開ける（あける） vs 開く（ひらく） (A) 店（みせ）を開（あ）ける。 (B) 店（みせ）を開（ひら）く。 Both sentences are correct and both can be translated as “I open a…
たすける=help??
The English word “help” is a rather difficult word to translate. I usually tell my students to remember the following…
わかりません
If you are asked: あしたなにをしますか。(What are you going to do tomorrow?) and if you “don’t know yet,” the recommended answer…
If you want to drink English tea in Japan…
On Tuesday, I talked about Japanese tea. Today, I’m going to talk about “English style tea.” “English style tea” is…
Quiet
quiet The English word “quiet” is another difficult word to translate into Japanese. 静（しず）か（な） – silent, still 静（しず）かにしてください。 Be quiet,…
busy
busy The English word “Busy” is often remembered as 忙（いそが）しい in Japanese and it is correct when you talk about…
to put … on / to wear …
Japanese has at least 5 words for the English verb “to put … on,” depending on the item of clothing being talked about. This post explains what goes with what
play
Play is a difficult word to translate into Japanese because there are many different meanings. Following are some examples. 遊（あそ）ぶ…
Me – how boys and men call themselves
While girls and women call themselves 私（わたし or わたくし）most of the time (apart from regional variations), men call themselves differently.…
water
Many people know “water” is called 水（みず） in Japanese but the word 水（みず） indicates that it is not heated. Once…
Plastic Bags=プラスチックのカバン？
It has been a while since free “single-use plastic bags” have disappeared from big supermarkets in NSW, Australia. Apparently, “plastic…
Seasons
It is really springy in Australia now and the norther hemisphere is in autumn / fall. The basic 4…
Days of the week
On Wednesday, I talked about the 6-day-week, but of course, in everyday life the “7-day-week” is more important. Let’s…
なadjectives ending in い
いadjectives all end in い but なadjectives don’t end in な. They need な to connect to the noun that follows it. There are なadjectives that end in い.Here’s a list.
この vs これ
This post explains the difference between これ (a pronoun) and この (a prenoun adjectival – 連体詞/れんたいし). The same applies to それ and その, あれ and あの, etc.
