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April 03, 2025
 

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GRAMMAR

Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
May 4, 2021
Focus on sentence endings to 'see the future' in Japanese
Once you get an idea of what kinds of verbs come at the end of Japanese sentences, particularly in news reports, your brain can concentrate on deciphering the rest in more detail.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 12, 2021
Achieving solidarity requires more than words
With the anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, we're reminded of the solidarity of the people of Tohoku. Now if only we could find that unity in our politics.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Dec 22, 2020
Dare to take action in Japanese with 'isso' and 'omoikitte'
The terms 'isso' and 'omoikitte' both convey the nuance of doing something daring, or even 'taking the plunge.' Learn when it's best to use them.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Dec 15, 2020
Certainly, 'tashika ni' is a Japanese term you'll want to know
While 'tashika' on its own in a sentence conveys the idea that something is most likely true, adding the particle 'ni' to it will make it more definite.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Dec 8, 2020
Study 'mushiro' and 'kaette' rather than falling behind on your Japanese
The adverbs 'mushiro' and 'kaette' indicate alternative preferences, but the difference lies in whether the alternative comes down to personal judgement.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 1, 2020
I'm sorry, but I think you can complain a little bit better than that
Japanese is well-known for being an indirect language, but that doesn't mean you can't make your dissatisfaction with a situation clear to others.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Dec 1, 2020
A verb tense for when you've been the subject of someone else's machinations
When you've been made to do something against your will, try and wrap your tongue around the causative passive to express yourself.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 24, 2020
A few tips on what to focus on in the final stretch leading to the JLPT
If you haven't started recapping for the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test yet, consider this your warning.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Nov 24, 2020
We won't force you to learn 'yogi naku,' but you can't help doing so anyway
Ano suigai de ōku no katagata ga hinan-seikatsu o yogi naku saremashita.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Nov 17, 2020
You should know there's nothing better than 'ni koshita koto wa nai'
The 'koto da' and 'ni koshita koto wa nai' structures express strong certainties that you should do something.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Nov 10, 2020
Learn how to use 'uchi ni' while you're still in Japan
The 'uchi ni' and 'aida ni' structures denote time frames, but one is more specific than the other.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Nov 3, 2020
Learning the causative form will let you speak Japanese with ease
The causative forms of Japanese verbs can help relay the ideas of making someone do something or letting them do something they want to do.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Oct 27, 2020
The possibilities only 'naradewa' can offer
The structures 'naradewa' and 'ni kagiru' point out the singularity of something that's usually rather good.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Oct 20, 2020
Apart from 'bestu ni shite,' the 'tomokaku' structure is useful for making exceptions
The 'tomokaku' structure helps when you want to take one element of what you're talking about out of the conversation.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Oct 13, 2020
The more you study 'ba … hodo,' the better you'll be at Japanese
Describing the relationship between two things in Japanese is often understandable with the 'ba u2026 hodo' grammar point.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 6, 2020
If only there were one way to write 'only' in Japanese
The various ways of saying 'only' in Japanese can convey a number of nuances.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Oct 6, 2020
See to it that your Japanese gets better with yō ni suru
The verb 'suru' can help you express the idea that you want to intentionally turn something into something else.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Sep 22, 2020
You ought to know how 'beki' can help your Japanese
The negative 'bekarazu' structure may be old, but you can still find it in written Japanese with a strong prohibitive nuance attached to it.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Sep 15, 2020
You'd be surprised how far 'naka-naka' can take you in Japanese
The adverb 'naka-naka' can be used to comment on a surprising result, just don't use it when discussing the results your boss gets.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Sep 1, 2020
Talking about your (un)productive COVID-era hobbies
A lot of us took up new hobbies during the pandemic, but not all of have stuck with our activities.
As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
The U.S. says Japan has a 700% tariff on American rice. Is that the case?
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds up a piece of paper with information about tariff rates at the White House on Tuesday.
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

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