June 30, 2018　=========

☆  intimidating  威圧的な

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If you find someone or something intimidating, it means that you feel they are frightening, and make you lose confidence. A funny thing for me, is that I find tall people intimidating! Ha ha! I’m not “that” short, but when I live in Japan, I was kind of tall, or at least average height amongst women.

But, now, back in Australia, women are so tall! It’s so intimidating!! Ha ha! I don’t know why, but so many women and young girls are really tall these days… so when I take my boys to school, the other school mums are mostly taller than me. And worse than that,Read more about Today’s Word: intimidating[…]

June 29, 2018　=========

☆  off-putting  困惑して

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If you describe something as off-putting, it means that you dislike it and do not want to get involved with it. Here are some example sentences:

I find it very off-putting when people don’t make eye contact when I am speaking to them.
His manner was rude and off-putting.
In a job interview, try to respond quickly, as a delayed response is said to be off-putting to the prospective employer.
Most foreigners find it off-putting when Japanese people slurp their ramen noodles!

What kinds of things do you find off-putting?

Bye,

Chris

June 28, 2018　=========

☆  wary  用心深い

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If you are feeling wary of something or someone, it means you are feeling cautious because you do not know much about them and you believe they might be dangerous or cause problems. For example, parents need to teach their children to be wary of strangers. Or, you might be wary of asking your boss for a raise.

However, if doesn’t need to be a serious or negative situation, in order to use wary. For example, in a humorous way, I am often wary when my boys say, “mum, listen to this!” because it usually means they are going to make a disgusting noise or even worse,Read more about Today’s Word: wary[…]

June 27, 2018　=========

☆  pleased  うれしい

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Recently, my little baby girl learned to roll over. She is five months old now, and I’m so pleased she has finally rolled over! Because she has two older brothers, it’s easy for her to be pretty lazy – she doesn’t need to roll over, because they pick her up and help her roll over whenever she whines!

Naturally, I’m also pleased that her big brothers take such good care of her, but I was beginning to get worried that she would never roll over on her own! Ha ha!

What are you pleased about at the moment? Have you had a promotion at work? Or caught upRead more about Today’s Word: pleased[…]

June 26, 2018　=========

☆  hopeful  希望のある

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This week’s Q&A question is, “What are you feeling hopeful about these days?” To be honest, with all of the news about refugees and families being separated in the USA, I am not feeling very hopeful about the world situation. The terrible thing is that in fact, Australia isn’t much better in the way that refugees are treated. How about in Japan? Is the news about America and the families being separated big news?

But I am feeling hopeful that with all of the news around the world about the situation in America, it might make Australians take a look at our own situation and try toRead more about Today’s Word: hopeful[…]

June 25, 2018　=========

☆  strong  強い

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There are so many ways to use today’s word; strong! Someone you know might be strong, not weak. They might be strong, as in confident and determined, and not worried about what other people think. You might make a strong impression on someone, and therefore have a great effect on them.

Or, in terms of expressing your feelings, you might have strong opinions on something, or express yourself using strong words, meaning that you have extreme and definite opinions, which you are willing to express and defend.

And, if you have a strong relationship, it is a close relationship and likely to last for a long time.

So, that’sRead more about Today’s Word: strong[…]

June 24, 2018　=========

☆  interact  （人と）ふれ合う

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When people interact with each other, they communicate with each other, when they are spending time together – for personal or business reasons. For example, you interact with your coworkers each day at work. And, children interact and play together at the playground.

Actually, kids interacting at the playground is one of my favorite things! It’s so amazing to see kids that have never met before interact and play together like they are best friends. When we go to the playground, I sometimes ask my sons if they know that person, and they always say, “no, we just met.” It always surprises me! As an adult, it’sRead more about Today’s Word: interact[…]

June 23, 2018　=========

☆  sustain  維持する

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Sustain means to continue or maintain something for a period of time. Similar words are maintain, continue, keep up, and prolong. I saw an interesting infographic the other day, about how long life could be sustained on the various planets in our universe. The example was about how long life could be sustained without a spacesuit (oxygen) on various planets. Unfortunately, the answer for most of the planets – except for earth – was less than one second. Mercury and Mars were around 2 minutes.

