Romysensei
  • About
  • Words
  • Suggest a Word

Featured

五ご十じゅっ歩ぽ百ひゃっ歩ぽ

五十歩百歩 is best used when describing two things at the same basic level of skill or talent.
五ご十じゅっ歩ぽ百ひゃっ歩ぽ literally means “fifty steps, a hundred steps”, but we use it more in the vein of, “basically the same thing.” This phrase comes from an old Chinese story. There were two soldiers who retreated from the battle - one of them moved back by taking 50 steps, the other who...
8 months ago Read more
About

Hi! I’m Romy, a native Japanese speaker and teacher for over 11 years. Join me each week in exploring the etmology and kanji of Japanese words and see how interesting and fun the Japanese language can be!

Latest Words
  • 8 months ago

    猫ねこ撫なで声ごえ

    Yet another Japanese word using cats! 猫撫で声 describes someone asking for something in a overly sweet, kind way to get what they want.
  • 9 months ago

    自じ腹ばらを切きる

    Have you ever had to pay out of pocket for something your company would normally cover? Well, we have a word for that, 自腹を切る !
  • 9 months ago

    散さん々ざん

    散々 is a handy word to help spice up your normal Japanese conversation - but be aware, it has some rules to follow in order to use it properly.
  • 9 months ago

    凄すごい

    凄い is a common word in Japanese used to mean "extremely," which is surprising because long ago it had a completely different meaning!
  • 9 months ago

    白はく眉び

    If you prove yourself to be the best of the best in a competition, one might say you have "white eyebrows!"