Learn Japanese, Japanese Pronunciation, Service Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her) Learn Japanese, Japanese Pronunciation, Service Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her)

How Japanese Works: A Linguistic Perspective

What are the essentials of the Japanese language that you should know before you begin studying? Let's look at the basics of the sounds, writing system, grammar, and formality levels - all from a Japanese teacher with a linguistic background!

音、文字、文法、そして敬語。日本語を学び始める前に知っておくべきことを、日本語講師が言語学者目線で分かりやすく英語でご紹介します!

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Learn Japanese, Japanese Pronunciation Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her) Learn Japanese, Japanese Pronunciation Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her)

Tone vs Pitch Accent: Is Japanese a tonal language?

Are pitch accent and tone the same? Does Japanese use tones? Today, let's answer these questions! We'll discuss the similarities and differences between tone and pitch accent, and then look at how Japanese works.

声調と高低アクセントの違いは?日本語は声調言語なのか? 今回は日本語学習者のそんなご質問にお答えします!

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Learn Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her) Learn Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her)

Navigate Japan’s Airports with Ease

Prepare for your trip to Japan by learning some essential vocabulary and phrases to help you navigate the airports!

成田空港ターミナル1を例として、日本の空港にある場所と道案内に必要な質問を三つご紹介します!

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Learn Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her) Learn Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her)

Indigenous Peoples of Canada: Let’s (also) talk about it in Japanese ~日本語でも話そう~

If you've been studying Japanese and you want to be able to talk about a wider variety of topics not covered in class or textbooks, this is for you. Join me in learning how to talk about the indigenous peoples of Canada, with the help of 3 news articles.

新シリーズの第二回目「日本語でも話そう」です!このシリーズでは教科書には含まれていない社会問題や政治に関するトピックを取り上げて日本語学習者さんにご紹介します。第二回目のトピックはカナダの先住民です。

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Learn Japanese, Service Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her) Learn Japanese, Service Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her)

Keigo Explained: Formal/Business Japanese with Sonkeigo, Kenjogo, Teichogo (尊敬語・謙譲語・丁重語)

Keigo is especially important if you want to work using Japanese, but it'll give you a boost in the JLPT and when you're traveling Japan. Let's first review the the different types of formality in Japanese, before looking into sonkeigo, kenjogo, and teichogo in detail. Learn how to create and use keigo correctly!

今回は尊敬語、謙譲語、丁重語を細かく英語で説明します!特にお仕事で日本語を使っている方におススメのブログです。

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Learn Japanese, Service Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her) Learn Japanese, Service Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her)

Formal vs Informal Japanese: Keigo and more

Japanese has different categories of formality. There are two main groups: futsūtai (普通体/ふつうたい) and keigo (敬語/けいご). Futsūtai is informal/casual Japanese and keigo is formal Japanese. There are 5 subgroups within keigo. Learn how to identify and when to use each one to level-up your Japanese!

日本語にはカジュアルな言い方と敬語、つまりフォーマルな言い方があります。丁寧語、美化語、尊敬語、謙譲語、丁重語の使い分けについて英語で解説します!

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Learn Japanese, Japanese Pronunciation Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her) Learn Japanese, Japanese Pronunciation Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her)

Hayakuchi Kotoba: Japanese Tongue Twisters to Improve Your Pronunciation ~早口言葉で日本語の発音力アップ~

Tongue twisters are a fun way to improve your Japanese pronunciation! No textbooks involved. They're designed to be challenging to say, so you need to focus on your overall enunciation, and the pronunciation of each sound. Learn how to improve with them and practice 4 famous tongue twisters!

日本語学習者にとって早口言葉は発音の上達につながる楽しいゲームにもなります!早口言葉を使った練習方法と4つの有名な早口言葉を英語でご紹介します。

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Learn Japanese, About Kokoro Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her) Learn Japanese, About Kokoro Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her)

Hiroshima & Nagasaki: Let’s (also) talk about it in Japanese ~日本語でも話そう~

If you've been studying Japanese and you want to be able to talk about a wider variety of topics not covered in class or textbooks, this is for you. Join me in learning how to talk about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japanese, with the help of 3 news articles.

新シリーズの第一回目「日本語でも話そう」です!このシリーズでは教科書には含まれていない社会問題や政治に関するトピックを取り上げて日本語学習者さんにご紹介します。第一回目のトピックは広島と長崎の原爆です。

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Learn Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her) Learn Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her)

Language, Identity, and Japanese for Nikkei: An Interview with Mimi Okabe, PhD

Recently, I spoke with Mimi Okabe, PhD, my friend and business partner. She shared her thoughts and experiences about language, identity, and the new business, Japanese for Nikkei.

今回は幼馴染でもあるビジネスパートナーの岡部さんをインタビューしました。言語、アイデンティティや「ジャパニーズ・フォア・ニッケイ」について教えていただきました。

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Learn Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her) Learn Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her)

Study Strategies from a Japanese Language Learner Whose Goal it is to Become a Translator

This month, I spoke with Nicole, an aspiring translator, about her language learning strategies. What’s worked, what hasn’t, and what suggestions does she have for other Japanese learners?

今回は翻訳者希望のニコールさんにお話を伺いました!言語学習において役立った学習法、役に立たなかった学習法、そして他の言語学習へのおすすめ法について教えていただきました。

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Learn Japanese, About Kokoro Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her) Learn Japanese, About Kokoro Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her)

言語力の維持と上達について

Maintaining and improving your languages isn't always easy. It hasn't been for me. I now know I wasn't alone in this struggle, and neither are you. Let me share with you some of my challenges, and what I've done to get to where I am today.

言語を学び、維持するのことは決して簡単とは言えないのですが、あなたは一人ではありませんよ。今回は翻訳者、言語講師としての言語上達と維持についてお話させていただきました。

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Learn Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her) Learn Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her)

言語力改善のカギ:インタラクション

二人以上が直接顔を合わせてコミュニケーションをすることにより、お互いの意味をすり合わせていく言語過程を「インタラクション」といいます。インタラクションは言語力改善の鍵となるのですが、その方法を知りたい方はご覧ください!

Find out how interaction, the process of negotiating meaning in face-to-face communication can help you learn languages faster!

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Translation, Learn Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her) Translation, Learn Japanese Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her)

Fighting Racism & Monolingualism: An Interview with Morenita Mommy founder, Errol

This month, I spoke with Errol, trilingual business owner and founder of Morenita Mommy! She shared with me stories of business and multilingualism.

今回は三ヶ国語を話す個人事業主、エロールさんをインタビュー!ブラックライヴススターや日本語との出会い、翻訳を始めたきっかけなどについて聞かせていただきました。

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Learn Japanese, Japanese Pronunciation Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her) Learn Japanese, Japanese Pronunciation Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her)

Japanese Pronunciation: 6 Points to Remember & Practice to Sound More Like a Native Speaker

6 Points to remember & practice in order to have natural-sounding Japanese!

今回のブログは日本語学習者対象で、覚えておくべき6つのポイントと発音の練習法をご紹介しております。

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Learn English Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her) Learn English Catherine Sachi Kikuchi (Sachi - she/her)

カナダ在住歌う英語講師荻野卓哉さんをインタビュー:日本在住でも英語力アップ!英単語を覚えるコツ

This week, I asked English teacher and ENcourage founder, Takuya Ogino, about learning vocabulary in a foreign language.

日本在住でも英語力アップ!英単語を覚えるコツについてカナダ在住歌う英語講師荻野卓哉さんにお聞きしました。

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