Role Model: A Fluent Foreigner on Japanese TV   

Everybody who tries studying Japanese knows how daunting it can be. Let’s learn from the best - one of them is David Spector. He’s a perfectly fluent American writer you may know from Japanese TV. He started studying Japanese as a kid, learning 50 vocabulary items every day.  
On top of that, the 50-item batches are matching up with the steps you need to take for the JLPT-N4/N5 tests. So let’s get started! 

Today’s Vocab List: Quantity, Volume N4/N5 

1. kazu - quantity 

2. iyou - volume 

3. kiromeetoru - kilometer 

4. meetoru - meter 

5. senchi - centimeter 

6. miri - millimeter 7. akanoboorupen - red ballpoint pen 

8. kiroguramu- kilogram 

9. guramu - gram 

10. paasento - percent
11. ningen no karada no 90 paasento wa mizu desu. - 90% of the human body is water. 

12. kurai - around; nedan wa 3man en kurai deshita.- The price was about 30 000 yen. 

13. yaku - about; maitoshi, yaku 2man nin ga koko wo otozuremasu. - Around 20 000 people visit this place every year.  

14. mainusu suru- to lose/reduce; daietto wo hajimete,3kagetsu de mainusu 2kiro desu. - I’ve lost 2 kilos in 3 months since starting my diet. 

15. purasu suru - to add; kore ni, ato 50ko purasu shite kudasai. - Please add another 50 to this. 

16. omosa-weight; dore kurai no omosa desu ka. (omosa wa dore kurai desuka.) - What’s the weight? 

17. ookisa - size; dore kurai no ookisa desu ka. (ookisa wa dore kurai desuka.) - What’s the size?
18. nagasa - length; dore kurai no nagasa desu ka. (nagasa wa dore kurai desuka.) - What’s the length? 

19. chotto - a little; sumimasen, chotto tetsudattekuremasenka. - Excuse me, would you mind giving me a hand, please? 

20. mada owarimasen ka. — ato chotto desu. - You’re not done yet? — In a little bit.
21. takusan - many, a lot; shukudai takusan atta node, haikungu ni wa ikimasen. - I had a lot of homework, so I didn’t go hiking. 

22. oozei - crowd, great numbers; hito ga oozei te, yoku mienakatta yo. - There were all these crowds of people. I couldn’t see much at all. 

23. sukoshi - a little; kore, sukoshi tabetemite mo ii desuka. - Can I try a little of this? 

24. sukunai-a little, a few;Asha wa yasumi ga sukunai kedo, kyuuryou wa ii yo. You get few holidays at company A, but the pay is good. 

25. takuno - many~; eigo wa takuno kuni de hanasareteimasu. - English is spoken in many countries. 

26. ooi - there are many; kyou wa gomi ga ooi desu ne. - There’s a lot of trash today. 

Today’s Vocab List: Money N4/N5 

27. okane - money 

28. ~en - yen 

29. harau - to pay 

30. shiharai - payment 

31. genkin - cash; shiharai wa genkin de onegaishimasu. - Please make the payment in cash. 

32. otsuri - change 

33. komakai - small, fine; komakai okane, arimasu ka. - Do you have any small notes? 

34. ~dai - charge, fee; takushidai - taxi fare 

35. ryoukin - charge, fee; keetai no kihon ryoukin - basic cell phone charge 

36.- nyuujouryou entry fee 

37. to cost - suru; sono kaban, ikura shita no? — kore? 2man5sen en. How much did that bag cost? This one? 25 000 yen. 

38. ginkou - bank 

39. ryougae - currency exchange 40. orosu - to withdraw; ATM de okane wo oroshite kuru kara, chotto matte. - I’m going to withdraw some money from the ATM. Could you wait a minute?
 

41. tameru - to save money; okane wo tamete, rokou ni ikouto omotteimasu. - I’m thinking of saving money and going on a vacation. 

42. tamaru - to be saved - naka naka okane ga tamarimasen. - Not much money gets saved.; choking - savings; chokin wa hotondo zero desu. - My savings are almost zero. 

Today’s Vocab List: Society N4/N5 

43. shakai - society 

44. seiji - politics 

45. keizai - economy 

46. kore wa nihon shakai no mondai deshou. - Isn’t this a problem with Japanese society? 

47. donna shakai ni mo, ruuru ga arimasu. - All societies have rules. 48. kuni - country 

49. sekai - world 

50. kokusai - international; kokusaidenwa - international call

 Content by Martina Hollweck.