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Team Japanese
  • Japanese lessons
  • How to learn Japanese
  • Japanese culture
  • Courses and resources

Francesca Rex-Horoi

Francesca is a freelance copywriter and teacher, who moved to Tokyo from New Zealand at age 24. A linguistics and ESL major, she spent 3 years teaching at an all-boys high school. Now based in France, she remains a self-confessed Japanophile who loves kanji, cooking, cats and the outdoors.

How To Say Boy In Japanese (4 Essential Words)

by Francesca Rex-Horoi
japanese boy doing an excited face on pink background

Otoko no ko or danshi? Depending on age and stage of life, there are a few ways to say ‘boy’ in Japanese. Words for describing people in Japanese have different uses and nuances. Here we will go over the different words for ‘boy’ in Japanese and how to use them in the right context.   … Read more

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How To Say Girl In Japanese (6+ Ways!)

by Francesca Rex-Horoi
Picture of a young Japanese girl doing the peace sign and posing for a picture. Learn the many different ways to say girl in Japanese!

You probably recognize the kanji for woman/female, 女, but how do you say ‘girl’ in Japanese?  There are several words for ‘girl’ in Japanese and many of you know that this is because Japanese has formal and informal ways of describing people.  For example, even though the kanji just mentioned for ‘woman’ is onna / … Read more

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13 Cheesy Jokes in Japanese to Crack You Up

by Francesca Rex-Horoi
Japanese woman in black coat throws her head back laughing against pink background

Ever wondered how to crack a joke in Japanese? The majority of Japanese jokes are based on wordplay (kotoba asobi / 言葉遊び) and puns (dajare / 駄洒落) – and if you’re able to say one smoothly, you’re sure to impress even the most stoic of your friends!  Why are wordplay jokes so popular in Japanese? … Read more

Categories Japanese culture, Japanese lessons Leave a comment

Bad Japanese Words Your Teacher Won’t Tell You 

by Francesca Rex-Horoi

Warning: This post contains language not appropriate for young readers.  Curious about curse words in Japanese? We swear we won’t tell! (no pun intended…)   It’s easy to get the impression when first learning Japanese that everything is ultra-polite and it’s impossible to sound offensive.  But just like any other language, Japanese comes with its fair … Read more

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18 Badass Japanese Slang Words to Impress Your Friends

by Francesca Rex-Horoi
Young japanese students with school uniform chatting outdoors using Japanese slang

You don’t learn slang words from your average teacher – and it’s likely you won’t hear Japanese slang outside of Japan! (Unless you have Japanese friends of course!) In my humble opinion, Japanese has way cooler slang than English because it has an expressive ring to it which makes you sound more fluent. Being able … Read more

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‘Lol’ in Japanese (and More Japanese Internet Slang You Must Know)

by Francesca Rex-Horoi
Young Asian woman in yellow casual top and blue jeans holding laptop and laughing. Learn how to say lol in Japanese in this article to chat with your Japanese friends online!

Have you ever wondered how English internet slang words like ‘lol’ and ‘lmao’ translate into Japanese? Look no further, we have the answers right here. Since the dawn of the internet, the way we communicate has changed, whether you speak English or Japanese! Words like ‘lol’ became a natural part of internet slang because we … Read more

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Essential Japanese Punctuation Marks you Need to Know!

by Francesca Rex-Horoi
A Japanese high school girl in uniform stands in front of a blackboard looking confused. There is a question mark drawn in chalk on the blackboard. Learn about Japanese punctuation marks at TeamJapanese.com

There are similar punctuation marks in Japanese and English like the question mark and the exclamation mark but there are other punctuation marks you’ve probably never seen or used before!  Punctuation helps us express ourselves and show emotion in our writing but did you know that it wasn’t a part of the Japanese language until … Read more

Categories Japanese lessons 2 Comments

Onyomi vs Kunyomi: What’s the Difference and How Do You Learn Them?

by Francesca Rex-Horoi
Close up of male hand writing Japanese characters on blackboard.

When learning to read kanji, you will come across the concepts of kunyomi and onyomi, which are basically the two ways to read a kanji character!  Kunyomi and onyomi are often called the Japanese reading and Chinese reading respectively. But why are there two different ways to read kanji you might ask? And what does … Read more

Categories How to learn Japanese, Japanese lessons 4 Comments
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