The four seasons are spring, summer, fall, and winter.  Like other regions in the world, northern parts in Japan tend to have cooler summer and colder winter while southern parts have hotter summer and milder winter.  That is because Japan is long from north to south. 
 
Japan has enjoyed the four seasons for over 1000 years; we can know that from many writings and poems talking about the seasons.
 
Today I focus on spring because I think the season is special to Japanese people.
 
In winter time, people wait for spring. The Japanese has made many poems about longing for beauty of spring.  In spring, many flowers started to bloom.  Especially, people are waiting for pink color of Sakura (=cherry blossoms). 

Sakura is a symbol of the beginning of spring and has a magic that makes Japanese people crazy for it. It blooms only for a week, so the beauty doesn’t last long.  But, since the length of Japan, sakura trees started to have flowers in southern parts first, then, move up to north gradually and smoothly.
 
In other words, sakura paints the color of scenery from south to north, and people feel full of joy with a new painting around them.
 
Cherry trees change their appearance through the year; after falling flowers, dark green leaves starts to grow and thrive with sunshine in summer time.  In fall, those leaves change their color to red and yellow, and at the beginning of winter (December), they fall, and trees become naked.
 
In some northern areas, sakura trees are covered with a thin layer of snow.  They look like they will not come back to life. 
 
However, a new life cycle starts in trees even in winter.  While people are waiting for spring, they are prepared for the season silently. 
 
Sometime in March, we can see their little green balls as the size of little blueberries.  Yes, they are flower buds.
 
In March, winter is nearing an end, and people’s feelings for spring is becoming bigger and bigger. With the expectation, buds are also waiting for a moment to open.
 
In April, some trees in southern parts finally show their pink color a little bit.  Then, other trees follow.  On one day in spring, those trees enjoy showing their cheerful colors to people, and the wave of the pink goes toward north.
 
That is a re-born cycle of sakura trees along with changing seasons, and people enjoy that.  They love scenery in all seasons, but spring is special to Japanese people.
 
That is because April is a beginning of a year in Japan. 
 
All school starts at the beginning of April, and 6-year-old boys and girls have to walk to school with their senior students by themselves.  That is usually their first trip without their parents.
 
With the joyous feelings of spring, many people step into new things.  I still can remember all my school entrance ceremonies were always with cherry flowers in full bloom.  Thus, sakura has been always combined with my excitement.
 
Many freshmen leave their parents’ houses for college, and new graduates join companies on April 1.  In April, we can see many people’s faces with mixed feelings of expectation and anxiety. But they are ready for new challenges. 
 
In Japan, it is spring that many people change their lifestyles as well as a new flower cycle.  The beautiful season brings us anticipation for future.  Sakura and people’s expectation are intertwined under the sunshine in spring.
 
Whenever I see sakura in spring, I always feel that I am so lucky to be born in this country.
 
Do you feel how much people in Japan are waiting for spring and sakura blossom?
 
Today, you will learn the word: [春：はる]　“ha-ru”.  It is spring in Japanese.  To pronounce Japanese “r” sound, your tongue has to touch the ceiling but not teeth.  Once you do that, release it quickly.  It is like a sound in the middle of English “r” and “l” pronunciation.
 
Thanks for reading!

If you live in a city in Japan, you will not have to buy tissue paper often. That’s because we are given.

 
To explain this, I’m going to describe “one morning of a weekday.”
Let’s say I get through several train stations to reach my office.
 
First, I arrive at the closest station by bus. Then, there are usually a couple of young people in front of the station. Saying “dou-zo (pronunciation: dough-zo[ne]),” they are giving me a pocket-size tissue package.
 
Do you remember the meaning “dou-zo”? Yes, it is “this is for you,” so I receive it. I usually don’t even say, “thank you.” Maybe we should, but nobody says.

 The reason why we don’t say anything is that a tissue package is an advertisement. A variety of advertisements are printed on the plastic exterior, or sometimes, there is a small sheet of paper with an advertisement in the package.
 
