「within walking distance」といろいろな単語の説明

I wanted to see if Otemachi is within walking distance of our classroom. Our classroom is really close to Kanda Station, Shin-nihonbashi, and Mitsukoshi-mae Stations, but looking at the map, Otemachi looked really close, too.

• within walking distance of ～から歩いて行ける距離［範囲］で (definition from Eijiro on the Web)
• It's within walking distance. 歩いて行ける距離です。(definition from Eijiro on the Web)

I thought it probably was close enough to walk from, so I took a walk to confirm my hypothesis.

• confirm the hypothesis that 〔that以下〕という仮説｛かせつ｝を裏付ける｛うらづける｝(definition from Eijiro on the Web)

After checking the map, I hit the door and started down the street towards Otemachi Station. A lot of people were just getting off work and heading towards various stations.

• hit the door 出発する (casual)
• head towards ～の方へ向かう (definition from Eijiro on the Web)

When I got to Otemachi, I snapped this shot of exit A5, the one closest to our classroom. An office worker was going down into the station, and a member of the station staff was coming up the stairs.

• snap a shot of ～の写真を撮る (definition from Eijiro on the Web)

I started my stopwatch and turned around towards our classroom. I took a reasonable pace. I passed some construction workers carrying their equipment back to their van. One older man in down jacket seemed to be in a hurry and passed me.

• in a hurry 急いで、慌てて (definition from Eijiro on the Web)

The sidewalks were full of commuters, but after eight minutes and 10 seconds, I arrived in front of our building.

• commuter【名】通勤者｛つうきん しゃ｝、通学者｛つうがく しゃ｝ (definition from Eijiro on the Web)

What do you think? Is eight minutes within walking distance? Regardless, there are three other closer stations nearby, within three to five minutes. I hope you will walk over and say hello.

「wear」の使い方

 

The weather has been getting cooler, so I've started wearing my hoodies.

You all might have felt with the cooler weather that it was time for shopping for clothing. 

• clothing = clothes =  服

I was out shopping somewhere (I can't remember where) and I saw this sign. It says:

× goods, wear

○ goods, clothes/clothing/apparel

"Wear" is a verb or a suffix, usually. It's most common as a verb, like "make sure you wear enough when you go out, since it's cold."

As a suffix, we use it in words like "underwear" and "formalwear".

• underwear【名】肌着類｛はだぎ るい｝、下着｛したぎ｝、肌着｛はだぎ｝、パンツ (definition from Eijiro on the Web)
• formalwear【名】正装｛せいそう｝(definition from Eijiro on the Web) 
• suffix  接尾辞 (definition from Eijiro on the Web)

Sometimes we use it with an adjective as an independent word, like:

• I guess you have already put away all of your summer wear.

However, I prefer this:

• I guess you have already put away all of your summer clothing.

If you've been making this mistake, don't worry! Just wear a smile and try to avoid making it in the future.

•  wear a smile 笑みをたたえる (definition from Eijiro on the Web)

「1兆」は英語で何と言う？

$1,000,000,000,000

How do you say this number in English? Most students have trouble reading big numbers in class. One major reason is because numbers are read/written very differently in Japanese.

For example,
一千円 (1,000) is one thousand yen. (No problem)
九千九百九十九円　(9,999) is nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine yen. (No problem there either)

however 一万円　 (10,000) is... ten thousand. (Here is where things get tricky)
十万円　(100,000) is one hundred thousand.
百万円　(1,000,000) is one million.
一千万円　(10,000,000) is ten million.
Japanese numbers move in four digits but many Western languages move in three.
So what can you do?
Simple, just look for the first comma on the left. That will tell you how to read the number.
1,000 (ONE thousand)Secondly, how many digits are there after the first comma.
1,000 (there are three digits after the first comma so it is thousand)

If there are 6 digits after the first comma, it is million (1,000,000)
If there are 9 digits after the first comma, it is billion (1,000,000,000)
If there are 12 digits after the first comma, it is trillion (1,000,000,000,000)
If there are 15 digits after the first comma, (you most likely will not need to know this number unless you are a hardcore scrabble player.)


Do you know how to read the numbers below? 
The earth's population recently reached 7,000,000,000. 
The population in Japan is  around 125,000,000.
The U.S. public debt is $14,993,980,920,226. 
The price tag of my dream car, a Mercedes AMG SLS is at least $185,750.
The average household income in Japan (in 2009) was ¥5,475,000.

「money tree」とは？

This is our money tree. That's what we call this tree in English.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pachira_aquatica

• money tree パキラ属、金のなる木、金づる (definition on Eijiro on the Web)
• cash-cow, money tree 金の成る木

People keep telling me that our money tree is too dense. They say I should trim some of the inner leaves. I'm worried about doing that, though, because it seems healthy enough. If I cut a bunch off, I'm afraid I might kill it.

What do you think I should do?

I would hire a specialist, but money doesn't grow on trees. So instead, I'm turning to you all for advice. Do you have good suggestions on how to trim the tree?

• Money doesn't grow on trees.《諺》金のなる木はない。／お金を楽に得る方法はない。(definition on Eijiro on the Web)

By they way, has anybody started trimming their Christmas tree? I think I'd rather do some kind of pagan winter solstice celebration.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_solstice

• trim a tree to make it look better 見栄えがするように木を剪定｛せんてい｝する (definition from Eijiro on the Web)
• trim a Christmas tree クリスマスツリーに飾りを付ける、クリスマスツリーの飾り付けをする(definition from Eijiro on the Web)
• winter solstice 《the ～》《天文》冬至点｛とうじてん｝(definition from Eijiro on the Web)

It's about five weeks away. Some people might feel it's early, but I am sure Starbucks is already playing Christmas music. I am avoiding it for that reason. I wonder if their seasonal drinks are a money tree?

「AXE」は英語の使い方に注意した方が良い。＋リストの作り方

I wonder if you saw this ad on the train. It's by AXE, encouraging men to smell good in order to attract women. They have given us a checklist to help us find love. It says:

1. × Attention -> ○ Notice, Pay attention
2. Spray
3. Go direct
4. × Happy -> ○ Be happy

The reason "happy" is wrong is because of the way we make lists. When you make a list, all of the items need to be of the same grammatical type (part of speech).

• part of speech《文法》品詞｛ひんし｝(definition from Eijiro on the Web)

In the list, "attention" is a noun, and "happy" is an adjective. The other two are verbs, so let's assume they meant to use verbs. To fix it, we change those two items to verbs.

Your lists can use nouns:

• I've got to buy tofu, green onions, and noodles at the supermarket.

You can also use verbs:

• Today I went to the bank, ran by the electronics store, and wrote this blog post.

Even adjectives are OK:

• The weather today was clear, comfortable, and cool.

What you can't do is mix types, like AXE did in their list. When you are making lists, make sure to keep the part of speech of each item the same.