April 30, 2017　=========

☆  cheerful  明るい

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And our final word for the month and this week of personality adjectives. The Question this week is “How would you describe your personality?” We’ve had a few words over the month that you could use, so let’s recap:

headstrong, polite, idealistic, romantic, likeable, reserved, cheerful, ambitious, chatty, considerate, sociable, decisive, reckless, independent.

So, using these words and any others you want, why not try answering the question (How would you describe your personality?) in as much detail as possible! Come and share your words on the Facebook post if you’re feeling brave enough!

Bye,

Chris

April 29, 2017　=========

☆  reserved  遠慮がちな

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Someone who is reserved keeps their feelings hidden. They might seem uncommunicative, shy, standoffish, or even secretive. Personally, I don’t think this is such a negative personality trait. Someone who is reserved is generally a good listener and a good observer of people and situations.

In fact, there’s even a book about the value of introverts and reserved people in modern society. The book is called, Quiet – The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain. In the book, she talks about how the modern office is designed for extroverts, with too much emphasis on group work and noise. Introverts andRead more about Today’s Word: reserved[…]

April 28, 2017　=========

☆  likeable  人に好かれる

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Someone that is likeable is pleasant and easy to like. Some words with a similar meaning are attractive, agreeable, charming, engaging, nice, and personable. Have you ever thought about what kind of people are likeable? I haven’t really thought about it, but the UCLA (Uni of California, LA) did some research on it a few years ago, and came up with a list of things that make people likeable. Here are some of those:

– They ask questions.
– They put away their phones when they are talking with other people.
– They are genuine and honest.
– They don’t seek attention, they are simply friendly and considerate to others.
–Read more about Today’s Word: likeable[…]

April 27, 2017　=========

☆  romantic  ロマンチックな

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So, just like yesterday’s word, this can have a different meaning depending on the context and the way you look at it. You might describe someone as romantic if they say or do things that make their partner feel special and loved. For example, “He’s so romantic and is always surprising me with little gifts and flowers.”

However, on the negative side, you could say that someone is a romantic or has romantic views meaning that you are critical of them because their view or attitude is unrealistic and they think something is better or more exciting than it is. For example, “He’s a hopeless romantic, andRead more about Today’s Word: romantic[…]

April 26, 2017　=========

☆  idealistic  理想主義的な

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When I saw today’s word, I thought this describes me and my older son very well. We are both idealistic and have lofty goals of helping others… sounds great, right? Well, then I checked my dictionary, and it says that someone who is idealistic is unrealistically aiming for perfection!

Sure enough, when I checked for synonyms, words with similar meanings, perfectionist was the first word that came up! Hmmm… yes, it’s true both my older son and I are perfectionists, but I had never really connected this trait of idealistic with being a perfectionist! I always thought that I was being romantic and optimistic and visionary… butRead more about Today’s Word: idealistic[…]

April 25, 2017　=========

☆  polite  礼儀正しい

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Someone who is polite has good manners and behaves in a way that is socially correct and not rude to other people. We sometimes talk about the idea of “polite conversation” and this is the type of conversation that you just make small talk and chat with someone in order to not be rude.

For example, when you are introduced to someone new at work or at a party, and then you stay with them for a while – what do you talk about?? The weather, the job, anything that is not really personal – and this is basically “polite conversation.” My chatty, sociable friend is greatRead more about Today’s Word: polite[…]

April 24, 2017　=========

☆  headstrong  頑固な

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This final week of April, we have seven adjectives to describe people and their personalities. I wonder if you’ll find one or two that describe you!

Today’s word, headstrong, and it is generally used in a negative way to describe someone you are critical of because they are determined to do what they want. Someone who is headstrong might also be called stubborn, willful and obstinate.

It is often used to describe teenagers who won’t listen to their parents! As in, “He’s young and very headstrong, but he’s a good kid underneath.” In this case, “underneath” means the feelings and emotions that people hide and don’t show inRead more about Today’s Word: headstrong[…]

April 23, 2017　=========

☆  conflict  口論

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Conflict is a serious disagreement or argument about something important. If two people are in conflict, they have had a serious disagreement and have not yet reached an agreement. Here are some example sentences:

If you are getting divorced and have children, then people always recommend that you keep any conflict between you and your ex-partner to a minimum, but it is very hard!
My coworkers and I are in conflict with the company president over all the job cuts.
Our neighbors came into conflict last month over some silly incident and they are still arguing!

