Tag - nihongo

 
 

NIHONGO

Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Mar 6, 2017
Belly nice — and nasty: the many uses of 'hara' in Japanese
Introduce a wide range of phrases using the noun u8179 (u306fu3089, belly).
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Mar 6, 2017
Brussels' Manneken Pis gets his own museum
Sample newspaper article
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 27, 2017
Folding and unfolding Japan's ubiquitous 'tatami words'
Japanese has this amazingly amazing capacity to form words through the simple process of repetition, or what linguists call reduplication.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Feb 27, 2017
Falling in line and expressing change with 'shitagatte'
Introducing the phrase Xu306bu5f93(u3057u305fu304c)u3063u3066 (following/in line with X) and its related expressions.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Feb 27, 2017
Queen Elizabeth II marks record 65 years on throne
Queen Elizabeth II has become the first British monarch to reach the milestone of 65 years on the throne.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 20, 2017
Investing big but wisely in Japanese study aids can reap dividends
An expensive dictionary, a big TV — and a wedding ring: just three of the big purchases that could give your Japanese a lift.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Feb 20, 2017
Divorcee marriages hit historic high
About 1 in 4 marriages in the nation involved a divorced person in 2015, the highest ratio since 1952, the earliest year for which data is available.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Feb 20, 2017
Be careful not to mix up your 'hagemu' with your 'hageru'
Introducing some verbs that sound similar but have very different meanings.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 13, 2017
The Japanese and love — more complicated than you think
The Japanese suck at this thing called love, and no amount of Valentine's Day chocolate is going to fix that.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Feb 13, 2017
Adding 'ao,' the blue that can also be green, to your Japanese linguistic palette
Introducing the noun u9752 (u3042u304a), meaning blue, and its related expressions.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Feb 13, 2017
Kisenosato becomes Japan's 72nd yokozuna
Kisenosato has been officially promoted to the position of 72nd grand champion in sumo history.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 6, 2017
Some fiendishly complex archaic kanji just won't die
Even in the 21st century, a whole bunch of difficult, nonstandard and archaic kanji don't appear to be in any danger of being phased out.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Feb 6, 2017
Do the whole shebang and take it to the limit with 'kiru'
Introducing the verb u5207(u304d)u308b and its related expressions.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Feb 6, 2017
Eight men hold half of the world's wealth, Oxfam study says
Just eight superrich men own as much wealth as the 3.6 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world's population, according to an analysis by Oxfam.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 30, 2017
A woman's lowly place in Japan, mirrored in its language
Given that so many demeaning and negative words related to women endure, is it any surprise that sexism is still rife in Japan?
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Jan 30, 2017
Showing things are tough or a breeze using 'nikui,' katai' and 'yasui'
Introducing two kinds of compound adjective, Xu3084u3059u3044 (easy to X) and Xu306bu304fu3044 (difficult to X).
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jan 30, 2017
Groups call for redefinition of elderly
Japanese aged between 65 and 74 should no longer be classified as elderly because they are physically and mentally much younger than their predecessors were decades ago, according to a proposal.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Jan 23, 2017
Better to be read than end up misled about the uses of 'mashi'
Introduce the na-adjective u307eu3057u306a — meaning better — and its related expressions.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jan 23, 2017
Aoyama Gakuin rules the Hakone ekiden again
Aoyama Gakuin University won the Tokyo-Hakone collegiate ekiden road relay for the third straight year on Jan. 3 after completing the two-day race with a lead of more than seven minutes.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jan 23, 2017
New Year's festivities in Japan ain't what they used to be
For one thing, it's too warm. Back in mid-century Tokyo, お正月 (o-Shōgatsu, New Year's Day) used to be so cold, according to my grandmother, that peoples' laundry froze on the 物干し竿 (monohoshizao, bamboo drying pole).

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami