Expert: Dreams - 2/18/2009

Question
I was wondering what the Japanese word for Universe is and what its origins in Japanese were. I have the origin for the English word universe however for my class I was told to try and find universe in other languages and i was having trouble with Japanese
I also am thinking about learning Japanese and wanted to know a good place to start.

Answer
Hello,

The word for "universe" is "uchuu" (oo-choo-oo). It's written 宇宙, which is a word comprised of two kanji (symbols borrowed from Chinese):

宇 means roof, eaves, heaven(s)
宙 means air, sky, space, time

So the word "uchuu" literally refers to the roof of the sky, or the heavens.

In Chinese, it is written the same and has the same meaning, but it is pronounced "yǔ zhòu" (yoo joh) - that is a very rough pronounciation, as you would need to use the proper tones, etc.

As for the Chinese origin, they are generally derivatives of pictograms. For example:

宇 is made up of 宀 (roof/crown) and 于 (in, at, on, go to).
宙 also contains 宀, and some dummy strokes.

If you're interested in learning Japanese, I would suggest starting by getting a grammar book (or studying online) to first get a feel for how the language works. Then, memorize the two sets of kana (hiragana and katakana) so you can read basic Japanese. From there, it's just a matter of continuing to learn/pratice grammar and vocabulary, and of course, tackling kanji bit by bit.

Good study habits are essential to learning the language, which sounds cheesy, but it's true. If you consistently set aside time to study and practice, you'll get better faster. Be sure you can find other people to connect with who know the language, either online or nearby. A penpal is always a good option. And most of all, remember to have fun with it. Because who wants to study something boring? Throw in some fun vocab every now and then, or work on translating a manga or something.

Some recommended resources (some of these you can stash away for later if you pursue the language):

"Teach Yourself Japanese" ~Helen Ballhatchet & Stefan Kaiser
"Kanji & Kana" ~Wolfgang Hadamitzky & Mark Spahn
A Random House Japanese-English dictionary (with roomaji & kana)
http://dict.regex.info/cgi-bin/j-e/dict
http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1B
http://www.kanachart.com
http://www.timwerx.net/home/index.htm
http://japanese.about.com
http://www.guidetojapanese.org
http://www.nihongoresources.com

And when you reach the intermediate/advanced level, http://www.alc.co.jp is invaluable. You can search either English or Japanese words/terms, and it will provide examples in both languages.

If you decide you like Asian languages, or are just insane like me, you can start to learn Chinese and Korean after getting a ground in Japanese. It's interesting how the grammar and written language overlap in all three.

Hope that helps,
Dreams