The second Monday in October is a national holiday called "Health and Sports Day", which is known as "Taiiku no hi" (体育の日) in Japanese. It falls on October 12th this year. The first Health and Sports Day was held on October 10, 1966, two years after the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, to commemorate the Olympics which started on October 10 of that year. This holiday was held on October 10 until 1999, and in 2000, it was moved to the second Monday in October as part of the Happy Monday system. (Because of this sytem, some National holidays were moved to Monday to make three-day weekends.) This holiday is a day to promote sports and physical and mental health. Some sports facilities discount or drop their fees, and many schools hold their sports... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary Let's start with a quick quiz. What do you think the following might mean? 残生 (zansei)     to remain + life 生残 (seizan)     life + to remain To block the answers, I'll share a photo I took in Los Angeles on Sawtelle Boulevard, a Japanese area that unfortunately extends for just two blocks: Explanation of the Sign ... OK, here are the answers: 残生 (zansei: remainder of one's life)     to remain + life 生残 (seizan: survival)     life + to remain Last week we learned that the yomi of 残 are ZAN, noko(ru), and noko(su). As you can see, its on-yomi is at work... Show more

Hi everyone! Welcome to Everyday Kanji! In this series, we're going to present pictures of kanji seen in various places in Japan taken by the team members at JapanesePod101.com. That's right - kanji seen and used everyday! The theme for this week is kanji found on freeway signs. Let's take a look! ① 点灯 (tentō)：This is the entrance of a tunnel. Can you imagine what the sign is telling you to do from the picture? The kanji 点 comes from the verb 点ける (tsukeru) meaning “to light”, and 灯 means “a light.” So altogther, 点灯 (tentō) means “to turn on a light.” A similar sign in English might say "Headlights On". 点灯 (tentō) = to turn on a light ● 点 (ten) = to light ● 灯 (tō) = a light Sample Sentence: このランプが点灯したら、故障のサインだ。 ... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary I found a word whose yomi sounds like something a rooster might say: 心残り (kokoronokori: regret; reluctance)     heart + remainder Sample Sentence with 心残り ... It's not quite "cock-a-doodle-doo," but in some parts of the world roosters are quoted as saying "kookoorookoo," which we almost have with kokoronokori. I love the string of o sounds in this fun kun-kun combination! The breakdown is also a winner: regret remains in the heart long after an event has passed. (Of course, anger and sadness also have a great deal of staying power, but somehow regret has prevailed here.) As heart + remainder = regret, it seems natural that the inverse,... Show more

Hi everyone! Welcome to Everyday Kanji! In this series, we're going to present pictures of kanji seen in various places in Japan taken by the team members at JapanesePod101.com. That's right - kanji seen and used everyday! The theme for this week is kanji found on packaging of Japanese chocolate. Let's take a look! ① きなこおはぎ味 (kinako ohagi aji): 味 (aji) means “flavor”. The word that comes before 味 specifies what kind of flavor something is. Do you know what kind of flavor きなこおはぎ is? きなこ is soybean flour and おはぎare rice balls coated in sweet bean paste. You can see what it looks like in the picture on the packaging. The light brown powder is きなこ, which is a very traditional Japanese flavor. ● 味 (aji) = taste Sample... Show more

