Hannah Stafford 
Japanese pick up culture is a little more lowkey than that of the western world. Many Japanese people are more reserved with their feelings and mindful of their approach towards other people. Things like PDA are not as common, and Japanese people can be a bit shy when initiating romance with someone new. That’s why … Read more
Looking for some romantic and inspirational quotes about love? Why not turn to the wisdom of Japanese! A proverb, or kotowaza (諺 / ことわざ) in Japanese, is a short, simple saying which intends to provide wisdom and/or insight. They can be really helpful in times where you may need guidance in life. As discussed in … Read more
‘I hate you’ is one of those negative phrases you probably wish to never use in conversation. However, it’s always useful to have the knowledge under your belt – just in case you find yourself in a position where you wanna let someone know how you really feel! The standard way to say hate in … Read more
Got a crush? 😍 In one of our previous posts, we discussed several romantic ways to say ‘I love you’ in Japanese. But before you go ahead telling that special someone that you love them, you may want to ease into it with an ‘I like you’, in order to see if the feeling is … Read more
Interestingly, ‘I miss you’ doesn’t have an exact counterpart in Japanese. But of course, Japanese people are not exempt from the feeling of missing someone or something, so what do they say? Although there is not a direct translation in Japanese, there are some phrases which convey the same sentiment. The most common way to … Read more
It is widely known that Japan has a culture of utmost courtesy and politeness. So, although your curiosity may push you to ask ‘why, why, why?’, it is important not to be overly intrusive when speaking with your Japanese acquaintances. The standard way to say ‘why’ in Japanese is naze (なぜ). In this post, we … Read more
Now that we know how to express happiness in Japanese, it’s time to learn how to express sadness 😢 Of course, no one likes to feel sad… However, it’s important and healthy to express our emotions and talk out our feelings, whether they be sad or happy. The most common way to say ‘sad’ in … Read more
If you go to Japan, hopefully you will experience a lot of happy times during your visit! But how would you express this happiness in Japanese conversations? The two most common ways to say ‘happy’ in Japanese are ureshii (嬉しい / うれしい) and shiawase (幸せ / しあわせ). Generally, ureshii describes that temporary feeling of joy … Read more