[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-articles-japanese":3,"$fHZsWYl_LcdVZ5GxKwtR-ZqvCZbbUdo2_Fi6R_GQKiQM":43348,"cms-articles-japanese-en":43350},[4,738,1041,3677,4114,5093,5991,7943,8657,9434,10707,12481,13317,14259,16214,16530,18746,19137,19878,20883,22259,23189,23503,24668,25764,27742,28715,31206,32095,32990,33713,34370,35890,36667,37713,38627,39925,40345,41110,41930,42753],{"id":5,"title":6,"body":7,"description":716,"extension":717,"meta":718,"navigation":730,"path":731,"rawbody":732,"seo":733,"stem":734,"__hash__":735,"timestampUnix":719,"slug":720,"h1":721,"image":722,"tags":727,"_dir":736,"timestamp":737},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-123.md","Mastering Japanese Numbers: How to Count from 1 to 1000 and Beyond",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":706},"minimark",[10,20,23,29,32,35,38,41,44,49,57,63,66,286,291,294,300,303,313,319,325,327,331,337,340,343,355,362,374,377,388,391,402,405,409,416,423,426,443,446,475,478,488,492,495,498,564,567,575,578,589,591,595,602,605,613,616,622,629,637,639,643,646,651,654,657,663,670,673,677,679,683,686,689,692,695,698],[11,12,13,14,19],"p",{},"You want to ",[15,16,18],"a",{"href":17},"\u002Flearn-japanese","learn Japanese",", and you decide to start with numbers. How hard can it be, right? As easy as 123, the phrase goes, after all!",[11,21,22],{},"Erm.",[11,24,25],{},[26,27,28],"em",{},"About that.",[11,30,31],{},"Counting in Japanese is kind of hard. There are two ways to say most numbers—a native Japanese way (kun'yomi) and a Sino-Japanese way (on'yomi)—and you need to use these special words (called counters) to count things.",[11,33,34],{},"We'll get to that. Brace yourself.",[11,36,37],{},"For now, let's start nice and easy:",[39,40],"toc",{},[42,43],"hr",{},[45,46,48],"h2",{"id":47},"counting-110-in-japanese","Counting 1–10 in Japanese",[50,51],"img",{"src":52,"width":53,"height":54,"alt":55,"loading":56},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese-traditional-abacus-soroban.webp",6016,4016,"A traditional Japanese abacus, called a soroban, placed on white paper, displaying the numbers 1, 2, 3 and more.","eager",[11,58,59,60],{},"Generally, for \"normal\" counting—like when you're playing hide and seek and counting to ten, or doing pushups—you'll use on'yomi readings... except for four and seven, where you'll sometimes use kun'yomi readings. ",[26,61,62],{},"(I am so sorry.)",[11,64,65],{},"Behold:",[67,68,69,86],"table",{},[70,71,72],"thead",{},[73,74,75,80,83],"tr",{},[76,77,79],"th",{"align":78},"center","Numeral",[76,81,82],{"align":78},"Kanji",[76,84,85],{},"Romaji",[87,88,89,113,129,145,161,184,200,216,238,254,270],"tbody",{},[73,90,91,95,110],{},[92,93,94],"td",{"align":78},"0",[92,96,97,102,106,107],{"align":78},[98,99],"typo",{"lang":100,"syntax":101},"ja","零[れい]",[103,104],"custom-audio",{"src":105,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F零.m4a","・ゼロ",[103,108],{"src":109,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fゼロ.m4a",[92,111,112],{},"rei・zero",[73,114,115,118,126],{},[92,116,117],{"align":78},"1",[92,119,120,123],{"align":78},[98,121],{"lang":100,"syntax":122},"一[いち]",[103,124],{"src":125,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F一.m4a",[92,127,128],{},"ichi",[73,130,131,134,142],{},[92,132,133],{"align":78},"2",[92,135,136,139],{"align":78},[98,137],{"lang":100,"syntax":138},"二[に]",[103,140],{"src":141,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F二.m4a",[92,143,144],{},"ni",[73,146,147,150,158],{},[92,148,149],{"align":78},"3",[92,151,152,155],{"align":78},[98,153],{"lang":100,"syntax":154},"三[さん]",[103,156],{"src":157,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F三.m4a",[92,159,160],{},"san",[73,162,163,166,181],{},[92,164,165],{"align":78},"4",[92,167,168,171,174,175,178],{"align":78},[98,169],{"lang":100,"syntax":170},"四[し]",[103,172],{"src":173,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F四・し.m4a","・",[98,176],{"lang":100,"syntax":177},"四[よん]",[103,179],{"src":180,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F四.m4a",[92,182,183],{},"shi・yon",[73,185,186,189,197],{},[92,187,188],{"align":78},"5",[92,190,191,194],{"align":78},[98,192],{"lang":100,"syntax":193},"五[ご]",[103,195],{"src":196,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F五.m4a",[92,198,199],{},"go",[73,201,202,205,213],{},[92,203,204],{"align":78},"6",[92,206,207,210],{"align":78},[98,208],{"lang":100,"syntax":209},"六[ろく]",[103,211],{"src":212,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F六.m4a",[92,214,215],{},"roku",[73,217,218,221,235],{},[92,219,220],{"align":78},"7",[92,222,223,226,174,229,232],{"align":78},[98,224],{"lang":100,"syntax":225},"七[しち]",[103,227],{"src":228,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F七・しち.m4a",[98,230],{"lang":100,"syntax":231},"七[なな]",[103,233],{"src":234,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F七.m4a",[92,236,237],{},"shichi・nana",[73,239,240,243,251],{},[92,241,242],{"align":78},"8",[92,244,245,248],{"align":78},[98,246],{"lang":100,"syntax":247},"八[はち]",[103,249],{"src":250,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F八.m4a",[92,252,253],{},"hachi",[73,255,256,259,267],{},[92,257,258],{"align":78},"9",[92,260,261,264],{"align":78},[98,262],{"lang":100,"syntax":263},"九[きゅう]",[103,265],{"src":266,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F九.m4a",[92,268,269],{},"kyuu",[73,271,272,275,283],{},[92,273,274],{"align":78},"10",[92,276,277,280],{"align":78},[98,278],{"lang":100,"syntax":279},"十[じゅう]",[103,281],{"src":282,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F十.m4a",[92,284,285],{},"juu",[287,288,290],"centered-text",{"italic":289},"","\n In the above table, the left-hand side numbers use on'yomi readings. ゼロ is a foreign loan word, and then よん (yon) and なな (nana) are kun'yomi readings. \n",[292,293],"br",{},[11,295,296,297],{},"To address the obvious question on your mind: ",[26,298,299],{},"\"For the love of Migachu's cute purple tail, why are there two different ways to say four and seven?\"",[11,301,302],{},"Well, answering that question would be a long history lesson... but, in practice:",[304,305,306,310],"ul",{},[307,308,309],"li",{},"When counting up, four and seven are read し (shi) and しち (shichi), respectively—the on'yomi readings.",[307,311,312],{},"When counting down, they are read as よん (yon) and なな (nana), respectively—the kun'yomi readings.",[11,314,315,318],{},[26,316,317],{},"However",", when using counters (discussed a few sections down below), when using numbers bigger than ten, and in almost all other cases—you'll use kun'yomi (よん and なな) to count four and seven.",[320,321,322],"blockquote",{},[11,323,324],{},"Last but not least, for whatever reason, Japan liked the word \"zero\" so much that they yoinked it right out of English and started using it for 0. Don't try to make sense of it. Just go with it.",[42,326],{},[45,328,330],{"id":329},"counting-from-11100-in-japanese","Counting from 11–100 in Japanese",[11,332,333,336],{},[26,334,335],{},"Sheesh",", that was rough.",[11,338,339],{},"Thankfully, the rest of Japanese numbers are pretty straightforward. In fact, the Japanese counting system is even more consistent than ours in English!",[11,341,342],{},"When counting from 11–99, you'll have three columns of numbers: [X] [Y] [Z]",[344,345,346,349,352],"ol",{},[307,347,348],{},"The number in spot [X] tells you how many 10s there are (only used for 20+)",[307,350,351],{},"The number in spot [Y] is ten",[307,353,354],{},"The number in spot [Z] tells you how many ones there are",[11,356,357,358,361],{},"So... let's say you want to say ",[26,359,360],{},"twelve"," in Japanese. That's ten plus two, and in Japanese, it's literally just ten and two:",[304,363,364],{},[307,365,366,369,370,373],{},[98,367],{"lang":100,"syntax":368},"十二[じゅうに]","\n \n",[103,371],{"src":372,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F十二.m4a","\n = 12 (literally: ten two)\n",[11,375,376],{},"When you move up to twenty, now you have to begin specifying how many tens there are. So, twenty is two tens:",[304,378,379],{},[307,380,381,369,384,387],{},[98,382],{"lang":100,"syntax":383},"二十[にじゅう]",[103,385],{"src":386,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F二十.m4a","\n = 20 (literally: two ten)\n",[11,389,390],{},"Now let's combine those two concepts with 99. That's nine tens plus nine, as shown below:",[304,392,393],{},[307,394,395,369,398,401],{},[98,396],{"lang":100,"syntax":397},"九十九[きゅうじゅうきゅう]",[103,399],{"src":400,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F九十九.m4a","\n = 99 (literally: nine ten nine)\n",[11,403,404],{},"That's it! There's no funny business like \"three ten\" becoming \"thirty\" or \"one five\" becoming fifteen. It's a bit different than English, but it's completely consistent, and it'll be second nature in no time.",[45,406,408],{"id":407},"counting-numbers-bigger-than-100-in-japanese","Counting numbers bigger than 100 in Japanese",[11,410,411,412,415],{},"For 100–999, the process is exactly the same—the only difference is that you now need the word for one hundred, which is ",[98,413],{"lang":100,"syntax":414},"百[ひゃく]",".",[11,417,418,419,422],{},"To bust out those columns again, you'll end up using ",[26,420,421],{},"five"," numbers to count hundreds in Japanese:",[11,424,425],{},"When counting from 100–999, you'll have five columns of numbers: [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z]",[344,427,428,431,434,437,440],{},[307,429,430],{},"[V] tells you how many 100s there are (only used for 200+)",[307,432,433],{},"[W] is for 100",[307,435,436],{},"[X] tells you how many 10s there are (only used for 20+)",[307,438,439],{},"[Y] is for 10",[307,441,442],{},"[Z] tells you how many ones there are",[11,444,445],{},"And here are a few examples for you:",[304,447,448,457,466],{},[307,449,450,369,453,456],{},[98,451],{"lang":100,"syntax":452},"百二十三[ひゃくにじゅうさん]",[103,454],{"src":455,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-123.mp3","\n = 123\n",[307,458,459,369,462,465],{},[98,460],{"lang":100,"syntax":461},"四百五十六[よんひゃくごじゅうろく]",[103,463],{"src":464,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-456.mp3","\n = 456\n",[307,467,468,369,471,474],{},[98,469],{"lang":100,"syntax":470},"九百九十九[きゅうひゃくきゅうじゅうきゅう]",[103,472],{"src":473,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-999.mp3","\n = 999\n",[11,476,477],{},"Notice how that's 百二十三, and not 一百二十三. Remember, you only need to specify how many hundreds there are if there is more than one.",[320,479,480,483,485],{},[287,481,482],{"bold":289,"underline":289},"\nIMPORTANT\n",[292,484],{},[287,486,487],{},"\nIt's a bit beyond the scope of this blog post... but things get a bit more complicated than this. As with other Japanese words, Japanese numbers change their pronunciation in certain scenarios. For example, 300 is pronounced さんびゃく, not さんひゃく as you'd expect. You'll still be understood even if you get this wrong, though, so don't worry about it for now! Just keep it in the back of your mind.\n",[45,489,491],{"id":490},"counting-japanese-numbers-over-1000","Counting Japanese numbers over 1,000",[11,493,494],{},"We won't walk through the whole song and dance again, but the same process repeats as you work up magnitudes of numbers. The only real surprise here is that Japanese people count big numbers in 10,000s, not in 1,000s like we do.",[11,496,497],{},"Here are the vocabulary words you'll need for big numbers:",[304,499,500,510,519,528,537,546,555],{},[307,501,502,503,506,507],{},"1,000 → ",[98,504],{"lang":100,"syntax":505},"千[せん]"," ",[103,508],{"src":509,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-1,000.mp3",[307,511,512,513,506,516],{},"10,000 → ",[98,514],{"lang":100,"syntax":515},"一万[いちまん]",[103,517],{"src":518,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-10,000.mp3",[307,520,521,522,506,525],{},"100,000 → ",[98,523],{"lang":100,"syntax":524},"十万[じゅうまん]",[103,526],{"src":527,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-100,000.mp3",[307,529,530,531,506,534],{},"1,000,000 → ",[98,532],{"lang":100,"syntax":533},"百万[ひゃくまん]",[103,535],{"src":536,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-1,000,000.mp3",[307,538,539,540,506,543],{},"10,000,000 → ",[98,541],{"lang":100,"syntax":542},"千万[せんまん]",[103,544],{"src":545,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-千万.mp3",[307,547,548,549,506,552],{},"100,000,000 → ",[98,550],{"lang":100,"syntax":551},"一億[いちおく]",[103,553],{"src":554,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-100,000,000.mp3",[307,556,557,558,506,561],{},"1,000,000,000 → ",[98,559],{"lang":100,"syntax":560},"十億[じゅうおく]",[103,562],{"src":563,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-1,000,000,000.mp3",[11,565,566],{},"There are two things to notice here:",[304,568,569,572],{},[307,570,571],{},"Once we get to 10,000 (one ten-thousand) and 100,000,000 (one one-hundred-million), we start tacking 一 onto the beginning of the word, violating the pattern established by 十, 百, and 千",[307,573,574],{},"Since Japanese counts by 10,000s, not 1,000s, that means (a) they have a unique word for 10,000 and 100,000,000... and (b) they don't have a unique word for billion—that's just \"ten one-hundred-million\"",[11,576,577],{},"Those points aside, though, we follow the same logic as we have so far:",[304,579,580],{},[307,581,582,583,506,586],{},"34,567 is ",[98,584],{"lang":100,"syntax":585},"三万四千五百六十七[さんまんよんせんごひゃくろくじゅうなな]",[103,587],{"src":588,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-34,567.mp3",[42,590],{},[45,592,594],{"id":593},"how-to-count-things-in-japanese","How to count things in Japanese",[11,596,597,598,601],{},"Where Japanese numbers unfortunately get complex is that, outside of very limited situations, you can't actually count things using ",[26,599,600],{},"just"," numbers in Japanese.",[11,603,604],{},"To make sense of that, consider the following two sentences:",[304,606,607,610],{},[307,608,609],{},"Give me three books.",[307,611,612],{},"Give me three pieces of paper.",[11,614,615],{},"Notice how when we count some things, like \"books\", we can just attach a number directly to the noun in English... but when we count other things—like paper—we can't? That to count things like \"paper\" we need to use some helper words—bits, wads, pieces, reams, stacks, and so forth—in order to do our counting?",[11,617,618,619,415],{},"These \"helper words\" are called ",[26,620,621],{},"counters",[11,623,624,625,628],{},"There are many different counters—one for long skinny things, another for people, another for animals, and so forth—and you can't count ",[26,626,627],{},"anything"," in Japanese without utilizing its respective counter.",[11,630,631,632,636],{},"This is a relatively complex topic, so that's all the detail we'll go into for now. If you're interested in it, we've got ",[15,633,635],{"href":634},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-counters","an entire blog post dedicated to Japanese counters and counting things in Japanese",", which we invite you to read.",[42,638],{},[45,640,642],{"id":641},"japanese-numbers-are-complex-so-heres-a-structured-way-to-learn-them","Japanese numbers are complex, so here's a structured way to learn them",[11,644,645],{},"A few years ago, we got nerdy and did some complex statistical work that's unfortunately over my head. (I write stuff because I'm not good at math). Anyway, the point is this:",[320,647,648],{},[11,649,650],{},"While a typical college-educated native speaker knows \"a few ten-thousand words\", to borrow Japanese's style of counting, you only actually need to know about 1,500 words to have an 80% chance of recognizing any random word you encounter.",[11,652,653],{},"Words aren't used equally often!",[11,655,656],{},"That key insight in mind, we set out to build the most efficient Japanese course in history.",[50,658],{"src":659,"width":660,"height":661,"alt":662},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-counters.jpeg",1656,1158,"A screenshot from our Japanese course, showing how we help users learn Japanese vocabulary and grammar",[11,664,665,666,669],{},"You'll first read about how a certain grammatical structure works—such as those counters we talked about—and then commit those structures to memory by learning practical sentences where they're used. More than that, each of our sentences introduces one (and only one) new word at a time, so the learning curve is ",[26,667,668],{},"super"," smooth.",[11,671,672],{},"At a pace of 10 new words per day, or about half an hour of effort, you'll go from zero to \"ready to begin stumbling through Japanese Netflix\" in about six months.",[674,675],"prose-button",{"href":17,"text":676},"Learn Japanese with Migaku",[42,678],{},[45,680,682],{"id":681},"the-most-important-thing-to-remember-if-you-want-to-learn-japanese","The most important thing to remember if you want to learn Japanese",[11,684,685],{},"So, no doubt about it—Japanese numbers are complex. Your head is probably hurting right now. (At least mine was, way back when, when I learned how numbers work).",[11,687,688],{},"That's OK and normal.",[11,690,691],{},"Try not to stress out about it too much.",[11,693,694],{},"As you spend more time with Japanese, and you see Japanese numbers in action, you'll gradually develop a feel for how they work. It won't happen overnight, but it'll happen, even without a ton of conscious effort on your part.",[11,696,697],{},"To turn that into a mantra:",[320,699,700],{},[11,701,702,703],{},"If you consume Japanese media you enjoy, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you'll make progress. ",[26,704,705],{},"Period.",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":708},2,[709,710,711,712,713,714,715],{"id":47,"depth":707,"text":48},{"id":329,"depth":707,"text":330},{"id":407,"depth":707,"text":408},{"id":490,"depth":707,"text":491},{"id":593,"depth":707,"text":594},{"id":641,"depth":707,"text":642},{"id":681,"depth":707,"text":682},"Easily learn to count in Japanese from 1 to 1000.","md",{"timestampUnix":719,"slug":720,"h1":721,"image":722,"tags":727},1726618636628,"1-2-3-in-japanese","Learn to Count in Japanese: Numbers from 0 to 1000 Explained",{"src":723,"width":724,"height":725,"alt":726},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-numbers.webp",4032,2688,"Several wooden blocks with numbers on them.",[728,729],"fundamentals","numbers",true,"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-123","---\ntitle: 'Mastering Japanese Numbers: How to Count from 1 to 1000 and Beyond'\ndescription: 'Easily learn to count in Japanese from 1 to 1000.'\ntimestampUnix: 1726618636628\nslug: '1-2-3-in-japanese'\nh1: 'Learn to Count in Japanese: Numbers from 0 to 1000 Explained'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-numbers.webp'\n width: 4032\n height: 2688\n alt: 'Several wooden blocks with numbers on them.'\ntags:\n - 'fundamentals'\n - 'numbers'\n---\n\nYou want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), and you decide to start with numbers. How hard can it be, right? As easy as 123, the phrase goes, after all!\n\nErm.\n\n_About that._\n\nCounting in Japanese is kind of hard. There are two ways to say most numbers—a native Japanese way (kun'yomi) and a Sino-Japanese way (on'yomi)—and you need to use these special words (called counters) to count things.\n\nWe'll get to that. Brace yourself.\n\nFor now, let's start nice and easy:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## Counting 1–10 in Japanese\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese-traditional-abacus-soroban.webp\" width=\"6016\" height=\"4016\" alt=\"A traditional Japanese abacus, called a soroban, placed on white paper, displaying the numbers 1, 2, 3 and more.\" loading=\"eager\" \u002F>\n\nGenerally, for \"normal\" counting—like when you're playing hide and seek and counting to ten, or doing pushups—you'll use on'yomi readings... except for four and seven, where you'll sometimes use kun'yomi readings. _(I am so sorry.)_\n\nBehold:\n\n| Numeral | Kanji | Romaji |\n| :-----: | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------: | ------------ |\n| 0 | \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"零[れい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F零.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>・ゼロ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fゼロ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | rei・zero |\n| 1 | \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"一[いち]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F一.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ichi |\n| 2 | \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"二[に]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F二.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ni |\n| 3 | \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"三[さん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F三.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | san |\n| 4 | \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"四[し]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F四・し.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>・\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"四[よん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F四.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | shi・yon |\n| 5 | \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"五[ご]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F五.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | go |\n| 6 | \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"六[ろく]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F六.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | roku |\n| 7 | \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"七[しち]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F七・しち.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>・\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"七[なな]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F七.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | shichi・nana |\n| 8 | \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"八[はち]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F八.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | hachi |\n| 9 | \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"九[きゅう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F九.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | kyuu |\n| 10 | \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"十[じゅう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F十.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | juu |\n\n\u003CCenteredText italic> In the above table, the left-hand side numbers use on'yomi readings. ゼロ is a foreign loan word, and then よん (yon) and なな (nana) are kun'yomi readings. \u003C\u002FCenteredText> \u003Cbr>\n\nTo address the obvious question on your mind: _\"For the love of Migachu's cute purple tail, why are there two different ways to say four and seven?\"_\n\nWell, answering that question would be a long history lesson... but, in practice:\n\n- When counting up, four and seven are read し (shi) and しち (shichi), respectively—the on'yomi readings.\n- When counting down, they are read as よん (yon) and なな (nana), respectively—the kun'yomi readings.\n\n_However_, when using counters (discussed a few sections down below), when using numbers bigger than ten, and in almost all other cases—you'll use kun'yomi (よん and なな) to count four and seven.\n\n> Last but not least, for whatever reason, Japan liked the word \"zero\" so much that they yoinked it right out of English and started using it for 0. Don't try to make sense of it. Just go with it.\n\n---\n\n## Counting from 11–100 in Japanese\n\n_Sheesh_, that was rough.\n\nThankfully, the rest of Japanese numbers are pretty straightforward. In fact, the Japanese counting system is even more consistent than ours in English!\n\nWhen counting from 11–99, you'll have three columns of numbers: \\[X\\] \\[Y\\] \\[Z\\]\n\n1. The number in spot \\[X\\] tells you how many 10s there are (only used for 20+)\n2. The number in spot \\[Y\\] is ten\n3. The number in spot \\[Z\\] tells you how many ones there are\n\nSo... let's say you want to say _twelve_ in Japanese. That's ten plus two, and in Japanese, it's literally just ten and two:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"十二[じゅうに]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F十二.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> = 12 (literally: ten two)\n\nWhen you move up to twenty, now you have to begin specifying how many tens there are. So, twenty is two tens:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"二十[にじゅう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F二十.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> = 20 (literally: two ten)\n\nNow let's combine those two concepts with 99. That's nine tens plus nine, as shown below:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"九十九[きゅうじゅうきゅう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F九十九.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> = 99 (literally: nine ten nine)\n\nThat's it! There's no funny business like \"three ten\" becoming \"thirty\" or \"one five\" becoming fifteen. It's a bit different than English, but it's completely consistent, and it'll be second nature in no time.\n\n## Counting numbers bigger than 100 in Japanese\n\nFor 100–999, the process is exactly the same—the only difference is that you now need the word for one hundred, which is \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"百[ひゃく]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>.\n\nTo bust out those columns again, you'll end up using _five_ numbers to count hundreds in Japanese:\n\nWhen counting from 100–999, you'll have five columns of numbers: \\[V\\] \\[W\\] \\[X\\] \\[Y\\] \\[Z\\]\n\n1. \\[V\\] tells you how many 100s there are (only used for 200+)\n2. \\[W\\] is for 100\n3. \\[X\\] tells you how many 10s there are (only used for 20+)\n4. \\[Y\\] is for 10\n5. \\[Z\\] tells you how many ones there are\n\nAnd here are a few examples for you:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"百二十三[ひゃくにじゅうさん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-123.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> = 123\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"四百五十六[よんひゃくごじゅうろく]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-456.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> = 456\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"九百九十九[きゅうひゃくきゅうじゅうきゅう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-999.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> = 999\n\nNotice how that's 百二十三, and not 一百二十三. Remember, you only need to specify how many hundreds there are if there is more than one.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>IMPORTANT\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\u003CCenteredText>It's a bit beyond the scope of this blog post... but things get a bit more complicated than this. As with other Japanese words, Japanese numbers change their pronunciation in certain scenarios. For example, 300 is pronounced さんびゃく, not さんひゃく as you'd expect. You'll still be understood even if you get this wrong, though, so don't worry about it for now! Just keep it in the back of your mind.\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n## Counting Japanese numbers over 1,000\n\nWe won't walk through the whole song and dance again, but the same process repeats as you work up magnitudes of numbers. The only real surprise here is that Japanese people count big numbers in 10,000s, not in 1,000s like we do.\n\nHere are the vocabulary words you'll need for big numbers:\n\n- 1,000 → \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"千[せん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-1,000.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- 10,000 → \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"一万[いちまん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-10,000.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- 100,000 → \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"十万[じゅうまん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-100,000.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- 1,000,000 → \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"百万[ひゃくまん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-1,000,000.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- 10,000,000 → \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"千万[せんまん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-千万.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- 100,000,000 → \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"一億[いちおく]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-100,000,000.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- 1,000,000,000 → \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"十億[じゅうおく]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-1,000,000,000.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n\nThere are two things to notice here:\n\n- Once we get to 10,000 (one ten-thousand) and 100,000,000 (one one-hundred-million), we start tacking 一 onto the beginning of the word, violating the pattern established by 十, 百, and 千\n- Since Japanese counts by 10,000s, not 1,000s, that means (a) they have a unique word for 10,000 and 100,000,000... and (b) they don't have a unique word for billion—that's just \"ten one-hundred-million\"\n\nThose points aside, though, we follow the same logic as we have so far:\n\n- 34,567 is \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"三万四千五百六十七[さんまんよんせんごひゃくろくじゅうなな]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-34,567.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n\n---\n\n## How to count things in Japanese\n\nWhere Japanese numbers unfortunately get complex is that, outside of very limited situations, you can't actually count things using _just_ numbers in Japanese.\n\nTo make sense of that, consider the following two sentences:\n\n- Give me three books.\n- Give me three pieces of paper.\n\nNotice how when we count some things, like \"books\", we can just attach a number directly to the noun in English... but when we count other things—like paper—we can't? That to count things like \"paper\" we need to use some helper words—bits, wads, pieces, reams, stacks, and so forth—in order to do our counting?\n\nThese \"helper words\" are called _counters_.\n\nThere are many different counters—one for long skinny things, another for people, another for animals, and so forth—and you can't count _anything_ in Japanese without utilizing its respective counter.\n\nThis is a relatively complex topic, so that's all the detail we'll go into for now. If you're interested in it, we've got [an entire blog post dedicated to Japanese counters and counting things in Japanese](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-counters), which we invite you to read.\n\n---\n\n## Japanese numbers are complex, so here's a structured way to learn them\n\nA few years ago, we got nerdy and did some complex statistical work that's unfortunately over my head. (I write stuff because I'm not good at math). Anyway, the point is this:\n\n> While a typical college-educated native speaker knows \"a few ten-thousand words\", to borrow Japanese's style of counting, you only actually need to know about 1,500 words to have an 80% chance of recognizing any random word you encounter.\n\nWords aren't used equally often!\n\nThat key insight in mind, we set out to build the most efficient Japanese course in history.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-counters.jpeg\" width=\"1656\" height=\"1158\" alt=\"A screenshot from our Japanese course, showing how we help users learn Japanese vocabulary and grammar\" \u002F>\n\nYou'll first read about how a certain grammatical structure works—such as those counters we talked about—and then commit those structures to memory by learning practical sentences where they're used. More than that, each of our sentences introduces one (and only one) new word at a time, so the learning curve is _super_ smooth.\n\nAt a pace of 10 new words per day, or about half an hour of effort, you'll go from zero to \"ready to begin stumbling through Japanese Netflix\" in about six months.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## The most important thing to remember if you want to learn Japanese\n\nSo, no doubt about it—Japanese numbers are complex. Your head is probably hurting right now. (At least mine was, way back when, when I learned how numbers work).\n\nThat's OK and normal.\n\nTry not to stress out about it too much.\n\nAs you spend more time with Japanese, and you see Japanese numbers in action, you'll gradually develop a feel for how they work. It won't happen overnight, but it'll happen, even without a ton of conscious effort on your part.\n\nTo turn that into a mantra:\n\n> If you consume Japanese media you enjoy, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you'll make progress. _Period._\n",{"title":6,"description":716},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-123","5vQzoi_pmfMl-I7itPuW42xA1m_73CCc2-st9w_pSKQ","japanese","September 18, 2024",{"id":739,"title":740,"body":741,"description":1021,"extension":717,"meta":1022,"navigation":730,"path":1035,"rawbody":1036,"seo":1037,"stem":1038,"__hash__":1039,"timestampUnix":1023,"slug":1024,"h1":1025,"image":1026,"tags":1031,"_dir":736,"timestamp":1040},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-alphabet.md","Japanese Writing Systems Explained: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji",{"type":8,"value":742,"toc":1009},[743,746,749,755,758,760,762,766,769,774,777,780,783,787,789,793,796,799,802,805,807,810,812,816,819,822,828,831,840,843,846,851,854,858,865,868,871,877,880,882,886,889,900,903,906,909,917,923,926,931,934,936,940,943,946,949,955,958,961,964,974,977,979,981,984,987,995,998,1001,1006],[11,744,745],{},"Coming from a western language, one might be inclined to call the Japanese writing system(s) an alphabet, but that is not correct. In this article we will go over the three writing systems used in Japanese and clear up all the misconceptions.",[11,747,748],{},"These three writing systems are hiragana, katakana, and kanji. The first two have a lot more in common, and are collectively called kana. Each system serves a specific purpose and is used in different contexts.",[11,750,751,752,754],{},"Another thing they have in common: if you want to ",[15,753,18],{"href":17},", you'll be learning all of them.",[11,756,757],{},"Here we go:",[39,759],{},[42,761],{},[45,763,765],{"id":764},"hiragana-the-curly-looking-symbols","Hiragana (the curly looking symbols)",[11,767,768],{},"Hiragana is a syllabary, meaning that each character represents a syllable, rather than a full word or individual sound. It is primarily used for native Japanese words, grammatical elements, and the inflection of verbs and adjectives.",[320,770,771],{},[11,772,773],{},"A syllable is a unit of sound that typically contains a vowel sound and may also include consonants. For example, if we combine the consonant \u002Fk\u002F with the vowel \u002Fa\u002F, we get the syllable \u002Fka\u002F, which in hiragana is represented as か.",[11,775,776],{},"It is often used in conjunction with kanji in written Japanese. For example, a sentence might use kanji for nouns and important content words, but hiragana for verb conjugations and particles.",[11,778,779],{},"Hiragana characters can be easily recognized due to their more rounded and cursive appearance as compared to kanji or katakana.",[11,781,782],{},"They look like this:",[784,785,786],"huge",{},"\nにほんご\n",[42,788],{},[45,790,792],{"id":791},"katakana-the-sharp-looking-symbols","Katakana (the sharp looking symbols)",[11,794,795],{},"Katakana is also a syllabary, which means that each character represents a syllable rather than a single consonant or vowel.",[11,797,798],{},"Both katakana and hiragana consist of the same number of basic characters, and they both represent the same set of sounds in the Japanese language.",[11,800,801],{},"The difference between the two lies in their usage. Katakana is primarily used for writing foreign words, technical and scientific terms, the names of non-Japanese people, and onomatopoeia.",[11,803,804],{},"Visually, katakana characters are angular and often simpler in form compared to hiragana.",[11,806,782],{},[784,808,809],{},"\nニホンゴ\n",[42,811],{},[45,813,815],{"id":814},"kanji-the-complex-blocky-looking-symbols","Kanji (the complex, blocky looking symbols)",[11,817,818],{},"The final boss of the writing systems is kanji. Kanji are logographic characters used in the Japanese writing system, which were taken from Chinese. Unlike hiragana and katakana, which represent sounds, each kanji character represents a meaning.",[11,820,821],{},"Kanji can be used in isolation as standalone words, but can also combine with other kanji. Frequently, two characters combine to form a word to express a specific meaning.",[50,823],{"src":824,"width":825,"height":826,"alt":827},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fvolcano.webp",593,284,"A graphic that shows the Japanese kanji for fire and mountain combining into the word volcano, illustrating how kanji can combine to form new meanings.",[11,829,830],{},"While hiragana and katakana can be learned in days, mastering kanji takes years. This is because, whereas there are only tens of kana, there are thousands of kanji characters.",[320,832,833],{},[11,834,835,836,839],{},"The government of Japan has established a set of commonly used characters known as the \"Jōyō Kanji\". This list includes ",[26,837,838],{},"2,136 characters"," that are officially taught in schools.",[11,841,842],{},"Each of the following blocks is a separate kanji:",[784,844,845],{},"\n日本語\n",[847,848,850],"h3",{"id":849},"kanji-are-kind-of-like-emojis","Kanji are kind of like Emojis",[11,852,853],{},"To understand how and why kanji work this way, you can look at emoji's to grasp the concept. The English language already exists, and even if we replace some words by emoji's, we would still be able to understand the meaning. For example, if we change \"The house is on fire\" to \"The house is on 🔥\", you would still be able to pronounce the word and understand its meaning. We can also take our 🔥 \"fire\" and combine it with ⛰️ \"mountain\" to get 🔥⛰️ \"fire mountain\", also called \"volcano.\" The exact same thing you see here also happens in Japanese. This is actually not too far off from how some words were borrowed from China. Instead of emojis, Japan borrowed the Chinese characters 火山 which mean fire and mountain individually.",[847,855,857],{"id":856},"readings-can-be-tricky","Readings can be Tricky",[11,859,860,861,864],{},"The way a kanji is pronounced is called a ",[26,862,863],{},"reading",", and the vast majority of kanji have multiple readings.",[11,866,867],{},"Making matters worse, readings are not always so predictable. When the above word for volcano was borrowed, the Japanese language already had their own words for fire and mountain, which were pronounced as \u002Fhi\u002F and \u002Fyama\u002F, respectively. However, when forming the word volcano, 火山, the reading is not simply a merging of the two into \u002Fhiyama\u002F, but actually \u002Fkazan\u002F. The new word was borrowed from Chinese, and likewise, the pronunciation chosen also more closely reflects the pronunciation of the Chinese word at the time of its borrowing.",[11,869,870],{},"Because of this unpredictability of how a specific kanji is read in any specific word, so called furigana is sometimes used. Furigana are small hiragana characters that appear above kanji characters. These tell you how to pronounce the kanji in the specific context.",[11,872,873,874],{},"Furigana for our above example, would look like this: ",[98,875],{"lang":100,"syntax":876},"火山[かざん]",[11,878,879],{},"But it is important to know that furigana is only used in children's material, when a kanji is rather rare and the reader can't be expected to know it, or in learners' material such as our Migaku Japanese Academy course. This means that over time, you will have to memorize how kanji are read in different situations. This may all sound daunting, but if you take it one word at a time, it is not as hard as it sounds.",[42,881],{},[45,883,885],{"id":884},"how-to-learn-hiragana-and-katakana","How to learn hiragana and katakana",[11,887,888],{},"Hold up here:",[344,890,891,894,897],{},[307,892,893],{},"I'm going to plug Migaku",[307,895,896],{},"It'll be totally free",[307,898,899],{},"You'll be able to read hiragana and katakana in ten days",[11,901,902],{},"Alright with that?",[11,904,905],{},"Here goes.",[11,907,908],{},"Migaku Japanese Fundamentals is a flashcard based course that is presented in A:B format:",[304,910,911,914],{},[307,912,913],{},"A → Read about a specific hiragana or katakana character and see a mnemonic",[307,915,916],{},"B → Drill flashcards to ensure that you actually remember how that particular kana is pronounced",[50,918],{"src":919,"width":920,"height":921,"alt":922},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-fundamentals-new.jpeg",1730,1202,"A few screenshots from Migaku's Japanese Fundamentals course.",[11,924,925],{},"Each kana is accompanied by a recording from a native speaker and a video of a native speaker pronouncing it.",[320,927,928],{},[11,929,930],{},"Migaku is totally free for 10 days. If you do 23 flashcards (~1 hour) per day, you'll learn all of the hiragana and katakana before the trial runs out.",[674,932],{"href":17,"text":933},"Learn Hiragana and Katakana with Migaku",[42,935],{},[45,937,939],{"id":938},"how-to-learn-kanji","How to learn kanji",[11,941,942],{},"The kana are pretty straightforward: there's only a few dozen of them, and each one is pronounced in a specific way. Drill them for a few weeks and you'll know them like the back of your elbow.",[11,944,945],{},"Kanji, however... kanji are a different beast.",[11,947,948],{},"After experimenting with thousands of students, we've decided that the most optimal way to teach kanji is as follows:",[50,950],{"src":951,"width":952,"height":953,"alt":954},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-course-plug.jpeg",1802,1258,"A screenshot showing how Migaku teaches Japanese kanji",[11,956,957],{},"You'll first get a crash course in how kanji work. They're constructed in specific ways, and if you understand that logic, you'll be able to break down any kanji you see into meaningful parts.",[11,959,960],{},"From here, we give each of these \"meaningful parts\" a name, and then make a funny story out of those parts. The idea is that, so long as you build an obnoxious image of a huge monster cow that needs ten guns to take down, you'll also remember \"ten\" and \"gun\"—things that happen to be kanji components—and you can follow those breadcrumbs right back to the kanji for cow.",[11,962,963],{},"It's a simple system, but it works.",[11,965,966,967,973],{},"As you follow along, you'll learn all of the kanji that appear in ",[15,968,972],{"href":969,"rel":970},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=gFvZMZlUYfc",[971],"nofollow","our Japanese Vocabulary + Grammar course","—and, before long, you'll have enough foundation under you that you can start doing cool things in Japanese.",[674,975],{"href":17,"text":976},"Learn Kanji with Migaku",[42,978],{},[45,980,682],{"id":681},[11,982,983],{},"As you can see, Japanese is quite complex. There's a lot of apps and textbooks out there to learn it. It's easy to get analysis paralysis.",[11,985,986],{},"Whatever you end up doing, though, remember this:",[320,988,989],{},[11,990,991,992,415],{},"If you consume Japanese media that you enjoy, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. ",[26,993,994],{},"Period",[11,996,997],{},"That's it.",[11,999,1000],{},"That's all it takes.",[11,1002,1003,1004,415],{},"If you can do that, you'll ",[15,1005,18],{"href":17},[11,1007,1008],{},"Good luck, friend 🫡",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":1010},[1011,1012,1013,1018,1019,1020],{"id":764,"depth":707,"text":765},{"id":791,"depth":707,"text":792},{"id":814,"depth":707,"text":815,"children":1014},[1015,1017],{"id":849,"depth":1016,"text":850},3,{"id":856,"depth":1016,"text":857},{"id":884,"depth":707,"text":885},{"id":938,"depth":707,"text":939},{"id":681,"depth":707,"text":682},"Unlock the mystery of the Japanese Alphabets. Learn about Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Start mastering them today. Explore the world of Japanese writing.",{"timestampUnix":1023,"slug":1024,"h1":1025,"image":1026,"tags":1031},1719384100672,"the-japanese-alphabets","Decoding Japanese Alphabets: A Guide to 3 Writing Systems",{"src":1027,"width":1028,"height":1029,"alt":1030},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaki-japanese-alphabets.webp",5600,3336,"A Japanese person performing calligraphy with traditional tools.",[728,1032,1033,1034],"kanji","hiragana","katakana","\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-alphabet","---\ntitle: 'Japanese Writing Systems Explained: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji'\ndescription: 'Unlock the mystery of the Japanese Alphabets. Learn about Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Start mastering them today. Explore the world of Japanese writing.'\ntimestampUnix: 1719384100672\nslug: 'the-japanese-alphabets'\nh1: 'Decoding Japanese Alphabets: A Guide to 3 Writing Systems'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaki-japanese-alphabets.webp'\n width: 5600\n height: 3336\n alt: 'A Japanese person performing calligraphy with traditional tools.'\ntags:\n - fundamentals\n - kanji\n - hiragana\n - katakana\n---\n\nComing from a western language, one might be inclined to call the Japanese writing system(s) an alphabet, but that is not correct. In this article we will go over the three writing systems used in Japanese and clear up all the misconceptions.\n\nThese three writing systems are hiragana, katakana, and kanji. The first two have a lot more in common, and are collectively called kana. Each system serves a specific purpose and is used in different contexts.\n\nAnother thing they have in common: if you want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), you'll be learning all of them.\n\nHere we go:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## Hiragana (the curly looking symbols)\n\nHiragana is a syllabary, meaning that each character represents a syllable, rather than a full word or individual sound. It is primarily used for native Japanese words, grammatical elements, and the inflection of verbs and adjectives.\n\n> A syllable is a unit of sound that typically contains a vowel sound and may also include consonants. For example, if we combine the consonant \u002Fk\u002F with the vowel \u002Fa\u002F, we get the syllable \u002Fka\u002F, which in hiragana is represented as か.\n\nIt is often used in conjunction with kanji in written Japanese. For example, a sentence might use kanji for nouns and important content words, but hiragana for verb conjugations and particles.\n\nHiragana characters can be easily recognized due to their more rounded and cursive appearance as compared to kanji or katakana.\n\nThey look like this:\n\n\u003Chuge>にほんご\u003C\u002Fhuge>\n\n---\n\n## Katakana (the sharp looking symbols)\n\nKatakana is also a syllabary, which means that each character represents a syllable rather than a single consonant or vowel.\n\nBoth katakana and hiragana consist of the same number of basic characters, and they both represent the same set of sounds in the Japanese language.\n\nThe difference between the two lies in their usage. Katakana is primarily used for writing foreign words, technical and scientific terms, the names of non-Japanese people, and onomatopoeia.\n\nVisually, katakana characters are angular and often simpler in form compared to hiragana.\n\nThey look like this:\n\n\u003Chuge>ニホンゴ\u003C\u002Fhuge>\n\n---\n\n## Kanji (the complex, blocky looking symbols)\n\nThe final boss of the writing systems is kanji. Kanji are logographic characters used in the Japanese writing system, which were taken from Chinese. Unlike hiragana and katakana, which represent sounds, each kanji character represents a meaning.\n\nKanji can be used in isolation as standalone words, but can also combine with other kanji. Frequently, two characters combine to form a word to express a specific meaning.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fvolcano.webp\" width=\"593\" height=\"284\" alt=\"A graphic that shows the Japanese kanji for fire and mountain combining into the word volcano, illustrating how kanji can combine to form new meanings.\" \u002F>\n\nWhile hiragana and katakana can be learned in days, mastering kanji takes years. This is because, whereas there are only tens of kana, there are thousands of kanji characters.\n\n> The government of Japan has established a set of commonly used characters known as the \"Jōyō Kanji\". This list includes _2,136 characters_ that are officially taught in schools.\n\nEach of the following blocks is a separate kanji:\n\n\u003Chuge>日本語\u003C\u002Fhuge>\n\n### Kanji are kind of like Emojis\n\nTo understand how and why kanji work this way, you can look at emoji's to grasp the concept. The English language already exists, and even if we replace some words by emoji's, we would still be able to understand the meaning. For example, if we change \"The house is on fire\" to \"The house is on 🔥\", you would still be able to pronounce the word and understand its meaning. We can also take our 🔥 \"fire\" and combine it with ⛰️ \"mountain\" to get 🔥⛰️ \"fire mountain\", also called \"volcano.\" The exact same thing you see here also happens in Japanese. This is actually not too far off from how some words were borrowed from China. Instead of emojis, Japan borrowed the Chinese characters 火山 which mean fire and mountain individually.\n\n### Readings can be Tricky\n\nThe way a kanji is pronounced is called a _reading_, and the vast majority of kanji have multiple readings.\n\nMaking matters worse, readings are not always so predictable. When the above word for volcano was borrowed, the Japanese language already had their own words for fire and mountain, which were pronounced as \u002Fhi\u002F and \u002Fyama\u002F, respectively. However, when forming the word volcano, 火山, the reading is not simply a merging of the two into \u002Fhiyama\u002F, but actually \u002Fkazan\u002F. The new word was borrowed from Chinese, and likewise, the pronunciation chosen also more closely reflects the pronunciation of the Chinese word at the time of its borrowing.\n\nBecause of this unpredictability of how a specific kanji is read in any specific word, so called furigana is sometimes used. Furigana are small hiragana characters that appear above kanji characters. These tell you how to pronounce the kanji in the specific context.\n\nFurigana for our above example, would look like this: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"火山[かざん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\n\nBut it is important to know that furigana is only used in children's material, when a kanji is rather rare and the reader can't be expected to know it, or in learners' material such as our Migaku Japanese Academy course. This means that over time, you will have to memorize how kanji are read in different situations. This may all sound daunting, but if you take it one word at a time, it is not as hard as it sounds.\n\n---\n\n## How to learn hiragana and katakana\n\nHold up here:\n\n1. I'm going to plug Migaku\n2. It'll be totally free\n3. You'll be able to read hiragana and katakana in ten days\n\nAlright with that?\n\nHere goes.\n\nMigaku Japanese Fundamentals is a flashcard based course that is presented in A:B format:\n\n- A → Read about a specific hiragana or katakana character and see a mnemonic\n- B → Drill flashcards to ensure that you actually remember how that particular kana is pronounced\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-fundamentals-new.jpeg\" width=\"1730\" height=\"1202\" alt=\"A few screenshots from Migaku's Japanese Fundamentals course.\" \u002F>\n\nEach kana is accompanied by a recording from a native speaker and a video of a native speaker pronouncing it.\n\n> Migaku is totally free for 10 days. If you do 23 flashcards (~1 hour) per day, you'll learn all of the hiragana and katakana before the trial runs out.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Hiragana and Katakana with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## How to learn kanji\n\nThe kana are pretty straightforward: there's only a few dozen of them, and each one is pronounced in a specific way. Drill them for a few weeks and you'll know them like the back of your elbow.\n\nKanji, however... kanji are a different beast.\n\nAfter experimenting with thousands of students, we've decided that the most optimal way to teach kanji is as follows:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-course-plug.jpeg\" width=\"1802\" height=\"1258\" alt=\"A screenshot showing how Migaku teaches Japanese kanji\" \u002F>\n\nYou'll first get a crash course in how kanji work. They're constructed in specific ways, and if you understand that logic, you'll be able to break down any kanji you see into meaningful parts.\n\nFrom here, we give each of these \"meaningful parts\" a name, and then make a funny story out of those parts. The idea is that, so long as you build an obnoxious image of a huge monster cow that needs ten guns to take down, you'll also remember \"ten\" and \"gun\"—things that happen to be kanji components—and you can follow those breadcrumbs right back to the kanji for cow.\n\nIt's a simple system, but it works.\n\nAs you follow along, you'll learn all of the kanji that appear in [our Japanese Vocabulary + Grammar course](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=gFvZMZlUYfc)—and, before long, you'll have enough foundation under you that you can start doing cool things in Japanese.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Kanji with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## The most important thing to remember if you want to learn Japanese\n\nAs you can see, Japanese is quite complex. There's a lot of apps and textbooks out there to learn it. It's easy to get analysis paralysis.\n\nWhatever you end up doing, though, remember this:\n\n> If you consume Japanese media that you enjoy, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. _Period_.\n\nThat's it.\n\nThat's all it takes.\n\nIf you can do that, you'll [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese).\n\nGood luck, friend 🫡\n",{"title":740,"description":1021},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-alphabet","Qkx1Q9aO68xyFzCKWM0IKUrTHRh8DV8Aq3RGSNHQgJs","June 26, 2024",{"id":1042,"title":1043,"body":1044,"description":3659,"extension":717,"meta":3660,"navigation":730,"path":3671,"rawbody":3672,"seo":3673,"stem":3674,"__hash__":3675,"timestampUnix":3661,"slug":3662,"h1":3663,"image":3664,"tags":3669,"_dir":736,"timestamp":3676},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-counters.md","Japanese Counters: Learn to Count in Japanese | Migaku",{"type":8,"value":1045,"toc":3634},[1046,1049,1054,1057,1063,1066,1068,1070,1084,1086,1093,1099,1106,1109,1112,1142,1145,1160,1163,1176,1187,1191,1194,1202,1205,1219,1221,1227,1230,1237,1243,1249,1257,1263,1423,1433,1436,1441,1460,1471,1478,1483,1489,1494,1499,1675,1690,1693,1696,1712,1719,1725,1731,1736,1918,1921,1932,1935,1939,1959,1988,1995,2001,2011,2014,2019,2185,2199,2203,2224,2238,2245,2251,2257,2262,2273,2439,2443,2468,2475,2481,2491,2496,2662,2666,2686,2693,2699,2705,2717,2720,2950,2955,2993,2999,3006,3011,3017,3022,3203,3216,3220,3239,3244,3247,3270,3273,3297,3303,3306,3311,3350,3355,3391,3396,3432,3437,3477,3482,3519,3524,3527,3564,3566,3572,3575,3581,3586,3589,3595,3598,3600,3602,3608,3611,3614,3617,3624,3631],[11,1047,1048],{},"Maybe you’ve been avoiding Japanese counters until now, but you knew your days were numbered…",[11,1050,1051],{},[26,1052,1053],{},"(Yes, that was intentional, sorry.)",[11,1055,1056],{},"Anyway—numbers are a part of daily life and conversation: when you count in Japanese, you use unique combinations of numbers + kanji to count different things. There are unique counters for counting everything from people and days and small animals to flat, cylindrical, or 3D objects.",[11,1058,1059,1060,1062],{},"Suffice it to say that if you want to ",[15,1061,18],{"href":17},", you'll need to know counters.",[11,1064,1065],{},"This post will help you get started.",[39,1067],{},[42,1069],{},[320,1071,1072],{},[11,1073,1074,1075,1079,1080,415],{},"This article assumes that you can already read hiragana. If not, we applaud your go-getter spirit. Before you read this article, you may want to take a detour to first check out ",[15,1076,1078],{"href":1077},"blog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-alphabets","what hiragana is used for",", then read this article while referencing ",[15,1081,1083],{"href":1082},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-hiragana","our hiragana cheat sheet",[42,1085],{},[45,1087,1089],{"id":1088},"what-are-japanese-counters",[1090,1091,1092],"strong",{},"What are Japanese counters?",[50,1094],{"src":1095,"width":1096,"height":1097,"alt":1098},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-overview.jpeg",1960,1102,"A screenshot of a confused anime character, perhaps wondering how to use Japanese counters",[11,1100,1101,1102,1105],{},"Put simply, a Japanese counter—known as 助数詞 (じょすうし) ",[103,1103],{"src":1104,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-助数詞.mp3"," —is a fancy linguistic term that refers to a word you use to count something. They are modified versions of Japanese numbers that indicate the type of object you're counting.",[11,1107,1108],{},"In other words, counters are used to count things.",[11,1110,1111],{},"Observe:",[304,1113,1114,1128],{},[307,1115,1116,1117,1120,1121,1124,1125],{},"Normal number: 一 ",[103,1118],{"src":1119,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一.mp3"," 、二 ",[103,1122],{"src":1123,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二.mp3","、三 ",[103,1126],{"src":1127,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三.mp3",[307,1129,1130,1131,1134,1135,1138,1139],{},"Counting number: 一つ ",[103,1132],{"src":1133,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一つ.mp3","、二つ ",[103,1136],{"src":1137,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二つ.mp3","、三つ ",[103,1140],{"src":1141,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三つ.mp3",[11,1143,1144],{},"You use normal numbers when you're \"generally\" counting (say, from 1 to 10, when playing hide & seek), but you use counting numbers when counting specific things.",[11,1146,1147,1148,1151,1152,1155,1156,1159],{},"Before you panic, know that we also use counters in English, too—such as one ",[26,1149,1150],{},"can"," of soup, two ",[26,1153,1154],{},"sheets"," of paper, or three ",[26,1157,1158],{},"gaggles"," of geese. (Okay, you might not have said the last example before, but see what we mean? Counters aren't unique to the Japanese language.)",[11,1161,1162],{},"Importantly:",[320,1164,1165],{},[11,1166,1167,1168,1171,1172,1175],{},"Your choice of counter word can significantly alter your meaning, such as referring to a ",[26,1169,1170],{},"slice"," of bread vs a ",[26,1173,1174],{},"loaf"," of bread.",[11,1177,1178,1179,1182,1183,1186],{},"Japanese counters are exactly the same concept as our English counters, but whereas we use them for only some things in English, they’re used for ",[26,1180,1181],{},"everything"," in Japanese. They’re also mandatory; you ",[26,1184,1185],{},"must"," use them whenever you count something, and it'll be super noticeable\u002Fjarring if you don't.",[45,1188,1190],{"id":1189},"how-many-japanese-counters-are-there","How many Japanese counters are there?",[11,1192,1193],{},"There are about 500 different counters in Japanese. (I’m not joking.)",[11,1195,1196,1197,1201],{},"The good news is that, like ",[15,1198,1200],{"href":1199},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary","any other vocabulary word",", some are used much, much more commonly than others. Even native Japanese speakers don’t know all of the counters because it's only the super common counters that really get used in everyday life.",[11,1203,1204],{},"You’ll learn more counters as you go, but to get you started, we’ll cover the super common. If you learn to use the counters we talk about in this blog post, you'll be able to:",[304,1206,1207,1210,1213,1216],{},[307,1208,1209],{},"Order food or drinks at a restaurant",[307,1211,1212],{},"Ask for a bag at a store",[307,1214,1215],{},"Say how many people are in your group",[307,1217,1218],{},"Talk about time and dates",[42,1220],{},[45,1222,1224],{"id":1223},"_8-most-useful-counters-in-japanese",[1090,1225,1226],{},"8 most useful counters in Japanese",[11,1228,1229],{},"Before we get started, I'm just going to pop in with one last heads up that the Japanese counting system is pretty complex. It's OK if you find this difficult. Everybody does. Hang in there, and it'll click before long 💪",[847,1231,1233,1234],{"id":1232},"_1-つ-if-in-doubt-go-with-this-one","1. ",[1090,1235,1236],{},"～つ: If in doubt, go with this one",[50,1238],{"src":1239,"width":1240,"height":1241,"alt":1242},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japnanese-counters-つ.jpeg",1472,828,"A screenshot of several sandwiches, which are one of the things you can count with ~つ in Japanese",[11,1244,1245,1248],{},[1090,1246,1247],{},"～つ is a general counter used to count small objects",", and is kind of a saving grace for Japanese counters. It can often be used if you don’t know the specific counter for something.",[320,1250,1251],{},[11,1252,1253,1254],{},"～つ is the most important Japanese counter: if you aren't sure what the correct counter for something is, you can pretty much always just use this one instead. ",[26,1255,1256],{},"(Don't get into a habit of doing this, though; it's kind of like saying \"eight things of water\" instead of \"eight cups of water\".)",[11,1258,1259,1262],{},[1090,1260,1261],{},"What can this counter be used for?"," ～つ is used to count a wide range of smaller objects—pretty much everything from dishes in a restaurant to miscellaneous objects you see around you to intangible things like ideas.",[67,1264,1265,1280],{},[70,1266,1267],{},[73,1268,1269,1272,1275,1277],{},[76,1270,1271],{"align":78},"Number",[76,1273,1274],{"align":78},"Counter",[76,1276,85],{"align":78},[76,1278,1279],{"align":78},"Meaning",[87,1281,1282,1297,1312,1327,1343,1359,1375,1391,1407],{},[73,1283,1284,1286,1291,1294],{},[92,1285,117],{"align":78},[92,1287,1288,1289],{"align":78},"一つ ",[103,1290],{"src":1133,":type":149},[92,1292,1293],{"align":78},"Hitotsu",[92,1295,1296],{"align":78},"One thing",[73,1298,1299,1301,1306,1309],{},[92,1300,133],{"align":78},[92,1302,1303,1304],{"align":78},"二つ ",[103,1305],{"src":1137,":type":149},[92,1307,1308],{"align":78},"Futatsu",[92,1310,1311],{"align":78},"Two things",[73,1313,1314,1316,1321,1324],{},[92,1315,149],{"align":78},[92,1317,1318,1319],{"align":78},"三つ ",[103,1320],{"src":1141,":type":149},[92,1322,1323],{"align":78},"Mittsu",[92,1325,1326],{"align":78},"Three things",[73,1328,1329,1331,1337,1340],{},[92,1330,165],{"align":78},[92,1332,1333,1334],{"align":78},"四つ ",[103,1335],{"src":1336,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-四つ.mp3",[92,1338,1339],{"align":78},"Yottsu",[92,1341,1342],{"align":78},"Four things",[73,1344,1345,1347,1353,1356],{},[92,1346,188],{"align":78},[92,1348,1349,1350],{"align":78},"五つ ",[103,1351],{"src":1352,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-五つ.mp3",[92,1354,1355],{"align":78},"Itsutsu",[92,1357,1358],{"align":78},"Five things",[73,1360,1361,1363,1369,1372],{},[92,1362,204],{"align":78},[92,1364,1365,1366],{"align":78},"六つ ",[103,1367],{"src":1368,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-六つ.mp3",[92,1370,1371],{"align":78},"Muttsu",[92,1373,1374],{"align":78},"Six things",[73,1376,1377,1379,1385,1388],{},[92,1378,220],{"align":78},[92,1380,1381,1382],{"align":78},"七つ ",[103,1383],{"src":1384,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-七つ.mp3",[92,1386,1387],{"align":78},"Nanatsu",[92,1389,1390],{"align":78},"Seven things",[73,1392,1393,1395,1401,1404],{},[92,1394,242],{"align":78},[92,1396,1397,1398],{"align":78},"八つ ",[103,1399],{"src":1400,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-八つ.mp3",[92,1402,1403],{"align":78},"Yattsu",[92,1405,1406],{"align":78},"Eight things",[73,1408,1409,1411,1417,1420],{},[92,1410,258],{"align":78},[92,1412,1413,1414],{"align":78},"九つ ",[103,1415],{"src":1416,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-九つ.mp3",[92,1418,1419],{"align":78},"Kokonotsu",[92,1421,1422],{"align":78},"Nine things",[320,1424,1425,1428,1430],{},[287,1426,1427],{"bold":289,"underline":289},"\nNote\n",[292,1429],{},[287,1431,1432],{},"\nFor whatever reason, ～つ is generally only used to count things up to nine. If there are more than nine of something, you should use the \"proper\" counter, if possible.\n",[11,1434,1435],{},"These days, it is more common to see numbers written out via numerals, rather than written out via kanji. For example, in the sentence below, you'll usually see 6 つ rather than 六つ, though both are correct and OK.",[11,1437,1438],{},[1090,1439,1440],{},"Example:",[304,1442,1443],{},[307,1444,1445,1448,1449,506,1452,506,1454],{},[1090,1446,1447],{},"サンドを六つ","買いました。",[103,1450],{"src":1451,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-サンドを６つ買いました。.mp3",[292,1453],{},[26,1455,1456,1457,415],{},"I bought ",[1090,1458,1459],{},"six sandwiches",[11,1461,1462,1463,1466,1467,1470],{},"It's often hard to translate counters into English because we just don't use them when counting many things, but you could think of this as being something like \"I bought six {things of} sandwiches\"—if there were a word like ",[26,1464,1465],{},"batches"," or ",[26,1468,1469],{},"stacks"," used to count sandwiches in English.",[847,1472,1474,1475],{"id":1473},"_2-個-japanese-counter-for-small-things-and-more","2. ",[1090,1476,1477],{},"～個: Japanese counter for small things (and more!)",[50,1479],{"src":1480,"width":1240,"height":1481,"alt":1482},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-~個.jpeg",848,"A screenshot of an anime character picking an apple, one of the things you can count with ~個 in Japanese",[11,1484,1485,1488],{},[1090,1486,1487],{},"～個 is a general counter for (usually) concrete, tangible objects",". Think of things like fruit, eggs, or individual chocolates; if it’s small enough to hold in one hand, it likely works with ～個.",[320,1490,1491],{},[11,1492,1493],{},"After 〜つ, ～個 is probably the next most useful counter as it can be used for many categories of tangible objects.",[11,1495,1496,1498],{},[1090,1497,1261],{}," Small objects... but also gigantic objects (boulders), super tiny objects (like cells), and even things without a definite shape (such as stains or bruises).",[67,1500,1501,1513],{},[70,1502,1503],{},[73,1504,1505,1507,1509,1511],{},[76,1506,1271],{"align":78},[76,1508,1274],{"align":78},[76,1510,85],{"align":78},[76,1512,1279],{"align":78},[87,1514,1515,1531,1547,1563,1579,1595,1611,1627,1643,1659],{},[73,1516,1517,1519,1525,1528],{},[92,1518,117],{"align":78},[92,1520,1521,1522],{"align":78},"1 個 ",[103,1523],{"src":1524,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一個.mp3",[92,1526,1527],{"align":78},"Ikko",[92,1529,1530],{"align":78},"One ____",[73,1532,1533,1535,1541,1544],{},[92,1534,133],{"align":78},[92,1536,1537,1538],{"align":78},"2 個 ",[103,1539],{"src":1540,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二個.mp3",[92,1542,1543],{"align":78},"Niko",[92,1545,1546],{"align":78},"Two ____",[73,1548,1549,1551,1557,1560],{},[92,1550,149],{"align":78},[92,1552,1553,1554],{"align":78},"3 個 ",[103,1555],{"src":1556,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三個.mp3",[92,1558,1559],{"align":78},"Sanko",[92,1561,1562],{"align":78},"Three ____",[73,1564,1565,1567,1573,1576],{},[92,1566,165],{"align":78},[92,1568,1569,1570],{"align":78},"4 個 ",[103,1571],{"src":1572,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-四個.mp3",[92,1574,1575],{"align":78},"Yonko",[92,1577,1578],{"align":78},"Four ____",[73,1580,1581,1583,1589,1592],{},[92,1582,188],{"align":78},[92,1584,1585,1586],{"align":78},"5 個 ",[103,1587],{"src":1588,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-五個.mp3",[92,1590,1591],{"align":78},"Goko",[92,1593,1594],{"align":78},"Five ____",[73,1596,1597,1599,1605,1608],{},[92,1598,204],{"align":78},[92,1600,1601,1602],{"align":78},"6 個 ",[103,1603],{"src":1604,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-六個.mp3",[92,1606,1607],{"align":78},"Rokko",[92,1609,1610],{"align":78},"Six ____",[73,1612,1613,1615,1621,1624],{},[92,1614,220],{"align":78},[92,1616,1617,1618],{"align":78},"7 個 ",[103,1619],{"src":1620,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-七個.mp3",[92,1622,1623],{"align":78},"Nanako",[92,1625,1626],{"align":78},"Seven ____",[73,1628,1629,1631,1637,1640],{},[92,1630,242],{"align":78},[92,1632,1633,1634],{"align":78},"8 個 ",[103,1635],{"src":1636,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-八個.mp3",[92,1638,1639],{"align":78},"Hakko",[92,1641,1642],{"align":78},"Eight ____",[73,1644,1645,1647,1653,1656],{},[92,1646,258],{"align":78},[92,1648,1649,1650],{"align":78},"9 個 ",[103,1651],{"src":1652,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-九個.mp3",[92,1654,1655],{"align":78},"Kyuuko",[92,1657,1658],{"align":78},"Nine ____",[73,1660,1661,1663,1669,1672],{},[92,1662,274],{"align":78},[92,1664,1665,1666],{"align":78},"10 個 ",[103,1667],{"src":1668,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-十個.mp3",[92,1670,1671],{"align":78},"Jukko",[92,1673,1674],{"align":78},"10 ____",[320,1676,1677,1679,1681],{},[287,1678,1427],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[292,1680],{},[287,1682,1683,1684,1689],{},"\nNotice how these numbers suddenly look pretty normal? Japanese has \n",[15,1685,1688],{"href":1686,"rel":1687},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_numerals#Basic_numbering_in_Japanese",[971],"\"Japanese-style\" numbers and \"Chinese-style\" numbers","\n. Some counters (such as 〜つ) use Japanese-style numbers, some (such as 〜個) use Chinese-style numbers, and others (such as 〜人 below) use a mix of both. This is unfortunately just something you'll have to remember as you go..\n",[11,1691,1692],{},"The ～個 counter is much like the ～つ counter in that it can be used for many things. In more formal publications, such as newspapers or journal articles, you'll also likely see 〜個 used in place of 〜つ.",[11,1694,1695],{},"For example, it still works totally fine if we swap out つ for 個 in the sentences below:",[304,1697,1698],{},[307,1699,1700,1448,1703,506,1706,506,1708],{},[1090,1701,1702],{},"サンドを６個",[103,1704],{"src":1705,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-サンドを６個買いました.mp3",[292,1707],{},[26,1709,1456,1710,415],{},[1090,1711,1459],{},[847,1713,1715,1716],{"id":1714},"_3-人-japanese-counter-for-people","3. ",[1090,1717,1718],{},"～人: Japanese counter for people",[50,1720],{"src":1721,"width":1722,"height":1723,"alt":1724},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-~人.jpeg",1504,846,"A screenshot showing three anime characters, as people are one of the things you count with ~人 in Japanese ",[11,1726,1727,1730],{},[1090,1728,1729],{},"You count people with ～人"," and it comes up often in real life and anime, so you’ll likely learn this one with ease—especially once you get past the unique ways of saying “one person,” “two people,” and “four people.”",[11,1732,1733,1735],{},[1090,1734,1261],{}," People.",[67,1737,1738,1750],{},[70,1739,1740],{},[73,1741,1742,1744,1746,1748],{},[76,1743,1271],{"align":78},[76,1745,1274],{"align":78},[76,1747,85],{"align":78},[76,1749,1279],{"align":78},[87,1751,1752,1770,1788,1804,1822,1838,1854,1870,1886,1902],{},[73,1753,1754,1756,1762,1767],{},[92,1755,117],{"align":78},[92,1757,1758,1759],{"align":78},"一人 ",[103,1760],{"src":1761,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一人.mp3",[92,1763,1764],{"align":78},[1090,1765,1766],{},"Hitori",[92,1768,1769],{"align":78},"One person",[73,1771,1772,1774,1780,1785],{},[92,1773,133],{"align":78},[92,1775,1776,1777],{"align":78},"二人 ",[103,1778],{"src":1779,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二人.mp3",[92,1781,1782],{"align":78},[1090,1783,1784],{},"Futari",[92,1786,1787],{"align":78},"Two people",[73,1789,1790,1792,1798,1801],{},[92,1791,149],{"align":78},[92,1793,1794,1795],{"align":78},"三人 ",[103,1796],{"src":1797,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三人.mp3",[92,1799,1800],{"align":78},"San-nin",[92,1802,1803],{"align":78},"Three people",[73,1805,1806,1808,1814,1819],{},[92,1807,165],{"align":78},[92,1809,1810,1811],{"align":78},"四人 ",[103,1812],{"src":1813,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-四人.mp3",[92,1815,1816],{"align":78},[1090,1817,1818],{},"Yo-nin",[92,1820,1821],{"align":78},"Four people",[73,1823,1824,1826,1832,1835],{},[92,1825,188],{"align":78},[92,1827,1828,1829],{"align":78},"五人 ",[103,1830],{"src":1831,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-五人.mp3",[92,1833,1834],{"align":78},"Go-nin",[92,1836,1837],{"align":78},"Five people",[73,1839,1840,1842,1848,1851],{},[92,1841,204],{"align":78},[92,1843,1844,1845],{"align":78},"六人 ",[103,1846],{"src":1847,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-六人.mp3",[92,1849,1850],{"align":78},"Roku-nin",[92,1852,1853],{"align":78},"Six people",[73,1855,1856,1858,1864,1867],{},[92,1857,220],{"align":78},[92,1859,1860,1861],{"align":78},"七人 ",[103,1862],{"src":1863,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-七人.mp3",[92,1865,1866],{"align":78},"Shichi-nin",[92,1868,1869],{"align":78},"Seven people",[73,1871,1872,1874,1880,1883],{},[92,1873,242],{"align":78},[92,1875,1876,1877],{"align":78},"八人 ",[103,1878],{"src":1879,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-八人.mp3",[92,1881,1882],{"align":78},"Hachi-nin",[92,1884,1885],{"align":78},"Eight people",[73,1887,1888,1890,1896,1899],{},[92,1889,258],{"align":78},[92,1891,1892,1893],{"align":78},"九人 ",[103,1894],{"src":1895,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-九人.mp3",[92,1897,1898],{"align":78},"Kyuu-nin",[92,1900,1901],{"align":78},"Nine people",[73,1903,1904,1906,1912,1915],{},[92,1905,274],{"align":78},[92,1907,1908,1909],{"align":78},"十人 ",[103,1910],{"src":1911,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-十人.mp3",[92,1913,1914],{"align":78},"Juu-nin",[92,1916,1917],{"align":78},"Ten people",[11,1919,1920],{},"There's a few things worth noticing here:",[304,1922,1923,1926,1929],{},[307,1924,1925],{},"You use Japanese-style numbers for one–two people (ひとり and ふたり, not いちにん and ににん)",[307,1927,1928],{},"You use Chinese-style numbers when counting three or more people",[307,1930,1931],{},"There's a sound shift: the ん from よん is dropped here, becoming よにん (not よんにん)",[11,1933,1934],{},"We'll only mention this here, but you'll run into similar situations with many counters, so pay attention!",[11,1936,1937],{},[1090,1938,1440],{},[304,1940,1941],{},[307,1942,1943,1946,1947,506,1950,506,1952],{},[1090,1944,1945],{},"一人","で旅行したくないよ！ ",[103,1948],{"src":1949,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一人で旅行したくないよ！.mp3",[292,1951],{},[26,1953,1954,1955,1958],{},"I don't want to travel ",[1090,1956,1957],{},"alone"," (as one person)!",[320,1960,1961,1978],{},[11,1962,1963,1966,1967,1970,1971,1974,1975,1977],{},[1090,1964,1965],{},"Particles",": Using the particle ",[1090,1968,1969],{},"で"," after the amount of people means that you are doing something ",[26,1972,1973],{},"with"," that many people. So, 一人",[1090,1976,1969],{}," refers to doing something by yourself.",[11,1979,1980,1981,506,1984],{},"→ ",[1090,1982,1983],{},"Find out more:",[15,1985,1987],{"href":1986},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles-guide","Mastering the Basics of Japanese Particles",[847,1989,1991,1992],{"id":1990},"_4-本-japanese-counter-for-long-or-stick-shaped-things","4. ",[1090,1993,1994],{},"～本: Japanese counter for long or stick-shaped things",[50,1996],{"src":1997,"width":1998,"height":1999,"alt":2000},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-~本.jpeg",1280,720,"A screenshot of several bottles of an Asahi adult beverage, which is one of the things you can count with ~本 in Japanese.",[11,2002,2003,2004,2007,2008,415],{},"This might be where counters start to feel a little overwhelming, but stick with us. You don’t have to remember ",[26,2005,2006],{},"all"," of the uses for ～本 right now. At its core, ",[1090,2009,2010],{},"～本 is used to count long or stick-shaped things",[11,2012,2013],{},"Anything that is taller than it is wide (for the most part) can use this counter.",[11,2015,2016,2018],{},[1090,2017,1261],{}," Plastic bottles, beer bottles, pencils, pens, skyscrapers, towers, strings, laces, cords, umbrellas, cigarettes, ties, and tree branches, to name a few.",[67,2020,2021,2033],{},[70,2022,2023],{},[73,2024,2025,2027,2029,2031],{},[76,2026,1271],{"align":78},[76,2028,1274],{"align":78},[76,2030,85],{"align":78},[76,2032,1279],{"align":78},[87,2034,2035,2050,2065,2080,2095,2110,2125,2140,2155,2170],{},[73,2036,2037,2039,2045,2048],{},[92,2038,117],{"align":78},[92,2040,2041,2042],{"align":78},"1 本 ",[103,2043],{"src":2044,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一本.mp3",[92,2046,2047],{"align":78},"Ippon",[92,2049,1530],{"align":78},[73,2051,2052,2054,2060,2063],{},[92,2053,133],{"align":78},[92,2055,2056,2057],{"align":78},"2 本 ",[103,2058],{"src":2059,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-２本.m4a",[92,2061,2062],{"align":78},"Nihon",[92,2064,1546],{"align":78},[73,2066,2067,2069,2075,2078],{},[92,2068,149],{"align":78},[92,2070,2071,2072],{"align":78},"3 本 ",[103,2073],{"src":2074,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-３本.mp3",[92,2076,2077],{"align":78},"Sanbon",[92,2079,1562],{"align":78},[73,2081,2082,2084,2090,2093],{},[92,2083,165],{"align":78},[92,2085,2086,2087],{"align":78},"4 本 ",[103,2088],{"src":2089,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-４本.mp3",[92,2091,2092],{"align":78},"Yonhon",[92,2094,1578],{"align":78},[73,2096,2097,2099,2105,2108],{},[92,2098,188],{"align":78},[92,2100,2101,2102],{"align":78},"5 本 ",[103,2103],{"src":2104,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-５本.mp3",[92,2106,2107],{"align":78},"Gohon",[92,2109,1594],{"align":78},[73,2111,2112,2114,2120,2123],{},[92,2113,204],{"align":78},[92,2115,2116,2117],{"align":78},"6 本 ",[103,2118],{"src":2119,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-６本.m4a",[92,2121,2122],{"align":78},"Roppon",[92,2124,1610],{"align":78},[73,2126,2127,2129,2135,2138],{},[92,2128,220],{"align":78},[92,2130,2131,2132],{"align":78},"7 本 ",[103,2133],{"src":2134,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-７本.mp3",[92,2136,2137],{"align":78},"Nanahon",[92,2139,1626],{"align":78},[73,2141,2142,2144,2150,2153],{},[92,2143,242],{"align":78},[92,2145,2146,2147],{"align":78},"8 本 ",[103,2148],{"src":2149,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-８本.mp3",[92,2151,2152],{"align":78},"Hachihon",[92,2154,1642],{"align":78},[73,2156,2157,2159,2165,2168],{},[92,2158,258],{"align":78},[92,2160,2161,2162],{"align":78},"9 本 ",[103,2163],{"src":2164,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-９本.mp3",[92,2166,2167],{"align":78},"Kyuuhon",[92,2169,1658],{"align":78},[73,2171,2172,2174,2180,2183],{},[92,2173,274],{"align":78},[92,2175,2176,2177],{"align":78},"10 本 ",[103,2178],{"src":2179,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-１０本.mp3",[92,2181,2182],{"align":78},"Juppon",[92,2184,1674],{"align":78},[320,2186,2187],{},[11,2188,2189,2190,2194,2195,2198],{},"Notice how this is ",[2191,2192,2193],"u",{},"よん","ほん, not ",[2191,2196,2197],{},"よ","ほん. The ~ん dropping with counters mentioned in the previous section isn't something that happens all the time.",[11,2200,2201],{},[1090,2202,1440],{},[304,2204,2205],{},[307,2206,2207,2208,2211,2212,506,2215,506,2217],{},"昨夜は",[1090,2209,2210],{},"ビールを１０本","も飲みました。頭が痛いですよ！ ",[103,2213],{"src":2214,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-昨夜はビールを１０本も飲みました。頭が痛いですよ！.mp3",[292,2216],{},[26,2218,2219,2220,2223],{},"I drank ",[1090,2221,2222],{},"10 bottles of beer"," last night! My head hurts…",[11,2225,2226,2229,2230,2233,2234,2237],{},[1090,2227,2228],{},"What is も doing?"," If you'd said ビール",[2191,2231,2232],{},"を","〜１０本飲みました, you'd just be stating how many beers you drank with no additional nuance. Inserting も adds emphasis—this person drank ",[26,2235,2236],{},"ten"," bottles of beer, and they think that's a lot. (Their hangover would agree!)",[847,2239,2241,2242],{"id":2240},"_5-枚-japanese-counter-for-flat-things","5. ",[1090,2243,2244],{},"～枚: Japanese counter for flat things",[50,2246],{"src":2247,"width":2248,"height":2249,"alt":2250},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-~枚.jpeg",2200,1236,"A screenshot of a notebook, each of the pages of which would be counted with 枚 in Japanese",[11,2252,2253,2256],{},[1090,2254,2255],{},"～枚 is the Japanese counter for flat things",", and it covers a wide variety of everyday objects.",[11,2258,2259],{},[26,2260,2261],{},"(‼️ Teeeeechnically the counter for books and notebooks is 冊 (さつ), but we couldn't resist. 枚 would be used to count each of the pages within that book or notebook).",[11,2263,2264,2266,2267,2272],{},[1090,2265,1261],{}," Paper, photos, t-shirts, pants, credit cards, CDs and DVDs, contact lenses, newspapers, magazines, towels, notes (cash), and walls. Interestingly, ",[15,2268,2271],{"href":2269,"rel":2270},"https:\u002F\u002Fdetail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp\u002Fqa\u002Fquestion_detail\u002Fq1049966310",[971],"it can also be used to count servings of soba or gyoza",", as the plate they come on is flat.",[67,2274,2275,2287],{},[70,2276,2277],{},[73,2278,2279,2281,2283,2285],{},[76,2280,1271],{"align":78},[76,2282,1274],{"align":78},[76,2284,85],{"align":78},[76,2286,1279],{"align":78},[87,2288,2289,2304,2319,2334,2349,2364,2379,2394,2409,2424],{},[73,2290,2291,2293,2299,2302],{},[92,2292,117],{"align":78},[92,2294,2295,2296],{"align":78},"1 枚 ",[103,2297],{"src":2298,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一枚.mp3",[92,2300,2301],{"align":78},"Ichi-mai",[92,2303,1530],{"align":78},[73,2305,2306,2308,2314,2317],{},[92,2307,133],{"align":78},[92,2309,2310,2311],{"align":78},"2 枚 ",[103,2312],{"src":2313,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二枚.mp3",[92,2315,2316],{"align":78},"Ni-mai",[92,2318,1546],{"align":78},[73,2320,2321,2323,2329,2332],{},[92,2322,149],{"align":78},[92,2324,2325,2326],{"align":78},"3 枚 ",[103,2327],{"src":2328,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三枚.mp3",[92,2330,2331],{"align":78},"San-mai",[92,2333,1562],{"align":78},[73,2335,2336,2338,2344,2347],{},[92,2337,165],{"align":78},[92,2339,2340,2341],{"align":78},"4 枚 ",[103,2342],{"src":2343,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-四枚.mp3",[92,2345,2346],{"align":78},"Yon-mai",[92,2348,1578],{"align":78},[73,2350,2351,2353,2359,2362],{},[92,2352,188],{"align":78},[92,2354,2355,2356],{"align":78},"5 枚 ",[103,2357],{"src":2358,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-五枚.mp3",[92,2360,2361],{"align":78},"Go-mai",[92,2363,1594],{"align":78},[73,2365,2366,2368,2374,2377],{},[92,2367,204],{"align":78},[92,2369,2370,2371],{"align":78},"6 枚 ",[103,2372],{"src":2373,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-六枚.mp3",[92,2375,2376],{"align":78},"Roku-mai",[92,2378,1610],{"align":78},[73,2380,2381,2383,2389,2392],{},[92,2382,220],{"align":78},[92,2384,2385,2386],{"align":78},"7 枚 ",[103,2387],{"src":2388,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-7枚.mp3",[92,2390,2391],{"align":78},"Nana-mai",[92,2393,1626],{"align":78},[73,2395,2396,2398,2404,2407],{},[92,2397,242],{"align":78},[92,2399,2400,2401],{"align":78},"8 枚 ",[103,2402],{"src":2403,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-八枚.mp3",[92,2405,2406],{"align":78},"Hachi-mai",[92,2408,1642],{"align":78},[73,2410,2411,2413,2419,2422],{},[92,2412,258],{"align":78},[92,2414,2415,2416],{"align":78},"9 枚 ",[103,2417],{"src":2418,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-九枚.mp3",[92,2420,2421],{"align":78},"Kyuu-mai",[92,2423,1658],{"align":78},[73,2425,2426,2428,2434,2437],{},[92,2427,274],{"align":78},[92,2429,2430,2431],{"align":78},"10 枚 ",[103,2432],{"src":2433,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-十枚.mp3",[92,2435,2436],{"align":78},"Juu-mai",[92,2438,1674],{"align":78},[11,2440,2441],{},[1090,2442,1440],{},[304,2444,2445],{},[307,2446,2447,2450,2451,506,2454,506,2456,506,2463,506,2465],{},[1090,2448,2449],{},"切手を５枚","お願いします。 ",[103,2452],{"src":2453,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-切手を５枚お願いします。.mp3",[292,2455],{},[26,2457,2458,2459,2462],{},"Could I have ",[1090,2460,2461],{},"five stamps",", please?",[292,2464],{},[26,2466,2467],{},"(Stamps, five {of them} please)",[847,2469,2471,2472],{"id":2470},"_6-台-japanese-counter-for-machines-and-platforms-you-can-put-things-on","6. ",[1090,2473,2474],{},"～台: Japanese counter for machines (and platforms you can put things on)",[50,2476],{"src":2477,"width":2478,"height":2479,"alt":2480},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-~台.jpeg",1920,1080,"A picture of a guy leaning on a car, which is one of the things you can count with 台 in Japanese",[11,2482,2483,2486,2487,2490],{},[1090,2484,2485],{},"～台 is the Japanese counter for machines"," and platforms you can put things on, such as a table or bed. If you love ",[26,2488,2489],{},"Gundam"," or car anime, this is one for you to remember!",[11,2492,2493,2495],{},[1090,2494,1261],{}," Cars, trucks, motors, washing machines, dryers, microwaves, ovens, large instruments (like a piano, cello, or harp), large furniture (like beds, tables, and couches), mobile phones, and more.",[67,2497,2498,2510],{},[70,2499,2500],{},[73,2501,2502,2504,2506,2508],{},[76,2503,1271],{"align":78},[76,2505,1274],{"align":78},[76,2507,85],{"align":78},[76,2509,1279],{"align":78},[87,2511,2512,2527,2542,2557,2572,2587,2602,2617,2632,2647],{},[73,2513,2514,2516,2522,2525],{},[92,2515,117],{"align":78},[92,2517,2518,2519],{"align":78},"1 台 ",[103,2520],{"src":2521,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一台.mp3",[92,2523,2524],{"align":78},"Ichi-dai",[92,2526,1530],{"align":78},[73,2528,2529,2531,2537,2540],{},[92,2530,133],{"align":78},[92,2532,2533,2534],{"align":78},"2 台 ",[103,2535],{"src":2536,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二台.mp3",[92,2538,2539],{"align":78},"Ni-dai",[92,2541,1546],{"align":78},[73,2543,2544,2546,2552,2555],{},[92,2545,149],{"align":78},[92,2547,2548,2549],{"align":78},"3 台 ",[103,2550],{"src":2551,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三台.mp3",[92,2553,2554],{"align":78},"San-dai",[92,2556,1562],{"align":78},[73,2558,2559,2561,2567,2570],{},[92,2560,165],{"align":78},[92,2562,2563,2564],{"align":78},"4 台 ",[103,2565],{"src":2566,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-四台.mp3",[92,2568,2569],{"align":78},"Yon-dai",[92,2571,1578],{"align":78},[73,2573,2574,2576,2582,2585],{},[92,2575,188],{"align":78},[92,2577,2578,2579],{"align":78},"5 台 ",[103,2580],{"src":2581,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-五台.mp3",[92,2583,2584],{"align":78},"Go-dai",[92,2586,1594],{"align":78},[73,2588,2589,2591,2597,2600],{},[92,2590,204],{"align":78},[92,2592,2593,2594],{"align":78},"6 台 ",[103,2595],{"src":2596,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-六台.mp3",[92,2598,2599],{"align":78},"Roku-dai",[92,2601,1610],{"align":78},[73,2603,2604,2606,2612,2615],{},[92,2605,220],{"align":78},[92,2607,2608,2609],{"align":78},"7 台 ",[103,2610],{"src":2611,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-七台.mp3",[92,2613,2614],{"align":78},"Nana-dai",[92,2616,1626],{"align":78},[73,2618,2619,2621,2627,2630],{},[92,2620,242],{"align":78},[92,2622,2623,2624],{"align":78},"8 台 ",[103,2625],{"src":2626,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-八台.mp3",[92,2628,2629],{"align":78},"Hachi-dai",[92,2631,1642],{"align":78},[73,2633,2634,2636,2642,2645],{},[92,2635,258],{"align":78},[92,2637,2638,2639],{"align":78},"9 台 ",[103,2640],{"src":2641,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-九台.mp3",[92,2643,2644],{"align":78},"Kyuu-dai",[92,2646,1658],{"align":78},[73,2648,2649,2651,2657,2660],{},[92,2650,274],{"align":78},[92,2652,2653,2654],{"align":78},"10 台 ",[103,2655],{"src":2656,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-十台.mp3",[92,2658,2659],{"align":78},"Juu-dai",[92,2661,1674],{"align":78},[11,2663,2664],{},[1090,2665,1440],{},[304,2667,2668],{},[307,2669,2670,2671,2674,2675,506,2678,506,2680],{},"もし宝くじが当たったら Y",[1090,2672,2673],{},"車を 10 台","買うだろう。 ",[103,2676],{"src":2677,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-もし宝くじが当たったら車を10台買うだろう。.mp3",[292,2679],{},[26,2681,2682,2683,415],{},"If I won the lottery, I’d buy ",[1090,2684,2685],{},"10 cars",[847,2687,2689,2690],{"id":2688},"_7-日-japanese-counter-for-days","7. ",[1090,2691,2692],{},"～日: Japanese counter for days",[50,2694],{"src":2695,"width":2696,"height":2697,"alt":2698},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-~日.jpeg",1600,1900,"A photo of a calendar, each of the dates on which would be counted with 日 in Japanese",[11,2700,2701,2704],{},[1090,2702,2703],{},"～日 is the Japanese counter for days",", but there are two ways it can be used:",[304,2706,2707,2710],{},[307,2708,2709],{},"For giving a calendar date",[307,2711,2712,2713,2716],{},"For giving an ",[26,2714,2715],{},"amount"," of days",[11,2718,2719],{},"Adding in a bit of complexity, the counter is sometimes pronounced differently depending on which of those meanings you're using.",[67,2721,2722,2734],{},[70,2723,2724],{},[73,2725,2726,2728,2730,2732],{},[76,2727,1271],{"align":78},[76,2729,1274],{"align":78},[76,2731,85],{},[76,2733,1279],{},[87,2735,2736,2752,2768,2784,2800,2816,2832,2848,2864,2880,2896,2913,2933],{},[73,2737,2738,2740,2746,2749],{},[92,2739,117],{"align":78},[92,2741,2742,2743],{"align":78},"1 日 ",[103,2744],{"src":2745,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一日.mp3",[92,2747,2748],{},"Ichinichi → Tsuitachi",[92,2750,2751],{},"One day → First day of the month",[73,2753,2754,2756,2762,2765],{},[92,2755,133],{"align":78},[92,2757,2758,2759],{"align":78},"2 日 ",[103,2760],{"src":2761,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二日.mp3",[92,2763,2764],{},"Futsuka",[92,2766,2767],{},"Two days \u002F second day of the month",[73,2769,2770,2772,2778,2781],{},[92,2771,149],{"align":78},[92,2773,2774,2775],{"align":78},"3 日 ",[103,2776],{"src":2777,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三日.mp3",[92,2779,2780],{},"Mikka",[92,2782,2783],{},"Three days \u002F third day of the month",[73,2785,2786,2788,2794,2797],{},[92,2787,165],{"align":78},[92,2789,2790,2791],{"align":78},"4 日 ",[103,2792],{"src":2793,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-四日.mp3",[92,2795,2796],{},"Yokka",[92,2798,2799],{},"Four days \u002F fourth day of the month",[73,2801,2802,2804,2810,2813],{},[92,2803,188],{"align":78},[92,2805,2806,2807],{"align":78},"5 日 ",[103,2808],{"src":2809,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-五日.mp3",[92,2811,2812],{},"Itsuka",[92,2814,2815],{},"Five days \u002F fifth day of the month",[73,2817,2818,2820,2826,2829],{},[92,2819,204],{"align":78},[92,2821,2822,2823],{"align":78},"6 日 ",[103,2824],{"src":2825,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-六日.mp3",[92,2827,2828],{},"Muika",[92,2830,2831],{},"Six days \u002F sixth day of the month",[73,2833,2834,2836,2842,2845],{},[92,2835,220],{"align":78},[92,2837,2838,2839],{"align":78},"7 日 ",[103,2840],{"src":2841,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-七日.mp3",[92,2843,2844],{},"Nanoka",[92,2846,2847],{},"Seven days \u002F seventh day of the month",[73,2849,2850,2852,2858,2861],{},[92,2851,242],{"align":78},[92,2853,2854,2855],{"align":78},"8 日 ",[103,2856],{"src":2857,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-八日.mp3",[92,2859,2860],{},"Youka",[92,2862,2863],{},"Eight days \u002F eighth day of the month",[73,2865,2866,2868,2874,2877],{},[92,2867,258],{"align":78},[92,2869,2870,2871],{"align":78},"9 日 ",[103,2872],{"src":2873,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-九日.mp3",[92,2875,2876],{},"Kokonoka",[92,2878,2879],{},"Nine days \u002F ninth day of the month",[73,2881,2882,2884,2890,2893],{},[92,2883,274],{"align":78},[92,2885,2886,2887],{"align":78},"10 日 ",[103,2888],{"src":2889,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-十日.mp3",[92,2891,2892],{},"Tooka",[92,2894,2895],{},"10 days \u002F tenth day of the month",[73,2897,2898,2901,2907,2910],{},[92,2899,2900],{"align":78},"20",[92,2902,2903,2904],{"align":78},"20 日 ",[103,2905],{"src":2906,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二十日.mp3",[92,2908,2909],{},"Hatsuka",[92,2911,2912],{},"20 days \u002F twentieth day of the month",[73,2914,2915,2918,2927,2930],{},[92,2916,2917],{"align":78},"49",[92,2919,2920,2921,506,2924],{"align":78},"49 日 ",[103,2922],{"src":2923,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-よんじゅうくにち.mp3",[103,2925],{"src":2926,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-四十九日.mp3",[92,2928,2929],{},"Yonjuukunichi → Shijuukunichi",[92,2931,2932],{},"49 days → 49 days after someone’s death",[73,2934,2935,2938,2944,2947],{},[92,2936,2937],{"align":78},"?",[92,2939,2940,2941],{"align":78},"何日? ",[103,2942],{"src":2943,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-何日_.mp3",[92,2945,2946],{},"Nan-nichi?",[92,2948,2949],{},"How many days? Which day?",[11,2951,2952],{},[1090,2953,2954],{},"Examples:",[304,2956,2957,2976],{},[307,2958,2959,2960,2963,2964,506,2967,506,2969],{},"この漫画を描くのに、",[1090,2961,2962],{},"20 日","かかりました。",[103,2965],{"src":2966,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-この漫画を描くのに、20日かかりました。.mp3",[292,2968],{},[26,2970,2971,2972,2975],{},"It took me ",[1090,2973,2974],{},"twenty days"," to draw this comic.",[307,2977,2978,2981,2982,506,2985,506,2987],{},[1090,2979,2980],{},"来月の一日","から出張に行く予定なんだ。",[103,2983],{"src":2984,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-来月の一日から出張に行く予定なんだ。.mp3",[292,2986],{},[26,2988,2989,2990],{},"I'm scheduled to go on a business trip from ",[1090,2991,2992],{},"the first of next month",[11,2994,2995,2998],{},[1090,2996,2997],{},"What is のに doing?"," This grammar point means “in order to (do something)”, and it is paired with the dictionary form of a verb. In this case, \"in order to\" draw this comic, it took 20 days.",[847,3000,3002,3003],{"id":3001},"_8-分-japanese-counter-for-minutes","8. ",[1090,3004,3005],{},"～分: Japanese counter for minutes",[50,3007],{"src":3008,"width":2696,"height":3009,"alt":3010},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-~分.jpeg",1084,"A photo of an alarm clock, the minutes of which would be counted with 分 in Japanese",[11,3012,3013,3016],{},[1090,3014,3015],{},"～分 is the Japanese counter for minutes",". This is an important skill in daily conversation, naturally, and once you’ve mastered a few changes in pronunciation, you’ll be like a walking clock (almost)!",[11,3018,3019,3021],{},[1090,3020,1261],{}," Minutes.",[67,3023,3024,3036],{},[70,3025,3026],{},[73,3027,3028,3030,3032,3034],{},[76,3029,1271],{"align":78},[76,3031,1274],{"align":78},[76,3033,85],{"align":78},[76,3035,1279],{"align":78},[87,3037,3038,3054,3070,3089,3107,3123,3139,3155,3171,3187],{},[73,3039,3040,3042,3048,3051],{},[92,3041,117],{"align":78},[92,3043,3044,3045],{"align":78},"1 分 ",[103,3046],{"src":3047,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一分.mp3",[92,3049,3050],{"align":78},"Ippun",[92,3052,3053],{"align":78},"One minute",[73,3055,3056,3058,3064,3067],{},[92,3057,133],{"align":78},[92,3059,3060,3061],{"align":78},"2 分 ",[103,3062],{"src":3063,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二分.mp3",[92,3065,3066],{"align":78},"Nifun",[92,3068,3069],{"align":78},"Two minutes",[73,3071,3072,3074,3080,3086],{},[92,3073,149],{"align":78},[92,3075,3076,3077],{"align":78},"3 分 ",[103,3078],{"src":3079,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三分.mp3",[92,3081,3082,3083,3085],{"align":78},"San",[1090,3084,11],{},"un",[92,3087,3088],{"align":78},"Three minutes",[73,3090,3091,3093,3099,3104],{},[92,3092,165],{"align":78},[92,3094,3095,3096],{"align":78},"4 分 ",[103,3097],{"src":3098,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-四分.mp3",[92,3100,3101,3102,3085],{"align":78},"Yon",[1090,3103,11],{},[92,3105,3106],{"align":78},"Four minutes",[73,3108,3109,3111,3117,3120],{},[92,3110,188],{"align":78},[92,3112,3113,3114],{"align":78},"5 分 ",[103,3115],{"src":3116,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-五分.mp3",[92,3118,3119],{"align":78},"Gofun",[92,3121,3122],{"align":78},"Five minutes",[73,3124,3125,3127,3133,3136],{},[92,3126,204],{"align":78},[92,3128,3129,3130],{"align":78},"6 分 ",[103,3131],{"src":3132,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-六分.mp3",[92,3134,3135],{"align":78},"Roppun",[92,3137,3138],{"align":78},"Six minutes",[73,3140,3141,3143,3149,3152],{},[92,3142,220],{"align":78},[92,3144,3145,3146],{"align":78},"7 分 ",[103,3147],{"src":3148,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-七分.mp3",[92,3150,3151],{"align":78},"Nanafun",[92,3153,3154],{"align":78},"Seven minutes",[73,3156,3157,3159,3165,3168],{},[92,3158,242],{"align":78},[92,3160,3161,3162],{"align":78},"8 分 ",[103,3163],{"src":3164,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-八分.mp3",[92,3166,3167],{"align":78},"Happun",[92,3169,3170],{"align":78},"Eight minutes",[73,3172,3173,3175,3181,3184],{},[92,3174,258],{"align":78},[92,3176,3177,3178],{"align":78},"9 分 ",[103,3179],{"src":3180,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-九分.mp3",[92,3182,3183],{"align":78},"Kyuufun",[92,3185,3186],{"align":78},"Nine minutes",[73,3188,3189,3191,3197,3200],{},[92,3190,274],{"align":78},[92,3192,3193,3194],{"align":78},"10 分 ",[103,3195],{"src":3196,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-１０分.mp3",[92,3198,3199],{"align":78},"Juppun",[92,3201,3202],{"align":78},"10 minutes",[11,3204,3205,3206,3210,3211,3215],{},"Note how three and four minutes are pronounced san",[2191,3207,3208],{},[1090,3209,11],{},"un and yon",[2191,3212,3213],{},[1090,3214,11],{},"un, not san(b)un or yon(b)un. P sounds in Japanese normally become a B if they follow an N, but in this case, somewhat unexpectedly, the original P sound is maintained.",[11,3217,3218],{},[1090,3219,1440],{},[304,3221,3222],{},[307,3223,3224,3225,3228,3229,506,3232,506,3234],{},"映画はあと",[1090,3226,3227],{},"10 分","で始まります。",[103,3230],{"src":3231,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-映画はあと10分で始まります。.mp3",[292,3233],{},[26,3235,3236,3237,415],{},"The film will start in ",[1090,3238,3202],{},[3240,3241,3243],"h4",{"id":3242},"how-to-tell-time-in-japanese","How to tell time in Japanese",[11,3245,3246],{},"As a quick aside—now that you know how to say the minutes, let's talk about hours in Japanese, so you can tell time. The hours, thankfully, are much easier: you just tack 時 (ji) onto the end of a normal Japanese verb:",[304,3248,3249,3256,3263],{},[307,3250,3251,3252,3255],{},"1 時 ",[103,3253],{"src":3254,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一時.mp3","　 → 　いちじ",[307,3257,3258,3259,3262],{},"2 時 ",[103,3260],{"src":3261,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-2時.mp3"," → 　にじ",[307,3264,3265,3266,3269],{},"3 時 ",[103,3267],{"src":3268,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-3時.mp3"," → 　さんじ",[11,3271,3272],{},"By putting these together, you can tell the time!",[304,3274,3275,3286],{},[307,3276,3277,3278,506,3281,506,3283],{},"今何時ですか？ ",[103,3279],{"src":3280,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-今何時ですか？.mp3",[292,3282],{},[26,3284,3285],{},"What’s the time?",[307,3287,3288,3289,506,3292,506,3294],{},"3 時 15 分ぐらいですよ。 ",[103,3290],{"src":3291,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-3時15分ぐらいですよ。.mp3",[292,3293],{},[26,3295,3296],{},"It’s about 3:15.",[45,3298,3300],{"id":3299},"how-to-use-japanese-counters-in-a-sentence",[1090,3301,3302],{},"How to use Japanese counters in a sentence?",[11,3304,3305],{},"While there are tons of counters, the good news is that they're used in very consistent structures. These are listed out below:",[11,3307,3308],{},[1090,3309,3310],{},"1. [Noun] を [Number + Counter] [Verb]",[304,3312,3313,3331],{},[307,3314,3315,3316,3319,3320,506,3323,506,3325],{},"パンを",[1090,3317,3318],{},"3 つ","食べました。 ",[103,3321],{"src":3322,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-パンを3つ食べました。.mp3",[292,3324],{},[26,3326,3327,3328,1175],{},"I ate ",[1090,3329,3330],{},"three pieces",[307,3332,3333,3334,3337,3338,506,3341,506,3343],{},"映画を",[1090,3335,3336],{},"2 本","見た。",[103,3339],{"src":3340,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-映画を2本見た。.mp3",[292,3342],{},[26,3344,3345,3346,3349],{},"I watched ",[1090,3347,3348],{},"two"," movies.",[11,3351,3352],{},[1090,3353,3354],{},"2. [Number + Counter] の [Noun]",[304,3356,3357,3374],{},[307,3358,3359,3362,3363,506,3366,506,3368],{},[1090,3360,3361],{},"2 匹","の猫がいます。",[103,3364],{"src":3365,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-2匹の猫がいます。.mp3",[292,3367],{},[26,3369,3370,3371,3373],{},"There are ",[1090,3372,3348],{}," cats.",[307,3375,3376,3379,3380,506,3383,506,3385],{},[1090,3377,3378],{},"3 人","の学生が図書館にいます。",[103,3381],{"src":3382,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-3人の学生が図書館にいます。.mp3",[292,3384],{},[26,3386,3387,3390],{},[1090,3388,3389],{},"Three"," students are in the library.",[11,3392,3393],{},[1090,3394,3395],{},"3. [Noun] が [Number + Counter] あります／います",[304,3397,3398,3415],{},[307,3399,3400,3401,3404,3405,506,3408,506,3410],{},"椅子が",[1090,3402,3403],{},"5 つ","あります。",[103,3406],{"src":3407,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-椅子が5つあります。.mp3",[292,3409],{},[26,3411,3370,3412,3414],{},[1090,3413,421],{}," chairs.",[307,3416,3417,3418,3421,3422,506,3425,506,3427],{},"子どもが",[1090,3419,3420],{},"2 人","います。 ",[103,3423],{"src":3424,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-子どもが2人います。.mp3",[292,3426],{},[26,3428,3370,3429,3431],{},[1090,3430,3348],{}," children.",[11,3433,3434],{},[1090,3435,3436],{},"4. [Period of Time] に [Number + Counter] [Verb]",[304,3438,3439,3458],{},[307,3440,3441,3442,3445,3446,506,3449,506,3451],{},"1 週間に",[1090,3443,3444],{},"3 回","運動します。 ",[103,3447],{"src":3448,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-1週間に3回運動します。.mp3",[292,3450],{},[26,3452,3453,3454,3457],{},"I exercise ",[1090,3455,3456],{},"three times"," a week.",[307,3459,3460,3461,3464,3465,506,3468,506,3470],{},"1 日に",[1090,3462,3463],{},"42 時間","勉強します。",[103,3466],{"src":3467,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-1日に42時間勉強します。.mp3",[292,3469],{},[26,3471,3472,3473,3476],{},"I study ",[1090,3474,3475],{},"forty-two hours"," a day.",[11,3478,3479],{},[1090,3480,3481],{},"5. [Number + Counter] も \u002F しか [Verb]",[304,3483,3484,3502],{},[307,3485,3486,3487,3490,3491,506,3494,506,3496],{},"メロンソーダを",[1090,3488,3489],{},"3 本も","飲んだ！",[103,3492],{"src":3493,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-メロンソーダを3本も飲んだ！.mp3",[292,3495],{},[26,3497,2219,3498,3501],{},[1090,3499,3500],{},"three"," melon sodas (and that's a lot)!",[307,3503,3504,3507,3508,506,3511,506,3513],{},[1090,3505,3506],{},"1 人しか","来なかった。 ",[103,3509],{"src":3510,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-1人しかこなかった。.mp3",[292,3512],{},[26,3514,3515,3518],{},[1090,3516,3517],{},"Only one person"," came.",[11,3520,3521],{},[1090,3522,3523],{},"6. [Question word] + Counter + Verb?",[11,3525,3526],{},"Used to ask how many of something.",[304,3528,3529,3547],{},[307,3530,3531,3532,3535,3536,506,3539,506,3541],{},"りんごを",[1090,3533,3534],{},"何個","食べましたか？ ",[103,3537],{"src":3538,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-りんごを何個食べましたか？.mp3",[292,3540],{},[26,3542,3543,3546],{},[1090,3544,3545],{},"How many"," apples did you eat?",[307,3548,3549,3550,3553,3554,506,3557,506,3559],{},"本は",[1090,3551,3552],{},"何冊","ありますか？ ",[103,3555],{"src":3556,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-本は何冊ありますか？.mp3",[292,3558],{},[26,3560,3561,3563],{},[1090,3562,3545],{}," books are there?",[42,3565],{},[45,3567,3569],{"id":3568},"whats-the-best-way-to-learn-japanese-counters",[1090,3570,3571],{},"What’s the best way to learn Japanese counters?",[11,3573,3574],{},"It's not just you—numbers are scary in any language, and counters doubly so.",[11,3576,3577,3580],{},[1090,3578,3579],{},"Migaku’s Japanese Academy"," teaches hundreds of common grammar points alongside the most common ~1,500 Japanese words. Naturally, we have a lesson on counters:",[50,3582],{"src":659,"width":3583,"height":3584,"alt":3585},1728,1208,"A screenshot from Migaku's Japanese Academy, showing how we teach Japanese counters.",[11,3587,3588],{},"But we also know that this is a lot of information that won't learn itself, so we follow up each lesson with a few flashcards help you remember what a grammar point means by learning sentences that feature it:",[50,3590],{"src":3591,"width":3592,"height":3593,"alt":3594},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-flashcards-japanese-counters.jpeg",1420,1210,"A screenshot from the Migaku Japanese Academy, showing one of the flashcards we use to help you remember counters in Japanese",[11,3596,3597],{},"What's so special about our flashcards is that the sentences in them have been very carefully curated—each \"next\" flashcard will introduce only one word you don't know. From there, we’ll periodically nudge you to review each one, so you’ll eventually remember it.",[674,3599],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,3601],{},[45,3603,3605],{"id":3604},"numbers-in-japanese-learn-japanese-counters",[1090,3606,3607],{},"Numbers in Japanese: Learn Japanese counters",[11,3609,3610],{},"Learning the numbers in any new language can be difficult, and finding out that Japanese people even categorise their numbers by object can be enough to scare you off entirely… but don’t worry!",[11,3612,3613],{},"Even just learning the counters in this blog is enough to start noticing them in your favourite shows — and from there, the number of things you’ll learn is unlimited.",[11,3615,3616],{},"As always, just remember:",[320,3618,3619],{},[11,3620,3621,3622],{},"If you consume Japanese media, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you'll make progress. ",[26,3623,705],{},[11,3625,3626,3627,3630],{},"Get your ",[1090,3628,3629],{},"free 10-day trial for Migaku"," and see for yourself. In 3, 2, 1…",[674,3632],{"href":17,"text":3633},"Try Migaku for free",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":3635},[3636,3637,3638,3656,3657,3658],{"id":1088,"depth":707,"text":1092},{"id":1189,"depth":707,"text":1190},{"id":1223,"depth":707,"text":1226,"children":3639},[3640,3642,3644,3646,3648,3650,3652,3654],{"id":1232,"depth":1016,"text":3641},"1. ～つ: If in doubt, go with this one",{"id":1473,"depth":1016,"text":3643},"2. ～個: Japanese counter for small things (and more!)",{"id":1714,"depth":1016,"text":3645},"3. ～人: Japanese counter for people",{"id":1990,"depth":1016,"text":3647},"4. ～本: Japanese counter for long or stick-shaped things",{"id":2240,"depth":1016,"text":3649},"5. ～枚: Japanese counter for flat things",{"id":2470,"depth":1016,"text":3651},"6. ～台: Japanese counter for machines (and platforms you can put things on)",{"id":2688,"depth":1016,"text":3653},"7. ～日: Japanese counter for days",{"id":3001,"depth":1016,"text":3655},"8. ～分: Japanese counter for minutes",{"id":3299,"depth":707,"text":3302},{"id":3568,"depth":707,"text":3571},{"id":3604,"depth":707,"text":3607},"How do you count in Japanese? Japanese counters, of course! Learn how to count people, small objects, machines and so much more with Migaku.",{"timestampUnix":3661,"slug":3662,"h1":3663,"image":3664,"tags":3669},1748244723277,"japanese-counters","How to Use The 8 Most Common Japanese Counters",{"src":3665,"width":3666,"height":3667,"alt":3668},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-thumbnail.jpeg",2560,1440,"A screenshot of an anime character with a number on his hand—without a counter, because he's a noob, apparently",[3670,728],"grammar","\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-counters","---\ntitle: 'Japanese Counters: Learn to Count in Japanese | Migaku'\ndescription: 'How do you count in Japanese? Japanese counters, of course! Learn how to count people, small objects, machines and so much more with Migaku.'\ntimestampUnix: 1748244723277\nslug: 'japanese-counters'\nh1: 'How to Use The 8 Most Common Japanese Counters'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-thumbnail.jpeg'\n width: 2560\n height: 1440\n alt: \"A screenshot of an anime character with a number on his hand—without a counter, because he's a noob, apparently\"\ntags:\n - grammar\n - fundamentals\n---\n\nMaybe you’ve been avoiding Japanese counters until now, but you knew your days were numbered…\n\n_(Yes, that was intentional, sorry.)_\n\nAnyway—numbers are a part of daily life and conversation: when you count in Japanese, you use unique combinations of numbers + kanji to count different things. There are unique counters for counting everything from people and days and small animals to flat, cylindrical, or 3D objects.\n\nSuffice it to say that if you want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), you'll need to know counters.\n\nThis post will help you get started.\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n> This article assumes that you can already read hiragana. If not, we applaud your go-getter spirit. Before you read this article, you may want to take a detour to first check out [what hiragana is used for](blog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-alphabets), then read this article while referencing [our hiragana cheat sheet](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-hiragana).\n\n---\n\n## **What are Japanese counters?**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-overview.jpeg\" width=\"1960\" height=\"1102\" alt=\"A screenshot of a confused anime character, perhaps wondering how to use Japanese counters\" \u002F>\n\nPut simply, a Japanese counter—known as 助数詞 (じょすうし) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-助数詞.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> —is a fancy linguistic term that refers to a word you use to count something. They are modified versions of Japanese numbers that indicate the type of object you're counting.\n\nIn other words, counters are used to count things.\n\nObserve:\n\n- Normal number: 一 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> 、二 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>、三 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- Counting number: 一つ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一つ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>、二つ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二つ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>、三つ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三つ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n\nYou use normal numbers when you're \"generally\" counting (say, from 1 to 10, when playing hide & seek), but you use counting numbers when counting specific things.\n\nBefore you panic, know that we also use counters in English, too—such as one _can_ of soup, two _sheets_ of paper, or three _gaggles_ of geese. (Okay, you might not have said the last example before, but see what we mean? Counters aren't unique to the Japanese language.)\n\nImportantly:\n\n> Your choice of counter word can significantly alter your meaning, such as referring to a _slice_ of bread vs a _loaf_ of bread.\n\nJapanese counters are exactly the same concept as our English counters, but whereas we use them for only some things in English, they’re used for _everything_ in Japanese. They’re also mandatory; you _must_ use them whenever you count something, and it'll be super noticeable\u002Fjarring if you don't.\n\n## How many Japanese counters are there?\n\nThere are about 500 different counters in Japanese. (I’m not joking.)\n\nThe good news is that, like [any other vocabulary word](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary), some are used much, much more commonly than others. Even native Japanese speakers don’t know all of the counters because it's only the super common counters that really get used in everyday life.\n\nYou’ll learn more counters as you go, but to get you started, we’ll cover the super common. If you learn to use the counters we talk about in this blog post, you'll be able to:\n\n- Order food or drinks at a restaurant\n- Ask for a bag at a store\n- Say how many people are in your group\n- Talk about time and dates\n\n---\n\n## **8 most useful counters in Japanese**\n\nBefore we get started, I'm just going to pop in with one last heads up that the Japanese counting system is pretty complex. It's OK if you find this difficult. Everybody does. Hang in there, and it'll click before long 💪\n\n### 1. **～つ: If in doubt, go with this one**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japnanese-counters-つ.jpeg\" width=\"1472\" height=\"828\" alt=\"A screenshot of several sandwiches, which are one of the things you can count with ~つ in Japanese\" \u002F>\n\n**～つ is a general counter used to count small objects**, and is kind of a saving grace for Japanese counters. It can often be used if you don’t know the specific counter for something.\n\n> ～つ is the most important Japanese counter: if you aren't sure what the correct counter for something is, you can pretty much always just use this one instead. _(Don't get into a habit of doing this, though; it's kind of like saying \"eight things of water\" instead of \"eight cups of water\".)_\n\n**What can this counter be used for?** ～つ is used to count a wide range of smaller objects—pretty much everything from dishes in a restaurant to miscellaneous objects you see around you to intangible things like ideas.\n\n| Number | Counter | Romaji | Meaning |\n| :----: | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :-------: | :----------: |\n| 1 | 一つ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一つ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Hitotsu | One thing |\n| 2 | 二つ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二つ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Futatsu | Two things |\n| 3 | 三つ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三つ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Mittsu | Three things |\n| 4 | 四つ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-四つ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Yottsu | Four things |\n| 5 | 五つ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-五つ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Itsutsu | Five things |\n| 6 | 六つ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-六つ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Muttsu | Six things |\n| 7 | 七つ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-七つ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Nanatsu | Seven things |\n| 8 | 八つ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-八つ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Yattsu | Eight things |\n| 9 | 九つ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-九つ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Kokonotsu | Nine things |\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Note\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\u003CCenteredText>For whatever reason, ～つ is generally only used to count things up to nine. If there are more than nine of something, you should use the \"proper\" counter, if possible.\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\nThese days, it is more common to see numbers written out via numerals, rather than written out via kanji. For example, in the sentence below, you'll usually see 6 つ rather than 六つ, though both are correct and OK.\n\n**Example:**\n\n- **サンドを六つ**買いました。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-サンドを６つ買いました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _I bought **six sandwiches**._\n\nIt's often hard to translate counters into English because we just don't use them when counting many things, but you could think of this as being something like \"I bought six {things of} sandwiches\"—if there were a word like _batches_ or _stacks_ used to count sandwiches in English.\n\n### 2. **～個: Japanese counter for small things (and more\\!)**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-~個.jpeg\" width=\"1472\" height=\"848\" alt=\"A screenshot of an anime character picking an apple, one of the things you can count with ~個 in Japanese\" \u002F>\n\n**～個 is a general counter for (usually) concrete, tangible objects**. Think of things like fruit, eggs, or individual chocolates; if it’s small enough to hold in one hand, it likely works with ～個.\n\n> After 〜つ, ～個 is probably the next most useful counter as it can be used for many categories of tangible objects.\n\n**What can this counter be used for?** Small objects... but also gigantic objects (boulders), super tiny objects (like cells), and even things without a definite shape (such as stains or bruises).\n\n| Number | Counter | Romaji | Meaning |\n| :----: | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :----: | :------------: |\n| 1 | 1 個 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一個.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Ikko | One \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 2 | 2 個 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二個.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Niko | Two \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 3 | 3 個 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三個.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Sanko | Three \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 4 | 4 個 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-四個.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Yonko | Four \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 5 | 5 個 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-五個.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Goko | Five \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 6 | 6 個 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-六個.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Rokko | Six \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 7 | 7 個 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-七個.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Nanako | Seven \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 8 | 8 個 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-八個.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Hakko | Eight \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 9 | 9 個 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-九個.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Kyuuko | Nine \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 10 | 10 個 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-十個.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Jukko | 10 \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Note\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\u003CCenteredText>Notice how these numbers suddenly look pretty normal? Japanese has [\"Japanese-style\" numbers and \"Chinese-style\" numbers](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_numerals#Basic_numbering_in_Japanese). Some counters (such as 〜つ) use Japanese-style numbers, some (such as 〜個) use Chinese-style numbers, and others (such as 〜人 below) use a mix of both. This is unfortunately just something you'll have to remember as you go..\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\nThe ～個 counter is much like the ～つ counter in that it can be used for many things. In more formal publications, such as newspapers or journal articles, you'll also likely see 〜個 used in place of 〜つ.\n\nFor example, it still works totally fine if we swap out つ for 個 in the sentences below:\n\n- **サンドを６個**買いました。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-サンドを６個買いました.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _I bought **six sandwiches**._\n\n### 3. **～人: Japanese counter for people**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-~人.jpeg\" width=\"1504\" height=\"846\" alt=\"A screenshot showing three anime characters, as people are one of the things you count with ~人 in Japanese \" \u002F>\n\n**You count people with ～人** and it comes up often in real life and anime, so you’ll likely learn this one with ease—especially once you get past the unique ways of saying “one person,” “two people,” and “four people.”\n\n**What can this counter be used for?** People.\n\n| Number | Counter | Romaji | Meaning |\n| :----: | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :--------: | :----------: |\n| 1 | 一人 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一人.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | **Hitori** | One person |\n| 2 | 二人 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二人.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | **Futari** | Two people |\n| 3 | 三人 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三人.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | San-nin | Three people |\n| 4 | 四人 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-四人.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | **Yo-nin** | Four people |\n| 5 | 五人 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-五人.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Go-nin | Five people |\n| 6 | 六人 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-六人.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Roku-nin | Six people |\n| 7 | 七人 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-七人.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Shichi-nin | Seven people |\n| 8 | 八人 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-八人.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Hachi-nin | Eight people |\n| 9 | 九人 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-九人.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Kyuu-nin | Nine people |\n| 10 | 十人 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-十人.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Juu-nin | Ten people |\n\nThere's a few things worth noticing here:\n\n- You use Japanese-style numbers for one–two people (ひとり and ふたり, not いちにん and ににん)\n- You use Chinese-style numbers when counting three or more people\n- There's a sound shift: the ん from よん is dropped here, becoming よにん (not よんにん)\n\nWe'll only mention this here, but you'll run into similar situations with many counters, so pay attention!\n\n**Example:**\n\n- **一人**で旅行したくないよ！ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一人で旅行したくないよ！.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _I don't want to travel **alone** (as one person)!_\n\n> **Particles**: Using the particle **で** after the amount of people means that you are doing something _with_ that many people. So, 一人**で** refers to doing something by yourself.\n>\n> → **Find out more:** [Mastering the Basics of Japanese Particles](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles-guide)\n\n### 4. **～本: Japanese counter for long or stick-shaped things**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-~本.jpeg\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" alt=\"A screenshot of several bottles of an Asahi adult beverage, which is one of the things you can count with ~本 in Japanese.\" \u002F>\n\nThis might be where counters start to feel a little overwhelming, but stick with us. You don’t have to remember _all_ of the uses for ～本 right now. At its core, **～本 is used to count long or stick-shaped things**.\n\nAnything that is taller than it is wide (for the most part) can use this counter.\n\n**What can this counter be used for?** Plastic bottles, beer bottles, pencils, pens, skyscrapers, towers, strings, laces, cords, umbrellas, cigarettes, ties, and tree branches, to name a few.\n\n| Number | Counter | Romaji | Meaning |\n| :----: | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :------: | :------------: |\n| 1 | 1 本 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一本.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Ippon | One \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 2 | 2 本 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-２本.m4a\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Nihon | Two \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 3 | 3 本 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-３本.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Sanbon | Three \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 4 | 4 本 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-４本.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Yonhon | Four \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 5 | 5 本 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-５本.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Gohon | Five \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 6 | 6 本 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-６本.m4a\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Roppon | Six \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 7 | 7 本 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-７本.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Nanahon | Seven \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 8 | 8 本 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-８本.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Hachihon | Eight \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 9 | 9 本 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-９本.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Kyuuhon | Nine \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 10 | 10 本 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-１０本.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Juppon | 10 \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n\n> Notice how this is \u003Cu>よん\u003C\u002Fu>ほん, not \u003Cu>よ\u003C\u002Fu>ほん. The ~ん dropping with counters mentioned in the previous section isn't something that happens all the time.\n\n**Example:**\n\n- 昨夜は**ビールを１０本**も飲みました。頭が痛いですよ！ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-昨夜はビールを１０本も飲みました。頭が痛いですよ！.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _I drank **10 bottles of beer** last night! My head hurts…_\n\n**What is も doing?** If you'd said ビール\u003Cu>を\u003C\u002Fu>〜１０本飲みました, you'd just be stating how many beers you drank with no additional nuance. Inserting も adds emphasis—this person drank _ten_ bottles of beer, and they think that's a lot. (Their hangover would agree!)\n\n### 5. **～枚: Japanese counter for flat things**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-~枚.jpeg\" width=\"2200\" height=\"1236\" alt=\"A screenshot of a notebook, each of the pages of which would be counted with 枚 in Japanese\" \u002F>\n\n**～枚 is the Japanese counter for flat things**, and it covers a wide variety of everyday objects.\n\n_(‼️ Teeeeechnically the counter for books and notebooks is 冊 (さつ), but we couldn't resist. 枚 would be used to count each of the pages within that book or notebook)._\n\n**What can this counter be used for?** Paper, photos, t-shirts, pants, credit cards, CDs and DVDs, contact lenses, newspapers, magazines, towels, notes (cash), and walls. Interestingly, [it can also be used to count servings of soba or gyoza](https:\u002F\u002Fdetail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp\u002Fqa\u002Fquestion_detail\u002Fq1049966310), as the plate they come on is flat.\n\n| Number | Counter | Romaji | Meaning |\n| :----: | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :-------: | :------------: |\n| 1 | 1 枚 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一枚.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Ichi-mai | One \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 2 | 2 枚 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二枚.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Ni-mai | Two \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 3 | 3 枚 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三枚.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | San-mai | Three \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 4 | 4 枚 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-四枚.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Yon-mai | Four \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 5 | 5 枚 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-五枚.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Go-mai | Five \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 6 | 6 枚 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-六枚.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Roku-mai | Six \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 7 | 7 枚 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-7枚.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Nana-mai | Seven \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 8 | 8 枚 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-八枚.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Hachi-mai | Eight \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 9 | 9 枚 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-九枚.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Kyuu-mai | Nine \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 10 | 10 枚 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-十枚.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Juu-mai | 10 \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n\n**Example:**\n\n- **切手を５枚**お願いします。 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-切手を５枚お願いします。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _Could I have **five stamps**, please?_ \u003Cbr> _(Stamps, five {of them} please)_\n\n### 6. **～台: Japanese counter for machines (and platforms you can put things on)**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-~台.jpeg\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" alt=\"A picture of a guy leaning on a car, which is one of the things you can count with 台 in Japanese\" \u002F>\n\n**～台 is the Japanese counter for machines** and platforms you can put things on, such as a table or bed. If you love _Gundam_ or car anime, this is one for you to remember\\!\n\n**What can this counter be used for?** Cars, trucks, motors, washing machines, dryers, microwaves, ovens, large instruments (like a piano, cello, or harp), large furniture (like beds, tables, and couches), mobile phones, and more.\n\n| Number | Counter | Romaji | Meaning |\n| :----: | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :-------: | :------------: |\n| 1 | 1 台 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一台.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Ichi-dai | One \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 2 | 2 台 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二台.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Ni-dai | Two \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 3 | 3 台 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三台.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | San-dai | Three \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 4 | 4 台 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-四台.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Yon-dai | Four \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 5 | 5 台 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-五台.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Go-dai | Five \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 6 | 6 台 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-六台.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Roku-dai | Six \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 7 | 7 台 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-七台.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Nana-dai | Seven \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 8 | 8 台 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-八台.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Hachi-dai | Eight \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 9 | 9 台 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-九台.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Kyuu-dai | Nine \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n| 10 | 10 台 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-十台.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Juu-dai | 10 \\_\\_\\_\\_ |\n\n**Example:**\n\n- もし宝くじが当たったら Y**車を 10 台**買うだろう。 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-もし宝くじが当たったら車を10台買うだろう。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _If I won the lottery, I’d buy **10 cars**._\n\n### 7. **～日: Japanese counter for days**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-~日.jpeg\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1900\" alt=\"A photo of a calendar, each of the dates on which would be counted with 日 in Japanese\" \u002F>\n\n**～日 is the Japanese counter for days**, but there are two ways it can be used:\n\n- For giving a calendar date\n- For giving an _amount_ of days\n\nAdding in a bit of complexity, the counter is sometimes pronounced differently depending on which of those meanings you're using.\n\n| Number | Counter | Romaji | Meaning |\n| :----: | :-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------: | ----------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |\n| 1 | 1 日 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一日.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Ichinichi → Tsuitachi | One day → First day of the month |\n| 2 | 2 日 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二日.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Futsuka | Two days \u002F second day of the month |\n| 3 | 3 日 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三日.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Mikka | Three days \u002F third day of the month |\n| 4 | 4 日 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-四日.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Yokka | Four days \u002F fourth day of the month |\n| 5 | 5 日 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-五日.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Itsuka | Five days \u002F fifth day of the month |\n| 6 | 6 日 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-六日.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Muika | Six days \u002F sixth day of the month |\n| 7 | 7 日 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-七日.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Nanoka | Seven days \u002F seventh day of the month |\n| 8 | 8 日 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-八日.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Youka | Eight days \u002F eighth day of the month |\n| 9 | 9 日 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-九日.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Kokonoka | Nine days \u002F ninth day of the month |\n| 10 | 10 日 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-十日.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Tooka | 10 days \u002F tenth day of the month |\n| 20 | 20 日 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二十日.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Hatsuka | 20 days \u002F twentieth day of the month |\n| 49 | 49 日 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-よんじゅうくにち.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-四十九日.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Yonjuukunichi → Shijuukunichi | 49 days → 49 days after someone’s death |\n| ? | 何日? \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-何日_.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Nan-nichi? | How many days? Which day? |\n\n**Examples:**\n\n- この漫画を描くのに、**20 日**かかりました。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-この漫画を描くのに、20日かかりました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _It took me **twenty days** to draw this comic._\n\n- **来月の一日**から出張に行く予定なんだ。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-来月の一日から出張に行く予定なんだ。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _I'm scheduled to go on a business trip from **the first of next month**_\n\n**What is のに doing?** This grammar point means “in order to (do something)”, and it is paired with the dictionary form of a verb. In this case, \"in order to\" draw this comic, it took 20 days.\n\n### 8. **～分: Japanese counter for minutes**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-counters-~分.jpeg\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1084\" alt=\"A photo of an alarm clock, the minutes of which would be counted with 分 in Japanese\" \u002F>\n\n**～分 is the Japanese counter for minutes**. This is an important skill in daily conversation, naturally, and once you’ve mastered a few changes in pronunciation, you’ll be like a walking clock (almost)!\n\n**What can this counter be used for?** Minutes.\n\n| Number | Counter | Romaji | Meaning |\n| :----: | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :--------: | :-----------: |\n| 1 | 1 分 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一分.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Ippun | One minute |\n| 2 | 2 分 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-二分.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Nifun | Two minutes |\n| 3 | 3 分 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-三分.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | San**p**un | Three minutes |\n| 4 | 4 分 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-四分.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Yon**p**un | Four minutes |\n| 5 | 5 分 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-五分.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Gofun | Five minutes |\n| 6 | 6 分 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-六分.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Roppun | Six minutes |\n| 7 | 7 分 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-七分.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Nanafun | Seven minutes |\n| 8 | 8 分 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-八分.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Happun | Eight minutes |\n| 9 | 9 分 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-九分.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Kyuufun | Nine minutes |\n| 10 | 10 分 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-１０分.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Juppun | 10 minutes |\n\nNote how three and four minutes are pronounced san\u003Cu>**p**\u003C\u002Fu>un and yon\u003Cu>**p**\u003C\u002Fu>un, not san(b)un or yon(b)un. P sounds in Japanese normally become a B if they follow an N, but in this case, somewhat unexpectedly, the original P sound is maintained.\n\n**Example:**\n\n- 映画はあと**10 分**で始まります。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-映画はあと10分で始まります。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _The film will start in **10 minutes**._\n\n#### How to tell time in Japanese\n\nAs a quick aside—now that you know how to say the minutes, let's talk about hours in Japanese, so you can tell time. The hours, thankfully, are much easier: you just tack 時 (ji) onto the end of a normal Japanese verb:\n\n- 1 時 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一時.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>　 → 　いちじ\n- 2 時 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-2時.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> → 　にじ\n- 3 時 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-3時.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> → 　さんじ\n\nBy putting these together, you can tell the time\\!\n\n- 今何時ですか？ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-今何時ですか？.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _What’s the time?_\n\n- 3 時 15 分ぐらいですよ。 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-3時15分ぐらいですよ。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _It’s about 3:15._\n\n## **How to use Japanese counters in a sentence?**\n\nWhile there are tons of counters, the good news is that they're used in very consistent structures. These are listed out below:\n\n**1\\. \\[Noun\\] を \\[Number \\+ Counter\\] \\[Verb\\]**\n\n- パンを**3 つ**食べました。 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-パンを3つ食べました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _I ate **three pieces** of bread._\n\n- 映画を**2 本**見た。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-映画を2本見た。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _I watched **two** movies._\n\n**2\\. \\[Number \\+ Counter\\] の \\[Noun\\]**\n\n- **2 匹**の猫がいます。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-2匹の猫がいます。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _There are **two** cats._\n\n- **3 人**の学生が図書館にいます。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-3人の学生が図書館にいます。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _**Three** students are in the library._\n\n**3\\. \\[Noun\\] が \\[Number \\+ Counter\\] あります／います**\n\n- 椅子が**5 つ**あります。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-椅子が5つあります。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _There are **five** chairs._\n\n- 子どもが**2 人**います。 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-子どもが2人います。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _There are **two** children._\n\n**4\\. \\[Period of Time\\] に \\[Number \\+ Counter\\] \\[Verb\\]**\n\n- 1 週間に**3 回**運動します。 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-1週間に3回運動します。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _I exercise **three times** a week._\n\n- 1 日に**42 時間**勉強します。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-1日に42時間勉強します。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _I study **forty-two hours** a day._\n\n**5\\. \\[Number \\+ Counter\\] も \u002F しか \\[Verb\\]**\n\n- メロンソーダを**3 本も**飲んだ！\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-メロンソーダを3本も飲んだ！.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _I drank **three** melon sodas (and that's a lot)\\!_\n\n- **1 人しか**来なかった。 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-1人しかこなかった。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _**Only one person** came._\n\n**6\\. \\[Question word\\] \\+ Counter \\+ Verb?**\n\nUsed to ask how many of something.\n\n- りんごを**何個**食べましたか？ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-りんごを何個食べましたか？.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _**How many** apples did you eat?_\n\n- 本は**何冊**ありますか？ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-本は何冊ありますか？.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _**How many** books are there?_\n\n---\n\n## **What’s the best way to learn Japanese counters?**\n\nIt's not just you—numbers are scary in any language, and counters doubly so.\n\n**Migaku’s Japanese Academy** teaches hundreds of common grammar points alongside the most common ~1,500 Japanese words. Naturally, we have a lesson on counters:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-counters.jpeg\" width=\"1728\" height=\"1208\" alt=\"A screenshot from Migaku's Japanese Academy, showing how we teach Japanese counters.\" \u002F>\n\nBut we also know that this is a lot of information that won't learn itself, so we follow up each lesson with a few flashcards help you remember what a grammar point means by learning sentences that feature it:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-flashcards-japanese-counters.jpeg\" width=\"1420\" height=\"1210\" alt=\"A screenshot from the Migaku Japanese Academy, showing one of the flashcards we use to help you remember counters in Japanese\" \u002F>\n\nWhat's so special about our flashcards is that the sentences in them have been very carefully curated—each \"next\" flashcard will introduce only one word you don't know. From there, we’ll periodically nudge you to review each one, so you’ll eventually remember it.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## **Numbers in Japanese: Learn Japanese counters**\n\nLearning the numbers in any new language can be difficult, and finding out that Japanese people even categorise their numbers by object can be enough to scare you off entirely… but don’t worry\\!\n\nEven just learning the counters in this blog is enough to start noticing them in your favourite shows — and from there, the number of things you’ll learn is unlimited.\n\nAs always, just remember:\n\n> If you consume Japanese media, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you'll make progress. _Period._\n\nGet your **free 10-day trial for Migaku** and see for yourself. In 3, 2, 1…\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Try Migaku for free\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n",{"title":1043,"description":3659},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-counters","1nHpaO1WGKFuS_b3O4BQdN6x54xB8z_EDL1pEMp1PHY","May 26, 2025",{"id":3678,"title":3679,"body":3680,"description":4096,"extension":717,"meta":4097,"navigation":730,"path":4108,"rawbody":4109,"seo":4110,"stem":4111,"__hash__":4112,"timestampUnix":4098,"slug":4099,"h1":4100,"image":4101,"tags":4106,"_dir":736,"timestamp":4113},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-discord.md","Join the Migaku Japanese Learning Discord: Connect with 12,000+ Japanese Language Learners",{"type":8,"value":3681,"toc":4084},[3682,3692,3699,3702,3704,3708,3710,3714,3720,3723,3775,3777,3781,3784,3787,3790,3794,3801,3825,3829,3843,3846,3920,3924,3927,3929,3932,3935,3953,3957,3960,3969,3972,3998,4002,4005,4009,4012,4016,4019,4022,4064,4071,4073,4077],[11,3683,3684,3685,3687,3688,3691],{},"Are you looking for a vibrant, supportive community to help you ",[15,3686,18],{"href":17},"? Look no further than the ",[1090,3689,3690],{},"Migaku Discord","!",[11,3693,3694,3695,3698],{},"With ",[1090,3696,3697],{},"12,971 members"," as of date, Migaku’s Discord server is the ultimate space for language learners seeking to improve their Japanese skills.",[11,3700,3701],{},"Jump to:",[39,3703],{},[674,3705],{"href":3706,"text":3707},"https:\u002F\u002Fdiscord.gg\u002Fmigaku","Join Migaku's Discord",[42,3709],{},[45,3711,3713],{"id":3712},"how-to-join-the-migaku-discord","How to join the Migaku Discord",[11,3715,3716,3717,3719],{},"Getting started with the ",[1090,3718,3690],{}," is easy!",[11,3721,3722],{},"Here’s how to dive in and start improving your Japanese today:",[344,3724,3725,3735,3746,3757,3769],{},[307,3726,3727,3734],{},[1090,3728,3729],{},[15,3730,3733],{"href":3731,"rel":3732},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.discord.com\u002Fhc\u002Fen-us\u002Farticles\u002F360033931551-Getting-Started",[971],"Create a Discord Account",": If you don’t already have one, click that link to sign up for Discord and download their app.",[307,3736,3737,3740,3741,3745],{},[1090,3738,3739],{},"Join the Migaku Discord Server",": Once you’re on Discord, ",[15,3742,3744],{"href":3706,"rel":3743},[971],"follow this link"," or click the button at the bottom of this blog post to join Migaku's Discord.",[307,3747,3748,3751,3752,415],{},[1090,3749,3750],{},"Set your roles",": When you first enter Migaku's Discord, you'll be prompted to click a few emojis. These emojis tell the server which languages you're studying and will open relevant channels for you. If you're not prompted, that page is ",[15,3753,3756],{"href":3754,"rel":3755},"https:\u002F\u002Fdiscord.com\u002Fchannels\u002F752293144917180496\u002Fcustomize-community",[971],"here",[307,3758,3759,3762,3763,3768],{},[1090,3760,3761],{},"Introduce Yourself",": Head over to ",[15,3764,3767],{"href":3765,"rel":3766},"https:\u002F\u002Fdiscord.com\u002Fchannels\u002F752293144917180496\u002F752303400762343476",[971],"the introductions channel"," to say hi to the community and share about your journey learning Japanese so far.",[307,3770,3771,3774],{},[1090,3772,3773],{},"Start Participating",": Discord is a free for all! You can follow all of the conversations in every channel or mute everything except for the few things you're interested in.",[42,3776],{},[45,3778,3780],{"id":3779},"why-join-the-migaku-discord","Why join the Migaku Discord?",[11,3782,3783],{},"Learning Japanese can be challenging, but being part of a dedicated, friendly community makes the journey easier.",[11,3785,3786],{},"On the off chance that you're seeing this page but have no idea what Discord is—it's basically a modern take on a forum or chat room. Anybody can create their own server, and each server has a variety of different pages (called \"channels\") where specific topics are discussed.",[11,3788,3789],{},"Now that you're up to speed, here's how joining the Migaku Japanese learning Discord will accelerate your language journey:",[45,3791,3793],{"id":3792},"_1-youll-connect-with-over-12000-like-minded-language-learners","1. You'll connect with over 12,000 like-minded language learners",[11,3795,3796,3797,3800],{},"In the Migaku Discord, you’ll be (literally) surrounded by thousands of fellow Japanese learners and ",[1090,3798,3799],{},"native speakers"," of various languages.",[11,3802,3803,3804,3808,3809,3814,3815,3820,3821,3824],{},"Whether you're a beginner struggling with the ",[15,3805,3806],{"href":1082},[1090,3807,1033],{},", ",[15,3810,3812],{"href":3811},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-katakana",[1090,3813,1034],{}," and ",[15,3816,3818],{"href":3817},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-kanji",[1090,3819,1032],{},", or a more advanced learner focusing on ",[1090,3822,3823],{},"JLPT"," preparation, you can find people to study with, ask questions, and share your progress. (And you'll be making progress, trust us.)",[45,3826,3828],{"id":3827},"_2-youll-conquer-eight-channels-dedicated-to-different-aspects-of-japanese","2. You'll conquer eight channels dedicated to different aspects of Japanese",[11,3830,3831,3832,1466,3837,3842],{},"There are many places to discuss learning Japanese on the internet, such as ",[15,3833,3836],{"href":3834,"rel":3835},"https:\u002F\u002Freddit.com\u002Fr\u002Flearnjapanese",[971],"Reddit's r\u002FLearnJapanese",[15,3838,3841],{"href":3839,"rel":3840},"https:\u002F\u002Fcommunity.wanikani.com\u002F",[971],"WaniKani's forums",". What separates Discord from these bulletin-board style communities is that, here, discussions are cleanly organized into specific topical channels.",[11,3844,3845],{},"In the Migaku Discord, you'll find eight Japanese-specific channels:",[304,3847,3848,3854,3865,3871,3877,3893,3904,3910],{},[307,3849,3850,3853],{},[1090,3851,3852],{},"Japanese Chat"," — A general channel for talking about anything that's related to Japanese.",[307,3855,3856,3859,3860,415],{},[1090,3857,3858],{},"Japanese Resources"," — A bulletin board where learners share the cool resources they find, including everything from individual product recs to ",[15,3861,3864],{"href":3862,"rel":3863},"https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.google.com\u002Fspreadsheets\u002Fd\u002F1EvnLN1-3g4SYXyzuhee1NFkomz-UoEEde0t5p1QtPcs\u002Fedit?gid=2082883349#gid=2082883349&fvid=806069164",[971],"this massive list of beginner-friendly Japanese YouTube channels",[307,3866,3867,3870],{},[1090,3868,3869],{},"Japanese Resources Discussion"," — The above is just a bulletin board for sharing\u002Flisting resources. Here's the place to actually talk about those things.",[307,3872,3873,3876],{},[1090,3874,3875],{},"Japanese Media Recommendations"," — A channel dedicated to talking about anime, J-dramas, books, and whatever content you've been consuming lately.",[307,3878,3879,3882,3883,3892],{},[1090,3880,3881],{},"Japanese Music"," — (",[26,3884,3885,3886,3891],{},"I hereby take this opportunity to shamelessly plug ",[15,3887,3890],{"href":3888,"rel":3889},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=wCBaR4qsaz4",[971],"Unlimited Tone",", my favorite Japanese band. I dare you to watch that and not smile.",")",[307,3894,3895,3898,3899,415],{},[1090,3896,3897],{},"Japanese Games"," — This channel goes hard. You'll find recommendations of games to learn Japanese with, discussions of how to get tools like OCR to work with video games, and things like ",[15,3900,3903],{"href":3901,"rel":3902},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=cXICXCSIfrQ",[971],"this tier list of the top 100 games for learning Japanese",[307,3905,3906,3909],{},[1090,3907,3908],{},"Japanese Quiz"," — A Discord bot that can look up words for you, and be used to quiz yourself on your kanji and vocab knowledge.",[307,3911,3912,3915,3916,3919],{},[1090,3913,3914],{},"日本語"," — That's Japanese for ",[26,3917,3918],{},"Japanese",". If you speak a language other than Japanese in this channel, Doraemon may throw a pokéball at you.",[45,3921,3923],{"id":3922},"_3-you-can-ask-questions-about-migaku-and-input-based-language-learning","3. You can ask questions about Migaku and input-based language learning",[11,3925,3926],{},"Migaku is the best app out there if your goal is to get good at understanding real Japanese content, rather than getting good at answering multiple-choice questions.",[674,3928],{"href":17,"text":3633},[11,3930,3931],{},"I'm biased, though.",[11,3933,3934],{},"If you'd like to hear what real people who don't like spending money on dumb language learning products say about Migaku, Discord is where you can do that:",[304,3936,3937,3944],{},[307,3938,3939,3940,3943],{},"The ",[1090,3941,3942],{},"Migaku Chat"," channel is where you can ask if Migaku is really any good and ask general questions about language learning.",[307,3945,3939,3946,3949,3950,3952],{},[1090,3947,3948],{},"Questions"," channel is a bulletin board where you can ask for help setting Migaku up, get input on things like learning multiple language at once, and troubleshoot more technical questions like adjusting the timing of YouTube's subtitles. (This channel is ",[26,3951,784],{},", so if you're embarrassed to ask a question, you can search the backlog instead. There's a good chance that somebody has already asked your question.)",[45,3954,3956],{"id":3955},"_4-you-can-find-accountability-buddies-fun-facts-and-memes","4. You can find accountability buddies, fun facts, and memes",[11,3958,3959],{},"Learning Japanese will be a long journey, and up above we listed several serious channels where you can ask your serious questions.",[11,3961,3962,3963,3968],{},"But, sometimes, you just need to inform the world that Japanese has a word—",[15,3964,3967],{"href":3965,"rel":3966},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pngegg.com\u002Fen\u002Fpng-svetc",[971],"へのへのもへじ","—for an emoji face made of hiragana characters. (Please click that link.)",[11,3970,3971],{},"For days like that, we have channels like this:",[304,3973,3974,3980,3986,3992],{},[307,3975,3976,3979],{},[1090,3977,3978],{},"Today-I-Learned"," — A place to share interesting things you learned today, such as the aforementioned へのへのもへじ.",[307,3981,3982,3985],{},[1090,3983,3984],{},"Study Journals"," — Track your learning progress, find accountability buddies, and see how others are tackling Japanese.",[307,3987,3988,3991],{},[1090,3989,3990],{},"Feedback and Ideas"," — Have an idea that would make Migaku better? Let us know!",[307,3993,3994,3997],{},[1090,3995,3996],{},"Voice channels"," — For when text just won't do, you want to get in a bit of speaking practice, or you want to eavesdrop on a conversation to practice your listening comprehension.",[45,3999,4001],{"id":4000},"_5-you-can-talk-about-things-other-than-languages-with-language-learners","5. You can talk about things other than languages with language learners",[11,4003,4004],{},"Life is better when you find your tribe. We offer several off topic channels where you can talk about things not related to language learning. Share what food you've been eating, talk about your gains in the gym, and—most importantly—vote on which stickers we'll make available in the server.",[45,4006,4008],{"id":4007},"_6-you-can-keep-up-with-migakus-updates","6. You can keep up with Migaku's updates",[11,4010,4011],{},"We make posts roughly once a week showing what we've been working on. This is also where we'll tease and\u002For announce new features, and the first place we'll look to when hiring for new positions.",[45,4013,4015],{"id":4014},"_7-you-can-find-which-language-you-should-study-next","7. You can find which language you should study next",[11,4017,4018],{},"Migaku was originally designed to be the best Japanese learning software on the market, but in recent years we've expanded our horizons.",[11,4020,4021],{},"Since Migaku now supports nearly ten languages, we also have dedicated servers for languages other than Japanese, including:",[304,4023,4024,4029,4034,4039,4044,4049,4054,4059],{},[307,4025,4026],{},[1090,4027,4028],{},"Cantonese",[307,4030,4031],{},[1090,4032,4033],{},"Chinese (Mandarin)",[307,4035,4036],{},[1090,4037,4038],{},"Korean",[307,4040,4041],{},[1090,4042,4043],{},"French",[307,4045,4046],{},[1090,4047,4048],{},"German",[307,4050,4051],{},[1090,4052,4053],{},"Portuguese",[307,4055,4056],{},[1090,4057,4058],{},"Spanish",[307,4060,4061],{},[1090,4062,4063],{},"English",[11,4065,4066,4067,4070],{},"(I know that you Googled ",[26,4068,4069],{},"Japanese learning Discords",", but I also know that people who are learning one language tend to plan to learn three or four other languages. Just know that if Korean or Mandarin Chinese is in your future, you can do that here, too.)",[42,4072],{},[45,4074,4076],{"id":4075},"the-point","The point",[11,4078,4079,4080,415],{},"If you're looking for a place to talk about anything and everything related to learning Japanese, you should click the big button that says \"JOIN\" ",[15,4081,4083],{"href":4082},"#discord","right below this paragraph",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":4085},[4086,4087,4088,4089,4090,4091,4092,4093,4094,4095],{"id":3712,"depth":707,"text":3713},{"id":3779,"depth":707,"text":3780},{"id":3792,"depth":707,"text":3793},{"id":3827,"depth":707,"text":3828},{"id":3922,"depth":707,"text":3923},{"id":3955,"depth":707,"text":3956},{"id":4000,"depth":707,"text":4001},{"id":4007,"depth":707,"text":4008},{"id":4014,"depth":707,"text":4015},{"id":4075,"depth":707,"text":4076},"Join the Migaku Japanese Learning Discord with over 12,000 members! Practice & Learn Japanese, get real-time feedback, and access channels for other languages like Chinese, Korean, and more. Boost your language skills with Migaku’s powerful tools and a supportive community.",{"timestampUnix":4098,"slug":4099,"h1":4100,"image":4101,"tags":4106},1752138000000,"migaku-japanese-learning-discord","Discover the Migaku Japanese Learning Discord: Join 12,000+ Language Learners Today!",{"src":4102,"width":4103,"height":4104,"alt":4105},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-discord-header.webp",2108,1313,"A screenshot of Migaku, a Japanese Learning Discord community and app, the Discord logo, and the Japanese flag",[4107],"resources","\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-discord","---\ntitle: 'Join the Migaku Japanese Learning Discord: Connect with 12,000+ Japanese Language Learners'\ndescription: 'Join the Migaku Japanese Learning Discord with over 12,000 members! Practice & Learn Japanese, get real-time feedback, and access channels for other languages like Chinese, Korean, and more. Boost your language skills with Migaku’s powerful tools and a supportive community.'\ntimestampUnix: 1752138000000\nslug: 'migaku-japanese-learning-discord'\nh1: 'Discover the Migaku Japanese Learning Discord: Join 12,000+ Language Learners Today!'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-discord-header.webp'\n width: 2108\n height: 1313\n alt: 'A screenshot of Migaku, a Japanese Learning Discord community and app, the Discord logo, and the Japanese flag'\ntags:\n - resources\n---\n\nAre you looking for a vibrant, supportive community to help you [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese)? Look no further than the **Migaku Discord**!\n\nWith **12,971 members** as of date, Migaku’s Discord server is the ultimate space for language learners seeking to improve their Japanese skills.\n\nJump to:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fdiscord.gg\u002Fmigaku\" text=\"Join Migaku's Discord\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## How to join the Migaku Discord\n\nGetting started with the **Migaku Discord** is easy!\n\nHere’s how to dive in and start improving your Japanese today:\n\n1. **[Create a Discord Account](https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.discord.com\u002Fhc\u002Fen-us\u002Farticles\u002F360033931551-Getting-Started)**: If you don’t already have one, click that link to sign up for Discord and download their app.\n2. **Join the Migaku Discord Server**: Once you’re on Discord, [follow this link](https:\u002F\u002Fdiscord.gg\u002Fmigaku) or click the button at the bottom of this blog post to join Migaku's Discord.\n3. **Set your roles**: When you first enter Migaku's Discord, you'll be prompted to click a few emojis. These emojis tell the server which languages you're studying and will open relevant channels for you. If you're not prompted, that page is [here](https:\u002F\u002Fdiscord.com\u002Fchannels\u002F752293144917180496\u002Fcustomize-community).\n4. **Introduce Yourself**: Head over to [the introductions channel](https:\u002F\u002Fdiscord.com\u002Fchannels\u002F752293144917180496\u002F752303400762343476) to say hi to the community and share about your journey learning Japanese so far.\n5. **Start Participating**: Discord is a free for all! You can follow all of the conversations in every channel or mute everything except for the few things you're interested in.\n\n---\n\n## Why join the Migaku Discord?\n\nLearning Japanese can be challenging, but being part of a dedicated, friendly community makes the journey easier.\n\nOn the off chance that you're seeing this page but have no idea what Discord is—it's basically a modern take on a forum or chat room. Anybody can create their own server, and each server has a variety of different pages (called \"channels\") where specific topics are discussed.\n\nNow that you're up to speed, here's how joining the Migaku Japanese learning Discord will accelerate your language journey:\n\n## 1. You'll connect with over 12,000 like-minded language learners\n\nIn the Migaku Discord, you’ll be (literally) surrounded by thousands of fellow Japanese learners and **native speakers** of various languages.\n\nWhether you're a beginner struggling with the [**hiragana**](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-hiragana), [**katakana**](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-katakana) and [**kanji**](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-kanji), or a more advanced learner focusing on **JLPT** preparation, you can find people to study with, ask questions, and share your progress. (And you'll be making progress, trust us.)\n\n## 2. You'll conquer eight channels dedicated to different aspects of Japanese\n\nThere are many places to discuss learning Japanese on the internet, such as [Reddit's r\u002FLearnJapanese](https:\u002F\u002Freddit.com\u002Fr\u002Flearnjapanese) or [WaniKani's forums](https:\u002F\u002Fcommunity.wanikani.com\u002F). What separates Discord from these bulletin-board style communities is that, here, discussions are cleanly organized into specific topical channels.\n\nIn the Migaku Discord, you'll find eight Japanese-specific channels:\n\n- **Japanese Chat** — A general channel for talking about anything that's related to Japanese.\n- **Japanese Resources** — A bulletin board where learners share the cool resources they find, including everything from individual product recs to [this massive list of beginner-friendly Japanese YouTube channels](https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.google.com\u002Fspreadsheets\u002Fd\u002F1EvnLN1-3g4SYXyzuhee1NFkomz-UoEEde0t5p1QtPcs\u002Fedit?gid=2082883349#gid=2082883349&fvid=806069164).\n- **Japanese Resources Discussion** — The above is just a bulletin board for sharing\u002Flisting resources. Here's the place to actually talk about those things.\n- **Japanese Media Recommendations** — A channel dedicated to talking about anime, J-dramas, books, and whatever content you've been consuming lately.\n- **Japanese Music** — (_I hereby take this opportunity to shamelessly plug [Unlimited Tone](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=wCBaR4qsaz4), my favorite Japanese band. I dare you to watch that and not smile._)\n- **Japanese Games** — This channel goes hard. You'll find recommendations of games to learn Japanese with, discussions of how to get tools like OCR to work with video games, and things like [this tier list of the top 100 games for learning Japanese](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=cXICXCSIfrQ).\n- **Japanese Quiz** — A Discord bot that can look up words for you, and be used to quiz yourself on your kanji and vocab knowledge.\n- **日本語** — That's Japanese for _Japanese_. If you speak a language other than Japanese in this channel, Doraemon may throw a pokéball at you.\n\n## 3. You can ask questions about Migaku and input-based language learning\n\nMigaku is the best app out there if your goal is to get good at understanding real Japanese content, rather than getting good at answering multiple-choice questions.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Try Migaku for free\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\nI'm biased, though.\n\nIf you'd like to hear what real people who don't like spending money on dumb language learning products say about Migaku, Discord is where you can do that:\n\n- The **Migaku Chat** channel is where you can ask if Migaku is really any good and ask general questions about language learning.\n- The **Questions** channel is a bulletin board where you can ask for help setting Migaku up, get input on things like learning multiple language at once, and troubleshoot more technical questions like adjusting the timing of YouTube's subtitles. (This channel is _huge_, so if you're embarrassed to ask a question, you can search the backlog instead. There's a good chance that somebody has already asked your question.)\n\n## 4. You can find accountability buddies, fun facts, and memes\n\nLearning Japanese will be a long journey, and up above we listed several serious channels where you can ask your serious questions.\n\nBut, sometimes, you just need to inform the world that Japanese has a word—[へのへのもへじ](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pngegg.com\u002Fen\u002Fpng-svetc)—for an emoji face made of hiragana characters. (Please click that link.)\n\nFor days like that, we have channels like this:\n\n- **Today-I-Learned** — A place to share interesting things you learned today, such as the aforementioned へのへのもへじ.\n- **Study Journals** — Track your learning progress, find accountability buddies, and see how others are tackling Japanese.\n- **Feedback and Ideas** — Have an idea that would make Migaku better? Let us know!\n- **Voice channels** — For when text just won't do, you want to get in a bit of speaking practice, or you want to eavesdrop on a conversation to practice your listening comprehension.\n\n## 5. You can talk about things other than languages with language learners\n\nLife is better when you find your tribe. We offer several off topic channels where you can talk about things not related to language learning. Share what food you've been eating, talk about your gains in the gym, and—most importantly—vote on which stickers we'll make available in the server.\n\n## 6. You can keep up with Migaku's updates\n\nWe make posts roughly once a week showing what we've been working on. This is also where we'll tease and\u002For announce new features, and the first place we'll look to when hiring for new positions.\n\n## 7. You can find which language you should study next\n\nMigaku was originally designed to be the best Japanese learning software on the market, but in recent years we've expanded our horizons.\n\nSince Migaku now supports nearly ten languages, we also have dedicated servers for languages other than Japanese, including:\n\n- **Cantonese**\n- **Chinese (Mandarin)**\n- **Korean**\n- **French**\n- **German**\n- **Portuguese**\n- **Spanish**\n- **English**\n\n(I know that you Googled _Japanese learning Discords_, but I also know that people who are learning one language tend to plan to learn three or four other languages. Just know that if Korean or Mandarin Chinese is in your future, you can do that here, too.)\n\n---\n\n## The point\n\nIf you're looking for a place to talk about anything and everything related to learning Japanese, you should click the big button that says \"JOIN\" [right below this paragraph](#discord).\n",{"title":3679,"description":4096},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-discord","DeIFcr9U_ZJo2DGn3hMUICwIkXm0P_ExJz4I3A05syw","July 10, 2025",{"id":4115,"title":4116,"body":4117,"description":5075,"extension":717,"meta":5076,"navigation":730,"path":5087,"rawbody":5088,"seo":5089,"stem":5090,"__hash__":5091,"timestampUnix":5077,"slug":5078,"h1":5079,"image":5080,"tags":5085,"_dir":736,"timestamp":5092},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-ganbaru.md","Ganbatte or Ganbare? How to use this Japanese word (like a pro)",{"type":8,"value":4118,"toc":5054},[4119,4133,4136,4138,4140,4168,4172,4175,4185,4187,4190,4195,4198,4203,4212,4215,4218,4226,4229,4240,4243,4245,4249,4252,4255,4258,4263,4266,4270,4273,4284,4291,4297,4300,4389,4392,4481,4484,4495,4497,4501,4504,4510,4530,4533,4537,4540,4551,4554,4558,4565,4568,4579,4583,4586,4610,4621,4625,4631,4634,4644,4647,4669,4682,4686,4693,4706,4709,4712,4732,4735,4759,4769,4773,4780,4786,4792,4795,4808,4811,4814,4817,4821,4827,4830,4836,4841,4843,4853,4862,4866,4875,4879,4885,4898,4901,4905,4908,4921,4927,4950,4952,4956,4959,4962,4964,4967,4970,4976,4979,4993,5000,5003,5005,5007,5011,5018,5021,5024,5028,5032,5035,5038,5041,5048,5051],[11,4120,4121,4122,506,4125,4128,4129,4132],{},"This article will look at the origins of ganbatte ",[103,4123],{"src":4124,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばって.mp3",[26,4126,4127],{},"(\"do your best!\")"," and explain how to use the many forms of ganbaru ",[103,4130],{"src":4131,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばる.mp3"," to be the best team player you can be in Japanese.",[11,4134,4135],{},"More specifically, we'll talk about:",[39,4137],{},[42,4139],{},[320,4141,4142,4145,4147],{},[287,4143,4144],{"bold":289,"underline":289},"\nA quick note\n",[292,4146],{},[287,4148,4149,4150,4153,4154,4156,4157,4159,369,4161,369],{},"\nYou'll sometimes see \n",[26,4151,4152],{},"ganbaru","\n written in kanji as 頑張る and other times in hiragana as がんばる. We'll use hiragana in this article, to make it a bit more accessible, but if you want to \n",[15,4155,18],{"href":17},"\n, you should understand both! You'll see both in real Japanese content. \n",[292,4158],{},[292,4160],{},[26,4162,4163,4164,4167],{},"(If you don't know hiragana yet, skim through ",[15,4165,4166],{"href":1082},"this crash course"," really quick!)",[45,4169,4171],{"id":4170},"the-meaning-of-ganbatte","The meaning of Ganbatte",[11,4173,4174],{},"がんばって (ganbatte) comes from 頑張る (ganbaru), a verb that means to persevere and work hard; especially when times are tough. The word carries the implicit meaning of seeing something through to the end. You can kind of see this by taking a close look at the kanji it's made of:",[287,4176,4177,4178,4184],{},"\n → \n",[26,4179,4180,4181,3892],{},"(on the off chance you don't know ",[15,4182,4183],{"href":3817},"what kanji are","\n ← \n",[292,4186],{},[11,4188,4189],{},"The first kanji 頑 carries the meaning “stubborn” or \"firm.\"",[50,4191],{"src":4192,"width":4193,"height":3593,"alt":4194},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-頑.jpeg",1756,"A screenshot of the 頑 lesson from Migaku's kanji course",[11,4196,4197],{},"The second kanji 張 carries the meaning “stretch\" or \"spread.”",[50,4199],{"src":4200,"width":4201,"height":3593,"alt":4202},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-張.jpeg",1736,"A screenshot of the 張 lesson from Migaku's kanji course ",[320,4204,4205],{},[11,4206,4207],{},[26,4208,4209],{},[287,4210,4211],{},"Both of these flashcards come from Migaku's Kanji Course. ",[11,4213,4214],{},"And it is at this point where the history behind ganbaru gets interesting.",[11,4216,4217],{},"You see, etymologically speaking, there are two separate theories as to how we ended up with the modern ganbaru.",[344,4219,4220,4223],{},[307,4221,4222],{},"The first argues that 我を張る (ga o haru) is considered the origin of the modern がんばる (ganbaru), which means “to insist on one’s own ideas.”",[307,4224,4225],{},"The second argues that ganbaru evolved from 眼張る (ganharu) which meant to “keep watch; observe closely” (literally stretch one’s eyes).",[11,4227,4228],{},"Both of these theories are rich with evidence dating back to the Edo period (1603–1867), but the main takeaway is the common denominator of 張る (haru). By noticing this kanji 張 which means to stretch or strain, you can see how this colors the article in a way that's a bit more nuanced than a simple \"good luck\"—there's also some \"sticking to it\" and \"never giving up\" mixed in there.",[11,4230,4231,4232,4239],{},"What's more, there are different \"forms\" of ganbaru (in linguistics, this is called ",[26,4233,4234],{},[15,4235,4238],{"href":4236,"rel":4237},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FGrammatical_conjugation",[971],"conjugation","). They all have the same basic underlying meaning, but their nuance is different. For example, a shout of がんばって (ganbatte) might be translated as “Hang in there!”, whereas the past tense がんばった (ganbatta) would likely be more straightforward: \"I did my best.\"",[11,4241,4242],{},"Basically, a single translation can't tell us the whole story, here.",[42,4244],{},[45,4246,4248],{"id":4247},"japanese-ganbatte-vs-english-good-luck","Japanese “Ganbatte” vs. English “Good Luck”",[11,4250,4251],{},"If がんばって (ganbatte) means good luck, why do we need an entire article about it?",[11,4253,4254],{},"Well, it's because things aren't quite that easy.",[11,4256,4257],{},"While every language can express every idea, and we can translate from one language to another just fine, there's always something lost in translation—some words have different nuances, and some ideas would be expressed differently (if they're expressed at all). These are, after all, entirely different cultures with different ways of communicating and seeing the world.",[320,4259,4260],{},[11,4261,4262],{},"With this in mind, when relying on one-to-one translations, you risk not only the erasure of cultural depth―thereby robbing yourself of knowledge―but you also risk missing important nuances that could get in the way of you communicating what you originally intended.",[11,4264,4265],{},"Now, let’s go through the usage and nuances of each form of ganbaru you’re likely to encounter.",[45,4267,4269],{"id":4268},"verbs-and-verb-forms-in-the-japanese-language","Verbs and verb forms in the Japanese language",[11,4271,4272],{},"On the off-chance that you're new to the Japanese language, you should know that Japanese has three main types of verbs:",[304,4274,4275,4278,4281],{},[307,4276,4277],{},"る (ru) verbs → these end in ~る",[307,4279,4280],{},"う (u) verbs → these end in in an ~う sound (-ru, -su, -tsu, etc... if a word ends in ~る, it technically ends in ~u, too! )",[307,4282,4283],{},"Irregular verbs",[11,4285,4286,4287,4290],{},"Ganbaru ends with -る, but is considered an う verb, not a -る verb. ",[26,4288,4289],{},"(This is tricky and annoying, but you'll get a feel for it as you spend more time with japanese.)"," A verb's type affects how it is conjugated.",[11,4292,4293,4294,4296],{},"Here are two tables with the most common forms of ganbaru—not ",[26,4295,2006],{}," of them, but the ones you’re likely to hear and use when cheering someone on.",[11,4298,4299],{},"First, here's the plain forms of the verb, which you can use with people your age, family members, and people that you know well:",[67,4301,4302,4336],{},[70,4303,4304],{},[73,4305,4306,4312,4319,4324,4330],{},[76,4307,4308,4309,4311],{},"がんばる ",[103,4310],{"src":4131,":type":149},"   ",[76,4313,4314,4315,4318],{},"がんばった ",[103,4316],{"src":4317,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-頑張った.mp3","    ",[76,4320,4321,4322,4311],{},"がんばって ",[103,4323],{"src":4124,":type":149},[76,4325,4326,4327,4318],{},"がんばれ ",[103,4328],{"src":4329,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばれ.mp3",[76,4331,4332,4333,4311],{},"がんばろう ",[103,4334],{"src":4335,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-頑張ろう.mp3",[87,4337,4338,4355,4372],{},[73,4339,4340,4343,4346,4349,4352],{},[92,4341,4342],{},"ganbaru  ",[92,4344,4345],{},"ganbatta    ",[92,4347,4348],{},"ganbatte    ",[92,4350,4351],{},"ganbare    ",[92,4353,4354],{},"ganbarou    ",[73,4356,4357,4360,4363,4366,4369],{},[92,4358,4359],{},"dictionary\u002Fplain form",[92,4361,4362],{},"plain past",[92,4364,4365],{},"te-form    ",[92,4367,4368],{},"command form",[92,4370,4371],{},"plain volitional",[73,4373,4374,4377,4380,4383,4386],{},[92,4375,4376],{},"(to) do one’s best",[92,4378,4379],{},"did one’s best",[92,4381,4382],{},"do your best (please)",[92,4384,4385],{},"do your best!",[92,4387,4388],{},"let’s do our best",[11,4390,4391],{},"You can make these verb forms more polite by adding a ~ます sound at the end:",[67,4393,4394,4428],{},[70,4395,4396],{},[73,4397,4398,4405,4412,4419,4422],{},[76,4399,4400,4401,4404],{},"がんばります ",[103,4402],{"src":4403,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-頑張ります.mp3","     ",[76,4406,4407,4408,4411],{},"がんばりました ",[103,4409],{"src":4410,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-頑張りました.mp3","      ",[76,4413,4414,4415,4418],{},"がんばってください ",[103,4416],{"src":4417,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-頑張ってください.mp3","       ",[76,4420,4421],{"align":78},"         -           ",[76,4423,4424,4425,4411],{},"がんばりましょう ",[103,4426],{"src":4427,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-頑張りましょう.mp3",[87,4429,4430,4447,4464],{},[73,4431,4432,4435,4438,4441,4444],{},[92,4433,4434],{},"ganbarimasu      ",[92,4436,4437],{},"ganbarimashita    ",[92,4439,4440],{},"ganbattekudasai          ",[92,4442,4443],{"align":78}," -                    ",[92,4445,4446],{},"ganbarimashou        ",[73,4448,4449,4452,4455,4458,4461],{},[92,4450,4451],{},"polite present  ",[92,4453,4454],{},"polite past        ",[92,4456,4457],{},"polite request      ",[92,4459,4460],{"align":78},"-                   ",[92,4462,4463],{},"polite volitional    ",[73,4465,4466,4469,4472,4475,4478],{},[92,4467,4468],{},"(I) do my best  ",[92,4470,4471],{},"(I) did my best    ",[92,4473,4474],{},"please do your best      ",[92,4476,4477],{"align":78},"-                  ",[92,4479,4480],{},"let's do our best    ",[11,4482,4483],{},"There are two important things to notice here:",[344,4485,4486,4492],{},[307,4487,3939,4488,4491],{},[26,4489,4490],{},"meaning"," of words in the second table doesn't really change—they just come off as sounding more polite (which you can't quite feel in text)",[307,4493,4494],{},"There isn't a polite version of がんばれ, so that column is blank",[42,4496],{},[45,4498,4500],{"id":4499},"_1-がんばる-ganbaru-dictionary-and-present-plain-tense","1. がんばる Ganbaru → dictionary and present plain tense",[11,4502,4503],{},"This is perhaps the most flexible of Japanese's verb forms (so if it seems overwhelming, hang in there! The rest will be easier).",[11,4505,4506,4507,4509],{},"On its own, ganbaru ",[103,4508],{"src":4131,":type":149}," can mean a few different things:",[304,4511,4512,4518,4524],{},[307,4513,4514,4517],{},[1090,4515,4516],{},"To persevere"," → the plain present tense form happens to look the same as the dictionary form in Japanese",[307,4519,4520,4523],{},[1090,4521,4522],{},"I persevere"," → which means that this same verb form can also be interpreted in the present tense",[307,4525,4526,4529],{},[1090,4527,4528],{},"I will persevere"," → like many other languages, Japanese does not have a separate verb form to indicate future tense (English is the odd one out, here!)",[11,4531,4532],{},"And we can see that in these examples:",[847,4534,4536],{"id":4535},"meaning-1-dictionary-form","Meaning 1: Dictionary form ",[11,4538,4539],{},"This is what you'll see when you look がんばる up in the dictionary. In Japanese, the dictionary form also appears in combination with many other grammar points:",[304,4541,4542],{},[307,4543,4544,4545,506,4548,4550],{},"だからがんばることにしました。",[103,4546],{"src":4547,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-だからがんばることにしました。.mp3",[292,4549],{}," That's why I decided to do my best.",[11,4552,4553],{},"Here, \"ことにしました\" is a fixed phrase that means \"to decide to do something\", and it attaches directly to the dictionary form of verbs.",[847,4555,4557],{"id":4556},"meaning-2-plain-present-tense","Meaning 2: Plain present tense",[11,4559,4560,4561,4564],{},"There aren't actually as many examples of this as you might think! The present moment is very brief, so you're rarely talking about literally ",[26,4562,4563],{},"right now",". As such, when you see がんばる, it'll more often be referring to the future tense.",[11,4566,4567],{},"When it means the present tense, though, it'll often be in the form of a question:",[304,4569,4570],{},[307,4571,4572,4573,506,4576,4578],{},"なぜ、そんなにがんばるんですか。",[103,4574],{"src":4575,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-なぜ、そんなにがんばるんですか。.mp3",[292,4577],{}," Why do you try so hard?",[847,4580,4582],{"id":4581},"meaning-3-future-tense","Meaning 3: Future tense",[11,4584,4585],{},"Lastly, here's an example of an exchange that sees がんばる translated into the future tense:",[304,4587,4588,4599],{},[307,4589,4590,4591,506,4594,506,4596],{},"Friend: やれると思う？ ",[103,4592],{"src":4593,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-やれると思う？.mp3",[292,4595],{},[26,4597,4598],{},"Think you can do it?",[307,4600,4601,4602,506,4605,506,4607],{},"You: わからない。でも、がんばる。",[103,4603],{"src":4604,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-わからない。でも、がんばる。.mp3",[292,4606],{},[26,4608,4609],{},"I don't know, but I’ll do my best.",[11,4611,4612,4613,4616,4617,4620],{},"Keep in mind, however, that this is the ",[26,4614,4615],{},"plain"," form and not ",[26,4618,4619],{},"polite"," form. In other words, this dialogue is a casual exchange amongst friends... but if your Japanese boss asked you this, oh boy! That’s what you’ll need the polite form for.",[45,4622,4624],{"id":4623},"_2-がんばります-ganbarimasu-present-polite-tense","2. がんばります Ganbarimasu → present polite tense",[11,4626,4627,4628,4630],{},"Ganbaru can refer to both the present and future tense, and so can ganbarimasu ",[103,4629],{"src":4403,":type":149}," . The only difference is that ganbarimasu has the polite ~masu ending, which replaces the る ending.",[11,4632,4633],{},"Generally speaking, the ~masu ending is used when you are addressing strangers or superiors. Superiors will likely use the plain form in response to you, because you're younger than them or in a social stratosphere below them, but this is not considered rude at all. In Japanese, the language you use with someone reflects your social standing in relation to them.",[320,4635,4636,4639,4641],{},[287,4637,4638],{"bold":289,"underline":289},"\nCultural note\n",[292,4640],{},[287,4642,4643],{},"\nEven if someone drops ~masu in their replies to you, this isn't necessarily an invitation for you to do the same. It’s best to stick to the polite form until you’re given permission otherwise!\n",[11,4645,4646],{},"So, if we look at that same exchange from above, it would become:",[304,4648,4649,4658],{},[307,4650,4651,4652,506,4654,506,4656],{},"Boss: やれると思う？ ",[103,4653],{"src":4593,":type":149},[292,4655],{},[26,4657,4598],{},[307,4659,4660,4661,506,4664,4666,4667],{},"Subordinate: わかりません。しかし、がんばります。",[103,4662],{"src":4663,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-わかりません。しかし、がんばります。.mp3",[292,4665],{}," ",[26,4668,4609],{},[11,4670,4671,4672,1466,4675,4678,4679,4681],{},"(Note: In a real office setting, you might actually use ",[26,4673,4674],{},"honorific",[26,4676,4677],{},"humble"," language, which are steps above ",[26,4680,4619],{}," language. For now, though, just focus on the general idea! Plain form with friends and family, polite form with everyone else.)",[45,4683,4685],{"id":4684},"_3-がんばった-ganbatta-がんばりました-ganbarimashita-past-tenses","3. がんばった Ganbatta (& がんばりました Ganbarimashita) → past tenses",[11,4687,4688,4689,4692],{},"This is the past tense, so it means you did work hard at some point. Just like in English, if you're going out of your way to say that you ",[26,4690,4691],{},"did"," your best, you'll often be doing so in a lamentable fashion—you struggled really hard for something but came up dry. For example, maybe you failed an exam after a night of cramming.",[304,4694,4695],{},[307,4696,4697,4698,506,4701,506,4703],{},"せっかくがんばったのに、結果が出なかった。",[103,4699],{"src":4700,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-せっかくがんばったのに、結果が出なかった。.mp3",[292,4702],{},[26,4704,4705],{},"Even after I worked so hard, I didn’t get the result I wanted.",[11,4707,4708],{},"＊ せっかくがんばったのに can also be used on its own to mean a general cry of “And I worked so hard too!”",[11,4710,4711],{},"In a more positive vein, you'll also see the past tense form used in this common phrase:",[304,4713,4714],{},[307,4715,4716,4717,506,4720,506,4722,4725,4726,4725,4729],{},"よくがんばったね。",[103,4718],{"src":4719,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-よくがんばったね。.mp3",[292,4721],{},[26,4723,4724],{},"You did a great job."," \u002F ",[26,4727,4728],{},"You really worked hard.",[26,4730,4731],{},"Great job.",[11,4733,4734],{},"It’s a warm bit of encouragement, and you can use it regardless of whether someone succeeds in an endeavor or not. Here's an example sentence that's more clearly commiserating \u002F an expression of sympathy.",[304,4736,4737,4748],{},[307,4738,4739,4740,506,4743,506,4745],{},"Friend: せっかくがんばったのに。",[103,4741],{"src":4742,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-せっかくがんばったのに。.mp3",[292,4744],{},[26,4746,4747],{},"I tried so hard!",[307,4749,4750,4751,506,4754,506,4756],{},"You: うん、よくがんばったね。本当に残念だね… ",[103,4752],{"src":4753,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-うん、よくがんばったね。本当に残念だね….mp3",[292,4755],{},[26,4757,4758],{},"Yeah, you really gave it your all. It’s really unfortunate…",[320,4760,4761,4764,4766,4768],{},[287,4762,4763],{"bold":289,"underline":289},"\nA quick grammar note\n",[292,4765],{},[287,4767],{},"\n For the sake of brevity, we won't do a whole 'nother section on plain vs polite speech. You get the idea. Just know that, if you have a feeling that you're in a situation where the plain form won't fly, you can simply chop off the ~った of がんばった and affix ~ました in its place to make the polite past tense. よくがんばった becomes よくがんばりました, and so on.\n",[45,4770,4772],{"id":4771},"_4-がんばって-ganbatte-がんばってください-ganbatte-kudasai-commands","4. がんばって Ganbatte (& がんばってください Ganbatte kudasai) → commands",[11,4774,4775,4776,4779],{},"Perhaps the form you’re most familiar with. This is the ~て (te) form—otherwise known as the Swiss army knife of Japanese conjugations. ~て can be thought of as a link that lets you make use of more complex\u002Fcompound verb forms. There are a ",[26,4777,4778],{},"lot"," of structures that build off of the ~て form, but we'll just focus on one here:",[11,4781,4782,4783,4785],{},"Japanese has a dedicated command form, which we'll discuss next... but the ~て form can also function as a kind of soft command. Like the parallel drawn between English’s “Hang in there!” or “Good luck!”, when you say がんばって ",[103,4784],{"src":4124,":type":149}," , you’re telling someone to do something—but with a tone of friendliness (hopefully).",[50,4787],{"src":4788,"width":4789,"height":4790,"alt":4791},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-youtube-browser-nichijou.jpeg",1914,1216,"A screnshot from the anime Lucky Star, in which one character is encouraging another.",[11,4793,4794],{},"While がんばって is a soft command, it's still a direct command. You can make it more polite by tacking ~ください (please) onto the end of it. This means please.",[304,4796,4797],{},[307,4798,4799,4800,506,4803,506,4805],{},"がんばってください。",[103,4801],{"src":4802,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばってください。.mp3",[292,4804],{},[26,4806,4807],{},"Please do your best.",[11,4809,4810],{},"Earlier, we spoke about the risk of glossing over nuance when relying on English translations. Just like English’s “Good luck”, when used in the wrong context, がんばって can offend instead of encourage.",[11,4812,4813],{},"If someone’s faced with an insurmountable stack of work to get through by sunrise and you throw them a \"がんばって！\", you may just drive the stake in deeper rather than encouraging them. Again, think of how sarcastic a “Good luck” might sound in the same context.",[11,4815,4816],{},"Hence, it’s important to immerse yourself in authentic media to learn these crucial bits of nuance.",[45,4818,4820],{"id":4819},"_5-がんばれ-ganbare-stronger-command","5. がんばれ Ganbare → stronger command",[11,4822,4823,4824,4826],{},"We have positioned がんばれ ",[103,4825],{"src":4329,":type":149}," (ganbare) next to がんばって because their meaning is quite similar. This is a command form, just like がんばって, but it’s stronger and more intense than ganbatte.",[11,4828,4829],{},"If ganbatte is “Go for it!”, ganbare might be more like “Fight!!!”",[50,4831],{"src":4832,"width":4833,"height":4834,"alt":4835},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-youtube-browser-jjk.jpeg",1894,1200,"A scene from Jujutsu Kaisen in which one character is urging another to keep trying.",[287,4837,4838],{},[26,4839,4840],{},"This bit of nuance is unfortunately lost in the English translation of this episode of Jujutsu Kaisen",[292,4842],{},[11,4844,4845,4846,4849,4850,4852],{},"For this reason, you’re more likely to hear ",[26,4847,4848],{},"ganbare"," shouted during sports matches—a place where competition gets heated. It is also why some people are convinced that ",[26,4851,4152],{}," has roots in 我を張る (ga o haru, “to insist on one’s own ideas”)―winning a competitive match is all about forcing your way to victory through strategy and will.",[11,4854,4855,4856,4859,4860,415],{},"As this command is very strong, stick with ",[26,4857,4858],{},"ganbatte"," for now. After you've spent more time interacting with Japanese, you'll develop a feel for when it's appropriate to bring out the heavier-hitting ",[26,4861,4848],{},[45,4863,4865],{"id":4864},"_6-がんばろう-ganbarou-がんばりましょう-ganbarimashou-volitional-form","6. がんばろう Ganbarou (& がんばりましょう Ganbarimashou) → volitional form",[11,4867,4868,4869,4874],{},"Finally! We're at our last two forms; the volitional forms of ganbaru. \"",[15,4870,4873],{"href":4871,"rel":4872},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FVolition_(linguistics)",[971],"Volitional","\" is a fancy linguistic word that refers to intention or invitation. That's clear as mud—I know—but it'll make more sense when we look at a few examples.",[847,4876,4878],{"id":4877},"usage-1-using-the-volitional-form-to-communicate-strong-intent","Usage 1: Using the volitional form to communicate strong intent",[11,4880,4881,4882,4884],{},"First, let’s look at がんばろう ",[103,4883],{"src":4335,":type":149},"  (ganbarou) used to show intention. Consider the following sentence.",[304,4886,4887],{},[307,4888,4889,4890,506,4893,506,4895],{},"期待に応えられるように、がんばろう。 ",[103,4891],{"src":4892,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-期待にこたえられるように、がんばろう。.mp3",[292,4894],{},[26,4896,4897],{},"I'll work hard to meet everyone's expectations.",[11,4899,4900],{},"You could say がんばる in place of がんばろう here (and in many places), but using the volitional form conveys a stronger intent—it's like you're making a promise and committing yourself to do something.",[847,4902,4904],{"id":4903},"usage-2-using-the-volitional-form-to-make-invitations","Usage 2: Using the volitional form to make invitations",[11,4906,4907],{},"Rather than just communicating your own intentions, the volitional form can also be used to invite people to take action with you. In this case, it's nuance is pretty close to \"let's...\" in English:",[304,4909,4910],{},[307,4911,4912,4913,506,4916,506,4918],{},"さぁ、今日も一日がんばろう。",[103,4914],{"src":4915,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さぁ、今日も一日がんばろう。.mp3",[292,4917],{},[26,4919,4920],{},"Alright, let's give it our all today, too!",[11,4922,4923,4924,4926],{},"To make this polite, once again, simply swap がんばろう for がんばりましょう ",[103,4925],{"src":4427,":type":149}," .",[320,4928,4929,4931,4933],{},[287,4930,4638],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[292,4932],{},[287,4934,4935,4936,4941,4942,4945,4946,4949],{},"\n Japan is a \n",[15,4937,4940],{"href":4938,"rel":4939},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHigh-context_and_low-context_cultures",[971],"high-context culture","\n, which means that Japanese communication is often more indirect or ambiguous than in the West. You can see that demonstrated here: whether がんばろう means \n",[26,4943,4944],{},"I will","\n or \n",[26,4947,4948],{},"let's...","\n depends pretty much entirely on context. Again, this will be difficult at first, but you'll get better at picking up on these nuances as you spend more time engaging with (and enjoying!) Japanese materials. \n",[42,4951],{},[45,4953,4955],{"id":4954},"fired-up-heres-how-you-can-learn-japanese-without-needing-to-ganbaru-too-hard","Fired up? Here’s how you can learn Japanese without needing to ganbaru too hard",[11,4957,4958],{},"Learning phrases that you can start using from Day 1 can be exciting! So if you’re hungry to learn more, Migaku offers a selection of engaging courses that are tailored to your needs.",[11,4960,4961],{},"If you’re starting from scratch, Migaku Fundamentals has got you covered. This course will take you through the very basics of Japanese, and by the end of it you’ll be able to read hiragana and katakana.",[50,4963],{"src":919,"width":920,"height":921,"alt":922},[11,4965,4966],{},"If you budget your study to an hour per day (~23 flashcards), you can get through this course for free before the 10-day free trial runs out!",[11,4968,4969],{},"Once you learn the hiragana and katakana, or if you aren't quite ready to dive into native content just yet, the Migaku Japanese Academy will teach you 1700 of the most common words in Japanese and 400 grammar points that will enable you to understand and produce real sentences.",[50,4971],{"src":4972,"width":4973,"height":4974,"alt":4975},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-ganbaru.jpeg",1724,1206,"A screenshot from Migaku's Japanese Academy, showing the lesson in which we teach ganbaru.",[11,4977,4978],{},"The course has been specifically designed so that:",[304,4980,4981,4984,4987,4990],{},[307,4982,4983],{},"Each \"next\" flashcard only contains one new word",[307,4985,4986],{},"You'll be periodically nudged to review what you learn",[307,4988,4989],{},"If you learn 10 cards per day, you'll finish in about 6 months",[307,4991,4992],{},"By the time you finish, you'll recognize 80% of the words in Netflix dialogues",[11,4994,4995,4996,4999],{},"You can start the Academy course even if you don't know any kanji: The Migaku Kanji course, the Academy's sister course, will teach you each kanji used in the Academy ",[26,4997,4998],{},"juuuust"," before it appears in your Academy lessons.",[50,5001],{"src":951,"width":952,"height":953,"alt":5002},"...",[674,5004],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,5006],{},[45,5008,5010],{"id":5009},"challenge-pick-がんばっている-out-of-the-following-video","[Challenge] Pick がんばっている out of the following video",[11,5012,5013,5014,5017],{},"がんばっている ",[103,5015],{"src":5016,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばっている.mp3",", one of the forms we skipped, is used for the present-progressive tense—to say that you're in the process of doing your best, literally right now.",[11,5019,5020],{},"This Japanese fisherman says it twice.",[11,5022,5023],{},"Can you pick out where?",[5025,5026],"custom-iframe",{"src":5027},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FKxGRhd_iWuE?si=tXDTR8Ge00HZLh-7",[45,5029,5031],{"id":5030},"to-the-bitter-end","To the bitter end",[11,5033,5034],{},"Whether we use ganbatte, ganbare, or ganbatte kudasai, we are offering a cheer of encouragement: a “Hang in there!” or “Never say die!” style pick-me-up.",[11,5036,5037],{},"With all of these forms of ganbaru introduced in this article, Japanese may feel like a hopeless mountain of grammar and conjugations. But the trick is to not get hung up on the finer details―just focus on the journey and you’ll make your way through.",[11,5039,5040],{},"In fact, the golden role of language learning is:",[320,5042,5043],{},[11,5044,5045,5046],{},"If you consume Japanese media you enjoy, and you understand the sentences and messages within that media, you will make progress. ",[26,5047,705],{},[11,5049,5050],{},"... and now I'm going to say it:",[11,5052,5053],{},"がんばって！",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":5055},[5056,5057,5058,5059,5064,5065,5066,5067,5068,5072,5073,5074],{"id":4170,"depth":707,"text":4171},{"id":4247,"depth":707,"text":4248},{"id":4268,"depth":707,"text":4269},{"id":4499,"depth":707,"text":4500,"children":5060},[5061,5062,5063],{"id":4535,"depth":1016,"text":4536},{"id":4556,"depth":1016,"text":4557},{"id":4581,"depth":1016,"text":4582},{"id":4623,"depth":707,"text":4624},{"id":4684,"depth":707,"text":4685},{"id":4771,"depth":707,"text":4772},{"id":4819,"depth":707,"text":4820},{"id":4864,"depth":707,"text":4865,"children":5069},[5070,5071],{"id":4877,"depth":1016,"text":4878},{"id":4903,"depth":1016,"text":4904},{"id":4954,"depth":707,"text":4955},{"id":5009,"depth":707,"text":5010},{"id":5030,"depth":707,"text":5031},"'Ganbatte' translates to 'good luck'... but, when you use ganbatte in Japanese culture, it's really more of a cross between 'good luck' and 'perseverance'. Here's how it works!",{"timestampUnix":5077,"slug":5078,"h1":5079,"image":5080,"tags":5085},1747817083788,"ganbatte-meaning","Ganbatte! All About The Little Japanese Expression That Could",{"src":5081,"width":5082,"height":5083,"alt":5084},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-ganbare-thumbnail.jpg",2800,1400,"A screenshot from an anime in which characters are cheering on their teammates!",[5086],"vocabulary","\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-ganbaru","---\ntitle: 'Ganbatte or Ganbare? How to use this Japanese word (like a pro)'\ndescription: \"'Ganbatte' translates to 'good luck'... but, when you use ganbatte in Japanese culture, it's really more of a cross between 'good luck' and 'perseverance'. Here's how it works!\"\ntimestampUnix: 1747817083788\nslug: 'ganbatte-meaning'\nh1: 'Ganbatte! All About The Little Japanese Expression That Could'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-ganbare-thumbnail.jpg'\n width: 2800\n height: 1400\n alt: 'A screenshot from an anime in which characters are cheering on their teammates!'\ntags:\n - vocabulary\n---\n\nThis article will look at the origins of ganbatte \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばって.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> _(\"do your best!\")_ and explain how to use the many forms of ganbaru \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばる.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> to be the best team player you can be in Japanese.\n\nMore specifically, we'll talk about:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>A quick note\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\u003CCenteredText>You'll sometimes see _ganbaru_ written in kanji as 頑張る and other times in hiragana as がんばる. We'll use hiragana in this article, to make it a bit more accessible, but if you want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), you should understand both! You'll see both in real Japanese content. \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr> _(If you don't know hiragana yet, skim through [this crash course](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-hiragana) really quick!)_ \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n## The meaning of Ganbatte\n\nがんばって (ganbatte) comes from 頑張る (ganbaru), a verb that means to persevere and work hard; especially when times are tough. The word carries the implicit meaning of seeing something through to the end. You can kind of see this by taking a close look at the kanji it's made of:\n\n\u003CCenteredText> → _(on the off chance you don't know [what kanji are](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-kanji))_ ← \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\n\nThe first kanji 頑 carries the meaning “stubborn” or \"firm.\"\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-頑.jpeg\" width=\"1756\" height=\"1210\" alt=\"A screenshot of the 頑 lesson from Migaku's kanji course\" \u002F>\n\nThe second kanji 張 carries the meaning “stretch\" or \"spread.”\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-張.jpeg\" width=\"1736\" height=\"1210\" alt=\"A screenshot of the 張 lesson from Migaku's kanji course \" \u002F>\n\n> _\u003CCenteredText>Both of these flashcards come from Migaku's Kanji Course. \u003C\u002FCenteredText>_\n\nAnd it is at this point where the history behind ganbaru gets interesting.\n\nYou see, etymologically speaking, there are two separate theories as to how we ended up with the modern ganbaru.\n\n1. The first argues that 我を張る (ga o haru) is considered the origin of the modern がんばる (ganbaru), which means “to insist on one’s own ideas.”\n\n2. The second argues that ganbaru evolved from 眼張る (ganharu) which meant to “keep watch; observe closely” (literally stretch one’s eyes).\n\nBoth of these theories are rich with evidence dating back to the Edo period (1603–1867), but the main takeaway is the common denominator of 張る (haru). By noticing this kanji 張 which means to stretch or strain, you can see how this colors the article in a way that's a bit more nuanced than a simple \"good luck\"—there's also some \"sticking to it\" and \"never giving up\" mixed in there.\n\nWhat's more, there are different \"forms\" of ganbaru (in linguistics, this is called _[conjugation](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FGrammatical_conjugation)_). They all have the same basic underlying meaning, but their nuance is different. For example, a shout of がんばって (ganbatte) might be translated as “Hang in there!”, whereas the past tense がんばった (ganbatta) would likely be more straightforward: \"I did my best.\"\n\nBasically, a single translation can't tell us the whole story, here.\n\n---\n\n## Japanese “Ganbatte” vs. English “Good Luck”\n\nIf がんばって (ganbatte) means good luck, why do we need an entire article about it?\n\nWell, it's because things aren't quite that easy.\n\nWhile every language can express every idea, and we can translate from one language to another just fine, there's always something lost in translation—some words have different nuances, and some ideas would be expressed differently (if they're expressed at all). These are, after all, entirely different cultures with different ways of communicating and seeing the world.\n\n> With this in mind, when relying on one-to-one translations, you risk not only the erasure of cultural depth―thereby robbing yourself of knowledge―but you also risk missing important nuances that could get in the way of you communicating what you originally intended.\n\nNow, let’s go through the usage and nuances of each form of ganbaru you’re likely to encounter.\n\n## Verbs and verb forms in the Japanese language\n\nOn the off-chance that you're new to the Japanese language, you should know that Japanese has three main types of verbs:\n\n- る (ru) verbs → these end in ~る\n\n- う (u) verbs → these end in in an ~う sound (-ru, -su, -tsu, etc... if a word ends in ~る, it technically ends in ~u, too! )\n\n- Irregular verbs\n\nGanbaru ends with -る, but is considered an う verb, not a -る verb. _(This is tricky and annoying, but you'll get a feel for it as you spend more time with japanese.)_ A verb's type affects how it is conjugated.\n\nHere are two tables with the most common forms of ganbaru—not _all_ of them, but the ones you’re likely to hear and use when cheering someone on.\n\nFirst, here's the plain forms of the verb, which you can use with people your age, family members, and people that you know well:\n\n| がんばる \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばる.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>    | がんばった \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-頑張った.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>     | がんばって \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばって.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>    | がんばれ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばれ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>     | がんばろう \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-頑張ろう.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>    |\n| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| ganbaru   | ganbatta     | ganbatte     | ganbare     | ganbarou     |\n| dictionary\u002Fplain form | plain past | te-form     | command form | plain volitional |\n| (to) do one’s best | did one’s best | do your best (please) | do your best! | let’s do our best |\n\nYou can make these verb forms more polite by adding a ~ます sound at the end:\n\n| がんばります \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-頑張ります.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>      | がんばりました \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-頑張りました.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>       | がんばってください \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-頑張ってください.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>        |          -            | がんばりましょう \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-頑張りましょう.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>       |\n| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | :--------------------: | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| ganbarimasu       | ganbarimashita     | ganbattekudasai           |  -                     | ganbarimashou         |\n| polite present   | polite past         | polite request       | -                    | polite volitional     |\n| (I) do my best   | (I) did my best     | please do your best       | -                   | let's do our best     |\n\nThere are two important things to notice here:\n\n1. The _meaning_ of words in the second table doesn't really change—they just come off as sounding more polite (which you can't quite feel in text)\n\n2. There isn't a polite version of がんばれ, so that column is blank\n\n---\n\n## 1. がんばる Ganbaru → dictionary and present plain tense\n\nThis is perhaps the most flexible of Japanese's verb forms (so if it seems overwhelming, hang in there! The rest will be easier).\n\nOn its own, ganbaru \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばる.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> can mean a few different things:\n\n- **To persevere** → the plain present tense form happens to look the same as the dictionary form in Japanese\n\n- **I persevere** → which means that this same verb form can also be interpreted in the present tense\n\n- **I will persevere** → like many other languages, Japanese does not have a separate verb form to indicate future tense (English is the odd one out, here!)\n\nAnd we can see that in these examples:\n\n### Meaning 1: Dictionary form \n\nThis is what you'll see when you look がんばる up in the dictionary. In Japanese, the dictionary form also appears in combination with many other grammar points:\n\n- だからがんばることにしました。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-だからがんばることにしました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> That's why I decided to do my best.\n\nHere, \"ことにしました\" is a fixed phrase that means \"to decide to do something\", and it attaches directly to the dictionary form of verbs.\n\n### Meaning 2: Plain present tense\n\nThere aren't actually as many examples of this as you might think! The present moment is very brief, so you're rarely talking about literally _right now_. As such, when you see がんばる, it'll more often be referring to the future tense.\n\nWhen it means the present tense, though, it'll often be in the form of a question:\n\n- なぜ、そんなにがんばるんですか。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-なぜ、そんなにがんばるんですか。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> Why do you try so hard?\n\n### Meaning 3: Future tense\n\nLastly, here's an example of an exchange that sees がんばる translated into the future tense:\n\n- Friend: やれると思う？ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-やれると思う？.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _Think you can do it?_\n\n- You: わからない。でも、がんばる。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-わからない。でも、がんばる。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _I don't know, but I’ll do my best._\n\nKeep in mind, however, that this is the _plain_ form and not _polite_ form. In other words, this dialogue is a casual exchange amongst friends... but if your Japanese boss asked you this, oh boy! That’s what you’ll need the polite form for.\n\n## 2. がんばります Ganbarimasu → present polite tense\n\nGanbaru can refer to both the present and future tense, and so can ganbarimasu \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-頑張ります.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> . The only difference is that ganbarimasu has the polite ~masu ending, which replaces the る ending.\n\nGenerally speaking, the ~masu ending is used when you are addressing strangers or superiors. Superiors will likely use the plain form in response to you, because you're younger than them or in a social stratosphere below them, but this is not considered rude at all. In Japanese, the language you use with someone reflects your social standing in relation to them.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Cultural note\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\u003CCenteredText>Even if someone drops ~masu in their replies to you, this isn't necessarily an invitation for you to do the same. It’s best to stick to the polite form until you’re given permission otherwise!\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\nSo, if we look at that same exchange from above, it would become:\n\n- Boss: やれると思う？ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-やれると思う？.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _Think you can do it?_\n\n- Subordinate: わかりません。しかし、がんばります。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-わかりません。しかし、がんばります。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> *I don't know, but I’ll do my best.*\n\n(Note: In a real office setting, you might actually use _honorific_ or _humble_ language, which are steps above _polite_ language. For now, though, just focus on the general idea! Plain form with friends and family, polite form with everyone else.)\n\n## 3. がんばった Ganbatta (& がんばりました Ganbarimashita) → past tenses\n\nThis is the past tense, so it means you did work hard at some point. Just like in English, if you're going out of your way to say that you _did_ your best, you'll often be doing so in a lamentable fashion—you struggled really hard for something but came up dry. For example, maybe you failed an exam after a night of cramming.\n\n- せっかくがんばったのに、結果が出なかった。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-せっかくがんばったのに、結果が出なかった。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _Even after I worked so hard, I didn’t get the result I wanted._\n\n＊ せっかくがんばったのに can also be used on its own to mean a general cry of “And I worked so hard too!”\n\nIn a more positive vein, you'll also see the past tense form used in this common phrase:\n\n- よくがんばったね。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-よくがんばったね。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _You did a great job._ \u002F _You really worked hard._ \u002F _Great job._\n\nIt’s a warm bit of encouragement, and you can use it regardless of whether someone succeeds in an endeavor or not. Here's an example sentence that's more clearly commiserating \u002F an expression of sympathy.\n\n- Friend: せっかくがんばったのに。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-せっかくがんばったのに。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _I tried so hard!_\n\n- You: うん、よくがんばったね。本当に残念だね… \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-うん、よくがんばったね。本当に残念だね….mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _Yeah, you really gave it your all. It’s really unfortunate…_\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>A quick grammar note\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\u003CCenteredText>\u003C\u002FCenteredText> For the sake of brevity, we won't do a whole 'nother section on plain vs polite speech. You get the idea. Just know that, if you have a feeling that you're in a situation where the plain form won't fly, you can simply chop off the ~った of がんばった and affix ~ました in its place to make the polite past tense. よくがんばった becomes よくがんばりました, and so on.\n\n## 4. がんばって Ganbatte (& がんばってください Ganbatte kudasai) → commands\n\nPerhaps the form you’re most familiar with. This is the ~て (te) form—otherwise known as the Swiss army knife of Japanese conjugations. ~て can be thought of as a link that lets you make use of more complex\u002Fcompound verb forms. There are a _lot_ of structures that build off of the ~て form, but we'll just focus on one here:\n\nJapanese has a dedicated command form, which we'll discuss next... but the ~て form can also function as a kind of soft command. Like the parallel drawn between English’s “Hang in there!” or “Good luck!”, when you say がんばって \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばって.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> , you’re telling someone to do something—but with a tone of friendliness (hopefully).\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-youtube-browser-nichijou.jpeg\" width=\"1914\" height=\"1216\" alt=\"A screnshot from the anime Lucky Star, in which one character is encouraging another.\" \u002F>\n\nWhile がんばって is a soft command, it's still a direct command. You can make it more polite by tacking ~ください (please) onto the end of it. This means please.\n\n- がんばってください。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばってください。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _Please do your best._\n\nEarlier, we spoke about the risk of glossing over nuance when relying on English translations. Just like English’s “Good luck”, when used in the wrong context, がんばって can offend instead of encourage.\n\nIf someone’s faced with an insurmountable stack of work to get through by sunrise and you throw them a \"がんばって！\", you may just drive the stake in deeper rather than encouraging them. Again, think of how sarcastic a “Good luck” might sound in the same context.\n\nHence, it’s important to immerse yourself in authentic media to learn these crucial bits of nuance.\n\n## 5. がんばれ Ganbare → stronger command\n\nWe have positioned がんばれ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばれ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> (ganbare) next to がんばって because their meaning is quite similar. This is a command form, just like がんばって, but it’s stronger and more intense than ganbatte.\n\nIf ganbatte is “Go for it!”, ganbare might be more like “Fight!!!”\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-youtube-browser-jjk.jpeg\" width=\"1894\" height=\"1200\" alt=\"A scene from Jujutsu Kaisen in which one character is urging another to keep trying.\" \u002F>\n\n\u003CCenteredText>_This bit of nuance is unfortunately lost in the English translation of this episode of Jujutsu Kaisen_\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\n\nFor this reason, you’re more likely to hear _ganbare_ shouted during sports matches—a place where competition gets heated. It is also why some people are convinced that _ganbaru_ has roots in 我を張る (ga o haru, “to insist on one’s own ideas”)―winning a competitive match is all about forcing your way to victory through strategy and will.\n\nAs this command is very strong, stick with _ganbatte_ for now. After you've spent more time interacting with Japanese, you'll develop a feel for when it's appropriate to bring out the heavier-hitting _ganbare_.\n\n## 6. がんばろう Ganbarou (& がんばりましょう Ganbarimashou) → volitional form\n\nFinally! We're at our last two forms; the volitional forms of ganbaru. \"[Volitional](\u003Chttps:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FVolition_(linguistics)>)\" is a fancy linguistic word that refers to intention or invitation. That's clear as mud—I know—but it'll make more sense when we look at a few examples.\n\n### Usage 1: Using the volitional form to communicate strong intent\n\nFirst, let’s look at がんばろう \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-頑張ろう.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>  (ganbarou) used to show intention. Consider the following sentence.\n\n- 期待に応えられるように、がんばろう。 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-期待にこたえられるように、がんばろう。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _I'll work hard to meet everyone's expectations._\n\nYou could say がんばる in place of がんばろう here (and in many places), but using the volitional form conveys a stronger intent—it's like you're making a promise and committing yourself to do something.\n\n### Usage 2: Using the volitional form to make invitations\n\nRather than just communicating your own intentions, the volitional form can also be used to invite people to take action with you. In this case, it's nuance is pretty close to \"let's...\" in English:\n\n- さぁ、今日も一日がんばろう。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さぁ、今日も一日がんばろう。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _Alright, let's give it our all today, too!_\n\nTo make this polite, once again, simply swap がんばろう for がんばりましょう \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-頑張りましょう.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> .\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Cultural note\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\u003CCenteredText> Japan is a [high-context culture](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHigh-context_and_low-context_cultures), which means that Japanese communication is often more indirect or ambiguous than in the West. You can see that demonstrated here: whether がんばろう means _I will_ or _let's..._ depends pretty much entirely on context. Again, this will be difficult at first, but you'll get better at picking up on these nuances as you spend more time engaging with (and enjoying!) Japanese materials. \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n---\n\n## Fired up? Here’s how you can learn Japanese without needing to ganbaru too hard\n\nLearning phrases that you can start using from Day 1 can be exciting! So if you’re hungry to learn more, Migaku offers a selection of engaging courses that are tailored to your needs.\n\nIf you’re starting from scratch, Migaku Fundamentals has got you covered. This course will take you through the very basics of Japanese, and by the end of it you’ll be able to read hiragana and katakana.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-fundamentals-new.jpeg\" width=\"1730\" height=\"1202\" alt=\"A few screenshots from Migaku's Japanese Fundamentals course.\" \u002F>\n\nIf you budget your study to an hour per day (~23 flashcards), you can get through this course for free before the 10-day free trial runs out!\n\nOnce you learn the hiragana and katakana, or if you aren't quite ready to dive into native content just yet, the Migaku Japanese Academy will teach you 1700 of the most common words in Japanese and 400 grammar points that will enable you to understand and produce real sentences.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-ganbaru.jpeg\" width=\"1724\" height=\"1206\" alt=\"A screenshot from Migaku's Japanese Academy, showing the lesson in which we teach ganbaru.\" \u002F>\n\nThe course has been specifically designed so that:\n\n- Each \"next\" flashcard only contains one new word\n- You'll be periodically nudged to review what you learn\n- If you learn 10 cards per day, you'll finish in about 6 months\n- By the time you finish, you'll recognize 80% of the words in Netflix dialogues\n\nYou can start the Academy course even if you don't know any kanji: The Migaku Kanji course, the Academy's sister course, will teach you each kanji used in the Academy _juuuust_ before it appears in your Academy lessons.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-course-plug.jpeg\" width=\"1802\" height=\"1258\" alt=\"...\" \u002F>\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## \\[Challenge] Pick がんばっている out of the following video\n\nがんばっている \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばっている.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, one of the forms we skipped, is used for the present-progressive tense—to say that you're in the process of doing your best, literally right now.\n\nThis Japanese fisherman says it twice.\n\nCan you pick out where?\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FKxGRhd_iWuE?si=tXDTR8Ge00HZLh-7\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n## To the bitter end\n\nWhether we use ganbatte, ganbare, or ganbatte kudasai, we are offering a cheer of encouragement: a “Hang in there!” or “Never say die!” style pick-me-up.\n\nWith all of these forms of ganbaru introduced in this article, Japanese may feel like a hopeless mountain of grammar and conjugations. But the trick is to not get hung up on the finer details―just focus on the journey and you’ll make your way through.\n\nIn fact, the golden role of language learning is:\n\n> If you consume Japanese media you enjoy, and you understand the sentences and messages within that media, you will make progress. _Period._\n\n... and now I'm going to say it:\n\nがんばって！