Japanese is a language that looks beautiful when written down. Calligraphy is a popular art celebrating the beauty of the Chinese-originating characters, kanji. Written Japanese is an art form itself, and it’s fun to be able to write characters and words you know. This article gives a complete guide to writing your own name in…

After deciding to study Japanese it doesn’t take long to realize that it takes a lot of determination and dedication to progress with it. There are many different methods and platforms for those looking to learn Japanese and spice it up with a bit of entertainment to keep you going! Luckily there are several fun…

Let’s face it, learning a language requires a lot of time, memorizing and practice. It’s no surprise that many of us associate language-learning with long, boring study sessions in drab classrooms with tests and exams to boot. Well, worry no more! The Learn Japanese to Survive! series aims to flip this around and turn learning…

Hi, readers! This is the Japan Info staff. We wanted to say thank you for always reading our articles and we’ve got a way for you to enjoy them more! Out of all the posts that have been published over the last week (August 8th to 14th) on Japan Info and/or on Facebook, we are…

Japan’s writing system is probably the first thing that boggles the mind of an English speaker when they start learning Japanese. The forbidding kanji express meaning in the form of nouns, verbs, and adjectives, while the curvy hiragana fill in the gaps with word endings and grammatical functions. Where does katakana fit in? It may…

Are you interested in learning Japanese? Have you been dreaming of speaking Japanese fluently one day or watching anime without referring to the subtitles? Guess what? We have something in common! Learning a new language can be challenging sometimes but if you have the passion, speaking in Japanese will be a piece of cake for…

“So, she really is going to depart next week?” “Are you sure she’ll be okay?” “How come you let your youngest daughter to go that far alone?” “Can she even speak Japanese?” Months before my departure, I finally got my mother’s permission to continue my studies in Japan. Knowing that, my aunts started to scold…

One of the most difficult languages to learn is Japanese. Unlike English which has only twenty-six (26) letters, Japanese has three different sets of characters. Hiragana, Katakana and the dreaded Kanji. Hiragana jp.fotolia.com/ Hiragana is the basic of all the Japanese writing systems one must master to learn the language, consists of forty-six (46) characters…

The difficulties of going abroad or entering a new country don’t end with getting your passport and visa. Knowing basic things such as manners, traditions, and, of course, some language is needed. The language normally being the most important, because it would serve you as a weapon to go through everyday communications with different people,…

You know, if you study about the culture or history before you visit a country, your trip is always going to be more interesting. And here’s why kanji is interesting when coming to Japan. Kanji 漢字 Kaniji, literally means “characters from Han China” are Chinese characters used in Japanese. Kanji is one of the four…