35 Japanese Proverbs & Inspiring Sayings You Need to Know

2025 May 27

Japanese proverbs, or ことわざ (kotowaza), are a great way to spice up and improve your language skills with more figurative speech. Exploring outside the typical methods of memorizing kanji and vocabulary, kotowaza can teach you how to use more nuanced phrases.  Plus, they can help you dive deeper into Japanese culture. Kotowaza paint a picture […]

Japanese zen garden, an old tradition capturing the wisdom of Japanese philosophy much like Japanese proverbs

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35 Japanese Proverbs & Inspiring Sayings You Need to Know

Japanese proverbs, or ことわざ (kotowaza), are a great way to spice up and improve your language skills with more figurative speech. Exploring outside the typical methods of memorizing kanji and vocabulary, kotowaza can teach you how to use more nuanced phrases.  Plus, they can help you dive deeper into Japanese culture. Kotowaza paint a picture […]

Japanese zen garden, an old tradition capturing the wisdom of Japanese philosophy much like Japanese proverbs

What Is Katakana? Complete Katakana Chart & Learning Guide

After mastering hiragana, one of the three Japanese writing systems, the natural next step is to learn katakana, the second Japanese syllabary. Commonly used to write loanwords, katakana represent the same set of sounds as hiragana, but they look completely different. Katakana characters are typically boxier and more geometric, with sharp corners, in contrast to […]

person studying hiragana

Get Tongue-Tied: Trickiest Japanese Tongue Twisters to Try

Looking for a fun way to improve your Japanese enunciation? Japanese tongue twisters, or hayakuchi kotoba (早口言葉), are short, challenging phrases that help train your tongue, improve fluency, and boost confidence when speaking. Try one a day and make it part of your study routine — yes, even while performing your oral hygiene routine ! […]

A language tutor practicing Japanese tongue twisters with a young learner in a cozy home setting.