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Learn Japanese with Michael Allen CPA and Michelle MaliZaki on Nihongo to English. In this episode we finally reach the particle と, the “to” in our name! This Genki lesson covers how to say how long something takes (1時間, 〜ぐらい, 1時間半), where 沢山 goes in a sentence, と meaning both “and” and “with,” location words like 前, 向かい, 裏 and 後ろ, and why Japanese speakers rarely say あなた. Plus: Michael’s desert campout with a secret society, Michelle’s son’s 21st birthday in Las Vegas, the 金庫 / 近郊 / Kinko’s wordplay, and our very first Twitch subscriber!

Michael Allen CPAとMichelle MaliZakiと一緒に日本語を学ぼう！今回はついに、番組名にも入っている「と」が登場！げんきのレッスンでは、「1時間」「〜ぐらい」「1時間半」など時間の長さの言い方、文の中での「沢山」の位置、「と」の二つの意味（「and」と「with」）、「前」「向かい」「裏」「後ろ」などの位置を表す言葉、そして日本語ではなぜ「あなた」をあまり使わないのかを学びます。さらに、Michaelの秘密結社の砂漠キャンプ、Michelleの息子のラスベガスでの21歳の誕生日、「金庫」「近郊」「キンコーズ」の言葉遊び、そして番組初のTwitchサブスクライバーの話も！

Support the show

🎙️ Nihongo to English — a bilingual comedy podcast by Michelle MaliZaki and Michael Allen (GoatVsFish).
No homework. Just bilingual chaos—and somehow you learn.

💌 Got a language or culture question? Email us at [email protected]
🔴 Watch us live on Twitch: twitch.tv/nihongotoenglish
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music

📱 Follow the show on Instagram @NihongoToEnglishPodcast for new episodes on the 2nd, 12th, and 22nd of each month.
👥 Follow the hosts: Michael Allen CPA @michaelallencpa and Michelle MaliZaki @MichelleMaliZaki

Theme Jingle by Michelle MaliZaki

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Learn Japanese with Michael Allen CPA and Michelle MaliZaki on Nihongo to English. This week there’s an after-work drink and a necktie worn as a headband. The Genki lesson covers past tense verbs (〜ました / 〜ませんでした) and the particle も (“also”), including にも and でも, plus 先週 (last week) and 来週 (next week). Michael shares stories from teaching English in Tokamachi, Japan: a coworker who criticized his teaching and then begged him to stay, two feuding students he made argue in English, and emergency English lessons after the big earthquake. Plus Halloween plans with Goat vs Fish, a new BBQ yakiniku session, and a listener challenge: send us your favorite Japanese and English words! 

Michael Allen CPAとMichelle MaliZakiと一緒に日本語を学ぼう！今回は仕事終わりの一杯で、ネクタイを頭に巻いての収録。日本語学習のGenkiレッスンでは、動詞の過去形「〜ました／〜ませんでした」と助詞「も」（「にも」「でも」）、そして「先週」「来週」を勉強します。Michaelが新潟県十日町で英語を教えていた頃の話もたっぷり。授業に厳しかった同僚に「辞めないで！」と引き止められた話、ケンカ中の生徒たちに英語で言い合いをさせた授業、大地震の後の「緊急英語」レッスンなど。ハロウィンのGoat vs Fish企画、新しいバーベキューで焼肉トーク、そしてリスナーへのお題もあります。あなたの好きな日本語と英語の言葉を送ってね！

Support the show

🎙️ Nihongo to English — a bilingual comedy podcast by Michelle MaliZaki and Michael Allen (GoatVsFish).
No homework. Just bilingual chaos—and somehow you learn.

