The Tofugu Podcast: Japan And Japanese Language

Find and watch the Big in Japan documentary here: http://www.biginjapandoc.com We interviewed David Elliot-Jones, the writer/producer of the Big in Japan documentary. He tells us why he went to Japan with two of his friends (Lachlan Mcleod: Director, Louis Dai: Editor) to "do anything he could to become famous." Everybody thinks they can become famous in Japan. Find out the truth of it all in this interview.

For more, check out our article on ganbaru: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/ganbaru/ "Do your best!" "Hang in there!" "FIGHT!" The Japanese verb 頑張る has a wide variety of English translations, and that's because it's such a nuanced word. Depending on how you say it and who you say it to, it could be an encouragement or a real downer. The Tofugu team sat down to discuss the definitions, translations, and our personal feeling about this complex word. And we really got into the weeds (societally speaking) when Michael, Mami, and Kanae navigate the sometimes-oppressive feeling ganbaru can carry.

You may already know that, in Japanese, you add a polite little something at the end of someone’s name: ~san, ~sama, ~chan, ~kun… actually, there are lot more honorific name enders than that. And there are a lot of rules for using them correctly, too. The Tofugu team discusses seven common names enders and how to use them, not to mention nine historical/obscure name enders that are good to know. For more honorific goodness, check out the article we wrote, Listenerさん: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/name-enders/

Have you ever wondered why 人々 is ひとびと and not ひとひと, or even ひとぴと? Or why it’s てがみ instead of てかみ, or くさばな and not くさはな? It’s all because of a little thing called rendaku, or “sequential voicing,” which we talk about in this episode. While most Japanese teachers will just say, “it’s a mystery,” we’ll teach you the rules that make things rendaku or not, and the exceptions in between. Of course, we couldn’t explain EVERYTHING. For that, you’ll have to jump over to our very in-depth rendaku article on Tofugu: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/rendaku

Hi, it's me, Sensei Jeff. I'm here to teach all you white belts how to count in Japanese. Punch! Punch! Punch! (Actually, we teach you how to count from zero to uh... a mysterious number. And, we teach you how to count in the Japanese style, rather than the Chinese style that's more common. It's a pretty neat episode, despite sounding so basic. Read more about it in our article!) https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/counting-in-japanese Featuring: Koichi, Michael, and Mami (for the first time!)

Get Brian's Book, Japanese Whisky: The Ultimate Guide to the World's Most Desirable Spirit → https://amzn.to/2NAEqPR Michael and Koichi interview Brian Ashcraft–author of several Japan-related books–about his latest book, Japanese Whisky: The Ultimate Guide to the World's Most Desirable Spirit. He tells us what makes Japanese whisky "Japanese" as well as what a whisky rookie should try first (and where to get it).

Read more about Genki: http://www.tofugu.com/japanese/genki-meaning/ Everyone learns "o genki desu ka" when they begin their Japanese language education. But the truth is real people don't say it that much. So, how do you ACTUALLY use genki? We cover genki's use cases, its history, etymology, and more.

Read more about ちょっと in our article: http://www.tofugu.com/japanese/chotto/ We talk about ちょっと. At first it seems like a simple, little word. But, it actually has many meanings and ways to use it. We cover most of them, I think.

In this episode we get into Japanese pronunciation. Whether you are a beginner, advanced, or fluent, you'll find something in this episode that will help you to improve your pronunciation. To read more, check out our (really in-depth) guide: https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/japanese-pronunciation/

Prefer reading instead? We wrote a whole article about this (even more example sentences included!) https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/komu-compound-verbs Have you ever seen the Japanese verb 込む? On its own, it means "to be packed" or "to be crowded." But, this verb is also used in compound verbs... 255+ of them, in fact! You may have seen examples of this in your studies: 入り込む, 切り込む, 駆け込む, the list goes on and on. The problem is, the way that 込む affects the first verb (we'll call that V1) differs from word to word. In this podcast, we explore those inconsistencies, coming up with four "rules" you can follow to figure out the meaning of a 込む compound verb. It's both easier, and more difficult, than you think. Listen to the podcast to learn more, or check out our article for additional explanation and way more example sentences.

The Tofugu Podcast is taking a break for a couple of weeks while we prepare Season 2 of our prolific podcast and interview a special guest that is near and dear to our hearts!

Traveling around Japan in a large group (10 or more) may seem impossible. But let me tell you, friends, it is very possible. In fact, the Tofugu team recently went on a trip to Japan organized and led by our very own Koichi. In this episode, he tells you how he planned an weeklong international trip for 15 people. He got everything together, led everyone around, made sure everyone was taken care of—all with zero mishaps. If you dream of showing your friends Japan, listen to this episode so you can have a successful, enjoyable friend-cation.

