Nihongo to English

Send us Fan Mail Just in time for October, Nihongo to English (No Show) gets a little spooky. In Episode 4, Michelle and Michael explore Halloween in Japan and the fine line between kawaii (cute) and kowai (scary) —two words that sound similar but live in very different worlds. Along the way, we unpack haunted houses ( obake yashiki ), folk spirits ( yokai ), and Japan’s deep-rooted obsession with...

Send us Fan Mail In Episode 3 of Nihongo to English (No Show) , Michelle and Michael chase the kind of everyday Japanese that textbooks forget—like how to talk about paying utilities (コーネツヒ) —and somehow end up building a whole philosophy around ice cream, idols, and enlightenment . We look back at the early days of learning Japanese before Google Translate, when tiny paper dictionaries were...

Send us Fan Mail Counting to ten quickly turns into a comedy class as Michelle and Michael warm back up to Japanese and discover how easily being “rusty” becomes part of the lesson. From the art of 謙遜 ( kenson , humble deflection) to why shi sometimes becomes yon , we explore how numbers, politeness, and social instinct collide in everyday conversation. Along the way, we riff on Niigata senbei ,...

Send us Fan Mail Ever tried to learn a language by watching TV shows or listening to the news—and felt totally overwhelmed? This show is for you. In the first episode of Nihongo to English (No Show) , two comedians kick things off by talking about nothing in Japanese —and discovering why that’s often the best way to learn. We introduce ourselves, swap Niigata snow stories , and dig into the small...