Category Archives: Japanese Study: Advanced

A surprising meaning of the Japanese word その(“sono”).

You probably know that the Japanese word “sono” means “that”, but in this article I will talk about an alternate way it can be used.

The Translation Project of a Lifetime

For the most part, my translation career so far has been about translating Japanese fiction in written form to English (the exception being a few months of freelance translation at Gengo). But the other day I accepted a job that was in a very different form, providing new challenges that stretched my boundaries as a… Read More »

Japanese phrase: 〜ことから (~koto kara)

In this post I go over the Japanese phrase “〜ことから” (~koto kara) and give a few examples of its usage.

Japanese Literature Release: “The Masquerade Ball” by Edogawa Rampo (Bilingual Edition)

I’ve released an ebook of “The Masquerade Ball” in bilingual Japanese/English format. It’s written by Edogawa Rampo, master of classic Japanese mystery.

Japanese Writing Lab #7: A fun event or trip

Having trouble finding opportunities to practice writing in Japanese? In this post I wrote in Japanese about a fun experience I had. I ask you to try doing the same, and in exchange I’ll give my feedback on your writing. Japanese learners of any level are invited, and there is no length requirements on the result.

Japanese expression: だけあって (dake atte)

In this article I’d like to go over the Japanese expression “dake atte” (だけあって), particularly because the meaning is not quite what you expect given the words comprising it. But first let’s look at those words as a starting point. だけ (dake) is probably a word you’ve come across before, and many times it is… Read More »

Japanese literature review: “大きな鳥にさらわれないよう” (“To Avoid Being Swept Away by a Large Bird”) by 川上弘美 (Hiromi Kawakami)

I picked up “To Avoid Being Swept Away by a Large Bird” by Hiromi Kawakami for the usual reasons––an interesting description on the cover, a curious title, and a reasonable length––but reading the first few paragraphs helped me close the deal (although I admit it was more because the prose was easy to read than… Read More »