Author Archive | Kirsten Hurlbut

The 10 Greatest Benefits of Learning Japanese

For some, Japan is all about anime, manga, samurai, geisha, sushi, game shows, Hello Kitty, Harajuku …

You want to speak Japanese now, like right now. Obviously, you can’t learn a language instantly, but there are …

Even if you speak Japanese pretty well, the English idioms that you want to use just won’t translate. Conversely, a …

The Osaka dialect or Osaka-ben (大阪弁 / おおさかべん) is one major variation of the more expansive Kansai dialect (関西弁 / …

Wish you could express abstract ideas and emotions in Japanese? Let’s talk ki! The Japanese ki is going to …

Ever heard of omiyage? The literal translation of — omiyage —（おみやげ) is “local product” and is usually translated as …

What is it about Japanese books that might have us laying down our weapons and waving the white flag before …

In order to get your Japanese-speaking juices flowing, you’re going to need to engage in conversations about things you really …