learn Japanese

Kyoto’s “ikezu” culture of backhanded compliments explained in hilarious souvenir sticker series

Behind the calm, polite face of a Kyotoite is an angry woman who wants to shout at you for being so uncultured.

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Why are there different counters for animals and people in Japanese?

This will change the way you think about counting things in Japanese forever. 

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Tokyo Bon Japanglish song is a crazy way to learn Japanese 【Video】

Learn Japanglish with the help of ladies in kimono, sumo wrestlers, and schoolgirls in fox masks.

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Learn Japanese kanji with captivating stop-motion videos created by Tokyo animator

These adorable clips and characters will help you memorise kanji symbols and make you smile at the same time.

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Learn Japanese through ridiculous manga: Death Vote 【Episode #6】

It’s a showdown between Clighton, the death god Tryuk, and the mysterious B. Read More

Learn Japanese through ridiculous manga: Fullmedal Alchemist 【Episode #5】

“You cannot gain a medal without sacrificing something else in return.”

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Learn Japanese through ridiculous manga: Dragon Bowl【Episode #4】

Join Bullma, Poolong and Sun Goku on a brand new episode of Dragon Bowl!

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Our Japanese writer introduces some handy phrases so you too can speak the Kansai dialect!

Why not up your Japanese language skills by learning a local dialect? Here are some phrases to get you started!

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Learn Japanese through ridiculous manga: A Tick on Titan 【Episode #3】

“On that day, we ticks received a grim reminder. We lived in fear of the five-foot-tall humans.”

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Learn Japanese through ridiculous manga: Narutoe 【Episode #2】

Read about the adventures of Narutoe – a ninja toe – and his friend Sauceke – a jar of tomato sauce.

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Learn Japanese through ridiculous manga: Two Piece 【Episode #1】

If you’ve ever wanted to learn Japanese through horribly-drawn manga, then today’s your lucky day!

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Say sayonara to “sayonara” – 70% of Japanese people don’t use this word for goodbye anymore

But if the word for “goodbye” is dying, how do we say goodbye to it?

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Japanese book “nekotan” teaches foreign language the best way possible: by talking about cats

Because cats are the true universal language.

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“Don’t worry, he is a docile pervert” and other useful phrases in Japanese and English

Get ready to impress/terrify your Japanese friends!

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When “yes” means “no” — The Japanese language quirk that trips English speakers up

You can learn all the words and practice all the kanji, but there’s one little Japanese language quirk that will almost certainly trip you up when you first encounter it.

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Seven mistakes foreigners make when speaking Japanese—and how to fix them

Master these and you can convince anyone you’re a native Japanese speaker…over the phone anyway.

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RocketNews24’s six top tips for learning Japanese

Love Japan? Want to learn Japanese? Check out RocketNews24’s six fundamental top tips for learning Japanese!

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10 badass four-character phrases to add to your Japanese language toolkit

With enough hard work, anyone can learn to speak and read Japanese. But you know you’ve truly made it as a Nihongo master only when you can effortlessly break out a few yojijukugo, or four-kanji idioms. Join us after the jump for 10 of our favourites!

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Learn Japanese from YouTube: Amp up your listening skills with this four-step guide

It used to be that if you were studying a foreign language in your own country, the only listening practice that was easily available to you was hearing your teacher or classmates speak, or listening to the CD that came with your textbook. The first Japanese textbook I ever bought actually came with a cassette tape, which was particularly irritating as it was 2006 and I didn’t even own a Walkman any more.

Then someone invented a website that allowed users to upload short videos for all the world to see. Fast-forward nine years and YouTube is one of the biggest sites on the planet, making it a veritable treasure trove of free online spoken content.

So whether you’re after language lessons, YouTubers who vlog in Japanese, or just want to try watching your cat videos in a foreign language, online videos could be your new secret weapon. The trick is just knowing where to look.

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Let’s learn a little Japanese with this dead squid in a parking lot

Unlike the creature it features, the above image has been floating around online for a few years, but recently has returned back to Japanese shores. However, here such a situation has led to a decidedly punnier outcome. Let’s read what Japanese people have to say about it and maybe learn a little unusual Japanese along the way.

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