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 vending machines. Let's take a look! ① 売切 (urikire) = SOLD OUT The word means that something is sold out. Usually, this word is written with a mixture of kanji and hiragana, as in: 売り切れ (urikire). However, it is possible to leave out one or even both of the hiragana. It will still be read the same way. In this case, only the two kanji are used in order to take up as little space as possible. 売切 (usually written as 売り切れ) = SOLD OUT ●売 (u(ri)) = to sell ●切... 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 forms at the bank. Let's take a look! ① お引き出し (o-hikidashi) = withdrawal This is the form to fill out when you want to make a withdrawal at the bank. The verb 引き出します (hikidashimasu) means to take out, so the word for withdrawal is simply the masu stem of this verb (the verb without masu) with the honorific prefix お added at the beginning. お引き出し (o-hikidashi) = withdrawal ●引 (hi(ki)) = to pull ●出 (da(shi)) = to take out Extra: 金額 (kingaku) = amount of... 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 seen on an electric water heater pot. Let's take a look! ① 給湯 (kyūtō) = hot water supply The word written on this button is 給湯 (kyūtō), which means “hot water supply”. This is the button you press for hot water to come out. 給湯 (kyūtō) = hot water supply ● 給 (kyū) = grant, bestow ● 湯 (tō/yu) = hot water Sample Sentence: 「給湯」ボタンを押すと、お湯が出る。 ”Kyūto” botan o osu to, o-yu ga deru. If you press the “kyūtō” button, hot water will come out. ② ロック解除 (rokku... Show more

Baseball fans in Japan and abroad are celebrating the win of the Yankees in the World Series, and the performance of one player in particular - Japanese baseball player Hideki Matsui, who helped lead the Yankees to victory and was named MVP. Matsui, who has been playing with the Yankees for seven years, is the first Japanese player ever to receieve the honor of MVP. Despite having been with the Yankees for seven years, Matsui still does his interviews all in Japanese. Here is one of his interviews conducted right after the Yankees amazing win with the original Japanese and an English translation.  Hideki Matsui interview ―今の気持ちは？ 松井秀喜外野手「最高ですね。この日のために１年間頑張ってきたわけですから。何年もここ（ヤンキース）にいましたけど、初めてここ（ＷＳ優勝）までこれて最高です」  ― Well, how... Show more