Time to study @letsstudieren - Tumblr Blog

水無月 (mi-na-tsuki) "The month of water"

Like many countries, Japan uses a 12-month calendar. The names are very simple. January is 一月 (ichi-gatsu, literally "Month one"), February is 二月 (ni-gatsu, "Month two"), etc.

However, before the Meiji Restoration (mid-1800s) it was common to use an older 12-month system. These months’ names referenced the weather and the seasons (similar to the French Revolutionary calendar).

June is “Minatsuki” in this old Japanese calendar.

水 = water

無 = none / not any

月 = month

無 means "not any", not "of".

So why doesn't this mean "the month with no water"?

According to wikipedia, this 無 is used purely as an ateji, which is a kanji used for its pronunciation rather than its meaning. 無 is pronounced "na", which sometimes has the same meaning as the possessive particle の ("no"), thus rendering the meaning something like "water's month".

Which makes sense, given that June is usually the time of the Japanese rainy season!

certified-linguistics-moment

mugwomps

omg

#i love this #i need more linear languages in my life (?)

corvid-language-library

The most important thing I have learned from Kino no Tabi is the phrase "撫でていいですか？" (Nadete ii desu ka?) Which means "may I pet (your dog/cat etc)?"

inefekt69

Kyoto, Japan

japanwords

春分 (shun-bun) "Spring Equinox"

In Japan, 春分 (shun-bun) spring equinox is a national holiday. The week which contains spring equinox is called “o-higan”. This has connections with Buddhism, and on this day many people visit spend time with their families and visit their family grave.

“Bota-mochi” (rice cake covered in sweet bean paste) is traditionally eaten on this day.

redlipstickresurrected

Fukuōji Kazuhiko aka 福王寺一彦 aka Kazuhiko Fukuōji (Japanese, b. 1955, Mitaka City, Tokyo, Japan) - Blue Bird of Moonlight from The Light of the Sun and the Moon, Japanese Paintings: Mineral Pigments

tokidokitokyo

Seitokai’s January 2026 EN Book Club

This month we’re reading Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao! Join us for this read in Seitokai’s Discord!

On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it. Most will see only a cosy ramen restaurant. And just the chosen ones – those who are lost – will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets.

Hana Ishikawa wakes on her first morning as its new owner to find the pawnshop ransacked, the shop’s most precious acquisition stolen and her father missing. And then into the shop stumbles a charming stranger, quite unlike other customers. For he offers help, instead of seeking it.

Together, they must journey through a mystical world to find Hana’s father and the stolen choice – through rain puddles, hitching rides on paper cranes, across the bridge between midnight and morning and through a night market in the clouds.

But as they get closer to the truth, Hana must reveal a secret of her own – and risk making a choice she will never be able to take back.

Feel free to message me for more information!

holespoles

Toshi Yoshida, "Neko to Kotori"

japanwords

午 = "Horse"???? 🐎

The usual kanji for horse is 馬, so does this mean there are two ways of writing "horse"?

Kind of! Japan uses the Chinese Zodiac system in which each year is assigned one of 12 animals. When referring to these animals in the context of the Chinese Zodiac (and not as just regular animals), a different kanji is used.

If you're talking about a regular, ordinary, horse the kanji is 馬.

On the other hand, if you're talking about the Year of the Horse, the kanji is 午.

Japanese language learners will recognise this 午 as the kanji for "noon", and there seems to be something of a connection between "noon" and the Horse in the Chinese zodiac. According to Chinese astrology the Horse sign is associated with the direction of "north" (12 is in this position on a clock face), and with the hours 11am - 1pm.

japanwords

書初め (kakizomé) The First Calligraphy of the New Year

New Year's is the biggest festival in Japan. As a time for new beginnings, it is often observed by doing activities "for the first time in the new year".

The first calligraphy of the new year is called 書初め (kakizomé).

The kanji:

書 = writing (as in 書道 - Japanese calligraphy, or "the way of writing")

初 = first time

The above image is a 書初め (kakizomé) work that I did a while back when I was living in Japan.

Like most 書初め (kakizomé) works, it contains a reference to nature and a hope for the coming year.

The kanji are:

春 = spring

日 = day (or sun)

鳥 = bird

還 = return

飛 = fly

So a loose translation is "In spring days, birds fly back." The birds can refer to hope and good feeling, as well as a sign of spring.

wonderstruck

If you see this you’re legally obligated to reblog and tag with the book you’re currently reading

#the village beyond the mist #mo dao zu shi

todayintokyo

The kanji of the year is 熊 (pronounced kuma, meaning bear) due to the frequency of bear attacks throughout 2025.

japanwords

熊蟄穴 When bears begin to hibernate

The Japanese year used to be divided into 72 "micro-seasons". These seasons were based on natural events such as the weather and the appearance of various plants and animals.

Next week is the start of 熊蟄穴.

The kanji:

熊 = bear

蟄 = hibernation

穴 = hole, den

= the time when bears start their winter sleep in their dens.

You can find out more about Japanese micro-seasons here

giliszta

Sometimes I forget that native English speakers exist and get very surprised when I hear groups of people speaking it among themselves. Are you telling me it's a real language and wasn't created in a lab to be a global second language?

#this happens to me so much

sabertoothwalrus

yknow how the greener parts of apple skin are tan lines from where leaves and branches obscure the sun? I’m surprised I’ve never seen anyone utilize that for printmaking

sabertoothwalrus