💌 Got a language or culture question? Email us at [email protected]
🔴 Watch us live on Twitch: twitch.tv/nihongotoenglish
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music

📱 Follow the show on Instagram @NihongoToEnglishPodcast for new episodes on the 2nd, 12th, and 22nd of each month.
👥 Follow the hosts: Michael Allen CPA @michaelallencpa and Michelle MaliZaki @MichelleMaliZaki

Theme Jingle by Michelle MaliZaki

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Learn Japanese with Michael Allen CPA and Michelle MaliZaki on Nihongo to English, and celebrate with us! It's our one-year anniversary (一年記念), with 37 episodes and 2,500 downloads so far. This episode's Genki lesson covers how to say where things are, using koko, soko and asoko plus the location words mae (in front of), tonari (next to), ue (on top of), shita (under) and aida (between). We also learn the past tense of desu: deshita and janakatta desu. Along the way we take a ramen road trip to a bowl piled with a mountain of chashu, explain the "hashi-nashi / hashi-ari" chopstick game, talk about eating gluten-free in Japan, and compare "hair of the dog" with a Japanese pun about going back for more dessert. New episodes every 2nd, 12th & 22nd.

Michael Allen CPAとMichelle MaliZakiと一緒に日本語を学ぼう！今回はなんと一周年記念スペシャル！37エピソード、2,500ダウンロードを達成しました。Genkiのレッスンでは「ここ・そこ・あそこ」と「前・隣・上・下・間」を使って物の場所を伝える表現、そして「です」の過去形「でした」「じゃなかったです」を学びます。さらに、チャーシュー山盛りのラーメンを求めたロードトリップ、「箸なし・箸あり」ゲーム、日本でのグルテンフリー事情、英語の"hair of the dog"と「汝食い改めよ」ダジャレ対決も。毎月2日・12日・22日配信。

Support the show

🎙️ Nihongo to English — a bilingual comedy podcast by Michelle MaliZaki and Michael Allen (GoatVsFish).
No homework. Just bilingual chaos—and somehow you learn.

💌 Got a language or culture question? Email us at [email protected]
🔴 Watch us live on Twitch: twitch.tv/nihongotoenglish
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music

📱 Follow the show on Instagram @NihongoToEnglishPodcast for new episodes on the 2nd, 12th, and 22nd of each month.
👥 Follow the hosts: Michael Allen CPA @michaelallencpa and Michelle MaliZaki @MichelleMaliZaki

Theme Jingle by Michelle MaliZaki

Send us Fan Mail

Learn Japanese with Michael Allen CPA and Michelle MaliZaki on Nihongo to English! This episode tackles the Genki grammar behind あります and います — the existence verbs for non-living vs. living things — plus location words like migi, hidari, and tonari. Along the way: a snack-fueled tangent through goldfish crackers, imo kenpi, and a rice cracker shaped like a persimmon seed; the fun fact that cats sense temperature through their nose, not their tongue; a Star Trek: The Next Generation debate over whether Data the android should be aru or iru (homework assignment: check the Japanese dub of "Measure of a Man" and report back); and Michael's upcoming birthday bash, complete with a Goat vs. Fish livestream and a bass jam session. Theme Jingle by Michelle MaliZaki. New episodes every 2nd, 12th & 22nd.

マイケル　アレン CPAとみしえる まりザきと一緒に日本語を学ぼう！今回はGenkiの文法「あります」と「います」(無生物と生き物の存在動詞)、そして右・左・隣などの場所を表す言葉を学びます。おやつトークも盛りだくさんで、ゴールドフィッシュクラッカーや芋けんぴ、柿の種の形をしたおせんべいが登場。猫は舌ではなく鼻で温度を感じるという豆知識や、スタートレックのアンドロイド、データは「ある」なのか「いる」なのかを巡る白熱討論(日本語吹替版「人間の資格」を確認する宿題付き)、そしてマイケルの誕生日パーティー(ゴート・バーサス・フィッシュのライブ配信とベース(?)演奏付き)の話題も。テーマジングル by みしえる　まりザき。毎月2日・12日・22日配信。

Support the show

🎙️ Nihongo to English — a bilingual comedy podcast by Michelle MaliZaki and Michael Allen (GoatVsFish).
No homework. Just bilingual chaos—and somehow you learn.

