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25.01.2022 Hi, guys! Check out our new schedule for the New Beginner Group Class. New Beginner Group Class: Time (9:00-11:00) Saturday: Fee ($450) Week 1 March 3rd... Week 2 March 10th Week 3 March 24th March 31st (NO CLASS) Week 4 April 7th Week 5 April 14th Week 6 April 21st Week 7 April 28th Week 8 May 5th Week 9 May 12th Week 10 May 19th See more

25.01.2022 Business etiquette - #4 ! Happy new year! ! Wish you all the best in the new year! Let's continue our topic of business etiquette, and hope you have a chance to take advantage of the information in 2018. 10. Complain about the work on drinking parties... In other countries, people usually do not talk about their jobs on drinking parties. In contrast, the line between public and private is vague. As discussed before, the drinking party in Japan is the most effective way to get know each other. Hence, complaining about the work is not only a way of communication but also the way of exchanging the "inside" information. 11. Use fixed phrases to start an email There is no such thing as a standard phrase to start a business email. However, it is quite normal to do so in Japan. The following phrases are the most useful business email format and phrase. Customer's company name Customer name (Your company's name)(your name) For example: () () () (write your name here but make sure do not put / after your name)

23.01.2022 The difference among , and . Have you ever thought about the difference among , and ? Do you fully understand which word is the appropriate one under what situation when you want to express feeling? Today, Ill show you how to distinguish these 3 words. With 3 words, is the word with the broadest meaning. In general, it describes a mental state such as happy or sad. Therefore, you can express peoples feeling using a phrase like or... . Meanwhile, it also means mental preparation. Comparing with, represents a temporary mood. Except and , covers a wide range of types of feelings. However, you can only use good or bad to describe . In contrast, is also the word to describe a temporary feeling as . However, comparing with which represents the mental feeling, is usually used to express the physical feeling. Lets go through a small practice. Please try to consider the difference among , and . It is not simply just adding on those words. means that a person is temporarily in a bad mood such as anxiety. need to be considered in two different situations. If the reason for is because of an external issue, then it means the bad feeling about that issue. If the reason for is because of an internal issue, then it means the bad physical condition such as feeling like vomiting. can be used to describe the bad physical condition as well, though, it can also mean the disgust about something. See you next week.

22.01.2022 Nat's study abroad story In autumn of 2017, I had the chance to do the homestay in Kyushu (Fukuoka) for a month. During my time there I was able to get improve my understanding of home life in Japan with an amazing host family and also further develop my speaking and listening skills. The family I stayed with was always willing to assist me with learning and explaining things when required.... My host mother was a fun, easy going person who cooked amazing food and also taught me how to make some foods that I love eating. She also organized a trip to the cost which was great fun and beautiful. She would also organize little parties with her friends. My host father was funny and always loved sharing videos of cars and watching interesting shows on TV which helped with listening. While he was at work a lot when he was there he'd always find a way to make everyone laugh. While I was in Fukuoka I attended private lessons with my teacher twice a week. These lessons had a lot of information and really did test my Japanese speaking, listening. It also gave me a chance to see various places around Fukuoka and other places in Kyushu. I certainly learned a lot about the language during my time in Fukuoka, and would highly recommend this to anyone one who wants to experience Fukuoka, meet some amazingly kind people from Japan and improve their Japanese. Nat

21.01.2022 Four everyday phrases that Japanese beginners easy to make mistakes There are some sentences in Japanese that consist of the same word. However, the meaning could be quite different under different auxiliary words, location or tense. Here are some typical examples that you need to be careful. 1. vs ... As shown, one sentence is a positive sentence and the other one is a negative sentence. But the meaning has no connection between them. In Japanese, should be translated as "I have everything" or "Everything is here". In contrast, should be translated as "never mind." Don't think it as "nothing". 2. vs Though the tense in these two sentences is different, the meaning they express is exactly the opposite. should be translated as "that person is really a tough guy" or "I really don't know how to deal with him". And is saying that "the person is in trouble now". 3. vs Because of the different auxiliary word, the meaning becomes quite different. is saying that "I have taken that medicine for 3 times". is saying that "I divided that medicine into 3 parts and ate it". 4. vs means is showing a terrible face. means looks like a scary person.

