Reiwa: Japan reveals name of new era ahead of Emperor's abdication
In a much-awaited moment that heralded the approach of a new chapter in Japan's history, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga announced Monday that the new Imperial era will be named Reiwa, in one of the final steps toward initiating the nation's first Imperial succession ...
Take your Japanese to the point where you can even use 'sae' and 'made' correctly
The particles まで and さえ both emphasize degree, the former expressing the limits of time, space, quantity and so on. By attaching it to a noun (X), the construction Xまで can translate to “until X”
Heisei it ain't so! An era of great vocabulary is ending
In the beginning there was the word. More precisely, the prefix. When the Heisei Era officially started, on Jan. 8, 1989, Japan's economy was still merrily bubbling along. That must have been one reason for the popularity of 超 (chō, hyper-). The prefix itself ...
To differentiate a 'piri-piri' throat from a 'muzu-muzu' one, you'll have to know your onomatopoeia
If you ever want to take a break from grammar and reading when studying Japanese, dive into the world of "giongo" and "gitaigo."
This article about North Korea and the 2020 Olympics is filled with technical terms that illustrate the importance of modifying clauses.
Zama school gives helping hand to foreign students struggling with Japanese life
A public high school in Kanagawa Prefecture is providing a safety net to foreign students who face difficulties in their day-to-day lives, helping them with everything from the Japanese language to addressing family issues and preparing them for self-sufficiency. Sagami Koyokan High School, in the ...
Hay fever season gets people sneezing and talking
A good way to start a conversation in Japanese at this time of year is to talk about allergies and hay fever in particular. Learning the vocabulary for sore eyes and runny noses can also help at your local pharmacy.
Hay fever can make life hard enough to use the adjective 'tsurai'
A word that indicates hardship, agony and pain, you're most likely to hear it at this time of year because of spring allergies or hangovers from cherry blossom parties.
A teenager named 'Prince' changes his name out of embarrassment
Learn new words in this story about a teen who changed his name — including the word he no longer wanted to be associated with.
Turn an 'H' on its side and look what kanji you get
If you turn an 'H' on its side, you get something that looks like the kanji kō or ku, and from there you can go all sorts of places.
