Timid Cat Hello there. In this entry, I tried some adjectives that I've come across recently. I think English has a number of expressive adjectives. My sister has a pet cat. He is so timid he never lets others touch him. He hides under a couch as soon as someone comes to her house. I try to stroke him whenever I visit my sister's house, but it has never worked even once. Someday I will be friends with him and touch his fluffy coat as much as I want to. I want a cat, too. Dogs would be better pets to touch and play with. Cats are more independent, and I know that cats are that way. However I prefer cats to dogs. For some reason, I'm reluctant to keep a dog. It's kind of difficult for me to take a dog to a walk every day because I'm a single and live alone. Of course I love dogs, too. I hope there is a friendly and clingy cat somewhere.

Hello everyone. How's it going? It's been a while since I last wrote something on italki. My English skill ended up becoming stale during the period. I used to try to improve reading and writing, but this time I'm planning to more focusing on speaking and listening. If you're interested in learning Japanese, feel free to let me know. I hope we can be friends :) Thank you for reading. I wonder if my English was okay?

A tip for Japanese learners. How to use "口が軽い" Do you have anyone around you who easily tells others' secrets? They sometimes may be troublesome. You call them "口が軽い人" in Japanese and it's an adjective to describe such people. You can think it's almost same as someone who has a big mouth. I give an example. 「なんでみんなあのこと知ってるの！？」 「実は彼に言っちゃった・・・。」 「あいつ口軽いから、あいつには言ったらだめだって！」 "How come everyone knows that thing!?" "Actually... I told to him." "You shouldn't tell him! He has a big mouth." On the contrary, what do you call people who can keep a secret in Japanese? Some people may guess it's "口が重い" since the opposite word of "軽い" is "重い", but they are figurative phrases and the answer is "口がかたい." I don't know a figurative phrases referring to "口がかたい" like "big mouth" for "口が軽い." Is there a good phrase in English? In association with these, there's a saying of "口は災いの元(kuti ga wazawai no moto)" , which means you cause troubles when you easily tell others' secret, so be careful. I googled big mouth and searched for good ralate pictures put on this journal, but I gave up because creepy pictures only were on. I hope you'll visit my journals. Bye!

A Happy New Year! Has it become 2013 in your country too? Thank for all your support in 2012. I hope we'll enjoy learning languages together in 2013!

I wish I was good with the Internet... I noticed it after I came home. A condition of the Internet in my house's suddenly become awful from today. My PC doesn't connect to the Internet :/ No matter how hard I try to fix it, it didn't end up working well. I should call a support center tomorrow. I'm so exhausted struggling with unfamilier words about PC or the Internet！ I'm writing this via the only available network now, 3G network of iPhone. Good thing at least I can use it. I really hope it comes back to normal soon. Can you handle problems about electronic devices like PC or cell phones by yourself? Me, of course not -.- I'll read some book or something until going to bed.

A new entry for the first time in 4 months It unexpectedly passed 4 months since I last uploaded my entry. My life environment changed lately and I need to get used to it first. Honestly, I had kind of lost the motivation to learn English these days because my work was busy. (English is not mandatory for my work.) I've already got enough break from it, so my motivation's coming up again. I'll write here or see others' entries as much as I can. Sorry I didn't reply to your messages or something. Seems that My English skills's gotten quite stale. Even though there are stuffs to write, my fingers don't work well. lol See you later.

Cherry blossoms and Dandelions I like taking pictures, especially I'm quite into it lately. On the left is a picture I took when I went to Kyoto last week. I live in Osaka, which is next to Kyoto, so I often visit there. This picture is my favorite and it's quite Japan-ish, isn't it? I like Cherry blossoms as they make me feel new beginnings. In Japan, all schools or companies start their new year in April. They are beautiful and fascinating. Around this time, there is often a feeling of anticipation in the air and you tend to look up to see these flowers while walking. However, spring is a season when countless flowers start blooming as well. Looking down on the ground for a change, you'll see a lot of flowers blooming strongly and proudly. I found dandelions in bloom on a path the other day. Their beauty is actually quite plain compared to the superb cherry blossoms'. And what's more, the ground could sometimes become a harsh environment for them. However no matter how many times they're stepped on, dandelions are quietly but confidently there. I also like the modest beauty of dandelions.

Useful Japanese Phrases 5 / ～してしまった。 I'm going to introduce a tip of making your Japanese more emotional. I think you often see or hear the expression on the title of this entry at the end of Japanese sentences. Like this; 「今日寝坊してしまった。」、「携帯電話を充電するのを忘れてしまった。」 I guess many those learning Japanese may already know this phrase. Do you know what Japanese people imply by using it instead of using just past tense? This is it : You did do something against your will, or you didn't mean to do and wanted to avoid doing something, but you actually did it. From the viewpoint of the nature of Japanese language, we use it very often. I'll take the two sentences above as the example. Here are the English translations of them : “I overslept today.” , “I forgot to charge my cellphone up.”. Of course, 「今日寝坊した。」 and 「携帯充電するの忘れた。」 are also completely fine. However very strictly speaking, especially in casual conversation, they sometimes slightly sound like you only are stating a fact. Thus with “～してしまった”, your Japanese becomes more emotional and more visualized. This is extreme case, but 「今日寝坊した。」,「で？(So what?)」. 「今日寝坊しちゃった。」,「　大変だったね。それでちゃんと仕事に間に合った？(Oh, it was tough. Did you make it to work?)」. Something like that. Nobody wants to oversleep, lest they be late for work or school, and regret oversleeping. That's why it's better to use this expression instead of just past tense to make your feeling more clear. As I said above, make sure that it's quite a marginal nuance. If a person reply 「で？」 when you say 「寝坊した。」, it's merely that he's being cold, I think. Get it as a means of making your Japanese sound active. However exception exists in everything. There is a situation where you can use it in good meaning. It's when what makes you happy unexpectedly happened. 「聞いて！　昨日ついに彼女とデートしちゃった！」、「昨日レディー・ガガに会っちゃったよ！」 “Guess what! I finally had a date with her!”, “Yesterday, I bumped into Lady Gaga.”(It can't be, can it?) At these situations, this phrase had good meaning. At the end, 「～してしまった。」 is normal,　「～しちゃった。」 is more casual and 「～してしまいました。」 is polite(it's suitable for keigo sentences.) My explanations tend to become long, since my English isn't good enough yet. If you have any questions, ask me anytime. Thank you for reading it!