21.01.2022 "I'm an eel!" Have you ever order the soba noodle by saying ""(I'm a fox.) or ""(I'm an eel.)? Have you ever heard any Japanese saying that? "xx" is the very first expression when a Japanese lesson which is a way of self-introduction. However, how to understand the above situation? Once I have heard an interesting story. A foreign student was taken to the public canteen by a Japanese friend to have lunch during which the foreign student heard other guests were ...saying to the clerk "". He checked the dictionary immediately and shocked that "Japanese call themselves as an animal to show polite in restaurants!". Then he shouted in English that "I'm an eel!". It might be a small joke for many people, however, such misunderstanding must be avoided in the Japanese study. The correct way to understand the "" is to transfer it to "''" ( , I would like to order the eel rice). From this example, we can see that the self-evident information has been omitted. This is a very important way to authentically speak Japanese. From the next example, you might understand why the local Japanese talk like that. A: ? (, have you ate?) B: . (, yes, I have) A: . (, then wait for me a bit, I'm going to eat) However, if people say this without omitting, it would be quite annoying. A: ()()() B: ()() A: ()()()()

19.01.2022 The most annoying five sentences to Japanese wives. A Japanese newspaper conducted a survey targeting 6000 housewives in Japan. It selected five sentences which piss off Japanese wifes most. Probably you should be careful even your wife is not Japanese. #5. (, I'm tired.)... Housewives who'd been interviewed said that "I do housework every day at home and I'm very tired, but I didn't complain anything. So it's annoying to listen to my husband says 'tired'." #4. ? (The meal is too little to eat!) "I work very hard to cook. You don't have to say it's delicious, but how dare you complaining it's not enough to eat", a 30-year-old housewife said. #3. (, why are you angry?) Most women are not likely to consider why they're angry when they are angry. In the end, they might forget why they are angry. At this moment, if a husband says something like "why are you angry", the conversation is likely to end awfully. #2. (I will do it as long as you tell me) A woman who is married for 40 years said that we are married for so many years, but my husband still doesn't know my thoughts. Can't he be more considerate? It's really annoying. #1. (, the person who's working in the family is ME.) Although there is a large number of Japanese women who keep working after their marriage, most Japanese women are still mainly responsible for domestic affairs at home. Hence, husbands often have a sense of superiority in their mind. The implication is that you do not make money, so you have to listen to me. The difference between male and female doesn't have too much relationship with nationalities. Maybe men and women really come from different planets, so people often do not understand each other's thoughts. It seems like the problem is still "communication". So please communicate well your partner.

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17.01.2022 Since when did Japanese start emphasizing the punctuality? Japanese is famous for their extremely strict punctuality because punctuality is regarded as a virtue in Japan. The most well-known example is the train (). The standard error of the train schedule is 1 minute. More amazingly, Shinkansen (), known as the bullet train, has the standard error of only 15 seconds. Japanese usually get confused and plagued with the tolerance and slowness of foreign count...ries life pace. For example, my friend told me a story that he contacted the air conditioner company to fix the broken air conditioner in his house, but was told that the technical support would go to his house between Monday and Wednesday. That kind of response is absolutely unbelievable and unacceptable in Japan. In contrast, the Japanese punctuality is kind of crazy to foreigners as well. The question is since when did Japanese start emphasizing the punctuality? Some say Japanese was not punctual in the past. In (, Meiji period), it was normal that the train is late for 30 minutes. Factory workers were usually late as well. From the 1980s, the so-called (, Scientific management) was adopted to improve the efficiency of the workplace. One of the main purposes of Scientific management is to quantify the workload by time. It said that since the introduction of the management method in the early part of the (, Showa era), the delay in public institutions and enterprises and the late arrival of workers have been reduced. In addition, there is also arguments saying that the (, warriors) would be considered stupid if they are late or absent in the (, Edo period). From this residual notion, people are beginning to realize punctuality. I do not know whether it is with the Japanese strict time habits, there will always be a clock in the Japanese parks, shops, buildings and wherever possible. Punctuality plays a very important role in having a good life in Japan. So please be punctual when you go to Japan. See you next week.

