New-Languages

Learn Japanese easily! If you're a pet owner, you know how animals tend to become part of the family. In fact, we talk about animals all the time. And, you probably use onomatopoeia to describe the sounds they make, such as "woof woof" and "meow." The Japanese language is no different. You might even hear Japanese children referring to dogs using onomatopoeia. In this Japanese article, you'll discover the onomatopoeia we use to describe animal sounds. The focus is the always-popular dog (wanwan) and cat (nyannyan). But, you'll also find a handy chart with some Japanese onomatopoeia and their corresponding animals, from frogs to pigs. As a bonus, a fun practice portion asks you to fill in the correct animal sound onomatopoeia.

Vocabulary: In this article, you'll learn the following words and phrases:

tonari - "next to, next door to"
uchi - "house, home"
Inu - "dog"
Neko - "cat"
asa - "morning"
hiru - "noon, daytime"
yoru - "night"
urusai - "noisy, annoying"
komaru - "to be worried, to be bothered"
hiki - "counter for small animals"

Grammar: In this article, you'll learn the following words and phrases:

Today's target onomatopoeia are wanwan and nyannyan.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sample Sentences
------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Tonari no uchi niwa, inu ga san-biki, neko ga yon-hiki iru. "My neighbor has three dogs and four cats."
2. Asa kara wanwan, nyannyan urusakute komaru. "I'm really annoyed by their barking and meowing in the morning."

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Explanation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wanwan is the sound dogs make, and nyannyan is the sound cats make. We spell them in both Hiragana and Katakana depending on the writer's perception. Generally speaking, we use katakana when the writer wants to emphasize the word. As for the sound cats make, some people may pronounce the word nyaanyaa. Please review the list of animal sounds, and connect the name of the animals to the sounds they make.

Sound / Animal
meemee / sheep or goat
hihiin / horse
buubuu / pig
moomoo / cow
kerokero / frog
kokekokkoo / rooster

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Usage
------------------------------------------------------------------------
To make sound:

* (sound that animal or living creatures make) + (to) naku
* (sound that animal or living creatures make) + (to) iu

To bark:
* (sound that animal or living creatures make) + (to) hoeru

Children often refer to dogs as wanwan rather than their real name, inu.

For Example:

1. Chiisai ko ga "A wanwan da!" to itte watashi no inu ni chikazuite kita. "A little kid said, 'Oh, it's a wan-wan (doggy),' and came closer to my dog."
2. Ie no mae de chiisai neko ga nyny to naite ita. "A small cat was meowing in front of the house."
3. Zutto, uchi ni kaette inakatta node, inu ni wanwan hoerareta. "Since I haven't gone home in such a long time, my dogs barked at me when I arrived."
4. Kon'ya wa kaeru ga kerokero yoku naite iru. "The frogs are ribbitting loudly tonight."

To instantly access complete 10-15 minute audio lessons (a native Japanese teacher and additional hosts explain the lesson dialogue, vocabulary, phrases, and grammar in detail) and PDF lesson notes (detailed explanation of dialogue, vocabulary, phrases, and grammar), and to interact with other Japanese language learners, visit the link below: http://www.japanesepod101.com/index.php?p=1288&src=ezine

Start Speaking in Japanese in Minutes! If you're going on a trip, studying for school, or learning to talk with friends, colleagues, or that special someone, then these audio lessons are the perfect solution for you. Fun, convenient, and above all--they work. Your friends and colleagues will be utterly shocked at not only your amazing new language skills, but also the cultural insight, current events, pop culture, history, and many more things you'll learn from each lesson.

With just 15 minutes a day, these audio lessons will arm you with the tools to become fluent fast. Find out why students in 120 countries and territories with over 30 million downloads choose JapanesePod101.com by listening today. http://www.Japanesepod101.com