Over the last decade, Japanese, Chinese, and most notably, Korean dramas have seen a surge in popularity. If you’re learning an Asian language, there’s a good chance you’ve come across …
Hiragana vs Katakana: Japanese 101
To the untrained eye, the Japanese language can look quite puzzling, like a quilt made of different textures. The characters don’t all look alike or even similar. The reason for …
Saying Thank You in Japanese
Imagine that someone did something nice for you. So, what would you say? Thank you, of course. The answer seems pretty straightforward until you consider all the variations you can …
Learning to Read Japanese: A Quick Guide for Beginners
Does learning to read Japanese need to be hard? As both the regular readers of my blog know, I have been learning Japanese on LingQ this year, mostly to see how hard it is. I wrote some posts on it, if anyone is interested: http://tracesofdodo.blo…
The Best Way To Learn Japanese
I started learning Japanese a little over three years ago. Since then I’ve used over a dozen books, several well-known courses, and more techniques than I care to remember. Fortunately …
The Japanese Alphabet: A Beginner’s Guide
Learning the Japanese alphabet as a complete beginner can be a bit intimidating. Not only is it a whole new language, there are three different alphabets! While this may seem …
How to Learn Japanese
Although I write about how to learn Japanese today, I was never actually interested in languages growing up. I loved music and, entering college, joined a performance-oriented dancing club that …
These Japanese Food Bloggers Will Spice Up Your Studies
Literally translated as “harmonious food” in English, Japanese food (otherwise known as washoku or 和食) has long been appreciated for its gorgeous layout, emphasis on creating “well-balanced meals”, and use …
Why Learn Japanese?
The other day I was sitting in the bus on my way to work here in Taiwan when, out of the blue, an old lady turned to me and asked …
Counting in Japanese
The most basic math that we are taught as children is counting, and counting is used quite often in our day-to-day lives. For those not in specialized fields, counting may …