I'm starting Golden Week with housework.

This is how my Golden Week begins: housework. Look at that: dishes from dinner last night, breakfast this morning, and lunch earlier today. What a mess!

Here are some definitions from Edict:

家事 (かじ) (n) housework; domestic chores; (P);
家事労働 (かじろうどう) (n) housework;

I suppose I could also say that I'm taking care of my chores first so that I can have fun later.

Still, if I say that, it sounds like I'm a kid and my parents have given me this assignment. It's not really true; I do particularly like having a clean apartment.

What I can't say is:
× I'm doing my house chores.

There are a few people who say that, but "housework" is SO much more common. Please use it instead.

OK. I've got to get busy doing the dishes. I want to cook something for dinner, but I can't until the sink is empty. Everybody enjoy the break!

Don't use "let's" if you are giving someone a suggestion.

I read stuff like this about an event:

• × Let's check it.

I know the author is trying to sound casual and cool while suggesting that I attend. It's just that the English is all wrong. What the author wants to say is:

• ○ Check it out!

"Let's" means "let us". That means the person you are talking to AND you. If you don't intend to do it together at the same time, don't use "let's".

Usually the true meaning is an imperative sentences. Most Japanese avoid imperative sentences in English because they rarely use them in Japanese. They never say 「それを見!」 They might say 「 御覧ください」or 「それを見って」with friends (any advice from you kind readers about the Japanese I've just written would be appreciated. Email me!).

In English, though, there's lots of ways that are direct but not impolite. You will hear people say:

• "Take a look!" or, more politely, "Please take a look."
  
• Look at that!

Depending on the tone of the speaker, they may be perfectly OK.

Compare these two:

• I know a nice restaurant in Ginza. Let's go when you have time. <- I want to eat with you.
• I know a nice restaurant in Ginza. Here's their card. Go check it out if you have time. <- We won't go together.

Don't hesitate to ask me if you have a question. <- imperative

Let's talk about this again if it's not clear to you. <- We'll discuss it together.

describe と explain の違いは何ですか？

Have you ever been asked to describe something or explain a situation? What is the difference between describe and explain? Well, let me see if I can explain it simply.

When you describe something you say or write what someone or something is like. See the following examples.

Can you describe your character? I'm shy and reserved.
It is not easy to describe Picasso's paintings.

I went to the space ALC site and found the following examples.
How can I describe it?
どう言って説明したらいいのかなあ.
It's not easy to describe my feelings.
私の感情［気持ち］を述べる［言い表す］のは簡単なことではありません.

When you explain something you give a good reason for your actions or make something clear or easy to understand. For example,

先生、What is the difference between 安全　and 安心? Can you explain it to me please?

Here are some sample sentences from the ALC website.
Can you explain?
説明してくれる？
Explain what's going on.
どういうことか説明してください

I hope I have explained the differences well enough.
See you in class!

It's not just Japanese who make spelling mistakes.

The dictionary suggests the spelling "azalea". This is the correct spelling. However, while I was looking for it, I found 1,170,000 cases of "azalia", 53,300 cases of "azelea", and 72,400 cases of "azelia". I wish English had more consistent spelling rules. I'm sure you do, too.

Is this the right Japanese?

躑躅 (つつじ) (n) azalea;

They're beautiful, aren't they?

More on remembering...

When I was writing the post on "remember" versus "recall", I was trying so hard to remember a song with the phrase "do you remember". Fortunately, one of today's students has a better memory than mine. She is listening to this song every day! It's Maurice White with Earth, Wind, and Fire. The song is called "September". It may not be September now, but this is still a great song:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfLEc09tTjI

A model who doesn't travel is in trouble. If your pronunciation is wrong, you might be in trouble, too.

Sometimes loan words (外来語) can cause problems with pronunciation. Because Japanese lacks sounds that exist in English, words like "model" and "travel" are hard to represent accurately.

As a result many people pronounce "travel" like "trah-vell", with the second syllable sounding like "well". However, the "-vel" part should sound like "vul", as in "vulture", "vuluminous", "vuluptuous". The first syllable should sound close to "trap" or "transport". The same goes for "model", which many pronounce like "mow-dell", with the second syllable sounding like the computer company Dell. Instead, it should be "mah-dull", with "mah" like "mop" and the second syllable being "dull", as in "not bright".

pronunciation: model, travel, trouble

pronunciation: model, travel, trouble
While we're talking about "travel", we should also mention "trouble". There are two common problems here. One is "b" versus "v". Remember, when you say the "b" sound, your lips should touch. With a "v" sound, your bottom lip should touch the bottom of your upper teeth. The second problem is the vowel sound in the first syllable. "Travel" has a short "a" sound, like "bat", "cap", or "dance". The vowel sound in the first syllable of "trouble" is "uh" like "truck", "bust", or "balloon".

Following this advice will help to keep you out of trouble when you travel.

豚インフルエンザ は英語で何と言うの？

豚インフルエンザ has many governments on red alert. Over 80 people have died in Mexico and scores of others in the U.S., New Zealand, France have fallen ill. Did you know that 豚インフルエンザ translated into English is the swine flu? Swine is used instead of pig, which is an interesting choice I thought because swine is an old-fashioned word describing the animal and not the first image (animal) that comes to mind when most native speakers hear this word.

Swine is often used to describe a person whom you consider to be extremely unpleasant and unkind.You filthy swine! Her ex-husband sounds like a real swine. This word has a very strong meaning and should be used only if you are absolutely furious.

You might have heard swine used in the expression to cast pearls before a swine.
It means to offer something valuable or good to someone who does not know its value.
(豚に真珠）

The singular and the plural form are spelled the same way. (1 swine, 2 swine)
See my earlier deer, sheep, fish blog entry for more examples.

What's the difference between "remember" and "recall"?

Today there were a lot of interesting questions, and this was one of them. There was some confusion about these two words in Japanese and their English translations. The definitions below are from Edict.

• 思い出す to recall; to remember; (P);
• 憶える (1) to remember; to recollect; to memorize; to memorise;

Sometimes these two words can be used with the same meaning.

• I can't recall what she said.
• I can't remember what she said.

Sometimes both of them can be used, but "remember" is much more common.

• Do you remember the good times we had? ("remember the good times", 956,000 cases in Google)
• Do you recall the good times we had? ("recall the good times", 11,200 cases in Google)

Maybe nobody told the rock band Journey, though. I had a laugh at this tune:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0wmiuat9CQ

In this case, I think the word "reminisce" is a good word to use.

• reminisce about the good old days
  昔の思い出話をする

There's a great rap track with this word, Pete Rock and CL Smooth with "They Reminisce Over You". The sax sample is great. This is widely considered one of the top 100 rap tracks of all time.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiOcVWQY2bc

Sometimes, though, you cannot use "recall" but can use "remember" when the meaning is "to memorize" or "to keep in memory".

• ○ Please remember this for the future.
• × Please recall this for the future.

Recall (with the stress on the first syllable) is sometimes a noun with a different meaning, which is to ask consumers to return a product because it is defective or unsafe.

• The company has issued a recall for the defective units for safety reasons.

I hope you'll remember this post when it comes time for you to choose between "remember" and "recall".