There is no capitalization in Japanese. Months are basically numbers (1 through 12) + gatsu, which means, literally, “month” in English. So, to say the months of the year, you generally say the number of the month, followed by gatsu. But, there are exceptions: Pay attention to April, July, and September. April is shi-gatsu, not yon-gatsu, July is shichi-gatsu, not nana-gatsu, and September is ku-gatsu, not kyuu-gatsu.
The audio files in the lists below provide verbal guides on how to pronounce the months, days, and seasons in Japanese. Click the link for each Japanese word, phrase or sentence to hear the correct pronunciation.
The Months in Japanese
For this list of months, the English name of the month is printed on the left, followed by the romaji, or transliteration into English letters of the Japanese word for the month, followed by the name of the month written with Japanese letters. To hear the pronunciation of the month in Japanese, click the link for the transliteration of the month, underlined in blue.
As with the section above, detailing how to pronounce the months, in this section, you can learn how to say the days of the week in Japanese. The name of the day is printed in English on the left, followed by the transliteration in Japanese, followed by the day written with Japanese letters. To hear how a specific day is pronounced in Japanese, click the link for the transliteration, which is underlined in blue.
It’s important to know key phrases if you plan to visit Japan. The question below is written in English, followed by the transliteration in Japanese, followed by the question written in Japanese letters.
In any language, it’s helpful to know the names of the seasons of the year. As in the previous sections, the names of the seasons, as well as the words, “four seasons,” are printed on the left, followed by the transliteration in Japanese, followed by the names of the seasons written in Japanese letters. To hear the pronunciation of a particular season in Japanese, click the link words for the transliteration, which are underlined in blue.
It’s interesting to note that kisetsumeans “season” or “the season” in Japanese, as noted in this sentence. For example, to ask: Which season do you like best? You would say:
Dono kisetsu ga ichiban suki desu ka. > どの季節が一番好きですか。
Yet, “four seasons” has its own word in Japanese,shiki, as noted above. This is just one of the many ways in which Japanese differs from English—but it provides a fascinating look at how these Western and Eastern cultures even describe something as basic as the four seasons differently.
Joe Biden has marked the start of his presidency by signing a flurry of executive orders on a suite of issues, including Covid-19, the environment, immigration and ethics.
He also signed an order allowing the United States to rejoin the Paris climate agreement and end the Trump administration’s efforts to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census data used to determine how many seats in Congress each state gets.
The president also moved quickly to address Covid-19, signing orders to mandate mask wearing and social distancing in federal buildings and lands and to create a position of a Covid-19 response coordinator.
In other moves, Biden also revoked the permit granted for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline and instructed all executive agencies to review executive actions that were “damaging to the environment, [or] unsupported by the best available science”. Biden also ordered all executive branch employees to sign an ethics pledge and placed limits on their ability to lobby the government while he is in office. The new president also ordered federal agencies to review equity in their existing policies and come up with a plan in 200 days to address inequality in them.
On his first day in office, Biden signed 17 executive actions – 15 will be executive orders.
As he began signing the orders, Biden, wearing a mask and seated behind the resolute desk said: “I think some of the things we’re going to be doing are bold and vital, and there’s no time to start like today.”
It’s not unusual for an incoming president to take executive action immediately after being sworn into office, a move meant to show the nation that the newly inaugurated president is getting to work. But the breadth and volume of Biden’s immediate executive orders underscore how quickly the new president intends to move in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic and turning the page from the Trump administration.
“These executive actions will make an immediate impact in the lives of so many people in desperate need of help,” Wade Henderson, the interim president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said in a statement. “Reversing Trump’s deeply discriminatory Muslim ban, addressing the Covid-19 crisis, preventing evictions and foreclosures, and advancing equity and support for communities of color and other underserved communities are significant early actions that represent an important first step in charting a new direction for our country.”
Kamala Harris swears in Raphael Warnock, Alex Padilla and Jon Ossoff on the floor of the Senate. Photograph: AP
The flurry of activity from Biden came on the same day that Democrats formally took control of the US Senate as the Rev Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff were formally sworn in as the two senators from Georgia. Chuck Schumer, the Democratic senator from New York, is now the Senate majority leader, while Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, is now the minority leader.
