JapanesePod101.com Blog

Giving compliments makes people feel important and happy, and compliments are a great way to express your positive feelings. However, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do!" There’s a particular way that people give and respond to compliments in Japanese. Before giving compliments in Japanese, keep this in mind: Humbleness and modesty are the most important values in Japanese culture. Therefore, it’s considered bad manners to show off and explicitly exhibit your abilities and achievements. For this reason, people aren’t used to receiving a lot of praise. However, it’s still a good thing to give a compliment when someone has great traits or has done wonderful things. Giving compliments is a useful way to improve communication and your... Show more

It's essential to be able to express your feelings when communicating with others in everyday life. Knowing how to express your emotions in Japanese, including anger, will help you have smoother communication with Japanese people. Although showing anger with swear words isn’t common in Japanese culture, there are various angry phrases in Japanese you can use. Knowing angry phrases, and how to show that you’re angry in Japanese, will not only help you understand Japanese anime and Japanese TV shows better, but it will also improve your conversation and communication skills. In this article, we’ll introduce useful angry Japanese expressions and phrases to help you discuss your emotions. Let's learn various expressions here at... Show more

Giving proper greetings and celebration messages is essential in making relationships better. Whether you have Japanese friends online, live in Japan, or just want to understand Japanese culture, it’s good to know how Japanese people celebrate events and what they say. Once you learn how to say Happy Birthday in Japanese, Happy New Year in Japanese, and Merry Christmas in Japanese, use them practically with your friends! Japan has various life and annual events to celebrate. Some of them come from the Western culture, such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day. But there are unique Japanese traditions as well, such as the twentieth and sixtieth birthdays, also called 成人 (Seijin) and 還暦 (Kanreki) respectively. So, how do you wish someone well... Show more

Japan has four beautiful seasons, and every season has its own unique characteristics and weather. Whether you want to know the weather in Japan in April to visit the pretty 桜 (Sakura) or "cherry blossoms," or research the weather in Kyoto, Japan for world heritage sightseeing, there are some useful words and phrases to know regarding weather in Japan! Weather is one of the most useful topics for conversation and is also an essential topic in everyday life. When you know how to talk about the weather in Japanese, it will expand both your communication skills and vocabulary skills in Japanese, as there’s a variety of expressions relating to Japanese weather. Let’s get started! By the time we get done, you’ll be talking about weather in... Show more

The school entrance ceremony in Japan, or Nyūgakushiki in Japanese, is one of the most momentous occasions in a student’s life, and it takes place each year as the cherry blossoms bloom. In this article, you’ll learn all about this celebratory season and gain some new vocabulary along the way. Let’s get started! 1. What is the School Entrance Ceremony? The Japanese school entrance ceremony name is Nyūgakushiki. Nyūgakushiki is a time of both encouragement and excitement about the coming year for students in every grade, though the Japanese high school entrance ceremony may be the most exciting for new students. During a school entrance ceremony, Japanese students celebrate their enrollment in a school, and that... Show more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNzrFBQ3LEo Do you realize how many adjectives you use when you describe or express something, such as feeling, personality, weather conditions, and the size and color of things? Adjectives in Japanese are various and rich in expression, so learning the top 100 Japanese adjectives will greatly improve your conversation skills in Japanese! It’s not very difficult to learn Japanese adjectives rules, as they work in mostly the same way as they do in English grammar. Before we move onto our list, though, it’s prudent to go over Japanese adjectives rules to give you context. So first things first: Where do Japanese adjectives go? For example, a Japanese adjective is placed before a noun: 親切な人 (shinsetsu na... Show more

Hinamatsuri (Japanese Doll Festival) is a special Japanese holiday dedicated to praying for the well-being of little girls. This holiday is unique to the Japanese culture, and is steeped in both traditional and modern cultural values and beliefs. In this article, you’ll learn many interesting Japanese Doll Festival facts, from the holiday’s origins to how it’s celebrated today. Are you ready? Let’s get started! 1. What is the Japanese Traditional Doll Festival? The Japanese Doll Festival (Hinamatsuri), unique to Japan, is a festival that prays for the healthy growth of little girls. The history of Hinamatsuri goes back a long way. It's said that the hihina (or hiina) play, which involved making little dolls out of paper... Show more

It’s wonderful if you can learn Japanese and have entertainment at the same time. Yes, it is possible with online streaming services! One of the most famous and popular is Netflix, which nowadays offers a wide range of Japanese shows and movies. A lot of Japanese movies on Netflix are available with subtitles in both Japanese and English, so it’s ideal to learn by listening to actual pronunciation, reading what words mean, and/or checking vocabulary and spelling. In terms of understanding Japanese culture, Netflix can also be a great source for this. When it comes to learning and entertainment, watching Japanese shows on Netflix is much easier and useful than watching them on TV or at actual movie theaters. Watching Japanese shows on... Show more

Japan is a country steeped in a rich history and fascinating culture, both of which the Japanese people reflect on each year on 建国記念日 (けんこくきねんび), or National Foundation Day in Japanese. This is a major holiday in Japan, celebrating the beginning of the country’s history. In this article, you’ll learn all about Japan’s National Foundation Day, from its origins to modern-day celebrations and traditions. Are you ready to dive in? Let’s get started! 1. What is National Foundation Day in Japan? National Foundation Day is a day to commemorate the founding of the country and cultivate a love for it. It’s celebrated on the day the first Emperor of Japan was crowned as the "Day that Japanese history began." This national holiday was... Show more

If you’re learning Japanese grammar, you may be surprised by how many variations there are of Japanese conjunctions and Japanese connective particles, and how they vary depending on the use of sentences. When you think about speaking your mother tongue, the flow of your sentences is very natural, without redundancy or lack of words. This is because you can use conjunctions effectively and naturally to connect sentences. In this way, in Japanese grammar, conjunctions are one of the most essential parts of speech. When you master Japanese conjunctions, you’ll be able to speak Japanese quite fluently! By the end of this article, you should have a better idea about Japanese conjunctions meaning, how to use Japanese conjunctions, and have an... Show more