Spelling Bees
Spelling Bees
Do the japanese have spelling bees? And if they do, how and why?
I have been wondering about this because a) the japanese don't have names for each character like english does. b) the japanese "alphabet" is syllabic and therefore would make spelling very easy.
Anyone have any input into this?
I have been wondering about this because a) the japanese don't have names for each character like english does. b) the japanese "alphabet" is syllabic and therefore would make spelling very easy.
Anyone have any input into this?
Hello? Internets?
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RE: Spelling Bees
you are asking a question that ends up like this:-
# why do we call A an A
#why do we drink water when we are thirsty
so we have alphabets in English right from A to Z
and we drink water when we are thirsty and it wont be preferably be wine to have a sip into, while our chests are as dry as the Thar.
# why do we call A an A
#why do we drink water when we are thirsty
so we have alphabets in English right from A to Z
and we drink water when we are thirsty and it wont be preferably be wine to have a sip into, while our chests are as dry as the Thar.
RE: Spelling Bees
Thank you for that non-answer.wasurenagusa wrote:
you are asking a question that ends up like this:-
# why do we call A an A
#why do we drink water when we are thirsty
so we have alphabets in English right from A to Z
and we drink water when we are thirsty and it wont be preferably be wine to have a sip into, while our chests are as dry as the Thar.
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- keatonatron
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RE: Spelling Bees
In English, spelling is very important. If you spell a word wrong, the meaning can change and/or you will look stupid.
In Japanese, kanji is very important. If you write the wrong kanji/write a kanji incorrectly, the meaning can change and/or you will look stupid.
There aren't exactly kanji competitions, per se, but there is a standardized kanji test made for Japanese people that is very popular. Apparently entire families go together and take the test for their respective difficulty levels to see how well they know their kanji.
In Japanese, kanji is very important. If you write the wrong kanji/write a kanji incorrectly, the meaning can change and/or you will look stupid.
There aren't exactly kanji competitions, per se, but there is a standardized kanji test made for Japanese people that is very popular. Apparently entire families go together and take the test for their respective difficulty levels to see how well they know their kanji.
RE: Spelling Bees
Thank you! I did not know thatkeatonatron wrote:
In English, spelling is very important. If you spell a word wrong, the meaning can change and/or you will look stupid.
In Japanese, kanji is very important. If you write the wrong kanji/write a kanji incorrectly, the meaning can change and/or you will look stupid.
There aren't exactly kanji competitions, per se, but there is a standardized kanji test made for Japanese people that is very popular. Apparently entire families go together and take the test for their respective difficulty levels to see how well they know their kanji.

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- AJBryant
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RE: Spelling Bees
And the upper-levels of that test require an encyclopaedic knowledge of kanji with obscure readings that aren't used by 99.9% of the population. It's truly a brain buster.
Tony
Tony
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RE: Spelling Bees
I couldn't spell all of those katakana loanwords to save my life, especially where to put the ッ and ー.b) the japanese "alphabet" is syllabic and therefore would make spelling very easy.
- burstandbloom
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RE: Spelling Bees
i hear that.hungryhotei wrote:I couldn't spell all of those katakana loanwords to save my life, especially where to put the ッ and ー.b) the japanese "alphabet" is syllabic and therefore would make spelling very easy.
RE: Spelling Bees
very true, very true....burstandbloom wrote:i hear that.hungryhotei wrote:I couldn't spell all of those katakana loanwords to save my life, especially where to put the ッ and ー.b) the japanese "alphabet" is syllabic and therefore would make spelling very easy.
but, as for talking about what they do in japan, they would find it quite easy because they would hear the word and know what vowels were long and which had a pause. This is because there is a big difference in that. For example: anko = red bean jam ankou=angler fish
It would make sense about learned the kanji.

RE: Spelling Bees
That's a real gem right there.wasurenagusa wrote:
you are asking a question that ends up like this:-
# why do we call A an A
#why do we drink water when we are thirsty
so we have alphabets in English right from A to Z
and we drink water when we are thirsty and it wont be preferably be wine to have a sip into, while our chests are as dry as the Thar.

僕の下手な日本語を直してください。
- Ashurii
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RE: Spelling Bees
Not exactly a spelling bee, but I've also heard that speech contests are very popular in Japan. (Including speech contests for foreigners)