Welcome to Episode 95 of Real Japanese Talk with Haruka & Saki! 🗼🐙

♨️ Saki's friend climbed into the hot spring still clutching their towel - for modesty - and got told off on the spot. It is the single most common mistake visitors make, and nobody explains the rules beforehand. 🎯

You'll learn three words:

• 浸かる (tsukaru) - to soak; to sit in hot water rather than merely enter it

• 流す (nagasu) - to rinse away; the washing you must do before getting in

• 恥ずかしい (hazukashii) - embarrassed; the real barrier for most first-timers

💡 Inside: why 「浸かる」 is a different act from 「入る」, and why soaking up to the shoulders is the whole point of a Japanese bath; the rinse-first rule and 「かけ湯」 with the little bucket, including the shampoo suds that have to be gone; the honest answer to the embarrassment question - nobody is looking, everyone is busy with themselves, five minutes and you're fine; and then the towel itself - small towel in, big towel stays in the changing room, never in the water, on your head or the rim instead; long hair tied up; no swimming, no going under, no running; and drying off before you step out.

Perfect for N4-N3 learners planning a hot-spring trip. Tokyo & Kansai dialogue, fully shadowable. Full transcript & study notes on Patreon. 🎧

【Today's Vocabulary / 今日の言葉】

・浸かる (つかる) - To soak, to be immersed. The difference from 「入る」 is duration - 「お風呂に入る」 is the act of getting in, while 「浸かる」 is being in it, warming through: 「肩まで浸かる」 (soak up to your shoulders), 「ゆっくり浸かる」. It extends to anything submerged - 「水に浸かった家」 (a flooded house) - and figuratively to being steeped in a way of life: 「古い習慣に浸かっている」. Note the transitive partner 「浸ける」 (tsukeru, to soak something). Related words: 「温まる」 (atatamaru, to warm up), 「湯船」 (yubune, the bathtub), 「長湯」 (nagayu, a long soak).

・流す (ながす) - To let flow; in the bathhouse, to rinse off. 「体を流す」 is the pre-bath wash that makes shared water possible, and 「汗を流す」 means both to rinse away sweat and, idiomatically, to work hard. Elsewhere it covers flushing (「トイレを流す」), playing music through a room (「音楽を流す」), shedding tears (「涙を流す」) and the lovely 「水に流す」 - to let a grievance wash away, to forgive and forget. The intransitive partner is 「流れる」. Related words: 「洗う」 (arau, to wash), 「すすぐ」 (susugu, to rinse), 「かけ湯」 (kakeyu, pouring water over yourself before entering).

・恥ずかしい (はずかしい) - Embarrassed, self-conscious, shy - and sometimes ashamed. It covers mild bashfulness (「恥ずかしがり屋」, a shy person), social awkwardness (「人前で歌うのは恥ずかしい」) and genuine shame (「恥ずかしい話ですが」, an embarrassing admission that often prefaces a confession). Note that Japanese uses it where English might say "awkward" or "cringe": 「昔の写真、恥ずかしい」. The related noun is 「恥」 (haji, shame), and 「恥をかく」 means to lose face. Related words: 「照れる」 (tereru, to be bashful), 「気まずい」 (kimazui, awkward between people), 「緊張する」 (kinchou suru, to be nervous).

📄 Get the Full Transcript with Furigana & Study Guide on our Patreon!シャドーイングに便利な「ふりがな付き台本」はこちら：👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/posts/155837588⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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