にほんごのたね Nihongo no Tane with Yumi

Yumi continues her talking about the changes she made in her life. What do you think of these changes? Listen to the podcast to know all the changes she made!   KEY VOCABULARY: 大腸(だいちょう)カメラcolonoscopy [大腸(だいちょう) (large intestine; colon)] がん cancer ポリープ polyp 麻(ま)酔(すい) anesthesia [麻(ま) (hemp; flax); 酔(すい) (drunk)] 痛(いた)くもかゆくもない “it’s no concern at all” or...

Have you tried stair stepper? Listen to Yumi to know why is she doing it and how it helped her to be in better shape.   KEY VOCABULARY: 階段(かいだん) stair; stairway 目標(もくひょう) goal; objective; target 心臓(しんぞう) heart 心臓(しんぞう)が口(くち)から飛(と)び出(だ)す one’s heart pops out of the chest [it’s a saying that describes bodily feeling where one’s heart is beating so fast due to phy...

Yumi continues her talking about the changes she made in her life. What do you think of these changes? Listen to the podcast to know all the changes she made!   KEY VOCABULARY: 順調(じゅんちょう)に steadily; smoothly; without a hitch 何(なん)度(ど)も many times; frequently; plenty of times　 血液検(けつえきけん)査(さ) blood test; blood exam [血液(けつえき) (blood); 検(けん)査(さ) (check; checkup;...

Yumi has made some changes in her life. What do you think she changed? Listen to the podcast and hear her reflections on this!   KEY VOCABULARY: あまり～ない (there is ) not so much ~; (I have) not so much ~ [あまりmeans “very” or “much” when used with ～ない] これといって nothing special; not worth mentioning [always used with ～ない; “いって” is “言(い)って”, but usually written in hiragana] 神...

The Hurricane Idalia has come to Florida, and after its passage, it left Yumi without electricity for a few hours. This made Yumi think about the importance of electricity in her life. Listen to the podcast and hear her reflections on this!   KEY VOCABULARY: 直撃(ちょくげき)する to hit directly [直(ちょく) (direct); 撃(げき) (hit; attack)] 避(ひ)難(なん)する to evacuate; flee; escape 出身(しゅっし...

Finally, the trip to Japan ended and Yumi and her family are back in Florida. So, this time Yumi will reflect on the trip and the impressions she had during it. Listen to the podcast and learn what was the thing that left a big impression on her this time!   KEY VOCABULARY: 総(そう)まとめ total conclusion; roundup; overall summary [総(そう) (total); まとめ (conclusion; summary)] 感想(かんそう) vie...

A few months ago, Yumi comment us about the souvenirs she was planning to take to Japan for family and friends. Now that she’s back, she will tell us which are the ones that people liked and which ones may have not being such a success. Listen to the podcast to find out!   KEY VOCABULARY: 経(た)つ (for time) to pass 落(お)ち着(つ)く to settle down 反応(はんのう) response; reactions 喜(よろこ)ぶ to...

This is the final part of the long-awaited journey to Japan! This time, Yumi will tell us about an incredible visit to USJ and more about Tokyo. Listen to the podcast and pay attention to her recommendations for your next trip to Japan!   KEY VOCABULARY: たどり着(つ)くfinally arrive at; to get to (at last); find one’s way to 書斎(しょさい) library; study; sanctum 超(ちょう)おすすめ highly recommen...

In this episode, Yumi will tell us about the troubles she encountered while in Japan. Can you imagine what was the most difficult thing during her stay there? You may never imagine what was… Listen to the podcast and find out what it was!   KEY VOCABULARY: 随分(ずいぶん) considerably; rather; fairly; quite お久(ひさ)しぶり it has been a long time [お 久(ひさ)しぶりis politer form for 久(ひさ)しぶ...

In the previous episode, Yumi talked about her arrival to Japan. This time, she will talk about what she and her family did after that, like going on a sightseeing bus in Tokyo or visiting an old friend. But, arriving at the countryside where her parents live after going around Tokyo made her wonder about the differences you can find between big cities and the countryside.   KEY VOCABULARY: ２階(...

Finally, Yumi and her family are in Japan! It’s been a long time since the last visit, and it seems things have changed. At least, at the convenience stores! Listen to her and take note of ideas for souvenirs for your next trip!   KEY VOCABULARY: 片(かた)付(づ)け tidying up  一段落(いちだんらく)  stopping point (before the next stage) [段落 (end; end of a paragraph)]  復活(ふっかつ)させる revive;...

In the previous episode, Yumi told us she’s going back to Japan with her family. But she was having some issues deciding what to pick as souvenir for her family and friends. This time, she will talk about what she bought and where. Listen to her and take note of ideas for souvenirs for your next trip!   KEY VOCABULARY: 何人(なんにん)か分(ぶん) portion for some people [何人(なんにん)か　“some peopl...

