traditional – Learning English and Japanese

Toru Nov 24, 2023Jan 01, 2024 elevator shoes, geta, hakaseru, idiom, inflation, Japanese, prices, quantities, traditional, wooden footwear

Geta wo Hakaseru (下駄を履かせる – Inflating)

Geta wo Hakaseru 下駄を履かせる The act of inflating quantities or prices of something is referred to as geta wo hakaseru Read More

Culture Essay Idiom Japanese tradition Kanji Proverb Uncorrected

Toru Sep 30, 2023Jan 02, 2024 expression, iwazu mogana, Japanese, language, negative suffix, old-fashioned, pronunciation, saying, traditional, wish

Iwazu Mogana (言わずもがな – Needless to Say)

Iwazu Mogana 言わずもがな When describing a situation where “something should not be said” or “something is needless to say,” you Read More

Culture Essay Etymology Japanese tradition Uncorrected

Toru Jun 25, 2023Jan 02, 2024 clothes, emonkake, hanger, hanging clothes, Japanese, kimono, rod-shaped tool, term, traditional

Emonkake (えもんかけ – Hanger)

Emonkake えもんかけ Have you ever heard of the Japanese word emonkake (えもんかけ)? 「えもんかけ」という日本語を聞いたことはありますか？ Even young Japanese may not have heard Read More

China Culture Essay Etymology History Japanese tradition Uncorrected

Toru Mar 28, 2018Jan 02, 2024 centimeters, East Asia, hand size, jō, measurement, meters, shaku, traditional, unit of length

Shaku (尺)

Shaku 尺 The day before yesterday, I talked about 丈 (jō), which is used as a unit of length in Read More

Culture Essay Etymology Idiom Japanese tradition Uncorrected

Toru Dec 19, 2017Jan 03, 2024 bathroom, communication, etiquette, expression, Japanese, language, manners, otearai, toilet, traditional

How to Go to a Bathroom Part 1

I posted an entry about how to use a toilet yesterday. トイレへの行き方 Part 1 Today I’d like to tell you Read More

Culture Essay Etymology Japanese tradition Kanji Slang Uncorrected

Toru Nov 03, 2017Jan 03, 2024 chaban, comedy, drama, Japan, kabuki, kyogen, role, tea, theatrical, traditional

Chaban (茶番 – Farce)

Nonsense plays, theatrical behavior, and ridiculous acts are called “chaban” (茶番) or “chaban-geki” (茶番劇) in Japan.(Here the “geki” (劇) means Read More

Culture Essay Etymology Idiom Japanese tradition Proverb Slang Uncorrected

Toru May 03, 2017Jan 04, 2024 dance, failure, Gagaku, imitate, Japanese, mask, ninomai, performance, performing art, traditional

Ninomai

Today I will talk about the Japanese term “ninomai.” 二の舞 “Ni” means “second,” “mai” means “performing art,” and “ninomai” means Read More

Culture Essay Etymology History Japanese tradition Kanji Uncorrected

Toru Dec 31, 2016Jan 03, 2024 etymology, Japanese events, Lang-8, misoka, new year's eve, omisoka, traditional, tsugomori, tsuki-gomori

Omisoka (New Year’s Eve)

Omisoka 大晦日 Today is 大晦日 (omisoka), which means new year’s eve. 今日は大晦日です。 “晦日 (misoka)” was originally written as “三十日 (misoka)”, Read More

Culture Essay Etymology Food Idiom Japanese tradition Proverb Uncorrected

Toru Aug 01, 2016Jan 06, 2024 botamochi, Japanese cake, ohagi, rice cake, season, sweet bean paste, tana kara botamochi, tanabota, theory, traditional

Botamochi

Today, I will talk about a traditional Japanese cake called botamochi. ぼたもち Botamochi is a rice cake wrapped in sweet Read More