language

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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“Let’s Speak North Korean!”

“Such a miracle can only occur in North Korea” and other popular phrases from an authentic DPRK phrasebook.

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Counting sheep to get to sleep may work after all, unless you speak Japanese

Japanese children’s book suggests we might have been doing it wrong all this time.

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How to respond to Japanese people saying “I don’t speak English” when you’re speaking Japanese?

A cutting comeback from a Japanese-proficient foreigner leaves one man with a permanent emotional scar, but there are softer ways to make your point too.

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Announcing the 2019 Junior and Senior High School Girls’ Buzzword Awards & 2020 predictions

Find out this year’s trendiest slang for Japanese female teenagers and you’ll be grouped in the cool crowd while strutting the streets of Shibuya.

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