Translation Troubles: Two birds, two titillating names
In this post I talk about a tricky translation problem related to bird names and how I solved it.
Category Archives: translation
Book Release: Japanese Particle Quizzes [Yaba-Q: Volume 1]
(quick link to my new particle quiz book on Amazon) For anyone who has followed this blog you probably know that in the last few years I’ve started putting out eBooks with my translations of various pieces of Japanese literature. A few of these are in parallel Japanese / English to help those studying Japanese,… Read More »
Japanese book review: “コミュニケーションの原点は「氣」にあり！” (“Communication begins with Ki!”) by Shin’ichi Tohei (藤平信一)
I reviewed the book “Communication begins with Ki!”, the latest book by Shin’ichi Tohei, the head of the Ki Society and son of the founder of Ki Aikido, Koichi Tohei. In this book he talks about a variety of topics with Professor Katsuhiro Nishinari, many related to Ki or Ki-Aikido.
Japanese Light Novel Translation: “Past, Present, You” by Yuki Hoshizaki (Chapter 13)
This is the 13th chapter of a novel I am translating and publishing on this blog. See this post for the first chapter and more details about the novel. I would like to thank the author, Yuki Hoshizaki (星崎ゆうき) for giving me permission to translate and publish this chapter in this blog. You can find… Read More »
Japanese Book Release: Classic Japanese Fairy Tales (Volume 3), by Mimei Ogawa
I’ve published another volume of fairy tales by Mimei Ogawa, father of modern Japanese children’s literature. The stories are listed in bilingual Japanese/English.
Japanese expression: 疲れにくくなる(tsukare nikuku naru)
The Japanese language has a small number of verb tenses, but in place of those are various combinations of words that can be tricky to understand and translate. In this article I’d like to go over the phrase 疲れにくくなる(tsukare nikuku naru) that combines three words to create one idea. First I’d like to review the… Read More »
Japanese word 構成 (kousei) and its use in the IT industry
When learning a foreign language, there are words you can guess from the context and others that can be figured out with a quick trip to the dictionary. However, once in a while you discover a word that remains perplexing even after you read about what it’s supposed to mean. This article is about one… Read More »
50+ Japanese Grammatical Patterns: an experiment in translation
In this post I illustrate 50+ sentence patterns in Japanese using example sentences and English translations. The examples are minimal and the focus is on how small changes (especially involving particles) can lead to very different meanings.
Self Taught Japanese to Begin Online Japanese Classes [BETA]
Because of the unfortunate situation in the world at this time, many people are turning to online options to continue their learning, social interactions, or even exercise. Blogs like this one already take advantage of the internet, and if anything I have seen a rise in hits over the last few weeks. But I’ve been… Read More »
Japanese Women’s Literature Book Release: “Downfall and Other Stories” by Hayashi Fumiko
I’m happy to be able to announce my next book, “Downfall and Other Stories”. This contains English translations of a few pieces of fiction from Hayashi Fumiko (林芙美子), an important Japanese author from the early 20th century. They range from a lighthearted comedy to a poignant post-war tale.