language

J-pop mega star Ado reveals she’s been living in the U.S., may not understand language acquisition

“Usseewa” singer and One Piece voice actress seems unclear on how long it takes to learn a foreign language.

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Diving into the 2024 JC & JK Buzzword Award nominations for trendy Japanese slang and more

We take a closer look at some of the entries selected by Gen Z and Gen Alpha Japanese schoolgirls and suddenly feel very old.

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Australian sentenced to prison, judges unconvinced he said “Go to a door” not “This is a robbery”

The “soramimi defense” fails to hold up in court.

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New book teaches Japanese people English to help out foreign travelers

Publisher wants to help make it easier to help.

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Kyoto’s “ikezu” culture of backhanded compliments explained in hilarious souvenir sticker series

Behind the calm, polite face of a Kyotoite is an angry woman who wants to shout at you for being so uncultured.

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What does a kanji with 12 “kuchi” radicals mean? A look at weird, forgotten Japanese characters

Three dragons and three clouds…A straight line…An upside-down “child”…What could they mean?

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Japan forced to call off first-ever unmanned Moon-landing attempt

I swear, one of these days, OMOTENASHI… Bang, zoom, right to the Moon!

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Yahoo! Japan finds most alphabetic and katakana words Japanese people want to find out about

GJ on YJ for TCOB.

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Japanese expat remembers the words that changed his life when he started working in Australia

Having never left Japan before, he was worried his English wasn’t good enough, but a coworker knew just what to say.

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Keeping up with the kids: Japanese high schoolers’ most popular slang of Spring 2022

Would you be surprised if most of these trendy words came from social media?

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Sushi restaurant in Tokyo serves up a plate of “old guy” for only 200 yen

Once you try “old guy,” you’ll never go back.

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Japanese netizens give their thoughts on how English has changed the meaning of “senpai”

The new usage has even made Japanese news.

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Engrish sign at the Tokyo Olympics turns out to be hilariously accurate

One of those times when an English mistake ends up expressing everyone’s true feelings.

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English conversation school in Japan has clever reminder that students don’t have to be perfect

But is there such a thing as too much confidence?

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Japanese students despair over the many, MANY ways you can describe a dead flower

Would a rose by any other name be as dead?

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AI translation company Rozetta bans staff from speaking a foreign language at work

The company’s AI machine translation programs eliminate the need for anyone to speak a language other than their own, they say. 

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Let’s learn Japanese with Steven Seagal’s entire filmography!

Anything can be educational material if you want it to be.

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Japanese department store officially apologizes for English poster calling Kyoto the world’s enemy

Takashimaya still seems a little fuzzy on correct English, though.

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Fashion magazine Egg’s 2020 Japanese Buzzword Awards are here to bring out your inner teen

The number one pick is derived from the lyrics of a song that’s sung in neither Japanese nor English. 

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Crazy, heartless wife stars in Japanese textbook’s shocking conversation for English learners

Sure, maybe she loves her husband, but not as much as a certain side dish.

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