8 Japanese Onomatopoeic Words Posted by ranita on Dec 16, 2016
Onomatopoeia refers to the usage of words that describe sounds associated with an action or a thing. There are mainly three types of onomatopoeic words in Japanese – Giongo 擬音語, Giseigo 擬声語 and Gitaigo 擬態語. Giongo 擬音語 are onomatopoeic words that represent sounds produced by non-living objects. For example, ザーザー zaazaa is the sound of…
7 Japanese expressions you must know to call someone’s attention Posted by keiko on Dec 15, 2016
What would you say when you need to call someone’s attention in Japanese~? This month, I will be covering many of the useful Japanese expressions that you might not find in a typical Japanese text books. These expressions are used in our daily conversations, and that you will be able to use them right…
24 Hours in Nagasaki (Part Two) Posted by sasha on Dec 12, 2016
Continue exploring the port city of Nagasaki in our short video series showing just how much you can do with 24 hours there. Go back and watch Part One if you missed it, to see the Spectacles Bridge, the Suwa Shrine, and more. In Part Two, explore Kazagashira Park, learn about the city’s history in…
The Japanese Zodiac Posted by ranita on Dec 8, 2016
Hi everyone! Today I am going to talk about an interesting topic – the Japanese zodiac. 十二支 Juunishi or the Japanese zodiac signs are identical to the Chinese zodiac signs. It is based on the 12 year cycle, where each year is assigned an animal. However, in the Japanese zodiac system goat is replaced by…
10 Useful Japanese Counters Posted by ranita on Dec 2, 2016
For counting anything in Japanese, different affixes are attached to numbers. These affixes are called counters or 助数詞 josūshi. Japanese counters are used to count objects of different sizes and shapes, living things, time, actions etc. For example, 柿を一個ください Kaki wo ikko kudasai (give me one persimmon). The counter for round objects is 個 ko…
Exploring Nagasaki Posted by sasha on Nov 30, 2016
The city of Nagasaki (長崎) is located on the Japanese island of Kyushu (九州). It’s the capital and largest city in the prefecture of the same name. Once a secluded fishing village, it grew into a major port city after trade developed with Portugeuse explorers. It was here that the second atomic bomb was dropped…
30 Useful Idiomatic Phrases in Japanese Posted by ranita on Nov 28, 2016
In Japanese, idiomatic phrases are called ‘慣用語’ or kanyougo. They are often used by native speakers during conversations. Idioms add flavor to a language. They are simple phrases or expressions which might not make sense literally, but have ‘figurative meanings’. It is difficult to grasp the nuance of an idiomatic expression unless you are sure…