Words that sound similar can cause trouble for those learning a foreign language, especially if the words have similar meanings. In this post I want to go over the difference between the Japanese words ”mae” (written either as まえ or 前) and “made” (usually written as まで, but in rare cases as 迄), which are… Read More »
Kanji (漢字), characters adopted from Chinese, are easily one of the most challenging aspects of the Japanese language. I think it’s fiar to say the love or hate relationship a learner has with kanji can determine whether they continue learning the language or give up. Personally, while I acknowledge kanji take a lot of time… Read More »
Curse words can be funny; we try to make sure our children don’t use them and stay away from using them ourselves in inappropriate situations, but at the same time they can among the first words we learn in a foreign language. I’ve met several people who say, “All I know in so-and-so language is… Read More »
This time I’d like to focus on the word “kansou”, which can be written in kanji as 感想, or occasionally in hiragana as かんそう. The pitch rises on the second letter and stays high, potentially raising the pitch of whatever word follows it (note: this is for Tokyo dialect, pronunciation may differ in other dialects).… Read More »
Reading Japanese literature in its original language has a few perks. First, you have access to a huge number of works that have not been translated yet, many of which may never be translated. Also, reading untranslated text allows you to pick up nuances which would difficult––if not impossible––to translate, although skiled translators can use… Read More »
The “te” form of verbs, sometimes (confusingly) referred to as the “gerund” form, is a cornerstone of Japanese grammar. Not only are there only a few verb forms in the language, but the “te” form has a variety of uses. In this post I’ll go over the main ones, including one you may not be… Read More »
When talking about language we often group words into categories such as nouns, adjectives, verbs, and so on. These so-called “parts of speech” help us understand the roles of each word and figure out how to fit them together with other words. However, the reality is that words in one category can often cross over… Read More »
In this post I’d like to go over the Japanese word “kudaranai”, which is often written in hiragana as くだらない, and sometimes in kanji as 下らない. As usual, I’ll first go into the basic meanings, followed by a discussion about the word origin and relevant nuances. The meanings of this word are fairly easy to… Read More »
While I can appreciate the value of vocabulary lists to get a quick sample of words in a specific area (and have made quite a few myself), there is also something to be said for focused posts on a single word, where spending time giving more explanation and examples can help better remember and understand… Read More »
Statistics about the number of people reading this blog are a good confidence booster, but readers who interact directly with me are really the lifeblood of Self Taught Japanese. That’s why I do my best to answer all questions that I receive via comments or email, sometimes in the form of long articles. Earlier this… Read More »