〃 Ditto Mark

The Japanese ditto mark, 〃, called nono-ji-ten ノノ字点, because it resembles the katakana ノ twice, officially onajiku kigou 同じく記号, works just like the English ditto mark: it's used when a part of one line is the same thing as the previous line.

The only difference being that English uses a ditto mark for each word repeated, while Japanese uses just one ditto mark for the entire repeated part.

Note that this mark is unlikely to show up in manga, or in any dialogue text. It can show in a school, an actual, real school, in class, when a teacher is writing on an actual blackboard. As well as in tables when you have multiple rows and cells of a row are the same thing as cells of the row above.

ゝゞヽヾ - Hiragana & Katakana Iteration Marks

In Japanese, the symbols ゝゞヽヾ are hiragana and katakana versions of the kanji iteration mark, kurikaeshi 々. They work pretty much the same way, repeating the character that precedes them, the main difference being that they're used with kana instead, and they're Used Less.

(note: if you saw ヽ in the furigana space, it's probably an emphasis mark instead.)

The differences between the five symbols are pretty simple:

• 々 is used with kanji.
• ゝ and ゞ are used with hiragana.
• ヽ and ヾ are used with katakana.
• ゞ and ヾ add a dakuten ゛ accent.
• ゝ and ヽ remove the accent.

(see Examples for details.)

Regarding the names of the symbols ゝゞヽヾ, they're called ichi-no-ji-ten 一の字点, "character mark [that looks like] 一," but known by the same names 々 has: kurikaeshi 繰り返し, odoriji 踊り字 etc.

Mimetic Words / Ideophones

Mimetic words, or ideophones, are words which mimic or evoke an idea. One kind of ideophone are onomatopoeia, which mimic sounds. But Japanese also features hundreds of non-onomatopoeic ideophones, like sappari さっぱり, yukkuri ゆっくり, kichinto きちんと, chanto ちゃんと, wakuwaku わくわく, pikapika ぴかぴか, nikoniko にこにこ, among others.

This post will explain how such words work.

• What are Ideophones?
• Types of Ideophones
• Giongo 擬音語, Inanimate Phonomime
• Giongo Examples
• Giongo = Onomatopoeia Sometimes
• Giseigo 擬声語, Animate Phonomime
• Giseigo Examples
• Gitaigo 擬態語, Phenomime
• Gitaigo Examples
• Gijougo 擬情語, Psychomime
• Gijougo Examples
• Other Types of Ideophones
• Words That Fit Multiple Types of Ideophones
• Drawing the Line
• Differences in Spelling
• Ideophones Written With Kanji
• Onomatopoeic vs. Mimetic Words
• Word for Ideophones in Japanese
• Usage and Grammar
• As Nouns
• As Adjectives
• Phenomimetic Adjectives
• Psychomimetic Adjectives
• As Na な Adjectives
• As Part of Other Words
• As Adverbs
• Phenomimetic Adverbs
• Oddly Specific Ideophonic Adverbs
• Oddly Redundant Ideophonic Adverbs
• Psychomimetic Adverbs
• すっかり vs. 完全に
• Sappari さっぱり
• Usage with To と Particle
• Optional To と Particle
• Quoting To と vs. Adverbializer To と
• Embedded To と
• Adverbs Created by Embedding To と
• Usage with Suru する Verb
• Feeling Suru する
• Seeming Suru する
• Imperative Ideophones
• Ideophonic Portmanteaus
• Mukatsuku! むかつく！
• How are Ideophones Made
• Words vs. Ideophones
• Ideasthtesia & Sound Symbolism
• Ideophonic Patterns
• Reduplication
• Lack of Rendaku 連濁
• Ri り Ending
• To と Ending
• Small Tsu っ Ending
• Prolongatoin
• Hiragana ー
• Degrees & Levels
• N ん Endings
• Lists of Ideophones

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia are words that imply the sound they sound like. That is, words like *bang*, the sound of a pistol firing. Or *meow* the sound a cat makes. In Japanese, such words are disturbingly common, so I'll dedicate this article to explaining them.

(In case you need it: なまえのないかいぶつ on Amazon.)

• Japanese vs. English Onomatopoeia
• Onomatopoeia Without Sound
• Onomatopoeia Made Up in Manga
• Same Sound, Different Languages, Different Onomatopoeia
• Grammar
• As Nouns
• As Adjectives
• As Verbs with Suru
• As Adverbs with To と Particle
• To と vs. Shite して
• Problems with Translating
• Spelling
• Word for Onomatopoeia in Japanese?
• Giseigo vs. Giongo
• List

"It" in Japanese - Pronoun

If you're looking for how to say "it" in Japanese, I've got some bad news for you: one of the things English has that Japanese doesn't have happens to be the pronoun "it." So there's no way for you say "it" in Japanese, as that word simply doesn't exist. The good news is: you don't need "it" in Japanese.

This happens because most of the time you need an explicit "it" in English, you can simply omit "it" and leave "it" implicit in Japanese.

But let me explain more about each use of "it" in English and what's done in Japanese instead.

• English Dummy "It"
• Japanese Dummy "It."
• The Contextual "It"
• Japanese Contextual "It."
• Gender-Neutral "It"

Zettai Ryouiki 絶対領域

In Japanese, the term Zettai Ryouiki 絶対領域, or ZR, literally "absolute," zettai 絶対, "territory," ryouiki 領域, so "Absolute Territory" in English, refers to the space of bare thighs between the skirt and above knee-length socks.

