JAPANESE LANGUAGE
Ikezu-Ishi: Are Kyoto’s “Rude Rocks” an Insult, or a Kindness?
Some domestic tourists point to one local custom, the "rude rock," as proof of Kyoto spite. But it isn't even specific to…
Japanese Language
JAPANESE LANGUAGE
JAPANESE LANGUAGE
How Higashino Keigo Improved My Japanese
In the wake of the beloved author's death, our author shares how Higashino Keigo's accessible writing made his own Japanese better.
JAPANESE LANGUAGE
You Say Tsuyu, I Say Baiu: How Japanese Jukujikun Make Kanji Even Harder
Why do the same two kanji for Japan's rainy season change pronunciation based on context? Blame the phenomenon known as jukujikun.
JAPANESE LANGUAGE
Japanese Social Media Auto-Translation: a Blessing, or a Curse?
Is auto-translation on Japanese social media breaking language barriers or creating new problems? We look at the illusion of certainty and its…
JAPANESE LANGUAGE
Kanji Forever? Why Japan Still Uses Chinese Characters, But Korea Mostly Doesn’t
Japan spent a century trying to abolish kanji, from an 1866 petition to the shogun to a postwar novelist who wanted Japan…
JAPANESE LANGUAGE
The “Dead” Slang Words a Japanese Dictionary Officially Killed
In English, words are rarely deleted from dictionaries. So why in 2021 did a Japanese dictionary publisher give 1,100 words the boot?
JAPANESE LANGUAGE
Why This Japanese Phrase from Kansai Sounds Strange to the Rest of Japan
It's a phrase that confuses Tokyoites. But to many in the Kansai region, it's a daily expression rooted in the region's unique…
JAPANESE LANGUAGE
Why Are More Japanese Girls Calling Themselves “Boku”?
How do you refer to yourself in Japanese? For most women, it’s some variant of "watashi." But for many young girls, the…