Toward the end of every year, the media, advertising agencies, think tanks and other organizations look back on the “hit products” whose successes helped define consumer preferences over the previous ...
Last week, we introduced how to use せい to express the cause of something (especially something bad) in negative way. Today, we will introduce how to use its antonym おかげ ...
JR Tokai announced Dec. 19 it will raise the maximum speed of the Nozomi bullet train service to 285 kph between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka stations in 2015 thanks to advances ...
A general sentiment of self-restraint, bukkadaka (物価高, the high cost of living) and enyasu (円安, the weak yen) culminated in ...
Today, we will introduce the meanings and usages of the noun せい (because of), which expresses someone's belief about the ...
The Riken research institute ended work on Dec. 19 to see if it could make so-called STAP cells, concluding that Riken researcher Haruko Obokata failed in experiments to produce the stem cells that she previously claimed to have created.
Welcome to the first month of the new year, which in Japan comes with the very straightforward name ichigatsu (一月) — literally, “month one”. The numeral that is contained here, ichi (一, one), is rather essential in Japanese. It is the first character that ...
Today we will introduce the meanings and usage of the verb 合（あ）う that means to fit. 合う is used to describe how something or someone (X) fits with something or someone else (Y) using the pattern X(a thing or person)はY(a thing or person)に合う, as ...
Nut rage imploded the career of a Korean Air Lines executive and embarrassed her family and country.
Given ever-expanding access to the culture of Japan, people worldwide have many different reasons for studying the Japanese language these days. But I don’t know if job opportunities for non-Japanese have expanded as rapidly. Many folks probably fall back on the same set of ...
Today, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Well Said column by talking with some of its characters.
The International Olympic Committee approved a new reform for the framework of the Olympic program on Dec. 8, opening the way for a possible return of baseball and softball in a joint bid for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
One of the also-rans in the competition for the best buzzword of 2014 was the little word “shine.” It stirred some discussion this summer when it appeared as a one-word heading in the blog of Prime Minister Abe’s just-established Kagayaku Josei Ō en Kaigi ...
Today, we will introduce the proper use of 気持（きも）ち, a phrase that refers to a feeling.
Contrary to popular opinion, only 10 percent of U.S. adults who drink too much are alcoholics, according to a study released on Nov. 20.
Japan is a country of traditions. You take off your shoes when you go indoors. You rinse your body before entering the bath. And you sit around the house with family on Ōmisoka (大晦日, New Year’s Eve) and do nothing but watch television and ...
Today, we will introduce よ, a particle which is added to the end of a sentence to show a speaker's intention.
