にほんごのたね Nihongo no Tane with Yumi TheJapanesePage.com

In this episode of her podcast, Yumi shares her personal story of dental discovery and recovery, emphasizing the vital role of dental care in our lives and the resilience needed to overcome oral health hurdles. Listen to this episode and let us know if you had some experience like this!
 
KEY VOCABULARY:
歯(は)医(い)者(しゃ) - dentist [歯(は) (tooth); 医(い)者(しゃ) (physician; medical doctor)]
別(べつ)の件(けん) - another matter; another case [別(べつ) (another; separate); 件(けん) (matter; case)]
診(み)てもらう to be seen/ to be examined (by a doctor) [診(み)て (て-form of 診(み)る (to examine medically); ～てもらう means “to get/ to have ~ done” which indicates one is receiving help or service from someone)]
被(かぶ)せ物(もの) - crown (dental terminology)
取(と)りかえる- to replace
嚙(か)み合(あ)わせ – bite [嚙(か)み (from 嚙(か)む (to bite; to clench)) + 合(あ)わせ (noun form of 合(あ)わせる(to match; to place together))]
型(かた)を取(と)る – take an impression (for teeth)
知(ち)覚(かく)過(か)敏(びん)- sensory sensitivity [知(ち)覚(かく) (perception of physical senses); 過(か)敏(びん) (hypersensitivity)]
我(が)慢(まん) - tolerance; endurance; bearing; patience
まな板(いた) cutting board
暴(あば)れようが声(こえ)を出(だ)そうが no matter how much struggle or scream [～ようが means “no matter how much ~”or “even if (one) does ~”;暴(あば)れよう(plain volitional form of 暴(あば)れる (to act violently; to struggle) + が (however; but)); 声(こえ)を出(だ)そう (plain volitional form of 声(こえ)を出(だ)す (to speak; to vocalize) + が (however; but))]
命(いのち)を握(にぎ)られる one’s life is in the hands (of someone); one’s life is at the mercy of [命(いのち) (life); 握(にぎ)られる (“to be held”; passive form of 握(にぎ)る (to grip; to clasp; to hold; to seize (power)))]
情(なさ)けない- miserable; pitiable; shameful;　pathetic
姿(すがた) - appearance; image; figure; state [In the context of competitions or contests]
麻(ま)酔(すい)の注射(ちゅうしゃ) - anesthetic injection/shot [麻(ま)酔(すい) (anesthesia); の (of); 注射(ちゅうしゃ) (injection; shot)]
歯(は)ぎしり– teeth grinding [歯(は) (tooth; teeth); きしり(grinding; creaking)]
食(く)いしばりclenching
市(し)販(はん)の – store-bought; over the counter [市(し) (market); 販(はん) (selling)]
仕(し)方(かた)ない – there is no other way; there no alternative
随分(ずいぶん)- very; extremely; quite
 
 
 
For upper beginners to intermediates. Listen to the short podcast and then answer the comprehension questions on the website: https://thejapanesepage.com/nihongonotane-index/
Take a quiz on this episode here:
https://thejapanesepage.com/podcast-nihongonotane-154
If you are a Makoto+ member, you can find the transcript, English translation, key vocabulary, and a downloadable PDF for printing:
https://MakotoPlus.com/podcast-nihongonotane-154-m
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In this episode of her podcast, Yumi delves into the profound impact of classical music on personal growth, inspired by violin prodigy Yoshimura Himari's mesmerizing performances. She beautifully narrates her own musical journey and the unexpected ways a popular manga stirred a friend's ambition to master Chopin, weaving a narrative that celebrates the transformative power of art and inspiration. Listen to this episode and let us know if you had some experience like this!
 
KEY VOCABULARY:
聴(き)く - to listen to (music)
演奏(えんそう) - music performance
ハマってしまった – got hooked; ended up getting hooked [ハマって (て-form ofハマる/はまる (to get hooked)); しまった(past form of しまう(to end up with ~))]
～というわけです - ～ is what happened; ～ is the reason (for it) [this expression is used to explain a background which lead to a decision or an outcome]
きっかけ - opportunity; occasion [an initial opportunity or situation that leads someone or something to something else]
～を習(なら)う to take lessons in
中級(ちゅうきゅう) - intermediate level [中(ちゅう) (middle; intermediate); 級(きゅう) (grade; class; level)]
吹奏楽(すいそうがく)部(ぶ) brass band club [吹奏(すいそう) (wind instrument); 楽(がく) (music); 部(ぶ) (school club)]
地(じ)元(もと)福(ふく)井(い)県(けん) - (my) home region, Fukui prefecture [地(じ)元(もと) (local area); 福(ふく)井(い)県(けん) (Fukui prefecture)]
行進曲(こうしんきょく) marching band music [行進(こうしん) (march; parade); 曲(きょく) (music)]
全国大会(ぜんこくたいかい) - national competition [全(ぜん) (all; whole); 国(こく) (country); 大会(たいかい) (competition; convention)]
序曲(じょきょく) - overture
～作曲(さっきょく) - composed by ～ [作(さく) (make); 曲(きょく)(piece of music); 作曲(さっきょく) means “composition (of music)”]
懐(なつ)かしい nostalgic [an adjective that describes a feeling one feel when reminiscing about good memories]
青春(せいしゅん) - youth; one’s youthful days; time of adolescence; the springtime of one's life [literally, “blue spring”]
流行(はや)る - to be popular; to come into fashion [流行(りゅうこう)する is a very similar word but is mainly used for fashion or cold & flue.]
(を)目指(めざ)す - to aim to become ~ [also “to aim a location as a goal to get to”
 
