blog
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Making Plans in Japanese: How to Suggest, Invite, Accept, and Decline
You have been studying Japanese for a while now, and you finally want to make real plans with native speakers. Maybe you want to invite a friend to dinner, or a colleague asks if you are free on Saturday. What do you say? How do you poli... -
Japanese Hobbies Vocabulary: How to Talk About What You Like to Do
Picture this: you've just been introduced to a Japanese colleague, classmate, or host family member. After the usual greetings, they ask the question that trips up so many learners — 「趣味は何ですか？」(しゅみはなんですか？) — "What are... -
Japanese Relative Clauses: How to Modify Nouns in Japanese
In English, you say "the book that I read" — the noun comes first, and the describing clause follows it. Japanese works in exactly the opposite direction. You say 私が読んだ本（わたしがよんだほん）, which places the entire modifying clau... -
Japanese Phone Etiquette: Essential Phrases for Calling in Japanese
Picture this: you need to call a doctor’s office in Japan to make an appointment, and the moment someone picks up, your mind goes completely blank. No facial expressions to read, no time to think, and the other person is already s... -
Japanese Weather Expressions: Vocabulary and Phrases for Every Season
Picture this: you are waiting at a bus stop in Osaka when the person next to you smiles and says, 今日はむし暑いですね。 You have no idea what they said — so you ju... -
Japanese Giving and Receiving: How to Use あげる, もらう, and くれる
Imagine you want to tell your Japanese friend, "My teacher gave me a book." Simple enough, right? In English, you just use the verb "give" and you're done. But in Japanese, there are three different verbs for giving and receiving — and c... -
How to Apologize in Japanese: すみません, ごめんなさい, 申し訳ございません and More
Picture this: you accidentally step on someone's foot on a packed Tokyo subway. You reach for the word "sorry" — and your mind goes blank. Or maybe you know すみません, but you're not sure if that's strong enough. Japanese has a whole sp... -
Japanese Proverbs: Common Kotowaza, Their Meanings, and How to Use Them
Imagine you have been studying Japanese for two years, but every time you try to speak, you feel like something is missing. Your grammar is solid, your vocabulary is growing — yet conversations with native speakers feel flat, as if you a... -
に vs へ: Which Japanese Particle Marks Direction? A Complete Guide for English Speakers
You've just started studying Japanese and you're feeling good — you know how to say 学校（がっこう）に行く, "I go to school." Then someone shows you the exact same sentence written as 学校（がっこう）へ行く. Same meaning? Different feeli... -
How to Express Surprise in Japanese: びっくり, まさか, えっ, and More
You just heard that your friend passed N1 on their first attempt. Or your colleague tells you the office is closing early on a Friday. Or someone hands you a gift you had no idea was coming. Whatever the situation, your instinct is to re...
