Going back and forth with the language of giving and receiving in Japanese
It's that time of year when thoughts turn to プレゼント (purezento, presents) — 何をあげるか (nani o ageru ka, what to give), いつあげるか (itsu ageru ka, when to give it), and how will it affect the relationship between giver and receiver? In Japan, the act of ...
'Politically Correct Bedtime Stories' and a dose of 'Murphy's Law' to make learning Japanese fun
I am still waiting for someone to publish a concise history of humor from the 30 years of the Heisei Era. Thinking back, I can recall two bestselling books that conveyed American-style humor in translation. Both appeared in the 1990s, and they demonstrate how Japanese people, much to their credit, take a strong interest in what makes people in other cultures laugh. ...
Finding the best way to chill out with the verb 'ochitsuku'
There are many ways to use the verb 落(お)ち着(つ)く, which means to calm down, relax and be comfortable. ...
Hirokazu Kore-eda's 'Shoplifters' among nominees for Golden Globes
A couple of Japanese directors, Hirokazu Kore-eda and Mamoru Hosoda, get Golden Globe nods in the run-up to America's awards season.
Myanmar opens first training course for Japanese-language teachers
Myanmar's first-ever training course for Japanese-language teachers is opening as part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan to invite more Asian youths to work in Japan. The initial phase of the training program starts this month at the Yangon University of Foreign Languages for students ...
The third-wave coffee boom has resulted in a new wave of java-related Japanese vocabulary
Coffee talk is more than just cream and sugar when it comes to cafes that specialize in third-wave coffee.
Watch what you say when offering your boss a coffee
When trying to figure out what someone wants in Japanese, your relationship with them is as important as their request.
A parade to celebrate 23-year-old Yuzuru Hanyu achieving the first back-to-back wins in 66 years in men's figure skating at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, was held in his hometown of Sendai and had an economic effect of an estimated ¥1.85 billion, an organizing committee ...
'Sodanē': Japan uses top buzzword of 2018 to end year on a high note
After months of scandals in sports, politics — and society as a whole — the top buzzword of 2018, announced Monday, struck a strikingly positive tone as the year winds down. "Sodanē," essentially a shortened form of sō da ne (that's right) that was popularized ...
A dash of hiragana in the 'foreign' soup
Japanese words you'd think should be written in katakana will sometimes show up in hiragana. There's a cultural reason behind these rare switches.
Coming up with exceptions in Japanese can be tricky, but helpful
The word "tada" and it's rarer counterpart "mottomo" help link sentences in conversational and written Japanese.
Tokyo's summers are hot. That means upcoming Olympic events may need to start earlier in the morning.