Speaking from the Senate floor Schumer was momentarily breathless, saying: “We have turned the page to a new chapter in the history of our democracy and I am full of hope.”
McConnell, in his first remarks as the minority leader, also focused on a message of unity.
“Our country deserves for both sides, both parties, to find common ground for the common good everywhere we can and disagree respectfully where we must,” he said. “The people intentionally trusted both political parties with significant power to shape our nation’s direction.”
Obama, Clinton and Bush congratulate Biden on presidency – video
He also praised Kamala Harris’ historic achievement after she was sworn in as America’s first female vice-president.
“All citizens can applaud the fact that this new three-word phrase ‘Madam vice-president’ is now a part of our American lexicon,” McConnell said.
Looming on the horizon is the second impeachment trial for Trump, who the US voted to impeach earlier this month. In addition to Covid-19 relief, Democrats are also expected to push legislation dealing with immigration reform and voting rights.
Even though Democrats have a majority of votes in the Senate, they still face significant obstacles to get them through. That’s because Senate rules require 60 votes to overcome a filibuster, a procedural move that can be used to halt legislation. Some progressives have called for ending the practice, which would allow Democrats to pursue sweeping legislation without GOP support, but it’s unclear if the party will do that.
Ines is another variation of Agnes (mainly French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish). The French render the name as Inès while in Spanish the accent mark goes the opposite direction (Inés). The Portuguese write Inês and the English (when used) render the name unaccented or spell it Inez. The name’s original root, Agnes, is the Latinized form of the Greek name Hagnē (Ἁγνὴ), derived from “hagnos” meaning “chaste, pure”. Enduring usage of Agnes/Ines is owed almost entirely to an early 4th century saint, one of the so-called “virgin-martyrs”, Agnes of Rome. St. Agnes holds the distinction of being one of only seven female saints (excluding the Virgin Mary) commemorated in the Canon of the Holy Mass (the other six are: Cecilia, Agatha, Lucy, Perpetua, Felicity and Anastasia). Born to the Roman aristocracy c. 291, Agnes was not only educated and wealthy, but she was also said to be quite beautiful and not without her share of many male admirers. However, the “chaste” Agnes, a girl of about 13, refused to marry anyone, as she had already given herself over to Christ as His bride. One of her rejected suitors angrily turned her into the Roman authorities, essentially “outing” her as a Christian (illegal in the then-pagan Roman Empire), and she was consequently sentenced to death. However, since it was against Roman law to execute a virgin, Agnes was dragged to a brothel in an attempt to deflower her. According to legend, the Holy Spirit interceded and all sorts of miraculous circumstances prevented her rape (she grew hair all over her body, the men were struck blind before they could attack her, and so forth). As with many early saints, a cult grew up around Agnes/Ines in the Middle Ages and so the name spread throughout Christian Europe; a particular favorite among royalty and noblewomen. Adding further dimension to this age-old name is the fact that “agnus” is the Latin word for “lamb” (so you often see St. Agnes depicted with a lamb by her side or in her arms). Inès remains a highly popular name in France and Inés is extremely common in Spain. This cosmopolitan-cool name is also used with a fair amount of regularity in Belgium, Catalonia and Sweden.
Personality
The Number 2 personality in numerology is all about cooperation and balance. It’s the number of diplomats and mediators. They are not leaders, but strive rather for harmony in partnerships. These are the peacemakers. Equality and fairness are important in their dealings, and they are willing to share power and responsibility to achieve a harmonious outcome. This personality is calm and patient, waiting for things to evolve instead of pushing aggressively for an outcome. They are good-natured and easy-going, and care deeply on an emotional and spiritual plane. Twos appreciate beauty and nature and are intent on making the world a better place.
