Thea Ongchua 
Unlike the English language, there is no single word for ‘brother’ in Japanese. In fact, it is hard to separate the importance of age and hierarchy in the family in learning about family members. Ani (兄 / あに) is the word for ‘older brother’ in Japanese while otouto (弟 / おとうと) means ‘younger brother’. But … Read more
Learning about how to refer to family members can be a little tricky in Japanese! Generally, there are two standard Japanese words for sister: ane (姉 / あね) for ‘older sister’ and imouto (妹 / いもうと) for ‘younger sister’. These two words, however, have different variations depending on context, age, who you are speaking to, … Read more
The standard Japanese word for mother is okaasan (お母さん / おかあさん). This word is typically used when speaking to your own mother or talking about somebody else’s mom. But did you know that there are many ways to refer to mothers in Japanese? Other words like haha (母 / はは) and haha oya (母親)are used … Read more
Japan is no stranger to the cute, weird, and all things in between. With the popularity of kawaii culture, Japanese mascots or yuru-kyara (ゆるキャラ) became part of the fun and quirky side of their culture! These mascots are designed to be cute, strange, or even something straight out of a nightmare. Yuru-kyara often make appearances … Read more
The 12 zodiac signs or juunishi (十二支) are an important element of Japanese culture, especially when a new year rolls in. It is part of the astrological system called eto (干支). The Japanese zodiac uses special kanji characters that are different from the usual characters for each animal. The Japanese zodiac is separated into 12 … Read more
Did you know that the famous saying ‘fall down seven times, stand up eight’ actually originated from Japan? Japanese quotes go way back, rooted in cultural practices and philosophy. Japanese proverbs or kotowaza (諺 / ことわざ) can be used in daily conversation or literature. There are three types of kotowaza: Though idioms are very common, … Read more
Are you new to anime? Maybe you’re reminiscing about some of your favorite childhood series? Whether you came from classics like Naruto or One Piece, or newer favorites like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen, there are a lot of Japanese words you commonly hear in anime episodes. Some famous anime words can be used as … Read more
We can’t think of Japan without associating it with the word kawaii! Not only is kawaii (かわいい) an adjective to describe something that is ‘cute’, ‘lovely’, or ‘adorable’, but it is also part of a bigger culture in Japan. Kawaii culture encompasses the cute and quirky, from Harajuku fashion to anime and manga, mascots, games, … Read more