Pitty the Poor Gaijin
There are many important milestones that a foreigner trying to master Japanese will face. Ordering in a restaurant for the ...
Tag: Learning Japanese
More Thoughts on Kanji
There's no doubt about it: the most complex part of learning Japanese is kanji, unless you're fortunate enough to already ...
My Knock Knock Joke Reconsideration
What if you met a Japanese person who went around telling "knock knock" jokes in English all the time? It ...
Manga and Learning Japanese
Naturally, the Japanese that's taught in textbooks isn't always the most natural-sounding, and I remember being frustrated by some of ...
Big Dreams, Little Tokyo
One of the many products J-List carries is a fun film called Big Dreams, Little Tokyo, a movie I like ...
Trick Your Mind into Learning Japanese
Part of mastering a foreign language involves coming up with strategies that help you trick your brain into learning. In ...
On Accents and Fake Mexican Food
You've been in Japan too long when you get a nihongo ga jozu and feel really insulted. It's an odd ...
Interesting Observations by Children and Linguistic Children
One thing that's fun about having kids is all the creative observations they make. Like the time my daughter saw ...
Is Speedo a Japanese Company?
Back when I was learning Japanese, I distinctly remember thinking to myself that the Speedo swimsuit company had to be ...
Bad Japanese “Dajare” Puns and Arnold Schwarzenegger
It's still drizzling in Japan, as rainy season continues dumping an extra helping of precipitation on the Japanese islands. This ...
The Joy of Linguistic Enlightenment
One of the things I've liked about my years of learning Japanese is what I've come to call the "joy ...
Interesting Japanese Phrases: Yappari, Naruhodo, Masaka, Sasuga
When learning Japanese, I found myself fascinated by words or phrases that were completely unlike what existed in English. For ...
Fixating on Japanese Phrases and Kanji
One interesting side effect of studying a foreign language like Japanese is finding yourself naturally fixating on various aspects of ...
How many words for “rice” do the Japanese have?
There are many large and small challenges you encounter when learning Japanese. For example, it's difficult being at peace with ...
Learning Japanese can be easy. No, really!
With a sentence structure and grammar unlike anything used in the West along with three different writing systems, learning the ...
Gaijin to get Language Requirement to Live in Japan?
There was a minor dust-up on the Internets in Japan this week after the government suggested that it might add ...
Barrier to white people learning Japanese: Kanji
Without a doubt, one of the big barriers to learning Japanese are the kanji, the Chinese characters that communicate meaning ...
Some thoughts on the series “Lost,” how to brighten a Japanese salaryman’s day, and how learning Japanese can get you fewer dates
I've caught the "Lost" bug, and am enjoying watching the series on DVD here in San Diego. One interesting aspect ...
Learning about Japan through late-night TV, update on international marriage in Japan, and learning Chinese “for free”
I watch more than a little late-night Japanese TV, and I enjoy its light- hearted goofiness. The other night I ...
“Respect for the Aged Day” in Japan, various ideas about the grammar of Japanese, and the joy of shared popular culture
Today is a holiday in Japan: Keiro no Hi, or Respect for the Aged Day. Celebrated nationally since 1966 -- ...
The possibility of Japan’s first “otaku” Prime Minister, various thoughts on bilingualism, and all about Japanese health drinks (and other potions)
The rush is on to choose a successor to Prime Minister Abe after his sudden resignation on Wednesday. I saw ...
Frustration at teaching English in Japan, “sorry” to see Prime Minister Abe go, how to pronounce Japanese, and “see you later, bald person”
My wife has decided to volunteer at my daughter's elementary school as an assistant in the English classes they have ...
More about “standing out in a crowd,” what Steven Spielberg has to do with learning Japanese, and ways that Japanese people save space
I talked last time about how the dynamic of "standing out in a crowd" can work a little differently when ...
On psychology and jealousy of gaijin living in Japan, thinking about Japanese grammar while in the bath, and using the Far Side in English class
I've written before about the psychology of ex-pats living in Japan, such as the the Three Stages of Eye Aversion ...
