The Nihongo Master Blog
Learn interesting topics about Japanese language, entertainment, culture and more.
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Traveling Through Tokyo and the Importance of Timing
When you first arrive in Tokyo, you might be tempted to hire a taxi from the airport to your hotel. If you do, be prepared to fork over a lot of yen. The better option by far is to take the train. Just follow all of the Japanese passengers-...
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How to Use a Japanese Onsen
How to Use a Japanese Onsen Japan has a unique culture and heritage. Whether you are learning Japanese or heading to Japan for a vacation, there are lots of experiences to try as a visitor. One of these is the onsen or bathing in natural s...
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Puroresu: Japan's Weird World Of Wrestling
Mention "wrestling" and "Japan" and many people will think of sumo. However, the country is also crazy for professional wrestling, the strange mix of sport and entertainment that millions enjoy. What to Watch Pro wrestli...
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The Japanese Katakana Writing System
Learning a foreign language can be difficult. A language like Japanese with three writing systems can be an even greater challenge! The different writing systems, or "kana", are hiragana, katakana and kanji. Hiragana is usually th...
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10 Ways to Say Thank You in Japanese
In Japan, your social status means a lot. And how you talk to people depends on where you stand in this social class. If you are talking to someone in a higher social class than you, you would use a more polite form of the phrase. If you ar...
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Japanese Onomatopoeia Guide
If you aren't familiar with Japanese onomatopoeia (or any onomatopoeia for that matter) here is a quick introduction. Onomatopoeia is the word for when we take a sound and make a word out of it. In English, this is words like BOOM! SLAP! or...
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Golden Week in Japan (ゴールデンウィーク)
Here at Nihongo Master, we loooove talking about Japanese holidays! While some holidays Japan adopted from the West (like Christmas and Valentine's Day), every country also has holidays that are only celebrated by them. Golden Week in Japan...
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21 Hilarious Japanese Proverbs
These Japanese proverbs may sound funny, but in every language there are certain sayings that just don't translate quite right! Here we have collected 22 of the funniest Japanese proverbs, but they each have very real lessons to teach! At t...
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The NEW Advanced Classroom is HERE (along with New Advanced Lessons)!!!
The last few months have been a crazy time here at Nihongo Master as we said goodbye to our beloved instructor, Masako. But luckily, we also said hello to our beloved NEW instructor, Aki! In addition to answering your questions on the site,...
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What Are Kanji Radicals?
If you've been following along in our Joyo Kanji Challenge, or even just learning kanji on your own, you have surely come across kanji radicals. What are radicals, exactly? Radicals in kanji, 部首 (bushu, ぶしゅ), are similar to roots of w...