Magical Japanese: 3x13

Sleep

This episode features words related to neru, meaning “to sleep.” Some data show that Japanese people average around only 7 hours of sleep a day, suggesting that many need more slumber. In fact, the Japanese language has a number of unique words related to sleep that describe various aspects of daily life. From his home in Kyoto Prefecture, poet and literary translator Peter MacMillan guides us through these expressions and the culture behind them.