What does “renshuu” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “renshuu” to mean ‘practice’, ‘drill’, ‘training’, or such in Japanese. I think that many Japanese learners know this word well because it is often used in Japanese textbooks. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “renshuu” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “renshuu”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “renshuu”.
- renshuu – 練習 (れんしゅう) : a noun meaning ‘practice’, ‘drill’, ‘training’, or such in Japanese.
Native speakers use this noun to refer to their activities which they do repeatedly to improve their skills. So, its usage is similar to those of the English words, “practice”, “drill”, “training”, and the like.
The definition and meanings are simple and clear, I think. To better understand this noun, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Renshuu in kanji
The kanji expression of “renshuu” consists of the following two characters:
- 練 : a kanji character used to express the act of drilling, training, or exercising.
- 習 : a kanji character used to express the act of learning or studying.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “renshuu” literally means ‘drilling and learning’. This literal interpretation seems to be very close to what the noun really means.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about meanings of words they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “renshuu” through the detailed check above.
Then, let me explain how to use “renshuu” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “practice” in Japanese
watashi wa piano no renshuu ga suki desu – 私はピアノの練習が好きです (わたしはぴあののれんしゅうがすきです)
I like practicing the piano.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi” to make the subject in the sentence.
- piano – ピアノ (ぴあの) : a noun meaning ‘piano’ in Japanese. This is an imported word.
- no – の : a case particle used to join two nouns. Normally, the first one can work as a modifier to describe the second. In the example, this is used to join “piano” and “renshuu”. The formed phrase literally means ‘piano practice’ in Japanese.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “piano no renshuu” to make the object in the sentence.
- suki – 好き (すき) : one conjugation of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. In reality, however, native speakers often use this as an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “suki” to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “renshuu”. In this example, it works as a part of the noun phrase which literally means ‘piano practice’ in Japanese. The original meaning of the Japanese sentence above is more like ‘I like piano practice’, but it has been translated in a more natural way.
Example #2: another usage of “renshuu”
renshuu de ensou ga yoku naru – 練習で演奏が良くなる (れんしゅうでえんそうがよくなる)
Practice improves performance.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- de – で : a case particle used to indicate a cause or reason. In the example, this is used after “renshuu” to say what improves the performance.
- ensou – 演奏 (えんそう) : a noun meaning ‘musical performance’ in Japanese.
- yoku – 良く (よく) : one conjugation of the i-adjective, “yoi“, which means ‘well’, ‘good’, or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- naru – なる : a verb meaning ‘to become’, ‘to get’, ‘to turn’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this works together with “yoku” to literally mean ‘to become better’ in Japanese. It has been translated just as ‘to improve’, though.
This is another typical usage of “renshuu”. When we want to say “practice” in Japanese, this noun is a very good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “renshuu” and its kanji expression in detail. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- renshuu – 練習 (れんしゅう) : a noun meaning ‘practice’, ‘drill’, ‘training’, or such in Japanese. These two kanji characters have similar meanings related to practicing and learning. When we want to refer to activities which we do repeatedly to improve our skills, this noun is a very good option.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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