Life on earth, without a spacesuit, can be sustained for around 80 years (or more in Okinawa!!) These days, though, I wonderRead more about Today’s Word: sustain[…]

June 22, 2018　=========

☆  connect つながる

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There are a few different ways to use the word, “connect” however, the main two are the following: first, if one thing or person connects to another thing or person, the two things or people are joined or linked in some way. Second, if you connect with someone, you feel a sense of familiarity and agreement with them because you have the same kinds of ideas.

For example:

I didn’t realize you were connected to John through your work.
You should connect with Tim at the party next weekend, he’d be a great mentor for you.
I feel like I really connected with Sarah from the moment we met.

Can youRead more about Today’s Word: connect[…]

June 21, 2018　=========

☆  escalate エスカレートする

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This week’s useful phrase is “That escalated quickly” meaning that a relatively calm situation intensified or increased quickly. For example, if two people are having a discussion about something, and it suddenly becomes more like an argument, you can say, “That escalated quickly.”

It’s often used I a humorous way, to lighten the mood. So, if people are arguing on a Facebook post, or in a Twitter feed, you could reply with “That escalated quickly” as a way of making people stop and think about how they are reacting. Hopefully, this quick pause will make them laugh at themselves and realize they have overreacted.

Is there a similarRead more about Today’s Word: escalate[…]

June 20, 2018　=========

☆  react  反応する

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To react to something means that you behave in a particular way because of that thing. For example, “He reacted violently to the news” or “How did she react?” or “She reacted with disbelief when her boss said she was being promoted.”

I heard a terrible story about a basketball game in Japan, where the player reacted violently toward the referee who made a call that he disagreed with. I was shocked to hear this story, especially since it was not a professional game, but just a high school game. And I was wondering if the same in Australia… I was thinking it wasn’t and that kidsRead more about Today’s Word: react[…]

June 19, 2018　=========

☆  initiate   始める

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If you initiate something, you start it or cause it to happen. Don’t confuse this word with initiating someone into a group, such as a religion or social group at university. In that case, initiate means to perform a kind of ceremony to make that person a member of the group. In university in the USA, this kind of initiating seems a bit scary! People who want to join that group often have to go through terrible things in order to be initiated into the alumni.

Instead, this word is about initiating discussion, or initiating a family trip so that you can all create deeper bonds andRead more about Today’s Word: initiate[…]

June 18, 2018　=========

☆  linger  長引く

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When a feeling lingers, it continues to exist for a long time, usually longer than you expected. You can also talk about an illness or injury (such as a cold or sprained muscle) lingering on for longer than expected. Here are some example sentences:

She had talked to him about it, but her feelings of anger lingered.
He felt ashamed and the feeling lingered long after the event.
She had broken up with her boyfriend months ago, and so she couldn’t understand while her feelings towards him still lingered.
He knew it wasn’t his fault but he felt people still had feelings of blame lingering toward him.

Can you use lingerRead more about Today’s Word: linger[…]

June 17, 2018　=========

☆  criticism  批判

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A criticism is a statement that expresses disapproval. It is the opposite of praise. We often talk about “constructive criticism” and just plain criticism (or sometimes you’ll hear the term destructive criticism). Constructive criticism is intended to be useful, and positive, in order to help the person improve themselves or the thing that they are doing.

Criticism that is not constructive is more like an attack on the person’s ideas, character or ability. It can hurt your pride and have a negative effect on your self-esteem and confidence. When someone gives you criticism, your response is very important! If you just get angry and argue with them,Read more about Today’s Word: criticism[…]

June 16, 2018　=========

☆  discussion  議論

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This week’s useful phrase is, “I think we need more discussion on this topic.” When do you think you could use this phrase? You might use it with your spouse, when deciding whether to change jobs, buy a house, have kids, but it doesn’t have to be that kind of deep conversation. It could even just be a discussion about where to go for dinner!

In any case, you could use this phrase, when you felt there was no more time to talk right then, or you were tired or busy and wanted to stop the discussion for now and talk again later. If you did wantRead more about Today’s Word: discussion[…]

June 15, 2018　=========

☆  explanation  説明

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Giving an explanation of something that has happened means giving people reasons for what happened. This is generally in an attempt to justify why it happened. For me, giving an explanation of why something happened, without making it sound like an excuse is quite hard! How about you?

