Spring — the season of sakura (桜, cherry blossoms) — has finally arrived and the entire country has been transformed into a fairyland tinted pale pink. In a heartening season of renewal after winter’s chill, a wave of sakura washes over these islands. Usually the sakurazensen (桜前線, cherry blossom front）starts ...
Today, we will introduce the proper use of 合（あ）う, which attaches to a main verb. X [verb in masu form ...
Skymark Airlines Inc.'s miniskirt uniform for cabin attendants has drawn fire from a group of cabin attendants who claim it will disturb operations and possibly induce sexual harassment.
Living in Japan can be quite a noisy experience. Even in my quiet little neighborhood, rarely a day passes without a great variety of sounds being heard. Four days a week the garbage truck fills the air with its most peculiar orugōru (オルゴール, music ...
Today, we will introduce the various meanings and usages of two adjectives かわいい (cute/lovable) and こわい (scary/scared) and their related expressions.
On March 11, Japan marked the third anniversary of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake with prayers for the more than 18,000 people who died or remain missing.
Students of Japanese are often Japanese-as-a-second-language (JSL) cavemen. JSL cavemen live a mostly pleasant existence of blissful ignorance, using a devolved form of the language as best they can. However, JSL cavemen are not total ignoramuses — their thick hide can be penetrated by ...
Today we will explain various meanings and usages of the colloquial adverb ちょっと.
Hollywood named the historical drama "12 Years a Slave" best picture at the 86th annual A cademy A wards on March 2.
One approach to acquiring new vocabulary that I’ve always found effective is to seek out the 反対語 (hantai-go, antonyms) of words. To prove my point, how about looking at words that relate to “good” and “bad,” which are about as opposite as you can ...
Sample newspaper article QUITTING SMOKING MAKES YOU HAPPIER 喫煙者は禁煙すれば、不安やストレスを感じている人が抗うつ剤を摂取するのと同様の精神的な幸福感の高揚を得ることができるという研究報告が２月13日に発表された。英国の研究者たちは、被験者たちが記入したアンケートから、不安や気持ちの落ち込み、ストレス、生活の質についての答えを標準化したスコアカードを調査した。調査対象の喫煙者は平均44歳で、一日に10本から40本のタバコを吸っていた。彼らは禁煙を試みる前と禁煙を始めて平均6か月の2回、調査を受けた。禁煙に成功した被験者は、喫煙を続けた被験者に比べて、気持ちの落ち込みや不安感、ストレスの減少を報告し、人生に対してより前向きな展望を持つようになったと回答した。(Feb. 14) Words and phrases 喫煙者 (kitsuensha) smokers; 禁煙する (kin’en-) stop smoking; 不安 (fuan) anxiety; ストレス stress; 抗うつ剤 (kōutsuzai) anti-depressants; 接種する (sesshu-) take; 同様の (dōyō-) equivalent to; 精神的な (seishinteki-) mental; 幸福感 (kōfukukan) well-being; 高揚 (kōyō) boost; ...
Chotto, kōen-wo sanpo-shite-kimasu. (I’m just taking a walk in the park.) Situation 1: On Sunday, Mr. Shiba is going out to take a walk. 夫： ちょっと、公園を散歩してくるよ。 妻： それなら、スーパーの前を通るでしょ。おしょうゆを買ってきて。 Otto: Chotto, kōen-wo sanpo-shite-kuru-yo. Tsuma: Sore-nara, sūpā-no mae-wo tōru-desho. O-shōyu-wo katte-kite. Husband: I’m just taking a ...
A zero-hour contract is an employment contract used in the U.K. containing provisions that create an "on-call" arrangement between an employer and employee.
I was trudging home the other night with a dōryō (同僚, colleague) after another in a series of sābisu zangyō (サービス残業, unpaid overtime) sessions, debating whether to skip dinner or stop off at the nearest 24-hour sūpā (スーパー, supermarket). Out of the blue, my ...
