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Episode 4 – Kawaii or Kowai? Halloween and Haunted Japanese Grammar
Just in time for October, Nihongo To English No Show gets a little spooky! Michelle and Michael dive into Halloween in Japan, explaining words like kawaii (cute), kowai (scary), obake yashiki (haunted mansion), and go miyashiki (a trash mansion). They discover how the polite “O-” prefix can turn sweet or sinister — from “o-kane” (dirty honorable money) to new phrases born from wordplay.

The pair also unpack Japan’s obsession with cleanliness, folk ghosts (yokai), and campfire tales, and even invent a movie called “The Curse of the Chewing Gum.” 💀 Between jumpscares, they practice formal Japanese greetings like Hajimemashite and compare British “how do you do” with American “howdy.” It’s a mix of language tips, comedy, and ghostly grammar — where every word has a spirit of its own.

Highlights

• 🏮 Halloween and Japanese culture explained
• 👻 Yokai 101 — why everything in Japan can have a spirit (even gum)
• 💸 The mystery of “dirty honorable money” (o-kane)
• 💬 Formal vs casual greetings in Japanese & English
• 🎭 Mini role-play: international student meets Japanese student

Keywords / Tags: #learnJapanese, #Japaneseculture, #bilingualpodcast, #HalloweeninJapan, #yokai, #JapanesehonorificO, #kawaiivskowai, #languagelearningcomedy, #Japanesegrammar, #cross-culturalhumor

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🎙️ Nihongo To English No Show — a bilingual comedy podcast by Michelle MaliZaki and Michael Allen (GoatVsFish).
💌 Got a language or culture question? Email us at NihongoToEnglishNoShow@gmail.com

📱 Follow us on Instagram @NihongoToEnglishPodcast for new episodes every 2nd, 12th & 22nd of the month!

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In Episode 3 of Nihongo To English, Michelle and Michael dig into the everyday words that textbooks forgot—like how to pay your コーネツヒ (utilities)—and end up building an entire philosophy around ice cream, idols, and enlightenment.

They talk about:
🍵 Early days learning Japanese before Google Translate
📖 Tiny paper dictionaries as accidental fashion accessories
💸 Exchange rates, senbei aging “like whiskey,” and the mystery of 十⼋年もの (18-year-old)
🍦 The viral アイスクリーム (Aisukurīmu) idol song — and the deeper meaning of “yori” vs. “yorimo”
🎤 Their master plan to debut as Language Idols (and Michelle as the “Anti-Aidoru”)
🪷 And finally, enlightenment—Japanese-style humility and how even Buddha might say, “I’m not that enlightened.”

It’s a full scoop of bilingual banter, cultural humor, and linguistic discovery—served with sprinkles of self-awareness.

Japanese words featured:

• コーネツヒ — utilities
• 為替レート — exchange rate
• 十⼋年もの — aged 18 years
• より vs よりも — expressing comparisons
• アイドル／アンチアイドル — idol / anti-idol

✨ Listener homework:
What’s your favorite ice cream flavor—and what would your “idol self” say when fans shout 何が好き⁉︎ (Nanigaski!?)? 🍨

Email: nihongotoenglishnoshow@gmail.com

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Counting to ten turns into a comedy class as Michelle and Michael riff on 謙遜 (kenson: humble deflection), why shisometimes becomes yon, the “seven ate nine” joke, and the fine line between おごる (to boast / to treat). We wander through Niigata せんべい, “shrimp media,” and a fairy tale where Yuki-hime literally melts from too much politeness—then land on real phrases you can use without sounding… rusty.

What you’ll learn & laugh about

• 謙遜 (kenson): why Japanese compliments often get the humble “no, no, no”
• 錆びている (rusty): when English metaphors don’t quite port to Japanese
• Numbers in Japanese: zero–ten, teens, and counting by tens without traps
• Pronunciation pitfalls: 病院 (びょういん) vs. 美容院 (びよういん)
• おごる two ways: to boast vs. to treat someone to a meal (and how to say it)
• Culture corner: Yuki-hime, politeness, and speaking up before you… melt

Try these phrases

• 「すごいですね。」→ 「いえいえ、まだまだです。」(kenson in action)
• 「今日はご飯を奢ります。」(I’ll treat you to dinner today)
• 「ちょっと熱いです。」(It’s a bit hot) — polite and self-preserving!

Got a question or a clip for us to unpack?
Email the show (as mentioned in the episode): nihongotoenglishnoshow@gmail.com

We’ll feature your questions on a future ep!

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