Author Archives: J Sensei

J Sensei

About J Sensei

Blogger, writer, linguist, former Japanese> English translator, rusty in French, experienced in Japanese, fluent English native. Writing for Technorati.com and various blogs. Skype: jeremiah.bourque (messages always welcome). E-mail: [email protected]

Yoku Iwareta: I Get That A Lot.

良く言われた I’m going to continue to present some of the oddball things in language. One is “yoku iwareru” (or iwareta, past tense) for “I get that a lot.” I’m not kidding: that’s exactly how it should be read.

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San Bun no Ni = 2/3rds

Japanese Expression of Fractions Although there are other ways of expressing certain kinds of fractions, like hanbun (半分、はんぶん) for 1/2 or 50%, 2/3 would be expressed as “san bun no ni” (三分の二, さんぶんのに). That is, “of three parts, two“. Actually, … Continue reading

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Remembering the Tsunami

Just a brief word. We have reached a year since the earthquake/ tsunami disaster that has afflicted Japan. The crisis is certainly not over for a good many people.  We in the West can mainly wish the best for the … Continue reading

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Sakura Zensen: The Cherry Blossom Front Lines

桜前線 (さくらぜんせん) “Sakura” (cherry blossom) is a word many people know well. Sakura viewing is “hanami” (花見、はなみ), or lit. flower viewing. Outside of a weather context, “zensen” (前線、ぜんせん) would mean “front” in the sense of WWII’s Eastern Front or Western Front … Continue reading

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Pokemon X Samurai Warriors = What The!?

You Don’t See This Every Day Actually, this is a crossover with Nobunaga’s Ambition, a venerable wargame series out of Japan, but that’s niche stuff. The kind of niche I’m into, mind you. The people are similar, though: it’ll be … Continue reading

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Jitsu vs. Jutsu: More Than A Shuriken’s Difference

実と術 (じつとじゅつ) The word jitsu stands for reality and truth, often as part of the word shinjitsu (objective truth, an intangible thing). The word jutsu stands mostly for technique, in the sense of an art, a method, or even a spell. The words majutsu (for … Continue reading

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Sorosoro: It’s Just About Time

そろそろ There are actually two distinct uses for sorosoro (そろそろ). The first is as an adverb representing softly, leisurely, gently, gradually, etc. The second is the one to really watch out for: that something will be done soon, in the … Continue reading

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Mushiro: Stating Preferences

むしろ  “Mushiro” is one of those words that isn’t in everyone’s speaking style, but it’s really good to know what it means and how it’s used. The English output differs because different words fit different sentence situations. The word itself … Continue reading

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Sensei’s Corner: A Wandering Tale

Lots of Stuff I haven’t done one of these in a while because it’s hard to get used to the “train of consciousness” type of writing. In fact, I won’t really do that. I’ll break this up into little sections … Continue reading

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So What Do Foreigners Find Expensive In Japan?

I have to highly recommend this post at Japan Today, not so much because of the story – which I find interesting in itself – but because there’s over 180 comments by people giving their own first-hand impressions. It’s fascinating, … Continue reading

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