 
 
 
 
For upper beginners to intermediates. Listen to the short podcast and then answer the comprehension questions on the website: https://thejapanesepage.com/nihongonotane-index/
Take a quiz on this episode here:
https://thejapanesepage.com/podcast-nihongonotane-153
If you are a Makoto+ member, you can find the transcript, English translation, key vocabulary, and a downloadable PDF for printing:
https://MakotoPlus.com/podcast-nihongonotane-153-m
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Have you ever heard the term "神童" (shindou)? It refers to child prodigy, and this time, Yumi will talk about it. Listen to the podcast and let us know what you think about it in the comments below!
 
KEY VOCABULARY:
神童(しんどう) child prodigy; genius; wonder child [神(しん) (god); 童(どう) (child)]
大(おと)人(な)に負(ま)けない as good as adults; comparable to adults; unyielding to adult; unbeatable by adult [literally, “unbeatable by adults”; 大(おと)人(な) (adult); に(to; against); 負(ま)けない (unbeatable; unyielding); a fixed phrase which is used when describing young child of high skill or strength]
理(り)解(かい)力(りょく) ability to understand; comprehension; ability [理解(りかい) (understanding; comprehension); 力(りょく) (power; ability)]
めちゃくちゃ incredibly; really; super (when used as adverb)
何(なに)気(げ)なくunintentionally; inadvertently; casually
大(おと)人(な)でも難(むずか)しい difficult even for grownups; even grownups would struggle
コンクール competition; contest
審査員(しんさいん) judge
感想(かんそう) comment
特別(とくべつ)賞(しょう) special award; special prize
受(う)け答(こた)え (her) answer (in the interview) [literally, “receiving answering” which means “answering to the question that were received”. 受(う)け答(こた)え doesn’t only mean “the answer” which was spoken but also means the way one carries herself or himself in the whole conversation as well]
立(りっ)派(ぱ) splendid; elegant; impressive; fine
教育(きょういく)が行(ゆ)き届(とど)いている well educated in every way (by her parents) [教育(きょういく) (education); 行(ゆ)き届(とど)いている (ているcontinuous form of 行(ゆ)き届(とど)く(to be complete; to be through); ている here is indicating state of “well educated”, not an ongoing action)]
バイオリンバカ　violin fanatic; violin nut; violin enthusiast [バイオリン (violin); バカ (“fool/ idiot” is used as suffix which means “fanatic” or “enthusiast”)]
鼻(はな)が高(たか)い very proud [literally, “one’s nose is tall”; it is used when parents are proud of his/her child or a teacher being proud of their students]
出来過(できす)ぎてしまう overly capable; too intelligent; too good (in a lot of things) [ 出来過(できす)ぎて(て-form of 出来過(できす)ぎる (出来(でき)る (can) + 過(す)ぎる (beyond; surpass)); しまう(to be ~ unfortunately; to end up ~))]
助(たす)けてあげないといけない must help; should help; unavoidable to help; absolutely necessary to help [literally, “it’s not good if (her parents) don’t help”; 助(たす)けてあげない (negative of 助(たす)けてあげる; あげるindicates providing the action(helping)); と (if); いけない (not good); “～ないといけない” is “must do ~”]
同年代(どうねんだい) same generation [同 (same); 年代 (age; era)]
話(はなし)が 合(あ)わない to have different interest [Literally, “talk don’t match” which means “not able to engage in the same subjects” which really means “can’t have close relationship” or “can’t get along”]
～ならではの unique to ～ [～ならでは (unique to ~); の (“of”; connecting the words before and after it)]
思(おも)いやりconsideration; compassion; understanding (of others situation or emotion)
 
 
 
 
For upper beginners to intermediates. Listen to the short podcast and then answer the comprehension questions on the website: https://thejapanesepage.com/nihongonotane-index/
Take a quiz on this episode here:
https://thejapanesepage.com/podcast-nihongonotane-152
If you are a Makoto+ member, you can find the transcript, English translation, key vocabulary, and a downloadable PDF for printing:
https://MakotoPlus.com/podcast-nihongonotane-152-m
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Happy New Year! (Better late than never, right?). This year started not too good in Japan, with an earthquake and a plane crushing. So, this time Yumi will talk about it. Have you ever been in an earthquake? Let us know in the comments below!
 
