It’s been very hot and humid these days like we are in a boiling pot in Japan… I’m scared whether I can survive this summer… Well, when something is hot we say 暑い or 熱い – both are pronounced “atsui”. What’s the difference? In Japanese 暑い is used for climate. Like I said at the […]
ざっす / zassu : a men’s casual greeting for several purposes
ざっす / zassu is a very casual greeting for men. It’s easy to use and can be used for several purposes. You can greet your co-workers, class mates friends and families using this word. But this is a casual greeting so do not use to someone who are not close to you. What dose […]
むかつく / mukatsuku : pissed off and feel sick to your stomach?
Japanese often says “むかつく! / mukatsuku!” when they got irritated. むかつく is a very casual word to describe a feeling of irritation, anger, being annoyed. This word is used by both of men and women, boys and girls, and used regardless of generations. Examples of むかつく / mukatsuku あいつマジでむかつく！ I’m really pissed of at […]
差支えなければ / sashitsukae-nakereba : make a request in a polite way
How to make a request in a polite way in Japanese? I talked a little bit about this in the article “Make a request in a polite way : 恐れ入りますが and 頂けますでしょうか” but today I write about another useful phrase. That is “差支えなければ / sashitsukae-nakereba”. As well as 恐れ入りますが / osoreirimasuga, 差支えなければ / sashitsukae-nakereba […]
www means lol : 草はやす / Kusa-hayasu
草はやす is a Japanese internet slang meaning “it’s funny” or “so stupid that it’s laughable”. Also, this slang can be a counterpart to lol. 草はやす literary means “grow grass”. How can this be used as lol in Japan? In fact, “w” is the initial character of 笑い / warai which means laugh in Japanese and […]
Tsuyudaku / つゆだく, a magic word for gyudon (beef and rice bowl).
Gyudon, the rice bowl topped with beef and onion simmered in a little sweet sauce flavored with soy sauce, is one of the most popular fast food in Japan. It’s very popular especially among サラリーマン (salary-man = a Japanese word to refer to salaried worker of men) and students. Gyudon is cheap, tasty, served fast! […]
PhotoshopなどAdobeのソフトを英語化する方法
アドビのソフトを英語化したい場合、以下の方法で実現可能です。 海外のチュートリアルなんかを参考にしている人には有用です。 Photoshopの場合は、 C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop CS6 (64 Bit)\Locales\ja_JP\Support Files にある、datファイル名を書き換えればOKです。 私の場合cs6で試しましたが、 tw10428.dat のファイルを、 tw10428.backup.dat に書き換えれば英語化されました。
Usage and difference of to and ya and nado(と and や and など)
When we list up items in a series we use “と / to” or “や / ya” or “とか / toka”. Let’s look at examples. 今日はマルイと三越で買い物をする予定です。 “I’m going shopping at Marui and Mitsukoshi today.” *Marui and Mitsukoshi are Japanese famous department stores especially in Kanto region. 今日はマルイや三越で買い物をする予定です。 “I’m going shopping at Marui and […]
Common and useful Japanese responses in conversation (あいづち)
When we talk we make quick responses to keep conversation going smoothly. We call the responses 相槌 / aizuchi. In this article I sum up common and useful Japanese conversation responses and their usage. Affirmative responses ええ / ee Yes or I see はい / hai Yes そうですね / sou-desune That’s […]
Japanese spoiler (netabare) uploaders arrested
Five Japanese who uploaded spoilers (ネタバレ / neta-bare) of one of the biggest manga title in Japan, One Piece, were arrested on suspicion of copyright infringements (著作権違反 / chosakuken-ihan). The police announced on 6th September. The suspects admitted their suspect and said that they bought the manga where it’s on sold before release date […]