Ganbare (頑張れ) or ganbatte (頑張って) is a Japanese phrase that means “Come on!” “Let’s go!” or “Go for it!” in English.

Have you ever needed to convert your birth year, written in Western years, to Japanese years? If you’ve ever lived in Japan and handled paperwork in the city hall, you might have stumbled across a date that made you pause. Instead of 2025, you see something like 令和7年 (Reiwa 7). This isn’t a typo. It’s […]

The bonodori is a spiritual dance to welcome the spirits. Every region has a local dance and a different music.

We’ll introduce each day of the week with its Japanese name, pronunciation, and useful tips to help you remember them quickly. Let’s get started!

Learning the Japanese days of the week and months of the year is one of the easiest lessons that you will have. Let’s start with the days of the week.

Kanji can be beautiful, but some of them can also be downright intimidating. While most learners start with simple characters like 日 (day) or 木 (tree), Japanese writing also hides a few monsters: characters so complex and rare that even native speakers may pause before reading or writing them. So what are the most difficult […]

The Business Japanese Proficiency Test (BJT) is both a great addition and an alternative to the JLPT, especially if you want to work in Japan. But should you take it?

From classic Ghibli films to tear-jerking slice-of-life, check out our recommended anime shows to binge-watch if you’re a beginner in Japanese.