💌 Got a language or culture question? Email us at [email protected]
🔴 Watch us live on Twitch: twitch.tv/nihongotoenglish
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music

📱 Follow the show on Instagram @NihongoToEnglishPodcast for new episodes on the 2nd, 12th, and 22nd of each month.
👥 Follow the hosts: Michael Allen CPA @michaelallencpa and Michelle MaliZaki @MichelleMaliZaki

Theme Jingle by Michelle MaliZaki

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In Episode 35 of Nihongo to English, Michelle MaliZaki and Michael Allen CPA dive into the confusing—and sometimes hilarious—world of Japanese vocabulary and language differences.

Michael talks about her experience staying overnight at a Buddhist monastery in Japan, including meditation, temple rituals, vegetarian meals, and the very important practice of temple cleaning. This leads to a conversation about the difference between a Japanese otera (temple), jinja (shrine), and kyōkai (church)—and why Michael has decided to call his own spiritual enterprise the “Church of Goat vs. Fish.”

Then it’s back to Japanese study, with vocabulary from Genki, including words for shopping, work, school, hospitals, bookstores, restaurants, time, days of the week, and more. They also tackle some wonderfully confusing Japanese homophones, including hana (flower/nose) and ame (candy/rain).

As always, Michelle and Michael get distracted, debate translations, accidentally learn things, and have way too much fun trying to improve Michelle’s Japanese.

Listen in for Japanese vocabulary, Japanese-English language differences, cultural conversations, and plenty of laughs along the way!

『Nihongo to English』エピソード35では、20年以上も日本語を勉強しているマイケルの日本語脳が、今日はちょっとお疲れ気味……。 そんな状態で、なぜかお寺、教会、仏教の修行、そして紛らわしい日本語の単語について語り始めます。さて、どうなることやら？

今回は、マイケルが日本のお寺に一泊した体験を紹介。瞑想、朝のお勤め、精進料理、そしてお寺のお掃除まで、ちょっとした修行体験です。

そこから話は「お寺」と「教会」の違いへ。さらにみしえるが思いついた、とんでもない新ビジネス——一泊200ドルで自宅に泊まって、お寺のお掃除をしてもらい、朝ごはんまで出す！——へと発展します。これ、本当にビジネスになるのか……？

そして後半は『げんき（Genki）』の日本語 vocabulary（語彙）のお勉強。買い物、アルバイト、病院、本屋、バス停、曜日、時間、動詞などを勉強します。

さらに日本語のややこしさが炸裂！

「はな」は「花」なのに「鼻」でもある。
「あめ」は「雨」なのに「飴」でもある。

20年以上日本語を勉強しているマイケルと、日本生まれ日本育ちのミシェルが、日本語の「なんでそうなるの？」を一緒に解明……できるのでしょうか？

日本語の勉強、日本と英語圏の文化の違い、発音の迷走、謎のビジネスアイデア、そしていつもの脱線。

つまり……

今回も『Nihongo to English』らしい、まとまりのない楽しいエピソードです！😂

#NihongoToEnglish #LearnJapanese #JapaneseVocabulary #JapaneseLanguage #JapaneseEnglish #JapaneseCulture

Support the show

🎙️ Nihongo to English — a bilingual comedy podcast by Michelle MaliZaki and Michael Allen (GoatVsFish).
No homework. Just bilingual chaos—and somehow you learn.

💌 Got a language or culture question? Email us at [email protected]
🔴 Watch us live on Twitch: twitch.tv/nihongotoenglish
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music

📱 Follow the show on Instagram @NihongoToEnglishPodcast for new episodes on the 2nd, 12th, and 22nd of each month.
👥 Follow the hosts: Michael Allen CPA @michaelallencpa and Michelle MaliZaki @MichelleMaliZaki

Theme Jingle by Michelle MaliZaki

Send us Fan Mail

Learn Japanese with Michael Allen CPA and Michelle MaliZaki on Nihongo to English! Fan-favorite guest Chris Crooks is back for round two, and things get delightfully weird. The gang unpacks the proverb ただより高いものはない ("nothing costs more than free") after Michael scores a wobbly free chair off the Buy Nothing app, drills Japanese verb conjugations and the word 新人 (shinjin, "newcomer") using a stack of eyebrow-raising study books, and cracks open the late Ron's inherited collection of technical Japanese translation manuals — missile diagrams, economics textbooks, and the legendary Kōjien dictionary included. Michael and Chris also bond over Final Fantasy VI piano covers, swap guitar-shop stories from Norm's Rare Guitars, and dive into the Compact Oxford English Dictionary's 500-year history of the word "tennis." New episodes every 2nd, 12th & 22nd.

