To those in the US, Happy Thanksgiving!
We decided to make a quick video with Thanksgiving related words in Japanese. This is a special video since my son edited it for us–thank you Makoto!
Here are the words in the video, plus a few extra.
Turkey
七面鳥
shichimenchou
七面鳥
shichimenchou
[Turkeys aren’t native to Japan. There are a few ideas why turkeys are called 七面鳥 (literally, seven faced bird). One is cooking a turkey is a lot of work and 七面倒 shichimendou means “great trouble” or “difficulty.” Another possible origin is the bird’s face has a variety of colors. Thus it has seven faces. Who knows?]
Pumpkin Pie
パンプキンパイ
panpukin pai
パンプキンパイ
panpukin pai
[This is a loan word from English and therefore written in katakana]
Family
家族
kazoku
家族
kazoku
[家 house + 族 tribe]
Feast
ごちそう
gochisou
ごちそう
gochisou
[ごちそうする means to treat someone (buy a meal for someone); ごちそうさま is often said after a meal as thanks for the good food.]
Pumpkin
かぼちゃ
kabocha
かぼちゃ
kabocha
[From Portuguese “Cambodia abóbora”]
Now, let’s look at Yumi’s words in the video:
こんにちは、みなさん
konnichi wa, minasan
Hello, everyone.
konnichi wa, minasan
Hello, everyone.
[You can say みんな or みなさん but みんなさん is not considered correct]
パトロンのみなさん、いつもありがとうございます。
patoron no minasan, itsumo arigatou gozaimasu.
As always, thank you so much, Patreon supporters!
patoron no minasan, itsumo arigatou gozaimasu.
As always, thank you so much, Patreon supporters!
[literally: Patreon’s everyone; always; thank you]
[Since the action (the sense of thankfulness) is on-going, we wouldn’t use the past tense ありがとうございました]
Thanksgiving Dayは日本語で、感謝祭といいます。
Thanksgiving Day wa nihongo de, kanshasai to iimasu.
Thanksgiving Day in Japanese is called “kanshasai.”
Thanksgiving Day wa nihongo de, kanshasai to iimasu.
Thanksgiving Day in Japanese is called “kanshasai.”
[While Japan doesn’t have a “Turkey Day,” there is 勤労感謝の日 kinrō kansha no hi Labor Thanksgiving Day. Today it is a day to commemorate labor, production, and general human well-being, but it was based on an ancient harvest festival known as 新嘗祭 niinamesai.]
今日はその感謝祭に関する日本語を勉強していきましょう。
kyou wa sono kanshasai ni kan suru nihongo wo benkyou shite ikimashou.
Today, let’s use Thanksgiving Day to study Japanese.
kyou wa sono kanshasai ni kan suru nihongo wo benkyou shite ikimashou.
Today, let’s use Thanksgiving Day to study Japanese.
[Literally: today; this Thanksgiving Day; concerning; Japanese language; study; to deliberately do (していく shows doing something deliberately. The いく as an auxiliary verb means “to continue” with purpose.)]
それでは、あしたは家族で楽しい感謝祭をお過ごしください。
sore dewa, ashita wa kazoku de tanoshii kanshasai o osugoshi kudasai.
Well, then. Tomorrow, please enjoy spending Thanksgiving Day with your family.
sore dewa, ashita wa kazoku de tanoshii kanshasai o osugoshi kudasai.
Well, then. Tomorrow, please enjoy spending Thanksgiving Day with your family.
食べ過ぎないでね。
tabesugi naide ne.
Don’t eat too much!
tabesugi naide ne.
Don’t eat too much!
