Derek Moore

Also, an interesting fact the phonetic kanji for Ireland uses 愛 as one of it's characters. The second character 蘭 (らん Ran) means 'Orchid'.

Hope you enjoyed this little kanji deep dive and Happy Valentine's Day! ❤️

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#japanese
#kanji
#日本語
#kanjistudy
#バレンタイン

Some examples of 愛:
博愛 - はくあい (Hakuai)
Philanthropy

友愛 - ゆうあい (Yuuai)
Friendship

Examples of 恋:
初恋 - はつこい (Hatsu-koi)
First Love / Crush

恋人 - こいびと (Koibito)
Lover / Sweetheart

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恋 (こい Koi) on the other hand is more in line with what we might think of 'Valentines Day' love. This more refers to attraction and affection. When combined with 愛 to make 恋愛 (れんあい Renai), it means romance. It's often used to refer to people and things one loves or cares for.

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愛 (あい Ai) is up first. This is the general word for love that you'll find in the dictionary but it has a deeper nuance. Rather than just romantic or physical, this character refers to love as a whole. And in many of the kanji compounds it is in, refers to a more humanitarian or overall love.

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Given this week's kanji topic was 'Love' and 'Valentines' I thought I would talk about the differences between the two kanji often translated as 'love'.

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We hope you enjoyed this week's kanji and we look forward to seeing you next week!!

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#valentinesday #バレンタイン
#japaneseculture
#ポケットモンスター
#日本文化
#ポケットモンスター
#raichu #ライチュウ
#bewear #キテルグマ
#mew #ミュウ
#rowlet #モクロー

Cute pink background with heart and teddy bears. Central heart with "Stuffed Animal" in English and Japanese ("縫いぐるみ" and "ぬいぐるみ"). Sitting plushie is Bewear

Finally, Theodore picked 縫いぐるみ (ぬいぐるみ Nuigurumi), pronounced Nuu-ee-goo-roo-mee. This refers to any plushie/teddy bear (no wonder Theodore picked this one). Teddy bears are common (and better 🐻 ❤️) but often popular characters will have special Valentine's plushies you can gift your crush 🧸

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Cute pink background with heart and teddy bears. Central heart with "Flower" in English and Japanese ("花" and "はな"). Sitting plushie is Mew

Freya chose 花 (はな Hana), pronounced Hah-nah. A common gift for Valentine's Day, this kanji means "flower". Tulips and roses (especially pink) are very popular choices in Japan. Lilies have also risen in popularity 🌹

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Cute pink background with heart and teddy bears. Central heart with "Love Confession" in English and Japanese ("告白" and "こくはく"). Sitting plushie is Rowlet

Next is Orion, 告白 (こくはく Kokuhaku), pronounced Koh-koo-hah-koo. This means "confession" but in this context is a confession of love. It was a tradition that boys would give the top button of their school jacket to their crush as a token of their affections 🔘

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Cute pink background with heart and teddy bears. Central heart with "Love" in English and Japanese ("愛" and "あい"). Sitting plushie is Alolan Raichu

Flapjack chose the most iconic word of the day, 愛 (あい Ai), pronounced like "Eye". This is the word for "love". This character is also very popular in girls name, as a hope they'll grow up full of love 💕

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Cute Pokémon plush toys arranged against a pink background with cartoon bears and hearts. Text reads: "Pokémon Kanji Corner!!!"

Welcome back to the Pokémon Kanji Corner!! This week our hosts, Flapjack (Alolan Raichu), Orion (Rowlet), Freya (Mew), Theodore (Bewear) are turning romantic to teach us some Valentine's kanji ❤️

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I hope this was a bit interesting. I might post a bit more like this if people like it 💜

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#japaneseculture
#日本文化 #niseko
#ニセコ #青森県

Takayama Inari Jinja in Tsugaru City is dedicated to Inari Ōkami, like Fushimi Inari in Kyoto with a long line of torī leading up the main shrine.
I've visited Fushimi Inari, but Takayama Inari felt different. Maybe because when I went, we saw a fox (considered the messenger of Inari). 🦊

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Kaributo Jinja (1896), Niseko Town is unassuming, but has a very interesting history. It bears the original name of the town ,"Kaributo". I always found it quiet place to reflect while I lived in Niseko. My friends and I did Hatsumoude (in the snow) there as well

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Given how the Poké-gang introduced kanji related to Shinto Shrines, I thought I would introducemy favourites. I'm biased as both are in Northern Japan, with the first being the local shrine where I lived. But these two left a strong impression on me 🙂‍↕️

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Hopefully you enjoyed this week's selection. If you have any suggestions we'd love to hear them!! See you next week.

