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 171
Mieru or Mirareru, Kikoeru or Kikeru
Japanese separates seeing something because it is there from being able to see it because circumstances allow. Get that split right and a whole family of everyday sentences stops sounding translated.
14 min readMade or Made ni: Deadlines and Durations in Japanese
One small ni is the difference between working until five and finishing by five. Japanese decides between made and made ni by looking at the verb, not at the English translation.
13 min readSenpai and Kouhai: The Relationship Behind the Words
Senpai and kouhai are not ranks and not ages. They describe who arrived first, and that single fact quietly shapes how two people speak to each other for years.
14 min readWhy Japanese People Say Moshi Moshi on the Phone
Moshi moshi is one of the first Japanese words most learners meet, and one of the easiest to use in the wrong place. It belongs to the telephone, and it is friendly rather than formal.
13 min readItadakimasu and Gochisousama: What You Say Around Food
Two short phrases open and close a Japanese meal. They look like fixed ritual, but each one is doing real work, and knowing who you are speaking to changes the form you choose.
14 min readSugoi: What It Means and When It Sounds Childish
Sugoi means impressive, but it also means intense, extreme, and in its oldest sense frightening. The word is genuinely useful, and it is also the fastest way to make fluent-sounding Japanese sound like a teenager's.
13 min readKawaii: More Than Cute, and How It Is Really Used
Kawaii covers far more ground than cute. It runs from small-and-endearing to stylish-and-appealing, and it is applied to objects, food, handwriting and behaviour as readily as to babies and cats.
11 min readChotto: The Word That Means A Little, No, and Excuse Me
Chotto is one of the first words a learner meets and one of the last they fully understand. It measures a small amount, but it also softens, interrupts, and says no without ever reaching the word no.
13 min readNan or Nani: Why the Kanji 何 Changes Its Reading
One kanji, two readings, and no obvious signal about which to use. The choice between nan and nani is not random, and the rule behind it fits in a sentence once you know what your tongue is doing.
14 min readWhy Japanese People Rarely Say Sayonara
Almost every beginner is taught that sayonara means goodbye, then spends a year in Japan without hearing an adult say it. This guide replaces that one word with the parting lines people actually use.
14 min readNaru or Suru: Becoming Something Versus Making It So
One of the biggest steps toward natural-sounding Japanese is knowing when to say it became and when to say I made it. Naru and suru split that job between them, and Japanese reaches for naru far more often than English does.
14 min readDouzo and Doumo: Two Small Words That Do a Lot of Work
Dōzo and dōmo look like a matching pair, and in conversation they often are. One of them gives, the other receives, and between them they cover a surprising share of ordinary Japanese politeness.
13 min readPractical guides
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