During my recent interview with Sathi, she mentioned kotodama as one of the Japanese concepts she tried to integrate into her everyday life. She summed it up as follows: “When you say good things, good things will happen.” This made me want to know more and do further research on this concept. Here is what I found….
Language Learning Stories: How Did You Learn Japanese? Volume 1
Learning Japanese is equal parts experimentation, practice, and application. In previous articles, I’ve shared how my colleagues and I study the language. Ever curious, I wanted to expand the conversation and find out how members of my social and professional circles tackled Japanese. So, I ended up taking a Tribe of Mentors approach by interviewing…
How to Say ‘Sorry I’m Late’ in Japanese Depending on Your Situation
It is a well-known fact that being late is frowned upon in Japanese culture. Being late when you meet friends will not hurt your friendships badly as long as you apologize and don’t try to make up excuses. Your Japanese friends might very well be the ones who are late. But in business culture, it’s…
A Family of Fingers! How to Name Each Finger of the Hand in Japanese
The Fingers’ Names in Japanese Originate from Size or Usage In Japan, fingers’ names are called the following: #1 The thumb is oyayubi (親指), the “parent finger”.#2 The index finger is hitosashiyubi (人差し指), the “pointing finger”.#3 The middle finger has the same meaning as in English, and is called nakayubi (中指).#4 The ring finger is called,…
Three Perspectives on Learning Japanese
As three authors from three different countries, we all share one common thread. We’ve all achieved a working knowledge of Japanese, and each of us has done so in our own unique way. There’s no single “right” way to learn Japanese, and in this article we hope to give you a few ideas that you…