Popularity
Inez has always been the preferred spelling of Ines in the United States. However, today, neither one of these names is on America’s Top 1000 list nor given to even 100 baby girls per year. Similarly, Agnes is no longer on the charts. Still, we feel that Ines is a cosmopolitan name since it continues to be used with much enthusiasm throughout Europe (as well as Latin America). It’s a simple name with a pretty pronunciation and far less harsh than old Agnes. The etymology is probably a little too old-fashioned by today’s standards, but Ines/Agnes will always be a favorite among devout Roman Catholics.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15th, 1929. He was a pivotal advocate for African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. King experienced racism from an early age, and those events stayed with and eventually brought him to a life of activism. After graduating college with a doctorate degree in theology, King became a pastor in Alabama. He began a series of peaceful protests in the south that eventually changed many laws dealing with the equality of African Americans. King gave hundreds of moving speeches across the country, and in 1964 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On April 4th, 1968, Dr. King was shot and killed while in Memphis, Tennessee. Although his life ended that day, the work that he had accomplished changed the nation. King will be remembered not only for his commitment to the cause of equality for African Americans but also for his profound speeches that moved so many. MLK Jr.’s words were spoken with hope that the future for African Americans would be brighter and that they would finally be given the equality they deserved.
Dr. King’s speeches have particular resonance today amid a year of sickness and death, Black Lives Matter protests and the storming of the Capitol.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. waving to the crowd during the March on Washington in 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial, where he gave his “I Have a Dream” speech.Credit…Central Press/Getty Images
He lived and died in a time of tumult and a racial awakening, so perhaps it is no surprise that the 35th national celebration of the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday has particular resonance amid one of the most traumatic seasons in memory: A raging pandemic. Protest and civil unrest after the killing of Black people by the police. A momentous election. And an insurrection.
Even the title of his final book — “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” — seems ripped from today’s headlines.
“I think it’s still an unanswered question,” said Clayborne Carson, a history professor at Stanford University, referring to the title of Dr. King’s book.
“I think the most important word in that question is ‘we’ — who are we, and until you figure that out, it’s very hard to tell where we are going,” said Dr. Carson, who is also the founder and director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute, which is publishing a collection of Dr. King’s papers.
Amid the change and upheaval, the words of Dr. King, both those celebrated and the less familiar, feel more urgent then perhaps ever before, both as a guide and a warning. From oft-quoted speeches to the words he never had a chance to deliver before his assassination, Dr. King talked about his vision of a just world, about the power of peaceful protests, and about disruption as the language of the unseen and the unheard.
We asked Dr. Carson and others from across the country to choose words from Dr. King and reflect on how they resonate today. Here’s what they had to say.
“Now, let me say as I move to my conclusion that we’ve got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point, in Memphis. We’ve got to see it through.”
— from the last speech given by Dr. King, on April 3, 1968, in Memphis, the day before he was assassinated.
The Rev. Dr. William Barber II, a chairman of the Poor People’s Campaign, said Dr. King’s words spoke to the daunting challenge that civil rights leaders faced helping the poor and marginalized. He drew a parallel to today’s challenges of systemic racism, ecological devastation and a lack of access to health care.
The election of a Democratic president, he said, is no reason to slow down.
“It’s not enough to have an election and put new people into office,” Dr. Barber said. “We must push and continue to push for the kind of public policy that really establishes justice.”
“We really must now go about the business of lifting up those who are poor and those without health care,” he added. “That’s the only way we can heal the nation — we have to heal the body.”
Dr. King, center, with (from left to right) Mathew Ahmann, Floyd McKissick, Eugene Carson Blake and Cleveland Robinson during the March on Washington.Credit…Robert W. Kelley/The LIFE Picture Collection, via Getty Images
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
— from Dr. King’s speech at the Washington National Cathedral on March 31, 1968.
Connie Field said Dr. King’s quote had guided much of her work as an award-winning documentary filmmaker.RACE/RELATED: A deep and provocative exploration of race, identity and society with New York Times journalists.Sign Up
“Dr. King presented a vision of an equal, multiracial society,” she said. “He presented a vision of economic equality. And he presented a vision of a political struggle that’s nonviolent. Those are three things that we can all try to live by and strive for today.”
She added: “What’s going on in the United States, what we witnessed on Jan. 6, all has to do with a backlash to the fact that our world is changing. It’s going on here in America; it’s going on in Europe. We’re becoming a more intertwined world, a more multicultural world. That’s the trajectory of history, and there’s no going back on that. That quote completely underscores everything I’m talking about — a just world is an equal world, equal no matter what our race is.”
“Even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
— from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963.
