Vocabulary and phrases
Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
Vocabulary and phrases · Page 19
Japanese Job Titles: Shachō, Buchō, Kachō and the Company Hierarchy
Japanese job titles such as shachō, buchō and kachō double as forms of address, so you call your department head Tanaka-buchō or simply buchō, never buchō-san, and you drop the title entirely when you mention your own boss to someone outside the company.
13 min readJapanese Kitchen Tools and Tableware Vocabulary: Knives, Pans, Bowls
Japanese kitchen and tableware vocabulary splits neatly into tools you cook with, such as hōchō, furaipan and suihanki, and things you eat from, such as hashi, chawan, owan and sara, each with its own counter word.
13 min readJapanese Sports Vocabulary: Sport Names, Playing Verbs, Teams and Scores
Most Japanese sport names are katakana loanwords such as sakkā and tenisu that take the verb suru or yaru, while a few sports use their own verb, so you swim with oyogu, run with hashiru and do martial arts with narau or yaru.
13 min readJapanese Classroom Instructions: Teacher Phrases, Replies and Grammar Terms
Classroom Japanese is a small, fixed set of phrases: the teacher says kiite kudasai, yonde kudasai and pea ni natte kudasai all day long, and you reply with mō ichido onegaishimasu, wakarimasen or shitsumon ga arimasu.
13 min readJapanese Hospital Departments Vocabulary: Naika, Geka, Shōnika and More
Japanese hospital departments are named with the suffix ka: naika is internal medicine, geka is surgery, shōnika is paediatrics, hifuka is dermatology, ganka is ophthalmology and jibika is ear, nose and throat, and picking the right one is the first thing reception asks about.
12 min readJapanese Youth Slang (Wakamono Kotoba): Sore na, Wanchan, Emoi and More
Wakamono kotoba is the spoken slang of young Japanese people, a fast-changing set of words like sore na, wanchan and emoi that you will hear constantly among friends but should listen to carefully before you try to use yourself.
13 min readReading a Japanese Menu: Sections, Cooking Kanji, Set Meals and Price Notes
A Japanese menu becomes readable once you know two small sets of kanji: the section headings such as yakimono, agemono and menrui, and the cooking-method characters yaki, age, ni, mushi and nama that sit inside almost every dish name.
13 min readSasuga Meaning: As Expected, Praise, and a Little Sarcasm
Sasuga is the word Japanese speakers reach for when someone lives up to what everyone already believed about them, for better or, occasionally, for worse.
11 min readUso Meaning: Lie, No Way!, and When It Sounds Rude
Uso literally means a lie, yet most of the time you hear it, nobody is being accused of anything: it is simply the Japanese way of saying "no way!"
9 min readKuyashii Meaning: Frustration, Regret, and Losing So Close
Kuyashii is the feeling of clenching your fists after a narrow defeat: not quite sadness, not quite anger, but the sting of knowing you could have done better.
9 min readUrusai Meaning: Noisy, Annoying, Shut Up, and Picky
Urusai starts as a complaint about noise, but it can also mean "you're annoying", "shut up", or, surprisingly, "a real connoisseur".
10 min readSabishii Meaning: Lonely, Missing Someone, and Empty Places
Sabishii is usually translated as lonely, but Japanese speakers use it for a much wider set of feelings, from a quiet street at night to the gap a friend leaves when they move away.
9 min readPractical guides
Turn Japanese knowledge into speaking confidence
Practice with Unihongo's AI Sensei in an immersive 3D classroom, with roleplay missions, pronunciation coaching, useful feedback, and learning games that build your vocabulary while you play.