KEY VOCABULARY:
石川県(いしかわけん)能登(のと)半島(はんとう)　the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture [石川県(いしかわけん) (Ishikawa Prefecture); 能登(のと) (Noto); 半島(はんとう) (peninsula)]
炎上(えんじょう)事故(じこ) crash that ended in inferno [炎上(えんじょう)(going up in flames); 事故(じこ) (accident; crash)]
海上(かいじょう)保(ほ)安(あん)庁(ちょう) Japan Coast Guard [海上(かいじょう) (maritime; sea service)保(ほ)安(あん)庁(ちょう)(National Security Agency)]
無事(ぶじ) no damage; unharmed; safety; security
奇(き)跡(せき) miracle
慌(あわ)ただしい constantly busy (with many events); whirlwind; fast-paced
慌(あわ)てない (です) don’t/ doesn’t panic [negative form of 慌(あわ)てる (to panic; to haste; to fluster)]
収(おさ)まる to quiet down; to calm down; to settle
冷静(れいせい) cool; composed; cool-headed [冷(れい) (cool; cold); 静(せい) (quiet; still)]
山(やま)津(つ)波(なみ) landslide; earthflow [山(やま) (mountain; hill); 津(つ)波(なみ) (tsunami; tidal wave); also called “山(やま)崩(くず)れ (landslide)”]
ガスの元栓(もとせん) main valve of gas pipe/tank [majority of Japanese household use the propane gas or the city gas for cooking and possibly heating water]
訓練(くんれん) training; discipline; drill; practice
うち履(ば)き indoor shoes [うち (inside); 履(ば)き (“foot wear”; noun form of 履(は)く (to wear/to put on (shoes)); also called 上履(うわば)き or ルームシューズ)]
散乱(さんらん)している is scattered around [from 散(さん)乱(らん)する (to scatter around; to scatter); (て)いる here indicates a state/condition of “glass pieces scattered around”)]
裸足(はだし) barefoot
来(きた)るべきして来(き)た ought have come (by now); due to come [literally, “came because it had to come”; a fixed phrase that sounds literary, archaic and formal to modify some occurrence that happened which was destined to happen in the hindsight; 来(きた)るべき (“should come”); して (as); 来(き)た (“has come”)]
南海(なんかい)トラフ巨大(きょだい)地(じ)震(しん) Nankai Trough mega earthquake [南海(なんかい) (Nankai);トラフ (trough); 巨大(きょだい) (mega; colossal; jumbo); 地(じ)震(しん) (earthquake)]
潜(もぐ)り込(こ)んでいる is slipping under [the continuous form of 潜(もぐ)り込(こ)む (to slip under)]
ひずみ distortion; skewness; strain
跳(は)ね返(かえ)る bounce back; spring back; recoil [compound verb of 跳(は)ねる (jump; bounce) and 返(かえ)る (return; revert; turn back)]
１００年(ねん)間隔(かんかく)で in 100 year interval [間隔(かんかく) (interval; space (in between); distance); で (in)]
耐震(たいしん)化(か) earthquake-proofing [耐震(たいしん)化(か) (earthquake-proofing; earthquake-resistant; earthquake-ready; 耐(たい) (resist; endure); 震(しん) (shake); 化(か) (“-ization”; “-ification”) is a suffix that means “to change into ~”)]
固(こ)定(てい)しておくhave (furniture) to be fastened/anchored [固(こ)定(てい)して (て-form of 固(こ)定(てい)する (to fasten; to anchor; to fix); (て)おくmeans “to have ~ done in advance for preparation of something)]
時(じ)限(げん)爆弾(ばくだん) ticking bomb; time bomb [時(じ)限(げん) (time- programed); 爆弾(ばくだん) (bomb)]
 
 
 
For upper beginners to intermediates. Listen to the short podcast and then answer the comprehension questions on the website: https://thejapanesepage.com/nihongonotane-index/
Take a quiz on this

Let’s talk about sleep! This time, Yumi will talk about her sleeping time, what she was doing when she woke up during the night (and now she stopped!) and how daylight saving times could affect your life or the life of your pet. Listen this episode and let us know what you think!
 
