Hamtastic Japanese Lesson of The Day

[Zenshii]

In today's Hamtastic Japanese lesson, we will learn how to say "hamster" in Japanese!



Japanese has 3 writing systems: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.

Japanese borrows the word "hamster" from English, but they change it up to match their language's sound system. In Japanese, "foreign" words are converted into Japanese pronunciation, and are almost always written in the writing system called Katakana.

Hamster in Japanese is written in Katakana like this:
ハムスター (hamusuta)

This is pronounced: Hah-mu-stah

Let's break this down.

ハ = ha
ム = mu
ス = su
タ = ta

This line: "ー" does not make a sound on its own, but it drags out the sound of the previous character. So, in this case ター makes the sound "taah" instead of just a short "ta."

Also, the u (pronounced "oo") in the ス (su) is almost silent. Making "hamustah" instead of ha-mu-SU-ta.

Stay tuned for more hamster-themed Japanese lessons! またね! (Bye!)

 

[Zara]

Really enjoyed this, such an interesting language, thanks for sharing, look forward to the next one

 

[Maz]

So did I. It's fascinating, thank you Zenshii, and very clearly explained.

 

[Zenshii]

Zara - Thank you so much! I'm passionate about learning Japanese, so that means a lot to me! I'm so glad you enjoyed this!

Maz - No, thank you Maz! I'm really happy you liked this! I tried to explain the best that I could!

 

[Frida]

In today's Hamtastic Japanese lesson, we will learn how to say "hamster" in Japanese!

View attachment 2725

Japanese has 3 writing systems: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.

Japanese borrows the word "hamster" from English, but they change it up to match their language's sound system. In Japanese, "foreign" words are converted into Japanese pronunciation, and are almost always written in the writing system called Katakana.

Hamster in Japanese is written in Katakana like this:
ハムスター (hamusuta)

This is pronounced: Hah-mu-stah

Let's break this down.

ハ = ha
ム = mu
ス = su
タ = ta

This line: "ー" does not make a sound on its own, but it drags out the sound of the previous character. So, in this case ター makes the sound "taah" instead of just a short "ta."

Also, the u (pronounced "oo") in the ス (su) is almost silent. Making "hamustah" instead of ha-mu-SU-ta.

Stay tuned for more hamster-themed Japanese lessons! またね! (Bye!)

I love this Thank you for sharing

 

[Member ID2]

Same here. What a great idea for a thread.

Btw, the word 'hamster' is of German origin i believe and still used as an expression in a context not relating to our pet rodent.

For example i heard my mother say (in German): Oh, Gretl's daughter is visiting. I bet she's here to hamster.
Meaning that Gretl's daughter visits to get things she wants off her mother to take with her.
The German meaning of hamster is to hoard.

I hope you don't mind this little one off diversion into another language.

Japanese is much more interesting so i'm looking forward to more Japanese hamster lessons.

 

[RainbowBrite]

That was such a lovely lesson and I love the cute picture of the hamster along side it.