Japanese learning blog
Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
All articles · Page 25
Futon Vocabulary and Etiquette: Sleeping the Japanese Way
A Japanese futon, ofuton, is a set of bedding laid directly on the floor: a mattress called a shikibuton, a quilt called a kakebuton and a pillow, makura. Each morning many people fold it away into a cupboard, and on sunny days they hang it out to air.
10 min readKitsune and Tanuki in Japanese Folklore: Foxes and Tanuki
In Japanese folklore, the kitsune (fox) and the tanuki (raccoon dog) are shape-shifting animals that can trick people. The fox is elegant and mysterious and serves as a messenger of the god Inari, while the tanuki is a cheerful, round-bellied prankster, and both live on in shrines, shop statues, food names and idioms.
10 min readJapanese Insect Words: Bug Names, Summer Sounds and Phrases
The everyday Japanese word for bug or insect is 虫 (mushi), and it covers far more than insects: spiders, worms and centipedes are all mushi in daily speech. The scientific word is 昆虫 (konchū). Most insect names, such as セミ (semi, cicada) and カブトムシ (kabutomushi, rhinoceros beetle), are native Japanese words, usually written in katakana.
11 min readJapanese Bird Names: Common Birds, Bird Sounds and Phrases
The Japanese word for bird is 鳥 (tori), and the birds you will meet first are スズメ (suzume, sparrow), カラス (karasu, crow) and ハト (hato, pigeon). Some birds carry strong cultural meaning, such as the crane, ツル (tsuru), a symbol of long life, and the bush warbler, ウグイス (uguisu), whose song announces spring.
9 min readJapanese Furniture Words: Room Items, Positions and Moving In
Furniture in Japanese is 家具 (kagu). Most Western-style items use katakana loanwords, such as ベッド (beddo, bed), ソファ (sofa) and テーブル (tēburu, table), while desks, chairs and shelves keep native words: 机 (tsukue), 椅子 (isu) and 本棚 (hondana). Japanese-style rooms add low furniture such as the 座卓 (zataku) and the floor chair 座椅子 (zaisu).
10 min readJapanese School Subjects: Names from Elementary to University
School subjects in Japanese are 科目 (kamoku) or 教科 (kyōka). The core five are 国語 (kokugo, Japanese), 数学 (sūgaku, maths), 英語 (eigo, English), 理科 (rika, science) and 社会 (shakai, social studies). Maths is called 算数 (sansū) in elementary school, and several subjects change names as children move up.
10 min readJapanese Family Members Vocabulary: Haha or Okāsan? Who Says What
Japanese has two words for most family members: a plain one for your own family when you talk to outsiders, such as 母 (haha, my mother), and a polite one for other people's families, such as お母さん (okāsan, your mother). Inside the family, people switch again and call each other okāsan, mama or by name. The word you choose depends on whose family it is and who is listening.
10 min readJapanese Makeup Vocabulary: Products, Verbs and Beauty Talk
Makeup in Japanese is 化粧 (keshō) or, more casually, メイク (meiku). Most product names are katakana loanwords, such as ファンデーション (fandēshon, foundation) and マスカラ (masukara, mascara), but lipstick is the native word 口紅 (kuchibeni). The verbs are the tricky part: you 塗る (nuru) foundation, 引く (hiku) eyeliner and 落とす (otosu) your makeup at night.
9 min readJapanese Baby Talk Words: Wanwan, Nyannyan, Nenne and More
Japanese baby talk, 幼児語 (yōjigo) or 赤ちゃん言葉 (akachan kotoba), is the set of soft, repeated words that parents and toddlers use: ワンワン (wanwan) for a dog, ニャンニャン (nyannyan) for a cat, ねんね (nenne) for sleep and まんま (manma) for food. Most come from animal sounds, doubled syllables or the polite お prefix, as in おてて (otete, hands).
10 min readJapanese Space and Planet Words: Sun, Moon, Stars and Planets
Space in Japanese is 宇宙 (uchū), and the basics are 太陽 (taiyō, sun), 月 (tsuki, moon) and 星 (hoshi, star). The planets have kanji names built on 星: 水星 (suisei, Mercury), 金星 (kinsei, Venus), 地球 (chikyū, Earth), 火星 (kasei, Mars), 木星 (mokusei, Jupiter), 土星 (dosei, Saturn), 天王星 (tennōsei, Uranus) and 海王星 (kaiōsei, Neptune).
10 min readJapanese Dinosaur Words: Kyōryū, Fossils and Dinosaur Names
Dinosaur in Japanese is 恐竜 (kyōryū), written with the kanji for fear and dragon. Fossils are 化石 (kaseki), meat-eaters are 肉食恐竜 (nikushoku kyōryū) and plant-eaters are 草食恐竜 (sōshoku kyōryū). Dinosaur names are written in katakana and follow the Latin spelling, so Tyrannosaurus becomes ティラノサウルス (tiranosaurusu).
9 min readJapanese Mushroom Names: Shiitake, Shimeji, Enoki and More
The Japanese word for mushroom is きのこ (kinoko). The mushrooms in every supermarket are しいたけ (shiitake), しめじ (shimeji), えのき (enoki), まいたけ (maitake), エリンギ (eringi) and なめこ (nameko), while 松茸 (matsutake) is the prized and expensive autumn mushroom. Note that マッシュルーム (masshurūmu) only means the white or brown button mushroom.
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