Speaking and pronunciation
Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
Speaking and pronunciation · Page 26
Japanese Microwave and Rice Cooker Buttons: A Label-by-Label Guide
On a Japanese microwave, atatame reheats automatically, kaitō defrosts and a watt setting with a time is the manual route; on a rice cooker, choose a menu such as hakumai, fill water to the matching line in gō, and press suihan.
12 min readReading Japanese Utility Bills: Electricity, Gas and Water Notices
A Japanese utility notice starts from one measured number, your usage between two meter readings, then prices it with a fixed basic charge plus usage times unit prices and adjustments, and finally tells you when and how you pay.
12 min readJapanese Health Insurance Card Explained: Two Systems, One Card Reader
Everyone living in Japan belongs to one public health insurance scheme, chosen by how they work; at a clinic you prove it with a My Number Card registered for insurance or an eligibility certificate, then usually pay 30 percent.
11 min readJapanese My Number Card Explained: The Number, the Card and the PINs
My Number is a 12-digit number every registered resident of Japan receives automatically for tax, social security and disaster procedures; the My Number Card is an optional photo ID with a chip, unlocked by PINs, that carries the number on its back.
12 min readReading a Japanese Residence Card: Every Field, Front and Back
A Japanese residence card, the zairyū kādo, answers four questions on its front, who you are, where you live, what you may do and until when, while the back records what has changed since it was printed.
12 min readJapanese Medical Questionnaire: Filling In the Monshinhyō at a Clinic
A Japanese monshinhyō follows a fixed order, today's symptoms first and then the background a doctor checks before tests or medicine, so once you know about a dozen headings and the answer marks, you can fill in almost any clinic's version.
12 min readJapanese Pain Words: Zukizuki, Kirikiri and Saying How It Hurts
Japanese describes pain with sound-picture words, zukizuki for throbbing, gangan for pounding, kirikiri for sharp twisting and shikushiku for a dull ache, placed between the body part and the verb: kinō kara atama ga zukizuki itamimasu.
12 min readJapanese School System: Grade Names, Ages and the April School Year
Japanese children start primary school in the April after they turn six, then climb shōgakkō for six years, chūgakkō for three and kōkō for three; grades are named by school plus year, as in shō-san or chū-ni.
12 min readJapanese Ringi Approval Process: The Ringisho, Its Route and Stamps
Ringi is the Japanese company approval process in which a written proposal, the ringisho, travels up the chain from its drafter through each manager, collecting a stamp or a click at every desk, until the person with authority grants final approval, kessai.
12 min readJapanese Supermarket Price Tags: Tax Lines, Unit Prices and Stickers
On a Japanese supermarket tag the biggest number is often the price before tax, hontai kakaku; what you pay is the smaller zeikomi line, and a discount sticker added later, such as hangaku, half price, overrides the tag.
12 min readJapanese Seasonal Foods and Shun: What Is in Season, Month by Month
Shun (旬) is the short window when one food is at its best, most plentiful and cheapest; every ingredient has its own, from bamboo shoots in April to saury in September, and Japanese people mention these windows constantly.
13 min readJapanese Traditional Room Parts: Washitsu From Tatami to Tokonoma
A washitsu is a tatami room whose parts all serve one empty space: sliding fusuma and shōji for walls, a tokonoma alcove for display, an oshiire closet for bedding, and a floor you sit and sleep on.
12 min readPractical guides
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