For example, if you are trying to give an explanation of why you were late, does it end up being an excuse? So, these days I often drive places and if I’m late I can give an explanation of it being “bad traffic” or “the baby needed a nappy change” and so on, but in the end, I justRead more about Today’s Word: explanation[…]

June 14, 2018　=========

☆  trigger  きっかけ

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If something triggers another thing such as an illness, event, feeling, or situation, the first thing causes the second thing to begin to happen or exist. For example, stress is often a trigger for illness. Recently, I’ve been learning about emotional triggers and trigger warnings.

In some of the moms and babys’ groups I belong to on Facebook, a post by someone often contains the words “Trigger warning” at the beginning. It is generally included in posts that contain a trigger that might upset someone reading it. For example, if someone is talking about miscarriage, or children getting sick. And, for some people even talking about howRead more about Today’s Word: Trigger[…]

June 13, 2018　=========

☆  accusation  非難

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If you make an accusation against someone, you criticize them or express the opinion that they have done something wrong. When we are angry at someone, it’s very easy to make accusations, rather than express our actual feelings. We blame others and make accusations that it was them that made us feel that way, rather than us reacting to their actions in a certain way.

My kids are always making accusations about each other. “He did X” or “He made me angry.” So, one day, I said to my oldest son, “Just once, please don’t start with an accusation of what Charlie did. Please don’t say, ‘CharlieRead more about Today’s Word: accusation[…]

June 12, 2018　=========

☆  statement  発言

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Statement has a few different meanings, which ones do you know? Today’s meaning is a statement as in something that you say (or write) which gives information in a formal way. For example, “Our boss made a vague statement about the merger this morning, I wish he’d be more clear and definite about the situation.”

A statement can also be an official or formal announcement issued for a particular reason. For example, the president might issue a statement regarding XYZ.

When a witness or suspect talks to the police about an event, the official account of the event is their statement.

Of course, you can also have your bankRead more about Today’s Word: statement[…]

June 11, 2018　=========

☆  bond  絆

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As I said yesterday, it’s a public holiday today, so we are off to see my sister’s new holiday house. Her kids will be there and my other sister and her family will be there too. This means my kids will get to see their cousins, which is great as it strengthens their bond with them.

All of my cousins are in England, and as we left when I was only 3 years old, I don’t have any bond or connection with them at all. In western culture, cousins are considered to be your first friends, so I feel a bit sad not having that bond andRead more about Today’s Word: bond[…]

June 10, 2018   　=========

☆  exhausted   疲弊して

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What do you usually do on the weekends? I’m not sure why, but I usually get to the end of the weekend, Sunday night and feel exhausted! I think it’s because my kids are at school during the week, but on the weekend, everyone is home – and it’s cold, so no one wants to go outside and play. Instead, we sit by the heater all day… ha ha! I wonder why that makes me feel exhausted??

Luckily, this weekend is the Queen’s birthday long weekend, so tomorrow is a public holiday for us. So, we are going to have lunch at my sister’s new “holidayRead more about Today’s Word: exhausted[…]

June 9, 2018   =========

☆  delighted   喜んで

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If you are delighted you are very pleased and excited about something. For example, He was delighted with his achievement. Or, She was delighted to meet his parents. When you want to emphasize things, then usually you would use very, extremely, fairly, quite, or almost. However, with delighted, it’s not grammatically correct to use these words. So, instead, try using “absolutely” or even simply “so”.

For example:

She was so delighted to finally meet him.
I’m absolutely delighted to see you!
He was so delighted to receive your letter.
Mom will be absolutely delighted that you can come home for Thanksgiving.

I was so delighted that our local farmer’s market nowRead more about Today’s Word: delighted[…]

June 8, 2018      =========

☆  confused  混乱した

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When you are feeling confused, you don’t know exactly what is happening or what to do. For example, “I’m confused about what to eat to stay healthy as there are so many conflicting ideas.” Or, “We’re moving house soon, but things are happening too quickly and I feel so confused!”