Bernard Lafayette, 80, recalled the words from the “I Have a Dream” speech as a reminder that the turmoil the country is witnessing today “is not the way things have to be, and it’s not something we have to accept,” but should be understood as another step on the long journey that Dr. King described, with each shift connected to the events that precede it.
The violence at the Capitol, he said, reflected the fear from some members of our society that they were losing political power.
“You have to ask the question, ‘What are these people afraid of?’ Well, they are afraid they would lose power, they would lose control and the election in Georgia exacerbated that,” he said. “These fears that are being perpetrated, they’re really false fears, because no one is going to take anything away from them.”
Marchers gathered in Washington in August for an event celebrating the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington where Dr. King made his “I Have a Dream” speech.Credit…Christopher Lee for The New York Times
“I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.”
— from Dr. King speech in Memphis on April 3, 1968, a day before he was assassinated.
Rutha Mae Harris, 80, of Albany, Ga., said she believed Dr. King’s speeches often warned of the kind of conflict that unfolded in Washington on Jan. 6. Ms. Harris, who marched with Dr. King during the civil rights era, recalled, in particular, the famous speech he gave in Memphis a day before he was killed.
“With the rhetoric of Trump, I myself knew that something would happen,” she said. “This had been building up for four years.” She said Dr. King was a man of vision, but that the vision captured the darkness as well as the light. She noted, “He said, ‘I might not get there with you,’ and, of course, you can read in between the lines.”
“Why America May Go to Hell”
— title of a sermon that Dr. King had planned to deliver at his church on Sunday, April 7, 1968.
For the Rev. Amos C. Brown, the pastor of Third Baptist Church, a historically Black church in San Francisco founded in 1852, the words of Dr. King that come to mind this year are the ones he never had a chance to speak.
When he was assassinated, Dr. King had been planning to give a sermon, he said, called “Why America May Go to Hell.” In the sermon, Dr. King planned to warn that the country needed to use its vast resources to end poverty, and to offer all of God’s children the necessities of life.
The hell that Dr. King stood against is still deeply embedded in America today, said Mr. Brown, who is attending the inauguration as a guest of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris (who attends his church).
“We are about to fall over the precipice into, figuratively speaking, hell in this nation — sure, we ought to be concerned about what’s going on now,” he said, referring to the attack on the Capitol. “But people are just now beginning to experience what Black folk have gone through since the Atlantic slave trade began. Hell.”
A view of the audience over Dr. King’s shoulder as he delivered a speech at the Gillfield Baptist Church, in Petersburg, Va., in 1960.Credit…Howard Sochurek/The LIFE Picture Collection, via Getty Images
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
— from Dr. King’s speech in St. Louis on March 22, 1964.
For Antwan T. Lang, a member of the Chatham County Board of Elections in Savannah, Ga., Dr. King’s words meant we cannot be afraid to learn from one another and understand our differences and similarities.
“My hope is that one day white America will understand that we harvest no hate, but we want to be seen not as a Black man, Black entrepreneur, Black superintendent, Black doctor, Black lawyer, Black teacher, Black insurance agent, Black funeral director, but as a human being wanting to freely be ourselves without having to walk on eggshells in fear of becoming a statistic,” he said.
“It is clear to me that our protest and our plea to America is that we want to be free, to simply be a human being with real feelings, emotions, dreams and goals,” Mr. Lang said, “to be able to live long enough to accomplish those goals, dreams and ambitions.”
“Oh no, Brother Gray. This is no ploy at all. If we are to succeed, I am now convinced that an absolutely nonviolent method must be ours amid the vast hostilities we face.”
— Dr. King’s response in 1955 to a suggestion that his nonviolence tactics were for attention.
Fred D. Gray was the lawyer who represented Rosa Parks, Dr. King and the Montgomery Improvement Association during the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955, the event that inaugurated the 20th century’s civil rights movement. The quote, found in Mr. Gray’s account of that battle, “Bus Ride to Justice,” was Dr. King’s response to a suggestion that his commitment to nonviolence was a ploy to gain attention in the press.
“I became a lawyer so I could use the law for the purpose of destroying every act of segregation that I could find,” Mr. Gray said. “There were other people whose roles were to make speeches, and others who demonstrated, but you had to put it all together and do it in a nonviolent fashion.”
