BondLingo Learn Japanese

Hello everyone, welcome to another saucy lesson from Bondlingo! Today we are going to be looking at the useful phrase “Chinamini” ちなみに which means “by the way” in Japanese. This is going to be a fantastic lesson for those of you at the lower intermediate stage of your Japanese journey, but in general it is also a very useful phrase to know.

Learning how to use ちなみに in Japanese

We are going to be breaking today’s lesson down into the following segments to help us learn as effectively as possible:

1. What is Chinamini, what does it mean? A quick look at the foundations!
2. How to use Chinamini. Let’s learn how to use Chinamini ちなみに in a sentence.
3. Example sentences with Chinamini ちなみに. Let’s learn through examples.
4. An effective study technique for mastering Chinamini ちなみに. We shall master this fine topic today!
5. A summary of today’s lesson on Chinamini ちなみに. Let’s ensure we don’t miss anything.

If you feel the need to skip ahead to any part of the lesson feel free to do so. We are going to start by jumping in and learning about the definition of Chinamini! Let’s get into it and learn some Japanese.

What is Chinamini, what does it mean?

A quick look at the foundations! 

So what on earth does ちなみに Chinamini mean? Well in short it is used when you want to add additional information to the topic. This could be translated as “By the way”.

This could also be translate as: 

By the way; in this connection; incidentally; in passing

We use ちなみに Chinamini when we want to add on additional information about the SAME subject.

You may have heard of another way to say “by the way” in Japanese which is “Tokorode” ところで. 

Tokorode allows you to change the subject completely whereas with Chinamini you need to have a connection with the same subject. We will discuss how and where you can use ちなみに Chinamini in the next section now. 

How to use Chinamini

Let’s learn how to use Chinamini ちなみに in a sentence. 

Imagine that you are talking about a movie that you like. The conversation may go something like this: 

A: Wow, i really think we should go and see this movie tonight
B: Yeah me too that sounds great shall I pick you up at 7? 
A: Great, by the way, (ちなみに) do you want me to bring the popcorn?

As you can see from this example, chinamini is used to add additional information to conversations on the same subject.

ちなみに is usually used at the beginning of the sentence, we will look at this in more detail now as we go over some example sentences. 

Example sentences with Chinamini ちなみに

Let’s learn through examples.

Pay close to attention to where the Chinamini is used and try to imagine what the speaker may have been talking about before the sentence that would have related to it. 

For example in this first sentence the speaker may have been talking about his wife, the month of June or just birthdays in general. There always has to be a connection. 

ちなみに今日は６月８日、妻の誕生日です。
Chinamini kyou wa rokugatsu youka, tsuma no tanjoubi desu
By the way, today is the 8th of June — my wife's birthday.

This is a great sentence if you want to say something in a language but aren’t maybe too confident in what you are about to say. 

ちなみに私は英語がだめなんです。
By the way, my English is absolutely hopeless.

Perhaps you and the speaker were talking about your plans for the evening. The next logical sentence maybe something along the lines of: 

ちなみに僕もそのパーティーに行く
By the way, i’m also going to that party. 

Now we have a bit of an understanding around how to use this. Let’s now have a look at a technique you can use to ensure true mastery of ちなみに Chinamini. 

An effective study technique for mastering Chinamini ちなみに

We shall master this fine topic today! 

So now we are going to look at a technique to help us put into practice what we have learnt today. It’s good to get into the habit of putting the information you have learnt into practice straight away as a powerful way to learn.

First start by teaching someone else the meaning of chinamini, especially in comparison to tokorode. This will give you a more full understanding of it. 

Next read the example sentences from today;s lesson out loud to yourself until you can repeat them to yourself without looking. 

Next you are going to want to create 10 example conversations of your own. Imagine yourself really vividly in that situation, this will help you link the word in your mind and give you a higher chance of actually using it in conversation. Remember, this is probably the most important part of the lesson so make sure not to skip it.

A summary of today’s lesson on Chinamini ちなみに

Let’s ensure we don’t miss anything. 

It’s time for a quick summary of today’s lesson. Read these points aloud and try to teach them to someone else for best results. 

Chinamini could translate as: By the way; in this connection; incidentally; in passing.

We use ちなみに Chinamini when we want to add on additional information about the SAME subject.

Tokorode allows you to change the subject completely whereas with Chinamini you need to have a connection with the same subject.

ちなみに is usually used at the beginning of the sentence

Ensure to complete today’s study technique.

Well guys, there we have it, another fantastic Japanese lesson checked off the list. We hope that you have enjoyed today’s online article from Bondlingo and we hope to see you again soon. You guys are doing really well with taking the initiative to learn in your own time so we just want to give you a well deserved pat on the back. If you have any questions or suggestions on future content you would like us to talk about, please do get in touch.