17.01.2022 Business etiquette - #3 I hope you all could have some opportunities to practice the etiquettes I have introduced before. This week, I will introduce more interesting things which will probably surprise you. 7. Call a waiter/waitress loudly in restaurants... When ordering a meal in Japan, it is common to give a yell of "!" to waiters/waitresses, while it is very rude in western cultures. The waiters/waitresses will also give you a yell saying "! (Welcome!)" when you enter the restaurant. It says such yelling is to give people an impressive showing that the restaurant is prosperous. 8. If it is not 100%, do not say "Yes" or make a decision In Japan, making a business decision, not only externally but also internally, will take a really long time. No kidding, very long. People tend to say "Please give me some time and think about it again" to avoid an immediately judge or choice because once a decision has been made, it is almost 100% impossible to take it back. So don't make a decision if it's not 100% to you. 9. Pouring grievance on drinking parties ( ) In western cultures, it is not common to talk about jobs on (), not to mention giving negative comments about the job. However, pouring grievance is the eternal topic on in Japan. On the other hand, it is also the most effective way to get know each other because you usually cannot know someone's real thoughts in the workplace.

17.01.2022 5 inconceivable etiquettes in Japan The etiquettes in countries around the world are quite different. There are a variety of etiquettes in Japan, however, some of them provoke foreigners to think why is it the case. Hence, I will introduce 5 typical inconceivable etiquettes summarized from the internet. 1. Eat when walking... Many foreigners who have been living in Japan for years claimed that it would attract astonished eyes if you eat food when you walk on the street. Some even claimed that such behavior is banned. In some other countries, though, this behavior is not appropriate either, it is not as strict as in Japan. However, it doesnt include the occasions such as food festival, food area in the tourist attractions. 2. Blow nose in public Blowing nose in public with a big noise is not appropriate behavior in Japan, which is unbelievable for some foreigners. In contrast, sniffing is a disgusting behavior in foreign countries. Some would say its more appropriate to cleaning the nose if you suffer from sniffing. 3. Season sense of attire For some foreigners, the dress code in Japan is a little complicated because it requires people to follow the season. My American friend told me a story before. Once he had been told that he needs to wear something with the long sleeve in his workplace in November, though he still thought the weather was quite hot. He said it is strange for everyone to remain the same dress code for a particular period of time. 4. Kiss in public Kissing in public is kind of a taboo in Japan, while its normal in foreign countries. So try not to do so no matter how much you love each other. :-) 5. No rice + soy sauce Its not good for your health.

17.01.2022 How to correctly bow? Bowing is a way of greeting, a way to show respect to others. Although the bowing as the representative of the Japanese way of greeting is mainly seen in East Asia, the West is also using it. ()... Bow includes "standing bow" and "seat bow". According to the depth of the bow, it has 3 degrees of respect of "most salute", "salute" and "normal greeting". There is also a concept called "" which means aspirating while bowing from the waist forward, stopped breath, and again while breathing back to the original position. It gives people not only a very solemn impression but also stabilizes one's mental state. Showing friendly Bowing is the body movement which gives one's head forward. Such movement is to show people that one doesn't have hostility. It says in the Nara Era (, ), Japan imported such etiquette from China and introduced it to the public and then gradually made some adjustments eventually created the original Japanese style. The most serious way of greeting in Japan is to bow, but in recent years the handshake seems to have become more common due to the influence of the Western culture. In the meantime, do not bow and shake hands at the same time. Bow by only lowering your head is not appropriate either because it is not able to deliver your respect. The "most salute" bow requires people to bow more than 45 degrees, 30-45 degrees for "salute" bow and 15 degrees for "normal greeting". The "most Salute" bow is not very common in everyday life, but in the apology and expression of gratitude, and in the ceremony held in the form of the Buddhism.

