Learn Japanese Online - JOI Teachers blog

Learn Japanese vocabulary, Kanji and phrases with this free blog with a YouTube video for audio learning, vocabulary lists and English Translation !
Every week, a professional Japanese teacher posts a new blog .

Previous blog archives from 2006 - mid-February 2014.

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Japanese language

The Japanese language or Nihongo, is a complex language with 3 writing methods (hiragana, katakana and kanji) as well as idioms, proverbs, and local dialects, and linguistic idiocynracies. The Japanese teacher blogs in this blog category goes into some of these aspects in detail.


Japanese proverbs or Kotowaza Japanese proverbs or kotowaza are often expressed in short form within 4 Kanji characters (or yojijukugo) or 5 Kanji characters. These can sometimes be further shortened to just two characters when the other person understands the meaning or context, thus making them a profound and succinct method of expression in spoken Japanese. JOI teacher, Chiharu Takase introd...
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Japanese word games One good way to learn Japanese pronunciation is practising Japanese word games. One of these are Tongue Twisters which are a great way to practice vocabulary as well. Below is a blog which is about a child's game which is similar to tongue twisters but has a quirky psychological twist to it. It's fun ! Yokozuka sensei, one of the Japanese teachers at JOI online school explai...
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Japanese proverbs There are many proverbs (or Kotowaza or Kanyoku) in the Japanese language. Some are based on 4 character Kanji, and some are idiomatic phrases. They are an interesting area of Japanese vocabulary and grammar learning. Many Japanese manga and literature make use of these phrases and there is a certain art to quoting pertinent proverbs to illustrate a point in a conversation. If ...
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Japanese new words In many languages including English, there is a growing number of words as modern vocabulary increases. Technology and trends change, and create an addition to the jargon used in every day speech. In Japanese too, there are always new words added to the vocabulary. Some are imported into the language and use the Katakana alphabet to write them. Some are new uses of old words t...
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Advanced level Japanese The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test or JLPT, is an internationally recognized test to evaluate Japanese language ability for non-native speakers, covering language knowledge, reading ability, and listening ability. The highest level of the test is the JLPT N1 level. This test level's curriculum is covered at JOI online school in the Advanced level classes. There are c...
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