Thea Ongchua 
Ah-choo! Hang on… am I being gossiped about? Is it true that if you sneeze, someone else is talking about you? We’ll never know. That’s only one of the many Japanese superstitions that you might encounter during your stay or in popular culture. There’s a ton of famous superstitions, but a few unknown ones can … Read more
The word for ‘everybody’ in Japanese is minna (みんな). When calling others’ attention, addressing a group or talking about ‘everybody’, the proper word is mina-san (皆さん / みなさん). You can also use minna for inanimate objects when saying ‘everything’ or ‘all’. One of the most common beginner mistakes in learning Japanese is confusing mina and … Read more
Japanese society embraces a hierarchical system especially when it comes to school or work. You may know it as the senpai-kouhai system. Senpai (先輩 / せんぱい) means one’s superior. The opposite of senpai is kouhai (後輩 / こうはい), one’s junior, a younger person or colleague who has little experience. Today we will highlight the background … Read more
For fans of anime and manga, one of the first few Japanese words you can quickly get acquainted with is senpai (先輩 / せんぱい). You may hear this frequently in stories set in schools. A senpai is someone’s senior or superior, an older person who is looked up to in school or the workplace because … Read more
Where ‘stop’ in English can be used in a variety of situations, in Japanese, it’s quite complicated. Each word for ‘stop’ is dependent on a number of things, like the context, or what is stopping and how. Words for stop in Japanese are situational. The kanji you use to write it also gives a clue … Read more
How do you wish someone good luck in Japanese? Saying the phrase ganbatte (頑張って / がんばって) or ganbare (頑張れ / がんばれ) is the most common way to do it. Its original meaning is ‘to persevere’. Just recently, I was preparing for an internship interview at a Japanese company, so I asked for corrections from my … Read more
Who’s a good boy? The best feeling in the world is coming to a happy doggo, tail wagging after eagerly awaiting its hooman’s return! Inu (犬 / いぬ) is the word for dog in Japanese, while koinu (子犬 / こいぬ) is the Japanese word for puppy. Japan is home to popular native breeds like the … Read more
Nya-ice to meet you! If you love cats and Japan, you’ve come to the right place! From Hello Kitty to maneki neko figurines that wave at you nonstop from shop windows, or even cat cafes for ailurophile foodies – there’s something cat people will love. The word for cat in Japanese is neko (猫 / … Read more