JapanesePod101.com Blog

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary I firmly believe that every kanji has its own personality. And as with people or dogs (or most creatures), it takes a while to get to know a complex kanji. By "complex," I don't mean something like this: Read as KYŪ or kuji, this crazy concoction means "lottery" (though "circuit board" would have been more fitting). It certainly looks complicated. But when I say "complex," I mean a character with ... well, with lots of character! That is, one with emotional depth and many sides to its personality, a kanji that sets a mood or conveys layers of meaning. When you think of 後 (KŌ, GO, ato, ushi(ro)), which generally means "after" or "behind," what associations would... Show more

Robert Belton is one of our most active users, currently tuning in from London, England. How did you find JapanesePod101.com? Through the iTunes store. I was browsing for Japanese language podcasts. What made you stay? The people. In the long term that is what has kept me there. Vicky-san and Liz-san were very welcoming and we started chatting on Skype. The general tone of the forums is pleasant and friendly. I don't think I've seen any of the unpleasantness I've seen in other Internet forums. The level of conversation is intelligent, there's no spam, people are well behaved. My contacts with Peter-san have been friendly and I admire his boundless enthusiasm and energy. And it's nice to have contact with Miki-san on her blog.... Show more

Recently, listener Todd Mizomi visited us in the Tokyo Office! Todd was visiting Tokyo with his wife, celebrating his 8th wedding anniversary. He brought in some delicious Hawaiian chocolate as well as some heavy camera equipment! We know our listeners are very interested in seeing the faces behind the JapanesePod101.com team, and we took advantage of Todd's professionalism! We had a lot of fun with our mini-photoshoot! There will be lots more pictures in the coming days! Thanks Todd-san! Starting from the left: Brian, Oe, Jon, Marky, Kishimoto-sensei, Jeff, Yuki, and Peter in the center. (Missing: Sachiko, Naomi, Jun, Miki, Sakura, Natsuko, Yoshikai, Take, and Ushijima) We hope you enjoy this. Yoroshiku o-negai... Show more

JapanesePod101.com was recently interviewed by Rob Walsch of Podcast411. Click on the button below to listen to the interview. Podcast411 is the leading Interview show focused on Podcasting. Past guests include Senator John Edwards, Adam Curry (co-inventor of Podcasting), Walt Mossberg from the Wall Street Journal, Phil Gordon from the Bravo Channel, and many other big names in the Podcasting community.

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary While investigating 後 (KŌ, GO, ato, ushi(ro): after, behind), I've been amused to find it popping up in some highly specific words: 髭剃り後 (higesoriato: after shaving)     beard + to shave + after 浴後 (yokugo: after the bath)     to bathe + after 後ろ明き (ushiroaki: clothing that opens in the back)     back + to be open For Other AmusinglySpecific Words Including 後 ... It seems that someone designed these words to expedite discussions of such matters. I say "expedite" because, aside from the charming specificity on display here, blow-by-blow descriptions of morning routines are rarely... Show more

PodFinder UK is an innovative mix of podcasts, video shows and new media programming produced by PodShow UK. Each week the video show Podfinder UK, hosted by the lovely Josephine Laurence, reviews six of the best podcasts and video shows on the web. This week's Episode 17 features JapanesePod101. The show can also be viewed directly here in mp4 format.

One month ago, I stepped off the plane at Narita Airport armed with 2 semesters of Japanese language instruction, a handful of Japanese guidebooks/dictionaries, and a naïve confidence of my communication abilities. Although I realized that I was far from fluent, I was sure that I could easily get in a cab, check into my apartment, and get dinner, at the very least. I was wrong. The Taxi Ride Nearly sideswiped by the automatic doors of the taxi, I hopped into the taxi with a map, pointed and stated “Tokyo Weekly Mansions Onegaishimasu.” He then stared at the map blankly, obviously not understanding where to go. After he said a string of incredibly fast Japanese (much faster than the audio recordings played for me in my college... Show more

Someone asked on a recent post at Japanesepod101.com what なつこ先生's name was in 漢字. I said that it was 夏子. I'm pretty sure it's 夏子, in all of the early PDFs, she is listed as 夏子. Almost all Japanese people have 漢字 names, and all family names are 漢字. The last time I went to Japan, I was quite fluent with my 漢字 from my Chinese study, but I still found common Japanese names very interesting. Whenever I'd go into any shop, I'd make a point of reading the various workers' namecards. I found the names fascinating. To someone used to dry, uninteresting Chinese names, Japanese names are a breath of fresh air. They sound like they were made up by hippie parents. Take 夏子 for example (the name, not the lady!) The first character is 'summer', the... Show more

Today we would like to introduce you to our new friend videocaster Yukako Tajima, AKA Tajee. Tajee is a video podcaster from Tokyo, who currently splits her time between the US and Japan podcast/videocast scene. She produces videocasts to help people who are interested in Japanese culture, and the language, and currently, she maintains the following blogs: What's Hot in Tokyo - Tajee, a podcaster from Japan, introduces hot culture and useful Japanese words! Check out the latest one on Suica! She also produces another blog on what is hot on the podcasting scene! This is really nice, as it is bilingual. あみのタジーのポッドキャスト冒険ブログ Tajee's Podcast Adventure! - A bilingual blog on what is hot on the podcasting scene! Mina-san, be sure... Show more

Quick Links Welcome to Kanji Curiosity | The Basics | Glossary In Urdu (the national language of Pakistan), the word kal means both "yesterday" and "tomorrow." Context determines the intended meaning. In a similar way, the meaning of 後 slip-slides from compound to compound, as we can somewhat grasp from its assorted yomi: GO, nochi: after, later KŌ, ushi(ro): behind ato: afterward, subsequent, later, back, rear, remainder, retro- oku(reru): to be late, to lag behind, to fall back I say "somewhat" because in one sense, all the definitions look like close cousins. But from another perspective, that's not necessarily so. Concepts of "after" and "behind" can be tricky in both Japanese and English. To explore this, let's think... Show more