On a recent road trip through Oregon and Washington State, I had a great, though brief, reunion with Laurence “Lani” Wiig. Years ago, he edited my kanji book, and he has since developed...
Do we spend enough time thinking about nonsense?
I began to do so after considering this book title for possible inclusion in...
If you saw this word, what would you think it meant:
不可欠 (ふかけつ) not + -able + lack
If you saw the following term, what would you think it meant:
指針 (ししん) finger, toe; to point to; nominate; instr...
I started 2020 with Radical Note 39 on 子 as a tie-in with the Year of the Rat (子), never imagining of cour...
Yoga class reinvigorates me, especially when I feel a bit bored in a pose and glance around the room, spotting a kanji tattoo I haven't seen before. Recently, I discovered 逆 on the nape of...
Welcome back to the blogosphere here on Joy o' Kanji! It's been nearly two months since I've blogged, mainly because I wanted to make a dent in a mountain of essay revisions. I definite...
I just read an ultra-serious article about a bleak social problem that a former classmate is confronting in the courts. On Facebook, several of my peers left sober, mature comments about the severi...
The newest essay, which is on 糾 (to investigate; twist strands into a rope; gather people; put the screws on someone), contains a senten...
I've gathered body parts for you. You're welcome! Match each Japanese term to one English meaning, steering clear of false answers:
1. 耳を傾ける ...
Let's start with a Quick Quiz. What could this phrase mean:
奇跡の一枚 (きせきのいちまい)
The first half, 奇跡, means "miracle," whereas 一枚 as いちまい represents...
Life feels inordinately complicated right now, as we here in Northern California face another planned power outage, this one potentially compounded by unbreathable air from an inferno in the W...
I thought I knew a lot about noodles until I wrote essay 2118 on 麺 (noodles), which certainly made me use my noodle. (Groan!) Below you...
The past week was about power—or the lack thereof.
In Northern and Central California we received dire warnings about how PG&E (our gas and electric company) would be turning...
My husband, dogs, and I recently traveled south to Montecito, a beach town near Santa Barbara, California. At a Thai restaurant one night, our server chatted with us ab...
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