One of the strangest situations that you face when you start a Japanese conversation is greeting someone with one word to then be showered with the praise of jouzu (you’re so skilled)! Surprise, confusion, and frustration are common feelings. In the past, I provided various clever ways to respond (here, here and here) in order to calm your inner rant before it starts. However, I … Continue reading →
You speak Japanese. You have a child. Wouldn’t it be great if your child spoke Japanese too? With all the amazing life benefits that come to a bilingual child, it’s less of a “should I” and more of a “how do I?” And you don’t need to be a native, or married to a native in order to do it. You just need to find … Continue reading →
When you study Japanese, it becomes a proud moment when you create your Japanese study shrine, which is typically a bookcase full of Japanese goodness. While a lot of people use e-books to read, there is something special about visually building up a Japanese collection that you either plan to read, or have already read. It’s like having your Japanese progress (present and future) in … Continue reading →
I watch a lot of American TV shows dubbed into Japanese. Why? Why not? For the most part I have never had a problem with the quality of Japanese dubbing. Sometimes the voices aren’t the best choice for the characters. But nothing that makes me say “I’m not watching you.” However, Netflix has one dubbing problem, which absolutely baffles me and I just can’t forgive. … Continue reading →
Bilingual Japanese books are a learning resource that have been around for a very long time. The concept is simple. Take a book, and every time you turn the page: The left page is written in English The right page is written in Japanese The two pages correspond exactly with each other, so you can follow the story in both languages at the same time … Continue reading →
Life is full of ups and downs. You feel like things are going well until they are not. You feel like things will never get better until they do. Good luck and bad luck are intertwined with unexpected results. The phrase 人間万事塞翁(じんかんばんじさいおう)が馬(うま) The parts 人間: the (human) world 万事: everything 塞: fortress 翁: old man が: grammar particle 馬: horse The story A long time … Continue reading →
We all have goals, big and small. Things get in the way, preventing you from achieving them. Not any more. This time you are going to win. Task Write down specific goals you want to achieve for the month of October Initial Instructions Leave a comment by October 1st and include:1. Your specific goal(s)2. Resources you will use3. Game plan/strategy Completion Instructions Reply to your comment … Continue reading →
You’ve probably accepted by now that you are going to fail, multiple times, as you move forward learning Japanese. But how you fail changes all the time. There is a never-ending supply of failure variety. I think it’s useful to look at the way you fail (die) in video games, because it creates a nice parallel to failing at Japanese. Here’s a major list of … Continue reading →
