Well the winter vacation period is definitely over now. I have been back to proper work for a week and still have lots of chocolate and Christmas leftovers that I’m eating my way through.
The card I showed in my last entry was sent to me by a student I taught last year, and I promised a translation, so here goes:
謹んで
(つつしんで)
“tsutsushinde”
respectfully, humbly
新春のお慶びを申し上げます
(しんしゅん の およろこび を もうしあげます)
“shinshun no oyorokobi o mōshiagemasu”
I wish you a happy new year
旧年中は大変お世話になりました
(きゅう ねんじゅう は たいへん おせわになりました)
“kyū nenjū wa taihen osewaninarimashita”
Thank you for all the help you gave me last year
(Note: that one is a bit beyond my abilities to pick apart piece by piece, but perhaps a reader will be able to clarify the finer points)
本年もよろしくお願い申し上げます
(ほんねん も よろしく おねがい もうしあげます)
“hon’nen mo yoroshiku onegai mōshiagemasu”
For this coming year I wish you all the best
(Note: this is effectively saying “onegaishimasu” for the coming year. “onegaishimasu” is a very useful Japanese word but is difficult to translate precisely!)
平成三十一年
(へいせい さん じゅ いち ねん)
“heisei san ju ichi nen”
31st year of the Heisei period [equivalent to 2019 (Gregorian)]
元旦
(がんたん)
“gantan”
New Year
What a nice card to receive! 🙂
In this type of layout the characters would be read top to bottom, but I’m not sure the columns would be read right to left as I had assumed. The message seems to make sense either way. Commenters please jump in on that one! 😉
Tomorrow I will talk a bit more about winter vacation things, both UK-style and Japan-style. After that I’ll outline where I want to go with this blog in 2019 🙂
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