Yesterday I made a post about the “~kaba” particle combination that you can see here. But you may have realized that yesterday was April 1, and it turns out this post was actually an April Fool’s joke. The “~kaba” particle combination doesn’t actually exist. Having said that, besides “kaba” itself much of the content in… Read More »
(Note: this post was an April fools joke. Please see this post for more details). I enjoy getting deep in Japanese grammar not only because of the challenge but because it helps me have a deep understanding of whatever I am reading or listening to. It also provides a good foundation for doing accurate translations.… Read More »
One of the biggest challenges when learning a foreign language, especially if you are going the self-taught route, is that it’s hard to find situations where proper use of the language actually matters. If you can interact with native speakers on a frequent basis, or even better, live in a country filled with such native… Read More »
For everyone out there doing translations––whether you’re an experienced career translator or a student just getting your feet wet––producing translations with a minimum of mistakes is surely high on your list of priorities. Notice I didn’t use the word “correct”. That’s because nearly all translations have a strong element of subjectivity and style in them.… Read More »
In this post I emphasize the importance of a good understanding of Japanese, and give a few examples where the change of a particle makes a big difference.
Unlike the “-s” suffix in English, Japanese doesn’t have an all-purpose way to make words plural. But that doesn’t mean there are no plural words in Japanese; in fact, there are quite a few, and a few patterns that are helpful to learn. In this post I want to talk about expressing plurality in Japanese… Read More »
A discussion about “ukemi” (受け身), a core part of aikido and one of the things I really enjoy about this traditional Japanese martial art.
I’ve been a fairly avid reader all of my life, but I’ve found that after a few months has passed I tend to remember only a small fraction of what I read––perhaps because of my reading speed. Or maybe it’s just how my mind works. While a majority of my reading time has been devoted… Read More »
When studying a foreign language, it’s natural for all sorts of questions to come up––how to pronounce words, how to use grammar correctly, and (perhaps the hardest) how to speak or write natural sounding language. For those taking a formal language class, generally there will be some time either after or during class to ask… Read More »
In this article I give a detailed overview of Oregon Ki Society, an organization dedicated to spreading the teachings of Koichi Tohei that include Ki-Aikido and Ki principles. While Ki-Aikido is a martial art, the principles learned at OKS can be applied in many areas of your daily life, promoting things like mindfulness and self-control.