TCJ Blog

The Chinese zodiac is the name of the 12 animal species used in the Japanese calendar. China, Korea, Vietnam, and other countries also have their own Chinese zodiac signs, but the animals that appear in them seem to be different from those in Japan. In this article, we will introduce the zodiac signs in Japan and their differences from the zodiac signs of other countries.

The other day, I spoke with a Japanese language learner who owns a shop. They mentioned, “I'm really not good at answering the phone, so I have my Japanese part-time staff handle calls.” In fact, it seems that over half of Japanese people also feel uncomfortable using the phone for work. This time, let's introduce not only phone-related vocabulary but also phone etiquette and conversation phrases useful for handling calls in companies and work settings. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Spring, summer, fall, and winter—these four seasons in Japan are clearly distinct, making the country unique. Each season is deeply rooted in Japanese life, shaping its beautiful nature, culture, and traditions. Today, we explore a wide range of seasonal characteristics, including events, climate, flowers and landscapes that symbolize each season and can be enjoyed throughout the year.

The way Japanese uses “yes” (hai) and “no” (iie) is quite unique. For example, to the question “Have you finished your meal?” the answer would be “Hai, I’ve finished.” But even to the opposite question, “Haven’t you finished your meal?” the reply is still “Hai, I haven’t finished yet.” In Japanese, “hai” can be used to answer both types of questions, even though their meanings are completely opposite.

As a Japanese teacher and web writer, I will show you some tips on how to write easy-to-read sentences. ・Use hiragana, katakana, and kanji appropriately. ・Let’s learn the basic rules for using punctuation marks such as “。” and “、” ・Japanese is an SOV language. Let’s learn about the principle of “one sentence, one idea”!