16.01.2022 Tips for the listening test in Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) - Hi, guys! How are you? Let's continue our topic. I hope your listening skill would be improved by using the tips here. Trap 4: changing mind... In everyday oral communication, people often modify or even repeatedly correct the message that they have already said, and this communication feature is also the focus of listening test. At the beginning of the test, the questions usually tend to ask "()() - what do I have to do after this". You should pay special attention to the order of things mentioned in the conversation for such type of questions. Do not immediately give your answer after hearing the keyword in one of the options. You should take notes first and then decide the answer after the end of the session. Meanwhile, you should be very careful when hearing keywords such as "", "", "()", "()", "()", "()", "", "" etc. Trap 5: hidden meaning It is much difficult for such trap. It generally requires people to have a good understanding of the conversation. One of the major features of Japanese expression is ambiguity. This characteristic often appears in the listening test, especially when it comes to examining the types of speakers' intentions. It is very important to make sure whether the speaker intends to give positive or negative expressions. Example 5: ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() - The same trend will continue for meat consumption in the future. On the other hand, the consumption of fish has been said to decrease among experts and it will not increase. However, I am seeing it a different way (or I don't think so). Experts think that the consumption of meat will increase. If the speaker does not raise any objection, then you may think that he also thinks the meat consumption will increase. Meanwhile, experts say the fish consumption will be reduced, but the speaker said he doesn't think so, which indicating that he thinks the consumption of fish is also increasing. Trap 6: the result is not clear Another big characteristic of the listening test is to use adverbs, adjectives, to describe the meaning of verbs at the end of the sentence. Hence, it makes the result unclear. Example 6: ()()() - I've finished the report for the management course though, somehow I ... (don't know why... but). "" means "somehow", "for some reason", "I don't know why, but" etc. Thus, the sentence doesn't give a clear ending about the report. Example 7: ()()()()() - Under such situation, the price negotiation with Midori Industry won't go easy... "" means not easy which means the negotiation will be tough.

13.01.2022 Why are Japanese fruits so expensive? In fact, the intake of the fruit of Japanese seems to be less than that of other countries. The United States is twice as Japan, and Italy and France are also higher than Japan. Why do Japanese eat less? Maybe because the fruit price is high in Japan. Then why are Japanese fruits so expensive?... 1. The appearance of fruits matters. The high price of Japan's fruits is because of the emphasis on the appearance. Most fruits sold in department stores or famous supermarkets are very well-formed. Because of this, the price is higher than in discount supermarkets. Apples and other fruits with poor appearance or damage are basically sold at discount supermarkets, sometimes are used to make juice. 2. Different cultivation methods. Japan's fruit is cultivated with time and dedication. Unlike some other countries which pesticides are used to grow fruits casually, Japan's fruits are cultivated by using methods such as pesticide-free, organic cultivation, which is costly. Strawberries and other fruits are also grown in greenhouses, so prices skyrockets. People also take time and labor to improve varieties of fruits such as strawberries, grapes, etc. Recently, advanced fruits have become branded. TV program has introduced that one single piece of brand strawberry is sold for thousands of yen. It's like a gem. 3. Protection agricultural system for farmers' interests. The fundamental reason for the high price of Japanese fruits is to maintain the income of farmers. Japan has been maintaining a special tariff system for agricultural products. The tariff is not a fixed percentage of taxes but instead refers to the shipping prices of Japanese domestic farmers. This is mainly due to the fact that the population of Japanese agricultural families accounts for about 7% of the total population which is slightly higher than other developed countries. Due to its highly united organization, national and local agricultural associations have unified voices and they have geographical advantages in the election, no political party can dare ignore the farmers. The LDP (, ) has also maintained a good relationship of mutual assistance with the Agricultural Association in the past decades. The average annual income of Japanese farmers exceeds 7 million yen, which is roughly equivalent to that of local civil servants. However, Japan does not have a large area of land, so in order to increase the income of farmers, the prices of agricultural products such as fruits will be expensive