So, we can get free tissues on the street. Usually, people don’t want to receive any advertisements on the street, but if they are free tissues, yes, we will!
 
The young people offering tissues are part-time workers and keep handing out tissues to commuters. They receive tissues without a word because we walk very fast in the morning, and by the time we receive it, we already have passed in front of them. It is like passing a relay baton.
 
Then, I get on a train and after 3 stations, have to change trains. I get out of the train station, see another person who is giving tissues again, and receive one. After 50-meter walking, I reach the subway station and put my electric train pass on an automatic ticket gate.
 
After 5 stations, I finally arrive at the station to get off. Then, I go up stairs. Again, there are two ladies who are giving me a tissue package.  Of course, I get it.
 
O.K.  Now is the time to do math. How many pocket-sized tissue packages do I receive during morning commute?
 
Yes. 4 packages! Imagine that you do this 5 times a week. Even though you have an unlucky day that you cannot receive any, you still have enough to use up.
 
Sometimes, I stop by more stations for shopping on the way back. Then, I get more. That’s why I think we don’t have to buy tissues if we live in a city. I always collect them to save money.
 
I’ve been to 14 countries so far, but I have never seen free tissues with an advertisement on the street outside Japan. Hhmmm.. Is this only in Japan?  I really wonder.
 
If you see somewhere, please let me know.
 
Today, you need to review this word “dou-zo (dough zo[ne]),” meaning “this is for you.”
 
Thanks for reading!

 
■ “Go ahead.” or “After you.” in an elevator, at a door of a building, and so on.
■ “Please help yourself.” for meal sharing/ dining/ social eating, and etc.
■ “This is for you.” when you give a gift to someone.
■ “Here it is.” when you give someone something that the person was looking for or wanted.
■ Often, the phrase means “please” in English. For example, “This way, please.”,  “Have a seat, please.” and so on.
 
In situations above, you just simply say, “どうぞ: Do-u-zo.” This sounds like a combination “dough” and short “zo” from “zone.”  So, pronounce only bold letters in “dough zo[ne].”
 

I’m going to give you some examples.
 
(1)  Imagine that you are in an elevator with a beautiful lady. The lady and you are trying to get out of the elevator at the same time. Then, you would say, “osaki-ni-dou-zo (dough zo[ne]).” Which means “go ahead” or “after you.” “Osaki-ni” is “ahead” in this case.
 
(2) Let’s say that your meeting with a client is almost over, and he put his gift for you on the table and said, “dou-zo (dough zo[ne]).” That is “this is for you.”
 
(3) When you go to a noodle restaurant in Japan, you noticed that there’re no chopsticks on the tray of your food. You may ask a server, “o-ha-shi, ku-da-sa-i (Could you give me chopsticks?).”  Then, the server come back and give it to you saying, “dou-zo (dough zo[ne]).” This means “here it is.”
 
Then, you need to say, “a-ri-ga-to (thank you).”
 
Are you kind of getting to know the meaning of the word “dou-zo”?
 
This is a very convenient word and we often use this. This is a little bit formal word. So, maybe you don’t use it among friends.
 
When you are in Japan, pay attention to what service providers say in department stores, restaurants, and shops, and you will hear “dou-zo” everywhere.
 
Thanks for reading!
 

That is “Ku-da-sa-i.”
 
■ The meaning is “give me … “ or “I’ll take … .”
 
■ When you want to ask someone, “please give me △△△.” in English, you can say, “△△△, ku-da-sa-i.” in Japanese.
 
Let’s say you want to drink water, say this: “mi-zu, ku-da-sa-i.”  “mi-zu” is water in Japanese.
 
★ [Could you give me some water?] = [mi-zu, ku-da-sa-i.]
 
If you want to ask someone to hand something to you, you can say “so-re, ku-da-sa-i.”  “so-re” is “it” or “that” in Japanese.
 
★ [Please give it to me.] [Please hand it to me.] = [so-re, ku-da-sa-i.]
 
