Tag - language

 
 

LANGUAGE

Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 27, 2018
Will society still need me, will it still feed me, when I'm 100?
Back in the 1960s when Paul McCartney wrote 'When I'm 64,' the average life expectancy worldwide was 52. Yet half a century on, Japan is already gearing up for the era of u4ebau751fu767eu5e74 (jinsei hyakunen, 100-year life).
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Aug 27, 2018
Using 'zenzen' in Japanese is no problem at all
Introducing some of the usages of the adverb u5168u7136(u305cu3093u305cu3093, never/not at all), which is often heard in conversation.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Aug 27, 2018
Let's discuss the lost and found boy
The recent discovery of an uninjured 2-year-old boy who had been missing for three days on an island in western Japan is being called a miracle.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Aug 20, 2018
Let's discuss the Japan boxing scandal
Japan Amateur Boxing Federation President Akira Yamane has quit following numerous allegations of misconduct, including pressuring referees to fix matches and misuse of grant money.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 20, 2018
Smile as you study:/ Sharp salaryman senryu/ satirize the slog
Highlights from the 31st Senryu for Salaried Workers Contest riff on the situations employees encounter at the office, home or both.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Aug 20, 2018
A little Japanese primer on using 'chotto' in Japanese
introducing some uses of the adverb u3061u3087u3063u3068, which comes up in all kinds of situations.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 13, 2018
Japanese surnames: Among the usual suspects, you're bound to find some curveballs
How many Japanese surnames are there anyway? It's a tricky question, because the total depends on how you decide to count them.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Aug 13, 2018
The good, the bad and the 'by all means' of 'zehi' in Japanese
A closer look at u662fu975e(u305cu3072), which means 'good and/or bad' or 'by all means.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 6, 2018
Spooky Japanese tales will scare the summer's heat out of you
Until recently, summer nights involved turning off the AC and doing things like kurumaza ni natte kaidanbanashi (sitting in a circle and telling ghost stories).
Japan Times
LIFE / Language
Aug 6, 2018
Raise a glass, count your squid, say you're full but watch your tone with 'hai'
Introduce the word u4e00u676f (u3044u3063u3071u3044, one cup) and its related expressions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 30, 2018
Get a handle on kanji in Japanese with the hand classifier
Considering the versatility of the human hand, it should come as no surprise that it can be found within more than 1,000 kanji.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Jul 30, 2018
In Japanese, 'sorosoro' shows what's coming slowly and carefully, or what's coming up
The adverb u305du308du305du308d can be used to indicate that an action is done not only slowly but also carefully, or that it is almost the time for something.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jul 30, 2018
Let's discuss the heat wave
Twelve people died and nearly 10,000 people were taken to hospitals with heat exhaustion or heatstroke during the week through July 15, as a heat wave continued to scorch wide areas of Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Jul 23, 2018
Wherever you go in Japanese, you'll always find your 'tokoro'
The word 'tokoro' can be used to pin down a place in space, time or in a more abstract sense.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Jul 23, 2018
Much ado about 'nothing but' in Japanese with 'shika nai'
Introducing some uses of the phrase Xu3057u304bu306au3044/u3057u304bu3042u308au307eu305bu3093 (There is nothing but X).
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Jul 23, 2018
Kids cheer on their bugs at the Kabutomushi Sumo Competition
The National Kabutomushi Sumo Tournament, where rhinoceros beetles are made to fight on tree branches instead of sumo rings, was held recently in Yamagata Prefecture.
LIFE / Language / MORNING ENGLISH
Jul 23, 2018
Let's discuss the flooding disaster in western Japan
Thousands of people are still staying at shelters, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, after special storm warnings were issued in eight prefectures in western and southwestern Japan.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Jul 16, 2018
There's quite a lot you can do in Japanese with 'nakanaka'
Introducing some uses of the word u306au304bu306au304b (quite)
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Jul 16, 2018
Three Mount Fuji trails open for the climbing season
The three trails on the Shizuoka Prefecture side of Mount Fuji opened on July 10 at the start of the climbing season.

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