Let's start with a quiz. See if you can match the Japanese words to the English definitions. Some of the Japanese terms have multiple meanings, but not all of the English definitions are valid...
This week I wrote essay 2055 on 踪 (traces, footprints; whereabouts), an essay that's largely about disappearances, thanks to this keyword and its spinoffs:
失踪 (し...
In a recent Skype chat with my language partner, I realized that I didn't know how to say "good at sports" in Japanese. He typed this phrase:...
This week I tried to figure out why English speakers refer to a blue whale whereas the Japanese include 白 (white) in their word for the same animal.
I found that one ...
What do you think the following sentence might mean:
彼らは、全人口の約1パーセントを占めている。
It really comes down to what the r...
If you saw this sign, would you know what to make of it?
...
David Bowie's death kicked off a week of losses, but it also brought to light something that many of us knew nothing about—his fascination with Japan. In particular, during performances h...
In my last blog and in the most recent newslett...
What a pleasure it is to meet a like-minded person! That's how I feel about Dan Bornstein, a new digital friend and the creator of the impressive project ...
I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn that the following word can mean "food":
食い物 (くいもの: food) ...
Let's start with a quiz. What do you think the following term could mean?
一掃 (いっそう) 1 + sweeping...
Today I bring you a grab bag of recent surprises.
Two blogs ago, I quizzed you on a word t...
I found a product title on Amazon Japan that made no sense to me:
家庭用 ハーブの水耕栽培キット 窓際族（窓辺でクレソン）
The fi...
Today let's do a different kind of matching quiz. I'll describe three scenarios. You need to match each one with a Japanese term. To make things more fun, I'll omit breakdowns...
Happy Halloween!
As it's the last day of the month, it seems like a good time to gather various gleanings from recent work. What that really means is that I'm going to present a ran...
Privacy Policy
