Concepts
Wabi-sabi, amae, honne and tatemae: Japanese ideas with no exact English equivalent.
100 entriesTap a title to open the full entry: three lengths of English explanation, the questions people actually ask, ready-made phrases and audio.
Essential（31）
- ConceptsEssential okagesama deおかげさまでthanks to you and to unseen help
- ConceptsEssential omotenashiおもてなしJapanese hospitality
- ConceptsEssential otagaisamaお互いさまwe all need help sometimes, so no debt is owed
- ConceptsEssential ojama shimasuお邪魔しますwhat you say when entering someone's home
- ConceptsEssential otentosama ga miteiruお天道様が見ているthe sun is watching you
- ConceptsEssential ganbatteがんばってthe encouragement that is not quite good luck
- ConceptsEssential jankenじゃんけんrock-paper-scissors, used by adults to decide almost anything
- ConceptsEssential tadaima and okaeriただいま・おかえりthe greeting exchanged when someone comes home
- ConceptsEssential mottainaiもったいないwhat a waste
- ConceptsEssential yoroshiku onegaishimasuよろしくお願いしますthe phrase with no English equivalent
- ConceptsEssential aisatsu挨拶greetings as a social duty
- ConceptsEssential isshokenmei一生懸命with everything you have
- ConceptsEssential kanji hiragana katakana漢字・ひらがな・カタカナwhy Japanese is written with three writing systems at once
- ConceptsEssential kansai-ben関西弁the dialect spoken around Osaka and Kyoto
- ConceptsEssential go ni itte wa go ni shitagae郷に入っては郷に従えwhen in a place, follow its ways
- ConceptsEssential omoiyari思いやりimagining how the other person feels
- ConceptsEssential nanakorobi yaoki七転び八起きfall seven times, get up eight
- ConceptsEssential deru kui wa utareru出る杭は打たれるthe stake that sticks out gets hammered down
- ConceptsEssential josushi助数詞the counters Japanese puts after a number
- ConceptsEssential ishi no ue nimo sannen石の上にも三年three years sitting on a stone
- ConceptsEssential senpai and kohai先輩・後輩seniors and juniors
- ConceptsEssential bachi ga ataru罰が当たるdivine or karmic punishment for wrongdoing
- ConceptsEssential meiwaku wo kakenai迷惑をかけないnot causing trouble for others
- ConceptsEssential wasei-eigo和製英語English-looking words made in Japan
- CraftsEssential kintsugi金継ぎrepairing broken pottery with lacquer and gold
- FolkloreEssential engi縁起whether something is considered lucky or unlucky
- MannersEssential sanzukeさん付けwhy names always have something attached
- MannersEssential sumimasenすみませんsorry / excuse me / thank you
- Pop CultureEssential kawaiiかわいいthe aesthetic of cuteness
- ShintoEssential mushukyo無宗教saying you have no religion while keeping its customs
- Work CultureEssential otsukaresamaお疲れさまthe all-purpose word for acknowledging someone's work
Standard（45）
- BuddhismStandard inga oho因果応報what you do comes back
- Martial ArtsStandard maai間合いthe right distance from your opponent, and by extension, good timing
- Martial ArtsStandard keiko稽古training in a traditional art or martial art
- ConceptsStandard uchi and sotoウチとソトinside group and outside group
- ConceptsStandard shitsukeしつけbringing up a child to behave considerately
- ConceptsStandard ichigo ichie一期一会one time, one meeting
- ConceptsStandard ichizu一途single-minded devotion to one person or thing
- ConceptsStandard en縁the connection between people that brings them together
- ConceptsStandard enryo遠慮holding back out of consideration
- ConceptsStandard on恩a debt of gratitude that you carry and repay
- ConceptsStandard gaman我慢enduring without complaint
- ConceptsStandard kao wo tateru顔を立てるletting someone keep their standing in front of others
- ConceptsStandard ki ga kiku気が利くnoticing what's needed and acting on it without being asked
- ConceptsStandard kikubari気配りproactive thoughtfulness toward others' needs
- ConceptsStandard kuki wo yomu空気を読むreading the room
- ConceptsStandard konjo根性grit, and the training culture built around it
