バクチク (爆竹)

wow. ohmygod. such an easy word. i feel like i have been waiting a long time just for this word. "firecracker" i saw it written like: バクチク花火 (litterally: 'firecracker fireworks') This is easy to remember if you think about the Japanese rock-industrial band 'buck-tick' ... i wonder if thats why they have that name?

たみ (民)

I saw this word in a train advertisement. It means a "nation" or a 'people' it was in the context 「民のチカラ」 which i guess translates to "the power of the people" if im not misunderstanding.

チンケ

Dont know how common this word is but heard it on TV. Means "uncool" or like poor and boring.

おす ／ めす (雄／雌)

From a NHK tv show about animals (from a section about frogs) this pair of words means "male／female" respectivly, only when animals.

コンクール

Dang. Sometimes Japanese words are from other languages besides english but since its foreign, japanese people expect learners to know it. This is apparently from french (concours) and simply means "contest"! was used in a school contest sense when i learned it.

カモメ (鴎)

From TV, no one could read this kanji (so not so common?) but everyone knew the word which is "seagull"!

チャラい
Heard this on TV, a guy describing a girl who didnt like to be labeled this way. means like "flashy" or gaudy maybe with conentations? when she freaked out he said he couldnt understand her チャラ語... hmm, interesting.

lunch time! big thick soba noodles (about 200yen) which were nice and not too gummy. Had this with same boneless chicken (250yen) that was dry in a good but with really salty skin. And a fried mashed-potato patty (100yen) ... a good lunch on a humid summer day.

I find myself in the odd situation of knowing some flower names in japanese but not remembering or never knowing them in English. Why? you might ask. Because they are all around me, something thats a daytoday experience and some plants werent in my part of america. Not so with the above plant. My mom had some in her garden (though i do seem to remember them blooming later than now?) but i couldnt remember their english name. their japanese is あじさい (i didnt know the kanji which is apparently 紫陽花) so i looked it up and it felt right. so "hydrangea" is here so i remember this flowers name.

ためいき (溜め息)

Another word from the current book I'm reading. Feels like i've been waiting to learn this one. It means "sigh"! coolness

かじつ (果実)

This word means "fruit" and i saw it in an tropicana poster that read: 果実は、野菜(やさい)でもっとおいしくなる。Now you might be wondering how i servived so long with out the word for fruit. Well, i had one. I knew 果物 (くだもの) which is a perfect one to know cus it only means fruit. The new word means fruit, nuts or berries, a whole range of things.