\n",{"title":4116,"description":5075},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-ganbaru","z_h58hdMVbiN1zoWetTf3E-hNlVmvTrmguHLRSyz7jY","May 21, 2025",{"id":5094,"title":5095,"body":5096,"description":5973,"extension":717,"meta":5974,"navigation":730,"path":5985,"rawbody":5986,"seo":5987,"stem":5988,"__hash__":5989,"timestampUnix":5975,"slug":5976,"h1":5977,"image":5978,"tags":5983,"_dir":736,"timestamp":5990},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-greetings.md","Top 12 Japanese Greetings: Meanings, Usage, and Cultural Context",{"type":8,"value":5097,"toc":5940},[5098,5101,5107,5110,5112,5114,5122,5156,5163,5169,5182,5190,5221,5235,5238,5246,5275,5278,5286,5316,5330,5332,5340,5373,5382,5389,5397,5427,5437,5448,5453,5461,5465,5471,5475,5484,5488,5497,5503,5506,5510,5516,5526,5532,5534,5542,5571,5577,5580,5586,5597,5605,5635,5653,5656,5658,5666,5695,5702,5705,5713,5742,5755,5763,5792,5799,5808,5816,5846,5857,5863,5867,5870,5873,5880,5892,5895,5901,5909,5916,5918,5920,5924,5927,5930,5937],[11,5099,5100],{},"Greetings are an important aspect of any language and are used to acknowledge someone's presence, initiate communication, or show respect and friendliness. They are a fundamental aspect of social interaction and can vary widely across different cultures and contexts. Japanese, in particular, has its own set of greetings that you should be familiar with for smooth communication.",[11,5102,5103,5104,5106],{},"If you want to ",[15,5105,18],{"href":17},", then, this is a good place to start.",[11,5108,5109],{},"Here's a few greetings you'll hear all the time:",[39,5111],{},[42,5113],{},[45,5115,5117,5118,5121],{"id":5116},"おはようございます-ohayōgozaimasu-good-morning","おはようございます (Ohayōgozaimasu) ",[103,5119],{"src":5120,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fおはようございます.m4a"," — Good morning",[11,5123,5124,5127,5128,5130,5132,5135,5136,5138,5140,506,5143,506,5146,5148,5150,5153,5154],{},[1090,5125,5126],{},"Meaning:"," Good morning ",[292,5129],{},[292,5131],{},[1090,5133,5134],{},"Usage:"," From sunrise to noon ",[292,5137],{},[292,5139],{},[1090,5141,5142],{},"Kanji form:",[98,5144],{"lang":100,"syntax":5145},"御[お] 早[はよ,はよう]う 御[ご] 座[ざ,ざる]います",[292,5147],{},[292,5149],{},[1090,5151,5152],{},"Note:"," Often shortened to おはよう in casual settings ",[292,5155],{},[11,5157,5158,5159,5162],{},"The morning greeting, おはようございます, is believed to have originated from Kabuki theater. Kabuki actors, needing ample time for preparation, would arrive and start getting ready well before the performance started. In turn, backstage and lower-ranked staff would use the phrase ",[98,5160],{"lang":100,"syntax":5161},"お 早[はや,はやい]い お 着[つ,つく]き で ご ざ[,ざる]います",", which means \"You have arrived early,\" as a form of encouragement. Over time, this phrase evolved into its current form.",[50,5164],{"src":5165,"width":5166,"height":5167,"alt":5168},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FKabuki.webp",4288,2848,"A traditional Japanese Kabuki scene, which originated the phrase ohayou gozaimasu, is displayed in the Edo-Tokyo Museum. It shows three people in different poses, wearing elaborate clothing.",[320,5170,5171],{},[11,5172,5173,5174,5177,5178,5181],{},"In addition to おはよう (ohayō), there is also the greeting おそよう (osoyō), which has a sarcastic connotation. The origin of おはよう stems from the word ",[98,5175],{"lang":100,"syntax":5176},"早[はや,はやう]う"," (hayau), meaning \"early\", while おそよう is derived from ",[98,5179],{"lang":100,"syntax":5180},"遅[おそ,おそい]い"," (osoi), meaning \"late.\" Thus, it can be used as a sarcastic greeting for someone who arrives late in the morning.",[45,5183,5185,5186,5189],{"id":5184},"こんにちは-konnichiwa-good-day","こんにちは (Konnichiwa) ",[103,5187],{"src":5188,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fこんにちは.m4a"," — Good day",[11,5191,5192,5194,5195,5197,5199,5202,5203,5205,5207,506,5209,506,5212,5214,5216,5218,5219],{},[1090,5193,5126],{}," Good day ",[292,5196],{},[292,5198],{},[1090,5200,5201],{},"When to use:"," From noon to right before sunset ",[292,5204],{},[292,5206],{},[1090,5208,5142],{},[98,5210],{"lang":100,"syntax":5211},"今日[こんにち] は",[292,5213],{},[292,5215],{},[1090,5217,5152],{}," - ",[292,5220],{},[11,5222,5223,5224,5227,5228,5231,5232,5234],{},"A long time ago, greetings like ",[98,5225],{"lang":100,"syntax":5226},"今日[こんにち] は、ご 機嫌[きげん] いか が です か"," (How are you today?) and ",[98,5229],{"lang":100,"syntax":5230},"今日[こんにち] は、いい[,いい] お 天気[てんき] です ね"," (Nice weather today, isn't it?) have been used. However, in the Meiji era, textbooks omitted the part of the greeting following ",[98,5233],{"lang":100,"syntax":5211}," and instead wrote こんにちは, which became widely adopted.",[11,5236,5237],{},"While in writing こんにちわ is occasionally used by some people as well, knowing its origin tells us that こんにちは is the correct form.",[45,5239,5241,5242,5245],{"id":5240},"こんばんは-kombanwa-good-evening","こんばんは (Kombanwa) ",[103,5243],{"src":5244,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fこんばんは.m4a"," — Good evening",[11,5247,5248,5250,5251,5253,5255,5257,5258,5260,5262,506,5264,506,5267,5269,5271,5218,5273],{},[1090,5249,5126],{}," Good evening ",[292,5252],{},[292,5254],{},[1090,5256,5201],{}," From sunset to right before sunrise ",[292,5259],{},[292,5261],{},[1090,5263,5142],{},[98,5265],{"lang":100,"syntax":5266},"今晩[こんばん] は",[292,5268],{},[292,5270],{},[1090,5272,5152],{},[292,5274],{},[11,5276,5277],{},"こんばんは originally included additional words, similar to こんにちは. However, these words were eventually omitted, resulting in the simplified form こんばんは.",[45,5279,5281,5282,5285],{"id":5280},"おやすみなさい-oyasuminasai-good-night","おやすみなさい (Oyasuminasai) ",[103,5283],{"src":5284,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fおやすみなさい.m4a"," — Good night",[11,5287,5288,5290,5291,5293,5295,5297,5298,5300,5302,506,5304,506,5307,5309,5311,5313,5314],{},[1090,5289,5126],{}," Good night ",[292,5292],{},[292,5294],{},[1090,5296,5201],{}," Before someone goes to bed ",[292,5299],{},[292,5301],{},[1090,5303,5142],{},[98,5305],{"lang":100,"syntax":5306},"御[お] 休[やす,やすむ]みなさい",[292,5308],{},[292,5310],{},[1090,5312,5152],{}," Often shortened to おやすみ in casual speech ",[292,5315],{},[11,5317,5318,5319,5322,5323,5325,5326,5329],{},"おやすみなさい is used when another person is about to go to bed, to wish them a good night. Since it seems that it is constructed from the word ",[98,5320],{"lang":100,"syntax":5321},"休[やす,やすむ]む"," (yasumu), meaning \"to rest\", and the command form なさい (nasai), some people may find this phrase odd, as it seems like you are giving an order to someone.",[292,5324],{},"\nThis good night phrase is thought to come from ",[98,5327],{"lang":100,"syntax":5328},"ゆっくり と お 休[やす,やすむ]み に なっ[,なる]て ください",", originally meaning \"Please have a restful sleep,\" which was used by innkeepers. Eventually, it evolved into the abbreviated form おやすみなさい we know today.",[42,5331],{},[45,5333,5335,5336,5339],{"id":5334},"はじめまして-hajimemashite-nice-to-meet-you","はじめまして (Hajimemashite) ",[103,5337],{"src":5338,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F初めまして.m4a"," — Nice to meet you",[11,5341,5342,5344,5345,5347,5349,5351,5352,5354,5356,506,5358,5361,5362,506,5365,5367,5369,5218,5371],{},[1090,5343,5126],{}," Nice to meet you ",[292,5346],{},[292,5348],{},[1090,5350,5201],{}," When meeting someone for the first time ",[292,5353],{},[292,5355],{},[1090,5357,5142],{},[98,5359],{"lang":100,"syntax":5360},"初[はじ]めまして","; ",[98,5363],{"lang":100,"syntax":5364},"始[はじ]めまして",[292,5366],{},[292,5368],{},[1090,5370,5152],{},[292,5372],{},[11,5374,5375,5377,5378,5381],{},[98,5376],{"lang":100,"syntax":5360}," is a greeting that is used when meeting someone for the first time. It's believed to be a shortened version of phrases like ",[98,5379],{"lang":100,"syntax":5380},"初[はじ]めまして お 目[め] に かか[,かかる]りまして"," (Nice to meet you for the first time), which simply acknowledges the first encounter.\n",[11,5383,5384,5385,5388],{},"Interestingly, this greeting ends with the conjunctive て-form, which indicates the continuation of an action, thus hinting that further words will follow. In practice, it's often followed by self-introductions such as ",[98,5386],{"lang":100,"syntax":5387},"初[はじ]めまして、高橋[たかはし] と 申[もう,もうす]します"," (Nice to meet you, I'm Takahashi).",[45,5390,5392,5393,5396],{"id":5391},"よろしくおねがいします-yoroshiku-onegaishimasu-no-exact-translation","よろしくおねがいします (Yoroshiku onegaishimasu) ",[103,5394],{"src":5395,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fよろしくお願いします.m4a"," — (No exact translation)",[11,5398,5399,5401,5402,5404,5406,5408,5409,5411,5413,506,5415,506,5418,5420,5422,5424,5425],{},[1090,5400,5126],{}," Please remember me; please treat me well ",[292,5403],{},[292,5405],{},[1090,5407,5201],{}," (See discussion below) ",[292,5410],{},[292,5412],{},[1090,5414,5142],{},[98,5416],{"lang":100,"syntax":5417},"宜[よろ,よろしい]しく 御[お] 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます",[292,5419],{},[292,5421],{},[1090,5423,5152],{}," Sometimes shortened to よろしく in casual settings, or よろ if you want to be really casual ",[292,5426],{},[11,5428,5429,5432,5433,5436],{},[98,5430],{"lang":100,"syntax":5431},"よろしく お 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます"," can be broken down into two parts: よろしく and ",[98,5434],{"lang":100,"syntax":5435},"お 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます",".\n",[304,5438,5439,5445],{},[307,5440,5441,5442,5444],{},"The latter part, ",[98,5443],{"lang":100,"syntax":5435},", is a common phrase used when making a request, similar to \"please\" in English.",[307,5446,5447],{},"As for the former part, よろしく, it's an older Japanese term that conveys a meaning like \"suitably\" or \"properly\".",[11,5449,5450,5452],{},[98,5451],{"lang":100,"syntax":5431}," could be directly translated to something like \"Please do properly\". However, as is typical for Japanese, it is a rather vague expression that leaves the action open to interpretation. Putting the phrase together, you can think of the translation as \"Please do what you think is appropriate within your capabilities.\" This vague approach is helpful because it makes an outright refusal less likely and improves the flow of the conversation.\n",[320,5454,5455],{},[11,5456,5457,5458,5460],{},"Despite often being associated with a greeting when first meeting someone, ",[98,5459],{"lang":100,"syntax":5431}," has a much broader usage than that. Here are some of the most common ones.",[847,5462,5464],{"id":5463},"as-nice-to-meet-you-in-a-self-introduction","As \"Nice to meet you\" in a self-introduction",[11,5466,5467,5468,5470],{},"When introducing oneself for the first time, after stating one's name, place of origin, occupation, etc., one says ",[98,5469],{"lang":100,"syntax":5431}," at the end. In this context, it is equivalent to \"Nice to meet you\" in English.",[847,5472,5474],{"id":5473},"when-starting-a-meeting-or-interview","When starting a meeting or interview",[11,5476,5477,5478,5480,5481,5483],{},"After the facilitator gives the opening remarks, they say ",[98,5479],{"lang":100,"syntax":5431},". In this context, it carries the meaning similar to \"Shall we begin\" or \"Let's get started\" in English. It's common for participants to respond by saying ",[98,5482],{"lang":100,"syntax":5431}," in return.",[847,5485,5487],{"id":5486},"when-expressing-gratitude","When expressing gratitude",[11,5489,5490,5491,5493,5494,5496],{},"As mentioned earlier, ",[98,5492],{"lang":100,"syntax":5431}," doesn't necessarily specify requests, but it ",[26,5495,1150],{}," be used for making them.",[11,5498,5499,5502],{},[98,5500],{"lang":100,"syntax":5501},"ご 確認[かくにん] の ほど よろしく お 願[ねが,ねがう]い いた[,いたす]します","\n(I kindly ask for your confirmation.)\n",[11,5504,5505],{},"Adding よろしく when making a request can soften it, conveying the sentiment of \"I would like to request.\"",[847,5507,5509],{"id":5508},"used-at-the-end-of-an-email","Used at the end of an email",[11,5511,5512,5513,5515],{},"While it's rarely used between friends, in business settings, ",[98,5514],{"lang":100,"syntax":5431}," is typically written at the end of emails. This usage is similar to \"Best regards\" or \"Yours truly\" in English.",[320,5517,5518],{},[11,5519,5520,5522,5523,5525],{},[98,5521],{"lang":100,"syntax":5431}," is used in various other situations as well. For example, when confessing feelings or proposing to someone, they might respond with ",[98,5524],{"lang":100,"syntax":5431}," as a way of saying \"OK\".\n",[11,5527,5528,5529,5531],{},"As you can see, due to its various usages, ",[98,5530],{"lang":100,"syntax":5431}," is one of those expressions that is better learned through getting copious amounts of exposure to the language.",[42,5533],{},[45,5535,5537,5538,5541],{"id":5536},"いただきます-itadakimasu-say-before-eating-a-meal","いただきます (Itadakimasu) ",[103,5539],{"src":5540,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fいただきます.m4a"," — (Say before eating a meal)",[11,5543,5544,5546,5547,5549,5551,5553,5554,5556,5558,506,5560,506,5563,5565,5567,5218,5569],{},[1090,5545,5126],{}," Thank you (for the meal just served) ",[292,5548],{},[292,5550],{},[1090,5552,5201],{}," Before starting to eat ",[292,5555],{},[292,5557],{},[1090,5559,5142],{},[98,5561],{"lang":100,"syntax":5562},"頂[いただ,いただく]きます",[292,5564],{},[292,5566],{},[1090,5568,5152],{},[292,5570],{},[11,5572,5573,5574,5576],{},"いただきます comes from the word いただく (itadaku). いただく originally referred to the act of raising something over ones head when consuming an offering in honor of the gods, or when receiving something from someone of higher status.",[292,5575],{},"\nFrom this, it came to be used as an honorific expression for \"eating\" or \"receiving\".",[11,5578,5579],{},"Eventually, いただきます established itself as a customary pre-meal greeting.",[50,5581],{"src":5582,"width":5583,"height":5584,"alt":5585},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FIzakaya.webp",5184,3703,"In a cozy Japanese Izakaya, people exchange greetings before saying itadakimasu and enjoying their meal, seated around a wooden table.",[320,5587,5588,5591,5594],{},[11,5589,5590],{},"いただきます expresses gratitude in two ways.",[11,5592,5593],{},"The first is gratitude towards those that were involved in preparing the meal, serving it, growing the vegetables, catching the fish, and any others who contributed to it.",[11,5595,5596],{},"The second is gratitude towards the ingredients. Not only for animals who gave their life, but also for vegetables and fruits, as it is believed that they also have life force.",[45,5598,5600,5601,5604],{"id":5599},"ごちそうさま-gochisōsama-say-after-eating-a-meal","ごちそうさま (Gochisōsama) ",[103,5602],{"src":5603,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fごちそうさま.m4a"," — (Say after eating a meal)",[11,5606,5607,5609,5610,5612,5614,5616,5617,5619,5621,506,5623,506,5626,5628,5630,5632,5633],{},[1090,5608,5126],{}," Thank you for the meal ",[292,5611],{},[292,5613],{},[1090,5615,5201],{}," After finishing a meal ",[292,5618],{},[292,5620],{},[1090,5622,5142],{},[98,5624],{"lang":100,"syntax":5625},"御[ご] 馳走[ちそう] 様[さま]",[292,5627],{},[292,5629],{},[1090,5631,5152],{}," Sometimes shortened to just ごち in very informal situations ",[292,5634],{},[11,5636,5637,5638,5641,5642,5645,5646,5649,5650,5652],{},"In the past, before refrigerators and supermarkets existed as they do now, gathering ingredients was a challenging task. ",[98,5639],{"lang":100,"syntax":5640},"馳走[ちそう]"," (chisō) originally meant to run around, depicting the effort put into preparing and serving a meal. By adding the polite prefix ",[98,5643],{"lang":100,"syntax":5644},"御[ご]"," (go) and the honorific suffix ",[98,5647],{"lang":100,"syntax":5648},"様[さま]"," (sama) to ",[98,5651],{"lang":100,"syntax":5640},", it became ごちそうさま.",[11,5654,5655],{},"In modern times, various ingredients are easily accessible all around us. However, planning daily menus, shopping, and preparing meals still requires considerable effort. Therefore, ごちそうさま or ごちそうさまでした are used as expressions of gratitude and appreciation for the hard work.",[42,5657],{},[45,5659,5661,5662,5665],{"id":5660},"いってらっしゃい-itterasshai-roughly-take-care","いってらっしゃい (Itterasshai) ",[103,5663],{"src":5664,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F行ってらっしゃい.m4a"," — Roughly \"take care\"",[11,5667,5668,5670,5671,5673,5675,5677,5678,5680,5682,506,5684,506,5687,5689,5691,5218,5693],{},[1090,5669,5126],{}," Have a good day; take care ",[292,5672],{},[292,5674],{},[1090,5676,5201],{}," Parting phrase directed at someone leaving ",[292,5679],{},[292,5681],{},[1090,5683,5142],{},[98,5685],{"lang":100,"syntax":5686},"行[い,いく]って らっしゃ[,らっしゃる]い",[292,5688],{},[292,5690],{},[1090,5692,5152],{},[292,5694],{},[11,5696,5697,5698,5701],{},"Originally いってらっしゃい was created by combining ",[98,5699],{"lang":100,"syntax":5700},"行[い,いく]く"," (iku), meaning \"to go,\" and いらっしゃい (irasshai), meaning \"to come,\" and creating a phrase that encompasses both.",[11,5703,5704],{},"いってらっしゃい carries the meaning of \"Go and return safely,\" emphasizing a wish for the person to depart and return safely.",[45,5706,5708,5709,5712],{"id":5707},"いってきます-ittekimasu-roughly-im-off","いってきます (Ittekimasu) ",[103,5710],{"src":5711,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fいってきます.m4a"," — roughly \"I'm off\"",[11,5714,5715,5717,5718,5720,5722,5724,5725,5727,5729,506,5731,506,5734,5736,5738,5218,5740],{},[1090,5716,5126],{}," I'm off; see you later ",[292,5719],{},[292,5721],{},[1090,5723,5201],{}," Parting phrase used by the person leaving ",[292,5726],{},[292,5728],{},[1090,5730,5142],{},[98,5732],{"lang":100,"syntax":5733},"行[い,いく]って 来[き,くる]ます",[292,5735],{},[292,5737],{},[1090,5739,5152],{},[292,5741],{},[11,5743,5744,5747,5748,5750,5751,5754],{},[98,5745],{"lang":100,"syntax":5746},"行[い,いく]って き[,くる]ます"," combines ",[98,5749],{"lang":100,"syntax":5700}," (iku), meaning \"to go\", and ",[98,5752],{"lang":100,"syntax":5753},"帰[かえ,かえる]って き[,くる]ます"," (kaettekimasu), meaning \"coming back.\" Therefore, it carries the meaning of \"I'm leaving now, and I'll be back\". In the past, traveling was often dangerous, so by saying いってきます, it was like making a vow to return without fail.\n",[45,5756,5758,5759,5762],{"id":5757},"ただいま-tadaima-im-back","ただいま (Tadaima) ",[103,5760],{"src":5761,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fただいま.m4a"," — I'm back!",[11,5764,5765,5767,5768,5770,5772,5774,5775,5777,5779,506,5781,506,5784,5786,5788,5218,5790],{},[1090,5766,5126],{}," I'm home!; I'm back! ",[292,5769],{},[292,5771],{},[1090,5773,5201],{}," Said when one has returned or come home ",[292,5776],{},[292,5778],{},[1090,5780,5142],{},[98,5782],{"lang":100,"syntax":5783},"只今[ただいま]",[292,5785],{},[292,5787],{},[1090,5789,5152],{},[292,5791],{},[11,5793,5794,5795,5798],{},"ただいま is thought of as being a shortened form of ",[98,5796],{"lang":100,"syntax":5797},"只今[ただいま] 帰[かえ,かえる]りました"," (I have just returned).",[11,5800,5801,5804,5805,5807],{},[98,5802],{"lang":100,"syntax":5803},"今[いま]"," (ima) on its own already expresses \"now\", while ",[98,5806],{"lang":100,"syntax":5783}," intensifies this meaning, signifying not just the present moment but also indicating very recent past events, such as \"just now\" or \"a moment ago.\"\n",[45,5809,5811,5812,5815],{"id":5810},"おかえりなさい-okaerinasai-welcome-home","おかえりなさい (Okaerinasai) ",[103,5813],{"src":5814,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fお帰りなさい.m4a"," — Welcome home",[11,5817,5818,5820,5821,5823,5825,5827,5828,5830,5832,506,5834,506,5837,5839,5841,5843,5844],{},[1090,5819,5126],{}," Welcome home ",[292,5822],{},[292,5824],{},[1090,5826,5201],{}," Greeting said by the person already there towards someone coming home ",[292,5829],{},[292,5831],{},[1090,5833,5142],{},[98,5835],{"lang":100,"syntax":5836},"御[お] 帰[かえ,かえる]りなさい",[292,5838],{},[292,5840],{},[1090,5842,5152],{}," Often shortened to おかえり ",[292,5845],{},[11,5847,5848,5849,5852,5853,5856],{},"Originally, ",[98,5850],{"lang":100,"syntax":5851},"お 帰[かえ,かえる]りなさい"," was expressed as ",[98,5854],{"lang":100,"syntax":5855},"よく[,いい] ご 無事 に、お 帰[かえ,かえる]り なさ[,なさる]いました"," (Welcome back, I'm glad you've returned safely), but it was shortened over time to the form we know today.",[11,5858,5859,5860,415],{},"There is also a more polite form with ",[98,5861],{"lang":100,"syntax":5862},"お 帰[かえ,かえる]り なさ[,なさる]いませ",[45,5864,5866],{"id":5865},"want-to-learn-japanese-for-real","... want to learn Japanese for real?",[11,5868,5869],{},"The first chapter of any textbook will start you off with greetings, and they're the start of every single conversation, so you'd be forgiven if you wanted to learn Japanese and decided that the best place to do that would be with greetings.",[11,5871,5872],{},"The thing is, you'd also be wrong.",[11,5874,5875,5876,5879],{},"When we dumped ",[15,5877,5878],{"href":1199},"every single word in Japanese Netflix into a spreadsheet"," and then organized them by frequency, we made two very practical discoveries:",[344,5881,5882,5885],{},[307,5883,5884],{},"To have an 80% chance of recognizing any word you see in any Japanese show, you only need to know about 1,500 words",[307,5886,5887,5888,5891],{},"Words like こんにちは aren't actually ",[26,5889,5890],{},"that"," common",[11,5893,5894],{},"So, this data in our back pocket, we set out to build the most optimal Japanese course possible:",[50,5896],{"src":5897,"width":5898,"height":5899,"alt":5900},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-greetings.jpeg",1648,1152,"A screenshot of the Migaku Japanese Academy, showing how we help users learn Japanese words and grammar points ",[11,5902,5903,5904,5908],{},"It's a flashcard-based course (backed by ",[15,5905,5907],{"href":5906},"\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fspaced-repetition-language-learning","spaced repetition",", of course). Each flashcard includes one new word, and the example sentence that word appears in will help you reinforce an important sentence structure.",[11,5910,5911,5912,5915],{},"The course will take about 6 months to finish, at a pace of 10 words (~30 minutes) per day, and with this foundation under you, you'll be ready to start stumbling your way through ",[26,5913,5914],{},"real"," Japanese content.",[674,5917],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,5919],{},[45,5921,5923],{"id":5922},"you-can-say-hello-in-japanese-but-now-what","You can say hello in Japanese... but now what?",[11,5925,5926],{},"As you can see, greetings in Japanese are often not simply words, but constructs made with different grammar structures applied to them. Learning these grammar points can help you memorize specific greetings and make more sense of them.",[11,5928,5929],{},"This is a lot—we admit—but it's also not something you need to go out of your way and stress about. Behold the golden rule of language learning:",[320,5931,5932],{},[11,5933,5934,5935,415],{},"If you consume media you enjoy in Japanese, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. ",[26,5936,994],{},[11,5938,5939],{},"Good luck, friend",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":5941},[5942,5944,5946,5948,5950,5952,5959,5961,5963,5965,5967,5969,5971,5972],{"id":5116,"depth":707,"text":5943},"おはようございます (Ohayōgozaimasu) — Good morning",{"id":5184,"depth":707,"text":5945},"こんにちは (Konnichiwa) — Good day",{"id":5240,"depth":707,"text":5947},"こんばんは (Kombanwa) — Good evening",{"id":5280,"depth":707,"text":5949},"おやすみなさい (Oyasuminasai) — Good night",{"id":5334,"depth":707,"text":5951},"はじめまして (Hajimemashite) — Nice to meet you",{"id":5391,"depth":707,"text":5953,"children":5954},"よろしくおねがいします (Yoroshiku onegaishimasu) — (No exact translation)",[5955,5956,5957,5958],{"id":5463,"depth":1016,"text":5464},{"id":5473,"depth":1016,"text":5474},{"id":5486,"depth":1016,"text":5487},{"id":5508,"depth":1016,"text":5509},{"id":5536,"depth":707,"text":5960},"いただきます (Itadakimasu) — (Say before eating a meal)",{"id":5599,"depth":707,"text":5962},"ごちそうさま (Gochisōsama) — (Say after eating a meal)",{"id":5660,"depth":707,"text":5964},"いってらっしゃい (Itterasshai) — Roughly \"take care\"",{"id":5707,"depth":707,"text":5966},"いってきます (Ittekimasu) — roughly \"I'm off\"",{"id":5757,"depth":707,"text":5968},"ただいま (Tadaima) — I'm back!",{"id":5810,"depth":707,"text":5970},"おかえりなさい (Okaerinasai) — Welcome home",{"id":5865,"depth":707,"text":5866},{"id":5922,"depth":707,"text":5923},"Discover the top 12 Japanese greetings to enhance your language skills. Learn these essential phrases now and start speaking like a local.",{"timestampUnix":5975,"slug":5976,"h1":5977,"image":5978,"tags":5983},1755144050128,"top-12-greetings-in-japanese","12 Essential Japanese Greetings: From 'Ohayō' to 'Okaerinasai'",{"src":5979,"width":5980,"height":5981,"alt":5982},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-hello.webp",7932,5304,"A Japanese woman waving, to say \"hello\".",[5086,728,5984],"phrases","\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-greetings","---\ntitle: 'Top 12 Japanese Greetings: Meanings, Usage, and Cultural Context'\ndescription: 'Discover the top 12 Japanese greetings to enhance your language skills. Learn these essential phrases now and start speaking like a local.'\ntimestampUnix: 1755144050128\nslug: 'top-12-greetings-in-japanese'\nh1: \"12 Essential Japanese Greetings: From 'Ohayō' to 'Okaerinasai'\"\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-hello.webp'\n width: 7932\n height: 5304\n alt: 'A Japanese woman waving, to say \"hello\".'\ntags:\n - vocabulary\n - fundamentals\n - phrases\n---\n\nGreetings are an important aspect of any language and are used to acknowledge someone's presence, initiate communication, or show respect and friendliness. They are a fundamental aspect of social interaction and can vary widely across different cultures and contexts. Japanese, in particular, has its own set of greetings that you should be familiar with for smooth communication.\n\nIf you want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), then, this is a good place to start.\n\nHere's a few greetings you'll hear all the time:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## おはようございます (Ohayōgozaimasu) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fおはようございます.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — Good morning\n\n**Meaning:** Good morning \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Usage:** From sunrise to noon \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Kanji form:** \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"御[お] 早[はよ,はよう]う 御[ご] 座[ざ,ざる]います\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Note:** Often shortened to おはよう in casual settings \u003Cbr \u002F>\n\nThe morning greeting, おはようございます, is believed to have originated from Kabuki theater. Kabuki actors, needing ample time for preparation, would arrive and start getting ready well before the performance started. In turn, backstage and lower-ranked staff would use the phrase \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"お 早[はや,はやい]い お 着[つ,つく]き で ご ざ[,ざる]います\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>, which means \"You have arrived early,\" as a form of encouragement. Over time, this phrase evolved into its current form.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FKabuki.webp\" width=\"4288\" height=\"2848\" alt=\"A traditional Japanese Kabuki scene, which originated the phrase ohayou gozaimasu, is displayed in the Edo-Tokyo Museum. It shows three people in different poses, wearing elaborate clothing.\" \u002F>\n\n> In addition to おはよう (ohayō), there is also the greeting おそよう (osoyō), which has a sarcastic connotation. The origin of おはよう stems from the word \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"早[はや,はやう]う\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (hayau), meaning \"early\", while おそよう is derived from \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"遅[おそ,おそい]い\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (osoi), meaning \"late.\" Thus, it can be used as a sarcastic greeting for someone who arrives late in the morning.\n\n## こんにちは (Konnichiwa) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fこんにちは.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — Good day\n\n**Meaning:** Good day \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**When to use:** From noon to right before sunset \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Kanji form:** \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"今日[こんにち] は\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Note:** - \u003Cbr \u002F>\n\nA long time ago, greetings like \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"今日[こんにち] は、ご 機嫌[きげん] いか が です か\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (How are you today?) and \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"今日[こんにち] は、いい[,いい] お 天気[てんき] です ね\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (Nice weather today, isn't it?) have been used. However, in the Meiji era, textbooks omitted the part of the greeting following \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"今日[こんにち] は\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> and instead wrote こんにちは, which became widely adopted.\n\nWhile in writing こんにちわ is occasionally used by some people as well, knowing its origin tells us that こんにちは is the correct form.\n\n## こんばんは (Kombanwa) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fこんばんは.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — Good evening\n\n**Meaning:** Good evening \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**When to use:** From sunset to right before sunrise \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Kanji form:** \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"今晩[こんばん] は\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Note:** - \u003Cbr \u002F>\n\nこんばんは originally included additional words, similar to こんにちは. However, these words were eventually omitted, resulting in the simplified form こんばんは.\n\n## おやすみなさい (Oyasuminasai) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fおやすみなさい.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — Good night\n\n**Meaning:** Good night \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**When to use:** Before someone goes to bed \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Kanji form:** \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"御[お] 休[やす,やすむ]みなさい\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Note:** Often shortened to おやすみ in casual speech \u003Cbr \u002F>\n\nおやすみなさい is used when another person is about to go to bed, to wish them a good night. Since it seems that it is constructed from the word \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"休[やす,やすむ]む\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (yasumu), meaning \"to rest\", and the command form なさい (nasai), some people may find this phrase odd, as it seems like you are giving an order to someone.\nThis good night phrase is thought to come from \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"ゆっくり と お 休[やす,やすむ]み に なっ[,なる]て ください\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>, originally meaning \"Please have a restful sleep,\" which was used by innkeepers. Eventually, it evolved into the abbreviated form おやすみなさい we know today.\n\n---\n\n## はじめまして (Hajimemashite) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F初めまして.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — Nice to meet you\n\n**Meaning:** Nice to meet you \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**When to use:** When meeting someone for the first time \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Kanji form:** \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"初[はじ]めまして\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>; \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"始[はじ]めまして\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Note:** - \u003Cbr \u002F>\n\n\u003Cp>\n\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"初[はじ]めまして\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> is a greeting that is used when meeting someone for the first time. It's believed to be a shortened version of phrases like \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"初[はじ]めまして お 目[め] に かか[,かかる]りまして\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (Nice to meet you for the first time), which simply acknowledges the first encounter.\n\u003C\u002Fp>\n\nInterestingly, this greeting ends with the conjunctive て-form, which indicates the continuation of an action, thus hinting that further words will follow. In practice, it's often followed by self-introductions such as \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"初[はじ]めまして、高橋[たかはし] と 申[もう,もうす]します\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (Nice to meet you, I'm Takahashi).\n\n## よろしくおねがいします (Yoroshiku onegaishimasu) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fよろしくお願いします.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — (No exact translation)\n\n**Meaning:** Please remember me; please treat me well \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**When to use:** (See discussion below) \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Kanji form:** \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"宜[よろ,よろしい]しく 御[お] 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Note:** Sometimes shortened to よろしく in casual settings, or よろ if you want to be really casual \u003Cbr \u002F>\n\n\u003Cp>\n\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"よろしく お 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> can be broken down into two parts: よろしく and \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"お 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>.\n\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n- The latter part, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"お 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>, is a common phrase used when making a request, similar to \"please\" in English.\n\n- As for the former part, よろしく, it's an older Japanese term that conveys a meaning like \"suitably\" or \"properly\".\n\n\u003Cp>\n\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"よろしく お 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> could be directly translated to something like \"Please do properly\". However, as is typical for Japanese, it is a rather vague expression that leaves the action open to interpretation. Putting the phrase together, you can think of the translation as \"Please do what you think is appropriate within your capabilities.\" This vague approach is helpful because it makes an outright refusal less likely and improves the flow of the conversation.\n\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n> Despite often being associated with a greeting when first meeting someone, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"よろしく お 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> has a much broader usage than that. Here are some of the most common ones.\n\n### As \"Nice to meet you\" in a self-introduction\n\nWhen introducing oneself for the first time, after stating one's name, place of origin, occupation, etc., one says \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"よろしく お 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> at the end. In this context, it is equivalent to \"Nice to meet you\" in English.\n\n### When starting a meeting or interview\n\nAfter the facilitator gives the opening remarks, they say \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"よろしく お 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>. In this context, it carries the meaning similar to \"Shall we begin\" or \"Let's get started\" in English. It's common for participants to respond by saying \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"よろしく お 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> in return.\n\n### When expressing gratitude\n\nAs mentioned earlier, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"よろしく お 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> doesn't necessarily specify requests, but it _can_ be used for making them.\n\n\u003Cp>\n\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"ご 確認[かくにん] の ほど よろしく お 願[ねが,ねがう]い いた[,いたす]します\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\n(I kindly ask for your confirmation.)\n\u003C\u002Fp>\n\nAdding よろしく when making a request can soften it, conveying the sentiment of \"I would like to request.\"\n\n### Used at the end of an email\n\nWhile it's rarely used between friends, in business settings, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"よろしく お 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> is typically written at the end of emails. This usage is similar to \"Best regards\" or \"Yours truly\" in English.\n\n\u003Cblockquote>\n\u003Cp>\n\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"よろしく お 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> is used in various other situations as well. For example, when confessing feelings or proposing to someone, they might respond with \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"よろしく お 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> as a way of saying \"OK\".\n\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003C\u002Fblockquote>\n\nAs you can see, due to its various usages, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"よろしく お 願[ねが,ねがう]い し[,する]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> is one of those expressions that is better learned through getting copious amounts of exposure to the language.\n\n---\n\n## いただきます (Itadakimasu) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fいただきます.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — (Say before eating a meal)\n\n**Meaning:** Thank you (for the meal just served) \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**When to use:** Before starting to eat \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Kanji form:** \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"頂[いただ,いただく]きます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Note:** - \u003Cbr \u002F>\n\nいただきます comes from the word いただく (itadaku). いただく originally referred to the act of raising something over ones head when consuming an offering in honor of the gods, or when receiving something from someone of higher status.\nFrom this, it came to be used as an honorific expression for \"eating\" or \"receiving\".\n\nEventually, いただきます established itself as a customary pre-meal greeting.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FIzakaya.webp\" width=\"5184\" height=\"3703\" alt=\"In a cozy Japanese Izakaya, people exchange greetings before saying itadakimasu and enjoying their meal, seated around a wooden table.\" \u002F>\n\n> いただきます expresses gratitude in two ways.\n>\n> The first is gratitude towards those that were involved in preparing the meal, serving it, growing the vegetables, catching the fish, and any others who contributed to it.\n>\n> The second is gratitude towards the ingredients. Not only for animals who gave their life, but also for vegetables and fruits, as it is believed that they also have life force.\n\n## ごちそうさま (Gochisōsama) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fごちそうさま.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — (Say after eating a meal)\n\n**Meaning:** Thank you for the meal \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**When to use:** After finishing a meal \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Kanji form:** \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"御[ご] 馳走[ちそう] 様[さま]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Note:** Sometimes shortened to just ごち in very informal situations \u003Cbr \u002F>\n\nIn the past, before refrigerators and supermarkets existed as they do now, gathering ingredients was a challenging task. \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"馳走[ちそう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (chisō) originally meant to run around, depicting the effort put into preparing and serving a meal. By adding the polite prefix \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"御[ご]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (go) and the honorific suffix \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"様[さま]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (sama) to \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"馳走[ちそう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>, it became ごちそうさま.\n\nIn modern times, various ingredients are easily accessible all around us. However, planning daily menus, shopping, and preparing meals still requires considerable effort. Therefore, ごちそうさま or ごちそうさまでした are used as expressions of gratitude and appreciation for the hard work.\n\n---\n\n## いってらっしゃい (Itterasshai) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F行ってらっしゃい.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — Roughly \"take care\"\n\n**Meaning:** Have a good day; take care \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**When to use:** Parting phrase directed at someone leaving \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Kanji form:** \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"行[い,いく]って らっしゃ[,らっしゃる]い\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Note:** - \u003Cbr \u002F>\n\nOriginally いってらっしゃい was created by combining \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"行[い,いく]く\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (iku), meaning \"to go,\" and いらっしゃい (irasshai), meaning \"to come,\" and creating a phrase that encompasses both.\n\nいってらっしゃい carries the meaning of \"Go and return safely,\" emphasizing a wish for the person to depart and return safely.\n\n## いってきます (Ittekimasu) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fいってきます.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — roughly \"I'm off\"\n\n**Meaning:** I'm off; see you later \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**When to use:** Parting phrase used by the person leaving \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Kanji form:** \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"行[い,いく]って 来[き,くる]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Note:** - \u003Cbr \u002F>\n\n\u003Cp>\n\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"行[い,いく]って き[,くる]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> combines \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"行[い,いく]く\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (iku), meaning \"to go\", and \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"帰[かえ,かえる]って き[,くる]ます\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (kaettekimasu), meaning \"coming back.\" Therefore, it carries the meaning of \"I'm leaving now, and I'll be back\". In the past, traveling was often dangerous, so by saying いってきます, it was like making a vow to return without fail.\n\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n## ただいま (Tadaima) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fただいま.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — I'm back!\n\n**Meaning:** I'm home!; I'm back! \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**When to use:** Said when one has returned or come home \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Kanji form:** \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"只今[ただいま]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Note:** - \u003Cbr \u002F>\n\nただいま is thought of as being a shortened form of \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"只今[ただいま] 帰[かえ,かえる]りました\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (I have just returned).\n\n\u003Cp>\n\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"今[いま]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (ima) on its own already expresses \"now\", while \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"只今[ただいま]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> intensifies this meaning, signifying not just the present moment but also indicating very recent past events, such as \"just now\" or \"a moment ago.\"\n\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n## おかえりなさい (Okaerinasai) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fお帰りなさい.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — Welcome home\n\n**Meaning:** Welcome home \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**When to use:** Greeting said by the person already there towards someone coming home \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Kanji form:** \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"御[お] 帰[かえ,かえる]りなさい\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr \u002F>\n**Note:** Often shortened to おかえり \u003Cbr \u002F>\n\nOriginally, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"お 帰[かえ,かえる]りなさい\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> was expressed as \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"よく[,いい] ご 無事 に、お 帰[かえ,かえる]り なさ[,なさる]いました\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (Welcome back, I'm glad you've returned safely), but it was shortened over time to the form we know today.\n\nThere is also a more polite form with \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"お 帰[かえ,かえる]り なさ[,なさる]いませ\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>.\n\n## ... want to learn Japanese for real?\n\nThe first chapter of any textbook will start you off with greetings, and they're the start of every single conversation, so you'd be forgiven if you wanted to learn Japanese and decided that the best place to do that would be with greetings.\n\nThe thing is, you'd also be wrong.\n\nWhen we dumped [every single word in Japanese Netflix into a spreadsheet](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary) and then organized them by frequency, we made two very practical discoveries:\n\n1. To have an 80% chance of recognizing any word you see in any Japanese show, you only need to know about 1,500 words\n2. Words like こんにちは aren't actually _that_ common\n\nSo, this data in our back pocket, we set out to build the most optimal Japanese course possible:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-greetings.jpeg\" width=\"1648\" height=\"1152\" alt=\"A screenshot of the Migaku Japanese Academy, showing how we help users learn Japanese words and grammar points \" \u002F>\n\nIt's a flashcard-based course (backed by [spaced repetition](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fspaced-repetition-language-learning), of course). Each flashcard includes one new word, and the example sentence that word appears in will help you reinforce an important sentence structure.\n\nThe course will take about 6 months to finish, at a pace of 10 words (~30 minutes) per day, and with this foundation under you, you'll be ready to start stumbling your way through _real_ Japanese content.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## You can say hello in Japanese... but now what?\n\nAs you can see, greetings in Japanese are often not simply words, but constructs made with different grammar structures applied to them. Learning these grammar points can help you memorize specific greetings and make more sense of them.\n\nThis is a lot—we admit—but it's also not something you need to go out of your way and stress about. Behold the golden rule of language learning:\n\n> If you consume media you enjoy in Japanese, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. _Period_.\n\nGood luck, friend\n",{"title":5095,"description":5973},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-greetings","NALQZC6_5mE9yZYnp0bjOAwModNwaRiGFOGg--nT2fY","August 14, 2025",{"id":5992,"title":5993,"body":5994,"description":7926,"extension":717,"meta":7927,"navigation":730,"path":7937,"rawbody":7938,"seo":7939,"stem":7940,"__hash__":7941,"timestampUnix":7928,"slug":7929,"h1":7930,"image":7931,"tags":7936,"_dir":736,"timestamp":7942},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-hiragana.md","Learn Hiragana in 7 Days: Complete Guide with Mnemonics",{"type":8,"value":5995,"toc":7914},[5996,6003,6006,6009,6028,6036,6043,6049,6067,6078,6081,6084,6090,6093,6096,6433,6436,6439,6443,6452,6455,6461,6466,6469,6479,6485,6490,6495,6498,6507,6510,6515,6520,6523,6533,6539,6544,6549,6552,6561,6567,6572,6577,6586,6589,6592,6595,6608,6614,6619,6624,6627,6638,6643,6648,6653,6656,6666,6672,6677,6682,6685,6695,6701,6706,6711,6714,6724,6729,6734,6739,6744,6747,6750,6753,6766,6772,6777,6782,6785,6797,6803,6808,6813,6816,6826,6832,6837,6842,6845,6855,6861,6866,6871,6874,6884,6890,6895,6900,6905,6908,6911,6914,6926,6936,6941,6946,6949,6961,6966,6971,6976,6979,6991,6997,7002,7007,7010,7020,7023,7028,7033,7036,7046,7052,7057,7062,7067,7070,7073,7076,7087,7092,7097,7102,7105,7114,7120,7125,7130,7133,7143,7148,7153,7158,7161,7171,7177,7182,7187,7190,7200,7205,7210,7215,7220,7223,7226,7229,7241,7251,7256,7261,7264,7275,7281,7286,7291,7294,7306,7312,7317,7322,7325,7335,7341,7346,7351,7354,7364,7370,7375,7380,7385,7388,7391,7394,7406,7411,7416,7421,7424,7434,7440,7445,7450,7453,7463,7466,7471,7476,7479,7489,7494,7499,7504,7507,7517,7523,7528,7533,7538,7541,7544,7549,7552,7566,7572,7577,7582,7585,7600,7606,7611,7616,7619,7632,7638,7643,7648,7651,7664,7669,7674,7679,7682,7695,7701,7706,7711,7716,7719,7722,7725,7737,7743,7748,7753,7756,7766,7772,7777,7782,7785,7795,7801,7806,7811,7816,7819,7822,7825,7834,7839,7844,7849,7852,7868,7875,7878,7890,7896,7901,7903,7908],[11,5997,5998,5999,6002],{},"Learning hiragana is essential for mastering Japanese. It forms the foundation of Japanese pronunciation and is crucial for accessing Japanese resources, as most quality textbooks and learning materials, just like our ",[15,6000,6001],{"href":17},"Migaku Japanese Course",", require knowledge of hiragana. Essentially, it's the first step in learning Japanese.",[11,6004,6005],{},"Many people spend too much time learning hiragana, even though this can be achieved in a week or less. Obviously, your pace will vary, but if you follow our guide below, you will be able to read hiragana in no time.",[11,6007,6008],{},"To achieve this, you should follow these steps:",[344,6010,6011,6021],{},[307,6012,6013,6014,6017,6018],{},"Each section introduces five new hiragana characters, each with its own ",[1090,6015,6016],{},"mnemonics",", which are images that help you remember the character. Read the explanation, listen to the audio of the character being pronounced, and visualize the character with the mnemonic image. ",[26,6019,6020],{},"Don't worry about memorizing the example words, as they are just provided to give you an idea of some words that a give character can appear in.",[307,6022,6023,6024,6027],{},"After reviewing all five characters in the section, you will be prompted with an ",[1090,6025,6026],{},"exercise",". Repeat this exercise until you feel comfortable recalling the pronunciation of each character before moving on.",[320,6029,6030,6033],{},[11,6031,6032],{},"There won't be any writing practice involved! In today's day and age, writing is something most of us rarely use, and practicing it, especially in the beginning, can easily multiply the time it takes you to learn to read hiragana.",[11,6034,6035],{},"Our recommendation is that if you want to learn to write Japanese eventually, hold back until you are a bit more advanced in the language.",[11,6037,6038,6039,6042],{},"Now let's take a closer look at 'hiragana' ひらがな, or in kanji ",[98,6040],{"lang":100,"syntax":6041},"平仮名[ひらがな]",". Hiragana actually has its origin in Chinese characters. The shape of the hiragana originates from the cursive script style of Chinese calligraphy. In the table below you can see how this evolution took place, starting with the kanji on top, and ending with hiragana at the bottom.",[50,6044],{"src":6045,"width":6046,"height":6047,"alt":6048},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FOrigin_of_Hiragana.webp",1114,1083,"A graphic showing how Japanese hiragana originated as simplified forms of similar-sounding Chinese characters.",[11,6050,6051,6052,3808,6055,6058,6059,6062,6063,6066],{},"Hiragana is a syllabary where every symbol represents an entire syllable. Hiragana contains ",[26,6053,6054],{},"5 singular vowels",[26,6056,6057],{},"42 consonant-vowel combinations",", and ",[26,6060,6061],{},"1 singular consonant"," (ん; ",[26,6064,6065],{},"n",").",[11,6068,6069,6070,6073,6074,6077],{},"Hiragana has many roles in Japanese. One such usage is to write suffixes for a kanji root word. To make this more concrete, in English the word \"talked\" consists of the root word \"talk\", and the suffix \"-ed.\" In Japanese there exists ",[98,6071],{"lang":100,"syntax":6072},"話[はな,はなす]した"," which consists of a kanji root ",[98,6075],{"lang":100,"syntax":6076},"話[はな]"," (talk) and a hiragana suffix した (did). This usage is known as 'okurigana.'",[11,6079,6080],{},"Aside from grammatical inflection, other uses include the function words in the language, such as particles, grammatical structures, as well as forming standalone words for which there are no kanji or whose kanji form is obscure.",[11,6082,6083],{},"Below you can see these different usages color coded.",[50,6085],{"src":6086,"width":6087,"height":6088,"alt":6089},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FParticles.webp",954,588,"A graphic shows a sentence with highlighted parts in different colors to illustrate hiragana usage in Japanese, with functions labeled below the sentence.",[11,6091,6092],{},"Hiragana is the script you will be dealing with the most when reading Japanese. Starting from the next section, we will slowly introduce you to five characters at a time and provide you with mnemonic images to help you remember them.",[11,6094,6095],{},"Below is a chart that contains all of the modern hiragana. We will be covering these in the following sections.",[67,6097,6098,6117],{},[70,6099,6100],{},[73,6101,6102,6105,6108,6111,6114],{},[76,6103,6104],{"align":78},"A",[76,6106,6107],{"align":78},"I",[76,6109,6110],{"align":78},"U",[76,6112,6113],{"align":78},"E",[76,6115,6116],{"align":78},"O",[87,6118,6119,6151,6183,6215,6247,6279,6311,6343,6375,6398,6417],{},[73,6120,6121,6127,6133,6139,6145],{},[92,6122,6123,6124],{"align":78},"あ",[103,6125],{"src":6126,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fあ.m4a",[92,6128,6129,6130],{"align":78},"い",[103,6131],{"src":6132,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fい.m4a",[92,6134,6135,6136],{"align":78},"う",[103,6137],{"src":6138,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fう.m4a",[92,6140,6141,6142],{"align":78},"え",[103,6143],{"src":6144,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fえ.m4a",[92,6146,6147,6148],{"align":78},"お",[103,6149],{"src":6150,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fお.m4a",[73,6152,6153,6159,6165,6171,6177],{},[92,6154,6155,6156],{"align":78},"か",[103,6157],{"src":6158,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fか.m4a",[92,6160,6161,6162],{"align":78},"き",[103,6163],{"src":6164,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fき.m4a",[92,6166,6167,6168],{"align":78},"く",[103,6169],{"src":6170,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fく.m4a",[92,6172,6173,6174],{"align":78},"け",[103,6175],{"src":6176,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fけ.m4a",[92,6178,6179,6180],{"align":78},"こ",[103,6181],{"src":6182,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fこ.m4a",[73,6184,6185,6191,6197,6203,6209],{},[92,6186,6187,6188],{"align":78},"さ",[103,6189],{"src":6190,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fさ.m4a",[92,6192,6193,6194],{"align":78},"し",[103,6195],{"src":6196,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fし.m4a",[92,6198,6199,6200],{"align":78},"す",[103,6201],{"src":6202,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fす.m4a",[92,6204,6205,6206],{"align":78},"せ",[103,6207],{"src":6208,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fせ.m4a",[92,6210,6211,6212],{"align":78},"そ",[103,6213],{"src":6214,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fそ.m4a",[73,6216,6217,6223,6229,6235,6241],{},[92,6218,6219,6220],{"align":78},"た",[103,6221],{"src":6222,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fた.m4a",[92,6224,6225,6226],{"align":78},"ち",[103,6227],{"src":6228,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fち.m4a",[92,6230,6231,6232],{"align":78},"つ",[103,6233],{"src":6234,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fつ.m4a",[92,6236,6237,6238],{"align":78},"て",[103,6239],{"src":6240,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fて.m4a",[92,6242,6243,6244],{"align":78},"と",[103,6245],{"src":6246,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fと.m4a",[73,6248,6249,6255,6261,6267,6273],{},[92,6250,6251,6252],{"align":78},"な",[103,6253],{"src":6254,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fな.m4a",[92,6256,6257,6258],{"align":78},"に",[103,6259],{"src":6260,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fに.m4a",[92,6262,6263,6264],{"align":78},"ぬ",[103,6265],{"src":6266,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fぬ.m4a",[92,6268,6269,6270],{"align":78},"ね",[103,6271],{"src":6272,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fね.m4a",[92,6274,6275,6276],{"align":78},"の",[103,6277],{"src":6278,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fの.m4a",[73,6280,6281,6287,6293,6299,6305],{},[92,6282,6283,6284],{"align":78},"は",[103,6285],{"src":6286,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fは.m4a",[92,6288,6289,6290],{"align":78},"ひ",[103,6291],{"src":6292,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fひ.m4a",[92,6294,6295,6296],{"align":78},"ふ",[103,6297],{"src":6298,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fふ.m4a",[92,6300,6301,6302],{"align":78},"へ",[103,6303],{"src":6304,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fへ.m4a",[92,6306,6307,6308],{"align":78},"ほ",[103,6309],{"src":6310,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fほ.m4a",[73,6312,6313,6319,6325,6331,6337],{},[92,6314,6315,6316],{"align":78},"ま",[103,6317],{"src":6318,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fま.m4a",[92,6320,6321,6322],{"align":78},"み",[103,6323],{"src":6324,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fみ.m4a",[92,6326,6327,6328],{"align":78},"む",[103,6329],{"src":6330,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fむ.m4a",[92,6332,6333,6334],{"align":78},"め",[103,6335],{"src":6336,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fめ.m4a",[92,6338,6339,6340],{"align":78},"も",[103,6341],{"src":6342,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fも.m4a",[73,6344,6345,6351,6357,6363,6369],{},[92,6346,6347,6348],{"align":78},"ら",[103,6349],{"src":6350,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fら.m4a",[92,6352,6353,6354],{"align":78},"り",[103,6355],{"src":6356,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fり.m4a",[92,6358,6359,6360],{"align":78},"る",[103,6361],{"src":6362,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fる.m4a",[92,6364,6365,6366],{"align":78},"れ",[103,6367],{"src":6368,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fれ.m4a",[92,6370,6371,6372],{"align":78},"ろ",[103,6373],{"src":6374,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fろ.m4a",[73,6376,6377,6383,6385,6391,6393],{},[92,6378,6379,6380],{"align":78},"や",[103,6381],{"src":6382,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fや.m4a",[92,6384],{"align":78},[92,6386,6387,6388],{"align":78},"ゆ",[103,6389],{"src":6390,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fゆ.m4a",[92,6392],{"align":78},[92,6394,2197,6395],{"align":78},[103,6396],{"src":6397,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fよ.m4a",[73,6399,6400,6406,6408,6410,6412],{},[92,6401,6402,6403],{"align":78},"わ",[103,6404],{"src":6405,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fわ.m4a",[92,6407],{"align":78},[92,6409],{"align":78},[92,6411],{"align":78},[92,6413,2232,6414],{"align":78},[103,6415],{"src":6416,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fを.m4a",[73,6418,6419,6425,6427,6429,6431],{},[92,6420,6421,6422],{"align":78},"ん",[103,6423],{"src":6424,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fん.m4a",[92,6426],{"align":78},[92,6428],{"align":78},[92,6430],{"align":78},[92,6432],{"align":78},[45,6434,6435],{"id":6435},"あいうえお",[11,6437,6438],{},"Now that we’ve covered the basics of hiragana, we can introduce you to the first five characters, which are also the pure vowels in Japanese: あ・い・う・え・お.",[6440,6441],"mnemonic",{"code":6442},"hiragana:a",[11,6444,6445,6446,6448,6449,6451],{},"The first character is あ, which is represented as ",[26,6447,15],{},", and its pronunciation is similar to the ",[26,6450,15],{}," in father.",[11,6453,6454],{},"This character has a slightly tilted A written inside of it.",[6456,6457],"word",{"lang":100,"src":6458,"native":6459,"translation":6460},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F雨.m4a","あめ","rain [ame]",[6456,6462],{"lang":100,"src":6463,"native":6464,"translation":6465},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F合鍵.m4a","あいかぎ","spare key [aikagi]",[6440,6467],{"code":6468},"hiragana:i",[11,6470,6471,6472,6448,6475,6478],{},"The second character is い, which is represented as ",[26,6473,6474],{},"i",[26,6476,6477],{},"ee"," in eel.",[11,6480,6481,6482,6484],{},"If you look closely, you can see two eels (",[26,6483,6474],{},") that meet each other.",[6456,6486],{"lang":100,"src":6487,"native":6488,"translation":6489},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F医者.m4a","いしゃ","doctor [isha]",[6456,6491],{"lang":100,"src":6492,"native":6493,"translation":6494},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F痛み.m4a","いたみ","pain [itami]",[6440,6496],{"code":6497},"hiragana:u",[11,6499,6500,6501,6448,6503,6506],{},"The third character is う, which is represented as ",[26,6502,2191],{},[26,6504,6505],{},"oo"," in shoot.",[11,6508,6509],{},"This one should be easy, as it looks like a sideways u with a line above it.",[6456,6511],{"lang":100,"src":6512,"native":6513,"translation":6514},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fうさぎ.m4a","うさぎ","rabbit [usagi]",[6456,6516],{"lang":100,"src":6517,"native":6518,"translation":6519},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F運動.m4a","うんどう","exercise [undou]",[6440,6521],{"code":6522},"hiragana:e",[11,6524,6525,6526,6529,6530,6532],{},"The fourth character is え, which is represented as ",[26,6527,6528],{},"e",", and its pronunciation is close to the ",[26,6531,6528],{}," in bet.",[11,6534,6535,6536,6538],{},"This elegant (",[26,6537,6528],{},") dancer is dancing, can you see it?",[6456,6540],{"lang":100,"src":6541,"native":6542,"translation":6543},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F偉い.m4a","えらい","remarkable [erai]",[6456,6545],{"lang":100,"src":6546,"native":6547,"translation":6548},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F映画.m4a","えいが","movie [eiga]",[6440,6550],{"code":6551},"hiragana:o",[11,6553,6554,6555,6529,6558,6560],{},"The fifth character is お, which is represented as ",[26,6556,6557],{},"o",[26,6559,6557],{}," in story.",[11,6562,6563,6564,6566],{},"Olaf (",[26,6565,6557],{},") is proud of his cool new bike!",[6456,6568],{"lang":100,"src":6569,"native":6570,"translation":6571},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F面白い.m4a","おもしろい","interesting [omoshiroi]",[6456,6573],{"lang":100,"src":6574,"native":6575,"translation":6576},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F男.m4a","おとこ","man [otoko]",[11,6578,6579,6580,6585],{},"Now that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following ",[15,6581,6584],{"href":6582,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fhiragana","_blank","link",", select the first row of hiragana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with the first hiragana row before moving on.",[45,6587,6588],{"id":6588},"かきくけこ",[11,6590,6591],{},"The next five are か・き・く・け・こ.",[6440,6593],{"code":6594},"hiragana:ka",[11,6596,6597,6598,6601,6602,6605,6606,6451],{},"The first character is か, which is represented as ",[26,6599,6600],{},"ka",", and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the ",[26,6603,6604],{},"k"," in skate and the ",[26,6607,15],{},[11,6609,6610,6611,6613],{},"Look at the character and maybe you can see a martial artist doing a karate (",[26,6612,6600],{},") kick.",[6456,6615],{"lang":100,"src":6616,"native":6617,"translation":6618},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F体.m4a","からだ","body [karada]",[6456,6620],{"lang":100,"src":6621,"native":6622,"translation":6623},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F形.m4a","かたち","shape [katachi]",[6440,6625],{"code":6626},"hiragana:ki",[11,6628,6629,6630,6601,6633,6605,6635,6637],{},"The second character is き, which is represented as ",[26,6631,6632],{},"ki",[26,6634,6604],{},[26,6636,6477],{}," in meet.",[11,6639,6640,6641,6066],{},"This character looks a bit like a key (",[26,6642,6632],{},[6456,6644],{"lang":100,"src":6645,"native":6646,"translation":6647},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F黄色.m4a","きいろ","yellow [kiiro]",[6456,6649],{"lang":100,"src":6650,"native":6651,"translation":6652},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F機会.m4a","きかい","opportunity [kikai]",[6440,6654],{"code":6655},"hiragana:ku",[11,6657,6658,6659,6601,6662,6605,6664,6506],{},"The third character is く, which is represented as ",[26,6660,6661],{},"ku",[26,6663,6604],{},[26,6665,6505],{},[11,6667,6668,6669,6671],{},"Can you see it? This is just the beak of a cuckoo (",[26,6670,6661],{},") going cu-coo.",[6456,6673],{"lang":100,"src":6674,"native":6675,"translation":6676},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F車.m4a","くるま","car [kuruma]",[6456,6678],{"lang":100,"src":6679,"native":6680,"translation":6681},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F苦しい.m4a","くるしい","painful [kurushii]",[6440,6683],{"code":6684},"hiragana:ke",[11,6686,6687,6688,6601,6691,6605,6693,6532],{},"The fourth character is け, which is represented as ",[26,6689,6690],{},"ke",[26,6692,6604],{},[26,6694,6528],{},[11,6696,6697,6698,6700],{},"And this is just a nice keg (",[26,6699,6690],{},"). The horizontal line being part of its metal binding.",[6456,6702],{"lang":100,"src":6703,"native":6704,"translation":6705},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F経験.m4a","けいけん","experience [keiken]",[6456,6707],{"lang":100,"src":6708,"native":6709,"translation":6710},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F獣.m4a","けもの","beast [kemono]",[6440,6712],{"code":6713},"hiragana:ko",[11,6715,6716,6717,6601,6720,6605,6722,6560],{},"The fifth character is こ, which is represented as ",[26,6718,6719],{},"ko",[26,6721,6604],{},[26,6723,6557],{},[11,6725,6726,6727,6066],{},"And this is just a pretty nice coin (",[26,6728,6719],{},[6456,6730],{"lang":100,"src":6731,"native":6732,"translation":6733},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F子供.m4a","こども","child [kodomo]",[6456,6735],{"lang":100,"src":6736,"native":6737,"translation":6738},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F恋人.m4a","こいびと","lover [koibito]",[11,6740,6579,6741,6743],{},[15,6742,6584],{"href":6582,"target":6583},", select the first and second row of hiragana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these two hiragana rows before moving on.",[45,6745,6746],{"id":6746},"さしすせそ",[11,6748,6749],{},"The next five are さ・し・す・せ・そ.",[6440,6751],{"code":6752},"hiragana:sa",[11,6754,6755,6756,6759,6760,6763,6764,6451],{},"The first character is さ, which is represented as ",[26,6757,6758],{},"sa",", and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the ",[26,6761,6762],{},"s"," in soup and the ",[26,6765,15],{},[11,6767,6768,6769,6771],{},"Look at this big sign (",[26,6770,6758],{},") warning us of danger.",[6456,6773],{"lang":100,"src":6774,"native":6775,"translation":6776},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F猿.m4a","さる","monkey [saru]",[6456,6778],{"lang":100,"src":6779,"native":6780,"translation":6781},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F作品.m4a","さくひん","work of art [sakuhin]",[6440,6783],{"code":6784},"hiragana:shi",[11,6786,6787,6788,6759,6791,6794,6795,6637],{},"The second character is し, which is represented as ",[26,6789,6790],{},"shi",[26,6792,6793],{},"sh"," in sheep and the ",[26,6796,6477],{},[11,6798,6799,6800,6802],{},"Here we have a friendly shepard with a sheep (",[26,6801,6790],{},") and his stick.",[6456,6804],{"lang":100,"src":6805,"native":6806,"translation":6807},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F心配.m4a","しんぱい","worry [shinpai]",[6456,6809],{"lang":100,"src":6810,"native":6811,"translation":6812},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F試合.m4a","しあい","match [shiai]",[6440,6814],{"code":6815},"hiragana:su",[11,6817,6818,6819,6759,6822,6763,6824,6506],{},"The third character is す, which is represented as ",[26,6820,6821],{},"su",[26,6823,6762],{},[26,6825,6505],{},[11,6827,6828,6829,6831],{},"Oh, it's Steven and he is swinging (",[26,6830,6821],{},") in the curtains again!",[6456,6833],{"lang":100,"src":6834,"native":6835,"translation":6836},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F好き.m4a","すき","like [suki]",[6456,6838],{"lang":100,"src":6839,"native":6840,"translation":6841},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fすごい.m4a","すごい","amazing [sugoi]",[6440,6843],{"code":6844},"hiragana:se",[11,6846,6847,6848,6759,6851,6763,6853,6532],{},"The fourth character is せ, which is represented as ",[26,6849,6850],{},"se",[26,6852,6762],{},[26,6854,6528],{},[11,6856,6857,6858,6860],{},"Where we have a nice señor (",[26,6859,6850],{},") with his hat.",[6456,6862],{"lang":100,"src":6863,"native":6864,"translation":6865},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F選手.m4a","せんしゅ","athlete [senshu]",[6456,6867],{"lang":100,"src":6868,"native":6869,"translation":6870},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F制服.m4a","せいふく","uniform [seifuku]",[6440,6872],{"code":6873},"hiragana:so",[11,6875,6876,6877,6759,6880,6763,6882,6560],{},"The fifth character is そ, which is represented as ",[26,6878,6879],{},"so",[26,6881,6762],{},[26,6883,6557],{},[11,6885,6886,6887,6889],{},"I tried to sew (",[26,6888,6879],{},") a zigzag stitch.",[6456,6891],{"lang":100,"src":6892,"native":6893,"translation":6894},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F外.m4a","そと","outside [soto]",[6456,6896],{"lang":100,"src":6897,"native":6898,"translation":6899},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F添い寝.m4a","そいね","co-sleeping [soine]",[11,6901,6579,6902,6904],{},[15,6903,6584],{"href":6582,"target":6583},", select the first, second and third row of hiragana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these three hiragana rows before moving on.",[45,6906,6907],{"id":6907},"たちつてと",[11,6909,6910],{},"The next five are た・ち・つ・て・と.",[6440,6912],{"code":6913},"hiragana:ta",[11,6915,6916,6917,6601,6920,6923,6924,6451],{},"The first character is た, which is represented as ",[26,6918,6919],{},"ta",[26,6921,6922],{},"t"," in stop and the ",[26,6925,15],{},[11,6927,6928,6929,3814,6931,6933,6934,6066],{},"This just looks exactly like a combination of the letters ",[26,6930,6922],{},[26,6932,15],{}," (",[26,6935,6919],{},[6456,6937],{"lang":100,"src":6938,"native":6939,"translation":6940},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F体操.m4a","たいそう","gymnastics [taisou]",[6456,6942],{"lang":100,"src":6943,"native":6944,"translation":6945},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F退屈.m4a","たいくつ","tedious [taikutsu]",[6440,6947],{"code":6948},"hiragana:chi",[11,6950,6951,6952,6759,6955,6958,6959,6637],{},"The second character is ち, which is represented as ",[26,6953,6954],{},"chi",[26,6956,6957],{},"tch"," in itchy and the ",[26,6960,6477],{},[11,6962,6963,6964,6066],{},"What do we have here? A jumping cheerleader (",[26,6965,6954],{},[6456,6967],{"lang":100,"src":6968,"native":6969,"translation":6970},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F小さい.m4a","ちいさい","small [chiisai]",[6456,6972],{"lang":100,"src":6973,"native":6974,"translation":6975},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F地域.m4a","ちいき","area [chiiki]",[6440,6977],{"code":6978},"hiragana:tsu",[11,6980,6981,6982,6759,6985,6988,6989,6506],{},"The third character is つ, which is represented as ",[26,6983,6984],{},"tsu",[26,6986,6987],{},"ts"," in cats and the ",[26,6990,6505],{},[11,6992,6993,6994,6996],{},"Who doesn’t love cats (",[26,6995,6984],{},")! See how fluffy its tail is.",[6456,6998],{"lang":100,"src":6999,"native":7000,"translation":7001},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F作る.m4a","つくる","make [tsukuru]",[6456,7003],{"lang":100,"src":7004,"native":7005,"translation":7006},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F伝える.m4a","つたえる","convey [tsutaeru]",[6440,7008],{"code":7009},"hiragana:te",[11,7011,7012,7013,6759,7016,6923,7018,6532],{},"The fourth character is て, which is represented as ",[26,7014,7015],{},"te",[26,7017,6922],{},[26,7019,6528],{},[11,7021,7022],{},"And this just looks like a slightly out of shape T.",[6456,7024],{"lang":100,"src":7025,"native":7026,"translation":7027},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F手足.m4a","てあし","limbs [teashi]",[6456,7029],{"lang":100,"src":7030,"native":7031,"translation":7032},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F定期的.m4a","ていきてき","regular [teikiteki]",[6440,7034],{"code":7035},"hiragana:to",[11,7037,7038,7039,6759,7042,6923,7044,6560],{},"The fifth character is と, which is represented as ",[26,7040,7041],{},"to",[26,7043,6922],{},[26,7045,6557],{},[11,7047,7048,7049,7051],{},"Ouch! Can you see the nail sticking in this toe (",[26,7050,7041],{},"). That's gotta hurt.",[6456,7053],{"lang":100,"src":7054,"native":7055,"translation":7056},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F隣.m4a","となり","next (to) [tonari]",[6456,7058],{"lang":100,"src":7059,"native":7060,"translation":7061},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F年.m4a","とし","year [toshi]",[11,7063,6579,7064,7066],{},[15,7065,6584],{"href":6582,"target":6583},", select all hiragana rows, from the first to the fourth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these four hiragana rows before moving on.",[45,7068,7069],{"id":7069},"なにぬねの",[11,7071,7072],{},"The next five are な・に・ぬ・ね・の.",[6440,7074],{"code":7075},"hiragana:na",[11,7077,7078,7079,6759,7082,7084,7085,6451],{},"The first character is な, which is represented as ",[26,7080,7081],{},"na",[26,7083,6065],{}," in not and the ",[26,7086,15],{},[11,7088,7089,7090,415],{},"This looks like someone was creative and wrote a pretty stylized ",[26,7091,7081],{},[6456,7093],{"lang":100,"src":7094,"native":7095,"translation":7096},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F名前.m4a","なまえ","name [namae]",[6456,7098],{"lang":100,"src":7099,"native":7100,"translation":7101},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F難題.m4a","なんだい","difficult problem [nandai]",[6440,7103],{"code":7104},"hiragana:ni",[11,7106,7107,7108,6759,7110,7084,7112,6637],{},"The second character is に, which is represented as ",[26,7109,144],{},[26,7111,6065],{},[26,7113,6477],{},[11,7115,7116,7117,7119],{},"This is my knee (",[26,7118,144],{},"). Beautiful ain’t it?",[6456,7121],{"lang":100,"src":7122,"native":7123,"translation":7124},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F荷物.m4a","にもつ","luggage [nimotsu]",[6456,7126],{"lang":100,"src":7127,"native":7128,"translation":7129},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F西.m4a","にし","west [nishi]",[6440,7131],{"code":7132},"hiragana:nu",[11,7134,7135,7136,6759,7139,7084,7141,6506],{},"The third character is ぬ, which is represented as ",[26,7137,7138],{},"nu",[26,7140,6065],{},[26,7142,6505],{},[11,7144,7145,7146,6066],{},"A delicious bowl of noodles (",[26,7147,7138],{},[6456,7149],{"lang":100,"src":7150,"native":7151,"translation":7152},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F脱ぐ.m4a","ぬぐ","take off [nugu]",[6456,7154],{"lang":100,"src":7155,"native":7156,"translation":7157},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F盗む.m4a","ぬすむ","steal [nusumu]",[6440,7159],{"code":7160},"hiragana:ne",[11,7162,7163,7164,6759,7167,7084,7169,6532],{},"The fourth character is ね, which is represented as ",[26,7165,7166],{},"ne",[26,7168,6065],{},[26,7170,6528],{},[11,7172,7173,7174,7176],{},"This one looks like a ",[26,7175,7166],{}," written in a pretty stylized font.",[6456,7178],{"lang":100,"src":7179,"native":7180,"translation":7181},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F猫.m4a","ねこ","cat [neko]",[6456,7183],{"lang":100,"src":7184,"native":7185,"translation":7186},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F寝る.m4a","ねる","sleep [neru]",[6440,7188],{"code":7189},"hiragana:no",[11,7191,7192,7193,6759,7196,7084,7198,6560],{},"The fifth character is の, which is represented as ",[26,7194,7195],{},"no",[26,7197,6065],{},[26,7199,6557],{},[11,7201,7202,7203,6066],{},"It's a sign that tells you ‘no smoking’ (",[26,7204,7195],{},[6456,7206],{"lang":100,"src":7207,"native":7208,"translation":7209},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F農家.m4a","のうか","farmer [nouka]",[6456,7211],{"lang":100,"src":7212,"native":7213,"translation":7214},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F残す.m4a","のこす","leave behind [nokosu]",[11,7216,6579,7217,7219],{},[15,7218,6584],{"href":6582,"target":6583},", select all hiragana rows, from the first to the fifth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these five hiragana rows before moving on.",[45,7221,7222],{"id":7222},"はひふへほ",[11,7224,7225],{},"The next five are は・ひ・ふ・へ・ほ.",[6440,7227],{"code":7228},"hiragana:ha",[11,7230,7231,7232,6601,7235,7238,7239,6451],{},"The first character is は, which is represented as ",[26,7233,7234],{},"ha",[26,7236,7237],{},"h"," in hat and the ",[26,7240,15],{},[11,7242,7243,7244,3814,7247,6933,7249,6066],{},"As you see, this character just looks like a combined ",[26,7245,7246],{},"H",[26,7248,15],{},[26,7250,7234],{},[6456,7252],{"lang":100,"src":7253,"native":7254,"translation":7255},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F早い.m4a","はやい","fast [hayai]",[6456,7257],{"lang":100,"src":7258,"native":7259,"translation":7260},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F働く.m4a","はたらく","to work [hataraku]",[6440,7262],{"code":7263},"hiragana:hi",[11,7265,7266,7267,6601,7270,7272,7273,6637],{},"The second character is ひ, which is represented as ",[26,7268,7269],{},"hi",[26,7271,7237],{}," in hue and the ",[26,7274,6477],{},[11,7276,7277,7278,7280],{},"He (",[26,7279,7269],{},") has a big nose, doesn’t he?",[6456,7282],{"lang":100,"src":7283,"native":7284,"translation":7285},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F必要.m4a","ひつよう","necessary [hitsuyou]",[6456,7287],{"lang":100,"src":7288,"native":7289,"translation":7290},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F比較.m4a","ひかく","comparison [hikaku]",[6440,7292],{"code":7293},"hiragana:fu",[11,7295,7296,7297,6601,7300,7303,7304,6506],{},"The third character is ふ, which is represented as ",[26,7298,7299],{},"fu",[26,7301,7302],{},"ph"," in phew and the ",[26,7305,6505],{},[11,7307,7308,7309,7311],{},"The famous Mt. Fuji (",[26,7310,7299],{},") in Japan. You should go there one day.",[6456,7313],{"lang":100,"src":7314,"native":7315,"translation":7316},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F不安.m4a","ふあん","anxiety [fuan]",[6456,7318],{"lang":100,"src":7319,"native":7320,"translation":7321},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F古い.m4a","ふるい","old [furui]",[6440,7323],{"code":7324},"hiragana:he",[11,7326,7327,7328,6601,7331,7238,7333,6532],{},"The fourth character is へ, which is represented as ",[26,7329,7330],{},"he",[26,7332,7237],{},[26,7334,6528],{},[11,7336,7337,7338,7340],{},"We got a nice arrow here pointing towards heaven (",[26,7339,7330],{},"), where we all go after we die.",[6456,7342],{"lang":100,"src":7343,"native":7344,"translation":7345},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F減る.m4a","へる","to decrease [heru]",[6456,7347],{"lang":100,"src":7348,"native":7349,"translation":7350},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F平日.m4a","へいじつ","weekday [heijitsu]",[6440,7352],{"code":7353},"hiragana:ho",[11,7355,7356,7357,6601,7360,7238,7362,6560],{},"The fifth character is ほ, which is represented as ",[26,7358,7359],{},"ho",[26,7361,7237],{},[26,7363,6557],{},[11,7365,7366,7367,7369],{},"This just looks like は, with a whole (",[26,7368,7359],{},") line added to it.",[6456,7371],{"lang":100,"src":7372,"native":7373,"translation":7374},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F本.m4a","ほん","book [hon]",[6456,7376],{"lang":100,"src":7377,"native":7378,"translation":7379},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F報告.m4a","ほうこく","report [houkoku]",[11,7381,6579,7382,7384],{},[15,7383,6584],{"href":6582,"target":6583},", select all hiragana rows, from the first to the sixth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these six hiragana rows before moving on.",[45,7386,7387],{"id":7387},"まみむめも",[11,7389,7390],{},"The next five are ま・み・む・め・も.",[6440,7392],{"code":7393},"hiragana:ma",[11,7395,7396,7397,6601,7400,7403,7404,6451],{},"The first character is ま, which is represented as ",[26,7398,7399],{},"ma",[26,7401,7402],{},"m"," in much and the ",[26,7405,15],{},[11,7407,7408,7409,6066],{},"I want to go on a trip when I see this beautiful ship with its mast (",[26,7410,7399],{},[6456,7412],{"lang":100,"src":7413,"native":7414,"translation":7415},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F毎日.m4a","まいにち","every day [mainichi]",[6456,7417],{"lang":100,"src":7418,"native":7419,"translation":7420},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F迷子.m4a","まいご","lost child [maigo]",[6440,7422],{"code":7423},"hiragana:mi",[11,7425,7426,7427,6601,7430,7403,7432,6637],{},"The second character is み, which is represented as ",[26,7428,7429],{},"mi",[26,7431,7402],{},[26,7433,6477],{},[11,7435,7436,7437,7439],{},"Me (",[26,7438,7429],{},")? I just turned 21.",[6456,7441],{"lang":100,"src":7442,"native":7443,"translation":7444},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F未来.m4a","みらい","future [mirai]",[6456,7446],{"lang":100,"src":7447,"native":7448,"translation":7449},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F身内.m4a","みうち","family members [miuchi]",[6440,7451],{"code":7452},"hiragana:mu",[11,7454,7455,7456,6601,7459,7403,7461,6506],{},"The third character is む, which is represented as ",[26,7457,7458],{},"mu",[26,7460,7402],{},[26,7462,6505],{},[11,7464,7465],{},"This cute cow is greeting us with a moo (mu).",[6456,7467],{"lang":100,"src":7468,"native":7469,"translation":7470},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F昔.m4a","むかし","long time ago [mukashi]",[6456,7472],{"lang":100,"src":7473,"native":7474,"translation":7475},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F無理.m4a","むり","impossible [muri]",[6440,7477],{"code":7478},"hiragana:me",[11,7480,7481,7482,6601,7485,7403,7487,6532],{},"The fourth character is め, which is represented as ",[26,7483,7484],{},"me",[26,7486,7402],{},[26,7488,6528],{},[11,7490,7491,7492,6066],{},"The Japanese word for \"eye\" is me (",[26,7493,7484],{},[6456,7495],{"lang":100,"src":7496,"native":7497,"translation":7498},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F面接.m4a","めんせつ","interview [mensetsu]",[6456,7500],{"lang":100,"src":7501,"native":7502,"translation":7503},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F眼鏡.m4a","めがね","glasses [megane]",[6440,7505],{"code":7506},"hiragana:mo",[11,7508,7509,7510,6601,7513,7403,7515,6560],{},"The fifth character is も, which is represented as ",[26,7511,7512],{},"mo",[26,7514,7402],{},[26,7516,6557],{},[11,7518,7519,7520,7522],{},"To catch more (",[26,7521,7512],{},") fish, you should attach some bait to this hook.",[6456,7524],{"lang":100,"src":7525,"native":7526,"translation":7527},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F網膜.m4a","もうまく","retina [moumaku]",[6456,7529],{"lang":100,"src":7530,"native":7531,"translation":7532},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fもらう.m4a","もらう","receive [morau]",[11,7534,6579,7535,7537],{},[15,7536,6584],{"href":6582,"target":6583},", select all hiragana rows, from the first to the seventh, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these seven hiragana rows before moving on.",[45,7539,7540],{"id":7540},"らりるれろ",[11,7542,7543],{},"The next five are ら・り・る・れ・ろ.",[320,7545,7546],{},[11,7547,7548],{},"It's worth mentioning that the romaji (letter representations) of Japanese sounds is sometimes going to diverge greatly from what you might expect. This is especially the case with the hiragana in this section. To avoid overwhelming you with a pronunciation info dump this early on in the process, we decided to cover them later. For the time being, just focus on getting a general understanding with the provided hints and replaying the native audio a few times.",[6440,7550],{"code":7551},"hiragana:ra",[11,7553,7554,7555,6601,7558,7561,7562,7565],{},"The first character is ら, which is represented as ",[26,7556,7557],{},"ra",[26,7559,7560],{},"rah rah"," as if you were cheering and the ",[26,7563,7564],{},"la la"," like singing.",[11,7567,7568,7569,7571],{},"Here we have cute little rabbit (",[26,7570,7557],{},") with some floppy ears.",[6456,7573],{"lang":100,"src":7574,"native":7575,"translation":7576},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F来週.m4a","らいしゅう","next week [raishuu]",[6456,7578],{"lang":100,"src":7579,"native":7580,"translation":7581},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F来世.m4a","らいせ","next life [raise]",[6440,7583],{"code":7584},"hiragana:ri",[11,7586,7587,7588,7591,7592,7595,7596,7599],{},"The second character is り, which is represented as ",[26,7589,7590],{},"ri",", and the pronunciation is between the ",[26,7593,7594],{},"ree"," in reed and the ",[26,7597,7598],{},"lee"," in leek.",[11,7601,7602,7603,7605],{},"What a cute ribbon (",[26,7604,7590],{},"), isn’t it?",[6456,7607],{"lang":100,"src":7608,"native":7609,"translation":7610},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F理解.m4a","りかい","understanding [rikai]",[6456,7612],{"lang":100,"src":7613,"native":7614,"translation":7615},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F理想的.m4a","りそうてき","ideal [risouteki]",[6440,7617],{"code":7618},"hiragana:ru",[11,7620,7621,7622,6601,7625,7627,7628,7631],{},"The third character is る, which is represented as ",[26,7623,7624],{},"ru",[26,7626,7624],{}," in rule and the ",[26,7629,7630],{},"loo"," in look.",[11,7633,7634,7635,7637],{},"Our route (",[26,7636,7624],{},") is a bit complicated this time.",[6456,7639],{"lang":100,"src":7640,"native":7641,"translation":7642},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F留守.m4a","るす","absence [rusu]",[6456,7644],{"lang":100,"src":7645,"native":7646,"translation":7647},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F類似.m4a","るいじ","similarity [ruiji]",[6440,7649],{"code":7650},"hiragana:re",[11,7652,7653,7654,6601,7657,7659,7660,7663],{},"The fourth character is れ, which is represented as ",[26,7655,7656],{},"re",[26,7658,7656],{}," in retch and the ",[26,7661,7662],{},"le"," in led.",[11,7665,7666,7667,6066],{},"Even the sight of blood makes Reginald retch (",[26,7668,7656],{},[6456,7670],{"lang":100,"src":7671,"native":7672,"translation":7673},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F冷静.m4a","れいせい","calm [reisei]",[6456,7675],{"lang":100,"src":7676,"native":7677,"translation":7678},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F歴史的.m4a","れきしてき","historical [rekishiteki]",[6440,7680],{"code":7681},"hiragana:ro",[11,7683,7684,7685,6601,7688,7690,7691,7694],{},"The fifth character is ろ, which is represented as ",[26,7686,7687],{},"ro",[26,7689,7687],{}," in road and the ",[26,7692,7693],{},"lo"," in load.",[11,7696,7697,7698,7700],{},"Be careful! There're some bends in the road (",[26,7699,7687],{},")!",[6456,7702],{"lang":100,"src":7703,"native":7704,"translation":7705},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F廊下.m4a","ろうか","corridor [rouka]",[6456,7707],{"lang":100,"src":7708,"native":7709,"translation":7710},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F労働.m4a","ろうどう","labor [roudou]",[11,7712,6579,7713,7715],{},[15,7714,6584],{"href":6582,"target":6583},", select all hiragana rows, from the first to the eighth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these eight hiragana rows before moving on.",[45,7717,7718],{"id":7718},"やゆよ",[11,7720,7721],{},"The next three are や・ゆ・よ.",[6440,7723],{"code":7724},"hiragana:ya",[11,7726,7727,7728,6601,7731,7734,7735,6451],{},"The first character is や, which is represented as ",[26,7729,7730],{},"ya",[26,7732,7733],{},"y"," in yacht and the ",[26,7736,15],{},[11,7738,7739,7740,7742],{},"I normally only like dogs, but this yak (",[26,7741,7730],{},") is also cute.",[6456,7744],{"lang":100,"src":7745,"native":7746,"translation":7747},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F夜間.m4a","やかん","nighttime [yakan]",[6456,7749],{"lang":100,"src":7750,"native":7751,"translation":7752},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F槍.m4a","やり","spear [yari]",[6440,7754],{"code":7755},"hiragana:yu",[11,7757,7758,7759,6601,7762,7734,7764,6506],{},"The second character is ゆ, which is represented as ",[26,7760,7761],{},"yu",[26,7763,7733],{},[26,7765,6505],{},[11,7767,7768,7769,7771],{},"That’s quite the unique (",[26,7770,7761],{},") looking fish.",[6456,7773],{"lang":100,"src":7774,"native":7775,"translation":7776},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F有名.m4a","ゆうめい","famous [yuumei]",[6456,7778],{"lang":100,"src":7779,"native":7780,"translation":7781},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F夢.m4a","ゆめ","dream [yume]",[6440,7783],{"code":7784},"hiragana:yo",[11,7786,7787,7788,6601,7791,7734,7793,6560],{},"The third character is よ, which is represented as ",[26,7789,7790],{},"yo",[26,7792,7733],{},[26,7794,6557],{},[11,7796,7797,7798,7800],{},"He is playing with his yo-yo (",[26,7799,7790],{},") again.",[6456,7802],{"lang":100,"src":7803,"native":7804,"translation":7805},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F夜中.m4a","よなか","midnight [yonaka]",[6456,7807],{"lang":100,"src":7808,"native":7809,"translation":7810},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F余裕.m4a","よゆう","plenty [yoyuu]",[11,7812,6579,7813,7815],{},[15,7814,6584],{"href":6582,"target":6583},", select all hiragana rows, from the first to the ninth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these nine hiragana rows before moving on.",[45,7817,7818],{"id":7818},"わをん",[11,7820,7821],{},"And lastly, the final three: わ・を・ん.",[6440,7823],{"code":7824},"hiragana:wa",[11,7826,7827,7828,6529,7831,7833],{},"The first character is わ, which is represented as ",[26,7829,7830],{},"wa",[26,7832,7830],{}," in walk.",[11,7835,7836,7837,6066],{},"Look closely and you can see a wave in the water (",[26,7838,7830],{},[6456,7840],{"lang":100,"src":7841,"native":7842,"translation":7843},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F忘れる.m4a","わすれる","to forget [wasureru]",[6456,7845],{"lang":100,"src":7846,"native":7847,"translation":7848},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F若い.m4a","わかい","young [wakai]",[6440,7850],{"code":7851},"hiragana:wo",[11,7853,7854,7855,7857,7858,7861,7862,7864,7865,7867],{},"The second character is ",[26,7856,2232],{},", which is represented as ",[26,7859,7860],{},"wo",". This character is unique because it is represented by ",[26,7863,7860],{}," when romanized, but is pronounced similar to the ",[26,7866,6557],{}," in story, or the お we already learned. Additionally, this character only functions as a particle on its own and is never combined with other characters to form words. As a result, there are no example words for を.",[11,7869,7870,7871,7874],{},"It just became a bit warmer and Olga already wants to swim in the pool. She dips her toe in and goes: ",[26,7872,7873],{},"oooh!",", because the water is still cold.",[6440,7876],{"code":7877},"hiragana:n",[11,7879,7880,7881,6529,7883,7886,7887,7889],{},"The third character in this column (and the last hiragana character) is ん, which is represented as ",[26,7882,6065],{},[26,7884,7885],{},"ng"," in long. It’s important to note that ん is also a unique character, as the way you pronounce it changes slightly depending on the sound that follows. But for now, just remember it as the ",[26,7888,7885],{}," in long.",[11,7891,7892,7893,7895],{},"If this doesn't look like a stylized ",[26,7894,6065],{},", I don’t know what does.",[6456,7897],{"lang":100,"src":7898,"native":7899,"translation":7900},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F案内.m4a","あんない","guidance [annai]",[6456,7902],{"lang":100,"src":6517,"native":6518,"translation":6519},[11,7904,6579,7905,7907],{},[15,7906,6584],{"href":6582,"target":6583},", select all hiragana rows and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with all hiragana.",[11,7909,7910,7911,415],{},"As you can see, Japanese is a quite complex, but interesting language. If you want to learn all of this through a comprehensive course, we recommend you to try out our Migaku Japanese Academy course, which will allow you to quickly ",[15,7912,7913],{"href":17},"learn Japanese from anime",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":7915},[7916,7917,7918,7919,7920,7921,7922,7923,7924,7925],{"id":6435,"depth":707,"text":6435},{"id":6588,"depth":707,"text":6588},{"id":6746,"depth":707,"text":6746},{"id":6907,"depth":707,"text":6907},{"id":7069,"depth":707,"text":7069},{"id":7222,"depth":707,"text":7222},{"id":7387,"depth":707,"text":7387},{"id":7540,"depth":707,"text":7540},{"id":7718,"depth":707,"text":7718},{"id":7818,"depth":707,"text":7818},"Learn everything you need to know about Japanese hiragana. Learn their basics, how they are pronounced, example words and more.",{"timestampUnix":7928,"slug":7929,"h1":7930,"image":7931,"tags":7936},1724134478400,"the-japanese-language-hiragana","Hiragana Essentials: Quick Learning Guide with Memory Tricks",{"src":7932,"width":7933,"height":7934,"alt":7935},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-hiragana-r-onita.webp",5568,3712,"A Japanese sign that says \"tomare\", featuring a few Hiragana characters.",[728,1033],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-hiragana","---\ntitle: 'Learn Hiragana in 7 Days: Complete Guide with Mnemonics'\ndescription: 'Learn everything you need to know about Japanese hiragana. Learn their basics, how they are pronounced, example words and more.'\ntimestampUnix: 1724134478400\nslug: 'the-japanese-language-hiragana'\nh1: 'Hiragana Essentials: Quick Learning Guide with Memory Tricks'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-hiragana-r-onita.webp'\n width: 5568\n height: 3712\n alt: 'A Japanese sign that says \"tomare\", featuring a few Hiragana characters.'\ntags:\n - fundamentals\n - hiragana\n---\n\nLearning hiragana is essential for mastering Japanese. It forms the foundation of Japanese pronunciation and is crucial for accessing Japanese resources, as most quality textbooks and learning materials, just like our [Migaku Japanese Course](\u002Flearn-japanese), require knowledge of hiragana. Essentially, it's the first step in learning Japanese.\n\nMany people spend too much time learning hiragana, even though this can be achieved in a week or less. Obviously, your pace will vary, but if you follow our guide below, you will be able to read hiragana in no time.\n\nTo achieve this, you should follow these steps:\n\n1. Each section introduces five new hiragana characters, each with its own **mnemonics**, which are images that help you remember the character. Read the explanation, listen to the audio of the character being pronounced, and visualize the character with the mnemonic image. _Don't worry about memorizing the example words, as they are just provided to give you an idea of some words that a give character can appear in._\n2. After reviewing all five characters in the section, you will be prompted with an **exercise**. Repeat this exercise until you feel comfortable recalling the pronunciation of each character before moving on.\n\n> There won't be any writing practice involved! In today's day and age, writing is something most of us rarely use, and practicing it, especially in the beginning, can easily multiply the time it takes you to learn to read hiragana.\n>\n> Our recommendation is that if you want to learn to write Japanese eventually, hold back until you are a bit more advanced in the language.\n\nNow let's take a closer look at 'hiragana' ひらがな, or in kanji \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"平仮名[ひらがな]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>. Hiragana actually has its origin in Chinese characters. The shape of the hiragana originates from the cursive script style of Chinese calligraphy. In the table below you can see how this evolution took place, starting with the kanji on top, and ending with hiragana at the bottom.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FOrigin_of_Hiragana.webp\" width=\"1114\" height=\"1083\" alt=\"A graphic showing how Japanese hiragana originated as simplified forms of similar-sounding Chinese characters.\" \u002F>\n\nHiragana is a syllabary where every symbol represents an entire syllable. Hiragana contains _5 singular vowels_, _42 consonant-vowel combinations_, and _1 singular consonant_ (ん; _n_).\n\nHiragana has many roles in Japanese. One such usage is to write suffixes for a kanji root word. To make this more concrete, in English the word \"talked\" consists of the root word \"talk\", and the suffix \"-ed.\" In Japanese there exists \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"話[はな,はなす]した\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> which consists of a kanji root \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"話[はな]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (talk) and a hiragana suffix した (did). This usage is known as 'okurigana.'\n\nAside from grammatical inflection, other uses include the function words in the language, such as particles, grammatical structures, as well as forming standalone words for which there are no kanji or whose kanji form is obscure.\n\nBelow you can see these different usages color coded.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FParticles.webp\" width=\"954\" height=\"588\" alt=\"A graphic shows a sentence with highlighted parts in different colors to illustrate hiragana usage in Japanese, with functions labeled below the sentence.\" \u002F>\n\nHiragana is the script you will be dealing with the most when reading Japanese. Starting from the next section, we will slowly introduce you to five characters at a time and provide you with mnemonic images to help you remember them.\n\nBelow is a chart that contains all of the modern hiragana. We will be covering these in the following sections.\n\n| A | I | U | E | O |\n| :-----------------------------------------------------------------: | :-----------------------------------------------------------------: | :-----------------------------------------------------------------: | :-----------------------------------------------------------------: | :-----------------------------------------------------------------: |\n| あ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fあ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | い\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fい.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | う\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fう.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | え\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fえ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | お\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fお.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| か\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fか.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | き\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fき.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | く\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fく.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | け\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fけ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | こ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fこ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| さ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fさ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | し\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fし.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | す\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fす.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | せ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fせ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | そ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fそ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| た\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fた.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ち\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fち.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | つ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fつ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | て\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fて.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | と\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fと.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| な\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fな.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | に\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fに.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ぬ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fぬ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ね\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fね.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | の\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fの.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| は\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fは.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ひ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fひ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ふ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fふ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | へ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fへ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ほ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fほ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| ま\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fま.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | み\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fみ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | む\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fむ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | め\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fめ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | も\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fも.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| ら\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fら.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | り\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fり.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | る\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fる.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | れ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fれ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ろ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fろ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| や\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fや.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | | ゆ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fゆ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | | よ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fよ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| わ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fわ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | | | | を\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fを.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| ん\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fん.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | | | | |\n\n## あいうえお\n\nNow that we’ve covered the basics of hiragana, we can introduce you to the first five characters, which are also the pure vowels in Japanese: あ・い・う・え・お.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:a\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is あ, which is represented as _a_, and its pronunciation is similar to the _a_ in father.\n\nThis character has a slightly tilted A written inside of it.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F雨.m4a\" native=\"あめ\" translation=\"rain [ame]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F合鍵.m4a\" native=\"あいかぎ\" translation=\"spare key [aikagi]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:i\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is い, which is represented as _i_, and its pronunciation is similar to the _ee_ in eel.\n\nIf you look closely, you can see two eels (_i_) that meet each other.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F医者.m4a\" native=\"いしゃ\" translation=\"doctor [isha]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F痛み.m4a\" native=\"いたみ\" translation=\"pain [itami]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:u\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is う, which is represented as _u_, and its pronunciation is similar to the _oo_ in shoot.\n\nThis one should be easy, as it looks like a sideways u with a line above it.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fうさぎ.m4a\" native=\"うさぎ\" translation=\"rabbit [usagi]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F運動.m4a\" native=\"うんどう\" translation=\"exercise [undou]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:e\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fourth character is え, which is represented as _e_, and its pronunciation is close to the _e_ in bet.\n\nThis elegant (_e_) dancer is dancing, can you see it?\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F偉い.m4a\" native=\"えらい\" translation=\"remarkable [erai]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F映画.m4a\" native=\"えいが\" translation=\"movie [eiga]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:o\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fifth character is お, which is represented as _o_, and its pronunciation is close to the _o_ in story.\n\nOlaf (_o_) is proud of his cool new bike!\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F面白い.m4a\" native=\"おもしろい\" translation=\"interesting [omoshiroi]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F男.m4a\" native=\"おとこ\" translation=\"man [otoko]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fhiragana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select the first row of hiragana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with the first hiragana row before moving on.\n\n## かきくけこ\n\nThe next five are か・き・く・け・こ.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ka\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is か, which is represented as _ka_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _k_ in skate and the _a_ in father.\n\nLook at the character and maybe you can see a martial artist doing a karate (_ka_) kick.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F体.m4a\" native=\"からだ\" translation=\"body [karada]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F形.m4a\" native=\"かたち\" translation=\"shape [katachi]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ki\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is き, which is represented as _ki_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _k_ in skate and the _ee_ in meet.\n\nThis character looks a bit like a key (_ki_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F黄色.m4a\" native=\"きいろ\" translation=\"yellow [kiiro]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F機会.m4a\" native=\"きかい\" translation=\"opportunity [kikai]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ku\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is く, which is represented as _ku_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _k_ in skate and the _oo_ in shoot.\n\nCan you see it? This is just the beak of a cuckoo (_ku_) going cu-coo.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F車.m4a\" native=\"くるま\" translation=\"car [kuruma]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F苦しい.m4a\" native=\"くるしい\" translation=\"painful [kurushii]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ke\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fourth character is け, which is represented as _ke_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _k_ in skate and the _e_ in bet.\n\nAnd this is just a nice keg (_ke_). The horizontal line being part of its metal binding.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F経験.m4a\" native=\"けいけん\" translation=\"experience [keiken]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F獣.m4a\" native=\"けもの\" translation=\"beast [kemono]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ko\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fifth character is こ, which is represented as _ko_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _k_ in skate and the _o_ in story.\n\nAnd this is just a pretty nice coin (_ko_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F子供.m4a\" native=\"こども\" translation=\"child [kodomo]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F恋人.m4a\" native=\"こいびと\" translation=\"lover [koibito]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fhiragana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select the first and second row of hiragana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these two hiragana rows before moving on.\n\n## さしすせそ\n\nThe next five are さ・し・す・せ・そ.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:sa\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is さ, which is represented as _sa_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _s_ in soup and the _a_ in father.\n\nLook at this big sign (_sa_) warning us of danger.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F猿.m4a\" native=\"さる\" translation=\"monkey [saru]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F作品.m4a\" native=\"さくひん\" translation=\"work of art [sakuhin]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:shi\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is し, which is represented as _shi_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _sh_ in sheep and the _ee_ in meet.\n\nHere we have a friendly shepard with a sheep (_shi_) and his stick.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F心配.m4a\" native=\"しんぱい\" translation=\"worry [shinpai]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F試合.m4a\" native=\"しあい\" translation=\"match [shiai]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:su\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is す, which is represented as _su_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _s_ in soup and the _oo_ in shoot.\n\nOh, it's Steven and he is swinging (_su_) in the curtains again!\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F好き.m4a\" native=\"すき\" translation=\"like [suki]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fすごい.m4a\" native=\"すごい\" translation=\"amazing [sugoi]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:se\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fourth character is せ, which is represented as _se_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _s_ in soup and the _e_ in bet.\n\nWhere we have a nice señor (_se_) with his hat.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F選手.m4a\" native=\"せんしゅ\" translation=\"athlete [senshu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F制服.m4a\" native=\"せいふく\" translation=\"uniform [seifuku]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:so\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fifth character is そ, which is represented as _so_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _s_ in soup and the _o_ in story.\n\nI tried to sew (_so_) a zigzag stitch.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F外.m4a\" native=\"そと\" translation=\"outside [soto]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F添い寝.m4a\" native=\"そいね\" translation=\"co-sleeping [soine]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fhiragana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select the first, second and third row of hiragana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these three hiragana rows before moving on.\n\n## たちつてと\n\nThe next five are た・ち・つ・て・と.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ta\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is た, which is represented as _ta_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _t_ in stop and the _a_ in father.\n\nThis just looks exactly like a combination of the letters _t_ and _a_ (_ta_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F体操.m4a\" native=\"たいそう\" translation=\"gymnastics [taisou]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F退屈.m4a\" native=\"たいくつ\" translation=\"tedious [taikutsu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:chi\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is ち, which is represented as _chi_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _tch_ in itchy and the _ee_ in meet.\n\nWhat do we have here? A jumping cheerleader (_chi_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F小さい.m4a\" native=\"ちいさい\" translation=\"small [chiisai]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F地域.m4a\" native=\"ちいき\" translation=\"area [chiiki]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:tsu\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is つ, which is represented as _tsu_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _ts_ in cats and the _oo_ in shoot.\n\nWho doesn’t love cats (_tsu_)! See how fluffy its tail is.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F作る.m4a\" native=\"つくる\" translation=\"make [tsukuru]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F伝える.m4a\" native=\"つたえる\" translation=\"convey [tsutaeru]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:te\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fourth character is て, which is represented as _te_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _t_ in stop and the _e_ in bet.\n\nAnd this just looks like a slightly out of shape T.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F手足.m4a\" native=\"てあし\" translation=\"limbs [teashi]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F定期的.m4a\" native=\"ていきてき\" translation=\"regular [teikiteki]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:to\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fifth character is と, which is represented as _to_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _t_ in stop and the _o_ in story.\n\nOuch! Can you see the nail sticking in this toe (_to_). That's gotta hurt.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F隣.m4a\" native=\"となり\" translation=\"next (to) [tonari]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F年.m4a\" native=\"とし\" translation=\"year [toshi]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fhiragana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select all hiragana rows, from the first to the fourth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these four hiragana rows before moving on.\n\n## なにぬねの\n\nThe next five are な・に・ぬ・ね・の.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:na\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is な, which is represented as _na_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _n_ in not and the _a_ in father.\n\nThis looks like someone was creative and wrote a pretty stylized _na_.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F名前.m4a\" native=\"なまえ\" translation=\"name [namae]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F難題.m4a\" native=\"なんだい\" translation=\"difficult problem [nandai]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ni\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is に, which is represented as _ni_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _n_ in not and the _ee_ in meet.\n\nThis is my knee (_ni_). Beautiful ain’t it?\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F荷物.m4a\" native=\"にもつ\" translation=\"luggage [nimotsu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F西.m4a\" native=\"にし\" translation=\"west [nishi]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:nu\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is ぬ, which is represented as _nu_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _n_ in not and the _oo_ in shoot.\n\nA delicious bowl of noodles (_nu_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F脱ぐ.m4a\" native=\"ぬぐ\" translation=\"take off [nugu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F盗む.m4a\" native=\"ぬすむ\" translation=\"steal [nusumu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ne\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fourth character is ね, which is represented as _ne_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _n_ in not and the _e_ in bet.\n\nThis one looks like a _ne_ written in a pretty stylized font.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F猫.m4a\" native=\"ねこ\" translation=\"cat [neko]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F寝る.m4a\" native=\"ねる\" translation=\"sleep [neru]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:no\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fifth character is の, which is represented as _no_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _n_ in not and the _o_ in story.\n\nIt's a sign that tells you ‘no smoking’ (_no_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F農家.m4a\" native=\"のうか\" translation=\"farmer [nouka]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F残す.m4a\" native=\"のこす\" translation=\"leave behind [nokosu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fhiragana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select all hiragana rows, from the first to the fifth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these five hiragana rows before moving on.\n\n## はひふへほ\n\nThe next five are は・ひ・ふ・へ・ほ.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ha\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is は, which is represented as _ha_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _h_ in hat and the _a_ in father.\n\nAs you see, this character just looks like a combined _H_ and _a_ (_ha_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F早い.m4a\" native=\"はやい\" translation=\"fast [hayai]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F働く.m4a\" native=\"はたらく\" translation=\"to work [hataraku]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:hi\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is ひ, which is represented as _hi_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _h_ in hue and the _ee_ in meet.\n\nHe (_hi_) has a big nose, doesn’t he?\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F必要.m4a\" native=\"ひつよう\" translation=\"necessary [hitsuyou]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F比較.m4a\" native=\"ひかく\" translation=\"comparison [hikaku]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:fu\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is ふ, which is represented as _fu_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _ph_ in phew and the _oo_ in shoot.\n\nThe famous Mt. Fuji (_fu_) in Japan. You should go there one day.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F不安.m4a\" native=\"ふあん\" translation=\"anxiety [fuan]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F古い.m4a\" native=\"ふるい\" translation=\"old [furui]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:he\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fourth character is へ, which is represented as _he_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _h_ in hat and the _e_ in bet.\n\nWe got a nice arrow here pointing towards heaven (_he_), where we all go after we die.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F減る.m4a\" native=\"へる\" translation=\"to decrease [heru]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F平日.m4a\" native=\"へいじつ\" translation=\"weekday [heijitsu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ho\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fifth character is ほ, which is represented as _ho_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _h_ in hat and the _o_ in story.\n\nThis just looks like は, with a whole (_ho_) line added to it.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F本.m4a\" native=\"ほん\" translation=\"book [hon]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F報告.m4a\" native=\"ほうこく\" translation=\"report [houkoku]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fhiragana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select all hiragana rows, from the first to the sixth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these six hiragana rows before moving on.\n\n## まみむめも\n\nThe next five are ま・み・む・め・も.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ma\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is ま, which is represented as _ma_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _m_ in much and the _a_ in father.\n\nI want to go on a trip when I see this beautiful ship with its mast (_ma_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F毎日.m4a\" native=\"まいにち\" translation=\"every day [mainichi]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F迷子.m4a\" native=\"まいご\" translation=\"lost child [maigo]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:mi\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is み, which is represented as _mi_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _m_ in much and the _ee_ in meet.\n\nMe (_mi_)? I just turned 21.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F未来.m4a\" native=\"みらい\" translation=\"future [mirai]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F身内.m4a\" native=\"みうち\" translation=\"family members [miuchi]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:mu\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is む, which is represented as _mu_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _m_ in much and the _oo_ in shoot.\n\nThis cute cow is greeting us with a moo (mu).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F昔.m4a\" native=\"むかし\" translation=\"long time ago [mukashi]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F無理.m4a\" native=\"むり\" translation=\"impossible [muri]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:me\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fourth character is め, which is represented as _me_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _m_ in much and the _e_ in bet.\n\nThe Japanese word for \"eye\" is me (_me_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F面接.m4a\" native=\"めんせつ\" translation=\"interview [mensetsu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F眼鏡.m4a\" native=\"めがね\" translation=\"glasses [megane]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:mo\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fifth character is も, which is represented as _mo_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _m_ in much and the _o_ in story.\n\nTo catch more (_mo_) fish, you should attach some bait to this hook.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F網膜.m4a\" native=\"もうまく\" translation=\"retina [moumaku]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fもらう.m4a\" native=\"もらう\" translation=\"receive [morau]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fhiragana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select all hiragana rows, from the first to the seventh, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these seven hiragana rows before moving on.\n\n## らりるれろ\n\nThe next five are ら・り・る・れ・ろ.\n\n> It's worth mentioning that the romaji (letter representations) of Japanese sounds is sometimes going to diverge greatly from what you might expect. This is especially the case with the hiragana in this section. To avoid overwhelming you with a pronunciation info dump this early on in the process, we decided to cover them later. For the time being, just focus on getting a general understanding with the provided hints and replaying the native audio a few times.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ra\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is ら, which is represented as _ra_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _rah rah_ as if you were cheering and the _la la_ like singing.\n\nHere we have cute little rabbit (_ra_) with some floppy ears.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F来週.m4a\" native=\"らいしゅう\" translation=\"next week [raishuu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F来世.m4a\" native=\"らいせ\" translation=\"next life [raise]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ri\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is り, which is represented as _ri_, and the pronunciation is between the _ree_ in reed and the _lee_ in leek.\n\nWhat a cute ribbon (_ri_), isn’t it?\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F理解.m4a\" native=\"りかい\" translation=\"understanding [rikai]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F理想的.m4a\" native=\"りそうてき\" translation=\"ideal [risouteki]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ru\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is る, which is represented as _ru_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _ru_ in rule and the _loo_ in look.\n\nOur route (_ru_) is a bit complicated this time.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F留守.m4a\" native=\"るす\" translation=\"absence [rusu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F類似.m4a\" native=\"るいじ\" translation=\"similarity [ruiji]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:re\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fourth character is れ, which is represented as _re_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _re_ in retch and the _le_ in led.\n\nEven the sight of blood makes Reginald retch (_re_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F冷静.m4a\" native=\"れいせい\" translation=\"calm [reisei]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F歴史的.m4a\" native=\"れきしてき\" translation=\"historical [rekishiteki]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ro\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fifth character is ろ, which is represented as _ro_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _ro_ in road and the _lo_ in load.\n\nBe careful! There're some bends in the road (_ro_)!\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F廊下.m4a\" native=\"ろうか\" translation=\"corridor [rouka]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F労働.m4a\" native=\"ろうどう\" translation=\"labor [roudou]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fhiragana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select all hiragana rows, from the first to the eighth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these eight hiragana rows before moving on.\n\n## やゆよ\n\nThe next three are や・ゆ・よ.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ya\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is や, which is represented as _ya_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _y_ in yacht and the _a_ in father.\n\nI normally only like dogs, but this yak (_ya_) is also cute.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F夜間.m4a\" native=\"やかん\" translation=\"nighttime [yakan]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F槍.m4a\" native=\"やり\" translation=\"spear [yari]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:yu\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is ゆ, which is represented as _yu_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _y_ in yacht and the _oo_ in shoot.\n\nThat’s quite the unique (_yu_) looking fish.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F有名.m4a\" native=\"ゆうめい\" translation=\"famous [yuumei]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F夢.m4a\" native=\"ゆめ\" translation=\"dream [yume]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:yo\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is よ, which is represented as _yo_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _y_ in yacht and the _o_ in story.\n\nHe is playing with his yo-yo (_yo_) again.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F夜中.m4a\" native=\"よなか\" translation=\"midnight [yonaka]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F余裕.m4a\" native=\"よゆう\" translation=\"plenty [yoyuu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fhiragana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select all hiragana rows, from the first to the ninth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these nine hiragana rows before moving on.\n\n## わをん\n\nAnd lastly, the final three: わ・を・ん.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:wa\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is わ, which is represented as _wa_, and its pronunciation is close to the _wa_ in walk.\n\nLook closely and you can see a wave in the water (_wa_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F忘れる.m4a\" native=\"わすれる\" translation=\"to forget [wasureru]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F若い.m4a\" native=\"わかい\" translation=\"young [wakai]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:wo\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is _を_, which is represented as _wo_. This character is unique because it is represented by _wo_ when romanized, but is pronounced similar to the _o_ in story, or the お we already learned. Additionally, this character only functions as a particle on its own and is never combined with other characters to form words. As a result, there are no example words for を.\n\nIt just became a bit warmer and Olga already wants to swim in the pool. She dips her toe in and goes: _oooh!_, because the water is still cold.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:n\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character in this column (and the last hiragana character) is ん, which is represented as _n_, and its pronunciation is close to the _ng_ in long. It’s important to note that ん is also a unique character, as the way you pronounce it changes slightly depending on the sound that follows. But for now, just remember it as the _ng_ in long.\n\nIf this doesn't look like a stylized _n_, I don’t know what does.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F案内.m4a\" native=\"あんない\" translation=\"guidance [annai]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F運動.m4a\" native=\"うんどう\" translation=\"exercise [undou]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fhiragana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select all hiragana rows and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with all hiragana.\n\nAs you can see, Japanese is a quite complex, but interesting language. If you want to learn all of this through a comprehensive course, we recommend you to try out our Migaku Japanese Academy course, which will allow you to quickly [learn Japanese from anime](\u002Flearn-japanese).\n",{"title":5993,"description":7926},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-hiragana","gjbyl5CBfqG4Vf3DlZrBQJIzNOJ5R8BXhxq4UvBS_KE","August 20, 2024",{"id":7944,"title":7945,"body":7946,"description":8640,"extension":717,"meta":8641,"navigation":730,"path":8651,"rawbody":8652,"seo":8653,"stem":8654,"__hash__":8655,"timestampUnix":8642,"slug":8643,"h1":8644,"image":8645,"tags":8648,"_dir":736,"timestamp":8656},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-honorifics.md","Understanding Japanese Honorifics: How to Use Suffixes Like San, Kun, and More",{"type":8,"value":7947,"toc":8614},[7948,7966,7969,7971,7974,7976,7980,8009,8019,8022,8025,8037,8041,8044,8048,8054,8057,8069,8072,8087,8091,8096,8113,8118,8128,8131,8135,8141,8150,8156,8159,8168,8171,8175,8181,8191,8194,8197,8202,8206,8213,8216,8221,8227,8229,8233,8236,8240,8251,8256,8259,8263,8267,8273,8277,8284,8288,8299,8302,8304,8308,8312,8315,8318,8322,8329,8333,8340,8344,8351,8355,8362,8364,8368,8374,8382,8387,8393,8396,8399,8402,8407,8410,8413,8417,8420,8430,8442,8453,8473,8485,8503,8509,8537,8541,8544,8550,8553,8558,8561,8567,8570,8573,8578,8581,8583,8585,8589,8592,8595,8600,8603],[11,7949,7950,7951,7953,7954,7957,7958,7961,7962,7965],{},"Most likely, even before you started to ",[15,7952,18],{"href":17},", you'd already heard these mysterious words -さん ",[103,7955],{"src":7956,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さん.mp3",", -ちゃん ",[103,7959],{"src":7960,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-チャン.mp3"," , or -先生 ",[103,7963],{"src":7964,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-先生.mp3"," . Broadly, these are called honorifics. But what even are Japanese honorifics, and how do you use them?",[11,7967,7968],{},"You’ve come to the right place! In this article, we’ll cover all that and more:",[39,7970],{},[11,7972,7973],{},"So fear not, and let’s learn what these titles mean, when and why to use them, and how to politely address those around you.",[42,7975],{},[45,7977,7979],{"id":7978},"what-even-are-japanese-honorifics","What even are Japanese honorifics?",[11,7981,7982,7983,7986,7987,7989,7990,7993,7994,7997,7998,8001,8002,8005,8006,6066],{},"In Japanese, ",[26,7984,7985],{},"honorifics"," is the blanket term used to describe terms attached to words to convey respect or status, or simply be more polite. Usually, when people say Japanese honorifics, they mean suffixes like -さん ",[103,7988],{"src":7956,":type":149}," or -様 ",[103,7991],{"src":7992,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-様.mp3",", but honorifics can also refer to other terms, like the honorific prefixes お- ",[103,7995],{"src":7996,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-お.mp3"," or ご- ",[103,7999],{"src":8000,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ご.mp3"," to make something sound more polite (e.g., お風呂 ",[103,8003],{"src":8004,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-お風呂.mp3"," instead of 風呂 ",[103,8007],{"src":8008,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-風呂.mp3",[11,8010,8011,8012,3814,8015,8018],{},"This might sound complicated, but we actually have something similar in English: the pronouns ",[26,8013,8014],{},"Mr.",[26,8016,8017],{},"Mrs."," are very similar in concept... but there are many more of them, each with a different level of politeness and formality. Which one you use depends on the age and status of the person you're talking to, the situation, and your relationship with them.",[11,8020,8021],{},"In a nutshell, Japanese honorifics are just part of polite speech, and you'll hear them all the time.",[11,8023,8024],{},"Let's get to it!",[320,8026,8027,8030,8032],{},[287,8028,8029],{"bold":289,"underline":289},"\nDo you use an honorific for yourself?\n",[292,8031],{},[287,8033,8034,8035],{},"\nNot quite; honorifics are basically never applied to your own name. In Japanese, you’ll almost always use plain speech to talk about yourself, and it’s no different here. Mostly, this is only done as a joke. When you introduce yourself, just give your name as-is.\n",[292,8036],{},[45,8038,8040],{"id":8039},"_5-common-japanese-honorifics-to-start-with","5 common Japanese honorifics to start with",[11,8042,8043],{},"With all that out of the way, let’s look at some of the Japanese honorifics you’ll hear most often (and least often!) in everyday use, break down what they mean, and explain how you can use them yourself.",[847,8045,8047],{"id":8046},"さん-san-a-polite-title-thats-almost-always-okay","さん (San) — A polite title that’s almost always okay",[11,8049,8050,8051,8053],{},"-さん ",[103,8052],{"src":7956,":type":149}," is the Japanese honorific you’re going to hear most. It’s the most broadly-applicable, and can be used by anyone towards people of either gender, and almost any age or status.",[11,8055,8056],{},"The closest equivalent to -さん is probably Mr. \u002F Mrs. in English. Like in English, -さん can be used to refer to people you don’t know very well, those older than you, those higher in status—and, in some situations, even with people who are younger or lower in status than you.",[320,8058,8059],{},[11,8060,8061,8062,8064,8065,8068],{},"The only time you can go wrong with -さん is if you use it to address a person who has a more appropriate title, such as -先生 ",[103,8063],{"src":7964,":type":149}," or -先輩 ",[103,8066],{"src":8067,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-先輩.mp3","; or, in some specific business situations.",[11,8070,8071],{},"It’s a great go-to title, and should be thought of as the default in most situations.",[11,8073,8074,8075,8078,8079,8082,8083,8086],{},"Finally, -さん is used to refer to someone in a general sense. For example, a bookshop is a 本屋 ",[103,8076],{"src":8077,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-本屋.mp3",", and the term 本屋さん ",[103,8080],{"src":8081,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ほんやさん.mp3"," could be used to refer to someone who works at a bookstore, similar to how お客様 ",[103,8084],{"src":8085,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-お客様.mp3"," is used to address customers in general.",[847,8088,8090],{"id":8089},"くん-kun-a-casual-address-mostly-for-boys","くん (Kun) — A casual address, mostly for boys",[50,8092],{"src":8093,"width":2478,"height":8094,"alt":8095},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-honorifics-kun.jpeg",1285,"A screenshot of several Japanese school boys, about the age that it would be appropriate to refer to them by the honorific -kun",[11,8097,8098,8099,8102,8103,8105,8106,6933,8109,8112],{},"-くん ",[103,8100],{"src":8101,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-くん.mp3"," and the next title, -ちゃん ",[103,8104],{"src":7960,":type":149},", are similar in that they’re more casual and affectionate titles. -くん is usually used to refer to someone who is of lower status than you, such as underclassmen or your 後輩 ",[103,8107],{"src":8108,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-後輩.mp3",[26,8110,8111],{},"kōhai",", those under you at work). Compared to -さん, it closes the gap a bit between you and the person you’re addressing—you're no longer total strangers with this person.",[320,8114,8115],{},[11,8116,8117],{},"More often than not, this title is applied to boys. You’ll hear male elementary school students referred to as ○○-くん, for example.",[11,8119,8120,8121,8124,8125],{},"That said, this isn’t ",[26,8122,8123],{},"exclusively"," used for boys. Girls and even young women can be referred to with -くん, if the person using it is of higher status than them, such as their superiors at work. ",[26,8126,8127],{},"(Editor's note: Until you get batter at Japanese, this is something I recommend you make note of, but don't try yourself.)",[11,8129,8130],{},"Because this is a close address, you want to be careful about using it, so as not to imply a closer relationship than what’s perceived.",[847,8132,8134],{"id":8133},"ちゃん-chan-an-affectionate-name-often-for-loved-ones","ちゃん (Chan) — An affectionate name, often for loved ones",[50,8136],{"src":8137,"width":8138,"height":8139,"alt":8140},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-honorifics-chan.jpeg",1913,1349,"Two Japanese girls out at a festival, likely close enough to refer to each other as -chan ",[11,8142,8143,8144,8146,8147,8149],{},"Now on to -ちゃん ",[103,8145],{"src":7960,":type":149},", a term many have already heard. -ちゃん is used to refer to someone affectionately, even closer than -くん ",[103,8148],{"src":8101,":type":149}," does. Generally, this is most often used towards women, for example girls calling their friends ○○-ちゃん, or boyfriends calling their girlfriend ○○-ちゃん.",[11,8151,8152,8153,415],{},"However, like -くん, this is not exclusively used for girls. Boys can be called ○○-ちゃん, especially if they’re babies, or as a term of extreme closeness, like a girlfriend calling their boyfriend a nickname that uses -ちゃん. -ちゃん is also used to refer to the elderly in certain contexts—it’s not rare to meet someone who calls their grandfather おじいちゃん ",[103,8154],{"src":8155,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-おじいちゃん.mp3",[11,8157,8158],{},"Finally, compared to -くん, -ちゃん implies an even closer relationship, and should be used with serious caution.",[320,8160,8161],{},[11,8162,8163,8164,8167],{},"If you’re a man, and you suddenly refer to a woman you know as ○○-ちゃん, it could be seen as a little ",[26,8165,8166],{},"too"," close, or at worst, kind of creepy; even if you’re older or higher status than the person you’re addressing.",[11,8169,8170],{},"In most contexts, it’s probably best to stick with ○○-さん, or ask first, unless the situation is abundantly clear (like you’re an adult who’s meeting a child.)",[847,8172,8174],{"id":8173},"様-sama-a-term-of-respect-used-often-in-business","様 (Sama) — A term of respect, used often in business",[11,8176,8177,8178,8180],{},"-様 ",[103,8179],{"src":8085,":type":149}," is often translated as Lord ___, so it probably never gets used, right? Nope! You’ll hear this one all the time in Japan, perhaps second-most behind -さん! That’s because this is often used in business contexts, from office work to simply walking into a conbini.",[11,8182,8183,8184,8187,8188,8190],{},"For example, in most situations, a restaurant employee or shopkeeper will refer to customers whose names they don’t know as 客様 ",[103,8185],{"src":8186,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-客様.mp3"," (or even お客様 ",[103,8189],{"src":8085,":type":149},"; the addition of お- makes it even more polite!) So in that way, you’ll be called Lord ___ all the time in Japan!",[11,8192,8193],{},"Of course, this isn’t the only time it’s used. You’ll see this a lot in other business contexts, such as over email. If you have to email a company as a client, you can refer to whomever you’re emailing as ○○-さん, but you better believe they’ll refer to you as ○○-様.",[11,8195,8196],{},"Like the discussion of politeness versus formality above, be careful to note the direction of the conversation. You might think that since ○○-さま means something like Lord ___ that it’s always acceptable, but it implies a distance between the speaker and subject. Additionally, it can be used to make a joke of or mock someone.",[320,8198,8199],{},[11,8200,8201],{},"Contrary to popular belief, there is such a thing as irony in Japanese, but its usage is a bit different from the West. Be careful!",[847,8203,8205],{"id":8204},"たん-tan-baby-talk-almost-exclusively-reserved-for-manga-anime","たん (Tan) — Baby-talk almost exclusively reserved for manga \u002F anime",[11,8207,8208,8209,8212],{},"Ah ○○-たん ",[103,8210],{"src":8211,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-たん.mp3",". If you’re an anime fan, you’re probably most familiar with this being used by Re:Zero’s Subaru towards Emilia, the elf girl he’s crushing on.",[11,8214,8215],{},"Strictly speaking, ○○-たん is a sort of baby-talk version of ○○-ちゃん, implying more than just the closeness between the speaker and subject, but something deeply affectionate toward the person it’s used to address.",[320,8217,8218],{},[11,8219,8220],{},"Like a number of words that appear in manga and anime, the times you’ll hear this in the wild are few and far between.",[11,8222,8223,8224],{},"Really, it’s only used similarly to Subaru’s usage above, like with a fan referring to the idol they oshi as ○○-たん. ",[26,8225,8226],{},"(I know we said \"common\" honorifics to start with, but there's no other place to put this one ;;^^ call it a bonus.)",[42,8228],{},[45,8230,8232],{"id":8231},"_4-honorifics-that-are-used-as-titles","4 honorifics that are used as titles",[11,8234,8235],{},"Additionally, there are a number of Japanese honorifics that function like specific titles. Let’s look at those now.",[847,8237,8239],{"id":8238},"先輩-senpai-your-superior-at-school-or-the-office","先輩 (Senpai) — Your superior at school or the office",[11,8241,8242,8243,8245,8246],{},"The first, and another you’re probably familiar with is -先輩 ",[103,8244],{"src":8067,":type":149},". -先輩 refers to someone higher in status than you, such as your superiors in the office, or upperclassmen at school. ",[26,8247,8248,8249,3892],{},"(While we're here, the opposite of -先輩 is 後輩 ",[103,8250],{"src":8108,":type":149},[320,8252,8253],{},[11,8254,8255],{},"Note that this is a term that exists almost exclusively inside a group—not outside of it. Meaning, you might refer to someone as ○○-先輩 in the office or when talking to them, but if you were introducing them to someone from outside, like someone from another company, you’d go back to calling them ○○-さん.",[11,8257,8258],{},"Finally, this is rather niche, but occasionally this title is flipped—-輩先 (-paisen) instead of -先輩 (-senpai)—as a term of closeness for someone who’s higher in status than you.",[847,8260,8262],{"id":8261},"先生-sensei-teachers-doctors-lawyers","先生 (Sensei) — Teachers, doctors, lawyers",[50,8264],{"src":8265,"width":2478,"height":1998,"alt":8266},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-honorifics-sensei.jpeg","A photograph of some elegant looking desks—just the type that might be in sensei's office",[11,8268,8269,8270,8272],{},"You’ve probably already heard -先生 ",[103,8271],{"src":7964,":type":149}," for teachers, but this title extends beyond just the classroom. It can also be used to refer to doctors, lawyers, or really anyone with specific knowledge in an area.",[847,8274,8276],{"id":8275},"博士-hakase-professor","博士 (Hakase) — Professor",[11,8278,8279,8280,8283],{},"-博士 ",[103,8281],{"src":8282,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-博士.mp3"," means professor, and is mostly used in university or laboratory settings. This correlates to the English title Dr., and is what you’d refer to someone who has received a PhD.",[847,8285,8287],{"id":8286},"氏-shi-family-names-news-use","氏 (Shi) — Family names, news use",[11,8289,8290,8291,8294,8295,8298],{},"Finally, there’s -氏 ",[103,8292],{"src":8293,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-氏.mp3",". -氏 isn’t really an honorific in the same way, but is used to refer to someone’s family name, particularly on the news. One way to think about it is that -氏 is ",[26,8296,8297],{},"formal",", but not polite (though it can be polite to refer to someone this way).",[11,8300,8301],{},"You probably don’t need to worry too much about the usage unless you intend to become a newscaster or reporter in Japan, but you’ll see this fairly frequently, so it’s good to know how it’s used.",[42,8303],{},[45,8305,8307],{"id":8306},"_4-titles-for-use-in-the-office","4 titles for use in the office",[50,8309],{"src":8310,"width":2478,"height":8094,"alt":8311},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-honorifics-business.jpeg","A photo of a Japanese salaryman walking back form the station",[11,8313,8314],{},"There are also honorifics used in business settings... but you’ll likely only encounter if you decide to move to Japan and work in a Japanese-speaking office.",[11,8316,8317],{},"While most \"normal\" employees would simply be referred to as ○○-さん (or one of the above-mentioned titles, such as ○○-くん), there are a special set of titles used to refer to people in managerial roles.",[847,8319,8321],{"id":8320},"部長-bucho-department-manager","部長 (-Bucho) — Department manager",[11,8323,8324,8325,8328],{},"-部長 ",[103,8326],{"src":8327,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-部長.mp3"," is used to refer to the head of a department in a company. It’s a common workplace title, and is typically used after someone’s name to show their role and rank.",[847,8330,8332],{"id":8331},"課長-kacho-section-manager","課長 (-Kacho) — Section manager",[11,8334,8335,8336,8339],{},"-課長 ",[103,8337],{"src":8338,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-課長.mp3"," refers to the manager of a section or smaller division within a company. It ranks just below -部長, and you’ll often hear it in meetings or formal introductions.",[847,8341,8343],{"id":8342},"会長-kaicho-chairman","会長 (-Kaicho) — Chairman",[11,8345,8346,8347,8350],{},"-会長 ",[103,8348],{"src":8349,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-会長.mp3"," is the title for the chairman of a company or organization. This role typically oversees the board or long-term direction of a business. It’s a high-ranking title and carries a lot of respect, and is often used in formal company settings or public references.",[847,8352,8354],{"id":8353},"社長-shacho-company-president","社長 (-Shacho) — Company president",[11,8356,8357,8358,8361],{},"-社長 ",[103,8359],{"src":8360,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-社長.mp3","is one of the most recognizable business titles in Japanese. It refers to the president or CEO of a company, and is often used both inside and outside the company when referring to the top executive. You might hear this in greetings like 社長、お疲れ様です (“President, thank you for your hard work”).",[42,8363],{},[45,8365,8367],{"id":8366},"how-to-use-honorifics-now-that-weve-learned-a-few","How to use honorifics, now that we've learned a few",[50,8369],{"src":8370,"width":8371,"height":8372,"alt":8373},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-honorifics-howto.jpeg",1915,1428,"A couple of dudes sitting by the side of the street eating lunch; they definitely aren't using honorific language with each other",[11,8375,8376,8377,8379,8380,415],{},"In general, it’s best to start with -さん ",[103,8378],{"src":7956,":type":149},", unless you’re referring to a client or a customer in a business context, when you should use -様 ",[103,8381],{"src":7992,":type":149},[320,8383,8384],{},[11,8385,8386],{},"If you meet someone for the first time, they’ll probably introduce themselves with their family name, and you can refer to them as ○○-さん from then on.",[11,8388,8389,8390,8392],{},"If you’re meeting someone who’s of a distinct status, like a doctor, you should refer to them accordingly. Alternatively, if you meet someone who’s of a lower status, like a young man joining the company you’ve worked at for three years, you could go straight to referring to them with a closer term, such as ○○-くん ",[103,8391],{"src":8101,":type":149},", but know that not everyone will appreciate this. It’s generally rude to refer to someone overly-familiarly, even if contextually it makes sense. If you're not sure what to do, pay attention to how others address someone.",[11,8394,8395],{},"Really, a lot of times people will tell you how they want to be addressed. Some people might ask your age (or give you theirs) as a subtle means of determining what honorific to use. Perhaps they’ll ask you to call them by their given name from the start; it varies person by person.",[11,8397,8398],{},"Also, the rules and conventions that apply between Japanese people are a bit different when applied to foreigners, in both directions. For example, it can be difficult to get Japanese people to refer to you as ○○-さん, in certain contexts. Like all things with cultural exchange, try to be a good listener, open to cultural differences, and be understanding when circumstances are different than expected.",[11,8400,8401],{},"Finally, what if you’ve known someone for a while, and want to call them by a more-familiar honorific, or something like a nickname? For one, try to listen.",[320,8403,8404],{},[11,8405,8406],{},"If you’ve hung out with someone of similar status to you for a while, and they suddenly drop -さん when addressing you, that’s a good sign you can do the same.",[11,8408,8409],{},"Also, don’t be afraid to ask!",[11,8411,8412],{},"Just like in most cultures, people will tell you how they prefer to be addressed, either when being introduced, or later on, and if you want to call someone something else, or would prefer to be addressed by another name or title, just ask!",[45,8414,8416],{"id":8415},"common-questions-about-honorifics","Common questions about honorifics",[11,8418,8419],{},"Whew! That’s a lot covered, but let’s summarize some of the key points in a FAQ:",[8421,8422,8424],"accordion",{"heading":8423},"1. What’s the safest honorific to use if I’m unsure of someone’s status?",[11,8425,8426,8427,8429],{},"Stick with -さん ",[103,8428],{"src":7956,":type":149}," in most cases. It's very flexible.",[8421,8431,8433],{"heading":8432},"2. Do honorifics change in written versus spoken Japanese?",[11,8434,8435,8436,8438,8439,8441],{},"Occasionally! Some titles, like -氏 ",[103,8437],{"src":8293,":type":149},", are mostly used in formal situations, like newspapers. Other terms, like -たん ",[103,8440],{"src":8211,":type":149}," are really used most in pop-culture, like manga. Japanese has a ton of different words that are context-specific, and honorifics are no different!",[8421,8443,8445,8448],{"heading":8444},"3. Are there any honorifics I should avoid as a beginner, or ones that are outdated?",[11,8446,8447],{},"While all the Japanese honorifics introduced above are beginner level, what’s advanced is the ability to read the room and know what’s considered acceptable in what context.",[320,8449,8450],{},[11,8451,8452],{},"The biggest mistake you can make as a beginner is getting too casual, too quickly.",[8421,8454,8456,8468],{"heading":8455},"4. Does my own social status affect which honorifics I should use?",[11,8457,8458,8459,8461,8462,8464,8465,8467],{},"Yes, depending on context! For example, in most cases the Japanese honorifics -ちゃん ",[103,8460],{"src":7960,":type":149}," and -くん ",[103,8463],{"src":8101,":type":149}," refer to someone of lower status than you, so you don’t want to use them for someone who is older than you, for example. Then, the customer is placed higher than the staff in Japanese culture, just like in the West, which is why -様 ",[103,8466],{"src":7992,":type":149}," is used to address clients at work.",[320,8469,8470],{},[11,8471,8472],{},"Status is hugely important in determining what Japanese honorific to use, and when.",[8421,8474,8476],{"heading":8475},"5. Are certain honorifics gendered?",[11,8477,8478,8479,8481,8482,8484],{},"Yes, to varying degrees. It’s most common to hear -くん ",[103,8480],{"src":8101,":type":149}," used to address boys, and -ちゃん ",[103,8483],{"src":7960,":type":149}," used to address girls... but nearly all Japanese honorifics can be used for people of both genders, in the right context.",[8421,8486,8488,8491,8500],{"heading":8487},"6. Are honorifics always necessary?",[11,8489,8490],{},"Not necessarily; it just depends on the context!",[320,8492,8493],{},[11,8494,8495,8496,8499],{},"Not using an honorific in Japanese is called 呼び捨て (yobisute) ",[103,8497],{"src":8498,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-呼び捨て.mp3"," : よび (yobi) as in 呼ぶ (yobu), to call, and すて (sute) as in 捨てる (suteru), to throw out.",[11,8501,8502],{},"This is seen as more intimate than using a Japanese honorific, and it could thus be considered rude if you address someone you don’t know that well in this way. However, friends will often simply address each other by their names (in other words, 呼び捨て'ing). Additionally, especially across cross-cultural relationships, certain Japanese people may opt to use the Western convention of calling them by their given name from the start.",[8421,8504,8506],{"heading":8505},"7. Is it rude to use the wrong honorific?\n",[11,8507,8508],{},"It can be! Remember, honorifics are used to convey respect in Japanese, so they should be treated carefully. For example, if you meet someone for the first time, and immediately start addressing them with an affectionate term (or worse, no honorific at all), that would be seen as rude.",[8421,8510,8512,8515,8518,8526,8529,8534],{"heading":8511},"8. Is using an honorific always polite?\n",[11,8513,8514],{},"Not quite.",[11,8516,8517],{},"While politeness and formality are related, they’re not the same.",[304,8519,8520,8523],{},[307,8521,8522],{},"Formality is mostly about matching the context or situation language is used",[307,8524,8525],{},"Politeness is mostly about the respect or distance used between the speaker and the subject.",[11,8527,8528],{},"For example. while it's definitely good form and also polite to refer to someone as ○○-さん the first time you meet them...",[320,8530,8531],{},[11,8532,8533],{},"..if you suddenly start using ○○-さん to address a friend you’ve known for years and who you usually call by name (without honorifics), that would be off-putting. Imagine if your friend suddenly called you Mr. or Mrs.",[11,8535,8536],{},"Similarly, someone could use polite speech like です-ます form while still being rude. Context is king!",[45,8538,8540],{"id":8539},"read-this-if-youre-feeling-a-little-intimidated","(Read this if you're feeling a little intimidated)",[11,8542,8543],{},"Just so you know—it's normal to feel a bit confused. This is a whole aspect of communication that we just don't really use in English.",[11,8545,8546,8547],{},"Just know that as you spend more time interacting with Japanese, you'll hear honorifics used. ",[26,8548,8549],{},"A lot.",[11,8551,8552],{},"For example, you'll be watching this—whatever this is—and see Shitamura-kun told to adjust his pose a bit:",[50,8554],{"src":8555,"width":8556,"height":953,"alt":8557},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-honorifics-plug1.jpeg",1978,"Three Japanese men, who seem a little too old to be called -kun, being ... well, boys",[11,8559,8560],{},"... or you'll be watching a high-school drama and a girl will be surprised when Taichi-kun shows up unexpectedly behind her!",[50,8562],{"src":8563,"width":8564,"height":8565,"alt":8566},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-honorifics-plug2.jpeg",1970,1252,"A high school girl, surprised when taichi kun shows up behind her in class",[11,8568,8569],{},"And, slowly, bit by bit, you'll gradually come to feel what -kun means—what it feels like to address someone or be addressed as -kun. You don't need to do anything or worry. So long as you're spending time interacting with Japanese, it'll come naturally.",[11,8571,8572],{},"If you're still not sure, though—we cover several common honorifics in our Japanese course:",[50,8574],{"src":8575,"width":8576,"height":8565,"alt":8577},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-san.jpeg",1782,"A screenshot of Migaku's Japanese academy course, showing how we teach honorifics",[11,8579,8580],{},"Each honorific will be introduced in its own lesson, and you'll build an intuitive feel for how they work by learning sentences that include them. Each sentence in our course includes only one new word, so the learning curve is really smooth!",[674,8582],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,8584],{},[45,8586,8588],{"id":8587},"the-basics-of-japanese-honorifics-cultural-respect-in-a-suffix","The basics of Japanese honorifics: cultural respect in a suffix",[11,8590,8591],{},"Japanese honorifics are a tricky part of the language, and like the rest of Japanese, carry a lot of cultural weight. Specifically, they help show respect towards others, and help define the level of distance and familiarity between a speaker and a subject.",[11,8593,8594],{},"It's admittedly a bit confusing, but...",[320,8596,8597],{},[11,8598,8599],{},"If you consume Japanese media you enjoy, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will improve. Period.",[11,8601,8602],{},"It’s one thing to know what each of these Japanese honorifics mean, and another thing to be able to put them to use—but with practice, you’ll get the hang of it.",[11,8604,8605,8606,506,8611,3691],{},"Good luck, ",[15,8607,8610],{"href":8608,"rel":8609},"https:\u002F\u002Fjisho.org\u002Fsearch\u002F%E8%AA%AD%E8%80%85%E6%A7%98",[971],"読者様",[103,8612],{"src":8613,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-読者様.mp3",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":8615},[8616,8617,8624,8630,8636,8637,8638,8639],{"id":7978,"depth":707,"text":7979},{"id":8039,"depth":707,"text":8040,"children":8618},[8619,8620,8621,8622,8623],{"id":8046,"depth":1016,"text":8047},{"id":8089,"depth":1016,"text":8090},{"id":8133,"depth":1016,"text":8134},{"id":8173,"depth":1016,"text":8174},{"id":8204,"depth":1016,"text":8205},{"id":8231,"depth":707,"text":8232,"children":8625},[8626,8627,8628,8629],{"id":8238,"depth":1016,"text":8239},{"id":8261,"depth":1016,"text":8262},{"id":8275,"depth":1016,"text":8276},{"id":8286,"depth":1016,"text":8287},{"id":8306,"depth":707,"text":8307,"children":8631},[8632,8633,8634,8635],{"id":8320,"depth":1016,"text":8321},{"id":8331,"depth":1016,"text":8332},{"id":8342,"depth":1016,"text":8343},{"id":8353,"depth":1016,"text":8354},{"id":8366,"depth":707,"text":8367},{"id":8415,"depth":707,"text":8416},{"id":8539,"depth":707,"text":8540},{"id":8587,"depth":707,"text":8588},"Unsure of how or why to use Japanese honorifics? Let’s look at some common Japanese honorifics, their meaning and use, and how you can put them to use in your own Japanese.",{"timestampUnix":8642,"slug":8643,"h1":8644,"image":8645,"tags":8648},1750940063556,"japanese-honorifics","A guide to understanding common Japanese honorific suffixes",{"src":8646,"width":2478,"height":3667,"alt":8647},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-honorifics-thumbnail.jpeg","A photograph of two Japanese people standing next to each other, likely close enough that they don't use japanese honorifics anymore",[8649,8650],"discussion","culture","\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-honorifics","---\ntitle: 'Understanding Japanese Honorifics: How to Use Suffixes Like San, Kun, and More'\ndescription: 'Unsure of how or why to use Japanese honorifics? Let’s look at some common Japanese honorifics, their meaning and use, and how you can put them to use in your own Japanese.'\ntimestampUnix: 1750940063556\nslug: 'japanese-honorifics'\nh1: 'A guide to understanding common Japanese honorific suffixes'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-honorifics-thumbnail.jpeg'\n width: 1920\n height: 1440\n alt: \"A photograph of two Japanese people standing next to each other, likely close enough that they don't use japanese honorifics anymore\"\ntags:\n - discussion\n - culture\n---\n\nMost likely, even before you started to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), you'd already heard these mysterious words -さん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さん.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, -ちゃん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-チャン.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> , or -先生 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-先生.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> . Broadly, these are called honorifics. But what even are Japanese honorifics, and how do you use them?\n\nYou’ve come to the right place! In this article, we’ll cover all that and more:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\nSo fear not, and let’s learn what these titles mean, when and why to use them, and how to politely address those around you.\n\n---\n\n## What even are Japanese honorifics?\n\nIn Japanese, _honorifics_ is the blanket term used to describe terms attached to words to convey respect or status, or simply be more polite. Usually, when people say Japanese honorifics, they mean suffixes like -さん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さん.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> or -様 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-様.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, but honorifics can also refer to other terms, like the honorific prefixes お- \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-お.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> or ご- \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ご.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> to make something sound more polite (e.g., お風呂 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-お風呂.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> instead of 風呂 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-風呂.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>).\n\nThis might sound complicated, but we actually have something similar in English: the pronouns _Mr._ and _Mrs._ are very similar in concept... but there are many more of them, each with a different level of politeness and formality. Which one you use depends on the age and status of the person you're talking to, the situation, and your relationship with them.\n\nIn a nutshell, Japanese honorifics are just part of polite speech, and you'll hear them all the time.\n\nLet's get to it!\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Do you use an honorific for yourself?\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\u003CCenteredText>Not quite; honorifics are basically never applied to your own name. In Japanese, you’ll almost always use plain speech to talk about yourself, and it’s no different here. Mostly, this is only done as a joke. When you introduce yourself, just give your name as-is.\n> \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n## 5 common Japanese honorifics to start with\n\nWith all that out of the way, let’s look at some of the Japanese honorifics you’ll hear most often (and least often!) in everyday use, break down what they mean, and explain how you can use them yourself.\n\n### さん (San) — A polite title that’s almost always okay\n\n-さん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さん.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is the Japanese honorific you’re going to hear most. It’s the most broadly-applicable, and can be used by anyone towards people of either gender, and almost any age or status.\n\nThe closest equivalent to -さん is probably Mr. \u002F Mrs. in English. Like in English, -さん can be used to refer to people you don’t know very well, those older than you, those higher in status—and, in some situations, even with people who are younger or lower in status than you.\n\n> The only time you can go wrong with -さん is if you use it to address a person who has a more appropriate title, such as -先生 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-先生.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> or -先輩 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-先輩.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>; or, in some specific business situations.\n\nIt’s a great go-to title, and should be thought of as the default in most situations.\n\nFinally, -さん is used to refer to someone in a general sense. For example, a bookshop is a 本屋 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-本屋.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, and the term 本屋さん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ほんやさん.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> could be used to refer to someone who works at a bookstore, similar to how お客様 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-お客様.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is used to address customers in general.\n\n### くん (Kun) — A casual address, mostly for boys\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-honorifics-kun.jpeg\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1285\" alt=\"A screenshot of several Japanese school boys, about the age that it would be appropriate to refer to them by the honorific -kun\" \u002F>\n\n-くん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-くん.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> and the next title, -ちゃん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-チャン.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, are similar in that they’re more casual and affectionate titles. -くん is usually used to refer to someone who is of lower status than you, such as underclassmen or your 後輩 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-後輩.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> (_kōhai_, those under you at work). Compared to -さん, it closes the gap a bit between you and the person you’re addressing—you're no longer total strangers with this person.\n\n> More often than not, this title is applied to boys. You’ll hear male elementary school students referred to as ○○-くん, for example.\n\nThat said, this isn’t _exclusively_ used for boys. Girls and even young women can be referred to with -くん, if the person using it is of higher status than them, such as their superiors at work. _(Editor's note: Until you get batter at Japanese, this is something I recommend you make note of, but don't try yourself.)_\n\nBecause this is a close address, you want to be careful about using it, so as not to imply a closer relationship than what’s perceived.\n\n### ちゃん (Chan) — An affectionate name, often for loved ones\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-honorifics-chan.jpeg\" width=\"1913\" height=\"1349\" alt=\"Two Japanese girls out at a festival, likely close enough to refer to each other as -chan \" \u002F>\n\nNow on to -ちゃん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-チャン.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, a term many have already heard. -ちゃん is used to refer to someone affectionately, even closer than -くん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-くん.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> does. Generally, this is most often used towards women, for example girls calling their friends ○○-ちゃん, or boyfriends calling their girlfriend ○○-ちゃん.\n\nHowever, like -くん, this is not exclusively used for girls. Boys can be called ○○-ちゃん, especially if they’re babies, or as a term of extreme closeness, like a girlfriend calling their boyfriend a nickname that uses -ちゃん. -ちゃん is also used to refer to the elderly in certain contexts—it’s not rare to meet someone who calls their grandfather おじいちゃん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-おじいちゃん.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>.\n\nFinally, compared to -くん, -ちゃん implies an even closer relationship, and should be used with serious caution.\n\n> If you’re a man, and you suddenly refer to a woman you know as ○○-ちゃん, it could be seen as a little _too_ close, or at worst, kind of creepy; even if you’re older or higher status than the person you’re addressing.\n\nIn most contexts, it’s probably best to stick with ○○-さん, or ask first, unless the situation is abundantly clear (like you’re an adult who’s meeting a child.)\n\n### 様 (Sama) — A term of respect, used often in business\n\n-様 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-お客様.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is often translated as Lord \\_\\_\\_, so it probably never gets used, right? Nope! You’ll hear this one all the time in Japan, perhaps second-most behind -さん! That’s because this is often used in business contexts, from office work to simply walking into a conbini.\n\nFor example, in most situations, a restaurant employee or shopkeeper will refer to customers whose names they don’t know as 客様 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-客様.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> (or even お客様 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-お客様.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>; the addition of お- makes it even more polite!) So in that way, you’ll be called Lord \\_\\_\\_ all the time in Japan!\n\nOf course, this isn’t the only time it’s used. You’ll see this a lot in other business contexts, such as over email. If you have to email a company as a client, you can refer to whomever you’re emailing as ○○-さん, but you better believe they’ll refer to you as ○○-様.\n\nLike the discussion of politeness versus formality above, be careful to note the direction of the conversation. You might think that since ○○-さま means something like Lord \\_\\_\\_ that it’s always acceptable, but it implies a distance between the speaker and subject. Additionally, it can be used to make a joke of or mock someone.\n\n> Contrary to popular belief, there is such a thing as irony in Japanese, but its usage is a bit different from the West. Be careful!\n\n### たん (Tan) — Baby-talk almost exclusively reserved for manga \u002F anime\n\nAh ○○-たん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-たん.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>. If you’re an anime fan, you’re probably most familiar with this being used by Re:Zero’s Subaru towards Emilia, the elf girl he’s crushing on.\n\nStrictly speaking, ○○-たん is a sort of baby-talk version of ○○-ちゃん, implying more than just the closeness between the speaker and subject, but something deeply affectionate toward the person it’s used to address.\n\n> Like a number of words that appear in manga and anime, the times you’ll hear this in the wild are few and far between.\n\nReally, it’s only used similarly to Subaru’s usage above, like with a fan referring to the idol they oshi as ○○-たん. _(I know we said \"common\" honorifics to start with, but there's no other place to put this one ;;^^ call it a bonus.)_\n\n---\n\n## 4 honorifics that are used as titles\n\nAdditionally, there are a number of Japanese honorifics that function like specific titles. Let’s look at those now.\n\n### 先輩 (Senpai) — Your superior at school or the office\n\nThe first, and another you’re probably familiar with is -先輩 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-先輩.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>. -先輩 refers to someone higher in status than you, such as your superiors in the office, or upperclassmen at school. _(While we're here, the opposite of -先輩 is 後輩 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-後輩.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>)_\n\n> Note that this is a term that exists almost exclusively inside a group—not outside of it. Meaning, you might refer to someone as ○○-先輩 in the office or when talking to them, but if you were introducing them to someone from outside, like someone from another company, you’d go back to calling them ○○-さん.\n\nFinally, this is rather niche, but occasionally this title is flipped—-輩先 (-paisen) instead of -先輩 (-senpai)—as a term of closeness for someone who’s higher in status than you.\n\n### 先生 (Sensei) — Teachers, doctors, lawyers\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-honorifics-sensei.jpeg\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" alt=\"A photograph of some elegant looking desks—just the type that might be in sensei's office\" \u002F>\n\nYou’ve probably already heard -先生 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-先生.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> for teachers, but this title extends beyond just the classroom. It can also be used to refer to doctors, lawyers, or really anyone with specific knowledge in an area.\n\n### 博士 (Hakase) — Professor\n\n-博士 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-博士.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> means professor, and is mostly used in university or laboratory settings. This correlates to the English title Dr., and is what you’d refer to someone who has received a PhD.\n\n### 氏 (Shi) — Family names, news use\n\nFinally, there’s -氏 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-氏.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>. -氏 isn’t really an honorific in the same way, but is used to refer to someone’s family name, particularly on the news. One way to think about it is that -氏 is _formal_, but not polite (though it can be polite to refer to someone this way).\n\nYou probably don’t need to worry too much about the usage unless you intend to become a newscaster or reporter in Japan, but you’ll see this fairly frequently, so it’s good to know how it’s used.\n\n---\n\n## 4 titles for use in the office\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-honorifics-business.jpeg\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1285\" alt=\"A photo of a Japanese salaryman walking back form the station\" \u002F>\n\nThere are also honorifics used in business settings... but you’ll likely only encounter if you decide to move to Japan and work in a Japanese-speaking office.\n\nWhile most \"normal\" employees would simply be referred to as ○○-さん (or one of the above-mentioned titles, such as ○○-くん), there are a special set of titles used to refer to people in managerial roles.\n\n### 部長 (-Bucho) — Department manager\n\n-部長 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-部長.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is used to refer to the head of a department in a company. It’s a common workplace title, and is typically used after someone’s name to show their role and rank.\n\n### 課長 (-Kacho) — Section manager\n\n-課長 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-課長.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> refers to the manager of a section or smaller division within a company. It ranks just below -部長, and you’ll often hear it in meetings or formal introductions.\n\n### 会長 (-Kaicho) — Chairman\n\n-会長 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-会長.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is the title for the chairman of a company or organization. This role typically oversees the board or long-term direction of a business. It’s a high-ranking title and carries a lot of respect, and is often used in formal company settings or public references.\n\n### 社長 (-Shacho) — Company president\n\n-社長 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-社長.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>is one of the most recognizable business titles in Japanese. It refers to the president or CEO of a company, and is often used both inside and outside the company when referring to the top executive. You might hear this in greetings like 社長、お疲れ様です (“President, thank you for your hard work”).\n\n---\n\n## How to use honorifics, now that we've learned a few\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-honorifics-howto.jpeg\" width=\"1915\" height=\"1428\" alt=\"A couple of dudes sitting by the side of the street eating lunch; they definitely aren't using honorific language with each other\" \u002F>\n\nIn general, it’s best to start with -さん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さん.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, unless you’re referring to a client or a customer in a business context, when you should use -様 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-様.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>.\n\n> If you meet someone for the first time, they’ll probably introduce themselves with their family name, and you can refer to them as ○○-さん from then on.\n\nIf you’re meeting someone who’s of a distinct status, like a doctor, you should refer to them accordingly. Alternatively, if you meet someone who’s of a lower status, like a young man joining the company you’ve worked at for three years, you could go straight to referring to them with a closer term, such as ○○-くん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-くん.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, but know that not everyone will appreciate this. It’s generally rude to refer to someone overly-familiarly, even if contextually it makes sense. If you're not sure what to do, pay attention to how others address someone.\n\nReally, a lot of times people will tell you how they want to be addressed. Some people might ask your age (or give you theirs) as a subtle means of determining what honorific to use. Perhaps they’ll ask you to call them by their given name from the start; it varies person by person.\n\nAlso, the rules and conventions that apply between Japanese people are a bit different when applied to foreigners, in both directions. For example, it can be difficult to get Japanese people to refer to you as ○○-さん, in certain contexts. Like all things with cultural exchange, try to be a good listener, open to cultural differences, and be understanding when circumstances are different than expected.\n\nFinally, what if you’ve known someone for a while, and want to call them by a more-familiar honorific, or something like a nickname? For one, try to listen.\n\n> If you’ve hung out with someone of similar status to you for a while, and they suddenly drop -さん when addressing you, that’s a good sign you can do the same.\n\nAlso, don’t be afraid to ask!\n\nJust like in most cultures, people will tell you how they prefer to be addressed, either when being introduced, or later on, and if you want to call someone something else, or would prefer to be addressed by another name or title, just ask!\n\n## Common questions about honorifics\n\nWhew! That’s a lot covered, but let’s summarize some of the key points in a FAQ:\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"1. What’s the safest honorific to use if I’m unsure of someone’s status?\">\n\nStick with -さん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さん.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> in most cases. It's very flexible.\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"2. Do honorifics change in written versus spoken Japanese?\">\n\nOccasionally! Some titles, like -氏 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-氏.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, are mostly used in formal situations, like newspapers. Other terms, like -たん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-たん.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> are really used most in pop-culture, like manga. Japanese has a ton of different words that are context-specific, and honorifics are no different!\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"3. Are there any honorifics I should avoid as a beginner, or ones that are outdated?\">\n\nWhile all the Japanese honorifics introduced above are beginner level, what’s advanced is the ability to read the room and know what’s considered acceptable in what context.\n\n> The biggest mistake you can make as a beginner is getting too casual, too quickly.\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"4. Does my own social status affect which honorifics I should use?\">\n\nYes, depending on context! For example, in most cases the Japanese honorifics -ちゃん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-チャン.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> and -くん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-くん.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> refer to someone of lower status than you, so you don’t want to use them for someone who is older than you, for example. Then, the customer is placed higher than the staff in Japanese culture, just like in the West, which is why -様 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-様.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is used to address clients at work.\n\n> Status is hugely important in determining what Japanese honorific to use, and when.\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"5. Are certain honorifics gendered?\">\n\nYes, to varying degrees. It’s most common to hear -くん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-くん.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> used to address boys, and -ちゃん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-チャン.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> used to address girls... but nearly all Japanese honorifics can be used for people of both genders, in the right context.\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"6. Are honorifics always necessary?\">\n\nNot necessarily; it just depends on the context!\n\n> Not using an honorific in Japanese is called 呼び捨て (yobisute) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-呼び捨て.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> : よび (yobi) as in 呼ぶ (yobu), to call, and すて (sute) as in 捨てる (suteru), to throw out.\n\nThis is seen as more intimate than using a Japanese honorific, and it could thus be considered rude if you address someone you don’t know that well in this way. However, friends will often simply address each other by their names (in other words, 呼び捨て'ing). Additionally, especially across cross-cultural relationships, certain Japanese people may opt to use the Western convention of calling them by their given name from the start.\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"7. Is it rude to use the wrong honorific?\n\">\n\nIt can be! Remember, honorifics are used to convey respect in Japanese, so they should be treated carefully. For example, if you meet someone for the first time, and immediately start addressing them with an affectionate term (or worse, no honorific at all), that would be seen as rude.\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"8. Is using an honorific always polite?\n\">\n\nNot quite.\n\nWhile politeness and formality are related, they’re not the same.\n\n- Formality is mostly about matching the context or situation language is used\n- Politeness is mostly about the respect or distance used between the speaker and the subject.\n\nFor example. while it's definitely good form and also polite to refer to someone as ○○-さん the first time you meet them...\n\n> ..if you suddenly start using ○○-さん to address a friend you’ve known for years and who you usually call by name (without honorifics), that would be off-putting. Imagine if your friend suddenly called you Mr. or Mrs.\n\nSimilarly, someone could use polite speech like です-ます form while still being rude. Context is king!\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n## (Read this if you're feeling a little intimidated)\n\nJust so you know—it's normal to feel a bit confused. This is a whole aspect of communication that we just don't really use in English.\n\nJust know that as you spend more time interacting with Japanese, you'll hear honorifics used. _A lot._\n\nFor example, you'll be watching this—whatever this is—and see Shitamura-kun told to adjust his pose a bit:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-honorifics-plug1.jpeg\" width=\"1978\" height=\"1258\" alt=\"Three Japanese men, who seem a little too old to be called -kun, being ... well, boys\" \u002F>\n\n... or you'll be watching a high-school drama and a girl will be surprised when Taichi-kun shows up unexpectedly behind her!\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-honorifics-plug2.jpeg\" width=\"1970\" height=\"1252\" alt=\"A high school girl, surprised when taichi kun shows up behind her in class\" \u002F>\n\nAnd, slowly, bit by bit, you'll gradually come to feel what -kun means—what it feels like to address someone or be addressed as -kun. You don't need to do anything or worry. So long as you're spending time interacting with Japanese, it'll come naturally.\n\nIf you're still not sure, though—we cover several common honorifics in our Japanese course:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-san.jpeg\" width=\"1782\" height=\"1252\" alt=\"A screenshot of Migaku's Japanese academy course, showing how we teach honorifics\" \u002F>\n\nEach honorific will be introduced in its own lesson, and you'll build an intuitive feel for how they work by learning sentences that include them. Each sentence in our course includes only one new word, so the learning curve is really smooth!\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## The basics of Japanese honorifics: cultural respect in a suffix\n\nJapanese honorifics are a tricky part of the language, and like the rest of Japanese, carry a lot of cultural weight. Specifically, they help show respect towards others, and help define the level of distance and familiarity between a speaker and a subject.\n\nIt's admittedly a bit confusing, but...\n\n> If you consume Japanese media you enjoy, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will improve. Period.\n\nIt’s one thing to know what each of these Japanese honorifics mean, and another thing to be able to put them to use—but with practice, you’ll get the hang of it.\n\nGood luck, [読者様](https:\u002F\u002Fjisho.org\u002Fsearch\u002F%E8%AA%AD%E8%80%85%E6%A7%98) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-読者様.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>!\n",{"title":7945,"description":8640},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-honorifics","eL1WM0wXYjjgO0q8oOSV2c28cTNvkuRDthV4qzbe0ho","June 26, 2025",{"id":8658,"title":8659,"body":8660,"description":9417,"extension":717,"meta":9418,"navigation":730,"path":9428,"rawbody":9429,"seo":9430,"stem":9431,"__hash__":9432,"timestampUnix":9419,"slug":9420,"h1":9421,"image":9422,"tags":9425,"_dir":736,"timestamp":9433},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-horror-movies.md","Learn Japanese with These 7 Japanese Horror Movies!",{"type":8,"value":8661,"toc":9402},[8662,8668,8671,8673,8675,8679,8682,8687,8690,8693,8700,8703,8707,8710,8713,8729,8738,8751,8754,8756,8760,8763,8766,8769,8772,8776,8787,8790,8793,8796,8799,8803,8806,8809,8812,8816,8819,8822,8827,8830,8834,8837,8846,8849,8854,8858,8861,8864,8867,8870,8873,8877,8880,8883,8886,8890,8893,8937,8940,8942,8946,8949,9266,9270,9277,9280,9297,9300,9309,9312,9315,9318,9323,9332,9335,9338,9355,9360,9363,9366,9368,9370,9374,9377,9380,9385,9388,9391],[11,8663,8664,8665,8667],{},"Who says we should wait until Halloween to watch scary movies? Better yet, what if we could indulge in a frightfest and ",[15,8666,18],{"href":17}," at the same time?",[11,8669,8670],{},"Whether you’re a horror fanatic or scaredy-cat, you may be surprised by the wealth of knowledge hiding within these Japanese horror movies. In this article, we’ll share some J-horror recommendations for learners eager to conquer their fears.",[39,8672],{},[42,8674],{},[45,8676,8678],{"id":8677},"why-watching-movies-is-a-valid-way-to-learn-japanese","Why watching movies is a valid way to learn Japanese",[11,8680,8681],{},"By watching a film in your target language, you’ll be exposed to the vibrance of language in action—pronunciation, gesture, common phrases, vocabulary, and conversational grammar, just to name a few items. Best of all, these points are kneaded into an exciting story with visuals to keep you engaged to the credits. Furthermore:",[320,8683,8684],{},[11,8685,8686],{},"When you encounter a new word or saying in a story, the context will help you to remember it.",[11,8688,8689],{},"Even the video nasties can equip you with useful vocabulary.",[11,8691,8692],{},"Consider the founding emotion of horror: Fear.",[11,8694,8695,8696,8699],{},"As humans, we all inevitably find ourselves in the grasp of an anxiety-inducing situation from time to time. Sure, we may not find ourselves actively haunted by the vengeful spirit of a deceased mother and her meowing child, but the emotions translated on screen parallel the fears found in everyday life. We can ",[26,8697,8698],{},"understand"," fear. Scary movies are scary even if you don't quite understand everything, and this is great news for learners.",[11,8701,8702],{},"Plus, figuring out how to describe the indescribable will take your Japanese to the next level!",[45,8704,8706],{"id":8705},"what-is-j-horror","What is J-horror?",[11,8708,8709],{},"You’ve probably guessed it. J-horror is the catchall term for Japanese-made horror media.",[11,8711,8712],{},"... but, before we get too far along, it's worth pointing something out: much of the \"Japanese\" horror you may have seen are remakes of original Japanese movies.",[304,8714,8715,8722],{},[307,8716,8717,8718,8721],{},"We ",[26,8719,8720],{},"will"," touch on two films you've likely heard of—The Ring and The Grudge. We would be remiss to not pay tribute to the two most recognizable faces of the genre.",[307,8723,8724,8725,8728],{},"Beyond that, though, we ",[26,8726,8727],{},"won't"," feature the recognizable Hollywood remakes of J-horror classics that Western audiences are more familiar with.",[11,8730,8731,8732,8737],{},"As for why we've made that choice—here's the top comment on IMDB's page for ",[15,8733,8736],{"href":8734,"rel":8735},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.imdb.com\u002Ftitle\u002Ftt0178868\u002F",[971],"the original Japanese version of The Ring",":",[320,8739,8740],{},[11,8741,8742,8745,8746],{},[26,8743,8744],{},"I watched The Ring before Ringu and was sorry that I did. Everybody thinks that the US always does things better. This is one example of how wrong those people are. Now, don't get me wrong, The Ring was a good flick. I enjoyed it very much, BUT, it really fell short of the original. So much was lost in the translation and in remaking it. If you have never seen The Ring, do yourself a favor and see Ringu first. It really shows how the Japanese can make good horror.","—",[15,8747,8750],{"href":8748,"rel":8749},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.imdb.com\u002Freview\u002Frw0608817\u002F",[971],"Ibstratus2003",[11,8752,8753],{},"Suffice it to say: if you haven’t had a chance to experience the originals yet, you should!",[42,8755],{},[45,8757,8759],{"id":8758},"_1-リング-ring-1998","1. リング \u002F Ring (1998)",[11,8761,8762],{},"The quintessential J-horror movie to rule them all. The genesis of the iconic Sadako: the deceased girl with a ghostly white complexion and dirtied black hair hellbent on wreaking terror through a cursed videotape.",[11,8764,8765],{},"Originally based on the novel of the same name by Koji Suzuki in 1991, this story masterfully weaves the fear of an inescapable curse with the vector of digital devices in the midst of a rapidly modernising Japan. If you haven’t seen the original, consider this your sign; or else a cruel fate may await you.",[11,8767,8768],{},"Seven days…",[5025,8770],{"src":8771},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F0_f3vfflnOE?si=3WlaS-VXcsKmp5lR",[45,8773,8775],{"id":8774},"_2-ju-on-the-grudge-2002","2. Ju-On \u002F The Grudge (2002)",[11,8777,8778,8779,8782,8783,8786],{},"If Ring popularised the iconic ghost girl imagery, then Ju-On ",[26,8780,8781],{},"(The Grudge)"," propagated it even further. Ju-On as a film requires little introduction. We all know it. The cursed house. The vengeful mother. The croaking rattle you hear before it’s lights out. However, you might be surprised to know that this entry (upon which ",[26,8784,8785],{},"The Grudge (2005)"," was based on) is actually the third in the Ju-On series! But for those new to the franchise, this is an easy way to dip your toes in.",[5025,8788],{"src":8789},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FBxbBdEA7ZCQ?si=XxKWeqiW7DlfBQdJ",[11,8791,8792],{},"Consider these two as your prerequisites for diving into the world of J-horror.",[11,8794,8795],{},"Got that?",[11,8797,8798],{},"All right, now let’s dive a little deeper.",[45,8800,8802],{"id":8801},"_3-カメラを止めるな-one-cut-of-the-dead-2017","3. カメラを止めるな！\u002F One Cut of The Dead (2017)",[11,8804,8805],{},"This is a “horror” film in the most deconstructed sense, and truly worth a watch for the exciting twist. Directed by Shinichiro Ueda on a shoestring budget, this horror comedy defies genre tags and offers the audience a unique and unforgettable ride. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind film that benefits from a sparse synopsis!",[11,8807,8808],{},"Out of all the recommendations on this list, I wager that One Cut of The Dead is the most approachable. Horror aficionados will enjoy the homages to the history of the genre, and horror rookies will be entertained with a surprisingly heartfelt story about the extent a father goes to make his family smile.",[5025,8810],{"src":8811},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FaT4ml2ruyY0?si=b_pdAEQ3RhOq8StQ",[45,8813,8815],{"id":8814},"_4-仄暗い水の底から-dark-water-2002","4. 仄暗い水の底から \u002F Dark Water (2002)",[11,8817,8818],{},"Back to the classic supernatural themes abundant in J-horror, Dark Water is also a film that underwent the Hollywood upgrade treatment—though unlike The Grudge and The Ring, it did not become as recognizable a staple. This is unfortunate, as the original film directed by Hideo Nakata of Ring fame is a riveting exploration of paranoia and dread.",[11,8820,8821],{},"The film follows the plight of single mother Yoshimi Matsubara fighting to prove to the courts that she is mentally fit to keep custody of her young daughter. The little girl caught between this custody battle starts to fall prey to paranormal forces lurking in the rundown apartment she and Yoshimi are forced to call home. These paranormal happenings push an already struggling mother to the breaking point as she is forced to make a life-changing decision for the safety of her daughter.",[320,8823,8824],{},[11,8825,8826],{},"I can remember my experience watching every movie on this list, but Dark Water has always stuck out as my personal favorite. With oppressive environments and grimy visuals, Hideo portrays a fear worse than paranormal entities and unexplainable happenings—the fear of losing yourself with no one to help you.",[5025,8828],{"src":8829},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FhmsQk_CqhJw?si=Ov7WWc4Wlh37Bn77",[45,8831,8833],{"id":8832},"_5-ノロイ-noroi-the-curse-2005","5. ノロイ \u002F Noroi: The Curse (2005)",[11,8835,8836],{},"Falling in line with the theme of paranormal phenomena, there is another key theme that reappears in J-horror: the occult.",[11,8838,8839,8840,8845],{},"ノロイ (katakana spelling of 呪い) is a pseudo-documentary which retells the disappearance of a paranormal investigator after his foray into a series of inexplicable cult-like happenings in Japan. To make a western comparison, Noroi: The Curse is what ",[15,8841,8844],{"href":8842,"rel":8843},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FThe_Blair_Witch_Project",[971],"The Blair Witch Project (1999)"," would be if it had a slightly higher production value and footage stitched together from external sources, like television episodes. Director Koji Shiraishi does a remarkable job selling the audience on the “realness” of this fictional story by utilising this creative story-telling, as we piece together the puzzle that is the mysterious disappearance of a fictional paranormal investigator.",[5025,8847],{"src":8848},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FecbGeu3eyOo?si=X9rXC5BhbiPZltZP",[11,8850,8851],{},[26,8852,8853],{},"Fun fact: the actress Marika Matsumoto appears as herself in the fictionalised television segments, further contributing to the blending of reality and unreality. If you don’t know her by name, you may know her voice as Rikku in Final Fantasy X!",[45,8855,8857],{"id":8856},"_6-妖怪百物語-yokai-monsters-100-monsters-1968","6. 妖怪百物語 \u002F Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters (1968)",[11,8859,8860],{},"Occultism not your thing? Lucky for you, there’s a whole 'nother side to Japanese horror that we haven’t touched on yet: Yōkai (妖怪).",[11,8862,8863],{},"When translated loosely, yōkai refers to monsters, demons and apparitions. However, it is a term culturally significant to the history of Japanese folklore and tales. Just as the west has its well-known boogeymen like the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot, Japan has a vast array of mythical creatures, too—like the Kasa-obake, which are old umbrellas that become animate thanks to the presence of a spirit (神). Just like the myths of the west, these yōkai have broken free of their ghost story origins and have been popularised in a wide variety of media even into the modern day (Yokai Watch, anyone?).",[11,8865,8866],{},"Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters is the first of a trilogy of films centered around the peculiar creatures. The plot concerns the conflict between greedy officials and the ancient spirits disrupted by their ruthless property development. The film series features a generous helping of practical special effects that make it an entertaining watch, even today.",[11,8868,8869],{},"For Yokai 101, it’s best to start here.",[5025,8871],{"src":8872},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002Fk_fJeIVie8o?si=IMnKwPnAYs5uQLGk",[45,8874,8876],{"id":8875},"_7-キュア-cure-1997","7. キュア \u002F Cure (1997)",[11,8878,8879],{},"To wrap up, it’s only fair we give mention to the supreme psychological horror experience, Cure— which happens to be one of Parasite (2019) director Bong Joon-Ho’s favorite films of all time.",[11,8881,8882],{},"Cure follows homicide detective Kenichi Takabe and his pursuit to catch the elusive killer responsible for the chain of unnerving and almost random murders plaguing Tokyo. One problem: the perpetrator uses other humans like puppets to commit these murders, leaving each assailant with amnesia after the acts. With poignant cinematography and dialogue, director Kiyoshi Kurosawa holds up a reflection to society and asks the audience to consider the worst ways in which our deepest vices can manifest.",[5025,8884],{"src":8885},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FOryzULi9Tvc?si=adWWhbszXkGcd6wS",[45,8887,8889],{"id":8888},"honourable-mentions","Honourable Mentions",[11,8891,8892],{},"It’s hard to sum up the vivid history of J-horror in a single list. If you’re still itching for other notable entries, don’t forget to check out:",[304,8894,8895,8902,8909,8916,8923,8930],{},[307,8896,8897],{},[15,8898,8901],{"href":8899,"rel":8900},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002Fl7cGHl_bgjo?si=Zm9P6m9pNRCNKqfy",[971],"ハウス \u002F House (1977)",[307,8903,8904],{},[15,8905,8908],{"href":8906,"rel":8907},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FLP8xB94Epd4?si=srqkHhkgrcpJ98gP",[971],"鉄男 \u002F Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1982)",[307,8910,8911],{},[15,8912,8915],{"href":8913,"rel":8914},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FkkP4h-gUWfo?si=ng7QF2z42RXtz1NG",[971],"パーフェクトブルー \u002F Perfect Blue (1997)",[307,8917,8918],{},[15,8919,8922],{"href":8920,"rel":8921},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FgV85CvlLxE8?si=AqbB64-SAP96uN5H",[971],"自殺サークル \u002F Suicide Club (2001)",[307,8924,8925],{},[15,8926,8929],{"href":8927,"rel":8928},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FMpsXvHMUQ3Q?si=33LrWEClTRD2esL7",[971],"回路 \u002F Pulse (2001)",[307,8931,8932],{},[15,8933,8936],{"href":8934,"rel":8935},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002Fc_WECcCTFXk?si=T5wg_7e38I3HJ7XG",[971],"オーディション \u002F Audition (2001)",[11,8938,8939],{},"(Click on the above links to see a trailer.)",[42,8941],{},[45,8943,8945],{"id":8944},"a-ghostly-gory-glossary","A Ghostly & Gory Glossary",[11,8947,8948],{},"Before you embark on your descent into the world of J-horror, here are some Japanese words you’re likely to encounter in many of these films.",[67,8950,8951,8967],{},[70,8952,8953],{},[73,8954,8955,8958,8961,8964],{},[76,8956,8957],{},"Japanese    ",[76,8959,8960],{},"Romaji      ",[76,8962,8963],{},"Meaning                             ",[76,8965,8966],{},"Explanation & Example",[87,8968,8969,8991,9018,9059,9089,9119,9143,9167,9184,9202,9222,9242],{},[73,8970,8971,8978,8981,8984],{},[92,8972,8973,8974,8977],{},"呪い ",[103,8975],{"src":8976,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-呪い.mp3","        ",[92,8979,8980],{},"noroi       ",[92,8982,8983],{},"curse                               ",[92,8985,8986,8987,8990],{},"Right in the title—",[26,8988,8989],{},"Noroi: The Curse",", that’s what it means!",[73,8992,8993,8999,9002,9008],{},[92,8994,8995,8996,4418],{},"妖怪 ",[103,8997],{"src":8998,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-妖怪.mp3",[92,9000,9001],{},"yōkai       ",[92,9003,9004,9005,9007],{},"yōkai; ghosts, ghouls, goblins ",[292,9006],{},"and everything in-between!",[92,9009,9010,9011,9014,9015,9017],{},"The term ",[26,9012,9013],{},"yōkai"," here is heavily tied to the cultural and historical creatures described in traditional Japanese folklore. ",[292,9016],{},"For more general terms for these beings, see the following rows.",[73,9019,9020,9030,9033,9036],{},[92,9021,9022,9023,9026,9027],{},"お化け ",[103,9024],{"src":9025,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-お化け.mp3"," \u002F 化け物 ",[103,9028],{"src":9029,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-化け物.mp3",[92,9031,9032],{},"obake \u002F bakemono",[92,9034,9035],{},"monster; goblin                ",[92,9037,9038,9039,9042,9043,9045,9046,9049,9050,3939,9052,9055,9056,415],{},"Literally translated, ",[26,9040,9041],{},"bakemono"," refers to a type of ",[26,9044,9013],{}," which ",[26,9047,9048],{},"changes form","; like a shapeshifter. ",[292,9051],{},[26,9053,9054],{},"kasa-obake"," umbrella monster is an example of this type of shapeshifter, who appears in ",[26,9057,9058],{},"Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters",[73,9060,9061,9067,9070,9073],{},[92,9062,9063,9064,4418],{},"怪物 ",[103,9065],{"src":9066,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-怪物.mp3",[92,9068,9069],{},"kaibutsu    ",[92,9071,9072],{},"monster                              ",[92,9074,9075,9076,9079,9080,9082,9085,9086,415],{},"Where there is a ",[26,9077,9078],{},"kaibutsu",", there is usually destruction (think Godzilla). ",[292,9081],{},[26,9083,9084],{},"Kaibutsu"," can also be used metaphorically to refer to a particularly unforgiving serial killer, like the antagonist in ",[26,9087,9088],{},"Cure",[73,9090,9091,9097,9100,9103],{},[92,9092,9093,9094,4418],{},"幽霊 ",[103,9095],{"src":9096,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-幽霊.mp3",[92,9098,9099],{},"yuurei      ",[92,9101,9102],{},"ghost; phantom                        ",[92,9104,9105,9108,9109,9111,9112,9115,9116,415],{},[26,9106,9107],{},"Yuurei"," are ghosts, plain and simple. They are often symbolically depicted in damp places with blue light. ",[292,9110],{},"Sadako from ",[26,9113,9114],{},"Ring"," can be thought of as a vengeful ",[26,9117,9118],{},"yuurei",[73,9120,9121,9127,9130,9133],{},[92,9122,9123,9124,4418],{},"怪談 ",[103,9125],{"src":9126,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-怪談.mp3",[92,9128,9129],{},"kaidan      ",[92,9131,9132],{},"ghost stories                         ",[92,9134,9135,9136,9138,9139,9142],{},"Where the ",[26,9137,9013],{}," thrive: in ",[26,9140,9141],{},"kaidan"," that are often shared around a campfire.",[73,9144,9145,9152,9155,9158],{},[92,9146,9147,9148,9151],{},"神 ",[103,9149],{"src":9150,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-神.mp3","         ",[92,9153,9154],{},"kami        ",[92,9156,9157],{},"God; spirit                           ",[92,9159,9160,9161,9163,9164,415],{},"Mentioned before, the shapeshifter ",[26,9162,9013],{}," are believed to be inhabited by a ",[26,9165,9166],{},"kami",[73,9168,9169,9175,9178,9181],{},[92,9170,9171,9172,4411],{},"殺人 ",[103,9173],{"src":9174,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-殺人.mp3",[92,9176,9177],{},"satsujin    ",[92,9179,9180],{},"murder                                ",[92,9182,9183],{},"The age-old horror of humanity. This word is a frequent staple of not only horror, but media in general, so it’s best to know it.",[73,9185,9186,9193,9196,9199],{},[92,9187,9188,9189,9192],{},"血 ",[103,9190],{"src":9191,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-血.mp3","          ",[92,9194,9195],{},"chi         ",[92,9197,9198],{},"blood                                 ",[92,9200,9201],{},"While the word may shift depending on the type of blood being discussed, the kanji stays consistent, making it useful to know.",[73,9203,9204,9210,9213,9216],{},[92,9205,9206,9207,4411],{},"不思議 ",[103,9208],{"src":9209,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-不思議.mp3",[92,9211,9212],{},"fushigi     ",[92,9214,9215],{},"strange; mysterious                   ",[92,9217,9218,9219,415],{},"When unexplainable phenomena start to occur, characters may describe it as ",[26,9220,9221],{},"fushigi",[73,9223,9224,9230,9233,9236],{},[92,9225,9226,9227,4418],{},"殺す ",[103,9228],{"src":9229,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-殺す.mp3",[92,9231,9232],{},"korosu      ",[92,9234,9235],{},"to kill                               ",[92,9237,9238,9241],{},[26,9239,9240],{},"The"," horror verb to know, for obvious reasons!",[73,9243,9244,9250,9253,9260],{},[92,9245,9246,9247,4404],{},"危ない ",[103,9248],{"src":9249,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-危ない.mp3",[92,9251,9252],{},"abunai      ",[92,9254,9255,9256,9259],{},"danger; ",[26,9257,9258],{},"watch out!","                  ",[92,9261,9262,9263],{},"If you’re trying to warn someone of an imminent threat, you might shout: ",[26,9264,9265],{},"abunai!",[45,9267,9269],{"id":9268},"how-to-learn-japanese-by-watching-japanese-horror-movies","How to learn Japanese by watching Japanese horror movies",[11,9271,9272,9273,9276],{},"Just like the best way to learn a bike is by ",[26,9274,9275],{},"actually riding a bike",", a lot of language learning boils down to simply spending time doing things in your language.",[11,9278,9279],{},"Like watching Japanese horror movies!",[11,9281,9282,9283,9288,9289,506,9291,9296],{},"So let's say you boot up ",[15,9284,9287],{"href":9285,"rel":9286},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=_kmP8ZgcxIQ",[971],"「花子さん」(hanako san), a 2001 short film"," telling the story of a young girl who haunts school toilets. (Yes, this is ",[26,9290,5890],{},[15,9292,9295],{"href":9293,"rel":9294},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHanako-san",[971],"hanako san",", Japan's most famous modern-day folk legend.)",[11,9298,9299],{},"This film happens to be freely available on YouTube...",[11,9301,9302],{},[15,9303,9305],{"href":9285,"rel":9304},[971],[50,9306],{"src":9307,"width":4833,"height":3593,"alt":9308},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-horror-pre-parse.jpeg","A screenshot showing a normal movie—no subtitles, not suitable for beginners",[11,9310,9311],{},"...But you run into an obvious problem: your Japanese isn't quite good enough yet.",[11,9313,9314],{},"And that's where Migaku comes in!",[11,9316,9317],{},"We'll generate subtitles for YouTube videos if they aren't available, and we also let you click directly on words in those subtitles so you can see what they mean, how they fit into a particular line of dialogue, and a variety of other cool stuff:",[50,9319],{"src":9320,"width":9321,"height":3584,"alt":9322},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-horror-popup-dictionary.jpeg",1896,"A screenshot of the video after Migaku has parsed it, enabling you to click on words to see what they mean",[320,9324,9325],{},[11,9326,9327],{},[26,9328,9329],{},[287,9330,9331],{},"Everyone who sees her (face) freezes up, from the core of their body, and then just disappears.",[11,9333,9334],{},"If a word looks particularly useful, you can click that orange button in the top-right corner of the popup dictionary to create a flashcard, as shown below.",[11,9336,9337],{},"It includes",[304,9339,9340,9343,9346,9349,9352],{},[307,9341,9342],{},"your selected word and its definition",[307,9344,9345],{},"the line of dialogue it appeared in",[307,9347,9348],{},"the audio for that line of dialogue",[307,9350,9351],{},"a screenshot of whatever was happening at the time",[307,9353,9354],{},"more stuff, if you want to play around",[50,9356],{"src":9357,"width":9358,"height":3584,"alt":9359},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-horror-flashcard.jpeg",1466,"A screenshot of a flashcard that Migaku created from a Japanese horror movie",[11,9361,9362],{},"What's cool about this is that every niche (such as J-horror) has its own key vocabulary words. As you consume more Japanese horror, and gradually learn the genre's key words, it'll become increasingly easy to follow horror movies in Japanese. (As a bonus, it's a lot easier to remember 芯 (shin, \"core\") like this, with the context of the video, rather than in isolation on a wordlist.)",[11,9364,9365],{},"... and if you happen to have a VPN that lets you access Japanese Netflix, you can utilize these same features (minus subtitle generation) with their entire catalogue.",[674,9367],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,9369],{},[45,9371,9373],{"id":9372},"the-final-nail-in-the-coffin","The final nail in the coffin...",[11,9375,9376],{},"Now that you have some tricks up your sleeve, it's time to conquer the J-horror scene! Engaging with media in your target language is one of the joys of immersion-based language learning, and there is no shortage of creativity and memorability in Japanese horror. Once you get a taste, we guarantee you'll be back for more.",[11,9378,9379],{},"And that’s an awesome feedback loop to kick off, because:",[320,9381,9382],{},[11,9383,9384],{},"If you consume media in Japanese, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you’ll make progress. Period.",[11,9386,9387],{},"Meaningful language interactions can occur anywhere, so long as you look for it; even in the eerie corners ruled by the horror genre.",[11,9389,9390],{},"Happy watching!",[11,9392,9393],{},[26,9394,9395,9396,9401],{},"(P.S. — ",[15,9397,9400],{"href":9398,"rel":9399},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=JKROl3ScxCs",[971],"17 more recommendations",", in Japanese from a Japanese cinema afficionado, in case you already speak Japanese and want some more local suggestions.)",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":9403},[9404,9405,9406,9407,9408,9409,9410,9411,9412,9413,9414,9415,9416],{"id":8677,"depth":707,"text":8678},{"id":8705,"depth":707,"text":8706},{"id":8758,"depth":707,"text":8759},{"id":8774,"depth":707,"text":8775},{"id":8801,"depth":707,"text":8802},{"id":8814,"depth":707,"text":8815},{"id":8832,"depth":707,"text":8833},{"id":8856,"depth":707,"text":8857},{"id":8875,"depth":707,"text":8876},{"id":8888,"depth":707,"text":8889},{"id":8944,"depth":707,"text":8945},{"id":9268,"depth":707,"text":9269},{"id":9372,"depth":707,"text":9373},"Looking for Japanese horror movies to watch and also interested in learning Japanese? Here are some of the scariest horror films that j-horror has to offer.",{"timestampUnix":9419,"slug":9420,"h1":9421,"image":9422,"tags":9425},1747120071234,"japanese-horror-movie-recommendations","Love horror? Want to learn Japanese? Here are the best Japanese horror movies to watch.",{"src":9423,"width":2478,"height":4834,"alt":9424},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-horror-thumbnail.jpeg","A screenshot of a yuurei-looking ghost about to pop through a digital screen—basically the start of a Japanese horror movie",[9426,9427],"contentrecs","listicle","\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-horror-movies","---\ntitle: 'Learn Japanese with These 7 Japanese Horror Movies!'\ndescription: 'Looking for Japanese horror movies to watch and also interested in learning Japanese? Here are some of the scariest horror films that j-horror has to offer.'\ntimestampUnix: 1747120071234\nslug: 'japanese-horror-movie-recommendations'\nh1: 'Love horror? Want to learn Japanese? Here are the best Japanese horror movies to watch.'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-horror-thumbnail.jpeg'\n width: 1920\n height: 1200\n alt: 'A screenshot of a yuurei-looking ghost about to pop through a digital screen—basically the start of a Japanese horror movie'\ntags:\n - contentrecs\n - listicle\n---\n\nWho says we should wait until Halloween to watch scary movies? Better yet, what if we could indulge in a frightfest and [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese) at the same time?\n\nWhether you’re a horror fanatic or scaredy-cat, you may be surprised by the wealth of knowledge hiding within these Japanese horror movies. In this article, we’ll share some J-horror recommendations for learners eager to conquer their fears.\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## Why watching movies is a valid way to learn Japanese\n\nBy watching a film in your target language, you’ll be exposed to the vibrance of language in action—pronunciation, gesture, common phrases, vocabulary, and conversational grammar, just to name a few items. Best of all, these points are kneaded into an exciting story with visuals to keep you engaged to the credits. Furthermore:\n\n> When you encounter a new word or saying in a story, the context will help you to remember it.\n\nEven the video nasties can equip you with useful vocabulary.\n\nConsider the founding emotion of horror: Fear.\n\nAs humans, we all inevitably find ourselves in the grasp of an anxiety-inducing situation from time to time. Sure, we may not find ourselves actively haunted by the vengeful spirit of a deceased mother and her meowing child, but the emotions translated on screen parallel the fears found in everyday life. We can _understand_ fear. Scary movies are scary even if you don't quite understand everything, and this is great news for learners.\n\nPlus, figuring out how to describe the indescribable will take your Japanese to the next level!\n\n## What is J-horror?\n\nYou’ve probably guessed it. J-horror is the catchall term for Japanese-made horror media.\n\n... but, before we get too far along, it's worth pointing something out: much of the \"Japanese\" horror you may have seen are remakes of original Japanese movies.\n\n- We _will_ touch on two films you've likely heard of—The Ring and The Grudge. We would be remiss to not pay tribute to the two most recognizable faces of the genre.\n- Beyond that, though, we _won't_ feature the recognizable Hollywood remakes of J-horror classics that Western audiences are more familiar with.\n\nAs for why we've made that choice—here's the top comment on IMDB's page for [the original Japanese version of The Ring](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.imdb.com\u002Ftitle\u002Ftt0178868\u002F):\n\n> _I watched The Ring before Ringu and was sorry that I did. Everybody thinks that the US always does things better. This is one example of how wrong those people are. Now, don't get me wrong, The Ring was a good flick. I enjoyed it very much, BUT, it really fell short of the original. So much was lost in the translation and in remaking it. If you have never seen The Ring, do yourself a favor and see Ringu first. It really shows how the Japanese can make good horror._—[Ibstratus2003](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.imdb.com\u002Freview\u002Frw0608817\u002F)\n\nSuffice it to say: if you haven’t had a chance to experience the originals yet, you should!\n\n---\n\n## 1. リング \u002F Ring (1998)\n\nThe quintessential J-horror movie to rule them all. The genesis of the iconic Sadako: the deceased girl with a ghostly white complexion and dirtied black hair hellbent on wreaking terror through a cursed videotape.\n\nOriginally based on the novel of the same name by Koji Suzuki in 1991, this story masterfully weaves the fear of an inescapable curse with the vector of digital devices in the midst of a rapidly modernising Japan. If you haven’t seen the original, consider this your sign; or else a cruel fate may await you.\n\nSeven days…\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F0_f3vfflnOE?si=3WlaS-VXcsKmp5lR\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n## 2. Ju-On \u002F The Grudge (2002)\n\nIf Ring popularised the iconic ghost girl imagery, then Ju-On _(The Grudge)_ propagated it even further. Ju-On as a film requires little introduction. We all know it. The cursed house. The vengeful mother. The croaking rattle you hear before it’s lights out. However, you might be surprised to know that this entry (upon which _The Grudge (2005)_ was based on) is actually the third in the Ju-On series! But for those new to the franchise, this is an easy way to dip your toes in.\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FBxbBdEA7ZCQ?si=XxKWeqiW7DlfBQdJ\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\nConsider these two as your prerequisites for diving into the world of J-horror.\n\nGot that?\n\nAll right, now let’s dive a little deeper.\n\n## 3. カメラを止めるな！\u002F One Cut of The Dead (2017)\n\nThis is a “horror” film in the most deconstructed sense, and truly worth a watch for the exciting twist. Directed by Shinichiro Ueda on a shoestring budget, this horror comedy defies genre tags and offers the audience a unique and unforgettable ride. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind film that benefits from a sparse synopsis!\n\nOut of all the recommendations on this list, I wager that One Cut of The Dead is the most approachable. Horror aficionados will enjoy the homages to the history of the genre, and horror rookies will be entertained with a surprisingly heartfelt story about the extent a father goes to make his family smile.\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FaT4ml2ruyY0?si=b_pdAEQ3RhOq8StQ\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n## 4. 仄暗い水の底から \u002F Dark Water (2002)\n\nBack to the classic supernatural themes abundant in J-horror, Dark Water is also a film that underwent the Hollywood upgrade treatment—though unlike The Grudge and The Ring, it did not become as recognizable a staple. This is unfortunate, as the original film directed by Hideo Nakata of Ring fame is a riveting exploration of paranoia and dread.\n\nThe film follows the plight of single mother Yoshimi Matsubara fighting to prove to the courts that she is mentally fit to keep custody of her young daughter. The little girl caught between this custody battle starts to fall prey to paranormal forces lurking in the rundown apartment she and Yoshimi are forced to call home. These paranormal happenings push an already struggling mother to the breaking point as she is forced to make a life-changing decision for the safety of her daughter.\n\n> I can remember my experience watching every movie on this list, but Dark Water has always stuck out as my personal favorite. With oppressive environments and grimy visuals, Hideo portrays a fear worse than paranormal entities and unexplainable happenings—the fear of losing yourself with no one to help you.\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FhmsQk_CqhJw?si=Ov7WWc4Wlh37Bn77\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n## 5. ノロイ \u002F Noroi: The Curse (2005)\n\nFalling in line with the theme of paranormal phenomena, there is another key theme that reappears in J-horror: the occult.\n\nノロイ (katakana spelling of 呪い) is a pseudo-documentary which retells the disappearance of a paranormal investigator after his foray into a series of inexplicable cult-like happenings in Japan. To make a western comparison, Noroi: The Curse is what [The Blair Witch Project (1999)](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FThe_Blair_Witch_Project) would be if it had a slightly higher production value and footage stitched together from external sources, like television episodes. Director Koji Shiraishi does a remarkable job selling the audience on the “realness” of this fictional story by utilising this creative story-telling, as we piece together the puzzle that is the mysterious disappearance of a fictional paranormal investigator.\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FecbGeu3eyOo?si=X9rXC5BhbiPZltZP\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n_Fun fact: the actress Marika Matsumoto appears as herself in the fictionalised television segments, further contributing to the blending of reality and unreality. If you don’t know her by name, you may know her voice as Rikku in Final Fantasy X!_\n\n## 6. 妖怪百物語 \u002F Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters (1968)\n\nOccultism not your thing? Lucky for you, there’s a whole 'nother side to Japanese horror that we haven’t touched on yet: Yōkai (妖怪).\n\nWhen translated loosely, yōkai refers to monsters, demons and apparitions. However, it is a term culturally significant to the history of Japanese folklore and tales. Just as the west has its well-known boogeymen like the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot, Japan has a vast array of mythical creatures, too—like the Kasa-obake, which are old umbrellas that become animate thanks to the presence of a spirit (神). Just like the myths of the west, these yōkai have broken free of their ghost story origins and have been popularised in a wide variety of media even into the modern day (Yokai Watch, anyone?).\n\nYokai Monsters: 100 Monsters is the first of a trilogy of films centered around the peculiar creatures. The plot concerns the conflict between greedy officials and the ancient spirits disrupted by their ruthless property development. The film series features a generous helping of practical special effects that make it an entertaining watch, even today.\n\nFor Yokai 101, it’s best to start here.\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002Fk_fJeIVie8o?si=IMnKwPnAYs5uQLGk\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n## 7. キュア \u002F Cure (1997)\n\nTo wrap up, it’s only fair we give mention to the supreme psychological horror experience, Cure— which happens to be one of Parasite (2019) director Bong Joon-Ho’s favorite films of all time.