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Because cats are the true universal language.

We recently saw how you can spice up your language learning with some incredibly useful useless phrases in Japanese, but it’s time to take it to the next level. It’s time to learn about the most important topic that is absolutely mandatory for all language learners.
It’s time to learn how to talk about cats.

The book nekotan is gives Japanese speakers the chance to learn how to say certain cat-related phrases in English, but it works just as well the other way around. So let’s take a look at some of the pages and see how you can impress your Japanese friends when you say some oddly specific things about their cats.

▼ The cover of the book on the right, with our first sample cat-phrases on the left.

English: “The cat curls up asleep in a pan.”
Japanese: Sono neko wa nabe no naka ni maruku natte nemasu.

English: “hold a stuffed animal”
Japanese: nuigurumi o dakimasu

 

 

English: “rub against each other”
Japanese: Suri suri shi au.

English: “My cat often rubs its cheek on me.”
Japanese: Uchi no neko wa hoho o suri suri shite kuru.

English: “roll around on its back”
Japanese: Korogatte jimen ni senaka o kosuri tsukeru.

 

English: “It rains cats and dogs.”
Japanese: Dosha buri no ame da.

English: “Cats hide their claws.”
Japanese: Neko wa tsume o kakusu.

 
English: “When the cat’s away, the mice will play.”
Japanese: Neko no inu ma ni nezumi ga asobu.

English: “[put a] bell [on] the cat”
Japanese: Neko no kubi ni suzu o tsukeru.

Face: kao, Brow: mayu, Eyes: me, Ears: mimi
Cheek: hoho, Nose: hana, Muzzle: mazuru, Mouth: kuchi, Whiskers: hige
 
English: “with flatten[ed] ears/airplane ears”
Japanese: Ika mimi ni naru.

English: “Defensive cats flatten their ears.”
Japanese: Neko wa keikai suru to mimi o fusemasu.

So apparently flattened ears in Japanese translates to ika mimi, “squid ears?” Hey, I learned something new today!

Ready to make a whole lot of Japanese cat friends? You can order your own copy of nekotan at Amazon Japan for 1,404 yen (US$13). The cat will never have your tongue again when you’re loaded up with all these useful phrases!