Category Archives: Japanese Study: Intermediate
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.
The Compound Verb 着替える (kigaeru) and a Question of Particles
Japanese is rife with compound verbs, which are generally composed by taking the verb stem (what I like to call the ‘pre-masu form’) of one verb and attaching it to a second verb. For example 食べ終わる (“tabeowaru”) which is comprised of the verb stem of 食べる (“taberu”, meaning “to eat”) and 終わる (“owaru”, meaning “to… Read More »
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 »
10 Japanese Expressions Involving Cats
Japanese grammar: Takebacks in chess and when the past isn’t the past
I try to make sure I get a daily dose of Japanese, not as instructional material (a textbook, etc.) but as content made for native speakers. One good way to do this (which I’ve written about before here) is to set your PC or mobile device to Japanese language. I have my main personal phone… 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 »
50 Hints for Learning Japanese
Japanese literary term: おぼしき (oboshiki)
Japanese particle combination: “made de” (までで)
I feel that grammar is the soul of a language, and in the case of Japanese, particles are one of the most important parts of grammar. In this post I’d like to go over the particle combination “made de” (までで), which may not be obvious the first time you spot it in the wild. I… Read More »