Recently while watching a Japanese drama I came across the word 合鍵 (あいかぎ). Given the context in which it was used, I was quite surprised to find out later that my mental image of the Kanji had been quite different to the reality. The word as follows: 合鍵 あいかぎ Spare Key Equally, a ‘copy of [...]
You’ll often come across varying portion sizes in Japan, especially when you eat out. 小盛り (こもり), 並盛り (なみもり) and 大盛り (おおもり) are regular expressions used to refer to ‘small’, ‘regular’ and ‘large’ helpings of rice and other goodies that can be heaped up. Further to that, as we looked as in The 6 Types of [...]
Although once virtually unheard of in conversations among my Japanese friends, Facebook is now well and truly integrated into the lives of Japanese young people. More and more people seem to be becoming happy with the idea of using their real name and picture (although there are still an awful lot of pet pictures out [...]
Here’s a cool little phrase that is worth remembering that can really liven up your Japanese – at least when speaking to yourself! やってもうた emphasises a state of shock and disappointment at mistake you’ve made. You’ll certainly catch people’s attention by using it!
Are you familiar with the Abba song ‘Winner Takes It All’? One of the particular lyrics in this classic is very close in nuance to the Japanese proverb below. It’s often used in business contexts to describe the situation where the successful are seen as right, and in contrast the unsuccessful are seen as wrong. [...]
Have you ever noticed the Kanji character used on the 10,000 yen Japanese banknote? If you’ve got your basic Japanese numerals down, you know that the character for 10,000 is 万 (まん) – a standard unit in the Japanese counting system. But what about the strange character in front of it? Why does the banknote [...]
As punctual and reliable as Japanese public transportation is, there are unfortunately occasions where not everything goes according to plan. Tardiness just isn’t acceptable for the working adult, perhaps moreso in Japan than most other countries. So it is then that when even despite your best efforts acts of god seem to smite you, there [...]
One of the more iconic types of poster you’ll find in Japan are the fire safety posters. Often adorned with a cute girl or popular celebrity, they aim to raise awareness of accidental fires in the home and encourage people to be vigilant.
In business Japanese, you will often hear unique expressions and vocabulary that rarely appears in other situations. One such occasion is when talking about the company between businesses.
Ever heard the phrase ‘She wears the trousers in the relationship’? (Or, for our American readers – who wears the pants!?) Most native English speakers will probably be familiar with the expression, or at least have a vague understanding of the meaning. Something about authority, right? Right. Well, there exists a couple of words that [...]
