App Shopper: Japanese 101: Giongo and Gitaigo (Education)

App Activity

Aug 26 '09	Version 1.1
Aug 12 '09	New App: $2.99, v1.0

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Japanese 101: Giongo and Gitaigo

iOS iPhone

Japanese 101: Giongo and Gitaigo

With this application even beginners completely new to Japanese can learn the expressive Japanese giongo and gitaigo phrases that are often used in Japanese conversation and in Manga and Anime.

Japanese 101: Giongo and Gitaigo includes 50 common phrases and expressions, including the Japanese text, romaji (Japanese written using English characters), English translation for each, and notes that give additional background on the phrases. A native Japanese voice actress speaks each phrase, and a representative image accompanies each phrase to aid in the learning process. More phrases will be added in future updates!

Giongo and gitaigo are essential and fun parts of the Japanese language. Basically giongo are Japanese words that mimic sounds. In English we have words like, "bang" and "pow" which are called onomatopoeia, and similarly Japanese has giongo. Some common giongo include "baan" and "dokan" which both describe loud sounds like explosions. Gitaigo are words that are often based on sounds and describe a state. In English these words are called mimetic words. For example, in Japanese “gyuu gyuu” is a gitaigo that describes the situation in which something is squished and packed in tight, like people in a rush hour Tokyo commuter train.

Giongo and gitaigo permeate the Japanese language, and the language wouldn’t be the same without them. Master as many as you can to really bring your Japanese to life!

You can study these giongo and gitaigo phrases in two different ways with this application.

1) Study Pages: See a list of the phrases and expressions on one convenient, scrollable page organized by category. You can drill down to see a phrase and an image that will help you visualize the meaning. You can touch to hear the vocabulary item and example sentence spoken by a native Japanese voice actress at native speed. Each page also includes cultural notes that give you a bit more background behind the phrases.

2) Quiz Mode: Select one or more categories and random multiple-choice questions will be generated from those categories. Test your knowledge in a fun and interactive way. After the quiz you can review the phrases you missed.

Those familiar with other Japanese 101 series iPhone applications such as “Japanese 101: Kansai-ben”, and “Japanese 101: Japanese Idioms" will know that this is yet another application that beginners and advanced learners alike will enjoy.

Feel free to “doki doki suru” as you wait for your application download to complete!

Looking forward to your feedback!

Note: The main functionality of this application is available even when your iPhone or iPod Touch is offline. The only Internet dependent feature is access to the “Omise,” a place where you can purchase other Japanese 101 applications.