\n\nCure follows homicide detective Kenichi Takabe and his pursuit to catch the elusive killer responsible for the chain of unnerving and almost random murders plaguing Tokyo. One problem: the perpetrator uses other humans like puppets to commit these murders, leaving each assailant with amnesia after the acts. With poignant cinematography and dialogue, director Kiyoshi Kurosawa holds up a reflection to society and asks the audience to consider the worst ways in which our deepest vices can manifest.\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FOryzULi9Tvc?si=adWWhbszXkGcd6wS\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n## Honourable Mentions\n\nIt’s hard to sum up the vivid history of J-horror in a single list. If you’re still itching for other notable entries, don’t forget to check out:\n\n- [ハウス \u002F House (1977)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002Fl7cGHl_bgjo?si=Zm9P6m9pNRCNKqfy)\n- [鉄男 \u002F Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1982)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FLP8xB94Epd4?si=srqkHhkgrcpJ98gP)\n- [パーフェクトブルー \u002F Perfect Blue (1997)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FkkP4h-gUWfo?si=ng7QF2z42RXtz1NG)\n- [自殺サークル \u002F Suicide Club (2001)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FgV85CvlLxE8?si=AqbB64-SAP96uN5H)\n- [回路 \u002F Pulse (2001)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FMpsXvHMUQ3Q?si=33LrWEClTRD2esL7)\n- [オーディション \u002F Audition (2001)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002Fc_WECcCTFXk?si=T5wg_7e38I3HJ7XG)\n\n(Click on the above links to see a trailer.)\n\n---\n\n## A Ghostly & Gory Glossary\n\nBefore you embark on your descent into the world of J-horror, here are some Japanese words you’re likely to encounter in many of these films.\n\n| Japanese     | Romaji       | Meaning                              | Explanation & Example |\n| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| 呪い \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-呪い.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>         | noroi        | curse                                | Right in the title—_Noroi: The Curse_, that’s what it means! |\n| 妖怪 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-妖怪.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>        | yōkai        | yōkai; ghosts, ghouls, goblins \u003Cbr>and everything in-between! | The term _yōkai_ here is heavily tied to the cultural and historical creatures described in traditional Japanese folklore. \u003Cbr>For more general terms for these beings, see the following rows. |\n| お化け \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-お化け.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u002F 化け物 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-化け物.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | obake \u002F bakemono | monster; goblin                 | Literally translated, _bakemono_ refers to a type of _yōkai_ which _changes form_; like a shapeshifter. \u003Cbr>The _kasa-obake_ umbrella monster is an example of this type of shapeshifter, who appears in _Yokai Monsters: 100 Monsters_. |\n| 怪物 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-怪物.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>        | kaibutsu     | monster                               | Where there is a _kaibutsu_, there is usually destruction (think Godzilla). \u003Cbr>_Kaibutsu_ can also be used metaphorically to refer to a particularly unforgiving serial killer, like the antagonist in _Cure_. |\n| 幽霊 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-幽霊.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>        | yuurei       | ghost; phantom                         | _Yuurei_ are ghosts, plain and simple. They are often symbolically depicted in damp places with blue light. \u003Cbr>Sadako from _Ring_ can be thought of as a vengeful _yuurei_. |\n| 怪談 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-怪談.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>        | kaidan       | ghost stories                          | Where the _yōkai_ thrive: in _kaidan_ that are often shared around a campfire. |\n| 神 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-神.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>          | kami         | God; spirit                            | Mentioned before, the shapeshifter _yōkai_ are believed to be inhabited by a _kami_. |\n| 殺人 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-殺人.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>       | satsujin     | murder                                 | The age-old horror of humanity. This word is a frequent staple of not only horror, but media in general, so it’s best to know it. |\n| 血 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-血.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>           | chi          | blood                                  | While the word may shift depending on the type of blood being discussed, the kanji stays consistent, making it useful to know. |\n| 不思議 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-不思議.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>       | fushigi      | strange; mysterious                    | When unexplainable phenomena start to occur, characters may describe it as _fushigi_. |\n| 殺す \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-殺す.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>        | korosu       | to kill                                | _The_ horror verb to know, for obvious reasons! |\n| 危ない \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-危ない.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>      | abunai       | danger; _watch out!_                   | If you’re trying to warn someone of an imminent threat, you might shout: _abunai!_ |\n\n## How to learn Japanese by watching Japanese horror movies\n\nJust like the best way to learn a bike is by _actually riding a bike_, a lot of language learning boils down to simply spending time doing things in your language.\n\nLike watching Japanese horror movies!\n\nSo let's say you boot up [「花子さん」(hanako san), a 2001 short film](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=_kmP8ZgcxIQ) telling the story of a young girl who haunts school toilets. (Yes, this is _that_ [hanako san](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHanako-san), Japan's most famous modern-day folk legend.)\n\nThis film happens to be freely available on YouTube...\n\n[\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-horror-pre-parse.jpeg\" width=\"1894\" height=\"1210\" alt=\"A screenshot showing a normal movie—no subtitles, not suitable for beginners\" \u002F>](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=_kmP8ZgcxIQ)\n\n...But you run into an obvious problem: your Japanese isn't quite good enough yet.\n\nAnd that's where Migaku comes in!\n\nWe'll generate subtitles for YouTube videos if they aren't available, and we also let you click directly on words in those subtitles so you can see what they mean, how they fit into a particular line of dialogue, and a variety of other cool stuff:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-horror-popup-dictionary.jpeg\" width=\"1896\" height=\"1208\" alt=\"A screenshot of the video after Migaku has parsed it, enabling you to click on words to see what they mean\" \u002F>\n\n> _\u003CCenteredText>Everyone who sees her (face) freezes up, from the core of their body, and then just disappears.\u003C\u002FCenteredText>_\n\nIf a word looks particularly useful, you can click that orange button in the top-right corner of the popup dictionary to create a flashcard, as shown below.\n\nIt includes\n\n- your selected word and its definition\n- the line of dialogue it appeared in\n- the audio for that line of dialogue\n- a screenshot of whatever was happening at the time\n- more stuff, if you want to play around\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-horror-flashcard.jpeg\" width=\"1466\" height=\"1208\" alt=\"A screenshot of a flashcard that Migaku created from a Japanese horror movie\" \u002F>\n\nWhat's cool about this is that every niche (such as J-horror) has its own key vocabulary words. As you consume more Japanese horror, and gradually learn the genre's key words, it'll become increasingly easy to follow horror movies in Japanese. (As a bonus, it's a lot easier to remember 芯 (shin, \"core\") like this, with the context of the video, rather than in isolation on a wordlist.)\n\n... and if you happen to have a VPN that lets you access Japanese Netflix, you can utilize these same features (minus subtitle generation) with their entire catalogue.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## The final nail in the coffin...\n\nNow that you have some tricks up your sleeve, it's time to conquer the J-horror scene! Engaging with media in your target language is one of the joys of immersion-based language learning, and there is no shortage of creativity and memorability in Japanese horror. Once you get a taste, we guarantee you'll be back for more.\n\nAnd that’s an awesome feedback loop to kick off, because:\n\n> If you consume media in Japanese, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you’ll make progress. Period.\n\nMeaningful language interactions can occur anywhere, so long as you look for it; even in the eerie corners ruled by the horror genre.\n\nHappy watching!\n\n_(P.S. — [17 more recommendations](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=JKROl3ScxCs), in Japanese from a Japanese cinema afficionado, in case you already speak Japanese and want some more local suggestions.)_\n",{"title":8659,"description":9417},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-horror-movies","eZxwH7xyaObNIpd1TtAJtmn11dExlWQZJPMhYvU7iZc","May 13, 2025",{"id":9435,"title":9436,"body":9437,"description":10689,"extension":717,"meta":10690,"navigation":730,"path":10701,"rawbody":10702,"seo":10703,"stem":10704,"__hash__":10705,"timestampUnix":10691,"slug":10692,"h1":10693,"image":10694,"tags":10699,"_dir":736,"timestamp":10706},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-iru.md","How to Conjugate the Japanese Verb いる (iru): Your Go-To Verb for Living Things",{"type":8,"value":9438,"toc":10671},[9439,9446,9449,9460,9463,9465,9467,9473,9476,9715,9717,9723,9733,9736,9744,9749,9782,9787,9818,9823,9852,9857,9886,9888,9894,9900,9909,9954,9962,9985,9987,9993,9996,10003,10016,10025,10028,10049,10051,10057,10063,10066,10121,10124,10151,10153,10159,10169,10177,10184,10204,10206,10212,10215,10229,10236,10256,10258,10264,10271,10274,10288,10291,10311,10322,10324,10330,10336,10339,10353,10356,10379,10381,10387,10393,10399,10408,10414,10431,10437,10454,10460,10476,10502,10506,10512,10515,10517,10523,10529,10535,10541,10544,10576,10582,10588,10591,10621,10624,10626,10632,10637,10644,10666,10669],[11,9440,9441,9442,9445],{},"So you're learning Japanese, and you're ready to tackle one of the most essential verbs in the language: ",[1090,9443,9444],{},"いる (iru)","! It is used to talk about the presence or existence of animate things—living things, or things like gods that are thought to be alive.",[11,9447,9448],{},"Depending on the situation, you might see いる translated as:",[304,9450,9451,9454,9457],{},[307,9452,9453],{},"to be",[307,9455,9456],{},"there are",[307,9458,9459],{},"to exist",[11,9461,9462],{},"Now, let’s break down the conjugations and uses of this lovely little verb so you can start throwing it around like a pro! We'll get into:",[39,9464],{},[42,9466],{},[45,9468,9470],{"id":9469},"cheatsheet-いるs-conjugations",[1090,9471,9472],{},"Cheatsheet: いる's conjugations",[11,9474,9475],{},"On the off-chance that you already know how いる works and just want to check on a conjugation, here's all of the conjugations of いる in one clean table:",[67,9477,9478,9494],{},[70,9479,9480],{},[73,9481,9482,9485,9488,9491],{},[76,9483,9484],{},"Tense\u002FForm",[76,9486,9487],{},"Hiragana Conjugation",[76,9489,9490],{},"Romaji Conjugation",[76,9492,9493],{},"English Translation",[87,9495,9496,9510,9524,9538,9552,9566,9579,9592,9605,9619,9633,9646,9659,9673,9687,9701],{},[73,9497,9498,9501,9504,9507],{},[92,9499,9500],{},"Plain Present Tense",[92,9502,9503],{},"いる",[92,9505,9506],{},"iru",[92,9508,9509],{},"to exist \u002F to be (somewhere)",[73,9511,9512,9515,9518,9521],{},[92,9513,9514],{},"Plain Past Tense",[92,9516,9517],{},"いた",[92,9519,9520],{},"ita",[92,9522,9523],{},"existed \u002F was (somewhere)",[73,9525,9526,9529,9532,9535],{},[92,9527,9528],{},"Plain Negative",[92,9530,9531],{},"いない",[92,9533,9534],{},"inai",[92,9536,9537],{},"does not exist \u002F is not (somewhere)",[73,9539,9540,9543,9546,9549],{},[92,9541,9542],{},"Plain Past Negative",[92,9544,9545],{},"いなかった",[92,9547,9548],{},"inakatta",[92,9550,9551],{},"did not exist \u002F was not (somewhere)",[73,9553,9554,9557,9560,9563],{},[92,9555,9556],{},"Polite Present",[92,9558,9559],{},"います",[92,9561,9562],{},"imasu",[92,9564,9565],{},"to exist \u002F to be (present)",[73,9567,9568,9571,9574,9577],{},[92,9569,9570],{},"Polite Past",[92,9572,9573],{},"いました",[92,9575,9576],{},"imashita",[92,9578,9523],{},[73,9580,9581,9584,9587,9590],{},[92,9582,9583],{},"Polite Negative",[92,9585,9586],{},"いません",[92,9588,9589],{},"imasen",[92,9591,9537],{},[73,9593,9594,9597,9600,9603],{},[92,9595,9596],{},"Polite Past Negative",[92,9598,9599],{},"いませんでした",[92,9601,9602],{},"imasen deshita",[92,9604,9551],{},[73,9606,9607,9610,9613,9616],{},[92,9608,9609],{},"Te-form",[92,9611,9612],{},"いて",[92,9614,9615],{},"ite",[92,9617,9618],{},"(see section on て-form)",[73,9620,9621,9624,9627,9630],{},[92,9622,9623],{},"Conditional (Ba-form)",[92,9625,9626],{},"いれば",[92,9628,9629],{},"ireba",[92,9631,9632],{},"if (someone) is (somewhere) \u002F if (someone) exists",[73,9634,9635,9638,9641,9644],{},[92,9636,9637],{},"Conditional (Tara-form)",[92,9639,9640],{},"いたら",[92,9642,9643],{},"itara",[92,9645,9632],{},[73,9647,9648,9650,9653,9656],{},[92,9649,4873],{},[92,9651,9652],{},"いよう",[92,9654,9655],{},"iyou",[92,9657,9658],{},"let’s be \u002F let’s stay",[73,9660,9661,9664,9667,9670],{},[92,9662,9663],{},"Potential",[92,9665,9666],{},"いられる",[92,9668,9669],{},"irareru",[92,9671,9672],{},"can exist \u002F can be",[73,9674,9675,9678,9681,9684],{},[92,9676,9677],{},"Imperative",[92,9679,9680],{},"いろ",[92,9682,9683],{},"iro",[92,9685,9686],{},"be! \u002F stay!",[73,9688,9689,9692,9695,9698],{},[92,9690,9691],{},"Negative Imperative",[92,9693,9694],{},"いるな",[92,9696,9697],{},"iruna",[92,9699,9700],{},"don’t be! \u002F don’t stay!",[73,9702,9703,9706,9709,9712],{},[92,9704,9705],{},"Causative",[92,9707,9708],{},"いさせる",[92,9710,9711],{},"isaseru",[92,9713,9714],{},"make (someone) exist \u002F be",[42,9716],{},[45,9718,9720],{"id":9719},"basic-conjugations-of-いる",[1090,9721,9722],{},"Basic Conjugations of いる",[11,9724,9725,9726,6933,9729,9732],{},"いる is an ",[1090,9727,9728],{},"ichidan verb",[98,9730],{"lang":100,"syntax":9731},"一段動詞[いちだんどうし]","), known more colloquially as a \"ru\" verb. These verbs are convenient to work with because every ichidan verb follows the same conjugation pattern: you simply remove -る from the end of the verb and replace it with something else.",[11,9734,9735],{},"Below, we offer two sets of conjugations for each tense: plain and polite. Plain verbs are used when speaking casually, in some grammatical constructions, and are what you'll see in the dictionary. Polite verbs are used when talking with strangers or in situations where it isn't appropriate to speak casually.",[320,9737,9738],{},[11,9739,9740,9741,9743],{},"We've translated the various forms of いる as \"to exist\" or \"to be (somewhere)\". Don't get too hung up on this: いる can be translated in several different ways, depending on the sentence it is in. (This is something you'll need to get used to if you want to ",[15,9742,18],{"href":17},". What you should notice is that every example sentence somehow refers to the presence or existence of something.",[11,9745,9746],{},[1090,9747,9748],{},"Present Tense",[304,9750,9751,9757,9763],{},[307,9752,9753,9756],{},[1090,9754,9755],{},"Plain form",": いる (iru) — \"exists\" or \"is (somewhere)\"",[307,9758,9759,9762],{},[1090,9760,9761],{},"Polite form",": います (imasu)",[307,9764,9765,9768,9769,9772,9774,9776,9777,9779,9781],{},[1090,9766,9767],{},"Example sentence",": ",[98,9770],{"lang":100,"syntax":9771},"私[わたし]はここに(いる・います)。",[292,9773],{},[292,9775],{},"\nwatashi wa koko ni iru・imasu.",[292,9778],{},[292,9780],{},"\nI am here.",[11,9783,9784],{},[1090,9785,9786],{},"Negative Present",[304,9788,9789,9794,9799],{},[307,9790,9791,9793],{},[1090,9792,9755],{},": いない (inai) – \"doesn't exist\" or \"isn't (somewhere)\"",[307,9795,9796,9798],{},[1090,9797,9761],{},": いません (imasen)",[307,9800,9801,8737,9803,9805,9808,9810,9812,9813,9815,9817],{},[1090,9802,9767],{},[292,9804],{},[98,9806],{"lang":100,"syntax":9807},"庭[にわ] に は 猫[ねこ] が い[,いる]ない{。}",[292,9809],{},[292,9811],{},"\nniwa ni wa neko ga inai・imasen.",[292,9814],{},[292,9816],{},"\nThere isn't a cat in the garden.",[11,9819,9820],{},[1090,9821,9822],{},"Past Tense",[304,9824,9825,9830,9835],{},[307,9826,9827,9829],{},[1090,9828,9755],{},": いた (ita) – \"was (somewhere)\" or \"existed\"",[307,9831,9832,9834],{},[1090,9833,9761],{},": いました (imashita)",[307,9836,9837,9768,9839,9842,9844,9846,9847,9849,9851],{},[1090,9838,9767],{},[98,9840],{"lang":100,"syntax":9841},"そこ に は{、}巨大[きょだい] な ドラゴン が (いた・いませんでした)",[292,9843],{},[292,9845],{},"\nsoko ni wa, kyodaina doragon ga ita",[292,9848],{},[292,9850],{},"\nThere was a giant dragon there.",[11,9853,9854],{},[1090,9855,9856],{},"Negative Past",[304,9858,9859,9864,9869],{},[307,9860,9861,9863],{},[1090,9862,9755],{},": いなかった (inakatta) – \"was not (somewhere)\" or \"didn't exist\"",[307,9865,9866,9868],{},[1090,9867,9761],{},": いませんでした (imasen deshita)",[307,9870,9871,9768,9873,9876,9878,9880,9881,9883,9885],{},[1090,9872,9767],{},[98,9874],{"lang":100,"syntax":9875},"振り返[ふりかえ]る と{、}そこ に は 誰[だれ] も (いなかった・いませんでした){。}",[292,9877],{},[292,9879],{},"\nfurikaeru to, soko ni wa dare mo inakatta",[292,9882],{},[292,9884],{},"\nWhen I turned around, nobody was there.",[42,9887],{},[45,9889,9891],{"id":9890},"て-form-progressive-actions",[1090,9892,9893],{},"て-Form & Progressive Actions",[11,9895,3939,9896,9899],{},[1090,9897,9898],{},"て-form"," is a special Japanese verb form used to show sequences of actions, to link events or states, and a few other things.",[11,9901,9902,9903,9905,9906,9908],{},"The most basic usage of the ",[1090,9904,9898],{}," is to express ongoing actions, states, or habits, similar to how we use \"-ing\" in English. To do this, conjugate a verb into the ",[1090,9907,9898],{}," and then tack いる onto it.",[304,9910,9911,9933],{},[307,9912,9913,9916,9918,9920,9921,9924,9926,9928,9929,9932],{},[98,9914],{"lang":100,"syntax":9915},"犬[いぬ] が 私[わたし] の おにぎり を \u003Cstrong> 食[た,たべる]べて いる{。}",[292,9917],{},[292,9919],{},"\n\n\ninu ga watashi no onigiri wo \n",[1090,9922,9923],{},"tabeteiru",[292,9925],{},[292,9927],{},"\n\n\nThe dog is \n",[1090,9930,9931],{},"eating","\n my rice ball.\n",[307,9934,9935,9938,9940,9942,9943,9946,9948,9950,9951,9953],{},[98,9936],{"lang":100,"syntax":9937},"私[わたし] は 本[ほん] を \u003Cstrong>読[よ,よむ]んで いる\u003C\u002Fstrong>{。}",[292,9939],{},[292,9941],{},"\n\n\nwatashi wa hon wo \n",[1090,9944,9945],{},"yondeiru",[292,9947],{},[292,9949],{},"\n\n\nI am \n",[1090,9952,863],{},"\n a book.\n",[11,9955,9956,9957,9959,9960,415],{},"Another common usage of the ",[1090,9958,9898],{}," is to ask for permission to do something. To create this form, simply add tack もいい onto the end of a verb in the ",[1090,9961,9898],{},[304,9963,9964],{},[307,9965,9966,9967,9970,9971,9973,9975,9976,9979,9980,9982,9984],{},"ちょっとだけ、ここに",[1090,9968,9969],{},"いてもいい","ですか",[292,9972],{},[292,9974],{},"\nchotto dake, koko ni ",[1090,9977,9978],{},"itemo ii","desu ka",[292,9981],{},[292,9983],{},"\nIs it OK if I stay here, for just a little while?",[42,9986],{},[847,9988,9990],{"id":9989},"volitional-form-lets-stay",[1090,9991,9992],{},"Volitional Form (Let's stay!)",[11,9994,9995],{},"The volitional form is used to make suggestions or express your desire\u002Fintention to do something. It's often translated to \"let's\" or \"shall\" in English.",[11,9997,9998,9999,10002],{},"To put いる into the ",[1090,10000,10001],{},"volitional form",", you'll change it as follows:",[304,10004,10005,10011],{},[307,10006,10007,10010],{},[1090,10008,10009],{},"いよう (iyou)"," – \"let's stay\" or \"let's exist\"",[307,10012,10013],{},[1090,10014,10015],{},"いましょう (imashou)",[11,10017,3939,10018,10020,10021,10024],{},[1090,10019,10001],{}," is a common verb form, but given the nature of, well, ",[26,10022,10023],{},"existing",", you likely won't use it often with いる.",[11,10026,10027],{},"Here's one relatively natural example for you:",[304,10029,10030],{},[307,10031,10032,10035,10037,10039,10040,10043,10044,10046,10048],{},[98,10033],{"lang":100,"syntax":10034},"雨[あめ] が 止[や]む まで{、}ここ に い[,いる]ましょう{。}",[292,10036],{},[292,10038],{},"\n\n\name ga yamu made, koko ni \n",[1090,10041,10042],{},"imashou","\n.\n",[292,10045],{},[292,10047],{},"\n\n\nLet's stay here until it stops raining.\n",[42,10050],{},[45,10052,10054],{"id":10053},"conditional-forms-if-something-exists",[1090,10055,10056],{},"Conditional Forms (If (something) exists...)",[11,10058,3939,10059,10062],{},[1090,10060,10061],{},"conditional form"," is used when you want to say \"if\" or raise a certain condition. There are actually a few different ways to make conditional statements in Japanese: the ~ば and ~たら form of verbs. They're very similar in meaning, but have a slight difference in nuance.",[11,10064,10065],{},"Putting a verb into the ~ば form places emphasis on the condition:",[304,10067,10068,10094],{},[307,10069,10070,10073,10074],{},[1090,10071,10072],{},"いれば (ireba)"," – \"if (someone) exists\" or \"if (someone) is here\"",[304,10075,10076],{},[307,10077,10078,10081,10083,10085,10086,10088,10089,10091,10093],{},[98,10079],{"lang":100,"syntax":10080},"彼女[かのじょ] が\u003Cstrong>いれ[,いる]ば\u003C\u002Fstrong>負[ま]ける はず が ない{。}",[292,10082],{},[292,10084],{},"\n\n\nkanojo ga \n",[1090,10087,9629],{},"\n, makeru hazu ga nai.\n",[292,10090],{},[292,10092],{},"\n\n\nSo long as she's here, there's no way we can lose.\n",[307,10095,10096,10099,10100],{},[1090,10097,10098],{},"いなければ (inakereba)"," – \"if (someone) doesn't exist\" or \"if (someone) isn't here\"",[304,10101,10102],{},[307,10103,10104,10107,10109,10111,10112,10115,10116,10118,10120],{},[98,10105],{"lang":100,"syntax":10106},"先生[せんせい] が \u003Cstrong>い[,いる]なければ\u003C\u002Fstrong>{、}あなた と 出会[であ]う こと は でき[,できる]なかった{。}",[292,10108],{},[292,10110],{},"\n\n\nsensei ga \n",[1090,10113,10114],{},"inakereba","\n, anata to deau koto ha dekinakatta.\n",[292,10117],{},[292,10119],{},"\n\n\nIf it weren't for the teacher (lit: if the teacher didn't exist), I wouldn't have been able to meet you.\n",[11,10122,10123],{},"Conversely, the ~たら form puts more emphasis on the result or consequence—what should or will or is desired to happen if the condition is true:",[304,10125,10126],{},[307,10127,10128,10130,10131],{},[1090,10129,10072],{}," – \"if (someone) exists\" or \"if (someone) is here\"\n",[304,10132,10133],{},[307,10134,10135,10138,10140,10142,10143,10145,10146,10148,10150],{},[98,10136],{"lang":100,"syntax":10137},"誰[だれ] か 分[わ]かる 人[ひと] が \u003Cstrong>い[,いる]たら\u003C\u002Fstrong>{、}手[て] を 挙[あ,あげる]げて ください[,くださる]{。}",[292,10139],{},[292,10141],{},"\n\n\ndare ka wakaru hito ga \n",[1090,10144,9643],{},"\n, te wo agete kudasai.\n",[292,10147],{},[292,10149],{},"\n\n\nIf anybody here understands, please raise your hand.\n",[42,10152],{},[45,10154,10156],{"id":10155},"potential-form-can-exist",[1090,10157,10158],{},"Potential Form (Can Exist)",[11,10160,10161,10162,10164,10165,10168],{},"Want to say whether someone ",[26,10163,1150],{}," exist somewhere or not? That’s where the ",[1090,10166,10167],{},"potential form"," comes in:",[304,10170,10171],{},[307,10172,10173,10176],{},[1090,10174,10175],{},"いられる (irareru)"," – \"can exist\" or \"can be\"",[11,10178,10179,10180,10183],{},"You'll most commonly see this as the ",[26,10181,10182],{},"negative"," potential form in the grammar structure ~ずにはいられない, which means \"can't help\".",[304,10185,10186],{},[307,10187,10188,10191,10193,10195,10196,10043,10199,10201,10203],{},[98,10189],{"lang":100,"syntax":10190},"それでも、 言[い,いう]わず に は \u003Cstrong>い[,いる]られなかっ\u003C\u002Fstrong>た{。}",[292,10192],{},[292,10194],{},"\n\n\nsore demo, iwazu ni wa \n",[1090,10197,10198],{},"irarenai",[292,10200],{},[292,10202],{},"\n\n\nEven so, I couldn't help but say it.\n",[42,10205],{},[45,10207,10209],{"id":10208},"imperative-form-commanding-existence",[1090,10210,10211],{},"Imperative Form (Commanding Existence)",[11,10213,10214],{},"If you ever need to command someone to \"stay\" or \"be here\" (which is pretty rare, but possible):",[304,10216,10217,10223],{},[307,10218,10219,10222],{},[1090,10220,10221],{},"いろ (iro)"," – plain form of \"stay!\"",[307,10224,10225,10228],{},[1090,10226,10227],{},"いなさい (inasai)"," – polite version of \"stay!\" (softer command)",[11,10230,10231,10232,10235],{},"As with the volitional form, there aren't a ton of situations in which you would command someone to ",[26,10233,10234],{},"be"," somewhere, so you might not get a lot of use out of this form. Here's one example for you:",[304,10237,10238],{},[307,10239,10240,10243,10245,10247,10248,10043,10251,10253,10255],{},[98,10241],{"lang":100,"syntax":10242},"事件[じけん] が 解決[かいけつ] する まで、ここ に \u003Cstrong>い[,いる] なさい[,なさる]\u003C\u002Fstrong>{。}",[292,10244],{},[292,10246],{},"\n\n\njiken ga kaiketsu suru made, koko ni \n",[1090,10249,10250],{},"inasai",[292,10252],{},[292,10254],{},"\n\n\nPlease remain here until the matter is resolved.\n",[42,10257],{},[45,10259,10261],{"id":10260},"causative-form-makingletting-someone-stayexist",[1090,10262,10263],{},"Causative Form (Making\u002FLetting Someone Stay\u002FExist)",[11,10265,10266,10267,10270],{},"If you need to say that you made someone stay somewhere or let them stay, you’ll use the ",[1090,10268,10269],{},"causative form",". While \"make\" and \"let\" may seem very different to you, when you think about it, if you make or let someone do something, you are the reason they did it. To determine whether someone was happy to do something (you let them do it) or unhappy (you made them do it), you need to refer to context.",[11,10272,10273],{},"Here is the causative form of いる:",[304,10275,10276,10282],{},[307,10277,10278,10281],{},[1090,10279,10280],{},"いさせる (isaseru)"," – \"make\u002Flet someone stay\" (plain)",[307,10283,10284,10287],{},[1090,10285,10286],{},"いさせます (isasemasu)"," – polite form of \"make\u002Flet someone stay\"",[11,10289,10290],{},"And here's an example of it being used:",[304,10292,10293],{},[307,10294,10295,10298,10300,10302,10303,10305,10306,10308,10310],{},[98,10296],{"lang":100,"syntax":10297},"もう しばらく は 家[いえ] の 方[ほう] に\u003Cstrong>い[,いる] させる\u003C\u002Fstrong>ことに し[,する]た{。}",[292,10299],{},[292,10301],{},"\n\n\nmou shibaraku wa ie no hou ni \n",[1090,10304,9711],{},"\n koto ni shita.\n",[292,10307],{},[292,10309],{},"\n\n\nI've decided to make\u002Flet him stay at home a little longer.\n",[11,10312,10313,10314,10317,10318,10321],{},"You might understand this to be ",[26,10315,10316],{},"letting"," someone stay at home if they're a recent graduate that needs a bit more time to get their feed under them, or ",[26,10319,10320],{},"making"," them stay at home if they're unwell and wish to leave but you are insisting on them staying.",[42,10323],{},[45,10325,10327],{"id":10326},"causative-passive-form-being-made-to-stay",[1090,10328,10329],{},"Causative-Passive Form (Being Made to Stay)",[11,10331,3939,10332,10335],{},[1090,10333,10334],{},"causative-passive form"," communicates that someone was made to do something against their will, like the causative form, but carries a stronger nuance of being harmed\u002Fdisadvantaged because you were made to do something.",[11,10337,10338],{},"The causative-passive form of いる is as follows:",[304,10340,10341,10347],{},[307,10342,10343,10346],{},[1090,10344,10345],{},"いさせられる (isaserareru)"," – \"to be made to stay\"",[307,10348,10349,10352],{},[1090,10350,10351],{},"いさせられます (isaseraremasu)"," – polite form of \"to be made to stay\"",[11,10354,10355],{},"And if our person from the above causative example sentence was made to stay home against their will, they might comment on the situation:",[304,10357,10358],{},[307,10359,10360,10363,10365,10367,10368,10043,10371,10373,10375,10376,10043],{},[98,10361],{"lang":100,"syntax":10362},"私[わたし] は ここ に \u003Cstrong>い[,いる] させ[,させる]られました\u003C\u002Fstrong>",[292,10364],{},[292,10366],{},"\n\n\nwatashi wa koko ni \n",[1090,10369,10370],{},"isaseraremashita",[292,10372],{},[292,10374],{},"\n\n\nI was made to stay here \n",[26,10377,10378],{},"(against my will, and I feel wronged)",[42,10380],{},[45,10382,10384],{"id":10383},"special-usage-notes",[1090,10385,10386],{},"Special Usage Notes",[11,10388,10389,10390,10392],{},"Now that we've seen several examples of ",[1090,10391,9503],{}," being used, let's point out a few additional important details:",[3240,10394,10396],{"id":10395},"_1-living-things-only",[1090,10397,10398],{},"1. Living Things Only!",[11,10400,10401,10402,10407],{},"In linguistics, there is a concept called ",[15,10403,10406],{"href":10404,"rel":10405},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FAnimacy",[971],"grammatical animacy",": some languages categorize words according to whether the thing referred to is seen as being alive or sentient. Japanese is one such language.",[11,10409,10410,10411,10413],{},"Use ",[1090,10412,9503],{}," when referring to living things, like people or animals: etc.",[304,10415,10416],{},[307,10417,10418,10421,10423,10425,10426,10428,10430],{},[98,10419],{"lang":100,"syntax":10420},"犬[いぬ] がいる。",[292,10422],{},[292,10424],{},"\n\n\ninu ga iru.\n",[292,10427],{},[292,10429],{},"\n\n\nThere is a dog.\n",[11,10432,10410,10433,10436],{},[1090,10434,10435],{},"ある (aru)"," when referring to inanimate objects, like tables or cups of milk tea.",[304,10438,10439],{},[307,10440,10441,10444,10446,10448,10449,10451,10453],{},[98,10442],{"lang":100,"syntax":10443},"本[ほん] がある。",[292,10445],{},[292,10447],{},"\n\n\nhon ga aru.\n",[292,10450],{},[292,10452],{},"\n\n\nThere is a book.\n",[3240,10455,10457],{"id":10456},"_2-honorific-humble-forms",[1090,10458,10459],{},"2. Honorific & Humble Forms",[11,10461,10462,10463,10468,10469,3808,10472,10475],{},"Japanese makes heavy use of ",[15,10464,10467],{"href":10465,"rel":10466},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHonorific_speech_in_Japanese",[971],"honorific language"," (called ",[98,10470],{"lang":100,"syntax":10471},"敬語[けいご]",[26,10473,10474],{},"keigo","). How keigo works is beyond the scope of this blog post, but know that it involves using special forms of verbs. Some verbs even have special honorific\u002Fhumble counterparts.",[304,10477,10478,10490],{},[307,10479,10480,10483,10484,10486,10487],{},[1090,10481,10482],{},"いらっしゃいます (irasshaimasu)"," – the honorific form of ",[1090,10485,9503],{},", used to elevate the status of the listener ",[26,10488,10489],{},"(you'll hear this when walking into stores or restaurants)",[307,10491,10492,10495,10496,10498,10499,415],{},[1090,10493,10494],{},"おります (orimasu)"," – the humble form of ",[1090,10497,9503],{},", used to lower your own status and express humility ",[26,10500,10501],{},"(you'll mostly see this used in the workplace)",[3240,10503,10505],{"id":10504},"_3-no-simple-translation","3. No Simple Translation",[11,10507,10508,10509,10511],{},"Oftentimes, there isn't a perfect 1:1 translation of a sentence (or even a word!) from one language to another. Quickly looking at our above sample sentences, ",[1090,10510,9503],{}," has been translated as \"be here\" \"is\" \"exists\" \"stay\" and \"remain\".",[11,10513,10514],{},"The important thing is to understand that the underlying idea translates—something is somewhere—but the particular words to express that idea may change, depending on the situation.",[42,10516],{},[45,10518,10520],{"id":10519},"common-patterns-with-いる",[1090,10521,10522],{},"Common Patterns with いる",[11,10524,10525,10526,10528],{},"We've covered many verb forms, but there are two particular ways you'll see ",[1090,10527,9503],{}," used in everyday Japanese:",[847,10530,10532],{"id":10531},"location-expressions",[1090,10533,10534],{},"Location Expressions",[11,10536,10537,10538,10540],{},"You can use ",[1090,10539,9503],{}," to talk about where someone (or some animate thing) is. This structure follows a simple pattern:",[11,10542,10543],{},"(person\u002Fanimate thing)は+(place)に+いる",[304,10545,10546,10561],{},[307,10547,10548,10551,10553,10555,10556,10558,10560],{},[98,10549],{"lang":100,"syntax":10550},"先生[せんせい] は ここ に いる",[292,10552],{},[292,10554],{},"\n\n\nsensei wa koko ni iru.\n",[292,10557],{},[292,10559],{},"\n\n\nThe teacher is here.\n",[307,10562,10563,10566,10568,10570,10571,10573,10575],{},[98,10564],{"lang":100,"syntax":10565},"{John}は 学校[がっこう] に いる{。}",[292,10567],{},[292,10569],{},"\n\n\nJohn wa gakkou ni iru\n",[292,10572],{},[292,10574],{},"\n\n\nJohn is at school.\n",[847,10577,10579],{"id":10578},"existence-statements",[1090,10580,10581],{},"Existence Statements",[11,10583,10584,10585,10587],{},"You also use ",[1090,10586,9503],{}," when you would say \"there is\" or \"there are\" in English. Again, this structure follows a relatively fixed pattern:",[11,10589,10590],{},"(person\u002Fanimate thing)は+(place)にいる",[304,10592,10593,10606],{},[307,10594,10595,10598,10600,10425,10602,10604,10430],{},[98,10596],{"lang":100,"syntax":10597},"犬[いぬ] が いる{。}",[292,10599],{},[292,10601],{},[292,10603],{},[292,10605],{},[307,10607,10608,10611,10613,10615,10616,10618,10620],{},[98,10609],{"lang":100,"syntax":10610},"なんで 人[ひと] が そこ に いる[,いる]ん です か{。}",[292,10612],{},[292,10614],{},"\n\n\nnande hito ga soko ni iru n desu ka\n",[292,10617],{},[292,10619],{},"\n\n\nWhy is there a person in there?\n",[11,10622,10623],{},"Notice that the structure is flexible. You don't need to list a specific place (as in the first example), and you can also add question words (as in the second example).",[42,10625],{},[45,10627,10629],{"id":10628},"wrapping-it-all-up",[1090,10630,10631],{},"Wrapping It All Up",[11,10633,10634,10636],{},[1090,10635,9503],{}," is truly one of the most versatile verbs you’ll encounter as you study Japanese. From talking about where people are to describing ongoing actions, it’s a verb that’s central to so many everyday conversations. Once you get the hang of its different forms and how it's used in different contexts, you'll have gotten a foundational part of Japanese under your belt.",[11,10638,10639,10640,10643],{},"If you’re looking for ways to make all these conjugations stick, we actually recommend ",[26,10641,10642],{},"not"," trying to memorize the verb endings. Japanese is a very regular language, so as you consume more Japanese content and see いる used in more situations, you'll gradually remember the structures it's used in and how it's conjugated—no memorization required.",[344,10645,10646,10654,10657,10660,10663],{},[307,10647,10648,10649],{},"Check out ",[15,10650,10651],{"href":17},[1090,10652,10653],{},"Migaku’s browser extension",[307,10655,10656],{},"Consume real Japanese content. We'll support you with tools like one-click word lookups, showing furigana above kanji (as in this article!), and the ability to automatically make flashcards out of the thing you're watching or reading.",[307,10658,10659],{},"Notice いる when it's used",[307,10661,10662],{},"???",[307,10664,10665],{},"Profit!",[11,10667,10668],{},"Happy studying!",[674,10670],{"href":17,"text":676},{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":10672},[10673,10674,10675,10678,10679,10680,10681,10682,10683,10684,10688],{"id":9469,"depth":707,"text":9472},{"id":9719,"depth":707,"text":9722},{"id":9890,"depth":707,"text":9893,"children":10676},[10677],{"id":9989,"depth":1016,"text":9992},{"id":10053,"depth":707,"text":10056},{"id":10155,"depth":707,"text":10158},{"id":10208,"depth":707,"text":10211},{"id":10260,"depth":707,"text":10263},{"id":10326,"depth":707,"text":10329},{"id":10383,"depth":707,"text":10386},{"id":10519,"depth":707,"text":10522,"children":10685},[10686,10687],{"id":10531,"depth":1016,"text":10534},{"id":10578,"depth":1016,"text":10581},{"id":10628,"depth":707,"text":10631},"Japanese has two ways to say 'there are'—one for living things, and one for non-living things. Here, we'll talk about the one for living things, iru.",{"timestampUnix":10691,"slug":10692,"h1":10693,"image":10694,"tags":10699},1730339249857,"japanese-verb-iru","Japanese Verb Conjugation: いる (iru)",{"src":10695,"width":10696,"height":10697,"alt":10698},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-verb-iru.webp",6474,3862,"An excited-looking man looking into a box to see what's there.",[728,10700,4238,3670],"verbs","\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-iru","---\ntitle: 'How to Conjugate the Japanese Verb いる (iru): Your Go-To Verb for Living Things'\ndescription: \"Japanese has two ways to say 'there are'—one for living things, and one for non-living things. Here, we'll talk about the one for living things, iru.\"\ntimestampUnix: 1730339249857\nslug: 'japanese-verb-iru'\nh1: 'Japanese Verb Conjugation: いる (iru)'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-verb-iru.webp'\n width: 6474\n height: 3862\n alt: \"An excited-looking man looking into a box to see what's there.\"\ntags:\n - fundamentals\n - verbs\n - conjugation\n - grammar\n---\n\nSo you're learning Japanese, and you're ready to tackle one of the most essential verbs in the language: **いる (iru)**! It is used to talk about the presence or existence of animate things—living things, or things like gods that are thought to be alive.\n\nDepending on the situation, you might see いる translated as:\n\n- to be\n- there are\n- to exist\n\nNow, let’s break down the conjugations and uses of this lovely little verb so you can start throwing it around like a pro! We'll get into:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## **Cheatsheet: いる's conjugations**\n\nOn the off-chance that you already know how いる works and just want to check on a conjugation, here's all of the conjugations of いる in one clean table:\n\n| Tense\u002FForm | Hiragana Conjugation | Romaji Conjugation | English Translation |\n| ----------------------- | -------------------- | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------- |\n| Plain Present Tense | いる | iru | to exist \u002F to be (somewhere) |\n| Plain Past Tense | いた | ita | existed \u002F was (somewhere) |\n| Plain Negative | いない | inai | does not exist \u002F is not (somewhere) |\n| Plain Past Negative | いなかった | inakatta | did not exist \u002F was not (somewhere) |\n| Polite Present | います | imasu | to exist \u002F to be (present) |\n| Polite Past | いました | imashita | existed \u002F was (somewhere) |\n| Polite Negative | いません | imasen | does not exist \u002F is not (somewhere) |\n| Polite Past Negative | いませんでした | imasen deshita | did not exist \u002F was not (somewhere) |\n| Te-form | いて | ite | (see section on て-form) |\n| Conditional (Ba-form) | いれば | ireba | if (someone) is (somewhere) \u002F if (someone) exists |\n| Conditional (Tara-form) | いたら | itara | if (someone) is (somewhere) \u002F if (someone) exists |\n| Volitional | いよう | iyou | let’s be \u002F let’s stay |\n| Potential | いられる | irareru | can exist \u002F can be |\n| Imperative | いろ | iro | be! \u002F stay! |\n| Negative Imperative | いるな | iruna | don’t be! \u002F don’t stay! |\n| Causative | いさせる | isaseru | make (someone) exist \u002F be |\n\n---\n\n## **Basic Conjugations of いる**\n\nいる is an **ichidan verb** (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"一段動詞[いちだんどうし]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>), known more colloquially as a \"ru\" verb. These verbs are convenient to work with because every ichidan verb follows the same conjugation pattern: you simply remove -る from the end of the verb and replace it with something else.\n\nBelow, we offer two sets of conjugations for each tense: plain and polite. Plain verbs are used when speaking casually, in some grammatical constructions, and are what you'll see in the dictionary. Polite verbs are used when talking with strangers or in situations where it isn't appropriate to speak casually.\n\n> We've translated the various forms of いる as \"to exist\" or \"to be (somewhere)\". Don't get too hung up on this: いる can be translated in several different ways, depending on the sentence it is in. (This is something you'll need to get used to if you want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese). What you should notice is that every example sentence somehow refers to the presence or existence of something.\n\n**Present Tense**\n\n- **Plain form**: いる (iru) — \"exists\" or \"is (somewhere)\"\n- **Polite form**: います (imasu)\n- **Example sentence**: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし]はここに(いる・います)。\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n watashi wa koko ni iru・imasu.\u003Cbr>\n I am here.\n\n**Negative Present**\n\n- **Plain form**: いない (inai) – \"doesn't exist\" or \"isn't (somewhere)\"\n- **Polite form**: いません (imasen)\n- **Example sentence**:\n \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"庭[にわ] に は 猫[ねこ] が い[,いる]ない{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n niwa ni wa neko ga inai・imasen.\u003Cbr>\n There isn't a cat in the garden.\n\n**Past Tense**\n\n- **Plain form**: いた (ita) – \"was (somewhere)\" or \"existed\"\n- **Polite form**: いました (imashita)\n- **Example sentence**: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"そこ に は{、}巨大[きょだい] な ドラゴン が (いた・いませんでした)\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n soko ni wa, kyodaina doragon ga ita\u003Cbr>\n There was a giant dragon there.\n\n**Negative Past**\n\n- **Plain form**: いなかった (inakatta) – \"was not (somewhere)\" or \"didn't exist\"\n- **Polite form**: いませんでした (imasen deshita)\n- **Example sentence**: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"振り返[ふりかえ]る と{、}そこ に は 誰[だれ] も (いなかった・いませんでした){。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n furikaeru to, soko ni wa dare mo inakatta\u003Cbr>\n When I turned around, nobody was there.\n\n---\n\n## **て-Form & Progressive Actions**\n\nThe **て-form** is a special Japanese verb form used to show sequences of actions, to link events or states, and a few other things.\n\nThe most basic usage of the **て-form** is to express ongoing actions, states, or habits, similar to how we use \"-ing\" in English. To do this, conjugate a verb into the **て-form** and then tack いる onto it.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"犬[いぬ] が 私[わたし] の おにぎり を \u003Cstrong> 食[た,たべる]べて いる{。}\">\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n inu ga watashi no onigiri wo **tabeteiru**\u003Cbr>\n The dog is **eating** my rice ball.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし] は 本[ほん] を \u003Cstrong>読[よ,よむ]んで いる\u003C\u002Fstrong>{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n watashi wa hon wo **yondeiru**\u003Cbr>\n I am **reading** a book.\n\nAnother common usage of the **て-form** is to ask for permission to do something. To create this form, simply add tack もいい onto the end of a verb in the **て-form**.\n\n- ちょっとだけ、ここに**いてもいい**ですか\u003Cbr>\n chotto dake, koko ni **itemo ii**desu ka\u003Cbr>\n Is it OK if I stay here, for just a little while?\n\n---\n\n### **Volitional Form (Let's stay\\!)**\n\nThe volitional form is used to make suggestions or express your desire\u002Fintention to do something. It's often translated to \"let's\" or \"shall\" in English.\n\nTo put いる into the **volitional form**, you'll change it as follows:\n\n- **いよう (iyou)** – \"let's stay\" or \"let's exist\"\n- **いましょう (imashou)**\n\nThe **volitional form** is a common verb form, but given the nature of, well, _existing_, you likely won't use it often with いる.\n\nHere's one relatively natural example for you:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"雨[あめ] が 止[や]む まで{、}ここ に い[,いる]ましょう{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n ame ga yamu made, koko ni **imashou**.\u003Cbr>\n Let's stay here until it stops raining.\n\n---\n\n## **Conditional Forms (If (something) exists...)**\n\nThe **conditional form** is used when you want to say \"if\" or raise a certain condition. There are actually a few different ways to make conditional statements in Japanese: the ~ば and ~たら form of verbs. They're very similar in meaning, but have a slight difference in nuance.\n\nPutting a verb into the ~ば form places emphasis on the condition:\n\n- **いれば (ireba)** – \"if (someone) exists\" or \"if (someone) is here\"\n\n - \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"彼女[かのじょ] が\u003Cstrong>いれ[,いる]ば\u003C\u002Fstrong>負[ま]ける はず が ない{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n kanojo ga **ireba**, makeru hazu ga nai.\u003Cbr>\n So long as she's here, there's no way we can lose.\n\n- **いなければ (inakereba)** – \"if (someone) doesn't exist\" or \"if (someone) isn't here\"\n - \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"先生[せんせい] が \u003Cstrong>い[,いる]なければ\u003C\u002Fstrong>{、}あなた と 出会[であ]う こと は でき[,できる]なかった{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n sensei ga **inakereba**, anata to deau koto ha dekinakatta.\u003Cbr>\n If it weren't for the teacher (lit: if the teacher didn't exist), I wouldn't have been able to meet you.\n\nConversely, the ~たら form puts more emphasis on the result or consequence—what should or will or is desired to happen if the condition is true:\n\n- **いれば (ireba)** – \"if (someone) exists\" or \"if (someone) is here\"\n - \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"誰[だれ] か 分[わ]かる 人[ひと] が \u003Cstrong>い[,いる]たら\u003C\u002Fstrong>{、}手[て] を 挙[あ,あげる]げて ください[,くださる]{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n dare ka wakaru hito ga **itara**, te wo agete kudasai.\u003Cbr>\n If anybody here understands, please raise your hand.\n\n---\n\n## **Potential Form (Can Exist)**\n\nWant to say whether someone _can_ exist somewhere or not? That’s where the **potential form** comes in:\n\n- **いられる (irareru)** – \"can exist\" or \"can be\"\n\nYou'll most commonly see this as the _negative_ potential form in the grammar structure ~ずにはいられない, which means \"can't help\".\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"それでも、 言[い,いう]わず に は \u003Cstrong>い[,いる]られなかっ\u003C\u002Fstrong>た{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n sore demo, iwazu ni wa **irarenai**.\u003Cbr>\n Even so, I couldn't help but say it.\n\n---\n\n## **Imperative Form (Commanding Existence)**\n\nIf you ever need to command someone to \"stay\" or \"be here\" (which is pretty rare, but possible):\n\n- **いろ (iro)** – plain form of \"stay\\!\"\n- **いなさい (inasai)** – polite version of \"stay\\!\" (softer command)\n\nAs with the volitional form, there aren't a ton of situations in which you would command someone to _be_ somewhere, so you might not get a lot of use out of this form. Here's one example for you:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"事件[じけん] が 解決[かいけつ] する まで、ここ に \u003Cstrong>い[,いる] なさい[,なさる]\u003C\u002Fstrong>{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n jiken ga kaiketsu suru made, koko ni **inasai**.\u003Cbr>\n Please remain here until the matter is resolved.\n\n---\n\n## **Causative Form (Making\u002FLetting Someone Stay\u002FExist)**\n\nIf you need to say that you made someone stay somewhere or let them stay, you’ll use the **causative form**. While \"make\" and \"let\" may seem very different to you, when you think about it, if you make or let someone do something, you are the reason they did it. To determine whether someone was happy to do something (you let them do it) or unhappy (you made them do it), you need to refer to context.\n\nHere is the causative form of いる:\n\n- **いさせる (isaseru)** – \"make\u002Flet someone stay\" (plain)\n- **いさせます (isasemasu)** – polite form of \"make\u002Flet someone stay\"\n\nAnd here's an example of it being used:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"もう しばらく は 家[いえ] の 方[ほう] に\u003Cstrong>い[,いる] させる\u003C\u002Fstrong>ことに し[,する]た{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n mou shibaraku wa ie no hou ni **isaseru** koto ni shita.\u003Cbr>\n I've decided to make\u002Flet him stay at home a little longer.\n\nYou might understand this to be _letting_ someone stay at home if they're a recent graduate that needs a bit more time to get their feed under them, or _making_ them stay at home if they're unwell and wish to leave but you are insisting on them staying.\n\n---\n\n## **Causative-Passive Form (Being Made to Stay)**\n\nThe **causative-passive form** communicates that someone was made to do something against their will, like the causative form, but carries a stronger nuance of being harmed\u002Fdisadvantaged because you were made to do something.\n\nThe causative-passive form of いる is as follows:\n\n- **いさせられる (isaserareru)** – \"to be made to stay\"\n- **いさせられます (isaseraremasu)** – polite form of \"to be made to stay\"\n\nAnd if our person from the above causative example sentence was made to stay home against their will, they might comment on the situation:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし] は ここ に \u003Cstrong>い[,いる] させ[,させる]られました\u003C\u002Fstrong>\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n watashi wa koko ni **isaseraremashita**.\u003Cbr>\n I was made to stay here _(against my will, and I feel wronged)_.\n\n---\n\n## **Special Usage Notes**\n\nNow that we've seen several examples of **いる** being used, let's point out a few additional important details:\n\n#### **1\\. Living Things Only\\!**\n\nIn linguistics, there is a concept called [grammatical animacy](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FAnimacy): some languages categorize words according to whether the thing referred to is seen as being alive or sentient. Japanese is one such language.\n\nUse **いる** when referring to living things, like people or animals: etc.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"犬[いぬ] がいる。\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n inu ga iru.\u003Cbr>\n There is a dog.\n\nUse **ある (aru)** when referring to inanimate objects, like tables or cups of milk tea.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"本[ほん] がある。\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n hon ga aru.\u003Cbr>\n There is a book.\n\n#### **2\\. Honorific & Humble Forms**\n\nJapanese makes heavy use of [honorific language](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHonorific_speech_in_Japanese) (called \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"敬語[けいご]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>, _keigo_). How keigo works is beyond the scope of this blog post, but know that it involves using special forms of verbs. Some verbs even have special honorific\u002Fhumble counterparts.\n\n- **いらっしゃいます (irasshaimasu)** – the honorific form of **いる**, used to elevate the status of the listener _(you'll hear this when walking into stores or restaurants)_\n- **おります (orimasu)** – the humble form of **いる**, used to lower your own status and express humility _(you'll mostly see this used in the workplace)_.\n\n#### 3\\. No Simple Translation\n\nOftentimes, there isn't a perfect 1:1 translation of a sentence (or even a word!) from one language to another. Quickly looking at our above sample sentences, **いる** has been translated as \"be here\" \"is\" \"exists\" \"stay\" and \"remain\".\n\nThe important thing is to understand that the underlying idea translates—something is somewhere—but the particular words to express that idea may change, depending on the situation.\n\n---\n\n## **Common Patterns with いる**\n\nWe've covered many verb forms, but there are two particular ways you'll see **いる** used in everyday Japanese:\n\n### **Location Expressions**\n\nYou can use **いる** to talk about where someone (or some animate thing) is. This structure follows a simple pattern:\n\n(person\u002Fanimate thing)は+(place)に+いる\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"先生[せんせい] は ここ に いる\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n sensei wa koko ni iru.\u003Cbr>\n The teacher is here.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"{John}は 学校[がっこう] に いる{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n John wa gakkou ni iru\u003Cbr>\n John is at school.\n\n### **Existence Statements**\n\nYou also use **いる** when you would say \"there is\" or \"there are\" in English. Again, this structure follows a relatively fixed pattern:\n\n(person\u002Fanimate thing)は+(place)にいる\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"犬[いぬ] が いる{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n inu ga iru.\u003Cbr>\n There is a dog.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"なんで 人[ひと] が そこ に いる[,いる]ん です か{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n nande hito ga soko ni iru n desu ka\u003Cbr>\n Why is there a person in there?\n\nNotice that the structure is flexible. You don't need to list a specific place (as in the first example), and you can also add question words (as in the second example).\n\n---\n\n## **Wrapping It All Up**\n\n**いる** is truly one of the most versatile verbs you’ll encounter as you study Japanese. From talking about where people are to describing ongoing actions, it’s a verb that’s central to so many everyday conversations. Once you get the hang of its different forms and how it's used in different contexts, you'll have gotten a foundational part of Japanese under your belt.\n\nIf you’re looking for ways to make all these conjugations stick, we actually recommend _not_ trying to memorize the verb endings. Japanese is a very regular language, so as you consume more Japanese content and see いる used in more situations, you'll gradually remember the structures it's used in and how it's conjugated—no memorization required.\n\n1. Check out [**Migaku’s browser extension**](\u002Flearn-japanese)\n2. Consume real Japanese content. We'll support you with tools like one-click word lookups, showing furigana above kanji (as in this article!), and the ability to automatically make flashcards out of the thing you're watching or reading.\n3. Notice いる when it's used\n4. ???\n5. Profit!\n\nHappy studying!\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n",{"title":9436,"description":10689},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-iru","wR2g6FVWEhCyJjGKtr6NfRh7m3y5_LyNbTaC_Z9C6J4","October 31, 2024",{"id":10708,"title":10709,"body":10710,"description":12465,"extension":717,"meta":12466,"navigation":730,"path":12475,"rawbody":12476,"seo":12477,"stem":12478,"__hash__":12479,"timestampUnix":12467,"slug":938,"h1":12468,"image":12469,"tags":12473,"_dir":736,"timestamp":12480},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-kanji.md","Japanese Basics: The Best Way to Learn Kanji. Memorize Japanese Kanji Easily!",{"type":8,"value":10711,"toc":12427},[10712,10718,10721,10744,10747,10750,10752,10754,10758,10761,10811,10829,10836,10844,10848,10856,10859,10870,10873,10898,10906,10926,10930,10933,10936,10939,10987,10990,11009,11014,11018,11026,11105,11108,11112,11122,11132,11139,11142,11252,11271,11277,11281,11284,11339,11346,11349,11351,11355,11358,11362,11370,11390,11393,11451,11454,11457,11461,11464,11494,11508,11516,11520,11527,11542,11545,11553,11556,11562,11565,11568,11572,11575,11581,11584,11624,11627,11632,11634,11638,11641,11652,11655,11659,11663,11671,11685,11691,11694,11698,11706,11713,11718,11722,11726,11738,11744,11747,11751,11758,11763,11766,11770,11782,11785,11793,11799,11802,11806,11810,11827,11830,11853,11857,11860,11877,11881,11884,11887,11919,11925,11928,11930,11934,11937,11940,11944,11947,11950,11953,11960,11963,11967,11970,11976,11981,11985,11988,12002,12005,12011,12015,12023,12026,12034,12038,12045,12048,12051,12066,12069,12078,12086,12089,12091,12095,12098,12101,12104,12107,12110,12116,12119,12125,12128,12136,12139,12141,12143,12147,12150,12154,12157,12160,12206,12209,12214,12218,12221,12229,12232,12235,12239,12242,12245,12252,12255,12271,12275,12278,12281,12316,12319,12323,12334,12340,12346,12359,12368,12376,12383,12386,12394,12401,12403,12407,12414,12417,12420],[11,10713,10714,10715,10717],{},"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you want to ",[15,10716,18],{"href":17},", you need to learn kanji. Sorry, friend.",[11,10719,10720],{},"Anyway!",[11,10722,10723,10724,10728,10729,10732,10733,10736,10737,506,10740,10743],{},"The kanji are ",[15,10725,10727],{"href":10726},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-alphabets","one of the three \"alphabets\" used to write Japanese",", alongside the hiragana (ひらがな ",[103,10730],{"src":10731,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_ひらがな.mp3",") and katakana (カタカナ ",[103,10734],{"src":10735,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_カタカナ.mp3","). Whereas the hiragana and katakana are completely phonetic and simply represent sounds, each kanji is a unique symbol that has a specific meaning. For example, the word \"kanji\" (",[98,10738],{"lang":100,"syntax":10739},"漢字[かんじ]",[103,10741],{"src":10742,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_漢字.mp3",") literally means \"Chinese\" (漢) \"character\" (字).",[11,10745,10746],{},"Given this relationship between kanji and Japanese words, learning Japanese means learning a lot of kanji. Everything written in Japanese is written in kanji, from books to subtitles to street signs. Menus in restaurants include kanji, and Japanese dictionaries are organized by the parts a word's kanji contains. Even beginner textbooks quickly phase out romanizations and hiragana in favor of kanji.",[11,10748,10749],{},"This deep dive contains everything you need to know to start learning kanji. We'll cover:",[39,10751],{},[42,10753],{},[45,10755,10757],{"id":10756},"how-japanese-kanji-work","How Japanese Kanji Work",[11,10759,10760],{},"Very generally speaking, here's the anatomy of a kanji character:",[304,10762,10763,10779,10793,10805],{},[307,10764,10765,10768,10769,6933,10774,3892],{},[1090,10766,10767],{},"Strokes"," — ",[15,10770,10773],{"href":10771,"rel":10772},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FChinese_character_strokes#Basic_strokes",[971],"Individual strokes of a brush",[15,10775,10778],{"href":10776,"rel":10777},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FChinese_character_strokes#\u002Fmedia\u002FFile:CJK_37_Strokes_(8+29).png",[971],"chart here",[307,10780,10781,10768,10784,10789,10790,415],{},[1090,10782,10783],{},"Components",[15,10785,10788],{"href":10786,"rel":10787},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FList_of_kanji_radicals_by_frequency#Table",[971],"Specific sequences of strokes"," that receive names and get used as building blocks to create characters. The main component in each character is called a ",[26,10791,10792],{},"radical",[307,10794,10795,10798,10799,10804],{},[1090,10796,10797],{},"Characters"," — Specific combinations of components (here are the ",[15,10800,10803],{"href":10801,"rel":10802},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FKy%C5%8Diku_kanji#First_grade_(80_kanji)",[971],"kyōiku kanji",", which are learned in elementary school)",[307,10806,10807,10810],{},[1090,10808,10809],{},"Words"," — May be a single character, multiple characters, a mix of characters and hiragana, hiragana alone, or katakana alone",[11,10812,10813,10814,10817,10818,10821,10822,10825,10826,6066],{},"So the stroke \"丨\" (tatebou, ",[26,10815,10816],{},"vertical line",") appears in the component 日 (",[26,10819,10820],{},"day","), this component appears in the character 時 (",[26,10823,10824],{},"time","), and this character appears in the word 時間 (じかん, ",[26,10827,10828],{},"time\u002Fperiod",[11,10830,10831,10832,10835],{},"Unfortunately, things ",[26,10833,10834],{},"do"," get a little more complicated. Some strokes double as components, some components double as characters, and some words consist of a single character. If you're feeling overwhelmed, just remember this:",[320,10837,10838],{},[11,10839,10840,10841,10843],{},"Kanji are ",[26,10842,10642],{}," random collections of strokes. There are thousands of kanji, but they all boil down to being different combinations of the same components.",[847,10845,10847],{"id":10846},"radicals-部首-the-core-of-each-kanji","Radicals (部首), the core of each kanji",[11,10849,10850,10851,10855],{},"The oldest form of written Chinese we know of, ",[15,10852,10854],{"href":10853,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FOracle_bone_script","the Oracle Bone Script,"," dates back to before 1,000 BC. Some of these characters are similar enough to our modern characters to be recognizable, but they were not standardized and came in many variations.",[11,10857,10858],{},"Over a thousand years later, the scholar Xu Shen created the Shouwen Jiezi, a dictionary that contained a detailed analysis of the usage and structure of characters used in The Five Classics (of the Han dynasty). What's special about this dictionary is that:",[304,10860,10861,10864,10867],{},[307,10862,10863],{},"It's a (massive) list of characters that is broken into sections",[307,10865,10866],{},"Each section is headed by a specific sequence of strokes",[307,10868,10869],{},"Each character in each section contains this same sequence of strokes",[11,10871,10872],{},"And nobody had done anything like this before.",[11,10874,10875,10876,506,10886,10889,10890,10893,10894,10897],{},"Xu Shen called these shared sequences of strokes ",[15,10877,10879,10880,10879],{"href":10878,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FChinese_character_radicals","\"",[1090,10881,10882,10883,3892],{},"radicals (",[98,10884],{"lang":100,"syntax":10885},"部首[ぶしゅ]",[103,10887],{"src":10888,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_部首.mp3",", which literally means ",[26,10891,10892],{},"section"," (部) ",[26,10895,10896],{},"head\u002Fchief"," (首): the shared component that he felt defined\u002Fheaded a section\u002Fgroup of characters.",[11,10899,10900,10901,10905],{},"We still use this same system of classification today, but we now recognize only ",[15,10902,10904],{"href":10903,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FKangxi_radicals","214 unique radicals",", as opposed to Xu Shen's 500+.",[320,10907,10908],{},[11,10909,10910,10911,10918,10919,10921,10922,3892],{},"The radical of 時 (time) is 日 (",[15,10912,10914,10917],{"href":10913,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FRadical_72",[26,10915,10916],{},"sun",", radical 72","), which simply means that the character 時 will appear in the 日 section of a ",[26,10920,1032],{}," dictionary. (There are ",[15,10923,10925],{"href":10924,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_dictionary#Lexicographical_terminology","multiple types of Japanese dictionaries!",[847,10927,10929],{"id":10928},"the-structure-of-kanji","The structure of kanji",[11,10931,10932],{},"You might believe me when I tell you that the radical of 時 is 日, but you probably also have another question: what about that 寺 on the right side? Don't we care about it?",[11,10934,10935],{},"And that's an important question!",[11,10937,10938],{},"To answer it, it's important to understand that Xu Shen was observing and analyzing the kanji, and he did so in several different ways. For example, by:",[344,10940,10941,10951,10976],{},[307,10942,10943,10945,10946,10950],{},[1090,10944,10783],{}," — If we ignore the radical and think instead about what a particular component brings to a character, we end up with ",[15,10947,10949],{"href":10948,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FChinese_character_internal_structures#Internal_structural_components","three categories",": things that offer phonetic (sound) information, things that offer semantic (meaning) information, and things that contain neither.",[307,10952,10953,10956,10957,10961,10962,10966,10967,10971,10972],{},[1090,10954,10955],{},"Radicals"," — The \"main\" component of a kanji, as determined by Xu Shen. This was a somewhat arbitrary designation: 日 is the radical of ",[15,10958,10960],{"href":10959,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wiktionary.org\u002Fwiki\u002F%E6%99%82#Han_character","時",", but not of ",[15,10963,10965],{"href":10964,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wiktionary.org\u002Fwiki\u002F%E8%80%85#Han_character","者",". There are also cases like 初 (first) where ",[15,10968,10970],{"href":10969,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fdictionary.goo.ne.jp\u002Fword\u002Fkanji\u002F%E5%88%9D\u002F","Japanese dictionaries say the radical is 刀"," but ",[15,10973,10975],{"href":10974,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fdict.mini.moe.edu.tw\u002FSearchIndex\u002Fword_detail?wordID=D0003945&breadcrumbs=Search_%E5%88%9D_one&dictSearchField=%E5%88%9D"," Chinese dictionaries say the radical is 衣",[307,10977,10978,10981,10982,10986],{},[1090,10979,10980],{},"Placement"," — Characters are also classified by the position in which their radical occupies, such as on the left side (called \"hen\") or on top (called \"kanmuri\"). ",[15,10983,10985],{"href":10984,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FList_of_kanji_radicals_by_frequency#Table_key","There are 7 main positions",", one of which has several sub-positions.",[11,10988,10989],{},"If you've got a moment, you can try this for yourself:",[344,10991,10992,10999,11006],{},[307,10993,10994,10995],{},"Ignore the Japanese and focus on the image\u002Fchart at ",[15,10996,10998],{"href":10997,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.goo.ne.jp\u002Fishiseiji\u002Fe\u002F09d12633e3321d5563556c847fd79cb6","the top of this article",[307,11000,11001,11002],{},"Scroll through this list of ",[15,11003,11005],{"href":11004,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FList_of_jōyō_kanji","the 2,136 \"regular-use\" kanji",[307,11007,11008],{},"See if you notice any structural patterns",[320,11010,11011],{},[11,11012,11013],{},"時 is kanji #818 on the above list. It's a \"hen\" kanji, meaning that the radical (日) is on the left side. It's also what's called a phonetic-semantic kanji, which we'll discuss in the next section.",[847,11015,11017],{"id":11016},"the-4-main-types-of-kanji","The 4 (main) types of kanji",[11,11019,11020,11021,11025],{},"Combining the concepts of components, radicals, and radical placement, plus earlier work from other scholars, Xu Shen identified ",[15,11022,11024],{"href":11023,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FKanji#Types_of_kanji_by_category","four types of kanji",". (Actually 6, but the other two are more contested and less useful for learners, so we'll skip them.)",[344,11027,11028,11058,11087,11096],{},[307,11029,11030,11036,11037,11040,11041,3808,11044,11047,11048,11051,11052,3808,11055,6066],{},[1090,11031,11032,11035],{},[98,11033],{"lang":100,"syntax":11034},"象形文字[しょうけいもじ]"," Pictographic Characters"," — these kanji look like the thing they are representing. Examples include ",[98,11038],{"lang":100,"syntax":11039},"川[かわ]"," (kawa ",[103,11042],{"src":11043,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_川.mp3",[26,11045,11046],{},"river",") and ",[98,11049],{"lang":100,"syntax":11050},"山[やま]"," (yama ",[103,11053],{"src":11054,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_山.mp3",[26,11056,11057],{},"mountain",[307,11059,11060,11066,11067,11070,11071,3808,11074,11047,11077,11080,11081,3808,11084,6066],{},[1090,11061,11062,11065],{},[98,11063],{"lang":100,"syntax":11064},"指事文字[しじもじ]"," Simple Ideographs"," — These characters represent an abstract idea or concept. Examples include ",[98,11068],{"lang":100,"syntax":11069},"上[うえ]"," (ue ",[103,11072],{"src":11073,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_上.mp3",[26,11075,11076],{},"up",[98,11078],{"lang":100,"syntax":11079},"下[した]"," (shita ",[103,11082],{"src":11083,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_下.mp3",[26,11085,11086],{},"down",[307,11088,11089,11095],{},[1090,11090,11091,11094],{},[98,11092],{"lang":100,"syntax":11093},"会意文字[かいいもじ]"," Compound Ideographs"," — These characters combine pictographs and\u002For simple ideographs to represent an abstract idea or concept. Examples include the character for rest 休 (person 人 + tree 木) and the character for following a path 辿 (walk ⻍ + 山 mountain)",[307,11097,11098,11104],{},[1090,11099,11100,11103],{},[98,11101],{"lang":100,"syntax":11102},"形声文字[けいせいもじ]"," Phonetic-Semantic Characters"," — These characters combine a phonetic component that gives information about what a character sounds like and a semantic component that gives information about what it means. Examples include 時 from above (time: semantic 日 \"sun\" + phonetic 寺 \"temple\") and 銅 (copper: semantic 金 \"metal\" + phonetic 同 \"same\").",[11,11106,11107],{},"Over half of the kanji are phonetic-semantic characters, so as you learn more vocabulary words, you'll eventually develop a somewhat-accurate intuition for how a new character likely sounds. This is one reason that kanji get easier to learn as you learn more of them.",[847,11109,11111],{"id":11110},"onyomi-and-kunyomi-the-readingpronunciation-of-kanji","Onyomi and Kunyomi, the reading\u002Fpronunciation of kanji",[11,11113,11114,11115,11117,11118,11121],{},"We can now finally address a question that's likely been on your mind: if this is ",[26,11116,3918],{},", then why are we talking about ",[26,11119,11120],{},"Chinese"," characters?",[11,11123,11124,11125],{},"And the answer is pretty straightforward: Japan originally lacked a writing system and China was a major influence in the region. Oversimplifying quite a bit, bilingual court officials basically forced the Chinese characters onto native Japanese words. Some Chinese words were also borrowed into Japanese. ",[26,11126,11127,11128,3892],{},"(",[15,11129,11131],{"href":11130,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FKanji#History","If you have some time, it's a cool story.",[11,11133,11134,11135,11138],{},"As you might imagine, this got messy. Virtually all characters have some Japanese readings and some Chinese readings, and while you can usually guess whether a Chinese or Japanese reading will be used, you can't always guess ",[26,11136,11137],{},"which"," of the various Chinese or Japanese readings will be used. You just have to learn them as you go.",[11,11140,11141],{},"To briefly compare these two different ways of reading kanji:",[304,11143,11144,11192],{},[307,11145,11146,11155],{},[1090,11147,11148,506,11151,11154],{},[98,11149],{"lang":100,"syntax":11150},"訓読み[くんよみ]",[103,11152],{"src":11153,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_訓読み.mp3"," — Kun'yomi, a character's \"Japanese\" reading",[304,11156,11157,11163,11169],{},[307,11158,11159,11162],{},[1090,11160,11161],{},"Definition"," — The way(s) that a character is pronounced in cases where it was superimposed onto an existing Japanese word.",[307,11164,11165,11168],{},[1090,11166,11167],{},"When to use"," — Kun'yomi are used when a word consists of a mix of kanji and hiragana, and are sometimes used in cases where a word consists of a single kanji with no hiragana.",[307,11170,11171,11174,11175,506,11178,11181,11182,11185,11186,3808,11189,6066],{},[1090,11172,11173],{},"Examples"," — the character ",[98,11176],{"lang":100,"syntax":11177},"中[なか]",[103,11179],{"src":11180,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_中.mp3"," has a kun'yomi of \"naka\" as a standalone word for \"middle\", and the character 光 has a kunyomi of \"hika\" in the word ",[98,11183],{"lang":100,"syntax":11184},"光[ひか]る"," (hikaru ",[103,11187],{"src":11188,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_光る.mp3",[26,11190,11191],{},"to shine\u002Fto glitter",[307,11193,11194,11203],{},[1090,11195,11196,506,11199,11202],{},[98,11197],{"lang":100,"syntax":11198},"音読み[おんよみ]",[103,11200],{"src":11201,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_音読み.mp3","— On'yomi, a character's \"Chinese\" reading",[304,11204,11205,11210,11226],{},[307,11206,11207,11209],{},[1090,11208,11161],{}," — Japanese approximations of the way a character was historically pronounced in the original Chinese word\u002Flanguage.",[307,11211,11212,11214,11215,11218,11219,3808,11222,11225],{},[1090,11213,11167],{}," — Generally speaking, if you see a word that consists of multiple kanji stuck together and no hiragana, on'yomi will probably be used. (These words are called ",[98,11216],{"lang":100,"syntax":11217},"熟語[じゅくご]"," (jukugo ",[103,11220],{"src":11221,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_熟語.mp3",[26,11223,11224],{},"kanji compounds",") .)",[307,11227,11228,11230,11231,11234,11235,3808,11238,11241,11242,11245,11246,3808,11249,6066],{},[1090,11229,11173],{}," — The character 中 has an on'yomi of \"chuu\" in the compound word ",[98,11232],{"lang":100,"syntax":11233},"中国[ちゅうごく]"," (chuugoku ",[103,11236],{"src":11237,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_中国.mp3",[26,11239,11240],{},"China; literally \"middle country\"",") , and the character 光 has an on'yomi of \"kou\" in the compound word ",[98,11243],{"lang":100,"syntax":11244},"光明[こうみょう]"," (koumyou ",[103,11247],{"src":11248,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_光明.mp3",[26,11250,11251],{},"bright light",[11,11253,11254,11255,11259,11260,11263,11264,3808,11267,11270],{},"Then, remember how I said that there wasn't a reliable way to guess the way to pronounce a character? There's even ",[15,11256,11258],{"href":11257,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fbenesse.jp\u002Fkyouiku\u002Fteikitest\u002Fchu\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese\u002Fc00534.html","a handful of two-kanji words in which one kanji uses kun'yomi and the other uses on'yomi "," (link is in Japanese). A common example is ",[98,11261],{"lang":100,"syntax":11262},"台所[だいどころ]"," (daidokoro ",[103,11265],{"src":11266,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_台所.mp3",[26,11268,11269],{},"kitchen","), in which 台 has the on'yomi reading \"dai\" and 所 has the kun'yomi reading \"dokoro\".",[11,11272,11273,11274,11276],{},"All these rules and exceptions in mind, we recommend ",[26,11275,10642],{}," actively trying to memorize the on'yomi and kun'yomi of a kanji. You'll acquire this knowledge naturally as you learn more Japanese words. We'll talk about this more in the section on learning kanji.",[847,11278,11280],{"id":11279},"how-many-kanji-characters-do-you-need-to-know","How many kanji characters do you need to know?",[11,11282,11283],{},"This depends entirely on what you want to do with Japanese.",[304,11285,11286,11292,11315,11321],{},[307,11287,11288,11291],{},[1090,11289,11290],{},"Bare minimum: ~1,000 kanji"," — If you're looking for a bare minimum number to begin getting through manga, light novels, and text messages, it's in this ballpark.",[307,11293,11294,11297,11298,11301,11302,11305,11306,11310,11311,415],{},[1090,11295,11296],{},"High-school level: 2,136 kanji"," — Here's ",[15,11299,11300],{"href":11004,"target":6583},"a list of kanji"," that the Japanese Ministry of Education has dubbed \"regular-use kanji\" (",[26,11303,11304],{},"jouyou kanji"," in Japanese). These are the characters that Japanese students learn while in school, and they may appear in mass-market books and newspaper articles without ",[15,11307,11309],{"href":11308,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FFurigana","furigana"," (little hiragana that show how to pronounce a word). This is also roughly the amount of kanji required to pass the JLPT N1, the highest level of ",[15,11312,11314],{"href":11313,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese-Language_Proficiency_Test","the Japanese Language Proficiency Test",[307,11316,11317,11320],{},[1090,11318,11319],{},"Book worms: ~3,000 kanji",": There are many literary and technical kanji that only see use in, well, literary and technical contexts. If you go through university in Japan or develop a love for Japanese literature, you'll end up learning over an extra 1,000 characters through exposure.",[307,11322,11323,11326,11327,6933,11331,11334,11335,11338],{},[1090,11324,11325],{},"Scholars: 6,350 kanji",": Aimed at native Japanese people, the ",[15,11328,11330],{"href":11329,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FKanji_Kentei#Level_1","Japanese Kanji Aptitude Test",[98,11332],{"lang":100,"syntax":11333},"日本[にほん] 漢字[かんじ] 能力[のうりょく] 検定[けんてい]",", nihon kanji nouryoku kentei ",[103,11336],{"src":11337,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_日本漢字能力検定.mp3",") focuses entirely on kanji proficiency. Passing this test is considered prestigious, and would be listed on a resumé.",[11,11340,11341,11342,11345],{},"This all goes to say that if you Google ",[26,11343,11344],{},"how many kanji should I learn",", different places will give you different answers.",[11,11347,11348],{},"I would personally recommend worrying less about the number of kanji you know and more about the number of words. The context provided by vocabulary words will make it easier to remember the kanji they contain, and focusing on words also saves you from spending time on technical\u002Fobscure kanji that you may never actually see in real life.",[42,11350],{},[45,11352,11354],{"id":11353},"tips-to-learn-kanji-efficiently","Tips to Learn Kanji Efficiently",[11,11356,11357],{},"Now you understand that kanji aren't just squiggles on a page... but how do you go about learning over a thousand unique characters?",[847,11359,11361],{"id":11360},"use-mnemonics-to-help-memorize-kanji","Use mnemonics to help memorize kanji",[11,11363,11364,11365,11369],{},"Here's a ",[15,11366,11368],{"href":11367,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=iWE5ea7tdB4","4-time memory champion talking about how he memorizes things",". It boils down to turning information into something he can visualize, and he does that by making mnemonics. This is a three-step process:",[344,11371,11372,11378,11384],{},[307,11373,11374,11377],{},[1090,11375,11376],{},"See"," — translate the information into something he can visualize",[307,11379,11380,11383],{},[1090,11381,11382],{},"Link"," — connect the image to something you already know (so you can find it later)",[307,11385,11386,11389],{},[1090,11387,11388],{},"Go"," — get silly; your mnemonic will be easier to remember if it's funny, shocking, gross, etc",[11,11391,11392],{},"The \"lego blocks put together\" nature of kanji lends itself really well to making mnemonics. For example, here's one story I made that's stuck with me for ten years:",[320,11394,11395],{},[304,11396,11397,11406,11422],{},[307,11398,11399,11402,11403,3892],{},[1090,11400,11401],{},"Character",": 始 (",[26,11404,11405],{},"start",[307,11407,11408,11410,11411,11414,11415,11418,11419,3892],{},[1090,11409,10783],{},": 女 (",[26,11412,11413],{},"woman","), 厶 (",[26,11416,11417],{},"looks like an elbow to me","), 口 (",[26,11420,11421],{},"mouth",[307,11423,11424,11427,11428,11433,11434,11438,11439,11444,11445,11450],{},[1090,11425,11426],{},"Mnemonic story",": I open the door to my grandparents' house... and, in front of my eyes, my 300-pound ",[2191,11429,11430],{},[26,11431,11432],{},"grandma"," is upside down, doing a headstand — ",[2191,11435,11436],{},[26,11437,11421],{}," on the floor, ",[2191,11440,11441],{},[26,11442,11443],{},"elbows"," up in the air. I stand there, staring in shock, watching, helplessly, as grandma ",[2191,11446,11447],{},[1090,11448,11449],{},"starts"," falling over.",[11,11452,11453],{},"That might look like a lot of work, but before long, making these stories becomes second nature. It's easier than you think, and can even be kind of fun. Best of all, that silly story transforms 始 from 8 random strokes into 3 meaningful parts.",[11,11455,11456],{},"If you're looking for a way to memorize kanji, mnemonics should be in your toolbox.",[847,11458,11460],{"id":11459},"write-kanji-out-by-hand","Write kanji out by hand",[11,11462,11463],{},"You'll benefit in a few key ways:",[344,11465,11466,11478,11484],{},[307,11467,11468,11471,11472,11477],{},[1090,11469,11470],{},"Stroke order",": Kanji are written according to a ",[15,11473,11476],{"href":11474,"rel":11475},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FStroke_order#General_guidelines",[971],"consistent set of guidelines",": top to bottom, left to right. Once you get a feel for this, you'll become able to correctly write any character, even ones you haven't seen before.",[307,11479,11480,11483],{},[1090,11481,11482],{},"Initial exposure",": Knowledge is a spectrum, and the first step in learning anything is simply processing the information at hand. This is a low-stress way to get the characters and their components into your brain.",[307,11485,11486,11489,11490,11493],{},[1090,11487,11488],{},"Perspective",": You'll notice that there are many kanji that you ",[26,11491,11492],{},"know"," you know—you know them when you see them, after all!—but that you can't quite remember when you sit down and try to write them.",[11,11495,11496,11497,11507],{},"This third point—",[15,11498,11500,11501,3814,11504],{"href":11499,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=Uhyk2bRTguI","the difference between ",[26,11502,11503],{},"recognition",[26,11505,11506],{},"recall","—is especially important. It's much easier to reach a point where you can recognize the kanji when you see them than it is to reach a point where you can write them from memory.",[11,11509,11510,11511,11515],{},"While this is bad news if you're planning to ",[15,11512,11514],{"href":11513},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-write-a-japanese-letter","handwrite lots of letters in Japanese",", the good news is that there are very few times when you actually need to write the characters out by hand. Remembering how they look is good enough, and this isn't as hard as you might think.",[847,11517,11519],{"id":11518},"use-a-spaced-repetition-system-srs","Use a spaced repetition system (SRS)",[11,11521,11522,11526],{},[15,11523,11525],{"href":11524,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSpaced_repetition","Spaced repetition"," is an algorithm-supported approach to reviewing information that solves three important learning problems. It tells you:",[344,11528,11529,11532,11535],{},[307,11530,11531],{},"What to learn next",[307,11533,11534],{},"That you'll probably forget {some things} if you don't review it today",[307,11536,11537,11538,11541],{},"That you remember {other things} well enough and ",[26,11539,11540],{},"don't"," need to review it today",[11,11543,11544],{},"The SRS then keeps track of your performance with each of those things to help organize your studies:",[304,11546,11547,11550],{},[307,11548,11549],{},"The more often you get something correct, the less often you'll review it",[307,11551,11552],{},"The less often you get something correct, the more often you'll review it",[11,11554,11555],{},"Here's a way to visualize that process. In the below image, box #1 is reviewed most often (daily) and box #5 is reviewed least often (perhaps once a month).",[50,11557],{"src":11558,"width":11559,"height":11560,"alt":11561},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_leitner.webp",640,338,"A visual example of the leitner technique, an early approach to spaced repetition.",[11,11563,11564],{},"It's a simple practice, but it yields a very powerful result: you spend more of your time practicing the things you need to practice and waste less of your time reviewing things you already know well. As someone who has used SRS software for over 10 years, I personally consider them to be modern-day magic. So long as you're consistent, pretty much everything that goes into your SRS will eventually end up in your long-term memory.",[11,11566,11567],{},"Many of the tools and resources we'll cover down below come equipped with built-in spaced repetition systems. It's just that powerful. Everybody who knows what it does wants to take advantage of it.",[847,11569,11571],{"id":11570},"consume-japanese-content-to-learn-words-and-kanji-simultaneously","Consume Japanese content to learn words and kanji simultaneously",[11,11573,11574],{},"You see, spaced repetition is kind of like going to the gym. It'll make you stronger, and that's helpful for playing sports, but getting good at basketball is more than just having big muscles. It also requires playing a lot of basketball. Similarly, spaced repetition should complement your immersion (using Japanese to do cool things), not replace it.",[11,11576,11577,11578,11580],{},"We think that a big part of the \"secret\" to learning languages is simply spending a lot of time enjoying yourself in the language, so we built a tool that makes it possible for beginners to do that. You see, when you're watching anime or reading Murakami Haruki, you aren't ",[26,11579,600],{}," having fun. You're also making important observations about Japanese.",[11,11582,11583],{},"For example, consider these three words:",[304,11585,11586,11600,11612],{},[307,11587,11588,11591,11592,11595,11596,11599],{},[98,11589],{"lang":100,"syntax":11590},"心理学[しんりがく]","\n — (shinrigaku \n",[103,11593],{"src":11594,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_心理学.mp3","\n, \n",[26,11597,11598],{},"psychology","\n)\n",[307,11601,11602,11605,11606,11595,11609,11599],{},[98,11603],{"lang":100,"syntax":11604},"学生[がくせい]","\n — (gakusei \n",[103,11607],{"src":11608,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_学生.mp3",[26,11610,11611],{},"student",[307,11613,11614,11617,11618,11595,11621,11599],{},[98,11615],{"lang":100,"syntax":11616},"大学[だいがく]","\n — (daigaku \n",[103,11619],{"src":11620,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_大学.mp3",[26,11622,11623],{},"university",[11,11625,11626],{},"Notice that all three of them share the 学 character, that they all contain \"gaku\", and that they're all related to school\u002Feducation? Well, that's no accident! The character 学 means \"learn\", and its on'yomi is \"gaku\". So long as you know these three words, you get this information about the kanji they contain for free. This is much more efficient than focusing on each individual kanji one-by-one.",[320,11628,11629],{},[11,11630,11631],{},"You don't need to spend a ton of time studying kanji before you can start enjoying Japanese content. On the contrary, consuming a lot of Japanese content will help you naturally acquire kanji, vocabulary, grammar, and more.",[42,11633],{},[45,11635,11637],{"id":11636},"tools-and-resources-for-kanji-learning","Tools and Resources for Kanji Learning",[11,11639,11640],{},"Now that you know how kanji work and have a couple ideas about how to approach them, all that's left is to get started. Here are several tools that I have personally experimented with. I recommend:",[344,11642,11643,11646,11649],{},[307,11644,11645],{},"Pick one main resource",[307,11647,11648],{},"Give it a bit of time each day for a month",[307,11650,11651],{},"After a month passes, reflect on how you're doing: keep going if you're satisfied with your progress, consider changing things up if you notice obvious holes in your knowledge",[11,11653,11654],{},"People have successfully learned kanji and made progress in Japanese with each of the below tools, so there isn't necessarily a single \"right\" option. At the end of the day, what really counts is whether you end up seeing the resource through to the end or not.",[847,11656,11658],{"id":11657},"kanji-textbooks","Kanji textbooks",[3240,11660,11662],{"id":11661},"_1-remembering-the-kanji-rtk","1. Remembering the Kanji (RTK)",[11,11664,11665,11666,11670],{},"It would be hard to talk about kanji resources without bringing up ",[15,11667,11669],{"href":11668,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FRemembering-Kanji-Complete-Japanese-Characters\u002Fdp\u002F0824835921","Remembering the Kanji"," by Dr. James W. Heisig. The book begins with a practical guide to building mnemonics and then a suggestion of how to make your own flashcards to study the book's material. After providing that background, the book guides you through all of the kanji in a progressive format:",[344,11672,11673,11679,11682],{},[307,11674,11675,11676,3892],{},"You are taught 34 basic kanji over the first two chapters in the \"kanji → keyword → story (radicals bolded) → stroke order\" format (",[26,11677,11678],{},"see photo below",[307,11680,11681],{},"In each following chapter, Heisig introduces a few new radicals and radical-like elements",[307,11683,11684],{},"Heisig then introduces all of the new kanji you can make by combining the kanji you know with these new radicals",[50,11686],{"src":11687,"width":11688,"height":11689,"alt":11690},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_heisig_tongue.webp",976,408,"An excerpt from the book Reading the Kanji by James Heisig, depicting the kanji for 'tongue'.",[11,11692,11693],{},"Looking at this photo above—the idea here is that you learned 口 (mouth) in chapter one, and in chapter three you've just learned 千 (thousand), so now you're putting 口 and 千 together to make 舌 (tongue). The stories give you a mental path to follow so that, hopefully, if you remember 口 or 千, you can also find your way to 舌. After the first several chapters, Heisig expects you to begin making your own stories.",[3240,11695,11697],{"id":11696},"_2-kodansha-kanji-learners-course-kklc","2. Kodansha Kanji Learner's Course (KKLC)",[11,11699,11700,11701,11705],{},"Published more recently in 2013, the ",[15,11702,11704],{"href":11703,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKodansha-Kanji-Learners-Course-Step\u002Fdp\u002F1568365268\u002F"," Kodansha Kanji Learner's Course"," is another book that in many ways builds on RTK. The basic idea is the same—you see characters, keywords, mnemonics, and stroke order—but it also provides sample vocabulary words\u002Fphrases and notes about common on'yomi\u002Fkun'yomi readings. In my personal experience, I've found that people who dislike RTK seem to like KKLC.",[11,11707,11708,11709],{},"Whereas RTK is more of an exercise book that you work through, the KKLC is more like a reference material—a big kanji book. The author also has a detailed companion website that covers, among other things, ",[15,11710,11712],{"href":11711,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fkeystojapanese.com\u002Fhow-to-study\u002F"," how to study with KKLC",[50,11714],{"src":11715,"width":11716,"height":11689,"alt":11717},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_kklc_middle.webp",944,"An excerpt from the book Kodansha Kanji Learner's Course by Anthon Scott Conning, depicting the kanji for 'middle'.",[847,11719,11721],{"id":11720},"apps-and-websites","Apps and websites",[3240,11723,11725],{"id":11724},"_1-skritter","1. Skritter",[11,11727,11728,11729,11732,11733,415],{},"We talked about handwriting above—most learners don't realistically ",[26,11730,11731],{},"need"," to learn to write in Japanese, but if you're artsy or you just like handwriting, you'll like ",[15,11734,11737],{"href":11735,"rel":11736},"https:\u002F\u002Fskritter.com\u002F",[971],"Skritter",[50,11739],{"src":11740,"width":11741,"height":11742,"alt":11743},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_skritter.webp",2388,1122,"An excerpt from Skritter's landing page, showing the app and some of its functionalities.",[11,11745,11746],{},"Skritter has you learn kanji by writing them. Its handwriting recognition is excellent, and it will even provide you with stylistic feedback to make your characters look nicer. As the app observes your writing, it uses a spaced-repetition system to schedule characters for review in the future.",[3240,11748,11750],{"id":11749},"_2-wanikani","2. WaniKani",[11,11752,11753,11754,415],{},"If you turned Remembering the Kanji into an app, updated it to also teach kanji readings and vocabulary, and then had a great design team set their sight on kanji flashcards, you'd have ",[15,11755,11757],{"href":11756,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wanikani.com\u002F","WaniKani",[50,11759],{"src":11760,"width":11761,"height":5899,"alt":11762},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-wanikani.webp",1460,"A screenshot of wanikani's app interface, showing how they teach kanji.",[11,11764,11765],{},"The app follows a similar progression as RTK—you learn a few new radicals, then learn a few kanji you can build using those radicals, then learn a few vocab words which include those kanji—and everything you learn is built on top of a spaced repetition system, so you'll end up committing the things you learn to memory if you stay consistent with your studies.",[3240,11767,11769],{"id":11768},"_3-anki","3. Anki",[11,11771,11772,11776,11777,11781],{},[15,11773,11775],{"href":11774,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fapps.ankiweb.net\u002F","Anki"," is an open-sourced application for learning content via flashcards that's backed by a powerful spaced repetition algorithm. It's not specifically for learning Japanese—you can use it for anything—but there are ",[15,11778,11780],{"href":11779,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fankiweb.net\u002Fshared\u002Fdecks?search=japanese","many free community decks"," available, some of which were obviously the result of many hours of work by passionate learners.",[11,11783,11784],{},"The biggest advantage and disadvantage of Anki is that you'll need to learn how to use it. It's an open-source sandbox with a somewhat significant learning curve. If you enjoy tweaking settings to get things exactly the way you like them, and get annoyed with the quality of the content in mass market learning materials, you'll probably like Anki.",[11,11786,11787,11788,415],{},"To give you an example of the cool things you can do with Anki, here's a kanji learning tool we built for it: ",[15,11789,11792],{"href":11790,"rel":11791},"https:\u002F\u002Fankiweb.net\u002Fshared\u002Finfo\u002F1872210448",[971],"Migaku Kanji GOD",[50,11794],{"src":11795,"width":11796,"height":11797,"alt":11798},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_kanji-god.webp",1550,1314,"A screenshot of Migaku's Kanji GOD addon, showing how we automate the process of learning kanji.",[11,11800,11801],{},"The front of the flashcard contains those 4 characters you see at the top. After you flip the card over, you'll see this additional information. At the very bottom of the card, we've also gathered several mnemonic stories you can use to remember the kanji.",[847,11803,11805],{"id":11804},"miscellaneous-resources","Miscellaneous resources",[3240,11807,11809],{"id":11808},"japanese-dictionaries","Japanese dictionaries",[11,11811,11812,11813,11817,11818,11822,11823],{},"For computer: ",[15,11814,11816],{"href":11815,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fjisho.org\u002F","Jisho.org"," | For iOS: ",[15,11819,11821],{"href":11820,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fapps.apple.com\u002Fus\u002Fapp\u002Fshirabe-jisho\u002Fid1005203380","Shirabe Jisho"," | For Android: ",[15,11824,11826],{"href":11825,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fplay.google.com\u002Fstore\u002Fapps\u002Fdetails?id=jp.takoboto&hl=en_US"," Takoboto",[11,11828,11829],{},"These are the free dictionaries I personally use across my various devices. They're all free and useful in a pinch. Here's what I like about each one:",[304,11831,11832,11842,11847],{},[307,11833,11834,11837,11838],{},[1090,11835,11836],{},"Jisho"," — Fast, EN\u003C>JP search, many example sentences, and ",[15,11839,11841],{"href":11840,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002FLearnJapanese\u002Fcomments\u002Fx466lr\u002Ftip_an_extension_that_adds_pitchaccent_to_jishoorg\u002F"," a plugin that provides pitch-accent information",[307,11843,11844,11846],{},[1090,11845,11821],{}," — It's usable offline and has \"conjugation trees\" showing all of the forms of any verb",[307,11848,11849,11852],{},[1090,11850,11851],{},"Takoboto"," — It's usable offline and is incredibly fast",[3240,11854,11856],{"id":11855},"grid-paper","Grid paper",[11,11858,11859],{},"If you go take calligraphy lessons in Japan, you'll practice by writing the kanji on 4x4 grids. Symmetry and proportions are an important part of kanji, and if you don't naturally have a knack for handwriting, your characters will probably come out looking pretty funky. Practice with grid paper helps with that.",[304,11861,11862,11870],{},[307,11863,11864,11865,11869],{},"If you've opted to use KKLC, Andrew also sells the ",[15,11866,11868],{"href":11867,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanji-Learners-Course-Green-Book\u002Fdp\u002F069272799X\u002F","KKLC Green Book",", which contains all of the kanji in KKLC order and gives you 12 chances to practice writing each one",[307,11871,11872,11873],{},"If you have access to a printer, try ",[15,11874,11876],{"href":11875,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fteamjapanese.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2023\u002F02\u002FTJ-japanese-writing-practice-paper-15mm-grid.pdf","this template from Team Japanese",[3240,11878,11880],{"id":11879},"the-japanese-language-proficiency-test-jlpt","The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)",[11,11882,11883],{},"All of the resources we've shared so far are from independent creators and companies, but if you want to do this more officially, you might find it motivating to work through the JLPT levels in sequential order: it shrinks the infinitely-big goal of \"learning Japanese\" down into the more manageable \"let's just pass one test at a time.\"",[11,11885,11886],{},"Here are JLPT kanji practice books in order:",[304,11888,11889,11895,11901,11907,11913],{},[307,11890,11891],{},[15,11892,11894],{"href":11893,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fproducts\u002Fmastering-kanji-guide-to-jlpt-n5-kanji","JLPT N5—119 kanji",[307,11896,11897],{},[15,11898,11900],{"href":11899,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fproducts\u002Fnew-kanzen-master-jlpt-n4-kanji","JLPT N4—278 kanji",[307,11902,11903],{},[15,11904,11906],{"href":11905,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fcollections\u002Fjlpt-study-books\u002Fproducts\u002Fnew-kanzen-master-jlpt-n3-kanji","JLPT N3—354 kanji",[307,11908,11909],{},[15,11910,11912],{"href":11911,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fcollections\u002Fjlpt-study-books\u002Fproducts\u002Fnew-kanzen-master-jlpt-n2-kanji","JLPT N2—1046 kanji",[307,11914,11915],{},[15,11916,11918],{"href":11917,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fcollections\u002Fjlpt-study-books\u002Fproducts\u002Fnew-kanzen-master-jlpt-n1-kanji","JLPT N1—677 kanji",[11,11920,11921,11922,11924],{},"Note that the JLPT does ",[26,11923,10642],{}," test writing or speaking, so these books will not help you learn to write the kanji. (If that's what you want, check out the KKLC Green Book from the above section). Instead, they will test you on things like whether you know how to read a certain kanji or which kanji compound is the most suitable choice to complete a sentence.",[11,11926,11927],{},"Following the above links will let you see a sample lesson from each book.",[42,11929],{},[45,11931,11933],{"id":11932},"what-i-wish-i-knew-when-i-set-out-to-learn-japanese","What I wish I knew when I set out to learn Japanese",[11,11935,11936],{},"In fall 2014 I moved to Japan to finish my degree (anthropology students had to spend two years abroad), and I passed the JLPT N1 in 2022. I moved to Taiwan and began learning Mandarin in spring 2018, and passed a Mandarin proficiency test of similar difficulty in 2024. Suffice it to say that I've spent a lot of time with these characters.",[11,11938,11939],{},"If I could go back to 2014, knowing what I know now, here are some of of the things I'd tell myself about learning kanji:",[847,11941,11943],{"id":11942},"mediocre-workouts-done-religiously-outperform-perfect-workouts-never-done","Mediocre workouts done religiously outperform perfect workouts never done",[11,11945,11946],{},"I'm going to go out on a limb here: you've probably read six blog posts, watched two YouTube videos, and spent way too many hours on Reddit in search of the most optimal way to learn kanji.",[11,11948,11949],{},"You're ready for this, friend.",[11,11951,11952],{},"People have learned Japanese successfully by using each of the tools we mentioned above... and people have also learned Japanese effectively without using any of them. If you've already spent a few days researching kanji learning strategies, just jump in. Pick an approach that seems useful and sustainable to you. Keep at it for at least 30 days. When that time has passed, take a moment to reflect on your progress. Keep going if you're happy, make an adjustment if you're not.",[11,11954,11955,11956,11959],{},"You ",[26,11957,11958],{},"could"," spend a year theorizing about the best way to learn kanji... but if you'd instead just learned six to seven new kanji per day using whatever old method, you'd have learned all the kanji you need for the highest-level Japanese proficiency test in that year.",[11,11961,11962],{},"Don't let \"perfect\" be the enemy of \"good enough\" 🙂",[847,11964,11966],{"id":11965},"whatever-method-you-pick-you-wont-be-done-with-the-kanji-when-you-finish-it","Whatever method you pick, you won't be done with the kanji when you finish it",[11,11968,11969],{},"For the most part, kanji learning tools are like training wheels. They'll teach you to ride a bike, but being able to stay upright on a bicycle doesn't mean you're ready for the Tour de France.",[11,11971,11972,11973,11975],{},"Pick your resource and get through it, but don't spend a ton of time or effort on it. You don't need to learn its contents like the back of your hand. Your only real goal right now is to learn the kanji just well enough to begin consuming Japanese content, which is where the ",[26,11974,5914],{}," learning happens.",[320,11977,11978],{},[11,11979,11980],{},"Learning Japanese is more than mastering kanji, so try not to get hung up on your kanji studies. You will learn them as a byproduct of spending time in Japanese.",[847,11982,11984],{"id":11983},"so-how-do-you-get-really-good-at-the-kanji","So how do you get really good at the kanji?",[11,11986,11987],{},"Today, the kanji feel like letters to me. I see them and they just \"have\" sound and meaning. To super condense how I got here:",[344,11989,11990,11993,11996,11999],{},[307,11991,11992],{},"Use your resource to learn the basics; just get to a point where the kanji aren't scary anymore",[307,11994,11995],{},"Start consuming content that you enjoy in Japanese, if you haven't already",[307,11997,11998],{},"Mostly go with the flow, but periodically look things up if they stick out to you",[307,12000,12001],{},"With time and exposure, the kanji will become second nature",[11,12003,12004],{},"It might seem counterintuitive, but if you're reading books or even just subtitles, you'll end up seeing thousands of kanji being used in natural contexts per day. Your brain is a pattern recognition machine and will do impressive things with all that context.",[11,12006,12007,12008,12010],{},"For example, you'll see a line of dialogue where someone says that their 日 hurts. You'll initially be confused: what does it mean for your ",[26,12009,10916],{}," to hurt? Then you'll look closer and see that this is actually 目 (eye) not 日 (sun). Suddenly, you appreciate this little detail. You'll accumulate hundreds of little experiences like this, and before you know it, kanji just won't be that difficult anymore.",[847,12012,12014],{"id":12013},"dont-study-for-long-blocks-of-time-instead-mobilize-your-downtime","Don't study for long blocks of time; instead, mobilize your downtime",[11,12016,12017,12018,12022],{},"Here's an interesting tidbit from learning psychology: ",[15,12019,12021],{"href":12020,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSerial-position_effect","we tend to better remember the first and last few items in a series better than the stuff in the middle."," You've probably heard that it's better to learn in many short sessions instead of one long one, and this is part of the reason for that.",[11,12024,12025],{},"Flashcards are great for this. When you're walking to a class or to lunch, heading to the bathroom, waiting on the microwave, rolling your eyes at a commercial—that's the perfect time to sneak in four or five flashcards. Getting your learning done throughout the day like this reduces stress and preserves your free time in the evenings.",[11,12027,12028,12029,12033],{},"We've actually got ",[15,12030,12032],{"href":12031},"\u002Fblog\u002Fyoutube\u002Fwe-spent-10000-hours-to-make-the-perfect-japanese-course","an entire beginner's Japanese course in flashcard format",". You can try it free for ten days and don't need to input payment information or anything like that, so you can see how the \"mobilize your downtime\" approach works for you and then commit later.",[847,12035,12037],{"id":12036},"what-to-do-when-youre-feeling-burned-out","What to do when you're feeling burned out",[11,12039,12040,12041,12044],{},"If you're like most people, you'll decide you want to learn a million kanji by tomorrow, start spending forty hours a day on this... and at some point begin realizing that this ",[26,12042,12043],{},"might"," not be sustainable. Do you quit Japanese?",[11,12046,12047],{},"No.",[11,12049,12050],{},"Here's one of my favorite quotes:",[320,12052,12053,12058],{},[11,12054,12055],{},[26,12056,12057],{},"We usually describe a task as difficult because we're dissatisfied with our performance, which means we've started judging. Your expectations haven't been met, and maybe you're starting to doubt whether you'll ever succeed, which can sap your motivation. You're not actually struggling with {the thing}, you're struggling with unrealistic expectations and an idealized image of what you think \"should\" be happening.",[304,12059,12060],{},[307,12061,12062],{},[15,12063,12065],{"href":12064,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMind-Illuminated-Meditation-Integrating-Mindfulness\u002Fdp\u002F1501156985","John Yates, \"The Mind Illuminated\"",[11,12067,12068],{},"The perspective I've learned to have is that life is long and that my livelihood doesn't depend on speaking perfect Japanese. What Japanese brings to my life is value\u002Fsatisfaction, and I hope to enjoy that for as long a period of time as possible.",[11,12070,12071,12072,12077],{},"When I feel burned out, I take a break. I keep watching YouTube, reading, ",[15,12073,12076],{"href":12074,"rel":12075},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=d76F_B8wxZ4",[971],"listening to city pop","—the stuff I love—but I don't study or do anything that takes energy.",[304,12079,12080,12083],{},[307,12081,12082],{},"In the worst case scenario, I end up maintaining my connection to Japanese.",[307,12084,12085],{},"In the best case scenario, I end up building a sizeable to-read and to-watch list of stuff that is a bit too difficult to comfortably enjoy now, and that stuff becomes my motivation to continue practicing.",[11,12087,12088],{},"A short trip is better than a long fall.",[42,12090],{},[45,12092,12094],{"id":12093},"the-worlds-most-efficient-kanji-course","The world's most efficient kanji course",[11,12096,12097],{},"Originally, Migaku we had a very narrow focus: we wanted to build a tool that would streamline the process of looking up unknown words you encounter in Japanese media and turning useful-looking ones into high-quality flashcards. Our target audience was the intermediate learner of Japanese who tended to be neglected by other platforms.",[11,12099,12100],{},"Unfortunately, we just couldn't find a resource we felt comfortable recommending to users that would get them from zero to a level where they could really use our product. As you likely noticed, all of the resources introduced above come with pretty notable tradeoffs.",[11,12102,12103],{},"That was a problem for us.",[11,12105,12106],{},"Eventually, we gave up the search and made our own course. It turned out pretty great.",[50,12108],{"src":951,"width":952,"height":953,"alt":12109},"A screenshot from the Migaku Kanji course, showing how we help users learn kanji",[11,12111,12112,12113,415],{},"The Migaku Kanji Course takes the best elements from tools like Remembering the Kanji and Wani Kani—the approach to breaking down kanji, the use of mnemonics, and the ",[15,12114,12115],{"href":5906},"spaced-repetition algorithm",[11,12117,12118],{},"From there, we go a few steps further:",[50,12120],{"src":12121,"width":12122,"height":12123,"alt":12124},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanj-course-academy-integration.jpeg",1660,1156,"A screenshot from the Migaku Japanese course, showing how we help users learn Japanese words and grammar",[11,12126,12127],{},"The idea is that you start our kanji course first, then, a week later, start working through the Migaku Japanese Academy at the same pace. They integrate very nicely:",[304,12129,12130,12133],{},[307,12131,12132],{},"The Academy teaches the specific ~1,500 words and ~300 grammar points you need to go from zero to being able to stumble through Netflix",[307,12134,12135],{},"The Kanji course is paced such that you always study a kanji character in isolation before you see it used in sentences",[11,12137,12138],{},"By the time you're done, you'll recognize all of the kanji you're likely to see on a regular basis, and also have a system to learn any new kanji you encounter as you go.",[674,12140],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,12142],{},[45,12144,12146],{"id":12145},"faqs-common-problems-how-to-overcome-them","FAQs: Common problems & how to overcome them",[11,12148,12149],{},"We talked about more holistic \"learning how to learn\" stuff above. Now, we'll get into a few concrete kanji problems that you're inevitably going to encounter.",[847,12151,12153],{"id":12152},"how-do-i-keep-all-of-these-onyomi-and-kunyomi-straight","How do I keep all of these on'yomi and kun'yomi straight?",[11,12155,12156],{},"Don't! For now, ignore the readings and focus on consuming content and learning vocabulary. As you do that, you'll naturally learn the on'yomi and kun'yomi.",[11,12158,12159],{},"For example, here are a few basic words you'll learn early on that include the kanji 日 (sun), for example:",[304,12161,12162,12176,12191],{},[307,12163,12164,12167,12168,12170,12171,11595,12174,11599],{},[98,12165],{"lang":100,"syntax":12166},"日本語[にほんご]","\n — (\n",[1090,12169,144],{},"\nhongo \n",[103,12172],{"src":12173,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_日本語.mp3",[26,12175,3918],{},[307,12177,12178,12181,12182,369,12185,11595,12188,11599],{},[98,12179],{"lang":100,"syntax":12180},"明日[あした]","\n — (a\n",[1090,12183,12184],{},"shita",[103,12186],{"src":12187,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_明日.mp3",[26,12189,12190],{},"tomorrow",[307,12192,12193,12196,12197,369,12200,11595,12203,11599],{},[98,12194],{"lang":100,"syntax":12195},"月曜日[げつようび]","\n — (getsuyou\n",[1090,12198,12199],{},"bi",[103,12201],{"src":12202,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_月曜日.mp3",[26,12204,12205],{},"Monday",[11,12207,12208],{},"There's never a situation outside of school where somebody is going to stop you and ask you to recite all the readings of a particular kanji... but if you know a few words with 日, you'll also know that 日 can be pronounced as \"ni\", \"shita\", and \"bi\".",[320,12210,12211],{},[11,12212,12213],{},"If you're consuming content, you're learning Japanese. If you're learning vocabulary words, you're learning kanji and their readings. It's a beautiful, positive, self-reinforcing cycle.",[847,12215,12217],{"id":12216},"how-do-i-retain-all-of-this-information-about-the-kanji","How do I retain all of this information about the kanji?",[11,12219,12220],{},"Language is one of those things where if you don't use it, you lose it. That in mind, you have two main options available to you:",[344,12222,12223,12226],{},[307,12224,12225],{},"You can continue doing your flashcards forever",[307,12227,12228],{},"You can begin spending some of your free time doing things in Japanese",[11,12230,12231],{},"The great thing about reading books and watching j-dramas (and so forth) is that they act as a kind of natural spaced repetition system. When you consume content in Japanese, you'll be prompted to remember kanji and make sense of thousands of words. You'll quickly reach a point where basic words, kanji, and grammar points just make sense to you, and as you continue doing what you enjoy doing, you'll gradually master all of the things you need to know to do that thing well.",[11,12233,12234],{},"So: put in a bit of work to learn the basics, start spending time in Japanese, then continue enjoying yourself in Japanese.",[847,12236,12238],{"id":12237},"what-do-i-do-if-i-confuse-one-kanji-with-another-kanji","What do I do if I confuse one kanji with another kanji?",[11,12240,12241],{},"In practice, know that this isn't as big of an issue as it seems like it would be.",[11,12243,12244],{},"土 (earth) and 士 (samurai\u002Fscholar) look really similar, and if you only ever see these words in workbooks or flashcards, they're indeed confusing! But if you're actually watching anime or talking to people, there just aren't that many situations when \"earth\" and \"scholar\" are interchangeable. Context pretty much solves the \"similar kanji\" problem for you.",[11,12246,12247,12248,12251],{},"But let's say that something ",[26,12249,12250],{},"does"," trip you up. I personally struggled with 隠 (conceal) vs 穏 (calmness), for example. My first step is always to isolate the characters and compare the kanji radicals. Here, we see that 隠 has 阝 and that 穏 has 禾.",[11,12253,12254],{},"Simply noticing this difference may be enough to resolve your confusion, but if not, here are a few \"next steps\" I've taken and found helpful:",[344,12256,12257,12260,12263],{},[307,12258,12259],{},"Use the see-link-go method mentioned in section 2 to create one story that connects 阝 (mound) to 隠 (conceal) and another that connects 禾 (grain) to 穏 (calmness). So long as you remember one of the stories, you're good!",[307,12261,12262],{},"Make six or ten physical flashcards, each one with 穏 or 隠 on the front and a translation on the back. Shuffle them, then take ten minutes to drill them.",[307,12264,12265,12266,12270],{},"Flag both of the words via ",[15,12267,12269],{"href":12268},"\u002Fblog\u002Fyoutube\u002Fsupercharge-your-language-learning-tracking-learned-words","Migaku's \"tracking\" feature"," so they stand out whenever you see them on the computer.",[847,12272,12274],{"id":12273},"what-happens-when-i-come-across-a-kanji-i-dont-recognize","What happens when I come across a kanji I don't recognize?",[11,12276,12277],{},"Even just twenty years ago, you'd be stuck. If you had a paper dictionary, you'd need to know the kanji's radical and then look it up. If you had an electronic dictionary, you'd have to know the correct stroke order, put your book down, and draw the kanji. This was a painful process.",[11,12279,12280],{},"Nowadays, parsing written Japanese is much easier. The technology we have today makes it very easy to read Japanese, so long as your content is digital:",[304,12282,12283,12289,12295,12306],{},[307,12284,12285,12288],{},[1090,12286,12287],{},"On iOS or Kindle",", simply long-tap the unknown word and then click \"look up\". You'll see dictionary definitions pop up.",[307,12290,12291,12294],{},[1090,12292,12293],{},"On Android or desktop",", copy the word and paste it into one of the dictionaries we mentioned above.",[307,12296,12297,12300,12301,12305],{},[1090,12298,12299],{},"If you're good with computers",", you can set up ",[15,12302,12304],{"href":12303,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fgithub.com\u002Fthemoeway\u002Fyomitan","Yomitan",", which brings up a dictionary entry whenever you hover your mouse over an unknown vocabulary word",[307,12307,12308,3808,12311,12315],{},[1090,12309,12310],{},"If you want a prepackaged solution",[15,12312,12314],{"href":12313},"\u002F","Migaku"," lets you do all of the above with pretty much no setup—we also have an intelligent camera feature that will let you use our technology with physical books",[11,12317,12318],{},"Either of these options represent an incredible improvement over paper dictionaries, so I strongly recommend beginning your Japanese journey with digital media.",[847,12320,12322],{"id":12321},"i-can-read-kanji-just-fine-but-i-never-remember-how-to-write-them","I can read kanji just fine, but I never remember how to write them",[11,12324,12325,12326,506,12330,12333],{},"It's not just you! There's actually a Chinese proverb about this: ",[98,12327],{"lang":12328,"syntax":12329},"zh","提筆忘字[ti2 bi3 wang4 zi4]",[103,12331],{"src":12332,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fzh_提筆忘字.mp3",". Literally meaning \"take pen, forget character\", this refers to the phenomenon in which native speakers are forgetting how to write some characters by hand because nowadays we use computers and phones.",[11,12335,12336,12337,8737],{},"When you type Japanese on a computer, you see a little menu like this after typing ",[26,12338,12339],{},"nihongo",[50,12341],{"src":12342,"width":12343,"height":12344,"alt":12345},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_typing.webp",1228,396,"A screenshot of a Japanese typing IME, showing how people type in Japanese.",[11,12347,12348,12349,12351,12352,12354,12355,12358],{},"So you don't actually have to remember how to write ",[98,12350],{"lang":100,"syntax":12166}," (nihongo, ",[26,12353,3918],{},"). All you have to do is pick the right word out of the list. If you know how to read kanji, you effectively know how to read ",[26,12356,12357],{},"and"," write kanji.",[320,12360,12361],{},[11,12362,12363,12364,12367],{},"I highly recommend taking 4 minutes to watch ",[15,12365,12366],{"href":11499,"target":6583},"this video on recall vs recognition"," from Khan Academy. Understanding this concept will make your life as a language learner easier.",[847,12369,12371,12372,12375],{"id":12370},"kanji-seem-too-difficult-what-if-i-just-want-to-speak-japanese","... Kanji seem too difficult. What if I just want to ",[26,12373,12374],{},"speak"," Japanese?",[11,12377,12378,12379,12382],{},"This might ",[26,12380,12381],{},"seem"," like a good idea right now, but it'd probably end up being more difficult to learn Japanese without the kanji than it is to learn it with them. As we mentioned in the introduction, there is virtually no content in Japanese that doesn't have kanji. If you skip them, you'd be limiting yourself almost entirely to learning Japanese by talking with Japanese people. That's not super practical.",[11,12384,12385],{},"Here's some good news for you:",[304,12387,12388,12391],{},[307,12389,12390],{},"Kanji are a front-loaded challenge, meaning that the difficult part comes first, then things get easier. Each kanji means something, so even if you run into a new word you've never seen before, the kanji give you an idea of what it means.",[307,12392,12393],{},"English's alphabet is a back-loaded challenge. It's easy to learn the 26 letters, but the trade-off is that they give you no information about the meaning of the word they appear in.",[11,12395,12396,12397,12400],{},"Now consider that a college-educated native speaker knows about 30,000 words. That's a lot to look up! An English speaker will struggle with that for their entire life—just yesterday I looked up the word ",[26,12398,12399],{},"macroscian","—but this isn't as big of a deal in Japanese.",[42,12402],{},[45,12404,12406],{"id":12405},"some-closing-thoughts","Some closing thoughts",[11,12408,12409,12410,12413],{},"Wow! That was a lot. We initially planned this to be a ~2,000 word post, but it ended up being ~6,000... and there's ",[26,12411,12412],{},"still"," more I could say about the kanji.",[11,12415,12416],{},"For now, fellow Japanese learner, know that this is going to be a challenge and require commitment. Nevertheless, it gets better. You'll struggle, you'll grow, and you'll feel accomplished. I dare say that most learners who make it through the beginner phase end up loving the kanji.",[11,12418,12419],{},"In parting, remember the golden rule of language learning:",[320,12421,12422],{},[11,12423,12424,12425],{},"If you consume Japanese media you enjoy, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. ",[26,12426,705],{},{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":12428},[12429,12436,12442,12447,12454,12455,12464],{"id":10756,"depth":707,"text":10757,"children":12430},[12431,12432,12433,12434,12435],{"id":10846,"depth":1016,"text":10847},{"id":10928,"depth":1016,"text":10929},{"id":11016,"depth":1016,"text":11017},{"id":11110,"depth":1016,"text":11111},{"id":11279,"depth":1016,"text":11280},{"id":11353,"depth":707,"text":11354,"children":12437},[12438,12439,12440,12441],{"id":11360,"depth":1016,"text":11361},{"id":11459,"depth":1016,"text":11460},{"id":11518,"depth":1016,"text":11519},{"id":11570,"depth":1016,"text":11571},{"id":11636,"depth":707,"text":11637,"children":12443},[12444,12445,12446],{"id":11657,"depth":1016,"text":11658},{"id":11720,"depth":1016,"text":11721},{"id":11804,"depth":1016,"text":11805},{"id":11932,"depth":707,"text":11933,"children":12448},[12449,12450,12451,12452,12453],{"id":11942,"depth":1016,"text":11943},{"id":11965,"depth":1016,"text":11966},{"id":11983,"depth":1016,"text":11984},{"id":12013,"depth":1016,"text":12014},{"id":12036,"depth":1016,"text":12037},{"id":12093,"depth":707,"text":12094},{"id":12145,"depth":707,"text":12146,"children":12456},[12457,12458,12459,12460,12461,12462],{"id":12152,"depth":1016,"text":12153},{"id":12216,"depth":1016,"text":12217},{"id":12237,"depth":1016,"text":12238},{"id":12273,"depth":1016,"text":12274},{"id":12321,"depth":1016,"text":12322},{"id":12370,"depth":1016,"text":12463},"... Kanji seem too difficult. What if I just want to speak Japanese?",{"id":12405,"depth":707,"text":12406},"If you want to learn Japanese, you have to learn kanji. We'll explain what kanji are, how they differ from radicals and vocabulary, and how to learn them.",{"timestampUnix":12467,"slug":938,"h1":12468,"image":12469,"tags":12473},1728527155027,"Learn Japanese Kanji: The Best Way to Master Kanji and Radicals Without Memorizing",{"src":12470,"width":724,"height":12471,"alt":12472},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-kanji.webp",3024,"Several Japanese lanterns, each one featuring a few kanji characters.",[728,1032,12474,4107],"deepdive","\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-kanji","---\ntitle: 'Japanese Basics: The Best Way to Learn Kanji. Memorize Japanese Kanji Easily!'\ndescription: \"If you want to learn Japanese, you have to learn kanji. We'll explain what kanji are, how they differ from radicals and vocabulary, and how to learn them.\"\ntimestampUnix: 1728527155027\nslug: 'how-to-learn-kanji'\nh1: 'Learn Japanese Kanji: The Best Way to Master Kanji and Radicals Without Memorizing'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-kanji.webp'\n width: 4032\n height: 3024\n alt: 'Several Japanese lanterns, each one featuring a few kanji characters.'\ntags:\n - fundamentals\n - kanji\n - deepdive\n - resources\n---\n\nI hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), you need to learn kanji. Sorry, friend.\n\nAnyway!\n\nThe kanji are [one of the three \"alphabets\" used to write Japanese](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-alphabets), alongside the hiragana (ひらがな \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_ひらがな.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>) and katakana (カタカナ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_カタカナ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>). Whereas the hiragana and katakana are completely phonetic and simply represent sounds, each kanji is a unique symbol that has a specific meaning. For example, the word \"kanji\" (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"漢字[かんじ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_漢字.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>) literally means \"Chinese\" (漢) \"character\" (字).\n\nGiven this relationship between kanji and Japanese words, learning Japanese means learning a lot of kanji. Everything written in Japanese is written in kanji, from books to subtitles to street signs. Menus in restaurants include kanji, and Japanese dictionaries are organized by the parts a word's kanji contains. Even beginner textbooks quickly phase out romanizations and hiragana in favor of kanji.\n\nThis deep dive contains everything you need to know to start learning kanji. We'll cover:\n\n::toc\n::\n\n---\n\n## How Japanese Kanji Work\n\nVery generally speaking, here's the anatomy of a kanji character:\n\n- **Strokes** — [Individual strokes of a brush](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FChinese_character_strokes#Basic_strokes) ([chart here](\u003Chttps:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FChinese_character_strokes#\u002Fmedia\u002FFile:CJK_37_Strokes_(8+29).png>))\n- **Components** — [Specific sequences of strokes](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FList_of_kanji_radicals_by_frequency#Table) that receive names and get used as building blocks to create characters. The main component in each character is called a _radical_.\n- **Characters** — Specific combinations of components (here are the [kyōiku kanji](\u003Chttps:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FKy%C5%8Diku_kanji#First_grade_(80_kanji)>), which are learned in elementary school)\n- **Words** — May be a single character, multiple characters, a mix of characters and hiragana, hiragana alone, or katakana alone\n\nSo the stroke \"丨\" (tatebou, _vertical line_) appears in the component 日 (_day_), this component appears in the character 時 (_time_), and this character appears in the word 時間 (じかん, _time\u002Fperiod_).\n\nUnfortunately, things _do_ get a little more complicated. Some strokes double as components, some components double as characters, and some words consist of a single character. If you're feeling overwhelmed, just remember this:\n\n> Kanji are _not_ random collections of strokes. There are thousands of kanji, but they all boil down to being different combinations of the same components.\n\n### Radicals (部首), the core of each kanji\n\nThe oldest form of written Chinese we know of, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FOracle_bone_script\" target=\"_blank\">the Oracle Bone Script,\u003C\u002Fa> dates back to before 1,000 BC. Some of these characters are similar enough to our modern characters to be recognizable, but they were not standardized and came in many variations.\n\nOver a thousand years later, the scholar Xu Shen created the Shouwen Jiezi, a dictionary that contained a detailed analysis of the usage and structure of characters used in The Five Classics (of the Han dynasty). What's special about this dictionary is that:\n\n- It's a (massive) list of characters that is broken into sections\n- Each section is headed by a specific sequence of strokes\n- Each character in each section contains this same sequence of strokes\n\nAnd nobody had done anything like this before.\n\nXu Shen called these shared sequences of strokes \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FChinese_character_radicals\" target=\"_blank\">\"**radicals (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"部首[ぶしゅ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>)**\"\u003C\u002Fa> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_部首.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, which literally means _section_ (部) _head\u002Fchief_ (首): the shared component that he felt defined\u002Fheaded a section\u002Fgroup of characters.\n\nWe still use this same system of classification today, but we now recognize only \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FKangxi_radicals\" target=\"_blank\">214 unique radicals\u003C\u002Fa>, as opposed to Xu Shen's 500+.\n\n> The radical of 時 (time) is 日 (\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FRadical_72\" target=\"_blank\">_sun_, radical 72\u003C\u002Fa>), which simply means that the character 時 will appear in the 日 section of a _kanji_ dictionary. (There are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_dictionary#Lexicographical_terminology\" target=\"_blank\">multiple types of Japanese dictionaries!\u003C\u002Fa>)\n\n### The structure of kanji\n\nYou might believe me when I tell you that the radical of 時 is 日, but you probably also have another question: what about that 寺 on the right side? Don't we care about it?\n\nAnd that's an important question!\n\nTo answer it, it's important to understand that Xu Shen was observing and analyzing the kanji, and he did so in several different ways. For example, by:\n\n1. **Components** — If we ignore the radical and think instead about what a particular component brings to a character, we end up with \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FChinese_character_internal_structures#Internal_structural_components\" target=\"_blank\">three categories\u003C\u002Fa>: things that offer phonetic (sound) information, things that offer semantic (meaning) information, and things that contain neither.\n2. **Radicals** — The \"main\" component of a kanji, as determined by Xu Shen. This was a somewhat arbitrary designation: 日 is the radical of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wiktionary.org\u002Fwiki\u002F%E6%99%82#Han_character\" target=\"_blank\">時\u003C\u002Fa>, but not of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wiktionary.org\u002Fwiki\u002F%E8%80%85#Han_character\" target=\"_blank\">者\u003C\u002Fa>. There are also cases like 初 (first) where \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fdictionary.goo.ne.jp\u002Fword\u002Fkanji\u002F%E5%88%9D\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">Japanese dictionaries say the radical is 刀\u003C\u002Fa> but \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fdict.mini.moe.edu.tw\u002FSearchIndex\u002Fword_detail?wordID=D0003945&breadcrumbs=Search_%E5%88%9D_one&dictSearchField=%E5%88%9D\" target=\"_blank\"> Chinese dictionaries say the radical is 衣\u003C\u002Fa>\n3. **Placement** — Characters are also classified by the position in which their radical occupies, such as on the left side (called \"hen\") or on top (called \"kanmuri\"). \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FList_of_kanji_radicals_by_frequency#Table_key\" target=\"_blank\">There are 7 main positions\u003C\u002Fa>, one of which has several sub-positions.\n\nIf you've got a moment, you can try this for yourself:\n\n1. Ignore the Japanese and focus on the image\u002Fchart at \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.goo.ne.jp\u002Fishiseiji\u002Fe\u002F09d12633e3321d5563556c847fd79cb6\" target=\"_blank\">the top of this article\u003C\u002Fa>\n2. Scroll through this list of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FList_of_jōyō_kanji\" target=\"_blank\">the 2,136 \"regular-use\" kanji\u003C\u002Fa>\n3. See if you notice any structural patterns\n\n> 時 is kanji #818 on the above list. It's a \"hen\" kanji, meaning that the radical (日) is on the left side. It's also what's called a phonetic-semantic kanji, which we'll discuss in the next section.\n\n### The 4 (main) types of kanji\n\nCombining the concepts of components, radicals, and radical placement, plus earlier work from other scholars, Xu Shen identified \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FKanji#Types_of_kanji_by_category\" target=\"_blank\">four types of kanji\u003C\u002Fa>. (Actually 6, but the other two are more contested and less useful for learners, so we'll skip them.)\n\n1. **\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"象形文字[しょうけいもじ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> Pictographic Characters** — these kanji look like the thing they are representing. Examples include \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"川[かわ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (kawa \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_川.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, _river_) and \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"山[やま]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (yama \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_山.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, _mountain_).\n2. **\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"指事文字[しじもじ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> Simple Ideographs** — These characters represent an abstract idea or concept. Examples include \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"上[うえ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (ue \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_上.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, _up_) and \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"下[した]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (shita \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_下.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, _down_).\n3. **\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"会意文字[かいいもじ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> Compound Ideographs** — These characters combine pictographs and\u002For simple ideographs to represent an abstract idea or concept. Examples include the character for rest 休 (person 人 + tree 木) and the character for following a path 辿 (walk ⻍ + 山 mountain)\n4. **\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"形声文字[けいせいもじ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> Phonetic-Semantic Characters** — These characters combine a phonetic component that gives information about what a character sounds like and a semantic component that gives information about what it means. Examples include 時 from above (time: semantic 日 \"sun\" + phonetic 寺 \"temple\") and 銅 (copper: semantic 金 \"metal\" + phonetic 同 \"same\").\n\nOver half of the kanji are phonetic-semantic characters, so as you learn more vocabulary words, you'll eventually develop a somewhat-accurate intuition for how a new character likely sounds. This is one reason that kanji get easier to learn as you learn more of them.\n\n### Onyomi and Kunyomi, the reading\u002Fpronunciation of kanji\n\nWe can now finally address a question that's likely been on your mind: if this is _Japanese_, then why are we talking about _Chinese_ characters?\n\nAnd the answer is pretty straightforward: Japan originally lacked a writing system and China was a major influence in the region. Oversimplifying quite a bit, bilingual court officials basically forced the Chinese characters onto native Japanese words. Some Chinese words were also borrowed into Japanese. _(\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FKanji#History\" target=\"_blank\">If you have some time, it's a cool story.\u003C\u002Fa>)_\n\nAs you might imagine, this got messy. Virtually all characters have some Japanese readings and some Chinese readings, and while you can usually guess whether a Chinese or Japanese reading will be used, you can't always guess _which_ of the various Chinese or Japanese readings will be used. You just have to learn them as you go.\n\nTo briefly compare these two different ways of reading kanji:\n\n- **\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"訓読み[くんよみ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_訓読み.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — Kun'yomi, a character's \"Japanese\" reading**\n\n - **Definition** — The way(s) that a character is pronounced in cases where it was superimposed onto an existing Japanese word.\n - **When to use** — Kun'yomi are used when a word consists of a mix of kanji and hiragana, and are sometimes used in cases where a word consists of a single kanji with no hiragana.\n - **Examples** — the character \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"中[なか]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_中.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> has a kun'yomi of \"naka\" as a standalone word for \"middle\", and the character 光 has a kunyomi of \"hika\" in the word \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"光[ひか]る\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (hikaru \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_光る.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, _to shine\u002Fto glitter_).\n\n- **\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"音読み[おんよみ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_音読み.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>— On'yomi, a character's \"Chinese\" reading**\n - **Definition** — Japanese approximations of the way a character was historically pronounced in the original Chinese word\u002Flanguage.\n - **When to use** — Generally speaking, if you see a word that consists of multiple kanji stuck together and no hiragana, on'yomi will probably be used. (These words are called \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"熟語[じゅくご]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (jukugo \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_熟語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, _kanji compounds_) .)\n - **Examples** — The character 中 has an on'yomi of \"chuu\" in the compound word \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"中国[ちゅうごく]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (chuugoku \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_中国.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, _China; literally \"middle country\"_) , and the character 光 has an on'yomi of \"kou\" in the compound word \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"光明[こうみょう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (koumyou \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_光明.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, _bright light_).\n\nThen, remember how I said that there wasn't a reliable way to guess the way to pronounce a character? There's even \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fbenesse.jp\u002Fkyouiku\u002Fteikitest\u002Fchu\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese\u002Fc00534.html\" target=\"_blank\">a handful of two-kanji words in which one kanji uses kun'yomi and the other uses on'yomi \u003C\u002Fa> (link is in Japanese). A common example is \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"台所[だいどころ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (daidokoro \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_台所.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, _kitchen_), in which 台 has the on'yomi reading \"dai\" and 所 has the kun'yomi reading \"dokoro\".\n\nAll these rules and exceptions in mind, we recommend _not_ actively trying to memorize the on'yomi and kun'yomi of a kanji. You'll acquire this knowledge naturally as you learn more Japanese words. We'll talk about this more in the section on learning kanji.\n\n### How many kanji characters do you need to know?\n\nThis depends entirely on what you want to do with Japanese.\n\n- **Bare minimum: ~1,000 kanji** — If you're looking for a bare minimum number to begin getting through manga, light novels, and text messages, it's in this ballpark.\n- **High-school level: 2,136 kanji** — Here's \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FList_of_jōyō_kanji\" target=\"_blank\">a list of kanji\u003C\u002Fa> that the Japanese Ministry of Education has dubbed \"regular-use kanji\" (_jouyou kanji_ in Japanese). These are the characters that Japanese students learn while in school, and they may appear in mass-market books and newspaper articles without \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FFurigana\" target=\"_blank\">furigana\u003C\u002Fa> (little hiragana that show how to pronounce a word). This is also roughly the amount of kanji required to pass the JLPT N1, the highest level of \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese-Language_Proficiency_Test\" target=\"_blank\">the Japanese Language Proficiency Test\u003C\u002Fa>.\n- **Book worms: ~3,000 kanji**: There are many literary and technical kanji that only see use in, well, literary and technical contexts. If you go through university in Japan or develop a love for Japanese literature, you'll end up learning over an extra 1,000 characters through exposure.\n- **Scholars: 6,350 kanji**: Aimed at native Japanese people, the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FKanji_Kentei#Level_1\" target=\"_blank\">Japanese Kanji Aptitude Test\u003C\u002Fa> (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"日本[にほん] 漢字[かんじ] 能力[のうりょく] 検定[けんてい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>, nihon kanji nouryoku kentei \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_日本漢字能力検定.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>) focuses entirely on kanji proficiency. Passing this test is considered prestigious, and would be listed on a resumé.\n\nThis all goes to say that if you Google _how many kanji should I learn_, different places will give you different answers.\n\nI would personally recommend worrying less about the number of kanji you know and more about the number of words. The context provided by vocabulary words will make it easier to remember the kanji they contain, and focusing on words also saves you from spending time on technical\u002Fobscure kanji that you may never actually see in real life.\n\n---\n\n## Tips to Learn Kanji Efficiently\n\nNow you understand that kanji aren't just squiggles on a page... but how do you go about learning over a thousand unique characters?\n\n### Use mnemonics to help memorize kanji\n\nHere's a \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=iWE5ea7tdB4\" target=\"_blank\">4-time memory champion talking about how he memorizes things\u003C\u002Fa>. It boils down to turning information into something he can visualize, and he does that by making mnemonics. This is a three-step process:\n\n1. **See** — translate the information into something he can visualize\n2. **Link** — connect the image to something you already know (so you can find it later)\n3. **Go** — get silly; your mnemonic will be easier to remember if it's funny, shocking, gross, etc\n\nThe \"lego blocks put together\" nature of kanji lends itself really well to making mnemonics. For example, here's one story I made that's stuck with me for ten years:\n\n> - **Character**: 始 (_start_)\n> - **Components**: 女 (_woman_), 厶 (_looks like an elbow to me_), 口 (_mouth_)\n> - **Mnemonic story**: I open the door to my grandparents' house... and, in front of my eyes, my 300-pound \u003Cu>_grandma_\u003C\u002Fu> is upside down, doing a headstand — \u003Cu>_mouth_\u003C\u002Fu> on the floor, \u003Cu>_elbows_\u003C\u002Fu> up in the air. I stand there, staring in shock, watching, helplessly, as grandma \u003Cu>**starts**\u003C\u002Fu> falling over.\n\nThat might look like a lot of work, but before long, making these stories becomes second nature. It's easier than you think, and can even be kind of fun. Best of all, that silly story transforms 始 from 8 random strokes into 3 meaningful parts.\n\nIf you're looking for a way to memorize kanji, mnemonics should be in your toolbox.\n\n### Write kanji out by hand\n\nYou'll benefit in a few key ways:\n\n1. **Stroke order**: Kanji are written according to a [consistent set of guidelines](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FStroke_order#General_guidelines): top to bottom, left to right. Once you get a feel for this, you'll become able to correctly write any character, even ones you haven't seen before.\n\n2. **Initial exposure**: Knowledge is a spectrum, and the first step in learning anything is simply processing the information at hand. This is a low-stress way to get the characters and their components into your brain.\n\n3. **Perspective**: You'll notice that there are many kanji that you _know_ you know—you know them when you see them, after all!—but that you can't quite remember when you sit down and try to write them.\n\nThis third point—\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=Uhyk2bRTguI\" target=\"_blank\">the difference between _recognition_ and _recall_\u003C\u002Fa>—is especially important. It's much easier to reach a point where you can recognize the kanji when you see them than it is to reach a point where you can write them from memory.\n\nWhile this is bad news if you're planning to [handwrite lots of letters in Japanese](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-write-a-japanese-letter), the good news is that there are very few times when you actually need to write the characters out by hand. Remembering how they look is good enough, and this isn't as hard as you might think.\n\n### Use a spaced repetition system (SRS)\n\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSpaced_repetition\" target=\"_blank\">Spaced repetition\u003C\u002Fa> is an algorithm-supported approach to reviewing information that solves three important learning problems. It tells you:\n\n1. What to learn next\n2. That you'll probably forget {some things} if you don't review it today\n3. That you remember {other things} well enough and _don't_ need to review it today\n\nThe SRS then keeps track of your performance with each of those things to help organize your studies:\n\n- The more often you get something correct, the less often you'll review it\n- The less often you get something correct, the more often you'll review it\n\nHere's a way to visualize that process. In the below image, box #1 is reviewed most often (daily) and box #5 is reviewed least often (perhaps once a month).\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_leitner.webp\" width=\"640\" height=\"338\" alt=\"A visual example of the leitner technique, an early approach to spaced repetition.\">\n\nIt's a simple practice, but it yields a very powerful result: you spend more of your time practicing the things you need to practice and waste less of your time reviewing things you already know well. As someone who has used SRS software for over 10 years, I personally consider them to be modern-day magic. So long as you're consistent, pretty much everything that goes into your SRS will eventually end up in your long-term memory.\n\nMany of the tools and resources we'll cover down below come equipped with built-in spaced repetition systems. It's just that powerful. Everybody who knows what it does wants to take advantage of it.\n\n### Consume Japanese content to learn words and kanji simultaneously\n\nYou see, spaced repetition is kind of like going to the gym. It'll make you stronger, and that's helpful for playing sports, but getting good at basketball is more than just having big muscles. It also requires playing a lot of basketball. Similarly, spaced repetition should complement your immersion (using Japanese to do cool things), not replace it.\n\nWe think that a big part of the \"secret\" to learning languages is simply spending a lot of time enjoying yourself in the language, so we built a tool that makes it possible for beginners to do that. You see, when you're watching anime or reading Murakami Haruki, you aren't _just_ having fun. You're also making important observations about Japanese.\n\nFor example, consider these three words:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"心理学[しんりがく]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> — (shinrigaku \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_心理学.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, _psychology_)\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"学生[がくせい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> — (gakusei \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_学生.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, _student_)\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"大学[だいがく]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> — (daigaku \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_大学.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, _university_)\n\nNotice that all three of them share the 学 character, that they all contain \"gaku\", and that they're all related to school\u002Feducation? Well, that's no accident! The character 学 means \"learn\", and its on'yomi is \"gaku\". So long as you know these three words, you get this information about the kanji they contain for free. This is much more efficient than focusing on each individual kanji one-by-one.\n\n> You don't need to spend a ton of time studying kanji before you can start enjoying Japanese content. On the contrary, consuming a lot of Japanese content will help you naturally acquire kanji, vocabulary, grammar, and more.\n\n---\n\n## Tools and Resources for Kanji Learning\n\nNow that you know how kanji work and have a couple ideas about how to approach them, all that's left is to get started. Here are several tools that I have personally experimented with. I recommend:\n\n1. Pick one main resource\n2. Give it a bit of time each day for a month\n3. After a month passes, reflect on how you're doing: keep going if you're satisfied with your progress, consider changing things up if you notice obvious holes in your knowledge\n\nPeople have successfully learned kanji and made progress in Japanese with each of the below tools, so there isn't necessarily a single \"right\" option. At the end of the day, what really counts is whether you end up seeing the resource through to the end or not.\n\n### Kanji textbooks\n\n#### 1. Remembering the Kanji (RTK)\n\nIt would be hard to talk about kanji resources without bringing up \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FRemembering-Kanji-Complete-Japanese-Characters\u002Fdp\u002F0824835921\" target=\"_blank\">Remembering the Kanji\u003C\u002Fa> by Dr. James W. Heisig. The book begins with a practical guide to building mnemonics and then a suggestion of how to make your own flashcards to study the book's material. After providing that background, the book guides you through all of the kanji in a progressive format:\n\n1. You are taught 34 basic kanji over the first two chapters in the \"kanji → keyword → story (radicals bolded) → stroke order\" format (_see photo below_)\n2. In each following chapter, Heisig introduces a few new radicals and radical-like elements\n3. Heisig then introduces all of the new kanji you can make by combining the kanji you know with these new radicals\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_heisig_tongue.webp\" width=\"976\" height=\"408\" alt=\"An excerpt from the book Reading the Kanji by James Heisig, depicting the kanji for 'tongue'.\">\n\nLooking at this photo above—the idea here is that you learned 口 (mouth) in chapter one, and in chapter three you've just learned 千 (thousand), so now you're putting 口 and 千 together to make 舌 (tongue). The stories give you a mental path to follow so that, hopefully, if you remember 口 or 千, you can also find your way to 舌. After the first several chapters, Heisig expects you to begin making your own stories.\n\n#### 2. Kodansha Kanji Learner's Course (KKLC)\n\nPublished more recently in 2013, the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKodansha-Kanji-Learners-Course-Step\u002Fdp\u002F1568365268\u002F\" target=\"_blank\"> Kodansha Kanji Learner's Course\u003C\u002Fa> is another book that in many ways builds on RTK. The basic idea is the same—you see characters, keywords, mnemonics, and stroke order—but it also provides sample vocabulary words\u002Fphrases and notes about common on'yomi\u002Fkun'yomi readings. In my personal experience, I've found that people who dislike RTK seem to like KKLC.\n\nWhereas RTK is more of an exercise book that you work through, the KKLC is more like a reference material—a big kanji book. The author also has a detailed companion website that covers, among other things, \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fkeystojapanese.com\u002Fhow-to-study\u002F\" target=\"_blank\"> how to study with KKLC\u003C\u002Fa>\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_kklc_middle.webp\" width=\"944\" height=\"408\" alt=\"An excerpt from the book Kodansha Kanji Learner's Course by Anthon Scott Conning, depicting the kanji for 'middle'.\">\n\n### Apps and websites\n\n#### 1. Skritter\n\nWe talked about handwriting above—most learners don't realistically _need_ to learn to write in Japanese, but if you're artsy or you just like handwriting, you'll like [Skritter](https:\u002F\u002Fskritter.com\u002F).\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_skritter.webp\" width=\"2388\" height=\"1122\" alt=\"An excerpt from Skritter's landing page, showing the app and some of its functionalities.\">\n\nSkritter has you learn kanji by writing them. Its handwriting recognition is excellent, and it will even provide you with stylistic feedback to make your characters look nicer. As the app observes your writing, it uses a spaced-repetition system to schedule characters for review in the future.\n\n#### 2. WaniKani\n\nIf you turned Remembering the Kanji into an app, updated it to also teach kanji readings and vocabulary, and then had a great design team set their sight on kanji flashcards, you'd have \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wanikani.com\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">WaniKani\u003C\u002Fa>.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-wanikani.webp\" width=\"1460\" height=\"1152\" alt=\"A screenshot of wanikani's app interface, showing how they teach kanji.\">\n\nThe app follows a similar progression as RTK—you learn a few new radicals, then learn a few kanji you can build using those radicals, then learn a few vocab words which include those kanji—and everything you learn is built on top of a spaced repetition system, so you'll end up committing the things you learn to memory if you stay consistent with your studies.\n\n#### 3. Anki\n\n\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fapps.ankiweb.net\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">Anki\u003C\u002Fa> is an open-sourced application for learning content via flashcards that's backed by a powerful spaced repetition algorithm. It's not specifically for learning Japanese—you can use it for anything—but there are \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fankiweb.net\u002Fshared\u002Fdecks?search=japanese\" target=\"_blank\">many free community decks\u003C\u002Fa> available, some of which were obviously the result of many hours of work by passionate learners.\n\nThe biggest advantage and disadvantage of Anki is that you'll need to learn how to use it. It's an open-source sandbox with a somewhat significant learning curve. If you enjoy tweaking settings to get things exactly the way you like them, and get annoyed with the quality of the content in mass market learning materials, you'll probably like Anki.\n\nTo give you an example of the cool things you can do with Anki, here's a kanji learning tool we built for it: [Migaku Kanji GOD](https:\u002F\u002Fankiweb.net\u002Fshared\u002Finfo\u002F1872210448).\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_kanji-god.webp\" width=\"1550\" height=\"1314\" alt=\"A screenshot of Migaku's Kanji GOD addon, showing how we automate the process of learning kanji.\">\n\nThe front of the flashcard contains those 4 characters you see at the top. After you flip the card over, you'll see this additional information. At the very bottom of the card, we've also gathered several mnemonic stories you can use to remember the kanji.\n\n### Miscellaneous resources\n\n#### Japanese dictionaries\n\nFor computer: \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fjisho.org\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">Jisho.org\u003C\u002Fa> | For iOS: \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fapps.apple.com\u002Fus\u002Fapp\u002Fshirabe-jisho\u002Fid1005203380\" target=\"_blank\">Shirabe Jisho\u003C\u002Fa> | For Android: \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fplay.google.com\u002Fstore\u002Fapps\u002Fdetails?id=jp.takoboto&hl=en_US\" target=\"_blank\"> Takoboto\u003C\u002Fa>\n\nThese are the free dictionaries I personally use across my various devices. They're all free and useful in a pinch. Here's what I like about each one:\n\n- **Jisho** — Fast, EN\u003C>JP search, many example sentences, and \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002FLearnJapanese\u002Fcomments\u002Fx466lr\u002Ftip_an_extension_that_adds_pitchaccent_to_jishoorg\u002F\" target=\"_blank\"> a plugin that provides pitch-accent information\u003C\u002Fa>\n- **Shirabe Jisho** — It's usable offline and has \"conjugation trees\" showing all of the forms of any verb\n- **Takoboto** — It's usable offline and is incredibly fast\n\n#### Grid paper\n\nIf you go take calligraphy lessons in Japan, you'll practice by writing the kanji on 4x4 grids. Symmetry and proportions are an important part of kanji, and if you don't naturally have a knack for handwriting, your characters will probably come out looking pretty funky. Practice with grid paper helps with that.\n\n- If you've opted to use KKLC, Andrew also sells the \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanji-Learners-Course-Green-Book\u002Fdp\u002F069272799X\u002F\" target=\"_blank\">KKLC Green Book\u003C\u002Fa>, which contains all of the kanji in KKLC order and gives you 12 chances to practice writing each one\n- If you have access to a printer, try \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fteamjapanese.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2023\u002F02\u002FTJ-japanese-writing-practice-paper-15mm-grid.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">this template from Team Japanese\u003C\u002Fa>\n\n#### The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)\n\nAll of the resources we've shared so far are from independent creators and companies, but if you want to do this more officially, you might find it motivating to work through the JLPT levels in sequential order: it shrinks the infinitely-big goal of \"learning Japanese\" down into the more manageable \"let's just pass one test at a time.\"\n\nHere are JLPT kanji practice books in order:\n\n- \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fproducts\u002Fmastering-kanji-guide-to-jlpt-n5-kanji\" target=\"_blank\">JLPT N5—119 kanji\u003C\u002Fa>\n- \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fproducts\u002Fnew-kanzen-master-jlpt-n4-kanji\" target=\"_blank\">JLPT N4—278 kanji\u003C\u002Fa>\n- \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fcollections\u002Fjlpt-study-books\u002Fproducts\u002Fnew-kanzen-master-jlpt-n3-kanji\" target=\"_blank\">JLPT N3—354 kanji\u003C\u002Fa>\n- \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fcollections\u002Fjlpt-study-books\u002Fproducts\u002Fnew-kanzen-master-jlpt-n2-kanji\" target=\"_blank\">JLPT N2—1046 kanji\u003C\u002Fa>\n- \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fcollections\u002Fjlpt-study-books\u002Fproducts\u002Fnew-kanzen-master-jlpt-n1-kanji\" target=\"_blank\">JLPT N1—677 kanji\u003C\u002Fa>\n\nNote that the JLPT does _not_ test writing or speaking, so these books will not help you learn to write the kanji. (If that's what you want, check out the KKLC Green Book from the above section). Instead, they will test you on things like whether you know how to read a certain kanji or which kanji compound is the most suitable choice to complete a sentence.\n\nFollowing the above links will let you see a sample lesson from each book.\n\n---\n\n## What I wish I knew when I set out to learn Japanese\n\nIn fall 2014 I moved to Japan to finish my degree (anthropology students had to spend two years abroad), and I passed the JLPT N1 in 2022. I moved to Taiwan and began learning Mandarin in spring 2018, and passed a Mandarin proficiency test of similar difficulty in 2024. Suffice it to say that I've spent a lot of time with these characters.\n\nIf I could go back to 2014, knowing what I know now, here are some of of the things I'd tell myself about learning kanji:\n\n### Mediocre workouts done religiously outperform perfect workouts never done\n\nI'm going to go out on a limb here: you've probably read six blog posts, watched two YouTube videos, and spent way too many hours on Reddit in search of the most optimal way to learn kanji.\n\nYou're ready for this, friend.\n\nPeople have learned Japanese successfully by using each of the tools we mentioned above... and people have also learned Japanese effectively without using any of them. If you've already spent a few days researching kanji learning strategies, just jump in. Pick an approach that seems useful and sustainable to you. Keep at it for at least 30 days. When that time has passed, take a moment to reflect on your progress. Keep going if you're happy, make an adjustment if you're not.\n\nYou _could_ spend a year theorizing about the best way to learn kanji... but if you'd instead just learned six to seven new kanji per day using whatever old method, you'd have learned all the kanji you need for the highest-level Japanese proficiency test in that year.\n\nDon't let \"perfect\" be the enemy of \"good enough\" 🙂\n\n### Whatever method you pick, you won't be done with the kanji when you finish it\n\nFor the most part, kanji learning tools are like training wheels. They'll teach you to ride a bike, but being able to stay upright on a bicycle doesn't mean you're ready for the Tour de France.\n\nPick your resource and get through it, but don't spend a ton of time or effort on it. You don't need to learn its contents like the back of your hand. Your only real goal right now is to learn the kanji just well enough to begin consuming Japanese content, which is where the _real_ learning happens.\n\n> Learning Japanese is more than mastering kanji, so try not to get hung up on your kanji studies. You will learn them as a byproduct of spending time in Japanese.\n\n### So how do you get really good at the kanji?\n\nToday, the kanji feel like letters to me. I see them and they just \"have\" sound and meaning. To super condense how I got here:\n\n1. Use your resource to learn the basics; just get to a point where the kanji aren't scary anymore\n2. Start consuming content that you enjoy in Japanese, if you haven't already\n3. Mostly go with the flow, but periodically look things up if they stick out to you\n4. With time and exposure, the kanji will become second nature\n\nIt might seem counterintuitive, but if you're reading books or even just subtitles, you'll end up seeing thousands of kanji being used in natural contexts per day. Your brain is a pattern recognition machine and will do impressive things with all that context.\n\nFor example, you'll see a line of dialogue where someone says that their 日 hurts. You'll initially be confused: what does it mean for your _sun_ to hurt? Then you'll look closer and see that this is actually 目 (eye) not 日 (sun). Suddenly, you appreciate this little detail. You'll accumulate hundreds of little experiences like this, and before you know it, kanji just won't be that difficult anymore.\n\n### Don't study for long blocks of time; instead, mobilize your downtime\n\nHere's an interesting tidbit from learning psychology: \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSerial-position_effect\" target=\"_blank\">we tend to better remember the first and last few items in a series better than the stuff in the middle.\u003C\u002Fa> You've probably heard that it's better to learn in many short sessions instead of one long one, and this is part of the reason for that.\n\nFlashcards are great for this. When you're walking to a class or to lunch, heading to the bathroom, waiting on the microwave, rolling your eyes at a commercial—that's the perfect time to sneak in four or five flashcards. Getting your learning done throughout the day like this reduces stress and preserves your free time in the evenings.\n\nWe've actually got [an entire beginner's Japanese course in flashcard format](\u002Fblog\u002Fyoutube\u002Fwe-spent-10000-hours-to-make-the-perfect-japanese-course). You can try it free for ten days and don't need to input payment information or anything like that, so you can see how the \"mobilize your downtime\" approach works for you and then commit later.\n\n### What to do when you're feeling burned out\n\nIf you're like most people, you'll decide you want to learn a million kanji by tomorrow, start spending forty hours a day on this... and at some point begin realizing that this _might_ not be sustainable. Do you quit Japanese?\n\nNo.\n\nHere's one of my favorite quotes:\n\n> _We usually describe a task as difficult because we're dissatisfied with our performance, which means we've started judging. Your expectations haven't been met, and maybe you're starting to doubt whether you'll ever succeed, which can sap your motivation. You're not actually struggling with {the thing}, you're struggling with unrealistic expectations and an idealized image of what you think \"should\" be happening._\n>\n> - \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMind-Illuminated-Meditation-Integrating-Mindfulness\u002Fdp\u002F1501156985\" target=\"_blank\">John Yates, \"The Mind Illuminated\"\u003C\u002Fa>\n\nThe perspective I've learned to have is that life is long and that my livelihood doesn't depend on speaking perfect Japanese. What Japanese brings to my life is value\u002Fsatisfaction, and I hope to enjoy that for as long a period of time as possible.\n\nWhen I feel burned out, I take a break. I keep watching YouTube, reading, [listening to city pop](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=d76F_B8wxZ4)—the stuff I love—but I don't study or do anything that takes energy.\n\n- In the worst case scenario, I end up maintaining my connection to Japanese.\n- In the best case scenario, I end up building a sizeable to-read and to-watch list of stuff that is a bit too difficult to comfortably enjoy now, and that stuff becomes my motivation to continue practicing.\n\nA short trip is better than a long fall.\n\n---\n\n## The world's most efficient kanji course\n\nOriginally, Migaku we had a very narrow focus: we wanted to build a tool that would streamline the process of looking up unknown words you encounter in Japanese media and turning useful-looking ones into high-quality flashcards. Our target audience was the intermediate learner of Japanese who tended to be neglected by other platforms.\n\nUnfortunately, we just couldn't find a resource we felt comfortable recommending to users that would get them from zero to a level where they could really use our product. As you likely noticed, all of the resources introduced above come with pretty notable tradeoffs.\n\nThat was a problem for us.\n\nEventually, we gave up the search and made our own course. It turned out pretty great.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-course-plug.jpeg\" width=\"1802\" height=\"1258\" alt=\"A screenshot from the Migaku Kanji course, showing how we help users learn kanji\" \u002F>\n\nThe Migaku Kanji Course takes the best elements from tools like Remembering the Kanji and Wani Kani—the approach to breaking down kanji, the use of mnemonics, and the [spaced-repetition algorithm](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fspaced-repetition-language-learning).\n\nFrom there, we go a few steps further:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanj-course-academy-integration.jpeg\" width=\"1660\" height=\"1156\" alt=\"A screenshot from the Migaku Japanese course, showing how we help users learn Japanese words and grammar\" \u002F>\n\nThe idea is that you start our kanji course first, then, a week later, start working through the Migaku Japanese Academy at the same pace. They integrate very nicely:\n\n- The Academy teaches the specific ~1,500 words and ~300 grammar points you need to go from zero to being able to stumble through Netflix\n- The Kanji course is paced such that you always study a kanji character in isolation before you see it used in sentences\n\nBy the time you're done, you'll recognize all of the kanji you're likely to see on a regular basis, and also have a system to learn any new kanji you encounter as you go.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## FAQs: Common problems & how to overcome them\n\nWe talked about more holistic \"learning how to learn\" stuff above. Now, we'll get into a few concrete kanji problems that you're inevitably going to encounter.\n\n### How do I keep all of these on'yomi and kun'yomi straight?\n\nDon't! For now, ignore the readings and focus on consuming content and learning vocabulary. As you do that, you'll naturally learn the on'yomi and kun'yomi.\n\nFor example, here are a few basic words you'll learn early on that include the kanji 日 (sun), for example:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"日本語[にほんご]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> — (**ni**hongo \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_日本語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, _Japanese_)\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"明日[あした]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> — (a**shita** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_明日.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, _tomorrow_)\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"月曜日[げつようび]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> — (getsuyou**bi** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_月曜日.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, _Monday_)\n\nThere's never a situation outside of school where somebody is going to stop you and ask you to recite all the readings of a particular kanji... but if you know a few words with 日, you'll also know that 日 can be pronounced as \"ni\", \"shita\", and \"bi\".\n\n> If you're consuming content, you're learning Japanese. If you're learning vocabulary words, you're learning kanji and their readings. It's a beautiful, positive, self-reinforcing cycle.\n\n### How do I retain all of this information about the kanji?\n\nLanguage is one of those things where if you don't use it, you lose it. That in mind, you have two main options available to you:\n\n1. You can continue doing your flashcards forever\n2. You can begin spending some of your free time doing things in Japanese\n\nThe great thing about reading books and watching j-dramas (and so forth) is that they act as a kind of natural spaced repetition system. When you consume content in Japanese, you'll be prompted to remember kanji and make sense of thousands of words. You'll quickly reach a point where basic words, kanji, and grammar points just make sense to you, and as you continue doing what you enjoy doing, you'll gradually master all of the things you need to know to do that thing well.\n\nSo: put in a bit of work to learn the basics, start spending time in Japanese, then continue enjoying yourself in Japanese.\n\n### What do I do if I confuse one kanji with another kanji?\n\nIn practice, know that this isn't as big of an issue as it seems like it would be.\n\n土 (earth) and 士 (samurai\u002Fscholar) look really similar, and if you only ever see these words in workbooks or flashcards, they're indeed confusing! But if you're actually watching anime or talking to people, there just aren't that many situations when \"earth\" and \"scholar\" are interchangeable. Context pretty much solves the \"similar kanji\" problem for you.\n\nBut let's say that something _does_ trip you up. I personally struggled with 隠 (conceal) vs 穏 (calmness), for example. My first step is always to isolate the characters and compare the kanji radicals. Here, we see that 隠 has 阝 and that 穏 has 禾.\n\nSimply noticing this difference may be enough to resolve your confusion, but if not, here are a few \"next steps\" I've taken and found helpful:\n\n1. Use the see-link-go method mentioned in section 2 to create one story that connects 阝 (mound) to 隠 (conceal) and another that connects 禾 (grain) to 穏 (calmness). So long as you remember one of the stories, you're good!\n2. Make six or ten physical flashcards, each one with 穏 or 隠 on the front and a translation on the back. Shuffle them, then take ten minutes to drill them.\n3. Flag both of the words via [Migaku's \"tracking\" feature](\u002Fblog\u002Fyoutube\u002Fsupercharge-your-language-learning-tracking-learned-words) so they stand out whenever you see them on the computer.\n\n### What happens when I come across a kanji I don't recognize?\n\nEven just twenty years ago, you'd be stuck. If you had a paper dictionary, you'd need to know the kanji's radical and then look it up. If you had an electronic dictionary, you'd have to know the correct stroke order, put your book down, and draw the kanji. This was a painful process.\n\nNowadays, parsing written Japanese is much easier. The technology we have today makes it very easy to read Japanese, so long as your content is digital:\n\n- **On iOS or Kindle**, simply long-tap the unknown word and then click \"look up\". You'll see dictionary definitions pop up.\n- **On Android or desktop**, copy the word and paste it into one of the dictionaries we mentioned above.\n- **If you're good with computers**, you can set up \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fgithub.com\u002Fthemoeway\u002Fyomitan\" target=\"_blank\">Yomitan\u003C\u002Fa>, which brings up a dictionary entry whenever you hover your mouse over an unknown vocabulary word\n- **If you want a prepackaged solution**, [Migaku](\u002F) lets you do all of the above with pretty much no setup—we also have an intelligent camera feature that will let you use our technology with physical books\n\nEither of these options represent an incredible improvement over paper dictionaries, so I strongly recommend beginning your Japanese journey with digital media.\n\n### I can read kanji just fine, but I never remember how to write them\n\nIt's not just you! There's actually a Chinese proverb about this: \u003Ctypo lang=\"zh\" syntax=\"提筆忘字[ti2 bi3 wang4 zi4]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fzh_提筆忘字.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>. Literally meaning \"take pen, forget character\", this refers to the phenomenon in which native speakers are forgetting how to write some characters by hand because nowadays we use computers and phones.\n\nWhen you type Japanese on a computer, you see a little menu like this after typing _nihongo_:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_typing.webp\" width=\"1228\" height=\"396\" alt=\"A screenshot of a Japanese typing IME, showing how people type in Japanese.\">\n\nSo you don't actually have to remember how to write \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"日本語[にほんご]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (nihongo, _Japanese_). All you have to do is pick the right word out of the list. If you know how to read kanji, you effectively know how to read _and_ write kanji.\n\n> I highly recommend taking 4 minutes to watch \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=Uhyk2bRTguI\" target=\"_blank\">this video on recall vs recognition\u003C\u002Fa> from Khan Academy. Understanding this concept will make your life as a language learner easier.\n\n### ... Kanji seem too difficult. What if I just want to _speak_ Japanese?\n\nThis might _seem_ like a good idea right now, but it'd probably end up being more difficult to learn Japanese without the kanji than it is to learn it with them. As we mentioned in the introduction, there is virtually no content in Japanese that doesn't have kanji. If you skip them, you'd be limiting yourself almost entirely to learning Japanese by talking with Japanese people. That's not super practical.\n\nHere's some good news for you:\n\n- Kanji are a front-loaded challenge, meaning that the difficult part comes first, then things get easier. Each kanji means something, so even if you run into a new word you've never seen before, the kanji give you an idea of what it means.\n- English's alphabet is a back-loaded challenge. It's easy to learn the 26 letters, but the trade-off is that they give you no information about the meaning of the word they appear in.\n\nNow consider that a college-educated native speaker knows about 30,000 words. That's a lot to look up! An English speaker will struggle with that for their entire life—just yesterday I looked up the word _macroscian_—but this isn't as big of a deal in Japanese.\n\n---\n\n## Some closing thoughts\n\nWow! That was a lot. We initially planned this to be a ~2,000 word post, but it ended up being ~6,000... and there's _still_ more I could say about the kanji.\n\nFor now, fellow Japanese learner, know that this is going to be a challenge and require commitment. Nevertheless, it gets better. You'll struggle, you'll grow, and you'll feel accomplished. I dare say that most learners who make it through the beginner phase end up loving the kanji.\n\nIn parting, remember the golden rule of language learning:\n\n> If you consume Japanese media you enjoy, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. _Period._\n",{"title":10709,"description":12465},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-kanji","Aa7Z5RTFFmNZripwPt445ftomY2QHd62hvxKfsQK3Kg","October 10, 2024",{"id":12482,"title":12483,"body":12484,"description":13300,"extension":717,"meta":13301,"navigation":730,"path":13311,"rawbody":13312,"seo":13313,"stem":13314,"__hash__":13315,"timestampUnix":13302,"slug":13303,"h1":13304,"image":13305,"tags":13310,"_dir":736,"timestamp":13316},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-kanji-best-book.md","The Five Best Books to Learn Kanji (with study tips!)",{"type":8,"value":12485,"toc":13279},[12486,12492,12495,12497,12499,12503,12506,12509,12588,12592,12595,12600,12603,12606,12609,12611,12615,12618,12624,12627,12630,12636,12647,12650,12679,12682,12686,12689,12709,12717,12725,12727,12731,12734,12740,12743,12763,12766,12772,12775,12781,12784,12788,12799,12821,12837,12839,12843,12846,12852,12855,12858,12861,12867,12885,12888,12892,12895,12898,12919,12935,12937,12941,12944,12950,12953,12982,12985,12991,12994,13008,13011,13015,13024,13047,13068,13070,13074,13077,13083,13086,13089,13113,13118,13121,13125,13131,13150,13175,13183,13185,13189,13192,13198,13203,13206,13208,13211,13214,13218,13225,13228,13232,13235,13246,13248,13250,13254,13257,13267,13273,13276],[11,12487,12488,12489,12491],{},"Diving into the weird and wonderful world of kanji can be difficult without the right tools at your disposal. With over 2,100 \"everyday-use\" kanji needed to understand most general reading material, there’s no getting around the importance of kanji if you want to ",[15,12490,18],{"href":17},". It’s not uncommon for beginners to feel overwhelmed at this stage, so finding the right resource to guide you is crucial for your next steps. You’ve come too far to give up now!",[11,12493,12494],{},"Whether you’ve learnt hiragana and katakana and hit a roadblock with kanji, or on the contrary, you’re all about those radicals, this article will introduce you to some of the best kanji learning materials.",[39,12496],{},[42,12498],{},[45,12500,12502],{"id":12501},"five-kanji-books-textbooks-at-a-glance","Five kanji books \u002F textbooks at a glance",[11,12504,12505],{},"In each kanji book's dedicated section, we’ll give a quick summary of the resource's content,which learning style each book is best suited for, how much of the aforementioned 2,100+ jōyō kanji each book covers, and whether the material is suited for JLPT study.",[11,12507,12508],{},"For now, here’s a quick overview of what we'll cover:",[67,12510,12511,12521],{},[70,12512,12513],{},[73,12514,12515,12518],{},[76,12516,12517],{},"Kanji book",[76,12519,12520],{},"Overview",[87,12522,12523,12536,12549,12562,12575],{},[73,12524,12525,12530],{},[92,12526,12527],{},[1090,12528,12529],{},"Remembering the Kanji (6th Ed):",[92,12531,12532,12533,12535],{},"The grandfather of teaching kanji with radicals. Best suited for those who work at their own pace, ",[292,12534],{}," ready to dedicate time to building up their kanji knowledge with creative mnemonics and stories.",[73,12537,12538,12543],{},[92,12539,12540],{},[1090,12541,12542],{},"Kanji Dictionary 2500:",[92,12544,12545,12546,12548],{},"A physical dictionary organised by frequency. Best suited for those looking to work through JLPT lists ",[292,12547],{},"or who want a reference book to accompany an already-established study routine.",[73,12550,12551,12556],{},[92,12552,12553],{},[1090,12554,12555],{},"Kanji Look and Learn (+ Workbook):",[92,12557,12558,12559,12561],{},"A textbook\u002Fworkbook combo, published by The Japan Times (aka. the Genki textbook people). ",[292,12560],{},"Best suited for those wanting to dip their toes into kanji rather than dive in head first.",[73,12563,12564,12569],{},[92,12565,12566],{},[1090,12567,12568],{},"Kanji in Context:",[92,12570,12571,12572,12574],{},"A textbook for intermediate to advanced learners, focusing on real-world vocabulary and compound usage. ",[292,12573],{},"Great for learners moving beyond JLPT prep and aiming to read native materials comfortably.",[73,12576,12577,12582],{},[92,12578,12579],{},[1090,12580,12581],{},"New Kanzen Master: Kanji:",[92,12583,12584,12585,12587],{},"JLPT-focused workbooks covering kanji by level, with structured drills and minimal explanations. ",[292,12586],{},"Best for test-takers who want targeted practice and already have a basic foundation.",[45,12589,12591],{"id":12590},"learning-kanji-with-books-different-strokes-for-different-folks","Learning kanji with books: different strokes for different folks",[11,12593,12594],{},"Before we introduce our top picks for books you can use to learn kanji, we have to make an important point:",[320,12596,12597],{},[11,12598,12599],{},"Life would be a breeze if books alone could transfer all the knowledge you need to achieve your Japanese goals, but that’s not how the messy process of learning works.",[11,12601,12602],{},"To make sure your approach is delivering the results you want, it's important that you're actually spending time interacting with Japanese. If you find that reading Japanese is getting easier as you go, awesome! Your strategy is working. If it still feels like you’re deciphering ancient runes every time you open a book, this means that the way you are practicing isn't building the \"muscles\" you need to do the specific things you want to do. Take some time to reassess.",[11,12604,12605],{},"At the end of the day, though, everybody learns differently. More importantly, what works for you today might not feel good a year from now. All of the books below have helped people make real progress with Japanese—but that doesn’t mean they’ll automatically work for you. Think of them as tools, not magic spells. How you use them matters! So, experiment. Try different approaches out. Find something that works for you. There's no one right approach—different strokes for different folks, as the saying goes!",[11,12607,12608],{},"Essentially, we are only here to hand you the lightsaber, but it’s up to you to use it wisely.",[42,12610],{},[45,12612,12614],{"id":12613},"_1-remembering-the-kanji-learn-kanji-via-stories-mnemonics","1. Remembering the Kanji: Learn kanji via stories (mnemonics)",[11,12616,12617],{},"This series by James Heisig was first published in 1977, and it's still commonly recommended to this day. That should give you a strong indicator of this book’s monumental influence.",[50,12619],{"src":12620,"width":12621,"height":12622,"alt":12623},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-rtk.jpeg",2250,1168,"A photograph of Heisig's three Remembering the Kanji books",[11,12625,12626],{},"Unlike a traditional textbook, Remembering the Kanji (RTK) offers a mnemonic driven approach to learning kanji. Each chapter introduces a handful of new kanji components, which are the building blocks that make up a particular kanji character. Each component is given a meaning—many are accurate, but some were simply made up by Heisig for convenience—and you learn the kanji by combining these components to make mnemonic stories.",[11,12628,12629],{},"For example, in chapter one, you learn that the symbols 日 means \"sun\" and that 月 means \"moon\". In chapter two, you combine those two things, like lego blocks, to make 明:",[50,12631],{"src":12632,"width":12633,"height":12634,"alt":12635},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-preview.jpeg",2184,1070,"An excerpt from Remembering the Kanji, showing one of the stories Heisig uses to teach you kanji",[11,12637,12638,12639,12642,12643,12646],{},"You then continue on in this fashion, learning more components and making characters out of them. This means that while the first characters you learn will be very simple, they aren't necessarily very common. For example, lesson 2 introduces you to 旦 (\"",[26,12640,12641],{},"nightbreak","\") and 胆 (\"",[26,12644,12645],{},"gall bladder","\").",[11,12648,12649],{},"This leads us to a few important criticisms of Heisig's book:",[304,12651,12652,12655,12658,12661],{},[307,12653,12654],{},"You learn characters out of context",[307,12656,12657],{},"You do not learn how to read characters (onyomi and kunyomi)",[307,12659,12660],{},"You do not learn any words which utilize these characters",[307,12662,12663,12664,12667,12668,1466,12673,12678],{},"(There ",[26,12665,12666],{},"are"," online resources which “fill in the gaps” left by RTK, such as ",[15,12669,12672],{"href":12670,"rel":12671},"https:\u002F\u002Fkanji.koohii.com\u002F",[971],"Kanji Koohii",[15,12674,12677],{"href":12675,"rel":12676},"https:\u002F\u002Fankiweb.net\u002Fshared\u002Finfo\u002F215365929",[971],"shared anki decks"," )",[11,12680,12681],{},"The goal of the book, simply put, is to help you (a) remember the kanji and (b) have a rough idea what each one means. The idea is that getting this out of the way early will make your future studies easier.",[847,12683,12685],{"id":12684},"should-you-use-heisigs-learning-the-kanji","Should you use Heisig's Learning the Kanji?",[11,12687,12688],{},"RTK is best suited for those looking to comb through the kanji system systematically at their own pace. Learners who prefer to learn common kanji first or learn by JLPT levels will likely feel limited.",[304,12690,12691,12697,12703],{},[307,12692,12693,12696],{},[1090,12694,12695],{},"Kanji covered in RTK 6th edition:"," 2,200",[307,12698,12699,12702],{},[1090,12700,12701],{},"JLPT levels:"," Covers most of the JLPT kanji, but not in order.",[307,12704,12705,12708],{},[1090,12706,12707],{},"Learning method:"," Free recall. Free recall goes hand in hand with mnemonics; best of all, its simple. Using a blank sheet of paper and pen, spend 10~15 minutes trying to recall and write out the kanji of the most recent Heisig chapter you went through. This method will not only test your long-term memory, but will highlight which kanji stories didn’t stick, allowing you to improve quicker!",[11,12710,12711,12712,415],{},"If you like the idea of RTK but don't like the lack of vocabulary words\u002Fkanji readings, you might instead look into the ",[15,12713,12716],{"href":12714,"rel":12715},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKodansha-Kanji-Learners-Course-Step\u002Fdp\u002F1568365268",[971],"Kodansha Kanji Learner's Course",[320,12718,12719],{},[287,12720,12721],{},[15,12722,12724],{"href":11668,"rel":12723},[971],"Buy \"Remembering the Kanji\" on Amazon",[42,12726],{},[45,12728,12730],{"id":12729},"_2-kanji-dictionary-2500-the-ultimate-reference-book-for-foreigners-learning-japanese","2. Kanji Dictionary 2500: The ultimate reference book for foreigners learning Japanese",[11,12732,12733],{},"In 2025, dictionaries have largely made the jump to the digital forefront, but for those looking for a physical dictionary we’ve got you covered.",[50,12735],{"src":12736,"width":12737,"height":12738,"alt":12739},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-dictionary-2500.jpeg",1778,1250,"A screenshot of Kanji Dictionary 2500 for Foreigners Learning Japanese and its associated workbook",[11,12741,12742],{},"The dictionary is broken up into three sections, and kanji within each section are organized by frequency:",[344,12744,12745,12751,12757],{},[307,12746,12747,12748],{},"\"Commonly-used kanji you should remember\" ",[26,12749,12750],{},"(these are the most essential and basic kanji, which you'll definitely want to know how to write )",[307,12752,12753,12754],{},"\"Kanji commonly used in daily life\" ",[26,12755,12756],{},"(these are kanji common enough that you'll still likely want to know how to write)",[307,12758,12759,12760],{},"\"Kanji just remember the reading\" ",[26,12761,12762],{},"(the previous sections suggest you learn to write the kanji)",[11,12764,12765],{},"Pretty straightforward!",[11,12767,12768,12769,12771],{},"Each kanji section comes with a litany of classifications (JLPT level, Jōyō number, etc.) along with example vocabulary and sentences featuring said kanji. Importantly, the ",[26,12770,4490],{}," of each kanji (item 3 in the top-right box) is shown only in Japanese.",[11,12773,12774],{},"Here's two pages from that first section, so you can see how the book organizes information:",[50,12776],{"src":12777,"width":12778,"height":12779,"alt":12780},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-2500-preview.jpeg",1716,1222,"A screenshot from the book Kanji Dictionary 2500 for Foreigners Learning Japanese",[11,12782,12783],{},"In the first chapter, kanji are organized by topic, such as \"family\" or \"numbers\". In the other chapters, kanji are organized into clusters that share the same radical, which can help you avoid misidentifying similar looking kanji. This also makes looking up unknown kanji easier—even if you don't know what a kanji means, you can clearly see if it has a 月 (moon\u002Fflesh radical) in it.",[847,12785,12787],{"id":12786},"should-you-use-kanji-dictionary-2500-for-foreigners-learning-japanese","Should you use Kanji Dictionary 2500 for Foreigners Learning Japanese?",[11,12789,12790,12791,12794,12795,12798],{},"This dictionary is best suited for those who prefer to learn by frequency and JLPT classification. Additionally, as it is a dictionary, it is more designed for ",[26,12792,12793],{},"reference"," rather than ",[26,12796,12797],{},"study","; you'll get lots of information about how each kanji is used, but no guidance as to how to learn the kanji in an organized or practical fashion.",[304,12800,12801,12807,12812],{},[307,12802,12803,12806],{},[1090,12804,12805],{},"Kanji covered in Kanji Dictionary 2500:"," …2,500",[307,12808,12809,12811],{},[1090,12810,12701],{}," N5~N1, extra kanji included",[307,12813,12814,12816,12817,12820],{},[1090,12815,12707],{}," Flashcards. Learning languages with sentences as opposed to single items will boost your comprehension. Since Kanji Dictionary 2500 provides an example sentence for ",[26,12818,12819],{},"nearly"," every single kanji, you could easily add these to a flashcard deck. Seeing the kanji in context, much like vocabulary, is the prime way to learn.",[320,12822,12823],{},[287,12824,12825,12826,12831,12832],{},"\n Buy on Amazon: \n",[15,12827,12830],{"href":12828,"rel":12829},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanji-Dictionary-Foreigners-Learning-Japanese\u002Fdp\u002F4816366970\u002F",[971],"Kanji 2500 Dictionary","\n ・\n",[15,12833,12836],{"href":12834,"rel":12835},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002F%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E3%82%92%E5%AD%A6%E3%81%B6%E5%A4%96%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%BA%E3%81%AE%E3%81%9F%E3%82%81%E3%81%AE-%E3%81%93%E3%82%8C%E3%81%A0%E3%81%91%E3%81%AF%E8%A6%9A%E3%81%88%E3%81%9F%E3%81%84-%E6%BC%A2%E5%AD%97%E7%B7%B4%E7%BF%92%E5%B8%B3500-foreigners-Japanese\u002Fdp\u002F4816369996\u002F",[971],"Kanji 2500 Workbook",[42,12838],{},[45,12840,12842],{"id":12841},"_3-kanji-look-and-learn-a-visual-approach-to-learning-basic-kanji","3. Kanji Look and Learn: A visual approach to learning basic kanji",[11,12844,12845],{},"If two aforementioned books had a baby, it would likely look like the Kanji Look and Learn series.",[50,12847],{"src":12848,"width":12849,"height":12850,"alt":12851},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-look-and-learn.jpeg",1768,1226,"A screenshot of the cover of Kanji Look and Learn and its associated workbook ",[11,12853,12854],{},"Kanji L&L takes the mnemonics of RTK and the layout of resources in Kanji 2500 and mashes them together for a more curated learning experience. The only catch here is that you get 512 kanji, nearly 2,000 less than you would encounter in the prior recommendations.",[11,12856,12857],{},"So, why are we introducing such a seemingly \"limited\" textbook?",[11,12859,12860],{},"Kanji L&L was created by the same people that made Genki, and it covers all of the kanji you'll run into in Genki I (plus a bunch from Genki II). With this in mind, if you're using Genki to learn Japanese, you'll probably like this book, too!",[50,12862],{"src":12863,"width":12864,"height":12865,"alt":12866},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-kanji-look-and-learn-preview.jpeg",1738,1224,"A screenshot showing the Kanji Look & Learn textbook and workbook",[11,12868,12869],{},[26,12870,12871,12883],{},[287,12872,12873,174,12878],{},[15,12874,12877],{"href":12875,"rel":12876},"https:\u002F\u002Fgenki.japantimes.co.jp\u002Fsite\u002Fpdf\u002Flookandlearn\u002Fkanji-textbook.pdf",[971],"Textbook preview",[15,12879,12882],{"href":12880,"rel":12881},"https:\u002F\u002Fgenki.japantimes.co.jp\u002Fsite\u002Fpdf\u002Flookandlearn\u002Fkanji-workbook.pdf",[971],"Workbook preview",[292,12884],{},[11,12886,12887],{},"With the amount of detail given to each kanji, you’ll build a sturdy foundation for the most common kanji that you'll see over and over again in Japanese.",[847,12889,12891],{"id":12890},"should-you-use-kanji-look-and-learn-from-the-creators-of-genki","Should you use Kanji Look and Learn (from the creators of Genki)?",[11,12893,12894],{},"Kanji Look and Learn is a textbook and workbook combo, unlike the previous recommendations. Thanks to the inclusion of a workbook, this series is perfect for those who are serious about handwriting the kanji (and why wouldn’t you be!). Additionally, if you have experience with the Genki I&II textbooks, you’ll find it a smooth transition to Kanji L&L since it’s also a Genki product!",[11,12896,12897],{},"Even though we live in the digital age, there’s still a world of benefit to be found in learning kanji by hand. Writing forces you to slow down and consider each radical–maybe not important for beginner kanji, but when you need to discern from 拾 and 捨 or 職 and 識, having muscle memory will help you recall the meaning quicker. Besides, isn’t it more fun to see a new language take form in your own handwriting?",[304,12899,12900,12906,12911],{},[307,12901,12902,12905],{},[1090,12903,12904],{},"Kanji covered in Kanji Look and Learn:"," 512",[307,12907,12908,12910],{},[1090,12909,12701],{}," N4~N3",[307,12912,12913,12915,12916,12918],{},[1090,12914,12707],{}," Rote Method. Now, now, lower the pitchforks! Yes, we all know that rote learning (the practice of writing something over and over again) is considered ineffective by today’s standards–and it’s true! Mindless repetition will not get you far. ",[26,12917,317],{},", with emphasis on writing by hand, this series will lend itself to strengthening your muscle memory and stroke order knowledge. With a workbook, you won’t need to use your imagination much when it comes to studying the content! Just grab a pen and write, write, write!",[320,12920,12921],{},[287,12922,12923,12924,12929,12930],{},"\nBuy on Amazon: \n",[15,12925,12928],{"href":12926,"rel":12927},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanji-Look-Learn-Eri-Banno\u002Fdp\u002F4789013499\u002F",[971],"Textbook","\n・\n",[15,12931,12934],{"href":12932,"rel":12933},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FTitle-KANJI-LOOK-LEARN-WORKBOOK\u002Fdp\u002F4789013502\u002F",[971],"Workbook",[42,12936],{},[45,12938,12940],{"id":12939},"_4-kanji-in-context-a-learning-resource-for-intermediate-advanced-students","4. Kanji in Context: A learning resource for intermediate \u002F advanced students",[11,12942,12943],{},"A textbook and (two) workbook combo, Kanji in Context may be the resource you're looking for if you've already achieved a solid intermediate level of Japanese but feel like kanji is your weakest skill.",[50,12945],{"src":12946,"width":12947,"height":12948,"alt":12949},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-kanji-in-context.jpeg",1424,1240,"A photograph showing the covers and length of the Kanji in Context textbooks and its two workbooks",[11,12951,12952],{},"In the book's introduction, the publishers describe the book in four main ways:",[344,12954,12955,12964,12970,12976],{},[307,12956,12957,12960,12961,12963],{},[1090,12958,12959],{},"Not for beginners"," → The introduction aside and vocabulary words aside, all of the books are entirely in Japanese; this is ",[26,12962,10642],{}," a good first kanji book",[307,12965,12966,12969],{},[1090,12967,12968],{},"For the systematic study of kanji"," → Kanji consist of three elements (form, sound, and meaning); the book is laid out (in theory) such that you automatically acquire this knowledge if you follow the course diligently",[307,12971,12972,12975],{},[1090,12973,12974],{},"Vocabulary is important, too"," → The authors disagree that kanji should be studied in isolation; you'll learn vocab that feature each kanji you learn by drilling example sentences",[307,12977,12978,12981],{},[1090,12979,12980],{},"Repeated exposure is necessary"," → The same example sentences and vocabulary words are used throughout the reference book and workbooks; this repeated exposure will (in theory) enable you to acquire a significant amount of vocabulary without relying on rote learning",[11,12983,12984],{},"This is kind of a lot, so please quickly take a glance at the below extract from the reference book (left) and workbook (right):",[50,12986],{"src":12987,"width":12988,"height":12989,"alt":12990},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-kanji-in-context-preview.jpeg",1758,1242,"An extract from the Kanji in Context textbook and its associated workbook",[11,12992,12993],{},"You learn by following the workbook—there are a bit over 150 chapters that introduce 10–15 kanji each, and each chapter is broken into three sections:",[344,12995,12996,12999,13005],{},[307,12997,12998],{},"Words and structures a character appears in",[307,13000,13001,13002],{},"Thematically related words and alternate forms of the above vocab words ",[26,13003,13004],{},"(think transitive vs intransitive)",[307,13006,13007],{},"Example sentences containing these vocabulary words.",[11,13009,13010],{},"And then you lean on the reference book to get through the workbook.",[847,13012,13014],{"id":13013},"should-you-use-kanji-in-context","Should you use Kanji in Context?",[11,13016,13017,13018,13023],{},"Kanji in Context was created by ",[15,13019,13022],{"href":13020,"rel":13021},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FInter-University_Center_for_Japanese_Language_Studies",[971],"a Japanese-language school founded by Stanford University","—it's quite comprehensive, and has been \"academically\" vetted, if that matters to you. You shouldn't use this book if (a) you are not comfortable with resources that are primarily in Japanese or (b) you prefer to have your hand held.",[304,13025,13026,13032,13037],{},[307,13027,13028,13031],{},[1090,13029,13030],{},"Kanji covered in Kanji in Context:"," 2,136 (versions after 2013), divided into 7 stages",[307,13033,13034,13036],{},[1090,13035,12701],{}," N3+",[307,13038,13039,13042,13043,13046],{},[1090,13040,13041],{},"Learning method: Plug-and-play."," The workbooks have been very carefully put together and are very recursive (information introduced in earlier chapters often comes up in later ones), so if you use this resource, you'll want to just get a pencil and follow along. You may want to ",[15,13044,13045],{"href":5906},"create your own flashcards"," to help commit important words to memory.",[320,13048,13049],{},[11,13050,13051,13052,13057,13058,174,13063],{},"Buy from Amazon: ",[15,13053,13056],{"href":13054,"rel":13055},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanji-Context-Reference-Book-Rivesed\u002Fdp\u002F4789015297",[971],"Reference book"," ・",[15,13059,13062],{"href":13060,"rel":13061},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanji-Context-Workbook-vol-1-Rivesed\u002Fdp\u002F4789015300",[971],"Workbook 1",[15,13064,13067],{"href":13065,"rel":13066},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanji-Context-Workbook-vol-2-Rivesed\u002Fdp\u002F4789015319\u002F",[971],"Workbook 2",[42,13069],{},[45,13071,13073],{"id":13072},"_5-shin-kanzen-master-workbooks-to-prepare-for-the-jlpt","5. Shin Kanzen Master: Workbooks to prepare for the JLPT",[11,13075,13076],{},"Primarily concerned about passing the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)? The Shin Kanzen Master (SKM) series has you covered.",[50,13078],{"src":13079,"width":13080,"height":13081,"alt":13082},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-kanji-shinkazenmaster.jpeg",1792,1244,"A screenshot of two of Shin Kanzen Master's JLPT kanji prep books",[11,13084,13085],{},"SKM is a five-part series of workbooks (kanji, vocabulary, grammar, listening comprehension, reading comprehension) designed to ensure you know everything you need to know to pass the JLPT. They have kanji books available for N4, N3, N2, and N1, but none yet for the JLPT N5.",[11,13087,13088],{},"The textbooks are very systematic and intended to be studied at a fixed pace and in a fixed order (read the instructions!). Generally, though, you'll learn batches of kanji by working through five-part sections:",[304,13090,13091,13094,13097,13100,13103],{},[307,13092,13093],{},"Part I → Simply read a brief text which includes the kanji you will study",[307,13095,13096],{},"Part II → Practice writing these kanji",[307,13098,13099],{},"Part III → See a sentence with some words written in hiragana; rewrite them with kanji",[307,13101,13102],{},"Part IV → See a sentence with some kanji words underlined; write out their pronunciation",[307,13104,13105,13106,1466,13109,13112],{},"Part V → Tricky questions (is みち's kanji 道, 通, or 迫? Is 一日 pronounced as ",[26,13107,13108],{},"tsuutachi",[26,13110,13111],{},"tsuitachi","?)",[50,13114],{"src":13115,"width":2248,"height":13116,"alt":13117},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-shinkanzenmaster-preview.jpeg",812,"A screenshot showing one of the chapters from the Shin Kanzen Master N4 Kanji book",[11,13119,13120],{},"Sections 3–5 reflect the type of questions on the JLPT (minus the writing), and the mock tests contain exactly the sort of questions you'll encounter on the JLPT. As such, if you do well in the Shin Kanzen Master book, you can be sure that your kanji knowledge is sufficient to pass a particular JLPT level.",[847,13122,13124],{"id":13123},"should-you-use-the-shin-kanzen-master-kanji-books","Should you use the Shin Kanzen Master kanji books?",[11,13126,13127,13128,13130],{},"Everything by Shin Kanzen master is thorough and well-produced, but it can sometimes be a bit ",[26,13129,8166],{}," thorough. Use these books if you are planning to take the JLPT but are especially concerned about your kanji knowledge.",[304,13132,13133,13139,13144],{},[307,13134,13135,13138],{},[1090,13136,13137],{},"Kanji covered in Shin Kanzen master:"," 278 (N4)・354 (N3)・1,046 (N2, cumulative)・677 (N1)",[307,13140,13141,13143],{},[1090,13142,12701],{}," Each book covers a different JLPT level",[307,13145,13146,13149],{},[1090,13147,13148],{},"Learning method: Schedule."," Start these books 4–8 weeks before you take the JLPT (see the size of the book in question). First, take one of the two included practice tests, just to see how you do. Next, work through one section of the book per day. Upon completion, take the second mock test.",[320,13151,13152],{},[287,13153,13154,13155,12929,13160,12929,13165,12929,13170],{},"\nBuy from Amazon: \n",[15,13156,13159],{"href":13157,"rel":13158},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FNEW-KANZEN-MASTER-N4-KANJI\u002Fdp\u002F4883197808\u002F",[971],"JLPT N4 Kanji",[15,13161,13164],{"href":13162,"rel":13163},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanzen-Master-Japanese-Language-Proficiency\u002Fdp\u002F4883196887\u002F",[971],"JLPT N3 Kanji",[15,13166,13169],{"href":13167,"rel":13168},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanzen-Comprehension-Japanese-Language-Proficiency\u002Fdp\u002F4883195473",[971],"JLPT N2 Kanji",[15,13171,13174],{"href":13172,"rel":13173},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanzen-Japanese-Language-Proficiency-Nihongo\u002Fdp\u002F4883195465\u002F",[971],"JLPT N1 Kanji",[287,13176,13177,13182],{},[15,13178,13181],{"href":13179,"rel":13180},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKANJI-MASTER-N5-NOUVELLE-Japanese\u002Fdp\u002F4384059655\u002F",[971],"Kanji Master N5","\n is not by SKM nor quite as JLPT-focused, but focuses on N5 kanji\n",[42,13184],{},[45,13186,13188],{"id":13187},"an-all-in-one-kanji-course-for-people-who-want-to-jump-into-japanese-media","An all-in-one kanji course for people who want to jump into Japanese media",[11,13190,13191],{},"There's just something special about a physical book. We can't deny that.",[11,13193,13194,13195,13197],{},"... But, we ",[26,13196,10834],{}," have to admit that many of these books are 30+ years old, and they're a bit dated.",[320,13199,13200],{},[11,13201,13202],{},"With Migaku, you'll learn kanji in three steps:",[11,13204,13205],{},"First, you'll spend 2 weeks working through the Migaku Kanji Course. This step is similar to the Remembering the Kanji book from above—you'll learn to recognize kanji characters and remember their meanings by building mnemonic stories out of their components.",[50,13207],{"src":951,"width":952,"height":953,"alt":954},[11,13209,13210],{},"After this brief delay, you can start working through the Migaku Japanese Academy, where you'll learn the ~1,500 most common words in Netflix subtitles and a few hundred common Japanese grammar points. (Do the same amount of daily cards as you have been doing in the kanji course).",[11,13212,13213],{},"Importantly, you'll learn at least one example sentence for each of the kanji you learned in the previous step, and each flashcard only introduces one new piece of information (a vocab word or grammar point), so the learning curve is super smooth.",[50,13215],{"src":13216,"width":12737,"height":13081,"alt":13217},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-questions.jpeg","A screenshot from Migaku's Japanese course, showing how we teach Japanese vocabulary and Japanese grammar",[11,13219,13220,13221,13224],{},"We'll ",[15,13222,13223],{"href":5906},"periodically nudge you to review each of these cards",", building a personalized review schedule based on your performance, to ensure that you eventually remember everything.",[11,13226,13227],{},"By the time you're done, you'll be ready to start exploring actual Japanese content. Migaku makes subtitles interactive in places like YouTube and Netflix, enabling you to tap on words to see what they mean or make a media-rich flashcard with a single press.",[50,13229],{"src":13230,"width":4193,"height":13081,"alt":13231},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-youtube-plug-milk.jpeg","A screenshot showing how Migaku makes text interactive on places like YouTube",[11,13233,13234],{},"So:",[344,13236,13237,13240,13243],{},[307,13238,13239],{},"First you learn what kanji mean",[307,13241,13242],{},"Next you learn words that include these kanji",[307,13244,13245],{},"Finally, you encounter kanji in the real world",[674,13247],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,13249],{},[45,13251,13253],{"id":13252},"so-whats-the-best-kanji-resource-out-there","So, what's the best kanji resource out there?",[11,13255,13256],{},"Ultimately, the best kanji book is the one that you'll stick with and actually use.",[11,13258,13259,13260,13262,13263,13266],{},"You see, kanji open up a wider, exciting world for you. Virtually ",[26,13261,1181],{}," in Japanese is in kanji—books, manga, anime, video games, movies, song lyrics, menus, you name it—so learning kanji is what will enable you to go beyond textbooks and explore things you're interested in. ",[26,13264,13265],{},"That's"," where things begin getting fun, and it's also where your learning will really take off.",[320,13268,13269],{},[11,13270,5934,13271,415],{},[26,13272,994],{},[11,13274,13275],{},"And with that, it’s time for us to wish you luck on your kanji journey with whatever resource you choose to take on your adventure",[11,13277,13278],{},"Acquiring kanji will take time, so make sure to enjoy the journey and sniff the 花 along the way.",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":13280},[13281,13282,13283,13286,13289,13292,13295,13298,13299],{"id":12501,"depth":707,"text":12502},{"id":12590,"depth":707,"text":12591},{"id":12613,"depth":707,"text":12614,"children":13284},[13285],{"id":12684,"depth":1016,"text":12685},{"id":12729,"depth":707,"text":12730,"children":13287},[13288],{"id":12786,"depth":1016,"text":12787},{"id":12841,"depth":707,"text":12842,"children":13290},[13291],{"id":12890,"depth":1016,"text":12891},{"id":12939,"depth":707,"text":12940,"children":13293},[13294],{"id":13013,"depth":1016,"text":13014},{"id":13072,"depth":707,"text":13073,"children":13296},[13297],{"id":13123,"depth":1016,"text":13124},{"id":13187,"depth":707,"text":13188},{"id":13252,"depth":707,"text":13253},"Want to learn kanji? Here's a few textbooks and workbooks you can use to study kanji characters. | Remembering the Kanji, Kanji dictionary, kanji look & learn. ",{"timestampUnix":13302,"slug":13303,"h1":13304,"image":13305,"tags":13310},1748851012111,"best-kanji-books","Top Picks: Best Japanese Kanji Textbooks and Resources",{"src":13306,"width":12865,"height":13307,"alt":13308,"position":13309},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books.jpeg",806,"A photo of a grimoire, because never mind the best kanji books—you're going to need some black magic to learn this stuff","bottom",[4107],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-kanji-best-book","---\ntitle: 'The Five Best Books to Learn Kanji (with study tips!)'\ndescription: \"Want to learn kanji? Here's a few textbooks and workbooks you can use to study kanji characters. | Remembering the Kanji, Kanji dictionary, kanji look & learn. \"\ntimestampUnix: 1748851012111\nslug: 'best-kanji-books'\nh1: 'Top Picks: Best Japanese Kanji Textbooks and Resources'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books.jpeg'\n width: 1224\n height: 806\n alt: \"A photo of a grimoire, because never mind the best kanji books—you're going to need some black magic to learn this stuff\"\n position: bottom\ntags:\n - resources\n---\n\nDiving into the weird and wonderful world of kanji can be difficult without the right tools at your disposal. With over 2,100 \"everyday-use\" kanji needed to understand most general reading material, there’s no getting around the importance of kanji if you want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese). It’s not uncommon for beginners to feel overwhelmed at this stage, so finding the right resource to guide you is crucial for your next steps. You’ve come too far to give up now!\n\nWhether you’ve learnt hiragana and katakana and hit a roadblock with kanji, or on the contrary, you’re all about those radicals, this article will introduce you to some of the best kanji learning materials.\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## Five kanji books \u002F textbooks at a glance\n\nIn each kanji book's dedicated section, we’ll give a quick summary of the resource's content,which learning style each book is best suited for, how much of the aforementioned 2,100+ jōyō kanji each book covers, and whether the material is suited for JLPT study.\n\nFor now, here’s a quick overview of what we'll cover:\n\n| Kanji book | Overview |\n| -------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| **Remembering the Kanji (6th Ed):** | The grandfather of teaching kanji with radicals. Best suited for those who work at their own pace, \u003Cbr> ready to dedicate time to building up their kanji knowledge with creative mnemonics and stories. |\n| **Kanji Dictionary 2500:** | A physical dictionary organised by frequency. Best suited for those looking to work through JLPT lists \u003Cbr>or who want a reference book to accompany an already-established study routine. |\n| **Kanji Look and Learn (+ Workbook):** | A textbook\u002Fworkbook combo, published by The Japan Times (aka. the Genki textbook people). \u003Cbr>Best suited for those wanting to dip their toes into kanji rather than dive in head first. |\n| **Kanji in Context:** | A textbook for intermediate to advanced learners, focusing on real-world vocabulary and compound usage. \u003Cbr>Great for learners moving beyond JLPT prep and aiming to read native materials comfortably. |\n| **New Kanzen Master: Kanji:** | JLPT-focused workbooks covering kanji by level, with structured drills and minimal explanations. \u003Cbr>Best for test-takers who want targeted practice and already have a basic foundation. |\n\n## Learning kanji with books: different strokes for different folks\n\nBefore we introduce our top picks for books you can use to learn kanji, we have to make an important point:\n\n> Life would be a breeze if books alone could transfer all the knowledge you need to achieve your Japanese goals, but that’s not how the messy process of learning works.\n\nTo make sure your approach is delivering the results you want, it's important that you're actually spending time interacting with Japanese. If you find that reading Japanese is getting easier as you go, awesome! Your strategy is working. If it still feels like you’re deciphering ancient runes every time you open a book, this means that the way you are practicing isn't building the \"muscles\" you need to do the specific things you want to do. Take some time to reassess.\n\nAt the end of the day, though, everybody learns differently. More importantly, what works for you today might not feel good a year from now. All of the books below have helped people make real progress with Japanese—but that doesn’t mean they’ll automatically work for you. Think of them as tools, not magic spells. How you use them matters! So, experiment. Try different approaches out. Find something that works for you. There's no one right approach—different strokes for different folks, as the saying goes!\n\nEssentially, we are only here to hand you the lightsaber, but it’s up to you to use it wisely.\n\n---\n\n## 1. Remembering the Kanji: Learn kanji via stories (mnemonics)\n\nThis series by James Heisig was first published in 1977, and it's still commonly recommended to this day. That should give you a strong indicator of this book’s monumental influence.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-rtk.jpeg\" width=\"2250\" height=\"1168\" alt=\"A photograph of Heisig's three Remembering the Kanji books\" \u002F>\n\nUnlike a traditional textbook, Remembering the Kanji (RTK) offers a mnemonic driven approach to learning kanji. Each chapter introduces a handful of new kanji components, which are the building blocks that make up a particular kanji character. Each component is given a meaning—many are accurate, but some were simply made up by Heisig for convenience—and you learn the kanji by combining these components to make mnemonic stories.\n\nFor example, in chapter one, you learn that the symbols 日 means \"sun\" and that 月 means \"moon\". In chapter two, you combine those two things, like lego blocks, to make 明:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-preview.jpeg\" width=\"2184\" height=\"1070\" alt=\"An excerpt from Remembering the Kanji, showing one of the stories Heisig uses to teach you kanji\" \u002F>\n\nYou then continue on in this fashion, learning more components and making characters out of them. This means that while the first characters you learn will be very simple, they aren't necessarily very common. For example, lesson 2 introduces you to 旦 (\"_nightbreak_\") and 胆 (\"_gall bladder_\").\n\nThis leads us to a few important criticisms of Heisig's book:\n\n- You learn characters out of context\n- You do not learn how to read characters (onyomi and kunyomi)\n- You do not learn any words which utilize these characters\n- (There _are_ online resources which “fill in the gaps” left by RTK, such as [Kanji Koohii](https:\u002F\u002Fkanji.koohii.com\u002F) or [shared anki decks](https:\u002F\u002Fankiweb.net\u002Fshared\u002Finfo\u002F215365929) )\n\nThe goal of the book, simply put, is to help you (a) remember the kanji and (b) have a rough idea what each one means. The idea is that getting this out of the way early will make your future studies easier.\n\n### Should you use Heisig's Learning the Kanji?\n\nRTK is best suited for those looking to comb through the kanji system systematically at their own pace. Learners who prefer to learn common kanji first or learn by JLPT levels will likely feel limited.\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n- **Kanji covered in RTK 6th edition:** 2,200\n\n- **JLPT levels:** Covers most of the JLPT kanji, but not in order.\n\n- **Learning method:** Free recall. Free recall goes hand in hand with mnemonics; best of all, its simple. Using a blank sheet of paper and pen, spend 10\\~15 minutes trying to recall and write out the kanji of the most recent Heisig chapter you went through. This method will not only test your long-term memory, but will highlight which kanji stories didn’t stick, allowing you to improve quicker!\n\nIf you like the idea of RTK but don't like the lack of vocabulary words\u002Fkanji readings, you might instead look into the [Kodansha Kanji Learner's Course](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKodansha-Kanji-Learners-Course-Step\u002Fdp\u002F1568365268).\n\n> \u003CCenteredText>[Buy \"Remembering the Kanji\" on Amazon](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FRemembering-Kanji-Complete-Japanese-Characters\u002Fdp\u002F0824835921)\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n---\n\n## 2. Kanji Dictionary 2500: The ultimate reference book for foreigners learning Japanese\n\nIn 2025, dictionaries have largely made the jump to the digital forefront, but for those looking for a physical dictionary we’ve got you covered.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-dictionary-2500.jpeg\" width=\"1778\" height=\"1250\" alt=\"A screenshot of Kanji Dictionary 2500 for Foreigners Learning Japanese and its associated workbook\" \u002F>\n\nThe dictionary is broken up into three sections, and kanji within each section are organized by frequency:\n\n1. \"Commonly-used kanji you should remember\" _(these are the most essential and basic kanji, which you'll definitely want to know how to write )_\n2. \"Kanji commonly used in daily life\" _(these are kanji common enough that you'll still likely want to know how to write)_\n3. \"Kanji just remember the reading\" _(the previous sections suggest you learn to write the kanji)_\n\nPretty straightforward!\n\nEach kanji section comes with a litany of classifications (JLPT level, Jōyō number, etc.) along with example vocabulary and sentences featuring said kanji. Importantly, the _meaning_ of each kanji (item 3 in the top-right box) is shown only in Japanese.\n\nHere's two pages from that first section, so you can see how the book organizes information:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-2500-preview.jpeg\" width=\"1716\" height=\"1222\" alt=\"A screenshot from the book Kanji Dictionary 2500 for Foreigners Learning Japanese\" \u002F>\n\nIn the first chapter, kanji are organized by topic, such as \"family\" or \"numbers\". In the other chapters, kanji are organized into clusters that share the same radical, which can help you avoid misidentifying similar looking kanji. This also makes looking up unknown kanji easier—even if you don't know what a kanji means, you can clearly see if it has a 月 (moon\u002Fflesh radical) in it.\n\n### Should you use Kanji Dictionary 2500 for Foreigners Learning Japanese?\n\nThis dictionary is best suited for those who prefer to learn by frequency and JLPT classification. Additionally, as it is a dictionary, it is more designed for _reference_ rather than _study_; you'll get lots of information about how each kanji is used, but no guidance as to how to learn the kanji in an organized or practical fashion.\n\n- **Kanji covered in Kanji Dictionary 2500:** …2,500\n\n- **JLPT levels:** N5\\~N1, extra kanji included\n\n- **Learning method:** Flashcards. Learning languages with sentences as opposed to single items will boost your comprehension. Since Kanji Dictionary 2500 provides an example sentence for _nearly_ every single kanji, you could easily add these to a flashcard deck. Seeing the kanji in context, much like vocabulary, is the prime way to learn.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> Buy on Amazon: [Kanji 2500 Dictionary](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanji-Dictionary-Foreigners-Learning-Japanese\u002Fdp\u002F4816366970\u002F) ・[Kanji 2500 Workbook](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002F%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E3%82%92%E5%AD%A6%E3%81%B6%E5%A4%96%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%BA%E3%81%AE%E3%81%9F%E3%82%81%E3%81%AE-%E3%81%93%E3%82%8C%E3%81%A0%E3%81%91%E3%81%AF%E8%A6%9A%E3%81%88%E3%81%9F%E3%81%84-%E6%BC%A2%E5%AD%97%E7%B7%B4%E7%BF%92%E5%B8%B3500-foreigners-Japanese\u002Fdp\u002F4816369996\u002F)\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n---\n\n## 3. Kanji Look and Learn: A visual approach to learning basic kanji\n\nIf two aforementioned books had a baby, it would likely look like the Kanji Look and Learn series.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-look-and-learn.jpeg\" width=\"1768\" height=\"1226\" alt=\"A screenshot of the cover of Kanji Look and Learn and its associated workbook \" \u002F>\n\nKanji L&L takes the mnemonics of RTK and the layout of resources in Kanji 2500 and mashes them together for a more curated learning experience. The only catch here is that you get 512 kanji, nearly 2,000 less than you would encounter in the prior recommendations.\n\nSo, why are we introducing such a seemingly \"limited\" textbook?\n\nKanji L&L was created by the same people that made Genki, and it covers all of the kanji you'll run into in Genki I (plus a bunch from Genki II). With this in mind, if you're using Genki to learn Japanese, you'll probably like this book, too!\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-kanji-look-and-learn-preview.jpeg\" width=\"1738\" height=\"1224\" alt=\"A screenshot showing the Kanji Look & Learn textbook and workbook\" \u002F>\n\n_\u003CCenteredText>[Textbook preview](https:\u002F\u002Fgenki.japantimes.co.jp\u002Fsite\u002Fpdf\u002Flookandlearn\u002Fkanji-textbook.pdf)・[Workbook preview](https:\u002F\u002Fgenki.japantimes.co.jp\u002Fsite\u002Fpdf\u002Flookandlearn\u002Fkanji-workbook.pdf)\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>_\n\nWith the amount of detail given to each kanji, you’ll build a sturdy foundation for the most common kanji that you'll see over and over again in Japanese.\n\n### Should you use Kanji Look and Learn (from the creators of Genki)?\n\nKanji Look and Learn is a textbook and workbook combo, unlike the previous recommendations. Thanks to the inclusion of a workbook, this series is perfect for those who are serious about handwriting the kanji (and why wouldn’t you be!). Additionally, if you have experience with the Genki I&II textbooks, you’ll find it a smooth transition to Kanji L&L since it’s also a Genki product!