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Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary If you asked me to refer in Japanese to four species of Antarctic penguins, I might try to squeeze ペンギン (pengin: penguin), 4種類 (yon shurui: four kinds), and いる (iru: to exist) into a sentence. In the penguin sign I've mentioned (yes, we're still talking about it!), ペンギン and 4種類 certainly appear. But instead of いる, we find this: 生息する (seisoku suru: to inhabit, live)     life + to live Here's the relevant text again: 南極に生息する4種類のペンギン Nankyoku ni seisoku suru yon shurui no pengin four Antarctic penguin species 南極 (nankyoku: South Pole)     south + pole 種類 (shurui: kind, type)     kind +... Show more

Thanks for following us on Twitter! We hope you have been enjoying the wasei-eigo mini lessons we've been updating everyday. We plan to change the theme for the vocabulary every 2 weeks or so, which means that the wasei-eigo lessons are coming to an end and it's time for a new theme. Our next theme will be counter words! Over the next couple of weeks we will introduce you to a new counter everyday on Twitter. We'll be alternating between elementary counters for beginning students and more difficult counters for advanced students. So what are counters and how do they work? Counters, or 助数詞 (josūshi), are words that are paired with numbers and are used to count things and events. They are similar to English phrases such as "a... Show more

The Kanji for this week are as follows: (Remember, each compound must use the Kanji in the brackets .) Kanji Scrabble #04 : 　右、上、大、車、気、左、足、長、入、小 Kanji Scrabble, a JapanesePod101.com original game. (Learn How to Play Here) To start, all you need is a Twitter account and to follow our Twitter account @japanesepod101 (What's Twitter you ask? Read our guide here.) Answers: Kanji Kana English 上手 うわて、じょうず、かみて (adj-na,n) (1) upper part/(adj-na,n) (2) skillful (only in comparisons)/dexterity (only in comparisons)/(n) (3) over-arm grip on opponent's belt (sumo) 入手 にゅうしゅ (n,vs) obtaining/coming to hand 右手 みぎて (n) right hand 大手 おおて (n,adj-no) (1) front castle gate/(2) both arms open/outstretched arms/(3)... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary Two weeks ago, I introduced the following sentence: ペンギンと背比べ！南極に生息する4種類のペンギンの脇に立ち、あなたの身長と比較してみて下さい。 Pengin to seikurabe! Nankyoku ni seisoku suru 4 shurui no penginno waki ni tachi, anata no shinchō to hikaku shite mite kudasai. Stand beside the four Antarctic penguin species and see how tall they are compared to you! Breakdown of the Kanji ... At first glance, it might seem as if this text is about penguins, and of course they play a vital role. But the more I look at it, the more I see that it's full of body parts! See how many components or whole kanji you can spot that relate in some way to bodies or their functions. I'll post the original sign again to... Show more

Time for another Kanji Scrabble this week.  First off, our apologies for a post later in the week due to the Japan exclusive holiday "Golden Week" (found out more in our Culture Class #15 lesson） The Kanji for this week are as follows: (Remember, each compound must use the Kanji in the brackets .) Kanji Scrabble #03 　間、先、九、大、中、立、毎、見、長、火 (Learn How to Play Here) Answers posted tomorrow morning at 10am Tokyo time! Next week's will begin on Thursday like usual. @Hint: Starting this week, not all Kanji in the list this week will be used to help keep this interesting ;) 簡単すぎるゲームだったら、おもしろくないでしょう？ Kanji Scrabble, a JapanesePod101.com original game. (Learn How to Play Here) To start, all you need is a Twitter account and to follow... Show more

Today I came across VidTweeter, by Kevin Sherman. This is an awesome idea that lets you watch YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion videos on Twitter's website! Below is a snapshot of  our setup. Total time invested, 5 minutes. Here is a quick tutorial. Hope it helps. What you need:  All you need is a Twitter account and a link to some content on YouTube, Vimeo, or DailyMotion. We used content from our JapanesePod101 YouTube account and JapanesePod101 Twitter account. Step 1. Go to VidTweeter Step 2. Enter you Twitter Account Info, and select the Video site of the URL you will use. (We used YouTube) Step 3. Paste in the URL you wish to share.  Step 4. Get a preview of your page with the video on it by clicking... Show more

Today I came across VidTweeter, an awesome idea that let's you watch YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion videos inside Twitter! Below is a snapshot of  our setup. Total time invested, 5 minutes. How cool is this? Actually, it's pretty amazing. First, it's super easy. Seriously, a 2-minute tutorial follow up blog entry will explain. Although, it's really not needed. All you need is a Twitter account and a link to some content on YouTube, Vimeo, or DailyMotion. We used content from our JapanesePod101 YouTube account and JapanesePod101 Twitter account. To get going, simply go to VidTweeter.com and follow the instructions. Second, you can share any video, not just your own. So a Tweet like: I'm watching a JapanesePod101.com... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary It's May 1. So what does that mean for us? Well, it's a holiday in many parts of the world, but not for me, so that definitely wasn't on my mind. Wrong answer! May 1 is also my husband's birthday. Happy birthday! This year, after my birthday rolls around, we'll both have prime numbers as our ages. I don't think that's ever happened before. I also think it's highly insignificant in the big scheme of things (e.g., the study of Japanese), so forget that answer, too. The "proper" answer is that it's time for the May page of Alberto Sanz's beautiful haiku calendar:     The haiku again: あえかなる薔薇撰りをれば春の雷 Aekanaru bara erioreba haru no rai Choosing the... Show more

So what exactly is 和製英語 (wasei-eigo)？ Good question! Wasei-eigo literally means Japanese-made English. No, not the grammatically incorrect English you see on sites such as Engrish.com, but  pseudo-English expressions that are rendered in katakana that have become part of the Japanese language. Some of these wasei-eigo expressions more or less get their meaning across to English speakers, even if they are not phrases used in English: イメージチェンジ (ime-ji chenji = "image change"), for example, refers to getting a makeover or changing ones image. Not that much of a stretch. Others, however, are much less obvious and can cause confusion for English speakers: A コンセント (consento = "consent"), for example, refers to... a wall outlet!... Show more

Hello! Thanks to everyone who has been following us on Twitter and playing Kanji Scrabble lately! Here at JapanesePod101.com, we think that Twitter is great for communication and sharing information. We also think it makes for a powerful learning tool! So starting today, we'll be introducing Japanese vocabulary and phrases daily on Twitter that follow a set theme. Each day we'll tweet at 10 a.m. Tokyo time (except for the first one, which is already out!). Our first theme will be 和製英語 (wasei-eigo). You'll get the wasei-eigo term in katakana, followed by the romaji, the original English it comes from, and an explanation of its intended meaning (which is often different from the meaning of the English words!) So don't forget to... Show more