Speaking and pronunciation
Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
Speaking and pronunciation · Page 46
Why You Feel Like a Different Person in Japanese
You are funny in your own language and flat in Japanese, and it is easy to conclude that the problem is your personality rather than your vocabulary.
7 min readGiving a Presentation in Japanese Without Reading It
A presentation is the one speaking situation where you can prepare every word, which is exactly why so many learners deliver an unlistenable one.
7 min readInterpreting Between Japanese and Your Own Language
The first time somebody asks you to interpret for a friend, you discover that speaking two languages and moving between them are different skills.
7 min readReading the Room in Japanese: Kuuki wo Yomu
Someone said yes and meant no, and everybody in the room understood except you.
7 min readWhy Japanese Phone Calls Are Harder Than Talking in Person
You can hold a conversation in a café and freeze completely on the phone, and the reason is that a phone call takes away three things you did not know you were using.
7 min readHow to Practise Keigo Until You Can Actually Say It
You can identify sonkeigo on a test and you cannot produce it at a counter, and those two facts are entirely compatible.
7 min readWhat to Do When Someone Corrects Your Japanese
The correction was helpful and it cost you the next three sentences, because you were still thinking about it.
6 min readSpeaking Japanese to a Boss and a Friend at Once
Your colleague is beside you and your manager has just joined, and the sentence you were halfway through is now in the wrong register.
7 min readSpeaking Japanese With Other Learners, Not Natives
Your colleagues are Vietnamese, Nepali and Brazilian, the shared language is Japanese, and most of your daily speaking is with people who are also learning it.
7 min readThe Second and Third Conversation in Japanese
You have a good self-introduction, and the second time you meet someone you cannot use any of it.
7 min readBeing Firm in Japanese Without Sounding Rude
You have learned to soften everything, and now a delivery company has your money and you cannot find the words to insist.
7 min readCancelling and Changing Plans in Japanese
Cancelling is a small piece of Japanese that arrives at the worst possible moment, when you are already flustered and short of time.
6 min readPractical guides
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