TCJ Blog

Did you know that Japan is home to a wide variety of dialects? While many people are familiar with Hyojungo (standard Japanese), which is commonly spoken in Tokyo, or Kansai-ben, the dialect spoken in the Kansai region including Osaka, these are just a few among many.

It is said that the way to count numbers in Japanese is difficult. Sometimes we can read the explanation of each word. But there are few books that explain the reason. Therefore, this time, we have summarized numbers and how to count them in Japanese in an easy-to-understand manner to help you.

“I like you” or “我喜欢你” (Chinese). This is the phrase used in English or Chinese when saying “I like you.” However, when translating them into Japanese, there are many ways to say “I,” such as “Watashi wa anata ga suki desu,” “Ore wa kimi ga suki desu,” or “Uchi wa anata ga suki desu.” These “I” or “我” (which means “I” in Chinese) are called first-person pronouns. First-person pronouns are used to describe the speaker or writer. Japanese first-person pronouns have a variety of options besides “watashi.”

In this article, we’ll introduce how Japanese is generally spoken in everyday life, using examples from anime. I believe you can enjoy anime even more after learning some important points about Japanese!

Counting animals in Japanese has some special rules. We’ll introduce some of the most common counters used for animals—“hiki”, “tou”, “wa”, and “bi”—in an easy-to-understand way. Imagine the illustrations as you learn, and have fun exploring these counters. After reading, you’ll probably want to try counting the animals around you yourself!