LLearn Japanese

[Intermediate+ Advice] Before you look something up in a dictionary…. Try this for a more comprehensive understanding

  • October 18, 2025

If you want to learn a phrase or term in Japanese, try this simple search query instead of using a dictionary for a deeper and more contextual answer：

「OO　意味」　or 「OOとは」

Replace ＯＯ with the English (or Japanese word) you want to know. For new learners, 意味 simply means "meaning," and とは is the particle used when defining or giving an explanation of something. By searching this way, you are essentially mimicking the way a Japanese person would look up a term they don't know or are unfamiliar with, so you would get an explanation designed for Japanese people to understand.

English Words/Phrases with Contextualized Answers

Say you want to learn how you might say "passive aggressive." Searching passive aggression in jisho.org won't give you results as far as I am aware, but try "passive aggressive　意味" and see below:

First result (Business Consulting Blog):

https://preview.redd.it/ohlb4lc62yvf1.png?width=761&format=png&auto=webp&s=7e3ecbb69cb0233991678091f3580f5df9c15cfe

Second result (Wikipedia):

"受動的攻撃行動（じゅどうてきこうげきこうどう、英語: passive-aggressive behavior、パッシブ・アグレッシブ）とは、受け身的な敵対行動と直接的コミュニケーションの回避によって特徴付けられる行動パターンである\1])\2])。"

Third result (Tokyo Counseling Site):

" 友人のしていた行動は「受動的行動」もしくは「受動攻撃 passive aggressive」と呼ばれるものです。
受動的行動とは、問題解決に能動的に取り組めるときにそうした行動は取らず、誰かが、もしくは何かが問題を解決してくれることを期待する行動のことです。"

Words/Phrases for More Context (in Japanese)

Say you instead know or have heard a Japanese word, and want to know the context there (or learn it for the first tmie). You can do the same with the above for 〇〇, replacing it with the Japanese word/phrase instead of an English one. Let's say for example you want to know more specifically how 山並み is used so you can try this

「山並み　意味」or「山並みとは」

First result, Kotobank (Japanese online dictionary):

やま‐なみ【山並・山脈】
〘 名詞 〙 山のならび連なっていること。山の連なり。連山。さんみゃく。

Second result, chigai.site (Site used to find differences in Japanese words with simple explanations)

山なりは「山のような形を描いていること」。

いろいろな場面で使うことができる言葉ですが、例えば野球では山なりのボールといった言い方をすることがあります。

山並みは「山が連なっている状態で並んでいること」。

したがって、山なりとは意味が異なっているでしょう。

Third result, Kanjipedia

山が並び連なっていること。また、その山々。

「山脈」は「サンミャク」とも読む。

I already know the phrase "山並み", what's the benefit here? Well, there are three benefits that come to mind for looking up, in Japanese, the meaning of Japanese words you already know:

  1. Learn adjacent vocabulary: Maybe the following terms are new for you?
    1. ならび連なる
    2. 連山
    3. 山脈
    4. 山なり
    5. 山なりのボール
    6. 山々
  2. Learn how the topic/idea is perceived in Japanese contextually: In the case of 山並み, most of the results seemed to be dictionary entries, resource sites, articles, etc. What I didn't find was blogs/people posting questions around this word, which implies it is generally more understood/the context is clear. If you find a term with dozens of people giving interpolations, asking questions, debating, etc., then you've stumbled upon a phrase with more potential for ambiguity.
  3. Increase input volume: Simply by electing to look up something in Japanese to get more context, you are engaging with more and more Japanese input.

Some Other Good Queries

If you have a word with a similar word (i.e. you want to learn the difference between writing さま with hiragana or 様 with Kanji (because people do both)) you can try the following search query:

「OO　△△　違い」Where OO and △△ are two different terms.

Some other ones in a list:

Hope you guys find these ideas helpful; any other search terms you use specifically as well?

by NB_Translator_EN-JP