i-ro-ha #3 "ha!"

Ha!

This letter is normally pronounced "ha" but when it is used as a "topic marker particle" it is pronounced "wa".

 

words that start with “ha” (は):

 

ha = a leaf (also happa is leaf), leaves

ha= a tooth, teeth

(this is a restaurant in Kobe)

hahaha = the sound of laughter ;-)

hai = yes

haru = spring

haha = the sound of laughter? 

Well, actually “haha” means “mother”…

 

For me, the words “laughter” and “mother”, are kind of the same thing.

 

My father passed away when I was a toddler.  So my mother brought me up on her own….in a country that was not her homeland.  She spoke English like her life depended on it, and well, I suppose it did. 

 

Despite the grief she held inside her after my father passed away, she is the person who taught me to laugh.  There wasn’t a week that I didn’t get scolded but there wasn’t a day that we didn’t laugh out loud.  (All my personal “Joy Luck Club-ish” memories can go into another post…)

More words that start with “ha” are:

 

hashi = chopsticks

hashi = bridge

hashi =edge

 

If we didn’t use Kanji, it could be hard to figure out what the above sentence means.

But with Kanji....

Pretty chopsticks.

♦

A pretty bridge.

♦

A pretty edge.

I know this picture does not make a whole lot of sense, but that is the point...after all you COULD be talking about the edge of your seat!

There are many other words like "hashi" that seem to be the same but are very different.

They will continue to pop up in upcoming editions of the "i-ro-ha" series.

(hasami = scicors)

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Since I received a wonderful question from a fabulous bloggy friend about how Japanese is written...here is an example of a short paragraph.  This first one is written in only the Hiragana characters (I keep calling them letters).  

(Hiragana are the letters that I am featuring on this "i-ro-ha" series.)

(watashinonamaewatarusadesu.nihonnokotowoburogudeshoukaishiteimasu.

kyouwa,hiraganano"ha"dehajimarumonowoshoukaishiteimasu.nihonnituiteshitumongaareba

komentowonokoshitekudasaine.)  

Yikes!  Of course it is still readable but VERY confusing...

Since Japanese is written stuck together (except for the occasional commas and periods), the above paragraph is hard to read because there is no break.  So, let's change some of these words into Kanji characters and Katakana letters, which will help divide the words.

(Katakana letters are used for words that are of foreign origin or for onomatopoeia. )

Now we know that this means: My name is Tulsa.  I am introducing Japan on my blog.

Today, I am introducing words that start with "ha".  If you have any questions about Japan, please leave a comment.

(Sorry the blue didn't turn out so well in the above paragraph...but "Tulsa" is a foreign name, so it is in katakana and "comment" is also a foreign word used in Japanese now, so also gets written in katakana.)

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Pictures of "hashi-oki".

Hashi-oki are chopstick rests.  Most people have them but not everybody uses them everyday.

Always use when you are having guests at the table!  The one that has chopsticks resting on it has a hidden compartment in it for a toothpick!  I bought this in Hokaido a few years ago.

And of course when I found elephant ones, how cold I resist!?

Now, it is time for me to rest....