Massage is a form of pain relief that has been around for thousands of years. Put simply, in a massage the idea is to manipulate muscles and other body tissues on a patient to relieve pain and increase flexibility. Many are familiar with the practice, even if they haven’t given one before, but one thing …
Marcel Iseli
In this article, we will explain the Japanese word Shura. We will look at the etymology (origin of the word), and how it is used today in popular culture. This journey will take us through this word’s connection to Buddhist myths, manga/anime and… forestry terms? [toc] An Introduction to the word Shura …
Watching anime or other Japanese TV can be a great way to practice your listening skills. The only possible downside is that sometimes characters will speak in a very casual way or use slang you’re not familiar with. Although this seems like a bad thing, all you need is a little research before you can …
Watching TV shows and movies in a foreign language you’re learning is a great way to practice your listening comprehension skills. Unlike audio created specifically for learning, they feature people speaking at normal speeds and usually in a colloquial manner. On the other hand, you can sometimes run into odd expressions that aren’t used so …
It’s funny how slang becomes official over time, but I guess that’s part of the evolution of language. For instance, the expression “what’s up?” was practically unheard of in the early nineteenth century. After that, it came into existence some time in the middle of the 1800s. However, it wasn’t until the 1990’s that its …
No buts about it: how to master the many “buts” of Japanese In English, there are many words native speakers reach for without thinking about the specific grammatical function they serve. Take the word “but.” Grammatically speaking it’s a conjunction used to show contrast between two different clauses. Native English speakers probably couldn’t tell you …
Of all the punctuation marks that we writers have to wield, the comma may be the hardest to master. Why, I hear you wonder, are commas so unwieldy? After all, aren’t there plenty of grammar books and style guides telling you how and when to use these little creatures? Yes, there are several style guides …
There are some terms and expressions in English that have become so ingrained in our vernacular that we rarely give them a second thought. For instance, telling someone to “break a leg” sounds like a horrible curse, similar to telling someone to “go jump off a bridge”? Yet, most English speakers know that telling someone …
Anyone who’s learned a foreign language can tell you that it’s sometimes hard to find what a specific English word means in other languages. Japanese is a pretty different language from English, grammatically speaking. Translations are complicated and there isn’t always a one-to-one relationship between concepts like “or.” So how do you say “or” in …