Grammar
Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
Grammar · Page 11
Japanese Conjunctions: Soshite, Demo, Dakara and Other Sentence Starters
Japanese conjunctions that open a sentence, such as demo, dakara and sorekara, are how you link ideas when you speak in more than one short sentence at a time.
12 min readNaide vs Nakute in Japanese: Without Doing, Please Don't and Because Not
Naide and nakute both come from the nai form and both look like a negative te form, but they do different jobs, and swapping them is one of the most common intermediate mistakes.
10 min readTagaru and Garu in Japanese: Talking About Other People's Feelings
In Japanese you can say I'm cold or I want to go directly, but saying that someone else is cold or wants to go needs extra grammar, and garu and tagaru are the main tools for it.
10 min readE vs Ni in Japanese: Direction, Destination and E no
With verbs of movement, e and ni often seem to mean exactly the same thing, but they have different core meanings, and outside a small overlap only one of them is correct.
10 min readKuse ni in Japanese: Even Though, With Blame (and Kuse as Habit)
Kuse ni translates as even though, but it carries blame, and using it in the wrong place can make a simple observation sound like an insult.
10 min readNi Totte in Japanese: For, To and From the Standpoint Of
Ni totte is how Japanese says that something is important, difficult or meaningful for a particular person, and it is one of the most useful N3 patterns for talking about values and opinions.
11 min readTo Shite in Japanese: As, In the Role Of, and Not Even One
To shite is the Japanese way of saying as a teacher, as a company or as a gift, and with a few small additions it also covers speaking for myself and not a single one.
11 min readNi Shite wa vs Wari ni: Saying For and Considering in Japanese
When something is surprisingly good or bad given what you expected, Japanese reaches for ni shite wa or wari ni, and choosing the right one is a classic N3 question.
11 min readMai in Japanese: The Negative Volitional, Will Not and Probably Not
Mai is the negative partner of the volitional form: it says I will not or it probably will not, and it lives mainly in writing, speeches and a handful of fixed expressions.
10 min readTsutsu and Tsutsu Aru in Japanese: While, Although and In Progress
Tsutsu is the written, formal cousin of nagara, and with two small additions it also means although and is in the process of.
10 min readThe Tte Particle in Japanese: Quoting, Hearsay and Casual Topics
Tte is the small word that makes spoken Japanese sound spoken: it quotes, reports what you heard, introduces a topic and adds insistence, all in one syllable.
12 min readWake ni wa Ikanai in Japanese: Can't Very Well and Have To
Wake ni wa ikanai says you cannot do something, not because it is impossible, but because it would be wrong, awkward or unacceptable in the situation.
11 min readPractical guides
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