Random Nihongo

In my Twitter feed I post various things, including new items added to the J-List site, random anime pictures I’ve come across on the interwebs, and so on. I also occasionally post “random nihongo” tweets explaining Japanese words that have popped into my head like, “Did you know the kara in karate is the same as the one in karaoke?” (The first means “empty hand” and the second “empty orchestra.”) I consider it J-List’s mission to increase understanding between Japan and the rest of the world as much as we can, which is why we sell so many Japanese study materials for learners of all levels. Here are three phrases that you come across quite often when watching anime and which you can possibly use with Japanese people you know. The first is yappari (ya-PAH-ree), and it’s used to reaffirm an opinion or indicate you’ve changed your mind about something. Yappari, ramen wo tabemasho “On second thought, I’ll eat ramen” or yappari, gaijin wa se ga takai “Just as I always heard, foreigners are tall.” Then there’s sasuga, a way to praise someone for meeting your expectations. Sasuga Takeshi, biiru wo motte kita “Good old Takeshi, he brought beer [again as usual].” You can also just say sasuga! to mean something like, “I knew we could depend on you!” Finally there’s naruhodo which just means “I see, thanks for enlightening me” and is used when you receive a bit of useful information.

The Genki Japanese textbook line is our most popular nihongo study tool.