ANMI English Tips & Tools

2009-09-05

Happy Birthday!

誕生日メッセージ

Two of my brothers who are twins will have a birthday on September 4th (today in the States). I can't believe that they will be 41 years old! So, today's topic will be about how to tell someone “Happy Birthday” in English with your non-Japanese friends!

In Japanese, I think most people just simply say, 「お誕生日おめでとう！」. In English, we have numerous ways to express a birthday greeting.

みいちゃんママ（妹尾佳江） has some good suggestions with a Japanese translation:

- http://www1.tmtv.ne.jp/~mie/hp/birthday.html

Birthday Messges.com has a good page of many different messages that you can use for just the right person and situation:

- http://www.birthdaymessages.com/

(If you visit Birthday Messages.com, be sure to use a Firefox or Chrome browser. This site is free to access, so consequently, they use pop-up advertisements.)

Some of the very basic messages I have used in the past including the following:

1. Have a happy birthday!
2. It's your birthday! Have a happy day!
3. Birthday wishes especially for you!
4. Hope you have a wonderful birthday!
5. Best wishes for you on your birthday!
6. Happy birthday and wishes for many more!
7. Hope all your birthday wishes come true!
8. Here's to another year! Happy birthday!
9. Here's wishing you have a wonderful birthday!
10. Happy birthday and many happy returns!
11. Congratulations on another year! Happy birthday”
12. Here's to many more happy years!
13. Wishing you a very special day on your birthday!

Here are some more birthday messages that you can use for SMS:

1. happy b-day 2 u!
2. hope u have a happy b-day!
3. happy b-day 2 u!
4. happybirthday2uuuu!

Do you know of any other birthday messages? Do you want to try to make your own? Please let me know via Facebook, Twitter, email, leave a comment below, or ask me in class!

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2009-09-01

Blue Skies Over Manhattan

私の弟が撮ったマンハッタンの写真です。

その写真の英語タイトルは「Blue skies over Manhattan」です。今日のテーマは「Blue Skies」と「sky vs. skies」です。

We have several ways to express 「青空」 in everyday English. Here are some examples:

- blue skies
- clear, blue skies
- a/the blue sky
- a/the cloudless blue sky

色々な言い方がありますね！英辞郎（http://www.alc.co.jp/）では「azure sky // blue canopy // blue expanse // canopy of heaven」まで乗っています。（英辞郎の方がちょっと詩的な表現ですが。）

写真のタイトルでは、これでもいいでしょう。

- Beautiful skies over Manhattan.
- Nice view of the skies over Manhattan.
- Clear, blue skies over Manhattan.

ところで、普通に「空」は「sky」に訳ますが、何で弟は「ｓｋｙ」の複数形の「skies」にしたのだろうか？

英語では、「ｓｋｙ」は「天空、空、天国、等」の意味します。　特に、天気の話の場合、よく「skies」とします。

例えば：

- gloomy skies（どんよりした空模様）
- skies were clear（晴れた）
- fair skies（晴れでしょう）
- blue skies（青い空）

So, there are many ways to express 「青空」 in English. When talking about the weather, be sure to use the word "skies" instead of just "sky."

If you have any questions, leave a comment below, leave a comment at Facebook (http://is.gd/2Lmn9), send me a tweet (http://twitter.com/anmieikaiwa), or ask me in class.

Disclaimer

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Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.1 Japan License.

2009-08-28

Inspect and Enter vs. Check Out and Enroll

Many Japanese high school seniors or 12th graders (高校3年生) visit college campuses during summer. They are trying to decide what college they want to go to next year.

One of my students is a high school senior and told me about her visit to some college campuses. She told me:

I inspected some colleges with my friend last week. Many high school students inspect some schools that they want to enter. We call this event "Open Campus."

1. Inspect vs. Check Out

The word "inspect" can have a sense of 検査する, 視察する, or 調べる. For example:

a. All belongings must be inspected by customs officers. (すべての所持品は税関職員によって検査されなければならない。)

b. The commission went and inspected the site. (委員会は、現地まで出向いて視察した。)

However, "check out" can have a sense of 体験, チェックする, or 確認する. For example:

a. Don't you think we should check it out? (確認してみた方がいいんじゃない？)

b. I want to check out this book. (この本を借りたいんですけど。)

c. Check out our home page for more details! (詳しい情報はホームページでチェックしよう！)

2. Enter vs. Enroll

The word "enter" can have a sense of 入る, 突き抜ける, 入力する, or 記入する. For example:

a. She entered the room quietly. (彼女は静かに部屋に入った。)

b. All the guests entered their names on the list. (客はみんな自分の名前を名簿に記入した。)

The word "enroll" has a strong sense of 入学する. For example:

a. They had to pass a rigorous exam in order to enroll. (入学するには厳しい試験に合格しなければならなかった。)

b. I don't think that it's too late for you to enroll. (入学するのに遅過ぎることはないと思う。)

So, I suggested that our student use the following English as follows:

I checked out some colleges with my friend last week. Many high school students visit some colleges where they want to enroll. We call such events "open campus day."

Special note:

The term "open campus" can refer to a junior high school or high school campus that allows children to freely leave the campus during lunch or to go home during school hours to get a textbook that was forgotten or something.

The term "open campus day" refers to a special day when colleges/universities allow non-students and their parents to visit the campus in order to learn more about the school before deciding where to enroll.

Disclaimer

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.1 Japan License.