Bonjour !

[lyan]

Hello everyone,


I apologize for my English, which is not very good, as it is not my native language. I am over 40 years old and developed an interest in Japanese culture relatively late. I admire certain aspects of it, especially when I draw parallels with my own culture.


I happened to come across this forum by chance while searching with the keywords "Japan forum" on Google.fr (5 results).


I will probably have many questions, which I will ask in the appropriate forums.

Merci à vous !

 

[Buntaro]

Hi Iyan and welcome to the forum.

Do you want to learn Japanese?

 

[lyan]

Yes The language, the culture—I'm a big fan of singing! So I love the sounds that make up this language

 

[Buntaro]

Iyan,

Unfortunately, the Japanese writing system is very very difficult. I know you probably want to learn simple Japanese phrases like "Hello," "How are you?" etc., but you should learn the basic Japanese writing system first. Are you ready to try?

 

[lyan]

Why not? I love setting goals for myself over time, it's never too late to learn.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

Welcome lyan ! Glad you found us. Members here are super helpful , although sometimes it takes a day or two to get an answer. There are tons of information here to look at and enjoy. There are special sections and threads to help learn the language you may like. You will notice the posts have dates on them so you can tell the real old ones from the new.

 

[mdchachi]

Welcome to the forum.

I noticed on my last trip to Japan that カヌレ (cannelle) seems to be somewhat popular, even offered in a train station coffee shop. How common/popular are they in France?

 

[lyan]

Welcome lyan ! Glad you found us. Members here are super helpful , although sometimes it takes a day or two to get an answer. There are tons of information here to look at and enjoy. There are special sections and threads to help learn the language you may like. You will notice the posts have dates on them so you can tell the real old ones from the new.

Thank you very much for the introduction!

 

[lyan]

Welcome to the forum.

I noticed on my last trip to Japan that カヌレ (cannelle) seems to be somewhat popular, even offered in a train station coffee shop. How common/popular are they in France?

Actually, canelés originate from the city of Bordeaux. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordeaux Sometimes, you can find them in places with a high flow of tourists, such as airports. In recent years, they have also become more common in bakeries, which wasn't the case 15 years ago. They are quite popular, but not as much as "pain au chocolat"—or "chocolatine" if you live in the south. Every region has its own unique recipes.

 

[mdchachi]

Actually, canelés originate from the city of Bordeaux. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordeaux Sometimes, you can find them in places with a high flow of tourists, such as airports. In recent years, they have also become more common in bakeries, which wasn't the case 15 years ago. They are quite popular, but not as much as "pain au chocolat"—or "chocolatine" if you live in the south. Every region has its own unique recipes.

Sometimes Japan will adopt something such as this and make it more popular than in the home country. For example, "tree cake" baum kuchen from Germany is very difficult to find in Germany these days but it's everywhere in Japan including every convenience store.

 

[lyan]

Yes, I've heard about that, but to make it, you need a rotating spit. Here's a tree cake that I'm going to try soon : Chocolate Tree Tart.
Is the Japanese version vanilla-flavored? Matcha, I suppose? Chocolate? Given the ingredients, maybe honey?

 

[mdchachi]

Yes, I've heard about that, but to make it, you need a rotating spit. Here's a tree cake that I'm going to try soon : Chocolate Tree Tart.
Is the Japanese version vanilla-flavored? Matcha, I suppose? Chocolate? Given the ingredients, maybe honey?

They have a variety of flavors in Japan including matcha and chocolate. Even strawberry. I guess the typical one is yellow batter but I don't know if it's honey or vanilla or neither.

 

[Buntaro]

Iyan,

I am glad to hear you are interested in learning about the Japanese writing system.

Here is a thread with a number of videos on the Japanese writing system. Please watch the first couple of videos and tell us what you think. (Click on the words in italics.) And if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. There are several people on this forum who would love to answer your questions.

Thread 'Japanese writing system for beginners'

20 May 2023

There are many people who would like to learn Japanese but don't know where to begin. I know they would like to start by learning simple phrases such as "Hello," "How are you?", "It's a nice day, isn't it?", "What is your name", etc., but I want everyone to put aside the learning of such phrases for now, and instead begin by learning the basic Japanese writing system.

Here is a YouTube video which gives a general overview of the Japanese language. Please watch this video, then feel free to post any observations and questions you have in a post below.

• Buntaro
• japanese
• Replies: 93
• Forum: Learning Japanese

• 
• 

 

[thomas]

Salut @lyan et Bienvenu! [I'm currently brushing up my French with Duolingo ]

Nice to have you on board!

There are a lot of French loanwords that made it into the Japanese language. I like ランデブー (rendez-vous) or ズボン for "jupon" (referring to trousers, not petticoats). There's a list of French terms here.

It is most interesting that in Japanese, a hair clipper (tondeuse) is called バリカン (barikan):

As hair clippers became widely used, the term "バリカン" also spread, though its origin remained unclear for a long time. However, while compiling the Japanese Dictionary of Loanwords at Sanseidō Bookstore, linguist Kyōsuke Kindaichi discovered its origins. Through his research, he found that the second-generation owner of the barber shop Kitatoko, located in front of the main gate of Tokyo Imperial University, Keiki Funakoshi, had identified an engraving on the clippers' blades. The engraving bore the name of the French company Bariquand et Marre, a firm co-founded by Jules Bariquand and Charles Marre. It was confirmed that the company's name had gradually become the general term for hair clippers in Japan. Originally, "バリカン" explicitly referred to barbering tools, but over time, it has also come to denote general cutting devices, such as "芝生バリカン" (grass clippers) used for trimming lawns.

 

[lyan]

Iyan,

I am glad to hear you are interested in learning about the Japanese writing system.

Here is a thread with a number of videos on the Japanese writing system. Please watch the first couple of videos and tell us what you think. (Click on the words in italics.) And if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. There are several people on this forum who would love to answer your questions.

Thread 'Japanese writing system for beginners'

20 May 2023

There are many people who would like to learn Japanese but don't know where to begin. I know they would like to start by learning simple phrases such as "Hello," "How are you?", "It's a nice day, isn't it?", "What is your name", etc., but I want everyone to put aside the learning of such phrases for now, and instead begin by learning the basic Japanese writing system.

Here is a YouTube video which gives a general overview of the Japanese language. Please watch this video, then feel free to post any observations and questions you have in a post below.

• Buntaro
• japanese
• Replies: 93
• Forum: Learning Japanese

• 
• 

Thank you very much, Buntaro! I'll take the time to look at this with a clear mind once I've finished my work.