じゃがいも ≠ ポテト (Updated)
じゃがいも = ポテト = Google Images provides overwhelming proof: じゃがいも, ポテト. You can add フライド in front of the latter, but it’s unnecessary. Updated to reflect that いも actually refers more generally to tubers.
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バイク ≠ bike
バイク = bike = This one confuses a lot of people, and it frustrates the hell out of me when translators are unable to take a step back and realize that the villain/whoever is not pulling up on his/her … Continue reading
パンツ ≠ Pants
Nice pants: Nice パンツ: An inequality for this week. Just a friendly reminder that 外来語 doesn’t always mean what it sounds like.
Asking for Someone’s Name in Japanese
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I am beside myself. I forgot to include one of the most important and most useful examples of 伺う (ukagau, ask/hear/visit) in daily Japanese. I wrote about 伺う last month in the newsletter and how it is a powerhouse 謙譲語 … Continue reading
The City and Its Uncertain Walls – Review Redux
The English translation for Murakami Haruki’s latest novel The City and Its Uncertain Walls will be published on November 19, and reviews are starting to trickle out, so I thought I’d re-run the review episode of the podcast I put … Continue reading
The Various Forms of うかがう
The newsletter and podcast are online: This month, the core topic I looked at was how easy and broadly useful is 伺う (ukagau) is, especially for folks struggling to gain a handhold with keigo: This is your handhold. 伺う means … Continue reading
The Move
Well, Murakami did not win the Nobel Prize this year. But I’m back on my Murakami bullshit anyway. (Brief aside to note that I missed out on purchasing a translation of Han Kang’s The Vegetarian for 799 yen immediately after … Continue reading
Petra
Year 1: Boobs, The Wind, Baseball, Lederhosen, Eels, Monkeys, and Doves Year 2: Hotel Lobby Oysters, Condoms, Spinning Around and Around, 街・町, The Town and Its Uncertain Wall, A Short Piece on the Elephant that Crushes Heineken Cans Year 3: “The Town and Its Uncertain Wall” – Words and Weirs, The Library, Old Dreams, Saying … Continue reading
Impossible Pairs
The newsletter is online, which means the podcast is also here: The core of the newsletter is about “impossible pairs,” in particular 4日 and 8日. Do you know the difference in pronunciation between these two without looking it up? The … Continue reading
Vibes-cation
Year 1: Boobs, The Wind, Baseball, Lederhosen, Eels, Monkeys, and Doves Year 2: Hotel Lobby Oysters, Condoms, Spinning Around and Around, 街・町, The Town and Its Uncertain Wall, A Short Piece on the Elephant that Crushes Heineken Cans Year 3: “The Town and Its Uncertain Wall” – Words and Weirs, The Library, Old Dreams, Saying … Continue reading