Francesca Rex-Horoi

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

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

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

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

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

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