Hey everyone, first off I'd like to apologize about last month. I was busy back in Canada and then when I returned to Japan I had to go renew my visa and go on a business trip to Hiroshima~! Yup, I have been TOO busy these days and I am looking forward to my weekend so that I can relax.
Today, I will talk about homonyms. They are words that have the same pronunciation but a different meaning.
Sometimes, they have the SAME SPELLING:
a tick - a small insect that lives in tall grass
a tick - a metallic tapping or clicking sound, like a clock "tick tock"
Sometimes, they have DIFFERENT SPELLINGS:
sweet - 1. the opposite of sour, in Japanese 甘い
suite - in Japanese, スイートルーム
Homonyms are really interesting but a little difficult. You need to know which word someone means by looking at the context. If someone says "This cookie is sweet" they are probably not talking about a room!
When you are reading in English, it is a little easier because the spelling is often different. Japanese also has homonyms but you usually use the same spelling in hiragana but different kanji~! For example, 薄い thin, and 雨水, rain water can both be pronounced as うすい.
The homonym I have taught the most is: there, their and they're. These three words have the exact SAME PRONUNCIATION but different meanings.
there - is indicative, it indicates a place
He's standing over there by the fountain.
their - is possessive, like his or her
Did you like their new apartment?
they're - is a contraction of they are
They're about to start the show!
When speaking you will pronounce these words in the same way but please be careful when writing in English not to mix up the spelling~! This is a common mistake many University students in Canada make ^_-
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