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 133
How to Say Hurry Up in Japanese, Politely and Otherwise
Hayaku! is easy to learn and easy to overuse. In Japanese, the way you ask someone to hurry says a lot about how you see them.
5 min readPpoi in Japanese: Sounding Like, Tending To, and -ish
Ppoi is the casual suffix that turns a word into an impression: kodomoppoi, usoppoi, wasureppoi. It is short, flexible and everywhere in relaxed conversation.
6 min readJapanese Kke: Trying to Remember and Checking What You Heard
When a name or a time slips your mind mid-conversation, Japanese has a tiny ending for exactly that moment: kke. Nan datta kke means what was it again.
5 min readMama in Japanese: Leaving Things As They Are
Denki o tsuketa mama nete shimatta: I fell asleep with the light on. Mama is how Japanese says a state stayed the same when you would expect it to change.
6 min readOkage de and Sei de: Thanks To and Because Of in Japanese
Japanese separates causes by how you feel about the result. A good outcome is okage de, thanks to. A bad one is sei de, because of, and it points a finger.
6 min readTsuide ni in Japanese: While You Are At It
Tsuide ni gyūnyū mo katte kite: pick up some milk while you are out. Tsuide ni is how Japanese adds a small extra task to a trip that is already happening.
6 min readAida and Aida ni: During and While in Japanese
Matte iru aida, hon o yonde ita: I read the whole time I was waiting. Add ni, and the meaning shifts to one event somewhere inside that time.
6 min readHajimeru, Owaru and Tsuzukeru: Start, Finish, Keep Doing
Ame ga furihajimeta: it started to rain. Japanese builds start, finish and keep doing by attaching a second verb to the stem of the first.
5 min readBa Hodo in Japanese: The More You Do, the More It Happens
Renshū sureba suru hodo, jōzu ni naru: the more you practise, the better you get. Japanese builds the more, the more by saying the same word twice.
5 min readYou to Suru in Japanese: About To, Trying To, and Refusing To
Dekakeyō to shita toki, denwa ga natta: just as I was about to go out, the phone rang. You to suru captures the moment an action is intended but not yet done.
6 min readTabi ni in Japanese: Every Time Something Happens
Kono kyoku o kiku tabi ni, gakusei jidai o omoidasu: every time I hear this song, I remember my student days. Tabi ni links a trigger to what follows it each time.
5 min readJapanese at a Theme Park: Tickets, Queues and Ride Rules
Theme parks in Japan run on signs and short announcements, and most of the stress of a visit comes from not knowing whether a ride is paused, full or simply busy.
6 min readPractical guides
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