When you order a meal in a restaurant, you can ask the server, “ko-re, ku-da-sa-i” pointing the food that you want to order.  “ko-re” means “this.”

 
★ [I’ll take this.] [Could I have this?] = [ko-re, ku-da-sa-i.]
 
So, anyway, you want something, you just ask “△△△△, ku-da-sa-i.” This is an easy phrase, but you can say “ku-da-sa-i” in many situations such as souvenir shops, coffee shops, convenient stores, restaurants, and in a conversation with friends.
 
Today, remember this: “please give me … .” & “I’ll take … .” = “ku-da-sa-i” in Japanese.
 
Thanks for reading!

 
As I mentioned before, in Japan, we are expected to show respect to seniors.  Therefore, we usually use formal and casual lines depending on situations.
 
Sounds difficult, doesn’t it?  But you’ll get used to that. Don’t worry.
 
(1) Formal “Yes”: ha-i
 
This is “Ha-i” as pronounced similar to “Hi” in English.  So, if you want to say, “yes,” you just simply remember “hi” in English.  It’s easy, isn’t it?
 
This word, ‘ha-i’ also has the meaning of “I see,” “all right,” and “uh-huh” as well as “yes.”  When Japanese people listen to your story and nod saying, ‘ha-i’, it doesn’t mean “yes” but “uh-huh” in Japanese.
 
(2) Formal “No”: i-i-e
 
This is “i-i-e.”  I thought about how you can pronounce this word simply and got an idea. You need to combine the “ee” sound from “eel” and the first “e” sound from “elephant.”  Please pronounce only bold letters, “eel+elephant.” 
 
The words described above are simple, but I think they are the most important words you should learn in Japanese.

 
(3) Informal “Yes”: um-n
 
It is very simple and pronounced similar to “um-n.” But you need to resonate it.
 
(4) Informal “No”: um-um-n
 
You just simply repeat the first sound of informal “yes.”  So, it is like “um-um-n.” Simple, isn’t it?
 
Oh! I almost forgot to tell you one thing in Japanese that is totally opposite to English. That is an answer of a negative question.
 
When you are asked, “Didn’t you go there?,” maybe you will answer, “No, I didn’t.” in English. But Japanese people say, “Yes, I didn’t.” in Japanese.
 
Can you tell the difference?
 
I think English speakers focus on the fact that you didn’t go there; that’s why you answer “No, I didn’t.” But Japanese speaker think that the question is right because I didn’t go there. That’s why they answer “yes, I didn’t.”
 
Japanese people struggle to understand this, so I guess maybe you, too.
 
I know this is confusing, but again, you’ll get used to it. I was confused by this, too, when I started to learn English. To understand this, I used to moved my head with answers. Now, I’m O.K. with this. So, just practice.
 
 So, when you are asked something with a negative form, give attention to your answer. But don’t get too nervous because this is only for a negative question.
 
Today’s expressions are very simple, but you need to know.
 
Thanks for reading!
 
 

(S=students; T=a teacher):
 
T: How are you?
S: I’m fine, thank you. And you?
T: I’m fine, thank you.
 
So, those phrases were inputted into our brain no matter what. But, later, I noticed that, after I attended UCLA in California, people usually say “good” instead of “fine.”  Sometimes I hear “I’m fine,” though.
 
Anyway, most of Japanese have experienced the repetition for three years. So, if you go to Japan and ask anyone around you “how are you?” you would get an automatic reply, “I’m fine, thank you.”
 
“How are you?” is hard to translate because the Japanese language doesn’t have an equivalent expression. The phrase is often interpreted “Gen-ki?” But I think that is a little bit different.
 
Originally, “gen-ki” is a word that describes a state of being healthy or having a lot of energy or spirits, so, I understand “how are you?” can be translated into “gen-ki?.”
 
But when I worked in Tokyo with an American team, I always felt a little bit strange whenever I was asked, “Gen-ki-de-su-ka?”  That is a polite way of saying “gen-ki?”
 
