Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Word Pairs That Reverse in Japanese and English ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~

December 7, 2025 at 5:34 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

English vs. Japanese: The Word Order Flip!
Let’s learn Japanese with Toby 😺

Did you know some word pairs are reversed between Japanese and English?

#japaneselanguage #wordpair #blackandwhite #catsanddogs #soonerorlater #白黒 #犬猫 #飲食 #あれこれ #前後 #遅かれ早かれ

youtu.be/_PKlW3wk4r8?...

Useful Japanese Words for Liquids in Food ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~

November 30, 2025 at 2:45 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

Words with cats
犬は人につき猫は家につく
The Saying: Dogs Follow People, Cats Follow Homes

#cat #dog #japanese #people #home #犬は人につき猫は家につく #learnjapanesewithtoby #wordswithcats #video

youtube.com/shorts/HT-SK...

November 24, 2025 at 2:51 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

Useful Japanese Words for Liquids in Food

#japanese #language #expression #culinary #liquid #dashi #sauce #soup #syrup #dressing #juice #出汁 #つゆ #ソース #たれ #ポン酢 #ドレッシング #汁 #シロップ #あん #蜜

youtu.be/885sSWM9AYE?...

Spring Rains of Japan: Beauty in Every Drop ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~ 雨 #spring #rain #japanese

November 15, 2025 at 11:17 AM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

Spring Rains of Japan: Beauty in Every Drop

春の雨, 春雨, 春時雨, 春夕立, 春驟雨, 春霙, 春の長雨, 春霖, 菜種梅雨, 催花雨, 花の雨, 花時の雨, 花時雨, 桜雨, 桜流し, 杏花雨, 紅の雨, 藤の雨, 養花の雨, 柳の雨, 草の雨, 木の芽雨, 瑞雨, 静雨, 寒明の雨, 雪解雨, 雪消しの雨, 啓蟄の雨, 彼岸時化, 四温の雨, 暖雨, 穀雨, 軽雨
#japaneselanguage #expression #rain #spring #words #春 #雨 #桜雨　
youtu.be/ih-Wh7rW6Ds?...

How to Say Different Kinds of Rain in Japanese ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~ 雨

November 5, 2025 at 4:24 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

How to Say Different Kinds of Rain in Japanese

Japanese has many beautiful words to describe rain. In this video, we’ll explore different ways of describing how it falls, how strong it is, and how it appears in nature and literature.

#japaneselanguage #expression #rain #雨

youtu.be/ADb3aZFxeGc?...

A Cat’s Memory: The Japanese Saying About Forgetting Favors #shorts #cat #japanese #memory #猫 #日本語

October 27, 2025 at 3:01 AM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

Cats Forget Kindness in Three Days? – A Japanese Proverb Explained
猫は3年の恩を3日で忘れる
neko wa sannen no on o mikka de wasureru

#cat #japaneselanguage #wordswithcats #learnjapanesewithtoby #memory #gratitiude #猫は3年の恩を3日で忘れる #猫 #日本語　

youtube.com/shorts/SAcoO...

The Beautiful World of Japanese Rain Onomatopoeia ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~ 雨のオノマトペ

October 20, 2025 at 3:30 AM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

The Beautiful World of Japanese Rain Onomatopoeia ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~ 雨のオノマトペ

#japanese #language #onomatopoeia #擬音語 #rain #雨 #ぽつぽつ #ぱらぱら #ばらばら #ざあざあ #どしゃどしゃ #雨粒 #heavyrain #raindrop #soundsymbolism #オノマトペ #learnJapanesewithToby

youtu.be/wc9DpLoHpxc?...

Exploring Japanese Onomatopoeia: バタバt Batabata and ゴロゴロ Gorogoro ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~

October 11, 2025 at 5:56 AM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

Exploring Japanese Onomatopoeia
In Japanese, onomatopoeia is divided into two types: 擬音語 (giongo) which represent actual sounds, and 擬態語 (gitaigo) which describe situations or states by imitating sounds, even though no real sound is heard.
#onomatopoeia #擬音語 #擬態語 #バタバタ #ゴロゴロ
youtu.be/G7EybglDoAM?...