Have you ever experienced a serious conflict with someone? How did you resolve it?

Bye,

Chris

April 22, 2017　=========

☆  enthusiasm  熱意

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Is enthusiasm a good personality trait to have in Japan? In Australia, it is definitely a positive trait – to have enthusiasm for your work and your life is something that many people admire. For example, with the useful phrases this week, one is:

“I admire your enthusiasm.”

This nuance of this would depend on the tone of voice of the speaker, and also the context. If the job is one that the speaker doesn’t want to do, then the nuance is that they admire you because they don’t have or couldn’t imagine having any enthusiasm for the situation. On the other hand, if there is a positiveRead more about Today’s Word: enthusiasm[…]

April 21, 2017　=========

☆  banter  ひやかし

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Banter is a teasing or joking conversation that is amusing and friendly. It can be a noun or a verb. For example, as a noun, “I could hear a lot of laughter and banter coming from inside the house.”

Or it can be a verb, and when you banter with someone, you tease them or joke with them in an amusing, friendly way. For example, “She bantered with the host for a while when she arrived at the party.”

Have you ever heard of this word? Can you use it as a noun or verb in a sentence?

Bye,

Chris

April 20, 2017　=========

☆  character  性格

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The character of a person is the qualities that make them distinct and different from others. A person’s character is their nature, their disposition, their personality, or their temperament.

There are a few other ways that you can use “character.” One common way, is this informal way to mean that someone is interesting, unusual or amusing. For example, “Bill changed departments last week, I miss him; he was a real character.” In this example, it means that Bill was a funny and amusing person (character) and you miss working with him.

You can also use it to say what kind of person someone is. For example, “He’s aRead more about Today’s Word: character[…]

April 19, 2017　=========

☆  respect  尊敬

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If you have respect for someone, you have a good opinion of them, and their character. If you like karaoke, you’ll find lots of songs on this topic of respect! You can even learn to spell the word, if you want to sing along to Aretha Franklin’s song, Respect. In those lyrics, she spells it out for us! “R-E-S-P-E-C-T”

Do you ever sing English songs at karaoke? It’s really a good way to get your mouth muscle used to pronouncing English, and it’s fun, too! Unfortunately, not many of my Japanese friends were brave enough to sing English songs when they went to karaoke with me, soRead more about Today’s Word: respect[…]

April 18, 2017　=========

☆  power  体力

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In yesterday’s email, we talked about power, and that meaning was about control and authority over others. However, today’s power is the idea of strength, brawn, energy, muscle and might.

In fact, it is more common to use the word strength than power when talking about someone’s physical energy, but you could use either. For example:

I admired his immense strength. (Obviously means his physical power.)
I admired his immense power. (Could mean his physical power or his authority, political power etc.)

Since it is easy to get these meanings mixed up if the context is not right, I would actually recommend using the word “strength” to refer to someone’sRead more about Today’s Word: power[…]

April 17, 2017　=========

☆  knowledge  知識

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This week’s quote is from Bruce Lee, “Knowledge will give you power, but character respect.” What do you think about this idea? Would you rather have power or respect? Or perhaps both!

Actually, I’m not that interested in using my knowledge to gain power, but I would like to use it to help others. So, perhaps to me, having a good character and being respected is more important than having a lot of knowledge and power.

How about you? Do you agree with Bruce Lee, does a good character or personality automatically get you respect? Will it also get you power? 

Bye,

Chris

April 16, 2017　=========

☆  joke  冗談を言う

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Today’s word can be a verb or a noun. As a noun, a joke is something that is said or done that makes you laugh, for example a funny story. As a verb, if you joke, you tell funny stories or say amusing things. For example, “I really like where I work, it’s so relaxed and everyone is always joking and laughing.”