13.01.2022 2 February Culture Class Fan Making

12.01.2022 Check out this video! It captures some of what we love about the Japanese mindset. If you like, leave us a comment and share what you love about Japan. https://www.facebook.com/dkthehuman/videos/897449253740190/

12.01.2022 Business etiquette - #2 Following last week, Ill introduce more common etiquettes in business occasions. 4. Always let your supervisors or customers get in the elevators or taxis first... Japanese is considered to be the most polite people in the world, especially in the culture of priority. In Japan, priorities such as seating order and so on are all based on the title or job level. In contrast, it is more common that let females to get into a car or a door first in western culture. Hence, please be careful about this point. 5. Invite younger female employees for a dinner Inviting a female for a dinner where only two of you are involved might be considered as a signal of dating in some countries. However, it is relatively common in Japan because such a "small drinking party ( )" is a casual event in Japanese business occasions. 6. Pouring alcohol for customers In some western countries, there is usually no need to pay attention to your supervisors or customers' cup to see if their cups are empty because they'll usually take care of it themselves. However, it is absolutely necessary to pour alcohol for your supervisors or customers because doing so is a very important etiquette in Japan and will increase your favorability.

10.01.2022 Myth about Japanese cuisine Is Japanese food really healthy food for foreigners? After chatting with foreigners who love Japanese food, this question appeared in my mind. A few years before, (, Japanese cuisine), which was assessed as a world cultural heritage, have attracted worldwide attention. As a Japanese who can be recognized as the world's health food by the world, I am really happy. On the other hand, though the Japanese food is recognized as the most healthy fo...od in the world, no one realizes the correct way to eat Japanese food. This is because the foreigners' way of eating Japanese food is a little weird: dipping soy sauce on both sides of sashimi, pouring the sauce on katsudon (, ), mixing rice and the main dish and eat them together, etc. The reason for such way of eating is probably because people do not know Japanese cuisine and the "food law." With French cuisine, there is such a ceremonial sequence of etiquette: starter staple dessert and take away one dish after eating. However, in Japan, it should be followed by the so-called "Triangle rule" that the order is rice soup the main dish. If you eat Japanese food by the order of French cuisine, excessive intake of salt can cause poisoning. Furthermore, as Japanese food needs to be enjoyed for the fresh material itself, pouring too much sauce would obstruct the pleasure of the food. Eating is also to taste the culture. It is important for foreigners to learn Japanese dining etiquette, which is different from the food culture of their own country.

10.01.2022 Etiquette for using umbrellas in Japan Dont be surprised. Yes, Ill introduce the etiquette for using the umbrella today. Unlike Australia, Japan doesnt have wide roads or spacious sidewalks but with a relatively large population. It is quite annoying walking on the congested streets particularly in rainy days where everyone uses an umbrella. Hence, people are usually careful about not bothering others by their umbrellas. By learning the tips below, I believe you wont have... any trouble when you walk on the street on a rainy day if you go to Japan sometime in the future. 1. Before you enter into a building, put your umbrella in the umbrella stand if there is one. In the case for no umbrella stand, you may need to prepare a plastic bag in advance. 2. Before you open your umbrella, make sure no one closely standing around you. Open an umbrella right in front of someone is very rude. In contrast, please be careful when you close your umbrella as well. 3. When you come across someone while both of you are using an umbrella, please move your umbrella to the opposite side of that person otherwise your umbrella will have a road accident. 4. Bringing a wet umbrella into a train will be very annoying. So make sure to get rid of the water as possible as you can (by shaking, wiping or other ways) before taking the train. I hope these tips could be helpful sometime. Have a nice weekend.

