. It occurs when Umbridge asks Professor Trelawney to predict something, and all she manages to come up with is to say Umbridge is in great danger. Umbridge replies with "kekkou" meaning "That will suffice," which also has the connotations that it's just decent, and not great. I've watched Harry Potter 5 twice in the past two days, once in English with Japanese subtitles and once in Japanese with no subs. It was ok not having English subs for the Japanese dub because I was so familiar with the movie, but I recommend using subtitles if you are watching for the first time. That being said, watching in Japanese is way more effective than reading Japanese subtitles to improve your language skills. No one wants to read more than they have to, so trying to figure out what they're saying is much more fun than trying to guess what the Kanji for transfiguration is. Watch the characters mouths and ask for explanations if you get lost. Japanese people are nice, and they get excited about foreigners learning their language. Help will be easy to come by.

2. -っぽい　(-ppoi). This one is tough because it's not really a word and you won't be able to find it in a dictionary. Also, because it's a more colloquial suffix, you probably will have a tough time finding a textbook containing it. It's basically a suffix that is the English equivalent of "-esque," "-like," or "-ish." For example, if you saw a man walking down the street wearing a pink shirt and make-up, and carrying a purse, you might say that he is feminine, or in Japanese, onnappoi. Another example, let's say your friend Jim always wears plaid button-down shirts. If you were in a store and saw a plaid button-down shirt, you might say it was jimuppoi or Jim-esque. A third example, let's say your friend Anna always has at least 3 bowls of rice at every meal. One night, you eat 5 bowls of rice and your friends call your mammoth apetite annappoi, or anna-like. You get the idea. It's a really useful phrase and now that I know it, I hear it often in everyday conversation. Feel free to come up with creative uses for it and post them here. I admit my knowledge is limited.

Oh yeah, remember when I said you would't be able to find -ppoi in a text book. Well I did. It's called 13 Secrets for Speaking Fluent Japanese by Giles Murray. This book basically kicks ass. Each secret has it's own chapter and they range from manga translation, to children's word games, to detailed explanations and histories for some of the more interesting loan words. The chapters I found most useful were the chapter containing 41 prefixes and suffixes you probably won't find in textbooks (like -ppoi), and the synonym generator chapter, which teaches you four other ways of replacing a word you don't know, so your conversations can go more fluidly without a dictionary. I have started applying these secrets in conversation and my Japanese has gotten noticeably better. This book is an excellent supplement to any highschool or college level class. I highly recommend.

Well, that was a very educational post. Now take a break with this heartwarming video of one of Japan's top ranked sumo wrestlers not taking shit from children: