What's new

TYJ Plants in Japanese

This article is in the series Teach Yourself Japanese

8.9. Plants

8.9.1. Flowers

I have already explained chrysanthemum and cherry blossom.

つつじ
tu tu zi
Japanese azalea

ひまわり
hi ma wa ri
sunflower

ゆり
yu ri
lily

らん
ra n
orchid

たんぽぽ
ta n po po
dandelion

ばら
ba ra
rose

あじさい
a zi sa i
hydrangea

はす
ha su
lotus

8.9.2. Trees

まつ
ma tu
pine

すぎ
su gi
cedar

いちょう
i chô
ginkgo

もみじ
mo mi zi
a kind of maple

かえで
ka e de
maple

ひのき
hi no ki
Japanese cypress

8.9.3. Foods

I have already introduced apples, oranges, peaches, plums, and tomatoes.

ぶどう
bu dô
grape

かき
ka ki
persimmon

Note: This word has different tones from the word oyster.

なし
na si
Japanese pear

Note: Japanese pears are quite different from Western pears. They look like apples, and they are much juicier than Western pears. You should peel it before you eat because the peel is not tasty.

さくらんぼ
sa ku ra n bo
cherry

すいか
su i ka
watermelon

メロン
me ro n
melon

Note: Watermelons and melons are different in Japanese, and watermelons are never called メロン.

いちご
i ti go
strawberry

バナナ
ba na na
banana

くり
ku ri
chestnut

きゅうり
kyû ri
cucumber

だいこん
da i ko n
Japanese long reddish

にんじん
ni n zi n
carrot

ごぼう
go bô
Japanese burdock

キャベツ
kya be tu
cabbage

ほうれんそう
re n sô
spinach

かぼちゃ
ka bo tya
squash, pumpkin

ちゃがいも
zya ga i mo
potato

The word いも "imo" generally means potatoes including sweet potatoes and yams.

さつまいも
sa tu ma i mo
sweet potato

しいたけ
ta ke
a kind of mushroom

しめじ
si me zi
a kind of mushroom

まつたけ
ma tu ta ke
a kind of mushroom

Note: All of these three are kinds of きのこ H'LL "kinoko" (mushroom).

こんぶ
ko n bu
a kind of sea vegetable

わかめ
wa ka me
a kind of sea vegetable

のり
no ri
a kind of sea vegetable

Note: Dried mashed nori is used for sushi to roll rice.
Next article in the series 'Teach Yourself Japanese': Dialogue 1
Previous article in the series 'Teach Yourself Japanese': Invertebrates in Japanese
  • Like
Reactions: Kseniya
About author
Takasugi
My name is TAKASUGI Shinji. TAKASUGI is my family name, and Shinji is my given name; a family name is placed before a given name in Japan, as in other Asian nations. My family name is capitalized to avoid misunderstanding.

I have been living in Yokohama since I was born. Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan, which is just 30 kilometers away from the biggest city Tôkyô. It takes 30 minutes to go by train from home to Shibuya, which is the hottest town now in Tôkyô.

I work as a display engineer.

One of my hobbies is creating things with computers; creating programs, computer graphics and web pages is the thing I spent a lot of time doing. I am also interested in a wide range of sciences, and linguistics is my favorite. I like English and I like using it, but my focus is mainly on Japanese, which is my native language. I'm proud of knowing the language, and the difference between English and Japanese has been fascinating me. I have been thinking whether I can introduce it to people outside of Japan. My attempt of introducing Japanese with some Java applets has had more than 1 million visitors.

Comments

Article information

Author
Takasugi
Article read time
2 min read
Views
7,239
Comments
2
Last update

More in Language

More from Takasugi

Back
Top Bottom