When news of a virus began to surface we took the opportunity to review the Japanese for things like "symptoms" and "cough." Now we're learning terms like "pandemic" and "state of emergency."

One trick to improving your fluency in Japanese is to keep a list of stock phrases that can be deployed in multiple situations.

As Valentine's Day approaches, love is in the air. However, love comes in various forms and sometimes it can help you learn a language.

Japan Times writer Daniel Morales celebrates his 60th column with a lesson on turning 60, a special birthday in Japan.

In the tradition of year-end cleaning, writer Daniel Morales takes a look at his Japanese study notes and tidies up some loose ends.

When Western ideas on self-improvement are expressed in Japanese, what kinds of words pop up most often?

Some people hit the books and some people hire a personal teacher. In any case, there are many paths to becoming fluent in Japanese.

When meeting new people in Japan, it's essential to address them in the correct way, so be sure not to confuse your obasans with your o-nēsans.

Folding out with a wealth of linguistic and cultural lessons, the index can act as a makeshift classroom for the imaginative.

Certain Japanese words sound like they should represent an action, can you guess what a word means by how it's pronounced?