The Trend of ‘Katsu’: Exploring Japan’s New Buzzwords ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~ 〇〇活 activities

October 3, 2025 at 4:33 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

The Trend of ‘Katsu’: Exploring Japan’s New Buzzwords

○○活(katsu) refers to activities that people consciously engage in with a specific goal in mind

#japanese #language #expression #actrivity #buzzword #neologism #活 #trend #朝活 #推し活 #婚活 #妊活 #終活 #腸活 #ポイ活

youtu.be/cDEFMweoQnQ?...

Counting in Japanese: Different Readings and Hand Gestures ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~

September 26, 2025 at 4:19 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

Counting Up vs. Counting Down in Japanese: Numbers and Gestures

In Japanese, the way numbers are said differs when addressing someone versus counting silently, and the reading changes between counting up and counting down.

#japanese #countup #countdown #handgensture #数え方　

youtu.be/UOVCNfjXSDI?...

Understanding Price Tags in Japan: Tax Included or Not? ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~ 値札

September 22, 2025 at 3:11 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

Understanding Price Tags in Japan: Tax Included or Not?

価格 (kakaku) price
値札 (nefuda) price tag
消費税 (shouhizei) consumption tax

#japan #price #tax #fare #charge #値札 #消費税 #定価 #税込 #税抜 #現金のみ #cash #tax #料金 #運賃
youtu.be/1exY-2DXBjA?...

How to Memorize Flame Test Colors Using Japanese Mnemonics ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~ 炎色反応

September 19, 2025 at 5:29 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

Remembering Flame Test Colors with Japanese Wordplay
炎色反応(enshoku han'nou) flame test

リアカーなきK村、動力借るとうするもくれない馬力

#japanese #language #expression #flametest #wordplay #mnemonics #炎色反応 #lithium #sodium #potassium #copper #calcium #strontium #barium #chemistry

youtu.be/Exzr8KKibmE?...

Japanese Words: Casual or Formal? ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~

September 12, 2025 at 7:15 AM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

How to Say It in Japanese: Casual vs. Formal

e.g. pee おしっこ　urine 尿

#japanese #language #expression #casual #formal #childlike #日本語 #表現

youtu.be/cYZN9LICwZM?...

Learn Fukuoka Dialect: Surprising Local Expressions #shorts #Japanese #Fukuoka #dialect #バリカタ #福岡

September 5, 2025 at 3:36 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

Things only Fukuoka locals say
① 福岡(Fukuoka) - pronunciation
② ばり(bari) =very バリカタ(barikata) =very firm noodles
③ くらす(kurasu) =punch, hit

#japanese #dialect #fukuoka #pronunciation #ばり #バリカタ #ラーメン #くらす #very #ramen #punch #福岡 #LearnJapanesewithToby

youtube.com/shorts/B_qPO...

Can yousay this? Fukuoka Dialect Tongue Twister ~Learn Japanese with Toby~ キットカット

August 30, 2025 at 7:50 AM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

How Fast Can You Say It? Fukuoka Dialect Challenge!
キットカットかっとかんといかんかったとに、あんたがかっとかんかったけんいかんかったとよ

We should have bought KitKats, but you didn’t, and that’s why things went wrong.

#fukuoka #dialect #tonguetwister #japanese #language #kitkat #福岡 #方言 #キットカット #日本語　
youtu.be/rdRd1u8-tMo?...

Like a cat turns a walnut!? ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~ 猫が胡桃を回すよう #shorts #cat #japanese #walnut #猫

August 23, 2025 at 3:27 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

Like a cat turns a walnut!? 猫が胡桃を回すよう
Learn Japanese with Toby - Words with Cats

= handle something awkwardly, toy with it, or struggle to deal with it properly / waste time
#cat #japaneselanguage #wordswithcats #learnjapanesewithtoby #shorts #猫が胡桃を回すよう #walnut

youtube.com/shorts/FCq7k...

