Jun
01
2012

Japanese Cheat Sheet Pack

At last, the time has come to unveil what I’ve spent the last several months working on: a pack of Japanese cheat sheets for intermediate to advanced Japanese learners.

Japanese Cheat Sheet Pack
  Read full article
Feb
12
2010

4 Major Japanese pizza chains compared

Oh the hardships, the ordeals I endure for the sake of this blog. But someone had to do it, someone had to stomach 5 whole pizzas in the course of researching a completely legitimate, informative blog post.

(Translation: Lloyd used his blog as an excuse to order delivery pizza 5 times in one month.)…

4 Major Japanese pizza chains compared
  Read full article
Feb
05
2010

Japanese Cheat Sheet

After 2 months of planning and composition (okay, so I did procrastinate quite a bit), I now understand how Moses felt when he descended Mount Sinai with the holy tablets. Behold, Nihonshock’s newly revised and much improved Japanese cheat sheet!

Japanese Cheat Sheet
  Read full article
Feb
03
2010

Particles: the difference between WA and GA

Japanese particles are both a blessing and a curse. They make Japanese grammar simple and direct, almost like a computer language. They always follow the rules because they are the rules. Particles tell us “this word does this” and “this word does this.” However, these little suffixes can cause tremendous headaches for us English-speaking learners because they group meanings together quite differently than our English equivalents (prepositions), or in some cases have no equivalent at all.

Of the lot, wa (は) and ga (が) are almost undoubtedly the most annoying pair of particles to keep straight. They’re probably the most frequently used particles in the language, so you need to learn them early (note: you won’t master them early), but it’s very difficult to find a decent explanation for them even in big bulky text books. And if you want to make your Japanese teacher sweat, just ask them to explain the difference.

I’ve devoted a lot of introspective soul-searching time to thinking about these two little guys, and in this article, I’m going to do my best to shed some new, meaningful light on the difference between は and が.

Particles: the difference between WA and GA
  Read full article
Dec
10
2009

My trip to a cat cafe

The other day I finally got around to visiting a place that I’ve wanted to check out for some time: a cat cafe.

No, there’s no relationship to maid cafes or anything like that. It’s not even really a place to get a cup of coffee (though they do offer a small selection food and drinks). It’s a “cafe” more in the sense of an internet cafe and the system is almost identical, except instead of a room full of computers you buy time to go into a room full of cats.

Meow, as a cat lover this was purrfectly right up my alley (sorry, but I wanted to get all the puns out of the way early), so I went to check it out one morning…

My trip to a cat cafe
  Read full article
Nov
28
2009

The many ways to say “I”

One of the many unique and intriguing features of Japanese is the vast selection of words you have available to choose from when you want to say “I.”Each of these words has a different connotation reflecting the speaker’s view of his/herself and relationship to the listener.

For this article, I’m introduce to you my personal collection of “I” words that I’ve encountered here in Japan (even if I’ve only seen them once or twice in obscure contexts). Hopefully, this list will help to prepare you for your own Japanese adventures.

The many ways to say “I”
  Read full article
Oct
22
2009

Crazy kanji: what’s the highest stroke count?

Sooner or later every Japanese learner asks the question, which kanji has the highest stroke count?

Well, today I’m going to hopefully answer that question for everyone once and for all…

Crazy kanji: what’s the highest stroke count?
  Read full article
Oct
13
2009

Japanglish journeys: the 100 yen store

Not only are 100 yen shops a kind of messiah for tight-budgeted students, travelers and residents, they are an honest to goodness goldmine for top-quality Japanglish. I imagine some of the products they carry ended up there specifically because the maker realized their translation was rubbish.

Recently I made a trip to the Skyle building Daiso in Sakae, Nagoya… here’s what I came away with…

Japanglish journeys: the 100 yen store
  Read full article