Chihiro Hanami

Author

Reviewer: Chihiro Hanami
Japanese native and language educator with about 10 years of experience teaching and developing courses and materials.
She studied and taught in 5 different countries. Her most recent teaching role was at University of Pennsylvania in the U.S.
Other than teaching all levels of Japanese in various settings from personal tutoring to college courses, she also has experience writing articles about Japanese language and culture and teaching English.
Education: M.A. in Japanese pedagogy, Purdue University. B.A from the school of Japanese language and culture, Tsukuba University.

level3 (N3)

～そうもない / ～そうにない Meaning & Usage: “It doesn’t look like…” in Japanese

by gokigen japanese, Chihiro Hanami May 16, 2026

Introduction Have you ever wanted to say “It doesn’t look like…” in Japanese? For example: In this article, you will learn ～そうもない / ～そうにない,... Read more.

level3 (N3)

～らしい Meaning & Usage: “It seems that…” and “typical of N” in Japanese

by gokigen japanese, Chihiro Hanami May 2, 2026

Introduction Have you ever wanted to express “it seems that…” or say that someone or something is “just like a typical N” in Japanese? For example:... Read more.

level3 (N3)

Nによると (N ni yoru to) Meaning & Usage: “According to N” in Japanese

by gokigen japanese, Chihiro Hanami April 29, 2026

Introduction Have you ever wanted to say “according to the news,” “according to the weather forecast,” or “according to what my friend said” in Japanese?... Read more.

level3 (N3)

…こと / …ということ Meaning & Usage: “the fact that [Sentence]” in Japanese

by gokigen japanese, Chihiro Hanami April 19, 2026

Introduction Have you ever wanted to express “the fact that ” in Japanese? For example: When you want to nominalize a whole sentence and treat it like “the... Read more.

level3 (N3)

Verb + ことは / ことが / ことを Meaning & Usage: “V-ing / to V” in Japanese

by gokigen japanese, Chihiro Hanami April 12, 2026

Introduction Have you ever wanted to say “Exercising is good for your body,” “I’m bad at speaking in front of people,” or “I’m thinking about quitting... Read more.

level3 (N3)

〜というより Meaning & Usage: “Rather than A, (it’s) more like B” in Japanese

by gokigen japanese, Chihiro Hanami April 5, 2026

Introduction Do you know how to say “Something is closer to B than A,” or “Rather than A, it is more like B” in Japanese? For example: When... Read more.

level3 (N3)

…ということだ Meaning & Usage: “I heard that…” / “So that means…” in Japanese

by gokigen japanese, Chihiro Hanami April 4, 2026

Introduction Have you ever wanted to say “I heard that it will rain tomorrow” or “So you mean the person in charge is changing, right?” in Japanese? For... Read more.

level3 (N3)

XというのはYのことだ / Yということだ Meaning & Usage: “X is Y / X means Y” in Japanese

by gokigen japanese, Chihiro Hanami March 29, 2026

Introduction Have you ever wanted to ask “What does this word mean?” or explain “X means Y” in Japanese? When you want to explain the meaning of a word or... Read more.

level3 (N3)

N1をN2と言う (N1 o N2 to iu) Meaning & Usage: “N1 is called N2” in Japanese

by gokigen japanese, Chihiro Hanami March 22, 2026

Introduction Have you ever wanted to say “This is called X” or “A person like that is called Y” in Japanese? When you want to show the name of a thing, person,... Read more.

level3 (N3)

Nに対して (N ni taishite) Meaning & Usage: “Toward / to / against” in Japanese

by gokigen japanese, Chihiro Hanami March 21, 2026

Introduction Have you ever wanted to say “be kind to children,” “feel angry toward someone,” or “In contrast to X, Y…” in Japanese? When you want to... Read more.