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 124
Japanese at a Driving School: Enrolling, Lessons and the Two Stages
A Japanese driving school, or kyōshūjo, takes you from enrolment through two stages of classroom and practical lessons to a graduation test, and the whole process runs on a small, repeated vocabulary you can learn before your first lesson.
13 min readJapanese at a Game Center: Crane Games, Medals, Rhythm Games and Prizes
A Japanese game center runs on coins, cards and a few short phrases, and the most useful one is the request to a staff member to reposition a prize in a crane game, which they will do gladly if you ask politely.
13 min readJapanese at a Library: Cards, Borrowing, Holds and Quiet Rules
Japanese public libraries are free to join if you live, work or study in the municipality, and the whole visit runs on a handful of phrases: registering for a card, borrowing at the counter, returning to the box and asking a librarian for help.
13 min readJapanese at a Swimming Pool: Caps, Lanes, Rest Breaks and Rules
Japanese public pools run on a few firm rules, a swim cap, a shower before you enter, lanes sorted by speed and a short rest break every hour, and once you know the words for them the visit is easy.
12 min readJapanese for the Annual Health Check: Kenkō Shindan from Booking to Results
The kenkō shindan is the annual health check that Japanese employers arrange for staff, a fast circuit of a dozen short tests, and knowing the instructions, the station names and the four result grades makes a confusing morning routine.
13 min readJapanese at a Family Restaurant: Waiting Lists, Call Buttons and the Drink Bar
A Japanese family restaurant, or famiresu, is one of the easiest places in Japan to eat cheaply, and once you know the waiting sheet, the call button, the tablet and the drink bar routine, a whole visit takes only a handful of phrases.
12 min readJapanese at a Massage and Seitai Clinic: Kori, Hari and Asking for Less Pressure
Getting a massage in Japan means choosing between a relaxation salon, a seitai studio, a shiatsu practitioner or a seikotsuin bone-setting clinic, and then describing your stiff shoulders and sore back in a few words the therapist can act on.
13 min readJapanese at a Soba and Udon Shop: Kake, Zaru, Tempura and Sobayu
Ordering at a soba or udon shop comes down to three choices you can make in Japanese: the noodle, hot or cold, and the topping, plus a few words for the ticket machine and the condiments on the counter.
13 min readJapanese for Printing at a Convenience Store: The Multicopy Machine Explained
Every Japanese convenience store has a multicopy machine that prints, copies and scans for a few coins, and once you can read a dozen words on its screen and say a few sentences to staff, you can print a boarding pass or a contract at two in the morning.
13 min readJapanese Frequency Words: Itsumo, Yoku, Tokidoki, Amari and Zenzen
Japanese frequency words run on a scale from itsumo, always, through yoku, tokidoki and tamani down to amari, mettani and zenzen, and the bottom three only work with a negative verb, which is the rule most learners get wrong.
13 min readJapanese Fruit and Vegetable Vocabulary: Readings, Counters and Shopping Phrases
Japanese fruit and vegetable words split into two groups: native words like ringo and daikon that are usually written in hiragana or kanji, and loanwords like banana and tomato that are always written in katakana.
13 min readJapanese Job Titles: Shachō, Buchō, Kachō and the Company Hierarchy
Japanese job titles such as shachō, buchō and kachō double as forms of address, so you call your department head Tanaka-buchō or simply buchō, never buchō-san, and you drop the title entirely when you mention your own boss to someone outside the company.
13 min readPractical guides
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