50 Hints for Learning Japanese
I’ve made a list of 50 hints for learning Japanese based on my own experience, covering everything from kanji, listening, and grammar to study habits and other topics.
The Adventures of “wa” + “ga”: Question Sentences
In this article I focus on the differences in using the “wa” versus the “ga” particle in the context of asking simple questions.
Japanese literary term: おぼしき (oboshiki)
This time I’d like to discuss the word おぼしき (oboshiki), which despite having a bit of a complicated origin has a relatively simple meaning and usage.
Classical poem translation: “The Second of a Series of Miscellaneous Poems” (雜詩其二) by Tao Yuanming (陶淵明)
I decided to translate a poem by the 4th-century Chinese poet Tao Yuanming (陶淵明), leveraging both the original text as well as Japanese translations and explanations.
Japanese Netflix Drama review: “Alice in Borderland” (1st Season)
I reviewed the first season of “Alice in Borderland”, a pretty interesting series (based on a manga) that is available on Netflix.
Japanese women’s literature book release: “Days and Nights” by Hayashi Fumiko
I’m proud to announce my next release of classic Japanese’s women’s literature: a collection of Hayashi Fumiko’s short stories titled “Days and Nights”.
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 »
Japanese expression: “年は年だから” (toshi wa toshi dakara)
This time I’d like to go over the expression “年は年だから” (toshi wa toshi dakara), and some related topics. I chose this since this expression is a little tricky to understand, especially if you are thinking about it from an English point of view. First let’s look at a short, real-world dialogue using this: Person A:… Read More »
Self Taught Japanese: A look back at 2020 and what is to come in 2021
In this post I take a look at what STJ has achieved as a blog in 2020, and what I have achieved as a publisher (including some statistics on both). I also talk about some plans and aspirations for 2021.
Japanese anime review: “Blame!” (ブラム)
The other day I was going through Netflix and having a tough time finding a series or movie that I could really get into. After some searching I discovered the anime movie “Blame!” (supposedly pronounced “Blam!”, though the Japanese title is ブラム), and after a few minutes I was hooked, finishing off a roughly two… Read More »