Japanese learning blog
Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
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Dictation Practice for Japanese Listening
Listening again to something you did not understand rarely helps; writing down what you actually heard almost always does.
6 min readUnderstanding Japanese Station and Store Announcements
Station announcements are the most repetitive Japanese you will ever hear, which makes them the easiest listening you are currently failing at.
6 min readFollowing a Japanese Meeting When You Are Not Fluent
You followed about forty per cent of the meeting and now have to work out whether any of the sixty per cent was addressed to you.
6 min readChoosing Japanese Listening Material at Your Level
Anime is not beginner listening material, and using it as though it were is why so many learners believe their listening is hopeless.
6 min readRewatching or New Material for Japanese Listening?
The episode you have already watched three times has more left to teach you than the one you have not started.
6 min readFollowing Spoken Instructions in Japanese
Being told how to do something is different from being told about something, because you have to act on it.
6 min readThe Limits of Learning Japanese With AI
The most useful thing to know about practising with AI is exactly where it stops being reliable.
6 min readJapanese for Staying at a Ryokan
A ryokan is not a hotel with tatami, and most of the confusion comes from expecting it to be one.
7 min readJapanese for Ordering at a Ramen Shop
A ramen shop is one of the fastest speaking situations in Japan, and almost all of it is four or five fixed exchanges.
6 min readJapanese for Hiking and the Outdoors
Everyone you pass on a Japanese trail will greet you, and knowing what to say back is most of what hiking Japanese requires.
6 min readJapanese for Tax-Free Shopping as a Visitor
Tax-free shopping is a short, fixed procedure, and almost all the difficulty is not knowing which counter to go to.
6 min readAsking Locals for Recommendations in Japanese
The best thing you will eat in Japan is usually something you asked about rather than something you found.
6 min readPractical guides
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