One thing I remember from when I was a kid was that my dad was always joking and telling funny stories at dinner time. When I was little, I tried to copy him, and while we ate dinner, I was always joking about something thatRead more about Today’s Word: joke[…]

April 15, 2017　=========

☆  imply  ほのめかす

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“What are you implying?” is one of the useful phrases this week, and it really is useful! When you imply something, it means that you are saying something about a situation in an indirect way. It is usually used in a negative way. So the question, “What are you implying?” means that someone has said something to you that feels like an attack or criticism of you, and you want them to be more honest and direct and tell you the truth.

Here are some examples of this word:

Are you implying that the mistake is my fault?
My boss always tries to undermine me and implies that theRead more about Today’s Word: imply[…]

April 14, 2017　=========

☆  classify  分類する

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To classify things means that you divide them into groups or types of things with similar characteristics. Other words with a similar meaning are: categorize, arrange, rank, and sort. You could also use the word pigeon-hole. Have you ever heard of this word?

When you pigeon-hole someone, it means that you classify them into a certain category without considering their other characteristics.  For example, you might see a non-Japanese person in Tokyo and pigeon-hole them by thinking that they do not speak or understand Japanese. Similarly, native English speakers might not give the job to a Japanese person, because they have pigeon-holed them into the group ofRead more about Today’s Word: classify[…]

April 13, 2017　=========

☆  differentiate  識別する

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If you differentiate between things you recognize that there is a difference between them. For example, a young baby cannot differentiate one person from another. Young children cannot usually differentiate between his imagination and the real world.

You can also use it to meant that you can show that there is a difference between things. For example, in Australian national parks, volunteers are trained to differentiate between imported and indigenous (Australian native) plants, so that the imported plants can be removed and destroyed.

Also, one way that a child learns language, and also to describe things is when adults, mainly their parents, help them to learn from experiencesRead more about Today’s Word: differentiate[…]

April 12, 2017　=========

☆  badmouth  否定的に話す

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If you badmouth someone it means that you criticize them when they are not around. In other words, you say negative things about them to other people, when they do not have a chance to defend themselves. This is a fairly simple word to remember right, it’s like “bad” things come out of your mouth, you are saying bad things about others. Here are some examples:

You really should stop badmouthing your ex-boyfriend; it’s over, just move on.
No one will give you a job if you badmouth your previous employer in the interview!
I try not to spend time with him anymore, as he’s always badmouthing someone he’sRead more about Today’s Word: badmouth[…]

April 11, 2017　=========

☆  acquiesce   黙従する

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This is a formal word, meaning to give in or submit. If you acquiesce in something, you agree to do what someone wants or you accept what they do, even though you don’t agree or don’t want to. Because this is a formal word, you’ll most likely see it in books; novels and non-fiction and also in news reports and journalism.

However, you could use it in a business situation. For example:

I acquiesced to my boss’s suggestion that I take on an assistant.
I’ve never seen him acquiesce to our customers; the situation must be pretty desperate!

Bye,

Chris

April 10, 2017   　=========

☆  capitalize  投資する

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You might think this word is only used in business situations, but it’s very common to use “capitalize” in personal situations, where you use a situation to gain some advantage for yourself. Of course, if you do a Google search for information about “capitalize” it will most likely tell you the grammar rule of using “A” instead of “a” at the beginning of a sentence!

That’s not the same capitalize we’re talking about! Here are some examples:

We have a staff member from the US at our company, so I’m capitalizing on every opportunity to learn English from him!
When I graduate from university, I’m going to capitalizeRead more about Today’s Word: capitalize[…]

April 9, 2017   =========

☆  independent  独立心のある

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If you say that you are independent, it means that you do not need help or money from anyone else. I recently met a Japanese woman who has been living in Australia and studying and working on her own for five years. She wants to get her permanent residence and live here, so of course many people suggest that she finds an Australian husband!

However, she is very independent, and of course she’d be happy to get married if she found the right guy, but she still wants to get her permanent residence visa by herself, so that she is not relying on anyone else inRead more about Today’s Word: independent[…]

April 8, 2017      =========

☆  reckless  向こう見ずな

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When you describe someone as reckless, you mean that they act in a way that shows they do not care about the danger, or about the effect that their behavior will have on other people. It is generally considered to be a negative personality trait. For example, “He is such a reckless driver.” Or “She’s been acting very reckless recently; I’m worried about her.”

Other words with a similar meaning are: careless; hasty; thoughtless, wild, rash, and impulsive. Would you describe yourself as reckless or careful? Has there ever been a time in your life when you were reckless and regretted it?