Valentine's Day 2: PAYBACK! That should be the name of "White Day," Japan's sequel to Valentine's Day, which is exactly one month later, on March 14. But what does one do on White Day, exactly? All the gifts has been given. All the love received. What's left? Boy howdy, to understand what's going on, Koichi, Kanae, and Michael discuss how Japan's Valentine's and White Days work in tandem to create one-two marketing punch that'll embiggen your waistline and ensmallen your wallet.

Friend of the podcast, Alex O Smith returns! After two decades translating video games (including many Final Fantasies), Alex has accumulated quite a few stories from inside the Japanese video game industry. Some of his excellent tales include: - The incredibly insane task of voicing every line of dialogue in Final Fantasy X. - How he basically didn't sleep for two months. - Hanging out with smokers to gain allies at Squaresoft. - How he learned to compromise with big budget directors. - And more! (Including his thoughts on Persona 5). --- Read Alex’s wisdom from the first episode: https://tfg.li/2D2nITG

It's tough making friends in a new place. Different people have different ways of going about it. Throw in a culture and language barrier and it can be downright frustrating. For these reasons and more, visitors and new residents to Japan often worry about making friends. That's why the Tofugu Team got together with returning co-host Kanae (she's back!) to discuss the best ways to meet people and start friendships in Japan.

Read the series: https://tfg.li/2oM5rYr --- After a year of collecting the best Japanese learning resources every month and delivering them straight to your eyeballs, Tofugu sits down to discuss which study tools are the best of the best. We divided all the resources into six categories. Then each host (Koichi, Michael, and Kristen) picked their favs before battling it out on the podcast field! Actually, they discussed it pretty civilly, but the result is the same: you now have a definitive list of THE BEST Japanese learning resources from 2017. If you’re having trouble sticking to your New Year’s resolution to study more Japanese, let this list be your shot in the arm.

If you want to find your way into the Japanese video game industry, there's no better example we can point to than Ben Judd, a Capcom veteran responsible for giving Phoenix Wright his English voice. But we'll do you one better than just "pointing to him." We TALKED with him for over an hour about his experience breaking into Japanese work culture, establishing himself in the video game industry, and becoming a driving force in game production. In this interview, Ben reveals some secrets to dealing with finicky Nintendo, the advantages of working in Osaka rather than Tokyo, and how to turn your failures into ultimate dream-making successes. Listen to the whole thing, unless you have some sort of OBJECTION! to great career advice. --- Get more from Ben at: - https://www.ddmagency.com - http://www.dangenentertainment.com - https://twitter.com/dangen_ent

Learn how to ace the JET Program interview with our complete guide: https://tfg.li/2dgr4vm --- If you want to live and work in Japan, the JET Program is one of the best ways to do it. But it's a competitive program that requires you pass a high-stress, high stakes interview with three people grilling you for thirty minutes. That's why we talked with someone who has passed an interview AND run JET interviews for four years. It's actually Tofugu's own Michael! In this episode, he and Koichi discuss strategies to prepare you for the JET Program interview and how to handle some of the more difficult questions the panel will throw at you.

"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll stop emailing you about free fish." - Koichi (probably) Learning Japanese on your own can be challenging. Especially when you need clarification about abstract concepts, how to pronounce kanji, and how native speakers use certain words. We're here to show you that you can answer your specific questions about Japanese. Kristen and Michael discuss different methods to answering questions that will arise while studying Japanese. We also dive into why a certain resource works well and how you can best improve your experience to get the most accurate information. Listen in if you're having trouble filling in those gaps of knowledge. You can read Michael's full article for more: http://www.tofugu.com/japanese/answering-japanese-learning-questions/

Running a record label that brings Japanese rock music to the US is not easy. But if anyone can do it, it’s Robby Takac, the bassist for the Goo Goo Dolls. He knows the ins-and-outs of the music industry pretty well; his band has double and triple platinum records and a globetrotting tour schedule. We talked to Robby about his record label, Good Charamel, which produces albums for Japanese bands like Pinky Doodle Poodle, the MOLICE, and Osaka-based punk rock institution Shonen Knife. He reveals why it’s super difficult to get Japanese music acts to perform in the US (and why you should ABSOLUTELY go see a Japanese band if it’s playing in your area). We had a lot of fun talking with Robby, so listen to the full episode for more. --- For more sweet sounds from Good Charamel and other things Robby’s involved with, check out: - https://www.goodcharamel.com/ - http://www.gcraudio.com/ - https://www.musicisart.org/ - http://www.googoodolls.com/ And listen to some music from the bands on Good Charamel Records,