\n\nEven though we live in the digital age, there’s still a world of benefit to be found in learning kanji by hand. Writing forces you to slow down and consider each radical–maybe not important for beginner kanji, but when you need to discern from 拾 and 捨 or 職 and 識, having muscle memory will help you recall the meaning quicker. Besides, isn’t it more fun to see a new language take form in your own handwriting?\n\n- **Kanji covered in Kanji Look and Learn:** 512\n\n- **JLPT levels:** N4\\~N3\n\n- **Learning method:** Rote Method. Now, now, lower the pitchforks! Yes, we all know that rote learning (the practice of writing something over and over again) is considered ineffective by today’s standards–and it’s true! Mindless repetition will not get you far. _However_, with emphasis on writing by hand, this series will lend itself to strengthening your muscle memory and stroke order knowledge. With a workbook, you won’t need to use your imagination much when it comes to studying the content! Just grab a pen and write, write, write!\n\n> \u003CCenteredText>Buy on Amazon: [Textbook](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanji-Look-Learn-Eri-Banno\u002Fdp\u002F4789013499\u002F)・[Workbook](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FTitle-KANJI-LOOK-LEARN-WORKBOOK\u002Fdp\u002F4789013502\u002F)\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n---\n\n## 4. Kanji in Context: A learning resource for intermediate \u002F advanced students\n\nA textbook and (two) workbook combo, Kanji in Context may be the resource you're looking for if you've already achieved a solid intermediate level of Japanese but feel like kanji is your weakest skill.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-kanji-in-context.jpeg\" width=\"1424\" height=\"1240\" alt=\"A photograph showing the covers and length of the Kanji in Context textbooks and its two workbooks\" \u002F>\n\nIn the book's introduction, the publishers describe the book in four main ways:\n\n1. **Not for beginners** → The introduction aside and vocabulary words aside, all of the books are entirely in Japanese; this is _not_ a good first kanji book\n2. **For the systematic study of kanji** → Kanji consist of three elements (form, sound, and meaning); the book is laid out (in theory) such that you automatically acquire this knowledge if you follow the course diligently\n3. **Vocabulary is important, too** → The authors disagree that kanji should be studied in isolation; you'll learn vocab that feature each kanji you learn by drilling example sentences\n4. **Repeated exposure is necessary** → The same example sentences and vocabulary words are used throughout the reference book and workbooks; this repeated exposure will (in theory) enable you to acquire a significant amount of vocabulary without relying on rote learning\n\nThis is kind of a lot, so please quickly take a glance at the below extract from the reference book (left) and workbook (right):\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-kanji-in-context-preview.jpeg\" width=\"1758\" height=\"1242\" alt=\"An extract from the Kanji in Context textbook and its associated workbook\" \u002F>\n\nYou learn by following the workbook—there are a bit over 150 chapters that introduce 10–15 kanji each, and each chapter is broken into three sections:\n\n1. Words and structures a character appears in\n2. Thematically related words and alternate forms of the above vocab words _(think transitive vs intransitive)_\n3. Example sentences containing these vocabulary words.\n\nAnd then you lean on the reference book to get through the workbook.\n\n### Should you use Kanji in Context?\n\nKanji in Context was created by [a Japanese-language school founded by Stanford University](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FInter-University_Center_for_Japanese_Language_Studies)—it's quite comprehensive, and has been \"academically\" vetted, if that matters to you. You shouldn't use this book if (a) you are not comfortable with resources that are primarily in Japanese or (b) you prefer to have your hand held.\n\n- **Kanji covered in Kanji in Context:** 2,136 (versions after 2013), divided into 7 stages\n\n- **JLPT levels:** N3+\n\n- **Learning method: Plug-and-play.** The workbooks have been very carefully put together and are very recursive (information introduced in earlier chapters often comes up in later ones), so if you use this resource, you'll want to just get a pencil and follow along. You may want to [create your own flashcards](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fspaced-repetition-language-learning) to help commit important words to memory.\n\n> Buy from Amazon: [Reference book](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanji-Context-Reference-Book-Rivesed\u002Fdp\u002F4789015297) ・[Workbook 1](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanji-Context-Workbook-vol-1-Rivesed\u002Fdp\u002F4789015300)・[Workbook 2](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanji-Context-Workbook-vol-2-Rivesed\u002Fdp\u002F4789015319\u002F)\n\n---\n\n## 5. Shin Kanzen Master: Workbooks to prepare for the JLPT\n\nPrimarily concerned about passing the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)? The Shin Kanzen Master (SKM) series has you covered.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-kanji-shinkazenmaster.jpeg\" width=\"1792\" height=\"1244\" alt=\"A screenshot of two of Shin Kanzen Master's JLPT kanji prep books\" \u002F>\n\nSKM is a five-part series of workbooks (kanji, vocabulary, grammar, listening comprehension, reading comprehension) designed to ensure you know everything you need to know to pass the JLPT. They have kanji books available for N4, N3, N2, and N1, but none yet for the JLPT N5.\n\nThe textbooks are very systematic and intended to be studied at a fixed pace and in a fixed order (read the instructions!). Generally, though, you'll learn batches of kanji by working through five-part sections:\n\n- Part I → Simply read a brief text which includes the kanji you will study\n- Part II → Practice writing these kanji\n- Part III → See a sentence with some words written in hiragana; rewrite them with kanji\n- Part IV → See a sentence with some kanji words underlined; write out their pronunciation\n- Part V → Tricky questions (is みち's kanji 道, 通, or 迫? Is 一日 pronounced as _tsuutachi_ or _tsuitachi_?)\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-books-shinkanzenmaster-preview.jpeg\" width=\"2200\" height=\"812\" alt=\"A screenshot showing one of the chapters from the Shin Kanzen Master N4 Kanji book\" \u002F>\n\nSections 3–5 reflect the type of questions on the JLPT (minus the writing), and the mock tests contain exactly the sort of questions you'll encounter on the JLPT. As such, if you do well in the Shin Kanzen Master book, you can be sure that your kanji knowledge is sufficient to pass a particular JLPT level.\n\n### Should you use the Shin Kanzen Master kanji books?\n\nEverything by Shin Kanzen master is thorough and well-produced, but it can sometimes be a bit _too_ thorough. Use these books if you are planning to take the JLPT but are especially concerned about your kanji knowledge.\n\n- **Kanji covered in Shin Kanzen master:** 278 (N4)・354 (N3)・1,046 (N2, cumulative)・677 (N1)\n\n- **JLPT levels:** Each book covers a different JLPT level\n\n- **Learning method: Schedule.** Start these books 4–8 weeks before you take the JLPT (see the size of the book in question). First, take one of the two included practice tests, just to see how you do. Next, work through one section of the book per day. Upon completion, take the second mock test.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText>Buy from Amazon: [JLPT N4 Kanji](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FNEW-KANZEN-MASTER-N4-KANJI\u002Fdp\u002F4883197808\u002F)・[JLPT N3 Kanji](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanzen-Master-Japanese-Language-Proficiency\u002Fdp\u002F4883196887\u002F)・[JLPT N2 Kanji](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanzen-Comprehension-Japanese-Language-Proficiency\u002Fdp\u002F4883195473)・[JLPT N1 Kanji](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKanzen-Japanese-Language-Proficiency-Nihongo\u002Fdp\u002F4883195465\u002F)\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n\u003CCenteredText>[Kanji Master N5](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FKANJI-MASTER-N5-NOUVELLE-Japanese\u002Fdp\u002F4384059655\u002F) is not by SKM nor quite as JLPT-focused, but focuses on N5 kanji\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n---\n\n## An all-in-one kanji course for people who want to jump into Japanese media\n\nThere's just something special about a physical book. We can't deny that.\n\n... But, we _do_ have to admit that many of these books are 30+ years old, and they're a bit dated.\n\n> With Migaku, you'll learn kanji in three steps:\n\nFirst, you'll spend 2 weeks working through the Migaku Kanji Course. This step is similar to the Remembering the Kanji book from above—you'll learn to recognize kanji characters and remember their meanings by building mnemonic stories out of their components.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-kanji-course-plug.jpeg\" width=\"1802\" height=\"1258\" alt=\"A screenshot showing how Migaku teaches Japanese kanji\" \u002F>\n\nAfter this brief delay, you can start working through the Migaku Japanese Academy, where you'll learn the ~1,500 most common words in Netflix subtitles and a few hundred common Japanese grammar points. (Do the same amount of daily cards as you have been doing in the kanji course).\n\nImportantly, you'll learn at least one example sentence for each of the kanji you learned in the previous step, and each flashcard only introduces one new piece of information (a vocab word or grammar point), so the learning curve is super smooth.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-questions.jpeg\" width=\"1778\" height=\"1244\" alt=\"A screenshot from Migaku's Japanese course, showing how we teach Japanese vocabulary and Japanese grammar\" \u002F>\n\nWe'll [periodically nudge you to review each of these cards](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fspaced-repetition-language-learning), building a personalized review schedule based on your performance, to ensure that you eventually remember everything.\n\nBy the time you're done, you'll be ready to start exploring actual Japanese content. Migaku makes subtitles interactive in places like YouTube and Netflix, enabling you to tap on words to see what they mean or make a media-rich flashcard with a single press.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-youtube-plug-milk.jpeg\" width=\"1756\" height=\"1244\" alt=\"A screenshot showing how Migaku makes text interactive on places like YouTube\" \u002F>\n\nSo:\n\n1. First you learn what kanji mean\n2. Next you learn words that include these kanji\n3. Finally, you encounter kanji in the real world\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## So, what's the best kanji resource out there?\n\nUltimately, the best kanji book is the one that you'll stick with and actually use.\n\nYou see, kanji open up a wider, exciting world for you. Virtually _everything_ in Japanese is in kanji—books, manga, anime, video games, movies, song lyrics, menus, you name it—so learning kanji is what will enable you to go beyond textbooks and explore things you're interested in. _That's_ where things begin getting fun, and it's also where your learning will really take off.\n\n> If you consume media you enjoy in Japanese, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. _Period_.\n\nAnd with that, it’s time for us to wish you luck on your kanji journey with whatever resource you choose to take on your adventure\n\nAcquiring kanji will take time, so make sure to enjoy the journey and sniff the 花 along the way.\n",{"title":12483,"description":13300},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-kanji-best-book","6WVntbCLR2KWcfJQDO9NJBJ1jObaV_9hwD9wEdxx-WE","June 2, 2025",{"id":13318,"title":13319,"body":13320,"description":14242,"extension":717,"meta":14243,"navigation":730,"path":14253,"rawbody":14254,"seo":14255,"stem":14256,"__hash__":14257,"timestampUnix":14244,"slug":14245,"h1":14246,"image":14247,"tags":14252,"_dir":736,"timestamp":14258},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-karaoke.md","Nani ga Suki? Top Karaoke Songs for Learning Japanese",{"type":8,"value":13321,"toc":14228},[13322,13331,13339,13342,13348,13350,13352,13356,13359,13362,13365,13376,13385,13390,13404,13407,13411,13414,13423,13430,13436,13439,13445,13454,13457,13471,13479,13484,13486,13490,13493,13496,13539,13542,13549,13559,13562,13564,13568,13574,13577,13593,13596,13630,13636,13651,13662,13664,13668,13674,13681,13690,13693,13695,13753,13770,13778,13780,13784,13788,13791,13794,13828,13834,13842,13844,13848,13853,13860,13863,13905,13911,13919,13921,13925,13930,13943,13946,13977,13980,13989,13997,13999,14003,14007,14010,14013,14058,14061,14072,14077,14080,14088,14090,14094,14097,14102,14105,14108,14111,14116,14121,14124,14132,14137,14140,14146,14148,14150,14154,14157,14209,14213,14216,14219,14225],[11,13323,13324,13325,13330],{},"Karaoke (カラオケ)—literally “empty orchestra”—is a worldwide activity we’re all familiar with. Recent numbers show that there are over ",[15,13326,13329],{"href":13327,"rel":13328},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.statista.com\u002Fstatistics\u002F1259843\u002Fjapan-number-karaoke-facilities\u002F",[971],"8,300 karaoke facilities"," in Japan. (For comparison, the country only has about 3,000 McDonald’s outlets!)",[320,13332,13333],{},[11,13334,13335,13336,13338],{},"Suffice to say, karaoke is an intimate part of contemporary Japanese culture, and if your journey to ",[15,13337,18],{"href":17}," leads you to study or work in Japan, it’s likely you’ll be invited to an outing some day.",[11,13340,13341],{},"Karaoke is a social event. Making the effort to sing a song in Japanese will do wonders to bring you closer with your friends or co-workers, and you’ll also find a surprising amount of knowledge to be gained through studying lyrics. And, it’s just plain fun!",[11,13343,13344,13345,13347],{},"This article will share some Japanese song recommendations for your next time on the mic, ranked based on popularity ",[26,13346,12357],{}," difficulty. We’ll also share a quick overview of the different karaoke outlets in Japan so you can plan your next visit.",[39,13349],{},[42,13351],{},[45,13353,13355],{"id":13354},"the-surprising-link-between-singing-and-language-learning","The surprising link between singing and language learning",[11,13357,13358],{},"Think about it. What’s more fun to memorise: a vocab list for a test or the lyrics to your favourite song?",[11,13360,13361],{},"The latter barely requires effort, because it all comes through natural repetition and enjoyment. It doesn’t even feel like study... and, yet, you’re learning! It’s clear there’s something going on beneath the surface here. So, what does the research have to say?",[11,13363,13364],{},"Studies have shown that songs facilitate the memorization of information. You probably don’t remember the formulas you learned in seventh grade math class, but you can likely recall timetables or the alphabet with a little jingle all these years later. It turns out that there's reason to this rhyme:",[11,13366,13367,13368,415],{},"In 2015, a group of researchers had one group of students memorize a song and another learn the same text as a poem. As it turned out, ",[15,13369,13372,13373,13375],{"href":13370,"rel":13371},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.researchgate.net\u002Fpublication\u002F264084028_The_efficacy_of_singing_in_foreign-language_learning",[971],"the singing group were better able to recall the words, did a better job remembering what they meant, ",[26,13374,12357],{}," had better pronunciation",[11,13377,13378,13379,13384],{},"If you’re a natural born singer, there’s more good news. Research has found that ",[15,13380,13383],{"href":13381,"rel":13382},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.discovermagazine.com\u002Fmind\u002Fthe-scientific-reason-singers-have-a-knack-for-language",[971],"musical aptitude and language aptitude are closely linked",", leading to a feedback loop of benefits; like better pitch recognition and keener working memory.",[320,13386,13387],{},[11,13388,13389],{},"Music and language ‘just click’.",[11,13391,13392,13393],{},"This doesn’t mean you need some phoney-baloney \"talent\" to squeeze the juice out of a sing-a-long, though. I’m the biggest proponent for the joy of karaoke, and I’m about as tone-deaf as nails on a chalkboard. ",[26,13394,13395,13396,13399,13400,13403],{},"(Fun fact: the Japanese word for \"tone-deaf\", 音痴 (",[26,13397,13398],{},"onchi",") ",[103,13401],{"src":13402,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-音痴.mp3"," is literally \"sound stupid\").",[11,13405,13406],{},"This is where the secret power of karaoke in Japan comes in. Allow us to expand upon the culture of karaoke in Japan and how this differs to other parts of the world.",[45,13408,13410],{"id":13409},"karaoke-as-part-of-japanese-culture","Karaoke as part of Japanese culture",[11,13412,13413],{},"Think of karaoke as a team sport.",[320,13415,13416],{},[11,13417,13418,13419,13422],{},"In Japan, karaoke is treated as a way to socialize and bond rather than a competition to show off who can give the best rendition of ",[26,13420,13421],{},"Dream On"," by Aerosmith. It's not about musical ability, but rather releasing stress and cheering each other on.",[11,13424,13425,13426,13429],{},"Solos are given respect and encouragement in the form of clapping along to the beat and not joining in. Some booths may even come with tambourines to heighten the engagement. In Japan, it’s all about the fun experience you create with your friends. There are even 一人カラオケ ",[103,13427],{"src":13428,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一人カラオケ.mp3"," (hitori karaoke, \"one-person\" karaoke) rooms and booths!",[50,13431],{"src":13432,"width":13433,"height":13434,"alt":13435},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke.jpeg",1340,858,"A screenshot of a one-person karaoke room on the left and of a public booth on the right",[287,13437,13438],{"padded":289,"italic":289},"\nA one-person room on the left, a public karaoke booth on the right\n",[11,13440,13441,13442,13444],{},"Karaoke is performed in private rooms instead of onstage. Your comfort is of top concern. Drinks and food are literally brought ",[26,13443,7041],{}," you. You can even control the temperature of the room!",[11,13446,13447,13448,13450,13451],{},"Because karaoke is so welcoming, this makes it the perfect environment to learn a bit of Japanese ",[26,13449,12357],{}," to deepen social bonds with your Japanese friends. ",[1090,13452,13453],{},"Learning Japanese in a vacuum will not get you far; it’s important to use the language in meaningful ways to connect with those around you.",[11,13455,13456],{},"So in short, karaoke in Japan is:",[304,13458,13459,13462,13465,13468],{},[307,13460,13461],{},"A great way to deepen friendships",[307,13463,13464],{},"Accessible and convenient",[307,13466,13467],{},"Private and comfort focused",[307,13469,13470],{},"A proven way to improve your Japanese",[11,13472,13473,13474,415],{},"Oh, and it’s been shown that ",[15,13475,13478],{"href":13476,"rel":13477},"https:\u002F\u002Ftime.com\u002F4989850\u002Falcohol-foreign-language-speak\u002F",[971],"a cheeky drink helps you to speak a foreign language better",[11,13480,13481],{},[26,13482,13483],{},"(Editor's note: Consume responsibly. Migaku is not responsible for what you do with this information.)",[42,13485],{},[45,13487,13489],{"id":13488},"japanese-song-recommendations-at-a-glance","Japanese song recommendations at a glance",[11,13491,13492],{},"So, for those without a frame of reference for popular Japanese music, we’re here to help. These songs have been selected with specific consideration given to Japanese learners.",[11,13494,13495],{},"The focus is on:",[304,13497,13498,13504,13517,13523,13533],{},[307,13499,13500,13503],{},[1090,13501,13502],{},"Difficulty:"," lyrics which feature common vocabulary and shorter bars (at the very least, you’ll be able to memorise the chorus easily)",[307,13505,13506,13509,13510],{},[1090,13507,13508],{},"Speed:"," lyrics that are at a doable pace—no rapid fire bars like those in ",[26,13511,13512],{},[15,13513,13516],{"href":13514,"rel":13515},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=6LbPC4ZWFok",[971],"RIP SLYME",[307,13518,13519,13522],{},[1090,13520,13521],{},"Popularity:"," songs which your Japanese friends are likely to know and sing along with you—no obscure anime OPs and EDs that only otakus know",[307,13524,13525,13528,13529,13532],{},[1090,13526,13527],{},"Genre:"," songs which fit an upbeat karaoke session—no heart wrenching ballads or ",[26,13530,13531],{},"Aggretsuko"," style rage tunes (sorry!)",[307,13534,13535,13538],{},[1090,13536,13537],{},"Skill:"," songs that don’t require you to have operatic abilities to sing (mostly)",[11,13540,13541],{},"Having said that:",[320,13543,13544],{},[11,13545,13546],{},[1090,13547,13548],{},"Music is subjective!",[11,13550,13551,13552,13555,13556,3691],{},"I'm my own person with my own tastes and biases. I encourage you to dive into the world of Japanese music yourself and find what makes you happy. The joy of singing along comes from putting ",[26,13553,13554],{},"your"," voice to lyrics that are meaningful to ",[26,13557,13558],{},"you",[11,13560,13561],{},"Got that? Okay, testing 1, 2.",[42,13563],{},[45,13565,13567],{"id":13566},"_1-新宝島-new-treasure-island-サカナクション-2015","1. 新宝島 (New Treasure Island) - サカナクション (2015)",[50,13569],{"src":13570,"width":13571,"height":13572,"alt":13573},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-karaoke-sakanakushon.jpeg",2028,1294,"A screenshot from the music video to New Treasure Island",[11,13575,13576],{},"The view count speaks for itself. I don’t know a single Japanese person who doesn’t know this song.",[11,13578,13579,13580,13583,13584,13592],{},"Created by the five-piece band ",[26,13581,13582],{},"Sakanaction",", Shin Takarajima (New Treasure Island) was originally written with ",[15,13585,13588,13589],{"href":13586,"rel":13587},"https:\u002F\u002Fmyanimelist.net\u002Fanime\u002F7674\u002FBakuman",[971],"the manga ",[26,13590,13591],{},"Bakuman"," (about a child who dreams of becoming a mangaka) in mind. The song ended up being featured in the live-action film, and this relation is also why you’ll encounter many words relating to drawing in the lyrics.",[11,13594,13595],{},"For example:",[67,13597,13598,13606],{},[70,13599,13600],{},[73,13601,13602,13604],{},[76,13603,3918],{},[76,13605,4063],{},[87,13607,13608,13619],{},[73,13609,13610,13616],{},[92,13611,13612,13613,13615],{},"このまま君を連れて行くと",[292,13614],{},"(このまま きみを つれていくと)",[92,13617,13618],{},"Just like this, I’m guiding you along",[73,13620,13621,13627],{},[92,13622,13623,13624,13626],{},"丁寧、丁寧、丁寧に描くと",[292,13625],{},"(ていねい、ていねい、ていねいにえがくと)",[92,13628,13629],{},"Carefully, carefully, carefully, drawing",[11,13631,13632,13635],{},[26,13633,13634],{},"Shin Takarajima"," comes in at number one in this list because its popularity, pace and vocabulary mesh together to create the perfect karaoke song for learners.",[11,13637,13638,13639,13644,13645,13650],{},"In general, though, Sakanaction have a great discography. Chances are, if you explore, you’ll be able to find more songs of theirs that are easy to sing along to, such as ",[15,13640,13643],{"href":13641,"rel":13642},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=65Ah1Yj59zA",[971],"Aoi"," (2013) and ",[15,13646,13649],{"href":13647,"rel":13648},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=2gc5PR_NbHM",[971],"アイデンティティ"," (2011).",[320,13652,13653],{},[287,13654,13655,13656,13661],{},"\n 🎶 \n",[15,13657,13660],{"href":13658,"rel":13659},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=LIlZCmETvsY",[971],"Listen to it on YouTube","\n 🎵 \n",[42,13663],{},[45,13665,13667],{"id":13666},"_2-小さな恋のうた-a-little-love-song-mongol800-2001","2. 小さな恋のうた (A Little Love Song) - MONGOL800 (2001)",[50,13669],{"src":13670,"width":13671,"height":13672,"alt":13673},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke-mongol800.jpeg",2030,1296,"A screenshot of A Little Love Song on YouTube, as enhanced by Migaku",[11,13675,13676,13677,13680],{},"Play this song and chances are you’ll hear someone say エモい ",[103,13678],{"src":13679,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-エモい.mp3"," —so nostalgic!. It’s one of those emotionally moving songs that, even if you didn’t first hear it 10+ years ago, will still strike a cord today.",[11,13682,13683,13684,13689],{},"The story of MONGOL800 is a fascinating one—they're an Okinawan band who hit it big with this song through a grassroots promotion. It’s with this background that 小さな恋のうた (A Small Love Song) feels special; so special that it has been covered hundreds of time. There’s even ",[15,13685,13688],{"href":13686,"rel":13687},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FLittle_Love_Song",[971],"a whole movie"," titled after this one song!",[11,13691,13692],{},"The chorus is easy to learn, but its simplicity is its beauty.",[11,13694,13595],{},[67,13696,13697,13705],{},[70,13698,13699],{},[73,13700,13701,13703],{},[76,13702,3918],{},[76,13704,4063],{},[87,13706,13707,13718,13729,13742],{},[73,13708,13709,13715],{},[92,13710,13711,13712,13714],{},"ほら あなたにとって 大事な人ほど ",[292,13713],{}," (ほら あなたにとって だいじなひとほど )",[92,13716,13717],{},"Look—the ones who matter most to you",[73,13719,13720,13726],{},[92,13721,13722,13723,13725],{},"すぐそばにいるの",[292,13724],{},"(すぐそばにいるの)",[92,13727,13728],{},"Are right here beside you",[73,13730,13731,13737],{},[92,13732,13733,13734,13736],{},"ただ あなたにだけ届いて欲しい ",[292,13735],{},"(ただ あなたにだけとどいてほしい)",[92,13738,13739,13740,415],{},"I just want this song to reach ",[26,13741,13558],{},[73,13743,13744,13750],{},[92,13745,13746,13747,13749],{},"響け恋の歌 ",[292,13748],{},"(ひびけ こいのうた)",[92,13751,13752],{},"A song of love—let it ring!",[11,13754,13755,13756,1466,13761,13766,13767,415],{},"The verses may be harder to pick out in the original track because the instrumentals are amped up and the singer slurs a bit. Nevertheless, there’s a myriad of hugely popular covers you can listen to, such as those by ",[15,13757,13760],{"href":13758,"rel":13759},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=hpn6NOCCahA",[971],"Takahashi Rie",[15,13762,13765],{"href":13763,"rel":13764},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=Woorod1gJ_w",[971],"Amatsuki",". Either way, most people sing this song for the sole reason of going all out on the chorus, anyway, so don’t stress if you’re don’t get it perfect! ",[1090,13768,13769],{},"Nobody will mind if you can’t get 100% of the lyrics correct, because your willingness to try is what matters",[320,13771,13772],{},[287,13773,13655,13774,13661],{},[15,13775,13660],{"href":13776,"rel":13777},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=JoJ6lnF07U4",[971],[42,13779],{},[45,13781,13783],{"id":13782},"_3-オドループ-oddloop-フレデリック-2014","3. オドループ (Oddloop) - フレデリック (2014)",[50,13785],{"src":13786,"width":13787,"height":13572,"alt":5002},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke-oddloop.jpeg",2036,[11,13789,13790],{},"The discography of Frederic has been described as “cheer music” and it’s not hard to see why. The Kobe rock band have a distinctive upbeat sound that makes it hard to not tap your foot along.",[11,13792,13793],{},"In fact, this song in particular is all about dancing freely to music. That’s where the title comes from: odd from 踊る (odoru: to dance) and loop, like the loop of a song.",[67,13795,13796,13804],{},[70,13797,13798],{},[73,13799,13800,13802],{},[76,13801,3918],{},[76,13803,4063],{},[87,13805,13806,13817],{},[73,13807,13808,13814],{},[92,13809,13810,13811,13813],{},"踊ってない夜を知らない ",[292,13812],{},"(おどってない よるを しらない)",[92,13815,13816],{},"I don’t know a night where I’m not dancing",[73,13818,13819,13825],{},[92,13820,13821,13822,13824],{},"踊ってない夜が気に入らない",[292,13823],{},"(おどってない よるが きにいらない)",[92,13826,13827],{},"I don’t like a night where I’m not dancing",[11,13829,13830,13831],{},"Looping is a huge part of the song, so if you just spend a little time learning the chorus, you’ll be golden. Maybe you can use that time saved on lyrics to learn the choreography from the music video too! The sky’s the limit in a private karaoke room. ",[26,13832,13833],{},"(I mean, actually the ceiling is, but you get the idea).",[320,13835,13836],{},[287,13837,13655,13838,13661],{},[15,13839,13660],{"href":13840,"rel":13841},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=PCp2iXA1uLE",[971],[42,13843],{},[45,13845,13847],{"id":13846},"_4-本能-instinct-椎名林檎-1999","4. 本能 (Instinct) - 椎名林檎 (1999)",[50,13849],{"src":13850,"width":13571,"height":13851,"alt":13852},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karoke-instinct.jpeg",1290,"A screenshot from the music video to Instinct, as enhanced by Migaku",[11,13854,13855,13856,13859],{},"Just because we’re sorting by easy lyrics doesn’t mean we can’t sound ",[26,13857,13858],{},"cool",". If you have a hankering (like me) to roll your r’s all the time in Japanese, a Shiina Ringo song is a fantastic outlet for this.",[11,13861,13862],{},"Go ahead and try rolling your r’s here with the beginning of the chorus!",[67,13864,13865,13873],{},[70,13866,13867],{},[73,13868,13869,13871],{},[76,13870,3918],{},[76,13872,4063],{},[87,13874,13875,13892],{},[73,13876,13877,13889],{},[92,13878,13879,13880,13882,13883,13885,13886,13888],{},"約束はい",[1090,13881,6347],{},"ないわ ",[292,13884],{},"(やくそくは い",[1090,13887,6347],{},"ないわ)",[92,13890,13891],{},"I don’t need your promises!",[73,13893,13894,13902],{},[92,13895,13896,13897,13899,13900,13824],{},"果たさ",[1090,13898,6365],{},"ないことなど大嫌いなの ",[292,13901],{},[92,13903,13904],{},"I hate things that get left unfulfilled",[11,13906,13907,13908],{},"I know I said there wouldn't be any operatic-level songs... but Shiina Ringo has some pipes on her. You might find it a bit hard to follow along. Alas, I have a golden rule: ",[26,13909,13910],{},"If you’re worried about how you sound during karaoke, you’re not doing it right.",[320,13912,13913],{},[287,13914,13655,13915,13661],{},[15,13916,13660],{"href":13917,"rel":13918},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=ECxBHhMc7oI",[971],[42,13920],{},[45,13922,13924],{"id":13923},"_5-愛-スクリム-aiscream-ラブライブ2025","5. 愛 ♡ スクリ～ム！ (AiScReam) - ラブライブ！(2025)",[50,13926],{"src":13927,"width":13928,"height":13851,"alt":13929},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karoke-nanigasuki.jpeg",2020,"A screenshot of the music video to AiScReam, as enhanced by Migaku",[11,13931,13932,13933,13938,13939,13942],{},"Despite being a ",[15,13934,13937],{"href":13935,"rel":13936},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FImage_song",[971],"character song"," from the ",[26,13940,13941],{},"Love Live!"," anime series, this song has trended massively, to the point where people outside of the Japanese bubble may have heard it in a passing meme. If you’re one for idol music, chances are you’re already aware!",[11,13944,13945],{},"All about ice cream flavours and sweet love, the lyrics are quite cute and straightforward! Take the trending lyric, for instance:",[67,13947,13948,13956],{},[70,13949,13950],{},[73,13951,13952,13954],{},[76,13953,3918],{},[76,13955,4063],{},[87,13957,13958,13969],{},[73,13959,13960,13966],{},[92,13961,13962,13963,13965],{},"ルビィちゃん！　何が好き？ ",[292,13964],{},"(るびぃちゃん！ なにがすき？)",[92,13967,13968],{},"Ruby-chan! What do you like?",[73,13970,13971,13974],{},[92,13972,13973],{},"チョコミント　よりも　あ・な・た",[92,13975,13976],{},"Chocolate-mint! But more than that, Y・O・U!",[11,13978,13979],{},"Like many Japanese songs, AiScReam includes many English lyrics—it’s thought to give a song more charm and global feel.",[11,13981,13982,13983,13988],{},"Then, while this song in particular ",[15,13984,13987],{"href":13985,"rel":13986},"https:\u002F\u002Ftrends.google.com\u002Ftrends\u002Fexplore?q=nani%20ga%20suki&hl=en",[971],"recently became quite a thing",", you should know that anime is not necessarily a widespread interest in japan. Read the room before belting out an anime song. (But if you're in a room full of other otakus, then by all means go all out!)",[320,13990,13991],{},[287,13992,13655,13993,13661],{},[15,13994,13660],{"href":13995,"rel":13996},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=L1mFVp9IM9c",[971],[42,13998],{},[45,14000,14002],{"id":14001},"_6-dream-fighter-perfume-2008","6. Dream Fighter - Perfume (2008)",[50,14004],{"src":14005,"width":13671,"height":13672,"alt":14006},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke-perfume.jpeg","A screenshot from Dream Fighter's video, as enhanced by Migaku",[11,14008,14009],{},"Remember what I said about finding songs that are meaningful to you?",[11,14011,14012],{},"This song may not be as well known, but in service of bringing you singable lyrics to connect with, I think you’ll find it encouraging.",[67,14014,14015,14023],{},[70,14016,14017],{},[73,14018,14019,14021],{},[76,14020,3918],{},[76,14022,4063],{},[87,14024,14025,14036,14047],{},[73,14026,14027,14033],{},[92,14028,14029,14030,14032],{},"最高を求めて ",[292,14031],{},"(さいこうをもとめて )",[92,14034,14035],{},"In search of the best",[73,14037,14038,14044],{},[92,14039,14040,14041,14043],{},"終わりのない旅をするのは ",[292,14042],{},"(おわりのない たびをするのは)",[92,14045,14046],{},"We keep striving forward",[73,14048,14049,14055],{},[92,14050,14051,14052,14054],{},"きっと 僕らが 生きている証拠だから ",[292,14053],{},"(きっと ぼくらが いきているしょうこだから)",[92,14056,14057],{},"That's the proof that we're alive",[11,14059,14060],{},"In similar vein to Frederic, this is a cheer song intended to lift you up. It’s all about fighting for your dreams despite the challenges you will face. Having songs like these to come back to while you study will make a world of difference and here’s why:",[11,14062,14063,14064,14067,14068,14071],{},"For starters, this was one of the first ever J-Pop songs I heard. That was a long long time ago; so long ago that I forgot it for a huge chunk of my life. But when I rediscovered it after ",[26,14065,14066],{},"years"," of studious Japanese study, I found that I understood the lyrics ",[26,14069,14070],{},"without"," needing to refer to fanlyrics or translations. Everything just clicked. It’s difficult how to describe how powerful this type of experience is.",[320,14073,14074],{},[11,14075,14076],{},"That is why it’s so important to expose yourself to native materials as much as you can, regardless of difficulty, because you never know when you might be sowing the seeds for your future.",[11,14078,14079],{},"Hang in there and fight for your dreams!",[320,14081,14082],{},[287,14083,13655,14084,13661],{},[15,14085,13660],{"href":14086,"rel":14087},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=rBX5YGPNDbs",[971],[42,14089],{},[45,14091,14093],{"id":14092},"no-subtitles-migaku-can-generate-them-for-you","No subtitles? Migaku can generate them for you 💪",[11,14095,14096],{},"If you're singing at home, you might have noticed that a disappointing amount of Japanese music videos lack subtitles:",[50,14098],{"src":14099,"width":13787,"height":14100,"alt":14101},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke-plug1.jpeg",1302,"A screenshot of a Japanese music video that, like many Japanese videos, lacks subtitles",[11,14103,14104],{},"And this, understandably, can put quite the damper on your singing sessions.",[11,14106,14107],{},"That's where Migaku comes in.",[11,14109,14110],{},"Just click that wand in the top-right-ish corner (it's marked with an orange exclamation point).",[320,14112,14113],{},[11,14114,14115],{},"We'll generate subtitles for you.",[50,14117],{"src":14118,"width":14119,"height":13572,"alt":14120},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke-plug2.jpeg",1780,"A screenshot of Migaku's interface for generating subtitles",[11,14122,14123],{},"The result looks just like normal subtitles... but there are two big differences:",[344,14125,14126,14129],{},[307,14127,14128],{},"You can display subtitles in two languages at once",[307,14130,14131],{},"You can click on any word to see what it means",[50,14133],{"src":14134,"width":14135,"height":13672,"alt":14136},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke-plug3.jpeg",2038,"A screenshot of a Japanese music video with Japanese and English subtitles generated by Migaku",[11,14138,14139],{},"If you happen to find a lyric you love or a word you want to remember, you can just click the orange button in the top-right corner of a dictionary to make a flashcard out of it:",[50,14141],{"src":14142,"width":14143,"height":14144,"alt":14145},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke-plug4.jpeg",1520,1284,"A screenshot of the front and flashcard of a Japanese flashcard generated by Migaku",[674,14147],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,14149],{},[45,14151,14153],{"id":14152},"the-best-karaoke-chains-in-japan","The best karaoke chains in Japan",[11,14155,14156],{},"Now that you’ve got some songs under your belt, here are the top karaoke outlets in Japan—plus some personal tips.",[304,14158,14159,14171,14183,14195],{},[307,14160,14161,14168,14170],{},[1090,14162,14163],{},[15,14164,14167],{"href":14165,"rel":14166},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.karaokemanekineko.jp\u002F",[971],"まねきねこ: Maneki Neko",[292,14169],{},"\nMy personal favourite outlet. You can bring your own drinks and really make the room your own. Their 巨峰サワー (kyohō sawā, an alcoholic drink) is seriously addictive. Combined with an all you can drink session? You can’t go wrong.",[307,14172,14173,14180,14182],{},[1090,14174,14175],{},[15,14176,14179],{"href":14177,"rel":14178},"https:\u002F\u002Fbig-echo.jp\u002Fen\u002F",[971],"Big Echo",[292,14181],{},"\nThe biggest karaoke franchise in Japan. You won’t be hard pressed to find an outlet, especially if you’re in the Tokyo area. Quality can vary drastically between locations, however, so consider checking before booking.",[307,14184,14185,14192,14194],{},[1090,14186,14187],{},[15,14188,14191],{"href":14189,"rel":14190},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.joysound.com\u002Fweb\u002Fkaraoke",[971],"JOYSOUND",[292,14193],{},"\nYou may have heard of this name via their karaoke video games. JOYSOUND are renowned for their particularly expansive catalog, especially for VTuber songs and other niches.",[307,14196,14197,14204,14206,14207],{},[1090,14198,14199],{},[15,14200,14203],{"href":14201,"rel":14202},"https:\u002F\u002Fjankara.ne.jp\u002Fen\u002F",[971],"ジャンカラ: JanKara",[292,14205],{},"\nYou’re not limited to the nightlife of Shibuya for karaoke. JanKara is the number one franchise in the Kansai region. Most JanKaras are digital self check in as well; just book online and check in at the kiosk! Super easy!",[42,14208],{},[45,14210,14212],{"id":14211},"the-final-note","The final note",[11,14214,14215],{},"Karaoke is a novel way to engage with your language of choice because it marries language comprehension and output with social enrichment. Karaoke in Japan strips all of the hindrances of stage fright and pressure, leaving you with memories you’ll undoubtedly cherish for a long time.",[11,14217,14218],{},"Remember, songs and learning go hand in hand: when you spend enough time with a song, it will add to your Japanese repertoire. And that's important because...",[320,14220,14221],{},[11,14222,5934,14223,415],{},[26,14224,994],{},[11,14226,14227],{},"So get out there and break a leg!",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":14229},[14230,14231,14232,14233,14234,14235,14236,14237,14238,14239,14240,14241],{"id":13354,"depth":707,"text":13355},{"id":13409,"depth":707,"text":13410},{"id":13488,"depth":707,"text":13489},{"id":13566,"depth":707,"text":13567},{"id":13666,"depth":707,"text":13667},{"id":13782,"depth":707,"text":13783},{"id":13846,"depth":707,"text":13847},{"id":13923,"depth":707,"text":13924},{"id":14001,"depth":707,"text":14002},{"id":14092,"depth":707,"text":14093},{"id":14152,"depth":707,"text":14153},{"id":14211,"depth":707,"text":14212},"Love singing and want to learn Japanese? You're in luck! This article will introduce karaoke culture and several songs good for learners to start with.",{"timestampUnix":14244,"slug":14245,"h1":14246,"image":14247,"tags":14252},1751263011860,"japanese-karaoke","Learn Japanese with these 6 Easy Karaoke Picks",{"src":14248,"width":14249,"height":14250,"alt":14251},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke-thumbnail.jpeg",4461,2896,"A screenshot of a man and woman laying down some serious notes in the backside of a van, perhaps as a way to learn Japanese",[8649],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-karaoke","---\ntitle: 'Nani ga Suki? Top Karaoke Songs for Learning Japanese'\ndescription: \"Love singing and want to learn Japanese? You're in luck! This article will introduce karaoke culture and several songs good for learners to start with.\"\ntimestampUnix: 1751263011860\nslug: 'japanese-karaoke'\nh1: 'Learn Japanese with these 6 Easy Karaoke Picks'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke-thumbnail.jpeg'\n width: 4461\n height: 2896\n alt: 'A screenshot of a man and woman laying down some serious notes in the backside of a van, perhaps as a way to learn Japanese'\ntags:\n - discussion\n---\n\nKaraoke (カラオケ)—literally “empty orchestra”—is a worldwide activity we’re all familiar with. Recent numbers show that there are over [8,300 karaoke facilities](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.statista.com\u002Fstatistics\u002F1259843\u002Fjapan-number-karaoke-facilities\u002F) in Japan. (For comparison, the country only has about 3,000 McDonald’s outlets!)\n\n> Suffice to say, karaoke is an intimate part of contemporary Japanese culture, and if your journey to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese) leads you to study or work in Japan, it’s likely you’ll be invited to an outing some day.\n\nKaraoke is a social event. Making the effort to sing a song in Japanese will do wonders to bring you closer with your friends or co-workers, and you’ll also find a surprising amount of knowledge to be gained through studying lyrics. And, it’s just plain fun\\!\n\nThis article will share some Japanese song recommendations for your next time on the mic, ranked based on popularity _and_ difficulty. We’ll also share a quick overview of the different karaoke outlets in Japan so you can plan your next visit.\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## The surprising link between singing and language learning\n\nThink about it. What’s more fun to memorise: a vocab list for a test or the lyrics to your favourite song?\n\nThe latter barely requires effort, because it all comes through natural repetition and enjoyment. It doesn’t even feel like study... and, yet, you’re learning\\! It’s clear there’s something going on beneath the surface here. So, what does the research have to say?\n\nStudies have shown that songs facilitate the memorization of information. You probably don’t remember the formulas you learned in seventh grade math class, but you can likely recall timetables or the alphabet with a little jingle all these years later. It turns out that there's reason to this rhyme:\n\nIn 2015, a group of researchers had one group of students memorize a song and another learn the same text as a poem. As it turned out, [the singing group were better able to recall the words, did a better job remembering what they meant, _and_ had better pronunciation](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.researchgate.net\u002Fpublication\u002F264084028_The_efficacy_of_singing_in_foreign-language_learning).\n\nIf you’re a natural born singer, there’s more good news. Research has found that [musical aptitude and language aptitude are closely linked](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.discovermagazine.com\u002Fmind\u002Fthe-scientific-reason-singers-have-a-knack-for-language), leading to a feedback loop of benefits; like better pitch recognition and keener working memory.\n\n> Music and language ‘just click’.\n\nThis doesn’t mean you need some phoney-baloney \"talent\" to squeeze the juice out of a sing-a-long, though. I’m the biggest proponent for the joy of karaoke, and I’m about as tone-deaf as nails on a chalkboard. _(Fun fact: the Japanese word for \"tone-deaf\", 音痴 (*onchi*) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-音痴.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is literally \"sound stupid\")._\n\nThis is where the secret power of karaoke in Japan comes in. Allow us to expand upon the culture of karaoke in Japan and how this differs to other parts of the world.\n\n## Karaoke as part of Japanese culture\n\nThink of karaoke as a team sport.\n\n> In Japan, karaoke is treated as a way to socialize and bond rather than a competition to show off who can give the best rendition of _Dream On_ by Aerosmith. It's not about musical ability, but rather releasing stress and cheering each other on.\n\nSolos are given respect and encouragement in the form of clapping along to the beat and not joining in. Some booths may even come with tambourines to heighten the engagement. In Japan, it’s all about the fun experience you create with your friends. There are even 一人カラオケ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一人カラオケ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> (hitori karaoke, \"one-person\" karaoke) rooms and booths!\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke.jpeg\" width=\"1340\" height=\"858\" alt=\"A screenshot of a one-person karaoke room on the left and of a public booth on the right\" \u002F>\n\n\u003CCenteredText padded italic>A one-person room on the left, a public karaoke booth on the right\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\nKaraoke is performed in private rooms instead of onstage. Your comfort is of top concern. Drinks and food are literally brought _to_ you. You can even control the temperature of the room\\!\n\nBecause karaoke is so welcoming, this makes it the perfect environment to learn a bit of Japanese _and_ to deepen social bonds with your Japanese friends. **Learning Japanese in a vacuum will not get you far; it’s important to use the language in meaningful ways to connect with those around you.**\n\nSo in short, karaoke in Japan is:\n\n- A great way to deepen friendships\n- Accessible and convenient\n- Private and comfort focused\n- A proven way to improve your Japanese\n\nOh, and it’s been shown that [a cheeky drink helps you to speak a foreign language better](https:\u002F\u002Ftime.com\u002F4989850\u002Falcohol-foreign-language-speak\u002F).\n\n_(Editor's note: Consume responsibly. Migaku is not responsible for what you do with this information.)_\n\n---\n\n## Japanese song recommendations at a glance\n\nSo, for those without a frame of reference for popular Japanese music, we’re here to help. These songs have been selected with specific consideration given to Japanese learners.\n\nThe focus is on:\n\n- **Difficulty:** lyrics which feature common vocabulary and shorter bars (at the very least, you’ll be able to memorise the chorus easily)\n- **Speed:** lyrics that are at a doable pace—no rapid fire bars like those in _[RIP SLYME](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=6LbPC4ZWFok)_\n- **Popularity:** songs which your Japanese friends are likely to know and sing along with you—no obscure anime OPs and EDs that only otakus know\n- **Genre:** songs which fit an upbeat karaoke session—no heart wrenching ballads or _Aggretsuko_ style rage tunes (sorry\\!)\n- **Skill:** songs that don’t require you to have operatic abilities to sing (mostly)\n\nHaving said that:\n\n> **Music is subjective\\!**\n\nI'm my own person with my own tastes and biases. I encourage you to dive into the world of Japanese music yourself and find what makes you happy. The joy of singing along comes from putting _your_ voice to lyrics that are meaningful to _you_!\n\nGot that? Okay, testing 1, 2\\.\n\n---\n\n## 1\\. 新宝島 (New Treasure Island) - サカナクション (2015)\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-karaoke-sakanakushon.jpeg\" width=\"2028\" height=\"1294\" alt=\"A screenshot from the music video to New Treasure Island\" \u002F>\n\nThe view count speaks for itself. I don’t know a single Japanese person who doesn’t know this song.\n\nCreated by the five-piece band _Sakanaction_, Shin Takarajima (New Treasure Island) was originally written with [the manga _Bakuman_](https:\u002F\u002Fmyanimelist.net\u002Fanime\u002F7674\u002FBakuman) (about a child who dreams of becoming a mangaka) in mind. The song ended up being featured in the live-action film, and this relation is also why you’ll encounter many words relating to drawing in the lyrics.\n\nFor example:\n\n| Japanese | English |\n| -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |\n| このまま君を連れて行くと\u003Cbr>(このまま きみを つれていくと) | Just like this, I’m guiding you along |\n| 丁寧、丁寧、丁寧に描くと\u003Cbr>(ていねい、ていねい、ていねいにえがくと) | Carefully, carefully, carefully, drawing |\n\n_Shin Takarajima_ comes in at number one in this list because its popularity, pace and vocabulary mesh together to create the perfect karaoke song for learners.\n\nIn general, though, Sakanaction have a great discography. Chances are, if you explore, you’ll be able to find more songs of theirs that are easy to sing along to, such as [Aoi](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=65Ah1Yj59zA) (2013) and [アイデンティティ](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=2gc5PR_NbHM) (2011).\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> 🎶 [Listen to it on YouTube](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=LIlZCmETvsY) 🎵 \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n---\n\n## 2\\. 小さな恋のうた (A Little Love Song) - MONGOL800 (2001)\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke-mongol800.jpeg\" width=\"2030\" height=\"1296\" alt=\"A screenshot of A Little Love Song on YouTube, as enhanced by Migaku\" \u002F>\n\nPlay this song and chances are you’ll hear someone say エモい \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-エモい.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> —so nostalgic\\!. It’s one of those emotionally moving songs that, even if you didn’t first hear it 10+ years ago, will still strike a cord today.\n\nThe story of MONGOL800 is a fascinating one—they're an Okinawan band who hit it big with this song through a grassroots promotion. It’s with this background that 小さな恋のうた (A Small Love Song) feels special; so special that it has been covered hundreds of time. There’s even [a whole movie](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FLittle_Love_Song) titled after this one song\\!\n\nThe chorus is easy to learn, but its simplicity is its beauty.\n\nFor example:\n\n| Japanese | English |\n| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |\n| ほら あなたにとって 大事な人ほど \u003Cbr> (ほら あなたにとって だいじなひとほど ) | Look—the ones who matter most to you |\n| すぐそばにいるの\u003Cbr>(すぐそばにいるの) | Are right here beside you |\n| ただ あなたにだけ届いて欲しい \u003Cbr>(ただ あなたにだけとどいてほしい) | I just want this song to reach _you_. |\n| 響け恋の歌 \u003Cbr>(ひびけ こいのうた) | A song of love—let it ring! |\n\nThe verses may be harder to pick out in the original track because the instrumentals are amped up and the singer slurs a bit. Nevertheless, there’s a myriad of hugely popular covers you can listen to, such as those by [Takahashi Rie](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=hpn6NOCCahA) or [Amatsuki](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=Woorod1gJ_w). Either way, most people sing this song for the sole reason of going all out on the chorus, anyway, so don’t stress if you’re don’t get it perfect\\! **Nobody will mind if you can’t get 100% of the lyrics correct, because your willingness to try is what matters**.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> 🎶 [Listen to it on YouTube](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=JoJ6lnF07U4) 🎵 \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n---\n\n## 3\\. オドループ (Oddloop) - フレデリック (2014)\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke-oddloop.jpeg\" width=\"2036\" height=\"1294\" alt=\"...\" \u002F>\n\nThe discography of Frederic has been described as “cheer music” and it’s not hard to see why. The Kobe rock band have a distinctive upbeat sound that makes it hard to not tap your foot along.\n\nIn fact, this song in particular is all about dancing freely to music. That’s where the title comes from: odd from 踊る (odoru: to dance) and loop, like the loop of a song.\n\n| Japanese | English |\n| ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |\n| 踊ってない夜を知らない \u003Cbr>(おどってない よるを しらない) | I don’t know a night where I’m not dancing |\n| 踊ってない夜が気に入らない\u003Cbr>(おどってない よるが きにいらない) | I don’t like a night where I’m not dancing |\n\nLooping is a huge part of the song, so if you just spend a little time learning the chorus, you’ll be golden. Maybe you can use that time saved on lyrics to learn the choreography from the music video too\\! The sky’s the limit in a private karaoke room. _(I mean, actually the ceiling is, but you get the idea)._\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> 🎶 [Listen to it on YouTube](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=PCp2iXA1uLE) 🎵 \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n---\n\n## 4\\. 本能 (Instinct) - 椎名林檎 (1999)\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karoke-instinct.jpeg\" width=\"2028\" height=\"1290\" alt=\"A screenshot from the music video to Instinct, as enhanced by Migaku\" \u002F>\n\nJust because we’re sorting by easy lyrics doesn’t mean we can’t sound _cool_. If you have a hankering (like me) to roll your r’s all the time in Japanese, a Shiina Ringo song is a fantastic outlet for this.\n\nGo ahead and try rolling your r’s here with the beginning of the chorus\\!\n\n| Japanese | English |\n| ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |\n| 約束はい**ら**ないわ \u003Cbr>(やくそくは い**ら**ないわ) | I don’t need your promises! |\n| 果たさ**れ**ないことなど大嫌いなの \u003Cbr>(おどってない よるが きにいらない) | I hate things that get left unfulfilled |\n\nI know I said there wouldn't be any operatic-level songs... but Shiina Ringo has some pipes on her. You might find it a bit hard to follow along. Alas, I have a golden rule: _If you’re worried about how you sound during karaoke, you’re not doing it right._\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> 🎶 [Listen to it on YouTube](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=ECxBHhMc7oI) 🎵 \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n---\n\n## 5\\. 愛 ♡ スクリ～ム！ (AiScReam) - ラブライブ！(2025)\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karoke-nanigasuki.jpeg\" width=\"2020\" height=\"1290\" alt=\"A screenshot of the music video to AiScReam, as enhanced by Migaku\" \u002F>\n\nDespite being a [character song](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FImage_song) from the _Love Live\\!_ anime series, this song has trended massively, to the point where people outside of the Japanese bubble may have heard it in a passing meme. If you’re one for idol music, chances are you’re already aware\\!\n\nAll about ice cream flavours and sweet love, the lyrics are quite cute and straightforward\\! Take the trending lyric, for instance:\n\n| Japanese | English |\n| ------------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------- |\n| ルビィちゃん！　何が好き？ \u003Cbr>(るびぃちゃん！ なにがすき？) | Ruby-chan\\! What do you like? |\n| チョコミント　よりも　あ・な・た | Chocolate-mint\\! But more than that, Y・O・U! |\n\nLike many Japanese songs, AiScReam includes many English lyrics—it’s thought to give a song more charm and global feel.\n\nThen, while this song in particular [recently became quite a thing](https:\u002F\u002Ftrends.google.com\u002Ftrends\u002Fexplore?q=nani%20ga%20suki&hl=en), you should know that anime is not necessarily a widespread interest in japan. Read the room before belting out an anime song. (But if you're in a room full of other otakus, then by all means go all out!)\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> 🎶 [Listen to it on YouTube](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=L1mFVp9IM9c) 🎵 \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n---\n\n## 6\\. Dream Fighter - Perfume (2008)\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke-perfume.jpeg\" width=\"2030\" height=\"1296\" alt=\"A screenshot from Dream Fighter's video, as enhanced by Migaku\" \u002F>\n\nRemember what I said about finding songs that are meaningful to you?\n\nThis song may not be as well known, but in service of bringing you singable lyrics to connect with, I think you’ll find it encouraging.\n\n| Japanese | English |\n| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------- |\n| 最高を求めて \u003Cbr>(さいこうをもとめて ) | In search of the best |\n| 終わりのない旅をするのは \u003Cbr>(おわりのない たびをするのは) | We keep striving forward |\n| きっと 僕らが 生きている証拠だから \u003Cbr>(きっと ぼくらが いきているしょうこだから) | That's the proof that we're alive |\n\nIn similar vein to Frederic, this is a cheer song intended to lift you up. It’s all about fighting for your dreams despite the challenges you will face. Having songs like these to come back to while you study will make a world of difference and here’s why:\n\nFor starters, this was one of the first ever J-Pop songs I heard. That was a long long time ago; so long ago that I forgot it for a huge chunk of my life. But when I rediscovered it after _years_ of studious Japanese study, I found that I understood the lyrics _without_ needing to refer to fanlyrics or translations. Everything just clicked. It’s difficult how to describe how powerful this type of experience is.\n\n> That is why it’s so important to expose yourself to native materials as much as you can, regardless of difficulty, because you never know when you might be sowing the seeds for your future.\n\nHang in there and fight for your dreams!\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> 🎶 [Listen to it on YouTube](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=rBX5YGPNDbs) 🎵 \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n---\n\n## No subtitles? Migaku can generate them for you 💪\n\nIf you're singing at home, you might have noticed that a disappointing amount of Japanese music videos lack subtitles:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke-plug1.jpeg\" width=\"2036\" height=\"1302\" alt=\"A screenshot of a Japanese music video that, like many Japanese videos, lacks subtitles\" \u002F>\n\nAnd this, understandably, can put quite the damper on your singing sessions.\n\nThat's where Migaku comes in.\n\nJust click that wand in the top-right-ish corner (it's marked with an orange exclamation point).\n\n> We'll generate subtitles for you.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke-plug2.jpeg\" width=\"1780\" height=\"1294\" alt=\"A screenshot of Migaku's interface for generating subtitles\" \u002F>\n\nThe result looks just like normal subtitles... but there are two big differences:\n\n1. You can display subtitles in two languages at once\n2. You can click on any word to see what it means\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke-plug3.jpeg\" width=\"2038\" height=\"1296\" alt=\"A screenshot of a Japanese music video with Japanese and English subtitles generated by Migaku\" \u002F>\n\nIf you happen to find a lyric you love or a word you want to remember, you can just click the orange button in the top-right corner of a dictionary to make a flashcard out of it:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-karaoke-plug4.jpeg\" width=\"1520\" height=\"1284\" alt=\"A screenshot of the front and flashcard of a Japanese flashcard generated by Migaku\" \u002F>\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## The best karaoke chains in Japan\n\nNow that you’ve got some songs under your belt, here are the top karaoke outlets in Japan—plus some personal tips.\n\n- **[まねきねこ: Maneki Neko](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.karaokemanekineko.jp\u002F)**\n My personal favourite outlet. You can bring your own drinks and really make the room your own. Their 巨峰サワー (kyohō sawā, an alcoholic drink) is seriously addictive. Combined with an all you can drink session? You can’t go wrong.\n- **[Big Echo](https:\u002F\u002Fbig-echo.jp\u002Fen\u002F)**\n The biggest karaoke franchise in Japan. You won’t be hard pressed to find an outlet, especially if you’re in the Tokyo area. Quality can vary drastically between locations, however, so consider checking before booking.\n- **[JOYSOUND](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.joysound.com\u002Fweb\u002Fkaraoke)**\n You may have heard of this name via their karaoke video games. JOYSOUND are renowned for their particularly expansive catalog, especially for VTuber songs and other niches.\n- **[ジャンカラ: JanKara](https:\u002F\u002Fjankara.ne.jp\u002Fen\u002F)**\n You’re not limited to the nightlife of Shibuya for karaoke. JanKara is the number one franchise in the Kansai region. Most JanKaras are digital self check in as well; just book online and check in at the kiosk\\! Super easy\\!\n\n ***\n\n## The final note\n\nKaraoke is a novel way to engage with your language of choice because it marries language comprehension and output with social enrichment. Karaoke in Japan strips all of the hindrances of stage fright and pressure, leaving you with memories you’ll undoubtedly cherish for a long time.\n\nRemember, songs and learning go hand in hand: when you spend enough time with a song, it will add to your Japanese repertoire. And that's important because...\n\n> If you consume media you enjoy in Japanese, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. _Period_.\n\nSo get out there and break a leg\\!\n",{"title":13319,"description":14242},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-karaoke","vHdKtCVARS2Bu4uFbvxpY0inzUi_O5AUlyeG0XlSU1g","June 30, 2025",{"id":14260,"title":14261,"body":14262,"description":16197,"extension":717,"meta":16198,"navigation":730,"path":16208,"rawbody":16209,"seo":16210,"stem":16211,"__hash__":16212,"timestampUnix":16199,"slug":16200,"h1":16201,"image":16202,"tags":16207,"_dir":736,"timestamp":16213},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-katakana.md","Learn Katakana in a Few Days: Quick Guide with Memory Tricks",{"type":8,"value":14263,"toc":16180},[14264,14270,14273,14276,14278,14280,14284,14291,14298,14300,14318,14321,14324,14327,14338,14341,14346,14348,14352,14355,14699,14702,14708,14710,14714,14717,14720,14727,14730,14735,14740,14743,14750,14756,14761,14766,14769,14776,14779,14784,14789,14792,14799,14805,14810,14815,14818,14825,14831,14836,14841,14847,14851,14854,14857,14866,14872,14877,14882,14885,14894,14898,14903,14908,14911,14920,14925,14930,14935,14938,14947,14953,14958,14963,14966,14975,14980,14985,14990,14995,14999,15002,15005,15014,15020,15025,15030,15033,15042,15048,15053,15058,15061,15072,15078,15083,15088,15091,15100,15105,15110,15115,15118,15129,15134,15139,15144,15149,15153,15156,15159,15168,15174,15179,15184,15187,15196,15201,15206,15211,15214,15223,15228,15233,15238,15241,15250,15256,15261,15266,15269,15278,15283,15288,15293,15298,15302,15305,15308,15317,15323,15328,15333,15336,15345,15351,15356,15361,15364,15373,15379,15384,15389,15392,15401,15406,15411,15416,15419,15428,15433,15438,15443,15448,15452,15455,15458,15467,15473,15478,15483,15486,15495,15501,15506,15511,15514,15522,15528,15533,15538,15541,15550,15553,15558,15563,15566,15572,15578,15583,15588,15593,15597,15600,15603,15612,15617,15622,15627,15630,15639,15642,15647,15652,15655,15664,15670,15675,15680,15683,15692,15697,15702,15707,15710,15719,15722,15727,15732,15737,15741,15744,15747,15756,15761,15766,15771,15774,15783,15786,15791,15796,15799,15808,15813,15818,15823,15826,15835,15841,15846,15851,15854,15863,15868,15873,15878,15883,15887,15890,15893,15902,15907,15912,15917,15920,15929,15935,15940,15945,15948,15957,15963,15968,15973,15978,15982,15985,15988,15991,16000,16006,16011,16016,16019,16028,16037,16042,16045,16055,16058,16063,16068,16070,16074,16077,16080,16105,16108,16110,16114,16117,16123,16126,16131,16134,16137,16143,16145,16147,16151,16162,16165,16171,16174,16177],[11,14265,14266,14267,14269],{},"Katakana aren't quite as common as hiragana, but if you want to ",[15,14268,18],{"href":17},", you'll need to know both. Not being able to read katakana will regularly impede your ability to understand Japanese sentences in the wild. In fact, you probably wouldn't be able to get through a beginner's Japanese textbook without knowing katakana.",[11,14271,14272],{},"If you're here, though, you get that.",[11,14274,14275],{},"Let's learn katakana:",[39,14277],{},[42,14279],{},[45,14281,14283],{"id":14282},"hiragana-vs-katakana","Hiragana vs Katakana",[11,14285,14286,14287,14290],{},"Before we get too far along, if you haven't learned hiragana yet, go do that first. Whereas katakana appear in many sentences, hiragana appear multiple times in ",[26,14288,14289],{},"every"," sentence.",[3240,14292,14294,14295],{"id":14293},"️-read-our-hiragana-guide","➡️ ",[15,14296,14297],{"href":1082},"Read our hiragana guide",[292,14299],{},[11,14301,14302,14303,6058,14306,14309,14310,14312,14313,14315,14316,415],{},"Just like hiragana, katakana is made up of ",[26,14304,14305],{},"5 singular vowels, 42 consonant-vowel combinations",[26,14307,14308],{},"one singular consonant"," (ン; ",[26,14311,6065],{},"). There are also 2 obsolete katakana characters, ヰ ",[26,14314,6474],{}," and ヱ ",[26,14317,6528],{},[11,14319,14320],{},"At this point, you may be wondering: \"If the pronunciation is identical, why even have two sets of characters in the first place?\"",[11,14322,14323],{},"Good question, young padawan.",[11,14325,14326],{},"As we mentioned before, each has their own use cases.",[304,14328,14329,14332,14335],{},[307,14330,14331],{},"Katakana is used to write foreign words, such as countries and place names, names of foreign people, and technical and scientific terms.",[307,14333,14334],{},"Japanese words (what would normally be written with kanji or hiragana) are sometimes written with katakana for emphasis, similar to italicizing a word in English",[307,14336,14337],{},"There are a few more uses, but these are the main ones you will encounter.",[11,14339,14340],{},"That's a bit complex.",[320,14342,14343],{},[11,14344,14345],{},"The good news is that they're easy to distinguish: hiragana consists of smooth curly symbols, katakana consists of sharp angular symbols.",[42,14347],{},[45,14349,14351],{"id":14350},"table-katakana-at-a-glance","[Table] Katakana at a glance",[11,14353,14354],{},"Here's a table with audio recordings of each katakana:",[67,14356,14357,14373],{},[70,14358,14359],{},[73,14360,14361,14363,14365,14367,14369,14371],{},[76,14362],{"align":78},[76,14364,6104],{"align":78},[76,14366,6107],{"align":78},[76,14368,6110],{"align":78},[76,14370,6113],{"align":78},[76,14372,6116],{"align":78},[87,14374,14375,14407,14439,14471,14503,14535,14566,14598,14630,14656,14679],{},[73,14376,14377,14382,14387,14392,14397,14402],{},[92,14378,14379],{"align":78},[1090,14380,14381],{},"VOWEL",[92,14383,14384,14385],{"align":78},"ア",[103,14386],{"src":6126,":type":94},[92,14388,14389,14390],{"align":78},"イ",[103,14391],{"src":6132,":type":94},[92,14393,14394,14395],{"align":78},"ウ",[103,14396],{"src":6138,":type":94},[92,14398,14399,14400],{"align":78},"エ",[103,14401],{"src":6144,":type":94},[92,14403,14404,14405],{"align":78},"オ",[103,14406],{"src":6150,":type":94},[73,14408,14409,14414,14419,14424,14429,14434],{},[92,14410,14411],{"align":78},[1090,14412,14413],{},"K",[92,14415,14416,14417],{"align":78},"カ",[103,14418],{"src":6158,":type":94},[92,14420,14421,14422],{"align":78},"キ",[103,14423],{"src":6164,":type":94},[92,14425,14426,14427],{"align":78},"ク",[103,14428],{"src":6170,":type":94},[92,14430,14431,14432],{"align":78},"ケ",[103,14433],{"src":6176,":type":94},[92,14435,14436,14437],{"align":78},"コ",[103,14438],{"src":6182,":type":94},[73,14440,14441,14446,14451,14456,14461,14466],{},[92,14442,14443],{"align":78},[1090,14444,14445],{},"S",[92,14447,14448,14449],{"align":78},"サ",[103,14450],{"src":6190,":type":94},[92,14452,14453,14454],{"align":78},"シ",[103,14455],{"src":6196,":type":94},[92,14457,14458,14459],{"align":78},"ス",[103,14460],{"src":6202,":type":94},[92,14462,14463,14464],{"align":78},"セ",[103,14465],{"src":6208,":type":94},[92,14467,14468,14469],{"align":78},"ソ",[103,14470],{"src":6214,":type":94},[73,14472,14473,14478,14483,14488,14493,14498],{},[92,14474,14475],{"align":78},[1090,14476,14477],{},"T",[92,14479,14480,14481],{"align":78},"タ",[103,14482],{"src":6222,":type":94},[92,14484,14485,14486],{"align":78},"チ",[103,14487],{"src":6228,":type":94},[92,14489,14490,14491],{"align":78},"ツ",[103,14492],{"src":6234,":type":94},[92,14494,14495,14496],{"align":78},"テ",[103,14497],{"src":6240,":type":94},[92,14499,14500,14501],{"align":78},"ト",[103,14502],{"src":6246,":type":94},[73,14504,14505,14510,14515,14520,14525,14530],{},[92,14506,14507],{"align":78},[1090,14508,14509],{},"N",[92,14511,14512,14513],{"align":78},"ナ",[103,14514],{"src":6254,":type":94},[92,14516,14517,14518],{"align":78},"ニ",[103,14519],{"src":6260,":type":94},[92,14521,14522,14523],{"align":78},"ヌ",[103,14524],{"src":6266,":type":94},[92,14526,14527,14528],{"align":78},"ネ",[103,14529],{"src":6272,":type":94},[92,14531,14532,14533],{"align":78},"ノ",[103,14534],{"src":6278,":type":94},[73,14536,14537,14541,14546,14551,14556,14561],{},[92,14538,14539],{"align":78},[1090,14540,7246],{},[92,14542,14543,14544],{"align":78},"ハ",[103,14545],{"src":6286,":type":94},[92,14547,14548,14549],{"align":78},"ヒ",[103,14550],{"src":6292,":type":94},[92,14552,14553,14554],{"align":78},"フ",[103,14555],{"src":6298,":type":94},[92,14557,14558,14559],{"align":78},"ヘ",[103,14560],{"src":6304,":type":94},[92,14562,14563,14564],{"align":78},"ホ",[103,14565],{"src":6310,":type":94},[73,14567,14568,14573,14578,14583,14588,14593],{},[92,14569,14570],{"align":78},[1090,14571,14572],{},"M",[92,14574,14575,14576],{"align":78},"マ",[103,14577],{"src":6318,":type":94},[92,14579,14580,14581],{"align":78},"ミ",[103,14582],{"src":6324,":type":94},[92,14584,14585,14586],{"align":78},"ム",[103,14587],{"src":6330,":type":94},[92,14589,14590,14591],{"align":78},"メ",[103,14592],{"src":6336,":type":94},[92,14594,14595,14596],{"align":78},"モ",[103,14597],{"src":6342,":type":94},[73,14599,14600,14605,14610,14615,14620,14625],{},[92,14601,14602],{"align":78},[1090,14603,14604],{},"R",[92,14606,14607,14608],{"align":78},"ラ",[103,14609],{"src":6350,":type":94},[92,14611,14612,14613],{"align":78},"リ",[103,14614],{"src":6356,":type":94},[92,14616,14617,14618],{"align":78},"ル",[103,14619],{"src":6362,":type":94},[92,14621,14622,14623],{"align":78},"レ",[103,14624],{"src":6368,":type":94},[92,14626,14627,14628],{"align":78},"ロ",[103,14629],{"src":6374,":type":94},[73,14631,14632,14637,14642,14644,14649,14651],{},[92,14633,14634],{"align":78},[1090,14635,14636],{},"Y",[92,14638,14639,14640],{"align":78},"ヤ",[103,14641],{"src":6382,":type":94},[92,14643],{"align":78},[92,14645,14646,14647],{"align":78},"ユ",[103,14648],{"src":6390,":type":94},[92,14650],{"align":78},[92,14652,14653,14654],{"align":78},"ヨ",[103,14655],{"src":6397,":type":94},[73,14657,14658,14663,14668,14670,14672,14674],{},[92,14659,14660],{"align":78},[1090,14661,14662],{},"W",[92,14664,14665,14666],{"align":78},"ワ",[103,14667],{"src":6405,":type":94},[92,14669],{"align":78},[92,14671],{"align":78},[92,14673],{"align":78},[92,14675,14676,14677],{"align":78},"ヲ",[103,14678],{"src":6416,":type":94},[73,14680,14681,14686,14691,14693,14695,14697],{},[92,14682,14683],{"align":78},[1090,14684,14685],{},"STANDALONE",[92,14687,14688,14689],{"align":78},"ン",[103,14690],{"src":6424,":type":94},[92,14692],{"align":78},[92,14694],{"align":78},[92,14696],{"align":78},[92,14698],{"align":78},[11,14700,14701],{},"And here's a fancy table showing how katakana were formed from kanji, way back when:",[50,14703],{"src":14704,"width":14705,"height":14706,"alt":14707},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FKatakana_origine.webp",1203,1323,"A graphic showing how Japanese katakana originated from parts of man'yōgana characters as a form of shorthand.",[42,14709],{},[45,14711,14713],{"id":14712},"アイウエオ-standalone-katakana-vowels","アイウエオ → standalone katakana vowels",[11,14715,14716],{},"Now that we’ve gone over the basics of katakana, we can introduce you to the first five characters: ア・イ・ウ・エ・オ.",[6440,14718],{"code":14719},"katakana:a",[11,14721,14722,14723,6448,14725,6451],{},"The first character is ア, which is represented as ",[26,14724,15],{},[26,14726,15],{},[11,14728,14729],{},"Once again, we have a stylized version of an A.",[6456,14731],{"lang":100,"src":14732,"native":14733,"translation":14734},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fアメリカ.m4a","アメリカ","America [amerika]",[6456,14736],{"lang":100,"src":14737,"native":14738,"translation":14739},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fアイロン.m4a","アイロン","iron [airon]",[6440,14741],{"code":14742},"katakana:i",[11,14744,14745,14746,6448,14748,6637],{},"The second character is イ, which is represented as ",[26,14747,6474],{},[26,14749,6477],{},[11,14751,14752,14753,14755],{},"When you are in Japan it's worth trying to eat (",[26,14754,6474],{},") with chopsticks at least once.",[6456,14757],{"lang":100,"src":14758,"native":14759,"translation":14760},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fイギリス.m4a","イギリス","England [igirisu]",[6456,14762],{"lang":100,"src":14763,"native":14764,"translation":14765},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fイラスト.m4a","イラスト","illustration [irasuto]",[6440,14767],{"code":14768},"katakana:u",[11,14770,14771,14772,6448,14774,6506],{},"The third character is ウ, which is represented as ",[26,14773,2191],{},[26,14775,6505],{},[11,14777,14778],{},"This looks just like a \"U\".",[6456,14780],{"lang":100,"src":14781,"native":14782,"translation":14783},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fウィルス.m4a","ウィルス","virus [uirusu]",[6456,14785],{"lang":100,"src":14786,"native":14787,"translation":14788},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fウィンカー.m4a","ウィンカー","blinker [uinkaa]",[6440,14790],{"code":14791},"katakana:e",[11,14793,14794,14795,6529,14797,6532],{},"The fourth character is エ, which is represented as ",[26,14796,6528],{},[26,14798,6528],{},[11,14800,14801,14802,14804],{},"The elevator (",[26,14803,6528],{},") doors should open soon.",[6456,14806],{"lang":100,"src":14807,"native":14808,"translation":14809},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fエアコン.m4a","エアコン","air conditioner [eakon]",[6456,14811],{"lang":100,"src":14812,"native":14813,"translation":14814},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fエアギター.m4a","エアギター","air guitar [eagitaa]",[6440,14816],{"code":14817},"katakana:o",[11,14819,14820,14821,6448,14823,6560],{},"The fifth character is オ, which is represented as ",[26,14822,6557],{},[26,14824,6557],{},[11,14826,14827,14828,14830],{},"Here we have a singer with a wide open (",[26,14829,6557],{},") mouth singing with all his might.",[6456,14832],{"lang":100,"src":14833,"native":14834,"translation":14835},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fオーストラリア.m4a","オーストラリア","Australia [oosutoraria]",[6456,14837],{"lang":100,"src":14838,"native":14839,"translation":14840},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fオイル.m4a","オイル","oil [oiru]",[11,14842,6579,14843,14846],{},[15,14844,6584],{"href":14845,"target":6583},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fkatakana",", select the first row of katakana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with the first katakana row before moving on.",[45,14848,14850],{"id":14849},"カキクケコ-k-series-katakana","カキクケコ → \"K\" series katakana",[11,14852,14853],{},"The next five are カ・キ・ク・ケ・コ.",[6440,14855],{"code":14856},"katakana:ka",[11,14858,14859,14860,6601,14862,6605,14864,6451],{},"The first character is カ, which is represented as ",[26,14861,6600],{},[26,14863,6604],{},[26,14865,15],{},[11,14867,14868,14869,14871],{},"Look! The butcher is cutting (",[26,14870,6600],{},") a big piece of meat.",[6456,14873],{"lang":100,"src":14874,"native":14875,"translation":14876},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fカナダ.m4a","カナダ","Canada [kanada]",[6456,14878],{"lang":100,"src":14879,"native":14880,"translation":14881},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fカリフォルニア.m4a","カリフォルニア","California [kariforunia]",[6440,14883],{"code":14884},"katakana:ki",[11,14886,14887,14888,6601,14890,6605,14892,6637],{},"The second character is キ, which is represented as ",[26,14889,6632],{},[26,14891,6604],{},[26,14893,6477],{},[11,14895,6640,14896,6066],{},[26,14897,6632],{},[6456,14899],{"lang":100,"src":14900,"native":14901,"translation":14902},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fキリスト.m4a","キリスト","Christ [kirisuto]",[6456,14904],{"lang":100,"src":14905,"native":14906,"translation":14907},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fキウイ.m4a","キウイ","kiwi [kiui]",[6440,14909],{"code":14910},"katakana:ku",[11,14912,14913,14914,6601,14916,6605,14918,6506],{},"The third character is ク, which is represented as ",[26,14915,6661],{},[26,14917,6604],{},[26,14919,6505],{},[11,14921,14922,14923,6066],{},"It’s a baby in a cradle (",[26,14924,6661],{},[6456,14926],{"lang":100,"src":14927,"native":14928,"translation":14929},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fクウェート.m4a","クウェート","Kuwait [kueeto]",[6456,14931],{"lang":100,"src":14932,"native":14933,"translation":14934},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fクイズ.m4a","クイズ","quiz [kuizu]",[6440,14936],{"code":14937},"katakana:ke",[11,14939,14940,14941,6601,14943,6605,14945,6532],{},"The fourth character is ケ, which is represented as ",[26,14942,6690],{},[26,14944,6604],{},[26,14946,6528],{},[11,14948,14949,14950,14952],{},"If you look closely, this looks like a \"K\" (",[26,14951,6690],{},") that has been tilted.",[6456,14954],{"lang":100,"src":14955,"native":14956,"translation":14957},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fケーキ.m4a","ケーキ","cake [keeki]",[6456,14959],{"lang":100,"src":14960,"native":14961,"translation":14962},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fケース.m4a","ケース","case [keesu]",[6440,14964],{"code":14965},"katakana:ko",[11,14967,14968,14969,6601,14971,6605,14973,6560],{},"The fifth character is コ, which is represented as ",[26,14970,6719],{},[26,14972,6604],{},[26,14974,6557],{},[11,14976,14977,14978,6066],{},"コ has two 90 degree corners (",[26,14979,6719],{},[6456,14981],{"lang":100,"src":14982,"native":14983,"translation":14984},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fコーヒー.m4a","コーヒー","coffee [koohii]",[6456,14986],{"lang":100,"src":14987,"native":14988,"translation":14989},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fコーラ.m4a","コーラ","cola [koora]",[11,14991,6579,14992,14994],{},[15,14993,6584],{"href":14845,"target":6583},", select the first and second row of katakana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these two katakana rows before moving on.",[45,14996,14998],{"id":14997},"サシスセソ-s-series-katakana","サシスセソ → \"S\" series katakana",[11,15000,15001],{},"The next five are サ・シ・ス・セ・ソ.",[6440,15003],{"code":15004},"katakana:sa",[11,15006,15007,15008,6601,15010,6763,15012,6451],{},"The first character is サ, which is represented as ",[26,15009,6758],{},[26,15011,6762],{},[26,15013,15],{},[11,15015,15016,15017,15019],{},"It’s a saddle (",[26,15018,6758],{},") on a horse.",[6456,15021],{"lang":100,"src":15022,"native":15023,"translation":15024},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fサラダ.m4a","サラダ","salad [sarada]",[6456,15026],{"lang":100,"src":15027,"native":15028,"translation":15029},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fサンドイッチ.m4a","サンドイッチ","sandwich [sandoicchi]",[6440,15031],{"code":15032},"katakana:shi",[11,15034,15035,15036,6601,15038,6794,15040,6637],{},"The second character is シ, which is represented as ",[26,15037,6790],{},[26,15039,6793],{},[26,15041,6477],{},[11,15043,15044,15045,15047],{},"She (",[26,15046,6790],{},") is looking upwards. Not sure what she sees there though.",[6456,15049],{"lang":100,"src":15050,"native":15051,"translation":15052},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fシアトル.m4a","シアトル","Seattle [shiatoru]",[6456,15054],{"lang":100,"src":15055,"native":15056,"translation":15057},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fシェアハウス.m4a","シェアハウス","share house [sheahausu]",[6440,15059],{"code":15060},"katakana:su",[11,15062,15063,15064,7857,15066,6601,15068,6763,15070,6506],{},"The third character is ",[26,15065,14458],{},[26,15067,6821],{},[26,15069,6762],{},[26,15071,6505],{},[11,15073,15074,15075,15077],{},"This looks like the perfect suit (",[26,15076,6821],{},") hanger.",[6456,15079],{"lang":100,"src":15080,"native":15081,"translation":15082},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fスーパー.m4a","スーパー","supermarket [suupaa]",[6456,15084],{"lang":100,"src":15085,"native":15086,"translation":15087},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fスープ.m4a","スープ","soup [suupu]",[6440,15089],{"code":15090},"katakana:se",[11,15092,15093,15094,6601,15096,6763,15098,6532],{},"The fourth character is セ, which is represented as ",[26,15095,6850],{},[26,15097,6762],{},[26,15099,6528],{},[11,15101,15102,15103,6860],{},"Where we have a nice sénior (",[26,15104,6850],{},[6456,15106],{"lang":100,"src":15107,"native":15108,"translation":15109},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fセットアップ.m4a","セットアップ","setup [settoappu]",[6456,15111],{"lang":100,"src":15112,"native":15113,"translation":15114},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fセール.m4a","セール","sale [seeru]",[6440,15116],{"code":15117},"katakana:so",[11,15119,15120,15121,7857,15123,6601,15125,6763,15127,6560],{},"The fifth character is ",[26,15122,14468],{},[26,15124,6879],{},[26,15126,6762],{},[26,15128,6557],{},[11,15130,6886,15131,15133],{},[26,15132,6879],{},") another stitch.",[6456,15135],{"lang":100,"src":15136,"native":15137,"translation":15138},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fソマリア.m4a","ソマリア","Somalia [somaria]",[6456,15140],{"lang":100,"src":15141,"native":15142,"translation":15143},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fソルブ.m4a","ソルブ","Sorbs [sorubu]",[11,15145,6579,15146,15148],{},[15,15147,6584],{"href":14845,"target":6583},", select the first, second and third row of katakana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these three katakana rows before moving on.",[45,15150,15152],{"id":15151},"タチツテト-t-series-katakana","タチツテト → \"T\" series katakana",[11,15154,15155],{},"The next five are タ・チ・ツ・テ・ト.",[6440,15157],{"code":15158},"katakana:ta",[11,15160,15161,15162,6601,15164,6923,15166,6451],{},"The first character is タ, which is represented as ",[26,15163,6919],{},[26,15165,6922],{},[26,15167,15],{},[11,15169,15170,15171,15173],{},"It’s a tie (",[26,15172,6919],{},") flapping in the wind.",[6456,15175],{"lang":100,"src":15176,"native":15177,"translation":15178},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fタオル.m4a","タオル","towel [taoru]",[6456,15180],{"lang":100,"src":15181,"native":15182,"translation":15183},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fタイ.m4a","タイ","Thai [tai]",[6440,15185],{"code":15186},"katakana:chi",[11,15188,15189,15190,6601,15192,6958,15194,6637],{},"The second character is チ, which is represented as ",[26,15191,6954],{},[26,15193,6957],{},[26,15195,6477],{},[11,15197,15198,15199,6066],{},"What do we have here again? Our jumping cheerleader (chi) spreading her cheer (",[26,15200,6954],{},[6456,15202],{"lang":100,"src":15203,"native":15204,"translation":15205},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fチキン.m4a","チキン","chicken [chikin]",[6456,15207],{"lang":100,"src":15208,"native":15209,"translation":15210},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fチェス.m4a","チェス","chess [chesu]",[6440,15212],{"code":15213},"katakana:tsu",[11,15215,15216,15217,6601,15219,6988,15221,6506],{},"The third character is ツ, which is represented as ",[26,15218,6984],{},[26,15220,6987],{},[26,15222,6505],{},[11,15224,15225,15226,6066],{},"Oh no! Be careful, it’s a tsunami (",[26,15227,6984],{},[6456,15229],{"lang":100,"src":15230,"native":15231,"translation":15232},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fツアー.m4a","ツアー","tour [tsuaa]",[6456,15234],{"lang":100,"src":15235,"native":15236,"translation":15237},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fツイート.m4a","ツイート","tweet [tsuiito]",[6440,15239],{"code":15240},"katakana:te",[11,15242,15243,15244,6601,15246,6923,15248,6532],{},"The fourth character is テ, which is represented as ",[26,15245,7015],{},[26,15247,6922],{},[26,15249,6528],{},[11,15251,15252,15253,15255],{},"This just looks like a telephone (",[26,15254,7015],{},") pole.",[6456,15257],{"lang":100,"src":15258,"native":15259,"translation":15260},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fテント.m4a","テント","tent [tento]",[6456,15262],{"lang":100,"src":15263,"native":15264,"translation":15265},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fテニス.m4a","テニス","tennis [tenisu]",[6440,15267],{"code":15268},"katakana:to",[11,15270,15271,15272,6601,15274,6923,15276,6560],{},"The fifth character is ト, which is represented as ",[26,15273,7041],{},[26,15275,6922],{},[26,15277,6557],{},[11,15279,15280,15281,6066],{},"This is the small \"t\" in the word 'toe' (",[26,15282,7041],{},[6456,15284],{"lang":100,"src":15285,"native":15286,"translation":15287},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fトイレ.m4a","トイレ","toilet [toire]",[6456,15289],{"lang":100,"src":15290,"native":15291,"translation":15292},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fトンネル.m4a","トンネル","tunnel [toneru]",[11,15294,6579,15295,15297],{},[15,15296,6584],{"href":14845,"target":6583},", select all katakana rows, from the first to the fourth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these four katakana rows before moving on.",[45,15299,15301],{"id":15300},"ナニヌネノ-n-series-katakana","ナニヌネノ → \"N\" series katakana",[11,15303,15304],{},"The next five are ナ・ニ・ヌ・ネ・ノ.",[6440,15306],{"code":15307},"katakana:na",[11,15309,15310,15311,6601,15313,7084,15315,6451],{},"The first character is ナ, which is represented as ",[26,15312,7081],{},[26,15314,6065],{},[26,15316,15],{},[11,15318,15319,15320,15322],{},"This knife (",[26,15321,7081],{},") seems pretty sharp. But it is a little bit bent.",[6456,15324],{"lang":100,"src":15325,"native":15326,"translation":15327},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fナイジェリア.m4a","ナイジェリア","Nigeria [naijeria]",[6456,15329],{"lang":100,"src":15330,"native":15331,"translation":15332},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fナース.m4a","ナース","nurse [naasu]",[6440,15334],{"code":15335},"katakana:ni",[11,15337,15338,15339,6601,15341,7084,15343,6637],{},"The second character is ニ, which is represented as ",[26,15340,144],{},[26,15342,6065],{},[26,15344,6477],{},[11,15346,15347,15348,15350],{},"Here are two needles (",[26,15349,144],{},") ready to sew.",[6456,15352],{"lang":100,"src":15353,"native":15354,"translation":15355},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fニカラグア.m4a","ニカラグア","Nicaragua [nikaragua]",[6456,15357],{"lang":100,"src":15358,"native":15359,"translation":15360},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fニコチン.m4a","ニコチン","nicotine [nikochin]",[6440,15362],{"code":15363},"katakana:nu",[11,15365,15366,15367,6601,15369,7084,15371,6506],{},"The third character is ヌ, which is represented as ",[26,15368,7138],{},[26,15370,6065],{},[26,15372,6505],{},[11,15374,15375,15376,15378],{},"You are eating a delicious bowl of noodles (",[26,15377,7138],{},") with chopsticks.",[6456,15380],{"lang":100,"src":15381,"native":15382,"translation":15383},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヌガー.m4a","ヌガー","nougat [nugaa]",[6456,15385],{"lang":100,"src":15386,"native":15387,"translation":15388},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヌクレオシド.m4a","ヌクレオシド","nucleoside [nukureoshido]",[6440,15390],{"code":15391},"katakana:ne",[11,15393,15394,15395,6601,15397,7084,15399,6532],{},"The fourth character is ネ, which is represented as ",[26,15396,7166],{},[26,15398,6065],{},[26,15400,6528],{},[11,15402,15403,15404,7700],{},"It’s a necktie (",[26,15405,7166],{},[6456,15407],{"lang":100,"src":15408,"native":15409,"translation":15410},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fネガティブ.m4a","ネガティブ","negative [negatibu]",[6456,15412],{"lang":100,"src":15413,"native":15414,"translation":15415},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fネイティブ.m4a","ネイティブ","native [neitibu]",[6440,15417],{"code":15418},"katakana:no",[11,15420,15421,15422,6601,15424,7084,15426,6560],{},"The fifth character is ノ, which is represented as ",[26,15423,7195],{},[26,15425,6065],{},[26,15427,6557],{},[11,15429,15430,15431,6066],{},"It’s Pinocchio with his long nose (",[26,15432,7195],{},[6456,15434],{"lang":100,"src":15435,"native":15436,"translation":15437},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fノルマ.m4a","ノルマ","quota [noruma]",[6456,15439],{"lang":100,"src":15440,"native":15441,"translation":15442},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fノルウェー.m4a","ノルウェー","Norway [noruuee]",[11,15444,6579,15445,15447],{},[15,15446,6584],{"href":14845,"target":6583},", select all katakana rows, from the first to the fifth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these five katakana rows before moving on.",[45,15449,15451],{"id":15450},"ハヒフヘホ-h-series-katakana","ハヒフヘホ → \"H\" series katakana",[11,15453,15454],{},"The next five are ハ・ヒ・フ・ヘ・ホ.",[6440,15456],{"code":15457},"katakana:ha",[11,15459,15460,15461,6759,15463,7238,15465,6451],{},"The first character is ハ, which is represented as ",[26,15462,7234],{},[26,15464,7237],{},[26,15466,15],{},[11,15468,15469,15470,15472],{},"That’s a pretty cool hat (",[26,15471,7234],{},") you got there.",[6456,15474],{"lang":100,"src":15475,"native":15476,"translation":15477},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fハイキング.m4a","ハイキング","hiking [haikingu]",[6456,15479],{"lang":100,"src":15480,"native":15481,"translation":15482},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fハイウェイ.m4a","ハイウェイ","highway [haiuei]",[6440,15484],{"code":15485},"katakana:hi",[11,15487,15488,15489,6601,15491,7272,15493,6637],{},"The second character is ヒ, which is represented as ",[26,15490,7269],{},[26,15492,7237],{},[26,15494,6477],{},[11,15496,15497,15498,15500],{},"It’s the heel (",[26,15499,7269],{},") of your foot.",[6456,15502],{"lang":100,"src":15503,"native":15504,"translation":15505},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヒロイン.m4a","ヒロイン","heroine [hiroin]",[6456,15507],{"lang":100,"src":15508,"native":15509,"translation":15510},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヒーロー.m4a","ヒーロー","hero [hiiroo]",[6440,15512],{"code":15513},"katakana:fu",[11,15515,15516,15517,6759,15519,15521],{},"The third character is フ, which is represented as ",[26,15518,7299],{},[26,15520,7302],{}," in phew and the oo* in shoot.",[11,15523,15524,15525,15527],{},"This is just a flag (",[26,15526,7299],{},") in the wind.",[6456,15529],{"lang":100,"src":15530,"native":15531,"translation":15532},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fファイル.m4a","ファイル","file [fairu]",[6456,15534],{"lang":100,"src":15535,"native":15536,"translation":15537},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fフィリピン.m4a","フィリピン","Philippines [firipin]",[6440,15539],{"code":15540},"katakana:he",[11,15542,15543,15544,6759,15546,7238,15548,6532],{},"The fourth character is ヘ, which is represented as ",[26,15545,7330],{},[26,15547,7237],{},[26,15549,6528],{},[11,15551,15552],{},"This looks exactly like the hiragana version. Easy!",[6456,15554],{"lang":100,"src":15555,"native":15556,"translation":15557},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヘアクリーム.m4a","ヘアクリーム","hair cream [heakuriimu]",[6456,15559],{"lang":100,"src":15560,"native":15561,"translation":15562},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヘアスタイル.m4a","ヘアスタイル","hairstyle [heasutairu]",[6440,15564],{"code":15565},"katakana:ho",[11,15567,15568,15569,15571],{},"The fifth character is ホ, which is represented as ",[26,15570,7359],{},", and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the *h in hat and the *o* in story.",[11,15573,15574,15575,15577],{},"It’s the holy (ho) cross with holy (",[26,15576,7359],{},") light around it.",[6456,15579],{"lang":100,"src":15580,"native":15581,"translation":15582},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fホイール.m4a","ホイール","wheel [hoiiru]",[6456,15584],{"lang":100,"src":15585,"native":15586,"translation":15587},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fホラー.m4a","ホラー","horror [horaa]",[11,15589,6579,15590,15592],{},[15,15591,6584],{"href":14845,"target":6583},", select all katakana rows, from the first to the sixth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these six katakana rows before moving on.",[45,15594,15596],{"id":15595},"マミムメモ-m-series-katakana","マミムメモ → \"M\" series katakana",[11,15598,15599],{},"The next five are マ・ミ・ム・メ・モ.",[6440,15601],{"code":15602},"katakana:ma",[11,15604,15605,15606,6601,15608,7403,15610,6451],{},"The first character is マ, which is represented as ",[26,15607,7399],{},[26,15609,7402],{},[26,15611,15],{},[11,15613,15614,15615,6066],{},"All those angles and numbers … I hate math (",[26,15616,7399],{},[6456,15618],{"lang":100,"src":15619,"native":15620,"translation":15621},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fマイアミ.m4a","マイアミ","Miami [maiami]",[6456,15623],{"lang":100,"src":15624,"native":15625,"translation":15626},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fマイク.m4a","マイク","microphone [maiku]",[6440,15628],{"code":15629},"katakana:mi",[11,15631,15632,15633,6601,15635,7403,15637,6637],{},"The second character is ミ, which is represented as ",[26,15634,7429],{},[26,15636,7402],{},[26,15638,6477],{},[11,15640,15641],{},"Oh no! Three missiles (mi) are about to hit.",[6456,15643],{"lang":100,"src":15644,"native":15645,"translation":15646},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fミサイル.m4a","ミサイル","missile [misairu]",[6456,15648],{"lang":100,"src":15649,"native":15650,"translation":15651},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fミクロ.m4a","ミクロ","micro [mikuro]",[6440,15653],{"code":15654},"katakana:mu",[11,15656,15657,15658,6601,15660,7403,15662,6506],{},"The third character is ム, which is represented as ",[26,15659,7458],{},[26,15661,7402],{},[26,15663,6505],{},[11,15665,15666,15667,15669],{},"When you draw a moon (",[26,15668,7458],{},") like this, it has a big nose.",[6456,15671],{"lang":100,"src":15672,"native":15673,"translation":15674},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fムカムカ.m4a","ムカムカ","feeling queasy [mukamuka]",[6456,15676],{"lang":100,"src":15677,"native":15678,"translation":15679},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fムキムキ.m4a","ムキムキ","muscular [mukimuki]",[6440,15681],{"code":15682},"katakana:me",[11,15684,15685,15686,6601,15688,7403,15690,6532],{},"The fourth character is メ, which is represented as ",[26,15687,7484],{},[26,15689,7402],{},[26,15691,6528],{},[11,15693,15694,15695,6066],{},"It’s so hot, even the power pole is melting (",[26,15696,7484],{},[6456,15698],{"lang":100,"src":15699,"native":15700,"translation":15701},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fメイクアップ.m4a","メイクアップ","makeup [meikuappu]",[6456,15703],{"lang":100,"src":15704,"native":15705,"translation":15706},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fメアド.m4a","メアド","email address [meado]",[6440,15708],{"code":15709},"katakana:mo",[11,15711,15712,15713,6601,15715,7403,15717,6560],{},"The fifth character is モ, which is represented as ",[26,15714,7512],{},[26,15716,7402],{},[26,15718,6557],{},[11,15720,15721],{},"This looks just like the hiragana version!",[6456,15723],{"lang":100,"src":15724,"native":15725,"translation":15726},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fモンスター.m4a","モンスター","monster [monsutaa]",[6456,15728],{"lang":100,"src":15729,"native":15730,"translation":15731},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fモバイル.m4a","モバイル","mobile [mobairu]",[11,15733,6579,15734,15736],{},[15,15735,6584],{"href":14845,"target":6583},", select all katakana rows, from the first to the seventh, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these seven katakana rows before moving on.",[45,15738,15740],{"id":15739},"ラリルレロ-r-series-katakana","ラリルレロ → \"R\" series katakana",[11,15742,15743],{},"The next five are ラ・リ・ル・レ・ロ.",[6440,15745],{"code":15746},"katakana:ra",[11,15748,15749,15750,6601,15752,7561,15754,7565],{},"The first character is ラ, which is represented as ",[26,15751,7557],{},[26,15753,7560],{},[26,15755,7564],{},[11,15757,15758,15759,7571],{},"It’s a cute rabbit (",[26,15760,7557],{},[6456,15762],{"lang":100,"src":15763,"native":15764,"translation":15765},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fライオン.m4a","ライオン","lion [raion]",[6456,15767],{"lang":100,"src":15768,"native":15769,"translation":15770},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fライト.m4a","ライト","light [raito]",[6440,15772],{"code":15773},"katakana:ri",[11,15775,15776,15777,7591,15779,7595,15781,7599],{},"The second character is リ, which is represented as ",[26,15778,7590],{},[26,15780,7594],{},[26,15782,7598],{},[11,15784,15785],{},"This also looks pretty similar to the hiragana version.",[6456,15787],{"lang":100,"src":15788,"native":15789,"translation":15790},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fリカバー.m4a","リカバー","recover [rikabaa]",[6456,15792],{"lang":100,"src":15793,"native":15794,"translation":15795},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fリアル.m4a","リアル","real [riaru]",[6440,15797],{"code":15798},"katakana:ru",[11,15800,15801,15802,6601,15804,7627,15806,7631],{},"The third character is ル, which is represented as ",[26,15803,7624],{},[26,15805,7624],{},[26,15807,7630],{},[11,15809,15810,15811,6066],{},"A big tree, with even bigger roots (",[26,15812,7624],{},[6456,15814],{"lang":100,"src":15815,"native":15816,"translation":15817},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fルール.m4a","ルール","rule [ruuru]",[6456,15819],{"lang":100,"src":15820,"native":15821,"translation":15822},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fルックス.m4a","ルックス","looks [rukkusu]",[6440,15824],{"code":15825},"katakana:re",[11,15827,15828,15829,6601,15831,7659,15833,7663],{},"The fourth character is レ, which is represented as ",[26,15830,7656],{},[26,15832,7656],{},[26,15834,7662],{},[11,15836,15837,15838,15840],{},"A beautiful girl with red (",[26,15839,7656],{},") hair.",[6456,15842],{"lang":100,"src":15843,"native":15844,"translation":15845},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fレアメタル.m4a","レアメタル","rare metal [reametaru]",[6456,15847],{"lang":100,"src":15848,"native":15849,"translation":15850},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fレアアイテム.m4a","レアアイテム","rare item [reaaitemu]",[6440,15852],{"code":15853},"katakana:ro",[11,15855,15856,15857,6601,15859,7690,15861,7694],{},"The fifth character is ロ, which is represented as ",[26,15858,7687],{},[26,15860,7687],{},[26,15862,7693],{},[11,15864,15865,15866,6066],{},"Here is Rob the helpful robot (",[26,15867,7687],{},[6456,15869],{"lang":100,"src":15870,"native":15871,"translation":15872},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fロボット.m4a","ロボット","robot [robotto]",[6456,15874],{"lang":100,"src":15875,"native":15876,"translation":15877},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fロシア.m4a","ロシア","Russia [roshia]",[11,15879,6579,15880,15882],{},[15,15881,6584],{"href":14845,"target":6583},", select all katakana rows, from the first to the eighth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these eight katakana rows before moving on.",[45,15884,15886],{"id":15885},"ヤユヨ-y-series-katakana","ヤユヨ → \"Y\" series katakana",[11,15888,15889],{},"The next three are ヤ・ユ・ヨ.",[6440,15891],{"code":15892},"katakana:ya",[11,15894,15895,15896,6601,15898,7734,15900,6451],{},"The first character is ヤ, which is represented as ",[26,15897,7730],{},[26,15899,7733],{},[26,15901,15],{},[11,15903,15904,15905,7700],{},"This is just a yak (",[26,15906,7730],{},[6456,15908],{"lang":100,"src":15909,"native":15910,"translation":15911},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヤギ.m4a","ヤギ","goat [yagi]",[6456,15913],{"lang":100,"src":15914,"native":15915,"translation":15916},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヤード.m4a","ヤード","yard (unit of distance) [yaado]",[6440,15918],{"code":15919},"katakana:yu",[11,15921,15922,15923,7591,15925,7734,15927,6506],{},"The second character is ユ, which is represented as ",[26,15924,7761],{},[26,15926,7733],{},[26,15928,6505],{},[11,15930,15931,15932,15934],{},"The top of the u-boat (",[26,15933,7761],{},") is looking out from the water.",[6456,15936],{"lang":100,"src":15937,"native":15938,"translation":15939},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fユーザー.m4a","ユーザー","user [yuuzaa]",[6456,15941],{"lang":100,"src":15942,"native":15943,"translation":15944},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fユニット.m4a","ユニット","unit [yunitto]",[6440,15946],{"code":15947},"katakana:yo",[11,15949,15950,15951,6601,15953,7734,15955,6560],{},"The third character is ヨ, which is represented as ",[26,15952,7790],{},[26,15954,7733],{},[26,15956,6557],{},[11,15958,15959,15960,15962],{},"She is doing yoga (",[26,15961,7790],{},"). But that does not look healthy.",[6456,15964],{"lang":100,"src":15965,"native":15966,"translation":15967},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヨーロッパ.m4a","ヨーロッパ","Europe [yooroppa]",[6456,15969],{"lang":100,"src":15970,"native":15971,"translation":15972},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヨーグルト.m4a","ヨーグルト","yogurt [yooguruto]",[11,15974,6579,15975,15977],{},[15,15976,6584],{"href":14845,"target":6583},", select all katakana rows, from the first to the ninth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these nine katakana rows before moving on.",[45,15979,15981],{"id":15980},"ワヲン-w-series-katakana","ワヲン → \"W\" series katakana",[11,15983,15984],{},"And lastly, the final three: ワ・ヲ・ン.",[11,15986,15987],{},"Down below you will find these characters with images that you can use as mnemonic aids to help you remember them. Audio for each character and some example words are also provided.",[6440,15989],{"code":15990},"katakana:wa",[11,15992,15993,15994,7857,15996,6448,15998,7833],{},"The first character is ",[26,15995,14665],{},[26,15997,7830],{},[26,15999,7830],{},[11,16001,16002,16003,16005],{},"It’s the top of a wine (",[26,16004,7830],{},") glass. It looks delicious!",[6456,16007],{"lang":100,"src":16008,"native":16009,"translation":16010},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fワイン.m4a","ワイン","wine [wain]",[6456,16012],{"lang":100,"src":16013,"native":16014,"translation":16015},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fワイシャツ.m4a","ワイシャツ","dress shirt [waishatsu]",[6440,16017],{"code":16018},"katakana:wo",[11,16020,7854,16021,7857,16023,6448,16025,16027],{},[26,16022,14676],{},[26,16024,7860],{},[26,16026,6557],{}," in story. While the hiragana character only functions as a particle, its counterpart (ヲ) is used to form words. Fun fact: in the example word below, the character オ could be used in place of ヲ.",[11,16029,16030,16031,16033,16034,16036],{},"It’s the nose (",[26,16032,6557],{},") of (",[26,16035,6557],{},") a ship in the ocean.",[6456,16038],{"lang":100,"src":16039,"native":16040,"translation":16041},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヲタク.m4a","ヲタク","otaku [otaku]",[6440,16043],{"code":16044},"katakana:n",[11,16046,16047,16048,6529,16050,16052,16053,7889],{},"The last katakana character is ン, which is represented as ",[26,16049,6065],{},[26,16051,7885],{}," in long. However, its pronunciation changes a bit depending on the sound that follows. But for now, just remember it as the ",[26,16054,7885],{},[11,16056,16057],{},"I mean he has a lot of gold, but that big nose on the king (ng) is a bit much.",[6456,16059],{"lang":100,"src":16060,"native":16061,"translation":16062},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fファン.m4a","ファン","fan [fan]",[6456,16064],{"lang":100,"src":16065,"native":16066,"translation":16067},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fメディアン.m4a","メディアン","median [median]",[42,16069],{},[45,16071,16073],{"id":16072},"test-katakana-reading-practice","[Test] Katakana reading practice",[11,16075,16076],{},"We've now walked through every single katakana character.",[11,16078,16079],{},"That means it's time to practice.",[344,16081,16082,16091,16094,16097,16100,16102],{},[307,16083,16084,16085,16090],{},"Open the ",[15,16086,16089],{"href":16087,"rel":16088},"https:\u002F\u002Frealkana.com\u002Fkatakana",[971],"Real Kana"," website",[307,16092,16093],{},"Below the katakana table, click \"check all\"",[307,16095,16096],{},"Click the big red \"STUDY\" button (confusingly located above the table)",[307,16098,16099],{},"Type out how to spell the katakana you see on the screen",[307,16101,10662],{},[307,16103,16104],{},"Profit",[11,16106,16107],{},"Practice until you feel comfortable with all katakana.",[42,16109],{},[45,16111,16113],{"id":16112},"how-to-learn-katakana-in-a-few-days","How to learn katakana in a few days →",[11,16115,16116],{},"Kanji are there own separate beast, and will take time.",[11,16118,16119,16122],{},[26,16120,16121],{},"Katakana",", though? You can get through them in a week—or even faster, if you buckle down.",[11,16124,16125],{},"If you're not quite sure where to get started, Migaku's Japanese Fundamentals course will spoonfeed everything you need to know to you.",[50,16127],{"src":16128,"width":16129,"height":12123,"alt":16130},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-fundamentals-katakana-ki.jpeg",1652,"A screenshot from the Migaku Japanese Fundamentals course, showing how we help users learn Japanese katakana",[11,16132,16133],{},"You'll start out by reading about a small batch of katakana as you did above: there will be mnemonics, pictures, example words, and recordings from native speakers.",[11,16135,16136],{},"To ensure you remember each character, rather than just running your eyes over them and moving on, we quiz you with flashcards: you'll see a katakana on the front and be tasked with remembering how to read it. Upon flipping it over, you'll see the pronunciation, a video of a native speaker saying it, the mnemonic, and a few example words.",[11,16138,16139,16140,16142],{},"Migaku is totally free for ten days, and if you do 23 flashcards of our Japanese Fundamentals course per day—about one hour of time investment—you'll be able to comfortably read both katakana ",[26,16141,12357],{}," hiragana before those ten days are up.",[674,16144],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,16146],{},[45,16148,16150],{"id":16149},"the-most-important-thing-you-need-to-remember-if-you-want-to-learn-japanese","The most important thing you need to remember if you want to learn Japanese",[11,16152,16153,16154,16157,16158,16161],{},"We won't lie—a lot of people have taken a lot of different approaches to learning Japanese, and people have succeeded and failed with pretty much every approach imaginable. What all ",[26,16155,16156],{},"successful"," learners have in common is that, at some point, they inevitably spent a lot of time ",[26,16159,16160],{},"in"," Japanese.",[11,16163,16164],{},"This is to say:",[320,16166,16167],{},[11,16168,5934,16169],{},[26,16170,705],{},[11,16172,16173],{},"Initially, it'll be difficult to remember katakana. As you spend more time reading Japanese—whether text or subtitles—it'll get easier. Eventually, they'll just make sense to you, as the alphabet does, without any conscious effort at all.",[11,16175,16176],{},"Your Japanese journey starts here.",[11,16178,16179],{},"Good luck, friend 💪",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":16181},[16182,16183,16184,16185,16186,16187,16188,16189,16190,16191,16192,16193,16194,16195,16196],{"id":14282,"depth":707,"text":14283},{"id":14350,"depth":707,"text":14351},{"id":14712,"depth":707,"text":14713},{"id":14849,"depth":707,"text":14850},{"id":14997,"depth":707,"text":14998},{"id":15151,"depth":707,"text":15152},{"id":15300,"depth":707,"text":15301},{"id":15450,"depth":707,"text":15451},{"id":15595,"depth":707,"text":15596},{"id":15739,"depth":707,"text":15740},{"id":15885,"depth":707,"text":15886},{"id":15980,"depth":707,"text":15981},{"id":16072,"depth":707,"text":16073},{"id":16112,"depth":707,"text":16113},{"id":16149,"depth":707,"text":16150},"Learn everything you need to know about Japanese katakana. Learn their basics, how they are pronounced, example words and more.",{"timestampUnix":16199,"slug":16200,"h1":16201,"image":16202,"tags":16207},1724289351605,"the-japanese-language-katakana","Katakana Practice: Examples, Audio, Mnemonics, and More",{"src":16203,"width":16204,"height":16205,"alt":16206},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-katakana-shuken-nakamura.webp",6000,4000,"The sign of a Japanese Karaoke club, featuring \"karaoke\" written in katakana.",[728,1034],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-katakana","---\ntitle: 'Learn Katakana in a Few Days: Quick Guide with Memory Tricks'\ndescription: 'Learn everything you need to know about Japanese katakana. Learn their basics, how they are pronounced, example words and more.'\ntimestampUnix: 1724289351605\nslug: 'the-japanese-language-katakana'\nh1: 'Katakana Practice: Examples, Audio, Mnemonics, and More'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-katakana-shuken-nakamura.webp'\n width: 6000\n height: 4000\n alt: 'The sign of a Japanese Karaoke club, featuring \"karaoke\" written in katakana.'\ntags:\n - fundamentals\n - katakana\n---\n\nKatakana aren't quite as common as hiragana, but if you want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), you'll need to know both. Not being able to read katakana will regularly impede your ability to understand Japanese sentences in the wild. In fact, you probably wouldn't be able to get through a beginner's Japanese textbook without knowing katakana.\n\nIf you're here, though, you get that.\n\nLet's learn katakana:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## Hiragana vs Katakana\n\nBefore we get too far along, if you haven't learned hiragana yet, go do that first. Whereas katakana appear in many sentences, hiragana appear multiple times in _every_ sentence.\n\n#### ➡️ [Read our hiragana guide](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-hiragana)\n\n\u003Cbr>\n\nJust like hiragana, katakana is made up of _5 singular vowels, 42 consonant-vowel combinations_, and _one singular consonant_ (ン; _n_). There are also 2 obsolete katakana characters, ヰ _i_ and ヱ _e_.\n\nAt this point, you may be wondering: \"If the pronunciation is identical, why even have two sets of characters in the first place?\"\n\nGood question, young padawan.\n\nAs we mentioned before, each has their own use cases.\n\n- Katakana is used to write foreign words, such as countries and place names, names of foreign people, and technical and scientific terms.\n- Japanese words (what would normally be written with kanji or hiragana) are sometimes written with katakana for emphasis, similar to italicizing a word in English\n- There are a few more uses, but these are the main ones you will encounter.\n\nThat's a bit complex.\n\n> The good news is that they're easy to distinguish: hiragana consists of smooth curly symbols, katakana consists of sharp angular symbols.\n\n---\n\n## \\[Table] Katakana at a glance\n\nHere's a table with audio recordings of each katakana:\n\n| | A | I | U | E | O |\n| :------------: | :-----------------------------------------------------------------: | :-----------------------------------------------------------------: | :-----------------------------------------------------------------: | :-----------------------------------------------------------------: | :-----------------------------------------------------------------: |\n| **VOWEL** | ア\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fあ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | イ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fい.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ウ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fう.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | エ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fえ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | オ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fお.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| **K** | カ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fか.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | キ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fき.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ク\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fく.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ケ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fけ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | コ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fこ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| **S** | サ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fさ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | シ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fし.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ス\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fす.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | セ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fせ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ソ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fそ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| **T** | タ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fた.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | チ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fち.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ツ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fつ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | テ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fて.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ト\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fと.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| **N** | ナ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fな.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ニ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fに.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ヌ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fぬ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ネ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fね.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ノ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fの.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| **H** | ハ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fは.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ヒ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fひ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | フ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fふ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ヘ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fへ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ホ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fほ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| **M** | マ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fま.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ミ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fみ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ム\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fむ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | メ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fめ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | モ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fも.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| **R** | ラ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fら.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | リ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fり.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ル\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fる.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | レ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fれ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ロ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fろ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| **Y** | ヤ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fや.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | | ユ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fゆ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | | ヨ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fよ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| **W** | ワ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fわ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | | | | ヲ\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fを.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> |\n| **STANDALONE** | ン\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fん.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | | | | |\n\nAnd here's a fancy table showing how katakana were formed from kanji, way back when:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FKatakana_origine.webp\" width=\"1203\" height=\"1323\" alt=\"A graphic showing how Japanese katakana originated from parts of man'yōgana characters as a form of shorthand.\" \u002F>\n\n---\n\n## アイウエオ → standalone katakana vowels\n\nNow that we’ve gone over the basics of katakana, we can introduce you to the first five characters: ア・イ・ウ・エ・オ.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:a\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is ア, which is represented as _a_, and its pronunciation is similar to the _a_ in father.\n\nOnce again, we have a stylized version of an A.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fアメリカ.m4a\" native=\"アメリカ\" translation=\"America [amerika]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fアイロン.m4a\" native=\"アイロン\" translation=\"iron [airon]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:i\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is イ, which is represented as _i_, and its pronunciation is similar to the _ee_ in meet.\n\nWhen you are in Japan it's worth trying to eat (_i_) with chopsticks at least once.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fイギリス.m4a\" native=\"イギリス\" translation=\"England [igirisu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fイラスト.m4a\" native=\"イラスト\" translation=\"illustration [irasuto]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:u\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is ウ, which is represented as _u_, and its pronunciation is similar to the _oo_ in shoot.\n\nThis looks just like a \"U\".\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fウィルス.m4a\" native=\"ウィルス\" translation=\"virus [uirusu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fウィンカー.m4a\" native=\"ウィンカー\" translation=\"blinker [uinkaa]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:e\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fourth character is エ, which is represented as _e_, and its pronunciation is close to the _e_ in bet.\n\nThe elevator (_e_) doors should open soon.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fエアコン.m4a\" native=\"エアコン\" translation=\"air conditioner [eakon]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fエアギター.m4a\" native=\"エアギター\" translation=\"air guitar [eagitaa]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:o\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fifth character is オ, which is represented as _o_, and its pronunciation is similar to the _o_ in story.\n\nHere we have a singer with a wide open (_o_) mouth singing with all his might.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fオーストラリア.m4a\" native=\"オーストラリア\" translation=\"Australia [oosutoraria]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fオイル.m4a\" native=\"オイル\" translation=\"oil [oiru]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fkatakana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select the first row of katakana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with the first katakana row before moving on.\n\n## カキクケコ → \"K\" series katakana\n\nThe next five are カ・キ・ク・ケ・コ.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:ka\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is カ, which is represented as _ka_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _k_ in skate and the _a_ in father.\n\nLook! The butcher is cutting (_ka_) a big piece of meat.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fカナダ.m4a\" native=\"カナダ\" translation=\"Canada [kanada]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fカリフォルニア.m4a\" native=\"カリフォルニア\" translation=\"California [kariforunia]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:ki\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is キ, which is represented as _ki_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _k_ in skate and the _ee_ in meet.\n\nThis character looks a bit like a key (_ki_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fキリスト.m4a\" native=\"キリスト\" translation=\"Christ [kirisuto]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fキウイ.m4a\" native=\"キウイ\" translation=\"kiwi [kiui]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:ku\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is ク, which is represented as _ku_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _k_ in skate and the _oo_ in shoot.\n\nIt’s a baby in a cradle (_ku_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fクウェート.m4a\" native=\"クウェート\" translation=\"Kuwait [kueeto]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fクイズ.m4a\" native=\"クイズ\" translation=\"quiz [kuizu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:ke\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fourth character is ケ, which is represented as _ke_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _k_ in skate and the _e_ in bet.\n\nIf you look closely, this looks like a \"K\" (_ke_) that has been tilted.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fケーキ.m4a\" native=\"ケーキ\" translation=\"cake [keeki]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fケース.m4a\" native=\"ケース\" translation=\"case [keesu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:ko\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fifth character is コ, which is represented as _ko_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _k_ in skate and the _o_ in story.\n\nコ has two 90 degree corners (_ko_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fコーヒー.m4a\" native=\"コーヒー\" translation=\"coffee [koohii]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fコーラ.m4a\" native=\"コーラ\" translation=\"cola [koora]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fkatakana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select the first and second row of katakana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these two katakana rows before moving on.\n\n## サシスセソ → \"S\" series katakana\n\nThe next five are サ・シ・ス・セ・ソ.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:sa\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is サ, which is represented as _sa_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _s_ in soup and the _a_ in father.\n\nIt’s a saddle (_sa_) on a horse.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fサラダ.m4a\" native=\"サラダ\" translation=\"salad [sarada]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fサンドイッチ.m4a\" native=\"サンドイッチ\" translation=\"sandwich [sandoicchi]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:shi\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is シ, which is represented as _shi_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _sh_ in sheep and the _ee_ in meet.\n\nShe (_shi_) is looking upwards. Not sure what she sees there though.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fシアトル.m4a\" native=\"シアトル\" translation=\"Seattle [shiatoru]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fシェアハウス.m4a\" native=\"シェアハウス\" translation=\"share house [sheahausu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:su\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is _ス_, which is represented as _su_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _s_ in soup and the _oo_ in shoot.\n\nThis looks like the perfect suit (_su_) hanger.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fスーパー.m4a\" native=\"スーパー\" translation=\"supermarket [suupaa]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fスープ.m4a\" native=\"スープ\" translation=\"soup [suupu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:se\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fourth character is セ, which is represented as _se_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _s_ in soup and the _e_ in bet.\n\nWhere we have a nice sénior (_se_) with his hat.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fセットアップ.m4a\" native=\"セットアップ\" translation=\"setup [settoappu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fセール.m4a\" native=\"セール\" translation=\"sale [seeru]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:so\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fifth character is _ソ_, which is represented as _so_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _s_ in soup and the _o_ in story.\n\nI tried to sew (_so_) another stitch.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fソマリア.m4a\" native=\"ソマリア\" translation=\"Somalia [somaria]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fソルブ.m4a\" native=\"ソルブ\" translation=\"Sorbs [sorubu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fkatakana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select the first, second and third row of katakana, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these three katakana rows before moving on.\n\n## タチツテト → \"T\" series katakana\n\nThe next five are タ・チ・ツ・テ・ト.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:ta\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is タ, which is represented as _ta_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _t_ in stop and the _a_ in father.\n\nIt’s a tie (_ta_) flapping in the wind.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fタオル.m4a\" native=\"タオル\" translation=\"towel [taoru]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fタイ.m4a\" native=\"タイ\" translation=\"Thai [tai]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:chi\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is チ, which is represented as _chi_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _tch_ in itchy and the _ee_ in meet.\n\nWhat do we have here again? Our jumping cheerleader (chi) spreading her cheer (_chi_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fチキン.m4a\" native=\"チキン\" translation=\"chicken [chikin]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fチェス.m4a\" native=\"チェス\" translation=\"chess [chesu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:tsu\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is ツ, which is represented as _tsu_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _ts_ in cats and the _oo_ in shoot.\n\nOh no! Be careful, it’s a tsunami (_tsu_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fツアー.m4a\" native=\"ツアー\" translation=\"tour [tsuaa]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fツイート.m4a\" native=\"ツイート\" translation=\"tweet [tsuiito]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:te\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fourth character is テ, which is represented as _te_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _t_ in stop and the _e_ in bet.\n\nThis just looks like a telephone (_te_) pole.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fテント.m4a\" native=\"テント\" translation=\"tent [tento]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fテニス.m4a\" native=\"テニス\" translation=\"tennis [tenisu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:to\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fifth character is ト, which is represented as _to_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _t_ in stop and the _o_ in story.\n\nThis is the small \"t\" in the word 'toe' (_to_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fトイレ.m4a\" native=\"トイレ\" translation=\"toilet [toire]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fトンネル.m4a\" native=\"トンネル\" translation=\"tunnel [toneru]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fkatakana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select all katakana rows, from the first to the fourth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these four katakana rows before moving on.\n\n## ナニヌネノ → \"N\" series katakana\n\nThe next five are ナ・ニ・ヌ・ネ・ノ.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:na\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is ナ, which is represented as _na_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _n_ in not and the _a_ in father.\n\nThis knife (_na_) seems pretty sharp. But it is a little bit bent.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fナイジェリア.m4a\" native=\"ナイジェリア\" translation=\"Nigeria [naijeria]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fナース.m4a\" native=\"ナース\" translation=\"nurse [naasu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:ni\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is ニ, which is represented as _ni_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _n_ in not and the _ee_ in meet.\n\nHere are two needles (_ni_) ready to sew.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fニカラグア.m4a\" native=\"ニカラグア\" translation=\"Nicaragua [nikaragua]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fニコチン.m4a\" native=\"ニコチン\" translation=\"nicotine [nikochin]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:nu\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is ヌ, which is represented as _nu_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _n_ in not and the _oo_ in shoot.\n\nYou are eating a delicious bowl of noodles (_nu_) with chopsticks.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヌガー.m4a\" native=\"ヌガー\" translation=\"nougat [nugaa]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヌクレオシド.m4a\" native=\"ヌクレオシド\" translation=\"nucleoside [nukureoshido]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:ne\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fourth character is ネ, which is represented as _ne_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _n_ in not and the _e_ in bet.\n\nIt’s a necktie (_ne_)!\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fネガティブ.m4a\" native=\"ネガティブ\" translation=\"negative [negatibu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fネイティブ.m4a\" native=\"ネイティブ\" translation=\"native [neitibu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:no\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fifth character is ノ, which is represented as _no_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _n_ in not and the _o_ in story.\n\nIt’s Pinocchio with his long nose (_no_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fノルマ.m4a\" native=\"ノルマ\" translation=\"quota [noruma]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fノルウェー.m4a\" native=\"ノルウェー\" translation=\"Norway [noruuee]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fkatakana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select all katakana rows, from the first to the fifth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these five katakana rows before moving on.\n\n## ハヒフヘホ → \"H\" series katakana\n\nThe next five are ハ・ヒ・フ・ヘ・ホ.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:ha\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is ハ, which is represented as _ha_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _h_ in hat and the _a_ in father.\n\nThat’s a pretty cool hat (_ha_) you got there.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fハイキング.m4a\" native=\"ハイキング\" translation=\"hiking [haikingu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fハイウェイ.m4a\" native=\"ハイウェイ\" translation=\"highway [haiuei]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:hi\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is ヒ, which is represented as _hi_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _h_ in hue and the _ee_ in meet.\n\nIt’s the heel (_hi_) of your foot.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヒロイン.m4a\" native=\"ヒロイン\" translation=\"heroine [hiroin]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヒーロー.m4a\" native=\"ヒーロー\" translation=\"hero [hiiroo]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:fu\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is フ, which is represented as _fu_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _ph_ in phew and the oo\\* in shoot.\n\nThis is just a flag (_fu_) in the wind.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fファイル.m4a\" native=\"ファイル\" translation=\"file [fairu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fフィリピン.m4a\" native=\"フィリピン\" translation=\"Philippines [firipin]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:he\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fourth character is ヘ, which is represented as _he_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the _h_ in hat and the _e_ in bet.\n\nThis looks exactly like the hiragana version. Easy!\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヘアクリーム.m4a\" native=\"ヘアクリーム\" translation=\"hair cream [heakuriimu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヘアスタイル.m4a\" native=\"ヘアスタイル\" translation=\"hairstyle [heasutairu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:ho\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fifth character is ホ, which is represented as _ho_, and its pronunciation is close to a combination of the *h in hat and the *o\\* in story.\n\nIt’s the holy (ho) cross with holy (_ho_) light around it.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fホイール.m4a\" native=\"ホイール\" translation=\"wheel [hoiiru]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fホラー.m4a\" native=\"ホラー\" translation=\"horror [horaa]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fkatakana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select all katakana rows, from the first to the sixth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these six katakana rows before moving on.\n\n## マミムメモ → \"M\" series katakana\n\nThe next five are マ・ミ・ム・メ・モ.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:ma\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is マ, which is represented as _ma_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _m_ in much and the _a_ in father.\n\nAll those angles and numbers … I hate math (_ma_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fマイアミ.m4a\" native=\"マイアミ\" translation=\"Miami [maiami]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fマイク.m4a\" native=\"マイク\" translation=\"microphone [maiku]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:mi\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is ミ, which is represented as _mi_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _m_ in much and the _ee_ in meet.\n\nOh no! Three missiles (mi) are about to hit.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fミサイル.m4a\" native=\"ミサイル\" translation=\"missile [misairu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fミクロ.m4a\" native=\"ミクロ\" translation=\"micro [mikuro]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:mu\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is ム, which is represented as _mu_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _m_ in much and the _oo_ in shoot.\n\nWhen you draw a moon (_mu_) like this, it has a big nose.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fムカムカ.m4a\" native=\"ムカムカ\" translation=\"feeling queasy [mukamuka]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fムキムキ.m4a\" native=\"ムキムキ\" translation=\"muscular [mukimuki]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:me\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fourth character is メ, which is represented as _me_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _m_ in much and the _e_ in bet.\n\nIt’s so hot, even the power pole is melting (_me_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fメイクアップ.m4a\" native=\"メイクアップ\" translation=\"makeup [meikuappu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fメアド.m4a\" native=\"メアド\" translation=\"email address [meado]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:mo\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fifth character is モ, which is represented as _mo_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _m_ in much and the _o_ in story.\n\nThis looks just like the hiragana version!\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fモンスター.m4a\" native=\"モンスター\" translation=\"monster [monsutaa]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fモバイル.m4a\" native=\"モバイル\" translation=\"mobile [mobairu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fkatakana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select all katakana rows, from the first to the seventh, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these seven katakana rows before moving on.\n\n## ラリルレロ → \"R\" series katakana\n\nThe next five are ラ・リ・ル・レ・ロ.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:ra\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is ラ, which is represented as _ra_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _rah rah_ as if you were cheering and the _la la_ like singing.\n\nIt’s a cute rabbit (_ra_) with some floppy ears.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fライオン.m4a\" native=\"ライオン\" translation=\"lion [raion]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fライト.m4a\" native=\"ライト\" translation=\"light [raito]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:ri\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is リ, which is represented as _ri_, and the pronunciation is between the _ree_ in reed and the _lee_ in leek.\n\nThis also looks pretty similar to the hiragana version.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fリカバー.m4a\" native=\"リカバー\" translation=\"recover [rikabaa]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fリアル.m4a\" native=\"リアル\" translation=\"real [riaru]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:ru\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is ル, which is represented as _ru_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _ru_ in rule and the _loo_ in look.\n\nA big tree, with even bigger roots (_ru_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fルール.m4a\" native=\"ルール\" translation=\"rule [ruuru]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fルックス.m4a\" native=\"ルックス\" translation=\"looks [rukkusu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:re\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fourth character is レ, which is represented as _re_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _re_ in retch and the _le_ in led.\n\nA beautiful girl with red (_re_) hair.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fレアメタル.m4a\" native=\"レアメタル\" translation=\"rare metal [reametaru]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fレアアイテム.m4a\" native=\"レアアイテム\" translation=\"rare item [reaaitemu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:ro\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe fifth character is ロ, which is represented as _ro_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _ro_ in road and the _lo_ in load.\n\nHere is Rob the helpful robot (_ro_).\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fロボット.m4a\" native=\"ロボット\" translation=\"robot [robotto]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fロシア.m4a\" native=\"ロシア\" translation=\"Russia [roshia]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fkatakana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select all katakana rows, from the first to the eighth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these eight katakana rows before moving on.\n\n## ヤユヨ → \"Y\" series katakana\n\nThe next three are ヤ・ユ・ヨ.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:ya\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is ヤ, which is represented as _ya_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _y_ in yacht and the _a_ in father.\n\nThis is just a yak (_ya_)!\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヤギ.m4a\" native=\"ヤギ\" translation=\"goat [yagi]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヤード.m4a\" native=\"ヤード\" translation=\"yard (unit of distance) [yaado]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:yu\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is ユ, which is represented as _yu_, and the pronunciation is between the _y_ in yacht and the _oo_ in shoot.\n\nThe top of the u-boat (_yu_) is looking out from the water.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fユーザー.m4a\" native=\"ユーザー\" translation=\"user [yuuzaa]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fユニット.m4a\" native=\"ユニット\" translation=\"unit [yunitto]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:yo\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe third character is ヨ, which is represented as _yo_, and the pronunciation is close to a combination of the _y_ in yacht and the _o_ in story.\n\nShe is doing yoga (_yo_). But that does not look healthy.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヨーロッパ.m4a\" native=\"ヨーロッパ\" translation=\"Europe [yooroppa]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヨーグルト.m4a\" native=\"ヨーグルト\" translation=\"yogurt [yooguruto]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nNow that you’ve carefully read this chapter, it's time to practice. Open the following \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.realkana.com\u002Fkatakana\" target=\"_blank\">link\u003C\u002Fa>, select all katakana rows, from the first to the ninth, and press the red study button. Practice until you feel comfortable with these nine katakana rows before moving on.\n\n## ワヲン → \"W\" series katakana\n\nAnd lastly, the final three: ワ・ヲ・ン.\n\nDown below you will find these characters with images that you can use as mnemonic aids to help you remember them. Audio for each character and some example words are also provided.\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:wa\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe first character is _ワ_, which is represented as _wa_, and its pronunciation is similar to the _wa_ in walk.\n\nIt’s the top of a wine (_wa_) glass. It looks delicious!\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fワイン.m4a\" native=\"ワイン\" translation=\"wine [wain]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fワイシャツ.m4a\" native=\"ワイシャツ\" translation=\"dress shirt [waishatsu]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:wo\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe second character is _ヲ_, which is represented as _wo_, and its pronunciation is similar to the _o_ in story. While the hiragana character only functions as a particle, its counterpart (ヲ) is used to form words. Fun fact: in the example word below, the character オ could be used in place of ヲ.\n\nIt’s the nose (_o_) of (_o_) a ship in the ocean.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fヲタク.m4a\" native=\"ヲタク\" translation=\"otaku [otaku]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"katakana:n\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nThe last katakana character is ン, which is represented as _n_, and its pronunciation is close to the _ng_ in long. However, its pronunciation changes a bit depending on the sound that follows. But for now, just remember it as the _ng_ in long.\n\nI mean he has a lot of gold, but that big nose on the king (ng) is a bit much.\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fファン.m4a\" native=\"ファン\" translation=\"fan [fan]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fメディアン.m4a\" native=\"メディアン\" translation=\"median [median]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\n---\n\n## \\[Test] Katakana reading practice\n\nWe've now walked through every single katakana character.\n\nThat means it's time to practice.\n\n1. Open the [Real Kana](https:\u002F\u002Frealkana.com\u002Fkatakana) website\n2. Below the katakana table, click \"check all\"\n3. Click the big red \"STUDY\" button (confusingly located above the table)\n4. Type out how to spell the katakana you see on the screen\n5. ???\n6. Profit\n\nPractice until you feel comfortable with all katakana.\n\n---\n\n## How to learn katakana in a few days →\n\nKanji are there own separate beast, and will take time.\n\n_Katakana_, though? You can get through them in a week—or even faster, if you buckle down.\n\nIf you're not quite sure where to get started, Migaku's Japanese Fundamentals course will spoonfeed everything you need to know to you.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-fundamentals-katakana-ki.jpeg\" width=\"1652\" height=\"1156\" alt=\"A screenshot from the Migaku Japanese Fundamentals course, showing how we help users learn Japanese katakana\" \u002F>\n\nYou'll start out by reading about a small batch of katakana as you did above: there will be mnemonics, pictures, example words, and recordings from native speakers.\n\nTo ensure you remember each character, rather than just running your eyes over them and moving on, we quiz you with flashcards: you'll see a katakana on the front and be tasked with remembering how to read it. Upon flipping it over, you'll see the pronunciation, a video of a native speaker saying it, the mnemonic, and a few example words.\n\nMigaku is totally free for ten days, and if you do 23 flashcards of our Japanese Fundamentals course per day—about one hour of time investment—you'll be able to comfortably read both katakana _and_ hiragana before those ten days are up.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## The most important thing you need to remember if you want to learn Japanese\n\nWe won't lie—a lot of people have taken a lot of different approaches to learning Japanese, and people have succeeded and failed with pretty much every approach imaginable. What all _successful_ learners have in common is that, at some point, they inevitably spent a lot of time _in_ Japanese.\n\nThis is to say:\n\n> If you consume media you enjoy in Japanese, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. _Period._\n\nInitially, it'll be difficult to remember katakana. As you spend more time reading Japanese—whether text or subtitles—it'll get easier. Eventually, they'll just make sense to you, as the alphabet does, without any conscious effort at all.\n\nYour Japanese journey starts here.\n\nGood luck, friend 💪\n",{"title":14261,"description":16197},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-katakana","OoARSqu-uo8QiOIXJRTU4kXeTHc5jlr2qYz8ZD0j6_o","August 22, 2024",{"id":16215,"title":16216,"body":16217,"description":16518,"extension":717,"meta":16519,"navigation":730,"path":16524,"rawbody":16525,"seo":16526,"stem":16527,"__hash__":16528,"timestampUnix":16520,"slug":16521,"h1":16216,"image":16522,"tags":16523,"_dir":736,"timestamp":16529},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-letter.md","How to Write a Japanese Letter",{"type":8,"value":16218,"toc":16509},[16219,16225,16228,16232,16235,16241,16245,16258,16297,16310,16331,16338,16347,16351,16364,16372,16376,16389,16415,16422,16452,16456,16469,16495,16498,16501,16507],[11,16220,16221,16222,16224],{},"Although in modern times we rarely have the opportunity to write letters, you might want to send a heartfelt letter to someone you know, or perhaps you simply enjoy the process of writing. Learning how to write a letter won't necessarily help you to ",[15,16223,18],{"href":17},", but it is sort of cool to know about.",[11,16226,16227],{},"As with many aspects, writing a letter shows differences between languages. We will give you an example of a correctly written letter, and then explain all the parts, what they mean, and what they are used for. Once you know how to write a letter in Japanese, you can also apply some of this knowledge to writing emails, which is not too different.",[45,16229,16231],{"id":16230},"components-of-a-letter","Components of a Letter",[11,16233,16234],{},"Generally, a Japanese letter has ten components you need to be aware of, which can be divided into 4 sections.",[50,16236],{"src":16237,"width":16238,"height":16239,"alt":16240,"loading":56},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FJP_Letters.webp",900,716,"A graphic shows that a Japanese letter can be broken down into the opening, main part, closing phrase, and appendix.",[847,16242,16244],{"id":16243},"opening","Opening",[11,16246,16247,16248,16251,6933,16254,16257],{},"The opening part of a letter is called ",[98,16249],{"lang":100,"syntax":16250},"前文[ぜんぶん]",[103,16252],{"src":16253,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F前文.mp3",[6474,16255,16256],{},"zenbun","), and is comprised of three components.",[304,16259,16260,16273,16285],{},[307,16261,16262,16263,16266,5361,16269,16272],{},"The addressee (",[98,16264],{"lang":100,"syntax":16265},"宛名[あてな]",[103,16267],{"src":16268,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F宛名.mp3",[26,16270,16271],{},"atena","), written in the top left",[307,16274,16275,16276,16279,5361,16282,3892],{},"The opening greeting (",[98,16277],{"lang":100,"syntax":16278},"頭語[とうご]",[103,16280],{"src":16281,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F頭語.mp3",[26,16283,16284],{},"tougo",[307,16286,16287,16288,16291,5361,16294,3892],{},"A seasonal greeting (",[98,16289],{"lang":100,"syntax":16290},"時候[じこう] の 挨拶[あいさつ]",[103,16292],{"src":16293,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F時候の挨拶.mp3",[26,16295,16296],{},"jikou no aisatsu",[11,16298,16299,16300,16303,16304,6933,16306,16309],{},"The name of the ",[1090,16301,16302],{},"addressee"," (surname; given name) is followed by ",[98,16305],{"lang":100,"syntax":5648},[26,16307,16308],{},"sama",") to show respect.",[11,16311,16312,16313,16316,16317,16320,6933,16323,16326,16327,415],{},"For the ",[1090,16314,16315],{},"opening greeting"," a lot of different words can be used, depending on the type of letter and who you are writing to. The most commonly used greeting, which we recommend you start out with, is ",[98,16318],{"lang":100,"syntax":16319},"拝啓[はいけい]",[103,16321],{"src":16322,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F拝啓.mp3",[6474,16324,16325],{},"haikei","), which can be translated as \"Dear (so and so).\" You can check all other possible options ",[15,16328,3756],{"href":16329,"rel":16330},"https:\u002F\u002Fletter.midori-japan.co.jp\u002Fletter-manners\u002Ftougo-ketsugo\u002F",[971],[11,16332,16333,16334,16337],{},"After the opening greeting we have the ",[1090,16335,16336],{},"seasonal greeting",", which is a greeting that references the current season and is one of the beautiful traditions of Japanese letter writing. There are conventional seasonal phrases, but it’s good to use your own expression to convey the seasonal feeling to the recipient. Below is an example of a seasonal greeting, but keep in mind that there are a lot of variations that depend on who you are writing to and what month it currently is.",[11,16339,16340,16343,16346],{},[98,16341],{"lang":100,"syntax":16342},"大寒[だいかん] を 迎[むか,むかえる]え、寒[さむ,さむい]さ が 厳[きび,きびしい]しさ を 増[ま,ます]して お[,おる]ります が、ご 清祥[せいしょう] に お 暮[く,くらす]らし でしょう か。",[103,16344],{"src":16345,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FExample_Sentence_1.mp3","\n\"As we enter the coldest season of the year, the weather is getting colder and colder, and I hope that you are living in good health.\"\n",[45,16348,16350],{"id":16349},"main-part","Main Part",[11,16352,16353,16354,16357,5361,16360,16363],{},"Next we have the main part (",[98,16355],{"lang":100,"syntax":16356},"主文[しゅぶん]",[103,16358],{"src":16359,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F主文.mp3",[6474,16361,16362],{},"shubun",") of the letter. This is where you write your message to the addressee. Here, no special words or form have to be used, but the usual formality rules of Japanese apply.",[320,16365,16366],{},[11,16367,16368,16369,415],{},"If you want to learn more about formality in Japanese, we recommend you to try out our Migaku Japanese Course. You can ",[15,16370,16371],{"href":17},"start your free trial today",[45,16373,16375],{"id":16374},"end-phrase","End Phrase",[11,16377,16378,16379,16382,5361,16385,16388],{},"The end phrase (",[98,16380],{"lang":100,"syntax":16381},"末文[まつぶん]",[103,16383],{"src":16384,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F末文.mp3",[6474,16386,16387],{},"matsubun",") of a letter consists of only two components:",[304,16390,16391,16403],{},[307,16392,16393,16394,16397,5361,16400,3892],{},"The closing words (",[98,16395],{"lang":100,"syntax":16396},"結[むす]び の 挨拶[あいさつ]",[103,16398],{"src":16399,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F結びの挨拶.mp3",[26,16401,16402],{},"musubi no aisatsu",[307,16404,16405,16406,16409,5361,16412,3892],{},"The closing phrase (",[98,16407],{"lang":100,"syntax":16408},"結語[けつご]",[103,16410],{"src":16411,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F結語.mp3",[26,16413,16414],{},"ketsugo",[11,16416,16417,16418,16421],{},"In a private context, the ",[1090,16419,16420],{},"closing words"," are used to express your wishes for the addressee's health and happiness, while in a business context, they are used to convey your hopes for the companies prosperity and success. By writing this part thoughtfully and sincerely, you can add a sense of care and consideration that will leave the recipient with a favorable impression.",[11,16423,16424,16425,16428,16429,415,16432,16434,16435,16437,6933,16439,16441,16442,16445,6933,16448,16451],{},"A letter begins with an opening phrase and ends with a ",[1090,16426,16427],{},"closing phrase",", and generally they work in pairs. That is to say, your choice of opening needs to have a closing that matches. You can find an overview of them ",[15,16430,3756],{"href":16329,"rel":16431},[971],[292,16433],{},"\nSticking with our general opening phrase ",[98,16436],{"lang":100,"syntax":16319},[103,16438],{"src":16322,":type":149},[6474,16440,16325],{},"), the appropriate closing phrase would be ",[98,16443],{"lang":100,"syntax":16444},"敬具[けいぐ]",[103,16446],{"src":16447,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F敬具.mp3",[6474,16449,16450],{},"keigu","), which can be translated as \"yours truly.\" This also means that, just like with our opening phrase, there are many different words that can be used for our closing phrase, depending on the type of letter and who you are writing to.",[847,16453,16455],{"id":16454},"appendix","Appendix",[11,16457,16458,16459,16462,5361,16465,16468],{},"Lastly we have the appendix (",[98,16460],{"lang":100,"syntax":16461},"後付[あとづけ]",[103,16463],{"src":16464,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F後付.mp3",[6474,16466,16467],{},"atozuke","), which only has two components.",[304,16470,16471,16483],{},[307,16472,16473,16474,16477,5361,16480,3892],{},"The date (",[98,16475],{"lang":100,"syntax":16476},"日付[ひづけ]",[103,16478],{"src":16479,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F日付.mp3",[26,16481,16482],{},"hizuke",[307,16484,16485,16486,16489,5361,16492,3892],{},"A signature (",[98,16487],{"lang":100,"syntax":16488},"署名[しょめい]",[103,16490],{"src":16491,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F署名.mp3",[26,16493,16494],{},"shomei",[11,16496,16497],{},"Both of these components should be fairly self-explanatory. For an example, you can look at our letter above.",[11,16499,16500],{},"When trying to write a beautiful letter, there are other things to look out for as well, such as how to correctly write the address of the addressee on the envelope, how to correctly fold your letter, and how to pack it in the envelope. However, if you are just starting out with your letter-writing journey, this guide should already give you plenty to practice.",[11,16502,16503,16504,415],{},"If you are just starting out with your learning journey and are looking for a comprehensive course that teaches you Japanese from zero with easy-to-follow lessons, plenty of example sentences, and audio, then we recommend our Migaku Japanese Guide, the ",[15,16505,16506],{"href":17},"best way to learn Japanese",[674,16508],{"href":17,"text":676},{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":16510},[16511,16514,16515],{"id":16230,"depth":707,"text":16231,"children":16512},[16513],{"id":16243,"depth":1016,"text":16244},{"id":16349,"depth":707,"text":16350},{"id":16374,"depth":707,"text":16375,"children":16516},[16517],{"id":16454,"depth":1016,"text":16455},"Learn how to write a Japanese letter with our guide, covering format, language, and other tips for the correct correspondence.",{"timestampUnix":16520,"slug":16521,"h1":16216,"image":16522,"tags":16523},1730773529372,"how-to-write-a-japanese-letter",{"src":16237,"width":16238,"height":16239,"alt":16240,"previewOnly":730},[8650,5086,12474],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-letter","---\ntitle: 'How to Write a Japanese Letter'\ndescription: 'Learn how to write a Japanese letter with our guide, covering format, language, and other tips for the correct correspondence.'\ntimestampUnix: 1730773529372\nslug: 'how-to-write-a-japanese-letter'\nh1: 'How to Write a Japanese Letter'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FJP_Letters.webp'\n width: 900\n height: 716\n alt: 'A graphic shows that a Japanese letter can be broken down into the opening, main part, closing phrase, and appendix.'\n previewOnly: true\ntags:\n - culture\n - vocabulary\n - deepdive\n---\n\nAlthough in modern times we rarely have the opportunity to write letters, you might want to send a heartfelt letter to someone you know, or perhaps you simply enjoy the process of writing. Learning how to write a letter won't necessarily help you to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), but it is sort of cool to know about.\n\nAs with many aspects, writing a letter shows differences between languages. We will give you an example of a correctly written letter, and then explain all the parts, what they mean, and what they are used for. Once you know how to write a letter in Japanese, you can also apply some of this knowledge to writing emails, which is not too different.\n\n## Components of a Letter\n\nGenerally, a Japanese letter has ten components you need to be aware of, which can be divided into 4 sections.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FJP_Letters.webp\" width=\"900\" height=\"716\" alt=\"A graphic shows that a Japanese letter can be broken down into the opening, main part, closing phrase, and appendix.\" loading=\"eager\" \u002F>\n\n### Opening\n\nThe opening part of a letter is called \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"前文[ぜんぶん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F前文.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> (\u003Ci>zenbun\u003C\u002Fi>), and is comprised of three components.\n\n- The addressee (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"宛名[あてな]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F宛名.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>; _atena_), written in the top left\n- The opening greeting (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"頭語[とうご]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F頭語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>; _tougo_)\n- A seasonal greeting (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"時候[じこう] の 挨拶[あいさつ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F時候の挨拶.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>; _jikou no aisatsu_)\n\nThe name of the **addressee** (surname; given name) is followed by \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"様[さま]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (_sama_) to show respect.\n\nFor the **opening greeting** a lot of different words can be used, depending on the type of letter and who you are writing to. The most commonly used greeting, which we recommend you start out with, is \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"拝啓[はいけい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F拝啓.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> (\u003Ci>haikei\u003C\u002Fi>), which can be translated as \"Dear (so and so).\" You can check all other possible options [here](https:\u002F\u002Fletter.midori-japan.co.jp\u002Fletter-manners\u002Ftougo-ketsugo\u002F).\n\nAfter the opening greeting we have the **seasonal greeting**, which is a greeting that references the current season and is one of the beautiful traditions of Japanese letter writing. There are conventional seasonal phrases, but it’s good to use your own expression to convey the seasonal feeling to the recipient. Below is an example of a seasonal greeting, but keep in mind that there are a lot of variations that depend on who you are writing to and what month it currently is.\n\n\u003Cp>\n\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"大寒[だいかん] を 迎[むか,むかえる]え、寒[さむ,さむい]さ が 厳[きび,きびしい]しさ を 増[ま,ます]して お[,おる]ります が、ご 清祥[せいしょう] に お 暮[く,くらす]らし でしょう か。\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FExample_Sentence_1.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n\"As we enter the coldest season of the year, the weather is getting colder and colder, and I hope that you are living in good health.\"\n\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n## Main Part\n\nNext we have the main part (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"主文[しゅぶん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F主文.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>; \u003Ci>shubun\u003C\u002Fi>) of the letter. This is where you write your message to the addressee. Here, no special words or form have to be used, but the usual formality rules of Japanese apply.\n\n> If you want to learn more about formality in Japanese, we recommend you to try out our Migaku Japanese Course. You can [start your free trial today](\u002Flearn-japanese).\n\n## End Phrase\n\nThe end phrase (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"末文[まつぶん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F末文.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>; \u003Ci>matsubun\u003C\u002Fi>) of a letter consists of only two components:\n\n- The closing words (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"結[むす]び の 挨拶[あいさつ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F結びの挨拶.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>; _musubi no aisatsu_)\n- The closing phrase (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"結語[けつご]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F結語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>; _ketsugo_)\n\nIn a private context, the **closing words** are used to express your wishes for the addressee's health and happiness, while in a business context, they are used to convey your hopes for the companies prosperity and success. By writing this part thoughtfully and sincerely, you can add a sense of care and consideration that will leave the recipient with a favorable impression.\n\nA letter begins with an opening phrase and ends with a **closing phrase**, and generally they work in pairs. That is to say, your choice of opening needs to have a closing that matches. You can find an overview of them [here](https:\u002F\u002Fletter.midori-japan.co.jp\u002Fletter-manners\u002Ftougo-ketsugo\u002F).\nSticking with our general opening phrase \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"拝啓[はいけい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F拝啓.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> (\u003Ci>haikei\u003C\u002Fi>), the appropriate closing phrase would be \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"敬具[けいぐ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F敬具.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> (\u003Ci>keigu\u003C\u002Fi>), which can be translated as \"yours truly.\" This also means that, just like with our opening phrase, there are many different words that can be used for our closing phrase, depending on the type of letter and who you are writing to.\n\n### Appendix\n\nLastly we have the appendix (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"後付[あとづけ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F後付.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>; \u003Ci>atozuke\u003C\u002Fi>), which only has two components.\n\n- The date (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"日付[ひづけ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F日付.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>; _hizuke_)\n- A signature (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"署名[しょめい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F署名.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>; _shomei_)\n\nBoth of these components should be fairly self-explanatory. For an example, you can look at our letter above.\n\nWhen trying to write a beautiful letter, there are other things to look out for as well, such as how to correctly write the address of the addressee on the envelope, how to correctly fold your letter, and how to pack it in the envelope. However, if you are just starting out with your letter-writing journey, this guide should already give you plenty to practice.\n\nIf you are just starting out with your learning journey and are looking for a comprehensive course that teaches you Japanese from zero with easy-to-follow lessons, plenty of example sentences, and audio, then we recommend our Migaku Japanese Guide, the [best way to learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese).\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n",{"title":16216,"description":16518},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-letter","Ct2_TlP7Jrqace53Smix_JuyRTF_LiPEPkyQHA9RBRQ","November 5, 2024",{"id":16531,"title":16532,"body":16533,"description":18730,"extension":717,"meta":18731,"navigation":730,"path":18741,"rawbody":18742,"seo":18743,"stem":18744,"__hash__":18745,"timestampUnix":18732,"slug":18733,"h1":18734,"image":18735,"tags":18740,"_dir":736,"timestamp":16529},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-letter-comprehensive.md","Comprehensive Japanese Letter Writing Guide: Styles, Etiquette, and Key Phrases",{"type":8,"value":16534,"toc":18691},[16535,16538,16547,16553,16566,16578,16581,16583,16585,16589,16592,16622,16631,16635,16638,16642,16649,16653,16669,16672,16715,16718,16743,16747,16755,16758,16831,16842,16866,16870,16878,16882,16885,16888,16918,16928,16932,16980,16984,16992,16996,17005,17008,17042,17046,17059,17062,17104,17108,17116,17119,17123,17130,17139,17161,17165,17173,17177,17185,17224,17227,17235,17239,17242,17251,17255,17258,17282,17284,17288,17291,17294,17298,17301,17306,17309,17357,17361,17369,17372,17413,17417,17420,17423,17533,17541,17554,17559,17563,17566,17570,17572,17610,17614,17617,17620,17628,17632,17635,17638,17640,17644,17647,17650,17653,17686,17693,17697,17700,17711,17716,17719,17723,17726,17736,17740,17743,17756,17759,17768,17771,17775,17778,17823,17835,17838,17842,17845,17852,17855,17859,17870,17885,17888,17892,17895,17927,17930,17934,17944,17950,17953,17957,17960,17964,17967,17973,17993,17996,17999,18003,18006,18012,18015,18033,18036,18047,18054,18058,18061,18065,18073,18076,18081,18087,18091,18100,18111,18114,18117,18122,18124,18128,18131,18134,18137,18139,18143,18146,18150,18313,18317,18508,18512],[11,16536,16537],{},"In Japan, as with the rest of the world, it's become less common to send people handwritten letters. Most written communication happens via text messages, social media, and emails.",[11,16539,16540,16541,16543,16544,16546],{},"With this in mind, while you definitely don't need to know how to write a letter to ",[15,16542,18],{"href":17},".... there ",[26,16545,12666],{}," situations where it would be appropriate to write someone a letter by hand. Plus, it's kind of cool. And hey, sometimes, you just want to write a letter. (We want you to send that love letter, too. We're rooting for you!)",[11,16548,16549,16550,16552],{},"In this article we'll start by walking through the structure of a ",[26,16551,8297],{}," letter in detail. While you likely won't write a letter like this, if you learn how to write one, it'll make it easy to understand how more informal letters, business emails, and even things like postcards work, too.",[11,16554,16555,16556,16559,16560,506,16563,415],{},"Oh, and before we get too far along — the Japanese word for ",[26,16557,16558],{},"letter"," is ",[98,16561],{"lang":100,"syntax":16562},"手紙[てがみ]",[103,16564],{"src":16565,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_手紙.mp3",[11,16567,16568],{},[26,16569,16570,16571,16574,16575,415],{},"Note: There are three Japanese writing systems. This blog post assumes that you can already ",[15,16572,16573],{"href":1082},"read hiragana"," and understand ",[15,16576,16577],{"href":3817},"how kanji work",[11,16579,16580],{},"We'll get into:",[39,16582],{},[42,16584],{},[45,16586,16588],{"id":16587},"japanese-letter-format-formal-letter","Japanese letter format (formal letter)",[11,16590,16591],{},"Generally speaking, a \"proper\" Japanese letter has ten key components and can be broken down into four sections:",[304,16593,16594,16601,16608,16615],{},[307,16595,16596,16597,506,16599],{},"An opening section, called ",[98,16598],{"lang":100,"syntax":16250},[103,16600],{"src":16253,":type":149},[307,16602,16603,16604,506,16606],{},"The body, called ",[98,16605],{"lang":100,"syntax":16356},[103,16607],{"src":16359,":type":149},[307,16609,16610,16611,506,16613],{},"A closing section, called ",[98,16612],{"lang":100,"syntax":16381},[103,16614],{"src":16384,":type":149},[307,16616,16617,16618,506,16620],{},"The appendix, called ",[98,16619],{"lang":100,"syntax":16461},[103,16621],{"src":16464,":type":149},[11,16623,16624,16625,16630],{},"You can see these sections outlined in the below example (",[15,16626,16629],{"href":16627,"rel":16628},"https:\u002F\u002Ffudemame.net\u002Ffudemamenet\u002Ffudemamedia\u002Fhagaki\u002F03\u002F",[971],"source","):",[50,16632],{"src":16633,"width":5083,"height":16634,"alt":16240},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_formal_letter1.webp",1030,[11,16636,16637],{},"And now we'll explore each of those sections.",[847,16639,16641],{"id":16640},"the-opening-section","The opening section",[11,16643,16247,16644,506,16646,16648],{},[98,16645],{"lang":100,"syntax":16250},[103,16647],{"src":16253,":type":149},", and it is comprised of two components.",[3240,16650,16652],{"id":16651},"_1-opening-words","1. Opening words",[11,16654,16655,16656,16658,506,16660,16662,16663,506,16665,16668],{},"To start a letter, insert a",[292,16657],{},[98,16659],{"lang":100,"syntax":16278},[103,16661],{"src":16281,":type":149},": an opening expression. The most standard expression is ",[98,16664],{"lang":100,"syntax":16319},[103,16666],{"src":16667,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_拝啓.mp3",", and it roughly corresponds to \"dear\" or \"to whom it may concern\" in English.",[11,16670,16671],{},"A few other opening words you may sometimes use:",[304,16673,16674,16686,16695,16708],{},[307,16675,16676,369,16679,16682,16683,16685],{},[98,16677],{"lang":100,"syntax":16678},"謹啓[きんけい]",[103,16680],{"src":16681,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_謹啓.mp3","\n — This is like \n",[98,16684],{"lang":100,"syntax":16319},"\n but more polite, suitable for use when writing to customers or your boss\n",[307,16687,16688,369,16691,16694],{},[98,16689],{"lang":100,"syntax":16690},"前略[ぜんりゃく]",[103,16692],{"src":16693,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-前略.mp3","\n — This means \"skipping the preliminaries\" and is used when writing about urgent matters or sending condolences; see the \"seasonal greetings\" section for more information\n",[307,16696,16697,369,16700,16703,16704,16707],{},[98,16698],{"lang":100,"syntax":16699},"拝復[はいふく]",[103,16701],{"src":16702,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_拝復.mp3","\n — This is used when you are \n",[26,16705,16706],{},"responding","\n to a letter that someone has sent to you\n",[307,16709,16710,16711,16714],{},"Several more of these can be seen ",[15,16712,3756],{"href":16329,"rel":16713},[971],", in Japanese",[11,16716,16717],{},"Two quick notes:",[304,16719,16720,16737],{},[307,16721,16722,16725,16726,16729,16730,16733,16734,16736],{},[1090,16723,16724],{},"Name placement"," — While English letters begin with ",[26,16727,16728],{},"dear {name}",", Japanese letters basically just say ",[26,16731,16732],{},"dear",". The name of the recipient goes on the envelope and at the end of the letter, but ",[26,16735,10642],{}," in the beginning of the letter.",[307,16738,16739,16742],{},[1090,16740,16741],{},"Word pairs"," — Opening and closing words actually come in pairs, meaning that if you open a letter with Opening Words A, you must close the letter with Closing Words A. See the below section on \"closing words\" to see the phrases that correspond with the above opening words.",[3240,16744,16746],{"id":16745},"_2-a-seasonal-greeting","2. A seasonal greeting",[11,16748,16749,16750,506,16752,16754],{},"In Japanese culture, it's customary to offer a brief greeting that alludes to the season at hand before you get into the main body of the letter. Called a ",[98,16751],{"lang":100,"syntax":16290},[103,16753],{"src":16293,":type":149},", these are pleasant in tone, somewhat poetic, and include a wish for the good health of the person you're writing to.",[11,16756,16757],{},"Here are a few sample greetings that I found in letters online:",[304,16759,16760,16779,16797,16815],{},[307,16761,16762,16765],{},[1090,16763,16764],{},"Spring greetings",[304,16766,16767,16776],{},[307,16768,16769,16770,506,16773],{},"JA: ",[98,16771],{"lang":100,"syntax":16772},"桜[さくら] も いつしか 盛[さか]り を 過[す,すぎる]ぎました が{、}お 健[すこ]やか に お過[おす]ごし の こと と お 喜[よろこ]び 申し上[もうしあ,もうしあげる]げます{。}",[103,16774],{"src":16775,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_springgreetings1.mp3",[307,16777,16778],{},"EN: \"The cherry blossoms have already passed their peak, yet I hope this message finds you in good health and spirits.\"",[307,16780,16781,16784],{},[1090,16782,16783],{},"Summer greetings",[304,16785,16786,16794],{},[307,16787,16769,16788,506,16791],{},[98,16789],{"lang":100,"syntax":16790},"梅雨[つゆ] 明[あ,あける]けて 息[いき] つく 間[ま]もなく この 暑[あつ]さ{、}お 元気[げんき] で お過[おす]ごし でしょう か",[103,16792],{"src":16793,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_summergreetings.mp3",[307,16795,16796],{},"EN: \"The rainy season has just ended, yet there’s hardly a moment to catch our breath before this intense heat arrives. I hope you are keeping well.\"",[307,16798,16799,16802],{},[1090,16800,16801],{},"Fall greetings",[304,16803,16804,16812],{},[307,16805,16769,16806,506,16809],{},[98,16807],{"lang":100,"syntax":16808},"日に日[ひにひ]に 秋[あき] が 深[ふか,ふかまる]まって 参[まい,まいる]りました が{、}お 変[か,かわる]わり ありません でしょう か",[103,16810],{"src":16811,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_fallgreeting.mp3",[307,16813,16814],{},"EN: \"As the days go by, autumn is deepening, and I hope you are doing well.\"",[307,16816,16817,16820],{},[1090,16818,16819],{},"Winter greetings",[304,16821,16822,16828],{},[307,16823,16769,16824,506,16826],{},[98,16825],{"lang":100,"syntax":16342},[103,16827],{"src":16345,":type":149},[307,16829,16830],{},"EN: \"As we enter the coldest season of the year, the weather is getting colder and colder, and I hope that you are living in good health.\"",[11,16832,16833,16834,6933,16838,16841],{},"There are many customary seasonal words and phrases, such as those shown ",[15,16835,3756],{"href":16836,"rel":16837},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.akitem.co.jp\u002Fmame\u002FMC3.htm",[971],[26,16839,16840],{},"link in Japanese","). You can use them to build your own greeting.",[11,16843,16844],{},[26,16845,16846,16847,506,16849,16851,16852,506,16855,16858,16859,506,16862,16865],{},"Note: When sending condolences, the seasonal greeting is typically skipped, thus letting the letter's focus revolve entirely around your sympathies. In these cases, open the letter with ",[98,16848],{"lang":100,"syntax":16690},[103,16850],{"src":16693,":type":149}," (\"skipping the preliminaries\") or ",[98,16853],{"lang":100,"syntax":16854},"前略[ぜんりゃく] 失礼[しつれい]いたします",[103,16856],{"src":16857,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-前略失礼いたします.mp3"," (\"my sincerest apologies for skipping the preliminaries\") , say what you have to say, and then close the letter with ",[98,16860],{"lang":100,"syntax":16861},"早々[そうそう]",[103,16863],{"src":16864,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-早々.mp3"," (\"apologies for the brevity\").",[847,16867,16869],{"id":16868},"the-body-main-part-of-your-message","The body \u002F main part of your message",[11,16871,16872,16873,506,16875,16877],{},"Salutations out of the way, we may now move on to the main part of the letter, called the ",[98,16874],{"lang":100,"syntax":16356},[103,16876],{"src":16359,":type":149},". Just like in English, this is the part of the letter where you say whatever it is that you have to say.",[3240,16879,16881],{"id":16880},"_3-transition","3. Transition",[11,16883,16884],{},"It would be somewhat jarring to jump straight from \"the cherry blossoms have already begun to wilt\" to \"I blew a tire out on the highway and was thus, regretfully, unable to attend the...\", so Japanese people add a bit of cushion between the seasonal greeting and letter body.",[11,16886,16887],{},"Here are a few common transitional phrases that you can use in letters and also in normal communication:",[304,16889,16890,16897,16904,16911],{},[307,16891,16892,16893,16896],{},"さて ",[103,16894],{"src":16895,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_さて.mp3"," — Well; now; then",[307,16898,16899,16900,16903],{},"このたび ",[103,16901],{"src":16902,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_このたび.mp3"," — recently; on this occasion",[307,16905,16906,16907,16910],{},"早速ですが ",[103,16908],{"src":16909,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_早速ですが.mp3"," — without further ado",[307,16912,16913,16914,16714],{},"Several more examples ",[15,16915,3756],{"href":16916,"rel":16917},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.letter110.net\u002Fyougo\u002Fshubun.html",[971],[11,16919,16920,16921,506,16924,16927],{},"You may either use these words (called ",[98,16922],{"lang":100,"syntax":16923},"起語[きご]",[103,16925],{"src":16926,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_起語.mp3",") and write an entire transitional sentence, or you may follow your chosen word\u002Fphrase with a comma and then proceed directly to the body of your letter.",[3240,16929,16931],{"id":16930},"_4-the-body","4. The body",[11,16933,16934,16935,506,16938,16941,16942,16944,16945,16950,16952,16953,506,16956,11047,16959,6933,16964,506,16967,16970,16971,6933,16975,506,16977,6066],{},"Here, in the ",[98,16936],{"lang":100,"syntax":16937},"本文[ほんぶん]",[103,16939],{"src":16940,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_本文.mp3",", you may share your message. How you go about writing it depends on your relationship with the addressee, but given that this is a ",[26,16943,8297],{}," letter, it will likely be somewhat elevated in style, and also use ",[15,16946,16949],{"href":16947,"rel":16948},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHonorific_speech_in_Japanese#Polite_language",[971],"polite language",[292,16951],{},"\n(",[98,16954],{"lang":100,"syntax":16955},"丁寧語[ていねいご]",[103,16957],{"src":16958,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_丁寧語.mp3",[15,16960,16963],{"href":16961,"rel":16962},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHonorific_speech_in_Japanese#Word_beautification",[971],"beautified words",[98,16965],{"lang":100,"syntax":16966},"美化語[びかご]",[103,16968],{"src":16969,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_美化語.mp3","), if not full-blown ",[15,16972,10467],{"href":16973,"rel":16974},"https:\u002F\u002Fimabi.org\u002Fhonorifics-vi-regular-verbs\u002F",[971],[98,16976],{"lang":100,"syntax":10471},[103,16978],{"src":16979,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_敬語.mp3",[847,16981,16983],{"id":16982},"the-closing-section","The closing section",[11,16985,16986,16987,506,16989,16991],{},"The final portion of a Japanese letter, the",[98,16988],{"lang":100,"syntax":16381},[103,16990],{"src":16384,":type":149},", is a bit more complex than that of an English letter, but not by much. It contains two parts.",[3240,16993,16995],{"id":16994},"_5-a-closing-expression","5. A closing expression",[11,16997,16998,16999,506,17001,17004],{},"The closing expression (",[98,17000],{"lang":100,"syntax":16396},[103,17002],{"src":17003,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_結びの挨拶.mp3",") is a counterpart to the seasonal greeting you used to begin the letter. Here, you express your wishes for the addressee's health and happiness. If in a business context, you should convey your hopes for the company's prosperity and success.",[11,17006,17007],{},"Your letter might include a closing line such as:",[304,17009,17010,17017,17026,17035],{},[307,17011,17012,17013,17016],{},"それでは、・・・",[103,17014],{"src":17015,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_それでは.mp3"," — \"well then\", followed by whatever you'd like to say in closing",[307,17018,17019,369,17022,17025],{},[98,17020],{"lang":100,"syntax":17021},"今後[こんご] とも よろしく お 願い[ねが,ねがい]いたします",[103,17023],{"src":17024,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_今後ともよろしくお願いいたします.mp3","\n — \"Thank you for your continued support moving forward\" (you'll hear this a lot in Japan!)\n",[307,17027,17028,369,17031,17034],{},[98,17029],{"lang":100,"syntax":17030},"ますます の ご 活躍[かつやく] を お 祈り[いの,いのり] します",[103,17032],{"src":17033,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_ますますのご活躍をお祈りします.mp3","\n — \"Wishing you continued success in all your endeavors.\"\n",[307,17036,17037,17038,16714],{},"Several more examples available ",[15,17039,3756],{"href":17040,"rel":17041},"https:\u002F\u002Fletter.midori-japan.co.jp\u002Fspecial\u002Fphrase\u002Fphrase-musubi\u002F",[971],[3240,17043,17045],{"id":17044},"_6-closing-words","6. Closing words",[11,17047,17048,17049,506,17051,17053,17054,506,17056,17058],{},"Just as the closing expression corresponds to the seasonal phrase, the closing words correspond to the opening words. In our opening words example we used with ",[98,17050],{"lang":100,"syntax":16319},[103,17052],{"src":16667,":type":149},", so here we should close with its counterpart, ",[98,17055],{"lang":100,"syntax":16444},[103,17057],{"src":16447,":type":149},", which can be translated as \"yours truly.\"",[11,17060,17061],{},"As mentioned in that earlier section, opening words and closing words come in pairs. Here are some other common word pairs you might use:",[304,17063,17064,17075,17085,17099],{},[307,17065,17066,369,17069,17072,17073],{},[98,17067],{"lang":100,"syntax":17068},"謹言[きんげん]",[103,17070],{"src":17071,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_謹言.mp3","\n — Use when you open your letter with \n",[98,17074],{"lang":100,"syntax":16678},[307,17076,17077,369,17079,17072,17081,4945,17083],{},[98,17078],{"lang":100,"syntax":16861},[103,17080,369],{"src":16864,":type":149},[98,17082],{"lang":100,"syntax":16690},[98,17084],{"lang":100,"syntax":16854},[307,17086,17087,369,17089,17091,17092,369,17094],{},[98,17088],{"lang":100,"syntax":16444},[103,17090],{"src":16447,":type":149},"\n — Use when you begin a letter with \n",[98,17093],{"lang":100,"syntax":16699},[26,17095,17096,17097,3892],{},"(yes, this is the same closing word as was used with ",[98,17098],{"lang":100,"syntax":16319},[307,17100,16710,17101,16714],{},[15,17102,3756],{"href":16329,"rel":17103},[971],[847,17105,17107],{"id":17106},"the-appendix","The appendix",[11,17109,17110,17111,506,17113,17115],{},"The appendix, the",[98,17112],{"lang":100,"syntax":16461},[103,17114],{"src":16464,":type":149},", is where all of the \"extra\" information goes. It includes four parts.",[11,17117,17118],{},"Note that the spacing\u002Fplacement of these elements may be different than you expect, so be sure to refer to the sample letter at the top of this article.",[3240,17120,17122],{"id":17121},"_7-the-date","7. The date",[11,17124,17125,17126,506,17128,6066],{},"List out the date (",[98,17127],{"lang":100,"syntax":16476},[103,17129],{"src":16479,":type":149},[11,17131,17132,17133,17138],{},"Note that Japan has ",[15,17134,17137],{"href":17135,"rel":17136},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_era_name#Modern_Japan",[971],"their own calendar system based on the Japanese eras",", and you should use that here, not our Western calendar. As such, you should write:",[304,17140,17141,17151],{},[307,17142,17143,17144,506,17147,17150],{},"❌ ",[98,17145],{"lang":100,"syntax":17146},"{ 2024 }年[ねん] { 10 }月[がつ]{ } 07日[なのか]",[103,17148],{"src":17149,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_2024年10月07日.mp3"," — October 10th, 2024",[307,17152,17153,17154,506,17157,17160],{},"✅ ",[98,17155],{"lang":100,"syntax":17156},"令和[れいわ] { 06 }年[ねん] { 10 }月[がつ]{ } 07日[なのか]",[103,17158],{"src":17159,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_令和06年10月07日.mp3"," — October 10th of the 6th year of the Reiwa era",[3240,17162,17164],{"id":17163},"_8-your-signature","8. Your signature",[11,17166,17167,17168,506,17170,17172],{},"Add your signature (",[98,17169],{"lang":100,"syntax":16488},[103,17171],{"src":16491,":type":149},"). Note that if you write your name in Japanese, your family name should be placed before your given name.",[3240,17174,17176],{"id":17175},"_9-the-addressees-name","9. The addressee's name",[11,17178,17179,17180,506,17182,17184],{},"Finally, you list the addressee\u002Frecipient (the ",[98,17181],{"lang":100,"syntax":16265},[103,17183],{"src":16268,":type":149},"). This requires three steps:",[344,17186,17187,17190,17199],{},[307,17188,17189],{},"Write your addressee's name: family name first, given name second",[307,17191,17192,17193,506,17195,17198],{},"† Attach the suffix ",[98,17194],{"lang":100,"syntax":5648},[103,17196],{"src":17197,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_さま.mp3"," to their name",[307,17200,17201,17202,506,17205,6933,17208,17211,17212,17217,17218,506,17221,3892],{},"On the next line, next to the suffix, write ",[98,17203],{"lang":100,"syntax":17204},"侍史[じし]",[103,17206],{"src":17207,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_侍史.mp3",[26,17209,17210],{},"\"with all due respect\"",")—or, if you know what you're doing, ",[15,17213,17216],{"href":17214,"rel":17215},"https:\u002F\u002Fgeki-fu.com\u002Fgf\u002Fpage\u002Farticle\u002Foyakudachi\u002Ftrivia\u002F65\u002F#:~:text=%E7%88%B6%E3%82%84%E6%AF%8D%E3%81%AB%E5%AE%9B%E3%81%A6,%E3%81%AA%E8%84%87%E4%BB%98%E3%81%91%E3%81%8C%E3%81%82%E3%82%8A%E3%81%BE%E3%81%99%E3%80%82",[971],"your respectful term of choice"," (called a ",[98,17219],{"lang":100,"syntax":17220},"脇付け[わきづけ,わきづ]",[103,17222],{"src":17223,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_脇付け.mp3",[11,17225,17226],{},"Again, be sure to refer to the image above, as the placement of these three elements may not be intuitive if you haven't written a Japanese letter before.",[11,17228,17229],{},[26,17230,17231,17232,17234],{},"† While ",[98,17233],{"lang":100,"syntax":5648}," may sound overly formal in speech, it is the standard suffix used in formal writing. It is even used if the person you are writing to you is younger in age and lower in status.",[3240,17236,17238],{"id":17237},"_10-optional-the-post-script","10. (Optional) The post script",[11,17240,17241],{},"Any supplementary information that you'd like to include but don't feel should go in the letter body may be placed here.",[11,17243,17244,17245,506,17248,415],{},"In Japanese, this is called the ",[98,17246],{"lang":100,"syntax":17247},"追伸[ついしん]",[103,17249],{"src":17250,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_追伸.mp3",[847,17252,17254],{"id":17253},"a-few-notes-about-formal-letters","A few notes about formal letters",[11,17256,17257],{},"If you're going to go to the trouble of writing a formal Japanese letter, you might also want to:",[344,17259,17260,17266],{},[307,17261,17262,17265],{},[1090,17263,17264],{},"Write vertically"," — Formal letters are written vertically: you begin writing in the top-right portion of the page, work your way down, move one line to the left when you reach the bottom, and then continue on in this fashion until you eventually reach the bottom-left portion of the page",[307,17267,17268,17281],{},[1090,17269,10410,17270,506,17273,3808,17276],{},[98,17271],{"lang":100,"syntax":17272},"和紙[わし]",[103,17274],{"src":17275,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_和紙.mp3",[15,17277,17280],{"href":17278,"rel":17279},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FWashi",[971],"traditional Japanese paper"," — Washi is made by hand from the bark of a specific tree and is used in many traditional Japanese arts, such as origami and calligraphy",[42,17283],{},[45,17285,17287],{"id":17286},"how-to-address-an-envelope","How to address an envelope",[11,17289,17290],{},"We've now got your letter, but you didn't write it to look pretty on your coffee table. It's time to send it!",[11,17292,17293],{},"Here's everything you need to know about Japanese envelopes and addresses to get your letter to its destination.",[847,17295,17297],{"id":17296},"the-front-of-the-envelope","The front of the envelope",[11,17299,17300],{},"Here's what the front of a Japanese envelope looks like:",[50,17302],{"src":17303,"width":4834,"height":17304,"alt":17305},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese_envelope_front.webp",1020,"A graphic showing what the front of a Japanese envelope looks like.",[11,17307,17308],{},"You'll fill this out as follows:",[344,17310,17311,17324,17335,17341,17347],{},[307,17312,17313,17316,17317,506,17320,17323],{},[1090,17314,17315],{},"Stamp"," — Place the stamp (",[98,17318],{"lang":100,"syntax":17319},"切手[きって]",[103,17321],{"src":17322,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_切手.mp3",") in the top-left corner of the envelope",[307,17325,17326,17329,17330,3892],{},[1090,17327,17328],{},"Postal code"," — Place the recipient's 7-digit postal code alongside the top-right corner of the envelope (",[15,17331,17334],{"href":17332,"rel":17333},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.japanpostalcode.net\u002F",[971],"here's a tool to look up Japanese postal codes",[307,17336,17337,17340],{},[1090,17338,17339],{},"Spacing"," —Mind the spacing! There should be some white space between the postal code and the top of the envelope, a similar amount of space between the postal code and the recipient's address, and a larger space between the postal code and the recipient's name",[307,17342,17343,17346],{},[1090,17344,17345],{},"Recipient's address"," — Write the recipient's address on the right side of the envelope",[307,17348,17349,17352,17353,17356],{},[1090,17350,17351],{},"Recipient's name"," — Write the recipient's name in the ",[26,17354,17355],{},"family-name → first-name"," format; use a larger font size than you did for the address",[3240,17358,17360],{"id":17359},"which-suffix-to-use-with-the-recipients-name","Which suffix to use with the recipient's name",[11,17362,17363,17364,506,17366,17368],{},"As mentioned in step 9 above, you should attach an honorific suffix to the recipient's name. If in doubt, ",[98,17365],{"lang":100,"syntax":5648},[103,17367],{"src":17197,":type":149}," is a safe option. It is considered standard and can be used with anyone, regardless of their relationship to you.",[11,17370,17371],{},"様 aside, here are a few other suffixes you might also see:",[304,17373,17374,17383,17398,17406],{},[307,17375,17376,369,17379,17382],{},[98,17377],{"lang":100,"syntax":17378},"御中[おんちゅう]",[103,17380],{"src":17381,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_御中.mp3","\n — Featuring 中 (middle\u002Famongst), this suffix is used to address an organization or group of people, and is what you'd use if submitting a job application\n",[307,17384,17385,369,17388,4945,17391,369,17394,17397],{},[98,17386],{"lang":100,"syntax":17387},"行[ぎょう]",[103,17389],{"src":17390,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_行.mp3",[98,17392],{"lang":100,"syntax":17393},"宛[あて]",[103,17395],{"src":17396,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_宛.mp3","\n — These can be used interchangeably and would be attached to your own name on a self-addressed envelope (of course, make sure you also include a return address)\n",[307,17399,17400,369,17403,17405],{},[98,17401],{"lang":100,"syntax":17402},"先生[せんせい]",[103,17404],{"src":7964,":type":149},"\n — Literally meaning \"teacher\", this can be used in letters to teachers, doctors, lawyers, clergy, authors, or such people\n",[307,17407,17408,17409,16714],{},"A few more specific suffixes can be found ",[15,17410,3756],{"href":17411,"rel":17412},"https:\u002F\u002Ftownwork.net\u002Fmagazine\u002Fskill\u002F124881\u002F#:~:text=%E3%80%8C%E6%A7%98%E3%80%8D%E3%81%AF%E3%80%81%E7%89%B9%E5%AE%9A%E3%81%AE%E5%80%8B%E4%BA%BA%E3%81%AB%E4%BD%BF%E3%81%86,-%E3%80%8C%E6%A7%98%E3%80%8D%E3%81%AF%E3%80%81&text=%E3%80%8C%E5%BE%A1%E4%B8%AD%E3%80%8D%E3%81%A8%E5%90%8C%E3%81%98%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%AB,%E4%BB%98%E3%81%91%E3%82%8B%E3%81%AE%E3%81%AF%E9%96%93%E9%81%95%E3%81%84%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99%E3%80%82&text=%E5%AE%9B%E5%85%88%E3%81%8C%E8%A4%87%E6%95%B0%E5%90%8D%E3%81%AE,%E6%A7%98%E3%80%8D%E3%82%92%E4%BB%98%E3%81%91%E3%81%BE%E3%81%97%E3%82%87%E3%81%86%E3%80%82",[971],[3240,17414,17416],{"id":17415},"how-japanese-addresses-work","How Japanese addresses work",[11,17418,17419],{},"Japanese addresses are organized so that the biggest area comes first, with the caveat being that the postal code is listed first (instead of last, as in the USA).",[11,17421,17422],{},"Here are the components of a Japanese address, in order:",[304,17424,17425,17437,17447,17477,17489,17515,17524],{},[307,17426,17427,17428,506,17431,13399,17434],{},"† Country (",[98,17429],{"lang":100,"syntax":17430},"国[くに]",[103,17432],{"src":17433,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_国.mp3",[26,17435,17436],{},"(this may be omitted when sending mail domestically within Japan)",[307,17438,17439,17440,506,17443,17446],{},"7-digit postal code (",[98,17441],{"lang":100,"syntax":17442},"郵便番号[ゆうびんばんごう]",[103,17444],{"src":17445,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_郵便番号.mp3",") in the format 〒###-####",[307,17448,17449,17450,506,17453,3808,17456,506,17459,3808,17462,506,17465,1466,17468,506,17471,506,17474],{},"Prefecture + ",[98,17451],{"lang":100,"syntax":17452},"都[と]",[103,17454],{"src":17455,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_都.mp3",[98,17457],{"lang":100,"syntax":17458},"道[どう]",[103,17460],{"src":17461,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_とう.mp3",[98,17463],{"lang":100,"syntax":17464},"府[ふ]",[103,17466],{"src":17467,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_府.mp3",[98,17469],{"lang":100,"syntax":17470},"県[けん]",[103,17472],{"src":17473,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_県.mp3",[26,17475,17476],{},"(different prefectures use different ones)",[307,17478,17479,17480,506,17483,506,17486],{},"City name + ",[98,17481],{"lang":100,"syntax":17482},"市[し]",[103,17484],{"src":17485,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_市.mp3",[26,17487,17488],{},"(skip this if the city is Tokyo)",[307,17490,17491,17492,506,17495,17498,17499,506,17502,17505,17506,506,17509,506,17512],{},"City district name + ",[98,17493],{"lang":100,"syntax":17494},"区[く]",[103,17496],{"src":17497,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_区.mp3",", county city name +",[98,17500],{"lang":100,"syntax":17501},"町[ちょう]",[103,17503],{"src":17504,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_ちょう.mp3",", or village name + ",[98,17507],{"lang":100,"syntax":17508},"村[むら]",[103,17510],{"src":17511,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_村.mp3",[26,17513,17514],{},"(it depends on the size of your city)",[307,17516,17517,17518,506,17521],{},"District section + ",[98,17519],{"lang":100,"syntax":17520},"丁目[ちょうめ]",[103,17522],{"src":17523,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_丁目.mp3",[307,17525,17526,17527,506,17530,3892],{},"Building\u002Fapartment number (usually with ",[98,17528],{"lang":100,"syntax":17529},"号[ごう]",[103,17531],{"src":17532,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_号.mp3",[11,17534,17535,17536,8737],{},"Putting all that together, here's the address of ",[15,17537,17540],{"href":17538,"rel":17539},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FWaseda_University",[971],"Waseda University",[304,17542,17543,17551],{},[307,17544,17545,369,17548],{},[98,17546],{"lang":100,"syntax":17547},"日本[にほん]{、〒 169-8050 }東京都[とうきょうと;n3] 新宿[しんじゅく;h] 区[く;o] 戸塚[とつか] 町[まち;o]{１}丁目[ちょうめ;n3]{１０４}",[103,17549],{"src":17550,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_wasedaaddress.mp3",[307,17552,17553],{},"Japan, 〒 169-8050, Tokyo Metropolis, Shinjuku District, Totsuka Town, 1st ward, 104",[11,17555,17556],{},[26,17557,17558],{},"† If you are sending a letter to Japan from overseas, write \"JAPAN\" at the bottom of the envelope so that the post office workers know where the letter should go. Upon entering Japan, Japanese post office workers will take the letter from there.",[847,17560,17562],{"id":17561},"the-back-of-the-envelope","The back of the envelope",[11,17564,17565],{},"Here's what the back of a standard Japanese envelope looks like:",[50,17567],{"src":17568,"width":4834,"height":17304,"alt":17569},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese_letter_back.webp","A graphic showing what the back of a Japanese envelope looks like.",[11,17571,17308],{},[344,17573,17575,17581,17594,17604],{"start":17574},6,[307,17576,17577,17580],{},[1090,17578,17579],{},"Date"," — You may optionally list the date that you sealed the envelope; while not necessary, filling it out is considered to show that you pay attention to detail",[307,17582,17583,17586,17587,17589,17590,16714],{},[1090,17584,17585],{},"Seal"," — Most envelopes have a sticky tongue, just like our envelopes, or may be sealed with tape. As such, you don't need to do anything special here. ",[26,17588,317],{},", if you want, you may write 寿 on the seal if the letter is for a wedding, or 賀 if it is for a holiday. More information about envelope seals can be found ",[15,17591,3756],{"href":17592,"rel":17593},"https:\u002F\u002Fmail.quadient.com\u002Fja\u002Fblog\u002F20230526",[971],[307,17595,17596,17599,17600,17603],{},[1090,17597,17598],{},"Your name"," — Again, remember to use the ",[26,17601,17602],{},"family name → first name"," format",[307,17605,17606,17609],{},[1090,17607,17608],{},"Your address"," — Write your own address",[45,17611,17613],{"id":17612},"japanese-letter-format-casual-letter","Japanese letter format (casual letter)",[11,17615,17616],{},"Congrats! You now know how to write and address a formal Japanese letter, in the event that you're ever feeling super fancy.",[11,17618,17619],{},"Most of the time, though, you'll probably be sending letters that are more informal. Here, you have two options:",[344,17621,17622,17625],{},[307,17623,17624],{},"Follow the same format as the formal letter, but write horizontally (as we do in English) and include the recipient's name at the top of the letter",[307,17626,17627],{},"Do what we do in English — their name, body, your name",[847,17629,17631],{"id":17630},"how-to-write-a-slightly-less-formal-letter","How to write a slightly less-formal letter",[11,17633,17634],{},"Here's an example of a slightly less formal letter. As you can see, it has pretty much all of the parts of our formal letter above, but it's written from left to right and the recipient's name is on the page of the letter itself.",[11,17636,17637],{},"Realistically, if you're going to all this trouble, though, you might as well just write a formal letter!",[50,17639],{"src":16237,"width":4834,"height":6087,"alt":16240},[847,17641,17643],{"id":17642},"how-to-write-a-very-casual-letter","How to write a very casual letter",[11,17645,17646],{},"There is a \"proper\" way to write a letter, and you now know it... but people don't send \"proper\" letters very often. A few Japanese friends I consulted even told me that they didn't really know anything about letter-writing etiquette.",[11,17648,17649],{},"Think about it: there's a proper way to arrange silverware on a dinner table, too, but how many of us actually own differently-sized spoons and forks, let alone know how to arrange them?",[11,17651,17652],{},"You'll more often find yourself scribbling a quick note to somebody, and in this case, you only need three things:",[304,17654,17655,17672,17677],{},[307,17656,17657,10768,17660,17663],{},[1090,17658,17659],{},"Recipient's name + suffix + へ",[26,17661,17662],{},"Dear\u002Fto (person)",[304,17664,17665],{},[307,17666,17667,17668,3892],{},"You can skip 様 and instead use さん, くん, or ちゃん, depending on how you typically address this person (more honorific suffixes ",[15,17669,3756],{"href":17670,"rel":17671},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_honorifics",[971],[307,17673,17674],{},[1090,17675,17676],{},"Your letter body",[307,17678,17679,17682,17683],{},[1090,17680,17681],{},"Your name + より","　— ",[26,17684,17685],{},"from (your name)",[11,17687,17688,17689,17692],{},"Of course, this isn't to say that you ",[26,17690,17691],{},"can't"," include some of the elements of a formal letter. There are no rules! It's your letter. I personally recommend trying to include a seasonal greeting.",[45,17694,17696],{"id":17695},"how-to-write-a-business-email-in-japanese","How to write a business email in Japanese",[11,17698,17699],{},"The format of Japanese business emails is quite similar to that of a formal letter, but there are three main differences:",[304,17701,17702,17705,17708],{},[307,17703,17704],{},"There's no envelope, so the recipient's name goes in the email body",[307,17706,17707],{},"Time is money, so the lengthy sequence of opening phrases is skipped",[307,17709,17710],{},"Keigo is also used in the email, but it is formal and concise, rather than poetic",[320,17712,17713],{},[11,17714,17715],{},"Keigo and email writing are also things that Japanese people have to learn upon entering the workforce, so if you enter do a Google search for ビジネスメール 書き方 (\"business mail how to write\"), there are tons of guides and templates you may copy\u002Freference.",[11,17717,17718],{},"To get started, here's a simple template you can use:",[847,17720,17722],{"id":17721},"email-fields","Email fields",[11,17724,17725],{},"To, CC, and BCC work in the same way as they do in English emails.",[11,17727,17728,17729,506,17732,17735],{},"The subject line (",[98,17730],{"lang":100,"syntax":17731},"件名[けんめい]",[103,17733],{"src":17734,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_件名.mp3",") is also nothing special: do your best to be concise and descriptive.",[847,17737,17739],{"id":17738},"the-addressees-information","The addressee's information",[11,17741,17742],{},"In the formal letter, we simply listed the addressee's name. In a business email, the name is broken into three lines:",[304,17744,17745,17748,17751],{},[307,17746,17747],{},"The name of the recipient's company",[307,17749,17750],{},"The name of the recipient's department",[307,17752,17753,17754],{},"The recipient's name + ",[98,17755],{"lang":100,"syntax":5648},[11,17757,17758],{},"The first line is not necessary if you are sending an email to someone in the same company, and you may also see the second line omitted, too.",[320,17760,17761],{},[11,17762,17763,17764,506,17766,415],{},"If you're at a Japanese university and are writing to a professor, replace the above with a single line: professor's last name + ",[98,17765],{"lang":100,"syntax":17402},[103,17767],{"src":7964,":type":149},[11,17769,17770],{},"When you're done, insert a line break so that there is a space between this section and the next section.",[847,17772,17774],{"id":17773},"the-greeting","The greeting",[11,17776,17777],{},"The greeting consists of two main lines, and they're quite fixed. You'll begin pretty much every email you ever write with these two short lines:",[304,17779,17780,17804],{},[307,17781,17782,17791],{},[1090,17783,17784,17785,506,17788,3892],{},"Greeting (",[98,17786],{"lang":100,"syntax":17787},"挨拶[あいさつ]",[103,17789],{"src":17790,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_挨拶.mp3",[304,17792,17793,17801],{},[307,17794,16769,17795,506,17798],{},[98,17796],{"lang":100,"syntax":17797},"いつも お世話[おせわ] に なって おります{。}",[103,17799],{"src":17800,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_いつもお世話になっております。.mp3",[307,17802,17803],{},"EN: Thank you for your continued support",[307,17805,17806,17815],{},[1090,17807,17808,17809,506,17812,3892],{},"Self introduction (",[98,17810],{"lang":100,"syntax":17811},"名乗り[なのり,なの]",[103,17813],{"src":17814,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_名乗り.mp3",[304,17816,17817,17820],{},[307,17818,17819],{},"JA: (Company name)の(your name)です。",[307,17821,17822],{},"EN: (Your name) from (company)",[320,17824,17825],{},[11,17826,17827,17828,506,17831,17834],{},"If contacting someone for the first time, replace the greeting line with ",[98,17829],{"lang":100,"syntax":17830},"初[はじ]めて ご 連絡[れんらく] いたし[,いたす]ます{。}",[103,17832],{"src":17833,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_初めてご連絡いたします.mp3",", which literally means \"This is the first time I'm contacting you\" and is a respectful set phrase used to initiate contact.",[11,17836,17837],{},"The above two lines should be placed one after another. Next, insert a line break so that there is space between the greeting and email body.",[847,17839,17841],{"id":17840},"the-email-body","The email body",[11,17843,17844],{},"Begin by stating the reason you are contacting this person. You may use the same transitional phrases we mentioned in the email section to do this, such as さて (\"well; then\") or このたび (\"on this occasion\").",[11,17846,17847,17848,17851],{},"Now you may say whatever it is you wish to say. Do your best to be concise, and use ",[15,17849,10467],{"href":10465,"rel":17850},[971]," to the best of your ability.",[11,17853,17854],{},"Upon finishing, insert a line break so that there is some space between the email body and your closing line.",[847,17856,17858],{"id":17857},"the-closing","The closing",[11,17860,17861,17862,6933,17867,17869],{},"This is a single line to acknowledge that your message is coming to an end. There are ",[15,17863,17866],{"href":17864,"rel":17865},"https:\u002F\u002Fblastmail.jp\u002Fblog\u002Fmail\u002Fbusinessmail-last",[971],"many phrases you may use",[26,17868,16840],{},"), but here's a safe one that will always be OK:",[304,17871,17872,17873,17872,17882],{},"\n ",[307,17874,17875,17878,17879,17872],{},[98,17876],{"lang":100,"syntax":17877},"今後[こんご] と も 何卒[なにとぞ] よろしく お願[おねが]い いたします。","\n ",[103,17880],{"src":17881,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F今後とも何卒よろしくお願いいたします。.mp3",[307,17883,17884],{},"\"I appreciate your continued cooperation\"",[11,17886,17887],{},"When you're done, move to the next line and insert a divider to separate the body of your email from your signature.",[847,17889,17891],{"id":17890},"your-signature","Your signature",[11,17893,17894],{},"Japanese signatures are very detailed, but the information is straightforward. Place each of the following pieces of information on a new line:",[304,17896,17897,17900,17909,17912,17915,17918,17924],{},[307,17898,17899],{},"Your company name and your department name",[307,17901,17902,17903,17905,17906,3892],{},"Your name in ",[26,17904,17602],{}," format (",[26,17907,17908],{},"don't use 様 with your own name!!",[307,17910,17911],{},"Your company's postal code",[307,17913,17914],{},"Your company's physical or web address",[307,17916,17917],{},"Your work telephone number\u002Fextension",[307,17919,17920,17921,17923],{},"Your fax number, if you have one (and if you're working in Japan, you ",[26,17922,8720],{}," have one)",[307,17925,17926],{},"Your email address",[11,17928,17929],{},"Different companies will do this differently, so if you are new, pay attention to the structure of your supervisor's signature.",[45,17931,17933],{"id":17932},"nengajo-postcards-sent-on-new-years","Nengajo, postcards sent on New Year's",[11,17935,17936,17937,506,17940,17943],{},"Realistically, if most people send anything via snail mail, it will be a ",[98,17938],{"lang":100,"syntax":17939},"年賀状[ねんがじょう]",[103,17941],{"src":17942,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_年賀状.mp3","—a special postcard that people send on New Year's.",[11,17945,17946,17947,17949],{},"You can send nengajo to anyone, but they're conventionally sent to people who have somehow helped you in the past year. You should ",[26,17948,10642],{}," send them to people if one of their family members has died in the last year.",[11,17951,17952],{},"In December, you'll see these being sold in pretty much any store you walk into in Japan, from 7-11 to Daiso to the train station gift shop.",[847,17954,17956],{"id":17955},"what-nengajo-cards-look-like","What nengajo cards look like",[11,17958,17959],{},"Nengajo are basically post cards. They look something like this:",[50,17961],{"src":17962,"width":1722,"height":5083,"alt":17963},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-nengajo-front.webp","A graphic showing what Japanese's Nengajo cards look like",[11,17965,17966],{},"Most will feature some sort of celebratory statement. Some will be just text, while others may include an image.",[11,17968,17969,17970,17972],{},"You don't ",[26,17971,11731],{}," to write anything on the nengajo—the well-wish is already there—but if you want to, here are two phrases that you'll often hear during this time of the year:",[304,17974,17975,17984],{},[307,17976,17977,369,17980,17983],{},[98,17978],{"lang":100,"syntax":17979},"明[あ,あける]けまして おめでとうございます。",[103,17981],{"src":17982,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_明けましておめでとうございます.mp3","\n — \"Happy New Year\"\n",[307,17985,17986,369,17989,17992],{},[98,17987],{"lang":100,"syntax":17988},"今年[ことし] も よろしく お願[おねが]い します。",[103,17990],{"src":17991,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_今年もよろしくお願いします。.mp3","\n — \"Looking forward for the year to come\"\n",[11,17994,17995],{},"If you enjoy calligraphy, you can also make your own cards. Here's a Japanese artist walking through the do's and don't of making one. The video is in Japanese, but it's clear enough that you can mostly follow along just by watching what he's doing.",[5025,17997],{"src":17998},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FqzmGZcF8yb4?si=mcIyHqvDgNdNprW",[847,18000,18002],{"id":18001},"how-to-address-a-nengajo","How to address a nengajo",[11,18004,18005],{},"The back of a nengajo card looks like this:",[50,18007],{"src":18008,"width":18009,"height":18010,"alt":18011},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-nengajo-back.webp",1794,872,"A graphic showing how to address a nengajo",[11,18013,18014],{},"Like most postcards, they don't require an envelope to send. Instead, you'll write this information directly on the card:",[344,18016,18017,18019,18021,18024,18027,18030],{},[307,18018,17598],{},[307,18020,17608],{},[307,18022,18023],{},"Your postal code",[307,18025,18026],{},"The recipient's postal code",[307,18028,18029],{},"The recipient's address",[307,18031,18032],{},"The recipient's name + 様",[11,18034,18035],{},"These should be written in three different sizes of font:",[304,18037,18038,18041,18044],{},[307,18039,18040],{},"Big font — the recipient's name",[307,18042,18043],{},"Medium font — the recipient's name\u002Faddress",[307,18045,18046],{},"Small font — your name and address",[11,18048,18049,18050,18053],{},"As these are already addressed, you can simply drop them off at any post office or post box. Make sure to send this ",[1090,18051,18052],{},"before December 25th",", as mail sent later than this date will not be delivered until January 1st (which is too late).",[45,18055,18057],{"id":18056},"where-to-go-for-japanese-writing-practice","Where to go for Japanese writing practice",[11,18059,18060],{},"If you don't know any Japanese people to write with, here are two ways you can find pen-pals and practice writing in Japanese:",[847,18062,18064],{"id":18063},"use-the-slowly-app","Use the \"Slowly\" app",[11,18066,18067,18072],{},[15,18068,18071],{"href":18069,"rel":18070},"https:\u002F\u002Fslowly.app\u002F",[971],"Slowly",", available on iOS and Android, is an app to send postcards digitally. The catch is that while you can see when you have mail on the way, you can't open them until the same amount of time it would take to ship a real postcard from your location to the recipient's location has passed.",[11,18074,18075],{},"Additionally, unlike most chat apps, you cannot upload photos to Slowly. You choose an avatar, your nationality, your interests, and the languages you speak, write an optional bio, and that's it. The system then lets you browse a list of people who speak or are learning your languages. Once you find someone you like, you get to write them a postcard! You've now got a few friends and a reason to improve your Japanese writing skills.",[320,18077,18078],{},[11,18079,18080],{},"Postcards are relatively informal, so you can follow the \"very casual letter\" instructions listed above.",[50,18082],{"src":18083,"width":18084,"height":18085,"alt":18086},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-slowly.webp",1646,906,"A screenshot of Slowly's landing page",[847,18088,18090],{"id":18089},"write-entries-on-langcorrect","Write entries on Langcorrect",[11,18092,18093,18094,18099],{},"Writing letters in Japanese isn't the explicit focus of ",[15,18095,18098],{"href":18096,"rel":18097},"https:\u002F\u002Flangcorrect.com\u002F",[971],"Langcorrect",", but you can use it for that purpose. Its a website that is intended to help people become better writers in their target language. It's pretty straightforward:",[344,18101,18102,18105,18108],{},[307,18103,18104],{},"You submit texts in your target language",[307,18106,18107],{},"Native speakers correct it",[307,18109,18110],{},"There's some basic formatting to make it easy to see the changes made to your initial text",[11,18112,18113],{},"The \"strategy\" here is to be generous about correcting the texts of people who speak your target language. Some will reciprocate, and before long you'll have a small pool of people that you exchange with on a regular basis.",[11,18115,18116],{},"I use Langcorrect for Mandarin, not Japanese, but you can see how it works below:",[50,18118],{"src":18119,"width":18120,"height":12988,"alt":18121},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-langcorrect.webp",2652,"A screenshot of a text being corrected on Langcorrect",[42,18123],{},[45,18125,18127],{"id":18126},"but-i-dont-speak-japanese-yet","But... I don't speak Japanese (yet)!",[11,18129,18130],{},"You now know more about Japanese letters and letter-writing etiquette than some Japanese people do.",[11,18132,18133],{},"Now you just have to sit down and write your letter.",[11,18135,18136],{},"If you don't feel as confident as you'd like to in Japanese—or perhaps you've never used Japanese honorific language before, so the language used in formal letters and emails scares you—check out Migaku. Our in-depth beginner's course will take you from zero to a point where you can confidently use Japanese to do the things that matter to you.",[674,18138],{"href":17,"text":676},[45,18140,18142],{"id":18141},"cheatsheet-vocabulary-about-japanese-letters","[Cheatsheet] Vocabulary about Japanese letters",[11,18144,18145],{},"This article includes a lot of vocabulary that you might not have heard before. Here's the key vocabulary we used in one place, for easy reference.",[847,18147,18149],{"id":18148},"the-anatomy-of-a-letter","The anatomy of a letter",[67,18151,18152,18170],{},[70,18153,18154],{},[73,18155,18156,18159,18162,18164,18167],{},[76,18157,18158],{},"JA word",[76,18160,18161],{},"Hiragana",[76,18163,85],{},[76,18165,18166],{},"Audio",[76,18168,18169],{},"EN word",[87,18171,18172,18189,18208,18226,18245,18262,18279,18296],{},[73,18173,18174,18177,18180,18183,18187],{},[92,18175,18176],{},"手紙",[92,18178,18179],{},"てがみ",[92,18181,18182],{},"tegami",[92,18184,18185],{},[103,18186],{"src":16565,":type":149},[92,18188,16558],{},[73,18190,18191,18194,18197,18200,18205],{},[92,18192,18193],{},"封筒",[92,18195,18196],{},"ふうとう",[92,18198,18199],{},"fuutou",[92,18201,18202],{},[103,18203],{"src":18204,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_封筒.mp3",[92,18206,18207],{},"envelope",[73,18209,18210,18213,18216,18219,18223],{},[92,18211,18212],{},"年賀状",[92,18214,18215],{},"ねんがじょう",[92,18217,18218],{},"nengajou",[92,18220,18221],{},[103,18222],{"src":17942,":type":149},[92,18224,18225],{},"New Year's card",[73,18227,18228,18231,18234,18237,18242],{},[92,18229,18230],{},"~",[92,18232,18233],{},"Ｅメール",[92,18235,18236],{},"E me-ru",[92,18238,18239],{},[103,18240],{"src":18241,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_Ｅメール.mp3",[92,18243,18244],{},"email",[73,18246,18247,18250,18253,18255,18259],{},[92,18248,18249],{},"前文",[92,18251,18252],{},"ぜんぶん",[92,18254,16256],{},[92,18256,18257],{},[103,18258],{"src":16253,":type":149},[92,18260,18261],{},"opening section",[73,18263,18264,18267,18270,18272,18276],{},[92,18265,18266],{},"主文",[92,18268,18269],{},"しゅぶん",[92,18271,16362],{},[92,18273,18274],{},[103,18275],{"src":16359,":type":149},[92,18277,18278],{},"letter body",[73,18280,18281,18284,18287,18289,18293],{},[92,18282,18283],{},"末文",[92,18285,18286],{},"まつぶん",[92,18288,16387],{},[92,18290,18291],{},[103,18292],{"src":16384,":type":149},[92,18294,18295],{},"closing section",[73,18297,18298,18301,18304,18307,18311],{},[92,18299,18300],{},"後付",[92,18302,18303],{},"あとづけ",[92,18305,18306],{},"atodzuke",[92,18308,18309],{},[103,18310],{"src":16464,":type":149},[92,18312,16454],{},[847,18314,18316],{"id":18315},"the-components-of-a-letter","The components of a letter",[67,18318,18319,18333],{},[70,18320,18321],{},[73,18322,18323,18325,18327,18329,18331],{},[76,18324,18158],{},[76,18326,18161],{},[76,18328,85],{},[76,18330,18166],{},[76,18332,18169],{},[87,18334,18335,18352,18368,18386,18404,18421,18438,18456,18473,18490],{},[73,18336,18337,18340,18343,18345,18349],{},[92,18338,18339],{},"頭語",[92,18341,18342],{},"とうご",[92,18344,16284],{},[92,18346,18347],{},[103,18348],{"src":16281,":type":149},[92,18350,18351],{},"opening words",[73,18353,18354,18357,18360,18362,18366],{},[92,18355,18356],{},"時候の挨拶",[92,18358,18359],{},"じこうのあいさつ",[92,18361,16296],{},[92,18363,18364],{},[103,18365],{"src":16293,":type":149},[92,18367,16336],{},[73,18369,18370,18373,18376,18379,18383],{},[92,18371,18372],{},"起語",[92,18374,18375],{},"きご",[92,18377,18378],{},"kigo",[92,18380,18381],{},[103,18382],{"src":16926,":type":149},[92,18384,18385],{},"transition words",[73,18387,18388,18391,18394,18397,18401],{},[92,18389,18390],{},"本文",[92,18392,18393],{},"ほんぶん",[92,18395,18396],{},"honbun",[92,18398,18399],{},[103,18400],{"src":16940,":type":149},[92,18402,18403],{},"text (of a letter)",[73,18405,18406,18409,18412,18414,18418],{},[92,18407,18408],{},"結びの挨拶",[92,18410,18411],{},"むすびのあいさつ",[92,18413,16402],{},[92,18415,18416],{},[103,18417],{"src":17003,":type":149},[92,18419,18420],{},"closing expression",[73,18422,18423,18426,18429,18431,18436],{},[92,18424,18425],{},"結語",[92,18427,18428],{},"けつご",[92,18430,16414],{},[92,18432,18433],{},[103,18434],{"src":18435,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_結語.mp3",[92,18437,16420],{},[73,18439,18440,18443,18446,18449,18453],{},[92,18441,18442],{},"日付",[92,18444,18445],{},"ひづけ",[92,18447,18448],{},"hidzuke",[92,18450,18451],{},[103,18452],{"src":16479,":type":149},[92,18454,18455],{},"date",[73,18457,18458,18461,18464,18466,18470],{},[92,18459,18460],{},"署名",[92,18462,18463],{},"しょめい",[92,18465,16494],{},[92,18467,18468],{},[103,18469],{"src":16491,":type":149},[92,18471,18472],{},"signature",[73,18474,18475,18478,18481,18483,18487],{},[92,18476,18477],{},"宛名",[92,18479,18480],{},"あてな",[92,18482,16271],{},[92,18484,18485],{},[103,18486],{"src":16268,":type":149},[92,18488,18489],{},"name and address",[73,18491,18492,18495,18498,18501,18505],{},[92,18493,18494],{},"追伸",[92,18496,18497],{},"ついしん",[92,18499,18500],{},"tsuishin",[92,18502,18503],{},[103,18504],{"src":17250,":type":149},[92,18506,18507],{},"postscript",[847,18509,18511],{"id":18510},"vocabulary-related-to-japanese-addresses","Vocabulary related to Japanese addresses",[67,18513,18514,18528],{},[70,18515,18516],{},[73,18517,18518,18520,18522,18524,18526],{},[76,18519,18158],{},[76,18521,18161],{},[76,18523,85],{},[76,18525,18166],{},[76,18527,18169],{},[87,18529,18530,18548,18566,18585,18603,18619,18637,18655,18673],{},[73,18531,18532,18535,18538,18541,18545],{},[92,18533,18534],{},"国",[92,18536,18537],{},"くに",[92,18539,18540],{},"kuni",[92,18542,18543],{},[103,18544],{"src":17433,":type":149},[92,18546,18547],{},"country",[73,18549,18550,18553,18556,18559,18563],{},[92,18551,18552],{},"郵便番号",[92,18554,18555],{},"ゆうびんばんごう",[92,18557,18558],{},"yuubin bangou",[92,18560,18561],{},[103,18562],{"src":17445,":type":149},[92,18564,18565],{},"postal code",[73,18567,18568,18571,18574,18577,18582],{},[92,18569,18570],{},"都道府県",[92,18572,18573],{},"とどうふけん",[92,18575,18576],{},"todoufuken",[92,18578,18579],{},[103,18580],{"src":18581,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_都道府県.mp3",[92,18583,18584],{},"capital\u002Fdistrict\u002Furban prefecture\u002Fprefecture",[73,18586,18587,18590,18593,18596,18600],{},[92,18588,18589],{},"~市",[92,18591,18592],{},"~し",[92,18594,18595],{},"~shi",[92,18597,18598],{},[103,18599],{"src":17485,":type":149},[92,18601,18602],{},"~ city",[73,18604,18605,18608,18610,18612,18616],{},[92,18606,18607],{},"~区",[92,18609,6167],{},[92,18611,6661],{},[92,18613,18614],{},[103,18615],{"src":17497,":type":149},[92,18617,18618],{},"~ ward (in Tokyo) \u002F ~ district (elsewhere)",[73,18620,18621,18624,18627,18630,18634],{},[92,18622,18623],{},"~町",[92,18625,18626],{},"~ちょう\u002F~まち",[92,18628,18629],{},"chou\u002Fmachi",[92,18631,18632],{},[103,18633],{"src":17504,":type":149},[92,18635,18636],{},"~ town",[73,18638,18639,18642,18645,18648,18652],{},[92,18640,18641],{},"~村",[92,18643,18644],{},"むら",[92,18646,18647],{},"~mura",[92,18649,18650],{},[103,18651],{"src":17511,":type":149},[92,18653,18654],{},"~ village",[73,18656,18657,18660,18663,18666,18670],{},[92,18658,18659],{},"丁目",[92,18661,18662],{},"ちょうめ",[92,18664,18665],{},"choume",[92,18667,18668],{},[103,18669],{"src":17523,":type":149},[92,18671,18672],{},"city block",[73,18674,18675,18678,18681,18684,18688],{},[92,18676,18677],{},"#号",[92,18679,18680],{},"#ごう",[92,18682,18683],{},"#gou",[92,18685,18686],{},[103,18687],{"src":17532,":type":149},[92,18689,18690],{},"building\u002Fapartment #",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":18692},[18693,18700,18704,18708,18716,18720,18724,18725],{"id":16587,"depth":707,"text":16588,"children":18694},[18695,18696,18697,18698,18699],{"id":16640,"depth":1016,"text":16641},{"id":16868,"depth":1016,"text":16869},{"id":16982,"depth":1016,"text":16983},{"id":17106,"depth":1016,"text":17107},{"id":17253,"depth":1016,"text":17254},{"id":17286,"depth":707,"text":17287,"children":18701},[18702,18703],{"id":17296,"depth":1016,"text":17297},{"id":17561,"depth":1016,"text":17562},{"id":17612,"depth":707,"text":17613,"children":18705},[18706,18707],{"id":17630,"depth":1016,"text":17631},{"id":17642,"depth":1016,"text":17643},{"id":17695,"depth":707,"text":17696,"children":18709},[18710,18711,18712,18713,18714,18715],{"id":17721,"depth":1016,"text":17722},{"id":17738,"depth":1016,"text":17739},{"id":17773,"depth":1016,"text":17774},{"id":17840,"depth":1016,"text":17841},{"id":17857,"depth":1016,"text":17858},{"id":17890,"depth":1016,"text":17891},{"id":17932,"depth":707,"text":17933,"children":18717},[18718,18719],{"id":17955,"depth":1016,"text":17956},{"id":18001,"depth":1016,"text":18002},{"id":18056,"depth":707,"text":18057,"children":18721},[18722,18723],{"id":18063,"depth":1016,"text":18064},{"id":18089,"depth":1016,"text":18090},{"id":18126,"depth":707,"text":18127},{"id":18141,"depth":707,"text":18142,"children":18726},[18727,18728,18729],{"id":18148,"depth":1016,"text":18149},{"id":18315,"depth":1016,"text":18316},{"id":18510,"depth":1016,"text":18511},"Dive into the art of Japanese letter writing with our complete guide. Understand traditional formats, etiquette, and essential phrases to create meaningful and respectful correspondence.",{"timestampUnix":18732,"slug":18733,"h1":18734,"image":18735,"tags":18740},1730778213273,"comprehensive-japanese-letter-writing-guide","Comprehensive Guide to Japanese Letter Writing",{"src":18736,"width":18737,"height":18738,"alt":18739},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese-woman-writing-letter.webp",6225,4150,"A young Japanese woman writing a letter.",[8650,5086,12474],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-letter-comprehensive","---\ntitle: 'Comprehensive Japanese Letter Writing Guide: Styles, Etiquette, and Key Phrases'\ndescription: 'Dive into the art of Japanese letter writing with our complete guide. Understand traditional formats, etiquette, and essential phrases to create meaningful and respectful correspondence.'