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 106
AI Japanese Tutor on Mobile vs Desktop: Short Sessions, Long Role-Plays, Mics
A phone is for short, frequent Japanese conversations wherever you are, and a desk is for longer role-plays with notes and a big screen; most learners get the best results by using both for different jobs.
13 min readAI Japanese Tutor Progress Tracking: Metrics, Logs and Monthly Self-Tests
Progress with an AI Japanese tutor shows up as fewer corrections for the same task, more topics you can hold without help and phrases that survive a month, so track those three and ignore the rest.
13 min readJapanese Learning with a Smart Speaker: Commands, Timers, News and Music
A smart speaker set to Japanese gives you a listener that never tires of the same twenty sentences, answers in natural speech and quietly tells you, by misunderstanding, when your pronunciation needs work.
13 min readJapanese Learning with Ebooks and a Reader: Dictionaries, Furigana and a Routine
An e-reader turns Japanese reading from a dictionary-heavy slog into something you can do on the sofa, because a tap on any word gives you its reading and meaning without breaking the sentence.
13 min readJapanese Spaced Repetition vs AI Conversation: What Each Does, How to Combine
Spaced repetition keeps words from fading and AI conversation teaches you to use them under pressure; neither replaces the other, and a week that has both is the fastest route to speaking.
13 min readHow to Say Happy Birthday in Japanese: Spoken Wishes for Every Person
Happy birthday in Japanese is tanjōbi omedetō to a friend and o-tanjōbi omedetō gozaimasu to anyone you speak to politely, and the choice between the two versions tells the listener how close you are.
13 min readHow to Say How Do You Say in Japanese: Nan to Iimasu ka and Friendlier Forms
How do you say in Japanese is X wa nihongo de nan to iimasu ka in polite speech, nan te iu no with friends, and nan te yomu no when you can see a word written but cannot read it out loud.
13 min readHow to Say I Can't Make It in Japanese: Polite Ways to Decline and Cancel
I can't make it in Japanese is ikenaku natta to a friend and ikenaku narimashita or tsugō ga waruku narimashite to a colleague, and the polite versions almost always come with an apology first and an alternative afterwards.
13 min readHow to Say See You Tomorrow in Japanese: Mata Ashita and Its Polite Forms
See you tomorrow in Japanese is mata ashita, and the phrase grows a soft ne with friends, a polite otsukaresama deshita in front of it at work, and shitsurei shimasu after it when you leave a teacher or a boss.
12 min readHow to Say What Do You Do in Japanese: Asking About Work Politely
What do you do in Japanese is o-shigoto wa nan desu ka in polite speech, and in real conversation it is usually shortened to o-shigoto wa, with a rising tone, because the unfinished question feels gentler than the full one.
12 min readHow to Say Could You in Japanese: The Request Ladder from Kudasai Upwards
Could you in Japanese is a ladder rather than a single phrase: te kudasai for plain requests, te kuremasen ka and te moraemasu ka for everyday politeness, te itadakemasu ka for customers and superiors, and te itadakenai deshō ka when the favour is large.
13 min readHow to Say Good Evening in Japanese: Konbanwa, When It Starts and Who Says It
Good evening in Japanese is konbanwa, written こんばんは, used from roughly dusk onwards when you meet or call someone you are not close to; family, close friends and colleagues you have already seen that day usually greet each other some other way.
13 min readPractical guides
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