Words February 2026 Week 1

I like to walk at a fast pace. (Walking fast is better than walking slowly but walking slow is better than not walking at all.)

Shiso is in the mint family. (I prefer shiso to mint.)

It is often called “beefsteak plant” in English. (It is also called Perilla, Perilla Mint, and Chinese Basil.)

We exercise by doing several dance steps such as the box, twist and Charleston. (This sounds like a fun exercise.)

We’ve been friends since we were 18. (They have been friends for about five decades.)

I watched a documentary about the Tazara Railway from Tanzania to Zambia. (The trip usually takes around 52 hours to complete.)

One of Anacortes’ sister cities in Nikaho, Akita Prefecture. (Ome Tokyo might become a sister city to Ome, Italy.)

A tenugui is a traditional Japanese, thin cotton hand towel, literally meaning "hand wipe." (These hand-dyed cloths are used for drying hands, as headbands, gift wrapping, or home decoration.)

I decided not to buy it. (Don’t say, “I quit to buy it.” You quit something that you have started. You were only thinking about buying it, so you decided not to buy it.)

I sometimes wear a kimono for special events. (It is difficult to get dressed in a kimono every day.)

I was hospitalized for three months. (I stayed in a hospital for about 90 days.)

The Lorelei is a rock on the River Rhine where a mermaid, or siren, lured sailors to their deaths with her singing. (The sirens on fire trucks and police cars were named after these sirens.)

There were no buses because of the snowstorm. (They arrived in Chitose airport at 4 pm and arrived at their hotel on the next day at 3 pm.)

I was on a working-holiday in Australia for nine months. (She wanted to learn English, but most of her coworkers were Japanese. Zannen!)

We stayed in youth hostels while backpacking. (Youth hostel are dormitory style and very inexpensive.)

I usually don’t watch TV. (By chance, his wife turned on the TV just as the sumo tie-breaking match was taking place.)

Last year’s model of the fridge was discounted. (Older models of cars and appliances are usually discounted.)

Our stove’s exhaust fan was noisy. (After a few days it became quiet on its own.)

Umeko Tsuda’s portrait is printed on the 5,000-yen note. (In the US we call paper money “bills” and in other countries we call them “notes.” The formal name for American paper money is “Federal Reserve Notes.)

I won a humidifier in a lottery. (She attended a boring meeting but was lucky to win the second-place prize in the lottery.)

The bouzouki is a member of the long-necked lute family. (This musical instrument is popular in Greece.)

The biwa is a short-necked lute and the shamisen is a long-necked lute. (The biwa was first used in Japan in the eighth century.)

We sat at the counter in the izakaya. (Sitting at the counter gives you a chance to meet other people.)