Something occurred to me today. After studying Japanese, Chinese and Classical Chinese for a number of years now I've noticed my language learning faculties are calibrated for Chinese characters. I tend to associate most vocabulary with characters and I often see them in my mind when I'm speaking either Chinese or Japanese ( Read more... )

Hey everyone, I'm doing a survey for my Japanese class (300 level) about horoscopes and the zodiac. My group and I have put together a few quick questions in Japanese, and we could really use as many responses as possible, so I thought I'd try and post it here :) Unfortunately, we need responses from Japanese natives only, please.

( Japanese survey behind the cut )

Soon, at the end of spring i'll end the secondary school, and i am looking for  a highschool.Well, as i am studying japanese, i really would like to go and learn there. The problem is: i need to go and learn only for 1-2 months, and does know someone some kind of program or maybe exchange of  pupils, or some highschool  in Japan .where i can go and ( Read more... )

A temple gate can be called 山門 or 三門; there might be other terms.

But what is a shrine gate called? I'm not talking about torii; I'm talking about structures like the gate to Dazaifu Tenmangû, which architecturally speaking is little or no different from, say, this gate at Sensôji, but which cannot be called 山門 because it is at a Shinto shrine, ( Read more... )

I guess "pavilion" is pretty much the only word that comes to mind to describe those small, roofed, open-air structures we see in traditional Japanese gardens and in parks. Somehow the word doesn't really sound right to me though... Do you know what sort of thing I'm talking about ( Read more... )

School hasn't even started yet but after a super relaxing summer, I'm a little freaked out. I signed up for Preadvanced Japanese and Beginning Mandarin. I think both are going to be really heavy. It seemed like a good idea at the time because I'm thinking of going to grad school for Japanese history and I've heard that languages are really ( Read more... )

Hello, I just have two questions, rather short, I need anwered; Note I am teaching myself and this won't under any circumstances be used in a class or formal writing.

Japan Times Text, An Integrated Text on Intermediate Japanese.

Page 87

本当にそうだね。＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿　読めないんですから

can someone give me an example of using さえhere, please.

Page 88

１： ( Read more... )

 I know I should ask this on a Japanese community but I was hoping someone here could help me. Also does anyone know if Sophia University's Asian Studies program on the MA level is any good? Thnx.

Hi everyone I am studying "an intergrated approach to intermediate japanese" by The Japan Times and I have four small questions?

1.)
学生：今朝でクラスの宿題をいただくの ( Read more... )

Hello everyone ( Read more... )

Can anyone tell me anything about the Chinese historical term 都統 ( Read more... )