KEY VOCABULARY:
寝付(ねつ)きがいい easy to fall asleep; to fall asleep quickly [寝付(ねつ)き (falling asleep) indicates “how quickly/easily one normally can fall asleep”; 寝付(ねつ)き is the noun form of 寝付(ねつ)く (to fall asleep)]
周(まわ)りpeople close (to me); people around (me) [周(まわ)りis “vicinity” or “surroundings” and can be used to mean “people around someone”]
びっくりされる to have people to get surprised (about me falling asleep so fast) [passive form of びっくりする (to be surprised); the speaker (Yumi) being the receiver of people’s surprise about her falling asleep so fast]
夜(よ)中(なか) midnight; middle of the night
動(どう)画(が) video
平均(へいきん) average
大丈(だいじょう)夫(ぶ) fine; okay
随分(ずいぶん) considerably; fairly; very
ズレ deviation; shift; discrepancy [noun form of ズレる (to shift; to deviate; to slide; to slip off; to be out of alignment)]
意(い)外(がい)とunexpectedly [意(い) (thoughts); 外(がい) (outside)]
逆転(ぎゃくてん) reversal [逆(ぎゃく) (reverse; opposite); 転(てん) (turning)]
時差(じさ) time difference
仕(し)方(かた)がない no other choice; nothing one can do [literally “there is no means (to cope)”]
初頭(しょとう) beginning (of a century, etc.)
節約(せつやく) saving
発想(はっそう) idea; concept [noun form of 発想(はっそう)する (conceptualize; to come up with ideas)]
愛犬(あいけん) beloved dog
 
 
 
For upper beginners to intermediates. Listen to the short podcast and then answer the comprehension questions on the website: https://thejapanesepage.com/nihongonotane-index/
Take a quiz on this episode here:
https://thejapanesepage.com/podcast-nihongonotane-150
If you are a Makoto+ member, you can find the transcript, English translation, key vocabulary, and a downloadable PDF for printing:
https://MakotoPlus.com/podcast-nihongonotane-150-m
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What do you eat during the day? Listen to the podcast and find out the new diet Yumi is doing!
 
KEY VOCABULARY:
実際(じっさい)に actually; really; truly; indeed
具体的(ぐたいてき)に specifically; in detail [具体的 (specific); に (“-ly”; makes the preceding word into adverb form)]
薄(うす)める to dilute; to thin
炒(いた)め物(もの) stir-fry; stir-fried food [炒(いた)め (fry; broil; roast); 物(もの) (thing; item)]
物足(ものた)りなさそうseeming not enough; seeming unsatisfied [物足りな is from 物足りない (not enough; not satisfied); “さ” is necessary between “～な(い)” and そう (seemingly)]
以(い)前(ぜん)は before; prior to [“as for before”]
冷凍食品(れいとうしょくひん) frozen food [冷凍(れいとう) (frozen; freezing);食品(しょくひん) (food; food products)]
めんどくさい bothersome; tiresome; cumbersome [shortened from めんどうくさい and sounds more casual]
温(あたた)めておいて warm (them) up for me [温(あたた)めて from 温(あたた)める (to reheat; to warm up); おいて is て-from of (て)おく (to have ~ in a certain condition); て-form is often used when asking to do something in very casual situations]
新鮮(しんせん)な fresh
野(や)菜(さい) vegetables
小(こ)麦(むぎ)食品(しょくひん) wheat-based food products [小(こ)麦(むぎ) (wheat); 食品(しょくひん) (food products)]
自家(じか)製(せい) homemade [自家(じか) (one’s own house); 製(せい) (“-made”; made in)]
立(りっ)派(ぱ)な credible; fine; undeniable
健康(けんこう)オタク health geek [健康(けんこう) (health); オタク (geek; nerd; enthusiast)]
生(しょう)姜(が) ginger
薄(うす)切(ぎ)りthin slice [薄 (thin); 切り(cut; noun form of 切(き)る (to cut))]
炭酸水(たんさんすい) carbonated water [炭酸(たんさん) (carbonic acid); 水(すい) (water)]
風邪(かぜ) cold; flu
予(よ)防(ぼう) prevention
 
 
 
For upper beginners to intermediates. Listen to the short podcast and then answer the comprehension questions on the website: https://thejapanesepage.com/nihongonotane-index/
Take a quiz on this episode here:
https://thejapanesepage.com/podcast-nihongonotane-149
If you are a Makoto+ member, you can find the transcript, English translation, key vocabulary, and a downloadable PDF for printing:
https://MakotoPlus.com/podcast-nihongonotane-149-m
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Become a Makoto+ member and get show notes with a complete transcript, translation, key vocabulary, and a downloadable PDF.
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