Wonderful FudePen 筆ペン (Brush Pens)
When I was thinking about another cultural item to introduce to the world, one thing came to my mind! It is fudepen 筆ペン, a Japanese brush pen! Of course, Japanese …
Language
What does “よろしくおねがいします(Yoroshiku onegaishimasu)” mean?
If you’ve lived in Japan for even a short period, you’ve probably encountered the phrase “よろしくおねがいします (yoroshiku onegaishimasu).” Japanese people love this phrase, whether in work or private life. Grammatically, …
Unraveling the Unique Osaka-ben (Part 2)
Hello, everyone! In the previous article, I wrote about “-nen (ねん)” and “-yanen (やねん),” which correspond to the Osaka dialect’s well-known sentence endings in standard Japanese for the present tense, …
Auspicious Plants ー Pine, Bamboo, and Japanese Plum
Are you familiar with these three Japanese plants 松 (matsu), 竹 (take), and 梅 (ume)? These are pine, bamboo, and Japanese plum respectively. Japanese people often refer to them altogether …
Unique Way to Count Things in Japanese
How do you count in English? In English, you can add “One, two, three, four…” in front of the object for most things, except for some peculiar circumstances when wanting …
Unraveling the Unique Osaka-ben (Part 1)
Japan has many different dialects. One reason for this is that words originated in the capital or cultural centers and spread to the regions through transmission. This happened because the …
Japanese seasonal beautiful words ~Autumn~
Do you know what the shortest form of poetry in the world is? It is the haiku, a three-line poem of only 17 syllables (5-7-5) that describes a natural scene …
Sumimasen Culture in Japan
Have you often heard or been called “sumimasen すみません” in public places or stores? When you’ve heard the word “sumimasen” as an apology, did you wonder, “Why do Japanese people …
♪Japanese Phrase Having a Good Ring♪ 〜Ton〜
♪Ton, Ton, Ton♪ Welcome to the third edition of “Japanese language fun time!” Today’s sound is ”Ton(とん/トン)!“ First of all, it has nothing to do with a big amount of …
Let’s talk using “cushion words”!
Have you ever heard of the Japanese word “cushion words”? Today, I want to talk about some of the most polite Japanese words, “cushion words.” The Japanese language has honorific …