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 ยท Page 168
Teaching Japanese to Children: A Parent's Guide
Children do not learn a language the way adults do, and most of the effort a parent spends explaining would be better spent talking. This guide covers what actually works at each age.
16 min readN2 Grammar Patterns With Example Sentences
N2 grammar is a set of short connectors that compress cause, contrast, timing, and judgement into a few syllables. This is a pattern-by-pattern reference you can read in function groups rather than alphabetical order.
18 min readN1 Grammar Patterns and How They Differ
Almost every N1 pattern has a plainer N2 relative that means roughly the same thing. What the exam tests, and what real writing rewards, is the difference between them.
15 min readDa, Dearu, Desu, Masu: Choosing a Japanese Written Style
Every Japanese document commits to one sentence-ending style and keeps it to the last line. Choosing that style first, and never drifting out of it, is what makes writing look edited rather than improvised.
15 min readNu, Zu, and Zaru: Literary Negatives You Will Meet
Long before nai existed, Japanese made negatives with nu and zu. Both survive in signs, proverbs, titles and formal writing, and a reader who cannot decode them loses whole sentences.
14 min readClassical Japanese Basics for Modern Readers
Classical Japanese is not a separate language you have to learn twice. A dozen recognisable forms explain most of the short passages a modern learner actually meets.
14 min readReading Vertical Japanese: Tategaki and Older Text
Novels, manga, newspapers and formal letters are still written down the page rather than across it. Once you know how tategaki behaves, a whole shelf of Japanese opens up.
13 min readYojijukugo: Four-Character Idioms Worth Knowing
Four kanji, one meaning, no grammar in between. Yojijukugo compress a whole idea into a single word-sized block, and a small set of them turns up constantly in speeches, cards, essays and everyday complaints.
17 min readMen's and Women's Japanese: The Real Differences
Textbooks often hand learners a tidy list of masculine and feminine Japanese. Real speech is messier, and most of what makes you sound natural has nothing to do with gender at all.
16 min readYakuwarigo: Why Characters in Fiction Speak Strangely
Japanese fiction gives characters a costume made of grammar. Once you can name the costume, you stop accidentally wearing it yourself.
12 min readJapanese Dialects Beyond Kansai: A Learner's Map
Standard Japanese will be understood everywhere in Japan, but it is not the only Japanese you will hear. This is a map of what else is out there and what to do about it.
13 min readLearning Japanese After Fifty: What Changes and What Does Not
Starting Japanese in your fifties or later is a different project from starting at twenty, but it is not a lesser one. A few honest adjustments make the whole thing work.
14 min readPractical guides
Turn Japanese knowledge into speaking confidence
Practice with Unihongo's AI Sensei in an immersive 3D classroom, with roleplay missions, pronunciation coaching, useful feedback, and learning games that build your vocabulary while you play.