If you’ve been learning Japanese for a while now, you’ll have noticed that there are a lot of words that only have one English equivalent. A great example of this is wife in Japanese, which has at least 9 words that you can use! The thing about it is that each word carries with it a nuance that you may want to use in certain situations, but not in others. For example, two of the Japanese words for wife that I’ll go over today are considered to be politically incorrect in today’s society due to the kanji that they use and the original meanings they hold. In other words, it’s…

Sometimes you’re hanging out with your friends and you want to give them a bit of a hard time by telling them that they suck, big time! Today you’ll learn how to say you suck in Japanese. It’s worth noting that Japanese humor and Western humor aren’t always the same thing, and what we might find funny by poking fun at a good friend, might actually come across as rather harsh from a Japanese person’s perspective. So while I will teach you several insults in today’s lesson, I think that you’ll find them more useful when watching shows or reading manga in Japanese, which are situations where the characters tend…

Today we will go over the days of the week in Japanese and learn each one. I wanted to include a lot of information on them such as how they are spelled in kanji, the way to pronounce them, and some other miscellaneous information. After we get through the basic names and a couple of ways that you can easily remember them, I’ll talk about counting them in Japanese (like one week, two weeks, etc) since you have to use a specific counter for them, and the way you say each one can change. I also thought that some additional vocabulary would be handy in this article, things like “week…

Japan is rapidly becoming the number one place to visit when traveling overseas, and one of the reasons is because you don’t HAVE to learn the language before you visit. However, make sure you at least know how to ask “where is the bathroom” in Japanese. This is something that could come in very handy at any point in time! Actually, there are a handful of super useful Japanese phrases that you will be able to use on a daily basis while walking around the streets of Tokyo or anywhere else in the country. But for today, we will just focus on this one essential phrase so that you can…

Your mom is probably the one who taught you manners when you were a kid, but that was all in English, am I right? If you want to be polite while visiting Japan, then you’ll need to learn some new words. And in particular, how to say excuse me in Japanese. The cool thing about Japanese, is the wide range of expressions you can use in order to say the same things. Did I say “cool”? Perhaps I meant frustrating, lol! But no really, there are a number of phrases and expressions that you can use when speaking Japanese that all translate into “excuse me” in English, but the main…

The Japanese people have a reputation for being extremely polite and this is largely reflected in their language. In particular, there are many different apologies you can use, and they all depend on the situation. Today I’ll explain how to say sorry in Japanese. There are two primary reasons why it is extremely useful to learn and memorize these different words and phrases. The first one is so that you know which word to use when you feel the need to say sorry to someone else, and in a variety of different situations. The other one is so that you can understand what the other person is saying to YOU…

There are a group of super useful and polite words that everyone should learn before visiting Japan. One of those first words, or phrases that you should learn is you’re welcome in Japanese. This allows you to acknowledge other people any time that they express their heartfelt gratitude towards you for any reason. Think about the same situation in English. When you tell someone “thank you” what sort of responses do you enjoy hearing back from the other person? You’re welcome It was my pleasure I’m happy to help These responses are much nicer to receive than a mere grunt or silence. So let’s hop in and learn some new…

There is a popular saying that “there are 730 Japanese words for yes but none for no.” This isn’t really true however, and there are actually quite a few words that you can use, and today you’ll learn how to say no in Japanese. In addition to the most common Japanese words for no, I’ll also go over a couple of useful phrases that you might find yourself using in different circumstances. For example, if you want to decline an offer for more food or drink, there are certain polite phrases that are better to use instead of a flat out refusal. Or when someone invites you to a movie,…

Learning how to say yes in Japanese should be one of the first “to-dos” on your list when you are a beginner and are opening up your Japanese phrase book or textbook for the first time. But as it turns out, there are many different words you can use for yes, and the differences between them are sometimes the formality level, sometimes the gender of the speaker, and sometimes just a matter of personal preference. So let’s go over the most common words first, and then move on to some other options that are available to you in case you find yourself in a situation where they are more appropriate…