Asian Languages

Counting in Japanese Is Weird: A Guide to Counters

You’ve diligently memorized 'ichi, ni, san', but ordering 'two beers' in Tokyo isn't as simple as 'biiru ni'. Welcome to…

1 week ago

Is Japanese Hard? The 3 ‘Scary’ Parts Debunked

Is Japanese truly the impossible mountain it's made out to be? We tackle the three biggest fears for aspiring learners—Kanji,…

1 week ago

Japan’s 3 ‘Alphabets’: Why You Need All Three

Ever looked at a Japanese sentence and felt overwhelmed by the mix of characters? You're not alone. This guide demystifies…

1 week ago

You’re Already Speaking Japanese! 15 Loanwords

** Did you know that when you talk about a business 'tycoon' or ask for 'just a skosh' more, you're…

1 week ago

The A-Not-A Question Structure

Many languages, like Mandarin Chinese, form yes-no questions without words for "yes" or "no." Instead, they use the ingenious "A-not-A"…

1 week ago

The Alphabet of the Hills: The Fraser Script

Discover the Fraser alphabet, a remarkable script for the Lisu language where letters are ingeniously rotated to represent different sounds.…

1 week ago

The Sailor Who Mistook a Word for an Island

Explore the strange case of "I-da-no", a phantom island that appeared on Japanese maps for decades. This wasn't a sailor's…

3 months ago

Japan’s ‘Hentaigana’: The Lost Characters

Before Japanese script was standardized in 1900, writers used a vast and beautiful array of variant cursive characters known as…

3 months ago

The Japanese Crossword Puzzle

How do you build a crossword in a language with three writing systems and no spaces? This piece explores the…

3 months ago

Why Mandarin Will (or Won’t) Become the Next Global Language

With China's economic might and over a billion native speakers, is Mandarin destined to replace English as the world's lingua…

3 months ago

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