\ntimestampUnix: 1730778213273\nslug: comprehensive-japanese-letter-writing-guide\nh1: 'Comprehensive Guide to Japanese Letter Writing'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese-woman-writing-letter.webp'\n width: 6225\n height: 4150\n alt: 'A young Japanese woman writing a letter.'\ntags:\n - culture\n - vocabulary\n - deepdive\n---\n\nIn Japan, as with the rest of the world, it's become less common to send people handwritten letters. Most written communication happens via text messages, social media, and emails.\n\nWith this in mind, while you definitely don't need to know how to write a letter to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese).... there _are_ situations where it would be appropriate to write someone a letter by hand. Plus, it's kind of cool. And hey, sometimes, you just want to write a letter. (We want you to send that love letter, too. We're rooting for you!)\n\nIn this article we'll start by walking through the structure of a _formal_ letter in detail. While you likely won't write a letter like this, if you learn how to write one, it'll make it easy to understand how more informal letters, business emails, and even things like postcards work, too.\n\nOh, and before we get too far along — the Japanese word for _letter_ is \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"手紙[てがみ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_手紙.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>.\n\n_Note: There are three Japanese writing systems. This blog post assumes that you can already [read hiragana](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-hiragana) and understand [how kanji work](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-kanji)._\n\nWe'll get into:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## Japanese letter format (formal letter)\n\nGenerally speaking, a \"proper\" Japanese letter has ten key components and can be broken down into four sections:\n\n- An opening section, called \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"前文[ぜんぶん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F前文.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- The body, called \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"主文[しゅぶん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F主文.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- A closing section, called \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"末文[まつぶん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F末文.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- The appendix, called \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"後付[あとづけ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F後付.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n\nYou can see these sections outlined in the below example ([source](https:\u002F\u002Ffudemame.net\u002Ffudemamenet\u002Ffudemamedia\u002Fhagaki\u002F03\u002F)):\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_formal_letter1.webp\" width=\"1400\" height=\"1030\" alt=\"A graphic shows that a Japanese letter can be broken down into the opening, main part, closing phrase, and appendix.\" \u002F>\n\nAnd now we'll explore each of those sections.\n\n### The opening section\n\nThe opening part of a letter is called \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"前文[ぜんぶん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F前文.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, and it is comprised of two components.\n\n#### 1. Opening words\n\nTo start a letter, insert a\n\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"頭語[とうご]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F頭語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>: an opening expression. The most standard expression is \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"拝啓[はいけい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_拝啓.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, and it roughly corresponds to \"dear\" or \"to whom it may concern\" in English.\n\nA few other opening words you may sometimes use:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"謹啓[きんけい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_謹啓.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — This is like \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"拝啓[はいけい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> but more polite, suitable for use when writing to customers or your boss\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"前略[ぜんりゃく]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-前略.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — This means \"skipping the preliminaries\" and is used when writing about urgent matters or sending condolences; see the \"seasonal greetings\" section for more information\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"拝復[はいふく]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_拝復.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — This is used when you are _responding_ to a letter that someone has sent to you\n- Several more of these can be seen [here](https:\u002F\u002Fletter.midori-japan.co.jp\u002Fletter-manners\u002Ftougo-ketsugo\u002F), in Japanese\n\nTwo quick notes:\n\n- **Name placement** — While English letters begin with _dear {name}_, Japanese letters basically just say _dear_. The name of the recipient goes on the envelope and at the end of the letter, but _not_ in the beginning of the letter.\n- **Word pairs** — Opening and closing words actually come in pairs, meaning that if you open a letter with Opening Words A, you must close the letter with Closing Words A. See the below section on \"closing words\" to see the phrases that correspond with the above opening words.\n\n#### 2. A seasonal greeting\n\nIn Japanese culture, it's customary to offer a brief greeting that alludes to the season at hand before you get into the main body of the letter. Called a \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"時候[じこう] の 挨拶[あいさつ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F時候の挨拶.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, these are pleasant in tone, somewhat poetic, and include a wish for the good health of the person you're writing to.\n\nHere are a few sample greetings that I found in letters online:\n\n- **Spring greetings**\n - JA: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"桜[さくら] も いつしか 盛[さか]り を 過[す,すぎる]ぎました が{、}お 健[すこ]やか に お過[おす]ごし の こと と お 喜[よろこ]び 申し上[もうしあ,もうしあげる]げます{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_springgreetings1.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n - EN: \"The cherry blossoms have already passed their peak, yet I hope this message finds you in good health and spirits.\"\n- **Summer greetings**\n - JA: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"梅雨[つゆ] 明[あ,あける]けて 息[いき] つく 間[ま]もなく この 暑[あつ]さ{、}お 元気[げんき] で お過[おす]ごし でしょう か\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_summergreetings.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n - EN: \"The rainy season has just ended, yet there’s hardly a moment to catch our breath before this intense heat arrives. I hope you are keeping well.\"\n- **Fall greetings**\n - JA: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"日に日[ひにひ]に 秋[あき] が 深[ふか,ふかまる]まって 参[まい,まいる]りました が{、}お 変[か,かわる]わり ありません でしょう か\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_fallgreeting.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n - EN: \"As the days go by, autumn is deepening, and I hope you are doing well.\"\n- **Winter greetings**\n - JA: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"大寒[だいかん] を 迎[むか,むかえる]え、寒[さむ,さむい]さ が 厳[きび,きびしい]しさ を 増[ま,ます]して お[,おる]ります が、ご 清祥[せいしょう] に お 暮[く,くらす]らし でしょう か。\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FExample_Sentence_1.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n - EN: \"As we enter the coldest season of the year, the weather is getting colder and colder, and I hope that you are living in good health.\"\n\nThere are many customary seasonal words and phrases, such as those shown [here](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.akitem.co.jp\u002Fmame\u002FMC3.htm) (_link in Japanese_). You can use them to build your own greeting.\n\n_Note: When sending condolences, the seasonal greeting is typically skipped, thus letting the letter's focus revolve entirely around your sympathies. In these cases, open the letter with \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"前略[ぜんりゃく]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-前略.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> (\"skipping the preliminaries\") or \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"前略[ぜんりゃく] 失礼[しつれい]いたします\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-前略失礼いたします.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> (\"my sincerest apologies for skipping the preliminaries\") , say what you have to say, and then close the letter with \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"早々[そうそう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-早々.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> (\"apologies for the brevity\")._\n\n### The body \u002F main part of your message\n\nSalutations out of the way, we may now move on to the main part of the letter, called the \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"主文[しゅぶん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F主文.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>. Just like in English, this is the part of the letter where you say whatever it is that you have to say.\n\n#### 3. Transition\n\nIt would be somewhat jarring to jump straight from \"the cherry blossoms have already begun to wilt\" to \"I blew a tire out on the highway and was thus, regretfully, unable to attend the...\", so Japanese people add a bit of cushion between the seasonal greeting and letter body.\n\nHere are a few common transitional phrases that you can use in letters and also in normal communication:\n\n- さて \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_さて.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — Well; now; then\n- このたび \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_このたび.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — recently; on this occasion\n- 早速ですが \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_早速ですが.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — without further ado\n- Several more examples [here](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.letter110.net\u002Fyougo\u002Fshubun.html), in Japanese\n\nYou may either use these words (called \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"起語[きご]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_起語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>) and write an entire transitional sentence, or you may follow your chosen word\u002Fphrase with a comma and then proceed directly to the body of your letter.\n\n#### 4. The body\n\nHere, in the \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"本文[ほんぶん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_本文.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, you may share your message. How you go about writing it depends on your relationship with the addressee, but given that this is a _formal_ letter, it will likely be somewhat elevated in style, and also use [polite language](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHonorific_speech_in_Japanese#Polite_language)\n(\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"丁寧語[ていねいご]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_丁寧語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>) and [beautified words](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHonorific_speech_in_Japanese#Word_beautification) (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"美化語[びかご]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_美化語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>), if not full-blown [honorific language](https:\u002F\u002Fimabi.org\u002Fhonorifics-vi-regular-verbs\u002F) (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"敬語[けいご]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_敬語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>).\n\n### The closing section\n\nThe final portion of a Japanese letter, the\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"末文[まつぶん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F末文.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, is a bit more complex than that of an English letter, but not by much. It contains two parts.\n\n#### 5. A closing expression\n\nThe closing expression (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"結[むす]び の 挨拶[あいさつ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_結びの挨拶.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>) is a counterpart to the seasonal greeting you used to begin the letter. Here, you express your wishes for the addressee's health and happiness. If in a business context, you should convey your hopes for the company's prosperity and success.\n\nYour letter might include a closing line such as:\n\n- それでは、・・・\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_それでは.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — \"well then\", followed by whatever you'd like to say in closing\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"今後[こんご] とも よろしく お 願い[ねが,ねがい]いたします\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_今後ともよろしくお願いいたします.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — \"Thank you for your continued support moving forward\" (you'll hear this a lot in Japan!)\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"ますます の ご 活躍[かつやく] を お 祈り[いの,いのり] します\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_ますますのご活躍をお祈りします.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — \"Wishing you continued success in all your endeavors.\"\n- Several more examples available [here](https:\u002F\u002Fletter.midori-japan.co.jp\u002Fspecial\u002Fphrase\u002Fphrase-musubi\u002F), in Japanese\n\n#### 6. Closing words\n\nJust as the closing expression corresponds to the seasonal phrase, the closing words correspond to the opening words. In our opening words example we used with \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"拝啓[はいけい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_拝啓.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, so here we should close with its counterpart, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"敬具[けいぐ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F敬具.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, which can be translated as \"yours truly.\"\n\nAs mentioned in that earlier section, opening words and closing words come in pairs. Here are some other common word pairs you might use:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"謹言[きんげん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_謹言.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — Use when you open your letter with \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"謹啓[きんけい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"早々[そうそう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-早々.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — Use when you open your letter with \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"前略[ぜんりゃく]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> or \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"前略[ぜんりゃく] 失礼[しつれい]いたします\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"敬具[けいぐ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F敬具.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — Use when you begin a letter with \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"拝復[はいふく]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> _(yes, this is the same closing word as was used with \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"拝啓[はいけい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>)_\n- Several more of these can be seen [here](https:\u002F\u002Fletter.midori-japan.co.jp\u002Fletter-manners\u002Ftougo-ketsugo\u002F), in Japanese\n\n### The appendix\n\nThe appendix, the\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"後付[あとづけ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F後付.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, is where all of the \"extra\" information goes. It includes four parts.\n\nNote that the spacing\u002Fplacement of these elements may be different than you expect, so be sure to refer to the sample letter at the top of this article.\n\n#### 7. The date\n\nList out the date (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"日付[ひづけ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F日付.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>).\n\nNote that Japan has [their own calendar system based on the Japanese eras](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_era_name#Modern_Japan), and you should use that here, not our Western calendar. As such, you should write:\n\n- ❌ \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"{ 2024 }年[ねん] { 10 }月[がつ]{ } 07日[なのか]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_2024年10月07日.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — October 10th, 2024\n- ✅ \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"令和[れいわ] { 06 }年[ねん] { 10 }月[がつ]{ } 07日[なのか]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_令和06年10月07日.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — October 10th of the 6th year of the Reiwa era\n\n#### 8. Your signature\n\nAdd your signature (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"署名[しょめい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F署名.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>). Note that if you write your name in Japanese, your family name should be placed before your given name.\n\n#### 9. The addressee's name\n\nFinally, you list the addressee\u002Frecipient (the \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"宛名[あてな]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F宛名.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>). This requires three steps:\n\n1. Write your addressee's name: family name first, given name second\n2. † Attach the suffix \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"様[さま]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_さま.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> to their name\n3. On the next line, next to the suffix, write \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"侍史[じし]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_侍史.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> (_\"with all due respect\"_)—or, if you know what you're doing, [your respectful term of choice](https:\u002F\u002Fgeki-fu.com\u002Fgf\u002Fpage\u002Farticle\u002Foyakudachi\u002Ftrivia\u002F65\u002F#:~:text=%E7%88%B6%E3%82%84%E6%AF%8D%E3%81%AB%E5%AE%9B%E3%81%A6,%E3%81%AA%E8%84%87%E4%BB%98%E3%81%91%E3%81%8C%E3%81%82%E3%82%8A%E3%81%BE%E3%81%99%E3%80%82) (called a \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"脇付け[わきづけ,わきづ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_脇付け.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>)\n\nAgain, be sure to refer to the image above, as the placement of these three elements may not be intuitive if you haven't written a Japanese letter before.\n\n_† While \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"様[さま]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> may sound overly formal in speech, it is the standard suffix used in formal writing. It is even used if the person you are writing to you is younger in age and lower in status._\n\n#### 10. (Optional) The post script\n\nAny supplementary information that you'd like to include but don't feel should go in the letter body may be placed here.\n\nIn Japanese, this is called the \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"追伸[ついしん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_追伸.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>.\n\n### A few notes about formal letters\n\nIf you're going to go to the trouble of writing a formal Japanese letter, you might also want to:\n\n1. **Write vertically** — Formal letters are written vertically: you begin writing in the top-right portion of the page, work your way down, move one line to the left when you reach the bottom, and then continue on in this fashion until you eventually reach the bottom-left portion of the page\n2. **Use \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"和紙[わし]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_和紙.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, [traditional Japanese paper](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FWashi)** — Washi is made by hand from the bark of a specific tree and is used in many traditional Japanese arts, such as origami and calligraphy\n\n---\n\n## How to address an envelope\n\nWe've now got your letter, but you didn't write it to look pretty on your coffee table. It's time to send it!\n\nHere's everything you need to know about Japanese envelopes and addresses to get your letter to its destination.\n\n### The front of the envelope\n\nHere's what the front of a Japanese envelope looks like:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese_envelope_front.webp\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1020\" alt=\"A graphic showing what the front of a Japanese envelope looks like.\" \u002F>\n\nYou'll fill this out as follows:\n\n1. **Stamp** — Place the stamp (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"切手[きって]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_切手.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>) in the top-left corner of the envelope\n\n2. **Postal code** — Place the recipient's 7-digit postal code alongside the top-right corner of the envelope ([here's a tool to look up Japanese postal codes](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.japanpostalcode.net\u002F))\n\n3. **Spacing** —Mind the spacing! There should be some white space between the postal code and the top of the envelope, a similar amount of space between the postal code and the recipient's address, and a larger space between the postal code and the recipient's name\n\n4. **Recipient's address** — Write the recipient's address on the right side of the envelope\n\n5. **Recipient's name** — Write the recipient's name in the _family-name → first-name_ format; use a larger font size than you did for the address\n\n#### Which suffix to use with the recipient's name\n\nAs mentioned in step 9 above, you should attach an honorific suffix to the recipient's name. If in doubt, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"様[さま]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_さま.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is a safe option. It is considered standard and can be used with anyone, regardless of their relationship to you.\n\n様 aside, here are a few other suffixes you might also see:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"御中[おんちゅう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_御中.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — Featuring 中 (middle\u002Famongst), this suffix is used to address an organization or group of people, and is what you'd use if submitting a job application\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"行[ぎょう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_行.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> or \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"宛[あて]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_宛.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — These can be used interchangeably and would be attached to your own name on a self-addressed envelope (of course, make sure you also include a return address)\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"先生[せんせい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-先生.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — Literally meaning \"teacher\", this can be used in letters to teachers, doctors, lawyers, clergy, authors, or such people\n- A few more specific suffixes can be found [here](https:\u002F\u002Ftownwork.net\u002Fmagazine\u002Fskill\u002F124881\u002F#:~:text=%E3%80%8C%E6%A7%98%E3%80%8D%E3%81%AF%E3%80%81%E7%89%B9%E5%AE%9A%E3%81%AE%E5%80%8B%E4%BA%BA%E3%81%AB%E4%BD%BF%E3%81%86,-%E3%80%8C%E6%A7%98%E3%80%8D%E3%81%AF%E3%80%81&text=%E3%80%8C%E5%BE%A1%E4%B8%AD%E3%80%8D%E3%81%A8%E5%90%8C%E3%81%98%E3%82%88%E3%81%86%E3%81%AB,%E4%BB%98%E3%81%91%E3%82%8B%E3%81%AE%E3%81%AF%E9%96%93%E9%81%95%E3%81%84%E3%81%A7%E3%81%99%E3%80%82&text=%E5%AE%9B%E5%85%88%E3%81%8C%E8%A4%87%E6%95%B0%E5%90%8D%E3%81%AE,%E6%A7%98%E3%80%8D%E3%82%92%E4%BB%98%E3%81%91%E3%81%BE%E3%81%97%E3%82%87%E3%81%86%E3%80%82), in Japanese\n\n#### How Japanese addresses work\n\nJapanese addresses are organized so that the biggest area comes first, with the caveat being that the postal code is listed first (instead of last, as in the USA).\n\nHere are the components of a Japanese address, in order:\n\n- † Country (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"国[くに]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_国.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>) _(this may be omitted when sending mail domestically within Japan)_\n- 7-digit postal code (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"郵便番号[ゆうびんばんごう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_郵便番号.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>) in the format 〒###-####\n- Prefecture + \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"都[と]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_都.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"道[どう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_とう.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"府[ふ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_府.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> or \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"県[けん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_県.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> _(different prefectures use different ones)_\n- City name + \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"市[し]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_市.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> _(skip this if the city is Tokyo)_\n- City district name + \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"区[く]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_区.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, county city name +\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"町[ちょう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_ちょう.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, or village name + \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"村[むら]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_村.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> _(it depends on the size of your city)_\n- District section + \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"丁目[ちょうめ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_丁目.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- Building\u002Fapartment number (usually with \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"号[ごう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_号.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>)\n\nPutting all that together, here's the address of [Waseda University](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FWaseda_University):\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"日本[にほん]{、〒 169-8050 }東京都[とうきょうと;n3] 新宿[しんじゅく;h] 区[く;o] 戸塚[とつか] 町[まち;o]{１}丁目[ちょうめ;n3]{１０４}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_wasedaaddress.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- Japan, 〒 169-8050, Tokyo Metropolis, Shinjuku District, Totsuka Town, 1st ward, 104\n\n_† If you are sending a letter to Japan from overseas, write \"JAPAN\" at the bottom of the envelope so that the post office workers know where the letter should go. Upon entering Japan, Japanese post office workers will take the letter from there._\n\n### The back of the envelope\n\nHere's what the back of a standard Japanese envelope looks like:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese_letter_back.webp\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1020\" alt=\"A graphic showing what the back of a Japanese envelope looks like.\" \u002F>\n\nYou'll fill this out as follows:\n\n6. **Date** — You may optionally list the date that you sealed the envelope; while not necessary, filling it out is considered to show that you pay attention to detail\n7. **Seal** — Most envelopes have a sticky tongue, just like our envelopes, or may be sealed with tape. As such, you don't need to do anything special here. _However_, if you want, you may write 寿 on the seal if the letter is for a wedding, or 賀 if it is for a holiday. More information about envelope seals can be found [here](https:\u002F\u002Fmail.quadient.com\u002Fja\u002Fblog\u002F20230526), in Japanese\n8. **Your name** — Again, remember to use the _family name → first name_ format\n9. **Your address** — Write your own address\n\n## Japanese letter format (casual letter)\n\nCongrats! You now know how to write and address a formal Japanese letter, in the event that you're ever feeling super fancy.\n\nMost of the time, though, you'll probably be sending letters that are more informal. Here, you have two options:\n\n1. Follow the same format as the formal letter, but write horizontally (as we do in English) and include the recipient's name at the top of the letter\n2. Do what we do in English — their name, body, your name\n\n### How to write a slightly less-formal letter\n\nHere's an example of a slightly less formal letter. As you can see, it has pretty much all of the parts of our formal letter above, but it's written from left to right and the recipient's name is on the page of the letter itself.\n\nRealistically, if you're going to all this trouble, though, you might as well just write a formal letter!\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FJP_Letters.webp\" width=\"1200\" height=\"954\" alt=\"A graphic shows that a Japanese letter can be broken down into the opening, main part, closing phrase, and appendix.\" \u002F>\n\n### How to write a very casual letter\n\nThere is a \"proper\" way to write a letter, and you now know it... but people don't send \"proper\" letters very often. A few Japanese friends I consulted even told me that they didn't really know anything about letter-writing etiquette.\n\nThink about it: there's a proper way to arrange silverware on a dinner table, too, but how many of us actually own differently-sized spoons and forks, let alone know how to arrange them?\n\nYou'll more often find yourself scribbling a quick note to somebody, and in this case, you only need three things:\n\n- **Recipient's name + suffix + へ** — _Dear\u002Fto (person)_\n - You can skip 様 and instead use さん, くん, or ちゃん, depending on how you typically address this person (more honorific suffixes [here](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_honorifics))\n- **Your letter body**\n- **Your name + より**　— _from (your name)_\n\nOf course, this isn't to say that you _can't_ include some of the elements of a formal letter. There are no rules! It's your letter. I personally recommend trying to include a seasonal greeting.\n\n## How to write a business email in Japanese\n\nThe format of Japanese business emails is quite similar to that of a formal letter, but there are three main differences:\n\n- There's no envelope, so the recipient's name goes in the email body\n- Time is money, so the lengthy sequence of opening phrases is skipped\n- Keigo is also used in the email, but it is formal and concise, rather than poetic\n\n> Keigo and email writing are also things that Japanese people have to learn upon entering the workforce, so if you enter do a Google search for ビジネスメール 書き方 (\"business mail how to write\"), there are tons of guides and templates you may copy\u002Freference.\n\nTo get started, here's a simple template you can use:\n\n### Email fields\n\nTo, CC, and BCC work in the same way as they do in English emails.\n\nThe subject line (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"件名[けんめい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_件名.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>) is also nothing special: do your best to be concise and descriptive.\n\n### The addressee's information\n\nIn the formal letter, we simply listed the addressee's name. In a business email, the name is broken into three lines:\n\n- The name of the recipient's company\n- The name of the recipient's department\n- The recipient's name + \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"様[さま]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\n\nThe first line is not necessary if you are sending an email to someone in the same company, and you may also see the second line omitted, too.\n\n> If you're at a Japanese university and are writing to a professor, replace the above with a single line: professor's last name + \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"先生[せんせい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-先生.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>.\n\nWhen you're done, insert a line break so that there is a space between this section and the next section.\n\n### The greeting\n\nThe greeting consists of two main lines, and they're quite fixed. You'll begin pretty much every email you ever write with these two short lines:\n\n- **Greeting (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"挨拶[あいさつ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_挨拶.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>)**\n - JA: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"いつも お世話[おせわ] に なって おります{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_いつもお世話になっております。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n - EN: Thank you for your continued support\n- **Self introduction (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"名乗り[なのり,なの]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_名乗り.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>)**\n - JA: (Company name)の(your name)です。\n - EN: (Your name) from (company)\n\n> If contacting someone for the first time, replace the greeting line with \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"初[はじ]めて ご 連絡[れんらく] いたし[,いたす]ます{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_初めてご連絡いたします.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, which literally means \"This is the first time I'm contacting you\" and is a respectful set phrase used to initiate contact.\n\nThe above two lines should be placed one after another. Next, insert a line break so that there is space between the greeting and email body.\n\n### The email body\n\nBegin by stating the reason you are contacting this person. You may use the same transitional phrases we mentioned in the email section to do this, such as さて (\"well; then\") or このたび (\"on this occasion\").\n\nNow you may say whatever it is you wish to say. Do your best to be concise, and use [honorific language](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHonorific_speech_in_Japanese) to the best of your ability.\n\nUpon finishing, insert a line break so that there is some space between the email body and your closing line.\n\n### The closing\n\nThis is a single line to acknowledge that your message is coming to an end. There are [many phrases you may use](https:\u002F\u002Fblastmail.jp\u002Fblog\u002Fmail\u002Fbusinessmail-last) (_link in Japanese_), but here's a safe one that will always be OK:\n\n\u003Cul>\n \u003Cli>\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"今後[こんご] と も 何卒[なにとぞ] よろしく お願[おねが]い いたします。\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\n \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F今後とも何卒よろしくお願いいたします。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n \u003C\u002Fli>\n \u003Cli>\"I appreciate your continued cooperation\"\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n\nWhen you're done, move to the next line and insert a divider to separate the body of your email from your signature.\n\n### Your signature\n\nJapanese signatures are very detailed, but the information is straightforward. Place each of the following pieces of information on a new line:\n\n- Your company name and your department name\n- Your name in _family name → first name_ format (_don't use 様 with your own name!!_)\n- Your company's postal code\n- Your company's physical or web address\n- Your work telephone number\u002Fextension\n- Your fax number, if you have one (and if you're working in Japan, you _will_ have one)\n- Your email address\n\nDifferent companies will do this differently, so if you are new, pay attention to the structure of your supervisor's signature.\n\n## Nengajo, postcards sent on New Year's\n\nRealistically, if most people send anything via snail mail, it will be a \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"年賀状[ねんがじょう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_年賀状.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>—a special postcard that people send on New Year's.\n\nYou can send nengajo to anyone, but they're conventionally sent to people who have somehow helped you in the past year. You should _not_ send them to people if one of their family members has died in the last year.\n\nIn December, you'll see these being sold in pretty much any store you walk into in Japan, from 7-11 to Daiso to the train station gift shop.\n\n### What nengajo cards look like\n\nNengajo are basically post cards. They look something like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-nengajo-front.webp\" width=\"1504\" height=\"1400\" alt=\"A graphic showing what Japanese's Nengajo cards look like\" \u002F>\n\nMost will feature some sort of celebratory statement. Some will be just text, while others may include an image.\n\nYou don't _need_ to write anything on the nengajo—the well-wish is already there—but if you want to, here are two phrases that you'll often hear during this time of the year:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"明[あ,あける]けまして おめでとうございます。\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_明けましておめでとうございます.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — \"Happy New Year\"\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"今年[ことし] も よろしく お願[おねが]い します。\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_今年もよろしくお願いします。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — \"Looking forward for the year to come\"\n\nIf you enjoy calligraphy, you can also make your own cards. Here's a Japanese artist walking through the do's and don't of making one. The video is in Japanese, but it's clear enough that you can mostly follow along just by watching what he's doing.\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FqzmGZcF8yb4?si=mcIyHqvDgNdNprW\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n### How to address a nengajo\n\nThe back of a nengajo card looks like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-nengajo-back.webp\" width=\"1794\" height=\"872\" alt=\"A graphic showing how to address a nengajo\" \u002F>\n\nLike most postcards, they don't require an envelope to send. Instead, you'll write this information directly on the card:\n\n1. Your name\n2. Your address\n3. Your postal code\n4. The recipient's postal code\n5. The recipient's address\n6. The recipient's name + 様\n\nThese should be written in three different sizes of font:\n\n- Big font — the recipient's name\n- Medium font — the recipient's name\u002Faddress\n- Small font — your name and address\n\nAs these are already addressed, you can simply drop them off at any post office or post box. Make sure to send this **before December 25th**, as mail sent later than this date will not be delivered until January 1st (which is too late).\n\n## Where to go for Japanese writing practice\n\nIf you don't know any Japanese people to write with, here are two ways you can find pen-pals and practice writing in Japanese:\n\n### Use the \"Slowly\" app\n\n[Slowly](https:\u002F\u002Fslowly.app\u002F), available on iOS and Android, is an app to send postcards digitally. The catch is that while you can see when you have mail on the way, you can't open them until the same amount of time it would take to ship a real postcard from your location to the recipient's location has passed.\n\nAdditionally, unlike most chat apps, you cannot upload photos to Slowly. You choose an avatar, your nationality, your interests, and the languages you speak, write an optional bio, and that's it. The system then lets you browse a list of people who speak or are learning your languages. Once you find someone you like, you get to write them a postcard! You've now got a few friends and a reason to improve your Japanese writing skills.\n\n> Postcards are relatively informal, so you can follow the \"very casual letter\" instructions listed above.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-slowly.webp\" width=\"1646\" height=\"906\" alt=\"A screenshot of Slowly's landing page\" \u002F>\n\n### Write entries on Langcorrect\n\nWriting letters in Japanese isn't the explicit focus of [Langcorrect](https:\u002F\u002Flangcorrect.com\u002F), but you can use it for that purpose. Its a website that is intended to help people become better writers in their target language. It's pretty straightforward:\n\n1. You submit texts in your target language\n2. Native speakers correct it\n3. There's some basic formatting to make it easy to see the changes made to your initial text\n\nThe \"strategy\" here is to be generous about correcting the texts of people who speak your target language. Some will reciprocate, and before long you'll have a small pool of people that you exchange with on a regular basis.\n\nI use Langcorrect for Mandarin, not Japanese, but you can see how it works below:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-langcorrect.webp\" width=\"2652\" height=\"1758\" alt=\"A screenshot of a text being corrected on Langcorrect\" \u002F>\n\n---\n\n## But... I don't speak Japanese (yet)!\n\nYou now know more about Japanese letters and letter-writing etiquette than some Japanese people do.\n\nNow you just have to sit down and write your letter.\n\nIf you don't feel as confident as you'd like to in Japanese—or perhaps you've never used Japanese honorific language before, so the language used in formal letters and emails scares you—check out Migaku. Our in-depth beginner's course will take you from zero to a point where you can confidently use Japanese to do the things that matter to you.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n## \\[Cheatsheet\\] Vocabulary about Japanese letters\n\nThis article includes a lot of vocabulary that you might not have heard before. Here's the key vocabulary we used in one place, for easy reference.\n\n### The anatomy of a letter\n\n| JA word | Hiragana | Romaji | Audio | EN word |\n| ------- | ------------ | -------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------- |\n| 手紙 | てがみ | tegami | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_手紙.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | letter |\n| 封筒 | ふうとう | fuutou | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_封筒.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | envelope |\n| 年賀状 | ねんがじょう | nengajou | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_年賀状.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | New Year's card |\n| ~ | Ｅメール | E me-ru | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_Ｅメール.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | email |\n| 前文 | ぜんぶん | zenbun | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F前文.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | opening section |\n| 主文 | しゅぶん | shubun | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F主文.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | letter body |\n| 末文 | まつぶん | matsubun | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F末文.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | closing section |\n| 後付 | あとづけ | atodzuke | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F後付.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | appendix |\n\n### The components of a letter\n\n| JA word | Hiragana | Romaji | Audio | EN word |\n| ---------- | ---------------- | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------ |\n| 頭語 | とうご | tougo | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F頭語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | opening words |\n| 時候の挨拶 | じこうのあいさつ | jikou no aisatsu | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F時候の挨拶.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | seasonal greeting |\n| 起語 | きご | kigo | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_起語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | transition words |\n| 本文 | ほんぶん | honbun | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_本文.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | text (of a letter) |\n| 結びの挨拶 | むすびのあいさつ | musubi no aisatsu | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_結びの挨拶.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | closing expression |\n| 結語 | けつご | ketsugo | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_結語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | closing words |\n| 日付 | ひづけ | hidzuke | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F日付.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | date |\n| 署名 | しょめい | shomei | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F署名.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | signature |\n| 宛名 | あてな | atena | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F宛名.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | name and address |\n| 追伸 | ついしん | tsuishin | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_追伸.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | postscript |\n\n### Vocabulary related to Japanese addresses\n\n| JA word | Hiragana | Romaji | Audio | EN word |\n| -------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- |\n| 国 | くに | kuni | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_国.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | country |\n| 郵便番号 | ゆうびんばんごう | yuubin bangou | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_郵便番号.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | postal code |\n| 都道府県 | とどうふけん | todoufuken | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_都道府県.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | capital\u002Fdistrict\u002Furban prefecture\u002Fprefecture |\n| ~市 | ~し | ~shi | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_市.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ~ city |\n| ~区 | く | ku | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_区.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ~ ward (in Tokyo) \u002F ~ district (elsewhere) |\n| ~町 | ~ちょう\u002F~まち | chou\u002Fmachi | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_ちょう.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ~ town |\n| ~村 | むら | ~mura | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_村.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ~ village |\n| 丁目 | ちょうめ | choume | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_丁目.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | city block |\n| #号 | #ごう | #gou | \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_号.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | building\u002Fapartment # |\n",{"title":16532,"description":18730},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-letter-comprehensive","4sFdyEI8OsvqMoskxBcZ8st93tnnjBz3NdsRQOC91hM",{"id":18747,"title":18748,"body":18749,"description":19120,"extension":717,"meta":19121,"navigation":730,"path":19131,"rawbody":19132,"seo":19133,"stem":19134,"__hash__":19135,"timestampUnix":19122,"slug":19123,"h1":19124,"image":19125,"tags":19130,"_dir":736,"timestamp":19136},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-love.md","Japanese Love Kanji Explained: Suki, Koi, and Ai Meanings",{"type":8,"value":18750,"toc":19108},[18751,18757,18760,18773,18775,18777,18784,18799,18808,18821,18826,18828,18840,18849,18853,18868,18872,18901,18914,18916,18920,19008,19010,19014,19020,19023,19036,19042,19051,19057,19075,19078,19081,19083,19085,19088,19091,19097,19106],[11,18752,18753,18754,18756],{},"Love is one of the fundamental things that humans strive for in life, and it is one of our most precious emotions. Even the Beatles knew that all you need is love. However, different cultures can express this same general concept in various ways, especially in language, and Japanese is no exception. This is important. If you want to ",[15,18755,18],{"href":17},", part of that is learning Japanese culture.",[11,18758,18759],{},"Whether you are trying to avoid embarrassing yourself when confessing to your sweetheart, or just looking for the right kanji for your next stylish tattoo, learning how Japanese expresses love is crucial. And as always, we've got you covered.",[11,18761,18762,18763,3808,18766,3814,18769,18772],{},"Japanese has a multitude of words that can express love and affection, with ",[98,18764],{"lang":100,"syntax":18765},"好[す]き",[98,18767],{"lang":100,"syntax":18768},"恋[こい]",[98,18770],{"lang":100,"syntax":18771},"愛[あい]"," being the most frequently used ones. But what are the differences between those three? Let's find out.",[39,18774],{},[42,18776],{},[45,18778,18780,18781,18783],{"id":18779},"好き-suki-the-most-common-way-to-say-i-love-you-in-japanese","好き (Suki) ",[103,18782],{"src":6834,":type":94}," — The most common way to say I love you in Japanese",[11,18785,18786,18788,18789,18792,18793,18795,18796,18798],{},[98,18787],{"lang":100,"syntax":18765}," is one of the first words that most learners get to know and is also used extremely frequently. Most advanced learners should have a pretty good grasp of its meaning, but that does not mean that it can't at times lead to confusion.\nOne of the first encounters that many people have with this word is used in a confession, often in the form of a sentence like ",[98,18790],{"lang":100,"syntax":18791},"君[きみ] の こと が 好[す]き だ"," (I like\u002Flove you).\nIn this context ",[98,18794],{"lang":100,"syntax":18765}," often gets translated as \"love\", although this might not always be the best choice. Especially to understand the nuances and differences between すき and \"love.\"\n",[98,18797],{"lang":100,"syntax":18765}," is generally used to express a mild interest or affection, and can be used for not only people but also pets, food, hobbies, and various other things. Therefore, in most situations \"like\" is a better translation.\n",[11,18800,18801,18802,18804,18805,18807],{},"So although ",[98,18803],{"lang":100,"syntax":18765}," can be translated as \"love\" in some situations, it has a different feel and nuance than \"love\" does in English. When you are confessing in Japanese with a phrase like ",[98,18806],{"lang":100,"syntax":18791},", it isn't as big of a deal because you are using \"love\" here as one would say they \"love\" pizza in English.",[11,18809,18810,18811,6933,18814,18817,18818,18820],{},"On the other hand, to express real love, you can use ",[98,18812],{"lang":100,"syntax":18813},"愛[あい] し[,する]て いる[,居る*いる]",[26,18815,18816],{},"aishiteiru","), which has a completely different weight than ",[98,18819],{"lang":100,"syntax":18765}," and is only used for one purpose.",[50,18822],{"src":18823,"width":18824,"height":18824,"alt":18825},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FManga.webp",1024,"A page from a manga depicts a boy professing his feelings in Japanese, by saying 'I love you.'",[42,18827],{},[45,18829,18831,18832,18835,18836,18839],{"id":18830},"恋-koi-愛-ai-more-nuanced-expressions-of-love","恋 (Koi) ",[103,18833],{"src":18834,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F恋.m4a"," & 愛 (Ai) ",[103,18837],{"src":18838,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F愛.m4a"," — More nuanced expressions of love",[11,18841,18842,18843,18845,18846,18848],{},"In Japanese, the concepts of ",[98,18844],{"lang":100,"syntax":18768}," (koi) and ",[98,18847],{"lang":100,"syntax":18771}," (ai) represent different facets of love, each with distinct meanings and implications.",[847,18850,18852],{"id":18851},"恋-koi-is-used-when-youre-falling-for-someone","恋 (Koi) is used when you're falling for someone",[11,18854,18855,18862,18863,18865,18866,415],{},[1090,18856,18857,6933,18859,3892],{},[98,18858],{"lang":100,"syntax":18768},[26,18860,18861],{},"koi"," expresses a strong interest in someone and a desire to know more about them and get closer to them. The dictionary describes it as \"being strongly attracted to,\" \"harboring deep feelings to the point of heartache,\" and \"the affectionate feelings between a man and a woman.\" ",[98,18864],{"lang":100,"syntax":18768}," involves a powerful attraction and an emotional intensity that often leads to inner conflict when trying to express these feelings directly. The fear of rejection can cause hesitation, making one anxious about confessing romantic feelings. As English equivalents, \"romantic attraction\" or \"romantic feelings\" might be good ways to think about ",[98,18867],{"lang":100,"syntax":18768},[847,18869,18871],{"id":18870},"愛-ai-is-a-deeper-love-and-often-what-恋-koi-leads-to","愛 (Ai) is a deeper love, and often what 恋 (Koi) leads to",[11,18873,18874,18881,18882,18884,18885,18887,18888,18890,18891,18893,18894,6933,18897,18900],{},[1090,18875,18876,6933,18878,3892],{},[98,18877],{"lang":100,"syntax":18771},[26,18879,18880],{},"ai",", on the other hand, is described as \"feelings of cherishing each other,\" \"feelings of caring and valuing someone,\" and \"feelings of thinking highly of someone and wanting to be devoted to them.\" Unlike ",[98,18883],{"lang":100,"syntax":18768},", which is limited to romantic relationships, ",[98,18886],{"lang":100,"syntax":18771}," encompasses a broader range of relationships, including parental love, sibling love, and love for living beings such as animals. When feeling ",[98,18889],{"lang":100,"syntax":18771},", one can act without hesitation, regardless of the other person's reaction. ",[98,18892],{"lang":100,"syntax":18771}," is about the intention and the act of loving, often characterized by selflessness and the willingness to act for the other person's sake without expecting anything in return. The phrase ",[98,18895],{"lang":100,"syntax":18896},"無償[むしょう] の 愛[あい]",[26,18898,18899],{},"mushou no ai",") \"unconditional love\" suggests that 愛 has an unwavering quality that allows one to express feelings unconditionally.",[11,18902,18903,18904,18906,18907,18909,18910,3814,18912,415],{},"While dramas and novels often depict the classic progression of \"romantic attraction (",[98,18905],{"lang":100,"syntax":18768},") leading to love (",[98,18908],{"lang":100,"syntax":18771},"),\" real-life experiences can differ, and that is perfectly acceptable. There can be as many ways of loving as there are people, each with their unique journey and expression of ",[98,18911],{"lang":100,"syntax":18768},[98,18913],{"lang":100,"syntax":18771},[42,18915],{},[45,18917,18919],{"id":18918},"common-expressions-of-love-that-include-恋-愛-and-好き","Common expressions of love that include 恋, 愛, and 好き",[67,18921,17872,18922],{},[87,18923,18924,17872,18937,17872,18955,17872,18973,17872,18990],{},[73,18925,18926,18927,18926,18930,18926,18932,18926,18934,17872],{},"\n ",[76,18928,18929],{},"Reading",[76,18931,18166],{},[76,18933,85],{},[76,18935,18936],{},"Translation",[73,18938,18926,18939,18926,18944,18926,18949,18926,18952,17872],{},[92,18940,18941],{},[98,18942],{"lang":100,"syntax":18943},"恋[こい] に 落[お,おちる]ちる",[92,18945,18946],{},[103,18947],{"src":18948,":type":117},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F恋に落ちる.m4a",[92,18950,18951],{},"koi ni ochiru",[92,18953,18954],{},"to fall in love",[73,18956,18926,18957,18926,18962,18926,18967,18926,18970,17872],{},[92,18958,18959],{},[98,18960],{"lang":100,"syntax":18961},"恋[こい] する",[92,18963,18964],{},[103,18965],{"src":18966,":type":117},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F恋する.m4a",[92,18968,18969],{},"koi o suru",[92,18971,18972],{},"to love",[73,18974,18926,18975,18926,18980,18926,18984,18926,18987,17872],{},[92,18976,18977],{},[98,18978],{"lang":100,"syntax":18979},"恋人[こいびと]",[92,18981,18982],{},[103,18983],{"src":6736,":type":94},[92,18985,18986],{},"koibito",[92,18988,18989],{},"lover",[73,18991,18926,18992,18926,18997,18926,19002,18926,19005,17872],{},[92,18993,18994],{},[98,18995],{"lang":100,"syntax":18996},"好[す]き 嫌[きら,きらい]い",[92,18998,18999],{},[103,19000],{"src":19001,":type":117},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F好き嫌い.m4a",[92,19003,19004],{},"sukikirai",[92,19006,19007],{},"likes and dislikes",[42,19009],{},[45,19011,19013],{"id":19012},"how-to-learn-which-love-word-to-use-when","How to learn which \"love\" word to use when",[11,19015,19016,19017],{},"This is pretty complex! We've just got \"love\" in English, but Japanese has several, and Japanese speakers use them in specific ways that don't always align with how we use \"love\" in English. ",[26,19018,19019],{},"(You actually run into this problem with every single vocab word you learn, but it isn't always as obvious!)",[11,19021,19022],{},"Importantly, this isn't a problem that you need to go out of your way to solve. So long as you are regularly interacting with Japanese media, it's just something you'll naturally acquire over time.",[11,19024,19025,19026,506,19029,19032,19033,19035],{},"For example, say you're watching some random vlog on YouTube, and you see a mother embrace her young daughter and say ",[98,19027],{"lang":100,"syntax":19028},"愛[あい]しているよ",[26,19030,19031],{},"(aisiteru yo!)",". This give you a nudge in the right direction: here's one situation you ",[26,19034,1150],{}," use this word.",[50,19037],{"src":19038,"width":19039,"height":19040,"alt":19041},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-love-jp.jpeg",1810,1268,"A Japanese woman telling her daughter that she loves her.",[11,19043,19044,19045,506,19048,8737],{},"... but then you go on, watching dramas and anime, as you do, and you notice that people don't just throw 愛しているよ around like it's cheap. Instead, for the most part, when people express feelings for others, they say ",[98,19046],{"lang":100,"syntax":19047},"好き[すき]",[26,19049,19050],{},"(suki)",[50,19052],{"src":19053,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":19056},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-youtube-desktop.jpeg",2880,1800,"A screenshot of a show on YouTube, showing Migaku's ability to make subtitles interactive",[11,19058,19059,19060,506,19063,19066,19067,19070,19071,19074],{},"And you'll also see that upgraded to ",[98,19061],{"lang":100,"syntax":19062},"大好き[だいすき]",[26,19064,19065],{},"(daisuki)",", which is both a stronger version of 好き for people you ",[26,19068,19069],{},"really"," like, and also an \"I'm lovin' it\" type expression that you really like some ",[26,19072,19073],{},"thing"," .",[50,19076],{"src":19077,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":19056},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-youtube-desktop-daisuki.jpeg",[11,19079,19080],{},"You'll pick up all this stuff from simply interacting with Japanese—and Migaku gives you the support you need to begin consuming Japanese media, even if you're still pretty new to this.",[674,19082],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,19084],{},[45,19086,19087],{"id":5865},"Want to learn Japanese for real?",[11,19089,19090],{},"However you go about learning Japanese, just remember the Golden Rule of Language Learning:",[320,19092,19093],{},[11,19094,5934,19095],{},[26,19096,705],{},[11,19098,19099,19100,19102,19103,16161],{},"Learning Japanese isn't easy, but virtually all of the hurdles you encounter can be overcome simply by spending more time ",[26,19101,16160],{}," Japanese, rather than spending your time learning ",[26,19104,19105],{},"about",[11,19107,1008],{},{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":19109},[19110,19112,19117,19118,19119],{"id":18779,"depth":707,"text":19111},"好き (Suki) — The most common way to say I love you in Japanese",{"id":18830,"depth":707,"text":19113,"children":19114},"恋 (Koi) & 愛 (Ai) — More nuanced expressions of love",[19115,19116],{"id":18851,"depth":1016,"text":18852},{"id":18870,"depth":1016,"text":18871},{"id":18918,"depth":707,"text":18919},{"id":19012,"depth":707,"text":19013},{"id":5865,"depth":707,"text":19087},"Discover the meanings and nuances of Japanese kanji for love. Learn to express your feelings in Japanese authentically. Start your journey now.",{"timestampUnix":19122,"slug":19123,"h1":19124,"image":19125,"tags":19130},1718605278596,"the-japanese-kanji-for-love","Understanding Japanese Love Expressions: Suki, Koi, and Ai",{"src":19126,"width":19127,"height":19128,"alt":19129},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-love.webp",4239,2830,"A young Japanese couple embracing.",[8650,5086,1032],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-love","---\ntitle: 'Japanese Love Kanji Explained: Suki, Koi, and Ai Meanings'\ndescription: 'Discover the meanings and nuances of Japanese kanji for love. Learn to express your feelings in Japanese authentically. Start your journey now.'\ntimestampUnix: 1718605278596\nslug: 'the-japanese-kanji-for-love'\nh1: 'Understanding Japanese Love Expressions: Suki, Koi, and Ai'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-love.webp'\n width: 4239\n height: 2830\n alt: 'A young Japanese couple embracing.'\ntags:\n - culture\n - vocabulary\n - kanji\n---\n\nLove is one of the fundamental things that humans strive for in life, and it is one of our most precious emotions. Even the Beatles knew that all you need is love. However, different cultures can express this same general concept in various ways, especially in language, and Japanese is no exception. This is important. If you want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), part of that is learning Japanese culture.\n\nWhether you are trying to avoid embarrassing yourself when confessing to your sweetheart, or just looking for the right kanji for your next stylish tattoo, learning how Japanese expresses love is crucial. And as always, we've got you covered.\n\nJapanese has a multitude of words that can express love and affection, with \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"好[す]き\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"恋[こい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> and \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"愛[あい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> being the most frequently used ones. But what are the differences between those three? Let's find out.\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## 好き (Suki) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F好き.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — The most common way to say I love you in Japanese\n\n\u003Cp>\n\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"好[す]き\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> is one of the first words that most learners get to know and is also used extremely frequently. Most advanced learners should have a pretty good grasp of its meaning, but that does not mean that it can't at times lead to confusion.\nOne of the first encounters that many people have with this word is used in a confession, often in the form of a sentence like \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"君[きみ] の こと が 好[す]き だ\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (I like\u002Flove you).\nIn this context \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"好[す]き\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> often gets translated as \"love\", although this might not always be the best choice. Especially to understand the nuances and differences between すき and \"love.\"\n\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"好[す]き\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> is generally used to express a mild interest or affection, and can be used for not only people but also pets, food, hobbies, and various other things. Therefore, in most situations \"like\" is a better translation.\n\u003Cp>\n\nSo although \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"好[す]き\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> can be translated as \"love\" in some situations, it has a different feel and nuance than \"love\" does in English. When you are confessing in Japanese with a phrase like \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"君[きみ] の こと が 好[す]き だ\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>, it isn't as big of a deal because you are using \"love\" here as one would say they \"love\" pizza in English.\n\nOn the other hand, to express real love, you can use \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"愛[あい] し[,する]て いる[,居る*いる]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (_aishiteiru_), which has a completely different weight than \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"好[す]き\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> and is only used for one purpose.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FManga.webp\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"A page from a manga depicts a boy professing his feelings in Japanese, by saying 'I love you.'\" \u002F>\n\n---\n\n## 恋 (Koi) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F恋.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> & 愛 (Ai) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F愛.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — More nuanced expressions of love\n\nIn Japanese, the concepts of \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"恋[こい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (koi) and \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"愛[あい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (ai) represent different facets of love, each with distinct meanings and implications.\n\n### 恋 (Koi) is used when you're falling for someone\n\n**\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"恋[こい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (_koi_)** expresses a strong interest in someone and a desire to know more about them and get closer to them. The dictionary describes it as \"being strongly attracted to,\" \"harboring deep feelings to the point of heartache,\" and \"the affectionate feelings between a man and a woman.\" \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"恋[こい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> involves a powerful attraction and an emotional intensity that often leads to inner conflict when trying to express these feelings directly. The fear of rejection can cause hesitation, making one anxious about confessing romantic feelings. As English equivalents, \"romantic attraction\" or \"romantic feelings\" might be good ways to think about \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"恋[こい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>.\n\n### 愛 (Ai) is a deeper love, and often what 恋 (Koi) leads to\n\n**\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"愛[あい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (_ai_)**, on the other hand, is described as \"feelings of cherishing each other,\" \"feelings of caring and valuing someone,\" and \"feelings of thinking highly of someone and wanting to be devoted to them.\" Unlike \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"恋[こい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>, which is limited to romantic relationships, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"愛[あい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> encompasses a broader range of relationships, including parental love, sibling love, and love for living beings such as animals. When feeling \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"愛[あい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>, one can act without hesitation, regardless of the other person's reaction. \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"愛[あい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> is about the intention and the act of loving, often characterized by selflessness and the willingness to act for the other person's sake without expecting anything in return. The phrase \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"無償[むしょう] の 愛[あい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (_mushou no ai_) \"unconditional love\" suggests that 愛 has an unwavering quality that allows one to express feelings unconditionally.\n\nWhile dramas and novels often depict the classic progression of \"romantic attraction (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"恋[こい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>) leading to love (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"愛[あい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>),\" real-life experiences can differ, and that is perfectly acceptable. There can be as many ways of loving as there are people, each with their unique journey and expression of \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"恋[こい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> and \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"愛[あい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>.\n\n---\n\n## Common expressions of love that include 恋, 愛, and 好き\n\n\u003Ctable>\n \u003Ctr>\n \u003Cth>Reading\u003C\u002Fth>\n \u003Cth>Audio\u003C\u002Fth>\n \u003Cth>Romaji\u003C\u002Fth>\n \u003Cth>Translation\u003C\u002Fth>\n \u003C\u002Ftr>\n \u003Ctr>\n \u003Ctd>\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"恋[こい] に 落[お,おちる]ちる\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003C\u002Ftd>\n \u003Ctd>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F恋に落ちる.m4a\" :type=\"1\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\u003C\u002Ftd>\n \u003Ctd>koi ni ochiru\u003C\u002Ftd>\n \u003Ctd>to fall in love\u003C\u002Ftd>\n \u003C\u002Ftr>\n \u003Ctr>\n \u003Ctd>\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"恋[こい] する\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003C\u002Ftd>\n \u003Ctd>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F恋する.m4a\" :type=\"1\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\u003C\u002Ftd>\n \u003Ctd>koi o suru\u003C\u002Ftd>\n \u003Ctd>to love\u003C\u002Ftd>\n \u003C\u002Ftr>\n \u003Ctr>\n \u003Ctd>\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"恋人[こいびと]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003C\u002Ftd>\n \u003Ctd>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F恋人.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\u003C\u002Ftd>\n \u003Ctd>koibito\u003C\u002Ftd>\n \u003Ctd>lover\u003C\u002Ftd>\n \u003C\u002Ftr>\n \u003Ctr>\n \u003Ctd>\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"好[す]き 嫌[きら,きらい]い\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003C\u002Ftd>\n \u003Ctd>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F好き嫌い.m4a\" :type=\"1\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\u003C\u002Ftd>\n \u003Ctd>sukikirai\u003C\u002Ftd>\n \u003Ctd>likes and dislikes\u003C\u002Ftd>\n \u003C\u002Ftr>\n\u003C\u002Ftable>\n\n---\n\n## How to learn which \"love\" word to use when\n\nThis is pretty complex! We've just got \"love\" in English, but Japanese has several, and Japanese speakers use them in specific ways that don't always align with how we use \"love\" in English. _(You actually run into this problem with every single vocab word you learn, but it isn't always as obvious!)_\n\nImportantly, this isn't a problem that you need to go out of your way to solve. So long as you are regularly interacting with Japanese media, it's just something you'll naturally acquire over time.\n\nFor example, say you're watching some random vlog on YouTube, and you see a mother embrace her young daughter and say \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"愛[あい]しているよ\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> _(aisiteru yo!)_. This give you a nudge in the right direction: here's one situation you _can_ use this word.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-love-jp.jpeg\" width=\"1810\" height=\"1268\" alt=\"A Japanese woman telling her daughter that she loves her.\" \u002F>\n\n... but then you go on, watching dramas and anime, as you do, and you notice that people don't just throw 愛しているよ around like it's cheap. Instead, for the most part, when people express feelings for others, they say \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"好き[すき]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> _(suki)_:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-youtube-desktop.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot of a show on YouTube, showing Migaku's ability to make subtitles interactive\" \u002F>\n\nAnd you'll also see that upgraded to \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"大好き[だいすき]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> _(daisuki)_, which is both a stronger version of 好き for people you _really_ like, and also an \"I'm lovin' it\" type expression that you really like some _thing_ .\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-youtube-desktop-daisuki.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot of a show on YouTube, showing Migaku's ability to make subtitles interactive\" \u002F>\n\nYou'll pick up all this stuff from simply interacting with Japanese—and Migaku gives you the support you need to begin consuming Japanese media, even if you're still pretty new to this.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## Want to learn Japanese for real?\n\nHowever you go about learning Japanese, just remember the Golden Rule of Language Learning:\n\n> If you consume media you enjoy in Japanese, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. _Period._\n\nLearning Japanese isn't easy, but virtually all of the hurdles you encounter can be overcome simply by spending more time _in_ Japanese, rather than spending your time learning _about_ Japanese.\n\nGood luck, friend 🫡\n",{"title":18748,"description":19120},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-love","0lR2QsqdhpBNrRaKa_LBVWGQK5mGFg_bWnyIEyn7X-U","June 17, 2024",{"id":19138,"title":19139,"body":19140,"description":19861,"extension":717,"meta":19862,"navigation":730,"path":19872,"rawbody":19873,"seo":19874,"stem":19875,"__hash__":19876,"timestampUnix":19863,"slug":19864,"h1":19865,"image":19866,"tags":19871,"_dir":736,"timestamp":19877},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-manga.md","Learn Japanese with Manga: How Migaku’s OCR Feature Can Boost Your Reading Skills",{"type":8,"value":19141,"toc":19844},[19142,19150,19160,19166,19169,19171,19173,19177,19184,19187,19191,19194,19197,19214,19217,19224,19230,19235,19238,19241,19246,19255,19280,19283,19286,19296,19299,19302,19310,19317,19324,19327,19338,19341,19345,19348,19351,19354,19386,19404,19412,19419,19423,19430,19433,19499,19502,19506,19509,19523,19530,19560,19564,19572,19575,19578,19584,19587,19592,19595,19598,19602,19605,19608,19613,19618,19621,19624,19630,19633,19641,19644,19653,19655,19659,19662,19676,19679,19683,19690,19693,19719,19726,19730,19736,19739,19748,19757,19761,19764,19768,19774,19801,19804,19807,19826,19828,19832,19838,19841],[11,19143,19144,19147,19148,415],{},[1090,19145,19146],{},"Manga"," isn't just awesome: it's also an awesome way to ",[15,19149,18],{"href":17},[11,19151,19152,19153,19156,19157,415],{},"Whereas normal books contain very long sentences and potentially complex descriptive language, comic books skip a lot of that fluff. You ",[26,19154,19155],{},"see"," the story playing out, so the only thing you actually have to read is dialogue. It's this quality of manga that makes it an incredible resource for people trying to learn the ",[1090,19158,19159],{},"Japanese language",[11,19161,3694,19162,19165],{},[1090,19163,19164],{},"Migaku’s OCR (Optical Character Recognition) feature",", you can also start reading manga from pretty early on in your Japanese studies. More on that later.",[11,19167,19168],{},"Without further ado:",[39,19170],{},[42,19172],{},[45,19174,19176],{"id":19175},"what-is-manga","What is manga?",[11,19178,19179,19180,19183],{},"Just in case you don't know, and are too afraid to ask: ",[26,19181,19182],{},"manga"," just means Japanese-style comics.",[11,19185,19186],{},"That out of the way, let's move on to the more important question:",[45,19188,19190],{"id":19189},"why-is-manga-perfect-for-learning-japanese","Why is manga perfect for learning Japanese?",[11,19192,19193],{},"Learning a language will present you with many challenges, and the first challenge is one of patience. There's a lifetime of cool stuff just waiting for you to get your hands on once you get to the intermediate stage... but, you know, you have to get there, first.",[11,19195,19196],{},"Standing between you and all this Cool Stuff™ is:",[304,19198,19199,19204,19209],{},[307,19200,19201],{},[15,19202,19203],{"href":1199},"A few thousand vocabulary words",[307,19205,19206],{},[15,19207,19208],{"href":3817},"At least a few hundred kanji",[307,19210,19211],{},[15,19212,19213],{"href":1986},"A bunch of grammar, such as Japanese's \"particles\"",[11,19215,19216],{},"And you're going to get through all that—don't get me wrong, I have nothing but the utmost confidence in you—but it's going to take time. And effort. And it's not always gonna be a whole lot of fun.",[11,19218,19219,19220,19223],{},"And ",[26,19221,19222],{},"that's"," why manga is so great.",[11,19225,19226,19227,415],{},"Manga has ",[26,19228,19229],{},"pictures",[11,19231,19232,415],{},[26,19233,19234],{},"Pictures",[11,19236,19237],{},"To explain why that's such a big deal, just take a moment to admire this opening scene from Crystal Knights, a manga created especially for beginning Japanese learners that we're going to talk about a little bit later on in the article.",[11,19239,19240],{},"Here it is:",[50,19242],{"src":19243,"width":1998,"height":19244,"alt":19245},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-crystal-knights-intro.jpeg",1148,"A landscape shot of a burgeoning medieval city.",[11,19247,19248,19249,19251,19252,19254],{},"Like—you can just ",[26,19250,19155],{}," that. You don't need to do any work. You don't need to read an entire paragraph about a burgeoning medieval city scape, a dirt road lined with houses adorned with thatched roofs, the spired castle looming in the distance. You just get to ",[26,19253,19155],{}," that, appreciate it, and get on with the story.",[8421,19256,19258,19260,19265,19268,19271,19274,19277],{"heading":19257},"an entire paragraph about a burgeoning medieval city scape...",[292,19259],{},[11,19261,11127,19262,3892],{},[6474,19263,19264],{},"If this were a book, you'd have to read something like this:",[11,19266,19267],{},"Lo! Before thine eyes unfolds a vision most splendid, a city nestled amidst the rolling embrace of verdant hills and ancient, watchful mountains. This town, with rooftops peaked and timbered walls painted in stark patterns of dark and light, whispers tales of bustling merchants and the laughter of children at play. Cobblestone streets twist like the tendrils of an old vine, weaving between homes and halls where the forge’s hammer rings and the baker’s oven sighs out its warm, yeasty breath.",[11,19269,19270],{},"Look there! A grand tower rises, its steeple crowned by a solemn clock, its face an unblinking eye that keeps watch over the town's heart. Beside it, domes of copper and stone glisten like the scales of a dragon, whispering secrets of scholars who ponder beneath their hallowed roofs. Further still, spires pierce the heavens, pointing skyward as if to beckon the gods' favor upon this bustling haven.",[11,19272,19273],{},"In the distance, a mighty castle, cut from stone as old as the mountains themselves, stands sentinel with banners that flutter like the wings of a hawk, proud and vigilant. Its presence looms over all, a reminder of lords and warriors who once kept the peace with steely resolve and a shout of defiance.",[11,19275,19276],{},"And here below, within this labyrinth of man’s making, the life of the town pulses. Figures roam the winding paths—merchants, beggars, knights with their crested helms. The song of life rings out, woven with the clinking of coin, the creak of cart wheels, and the distant song of the minstrel strumming his lute by the tavern's warm fire.",[11,19278,19279],{},"This is a place where tales are spun, where swords are drawn against lurking shadows, and where the heartbeat of hope thunders beneath the eaves and flags of this storied place.",[11,19281,19282],{},"As a beginner, this gives you a major leg up.",[11,19284,19285],{},"There's a massive amount of knowledge that stands between you and fluent Japanese. I started learning Japanese ten years ago, and I'm still not done.",[11,19287,19288,19289,19292,19293,19295],{},"The thing is—and this is going to sound obvious—you're much closer to mastering any one ",[26,19290,19291],{},"part"," of Japanese than you are to mastering ",[26,19294,2006],{}," of Japanese.",[11,19297,19298],{},"If you make smart choices about what you learn and how you practice Japanese, you're realistically just months away from being able to do that first cool thing in Japanese—even if you're a total beginner right now.",[11,19300,19301],{},"Manga would be a great first smart choice to make.",[320,19303,19304],{},[11,19305,19306,19309],{},[1090,19307,19308],{},"Key point",": The illustrated nature of manga lets you enjoy stories without needing to know everything there is to know about Japanese. Put differently, manga lets you ignore (temporarily) everything about Japanese that isn't dialogue coming out of a character's mouth.",[45,19311,19313,19314],{"id":19312},"how-to-learn-from-manga-manga-recs","How to learn from manga ",[26,19315,19316],{},"(+manga recs)",[11,19318,19319,19320,19323],{},"Learning Japanese isn't ",[26,19321,19322],{},"easy",", but it is pretty simple.",[11,19325,19326],{},"It boils down to three basic steps:",[344,19328,19329,19332,19335],{},[307,19330,19331],{},"Consuming content (preferably things we enjoy)",[307,19333,19334],{},"Understanding the sentences and messages within that content",[307,19336,19337],{},"Taking steps to learn the accessible or useful words and sentence structures within that content",[11,19339,19340],{},"And now let's talk about each of those steps within the context of manga.",[847,19342,19344],{"id":19343},"_1-pick-a-manga-suitable-for-beginners-learning-japanese","1. Pick a manga suitable for beginners learning Japanese",[11,19346,19347],{},"If you're stubborn and willing to make heavy use of Google, you can ignore this section and just pick something you find interesting.",[11,19349,19350],{},"For everybody else, I recommend starting with a manga from the slice-of-life genre. This is the genre of everyday stories and thus contains sentence structures and vocabulary that come up in everyday life. This greatly limits the scope of vocabulary you'll encounter, and that's helpful when you're just starting out and don't know many words yet.",[11,19352,19353],{},"Here are a few tried-and-true recommendations:",[304,19355,19356,19366,19376],{},[307,19357,19358,19365],{},[1090,19359,19360],{},[15,19361,19364],{"href":19362,"rel":19363},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FYotsuba%26!",[971],"Yotsuba&!",": A story about the everyday adventures of Yotsuba, a young girl, and her father. It uses simple language and revolves around daily life situations.",[307,19367,19368,19375],{},[1090,19369,19370],{},[15,19371,19374],{"href":19372,"rel":19373},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FPolar_Bear_Caf%C3%A9",[971],"Shirokuma Cafe",": A light-hearted and easy to follow manga about a polar bear who runs a cafe. It contains very dry humor.",[307,19377,19378,19385],{},[1090,19379,19380],{},[15,19381,19384],{"href":19382,"rel":19383},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FDoraemon",[971],"Doraemon",": A classic manga that's both entertaining and simple, with plenty of repetitive vocabulary and grammar patterns to reinforce learning.",[11,19387,19388,19389,19394,19395,19403],{},"And I'll also toss in ",[15,19390,19393],{"href":19391,"rel":19392},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pixiv.net\u002Fen\u002Fartworks\u002F80075613",[971],"Crystal Hunters"," as an editor's choice. It's a fantasy manga that was intentionally written for beginners of Japanese. The first book contains only 87 unique words, and you can read the first book completely for free. Subsequent books get progressively harder. ",[26,19396,19397,19398],{},"(Crystal Hunters also has ",[15,19399,19402],{"href":19400,"rel":19401},"https:\u002F\u002Fcrystalhuntersmanga.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2024\u002F05\u002Fjapanese-learning-guide-book-1-v13.pdf",[971],"a free guide that teaches you all the Japanese you need to know to read it",".)",[320,19405,19406],{},[11,19407,19408,19411],{},[1090,19409,19410],{},"†Heads up",": The first manga you pick, no matter what it is, is going to be the hardest thing you read. Hang in there. It'll get easier as you go.",[11,19413,19414,19415,19418],{},"We talk about this in more detail in our blog post on ",[15,19416,19417],{"href":1199},"learning Japanese vocabulary",", but the reason for †this is that different genres have different key vocabulary words and different authors have different styles. The first manga book you read will hit you with a barrage of new vocab and sentence structures, but as you read more, you'll learn the key words and generally acclimate. Before long, reading manga will be a primarily enjoyable activity.",[847,19420,19422],{"id":19421},"_2-read-your-manga-with-ocr-software","2. Read your manga with OCR software",[11,19424,19425,19426,19429],{},"OCR stands for ",[26,19427,19428],{},"optical character recognition",", and it basically serves to detect text inside of images so that the text can be copied. This is useful for language learners because OCR'ing text is much faster than typing the Japanese out by yourself, especially if you don't know how to read a particular kanji. (You don't even wanna know how many hours of life I wasted scribbling out unknown kanji by hand...).",[11,19431,19432],{},"Here are a few OCR recommendations for you:",[304,19434,19435,19446,19457,19474,19482,19493],{},[307,19436,19437,19440,19441],{},[1090,19438,19439],{},"Mac (free)"," — Safari has a built-in OCR feature. ",[15,19442,19445],{"href":19443,"rel":19444},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.apple.com\u002Fguide\u002Fsafari\u002Finteract-with-text-in-a-picture-ibrw20183ad7\u002Fmac",[971],"Here's how to use it",[307,19447,19448,10768,19451,19456],{},[1090,19449,19450],{},"Mac (paid)",[15,19452,19455],{"href":19453,"rel":19454},"https:\u002F\u002Ftextsniper.app\u002F",[971],"Text Sniper"," is a one-time $7.99 purchase that can be bound to a hotkey. I use it and personally love it.",[307,19458,19459,10768,19462,19467,19468,19473],{},[1090,19460,19461],{},"Windows (free)",[15,19463,19466],{"href":19464,"rel":19465},"https:\u002F\u002Fgithub.com\u002Fmatt-m-o\u002FYomiNinja",[971],"YomiNinja"," is free and open-source, but will require some know-how to set up. Some users in our community also recommend ",[15,19469,19472],{"href":19470,"rel":19471},"https:\u002F\u002Fgithub.com\u002Frtr46\u002Fmeikipop",[971],"MeikiPop",", but I have not personally used it to vouch for it.",[307,19475,19476,3882,19479,3892],{},[1090,19477,19478],{},"Windows (paid)",[26,19480,19481],{},"I will update this after finding a good product to recommend.",[307,19483,19484,10768,19487,19492],{},[1090,19485,19486],{},"No download required",[15,19488,19491],{"href":19489,"rel":19490},"https:\u002F\u002Fchromewebstore.google.com\u002Fdetail\u002Fcopyfish-%F0%9F%90%9F-free-ocr-soft\u002Feenjdnjldapjajjofmldgmkjaienebbj?hl=en",[971],"CopyFish"," is a free plug-and-play extension from the Chrome Webstore. It's a bit finnicky, but gets the job done.",[307,19494,19495,19498],{},[1090,19496,19497],{},"ChatGPT"," — ChatGPT now lets you paste images into the prompt bar. Simply take a screenshot of your manga, paste it into ChatGPT, and then ask it to list out and explain any Japanese text it detects.",[11,19500,19501],{},"Once you've got that set up, you can do things like this:",[50,19503],{"src":19504,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":19505},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-crystal-hunters-clipboard.jpeg","A demonstration of how to read manga using an OCR software and Migaku's clipboard.",[11,19507,19508],{},"Here's what you're looking at:",[344,19510,19511,19514,19517,19520],{},[307,19512,19513],{},"I've opened a manga (Crystal Hunters) on the left side of my screen, and Migaku's \"Clipboard\" feature on the right side of my screen",[307,19515,19516],{},"I've used Text Sniper to capture all of the text in the text bubbles on this page",[307,19518,19519],{},"Migaku automatically took the text from my system clipboard and pasted it into the Migaku Clipboard",[307,19521,19522],{},"I've clicked on the word わかった and Migaku has shown me a definition of what it means",[11,19524,19525,19526,19529],{},"If you don't have Migaku, you can instead just paste your text selections into an online dictionary like ",[15,19527,11836],{"href":11815,"rel":19528},[971],". It's not quite as convenient, but, again, it works.",[8421,19531,19533,19536,19539,19550,19553,19557],{"heading":19532},"Also: an OCR that can be used with physical manga books",[11,19534,19535],{},"Kind of niche, so I've tucked it away, but Migaku actually has a special OCR feature built into its mobile application.",[11,19537,19538],{},"To access Migaku's OCR:",[344,19540,19541,19544,19547],{},[307,19542,19543],{},"Launch the Migaku app",[307,19545,19546],{},"Click the \"profile\" button in the top-left corner",[307,19548,19549],{},"Click \"capture\"",[11,19551,19552],{},"You can now take pictures of manga—whether it's a digital version on your computer screen or a physical book in your hands. For example:",[50,19554],{"src":19555,"width":1241,"height":13080,"alt":19556},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-manga-ocr.jpeg","A demonstration of Migaku's mobile OCR feature",[11,19558,19559],{},"After taking your photo, Migaku will highlight any detected words. Long press on them to bring up a dictionary entry. Here, I've clicked on わかった.",[847,19561,19563],{"id":19562},"_3-make-flashcards-out-of-useful-words","3. Make flashcards out of useful words",[11,19565,19566,19567,415],{},"I'm going to make a bold statement here: ",[15,19568,19571],{"href":19569,"rel":19570},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FForgetting_curve",[971],"you don't have a bad memory",[11,19573,19574],{},"Humans, by nature, forget. That's a good thing. If you didn't forget, you'd remember things like how many ceiling tiles were in your 2nd grade classroom or all the days the lunch lady gave your classmate Doug more tater tots than she gave you. That would drive anybody crazy.",[11,19576,19577],{},"To avoid going crazy, your brain regularly gets rid of memories that aren't sufficiently succulent: things that don't seem useful; things that don't stimulate you, shock you, or otherwise move you; and, well, most things.",[11,19579,19580,19581,19583],{},"Thankfully, we can largely resolve this memory issue by just periodically reviewing information. If you try to remember something several times, your brain will eventually figure out that you feel you ",[26,19582,11731],{}," that little bit of trivia. If you review it at gradually increasing intervals—2 days, 4 days, a week, 2 weeks, a month, two months, etc.—you'll eventually commit that thing into your long-term memory.",[11,19585,19586],{},"Any flashcards are better than none, but this is one of Migaku's specialties.",[320,19588,19589],{},[11,19590,19591],{},"Migaku makes it really easy to create flashcards.",[11,19593,19594],{},"Do me a favor and look at that picture from the above section again. See the orange button in the mid-right portion of the screen?",[11,19596,19597],{},"Here's what happens when you click it.",[50,19599],{"src":19600,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":19601},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-card-creator-manga.jpeg","A demonstration of Migaku's card creation feature",[11,19603,19604],{},"The word I've clicked on has been transferred to Migaku's Card Creator. If this was a longer sentence, Migaku would also grab the sentence that the word appeared in. On the left-hand side of the screen there are dictionary entries I can copy, and then Migaku generates a high-quality audio recording of your selected word and the sentence it came from.",[11,19606,19607],{},"I've also taken a screenshot of the manga episode and added it to the flashcard, which you can see in the next photo.",[11,19609,11127,19610,3892],{},[26,19611,19612],{},"Note: This took several paragraphs of text to explain, but the full process only takes a few clicks. Once you're up and running, you can make flashcards faster than you can sneeze.",[320,19614,19615],{},[11,19616,19617],{},"Migaku uses your flashcards to curate a personal learning plan",[11,19619,19620],{},"When you open the Migaku mobile app, you'll see a deck (called \"mining\" by default) which contains all of the flashcards you've made with Migaku. Clicking on the deck will open an algorithm-curated study session.",[11,19622,19623],{},"In the study session, you'll see several flashcards. Here's the one we created in the above section:",[50,19625],{"src":19626,"width":19627,"height":19628,"alt":19629},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-flashcard-manga.jpeg",1126,1050,"A sample flashcard created with Migaku",[11,19631,19632],{},"Migaku will show you the front of the card, and your job is to see if you remember what the word means. When you're done, tap the screen to flip the card over, then indicate that you remembered (√) or that you didn't remember (X).",[304,19634,19635,19638],{},[307,19636,19637],{},"If you regularly get the card correct (you remember the word), you'll be asked to review it less often",[307,19639,19640],{},"If you regularly get the card incorrect (you forget the word), you'll be asked to review it more often",[11,19642,19643],{},"Based on your feedback, Migaku will automatically schedule the flashcards you studied today for review in the future. Each day you open Migaku Memory you'll be presented with a list of flashcards that our algorithm has determined you are about to forget, and should thus review. This filtering process ensures that more of your review time goes to the things you struggle with, and that less of your review time is wasted on things you know well.",[11,19645,11127,19646,3892],{},[26,19647,19648,19649,19652],{},"Note: While Migaku makes this process very easy, you can create similar flashcards with an open-source service called ",[15,19650,11775],{"href":11774,"rel":19651},[971],". It has a learning curve and isn't as convenient, but it's free and very customizable.",[674,19654],{"href":17,"text":676},[45,19656,19658],{"id":19657},"how-to-choose-the-right-manga-for-your-skill-level","How to choose the right manga for your skill level",[11,19660,19661],{},"This is hard to give a concrete answer to. It's very subjective, and largely boils down to three factors:",[344,19663,19664,19667,19670],{},[307,19665,19666],{},"How much it bothers you when you don't quite understand something",[307,19668,19669],{},"How willing you are to look things up on Google",[307,19671,19672,19673],{},"Your reading setup ",[26,19674,19675],{},"(does looking up words take a single click, or does it take 3 minutes digging through a physical dictionary?)",[11,19677,19678],{},"Everybody will have a slightly different threshold of \"acceptable\" difficulty depending on their answers to those three questions.",[847,19680,19682],{"id":19681},"for-your-first-manga","For your first manga",[11,19684,19685,19686,19689],{},"First, be patient. One of the biggest hurdles you have to get over in terms of consuming Japanese content is simply getting your foot in the door. More content will become available to you as your level improves, but it can be hard to find a good ",[26,19687,19688],{},"first"," series to read.",[11,19691,19692],{},"Here are the rules of thumb that I personally follow:",[304,19694,19695,19701,19707,19713],{},[307,19696,19697,19700],{},[1090,19698,19699],{},"Pass the vibe check",": You likely won't find something you absolutely love, but try to pick something you at least find somewhat interesting.",[307,19702,19703,19706],{},[1090,19704,19705],{},"Check vocabulary density",": Skim the first few pages and look for unknown words. If you're reading with Migaku, it's OK to have a couple unknown words per speech bubble. Looking them up literally just takes a second. If you're not using any tools, be more strict. My personal cutoff is 4 unknown words per page.",[307,19708,19709,19712],{},[1090,19710,19711],{},"Stick to simple genres",": As mentioned, slice-of-life manga feature everyday conversations and ordinary situations. This makes them easier to read than some other genres. I recommend reading a slice-of-life series first to acclimate to Japanese, and then branching out for your 2nd or 3rd series.",[307,19714,19715,19718],{},[1090,19716,19717],{},"Use tools like Migaku",": If you're spending more than a few minutes per page looking up words, kanji, or grammar points, Migaku will greatly improve your quality of life.",[11,19720,19721,19722,19725],{},"Chances are, you're going to find a lot of cool stuff that you'd love to read... but it's a little too hard to read ",[26,19723,19724],{},"now",". That's OK. Add them to your \"to read\" list and move on to a simpler series. Rather than struggling through one very difficult manga, you're better off reading several simpler ones. By the time you've read through five or six books of manga, something that initially looked difficult may very well have become doable!",[847,19727,19729],{"id":19728},"for-your-next-several-manga","For your next several manga",[11,19731,19732,19733,19735],{},"First, congratulations. You've reached what is, in my opinion, the coolest part of learning Japanese. You've now demonstrated to yourself that you ",[26,19734,1150],{}," understand Japanese, and you've got a huge list of stuff you want to read. It's an exciting time.",[11,19737,19738],{},"If you enjoyed the first manga you read, continue on with the series. It will get easier as you go, now that you're familiar with the author's style and the manga's key vocab words. From there, you can look into other series by the same author or publisher.",[11,19740,19741,19742,19747],{},"If you're ready to move on, search the name of the manga you read on ",[15,19743,19746],{"href":19744,"rel":19745},"https:\u002F\u002Flearnnatively.com",[971],"Natively",", a platform that organizes Japanese books, manga, anime, and more by difficulty. There are several practical and social aspects of the site, but for now I want to focus on the \"Grading\" section of each listing.",[11,19749,19750,19751,19756],{},"For example, if you chose to read Yotsuba&!, here's what you'd see in ",[15,19752,19755],{"href":19753,"rel":19754},"https:\u002F\u002Flearnnatively.com\u002Fbook\u002F830efb7474\u002F",[971],"the Grading section for the first book"," in the series:",[50,19758],{"src":19759,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":19760},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-natively-manga.jpeg","A screenshot of the website Natively's listing for the manga Yotsuba&! ",[11,19762,19763],{},"Depending on how you felt about Yotsuba&!, then, you can easily find manga that's easier, harder, or similar in difficulty based on the community's perception. This makes it easy to pick a \"next\" manga that's a better fit for your level.",[45,19765,19767],{"id":19766},"some-challenges-youll-face-when-reading-manga-in-japanese","Some challenges you'll face when reading manga in Japanese",[11,19769,19770,19771,19773],{},"Reading manga in Japanese is an excellent way to way to get practical exposure in the language, even as a beginner, but it ",[26,19772,12250],{}," present a few challenges for you to overcome.",[304,19775,19776,19782,19788],{},[307,19777,19778,19781],{},[1090,19779,19780],{},"Casual Language",": The way we write is different than the way we speak, and this is also true in Japanese. Many words and verb forms have contracted forms that you may not encounter in a textbook.",[307,19783,19784,19787],{},[1090,19785,19786],{},"Fragmented sentences",": We don't really speak in complete sentences. We jump about, trail off, and sometimes make sudden changes in direction. Manga language is \"messier\" than what you'd see in a textbook or book.",[307,19789,19790,19792,19793,19796,19797,19800],{},[1090,19791,82],{},": Manga aimed at younger audiences will include ",[15,19794,11309],{"href":11308,"rel":19795},[971],": little hiragana characters above a kanji which show how it should be pronounced. Most manga (and Japanese content in general) ",[26,19798,19799],{},"doesn't"," have furigana.",[11,19802,19803],{},"If you're using Migaku, simply click on a confusing word and our AI will breakdown each part of the sentence for you.",[11,19805,19806],{},"If you're reading on your own, try:",[304,19808,19809,19812,19815],{},[307,19810,19811],{},"Copy\u002Fpasting the thing that's confusing you into ChatGPT and ask for an explanation",[307,19813,19814],{},"Google the thing that's confusing you, and look for hits from Reddit, Hinative, or StackExchange (three websites where other learners may have already asked the same question)",[307,19816,19817,19818],{},"Google \"{thing that's confusing you} 意味\"\n",[304,19819,19820],{},[307,19821,19822,19823,19825],{},"意味 (いみ) means ",[26,19824,4490],{}," in Japanese, so this will give you results from Japanese people. In my experience, Japanese blog posts often do a better job of explaining the nuance of a particular word\u002Fgrammar point than English ones do.",[42,19827],{},[847,19829,19831],{"id":19830},"key-takeaways","Key Takeaways:",[11,19833,19834,19835,19837],{},"Manga is a fun and effective way to ",[1090,19836,18],{},"! The focus on dialogue and the context provided by its illustrations make manga more accessible than other types of content, such as books or TV shows.",[11,19839,19840],{},"If you're not sure where to start, we recommend a slice-of-life manga like Yotsuba&! or Doraemon—and using tools like Migaku that streamline the process of looking unknown words up.",[11,19842,19843],{},"Good luck!",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":19845},[19846,19847,19848,19854,19858],{"id":19175,"depth":707,"text":19176},{"id":19189,"depth":707,"text":19190},{"id":19312,"depth":707,"text":19849,"children":19850},"How to learn from manga (+manga recs)",[19851,19852,19853],{"id":19343,"depth":1016,"text":19344},{"id":19421,"depth":1016,"text":19422},{"id":19562,"depth":1016,"text":19563},{"id":19657,"depth":707,"text":19658,"children":19855},[19856,19857],{"id":19681,"depth":1016,"text":19682},{"id":19728,"depth":1016,"text":19729},{"id":19766,"depth":707,"text":19767,"children":19859},[19860],{"id":19830,"depth":1016,"text":19831},"Discover how you can learn Japanese with manga using Migaku’s OCR feature. Easily look up kanji, create flashcards, and build your vocabulary while enjoying your favorite manga. Perfect for beginners looking to improve their Japanese reading skills.",{"timestampUnix":19863,"slug":19864,"h1":19865,"image":19866,"tags":19871},1732072682525,"learn-japanese-with-manga","Learn Japanese with Manga: How to Use Migaku’s OCR to Boost Your Reading Skills",{"src":19867,"width":19868,"height":19869,"alt":19870},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-manga-gracia-dharma-unsplash.jpeg",4608,3856,"A photo of someone pinning pictures of manga characters onto their bedroom wall.",[4107,8649],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-manga","---\ntitle: 'Learn Japanese with Manga: How Migaku’s OCR Feature Can Boost Your Reading Skills'\ndescription: 'Discover how you can learn Japanese with manga using Migaku’s OCR feature. Easily look up kanji, create flashcards, and build your vocabulary while enjoying your favorite manga. Perfect for beginners looking to improve their Japanese reading skills.'\ntimestampUnix: 1732072682525\nslug: 'learn-japanese-with-manga'\nh1: 'Learn Japanese with Manga: How to Use Migaku’s OCR to Boost Your Reading Skills'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-manga-gracia-dharma-unsplash.jpeg'\n width: 4608\n height: 3856\n alt: 'A photo of someone pinning pictures of manga characters onto their bedroom wall.'\ntags:\n - resources\n - discussion\n---\n\n**Manga** isn't just awesome: it's also an awesome way to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese).\n\nWhereas normal books contain very long sentences and potentially complex descriptive language, comic books skip a lot of that fluff. You _see_ the story playing out, so the only thing you actually have to read is dialogue. It's this quality of manga that makes it an incredible resource for people trying to learn the **Japanese language**.\n\nWith **Migaku’s OCR (Optical Character Recognition) feature**, you can also start reading manga from pretty early on in your Japanese studies. More on that later.\n\nWithout further ado:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## What is manga?\n\nJust in case you don't know, and are too afraid to ask: _manga_ just means Japanese-style comics.\n\nThat out of the way, let's move on to the more important question:\n\n## Why is manga perfect for learning Japanese?\n\nLearning a language will present you with many challenges, and the first challenge is one of patience. There's a lifetime of cool stuff just waiting for you to get your hands on once you get to the intermediate stage... but, you know, you have to get there, first.\n\nStanding between you and all this Cool Stuff™ is:\n\n- [A few thousand vocabulary words](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary)\n- [At least a few hundred kanji](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-kanji)\n- [A bunch of grammar, such as Japanese's \"particles\"](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles-guide)\n\nAnd you're going to get through all that—don't get me wrong, I have nothing but the utmost confidence in you—but it's going to take time. And effort. And it's not always gonna be a whole lot of fun.\n\nAnd _that's_ why manga is so great.\n\nManga has _pictures_.\n\n_Pictures_.\n\nTo explain why that's such a big deal, just take a moment to admire this opening scene from Crystal Knights, a manga created especially for beginning Japanese learners that we're going to talk about a little bit later on in the article.\n\nHere it is:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-crystal-knights-intro.jpeg\" width=\"1280\" height=\"1148\" alt=\"A landscape shot of a burgeoning medieval city.\" \u002F>\n\nLike—you can just _see_ that. You don't need to do any work. You don't need to read an entire paragraph about a burgeoning medieval city scape, a dirt road lined with houses adorned with thatched roofs, the spired castle looming in the distance. You just get to _see_ that, appreciate it, and get on with the story.\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"an entire paragraph about a burgeoning medieval city scape...\">\n\n\u003Cbr>\n\n(\u003Ci>If this were a book, you'd have to read something like this:\u003C\u002Fi>)\n\nLo! Before thine eyes unfolds a vision most splendid, a city nestled amidst the rolling embrace of verdant hills and ancient, watchful mountains. This town, with rooftops peaked and timbered walls painted in stark patterns of dark and light, whispers tales of bustling merchants and the laughter of children at play. Cobblestone streets twist like the tendrils of an old vine, weaving between homes and halls where the forge’s hammer rings and the baker’s oven sighs out its warm, yeasty breath.\n\nLook there! A grand tower rises, its steeple crowned by a solemn clock, its face an unblinking eye that keeps watch over the town's heart. Beside it, domes of copper and stone glisten like the scales of a dragon, whispering secrets of scholars who ponder beneath their hallowed roofs. Further still, spires pierce the heavens, pointing skyward as if to beckon the gods' favor upon this bustling haven.\n\nIn the distance, a mighty castle, cut from stone as old as the mountains themselves, stands sentinel with banners that flutter like the wings of a hawk, proud and vigilant. Its presence looms over all, a reminder of lords and warriors who once kept the peace with steely resolve and a shout of defiance.\n\nAnd here below, within this labyrinth of man’s making, the life of the town pulses. Figures roam the winding paths—merchants, beggars, knights with their crested helms. The song of life rings out, woven with the clinking of coin, the creak of cart wheels, and the distant song of the minstrel strumming his lute by the tavern's warm fire.\n\nThis is a place where tales are spun, where swords are drawn against lurking shadows, and where the heartbeat of hope thunders beneath the eaves and flags of this storied place.\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\nAs a beginner, this gives you a major leg up.\n\nThere's a massive amount of knowledge that stands between you and fluent Japanese. I started learning Japanese ten years ago, and I'm still not done.\n\nThe thing is—and this is going to sound obvious—you're much closer to mastering any one _part_ of Japanese than you are to mastering _all_ of Japanese.\n\nIf you make smart choices about what you learn and how you practice Japanese, you're realistically just months away from being able to do that first cool thing in Japanese—even if you're a total beginner right now.\n\nManga would be a great first smart choice to make.\n\n> **Key point**: The illustrated nature of manga lets you enjoy stories without needing to know everything there is to know about Japanese. Put differently, manga lets you ignore (temporarily) everything about Japanese that isn't dialogue coming out of a character's mouth.\n\n## How to learn from manga _(+manga recs)_\n\nLearning Japanese isn't _easy_, but it is pretty simple.\n\nIt boils down to three basic steps:\n\n1. Consuming content (preferably things we enjoy)\n2. Understanding the sentences and messages within that content\n3. Taking steps to learn the accessible or useful words and sentence structures within that content\n\nAnd now let's talk about each of those steps within the context of manga.\n\n### 1. Pick a manga suitable for beginners learning Japanese\n\nIf you're stubborn and willing to make heavy use of Google, you can ignore this section and just pick something you find interesting.\n\nFor everybody else, I recommend starting with a manga from the slice-of-life genre. This is the genre of everyday stories and thus contains sentence structures and vocabulary that come up in everyday life. This greatly limits the scope of vocabulary you'll encounter, and that's helpful when you're just starting out and don't know many words yet.\n\nHere are a few tried-and-true recommendations:\n\n- **[Yotsuba&!](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FYotsuba%26!)**: A story about the everyday adventures of Yotsuba, a young girl, and her father. It uses simple language and revolves around daily life situations.\n- **[Shirokuma Cafe](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FPolar_Bear_Caf%C3%A9)**: A light-hearted and easy to follow manga about a polar bear who runs a cafe. It contains very dry humor.\n- **[Doraemon](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FDoraemon)**: A classic manga that's both entertaining and simple, with plenty of repetitive vocabulary and grammar patterns to reinforce learning.\n\nAnd I'll also toss in [Crystal Hunters](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.pixiv.net\u002Fen\u002Fartworks\u002F80075613) as an editor's choice. It's a fantasy manga that was intentionally written for beginners of Japanese. The first book contains only 87 unique words, and you can read the first book completely for free. Subsequent books get progressively harder. _(Crystal Hunters also has [a free guide that teaches you all the Japanese you need to know to read it](https:\u002F\u002Fcrystalhuntersmanga.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2024\u002F05\u002Fjapanese-learning-guide-book-1-v13.pdf)_.)\n\n> **†Heads up**: The first manga you pick, no matter what it is, is going to be the hardest thing you read. Hang in there. It'll get easier as you go.\n\nWe talk about this in more detail in our blog post on [learning Japanese vocabulary](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary), but the reason for †this is that different genres have different key vocabulary words and different authors have different styles. The first manga book you read will hit you with a barrage of new vocab and sentence structures, but as you read more, you'll learn the key words and generally acclimate. Before long, reading manga will be a primarily enjoyable activity.\n\n### 2. Read your manga with OCR software\n\nOCR stands for _optical character recognition_, and it basically serves to detect text inside of images so that the text can be copied. This is useful for language learners because OCR'ing text is much faster than typing the Japanese out by yourself, especially if you don't know how to read a particular kanji. (You don't even wanna know how many hours of life I wasted scribbling out unknown kanji by hand...).\n\nHere are a few OCR recommendations for you:\n\n- **Mac (free)** — Safari has a built-in OCR feature. [Here's how to use it](https:\u002F\u002Fsupport.apple.com\u002Fguide\u002Fsafari\u002Finteract-with-text-in-a-picture-ibrw20183ad7\u002Fmac)\n- **Mac (paid)** — [Text Sniper](https:\u002F\u002Ftextsniper.app\u002F) is a one-time $7.99 purchase that can be bound to a hotkey. I use it and personally love it.\n- **Windows (free)** — [YomiNinja](https:\u002F\u002Fgithub.com\u002Fmatt-m-o\u002FYomiNinja) is free and open-source, but will require some know-how to set up. Some users in our community also recommend [MeikiPop](https:\u002F\u002Fgithub.com\u002Frtr46\u002Fmeikipop), but I have not personally used it to vouch for it.\n- **Windows (paid)** — (_I will update this after finding a good product to recommend._)\n- **No download required** — [CopyFish](https:\u002F\u002Fchromewebstore.google.com\u002Fdetail\u002Fcopyfish-%F0%9F%90%9F-free-ocr-soft\u002Feenjdnjldapjajjofmldgmkjaienebbj?hl=en) is a free plug-and-play extension from the Chrome Webstore. It's a bit finnicky, but gets the job done.\n- **ChatGPT** — ChatGPT now lets you paste images into the prompt bar. Simply take a screenshot of your manga, paste it into ChatGPT, and then ask it to list out and explain any Japanese text it detects.\n\nOnce you've got that set up, you can do things like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-crystal-hunters-clipboard.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A demonstration of how to read manga using an OCR software and Migaku's clipboard.\" \u002F>\n\nHere's what you're looking at:\n\n1. I've opened a manga (Crystal Hunters) on the left side of my screen, and Migaku's \"Clipboard\" feature on the right side of my screen\n2. I've used Text Sniper to capture all of the text in the text bubbles on this page\n3. Migaku automatically took the text from my system clipboard and pasted it into the Migaku Clipboard\n4. I've clicked on the word わかった and Migaku has shown me a definition of what it means\n\nIf you don't have Migaku, you can instead just paste your text selections into an online dictionary like [Jisho](https:\u002F\u002Fjisho.org\u002F). It's not quite as convenient, but, again, it works.\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"Also: an OCR that can be used with physical manga books\">\n\nKind of niche, so I've tucked it away, but Migaku actually has a special OCR feature built into its mobile application.\n\nTo access Migaku's OCR:\n\n1. Launch the Migaku app\n2. Click the \"profile\" button in the top-left corner\n3. Click \"capture\"\n\nYou can now take pictures of manga—whether it's a digital version on your computer screen or a physical book in your hands. For example:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-manga-ocr.jpeg\" width=\"828\" height=\"1792\" alt=\"A demonstration of Migaku's mobile OCR feature\" \u002F>\n\nAfter taking your photo, Migaku will highlight any detected words. Long press on them to bring up a dictionary entry. Here, I've clicked on わかった.\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n### 3. Make flashcards out of useful words\n\nI'm going to make a bold statement here: [you don't have a bad memory](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FForgetting_curve).\n\nHumans, by nature, forget. That's a good thing. If you didn't forget, you'd remember things like how many ceiling tiles were in your 2nd grade classroom or all the days the lunch lady gave your classmate Doug more tater tots than she gave you. That would drive anybody crazy.\n\nTo avoid going crazy, your brain regularly gets rid of memories that aren't sufficiently succulent: things that don't seem useful; things that don't stimulate you, shock you, or otherwise move you; and, well, most things.\n\nThankfully, we can largely resolve this memory issue by just periodically reviewing information. If you try to remember something several times, your brain will eventually figure out that you feel you _need_ that little bit of trivia. If you review it at gradually increasing intervals—2 days, 4 days, a week, 2 weeks, a month, two months, etc.—you'll eventually commit that thing into your long-term memory.\n\nAny flashcards are better than none, but this is one of Migaku's specialties.\n\n> Migaku makes it really easy to create flashcards.\n\nDo me a favor and look at that picture from the above section again. See the orange button in the mid-right portion of the screen?\n\nHere's what happens when you click it.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-card-creator-manga.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A demonstration of Migaku's card creation feature\" \u002F>\n\nThe word I've clicked on has been transferred to Migaku's Card Creator. If this was a longer sentence, Migaku would also grab the sentence that the word appeared in. On the left-hand side of the screen there are dictionary entries I can copy, and then Migaku generates a high-quality audio recording of your selected word and the sentence it came from.\n\nI've also taken a screenshot of the manga episode and added it to the flashcard, which you can see in the next photo.\n\n(_Note: This took several paragraphs of text to explain, but the full process only takes a few clicks. Once you're up and running, you can make flashcards faster than you can sneeze._)\n\n> Migaku uses your flashcards to curate a personal learning plan\n\nWhen you open the Migaku mobile app, you'll see a deck (called \"mining\" by default) which contains all of the flashcards you've made with Migaku. Clicking on the deck will open an algorithm-curated study session.\n\nIn the study session, you'll see several flashcards. Here's the one we created in the above section:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-flashcard-manga.jpeg\" width=\"1126\" height=\"1050\" alt=\"A sample flashcard created with Migaku\" \u002F>\n\nMigaku will show you the front of the card, and your job is to see if you remember what the word means. When you're done, tap the screen to flip the card over, then indicate that you remembered (√) or that you didn't remember (X).\n\n- If you regularly get the card correct (you remember the word), you'll be asked to review it less often\n- If you regularly get the card incorrect (you forget the word), you'll be asked to review it more often\n\nBased on your feedback, Migaku will automatically schedule the flashcards you studied today for review in the future. Each day you open Migaku Memory you'll be presented with a list of flashcards that our algorithm has determined you are about to forget, and should thus review. This filtering process ensures that more of your review time goes to the things you struggle with, and that less of your review time is wasted on things you know well.\n\n(_Note: While Migaku makes this process very easy, you can create similar flashcards with an open-source service called [Anki](https:\u002F\u002Fapps.ankiweb.net\u002F). It has a learning curve and isn't as convenient, but it's free and very customizable._)\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n## How to choose the right manga for your skill level\n\nThis is hard to give a concrete answer to. It's very subjective, and largely boils down to three factors:\n\n1. How much it bothers you when you don't quite understand something\n2. How willing you are to look things up on Google\n3. Your reading setup _(does looking up words take a single click, or does it take 3 minutes digging through a physical dictionary?)_\n\nEverybody will have a slightly different threshold of \"acceptable\" difficulty depending on their answers to those three questions.\n\n### For your first manga\n\nFirst, be patient. One of the biggest hurdles you have to get over in terms of consuming Japanese content is simply getting your foot in the door. More content will become available to you as your level improves, but it can be hard to find a good _first_ series to read.\n\nHere are the rules of thumb that I personally follow:\n\n- **Pass the vibe check**: You likely won't find something you absolutely love, but try to pick something you at least find somewhat interesting.\n- **Check vocabulary density**: Skim the first few pages and look for unknown words. If you're reading with Migaku, it's OK to have a couple unknown words per speech bubble. Looking them up literally just takes a second. If you're not using any tools, be more strict. My personal cutoff is 4 unknown words per page.\n- **Stick to simple genres**: As mentioned, slice-of-life manga feature everyday conversations and ordinary situations. This makes them easier to read than some other genres. I recommend reading a slice-of-life series first to acclimate to Japanese, and then branching out for your 2nd or 3rd series.\n- **Use tools like Migaku**: If you're spending more than a few minutes per page looking up words, kanji, or grammar points, Migaku will greatly improve your quality of life.\n\nChances are, you're going to find a lot of cool stuff that you'd love to read... but it's a little too hard to read _now_. That's OK. Add them to your \"to read\" list and move on to a simpler series. Rather than struggling through one very difficult manga, you're better off reading several simpler ones. By the time you've read through five or six books of manga, something that initially looked difficult may very well have become doable!\n\n### For your next several manga\n\nFirst, congratulations. You've reached what is, in my opinion, the coolest part of learning Japanese. You've now demonstrated to yourself that you _can_ understand Japanese, and you've got a huge list of stuff you want to read. It's an exciting time.\n\nIf you enjoyed the first manga you read, continue on with the series. It will get easier as you go, now that you're familiar with the author's style and the manga's key vocab words. From there, you can look into other series by the same author or publisher.\n\nIf you're ready to move on, search the name of the manga you read on [Natively](https:\u002F\u002Flearnnatively.com), a platform that organizes Japanese books, manga, anime, and more by difficulty. There are several practical and social aspects of the site, but for now I want to focus on the \"Grading\" section of each listing.\n\nFor example, if you chose to read Yotsuba&!, here's what you'd see in [the Grading section for the first book](https:\u002F\u002Flearnnatively.com\u002Fbook\u002F830efb7474\u002F) in the series:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-natively-manga.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot of the website Natively's listing for the manga Yotsuba&! \" \u002F>\n\nDepending on how you felt about Yotsuba&!, then, you can easily find manga that's easier, harder, or similar in difficulty based on the community's perception. This makes it easy to pick a \"next\" manga that's a better fit for your level.\n\n## Some challenges you'll face when reading manga in Japanese\n\nReading manga in Japanese is an excellent way to way to get practical exposure in the language, even as a beginner, but it _does_ present a few challenges for you to overcome.\n\n- **Casual Language**: The way we write is different than the way we speak, and this is also true in Japanese. Many words and verb forms have contracted forms that you may not encounter in a textbook.\n\n- **Fragmented sentences**: We don't really speak in complete sentences. We jump about, trail off, and sometimes make sudden changes in direction. Manga language is \"messier\" than what you'd see in a textbook or book.\n\n- **Kanji**: Manga aimed at younger audiences will include [furigana](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FFurigana): little hiragana characters above a kanji which show how it should be pronounced. Most manga (and Japanese content in general) _doesn't_ have furigana.\n\nIf you're using Migaku, simply click on a confusing word and our AI will breakdown each part of the sentence for you.\n\nIf you're reading on your own, try:\n\n- Copy\u002Fpasting the thing that's confusing you into ChatGPT and ask for an explanation\n- Google the thing that's confusing you, and look for hits from Reddit, Hinative, or StackExchange (three websites where other learners may have already asked the same question)\n- Google \"{thing that's confusing you} 意味\"\n - 意味 (いみ) means _meaning_ in Japanese, so this will give you results from Japanese people. In my experience, Japanese blog posts often do a better job of explaining the nuance of a particular word\u002Fgrammar point than English ones do.\n\n---\n\n### Key Takeaways:\n\nManga is a fun and effective way to **learn Japanese**! The focus on dialogue and the context provided by its illustrations make manga more accessible than other types of content, such as books or TV shows.\n\nIf you're not sure where to start, we recommend a slice-of-life manga like Yotsuba&! or Doraemon—and using tools like Migaku that streamline the process of looking unknown words up.\n\nGood luck!\n",{"title":19139,"description":19861},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-manga","7Gj7m0J7__HhwvZgG7GXQ0Caxb9ZvpOdFR2W0guPtmY","November 20, 2024",{"id":19879,"title":19880,"body":19881,"description":20867,"extension":717,"meta":20868,"navigation":730,"path":20878,"rawbody":20879,"seo":20880,"stem":20881,"__hash__":20882,"timestampUnix":20869,"slug":20870,"h1":20871,"image":20872,"tags":20877,"_dir":736,"timestamp":19877},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-n1.md","How Long Does It Take to Pass JLPT N1? Study Hours and Tips for Success",{"type":8,"value":19882,"toc":20844},[19883,19897,19900,19903,19905,19907,19911,19918,19932,19935,19939,19951,19960,19963,20033,20035,20039,20042,20085,20099,20102,20105,20108,20116,20127,20131,20140,20143,20169,20172,20192,20204,20208,20211,20214,20252,20256,20259,20266,20309,20312,20323,20326,20330,20339,20350,20362,20368,20371,20375,20378,20381,20392,20395,20399,20402,20413,20417,20424,20428,20431,20466,20472,20483,20485,20489,20492,20495,20499,20511,20514,20538,20541,20546,20549,20563,20566,20570,20573,20576,20582,20587,20590,20594,20597,20620,20623,20627,20630,20644,20647,20650,20655,20657,20661,20664,20667,20696,20703,20705,20709,20712,20742,20745,20748,20752,20755,20816,20819,20827,20829,20833,20836,20839,20842],[11,19884,3939,19885,19888,19889,19891,19892,415],{},[1090,19886,19887],{},"Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)"," is a standardized test of the Japanese language, and N1 is the highest level of the test. Passing the JLPT N1 is a major achievement for anyone who wants to ",[15,19890,18],{"href":17},", but it’s also notoriously difficult: ",[15,19893,19896],{"href":19894,"rel":19895},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese-Language_Proficiency_Test#Applications_and_results",[971],"the pass rate hovers around 30%",[11,19898,19899],{},"So how long does it take to pass the N1? This guide breaks down study hours, strategies, and essential tips to help you prepare effectively.",[11,19901,19902],{},"We'll cover:",[39,19904],{},[42,19906],{},[45,19908,19910],{"id":19909},"the-jlpt-in-a-nutshell","The JLPT in a nutshell",[11,19912,19913,19914,19917],{},"Created in 1984, ",[15,19915,11314],{"href":11313,"rel":19916},[971],", or the 日本語能力試験 (Nihongo Nōryoku Shiken), is the most widely recognized certification of Japanese language ability.",[304,19919,19920,19923,19926,19929],{},[307,19921,19922],{},"It is administered twice yearly (July\u002FDecember)",[307,19924,19925],{},"It is a pen-and-paper test",[307,19927,19928],{},"It has 5 levels, ranging from N5 (lowest) to N1 (highest)",[307,19930,19931],{},"It is broken into three sections: vocab\u002Fgrammar, reading comprehension, and listening comprehension",[11,19933,19934],{},"Generally speaking, Japanese companies expect that foreign job applicants will have passed the JLPT N2 or the JLPT N1.",[45,19936,19938],{"id":19937},"required-knowledge-for-the-jlpt-n1","Required knowledge for the JLPT N1",[11,19940,19941,19942,19947,19948,19950],{},"According to ",[15,19943,19946],{"href":19944,"rel":19945},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fabout\u002Flevelsummary.html",[971],"the JLPT website",", passing the N1 indicates that you are able to \"understand Japanese used in a wide variety of circumstances.\" Importantly, the word \"understand\" is used here because the JLPT does ",[26,19949,10642],{}," test one's ability to speak or write Japanese.",[11,19952,19953,19954,19959],{},"More concretely speaking, in 2012 the JLPT foundation did ",[15,19955,19958],{"href":19956,"rel":19957},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fabout\u002Fpdf\u002Fcdslist_e_all.pdf",[971],"a survey of people who barely passed each JLPT level",", requesting them to self-assess their Japanese.",[11,19961,19962],{},"According to the survey, of people who passed the JLPT N1:",[304,19964,19965,19985,20001,20017],{},[307,19966,19967,19970,19971],{},[1090,19968,19969],{},"Listening ability",":\n",[304,19972,19973,19976,19979,19982],{},[307,19974,19975],{},"75%+ said they could understand everyday conversations",[307,19977,19978],{},"50%+ said they could follow TV shows and work meetings",[307,19980,19981],{},"25%+ said they could understand lectures",[307,19983,19984],{},"\u003C25% said they could follow news reports about economics or politics",[307,19986,19987,19970,19990],{},[1090,19988,19989],{},"Reading ability",[304,19991,19992,19995,19998],{},[307,19993,19994],{},"75%+ said they could understand newspaper advertisements and short stories",[307,19996,19997],{},"50%+ said they could understand academic essays related to their background, work emails, and newspaper articles on non-technical topics",[307,19999,20000],{},"25%+ said they could read political\u002Feconomic articles in the newspaper and read novels",[307,20002,20003,19970,20006],{},[1090,20004,20005],{},"Speaking ability",[304,20007,20008,20011,20014],{},[307,20009,20010],{},"75%+ said they could participate in everyday conversations",[307,20012,20013],{},"50%+ said they could explain the story line of a book they'd read or a movie they'd watched",[307,20015,20016],{},"25%+ said they could express their opinions in a logical manner",[307,20018,20019,19970,20022],{},[1090,20020,20021],{},"Writing ability",[304,20023,20024,20027,20030],{},[307,20025,20026],{},"75%+ said they could write about their day-to-day life and experiences",[307,20028,20029],{},"50%+ said they could summarize the points of a book they'd read",[307,20031,20032],{},"25%+ said they could express their opinions in a structured and logical fashion",[42,20034],{},[45,20036,20038],{"id":20037},"jlpt-n1-test-structure-and-question-types","JLPT N1 test structure and question types",[11,20040,20041],{},"Like the JLPT N2, the JLPT N1 is broken into two sections.",[67,20043,20044,20057],{},[70,20045,20046],{},[73,20047,20048,20051,20054],{},[76,20049,20050],{},"Section",[76,20052,20053],{},"Time",[76,20055,20056],{},"Score Range",[87,20058,20059,20072],{},[73,20060,20061,20066,20069],{},[92,20062,20063],{},[1090,20064,20065],{},"Language Knowledge & Reading",[92,20067,20068],{},"110 minutes",[92,20070,20071],{},"0-120",[73,20073,20074,20079,20082],{},[92,20075,20076],{},[1090,20077,20078],{},"Listening",[92,20080,20081],{},"60 minutes",[92,20083,20084],{},"0-60",[11,20086,20087,20088,20091,20092,20095,20096],{},"To pass, you need a ",[1090,20089,20090],{},"minimum overall score of 100 out of 180",", and to earn at least ",[1090,20093,20094],{},"19 points in each section",". The reason the passing score is so low is because JLPT scores are curved in a certain way, which we'll discuss in the section entitled ",[26,20097,20098],{},"Why Is the JLPT N1 Pass Rate So Low?",[11,20100,20101],{},"For now, here's the sort of stuff you'll encounter on the JLPT N1:",[847,20103,20065],{"id":20104},"language-knowledge-reading",[11,20106,20107],{},"This first portion of the test is broken into two subparts, a test of general language knowledge (vocabulary and grammar) and a reading test. These two tests are contained within the same booklet and there is not a break between them.",[11,20109,20110,20111,8737],{},"Here is a link to ",[15,20112,20115],{"href":20113,"rel":20114},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fsamples\u002Fn1\u002Findex.html",[971],"a brief sample test",[304,20117,20118,20121,20124],{},[307,20119,20120],{},"Q1–Q4 demonstrate the below kanji\u002Fquestions",[307,20122,20123],{},"Q5–7 demonstrate the below grammar questions",[307,20125,20126],{},"Q8–13 demonstrate the below reading comprehension questions",[3240,20128,20130],{"id":20129},"language-knowledge-test","Language knowledge test",[11,20132,20133,20134,20139],{},"There are not official lists, but looking at past exams, it's generally estimated that you will need to know ~10,000 vocabulary words, ~2,000 kanji, and ",[15,20135,20138],{"href":20136,"rel":20137},"https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.google.com\u002Fspreadsheets\u002Fd\u002F1YIVReazodB7Z1WTZ3mnLAszpFO-2WmmI\u002Fedit?gid=513243019#gid=513243019",[971],"~800 grammar points"," to pass the N1.",[11,20141,20142],{},"The types of kanji\u002Fvocabulary questions you'll be asked:",[304,20144,20145,20151,20157,20163],{},[307,20146,20147,20150],{},[1090,20148,20149],{},"Kanji reading"," — A (kanji) word in a sentence will be underlined. You must select its reading from a list of 4 options.",[307,20152,20153,20156],{},[1090,20154,20155],{},"Contextually-defined expressions"," — A sentence with a blank will be shown. You must select the correct word from a list of 4 options to fill in the blank.",[307,20158,20159,20162],{},[1090,20160,20161],{},"Paraphrases"," — A word in a sentence will be underlined. You will be shown a list of 4 words and asked to select the most appropriate synonym to replace the underlined word.",[307,20164,20165,20168],{},[1090,20166,20167],{},"Usage"," — You will be shown a target word and four example sentences that feature the target word. You must select the sentence which displays the correct usage of the word.",[11,20170,20171],{},"The types of grammar questions you'll be asked:",[304,20173,20174,20180,20186],{},[307,20175,20176,20179],{},[1090,20177,20178],{},"\"Select the grammar form\""," — You'll be shown a sentence that has a blank and a list of four grammar points. You must select the grammar point that completes the sentence.",[307,20181,20182,20185],{},[1090,20183,20184],{},"\"Sentence composition\""," — You will be shown four blanks. One blank has a star. Below that is a sentence which has been broken into four parts and jumbled up. You must correctly arrange the sentence and indicate which chunk goes into the blank where the star is.",[307,20187,20188,20191],{},[1090,20189,20190],{},"Text grammar\""," — You will be shown a short essay with some part(s) blanked out. You must select the phrase or sentence that best fills in the blank.",[11,20193,20194,20195,20197,20198,20203],{},"Whereas virtually all of the grammar up through N2 consists of things you might reasonably hear in a random day in Japan, this changes with the N1. The JLPT N1 grammar points are not necessarily rare or obscure, and you will learn many of them naturally, but they ",[26,20196,10834],{}," tend to be things that occur in specific situations. For example, ",[15,20199,20202],{"href":20200,"rel":20201},"https:\u002F\u002Fjapanesetest4you.com\u002Fflashcard\u002Flearn-jlpt-n1-grammar-%e3%82%92%e3%82%82%e3%81%a3%e3%81%a6-omotte-2\u002F",[971],"をもって"," is a phrase used to mark the day that a store opens\u002Fcloses, a monumental event occurs, or something like that.",[3240,20205,20207],{"id":20206},"reading-comprehension","Reading comprehension",[11,20209,20210],{},"Reading questions are exactly like they sound: you will be presented with a passage of text and then asked questions about it. The passage could be anything from an opinion article about student clothing guidelines to the fine print on a rent contract to a persuasive essay about environmental conditions, or even a magazine article about outer space. As stated, the N1's goal is to test your ability to understand Japanese as used in a \"wide variety\" of circumstances.",[11,20212,20213],{},"After reading your article, you'll be asked several different types of questions:",[304,20215,20216,20222,20228,20234,20240,20246],{},[307,20217,20218,20221],{},[1090,20219,20220],{},"Comprehension (short passages)"," — Read a ~200-character message about everyday life or work situations",[307,20223,20224,20227],{},[1090,20225,20226],{},"Comprehension (mid-sized passages)"," — Read a ~500-character passage, usually a review of something or some sort of commentary",[307,20229,20230,20233],{},[1090,20231,20232],{},"Comprehension (lengthy passages)"," — Read a ~1,000-character essay or novel excerpt",[307,20235,20236,20239],{},[1090,20237,20238],{},"\"Integrated\" comprehension\""," — Compare two shorter texts that discuss the same topic from a different angle and identify points where the two authors agree or disagree",[307,20241,20242,20245],{},[1090,20243,20244],{},"Thematic comprehension"," — Read an abstract or logical text (that is usually quite difficult) and identify the spokes of an argument or the various points made by an author",[307,20247,20248,20251],{},[1090,20249,20250],{},"Information retrieval"," — Skim an advertisement, brochure, or business document and look for key pieces of information, contractual clauses, and so forth",[847,20253,20255],{"id":20254},"listening-comprehension","Listening Comprehension",[11,20257,20258],{},"The listening comprehension questions are straightforward, but tricky if you go in unprepared. For some questions, you will be able to see the possible answers while listening to a dialogue. For other questions, you will not be able to see the potential answers until the dialogue has ended. Each type of question asks you to listen for a different type of information, and the question audio will only be played once.",[11,20260,20261,20262,415],{},"You'll be presented with five types of listening questions, corresponding to questions 14–18 on ",[15,20263,20265],{"href":20113,"rel":20264},[971],"that same JLPT N1 sample test",[304,20267,20268,20278,20288,20297,20303],{},[307,20269,20270,20273,20274,20277],{},[1090,20271,20272],{},"Task-based comprehension"," — A narrator will state that you are about to hear a certain type of conversation, and then give you a task (something like ",[26,20275,20276],{},"what will X person in the dialogue do next?","). You will then listen to the dialogue, hear the question\u002Ftask again, and select your answer.",[307,20279,20280,20283,20284,20287],{},[1090,20281,20282],{},"Comprehension of key points"," — A narrator will state that you are about to hear a certain type of conversation, and then will inquire about some aspect of the conversation (something like ",[26,20285,20286],{},"what is Y person's opinion about Z?","). You will then listen to the conversation, hear the question again, and select your answer.",[307,20289,20290,20293,20294,20296],{},[1090,20291,20292],{},"Comprehension of general outline"," — A narrator will state that you are about to hear a certain type of conversation or presentation. You will ",[26,20295,10642],{}," be given any instruction. There will be a brief pause, and then the indicated recording will begin playing. Next, you'll be asked a question about some aspect of the recording you just heard, and asked to select an answer.",[307,20298,20299,20302],{},[1090,20300,20301],{},"Quick response"," — This is conversational role-play. You will hear a sentence or small dialogue, and then be asked to select the most appropriate response from a list of 4 items.",[307,20304,20305,20308],{},[1090,20306,20307],{},"Integrated comprehension"," — A narrator will state or introduce a situation. You will then hear a lengthy and complex dialogue that covers many points and may involve multiple speakers. Finally, you'll be asked a series of questions and required to indicate your answers, one question at a time.",[45,20310,20098],{"id":20311},"why-is-the-jlpt-n1-pass-rate-so-low",[11,20313,20314,20315,20318,20319,20322],{},"As mentioned in the beginning of the article, the ",[1090,20316,20317],{},"pass rate for the JLPT N1"," is around ",[1090,20320,20321],{},"30%",". That sounds kind of crazy, considering that you only need to earn a 100\u002F180 (~55%) to pass.",[11,20324,20325],{},"So, what makes the JLPT N1 so hard?",[847,20327,20329],{"id":20328},"tests-are-graded-on-a-curve","Tests are graded on a curve",[11,20331,20332,20333,20338],{},"JLPT scores follow a grading paradigm known as ",[15,20334,20337],{"href":20335,"rel":20336},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FItem_response_theory",[971],"item response theory"," (IRT), which basically means three things:",[304,20340,20341,20344,20347],{},[307,20342,20343],{},"Questions most people get wrong are worth more points",[307,20345,20346],{},"Questions most people get right are worth less points",[307,20348,20349],{},"If someone who got many easy questions wrong then gets a hard question right, it's assumed they're guessing and they earn less points",[11,20351,20352,20353,20357,20358,415],{},"You can see this discussed in the context of the JLPT ",[15,20354,3756],{"href":20355,"rel":20356},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fabout\u002Fpdf\u002Fscaledscore_e.pdf",[971],", and you can see the math behind the JLPT scale ",[15,20359,3756],{"href":20360,"rel":20361},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fstatistics\u002Fpdf\u002F2024_1_6.pdf",[971],[11,20363,20364,20365,20367],{},"The result of these factors is that getting 180 points means you tested in the top 0.6% of testers, not that you got all of the questions right. Similarly, two people who both get 50 questions right may end up with different scores, depending on ",[26,20366,11137],{}," questions they got right.",[11,20369,20370],{},"This style of grading is done to account for the fact that the questions on some years may be harder than other years. The curve helps keep the difficulty level consistent by giving test takers a bit of cushion on hard years but not giving them a free pass on easy years.",[847,20372,20374],{"id":20373},"test-takers-do-not-prepare-for-the-jlpt-question-types","Test takers do not prepare for the JLPT question types",[11,20376,20377],{},"As shown above, the JLPT asks you to answer some pretty specific types of questions. Some of those questions are tricky, especially if you don't know what you're getting into beforehand. Some of the questions, in my opinion, are less about testing your ability to understand Japanese and more about testing your ability to quickly memorize bits of information in Japanese.",[11,20379,20380],{},"My anecdotal experience:",[344,20382,20383,20386,20389],{},[307,20384,20385],{},"I failed the JLPT N1 in December 2022. I had done no preparation whatsoever and just went in blind to see how I'd do. I had not used Japanese, even to read a book, in about three years.",[307,20387,20388],{},"In July 2023, I received a perfect score on the JLPT N2.",[307,20390,20391],{},"In December 2023, I passed the JLPT N1 with a middling score. During the year, my only interaction with Japanese was to take two mock exams. My level was the same as in 2022 (or perhaps worse, given the year of decay), but I passed because I (a) now knew what sort of questions would be asked, and (b) had come up with strategies to answer the trickier ones.",[11,20393,20394],{},"So, learn from my mistakes. Take a few hours to read up on the JLPT test structure. You don't want to fail the JLPT because you misunderstood the test, despite actually being pretty good at Japanese.",[847,20396,20398],{"id":20397},"test-takers-do-not-consume-an-adequate-variety-of-japanese-content","Test takers do not consume an adequate variety of Japanese content",[11,20400,20401],{},"If you skipped to this section, go ahead and skim the above section really quick, too. As you can see, the JLPT asks you to consume a wide variety of Japanese materials—everything from academic articles to opinion pieces in the newspaper to advertisements to work emails to excerpts from novels.",[11,20403,20404,20405,20408,20409,20412],{},"If you don't live in Japan, chances are that you've got a pretty specific niche in Japanese. The JLPT reading isn't particularly ",[26,20406,20407],{},"hard",", but it is ",[26,20410,20411],{},"broad",". If you've never read a rental contract in Japanese or skimmed a newspaper editorial about the morality (or lack thereof) of whaling, and the first time you encounter that kind of content is in the JLPT, you'll struggle a bit.",[847,20414,20416],{"id":20415},"test-takers-lack-stamina","Test takers lack stamina",[11,20418,20419,20420,20423],{},"This isn't meant to be insulting. The JLPT is ",[26,20421,20422],{},"long",". If you're not in the habit of sitting down and spending an evening entirely in Japanese, the test will be draining.",[45,20425,20427],{"id":20426},"how-many-study-hours-does-it-take-to-pass-the-jlpt-n1","How Many Study Hours Does It Take to Pass the JLPT N1?",[11,20429,20430],{},"Passing the N1 will require a significant time investment.",[304,20432,20433,20441,20449],{},[307,20434,20435,20436],{},"The JLPT themselves estimated that it would take ",[15,20437,20440],{"href":20438,"rel":20439},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tanos.co.uk\u002Fjlpt\u002Faboutjlpt\u002F",[971],"about 900 hours",[307,20442,20443,20444],{},"The US government found that ",[15,20445,20448],{"href":20446,"rel":20447},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikibooks.org\u002Fwiki\u002FWikibooks:Language_Learning_Difficulty_for_English_Speakers",[971],"it took US diplomats about 2,200 in-class hours (plus homework)",[307,20450,20451,20452,20457],{},"A language school in Tokyo found that ",[15,20453,20456],{"href":20454,"rel":20455},"https:\u002F\u002Fweb.archive.org\u002Fweb\u002F20151117033458\u002Fhttp:\u002F\u002Fwww.studytoday.com\u002FJLPT.asp?lang=EN",[971],"it took full-time students 3,000–4,800 hours",[304,20458,20459],{},[307,20460,20461,20462,20465],{},"A significant portion of this burden comes from ",[15,20463,20464],{"href":3817},"learning kanji",": the same school found that those who had a background in kanji (basically, those who spoke a Chinese language) only needed 1700–2,600 hours to pass the N1",[11,20467,20468,20469,20471],{},"So if we assume you ",[26,20470,11540],{}," know kanji already and plug the above numbers into a calculator, passing the JLPT N1 from zero will take:",[304,20473,20474,20477,20480],{},[307,20475,20476],{},"8 hours per day (intense self study) for 375–600 days",[307,20478,20479],{},"15 hours per week (night school) for 200–320 weeks",[307,20481,20482],{},"1 hour per day (studying as a hobby) for 8–13 years",[42,20484],{},[45,20486,20488],{"id":20487},"study-plan-for-jlpt-n1-success-with-migaku","Study Plan for JLPT N1 Success with Migaku",[11,20490,20491],{},"Learning Japanese will be a serious commitment, but the good news is that incredible tools have been made to support Japanese learners. You no longer need to go to Japan to study at a Japanese cram school, and you can likely get by even without a teacher.",[11,20493,20494],{},"Here's how people learn Japanese with Migaku:",[847,20496,20498],{"id":20497},"learn-the-basics-with-a-frequency-focused-course","Learn the basics with a frequency-focused course",[11,20500,20501,20502,20506,20507,20510],{},"We have reviewed ",[15,20503,20505],{"href":20504},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fbest-japanese-textbooks","several Japanese textbooks",", but every one we've looked at has suffered from the same critical error: they teach you the things that somebody else ",[26,20508,20509],{},"thinks"," you need to learn, and this isn't based in any sort objective reality.",[11,20512,20513],{},"Migaku took a different approach.",[344,20515,20516,20525,20528,20531],{},[307,20517,20518,20519,20524],{},"We analyzed ",[15,20520,20523],{"href":20521,"rel":20522},"https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.google.com\u002Fspreadsheets\u002Fd\u002F15b3j9--RJ1K5hI9vz_2LXn2YNn7UWxWrRi58_Xykkp0\u002Fedit",[971],"this list of all the words that appear in Japanese Netflix"," (224,000!)",[307,20526,20527],{},"We identified the most important words—the ~1,500 words that enable you to understand 80% of the sentences on Netflix",[307,20529,20530],{},"We built a course from the ground up that teaches you these words in the form of flashcards",[307,20532,20533,20534,20537],{},"Every flashcard is scheduled for review by a ",[15,20535,12115],{"href":11524,"rel":20536},[971],", ensuring that its content makes its way into your memory, and each \"next\" flashcard contains only one new piece of information than the flashcard that came before it, ensuring a super smooth learning curve",[11,20539,20540],{},"The result is a course that all you have to do to learn the basics of Japanese is log into Migaku each day and follow along. Furthermore, we don't teach you any fluff. Every minute you spend and every bit of effort you exert is going towards precisely the things that you need to learn to go from not understanding Japanese to comfortably watching Netflix.",[11,20542,20543,20544,415],{},"You can learn more about our approach to vocabulary ",[15,20545,3756],{"href":1199},[11,20547,20548],{},"Alternatively, you can see an introduction to our two courses here:",[344,20550,20551,20557],{},[307,20552,20553,20556],{},[1090,20554,20555],{},"Migaku Fundamentals"," — This teaches you to read hiragana and katakana and also how to pronounce them, setting you up for our next course",[307,20558,20559,20562],{},[1090,20560,20561],{},"Migaku Academy"," — This teaches you the ~1,500 most common Japanese words and a few hundred common grammar points, as described above",[5025,20564],{"src":20565},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FgFvZMZlUYfc?si=YIYlF-DgdPiYaNSH",[847,20567,20569],{"id":20568},"consume-a-ton-of-japanese-content-that-you-enjoy","Consume a ton of Japanese content that you enjoy",[11,20571,20572],{},"After finishing the Japanese Academy, you're ready to harness the true power of Migaku.",[11,20574,20575],{},"Migaku boots up alongside Netflix (or YouTube, Viki, Disney+, etc) and enhances the Japanese content you watch on it, as shown below:",[50,20577],{"src":20578,"width":20579,"height":20580,"alt":20581},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-web-subtitles-vio-eve.jpeg",2160,1068,"A screenshot of an episode of Violet Evergarden",[11,20583,20584],{},[26,20585,20586],{},"(This screenshot comes from one of our more advanced users—he knows over 11,000 words!)",[11,20588,20589],{},"The main functionality we add to subtitles comes when you stumble across an unknown word. For example, in the below screenshot you can see that the word 親愛 is underlined in red. Let's click on it!",[50,20591],{"src":20592,"width":20579,"height":20580,"alt":20593},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-web-popup-vio-eve.jpeg","A screenshot of an episode of Violet Evergarden, as enhanced by Migaku",[11,20595,20596],{},"A definition of the word pops up. Clicking the grey circle icons lets you reference additional sources of information, including:",[304,20598,20599,20602,20605,20608,20611,20614,20617],{},[307,20600,20601],{},"Recordings of the word by native speakers",[307,20603,20604],{},"Google Image results for the word",[307,20606,20607],{},"Example sentences that include the word",[307,20609,20610],{},"An AI explanation of what the word means in the context of this particular sentence",[307,20612,20613],{},"An AI breakdown of the sentence, word by word and grammar point by grammar point",[307,20615,20616],{},"An AI translation of the sentence the word appears in",[307,20618,20619],{},"Quick links to several online Japanese dictionaries",[11,20621,20622],{},"If you decide the word is interesting, then you just have to click that orange button you see in the top-right corner of the popup interface. Doing so will automatically generate a flashcard that looks like this:",[50,20624],{"src":20625,"width":6046,"height":6046,"alt":20626},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-vio-evo-flashcard.jpeg","A screenshot of a flashcard generated by Migaku",[11,20628,20629],{},"The flashcard contains:",[304,20631,20632,20635,20638,20641],{},[307,20633,20634],{},"The unknown word you selected",[307,20636,20637],{},"The sentence that word appeared in",[307,20639,20640],{},"A screenshot of the scene where the word was said",[307,20642,20643],{},"A snippet of the audio of the sentence being said",[11,20645,20646],{},"And these flashcards are scheduled for you to review by the same algorithm that manages our Migaku Fundamentals and Migaku Academy courses, ensuring you'll eventually commit the word to memory.",[11,20648,20649],{},"This out of the way, you're ready for the second-longest stretch of your Japanese journey. It will take a lot of time, but it should also be a lot of fun: you'll be using Japanese to do things that are enjoyable or important to you, and getting better as you do so.",[11,20651,20652],{},[26,20653,20654],{},"(P.S. — It doesn't have to be just movies! Migaku works on pretty much anything on the internet that has copyable text.)",[674,20656],{"href":17,"text":676},[847,20658,20660],{"id":20659},"jlpt-prep","JLPT prep",[11,20662,20663],{},"Eventually, after a couple thousand hours of reading, listening, and watching, you're going to reach a point where Japanese no longer feels like a foreign language. You can read and watch pretty much whatever you want, and it doesn't take much effort to understand those things. You rarely encounter new kanji, and your Migaku word count is over 10,000.",[11,20665,20666],{},"Now, if you want to be formally recognized for your achievements, it's time for the last leg of the race.",[344,20668,20669,20672,20680],{},[307,20670,20671],{},"Spend a bit of time reading up on the types of questions that appear on the JLPT",[307,20673,20674,20675,3892],{},"Take a mock JLPT N1 exam and see how you do (here are sample exams, ",[15,20676,20679],{"href":20677,"rel":20678},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fsamples\u002Fsampleindex.html",[971],"two per JLPT level",[307,20681,20682,20683],{},"Depending on your mock test results:\n",[304,20684,20685,20688],{},[307,20686,20687],{},"If you score over 120 on two or more practice tests, sign up for the JLPT N1 and give it a shot",[307,20689,20690,20691,20695],{},"If you don't do as well as you'd hoped, look into some ",[15,20692,20694],{"href":20693},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fbest-japanese-textbooks#some-honorable-mentions","JLPT test-prep books"," (scroll down a bit) and do a bit of targeted study on your weak area",[11,20697,20698,20699,20702],{},"If taking tests makes you nervous, I recommend sitting the test ",[26,20700,20701],{},"below"," the level you plan to take. For example, if you're planning to take the N1, then go ahead and take the N2 instead. This will let you acclimate to the test, enabling you to go into the N1 ready to focus on doing your best.",[42,20704],{},[45,20706,20708],{"id":20707},"how-to-sign-up-for-the-jlpt-n1","How to sign up for the JLPT N1",[11,20710,20711],{},"Different institutions handle the JLPT examinations held around the world, so we unfortunately can't tell you what to do given your specific situation.",[304,20713,20714,20723],{},[307,20715,20716,20717,20722],{},"If you're going to take the test in Japan, click ",[15,20718,20721],{"href":20719,"rel":20720},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fapplication\u002Fdomestic_index.html",[971],"this link"," and follow the official JLPT instructions",[307,20724,20725,20726],{},"If you're going to take the test in another country:\n",[304,20727,20728,20736,20739],{},[307,20729,20730,20731],{},"Select your country ",[15,20732,20735],{"href":20733,"rel":20734},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fapplication\u002Foverseas_list.html",[971],"from this list",[307,20737,20738],{},"Register on your country-specifc JLPT website (follow the links on the above page)",[307,20740,20741],{},"Sign up by the deadline (~March for the July test, ~September for the December test), pay the fees (~$100 USD), and carefully read the instructions provided by your testing institution",[11,20743,20744],{},"If you take the July test, you will get your results in ~September.",[11,20746,20747],{},"If you take the December test, you will get your results in ~March.",[45,20749,20751],{"id":20750},"practical-advicewarnings-for-the-day-of-the-test","Practical advice\u002Fwarnings for the day of the test",[11,20753,20754],{},"The JLPT is quite strict, so here's some stuff you should be aware of ahead of time to avoid stressing more than necessary during the test.",[304,20756,20757,20766,20772,20778,20792,20798,20804,20810],{},[307,20758,20759,20762,20763,20765],{},[1090,20760,20761],{},"Print your test voucher and registration"," out and bring it with you. As of date, you will ",[26,20764,10642],{}," be allowed in to take the test if you show up with only the digital registration form on your phone.",[307,20767,20768,20771],{},[1090,20769,20770],{},"Bring a form of identification",", such as a driver's license or passport.",[307,20773,20774,20777],{},[1090,20775,20776],{},"Bring a pencil and an eraser",". Pens are not allowed. Some testing locations may require pencils, specific types of lead, or disallow mechanical pencils. This will be explained in the instruction pamphlet provided by the testing facility when you sign up for the test.",[307,20779,20780,20781],{},"Multiple tests are held in one centralized location (such as a university building).\n",[304,20782,20783,20789],{},[307,20784,20785,20788],{},[1090,20786,20787],{},"Arrive to the facility about half an hour early",". There will be a notice board displayed prominently, showing which people are taking the test in which room.",[307,20790,20791],{},"You will not be allowed to enter the test room until just before the best begins, when you are escorted by a proctor.",[307,20793,20794,20797],{},[1090,20795,20796],{},"Bring an analog watch"," (the old-school watches with hands). The JLPT does not allow the use of smart watches, and stricter testing locations may also forbid the use of digital watches. If the room you are in has a clock on the wall, it will be covered with a piece of paper.",[307,20799,20800,20803],{},[1090,20801,20802],{},"Bring a backpack or bag",". You are not allowed to have anything on your table except for your test, a pencil, a backup pencil, and an eraser. Everything else must be left on the floor at the front of the classroom.",[307,20805,20806,20809],{},[1090,20807,20808],{},"Turn off your phone before the test starts",". If it rings, even if it's in your bag, you will be disqualified.",[307,20811,20812,20815],{},[1090,20813,20814],{},"Go to the bathroom before the test starts",". If you leave the test room when break is not in session, you will not be allowed to continue the test.",[11,20817,20818],{},"The JLPT N1 has one break. It occurs between the \"language knowledge & reading comprehension\" portion of the test and the \"listening comprehension\" portion of the test. You will be allowed to go to the bathroom during this time, may eat snacks or get a drink, and may use your phone.",[11,20820,20821,20822,415],{},"Here's a sample of the instructions that will be sent out when you register for the test: ",[15,20823,20826],{"href":20824,"rel":20825},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aatj.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002Fuploads\u002F2022%20TestSiteInfo_NY.pdf",[971],"2022 JLPT Test Site Information — New York, NY",[42,20828],{},[45,20830,20832],{"id":20831},"so-can-you-pass-the-jlpt-n1","So... Can you pass the JLPT N1?",[11,20834,20835],{},"Passing JLPT N1 is no small feat, but with the right study plan, tools, and mindset, it’s entirely doable. Remember that consistency is key, and balancing all aspects—kanji, vocabulary, reading, grammar, and listening—is essential for success.",[11,20837,20838],{},"Of course, given that this will be a long-term commitment, it's also important to study in a sustainable fashion. Try to learn in a way that's fun!",[11,20840,20841],{},"And if the test is next week and you're Googling this because you're woefully unprepared, just like I was—take a deep breath. It'll be tough, but you'll be fine. You'll either pass, or come away with a clear weakness that you can focus on for next time.",[11,20843,19843],{},{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":20845},[20846,20847,20848,20852,20858,20859,20864,20865,20866],{"id":19909,"depth":707,"text":19910},{"id":19937,"depth":707,"text":19938},{"id":20037,"depth":707,"text":20038,"children":20849},[20850,20851],{"id":20104,"depth":1016,"text":20065},{"id":20254,"depth":1016,"text":20255},{"id":20311,"depth":707,"text":20098,"children":20853},[20854,20855,20856,20857],{"id":20328,"depth":1016,"text":20329},{"id":20373,"depth":1016,"text":20374},{"id":20397,"depth":1016,"text":20398},{"id":20415,"depth":1016,"text":20416},{"id":20426,"depth":707,"text":20427},{"id":20487,"depth":707,"text":20488,"children":20860},[20861,20862,20863],{"id":20497,"depth":1016,"text":20498},{"id":20568,"depth":1016,"text":20569},{"id":20659,"depth":1016,"text":20660},{"id":20707,"depth":707,"text":20708},{"id":20750,"depth":707,"text":20751},{"id":20831,"depth":707,"text":20832},"Wondering how long it takes to pass JLPT N1? Learn about the required study hours, effective strategies, and how tools like Migaku can speed up your preparation for the JLPT N1 exam",{"timestampUnix":20869,"slug":20870,"h1":20871,"image":20872,"tags":20877},1732070433656,"jlpt-n1-overview","How Long Does It Take to Pass JLPT N1? An Overview",{"src":20873,"width":20874,"height":20875,"alt":20876},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-test.webp",6720,4480,"A group of several students sitting at tables and taking a test.",[8649],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-n1","---\ntitle: 'How Long Does It Take to Pass JLPT N1? Study Hours and Tips for Success'\ndescription: 'Wondering how long it takes to pass JLPT N1? Learn about the required study hours, effective strategies, and how tools like Migaku can speed up your preparation for the JLPT N1 exam'\ntimestampUnix: 1732070433656\nslug: 'jlpt-n1-overview'\nh1: 'How Long Does It Take to Pass JLPT N1? An Overview'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-test.webp'\n width: 6720\n height: 4480\n alt: 'A group of several students sitting at tables and taking a test.'\ntags:\n - discussion\n---\n\nThe **Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)** is a standardized test of the Japanese language, and N1 is the highest level of the test. Passing the JLPT N1 is a major achievement for anyone who wants to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), but it’s also notoriously difficult: [the pass rate hovers around 30%](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese-Language_Proficiency_Test#Applications_and_results).\n\nSo how long does it take to pass the N1? This guide breaks down study hours, strategies, and essential tips to help you prepare effectively.\n\nWe'll cover:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## The JLPT in a nutshell\n\nCreated in 1984, [the Japanese Language Proficiency Test](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese-Language_Proficiency_Test), or the 日本語能力試験 (Nihongo Nōryoku Shiken), is the most widely recognized certification of Japanese language ability.\n\n- It is administered twice yearly (July\u002FDecember)\n- It is a pen-and-paper test\n- It has 5 levels, ranging from N5 (lowest) to N1 (highest)\n- It is broken into three sections: vocab\u002Fgrammar, reading comprehension, and listening comprehension\n\nGenerally speaking, Japanese companies expect that foreign job applicants will have passed the JLPT N2 or the JLPT N1.\n\n## Required knowledge for the JLPT N1\n\nAccording to [the JLPT website](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fabout\u002Flevelsummary.html), passing the N1 indicates that you are able to \"understand Japanese used in a wide variety of circumstances.\" Importantly, the word \"understand\" is used here because the JLPT does _not_ test one's ability to speak or write Japanese.\n\nMore concretely speaking, in 2012 the JLPT foundation did [a survey of people who barely passed each JLPT level](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fabout\u002Fpdf\u002Fcdslist_e_all.pdf), requesting them to self-assess their Japanese.\n\nAccording to the survey, of people who passed the JLPT N1:\n\n- **Listening ability**:\n - 75%+ said they could understand everyday conversations\n - 50%+ said they could follow TV shows and work meetings\n - 25%+ said they could understand lectures\n - \u003C25% said they could follow news reports about economics or politics\n- **Reading ability**:\n - 75%+ said they could understand newspaper advertisements and short stories\n - 50%+ said they could understand academic essays related to their background, work emails, and newspaper articles on non-technical topics\n - 25%+ said they could read political\u002Feconomic articles in the newspaper and read novels\n- **Speaking ability**:\n - 75%+ said they could participate in everyday conversations\n - 50%+ said they could explain the story line of a book they'd read or a movie they'd watched\n - 25%+ said they could express their opinions in a logical manner\n- **Writing ability**:\n - 75%+ said they could write about their day-to-day life and experiences\n - 50%+ said they could summarize the points of a book they'd read\n - 25%+ said they could express their opinions in a structured and logical fashion\n\n---\n\n## JLPT N1 test structure and question types\n\nLike the JLPT N2, the JLPT N1 is broken into two sections.\n\n| Section | Time | Score Range |\n| -------------------------------- | ----------- | ----------- |\n| **Language Knowledge & Reading** | 110 minutes | 0-120 |\n| **Listening** | 60 minutes | 0-60 |\n\nTo pass, you need a **minimum overall score of 100 out of 180**, and to earn at least **19 points in each section**. The reason the passing score is so low is because JLPT scores are curved in a certain way, which we'll discuss in the section entitled _Why Is the JLPT N1 Pass Rate So Low?_\n\nFor now, here's the sort of stuff you'll encounter on the JLPT N1:\n\n### Language Knowledge & Reading\n\nThis first portion of the test is broken into two subparts, a test of general language knowledge (vocabulary and grammar) and a reading test. These two tests are contained within the same booklet and there is not a break between them.\n\nHere is a link to [a brief sample test](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fsamples\u002Fn1\u002Findex.html):\n\n- Q1–Q4 demonstrate the below kanji\u002Fquestions\n- Q5–7 demonstrate the below grammar questions\n- Q8–13 demonstrate the below reading comprehension questions\n\n#### Language knowledge test\n\nThere are not official lists, but looking at past exams, it's generally estimated that you will need to know ~10,000 vocabulary words, ~2,000 kanji, and [~800 grammar points](https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.google.com\u002Fspreadsheets\u002Fd\u002F1YIVReazodB7Z1WTZ3mnLAszpFO-2WmmI\u002Fedit?gid=513243019#gid=513243019) to pass the N1.\n\nThe types of kanji\u002Fvocabulary questions you'll be asked:\n\n- **Kanji reading** — A (kanji) word in a sentence will be underlined. You must select its reading from a list of 4 options.\n- **Contextually-defined expressions** — A sentence with a blank will be shown. You must select the correct word from a list of 4 options to fill in the blank.\n- **Paraphrases** — A word in a sentence will be underlined. You will be shown a list of 4 words and asked to select the most appropriate synonym to replace the underlined word.\n- **Usage** — You will be shown a target word and four example sentences that feature the target word. You must select the sentence which displays the correct usage of the word.\n\nThe types of grammar questions you'll be asked:\n\n- **\"Select the grammar form\"** — You'll be shown a sentence that has a blank and a list of four grammar points. You must select the grammar point that completes the sentence.\n- **\"Sentence composition\"** — You will be shown four blanks. One blank has a star. Below that is a sentence which has been broken into four parts and jumbled up. You must correctly arrange the sentence and indicate which chunk goes into the blank where the star is.\n- **Text grammar\"** — You will be shown a short essay with some part(s) blanked out. You must select the phrase or sentence that best fills in the blank.\n\nWhereas virtually all of the grammar up through N2 consists of things you might reasonably hear in a random day in Japan, this changes with the N1. The JLPT N1 grammar points are not necessarily rare or obscure, and you will learn many of them naturally, but they _do_ tend to be things that occur in specific situations. For example, [をもって](https:\u002F\u002Fjapanesetest4you.com\u002Fflashcard\u002Flearn-jlpt-n1-grammar-%e3%82%92%e3%82%82%e3%81%a3%e3%81%a6-omotte-2\u002F) is a phrase used to mark the day that a store opens\u002Fcloses, a monumental event occurs, or something like that.\n\n#### Reading comprehension\n\nReading questions are exactly like they sound: you will be presented with a passage of text and then asked questions about it. The passage could be anything from an opinion article about student clothing guidelines to the fine print on a rent contract to a persuasive essay about environmental conditions, or even a magazine article about outer space. As stated, the N1's goal is to test your ability to understand Japanese as used in a \"wide variety\" of circumstances.\n\nAfter reading your article, you'll be asked several different types of questions:\n\n- **Comprehension (short passages)** — Read a ~200-character message about everyday life or work situations\n- **Comprehension (mid-sized passages)** — Read a ~500-character passage, usually a review of something or some sort of commentary\n- **Comprehension (lengthy passages)** — Read a ~1,000-character essay or novel excerpt\n- **\"Integrated\" comprehension\"** — Compare two shorter texts that discuss the same topic from a different angle and identify points where the two authors agree or disagree\n- **Thematic comprehension** — Read an abstract or logical text (that is usually quite difficult) and identify the spokes of an argument or the various points made by an author\n- **Information retrieval** — Skim an advertisement, brochure, or business document and look for key pieces of information, contractual clauses, and so forth\n\n### Listening Comprehension\n\nThe listening comprehension questions are straightforward, but tricky if you go in unprepared. For some questions, you will be able to see the possible answers while listening to a dialogue. For other questions, you will not be able to see the potential answers until the dialogue has ended. Each type of question asks you to listen for a different type of information, and the question audio will only be played once.\n\nYou'll be presented with five types of listening questions, corresponding to questions 14–18 on [that same JLPT N1 sample test](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fsamples\u002Fn1\u002Findex.html).\n\n- **Task-based comprehension** — A narrator will state that you are about to hear a certain type of conversation, and then give you a task (something like _what will X person in the dialogue do next?_). You will then listen to the dialogue, hear the question\u002Ftask again, and select your answer.\n- **Comprehension of key points** — A narrator will state that you are about to hear a certain type of conversation, and then will inquire about some aspect of the conversation (something like _what is Y person's opinion about Z?_). You will then listen to the conversation, hear the question again, and select your answer.\n- **Comprehension of general outline** — A narrator will state that you are about to hear a certain type of conversation or presentation. You will _not_ be given any instruction. There will be a brief pause, and then the indicated recording will begin playing. Next, you'll be asked a question about some aspect of the recording you just heard, and asked to select an answer.\n- **Quick response** — This is conversational role-play. You will hear a sentence or small dialogue, and then be asked to select the most appropriate response from a list of 4 items.\n- **Integrated comprehension** — A narrator will state or introduce a situation. You will then hear a lengthy and complex dialogue that covers many points and may involve multiple speakers. Finally, you'll be asked a series of questions and required to indicate your answers, one question at a time.\n\n## Why Is the JLPT N1 Pass Rate So Low?\n\nAs mentioned in the beginning of the article, the **pass rate for the JLPT N1** is around **30%**. That sounds kind of crazy, considering that you only need to earn a 100\u002F180 (~55%) to pass.\n\nSo, what makes the JLPT N1 so hard?\n\n### Tests are graded on a curve\n\nJLPT scores follow a grading paradigm known as [item response theory](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FItem_response_theory) (IRT), which basically means three things:\n\n- Questions most people get wrong are worth more points\n- Questions most people get right are worth less points\n- If someone who got many easy questions wrong then gets a hard question right, it's assumed they're guessing and they earn less points\n\nYou can see this discussed in the context of the JLPT [here](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fabout\u002Fpdf\u002Fscaledscore_e.pdf), and you can see the math behind the JLPT scale [here](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fstatistics\u002Fpdf\u002F2024_1_6.pdf).\n\nThe result of these factors is that getting 180 points means you tested in the top 0.6% of testers, not that you got all of the questions right. Similarly, two people who both get 50 questions right may end up with different scores, depending on _which_ questions they got right.\n\nThis style of grading is done to account for the fact that the questions on some years may be harder than other years. The curve helps keep the difficulty level consistent by giving test takers a bit of cushion on hard years but not giving them a free pass on easy years.\n\n### Test takers do not prepare for the JLPT question types\n\nAs shown above, the JLPT asks you to answer some pretty specific types of questions. Some of those questions are tricky, especially if you don't know what you're getting into beforehand. Some of the questions, in my opinion, are less about testing your ability to understand Japanese and more about testing your ability to quickly memorize bits of information in Japanese.\n\nMy anecdotal experience:\n\n1. I failed the JLPT N1 in December 2022. I had done no preparation whatsoever and just went in blind to see how I'd do. I had not used Japanese, even to read a book, in about three years.\n2. In July 2023, I received a perfect score on the JLPT N2.\n3. In December 2023, I passed the JLPT N1 with a middling score. During the year, my only interaction with Japanese was to take two mock exams. My level was the same as in 2022 (or perhaps worse, given the year of decay), but I passed because I (a) now knew what sort of questions would be asked, and (b) had come up with strategies to answer the trickier ones.\n\nSo, learn from my mistakes. Take a few hours to read up on the JLPT test structure. You don't want to fail the JLPT because you misunderstood the test, despite actually being pretty good at Japanese.\n\n### Test takers do not consume an adequate variety of Japanese content\n\nIf you skipped to this section, go ahead and skim the above section really quick, too. As you can see, the JLPT asks you to consume a wide variety of Japanese materials—everything from academic articles to opinion pieces in the newspaper to advertisements to work emails to excerpts from novels.\n\nIf you don't live in Japan, chances are that you've got a pretty specific niche in Japanese. The JLPT reading isn't particularly _hard_, but it is _broad_. If you've never read a rental contract in Japanese or skimmed a newspaper editorial about the morality (or lack thereof) of whaling, and the first time you encounter that kind of content is in the JLPT, you'll struggle a bit.\n\n### Test takers lack stamina\n\nThis isn't meant to be insulting. The JLPT is _long_. If you're not in the habit of sitting down and spending an evening entirely in Japanese, the test will be draining.\n\n## How Many Study Hours Does It Take to Pass the JLPT N1?\n\nPassing the N1 will require a significant time investment.\n\n- The JLPT themselves estimated that it would take [about 900 hours](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tanos.co.uk\u002Fjlpt\u002Faboutjlpt\u002F)\n- The US government found that [it took US diplomats about 2,200 in-class hours (plus homework)](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikibooks.org\u002Fwiki\u002FWikibooks:Language_Learning_Difficulty_for_English_Speakers)\n- A language school in Tokyo found that [it took full-time students 3,000–4,800 hours](https:\u002F\u002Fweb.archive.org\u002Fweb\u002F20151117033458\u002Fhttp:\u002F\u002Fwww.studytoday.com\u002FJLPT.asp?lang=EN)\n - A significant portion of this burden comes from [learning kanji](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-kanji): the same school found that those who had a background in kanji (basically, those who spoke a Chinese language) only needed 1700–2,600 hours to pass the N1\n\nSo if we assume you _don't_ know kanji already and plug the above numbers into a calculator, passing the JLPT N1 from zero will take:\n\n- 8 hours per day (intense self study) for 375–600 days\n- 15 hours per week (night school) for 200–320 weeks\n- 1 hour per day (studying as a hobby) for 8–13 years\n\n---\n\n## Study Plan for JLPT N1 Success with Migaku\n\nLearning Japanese will be a serious commitment, but the good news is that incredible tools have been made to support Japanese learners. You no longer need to go to Japan to study at a Japanese cram school, and you can likely get by even without a teacher.\n\nHere's how people learn Japanese with Migaku:\n\n### Learn the basics with a frequency-focused course\n\nWe have reviewed [several Japanese textbooks](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fbest-japanese-textbooks), but every one we've looked at has suffered from the same critical error: they teach you the things that somebody else _thinks_ you need to learn, and this isn't based in any sort objective reality.\n\nMigaku took a different approach.\n\n1. We analyzed [this list of all the words that appear in Japanese Netflix](https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.google.com\u002Fspreadsheets\u002Fd\u002F15b3j9--RJ1K5hI9vz_2LXn2YNn7UWxWrRi58_Xykkp0\u002Fedit) (224,000!)\n2. We identified the most important words—the ~1,500 words that enable you to understand 80% of the sentences on Netflix\n3. We built a course from the ground up that teaches you these words in the form of flashcards\n4. Every flashcard is scheduled for review by a [spaced-repetition algorithm](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSpaced_repetition), ensuring that its content makes its way into your memory, and each \"next\" flashcard contains only one new piece of information than the flashcard that came before it, ensuring a super smooth learning curve\n\nThe result is a course that all you have to do to learn the basics of Japanese is log into Migaku each day and follow along. Furthermore, we don't teach you any fluff. Every minute you spend and every bit of effort you exert is going towards precisely the things that you need to learn to go from not understanding Japanese to comfortably watching Netflix.\n\nYou can learn more about our approach to vocabulary [here](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary).\n\nAlternatively, you can see an introduction to our two courses here:\n\n1. **Migaku Fundamentals** — This teaches you to read hiragana and katakana and also how to pronounce them, setting you up for our next course\n2. **Migaku Academy** — This teaches you the ~1,500 most common Japanese words and a few hundred common grammar points, as described above\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FgFvZMZlUYfc?si=YIYlF-DgdPiYaNSH\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n### Consume a ton of Japanese content that you enjoy\n\nAfter finishing the Japanese Academy, you're ready to harness the true power of Migaku.\n\nMigaku boots up alongside Netflix (or YouTube, Viki, Disney+, etc) and enhances the Japanese content you watch on it, as shown below:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-web-subtitles-vio-eve.jpeg\" width=\"2160\" height=\"1068\" alt=\"A screenshot of an episode of Violet Evergarden\" \u002F>\n\n_(This screenshot comes from one of our more advanced users—he knows over 11,000 words!)_\n\nThe main functionality we add to subtitles comes when you stumble across an unknown word. For example, in the below screenshot you can see that the word 親愛 is underlined in red. Let's click on it!\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-web-popup-vio-eve.jpeg\" width=\"2160\" height=\"1068\" alt=\"A screenshot of an episode of Violet Evergarden, as enhanced by Migaku\" \u002F>\n\nA definition of the word pops up. Clicking the grey circle icons lets you reference additional sources of information, including:\n\n- Recordings of the word by native speakers\n- Google Image results for the word\n- Example sentences that include the word\n- An AI explanation of what the word means in the context of this particular sentence\n- An AI breakdown of the sentence, word by word and grammar point by grammar point\n- An AI translation of the sentence the word appears in\n- Quick links to several online Japanese dictionaries\n\nIf you decide the word is interesting, then you just have to click that orange button you see in the top-right corner of the popup interface. Doing so will automatically generate a flashcard that looks like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-vio-evo-flashcard.jpeg\" width=\"1114\" height=\"1114\" alt=\"A screenshot of a flashcard generated by Migaku\" \u002F>\n\nThe flashcard contains:\n\n- The unknown word you selected\n- The sentence that word appeared in\n- A screenshot of the scene where the word was said\n- A snippet of the audio of the sentence being said\n\nAnd these flashcards are scheduled for you to review by the same algorithm that manages our Migaku Fundamentals and Migaku Academy courses, ensuring you'll eventually commit the word to memory.\n\nThis out of the way, you're ready for the second-longest stretch of your Japanese journey. It will take a lot of time, but it should also be a lot of fun: you'll be using Japanese to do things that are enjoyable or important to you, and getting better as you do so.\n\n_(P.S. — It doesn't have to be just movies! Migaku works on pretty much anything on the internet that has copyable text.)_\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n### JLPT prep\n\nEventually, after a couple thousand hours of reading, listening, and watching, you're going to reach a point where Japanese no longer feels like a foreign language. You can read and watch pretty much whatever you want, and it doesn't take much effort to understand those things. You rarely encounter new kanji, and your Migaku word count is over 10,000.\n\nNow, if you want to be formally recognized for your achievements, it's time for the last leg of the race.\n\n1. Spend a bit of time reading up on the types of questions that appear on the JLPT\n2. Take a mock JLPT N1 exam and see how you do (here are sample exams, [two per JLPT level](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fsamples\u002Fsampleindex.html))\n3. Depending on your mock test results:\n - If you score over 120 on two or more practice tests, sign up for the JLPT N1 and give it a shot\n - If you don't do as well as you'd hoped, look into some [JLPT test-prep books](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fbest-japanese-textbooks#some-honorable-mentions) (scroll down a bit) and do a bit of targeted study on your weak area\n\nIf taking tests makes you nervous, I recommend sitting the test _below_ the level you plan to take. For example, if you're planning to take the N1, then go ahead and take the N2 instead. This will let you acclimate to the test, enabling you to go into the N1 ready to focus on doing your best.\n\n---\n\n## How to sign up for the JLPT N1\n\nDifferent institutions handle the JLPT examinations held around the world, so we unfortunately can't tell you what to do given your specific situation.\n\n- If you're going to take the test in Japan, click [this link](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fapplication\u002Fdomestic_index.html) and follow the official JLPT instructions\n- If you're going to take the test in another country:\n - Select your country [from this list](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fapplication\u002Foverseas_list.html)\n - Register on your country-specifc JLPT website (follow the links on the above page)\n - Sign up by the deadline (\\~March for the July test, \\~September for the December test), pay the fees (~$100 USD), and carefully read the instructions provided by your testing institution\n\nIf you take the July test, you will get your results in ~September.\n\nIf you take the December test, you will get your results in ~March.\n\n## Practical advice\u002Fwarnings for the day of the test\n\nThe JLPT is quite strict, so here's some stuff you should be aware of ahead of time to avoid stressing more than necessary during the test.\n\n- **Print your test voucher and registration** out and bring it with you. As of date, you will _not_ be allowed in to take the test if you show up with only the digital registration form on your phone.\n- **Bring a form of identification**, such as a driver's license or passport.\n- **Bring a pencil and an eraser**. Pens are not allowed. Some testing locations may require pencils, specific types of lead, or disallow mechanical pencils. This will be explained in the instruction pamphlet provided by the testing facility when you sign up for the test.\n- Multiple tests are held in one centralized location (such as a university building).\n - **Arrive to the facility about half an hour early**. There will be a notice board displayed prominently, showing which people are taking the test in which room.\n - You will not be allowed to enter the test room until just before the best begins, when you are escorted by a proctor.\n- **Bring an analog watch** (the old-school watches with hands). The JLPT does not allow the use of smart watches, and stricter testing locations may also forbid the use of digital watches. If the room you are in has a clock on the wall, it will be covered with a piece of paper.\n- **Bring a backpack or bag**. You are not allowed to have anything on your table except for your test, a pencil, a backup pencil, and an eraser. Everything else must be left on the floor at the front of the classroom.\n- **Turn off your phone before the test starts**. If it rings, even if it's in your bag, you will be disqualified.\n- **Go to the bathroom before the test starts**. If you leave the test room when break is not in session, you will not be allowed to continue the test.\n\nThe JLPT N1 has one break. It occurs between the \"language knowledge & reading comprehension\" portion of the test and the \"listening comprehension\" portion of the test. You will be allowed to go to the bathroom during this time, may eat snacks or get a drink, and may use your phone.\n\nHere's a sample of the instructions that will be sent out when you register for the test: [2022 JLPT Test Site Information — New York, NY](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aatj.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002Fuploads\u002F2022%20TestSiteInfo_NY.pdf).\n\n---\n\n## So... Can you pass the JLPT N1?\n\nPassing JLPT N1 is no small feat, but with the right study plan, tools, and mindset, it’s entirely doable. Remember that consistency is key, and balancing all aspects—kanji, vocabulary, reading, grammar, and listening—is essential for success.\n\nOf course, given that this will be a long-term commitment, it's also important to study in a sustainable fashion. Try to learn in a way that's fun!\n\nAnd if the test is next week and you're Googling this because you're woefully unprepared, just like I was—take a deep breath. It'll be tough, but you'll be fine. You'll either pass, or come away with a clear weakness that you can focus on for next time.\n\nGood luck!\n",{"title":19880,"description":20867},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-n1","QPd7Sj9JKSmJ1i4FYqjar_iHRQ63n-yPAsXixCQIhao",{"id":20884,"title":20885,"body":20886,"description":22243,"extension":717,"meta":22244,"navigation":730,"path":22253,"rawbody":22254,"seo":22255,"stem":22256,"__hash__":22257,"timestampUnix":22245,"slug":22246,"h1":22247,"image":22248,"tags":22252,"_dir":736,"timestamp":22258},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-n5.md","Everything You Need to Know to Pass the JLPT N5 (+Sample Questions)",{"type":8,"value":20887,"toc":22222},[20888,20894,20897,20900,20903,20905,20907,20911,20933,20936,20940,20943,20959,20967,20977,20981,20984,20992,21004,21012,21069,21078,21082,21085,21091,21094,21123,21125,21129,21137,21148,21151,21168,21179,21182,21186,21189,21200,21204,21212,21215,21236,21239,21260,21263,21267,21274,21279,21282,21299,21302,21308,21312,21315,21332,21336,21339,21370,21373,21376,21380,21383,21386,21397,21401,21404,21407,21431,21434,21462,21466,21469,21475,21478,21481,21485,21488,21494,21500,21503,21509,21513,21516,21527,21531,21534,21537,21543,21546,21552,21556,21559,21562,21568,21571,21598,21602,21605,21608,21613,21616,21621,21624,21628,21631,21634,21644,21648,21651,21654,21671,21679,21685,21695,21699,21702,21705,21719,21727,21733,21736,21749,21753,21756,21759,21762,21784,21790,21796,21808,21812,21815,21821,21824,21841,21848,21857,21861,21864,21888,21895,21897,21901,21904,21921,21924,21927,21930,21936,21939,21956,21962,21965,21975,21982,21984,21987,21992,21995,22015,22018,22023,22028,22031,22033,22037,22040,22043,22058,22061,22065,22073,22079,22083,22086,22104,22108,22111,22168,22171,22180,22190,22192,22200,22203,22210,22216,22219],[11,20889,20890,20891,20893],{},"Seeking external confirmation that you've successfully learned some Japanese? Or maybe you haven't even started to ",[15,20892,18],{"href":17}," but just want to see what you're getting into?",[11,20895,20896],{},"You're in the right place 💪",[11,20898,20899],{},"I'm not sure what you want to know about the N5, exactly, so I prepared a bit of everything. This post is long.",[11,20901,20902],{},"Feel free to jump around:",[39,20904],{},[42,20906],{},[45,20908,20910],{"id":20909},"what-is-the-japanese-language-proficiency-test","What is the Japanese Language Proficiency Test?",[11,20912,3939,20913,20916,20917,20920,20921,20926,20927,20932],{},[15,20914,19887],{"href":11313,"rel":20915},[971]," is a standardized test that evaluates and certifies the language ability of Japanese learners. ",[26,20918,20919],{},"(Duh, wouldn't make sense to assess the proficiency of natives, would it?)"," It's administered twice a year (July & December) by the ",[15,20922,20925],{"href":20923,"rel":20924},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jpf.go.jp\u002Fe\u002Fproject\u002Findex.html",[971],"Japan Foundation"," outside of Japan, and by ",[15,20928,20931],{"href":20929,"rel":20930},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jees.or.jp\u002Findex.htm",[971],"Japan Educational Exchanges and Services (JEES)"," within Japan.",[11,20934,20935],{},"The test comprises five levels, and the N5 is the lowest of these levels.",[45,20937,20939],{"id":20938},"how-long-does-it-take-to-pass-the-jlpt-n5","How long does it take to pass the JLPT N5?",[11,20941,20942],{},"This question is sort of difficult to answer.",[304,20944,20945,20952],{},[307,20946,20947,20948],{},"The JLPT themselves estimate that it will take ",[15,20949,20951],{"href":20438,"rel":20950},[971],"about 150 hours",[307,20953,20954,20955],{},"A language school in Tokyo found that it took their full-time students ",[15,20956,20958],{"href":20454,"rel":20957},[971],"250–450 hours of study if they had prior knowledge of kanji (i.e., they spoke a Chinese language), or 325–600 hours if they didn't",[11,20960,20961,20966],{},[15,20962,20965],{"href":20963,"rel":20964},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002Fjlpt\u002Fcomments\u002F1if26qu\u002Fhow_i_passed_n5_in_4_months\u002F",[971],"This random Redditor"," passed the JLPT N5 in 4 months, studying for 3 hours a day, which works out to ~360 hours—right in line with the lower estimate from that language school.",[320,20968,20969,20972,20974],{},[287,20970,20971],{"bold":289,"underline":289},"\nImportant note\n",[292,20973],{},[287,20975,20976],{},"\nThis is the first question that everybody asks, but it's not super useful. Everybody's routine is different. Just know that this will take time, and that learning a language is like stacking pennies: so long as you keep at it, you'll eventually come away with a dollar.\n",[45,20978,20980],{"id":20979},"if-you-pass-the-n5-what-will-you-be-able-to-do","If you pass the N5, what will you be able to do?",[11,20982,20983],{},"Let's tackle this in two directions.",[11,20985,20986,20987,20991],{},"Per ",[15,20988,19946],{"href":20989,"rel":20990},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fabout\u002Flevelsummary.html",[971],", passing the N5 means that:",[304,20993,20994,20999],{},[307,20995,20996],{},[26,20997,20998],{},"\"One is able to read and understand typical expressions and sentences written in hiragana, katakana, and basic kanji.\"",[307,21000,21001],{},[26,21002,21003],{},"\"One is able to listen and comprehend conversations about topics regularly encountered in daily life and classroom situations, and is able to pick up necessary information from short conversations spoken slowly.\"",[11,21005,21006,21007,21011],{},"To get more clarity on what that means, exactly, they surveyed students who barely passed the N5 and asked them about the things they did and didn't feel comfortable doing. ",[15,21008,21010],{"href":19956,"rel":21009},[971],"The full report is four pages long",", but in brief:",[304,21013,21014,21027,21040,21053],{},[307,21015,21016,21019],{},[1090,21017,21018],{},"Listening ability:",[304,21020,21021,21024],{},[307,21022,21023],{},"75%+ said they could understand self-introductions, classroom instructions, and common phrases\u002Fgreetings",[307,21025,21026],{},"50%+ said they could understand simple instructions and follow conversations on basic topics like hobbies or food",[307,21028,21029,21032],{},[1090,21030,21031],{},"Speaking ability:",[304,21033,21034,21037],{},[307,21035,21036],{},"75%+ said they could introduce themselves and talk about their hobbies",[307,21038,21039],{},"50%+ said they could express their feelings and participate in basic\u002Feveryday conversations",[307,21041,21042,21045],{},[1090,21043,21044],{},"Reading ability:",[304,21046,21047,21050],{},[307,21048,21049],{},"75%+ said they could read their appointment date\u002Ftime for school or the doctor",[307,21051,21052],{},"50%+ said they could skim schedules, advertisements, boards, etc to find key bits of information",[307,21054,21055,21058],{},[1090,21056,21057],{},"Writing ability:",[304,21059,21060,21063,21066],{},[307,21061,21062],{},"75%+ said they could write their name, country, and similar bits of basic information",[307,21064,21065],{},"50%+ said they could write a simple self introduction",[307,21067,21068],{},"25%+ said they could write short diary entries and memos",[320,21070,21071],{},[11,21072,21073,21074,21077],{},"Generally speaking, you can take this to say that you've achieved a basic grasp on Japanese. You've got a long way to go, and that's ",[26,21075,21076],{},"very"," apparent... but the language doesn't feel completely foreign anymore, either, and you probably believe that you can do this if you stick at it. (And you're right, of course: You can.)",[45,21079,21081],{"id":21080},"what-do-you-need-to-know-in-order-to-pass-the-n5","What do you need to know in order to pass the N5?",[11,21083,21084],{},"There are no official vocabulary, kanji, or grammar lists that you \"should\" know for a particular JLPT level, so it's not possible to give a perfect answer and point you toward a nicely formatted List of Language Knowledge for JLPT Preparation. I wish I could. Sorry.",[11,21086,21087,21088,21090],{},"Having said that, some groups ",[26,21089,10834],{}," keep track of the questions that appear in official mock tests and on each JLPT, and over time this has made it possible to guesstimate how \"difficult\" the JLPT considers particular words and structures. It's not perfect—something might be on an N5 test one year but an N4 the next, and vice versa—but it's good enough to guide your learning.",[11,21092,21093],{},"Again emphasizing that this is just a ballpark guess, you'll need to know:",[304,21095,21096,21103,21110],{},[307,21097,21098],{},[15,21099,21102],{"href":21100,"rel":21101},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wiktionary.org\u002Fwiki\u002FAppendix:JLPT\u002FN5",[971],"600–800 vocab words",[307,21104,21105],{},[15,21106,21109],{"href":21107,"rel":21108},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikibooks.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJLPT_Guide\u002FJLPT_N5_Kanji",[971],"80–100 kanji",[307,21111,21112,506,21117,21122],{},[15,21113,21116],{"href":21114,"rel":21115},"https:\u002F\u002Fjlptgrammarlist.neocities.org\u002F",[971],"50–100 grammar points",[15,21118,21121],{"href":21119,"rel":21120},"https:\u002F\u002Fjlptsensei.com\u002Fjlpt-n5-grammar-list\u002F",[971],"(alternate list)"," (this varies so much because grammar points can be \"chunked\" in different ways)",[42,21124],{},[45,21126,21128],{"id":21127},"test-breakdown-jlpt-n5-exam-structure-practice-tests-question-types-and-grading-scheme","[Test breakdown] JLPT N5 exam structure, practice tests, question types, and grading scheme",[11,21130,21131,21132,8737],{},"The JLPT N5 is broken into ",[15,21133,21136],{"href":21134,"rel":21135},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fguideline\u002Ftestsections.html",[971],"three sections",[304,21138,21139,21142,21145],{},[307,21140,21141],{},"A vocabulary test",[307,21143,21144],{},"A grammar test and a reading test",[307,21146,21147],{},"A listening test",[11,21149,21150],{},"The middle two tests (grammar\u002Freading) are technically different tests, but they're contained within the same test booklet. You'll get a break between each of those three sections (so two total)—how long the break is seems to vary by location, but it'll be between 20 and 30 minutes.",[320,21152,21153],{},[11,21154,21155,21156,21161,21162,21167],{},"To pass the test, you'll need to earn ",[15,21157,21160],{"href":21158,"rel":21159},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsp\u002Fe\u002Fguideline\u002Fresults.html",[971],"a score of 80\u002F180†",", earning at least 38 points on the first two sections and at least 19 points on the listening section. Looking at ",[15,21163,21166],{"href":21164,"rel":21165},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fstatistics\u002Farchive.html?mode=pc",[971],"data from the last few years",", roughly 60% of test takers within Japan pass the N5 and roughly 50% of test takers outside of Japan pass it.",[11,21169,21170],{},[26,21171,21172,21173,21178],{},"(† Note: Wondering how 80\u002F180 earns a pass? It's because ",[15,21174,21177],{"href":21175,"rel":21176},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fabout\u002Fpdf\u002Fscaledscore_e.pdf?mode=pc",[971],"the JLPT is graded on a sort of curve",". Basically, you get more points if you get questions right that most people miss wrong, and vice versa. In other words, getting a good score on the JLPT is less about how many questions you get right, and more about *which* questions you get right.)",[11,21180,21181],{},"Anyway, that out of the way, let's dive into each section:",[847,21183,21185],{"id":21184},"vocabulary-section-20-minutes","Vocabulary section (20 minutes)",[11,21187,21188],{},"The JLPT N5 will test your vocabulary in four different ways. Below I'll introduce each question type you'll encounter and give you a sample question so you can see what you're getting into.",[320,21190,21191],{},[11,21192,21193,21194,21199],{},"If you'd like to go further than this, ",[15,21195,21198],{"href":21196,"rel":21197},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fpdf\u002FN5V.pdf",[971],"here's the vocabulary section of a JLPT N5 mock test",". An answer key is down below in the section entitled \"Answer Key\".",[3240,21201,21203],{"id":21202},"_1-kanji-reading","1) Kanji reading",[11,21205,21206,21207,21211],{},"You'll be shown a sentence. One kanji word in this sentence will be underlined, and your job is to indicate the reading (",[15,21208,21210],{"href":21209},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-kanji#how-japanese-kanji-work","on'yomi or kun'yomi",") of this kanji.",[11,21213,21214],{},"Example of an easier problem:",[304,21216,21217],{},[307,21218,21219,21220,21223,21224,21226,21227,21229,21230,21232,21233,21235],{},"(#4) ちかくに",[2191,21221,21222],{},"山","があります。",[292,21225],{}," 1. かわ ",[292,21228],{}," 2. やま ",[292,21231],{}," 3. いけ ",[292,21234],{}," 4. うみ",[11,21237,21238],{},"Example of a trickier problem:",[304,21240,21241],{},[307,21242,21243,21244,21247,21248,21250,21251,21253,21254,21256,21257,21259],{},"(#6) ともだちといっしょに",[2191,21245,21246],{},"学校","にいきます。",[292,21249],{}," 1. がこう ",[292,21252],{}," 2. がこお ",[292,21255],{}," 3. がっこう ",[292,21258],{}," 4. がっこお",[11,21261,21262],{},"As you can see, the simpler questions simply check to see if you know roughly how a word sounds, whereas the trickier question makes sure you know exactly how it's spelled\u002Fpronounced.",[3240,21264,21266],{"id":21265},"_2-orthography","2) Orthography",[11,21268,21269,21270,21273],{},"This is essentially the opposite of the kanji reading question. You'll see a sentence written ",[26,21271,21272],{},"completely"," in hiragana and katakana. One word will be underlined, and you must indicate the correct way to write the word using kanji (and sometimes katakana).",[320,21275,21276],{},[11,21277,21278],{},"This sounds simple in theory, but all of these questions are very tricky. They intentionally feature similar looking kanji, and sometimes include fake kanji. You really need to have your kanji down to get these right.",[11,21280,21281],{},"Here's an example of a simpler problem. All it asks you to do is recognize the rough shape of the kanji in question.",[304,21283,21284],{},[307,21285,21286,21287,21289,21290,21292,21293,21295,21296,21298],{},"(14) この ぼうしは 1000 えんです。",[292,21288],{}," 1. 1000 内 ",[292,21291],{}," 2. 1000 用 ",[292,21294],{}," 3. 1000 冊 ",[292,21297],{}," 4. 1000 円",[11,21300,21301],{},"Here's an example of a trickier problem, in which you're presented with four similar-looking characters and must mind small details to pick the right one. I'm including a screenshot because one of the characters is fake and not actually possible to type with a normal keyboard.",[50,21303],{"src":21304,"width":21305,"height":21306,"alt":21307},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-kanji.jpeg",940,176,"A screenshot of an orthography question from the JLPT N5",[3240,21309,21311],{"id":21310},"_3-contextually-defined-expressions","3) Contextually-defined expressions",[11,21313,21314],{},"This section consists of straightforward \"fill in the blank\" style questions. You'll see a sentence with a missing word and must choose the best word to fill in the blank.",[304,21316,21317],{},[307,21318,21319,21320,21322,21323,21325,21326,21328,21329,21331],{},"(20) さとうさんは ギターを じょうずに(____)。 ",[292,21321],{}," 1. うたいます ",[292,21324],{}," 2. ききます ",[292,21327],{}," 3. ひきます ",[292,21330],{}," 4. あそびます",[3240,21333,21335],{"id":21334},"_4-paraphrases","4) Paraphrases",[11,21337,21338],{},"This section is also pretty straightforward. You'll be presented with a sentence, then will be given 4 further sentences and asked to indicate which one means nearly the same thing as the original sentence.",[304,21340,21341],{},[307,21342,21343,21344,21223,21347,21349,21350,21223,21353,21355,21356,21223,21359,21361,21362,21223,21364,21366,21367,21223],{},"(30) このまちにはゆうめいな",[1090,21345,21346],{},"たてもの",[292,21348],{}," 1. このまちにはゆうめいな",[1090,21351,21352],{},"ビル",[292,21354],{}," 2. このまちにはゆうめいな",[1090,21357,21358],{},"おちゃ",[292,21360],{}," 3. このまちにはゆうめいな",[1090,21363,14956],{},[292,21365],{}," 4. このまちにはゆうめいな",[1090,21368,21369],{},"こうえん",[11,21371,21372],{},"These questions are actually pretty tricky on the N1 and N2, in which you get a bunch of different sentences that have overlapping nuance... but, for now, it's basically a test of your ability to spot synonyms.",[11,21374,21375],{},"Once you finish this section, you'll have a ~20 minute break before the grammar section begins.",[847,21377,21379],{"id":21378},"grammar-section-20-minutes","Grammar section (~20 minutes)",[11,21381,21382],{},"This section of the test checks how well you understand how the parts of a Japanese sentence fit together. I personally think it's the easiest portion of the JLPT. Japanese grammar is complex, but this section of the test isn't.",[11,21384,21385],{},"As with the vocab section, I'll show a sample question or two in each subsection.",[320,21387,21388],{},[11,21389,21390,21391,21396],{},"If you'd really like to test yourself, here's ",[15,21392,21395],{"href":21393,"rel":21394},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fpdf\u002FN5G.pdf",[971],"the grammar section of a JLPT N5 mock test",". Again, an answer key will be provided after the listening comprehension section.",[3240,21398,21400],{"id":21399},"_1-sequential-grammar-1-selecting-the-correct-grammar-form","1) Sequential grammar 1 \u002F \"Selecting the correct grammar form\"",[11,21402,21403],{},"This is another fill-in-the-blank test. You'll be shown a sentence with a blank and asked to indicate which grammar point best completes it. Sentences include heavy usage of furigana, ensuring that you never miss a question because you don't know how to read a kanji.",[11,21405,21406],{},"Many of these tests are related to particles:",[304,21408,21409],{},[307,21410,21411,21412,6257,21415,21418,21419,21421,21422,21424,21425,21427,21428,21430],{},"(5) きのう、わたしはひとり(____)えいがを",[98,21413],{"lang":100,"syntax":21414},"見[み]",[98,21416],{"lang":100,"syntax":21417},"行きました[いきました]","。",[292,21420],{}," 1. が ",[292,21423],{}," 2. を ",[292,21426],{}," 3. で ",[292,21429],{}," 4. は",[11,21432,21433],{},"But some of them quiz you on other things, like verb conjugation:",[304,21435,21436],{},[307,21437,21438,21439,21442,21443,21446,21447,21449,21450,21452,21453,21455,21456,21458,21459,21461],{},"(12) A「",[98,21440],{"lang":100,"syntax":21441},"東京[とうきょう]","でも",[98,21444],{"lang":100,"syntax":21445},"雪[ゆき]","がふりますか。」",[292,21448],{}," B「ええ、ふりますよ。でも、きょねんはあまり（ ）。」",[292,21451],{}," 1. ふりませんでした ",[292,21454],{}," 2. ふりません ",[292,21457],{}," 3. ふりました ",[292,21460],{}," 4. ふります",[3240,21463,21465],{"id":21464},"_2-sequential-grammar-2-sentence-composition","2) Sequential grammar 2 \u002F \"Sentence composition\"",[11,21467,21468],{},"Not to scare you off, but this section is infamous for causing chaos. Take a glance at it, first, and see what you make of it:",[50,21470],{"src":21471,"width":21472,"height":21473,"alt":21474},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-grammar-2.jpeg",968,240,"A screenshot from the JLPT N5, showing one of the types of grammar questions it features",[11,21476,21477],{},"Each of the question items (1–4) goes in one of the blanks. Your job is to un-jumble the sentence, then indicate which item goes in the 3rd blank (which has a star).",[11,21479,21480],{},"These aren't too bad when you get the hang of them, but they're tricky in the moment when you're stressed out. Make a point to drill several before taking the JLPT for real!",[3240,21482,21484],{"id":21483},"_3-text-grammar","3) Text grammar",[11,21486,21487],{},"This is basically the same deal as Sequential Grammar 1—there's a blank in the middle of the sentence, and you need to indicate which Japanese word, particle, or whatever is the best option to fill in that blank.",[11,21489,21490,21491,21493],{},"The difference is that where you were previously dealing with sentences in isolation, ",[26,21492,19724],{}," you're dealing with something like this:",[50,21495],{"src":21496,"width":21497,"height":21498,"alt":21499},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-grammar-3.jpeg",992,974,"A screenshot of the 'text grammar' portion of a JLPT N5 test",[11,21501,21502],{},"Each blank is numbered, and that number corresponds to a question. For example, below, your task is to identify the word that goes in the blank labeled 22.",[50,21504],{"src":21505,"width":21506,"height":21507,"alt":21508},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-3q.jpeg",684,182,"A screenshot from the JLPT N5, showing one of the questions following the 'text grammar' section",[847,21510,21512],{"id":21511},"reading-comprehension-section-20-minutes","Reading comprehension section (~20 minutes)",[11,21514,21515],{},"That last grammar question was pretty long! This trend continues in the reading section, but rather than testing your ability to complete sentences in a natural fashion, you're instead tested more generally on how well you comprehend the text in question.",[320,21517,21518],{},[11,21519,21520,21521,21526],{},"Here's ",[15,21522,21525],{"href":21523,"rel":21524},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fpdf\u002FN5R.pdf",[971],"the reading comprehension section of a JLPT N5 mock test",", for reference. It starts from #27 because it's actually a continuation of the grammar section. Once again, the answer key will be in the next-next section.",[3240,21528,21530],{"id":21529},"_1-comprehension-short-passages","1) Comprehension (short passages)",[11,21532,21533],{},"There's actually quite a bit of variety here: you might be dealing with a simple paragraph, you might be looking at a memo, you might be referencing an image. However it works out, the process will be the same: see a brief text, answer a single question about it.",[11,21535,21536],{},"For example, you'll see a text like this:",[50,21538],{"src":21539,"width":21540,"height":21541,"alt":21542},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-reading1a.jpeg",986,242,"One of the texts from the 'short passage' portion of the JLPT N5 reading test",[11,21544,21545],{},"Then you'll be asked to identify which room the text is describing:",[50,21547],{"src":21548,"width":21549,"height":21550,"alt":21551},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-reading-1b.jpeg",946,750,"The second half of the same 'short passage' question, showing the question that follows the passage",[3240,21553,21555],{"id":21554},"_2-comprehension-medium-passages","2) Comprehension (medium passages)",[11,21557,21558],{},"This is basically the same thing as the previous section but with a longer paragraph. Since the text is longer, you'll be asked two or three questions about it, instead of just one.",[11,21560,21561],{},"So you'll read a text like this:",[50,21563],{"src":21564,"width":21565,"height":21566,"alt":21567},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-reading-2a.jpeg",990,624,"The reading passage of the 'medium passages' portion of the JLPT N5",[11,21569,21570],{},"Then be asked a couple questions like this:",[304,21572,21573],{},[307,21574,21575,21576,21578,21579,6257,21582,6257,21585,21588,21589,21591,21592,21594,21595,21597],{},"(30) どうしてこまりましたか。 ",[292,21577],{}," 1. おそい",[98,21580],{"lang":100,"syntax":21581},"時間[じかん]",[98,21583],{"lang":100,"syntax":21584},"駅[えき]",[98,21586],{"lang":100,"syntax":21587},"着いた[ついた]","から ",[292,21590],{}," 2. しごとがたくさんあったから ",[292,21593],{}," 3. とてもつかれたから ",[292,21596],{}," 4. かさがなかったから",[3240,21599,21601],{"id":21600},"_3-information-retrieval","3) Information retrieval",[11,21603,21604],{},"Here, you'll look at some sort of graphic. It might be an ad, it might be a schedule, it might be a webpage—basically, it'll be some sort of display which has information on it.",[11,21606,21607],{},"So you'll see something like this on the right-hand page of your test booklet:",[50,21609],{"src":21610,"width":11688,"height":21611,"alt":21612},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-reading-3a.jpeg",1248,"A screenshot from the JLPT N5, showing an ad used for the information retrieval section",[11,21614,21615],{},"And then you'll see a question or two on the left-hand page of your test booklet:",[50,21617],{"src":21618,"width":11688,"height":21619,"alt":21620},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-reading-q3b.jpeg",474,"A screenshot from the JLPT N5, showing a question you'll have to answer about an ad",[11,21622,21623],{},"And with that, you've earned yourself a break! You'll have 20–30 minutes to relax or go to the bathroom.",[847,21625,21627],{"id":21626},"listening-comprehension-section-30-minutes","Listening comprehension section (~30 minutes)",[11,21629,21630],{},"We now shift gears completely: you've been using your eyes, and now you have to use your ears. You'll hear snippets of a variety of conversations—some casual, some formal—and have your comprehension tested in a few different ways.",[11,21632,21633],{},"It's worth mentioning that JLPT listening questions are less a test of your ability to generally follow the gist of a conversation and more a test of your ability to identify and remember key bits of information within a conversation. Some people find this troublesome, while others feel that listening is the easiest portion of the test.",[320,21635,21636],{},[11,21637,21638,21639,415],{},"Again, if you want to follow along, here's the question sheet for ",[15,21640,21643],{"href":21641,"rel":21642},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fpdf\u002FN5L.pdf",[971],"the listening comprehension section of a JLPT N5 mock test",[3240,21645,21647],{"id":21646},"_1-task-based-comprehension","1) Task-based comprehension",[11,21649,21650],{},"A narrator will introduce a situation to you—here, they say \"A teacher is talking in class\". You'll then be given a task—here, they say \"Today, where (which portion) should the students study at home?\"",[11,21652,21653],{},"From here:",[304,21655,21656,21659,21662,21665,21668],{},[307,21657,21658],{},"You'll listen to the dialogue (20–30s)",[307,21660,21661],{},"A bell will ring, signaling that the dialogue is over",[307,21663,21664],{},"The narrator will repeat the question",[307,21666,21667],{},"There will be a ~10 second pause for you to review the images in your booklet and indicate the correct answer",[307,21669,21670],{},"You'll hear a bell when the next question is about to begin",[11,21672,21520,21673,21678],{},[15,21674,21677],{"href":21675,"rel":21676},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fmp3\u002FN5Q1.mp3",[971],"\"the audio"," for this subsection of the test. Start the audio at 1:30 if you'd like to try the below question.",[50,21680],{"src":21681,"width":21682,"height":21683,"alt":21684},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-listening-q1.jpeg",922,706,"A screenshot of the example from the first listening section of the JLPT N5",[320,21686,21687,21690,21692],{},[287,21688,21689],{"bold":289,"underline":289},"\nStrategy\n",[292,21691],{},[287,21693,21694],{},"\nReference the images while listening to the dialogue. As you listen, you'll get several little hints—\"it's on page 21\" or \"do we need to do the entire page? No.\" and so forth. For this reason, this question type is relatively forgiving. Even if you don't understand a bit of the dialogue, you'll still be able to eliminate one or two of the options. \n",[3240,21696,21698],{"id":21697},"_2-comprehension-of-key-points","2) Comprehension of key points",[11,21700,21701],{},"A narrator will introduce a situation—here, they say \"A man and a woman are talking.\" You'll then be asked to pick a specific bit out of the conversation—here, that is \"yesterday, where did the man go?\". The narrator will then state who is about to start talking and the question will begin.",[11,21703,21704],{},"From here, you'll:",[304,21706,21707,21710,21712,21714,21717],{},[307,21708,21709],{},"Listen to the dialogue",[307,21711,21661],{},[307,21713,21664],{},[307,21715,21716],{},"You'll have about 15 seconds to read through the possible answers and select the best one",[307,21718,21670],{},[11,21720,21520,21721,21726],{},[15,21722,21725],{"href":21723,"rel":21724},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2017\u002Fmp3\u002FN5Q2.mp3",[971],"the audio"," for this subsection of the test. Start it at 0:40 if you'd like to try the below question.",[50,21728],{"src":21729,"width":21730,"height":21731,"alt":21732},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-listening-q2.jpeg",808,304,"A screenshot of the example from the second listening section of the JLPT N5",[11,21734,21735],{},"This question type is similar to the previous one, but it's different in that (a) there's no visual reference and (b) instead of listening for multiple hints spread out through an entire dialogue, you're listening for one specific bit of information.",[320,21737,21738,21740,21742],{},[287,21739,21689],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[292,21741],{},[287,21743,21744,21745,21748],{},"\nThis section demands the most focus of the entire test. If you zone out and miss the 2 seconds of audio in which the answer is stated, you'll get the question wrong, even if you understand everything else perfectly. For this reason, you \n",[26,21746,21747],{},"shouldn't","\n read the answers and listen to the audio at the same time. You can't half-listen for this question. \n",[3240,21750,21752],{"id":21751},"_3-verbal-expressions","3) Verbal expressions",[11,21754,21755],{},"This question type is sort of like role playing. You'll see a picture of a situation with multiple people and there will be an arrow pointing at one person. You'll then hear several one-line sentences, and must indicate which of these sentences it's most reasonable that this person might have said.",[11,21757,21758],{},"What's challenging about this question type is that the questions aren't written down: your answer sheet contains nothing but bubbles labeled 1, 2, and 3. The image shows you the situation, but you can only get information by listening to the audio.",[11,21760,21761],{},"To break this down a bit further:",[304,21763,21764,21767,21770,21773,21776,21779,21782],{},[307,21765,21766],{},"You'll first see the image and assess the situation",[307,21768,21769],{},"A narrator will introduce a situation (\"calling to a restaurant worker\")",[307,21771,21772],{},"A narrator will state a question (\"what does this person say?