The "gira-gira" of the hot summer sun's glare gives way to the "kira-kira" of festive lights decorating the streets for the holidays.

The structures "ni mukete" and "o mezashite" help express your working toward a goal, with the latter being the more concrete option.

Two words that convey the meaning of experience, "keiken" and "taiken," have slightly different nuances when used in Japanese.

With your friends, giving and asking for advice in Japanese can be done in several ways. Just make sure you don't accidentally use these structures with your boss!

It's 4 p.m., do you know where your children are? Maybe they're "omote," which is a way of expressing that they're out in front of the house playing.

Changing the topic in a Japanese conversation is easier than you think and two terms in particular can help. 'Tokorode,' have you been studying Japanese long?

Using the "tai" verb ending expresses desire in Japanese, but adding "omotte-iru" can help convey the idea that your wants are not spontaneous.

The word "zettai" has a feeling of absoluteness and certainty that can emphasize the confidence you have in what you're saying.

There's no one way to count in Japanese, it just depends on what you're counting. The most standard comes with a "tsu" on the end.

The word "totemo" is a very handy word as it means "very." But it's not the only word that can help you emphasize what you're talking about.