ANMI English Tips & Tools

2008-02-16

In-Laws

How would you say 義理の親（配偶者の父または母）in English?

Some native English speakers might say, "parent-in-laws," which sounds natural to some ears, but the correct form is "parents-in-law." However, if you drop "parents," you can say "in-laws" which would include everybody: father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, etc.

Here is a short list of other nouns that have irregular plural forms:

・ father-in-law → fathers-in-law (義理の父)
・ mother-in-law → mothers-in-law (姑、義母)
・ brother-in-law → brothers-in-law (義理の兄弟、義兄、義弟)
・ sister-in-law → sisters-in-law (義理の姉)
・ attorney general → attorneys general or attorney generals (検事総長)
・ secretary-general → secretaries-general (事務総長)

Be careful with the usage of dashes. All of these nouns need a dash except for attorney general.

References:
1.
CD-The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language

2.

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3.
英辞郎第三版

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2008-01-08

Notes from the January 7, 2007, KM Class

Today's keywords are お年玉 and 田舎.

In Japan, parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts give young children and teenagers small envelopes of cash called otoshidama (お年玉) during the New Year's holidays.

Here are some examples of using お年玉 in English sentences.

Japan Wikipedia

I gave my nieces and nephews small envelopes of cash as a New Year's gift.
My son got 1,000 yen from his grandmother as a New Year's gift.

In Japanese, the word inaka (田舎) can be translated as hometown. Additionally, the word can also be defined as rural, rural area, or countryside.

Here are some examples of the word 田舎 in a few English sentences.

I went to my company's factory in a rural area in Tottori Prefecture.
I visited my wife's hometown in a rural town called Gamagori in Aichi Prefecture.

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

2008-01-06

2008-01-05 Notes from SA Class

Today's keyword is: 田舎に帰る

In most dictionaries, the word 田舎 is translated as "country" and the word 帰る is translated as "return." Therefore, many English students tend to say "return to my country." However, "return to one's country" in English does NOT mean 田舎に帰る. Rather, it means 帰国する.

During the New Year's holidays in Japan, many families who live in the suburbs of Tokyo and Yokohama, visit the homes of their parents. So, how do you say 田舎に帰りました／実家に帰る in English? Here are some examples:

1. We traveled to my wife's hometown by bullet train. (新幹線で)
2. We took the bullet train to my wife's hometown. (新幹線で)
3. We flew to my wife's hometown. (飛行機で)
4. We drove to my wife's hometown. (車で)
5. I visited my parents house during the holidays. (正月休暇中に実家に帰る)
6. I visited my hometown during the holidays. (正月休暇中に実家に帰る)

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