Language Oct 22, 2018
Lowering expectations in Japanese with 'tada' and 'tatta'
by Akemi Tanahashi and Hitomi Tashiro
Introducing two expressions — ただ and たった — that are used for emphasis. ...
Language | NEWS IN NIHONGO Oct 22, 2018
New Japan residence status planned for foreign blue-collar workers
The Justice Ministry has announced the gist of draft revisions to laws including the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act to create two new types of visa.
Language | MORNING ENGLISH Oct 22, 2018
In a move that will create a 10-day Golden Week holiday period in 2019, the government plans to designate May 1, when the new Emperor is planned to ascend the throne, as a one-off holiday.
Language | BILINGUAL Oct 22, 2018
Halloween in Japan: Make up, dress up — and hook up?
by Kaori Shoji
Halloween has become one of the coolest days on the calendar, and it's less about sweets for kids than it is an occasion for grown-ups to deck themselves out in costumes for all-night reveling.
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Oct 21, 2018
Non-Japanese YouTubers tackle the art of vlogging in the vernacular
by Patrick St. Michel
Meet the foreign creators using the local language to build a Japanese fan base.
Language | BILINGUAL Oct 15, 2018
Counting the ways to talk about numbers in Japanese
by Mark Schreiber
From 'ban' and 'go' to 'kazu' and 'su,' there are a variety of ways to refer to numbers in Japanese depending on the situation.
Language Oct 15, 2018
Know your 'wake de wa nai' from your 'wake ni wa ikanai' in Japanese
by Akemi Tanahashi and Hitomi Tashiro
Introducing two expressions that use わけ — わけではない and わけにはいかない. ...
Language | NEWS IN NIHONGO Oct 15, 2018
Murakami says writing is what he can do for disaster victims
Haruki Murakami says that writing good stories is the best he can do for victims of terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
Language | BILINGUAL Oct 1, 2018
Nothing is left undone with the plethora of negative prefixes in Japanese
by Peter Backhaus
Everything in life has a negative side to it. This nasty fact has also left its mark on Japanese, in the form of negative prefixes that will turn just everything into its opposite.
Language | WELL SAID Oct 1, 2018
Impress with your powers of prediction in Japanese by using 'yappari'
by Akemi Tanahashi and Hitomi Tashiro
Introducing the adverb やはり and its casual spoken version, やっぱり, which is frequently used in Japanese conversation. ...
Language | WELL SAID Sep 24, 2018
Know your spicy from your sweet in Japanese with 'karai' and 'amai'
by Akemi Tanahashi and Hitomi Tashiro
Introducing the meanings and uses of 辛(から)い (spicy) and 甘(あま)い (sweet), two adjectives that relate to taste. ...
Language | BILINGUAL Sep 24, 2018
How to sum up Japan's summer of disaster in Japanese?
by Kaori Shoji
The summer of 2018 was one for the books — busting meteorological records, wreaking havoc and devastating entire regions along the coast of western Japan.