彼は走って逃げる彼女を追いかけた。 この文章を読んで、あなたならどんな場面を想像しますか？　つまり、「走っている」のは誰でしょう？ もし、「彼は、走って逃げる彼女を追いかけた。」であれば走っているのは「彼女」になります。「彼」は歩いて追いかけたのかもしれないし、自転車で追いかけたのかもしれません。 では、「彼は走って、逃げる彼女を追いかけた。」と書いてあるとき、走っているのは誰ですか？　そう、「彼」ですね。「彼女」は自動車に乗って逃げていった、などという想像も成り立ちます。 日本語においては、このように「、」がある位置によって、その文章の意味が大きく変わってしまうことがあります。「、」は読点（とうてん）と呼び、文章を読み上げるときにどこで息継ぎをするか、言い換えれば、文章の小さな句切れ目を表わします。 日本語で文章を書くとき、この読点がないとどこで区切れるのか分からず、結局、文章全体の意味が不明瞭になることがあります。この例文のように、走っているのは誰なのか分からなくなってしまうのですね。反対に、読点を打ちすぎると単語と単語がばらばらに区切られてしまい、これも読みづらい文になってしまいます。「彼は、走って、逃げる、彼女を、追いかけた。」…結局、走っているのが誰か分かりません。 小さい「、」にも、実は大きな力があるのです。 ＝＝＝＝ 彼は走って逃げる彼女を追いかけた。 (He runs after the fleeing woman.) When you read this sentence what kind of scene do you imagine? In other words, who is it... Show more

SAVE 15% OFF! Back to School Special is Back for 2 days! Save 15% OFF Any Basic or premium subscription! Introduction Save an INSTANT 15% OFF Any Basic or Premium Subscription! Back to School Special is here for 48 hours only! Claim your discount now. Secrets to Learning Japanese Secrets to learning Japanese REVEALED! Best Lessons and Blog Entries for September!  - Find out what's popular this month! The blog has some great content for you to see. Welcome to the JapanesePod101.com newsletter. These periodic newsletters will deliver  to  you  all  the  exciting developments that are going on at JapanesePod101.com.  With  each  issue,  you  will  receive  the latest announcements, promotional offers, blog news, and forum... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary If your life is on the line, that's a bad thing. But what if that line were the horizon? Then it wouldn't be a negative idea at all: 生涯 (shōgai: one's lifetime)     life + horizon Your lifetime stretches out over the horizon of your life! Sample Sentence with 生涯 ... It's that time of the year when I move a smidge to the right on the horizon of my life. (I'm assuming one reads horizon life lines from left to right, but it's hard to say for sure!) Or Is All My Life a Circle? ... This means a few things: 1. A short vacation in Malibu (near Los Angeles) with my husband and dogs. Yippee! (Unfortunately, by the time you read this, the... Show more

When we started our 'Everyday Kanji' photo series via Twitter and Facebook, the response was HUGE!  If you liked our Japan photos, meet Shibuya246, popular Japan Blogger. With post topics such as Shibuya, food, goods, travel and technology, we're sure you'll feel closer to Japan no matter where you are.

朝夕はかなり肌寒くなり、秋の深まりを感じます。今日は、「秋」という漢字が含まれる二つのことばを紹介しましょう。 一つ目は、「秋刀魚」。 「刀」という漢字は「a japanese sword」を指し、「魚」という漢字は「a fish」を意味しています。日本では秋になると、しばしば食卓に上る魚のことですよ。これは、「サンマ」と読みます。銀色で、とがった頭と長細い体が、まるで剣のように見えることから、このような漢字で書かれるようになりました。日本では、焼いて食べるのが一般的です。そのとき、大根をすりおろしたものに醤油をたらし、ほぐした身と一緒に食べるととてもおいしいです。ただ、「はらわた」と呼ばれる内臓部分は苦いため、嫌いな人も多いですね。 二つ目は、「秋桜」。 「桜」という漢字は「a cherry blossom」のこと。白やピンクの花を咲かせるこの草は、日本の秋の野原で風に揺れていますよ。これは、「コスモス」と読みます。花びらの形が桜に似ていることから、「秋に咲く桜」として漢字が当てられたそうです。しかし、植物学上では桜の仲間ではなく、菊の一種。1.5～2メートルくらいの高さで、葉はペンで書いた線のように細いのが特徴です。ギリシア語では「宇宙」や「世界」を意味しています。また、花びらが整然と並んでいるので「秩序」という意味もあるとか。日本で生まれた花だと思われがちですが、原産国はメキシコです。 以上、日本の秋を象徴する魚と花の紹介でした。 ===== The mornings and evenings grow fairly chilly and one can sense the season moving deeper into... Show more