Japanese

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…

1 week 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…

1 week 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…

1 week ago

Korean vs. Japanese: Which is Easier?

Korean and Japanese share similar grammar, but their writing systems and pronunciation offer very different challenges. Korean's alphabet is famously…

2 weeks ago

Crash, Sparkle, Grumble: Japan’s Sound Words

Go beyond textbook grammar and discover the soul of the Japanese language: onomatopoeia. This guide breaks down the essential "sound"…

2 weeks ago

Why We Call It Japan, Not Nippon

Why do we call the "Land of the Rising Sun" Japan instead of its native Nippon? This linguistic puzzle opens…

2 weeks ago

Counting People in Japanese: The ‘Nin’ Counter

Learning to count in Japanese means mastering counters, and the one for people holds a fascinating secret. While most numbers…

2 weeks ago

The Pitch-Accent Puzzle of Japanese

In Japanese, a single word like `hashi` can mean 'bridge' or 'chopsticks' based on a subtle change in melody. This…

3 weeks ago

The Grammar of Haiku: More Than Just 5-7-5

Many writers know the 5-7-5 syllable count of haiku, but this is merely the surface. The true grammar of the…

3 weeks ago

The Dutch Door: Japan’s Hidden Language Bridge

For over two centuries, Japan was sealed from the world. Yet, on the tiny island of Dejima, a single language—Dutch—became…

3 weeks ago

This website uses cookies.