Hobbies 趣味 しゅみ After school ほうかご

Bookstore 本屋 ほんや : the difference between います and あります

ほんやです。

it’s a bookshop

ほんが あります。

they have books

ほんやさんです。

it is the bookshop owner

ほんやさんが います。

there is a bookshop owner

 

ほんが ほんやの なかに あります。

the books are inside the bookshop

ほんやさんが ほんやの なかに います。

the bookshop owner is inside the bookshop

たくさんの ほんが あります。

there are lots of books

まんがは ありませんか。
are there no cartoons?

はい、 あります。

yes, there are.

おきゃくさんが います。

there is a customer

たくさんの まんがが あります。

there are lots of cartoons

おきゃくさんが ほんやに います。

the customers are in the bookshop

ほんやさんは ほんやに いません。

TRWは ゆうめいです。

TRW is famous

the bookshop owner is not in the bookshop

ほんやさんは いません。

there isn’t a bookshop owner

ほんが たくさん あります。

there are lots of books

Newspapers 新聞 しんぶん

The three largest Japanese newspapers are:

Asahi Shimbun   朝日新聞　あさひしんぶん

Mainichi Shimbun　毎日新聞　まいにちしんぶん

Yomiuri Shimbun　読売新聞　よみうりしんぶん

The word shinbun literally means ‘New Hearing’. 

Not so different from the English phrase ‘New Tidings’.

shinbun     新聞　しんぶん

The components on the left are standing on a wooden structure  and on the right hand side rolling down a hill. 

The two gates with the ear in between the two gates.

Here are some pages of typical Japanese newspapers.

Note that Japanese is usually written 

from top to bottom

 and from right to left.

But sometimes from left to right…

Sometimes the headline is left to right, 

but the main article is top to bottom. 

One gets a feel for the lay-out after a while.

This is the Asahi page which announces the devastation as a result of the 2011 Tohoku-Sendai earthquake. Headlines and contents are placed for impact with colour to underscore the horror images.

One question that students ask regularly is ‘how many kanji do you need to know before you can read a newspaper?’ The answer is more complicated than the question. 

To read the Asahi page on the earthquake: “about 3000”. To read a teenager’s page on fashion, hairdos, teenage angst, pimples and T-shirts? “about 1000”. 

In other words, newspapers must cater for a certain audience. The more complicated the topic, the more kanji, the more educationally competent you need to be. A child’s book may contain only 100 kanji.

The Japanese do have a system around this problem of reading, pronouncing  – legibility – and that is called furigana. Furigana are tiny little hiragana written above a kanji to indicate how to pronounce that particular kanji. Here is an example, which shows “university” (daigaku):

All you ever wanted to read about Japanese politics.

Japanese cartoons add to the humour.

nuclear Level 7 in red screams it out – politely.

 North Korean missiles make most Japanese 

extremely restless,but don’t call for red – yet.

The sadness and the suffering of a Palestinian woman deserve colour.

Sport – olden day drama are always favourites.

Japanese language with the Paris connection.

Newspapers for foreigners: without fear or favor!

This is an antique Japanese language typewriter. 

These days all is done on computer with gigantic printing presses.

Cartoons まんが