09.01.2022 We made Japanese breakfast at our July culture class at AJLC-school. We had a great chat during a class and enjoyed making Japanese miso-soup, Tamago-yaki, Tukemono, etc. We had an awesome time together! 21st of July 2018 14:30-16:00

09.01.2022 What is the opposite word for (, young)? At the beginning stage of Japanese study, teachers usually would teach vocabularies with their opposite words together such as , , etc. Particularly, students need to be careful about "" and "". has a variety of meaning such as "hot" and "thick" with corresponding opposite words of "cold" and "thin". could be "high" and "expensive" with corresponding opposite words of "low" and "cheap". However, if ...you use the opposite words without prudence, you might make such funny mistake. Some students probably would say "(The juice is freezing. Here the correct word is () not )" or "()()(My father is cheap. The correct word is , not )". Meanwhile, have you ever thought about the opposite words for ? The opposite word should be "old" in common sense and "old" means "". So if you want to say "He is old", it supposes to be "". But, you've just made a horrible mistake because it's extremely rude to elderly people. Unfortunately, there is no opposite word for . The possible reason might be due to the politeness and prudence of Japanese. People usually avoid direct expression in terms of age. Instead, the negative form a word would be the opposite meaning. Hence, the previous example should be "". In addition, people usually use "" as the respected expression of elderly people. However, why doesn't have opposite word? I want to know why as well. Enjoy your weekend.

09.01.2022 Hi, guys! The new schedule for group class has been updated. Please have a look! New Beginner Group Class - Term1 : Time (19:00-21:00) Monday : Fee ($450) Week 1 January 15th... Week 2 January 22nd Week 3 January 29th Week 4 February 5th Week 5 February 12th Week 6 February 19th Week 7 February 26th Week 8 March 5th March 12th (No Lesson) Week 9 March 19th Week 10 March 26th New Beginner Group Class - Term1: Time (18:00-20:00) Thursday: Fee ($450) Week 1 January 25th Week 2 February 1st Week 3 February 8th Week 4 February 15th Week 5 February 22nd Week 6 March 1st Week 7 March 8th Week 8 March 15th Week 9 March 22nd Week 10 March 29th Elementary Group Class - Term1 : Time (18:00-20:00) Wednesday : Fee ($450) Week 1 January 24th Week 2 January 31st Week 3 February 7th Week 4 February 14th Week 5 February 21st Week 6 February 28th Week 7 March 7th Week 8 March 14th Week 9 March 21st Week 10 March 28th Intermediate Group Class - Term1 : Time (19:00-21:00) Tuesday : Fee ($450) Week 1 January 16th Week 2 January 23rd Week 3 January 30th Week 4 February 6th Week 5 February 13th Week 6 February 20th Week 7 February 27th Week 8 March 6th Week 9 March 13th Week 10 March 20th

09.01.2022 Inappropriate ways for answering a phone Keigo () is difficult even for those who have been working in companies for a long time, in particular when answering a phone because it is not able to communicate by seeing each others' face and body language. Undoubtedly, how people answer phone calls is very critical for the corporate image. Today, I will introduce some typical examples of the wrong ways for answering a phone. 1. Don't use "" to chime in, especially for ...the first time to have a conversation with a customer, because it is a quite casual form of the phrase. Instead, you could use "". 2. Using too much "" is also inappropriate. For example, you might think it is correct to say "" "". Although it is one of the standard forms of Keigo in the textbook, it doesn't mean that it is applicable to all scenarios. Sometimes you should use "" when necessary. Hence, "" "" is more appropriate. 3. It is not necessary to use "" when telling your customer that your colleague is on vacation. Although is the Keigo form of , it can only be used when you are receiving something from the customer. However, as your colleague is taking a vacation from your own company, you don't use Keigo. I hope it could be helpful for you sometime. See you next week!

08.01.2022 Matcha flavored food and real matcha taste completely different? Matcha flavored food has become more and more regular in recent years. People always consciously want to taste this slightly bitter taste. What are the impressions of the matchmakers and tea store owners who sell Matcha? There is a survey targeting these people finds out how they perceive the matcha flavored food. The main comments from them are as follow. - Matcha and Matcha flavored food are different things.... - Hope everyone knows the true taste of matcha. The survey also reveals that people who are engaged in Matcha related work also seem to regularly eat Matcha-flavored food. Their favorite matcha flavored food is matcha chocolate pastries, followed by Matcha shaved ice. Some of them also nominated "Nissin Cup Noodle Matcha Seafood Flavor". On the other hand, due to the influence of matcha flavors food (pastry and desserts), overseas widely believe that matcha is sweet. It seems that many people have complex ideas about this. After all, the traditional matcha industry believes that matcha and matcha flavored food are different things. Since the matcha flavored food combines the original charm of matcha, I believe that the relationship between the two will continue to be maintained in the future.