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#ポケットモンスター
#raichu #ライチュウ
#mimikyu #ミミキュ
#mew #ミュウ
#gardevoir
#サーナイト
#日本語 #神社
#japanese #日本文化
#ポケットモンスター

Finally, Gealaí chose お守り (お守り Omamori), pronounced oh-mah-moh-ree, small charms you can buy at Shrines that offer a little bit of luck in different areas of your life. Different shrines offer different types of protection. My go to when I was studying abroad specialised in final exams 📝

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Flapjack decided on 祈り (いのり Inori), pronounced ee-noh-ree. This means prayer and comes from the verb 祈る (Inoru). The correct way to pray at a shrine is to (after purification), offer a coin, ring the big bell, bow twice, clap twice, pray, then bow once more 🙇‍♂️

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Púca's choice is the first thing you'll see in a shrine, the 鳥居 (とりい Torii), pronounced toh-ree. This is the big red gate outside the shrine. Normally made of wood, in Hokkaido you'll often see metal gates? Also, you shouldn't enter down the middle, as this is for the gods/spirits ⛩️

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First up is Freya, with 神社 (じんじゃ Jinjya), pronounced Jin-jah. This refers to a shrine, more specially a Shinto Shrine. Not to be confused with 寺 (てら Tera) which are Buddhist Temples. They are often in honour of local dirties or natural phenomena 🪨 🌲

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Welcome back to another Pokémon Kanji Corner!!! This week our hosts Freya (Mew), Púca (Mimikyu), Flapjack (Alolan Raichu), and Gealaí (Gardevoir) will introduce some kanji to do with Shrines ⛩️

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Hopefully you enjoyed this week's kanji. Come back next week and we'll introduce some fun kanji to do with onsens 🛀

#japanese #日本語
#和食 #japansefood
#ポケットモンスター
#raichu #ライチュウ
#jolteon #サンダーズ
#gardevoir
#サーナイト
#nerd #geek
#bear #gaynerd

Finally for this week is Waffle with 肉饅 (にくまん Nikuman), pronounced knee-koo mah-n. These are steamed buns, like bao, with a savory meaty center. You can find them all over Japan, even in convenience stores. They're a great way of keeping your hands warm 🧤

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Next is Sparky with 肉じゃが (にくしゃが Nikujaga), pronounced knee-koo jah-gah. Niku means meat, and jaga, potatoes. So you can guess the main ingredients in this classic stew. It was apparently brought to Japan by the British during the Meiji era 🍲

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Next is Flapjack with 焼き餅 (やきもち Yaki-Mochi), pronounced Yah-key Moh-chee. This is a desert where hard tablets of mochi are held over a grill until they get nice and gooey. Then they're served with a sweet bean paste sauce. Be careful though, they're hot 🔥

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To start us off is Gealaí with 蜜柑 (みかん Mikan), pronounced Me-kahn. In English these are often referred to as satsumas or mandarin oranges. They're easy to peel and are popular new year's decorations. People even add them to bath and onsen water for their scent and the boost of vitamin C 🛁

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Welcome back to another Pokémon Kanji Corner!!
This week, Gealaí (Gardevoir), Flapjack (Alolan Raichu), Sparky (Jolteon), and Waffle (Kantonian Raichu) are out hosts. Our theme is winter foods.

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Indiana Jones basing his entire style off the adult man whose schemes he failed to foil as a young teen is a bisexual ass origin story

皆様、明けましておめでとうございます!今年も宜しくお願い致します。本年もより良い年でありますよう心からお祈り申し上げます。

Wishing everyone a very happy New year. Thank you all for your support this past year and I hope 2026 will be an even better year for us all.

#newyear #お正月
#あけおめ #明けましておめでとうございます
#2026

Thank you everyone who stuck with us through this year. We hope you all have a lovely New Year's, be it with champagne or mochi. And we look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

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#japanesestudy #お正月#newyear #pokemon
#ポケットモンスター
#raichu #ライチュウ
#rowlet #モクロー
#gardevoir #サーナイト