Kimtaro

A Guide to Words With Multiple Kanji A while ago, I made a video discussing how to navigate cases where a single word is written in multiple kanji. That is, cases like とる being written as 取る and 摂る and 撮る. In making that video, my goa…

New Blog Post! A guide to understanding the nuances behind different uses of #kanji to write a single word in #Japanese (things like 飲む vs 呑む or 見る vs 診る and 観る).

wesleycrobertson.wordpress.com/2025/08/05/a...

Any recommendations for an authoritative Japanese etymology dictionary?

Japanese Slang Review – July 2025 And it’s time for the seventh Japanese slang review of 2025 (see all prior posts here)! In these posts I deep dive into the world of Japanese terms you probably won’t see in a textbook,…

It's time for the July #Japanese slang review! Click the link below to learn about the words:

神ってる
ガイガイ音頭
ネット乞食
ビジュイイじゃん
自発光メイク/モカムースメイク
裏山
詐胸
対立厨/出会い厨/カプ厨/懐古厨
水素の音
マコモ湯構文

wesleycrobertson.wordpress.com/2025/07/31/j...

Do I have Japanese grammar study recommendations for N5 to N2 levels? Do I ever?!

Order the book Ideologies of Communication in Japan from Multilingual Matters for 50% via the code ICJ50 by July 31st

Hey! I've got a chapter on script-based language ideologies across Japanese history in this new book Ideologies of Communication in Japan out via @multi-ling-mat.bsky.social! Use the code in the image for 50% off if you order a copy by the 31st of July!

Friend of Garak shirts are freshly restocked! I have t-shirts in sizes S-5XL and tank tops in S-4XL. Other sizes available on backorder. Still 10% off for Pride Month. willburrows.art/shop

What’s a Kaiwai?: 界隈理解界隈 If you’ve spent any time on the Japanese internet over the last few years, you’ve probably part of some kind of 界隈 that regularly sees the word 界隈 (かいわい) floating around. This word for …

New Blog Post! Join the 界隈理解界隈 by reading this deep dive into 界隈... I mean, 界-隈not?

wesleycrobertson.wordpress.com/2025/05/22/w...

現代オタク用語の基礎知識 学校でも会社でも教えてくれないフシギで笑える「オタク語」の数々！あなたはどれだけ知っていますか？【女性アイドルファンの行動や状況を表す専門用語】山下清（短パンで参加している人）野鳥の会（双眼鏡を凝視している人）メモリスト（何のためか公演中にメモをとる人）ケンシロウ（上半身裸）ドナドナ（興奮しすぎて係員に退去させられること）人間スターダスト（興奮しすぎて上階から下に落ちること）【鉄道マニアにもいろい...

The tagline of this otaku dictionary is maybe perfect? 知っているだけで恥ずかしいーYou'll be embarrassed just to know these words. So nerdy, the words themselves bring shame, proof that it is *the* geek dictionary of choice.

ありがとう！ Btw I really enjoy your podcast and newsletter!

Thank you! I appreciate it!

Thank you for the kind words!

Pushed the first bug fix!

The current Jisho might have seemed almost abandoned, but I care deeply about the site, and I am so happy to have a platform that I can easily build on and improve.

The beta version of the new Jisho is live! four.jisho.org

I'm releasing it today (with one minute to spare!) to celebrate 20 years since the Wayback Machine first indexed Jisho.

Japanese Slang Review – April 2025 And it’s time for the fourth Japanese slang review of 2025 (see all prior posts here)! In these posts I deep dive into the world of Japanese terms you probably won’t see in a textbook, …

New #Japanese 流行語 explanations are out! Click the link below to learn about:

海外ニキネキ
違和感仕事しろ
ちくわ大明神
5000兆円欲しい!
あくしろよ
切り替えピース
風呂キャンセル界隈
メンブレ
リアコ
恋のHamburg♪/お料理、得意なんです

wesleycrobertson.wordpress.com/2025/04/30/j...

Japanese Study Apps That DON'T Use AI - Japanese Talk The plagiarism machine seems to be worming its way into everything. Here's a list of Japanese Study apps That DON'T Use AI!

I was going to post this article this weekend but Duolingo's recent doubling down on replacing humans with generative AI pushed me to get it out sooner.

Here's a list of amazing apps for learning Japanese that DON'T use generative AI!

#cancelDuolingo
jtalkonline.com/japanese-stu...

Me too, Anpanman. Me too.

‘The Joy of Translating is Gone’ | Swedish Book Review by Yukiko Duke, translated by Ian Giles

This piece by Yukiko Duke, who co-translated Kenzaburo Oe, Haruki Murakami and Yu Miri among others with her mother, deeply moved me. "It was the best kind of family business." swedishbookreview.org/joy-translat...

Thank you for the kind shout-out!

Translation is all about conveying meaning from one language to another. But what do we do when we’re struggling with how to render that meaning in our target language?

Let’s talk about deverbalization, functionalism, and examples from SUBREDDITNAME and the Beings from Strange Planet!

Oh interesting! I hadn’t considered that approach. I did find one issue with UniDic yesterday. Different distributions set different output formats, and some don’t have surface reading. Luckily the default download is good. Homebrew’s is not.

Support for mecab-unidic by Kimtaro · Pull Request #60 · Kimtaro/ve Currently working on making bundle exec ruby -Ilib tests/mecab_unidic_parse_test.rb -n test_words pass.

I've been meaning to make a UniDic parser for Ve for ages, but wanted to make progress on other parts of the new Jisho first. But this was a perfect nerd snipe. So here's a WIP: github.com/Kimtaro/ve/p...

No idea when I'll be able to finish it though as I'll jump between this and those other parts.