Do you want to learn Japanese? Start by reading through these posts for a fun introduction to the Japanese language, including useful Japanese words, basic Japanese grammar and other Japanese lessons for beginners!
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
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
Among the first few vocabulary we learn in any language is how to call our family members. A standard word for father in Japanese is otousan (お父さん / おとうさん). But did you know that there are many other ways to refer to your father in Japanese? Depending on who you are speaking to or talking … Read more
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
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
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
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