On our most recent visit to the family in Egypt I just became painfully aware that I’m the only person on the family who doesn’t speak Arabic (though our youngest child only speaks fairly little Arabic he understands a lot more, and the older one speaks it fluently), and that’s just really annoying.
@nebyoolae@michael I was really struggling with #Duolingo.
It was ok, but at some point I noticed that it's not consistent and not applicable to real scenarios. At least few years ago, maybe it's better now.
A lot of us get stuck in learning Japanese or other languages. We get bogged down in the tedium of memorizing new words or studying dry grammatical explanations. Learn how sentence mining can help break you free from that drudgery and revive your love of language learning.
IDK who needs this but The Japan Foundation has free digital library access to a ton of #manga and #Japanese language and non-fiction cultural works for anyone over the age of 14 and living in the US.
Japan maintains an "official" list of kanji. But some "unofficial" kanji are also in common use - and chances are you know a few. Here are some of the most popular that most people use and know despite being on the naughty list.
The kids, husband, & I have been taking #karate classes at our local rec center for a few years. Our dojo is part of Goju‐Ryu Canada. The kids have their first belt levels but husband & I have been doing it casually & haven't tested. Well we decided to go for it & will be taking the test next month. 😬
It's tough because we are shown the katas a couple times in class then are expected to practice at home without any reference. So of course I went hunting on Youtube...
And it turns out that there are variations on the katas despite the name being the same. So it took concerted hunting to find videos that <kind of> match the #kata the way our dojo does it. Then I've been transcribing the steps into text. 😵💫 It's hard to know if I'm getting it right.... but I turned my efforts into a blog post in case any other local people are looking for the same resources.
Anyway.. I've been memorizing the numbers 1-10 in #japanese and practising. Totally nervous! 😁 #karate
Need more Japanese reading practice? Trying to understand newspaper-level Japanese? For the most part, it requires a lot of immersive reading. But there are some tools you can use to help give you a leg up.
One Japanese insult – “tako” – might sound like someone’s calling you a marine animal. In fact, calling someone “tako” goes back to Japan’s Edo era – and, according to one theory, is deeply associated with the era’s feudal hierarchy.
You may be a master of kanji when it comes to engineering, but that might be a completely different story when a sushi menu is thrust in front of you. Here is a quick guide to a number of common food-related kanji you may encounter on Japanese restaurant menus.
Even if you watch lots of anime, that's likely not enough to pass JLPT listening. There WAS that one infamous instance when a dialogue for the 2009 N1 listening section was taken straight out of popular anime series Evangelion. But that's unlikely to ever happen again.
Book review #17 for 2024 is Toshikazu Kawaguchi's Tales from the Cafe. I loved Before the Coffee Gets Cold and put Tales from the Cafe on my TBL. I was not disappointed. It is sad and hopeful at the same time. It put me in a reflective state as related to my own life and I continue to find the series helpful. #books#bookstodon#reading#fiction#japanese@bookstodon@books
If someone says something is "egui" in Japanese, what do they mean? Chances are the meaning will differ on their age. Here's how this flexible word has changed over the years.
Are you starting to learn Japanese? Are you wondering whether you should learn with romaji (Roman characters) to help simplify getting started? Don't do it, you fool. Here's why.
I just got an invite to a press event for #Japans "Initiatives on #Women, Peace and Security" and women's participation in global issues and sustainable peace.
Sounds great, no? Except for one thing. The lead speaker and moderator...both middle-aged #Japanese#men. 🙄
"A good, basic beginner’s Japanese textbook can lay a strong foundation for future success. And there’s one book that I’ve found stands head and shoulders above the rest."
Read our author's recommendation on this and other must-have Japanese language learning books below.
Japan has unveiled a new vision for developing its next-generation in-house passenger jet. After delays and a troubled setback last year when a privately-led venture was discontinued, the new project marks a nationwide effort spearheaded by both the public and private sectors.
This cutting-edge aircraft aims to incorporate “new environmental technologies” like hydrogen fuel or hybrid-electric propulsion systems.
If someone calls you a ビッチ in Japanese, you may feel insulted. But are you being insulted for the right reason? Here's how some common "false friends" between English and Japanese may force you to re-learn your own language.
It’s not as trendy as it used to be. But the Japanese word “pien” – represented visually as the “pleading face emoji” (🥺) – has secured its place in Japanese slang. But where did it come from?
In Japan, we call this “Hotchkiss”😊
The first stapler imported to Japan was made by this company 😉
My wife and I were talking about household items that we have been using for a long time on a regular basis. I got a 45 years old toolkit and 40 years old nail clipper 😉 But she has been using this Hotchkiss for 40 years 😊
Everyone in Japan will be called Sato by 2531 unless marriage law changed, says professor (www.theguardian.com)
Sato will become the only option by 2531, suggests modelling as part of campaign to overturn outdated law requiring spouses to have same surname