06.01.2022 This might be the reasons that you cannot learn Japanese well. - Hi, guys! I hope you all are doing well. This week I'll introduce the rest of the topic. Hope it could be helpful. 6. Lack of motivation... You might lose the interest in learning Japanese and can't keep going as time flies by. Seeking motivation is crucial for adhering to learning and achieving desired results. In learning Japanese, you can look for favorite films, celebrities, landscapes, and other things as starting points. 7. Too opportunistic The study is compounded by a solid foundation, and it is often not desirable to take shortcuts. 8. Do not think questions by your own brain For instance, if you face a question when you doing the homework of the textbook, do not go to check the answer immediately. Think first! Being diligent in thinking can help you to improve the ability to solve problems. 9. Unsuitable learning materials You might choose the difficult learning materials which resulting in frustration in learning. The reason is that you don't know what your level is. One solution could be seeking professional help. 10. Afraid of making mistakes Such problem happens in both beginner and advanced Japanese learners. They are usually afraid of making mistakes and would not practice Japanese in real life which lose the most precious opportunity to improve the language. You should recognize that people are not perfect creatures. You should pursue the growth by making mistakes rather than pursuing the perfection. Once you experience the sense of achievement of your effort, you'll be entering a virtuous circle.

05.01.2022 Business etiquette - #1 We need to pay attention to the business etiquette in the workplace, in particular in Japan because there are a lot of unique etiquettes which is not common globally. It may become embarrassing if you don't learn and practice properly. From this week, I will present a series of lessons to show you the most important Japanese business etiquette. 1. Change business cards at the beginning of the business meeting.... You must do so at the beginning of the business meeting. It is a very critical business practice to exchange business cards on the occasion of negotiation or meeting, while it is not so important in the rest of the world. Properly exchange business cards could bring a huge effect on your meeting sometime. In Japan, the etiquette of exchanging business cards involves the expression of respect, but in other countries, a business card merely serves as a substitute for taking notes and existing in order to remember each other. In other countries, it is generally better to shake hands with each other and report their name than to exchange business cards. It is also common to exchange business card at the close of negotiations or meetings in other countries. 2. Do not fold your arms. Many people in meetings and negotiations would fold their arms unconsciously. However, it will be considered "to show hostile meaning" in the case of business. Hence, in meetings or negotiations, please be careful not to fold your arms. 3. Respond with a smile even though you don't follow what is going on. In Japan, it is better to smile on the business occasion even when you don't understand others' meaning because it looks friendly. and polite. But in other countries, people usually would give others a kind of I-do-not-understand face. So you might need to practice it if you are not familiar with this etiquette.

05.01.2022 Which one is heavier? () or ()? Have you ever thought of the difference between () and ()? This is a common question for most Japanese learners. Though Japanese seldom think about such thing, we still use it differently in the subconscious. For example, if just simply comparing which one is heavier between two pieces of luggage, people usually use rather than . So, the "difference" is that is usually used in spoken Japanese to express the fact th...at something truly integrates with their feelings. Now let's have a look at the words with "". (), (), , , etc. You might have found that such words tend to be negative words from the overall point of view. For instance, "()()()" means "this dish is heavy on the stomach". Similarly, is more odious than . On the other hand, there is a very confusing question that why there is no such word called "" corresponding to "", and why no "" for "". Why? Even Japanese are not able to answer the question. What a shame... Hope you enjoy your weekend.

