Vocabulary and phrases
Practical guides on speaking, grammar, pronunciation, listening, and study planning, written for learners who want to use Japanese in real life.
Vocabulary and phrases · Page 5
VocabularyDays, Months, and Dates in Japanese Made Simple
Dates in Japanese look intimidating because a handful of readings refuse to follow the number pattern. Learn which ones are irregular and the rest of the system falls into place in an afternoon.
12 min read
VocabularyHow to Tell the Time in Japanese Without Hesitating
Telling the time in Japanese is two counters and about eight sound changes. Learn the exceptions properly and you can arrange, confirm, and rearrange a meeting without pausing to calculate.
12 min read
VocabularyJapanese Family Words: Talking About Your Family
Japanese gives you two words for every relative: one for your own family and one for everyone else's. Choosing the right set is what makes a simple sentence about your mother sound respectful rather than odd.
12 min read
VocabularyJapanese Onomatopoeia: Sound Words You Will Hear Daily
Kirakira, dokidoki, mochimochi. These are not childish extras in Japanese. They are ordinary adult vocabulary, and without them your descriptions sound oddly flat.
11 min read
VocabularyKatakana Loanwords and Wasei-Eigo Explained
Thousands of Japanese words came from English, yet they are the hardest words for English speakers to hear. The reshaping is systematic, and once you know the rules you can predict most of it.
12 min read
VocabularyHow to Memorise Japanese Vocabulary That Lasts
Most Japanese vocabulary is forgotten not because your memory is poor but because the word was stored with nothing attached to it. Give each word a sentence, a particle, and a situation, and it stays.
13 min read
VocabularyJapanese Internet Slang and Social Media Language
Japanese online is a register of its own, not a corrupted version of the language you are studying. Learning to read it is useful; learning where it is safe to speak it is what keeps you out of trouble.
12 min read
VocabularyJapanese Colours: Words, Grammar, and Everyday Uses
Japanese colours are easy to memorise and surprisingly easy to get wrong, because red and green do not follow the same grammar. This guide sorts the colours by how they behave and puts each one into a sentence you will actually say.
14 min read
VocabularyJapanese Animal Words and the Sounds They Make
Animal words are some of the first Japanese you learn and some of the last you use correctly, because each one arrives with a counter, a verb, and a sound of its own.
15 min read
VocabularyJapanese Body Parts Vocabulary for Daily Life
Body words turn up far beyond the clinic: you need them to describe a friend, book a haircut, tell a masseur where it hurts, and understand why a colleague says their hands are not free.
15 min read
VocabularyJapanese Weather Words for Small Talk and Forecasts
Weather is the first thing Japanese people say to each other and the last thing learners prepare for, even though the whole exchange runs on about forty words.
14 min read
VocabularyJapanese Food and Drink Vocabulary Beyond the Menu
Menu Japanese gets you fed. The words in this guide let you say what the food was like, ask what is in it, choose a drink the way you want it, and talk about what you cook at home.
14 min readPractical guides
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