- ConceptsStandard sassuru察するworking out what someone means without being told
- ConceptsStandard shikatanai仕方ないit cannot be helped
- ConceptsStandard shoshinsha and kuroto初心者と玄人the words for a beginner and a true expert
- ConceptsStandard miuchi to yososama身内とよそ様insiders and the outside world
- ConceptsStandard mizu ni nagasu水に流すletting the past wash away
- ConceptsStandard kazoedoshi数え年the old way of counting age, from one at birth
- ConceptsStandard seken世間the watching public around you
- ConceptsStandard sekentei世間体how you look to the people around you
- ConceptsStandard ikigai生きがいwhat makes life worth living
- ConceptsStandard haji恥shame as a social brake
- ConceptsStandard hara hachibunme腹八分目eating to eighty percent full
- ConceptsStandard bun o wakimaeru分をわきまえるknowing and staying within your place
- ConceptsStandard hogen方言the regional dialects of Japanese
- ConceptsStandard honne and tatemae本音と建前true feelings and public face
- ConceptsStandard mujo無常the impermanence of everything
- ConceptsStandard myoji名字Japanese family names and where they came from
- ConceptsStandard ryukogo taisho流行語大賞the annual award for new words, and what it really measures
- ConceptsStandard wa和harmony as the thing a group protects
- ConceptsStandard wabi-sabi侘び寂びbeauty in imperfection and age
- ConceptsStandard sontaku忖度acting on what you guess a superior wants, without being told
- ConceptsStandard kizuna絆the bond between people who will not let go of each other
- MannersStandard yubisashi to temaneki指さしと手招きgestures that mean something different in Japan
- MannersStandard ayamaru謝るwhy Japanese people apologize first
- MannersStandard senjitsu wa domo先日はどうもthanking someone again next time
- MannersStandard dogeza土下座kneeling with your forehead on the floor
- Seasons & NatureStandard shochikubai松竹梅pine, bamboo and plum
- Seasons & NatureStandard mushi no koe o kiku虫の声を聴くenjoying the sound of autumn insects
- Seasons & NatureStandard satoyama里山the managed woodland between the village and the mountain
- ShintoStandard shinto to shizen神道と自然the animism at the heart of Shinto belief
Advanced（24）
- ArtsAdvanced iemoto家元the head of a school of a traditional art
- Martial ArtsAdvanced osu押忍the all-purpose word shouted in martial arts dojos
- Martial ArtsAdvanced menkyo kaiden免許皆伝a master's certificate showing a student has learned everything a school teaches
- ConceptsAdvanced kejimeけじめdrawing a clear line between one thing and another
- ConceptsAdvanced mono no awareもののあはれthe sadness of passing things
- ConceptsAdvanced ishin denshin以心伝心understanding without words
- ConceptsAdvanced kachofugetsu花鳥風月flower, bird, wind and moon
- ConceptsAdvanced amae甘えdepending on another person's goodwill
- ConceptsAdvanced ma間the meaningful gap
- ConceptsAdvanced giri義理social obligation you cannot refuse
- ConceptsAdvanced isagiyosa潔さaccepting defeat cleanly
- ConceptsAdvanced kotodama言霊the belief that spoken words carry power
- ConceptsAdvanced sanpo yoshi三方よしgood for the seller, the buyer and society
- ConceptsAdvanced shu ha ri守破離the three stages of learning a traditional art
- ConceptsAdvanced jukyo儒教Confucian ideas as they took root in Japan
- ConceptsAdvanced shoshin wasuru bekarazu初心忘るべからずnever forget how you began
- ConceptsAdvanced iki粋the understated stylishness of Edo townspeople
- ConceptsAdvanced yaoyorozu no kami八百万の神the eight million gods
- ConceptsAdvanced yugen幽玄depth that is felt rather than shown
- HistoryAdvanced kokugaku国学the Edo-period study of Japan's own classics
- HistoryAdvanced bushido武士道the way of the warrior
- HistoryAdvanced bunkazai no seido文化財の制度how Japan designates national treasures and protects its heritage
- Onsen & BathAdvanced karasu no gyozui烏の行水a bath so quick it's like a crow splashing in water
- ShintoAdvanced kamisama no kazoekata神様の数え方why Japanese counts gods with the word for pillar