Tag - nihongo

 
 

NIHONGO

Japan Times
LIFE / Language
May 7, 2018
In Japanese, many 'ands' make hard work
There's a lot to consider when making connections in Japanese.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 30, 2018
Using the internet to dig up some basics in Japanese
Once, many, many years ago, I found a rail pass someone left behind next to a public pay phone in Hamamatsucho Station in Tokyo's Minato Ward.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Apr 30, 2018
It's a relief knowing the difference between '安心' and '安全'
Introducing two words that distinguish between feelings of relief and safety.
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Apr 30, 2018
They found what in the Great Buddha?!
Kamakura's famed Great Buddha statue undergoes a 'physical examination' that reveals a lot of chewing gum inside it.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Apr 23, 2018
You should get the hang of 'そのうち' and '今に' soon enough
Introducing two adverbs that show the near future, u305du306eu3046u3061 and u4ecau306b.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 16, 2018
OK Google, auto-fill the gaps in my Japanese
If you are stuck for what to say in Japanese, Google search — and in particular, its auto-fill function — can be your friend.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Apr 16, 2018
If it's an explanation of how to use 'nara' you're looking for, here it is
Introducing how to use Xu306au3089u3001Y, meaning 'if X, Y' or 'if it is the case that X, Y.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Apr 16, 2018
New manager for the Japan World Cup soccer team is the 'best choice'
Former Japan national team manager Takeshi Okada voices his approval of newly appointed Akira Nishino.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 9, 2018
Musical vocab in Japanese can be a maddeningly multilingual minefield
A basic grounding in German, English, Italian and Heian Period poetry could be useful for those interested in reading and talking about the mechanics of music in Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Apr 9, 2018
Pretty vacant: Being barely there in Japanese with 'bonyari' and 'botto'
Introducing two expressions, u307cu3093u3084u308a and u307cu3046u3063u3068, that indicate someone or something is dim, distant or vacant.
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Apr 9, 2018
New signs installed in Nara on how to feed deer
Signs recently rolled out in Nara feature instructions in English, Chinese and Japanese on how to feed the deer without getting bitten.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE FOREIGN ELEMENT
Apr 4, 2018
In Japan, who do you think you are? Fun and games with foreign names in katakana
Katakana renderings of non-Japanese names can cause a raft of problems if spelling issues are allowed to fester.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 2, 2018
A company freshman's sharp learning curve
The first Monday in April — April 2 this year — sees tens of thousands of 生き生きして元気な新入社員 (ikiiki shite genki na shinnyū shain, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed newly hired company employees) — also referred to as フレシュマン (fureshuman, freshmen) — decked out in...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Apr 2, 2018
Taking an interest in describing hobbies
Shōhin-ni tsuite go-setsumei-shitara, kyōmi-o shimeshite-kudasaimashita. (When I explained our product, they showed interest in it.)
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Apr 2, 2018
Hakuto's lunar probe explores Tottori sand dunes
The Japanese team Hakuto participated in the first private international lunar exploration competition and on March 26 carried out a test run of the unmanned probe, Sorato, in the Tottori sand dunes. This was the final model's first outdoor test.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 26, 2018
Japanese women find strength in Me Too
The Me Too movement has arrived in Japan at last, and more Japanese women are opening up about issues surrounding sexual harassment.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Mar 26, 2018
Showing some style using 'shiki' and 'fu'
Explaining the difference between the compound nouns Xu5f0f (u3057u304d) and Xu98a8(u3075u3046), both of which mean 'in the style of X.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Mar 26, 2018
Reserve a cherry blossom viewing spot in Fukuoka
Fukuoka Prefecture is offering cherry blossom viewers the option to reserve a prepaid space for cherry blossom viewing in Tenjin Central Park in the city of Fukuoka.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 19, 2018
In written Japanese, it's punctuation, but not as we know it
Needless to say, Japanese has its own set of punctuation marks, and a number of special rules regarding their usage.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Mar 19, 2018
Joining up contradictory conditions in Japanese with 'ippo'
Fudan-no seikatsu-wa setsuyaku-suru ippō, o-iwaigoto-wa hade-ni suru. (They economize in their daily lives on the one hand but pull out all the stops for celebrations.)

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past