At that time, I was not fluent in English, so I just wondered why they were asking me if I was “gen-ki” every day and thought like this. Did I look sick or depressed yesterday? That’s why they were asking me if I felt better?
 
Now I know that’s just a misunderstanding. They just wanted to say “how are you?” in Japanese to me as a greeting.
 
Sometimes, direct translation doesn’t work well because, in other cultures, people don’t have the same custom that you have. I have learned this a lot while I’ve been learning English and Spanish.

 
Then, when do we use “gen-ki?” to a person?
 
When I say “gen-ki?” to a friend in Japanese, the question implies that I haven’t seen the friend for a while. In this context, the meaning of “gen-ki?” is “how have you been?”
 
How long depends on a person. Maybe at least a month or so. 
 
However, in California, a person at the casher in any supermarkets and a sales staff at any shops say “how are you?’ when they see a customer. It is just a greeting.
 
Japanese people don’t ask strangers “gen-ki?” So, sales staff will never say “gen-ki?’ as Californians say “how are you?”
 
So, I think that the translation of “How are you?” might be “Gen-ki?” in Japanese, but we usually don’t ask “gen-ki?” to others without any reasons.
 
The question using “gen-ki” might be limited like the following situations:
 
(1) When you haven’t seen a friend or an acquaintance for a while and you see him/her on the day, or when you have a chance to talk to him/her over the phone.
 
So, when you want to know how the person has been doing, you can use,”Gen-ki?” In this case, the past tense is often used, which is “gen-ki-da-ta?’  This means, “How have you been?”
 
(2) When you want to ask “feel better?”
 
You want to know if a person feels better because you know the person wasn’t in a good condition such as sickness, depression, and so on.  In this case, another type of past tense “gen-ki-ni-na-ta?” is used, which means “became gen-ki.” (=Feel better?)
 
Now I know American culture, so I finally came to understand why English speakers, my coworkers, often asked me in the morning if I was “gen-ki” in the office.
 
So, please remember that “How are you?” cannot be directly translated in a simple word.
 
So, anyway, please learn this word, “gen-ki” today. If somebody asks you, “Gen-ki?,” you can simply answer,”gen-ki.”
 
Thanks for reading!

 
(1) Sa-yo(u)-na-ra (Good-bye)
 
This is a formal expression of “goodbye.” Again, we use this to acquaintances, teachers, friends’ parents, and senior people.
 
In Japan, showing respect to seniors is important, so even though students are one-year apart, younger people tend to change their attitudes and expressions to their senior schoolmates.
 
For example, when I was a first-grade at junior high school, I had to say “sa-yo-na-ra” to people who were one year older than me. That applies in a working environment, too. 
 
(※ In Japan, there’s no grade above 6th grade. Once you get into middle school, you will be 1^st grade of the school.)
 
* School Grades in Japan *
Age 6 -12 : elementary school (6 years); 1^st grade through 6^th grade
Age 12-15: junior high school (3 years); 1^st grade through 3^rd grade
Age 15-18: high school (3 years); 1^st grade through 3^rd grade

 
(2) Bye-bye. (Bye.)
 
Among friends, I think, “bye-bye” is most used. Of course, it came from an English word, “goodbye” and then changed to “bye-bye.” I don’t know how long we’ve been using this word, but we don’t have an informal “goodbye” in Japanese. Instead, we use the “English word.”
 
The Japanese “bye-bye” might sound childish to you, but even adults sometimes say “bye-bye” in Japan.

 
(3) Ja-ne. (See you.)
 
“Ja-ne” is also often used. I usually don’t use “bye-bye,” instead I use “ja-ne.” 
 
“Ja” can be translated into English as “then” or “around” in this context. So, “ja-ne” means “see you”, “see you then,” or “see you around.”
 
(4) Mata (ne.) (See you again.)
 
The word “mata” means “again.”  So, “mata(ne)”is “see you again,” “see you later,” or “talk to you later.”
 
