Tag - nihongo

 
 

NIHONGO

LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Mar 31, 2020
Local governments short on volunteer interpreters in emergencies
A Kyodo story looks at the lack of multilingual volunteers that would be able to help Southeast Asian communities in Japan in an emergency.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Mar 24, 2020
Entrance fee to Mount Fuji to become mandatory
An expert committee that advises the “Mount Fuji World Cultural Heritage Council” working group comprised of prefectures such as Yamanashi and Shizuoka, had confirmed a discussion as of (Feb.) 18th for an entrance fee for Mount Fuji.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Mar 24, 2020
Pointing out the family with 'ni ataru'
Mari-chan wa Nana no obasan ni ataru. (Mari is Nana’s aunt.)
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 24, 2020
Can’t find tissues? Get some towels, it’s moving time
It’s a bad time to run out of toilet paper and tissues. March is a month of big life changes in Japan such as 入学 (nyūgaku, entering university), 入社 (nyūsha, entering a company) and 転勤 (tenkin, company transfers), and those will often require your moving to a new apartment. A 空っぽな...
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 17, 2020
Looking for luck in Japanese amid a pandemic
It's St. Patrick's Day and with the spread of coronavirus taking place it's a good time to talk about lucky charms.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Mar 17, 2020
Celebrating special occasions with 'ni atatte' and 'ni saishite'
A more formal construction, 'ni atatte' is used when you are marking the occasion. 'Ni saishite' has a similar nuance, think of both as a fancy way to say 'when.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Mar 17, 2020
Will the coronavirus wreck Tokyo's cherry blossom season?
Tradition has come down with the flu this year as the virus known as COVID-19 has people rethinking their party plans.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Mar 11, 2020
'Masaka,' it's good to know this expression in a pinch
The adverb 'masaka' can be used to express the level of an emergency or a certain level of disbelief.
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Mar 10, 2020
School closures begin as Japan steps up coronavirus fight
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a 'request' to close schools, not an 'order.' Let's look at the language of a Kyodo News piece on the subject.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 7, 2020
Your Japanese vocabulary can expand as the new coronavirus spreads
When news of a virus began to surface we took the opportunity to review the Japanese for things like 'symptoms' and 'cough.' Now we're learning terms like 'pandemic' and 'state of emergency.'
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Mar 3, 2020
'Emergency' Japanese can help build fluency
One trick to improving your fluency in Japanese is to keep a list of stock phrases that can be deployed in multiple situations.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Mar 3, 2020
Talking about other people in Japanese using the 'garu' structure
You can tack 'tai' on the end of a verb to express what you want to do, but if you're going to speak for someone else then it's best to get a handle on the 'garu' ending.
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Mar 3, 2020
'United by Emotion' revealed as the motto for the Tokyo Games
An article reports the announcement of the new Olympic and Paralympic motto and gets a little emotional.
LIFE / Language
Feb 25, 2020
Shinjiro Koizumi and the new Japanese father
Shinjiro Koizumi joins the growing ranks of 'ikumen,' dads who challenge the norm of the Japanese father by taking stronger interest in raising their kids.
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Feb 25, 2020
Endowed with the talent for understanding the Japanese structures using 'nagara ni'
The structures 'nagara ni' and 'nagara no' are used in very specific ways in Japanese, which makes their comprehension slightly easier.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Feb 25, 2020
Japan railway firm to test anti-groping app on rush-hour trains
A Kyodo piece looks at the launch of a new smartphone app that is meant to alert passengers when there is a groper on the train.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 18, 2020
Good enough: The different ways to use ii in Japanese
The discovery of an 18th-century book titled 'The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes' leads our writer on a journey into the Japanese terms used for apple-polishers and bootlickers.
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / WELL SAID
Feb 18, 2020
People won't throw you under the bus if you're able to use 'kuse ni' correctly
Using the grammatical structure 'X kuse ni Y' has the same effect as 'despite X, Y' and can be used to convey a feeling of ill will.
LIFE / Language / NEWS IN NIHONGO
Feb 18, 2020
Sumo meet to be held as part of 2020 Games cultural program
A Kyodo article slams us with some sumo-related vocabulary and information on how the traditional Japanese sport will figure into Olympic festivities.

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