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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Aisatsu: Giving a Short Speech in Japanese
Somebody stands up at the end of a work dinner, says your name, and hands you the floor. In Japan this happens more often than you expect, and there is a fixed shape that will save you.
9 min readExplaining How to Do Something in Japanese
Teaching someone how to do something is the moment your Japanese stops being about you. You need order words, clean steps, and a way to check they are still with you.
9 min readHow to Correct Someone Politely in Japanese
You have spotted an error in a document, a date, or something a colleague just said out loud to a client, and now you have about three seconds to decide how to say so.
9 min readSurviving a Group Conversation in Japanese
You can hold a comfortable conversation with one person, then sit down at a table of six and understand almost nothing. That is not a step backwards; it is a different skill.
9 min readWhat Japanese Shop Staff Say, and How to Reply
The Japanese you hear at a convenience store counter is some of the fastest and most formal in the country, and almost none of it appears in a beginner textbook.
10 min readHow to Speak Japanese with Older People
Older Japanese speakers are often the most patient and the most rewarding people to practise with, and also the group whose speech learners find hardest to follow.
9 min readSplitting the Bill and Paying in Japanese
The meal is over, somebody has picked up the slip, and you have about ten seconds to work out whether you are splitting, being treated, or supposed to have prepared exact change.
9 min readAsking Permission in Japanese, From Casual to Keigo
Te mo ii desu ka is the first way most learners ask permission and the last one they should use with a manager, and the gap between those two facts causes a lot of small awkwardness.
9 min readHow to Say No to Work Requests in Japanese
Saying yes to everything is not politeness, it is a scheduling problem with a delayed cost, and Japanese has a well-developed set of ways to decline that nobody teaches learners.
9 min readAt the Pharmacy in Japanese: Symptoms and Medicine
You do not need a doctor, you need something for a sore throat, and the person behind the counter is about to ask you four questions you have never heard.
9 min readExpressing Sympathy and Concern in Japanese
A colleague tells you their parent is in hospital, and the sentence you reach for in your own language turns out to be exactly the wrong shape in Japanese.
8 min readAllergies and Dietary Restrictions in Japanese
Saying you cannot eat something is easy. Making sure a Japanese kitchen understands what that actually excludes is the part that takes preparation, because the hidden ingredients are the problem.
9 min readPractical guides
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