\")",[307,21774,21775],{},"Another narrator will say \"one\", then you'll hear one possible response",[307,21777,21778],{},"This will repeat two more times",[307,21780,21781],{},"You'll indicate on your sheet which line of dialogue was said by the person",[307,21783,21670],{},[11,21785,21520,21786,21726],{},[15,21787,21725],{"href":21788,"rel":21789},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fmp3\u002FN5Q3.mp3",[971],[50,21791],{"src":21792,"width":21793,"height":21794,"alt":21795},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-listening-q3.jpeg",912,772,"A screenshot of the example from the third listening section of the JLPT N5",[320,21797,21798,21800,21802],{},[287,21799,21689],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[292,21801],{},[287,21803,21804,21805,21807],{},"\nFor this question type, the question and possible answers will \n",[26,21806,10642],{},"\n be repeated after the dialogue ends. There will be a small pause and then you will move directly onto the next question. As such, you should fill in the answer bubble as soon as you hear the right answer in the dialogue. If you're slow, you'll end up missing the audio to the next question while trying to fill in the answer to the previous question. \n",[3240,21809,21811],{"id":21810},"_4-quick-responses","4) Quick responses",[11,21813,21814],{},"This is a unique question type. There are no images to reference, and your test booklet is completely empty—as shown below:",[50,21816],{"src":21817,"width":21818,"height":21819,"alt":21820},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-listening-q4.jpeg",1136,938,"A screenshot of the example from the fourth listening section of the JLPT N5",[11,21822,21823],{},"All of these questions are snippets of dialogue between two people. You'll:",[304,21825,21826,21829,21832,21835,21838],{},[307,21827,21828],{},"Hear a question from the first speaker",[307,21830,21831],{},"Hear \"one\" and then a potential response",[307,21833,21834],{},"Hear two more potential responses, prefaced by \"two\" and \"three\"",[307,21836,21837],{},"Get ~10s of silence to fill in your answer",[307,21839,21840],{},"Hear a bell when the next question is about to begin",[11,21842,21520,21843,21847],{},[15,21844,21725],{"href":21845,"rel":21846},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fmp3\u002FN5Q4.mp3",[971]," for this subsection of the test. Start the audio from 0:34 to try this question out.",[320,21849,21850,21852,21854],{},[287,21851,21689],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[292,21853],{},[287,21855,21856],{},"\nAs with the previous question type, you should fill in your answer sheet as soon as you hear the correct answer. This section of the test moves quickly, and the answers are not repeated. You don't want to find yourself knowing that the answer is すみません, but not remembering if that was answer #1 or answer #2. \n",[847,21858,21860],{"id":21859},"answer-key","Answer key",[11,21862,21863],{},"A few goodies for you:",[304,21865,21866,21874,21881],{},[307,21867,21868,21873],{},[15,21869,21872],{"href":21870,"rel":21871},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fpdf\u002FN5sheet.pdf",[971],"A blank answer sheet"," you can fill out and print in",[307,21875,21876],{},[15,21877,21880],{"href":21878,"rel":21879},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fpdf\u002FN5script.pdf",[971],"A transcript of the audio from the listening-comprehension section",[307,21882,21883,415],{},[15,21884,21887],{"href":21885,"rel":21886},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fpdf\u002FN5answer.pdf",[971],"The answer key",[11,21889,21890,21891,415],{},"Above, I've directed you to questions from the official 2012 JLPT mock test. If you'd like to do one more test, here's a link to the full ",[15,21892,21894],{"href":20677,"rel":21893},[971],"2018 JLPT mock test",[42,21896],{},[45,21898,21900],{"id":21899},"how-to-pass-the-jlpt-n5-in-about-6-months","How to pass the JLPT N5 in about 6 months",[11,21902,21903],{},"Part of the reason that it seems to take people so long to learn Japanese is that traditional approaches to learning languages just aren't very efficient.",[304,21905,21906,21914],{},[307,21907,21908,21913],{},[15,21909,21912],{"href":21910,"rel":21911},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=VcfrinKCvC4",[971],"Japanese classes are problematic","—you might only spend 5 minutes engaging with Japanese in a 50 minute lesson, and their format encourages you to cram information for a test and then forget it",[307,21915,21916,21920],{},[15,21917,21919],{"href":21918},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-problem-with-textbooks","Textbooks aren't much better","—partly due to how they're organized, partly due to the limitations of paper as a medium",[11,21922,21923],{},"Now, don't get me wrong.",[11,21925,21926],{},"I definitely don't mean to belittle the difficulty of learning—or teaching—a language.",[11,21928,21929],{},"It's hard.",[11,21931,21932,21935],{},[26,21933,21934],{},"Really"," hard.",[11,21937,21938],{},"... But, when you consider that, to pass the JLPT N5, you need to know:",[304,21940,21941,21946,21951],{},[307,21942,21943],{},[15,21944,21102],{"href":21100,"rel":21945},[971],[307,21947,21948],{},[15,21949,21109],{"href":21107,"rel":21950},[971],[307,21952,21953],{},[15,21954,21116],{"href":21114,"rel":21955},[971],[11,21957,21958,21959,21961],{},"I think it's fair to say that it's kinda ridiculous for ",[26,21960,5890],{}," to take 360 hours of work.",[11,21963,21964],{},"It doesn't need to.",[320,21966,21967],{},[11,21968,21969,21970,21974],{},"Frustrated that we couldn't find a solid program to recommend our users, we recruited a team of successful language learners and built ",[15,21971,21973],{"href":969,"rel":21972},[971],"two beginner's courses"," ourselves.",[11,21976,21977,21978,3814,21980,8737],{},"You'll start off by learning how to read and correctly pronounce the ",[15,21979,1033],{"href":1082},[15,21981,1034],{"href":3811},[50,21983],{"src":919,"width":920,"height":921,"alt":922},[11,21985,21986],{},"From there, you'll proceed to learn ~380 essential grammar patterns and ~1,800 vocabulary words:",[50,21988],{"src":21989,"width":1240,"height":21990,"alt":21991},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-particle-ni-plug.jpeg",1032,"A few screenshots from Migaku's Japanese Academy demonstrating how the particle に (ni) is used",[11,21993,21994],{},"What's special about these courses is that:",[304,21996,21997,22004,22012],{},[307,21998,21999,22000,22003],{},"They cover ",[15,22001,22002],{"href":1199},"the specific vocabulary words you need to understand 80% of the sentences in Netflix","—the sentences have also been very carefully curated so that each \"next\" sentence only contains one word you don't know",[307,22005,22006,22007,506,22009],{},"The course is flashcard based and powered by ",[15,22008,5907],{"href":5906},[26,22010,22011],{},"(we periodically nudge you to review words to ensure that you remember them)",[307,22013,22014],{},"It's mobile-friendly and can be done with one hand",[11,22016,22017],{},"The entire learning process is guided—we determine what you should learn next and keep track of your performance to determine what you should review on a daily basis.",[11,22019,22020,22021,415],{},"As such, to learn Japanese, all you have to do is log into Migaku once a day and click ",[26,22022,12797],{},[320,22024,22025],{},[11,22026,22027],{},"If you do 10 flashcards per day, you'll learn everything you need to pass the N5—and a good bit more—in about 6 months.",[11,22029,22030],{},"You can try Migaku free for ten days—which, at a pace of 23 cards per day, is just enough time to learn the hiragana and katakana.",[674,22032],{"href":17,"text":676},[45,22034,22036],{"id":22035},"how-to-sign-up-for-the-jlpt-n5","How to sign up for the JLPT N5",[11,22038,22039],{},"Unfortunately, we can't give you a perfect guide, here. The JLPT examinations are conducted by different institutions around the globe, and each one does things a bit differently.",[11,22041,22042],{},"Generally speaking:",[304,22044,22045,22048,22051],{},[307,22046,22047],{},"A test is offered in July and December",[307,22049,22050],{},"Registration closes ~3 months before each test (so to test in July, you'll need to register by April)",[307,22052,22053,22054,22057],{},"Results are sent out ",[26,22055,22056],{},"via mail"," about ~2 months after you finish the test (it takes so long because they're graded by machine and then verified by hand)",[11,22059,22060],{},"And now:",[847,22062,22064],{"id":22063},"if-youll-take-the-jlpt-in-japan","If you'll take the JLPT in Japan...",[11,22066,22067,22068,22072],{},"Follow ",[15,22069,22071],{"href":20719,"rel":22070},[971],"these instructions"," on the JLPT website.",[50,22074],{"src":22075,"width":22076,"height":22077,"alt":22078},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-how-to-signup-japan.jpeg",1394,1572,"A screenshot of JEES's instructions about signing up for the JLPT",[847,22080,22082],{"id":22081},"if-youll-take-the-jlpt-abroad","If you'll take the JLPT abroad...",[11,22084,22085],{},"This is a bit more involved, unfortunately.",[344,22087,22088,22095,22098,22101],{},[307,22089,22090,22091],{},"Select your country from ",[15,22092,22094],{"href":20733,"rel":22093},[971],"this list of global testing locations",[307,22096,22097],{},"You'll see a link to the homepage of the institution that hosts the JLPT in your country or region; click on it",[307,22099,22100],{},"Follow the instructions on your country-specific JLPT registration page",[307,22102,22103],{},"It'll cost about $100 USD",[45,22105,22107],{"id":22106},"check-list-dos-and-donts-come-test-day","[Check list] Do's and Don'ts come test day",[11,22109,22110],{},"The JLPT has very strict rules for how the test is to be conducted.",[304,22112,22113,22119,22125,22133,22144,22150,22156,22162],{},[307,22114,22115,22118],{},[1090,22116,22117],{},"Print out your test voucher and registration confirmation",". You will not be allowed to enter the facility if you do not have these. A screenshot on your phone will not be accepted.",[307,22120,22121,22124],{},[1090,22122,22123],{},"Bring a form of official identification","—your passport if abroad, or some sort of license if at home.",[307,22126,22127,22129,22130],{},[1090,22128,20776],{},". Pens are not allowed. Some locations may even require you to use pencils with specific types of lead. This will be explained in the instructions sent to you upon signing up. ",[26,22131,22132],{},"(† See below.)",[307,22134,22135,22138,22139,22141,22142],{},[1090,22136,22137],{},"Arrive about half an hour early",". Many tests are held at each location, and it'll take a bit of hunting to find out exactly where ",[26,22140,13554],{}," test is being held. You should see a notice board near the main entrance of the facility with more information. ",[26,22143,22132],{},[307,22145,22146,22149],{},[1090,22147,22148],{},"Bring an old-school watch with hands",". Any visible clocks will be covered in the testing facility, smart watches are banned, and stricter facilities may even prohibit the use of digital watches.",[307,22151,22152,22155],{},[1090,22153,22154],{},"Bring some sort of bag",". You're only allowed to bring your ID, pencil, eraser, and test booklet to your desk. All other belongings must be left at the front of the room.",[307,22157,22158,22161],{},[1090,22159,22160],{},"Turn off your phone."," If it rings or vibrates, you will be immediately disqualified.",[307,22163,22164,22167],{},[1090,22165,22166],{},"Go to the bathroom, even if you don't think you have to",". The JLPT takes about 3 hours, and if you leave while the test is in session, you won't be allowed to re-enter.",[11,22169,22170],{},"The JLPT N5 has two breaks—one after the vocabulary section, and one after the grammar\u002Freading comprehension section. Each break is about 20 minutes long. You'll be able to go to the bathroom, eat a snack, or use your phone during this time.",[11,22172,22173,22174,22179],{},"Additionally, here's ",[15,22175,22178],{"href":22176,"rel":22177},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsp\u002Fe\u002Ffaq\u002F",[971],"a series of FAQs from the JLPT"," that you may find useful.",[11,22181,22182,22183],{},"† Note: ",[26,22184,22185,22186,415],{},"When you sign up for the JLPT, you'll be emailed a pamphlet of instructions\u002Finformation ",[15,22187,22189],{"href":20824,"rel":22188},[971],"like this",[42,22191],{},[45,22193,22195,22196,22199],{"id":22194},"wanna-actually-learn-nihongo-like-for-real","... Wanna ",[26,22197,22198],{},"actually"," learn nihongo, like for real?",[11,22201,22202],{},"Standardized tests aside, I'm going to be real with you for a second:",[320,22204,22205],{},[11,22206,22207,22208],{},"The only thing you need to do to learn Japanese is interact with it. If you consume media you enjoy, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you'll make progress. ",[26,22209,705],{},[11,22211,22212,22213,22215],{},"You need to learn the basics from somewhere, and the JLPT is great in that it gives you a target to shoot for... but, at the end of the day, what ",[26,22214,19069],{}," matters is how much time you spend engaging directly with Japanese—even as a beginner.",[11,22217,22218],{},"Anyway, that's my soap box.",[11,22220,22221],{},"Good luck on the JLPT 💪",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":22223},[22224,22225,22226,22227,22228,22235,22236,22240,22241],{"id":20909,"depth":707,"text":20910},{"id":20938,"depth":707,"text":20939},{"id":20979,"depth":707,"text":20980},{"id":21080,"depth":707,"text":21081},{"id":21127,"depth":707,"text":21128,"children":22229},[22230,22231,22232,22233,22234],{"id":21184,"depth":1016,"text":21185},{"id":21378,"depth":1016,"text":21379},{"id":21511,"depth":1016,"text":21512},{"id":21626,"depth":1016,"text":21627},{"id":21859,"depth":1016,"text":21860},{"id":21899,"depth":707,"text":21900},{"id":22035,"depth":707,"text":22036,"children":22237},[22238,22239],{"id":22063,"depth":1016,"text":22064},{"id":22081,"depth":1016,"text":22082},{"id":22106,"depth":707,"text":22107},{"id":22194,"depth":707,"text":22242},"... Wanna actually learn nihongo, like for real?","The JLPT N5 is the first level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, a test which measures how well you've learned Japanese. Here's how it works!",{"timestampUnix":22245,"slug":22246,"h1":22247,"image":22248,"tags":22252},1746382035000,"jlpt-n5-overview","Read this study guide → pass JLPT N5",{"src":22249,"width":4834,"height":22250,"alt":22251},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-thumbnail.jpeg",800,"A photo of a JLPT N5 certificate",[8649],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-n5","---\ntitle: 'Everything You Need to Know to Pass the JLPT N5 (+Sample Questions)'\ndescription: \"The JLPT N5 is the first level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, a test which measures how well you've learned Japanese. Here's how it works!\"\ntimestampUnix: 1746382035000\nslug: 'jlpt-n5-overview'\nh1: 'Read this study guide → pass JLPT N5'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-thumbnail.jpeg'\n width: 1200\n height: 800\n alt: 'A photo of a JLPT N5 certificate'\ntags:\n - discussion\n---\n\nSeeking external confirmation that you've successfully learned some Japanese? Or maybe you haven't even started to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese) but just want to see what you're getting into?\n\nYou're in the right place 💪\n\nI'm not sure what you want to know about the N5, exactly, so I prepared a bit of everything. This post is long.\n\nFeel free to jump around:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## What is the Japanese Language Proficiency Test?\n\nThe [Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese-Language_Proficiency_Test) is a standardized test that evaluates and certifies the language ability of Japanese learners. _(Duh, wouldn't make sense to assess the proficiency of natives, would it?)_ It's administered twice a year (July & December) by the [Japan Foundation](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jpf.go.jp\u002Fe\u002Fproject\u002Findex.html) outside of Japan, and by [Japan Educational Exchanges and Services (JEES)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jees.or.jp\u002Findex.htm) within Japan.\n\nThe test comprises five levels, and the N5 is the lowest of these levels.\n\n## How long does it take to pass the JLPT N5?\n\nThis question is sort of difficult to answer.\n\n- The JLPT themselves estimate that it will take [about 150 hours](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tanos.co.uk\u002Fjlpt\u002Faboutjlpt\u002F)\n\n- A language school in Tokyo found that it took their full-time students [250–450 hours of study if they had prior knowledge of kanji (i.e., they spoke a Chinese language), or 325–600 hours if they didn't](https:\u002F\u002Fweb.archive.org\u002Fweb\u002F20151117033458\u002Fhttp:\u002F\u002Fwww.studytoday.com\u002FJLPT.asp?lang=EN)\n\n[This random Redditor](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002Fjlpt\u002Fcomments\u002F1if26qu\u002Fhow_i_passed_n5_in_4_months\u002F) passed the JLPT N5 in 4 months, studying for 3 hours a day, which works out to ~360 hours—right in line with the lower estimate from that language school.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Important note\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\u003CCenteredText>This is the first question that everybody asks, but it's not super useful. Everybody's routine is different. Just know that this will take time, and that learning a language is like stacking pennies: so long as you keep at it, you'll eventually come away with a dollar.\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n## If you pass the N5, what will you be able to do?\n\nLet's tackle this in two directions.\n\nPer [the JLPT website](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fabout\u002Flevelsummary.html), passing the N5 means that:\n\n- _\"One is able to read and understand typical expressions and sentences written in hiragana, katakana, and basic kanji.\"_\n- _\"One is able to listen and comprehend conversations about topics regularly encountered in daily life and classroom situations, and is able to pick up necessary information from short conversations spoken slowly.\"_\n\nTo get more clarity on what that means, exactly, they surveyed students who barely passed the N5 and asked them about the things they did and didn't feel comfortable doing. [The full report is four pages long](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fabout\u002Fpdf\u002Fcdslist_e_all.pdf), but in brief:\n\n- **Listening ability:**\n - 75%+ said they could understand self-introductions, classroom instructions, and common phrases\u002Fgreetings\n - 50%+ said they could understand simple instructions and follow conversations on basic topics like hobbies or food\n- **Speaking ability:**\n - 75%+ said they could introduce themselves and talk about their hobbies\n - 50%+ said they could express their feelings and participate in basic\u002Feveryday conversations\n- **Reading ability:**\n - 75%+ said they could read their appointment date\u002Ftime for school or the doctor\n - 50%+ said they could skim schedules, advertisements, boards, etc to find key bits of information\n- **Writing ability:**\n - 75%+ said they could write their name, country, and similar bits of basic information\n - 50%+ said they could write a simple self introduction\n - 25%+ said they could write short diary entries and memos\n\n> Generally speaking, you can take this to say that you've achieved a basic grasp on Japanese. You've got a long way to go, and that's _very_ apparent... but the language doesn't feel completely foreign anymore, either, and you probably believe that you can do this if you stick at it. (And you're right, of course: You can.)\n\n## What do you need to know in order to pass the N5?\n\nThere are no official vocabulary, kanji, or grammar lists that you \"should\" know for a particular JLPT level, so it's not possible to give a perfect answer and point you toward a nicely formatted List of Language Knowledge for JLPT Preparation. I wish I could. Sorry.\n\nHaving said that, some groups _do_ keep track of the questions that appear in official mock tests and on each JLPT, and over time this has made it possible to guesstimate how \"difficult\" the JLPT considers particular words and structures. It's not perfect—something might be on an N5 test one year but an N4 the next, and vice versa—but it's good enough to guide your learning.\n\nAgain emphasizing that this is just a ballpark guess, you'll need to know:\n\n- [600–800 vocab words](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wiktionary.org\u002Fwiki\u002FAppendix:JLPT\u002FN5)\n- [80–100 kanji](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikibooks.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJLPT_Guide\u002FJLPT_N5_Kanji)\n- [50–100 grammar points](https:\u002F\u002Fjlptgrammarlist.neocities.org\u002F) [(alternate list)](https:\u002F\u002Fjlptsensei.com\u002Fjlpt-n5-grammar-list\u002F) (this varies so much because grammar points can be \"chunked\" in different ways)\n\n---\n\n## \\[Test breakdown] JLPT N5 exam structure, practice tests, question types, and grading scheme\n\nThe JLPT N5 is broken into [three sections](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fguideline\u002Ftestsections.html):\n\n- A vocabulary test\n- A grammar test and a reading test\n- A listening test\n\nThe middle two tests (grammar\u002Freading) are technically different tests, but they're contained within the same test booklet. You'll get a break between each of those three sections (so two total)—how long the break is seems to vary by location, but it'll be between 20 and 30 minutes.\n\n> To pass the test, you'll need to earn [a score of 80\u002F180†](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsp\u002Fe\u002Fguideline\u002Fresults.html), earning at least 38 points on the first two sections and at least 19 points on the listening section. Looking at [data from the last few years](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fstatistics\u002Farchive.html?mode=pc), roughly 60% of test takers within Japan pass the N5 and roughly 50% of test takers outside of Japan pass it.\n\n_(† Note: Wondering how 80\u002F180 earns a pass? It's because [the JLPT is graded on a sort of curve](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fabout\u002Fpdf\u002Fscaledscore_e.pdf?mode=pc). Basically, you get more points if you get questions right that most people miss wrong, and vice versa. In other words, getting a good score on the JLPT is less about how many questions you get right, and more about \\*which\\* questions you get right.)_\n\nAnyway, that out of the way, let's dive into each section:\n\n### Vocabulary section (20 minutes)\n\nThe JLPT N5 will test your vocabulary in four different ways. Below I'll introduce each question type you'll encounter and give you a sample question so you can see what you're getting into.\n\n> If you'd like to go further than this, [here's the vocabulary section of a JLPT N5 mock test](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fpdf\u002FN5V.pdf). An answer key is down below in the section entitled \"Answer Key\".\n\n#### 1) Kanji reading\n\nYou'll be shown a sentence. One kanji word in this sentence will be underlined, and your job is to indicate the reading ([on'yomi or kun'yomi](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-kanji#how-japanese-kanji-work)) of this kanji.\n\nExample of an easier problem:\n\n- (#4) ちかくに\u003Cu>山\u003C\u002Fu>があります。\u003Cbr> 1. かわ \u003Cbr> 2. やま \u003Cbr> 3. いけ \u003Cbr> 4. うみ\n\nExample of a trickier problem:\n\n- (#6) ともだちといっしょに\u003Cu>学校\u003C\u002Fu>にいきます。\u003Cbr> 1. がこう \u003Cbr> 2. がこお \u003Cbr> 3. がっこう \u003Cbr> 4. がっこお\n\nAs you can see, the simpler questions simply check to see if you know roughly how a word sounds, whereas the trickier question makes sure you know exactly how it's spelled\u002Fpronounced.\n\n#### 2) Orthography\n\nThis is essentially the opposite of the kanji reading question. You'll see a sentence written _completely_ in hiragana and katakana. One word will be underlined, and you must indicate the correct way to write the word using kanji (and sometimes katakana).\n\n> This sounds simple in theory, but all of these questions are very tricky. They intentionally feature similar looking kanji, and sometimes include fake kanji. You really need to have your kanji down to get these right.\n\nHere's an example of a simpler problem. All it asks you to do is recognize the rough shape of the kanji in question.\n\n- (14) この ぼうしは 1000 えんです。\u003Cbr> 1. 1000 内 \u003Cbr> 2. 1000 用 \u003Cbr> 3. 1000 冊 \u003Cbr> 4. 1000 円\n\nHere's an example of a trickier problem, in which you're presented with four similar-looking characters and must mind small details to pick the right one. I'm including a screenshot because one of the characters is fake and not actually possible to type with a normal keyboard.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-kanji.jpeg\" width=\"940\" height=\"176\" alt=\"A screenshot of an orthography question from the JLPT N5\" \u002F>\n\n#### 3) Contextually-defined expressions\n\nThis section consists of straightforward \"fill in the blank\" style questions. You'll see a sentence with a missing word and must choose the best word to fill in the blank.\n\n- (20) さとうさんは ギターを じょうずに(\\_\\_\\_\\_)。 \u003Cbr> 1. うたいます \u003Cbr> 2. ききます \u003Cbr> 3. ひきます \u003Cbr> 4. あそびます\n\n#### 4) Paraphrases\n\nThis section is also pretty straightforward. You'll be presented with a sentence, then will be given 4 further sentences and asked to indicate which one means nearly the same thing as the original sentence.\n\n- (30) このまちにはゆうめいな**たてもの**があります。\u003Cbr> 1. このまちにはゆうめいな**ビル**があります。\u003Cbr> 2. このまちにはゆうめいな**おちゃ**があります。\u003Cbr> 3. このまちにはゆうめいな**ケーキ**があります。\u003Cbr> 4. このまちにはゆうめいな**こうえん**があります。\n\nThese questions are actually pretty tricky on the N1 and N2, in which you get a bunch of different sentences that have overlapping nuance... but, for now, it's basically a test of your ability to spot synonyms.\n\nOnce you finish this section, you'll have a ~20 minute break before the grammar section begins.\n\n### Grammar section (~20 minutes)\n\nThis section of the test checks how well you understand how the parts of a Japanese sentence fit together. I personally think it's the easiest portion of the JLPT. Japanese grammar is complex, but this section of the test isn't.\n\nAs with the vocab section, I'll show a sample question or two in each subsection.\n\n> If you'd really like to test yourself, here's [the grammar section of a JLPT N5 mock test](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fpdf\u002FN5G.pdf). Again, an answer key will be provided after the listening comprehension section.\n\n#### 1) Sequential grammar 1 \u002F \"Selecting the correct grammar form\"\n\nThis is another fill-in-the-blank test. You'll be shown a sentence with a blank and asked to indicate which grammar point best completes it. Sentences include heavy usage of furigana, ensuring that you never miss a question because you don't know how to read a kanji.\n\nMany of these tests are related to particles:\n\n- (5) きのう、わたしはひとり(\\_\\_\\_\\_)えいがを\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"見[み]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>に\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"行きました[いきました]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>。\u003Cbr> 1. が \u003Cbr> 2. を \u003Cbr> 3. で \u003Cbr> 4. は\n\nBut some of them quiz you on other things, like verb conjugation:\n\n- (12) A「\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"東京[とうきょう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>でも\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"雪[ゆき]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>がふりますか。」\u003Cbr> B「ええ、ふりますよ。でも、きょねんはあまり（ ）。」\u003Cbr> 1. ふりませんでした \u003Cbr> 2. ふりません \u003Cbr> 3. ふりました \u003Cbr> 4. ふります\n\n#### 2) Sequential grammar 2 \u002F \"Sentence composition\"\n\nNot to scare you off, but this section is infamous for causing chaos. Take a glance at it, first, and see what you make of it:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-grammar-2.jpeg\" width=\"968\" height=\"240\" alt=\"A screenshot from the JLPT N5, showing one of the types of grammar questions it features\" \u002F>\n\nEach of the question items (1–4) goes in one of the blanks. Your job is to un-jumble the sentence, then indicate which item goes in the 3rd blank (which has a star).\n\nThese aren't too bad when you get the hang of them, but they're tricky in the moment when you're stressed out. Make a point to drill several before taking the JLPT for real!\n\n#### 3) Text grammar\n\nThis is basically the same deal as Sequential Grammar 1—there's a blank in the middle of the sentence, and you need to indicate which Japanese word, particle, or whatever is the best option to fill in that blank.\n\nThe difference is that where you were previously dealing with sentences in isolation, _now_ you're dealing with something like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-grammar-3.jpeg\" width=\"992\" height=\"974\" alt=\"A screenshot of the 'text grammar' portion of a JLPT N5 test\" \u002F>\n\nEach blank is numbered, and that number corresponds to a question. For example, below, your task is to identify the word that goes in the blank labeled 22.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-3q.jpeg\" width=\"684\" height=\"182\" alt=\"A screenshot from the JLPT N5, showing one of the questions following the 'text grammar' section\" \u002F>\n\n### Reading comprehension section (~20 minutes)\n\nThat last grammar question was pretty long! This trend continues in the reading section, but rather than testing your ability to complete sentences in a natural fashion, you're instead tested more generally on how well you comprehend the text in question.\n\n> Here's [the reading comprehension section of a JLPT N5 mock test](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fpdf\u002FN5R.pdf), for reference. It starts from #27 because it's actually a continuation of the grammar section. Once again, the answer key will be in the next-next section.\n\n#### 1) Comprehension (short passages)\n\nThere's actually quite a bit of variety here: you might be dealing with a simple paragraph, you might be looking at a memo, you might be referencing an image. However it works out, the process will be the same: see a brief text, answer a single question about it.\n\nFor example, you'll see a text like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-reading1a.jpeg\" width=\"986\" height=\"242\" alt=\"One of the texts from the 'short passage' portion of the JLPT N5 reading test\" \u002F>\n\nThen you'll be asked to identify which room the text is describing:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-reading-1b.jpeg\" width=\"946\" height=\"750\" alt=\"The second half of the same 'short passage' question, showing the question that follows the passage\" \u002F>\n\n#### 2) Comprehension (medium passages)\n\nThis is basically the same thing as the previous section but with a longer paragraph. Since the text is longer, you'll be asked two or three questions about it, instead of just one.\n\nSo you'll read a text like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-reading-2a.jpeg\" width=\"990\" height=\"624\" alt=\"The reading passage of the 'medium passages' portion of the JLPT N5\" \u002F>\n\nThen be asked a couple questions like this:\n\n- (30) どうしてこまりましたか。 \u003Cbr> 1. おそい\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"時間[じかん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>に\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"駅[えき]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>に\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"着いた[ついた]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>から \u003Cbr> 2. しごとがたくさんあったから \u003Cbr> 3. とてもつかれたから \u003Cbr> 4. かさがなかったから\n\n#### 3) Information retrieval\n\nHere, you'll look at some sort of graphic. It might be an ad, it might be a schedule, it might be a webpage—basically, it'll be some sort of display which has information on it.\n\nSo you'll see something like this on the right-hand page of your test booklet:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-reading-3a.jpeg\" width=\"976\" height=\"1248\" alt=\"A screenshot from the JLPT N5, showing an ad used for the information retrieval section\" \u002F>\n\nAnd then you'll see a question or two on the left-hand page of your test booklet:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-reading-q3b.jpeg\" width=\"976\" height=\"474\" alt=\"A screenshot from the JLPT N5, showing a question you'll have to answer about an ad\" \u002F>\n\nAnd with that, you've earned yourself a break! You'll have 20–30 minutes to relax or go to the bathroom.\n\n### Listening comprehension section (~30 minutes)\n\nWe now shift gears completely: you've been using your eyes, and now you have to use your ears. You'll hear snippets of a variety of conversations—some casual, some formal—and have your comprehension tested in a few different ways.\n\nIt's worth mentioning that JLPT listening questions are less a test of your ability to generally follow the gist of a conversation and more a test of your ability to identify and remember key bits of information within a conversation. Some people find this troublesome, while others feel that listening is the easiest portion of the test.\n\n> Again, if you want to follow along, here's the question sheet for [the listening comprehension section of a JLPT N5 mock test](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fpdf\u002FN5L.pdf).\n\n#### 1) Task-based comprehension\n\nA narrator will introduce a situation to you—here, they say \"A teacher is talking in class\". You'll then be given a task—here, they say \"Today, where (which portion) should the students study at home?\"\n\nFrom here:\n\n- You'll listen to the dialogue (20–30s)\n- A bell will ring, signaling that the dialogue is over\n- The narrator will repeat the question\n- There will be a ~10 second pause for you to review the images in your booklet and indicate the correct answer\n- You'll hear a bell when the next question is about to begin\n\nHere's [\"the audio](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fmp3\u002FN5Q1.mp3) for this subsection of the test. Start the audio at 1:30 if you'd like to try the below question.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-listening-q1.jpeg\" width=\"922\" height=\"706\" alt=\"A screenshot of the example from the first listening section of the JLPT N5\" \u002F>\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Strategy\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\u003CCenteredText>Reference the images while listening to the dialogue. As you listen, you'll get several little hints—\"it's on page 21\" or \"do we need to do the entire page? No.\" and so forth. For this reason, this question type is relatively forgiving. Even if you don't understand a bit of the dialogue, you'll still be able to eliminate one or two of the options. \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n#### 2) Comprehension of key points\n\nA narrator will introduce a situation—here, they say \"A man and a woman are talking.\" You'll then be asked to pick a specific bit out of the conversation—here, that is \"yesterday, where did the man go?\". The narrator will then state who is about to start talking and the question will begin.\n\nFrom here, you'll:\n\n- Listen to the dialogue\n- A bell will ring, signaling that the dialogue is over\n- The narrator will repeat the question\n- You'll have about 15 seconds to read through the possible answers and select the best one\n- You'll hear a bell when the next question is about to begin\n\nHere's [the audio](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2017\u002Fmp3\u002FN5Q2.mp3) for this subsection of the test. Start it at 0:40 if you'd like to try the below question.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-listening-q2.jpeg\" width=\"808\" height=\"304\" alt=\"A screenshot of the example from the second listening section of the JLPT N5\" \u002F>\n\nThis question type is similar to the previous one, but it's different in that (a) there's no visual reference and (b) instead of listening for multiple hints spread out through an entire dialogue, you're listening for one specific bit of information.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Strategy\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\u003CCenteredText>This section demands the most focus of the entire test. If you zone out and miss the 2 seconds of audio in which the answer is stated, you'll get the question wrong, even if you understand everything else perfectly. For this reason, you _shouldn't_ read the answers and listen to the audio at the same time. You can't half-listen for this question. \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n#### 3) Verbal expressions\n\nThis question type is sort of like role playing. You'll see a picture of a situation with multiple people and there will be an arrow pointing at one person. You'll then hear several one-line sentences, and must indicate which of these sentences it's most reasonable that this person might have said.\n\nWhat's challenging about this question type is that the questions aren't written down: your answer sheet contains nothing but bubbles labeled 1, 2, and 3. The image shows you the situation, but you can only get information by listening to the audio.\n\nTo break this down a bit further:\n\n- You'll first see the image and assess the situation\n- A narrator will introduce a situation (\"calling to a restaurant worker\")\n- A narrator will state a question (\"what does this person say?\")\n- Another narrator will say \"one\", then you'll hear one possible response\n- This will repeat two more times\n- You'll indicate on your sheet which line of dialogue was said by the person\n- You'll hear a bell when the next question is about to begin\n\nHere's [the audio](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fmp3\u002FN5Q3.mp3) for this subsection of the test. Start it at 0:40 if you'd like to try the below question.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-listening-q3.jpeg\" width=\"912\" height=\"772\" alt=\"A screenshot of the example from the third listening section of the JLPT N5\" \u002F>\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Strategy\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\u003CCenteredText>For this question type, the question and possible answers will _not_ be repeated after the dialogue ends. There will be a small pause and then you will move directly onto the next question. As such, you should fill in the answer bubble as soon as you hear the right answer in the dialogue. If you're slow, you'll end up missing the audio to the next question while trying to fill in the answer to the previous question. \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n#### 4) Quick responses\n\nThis is a unique question type. There are no images to reference, and your test booklet is completely empty—as shown below:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-n5-listening-q4.jpeg\" width=\"1136\" height=\"938\" alt=\"A screenshot of the example from the fourth listening section of the JLPT N5\" \u002F>\n\nAll of these questions are snippets of dialogue between two people. You'll:\n\n- Hear a question from the first speaker\n- Hear \"one\" and then a potential response\n- Hear two more potential responses, prefaced by \"two\" and \"three\"\n- Get ~10s of silence to fill in your answer\n- Hear a bell when the next question is about to begin\n\nHere's [the audio](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fmp3\u002FN5Q4.mp3) for this subsection of the test. Start the audio from 0:34 to try this question out.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Strategy\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\u003CCenteredText>As with the previous question type, you should fill in your answer sheet as soon as you hear the correct answer. This section of the test moves quickly, and the answers are not repeated. You don't want to find yourself knowing that the answer is すみません, but not remembering if that was answer #1 or answer #2. \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n### Answer key\n\nA few goodies for you:\n\n- [A blank answer sheet](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fpdf\u002FN5sheet.pdf) you can fill out and print in\n- [A transcript of the audio from the listening-comprehension section](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fpdf\u002FN5script.pdf)\n- [The answer key](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsamples\u002Fsample2012\u002Fpdf\u002FN5answer.pdf).\n\nAbove, I've directed you to questions from the official 2012 JLPT mock test. If you'd like to do one more test, here's a link to the full [2018 JLPT mock test](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fsamples\u002Fsampleindex.html).\n\n---\n\n## How to pass the JLPT N5 in about 6 months\n\nPart of the reason that it seems to take people so long to learn Japanese is that traditional approaches to learning languages just aren't very efficient.\n\n- [Japanese classes are problematic](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=VcfrinKCvC4)—you might only spend 5 minutes engaging with Japanese in a 50 minute lesson, and their format encourages you to cram information for a test and then forget it\n- [Textbooks aren't much better](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-problem-with-textbooks)—partly due to how they're organized, partly due to the limitations of paper as a medium\n\nNow, don't get me wrong.\n\nI definitely don't mean to belittle the difficulty of learning—or teaching—a language.\n\nIt's hard.\n\n_Really_ hard.\n\n... But, when you consider that, to pass the JLPT N5, you need to know:\n\n- [600–800 vocab words](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wiktionary.org\u002Fwiki\u002FAppendix:JLPT\u002FN5)\n- [80–100 kanji](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikibooks.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJLPT_Guide\u002FJLPT_N5_Kanji)\n- [50–100 grammar points](https:\u002F\u002Fjlptgrammarlist.neocities.org\u002F)\n\nI think it's fair to say that it's kinda ridiculous for _that_ to take 360 hours of work.\n\nIt doesn't need to.\n\n> Frustrated that we couldn't find a solid program to recommend our users, we recruited a team of successful language learners and built [two beginner's courses](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=gFvZMZlUYfc) ourselves.\n\nYou'll start off by learning how to read and correctly pronounce the [hiragana](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-hiragana) and [katakana](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-katakana):\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-fundamentals-new.jpeg\" width=\"1730\" height=\"1202\" alt=\"A few screenshots from Migaku's Japanese Fundamentals course.\" \u002F>\n\nFrom there, you'll proceed to learn ~380 essential grammar patterns and ~1,800 vocabulary words:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-particle-ni-plug.jpeg\" width=\"1472\" height=\"1032\" alt=\"A few screenshots from Migaku's Japanese Academy demonstrating how the particle に (ni) is used\" \u002F>\n\nWhat's special about these courses is that:\n\n- They cover [the specific vocabulary words you need to understand 80% of the sentences in Netflix](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary)—the sentences have also been very carefully curated so that each \"next\" sentence only contains one word you don't know\n- The course is flashcard based and powered by [spaced repetition](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fspaced-repetition-language-learning) _(we periodically nudge you to review words to ensure that you remember them)_\n- It's mobile-friendly and can be done with one hand\n\nThe entire learning process is guided—we determine what you should learn next and keep track of your performance to determine what you should review on a daily basis.\n\nAs such, to learn Japanese, all you have to do is log into Migaku once a day and click _study_.\n\n> If you do 10 flashcards per day, you'll learn everything you need to pass the N5—and a good bit more—in about 6 months.\n\nYou can try Migaku free for ten days—which, at a pace of 23 cards per day, is just enough time to learn the hiragana and katakana.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n## How to sign up for the JLPT N5\n\nUnfortunately, we can't give you a perfect guide, here. The JLPT examinations are conducted by different institutions around the globe, and each one does things a bit differently.\n\nGenerally speaking:\n\n- A test is offered in July and December\n- Registration closes ~3 months before each test (so to test in July, you'll need to register by April)\n- Results are sent out _via mail_ about ~2 months after you finish the test (it takes so long because they're graded by machine and then verified by hand)\n\nAnd now:\n\n### If you'll take the JLPT in Japan...\n\nFollow [these instructions](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fapplication\u002Fdomestic_index.html) on the JLPT website.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-jlpt-how-to-signup-japan.jpeg\" width=\"1394\" height=\"1572\" alt=\"A screenshot of JEES's instructions about signing up for the JLPT\" \u002F>\n\n### If you'll take the JLPT abroad...\n\nThis is a bit more involved, unfortunately.\n\n1. Select your country from [this list of global testing locations](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fe\u002Fapplication\u002Foverseas_list.html)\n2. You'll see a link to the homepage of the institution that hosts the JLPT in your country or region; click on it\n3. Follow the instructions on your country-specific JLPT registration page\n4. It'll cost about $100 USD\n\n## \\[Check list] Do's and Don'ts come test day\n\nThe JLPT has very strict rules for how the test is to be conducted.\n\n- **Print out your test voucher and registration confirmation**. You will not be allowed to enter the facility if you do not have these. A screenshot on your phone will not be accepted.\n- **Bring a form of official identification**—your passport if abroad, or some sort of license if at home.\n- **Bring a pencil and an eraser**. Pens are not allowed. Some locations may even require you to use pencils with specific types of lead. This will be explained in the instructions sent to you upon signing up. _(† See below.)_\n- **Arrive about half an hour early**. Many tests are held at each location, and it'll take a bit of hunting to find out exactly where _your_ test is being held. You should see a notice board near the main entrance of the facility with more information. _(† See below.)_\n- **Bring an old-school watch with hands**. Any visible clocks will be covered in the testing facility, smart watches are banned, and stricter facilities may even prohibit the use of digital watches.\n- **Bring some sort of bag**. You're only allowed to bring your ID, pencil, eraser, and test booklet to your desk. All other belongings must be left at the front of the room.\n- **Turn off your phone.** If it rings or vibrates, you will be immediately disqualified.\n- **Go to the bathroom, even if you don't think you have to**. The JLPT takes about 3 hours, and if you leave while the test is in session, you won't be allowed to re-enter.\n\nThe JLPT N5 has two breaks—one after the vocabulary section, and one after the grammar\u002Freading comprehension section. Each break is about 20 minutes long. You'll be able to go to the bathroom, eat a snack, or use your phone during this time.\n\nAdditionally, here's [a series of FAQs from the JLPT](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.jlpt.jp\u002Fsp\u002Fe\u002Ffaq\u002F) that you may find useful.\n\n† Note: _When you sign up for the JLPT, you'll be emailed a pamphlet of instructions\u002Finformation [like this](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.aatj.org\u002Fsites\u002Fdefault\u002Ffiles\u002Fuploads\u002F2022%20TestSiteInfo_NY.pdf)._\n\n---\n\n## ... Wanna _actually_ learn nihongo, like for real?\n\nStandardized tests aside, I'm going to be real with you for a second:\n\n> The only thing you need to do to learn Japanese is interact with it. If you consume media you enjoy, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you'll make progress. _Period._\n\nYou need to learn the basics from somewhere, and the JLPT is great in that it gives you a target to shoot for... but, at the end of the day, what _really_ matters is how much time you spend engaging directly with Japanese—even as a beginner.\n\nAnyway, that's my soap box.\n\nGood luck on the JLPT 💪\n",{"title":20885,"description":22243},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-n5","whVs4Cr2-o_VMU5YK4RpClyS0PXiWgb3otfO0EvyQw4","May 4, 2025",{"id":22260,"title":22261,"body":22262,"description":23174,"extension":717,"meta":23175,"navigation":730,"path":23183,"rawbody":23184,"seo":23185,"stem":23186,"__hash__":23187,"timestampUnix":23176,"slug":23177,"h1":23178,"image":23179,"tags":23182,"_dir":736,"timestamp":23188},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-netflix.md","Learn Japanese with Netflix: A Beginner's Guide to Fun and Effective Language Learning",{"type":8,"value":22263,"toc":23141},[22264,22270,22273,22276,22279,22282,22284,22286,22290,22293,22296,22303,22311,22314,22324,22327,22332,22344,22348,22351,22358,22361,22367,22370,22374,22377,22382,22389,22396,22537,22540,22543,22547,22550,22553,22561,22564,22571,22574,22577,22585,22589,22592,22595,22599,22602,22605,22614,22618,22621,22632,22636,22639,22642,22646,22649,22657,22661,22664,22670,22672,22676,22679,22683,22691,22694,22697,22700,22704,22717,22720,22723,22726,22730,22738,22741,22744,22747,22749,22753,22758,22761,22767,22770,22773,22784,22787,22790,22794,22797,22803,22810,22814,22817,22820,22825,22832,22835,22855,22858,22877,22881,22884,22889,22892,22909,22916,22923,22925,22927,22931,22934,22938,22941,22955,22963,22971,22974,22988,22997,23008,23011,23015,23018,23021,23028,23031,23039,23045,23048,23073,23076,23079,23083,23089,23092,23100,23103,23107,23110,23119,23124,23126,23130,23136,23139],[11,22265,22266,22267,22269],{},"Ahh, yes. Here you are are. You love watching anime, and now you've gone to Google to ask if you can ",[15,22268,18],{"href":17}," by watching anime on Netflix.",[11,22271,22272],{},"Well, yes. Yes you can.",[11,22274,22275],{},"The same answer applies if you're interested in Japanese movies, television shows, or dramas.",[11,22277,22278],{},"Listening comprehension is an incredibly important part of your journey to learn Japanese, and Netflix has a conveniently curated library of hundreds of Japanese shows you can watch from anywhere in the world.",[11,22280,22281],{},"In this article, we'll get into:",[39,22283],{},[42,22285],{},[45,22287,22289],{"id":22288},"why-netflix-is-great-for-learning-japanese","Why Netflix is great for learning Japanese",[11,22291,22292],{},"As if you need convincing to watch anime, j-dramas, and Japanese movies, right? The first and most obvious reason to incorporate Netflix into your learning routine is that it's fun, and we learn languages better when we're having fun.",[11,22294,22295],{},"That aside, here are a few \"real\" reasons why a good chunk of the time you spend learning Japanese should be spent watching Netflix.",[847,22297,22299,22300,22302],{"id":22298},"_1-your-goal-is-to-understand-japanese-right","1. Your goal is to ",[26,22301,8698],{}," Japanese, right?",[11,22304,22305,22306,415],{},"I'm going to preface this by saying that I'm a linguistics geek and I love grammar. I have Japanese reference books in a few different languages, and my idea of a good time is writing lengthy Reddit comments about things like how ",[15,22307,22310],{"href":22308,"rel":22309},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002FLearnJapanese\u002Fcomments\u002F1b83myw\u002Fcomment\u002Fktqpvyn\u002F",[971],"Japanese doesn't technically have a past tense",[11,22312,22313],{},"... but that's not what gets most people excited about Japanese.",[11,22315,22316,22317,22319,22320,22323],{},"Chances are, you're not terribly interested in Japanese in an academic sense.",[292,22318],{},"\nNo; you're learning Japanese because you want to ",[26,22321,22322],{},"use"," Japanese in some capacity—you see Japanese as a means to an end. Having a certain level of Japanese will enable you to do certain things that you would like to do. You know, like watching anime and stuff.",[11,22325,22326],{},"To get good at that stuff, you need to actually spend time doing that stuff.",[320,22328,22329],{},[11,22330,22331],{},"When learning a new language, the most reliable way to make progress is by consuming content in another language, understanding the messages within that content, and slowly expanding the mental model of Japanese within your brain.",[11,22333,22334,22335,22339,22340,22343],{},"Now, I'm not saying that it isn't important to study grammar. At Migaku, we think that grammar study is part of how you build the foundation you need to do cool things in Japanese. I'm just saying that it takes ",[15,22336,22338],{"href":22337},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjlpt-n1-overview#how-many-study-hours-does-it-take-to-pass-the-jlpt-n1","~5,000 hours"," for the typical learner to pass the JLPT N1, the highest level of ",[15,22341,11314],{"href":11313,"rel":22342},[971],", and that you shouldn't spend all 5,000 of those hours with your nose in a textbook.",[847,22345,22347],{"id":22346},"_2-the-visuals-will-help-you-to-understand-the-dialogue","2. The visuals will help you to understand the dialogue",[11,22349,22350],{},"Reading is great, but for quite awhile, written Japanese will be little more than squiggles on a page. It takes effort to turn these squiggles into the world of your story.",[11,22352,22353,22354,22357],{},"By contrast, if you're ",[26,22355,22356],{},"watching"," a Japanese show, you'll see a person sitting in a chair say よいしょ (yoisho) as they press their hands down into their knees and stand themselves up. You might not quite catch everything they say, but you'll be able to tell from the tone of their voice if they're excited about what they're going to go do or not. You see, comprehension isn't a binary matter of all or nothing: there are shades of understanding, and sometimes being able to watch the action play out will give you that last 10% of information you need to follow along.",[11,22359,22360],{},"You'll also see all sorts of gestures, such as this below \"pinky in the air\" one that means someone (already) has a romantic partner—not that they're going in for a pinky promise.",[50,22362],{"src":22363,"width":22364,"height":22365,"alt":22366},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_netflix_gesture.jpeg",1326,914,"A Japanese man holding up his pinky finger, a Japanese gesture that means you have a romantic partner.",[11,22368,22369],{},"Simply put, the audiovisual nature of movies and TV shows gives you more information than naked text to work with. Early on, this additional context will help you make sense of things that you otherwise couldn't with text alone. Even as an advanced learner, the ability to see what Japan looks like and how Japanese people go about their daily lives will provide you with important cultural information.",[847,22371,22373],{"id":22372},"_3-youll-learn-japanese-pronunciation-by-ear","3. You'll learn Japanese pronunciation by ear",[11,22375,22376],{},"Do me a favor for a moment and click the play button on this word:",[6456,22378],{"lang":100,"src":22379,"native":22380,"translation":22381},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-私.mp3","私","I [watashi]",[11,22383,22384,22385,22388],{},"This is the most basic Japanese word for \"I\", and it's a literal minefield of pronunciation challenges. If you're a native English speaker, and you follow your instincts, the letters w-a-t-a-s-h-i look like something you would know how to say. As another native English speaker, it's unfortunately precisely this kind of \"baggage\" that we carry from English that leads us to mispronounce ",[26,22386,22387],{},"watashi"," and many other words in Japanese. Japanese, English, and each language have their own pronunciation conventions, and they don't always line up.",[11,22390,22391,22392,22395],{},"I'm not going to make you wade through all of challenges presented by this word, unless you're interested in nerdy pronunciation stuff. Just know that this one word will trip up native English speakers in ",[26,22393,22394],{},"six"," ways, which is kind of incredible.",[8421,22397,22399],{"heading":22398},"Click to see nerdy pronunciation stuff",[304,22400,22401,22423,22453,22471,22486,22514],{},[307,22402,22403,22404,22406,22407,22410,22411],{},"The Japanese \u002Fw\u002F sound is made ",[26,22405,14070],{}," puckering the lips, as we do in English (",[26,22408,22409],{},"go say \"what\" in front of a mirror, and you'll see what I mean",")\n",[304,22412,22413],{},[307,22414,22415,22416,22419,22420],{},"Compare: English \"w\" ",[103,22417],{"src":22418,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FVoiced_labio-velar_approximant.mp3"," vs Japanese [β̞] ",[103,22421],{"src":22422,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FBilabial_approximant.mp3",[307,22424,22425,22426,22431,22432,22435,22436],{},"The Japanese ",[22427,22428,22430],"span",{"style":22429},"font-feature-settings: 'cv11' off;","\"a\""," is pronounced in the middle of the mouth, whereas the English ",[22427,22433,22434],{"style":22429},"\u002Fa\u002F"," is pronounced in the front of the mouth.\n",[304,22437,22438],{},[307,22439,22440,22441,506,22443,22446,22447,506,22450],{},"Compare: English ",[22427,22442,22434],{"style":22429},[103,22444],{"src":22445,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FOpen_front_unrounded_vowel.mp3"," vs Japanese ",[22427,22448,22449],{"style":22429},"[ä]",[103,22451],{"src":22452,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FOpen_central_unrounded_vowel.mp3",[307,22454,22455,22456,22410,22459],{},"The Japanese \u002Ft\u002F is not aspirated when it appears in the middle of the word. (",[26,22457,22458],{},"Put your hand in front of your mouth and say \"tie\". Feel that puff of air? That's aspiration. Now say \"sty\". Notice how it's not there? This is aspirated vs unaspirated \u002Ft\u002F.",[304,22460,22461],{},[307,22462,22463,22464,22467,22468],{},"Compare: Unaspirated \u002Ft\u002F ",[103,22465],{"src":22466,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Funaspirated-t.mp3"," vs aspirated \u002Ft\u002F ",[103,22469],{"src":22470,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Faspirated-t.mp3",[307,22472,22473,22474],{},"The English \"sh\" sound (\u002Fʃ\u002F) is made with the front portion of your tongue raised, whereas the Japanese \"sh\" sound (\u002Fɕ\u002F) with the middle part of your tongue raised and the tip of your tongue located behind your bottom row of teeth\n",[304,22475,22476],{},[307,22477,22478,22479,22482,22483],{},"Compare: English \"sh\" (\u002Fʃ\u002F) ",[103,22480],{"src":22481,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fen-she.mp3"," vs Japanese \"sh\" (\u002Fɕ\u002F) ",[103,22484],{"src":22485,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-死.mp3",[307,22487,22488,22489,22492,22493,22496,22497],{},"English has stressed syllables (",[26,22490,22491],{},"the NA in baNAna",") and unstressed syllables (",[26,22494,22495],{},"the ba...na in baNAna","). As a matter of convention, we \"reduce\" vowels in unstressed syllables into something that sounds like \"uhh\". Japanese doesn't do this.\n",[304,22498,22499],{},[307,22500,22501,22502,506,22504,22507,22508,506,22511,22513],{},"Compare: The 1st and 2nd \"a\" in an English pronunciation of ",[26,22503,22387],{},[103,22505],{"src":22506,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fen-watashi.mp3"," are different, whereas both \"a\" sounds in the Japanese pronunciation of ",[26,22509,22510],{},"わたし",[103,22512],{"src":22379,":type":149}," are the same.",[307,22515,22516,22517,22522,22523],{},"Japanese has something called ",[15,22518,22521],{"href":22519,"rel":22520},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_pitch_accent",[971],"pitch accent",". While beyond the scope of this article, this basically means that every Japanese word is pronounced with a fixed sequence of high or low pitches.\n",[304,22524,22525],{},[307,22526,22440,22527,506,22529,22531,22532,506,22534,22536],{},[26,22528,22387],{},[103,22530],{"src":22506,":type":149}," has a pitch pattern of low-high-low, whereas Japanese ",[26,22533,22510],{},[103,22535],{"src":22379,":type":149}," hasa pattern of low-high-high.",[11,22538,22539],{},"So rather than reading a book and letting your eyes mislead you as to how a given word should be pronounced, you can instead just listen to native Japanese content and hear native Japanese speakers saying different sounds—no erroneous interpretation required.",[11,22541,22542],{},"To reframe that more positively, watching Japanese content gives you an entire additional layer of information (audio) that is completely absent from written Japanese.",[847,22544,22546],{"id":22545},"_4-the-content-adapts-to-the-effort-you-expend-on-it","4. The content adapts to the effort you expend on it",[11,22548,22549],{},"All written text shares a certain fundamental nature: if you do not exert effort to read it, the flow of information stops.",[11,22551,22552],{},"This is not true for television.",[304,22554,22555,22558],{},[307,22556,22557],{},"When you have energy and are ready to focus, you can listen carefully to the Japanese audio and make a point to look up vocabulary words and grammar points that you don't know.",[307,22559,22560],{},"When you feel tired, you can simply stop doing those things. You might choose to read the English subtitles—or, you might choose to be content with only getting the gist of what's going on in Japanese, instead of ironing out every little detail.",[11,22562,22563],{},"The result of this \"flexibility\" is that you can comfortably get in several hours of Japanese listening in a day, where you might not have the Japanese ability or mental stamina to do the same amount of reading.",[847,22565,22567,22568,22570],{"id":22566},"_5-you-get-the-advantages-of-reading-and-listening","5. You get the advantages of reading ",[26,22569,12357],{}," listening",[11,22572,22573],{},"The great thing about Netflix is that, unlike a podcast, Japanese television shows are more than just pure Japanese audio. It contains visuals, as we mentioned above, but most shows also come with Japanese subtitles.",[11,22575,22576],{},"This means that you essentially get the best of both worlds:",[304,22578,22579,22582],{},[307,22580,22581],{},"You get to listen to natural Japanese, thus hearing how words should be pronounced and hearing the emotion in each speaker's voice",[307,22583,22584],{},"You get to read the Japanese subtitles, thus being able to check what exactly was said if you couldn't quite make out what someone said",[45,22586,22588],{"id":22587},"how-to-find-japanese-shows-to-watch-on-netflix","How to find Japanese shows to watch on Netflix",[11,22590,22591],{},"So, we now agree that Netflix should be part of your Japanese learning routine.",[11,22593,22594],{},"But how do you actually find things to watch as a beginner?",[847,22596,22598],{"id":22597},"explore-netflixs-catalogue-on-unogscom","Explore Netflix's catalogue on unogs.com",[11,22600,22601],{},"Netflix has a wonderful repository of content, but it can be somewhat hit or miss in that not all shows are available in all regions, and sometimes Netflix will have a Japanese show but won't have Japanese subtitles and\u002For Japanese audio.",[11,22603,22604],{},"uNoGS (unofficial Netflix online Global Search) presents a solution to this issue, making your life much easier as a language learner.",[11,22606,22607,22608,22613],{},"Go to ",[15,22609,22612],{"href":22610,"rel":22611},"https:\u002F\u002Funogs.com\u002F",[971],"unogs' website",", and then click the big blue \"Advanced Search\" button in the center-top region of the page.",[50,22615],{"src":22616,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":22617},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_netflix_unogs_search.jpeg","A screenshot of Unogs' homepage, a website showing which shows are available in a given Netflix region.",[11,22619,22620],{},"You'll now see a somewhat overwhelming list of filters. You can explore these more by yourself, but to start with, do three specific things:",[344,22622,22623,22626,22629],{},[307,22624,22625],{},"Unselect all countries except that of your Netflix account",[307,22627,22628],{},"Set \"Audio\" and \"Subtitles\" to \"Japanese\"",[307,22630,22631],{},"Change the \"or\" filter to \"and\"",[50,22633],{"src":22634,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":22635},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_netflix_unogs.jpeg","A screenshot of Unogs' advanced search interface, showing the settings you should use to find shows wih Japanese audio\u002Fsubtitles that are available in the USA.",[11,22637,22638],{},"You'll now see a list of all of the Japanese shows that are available in your country that have Japanese audio and subtitles available.",[11,22640,22641],{},"Scroll through this list and find something that you'd like to watch.",[50,22643],{"src":22644,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":22645},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_netflix_unogs_results.jpeg","A screenshot of the results of the above query, showing that there are 387 relevant shows available on Netflix.",[11,22647,22648],{},"Once you've found something that seems interesting, you've got two options.",[11,22650,22651,22652,22656],{},"Option one is to look for your show on ",[15,22653,19746],{"href":22654,"rel":22655},"https:\u002F\u002Flearnnatively.com\u002F",[971],". This will show you roughly what JLPT level the content is, and will also let you see how difficult other learners thought it was.",[50,22658],{"src":22659,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":22660},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_netflix_learnnatively.jpeg","A screenshot of the Learn Natively entry for Blue Box, a Japanese animated film.",[11,22662,22663],{},"Option two, if you're a Migaku subscriber, is to simply boot up your show in Netflix. Migaku will compare the words in the subtitles with the list of words you've indicated that you know and the list of words you've created flashcards for, thus giving you an accurate estimate of how difficult this show will be for you.",[50,22665],{"src":22666,"width":22667,"height":22668,"alt":22669},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-netflix-comprehension-score.jpeg",1553,874,"A screenshot of a random user's comprehension score for this show on Netflix",[42,22671],{},[45,22673,22675],{"id":22674},"the-best-japanese-shows-and-movies-on-netflix","The best Japanese shows and movies on Netflix",[11,22677,22678],{},"Above are instructions on how you can find things to watch on Netflix for yourself, but if you'd like to skip the hassle and get a few beginner-specific recommendations, here you go:",[847,22680,22682],{"id":22681},"reality-television-terrace-house","[Reality television] Terrace House",[11,22684,22685,22690],{},[15,22686,22689],{"href":22687,"rel":22688},"https:\u002F\u002Flearnnatively.com\u002Fseason\u002Ff25d4c83de\u002F",[971],"Terrace House"," is a hit Japanese television show with a simple premise: three men and three women who don't know each other are moved in together under one roof.",[11,22692,22693],{},"What's special about Terrace House is that it's not a game show and isn't intended to be dramatic. All of the hosts chose to live in the house and they all have their own lives—they just happen to be living together. The show captures the mundane moments of them doing things like cooking dinner or cleaning.",[11,22695,22696],{},"What's great about this show for learners is that the vocabulary is pretty straightforward—it's the sort of stuff that comes up in everyday life—and, being totally unscripted, the dialogues are completely natural.",[5025,22698],{"src":22699},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FTeQMfz6GXSk?si=fm-F9xrnjxVty_qX",[847,22701,22703],{"id":22702},"anime-haikyuu","[Anime] Haikyuu!!",[11,22705,22706,22707,22712,22713,22716],{},"The only thing that Shoyo Hinata, the star of ",[15,22708,22711],{"href":22709,"rel":22710},"https:\u002F\u002Flearnnatively.com\u002Fseason\u002F81b7db8ebb\u002F",[971],"Haikyuu!!",", ever wanted was to play volleyball. Unfortunately, he's very short and his middle school team wasn't very good. He enrolls in a high school which ",[26,22714,22715],{},"used"," to have one of Japan's best volleyball programs... and discovers that he'll have his arch rival from middle school as a teammate.",[11,22718,22719],{},"This anime has all of the elements of a good story: it's about kids being kids, underdogs striving for the win, and relatable characters overcoming personal weaknesses for the benefit of those they care about.",[11,22721,22722],{},"Especially good news for learners is that the whole anime has less than 4,000 unique words, making it a very accessible watch for low-intermediate learners.",[5025,22724],{"src":22725},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FJOGp2c7-cKc?si=yGIGtcqGYOJXRhgJ",[847,22727,22729],{"id":22728},"movie-drawing-closer","[Movie] Drawing Closer",[11,22731,22732,22737],{},[15,22733,22736],{"href":22734,"rel":22735},"https:\u002F\u002Flearnnatively.com\u002Fmovie\u002F1ad224333e\u002F",[971],"Drawing Closer"," will make you cry.",[11,22739,22740],{},"17-year-old Akito, an exceptional artist for his age, has a dream: he wants to get one of his pieces into the Nikaten Art Exhibition. Instead, a tumor is discovered in his heart, and he is given only one year to live. He gives up on life—and then he meets Haruna, a girl who is drawn to the beauty of life and is optimistic, despite having only 6 months left to live.",[11,22742,22743],{},"The simple nature of this story—a romance between two young people learning to enjoy the simple pleasures of life—makes it easy to follow, even for beginners. Additionally, the calm nature of the story means that the characters speak in relatively slow and clear voices, making it easier to understand than many other movies.",[5025,22745],{"src":22746},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FcJLhrrxDRPQ?si=RuLm0-_B9QXgsrnX",[42,22748],{},[45,22750,22752],{"id":22751},"how-to-learn-japanese-with-netflix","How to learn Japanese with Netflix",[11,22754,22755],{},[26,22756,22757],{},"(Note: We'll also provide advice for how to learn Japanese with Netflix without Migaku.)",[11,22759,22760],{},"Language learning is pretty straightforward: if you consume content, and you understand the messages within that content, you will make progress.",[11,22762,22763,22764,22766],{},"The problem for beginners is that, unfortunately, there isn't very much content that is both interesting ",[26,22765,12357],{}," understandable.",[11,22768,22769],{},"And that's why we made Migaku.",[11,22771,22772],{},"Migaku is a platform that adds functionality to text in other languages, allowing you to do things like:",[304,22774,22775,22778,22781],{},[307,22776,22777],{},"Click on a word to see a definition of what it means",[307,22779,22780],{},"Get AI breakdowns of sentences the word appears in",[307,22782,22783],{},"Make flashcards out of words you find interesting or useful",[11,22785,22786],{},"These features all work with Netflix's subtitles, allowing you to watch Japanese shows that would normally be too difficult and also to create learning content out of that content.",[11,22788,22789],{},"Here's how to learn Japanese with Netflix and Migaku:",[847,22791,22793],{"id":22792},"boot-up-your-favorite-show","Boot up your favorite show",[11,22795,22796],{},"Open any show with Japanese subtitles on Netflix, and Migaku will parse those subtitles to make them interactable.",[50,22798],{"src":22799,"width":22800,"height":22801,"alt":22802},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-netflix-subtitles.jpeg",1727,1015,"A screenshot of Death Note's subtitles, hosted on Netflix and enhanced by Migaku.",[11,22804,22805,22806,22809],{},"The changes are subtle! But you'll quickly notice above that the word 直訳 (ちょくやく, \"direct translation\") has ",[15,22807,11309],{"href":11308,"rel":22808},[971]," over it. Normal subtitles would not have furigana, but Migaku has added it because this user has not yet learned this word.",[847,22811,22813],{"id":22812},"click-on-any-words-you-dont-know","Click on any words you don't know",[11,22815,22816],{},"So, remember how we didn't know the word 直訳?",[11,22818,22819],{},"Just click on it.",[50,22821],{"src":22822,"width":22823,"height":22801,"alt":22824},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_netflix_word_lookup.jpeg",1725,"A screenshot showing how Migaku enhances subtitles,letting you click on a word to see its definition.",[11,22826,22827,22828,22831],{},"Set to ",[26,22829,22830],{},"translate",", Migaku displays a pop-up dictionary definition of what this word means and also an AI translation of the sentence it appears in.",[11,22833,22834],{},"The user could also choose to see:",[304,22836,22837,22840,22843,22846,22849,22852],{},[307,22838,22839],{},"Recordings of native speakers pronouncing 直訳",[307,22841,22842],{},"Images from Google of 直訳",[307,22844,22845],{},"Example sentences that include 直訳",[307,22847,22848],{},"An AI explanation of what 直訳 means in the context of this sentence",[307,22850,22851],{},"An AI breakdown of the sentence, covering words, phrases, and grammar points",[307,22853,22854],{},"Links to definitions of 直訳 in online Japanese dictionaries",[11,22856,22857],{},"This effectively lets you consume Japanese content as if you already know tens of thousands of Japanese words—you can look up unknown words in real time with a single click.",[11,22859,22860,22861,22865,22866,22870,22871,22876],{},"If you aren't using Migaku, then we recommend using an OCR software (",[15,22862,22864],{"href":22863},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Flearn-japanese-with-manga#how-to-learn-from-manga-manga-recs","see step #2 here for free\u002Fpaid recs","), capturing the words you don't know, and pasting them in an online dictionary such as ",[15,22867,11836],{"href":22868,"rel":22869},"https:\u002F\u002Fjisho.org\u002Fsearch\u002F%E7%9B%B4%E8%A8%B3",[971]," (bilingual Japanese\u003C>English) or ",[15,22872,22875],{"href":22873,"rel":22874},"https:\u002F\u002Fdictionary.goo.ne.jp\u002Fword\u002F%E7%9B%B4%E8%A8%B3\u002F",[971],"Goo"," (monolingual Japanese).",[847,22878,22880],{"id":22879},"create-flashcards-out-of-useful-words-you-find","Create flashcards out of useful words you find",[11,22882,22883],{},"If you decide that you want to learn a particular word, you can just click the orange button shown in the top-right corner of the above screenshot. Doing so will automatically create a flashcard that looks like this:",[50,22885],{"src":22886,"width":22887,"height":21682,"alt":22888},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_netflix_flashcards.jpeg",864,"A screenshot of the front and back of a flashcard, as automatically generated by Migaku.",[11,22890,22891],{},"This contains:",[304,22893,22894,22897,22900,22903,22906],{},[307,22895,22896],{},"The word you you have chosen to learn",[307,22898,22899],{},"The sentence it appears in",[307,22901,22902],{},"An audio snippet of this sentence",[307,22904,22905],{},"A screenshot of what was on the screen when that word was uttered",[307,22907,22908],{},"Definitions from your preferred dictionaries",[11,22910,22911,22912,22915],{},"And Migaku uses ",[15,22913,5907],{"href":11524,"rel":22914},[971]," to create a personalized learning schedule: you'll be nudged to review this flashcard periodically until you can remember it even if you don't see it for several months.",[11,22917,22918,22919,22922],{},"If you don't use Migaku, you can also create spaced-repetition-powered flashcards in ",[15,22920,11775],{"href":11774,"rel":22921},[971],", an open-sourced flashcard program, but you'll have to design your own card layout and manually add all of the above types of information.",[674,22924],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,22926],{},[45,22928,22930],{"id":22929},"challenges-and-faqs","Challenges and FAQs",[11,22932,22933],{},"You now know everything you need to know to find interesting, level-appropriate shows to watch on Netflix, but there are still a few questions that might be on your mind.",[847,22935,22937],{"id":22936},"subtitles-or-no-subtitles","Subtitles or no subtitles?",[11,22939,22940],{},"When you go to watch a piece of content, you have four options so far as subtitles go:",[304,22942,22943,22946,22949,22952],{},[307,22944,22945],{},"No subtitles",[307,22947,22948],{},"Japanese subtitles",[307,22950,22951],{},"Native-language (NL) subtitles",[307,22953,22954],{},"Both subtitles",[11,22956,19219,22957,22962],{},[15,22958,22961],{"href":22959,"rel":22960},"https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.plos.org\u002Fplosone\u002Farticle?id=10.1371\u002Fjournal.pone.0158409",[971],"research has actually been done"," on this very topic, finding that, for intermediate learners:",[304,22964,22965,22968],{},[307,22966,22967],{},"Listening in your target language but having subtitles in your native language offers virtually no learning benefit: your brain chooses the option of least resistance and ignores the Japanese audio in favor of your native-language subtitles",[307,22969,22970],{},"Using target-language (TL) subtitles leads to more improvement than disabling subtitles",[11,22972,22973],{},"This in mind, I recommend you to:",[344,22975,22976,22979,22982],{},[307,22977,22978],{},"Initially, use dual subtitles: display both Japanese and NL subtitles at the same time",[307,22980,22981],{},"After learning ~2,000 words, switch to Japanese subtitles only",[307,22983,22984,22985,22987],{},"When you feel ready, perhaps after learning 6,000–8,000 words, disable subtitles so that your eyes cannot assist your ears in deciphering what is being said; this will be hard, but will ",[26,22986,19069],{}," develop your listening comprehension",[11,22989,22990,22991,22996],{},"Then, Migaku offers ",[15,22992,22995],{"href":22993,"rel":22994},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=DSPYuIbsxAk&t=96s",[971],"several subtitle configuration options",", creating some stepping stones between these levels. You can choose to:",[304,22998,22999,23002,23005],{},[307,23000,23001],{},"As a level 1.5 — Use both Japanese and NL subtitles, but only display NL subtitles if the sentence contains words you do not know",[307,23003,23004],{},"As a level 2.3 — Display no subtitles, but pause the video after every line of dialogue and display Japanese subtitles",[307,23006,23007],{},"As a level 2.6 — Display no subtitles unless you manually pause the video",[11,23009,23010],{},"This experience can be frustrating: it takes many hours of listening to build your listening comprehension skills. Know that every minute you put in is beneficial, and that, eventually, you will naturally reach a point where you feel confident even without subtitles.",[847,23012,23014],{"id":23013},"what-if-im-still-a-beginner-and-cant-understand-netflix-yet","What if I'm still a beginner and can't understand Netflix yet?",[11,23016,23017],{},"In that case, you're in luck. It takes most people years of directionless study before they learn enough Japanese to start making gains by watching their favorite shows... and as people who love anime and j-dramas, that annoyed us.",[11,23019,23020],{},"So we spent 10,000 hours creating the perfect Japanese course for beginners who want to watch netflix.",[11,23022,23023,23024,23027],{},"Check out the video below to see what's so special about Migaku Academy, or check out ",[15,23025,23026],{"href":1199},"this blog post"," to see the science behind what makes our course so effective.",[5025,23029],{"src":23030},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FgFvZMZlUYfc?si=LMCLUXdm2CixOCfk",[847,23032,23034,23035,23038],{"id":23033},"do-i-have-to-make-flashcards","Do I ",[26,23036,23037],{},"have"," to make flashcards?",[11,23040,23041,23042,23044],{},"No, you do not ",[26,23043,23037],{}," to create flashcards, but they do allow you to get more value out of the time you spend watching content on Netflix.",[11,23046,23047],{},"In my opinion, the flashcard dilemma ultimately boils down to these two quotes from Piotr Woźniak, the founder of SuperMemo—the first spaced-repetition (SRS) flashcard tool",[320,23049,23050],{},[11,23051,23052,23053,10768,23055,23058,23060,23062,23064,23065,506,23067],{},"…To maximize the scope of what you learn, you should set target recall to 0%; in other words, don’t use SRS at all, just consume content at random. At any target recall rate above 0%, you are trading away some scope in exchange for control over what you learn. ",[292,23054],{},[26,23056,23057],{},"(source unknown)",[292,23059],{},[292,23061],{},[292,23063],{},"\n... You should choose a middle-ground strategy. For example, if you consistently spend 90% of your time on reading and 10% of your time on adding most important findings to SuperMemo, your reading speed will actually decline only by some 10%, while the retention of the most important pieces will be as high as programmed in SuperMemo (i.e. usually 95%). ",[292,23066],{},[26,23068,11127,23069,3892],{},[15,23070,16629],{"href":23071,"rel":23072},"https:\u002F\u002Fsupermemo.guru\u002Fwiki\u002FMyth:_High_retention_results_in_slow_learning",[971],[11,23074,23075],{},"Simply watching Japanese content will naturally expose you to thousands of sentences, and this exposure will enable you to naturally learn new words and review old ones. Making flashcards enables you to speed up the process of committing new, important-looking words to memory.",[11,23077,23078],{},"We recommend that you make flashcards out of sentences if (a) they only contain one new word, (b) that word is useful or interesting, and (c) the sentence looks practical to you. Some people do this for every single sentence, others make a certain amount of cards per Netflix session, and others make no flashcards. Where you fall along that spectrum is something you'll find for yourself as you spend more time interacting with Japanese content.",[847,23080,23082],{"id":23081},"balancing-enjoyment-with-study","Balancing enjoyment with study",[11,23084,23085,23086,23088],{},"As language learners, we find ourselves in a dilemma: there are many things we'd like to watch in Japanese, but we don't ",[26,23087,600],{}," want to watch. We also want to learn.",[11,23090,23091],{},"This is a balance you'll have to find yourself, but know that both approaches are useful in the long run:",[304,23093,23094,23097],{},[307,23095,23096],{},"When you treat watching as an opportunity to learn, making a point to look up things you don't know, you build your Japanese muscles and gradually become capable of understanding more difficult content",[307,23098,23099],{},"When you treat watching as a way to relax and have fun, you end up watching more content, and this additional mass of exposure helps to consolidate the knowledge you've gained into more accessible and more nuanced memories",[11,23101,23102],{},"If this is something you struggle with, we recommend watching seriously until you have created a certain amount of flashcards. After reaching that checkpoint, you can watch casually for the rest of your session.",[847,23104,23106],{"id":23105},"what-if-i-dont-have-enough-money-to-pay-for-netflix","What if I don't have enough money to pay for Netflix?",[11,23108,23109],{},"No problem! Netflix is great, but there's tons of high-quality content available on YouTube for free. Everything we've said up above also applies to YouTube, and Migaku also works with YouTube.",[11,23111,23112,23113,23118],{},"If you check out our ",[15,23114,23117],{"href":23115,"rel":23116},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@JapanesePlaylistsByMigaku",[971],"Migaku Japanese YouTube channel",", we've organized thousands of videos into playlists for total-beginner, upper-beginner, and intermediate learners. You'll be able to find something you enjoy that's suitable for your level 💪",[50,23120],{"src":23121,"width":19054,"height":23122,"alt":23123},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-netflix-japanese-youtube.jpeg",1170,"A screenshot of Migaku's Japanese YouTube channel, with nearly 3,000 Japanese videos organized into playlists.",[42,23125],{},[45,23127,23129],{"id":23128},"in-other-words","In other words...",[11,23131,23132,23133,23135],{},"Yes! Watching anime or j-dramas on Netflix isn't just a fun way to spend your evening. The audiovisual exposure you get from Netflix is also an incredibly important component of learning Japanese. You'll need to do more than ",[26,23134,600],{}," watch Netflix to learn Japanese, but the majority of the several thousand hours it will take to learn Japanese should be spent consuming real Japanese content.",[11,23137,23138],{},"And if you want the easiest way to turn your binge sessions into genuinely practical learning opportunities—click the button below to try Migaku totally free for ten days, watch like three seasons of some show, and realize how great of an idea this was.",[674,23140],{"href":17,"text":3633},{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":23142},[23143,23152,23155,23160,23165,23173],{"id":22288,"depth":707,"text":22289,"children":23144},[23145,23147,23148,23149,23150],{"id":22298,"depth":1016,"text":23146},"1. Your goal is to understand Japanese, right?",{"id":22346,"depth":1016,"text":22347},{"id":22372,"depth":1016,"text":22373},{"id":22545,"depth":1016,"text":22546},{"id":22566,"depth":1016,"text":23151},"5. You get the advantages of reading and listening",{"id":22587,"depth":707,"text":22588,"children":23153},[23154],{"id":22597,"depth":1016,"text":22598},{"id":22674,"depth":707,"text":22675,"children":23156},[23157,23158,23159],{"id":22681,"depth":1016,"text":22682},{"id":22702,"depth":1016,"text":22703},{"id":22728,"depth":1016,"text":22729},{"id":22751,"depth":707,"text":22752,"children":23161},[23162,23163,23164],{"id":22792,"depth":1016,"text":22793},{"id":22812,"depth":1016,"text":22813},{"id":22879,"depth":1016,"text":22880},{"id":22929,"depth":707,"text":22930,"children":23166},[23167,23168,23169,23171,23172],{"id":22936,"depth":1016,"text":22937},{"id":23013,"depth":1016,"text":23014},{"id":23033,"depth":1016,"text":23170},"Do I have to make flashcards?",{"id":23081,"depth":1016,"text":23082},{"id":23105,"depth":1016,"text":23106},{"id":23128,"depth":707,"text":23129},"Discover how to learn Japanese by watching Netflix. Explore the best shows, movies, and tools like Migaku to enhance your listening skills and vocabulary with fun and effective methods.",{"timestampUnix":23176,"slug":23177,"h1":23178,"image":23179,"tags":23182},1732512224251,"learn-japanese-with-netflix","Learn Japanese with Netflix: Turn Entertainment into Learning",{"src":23180,"width":20874,"height":20875,"alt":23181},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-netflix-header.webp","A group of friends gathered on the couch, watching something Netflix—perhaps a classic j-drama!",[4107],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-netflix","---\ntitle: \"Learn Japanese with Netflix: A Beginner's Guide to Fun and Effective Language Learning\"\ndescription: 'Discover how to learn Japanese by watching Netflix. Explore the best shows, movies, and tools like Migaku to enhance your listening skills and vocabulary with fun and effective methods.'\ntimestampUnix: 1732512224251\nslug: 'learn-japanese-with-netflix'\nh1: 'Learn Japanese with Netflix: Turn Entertainment into Learning'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-netflix-header.webp'\n width: 6720\n height: 4480\n alt: 'A group of friends gathered on the couch, watching something Netflix—perhaps a classic j-drama!'\ntags:\n - resources\n---\n\nAhh, yes. Here you are are. You love watching anime, and now you've gone to Google to ask if you can [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese) by watching anime on Netflix.\n\nWell, yes. Yes you can.\n\nThe same answer applies if you're interested in Japanese movies, television shows, or dramas.\n\nListening comprehension is an incredibly important part of your journey to learn Japanese, and Netflix has a conveniently curated library of hundreds of Japanese shows you can watch from anywhere in the world.\n\nIn this article, we'll get into:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## Why Netflix is great for learning Japanese\n\nAs if you need convincing to watch anime, j-dramas, and Japanese movies, right? The first and most obvious reason to incorporate Netflix into your learning routine is that it's fun, and we learn languages better when we're having fun.\n\nThat aside, here are a few \"real\" reasons why a good chunk of the time you spend learning Japanese should be spent watching Netflix.\n\n### 1. Your goal is to _understand_ Japanese, right?\n\nI'm going to preface this by saying that I'm a linguistics geek and I love grammar. I have Japanese reference books in a few different languages, and my idea of a good time is writing lengthy Reddit comments about things like how [Japanese doesn't technically have a past tense](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002FLearnJapanese\u002Fcomments\u002F1b83myw\u002Fcomment\u002Fktqpvyn\u002F).\n\n... but that's not what gets most people excited about Japanese.\n\nChances are, you're not terribly interested in Japanese in an academic sense.\nNo; you're learning Japanese because you want to _use_ Japanese in some capacity—you see Japanese as a means to an end. Having a certain level of Japanese will enable you to do certain things that you would like to do. You know, like watching anime and stuff.\n\nTo get good at that stuff, you need to actually spend time doing that stuff.\n\n> When learning a new language, the most reliable way to make progress is by consuming content in another language, understanding the messages within that content, and slowly expanding the mental model of Japanese within your brain.\n\nNow, I'm not saying that it isn't important to study grammar. At Migaku, we think that grammar study is part of how you build the foundation you need to do cool things in Japanese. I'm just saying that it takes [~5,000 hours](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjlpt-n1-overview#how-many-study-hours-does-it-take-to-pass-the-jlpt-n1) for the typical learner to pass the JLPT N1, the highest level of [the Japanese Language Proficiency Test](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese-Language_Proficiency_Test), and that you shouldn't spend all 5,000 of those hours with your nose in a textbook.\n\n### 2. The visuals will help you to understand the dialogue\n\nReading is great, but for quite awhile, written Japanese will be little more than squiggles on a page. It takes effort to turn these squiggles into the world of your story.\n\nBy contrast, if you're _watching_ a Japanese show, you'll see a person sitting in a chair say よいしょ (yoisho) as they press their hands down into their knees and stand themselves up. You might not quite catch everything they say, but you'll be able to tell from the tone of their voice if they're excited about what they're going to go do or not. You see, comprehension isn't a binary matter of all or nothing: there are shades of understanding, and sometimes being able to watch the action play out will give you that last 10% of information you need to follow along.\n\nYou'll also see all sorts of gestures, such as this below \"pinky in the air\" one that means someone (already) has a romantic partner—not that they're going in for a pinky promise.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_netflix_gesture.jpeg\" width=\"1326\" height=\"914\" alt=\"A Japanese man holding up his pinky finger, a Japanese gesture that means you have a romantic partner.\"\u002F>\n\nSimply put, the audiovisual nature of movies and TV shows gives you more information than naked text to work with. Early on, this additional context will help you make sense of things that you otherwise couldn't with text alone. Even as an advanced learner, the ability to see what Japan looks like and how Japanese people go about their daily lives will provide you with important cultural information.\n\n### 3. You'll learn Japanese pronunciation by ear\n\nDo me a favor for a moment and click the play button on this word:\n\n\u003Cword lang=\"ja\" src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-私.mp3\" native=\"私\" translation=\"I [watashi]\">\u003C\u002Fword>\n\nThis is the most basic Japanese word for \"I\", and it's a literal minefield of pronunciation challenges. If you're a native English speaker, and you follow your instincts, the letters w-a-t-a-s-h-i look like something you would know how to say. As another native English speaker, it's unfortunately precisely this kind of \"baggage\" that we carry from English that leads us to mispronounce _watashi_ and many other words in Japanese. Japanese, English, and each language have their own pronunciation conventions, and they don't always line up.\n\nI'm not going to make you wade through all of challenges presented by this word, unless you're interested in nerdy pronunciation stuff. Just know that this one word will trip up native English speakers in _six_ ways, which is kind of incredible.\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"Click to see nerdy pronunciation stuff\">\n\n- The Japanese \u002Fw\u002F sound is made _without_ puckering the lips, as we do in English (_go say \"what\" in front of a mirror, and you'll see what I mean_)\n - Compare: English \"w\" \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FVoiced_labio-velar_approximant.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> vs Japanese \\[β̞] \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FBilabial_approximant.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- The Japanese \u003Cspan style=\"font-feature-settings: 'cv11' off;\">\"a\"\u003C\u002Fspan> is pronounced in the middle of the mouth, whereas the English \u003Cspan style=\"font-feature-settings: 'cv11' off;\">\u002Fa\u002F\u003C\u002Fspan> is pronounced in the front of the mouth.\n - Compare: English \u003Cspan style=\"font-feature-settings: 'cv11' off;\">\u002Fa\u002F\u003C\u002Fspan> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FOpen_front_unrounded_vowel.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> vs Japanese \u003Cspan style=\"font-feature-settings: 'cv11' off;\">\\[ä]\u003C\u002Fspan> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FOpen_central_unrounded_vowel.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- The Japanese \u002Ft\u002F is not aspirated when it appears in the middle of the word. (_Put your hand in front of your mouth and say \"tie\". Feel that puff of air? That's aspiration. Now say \"sty\". Notice how it's not there? This is aspirated vs unaspirated \u002Ft\u002F._)\n - Compare: Unaspirated \u002Ft\u002F \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Funaspirated-t.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> vs aspirated \u002Ft\u002F \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Faspirated-t.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- The English \"sh\" sound (\u002Fʃ\u002F) is made with the front portion of your tongue raised, whereas the Japanese \"sh\" sound (\u002Fɕ\u002F) with the middle part of your tongue raised and the tip of your tongue located behind your bottom row of teeth\n - Compare: English \"sh\" (\u002Fʃ\u002F) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fen-she.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> vs Japanese \"sh\" (\u002Fɕ\u002F) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-死.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- English has stressed syllables (_the NA in baNAna_) and unstressed syllables (_the ba...na in baNAna_). As a matter of convention, we \"reduce\" vowels in unstressed syllables into something that sounds like \"uhh\". Japanese doesn't do this.\n - Compare: The 1st and 2nd \"a\" in an English pronunciation of _watashi_ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fen-watashi.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> are different, whereas both \"a\" sounds in the Japanese pronunciation of _わたし_ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-私.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> are the same.\n- Japanese has something called [pitch accent](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_pitch_accent). While beyond the scope of this article, this basically means that every Japanese word is pronounced with a fixed sequence of high or low pitches.\n - Compare: English _watashi_ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fen-watashi.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> has a pitch pattern of low-high-low, whereas Japanese _わたし_ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-私.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> hasa pattern of low-high-high.\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\nSo rather than reading a book and letting your eyes mislead you as to how a given word should be pronounced, you can instead just listen to native Japanese content and hear native Japanese speakers saying different sounds—no erroneous interpretation required.\n\nTo reframe that more positively, watching Japanese content gives you an entire additional layer of information (audio) that is completely absent from written Japanese.\n\n### 4. The content adapts to the effort you expend on it\n\nAll written text shares a certain fundamental nature: if you do not exert effort to read it, the flow of information stops.\n\nThis is not true for television.\n\n- When you have energy and are ready to focus, you can listen carefully to the Japanese audio and make a point to look up vocabulary words and grammar points that you don't know.\n\n- When you feel tired, you can simply stop doing those things. You might choose to read the English subtitles—or, you might choose to be content with only getting the gist of what's going on in Japanese, instead of ironing out every little detail.\n\nThe result of this \"flexibility\" is that you can comfortably get in several hours of Japanese listening in a day, where you might not have the Japanese ability or mental stamina to do the same amount of reading.\n\n### 5. You get the advantages of reading _and_ listening\n\nThe great thing about Netflix is that, unlike a podcast, Japanese television shows are more than just pure Japanese audio. It contains visuals, as we mentioned above, but most shows also come with Japanese subtitles.\n\nThis means that you essentially get the best of both worlds:\n\n- You get to listen to natural Japanese, thus hearing how words should be pronounced and hearing the emotion in each speaker's voice\n- You get to read the Japanese subtitles, thus being able to check what exactly was said if you couldn't quite make out what someone said\n\n## How to find Japanese shows to watch on Netflix\n\nSo, we now agree that Netflix should be part of your Japanese learning routine.\n\nBut how do you actually find things to watch as a beginner?\n\n### Explore Netflix's catalogue on unogs.com\n\nNetflix has a wonderful repository of content, but it can be somewhat hit or miss in that not all shows are available in all regions, and sometimes Netflix will have a Japanese show but won't have Japanese subtitles and\u002For Japanese audio.\n\nuNoGS (unofficial Netflix online Global Search) presents a solution to this issue, making your life much easier as a language learner.\n\nGo to [unogs' website](https:\u002F\u002Funogs.com\u002F), and then click the big blue \"Advanced Search\" button in the center-top region of the page.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_netflix_unogs_search.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot of Unogs' homepage, a website showing which shows are available in a given Netflix region.\"\u002F>\n\nYou'll now see a somewhat overwhelming list of filters. You can explore these more by yourself, but to start with, do three specific things:\n\n1. Unselect all countries except that of your Netflix account\n2. Set \"Audio\" and \"Subtitles\" to \"Japanese\"\n3. Change the \"or\" filter to \"and\"\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_netflix_unogs.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot of Unogs' advanced search interface, showing the settings you should use to find shows wih Japanese audio\u002Fsubtitles that are available in the USA.\"\u002F>\n\nYou'll now see a list of all of the Japanese shows that are available in your country that have Japanese audio and subtitles available.\n\nScroll through this list and find something that you'd like to watch.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_netflix_unogs_results.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot of the results of the above query, showing that there are 387 relevant shows available on Netflix.\"\u002F>\n\nOnce you've found something that seems interesting, you've got two options.\n\nOption one is to look for your show on [Natively](https:\u002F\u002Flearnnatively.com\u002F). This will show you roughly what JLPT level the content is, and will also let you see how difficult other learners thought it was.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_netflix_learnnatively.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot of the Learn Natively entry for Blue Box, a Japanese animated film.\"\u002F>\n\nOption two, if you're a Migaku subscriber, is to simply boot up your show in Netflix. Migaku will compare the words in the subtitles with the list of words you've indicated that you know and the list of words you've created flashcards for, thus giving you an accurate estimate of how difficult this show will be for you.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-netflix-comprehension-score.jpeg\" width=\"1553\" height=\"874\" alt=\"A screenshot of a random user's comprehension score for this show on Netflix\"\u002F>\n\n---\n\n## The best Japanese shows and movies on Netflix\n\nAbove are instructions on how you can find things to watch on Netflix for yourself, but if you'd like to skip the hassle and get a few beginner-specific recommendations, here you go:\n\n### \\[Reality television] Terrace House\n\n[Terrace House](https:\u002F\u002Flearnnatively.com\u002Fseason\u002Ff25d4c83de\u002F) is a hit Japanese television show with a simple premise: three men and three women who don't know each other are moved in together under one roof.\n\nWhat's special about Terrace House is that it's not a game show and isn't intended to be dramatic. All of the hosts chose to live in the house and they all have their own lives—they just happen to be living together. The show captures the mundane moments of them doing things like cooking dinner or cleaning.\n\nWhat's great about this show for learners is that the vocabulary is pretty straightforward—it's the sort of stuff that comes up in everyday life—and, being totally unscripted, the dialogues are completely natural.\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FTeQMfz6GXSk?si=fm-F9xrnjxVty_qX\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n### \\[Anime] Haikyuu!!\n\nThe only thing that Shoyo Hinata, the star of [Haikyuu!!](https:\u002F\u002Flearnnatively.com\u002Fseason\u002F81b7db8ebb\u002F), ever wanted was to play volleyball. Unfortunately, he's very short and his middle school team wasn't very good. He enrolls in a high school which _used_ to have one of Japan's best volleyball programs... and discovers that he'll have his arch rival from middle school as a teammate.\n\nThis anime has all of the elements of a good story: it's about kids being kids, underdogs striving for the win, and relatable characters overcoming personal weaknesses for the benefit of those they care about.\n\nEspecially good news for learners is that the whole anime has less than 4,000 unique words, making it a very accessible watch for low-intermediate learners.\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FJOGp2c7-cKc?si=yGIGtcqGYOJXRhgJ\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n### \\[Movie] Drawing Closer\n\n[Drawing Closer](https:\u002F\u002Flearnnatively.com\u002Fmovie\u002F1ad224333e\u002F) will make you cry.\n\n17-year-old Akito, an exceptional artist for his age, has a dream: he wants to get one of his pieces into the Nikaten Art Exhibition. Instead, a tumor is discovered in his heart, and he is given only one year to live. He gives up on life—and then he meets Haruna, a girl who is drawn to the beauty of life and is optimistic, despite having only 6 months left to live.\n\nThe simple nature of this story—a romance between two young people learning to enjoy the simple pleasures of life—makes it easy to follow, even for beginners. Additionally, the calm nature of the story means that the characters speak in relatively slow and clear voices, making it easier to understand than many other movies.\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FcJLhrrxDRPQ?si=RuLm0-_B9QXgsrnX\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n---\n\n## How to learn Japanese with Netflix\n\n_(Note: We'll also provide advice for how to learn Japanese with Netflix without Migaku.)_\n\nLanguage learning is pretty straightforward: if you consume content, and you understand the messages within that content, you will make progress.\n\nThe problem for beginners is that, unfortunately, there isn't very much content that is both interesting _and_ understandable.\n\nAnd that's why we made Migaku.\n\nMigaku is a platform that adds functionality to text in other languages, allowing you to do things like:\n\n- Click on a word to see a definition of what it means\n- Get AI breakdowns of sentences the word appears in\n- Make flashcards out of words you find interesting or useful\n\nThese features all work with Netflix's subtitles, allowing you to watch Japanese shows that would normally be too difficult and also to create learning content out of that content.\n\nHere's how to learn Japanese with Netflix and Migaku:\n\n### Boot up your favorite show\n\nOpen any show with Japanese subtitles on Netflix, and Migaku will parse those subtitles to make them interactable.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-netflix-subtitles.jpeg\" width=\"1727\" height=\"1015\" alt=\"A screenshot of Death Note's subtitles, hosted on Netflix and enhanced by Migaku.\"\u002F>\n\nThe changes are subtle! But you'll quickly notice above that the word 直訳 (ちょくやく, \"direct translation\") has [furigana](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FFurigana) over it. Normal subtitles would not have furigana, but Migaku has added it because this user has not yet learned this word.\n\n### Click on any words you don't know\n\nSo, remember how we didn't know the word 直訳?\n\nJust click on it.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_netflix_word_lookup.jpeg\" width=\"1725\" height=\"1015\" alt=\"A screenshot showing how Migaku enhances subtitles,letting you click on a word to see its definition.\"\u002F>\n\nSet to _translate_, Migaku displays a pop-up dictionary definition of what this word means and also an AI translation of the sentence it appears in.\n\nThe user could also choose to see:\n\n- Recordings of native speakers pronouncing 直訳\n- Images from Google of 直訳\n- Example sentences that include 直訳\n- An AI explanation of what 直訳 means in the context of this sentence\n- An AI breakdown of the sentence, covering words, phrases, and grammar points\n- Links to definitions of 直訳 in online Japanese dictionaries\n\nThis effectively lets you consume Japanese content as if you already know tens of thousands of Japanese words—you can look up unknown words in real time with a single click.\n\nIf you aren't using Migaku, then we recommend using an OCR software ([see step #2 here for free\u002Fpaid recs](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Flearn-japanese-with-manga#how-to-learn-from-manga-manga-recs)), capturing the words you don't know, and pasting them in an online dictionary such as [Jisho](https:\u002F\u002Fjisho.org\u002Fsearch\u002F%E7%9B%B4%E8%A8%B3) (bilingual Japanese\u003C>English) or [Goo](https:\u002F\u002Fdictionary.goo.ne.jp\u002Fword\u002F%E7%9B%B4%E8%A8%B3\u002F) (monolingual Japanese).\n\n### Create flashcards out of useful words you find\n\nIf you decide that you want to learn a particular word, you can just click the orange button shown in the top-right corner of the above screenshot. Doing so will automatically create a flashcard that looks like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_netflix_flashcards.jpeg\" width=\"864\" height=\"922\" alt=\"A screenshot of the front and back of a flashcard, as automatically generated by Migaku.\"\u002F>\n\nThis contains:\n\n- The word you you have chosen to learn\n- The sentence it appears in\n- An audio snippet of this sentence\n- A screenshot of what was on the screen when that word was uttered\n- Definitions from your preferred dictionaries\n\nAnd Migaku uses [spaced repetition](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSpaced_repetition) to create a personalized learning schedule: you'll be nudged to review this flashcard periodically until you can remember it even if you don't see it for several months.\n\nIf you don't use Migaku, you can also create spaced-repetition-powered flashcards in [Anki](https:\u002F\u002Fapps.ankiweb.net\u002F), an open-sourced flashcard program, but you'll have to design your own card layout and manually add all of the above types of information.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## Challenges and FAQs\n\nYou now know everything you need to know to find interesting, level-appropriate shows to watch on Netflix, but there are still a few questions that might be on your mind.\n\n### Subtitles or no subtitles?\n\nWhen you go to watch a piece of content, you have four options so far as subtitles go:\n\n- No subtitles\n- Japanese subtitles\n- Native-language (NL) subtitles\n- Both subtitles\n\nAnd [research has actually been done](https:\u002F\u002Fjournals.plos.org\u002Fplosone\u002Farticle?id=10.1371\u002Fjournal.pone.0158409) on this very topic, finding that, for intermediate learners:\n\n- Listening in your target language but having subtitles in your native language offers virtually no learning benefit: your brain chooses the option of least resistance and ignores the Japanese audio in favor of your native-language subtitles\n- Using target-language (TL) subtitles leads to more improvement than disabling subtitles\n\nThis in mind, I recommend you to:\n\n1. Initially, use dual subtitles: display both Japanese and NL subtitles at the same time\n2. After learning ~2,000 words, switch to Japanese subtitles only\n3. When you feel ready, perhaps after learning 6,000–8,000 words, disable subtitles so that your eyes cannot assist your ears in deciphering what is being said; this will be hard, but will _really_ develop your listening comprehension\n\nThen, Migaku offers [several subtitle configuration options](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=DSPYuIbsxAk&t=96s), creating some stepping stones between these levels. You can choose to:\n\n- As a level 1.5 — Use both Japanese and NL subtitles, but only display NL subtitles if the sentence contains words you do not know\n- As a level 2.3 — Display no subtitles, but pause the video after every line of dialogue and display Japanese subtitles\n- As a level 2.6 — Display no subtitles unless you manually pause the video\n\nThis experience can be frustrating: it takes many hours of listening to build your listening comprehension skills. Know that every minute you put in is beneficial, and that, eventually, you will naturally reach a point where you feel confident even without subtitles.\n\n### What if I'm still a beginner and can't understand Netflix yet?\n\nIn that case, you're in luck. It takes most people years of directionless study before they learn enough Japanese to start making gains by watching their favorite shows... and as people who love anime and j-dramas, that annoyed us.\n\nSo we spent 10,000 hours creating the perfect Japanese course for beginners who want to watch netflix.\n\nCheck out the video below to see what's so special about Migaku Academy, or check out [this blog post](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary) to see the science behind what makes our course so effective.\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FgFvZMZlUYfc?si=LMCLUXdm2CixOCfk\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n### Do I _have_ to make flashcards?\n\nNo, you do not _have_ to create flashcards, but they do allow you to get more value out of the time you spend watching content on Netflix.\n\nIn my opinion, the flashcard dilemma ultimately boils down to these two quotes from Piotr Woźniak, the founder of SuperMemo—the first spaced-repetition (SRS) flashcard tool\n\n> …To maximize the scope of what you learn, you should set target recall to 0%; in other words, don’t use SRS at all, just consume content at random. At any target recall rate above 0%, you are trading away some scope in exchange for control over what you learn. \u003Cbr> — _(source unknown)_\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>\n> ... You should choose a middle-ground strategy. For example, if you consistently spend 90% of your time on reading and 10% of your time on adding most important findings to SuperMemo, your reading speed will actually decline only by some 10%, while the retention of the most important pieces will be as high as programmed in SuperMemo (i.e. usually 95%). \u003Cbr> _([source](https:\u002F\u002Fsupermemo.guru\u002Fwiki\u002FMyth:_High_retention_results_in_slow_learning))_\n\nSimply watching Japanese content will naturally expose you to thousands of sentences, and this exposure will enable you to naturally learn new words and review old ones. Making flashcards enables you to speed up the process of committing new, important-looking words to memory.\n\nWe recommend that you make flashcards out of sentences if (a) they only contain one new word, (b) that word is useful or interesting, and (c) the sentence looks practical to you. Some people do this for every single sentence, others make a certain amount of cards per Netflix session, and others make no flashcards. Where you fall along that spectrum is something you'll find for yourself as you spend more time interacting with Japanese content.\n\n### Balancing enjoyment with study\n\nAs language learners, we find ourselves in a dilemma: there are many things we'd like to watch in Japanese, but we don't _just_ want to watch. We also want to learn.\n\nThis is a balance you'll have to find yourself, but know that both approaches are useful in the long run:\n\n- When you treat watching as an opportunity to learn, making a point to look up things you don't know, you build your Japanese muscles and gradually become capable of understanding more difficult content\n- When you treat watching as a way to relax and have fun, you end up watching more content, and this additional mass of exposure helps to consolidate the knowledge you've gained into more accessible and more nuanced memories\n\nIf this is something you struggle with, we recommend watching seriously until you have created a certain amount of flashcards. After reaching that checkpoint, you can watch casually for the rest of your session.\n\n### What if I don't have enough money to pay for Netflix?\n\nNo problem! Netflix is great, but there's tons of high-quality content available on YouTube for free. Everything we've said up above also applies to YouTube, and Migaku also works with YouTube.\n\nIf you check out our [Migaku Japanese YouTube channel](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@JapanesePlaylistsByMigaku), we've organized thousands of videos into playlists for total-beginner, upper-beginner, and intermediate learners. You'll be able to find something you enjoy that's suitable for your level 💪\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-netflix-japanese-youtube.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1170\" alt=\"A screenshot of Migaku's Japanese YouTube channel, with nearly 3,000 Japanese videos organized into playlists.\"\u002F>\n\n---\n\n## In other words...\n\nYes! Watching anime or j-dramas on Netflix isn't just a fun way to spend your evening. The audiovisual exposure you get from Netflix is also an incredibly important component of learning Japanese. You'll need to do more than _just_ watch Netflix to learn Japanese, but the majority of the several thousand hours it will take to learn Japanese should be spent consuming real Japanese content.\n\nAnd if you want the easiest way to turn your binge sessions into genuinely practical learning opportunities—click the button below to try Migaku totally free for ten days, watch like three seasons of some show, and realize how great of an idea this was.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Try Migaku for free\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n",{"title":22261,"description":23174},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-netflix","qbgBMT-gsgUqaLK-dXaI2zTV6tkdbqYLFiNqV2kgBgU","November 25, 2024",{"id":23190,"title":23191,"body":23192,"description":23487,"extension":717,"meta":23488,"navigation":730,"path":23497,"rawbody":23498,"seo":23499,"stem":23500,"__hash__":23501,"timestampUnix":23489,"slug":23490,"h1":23491,"image":23492,"tags":23496,"_dir":736,"timestamp":23502},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-no.md","8 Ways to Say No in Japanese: From Direct to Polite Refusals",{"type":8,"value":23193,"toc":23481},[23194,23199,23206,23209,23211,23213,23217,23301,23304,23307,23310,23313,23315,23319,23397,23403,23409,23414,23419,23421,23425,23428,23435,23438,23443,23446,23449,23451,23453,23457,23469,23472,23478],[11,23195,5103,23196,23198],{},[15,23197,18],{"href":17},", you're going to have to learn to say no to some things. At Migaku, we think that one of those things is the classroom approach to language, but that soap box is for another blog post.",[11,23200,23201,23202,23205],{},"In ",[26,23203,23204],{},"this"," blog post, we're going to talk about how to say \"no\" in Japanese. We'll cover some more direct ways, some more indirect ways, and provide brief notes about when to use each one.",[11,23207,23208],{},"Here goes:",[39,23210],{},[42,23212],{},[45,23214,23216],{"id":23215},"direct-ways-to-say-no-in-japanese","Direct ways to say no in Japanese",[67,23218,23219,23231],{},[70,23220,23221],{},[73,23222,23223,23226,23229],{},[76,23224,23225],{"align":78},"Expression",[76,23227,23228],{"align":78},"English Meaning",[76,23230,85],{"align":78},[87,23232,23233,23247,23260,23274,23288],{},[73,23234,23235,23241,23244],{},[92,23236,23237,23238],{"align":78},"ううん ",[103,23239],{"src":23240,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fううん.m4a",[92,23242,23243],{"align":78},"No",[92,23245,23246],{"align":78},"uun",[73,23248,23249,23255,23257],{},[92,23250,23251,23252],{"align":78},"いえ ",[103,23253],{"src":23254,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fいえ.m4a",[92,23256,23243],{"align":78},[92,23258,23259],{"align":78},"ie",[73,23261,23262,23268,23271],{},[92,23263,23264,23265],{"align":78},"いいや ",[103,23266],{"src":23267,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fいいや.m4a",[92,23269,23270],{"align":78},"No \u002F No way",[92,23272,23273],{"align":78},"iiya",[73,23275,23276,23282,23285],{},[92,23277,23278,23279],{"align":78},"いやいや ",[103,23280],{"src":23281,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fいやいや.m4a",[92,23283,23284],{"align":78},"No \u002F I disagree \u002F On the contrary",[92,23286,23287],{"align":78},"iya iya",[73,23289,23290,23296,23298],{},[92,23291,23292,23293],{"align":78},"いいえ ",[103,23294],{"src":23295,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fいいえ.m4a",[92,23297,23243],{"align":78},[92,23299,23300],{"align":78},"iie",[11,23302,23303],{},"ううん and いえ are probably the two most common ways to express a negative. Both express a simple, direct 'no.'",[11,23305,23306],{},"いいや is used to negate what another person has said or to express an opposing feeling.",[11,23308,23309],{},"いやいや can be simply used as a stronger way to refuse something, but can also be used to deny that something is the case, followed by stating the opposite.",[11,23311,23312],{},"いいえ is the formal equivalent of ううん, and simply expresses a direct 'no.'",[42,23314],{},[45,23316,23318],{"id":23317},"more-indirect-ways-to-say-no-in-japanese","More indirect ways to say no in Japanese",[67,23320,23321,23331],{},[70,23322,23323],{},[73,23324,23325,23327,23329],{},[76,23326,23225],{"align":78},[76,23328,23228],{"align":78},[76,23330,85],{"align":78},[87,23332,23333,23349,23365,23381],{},[73,23334,23335,23343,23346],{},[92,23336,23337,506,23340],{"align":78},[98,23338],{"lang":100,"syntax":23339},"遠慮[えんりょ] する",[103,23341],{"src":23342,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F遠慮する.m4a",[92,23344,23345],{"align":78},"I refrain",[92,23347,23348],{"align":78},"enryo suru",[73,23350,23351,23359,23362],{},[92,23352,23353,506,23356],{"align":78},[98,23354],{"lang":100,"syntax":23355},"難[むずか,むずかしい]しい",[103,23357],{"src":23358,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F難しい.m4a",[92,23360,23361],{"align":78},"Difficult",[92,23363,23364],{"align":78},"muzukashii",[73,23366,23367,23375,23378],{},[92,23368,23369,506,23372],{"align":78},[98,23370],{"lang":100,"syntax":23371},"大丈夫[だいじょうぶ]",[103,23373],{"src":23374,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_大丈夫.mp3",[92,23376,23377],{"align":78},"I'm good",[92,23379,23380],{"align":78},"daijoubu",[73,23382,23383,23391,23394],{},[92,23384,23385,506,23388],{"align":78},[98,23386],{"lang":100,"syntax":23387},"結構[けっこう]",[103,23389],{"src":23390,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F結構.m4a",[92,23392,23393],{"align":78},"No, thank you",[92,23395,23396],{"align":78},"kekkou",[11,23398,23399,23400,23402],{},"\n \t",[98,23401],{"lang":100,"syntax":23339}," can be translated as 'to refrain' and is used as a more indirect way to refuse something.\n ",[11,23404,23405,23406,23408],{},"\n\t",[98,23407],{"lang":100,"syntax":23355}," literally means 'difficult', but can be used in a similar way as one might use 'that might be difficult'. Even though 'difficult' does not mean impossible, using this phrase basically always means 'no.'\n ",[11,23410,23405,23411,23413],{},[98,23412],{"lang":100,"syntax":23371}," is used in a similar way to 'No, thank you, I'm fine' is used in English.\n ",[11,23415,23405,23416,23418],{},[98,23417],{"lang":100,"syntax":23387}," is a pretty formal expression to say 'No, thank you.'\n ",[42,23420],{},[45,23422,23424],{"id":23423},"how-to-say-no-in-japanese-and-1500-other-words-too","How to say no in Japanese... and 1,500 other words, too!",[11,23426,23427],{},"You were right to come to this blog post: \"no\" is most definitely a word that you need to know.",[11,23429,23430,23431,23434],{},"The thing is, before you'll be ready to start watching anime, j-dramas, and whatever you're into on YouTube, you'll also need to know somewhere in the ballpark of 1,500 ",[26,23432,23433],{},"other"," words, too.",[11,23436,23437],{},"The Migaku Japanese Academy walks you through each one, one at a time:",[50,23439],{"src":23440,"width":23441,"height":19244,"alt":23442},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-no.jpeg",1688,"A screenshot from Migaku's Japanese course, showing how we help users learn Japanese vocabulary and grammar",[11,23444,23445],{},"You'll first read about a grammar point, then commit it to memory by learning practical sentences that include it. These aren't just any sentences, either: each flashcard introduces one, and only one, new word. We'll periodically nudge you to review every sentence you practice, so you'll eventually remember them, so long as you stay consistent.",[11,23447,23448],{},"At a pace of 10 words per day—about half an hour of effort—you can go from zero to ready to start stumbling through Japanese Netflix in about six months.",[674,23450],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,23452],{},[45,23454,23456],{"id":23455},"if-you-want-to-learn-japanese-remember-this","If you want to learn Japanese, remember this:",[11,23458,23459,23460,23462,23463,23465,23466,23468],{},"As a small heads up—if you want to make real progress, you don't ",[26,23461,19069],{}," want to be poking around on the internet for blog posts like this one. In doing so, you're learning ",[26,23464,19105],{}," Japanese, but what you need to be doing is spending time ",[26,23467,16160],{}," Japanese. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the #1 reason people fail to learn Japanese (or any other language) is simply that they don't spend enough time interacting with it.",[11,23470,23471],{},"So, if I may be so bold:",[320,23473,23474],{},[11,23475,5934,23476,415],{},[26,23477,994],{},[11,23479,23480],{},"Now go close this post and do something cool in Japanese 💪",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":23482},[23483,23484,23485,23486],{"id":23215,"depth":707,"text":23216},{"id":23317,"depth":707,"text":23318},{"id":23423,"depth":707,"text":23424},{"id":23455,"depth":707,"text":23456},"Learn the most common ways to say no in Japanese. Essential phrases if you want to sound like a native.",{"timestampUnix":23489,"slug":23490,"h1":23491,"image":23492,"tags":23496},1726712763988,"no-in-japanese","Japanese Refusal Guide: The Art of Saying No Politely",{"src":23493,"width":20874,"height":20875,"alt":23494,"position":23495},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-no.webp","A Japanese woman with her arms crossed in front of her, forming an X, a gesture that means \"no\".","top",[8650,5086,5984],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-no","---\ntitle: '8 Ways to Say No in Japanese: From Direct to Polite Refusals'\ndescription: 'Learn the most common ways to say no in Japanese. Essential phrases if you want to sound like a native.'\ntimestampUnix: 1726712763988\nslug: 'no-in-japanese'\nh1: 'Japanese Refusal Guide: The Art of Saying No Politely'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-no.webp'\n width: 6720\n height: 4480\n alt: 'A Japanese woman with her arms crossed in front of her, forming an X, a gesture that means \"no\".'\n position: 'top'\ntags:\n - culture\n - vocabulary\n - phrases\n---\n\nIf you want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), you're going to have to learn to say no to some things. At Migaku, we think that one of those things is the classroom approach to language, but that soap box is for another blog post.\n\nIn _this_ blog post, we're going to talk about how to say \"no\" in Japanese. We'll cover some more direct ways, some more indirect ways, and provide brief notes about when to use each one.\n\nHere goes:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## Direct ways to say no in Japanese\n\n| Expression | English Meaning | Romaji |\n| :------------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :-------------------------------: | :-----: |\n| ううん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fううん.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | No | uun |\n| いえ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fいえ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | No | ie |\n| いいや \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fいいや.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | No \u002F No way | iiya |\n| いやいや \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fいやいや.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | No \u002F I disagree \u002F On the contrary | iya iya |\n| いいえ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fいいえ.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | No | iie |\n\nううん and いえ are probably the two most common ways to express a negative. Both express a simple, direct 'no.'\n\nいいや is used to negate what another person has said or to express an opposing feeling.\n\nいやいや can be simply used as a stronger way to refuse something, but can also be used to deny that something is the case, followed by stating the opposite.\n\nいいえ is the formal equivalent of ううん, and simply expresses a direct 'no.'\n\n---\n\n## More indirect ways to say no in Japanese\n\n| Expression | English Meaning | Romaji |\n| :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :-------------: | :--------: |\n| \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"遠慮[えんりょ] する\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F遠慮する.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | I refrain | enryo suru |\n| \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"難[むずか,むずかしい]しい\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F難しい.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Difficult | muzukashii |\n| \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"大丈夫[だいじょうぶ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_大丈夫.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | I'm good | daijoubu |\n| \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"結構[けっこう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F結構.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | No, thank you | kekkou |\n\n \u003Cp>\n \t\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"遠慮[えんりょ] する\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> can be translated as 'to refrain' and is used as a more indirect way to refuse something.\n \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n \u003Cp>\n\t\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"難[むずか,むずかしい]しい\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> literally means 'difficult', but can be used in a similar way as one might use 'that might be difficult'. Even though 'difficult' does not mean impossible, using this phrase basically always means 'no.'\n \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n \u003Cp>\n\t\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"大丈夫[だいじょうぶ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> is used in a similar way to 'No, thank you, I'm fine' is used in English.\n \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n \u003Cp>\n\t\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"結構[けっこう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> is a pretty formal expression to say 'No, thank you.'\n \u003C\u002Fp>\n\n---\n\n## How to say no in Japanese... and 1,500 other words, too!\n\nYou were right to come to this blog post: \"no\" is most definitely a word that you need to know.\n\nThe thing is, before you'll be ready to start watching anime, j-dramas, and whatever you're into on YouTube, you'll also need to know somewhere in the ballpark of 1,500 _other_ words, too.\n\nThe Migaku Japanese Academy walks you through each one, one at a time:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-no.jpeg\" width=\"1688\" height=\"1148\" alt=\"A screenshot from Migaku's Japanese course, showing how we help users learn Japanese vocabulary and grammar\" \u002F>\n\nYou'll first read about a grammar point, then commit it to memory by learning practical sentences that include it. These aren't just any sentences, either: each flashcard introduces one, and only one, new word. We'll periodically nudge you to review every sentence you practice, so you'll eventually remember them, so long as you stay consistent.\n\nAt a pace of 10 words per day—about half an hour of effort—you can go from zero to ready to start stumbling through Japanese Netflix in about six months.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## If you want to learn Japanese, remember this:\n\nAs a small heads up—if you want to make real progress, you don't _really_ want to be poking around on the internet for blog posts like this one. In doing so, you're learning _about_ Japanese, but what you need to be doing is spending time _in_ Japanese. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the #1 reason people fail to learn Japanese (or any other language) is simply that they don't spend enough time interacting with it.\n\nSo, if I may be so bold:\n\n> If you consume media you enjoy in Japanese, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. _Period_.\n\nNow go close this post and do something cool in Japanese 💪\n",{"title":23191,"description":23487},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-no","E-vVmcqKePS22ZQFDiIbV_ghjZiBtNpqb4j5CC8tZPI","September 19, 2024",{"id":23504,"title":23505,"body":23506,"description":24653,"extension":717,"meta":24654,"navigation":730,"path":24662,"rawbody":24663,"seo":24664,"stem":24665,"__hash__":24666,"timestampUnix":24655,"slug":24656,"h1":24657,"image":24658,"tags":24661,"_dir":736,"timestamp":24667},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-onomatopoeia.md","Japanese Onomatopoeia: 10 Common Sounds You'll Find in Manga",{"type":8,"value":23507,"toc":24633},[23508,23514,23521,23540,23543,23546,23548,23550,23554,23560,23563,23566,23569,23572,23577,23581,23587,23646,23649,23728,23731,23751,23769,23771,23775,23778,23791,23794,23798,23804,23813,23819,23826,23831,23871,23875,23881,23890,23897,23901,23941,23945,23951,23958,23961,23965,24000,24004,24008,24025,24034,24038,24077,24081,24087,24094,24097,24106,24110,24139,24143,24149,24158,24173,24177,24211,24215,24221,24227,24235,24239,24278,24282,24288,24297,24304,24308,24344,24348,24353,24364,24367,24371,24406,24410,24416,24430,24453,24456,24460,24498,24500,24508,24511,24519,24522,24529,24532,24537,24548,24554,24559,24564,24567,24572,24575,24583,24587,24591,24597,24600,24608,24611,24617,24624],[11,23509,23510,23511,23513],{},"To be honest, I'm not sure if I knew what an onomatopoeia was until I started to ",[15,23512,18],{"href":17},". (At least, I definitely couldn't have spelled it.)",[11,23515,23516,23517,23520],{},"Thing is, they're ",[26,23518,23519],{},"everywhere"," in Japanese.",[11,23522,23523,23524,23527,23528,23531,23532,23535,23536,23539],{},"If you've ever read manga or watched anime and noticed words like ドキドキ (doki-doki) ",[103,23525],{"src":23526,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-どきどき.mp3"," or キラキラ (kira-kira)　",[103,23529],{"src":23530,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-キラキラ.mp3"," flashing across the page or screen, you know what I'm talking about. ",[26,23533,23534],{},"These"," are onomatopoeia—or オノマトペ ",[103,23537],{"src":23538,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-オノマトペ.mp3",", as they're called in Japanese—and there are tons of them.",[11,23541,23542],{},"In this article, we'll explore 10 of the most common Japanese onomatopoeia—what they mean, how they’re used, and how they add depth and character to everyday language.",[11,23544,23545],{},"Let’s listen closely to the sounds of Japan:",[39,23547],{},[42,23549],{},[45,23551,23553],{"id":23552},"what-are-onomatopoeia","What are onomatopoeia?",[50,23555],{"src":23556,"width":23557,"height":23558,"alt":23559},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-definition.jpeg",1374,1031,"A sound wave, as onomatopoeia are words that represent sounds",[11,23561,23562],{},"An onomatopoeia is a word which imitates or resembles the thing it describes. Onomatopoeia often represent sounds (e.g., thump, beep, quack) but can also represent actions (e.g., gulp, yawn, hiccup).",[11,23564,23565],{},"But!",[11,23567,23568],{},"... did you hear that?",[11,23570,23571],{},"That’s the sound of us only just scratching the surface of all the different ways onomatopoeia can be used 💪",[11,23573,23574],{},[26,23575,23576],{},"(Yes, I know that was terrible.)",[45,23578,23580],{"id":23579},"the-five-types-of-japanese-onomatopoeia-words","The five types of Japanese onomatopoeia words",[11,23582,23583,23584],{},"Japanese onomatopoeia can describe sounds, just as English onomatopoeia do. ",[26,23585,23586],{},"(Duh, otherwise they wouldn't be called onomatopoeia.)",[67,23588,23589,23604],{},[70,23590,23591],{},[73,23592,23593,23596,23599,23602],{},[76,23594,23595],{},"Onomatopoeia Type",[76,23597,23598],{},"Description",[76,23600,23601],{},"Example Word",[76,23603,11161],{},[87,23605,23606,23626],{},[73,23607,23608,23614,23617,23623],{},[92,23609,23610,23611],{},"擬声語 (giseigo) ",[103,23612],{"src":23613,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-擬声語.mp3",[92,23615,23616],{},"Words that reflect animal and human sounds",[92,23618,23619,23620],{},"うふふ ",[103,23621],{"src":23622,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-うふふ.mp3",[92,23624,23625],{},"A low (suppressed) sort of laughter that you can't quite contain",[73,23627,23628,23634,23637,23643],{},[92,23629,23630,23631],{},"擬音語 (giongo) ",[103,23632],{"src":23633,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-擬音語.mp3",[92,23635,23636],{},"Words that mimic a sound, often one from nature",[92,23638,23639,23640],{},"ぱたぱた ",[103,23641],{"src":23642,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ぱたぱた.mp3",[92,23644,23645],{},"The sound of something flapping",[11,23647,23648],{},"But they can also do much more than that:",[67,23650,23651,23663],{},[70,23652,23653],{},[73,23654,23655,23657,23659,23661],{},[76,23656,23595],{},[76,23658,23598],{},[76,23660,23601],{},[76,23662,11161],{},[87,23664,23665,23685,23705],{},[73,23666,23667,23673,23676,23682],{},[92,23668,23669,23670],{},"擬態語 (gitaigo) ",[103,23671],{"src":23672,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-擬態語.mp3",[92,23674,23675],{},"Words that mimic the condition or state of an inanimate object",[92,23677,23678,23679],{},"つるつる ",[103,23680],{"src":23681,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-つるつる.mp3",[92,23683,23684],{},"Describes a slippery surface, like an icy road",[73,23686,23687,23693,23696,23702],{},[92,23688,23689,23690],{},"擬容語 (giyougo) ",[103,23691],{"src":23692,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-擬容語.mp3",[92,23694,23695],{},"Words that describe the state, behavior, or appearance of a living thing",[92,23697,23698,23699],{},"のろのろ ",[103,23700],{"src":23701,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-のろのろ.mp3",[92,23703,23704],{},"Describes something that is moving or progressing slowly",[73,23706,23707,23713,23716,23722],{},[92,23708,23709,23710],{},"擬情語 (gijougo) ",[103,23711],{"src":23712,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-擬情語.mp3",[92,23714,23715],{},"Words that reflect an emotion or psychological state",[92,23717,23718,23719],{},"わくわく ",[103,23720],{"src":23721,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-わくわく.mp3",[92,23723,23724,23725,23727],{},"Describes the restless feeling of excitement when ",[292,23726],{},"you're looking forward to something",[11,23729,23730],{},"You don't need to remember these technical words (and it can even be sort of blurry business to determine a particular onomatopoeia's category, as many have multiple usages). Just know that you'll see Japanese onomatopoeia used to describe things you wouldn't use onomatopoeia to describe in English. You'll also see onomatopoeia used in places you might not expect as a native English speaker, such as \"normal\" conversations between adults:",[304,23732,23733],{},[307,23734,23735,23736,23739,23740,506,23743,506,23745],{},"ああ。見ているだけで",[1090,23737,23738],{},"イライラしてきた","。 ",[103,23741],{"src":23742,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ああ。見ているだけでイライラしてきた。.mp3",[292,23744],{},[26,23746,23747,23748,415],{},"Ugh. Just seeing that made me ",[1090,23749,23750],{},"annoyed",[320,23752,23753,23756,23758],{},[287,23754,23755],{"bold":289,"underline":289},"\nQuick tip\n",[292,23757],{},[287,23759,23760,23761,23764,23765,23768],{},"\nA duplicated sound (ぱた\n",[2191,23762,23763],{},"\nぱた\n","\n, わく\n",[2191,23766,23767],{},"\nわく\n","\n) is a tell-tale sign of a Japanese onomatopoeia. You'll also see some onomatopoeia that end in り、ん、a long vowel, or っと. \n",[42,23770],{},[45,23772,23774],{"id":23773},"_10-common-japanese-onomatopoeia-youll-find-in-manga","10 common Japanese onomatopoeia you'll find in manga",[11,23776,23777],{},"Whether it’s the beating of a nervous heart, the muttering of a socially awkward otaku, or the unexplained sparkle that seems to follow the popular girl around school—there's an onomatopoeia for that.",[11,23779,23780,23781,23784,23785,23790],{},"In fact, there are ",[26,23782,23783],{},"tons"," of onomatopoeia in Japanese. ",[15,23786,23789],{"href":23787,"rel":23788},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.co.jp\u002F%E6%93%AC%E9%9F%B3%E8%AA%9E%E3%83%BB%E6%93%AC%E6%85%8B%E8%AA%9E4500-%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E3%82%AA%E3%83%8E%E3%83%9E%E3%83%88%E3%83%9A%E8%BE%9E%E5%85%B8-%E5%B0%8F%E9%87%8E-%E6%AD%A3%E5%BC%98\u002Fdp\u002F4095041749",[971],"This Japanese onomatopoeia dictionary"," alone has 4,500 entries. (Of course, the majority of them are not regularly used, and wouldn't be known by your typical Japanese person.)",[11,23792,23793],{},"So, to get you started, here are 10 super common onomatopoeia that, so long as you're somehow interacting with Japanese media, you'll inevitably bump your shin into.",[847,23795,23797],{"id":23796},"_1-ドキドキ-doki-doki-the-sound-of-a-heart-beating-fast","1. ドキドキ (doki-doki): The sound of a heart beating fast",[50,23799],{"src":23800,"width":23801,"height":23802,"alt":23803},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-dokidoki.jpeg",1766,540,"A screenshot of a few manga panels that feature the onomatopoeia ドキドキ",[287,23805,23806,23809,23811],{},[26,23807,23808],{},"Notice how ドキドキ has been shortened to ドキッ. You'll see this sometimes.",[292,23810],{},[292,23812],{},[11,23814,23815,23816,23818],{},"ドキドキ (doki-doki) ",[103,23817],{"src":23526,":type":149}," is a gitaigo that expresses the sound or feeling of a rapidly beating heart—ba-dump, ba-dump—often from excitement, nervousness, or anticipation. (Or even just intense exercise.)",[11,23820,23821,23822,23825],{},"In this panel of ",[26,23823,23824],{},"Witch Watch",", Nico’s heart starts pounding with excitement after reuniting with her childhood friend, Morihito.",[11,23827,23828],{},[1090,23829,23830],{},"Example sentences:",[304,23832,23833,23854],{},[307,23834,23835,23836,23839,23840,506,23843,506,23845],{},"テストの前はいつも",[1090,23837,23838],{},"ドキドキ","する。",[103,23841],{"src":23842,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-テストの前はいつもドキドキする。.mp3",[292,23844],{},[26,23846,23847,23848,506,23851,415],{},"Before a test, ",[1090,23849,23850],{},"my",[1090,23852,23853],{},"heart always races",[307,23855,23856,23857,23839,23860,506,23863,506,23865],{},"走ったあとは、心臓が",[1090,23858,23859],{},"どきどき",[103,23861],{"src":23862,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-走ったあとは、心臓がどきどきする。.mp3",[292,23864],{},[26,23866,23867,23868],{},"After running, ",[1090,23869,23870],{},"my heart beats fast.",[847,23872,23874],{"id":23873},"_2-ザー-zaa-the-sound-of-pouring-rain","2. ザー (zaa): The sound of pouring rain",[50,23876],{"src":23877,"width":23878,"height":23879,"alt":23880},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-zaa.jpeg",972,619,"An excerpt from a Manga panel showing heavily falling rain",[287,23882,23883,23886,23888],{},[26,23884,23885],{},"Notice how the vowel of this onomatopoeia gets dragged out for effect: not ザー, but ザァァァァァァ",[292,23887],{},[292,23889],{},[11,23891,23892,23893,23896],{},"ザーザー (zaa-zaa) ",[103,23894],{"src":23895,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ざーざー.mp3"," is a giongo that describes the sound of heavy falling rain. You may also see it used to describe forcefully flowing water in general.",[11,23898,23899],{},[1090,23900,23830],{},[304,23902,23903,23922],{},[307,23904,23905,23906,23909,23910,506,23913,506,23915],{},"外は",[1090,23907,23908],{},"ザーザー","雨が降っている。 ",[103,23911],{"src":23912,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-外はザーザー雨が降っている。.mp3",[292,23914],{},[26,23916,23917,23918,23921],{},"It’s ",[1090,23919,23920],{},"pouring rain"," outside.",[307,23923,23924,23925,23928,23929,506,23932,506,23934],{},"うわっ、ここ、泥がすごいじゃないか。水を",[1090,23926,23927],{},"ざあざあ流して","洗うしかないな。",[103,23930],{"src":23931,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-うわっ、ここ、泥がすごいじゃないか。水をざあざあ流して洗うしかないな。.mp3",[292,23933],{},[26,23935,23936,23937,23940],{},"Wow! There's a lot of mud here. Guess I've got no choice but to ",[1090,23938,23939],{},"spray it with water"," and wash it off.",[847,23942,23944],{"id":23943},"_3-カタカタ-kata-kata-the-sound-of-clattering-or-rattling","3. カタカタ (kata-kata): The sound of clattering or rattling",[50,23946],{"src":23947,"width":23948,"height":23949,"alt":23950},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-gatagata.jpeg",682,476,"A screenshot of a manga panel with the onomatopoeia katakata, depicting the sound of a keyboard",[11,23952,23953,23954,23957],{},"カタカタ (kata-kata) ",[103,23955],{"src":23956,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-カタカタ.mp3"," is a giongo that mimics the clattering or rattling of something—the sound made when two hard objects come lightly and repeatedly in contact with one another.",[11,23959,23960],{},"It's often used to describe the sound of things moving around, like keys rustling in a bag or a machine running. Perhaps most commonly, though, you'll see it used to represent the sound of typing on a keyboard. (Or, in this case, the buttons on a cash register.)",[11,23962,23963],{},[1090,23964,23830],{},[304,23966,23967,23984],{},[307,23968,23969,23972,23973,506,23976,506,23978],{},[1090,23970,23971],{},"カタカタとキーボード","を叩く音が部屋に響く。",[103,23974],{"src":23975,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-カタカタとキーボードを叩く音が部屋に響く。.mp3",[292,23977],{},[26,23979,3939,23980,23983],{},[1090,23981,23982],{},"sound of a keyboard"," echoed through the room.",[307,23985,23986,23987,506,23990,506,23993,23995,23996,23999],{},"雨戸が風で",[1090,23988,23989],{},"カタカタ鳴っている。",[103,23991],{"src":23992,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-雨戸が風でカタカタ鳴っている。.mp3",[292,23994],{}," The (window) shutters are ",[1090,23997,23998],{},"rattling"," in the wind.",[847,24001,24003],{"id":24002},"_4-キャア-kyaa-the-sound-of-a-scream-or-squeal","4. キャア (kyaa): The sound of a scream or squeal",[50,24005],{"src":24006,"width":4834,"height":11688,"alt":24007},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-kyaa.jpeg","A manga panel featuring the onomatopoeia kyaa, the sound of a woman screaming",[11,24009,24010,24011,24014,24015,24020,24021,24024],{},"キャア (kyaa) ",[103,24012],{"src":24013,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-キャア.mp3"," is a giseigo that mimics that high-pitched scream that people let out when they're surprised, scared, or extremely excited. Notably, this is an example of ",[15,24016,24019],{"href":24017,"rel":24018},"http:\u002F\u002Fja.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002F%E5%A5%B3%E6%80%A7%E8%AA%9E#%E3%81%8B%E8%A1%8C",[971],"女性語 (joseigo, women's speech)","; when men scream, they would be described as having said うわ！ (uwa!) ",[103,24022],{"src":24023,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-うわー.mp3"," instead (which is apparently somehow more masculine.)",[11,24026,24027,24028,24033],{},"If you get into the work of ",[15,24029,24032],{"href":24030,"rel":24031},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJunji_Ito",[971],"Junji Ito",", you'll learn this one by heart.",[11,24035,24036],{},[1090,24037,23830],{},[304,24039,24040,24059],{},[307,24041,24042,24043,24046,24047,506,24050,506,24052],{},"ゴキブリを見て、彼女は「",[1090,24044,24045],{},"キャア！","」と叫んだ。",[103,24048],{"src":24049,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ゴキブリを見て、彼女は「キャア！」と叫んだ。.mp3",[292,24051],{},[26,24053,24054,24055,24058],{},"She ",[1090,24056,24057],{},"screamed"," when she saw a cockroach.",[307,24060,24061,24062,21418,24065,506,24068,506,24070],{},"有名歌手を見つけた少女たちは",[1090,24063,24064],{},"きゃあきゃあ騒いだ",[103,24066],{"src":24067,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-有名歌手を見つけた少女たちはきゃあきゃあ騒いだ。.mp3",[292,24069],{},[26,24071,24072,24073,24076],{},"The girls ",[1090,24074,24075],{},"shrieked with excitement\u002Fwent wild"," when they saw the famous singer.",[847,24078,24080],{"id":24079},"_5-ゴロゴロ-goro-goro-rolling-large-rock-or-thunder","5. ゴロゴロ (goro-goro): Rolling (large rock or thunder)",[50,24082],{"src":24083,"width":24084,"height":24085,"alt":24086},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-gorogoro.jpeg",1011,677,"A panel from a manga featuring the Japanese onomatopoeia gorogoro",[11,24088,24089,24090,24093],{},"ゴロゴロ (goro-goro) ",[103,24091],{"src":24092,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ゴロゴロ.mp3"," is a Japanese onomatopoeia that's got slightly more to it than meets the eye. It's technically a giongo which mimics the sound of something heavy rumbling around, like a boulder coming down a hill or thunder roaring in the distance.",[11,24095,24096],{},"Often, though, you'll also see it used as a giyougo to describe someone \"rolling around on the floor\", either in a state of frustration or lazy relaxation. Apparently, it can also be used as a gijougo that describes the state in which you've got something in your eye (sand, a bug, etc.) that causes your eye to feel uncomfortable\u002Frough as it moves around.",[11,24098,24099,24100,24105],{},"In fact, ",[15,24101,24104],{"href":24102,"rel":24103},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww2.ninjal.ac.jp\u002FOnomatope\u002Fcolumn\u002Fnihongo_1.html",[971],"the Ninjal corpus"," (link in Japanese) describes it as a rare example of a word that can act as all 5 types of onomatopoeia.",[11,24107,24108],{},[1090,24109,23830],{},[304,24111,24112,24130],{},[307,24113,24114,24115,24118,24119,506,24122,506,24124],{},"大きな岩が",[1090,24116,24117],{},"ゴロゴロ","転がっている。",[103,24120],{"src":24121,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-大きな岩が__ゴロゴロ__転がっている。.mp3",[292,24123],{},[26,24125,24126,24127,415],{},"The large rock ",[1090,24128,24129],{},"rolled around, making a rumbling sound.",[307,24131,24132,24133,506,24136,24138],{},"日曜日に家でごろごろしている。",[103,24134],{"src":24135,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-日曜日に家でごろごろしている。.mp3",[292,24137],{}," I'm lounging around the house on Sunday.",[847,24140,24142],{"id":24141},"_6-ガシャン-gashan-the-sound-of-a-smash-clash-whomp-or-pow","6. ガシャン (gashan) – The sound of a smash, clash, whomp, or pow",[50,24144],{"src":24145,"width":24146,"height":24147,"alt":24148},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-gashan.jpeg",1476,578,"An excerpt from a manga showing the Japanese onomatopoeia gashan, the sound of something shattering",[287,24150,24151,24154,24156],{},[26,24152,24153],{},"Note how ガシャン itself appears in the photo, but と is appended to it in the example sentences. This emphasizes that the sound is very brief, rather than being continuous.",[292,24155],{},[292,24157],{},[11,24159,24160,24161,24164,24165,24168,24169,24172],{},"ガシャン (gashan) ",[103,24162],{"src":24163,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ガシャン.mp3"," is a quite dramatic giongo that mimics the sound of something crashing or shattering, like glass breaking. You'll also see it used to describe the sound of a heavy blow ",[26,24166,24167],{},"(whack, wham)"," and—as shown in ",[26,24170,24171],{},"Sakamoto Days"," above—for the crash of a gun’s chamber being reloaded or disassembled.",[11,24174,24175],{},[1090,24176,23830],{},[304,24178,24179,24197],{},[307,24180,24181,24182,24185,24186,506,24189,506,24191],{},"コップが床に落ちて",[1090,24183,24184],{},"ガシャンと","割れた。",[103,24187],{"src":24188,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-コップが床に落ちてガシャンと割れた。.mp3",[292,24190],{},[26,24192,24193,24194,415],{},"The glass fell to the floor and ",[1090,24195,24196],{},"shattered with a crash",[307,24198,24199,24201,24202,506,24205,24207,24208],{},[1090,24200,24184],{},"受話器を置く。",[103,24203],{"src":24204,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ガシャンと受話器を置く。.mp3",[292,24206],{}," (He) slammed the (telephone) receiver down ",[1090,24209,24210],{},"with a bang.",[847,24212,24214],{"id":24213},"_7-キラキラ-kira-kira-the-sound-of-something-sparkling","7. キラキラ (kira-kira): The sound (?) of something sparkling",[50,24216],{"src":24217,"width":24218,"height":24219,"alt":24220},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-kirakira.png",868,286,"A manga panel featuring the Japanese onomatopoeia kirakira, depicting the twinkling of a character's eyes",[11,24222,24223,24224,24226],{},"キラキラ (kira-kira) ",[103,24225],{"src":23530,":type":149}," is a lovely gitaigo that describes something glittering or shining, like stars or jewelry.",[320,24228,24229],{},[11,24230,24231,24232],{},"...Or, perhaps, the way his eyes ✨✨twinkle✨✨ when the cutest boy at school looks at you… ",[26,24233,24234],{},"Kyaaa ～！",[11,24236,24237],{},[1090,24238,23830],{},[304,24240,24241,24260],{},[307,24242,24243,24244,24247,24248,506,24251,506,24253],{},"夜空に",[1090,24245,24246],{},"キラキラ","星が光っている。",[103,24249],{"src":24250,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-夜空にキラキラ星が光っている。.mp3",[292,24252],{},[26,24254,24255,24256,24259],{},"Stars are ",[1090,24257,24258],{},"sparkling"," in the night sky.",[307,24261,24262,24263,21418,24266,506,24269,506,24271],{},"彼女の目は喜びで",[1090,24264,24265],{},"キラキラしている",[103,24267],{"src":24268,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-彼女の目は喜びでキラキラしている。.mp3",[292,24270],{},[26,24272,24273,24274,24277],{},"Her eyes ",[1090,24275,24276],{},"sparkled"," with joy.",[847,24279,24281],{"id":24280},"_8-じーっ-jii-the-sound-of-someone-intently-staring-at-something","8. じーっ (jii) – The sound (?) of someone intently staring at something",[50,24283],{"src":24284,"width":24285,"height":24286,"alt":24287},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-jiii.jpeg",1230,592,"A manga panel featuring the Japanese onomatopoeia Jiii, the sound of someone staring intently.",[287,24289,24290,24293,24295],{},[26,24291,24292],{},"The original word is じっと, but extending the い sound gives the nuance that the stare lasts longer",[292,24294],{},[292,24296],{},[11,24298,24299,24300,24303],{},"じっと (jitto) ",[103,24301],{"src":24302,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-じっと.mp3"," is a gitaigo that describes a silent, intense gaze—someone watching something closely without blinking. You'll also see it used for someone entirely dissociating and staring into space, remaining quiet\u002Fmotionless, or stoically enduring a hardship.",[11,24305,24306],{},[1090,24307,23830],{},[304,24309,24310,24328],{},[307,24311,24312,24313,24316,24317,506,24320,506,24322],{},"猫が",[1090,24314,24315],{},"じーっ","と私を見ている。",[103,24318],{"src":24319,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-猫がじーっと私を見ている.mp3",[292,24321],{},[26,24323,24324,24325,415],{},"The cat is ",[1090,24326,24327],{},"staring at me intently",[307,24329,24330,24331,21418,24334,506,24337,24339,24340,24343],{},"じゃ、注射しますよ。すぐ終わるから、",[1090,24332,24333],{},"じっとしててね",[103,24335],{"src":24336,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-じゃ、注射しますよ。すぐ終わるから、じっとしててね。.mp3",[292,24338],{}," Alright, I'm going to give you the shot now. It'll be over quickly, so ",[1090,24341,24342],{},"stay still",", okay?",[847,24345,24347],{"id":24346},"_9-ピピピピピ-pipipipipi-the-sound-of-something-beeping","9. ピピピピピ (pipipipipi): The sound of something beeping",[50,24349],{"src":24350,"width":12778,"height":24351,"alt":24352},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-bibibi.jpeg",778,"A manga panel featuring the Japanese onomatopoeia pipipipipi, used to depict the sound of an alarm clock ringing",[11,24354,24355,24356,24359,24360,24363],{},"ピーピー (piipii) ",[103,24357],{"src":24358,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ピーピー.mp3"," was originally a giseigo that mimicked the sound of birds chirping, but with time, eventually came to ",[26,24361,24362],{},"also"," be used as a giongo mimicking things like the repetitive beep of a digital alarm, microwave, or timer.",[11,24365,24366],{},"You'll also see this used to describe the sound of someone whistling or whining.",[11,24368,24369],{},[1090,24370,23830],{},[304,24372,24373,24391],{},[307,24374,24375,24376,24379,24380,506,24383,506,24385],{},"目覚まし時計が",[1090,24377,24378],{},"ピピピピピ","と鳴った。",[103,24381],{"src":24382,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-目覚まし時計がピピピピピと鳴った。.mp3",[292,24384],{},[26,24386,24387,24388,415],{},"The alarm clock went off with a ",[1090,24389,24390],{},"beep-beep-beep",[307,24392,24393,24394,21418,24397,506,24400,24402,24403,415],{},"小鳥が",[1090,24395,24396],{},"ぴーぴー鳴いている",[103,24398],{"src":24399,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-小鳥がぴーぴー鳴いている。.mp3",[292,24401],{}," Birds are ",[1090,24404,24405],{},"chirping",[847,24407,24409],{"id":24408},"_10-ドーン-doon-japans-version-of-boom","10. ドーン (doon): Japan's version of \"Boom!\"",[50,24411],{"src":24412,"width":24413,"height":24414,"alt":24415},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-doon.jpeg",1190,776,"A manga panel featuring the Japanese onomatopoeia doon, which mimics a crash or loud sound",[287,24417,24418,24426,24428],{},[26,24419,24420,24421,415],{},"This is from the manga _Sakamoto Days, which you can read the first several chapters of for free on ",[15,24422,24425],{"href":24423,"rel":24424},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.shonenjump.com\u002Fj\u002Frensai\u002Fsakamoto.html",[971],"Shonen Jump",[292,24427],{},[292,24429],{},[11,24431,24432,24433,24436,24437,24440,24441,24444,24445,24448,24449,24452],{},"ドーン (doon) ",[103,24434],{"src":24435,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ドーン.mp3"," is an all-purpose giongo that can be used to describe pretty much any sort of explosion or loud impact: the explosion of fireworks, the roar of thunder, the ",[26,24438,24439],{},"voom"," of a rocket flying through the air, the ",[26,24442,24443],{},"whomp"," of a heavy hit, the ",[26,24446,24447],{},"dong"," released upon striking a heavy bell, the ",[26,24450,24451],{},"thud"," of something heavy hitting the floor.",[11,24454,24455],{},"It can also be used for generally dramatic bits of action—say, like an ex-hitman appearing behind you with a box cutter. Yikes.",[11,24457,24458],{},[1090,24459,23830],{},[304,24461,24462,24480],{},[307,24463,24464,24465,24468,24469,506,24472,506,24474],{},"花火が",[1090,24466,24467],{},"ドーンと","夜空に咲いた。",[103,24470],{"src":24471,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-花火がドーンと夜空に咲いた。.mp3",[292,24473],{},[26,24475,24476,24477],{},"A firework exploded in the sky ",[1090,24478,24479],{},"with a loud boom.",[307,24481,24482,24483,24486,24487,506,24490,506,24492],{},"重い扉は",[1090,24484,24485],{},"どーんと","叩きやぶられた。 ",[103,24488],{"src":24489,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-重い扉はどーんと叩きやぶられた。.mp3",[292,24491],{},[26,24493,24494,24495],{},"The heavy door was smashed open ",[1090,24496,24497],{},"with a loud bang.",[42,24499],{},[45,24501,24503,24504,24507],{"id":24502},"オノマトペ-are-things-you-feel-so-learn-them-with-manga","オノマトペ are things you ",[26,24505,24506],{},"feel","... so learn them with manga!",[11,24509,24510],{},"Okay, so now you know a few of the most common Japanese onomatopoeia you’re going to see popping up in manga and anime—where do you go from here?",[320,24512,24513],{},[11,24514,24515,24516],{},"Well, if we might be so bold: ",[26,24517,24518],{},"Start reading manga and watching anime.",[11,24520,24521],{},"Seriously. You'll see this stuff all the time. As you see more onomatopoeia alongside more images, you'll eventually develop a feel for what nuance a particular onomatopoeia adds to a scene.",[11,24523,24524,24525,24528],{},"For example—say you took us up on that free preview of ",[15,24526,24171],{"href":24423,"rel":24527},[971]," up above, and ended up binging like four chapters.",[11,24530,24531],{},"You'd see this:",[50,24533],{"src":24534,"width":24535,"height":921,"alt":24536},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-plug1.jpeg",1524,"An excerpt from the manga Sakamoto Days, which features a ton of onomatopoeia",[11,24538,24539,24540,24543,24544,24547],{},"There's a lot ",[26,24541,24542],{},"(a lot)"," of onomatopoeia in this manga, but that mid-right panel in particular has a wonderfully educational image: グイと ",[26,24545,24546],{},"(グイッと to further emphasize the suddenness of the action)"," describes the motion that occurs when something is pushed or pulled with a strong, sudden force.",[11,24549,24550,24551,24553],{},"Onomatopoeia are really something that you should ",[26,24552,24506],{},", though... so, rather than adding a verbal definition, you can just pop that manga panel right into a flashcard:",[50,24555],{"src":24556,"width":9321,"height":24557,"alt":24558},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-plug2.jpeg",1204,"A screenshot of Migaku's card creator, ",[11,24560,24561],{},[26,24562,24563],{},"(Migaku can also automatically generate explanations and example sentences for you, and you can manually add definitions from dictionaries, just in case you want a bit of context.)",[11,24565,24566],{},"After about three seconds of work, you'll have yourself a handy little flashcard that looks like this:",[50,24568],{"src":24569,"width":24570,"height":24557,"alt":24571},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-plug3.jpeg",1448,"A screenshot of a flashcard created by Migaku showing the definition of the onomatopoeia ぐいと",[11,24573,24574],{},"We'll periodically nudge you to review that flashcard over time, ensuring that you eventually commit it to memory.",[11,24576,24577,24578,24582],{},"Here's an entire blog post on ",[15,24579,24581],{"href":24580},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Flearn-japanese-with-manga","how to learn Japanese with manga","... but, otherwise:",[45,24584,24585],{"id":289},[674,24586],{"href":17,"text":676},[45,24588,24590],{"id":24589},"by-the-way-forget-these-japanese-onomatopoeia-lists-if-you-want-to-learn-japanese","By the way: Forget these \"Japanese onomatopoeia lists\" if you want to learn Japanese",[11,24592,24593,24594,415],{},"So, we've got an entire post on ",[15,24595,24596],{"href":1199},"how to learn Japanese vocabulary",[11,24598,24599],{},"The most important takeaway from that blog post is this:",[304,24601,24602,24605],{},[307,24603,24604],{},"When you learn a vocabulary word via a list, textbook, or flashcard, it's like you get an empty cup",[307,24606,24607],{},"When you see those words used in real Japanese media, you fill the cup with water",[11,24609,24610],{},"So, while you're getting started, go ahead and use lists like this! They're a nice way to condense a bunch of information into something more easily digestible.",[11,24612,24613,24614,24616],{},"... but if you ",[26,24615,19069],{}," want to learn Japanese, remember The Golden Rule of Language Learning™:",[320,24618,24619],{},[11,24620,24621,24622,415],{},"If you spend time consuming Japanese media, and you understand at least some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. ",[26,24623,994],{},[11,24625,24626,506,24630],{},[15,24627,24629],{"href":24628},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fganbatte-meaning","Ganbatte ne",[103,24631],{"src":24632,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばってね.mp3",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":24634},[24635,24636,24637,24649,24651,24652],{"id":23552,"depth":707,"text":23553},{"id":23579,"depth":707,"text":23580},{"id":23773,"depth":707,"text":23774,"children":24638},[24639,24640,24641,24642,24643,24644,24645,24646,24647,24648],{"id":23796,"depth":1016,"text":23797},{"id":23873,"depth":1016,"text":23874},{"id":23943,"depth":1016,"text":23944},{"id":24002,"depth":1016,"text":24003},{"id":24079,"depth":1016,"text":24080},{"id":24141,"depth":1016,"text":24142},{"id":24213,"depth":1016,"text":24214},{"id":24280,"depth":1016,"text":24281},{"id":24346,"depth":1016,"text":24347},{"id":24408,"depth":1016,"text":24409},{"id":24502,"depth":707,"text":24650},"オノマトペ are things you feel... so learn them with manga!",{"id":289,"depth":707,"text":289},{"id":24589,"depth":707,"text":24590},"An onomatopoeia is a word that represents a sound (and more!). We share 10 Japanese onomatopoeia words that you'll hear in manga, everyday conversations, and basically everywhere.",{"timestampUnix":24655,"slug":24656,"h1":24657,"image":24658,"tags":24661},1749120687254,"japanese-onomatopoeia","Common Japanese onomatopoeia words and how to use them",{"src":24659,"width":2478,"height":3667,"alt":24660},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-thumbnail.jpeg","A screenshot of a book of manga—a place where you're likely to find a bunch of Japanese onomatopoeia being used!",[9427],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-onomatopoeia","---\ntitle: \"Japanese Onomatopoeia: 10 Common Sounds You'll Find in Manga\"\ndescription: \"An onomatopoeia is a word that represents a sound (and more!). We share 10 Japanese onomatopoeia words that you'll hear in manga, everyday conversations, and basically everywhere.\"\ntimestampUnix: 1749120687254\nslug: 'japanese-onomatopoeia'\nh1: 'Common Japanese onomatopoeia words and how to use them'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-thumbnail.jpeg'\n width: 1920\n height: 1440\n alt: \"A screenshot of a book of manga—a place where you're likely to find a bunch of Japanese onomatopoeia being used!\"\ntags:\n - listicle\n---\n\nTo be honest, I'm not sure if I knew what an onomatopoeia was until I started to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese). (At least, I definitely couldn't have spelled it.)\n\nThing is, they're _everywhere_ in Japanese.\n\nIf you've ever read manga or watched anime and noticed words like ドキドキ (doki-doki) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-どきどき.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> or キラキラ (kira-kira)　\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-キラキラ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> flashing across the page or screen, you know what I'm talking about. _These_ are onomatopoeia—or オノマトペ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-オノマトペ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, as they're called in Japanese—and there are tons of them.\n\nIn this article, we'll explore 10 of the most common Japanese onomatopoeia—what they mean, how they’re used, and how they add depth and character to everyday language.\n\nLet’s listen closely to the sounds of Japan:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## What are onomatopoeia?\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-definition.jpeg\" width=\"1374\" height=\"1031\" alt=\"A sound wave, as onomatopoeia are words that represent sounds\" \u002F>\n\nAn onomatopoeia is a word which imitates or resembles the thing it describes. Onomatopoeia often represent sounds (e.g., thump, beep, quack) but can also represent actions (e.g., gulp, yawn, hiccup).\n\nBut!\n\n... did you hear that?\n\nThat’s the sound of us only just scratching the surface of all the different ways onomatopoeia can be used 💪\n\n_(Yes, I know that was terrible.)_\n\n## The five types of Japanese onomatopoeia words\n\nJapanese onomatopoeia can describe sounds, just as English onomatopoeia do. _(Duh, otherwise they wouldn't be called onomatopoeia.)_\n\n| Onomatopoeia Type | Description | Example Word | Definition |\n| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| 擬声語 (giseigo) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-擬声語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Words that reflect animal and human sounds | うふふ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-うふふ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | A low (suppressed) sort of laughter that you can't quite contain |\n| 擬音語 (giongo) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-擬音語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Words that mimic a sound, often one from nature | ぱたぱた \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ぱたぱた.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | The sound of something flapping |\n\nBut they can also do much more than that:\n\n| Onomatopoeia Type | Description | Example Word | Definition |\n| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| 擬態語 (gitaigo) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-擬態語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Words that mimic the condition or state of an inanimate object | つるつる \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-つるつる.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Describes a slippery surface, like an icy road |\n| 擬容語 (giyougo) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-擬容語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Words that describe the state, behavior, or appearance of a living thing | のろのろ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-のろのろ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Describes something that is moving or progressing slowly |\n| 擬情語 (gijougo) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-擬情語.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Words that reflect an emotion or psychological state | わくわく \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-わくわく.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Describes the restless feeling of excitement when \u003Cbr>you're looking forward to something |\n\nYou don't need to remember these technical words (and it can even be sort of blurry business to determine a particular onomatopoeia's category, as many have multiple usages). Just know that you'll see Japanese onomatopoeia used to describe things you wouldn't use onomatopoeia to describe in English. You'll also see onomatopoeia used in places you might not expect as a native English speaker, such as \"normal\" conversations between adults:\n\n- ああ。見ているだけで**イライラしてきた**。 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ああ。見ているだけでイライラしてきた。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _Ugh. Just seeing that made me **annoyed**._\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Quick tip\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\u003CCenteredText>A duplicated sound (ぱた\u003Cu>ぱた\u003C\u002Fu>, わく\u003Cu>わく\u003C\u002Fu>) is a tell-tale sign of a Japanese onomatopoeia. You'll also see some onomatopoeia that end in り、ん、a long vowel, or っと. \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n---\n\n## 10 common Japanese onomatopoeia you'll find in manga\n\nWhether it’s the beating of a nervous heart, the muttering of a socially awkward otaku, or the unexplained sparkle that seems to follow the popular girl around school—there's an onomatopoeia for that.\n\nIn fact, there are _tons_ of onomatopoeia in Japanese. [This Japanese onomatopoeia dictionary](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.co.jp\u002F%E6%93%AC%E9%9F%B3%E8%AA%9E%E3%83%BB%E6%93%AC%E6%85%8B%E8%AA%9E4500-%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E3%82%AA%E3%83%8E%E3%83%9E%E3%83%88%E3%83%9A%E8%BE%9E%E5%85%B8-%E5%B0%8F%E9%87%8E-%E6%AD%A3%E5%BC%98\u002Fdp\u002F4095041749) alone has 4,500 entries. (Of course, the majority of them are not regularly used, and wouldn't be known by your typical Japanese person.)\n\nSo, to get you started, here are 10 super common onomatopoeia that, so long as you're somehow interacting with Japanese media, you'll inevitably bump your shin into.\n\n### 1. ドキドキ (doki-doki): The sound of a heart beating fast\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-dokidoki.jpeg\" width=\"1766\" height=\"540\" alt=\"A screenshot of a few manga panels that feature the onomatopoeia ドキドキ\" \u002F>\n\n\u003CCenteredText>_Notice how ドキドキ has been shortened to ドキッ. You'll see this sometimes._\u003CBR>\u003CBR>\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\nドキドキ (doki-doki) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-どきどき.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is a gitaigo that expresses the sound or feeling of a rapidly beating heart—ba-dump, ba-dump—often from excitement, nervousness, or anticipation. (Or even just intense exercise.)\n\nIn this panel of _Witch Watch_, Nico’s heart starts pounding with excitement after reuniting with her childhood friend, Morihito.\n\n**Example sentences:**\n\n- テストの前はいつも**ドキドキ**する。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-テストの前はいつもドキドキする。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _Before a test, **my** **heart always races**._\n- 走ったあとは、心臓が**どきどき**する。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-走ったあとは、心臓がどきどきする。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _After running, **my heart beats fast.**_\n\n### 2. ザー (zaa): The sound of pouring rain\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-zaa.jpeg\" width=\"972\" height=\"619\" alt=\"An excerpt from a Manga panel showing heavily falling rain\" \u002F>\n\n\u003CCenteredText>_Notice how the vowel of this onomatopoeia gets dragged out for effect: not ザー, but ザァァァァァァ_\u003CBR>\u003CBR>\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\nザーザー (zaa-zaa) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ざーざー.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is a giongo that describes the sound of heavy falling rain. You may also see it used to describe forcefully flowing water in general.\n\n**Example sentences:**\n\n- 外は**ザーザー**雨が降っている。 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-外はザーザー雨が降っている。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _It’s **pouring rain** outside._\n- うわっ、ここ、泥がすごいじゃないか。水を**ざあざあ流して**洗うしかないな。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-うわっ、ここ、泥がすごいじゃないか。水をざあざあ流して洗うしかないな。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _Wow! There's a lot of mud here. Guess I've got no choice but to **spray it with water** and wash it off._\n\n### 3. カタカタ (kata-kata): The sound of clattering or rattling\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-gatagata.jpeg\" width=\"682\" height=\"476\" alt=\"A screenshot of a manga panel with the onomatopoeia katakata, depicting the sound of a keyboard\" \u002F>\n\nカタカタ (kata-kata) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-カタカタ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is a giongo that mimics the clattering or rattling of something—the sound made when two hard objects come lightly and repeatedly in contact with one another.\n\nIt's often used to describe the sound of things moving around, like keys rustling in a bag or a machine running. Perhaps most commonly, though, you'll see it used to represent the sound of typing on a keyboard. (Or, in this case, the buttons on a cash register.)\n\n**Example sentences:**\n\n- **カタカタとキーボード**を叩く音が部屋に響く。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-カタカタとキーボードを叩く音が部屋に響く。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _The **sound of a keyboard** echoed through the room._\n- 雨戸が風で**カタカタ鳴っている。** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-雨戸が風でカタカタ鳴っている。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> The (window) shutters are **rattling** in the wind.\n\n### 4. キャア (kyaa): The sound of a scream or squeal\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-kyaa.jpeg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"976\" alt=\"A manga panel featuring the onomatopoeia kyaa, the sound of a woman screaming\" \u002F>\n\nキャア (kyaa) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-キャア.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is a giseigo that mimics that high-pitched scream that people let out when they're surprised, scared, or extremely excited. Notably, this is an example of [女性語 (joseigo, women's speech)](http:\u002F\u002Fja.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002F%E5%A5%B3%E6%80%A7%E8%AA%9E#%E3%81%8B%E8%A1%8C); when men scream, they would be described as having said うわ！ (uwa!) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-うわー.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> instead (which is apparently somehow more masculine.)\n\nIf you get into the work of [Junji Ito](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJunji_Ito), you'll learn this one by heart.\n\n**Example sentences:**\n\n- ゴキブリを見て、彼女は「**キャア！**」と叫んだ。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ゴキブリを見て、彼女は「キャア！」と叫んだ。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _She **screamed** when she saw a cockroach._\n- 有名歌手を見つけた少女たちは**きゃあきゃあ騒いだ**。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-有名歌手を見つけた少女たちはきゃあきゃあ騒いだ。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _The girls **shrieked with excitement\u002Fwent wild** when they saw the famous singer._\n\n### 5. ゴロゴロ (goro-goro): Rolling (large rock or thunder)\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-gorogoro.jpeg\" width=\"1011\" height=\"677\" alt=\"A panel from a manga featuring the Japanese onomatopoeia gorogoro\" \u002F>\n\nゴロゴロ (goro-goro) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ゴロゴロ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is a Japanese onomatopoeia that's got slightly more to it than meets the eye. It's technically a giongo which mimics the sound of something heavy rumbling around, like a boulder coming down a hill or thunder roaring in the distance.\n\nOften, though, you'll also see it used as a giyougo to describe someone \"rolling around on the floor\", either in a state of frustration or lazy relaxation. Apparently, it can also be used as a gijougo that describes the state in which you've got something in your eye (sand, a bug, etc.) that causes your eye to feel uncomfortable\u002Frough as it moves around.\n\nIn fact, [the Ninjal corpus](https:\u002F\u002Fwww2.ninjal.ac.jp\u002FOnomatope\u002Fcolumn\u002Fnihongo_1.html) (link in Japanese) describes it as a rare example of a word that can act as all 5 types of onomatopoeia.\n\n**Example sentences:**\n\n- 大きな岩が**ゴロゴロ**転がっている。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-大きな岩が__ゴロゴロ__転がっている。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _The large rock **rolled around, making a rumbling sound.**._\n- 日曜日に家でごろごろしている。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-日曜日に家でごろごろしている。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> I'm lounging around the house on Sunday.\n\n### 6. ガシャン (gashan) – The sound of a smash, clash, whomp, or pow\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-gashan.jpeg\" width=\"1476\" height=\"578\" alt=\"An excerpt from a manga showing the Japanese onomatopoeia gashan, the sound of something shattering\" \u002F>\n\n\u003CCenteredText>_Note how ガシャン itself appears in the photo, but と is appended to it in the example sentences. This emphasizes that the sound is very brief, rather than being continuous._\u003CBR>\u003CBR>\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\nガシャン (gashan) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ガシャン.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is a quite dramatic giongo that mimics the sound of something crashing or shattering, like glass breaking. You'll also see it used to describe the sound of a heavy blow _(whack, wham)_ and—as shown in _Sakamoto Days_ above—for the crash of a gun’s chamber being reloaded or disassembled.\n\n**Example sentences:**\n\n- コップが床に落ちて**ガシャンと**割れた。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-コップが床に落ちてガシャンと割れた。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _The glass fell to the floor and **shattered with a crash**._\n- **ガシャンと**受話器を置く。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ガシャンと受話器を置く。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> (He) slammed the (telephone) receiver down **with a bang.**\n\n### 7. キラキラ (kira-kira): The sound (?) of something sparkling\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-kirakira.png\" width=\"868\" height=\"286\" alt=\"A manga panel featuring the Japanese onomatopoeia kirakira, depicting the twinkling of a character's eyes\" \u002F>\n\nキラキラ (kira-kira) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-キラキラ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is a lovely gitaigo that describes something glittering or shining, like stars or jewelry.\n\n> ...Or, perhaps, the way his eyes ✨✨twinkle✨✨ when the cutest boy at school looks at you… _Kyaaa ～！_\n\n**Example sentences:**\n\n- 夜空に**キラキラ**星が光っている。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-夜空にキラキラ星が光っている。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _Stars are **sparkling** in the night sky._\n- 彼女の目は喜びで**キラキラしている**。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-彼女の目は喜びでキラキラしている。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _Her eyes **sparkled** with joy._\n\n### 8. じーっ (jii) – The sound (?) of someone intently staring at something\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-jiii.jpeg\" width=\"1230\" height=\"592\" alt=\"A manga panel featuring the Japanese onomatopoeia Jiii, the sound of someone staring intently.\" \u002F>\n\n\u003CCenteredText>_The original word is じっと, but extending the い sound gives the nuance that the stare lasts longer_\u003CBR>\u003CBR>\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\nじっと (jitto) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-じっと.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is a gitaigo that describes a silent, intense gaze—someone watching something closely without blinking. You'll also see it used for someone entirely dissociating and staring into space, remaining quiet\u002Fmotionless, or stoically enduring a hardship.\n\n**Example sentences:**\n\n- 猫が**じーっ**と私を見ている。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-猫がじーっと私を見ている.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _The cat is **staring at me intently**._\n- じゃ、注射しますよ。すぐ終わるから、**じっとしててね**。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-じゃ、注射しますよ。すぐ終わるから、じっとしててね。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> Alright, I'm going to give you the shot now. It'll be over quickly, so **stay still**, okay?\n\n### 9. ピピピピピ (pipipipipi): The sound of something beeping\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-bibibi.jpeg\" width=\"1716\" height=\"778\" alt=\"A manga panel featuring the Japanese onomatopoeia pipipipipi, used to depict the sound of an alarm clock ringing\" \u002F>\n\nピーピー (piipii) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ピーピー.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> was originally a giseigo that mimicked the sound of birds chirping, but with time, eventually came to _also_ be used as a giongo mimicking things like the repetitive beep of a digital alarm, microwave, or timer.\n\nYou'll also see this used to describe the sound of someone whistling or whining.\n\n**Example sentences:**\n\n- 目覚まし時計が**ピピピピピ**と鳴った。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-目覚まし時計がピピピピピと鳴った。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _The alarm clock went off with a **beep-beep-beep**._\n- 小鳥が**ぴーぴー鳴いている**。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-小鳥がぴーぴー鳴いている。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> Birds are **chirping**.\n\n### 10. ドーン (doon): Japan's version of \"Boom!\"\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-doon.jpeg\" width=\"1190\" height=\"776\" alt=\"A manga panel featuring the Japanese onomatopoeia doon, which mimics a crash or loud sound\" \u002F>\n\n\u003CCenteredText>_This is from the manga \\_Sakamoto Days, which you can read the first several chapters of for free on [Shonen Jump](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.shonenjump.com\u002Fj\u002Frensai\u002Fsakamoto.html)._\u003CBR>\u003CBR>\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\nドーン (doon) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ドーン.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is an all-purpose giongo that can be used to describe pretty much any sort of explosion or loud impact: the explosion of fireworks, the roar of thunder, the _voom_ of a rocket flying through the air, the _whomp_ of a heavy hit, the _dong_ released upon striking a heavy bell, the _thud_ of something heavy hitting the floor.\n\nIt can also be used for generally dramatic bits of action—say, like an ex-hitman appearing behind you with a box cutter. Yikes.\n\n**Example sentences:**\n\n- 花火が**ドーンと**夜空に咲いた。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-花火がドーンと夜空に咲いた。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _A firework exploded in the sky **with a loud boom.**_\n- 重い扉は**どーんと**叩きやぶられた。 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-重い扉はどーんと叩きやぶられた。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _The heavy door was smashed open **with a loud bang.**_\n\n---\n\n## オノマトペ are things you _feel_... so learn them with manga!\n\nOkay, so now you know a few of the most common Japanese onomatopoeia you’re going to see popping up in manga and anime—where do you go from here?\n\n> Well, if we might be so bold: _Start reading manga and watching anime._\n\nSeriously. You'll see this stuff all the time. As you see more onomatopoeia alongside more images, you'll eventually develop a feel for what nuance a particular onomatopoeia adds to a scene.\n\nFor example—say you took us up on that free preview of [Sakamoto Days](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.shonenjump.com\u002Fj\u002Frensai\u002Fsakamoto.html) up above, and ended up binging like four chapters.\n\nYou'd see this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-plug1.jpeg\" width=\"1524\" height=\"1202\" alt=\"An excerpt from the manga Sakamoto Days, which features a ton of onomatopoeia\" \u002F>\n\nThere's a lot _(a lot)_ of onomatopoeia in this manga, but that mid-right panel in particular has a wonderfully educational image: グイと _(グイッと to further emphasize the suddenness of the action)_ describes the motion that occurs when something is pushed or pulled with a strong, sudden force.\n\nOnomatopoeia are really something that you should _feel_, though... so, rather than adding a verbal definition, you can just pop that manga panel right into a flashcard:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-plug2.jpeg\" width=\"1896\" height=\"1204\" alt=\"A screenshot of Migaku's card creator, \" \u002F>\n\n_(Migaku can also automatically generate explanations and example sentences for you, and you can manually add definitions from dictionaries, just in case you want a bit of context.)_\n\nAfter about three seconds of work, you'll have yourself a handy little flashcard that looks like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-onomatopoeia-plug3.jpeg\" width=\"1448\" height=\"1204\" alt=\"A screenshot of a flashcard created by Migaku showing the definition of the onomatopoeia ぐいと\" \u002F>\n\nWe'll periodically nudge you to review that flashcard over time, ensuring that you eventually commit it to memory.\n\nHere's an entire blog post on [how to learn Japanese with manga](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Flearn-japanese-with-manga)... but, otherwise:\n\n## \u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n## By the way: Forget these \"Japanese onomatopoeia lists\" if you want to learn Japanese\n\nSo, we've got an entire post on [how to learn Japanese vocabulary](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary).\n\nThe most important takeaway from that blog post is this:\n\n- When you learn a vocabulary word via a list, textbook, or flashcard, it's like you get an empty cup\n- When you see those words used in real Japanese media, you fill the cup with water\n\nSo, while you're getting started, go ahead and use lists like this! They're a nice way to condense a bunch of information into something more easily digestible.\n\n... but if you _really_ want to learn Japanese, remember The Golden Rule of Language Learning™:\n\n> If you spend time consuming Japanese media, and you understand at least some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. _Period_.\n\n[Ganbatte ne](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fganbatte-meaning) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-がんばってね.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n",{"title":23505,"description":24653},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-onomatopoeia","EtZF_sym60Cs7DE2V8xjAeN53c_Vc7OEeejT7B6-Vh0","June 5, 2025",{"id":24669,"title":24670,"body":24671,"description":25749,"extension":717,"meta":25750,"navigation":730,"path":25758,"rawbody":25759,"seo":25760,"stem":25761,"__hash__":25762,"timestampUnix":25751,"slug":25752,"h1":25753,"image":25754,"tags":25757,"_dir":736,"timestamp":25763},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particle-ni.md","Mastering the Use of the Particle に in Japanese",{"type":8,"value":24672,"toc":25730},[24673,24679,24682,24684,24686,24699,24703,24706,24713,24716,24735,24738,24750,24753,24761,24764,24768,24771,24774,24779,24782,24788,24791,24815,24820,24822,24826,24829,24847,24850,24860,24863,24920,24964,24988,24992,24995,25002,25020,25027,25045,25054,25057,25078,25113,25117,25120,25146,25151,25154,25180,25184,25193,25196,25206,25209,25219,25222,25248,25252,25255,25281,25285,25288,25326,25332,25336,25339,25357,25363,25373,25377,25380,25383,25401,25404,25422,25426,25429,25434,25437,25463,25467,25470,25478,25481,25484,25512,25515,25530,25533,25537,25545,25559,25562,25572,25575,25585,25588,25602,25605,25608,25616,25619,25622,25633,25636,25642,25645,25649,25652,25663,25669,25672,25675,25678,25680,25686,25694,25697,25699,25702,25707,25709,25713,25716,25727],[11,24674,24675,24676,24678],{},"Mastering the Japanese particle に (ni) is an important step on your journey to ",[15,24677,18],{"href":17},": it's used to mark destinations, points in time, and all sorts of stuff. Important stuff. So much stuff, frankly, that we felt it was worthwhile to dedicate an entire article to nothing but に (ni) and its various usages.",[11,24680,24681],{},"This article will cover (pretty much) all the usages of に (ni) alongside practical example sentences. We'l cover:",[39,24683],{},[42,24685],{},[320,24687,24688,24691,24693],{},[287,24689,24690],{"bold":289,"underline":289},"\nForewarning\n",[292,24692],{},[11,24694,1074,24695,1079,24697,415],{},[15,24696,1078],{"href":10726},[15,24698,1083],{"href":1082},[45,24700,24702],{"id":24701},"the-basics-of-grammatical-particles-in-general","The basics of grammatical particles, in general",[11,24704,24705],{},"Before we can start talking about the grammatical particle に (ni), we should take a moment to make sure you're clear on what a grammatical particle is.",[11,24707,24708,24709,24712],{},"The best way I've found to explain this is to say that a grammatical particle is kind of like a ",[2191,24710,24711],{},"post","position.",[11,24714,24715],{},"You know what prepositions are—they're little words that go in front of things:",[304,24717,24718,24723,24729],{},[307,24719,24720,24722],{},[2191,24721,16160],{}," the park",[307,24724,24725,24728],{},[2191,24726,24727],{},"on"," Tuesday",[307,24730,24731,24734],{},[2191,24732,24733],{},"beside"," the nine-foot tall baboon",[11,24736,24737],{},"And Japanese particles (\"postpositions\") are a lot like that, except for the fact that:",[304,24739,24740,24747],{},[307,24741,24742,24743,24746],{},"They come ",[26,24744,24745],{},"after"," the word or phrase they pertain to",[307,24748,24749],{},"There are a bunch of particles that do a bunch of different things, not just show where something is located",[11,24751,24752],{},"So, for example:",[304,24754,24755,24758],{},[307,24756,24757],{},"If you're eating a pizza, you tack を onto the word \"pizza\" to show that it's what you're eating",[307,24759,24760],{},"If you're watching a movie in a cafe, you tack で onto the word \"cafe\" to show that it's the location where you're watching the movie",[11,24762,24763],{},"There are a lot of particles and they do a bunch of different things, but they all have the same goal: specify the grammatical function that a word (or phrase) is playing in a specific sentence.",[45,24765,24767],{"id":24766},"the-basics-of-に-ni-specifically","The basics of に (ni), specifically",[11,24769,24770],{},"I'm not going to lie: it's a bit difficult to concisely explain the purpose of に (ni) because it does a ton of different things.",[11,24772,24773],{},"Like eleven things, to be exact.",[11,24775,24776,415],{},[26,24777,24778],{},"Eleven",[11,24780,24781],{},"(Perhaps even a few more.)",[50,24783],{"src":24784,"width":24785,"height":24786,"alt":24787},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-ni-omg.gif",960,674,"A man staring in absolute shock at the fact that the Japanese particle に (ni) has so many use cases",[11,24789,24790],{},"But what all those usages have in common is that they show some sort of direction:",[304,24792,24793,24799,24806,24809,24812],{},[307,24794,24795,24796,24798],{},"It may be a literal direction, as in saying you're going ",[26,24797,7041],{}," a certain place",[307,24800,24801,24802,24805],{},"It may be a social direction, as in saying that you received something ",[26,24803,24804],{},"from"," someone",[307,24807,24808],{},"It may be a philosophical direction, as in saying something has changed from state A to state B",[307,24810,24811],{},"It may be a rhetorical direction, as in pointing out the cause of something",[307,24813,24814],{},"... and then it does a couple of seemingly unrelated things, too",[320,24816,24817],{},[11,24818,24819],{},"We're going to do our best to be exhaustive in this article, but if you're new to Japanese and this is the first time you're learning about the particle に (ni), it's enough to know that it has something to do with direction. The first few usages listed are super common, while the later ones are a bit rarer.",[42,24821],{},[45,24823,24825],{"id":24824},"_1-use-に-ni-to-mark-destinations","1. Use に (ni) to mark destinations",[11,24827,24828],{},"The most basic usage of に (ni) is to indicate a destination—to say that you're going somewhere:",[304,24830,24831,24839],{},[307,24832,24833,24836,24838],{},[98,24834],{"lang":100,"syntax":24835},"買い物[かいもの] を 済[す,すませる]ませて{、}家[いえ]に 帰[かえ,かえる]った{。}",[292,24837],{},"\n (I) finished shopping and then went (returned) home.\n",[307,24840,24841,24844,24846],{},[98,24842],{"lang":100,"syntax":24843},"弟[おとうと] は 学校[がっこう] に 行[い,いく]った{。}",[292,24845],{},"\n My younger brother went to school.\n",[11,24848,24849],{},"If you're the one moving something, you can also use に (ni) to show where you're moving it to:",[304,24851,24852],{},[307,24853,24854,24857,24859],{},[98,24855],{"lang":100,"syntax":24856},"ゴミ箱[ごみばこ] に ゴミ[ごみ] を 捨[す,すてる]てた{。}",[292,24858],{},"\n (I) threw the garbage in the trash can.\n",[11,24861,24862],{},"Then, if you really want to split hairs:",[8421,24864,24866,24873,24876,24890,24893,24917],{"heading":24865},"Comparing に (ni) vs へ (he)",[11,24867,24868,24869,415],{},"We talk about this in more detail in ",[15,24870,24872],{"href":24871},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles-guide#common-sources-of-confusion","our deep dive into Japanese particles",[11,24874,24875],{},"While に (ni) and へ (he) are interchangeable when talking about motion (and only about motion—not any of the other usages we're about to discuss), there is an important difference in nuance:",[304,24877,24878,24884],{},[307,24879,24880,24881],{},"に (ni) shows a ",[26,24882,24883],{},"destination",[307,24885,24886,24887],{},"へ (he) shows a ",[26,24888,24889],{},"direction",[11,24891,24892],{},"So if we compare:",[304,24894,24895,24907],{},[307,24896,24897,24900,24901,24903,24904,24906],{},[98,24898],{"lang":100,"syntax":24899},"私[わたし] は 東京[とうきょう] に 行[い]く","\n。\n",[292,24902],{},"\n I'm going \n",[26,24905,7041],{},"\n Tokyo.\n",[307,24908,24909,24900,24912,24903,24914,24906],{},[98,24910],{"lang":100,"syntax":24911},"私[わたし] は 東京[とうきょう] へ 行[い]く",[292,24913],{},[26,24915,24916],{},"toward",[11,24918,24919],{},"They're often interchangeable because arriving to Tokyo necessarily means that you were also headed in the direction of Tokyo, but not always interchangeable because heading toward Tokyo doesn't mean that you'll arrive to Tokyo.",[8421,24921,24923,24927,24930,24938,24941,24951,24954],{"heading":24922},"Comparing に (ni) vs で (de)",[11,24924,24868,24925,415],{},[15,24926,24872],{"href":24871},[11,24928,24929],{},"While both に (ni) and で (de) are related to locations, they are never interchangeable and have a very important difference in nuance:",[304,24931,24932,24935],{},[307,24933,24934],{},"に (ni) shows a destination—the place you're going to",[307,24936,24937],{},"で (de) shows a location—the place where you're doing something",[11,24939,24940],{},"So if we take the example sentence from above:",[304,24942,24943],{},[307,24944,24945,24900,24947,24903,24949,24906],{},[98,24946],{"lang":100,"syntax":24899},[292,24948],{},[26,24950,7041],{},[11,24952,24953],{},"And then try to swap the に (ni) out with で (de), we can't do that unless we also change the verb:",[304,24955,24956],{},[307,24957,24958,24900,24961,24963],{},[98,24959],{"lang":100,"syntax":24960},"私[わたし] は 東京[とうきょう] で{（}何[なに] か を する{）}",[292,24962],{},"\n I'm (doing something) in Tokyo.\n",[8421,24965,24967,24970],{"heading":24966},"Use に (ni) to show the purpose of movement",[11,24968,24969],{},"You can take the root form of a verb, attach に (ni) to it, and then attach a verb of motion to に　(ni) to say that you are going\u002Fcoming\u002Fetc. to do something:",[304,24971,24972,24980],{},[307,24973,24974,24977,24979],{},[98,24975],{"lang":100,"syntax":24976},"おにぎり を 買[か,かう]い に 行[ゆ,ゆく]きます{。}",[292,24978],{},"\n I'm going (out) to buy a rice ball.\n",[307,24981,24982,24985,24987],{},[98,24983],{"lang":100,"syntax":24984},"流れ星[ながれぼし] を 見[み,みる]に 行[い]こう{！}",[292,24986],{},"\n Let's go to see the shooting star!\n",[45,24989,24991],{"id":24990},"_2-use-に-ni-to-show-existence-or-presence","2. Use に (ni) to show existence or presence",[11,24993,24994],{},"If you're talking about a location, you're usually going to mark that location with で (de) because the particle で (de) is used to show where an action takes place. However, if you're talking about the existence or presence of something, you'll use に (ni).",[11,24996,24997,24998,25001],{},"Sometimes, you'll be ",[26,24999,25000],{},"literally"," talking about existence:",[304,25003,25004,25012],{},[307,25005,25006,25009,25011],{},[98,25007],{"lang":100,"syntax":25008},"あんな もの が この 世界[せかい] に 存在[そんざい] し[,する]て いる はず が ない{。}",[292,25010],{},"\n That sort of thing should not exist in this world.\n",[307,25013,25014,25017,25019],{},[98,25015],{"lang":100,"syntax":25016},"そんな 想[おも]い が{、}私[わたし] の 心[こころ] の 中[なか] に ひっそり と 存在[そんざい] し[,する]て い[,いる]た{。}",[292,25018],{},"\n Such feelings did exist, quietly, within my heart.\n",[11,25021,25022,25023,25026],{},"But oftentimes you'll be talking about where something ",[26,25024,25025],{},"is",", or is located:",[304,25028,25029,25037],{},[307,25030,25031,25034,25036],{},[98,25032],{"lang":100,"syntax":25033},"私[わたし] は 今[いま] 東京[とうきょう] に いる{。}",[292,25035],{},"\n I am in Tokyo now.\n",[307,25038,25039,25042,25044],{},[98,25040],{"lang":100,"syntax":25041},"テーブル[てーぶる] の 上[うえ] に 本[ほん] が ある{。}",[292,25043],{},"\n There is a book on the table.\n",[320,25046,25047,25049,25051],{},[287,25048,1427],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[292,25050],{},[11,25052,25053],{},"When you're talking about the existence of something animate, like a person or animal, use いる. When you're talking about the existence of an inanimate object, like a book or flower, use ある.",[11,25055,25056],{},"Other times, you might use a variety of verbs which show that something has come into existence, such as to appear or emerge:",[304,25058,25059,25067],{},[307,25060,25061,25064,25066],{},[98,25062],{"lang":100,"syntax":25063},"庭[にわ] に キノコ[きのこ] が 生[は,はえる]えて き[,くる]た{。}",[292,25065],{},"\n Mushrooms have sprouted up in the garden.\n",[307,25068,25069,25072,25074,25075,10043],{},[98,25070],{"lang":100,"syntax":25071},"{『}言[い]う は 易[やす,やすい]く 行[おこな]う は 難[かた,かたい]し{』}という 言葉[ことば] が 頭[あたま] に 浮[う,うかぶ]かん だ{。}",[292,25073],{},"\n The phrase \"easier said than done\" came to mind \n",[26,25076,25077],{},"(lit: emerged in my head)",[8421,25079,25081,25084,25087],{"heading":25080},"Use に (ni) with ある\u002Fいる to show possession",[11,25082,25083],{},"To say that one thing belongs or pertains to another thing in Japanese, you'll often see a structure similar to the one discussed above—literally saying that thing A exists in\u002Fon\u002Fat thing B. Additionally, you'll often see は (wa) paired with に (ni) in this case, yielding には (niwa). Sometimes は (wa) will even replaces に (ni) entirely.",[11,25085,25086],{},"A few examples:",[304,25088,25089,25097,25105],{},[307,25090,25091,25094,25096],{},[98,25092],{"lang":100,"syntax":25093},"車[くるま] に は タイヤ が 四つ[よっつ] ある{。}",[292,25095],{},"\n A car has four tires.\n",[307,25098,25099,25102,25104],{},[98,25100],{"lang":100,"syntax":25101},"私[わたし] に は 夢[ゆめ] が ある{。}",[292,25103],{},"\n I have a dream.\n",[307,25106,25107,25110,25112],{},[98,25108],{"lang":100,"syntax":25109},"彼女[かのじょ] は 息子[むすこ] が二人[ふたり] いる{。}",[292,25111],{},"\n She has two sons.\n",[45,25114,25116],{"id":25115},"_3-に-ni-to-specify-a-point-in-time-when-something-takes-place","3. に (ni) to specify a point in time when something takes place",[11,25118,25119],{},"Use に (ni) in order to indicate when something takes place—whether it's a time, day, or event\u002Fholiday:",[304,25121,25122,25130,25138],{},[307,25123,25124,25127,25129],{},[98,25125],{"lang":100,"syntax":25126},"私[わたし] は{7}時[じ]に 起[お,おきる]き{、10}時[じ]に 寝[ね]る",[292,25128],{},"\n I wake up at 7 and go to bed at 10.\n",[307,25131,25132,25135,25137],{},[98,25133],{"lang":100,"syntax":25134},"{2024}の{12}月[がつ]{30}に この ブログ 記事[きじ] を 書[か,かく;]いた{。}",[292,25136],{},"\n I wrote this blog article on December 30th, 2024.\n",[307,25139,25140,25143,25145],{},[98,25141],{"lang":100,"syntax":25142},"日本[にほん] で は クリスマスに{、}七面鳥[しちめんちょう] で は なく[,ない]て 鶏肉[とりにく] を 食[た,たべる]べる{。}",[292,25144],{},"\n On Christmas in Japan, (they) eat chicken instead of turkey.\n",[11,25147,25148],{},[26,25149,25150],{},"(No, really, that wasn't just an example sentence. In Japan, Christmas means KFC.)",[5025,25152],{"src":25153},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F5QUOVvQo_nk?si=ZnZkbtwy1-3zlxM9",[8421,25155,25157,25163,25166,25177],{"heading":25156},"... but sometimes に can be omitted",[11,25158,25159,25160,25162],{},"You'll sometimes see sentences that mention a time but ",[26,25161,11540],{}," use に (ni).",[11,25164,25165],{},"That's a bit beyond the scope of this article, so we're not going to devote too much time to it, but this generally occurs when:",[304,25167,25168,25171,25174],{},[307,25169,25170],{},"You're using words that talk about time in a relative sense (\"yesterday\" refers to a different date on every single day—the same is true for words like today, tomorrow, last\u002Fnext week\u002Fmonth\u002Fyear\"!)",[307,25172,25173],{},"You're using certain words or phrases, such as \"each morning\" or \"every day\"",[307,25175,25176],{},"You're talking very casually or informally, in which case many particles become somewhat optional",[11,25178,25179],{},"But don't worry about this too much for now! As you spend more time interacting with Japanese, you'll naturally come to learn the times when you should omit に (ni) from your sentence.",[45,25181,25183],{"id":25182},"_4-use-に-ni-to-indicate-the-recipient-of-an-action","4. Use に (ni) to indicate the recipient of an action",[11,25185,25186,25187,25192],{},"In another article, we talked about ",[15,25188,25191],{"href":25189,"rel":25190},"https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku.com\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particle-wo-direct-object",[971],"the particle を (wo), which indicates the direct object of a sentence","—what you are doing an action to. The particle に (ni) complements を (wo) by showing who the intended recipient of that action is.",[11,25194,25195],{},"This enables you to take sentences like:",[304,25197,25198],{},[307,25199,25200,25203,25205],{},[98,25201],{"lang":100,"syntax":25202},"ボール を 蹴[け,ける]りました{。}",[292,25204],{},"\n I kicked the ball.\n",[11,25207,25208],{},"And give them a direction:",[304,25210,25211],{},[307,25212,25213,25216,25218],{},[98,25214],{"lang":100,"syntax":25215},"友達[ともだち] に ボール を 蹴[け,ける]りました{。}",[292,25217],{},"\n I kicked the ball to a friend.\n",[11,25220,25221],{},"And here's a few more examples:",[304,25223,25224,25232,25240],{},[307,25225,25226,25229,25231],{},[98,25227],{"lang":100,"syntax":25228},"この 後[あと]、 友達[ともだち] に 会[あ]う{。}",[292,25230],{},"\n I'm going to meet a friend after this.\n",[307,25233,25234,25237,25239],{},[98,25235],{"lang":100,"syntax":25236},"田中[たなか] くん の 意見[いけん] に 賛成[さんせい] する{。}",[292,25238],{},"\n I agree with Tanaka's opinion.\n",[307,25241,25242,25245,25247],{},[98,25243],{"lang":100,"syntax":25244},"選手[せんしゅ] に サイン を 頼[たの,たのむ]ん だ{。}",[292,25246],{},"\n I asked for the athlete's signature.\n",[45,25249,25251],{"id":25250},"_5-use-に-ni-to-show-the-result-of-a-change","5. Use に (ni) to show the result of a change",[11,25253,25254],{},"When you want to say that one thing changes into another thing, you'll use に (ni) to indicate the of that change. In other words if something changes from state A to state B, then you'll use に (ni) to mark thing B.",[304,25256,25257,25265,25273],{},[307,25258,25259,25262,25264],{},[98,25260],{"lang":100,"syntax":25261},"氷[こおり] が 水[みず] に なった{。}",[292,25263],{},"\n The ice became water.\n",[307,25266,25267,25270,25272],{},[98,25268],{"lang":100,"syntax":25269},"疑惑[ぎわく] が 確信[かくしん] に 変[か,かわる]わった 瞬間[しゅんかん] だっ[,だっ]た{。}",[292,25271],{},"\n It was the moment when doubt became certainty.\n",[307,25274,25275,25278,25280],{},[98,25276],{"lang":100,"syntax":25277},"彼[かれ] は 先生[せんせい] に なっ[,なる]た{。}",[292,25279],{},"\nHe became a teacher.\n",[45,25282,25284],{"id":25283},"_6-use-に-ni-to-indicate-the-cause-of-something","6. Use に (ni) to indicate the cause of something",[11,25286,25287],{},"Use use に (ni) to indicate the cause of the sentence's main verb:",[304,25289,25290,25302,25314],{},[307,25291,25292,25295,25297,25298,25301],{},[98,25293],{"lang":100,"syntax":25294},"人[ひと] の 多[おお,おおい] さ に びっくり した{。}",[292,25296],{},"\n I was surprised by \n",[26,25299,25300],{},"(lit: due to)","\n how many people were there.\n",[307,25303,25304,25307,25309,25310,25313],{},[98,25305],{"lang":100,"syntax":25306},"小麦[こむぎ] が 風[かぜ] に 揺[ゆ,ゆれる]れて いる{。}",[292,25308],{},"\nThe wheat is swaying in \n",[26,25311,25312],{},"(because of)","\n the wind.\n",[307,25315,25316,25319,25321,25322,25325],{},[98,25317],{"lang":100,"syntax":25318},"私[わたし] は今[いま]、お金[おかね] に 困[こま,こまる]って いる{。}",[292,25320],{},"\n I'm having some financial difficulties \n",[26,25323,25324],{},"(lit: troubled because of money)","\n at the moment.\n",[50,25327],{"src":25328,"width":25329,"height":25330,"alt":25331},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-particle-ni-bernie.jpeg",1477,831,"A photo of Bernie Sanders, once again responding to the financial difficulties posed by our example sentence.",[45,25333,25335],{"id":25334},"_7-use-に-ni-to-reference-a-standard","7. Use に (ni) to reference a standard",[11,25337,25338],{},"You'll use に (ni) for a variety of statements in which you want to raise something up as a standard against which another thing is compared:",[304,25340,25341,25349],{},[307,25342,25343,25346,25348],{},[98,25344],{"lang":100,"syntax":25345},"あの 店[みせ] は 駅[えき]に 近[ちか]い{。}",[292,25347],{},"\n That store is near the station.\n",[307,25350,25351,25354,25356],{},[98,25352],{"lang":100,"syntax":25353},"スペイン語[すぺいんご] は イタリア 語[ご] に 少[すこ]し 似[に,にる]て いる{。}",[292,25355],{},"\n Spanish is a little like Italian.\n",[11,25358,25359,25360,25362],{},"Note that you ",[26,25361,11540],{}," need to use に (ni) if you're making a direct comparison between two things:",[304,25364,25365],{},[307,25366,25367,25370,25372],{},[98,25368],{"lang":100,"syntax":25369},"ブラジル は 日本[にほん] より 大[おお]きい{。}",[292,25371],{},"\nBrazil is bigger than Japan.\n",[45,25374,25376],{"id":25375},"_8-use-に-ni-to-show-the-range-within-which-a-statement-is-valid","8. Use に (ni) to show the range within which a statement is valid",[11,25378,25379],{},"When you're making a statement that isn't universal, you can use に (ni)—usually には (niwa)—to show what that statement applies to.",[11,25381,25382],{},"For example, we can take these universal statements:",[304,25384,25385,25393],{},[307,25386,25387,25390,25392],{},[98,25388],{"lang":100,"syntax":25389},"書[か]く こと は 難[むずか]しい{。}",[292,25391],{},"\n Writing is difficult.\n",[307,25394,25395,25398,25400],{},[98,25396],{"lang":100,"syntax":25397},"この 問題[もんだい] は 難[むずか,むずかしい]しくない{。}",[292,25399],{},"\n This problem is not difficult.\n",[11,25402,25403],{},"And then limit them to something more narrow in scope:",[304,25405,25406,25414],{},[307,25407,25408,25411,25413],{},[98,25409],{"lang":100,"syntax":25410},"書[か]く こと は 私には[わたしには] 難[むずか]しい{。}",[292,25412],{},"\n Writing is difficult for me.\n",[307,25415,25416,25419,25421],{},[98,25417],{"lang":100,"syntax":25418},"この 問題[もんだい] は 私[わたし] に は 難[むずか,むずかしい]しくない{。}",[292,25420],{},"\n This problem is not difficult for me.\n",[45,25423,25425],{"id":25424},"_9-use-に-ni-when-making-ratios-or-talking-about-the-frequency-with-which-something-occurs","9. Use に (ni) when making ratios or talking about the frequency with which something occurs",[11,25427,25428],{},"When you make a ratio in Japanese, you use a specific structure:",[304,25430,25431],{},[307,25432,25433],{},"Bigger number → に (ni) → smaller number",[11,25435,25436],{},"This is, as you can see below, exactly the opposite of what we do in English.",[304,25438,25439,25447,25455],{},[307,25440,25441,25444,25446],{},[98,25442],{"lang":100,"syntax":25443},"{５}回[かい]に{１}回[かい] は 失敗[しっぱい] する{。}",[292,25445],{},"\n One of every five attempts fails.\n",[307,25448,25449,25452,25454],{},[98,25450],{"lang":100,"syntax":25451},"ハレー彗星[はれーすいせい] は{７６}年[ねん] に 一度[いちど] やってくる{。}",[292,25453],{},"\n Haley's comet comes once per 76 years.\n",[307,25456,25457,25460,25462],{},[98,25458],{"lang":100,"syntax":25459},"成人[せいじん] の 三[さん] 人[にん] に 一人[ひとり] は 運動不足[うんどうぶそく]{。}",[292,25461],{},"\n One in three adults doesn't get enough exercise.\n",[45,25464,25466],{"id":25465},"_10-use-に-ni-to-mark-the-person-who-does-the-action-of-a-passive-sentence","10. Use に (ni) to mark the person who does the action of a passive sentence",[11,25468,25469],{},"In English, we have two types of grammatical voices: passive and active.",[304,25471,25472,25475],{},[307,25473,25474],{},"Active: My younger sister ate the cake.",[307,25476,25477],{},"Pasive: The cake was eaten by my younger sister.",[11,25479,25480],{},"As you can see, the kicker and the kicked swap places in the passive sentence: the ball goes from the end of the sentence to the beginning of the sentence.",[11,25482,25483],{},"Something similar happens in Japanese:",[304,25485,25486,25499],{},[307,25487,25488,9768,25493,25496,25498],{},[15,25489,25492],{"href":25490,"rel":25491},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FActive_voice",[971],"Active",[98,25494],{"lang":100,"syntax":25495},"妹[いもうと] は ケーキ を 食[た,たべる]べた{。}",[292,25497],{}," My younger sister ate the cake.",[307,25500,25501,9768,25506,25509,25511],{},[15,25502,25505],{"href":25503,"rel":25504},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FPassive_voice",[971],"Passive",[98,25507],{"lang":100,"syntax":25508},"妹[いもうと] に ケーキ を 食[た,たべる]べられた{。}",[292,25510],{}," The cake was eaten by my younger sister.",[11,25513,25514],{},"As you can see, to turn an active sentence passive:",[304,25516,25517,25524],{},[307,25518,25519,25520,25523],{},"The cake-eater ",[98,25521],{"lang":100,"syntax":25522},"妹[いもうと]"," went from being marked with は (wa) to に (ni)",[307,25525,25526,25529],{},[98,25527],{"lang":100,"syntax":25528},"食[た,たべる]べる","\n changed to a different verb form\n",[11,25531,25532],{},"An entire post could be devoted to Japanese passive voice constructions alone... but, for now, simply remember that the person doing the action—the person eating the cake or kicking the ball—is marked with に (ni) in passive sentences.",[45,25534,25536],{"id":25535},"_11-use-に-ni-to-show-who-was-madeallowed-to-do-something-in-causative-sentences","11. Use に (ni) to show who was made\u002Fallowed to do something in causative sentences",[11,25538,3939,25539,25544],{},[15,25540,25543],{"href":25541,"rel":25542},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FCausative",[971],"causative form of verbs"," is beyond the scope of this blog post, but to be very brief, causative sentences are sentences in which one person\u002Fthing causes another person\u002Fthing to do something. In causative sentences, use に (ni) to indicate which person is being made or allowed to do something. That's pretty straightforward.",[11,25546,25547,25548,3814,25551,25554,25555,25558],{},"What makes the Japanese causative form confusing is that they have only one form, but we have two in English: ",[26,25549,25550],{},"make",[26,25552,25553],{},"let",". This can initially be difficult to wrap your mind around as make and let feel like very different things in English... but what matters is that, whether you have made or let someone do something, you are ultimately the reason they ended up doing that thing. You ",[26,25556,25557],{},"caused"," that.",[11,25560,25561],{},"Sometimes it's obvious that one party is making the other party do something that they don't really want to do:",[304,25563,25564],{},[307,25565,25566,25569,25571],{},[98,25567],{"lang":100,"syntax":25568},"先生[せんせい] は 学生[がくせい] に 宿題[しゅくだい] を たくさん さ[,する]せた{。}",[292,25570],{},"\n The teacher made the students do a lot of homework.\n",[11,25573,25574],{},"But sometimes you'll need to lean on context to decide whether someone is being allowed to do something they want to do or forced to do something they don't want to do:",[304,25576,25577],{},[307,25578,25579,25582,25584],{},[98,25580],{"lang":100,"syntax":25581},"先生[せんせい] は 学生[がくせい] に 本[ほん] を 読[よ,よむ]ませた{。}",[292,25583],{},"\n The teacher made\u002Flet the student read a book.\n",[11,25586,25587],{},"Here, it could really go both ways:",[304,25589,25590,25596],{},[307,25591,25592,25593,25595],{},"Maybe it's quiet time at the end of a class, and the teacher is ",[26,25594,10316],{}," the student read a book for fun\u002Fto relax",[307,25597,25598,25599,25601],{},"Maybe the teacher is ",[26,25600,10320],{}," the student read the book as part of an assignment",[11,25603,25604],{},"Without additional context, it's impossible to say for sure which interpretation is correct.",[11,25606,25607],{},"What's certain, though, is that the person being made\u002Fallowed to do something will be marked with the particle に (ni).",[45,25609,25611,25612,25615],{"id":25610},"do-i-really-need-to-learn-eleven-usages-of-に-ni","Do I really need to learn ",[26,25613,25614],{},"eleven"," usages of に (ni)?",[11,25617,25618],{},"Yes and no.",[11,25620,25621],{},"If you look at the example sentences I've picked, you'll notice something: the \"different\" usages of に (ni) all occur with quite different types of words and in quite different types of sentences. For example:",[304,25623,25624,25627,25630],{},[307,25625,25626],{},"When に (ni) refers to existence, it always appears with a verb that involve existence, such as ある or いる",[307,25628,25629],{},"When に (ni) refers to a change in state, it always occurs with a verb that somehow involves changing or becoming, such as なる",[307,25631,25632],{},"When に (ni) refers to the time at which something occurs, it always occurs with an word that is related to time",[11,25634,25635],{},"There were even a couple \"usages\" of に (ni) that I decided to skip, such as \"to indicate the contents of a container\", because they were super specific and literally only occurred with one or two specific verbs.",[11,25637,25638,25639,25641],{},"So, ",[26,25640,7195],{},"—I don't think it's worth memorizing these usages one by one.",[11,25643,25644],{},"As you spend more time interacting with Japanese, and you see a wider variety of sentences that use に (ni) in a wider variety of ways, you'll gradually come to feel it—both how に (ni) works, and also the kinds of structures that it occurs in.",[45,25646,25648],{"id":25647},"but-what-if-i-really-want-to-learn-japanese-grammar","... But what if I really want to learn Japanese grammar?",[11,25650,25651],{},"Learning a language is actually a pretty straightforward process:",[344,25653,25654,25657,25660],{},[307,25655,25656],{},"Consume content (ideally content that you enjoy)",[307,25658,25659],{},"Make sense of the messages within that content",[307,25661,25662],{},"Repeat",[11,25664,25665,25666,25668],{},"As you repeat that process, you'll gradually build the unique skill set that ",[26,25667,13558],{}," need to do the things that you enjoy or find important.",[11,25670,25671],{},"The shocking failure of traditional approaches to teaching languages is that most learners never reach a point where they can kick off that effective learning loop.",[11,25673,25674],{},"So we built our own course.",[11,25676,25677],{},"You'll go back and forth between (a) concise, practical grammar lessons and (b) flashcards with sentences that reinforce those grammar points and introduce new vocabulary words. Below you can see how we cover the first usage of に (ni), for example",[50,25679],{"src":21989,"width":1240,"height":21990,"alt":21991},[11,25681,25682,25683,25685],{},"But this isn't ",[26,25684,600],{}," a slick looking course with a nice layout:",[304,25687,25688,25691],{},[307,25689,25690],{},"Each flashcard has been painstakingly curated such that each \"next\" card only contains a single vocab word or grammar point you don't know",[307,25692,25693],{},"The course is pretty lean, covering the specific ~300 grammar points and ~1,500 vocabulary words you need to make sense of ~80% of any Japanese media you happen to pick up",[11,25695,25696],{},"So you'll learn the key usages of に (ni) via a formal lesson, then reinforce it by seeing に (ni) used in practical sentences—then graduate from our course and begin seeing に (ni) used in real Japanese shows that you enjoy.",[674,25698],{"href":17,"text":676},[11,25700,25701],{},"And if you're just starting out on your Japanese journey and aren't ready to think about grammar yet—we've got that covered, too.",[50,25703],{"src":25704,"width":25705,"height":16634,"alt":25706},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-particle-ni-fundamentals.jpeg",1484,"A few screenshots from Migaku's Japanese Fundamentals course, showing how we introduce teach hirgana",[42,25708],{},[45,25710,25712],{"id":25711},"japanese-particle-に-ni-down-several-more-to-go","Japanese particle に (ni) down, several more to go...",[11,25714,25715],{},"This page covers pretty much everything you might ever want to know about the particle に (ni), but if I were to pick the most important three to focus on:",[344,25717,25718,25721,25724],{},[307,25719,25720],{},"Use に (ni) to indicate a destination",[307,25722,25723],{},"Use に (ni) to specify the recipient of an action",[307,25725,25726],{},"Using に (ni) to indicate existence or presence",[11,25728,25729],{},"Now go do something cool in Japanese 💪",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":25731},[25732,25733,25734,25735,25736,25737,25738,25739,25740,25741,25742,25743,25744,25745,25747,25748],{"id":24701,"depth":707,"text":24702},{"id":24766,"depth":707,"text":24767},{"id":24824,"depth":707,"text":24825},{"id":24990,"depth":707,"text":24991},{"id":25115,"depth":707,"text":25116},{"id":25182,"depth":707,"text":25183},{"id":25250,"depth":707,"text":25251},{"id":25283,"depth":707,"text":25284},{"id":25334,"depth":707,"text":25335},{"id":25375,"depth":707,"text":25376},{"id":25424,"depth":707,"text":25425},{"id":25465,"depth":707,"text":25466},{"id":25535,"depth":707,"text":25536},{"id":25610,"depth":707,"text":25746},"Do I really need to learn eleven usages of に (ni)?",{"id":25647,"depth":707,"text":25648},{"id":25711,"depth":707,"text":25712},"Discover the essential uses of the Japanese particle に (ni), from marking destinations to indicating time and location. This beginner-friendly guide includes examples, grammar tips, and practical strategies to master に.",{"timestampUnix":25751,"slug":25752,"h1":25753,"image":25754,"tags":25757},1735548793603,"japanese-particle-ni","Understanding the Japanese Particle に (ni): A Complete Guide for Beginners",{"src":25755,"width":16204,"height":16205,"alt":25756},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-particle-ni.jpeg","A doctor using a medical instrument to tap a patient's knee (に). Trust me, it's funny.",[3670,728],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particle-ni","---\ntitle: 'Mastering the Use of the Particle に in Japanese'\ndescription: 'Discover the essential uses of the Japanese particle に (ni), from marking destinations to indicating time and location. This beginner-friendly guide includes examples, grammar tips, and practical strategies to master に.'\ntimestampUnix: 1735548793603\nslug: 'japanese-particle-ni'\nh1: 'Understanding the Japanese Particle に (ni): A Complete Guide for Beginners'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-particle-ni.jpeg'\n width: 6000\n height: 4000\n alt: \"A doctor using a medical instrument to tap a patient's knee (に). Trust me, it's funny.\"\ntags:\n - grammar\n - fundamentals\n---\n\nMastering the Japanese particle に (ni) is an important step on your journey to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese): it's used to mark destinations, points in time, and all sorts of stuff. Important stuff. So much stuff, frankly, that we felt it was worthwhile to dedicate an entire article to nothing but に (ni) and its various usages.\n\nThis article will cover (pretty much) all the usages of に (ni) alongside practical example sentences. We'l cover:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Forewarning\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\n>\n> This article assumes that you can already read hiragana. If not, we applaud your go-getter spirit. Before you read this article, you may want to take a detour to first check out [what hiragana is used for](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-alphabets), then read this article while referencing [our hiragana cheat sheet](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-hiragana).\n\n## The basics of grammatical particles, in general\n\nBefore we can start talking about the grammatical particle に (ni), we should take a moment to make sure you're clear on what a grammatical particle is.\n\nThe best way I've found to explain this is to say that a grammatical particle is kind of like a \u003Cu>post\u003C\u002Fu>position.\n\nYou know what \u003C\u002Fu>pre\u003C\u002Fu>positions are—they're little words that go in front of things:\n\n- \u003Cu>in\u003C\u002Fu> the park\n- \u003Cu>on\u003C\u002Fu> Tuesday\n- \u003Cu>beside\u003C\u002Fu> the nine-foot tall baboon\n\nAnd Japanese particles (\"postpositions\") are a lot like that, except for the fact that:\n\n- They come _after_ the word or phrase they pertain to\n- There are a bunch of particles that do a bunch of different things, not just show where something is located\n\nSo, for example:\n\n- If you're eating a pizza, you tack を onto the word \"pizza\" to show that it's what you're eating\n- If you're watching a movie in a cafe, you tack で onto the word \"cafe\" to show that it's the location where you're watching the movie\n\nThere are a lot of particles and they do a bunch of different things, but they all have the same goal: specify the grammatical function that a word (or phrase) is playing in a specific sentence.