Learning Japanese Tip: Don't Just Buy Any Dictionary

If you are studying Japanese I reccomend Oxford Beginner's Japanese Dictionary. It goes both ways, Japanese to English and then English to Japanese. I've found it super helpful compared to my other dictionary that just goes from English to Japanese. A lot of times you'll see a word in Japanese and you'll need to translate it. Trying to go through all the English words to try and find it is kind of impossible unless you memorize the entire dictionary.

Yes, I know that there are plenty of translating apps today that you can use instead, but sometimes I think there's nothing as good as a physical book. Its just a personal preference of mine, but for others apps are better suited for them. I honestly don't mind Google translate, the thing is that you should only translate a few words at a time and its even better when you have an idea for what word you are looking for. Don't get me wrong, you have to be careful, Google Translate feels a little sketchy at times. However, as long as you translate in small pieces and you have some background knowledge, you'll be fine.

Hope this helps!

-Cami

Manga Moment: Yotsuba&!

Yostuba&! aka Yostubato! is one of my all time favorite mangas. The manga series features a little girl named Yostuba and her adventures as a child. Yostuba is quirky and keeps you laughing. The entire series is a bunch of short stories about her daily life. Going to the zoo, the farm, or a school festival, and you can't forget playing with friends.

Yotsuba lives with her Dad who adopted her overseas. Her next door neighbors consists of three sisters, a mom and a dad. The neighbor's dad is usually gone though, but Yotsuba has adopted the neighbors's mother and calls her "Mom" too. The three girls are almost like big sisters to her and they play together all the time.

Then there's Yotsuba's Dad's friends who often come to visit. Jumbo, a florist, is very tall, but he's pretty much a teddy bear on the inside. Meanwhile Yanda can be somewhat lazy, usually coming over to borrow some hot water for his ramen. Yanda and Yotsuba have this sibling act going on, where Yanda teases her all the time so that she'll get upset.  Seeing the two of them interact can be pretty funny.

The only thing I have an issue with is that the series is still ongoing. Don't get me wrong, that's a great thing. I would always welcome another Yotsuba&! manga. The problem is, the author takes awhile to release the next one. And then you also have to wait for it to be translated into English. Volume 13 just came out so I probably will have to wait over a year for the next one, if I'm lucky. It might be a few years. Who knows. Until then, I'll just enjoy the ones I have and reread them to my heart's content.