toast

Filed Under vocabulary, slang, 1 word difference | Leave a Comment

The word toast can mean something different depending on how you use it. It can mean

grilled bread as in “I would like eggs and toast with butter.”
something said before drinking alchohol as in “Let’s make a toast to everyone’s health.”
having something bad happen or lose something as in “I was toast in that race. The other guy was just much faster than me.”

Popularity: 44%

Jun

20

settle your bill

Filed Under Business (ビジネス), phrases | Leave a Comment

As a non-native English speaker, what does “How would you like to settle your bill?” mean? Or “How are you paying for this?”

These are questions meaning, How will you pay for something you purchased/bought?

Popularity: 33%

Jun

19

we can vs. weekend

Filed Under Pronunciation (発音), vocabulary, 1 word difference | Leave a Comment

The words “we can” and “weekend” may sound the same to a non-native English speaker, so listen for the context.

“we can” will be followed by a verb, like “We can eat cake.”
“weekend” is a noun, so it will be preceded by an article, like “We can do it on the weekend.”

Popularity: 40%

Jun

18

kind

Filed Under 1 word difference | Leave a Comment

The word kind takes on a different meaning depending on how you use it. It can mean a type or nice. Here are examples:

He is a kind person. means the person is very nice.
He is a kind of person that likes sports. means the person is a type of person that enjoys sports.

Notice that context can help you distinguish differences in the use of the word kind.

Popularity: 37%

Jun

17

home

Filed Under Grammar (文法) | Leave a Comment

Most of my non-native English speaking Japanese students make the same mistake when using the verb back and home in a sentence. They usually say, “I back to home.” but the correct way to say this is “I went back home.” The only exception is when you are talking about baseball, where the announcer might say “The ball when around the bases and then back to home.” But in this case it is short for home plate, therefore, home is acting like an adjective.