Another two types of homophones in Chinese culture are related with folk customs and certain taboos. We often use homophone rhetoric in folk customs like birthdays and weddings. This chapter will share some interesting things in s traditional wedding and tell you some gifts should  not be given to others.

Learning Chinese culture with Miss Zhang

Homophone2

Nel tempo libero Jimmy fa un sacco di cose. Come sappiamo, Jimmy è un signore molto ricco che non lavora e ha tanto tempo libero.

Il suo hobby principale è studiare l’italiano. Anche se abita in Italia da qualche mese, il suo italiano non è ancora buono. Ama anche passeggiare, fare sport all’aria aperta e vogare la gondola.

Nel fine settimana, se il tempo è bello va a fare delle escursioni in montagna. Se fa brutto rimane a Venezia e va al cinema per vedere un film con il suo amico Marco. Una volta al mese va a vedere uno spettacolo a teatro e una mostra al museo.

A volte fa un viaggio con gli amici: ama visitare le città d’arte e fare fotografie.

Marco non ha molto tempo libero perché lavora tanto. Tutti i mercoledì sera, però, gioca a calcio con gli amici. Nel fine settimana va al cinema con Jimmy, mangia al ristorante e poi va a ballare in discoteca.

Quando è di cattivo umore, suona la chitarra e canta. Quando è di buon umore legge un libro o una rivista di elettronica.

Marco ama anche fare shopping di oggetti tecnologici, stare al computer, navigare su internet e chiacchierare con gli amici su Whatsapp.


//Want to learn more Italian? Check out the link -> https://cocai-italiano.com/

Cocai italiano - Podcast for Italian learners

Il tempo libero

Did you know elephant dung can be used as mosquito repellant?

Did you know?

Elephant

A new survey in Japan has shown that many people may be giving up on "happily ever after" when they get older than 35.

A survey by the Nippon Foundation asked 6,000 people, aged 15 to 45, about the country's falling birth rate. Among the 3,935 single participants, 46% said they want to get married, while 33% said they don't.

However, when asked if they really think they will get married, only 27% said yes, while 39% said no.

Younger people were more hopeful about marriage, with about 40% of those aged 15 to 25 thinking they will marry. But over 50% of single people aged 36 to 45 believe they won't get married, suggesting people may give up on marriage as they age.

Of the 1,313 people who said they don't want to get married, 40% said they prefer being single. Other reasons for staying single included not being able to see any benefit to marrying, and wanting to put their own life first. More than 20% didn't have a clear reason or just didn't know why.

For the 267 people who want to marry but think they won't, the top reason for thinking it won't happen is not having chances to meet potential partners, which was mentioned by 49% of these people. Others said they weren't good at getting along with people of the opposite sex, or felt financially insecure.

Where people lived also affected views on marriage. About 30% of people in central Tokyo and big cities thought they would marry, but only just over 20% of those in smaller towns and villages felt the same.

Marriages in Japan have been decreasing for years. In 2023, there were 3.9 marriages per 1,000 people in Japan — down from a high of 12 marriages per 1,000 people in 1947.

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Japan's Over-35s Giving Up on Marriage

let's learn Quechua

I want water please in Quechua

Venez faire un tour avec nous en Bretagne, en Ile-de-France, en Bourgogne et dans le Perche.

Le Podcast de la Vie

Le Berceau de mon Enfance

There is a proverb,「きょうの　ひとはり　あすの　とはり」”A stitch in time saves nine"　Don't you put off till tomorrow what should be done today? I made the same mistake this year.  Please listen to today's story! Thank you!
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「今日の一針明日十針」ということわざがありますが、今年もまた私はやってしまいました。
このことわざは、今日しておけば簡単にできることも、明日になればしなければならないことが増えるという意味です。
みなさんは、しなければならないことを　後回しにしていませんか。
私は、1日どころか、1年もほったらかしにしてしまいました。
そう！確定申告です。　納める税金の金額を決めるために、1年間働いて得た金額を書類にして税務署に出すのです。　働く日本人全員がするわけではありませんが、私のように個人で働いている人は、確定申告をしなければなりません。
毎年です。そして、毎年　この時期、後悔しています。
というのは、帳簿を小まめにつけていないので、1年分のお金の出入りを　一気に整理しなくてはいけないのです。　本当なら、1か月単位で　きちんと整理して　お金の動きを管理すべきなんです。　だけど、まったくそれができていません。
買い物のレシートや領収書は捨てないで、ちゃんと置いています。ですから、帳簿をつけることはできます。でも、1年分ためてしまうと、レシートの量もものすごく多いです。　週末ごとに　帳簿をつければ　そんなに大変な作業ではないはずなのに・・・。
なぜかそれができない！　
提出期限は3月15日。　今日は3月１０日です。　昨日ようやく　提出できる状態になりました。　レシートの整理から考えると1か月くらいかかりました。　自分のルーズさに嫌気がさします。　この作業のせいで、italkiのポッドキャストも　先週　更新することができませんでした。
来年の確定申告で、また、こんなことにならないように、今年は月末ごとに　ちゃんと　帳簿を付けようと思います。　でも、すでに、1月と2月の分はできていません。今年の確定申告を送信したら、すぐに　作業を始めようと思います！
みなさんは、しなくてはいけないことを　後回しにしていませんか。　後回しにしても何もいいことはありません。　「今日の一針明日の十針」です。


やさしい日本語（にほんご）

今日のひとはり明日のとはり

The verb 离 indicates the distance between two points. 
It often occurs before adjectives like 远（yuǎn） and 近（jìn）. 

ān nà jiā lí shū diàn hěn yuǎn 。 
安娜家离书店很远。Anna's house is far from the bookstore.

ān nà jiā lí ɡōnɡ sī hěn jìn 。 
安娜家离公司很近。Anna's house is very close to the office.

Sometimes it takes the verb-object phrase 有(yǒu)……米(mǐ) to indicate the exact distance.

wǒ jiā lí xué xiào yǒu 400 mǐ 。 
我家离学校有400米。My home is 400 meters away from my school.

wǒ jiā lí chāo shì yǒu 500 mǐ 。 
我家离超市有500米。My home is 500 meters from the supermarket.

chāo shì lí xué xiào yǒu 100 mǐ 。 
超市离学校有100米。The supermarket is 100 meters from the school.