\n\n## The basics of に (ni), specifically\n\nI'm not going to lie: it's a bit difficult to concisely explain the purpose of に (ni) because it does a ton of different things.\n\nLike eleven things, to be exact.\n\n_Eleven_.\n\n(Perhaps even a few more.)\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-ni-omg.gif\" width=\"960\" height=\"674\" alt=\"A man staring in absolute shock at the fact that the Japanese particle に (ni) has so many use cases\" \u002F>\n\nBut what all those usages have in common is that they show some sort of direction:\n\n- It may be a literal direction, as in saying you're going _to_ a certain place\n- It may be a social direction, as in saying that you received something _from_ someone\n- It may be a philosophical direction, as in saying something has changed from state A to state B\n- It may be a rhetorical direction, as in pointing out the cause of something\n- ... and then it does a couple of seemingly unrelated things, too\n\n> We're going to do our best to be exhaustive in this article, but if you're new to Japanese and this is the first time you're learning about the particle に (ni), it's enough to know that it has something to do with direction. The first few usages listed are super common, while the later ones are a bit rarer.\n\n---\n\n## 1. Use に (ni) to mark destinations\n\nThe most basic usage of に (ni) is to indicate a destination—to say that you're going somewhere:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"買い物[かいもの] を 済[す,すませる]ませて{、}家[いえ]に 帰[かえ,かえる]った{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> (I) finished shopping and then went (returned) home.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"弟[おとうと] は 学校[がっこう] に 行[い,いく]った{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> My younger brother went to school.\n\nIf you're the one moving something, you can also use に (ni) to show where you're moving it to:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"ゴミ箱[ごみばこ] に ゴミ[ごみ] を 捨[す,すてる]てた{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> (I) threw the garbage in the trash can.\n\nThen, if you really want to split hairs:\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"Comparing に (ni) vs へ (he)\">\n\nWe talk about this in more detail in [our deep dive into Japanese particles](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles-guide#common-sources-of-confusion).\n\nWhile に (ni) and へ (he) are interchangeable when talking about motion (and only about motion—not any of the other usages we're about to discuss), there is an important difference in nuance:\n\n- に (ni) shows a _destination_\n- へ (he) shows a _direction_\n\nSo if we compare:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし] は 東京[とうきょう] に 行[い]く\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>。\u003Cbr> I'm going _to_ Tokyo.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし] は 東京[とうきょう] へ 行[い]く\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>。\u003Cbr> I'm going _toward_ Tokyo.\n\nThey're often interchangeable because arriving to Tokyo necessarily means that you were also headed in the direction of Tokyo, but not always interchangeable because heading toward Tokyo doesn't mean that you'll arrive to Tokyo.\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"Comparing に (ni) vs で (de)\">\n\nWe talk about this in more detail in [our deep dive into Japanese particles](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles-guide#common-sources-of-confusion).\n\nWhile both に (ni) and で (de) are related to locations, they are never interchangeable and have a very important difference in nuance:\n\n- に (ni) shows a destination—the place you're going to\n- で (de) shows a location—the place where you're doing something\n\nSo if we take the example sentence from above:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし] は 東京[とうきょう] に 行[い]く\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>。\u003Cbr> I'm going _to_ Tokyo.\n\nAnd then try to swap the に (ni) out with で (de), we can't do that unless we also change the verb:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし] は 東京[とうきょう] で{（}何[なに] か を する{）}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>。\u003Cbr> I'm (doing something) in Tokyo.\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"Use に (ni) to show the purpose of movement\">\n\nYou can take the root form of a verb, attach に (ni) to it, and then attach a verb of motion to に　(ni) to say that you are going\u002Fcoming\u002Fetc. to do something:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"おにぎり を 買[か,かう]い に 行[ゆ,ゆく]きます{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> I'm going (out) to buy a rice ball.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"流れ星[ながれぼし] を 見[み,みる]に 行[い]こう{！}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> Let's go to see the shooting star!\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n## 2. Use に (ni) to show existence or presence\n\nIf you're talking about a location, you're usually going to mark that location with で (de) because the particle で (de) is used to show where an action takes place. However, if you're talking about the existence or presence of something, you'll use に (ni).\n\nSometimes, you'll be _literally_ talking about existence:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"あんな もの が この 世界[せかい] に 存在[そんざい] し[,する]て いる はず が ない{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> That sort of thing should not exist in this world.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"そんな 想[おも]い が{、}私[わたし] の 心[こころ] の 中[なか] に ひっそり と 存在[そんざい] し[,する]て い[,いる]た{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> Such feelings did exist, quietly, within my heart.\n\nBut oftentimes you'll be talking about where something _is_, or is located:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし] は 今[いま] 東京[とうきょう] に いる{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> I am in Tokyo now.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"テーブル[てーぶる] の 上[うえ] に 本[ほん] が ある{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> There is a book on the table.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Note\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\n>\n> When you're talking about the existence of something animate, like a person or animal, use いる. When you're talking about the existence of an inanimate object, like a book or flower, use ある.\n\nOther times, you might use a variety of verbs which show that something has come into existence, such as to appear or emerge:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"庭[にわ] に キノコ[きのこ] が 生[は,はえる]えて き[,くる]た{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> Mushrooms have sprouted up in the garden.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"{『}言[い]う は 易[やす,やすい]く 行[おこな]う は 難[かた,かたい]し{』}という 言葉[ことば] が 頭[あたま] に 浮[う,うかぶ]かん だ{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> The phrase \"easier said than done\" came to mind _(lit: emerged in my head)_.\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"Use に (ni) with ある\u002Fいる to show possession\">\n\nTo say that one thing belongs or pertains to another thing in Japanese, you'll often see a structure similar to the one discussed above—literally saying that thing A exists in\u002Fon\u002Fat thing B. Additionally, you'll often see は (wa) paired with に (ni) in this case, yielding には (niwa). Sometimes は (wa) will even replaces に (ni) entirely.\n\nA few examples:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"車[くるま] に は タイヤ が 四つ[よっつ] ある{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> A car has four tires.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし] に は 夢[ゆめ] が ある{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> I have a dream.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"彼女[かのじょ] は 息子[むすこ] が二人[ふたり] いる{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> She has two sons.\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n## 3. に (ni) to specify a point in time when something takes place\n\nUse に (ni) in order to indicate when something takes place—whether it's a time, day, or event\u002Fholiday:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし] は{7}時[じ]に 起[お,おきる]き{、10}時[じ]に 寝[ね]る\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> I wake up at 7 and go to bed at 10.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"{2024}の{12}月[がつ]{30}に この ブログ 記事[きじ] を 書[か,かく;]いた{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> I wrote this blog article on December 30th, 2024.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"日本[にほん] で は クリスマスに{、}七面鳥[しちめんちょう] で は なく[,ない]て 鶏肉[とりにく] を 食[た,たべる]べる{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> On Christmas in Japan, (they) eat chicken instead of turkey.\n\n_(No, really, that wasn't just an example sentence. In Japan, Christmas means KFC.)_\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F5QUOVvQo_nk?si=ZnZkbtwy1-3zlxM9\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"... but sometimes に can be omitted\">\n\nYou'll sometimes see sentences that mention a time but _don't_ use に (ni).\n\nThat's a bit beyond the scope of this article, so we're not going to devote too much time to it, but this generally occurs when:\n\n- You're using words that talk about time in a relative sense (\"yesterday\" refers to a different date on every single day—the same is true for words like today, tomorrow, last\u002Fnext week\u002Fmonth\u002Fyear\"!)\n- You're using certain words or phrases, such as \"each morning\" or \"every day\"\n- You're talking very casually or informally, in which case many particles become somewhat optional\n\nBut don't worry about this too much for now! As you spend more time interacting with Japanese, you'll naturally come to learn the times when you should omit に (ni) from your sentence.\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n## 4. Use に (ni) to indicate the recipient of an action\n\nIn another article, we talked about [the particle を (wo), which indicates the direct object of a sentence](https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku.com\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particle-wo-direct-object)—what you are doing an action to. The particle に (ni) complements を (wo) by showing who the intended recipient of that action is.\n\nThis enables you to take sentences like:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"ボール を 蹴[け,ける]りました{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> I kicked the ball.\n\nAnd give them a direction:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"友達[ともだち] に ボール を 蹴[け,ける]りました{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> I kicked the ball to a friend.\n\nAnd here's a few more examples:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"この 後[あと]、 友達[ともだち] に 会[あ]う{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> I'm going to meet a friend after this.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"田中[たなか] くん の 意見[いけん] に 賛成[さんせい] する{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> I agree with Tanaka's opinion.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"選手[せんしゅ] に サイン を 頼[たの,たのむ]ん だ{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> I asked for the athlete's signature.\n\n## 5. Use に (ni) to show the result of a change\n\nWhen you want to say that one thing changes into another thing, you'll use に (ni) to indicate the of that change. In other words if something changes from state A to state B, then you'll use に (ni) to mark thing B.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"氷[こおり] が 水[みず] に なった{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> The ice became water.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"疑惑[ぎわく] が 確信[かくしん] に 変[か,かわる]わった 瞬間[しゅんかん] だっ[,だっ]た{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> It was the moment when doubt became certainty.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"彼[かれ] は 先生[せんせい] に なっ[,なる]た{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>He became a teacher.\n\n## 6. Use に (ni) to indicate the cause of something\n\nUse use に (ni) to indicate the cause of the sentence's main verb:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"人[ひと] の 多[おお,おおい] さ に びっくり した{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> I was surprised by _(lit: due to)_ how many people were there.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"小麦[こむぎ] が 風[かぜ] に 揺[ゆ,ゆれる]れて いる{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>The wheat is swaying in _(because of)_ the wind.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし] は今[いま]、お金[おかね] に 困[こま,こまる]って いる{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> I'm having some financial difficulties _(lit: troubled because of money)_ at the moment.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-particle-ni-bernie.jpeg\" width=\"1477\" height=\"831\" alt=\"A photo of Bernie Sanders, once again responding to the financial difficulties posed by our example sentence.\"\u002F>\n\n## 7. Use に (ni) to reference a standard\n\nYou'll use に (ni) for a variety of statements in which you want to raise something up as a standard against which another thing is compared:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"あの 店[みせ] は 駅[えき]に 近[ちか]い{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> That store is near the station.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"スペイン語[すぺいんご] は イタリア 語[ご] に 少[すこ]し 似[に,にる]て いる{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> Spanish is a little like Italian.\n\nNote that you _don't_ need to use に (ni) if you're making a direct comparison between two things:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"ブラジル は 日本[にほん] より 大[おお]きい{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>Brazil is bigger than Japan.\n\n## 8. Use に (ni) to show the range within which a statement is valid\n\nWhen you're making a statement that isn't universal, you can use に (ni)—usually には (niwa)—to show what that statement applies to.\n\nFor example, we can take these universal statements:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"書[か]く こと は 難[むずか]しい{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> Writing is difficult.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"この 問題[もんだい] は 難[むずか,むずかしい]しくない{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> This problem is not difficult.\n\nAnd then limit them to something more narrow in scope:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"書[か]く こと は 私には[わたしには] 難[むずか]しい{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> Writing is difficult for me.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"この 問題[もんだい] は 私[わたし] に は 難[むずか,むずかしい]しくない{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> This problem is not difficult for me.\n\n## 9. Use に (ni) when making ratios or talking about the frequency with which something occurs\n\nWhen you make a ratio in Japanese, you use a specific structure:\n\n- Bigger number → に (ni) → smaller number\n\nThis is, as you can see below, exactly the opposite of what we do in English.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"{５}回[かい]に{１}回[かい] は 失敗[しっぱい] する{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> One of every five attempts fails.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"ハレー彗星[はれーすいせい] は{７６}年[ねん] に 一度[いちど] やってくる{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> Haley's comet comes once per 76 years.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"成人[せいじん] の 三[さん] 人[にん] に 一人[ひとり] は 運動不足[うんどうぶそく]{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> One in three adults doesn't get enough exercise.\n\n## 10. Use に (ni) to mark the person who does the action of a passive sentence\n\nIn English, we have two types of grammatical voices: passive and active.\n\n- Active: My younger sister ate the cake.\n- Pasive: The cake was eaten by my younger sister.\n\nAs you can see, the kicker and the kicked swap places in the passive sentence: the ball goes from the end of the sentence to the beginning of the sentence.\n\nSomething similar happens in Japanese:\n\n- [Active](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FActive_voice): \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"妹[いもうと] は ケーキ を 食[た,たべる]べた{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> My younger sister ate the cake.\n- [Passive](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FPassive_voice): \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"妹[いもうと] に ケーキ を 食[た,たべる]べられた{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> The cake was eaten by my younger sister.\n\nAs you can see, to turn an active sentence passive:\n\n- The cake-eater \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"妹[いもうと]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> went from being marked with は (wa) to に (ni)\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"食[た,たべる]べる\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> changed to a different verb form\n\nAn entire post could be devoted to Japanese passive voice constructions alone... but, for now, simply remember that the person doing the action—the person eating the cake or kicking the ball—is marked with に (ni) in passive sentences.\n\n## 11. Use に (ni) to show who was made\u002Fallowed to do something in causative sentences\n\nThe [causative form of verbs](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FCausative) is beyond the scope of this blog post, but to be very brief, causative sentences are sentences in which one person\u002Fthing causes another person\u002Fthing to do something. In causative sentences, use に (ni) to indicate which person is being made or allowed to do something. That's pretty straightforward.\n\nWhat makes the Japanese causative form confusing is that they have only one form, but we have two in English: _make_ and _let_. This can initially be difficult to wrap your mind around as make and let feel like very different things in English... but what matters is that, whether you have made or let someone do something, you are ultimately the reason they ended up doing that thing. You _caused_ that.\n\nSometimes it's obvious that one party is making the other party do something that they don't really want to do:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"先生[せんせい] は 学生[がくせい] に 宿題[しゅくだい] を たくさん さ[,する]せた{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> The teacher made the students do a lot of homework.\n\nBut sometimes you'll need to lean on context to decide whether someone is being allowed to do something they want to do or forced to do something they don't want to do:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"先生[せんせい] は 学生[がくせい] に 本[ほん] を 読[よ,よむ]ませた{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> The teacher made\u002Flet the student read a book.\n\nHere, it could really go both ways:\n\n- Maybe it's quiet time at the end of a class, and the teacher is _letting_ the student read a book for fun\u002Fto relax\n- Maybe the teacher is _making_ the student read the book as part of an assignment\n\nWithout additional context, it's impossible to say for sure which interpretation is correct.\n\nWhat's certain, though, is that the person being made\u002Fallowed to do something will be marked with the particle に (ni).\n\n## Do I really need to learn _eleven_ usages of に (ni)?\n\nYes and no.\n\nIf you look at the example sentences I've picked, you'll notice something: the \"different\" usages of に (ni) all occur with quite different types of words and in quite different types of sentences. For example:\n\n- When に (ni) refers to existence, it always appears with a verb that involve existence, such as ある or いる\n- When に (ni) refers to a change in state, it always occurs with a verb that somehow involves changing or becoming, such as なる\n- When に (ni) refers to the time at which something occurs, it always occurs with an word that is related to time\n\nThere were even a couple \"usages\" of に (ni) that I decided to skip, such as \"to indicate the contents of a container\", because they were super specific and literally only occurred with one or two specific verbs.\n\nSo, _no_—I don't think it's worth memorizing these usages one by one.\n\nAs you spend more time interacting with Japanese, and you see a wider variety of sentences that use に (ni) in a wider variety of ways, you'll gradually come to feel it—both how に (ni) works, and also the kinds of structures that it occurs in.\n\n## ... But what if I really want to learn Japanese grammar?\n\nLearning a language is actually a pretty straightforward process:\n\n1. Consume content (ideally content that you enjoy)\n2. Make sense of the messages within that content\n3. Repeat\n\nAs you repeat that process, you'll gradually build the unique skill set that _you_ need to do the things that you enjoy or find important.\n\nThe shocking failure of traditional approaches to teaching languages is that most learners never reach a point where they can kick off that effective learning loop.\n\nSo we built our own course.\n\nYou'll go back and forth between (a) concise, practical grammar lessons and (b) flashcards with sentences that reinforce those grammar points and introduce new vocabulary words. Below you can see how we cover the first usage of に (ni), for example\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-particle-ni-plug.jpeg\" width=\"1472\" height=\"1032\" alt=\"A few screenshots from Migaku's Japanese Academy demonstrating how the particle に (ni) is used\" \u002F>\n\nBut this isn't _just_ a slick looking course with a nice layout:\n\n- Each flashcard has been painstakingly curated such that each \"next\" card only contains a single vocab word or grammar point you don't know\n- The course is pretty lean, covering the specific ~300 grammar points and ~1,500 vocabulary words you need to make sense of ~80% of any Japanese media you happen to pick up\n\nSo you'll learn the key usages of に (ni) via a formal lesson, then reinforce it by seeing に (ni) used in practical sentences—then graduate from our course and begin seeing に (ni) used in real Japanese shows that you enjoy.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\nAnd if you're just starting out on your Japanese journey and aren't ready to think about grammar yet—we've got that covered, too.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-particle-ni-fundamentals.jpeg\" width=\"1484\" height=\"1030\" alt=\"A few screenshots from Migaku's Japanese Fundamentals course, showing how we introduce teach hirgana\" \u002F>\n\n---\n\n## Japanese particle に (ni) down, several more to go...\n\nThis page covers pretty much everything you might ever want to know about the particle に (ni), but if I were to pick the most important three to focus on:\n\n1. Use に (ni) to indicate a destination\n2. Use に (ni) to specify the recipient of an action\n3. Using に (ni) to indicate existence or presence\n\nNow go do something cool in Japanese 💪\n",{"title":24670,"description":25749},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particle-ni","BRnRu2GdlQTQaYzmeqr2_DKFNZpDYS96O7PxHXk48FM","December 30, 2024",{"id":25765,"title":25766,"body":25767,"description":27726,"extension":717,"meta":27727,"navigation":730,"path":27736,"rawbody":27737,"seo":27738,"stem":27739,"__hash__":27740,"timestampUnix":27728,"slug":27729,"h1":27730,"image":27731,"tags":27735,"_dir":736,"timestamp":27741},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particle-wa-vs-ga.md"," Japanese Particles は and が: Clear Examples and Essential Tips",{"type":8,"value":25768,"toc":27697},[25769,25772,25781,25794,25797,25799,25801,25803,25815,25819,25822,25916,25920,25931,25934,25945,25949,25960,25963,26080,26083,26086,26105,26108,26111,26128,26132,26135,26201,26204,26209,26213,26224,26227,26287,26290,26295,26301,26304,26307,26312,26315,26335,26338,26343,26348,26357,26361,26364,26372,26378,26381,26402,26408,26429,26435,26439,26442,26456,26462,26487,26493,26496,26501,26505,26514,26529,26532,26549,26552,26566,26570,26573,26576,26650,26660,26662,26666,26669,26688,26691,26695,26698,26706,26709,26711,26723,26730,26733,26745,26748,26765,26768,26785,26789,26795,26798,26868,26872,26875,26883,26886,26894,26897,26913,26916,26930,26933,26936,26976,26980,26983,26985,27002,27005,27028,27031,27048,27052,27059,27062,27094,27098,27104,27106,27138,27142,27145,27155,27159,27162,27165,27186,27189,27192,27208,27211,27232,27236,27239,27302,27306,27309,27317,27322,27325,27328,27333,27342,27348,27350,27411,27414,27437,27441,27444,27447,27491,27496,27500,27503,27506,27509,27539,27543,27546,27548,27587,27591,27594,27614,27629,27632,27638,27641,27644,27649,27652,27659,27662,27664,27670,27675,27679,27682,27688,27691],[11,25770,25771],{},"What's the difference between the Japanese particles は (wa) and が (ga)?",[11,25773,25774,25775,25780],{},"That's... somewhat hard to answer. A few linguists tried, and ",[15,25776,25779],{"href":25777,"rel":25778},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.co.jp\u002F%E3%80%8C%E3%81%AF%E3%80%8D%E3%81%A8%E3%80%8C%E3%81%8C%E3%80%8D-%E6%96%B0%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E6%96%87%E6%B3%95%E9%81%B8%E6%9B%B8-1-%E9%87%8E%E7%94%B0-%E5%B0%9A%E5%8F%B2\u002Fdp\u002F487424128X",[971],"they ended up writing an entire book",". It's a big topic, to say the least.",[320,25782,25783,25786],{},[11,25784,25785],{},"The two-second answer:",[304,25787,25788,25791],{},[307,25789,25790],{},"は (wa) marks what you're talking about, and can potentially affect several consecutive sentences",[307,25792,25793],{},"が (ga) marks the thing\u002Fperson doing a sentence's verb, and affects only the specific sentence it appears in",[11,25795,25796],{},"To give a more thorough answer than that, we're going to have to put on our goggles and go for a dive. We'll start off by laying some linguistic groundwork, see what Japanese people say about は (wa) vs が (ga), and then look at some practical examples.",[11,25798,4135],{},[39,25800],{},[42,25802],{},[320,25804,25805,25807,25809],{},[287,25806,24690],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[292,25808],{},[11,25810,1074,25811,1079,25813,415],{},[15,25812,1078],{"href":10726},[15,25814,1083],{"href":1082},[45,25816,25818],{"id":25817},"what-is-a-grammatical-particle","What is a grammatical particle?",[11,25820,25821],{},"If you're not sure what a grammatical particle is, then",[8421,25823,25825,25828,25841,25844,25855,25858,25900,25903,25908],{"heading":25824},"Click me",[11,25826,25827],{},"In English, we have these things called prepositions. They're little words that come before a direction or location. For example:",[304,25829,25830,25835],{},[307,25831,25832,25834],{},[2191,25833,16160],{}," Japan",[307,25836,25837,25840],{},[2191,25838,25839],{},"at"," Daiso",[11,25842,25843],{},"Particles are kind of like prepositions, with two notable differences:",[304,25845,25846,25852],{},[307,25847,25848,25849,25851],{},"Particles go ",[26,25850,24745],{}," the word they modify",[307,25853,25854],{},"Particles can mark much more than location",[11,25856,25857],{},"For example, here are two other Japanese particles we've explored in detail:",[304,25859,25860,25880],{},[307,25861,25862,25866,25867],{},[15,25863,25865],{"href":25864},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particle-ni","に (ni)"," indicates a destination\n",[304,25868,25869],{},[307,25870,25871,25874,25876,25877,10043],{},[98,25872],{"lang":100,"syntax":25873},"弟[おとうと] は \u003Cu>学校[がっこう] に\u003C\u002Fu> 行[い,いく]った{。}",[292,25875],{},"\n My younger brother went \n",[2191,25878,25879],{},"\nto school\n",[307,25881,25882,25886,25887],{},[15,25883,25885],{"href":25884},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particle-wo-direct-object","を (wo)"," marks the direct object of a sentence—the thing that's receiving the action described by the verb\n",[304,25888,25889],{},[307,25890,25891,25894,25896,25897,10043],{},[98,25892],{"lang":100,"syntax":25893},"学生[がくせい] は \u003Cu>日本語[にほんご] を\u003C\u002Fu> 勉強[べんきょう] しています{。}",[292,25895],{},"\n The students are studying \n",[2191,25898,25899],{},"\nJapanese\n",[11,25901,25902],{},"So, essentially:",[320,25904,25905],{},[11,25906,25907],{},"Japanese particles are little grammatical tags that get tacked onto the end of words\u002Fphrases in order to show the grammatical role those words\u002Fphrases are playing in a particular sentence.",[11,25909,25910],{},[26,25911,25912,25913,3892],{},"(If you want a more detailed explanation than this, check out ",[15,25914,25915],{"href":1986},"our master post on Japanese particles",[45,25917,25919],{"id":25918},"a-crash-course-into-the-basics-of-は-wa-and-が-ga","A crash course into the basics of は (wa) and が (ga)",[11,25921,25922,25923,25926,25927,25930],{},"If you want a super exhaustive look at all the different usages of は (wa) and が (ga), check out our ",[15,25924,25925],{"href":1986},"master post on Japanese particles",". We went ham. If that post was a book, it'd go ",[26,25928,25929],{},"thunk"," when you dropped it on a table.",[11,25932,25933],{},"Here, we're going to be more concise.",[11,25935,25936,25937,25940,25941,25944],{},"We're talking about the ",[26,25938,25939],{},"difference"," between は (wa) and が (ga), so instead of giving you a laundry list of ",[26,25942,25943],{},"alllllllll"," the stuff that each particle can do, we're going to focus on disambiguating them.",[847,25946,25948],{"id":25947},"the-purpose-of-が-ga","The purpose of が (ga)",[11,25950,25951,25952,25959],{},"In Japanese, が (ga) is what's called a ",[15,25953,25956],{"href":25954,"rel":25955},"https:\u002F\u002Fja.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002F%E5%8A%A9%E8%A9%9E#%E6%A0%BC%E5%8A%A9%E8%A9%9E",[971],[98,25957],{"lang":100,"syntax":25958},"各助詞[かくじょし]",", a \"case\" particle. Case particles attach to nouns (or noun phrases) in order to show the role they play in a sentence.",[11,25961,25962],{},"There are several different grammatical cases, but here's a few basic ones:",[67,25964,25965,25978],{},[70,25966,25967],{},[73,25968,25969,25972,25975],{},[76,25970,25971],{},"Grammatical case",[76,25973,25974],{},"Generally used to...",[76,25976,25977],{},"Example in a sentence",[87,25979,25980,26002,26031,26057],{},[73,25981,25982,25989,25992],{},[92,25983,25984],{},[15,25985,25988],{"href":25986,"rel":25987},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FNominative_case",[971],"Nominative case",[92,25990,25991],{},"Indicate which noun is the subject of a sentence",[92,25993,25994,25995,6933,25997,3892],{},"The thing doing a verb ",[292,25996],{},[26,25998,25999,26001],{},[2191,26000,6107],{}," gave a postcard to you in Kurashiki.",[73,26003,26004,26011,26019],{},[92,26005,26006],{},[15,26007,26010],{"href":26008,"rel":26009},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FAccusative_case",[971],"Accusative case",[92,26012,26013,26014],{},"Indicate which noun is ",[15,26015,26018],{"href":26016,"rel":26017},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.m.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FObject_(grammar)#Types",[971],"the direct object",[92,26020,26021,26022,6933,26024,3892],{},"The thing you do a verb \"to\" ",[292,26023],{},[26,26025,26026,26027,26030],{},"I gave ",[2191,26028,26029],{},"a postcard "," to you in Kurashiki.",[73,26032,26033,26040,26046],{},[92,26034,26035],{},[15,26036,26039],{"href":26037,"rel":26038},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FDative_case",[971],"Dative case",[92,26041,26013,26042],{},[15,26043,26045],{"href":26016,"rel":26044},[971],"the indirect object",[92,26047,26048,26049,6933,26051,3892],{},"The direction\u002Frecipient of an action ",[292,26050],{},[26,26052,26053,26054,26056],{},"I gave a postcard to ",[2191,26055,13558],{}," in Kurashiki.",[73,26058,26059,26066,26069],{},[92,26060,26061],{},[15,26062,26065],{"href":26063,"rel":26064},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FAdpositional_case",[971],"Prepositional case",[92,26067,26068],{},"Indicate where something takes place",[92,26070,26071,26072,6933,26074,3892],{},"In\u002Fat\u002Fon ... ",[292,26073],{},[26,26075,26076,26077,415],{},"I gave a postcard to you in ",[2191,26078,26079],{},"Kurashiki",[11,26081,26082],{},"Verbs are the lifeblood of Japanese sentences, and case markers show how a particular word or phrase in a sentence is related to the main verb of that sentence.",[11,26084,26085],{},"If we analyze the above example sentence from this \"how things are related to the verb\" perspective, we could say that:",[304,26087,26088],{},[307,26089,26090,26091],{},"The main verb is \"to give\"\n",[304,26092,26093,26096,26099,26102],{},[307,26094,26095],{},"\"I\" am the one who was doing the giving",[307,26097,26098],{},"\"The postcard\" is the thing that was given",[307,26100,26101],{},"\"You\" are the person that the thing was given to",[307,26103,26104],{},"\"Kurashiki\" is where the giving happened",[11,26106,26107],{},"Make sense yet? Kinda sorta?",[11,26109,26110],{},"We use these same cases in English, so they should make some intuitive sense to you. The difference is that English uses word order to show the case of words, whereas Japanese makes you use a particle to physically mark the case of each word or phrase.",[320,26112,26113,26116],{},[11,26114,26115],{},"The purpose of が (ga) is to mark the subject of a sentence's verb:",[304,26117,26118,26124],{},[307,26119,26120,26121,26123],{},"The thing that ",[26,26122,12250],{}," something",[307,26125,26120,26126,26123],{},[26,26127,25025],{},[3240,26129,26131],{"id":26130},"some-japanese-examples","Some Japanese examples",[11,26133,26134],{},"We've been in the world of theory for a while, so let's get hands on. Look through the following Japanese sentences and think about what が (ga) is doing in each one:",[304,26136,26137,26153,26169,26185],{},[307,26138,26139,26142,26144,26145],{},[98,26140],{"lang":100,"syntax":26141},"昔々[むかしむかし] ある ところ に おじいさん と おばあさん \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> い[,いる]ました{。}",[292,26143],{},"\nA long time ago, in a certain place, there was an old man and an old woman.\n",[304,26146,26147,26150],{},[307,26148,26149],{},"The verb of the sentence is いました, \"there was\", talking about the existence of something",[307,26151,26152],{},"The old man and old woman are the things that existed",[307,26154,26155,26158,26160,26161],{},[98,26156],{"lang":100,"syntax":26157},"月[つき] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> 綺麗[きれい] です ね",[292,26159],{},"\nThe moon is beautiful, isn't it?\n",[304,26162,26163,26166],{},[307,26164,26165],{},"The verb† of the sentence is 綺麗です (beautiful\u002Fto be beautiful)",[307,26167,26168],{},"The moon is the thing that is beautiful",[307,26170,26171,26174,26176,26177],{},[98,26172],{"lang":100,"syntax":26173},"先生[せんせい] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> 目[め] を 瞬[またた,またたく]き ながら わたし を 見[み,みる]た{。}",[292,26175],{},"\nThe teacher, blinking, looked at me.\n",[304,26178,26179,26182],{},[307,26180,26181],{},"The verb of the sentence is 見た (to look {at})",[307,26183,26184],{},"The teacher is the person doing the looking",[307,26186,26187,26190,26192,26193],{},[98,26188],{"lang":100,"syntax":26189},"その 言葉[ことば] を 聞[き,きく]いた 瞬間[しゅんかん]{、}頭[あたま] の 中[なか] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> 真っ白[まっしろ] に なっ[,なる]た{。}",[292,26191],{},"\nWhen I heard those words, my mind (head) went blank (white).\n",[304,26194,26195,26198],{},[307,26196,26197],{},"The verb of the sentence is なった (to become)",[307,26199,26200],{},"Your head\u002Fmind is the thing that underwent the change",[11,26202,26203],{},"This can get somewhat complex because there are different types of verbs and Japanese sometimes decides that something should function as a verb when English doesn't think so (†looking at \"beautiful\" up there in the second example sentence!), but this should hopefully be relatively straightforward.",[320,26205,26206],{},[11,26207,26208],{},"A verb belongs to a sentence, and が (ga) attaches to the thing that is, or is doing, that sentence's verb.",[847,26210,26212],{"id":26211},"the-purpose-of-は-wa","The purpose of は (wa)",[11,26214,26215,26216,26223],{},"In Japanese, は (wa) is what's called a ",[15,26217,26220],{"href":26218,"rel":26219},"https:\u002F\u002Fja.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002F%E5%8A%A9%E8%A9%9E#%E4%BF%82%E5%8A%A9%E8%A9%9E",[971],[98,26221],{"lang":100,"syntax":26222},"係助詞[かかりじょし]",", a \"binding\" particle. Binding particles \"bind\" to other words\u002Fparticles, \"garnishing\" them with some sort of additional nuance. The nuance added by は (wa) in particular is to promote something from being merely a word in a sentence to being the topic of a conversation.",[11,26225,26226],{},"That's clear as mud, so do me a favor and read this riveting dialogue:",[304,26228,26229,26237,26245,26252,26259,26266,26273,26280],{},[307,26230,26231,9768,26234],{},[22427,26232,26233],{},"Alex",[26,26235,26236],{},"Did you see Serena Williams yesterday!",[307,26238,26239,9768,26242],{},[22427,26240,26241],{},"Jamie",[26,26243,26244],{},"Yeah, she was incredible! That rally in the second set was insane.",[307,26246,26247,9768,26249],{},[22427,26248,26233],{},[26,26250,26251],{},"I know, right? The way she saved those break points was unbelievable.",[307,26253,26254,9768,26256],{},[22427,26255,26241],{},[26,26257,26258],{},"And her backhand down the line? Pure perfection.",[307,26260,26261,9768,26263],{},[22427,26262,26233],{},[26,26264,26265],{},"Totally. But I thought she might lose after dropping the third set.",[307,26267,26268,9768,26270],{},[22427,26269,26241],{},[26,26271,26272],{},"Same here, but she came back strong in the fourth. That tie-breaker was intense!",[307,26274,26275,9768,26277],{},[22427,26276,26233],{},[26,26278,26279],{},"It really was. I love how she kept her composure under pressure.",[307,26281,26282,9768,26284],{},[22427,26283,26241],{},[26,26285,26286],{},"Me too. She definitely deserved that win. What a player!",[11,26288,26289],{},"And now, the last piece of the puzzle you need to understand は (wa):",[320,26291,26292],{},[11,26293,26294],{},"What are Jamie and Alex talking about?",[11,26296,26297,26298,26300],{},"\"Serena Williams (tennis match) yesterday\" is the contextual backdrop that binds all eight of those sentences together. While it's only actually ",[26,26299,16160],{}," the first sentence, it is nevertheless an integral part of all of the other sentences—it's what connects them.",[11,26302,26303],{},"With this in mind, you might think of the topic as being \"above\" an individual sentence. It's kind of like a spotlight, or a billboard, or anything else you can imagine that \"focuses\" the conversation on something.",[11,26305,26306],{},"Or, simply put:",[320,26308,26309],{},[11,26310,26311],{},"The topic is what we're talking about.",[11,26313,26314],{},"And with that very simple definition in mind, look at these two Japanese sentences:",[304,26316,26317,26326],{},[307,26318,26319,26320,26323,26325],{},"A: ",[98,26321],{"lang":100,"syntax":26322},"お 寿司[すし] は 好[す]き です か",[292,26324],{},"Do (you) like sushi?",[307,26327,26328,26329,26332,26334],{},"B: ",[98,26330],{"lang":100,"syntax":26331},"うん{、}好[す]き です{。}",[292,26333],{}," Yes, (I) like. †",[11,26336,26337],{},"And ask yourself: Why doesn't the word \"お寿司\" need to be in the second sentence?",[11,26339,26340],{},[26,26341,26342],{},"It's because \"sushi\" has already been established as the topic of conversation!",[11,26344,11955,26345,26347],{},[26,26346,11492],{}," we're talking about sushi, and not pizza or raw spaghetti noodles, because お寿司 has been marked with the particle は. This took お寿司 from being merely an element one sentence—the thing that is related to 好きですか—and elevated it being the topic of the conversation—the context that ties a group of sentences together. It's thus already clear that the comment \"I like\" pertains to \"sushi\", so there's no need to redundantly mention \"sushi\" again.",[11,26349,26350],{},[26,26351,26352,26353,26356],{},"† While English requires us to point back to the topic by saying \"I like ",[2191,26354,26355],{},"it","\", Japanese makes no such imposition. The word \"it\" does not exist in the Japanese sentence. It literally just says \"I like\".",[3240,26358,26360],{"id":26359},"why-topicalization-causes-confusion","Why \"topicalization\" causes confusion",[11,26362,26363],{},"As we said up above, binding particles bind to other words\u002Fparticles: there was an original particle, which was doing its own thing, and then は \"binded\" to it, giving it some additional nuance.",[11,26365,26366,26367,26371],{},"Shown below (",[15,26368,16629],{"href":26369,"rel":26370},"https:\u002F\u002Fchasoblogjapan.com\u002Fhatoga\u002F",[971],"), this \"binding\" process has some important implications for Japanese grammar:",[50,26373],{"src":26374,"width":26375,"height":26376,"alt":26377},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-particles-wa-vs-ga-topicalization.jpeg",1676,996,"A chart showing what happens to different Japanese particles when they get particalized",[11,26379,26380],{},"What this chart is showing is how は \"binds\" to some of Japanese's case-marking particles:",[304,26382,26383,26386,26393],{},[307,26384,26385],{},"In most cases, は buddies up alongside the particle it binds to: when you topicalize に, you get には",[307,26387,26388,26389,26392],{},"With が and を, for whatever reason, は ",[26,26390,26391],{},"replaces"," the particle it binds to: topicalized が \"should\" become がは, but Japanese people actually just say は",[307,26394,26395],{},[26,26396,26397,26398,3892],{},"(The zero particle is beyond the scope of this post, but you can read about it ",[15,26399,3756],{"href":26400,"rel":26401},"https:\u002F\u002Ftwpl.library.utoronto.ca\u002Findex.php\u002Ftwpl\u002Farticle\u002Fview\u002F6178\u002F3167",[971],[11,26403,26404,26405,26407],{},"And, if I had to guess, I'd say that ",[26,26406,23204],{}," is why people get confused about が (ga) and は (wa):",[344,26409,26410,26418],{},[307,26411,26412,26413,26417],{},"When you see は, sometimes it is \"actually\" ",[26414,26415,26416],"del",{},"が","は—a topicalized subject marker",[307,26419,26420,26421],{},"In this case, there are two jobs being done:\n",[304,26422,26423,26426],{},[307,26424,26425],{},"The invisible が is still carrying out its original function of saying \"that word is the subject of this sentence\"",[307,26427,26428],{},"The visible は is adding nuance, saying \"that word is also the topic of the conversation that this sentence is contributing to\"",[11,26430,26431,26432,26434],{},"So は is ",[26,26433,10642],{}," marking a subject... but it looks like it is, because the が it's attached to is invisible.",[45,26436,26438],{"id":26437},"the-key-difference-between-は-wa-and-basically-every-other-particle-including-が-ga","The key difference between は (wa) and basically every other particle, including が (ga)",[11,26440,26441],{},"However technical we might get, and however many example sentences we might give, all of the differences between は (wa) and が (ga) basically boil down to one thing:",[304,26443,26444,26450],{},[307,26445,26446,26447],{},"が (ga) is a ",[1090,26448,26449],{},"case-marking particle",[307,26451,26452,26453],{},"は (wa) is a ",[1090,26454,26455],{},"binding particle",[11,26457,26458,26459,26461],{},"This is ",[26,26460,668],{}," important. は (wa) and が (ga) are both particles, but they are used for very different reasons:",[304,26463,26464,26473],{},[307,26465,26466,26469,26470],{},[1090,26467,26468],{},"Case-marking particles"," simply specify the role that a particular word or phrase plays within a sentence: when marking a word with が (ga), you're acknowledging\u002Fclarifying that ",[26,26471,26472],{},"this is the thing that does, or is, the sentence's verb",[307,26474,26475,26478,26479],{},[1090,26476,26477],{},"Binding particles"," have less to do with the grammatical nuts and bolts of a specific sentence and more to do with the speaker's perspective of that sentence: when marking a word は (wa), you're saying that ",[26,26480,26481,26483,26484,26486],{},[2191,26482,23204],{}," is the bigger topic at hand—this sentence, and perhaps the previous one or the next few, should be seen as being a comment on ",[2191,26485,23204],{}," thing",[11,26488,26489,26490,26492],{},"Whereas you can choose what is going to be the topic of conversation, you ",[26,26491,17691],{}," choose who did or was something. Imagine that you're working behind the scenes for a theatre production: You can choose where to aim the spotlight, but you can't choose which actor is eating a cake.",[11,26494,26495],{},"In other words:",[320,26497,26498],{},[287,26499,26500],{},"\n が (ga) is a simple label. は (wa) is an intentional promotion. \n",[847,26502,26504],{"id":26503},"putting-subjects-and-topics-together","Putting subjects and topics together",[11,26506,26507,26508,26510,26511,26513],{},"The last piece of the puzzle is that the topic and subject of a sentence ",[26,26509,1150],{}," overlap, but they don't ",[26,26512,23037],{}," to:",[304,26515,26516,26519],{},[307,26517,26518],{},"If two people are talking about John Travolta, then they're naturally going to make many sentences in which John Travolta is the subject.",[307,26520,26521,26522,26525,26526],{},"A sentence can still be understood to be related to John Travolta, even if he isn't the subject of the sentence: in this conversation, ",[26,26523,26524],{},"I just don't like that kind of movie"," would be understood to mean ",[26,26527,26528],{},"I don't like the kind of movie that John Travolta stars in",[11,26530,26531],{},"To put all that together, consider this sentence:",[304,26533,26534],{},[307,26535,26536,26539,26541],{},[98,26537],{"lang":100,"syntax":26538},"キリン は 首[くび] が 長[なが]い です{。}",[292,26540],{},[304,26542,26543,26546],{},[307,26544,26545],{},"は (wa) is attached to キリン (giraffe), indicating that we are talking about giraffes",[307,26547,26548],{},"が (ga) is attached to 首 (neck), indicating that necks are the thing that is 長いです (long)",[11,26550,26551],{},"As such, you might translate this sentence in a few ways, ranging from more literal to more natural:",[304,26553,26554,26557,26560,26563],{},[307,26555,26556],{},"Giraffes—necks are long",[307,26558,26559],{},"Giraffes? Their necks are long.",[307,26561,26562],{},"As for giraffes, they have long necks.",[307,26564,26565],{},"Giraffes have long necks.",[847,26567,26569],{"id":26568},"and-now-a-kind-of-ridiculous-side-by-side-of-topics-and-everything-else","And now a kind of ridiculous side-by-side of \"topics\" and \"everything else\"",[11,26571,26572],{},"Imagine that you're playing some party game where there are a bunch of people standing in a circle, and they take turns running into the middle of a circle, writing something on a whiteboard, and then holding the white board up. Everybody looks to see what is written and then writes whatever the first thing that comes to their mind is.",[11,26574,26575],{},"Here's my depiction of such a scene:",[304,26577,26578],{},[307,26579,26580,26583,26585,26586],{},[98,26581],{"lang":100,"syntax":26582},"キリン は・・・",[292,26584],{},"\nThe person in our proverbial party game writes \"giraffe\" on a whiteboard and holds it up high, for everyone to see. The other party goers say:\n",[304,26587,26588,26597,26606,26615,26624],{},[307,26589,26590,26591,26594,26596],{},"Person A → ",[98,26592],{"lang":100,"syntax":26593},"首[くび] が 長[なが]い {。}",[292,26595],{},"Necks are long",[307,26598,26599,26600,26603,26605],{},"Person B → ",[98,26601],{"lang":100,"syntax":26602},"背[せ] が 高[たか]い {。}",[292,26604],{},"Height is tall",[307,26607,26608,26609,26612,26614],{},"Person C → ",[98,26610],{"lang":100,"syntax":26611},"高[たか]い 木の葉[きのは] を 食[た]べる{。}",[292,26613],{},"Eat leaves from tall trees",[307,26616,26617,26618,26621,26623],{},"Person D → ",[98,26619],{"lang":100,"syntax":26620},"1[いち] 日[にち] に 4[よん]～ 6[ろく] 時間[じかん] しか 寝[ね,ねる]ない{。}",[292,26622],{},"Only sleep for 4–6 hours per day",[307,26625,26626,26627,26630,26632,26633,26635],{},"Person E → ",[98,26628],{"lang":100,"syntax":26629},"食[た,たべる]べた ことが ない{。}",[292,26631],{},"(I) haven't eaten (one) before",[292,26634],{},[26,26636,26637,26638,26640,26641,26644,26645,26640,26647,26649],{},"(Note: In the first four sentences, there was an implicit ",[26414,26639,26416],{},"は (",[26414,26642,26643],{},"ga","wa); in this sentence, there is an implicit ",[26414,26646,2232],{},[26414,26648,7860],{},"wa))",[11,26651,26652,26653,26656,26657,26659],{},"The word ",[26,26654,26655],{},"giraffe"," (キリン) isn't in any of those sentences, but all of them are ",[26,26658,19105],{}," giraffes. That's the power of は (wa).",[42,26661],{},[45,26663,26665],{"id":26664},"when-to-use-は-wa-in-a-sentence","When to use は (wa) in a sentence",[11,26667,26668],{},"While there are certain phrases and grammar points that use は (wa), there are six main situations in which you can meaningfully choose to use は (wa) over が (ga) in a sentence.",[11,26670,26671,26672,3808,26677,6058,26682,26687],{},"I've condensed this section from about a dozen different Japanese resources, but three most helpful ones were ",[15,26673,26676],{"href":26674,"rel":26675},"https:\u002F\u002Fcore.ac.uk\u002Fdownload\u002Fpdf\u002F234726762.pdf",[971],"this textbook for Japanese teachers",[15,26678,26681],{"href":26679,"rel":26680},"https:\u002F\u002Fhermes-ir.lib.hit-u.ac.jp\u002Fhermes\u002Fir\u002Fre\u002F71055\u002Fgengo0057000250.pdf",[971],"this research paper",[15,26683,26686],{"href":26684,"rel":26685},"https:\u002F\u002Fsoar-ir.repo.nii.ac.jp\u002Frecord\u002F16271\u002Ffiles\u002FInternationalStudent03-04.pdf",[971],"this handout from Shinshuu university"," (will auto download a .pdf!). If you're at an ~intermediate level of Japanese, feel free to go through them! They're wonderful.",[11,26689,26690],{},"You'll notice that some of these categories overlap, or that you could seemingly justifiably choose both が (ga) and は (wa) in some sentences. This isn't a clear-cut science: が (ga) or は (wa) can often both correctly complete a sentence, they just bring a different nuance.",[847,26692,26694],{"id":26693},"use-は-wa-to-reference-already-mentioned-information","Use は (wa) to reference already-mentioned information",[11,26696,26697],{},"As a native English speaker, this one will be intuitive for you. We have the exact same rule with \"a\" and \"the\":",[304,26699,26700,26703],{},[307,26701,26702],{},"Use \"a\" to introduce new information into a conversation",[307,26704,26705],{},"Use \"the\" to point back to information that you have already mentioned, or that you know the other party is aware of",[11,26707,26708],{},"In the exact same way as \"the\", the particle は (wa) is used in Japanese to refer back to things you have already mentioned.",[11,26710,13595],{},[304,26712,26713],{},[307,26714,26715,26718,26720,26722],{},[98,26716],{"lang":100,"syntax":26717},"昔々[むかしむかし]{、}おじいさん と おばあさん\u003Cstrong>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>おっ[,おる]た{。}おじいさん \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 山[やま] へ 芝[しば] 刈[が]り に{、}おばあさん\u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong>川[かわ] へ 洗濯[せんたく] に 行[い,いく]った{。}",[292,26719],{},[292,26721],{},"\n\n\nOnce upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman. The old man went to the mountains to cut firewood, and the old woman went to the river to do the laundry.\n",[11,26724,26725,26726,26729],{},"Notice how は (wa) is not used until the ",[26,26727,26728],{},"second"," sentence. Once we've established that the old man and woman exist, we can then begin using は (wa) to refer to them.",[11,26731,26732],{},"Here's one more sentence that demonstrates the same logic:",[304,26734,26735],{},[307,26736,26737,26740,26742,26744],{},[98,26738],{"lang":100,"syntax":26739},"家[いえ] に 帰[かえ,かえる]ったら クマ \u003Cstrong>が\u003C\u002Fstrong> い[,いる]た{。}あの クマ \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> {（}私[わたし] の{）}晩御飯[ばんごはん] を 食[た,たべる]べて い[,いる]た{。}",[292,26741],{},[292,26743],{},"\n\n\nWhen I returned home, there was a bear. The bear was eating my dinner.\n",[11,26746,26747],{},"Or, to phrase this a bit differently, consider this sentence:",[304,26749,26750],{},[307,26751,26752,26755,26757,26759,26760,26762,26764],{},[98,26753],{"lang":100,"syntax":26754},"サミ \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 先生[せんせい] です{。}",[292,26756],{},[292,26758],{},"\n\n\nSami is a teacher. \n",[292,26761],{},[292,26763],{},"\n\n\n→ The decision to use は (wa) here indicates that you believe the listener is aware who Sami is—in other words, you're making a comment about \"old\" information\n",[11,26766,26767],{},"Similarly, you'll use は to make statements of common sense or everyday knowledge: stuff that is (or should presumably be) \"old\" information for everybody:",[304,26769,26770],{},[307,26771,26772,26775,26777,26779,26780,26782,26784],{},[98,26773],{"lang":100,"syntax":26774},"空[そら] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 青[あお,あおい]くて{、}雲[くも] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 白[しろ]い{。}",[292,26776],{},[292,26778],{},"\n\n\nThe sky is blue, and clouds are white. \n",[292,26781],{},[292,26783],{},"\n\n\n→ The choice to use は (wa) here indicates that you don't think you are introducing any new information to the conversation—everybody knows that the sky is blue\n",[847,26786,26788],{"id":26787},"use-は-wa-when-making-judgments","Use は (wa) when making judgments",[11,26790,26791,26792,26794],{},"If you encounter (see, hear, feel, etc.) something and cast judgment upon it or somehow interpret it, use the particle は (wa) to introduce these judgments. While the word \"judgment\" is somewhat strong in English, the point here is just that the statement you are making is somehow rooted in your own subjective perspective—what you've just said may ",[26,26793,10642],{}," be true from someone else's perspective.",[11,26796,26797],{},"Notice how the following statements are all things that you could disagree with:",[304,26799,26800,26815,26830,26849],{},[307,26801,26802,369,26805,26807,26809,26810,26812,26814],{},[98,26803],{"lang":100,"syntax":26804},"あの 桜[さくら]\u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong>とても きれい だ{。}",[292,26806],{},[292,26808],{},"\n\n\nThat sakura tree is very pretty. \n",[292,26811],{},[292,26813],{},"\n\n\n→ \"Pretty\" is a subjective judgment; you're giving your opinion.\n",[307,26816,26817,369,26820,26822,26824,26825,26827,26829],{},[98,26818],{"lang":100,"syntax":26819},"納豆[なっとう] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 苦手[にがて] だ{。}",[292,26821],{},[292,26823],{},"\n\n\nI'm not a fan of natto. \n",[292,26826],{},[292,26828],{},"\n\n\n→ As hard as it may be to believe, there are people out there who like natto.\n",[307,26831,26832,369,26835,26837,26839,26840,26842,26844,26845,26848],{},[98,26833],{"lang":100,"syntax":26834},"ここ の 電車[でんしゃ] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> いつも 遅[おく]れる{。}",[292,26836],{},[292,26838],{},"\n\n\nThis train is always late. \n",[292,26841],{},[292,26843],{},"\n\n\n→ Naturally, the train isn't \n",[26,26846,26847],{},"always","\n late. Hyperbolism is subjective! Another person may find that the bus is generally on time.\n",[307,26850,26851,369,26854,26856,26858,26859,26862,26863,26865,26867],{},[98,26852],{"lang":100,"syntax":26853},"子[こ]ども \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 泣[な]く もの だ{。}",[292,26855],{},[292,26857],{},"\n\n\nChildren cry \n",[26,26860,26861],{},"(it's natural that children cry\u002Fchildren are supposed to cry)","\n. \n",[292,26864],{},[292,26866],{},"\n\n\n→ From this person's perspective, it isn't surprising that a child should cry: they're saying that it is in a child's nature to cry. Anyway, this is a statement you can disagree with.\n",[847,26869,26871],{"id":26870},"use-は-wa-to-introduce-contrast-into-a-statement","Use は (wa) to introduce contrast into a statement",[11,26873,26874],{},"Look at this sentence for a second, and think about how you'd interpret it:",[304,26876,26877],{},[307,26878,26879,26880,415],{},"I didn't tell ",[26,26881,26882],{},"him",[11,26884,26885],{},"This sentence is really saying two things:",[344,26887,26888,26891],{},[307,26889,26890],{},"I didn't tell that man",[307,26892,26893],{},"I did\u002Fmay have told someone else",[11,26895,26896],{},"In linguistics, this is called contrast—and, in Japanese, you use は (wa) to imbue a sentence with this kind of contrast.",[304,26898,26899],{},[307,26900,26901,369,26904,26906,26908,26909,26862,26911],{},[98,26902],{"lang":100,"syntax":26903},"彼[かれ] に \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 言[い,いう]わなかった。",[292,26905],{},[292,26907],{},"\n\n\nI didn't tell \n",[26,26910,26882],{},[292,26912],{},[11,26914,26915],{},"The reason for this contrast becomes a bit more clear when we see the other half of this kind of sentence:",[304,26917,26918],{},[307,26919,26920,369,26923,26925,26927,26928],{},[98,26921],{"lang":100,"syntax":26922},"私[わたし] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 猫[ねこ] が 好[す]き だ が{、}弟[おとうと] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 好[す]き じゃ[,じゃ]ない{。}",[292,26924],{},[292,26926],{},"\n\n\nI like cats, but my younger brother doesn't. \n",[292,26929],{},[11,26931,26932],{},"So, as you can see here, we've first established ourselves as the topic and made a comment that applies to ourselves, then quickly changed the topic to something else and made the inverse of the same comment.",[11,26934,26935],{},"Here's two more examples, just for good measure:",[304,26937,26938,26953],{},[307,26939,26940,369,26943,26945,26947,26948,26950,26952],{},[98,26941],{"lang":100,"syntax":26942},"ひらがな \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 書[か,かける]けます が{、}漢字[かんじ] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 書[か,かける]けません{。}",[292,26944],{},[292,26946],{},"\n\n\nI can write hiragana, but not kanji. \n",[292,26949],{},[292,26951],{},"\n\n\n→ You can't see it, but the subject is the same in each clause—it's the same person doing the writing—only the object has changed.\n",[307,26954,26955,369,26958,26960,26961,26964,26965,26967,26969,26970,26972,26973,26975],{},[98,26956],{"lang":100,"syntax":26957},"コーヒー \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 嫌[きら]い だ{。}",[292,26959],{},"(I) don't like ",[26,26962,26963],{},"coffee",". ",[292,26966],{},[292,26968],{},"\n→ Just like in that first sentence above, the nuance here isn't ",[26,26971,600],{}," that you don't like coffee. It's more that while you don't like coffee, there's something else available (such as tea or milk or soda) that you ",[26,26974,10834],{}," like.",[847,26977,26979],{"id":26978},"use-は-wa-to-note-a-characteristic-of-something","Use は (wa) to note a characteristic of something",[11,26981,26982],{},"When you are saying that one thing is a characteristic, attribute, or part of another thing, use は (wa) to connect the owner and attribute. The definition of \"owner\" and \"attribute\" is quite loose, but what we mean here is in situations like \"all thumbs are fingers, but not all fingers are thumbs\"—where A=B is true, but B=A is not necessarily true.",[11,26984,13595],{},[304,26986,26987],{},[307,26988,26989,369,26992,26994,26996,26997,26999,27001],{},[98,26990],{"lang":100,"syntax":26991},"サミ \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> アメリカ人[あめりかじん] だ{。}",[292,26993],{},[292,26995],{},"\n\n\nSami is American. \n",[292,26998],{},[292,27000],{},"\n\n\n→ Importantly, this is a one-way relationship. It's not true that, if there is an American, then they are inevitably Sami. There are more Americans than just Sami.\n",[11,27003,27004],{},"The same thing goes for talking about qualities of people:",[304,27006,27007],{},[307,27008,27009,369,27012,27014,27016,27017,27019,27021,27022,27027],{},[98,27010],{"lang":100,"syntax":27011},"中島[なかしま] 美[み] 嘉[か] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 格好[かっこう]いい {。}",[292,27013],{},[292,27015],{},"\n\n\nMika Nakashima is cool. \n",[292,27018],{},[292,27020],{},"\n\n\n→ While \n",[15,27023,27026],{"href":27024,"rel":27025},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=AabAbM_Lmuo",[971],"Mika Nakashima is cool","\n, she does not have a monopoly on cool-ness. There are other cool people.\n",[11,27029,27030],{},"And here's an example of using は (wa) to explain a category:",[304,27032,27033],{},[307,27034,27035,369,27038,27040,27042,27043,27045,27047],{},[98,27036],{"lang":100,"syntax":27037},"コーギー \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 犬[いぬ] です{。}",[292,27039],{},[292,27041],{},"\n\n\nA corgi is a (type of) dog. \n",[292,27044],{},[292,27046],{},"\n\n\n→ This one might be a bit less intuitive. While it's always true that a corgi is a dog, it isn't always true that if you see a dog it will be a corgi.\n",[847,27049,27051],{"id":27050},"use-は-wa-to-introduce-something-that-applies-to-the-entire-sentence","Use は (wa) to introduce something that applies to the entire sentence",[11,27053,27054,27055,27058],{},"Like most things in life, sentences can come in simpler or more complex forms. When sentences get complex enough to contain multiple parts, we describe them as having ",[26,27056,27057],{},"clauses",": the \"main\" clause is the part of the sentence that could be cut off and turned into an independent sentence, while the the \"subordinate\" clause is the part of the sentence that would no longer be a complete sentence if cut off and left by itself.",[11,27060,27061],{},"Anyway—attach は (wa) to the thing in the beginning of the sentence that is related to the sentence's verb.",[304,27063,27064,27079],{},[307,27065,27066,369,27069,27071,27073,27074,27076,27078],{},[98,27067],{"lang":100,"syntax":27068},"昨日[きのう] 彼女[かのじょ] が 作[つく,つくる]った ケーキ\u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong>{、}とても おいしかった{。}",[292,27070],{},[292,27072],{},"\n\n\nThe cake that the woman made yesterday was very delicious. \n",[292,27075],{},[292,27077],{},"\n\n\n→ The cake is the thing that was very delicious, so it gets marked with は (wa). The sentence would still make sense if you entirely deleted \"彼女が作った\" .\n",[307,27080,27081,27084,27086,27088,27089,27091,27093],{},[98,27082],{"lang":100,"syntax":27083},"彼[かれ] が うち に 来[き,くる]た とき{、}私[わたし] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> 出[で,でかける]かけて い[,いる]た{。}",[292,27085],{},[292,27087],{},"\n\n\nWhen he came to our place, I had already gone out. \n",[292,27090],{},[292,27092],{},"\n\n\n→ The point of the sentence is that the speaker had already left their house. \"When he came to our place\" provides more detailed information, but you could delete it and the sentence would still make sense.\n",[847,27095,27097],{"id":27096},"use-は-wa-to-make-negative-notdont-___-statements","Use は (wa) to make negative (\"not\u002Fdon't ___\") statements",[11,27099,27100,27101],{},"While there are a number of exceptions to this, especially in more complex sentences, you'll generally use は (wa) with negative sentences. ",[26,27102,27103],{},"(Note: \"negative\" not as in \"bad\", but as in \"is not\" or \"does not\".)",[11,27105,25086],{},[304,27107,27108,27118,27128],{},[307,27109,27110,27113,27115,27117],{},[98,27111],{"lang":100,"syntax":27112},"私[わたし] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> 知[し,しる]りません{。}",[292,27114],{},[292,27116],{},"\n\n\nI don't know.\n",[307,27119,27120,27123,27125,27127],{},[98,27121],{"lang":100,"syntax":27122},"コーヒー \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> 飲[の,のむ]みません{。}",[292,27124],{},[292,27126],{},"\n\n\nI don't drink coffee.\n",[307,27129,27130,27133,27135,27137],{},[98,27131],{"lang":100,"syntax":27132},"残念[ざんねん] ながら{、}お茶[おちゃ] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> あり[,ある]ません{。}",[292,27134],{},[292,27136],{},"\n\n\nUnfortunately, there is no tea.\n",[45,27139,27141],{"id":27140},"when-to-use-が-ga-in-a-sentence","When to use が (ga) in a sentence",[11,27143,27144],{},"Here are six situations where the decision to use が (ga) over は (wa) in a sentence is meaningful. These six points are all counterpoints to the above six points introduced for は (wa), so you may wish to review them in tandem.",[11,27146,27147,27148,27151,27152,415],{},"Again, note that the point of this article is ",[26,27149,27150],{},"specifically"," to contrast the usage of が (ga) and は (wa). For a thorough list of grammatical structures where が (ga) is used, refer to the が (ga) section of our ",[15,27153,25925],{"href":27154},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles-guide#the-case-particles-%E3%81%8C-%E3%81%AE-%E3%82%92-%E3%81%AB-%E3%81%B8-%E3%81%A8-%E3%81%A7-%E3%81%8B%E3%82%89-and-%E3%82%88%E3%82%8A",[847,27156,27158],{"id":27157},"use-が-ga-to-introduce-new-information-into-a-conversation","Use が (ga) to introduce new information into a conversation",[11,27160,27161],{},"In English, we use \"a\" to introduce new information into a conversation. In exactly the same way, Japanese uses が (ga) for this purpose.",[11,27163,27164],{},"Consider the same two example sentences from the は (wa) section above:",[304,27166,27167,27176],{},[307,27168,27169,27172,27174,26722],{},[98,27170],{"lang":100,"syntax":27171},"昔々[むかしむかし]{、}おじいさん と おばあさん\u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong>おっ[,おる]た{。}おじいさん は 山[やま] へ 芝[しば] 刈[が]り に{、}おばあさん は 川[かわ] へ 洗濯[せんたく] に 行[ゆ,ゆく]った{。}",[292,27173],{},[292,27175],{},[307,27177,27178,27181,27183,27185],{},[98,27179],{"lang":100,"syntax":27180},"家[いえ] に 帰[かえ,かえる]ったら クマ \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> い[,いる]た{。}あの クマ は {（}私[わたし] たち の{）}晩御飯[ばんごはん] を 食[た,たべる]べて い[,いる]た{。}",[292,27182],{},[292,27184],{},"\n\n\nWhen I returned home, there was a bear. The bear was eating my lunch.\n",[11,27187,27188],{},"And notice how が (ga) is used the first time the old couple and the bear are mentioned, but how は (wa) is used when they are mentioned for a second time.",[11,27190,27191],{},"Similarly, we can invert our example sentence about the teacher:",[304,27193,27194],{},[307,27195,27196,27199,27201,26759,27203,27205,27207],{},[98,27197],{"lang":100,"syntax":27198},"サミ \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> 先生[せんせい] です{。}",[292,27200],{},[292,27202],{},[292,27204],{},[292,27206],{},"\n\n\n→ The decision to use が (ga) here indicates that you think the listener doesn't know who the teaacher is—in other words, you're providing information that is new to them.\n",[11,27209,27210],{},"Now, kind of a fun one—using what we've said so far, take a stab at this sentence:",[304,27212,27213],{},[307,27214,27215,27218,27220,27222,27223,27226,27227,27229,27231],{},[98,27216],{"lang":100,"syntax":27217},"空[そら] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 青[あお,あおい]い{！}",[292,27219],{},[292,27221],{},"\n\n\nThe sky is \n",[26,27224,27225],{},"blue","\n! \n",[292,27228],{},[292,27230],{},"\n\n\n→ You've used が (ga) with something that is, presumably, common sense. This communicates your surprise: it's contrary to what you'd expected. Perhaps it's been rainy and the sky has been grey for several days—or perhaps you're a dwarf and have spent your entire life underground and are seeing the sky for the first time.\n",[847,27233,27235],{"id":27234},"use-が-ga-when-making-observations","Use が (ga) when making observations",[11,27237,27238],{},"Whereas the sentences in the above section somehow involved the speaker's personal opinion, replacing the は (wa) with が (ga) makes them feel more objective: as if you're simply recording events as they unfold.",[304,27240,27241,27257,27272,27287],{},[307,27242,27243,27244,506,27247,27249,27251,27252,27254,27256],{},"Observation: ",[98,27245],{"lang":100,"syntax":27246},"雪[ゆき]\u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu>降[ふ]って いる{。}",[292,27248],{},[292,27250],{},"\nSnow is falling. ",[292,27253],{},[292,27255],{},"\n→ This is happening, and that fact doesn't change whether you notice, care, or exist.",[307,27258,27259,369,27262,27264,27266,27267,27269,27271],{},[98,27260],{"lang":100,"syntax":27261},"納豆[なっとう] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> お 椀[わん] に ある{。}",[292,27263],{},[292,27265],{},"\n\n\nThe natto is in a bowl. \n",[292,27268],{},[292,27270],{},"\n\n\n→ This is a factual observation, and you're not passing any sort of judgment on the situation (such as that it would be better for the natto to be in the garbage, instead).\n",[307,27273,27274,369,27277,27279,27281,27282,27284,27286],{},[98,27275],{"lang":100,"syntax":27276},"電車[でんしゃ] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 来[き,くる]た{。}",[292,27278],{},[292,27280],{},"\n\n\nThe train is here. \n",[292,27283],{},[292,27285],{},"\n\n\n→ Again, this is simply an observation: you're standing there on the platform, killing time on your phone, then you hear a horn and look up. The train is in front of you.\n",[307,27288,27289,369,27292,27294,27296,27297,27299,27301],{},[98,27290],{"lang":100,"syntax":27291},"子[こ]ども \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 泣[な,なく]いて いる{。}",[292,27293],{},[292,27295],{},"\n\n\nThe child is crying. \n",[292,27298],{},[292,27300],{},"\n\n\n→ You're not commenting on whether it's good or bad that the child is crying, or arguing that it is or isn't in children's nature to cry—you're simply stating an observation.\n",[847,27303,27305],{"id":27304},"use-が-ga-to-point-a-finger-pick-something-out-of-a-group-make-an-exclusive-statement","Use が (ga) to point a finger \u002F pick something out of a group \u002F make an exclusive statement",[11,27307,27308],{},"I wrote a few sentences trying to separate \"exclusive が (ga)\" from \"contrastive は (wa)\", but I kept getting tripped up on a certain point: isn't singling one thing out the same as separating it from literally everything else, which is a form of contrast?",[11,27310,27311,27312,8737],{},"So, instead of reading those failed explanations, please observe these two memes I found on ",[15,27313,27316],{"href":27314,"rel":27315},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002FFUCKYOUINPARTICULAR\u002F",[971],"a subreddit I won't name on this family-friendly website",[50,27318],{"src":27319,"width":1998,"height":27320,"alt":27321},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-particle-wa-vs-ga-lightning.jpeg",672,"A photo of lightning bending to strike a specific apartment, demonstrating the exclusive nature of the Japanese particle ga",[11,27323,27324],{},"Of all the places lightning could have struck, the forces that be picked that one specific guy's couch.",[11,27326,27327],{},"Similarly, the below sentiment is directed at one single person in particular:",[50,27329],{"src":27330,"width":1241,"height":27331,"alt":27332},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-particle-wa-vs-ga-tomcruise.jpeg",1023,"A photo demonstrating a woman's joy to be divorced from Tom Cruise, demonstrating the exclusive nature of the Japanese particle ga",[11,27334,27335,27336,27338,27339,27341],{},"The point in the first meme isn't the other rooms that lightning ",[26,27337,11958],{}," have stricken, but the one very specific room it ",[26,27340,4691],{}," strike. Similarly, we don't care about all the men Nicole Kidman is happy to not have in her life—every lumen of joy beaming from her rosy cheeks in this photograph is directed very, very specifically at Tom Cruise.",[11,27343,27344,27345,27347],{},"So anyway, when you want to raise one thing on a podium to the exclusion of everything else—to reach into a box of a hundred plushies and say you want ",[26,27346,23204],{}," one in particular—you use が (ga) to do that.",[11,27349,1111],{},[304,27351,27352,27375,27390],{},[307,27353,27354,369,27357,27359,27361,27362,26862,27364,27366,27368,27369,27372,27373,10043],{},[98,27355],{"lang":100,"syntax":27356},"コーヒー \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 嫌[きら]い だ{。}",[292,27358],{},[292,27360],{},"\n\n\n(I) don't like \n",[26,27363,26963],{},[292,27365],{},[292,27367],{},"\n\n\n→ This is the same sentence from up above in the contrastive は (wa) section, but the は (wa) has been swapped out with が (ga). Here, the focus isn't directed to the things you'd \n",[26,27370,27371],{},"rather","\n be drinking. Instead, it's kind of like you just went out on a date with your partner, and they know very well that you don't like coffee, but they still ordered you a coffee. You're emphasizing that you hate, very specifically, \n",[26,27374,26963],{},[307,27376,27377,369,27380,27382,27384,27385,27387,27389],{},[98,27378],{"lang":100,"syntax":27379},"りんご \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 青森[あおもり] の 特産品[とくさんひん] だ{。}",[292,27381],{},[292,27383],{},"\n\n\nApples are Aomori's specialty. \n",[292,27386],{},[292,27388],{},"\n\n\n→ By using が (ga) here, you're shining a spotlight on apples. Aomori actually produces many things, but for now, we don't care about any of that. We're reducing the world to just two things: Aomori and apples.\n",[307,27391,27392,369,27395,27397,27399,27402,27403,27405,27407,27408,27410],{},[98,27393],{"lang":100,"syntax":27394},"これ \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 私[わたし] の 鉛筆[えんぴつ] だ{。}",[292,27396],{},[292,27398],{},[26,27400,27401],{},"This","\n is my pencil. \n",[292,27404],{},[292,27406],{},"\n\n\n→ Imagine that a supernatural force has shaken up your entire university lecture hall. Nobody is hurt, but all 100 of y'all's pencils have mysteriously been transported from your desk to a box in the middle of the room. You walk up to the box, look for a second, and then see your pencil—you hold it up, triumphantly, and announce: \n",[26,27409,23204],{},"\n is your pencil.\n",[11,27412,27413],{},"Now that we've established this point, let's look at the same sentence from up above in the \"use が (ga) for new information\" section:",[304,27415,27416],{},[307,27417,27418,27421,27423,26759,27425,27427,27429,27430,27432,27433,27436],{},[98,27419],{"lang":100,"syntax":27420},"サミ \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 先生[せんせい] です{。}",[292,27422],{},[292,27424],{},[292,27426],{},[292,27428],{},"\n\n\n→ When you use が here, the nuance is similarly that there are many people that \n",[26,27431,11958],{},"\n be the teacher, but \n",[26,27434,27435],{},"Sami","\n specifically is the teacher. Imagine you're in a room with several people, and this sentence is the response to \"who\u002Fwhich one is the teacher?\"\n",[847,27438,27440],{"id":27439},"use-が-ga-or-は-wa-to-equate-two-things","Use が (ga)... or は (wa)... to equate two things",[11,27442,27443],{},"Whereas は (wa) is used for one-way relationships (situations where A=B, but B=\u002F=A), が (ga) is used when you can equate things in a two-way fashion (A=B and B=A.)",[11,27445,27446],{},"To give a couple classic examples of this, consider:",[304,27448,27449,27472],{},[307,27450,27451,27454,27456,27458,27459,27461,27463,27464,27467,27468,27471],{},[98,27452],{"lang":100,"syntax":27453},"あの 人[ひと] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> サミ だ{。}",[292,27455],{},[292,27457],{},"\n\n\nThat person is Sami. \n",[292,27460],{},[292,27462],{},"\n\n\n→ Here, it's equally valid to say \n",[26,27465,27466],{},"that person is Sami","\n and \n",[26,27469,27470],{},"Sami is that person","\n. It doesn't matter which way you organize the sentence because thing A and thing B are the same. To indicate this two-way equality, we use が.\n",[307,27473,27474,27477,27479,27481,27482,27484,27486,27487,27490],{},[98,27475],{"lang":100,"syntax":27476}," 東京[とうきょう] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 日本[にほん] の 首都[しゅと] です{。}",[292,27478],{},[292,27480],{},"\n\n\nTokyo is the the capital of Japan. \n",[292,27483],{},[292,27485],{},"\n\n\n→ Again, it would also be accurate to say \n",[26,27488,27489],{},"the capital of Japan is Tokyo","\n. Since we can swap the order of the parts of the statement without making it false, we connect them with が (ga).\n",[11,27492,27493],{},[26,27494,27495],{},"(Note: You can also optionally use は (wa) for two-way relationships, but I've chosen to attribute it to が (ga), just to keep the sections separate.)",[847,27497,27499],{"id":27498},"use-が-ga-to-introduce-something-that-modifies-something-within-a-sentence-but-not-the-entire-sentence","Use が (ga) to introduce something that modifies something within a sentence, but not the entire sentence",[11,27501,27502],{},"This section is tied very closely to は (wa) section above, in which we said は (wa) attaches to the part of a complex sentence that could form a complete sentence in and of itself.",[11,27504,27505],{},"Conversely, attach が (ga) to the thing that is only related to part of a sentence—often something that is adding description to a noun.",[11,27507,27508],{},"As we can see in those same two sentences from above:",[304,27510,27511,27525],{},[307,27512,27513,369,27516,27518,27073,27520,27522,27524],{},[98,27514],{"lang":100,"syntax":27515},"昨日[きのう] 彼女[かのじょ]\u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong>作[つく,つくる]った ケーキは{、}とても おいしかった{。}",[292,27517],{},[292,27519],{},[292,27521],{},[292,27523],{},"\n\n\n→ \"That the woman made\" serves no purpose except to add more information about the word \"cake\", so we attach が (ga) to it. You could also attach の (no) to it, instead, if you prefer.\n",[307,27526,27527,27530,27532,27088,27534,27536,27538],{},[98,27528],{"lang":100,"syntax":27529},"彼[かれ] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> うち に 来[き,くる]た とき{、}私[わたし] は 出[で,でかける]かけて い[,いる]た{。}",[292,27531],{},[292,27533],{},[292,27535],{},[292,27537],{},"\n\n\n→ 彼がうちに来た is not a standalone phrase but rather something that adds more specificity to とき. Since \"when he came to our place\" isn't a complete sentence, が gets attached to 彼.\n",[847,27540,27542],{"id":27541},"use-が-ga-with-question-words","Use が (ga) with question words",[11,27544,27545],{},"If you use a question word in a sentence, and it doesn't come before だ・です, attach が (ga) to the question word.",[11,27547,13595],{},[304,27549,27550,27560,27572],{},[307,27551,27552,369,27555,27557,27559],{},[98,27553],{"lang":100,"syntax":27554},"誰[だれ] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 正[ただ,ただしい]しくて{、}誰[だれ] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 間違[まちが,まちがう]って いる の か{。}",[292,27556],{},[292,27558],{},"\n\n\nWho is right, and who is wrong?\n",[307,27561,27562,369,27565,27567,27569,27570],{},[98,27563],{"lang":100,"syntax":27564},"いったい 何[なに] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 起[お,おこる]こって いる の だろ[,だろ]う か{。}",[292,27566],{},[292,27568],{},"\n\n\nWhat in the world is going on?. \n",[292,27571],{},[307,27573,27574,369,27577,27579,27581,27582,369,27584],{},[98,27575],{"lang":100,"syntax":27576},"それ の どこ \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> いけ[,いける]ない の でしょ[,でしょ]う か{？}",[292,27578],{},[292,27580],{},"\n\n\nWhat's wrong with that? \n",[292,27583],{},[26,27585,27586],{},"(literally, \"the where of that cannot go?\")",[45,27588,27590],{"id":27589},"already-read-like-six-articles-but-still-dont-get-the-difference-between-は-wa-が-ga","Already read like six articles but still don't get the difference between は (wa) が (ga)?",[11,27592,27593],{},"That's OK.",[11,27595,27596,27597,27601,27602,27604,27605,27608,27609,2937],{},"To be totally honest, I started studying Japanese in 2014 and have passed ",[15,27598,27600],{"href":27599},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjlpt-n1-overview","the JLPT N1, the highest-level proficiency level test of Japanese",", but I couldn't have written this article off the top of my head. Knowing stuff ",[26,27603,19105],{}," a language isn't the same as ",[26,27606,27607],{},"understanding"," the language. If that seems weird—did you know that ",[15,27610,27613],{"href":27611,"rel":27612},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ym-language-services.com\u002Fen\u002Fthe-order-of-adjectives-in-english\u002F",[971],"English adjectives have a fixed order they're required to go in",[304,27615,27616,27623],{},[307,27617,27618,27619,27622],{},"✅ Migachu is a ",[1090,27620,27621],{},"cute purple"," mascot.",[307,27624,27625,27626,27622],{},"❌ Migachu is a ",[1090,27627,27628],{},"purple cute",[11,27630,27631],{},"Weird, huh? It blew my mind when I learned that.",[11,27633,27634,27635,27637],{},"Basically, what I want to say is that you don't ",[26,27636,11731],{}," to memorize all of this information.",[11,27639,27640],{},"The real way to make progress in Japanese is simply by spending time interacting with it—reading books, watching anime, having conversations, and stuff like that. This should make intuitive sense: it's how you learned your native language, and you speak that language pretty well!",[11,27642,27643],{},"The reason that spending time with Japanese (which we call getting \"input\") is so important is that, when you do so, you will inevitably run into tons of sentences that include は (wa) and が (ga)—such as this one below:",[50,27645],{"src":27646,"width":21611,"height":27647,"alt":27648},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-particles-wa-vs-ga-immerse.jpeg",1058,"A screenshot from Migaku's Japanese Academy course, showing one of our lessons that introduces the particle が (ga).",[11,27650,27651],{},"And, over time, as you see more and more sentences that include は (wa) and が (ga), it'll just kind of sink in. You'll develop an intuitive feel for how these particles work and what sort of nuance they lend to a sentence.",[11,27653,27654,27655,415],{},"If this is the first time you're hearing about this approach to learning languages, we've actually got ",[15,27656,27658],{"href":27657},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Flearn-japanese-with-netflix","an entire guide to learning Japanese with Netflix",[11,27660,27661],{},"Go check that out and try Migaku—it's totally free for 10 days, and you don't need to give us your your credit card information or anything like that 💪",[674,27663],{"href":17,"text":3633},[11,27665,27666,27667,19403],{},"Of course, if you're still a beginner, go ahead and study は (wa) and が (ga) formally! Just know that, eventually, to consolidate that knowledge, at some point you're going to want to start spending time doing things in Japanese. (Migaku actually has a really solid Japanese course, by the way. Alternatively, we've also compiled a list of ",[15,27668,27669],{"href":20504},"the best Japanese textbooks for beginners",[50,27671],{"src":27672,"width":27673,"height":27674,"alt":27648},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-particles-ga-vs-wa-lesson.jpeg",1018,712,[45,27676,27678],{"id":27677},"conclusion","Conclusion",[11,27680,27681],{},"は (wa) and が (ga) can get pretty complex, but pretty much all of their usages boil down to the same essential two points:",[304,27683,27684,27686],{},[307,27685,25790],{},[307,27687,25793],{},[11,27689,27690],{},"So long as you get that, it's OK. You'll gradually work out the details, over time, as you spend more time interacting with Japanese media.",[287,27692,27693,27694,27696],{},"\nがんばってね！",[292,27695],{},"\nGood luck!\n",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":27698},[27699,27700,27704,27708,27716,27724,27725],{"id":25817,"depth":707,"text":25818},{"id":25918,"depth":707,"text":25919,"children":27701},[27702,27703],{"id":25947,"depth":1016,"text":25948},{"id":26211,"depth":1016,"text":26212},{"id":26437,"depth":707,"text":26438,"children":27705},[27706,27707],{"id":26503,"depth":1016,"text":26504},{"id":26568,"depth":1016,"text":26569},{"id":26664,"depth":707,"text":26665,"children":27709},[27710,27711,27712,27713,27714,27715],{"id":26693,"depth":1016,"text":26694},{"id":26787,"depth":1016,"text":26788},{"id":26870,"depth":1016,"text":26871},{"id":26978,"depth":1016,"text":26979},{"id":27050,"depth":1016,"text":27051},{"id":27096,"depth":1016,"text":27097},{"id":27140,"depth":707,"text":27141,"children":27717},[27718,27719,27720,27721,27722,27723],{"id":27157,"depth":1016,"text":27158},{"id":27234,"depth":1016,"text":27235},{"id":27304,"depth":1016,"text":27305},{"id":27439,"depth":1016,"text":27440},{"id":27498,"depth":1016,"text":27499},{"id":27541,"depth":1016,"text":27542},{"id":27589,"depth":707,"text":27590},{"id":27677,"depth":707,"text":27678},"Learn the difference between the Japanese particles は (wa) and が (ga). This guide simplifies their roles, nuances, and usage with practical examples for all learners.",{"timestampUnix":27728,"slug":27729,"h1":27730,"image":27731,"tags":27735},1736480142401,"japanese-particle-wa-vs-ga","は and が: What's the difference between these two Japanese particles?",{"src":27732,"width":2479,"height":27733,"alt":27734},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-particles-wa-vs-ga-header.jpeg",810,"Two very similar Spidermen looking at each other, surprised to see each other, wondering how they're going to prove which one is which—a similar conundrum to the one Japanese learners experience while dealing with the particles は (wa) and が (ga).",[3670,728],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particle-wa-vs-ga","---\ntitle: ' Japanese Particles は and が: Clear Examples and Essential Tips'\ndescription: 'Learn the difference between the Japanese particles は (wa) and が (ga). This guide simplifies their roles, nuances, and usage with practical examples for all learners.'\ntimestampUnix: 1736480142401\nslug: 'japanese-particle-wa-vs-ga'\nh1: \"は and が: What's the difference between these two Japanese particles?\"\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-particles-wa-vs-ga-header.jpeg'\n width: 1080\n height: 810\n alt: \"Two very similar Spidermen looking at each other, surprised to see each other, wondering how they're going to prove which one is which—a similar conundrum to the one Japanese learners experience while dealing with the particles は (wa) and が (ga).\"\ntags:\n - grammar\n - fundamentals\n---\n\nWhat's the difference between the Japanese particles は (wa) and が (ga)?\n\nThat's... somewhat hard to answer. A few linguists tried, and [they ended up writing an entire book](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.co.jp\u002F%E3%80%8C%E3%81%AF%E3%80%8D%E3%81%A8%E3%80%8C%E3%81%8C%E3%80%8D-%E6%96%B0%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E6%96%87%E6%B3%95%E9%81%B8%E6%9B%B8-1-%E9%87%8E%E7%94%B0-%E5%B0%9A%E5%8F%B2\u002Fdp\u002F487424128X). It's a big topic, to say the least.\n\n> The two-second answer:\n>\n> - は (wa) marks what you're talking about, and can potentially affect several consecutive sentences\n> - が (ga) marks the thing\u002Fperson doing a sentence's verb, and affects only the specific sentence it appears in\n\nTo give a more thorough answer than that, we're going to have to put on our goggles and go for a dive. We'll start off by laying some linguistic groundwork, see what Japanese people say about は (wa) vs が (ga), and then look at some practical examples.\n\nMore specifically, we'll talk about:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Forewarning\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\n>\n> This article assumes that you can already read hiragana. If not, we applaud your go-getter spirit. Before you read this article, you may want to take a detour to first check out [what hiragana is used for](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-alphabets), then read this article while referencing [our hiragana cheat sheet](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-hiragana).\n\n## What is a grammatical particle?\n\nIf you're not sure what a grammatical particle is, then\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"Click me\">\n\nIn English, we have these things called prepositions. They're little words that come before a direction or location. For example:\n\n- \u003Cu>in\u003C\u002Fu> Japan\n- \u003Cu>at\u003C\u002Fu> Daiso\n\nParticles are kind of like prepositions, with two notable differences:\n\n- Particles go _after_ the word they modify\n- Particles can mark much more than location\n\nFor example, here are two other Japanese particles we've explored in detail:\n\n- [に (ni)](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particle-ni) indicates a destination\n - \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"弟[おとうと] は \u003Cu>学校[がっこう] に\u003C\u002Fu> 行[い,いく]った{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> My younger brother went \u003Cu>to school\u003C\u002Fu>.\n- [を (wo)](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particle-wo-direct-object) marks the direct object of a sentence—the thing that's receiving the action described by the verb\n - \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"学生[がくせい] は \u003Cu>日本語[にほんご] を\u003C\u002Fu> 勉強[べんきょう] しています{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> The students are studying \u003Cu>Japanese\u003C\u002Fu>.\n\nSo, essentially:\n\n> Japanese particles are little grammatical tags that get tacked onto the end of words\u002Fphrases in order to show the grammatical role those words\u002Fphrases are playing in a particular sentence.\n\n_(If you want a more detailed explanation than this, check out [our master post on Japanese particles](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles-guide))_\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n## A crash course into the basics of は (wa) and が (ga)\n\nIf you want a super exhaustive look at all the different usages of は (wa) and が (ga), check out our [master post on Japanese particles](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles-guide). We went ham. If that post was a book, it'd go _thunk_ when you dropped it on a table.\n\nHere, we're going to be more concise.\n\nWe're talking about the _difference_ between は (wa) and が (ga), so instead of giving you a laundry list of _alllllllll_ the stuff that each particle can do, we're going to focus on disambiguating them.\n\n### The purpose of が (ga)\n\nIn Japanese, が (ga) is what's called a [\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"各助詞[かくじょし]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>](https:\u002F\u002Fja.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002F%E5%8A%A9%E8%A9%9E#%E6%A0%BC%E5%8A%A9%E8%A9%9E), a \"case\" particle. Case particles attach to nouns (or noun phrases) in order to show the role they play in a sentence.\n\nThere are several different grammatical cases, but here's a few basic ones:\n\n| Grammatical case | Generally used to... | Example in a sentence |\n| --------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| [Nominative case](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FNominative_case) | Indicate which noun is the subject of a sentence | The thing doing a verb \u003Cbr> (_\u003Cu>I\u003C\u002Fu> gave a postcard to you in Kurashiki._) |\n| [Accusative case](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FAccusative_case) | Indicate which noun is [the direct object](\u003Chttps:\u002F\u002Fen.m.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FObject_(grammar)#Types>) | The thing you do a verb \"to\" \u003Cbr> (_I gave \u003Cu>a postcard \u003C\u002Fu> to you in Kurashiki._) |\n| [Dative case](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FDative_case) | Indicate which noun is [the indirect object](\u003Chttps:\u002F\u002Fen.m.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FObject_(grammar)#Types>) | The direction\u002Frecipient of an action \u003Cbr> (_I gave a postcard to \u003Cu>you\u003C\u002Fu> in Kurashiki._) |\n| [Prepositional case](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FAdpositional_case) | Indicate where something takes place | In\u002Fat\u002Fon ... \u003Cbr> (_I gave a postcard to you in \u003Cu>Kurashiki\u003C\u002Fu>._) |\n\nVerbs are the lifeblood of Japanese sentences, and case markers show how a particular word or phrase in a sentence is related to the main verb of that sentence.\n\nIf we analyze the above example sentence from this \"how things are related to the verb\" perspective, we could say that:\n\n- The main verb is \"to give\"\n - \"I\" am the one who was doing the giving\n - \"The postcard\" is the thing that was given\n - \"You\" are the person that the thing was given to\n - \"Kurashiki\" is where the giving happened\n\nMake sense yet? Kinda sorta?\n\nWe use these same cases in English, so they should make some intuitive sense to you. The difference is that English uses word order to show the case of words, whereas Japanese makes you use a particle to physically mark the case of each word or phrase.\n\n> The purpose of が (ga) is to mark the subject of a sentence's verb:\n>\n> - The thing that _does_ something\n> - The thing that _is_ something\n\n#### Some Japanese examples\n\nWe've been in the world of theory for a while, so let's get hands on. Look through the following Japanese sentences and think about what が (ga) is doing in each one:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"昔々[むかしむかし] ある ところ に おじいさん と おばあさん \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> い[,いる]ました{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>A long time ago, in a certain place, there was an old man and an old woman.\n\n - The verb of the sentence is いました, \"there was\", talking about the existence of something\n - The old man and old woman are the things that existed\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"月[つき] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> 綺麗[きれい] です ね\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>The moon is beautiful, isn't it?\n\n - The verb† of the sentence is 綺麗です (beautiful\u002Fto be beautiful)\n - The moon is the thing that is beautiful\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"先生[せんせい] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> 目[め] を 瞬[またた,またたく]き ながら わたし を 見[み,みる]た{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>The teacher, blinking, looked at me.\n\n - The verb of the sentence is 見た (to look {at})\n - The teacher is the person doing the looking\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"その 言葉[ことば] を 聞[き,きく]いた 瞬間[しゅんかん]{、}頭[あたま] の 中[なか] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> 真っ白[まっしろ] に なっ[,なる]た{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>When I heard those words, my mind (head) went blank (white).\n - The verb of the sentence is なった (to become)\n - Your head\u002Fmind is the thing that underwent the change\n\nThis can get somewhat complex because there are different types of verbs and Japanese sometimes decides that something should function as a verb when English doesn't think so (†looking at \"beautiful\" up there in the second example sentence!), but this should hopefully be relatively straightforward.\n\n> A verb belongs to a sentence, and が (ga) attaches to the thing that is, or is doing, that sentence's verb.\n\n### The purpose of は (wa)\n\nIn Japanese, は (wa) is what's called a [\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"係助詞[かかりじょし]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>](https:\u002F\u002Fja.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002F%E5%8A%A9%E8%A9%9E#%E4%BF%82%E5%8A%A9%E8%A9%9E), a \"binding\" particle. Binding particles \"bind\" to other words\u002Fparticles, \"garnishing\" them with some sort of additional nuance. The nuance added by は (wa) in particular is to promote something from being merely a word in a sentence to being the topic of a conversation.\n\nThat's clear as mud, so do me a favor and read this riveting dialogue:\n\n- [Alex]: _Did you see Serena Williams yesterday!_\n\n- [Jamie]: _Yeah, she was incredible! That rally in the second set was insane._\n\n- [Alex]: _I know, right? The way she saved those break points was unbelievable._\n\n- [Jamie]: _And her backhand down the line? Pure perfection._\n\n- [Alex]: _Totally. But I thought she might lose after dropping the third set._\n\n- [Jamie]: _Same here, but she came back strong in the fourth. That tie-breaker was intense!_\n\n- [Alex]: _It really was. I love how she kept her composure under pressure._\n\n- [Jamie]: _Me too. She definitely deserved that win. What a player!_\n\nAnd now, the last piece of the puzzle you need to understand は (wa):\n\n> What are Jamie and Alex talking about?\n\n\"Serena Williams (tennis match) yesterday\" is the contextual backdrop that binds all eight of those sentences together. While it's only actually _in_ the first sentence, it is nevertheless an integral part of all of the other sentences—it's what connects them.\n\nWith this in mind, you might think of the topic as being \"above\" an individual sentence. It's kind of like a spotlight, or a billboard, or anything else you can imagine that \"focuses\" the conversation on something.\n\nOr, simply put:\n\n> The topic is what we're talking about.\n\nAnd with that very simple definition in mind, look at these two Japanese sentences:\n\n- A: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"お 寿司[すし] は 好[す]き です か\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>Do (you) like sushi?\n- B: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"うん{、}好[す]き です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> Yes, (I) like. †\n\nAnd ask yourself: Why doesn't the word \"お寿司\" need to be in the second sentence?\n\n_It's because \"sushi\" has already been established as the topic of conversation!_\n\nYou _know_ we're talking about sushi, and not pizza or raw spaghetti noodles, because お寿司 has been marked with the particle は. This took お寿司 from being merely an element one sentence—the thing that is related to 好きですか—and elevated it being the topic of the conversation—the context that ties a group of sentences together. It's thus already clear that the comment \"I like\" pertains to \"sushi\", so there's no need to redundantly mention \"sushi\" again.\n\n_† While English requires us to point back to the topic by saying \"I like \u003Cu>it\u003C\u002Fu>\", Japanese makes no such imposition. The word \"it\" does not exist in the Japanese sentence. It literally just says \"I like\"._\n\n#### Why \"topicalization\" causes confusion\n\nAs we said up above, binding particles bind to other words\u002Fparticles: there was an original particle, which was doing its own thing, and then は \"binded\" to it, giving it some additional nuance.\n\nShown below ([source](https:\u002F\u002Fchasoblogjapan.com\u002Fhatoga\u002F)), this \"binding\" process has some important implications for Japanese grammar:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-particles-wa-vs-ga-topicalization.jpeg\" width=\"1676\" height=\"996\" alt=\"A chart showing what happens to different Japanese particles when they get particalized\"\u002F>\n\nWhat this chart is showing is how は \"binds\" to some of Japanese's case-marking particles:\n\n- In most cases, は buddies up alongside the particle it binds to: when you topicalize に, you get には\n- With が and を, for whatever reason, は _replaces_ the particle it binds to: topicalized が \"should\" become がは, but Japanese people actually just say は\n- _(The zero particle is beyond the scope of this post, but you can read about it [here](https:\u002F\u002Ftwpl.library.utoronto.ca\u002Findex.php\u002Ftwpl\u002Farticle\u002Fview\u002F6178\u002F3167))_\n\nAnd, if I had to guess, I'd say that _this_ is why people get confused about が (ga) and は (wa):\n\n1. When you see は, sometimes it is \"actually\" ~~が~~は—a topicalized subject marker\n2. In this case, there are two jobs being done:\n - The invisible が is still carrying out its original function of saying \"that word is the subject of this sentence\"\n - The visible は is adding nuance, saying \"that word is also the topic of the conversation that this sentence is contributing to\"\n\nSo は is _not_ marking a subject... but it looks like it is, because the が it's attached to is invisible.\n\n## The key difference between は (wa) and basically every other particle, including が (ga)\n\nHowever technical we might get, and however many example sentences we might give, all of the differences between は (wa) and が (ga) basically boil down to one thing:\n\n- が (ga) is a **case-marking particle**\n- は (wa) is a **binding particle**\n\nThis is _super_ important. は (wa) and が (ga) are both particles, but they are used for very different reasons:\n\n- **Case-marking particles** simply specify the role that a particular word or phrase plays within a sentence: when marking a word with が (ga), you're acknowledging\u002Fclarifying that _this is the thing that does, or is, the sentence's verb_\n- **Binding particles** have less to do with the grammatical nuts and bolts of a specific sentence and more to do with the speaker's perspective of that sentence: when marking a word は (wa), you're saying that _\u003Cu>this\u003C\u002Fu> is the bigger topic at hand—this sentence, and perhaps the previous one or the next few, should be seen as being a comment on \u003Cu>this\u003C\u002Fu> thing_\n\nWhereas you can choose what is going to be the topic of conversation, you _can't_ choose who did or was something. Imagine that you're working behind the scenes for a theatre production: You can choose where to aim the spotlight, but you can't choose which actor is eating a cake.\n\nIn other words:\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> が (ga) is a simple label. は (wa) is an intentional promotion. \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n### Putting subjects and topics together\n\nThe last piece of the puzzle is that the topic and subject of a sentence _can_ overlap, but they don't _have_ to:\n\n- If two people are talking about John Travolta, then they're naturally going to make many sentences in which John Travolta is the subject.\n- A sentence can still be understood to be related to John Travolta, even if he isn't the subject of the sentence: in this conversation, _I just don't like that kind of movie_ would be understood to mean _I don't like the kind of movie that John Travolta stars in_\n\nTo put all that together, consider this sentence:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"キリン は 首[くび] が 長[なが]い です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n - は (wa) is attached to キリン (giraffe), indicating that we are talking about giraffes\n - が (ga) is attached to 首 (neck), indicating that necks are the thing that is 長いです (long)\n\nAs such, you might translate this sentence in a few ways, ranging from more literal to more natural:\n\n- Giraffes—necks are long\n- Giraffes? Their necks are long.\n- As for giraffes, they have long necks.\n- Giraffes have long necks.\n\n### And now a kind of ridiculous side-by-side of \"topics\" and \"everything else\"\n\nImagine that you're playing some party game where there are a bunch of people standing in a circle, and they take turns running into the middle of a circle, writing something on a whiteboard, and then holding the white board up. Everybody looks to see what is written and then writes whatever the first thing that comes to their mind is.\n\nHere's my depiction of such a scene:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"キリン は・・・\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>The person in our proverbial party game writes \"giraffe\" on a whiteboard and holds it up high, for everyone to see. The other party goers say:\n - Person A → \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"首[くび] が 長[なが]い {。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>Necks are long\n - Person B → \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"背[せ] が 高[たか]い {。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>Height is tall\n - Person C → \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"高[たか]い 木の葉[きのは] を 食[た]べる{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>Eat leaves from tall trees\n - Person D → \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"1[いち] 日[にち] に 4[よん]～ 6[ろく] 時間[じかん] しか 寝[ね,ねる]ない{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>Only sleep for 4–6 hours per day\n - Person E → \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"食[た,たべる]べた ことが ない{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>(I) haven't eaten (one) before\u003Cbr>_(Note: In the first four sentences, there was an implicit ~~が~~は (~~ga~~wa); in this sentence, there is an implicit ~~を~~は (~~wo~~wa))_\n\nThe word _giraffe_ (キリン) isn't in any of those sentences, but all of them are _about_ giraffes. That's the power of は (wa).\n\n---\n\n## When to use は (wa) in a sentence\n\nWhile there are certain phrases and grammar points that use は (wa), there are six main situations in which you can meaningfully choose to use は (wa) over が (ga) in a sentence.\n\nI've condensed this section from about a dozen different Japanese resources, but three most helpful ones were [this textbook for Japanese teachers](https:\u002F\u002Fcore.ac.uk\u002Fdownload\u002Fpdf\u002F234726762.pdf), [this research paper](https:\u002F\u002Fhermes-ir.lib.hit-u.ac.jp\u002Fhermes\u002Fir\u002Fre\u002F71055\u002Fgengo0057000250.pdf), and [this handout from Shinshuu university](https:\u002F\u002Fsoar-ir.repo.nii.ac.jp\u002Frecord\u002F16271\u002Ffiles\u002FInternationalStudent03-04.pdf) (will auto download a .pdf!). If you're at an ~intermediate level of Japanese, feel free to go through them! They're wonderful.\n\nYou'll notice that some of these categories overlap, or that you could seemingly justifiably choose both が (ga) and は (wa) in some sentences. This isn't a clear-cut science: が (ga) or は (wa) can often both correctly complete a sentence, they just bring a different nuance.\n\n### Use は (wa) to reference already-mentioned information\n\nAs a native English speaker, this one will be intuitive for you. We have the exact same rule with \"a\" and \"the\":\n\n- Use \"a\" to introduce new information into a conversation\n- Use \"the\" to point back to information that you have already mentioned, or that you know the other party is aware of\n\nIn the exact same way as \"the\", the particle は (wa) is used in Japanese to refer back to things you have already mentioned.\n\nFor example:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"昔々[むかしむかし]{、}おじいさん と おばあさん\u003Cstrong>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>おっ[,おる]た{。}おじいさん \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 山[やま] へ 芝[しば] 刈[が]り に{、}おばあさん\u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong>川[かわ] へ 洗濯[せんたく] に 行[い,いく]った{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman. The old man went to the mountains to cut firewood, and the old woman went to the river to do the laundry.\n\nNotice how は (wa) is not used until the _second_ sentence. Once we've established that the old man and woman exist, we can then begin using は (wa) to refer to them.\n\nHere's one more sentence that demonstrates the same logic:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"家[いえ] に 帰[かえ,かえる]ったら クマ \u003Cstrong>が\u003C\u002Fstrong> い[,いる]た{。}あの クマ \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> {（}私[わたし] の{）}晩御飯[ばんごはん] を 食[た,たべる]べて い[,いる]た{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n When I returned home, there was a bear. The bear was eating my dinner.\n\nOr, to phrase this a bit differently, consider this sentence:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"サミ \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 先生[せんせい] です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n Sami is a teacher. \u003Cbr>\n → The decision to use は (wa) here indicates that you believe the listener is aware who Sami is—in other words, you're making a comment about \"old\" information\n\nSimilarly, you'll use は to make statements of common sense or everyday knowledge: stuff that is (or should presumably be) \"old\" information for everybody:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"空[そら] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 青[あお,あおい]くて{、}雲[くも] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 白[しろ]い{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n The sky is blue, and clouds are white. \u003Cbr>\n → The choice to use は (wa) here indicates that you don't think you are introducing any new information to the conversation—everybody knows that the sky is blue\n\n### Use は (wa) when making judgments\n\nIf you encounter (see, hear, feel, etc.) something and cast judgment upon it or somehow interpret it, use the particle は (wa) to introduce these judgments. While the word \"judgment\" is somewhat strong in English, the point here is just that the statement you are making is somehow rooted in your own subjective perspective—what you've just said may _not_ be true from someone else's perspective.\n\nNotice how the following statements are all things that you could disagree with:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"あの 桜[さくら]\u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong>とても きれい だ{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n That sakura tree is very pretty. \u003Cbr>\n → \"Pretty\" is a subjective judgment; you're giving your opinion.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"納豆[なっとう] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 苦手[にがて] だ{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n I'm not a fan of natto. \u003Cbr>\n → As hard as it may be to believe, there are people out there who like natto.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"ここ の 電車[でんしゃ] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> いつも 遅[おく]れる{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n This train is always late. \u003Cbr>\n → Naturally, the train isn't _always_ late. Hyperbolism is subjective! Another person may find that the bus is generally on time.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"子[こ]ども \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 泣[な]く もの だ{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n Children cry _(it's natural that children cry\u002Fchildren are supposed to cry)_. \u003Cbr>\n → From this person's perspective, it isn't surprising that a child should cry: they're saying that it is in a child's nature to cry. Anyway, this is a statement you can disagree with.\n\n### Use は (wa) to introduce contrast into a statement\n\nLook at this sentence for a second, and think about how you'd interpret it:\n\n- I didn't tell _him_.\n\nThis sentence is really saying two things:\n\n1. I didn't tell that man\n2. I did\u002Fmay have told someone else\n\nIn linguistics, this is called contrast—and, in Japanese, you use は (wa) to imbue a sentence with this kind of contrast.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"彼[かれ] に \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 言[い,いう]わなかった。\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n I didn't tell _him_. \u003Cbr>\n\nThe reason for this contrast becomes a bit more clear when we see the other half of this kind of sentence:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 猫[ねこ] が 好[す]き だ が{、}弟[おとうと] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 好[す]き じゃ[,じゃ]ない{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n I like cats, but my younger brother doesn't. \u003Cbr>\n\nSo, as you can see here, we've first established ourselves as the topic and made a comment that applies to ourselves, then quickly changed the topic to something else and made the inverse of the same comment.\n\nHere's two more examples, just for good measure:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"ひらがな \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 書[か,かける]けます が{、}漢字[かんじ] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 書[か,かける]けません{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n I can write hiragana, but not kanji. \u003Cbr>\n → You can't see it, but the subject is the same in each clause—it's the same person doing the writing—only the object has changed.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"コーヒー \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 嫌[きら]い だ{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n\n (I) don't like _coffee_. \u003Cbr>\n → Just like in that first sentence above, the nuance here isn't _just_ that you don't like coffee. It's more that while you don't like coffee, there's something else available (such as tea or milk or soda) that you _do_ like.\n\n### Use は (wa) to note a characteristic of something\n\nWhen you are saying that one thing is a characteristic, attribute, or part of another thing, use は (wa) to connect the owner and attribute. The definition of \"owner\" and \"attribute\" is quite loose, but what we mean here is in situations like \"all thumbs are fingers, but not all fingers are thumbs\"—where A=B is true, but B=A is not necessarily true.\n\nFor example:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"サミ \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> アメリカ人[あめりかじん] だ{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n Sami is American. \u003Cbr>\n → Importantly, this is a one-way relationship. It's not true that, if there is an American, then they are inevitably Sami. There are more Americans than just Sami.\n\nThe same thing goes for talking about qualities of people:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"中島[なかしま] 美[み] 嘉[か] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 格好[かっこう]いい {。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n Mika Nakashima is cool. \u003Cbr>\n → While [Mika Nakashima is cool](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=AabAbM_Lmuo), she does not have a monopoly on cool-ness. There are other cool people.\n\nAnd here's an example of using は (wa) to explain a category:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"コーギー \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 犬[いぬ] です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n A corgi is a (type of) dog. \u003Cbr>\n → This one might be a bit less intuitive. While it's always true that a corgi is a dog, it isn't always true that if you see a dog it will be a corgi.\n\n### Use は (wa) to introduce something that applies to the entire sentence\n\nLike most things in life, sentences can come in simpler or more complex forms. When sentences get complex enough to contain multiple parts, we describe them as having _clauses_: the \"main\" clause is the part of the sentence that could be cut off and turned into an independent sentence, while the the \"subordinate\" clause is the part of the sentence that would no longer be a complete sentence if cut off and left by itself.\n\nAnyway—attach は (wa) to the thing in the beginning of the sentence that is related to the sentence's verb.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"昨日[きのう] 彼女[かのじょ] が 作[つく,つくる]った ケーキ\u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong>{、}とても おいしかった{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n The cake that the woman made yesterday was very delicious. \u003Cbr>\n → The cake is the thing that was very delicious, so it gets marked with は (wa). The sentence would still make sense if you entirely deleted \"彼女が作った\" .\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"彼[かれ] が うち に 来[き,くる]た とき{、}私[わたし] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> 出[で,でかける]かけて い[,いる]た{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n When he came to our place, I had already gone out. \u003Cbr>\n → The point of the sentence is that the speaker had already left their house. \"When he came to our place\" provides more detailed information, but you could delete it and the sentence would still make sense.\n\n### Use は (wa) to make negative (\"not\u002Fdon't \\_\\_\\_\") statements\n\nWhile there are a number of exceptions to this, especially in more complex sentences, you'll generally use は (wa) with negative sentences. _(Note: \"negative\" not as in \"bad\", but as in \"is not\" or \"does not\".)_\n\nA few examples:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> 知[し,しる]りません{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n I don't know.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"コーヒー \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> 飲[の,のむ]みません{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n I don't drink coffee.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"残念[ざんねん] ながら{、}お茶[おちゃ] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>は\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> あり[,ある]ません{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n Unfortunately, there is no tea.\n\n## When to use が (ga) in a sentence\n\nHere are six situations where the decision to use が (ga) over は (wa) in a sentence is meaningful. These six points are all counterpoints to the above six points introduced for は (wa), so you may wish to review them in tandem.\n\nAgain, note that the point of this article is _specifically_ to contrast the usage of が (ga) and は (wa). For a thorough list of grammatical structures where が (ga) is used, refer to the が (ga) section of our [master post on Japanese particles](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles-guide#the-case-particles-%E3%81%8C-%E3%81%AE-%E3%82%92-%E3%81%AB-%E3%81%B8-%E3%81%A8-%E3%81%A7-%E3%81%8B%E3%82%89-and-%E3%82%88%E3%82%8A).\n\n### Use が (ga) to introduce new information into a conversation\n\nIn English, we use \"a\" to introduce new information into a conversation. In exactly the same way, Japanese uses が (ga) for this purpose.\n\nConsider the same two example sentences from the は (wa) section above:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"昔々[むかしむかし]{、}おじいさん と おばあさん\u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong>おっ[,おる]た{。}おじいさん は 山[やま] へ 芝[しば] 刈[が]り に{、}おばあさん は 川[かわ] へ 洗濯[せんたく] に 行[ゆ,ゆく]った{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman. The old man went to the mountains to cut firewood, and the old woman went to the river to do the laundry.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"家[いえ] に 帰[かえ,かえる]ったら クマ \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> い[,いる]た{。}あの クマ は {（}私[わたし] たち の{）}晩御飯[ばんごはん] を 食[た,たべる]べて い[,いる]た{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n When I returned home, there was a bear. The bear was eating my lunch.\n\nAnd notice how が (ga) is used the first time the old couple and the bear are mentioned, but how は (wa) is used when they are mentioned for a second time.\n\nSimilarly, we can invert our example sentence about the teacher:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"サミ \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> 先生[せんせい] です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n Sami is a teacher. \u003Cbr>\n → The decision to use が (ga) here indicates that you think the listener doesn't know who the teaacher is—in other words, you're providing information that is new to them.\n\nNow, kind of a fun one—using what we've said so far, take a stab at this sentence:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"空[そら] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 青[あお,あおい]い{！}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n The sky is _blue_! \u003Cbr>\n → You've used が (ga) with something that is, presumably, common sense. This communicates your surprise: it's contrary to what you'd expected. Perhaps it's been rainy and the sky has been grey for several days—or perhaps you're a dwarf and have spent your entire life underground and are seeing the sky for the first time.\n\n### Use が (ga) when making observations\n\nWhereas the sentences in the above section somehow involved the speaker's personal opinion, replacing the は (wa) with が (ga) makes them feel more objective: as if you're simply recording events as they unfold.\n\n- Observation: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"雪[ゆき]\u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu>降[ふ]って いる{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n Snow is falling. \u003Cbr>\n → This is happening, and that fact doesn't change whether you notice, care, or exist.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"納豆[なっとう] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> お 椀[わん] に ある{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n The natto is in a bowl. \u003Cbr>\n → This is a factual observation, and you're not passing any sort of judgment on the situation (such as that it would be better for the natto to be in the garbage, instead).\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"電車[でんしゃ] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 来[き,くる]た{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n The train is here. \u003Cbr>\n → Again, this is simply an observation: you're standing there on the platform, killing time on your phone, then you hear a horn and look up. The train is in front of you.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"子[こ]ども \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 泣[な,なく]いて いる{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n The child is crying. \u003Cbr>\n → You're not commenting on whether it's good or bad that the child is crying, or arguing that it is or isn't in children's nature to cry—you're simply stating an observation.\n\n### Use が (ga) to point a finger \u002F pick something out of a group \u002F make an exclusive statement\n\nI wrote a few sentences trying to separate \"exclusive が (ga)\" from \"contrastive は (wa)\", but I kept getting tripped up on a certain point: isn't singling one thing out the same as separating it from literally everything else, which is a form of contrast?\n\nSo, instead of reading those failed explanations, please observe these two memes I found on [a subreddit I won't name on this family-friendly website](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002FFUCKYOUINPARTICULAR\u002F):\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-particle-wa-vs-ga-lightning.jpeg\" width=\"1280\" height=\"672\" alt=\"A photo of lightning bending to strike a specific apartment, demonstrating the exclusive nature of the Japanese particle ga\" \u002F>\n\nOf all the places lightning could have struck, the forces that be picked that one specific guy's couch.\n\nSimilarly, the below sentiment is directed at one single person in particular:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-particle-wa-vs-ga-tomcruise.jpeg\" width=\"828\" height=\"1023\" alt=\"A photo demonstrating a woman's joy to be divorced from Tom Cruise, demonstrating the exclusive nature of the Japanese particle ga\" \u002F>\n\nThe point in the first meme isn't the other rooms that lightning _could_ have stricken, but the one very specific room it _did_ strike. Similarly, we don't care about all the men Nicole Kidman is happy to not have in her life—every lumen of joy beaming from her rosy cheeks in this photograph is directed very, very specifically at Tom Cruise.\n\nSo anyway, when you want to raise one thing on a podium to the exclusion of everything else—to reach into a box of a hundred plushies and say you want _this_ one in particular—you use が (ga) to do that.\n\nObserve:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"コーヒー \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 嫌[きら]い だ{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n (I) don't like _coffee_. \u003Cbr>\n → This is the same sentence from up above in the contrastive は (wa) section, but the は (wa) has been swapped out with が (ga). Here, the focus isn't directed to the things you'd _rather_ be drinking. Instead, it's kind of like you just went out on a date with your partner, and they know very well that you don't like coffee, but they still ordered you a coffee. You're emphasizing that you hate, very specifically, _coffee_.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"りんご \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 青森[あおもり] の 特産品[とくさんひん] だ{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n Apples are Aomori's specialty. \u003Cbr>\n → By using が (ga) here, you're shining a spotlight on apples. Aomori actually produces many things, but for now, we don't care about any of that. We're reducing the world to just two things: Aomori and apples.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"これ \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 私[わたし] の 鉛筆[えんぴつ] だ{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n _This_ is my pencil. \u003Cbr>\n → Imagine that a supernatural force has shaken up your entire university lecture hall. Nobody is hurt, but all 100 of y'all's pencils have mysteriously been transported from your desk to a box in the middle of the room. You walk up to the box, look for a second, and then see your pencil—you hold it up, triumphantly, and announce: _this_ is your pencil.\n\nNow that we've established this point, let's look at the same sentence from up above in the \"use が (ga) for new information\" section:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"サミ \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 先生[せんせい] です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n Sami is a teacher. \u003Cbr>\n → When you use が here, the nuance is similarly that there are many people that _could_ be the teacher, but _Sami_ specifically is the teacher. Imagine you're in a room with several people, and this sentence is the response to \"who\u002Fwhich one is the teacher?\"\n\n### Use が (ga)... or は (wa)... to equate two things\n\nWhereas は (wa) is used for one-way relationships (situations where A=B, but B=\u002F=A), が (ga) is used when you can equate things in a two-way fashion (A=B and B=A.)\n\nTo give a couple classic examples of this, consider:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"あの 人[ひと] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> サミ だ{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n That person is Sami. \u003Cbr>\n → Here, it's equally valid to say _that person is Sami_ and _Sami is that person_. It doesn't matter which way you organize the sentence because thing A and thing B are the same. To indicate this two-way equality, we use が.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\" 東京[とうきょう] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 日本[にほん] の 首都[しゅと] です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n Tokyo is the the capital of Japan. \u003Cbr>\n → Again, it would also be accurate to say _the capital of Japan is Tokyo_. Since we can swap the order of the parts of the statement without making it false, we connect them with が (ga).\n\n_(Note: You can also optionally use は (wa) for two-way relationships, but I've chosen to attribute it to が (ga), just to keep the sections separate.)_\n\n### Use が (ga) to introduce something that modifies something within a sentence, but not the entire sentence\n\nThis section is tied very closely to は (wa) section above, in which we said は (wa) attaches to the part of a complex sentence that could form a complete sentence in and of itself.\n\nConversely, attach が (ga) to the thing that is only related to part of a sentence—often something that is adding description to a noun.\n\nAs we can see in those same two sentences from above:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"昨日[きのう] 彼女[かのじょ]\u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong>作[つく,つくる]った ケーキは{、}とても おいしかった{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n The cake that the woman made yesterday was very delicious. \u003Cbr>\n → \"That the woman made\" serves no purpose except to add more information about the word \"cake\", so we attach が (ga) to it. You could also attach の (no) to it, instead, if you prefer.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"彼[かれ] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fu>\u003C\u002Fstrong> うち に 来[き,くる]た とき{、}私[わたし] は 出[で,でかける]かけて い[,いる]た{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\n When he came to our place, I had already gone out. \u003Cbr>\n → 彼がうちに来た is not a standalone phrase but rather something that adds more specificity to とき. Since \"when he came to our place\" isn't a complete sentence, が gets attached to 彼.\n\n### Use が (ga) with question words\n\nIf you use a question word in a sentence, and it doesn't come before だ・です, attach が (ga) to the question word.\n\nFor example:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"誰[だれ] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 正[ただ,ただしい]しくて{、}誰[だれ] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 間違[まちが,まちがう]って いる の か{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n Who is right, and who is wrong?\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"いったい 何[なに] \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> 起[お,おこる]こって いる の だろ[,だろ]う か{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n What in the world is going on?. \u003Cbr>\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"それ の どこ \u003Cstrong>\u003Cu>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>\u003C\u002Fu> いけ[,いける]ない の でしょ[,でしょ]う か{？}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Cbr>\n What's wrong with that? \u003Cbr> _(literally, \"the where of that cannot go?\")_\n\n## Already read like six articles but still don't get the difference between は (wa) が (ga)?\n\nThat's OK.\n\nTo be totally honest, I started studying Japanese in 2014 and have passed [the JLPT N1, the highest-level proficiency level test of Japanese](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjlpt-n1-overview), but I couldn't have written this article off the top of my head. Knowing stuff _about_ a language isn't the same as _understanding_ the language. If that seems weird—did you know that [English adjectives have a fixed order they're required to go in](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ym-language-services.com\u002Fen\u002Fthe-order-of-adjectives-in-english\u002F)?\n\n- ✅ Migachu is a \u003Cstrong>cute purple\u003C\u002Fstrong> mascot.\n- ❌ Migachu is a \u003Cstrong>purple cute\u003C\u002Fstrong> mascot.\n\nWeird, huh? It blew my mind when I learned that.\n\nBasically, what I want to say is that you don't _need_ to memorize all of this information.\n\nThe real way to make progress in Japanese is simply by spending time interacting with it—reading books, watching anime, having conversations, and stuff like that. This should make intuitive sense: it's how you learned your native language, and you speak that language pretty well!\n\nThe reason that spending time with Japanese (which we call getting \"input\") is so important is that, when you do so, you will inevitably run into tons of sentences that include は (wa) and が (ga)—such as this one below:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-particles-wa-vs-ga-immerse.jpeg\" width=\"1248\" height=\"1058\" alt=\"A screenshot from Migaku's Japanese Academy course, showing one of our lessons that introduces the particle が (ga).\"\u002F>\n\nAnd, over time, as you see more and more sentences that include は (wa) and が (ga), it'll just kind of sink in. You'll develop an intuitive feel for how these particles work and what sort of nuance they lend to a sentence.\n\nIf this is the first time you're hearing about this approach to learning languages, we've actually got [an entire guide to learning Japanese with Netflix](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Flearn-japanese-with-netflix).\n\nGo check that out and try Migaku—it's totally free for 10 days, and you don't need to give us your your credit card information or anything like that 💪\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Try Migaku for free\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\nOf course, if you're still a beginner, go ahead and study は (wa) and が (ga) formally! Just know that, eventually, to consolidate that knowledge, at some point you're going to want to start spending time doing things in Japanese. (Migaku actually has a really solid Japanese course, by the way. Alternatively, we've also compiled a list of [the best Japanese textbooks for beginners](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fbest-japanese-textbooks).)\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-particles-ga-vs-wa-lesson.jpeg\" width=\"1018\" height=\"712\" alt=\"A screenshot from Migaku's Japanese Academy course, showing one of our lessons that introduces the particle が (ga).\"\u002F>\n\n## Conclusion\n\nは (wa) and が (ga) can get pretty complex, but pretty much all of their usages boil down to the same essential two points:\n\n- は (wa) marks what you're talking about, and can potentially affect several consecutive sentences\n- が (ga) marks the thing\u002Fperson doing a sentence's verb, and affects only the specific sentence it appears in\n\nSo long as you get that, it's OK. You'll gradually work out the details, over time, as you spend more time interacting with Japanese media.\n\n\u003CCenteredText>\nがんばってね！\u003Cbr>\nGood luck!\n\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n",{"title":25766,"description":27726},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particle-wa-vs-ga","tWrXMIUFeC-QbXVgS6sNFrDdGxHQLT4LDsnX0yvbo1k","January 10, 2025",{"id":27743,"title":27744,"body":27745,"description":28698,"extension":717,"meta":28699,"navigation":730,"path":28709,"rawbody":28710,"seo":28711,"stem":28712,"__hash__":28713,"timestampUnix":28700,"slug":28701,"h1":28702,"image":28703,"tags":28708,"_dir":736,"timestamp":28714},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particle-wo.md","The Japanese Particle を (wo): A Beginner’s Guide to Direct Objects",{"type":8,"value":27746,"toc":28677},[27747,27753,27756,27759,27762,27765,27767,27769,27781,27784,27786,27795,27798,27804,27807,27826,27829,27831,27848,27851,27867,27874,27878,27887,27890,27909,27912,27917,27919,27923,27926,27931,27934,27945,27949,27952,27965,27968,28012,28015,28017,28021,28024,28032,28035,28039,28042,28050,28053,28068,28071,28075,28078,28081,28089,28092,28104,28113,28129,28135,28138,28142,28148,28151,28171,28179,28183,28190,28199,28210,28214,28217,28220,28222,28226,28229,28232,28235,28246,28250,28260,28266,28269,28286,28297,28300,28317,28320,28328,28331,28350,28353,28361,28374,28434,28438,28446,28449,28489,28492,28496,28499,28502,28510,28513,28533,28537,28540,28542,28553,28556,28567,28570,28579,28582,28586,28589,28592,28595,28603,28606,28609,28617,28620,28631,28634,28639,28642,28649,28652,28655,28657,28659,28663,28666,28669,28672,28675],[11,27748,27749,27750,27752],{},"If you're more than three days into your journey to ",[15,27751,18],{"href":17},", you know that particles are hard.",[11,27754,27755],{},"The particle を (wo) is an exception.",[11,27757,27758],{},"It marks the direct object of a sentence—the thing that is somehow affected by the verb of a sentence. Using it is simple and 100% regular: simply tack it right onto the end of a sentence's direct object.",[11,27760,27761],{},"If you know what a particle an direct object is, congrats! Those two sentences are all you need to know to use this Japanese particle.",[11,27763,27764],{},"If not, then you're in the right place. In this article, we'll get into:",[39,27766],{},[42,27768],{},[320,27770,27771,27773,27775],{},[287,27772,24690],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[292,27774],{},[11,27776,1074,27777,1079,27779,415],{},[15,27778,1078],{"href":10726},[15,27780,1083],{"href":1082},[11,27782,27783],{},"Anyway, let's quickly cover a bit of background information.",[45,27785,25818],{"id":25817},[11,27787,27788,27789,27794],{},"For all intents and purposes, a ",[15,27790,27793],{"href":27791,"rel":27792},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FGrammatical_particle",[971],"grammatical particle"," is just a fancy linguistic word for \"sign\" or \"marker\". When you attach a grammatical particle to a word, you are marking the grammatical function of that particular word in this particular sentence.",[11,27796,27797],{},"Particles are kind of like stickers. You identify the thing you want to mark with a sticker, and then you attach the sticker directly to it, like it's a laptop cover from the 2010s. But instead, it's a word in a sentence.",[50,27799],{"src":27800,"width":27801,"height":27802,"alt":27803},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-particle-wo-sticker.jpeg",5399,3599,"An image of a laptop cover which has been absolutely covered in stickers.",[11,27805,27806],{},"Alternatively, you might think about prepositions in English. When you want to say where something takes place, you attach a preposition before the location:",[304,27808,27809,27814,27820],{},[307,27810,27811,24722],{},[2191,27812,27813],{},"In",[307,27815,27816,27819],{},[2191,27817,27818],{},"At"," school",[307,27821,27822,27825],{},[2191,27823,27824],{},"On"," the table",[11,27827,27828],{},"Japanese particles work in basically the same way, except they attach directly onto the end of a word.",[11,27830,13595],{},[304,27832,27833,27836],{},[307,27834,27835],{},"学校（がっこう）→ school",[307,27837,21246,27838,27840,27841,27843,27844,1466,27846,27819],{},[2191,27839,6257],{},"（がっこう",[2191,27842,6257],{},"）→ ",[26,27845,7041],{},[26,27847,16160],{},[11,27849,27850],{},"One more:",[304,27852,27853,27856],{},[307,27854,27855],{},"友達（ともだち）→ a friend",[307,27857,27858,27859,27861,27862,27843,27864,27866],{},"友達",[2191,27860,6243],{},"（ともだち",[2191,27863,6243],{},[26,27865,1973],{}," a friend",[11,27868,27869,27870,27873],{},"Japanese has ",[15,27871,27872],{"href":1986},"many different particles",", and in this blog post we'll look in detail at the particle を (wo), which is used to mark direct objects.",[45,27875,27877],{"id":27876},"what-is-a-direct-object","What is a direct object?",[11,27879,27880,27881,27886],{},"A ",[15,27882,27885],{"href":27883,"rel":27884},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FObject_(grammar)#English",[971],"direct object"," is the part of a sentence that is somehow affected by the verb. While it's a bit difficult to put into words, as a native English speaker, you've got an intuitive feel for what a direct object is.",[11,27888,27889],{},"In the below example sentences, I've underlined the direct object:",[304,27891,27892,27898,27904],{},[307,27893,27894,27895,415],{},"I am eating ",[2191,27896,27897],{},"sushi",[307,27899,27900,27901,415],{},"She read a ",[2191,27902,27903],{},"book",[307,27905,27906,27907,415],{},"The student is learning ",[2191,27908,3918],{},[11,27910,27911],{},"A direct object is the food being eaten, the book being read, the thing being learned, and anything else that falls into that same sort of category.",[11,27913,27914,27915,415],{},"If verbs are what you do, direct objects are what you do the verb ",[26,27916,7041],{},[42,27918],{},[45,27920,27922],{"id":27921},"the-pronunciation-of-を-o-or-wo","The pronunciation of を: O or Wo?",[11,27924,27925],{},"In romaji, を is written as \"wo\", so you might understandably think that it's pronounced like \"whoa\". 800 years ago or so, you would have been right.",[320,27927,27928],{},[11,27929,27930],{},"In modern Japanese, を is pronounced as \"oh\".",[11,27932,27933],{},"Having said that, you may hear を pronounced as \"whoa\" in:",[304,27935,27936,27939],{},[307,27937,27938],{},"Songs, poetry, and artsy stuff like that",[307,27940,27941,27942,27944],{},"When を follows another \"oh\" sound (such as in 日本語を \"nihon",[2191,27943,199],{}," wo\"), and the speaker feels a need to be extra clear",[45,27946,27948],{"id":27947},"how-to-use-the-japanese-particle-を-in-sentences","How to use the Japanese particle を in sentences",[11,27950,27951],{},"Of all of the Japanese particles, を (wo) may be the easiest to use.",[320,27953,27954,27957],{},[11,27955,27956],{},"To use the particle を, you need to do precisely two things:",[344,27958,27959,27962],{},[307,27960,27961],{},"Identify the direct object of a sentence",[307,27963,27964],{},"Brazenly tack を right onto the end of it, as if you were adding an extra letter to the word",[11,27966,27967],{},"For example, let's translate those three sentences from the above section about direct objects:",[304,27969,27970,27984,27998],{},[307,27971,27972,27973,27975,27976],{},"私は寿司を食べています。",[292,27974],{},"（わたしは　すしを　食べています。）",[304,27977,27978,27981],{},[307,27979,27980],{},"Sushi (寿司) is the thing you're eating, so it's the direct object",[307,27982,27983],{},"Notice that を has been appended directly onto 寿司, yielding 寿司を",[307,27985,27986,27987,27989,27990],{},"彼女は本を読みました。",[292,27988],{},"（かのじょは　ほんを　よみました。）",[304,27991,27992,27995],{},[307,27993,27994],{},"A book (本) is the thing that was read, so it's the direct object",[307,27996,27997],{},"Again, を has been attached to 本, giving us 本を",[307,27999,28000,28001,28003,28004],{},"学生は日本語を勉強しています。",[292,28002],{},"（がくせいは　にほんごを　べんきょうしています。）",[304,28005,28006,28009],{},[307,28007,28008],{},"Japanese (日本語) is the thing that's being studied",[307,28010,28011],{},"As expected, we see を after 日本語: 日本語を",[11,28013,28014],{},"Bam! That's it. That's how it works.",[42,28016],{},[45,28018,28020],{"id":28019},"more-advanced-usages-of-を-if-a-sentence-has-you-confused-check-these-out","More advanced usages of を (if a sentence has you confused, check these out)",[11,28022,28023],{},"The above is your bread and butter. To recap:",[304,28025,28026,28029],{},[307,28027,28028],{},"You'll append を directly onto the end of a noun",[307,28030,28031],{},"In Japanese, verbs come at the very end of the sentence",[11,28033,28034],{},"Unfortunately, as you explore more Japanese, you'll quickly stumble into a few situations that end up making a liar out of me. Let's explore several of them.",[847,28036,28038],{"id":28037},"_1-を-with-phrases","(1) を with phrases",[11,28040,28041],{},"In English, descriptions normally branch off to the right of a noun:",[304,28043,28044],{},[307,28045,28046,28047,415],{},"I saw [a man] ",[2191,28048,28049],{}," that was running quickly",[11,28051,28052],{},"In Japanese, descriptions pretty much always come before the noun they modify:",[304,28054,28055],{},[307,28056,28057,28060,28061,28063,28064,28067],{},[2191,28058,28059],{},"早く走っている"," [男] を見た。",[292,28062],{},"（",[2191,28065,28066],{},"はやく　はしっている","　[おとこ] を みた。）",[11,28069,28070],{},"And this left-branching quality of Japanese descriptions means that you can very conveniently mark an entire phrase as being a direct object, as we've just done.",[847,28072,28074],{"id":28073},"_2-を-at-the-end-of-a-sentence","(2) を at the end of a sentence",[11,28076,28077],{},"The \"standard\" structure of a Japanese sentence is subject→object→verb, and since を attaches to the object, it will normally go somewhere in the middle of a sentence. Sometimes, though, you'll see を at the end of a sentence.",[11,28079,28080],{},"This happens in some fixed phrases:",[304,28082,28083,28086],{},[307,28084,28085],{},"More commonly, as in 良いお年を (よい　おとしを), \"Happy new year!\"",[307,28087,28088],{},"More awesomely, as in フォースと共にあらんことを (ふぉーすと　ともに　あらんことを), \"May the force be with you.\"",[11,28090,28091],{},"And also to make quick clarifications, if the object of a verb isn't clear:",[304,28093,28094,28097],{},[307,28095,28096],{},"Speaker A: 食べてください！(たべてください), \"Eat it!\"",[307,28098,28099,28100,28103],{},"Speaker B: 何を? (なにを?), \"(Eat) ",[26,28101,28102],{},"what","?\"",[11,28105,28106,28107,28112],{},"And you'll also see sentences inverted (called an ",[15,28108,28111],{"href":28109,"rel":28110},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002Fanastrophe?variant=zh-tw",[971],"anastrophe",") for dramatic effect. For example, at 1:22 in this song by the Japanese band Supercell, we hear this verse:",[304,28114,28115,28118,28121],{},[307,28116,28117],{},"どうかお願い (どうか　おねがい)",[307,28119,28120],{},"驚かないで聞いてよ (おどろかないで　きいてよ)",[307,28122,28123,28124,28126,28127,3892],{},"私のこの想い",[2191,28125,2232],{}," (わたしの　このおもい",[2191,28128,2232],{},[11,28130,28131,28132,28134],{},"Placing the object 想い",[2191,28133,2232],{}," after the verb 聞いてよ gives this command a more longing, pleading quality. \"To these feelings of mine listen, please! Without being surprised.\"",[5025,28136],{"src":28137},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FcaF6nJxTejc?si=2onJVri3FZsnTpji",[847,28139,28141],{"id":28140},"_3-を-being-omitted","(3) を being omitted",[11,28143,28144,28145,28147],{},"In especially casual speech, some particles, including を, may be dropped. I recommend you ",[26,28146,10642],{}," do this for the time being, as particles can't always be omitted. Learn the rules before you start breaking them!",[11,28149,28150],{},"Having said that, don't be terribly surprised if you see things like this:",[304,28152,28153],{},[307,28154,28155,28160,28162,28163,28165,28166,28168],{},[15,28156,28159],{"href":28157,"rel":28158},"https:\u002F\u002Fsodane.hokkaido.jp\u002Ftv\u002F202207100900002324.html",[971],"どんなときピザ食べたくなる？",[292,28161],{},"（どんなとき　ぴざ　たべたくなる）",[292,28164],{},"When do you feel like eating pizza?",[292,28167],{},[26,28169,28170],{},"Notice: the を that should be between ピザ and 食べたくなる has been omitted",[320,28172,28173],{},[11,28174,28175,28176,28178],{},"Note that を is ",[26,28177,10642],{}," used with the word 何か (なにか), \"something\". As such, you'll see sentences like 何か食べたい？ (なにか たべたい?). This is perfectly OK!",[847,28180,28182],{"id":28181},"_4-を-in-the-ところを-grammar-point","(4) を in the \"ところを\" grammar point",[11,28184,28185,28186,28189],{},"We won't go too far into this one since it's a grammar point for ",[15,28187,28188],{"href":27599},"the JLPT N1, the highest level of the Japanese proficiency test",", but you can read about it on your own if you want.",[11,28191,28192,28193,28198],{},"When を appears with ところ in ",[15,28194,28197],{"href":28195,"rel":28196},"https:\u002F\u002Fjlptsensei.com\u002Flearn-japanese-grammar\u002F%E3%81%A8%E3%81%93%E3%82%8D%E3%82%92-tokoro-o-meaning\u002F",[971],"the grammar point ところを",", it's being used for one of two reasons:",[344,28200,28201,28207],{},[307,28202,28203,28204],{},"To preface an apology ",[26,28205,28206],{},"(I'm sorry for interrupting you while you're busy, but... )",[307,28208,28209],{},"To mean \"when\" or \"at the time of\", but with a particularly positive or negative nuance",[847,28211,28213],{"id":28212},"_5-を-with-verbs-of-motion","(5) を with verbs of motion",[11,28215,28216],{},"You'll sometimes see を used with verbs that involve some sort of motion, like 行く (いく, \"to go\")　 or 歩く (あるく, \"to walk\").",[11,28218,28219],{},"We're actually going to talk about this in more detail in the next section, so scroll down a bit!",[42,28221],{},[45,28223,28225],{"id":28224},"some-grammar-points-where-を-gets-replaced-with-other-particles","Some grammar points where を gets replaced with other particles",[11,28227,28228],{},"We've covered a lot of ground, but so far, an を has been an を; what you see is what you get",[11,28230,28231],{},"Unfortunately, sometimes を can become が or は, too.",[11,28233,28234],{},"This happens with:",[304,28236,28237,28240,28243],{},[307,28238,28239],{},"Intransitive verbs",[307,28241,28242],{},"Verbs in the potential form",[307,28244,28245],{},"Verbs in the ~たい form",[847,28247,28249],{"id":28248},"_1-transitive-and-intransitive-verbs-or-when-を-becomes-が-and-は","(1) Transitive and intransitive Verbs, or when を becomes が and は",[320,28251,28252,28255,28257],{},[287,28253,28254],{"bold":289,"underline":289},"\nWarning\n",[292,28256],{},[11,28258,28259],{},"This is a relatively advanced topic: transitive and intransitive verbs really, really deserve an entire blog post of their own. If you're a total beginner learning about を for the first time, you might want to skip this section.",[11,28261,28262,28263,28265],{},"So, remember how we said that you do verbs ",[26,28264,7041],{}," something, and that thing is the direct object? And that a direct object is the pizza you're eating, or the book you're reading?",[11,28267,28268],{},"Verbs that you do to something, like:",[304,28270,28271,28274,28277,28280,28283],{},[307,28272,28273],{},"Eat (a pizza)",[307,28275,28276],{},"Kick (a ball)",[307,28278,28279],{},"Read (a book)",[307,28281,28282],{},"Watch (a j-drama and understand it, even if you're still pretty new to Japanese, with Migaku 🤠)",[307,28284,28285],{},"Tickle (somebody)",[11,28287,28288,28289,415],{},"Are all what are known as ",[15,28290,28293,28296],{"href":28291,"rel":28292},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FTransitive_verb",[971],[26,28294,28295],{},"transitive"," verbs",[11,28298,28299],{},"In contrast, there are some verbs that just happen:",[304,28301,28302,28305,28308,28311,28314],{},[307,28303,28304],{},"Arise",[307,28306,28307],{},"Sleep",[307,28309,28310],{},"Laugh",[307,28312,28313],{},"Remain",[307,28315,28316],{},"Depart",[11,28318,28319],{},"You cannot arise, sleep, laugh, remain, or depart a pizza.",[11,28321,28322,28323,415],{},"Verbs that cannot take direct objects, such as these, are called ",[15,28324,28327],{"href":28325,"rel":28326},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FIntransitive_verb",[971],"intransitive verbs",[11,28329,28330],{},"Unfortunately, many English verbs actually actually bat for both teams:",[304,28332,28333,28342],{},[307,28334,28335,28336,28339,28340,3892],{},"The door opened (",[26,28337,28338],{},"intransitive",") \u002F I opened the door (",[26,28341,28295],{},[307,28343,28344,28345,28347,28348,3892],{},"She runs in the morning (",[26,28346,28338],{},") \u002F She runs a small business (",[26,28349,28295],{},[11,28351,28352],{},"This isn't the case in Japanese. Transitive and intransitive verbs have separate forms:",[304,28354,28355,28358],{},[307,28356,28357],{},"開ける (あける, \"to open (transitive)\")",[307,28359,28360],{},"開く (あく, \"to open (intransitive)\")",[320,28362,28363,28366],{},[11,28364,28365],{},"And now for the rule of thumb:",[304,28367,28368,28371],{},[307,28369,28370],{},"Use を (wo) with the object of a transitive verb",[307,28372,28373],{},"Use は (wa) or が (ga) with the thing an intransitive verb is happening to",[8421,28375,28377,28380,28389,28392,28416,28419,28422,28425,28433],{"heading":28376},"Bonus: を with (intransitive) verbs of motion",[11,28378,28379],{},"Alright, and now we arrive to verbs of motion.",[11,28381,28382,28383,1466,28386,28388],{},"Verbs of motion, such as ",[26,28384,28385],{},"come",[26,28387,199],{},", are generally intransitive in nature. You can't \"go\" a pizza, and you can't even \"go\" a walk—we need to use a preposition and go \"on\" a walk. Given what you've learned about direct objects, transitive verbs, and intransitive verbs so far, that should make sense.",[11,28390,28391],{},"Except for the fact that, sometimes in Japanese, you'll see sentences like this:",[304,28393,28394,28405],{},[307,28395,28396,28397,28399,28400,28402,28404],{},"廊下を歩いた。",[292,28398],{},"ろうかを　あるいた。",[292,28401],{},[292,28403],{},"\nI walked through the hallway.",[307,28406,28407,28408,28410,28411,28413,28415],{},"公園を走った。",[292,28409],{},"こうえんを　はしった。",[292,28412],{},[292,28414],{},"\nI ran though the park.",[11,28417,28418],{},"And this looks really confusing in English because we can't walk a hallway or run a park.",[11,28420,28421],{},"In Japanese, though, it's perfectly OK.",[11,28423,28424],{},"When を is used like this in Japanese, it is showing a route of passage. In other words:",[304,28426,28427,28430],{},[307,28428,28429],{},"Using を in the above sentences indicates that you were passing through these places",[307,28431,28432],{},"Using で in the above sentences would mean that you were doing the activity of running or walking in these places, taking on a nuance something like \"walking around\" and \"running around\"","\n ",[847,28435,28437],{"id":28436},"_2-contrast-or-when-を-becomes-は","(2) Contrast, or when を becomes は",[11,28439,28440,28441,28445],{},"We cover this in much more detail in ",[15,28442,28444],{"href":28443},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles-guide#the-binding-particle-%E3%81%AF","the は (wa) section of our deep dive on Japanese particles",", but some particles, including を (wo), will become は (wa) in order to show contrast.",[11,28447,28448],{},"Compare these two examples:",[304,28450,28451,28465],{},[307,28452,28453,28454,28456,28457],{},"ピザを食べた。",[292,28455],{},"（ぴざを　たべた。）\n",[304,28458,28459,28462],{},[307,28460,28461],{},"(I) ate a pizza.",[307,28463,28464],{},"This is simply a neutral statement that you ate a pizza.",[307,28466,28467,28468,28470,28471],{},"ピザは食べた。",[292,28469],{},"（ぴざは　たべた。）\n",[304,28472,28473,28479],{},[307,28474,28475,28476,415],{},"(I) ate a ",[26,28477,28478],{},"pizza",[307,28480,28481,28482,28484,28485,28488],{},"This sentence has some nuance to it. By using the contrastive は here, you're saying that while you ",[26,28483,4691],{}," eat a pizza, you ",[26,28486,28487],{},"didn't"," eat something else.",[11,28490,28491],{},"You can think of what's happening here as either を (wo) becoming は (wa), or as は (wa) pulling double duty and taking on some of the qualities of を (wo). Whatever makes more sense to you.",[847,28493,28495],{"id":28494},"_3-potential-and-passive-verbs-or-を-becomes-が","(3) Potential and passive verbs, or を becomes が",[11,28497,28498],{},"In Japanese, the potential form of verbs (saying you have the ability to do something) and the passive form of verbs (saying that something was done) often are spelled the exact same way.",[11,28500,28501],{},"For example, when 食べる (たべる, \"to eat\") is put into the 食べられる (たべられる) form, it can mean either:",[304,28503,28504,28507],{},[307,28505,28506],{},"You are able to eat something",[307,28508,28509],{},"Something was eaten",[11,28511,28512],{},"And in both of these cases, it's necessary to change を to が.",[304,28514,28515,28524],{},[307,28516,28517,28518,28520,28521,28523],{},"ナッツが食べられない。",[292,28519],{},"（なっつが　たべられない。）",[292,28522],{}," I cannot eat nuts.",[307,28525,28526,28527,28529,28530,28532],{},"ケーキが食べたれた。",[292,28528],{},"（けーきが　たべられた。）",[292,28531],{}," The cake was eaten.",[847,28534,28536],{"id":28535},"_4-verbs-in-the-たい-form-or-one-more-case-where-を-becomes-が","(4) Verbs in the ~たい form, or one more case where を becomes が",[11,28538,28539],{},"To say that you want to do something in Japanese, you must conjugate a verb to its ~たい form.",[11,28541,26495],{},[304,28543,28544],{},[307,28545,28546,28547,28549,28550,28552],{},"食べる。",[292,28548],{},"（たべる。）",[292,28551],{}," (I) eat.",[11,28554,28555],{},"Becomes:",[304,28557,28558],{},[307,28559,28560,28561,28563,28564,28566],{},"食べたい。",[292,28562],{},"（たべたい。）",[292,28565],{}," (I) want to eat.",[11,28568,28569],{},"That looks pretty straightforward, and for all practical purposes, it is.",[11,28571,28572,28573,28578],{},"But, for whatever reason, technically, ",[15,28574,28577],{"href":28575,"rel":28576},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ritsumei.ac.jp\u002Facd\u002Fcg\u002Flt\u002Frb\u002F599\u002F599pdf\u002Fhigasiya.pdf",[971],"you're supposed to use が with verbs in the ~たい form",". More specifically, it used to be incorrect to use を with verbs in the ~たい form.",[11,28580,28581],{},"You don't need to worry about this because younger Japanese people have begun using を with verbs in the ~たい form, but you should know that many older speakers feel that this is incorrect and not acceptable. Know that you'll see both particles used, but don't worry about it too much.",[45,28583,28585],{"id":28584},"worried-that-youll-never-learn-how-to-use-japanese-particles-like-を-correctly","Worried that you'll never learn how to use Japanese particles like を correctly?",[11,28587,28588],{},"Check out Migaku's Japanese Academy.",[5025,28590],{"src":28591},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FgFvZMZlUYfc?si=lQnGpKdo5mxnU-nx",[11,28593,28594],{},"We started as a group of people who loved Japanese—many people on our staff have passed the JLPT N1, the highest level of the Japanese proficiency test.",[11,28596,28597,28598,28602],{},"Migaku is actually a tool that makes Japanese text (such as the subtitles in anime) interactive, and it's incredibly useful for intermediate-level learners. Many of the people ",[15,28599,28601],{"href":28600},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fmigaku-japanese-learning-discord","in our community"," are beginners, though, so we wanted to create a streamlined path that new learners could follow to zoom through the beginner phase and begin making use of Migaku.",[11,28604,28605],{},"So we looked...",[11,28607,28608],{},"... and we looked...",[320,28610,28611,28614],{},[11,28612,28613],{},"... and we didn't find a single Japanese textbook that we felt comfortable endorsing.",[11,28615,28616],{},"So we decide to make our own.",[11,28618,28619],{},"The Migaku Japanese Academy represents over 10,000 hours of combined effort, and it's built on three straightforward premises:",[344,28621,28622,28625,28628],{},[307,28623,28624],{},"Theory is useless unless it's tied to practical examples—stuff you'll actually use",[307,28626,28627],{},"Some things are more and less valuable to a beginner—you should learn the specific stuff you need to make Japanese media accessible",[307,28629,28630],{},"It's important to be accessible—each lesson should contain at most one new word or grammar point",[11,28632,28633],{},"The Migaku Japanese Academy is a flashcard-based course, and it looks something like this:",[50,28635],{"src":28636,"width":28637,"height":28638,"alt":5002},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-particle-wo.jpeg",1468,798,[11,28640,28641],{},"As you progress through the course, you'll learn 386 grammar points, each lesson containing a practical explanation and several example sentences. After reading the lesson, you'll practice sentences that make use of that grammar point. The result is that after reading about how a grammar point works, you'll build an intuitive feel for how it's used in real Japanese sentences.",[11,28643,28644,28645,28648],{},"By the time you finish the course, you'll also have learned over 1,500 vocabulary words—but, again, not ",[26,28646,28647],{},"any"," words. The specific words you need to go from zero to understanding over 80% of Japanese media.",[11,28650,28651],{},"We're pretty proud of it.",[11,28653,28654],{},"And you can try it totally free for ten days. Just click the button below:",[674,28656],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,28658],{},[45,28660,28662],{"id":28661},"in-a-nutshell","In a nutshell...",[11,28664,28665],{},"To use the Japanese particle を (wo), just tack it directly onto the end of a sentence's direct object—the thing that's being affected by a verb.",[11,28667,28668],{},"While this basic use of を (wo) is pretty straightforward, it does get used in a few ways you might not expect, and sometimes it can be replaced by other particles.",[11,28670,28671],{},"Importantly, you don't need to memorize all of this stuff.",[11,28673,28674],{},"As you consume more Japanese content, and you see thousands of sentences that feature を (wo), you'll gradually develop a feel for what it means and how it works.",[11,28676,19843],{},{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":28678},[28679,28680,28681,28682,28683,28690,28696,28697],{"id":25817,"depth":707,"text":25818},{"id":27876,"depth":707,"text":27877},{"id":27921,"depth":707,"text":27922},{"id":27947,"depth":707,"text":27948},{"id":28019,"depth":707,"text":28020,"children":28684},[28685,28686,28687,28688,28689],{"id":28037,"depth":1016,"text":28038},{"id":28073,"depth":1016,"text":28074},{"id":28140,"depth":1016,"text":28141},{"id":28181,"depth":1016,"text":28182},{"id":28212,"depth":1016,"text":28213},{"id":28224,"depth":707,"text":28225,"children":28691},[28692,28693,28694,28695],{"id":28248,"depth":1016,"text":28249},{"id":28436,"depth":1016,"text":28437},{"id":28494,"depth":1016,"text":28495},{"id":28535,"depth":1016,"text":28536},{"id":28584,"depth":707,"text":28585},{"id":28661,"depth":707,"text":28662},"Learn how to use the Japanese particle を (wo) to mark direct objects in sentences. This beginner-friendly guide covers grammar basics, sentence examples, and practical tips to enhance your understanding of Japanese.",{"timestampUnix":28700,"slug":28701,"h1":28702,"image":28703,"tags":28708},1734929583890,"japanese-particle-wo-direct-object","Understanding the Japanese particle を (wo): A step-by-step guide to using direct objects",{"src":28704,"width":28705,"height":28706,"alt":28707,"position":23495},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-direct-objects-japanese-particle-wo.jpeg",5616,3744,"A young woman eating a slice of pie, thus demonstrating what the Japanese particle を that marks direct objects is used for.",[3670,728],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particle-wo","---\ntitle: 'The Japanese Particle を (wo): A Beginner’s Guide to Direct Objects'\ndescription: 'Learn how to use the Japanese particle を (wo) to mark direct objects in sentences. This beginner-friendly guide covers grammar basics, sentence examples, and practical tips to enhance your understanding of Japanese.'\ntimestampUnix: 1734929583890\nslug: 'japanese-particle-wo-direct-object'\nh1: 'Understanding the Japanese particle を (wo): A step-by-step guide to using direct objects'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-direct-objects-japanese-particle-wo.jpeg'\n width: 5616\n height: 3744\n alt: 'A young woman eating a slice of pie, thus demonstrating what the Japanese particle を that marks direct objects is used for.'\n position: 'top'\ntags:\n - grammar\n - fundamentals\n---\n\nIf you're more than three days into your journey to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), you know that particles are hard.\n\nThe particle を (wo) is an exception.\n\nIt marks the direct object of a sentence—the thing that is somehow affected by the verb of a sentence. Using it is simple and 100% regular: simply tack it right onto the end of a sentence's direct object.\n\nIf you know what a particle an direct object is, congrats! Those two sentences are all you need to know to use this Japanese particle.\n\nIf not, then you're in the right place. In this article, we'll get into:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Forewarning\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\n>\n> This article assumes that you can already read hiragana. If not, we applaud your go-getter spirit. Before you read this article, you may want to take a detour to first check out [what hiragana is used for](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-alphabets), then read this article while referencing [our hiragana cheat sheet](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-hiragana).\n\nAnyway, let's quickly cover a bit of background information.\n\n## What is a grammatical particle?\n\nFor all intents and purposes, a [grammatical particle](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FGrammatical_particle) is just a fancy linguistic word for \"sign\" or \"marker\". When you attach a grammatical particle to a word, you are marking the grammatical function of that particular word in this particular sentence.\n\nParticles are kind of like stickers. You identify the thing you want to mark with a sticker, and then you attach the sticker directly to it, like it's a laptop cover from the 2010s. But instead, it's a word in a sentence.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-particle-wo-sticker.jpeg\" width=\"5399\" height=\"3599\" alt=\"An image of a laptop cover which has been absolutely covered in stickers.\" \u002F>\n\nAlternatively, you might think about prepositions in English. When you want to say where something takes place, you attach a preposition before the location:\n\n- \u003Cu>In\u003C\u002Fu> the park\n- \u003Cu>At\u003C\u002Fu> school\n- \u003Cu>On\u003C\u002Fu> the table\n\nJapanese particles work in basically the same way, except they attach directly onto the end of a word.\n\nFor example:\n\n- 学校（がっこう）→ school\n- 学校\u003Cu>に\u003C\u002Fu>（がっこう\u003Cu>に\u003C\u002Fu>）→ _to_ or _in_ school\n\nOne more:\n\n- 友達（ともだち）→ a friend\n- 友達\u003Cu>と\u003C\u002Fu>（ともだち\u003Cu>と\u003C\u002Fu>）→ _with_ a friend\n\nJapanese has [many different particles](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles-guide), and in this blog post we'll look in detail at the particle を (wo), which is used to mark direct objects.\n\n## What is a direct object?\n\nA [direct object](\u003Chttps:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FObject_(grammar)#English>) is the part of a sentence that is somehow affected by the verb. While it's a bit difficult to put into words, as a native English speaker, you've got an intuitive feel for what a direct object is.\n\nIn the below example sentences, I've underlined the direct object:\n\n- I am eating \u003Cu>sushi\u003C\u002Fu>.\n- She read a \u003Cu>book\u003C\u002Fu>.\n- The student is learning \u003Cu>Japanese\u003C\u002Fu>.\n\nA direct object is the food being eaten, the book being read, the thing being learned, and anything else that falls into that same sort of category.\n\nIf verbs are what you do, direct objects are what you do the verb _to_.\n\n---\n\n## The pronunciation of を: O or Wo?\n\nIn romaji, を is written as \"wo\", so you might understandably think that it's pronounced like \"whoa\". 800 years ago or so, you would have been right.\n\n> In modern Japanese, を is pronounced as \"oh\".\n\nHaving said that, you may hear を pronounced as \"whoa\" in:\n\n- Songs, poetry, and artsy stuff like that\n- When を follows another \"oh\" sound (such as in 日本語を \"nihon\u003Cu>go\u003C\u002Fu> wo\"), and the speaker feels a need to be extra clear\n\n## How to use the Japanese particle を in sentences\n\nOf all of the Japanese particles, を (wo) may be the easiest to use.\n\n> To use the particle を, you need to do precisely two things:\n>\n> 1. Identify the direct object of a sentence\n> 2. Brazenly tack を right onto the end of it, as if you were adding an extra letter to the word\n\nFor example, let's translate those three sentences from the above section about direct objects:\n\n- 私は寿司を食べています。\u003Cbr>（わたしは　すしを　食べています。）\n\n - Sushi (寿司) is the thing you're eating, so it's the direct object\n - Notice that を has been appended directly onto 寿司, yielding 寿司を\n\n- 彼女は本を読みました。\u003Cbr>（かのじょは　ほんを　よみました。）\n\n - A book (本) is the thing that was read, so it's the direct object\n - Again, を has been attached to 本, giving us 本を\n\n- 学生は日本語を勉強しています。\u003Cbr>（がくせいは　にほんごを　べんきょうしています。）\n - Japanese (日本語) is the thing that's being studied\n - As expected, we see を after 日本語: 日本語を\n\nBam! That's it. That's how it works.\n\n---\n\n## More advanced usages of を (if a sentence has you confused, check these out)\n\nThe above is your bread and butter. To recap:\n\n- You'll append を directly onto the end of a noun\n- In Japanese, verbs come at the very end of the sentence\n\nUnfortunately, as you explore more Japanese, you'll quickly stumble into a few situations that end up making a liar out of me. Let's explore several of them.\n\n### (1) を with phrases\n\nIn English, descriptions normally branch off to the right of a noun:\n\n- I saw \\[a man] \u003Cu> that was running quickly\u003C\u002Fu>.\n\nIn Japanese, descriptions pretty much always come before the noun they modify:\n\n- \u003Cu>早く走っている\u003C\u002Fu> \\[男] を見た。\u003Cbr>（\u003Cu>はやく　はしっている\u003C\u002Fu>　\\[おとこ] を みた。）\n\nAnd this left-branching quality of Japanese descriptions means that you can very conveniently mark an entire phrase as being a direct object, as we've just done.\n\n### (2) を at the end of a sentence\n\nThe \"standard\" structure of a Japanese sentence is subject→object→verb, and since を attaches to the object, it will normally go somewhere in the middle of a sentence. Sometimes, though, you'll see を at the end of a sentence.\n\nThis happens in some fixed phrases:\n\n- More commonly, as in 良いお年を (よい　おとしを), \"Happy new year!\"\n- More awesomely, as in フォースと共にあらんことを (ふぉーすと　ともに　あらんことを), \"May the force be with you.\"\n\nAnd also to make quick clarifications, if the object of a verb isn't clear:\n\n- Speaker A: 食べてください！(たべてください), \"Eat it!\"\n- Speaker B: 何を? (なにを?), \"(Eat) _what_?\"\n\nAnd you'll also see sentences inverted (called an [anastrophe](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002Fanastrophe?variant=zh-tw)) for dramatic effect. For example, at 1:22 in this song by the Japanese band Supercell, we hear this verse:\n\n- どうかお願い (どうか　おねがい)\n- 驚かないで聞いてよ (おどろかないで　きいてよ)\n- 私のこの想い\u003Cu>を\u003C\u002Fu> (わたしの　このおもい\u003Cu>を\u003C\u002Fu>)\n\nPlacing the object 想い\u003Cu>を\u003C\u002Fu> after the verb 聞いてよ gives this command a more longing, pleading quality. \"To these feelings of mine listen, please! Without being surprised.\"\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FcaF6nJxTejc?si=2onJVri3FZsnTpji\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n### (3) を being omitted\n\nIn especially casual speech, some particles, including を, may be dropped. I recommend you _not_ do this for the time being, as particles can't always be omitted. Learn the rules before you start breaking them!\n\nHaving said that, don't be terribly surprised if you see things like this:\n\n- [どんなときピザ食べたくなる？](https:\u002F\u002Fsodane.hokkaido.jp\u002Ftv\u002F202207100900002324.html)\u003Cbr>（どんなとき　ぴざ　たべたくなる）\u003Cbr>When do you feel like eating pizza?\u003Cbr>_Notice: the を that should be between ピザ and 食べたくなる has been omitted_\n\n> Note that を is _not_ used with the word 何か (なにか), \"something\". As such, you'll see sentences like 何か食べたい？ (なにか たべたい?). This is perfectly OK!\n\n### (4) を in the \"ところを\" grammar point\n\nWe won't go too far into this one since it's a grammar point for [the JLPT N1, the highest level of the Japanese proficiency test](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjlpt-n1-overview), but you can read about it on your own if you want.\n\nWhen を appears with ところ in [the grammar point ところを](https:\u002F\u002Fjlptsensei.com\u002Flearn-japanese-grammar\u002F%E3%81%A8%E3%81%93%E3%82%8D%E3%82%92-tokoro-o-meaning\u002F), it's being used for one of two reasons:\n\n1. To preface an apology _(I'm sorry for interrupting you while you're busy, but... )_\n2. To mean \"when\" or \"at the time of\", but with a particularly positive or negative nuance\n\n### (5) を with verbs of motion\n\nYou'll sometimes see を used with verbs that involve some sort of motion, like 行く (いく, \"to go\")　 or 歩く (あるく, \"to walk\").\n\nWe're actually going to talk about this in more detail in the next section, so scroll down a bit!\n\n---\n\n## Some grammar points where を gets replaced with other particles\n\nWe've covered a lot of ground, but so far, an を has been an を; what you see is what you get\n\nUnfortunately, sometimes を can become が or は, too.\n\nThis happens with:\n\n- Intransitive verbs\n- Verbs in the potential form\n- Verbs in the ~たい form\n\n### (1) Transitive and intransitive Verbs, or when を becomes が and は\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Warning\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\n>\n> This is a relatively advanced topic: transitive and intransitive verbs really, really deserve an entire blog post of their own. If you're a total beginner learning about を for the first time, you might want to skip this section.\n\nSo, remember how we said that you do verbs _to_ something, and that thing is the direct object? And that a direct object is the pizza you're eating, or the book you're reading?\n\nVerbs that you do to something, like:\n\n- Eat (a pizza)\n- Kick (a ball)\n- Read (a book)\n- Watch (a j-drama and understand it, even if you're still pretty new to Japanese, with Migaku 🤠)\n- Tickle (somebody)\n\nAre all what are known as [_transitive_ verbs](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FTransitive_verb).\n\nIn contrast, there are some verbs that just happen:\n\n- Arise\n- Sleep\n- Laugh\n- Remain\n- Depart\n\nYou cannot arise, sleep, laugh, remain, or depart a pizza.\n\nVerbs that cannot take direct objects, such as these, are called [intransitive verbs](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FIntransitive_verb).\n\nUnfortunately, many English verbs actually actually bat for both teams:\n\n- The door opened (_intransitive_) \u002F I opened the door (_transitive_)\n- She runs in the morning (_intransitive_) \u002F She runs a small business (_transitive_)\n\nThis isn't the case in Japanese. Transitive and intransitive verbs have separate forms:\n\n- 開ける (あける, \"to open (transitive)\")\n- 開く (あく, \"to open (intransitive)\")\n\n> And now for the rule of thumb:\n>\n> - Use を (wo) with the object of a transitive verb\n> - Use は (wa) or が (ga) with the thing an intransitive verb is happening to\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"Bonus: を with (intransitive) verbs of motion\">\n\nAlright, and now we arrive to verbs of motion.\n\nVerbs of motion, such as _come_ or _go_, are generally intransitive in nature. You can't \"go\" a pizza, and you can't even \"go\" a walk—we need to use a preposition and go \"on\" a walk. Given what you've learned about direct objects, transitive verbs, and intransitive verbs so far, that should make sense.\n\nExcept for the fact that, sometimes in Japanese, you'll see sentences like this:\n\n- 廊下を歩いた。\u003Cbr>ろうかを　あるいた。\u003Cbr>\n I walked through the hallway.\n- 公園を走った。\u003Cbr>こうえんを　はしった。\u003Cbr>\n I ran though the park.\n\nAnd this looks really confusing in English because we can't walk a hallway or run a park.\n\nIn Japanese, though, it's perfectly OK.\n\nWhen を is used like this in Japanese, it is showing a route of passage. In other words:\n\n- Using を in the above sentences indicates that you were passing through these places\n- Using で in the above sentences would mean that you were doing the activity of running or walking in these places, taking on a nuance something like \"walking around\" and \"running around\"\n\n \u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n### (2) Contrast, or when を becomes は\n\nWe cover this in much more detail in [the は (wa) section of our deep dive on Japanese particles](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles-guide#the-binding-particle-%E3%81%AF), but some particles, including を (wo), will become は (wa) in order to show contrast.\n\nCompare these two examples:\n\n- ピザを食べた。\u003Cbr>（ぴざを　たべた。）\n - (I) ate a pizza.\n - This is simply a neutral statement that you ate a pizza.\n- ピザは食べた。\u003Cbr>（ぴざは　たべた。）\n - (I) ate a _pizza_.\n - This sentence has some nuance to it. By using the contrastive は here, you're saying that while you _did_ eat a pizza, you _didn't_ eat something else.\n\nYou can think of what's happening here as either を (wo) becoming は (wa), or as は (wa) pulling double duty and taking on some of the qualities of を (wo). Whatever makes more sense to you.\n\n### (3) Potential and passive verbs, or を becomes が\n\nIn Japanese, the potential form of verbs (saying you have the ability to do something) and the passive form of verbs (saying that something was done) often are spelled the exact same way.\n\nFor example, when 食べる (たべる, \"to eat\") is put into the 食べられる (たべられる) form, it can mean either:\n\n- You are able to eat something\n- Something was eaten\n\nAnd in both of these cases, it's necessary to change を to が.\n\n- ナッツが食べられない。\u003Cbr>（なっつが　たべられない。）\u003Cbr> I cannot eat nuts.\n- ケーキが食べたれた。\u003Cbr>（けーきが　たべられた。）\u003Cbr> The cake was eaten.\n\n### (4) Verbs in the ~たい form, or one more case where を becomes が\n\nTo say that you want to do something in Japanese, you must conjugate a verb to its ~たい form.\n\nIn other words:\n\n- 食べる。\u003Cbr>（たべる。）\u003Cbr> (I) eat.\n\nBecomes:\n\n- 食べたい。\u003Cbr>（たべたい。）\u003Cbr> (I) want to eat.\n\nThat looks pretty straightforward, and for all practical purposes, it is.\n\nBut, for whatever reason, technically, [you're supposed to use が with verbs in the ~たい form](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ritsumei.ac.jp\u002Facd\u002Fcg\u002Flt\u002Frb\u002F599\u002F599pdf\u002Fhigasiya.pdf). More specifically, it used to be incorrect to use を with verbs in the ~たい form.\n\nYou don't need to worry about this because younger Japanese people have begun using を with verbs in the ~たい form, but you should know that many older speakers feel that this is incorrect and not acceptable. Know that you'll see both particles used, but don't worry about it too much.\n\n## Worried that you'll never learn how to use Japanese particles like を correctly?\n\nCheck out Migaku's Japanese Academy.\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FgFvZMZlUYfc?si=lQnGpKdo5mxnU-nx\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\nWe started as a group of people who loved Japanese—many people on our staff have passed the JLPT N1, the highest level of the Japanese proficiency test.\n\nMigaku is actually a tool that makes Japanese text (such as the subtitles in anime) interactive, and it's incredibly useful for intermediate-level learners. Many of the people [in our community](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fmigaku-japanese-learning-discord) are beginners, though, so we wanted to create a streamlined path that new learners could follow to zoom through the beginner phase and begin making use of Migaku.\n\nSo we looked...\n\n... and we looked...\n\n> ... and we didn't find a single Japanese textbook that we felt comfortable endorsing.\n>\n> So we decide to make our own.\n\nThe Migaku Japanese Academy represents over 10,000 hours of combined effort, and it's built on three straightforward premises:\n\n1. Theory is useless unless it's tied to practical examples—stuff you'll actually use\n2. Some things are more and less valuable to a beginner—you should learn the specific stuff you need to make Japanese media accessible\n3. It's important to be accessible—each lesson should contain at most one new word or grammar point\n\nThe Migaku Japanese Academy is a flashcard-based course, and it looks something like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-particle-wo.jpeg\" width=\"1468\" height=\"798\" alt=\"...\" \u002F>\n\nAs you progress through the course, you'll learn 386 grammar points, each lesson containing a practical explanation and several example sentences. After reading the lesson, you'll practice sentences that make use of that grammar point. The result is that after reading about how a grammar point works, you'll build an intuitive feel for how it's used in real Japanese sentences.\n\nBy the time you finish the course, you'll also have learned over 1,500 vocabulary words—but, again, not _any_ words. The specific words you need to go from zero to understanding over 80% of Japanese media.\n\nWe're pretty proud of it.\n\nAnd you can try it totally free for ten days. Just click the button below:\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## In a nutshell...\n\nTo use the Japanese particle を (wo), just tack it directly onto the end of a sentence's direct object—the thing that's being affected by a verb.\n\nWhile this basic use of を (wo) is pretty straightforward, it does get used in a few ways you might not expect, and sometimes it can be replaced by other particles.\n\nImportantly, you don't need to memorize all of this stuff.\n\nAs you consume more Japanese content, and you see thousands of sentences that feature を (wo), you'll gradually develop a feel for what it means and how it works.\n\nGood luck!\n",{"title":27744,"description":28698},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particle-wo","CIzOmNfgjGF2w_VTnad2zxXvh9HYFx4LgdSpYBgj9hk","December 23, 2024",{"id":28716,"title":28717,"body":28718,"description":31190,"extension":717,"meta":31191,"navigation":730,"path":31201,"rawbody":31202,"seo":31203,"stem":31204,"__hash__":31205,"timestampUnix":31192,"slug":31193,"h1":1987,"image":31194,"tags":31199,"_dir":736,"timestamp":10706},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles.md","The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Japanese Particles",{"type":8,"value":28719,"toc":31158},[28720,28726,28736,28743,28759,28762,28764,28766,28770,28774,28788,28807,28810,28842,28845,28849,28857,28860,28888,28897,28901,28904,28914,28977,28980,28983,28985,28989,28992,29000,29003,29015,29018,29021,29035,29038,29041,29043,29047,29053,29066,29069,29084,29091,29094,29097,29099,29103,29125,29144,29147,29151,29154,29198,29206,29433,29436,29440,29443,29466,29469,29495,29498,29529,29533,29541,29560,29563,29566,29610,29613,29617,29620,29646,29649,29673,29681,29710,29714,29717,29720,29754,29758,29761,29809,29812,29856,29859,29863,29866,29890,29893,29916,29919,29963,29967,29970,29973,30039,30042,30066,30073,30114,30116,30120,30131,30139,30157,30160,30164,30171,30178,30188,30194,30197,30201,30204,30233,30242,30245,30262,30265,30283,30290,30294,30303,30313,30316,30321,30324,30327,30368,30371,30373,30377,30380,30383,30387,30390,30398,30403,30405,30407,30411,30414,30418,30421,30433,30435,30520,30527,30531,30534,30537,30545,30548,30556,30558,30562,30565,30573,30585,30589,30592,30595,30617,30620,30634,30637,30643,30646,30667,30670,30673,30677,30680,30694,30707,30718,30722,30725,30763,30767,30779,30782,30806,30809,30813,30816,30864,30869,30873,30876,30879,30882,30903,30906,30949,30952,30995,30998,31009,31011,31015,31018,31108,31135,31137,31141,31144,31147,31149],[11,28721,28722,28723,28725],{},"Particles are tiny little grammatical tags that clarify the relationships between words in a sentence. They aren't concrete words like \"bear\" or \"pizza\" and cannot stand on their own, but they're important. You'll see them in virtually every Japanese sentence, so if you want to ",[15,28724,18],{"href":17},", you need to get your head around Japanese particles.",[11,28727,28728,28729,506,28732,28735],{},"Looking at the Japanese word for particle, ",[98,28730],{"lang":100,"syntax":28731},"助詞[じょし]",[103,28733],{"src":28734,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_助詞.mp3",", we see 助 (\"help\" or \"assist\") and 詞 (\"part of speech\"). This is fitting. In Japanese, particles attach to other words in order to add context to a sentence by indicating what function a word (or even phrase) is playing within that sentence. Literally speaking, particles are parts of speech that help us connect words together.",[11,28737,28738,28739,28742],{},"If we translated the sentence ",[26,28740,28741],{},"\"that bear is eating my pizza!\""," into Japanese, we'd end up using two particles:",[304,28744,28745,28752],{},[307,28746,28747,28748,28751],{},"The particle が ",[103,28749],{"src":28750,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_が.mp3"," would attach to \"bear\" to show that it's the thing which is doing the eating",[307,28753,28754,28755,28758],{},"The particle を ",[103,28756],{"src":28757,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_を.mp3"," would attach to \"pizza\" to show that it's the thing being eaten",[11,28760,28761],{},"In this post we'll talk about:",[39,28763],{},[42,28765],{},[45,28767,28769],{"id":28768},"japanese-sentences-vs-english-sentences","Japanese sentences vs English sentences",[847,28771,28773],{"id":28772},"differences-due-to-sentence-structure","Differences due to sentence structure",[11,28775,28776,28777,28781,28782,28787],{},"In the post on ",[15,28778,28780],{"href":28779},"\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fthe-most-difficult-language","the world's hardest languages",", we talked about how languages can be analyzed in several ways. Linguists classify languages according to ",[15,28783,28786],{"href":28784,"rel":28785},"https:\u002F\u002Fwals.info\u002Ffeature",[971],"nearly 200 features",", and one of those features has to do with how information within a sentence is organized.",[304,28789,28790,28799],{},[307,28791,28792,28793,28798],{},"English is a ",[15,28794,28797],{"href":28795,"rel":28796},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSubject%E2%80%93verb%E2%80%93object_word_order",[971],"subject-verb-object (SVO)"," language",[307,28800,28801,28802,28798],{},"Japanese is a ",[15,28803,28806],{"href":28804,"rel":28805},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSubject%E2%80%93object%E2%80%93verb_word_order",[971],"subject-object-verb (SOV)",[11,28808,28809],{},"This has broad implications for how sentences get organized in Japanese and English, but, for now, let's just look at a simple sentence:",[304,28811,28812,28829],{},[307,28813,28814,28815],{},"English says ",[26,28816,28817,28820,28821,28824,28825,28828],{},[1090,28818,28819],{},"A bear"," (subject) ",[1090,28822,28823],{},"is eating"," (verb) ",[1090,28826,28827],{},"a pizza"," (object)",[307,28830,28831,28832],{},"Japanese says ",[26,28833,28834,28820,28836,28838,28839,28841],{},[1090,28835,28819],{},[1090,28837,28827],{}," (object) ",[1090,28840,28823],{}," (verb)",[11,28843,28844],{},"Notice that the verb goes at the very end of a Japanese sentence, not in the middle.",[847,28846,28848],{"id":28847},"differences-due-to-culture","Differences due to culture",[11,28850,28851,28852,28856],{},"Additionally, whereas most English countries are ",[15,28853,28855],{"href":4938,"rel":28854},[971],"low-context cultures",", Japan is a high-context culture (see the same link). This affects sentence structure in that English speakers tend to make information explicit, even when it is redundant, but Japanese speakers omit redundant information where possible.",[11,28858,28859],{},"So if we take a question like \"Did you eat the pizza?\", we might get responses like this:",[304,28861,28862,28865,28868,28878],{},[307,28863,28864],{},"EN 1: Yes, I ate it.",[307,28866,28867],{},"EN 2: No, the bear ate it.",[307,28869,28870,28871,506,28874,28877],{},"JA 1: ",[98,28872],{"lang":100,"syntax":28873},"うん{、}食[た,たべる]べた{。}",[103,28875,506],{"src":28876,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_うん、食べた。.mp3"," (\"Yes, ate.\")",[307,28879,28880,28881,506,28884,28887],{},"JA 2: ",[98,28882],{"lang":100,"syntax":28883},"ううん{、}クマ が 食[た,たべる]べた{。}",[103,28885,506],{"src":28886,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_ううん、クマが食べた。.mp3"," (\"No, bear ate.\")",[11,28889,28890,28891,28894,28895,415],{},"In English, the responses explicitly re-affirm who did what. In Japanese, however, since the initial question correctly states who did the eating (you) and what was eaten (the pizza), the \"JA 1\" response doesn't repeat that information. In the \"JA 2\" response, the speaker makes use of the が particle, as it's now necessary to clarify that the pizza was eaten by ",[26,28892,28893],{},"the bear",", not by ",[26,28896,7484],{},[847,28898,28900],{"id":28899},"the-key-point","The key point",[11,28902,28903],{},"With this difference in mind, we end up with a somewhat profound insight into how Japanese sentences differ from English ones:",[320,28905,28906],{},[11,28907,28908,28909,28911,28913],{},"English sentences boil down to subjects that do things. ",[292,28910],{},[292,28912],{}," Japanese sentences boil down to a single verb† and, optionally, the context surrounding it.",[8421,28915,28917,28933,28940,28955,28958,28968,28975],{"heading":28916},"† A pedantic note",[11,28918,28919,28920,28928,28929,28932],{},"To be really technical, Japanese sentences consist of ",[15,28921,28924,28925],{"href":28922,"rel":28923},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FPredicate_(grammar)",[971],"a ",[26,28926,28927],{},"predicate"," and any necessary context surrounding it. A predicate is the part of a sentence (technically called a ",[26,28930,28931],{},"clause",") which says something about the subject. It may be a verb (John runs), an adjective (John is tall), or even a noun (John is a man).",[11,28934,28935,28939],{},[15,28936,28938],{"href":26369,"rel":28937},[971],"The simplest Japanese explanation"," of this I've found says:",[304,28941,28942,28952],{},[307,28943,16769,28944,28947,28949],{},[98,28945],{"lang":100,"syntax":28946},"日本語[にほんご] は{【}述語[じゅつご]{】}を 中心[ちゅうしん] に{、}複数[ふくすう] の 成分[せいぶん] から 構成[こうせい] さ[,する]れます{。}",[292,28948],{},[98,28950],{"lang":100,"syntax":28951},"要[よう]するに{、「}必要[ひつよう] な 言葉[ことば]{＋}述語[じゅつご]{」}が 日本語[にほんご] の 基本[きほん] な[,な]ん です{。}",[307,28953,28954],{},"EN: Focusing around the predicate, Japanese (sentences) consist of multiple parts. In essence, Japanese sentences consist of \"a predicate\" and \"(other) necessary words\".",[11,28956,28957],{},"And here's how my Japanese dictionary defines 述語 (predicate):",[304,28959,28960,28965],{},[307,28961,16769,28962],{},[98,28963],{"lang":100,"syntax":28964},"文[ぶん] の 成分[せいぶん] の 一[いち]{。}文中[ぶんちゅう] で{「}何[なに] が どう する{」「}何[なに] が どんな だ{」「}何[なに] が 何[なん]だ{」}における{「}どう する{」「}どんな だ{」「}なん だ{」}に 当[あ]たる 語[ご] または 文節[ぶんせつ] を いう{。「}花[はな] が 散[ち]る{」「}頬[ほお] が 赤[あか]い{」「}あれ が 駅[えき] だ{」}における{「}散[ち]る{」「}赤[あか]い{」「}駅[えき] だ{」}の 類[るい]{。}",[307,28966,28967],{},"EN: (The predicate) is one of the components of a sentence. In a sentence, it refers to the (words\u002Fphrase\u002Fclause) that corresponds to \"{thing}\" in \"X does {thing},\" \"is like {descriptor}\" in \"Y is like {descriptor},\" or \"is {thing}\" in \"Z is {thing}.\" Examples include \"fall\" in \"the flowers fall,\" \"red\" in \"the cheeks are red,\" and \"is the station\" in \"that is the station.\"",[11,28969,28970,28971,28974],{},"In casual speech and some fixed phrases, you may also see sentences where the verb has been omitted. Perhaps the most common example is それはちょっと・・・",[103,28972,506],{"src":28973,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-それはちょっとぉぉ・・・.mp3",", which is used to politely refrain from answering a question or carrying out a request.",[42,28976],{},[11,28978,28979],{},"If it's necessary for a sentence to consist of more than just a verb, you (a) add in any necessary context words and (b) attach a particle that clarifies how those words relate to the sentence's main verb.",[11,28981,28982],{},"And now you might ask:",[42,28984],{},[45,28986,28988],{"id":28987},"why-do-japanese-sentences-need-particles-anyway","Why do Japanese sentences need particles, anyway?",[11,28990,28991],{},"When you saw that sentence about the pizza-eating bear, something like this might have gone through your head:",[320,28993,28994],{},[11,28995,28996,28997,28999],{},"If English can say ",[26,28998,28741],{}," without using particles, why do they suddenly become necessary when we say that sentence in Japanese?",[11,29001,29002],{},"And that's an excellent question to be asking. The answer is a little abstract, so I'll make a metaphor.",[11,29004,29005,29006,29011,29012,29014],{},"Bear with me for a moment and imagine that you want to go to ",[15,29007,29010],{"href":29008,"rel":29009},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch?num=10&sca_esv=5cf43fb2a73d6eec&sxsrf=ADLYWIJJz9rF6nAhMdzyRat5svKC2ytLKg:1728954225320&q=ueno+zoo&udm=2&fbs=AEQNm0BqbPbAzSj6PhNr7nv9Ltx-oFh8tVsgXi1MyFbswNtTUOS5b68chsyOj2QEdx4EPnNHj-rfVa2Eb1VCscGX2ZUj5r8ZOZRpZPWpmGRpRWIG4vnBpwS1Khes1PynNnzkhGAwsjNymIEagZDR9C9QEbmDPkR4-PLgcE1kK1jdKjsiptWX900piQTBNnKXkMbFe2Fc99dxN9DkqHom-yRhNVZ205e_LT-7K4smq681js2gF_X4pFM&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwifiruzmI-JAxUhC3kGHU3RLxIQtKgLegQIDhAB&biw=1240&bih=880&dpr=2#vhid=buu71Lm2u8fWTM&vssid=mosaic",[971],"the Ueno Zoological Gardens"," in Tokyo. You can get to the zoo via bike or train, and your route will be impacted by the mode of transportation you choose: a train ",[26,29013,1185],{}," follow tracks, but a bicycle probably won't ever follow train tracks. In other words, your destination is fixed, but your route is variable",[11,29016,29017],{},"In the same way, while every language is capable of communicating any message, how the sentence conveying that message will look depends on each particular language's structure and features. Just like a bicycle and train will take different routes to get to the same place, English and Japanese take different approaches to communicating the same message.",[11,29019,29020],{},"One of the key differences between English and Japanese is as follows:",[304,29022,29023,29029],{},[307,29024,29025,29028],{},[1090,29026,29027],{},"English depends on word order",": English doesn't have particles that clarify the job of each word\u002Fphrase in a sentence, and this makes word order very important. If you switch the order of \"pizza\" and \"bear\" in \"the bear ate the pizza\", you end up with a bear-eating pizza. The whole system breaks down and you wind up with the stuff of nightmares.",[307,29030,29031,29034],{},[1090,29032,29033],{},"Japanese depends on particles",": Japanese has particles that clarify the job of each word\u002Fphrase in a sentence, and this reduces the importance of word order. If you switch the order of \"pizza\" and \"bear\" in \"the bear ate the pizza\", your sentence will still mean \"the bear ate the pizza\" because を marks the pizza as the thing that got eaten and が marks the bear as the thing that did the eating.",[11,29036,29037],{},"Basically, lacking a strict word order like that of English, Japanese needs to take a different approach to making it clear which parts of a sentence are doing what.",[11,29039,29040],{},"And that's where the particles come in.",[42,29042],{},[45,29044,29046],{"id":29045},"how-to-use-japanese-particles","How to use Japanese particles",[11,29048,29049,29050,29052],{},"Now that you know a bit about Japanese sentences and what particles are for, let's see how you actually ",[26,29051,22322],{}," particles. Below is a simple Japanese sentence with the particles highlighted in red.",[304,29054,29055,29063],{},[307,29056,16769,29057,29060],{},[98,29058],{"lang":100,"syntax":29059},"日本語[にほんご] の[;a] 助詞[じょし] を[;a] 紹介[しょうかい] する ため{、}例文[れいぶん] を[;a] 書[か,かく;]きました{。}",[103,29061,506],{"src":29062,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-日本語の助詞を紹介するため、例文を書きました。.mp3",[307,29064,29065],{},"EN: I wrote an example sentence in order to introduce Japanese particles.",[11,29067,29068],{},"This sentence includes three particles:",[304,29070,29071,29078,29081],{},[307,29072,29073,29074,29077],{},"In 日本語の助詞, the particle の connects 日本語 (Japanese) to 助詞 (particles); a more literal way to translate this would be \"the particles ",[1090,29075,29076],{},"of"," Japanese\"",[307,29079,29080],{},"In 日本語の助詞を紹介する, the particle を shows that 日本語の助詞 (Japanese particles) is what's being introduced; notice that 日本語の助詞 is a phrase",[307,29082,29083],{},"In 例文を書きました, the particle を shows that 例文 (example sentence) is what's being written; notice that 例文 is a single word",[11,29085,29086,29087,29090],{},"It'll take a bit of practice to remember which particles do what, but once you've got that down, actually ",[26,29088,29089],{},"using"," the particles is pretty easy. You just take the particle you want and attach it directly to the end of a word or phrase.",[11,29092,29093],{},"If you can wrap your head around that, excellent! Pretty much all Japanese grammar has to do with either how verbs change forms or how particles attach to nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Even a lot of things that aren't particles (such as ため, \"in order to\", from our above example sentence) function in the same way that particles do: just tack them onto the end of the word or phrase they modify.",[11,29095,29096],{},"And now we can finally start talking about some basic Japanese particles.",[42,29098],{},[45,29100,29102],{"id":29101},"the-case-particles-が-の-を-に-へ-と-で-から-and-より","The \"case\" particles: が, の, を, に, へ, と, で, から and より",[11,29104,29105,29106,29111,29112,29117,29118,506,29121,29124],{},"In linguistics, ",[15,29107,29110],{"href":29108,"rel":29109},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FGrammatical_case",[971],"grammatical case"," refers to the role a particular noun or noun phrase is playing in a sentence. Some languages show grammatical case via word order (like English) or by ",[15,29113,29116],{"href":29114,"rel":29115},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FInflection",[971],"inflecting"," a noun (like Russian). In Japanese, case particles (",[98,29119],{"lang":100,"syntax":29120},"各[かく] 助詞[じょし]",[103,29122,506],{"src":29123,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_各助詞.mp3",") are used to show the relationship a noun or noun phrase has with the verb of a sentence.",[11,29126,29127,29128,29133,29134,11047,29139,415],{},"These particles are so integral to how Japanese sentences work that Japanese actually has ",[15,29129,29132],{"href":29130,"rel":29131},"https:\u002F\u002Fimabi.org\u002Fadjective-nominalization\u002F",[971],"grammar points that turn adjectives into nouns (~さ and ~み",", and also ",[15,29135,29138],{"href":29136,"rel":29137},"https:\u002F\u002Fimabi.org\u002Fadjective-nominalization-ii\u002F",[971],"~く",[15,29140,29143],{"href":29141,"rel":29142},"https:\u002F\u002Fimabi.org\u002Fnominalization\u002F",[971],"grammar points that turn verbs into nouns (の, こと, and もの)",[11,29145,29146],{},"And now we can talk about nine basic Japanese particles:",[847,29148,29150],{"id":29149},"️-1-use-the-particle-が-to-mark-the-subject-of-a-sentence","➡️ 1. Use the particle が to mark the subject of a sentence",[11,29152,29153],{},"Use the particle が (ga) to mark the subject of a sentence: the thing doing an action or the thing being described. We'll get a bit more nuanced than this, but in this very general sense, this particle is pretty straightforward:",[304,29155,29156,29177],{},[307,29157,29158,369,29161,369,29164,29166,29168,29169,29171,29172,29174,29176],{},[98,29159],{"lang":100,"syntax":29160},"サミ が 記事[きじ] を 書[か,かく]きました{。}",[103,29162,369],{"src":29163,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_サミが記事を書きました。.mp3",[292,29165],{},[292,29167],{},"\n\n\nSami \n",[1090,29170,26643],{},"\n kiji wo kakimashita\n",[292,29173],{},[292,29175],{},"\n\n\nSami wrote an article.\n",[307,29178,29179,369,29182,369,29185,29187,29189,29190,29192,29193,29195,29197],{},[98,29180],{"lang":100,"syntax":29181},"頭[あたま] が 痛[いた]い です",[103,29183,369],{"src":29184,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_頭が痛いです.mp3",[292,29186],{},[292,29188],{},"\n\n\natama \n",[1090,29191,26643],{},"\n itai desu.\n",[292,29194],{},[292,29196],{},"\n\n\n(My) head hurts.\n",[320,29199,29200],{},[11,29201,29202,29203,29205],{},"Notice in this second sentence that the word ",[26,29204,23850],{}," has been omitted. We aren't telepathic, so if somebody states that a head is hurting, they're probably talking about their own head. Remember, Japanese omits information where possible!",[8421,29207,29209,29211,29212,29216,29219,29226,29249,29255,29278,29282,29285,29329,29333,29352,29375,29379,29382,29385,29410,29413],{"heading":29208},"A few specific situations where が is also used",[292,29210],{},"\nHere are a few more situations in which the subject-marking particle が is used.\n",[3240,29213,29215],{"id":29214},"when-talking-about-the-existence-of-something","When talking about the existence of something",[11,29217,29218],{},"When stating that something exists in English we use \"there is\" or \"there are,\" but in Japanese, you'll place が after whatever it is that exists, along with a Japanese verb that indicates existence.",[11,29220,29221,29222,29225],{},"For ",[26,29223,29224],{},"animate"," objects (things that are alive), use ~がいる",[304,29227,29228],{},[307,29229,29230,369,29233,369,29236,29238,29240,29241,29243,29244,29246,29248],{},[98,29231],{"lang":100,"syntax":29232},"テーブル の 上[うえ] に 教科書[きょうかしょ] が あり[,ある]ます{。}",[103,29234,369],{"src":29235,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_テーブルの上に教科書があります。.mp3",[292,29237],{},[292,29239],{},"\n\n\ntēburu no ue ni kyōkasho \n",[1090,29242,26643],{},"\n arimasu.\n",[292,29245],{},[292,29247],{},"\n\n\nThere's a book on the table.\n",[11,29250,29221,29251,29254],{},[26,29252,29253],{},"inanimate"," objects (things that aren't alive), use ~がある",[304,29256,29257],{},[307,29258,29259,369,29262,369,29265,29267,29269,29270,29272,29273,29275,29277],{},[98,29260],{"lang":100,"syntax":29261},"庭[にわ] に クマ が い[,いる]ます{。}",[103,29263,369],{"src":29264,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_庭にクマがいます。.mp3",[292,29266],{},[292,29268],{},"\n\n\nniwa ni kuma \n",[1090,29271,26643],{},"\n imasu.\n",[292,29274],{},[292,29276],{},"\n\n\nThere's a bear in the garden.\n",[3240,29279,29281],{"id":29280},"when-talking-about-sensesemotions","When talking about senses\u002Femotions",[11,29283,29284],{},"When you talk about your senses (things you hear, see, etc.) or things you feel (cold\u002Fsad, like\u002Fwant something), you'll use が in Japanese.",[304,29286,29287,29308],{},[307,29288,29289,369,29292,369,29295,29297,29299,29300,29302,29303,29305,29307],{},[98,29290],{"lang":100,"syntax":29291},"いい 匂[にお]い が し[,する]ます{！}",[103,29293,369],{"src":29294,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_いい匂いがします！.mp3",[292,29296],{},[292,29298],{},"\n\n\nii nioi\n",[1090,29301,26643],{},"\n shimasu!.\n",[292,29304],{},[292,29306],{},"\n\n\n(Something) smells good!\n",[307,29309,29310,369,29313,369,29316,29318,29320,29321,29323,29324,29326,29328],{},[98,29311],{"lang":100,"syntax":29312},"未来[みらい] が 怖[こわ]い です[]{。}",[103,29314,369],{"src":29315,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_未来が怖いです。.mp3",[292,29317],{},[292,29319],{},"\n\n\nmirai\n",[1090,29322,26643],{},"\n kowai desu.\n",[292,29325],{},[292,29327],{},"\n\n\nThe future is scary.\n",[3240,29330,29332],{"id":29331},"when-talking-about-things-you-can-do","When talking about things you can do",[11,29334,29335,29336,29340,29341,29344,29345,29351],{},"When you put a verb into the ",[15,29337,10167],{"href":29338,"rel":29339},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_conjugation#Potential",[971]," to say that something \"can\" be done (",[26,29342,29343],{},"he reads"," vs ",[26,29346,29347,29348,29350],{},"he ",[1090,29349,1150],{}," read","), you'll mark the thing that can be done with が.",[304,29353,29354],{},[307,29355,29356,369,29359,369,29362,29364,29366,29367,29369,29370,29372,29374],{},[98,29357],{"lang":100,"syntax":29358},"日本語[にほんご] が 話[はな,はなせる]せます{。}",[103,29360,369],{"src":29361,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_日本語が話せます。.mp3",[292,29363],{},[292,29365],{},"\n\n\nnihongo\n",[1090,29368,26643],{},"\n hanasemasu.\n",[292,29371],{},[292,29373],{},"\n\n\n(I) can speak Japanese.\n",[3240,29376,29378],{"id":29377},"when-picking-something-out-of-a-group","When picking something out of a group",[11,29380,29381],{},"It's a bit hard to put into words, but the particle が creates a feeling that you're singling something out. Imagine that, for whatever reason, you wear glasses... and that there was a small hurricane in your school or workplace, which caused some chaos, and now there are a hundred pairs of glasses on the floor.",[11,29383,29384],{},"When you eventually find yours, you might hold them up in the air and (triumphantly) announce:",[304,29386,29387],{},[307,29388,29389,369,29392,369,29395,29397,29399,29400,29402,29403,29405,29407,29409],{},[98,29390],{"lang":100,"syntax":29391},"これ が 私[わたし] の メガネ です！",[103,29393,369],{"src":29394,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_これが私のメガネです.mp3",[292,29396],{},[292,29398],{},"\n\n\nKore\n",[1090,29401,26643],{},"\n watashi no megane desu.\n",[292,29404],{},[292,29406],{},[26,29408,23534],{},"\n are my glasses!\n",[11,29411,29412],{},"If you look closely, you can kind of see this nuance in the usages listed above.",[304,29414,29415,29421,29427],{},[307,29416,29417,29418],{},"What's in the garden? ",[26,29419,29420],{},"A bear.",[307,29422,29423,29424],{},"What's scary? ",[26,29425,29426],{},"The future.",[307,29428,29429,29430],{},"What language can you speak? ",[26,29431,29432],{},"Japanese.",[11,29434,29435],{},"Unfortunately, it's a bit difficult to translate が because we convey the subject of a sentence via word order in English. As you consume more Japanese content, you'll eventually develop a feel for it.",[847,29437,29439],{"id":29438},"️-2-use-the-particle-の-to-show-possession-or-belongingassociation","➡️ 2. Use the particle の to show possession or belonging\u002Fassociation",[11,29441,29442],{},"The particle の functions exactly like 's (apostrophe S) in English:",[304,29444,29445],{},[307,29446,29447,369,29450,369,29453,29455,29457,29458,29460,29461,29463,29465],{},[98,29448],{"lang":100,"syntax":29449},"{Migaku}の{Chrome}拡張機能[かくちょうきのう] は とても 便利[べんり] です{。}",[103,29451,369],{"src":29452,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_MigakuのChrome拡張機能はとても便利です。.mp3",[292,29454],{},[292,29456],{},"\n\n\nMigaku \n",[1090,29459,7195],{},"\n Chrome kakuchoukinou wa totemo benri desu.\n",[292,29462],{},[292,29464],{},"\n\n\nMigaku's Chrome extension is very convenient.\n",[11,29467,29468],{},"It can also be used in the \"X の Y\" structure to mean \"The Y of X\", showing that Y somehow pertains to X.",[304,29470,29471],{},[307,29472,29473,369,29476,369,29479,29481,29483,29484,29486,29487,29489,29491,29492,29494],{},[98,29474],{"lang":100,"syntax":29475},"人生[じんせい] の 意味[いみ] は 何[なに] です か",[103,29477,369],{"src":29478,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_人生の意味は何ですか.mp3",[292,29480],{},[292,29482],{},"\n\n\nJinsei \n",[1090,29485,7195],{},"\n imi wa nan desu ka.\n",[292,29488],{},[292,29490],{},"\n\n\nWhat is the meaning \n",[1090,29493,29076],{},"\n life?\n",[11,29496,29497],{},"You can even combine these two structures together:",[304,29499,29500],{},[307,29501,29502,369,29505,369,29508,29510,29512,29513,29515,29516,29518,29519,29521,29523,29524,29526],{},[98,29503],{"lang":100,"syntax":29504},"秋田[あきた] 国際[こくさい] 教養[きょうよう] 大学[だいがく] の 日本語[にほんご] の 授業[じゅぎょう] は 楽[たの]しい です{。}",[103,29506,369],{"src":29507,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_秋田国際教養大学の日本語の授業は楽しいです。.mp3",[292,29509],{},[292,29511],{},"\n\n\nAkita kokusai kyouyou daigaku \n",[1090,29514,7195],{},"\n nihongo \n",[1090,29517,7195],{},"\n jyugyou wa tanoshii desu\n",[292,29520],{},[292,29522],{},"\n\n\nAkita International University's Japanese courses are fun. \n",[292,29525],{},[26,29527,29528],{},"(Literally: AIU's \"courses of Japanese\" are fun.)",[847,29530,29532],{"id":29531},"️-3-use-the-particle-を-to-mark-the-direct-object-of-a-sentence","➡️ 3. Use the particle を to mark the direct object of a sentence",[11,29534,10879,29535,29540],{},[15,29536,29539],{"href":29537,"rel":29538},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.grammarly.com\u002Fblog\u002Fgrammar\u002Fdirect-object\u002F",[971],"Direct object","\" is a fancy linguistic term that basically refers to the thing you're doing. It's hard to define without using more fancy linguistic terms, so I'll instead give you a few examples and make the direct object bold:",[304,29542,29543,29549,29554],{},[307,29544,29545,29546,415],{},"I'm watching ",[1090,29547,29548],{},"a movie",[307,29550,29551,29552,415],{},"The bear is eating ",[1090,29553,28827],{},[307,29555,29556,29557],{},"She is reading ",[1090,29558,29559],{},"a big green history book.",[11,29561,29562],{},"A direct object is the movie you're watching, the pizza you're eating, and the history book you're reading.",[11,29564,29565],{},"In Japanese, you indicate that a particular thing is the direct object of a sentence by attaching the particle を (wo, pronounced \"oh\") to it:",[304,29567,29568,29589],{},[307,29569,29570,369,29573,369,29576,29578,29580,29581,29583,29584,29586,29588],{},[98,29571],{"lang":100,"syntax":29572},"授業[じゅぎょう] で 映画[えいが] を 見[み,みる]ました{。}",[103,29574,369],{"src":29575,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_授業で映画を見ました。.mp3",[292,29577],{},[292,29579],{},"\n\n\njyugyou de eiga \n",[1090,29582,7860],{},"\n mimasita.\n",[292,29585],{},[292,29587],{},"\n\n\n(We) watched a movie in class.\n",[307,29590,29591,369,29594,369,29597,29599,29601,29602,29604,29605,29607,29609],{},[98,29592],{"lang":100,"syntax":29593},"私[わたし] は 昨日[きのう]{、}パスタ を 食[た,たべる]べました{。}",[103,29595,369],{"src":29596,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_私は昨日、パスタを食べました。.mp3",[292,29598],{},[292,29600],{},"\n\n\nWatashi wa kinou, pasuta \n",[1090,29603,7860],{},"\n tabemashita.\n",[292,29606],{},[292,29608],{},"\n\n\nYesterday, I ate pasta.\n",[11,29611,29612],{},"It's difficult to translate を into English because we use word order to indicate that something is a verb's direct object in English, so try not to overthink things. As you consume content in Japanese and see more example sentences, you'll quickly build an intuitive feel for how to use を.",[847,29614,29616],{"id":29615},"️-4-use-the-particle-に-to-show-the-direction-of-an-action","➡️ 4. Use the particle に to show the direction of an action",[11,29618,29619],{},"Use に to say where you're going. For example:",[304,29621,29622],{},[307,29623,29624,369,29627,369,29630,29632,29634,29635,29637,29638,29640,29642,29643,29645],{},[98,29625],{"lang":100,"syntax":29626},"飛行機[ひこうき] で 日本[にほん] に 行[ゆ,ゆく]きました{。}",[103,29628,369],{"src":29629,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_飛行機で日本に行きました。.mp3",[292,29631],{},[292,29633],{},"\n\n\nhikouki de nihon \n",[1090,29636,144],{},"\n ikimashita. \n",[292,29639],{},[292,29641],{},"\n\n\nI went \n",[1090,29644,7041],{},"\n Japan by plane.\n",[11,29647,29648],{},"You can also use に to communicate direction in a more abstract sense, such as who an action is aimed at:",[304,29650,29651],{},[307,29652,29653,369,29656,369,29659,29661,29634,29663,29637,29665,29667,29669,29670,29672],{},[98,29654],{"lang":100,"syntax":29655},"友達[ともだち] に プレゼント を あげ[,あげる]ました{。}",[103,29657,369],{"src":29658,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_友達にプレゼントをあげました。.mp3",[292,29660],{},[292,29662],{},[1090,29664,144],{},[292,29666],{},[292,29668],{},"\n\n\nI gave a present \n",[1090,29671,7041],{},"\n my friend.\n",[11,29674,29675,29676,415],{},"The fancy way to explain this second usage of に is to say that it marks ",[15,29677,29680],{"href":29678,"rel":29679},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.grammarly.com\u002Fblog\u002Fgrammar\u002Findirect-object\u002F",[971],"indirect objects",[8421,29682,29684,29687,29707],{"heading":29683},"A more technical usage of に",[11,29685,29686],{},"If you skimmed through the advanced usages of が above, you'd have seen this example sentence:",[304,29688,29689],{},[307,29690,29691,369,29693,369,29695,29697,29699,29700,29702,29703,29705,29277],{},[98,29692],{"lang":100,"syntax":29261},[103,29694,369],{"src":29264,":type":149},[292,29696],{},[292,29698],{},"\n\n\nniwa \n",[1090,29701,144],{},"\n kuma ga imasu.\n",[292,29704],{},[292,29706],{},[11,29708,29709],{},"And this, indeed, isn't communicating any sort of direction. This is beyond the scope of this article, but for now, just know that you will also see the particle に used to show where something exists, where something is, or where something is located.",[847,29711,29713],{"id":29712},"️-5-use-へ-to-show-a-more-general-direction","➡️ 5. Use へ to show a more general direction",[11,29715,29716],{},"The particle へ is also used to show where you are going, and it is generally interchangeable with に when used to indicate direction. Strictly speaking, に is used to indicate a destination, whereas へ indicates a direction.",[11,29718,29719],{},"Direction aside, there are a few set phrases that use へ:",[304,29721,29722,29738],{},[307,29723,29724,29725,29727,29729,29730,29732,29733,29735,29737],{},"~へようこそ ",[292,29726],{},[292,29728],{},"\n~ ",[1090,29731,7330],{}," youkoso ",[292,29734],{},[292,29736],{},"\nWelcome to (place)",[307,29739,29740,29741,29743,29745,29746,29748,29749,29751,29753],{},"未来への(thing) ",[292,29742],{},[292,29744],{},"\nmirai ",[1090,29747,7330],{}," no ",[292,29750],{},[292,29752],{},"\n(Something) for the future",[847,29755,29757],{"id":29756},"️-6-use-the-particle-と-to-say-with-and-make-quotes","➡️ 6. Use the particle と to say \"with\" and make quotes",[11,29759,29760],{},"The most basic use of the particle と is simply to communicate togetherness. As shown in the following examples, it usually translates to \"and\" or \"with\":",[304,29762,29763,29784],{},[307,29764,29765,29768,369,29771,29773,29775,29776,29778,29779,29781,29783],{},[98,29766],{"lang":100,"syntax":29767},"猫[ねこ] と 犬[いぬ] が 好[す]き です{。}",[103,29769],{"src":29770,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-猫と犬が好きです。.mp3",[292,29772],{},[292,29774],{},"\n\n\nneko \n",[1090,29777,7041],{},"\n inu ga suki desu. \n",[292,29780],{},[292,29782],{},"\n\n\n(I) like cats and dogs.\n",[307,29785,29786,29789,29792,29794,29796,29797,29799,29800,29802,29804,29805,29808],{},[98,29787],{"lang":100,"syntax":29788},"私[わたし] は 昨日[きのう] 友達[ともだち] と 遊[あそ,あそぶ]びました{。}",[103,29790,369],{"src":29791,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-私は昨日友達と遊びました。.mp3",[292,29793],{},[292,29795],{},"\n\n\nwatashi wa kinou tomodachi \n",[1090,29798,7041],{},"\n asobimashita \n",[292,29801],{},[292,29803],{},"\n\n\nYesterday, I hung out (\n",[26,29806,29807],{},"lit: played","\n) with my friends.\n",[11,29810,29811],{},"Next, と can be used to make both direct and indirect quotes:",[304,29813,29814,29835],{},[307,29815,29816,29819,369,29822,29824,29826,29827,29829,29830,29832,29834],{},[98,29817],{"lang":100,"syntax":29818},"彼[かれ] は{、「}人生[じんせい] は 挑戦[ちょうせん] の 連続[れんぞく] だ{」}と 言[い,いう]った{。}",[103,29820],{"src":29821,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-彼は、「人生は挑戦の連続だ」と言った。.mp3",[292,29823],{},[292,29825],{},"\n\n\nkare wa, \"jinsei wa chousen no renzoku da\" \n",[1090,29828,7041],{},"\n itta. \n",[292,29831],{},[292,29833],{},"\n\n\nHe said, \"life is a series of challenges.\"\n",[307,29836,29837,29840,369,29843,29845,29847,29848,29850,29851,29853,29855],{},[98,29838],{"lang":100,"syntax":29839},"山[やま] は{「}やま[,やむ]{」}と 呼[よ,よぶ]びます{。}",[103,29841],{"src":29842,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-山は「やま」と呼びます。.mp3",[292,29844],{},[292,29846],{},"\n\n\n\"山\" wa yama \n",[1090,29849,7041],{},"\n yobimasu. \n",[292,29852],{},[292,29854],{},"\n\n\n\"山\" is pronounced \"yama\".\n",[11,29857,29858],{},"You will also see と used when making certain types of comparisons. You can learn these as you encounter them.",[847,29860,29862],{"id":29861},"️-7-use-the-particle-で-to-show-where-an-action-takes-place-or-the-means-by-which-an-action-is-done","➡️ 7. Use the particle で to show where an action takes place or the means by which an action is done",[11,29864,29865],{},"The particle で is used to show the location where something happens.",[304,29867,29868],{},[307,29869,29870,29873,369,29876,29878,29880,29881,29884,29885,29887,29889],{},[98,29871],{"lang":100,"syntax":29872},"公園[こうえん] で ご飯[ごはん] を 食[た,たべる]べました{。}",[103,29874],{"src":29875,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-公園でご飯を食べました。.mp3",[292,29877],{},[292,29879],{},"\n\n\nkouen \n",[1090,29882,29883],{},"de","\n gohan wo tabimashita. \n",[292,29886],{},[292,29888],{},"\n\n\n(I) ate (a meal) at the park.\n",[11,29891,29892],{},"It's also used to define the scope of a statement:",[304,29894,29895],{},[307,29896,29897,29900,369,29903,29905,29907,29908,29910,29911,29913,29915],{},[98,29898],{"lang":100,"syntax":29899},"世界[せかい] で 一番[いちばん] 長[なが]い 川[かわ] は ナイル{」}です{。}",[103,29901],{"src":29902,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-世界で一番長い川はナイル」です。.mp3",[292,29904],{},[292,29906],{},"\n\n\nsekai \n",[1090,29909,29883],{},"\n ichiban nagai kawa wa nairu desu. \n",[292,29912],{},[292,29914],{},"\n\n\nThe longest river in the world is the Nile.\n",[11,29917,29918],{},"You can also use で to show the means by which something is done, both in concrete and abstract contexts:",[304,29920,29921,29942],{},[307,29922,29923,29926,369,29929,29931,29933,29934,29936,29937,29939,29941],{},[98,29924],{"lang":100,"syntax":29925},"バス で 学校[がっこう] に 行[ゆ,ゆく]きます{。}",[103,29927],{"src":29928,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-バスで学校に行きます。.mp3",[292,29930],{},[292,29932],{},"\n\n\nbasu \n",[1090,29935,29883],{},"\n gakkou ni ikimasu. \n",[292,29938],{},[292,29940],{},"\n\n\n(I) go to school by bus.\n",[307,29943,29944,29947,369,29950,29952,29954,29955,29957,29958,29960,29962],{},[98,29945],{"lang":100,"syntax":29946},"木[き] で 机[つくえ] を 作[つく,つくる]ります{。}",[103,29948],{"src":29949,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-木で机を作ります。.mp3",[292,29951],{},[292,29953],{},"\n\n\nki \n",[1090,29956,29883],{},"\n tsukue wo tsukurimasu. \n",[292,29959],{},[292,29961],{},"\n\n\n(I) will make a desk out of wood.\n",[847,29964,29966],{"id":29965},"️-8-bonus-the-particles-から-and-より","➡️ 8. (Bonus) The particles から and より",[11,29968,29969],{},"The final two case particles are より and から.",[11,29971,29972],{},"から indicates the origin of something, and can be used in a variety of contexts:",[304,29974,29975,29997,30018],{},[307,29976,29977,29980,369,29983,29985,29987,29988,29991,29992,29994,29996],{},[98,29978],{"lang":100,"syntax":29979},"カフェ から 来[く,くる]ました{。}",[103,29981],{"src":29982,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-カフェから来ました。.mp3",[292,29984],{},[292,29986],{},"\n\n\nkafe \n",[1090,29989,29990],{},"kara","\n kimashita. \n",[292,29993],{},[292,29995],{},"\n\n\n(I) came from the cafe.\n",[307,29998,29999,30002,369,30005,30007,30009,30010,30012,30013,30015,30017],{},[98,30000],{"lang":100,"syntax":30001},"田中[たなか] さん から 本[ほん] を 借[か,かりる]りました{。}",[103,30003],{"src":30004,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-田中さんから本を借りました。.mp3",[292,30006],{},[292,30008],{},"\n\n\nTanaka san \n",[1090,30011,29990],{},"\n hon wo karimashita. \n",[292,30014],{},[292,30016],{},"\n\n\n(I) borrowed a book from Tanaka.\n",[307,30019,30020,30023,369,30026,30028,30030,30031,30033,30034,30036,30038],{},[98,30021],{"lang":100,"syntax":30022},"アクセント から する と 日本人[にほんじん] で は ない よう です{。}",[103,30024],{"src":30025,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-アクセントからすると日本人ではないようです。.mp3",[292,30027],{},[292,30029],{},"\n\n\nakusento \n",[1090,30032,29990],{},"\n suru to, nihonjin dewanai you desu \n",[292,30035],{},[292,30037],{},"\n\n\nJudging by (their) accent, (they) don't seem to be Japanese.\n",[11,30040,30041],{},"より is used for making comparisons, and can be transated to \"than\".",[304,30043,30044],{},[307,30045,30046,30049,369,30052,30054,30056,30057,30060,30061,30063,30065],{},[98,30047],{"lang":100,"syntax":30048},"クマ は 私[わたし] より 背[せ] が 高[たか]い です{。}",[103,30050],{"src":30051,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-クマは私より背が高いです。.mp3",[292,30053],{},[292,30055],{},"\n\n\nkuma wa watashi \n",[1090,30058,30059],{},"yori","\n se ga takai desu \n",[292,30062],{},[292,30064],{},"\n\n\nThe bear is taller than me.\n",[11,30067,30068,30069,30072],{},"As shown in ",[15,30070,30071],{"href":11513},"our blog post on writing Japanese letters",", より can also mean \"from\" in some specific contexts.",[304,30074,30075,30093],{},[307,30076,30077,30078,506,30081,30083,30085,30086,506,30088,30090,30092],{},"サミより ",[103,30079],{"src":30080,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-サミより.mp3",[292,30082],{},[292,30084],{},"\nSami ",[1090,30087,30059],{},[292,30089],{},[292,30091],{},"\nFrom Sami",[307,30094,30095,30098,369,30101,30103,30105,30106,30108,30109,30111,30113],{},[98,30096],{"lang":100,"syntax":30097},"日本[にほん] より 愛[あい] を こめ[,こめる]て{。}",[103,30099],{"src":30100,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-日本より愛をこめて。.mp3",[292,30102],{},[292,30104],{},"\n\n\nnihon \n",[1090,30107,30059],{},"\n ai wo komete \n",[292,30110],{},[292,30112],{},"\n\n\nFrom Japan, with love.\n",[42,30115],{},[45,30117,30119],{"id":30118},"the-binding-particle-は","The \"binding\" particle は",[11,30121,30122,30123,30125,30128,30129,415],{},"And now we're ready to talk about the binding particle ( ",[98,30124],{"lang":100,"syntax":26222},[103,30126],{"src":30127,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-係助詞.mp3",") は, pronounced ",[26,30130,7830],{},[11,30132,30133,30134,30138],{},"は is normally the first the particle taught by ",[15,30135,30137],{"href":30136},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fbest-japanese-textbooks#genki-the-go-to-textbook-for-beginners","textbooks, such as Genki",". It's usually taught with this specific structure:",[304,30140,30141],{},[307,30142,30143,30144,30146,30148,30149,30151,30152,30154,30156],{},"X は Y です。",[292,30145],{},[292,30147],{},"\nX ",[1090,30150,7830],{}," Y desu.",[292,30153],{},[292,30155],{},"\nX is Y.",[11,30158,30159],{},"This makes it seem like は means \"to be\", and this misunderstanding causes all sorts of problems. I've introduced は last, and in a completely separate category of particles, to try to avoid this issue.",[847,30161,30163],{"id":30162},"case-particles-vs-binding-particles","Case particles vs binding particles",[11,30165,30166,30167,30170],{},"As we said above, case particles indicate that a particular word in a sentence is playing a particular grammatical role. They simply ",[26,30168,30169],{},"mark"," the the function of a word.",[11,30172,30173,30174,30177],{},"Rather than simply marking the function of a word, however, binding particles ",[26,30175,30176],{},"add"," meaning to a word. When I look up 係助詞 in my Japanese dictionary, it's defined as:",[304,30179,30180,30185],{},[307,30181,16769,30182],{},[98,30183],{"lang":100,"syntax":30184},"係[かかり] 助詞[じょし]は{、}種々[しゅじゅ] の 語[ご] に 付[つ,つく]き{、}その 語[ご] に 意味[いみ] を 添[そ]える と共[ととも]に{、}文[ぶん] の 終止[しゅうし] に まで 影響[えいきょう] を 及[およ]ぼす 助詞[じょし] で ある{。}",[307,30186,30187],{},"EN: Binding particles attach to various words and add meaning to those words while also influencing the sentence’s ending.",[11,30189,30190,30191,30193],{},"This is really important to understand. The particle は is something you ",[26,30192,30176],{}," to a word when you want to give it additional nuance.",[11,30195,30196],{},"In particular, は is used to (a) add an element of contrast to a sentence, or (b) elevate an element of a sentence to the status of \"topic\".",[847,30198,30200],{"id":30199},"use-は-to-show-contrast","Use は to show contrast",[11,30202,30203],{},"The first usage of は is pretty straightforward. It's used to add contrast to a sentence, as follows:",[304,30205,30206],{},[307,30207,30208,30211,369,30214,30216,30218,30219,30221,30222,30224,30226,30227,30230,30231,10043],{},[98,30209],{"lang":100,"syntax":30210},"お茶[おちゃ] は 飲[の,のむ]みます が{、}コーヒー は 飲[の,のむ]みません{。}",[103,30212],{"src":30213,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-お茶は飲みますが、コーヒーは飲みません。.mp3",[292,30215],{},[292,30217],{},"\n\n\nocha \n",[1090,30220,7830],{},"\n nomimasu ga, koohii wa nomimasen. \n",[292,30223],{},[292,30225],{},"\n\n\nI drink \n",[26,30228,30229],{},"tea","\n, but I don't drink \n",[26,30232,26963],{},[11,30234,30235,30236,30238,30239,30241],{},"Here, the contrast is that you ",[26,30237,10834],{}," drink tea, but you ",[26,30240,11540],{}," drink something else.",[11,30243,30244],{},"You can also use は to hint at contrast. For example, let's look at that sentence about cats and dogs from earlier:",[304,30246,30247],{},[307,30248,30249,30251,369,30253,30255,30257,30258,30260,29783],{},[98,30250],{"lang":100,"syntax":29767},[103,30252],{"src":29770,":type":149},[292,30254],{},[292,30256],{},"\n\n\nneko to inu ga suki desu. \n",[292,30259],{},[292,30261],{},[11,30263,30264],{},"If this person had expressed this same sort of idea but instead chose to use the contrastive は:",[304,30266,30267],{},[307,30268,30269,30272,369,30275,30277,30279,30280,30282],{},[98,30270],{"lang":100,"syntax":30271},"{（}私[わたし] は{）}猫[ねこ] は 好[す]き です{。}",[103,30273],{"src":30274,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-(私は)猫は好きです。.mp3",[292,30276],{},[292,30278],{},"\n\n\n(watashi wa) neko \n",[1090,30281,7830],{},"\n suki desu.\n",[11,30284,30285,30286,30289],{},"Then the nuance of the sentence would become \"(I) like cats ",[26,30287,30288],{},"(but there's something else I don't like)","\".",[847,30291,30293],{"id":30292},"use-は-to-indicate-the-topic-of-a-sentence","Use は to indicate the topic of a sentence",[11,30295,30296,30297,30302],{},"Don't think too hard about this: if something is the topic of a sentence, it's the thing that's being discussed. Here's how ",[15,30298,30301],{"href":30299,"rel":30300},"https:\u002F\u002Fblog.navy-p.com\u002Fdependency-marker-ha\u002F",[971],"a Japanese reference"," explains it:",[304,30304,30305,30310],{},[307,30306,16769,30307],{},[98,30308],{"lang":100,"syntax":30309},"なお{、「}は{」}によって 題目[だいもく] を 示[しめ]す とき{、}題目[だいもく] の 箇所[かしょ] に は{“}提示[ていじ] し[,する]た 題目[だいもく] について{”}という 訳[わけ] が 当[あ,あてる]てられます{。}・・・中身[なかみ2] を 予告[よこく] する役割[やくわり]・・・",[307,30311,30312],{},"EN: When \"wa\" marks the topic, its function is to show that \"the sentence is about this\"... it serves to give a preview of the content of a sentence...",[11,30314,30315],{},"We don't have a grammar point that corresponds to は in English, so it can be difficult to wrap your head around. It's kind of like using a colon to introduce a list:",[304,30317,30318],{},[307,30319,30320],{},"Milk tea: delicious, comes in mugs or bottles, sold in various countries around the world",[11,30322,30323],{},"It's as if you've held up a sign that says \"milk tea\", and everybody starts shouting things that apply to milk tea, and nobody is confused because the sign makes it very clear that the topic of discussion is milk tea.",[11,30325,30326],{},"Compare the following two sentences:",[304,30328,30329,30350],{},[307,30330,30331,30334,369,30337,30339,30341,30342,30344,30345,30347,30349],{},[98,30332],{"lang":100,"syntax":30333},"キリン の 首[くび] が 長[なが]い です{。