Gakuu – Learn Real Japanese

Tag: Intermediate

  • Office Intranet Party Invitation

    Office Intranet Party Invitation

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    by

    Michael
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    This invitation was sent to me and other members of our section some time ago, but I feel it provides a nice example of the sort of messages that are sent over the office intranet. See how much you can understand by reading through it first without using plugins like Rikaichan to help you! Naturally,…

  • Hanage – Nostril Hair Notification Service

    Hanage – Nostril Hair Notification Service

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    by

    Michael
    in ,

    A rather bizarre yet undeniably useful little website I stumbled upon recently allows you to notify unwitting co-workers of unpleasant protruding nostril hairs. Hanage No More!

  • Satisfying Real Life – リア充

    Satisfying Real Life – リア充

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    by

    Michael
    in ,

    A recent slang term that has naturally evolved with increased use of the internet and virtual interaction. The word is a mixture of リアル and 充実 (じゅうじつ) and refers to a person who is has a rich and satisfying offline (real) life. This is meant in contrast to an online (virtual) life that revolves around…

  • 150,000 Free Japanese-English Sentences

    150,000 Free Japanese-English Sentences

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    by

    Michael
    in ,

    Have you ever heard of the Tanaka Corpus? If you’ve been using Jim Breen’s fantastic free online Japanese-English dictionary JDIC, you may have unwittingly encountered it. The Tanaka Corpus is a collection of over 150,000 sentence pairs ideal for students learning Japanese. Perfect for repetitions in your favourite SRS software!

  • Intelligentsia – インテリ

    Intelligentsia – インテリ

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    by

    Michael
    in ,

    This word, インテリ, is an abbreviated version of インテリゲンチャ, (the intelligentsia) meaning ‘intellectual’, referring to a person or class of people who have a tendency for intellectual prowess as opposed to physical strength or ability.

  • Typhoon Evacuation Warnings

    Typhoon Evacuation Warnings

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    by

    Michael
    in ,

    As you no doubt heard, recently Typhoon Roke caused a bit of a mess in central Japan, with extensive flooding and damage due to strong winds and heavy rain. There are a lot of terms that are useful to know when typhoons are approaching, so today I’d like to introduce a few of them, including…

  • Insufferable Summer Heat – 夏バテ

    Insufferable Summer Heat – 夏バテ

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    by

    Michael
    in ,

    Seeing as summer is drawing to a close and Autumn is fast approaching, I figured it would be a good time to cover this seasonal word. Don’t be too sure that the incredibly hot weather has ended yet! September can still pack quite a punch.

  • Learning to Drive in Japan – Vocabulary

    Learning to Drive in Japan – Vocabulary

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    by

    Michael
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    For most people coming to live in Japan, driving will simply be a case of changing one’s existing licence to an International Driver’s Licence. Sometimes though, depending on which country you hail from, you may be required to take a test. For others who never learned to drive at all, the process is much longer…

  • Withdrawing Cash in Japan

    Withdrawing Cash in Japan

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    by

    Michael
    in ,

    Using an ATM machine is a rather simple task, but one that can be somewhat stressful when you aren’t sure what buttons to press. Add to that an ever-growing line of impatient people behind you and it could just be enough ruin your day! Let’s take a look at the process of withdrawing money.

  • Chu New Lip

    Chu New Lip

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    by

    Michael
    in ,

    Here’s a catchy little Shiseido advert I noticed on television recently advertising a lipstick. Some interesting wordplay in the CM too!