Outside Your Japanese Class with Taichi

Japanese teacher in Singapore. Post Japanese culture, history and knowledge for Japanese learners. 📚🤩

Outside Your Japanese Class with Taichi

Japanese teacher in Singapore. Post Japanese culture, history and knowledge for Japanese learners. 📚🤩

#14 The Fun of Comparing Japanese & English Titles of Manga & Anime Part1

　Today, I thought I’d go with a more casual, chatty topic. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it at your leisure! What inspired me to write about this theme　Living abroad has made me realise something interesting. The titles of movies on streami

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    • #13 The Super Handy て-form!

      　Hey everyone! If you’re learning beginner Japanese, you’ve probably come across one of the most essential grammar points: the “て-form.” Remember it? 🤭 　One of the core uses of the て-form is showing the order of actions within a single sen

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      • #12 The Topic Marker "は" in Japanese Part3

        　I believe you’ve grasped the basic logic through Parts 1 and 2. Next, I’d like to explain the meaning and usage of the particle “は” in more detail, using specific examples. For those who haven’t read the previous articles yet, please follo

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        • #12 The Topic Marker "は" in Japanese Part2

          　Today’s content brings us one step closer to understanding the meaning of 「は」. We’re almost there, so hang in there! 　Just a heads-up: this article builds on what we covered last time. So, if you haven’t read the previous article yet, ple

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          #12 The Topic Marker "は" in Japanese Part1

          　This time we're diving into something that many Japanese learners find tricky—the particle "は" used to indicate the topic of a sentence. To really understand it, you’ll need to get to grips with the structure of Japanese sentences and what

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          #12 The Topic Marker "は" in Japanese Part1

          Outside Your Japanese Class with Taichi

          #11 Let’s Go on a Hunt for Japanglish! Part2

          Continuing from last time, here are 5 more Japanglish Words! If you missed the last batch or want to check it out again, you can find the link below. 6 スルー (Through)　If you saw this word by itself, would you know what it means?  In Japanes

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          #11 Let’s Go on a Hunt for Japanglish! Part2

          Outside Your Japanese Class with Taichi

          #11 Let’s Go on a Hunt for Japanglish! Part1

          　Alright, as the title suggests, today we're diving into the topic of Japanglish. It’s a subject that seems to have no end, so I’ll keep sharing fun examples whenever I stumble across them. I’m sure many of you, while studying Japanese or c

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          #11 Let’s Go on a Hunt for Japanglish! Part1

          Outside Your Japanese Class with Taichi

          #10 Time Through Metaphors Part2

          　In the last article, we looked at expressions like "time passes" or "the time comes," which use spatial metaphors. These included imagery of us walking along a path connecting the past to the future, or of river water flowing from upstream

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          #10 Time Through Metaphors Part2

          Outside Your Japanese Class with Taichi

          #10 Time Through Metaphors Part1

          　Since "time" is an invisible, abstract concept, both Japanese and English rely heavily on metaphors to express it. Without even realising it, we use phrases like "time passes," or "time flies," all of which compare time to something that f

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          #10 Time Through Metaphors Part1

          Outside Your Japanese Class with Taichi

          #9 How Word Meanings Change Over Time Part2

          　Now, Continuing From Last Time... Last time, I wrote one of the three major patterns of how word meanings change over time. Today, we’ll dive into the remaining two. If you haven’t read the previous article yet, make sure to check it out h

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          #9 How Word Meanings Change Over Time Part2

          Outside Your Japanese Class with Taichi

          #9 How Word Meanings Change Over Time Part1

          　Imagine being a modern architect and hearing your work described as “amusing, awful, and artificial.” You’d probably feel insulted, right? But when James II of England said these exact words to Sir Christopher Wren after the grand redesign

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          #9 How Word Meanings Change Over Time Part1

          Outside Your Japanese Class with Taichi

          #8 Understanding the Subtle Differences in Synonyms Part3

          　As we reach the final part of this series, I’d like to focus on katakana words. So far, we've explored the characteristics of wago (native Japanese words) and kango (words borrowed from Chinese) under the theme of synonyms. For more detail

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          #8 Understanding the Subtle Differences in Synonyms Part3

          Outside Your Japanese Class with Taichi

          #8 Understanding the Subtle Differences in Synonyms Part2

          　In my last article, we explored Japanese synonyms, but of course, English has its own set of synonyms as well. When you examine English synonyms, you’ll notice some similarities with their Japanese counterparts. Understanding these connect

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          #8 Understanding the Subtle Differences in Synonyms Part2

          Outside Your Japanese Class with Taichi

          #8 Understanding the Subtle Differences in Synonyms Part1

          　The word "開ける(akeru)" is likely familiar to many Japanese learners. It means "to open". However, when you look it up in a dictionary, you might also come across the word "開放する(kaihou suru)". You may have seen signs like the one in the im

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          #8 Understanding the Subtle Differences in Synonyms Part1

          Outside Your Japanese Class with Taichi

          #7 The History and Culture of Kimono Part2

          　In the previous article, I wrote the history of kimono and the differences between kimono and yukata. This time, let's delve a bit deeper into some language-related aspects and niche trivia about kimono. Words and Idioms Related to Kimono

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          #7 The History and Culture of Kimono Part2

          Outside Your Japanese Class with Taichi

          #7 The History and Culture of Kimono Part1

          　When it comes to clothes and fashion, I’ve always been pretty indifferent. I usually just wear whatever people recommend to me, as long as it’s cheap and comfortable. However, when I heard my students talking about how much they enjoyed we

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          #7 The History and Culture of Kimono Part1

          Outside Your Japanese Class with Taichi