Yumi is going back to Japan with her family! This is a long-awaited trip. Soon they will be reunited with family and friends, but… There is something troubling Yumi’s mind. Listen to the podcast to know more about it!    KEY VOCABULARY: 帰(き)省(せい) homecoming visit; going to one’s parents’ home うんうんうなるto moan (in pain or in discomfort) [うんうん (onomatopoeia that mimicking the sound of...

In the previous podcast, Yumi started to talk about her family trip to St. Augustine. Don’t miss the end of this story, where she explains the main reason of their trip and why she couldn’t sleep well that night.   KEY VOCABULARY: 予(よ)約(やく) reservation; booking 無(む)効(こう) invalid; void 慌(あわ)てて in a hurry; in haste [fixed phrase] 近(ちか)場(ば) nearby place 重(かさ)ね合(あ)わせてtakin...

This time Yumi went to a trip to St. Augustine, a city she usually goes with her family to the beach. But this time she made a different kind of trip. In this first part of Saint Augustine’s trip story, she tells us about the history of the fortress located there, San Marcos, among other things.   KEY VOCABULARY: 昔(むかし)ながらの unchanged as old time; as it was in the past [a fixed phrase] 日(...

Japanese culture about nakedness is different from the occidental one. Japanese people go to onsen naked while most occidental people would feel embarrassed for doing this. In this podcast, Yumi talks about it, and about the changes over time around this culture.   KEY VOCABULARY: 恥(は)ずかしがる to be shy of; to be bashful お相(す)撲(もう)さん Sumo wrestler(s) [affectionate way of calling sumo w...

Description: Japan is a country with many hot springs. Going to one is an experience you may not want to miss during your stay in Japan. Listen to Yumi talking about ryokans, hot springs and how she overcame the embarrassment about going naked to one.   KEY VOCABULARY: 湧(わ)いてきた started gushing out; started bubbling out [湧(わ)いて from 湧(わ)く(to gush out); てきた from てくる (to start doin...

Yumi went with her family to see the Super Mario Brothers movie. Listen to Yumi talk about her thoughts on the movie and what she wanted to do after watching it!   KEY VOCABULARY: 公開(こうかい)される to be open; to be open to the public [公開(こうかい) (opening to the public; release)] 話(わ)題(だい)に上(のぼ)る to come up in conversation [話(わ)題(だい) (topic)] 毎週(まいしゅう)のように almost e...

Last time, Yumi talked about things she does on a daily basis. This time, she speaks about things she does occasionally and then things she would like to do in the future.   KEY VOCABULARY: こまめに frequently; diligently; regularly 大(おお)掃(そう)除(じ) major cleanup 掃(そう)除(じ)機(き) vacuum cleaner 拭(ふ)く to wipe 隅(すみ)っこ　corner; recess [隅(すみ)っこ is casual or spoken language for...

In today’s episode, Yumi shares a few things she does every single day (or almost every day).   KEY VOCABULARY: 精神的(せいしんてき) psychological; mental; spiritual [精神(せいしん) (mind; spirit; soul); 的 suffix (-ical, -ive, -al, -ic,-y and etc.)​]　 専門的(せんもんてき) professional; [専門(せんもん) (specialty; expert; area of expertise)] 運動(うんどう)不(ぶ)足(そく) lack of physical exercise;...

Yumi brought her family to Universal Studios in Orlando and couldn't help but compare the experience to her visit to Universal Studios in California more than two decades ago. Both the theme park and Yumi herself have undergone significant transformations since then.   KEY VOCABULARY: 遠足(えんそく) school trip; field trip 揃(そろ)って all together [揃(そろ)う(to make a full set; to be all present...

Yumi is worried about inflation. Everything is more expensive. Still, she maintains a positive outlook with affirmations and positive thinking. Even when bad things happen, there is always something to be grateful for.   KEY VOCABULARY: 必死(ひっし)に with one’s best effort; work very hard to do something; with one’s best effort; desperately 節約(せつやく)する save money 食(しょく)費(ひ) food expe...

In this episode of Nihongo no Tane, Yumi discusses onomatopoeia in Japanese. She mentions that there are approximately 5,000 onomatopoeic words in Japanese, making it the language with the most onomatopoeia in the world. Onomatopoeic words can have multiple meanings and be used in various situations. For example, you probably know ペラペラ to mean "fluent" when describing someone's language skills...

Yumi wraps up her talk about buying two cars and the problem with buying insurance for teenage drivers.   KEY VOCABULARY: 更新(こうしん)する to renew; to update 代理店(だいりてん) agency 事(じ)情(じょう)circumstance; condition; situation 担当(たんとう) being in charge; being 曇(くも)った表(ひょう)情(じょう) worried/sad look on one’s face [曇(くも)った (cloudy); 表情(ひょうじょう) (facial expressio...

Today, Yumi continues her story about her recent car-buying experiences.   KEY VOCABULARY: 普通(ふつう)(の) normal; common 結構(けっこう)  fairly 頑張(がんば)る  endure; survive; keep at it; make an effort    自宅(じたく) one’s home; one’s house めでたく happily; with much joy [this word has a celebratory connotation to it] 面倒(めんどう)な troubling; troublesome; difficult [面倒(めんどう)(trouble...