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May 05, 2024
 

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VOCABULARY

Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 27, 2019
Speaking up in Japanese for quality time off work
Decades ago, the mid-1980s to be exact, I complained to my mom that my dad worked too much. Like legions of middle-aged Japanese salarymen, my father was never home before 9 p.m. and spent his weekends on 海外出張 (kaigai shucchō, overseas business trips). He was also big on 休日出勤 (kyūjitsu shukkin, working on holidays) as he claimed the nearly empty office helped him to concentrate. Needless to say, he never took a vacation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
May 27, 2019
'Gundam' robots to greet Olympians from space
The 2020 Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games announced on the 15th a plan to launch into space model robots from the anime 'Mobile Suit Gundam' to broadcast messages of support for the games to Earth.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 20, 2019
Matching the ins and outs of two common kanji
From April 1, the 入国管理局 (nyūkoku kanri-kyoku, Immigration Bureau), which operated under the auspices of the 法務省 (hōmushō, Justice Ministry), was upgraded from a bureau to an agency. Its Japanese name changed to 出入国在留管理庁 (shutsunyūkoku zairyū kanri-chō), which can be interpreted as the agency for control of exit, entry and residence. Its official English name, however, is Immigration Services Agency.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
May 20, 2019
Chadwick Boseman to play foreign-born samurai in film
The story of a black samurai known as 'Yasuke,' who served under warlord Oda Nobunaga in 16th-century Japan, will be made into a film starring African-American actor Chadwick Boseman, it was decided by May 7 [it was officially announced May 7]. The news was reported by U.S. entertainment media such as Deadline. The release date is undecided.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
May 13, 2019
You'd be considerably well off in Japanese by learning to differentiate between 'daibu' and 'kekkō'
The adverbs u3060u3044u3076 and u3051u3063u3053u3046 both convey a sense of degree.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 29, 2019
A few parting words in Japanese for when you retire
Japan needed to pass a special law before the Emperor was able to 'retire,' but for the rest of us the process is a bit easier — as long as you know the vocabulary involved.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Apr 29, 2019
Raising your voice can convey a different meaning, 'deshō'?
The Japanese words 'deshu014d' and 'daru014d' can be said with different intonations to provide various nuances.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Apr 22, 2019
Wondering aloud in Japanese about our Heisei Era memories
The words 'deshu014d' and 'daru014d' can help us put a little conjecture into the way we speak, but that's not the only thing they're used for.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Apr 22, 2019
Train etiquette posters prove to be a hit overseas
Use a Japanese news article on some fancy posters on Seibu trains to expand your artistic vocabulary.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Apr 15, 2019
'Uchi' is where the heart is
The Japanese word 'uchi' can have several meanings depending on the context it's being used in, but one common thread in all of them is an idea of closeness to the speaker.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Apr 15, 2019
Odd translations found on English website for tourists
Read an article in Japanese on translation errors and answer questions on what you've read.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 15, 2019
使用? 利用? Make use of a dictionary to use your Japanese properly
As your Japanese improves you'll begin to find there are subtle nuances in the language that can stump even native speakers. That's when you turn to a Japanese dictionary.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 8, 2019
Use 'shin' to make a new start in the Reiwa Era
Spring is the time for new life, the new school year, new coworkers and, in 2019, a new Imperial era.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Apr 8, 2019
There's nothing more important than learning how to distinguish between 'taisetsu' and 'jūyō'
When trying to convey the idea of importance in Japanese use 'taisetsu' for things that are sentimentally important and 'ju016byu014d' for things that are signifficant.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Apr 1, 2019
Heisei it ain't so! An era of great vocabulary is ending
In the beginning there was the word. More precisely, the prefix. When the Heisei Era officially started, on Jan. 8, 1989, Japan's economy was still merrily bubbling along. That must have been one reason for the popularity of 超 (chō, hyper-). The prefix itself is anything but new, but the idea to make just everything a "hyperlative" is an early Heisei thing. The 1990 edition of the authoritative dictionary 現代用語の基礎知識 ("Gendai Yōgo no Kiso Chishiki," "The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Words") lists the prefix, in its shortened katakana version チョ (cho), as one of the newcomers of the year.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 25, 2019
To differentiate a 'piri-piri' throat from a 'muzu-muzu' one, you'll have to know your onomatopoeia
If you ever want to take a break from grammar and reading when studying Japanese, dive into the world of 'giongo' and 'gitaigo.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Mar 25, 2019
Whether something smells like rotten cheese or is just plain cheesy, 'kusai' is your go-to adjective
Kono otoko wa kusai. (This guy is sketchy.)
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 18, 2019
Hay fever season gets people sneezing and talking
A good way to start a conversation in Japanese at this time of year is to talk about allergies and hay fever in particular. Learning the vocabulary for sore eyes and runny noses can also help at your local pharmacy.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Mar 18, 2019
Hay fever can make life hard enough to use the adjective 'tsurai'
A word that indicates hardship, agony and pain, you're most likely to hear it at this time of year because of spring allergies or hangovers from cherry blossom parties.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Mar 11, 2019
Turn an 'H' on its side and look what kanji you get
If you turn an 'H' on its side, you get something that looks like the kanji ku014d or ku, and from there you can go all sorts of places.
Japan says Biden's description of nation as xenophobic is 'unfortunate'
The National Diet building in Tokyo
G7 eyes plan on U.S.-led $50 billion aid package for Ukraine
A local resident visits the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday. The U.S. is in talks with close partners to lead a group of allies that would give as much as $50 billion in aid to Ukraine.
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
Japan drops to 70th in press freedom rankings
A businessman reads a newspaper outside a train station in Tokyo.
'Monster' Inoue ready to tear down Luis Nery in title defense at Tokyo Dome
Naoya Inoue (left) and Luis Nery following a pre-fight news conference in Yokohama on Saturday, two days ahead of their super bantamweight title fight.
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
Sapporo court ruling on Ainu fishing rights presents tough questions
A traditional Ainu preserved food called <i>satchep</i> (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25. The Sapporo District Court ruled last month that the Raporo Ainu Nation's rights as an Indigenous people did not extend to having an inherent right to fish for commercial reasons.
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.

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Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces
By Stephen Mansfield

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