Today's listening practice is this video about different styles of bunkobon (small print paperbacks).
She speaks really clearly, not too fast, uses naturally polite Japanese, and has Japanese subs.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=nVr-...
During WWII, English loanwords disappeared from Japanese media due to kotobagari (word hunting). Baseball became "yakyu" (field ball), soccer became "shukyu" (kicking ball). Only baseball terms stuck.
buff.ly/olIKhSS
New wallpaper drop 🚀
This weeks wallpaper is a voyager vessel status mobile wallpaper. Designed from the vesselt status screen seen throughout Voyager.
Free download: lcarsworkshop.com
#StarTrek #wallpaper #scifi
In the spirit of trans visibility, lemme just plug my ongoing project to document as many pre-2010 games as possible that had a trans person on the dev team. You might be surprised by what's on there. There's games going right back to the sixties!
dotmaetrix.neocities.org/classictranslist
崩れる（くずれる）usually means something like "crumble" or "collapse," but I like that it can be applied to the weather
(天気（てんき）が崩れる) to talk, for example, about a forecast of rain later in the day.
Good point. Added one just now. Thanks!
My #WomensHistoryMonth edition of Localization Lore is up! Check it out to learn more about some of the ladies who were active in the J>E video game localization industry during the early 90s, including the origins behind "You spoony bard!"
各位同仁, please consider signing the following petition to protest against plans to close down the Stockholm Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities and the Museum of the Middle Ages: tinyurl.com/5n7j8j54.
I want to spread some positivity in the world, so I want to shout-out folks doing great work in the Japanese translation space:
You may feel you know your Japanese kanji pretty well. That is, until someone thrusts a hand-written sushi menu in front of you. Here's our quick guide to a number of common food-related kanji you may encounter on Japanese restaurant menus.
New Interviews With Localizers is out!!! This month we talk to John Neal (@johnnylandmine.bsky.social) about how he became an in-house video game localizer then moved to freelance manga/game translation and editing.
#InterviewswithLoc
j-entranslations.com/john-neal-ma...
Excerpt of a Japanese painting in light colors with a beige background showing a hawk looking to the left. To its left is a sprig of pink flowers, and to its right the truck of a pine tree with pine needles surrounding it.
JPP is pleased to announce the launch of A World of Edo Art. This web portal, spearheaded Linda Hoaglund (director, Edo Avant Garde), brings together 200+ captivating Edo-period (1603–1868) artworks related to animals and nature from around the world. edoart.japanpastandpresent.org
This would make a great lesson for verb forms because in a certain sense, the frog definitely 居る, but also definitely 要らない.
A wonderful starter pack for #JapaneseTeachers
go.bsky.app/CDTutML
Good morning Tokyo I just saw this awesome chart about dinosaurs and suddenly felt inspired. Feel free to tell me what I missed. 😇
I'm offering digital downloads of beginner-level Japanese on my kofi!
121 pages, based off the Genki 1 textbook, but explained in my voice, with my unique examples, and with extra grammar, vocab, and tidbits not covered in Genki 1.
Interviews with Localizers is back (again)!!! This time with an interview with Japanese to English video game translator and project manager @japantaloons.bsky.social!
#InterviewswithLoc
j-entranslations.com/carrick-loma...
Just sent out the January newsletter. I wrote about 弊社 and 御社, two words which were difficult for me to differentiate and use at first. I have a helpful mnemonic, and if you think of them as pronouns, their usage also becomes a lot easier. newsletter.howtojapanese.com/onsha-heisha/
Goals are super important for studying Japanese long term, so here are some study tips and techniques whether goal is to be able to read manga, understand YouTube videos or anime, or visit the country.
jtalkonline.com/japanese-stu...
LRP reminds me how I still encounter cases where つまらない is translated ONLY as "boring" because that's how we learn it in Japanese 101, when really つまらない is an expression of distaste that can range from mild boredom to active scorn. Examining context is the key to healthy skepticism
It's more fun to implement things when people ask for them 😃 New Jisho now has dark mode 🌛
No, at the moment we only have a Mastodon account that we haven’t posted to in a long while. mastodon.social/@jisho For now I will keep updates about Jisho development to my personal Mastodon/Bluesky accounts, until development goes a bit further.
It’s on the todo list! Sometime this year 😅
Excited to announce that @scriptingjapan.bsky.social's slang dictionary is available on the new Jisho! Wes' dictionary, blog posts and videos are deeply researched and entertaining, and a vital resource for anyone who studies Japanese. Thank you Wes! All entries here: four.jisho.org/search/%23sc...
Make music! Get on stage! Draw comics! Make zines! Translate books! Write novels! Put your weirdness out into the world! We need your art to stay sane in this increasingly wild world!
New blog post! Breaking down the Japanese buzzwords of the year from 2025:
wesleycrobertson.wordpress.com/2025/12/24/e...
GIFT RELATED WORDS IN JAPANESE And Practical ENGLISH 贈り物（okurimono）: Obligation to return material item of equal or greater valve 結婚祝い （kekkon iwai）: 1万 or 3万 but never 2万 出産祝い （shussan iwai）:Adorably impractical jimbei 誕生日プレゼント (tanjoubi purezento): Litmus test of how serious your relationship has become 卒業祝い （sotsugyou iwai): The most expensive pen you'll ever own 入学祝い （nyuugaku iwai): Randoseru from grandma 就職祝い （shuushoku iwai): Condolence for selling your soul 新築祝い（shinchiku iwai）: The air fryer you can no longer afford after all the moving fees 還暦祝い （kanreki iwai）Red sweater yay! お見舞い （omimai） Not a potted plant 快気祝い （kaiki iwai）:See 1 Kouden: The next best thing to not having died 香典返し （kouden gaeshi): See l
It’s that time again 😇 🎁
Some recent visitors asked about shelves full of シャンメリー(Chanmery) which prompts me to repeat an old thread. Chanmery is a carbonated soft drink, with a cap that sounds like a champagne cork popping when you open it.