03.01.2022 This might be the reasons that you cannot learn Japanese well. - On the way of learning Japanese, are you still going smoothly? I recently summarized 10 facts that might be your obstacles to learn Japanese. This week I will introduce the first 5. Let's see if they can help you. 1. 100%-accurate-pronunciation "obsessive-compulsive disorder".... Learning is a process of accumulating the knowledge. You don't have to strive for perfection of pronunciation at every step. Time or say the experience can solve and consolidate the defect, especially the pronunciation problem. 2. Progress disorder The study might be very likely to fail if you don't have an ordered learning plan. I suggest you make a long-term plan and a short-term plan. The short-term plan could be based on the actual situation of yourself with flexible adjustments. For example, how many vocabularies should be memorized in three days, how many pages of the textbook should be read in a week, and so on. By doing so, the long-term plan could be completed through every "small target". 3. Cannot memorize the vocabularies no matter how hard you've tried A tip for this problem is to memorize vocabularies by those phrases of fixed combination together. You can also try to memorize new words with the context in the textbook. 4. Unbalanced time allocation for listening, speaking, reading and writing If you have failed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test for many times, I believe the reason is the unbalanced time allocation for listening, speaking, reading and writing. You might be wondering there is no test for speaking and writing, why do I need to take the trouble to practice it. Now I'm telling you a fact: good speaking would result in good listening, and good writing would result in good reading. No doubt, indeed. 5. Poor knowledge absorption You might have wondered for a long while that why are you still not able to "handle" Japanese very well after memorizing a quite number of vocabularies and finishing many textbooks. "Handling" a language is like using a tool. You have to practice all the way through until it becomes a part of your body. Though, the process is absolutely tedious.

03.01.2022 Hello every one! We wanted to let you know that we will be closed from the 23rd of December 2018 until the 6th of January 2019. Please have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!Hello every one! We wanted to let you know that we will be closed from the 23rd of December 2018 until the 6th of January 2019. Please have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

03.01.2022 3 Culture Class in March Making Hanko

01.01.2022 Tips for the listening test in Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) - Hi, guys! I hope you are enjoying your weekend. For those who have difficulties to deal with the listening test in JLPT, the articles in the following two weeks might be your cure. I'm going to show you 6 types of trap that emerge in the listening test often. Trap 1: the meaning of the sentence is affirmative, though, it contains a negative expression... The negative form of Japanese is "..." or ".../" etc. However, the positive form expressed by the double negation happens a lot in the test. Let's have a look at the following examples. Example 1: ()() - We have to give up this plan. The point here is to correctly understand the verb+, which mean "have to do something". Thus, if you don't familiar with the construction and answer questions by only hearing "... , the result of your test could be painful. Example 2: ()()() - Today's presentation won't be done if without ()'s advice. The negative expression here is "" and "". "" is a form of assumption means "if there isn't". "" is from "(goes well)". Thus, this a typical form of double negation which represents a positive meaning. Trap 2: the tone doesn't rise in the end of the interrogative sentence at the end tone not rise A large part of questions in the listening test is to use a questioning tone to express negative meanings. The point here is to make sure if the tone at the end of a sentence goes up or down. Example 3: ()()()()()() - If a problem has happened and you don't report me, doesn't it trouble me? Without seeing the explanation, do you think the speaker is being annoyed or not being annoyed? "" is a negative expression, however, there is a "" behind it, then it turned out to be that "the speaker is being annoyed". Trap 3: express a negative meaning by using a positive sentence A sentence with negative meaning doesn't have to end up with "...". Instead, some particular vocabularies containing negative meaning will do the job. Example 4: ()()()()() - Excuse me, since this elevator is for staff only, the usage by customers has been declined. The key is to understand the meaning of "".

01.01.2022 2018 (English follows Japanese) 20187 : 201871 : ... : 2018221 9201844 5 (AEST) 201812 : 2018122 : : JAPANESE LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY TEST 2018 In 2018, the JLPT will be offered in Australia in both July and December in selected cities. 2018 July JLPT Test Date: Sunday 1 July 2018 Location: Canberra and Brisbane Application period: 9am, 21 February 5pm, 4 April 2018 (AEST) 2018 December JLPT Test Date: Sunday 2 December 2018 Location: Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney Application period: unreleased Please visit the website below for further information. https://jpf.org.au/language/for-learners/jlpt/