Archive for August, 2009 
Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! “We don’t know whether you’ll like it…” If you’re not sure if your friend will like the gift you bring to his new apartment in Japan…and you never would have guessed a year ago that you would be partying with the locals in Japan. So, if you’re not sure about the gift, better to ask questions or compliment him on the fine new place using your new Japanese speaking skills. “You’re new place is huge.” “Fabulous jumbo-tron television you have.” If all else fails, it’s always good to bring food or drink to any housewarming party. You could try telling them in Japanese, “I didn’t know whether to bring curry or wine, so I brought both.” And don’t forget to bring some glasses, too! Then, when you feel the uncomfortable silence set in, start to pour, and ask everyone to, “I think it’s a good time to raise your glasses,” in a toast to your friend’s new Japanese abode. Take a moment to tell him what a great place he’s found and get ready for the hard work of moving him in.
Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Japanese Lower Intermediate lesson is a review of the last two lessons as well as two other lessons. In this Japanese Lower Intermediate lesson, you’ll learn more about Japanese Yes/No and WH- embedded questions as well as expressing your opinion in Japanese and reporting what someone else has said. Visit us at JapanesePod101.com where you will find many more fantastic Japanese lessons and learning resources! Leave us a message while you are there!
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Learn Japanese travel phrases with Japanese Survival Phrases! A little Japanese can go such a long way! Whether you’re traveling to Japan for business or pleasure, these phrases will help make your trip more pleasant and meaningful!
Today, we’ll learn “I’m sorry. I don’t understand” for when the Japanese is coming at you fast and furious or the content is too much to handle. Tune in to learn how to say this in a polite way, so that it doesn’t sound too abrupt. To learn more about Japanese customs and phrases, be sure to comb through Japanese Survival Phrases before setting out on your trip to Japan.
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Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! You and your friends are visiting your first restaurant in Japan and you sit down with a menu. You scan the menu, but you’re facing a host of Japanese dishes with names you’ve never seen before. You and your friends decide to play Fear Factor, ordering a host of Japanese foods to try. You’re pretty sure you’re not lucky enough to get something predictable and ordinary like Japanese ramen, sushi, or tofu. More likely, you think it might be fermented seafood, cow tongue, or raw horse. You’re hoping not to get the short end of that stick!
Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! In this Japanese All About Lesson, learn about what foods you should try—and possibly what foods you shouldn’t try—in a Japanese restaurant. We’ll cover basic rules of Japanese etiquette, the top five dishes you simply must order, and we’ll also recommend the top five foods the brave souls among you might want to brag about trying just once. Visit us at JapanesePod101.com where you will find many more fantastic Japanese lessons and learning resources! Leave us a message while you are there!
Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! From ancient Greek plays to campfire stories, to modern movies, the ghost story is eternal. Charon ferried the souls of the dead across the River Styx. Confederate soldiers still march through Charleston, South Carolina, and Bill Murray busts ghosts on the big screen. Every culture has its ghost stories. Japanese culture has it that during a few days in August, the ghosts of the dead rise up to haunt the homes they had when they were alive. What do you think happens when the ghosts find their old houses have been razed to be replaced by an office tower or skyscraper? Do you think they’re piqued or infuriated? If so, how do ghosts take their revenge? What would you do if you were trapped in a stairwell at three in the morning during ghost week with your co-workers and you started to hear strange voices and noises? It would be worse if you smelled big piles of pigeon manure. Read this Premium lesson to find out what happened. What’s the scariest thing about ghost stories? The unknown.
Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Premium Japanese lesson is all about a bit of Japanese culture, O-bon. It’s all about the spirits of your ancestors returning to their homes for a few days in August. It’s actually a sort of Buddhist religious holiday to honor one’s ancestors, but as with many religious traditions, the fun of scary ghost stories has crept into the limelight. Read this story, and imagine what you’d do in the same circumstances. Visit us at JapanesePod101.com where you will find many more fantastic Japanese lessons and learning resources! Leave us a message while you are there!
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Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com! You are so late to work! You have had this problem almost every day since you arrived in Japan. For some reason you thought maybe if you rented a car and drove yourself to work you could get there on time. What were you thinking? Flashing lights!?!? Great! That’s all you need now! You’ll be lucky if you get to work by lunchtime now. The officer approaches your window, pulls his sunglasses down, peers questioningly into your eyes, and asks in Japanese, “Sir, did you see the sign back there?” Umm…you answer in Japanese, “No? I didn’t see the sign, officer. I’m not from Japan and I’m not very good with the signs yet.” Looking shocked that you would say something like that to him, he replies in Japanese, “If you can’t read Japanese signs, you shouldn’t be driving in Japan! In fact, there are signs to protect pedestrians in Japan, too!” Realizing your careless mistake, you ask the officer what you can do. He replies in Japanese, “I’m sorry sir, I am going to have to sentence you to watch JapanesePod101.com’s Everyday Kanji Video: Traffic Signs. You should be ready to go in no time!”
Learning Japanese with JapanesePod101.com is the most fun and effective way to learn Japanese! This Japanese Everyday Kanji Video lesson will teach you the Kanji for many of the traffic signs in Japan. Our dedicated JapanesePod101 crew took pictures of traffic signs all over Tokyo and we have shared them here with you in this video lesson to teach you first-hand the Kanji you will see in the streets of Japan. Visit us at JapanesePod101.com where you will find many more great Japanese lesson and learning materials. Leave us a message while you are there!
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