Tenpura is a deep fried seafood or vegetable in a very light batter. It is one of the most well-known…
多
#多 is listed under the radical of #ゆうべ(夕/evening). With 2 夕 put together, 多 means something that continues unlimitedly from…
スニーカー
Today is カタカナ かようび and today’s word is スニーカー. In Australia, we call these shoes “joggers” and in England they…
おおい
多い(おおい/ooi) means “a lot” and it is an いadjective, but 多い is never used in front of a noun. If…
古
#古 is listed under the radical of #くち(口/mouth), 口 combined with 十 (10), 古 means “something which has passed down…
Katsu and Furai
カツ and フライ are both deep-fries coated with bread crumb (パン粉/ぱんこ). カツ is usually meat (ビフカツ/bihukatsu – beef, トンカツ/tonkatsu –…
ビル and ビール
This post explains and demonstrates the sound difference between ビル and ビール. Listen to the audio clips and practise saying them!
新
#新 is listed under the radical of #おのづくり(斤). 斤 means “an axe” so 新’s original meaning was “to cut down a tree,” from which the meaning of “new” was developed.
セーター
In Australia, we call this a “jumper” but ジャンパー in Japanese usually indicates a casual jacket, like a stadium jumper.…
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.…
小
#小 used to have 3 short strokes and is a logograph to mean “small.” It makes its own radical. meaning:…
しゅじん or しゅうじん
Today’s sound comparison is between しゅじん and しゅうじん. Husbands in Japan won’t appreciate it if you mispronounce these two. Practise saying them.
Onigiri
Unlike sushi, rice for onigiri is plain (i.e. not vinegared). Umeboshi (pickled plum), grilled salmon and/or おかか (bonito flakes with…
アパート
アパート in Japan are usually for rent 賃貸(ちんたい) and the building is not that big while マンション are housed in…
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…
大
#大 is a pictograph that depict a person with all limbs spread out, from which it means “big.” 大 itself…
Traffic lights – green or blue?
In Japanese 青(あお) is the word for the colour “blue” but often it is used for “green” or “immature” as well. This post gives some examples for those usages.
メイク/メーク
Today is Katakana Tuesday and today’s word is メイク or メーク. If you can read Katakana, I think it’s easy…
…たり、~たり
Last week, I talked about “や / ya” and I said it cannot be used to connect verbs. Today’s expression…
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…