◆ (3) ja-ne, and (4) mata(ne)  have variations as follows:

・Ja! (See you around.)
・Ja-ne. (Females prefer this to Ja.)
・Ja-mata. (See you again. Talk to you later.)
・Ja-matane. (Females prefer this to Ja-mata.)
・Matane. (See you again. Talk to you later.)
 
All of them work among men and women.  Either one is fine.  But these are informal ways of “goodbye,” so use them only among friends.
 
I personally recommend to use “Sa-yo-na-ra” in a formal situation and to say “ja-ne” or “ja-mata” to your friends. 
 
Now, I’ve got to go. I’m going to stop writing here.
 
Ja-ne.
 
Thanks for reading!
 
 

 There are two greetings in the evening; both are used after the sun goes down.

(1) Kon-ban-wa (Good evening)
 
“Good evening” in Japanese language is “Kon-ban-wa.”  It sounds similar to “Kon-ni-chi-wa”.
Both words end with “wa”. 
 
I don’t know the meaning of “wa”, but I know what “Kon-ban” and “Kon-ni-chi” mean.
 
・“Kon-ban” means tonight, and
・“Kon-ni-chi” is today.
They are general nouns, but when we add “wa” to those words, they change to greetings. 
 
“Kon-ban-wa” is formal as well as “Kon-ni-chi-wa”, and Japanese people use it only when you see acquaintances or seniors.  Among friends, we usually don’t say “kon-ban-wa”.
 
So, “Kon-ban-wa” is a formal greeting.  Then, what should we say when we see friends at night? 
 
Well, I don’t know an answer.  As well as “Kon-ni-chi-wa,” that depends on people. I usually call my friend’s name and start a conversation with “How have you been?” or something.
 
 
(2) O-ya-su-mi (Good night)
 
The second phrase for night is “good night.”  It is “o-ya-su-mi” or “o-ya-su-mi-na-sai.” The latter is a formal form. These are used only when you say “goodbye” to someone.
 
In southern California, people sometimes say “good night” instead of “goodbye,” when they get off work at 5p.m., but in Japan, we don’t say “o-ya-su-mi” in the situation. It sounds strange if I hear “o-ya-su-mi” in the office. Obviously, we don’t sleep at work.
 
“O-ya-su-mi” is used when we are going to bed. But, sometimes, some people use “o-ya-su-mi-na-sai” instead of “good-bye” when it is late at night.
 
It is 11p.m. now, so in this case, I will say to you, “o-ya-su-mi.”
 
Thanks for reading!
 
 

 
It is “O-ha-yoh”.  While “hello” is not used among close friends, “O-ha-yoh” is used for anyone.
 
When you wake up in the morning and see your mom, you say “O-ha-yoh”.  At school, when you are getting into a classroom, you say “O-ha-yoh” to your classmates.
 
The way of saying the word is exactly the same as “good morning” in English.

There is one thing you need to know in Japanese language.  In Japan, we have to change a way of talking to senior people.  Polite expressions are preferable to them all the time. 
 
A polite way of saying “O-ha-yoh” is “O-ha-yoh-go-zai-ma-su.”  You simply add “go-zai-ma-su” to “o-ha-yoh.”
 
You will say this formal version of “good morning” when you see teachers, seniors, your friend’s parents and your boss.  At the same time, don’t forget to bow.
 
You don’t have to bow bending your entire upper body for greetings, but at least, you need to move your head as you nod. 
 
This word is usually written Hiragana alone.  However, sometimes you might see the letter: “早” in the word, “O-ha-yoh”.  The meaning of the Chinese character “早” is “early”.  
 
It seems that Japanese people originally used the letter, but nowadays, people don’t use the letter often.  So, hiragana itsels is fine. 
 
Anyway, morning in Japan starts with “O-ha-yoh.”
Why don’t you say “O-ha-yoh” to Japanese people in the morning instead of “Kon-ni-chi-wa”?
 
Thanks for reading!
 

