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 3
Japanese Name Endings and Their Meanings: -ko, -ka, -ta, -suke, -to
The last kanji of a Japanese given name, called the tomeji (止め字), carries much of its feel. Girls' names often end in -ko (子, child), -mi (美, beauty), -ka (花, flower; 香, fragrance) or -na (菜, greens), and boys' names in -ta (太, big), -suke (介, helper), -rō (郎, son), -ki (樹, tree) or -to (斗, dipper; 人, person).
11 min readHow to Name a Japanese Character in Your Story: Era, Region, Realism
To name a Japanese character, pick a surname and a given name that fit the character's birth year, region and family, then check how the full name sounds and how other characters will address them. A woman born in the 1940s might be Tanaka Kazuko, a boy born in the 2020s Nakamura Minato, and an Okinawan family might be called Higa.
11 min readJapanese Sibling and Twin Names: Shared Kanji, Themes and Pairs
Japanese parents often link siblings' names by sharing one kanji, such as 陽 in Hina (陽菜) and Yōta (陽太), by using the same ending, or by choosing a theme such as the seasons, as in Haruka (春香) and Natsuki (夏希). Twins often get names that form a pair of meanings, like Yui (結, to tie) and Kizuna (絆, bond).
10 min readHatsumode: What to Do and Say on Your First Shrine Visit
Hatsumōde (初詣) is the first visit of the year to a shrine or temple, usually made in the first few days of January. You queue, make a small coin offering, bow, clap at a shrine, pray silently for the year ahead, and often draw a fortune or buy a new charm.
12 min readFukubukuro Lucky Bags in Japan: How They Work and What to Say
Fukubukuro (福袋), lucky bags, are sealed bags of goods that shops sell at New Year, usually for less than the value of what is inside. You buy them at the first sales of the year, often after queueing or winning a lottery, and part of the fun is not knowing exactly what you will get.
10 min readOsouji (Ōsōji): Japan's Year-End Big Clean and the Words for It
Ōsōji (大掃除), the big clean, is the thorough cleaning that Japanese households, offices and schools do at the end of December so they can greet the New Year in a fresh, clean space. People scrub the kitchen fan, wash windows, clear out cupboards and throw away a year's worth of clutter.
10 min readKadomatsu and Shimekazari: Japanese New Year Decorations Explained
Kadomatsu (門松) are pairs of pine and bamboo arrangements placed at the entrance, and shimekazari (しめ飾り) are straw rope decorations hung on the door. Both welcome Toshigami, the god of the new year, and mark the home as clean and ready; they usually go up in late December and come down in early January.
10 min readNanakusa-gayu: Japan's Seven-Herb Porridge on 7 January
Nanakusa-gayu (七草がゆ) is a light rice porridge with seven young spring herbs that many Japanese families eat on the morning of 7 January. It is a wish for good health in the new year and a gentle meal for stomachs tired from New Year food and drink.
9 min readOtoshidama: Japanese New Year Money for Children, and What to Say
Otoshidama (お年玉) is New Year money that adults give to children, usually relatives, in small decorated envelopes called pochibukuro. It is given in the first days of January, usually in crisp new banknotes, with a short greeting such as daiji ni tsukatte ne, spend it wisely.
10 min readHatsuyume: Japan's First Dream of the Year and Ichi Fuji Ni Taka
Hatsuyume (初夢) is the first dream of the new year, and in Japan it is said to hint at your luck for the year ahead. The luckiest things to dream of are summed up in the saying ichi Fuji, ni taka, san nasubi: first Mount Fuji, second a hawk, third an aubergine.
9 min readHatsuhinode: Watching Japan's First Sunrise of the Year
Hatsuhinode (初日の出) is the first sunrise of the year, on the morning of 1 January. Many people in Japan get up early or stay up all night to watch it from a beach, a hilltop or a high building, and greet it with a quiet wish for the year ahead.
9 min readKagami Mochi and Kagami Biraki: Japan's New Year Rice Cakes
Kagami mochi (鏡餅) is a New Year decoration of two round rice cakes stacked one on the other, usually topped with a small orange. It is an offering to the New Year god, and in January it is broken up and eaten in a custom called kagami biraki, usually on 11 January.
10 min readPractical guides
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