When do you feel confused? What sorts of situations make you feel confused? When you are feeling confused do you have any other feelings at the same time? For example, do you feel stressed or anxious? Or do you feel OK and comfortable even though you are confused? In the PhotoReading seminar, we teach that feelingRead more about Today’s Word: confused[…]

June 7, 2018 =========

☆  disconnected  分離された

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You might usually hear this word in relation to things, rather than people. However, it is often used to describe feeling disconnected from a person, or even a person who is disconnected from their own emotions and feelings.

Sometimes we feel disconnected from our family, friends and society, and it can be hard to really know why. Interestingly, it might actually be due to an imbalance in the hormones of cortisol and oxytocin. If you have a lot of stress in your life, you probably have a lot of cortisol in your body. This can lead to feeling disconnected from yourself and others. One way toRead more about Today’s Word: disconnected[…]

June 6, 2018　=========

☆  affectionate  愛情のある

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If you are affectionate, you show your love or fondness for another person in the way that you behave towards them. My little girl is currently 4 ½ months old and is not affectionate at all. Ha ha! Of course, this is a developmental thing, and I don’t think babies are affectionate until much older, but I can’t remember when!

I feel like my sons were so affectionate from a young age, but it probably wasn’t four months old, more like one year old or later. I wonder if it is also a difference between boys and girls? I wonder if girls are more affectionate or lessRead more about Today’s Word: affectionate[…]

June 5, 2018　=========

☆  tactfully   巧みに

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If you speak tactfully, it means that you speak carefully and try not to offend people. My friend and her husband are currently traveling in Tokyo and she just posted the most hilarious update on Facebook. Today is their first day in Tokyo, and she must have eaten something bad on the plane I guess, because her post says that she has had “the squirts” all day! There really is no way to say diarrhea tactfully, but “the squirts” is one funny way!

Her poor husband went to the drug store for her, but he cannot speak Japanese, so he had to “tactfully” use body language toRead more about Today’s Word: tactfully[…]

June 4, 2018　=========

☆  pretentious   見栄っ張りの

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If you say that someone is pretentious, you mean that they try to seem important or significant, but you do not think that they are. A funny example, is wine in Australia. We make such good wine here, especially in my state of South Australia. Generally, cask wines (boxes of 2L or 4L of wine) are actually pretty good quality. However, pretentious people would never, ever drink cask wine! Never!

Also, with wine, pretentious people will always smell the wine. Now of course, this is one way of getting to know the wine. However, the only real way to know if a wine is good or not,Read more about Today’s Word: pretentious[…]

June 3, 2018   =========

☆  gratitude   感謝

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We often hear that having gratitude, or expressing gratitude, or even keeping a gratitude journal is important for living a happy life. Do you agree? Do you think it’s important to feel gratitude each day?

I used to keep a gratitude journal, and I would write in it each night. However, at the moment, with my little daughter taking up a lot of my time at night, I don’t have a chance to write in it. Instead, I set a reminder on my iPhone. At 8:30pm each night, I get a little reminder to “remember gratitude”. It’s a great way to finish off my day, IRead more about Today’s Word: gratitude[…]

June 2, 2018      =========

☆  appreciation   感謝の気持ち

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So, we’re on to a new topic, “Express your feelings” and showing your appreciation for someone or something, is a great way to express your feelings. You can actually say it to the person, for example, like the useful phrase this week, “I’m so full of appreciation for your help.”

Or you can actually show your appreciation through your actions. For example, you could write a letter, buy flowers, write a thank you card and send it, make the person their favorite meal, buy them a coffee… that’s just a few ideas.

How are some ways you express your appreciation to someone?

Bye,

Chris

June 1, 2018　    =========

☆  reliability  信頼できること

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We haven’t talked about suffixes for a while! So, today’s word is the adjective reliable plus the suffix “ity” which creates the noun, reliability. My son is currently learning about suffixes and prefixes at school and at first, I was a little worried about the reliability of the materials he is using for study!

He is very proud of himself, knowing how new words can be formed by adding a suffix or prefix to it. However, when he was telling me about the words, one example he gave was the word “ball” as a suffix, which can change into words like “volleyball” and “basketball.” Hmmm, forRead more about Today’s Word: reliability[…]