Michael Allen CPAとMichelle MaliZakiと一緒に日本語を学ぼう！ファン待望のゲスト、Chris Crooksが再登場！今回もゆるくて濃い展開に。Michaelがもらった無料の椅子がきっかけで「ただより高いものはない」ということわざを学び、動詞の活用や「新人」という言葉を、ちょっと変わった参考書を使って復習します。さらに、故Ronが遺した専門的な日本語翻訳書のコレクション――ミサイルの図解本、経済の教科書、そして伝説の『広辞苑』まで――を開封！MichaelとChrisはファイナルファンタジーVIのピアノ演奏で意気投合し、ギターショップ「Norm's Rare Guitars」にまつわるエピソードを披露、コンパクト版オックスフォード英語辞典で「tennis（テニス）」という単語の500年の歴史を掘り下げます。毎月2日・12日・22日配信。

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🎙️ Nihongo to English — a bilingual comedy podcast by Michelle MaliZaki and Michael Allen CPA (GoatVsFish).
No homework. Just bilingual chaos—and somehow you learn.

💌 Got a language or culture question? Email us at [email protected]
🔴 Watch us live on Twitch: twitch.tv/nihongotoenglish
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music

📱 Follow the show on Instagram @nihongotoenglish for new episodes on the 2nd, 12th, and 22nd of each month.
👥 Follow the hosts: Michael Allen CPA @michaelallencpa and Michelle MaliZaki @MichelleMaliZaki

Support the show

🎙️ Nihongo to English — a bilingual comedy podcast by Michelle MaliZaki and Michael Allen (GoatVsFish).
No homework. Just bilingual chaos—and somehow you learn.

💌 Got a language or culture question? Email us at [email protected]
🔴 Watch us live on Twitch: twitch.tv/nihongotoenglish
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music

📱 Follow the show on Instagram @NihongoToEnglishPodcast for new episodes on the 2nd, 12th, and 22nd of each month.
👥 Follow the hosts: Michael Allen CPA @michaelallencpa and Michelle MaliZaki @MichelleMaliZaki

Theme Jingle by Michelle MaliZaki

Send us Fan Mail

Learn Japanese with Michael Allen CPA and Michelle MaliZaki on Nihongo to English's first-ever guest episode! Michael's longtime friend Chris Crooks joins for Genki house vocabulary (toire, ofuro, genkan, fusuma vs. shouji) and the aku/akeru transitive-intransitive pair — plus wasabi bean souvenirs, a monkey breaking into a Kyoto house, Keiro no Hi (Respect for the Aged Day) mochi jokes, and a Genki textbook dating story gone wrong. New episodes every 2nd, 12th & 22nd.  Listen to Chris's song awaken on SoundCloud.com 

Michael Allen CPAとMichelle MaliZakiと一緒に日本語を学ぼう！Nihongo to English、初のゲスト回！マイケルの長年の友人Chris Crooksを迎えてGenkiの家に関する語彙（トイレ、お風呂、玄関、ふすまと障子の違いなど）と「開く・開ける」の自他動詞ペアを解説。わさび豆のお土産、京都の家に猿が侵入したエピソード、敬老の日とお餅ジョーク、Genkiのデート物語のオチも！毎月2日・12日・22日配信。

Support the show

🎙️ Nihongo to English — a bilingual comedy podcast by Michelle MaliZaki and Michael Allen (GoatVsFish).
No homework. Just bilingual chaos—and somehow you learn.

