Itadakimasu

Before eating, Japanese people say "Itadakimasu". "Itadaku" means "receive", a kind of polite form of it used to lower your own position and raise someone else's. "Itadakimasu" basically means "I will receive." But it is used to generally convey a sense of gratitude for the food. Often it is directed at the person who made the food, you might say it to them when they give you food similar to a situation where it might be appropriate to say "thank you" in English, or say it in the host and cook's direction at a table particularly if you are a guest at their house, however it is not said specifically to them and the person who cooked also says it. It is also said if nobody at the table made the food, like if you are eating at a restaurant or the food is purchased. Sometimes a prayer position of the hands is formed and whether or not this is done it can be assumed that Gods are addressed. However the focus is on the eater's sense of gratitude rather than on specifically who is thanked. A student told me, however that in the past the prayer was actually directed primarily towards the food itself to thank it for giving up its life.

At the end of the meal, the eater says "Gochisosama deshita"

connotations of words

Even a simple word like "cat", "bread", or "house" had different connotations in different languages.

For me, "bread" in English makes me think of slices of a large, wheaty loaf. "Pan", the Japanese word for it, taken from the French, makes me think of small, individual sweet breads with glazed surfaces.

"cat" makes me think of a slinky, striped, coy animal with big ears and a swishing tail. "neko" is round and smaller and sedate, and is probably curled up in a ball asleep, and probably white with black or brown splotches.

"house" is a solid structure, safe and familiar, a garden and plants of some kind are also visible, and the inside tends to be roomy, and there are many things about it that are old but comforting. "uchi" calls to mind mainly or maybe only the inside of the house, a strong sense of family and people being present with you, a dark but cosy space, and a sense of being the core- of family, or your lifestyle, maybe of you. A lot of young kids say the word "uchi" to mean, "I", instead of "watashi" (the real word for "I").

"eat" makes me focus on the food that is about to be consumed. "taberu" makes me think of the act of putting something in one's mouth, chewing and swallowing.

Japanese Language

I've been an English teacher for more than two years, and am also studying Japanese. My own level is pretty high, I can speak without problems, and now I'm mainly trying to learn how to read kanji, and learn more difficult words such as those in news broadcasts. Here, I'd like to introduce some Japanese language to you in a way that even people who have never spoken Japanese before can understand.

I've been an English teacher for two years and am currently studying and trying to improve my Japanese. I've decided to start a blog giving tips and language instuctions to other people learning Japanese. My own level is quite high- I can speak Japanese, I am mainly only trying to learn to read now, and increase my ability to understand difficult topics such as the news. Here, I'll present the Japanese in this blog in a way that everyone can understand even if you haven't studied it before.