What do dinosaurs, outdated fashions, and SNL have in common? They’re going to help us with Classical Japanese. Today’s course in your Kobun education is easy breezy: Jodoushi (助動詞). They’re “helper” or auxiliary verbs. I … [Read more...]
馬鹿 (Baka) means stupid in Japanese and came from the Sanskrit word "baka" which means for "ignorance" and "illusion." In Japan, the usage of "baka" started at the end of the Kamakura period (1185–1333). Nowadays we use … [Read more...]
If you were to ask people to describe "Japan" or "the Japanese" in one word, there’s a pretty good chance that you’d hear one word over and over again: “homogeneous.” The Japanese have long prided themselves on the … [Read more...]
The Japanese language is a great language to learn, especially for those who love anime, but it can be particularly difficult for native English speakers. I have taught the Japanese language to native English speakers in … [Read more...]
If you're a beginning or intermediate student of Japanese, you may feel like you have a very limited arsenal of verbs within arms reach. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked to write a sentence in class, and the … [Read more...]
Want to read part 1 of this series? Read it here - Japanese, The Borrower Language part 1: Where the Japanese Language Came From. The phenomenon of language borrowing is in no way unique, but it seems to stand out more … [Read more...]