A - B - C - D - E - F - G H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P Q - R - S - T - U and V, W - X - Y and Z Now I know my A - B - C's Next time won't you sing with me?
worthy: adj. ～する[～を受ける]に足る, ～にふさわしい, ～の価値がある; 価値ある, りっぱな After the police handcuffed the young man, his angry father yelled, “You are no longer worthy to be called my son." References
法事： memorial services; memorial ceremony (Buddhism and Shintoism)
good aspect: 良い面
bad aspect: 悪い面
Living overseas has both good and bad aspects. (良い面と悪い面がある; 功罪の両面がある)
rekindle relationships: 旧交を温める
catch up: 今まであまり会えなかった〕家族や友人と旧交を温める
siblings: 兄弟、姉妹
family reunion: 親族会、家族親睦会
Examples from the KM Class:
My family and relatives got together at one of my uncles' house for memorial services to commemorate the 7th anniversary of my uncle's passing. It is a Buddhist custom, which is called houji in Japanese, and is usually held on the weekend of the anniversary of passing.
One good aspect of such memorial services is that it is a good chance for modern Japanese families to get together and rekindle relationships and to catch up on the latest news regarding siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and so on. It's kind of like have a big family reunion in the States. References:
Notes from the TM Class: --- A: We had two three-day weekends recently. So, did you and your husband do anything fun or exciting? B: Well, we visited my father's grave at the cemetery and cleaned the gravestone, offered a couple wands of sakaki, and offered prayers. ---
sakaki: an evergreen tree with broad waxy leaves found in Japan, Korea, and China.
visit my family's plot (一族の墓所) at the local cemetery (地元の墓地)
visit my ancestor's (先祖の；祖先の) grave (墓) at a cemetery (墓所)
offer incense (線香｛せんこう｝をあげる)
visit the grave and clean the gravestone (墓石)
offer two wands of sakaki as a part of a Shinto ritual (神道式)
2 bows, 2 claps, and then 1 bow as part of a Shinto ritual (二礼二拍手一礼｛にれい にはくしゅ いちれい｝の神道形式｛しんとう けいしき｝をとる)
× I want to go go to overseas during my winter break. ◎ I want to go overseas during my winter break. (冬休みの間、海外旅行に行きたい。)
Use "to" with a specific place. "Overseas" is not a specific place--it is too general, so you cannot use "to" + "overseas."
Examples:
I went to Italy.
I went to work.
I went to the office.
I went to the park.
I went to the theater.
However, if you use the word "visit," then we don't use "to."
Examples:
I visited Italy.
I visited my old workplace.
I visited my company's head office in Tokyo.
I visited the park near my apartment.
I visited my friend's house in Gamagori.
Benefits vs Salary
Benefits includes everything besides your salary.
Example:
My company offers employees many good benefits including 20 days of paid vacation annually, a very good health and dental plan, a transportation allowance, a housing allowance, child-rearing allowance, a 401K, and free use of corporate recreational facilities.
My company doesn't offer a high enough salary. 給料が足りない・給料が安い。
My salary is a little low, but my benefits are quite good.
--- Many Japanese housewives prefer to work at my kind of job because they mistakenly believe that such a position carries with it a high status. In addition, since they are housewives, they don't care too much about whether or not they get paid a relatively high salary. Therefore, they have flooded the ～ job market and have driven down salaries. This situation makes it hard for people like me who are trying to make a living working as a ～.
