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January 2020

Hidden Japanese #2

This one rather amuses me, though it’s a little on the adult side. So Americans, when they are getting intimate, use the word “come”.  I’ll be circumspect and not come right out and say the context, but those of you that know what I’m talking about, know what I’m talking bout, and those who don’t, well, look it up at your peril. Japanese say　行く, or essentially, “I’m going!”. I know they like to do things backwards from English, like putting the verbs at the end, but that’s kinda taking it… Read More »Hidden Japanese #2

Hidden Japanese #1

We are mostly all familiar with the typical numbers in Japanese: 一ニ三四五六七八九十 But did you know that these are not the only Japanese numbers?  I’m not talking about ひとつ , etc., I’m talking about an entirely different set of kanji for the on’yomi readings. These kanji exist because in the ancient Chinese culture, long before their language was exported and integrated into Japanese, the Chinese had a problem.  It was really easy to just add strokes to 1, 2, 3, and 10, to make it into another kanji.  So 100… Read More »Hidden Japanese #1