  
You have already learned “thank you.” in Japanese, so I am going to teach you how to say “I’m sorry” in a formal situation. Then, I will talk about the confusion that I experienced.
 
Japanese people use this word:「すみません」[Su-mi-ma-sen]  when they apologize. (Often, we pronounce it 「すいません」[Sui-ma-sen].) because it is easier.  This word is written Hiragana alone.
 
As I mentioned above, this is formal “I’m sorry.” ; however, the word has a couple of meanings depending on situations. I’ll explain.
 
１．[Excuse me.]
We say “Sui-ma-sen” to others, when we start to talk to a stranger.  It is like “Excuse me.” in English.
 
 (1) For example, when you want to know if a bus/train already left or not at the bus stop/the station, you can ask a question by starting with “Sui-ma-sen”. 
 
[Sui-ma-sen], but do you know if a bus has already left?
 
Here is another example.
 (2)  When a person who is walking in front of you dropped something, you maybe pick it up and talk to the person.
 
[Sui-ma-sen], but you dropped this.

 
２．[Thank you.]
The second meaning of [Sui-ma-sen] is “Thank you.”  The person who dropped something would say this to you:
 
(3) [Sui-ma-sen], [a-ri-ga-tou-go-zai-ma-su]. 

[a-ri-ga-tou-go-zai-ma-su] is a formal form of  [a-ri-ga-tou “thank you”]. 
 
If the person whom you talked doesn’t know you, I would say that 99% of Japanese answer as above.
 
I will share another example with you.  Imagine that you received a gift from your acquaintance (but not a friend).
 
(4) This type of [sui-ma-sen] is used when you want to say, “You shouldn’t have.”
 
[Sui-ma-sen] alone  or  [Sui-ma-sen], [a-ri-ga-tou-go-zai-ma-su]. 
 
Since [sui-ma-sen] is a formal word, it can express your feelings of gratitude before saying “thank you.”  Only “Thank you” itself is fine, but if a person whom you talk to is senior or an acquiantance, I would say both [sui-ma-sen] and [a-ri-ga-tou-go-zai-ma-su].
 
Both words convey “your gratitude”, so if you say both, you can show your feelings very well.
 
３．[I’m sorry.]
The last meaning is “I’m sorry.”  Please remember that [Sui-ma-sen] in this context is used only in a formal situation.  Among friends, we will use a different word. I’ll teach it to you sometime later.
 
(5) For example, you made a mistake at work, and your customer is not happy about that.  Then, you have to apologize.
 
[Sui-ma-sen]  or [sui-ma-sen-de-si-ta].
 
This is a formal apology. 
 
The second one, [sui-ma-sen-de-si-ta] is past tense.  Either way is “I’m sorry” in English. If you want to aplogize for what you have just done, you might say, “Sui-ma-sen” only.  For something that happened in the past, “Sui-ma-sen-de-si-ta.”is preferrable.  But there is no distinctive difference.  So, it’s up to you.
 
 
Now I am explaining why I mentioned there was a difference.
 
What surprised me was that I heard “Thank you for waiting.” by a customer service staff while I was waiting.  I was puzzled by “Thank you.” 
 
“I’ve been waiting. Why did she say thank you in this situation?  She should’ve said “I’m sorry. [Sui-ma-sen], not saying thank you.”
 
In Japan, sales staff definitely says, “I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.” at first.  But in the U.S. they say, “I’ll be right with you.”   No apology.  This is the difference.
 
Wow, people in the U.S. use “thank you.” when Japanese people say “I’m sorry.”
 
That is a very interesting find.  Then, I started to consider meanings of [Sui-ma-sen] deeply and found out that there were meanings of both “I’m sorry” and “thank you”.  I had just never paid attention.
 
Until I came to the U.S., I had never given a deep thought about Japanese words. By living in a foreign country, I have been learning English, and at the same time, I understand my mother tongue much better than before.
 
Language: there is always more to learn, and I love that.
 
I want to share my language experiences and cultural differences with you more.
 
Thank you for reading!