This Week I learned – Week 2

My old enemy ひらく

You might think that 開く can only be read as あく, but it has a different reading – ひらく. And a long time ago, when I took the N4 test, I had answer a vocabulary question about 開ひらく. It was for the 5th section of the vocabulary where they use a word in 4 different sentences and you have to choose the best one. I don’t remember what was in all of the sentences but they were all different kinds things opening. I had no idea there was a different ‘to open’.

My teacher at the time explained to me that 開ひらく  had a basic meaning of ‘to open out’. For example, you can use it for when a flower blooms. And although that gave me a little bit better idea of how to use this word, it didn’t give me the whole meaning. In this StackExchange answer use Naruto gives a very clear explanation using the concept of 空間くうかん in Japanese. He explains that when you use 開ひらく you are explaining that you are connecting two 空間くうかん together. For more details, check out the full question and answer.

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I personally use all of these on a daily basis and highly recommend them.

Good Lower Level Reading and Listening Resource

If you are at a higher level of Japanese, it is pretty easy to find native materials for you to study with. There are a ton of YouTube channels and news sites to choose from. However, if you are at a lower level of Japanese, it can be quite difficult to find something easier to read at least from a native source. When I first started studying Japanese, I know I had to resort to buying multiple lower level textbooks and working my way through them.

That’s why it is always a relief to find a good resource for those just starting out. I stumbled upon one just this week at Yahoo きっず. They have everything cleaning organized and laid out for you to study with. To often Japanese sites tend to be severely overcrowded or designed for really narrow screens so all the content is crammed into a narrow column, but that is not the case here. I think everyone will find something to learn from here.

https://kids.yahoo.co.jp/

ピザの耳

In English, we call the edge of a bread loaf the ‘heel’ or ‘crust’. We call the edge of a pizza the crust. In Japanese, they call these parts of food 耳みみ or ear. I had known for a long time that this is the word for bread, but it is the same for pizza. オリーブオイルをひとまかし has more details.

How about you? Do you like pizza crust? Did you check out Yahoo きっず? How was it? Can you use 開ひらく in a sentence? Let’s hear about in the comments.