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dialects explanations grammar

Japanese Grammar Breakdown: 「~んじゃねえ」 – The Rough Prohibition

If you’ve watched any action-packed anime or gritty Japanese dramas/films, chances are you’ve heard a character yell something like: 「手を出すんじゃねえ!」Don’t you dare lay a hand (on them)! This kind of phrase is often delivered with fire and fury, but what exactly is going on grammatically? And how does it differ from more standard expressions? 🔍 […]

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dialects explanations grammar

Learn the Okinawan Dialect: A Guide for Intermediate Japanese Learners

Learning the Okinawan dialect (also known as Uchinaaguchi うちなーぐち) can be a fascinating journey for any intermediate Japanese language learner. Okinawan Japanese is a branch of the broader Ryukyuan language family and differs significantly from standard Japanese in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. While the standard dialect is commonly spoken today, understanding the traditional Okinawan language […]

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explanations

Reimagining a Classic: “井の中の蛙、井しか知らず”

Proverbs carry timeless wisdom, and 井の中の蛙、大海を知らず (A frog in a well does not know the great ocean) is one of Japan’s most cherished. This saying has long encouraged us to broaden our horizons and seek greater knowledge beyond our immediate surroundings. It speaks to the dangers of limited perspectives and calls for exploration. However, what […]

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explanations

A quick and easy-to-understand explanation of は versus が in Japanese

In Japanese, the particle は is used to indicate the topic of a sentence, while the particle が is used to indicate the subject of a sentence. The topic of a sentence is the general subject being discussed, while the subject is the specific thing performing the action of the verb in the sentence. For […]