＊For grammar explanations, remember to try not to translate, but to understand the meaning and how it is formed. For this purpose I sometimes translate things literally and they sound awkward in English—please bear with me and stretch your mind :)
(Oh and the examples below aren't colored for a particular reason, they're just color coded to help distinguish them. And sorry if the fonts are a bit different sometimes ><; )
休憩（きゅうけい） break, rest
めちゃくちゃ（目茶苦茶） disorder, confusion, mess
表現（ひょうげん） expression
偶然（ぐうぜん） by chance, unexpectedly, suddenly
正しい（ただしい） correct
例えば（たとえば） for example
例（れい） example
大勢（おおぜい） many , crowd, great number of people
なるほど I see, indeed
知る（しる） to know
調べる（しらべる） to look up, to investigate
経済（けいざい） economics
～に関する（かんする） related to ~
負ける（まける） to lose
勝つ（かつ） to win
戻る（もどる） to return
甘い（あまい）sweet
健康（けんこう） health
に悪い（にわるい） bad for your health
訛る（なまる） to speak with an accent
訛り（なまり） accent
選ぶ（えらぶ） to choose
一緒（いっしょ） together
一生（いっしょう） for all of one’s life
単語２：
けど ⇒ けれど ⇒ けれども Same meaning, but formality increases going right.
全て ｖｓ。 全部 they're the same
漢字：
飛ぶ（とぶ）to fly ⇔ 跳ぶ（とぶ）to jump
止＋少＝歩く
文法：
１） When using など, always use a particle after it.
２） て form review. How do you conjugate a verb to て form? る verbs are formed by simply adding て to the verb stem. うverbs have aっ。 For example, 食べる ⇒ 食べます。 使う ⇒ 使って。
One way is the change the verb it to ます form and if it the last syllable is omitted, it’s a る verb; if the last syllable is conjugated, it’s an う verb.
３） ～てくる when translated can means came to be ～. But it is basically a normal v in て form, and 来る。
· 上手になってきた。 I came to be good (at something).
If you translate it literally, it follows normal て form structure; I became good, and I’m here/came to be here (and say this).
· いってくる。 Literally means [I’ll go and I’ll be back.] The expression「いってきます」 follows this pattern.
· Usually if you translate [my friend bought me ice cream] it would be アイスを買ってくれた。 This is fine if you were with you friend; however, if you were at home, saying this sentence would most likely mean your friend bought the ice cream for you but ate it personally. If you are at home and your friend went to the store to get you ice cream, we must use くる to show that distinction. 友達がアイスを買ってきてくれた。 It basically means [my friend bought me ice cream] but くる distinctly says the ice cream was bought (and brought) for you. It’s basic て form if you think about it: my friend bought the ice cream, came (to me) and gave it to me.
４）
～そう looks like イ形：おいしい ⇒ おいしそう ナ形：元気 ⇒ 元気そう 動詞：雨が降る ⇒ 雨が降りそう (verbs take the form of verb stem + そう)
過去形：忙しそうだった
(past tense v: だcopula conjugates tense) | ～そう I hear that イ形：おいしい ＝＞ おいしいそう ナ形：元気 ⇒ 元気だそう 動詞：雨が降る ⇒ 雨が降るそう (verbs remain in plain form past tense)
過去形：忙しかったそうだ
(past tense v: adj conjugates tense) |
みたい (see 3rd example below) | らしい it seems/I heard (based on second-hand knowledge) Heard it was good |
よう more formal version of みたい |
|
＊ adj 良い（いい）is special. Looks/seems good: いい ⇒ よさそう。
Heard it was good: いい ⇒ よいそうだ。（いいそう is ok, but よいそう sounds more natural）
Similarly negative forms of adj and verbs ～ない change to ～なさそう。 (Past tense conjugation above applies to negative past as well)
Here is a good explanation on the difference between the two grammar points in the second column:
1. Expressing hearsay or behavior using 「～らしい」
「らしい」 can be directly attached to nouns, adjectives, or verbs to show that things appear to be a certain way due to what you've heard. This is different from 「～そうだ」because 「～そうだ」 indicates something you heard about specifically while 「らしい」 means things seem to be a certain way based on some things you heard about the subject. 「らしい」 conjugates like a normal i-adjective.
（Ａ） 今日、田中さんはこないの？- Is Tanaka-san not coming today?
（Ｂ） こないらしい。- Seems like it (based on what I heard).
（Ａ） あの人は何なの？- What is that person over there?
（Ｂ） 美由紀さんの友達らしいですよ。- Seems to be Miyuki-san's friend (based on what I heard).
Another way to use 「らしい」 is to indicate that a person seems to be a certain thing due to his behavior.
（１） あの子は子供らしくない。- That child does not act like a child.
（２） 大人らしくするつもりだったのに、大騒ぎしてしまった。- Despite the fact that I planned to act like an adult, I ended up making a big ruckus.
2. Another example: the first sentence refers to そう in the first column.
For example, if you and a co-worker take your lunch break after being inside all day, you stepped outside to find the floor wet with puddles, you might say to him:
雨が降ったそうです。 It seems like it rained. (first-hand observation)
If however, you bring lunch from home and thus continue to stay inside, and Mr. Tanaka comes over, having just come back from lunch, tells you it rained, and Ms. Yamaguchi, who is as practical as you are and also brought her own lunch, later asks about the weather, you would be inclined to say to her:
雨が降ったらしいです。 It seems like it rained (second-hand knowledge).
3. Using 「みたい」 to say something looks like something else
Another way to express similarity which is considered more casual is by using 「みたい」. Do NOT confuse this with the 「たい」 conjugation of 「」.
Examples
（１） みたい。- Looks like it's sold out already.
（２） ををと、みたいです。- Looking at the uniform-wearing figure, (person) looks like a student.
The implied meaning here is the person wearing the uniform is not really a student because he/she only looks like a student. Again, we also can't say 「みたい」 to say that something looks tasty because it implies that, in actuality, the food might not be so good. Similarly, you would never say 「みたい」 to say that something looks cute.
Don't forget that 「みたい」 does not conjugate like the 「～たい」 form or i-adjectives.
（誤） はみたくない？- (みたい conjugates like a na-adjective.)
（３） はみたいじゃない？- Doesn't this pizza looks like okonomiyaki?
「みたい」 is really a grammar only used in conversation. Do not use it in essays, articles, anything that needs to sound authoritative. You can use 「」 instead in the following fashion.
（６） のだ。- It appears that it is sold-out already.
（７） はのに。- This pizza looks like okonomiyaki.
Basically よう is a more formal version of みたい。
MISCELLANEOUS:
なんか = [things like..., or something like that...]
なんて = [such as, (things) like; exclamation]
