為せば成る(なせばなる)、為さねば成らぬ(なさねばならぬ)、何事も(なにごとも)。 成らぬは人の為さぬなりけり(ならぬは ひとの なさぬなりけり)。 Anything can be done, but only if you try. If nothing’s done,...

上がる（あがる） means not only ‘go up’ but also it is used for many occasions. Basically, 上がる(あがる) has three meanings: 1. To go up 2. To finish...

Let’s see how family members are called and addressed in Japanese. お母さん(おかあさん) お母さん（おかあさん） is your or somebody’s mother. It’s a polite or...

どなたか、「誰(だれ)」の使い方(つかいかた)を習い(ならい)たい人はいますか。 (Is there anybody who wants to learn how to use 誰(だれ)?) 誰(だれ) is used to mean a person you don’t...

Many of you maybe know こそあど言葉(ことば): the demonstrative words which begin with こ, そ, あ, and ど. こ: ここ、こっち、この、これ こ is used to identify the...

An essay was on a newspaper the other day. It was from an Ogawa Taishi (I’ｍ not really sure his name is called ‘Taishi’ because the...

Students say さようなら to their teacher every day when they go home. School kids are taught to stand up and say altogether: 「先生(せんせい)、さようなら。」...

When making a compound word, the beginning sound of the suffixed word changes as follows: か→が、き→ぎ、く→ぐ、け→げ、こ→ご、 さ→ざ、し→じ、す→ず、せ→ぜ、そ→ぞ、...

I.「（さ）せる」 is a verb to make, let or have someone do something. 「父は私にもっと勉強（を）させた。」 (ちちは わたしに もっと べんきょう(を) させた。) My father made me study...

The English ‘LOVE’ has various meanings for the Japanese people. The Japanese did not have a word to mean the whole concept of ‘LOVE.’...

「一つ(ひとつ)」 is one (thing). It’s used for almost any things which are countable, except for humans. You can say: 「りんごを一つ(ひとつ)下さい(ください)。」...

Both 「一(ひと)」 and 「一(イチ)」 mean ONE. Many of you maybe know ひと is 訓読み(くんよみ) and イチ 音読み(おんよみ). The kanji 「一」 itself was imported to Japan...

The Western people sometimes say the Japanese language is ‘Devil’s language.’ The reason why it's ‘Devil’s language’ is mainly because...

We have already learned 3 usages of が as follows: (1) Adhesive 彼女が歩くのを見た。I saw her walk. (かのじょが あるくのを みた。) 「が」 sticks 「彼女(かのじょ)」 and...

「本(ほん)を読む(よむ)。」 is to read a book. 「今本(いまほん)を読んで(よんで)いる。」I’m reading a book now. が can’t be used in this sentence. No good: 本(ほん)が読む(よむ)。...

In the previous column, we saw that 「が」 works for an adhesive. 「彼女が泣くのを聞いた。」(かのじょが なくのを きいた。) 「彼女は泣くのを聞いた。」(かのじょは なくのを きいた。) 「が」 works...

Are you not annoyed by the use of が? 「が」 is difficult for many adult learners, especially which to use 「が」 or 「は」. Even a child Japanese...

酒(さけ) is wine or alcoholic drink, especially Japanese SAKE. The following drinks are popular in Japan. Which do you like best? ビール Beer....

「夢(ゆめ)」 is DREAM and was derived from 「寝目(いめ)」. 「寝(イ)」 is to sleep; 「目(メ)」 an eye or to see. So 寝目 or イメ meant what you saw while you’re...

Tea is thought to be brought to Japan via China in the 7th century. By the 13th, the tea trees had been widespread and became popular in...