Vocabulary

Eat & Learn: Yummy Meiji Chocolate: October 20th, 2011

Having just arrived back from a 10 day trip to Tokyo, we of course had our bags full of all sorts of great stuff including several different varieties of Meiji Chocolate bars. I was meaning to put this up last week and I noticed over the past 7 days that the pile had mysteriously disappeared (eg my wife had eaten them).
Minitube: Immerse Yourself in Japanese: August 26th, 2011

One of the best ways to improve your Japanese is to immerse yourself in as much native language material as possible. While it’s easy enough to click around YouTube all day long but having an app right on your desktop that lets you set and forget your daily immersion playlists is pure gold – and recently I found such a beast – Minitube.
Do you have a J-CLUE?: July 12th, 2011

The Hiragana Times and J-Clue has teamed up to launch a new test aimed at assessing Japanese language and cultural understanding. J-Clue doesn’t replace the JLPT, it is simply testing a different subset of your language skills. Do you know what konkatsu means? Could you name the traditional Japanese art in which a person sits on a stage and tells a funny story? What does the phrase, “Shiranu ga hotoke,” mean?
5 Steps To Ordering a Meal in Japan: July 8th, 2011

I live in Japan, but barely speak Japanese. I can’t help you with verb conjugation or passing the JLPT. But I have managed to eat! Restaurants in Japan are a culinary and cultural adventure. Knowing how to act is crucial to speaking the language. They’re also great places to practice many facets of conversational Japanese!
Don’t Be Deaf To Japanese: May 24th, 2011

One of the (many) mistakes I made when I began learning Japanese was not to listen to anyone actually speaking the language. If your current Japanese study plan doesn’t include any listening comprehension, then it’s time to make the change and stop being deaf to Japanese.
Just remember…..: May 6th, 2011

Sometimes I hit the wall and learning Japanese becomes a chore. It doesn’t happen every week or even every month but lack of motivation hits us all at some point. However, it’s the people who push through that wall and continue their studies that will eventually become a Japanese ninja. ^_^
Tenses: Past and Present: April 7th, 2011

Tenses are an important part of your Japanese arsenal. They give you the ability to describe the past, present and future. It is sunny today, it was sunny yesterday and it will be sunny tomorrow.
Video: Japan – The Strange Country: March 7th, 2011

This video has been around a while but it floors me every time I watch it – it is so beautifully done by Kenichi Tanaka. I wish I had a 100th of his design talent. ^_^
Japan Vocab: Like and Dislike: March 2nd, 2011

While the words “like” and “dislike” don’t rate up there with yes and no as the first words you’ll learn in a new language, they’re obviously important to have in your beginner’s vocabulary.
Learn Japanese: Know Your Age: November 17th, 2010

In Japan, like the rest of the world, it’s not okay to run around asking every one about their age, however given the Japanese predilection for being respectful to their elders, you’ll find that they may ask your age so they can address you properly. I’ve collected a few sentences below that you can use in these situations plus a table of example ages.