How to Conjugate Japanese Na-Adjectives ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~ な形容詞

August 22, 2025 at 3:45 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

How to Conjugate Japanese Na-Adjectives
Na-Adjectives have two functions
1) they can be predicates
2) they can modify nouns
When na-adjectives function as predicates, na is dropped.

#adjective #japanese #language #grammar #形容詞 #日本語 #な形容詞 #元気な #静かな #有名な #好きな #conjugation

youtu.be/CKAkNjQMoqk?...

Everyday Japanese Na-Adjectives with English Meanings ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~ な形容詞

August 17, 2025 at 4:03 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

Everyday Japanese Na-Adjectives with English Meanings

Na-adjectives are the attributive form of adjectival nouns, consisting of a noun plus な(na). In many cases, as in 元気な(genkina), the noun part 元気 is a two-character kanji compound.

#japanese #adjective #language #な形容詞　

youtu.be/vXVqSTrhvOE?...

How to Conjugate Japanese い-Adjectives ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~ い形容詞

August 13, 2025 at 5:53 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

How to Conjugate Japanese い-Adjectives

In English, adjectives don’t change, only the verb 'be' changes. In Japanese, i-adjectives and the copula です change their endings.

The reason why native speakers prefer おいしくありません and おいしくありませんでした

#Japanese #adjective #conjugation

youtu.be/uV2xgcATvAI?...

Everyday Japanese i-Adjectives with English Meanings ~ Learn Japanese with Toby ~ い形容詞

August 8, 2025 at 5:25 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

Learn the Most Common Japanese i-Adjectives

#japanese #language #grammar #adjective #形容詞 #日本語

Let’s look at some i-adjectives related to #temperature, #tastes, #colors, #emotions and #appearance, plus pairs of opposites. #antonym

youtu.be/H85daWoGyME?...

Two types of Adjectives in Japanese: i-adjectives & na-adjectives

August 5, 2025 at 2:50 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

Let’s Learn Japanese Adjectives: i-Adjectives & na-Adjectives

e.g. おいしい, げんきな
Na-adjectives = a type of adjective verb
All adjectives that are combined with English words are na-adjectives.
おおきい/おおきな(=big) and ちいさい/ちいさな(=small) have both forms
#japanese #grammar #adjective
youtu.be/Xr8SdS1ayro?...

Cool as a Cat’s Nose ~ Learn Japanese with Toby - Words with Cats ~ 猫の鼻と愛宕山は真夏も冷ゆる

July 28, 2025 at 4:13 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

Cool as a Cat’s Nose ~ Learn Japanese with Toby - Words with Cats ~ 猫の鼻と愛宕山は真夏も冷ゆる

#cat #japaneselanguage #wordswithcats #猫 #愛宕山 #夏 #summer #mountatago #猫の鼻と愛宕山は真夏も冷ゆる #japanese #expression

A cat’s nose and Mount Atago stay cool even in the summer

youtu.be/R5Ygyj3xE5s?...

Fukuoka Dialect Tongue Twister ~Learn Japanese with Toby~ #shorts #fukuoka #dialect #tonguetwister

July 23, 2025 at 2:42 PM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

How Fast Can You Say It? Fukuoka Dialect Challenge!
あんたあたしのことばあんたあんたいうばってん、あたしはあんたのことばあんたあんたっていいよらんとやっけん、あんたもあたしのことばあんたあんたっていわんで、あんた
“Anta” is “you" in a snappy or annoyed tone in English

#japanese #dialect #fukuoka #tonguetwister #challenge #方言 #早口 #福岡

youtube.com/shorts/oqYuh...

Can yousay this? Fukuoka Dialect Tongue Twister ~Learn Japanese with Toby~

July 19, 2025 at 9:11 AM

TobyJPN

@tobyjpn.bsky.social

How Fast Can You Say It? Fukuoka Dialect Challenge!

おとうとにおっとっととっとってっていっとったとに、なんでとっとってくれんかったとっていっとうと

#japanese #dialect #fukuoka #tonguetwister #challenge #方言 #福岡 #早口言葉 #日本語　

youtu.be/Ywl5-H1py_g?...