💌 Got a language or culture question? Email us at [email protected]
🔴 Watch us live on Twitch: twitch.tv/nihongotoenglish
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music

📱 Follow the show on Instagram @NihongoToEnglishPodcast for new episodes on the 2nd, 12th, and 22nd of each month.
👥 Follow the hosts: Michael Allen CPA @michaelallencpa and Michelle MaliZaki @MichelleMaliZaki

Theme Jingle by Michelle MaliZaki

Send us Fan Mail

Michael Allen (CPA — Comedic Performance Actor) and Michelle MaliZaki are back with Episode 32 of Nihongo to English, the bilingual Japanese-English podcast that pairs real Genki grammar with real conversation. This episode kicks off with Michael's new 12-string guitar (used, $600, and worth every yen) and a detour into why so few comedians play guitar. From there the co-hosts dig into Japanese grammar: the tricky transitive/intransitive verb pair kaeru (変わる) vs. kaeru (変える) vs. kaeru (帰る) — change, change something, and return, all sounding nearly identical — plus frequency adverbs yoku, tokidoki, amari, and zenzen straight from Genki Lesson 6. Along the way: birthday math, the actual Japanese names for the months (ichigatsu through juunigatsu), a surprising fact-check on whether 7-Eleven and Lawson are American or Japanese companies, and why Japanese families celebrate milestone birthdays at the food court instead of a fancy restaurant. Perfect for Japanese language learners who want real bilingual conversation, cultural context, and grammar that actually sticks.

No homework. Just bilingual chaos — and somehow you learn.

Japanese description

日本語学習×バイリンガルポッドキャスト「Nihongo to English」第32回。マイケル・アレン(CPA=コメディック・パフォーマンス・アクター)とみしえる・まりザきが、今回はマイケルが購入した中古の12弦ギター(600ドル)の話からスタート。芸人はなぜギターを弾かないのか?という脱線トークも。そして本題は日本語文法。「変わる」「変える」「帰る」——発音がそっくりな自動詞・他動詞のペアを徹底解説し、Genki第6課の頻度を表す副詞、よく・ときどき・あまり・ぜんぜんも学びます。さらに誕生日トーク、一月から十二月までの日本語の月名、セブン-イレブンとローソンは本当はアメリカ発祥なのか?という豆知識、そして日本の家族が節目の誕生日をなぜ高級レストランではなくフードコートで祝うのかまで。日本語学習者はもちろん、バイリンガル会話や日米文化の違いに興味がある方にもおすすめの一本です。

宿題なし、ただのバイリンガル・カオス、それでも学べる。

Theme Jingle by Michelle MaliZaki

Support the show

🎙️ Nihongo to English — a bilingual comedy podcast by Michelle MaliZaki and Michael Allen (GoatVsFish).
No homework. Just bilingual chaos—and somehow you learn.

💌 Got a language or culture question? Email us at [email protected]
🔴 Watch us live on Twitch: twitch.tv/nihongotoenglish
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music

📱 Follow the show on Instagram @NihongoToEnglishPodcast for new episodes on the 2nd, 12th, and 22nd of each month.
👥 Follow the hosts: Michael Allen CPA @michaelallencpa and Michelle MaliZaki @MichelleMaliZaki

Theme Jingle by Michelle MaliZaki

Send us Fan Mail

Learn Japanese with Genki on episode 31 of Nihongo to English! This episode dives into Japanese grammar with the ますか negative invitation form — masen ka, "won't you...?" — straight from Genki Lesson 3, covering verb conjugation, ni vs. de particles, and the iku vs. kuru distinction (why "come to my house" and "go to Kyoto" need different verbs). Michelle brings back souvenirs from a trip to Japan, including Niigata sake, Mount Fuji-themed dishware, and a Crayon Shin-chan snack, while Michael breaks down why McDonald's becomes "Maku" in Japanese and unpacks the cultural difference between nekojita (cat tongue) and the English "cat got your tongue." Plus: a bullet train ride to Nagoya, an on-the-rocks whiskey podcast preview, and a genuinely unsettling story about a scammer with nostril hair at Haneda Airport. No homework. Just bilingual chaos — and somehow you learn.

Write to us at [email protected]

Theme jingle by Michelle MaliZaki.

