Japanese Literature Release: “The Face” by Hayashi Fubo
I’m happy to announce the release of “The Face”, a surreal piece of classic Japanese literature that contains both English and bilingual Japanese/English versions.
Japanese grammar: the fickle word “ii” (良い) and a trio of particles
After studying a foreign language for a certain amount of time, you develop a level of confidence about grammar and commonly used words. But for all of us that have learned a language as a non-native, there comes a time when we fail to use even the simplest of words properly, resulting in disastrous consequences…… Read More »
Important Japanese word: よく (yoku)
In this post I want to highlight a common and important word in the Japanese language, “yoku”. It can be written in hiragana as よく, and depending on the meaning can also be written in kanji as 良く or 欲. The first meaning I would like to go over is the most common one, which… Read More »
Japanese Netflix drama review: “Tiger & Dragon” (タイガー&ドラゴン）
For anyone who is even the least bit picky about what they watch, it’s easy to get annoyed by the lack of quality shows and movies available on Netflix, whether it is anime or live action productions. I try to limit the amount of time I spend watching Netflix, but with a few exceptions most… Read More »
The Making of a Japanese Literature Audiobook (and a giveaway)
In this post I give some highlights about the recent production of an audiobook based on Japanese literature, and I also announce a giveaway involving a few free copies of said audiobook.
The origin of the common phrase “ohayou gozaimasu” (meaning “good morning”)
When learning a foreign language, students will often memorize basic everyday greetings such as “konnichi wa” (“good afternoon”), “oyasumi nasai” (good night), and “ohayou gozaimasu” (“good morning”). But often students will not understand what these phrases literally mean, or where they originated from. In this post I want to take a look at the last… Read More »
Talking about the seasons in Japanese
Weather is part of our day-to-day lives, whether it is a rainstorm, a heatwave, or extra strong winds. And the seasons are one of the fundamental ways we categorize weather in terms of certain weather patterns. In Japan the seasons are especially important, partially because the types of foods that are available fresh differ significantly… Read More »
Japanese educational book release: “Kantan! Read Japanese stories like a native (Volume 1)”
I’m happy to announce the release of Arigatai Books’ first product that not only lists a story in parallel Japanese/English, but also gives detailed explanations for nearly every word and phrase to help learners understand the text. I’ve also provided three guides to help readers at any level: one on particles, one on word order, and one on verb tenses.
How long will it take me to learn Japanese?
Often language learners will wonder how long it takes them to master, or at least become fluent in a foreign language, especially when deciding whether to start studying a language or not. And from the point of view of time management, to a certain extent that is a logical thing to want to know. A… Read More »
The #1 pitfall of teaching yourself (a language)
Here on Self Taught Japanese I write about not only learning Japanese language and culture, but sometimes I also like to take a step back and write about the act of learning itself. In this post, I want to cover what I feel is one of the biggest pitfalls of learning a language (or anything… Read More »