さっぷうけい [sappuukei] – A bland or uninspiring environment. 風景 [fuukei] is the word for a scene or view of somewhere.

なつばて [natsubate] – Something about the 38℃ days just makes you tired, you know. In Japanese, that fatigue is called 夏バテ.

てじな [tejina] – ‘Hand’ (手) plus ‘wares’ (品) gives us the Japanese word for sleight-of-hand. The word 奇術 [kijutsu] is typically used for…

てんけい [tenkei] – A divine revelation.

Not simply messages from God (which are actually pretty uncommon, I hear)…

つわり [tsuwari] – This ominous combination of kanji (evil 悪 and obstruction 阻) gives us the word for morning sickness (the early pregnancy symptom).

はらいせ [haraise] – Literally, “soothing the stomach”. This expression refers to taking your anger out on something. In a strict definition…

おんのじ [on no ji] – This phrase describes something you’re so grateful for that it makes you want to use the honorific character 御. In other words…

どたんば [dotanba] – Means, “at the last moment” or “in a very dire situation.” In the Edo period, criminals sentenced to decapitation were made to…

ぶっしょく [busshoku] – Thing (物) + color (色) equals…? Yep! that’s right: “to search around looking for just the right thing”. Or…

たちくらみ [tachikurami] – Ever wish there was a word to describe that annoying vertigo/”blacking out” sensation you get when you stand up suddenly?…