Regarding the protests over the past year against killings of unarmed African-Americans by police officers, Mr. Gray said: “I think we’re going to have to go back to what Martin said about nonviolence and social change. All the things that Dr. King did, all the things we did in the Montgomery bus boycott were to get rid of racism and inequality. We were able to do a little bit, but not do it all.”
Ellen Barry, Elizabeth Dias and Richard Fausset contributed reporting. Susan C. Beachy contributed research.
John Eligon is a Kansas City-based national correspondent covering race. He previously worked as a reporter in Sports and Metro, and his work has taken him to Nelson Mandela’s funeral in South Africa and the Winter Olympics in Turin. @jeligon
Michael Wines writes about voting and other election-related issues. Since joining The Times in 1988, he has covered the Justice Department, the White House, Congress, Russia, southern Africa, China and various other topics. @miwine
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New York City is the first city to ever host an organized Fashion Show known as the famous New York Fashion Week. This iconic week started in 1943 and today, the show continues to be the the most watched fashion show in the world by every single industry every September & February of every calendar year.
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The Japanese have a term, kenzoku, which translated literally means “family.” The connotation suggests a bond between people who’ve made a similar commitment and who possibly therefore share a similar destiny. It implies the presence of the deepest connection of friendship, of lives lived as comrades from the distant past.
Many of us have people in our lives with whom we feel the bond described by the word kenzoku. They may be family members, a mother, a brother, a daughter, a cousin. Or a friend from grammar school with whom we haven’t talked in decades. Time and distance do nothing to diminish the bond we have with these kinds of friends.
The question then arises: why do we have the kind of chemistry encapsulated by the word kenzoku with only a few people we know and not scores of others? The closer we look for the answer the more elusive it becomes. It may not in fact be possible to know, but the characteristics that define a kenzoku relationship most certainly are.
What draws people together as friends?
Common interests. This probably ties us closer to our friends than many would like to admit. When our interests diverge and we can find nothing to enjoy jointly, time spent together tends to rapidly diminish. Not that we can’t still care deeply about friends with whom we no longer share common interests, but it’s probably uncommon for such friends to interact on a regular basis.
History. Nothing ties people together, even people with little in common, than having gone through the same difficult experience. As the sole glue to keep friendships whole in the long run, however, it often dries, cracks, and ultimately fails.
Common values. Though not necessarily enough to create a friendship, if values are too divergent, it’s difficult for a friendship to thrive.
Equality. If one friend needs the support of the other on a consistent basis such that the person depended upon receives no benefit other than the opportunity to support and encourage, while the relationship may be significant and valuable, it can’t be said to define a true friendship.
What makes a friend worthy of the name?
A commitment to your happiness. A true friend is consistently willing to put your happiness before your friendship. It’s said that “good advice grates on the ear,” but a true friend won’t refrain from telling you something you don’t want to hear, something that may even risk fracturing the friendship, if hearing it lies in your best interest. A true friend will not lack the mercy to correct you when you’re wrong. A true friend will confront you with your drinking problem as quickly as inform you about a malignant-looking skin lesion on your back that you can’t see yourself.
Not asking you to place the friendship before your principles. A true friend won’t ask you to compromise your principles in the name of your friendship or anything else. Ever.
A good influence. A true friend inspires you to live up to your best potential, not to indulge your basest drives.
Of course, we may have friends who fit all these criteria and still don’t quite feel kenzoku. There still seems to be an extra factor, an attraction similar to that which draws people together romantically, that cements friends together irrevocably, often immediately, for no reason either person can identify. But when you find these people, these kenzoku, they’re like priceless gems. They’re like finding home.
How to attract true friends
This one is easy, at least on paper: become a true friend yourself. One of my favorite quotations comes from Gandhi: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Be the friend you want to have. We all tend to attract people into our lives whose character mirrors our own. You don’t have to make yourself into what you think others would find attractive. No matter what your areas of interest, others share them somewhere. Simply make yourself a big target. Join social clubs organized around activities you enjoy. Leverage the Internet to find people of like mind. Take action.
As I thought about it, there are four people in my life I consider kenzoku. How many do you?
My book, The Undefeated Mind: On the Science of Constructing an Indestructible Self, is available now; read the sample chapter and visit Amazon or Barnes & Noble to order your copy.
The world of Ines 