Bye,

Chris

April 7, 2017 =========

☆  decisive  決断力のある

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If someone is decisive, they have the ability to make quick decisions in a difficult or complicated situation. Being decisive is considered to be a good personality trait to have. Being able to make a decision and not waver or change your mind is important to success and achieving goals, don’t you think?

Would you describe yourself as decisive? I would say that when it comes to big life-changing decisions, that I am very decisive – for example, to quit my job as a lawyer and start studying to become an English teacher was very easy for me! However, I find it impossible to be decisiveRead more about Today’s Word: decisive[…]

April 6, 2017　=========

☆  sociable  社交的な

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Sociable people are friendly and enjoy talking to other people. Sometimes when I am with my chatty friend, I think, “Wow! She is so sociable, I wish I were more sociable. People must think I am very anti-social.” Anti-social is the opposite of sociable.

However, I am actually pretty sociable in reality, but in comparison to my chatty friend, I seem very shy and anti-social. In fact, there’s an idiom that is used in this situation, when someone is so chatty, that other people (like me!) don’t get a chance to say anything, we say, “I couldn’t get a word in edgeways!” Have you ever heard thisRead more about Today’s Word: sociable[…]

April 5, 2017　=========

☆  considerate  思いやりのある      

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Someone who is considerate pays attention to the needs, wishes, or feelings of other people. For example, you might describe your husband or wife like this, “I think he’s(she’s) the most considerate man (woman) I’ve ever known.” And you might describe Japanese society as one where people are considerate of each other.

The opposite of considerate is inconsiderate. When you accuse someone of being inconsiderate, you think they are being thoughtless and not taking enough care over how their words or actions will affect other people. In Australia, this word is most often used to describe drivers! Drivers are often very inconsiderate to pedestrians and cyclists. HowRead more about Today’s Word: considerate[…]

April 4, 2017　=========

☆  chatty  おしゃべりな

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Someone who is chatty talks a lot in a friendly, informal way. Another way to describe them would be talkative. I’ve told you before about my chatty friend. Do you remember? She is the friend that is so chatty, that her nickname is actually, “chat chat”.

Last weekend, we went for a run together – actually it was more of a chatty social walk, than a run. We left home at 5:30am and didn’t get home until midday! My GPS watch told me that I was out for six and a half hours, but that I was only “moving” for about five hours!! What happened in theRead more about Today’s Word: chatty[…]

April 3, 2017    =========

☆  ambitious   野心的な

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This month, we’re talking about personalities, and looking at words that describe ourselves and others. So, someone who is ambitious, has a strong desire to be successful, rich, or powerful. Would you describe yourself as ambitious? My oldest son is very ambitious, he already knows he wants to be a professional soccer player! When I was his age, I wanted to be a detective!! I’m not sure if that was an ambitious goal or not!! Lol.

Recently, my client Tatsuya Wani came to Adelaide to reach his ambitious goal. His goal was to teach his workshop on cash flow management in English to non-Japanese people. TheRead more about Today’s Word: ambitious[…]

April 2, 2017      =========

☆  comparison   比較

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When you make a comparison, you consider two or more things and discover the differences between them. For example, students studying politics might write a report on the comparison of the US system and the Japanese political system.

When you use the phrase, “there is no comparison between X and Y” it means that you think that X is much better, or very different from Y. For example, “There is no comparison between the knowledge and skill of professional baseball players and the ordinary casual player.” Or, if someone is interested in eating healthily, they might say, “There is no comparison between fresh vegetables from theRead more about Today’s Word: comparison[…]

April 1, 2017　    =========

☆  imperfection  欠点

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When we talk about an imperfection, we are talking about a flaw or a fault, or a weakness that we have. The quote for this week is an interesting one, “You can’t be perfect, so enjoy your imperfections.” this is by Terry Crews (an American actor and football player.) What do you think about this idea? Is it true that we can’t be perfect so we should love our imperfections?

To be honest, at first, I agreed with this idea… but then I thought, wait a minute! Who decides what my imperfections are?! Maybe someone looks at me and thinks, “she’s short” so to them, that’sRead more about Today’s Word: imperfection[…]