新年の抱負 |
Shinnen no hōfu |
New Year’s resolution |
日本語 |
Nihongo |
Japanese (Language) |
上達 |
Jōtatsu |
Improve |
本を読む |
Hon o yomu |
To read books |
後 |
Ato |
Also / As well / After that |
もっと |
Motto |
More |
読みたい |
Yomitai |
I want to read |
健康的 |
Kenkōteki |
Healthy |
なりたい |
Naritai |
Want to become |
音楽活動 |
Ongaku katsudō |
Musical activities |
頑張りたい |
Gambaritai |
I want to do my best |
やる気 |
Yaruki |
Motivation |
なんでもできる |
Nandemo dekiru |
You can do anything |
よし |
Yosh(i) |
Let’s do this |
Main Dialog (Japanese)
A: ね、新年の抱負はなに?
B: そうだね。やっぱり、日本語を上達させたいからもっと本を読むよ。後、もっと健康的になりたいな。あみは?
A: 私も本をもっと読みたい!後、音楽活動をもっと頑張りたいな。
B: なるほどね。
A: やる気があれば、なんでもできるよ。
B: よし!
Main Dialog ( Japanese pronunciation)
A: Ne, shinnen no hōfu wa nani?
B: Sō da ne. Yappari, nihongo o motto jōtatsu sasetai kara motto hon o yomu yo. Ato, motto kenkōteki ni naritai na. Ami wa?
A: Watashi mo motto hon o yomitai! Ato, ongaku katsudō o motto gambaritai na.
B: Naruhodo ne.
A: Yaruki ga areba nandemo dekiru yo.
B: Yosh!
Main Dialog (English)
A: Hey, what’s your New Year’s resolution?
B: Well, let’s see. I guess I want to improve my Japanese and read more books. Also, I want to be more healthy. How about you Ami?
A: I also want to read more books. Also, I want to go for it with my music.
B: I see.
A: If you have motivation you can do anything.
B: Let’s do this!
Grammar Drills
Let’s drill a really useful phrase for talking about you goals for self improvement. Here’s the basic sentence structure:
[The activity or goal] + [もっと頑張りたいな]
I want to go for it (Lit. I want to try harder)
Drill 1
音楽活動をもっと頑張りたいな。
Ongaku katsudō wo motto gambaritai na.
I want to go for it with music
Drill 2
仕事をもっと頑張りたいな。
Shigoto wo motto gambaritai na.
I want to go for it at work
Drill 3
日本語の勉強をもっと頑張りたいな。
Nihongo no benkyō wo motto gambaritai na.
I want to go for it with my Japanese studies
Drill 4
運動をもっと頑張りたいな。
Undō wo motto gambaritai na.
I want to go for it for working out
Drill 5
ダイエットをもっと頑張りたいな。
Daietto wo motto gambaritai na.
I want to go for it for my diet
Random Phrase of the Week
This week’s random phrase is…
奥が深い – Oku ga fukai
This means something like it’s hard than you think or it’s deep or there’s more than meets the eye.
Examples:
- 日本語は奥が深い
Nihongo wa oku ga fukai
Japanese is a deep language / Japanese is a deep language
- この本は奥が深い
Kono hon wa oku ga fukai
This book is deep / There’s a lot more to this book than meets the eye
- 「七転び八起き」ということわざは奥が深い
Nana korobi ya oki to iu kotowaza wa oku ga fukai
The saying “fall seven times, stand up eight” is very deep in meaning.