Yes, seriously. That's what Zettai Ryouiki means.

• Definition
• Chiralism
• Examples
• What Counts as Zettai Ryouiki
• Real Life Zettai Ryouiki
• Male Zettai Ryouiki
• Wrists/Arms?
• Vocabulary
• Origin
• How It was Coined
• The First Zettai Ryouiki Ever
• Golden Ratio
• 25% Tolerance?
• Actual Relevance
• Grades
• Grade S
• Wait, is Grade C even ZR?
• Song: Absolute Territory
• Also Spelled
• Zettai Ryōiki
• Zettai Ryoiki
• Derived Tropes
• Zettai Kuuiki 絶対空域
• Ten'nen Zettai Ryouiki 天然絶対領域
• Soutai Ryouiki 相対領域
• Links

ヶ - Small Ke ケ

In Japanese, the small katakana ke ケ, ヶ, is a bit different from the other small kana, in that it's not usually read ke, but instead as ka か, ga が, or even ko こ. Similar to how the small tsu っ isn't read as tsu つ.

For example, ni-ka-getsu 二ヶ月 is how you say "two months," as in counting the months. It's not read ni-ke-getsu despite having a ke in the middle.

• Why is ヶ read ka か?
• Usage in Names
• Why is ヶ read ga が?
• Why is ヶ read ko こ?

Hiragana-Chan: Android App for Learning the Kana

So I'm making an Android app for people who like anime and want to start learning Japanese. It helps memorize the hiragana and katakana. Utterly basic stuff and not really interesting for anyone who's already learned them, but should be useful for absolute beginners.

Link: Hiragana-Chan on Google Play.

Since I never made something like this before so I don't know if it works. Do post feedback in the comments below if you have any.

Yome 嫁

The word yome means "wife" in Japanese, or "bride," or "daughter-in-law," the "wife of your son," or "bride of your son," or it can mean "read!" too but that's something else entirely and has nothing to do with what this article is about.

• Kanji
• Usage
• Yomesan 嫁さん
• Oyomesan お嫁さん
• Hanayome 花嫁
• Ore no Yome 俺の嫁
• Muko 婿
• Origin
• Japanese Family System
• Obsolescence
• Mukoyoushi 婿養子

Ojousama お嬢様

The word ojousama means "daughter" in Japanese, similar to musume 娘, and it also means "young girl," and "rich girl." In anime and anime-related discussion, ojousama or ojou-sama often refers to a rich girl character.

• Kanji
• Ojou-sama
• Translation
• Girl Whom One Serves
• "Rich Girl"
• "Naive Girl"
• Ojousan
• Ojouchan
• "Daughter"
• "Miss," "Young Lady"
• "Missy," "Little Girl"
• "Lady," shukujo 淑女
• Pretend Ojousama
• Okaerinasaimase Ojousama
• Maid Café Greeting
• Ojou
• Jou
• Ojōsama, Ojōsan, Ojōchan
• おじょーさま
• Trope
• Moe Factor
• Master-Servant Ship
• Comedy Factor
• Sub-Tropes
• Personality
• Appearance
• Blonde Hair
• Drills
• Laugh: Ohoho!
• Ohoho in Japanese
• Speech
• Ara あら
• Arara あらら
• Ara Ara あらあら
• Maa まぁ / まあ
• Maa Maa まあまあ
• Desu wa ですわ
• Masu wa ますわ
• Kashira かしら

Bocchan 坊っちゃん

You might have heard the word bocchan in anime before, being used by maids and butlers to refer to a boy whom they serve, their "young master." But what's the real meaning of bocchan in Japanese?

• Written in Japanese
• Translation
• "Young Master"
• "Rich Boy"
• "Naive Boy"
• "Boy"
• Someone Else's "Son"
• obocchan
• bocchama
• 坊さん
• Origin
• bouzu 坊主
• Hairstyle
• bou 坊
• Trope
• Appeal
• Moe Factor
• Master-Servant Ship

Okusama 奥様

In Japanese, okusama means "wife." It's kind of synonymous with tsuma 妻, but that word is often used more literally, like a "wife," while okusama may be used to refer to a "wife" person, like "my wife" or "your wife."

• Kanji
• Origin
• Usage

Goshujinsama ご主人様

In Japanese, the word goshujinsama ご主人様 means the "master" of a servant, in anime, mostly of a maid. The word may also refer to the "owner" of a house or shop, to one's "husband," or to a pet's "owner."

• Kanji
• "Master"
• Maid's "Master"
• "Owner" of the House
• Shop "Owner"
• "Husband"
• Okaerinasaimase Goshujinsama
• Female Goshujinsama
• BDSM "Master"
• Figurative "Master"
• Pet's "Owner"
• Summon's "Master"
• Call Me "Master"

Aniue, Aneue, Chichiue, Hahaue 兄上, 姉上, 父上, 母上

In Japanese, the words aniue, aneue, chichiue, and hahaue mean "older brother," "older sister," "father," and "mother," respectively, the same thing as ani 兄, ane 姉, chichi 父 and haha 母. However, the words with the __ue pattern have a different nuance.

• Kanji
• Usage

Ane 姉

The word ane means "older sister" in Japanese. It's somewhat synonymous with oneesan お姉さん, but differs in usage. (see ane vs. oneesan). The "older brother" counterpart would be ani 兄, while imouto 妹 is "younger sister."

• Kanji
• Derived Words