日本語学習×バイリンガルポッドキャスト「Nihongo to English」第31回!今回はGenki第3課の文法、「ませんか」を使った勧誘表現(Won't you...?)を中心に、動詞の活用、「に」と「で」の使い分け、そして「行く」と「来る」の違いを解説します。みしえるが日本旅行で買ってきた新潟の日本酒や富士山モチーフの食器、クレヨンしんちゃんのお菓子も登場。マイケルはマクドナルドがなぜ「マック」になるのか、そして「猫舌」と英語の"cat got your tongue"の文化的な違いについても語ります。新幹線での名古屋旅行、オンザロックのウイスキーポッドキャスト出演の話、そして羽田空港で遭遇した鼻毛が印象的な詐欺師のエピソードも必聴。宿題なし、バイリンガルカオスだけ ― それでも自然と学べる。

メールください！！[email protected]

テーマソング:みしえる・まりザき

Support the show

🎙️ Nihongo to English — a bilingual comedy podcast by Michelle MaliZaki and Michael Allen (GoatVsFish).
No homework. Just bilingual chaos—and somehow you learn.

💌 Got a language or culture question? Email us at [email protected]
🔴 Watch us live on Twitch: twitch.tv/nihongotoenglish
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music

📱 Follow the show on Instagram @NihongoToEnglishPodcast for new episodes on the 2nd, 12th, and 22nd of each month.
👥 Follow the hosts: Michael Allen CPA @michaelallencpa and Michelle MaliZaki @MichelleMaliZaki

Theme Jingle by Michelle MaliZaki

Send us Fan Mail

Learn Japanese with Genki on this episode of Nihongo to English! Hosts Michael Allen, CPA and Michelle MaliZaki tackle one of Japanese grammar's sneakiest mix-ups: tsukeru (to pickle), tsukau (to use), and tsukuru (to make) — three verbs that sound almost identical but mean very different things (ask Michael about his slightly vulgar mnemonic device). Along the way they make cucumber pickles (tsukemono), work through Genki Chapter 3's daily schedule practice with Yamashita-sensei — telling time, days of the week, and the particles に and か — and go down a sumo rabbit hole covering yokozuna rankings, sponsor flags, and the age-old tradition of throwing zabuton pillows when a champion loses. Plus: America's 250th birthday, a Kiss tribute concert, and a World Cup memory from Michelle's years living in Japan. This is also the first episode simultaneously recorded live on the Nihongo to English Twitch channel, with real questions from live chat. No homework. Just bilingual chaos — and somehow you learn.

Write to us: [email protected]

Theme jingle by Michelle MaliZaki

日本語学習×バイリンガルポッドキャスト「Nihongo to English」第30回! ホストのマイケル・アレン(CPA)とみしえる・まりザきが、日本語文法で紛らわしい三兄弟、つける(漬ける)・つかう(使う)・つくる(作る)の違いに挑戦します。きゅうりの漬物を実際に作りながら文法を整理し、Genki教科書第3課の「山下先生の一日」を使って時間の言い方、曜日、助詞「に」と「か」を練習します。さらに相撲トークでは横綱の格付け、懸賞旗、そして横綱が負けたときに観客が座布団を投げる伝統についても語ります。おまけに、アメリカ建国250周年、KISSトリビュートバンドのライブ、そしてみしえるが日本で見たワールドカップの思い出も。今回はNihongo to EnglishのTwitchチャンネルで初めて同時ライブ配信された記念すべき回で、視聴者からの質問にもリアルタイムで答えています。宿題なし。ただのバイリンガル・カオス — でもなぜか学べる。

メール送ってね！NihongoToEnglsihNoShow @gmail.com

テーマジングル：Michelle MaliZaki

Support the show

🎙️ Nihongo to English — a bilingual comedy podcast by Michelle MaliZaki and Michael Allen (GoatVsFish).
No homework. Just bilingual chaos—and somehow you learn.

💌 Got a language or culture question? Email us at [email protected]
🔴 Watch us live on Twitch: twitch.tv/nihongotoenglish
🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music

📱 Follow the show on Instagram @NihongoToEnglishPodcast for new episodes on the 2nd, 12th, and 22nd of each month.
👥 Follow the hosts: Michael Allen CPA @michaelallencpa and Michelle MaliZaki @MichelleMaliZaki

Theme Jingle by Michelle MaliZaki