Saturday Song: いないいないばあ (Peek-a-Boo)

Did you know that learning songs is a great way to learn and remember more Japanese? Today we're going to analyze a fun children's song from Super Simple 日本語 - 童謡とこどもの歌 that you can learn in just a few minutes– and then you can use it on your cute kids, your pets, unsuspecting friends... Anyway, it's adorable and you'll love it, so sit back and enjoy.

Now let's look at the new vocabulary words in this song.

• いないいないばあ: Peek-a-boo

That's a long one! Let's break it up like this: いない いない ばあ

Now, this one took a little extra research, and if it's not totally correct, please let me know and I'll fix it! After all, I'm still learning myself.

To start, "いない" means "not." I imagine it's a little like saying "I'm not here."
I also heard somewhere that "ばあ" means "boo!" How cute is that?

So if I understand correctly, いないいないばあ means "I'm not here— Boo!"

• 見いつけた (みいつけた): (I) found (you/it)!

This word uses the kanji 見, which means "to see."
"見いつける" means "to find," and changing the suffix from the present-tense verb ending "る" to the past-tense verb ending "た" changes the word into "見いつけた," which means "found." So when you say it to someone, it means "I found you!"

A note: The English subtitles translate 見いつけた as "I see you," but given the context, it could probably go either way. If you know for sure, please tell me!

To review:

いないいないばあ: Peek-a-boo!

見いつけた: I found you!


There you have it! Now you can sing a song about peekaboo in Japanese. Go forth, armed with adorableness, and bestow it upon all those worthy of the cuteness.

Seriously, that kitty cat's cuteness levels are off the charts.

Who are you going to sing this song to?

またね!
-Kitty


Credits for today's lesson:
Super Simple 日本語 - 童謡とこどもの歌
Thanks for the amazingly cute song and animation!