Mai Yamamoto

Blog

Backstrap Weaving and Japanese Old Story

In the mountainous of South East Asia, there are ethnic minorities who only wear items dyed with specific dyes. Because ...
Kanji

空 (sky): Kanji Meaning and Pronunciations

空 Meaning: sky, emptyPronunciations: kuu / sora, a(ku), su(ku), kara The Kanji character "空" is composed of two parts; "...
Japanese Reading

Reading Japanese: Anti-ageing is now obsolete. The passion for stop-ageing or even reverse-ageing

How old do you want to live to be? Healthily living longer is a dream of human beings everywhere in the world. This essa...
Everyday Conversation

What’s the difference between “びょういんbyooin” and “びよういんbiyooin”?

”びょういん (byooin)" and "びよういん (biyooin)" are very confusing words even for native speakers of Japanese. Not to mention for...
Everyday Conversation

What does “少し(sukoshi)” mean in Japanese?

"少し(sukoshi)" means a little (bit), small quantity or few. It is an adverb indicating a slight quantity or degree. It oc...
Kanji

国 (country): Kanji Meaning and Pronunciations

国 Meaning: countryPronunciations: kuni / koku The Kanji character "国 (country)" used to be written “國”, which was formed...
Kanji

黒 (black): Kanji Meaning and Pronunciations

黒 Meaning: blackPronunciations: koku / kuro (i) The Kanji character "黒" (kuro) is originated from a pictogram of making ...
Japanese Reading

Reading Japanese: Digital Nomadic work abroad from autumn became a lot more realistic!

We're busy harvesting our vegetable garden at the moment, but once we've finished we're planning a trip to the UK to vis...
Everyday Conversation

How do you say “I’m sad” in Japanese?

I don't like very sad situations, but sometimes you want to tell someone that you are sad.There are several ways to expr...
Everyday Conversation

How do you say “I’m happy” in Japanese?

When you are happy, you want to let the person know how you feel. There are several ways to say "I'm happy" in Japanese....
Everyday Conversation

How do you say “I want to learn Japanese” in Japanese?

If you are interested in Japan or Japanese culture, you are probably keen to learn Japanese as well. When you bump into ...
Blog

Are Japanese people afraid of earthquakes?

January 17th in 1995, at 5:46 am, I was sleeping in bed when it occurred. I was woken up by the shake and saw the light ...
Kanji

男 (man/men): Kanji Meaning and Pronunciations

男 Meaning: man, malePronunciations: dan, nan / otoko “男” is a combination of “田” and ”力”. The Kanji “田” means “rice fiel...
Kanji

毎 (every): Kanji Meaning and Pronunciations

毎 Meaning: everyPronunciations: mai / goto, tsune The Kanji "毎" is a hieroglyphic character representing a woman with or...
Japanese Reading

Reading Japanese: Life as a nomad worker (Digital Nomad) ノマドワーカーとしての生き方

I’m a writer and I work online. I can work anywhere in the world as long as I can connect with the internet. You call th...
Everyday Conversation

What’s the difference between “Udon” and “Oden”?

Both Udon and Oden are Japanese dishes that are more popular in cold weather. They may be a bit confusing for Japanese l...
Everyday Conversation

How do you say “I’m learning Japanese” in Japanese?

When you want to say "I am learning Japanese" in Japanese, you can say;
Everyday Conversation

How do you say “I don’t understand Japanese” in Japanese?

When you travel in Japan, you may meet some Japanese people who speak to you in Japanese. Ideally, you want to understan...