Japanese learning blog
Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
All articles · Page 105
Japanese Ryo, Ryu and Rya Sounds: How to Say Ryokō, Ryūgaku and Ryōri
The Japanese sounds rya, ryu and ryo are a single quick tap of the tongue followed by a y glide, all inside one mora, and the trick is to start from ri and shorten it rather than to say r and y as two separate sounds.
13 min readPronouncing the Particles Wa, O and E: Why は, を and へ Sound Different
The particles は, を and へ are pronounced wa, o and e, not ha, wo and he, and they should be glued to the end of the word before them, unstressed and at the pitch that word hands them, rather than spoken as separate little words.
13 min readJapanese Emphasis and Stress: How to Sound Emphatic Without English Stress
Japanese has no word stress, so it emphasises with tools English rarely uses, lengthening a mora, inserting a pause, choosing a particle such as wa, koso or yo, and widening the pitch range, and importing English stress makes speech sound foreign and hard to follow.
12 min readPronouncing Japanese Numbers Clearly: Ichi, Shichi, Hachi and Counters
Japanese numbers are misheard mainly because ichi, shichi and hachi share their endings, so clear speakers keep the first mora sharp, choose nana over shichi when it is ambiguous, and learn the handful of counters whose sounds change.
12 min readJapanese Shi, Chi and Ji: How to Pronounce し ち じ Correctly
The Japanese sounds shi, chi and ji are close to English sh, ch and j but made with a flatter tongue and relaxed lips, and they are the odd ones out in their kana rows, which is why they trip up so many learners.
12 min readJapanese Pronunciation Mistakes by First Language: English to Hindi
Your first language predicts your Japanese pronunciation errors: English speakers stress and diphthongise, Chinese speakers curl the tongue and clip vowels, Korean speakers aspirate, Vietnamese speakers drop final sounds, Spanish speakers add vowels, and Hindi speakers over-aspirate and retroflex.
13 min readJapanese Question Intonation: Rising Ka, Plain-Form Questions and Ne
A Japanese question rises only on its last syllable, usually ka or the final vowel of a plain verb, while everything before it stays level, and confirmations with ne and deshō use a shorter, softer rise or none at all.
12 min readJLPT Grammar Question Types Explained: Form Selection, the Star and Text Grammar
From N3 to N1 the JLPT grammar section uses exactly three formats, form selection, sentence ordering with a star and text grammar, and each one rewards a different skill: recognising patterns, building sentences from chunks, and following an argument across a passage.
13 min readJLPT N3 Vocabulary by Topic: Abstract Nouns, Suru Verbs, Adverbs and Expressions
Typical JLPT N3 vocabulary is where Japanese turns abstract: words like eikyō, keikō and kekkyoku that describe causes, tendencies and outcomes rather than objects, and the only reliable way to learn them is inside the sentences they live in.
13 min readJLPT N4 Vocabulary by Topic: Daily Life, Work, Travel, Feelings and Verb Pairs
Typical JLPT N4 vocabulary adds about 800 words to the N5 core, and most of them fall into five topics: running a home, working and studying, travelling, describing feelings, and the transitive and intransitive verb pairs that the test loves.
13 min readJLPT N5 Practice Questions Explained: Every Format, Its Trap and How to Drill It
The JLPT N5 paper uses seven question formats, and each one has a predictable trap: knowing what the trap is and drilling for it specifically is worth more than another hundred flashcards.
13 min readJLPT N5 Vocabulary by Topic: 100 Words, Example Sentences and a Study Order
Typical JLPT N5 vocabulary is the everyday core of Japanese, roughly 700 to 800 words about time, family, school, food, movement and description, and the fastest way to learn it is by topic, in sentences, in a fixed order.
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