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Japanese Versatility List

Seasonal outings

Collocations, Stage 4chunk 23 of 25Hobbies, sport & games

The two big outings of the Japanese year: cherry-blossom viewing in spring, and the first shrine visit at New Year, where you draw a fortune slip.

Mix-ups In speech hanami is nearly always ohanami. omikuji o hiku uses hiku 'pull, draw', as in kuji o hiku (draw lots), not toru. It sounds the same as piano o hiku but is a different verb.

ohanami ni iku

polite ohanami ni ikimasuheard rarely

go cherry-blossom viewing

お花見に行く おはなみにいく お花見に行きます

verbiku 行くgo (hanami = hana 'flowers' + mi 'viewing', here with polite o-)

The spring outing everyone talks about: ohanami ikou, ohanami itta? Casual speech drops ni. It is mostly a picnic under the cherry trees with food and drinks, not just looking. Plain hanami is heard mostly in compounds like hanami kyaku (blossom-viewing crowds).

casual

raishuu, minna de ohanami ikou yo.

Let's all go see the cherry blossoms next week.

来週、みんなでお花見行こうよ。

polite

raishuu, minna de ohanami ni ikimashou.

Let's all go cherry-blossom viewing next week.

来週、みんなでお花見に行きましょう。

The blossoms coming out is sakura ga saku, and full bloom is mankai.

Same verb: omatsuri (festival), hanabi taikai (fireworks show), momijigari (autumn-leaf viewing)Learn alongside: kaimono ni iku, asobi ni iku, eiga ni iku, sanpo ni iku, karaoke ni iku, tsuri ni iku, kyanpu ni ikuMain list: -ni iku / -ni kuru (Stage 4), -ou / -you (Stage 4)

hatsumoude ni iku

polite hatsumoude ni ikimasuheard rarely

make the year's first shrine visit

初詣に行く はつもうでにいく 初詣に行きます

verbiku 行くgo (hatsumoude = hatsu 'first' + moude 'visit to a shrine')

trap 'Visit' pulls toward houmon suru, which is a formal call on a person or company. Visiting a shrine is just going: hatsumoude ni iku, or on other days jinja ni omairi ni iku. hatsumoude suru (hatsumoude shita?) is also fine.

Asked by everyone in early January: hatsumoude itta? It means the year's first visit to a shrine or temple, usually in the first few days of the year. Casual speech drops ni.

casual

hatsumoude, mou itta?

Been to the shrine for New Year yet?

初詣、もう行った？

polite

hatsumoude ni wa mou ikimashita ka?

Have you made your New Year shrine visit yet?

初詣にはもう行きましたか？

At the shrine most people also draw a fortune: omikuji o hiku.

Same verb: omairi (shrine or temple visit), ohakamairi (family grave visit)Learn alongside: omikuji o hikuMain list: mou (Stage 1), -ni iku / -ni kuru (Stage 4)

omikuji o hiku

polite omikuji o hikimasuheard rarely

draw a fortune slip

おみくじを引く おみくじをひく おみくじを引きます

verbhiku 引くpull; also draw lots, a card or a raffle

trap English 'draw' leads to kaku, which is drawing a picture. Drawing lots, a card or a fortune is hiku (pull): omikuji o hiku, kuji o hiku. It is the hiku of kaze o hiku, not the one in piano o hiku.

Said at shrine and temple visits, especially at New Year: omikuji hiita? and then what you got (daikichi datta!). Casual speech drops o.

casual

omikuji hiitara, daikichi datta!

I drew a fortune slip and got great luck!

おみくじ引いたら、大吉だった！

polite

omikuji o hiitara, daikichi deshita!

I drew a fortune slip and got great luck!

おみくじを引いたら、大吉でした！

Fortunes run from daikichi (great luck) down to kyou or even daikyou (bad, very bad luck), and a bad one is tied to a rack at the shrine and left behind.

Same verb: kuji (lots, raffle), kaado (card), gacha (in-game lottery)Learn alongside: hatsumoude ni ikuMain list: -tara (Stage 2)