執筆者 Modern English | 2012年06月21日 | Trivia
Challenge: Another translation of 頑張って or 頑張っています。In English, challenge is mainly used in one of two ways. We would say, ‘I challenge you to a game of tennis,’ meaning I want to play you at tennis (because I want to beat you.) This is now somewhat old-fashioned. More...
執筆者 Modern English | 2012年06月14日 | Trivia
Baikingu: This is a katakana rendering of Viking. The Vikings were Scandinavian people of the 8-11th Centuries who raided and traded mainly in Europe, but also reached as far as Canada and North Africa. When referring to the Japanese バイキング native English speakers...
執筆者 Modern English | 2012年06月07日 | Trivia
“Why was six afraid of seven?” “I don’t know, why?” “Because seven ate nine!” This is a very old joke. The number “eight” sounds like the word “ate”. If you count from seven to nine, it sounds like the number seven has eaten the number nine. In this joke, the numbers...
執筆者 Modern English | 2012年05月31日 | Trivia
“See you later, alligator!” “After a while, crocodile!” Alligators and crocodiles are both called “wani” in Japanese. Alligators live in the U.S. and China, while crocodiles live all over the world. One way to tell them apart is to look at their noses. An alligator’s...
執筆者 Modern English | 2012年05月17日 | Trivia
Do you know the difference between Japanese green tea and English tea? Actually, they come from the exact same plant! The difference is that English tea is fermented, while green tea is not. There are many different types of tea, all prepared in different ways. Why...
執筆者 Modern English | 2012年05月10日 | Trivia
What do you call hair growing on a man’s face? There are several different words! Hair that grows above the mouth but below the nose is a moustache. Hair that grows below the mouth is a beard. There are also names for different styles of moustaches and beards. Do...