}",[103,30335],{"src":30336,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-キリンの首が長いです。.mp3",[292,30338],{},[292,30340],{},"\n\n\nkirin \n",[1090,30343,7195],{},"\n kubi ga nagai desu \n",[292,30346],{},[292,30348],{},"\n\n\nGiraffe's necks are long.\n",[307,30351,30352,30354,369,30357,30359,30341,30361,30344,30363,30365,30367],{},[98,30353],{"lang":100,"syntax":26538},[103,30355],{"src":30356,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-キリンは首が長いです。.mp3",[292,30358],{},[292,30360],{},[1090,30362,7830],{},[292,30364],{},[292,30366],{},"\n\n\nGiraffes—(their) necks are long.\n",[11,30369,30370],{},"In the first sentence, we're making a statement about giraffe's necks. In the second sentence, we establish \"giraffe\" as the topic, and \"necks are long\" thus becomes a comment that refers to giraffes.",[42,30372],{},[45,30374,30376],{"id":30375},"this-is-confusing-japanese-particles-just-dont-make-sense","This is confusing! Japanese particles just don't make sense.",[11,30378,30379],{},"Indeed. This isn't just you: everybody struggles with particles when they first start out. We just don't have anything like Japanese's particles in English, so you've got no frame of reference to tie this stuff to, and that's not your fault. There's logic to how the particles work, but it'll take time to put your finger on because the particles follow a different kind of logic than English sentence structure does.",[11,30381,30382],{},"Particles will become second nature as you spend more time with Japanese, but until then, Migaku's Japanese Academy can get you started:",[50,30384],{"src":30385,"width":30386,"height":5899,"alt":23442},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-mo.jpeg",1642,[11,30388,30389],{},"The course follows an A:B format in which:",[304,30391,30392,30395],{},[307,30393,30394],{},"A → You learn about a grammar point",[307,30396,30397],{},"B → You use flashcards to learn sentences that feature that grammar point",[11,30399,25682,30400,30402],{},[26,30401,600],{}," another deck of flashcards. It's been insanely carefully curated. Every flashcard introduces a single new word, giving it a very smooth learing curve. If you can keep consistent for about 6 months (at a pace of 10 flashcards per day), you'll have acquired the ~1,500 words you need to follow 80% of Japanese Netflix.",[674,30404],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,30406],{},[45,30408,30410],{"id":30409},"common-sources-of-confusion","Common sources of confusion",[11,30412,30413],{},"Many of the particles have multiple meanings, and some of these meanings can appear quite similar. Now that we've talked about several of the basic particles, let's address a few common points of confusion.",[847,30415,30417],{"id":30416},"に-vs-で","に vs で",[11,30419,30420],{},"に and で can be confusing because they both answer the question of \"where\". The key to distinguishing them is understanding that \"where\" is a pretty broad term that can ask for a few different types of information.",[304,30422,30423,30430],{},[307,30424,30425,30426,30429],{},"Use に if the answer to \"where\" is a direction of movement ",[26,30427,30428],{},"or"," a place where something exists\u002Fresides\u002Fis",[307,30431,30432],{},"Use で if the answer to \"where\" is the location where something (an action) is being done",[11,30434,13595],{},[304,30436,30437,30467,30495],{},[307,30438,30439,30442,369,30445,30447,30449,30450,30452,30453,30455,30457,30458,30460,30462,30463,30466],{},[98,30440],{"lang":100,"syntax":30441},"学校[がっこう] で 昼[ひる]ごはん を 食[た,たべる]べます{。}",[103,30443],{"src":30444,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-学校で昼ごはんを食べます。.mp3",[292,30446],{},[292,30448],{},"\n\n\ngakkou \n",[1090,30451,29883],{},"\n hirugohan wo tabemasu. \n",[292,30454],{},[292,30456],{},"\n\n\n(I) eat lunch at school. \n",[292,30459],{},[292,30461],{},"\n\n\n→ School is the \n",[26,30464,30465],{},"location","\n where you are eating (doing something).\n",[307,30468,30469,30472,369,30475,30477,30449,30479,30481,30482,30484,30486,30487,30489,30491,30492,30494],{},[98,30470],{"lang":100,"syntax":30471},"今[いま] 学校[がっこう] に い[,いる]ます{。}",[103,30473],{"src":30474,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-今学校にいます.mp3",[292,30476],{},[292,30478],{},[1090,30480,144],{},"\n imasu. \n",[292,30483],{},[292,30485],{},"\n\n\n(I'm) at school now. \n",[292,30488],{},[292,30490],{},"\n\n\n→ School is where you \n",[26,30493,12666],{},"\n (your current location)\n",[307,30496,30497,30500,369,30503,30505,30449,30507,30509,30510,30512,30514,30515,30517,30519],{},[98,30498],{"lang":100,"syntax":30499},"学校[がっこう] に 行[い]って い[,いる]ます{。}",[103,30501],{"src":30502,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-学校に行っています.mp3",[292,30504],{},[292,30506],{},[1090,30508,144],{},"\n itteimasu \n",[292,30511],{},[292,30513],{},"\n\n\n(I'm) going to school. \n",[292,30516],{},[292,30518],{},"\n\n\n→ You are in movement, and school is your destination\n",[11,30521,30522,30523,30526],{},"So while 学校で and 学校に are both correct, the ",[26,30524,30525],{},"type"," of information that comes with each one is different.",[847,30528,30530],{"id":30529},"に-vs-へ","に vs へ",[11,30532,30533],{},"A long time ago, に and へ used to have different usages. At some point, へ began being used in similar situations as に. Today, they are largely interchangeable when communicating a direction of movement.",[11,30535,30536],{},"If we really want to split hairs, the nuance of each particle is slightly different:",[304,30538,30539,30542],{},[307,30540,30541],{},"に means \"to\": it emphasizes your destination, and shows specifically where you're going",[307,30543,30544],{},"へ means \"toward\": it emphasizes your direction in a more general fashion",[11,30546,30547],{},"And this lets us make an important clarification:",[304,30549,30550,30553],{},[307,30551,30552],{},"へ can pretty much always replace に because, if you arrived to Tokyo, you must necessarily have also gone in the direction of Tokyo",[307,30554,30555],{},"に cannot always replace へ, because the fact that you're headed in the direction of Tokyo now doesn't mean that you'll arrive there or even that it's your intended destination—just like saying that you're headed north doesn't mean that you're going to the North Pole",[42,30557],{},[847,30559,30561],{"id":30560},"は-vs-が","は vs が",[11,30563,30564],{},"I agree with you: は vs が is tough.",[11,30566,30567,30568,30572],{},"As a matter of fact, Japanese people agree with you, too: somebody literally wrote ",[15,30569,30571],{"href":25777,"rel":30570},[971],"an entire book"," comparing the two particles. I'm not going to be able to do in a few paragraphs what took a Japanese linguist an entire book, so I'm going to take a different strategy with this section of the article.",[344,30574,30575,30582],{},[307,30576,30577,30578,30581],{},"I'll talk through a sentence in which the topic and subject ",[26,30579,30580],{},"aren't"," the same",[307,30583,30584],{},"I'll translate some of the key points of the above book",[3240,30586,30588],{"id":30587},"differentiating-subjects-and-topics","Differentiating subjects and topics",[11,30590,30591],{},"Part of the trouble you're having is because, in English, the topic and subject of a sentence are pretty much alawys identical. I can't personally think of a natural sentence where they aren't, at least.",[11,30593,30594],{},"So let's look at this Japanese sentence I shared earlier:",[304,30596,30597],{},[307,30598,30599,30601,369,30603,30605,30341,30607,30609,30610,30612,30613,30615,30367],{},[98,30600],{"lang":100,"syntax":26538},[103,30602],{"src":30356,":type":149},[292,30604],{},[292,30606],{},[1090,30608,7830],{},"\n kubi \n",[1090,30611,26643],{},"\n nagai desu \n",[292,30614],{},[292,30616],{},[11,30618,30619],{},"I think it's pretty cool, from a linguistic perspective. That's because:",[304,30621,30622,30628],{},[307,30623,3939,30624,30627],{},[26,30625,30626],{},"topic"," of this sentence is a giraffe",[307,30629,3939,30630,30633],{},[26,30631,30632],{},"subject"," of this sentence is a neck",[11,30635,30636],{},"Which I understand is clear as mud.",[11,30638,30639,30640,30642],{},"But remember way back in the beginning of this article how I said that Japanese sentences revolve around the verb? That was a slight oversimplification. They actually revolve around what's called the predicate, which you can understand to be a verb ",[26,30641,30428],{}," a noun\u002Fadjective attached to です.",[11,30644,30645],{},"With this in mind, we're in a better position to break this sentence down:",[304,30647,30648,30654,30660],{},[307,30649,30650,30651],{},"The core of the sentence is ",[26,30652,30653],{},"are long",[307,30655,30656,30657,30659],{},"The subject particle が tells us ",[26,30658,28102],{}," is long—necks",[307,30661,30662,30663,30666],{},"The topic particle は tells us that the above two things are a comment about ",[26,30664,30665],{},"something","—giraffes",[11,30668,30669],{},"It's hard to cleanly explain that with English logic, but if you pay attention, you'll see this topic-comment structure all over the place in Japanese. Eventually, it'll begin to feel natural.",[11,30671,30672],{},"And now let's get into the rules of thumb.",[3240,30674,30676],{"id":30675},"use-は-to-reference-old-information-use-が-to-to-introduce-new-information","Use は to reference old information; use が to to introduce new information",[11,30678,30679],{},"If you're mentioning something for the first time, bring it up with が. After you've mentioned it once, you can use は to reference it.",[304,30681,30682],{},[307,30683,30684,30687,369,30690,30692,26722],{},[98,30685],{"lang":100,"syntax":30686},"昔々[むかしむかし]{、}おじいさん と おばあさん\u003Cstrong>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>おっ[,おる]た{。}おじいさん は 山[やま] へ 芝[しば] 刈[が]り に{、}おばあさん\u003Cstrong>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>川[かわ] へ 洗濯[せんたく] に 行[ゆ,ゆく]った{。}",[103,30688],{"src":30689,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-昔々、おじいさんとおばあさんがおった。おじいさんは山へ芝刈りに、おばあさんは川へ洗濯に行った。.mp3",[292,30691],{},[292,30693],{},[11,30695,30696,30697,1466,30699,30702,30703,30706],{},"Notice that we actually do the same sort of thing in English! If you mention something for the first time, you use ",[26,30698,15],{},[26,30700,30701],{},"an",". Once you've mentioned it, you can then use ",[26,30704,30705],{},"the"," to reference that thing moving forward.",[11,30708,30709,30710],{},"Consider: ",[26,30711,30712,30714,30715,30717],{},[1090,30713,6104],{}," man walked into a forest with a pizza. ",[1090,30716,9240],{}," man left the forest with no pizza. Oh, the intrigue!",[3240,30719,30721],{"id":30720},"use-は-to-make-judgments-use-が-to-make-observations","Use は to make judgments; use が to make observations",[11,30723,30724],{},"If you're seeing something and somehow interpreting it—giving an opinion, casting a judgment, making an evaluation—use は. If you're making note of a natural phenomenon, something that exists independent of you and your thoughts, use が.",[304,30726,30727,30746],{},[307,30728,30729,30730,30733,506,30736,30738,30740,30741,30743,30745],{},"Judgment: ",[98,30731],{"lang":100,"syntax":30732},"あの 桜[さくら]\u003Cstrong>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>とても きれい だ{。}",[103,30734],{"src":30735,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-あの桜はとてもきれいだ。.mp3",[292,30737],{},[292,30739],{},"\nThat sakura tree is very pretty. ",[292,30742],{},[292,30744],{},"\n→ \"Pretty\" is a subjective judgment; you're giving your opinion.",[307,30747,27243,30748,30751,506,30754,30756,27251,30758,30760,30762],{},[98,30749],{"lang":100,"syntax":30750},"雪[ゆき]\u003Cstrong>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>降[ふ]って いる",[103,30752],{"src":30753,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-雪が降っている.mp3",[292,30755],{},[292,30757],{},[292,30759],{},[292,30761],{},"\n→ This will happen regardless of whether you know, care, or exist.",[3240,30764,30766],{"id":30765},"use-は-for-sentences-use-が-for-clauses","Use は for sentences; use が for clauses",[11,30768,27880,30769,30771,30772,30775,30776,6066],{},[26,30770,28931],{}," is a fancy grammatical term that refers to a chunk of a sentence. Some clauses can stand on their own (",[26,30773,30774],{},"Sami writes.","), while other clauses can't make a full sentence by themselves (",[26,30777,30778],{},"If Sami writes...",[11,30780,30781],{},"In Japanese, you should use は when you introduce something that pertains to the entire sentence, but use が when introducing something that is only relevant within one clause of a sentence.",[304,30783,30784],{},[307,30785,30786,30789,369,30792,30794,27073,30796,30798,30800,30801,30803,30805],{},[98,30787],{"lang":100,"syntax":30788},"昨日[きのう] 彼女[かのじょ]\u003Cstrong>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>作[つく,つくる]った ケーキ\u003Cstrong>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>{、}とても おいしかった{。}",[103,30790],{"src":30791,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-昨日彼女が作ったケーキは、とてもおいしかった。.mp3",[292,30793],{},[292,30795],{},[292,30797],{},[292,30799],{},"\n\n\n→ The core of the sentence is \"it was very delciious\", and this statement applies to the cake, so the cake is marked with は\n",[292,30802],{},[292,30804],{},"\n\n\n→ \"that the woman made yesterday\" describes the cake, not \"it was very delicious\", so \"that the woman made yesterday\" is marked with が\n",[11,30807,30808],{},"Notice that ケーキは、とてもおいしかった。 (\"the cake was very delicious\") works just fine as a complete sentence. The clause 昨日彼女が作った (\"that the woman made yesterday\") adds extra information that describes the cake, which is just one part of the sentence.",[3240,30810,30812],{"id":30811},"use-は-to-introduce-contrast-use-が-to-point-a-finger","Use は to introduce contrast; use が to point a finger",[11,30814,30815],{},"If you're trying to highlight a contrast between two things, or simply alluding to contrast, use は. If you're making a specific statement that exclusively applies to one specific thing, use が.",[304,30817,30818,30842],{},[307,30819,30820,30821,30824,506,30827,30829,30831,30832,30834,30835,26964,30837,30839,30841],{},"Contrast: ",[98,30822],{"lang":100,"syntax":30823},"お茶[ちゃ]\u003Cstrong>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>飲[の,のめる]めます が{、}コーヒー\u003Cstrong>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>飲[の,のめる]めません{。}",[103,30825],{"src":30826,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-お茶は飲めますが、コーヒーは飲めません。.mp3",[292,30828],{},[292,30830],{},"\nI can drink ",[26,30833,30229],{},", but not ",[26,30836,26963],{},[292,30838],{},[292,30840],{},"\n→ † Yep! This is that same contrastive は that we talked about above.",[307,30843,30844,30845,30848,506,30851,30853,30855,30858,30859,30861,30863],{},"Exclusivity: ",[98,30846],{"lang":100,"syntax":30847},"彼[かれ]\u003Cstrong>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>アメリカ人[あめりかじん] です{。}",[103,30849],{"src":30850,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-彼がアメリカ人です。.mp3",[292,30852],{},[292,30854],{},[26,30856,30857],{},"He"," (specifically him, that guy [kinda feels like you're pointing a finger]) is American. ",[292,30860],{},[292,30862],{},"\n→ Yep! This is the same thing we talked about in \"a few specific situations where が is used\".",[11,30865,30866],{},[26,30867,30868],{},"† Note: Given this particular nuance, some Japanese linguists argue that the contrastive は doesn't actually exist. According to them, the contrastive nature that は gives to some sentences is a byproduct of making something a topic and lifting it \"above\" the sentence.",[3240,30870,30872],{"id":30871},"use-は-when-stating-a-characteristic-of-something-use-が-or-は-when-equating-two-things","Use は when stating a characteristic of something; use が or は when equating two things",[11,30874,30875],{},"You're going to need to work with me a bit on this one.",[11,30877,30878],{},"Imagine that we split a sentence in half and got something like {Part A:Part B}.",[11,30880,30881],{},"If \"part B\" is a characteristic of \"part A\", then you should use は:",[304,30883,30884],{},[307,30885,30886,30887,30890,506,30893,30895,30897,30898,30900,30902],{},"Characteristic: ",[98,30888],{"lang":100,"syntax":30889},"チキン は 鳥[とり] です{。}",[103,30891],{"src":30892,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-チキンは鳥です。.mp3",[292,30894],{},[292,30896],{},"\nChickens are birds. ",[292,30899],{},[292,30901],{},"\n→ It's always true that chickens are birds, but it's not always true that a given bird is a chicken. As such, \"chicken\" is not equivalent with \"bird\"; instead, \"bird\" is a quality\u002Fcharacteristic that applies to \"chicken\".",[11,30904,30905],{},"If \"Part B\" is the same thing as \"Part A\", then you can use either が or は, but your choice will affect how the sentence needs to be organized. You often run into this situation in statements where you could replace one of the halves with a question word, as shown below:",[304,30907,30908,30929],{},[307,30909,30910,30911,30914,506,30917,30919],{},"Equivalence: ",[98,30912],{"lang":100,"syntax":30913},"田中[たなか] さん が 先生[せんせい] です{。}",[103,30915],{"src":30916,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-田中さんが先生です.mp3",[292,30918],{},[304,30920,30921],{},[307,30922,30923,30924,30926,30928],{},"Mr. Tanaka is the teacher. ",[292,30925],{},[292,30927],{},"\n→ In this situation, \"Mr. Tanaka\" and \"the teacher\" are synonymous—they both indicate the asme person",[307,30930,30910,30931,30934,506,30937,30939],{},[98,30932],{"lang":100,"syntax":30933},"先生[せんせい] は 田中[たなか] さん です{。}",[103,30935],{"src":30936,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-先生は田中さんです。.mp3",[292,30938],{},[304,30940,30941],{},[307,30942,30943,30944,30946,30948],{},"The teacher is Mr. Tanaka. ",[292,30945],{},[292,30947],{},"\n→ Flipping these two words doesn't change the meaning of the sentence.",[11,30950,30951],{},"As mentioned, we can replace \"Mr. Tanaka\" with a question word:",[304,30953,30954,30975],{},[307,30955,30956,30957,30960,506,30963,30965],{},"Question: ",[98,30958],{"lang":100,"syntax":30959},"誰[だれ] か ゙ 先生[せんせい] て ゙すか{。}",[103,30961],{"src":30962,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-誰が先生ですか.mp3",[292,30964],{},[304,30966,30967],{},[307,30968,30969,30970,30972,30974],{},"Who is the teacher?. ",[292,30971],{},[292,30973],{},"\n→ Question words come before が",[307,30976,30956,30977,30980,506,30983,30985],{},[98,30978],{"lang":100,"syntax":30979},"先生[せんせい] は 誰[だれ] て ゙すか{。}",[103,30981],{"src":30982,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-先生は誰ですか.mp3",[292,30984],{},[304,30986,30987],{},[307,30988,30989,30990,30992,30994],{},"The teacher is who? ",[292,30991],{},[292,30993],{},"\n→ Question words come after は",[11,30996,30997],{},"Both of these two sentence pairs mean the same thing, the nuance is just a little different.",[304,30999,31000,31006],{},[307,31001,31002,31003,31005],{},"Remember the topic-comment structure we discussed in the は section? When we use は and establish Mr. Tanaka as the topic, the weight of the sentence gets placed on the comment: what ",[26,31004,19105],{}," Mr. Tanaka are we commenting? That he's the teacher.",[307,31007,31008],{},"Remember way back in the beginning of the article how we said that Japanese sentences revolve around the predicate? When you use が in these kinds of A=B sentences, you're emphasizing whatever comes before が. The point of interest is the thing that you're equating to the predicate.",[42,31010],{},[45,31012,31014],{"id":31013},"some-practice-exercises","Some practice exercises",[11,31016,31017],{},"That was a lot of information. Let's pratcice a bit, to make sure you've got these particles down.",[344,31019,31020,31038,31056,31074,31090],{},[307,31021,31022,31025,369,31028,31030,31032,31033,31035,31037],{},[98,31023],{"lang":100,"syntax":31024},"日本[にっぽん] ____ 行[い]きます{。}",[103,31026],{"src":31027,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-日本に行きます。.mp3",[292,31029],{},[292,31031],{},"\n\n\n(I'm) going to Japan. \n",[292,31034],{},[292,31036],{},"\n\n\nParticle: を、に、が\n",[307,31039,31040,31043,369,31046,31048,31050,31051,31053,31055],{},[98,31041],{"lang":100,"syntax":31042},"昼[ひる]ごはん は 学校[がっこう] ____ 食[た,たべる]べます{。}",[103,31044],{"src":31045,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-昼ごはんは学校で食べます。.mp3",[292,31047],{},[292,31049],{},"\n\n\n(I) have lunch at school. \n",[292,31052],{},[292,31054],{},"\n\n\nParticle: で、に、を\n",[307,31057,31058,31061,369,31064,31066,31068,31069,31071,31073],{},[98,31059],{"lang":100,"syntax":31060},"私[わたし] は 日本語[にほんご] ____ 勉強[べんきょう] し[,する]て い[,いる]ます{。}",[103,31062],{"src":31063,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-私は日本語を勉強しています。.mp3",[292,31065],{},[292,31067],{},"\n\n\nI am studying Japanese. \n",[292,31070],{},[292,31072],{},"\n\n\nParticle: が、と、を\n",[307,31075,31076,31077,506,31080,31082,31084,31085,31087,31089],{},"これ____ペンです。",[103,31078],{"src":31079,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-これはペンです。.mp3",[292,31081],{},[292,31083],{},"\nThis is a pen. ",[292,31086],{},[292,31088],{},"\nParticle: は、から、と",[307,31091,31092,31095,369,31098,31100,31102,31103,31105,31107],{},[98,31093],{"lang":100,"syntax":31094},"作家[さっか] ____ 誰[だれ] ですか{？}",[103,31096],{"src":31097,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-作家は誰ですか？.mp3",[292,31099],{},[292,31101],{},"\n\n\nThe author is who? \n",[292,31104],{},[292,31106],{},"\n\n\nParticle: は、が\n",[8421,31109,31111],{"heading":31110},"Click to see answers",[344,31112,31113,31116,31123,31129,31132],{},[307,31114,31115],{},"The answer is に because you are talking about where you are going.",[307,31117,31118,31119,31122],{},"The answer is で because you are doing an action (eating) at school. You could use に to say that you were ",[26,31120,31121],{},"going"," to school, or を to say what you were eating for lunch.",[307,31124,31125,31126,31128],{},"The answer is を because Japanese is ",[26,31127,28102],{}," you are studying. You could use と to say who you are studying with.",[307,31130,31131],{},"The answer is は. We've made \"this\" the topic of the sentence by marking it with は, and \"pen\" is something that pertains to the topic.",[307,31133,31134],{},"The answer is は. Remember, we said that question words come after は. To use が, we would have to flip the sentence around: 誰が作家ですか？",[42,31136],{},[45,31138,31140],{"id":31139},"concluding-thoughts","Concluding thoughts",[11,31142,31143],{},"Particles are little grammatical tags that get attached to words (or phrases) in a sentence in order to show what function those words and phrases have in the sentence. They can be difficult for English speakers to get used to because we use word order to do the job done by Japanese particles.",[11,31145,31146],{},"If you're feeling a little overwhelmed, that's OK. We covered a lot of information, and we don't expect you to memorize it. So long as you loosely understand what each particle does, you'll gradually develop a more accurate understanding of how it works as you consume more Japanese content and see more particles used in more sentences.",[11,31148,19843],{},[11,31150,31151,31152,31157],{},"_P.S. — Wikipedia has a pretty ",[15,31153,31156],{"href":31154,"rel":31155},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_particles",[971],"awesome list of Japanese particles and their usage",". There's a lot there, so don't try to memorize it, but go ahead and skim through it from time to time!",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":31159},[31160,31165,31166,31167,31177,31182,31183,31188,31189],{"id":28768,"depth":707,"text":28769,"children":31161},[31162,31163,31164],{"id":28772,"depth":1016,"text":28773},{"id":28847,"depth":1016,"text":28848},{"id":28899,"depth":1016,"text":28900},{"id":28987,"depth":707,"text":28988},{"id":29045,"depth":707,"text":29046},{"id":29101,"depth":707,"text":29102,"children":31168},[31169,31170,31171,31172,31173,31174,31175,31176],{"id":29149,"depth":1016,"text":29150},{"id":29438,"depth":1016,"text":29439},{"id":29531,"depth":1016,"text":29532},{"id":29615,"depth":1016,"text":29616},{"id":29712,"depth":1016,"text":29713},{"id":29756,"depth":1016,"text":29757},{"id":29861,"depth":1016,"text":29862},{"id":29965,"depth":1016,"text":29966},{"id":30118,"depth":707,"text":30119,"children":31178},[31179,31180,31181],{"id":30162,"depth":1016,"text":30163},{"id":30199,"depth":1016,"text":30200},{"id":30292,"depth":1016,"text":30293},{"id":30375,"depth":707,"text":30376},{"id":30409,"depth":707,"text":30410,"children":31184},[31185,31186,31187],{"id":30416,"depth":1016,"text":30417},{"id":30529,"depth":1016,"text":30530},{"id":30560,"depth":1016,"text":30561},{"id":31013,"depth":707,"text":31014},{"id":31139,"depth":707,"text":31140},"Particles are little grammatical tags that attach to words and show the role they play in a sentence. Here, we introduce 10 basic Japanese particles.",{"timestampUnix":31192,"slug":31193,"h1":1987,"image":31194,"tags":31199},1730339266484,"japanese-particles-guide",{"src":31195,"width":31196,"height":31197,"alt":31198},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-particles.webp",4874,3249,"A photo of someone playing with tinker toys, referencing how particles are like the nuts and bolts that hold Japanese sentences together.",[728,3670,31200,12474],"particles","\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles","---\ntitle: 'The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Japanese Particles'\ndescription: 'Particles are little grammatical tags that attach to words and show the role they play in a sentence. Here, we introduce 10 basic Japanese particles.'\ntimestampUnix: 1730339266484\nslug: 'japanese-particles-guide'\nh1: 'Mastering the Basics of Japanese Particles'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-particles.webp'\n width: 4874\n height: 3249\n alt: 'A photo of someone playing with tinker toys, referencing how particles are like the nuts and bolts that hold Japanese sentences together.'\ntags:\n - fundamentals\n - grammar\n - particles\n - deepdive\n---\n\nParticles are tiny little grammatical tags that clarify the relationships between words in a sentence. They aren't concrete words like \"bear\" or \"pizza\" and cannot stand on their own, but they're important. You'll see them in virtually every Japanese sentence, so if you want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), you need to get your head around Japanese particles.\n\nLooking at the Japanese word for particle, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"助詞[じょし]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_助詞.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, we see 助 (\"help\" or \"assist\") and 詞 (\"part of speech\"). This is fitting. In Japanese, particles attach to other words in order to add context to a sentence by indicating what function a word (or even phrase) is playing within that sentence. Literally speaking, particles are parts of speech that help us connect words together.\n\nIf we translated the sentence _\"that bear is eating my pizza!\"_ into Japanese, we'd end up using two particles:\n\n- The particle が \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_が.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> would attach to \"bear\" to show that it's the thing which is doing the eating\n- The particle を \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_を.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> would attach to \"pizza\" to show that it's the thing being eaten\n\nIn this post we'll talk about:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## Japanese sentences vs English sentences\n\n### Differences due to sentence structure\n\nIn the post on [the world's hardest languages](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fthe-most-difficult-language), we talked about how languages can be analyzed in several ways. Linguists classify languages according to [nearly 200 features](https:\u002F\u002Fwals.info\u002Ffeature), and one of those features has to do with how information within a sentence is organized.\n\n- English is a [subject-verb-object (SVO)](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSubject%E2%80%93verb%E2%80%93object_word_order) language\n- Japanese is a [subject-object-verb (SOV)](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSubject%E2%80%93object%E2%80%93verb_word_order) language\n\nThis has broad implications for how sentences get organized in Japanese and English, but, for now, let's just look at a simple sentence:\n\n- English says _**A bear** (subject) **is eating** (verb) **a pizza** (object)_\n- Japanese says _**A bear** (subject) **a pizza** (object) **is eating** (verb)_\n\nNotice that the verb goes at the very end of a Japanese sentence, not in the middle.\n\n### Differences due to culture\n\nAdditionally, whereas most English countries are [low-context cultures](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHigh-context_and_low-context_cultures), Japan is a high-context culture (see the same link). This affects sentence structure in that English speakers tend to make information explicit, even when it is redundant, but Japanese speakers omit redundant information where possible.\n\nSo if we take a question like \"Did you eat the pizza?\", we might get responses like this:\n\n- EN 1: Yes, I ate it.\n- EN 2: No, the bear ate it.\n- JA 1: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"うん{、}食[た,たべる]べた{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_うん、食べた。.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> (\"Yes, ate.\")\n- JA 2: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"ううん{、}クマ が 食[た,たべる]べた{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_ううん、クマが食べた。.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> (\"No, bear ate.\")\n\nIn English, the responses explicitly re-affirm who did what. In Japanese, however, since the initial question correctly states who did the eating (you) and what was eaten (the pizza), the \"JA 1\" response doesn't repeat that information. In the \"JA 2\" response, the speaker makes use of the が particle, as it's now necessary to clarify that the pizza was eaten by _the bear_, not by _me_.\n\n### The key point\n\nWith this difference in mind, we end up with a somewhat profound insight into how Japanese sentences differ from English ones:\n\n> English sentences boil down to subjects that do things. \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr> Japanese sentences boil down to a single verb† and, optionally, the context surrounding it.\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"† A pedantic note\">\n\nTo be really technical, Japanese sentences consist of [a _predicate_](\u003Chttps:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FPredicate_(grammar)>) and any necessary context surrounding it. A predicate is the part of a sentence (technically called a _clause_) which says something about the subject. It may be a verb (John runs), an adjective (John is tall), or even a noun (John is a man).\n\n[The simplest Japanese explanation](https:\u002F\u002Fchasoblogjapan.com\u002Fhatoga\u002F) of this I've found says:\n\n- JA: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"日本語[にほんご] は{【}述語[じゅつご]{】}を 中心[ちゅうしん] に{、}複数[ふくすう] の 成分[せいぶん] から 構成[こうせい] さ[,する]れます{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"要[よう]するに{、「}必要[ひつよう] な 言葉[ことば]{＋}述語[じゅつご]{」}が 日本語[にほんご] の 基本[きほん] な[,な]ん です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\n- EN: Focusing around the predicate, Japanese (sentences) consist of multiple parts. In essence, Japanese sentences consist of \"a predicate\" and \"(other) necessary words\".\n\nAnd here's how my Japanese dictionary defines 述語 (predicate):\n\n- JA: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"文[ぶん] の 成分[せいぶん] の 一[いち]{。}文中[ぶんちゅう] で{「}何[なに] が どう する{」「}何[なに] が どんな だ{」「}何[なに] が 何[なん]だ{」}における{「}どう する{」「}どんな だ{」「}なん だ{」}に 当[あ]たる 語[ご] または 文節[ぶんせつ] を いう{。「}花[はな] が 散[ち]る{」「}頬[ほお] が 赤[あか]い{」「}あれ が 駅[えき] だ{」}における{「}散[ち]る{」「}赤[あか]い{」「}駅[えき] だ{」}の 類[るい]{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\n- EN: (The predicate) is one of the components of a sentence. In a sentence, it refers to the (words\u002Fphrase\u002Fclause) that corresponds to \"{thing}\" in \"X does {thing},\" \"is like {descriptor}\" in \"Y is like {descriptor},\" or \"is {thing}\" in \"Z is {thing}.\" Examples include \"fall\" in \"the flowers fall,\" \"red\" in \"the cheeks are red,\" and \"is the station\" in \"that is the station.\"\n\nIn casual speech and some fixed phrases, you may also see sentences where the verb has been omitted. Perhaps the most common example is それはちょっと・・・\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-それはちょっとぉぉ・・・.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, which is used to politely refrain from answering a question or carrying out a request.\n\n---\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\nIf it's necessary for a sentence to consist of more than just a verb, you (a) add in any necessary context words and (b) attach a particle that clarifies how those words relate to the sentence's main verb.\n\nAnd now you might ask:\n\n---\n\n## Why do Japanese sentences need particles, anyway?\n\nWhen you saw that sentence about the pizza-eating bear, something like this might have gone through your head:\n\n> If English can say _\"that bear is eating my pizza!\"_ without using particles, why do they suddenly become necessary when we say that sentence in Japanese?\n\nAnd that's an excellent question to be asking. The answer is a little abstract, so I'll make a metaphor.\n\nBear with me for a moment and imagine that you want to go to [the Ueno Zoological Gardens](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch?num=10&sca_esv=5cf43fb2a73d6eec&sxsrf=ADLYWIJJz9rF6nAhMdzyRat5svKC2ytLKg:1728954225320&q=ueno+zoo&udm=2&fbs=AEQNm0BqbPbAzSj6PhNr7nv9Ltx-oFh8tVsgXi1MyFbswNtTUOS5b68chsyOj2QEdx4EPnNHj-rfVa2Eb1VCscGX2ZUj5r8ZOZRpZPWpmGRpRWIG4vnBpwS1Khes1PynNnzkhGAwsjNymIEagZDR9C9QEbmDPkR4-PLgcE1kK1jdKjsiptWX900piQTBNnKXkMbFe2Fc99dxN9DkqHom-yRhNVZ205e_LT-7K4smq681js2gF_X4pFM&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwifiruzmI-JAxUhC3kGHU3RLxIQtKgLegQIDhAB&biw=1240&bih=880&dpr=2#vhid=buu71Lm2u8fWTM&vssid=mosaic) in Tokyo. You can get to the zoo via bike or train, and your route will be impacted by the mode of transportation you choose: a train _must_ follow tracks, but a bicycle probably won't ever follow train tracks. In other words, your destination is fixed, but your route is variable\n\nIn the same way, while every language is capable of communicating any message, how the sentence conveying that message will look depends on each particular language's structure and features. Just like a bicycle and train will take different routes to get to the same place, English and Japanese take different approaches to communicating the same message.\n\nOne of the key differences between English and Japanese is as follows:\n\n- **English depends on word order**: English doesn't have particles that clarify the job of each word\u002Fphrase in a sentence, and this makes word order very important. If you switch the order of \"pizza\" and \"bear\" in \"the bear ate the pizza\", you end up with a bear-eating pizza. The whole system breaks down and you wind up with the stuff of nightmares.\n- **Japanese depends on particles**: Japanese has particles that clarify the job of each word\u002Fphrase in a sentence, and this reduces the importance of word order. If you switch the order of \"pizza\" and \"bear\" in \"the bear ate the pizza\", your sentence will still mean \"the bear ate the pizza\" because を marks the pizza as the thing that got eaten and が marks the bear as the thing that did the eating.\n\nBasically, lacking a strict word order like that of English, Japanese needs to take a different approach to making it clear which parts of a sentence are doing what.\n\nAnd that's where the particles come in.\n\n---\n\n## How to use Japanese particles\n\nNow that you know a bit about Japanese sentences and what particles are for, let's see how you actually _use_ particles. Below is a simple Japanese sentence with the particles highlighted in red.\n\n- JA: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"日本語[にほんご] の[;a] 助詞[じょし] を[;a] 紹介[しょうかい] する ため{、}例文[れいぶん] を[;a] 書[か,かく;]きました{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-日本語の助詞を紹介するため、例文を書きました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n\n- EN: I wrote an example sentence in order to introduce Japanese particles.\n\nThis sentence includes three particles:\n\n- In 日本語の助詞, the particle の connects 日本語 (Japanese) to 助詞 (particles); a more literal way to translate this would be \"the particles **of** Japanese\"\n- In 日本語の助詞を紹介する, the particle を shows that 日本語の助詞 (Japanese particles) is what's being introduced; notice that 日本語の助詞 is a phrase\n- In 例文を書きました, the particle を shows that 例文 (example sentence) is what's being written; notice that 例文 is a single word\n\nIt'll take a bit of practice to remember which particles do what, but once you've got that down, actually _using_ the particles is pretty easy. You just take the particle you want and attach it directly to the end of a word or phrase.\n\nIf you can wrap your head around that, excellent! Pretty much all Japanese grammar has to do with either how verbs change forms or how particles attach to nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Even a lot of things that aren't particles (such as ため, \"in order to\", from our above example sentence) function in the same way that particles do: just tack them onto the end of the word or phrase they modify.\n\nAnd now we can finally start talking about some basic Japanese particles.\n\n---\n\n## The \"case\" particles: が, の, を, に, へ, と, で, から and より\n\nIn linguistics, [grammatical case](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FGrammatical_case) refers to the role a particular noun or noun phrase is playing in a sentence. Some languages show grammatical case via word order (like English) or by [inflecting](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FInflection) a noun (like Russian). In Japanese, case particles (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"各[かく] 助詞[じょし]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_各助詞.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>) are used to show the relationship a noun or noun phrase has with the verb of a sentence.\n\nThese particles are so integral to how Japanese sentences work that Japanese actually has [grammar points that turn adjectives into nouns (~さ and ~み](https:\u002F\u002Fimabi.org\u002Fadjective-nominalization\u002F), and also [~く](https:\u002F\u002Fimabi.org\u002Fadjective-nominalization-ii\u002F)) and [grammar points that turn verbs into nouns (の, こと, and もの)](https:\u002F\u002Fimabi.org\u002Fnominalization\u002F).\n\nAnd now we can talk about nine basic Japanese particles:\n\n### ➡️ 1. Use the particle が to mark the subject of a sentence\n\nUse the particle が (ga) to mark the subject of a sentence: the thing doing an action or the thing being described. We'll get a bit more nuanced than this, but in this very general sense, this particle is pretty straightforward:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"サミ が 記事[きじ] を 書[か,かく]きました{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_サミが記事を書きました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n Sami **ga** kiji wo kakimashita\u003Cbr>\n Sami wrote an article.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"頭[あたま] が 痛[いた]い です\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_頭が痛いです.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n atama **ga** itai desu.\u003Cbr>\n (My) head hurts.\n\n> Notice in this second sentence that the word _my_ has been omitted. We aren't telepathic, so if somebody states that a head is hurting, they're probably talking about their own head. Remember, Japanese omits information where possible!\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"A few specific situations where が is also used\">\n\u003Cbr>\nHere are a few more situations in which the subject-marking particle が is used.\n\n#### When talking about the existence of something\n\nWhen stating that something exists in English we use \"there is\" or \"there are,\" but in Japanese, you'll place が after whatever it is that exists, along with a Japanese verb that indicates existence.\n\nFor _animate_ objects (things that are alive), use ~がいる\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"テーブル の 上[うえ] に 教科書[きょうかしょ] が あり[,ある]ます{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_テーブルの上に教科書があります。.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n tēburu no ue ni kyōkasho **ga** arimasu.\u003Cbr>\n There's a book on the table.\n\nFor _inanimate_ objects (things that aren't alive), use ~がある\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"庭[にわ] に クマ が い[,いる]ます{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_庭にクマがいます。.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n niwa ni kuma **ga** imasu.\u003Cbr>\n There's a bear in the garden.\n\n#### When talking about senses\u002Femotions\n\nWhen you talk about your senses (things you hear, see, etc.) or things you feel (cold\u002Fsad, like\u002Fwant something), you'll use が in Japanese.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"いい 匂[にお]い が し[,する]ます{！}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_いい匂いがします！.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n ii nioi**ga** shimasu!.\u003Cbr>\n (Something) smells good!\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"未来[みらい] が 怖[こわ]い です[]{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_未来が怖いです。.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n mirai**ga** kowai desu.\u003Cbr>\n The future is scary.\n\n#### When talking about things you can do\n\nWhen you put a verb into the [potential form](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_conjugation#Potential) to say that something \"can\" be done (_he reads_ vs _he **can** read_), you'll mark the thing that can be done with が.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"日本語[にほんご] が 話[はな,はなせる]せます{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_日本語が話せます。.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n nihongo**ga** hanasemasu.\u003Cbr>\n (I) can speak Japanese.\n\n#### When picking something out of a group\n\nIt's a bit hard to put into words, but the particle が creates a feeling that you're singling something out. Imagine that, for whatever reason, you wear glasses... and that there was a small hurricane in your school or workplace, which caused some chaos, and now there are a hundred pairs of glasses on the floor.\n\nWhen you eventually find yours, you might hold them up in the air and (triumphantly) announce:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"これ が 私[わたし] の メガネ です！\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_これが私のメガネです.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n Kore**ga** watashi no megane desu.\u003Cbr>\n _These_ are my glasses!\n\nIf you look closely, you can kind of see this nuance in the usages listed above.\n\n- What's in the garden? _A bear._\n- What's scary? _The future._\n- What language can you speak? _Japanese._\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\nUnfortunately, it's a bit difficult to translate が because we convey the subject of a sentence via word order in English. As you consume more Japanese content, you'll eventually develop a feel for it.\n\n### ➡️ 2. Use the particle の to show possession or belonging\u002Fassociation\n\nThe particle の functions exactly like 's (apostrophe S) in English:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"{Migaku}の{Chrome}拡張機能[かくちょうきのう] は とても 便利[べんり] です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_MigakuのChrome拡張機能はとても便利です。.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n Migaku **no** Chrome kakuchoukinou wa totemo benri desu.\u003Cbr>\n Migaku's Chrome extension is very convenient.\n\nIt can also be used in the \"X の Y\" structure to mean \"The Y of X\", showing that Y somehow pertains to X.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"人生[じんせい] の 意味[いみ] は 何[なに] です か\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_人生の意味は何ですか.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n Jinsei **no** imi wa nan desu ka.\u003Cbr>\n What is the meaning **of** life?\n\nYou can even combine these two structures together:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"秋田[あきた] 国際[こくさい] 教養[きょうよう] 大学[だいがく] の 日本語[にほんご] の 授業[じゅぎょう] は 楽[たの]しい です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_秋田国際教養大学の日本語の授業は楽しいです。.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n Akita kokusai kyouyou daigaku **no** nihongo **no** jyugyou wa tanoshii desu\u003Cbr>\n Akita International University's Japanese courses are fun. \u003Cbr>_(Literally: AIU's \"courses of Japanese\" are fun.)_\n\n### ➡️ 3. Use the particle を to mark the direct object of a sentence\n\n\"[Direct object](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.grammarly.com\u002Fblog\u002Fgrammar\u002Fdirect-object\u002F)\" is a fancy linguistic term that basically refers to the thing you're doing. It's hard to define without using more fancy linguistic terms, so I'll instead give you a few examples and make the direct object bold:\n\n- I'm watching **a movie**.\n- The bear is eating **a pizza**.\n- She is reading **a big green history book.**\n\nA direct object is the movie you're watching, the pizza you're eating, and the history book you're reading.\n\nIn Japanese, you indicate that a particular thing is the direct object of a sentence by attaching the particle を (wo, pronounced \"oh\") to it:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"授業[じゅぎょう] で 映画[えいが] を 見[み,みる]ました{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_授業で映画を見ました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n jyugyou de eiga **wo** mimasita.\u003Cbr>\n (We) watched a movie in class.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし] は 昨日[きのう]{、}パスタ を 食[た,たべる]べました{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_私は昨日、パスタを食べました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n Watashi wa kinou, pasuta **wo** tabemashita.\u003Cbr>\n Yesterday, I ate pasta.\n\nIt's difficult to translate を into English because we use word order to indicate that something is a verb's direct object in English, so try not to overthink things. As you consume content in Japanese and see more example sentences, you'll quickly build an intuitive feel for how to use を.\n\n### ➡️ 4. Use the particle に to show the direction of an action\n\nUse に to say where you're going. For example:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"飛行機[ひこうき] で 日本[にほん] に 行[ゆ,ゆく]きました{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_飛行機で日本に行きました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n hikouki de nihon **ni** ikimashita. \u003Cbr>\n I went **to** Japan by plane.\n\nYou can also use に to communicate direction in a more abstract sense, such as who an action is aimed at:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"友達[ともだち] に プレゼント を あげ[,あげる]ました{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_友達にプレゼントをあげました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n hikouki de nihon **ni** ikimashita. \u003Cbr>\n I gave a present **to** my friend.\n\nThe fancy way to explain this second usage of に is to say that it marks [indirect objects](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.grammarly.com\u002Fblog\u002Fgrammar\u002Findirect-object\u002F).\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"A more technical usage of に\">\n\nIf you skimmed through the advanced usages of が above, you'd have seen this example sentence:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"庭[にわ] に クマ が い[,いる]ます{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_庭にクマがいます。.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n niwa **ni** kuma ga imasu.\u003Cbr>\n There's a bear in the garden.\n\nAnd this, indeed, isn't communicating any sort of direction. This is beyond the scope of this article, but for now, just know that you will also see the particle に used to show where something exists, where something is, or where something is located.\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n### ➡️ 5. Use へ to show a more general direction\n\nThe particle へ is also used to show where you are going, and it is generally interchangeable with に when used to indicate direction. Strictly speaking, に is used to indicate a destination, whereas へ indicates a direction.\n\nDirection aside, there are a few set phrases that use へ:\n\n- ~へようこそ \u003Cbr>\n ~ **he** youkoso \u003Cbr>\n Welcome to (place)\n\n- 未来への(thing) \u003Cbr>\n mirai **he** no \u003Cbr>\n (Something) for the future\n\n### ➡️ 6. Use the particle と to say \"with\" and make quotes\n\nThe most basic use of the particle と is simply to communicate togetherness. As shown in the following examples, it usually translates to \"and\" or \"with\":\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"猫[ねこ] と 犬[いぬ] が 好[す]き です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-猫と犬が好きです。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n neko **to** inu ga suki desu. \u003Cbr>\n (I) like cats and dogs.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし] は 昨日[きのう] 友達[ともだち] と 遊[あそ,あそぶ]びました{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-私は昨日友達と遊びました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\"> \u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\u003Cbr>\n watashi wa kinou tomodachi **to** asobimashita \u003Cbr>\n Yesterday, I hung out (_lit: played_) with my friends.\n\nNext, と can be used to make both direct and indirect quotes:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"彼[かれ] は{、「}人生[じんせい] は 挑戦[ちょうせん] の 連続[れんぞく] だ{」}と 言[い,いう]った{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-彼は、「人生は挑戦の連続だ」と言った。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n kare wa, \"jinsei wa chousen no renzoku da\" **to** itta. \u003Cbr>\n He said, \"life is a series of challenges.\"\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"山[やま] は{「}やま[,やむ]{」}と 呼[よ,よぶ]びます{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-山は「やま」と呼びます。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n \"山\" wa yama **to** yobimasu. \u003Cbr>\n \"山\" is pronounced \"yama\".\n\nYou will also see と used when making certain types of comparisons. You can learn these as you encounter them.\n\n### ➡️ 7. Use the particle で to show where an action takes place or the means by which an action is done\n\nThe particle で is used to show the location where something happens.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"公園[こうえん] で ご飯[ごはん] を 食[た,たべる]べました{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-公園でご飯を食べました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n kouen **de** gohan wo tabimashita. \u003Cbr>\n (I) ate (a meal) at the park.\n\nIt's also used to define the scope of a statement:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"世界[せかい] で 一番[いちばん] 長[なが]い 川[かわ] は ナイル{」}です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-世界で一番長い川はナイル」です。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n sekai **de** ichiban nagai kawa wa nairu desu. \u003Cbr>\n The longest river in the world is the Nile.\n\nYou can also use で to show the means by which something is done, both in concrete and abstract contexts:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"バス で 学校[がっこう] に 行[ゆ,ゆく]きます{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-バスで学校に行きます。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n basu **de** gakkou ni ikimasu. \u003Cbr>\n (I) go to school by bus.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"木[き] で 机[つくえ] を 作[つく,つくる]ります{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-木で机を作ります。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n ki **de** tsukue wo tsukurimasu. \u003Cbr>\n (I) will make a desk out of wood.\n\n### ➡️ 8. (Bonus) The particles から and より\n\nThe final two case particles are より and から.\n\nから indicates the origin of something, and can be used in a variety of contexts:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"カフェ から 来[く,くる]ました{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-カフェから来ました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n kafe **kara** kimashita. \u003Cbr>\n (I) came from the cafe.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"田中[たなか] さん から 本[ほん] を 借[か,かりる]りました{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-田中さんから本を借りました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n Tanaka san **kara** hon wo karimashita. \u003Cbr>\n (I) borrowed a book from Tanaka.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"アクセント から する と 日本人[にほんじん] で は ない よう です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-アクセントからすると日本人ではないようです。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n akusento **kara** suru to, nihonjin dewanai you desu \u003Cbr>\n Judging by (their) accent, (they) don't seem to be Japanese.\n\nより is used for making comparisons, and can be transated to \"than\".\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"クマ は 私[わたし] より 背[せ] が 高[たか]い です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-クマは私より背が高いです。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n kuma wa watashi **yori** se ga takai desu \u003Cbr>\n The bear is taller than me.\n\nAs shown in [our blog post on writing Japanese letters](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-write-a-japanese-letter), より can also mean \"from\" in some specific contexts.\n\n- サミより \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-サミより.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n Sami **yori** \u003Cbr>\n From Sami\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"日本[にほん] より 愛[あい] を こめ[,こめる]て{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-日本より愛をこめて。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n nihon **yori** ai wo komete \u003Cbr>\n From Japan, with love.\n\n---\n\n## The \"binding\" particle は\n\nAnd now we're ready to talk about the binding particle ( \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"係助詞[かかりじょし]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-係助詞.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>) は, pronounced _wa_.\n\nは is normally the first the particle taught by [textbooks, such as Genki](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fbest-japanese-textbooks#genki-the-go-to-textbook-for-beginners). It's usually taught with this specific structure:\n\n- X は Y です。\u003Cbr>\n X **wa** Y desu.\u003Cbr>\n X is Y.\n\nThis makes it seem like は means \"to be\", and this misunderstanding causes all sorts of problems. I've introduced は last, and in a completely separate category of particles, to try to avoid this issue.\n\n### Case particles vs binding particles\n\nAs we said above, case particles indicate that a particular word in a sentence is playing a particular grammatical role. They simply _mark_ the the function of a word.\n\nRather than simply marking the function of a word, however, binding particles _add_ meaning to a word. When I look up 係助詞 in my Japanese dictionary, it's defined as:\n\n- JA: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"係[かかり] 助詞[じょし]は{、}種々[しゅじゅ] の 語[ご] に 付[つ,つく]き{、}その 語[ご] に 意味[いみ] を 添[そ]える と共[ととも]に{、}文[ぶん] の 終止[しゅうし] に まで 影響[えいきょう] を 及[およ]ぼす 助詞[じょし] で ある{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\n- EN: Binding particles attach to various words and add meaning to those words while also influencing the sentence’s ending.\n\nThis is really important to understand. The particle は is something you _add_ to a word when you want to give it additional nuance.\n\nIn particular, は is used to (a) add an element of contrast to a sentence, or (b) elevate an element of a sentence to the status of \"topic\".\n\n### Use は to show contrast\n\nThe first usage of は is pretty straightforward. It's used to add contrast to a sentence, as follows:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"お茶[おちゃ] は 飲[の,のむ]みます が{、}コーヒー は 飲[の,のむ]みません{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-お茶は飲みますが、コーヒーは飲みません。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n ocha **wa** nomimasu ga, koohii wa nomimasen. \u003Cbr>\n I drink _tea_, but I don't drink _coffee_.\n\nHere, the contrast is that you _do_ drink tea, but you _don't_ drink something else.\n\nYou can also use は to hint at contrast. For example, let's look at that sentence about cats and dogs from earlier:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"猫[ねこ] と 犬[いぬ] が 好[す]き です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-猫と犬が好きです。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n neko to inu ga suki desu. \u003Cbr>\n (I) like cats and dogs.\n\nIf this person had expressed this same sort of idea but instead chose to use the contrastive は:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"{（}私[わたし] は{）}猫[ねこ] は 好[す]き です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-(私は)猫は好きです。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n (watashi wa) neko **wa** suki desu.\n\nThen the nuance of the sentence would become \"(I) like cats _(but there's something else I don't like)_\".\n\n### Use は to indicate the topic of a sentence\n\nDon't think too hard about this: if something is the topic of a sentence, it's the thing that's being discussed. Here's how [a Japanese reference](https:\u002F\u002Fblog.navy-p.com\u002Fdependency-marker-ha\u002F) explains it:\n\n- JA: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"なお{、「}は{」}によって 題目[だいもく] を 示[しめ]す とき{、}題目[だいもく] の 箇所[かしょ] に は{“}提示[ていじ] し[,する]た 題目[だいもく] について{”}という 訳[わけ] が 当[あ,あてる]てられます{。}・・・中身[なかみ2] を 予告[よこく] する役割[やくわり]・・・\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\n- EN: When \"wa\" marks the topic, its function is to show that \"the sentence is about this\"... it serves to give a preview of the content of a sentence...\n\nWe don't have a grammar point that corresponds to は in English, so it can be difficult to wrap your head around. It's kind of like using a colon to introduce a list:\n\n- Milk tea: delicious, comes in mugs or bottles, sold in various countries around the world\n\nIt's as if you've held up a sign that says \"milk tea\", and everybody starts shouting things that apply to milk tea, and nobody is confused because the sign makes it very clear that the topic of discussion is milk tea.\n\nCompare the following two sentences:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"キリン の 首[くび] が 長[なが]い です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-キリンの首が長いです。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n kirin **no** kubi ga nagai desu \u003Cbr>\n Giraffe's necks are long.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"キリン は 首[くび] が 長[なが]い です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-キリンは首が長いです。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n kirin **wa** kubi ga nagai desu \u003Cbr>\n Giraffes—(their) necks are long.\n\nIn the first sentence, we're making a statement about giraffe's necks. In the second sentence, we establish \"giraffe\" as the topic, and \"necks are long\" thus becomes a comment that refers to giraffes.\n\n---\n\n## This is confusing! Japanese particles just don't make sense.\n\nIndeed. This isn't just you: everybody struggles with particles when they first start out. We just don't have anything like Japanese's particles in English, so you've got no frame of reference to tie this stuff to, and that's not your fault. There's logic to how the particles work, but it'll take time to put your finger on because the particles follow a different kind of logic than English sentence structure does.\n\nParticles will become second nature as you spend more time with Japanese, but until then, Migaku's Japanese Academy can get you started:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-mo.jpeg\" width=\"1642\" height=\"1152\" alt=\"A screenshot from Migaku's Japanese course, showing how we help users learn Japanese vocabulary and grammar\" \u002F>\n\nThe course follows an A:B format in which:\n\n- A → You learn about a grammar point\n- B → You use flashcards to learn sentences that feature that grammar point\n\nBut this isn't _just_ another deck of flashcards. It's been insanely carefully curated. Every flashcard introduces a single new word, giving it a very smooth learing curve. If you can keep consistent for about 6 months (at a pace of 10 flashcards per day), you'll have acquired the ~1,500 words you need to follow 80% of Japanese Netflix.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## Common sources of confusion\n\nMany of the particles have multiple meanings, and some of these meanings can appear quite similar. Now that we've talked about several of the basic particles, let's address a few common points of confusion.\n\n### に vs で\n\nに and で can be confusing because they both answer the question of \"where\". The key to distinguishing them is understanding that \"where\" is a pretty broad term that can ask for a few different types of information.\n\n- Use に if the answer to \"where\" is a direction of movement _or_ a place where something exists\u002Fresides\u002Fis\n- Use で if the answer to \"where\" is the location where something (an action) is being done\n\nFor example:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"学校[がっこう] で 昼[ひる]ごはん を 食[た,たべる]べます{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-学校で昼ごはんを食べます。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n gakkou **de** hirugohan wo tabemasu. \u003Cbr>\n (I) eat lunch at school. \u003Cbr>\n → School is the _location_ where you are eating (doing something).\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"今[いま] 学校[がっこう] に い[,いる]ます{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-今学校にいます.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n gakkou **ni** imasu. \u003Cbr>\n (I'm) at school now. \u003Cbr>\n → School is where you _are_ (your current location)\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"学校[がっこう] に 行[い]って い[,いる]ます{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-学校に行っています.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n gakkou **ni** itteimasu \u003Cbr>\n (I'm) going to school. \u003Cbr>\n → You are in movement, and school is your destination\n\nSo while 学校で and 学校に are both correct, the _type_ of information that comes with each one is different.\n\n### に vs へ\n\nA long time ago, に and へ used to have different usages. At some point, へ began being used in similar situations as に. Today, they are largely interchangeable when communicating a direction of movement.\n\nIf we really want to split hairs, the nuance of each particle is slightly different:\n\n- に means \"to\": it emphasizes your destination, and shows specifically where you're going\n- へ means \"toward\": it emphasizes your direction in a more general fashion\n\nAnd this lets us make an important clarification:\n\n- へ can pretty much always replace に because, if you arrived to Tokyo, you must necessarily have also gone in the direction of Tokyo\n- に cannot always replace へ, because the fact that you're headed in the direction of Tokyo now doesn't mean that you'll arrive there or even that it's your intended destination—just like saying that you're headed north doesn't mean that you're going to the North Pole\n\n---\n\n### は vs が\n\nI agree with you: は vs が is tough.\n\nAs a matter of fact, Japanese people agree with you, too: somebody literally wrote [an entire book](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.co.jp\u002F「は」と「が」-新日本語文法選書-1-野田-尚史\u002Fdp\u002F487424128X) comparing the two particles. I'm not going to be able to do in a few paragraphs what took a Japanese linguist an entire book, so I'm going to take a different strategy with this section of the article.\n\n1. I'll talk through a sentence in which the topic and subject _aren't_ the same\n2. I'll translate some of the key points of the above book\n\n#### Differentiating subjects and topics\n\nPart of the trouble you're having is because, in English, the topic and subject of a sentence are pretty much alawys identical. I can't personally think of a natural sentence where they aren't, at least.\n\nSo let's look at this Japanese sentence I shared earlier:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"キリン は 首[くび] が 長[なが]い です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-キリンは首が長いです。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n kirin **wa** kubi **ga** nagai desu \u003Cbr>\n Giraffes—(their) necks are long.\n\nI think it's pretty cool, from a linguistic perspective. That's because:\n\n- The _topic_ of this sentence is a giraffe\n- The _subject_ of this sentence is a neck\n\nWhich I understand is clear as mud.\n\nBut remember way back in the beginning of this article how I said that Japanese sentences revolve around the verb? That was a slight oversimplification. They actually revolve around what's called the predicate, which you can understand to be a verb _or_ a noun\u002Fadjective attached to です.\n\nWith this in mind, we're in a better position to break this sentence down:\n\n- The core of the sentence is _are long_\n- The subject particle が tells us _what_ is long—necks\n- The topic particle は tells us that the above two things are a comment about _something_—giraffes\n\nIt's hard to cleanly explain that with English logic, but if you pay attention, you'll see this topic-comment structure all over the place in Japanese. Eventually, it'll begin to feel natural.\n\nAnd now let's get into the rules of thumb.\n\n#### Use は to reference old information; use が to to introduce new information\n\nIf you're mentioning something for the first time, bring it up with が. After you've mentioned it once, you can use は to reference it.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"昔々[むかしむかし]{、}おじいさん と おばあさん\u003Cstrong>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>おっ[,おる]た{。}おじいさん は 山[やま] へ 芝[しば] 刈[が]り に{、}おばあさん\u003Cstrong>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>川[かわ] へ 洗濯[せんたく] に 行[ゆ,ゆく]った{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-昔々、おじいさんとおばあさんがおった。おじいさんは山へ芝刈りに、おばあさんは川へ洗濯に行った。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n Once upon a time, there lived an old man and an old woman. The old man went to the mountains to cut firewood, and the old woman went to the river to do the laundry.\n\nNotice that we actually do the same sort of thing in English! If you mention something for the first time, you use _a_ or _an_. Once you've mentioned it, you can then use _the_ to reference that thing moving forward.\n\nConsider: _**A** man walked into a forest with a pizza. **The** man left the forest with no pizza. Oh, the intrigue!_\n\n#### Use は to make judgments; use が to make observations\n\nIf you're seeing something and somehow interpreting it—giving an opinion, casting a judgment, making an evaluation—use は. If you're making note of a natural phenomenon, something that exists independent of you and your thoughts, use が.\n\n- Judgment: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"あの 桜[さくら]\u003Cstrong>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>とても きれい だ{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-あの桜はとてもきれいだ。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n That sakura tree is very pretty. \u003Cbr>\n → \"Pretty\" is a subjective judgment; you're giving your opinion.\n\n- Observation: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"雪[ゆき]\u003Cstrong>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>降[ふ]って いる\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-雪が降っている.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n Snow is falling. \u003Cbr>\n → This will happen regardless of whether you know, care, or exist.\n\n#### Use は for sentences; use が for clauses\n\nA _clause_ is a fancy grammatical term that refers to a chunk of a sentence. Some clauses can stand on their own (_Sami writes._), while other clauses can't make a full sentence by themselves (_If Sami writes..._).\n\nIn Japanese, you should use は when you introduce something that pertains to the entire sentence, but use が when introducing something that is only relevant within one clause of a sentence.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"昨日[きのう] 彼女[かのじょ]\u003Cstrong>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>作[つく,つくる]った ケーキ\u003Cstrong>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>{、}とても おいしかった{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-昨日彼女が作ったケーキは、とてもおいしかった。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n The cake that the woman made yesterday was very delicious. \u003Cbr>\n → The core of the sentence is \"it was very delciious\", and this statement applies to the cake, so the cake is marked with は\u003Cbr>\n → \"that the woman made yesterday\" describes the cake, not \"it was very delicious\", so \"that the woman made yesterday\" is marked with が\n\nNotice that ケーキは、とてもおいしかった。 (\"the cake was very delicious\") works just fine as a complete sentence. The clause 昨日彼女が作った (\"that the woman made yesterday\") adds extra information that describes the cake, which is just one part of the sentence.\n\n#### Use は to introduce contrast; use が to point a finger\n\nIf you're trying to highlight a contrast between two things, or simply alluding to contrast, use は. If you're making a specific statement that exclusively applies to one specific thing, use が.\n\n- Contrast: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"お茶[ちゃ]\u003Cstrong>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>飲[の,のめる]めます が{、}コーヒー\u003Cstrong>は\u003C\u002Fstrong>飲[の,のめる]めません{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-お茶は飲めますが、コーヒーは飲めません。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n I can drink _tea_, but not _coffee_. \u003Cbr>\n → † Yep! This is that same contrastive は that we talked about above.\n\n- Exclusivity: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"彼[かれ]\u003Cstrong>が\u003C\u002Fstrong>アメリカ人[あめりかじん] です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-彼がアメリカ人です。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n _He_ (specifically him, that guy \\[kinda feels like you're pointing a finger]) is American. \u003Cbr>\n → Yep! This is the same thing we talked about in \"a few specific situations where が is used\".\n\n_† Note: Given this particular nuance, some Japanese linguists argue that the contrastive は doesn't actually exist. According to them, the contrastive nature that は gives to some sentences is a byproduct of making something a topic and lifting it \"above\" the sentence._\n\n#### Use は when stating a characteristic of something; use が or は when equating two things\n\nYou're going to need to work with me a bit on this one.\n\nImagine that we split a sentence in half and got something like {Part A:Part B}.\n\nIf \"part B\" is a characteristic of \"part A\", then you should use は:\n\n- Characteristic: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"チキン は 鳥[とり] です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-チキンは鳥です。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n Chickens are birds. \u003Cbr>\n → It's always true that chickens are birds, but it's not always true that a given bird is a chicken. As such, \"chicken\" is not equivalent with \"bird\"; instead, \"bird\" is a quality\u002Fcharacteristic that applies to \"chicken\".\n\nIf \"Part B\" is the same thing as \"Part A\", then you can use either が or は, but your choice will affect how the sentence needs to be organized. You often run into this situation in statements where you could replace one of the halves with a question word, as shown below:\n\n- Equivalence: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"田中[たなか] さん が 先生[せんせい] です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-田中さんが先生です.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n\n - Mr. Tanaka is the teacher. \u003Cbr>\n → In this situation, \"Mr. Tanaka\" and \"the teacher\" are synonymous—they both indicate the asme person\n\n- Equivalence: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"先生[せんせい] は 田中[たなか] さん です{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-先生は田中さんです。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n - The teacher is Mr. Tanaka. \u003Cbr>\n → Flipping these two words doesn't change the meaning of the sentence.\n\nAs mentioned, we can replace \"Mr. Tanaka\" with a question word:\n\n- Question: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"誰[だれ] か ゙ 先生[せんせい] て ゙すか{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-誰が先生ですか.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n\n - Who is the teacher?. \u003Cbr>\n → Question words come before が\n\n- Question: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"先生[せんせい] は 誰[だれ] て ゙すか{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-先生は誰ですか.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n - The teacher is who? \u003Cbr>\n → Question words come after は\n\nBoth of these two sentence pairs mean the same thing, the nuance is just a little different.\n\n- Remember the topic-comment structure we discussed in the は section? When we use は and establish Mr. Tanaka as the topic, the weight of the sentence gets placed on the comment: what _about_ Mr. Tanaka are we commenting? That he's the teacher.\n- Remember way back in the beginning of the article how we said that Japanese sentences revolve around the predicate? When you use が in these kinds of A=B sentences, you're emphasizing whatever comes before が. The point of interest is the thing that you're equating to the predicate.\n\n---\n\n## Some practice exercises\n\nThat was a lot of information. Let's pratcice a bit, to make sure you've got these particles down.\n\n1. \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"日本[にっぽん] ____ 行[い]きます{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-日本に行きます。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n (I'm) going to Japan. \u003Cbr>\n Particle: を、に、が\n\n2. \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"昼[ひる]ごはん は 学校[がっこう] ____ 食[た,たべる]べます{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-昼ごはんは学校で食べます。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n (I) have lunch at school. \u003Cbr>\n Particle: で、に、を\n\n3. \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし] は 日本語[にほんご] ____ 勉強[べんきょう] し[,する]て い[,いる]ます{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-私は日本語を勉強しています。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n I am studying Japanese. \u003Cbr>\n Particle: が、と、を\n\n4. これ\\_\\_\\_\\_ペンです。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-これはペンです。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n This is a pen. \u003Cbr>\n Particle: は、から、と\n\n5. \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"作家[さっか] ____ 誰[だれ] ですか{？}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-作家は誰ですか？.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>\n The author is who? \u003Cbr>\n Particle: は、が\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"Click to see answers\">\n\n1. The answer is に because you are talking about where you are going.\n2. The answer is で because you are doing an action (eating) at school. You could use に to say that you were _going_ to school, or を to say what you were eating for lunch.\n3. The answer is を because Japanese is _what_ you are studying. You could use と to say who you are studying with.\n4. The answer is は. We've made \"this\" the topic of the sentence by marking it with は, and \"pen\" is something that pertains to the topic.\n5. The answer is は. Remember, we said that question words come after は. To use が, we would have to flip the sentence around: 誰が作家ですか？\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\n---\n\n## Concluding thoughts\n\nParticles are little grammatical tags that get attached to words (or phrases) in a sentence in order to show what function those words and phrases have in the sentence. They can be difficult for English speakers to get used to because we use word order to do the job done by Japanese particles.\n\nIf you're feeling a little overwhelmed, that's OK. We covered a lot of information, and we don't expect you to memorize it. So long as you loosely understand what each particle does, you'll gradually develop a more accurate understanding of how it works as you consume more Japanese content and see more particles used in more sentences.\n\nGood luck!\n\n\\_P.S. — Wikipedia has a pretty [awesome list of Japanese particles and their usage](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_particles). There's a lot there, so don't try to memorize it, but go ahead and skim through it from time to time!\n",{"title":28717,"description":31190},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles","tP8sL11NI0dXasUf4TYgnNVPHTmbAiTPqtSgC95ScEU",{"id":31207,"title":31208,"body":31209,"description":32078,"extension":717,"meta":32079,"navigation":730,"path":32089,"rawbody":32090,"seo":32091,"stem":32092,"__hash__":32093,"timestampUnix":32080,"slug":32081,"h1":32082,"image":32083,"tags":32088,"_dir":736,"timestamp":32094},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-podcasts.md","The Best Japanese Podcasts for Beginner and Intermediate Learners (2025)",{"type":8,"value":31210,"toc":32056},[31211,31217,31220,31226,31228,31230,31234,31238,31241,31244,31252,31255,31313,31315,31319,31324,31328,31333,31336,31356,31382,31386,31391,31394,31411,31432,31436,31442,31445,31462,31484,31488,31494,31497,31500,31518,31539,31543,31547,31550,31566,31584,31586,31590,31595,31598,31602,31606,31615,31633,31650,31654,31658,31661,31678,31705,31709,31714,31717,31734,31751,31755,31760,31770,31787,31805,31809,31813,31816,31833,31854,31858,31863,31866,31869,31872,31874,31878,31884,31887,31893,31895,31903,31906,31909,31912,31920,31933,31936,31939,31943,31947,31950,31953,31955,31960,31963,31965,31968,31971,31982,31985,31988,31990,31994,31997,32003,32006,32009,32014,32017,32022,32024,32028,32031,32034,32039,32042],[11,31212,31213,31214,31216],{},"Whether you're sipping coffee on your commute or tidying up at home, podcasts are a brilliant way to sneak language learning into your daily routine—no textbook required. In fact, they may just be one of the most convenient ways to ",[15,31215,18],{"href":17}," in 2025—so long as you've sort of got your feet under you already.",[11,31218,31219],{},"But which podcasts should you choose? And do they really help?",[11,31221,31222,31223,8737],{},"Japanese learners, listen up ",[26,31224,31225],{},"(...hehehe)",[39,31227],{},[42,31229],{},[45,31231,31233],{"id":31232},"do-podcasts-help-you-learn-japanese","Do podcasts help you learn Japanese?",[50,31235],{"src":31236,"width":2478,"height":1998,"alt":31237},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-headphones.jpeg","A pair of headphones, which you'll definitely want to use when listening to Japanese podcasts in public, unless you're that guy",[11,31239,31240],{},"Short answer? Yes.",[11,31242,31243],{},"Longer answer? Absolutely.",[11,31245,31246,31247,31251],{},"As we've made a habit of harping upon, ",[15,31248,31250],{"href":31249},"\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fovercome-beginner-stage","the only thing you need to learn Japanese is to consume Japanese media that you enjoy and (at least kind of) understand",". That's it. If you do that, you'll make progress.",[11,31253,31254],{},"And if podcasts are your Japanese media of choice, that's great news for several reasons. By listening to podcasts, you'll:",[304,31256,31257,31266,31272,31278,31302],{},[307,31258,31259,31265],{},[1090,31260,31261,31262,31264],{},"Learn ",[26,31263,5914],{}," Japanese:"," Textbooks are great for grammar and structure, but real-world Japanese? That’s where podcasts shine. You'll hear how native speakers actually talk—slang, filler words, and all.",[307,31267,31268,31271],{},[1090,31269,31270],{},"Develop your listening comprehension:"," Reading is important, but subtitles can also be a crutch. Podcasts address this weakness by exposing you to a variety of voices, accents, and speech speeds and then saying \"use your ears to figure this out.\"",[307,31273,31274,31277],{},[1090,31275,31276],{},"Expand your vocabulary:"," It's easier to remember words if you learn them in the context. There's a lot less context in a sterile list of vocabulary words than there is in a real conversation.",[307,31279,31280,31283,31284,31287,31288,31291,31292,3808,31297,415],{},[1090,31281,31282],{},"Improve your pronunciation:"," If you can't reliably ",[26,31285,31286],{},"hear"," a sound, you can't reliably ",[26,31289,31290],{},"produce"," it. Podcasts expose you to ",[15,31293,31296],{"href":31294,"rel":31295},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHelp:IPA\u002FJapanese",[971],"Japanese phonemes",[15,31298,31301],{"href":31299,"rel":31300},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_phonology#Prosody",[971],"rhythm, and intonation",[307,31303,31304,31307,31308,31312],{},[1090,31305,31306],{},"Have fun, duh:"," Motivation helps get you going, but motivation alone can't sustain you for the hundreds (thousands) of hours it'll take to learn Japanese. ",[15,31309,31311],{"href":31310},"\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002F3-things-to-learn-a-language#_2-consume-content-you-understand-and-hopefully-enjoy","One of your most important jobs as a beginner is finding a way to interact with Japanese that you enjoy.",". If you enjoy podcasts, that's reason enough to make them part of your regular routine.",[42,31314],{},[45,31316,31318],{"id":31317},"best-japanese-podcasts-for-beginners","Best Japanese podcasts for beginners",[50,31320],{"src":31321,"width":8371,"height":31322,"alt":31323},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-beginner.jpeg",1165,"A beginner's textbook, as these suggestions are pretty decent for someone just starting out",[847,31325,31327],{"id":31326},"_1-learn-japanese-pod","1. Learn Japanese Pod",[50,31329],{"src":31330,"width":8556,"height":31331,"alt":31332},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-japanesepod.jpeg",1254,"A screenshot of Learn Japanese Podcast on YouTube, with subtitles generated by Migaku",[11,31334,31335],{},"Hosted by Ami, Alex, and Asuka, Learn Japanese Pod is a bilingual podcast. The bulk of the discussion is in English, but each episode also introduces and explains several key Japanese phrases, making it a great choice for people just dipping their toes in the water.",[304,31337,31338,31344,31350],{},[307,31339,31340,31343],{},[1090,31341,31342],{},"Why it’s good for beginners",": Slow, clear explanations in English and Japanese make it perfect for beginners.",[307,31345,31346,31349],{},[1090,31347,31348],{},"Topics",": Daily life, cultural tips, slang, useful phrases—a good mix of language-learning focuses, daily life in Japanese, and getting to know the Japanese mindset.",[307,31351,31352,31355],{},[1090,31353,31354],{},"Length",": 40+ minutes",[320,31357,31358],{},[287,31359,31360,31361,31366,31367,31366,31372,31366,31377],{},"\nListen on: \n",[15,31362,31365],{"href":31363,"rel":31364},"https:\u002F\u002Flearnjapanesepod.com",[971],"Website","\n | \n",[15,31368,31371],{"href":31369,"rel":31370},"https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F22koOHXFYfnyoFFm5wNHTy",[971],"Spotify",[15,31373,31376],{"href":31374,"rel":31375},"https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fus\u002Fpodcast\u002Flearn-japanese-pod\u002Fid82550696?mt=2",[971],"Apple Podcasts",[15,31378,31381],{"href":31379,"rel":31380},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@Learnjapanesepod",[971],"YouTube",[847,31383,31385],{"id":31384},"_2-slow-japanese-with-mochifika","2. Slow Japanese with Mochifika",[50,31387],{"src":31388,"width":31389,"height":12738,"alt":31390},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-slow-japanese.jpeg",1964,"A screenshot of Slow Japanese on YouTube, with Migaku's vocab look-up feature in action",[11,31392,31393],{},"In this podcast, the host (Akari) talks about a variety of everyday topics—entirely in (slow) Japanese. What makes Slow Japanese unique is that it gets harder as the series goes on: the first 49 episodes are for beginners, while podcasts 50+ are more at the high-beginner\u002Flow-intermediate level.",[304,31395,31396,31401,31406],{},[307,31397,31398,31400],{},[1090,31399,31342],{},": It’s pure Japanese, but without the speed. Excellent for ear training. They also cover topics that will come up naturally as you begin speaking with people in Japanese, building your confidence and vocabulary as you go.",[307,31402,31403,31405],{},[1090,31404,31348],{},": Everyday topics like hobbies, food, daily routines, and family.",[307,31407,31408,31410],{},[1090,31409,31354],{},": ~5 minutes, give or take a minute or two",[320,31412,31413],{},[287,31414,31415,31416,31366,31420,31366,31424,31366,31428,369],{},"\n Listen to Slow Japanese on: \n",[15,31417,31365],{"href":31418,"rel":31419},"https:\u002F\u002Fmochifika.com\u002Fpodcast\u002F",[971],[15,31421,31371],{"href":31422,"rel":31423},"https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F2PEzvUQcjyQJBdmoX2shyg",[971],[15,31425,31376],{"href":31426,"rel":31427},"https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fus\u002Fpodcast\u002Fslow-japanese\u002Fid1585564276",[971],[15,31429,31381],{"href":31430,"rel":31431},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@Mochifika\u002Fvideos",[971],[847,31433,31435],{"id":31434},"_3-nihongo-con-teppei-for-beginners","3. Nihongo con Teppei (for Beginners)",[50,31437],{"src":31438,"width":31439,"height":31440,"alt":31441},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-teppei.jpeg",1972,1276,"A screenshot of Nihongo con Teppei for Beginners on YouTube, as enhanced by Migaku",[11,31443,31444],{},"Teppei-sensei is a Japanese guy married to a Spanish woman, a father, and a Japanese teacher. This gives him a seemingly unique insight into how language and communication works: his podcast is entirely in Japanese, but he is good at predicting where the listener won't understand and using very simple Japanese to explain away the confusion.",[304,31446,31447,31452,31457],{},[307,31448,31449,31451],{},[1090,31450,31342],{},": He repeats key vocabulary and phrases often, making it easier to follow along. He also covers everyday topics in short bursts, making them a low-commitment way to improve your listening even when you’re short on time. He also has an intermediate and pre-advanced podcast, so if you like Teppei, you can stick with him for your entire learning journey!",[307,31453,31454,31456],{},[1090,31455,31348],{},": Daily thoughts, language learning tips, Japanese culture—with 1,356 episodes and counting, there’s probably no topic that Teppei hasn’t covered in his bite-sized episodes.",[307,31458,31459,31461],{},[1090,31460,31354],{},": 10 minutes or less",[320,31463,31464],{},[287,31465,31466,31467,31366,31471,31366,31475,31479,31480,369],{},"\n Listen to Teppei on: \n",[15,31468,31365],{"href":31469,"rel":31470},"https:\u002F\u002Fnihongoconteppei.com",[971],[15,31472,31371],{"href":31473,"rel":31474},"https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F4W4jYoKRmjlURKO1fIfcOK",[971],[15,31476,31376],{"href":31477,"rel":31478},"https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fus\u002Fpodcast\u002Fjapanese-podcast-for-beginners-nihongo-con-teppei\u002Fid1471500012",[971],"\n |\n",[15,31481,31381],{"href":31482,"rel":31483},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@nihongoconteppei\u002Fvideos",[971],[847,31485,31487],{"id":31486},"_4-japanese-with-noriko","4. Japanese with Noriko",[50,31489],{"src":31490,"width":31491,"height":31492,"alt":31493},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-noriko.jpeg",1980,1260,"A screenshot of Noriko's podcast on YouTube, as parsed by Migaku",[11,31495,31496],{},"Noriko is a Japanese teacher (and Neurolanguage Coach) who—like Teppei—married a Spanish speaker and creates learner-friendly content for learners of different levels. Her podcast is definitely on the harder side of beginner podcasts, but she is aware of learners' needs and is still quite accessible.",[11,31498,31499],{},"Breaking the fourth wall for a moment—you're reading my recommendations on Japanese podcasts, after all, so for what it's worth: as this post's author, Noriko is the best first \"real\" podcast you should reach for. If you can follow her podcast, it's a good sign that you're well on your way toward breaking into the intermediate stage.",[304,31501,31502,31507,31512],{},[307,31503,31504,31506],{},[1090,31505,31342],{},": Episodes are well-structured, with clear topics and slow speech. She also offers transcripts, for those who prefer to listen and read at the same time (although we’d recommend trying it without the script first!)..",[307,31508,31509,31511],{},[1090,31510,31348],{},": Travel, food, language learning, personal experiences. Anything you can think of, Noriko has likely covered.",[307,31513,31514,31517],{},[1090,31515,31516],{},"Length:"," 5–10 minutes",[320,31519,31520],{},[287,31521,31522,31523,31366,31527,31366,31531,31479,31535,369],{},"\n Listen to Japanese with Noriko on: \n",[15,31524,31365],{"href":31525,"rel":31526},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.japanesewithnoriko.com",[971],[15,31528,31371],{"href":31529,"rel":31530},"https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F1lnCRxM6yMi0xz89cy7rzN",[971],[15,31532,31376],{"href":31533,"rel":31534},"https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fus\u002Fpodcast\u002Flearn-japanese-with-noriko\u002Fid1500470294",[971],[15,31536,31381],{"href":31537,"rel":31538},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@LearnJapanesewithNoriko",[971],[847,31540,31542],{"id":31541},"_5-thinking-in-japanese-podcast","5. Thinking in Japanese Podcast",[50,31544],{"src":31545,"width":31439,"height":31492,"alt":31546},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts.jpeg","A screenshot of Thinking in Japanese's homepage on Buzzsprout",[11,31548,31549],{},"This is another podcast that's on the more difficult side, and will likely appear in the \"intermediate\" section on other lists. According to Isaku, the host, he talks about a variety of interesting topics in Japanese, such that listeners can begin to think in Japanese themselves.",[304,31551,31552,31557,31562],{},[307,31553,31554,31556],{},[1090,31555,31342],{},": Isaku speaks slowly, but rather than just entirely slow down his voice, he pauses briefly after every few words. In this way, you hear a string of more natural Japanese, then have a moment to pause and reflect on if you've understood what was said.",[307,31558,31559,31561],{},[1090,31560,31348],{},": Here's where Isaku stands out. Whereas other podcasts talk about your trip to Japan or hobbies, Isaku talks about the psychology of learning, concrete things about Japanese (grammar, pitch accent, etc.), social issues, and that sort of thing. It feels more like a normal podcast that's been made accessible for learners, rather than a learner's podcast.",[307,31563,31564,31461],{},[1090,31565,31354],{},[320,31567,31568],{},[287,31569,31570,31571,31366,31576,31366,31580,369],{},"\n Listen to Thinking in Japanese on: \n",[15,31572,31575],{"href":31573,"rel":31574},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.buzzsprout.com\u002F673871\u002Fepisodes",[971],"Buzzsprout",[15,31577,31371],{"href":31578,"rel":31579},"https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F0lBMf4PEpcG7W44lG6ORKR",[971],[15,31581,31376],{"href":31582,"rel":31583},"https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fus\u002Fpodcast\u002Fthinking-in-japanese-podcast\u002Fid1485946726",[971],[42,31585],{},[45,31587,31589],{"id":31588},"best-japanese-podcasts-for-intermediate-learners","Best Japanese Podcasts for Intermediate Learners",[50,31591],{"src":31592,"width":2478,"height":31593,"alt":31594},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-intermediate.jpeg",1337,"Several textbooks with a plant growing out of them, just like your Japanese level has grown",[11,31596,31597],{},"Ready to step it up? These podcasts are faster, more complex, and use less English.",[847,31599,31601],{"id":31600},"_6-the-miku-real-japanese-podcast","6. The Miku Real Japanese Podcast",[50,31603],{"src":31604,"width":8564,"height":31331,"alt":31605},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-miku.jpeg","A screenshot of Miku's podcast onYouTube, as enhanced by Migaku",[11,31607,31608,31609,31614],{},"The Miku Real Japanese Podcast, with its smiley host, Miku, is a must-check-out for intermediate learners. I could say a lot of things in her praise, but perhaps the highest: ",[15,31610,31613],{"href":31611,"rel":31612},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002FLearnJapanese\u002Fcomments\u002Fb9i6mk\u002Fhi_im_miku_from_real_japanese\u002F",[971],"she plugged her YouTube channel on Reddit"," and got over 600 upvotes. When does that happen?",[304,31616,31617,31623,31628],{},[307,31618,31619,31622],{},[1090,31620,31621],{},"Why it’s good for intermediate learners",": Miku uses natural, more advanced Japanese, but still takes the time to explain difficult words (in Japanese). Also, the increased length of the episodes is great for getting used to extended periods of Japanese listening.",[307,31624,31625,31627],{},[1090,31626,31348],{},": Daily life, cultural differences, travel, and Japanese expressions—all split into different podcast categories, including conversations, grammar, vocabulary, and chatting away in Japanese while on a stroll.",[307,31629,31630,31632],{},[1090,31631,31516],{}," Her early episodes are all over the place, but after hitting her stride, sticks in the 15–30 minute range",[320,31634,31635],{},[287,31636,31637,31638,31366,31642,31366,31646,369],{},"\n Listen to Miku Real Japanese on: \n",[15,31639,31371],{"href":31640,"rel":31641},"https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F6Nl8RDfPxsk4h4bfWe76Kg",[971],[15,31643,31376],{"href":31644,"rel":31645},"https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fjp\u002Fpodcast\u002Fthe-miku-real-japanese-podcast-japanese-conversation\u002Fid1560531490",[971],[15,31647,31381],{"href":31648,"rel":31649},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@mikurealjapanese\u002Fpodcasts",[971],[847,31651,31653],{"id":31652},"_7-everyday-japanese-podcast","7. Everyday Japanese Podcast",[50,31655],{"src":31656,"width":2478,"height":31492,"alt":31657},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-sayuri.jpeg","A screenshot of Sayuri's Japanese Podcast on YouTube, as enhanced by Migaku",[11,31659,31660],{},"Sayuri is a bit unique from the others on this list. She runs a podcast (which is pure audio), but she also publishes vlogs. Many of her videos are specifically aimed at people in the N3–N2 range.",[304,31662,31663,31668,31673],{},[307,31664,31665,31667],{},[1090,31666,31621],{},": While Sayuri is quite good at controlling her speech, she often does episodes with friends, who aren't always as good at talking to learners. This makes the podcast a nice stepping stone to \"real\" multi-person podcasts (which are much more difficult than single-host podcasts).",[307,31669,31670,31672],{},[1090,31671,31348],{},": Work, travel, relationships, and a mix of formal and casual speech patterns, depending on the guest. My favorite episode is on the use of fax machines in Japan, a cultural quirk that persists to this day.",[307,31674,31675,31677],{},[1090,31676,31516],{}," Generally 10–15 minutes",[320,31679,31680],{},[287,31681,31682,31683,31366,31687,31366,31691,31366,31695,31366,31700,369],{},"\n Listen to Everyday Japanese on: \n",[15,31684,31365],{"href":31685,"rel":31686},"https:\u002F\u002Fsayurisaying.com\u002F",[971],[15,31688,31371],{"href":31689,"rel":31690},"https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F2rJ02XGd3XIT9Ovo1T7llu",[971],[15,31692,31376],{"href":31693,"rel":31694},"https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fus\u002Fpodcast\u002Feveryday-japanese-podcast\u002Fid1518230589",[971],[15,31696,31699],{"href":31697,"rel":31698},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@EverydayJapanesePodcast",[971],"YouTube podcast",[15,31701,31704],{"href":31702,"rel":31703},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@SayuriSaying",[971],"YouTube Vlogs",[847,31706,31708],{"id":31707},"_8-easy-japanese-podcast","8. Easy Japanese Podcast",[50,31710],{"src":31711,"width":31712,"height":953,"alt":31713},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-easy-japanese.jpeg",1968,"A screenshot of Easy Japanese on YouTube, as enhanced by Migaku",[11,31715,31716],{},"This is another podcast aimed at intermediate learners at around the JLPT N3 level, featuring hosts Masa and Asami. This podcast's unique selling point is that it's unscripted—the hosts pick a topic and then do their best to discuss it using simple language.",[304,31718,31719,31724,31729],{},[307,31720,31721,31723],{},[1090,31722,31621],{},": There's a lot of good things to say here. For one, with nearly 800 episodes, they're prolific. For another, they're good at speaking relatively natural Japanese but recognizing when they've said a difficult word, then breaking it down in Japanese. You also get the two-host dynamic, which is a step up from a one-host monologue.",[307,31725,31726,31728],{},[1090,31727,31348],{},": A massive range of things! There's a mix of small talk on topics related to life in Japan (national holidays, hay fever, spring cleaning, coffee and more), more learner-focused videos on specific words or grammar points like ~ちゃう or とにかく vs とりあえず, and really just all sorts of stuff.",[307,31730,31731,31733],{},[1090,31732,31516],{}," Vlogs tend to be in the 20–30 minute range, podcasts in the 10–15 minute range",[320,31735,31736],{},[287,31737,31738,31739,31366,31743,31366,31747,369],{},"\n Listen to Easy Japanese on: \n",[15,31740,31371],{"href":31741,"rel":31742},"https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F20cg6ybD2lS2DR7o4QSrCS",[971],[15,31744,31376],{"href":31745,"rel":31746},"https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fus\u002Fpodcast\u002Feasy-japanese-podcast-learn-japanese-with-masa-and-asami\u002Fid1550835265",[971],[15,31748,31381],{"href":31749,"rel":31750},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@EASYJAPANESE",[971],[847,31752,31754],{"id":31753},"_9-lets-learn-japanese-from-small-talk","9. Let’s Learn Japanese From Small Talk!",[50,31756],{"src":31757,"width":31758,"height":8565,"alt":31759},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-small-talk.jpeg",2142,"A screenshot of LLJFST's page on Apple Podcasts",[11,31761,31762,31763,31766,31767,31769],{},"This is another quite unique podcast ",[26,31764,31765],{},"(I've said that several times now, I know)",". What makes it special is that the hosts ",[26,31768,30580],{}," teachers, and don't really know anything about teaching languages beyond their own experience learning English. The result is a surprisingly nice balance between accessible and natural: They're just two university friends who discovered that foreigners like to listen to Japanese podcasts, and decided to give it a shot!",[304,31771,31772,31777,31782],{},[307,31773,31774,31776],{},[1090,31775,31621],{},": You're very much just listening in on two friends chatting casually about various topics. They focus on everyday topics so the language isn't super difficult or technical, but they also don't quite hold your hand as much as some of other hosts do.It's a nice first stepping stone toward native content.",[307,31778,31779,31781],{},[1090,31780,31348],{},": Daily life, Japanese culture, language—generally, the sort of things that would occur to two young people thinking about what foreigners might find interesting about Japan.",[307,31783,31784,31786],{},[1090,31785,31516],{}," The first few episodes are shorter, but after finding their stride in episode ~10 or so, the podcasts are consistently over 30 minutes in length",[320,31788,31789],{},[287,31790,31791,31792,31366,31796,31366,31800,369],{},"\n Listen to LLJFST on: \n",[15,31793,31371],{"href":31794,"rel":31795},"https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F1tHH40EmOge2Ale4nlYWTq",[971],[15,31797,31376],{"href":31798,"rel":31799},"https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fjp\u002Fpodcast\u002Flets-learn-japanese-from-small-talk\u002Fid1449307021",[971],[15,31801,31804],{"href":31802,"rel":31803},"https:\u002F\u002Fsmalltalkinjapanese.hatenablog.com\u002F",[971],"Supplementary materials on their website",[847,31806,31808],{"id":31807},"_10-n3-n1-日本語haru-no-nihongo","10. N3 ～ N1 日本語！Haru no Nihongo",[50,31810],{"src":31811,"width":31712,"height":31331,"alt":31812},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-harunonihongo.jpeg","A screenshot of the Haru no Nihongo Japanese podcast on YouTube, as enhanced by Migaku",[11,31814,31815],{},"Haru studied abroad, started a career in marketing, and then changed her mind. She became a certified Japanese teacher and started a podcast. She technically covers multiple levels (N4–N3, N3–N2, N3–N1), but the majority of her content is at this N3–N1 level. As such, this is perhaps the perfect podcast for someone trying to figure out whether they’re ready to take the jump in intermediate or advanced Japanese.",[304,31817,31818,31823,31828],{},[307,31819,31820,31822],{},[1090,31821,31621],{},": A certified Japanese teacher, Haru has a good idea of what \"intermediate\" Japanese means, and she finds a nice balance between staying within those bounds and pushing them. In particular, she talks at a relatively natural pace, and doesn't often stop to explain what a word she's just said means.",[307,31824,31825,31827],{},[1090,31826,31348],{},": Japanese life, personal stories, user-submitted questions.",[307,31829,31830,31832],{},[1090,31831,31516],{}," Varies a fair bit, but generally in the range of 15–30 minutes",[320,31834,31835],{},[287,31836,31837,31838,31366,31842,31366,31846,31366,31850,369],{},"\n Listen to Haru no Nihongo on: \n",[15,31839,31365],{"href":31840,"rel":31841},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.haru-no-nihongo.com\u002Fpodcast",[971],[15,31843,31371],{"href":31844,"rel":31845},"https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F1gQ0ZdFpTOqiyLeOaCCn6U",[971],[15,31847,31376],{"href":31848,"rel":31849},"https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fgb\u002Fpodcast\u002Fn3-n1%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E-haru-no-nihongo\u002Fid1519563720",[971],[15,31851,31381],{"href":31852,"rel":31853},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fchannel\u002FUCauyM-A8JIJ9NQcw5_jF00Q",[971],[847,31855,31857],{"id":31856},"bonus-nihongo-con-teppei-for-intermediate-learners","Bonus: Nihongo con Teppei (for Intermediate Learners)",[50,31859],{"src":31860,"width":13080,"height":31861,"alt":31862},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-teppei2.jpeg",1256,"A screenshot showing Teppei's more advanced series, which you can watch with Migaku on YouTube",[11,31864,31865],{},"Remember Nihongo con Teppei from the recommended beginner Japanese podcasts? Well, he's here, too. We won't introduce him again beyond to repeat that he is, by far, the most prolific creator for Japanese learners.",[11,31867,31868],{},"While his beginner's podcast seems to be an indefinite project (currently approaching 1,400 episodes), he approaches his intermediate series differently: every 700 episodes or so, he launches a new series, in which he uses more natural and nuanced language.",[11,31870,31871],{},"So, anyway—if you like Teppei, you can listen to him well into the intermediate levels.",[42,31873],{},[45,31875,31877],{"id":31876},"best-japanese-podcasts-for-advanced-learners","Best Japanese podcasts for advanced learners",[50,31879],{"src":31880,"width":31881,"height":31882,"alt":31883},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-advanced.jpeg",1911,1315,"A screenshot of a sign in Tokyo, because if you're here, you're ready to live there",[11,31885,31886],{},"This section was kind of a psyche. Sorry.",[11,31888,31889,31890,31892],{},"You see, at this level, it's time to dive into content for native Japanese speakers. A big part of continuing to learn is continuing to challenge yourself, and this ",[26,31891,8720],{}," be a challenge at first—but it's also liberating. Once you get over the hurdle, your options open up massively: you can literally proceed to just listen to whatever you want.",[11,31894,13234],{},[320,31896,31897],{},[11,31898,31899,31900,31902],{},"Try Googling a podcast about your interests as follows: ",[292,31901],{}," [YourTopicHere] についてのポッドキャスト",[11,31904,31905],{},"Whether it’s politics, anime, science, or comedy, there’s likely a Japanese-language podcast covering it.",[11,31907,31908],{},"For example, as an avid gamer, that was an obvious avenue for me to explore. I wanted to learn how to describe genres and game mechanics and generally explore the hype of upcoming releases.",[11,31910,31911],{},"So, I simply Googled:",[11,31913,31914,31915,506,31917],{},"ゲームについてのポッドキャスト ",[292,31916],{},[26,31918,31919],{},"Podcasts about games",[11,31921,31922,31923,31928,31929,31932],{},"That led me to all kinds of Japanese podcasts about games, including the ",[15,31924,31927],{"href":31925,"rel":31926},"https:\u002F\u002Fjp.ign.com\u002Fginmaku-podcast",[971],"IGN Japan podcast","! As a long-time reader of IGN, giving their podcast a try just made ",[26,31930,31931],{},"sense",". Now, I can learn about games in Japanese as I’m walking around, commuting, or washing up. Win!",[11,31934,31935],{},"Whatever your thing is, there will be something for you, too.",[11,31937,31938],{},"Give it a shot.",[45,31940,31942],{"id":31941},"why-do-i-get-tired-when-i-listen-in-japanese","Why do I get tired when I listen in Japanese?",[50,31944],{"src":31945,"width":2478,"height":3667,"alt":31946},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-tired.jpeg","A very tired looking guy—it takes a lot of effort to learn Japanese!",[11,31948,31949],{},"If you jumped right to this question—just know that this is normal. Listening to a foreign language is very different than listening to your native language: you can't really just pay half-attention and go about your day.",[11,31951,31952],{},"Whereas your brain can effortlessly connect dots to figure out what someone might have said in your native language, you have to work much harder in Japanese to recognize sounds, translate sounds into words, derive meaning from words... plus the occasional stressful moments when you miss a word or stumble into something you don't know.",[11,31954,13234],{},[320,31956,31957],{},[11,31958,31959],{},"Early on, this is going to be difficult.",[11,31961,31962],{},"You will likely get fatigued and tired. If you're totally new to listening comprehension, you genuinely may be worn out after five or ten minutes.",[11,31964,27593],{},[11,31966,31967],{},"Just do what you can and be consistent.",[11,31969,31970],{},"As you listen more, your brain will adapt:",[304,31972,31973,31976,31979],{},[307,31974,31975],{},"Your vocabulary will improve, so you'll run into less unknowns",[307,31977,31978],{},"You'll build an intuitive feel for how sentences fit together—even if you miss one part of a sentence, your understanding of the rest of it will help you to cover the gap",[307,31980,31981],{},"The process of converting sounds into words and words into meaning will become more automatic",[11,31983,31984],{},"Generally speaking, so long as you stick with this—so long as you're sort of enjoying the process and sort of understanding your podcast—things will get easier as you go.",[11,31986,31987],{},"So, hang in there 💪",[42,31989],{},[45,31991,31993],{"id":31992},"need-help-with-japanese-listening-comprehension","Need help with Japanese listening comprehension?",[11,31995,31996],{},"If you’ve tried a few podcasts and felt like it was all just too fast—don’t worry, you’re not alone.",[11,31998,31999,32000,32002],{},"We actually have a video talking ",[26,32001,27150],{}," about how to approach intensive listening, so start with that:",[5025,32004],{"src":32005},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F5nfYRsvyEjE?si=9jVDu3AI5LQ7Isdc",[11,32007,32008],{},"But from there, we've got another goodie for you: so long as your podcast is available on YouTube, we can generate subtitles for you. Just open Migaku, boot up YouTube through our app, select your series, and go!",[50,32010],{"src":32011,"width":2696,"height":32012,"alt":32013},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-plug1.jpeg",1112,"A screenshot of Migaku in action, showing how we make subtitles in YouTube interactive",[11,32015,32016],{},"If you happen to stumble into a word you don't know, we can snip audio directly from your podcast to create a spaced-repetition flashcard for you:",[50,32018],{"src":32019,"width":32020,"height":31331,"alt":32021},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-plug2.jpeg",1512,"A screenshot of a flashcard made by Migaku, taken directly from a podcast",[674,32023],{"href":17,"text":676},[45,32025,32027],{"id":32026},"so-what-do-you-think-are-these-the-best-podcasts-for-learning-japanese","So... what do you think? Are these the best podcasts for learning Japanese?",[11,32029,32030],{},"Immersing yourself in Japanese every day is key to making real progress—and podcasts make that easy and enjoyable. Whether you're just starting or you're already reaching for the N1, there's a podcast out there that matches your pace and interests.",[11,32032,32033],{},"Just remember:",[320,32035,32036],{},[11,32037,32038],{},"If you consume Japanese media, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you'll make progress. Period.",[11,32040,32041],{},"So don’t stress if you don’t catch every word—just keep listening. Keep going. You’ve got this.",[11,32043,32044,32047,32048],{},[26,32045,32046],{},"(And if you'd like to look through even"," more ",[26,32049,32050,32051,3892],{},"podcasts, here's ",[15,32052,32055],{"href":32053,"rel":32054},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002FLearnJapanese\u002Fcomments\u002Fn1rocl\u002Fa_big_list_of_japanese_podcasts_from_beginners_to\u002F",[971],"a big Reddit thread you should check out!",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":32057},[32058,32059,32066,32074,32075,32076,32077],{"id":31232,"depth":707,"text":31233},{"id":31317,"depth":707,"text":31318,"children":32060},[32061,32062,32063,32064,32065],{"id":31326,"depth":1016,"text":31327},{"id":31384,"depth":1016,"text":31385},{"id":31434,"depth":1016,"text":31435},{"id":31486,"depth":1016,"text":31487},{"id":31541,"depth":1016,"text":31542},{"id":31588,"depth":707,"text":31589,"children":32067},[32068,32069,32070,32071,32072,32073],{"id":31600,"depth":1016,"text":31601},{"id":31652,"depth":1016,"text":31653},{"id":31707,"depth":1016,"text":31708},{"id":31753,"depth":1016,"text":31754},{"id":31807,"depth":1016,"text":31808},{"id":31856,"depth":1016,"text":31857},{"id":31876,"depth":707,"text":31877},{"id":31941,"depth":707,"text":31942},{"id":31992,"depth":707,"text":31993},{"id":32026,"depth":707,"text":32027},"Looking for the best Japanese podcasts? Here are the podcasts you should be listening to as a beginner or intermediate who wants to learn Japanese 💪",{"timestampUnix":32080,"slug":32081,"h1":32082,"image":32083,"tags":32088},1750234396787,"japanese-podcasts","Learn Japanese with These Podcasts for Beginner and Intermediate Learners",{"src":32084,"width":32085,"height":32086,"alt":32087},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-thumbnail.webp",1604,1029,"A screenshot of a woman, her phone, her headset, and her shibainu—the perfect setup to enjoy some Japanese podcasts",[4107,9427],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-podcasts","---\ntitle: 'The Best Japanese Podcasts for Beginner and Intermediate Learners (2025)'\ndescription: 'Looking for the best Japanese podcasts? Here are the podcasts you should be listening to as a beginner or intermediate who wants to learn Japanese 💪'\ntimestampUnix: 1750234396787\nslug: 'japanese-podcasts'\nh1: 'Learn Japanese with These Podcasts for Beginner and Intermediate Learners'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-thumbnail.webp'\n width: 1604\n height: 1029\n alt: 'A screenshot of a woman, her phone, her headset, and her shibainu—the perfect setup to enjoy some Japanese podcasts'\ntags:\n - resources\n - listicle\n---\n\nWhether you're sipping coffee on your commute or tidying up at home, podcasts are a brilliant way to sneak language learning into your daily routine—no textbook required. In fact, they may just be one of the most convenient ways to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese) in 2025—so long as you've sort of got your feet under you already.\n\nBut which podcasts should you choose? And do they really help?\n\nJapanese learners, listen up _(...hehehe)_:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## Do podcasts help you learn Japanese?\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-headphones.jpeg\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" alt=\"A pair of headphones, which you'll definitely want to use when listening to Japanese podcasts in public, unless you're that guy\" \u002F>\n\nShort answer? Yes.\n\nLonger answer? Absolutely.\n\nAs we've made a habit of harping upon, [the only thing you need to learn Japanese is to consume Japanese media that you enjoy and (at least kind of) understand](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fovercome-beginner-stage). That's it. If you do that, you'll make progress.\n\nAnd if podcasts are your Japanese media of choice, that's great news for several reasons. By listening to podcasts, you'll:\n\n- **Learn _real_ Japanese:** Textbooks are great for grammar and structure, but real-world Japanese? That’s where podcasts shine. You'll hear how native speakers actually talk—slang, filler words, and all.\n\n- **Develop your listening comprehension:** Reading is important, but subtitles can also be a crutch. Podcasts address this weakness by exposing you to a variety of voices, accents, and speech speeds and then saying \"use your ears to figure this out.\"\n\n- **Expand your vocabulary:** It's easier to remember words if you learn them in the context. There's a lot less context in a sterile list of vocabulary words than there is in a real conversation.\n\n- **Improve your pronunciation:** If you can't reliably _hear_ a sound, you can't reliably _produce_ it. Podcasts expose you to [Japanese phonemes](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHelp:IPA\u002FJapanese), [rhythm, and intonation](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_phonology#Prosody).\n\n- **Have fun, duh:** Motivation helps get you going, but motivation alone can't sustain you for the hundreds (thousands) of hours it'll take to learn Japanese. [One of your most important jobs as a beginner is finding a way to interact with Japanese that you enjoy.](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002F3-things-to-learn-a-language#_2-consume-content-you-understand-and-hopefully-enjoy). If you enjoy podcasts, that's reason enough to make them part of your regular routine.\n\n---\n\n## Best Japanese podcasts for beginners\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-beginner.jpeg\" width=\"1915\" height=\"1165\" alt=\"A beginner's textbook, as these suggestions are pretty decent for someone just starting out\" \u002F>\n\n### 1. Learn Japanese Pod\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-japanesepod.jpeg\" width=\"1978\" height=\"1254\" alt=\"A screenshot of Learn Japanese Podcast on YouTube, with subtitles generated by Migaku\" \u002F>\n\nHosted by Ami, Alex, and Asuka, Learn Japanese Pod is a bilingual podcast. The bulk of the discussion is in English, but each episode also introduces and explains several key Japanese phrases, making it a great choice for people just dipping their toes in the water.\n\n- **Why it’s good for beginners**: Slow, clear explanations in English and Japanese make it perfect for beginners.\n\n- **Topics**: Daily life, cultural tips, slang, useful phrases—a good mix of language-learning focuses, daily life in Japanese, and getting to know the Japanese mindset.\n\n- **Length**: 40+ minutes\n\n> \u003CCenteredText>Listen on: [Website](https:\u002F\u002Flearnjapanesepod.com) | [Spotify](https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F22koOHXFYfnyoFFm5wNHTy) | [Apple Podcasts](https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fus\u002Fpodcast\u002Flearn-japanese-pod\u002Fid82550696?mt=2) | [YouTube](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@Learnjapanesepod)\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n### 2. Slow Japanese with Mochifika\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-slow-japanese.jpeg\" width=\"1964\" height=\"1250\" alt=\"A screenshot of Slow Japanese on YouTube, with Migaku's vocab look-up feature in action\" \u002F>\n\nIn this podcast, the host (Akari) talks about a variety of everyday topics—entirely in (slow) Japanese. What makes Slow Japanese unique is that it gets harder as the series goes on: the first 49 episodes are for beginners, while podcasts 50+ are more at the high-beginner\u002Flow-intermediate level.\n\n- **Why it’s good for beginners**: It’s pure Japanese, but without the speed. Excellent for ear training. They also cover topics that will come up naturally as you begin speaking with people in Japanese, building your confidence and vocabulary as you go.\n\n- **Topics**: Everyday topics like hobbies, food, daily routines, and family.\n\n- **Length**: \\~5 minutes, give or take a minute or two\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> Listen to Slow Japanese on: [Website](https:\u002F\u002Fmochifika.com\u002Fpodcast\u002F) | [Spotify](https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F2PEzvUQcjyQJBdmoX2shyg) | [Apple Podcasts](https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fus\u002Fpodcast\u002Fslow-japanese\u002Fid1585564276) | [YouTube](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@Mochifika\u002Fvideos) \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n### 3. Nihongo con Teppei (for Beginners)\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-teppei.jpeg\" width=\"1972\" height=\"1276\" alt=\"A screenshot of Nihongo con Teppei for Beginners on YouTube, as enhanced by Migaku\" \u002F>\n\nTeppei-sensei is a Japanese guy married to a Spanish woman, a father, and a Japanese teacher. This gives him a seemingly unique insight into how language and communication works: his podcast is entirely in Japanese, but he is good at predicting where the listener won't understand and using very simple Japanese to explain away the confusion.\n\n- **Why it’s good for beginners**: He repeats key vocabulary and phrases often, making it easier to follow along. He also covers everyday topics in short bursts, making them a low-commitment way to improve your listening even when you’re short on time. He also has an intermediate and pre-advanced podcast, so if you like Teppei, you can stick with him for your entire learning journey!\n\n- **Topics**: Daily thoughts, language learning tips, Japanese culture—with 1,356 episodes and counting, there’s probably no topic that Teppei hasn’t covered in his bite-sized episodes.\n\n- **Length**: 10 minutes or less\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> Listen to Teppei on: [Website](https:\u002F\u002Fnihongoconteppei.com) | [Spotify](https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F4W4jYoKRmjlURKO1fIfcOK) | [Apple Podcasts](https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fus\u002Fpodcast\u002Fjapanese-podcast-for-beginners-nihongo-con-teppei\u002Fid1471500012) |[YouTube](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@nihongoconteppei\u002Fvideos) \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n### 4. Japanese with Noriko\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-noriko.jpeg\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1260\" alt=\"A screenshot of Noriko's podcast on YouTube, as parsed by Migaku\" \u002F>\n\nNoriko is a Japanese teacher (and Neurolanguage Coach) who—like Teppei—married a Spanish speaker and creates learner-friendly content for learners of different levels. Her podcast is definitely on the harder side of beginner podcasts, but she is aware of learners' needs and is still quite accessible.\n\nBreaking the fourth wall for a moment—you're reading my recommendations on Japanese podcasts, after all, so for what it's worth: as this post's author, Noriko is the best first \"real\" podcast you should reach for. If you can follow her podcast, it's a good sign that you're well on your way toward breaking into the intermediate stage.\n\n- **Why it’s good for beginners**: Episodes are well-structured, with clear topics and slow speech. She also offers transcripts, for those who prefer to listen and read at the same time (although we’d recommend trying it without the script first!)..\n\n- **Topics**: Travel, food, language learning, personal experiences. Anything you can think of, Noriko has likely covered.\n\n- **Length:** 5–10 minutes\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> Listen to Japanese with Noriko on: [Website](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.japanesewithnoriko.com) | [Spotify](https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F1lnCRxM6yMi0xz89cy7rzN) | [Apple Podcasts](https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fus\u002Fpodcast\u002Flearn-japanese-with-noriko\u002Fid1500470294) |[YouTube](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@LearnJapanesewithNoriko) \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n### 5. Thinking in Japanese Podcast\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts.jpeg\" width=\"1972\" height=\"1260\" alt=\"A screenshot of Thinking in Japanese's homepage on Buzzsprout\" \u002F>\n\nThis is another podcast that's on the more difficult side, and will likely appear in the \"intermediate\" section on other lists. According to Isaku, the host, he talks about a variety of interesting topics in Japanese, such that listeners can begin to think in Japanese themselves.\n\n- **Why it’s good for beginners**: Isaku speaks slowly, but rather than just entirely slow down his voice, he pauses briefly after every few words. In this way, you hear a string of more natural Japanese, then have a moment to pause and reflect on if you've understood what was said.\n\n- **Topics**: Here's where Isaku stands out. Whereas other podcasts talk about your trip to Japan or hobbies, Isaku talks about the psychology of learning, concrete things about Japanese (grammar, pitch accent, etc.), social issues, and that sort of thing. It feels more like a normal podcast that's been made accessible for learners, rather than a learner's podcast.\n\n- **Length**: 10 minutes or less\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> Listen to Thinking in Japanese on: [Buzzsprout](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.buzzsprout.com\u002F673871\u002Fepisodes) | [Spotify](https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F0lBMf4PEpcG7W44lG6ORKR) | [Apple Podcasts](https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fus\u002Fpodcast\u002Fthinking-in-japanese-podcast\u002Fid1485946726) \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n---\n\n## Best Japanese Podcasts for Intermediate Learners\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-intermediate.jpeg\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1337\" alt=\"Several textbooks with a plant growing out of them, just like your Japanese level has grown\" \u002F>\n\nReady to step it up? These podcasts are faster, more complex, and use less English.\n\n### 6. The Miku Real Japanese Podcast\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-miku.jpeg\" width=\"1970\" height=\"1254\" alt=\"A screenshot of Miku's podcast onYouTube, as enhanced by Migaku\" \u002F>\n\nThe Miku Real Japanese Podcast, with its smiley host, Miku, is a must-check-out for intermediate learners. I could say a lot of things in her praise, but perhaps the highest: [she plugged her YouTube channel on Reddit](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002FLearnJapanese\u002Fcomments\u002Fb9i6mk\u002Fhi_im_miku_from_real_japanese\u002F) and got over 600 upvotes. When does that happen?\n\n- **Why it’s good for intermediate learners**: Miku uses natural, more advanced Japanese, but still takes the time to explain difficult words (in Japanese). Also, the increased length of the episodes is great for getting used to extended periods of Japanese listening.\n\n- **Topics**: Daily life, cultural differences, travel, and Japanese expressions—all split into different podcast categories, including conversations, grammar, vocabulary, and chatting away in Japanese while on a stroll.\n\n- **Length:** Her early episodes are all over the place, but after hitting her stride, sticks in the 15–30 minute range\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> Listen to Miku Real Japanese on: [Spotify](https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F6Nl8RDfPxsk4h4bfWe76Kg) | [Apple Podcasts](https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fjp\u002Fpodcast\u002Fthe-miku-real-japanese-podcast-japanese-conversation\u002Fid1560531490) | [YouTube](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@mikurealjapanese\u002Fpodcasts) \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n### 7. Everyday Japanese Podcast\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-sayuri.jpeg\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1260\" alt=\"A screenshot of Sayuri's Japanese Podcast on YouTube, as enhanced by Migaku\" \u002F>\n\nSayuri is a bit unique from the others on this list. She runs a podcast (which is pure audio), but she also publishes vlogs. Many of her videos are specifically aimed at people in the N3–N2 range.\n\n- **Why it’s good for intermediate learners**: While Sayuri is quite good at controlling her speech, she often does episodes with friends, who aren't always as good at talking to learners. This makes the podcast a nice stepping stone to \"real\" multi-person podcasts (which are much more difficult than single-host podcasts).\n\n- **Topics**: Work, travel, relationships, and a mix of formal and casual speech patterns, depending on the guest. My favorite episode is on the use of fax machines in Japan, a cultural quirk that persists to this day.\n\n- **Length:** Generally 10–15 minutes\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> Listen to Everyday Japanese on: [Website](https:\u002F\u002Fsayurisaying.com\u002F) | [Spotify](https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F2rJ02XGd3XIT9Ovo1T7llu) | [Apple Podcasts](https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fus\u002Fpodcast\u002Feveryday-japanese-podcast\u002Fid1518230589) | [YouTube podcast](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@EverydayJapanesePodcast) | [YouTube Vlogs](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@SayuriSaying) \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n### 8. Easy Japanese Podcast\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-easy-japanese.jpeg\" width=\"1968\" height=\"1258\" alt=\"A screenshot of Easy Japanese on YouTube, as enhanced by Migaku\" \u002F>\n\nThis is another podcast aimed at intermediate learners at around the JLPT N3 level, featuring hosts Masa and Asami. This podcast's unique selling point is that it's unscripted—the hosts pick a topic and then do their best to discuss it using simple language.\n\n- **Why it’s good for intermediate learners**: There's a lot of good things to say here. For one, with nearly 800 episodes, they're prolific. For another, they're good at speaking relatively natural Japanese but recognizing when they've said a difficult word, then breaking it down in Japanese. You also get the two-host dynamic, which is a step up from a one-host monologue.\n\n- **Topics**: A massive range of things! There's a mix of small talk on topics related to life in Japan (national holidays, hay fever, spring cleaning, coffee and more), more learner-focused videos on specific words or grammar points like ~ちゃう or とにかく vs とりあえず, and really just all sorts of stuff.\n\n- **Length:** Vlogs tend to be in the 20–30 minute range, podcasts in the 10–15 minute range\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> Listen to Easy Japanese on: [Spotify](https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F20cg6ybD2lS2DR7o4QSrCS) | [Apple Podcasts](https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fus\u002Fpodcast\u002Feasy-japanese-podcast-learn-japanese-with-masa-and-asami\u002Fid1550835265) | [YouTube](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002F@EASYJAPANESE) \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n### 9. Let’s Learn Japanese From Small Talk!\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-small-talk.jpeg\" width=\"2142\" height=\"1252\" alt=\"A screenshot of LLJFST's page on Apple Podcasts\" \u002F>\n\nThis is another quite unique podcast _(I've said that several times now, I know)_. What makes it special is that the hosts _aren't_ teachers, and don't really know anything about teaching languages beyond their own experience learning English. The result is a surprisingly nice balance between accessible and natural: They're just two university friends who discovered that foreigners like to listen to Japanese podcasts, and decided to give it a shot!\n\n- **Why it’s good for intermediate learners**: You're very much just listening in on two friends chatting casually about various topics. They focus on everyday topics so the language isn't super difficult or technical, but they also don't quite hold your hand as much as some of other hosts do.It's a nice first stepping stone toward native content.\n- **Topics**: Daily life, Japanese culture, language—generally, the sort of things that would occur to two young people thinking about what foreigners might find interesting about Japan.\n- **Length:** The first few episodes are shorter, but after finding their stride in episode ~10 or so, the podcasts are consistently over 30 minutes in length\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> Listen to LLJFST on: [Spotify](https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F1tHH40EmOge2Ale4nlYWTq) | [Apple Podcasts](https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fjp\u002Fpodcast\u002Flets-learn-japanese-from-small-talk\u002Fid1449307021) | [Supplementary materials on their website](https:\u002F\u002Fsmalltalkinjapanese.hatenablog.com\u002F) \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n### 10. N3 ～ N1 日本語！Haru no Nihongo\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-harunonihongo.jpeg\" width=\"1968\" height=\"1254\" alt=\"A screenshot of the Haru no Nihongo Japanese podcast on YouTube, as enhanced by Migaku\" \u002F>\n\nHaru studied abroad, started a career in marketing, and then changed her mind. She became a certified Japanese teacher and started a podcast. She technically covers multiple levels (N4–N3, N3–N2, N3–N1), but the majority of her content is at this N3–N1 level. As such, this is perhaps the perfect podcast for someone trying to figure out whether they’re ready to take the jump in intermediate or advanced Japanese.\n\n- **Why it’s good for intermediate learners**: A certified Japanese teacher, Haru has a good idea of what \"intermediate\" Japanese means, and she finds a nice balance between staying within those bounds and pushing them. In particular, she talks at a relatively natural pace, and doesn't often stop to explain what a word she's just said means.\n\n- **Topics**: Japanese life, personal stories, user-submitted questions.\n\n- **Length:** Varies a fair bit, but generally in the range of 15–30 minutes\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> Listen to Haru no Nihongo on: [Website](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.haru-no-nihongo.com\u002Fpodcast) | [Spotify](https:\u002F\u002Fopen.spotify.com\u002Fshow\u002F1gQ0ZdFpTOqiyLeOaCCn6U) | [Apple Podcasts](https:\u002F\u002Fpodcasts.apple.com\u002Fgb\u002Fpodcast\u002Fn3-n1%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E-haru-no-nihongo\u002Fid1519563720) | [YouTube](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fchannel\u002FUCauyM-A8JIJ9NQcw5_jF00Q) \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n### Bonus: Nihongo con Teppei (for Intermediate Learners)\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-teppei2.jpeg\" width=\"1792\" height=\"1256\" alt=\"A screenshot showing Teppei's more advanced series, which you can watch with Migaku on YouTube\" \u002F>\n\nRemember Nihongo con Teppei from the recommended beginner Japanese podcasts? Well, he's here, too. We won't introduce him again beyond to repeat that he is, by far, the most prolific creator for Japanese learners.\n\nWhile his beginner's podcast seems to be an indefinite project (currently approaching 1,400 episodes), he approaches his intermediate series differently: every 700 episodes or so, he launches a new series, in which he uses more natural and nuanced language.\n\nSo, anyway—if you like Teppei, you can listen to him well into the intermediate levels.\n\n---\n\n## Best Japanese podcasts for advanced learners\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-advanced.jpeg\" width=\"1911\" height=\"1315\" alt=\"A screenshot of a sign in Tokyo, because if you're here, you're ready to live there\" \u002F>\n\nThis section was kind of a psyche. Sorry.\n\nYou see, at this level, it's time to dive into content for native Japanese speakers. A big part of continuing to learn is continuing to challenge yourself, and this _will_ be a challenge at first—but it's also liberating. Once you get over the hurdle, your options open up massively: you can literally proceed to just listen to whatever you want.\n\nSo:\n\n> Try Googling a podcast about your interests as follows: \u003Cbr> \\[YourTopicHere\\] についてのポッドキャスト\n\nWhether it’s politics, anime, science, or comedy, there’s likely a Japanese-language podcast covering it.\n\nFor example, as an avid gamer, that was an obvious avenue for me to explore. I wanted to learn how to describe genres and game mechanics and generally explore the hype of upcoming releases.\n\nSo, I simply Googled:\n\nゲームについてのポッドキャスト \u003Cbr> _Podcasts about games_\n\nThat led me to all kinds of Japanese podcasts about games, including the [IGN Japan podcast](https:\u002F\u002Fjp.ign.com\u002Fginmaku-podcast)! As a long-time reader of IGN, giving their podcast a try just made _sense_. Now, I can learn about games in Japanese as I’m walking around, commuting, or washing up. Win!\n\nWhatever your thing is, there will be something for you, too.\n\nGive it a shot.\n\n## Why do I get tired when I listen in Japanese?\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-tired.jpeg\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" alt=\"A very tired looking guy—it takes a lot of effort to learn Japanese!\" \u002F>\n\nIf you jumped right to this question—just know that this is normal. Listening to a foreign language is very different than listening to your native language: you can't really just pay half-attention and go about your day.\n\nWhereas your brain can effortlessly connect dots to figure out what someone might have said in your native language, you have to work much harder in Japanese to recognize sounds, translate sounds into words, derive meaning from words... plus the occasional stressful moments when you miss a word or stumble into something you don't know.\n\nSo:\n\n> Early on, this is going to be difficult.\n\nYou will likely get fatigued and tired. If you're totally new to listening comprehension, you genuinely may be worn out after five or ten minutes.\n\nThat's OK.\n\nJust do what you can and be consistent.\n\nAs you listen more, your brain will adapt:\n\n- Your vocabulary will improve, so you'll run into less unknowns\n- You'll build an intuitive feel for how sentences fit together—even if you miss one part of a sentence, your understanding of the rest of it will help you to cover the gap\n- The process of converting sounds into words and words into meaning will become more automatic\n\nGenerally speaking, so long as you stick with this—so long as you're sort of enjoying the process and sort of understanding your podcast—things will get easier as you go.\n\nSo, hang in there 💪\n\n---\n\n## Need help with Japanese listening comprehension?\n\nIf you’ve tried a few podcasts and felt like it was all just too fast—don’t worry, you’re not alone.\n\nWe actually have a video talking _specifically_ about how to approach intensive listening, so start with that:\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F5nfYRsvyEjE?si=9jVDu3AI5LQ7Isdc\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\nBut from there, we've got another goodie for you: so long as your podcast is available on YouTube, we can generate subtitles for you. Just open Migaku, boot up YouTube through our app, select your series, and go!\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-plug1.jpeg\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1112\" alt=\"A screenshot of Migaku in action, showing how we make subtitles in YouTube interactive\" \u002F>\n\nIf you happen to stumble into a word you don't know, we can snip audio directly from your podcast to create a spaced-repetition flashcard for you:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-podcasts-plug2.jpeg\" width=\"1512\" height=\"1254\" alt=\"A screenshot of a flashcard made by Migaku, taken directly from a podcast\" \u002F>\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n## So... what do you think? Are these the best podcasts for learning Japanese?\n\nImmersing yourself in Japanese every day is key to making real progress—and podcasts make that easy and enjoyable. Whether you're just starting or you're already reaching for the N1, there's a podcast out there that matches your pace and interests.\n\nJust remember:\n\n> If you consume Japanese media, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you'll make progress. Period.\n\nSo don’t stress if you don’t catch every word—just keep listening. Keep going. You’ve got this.\n\n_(And if you'd like to look through even_ more _podcasts, here's [a big Reddit thread you should check out!](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002FLearnJapanese\u002Fcomments\u002Fn1rocl\u002Fa_big_list_of_japanese_podcasts_from_beginners_to\u002F))_\n",{"title":31208,"description":32078},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-podcasts","AJx29RulLw3rzbtTTMPuqPDjYDVYLxO9ctUmML2Cl-U","June 18, 2025",{"id":32096,"title":32097,"body":32098,"description":32975,"extension":717,"meta":32976,"navigation":730,"path":32984,"rawbody":32985,"seo":32986,"stem":32987,"__hash__":32988,"timestampUnix":32977,"slug":32978,"h1":32979,"image":32980,"tags":32983,"_dir":736,"timestamp":32989},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-reading-overview.md","How to Learn Japanese by Reading",{"type":8,"value":32099,"toc":32949},[32100,32103,32109,32112,32114,32118,32121,32124,32129,32132,32143,32146,32149,32153,32156,32159,32175,32185,32188,32191,32200,32204,32213,32218,32221,32225,32251,32254,32256,32260,32263,32268,32271,32273,32283,32286,32290,32303,32306,32311,32318,32323,32351,32355,32358,32384,32387,32393,32395,32400,32403,32407,32413,32418,32430,32433,32440,32445,32452,32461,32464,32469,32471,32475,32478,32483,32487,32496,32499,32510,32513,32516,32519,32523,32526,32529,32532,32536,32543,32551,32554,32559,32563,32567,32570,32573,32597,32600,32614,32617,32620,32623,32626,32630,32644,32647,32651,32654,32657,32662,32665,32692,32696,32698,32702,32711,32714,32717,32755,32762,32765,32772,32775,32789,32792,32797,32801,32804,32807,32812,32819,32822,32839,32842,32846,32850,32853,32857,32860,32863,32867,32871,32874,32878,32885,32889,32892,32895,32899,32902,32911,32913,32917,32920,32923,32931,32934,32937,32940,32944,32947],[11,32101,32102],{},"Looking to get started with reading in Japanese?",[11,32104,32105,32106,32108],{},"That’s great! Reading is not only a ton of fun, it’s also one of the best ways to ",[15,32107,18],{"href":17},". A big part of making progress in Japanese comes down to simply spending time with the language, and reading is an excellent way to do that.",[11,32110,32111],{},"Read on (!) to learn about:",[39,32113],{},[45,32115,32117],{"id":32116},"why-is-reading-a-good-way-to-learn-japanese","Why is reading a good way to learn Japanese?",[11,32119,32120],{},"Reading is one of the two main modes of immersion learning, alongside listening.",[11,32122,32123],{},"In immersion learning, students spend as much time as possible engaging with material intended for native audiences, improving their language ability, stumbling into new words and structures, and consolidating what they already know. It's like studying, but something you can have fun doing.",[320,32125,32126],{},[11,32127,32128],{},"While you can use any sort of native material for this, such as anime, dramas, movies, games, podcasts, etc., reading is an especially powerful method for leveling up your language abilities.",[11,32130,32131],{},"Reading:",[304,32133,32134,32137,32140],{},[307,32135,32136],{},"Allows you to engage with vocabulary and grammar in context",[307,32138,32139],{},"Offers a broader range of topics and difficulty levels than other mediums",[307,32141,32142],{},"Lets you go at your own pace",[11,32144,32145],{},"And these qualities make it a perfect companion for Japanese learners of any level.",[11,32147,32148],{},"But jumping in can be daunting; how can we get started?",[45,32150,32152],{"id":32151},"how-to-find-suitable-reading-material-for-your-level","How to find suitable reading material for your level",[11,32154,32155],{},"First and foremost is the need to find the right reading material for you, which will vary based on your interests, goals, and your language ability.",[11,32157,32158],{},"Ideally:",[304,32160,32161,32168],{},[307,32162,32163,32164,32167],{},"You want to find something that’s ",[26,32165,32166],{},"at or just above"," your level, rather than something far beyond your current abilities.",[307,32169,32170,32171,32174],{},"It should be something you ",[26,32172,32173],{},"want"," to read—otherwise, this won’t be much fun!",[320,32176,32177,32180,32182],{},[287,32178,32179],{"bold":289,"underline":289},"\n👉 Key point 👈\n",[292,32181],{},[287,32183,32184],{},"\nWhile getting started reading in Japanese can be daunting, you don’t need to be fluent to start making progress. In fact, reading is one of the best ways to help you on your path towards fluency.\n",[11,32186,32187],{},"Early on, it might be difficult to find things that are interesting and accessible, but as you build up towards 1,500 known words, more and more reading material will become available to you.",[11,32189,32190],{},"One way to think about the reading options for learners is like a reverse pyramid: those at the top (advanced learners) have the widest range to choose from, and those who are just starting their journey have less available that’s comprehensible to them. But fear not! No matter what level you’re at, there’s sure to be something in the Venn Diagram between comprehensible and interesting.",[11,32192,32193,32194,32199],{},"Luckily, finding something that matches your level is easier now than ever. You can check online databases like ",[15,32195,32198],{"href":32196,"rel":32197},"http:\u002F\u002FLearnNatively.com",[971],"LearnNatively.com",", where users have provided comparative difficulty gradings for a huge number of books.",[50,32201],{"src":32202,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":32203},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-reading-learnnatively.jpeg","A screenshot showing the community gradings for Konbini Ningen on LearnNatively",[11,32205,32206,32207,32212],{},"There’s also sites like ",[15,32208,32211],{"href":32209,"rel":32210},"http:\u002F\u002FJPDB.io",[971],"JPDB.io",", which offer statistical information about the language used in a Japanese book, such assentence length, vocabulary rarity, and other factors.",[50,32214],{"src":32215,"width":32216,"height":19055,"alt":32217},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-reading-jpdb-io.jpeg",2878,"A screenshot form JPDB.io, showing some rough statistics about the book Penguin Highway",[11,32219,32220],{},"Once you find a book, you can copy\u002Fpaste its first chapter into the Migaku Clipboard. We'll check the chapter's vocabulary against a list of the words you already know, giving you more personalized data about how difficult this particular story will be for you.",[50,32222],{"src":32223,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":32224},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-reading-comprehension-score.jpeg","A screenshot showing the first chapter of a book pasted into the Migaku Clipboard, and our assessment that it's a suitable read given my current level",[320,32226,32227,369,32232,32234,32236,32237,32239,32241,32248],{},[287,32228,32229],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[26,32230,32231],{},"What if I really want to read [Novel \u002F Manga \u002F Visual Novel] that’s beyond my current abilities?",[292,32233],{},[292,32235],{},"\n\n\nWe’ve all been there. Unfortunately, it’s really up to you. Especially now, it’s never been easier to brute-force your way through a work. If you’re fully committed, you could spend a ton of time pouring over each sentence, looking up each unknown word and grammar point in sequence. But would that be any fun? You’ll have to decide that for yourself.\n",[292,32238],{},[292,32240],{},[11,32242,32243,32244,32247],{},"In my experience, if something is ",[26,32245,32246],{},"just slightly"," out of your reach, your passion and interest can make this a palatable and even rewarding experience, as you push forward in your ability to meet the level of the work. But if it’s too far out of reach, it’s best just to find something easier you’re interested in for the time being, and keep that goal in mind.",[11,32249,32250],{},"Or, take a look at one of our Japanese courses, giving you the foundation of 1,500 words and ~300 grammar points, getting you ready to tackle a lot more material than before. ",[11,32252,32253],{},"But even before that, you need to decide what medium you want to read.",[42,32255],{},[45,32257,32259],{"id":32258},"what-are-the-differences-between-different-types-of-reading-materials","What are the differences between different types of reading materials?",[11,32261,32262],{},"Reading in Japanese comes in many forms, from novels, nonfiction books, manga, visual novels, light novels, and more. But not all writing is created equal.",[320,32264,32265],{},[11,32266,32267],{},"Across all of these different mediums, you’ll find different conventions, different target audiences, and different styles.",[11,32269,32270],{},"For example, manga can be quicker to get into, because apart from having drawings to assist comprehension, most of the text is simply the dialogue of the characters. In other words, you need to be careful if you choose to read a manga about ninjas in the Edo period. (If you aren’t a ninja from the Edo period, you might not want to talk like that in real life.)",[50,32272],{"src":19504,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":19505},[11,32274,32275],{},[26,32276,32277],{},[287,32278,32279,32280],{},"A screenshot from Crystal Hunters, discussed in our blog post on ",[15,32281,32282],{"href":24580},"learning Japanese with Manga",[11,32284,32285],{},"In a novel, on the other hand, everything must be communicated through text and text alone. Narration, exposition, and internal thoughts are all conveyed differently, so you’ll run into both a wider variety of grammar points and vocabulary words (and also rarer ones) than you would in a typical manga.",[50,32287],{"src":32288,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":32289},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-ocr-reading-demo.jpeg","A screenshot showing the process of reading an ebook with Migaku",[11,32291,32292],{},[26,32293,32294],{},[287,32295,32296,32297,32302],{},"A screenshot showing me reading ",[15,32298,32301],{"href":32299,"rel":32300},"https:\u002F\u002Fbookwalker.jp\u002Fdedad1c284-ebb8-4c17-b571-4f3b05ab4a2a\u002F?srsltid=AfmBOorSP272n8oqkT25CqmUoKqfUOKuJTf4pj6GNm6GAbkT2q4artgh",[971],"また、同じ夢を見ていた"," with Migaku's Clipboard and an OCR tool",[11,32304,32305],{},"To give one last example—newspaper articles often have tight space requirements, meaning they will use much more concise and dense language than you’d find in manga or a novel. The plus, of course, is that they’re also very short. Generally, they’re also limited to Jōyō kanji, or roughly the 2,000 most essential ones.",[50,32307],{"src":32308,"width":32309,"height":19055,"alt":32310},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanaese-reading-newspaper.jpeg",2876,"A screenshot showing Migaku parsing a random article from the Mainichi newspaper",[11,32312,32313],{},[26,32314,32315],{},[287,32316,32317],{},"A screenshot showing me reading an article from the Mainichi Newspaper. Notice how little overlap there is between the vocabulary in novels and newspapers. 8k words known from novels, but only 28% word coverage in the paper!",[320,32319,32320],{},[11,32321,32322],{},"Here’s a quick overview of what you'll be getting into with a few popular mediums:",[304,32324,32325,32330,32339,32345],{},[307,32326,32327,32329],{},[1090,32328,19146],{}," — Mostly dialogue, often genre-focused; pictures enable you to follow along even if you don't understand all of the text",[307,32331,32332,32335,32336,32338],{},[1090,32333,32334],{},"Novels"," — Contains a wider array of vocab and grammar because, unlike manga, ",[26,32337,1181],{}," in a text needs to be conveyed with words and words alone",[307,32340,32341,32344],{},[1090,32342,32343],{},"Light Novels"," — Novels, but genre-focused (nichijou, isekai, etc) and aimed at young adults; likely contain genre-specific words, but will be easier to read than a typical novel",[307,32346,32347,32350],{},[1090,32348,32349],{},"Visual Novels"," — Voice-acted novels supported by (usually static) graphics; must be played on a computer, and often features adult themes; accessible like manga but with a bit wider text range",[847,32352,32354],{"id":32353},"on-reading-genre-vs-realist-fiction","On reading genre vs. realist fiction",[11,32356,32357],{},"Before we get too far along:",[304,32359,32360,32368,32376],{},[307,32361,32362,32367],{},[15,32363,32366],{"href":32364,"rel":32365},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FGenre_fiction",[971],"Genre fiction"," includes things like crime, fantasy, romance, sci-fi, and horror; it is often quite formulaic \u002F straightforward, and as it's intended for mass readership, usually doesn't feature super literary language",[307,32369,32370,32375],{},[15,32371,32374],{"href":32372,"rel":32373},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FLiterary_realism",[971],"Realist fiction"," depicts stories that could actually have happened to people; this nature can make it somewhat unpredictable, as it doesn't have to follow the \"rules\" of a particular genre",[307,32377,32378,32383],{},[15,32379,32382],{"href":32380,"rel":32381},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FLiterary_fiction",[971],"Literary fiction",", or \"pure literature\" as it's called in Japanese, is focused on how a character changes or grows over the course of a story and may have no observable plot; it also tends to feature complex sentences with more difficult vocabulary",[11,32385,32386],{},"And we could go further with this! The key point, though, is just that a books isn't a book isn't a book. You should take a bit of time to think about what you want out of something before picking it up to read.",[11,32388,32389,32390,32392],{},"There's nothing wrong with genre fiction or manga—you just have to be mindful of what sort of input you're getting. The language used in a gritty sci-fi novel about a group of people trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic real world ",[26,32391,25025],{}," real Japanese, and it's totally valid to learn from... but as it features characters in high-stress, violent, life-or-death situations, the language being used likely won't be appropriate to transfer directly to the office or classroom.",[11,32394,13541],{},[320,32396,32397],{},[11,32398,32399],{},"There’s a good reason why slice-of-life or realist fiction is often recommended: these genres deal with ordinary people navigating the sort of situations that ordinary people go through, and that means the structures and vocabulary words you encounter in this genre will be broadly useful for most people.",[11,32401,32402],{},"Otherwise: Keeping your goal and interests in mind will help figure out what’s right for you.",[847,32404,32406],{"id":32405},"keep-your-storys-context-in-mind","Keep your story's context in mind!",[11,32408,32409,32410,32412],{},"Lastly, you’ll want to consider the context of a work. ",[26,32411,19364],{}," is a commonly-recommended manga for beginners, focused on the heartwarming adventures of a five-year-old girl’s daily life with her Dad, neighbors, and friends.",[50,32414],{"src":32415,"width":19054,"height":32416,"alt":32417},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-reading-yotsuba.jpeg",1666,"A screenshot of LearnNatively's landing page for Yotsuba&",[11,32419,32420],{},[26,32421,32422],{},[287,32423,32424,32425,32429],{},"Yotsubato!'s landing page on ",[15,32426,32428],{"href":22654,"rel":32427},[971],"LearnNatively",", a website that organized Japanese media by approximate difficulty. ",[11,32431,32432],{},"It's a classic recommendation of a first piece of \"real\" Japanese media for learners to dip their toes into. LearnNatively's community has graded it for being appropriate for the ~N4 level!",[11,32434,32435,32436,32439],{},"...But Yotsuba (the main character, a young girl) often uses the rougher, very casual language of her Dad and his friends; you’d sound quite strange if you spoke like her in real life! ",[26,32437,32438],{},"Using"," it aside, if you’re newer to Japanese, the casual speech and non-standard \"child speak\" might be difficult just to make sense of!",[50,32441],{"src":32442,"width":19054,"height":32443,"alt":32444},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-read-japanese-yotsuba-language.jpeg",1442,"A screenshot from the manga Yotsuba&!, showing some of the difficult-to-parse language it contains",[11,32446,32447],{},[26,32448,32449],{},[287,32450,32451],{},"いてぇー is a very colloquial way of saying 痛い (ouch!)—but if you weren't aware of the Japanese convention to turn ~あい into ~えぇ, it would be very hard to understand!",[11,32453,32454,32455,32457,32458,32460],{},"That’s not to say there aren’t characters in the book who ",[26,32456,10834],{}," speak in a more “normal” way, or that there aren’t plenty of things to learn from ",[26,32459,19364],{},"—just that it doesn't consist purely of stuff you can copy from the page and paste into real-life scenarios.",[11,32462,32463],{},"Basically:",[320,32465,32466],{},[11,32467,32468],{},"When considering any sentence in a book in another language, consider the context not only of the characters, but the genre the book sits in, and the target audience of any given work.",[42,32470],{},[45,32472,32474],{"id":32473},"a-few-strategies-to-help-you-get-the-most-out-of-your-reading","A few strategies to help you get the most out of your reading",[11,32476,32477],{},"Now it’s time to actually read. You’ve got your cup of coffee, nestled yourself into a cozy armchair, and cracked open the front cover, but—oh no!—what are all these kanji? The horror! Do you really know any Japanese at all?",[11,32479,32480],{},[26,32481,32482],{},"(I think everybody feels like that the first time they try reading something in Japanese.)",[847,32484,32486],{"id":32485},"getting-into-a-text-aka-first-page-syndrome","Getting into a text (AKA first page syndrome)",[11,32488,32489,32490,32495],{},"The hardest part of reading anything is the opening. Tofugu’s Koichi wrote about this once, calling it ",[15,32491,32494],{"href":32492,"rel":32493},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tofugu.com\u002Fjapanese\u002Flanguage-first-page-syndrome\u002F",[971],"“first page syndrome,”"," though the \"this feels impossible\" feeling can last for the first 10%-20% of the book.",[11,32497,32498],{},"The beginning of a book is so difficult because it’s where:",[304,32500,32501,32504,32507],{},[307,32502,32503],{},"You encounter new genre-\u002Ftheme-specific vocabulary",[307,32505,32506],{},"You're grappling with a new author’s style",[307,32508,32509],{},"You’re learning the flow, format, perspective and other characteristics of a book",[11,32511,32512],{},"With that in mind, don’t give up!",[11,32514,32515],{},"I always try to remind myself that the first pages will be the hardest, and let the book teach me how it needs to be read. Don’t be afraid to take some additional time with the early sentences, even if the book as a whole seems like it should be a good fit for your abilities. Really understanding the opening of a book will help you not only understand the language, but also the plot, characters, and setting going forward.",[11,32517,32518],{},"Once you get through the opening of a book, and become familiar with its style and language, the rest will become much easier.",[3240,32520,32522],{"id":32521},"try-re-reading","Try re-reading!",[11,32524,32525],{},"One tip for approaching the beginning is through re-reading the opening section. Take it page by page: Try to read a page, set it aside for a couple of hours, and come back to the same page again.",[11,32527,32528],{},"Often, what I found excruciating the first time would be a breeze on second glance. That first read can act like building a scaffolding, helping you situate different characters, moments, and phrases—even if you felt like you understood nothing.",[11,32530,32531],{},"You can take this a step further by having your first few Japanese books be Japanese translations of things you’ve already read in English. As you already know what will happen, you can focus entirely on making sense of the language.",[3240,32533,32535],{"id":32534},"sticking-with-a-series-for-a-while","Sticking with a series for a while",[11,32537,32538,32539,32542],{},"Luckily, once you’re ",[26,32540,32541],{},"into"," a work, and are ready to move onto the second or third book in a series, you likely won’t need to repeat this “re-reading” stage.",[304,32544,32545,32548],{},[307,32546,32547],{},"You’ll probably have already become familiar with the specific quirks of the author.",[307,32549,32550],{},"You'll likely also have learned any new words that are relevant for the genre or medium they’re writing in.",[11,32552,32553],{},"So if you’ve found something you like that’s part of a series, consider reading the rest next—or, once you’ve found an author you like, explore other things they’ve written!",[320,32555,32556],{},[11,32557,32558],{},"With immersion learning, quantity is king, so finding a series that fits your Venn Diagram (accessible : interesting) is like hitting the jackpot.",[50,32560],{"src":32561,"width":2478,"height":1998,"alt":32562},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-reading-transition.jpeg","A screenshot of a guy walking past a bookshelf, just like we're moving onto a discussion about Japanese reading strategies",[847,32564,32566],{"id":32565},"balancing-extensive-and-intensive-reading","Balancing extensive and intensive reading",[11,32568,32569],{},"Just like all writing is not considered equal, neither is all reading!",[11,32571,32572],{},"In general, we can group reading into two categories: extensive and intensive. Both are useful strategies, but function slightly differently, and accomplish different goals.",[320,32574,32575,369,32580,32582,32584,32585,32587,32588,32590,32592,32594,32596],{},[287,32576,32577],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[26,32578,32579],{},"What is extensive and intensive reading?",[292,32581],{},[292,32583],{},"\n\n\nExtensive reading refers to reading at a more surface-level: engaging with media that’s \n",[26,32586,32166],{},"\n your level, and trying to learn vocabulary and grammar primarily from context rather than referring to other sources like a dictionary.\n",[292,32589],{},[292,32591],{},[292,32593],{},[292,32595],{},"\n\n\nIntensive reading is the opposite: taking a close look at more complicated work, breaking down each unknown sentence, word, and grammar point through consultation with dictionaries, web sources, teachers, etc., so that you’ll completely understand what’s written.\n",[11,32598,32599],{},"Both types of reading are useful, but they serve different purposes:",[304,32601,32602,32608],{},[307,32603,32604,32607],{},[1090,32605,32606],{},"Extensive reading"," is about quantity: Your goal is to get through as many pages in a period of time as possible. Here, you become more comfortable with the language—your reading speed will increase, words will begin to feel increasingly concrete, and reading will begin to take increasingly less effort.",[307,32609,32610,32613],{},[1090,32611,32612],{},"Intensive reading"," is about quality: Your goal is to capitalize on all of the learning opportunities a text provides. Here, you push the boundaries of your ability—you’ll explore new grammatical structures, work out kinks in your knowledge, and ensure you understand a sentence’s nuance completely",[11,32615,32616],{},"Early on, pretty much everything will feel like an intensive reading exercise. As your level improves, and you spend more time reading, more things will become things you can read for enjoyment.",[11,32618,32619],{},"Beyond just the difficulty of the work you’re reading, think about your intent with studying. Any good study plan will incorporate both methods, but generally it’s better to focus most of your efforts on extensive reading: remember, quantity is king!",[11,32621,32622],{},"Additionally, the same work can serve as both types of practice, depending on your mood and other factors. If the work is at or just above your level, you can usually move past unfamiliar words and grammar points and try to decipher with context; and if you’re feeling really fired up or seeing a word or grammar structure repeatedly, you can switch modes to intensive and decide to take a deeper dive.",[11,32624,32625],{},"Make sure you’re not focused solely on one or the other!",[847,32627,32629],{"id":32628},"practice-reading-not-translating","Practice reading, not translating",[11,32631,32632,32633,32635,32636,32639,32640,32643],{},"This is a small point, but remember the goal is ",[26,32634,863],{},", not ",[26,32637,32638],{},"translating",". Translating is a wonderful skill, but it’s not an extension of reading—it’s another thing entirely. Strive to understand a sentence ",[26,32641,32642],{},"as it is",", not as you’d represent it in your native language.",[11,32645,32646],{},"It’s great to dive deeper, and check your understanding by consulting a native speaker from time to time, but trying to put sentences into your native language is less fruitful. If you think you’ve got it, trust that you do and move on.",[847,32648,32650],{"id":32649},"ask-for-help-breaking-down-sentences-you-dont-understand-from-teachers-friends-or-online-communities","Ask for help breaking down sentences you don’t understand from teachers, friends, or online communities",[11,32652,32653],{},"What if you come across a sentence that simply has you stumped? Or if there’s a character that says something unexpected, or just can’t tell what’s going on? This is a great cue to ask for help.",[11,32655,32656],{},"Finding a native speaker to ask can be invaluable in these situations, whether they’re a teacher, a Japanese friend, or someone else you know.",[320,32658,32659],{},[11,32660,32661],{},"Reading is amazing because you can do it alone, but you don’t have to.",[11,32663,32664],{},"But what if you don’t have someone like this to ask? There are a wealth of communities of other language learners who can help, like those in:",[304,32666,32667,32672,32680],{},[307,32668,32669],{},[15,32670,32671],{"href":28600},"The Migaku Discord",[307,32673,32674,32675],{},"On ",[15,32676,32679],{"href":32677,"rel":32678},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002FLearnJapanese\u002F",[971],"Reddit",[307,32681,32682,32683,1466,32688],{},"On websites like ",[15,32684,32687],{"href":32685,"rel":32686},"https:\u002F\u002Fhinative.com\u002F",[971],"HiNative",[15,32689,32691],{"href":18096,"rel":32690},[971],"LangCorrect",[50,32693],{"src":32694,"width":2478,"height":8094,"alt":32695},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-reading-guy-reading.jpeg","A guy reading some potentially Japanese books, just like you're going to be before long",[42,32697],{},[45,32699,32701],{"id":32700},"how-sentence-mining-lets-you-extract-learning-opportunities-from-any-book","How sentence mining lets you extract learning opportunities from any book",[11,32703,32704,32707,32708],{},[26,32705,32706],{},"‘Gee, this sounds easy and fun!’"," you say. ",[26,32709,32710],{},"‘Am I really learning anything?’",[11,32712,32713],{},"Yes, you are!",[11,32715,32716],{},"But there’s another method you can use to make sure what you’re learning sticks: sentence mining.",[320,32718,32719,369,32724,32726,32728,32729,32732,32733,32736,32737,32739,32741,32743,32745,32746,32748,32750,32752,32754],{},[287,32720,369,32721],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[26,32722,32723],{},"What is sentence mining?",[292,32725],{},[292,32727],{},"\n\n\n“Sentence mining” is a method of reviewing vocabulary and grammar you’ve learned in context for long-term acquisition and retention. Let me say that again: sentence mining is a method of \n",[26,32730,32731],{},"reviewing","\n things \n",[26,32734,32735],{},"you’ve already learned","\n (not learning things fresh!).\n",[292,32738],{},[292,32740],{},[292,32742],{},[292,32744],{},"\n\n\nThis process usually involves copying the sentence a word or grammar structure appears in onto a flashcard, so you can reinforce your understanding later. Modern tools like Migaku make this easier than ever, allowing you to make flashcards with images, audio, pitch accent highlighting, and much more with only a couple of clicks.\n",[292,32747],{},[292,32749],{},[292,32751],{},[292,32753],{},"\n\n\nFrom there, Migaku makes reviewing easy, showing you exactly the right card at the right time, so you can lock it in your memory and get back to having fun with Japanese.\n",[11,32756,32757,32758,32761],{},"Sentence mining helps reinforce new words and grammar points you’re seeing ",[26,32759,32760],{},"in context",", making them much more likely to stick in your memory, ready for you whenever it comes up next. It’s a powerful technique that makes language acquisition easier than ever.",[11,32763,32764],{},"That said, there’s some key points to keep in mind.",[11,32766,32767,32768,32771],{},"For one, it’s called sentence mining because you’re looking for ",[26,32769,32770],{},"gold","—not every single sentence you come across is worth making a flashcard out of \u002F presents a good opportunity to learn something.",[11,32773,32774],{},"Only mine a sentence if:",[304,32776,32777,32780,32783,32786],{},[307,32778,32779],{},"It contains only one unknown element (word, grammar point, etc)",[307,32781,32782],{},"You feel that thing is useful to you, given your current level",[307,32784,32785],{},"It’s neither too long nor too short",[307,32787,32788],{},"The context of the sentence is helpful—not “this thing here is an oven” but “dinner is baking in the oven”",[11,32790,32791],{},"These rules are guidelines, not things written in stone. If the work you’re reading has some specific vocabulary or grammar that keeps coming up, you might be better served making a \"sub-optimal\" flashcard rather than reaching for a dictionary every five pages because you keep forgetting that specific word.",[320,32793,32794],{},[11,32795,32796],{},"The goal of every flashcard you make or review is the same: to improve your knowledge of words that come up frequently in the content you consume, thus reducing the amount of things you need to look up and ultimately making it easier to immerse in your reading material.",[847,32798,32800],{"id":32799},"review-what-youve-studied","Review what you’ve studied",[11,32802,32803],{},"Here you are, reading something in Japanese, and finding a bunch of new vocabulary and grammar in the wild; don’t let it go to waste! Make sure you review the things you’ve learned, so you can continue to build your vocabulary and grammar, improve your language abilities, and allow you to read even more material.",[11,32805,32806],{},"One of the best ways to do this is through a Spaced-Repetition Software, or SRS.",[50,32808],{"src":32809,"width":19055,"height":32810,"alt":32811},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-reading-flashcard-plug.jpeg",1262,"A screenshot of Migaku's SRS flashcard interface, plus a card that I sentence mined",[11,32813,32814,32815,32818],{},"We have ",[15,32816,32817],{"href":5906},"a blog post that explores SRS in detail",", but, generally speaking, an SRS is a system that periodically nudges you to review material you’re studying. You’ll be asked to review information less often as your knowledge of it improves until, eventually, you just know it. Migaku has an excellent option built in, minimizing the time needed for setup so you can maximize the time spent engaging with Japanese.",[11,32820,32821],{},"This goes hand in hand with sentence mining:",[304,32823,32824,32827,32830,32833,32836],{},[307,32825,32826],{},"Find useful or interesting words while reading",[307,32828,32829],{},"Make flashcards out of them",[307,32831,32832],{},"Review those words periodically",[307,32834,32835],{},"Your larger vocabulary makes reading easier",[307,32837,32838],{},"Your reading speed increases, ???, profit, and stuff like that",[11,32840,32841],{},"Using spaced-repetition enhanced flashcards allows you to learn things a lot easier than just studying on your own: they help take the guesswork out of when to review certain materials, and make studying more efficient by minimizing the amount of time you need to spend reviewing. We highly recommend you use one of these systems alongside your practice; that’s why it’s built-in to Migaku!",[45,32843,32844],{"id":289},[674,32845],{"href":17,"text":676},[45,32847,32849],{"id":32848},"some-bonus-tips-on-how-to-read-in-japanese","Some bonus tips on how to read in Japanese",[11,32851,32852],{},"Finally, here are a few bonus tips to get the most out of your reading—or just to mix your reading practice up a bit:",[847,32854,32856],{"id":32855},"_1-combine-reading-and-listening","1. Combine reading and listening",[11,32858,32859],{},"See if there’s an audiobook version of whatever you’re reading. Combining reading with listening to an audiobook at the same time lets you practice two aspects of Japanese simultaneously. It also helps intuitively teach not just pitch accent and native pronunciation, but the general flow of Japanese sentences.",[11,32861,32862],{},"Migaku actually has the ability to turn any text into an audiobook—just insert text into the Migaku Clipboard, click play, and we'll use high-quality TTS (text-to-speech) software to narrate your book to you.",[50,32864],{"src":32865,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":32866},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-tts-narration.jpeg","A screenshot demonstrating how Migaku can turn any text into an audiobook",[847,32868,32870],{"id":32869},"_2-read-aloud","2. Read aloud!",[11,32872,32873],{},"Similarly, try to read aloud from time to time. Where should the pauses and stresses in a sentence be? How do the words flow into one another, and what’s the intonation over the course of a sentence? Doing this after listening to an audiobook will help get the voice actor's voice in your head. Even if that’s you don't have an audiobook available, trying on your own can still be great practice.",[847,32875,32877],{"id":32876},"_3-practice-predictive-reading","3. Practice predictive reading",[11,32879,32880,32881,32884],{},"Another strategy you can try is called ",[26,32882,32883],{},"predictive reading",". When you finish a chapter, section, or even just a scene, think about what happened, and guess what might happen next. This will encourage you to look at a book overall, improving your reading comprehension, and think about where a plot is going. Then you can see what actually happens—and if you were right!",[847,32886,32888],{"id":32887},"_4-imagine-a-characters-voice","4. Imagine a character’s voice",[11,32890,32891],{},"This one’s a little out there, but once you’re decently into a story, try and think about how a character’s voice is unique. Can you imagine the character in other scenarios? How do they sound in conversation? Are they casual or formal? Do they tend to use any specific words or phrases?",[11,32893,32894],{},"Doing this will help you analyze the speaking styles of not only different characters, but different people in general. Japanese is a language with a lot of different registers, gendered speech, words specific to certain situations, and other complexities, so learning to recognize this in an easier setting like through characters is a good strategy to being able to apply it overall.",[847,32896,32898],{"id":32897},"_5-explain-plot-points-to-your-friends-in-japanese-of-course","5. Explain plot points to your friends (in Japanese, of course!)",[11,32900,32901],{},"After reading something, either discuss or imagine explaining the plot to your friends. Similar to predictive reading, this can help improve your reading comprehension, and having to summarize something in Japanese can teach you different ways of conveying the same thing; a super important skill.",[11,32903,32904],{},[26,32905,32906,32907,32910],{},"(We mentioned it earlier, but ",[15,32908,32691],{"href":18096,"rel":32909},[971]," is an awesome free service where you can write short posts in Japanese and get feedback from native speakers.)",[42,32912],{},[45,32914,32916],{"id":32915},"just-one-last-question-whats-your-first-book-in-japanese-going-to-be","Just one last question: What's your first book in Japanese going to be?",[11,32918,32919],{},"You’ve done it, you’ve read a book—or are going to—and learned a ton of new vocabulary and grammar along the way. Congratulations! This is a huge step for any Japanese learner, and should serve as a bedrock of your study routine for years to come.",[11,32921,32922],{},"What’s next?",[304,32924,32925,32928],{},[307,32926,32927],{},"Make sure you’ve added the vocabulary and grammar from sentences you’ve mined into an SRS, and keep up with your reviews.",[307,32929,32930],{},"Look for something new to read, either from the same series or author—or start the process again, and find something new that suits your Japanese ability and is in line with your interests.",[11,32932,32933],{},"Reading is a lifelong pursuit, just like learning Japanese; but it will be there every step of the way. You can read books wherever you are, at any age, whether anybody is there or not.",[11,32935,32936],{},"Plus, there are no ads.",[11,32938,32939],{},"Anyway, if you take away one thing from this article, remember:",[320,32941,32942],{},[11,32943,8599],{},[11,32945,32946],{},"Happy reading!",[674,32948],{"href":17,"text":3633},{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":32950},[32951,32952,32953,32957,32963,32966,32967,32974],{"id":32116,"depth":707,"text":32117},{"id":32151,"depth":707,"text":32152},{"id":32258,"depth":707,"text":32259,"children":32954},[32955,32956],{"id":32353,"depth":1016,"text":32354},{"id":32405,"depth":1016,"text":32406},{"id":32473,"depth":707,"text":32474,"children":32958},[32959,32960,32961,32962],{"id":32485,"depth":1016,"text":32486},{"id":32565,"depth":1016,"text":32566},{"id":32628,"depth":1016,"text":32629},{"id":32649,"depth":1016,"text":32650},{"id":32700,"depth":707,"text":32701,"children":32964},[32965],{"id":32799,"depth":1016,"text":32800},{"id":289,"depth":707,"text":289},{"id":32848,"depth":707,"text":32849,"children":32968},[32969,32970,32971,32972,32973],{"id":32855,"depth":1016,"text":32856},{"id":32869,"depth":1016,"text":32870},{"id":32876,"depth":1016,"text":32877},{"id":32887,"depth":1016,"text":32888},{"id":32897,"depth":1016,"text":32898},{"id":32915,"depth":707,"text":32916},"So you want to read in Japanese, but aren't sure where to get started? Let's talk about finding your first book, how to get through it, and how to sentence mine with it.",{"timestampUnix":32977,"slug":32978,"h1":32979,"image":32980,"tags":32983},1748335016395,"how-to-read-in-japanese","Extensive Reading, Intensive Reading, and Everything You Need to Learn to Read Japanese",{"src":32981,"width":2478,"height":14144,"alt":32982},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-reading-thumbnail.jpeg","A photo of a man standing on the street, looking for a Japanese book to read from the wall of a building that conveniently doubles as a library",[8649,12474],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-reading-overview","---\ntitle: 'How to Learn Japanese by Reading'\ndescription: \"So you want to read in Japanese, but aren't sure where to get started? Let's talk about finding your first book, how to get through it, and how to sentence mine with it.\"\ntimestampUnix: 1748335016395\nslug: 'how-to-read-in-japanese'\nh1: 'Extensive Reading, Intensive Reading, and Everything You Need to Learn to Read Japanese'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-reading-thumbnail.jpeg'\n width: 1920\n height: 1284\n alt: 'A photo of a man standing on the street, looking for a Japanese book to read from the wall of a building that conveniently doubles as a library'\ntags:\n - discussion\n - deepdive\n---\n\nLooking to get started with reading in Japanese?\n\nThat’s great\\! Reading is not only a ton of fun, it’s also one of the best ways to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese). A big part of making progress in Japanese comes down to simply spending time with the language, and reading is an excellent way to do that.\n\nRead on (\\!) to learn about:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n## Why is reading a good way to learn Japanese?\n\nReading is one of the two main modes of immersion learning, alongside listening.\n\nIn immersion learning, students spend as much time as possible engaging with material intended for native audiences, improving their language ability, stumbling into new words and structures, and consolidating what they already know. It's like studying, but something you can have fun doing.\n\n> While you can use any sort of native material for this, such as anime, dramas, movies, games, podcasts, etc., reading is an especially powerful method for leveling up your language abilities.\n\nReading:\n\n- Allows you to engage with vocabulary and grammar in context\n- Offers a broader range of topics and difficulty levels than other mediums\n- Lets you go at your own pace\n\nAnd these qualities make it a perfect companion for Japanese learners of any level.\n\nBut jumping in can be daunting; how can we get started?\n\n## How to find suitable reading material for your level\n\nFirst and foremost is the need to find the right reading material for you, which will vary based on your interests, goals, and your language ability.\n\nIdeally:\n\n- You want to find something that’s _at or just above_ your level, rather than something far beyond your current abilities.\n- It should be something you _want_ to read—otherwise, this won’t be much fun\\!\n\n> \u003CCenteredText Bold Underline>👉 Key point 👈\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\u003CCenteredText>While getting started reading in Japanese can be daunting, you don’t need to be fluent to start making progress. In fact, reading is one of the best ways to help you on your path towards fluency.\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\nEarly on, it might be difficult to find things that are interesting and accessible, but as you build up towards 1,500 known words, more and more reading material will become available to you.\n\nOne way to think about the reading options for learners is like a reverse pyramid: those at the top (advanced learners) have the widest range to choose from, and those who are just starting their journey have less available that’s comprehensible to them. But fear not\\! No matter what level you’re at, there’s sure to be something in the Venn Diagram between comprehensible and interesting.\n\nLuckily, finding something that matches your level is easier now than ever. You can check online databases like [LearnNatively.com](http:\u002F\u002FLearnNatively.com), where users have provided comparative difficulty gradings for a huge number of books.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-reading-learnnatively.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot showing the community gradings for Konbini Ningen on LearnNatively\" \u002F>\n\nThere’s also sites like [JPDB.io](http:\u002F\u002FJPDB.io), which offer statistical information about the language used in a Japanese book, such assentence length, vocabulary rarity, and other factors.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-reading-jpdb-io.jpeg\" width=\"2878\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot form JPDB.io, showing some rough statistics about the book Penguin Highway\" \u002F>\n\nOnce you find a book, you can copy\u002Fpaste its first chapter into the Migaku Clipboard. We'll check the chapter's vocabulary against a list of the words you already know, giving you more personalized data about how difficult this particular story will be for you.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-reading-comprehension-score.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot showing the first chapter of a book pasted into the Migaku Clipboard, and our assessment that it's a suitable read given my current level\" \u002F>\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>_What if I really want to read \\[Novel \u002F Manga \u002F Visual Novel\\] that’s beyond my current abilities?_\u003C\u002FCenteredText> \u003Cbr>\n> We’ve all been there. Unfortunately, it’s really up to you. Especially now, it’s never been easier to brute-force your way through a work. If you’re fully committed, you could spend a ton of time pouring over each sentence, looking up each unknown word and grammar point in sequence. But would that be any fun? You’ll have to decide that for yourself.\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>\n>\n> In my experience, if something is _just slightly_ out of your reach, your passion and interest can make this a palatable and even rewarding experience, as you push forward in your ability to meet the level of the work. But if it’s too far out of reach, it’s best just to find something easier you’re interested in for the time being, and keep that goal in mind.\n>\n> Or, take a look at one of our Japanese courses, giving you the foundation of 1,500 words and \\~300 grammar points, getting you ready to tackle a lot more material than before. \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\nBut even before that, you need to decide what medium you want to read.\n\n---\n\n## What are the differences between different types of reading materials?\n\nReading in Japanese comes in many forms, from novels, nonfiction books, manga, visual novels, light novels, and more. But not all writing is created equal.\n\n> Across all of these different mediums, you’ll find different conventions, different target audiences, and different styles.\n\nFor example, manga can be quicker to get into, because apart from having drawings to assist comprehension, most of the text is simply the dialogue of the characters. In other words, you need to be careful if you choose to read a manga about ninjas in the Edo period. (If you aren’t a ninja from the Edo period, you might not want to talk like that in real life.)\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-crystal-hunters-clipboard.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A demonstration of how to read manga using an OCR software and Migaku's clipboard.\" \u002F>\n\n_\u003CCenteredText>A screenshot from Crystal Hunters, discussed in our blog post on [learning Japanese with Manga](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Flearn-japanese-with-manga)\u003C\u002FCenteredText>_\n\nIn a novel, on the other hand, everything must be communicated through text and text alone. Narration, exposition, and internal thoughts are all conveyed differently, so you’ll run into both a wider variety of grammar points and vocabulary words (and also rarer ones) than you would in a typical manga.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-ocr-reading-demo.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot showing the process of reading an ebook with Migaku\" \u002F>\n\n_\u003CCenteredText>A screenshot showing me reading [また、同じ夢を見ていた](https:\u002F\u002Fbookwalker.jp\u002Fdedad1c284-ebb8-4c17-b571-4f3b05ab4a2a\u002F?srsltid=AfmBOorSP272n8oqkT25CqmUoKqfUOKuJTf4pj6GNm6GAbkT2q4artgh) with Migaku's Clipboard and an OCR tool\u003C\u002FCenteredText>_\n\nTo give one last example—newspaper articles often have tight space requirements, meaning they will use much more concise and dense language than you’d find in manga or a novel. The plus, of course, is that they’re also very short. Generally, they’re also limited to Jōyō kanji, or roughly the 2,000 most essential ones.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanaese-reading-newspaper.jpeg\" width=\"2876\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot showing Migaku parsing a random article from the Mainichi newspaper\" \u002F>\n\n_\u003CCenteredText>A screenshot showing me reading an article from the Mainichi Newspaper. Notice how little overlap there is between the vocabulary in novels and newspapers. 8k words known from novels, but only 28% word coverage in the paper!\u003C\u002FCenteredText>_\n\n> Here’s a quick overview of what you'll be getting into with a few popular mediums:\n\n- **Manga** — Mostly dialogue, often genre-focused; pictures enable you to follow along even if you don't understand all of the text\n- **Novels** — Contains a wider array of vocab and grammar because, unlike manga, _everything_ in a text needs to be conveyed with words and words alone\n- **Light Novels** — Novels, but genre-focused (nichijou, isekai, etc) and aimed at young adults; likely contain genre-specific words, but will be easier to read than a typical novel\n- **Visual Novels** — Voice-acted novels supported by (usually static) graphics; must be played on a computer, and often features adult themes; accessible like manga but with a bit wider text range\n\n### On reading genre vs. realist fiction\n\nBefore we get too far along:\n\n- [Genre fiction](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FGenre_fiction) includes things like crime, fantasy, romance, sci-fi, and horror; it is often quite formulaic \u002F straightforward, and as it's intended for mass readership, usually doesn't feature super literary language\n- [Realist fiction](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FLiterary_realism) depicts stories that could actually have happened to people; this nature can make it somewhat unpredictable, as it doesn't have to follow the \"rules\" of a particular genre\n- [Literary fiction](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FLiterary_fiction), or \"pure literature\" as it's called in Japanese, is focused on how a character changes or grows over the course of a story and may have no observable plot; it also tends to feature complex sentences with more difficult vocabulary\n\nAnd we could go further with this! The key point, though, is just that a books isn't a book isn't a book. You should take a bit of time to think about what you want out of something before picking it up to read.\n\nThere's nothing wrong with genre fiction or manga—you just have to be mindful of what sort of input you're getting. The language used in a gritty sci-fi novel about a group of people trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic real world _is_ real Japanese, and it's totally valid to learn from... but as it features characters in high-stress, violent, life-or-death situations, the language being used likely won't be appropriate to transfer directly to the office or classroom.\n\nHaving said that:\n\n> There’s a good reason why slice-of-life or realist fiction is often recommended: these genres deal with ordinary people navigating the sort of situations that ordinary people go through, and that means the structures and vocabulary words you encounter in this genre will be broadly useful for most people.\n\nOtherwise: Keeping your goal and interests in mind will help figure out what’s right for you.\n\n### Keep your story's context in mind!\n\nLastly, you’ll want to consider the context of a work. _Yotsuba&\\!_ is a commonly-recommended manga for beginners, focused on the heartwarming adventures of a five-year-old girl’s daily life with her Dad, neighbors, and friends.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-reading-yotsuba.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1666\" alt=\"A screenshot of LearnNatively's landing page for Yotsuba&\" \u002F>\n\n_\u003CCenteredText>Yotsubato!'s landing page on [LearnNatively](https:\u002F\u002Flearnnatively.com\u002F), a website that organized Japanese media by approximate difficulty. \u003C\u002FCenteredText>_\n\nIt's a classic recommendation of a first piece of \"real\" Japanese media for learners to dip their toes into. LearnNatively's community has graded it for being appropriate for the ~N4 level!\n\n...But Yotsuba (the main character, a young girl) often uses the rougher, very casual language of her Dad and his friends; you’d sound quite strange if you spoke like her in real life\\! _Using_ it aside, if you’re newer to Japanese, the casual speech and non-standard \"child speak\" might be difficult just to make sense of!\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-read-japanese-yotsuba-language.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1442\" alt=\"A screenshot from the manga Yotsuba&!, showing some of the difficult-to-parse language it contains\" \u002F>\n\n_\u003CCenteredText>いてぇー is a very colloquial way of saying 痛い (ouch!)—but if you weren't aware of the Japanese convention to turn ~あい into ~えぇ, it would be very hard to understand!\u003C\u002FCenteredText>_\n\nThat’s not to say there aren’t characters in the book who _do_ speak in a more “normal” way, or that there aren’t plenty of things to learn from _Yotsuba&\\!_—just that it doesn't consist purely of stuff you can copy from the page and paste into real-life scenarios.\n\nBasically:\n\n> When considering any sentence in a book in another language, consider the context not only of the characters, but the genre the book sits in, and the target audience of any given work.\n\n---\n\n## A few strategies to help you get the most out of your reading\n\nNow it’s time to actually read. You’ve got your cup of coffee, nestled yourself into a cozy armchair, and cracked open the front cover, but—oh no\\!—what are all these kanji? The horror! Do you really know any Japanese at all?\n\n_(I think everybody feels like that the first time they try reading something in Japanese.)_\n\n### Getting into a text (AKA first page syndrome)\n\nThe hardest part of reading anything is the opening. Tofugu’s Koichi wrote about this once, calling it [“first page syndrome,”](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.tofugu.com\u002Fjapanese\u002Flanguage-first-page-syndrome\u002F) though the \"this feels impossible\" feeling can last for the first 10%-20% of the book.\n\nThe beginning of a book is so difficult because it’s where:\n\n- You encounter new genre-\u002Ftheme-specific vocabulary\n- You're grappling with a new author’s style\n- You’re learning the flow, format, perspective and other characteristics of a book\n\nWith that in mind, don’t give up\\!\n\nI always try to remind myself that the first pages will be the hardest, and let the book teach me how it needs to be read. Don’t be afraid to take some additional time with the early sentences, even if the book as a whole seems like it should be a good fit for your abilities. Really understanding the opening of a book will help you not only understand the language, but also the plot, characters, and setting going forward.\n\nOnce you get through the opening of a book, and become familiar with its style and language, the rest will become much easier.\n\n#### Try re-reading\\!\n\nOne tip for approaching the beginning is through re-reading the opening section. Take it page by page: Try to read a page, set it aside for a couple of hours, and come back to the same page again.\n\nOften, what I found excruciating the first time would be a breeze on second glance. That first read can act like building a scaffolding, helping you situate different characters, moments, and phrases—even if you felt like you understood nothing.\n\nYou can take this a step further by having your first few Japanese books be Japanese translations of things you’ve already read in English. As you already know what will happen, you can focus entirely on making sense of the language.\n\n#### Sticking with a series for a while\n\nLuckily, once you’re _into_ a work, and are ready to move onto the second or third book in a series, you likely won’t need to repeat this “re-reading” stage.\n\n- You’ll probably have already become familiar with the specific quirks of the author.\n- You'll likely also have learned any new words that are relevant for the genre or medium they’re writing in.\n\nSo if you’ve found something you like that’s part of a series, consider reading the rest next—or, once you’ve found an author you like, explore other things they’ve written\\!\n\n> With immersion learning, quantity is king, so finding a series that fits your Venn Diagram (accessible : interesting) is like hitting the jackpot.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-reading-transition.jpeg\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" alt=\"A screenshot of a guy walking past a bookshelf, just like we're moving onto a discussion about Japanese reading strategies\" \u002F>\n\n### Balancing extensive and intensive reading\n\nJust like all writing is not considered equal, neither is all reading\\!\n\nIn general, we can group reading into two categories: extensive and intensive. Both are useful strategies, but function slightly differently, and accomplish different goals.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>_What is extensive and intensive reading?_\u003C\u002FCenteredText> \u003Cbr>\n> Extensive reading refers to reading at a more surface-level: engaging with media that’s _at or just above_ your level, and trying to learn vocabulary and grammar primarily from context rather than referring to other sources like a dictionary.\n> \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>\n> Intensive reading is the opposite: taking a close look at more complicated work, breaking down each unknown sentence, word, and grammar point through consultation with dictionaries, web sources, teachers, etc., so that you’ll completely understand what’s written.\n\nBoth types of reading are useful, but they serve different purposes:\n\n- **Extensive reading** is about quantity: Your goal is to get through as many pages in a period of time as possible. Here, you become more comfortable with the language—your reading speed will increase, words will begin to feel increasingly concrete, and reading will begin to take increasingly less effort.\n- **Intensive reading** is about quality: Your goal is to capitalize on all of the learning opportunities a text provides. Here, you push the boundaries of your ability—you’ll explore new grammatical structures, work out kinks in your knowledge, and ensure you understand a sentence’s nuance completely\n\nEarly on, pretty much everything will feel like an intensive reading exercise. As your level improves, and you spend more time reading, more things will become things you can read for enjoyment.\n\nBeyond just the difficulty of the work you’re reading, think about your intent with studying. Any good study plan will incorporate both methods, but generally it’s better to focus most of your efforts on extensive reading: remember, quantity is king\\!\n\nAdditionally, the same work can serve as both types of practice, depending on your mood and other factors. If the work is at or just above your level, you can usually move past unfamiliar words and grammar points and try to decipher with context; and if you’re feeling really fired up or seeing a word or grammar structure repeatedly, you can switch modes to intensive and decide to take a deeper dive.\n\nMake sure you’re not focused solely on one or the other\\!\n\n### Practice reading, not translating\n\nThis is a small point, but remember the goal is _reading_, not _translating_. Translating is a wonderful skill, but it’s not an extension of reading—it’s another thing entirely. Strive to understand a sentence _as it is_, not as you’d represent it in your native language.\n\nIt’s great to dive deeper, and check your understanding by consulting a native speaker from time to time, but trying to put sentences into your native language is less fruitful. If you think you’ve got it, trust that you do and move on.\n\n### Ask for help breaking down sentences you don’t understand from teachers, friends, or online communities\n\nWhat if you come across a sentence that simply has you stumped? Or if there’s a character that says something unexpected, or just can’t tell what’s going on? This is a great cue to ask for help.\n\nFinding a native speaker to ask can be invaluable in these situations, whether they’re a teacher, a Japanese friend, or someone else you know.\n\n> Reading is amazing because you can do it alone, but you don’t have to.\n\nBut what if you don’t have someone like this to ask? There are a wealth of communities of other language learners who can help, like those in:\n\n- [The Migaku Discord](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fmigaku-japanese-learning-discord)\n- On [Reddit](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002FLearnJapanese\u002F)\n- On websites like [HiNative](https:\u002F\u002Fhinative.com\u002F) or [LangCorrect](https:\u002F\u002Flangcorrect.com\u002F)\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-reading-guy-reading.jpeg\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1285\" alt=\"A guy reading some potentially Japanese books, just like you're going to be before long\" \u002F>\n\n---\n\n## How sentence mining lets you extract learning opportunities from any book\n\n_‘Gee, this sounds easy and fun\\!’_ you say. _‘Am I really learning anything?’_\n\nYes, you are\\!\n\nBut there’s another method you can use to make sure what you’re learning sticks: sentence mining.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline> _What is sentence mining?_\u003C\u002FCenteredText> \u003Cbr>\n> “Sentence mining” is a method of reviewing vocabulary and grammar you’ve learned in context for long-term acquisition and retention. Let me say that again: sentence mining is a method of _reviewing_ things _you’ve already learned_ (not learning things fresh\\!).\n> \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>\n> This process usually involves copying the sentence a word or grammar structure appears in onto a flashcard, so you can reinforce your understanding later. Modern tools like Migaku make this easier than ever, allowing you to make flashcards with images, audio, pitch accent highlighting, and much more with only a couple of clicks.\n> \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>\n> From there, Migaku makes reviewing easy, showing you exactly the right card at the right time, so you can lock it in your memory and get back to having fun with Japanese.\n\nSentence mining helps reinforce new words and grammar points you’re seeing _in context_, making them much more likely to stick in your memory, ready for you whenever it comes up next. It’s a powerful technique that makes language acquisition easier than ever.\n\nThat said, there’s some key points to keep in mind.\n\nFor one, it’s called sentence mining because you’re looking for _gold_—not every single sentence you come across is worth making a flashcard out of \u002F presents a good opportunity to learn something.\n\nOnly mine a sentence if:\n\n- It contains only one unknown element (word, grammar point, etc)\n- You feel that thing is useful to you, given your current level\n- It’s neither too long nor too short\n- The context of the sentence is helpful—not “this thing here is an oven” but “dinner is baking in the oven”\n\nThese rules are guidelines, not things written in stone. If the work you’re reading has some specific vocabulary or grammar that keeps coming up, you might be better served making a \"sub-optimal\" flashcard rather than reaching for a dictionary every five pages because you keep forgetting that specific word.\n\n> The goal of every flashcard you make or review is the same: to improve your knowledge of words that come up frequently in the content you consume, thus reducing the amount of things you need to look up and ultimately making it easier to immerse in your reading material.\n\n### Review what you’ve studied\n\nHere you are, reading something in Japanese, and finding a bunch of new vocabulary and grammar in the wild; don’t let it go to waste\\! Make sure you review the things you’ve learned, so you can continue to build your vocabulary and grammar, improve your language abilities, and allow you to read even more material.\n\nOne of the best ways to do this is through a Spaced-Repetition Software, or SRS.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-reading-flashcard-plug.jpeg\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1262\" alt=\"A screenshot of Migaku's SRS flashcard interface, plus a card that I sentence mined\" \u002F>\n\nWe have [a blog post that explores SRS in detail](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fspaced-repetition-language-learning), but, generally speaking, an SRS is a system that periodically nudges you to review material you’re studying. You’ll be asked to review information less often as your knowledge of it improves until, eventually, you just know it. Migaku has an excellent option built in, minimizing the time needed for setup so you can maximize the time spent engaging with Japanese.\n\nThis goes hand in hand with sentence mining:\n\n- Find useful or interesting words while reading\n- Make flashcards out of them\n- Review those words periodically\n- Your larger vocabulary makes reading easier\n- Your reading speed increases, ???, profit, and stuff like that\n\nUsing spaced-repetition enhanced flashcards allows you to learn things a lot easier than just studying on your own: they help take the guesswork out of when to review certain materials, and make studying more efficient by minimizing the amount of time you need to spend reviewing. We highly recommend you use one of these systems alongside your practice; that’s why it’s built-in to Migaku\\!\n\n## \u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n## Some bonus tips on how to read in Japanese\n\nFinally, here are a few bonus tips to get the most out of your reading—or just to mix your reading practice up a bit:\n\n### 1. Combine reading and listening\n\nSee if there’s an audiobook version of whatever you’re reading. Combining reading with listening to an audiobook at the same time lets you practice two aspects of Japanese simultaneously. It also helps intuitively teach not just pitch accent and native pronunciation, but the general flow of Japanese sentences.\n\nMigaku actually has the ability to turn any text into an audiobook—just insert text into the Migaku Clipboard, click play, and we'll use high-quality TTS (text-to-speech) software to narrate your book to you.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-tts-narration.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot demonstrating how Migaku can turn any text into an audiobook\" \u002F>\n\n### 2. Read aloud\\!\n\nSimilarly, try to read aloud from time to time. Where should the pauses and stresses in a sentence be? How do the words flow into one another, and what’s the intonation over the course of a sentence? Doing this after listening to an audiobook will help get the voice actor's voice in your head. Even if that’s you don't have an audiobook available, trying on your own can still be great practice.\n\n### 3. Practice predictive reading\n\nAnother strategy you can try is called _predictive reading_. When you finish a chapter, section, or even just a scene, think about what happened, and guess what might happen next. This will encourage you to look at a book overall, improving your reading comprehension, and think about where a plot is going. Then you can see what actually happens—and if you were right\\!\n\n### 4. Imagine a character’s voice\n\nThis one’s a little out there, but once you’re decently into a story, try and think about how a character’s voice is unique. Can you imagine the character in other scenarios? How do they sound in conversation? Are they casual or formal? Do they tend to use any specific words or phrases?\n\nDoing this will help you analyze the speaking styles of not only different characters, but different people in general. Japanese is a language with a lot of different registers, gendered speech, words specific to certain situations, and other complexities, so learning to recognize this in an easier setting like through characters is a good strategy to being able to apply it overall.\n\n### 5. Explain plot points to your friends (in Japanese, of course\\!)\n\nAfter reading something, either discuss or imagine explaining the plot to your friends. Similar to predictive reading, this can help improve your reading comprehension, and having to summarize something in Japanese can teach you different ways of conveying the same thing; a super important skill.\n\n_(We mentioned it earlier, but [LangCorrect](https:\u002F\u002Flangcorrect.com\u002F) is an awesome free service where you can write short posts in Japanese and get feedback from native speakers.)_\n\n---\n\n## Just one last question: What's your first book in Japanese going to be?\n\nYou’ve done it, you’ve read a book—or are going to—and learned a ton of new vocabulary and grammar along the way. Congratulations\\! This is a huge step for any Japanese learner, and should serve as a bedrock of your study routine for years to come.\n\nWhat’s next?\n\n- Make sure you’ve added the vocabulary and grammar from sentences you’ve mined into an SRS, and keep up with your reviews.\n- Look for something new to read, either from the same series or author—or start the process again, and find something new that suits your Japanese ability and is in line with your interests.\n\nReading is a lifelong pursuit, just like learning Japanese; but it will be there every step of the way. You can read books wherever you are, at any age, whether anybody is there or not.\n\nPlus, there are no ads.\n\nAnyway, if you take away one thing from this article, remember:\n\n> If you consume Japanese media you enjoy, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will improve. Period.\n\nHappy reading\\!\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Try Migaku for free\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n",{"title":32097,"description":32975},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-reading-overview","g4Xbvdhk-C-uaIsaU23q2NQ8iWqdLdcDaa3dxSIrTYE","May 27, 2025",{"id":32991,"title":32992,"body":32993,"description":33696,"extension":717,"meta":33697,"navigation":730,"path":33707,"rawbody":33708,"seo":33709,"stem":33710,"__hash__":33711,"timestampUnix":33698,"slug":33699,"h1":33700,"image":33701,"tags":33706,"_dir":736,"timestamp":33712},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-sasuga.md","さすが (sasuga) | The Japanese Word for Compliments, Expectations, and Contradictions",{"type":8,"value":32994,"toc":33679},[32995,32998,33004,33006,33008,33012,33020,33025,33028,33039,33044,33047,33051,33059,33069,33073,33076,33089,33096,33099,33112,33116,33119,33122,33130,33133,33168,33170,33174,33177,33187,33193,33203,33207,33213,33216,33221,33224,33264,33267,33271,33274,33309,33313,33316,33319,33324,33327,33332,33338,33343,33346,33349,33406,33410,33413,33418,33421,33456,33460,33463,33487,33491,33502,33505,33510,33513,33537,33540,33543,33546,33570,33573,33577,33580,33586,33595,33601,33607,33610,33616,33622,33625,33629,33632,33635,33641,33643,33645,33649,33655,33658,33664,33667,33669],[11,32996,32997],{},"Ever wonder how to compliment your boss or coworkers in Japanese without sounding like a creep? Or maybe you want to just express your lack of surprise at a particular moment. Perhaps you wish to simply state that something went exactly as you thought it would. All of these feelings can be easily expressed with a single expression in Japanese: さすが.",[11,32999,33000,33001,33003],{},"You'll learn many such useful words on your journey to ",[15,33002,18],{"href":17},", so without further adieu, let's get down and dirty with this one:",[39,33005],{},[42,33007],{},[45,33009,33011],{"id":33010},"what-does-さすが-sasuga-mean","What does さすが (sasuga) mean?",[11,33013,33014,33015,33019],{},"Occasionally written in kanji as 流石, if you look up さすが on ",[15,33016,11836],{"href":33017,"rel":33018},"https:\u002F\u002Fjisho.org\u002Fsearch\u002Fsasuga",[971],", you'll see a very concise and tidy definition:",[320,33021,33022],{},[11,33023,33024],{},"As one would expect",[11,33026,33027],{},"And, in a very general sense, this is correct: when you use さすが, you are indicating that you had a pre-conceived expectation, and those expectations were somehow met or contradicted. We admit that this is a somewhat wishy-washy definition: There isn't really a reliable way to translate it into English. The word is very nuanced.",[11,33029,33030,33031,33038],{},"Case in point, if you look it up in ",[15,33032,28924,33035,33037],{"href":33033,"rel":33034},"https:\u002F\u002Fdictionary.goo.ne.jp\u002Fword\u002F%E6%B5%81%E7%9F%B3\u002F",[971],[26,33036,3918],{}," dictionary",", you'll see a much lengthier definition:",[50,33040],{"src":33041,"width":33042,"height":661,"alt":33043},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese-sasuga-meaning.jpeg",1432,"A screenshot of the definition of sasuga according to a Japanese dictionary, which is much longer",[11,33045,33046],{},"So, today, we're going to walk through several examples of how you'll see さすが used in Japanese sentences:",[45,33048,33050],{"id":33049},"using-さすが-as-a-compliment","Using さすが as a compliment",[11,33052,33053,33054,33058],{},"As per ",[15,33055,33057],{"href":33033,"rel":33056},[971],"Goo's dictionary",", the first and most common usage of さすが is as a compliment:",[320,33060,33061],{},[11,33062,33063,33064,506,33066],{},"評判や期待のとおりの事実を確認し、改めて感心するさま。なるほど、たいしたもの。",[292,33065],{},[26,33067,33068],{},"Feeling impressed once again with something or someone upon confirming that it lives up to its reputation or meets expectations.",[847,33070,33072],{"id":33071},"さすが-for-when-the-situation-speaks-for-itself","さすが, for when the situation speaks for itself",[11,33074,33075],{},"This phrase can be just blurted out if you see something impressive done in front of you by a friend or colleague. Pretend your friend Kazu just landed a backflip off a wall onto the ground right in front of you on his first attempt. You wish to compliment his obvious abilities so you could just shout:",[304,33077,33078],{},[307,33079,33080,33081,506,33084,506,33086],{},"さすが！ ",[103,33082],{"src":33083,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすが.mp3",[292,33085],{},[26,33087,33088],{},"'Atta boy!",[11,33090,33091,33092,33095],{},"Using さすが implies some sort of reputation––there is an expectation that the person in question can or ",[26,33093,33094],{},"should"," be able to perform the action in question. You knew Kazu could perform backflips and the fact that he landed a dangerous one warranted some sort of praise. Just note that, when used in this way, it can seem a little kiss-up-y. Close friends may not use it so much with each other in such a positive way since the intent is to genuinely lift someone up or make them feel good about their accomplishment. It is commonly heard, however, towards bosses, senpai, co-workers, or towards little children.",[11,33097,33098],{},"It can also be used with だ／です, in which case the meaning is similar.",[304,33100,33101],{},[307,33102,33103,33104,506,33107,506,33109],{},"よく出来ました。さすがです！ ",[103,33105],{"src":33106,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-よく出来ました。さすがです！.mp3",[292,33108],{},[26,33110,33111],{},"You did well. As expected (of you)!",[847,33113,33115],{"id":33114},"さすがはx-だ-to-compliment-a-specific-person-or-thing","さすが（は）X だ, to compliment a specific person or thing",[11,33117,33118],{},"さすが can also be used in a more sentence-like construction rather than as a stand-alone exclamation. The nuance is the same as the previous usage: complimenting someone or something when they do something that meets everyone's expectation or when they live up to their reputation.",[11,33120,33121],{},"The difference is that, this time, you explicitly state the thing or person being complimented.",[304,33123,33124],{},[307,33125,33126,33127],{},"さすがは X だ。",[103,33128],{"src":33129,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすがはなになにだ.mp3",[11,33131,33132],{},"Note that the ending word (です／だ／nothing) will depend on the formality of the situation. Also, X in the above model must be a noun––the thing being complimented. And finally, the は after さすが can be (and often is) omitted.",[304,33134,33135,33146,33157],{},[307,33136,33137,33138,506,33141,33143],{},"さすが大谷だ！",[103,33139],{"src":33140,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすが大谷だ！.mp3",[292,33142],{},[26,33144,33145],{},"That's our Otani!",[307,33147,33148,33149,506,33152,33154],{},"さすがはドイツの車です。",[103,33150],{"src":33151,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすがはドイツの車です。.mp3",[292,33153],{},[26,33155,33156],{},"As expected of German cars.",[307,33158,33159,33160,506,33163,33165],{},"さすがリサちゃん！ ",[103,33161],{"src":33162,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすがリサちゃん！.mp3",[292,33164],{},[26,33166,33167],{},"That's my Lisa-chan!",[42,33169],{},[45,33171,33173],{"id":33172},"using-さすが-to-indicate-expectations-and-contradictions-of-expectations","Using さすが to indicate expectations and contradictions of expectations",[11,33175,33176],{},"さすが is also commonly used to state that things have gone exactly as expected or predicted. In this case, you'll see it translated as something like \"naturally\" or \"of course\".",[320,33178,33179],{},[11,33180,33181,33182,506,33184],{},"予想・期待したことを、事実として納得するさま。",[292,33183],{},[26,33185,33186],{},"Accepting a prediction or expectation as reality.",[11,33188,33189,33190,33192],{},"In some cases, however, it can be used ironically to emphasize that something has ",[26,33191,10642],{}," met expectations. Goo 辞書 defines this meaning of さすが as follows:",[320,33194,33195],{},[11,33196,33197,33198,33200],{},"あることを一応は認めながら、一方でそれと相反する感情を抱くさま。あることをそのままは容認できないさま。",[292,33199],{},[26,33201,33202],{},"The state of reluctantly accepting something while also harboring conflicting feelings about it. The state of being unable to fully accept something as it is.",[847,33204,33206],{"id":33205},"さすがに-when-expectations-are-confirmed","さすがに, when expectations are confirmed",[11,33208,33209,33210,415],{},"The most common usage of さすがに is to emphasize the fact that something went as expected or that something naturally should occur\u002Fexist in a certain way. Structure-wise, you can include it almost anywhere in a statement (so long as it's before the final verb) because it functions as an adverb ",[26,33211,33212],{},"(tacking に onto the phrase makes it function as an adverb)",[11,33214,33215],{},"In the most basic sense, you'll use it like this:",[320,33217,33218],{},[11,33219,33220],{},"さすがに statement 。",[11,33222,33223],{},"Here are a few examples that highlight this affirmative aspect of さすがに:",[304,33225,33226,33237,33248],{},[307,33227,33228,33229,506,33232,33234],{},"田中さんはアメリカに 10 年住んでいたので、さすがに英語が上手です。",[103,33230],{"src":33231,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-田中さんはアメリカに10年住んでいたので、さすがに英語が上手です。.mp3",[292,33233],{},[26,33235,33236],{},"Because Mr. Tanaka has lived in the United States for 10 years, naturally he is good at English.",[307,33238,33239,33240,506,33243,33245],{},"3 時間ずっと座りっぱなしだから、さすがにお尻が痛くなってきました。",[103,33241],{"src":33242,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-3時間ずっと座りっぱなしだから、さすがにお尻が痛くなってきました。.mp3",[292,33244],{},[26,33246,33247],{},"Because I was sitting the whole time, naturally my butt hurts.",[307,33249,33250,33251,33254,33256,506,33259,506,33261],{},"浮気が判明したとき、さすがに何も言えなかった。",[103,33252],{"src":33253,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-浮気が判明したとき、さすがに何も言えなかった。.mp3",[292,33255],{},[26,33257,33258],{},"When his cheating came to light, I was left speechless.",[292,33260],{},[26,33262,33263],{},"(So, the idea here is that you were aware of someone's flirtatious tendencies, but you didn't think they'd go further than that. Then they did. Now, you're standing here speechless, in a \"should have known better\" way.)",[11,33265,33266],{},"Note that context has been provided to show why the speaker thinks the outcome is \"naturally\" the case.",[847,33268,33270],{"id":33269},"さすがに-when-expectations-are-contradicted","さすがに, when expectations are contradicted",[11,33272,33273],{},"Although not as common as the affirmative usage of さすがに, it can also be used to emphasize a contradiction to one's expectations or prediction. In English, the word \"even\" is often used to communicate this nuance. Used in the same way as its affirmative case, here are some examples of さすが used to show contradiction:",[304,33275,33276,33287,33298],{},[307,33277,33278,33279,506,33282,33284],{},"プロの彼でも、さすがにあの状況では対応できなかった。",[103,33280],{"src":33281,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-プロの彼でも、さすがにあの状況では対応できなかった。.mp3",[292,33283],{},[26,33285,33286],{},"Sure, he's a pro, but even he couldn't handle that situation.",[307,33288,33289,33290,506,33293,33295],{},"いつもは冷静なスミスさんですが、さすがにあのときは怒っていました。",[103,33291],{"src":33292,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-いつもは冷静なスミスさんですが、さすがにあのときは怒っていました。.mp3",[292,33294],{},[26,33296,33297],{},"Even Mr. Smith, who's always calm, got angry that time.",[307,33299,33300,33301,506,33304,33306],{},"あの映画、評判は悪かったけど、さすがにここまでひどいとは思わなかった。",[103,33302],{"src":33303,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-あの映画、評判は悪かったけど、さすがにここまでひどいとは思わなかった。.mp3",[292,33305],{},[26,33307,33308],{},"That movie had a bad reputation, but I didn't think it'd be this bad.",[847,33310,33312],{"id":33311},"さすが-x-だけあってに-a-more-advanced-way-to-communicate-that-something-is-as-expected","さすが X だけあって／に, a more advanced way to communicate that something is as expected",[11,33314,33315],{},"There are some advanced usages of さすが that utilize either the だけある or だけに markers.",[11,33317,33318],{},"だけある can be used by itself to create a simple statement:",[304,33320,33321],{},[307,33322,33323],{},"さすが（は）X だけある。",[11,33325,33326],{},"But だけに is only used when joining two clauses together:",[304,33328,33329],{},[307,33330,33331],{},"さすが（は）X だけに、statement 。",[11,33333,33334,33335,33337],{},"Lastly, だけある can ",[26,33336,24362],{}," join two clauses together, but must first put into the て-form (だけあって):",[304,33339,33340],{},[307,33341,33342],{},"さすが（は）X だけあって、statement 。",[11,33344,33345],{},"In these constructions, は can be (and often is) omitted. Also, X can be any of the following:  noun, noun + だった,  i-adjective, i-adjective (past-tense), na-adjective + な, na-adjective + だった, verb (plain non-past tense), verb (plain-past tense), or subordinate clause. These constructions typically become something like, \"As expected of X, …\"",[11,33347,33348],{},"Here are a few examples:",[304,33350,33351,33362,33373,33384,33395],{},[307,33352,33353,33354,506,33357,33359],{},"さすがプロの選手だけある！",[103,33355],{"src":33356,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすがプロの選手だけある！.mp3",[292,33358],{},[26,33360,33361],{},"As expected of a pro athlete!",[307,33363,33364,33365,506,33368,33370],{},"さすがはアップルだけあって、新しいスマホはとても丈夫だそうです。",[103,33366],{"src":33367,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすがはアップルだけあって、新しいスマホはとても丈夫だそうです。.mp3",[292,33369],{},[26,33371,33372],{},"As expected of Apple, the new smartphone is apparently very durable.",[307,33374,33375,33376,506,33379,33381],{},"さすが忙しいだけに、彼のスケジュールはびっしり詰まっている。",[103,33377],{"src":33378,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすが忙しいだけに、彼のスケジュールはびっしり詰まっている。.mp3",[292,33380],{},[26,33382,33383],{},"As expected from his busyness, his schedule is completely packed.",[307,33385,33386,33387,33390,33392],{},"さすが何回もやっただけあって、もう一回やるのは朝飯前だ！ ",[103,33388],{"src":33389,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすが何回もやっただけあって、もう一回やるのは朝飯前だ！.mp3",[292,33391],{},[26,33393,33394],{},"As expected from having done it so many times, doing it one more time is as easy as pie!",[307,33396,33397,33398,506,33401,33403],{},"さすが有名なだけに、彼の発言はすぐニュースになった。",[103,33399],{"src":33400,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすが有名なだけに、彼の発言はすぐニュースになった。.mp3",[292,33402],{},[26,33404,33405],{},"As expected of such fame, his comments quickly made the news.",[847,33407,33409],{"id":33408},"さすがの-x-も-a-weirder-one-that-praises-people-by-putting-them-down-kind-of","さすがの X も, a weirder one that praises people by putting them down... kind of",[11,33411,33412],{},"There is a special construction involving さすが that takes on an \"even this person\" meaning. Normally used with exceptional people, the overall feeling is kinda negative and usually used to indicate a contradiction to everyone's expectations of the person in question (all the while still lifting them up). The basic form is as follows:",[304,33414,33415],{},[307,33416,33417],{},"さすがの person も statement 。",[11,33419,33420],{},"And here are a few examples to drive the point home:",[304,33422,33423,33434,33445],{},[307,33424,33425,33426,506,33429,33431],{},"さすがのハリー・フーディーニもあの刑務所からは逃げられません。",[103,33427],{"src":33428,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすがのハリー・フーディーニもあの刑務所からは逃げられません。.mp3",[292,33430],{},[26,33432,33433],{},"Even the great Harry Houdini cannot escape from that prison.",[307,33435,33436,33437,506,33440,33442],{},"さすがの父も年齢には勝てません。",[103,33438],{"src":33439,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすがのエリザベス女王もトイレを使う時があったよ。.mp3",[292,33441],{},[26,33443,33444],{},"Even my father, as remarkable as he is, cannot win against age.",[307,33446,33447,33448,506,33451,33453],{},"さすがのエリザベス女王もトイレを使う時があったよ。",[103,33449],{"src":33450,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすがの父も年齢には勝てません。.mp3",[292,33452],{},[26,33454,33455],{},"Even the esteemed Queen Elizabeth had times when she had to use the bathroom ya know.",[847,33457,33459],{"id":33458},"さすが-in-sarcastic-expressions","さすが in sarcastic expressions",[11,33461,33462],{},"さすが can be used sarcastically to emphasize some aspect of the thing being commented on. This is usually said to oneself or towards one's close friends but it can be seen as crude and distasteful. As a result, this sarcastic usage of さすが is not commonly heard.",[304,33464,33465,33476],{},[307,33466,33467,33468,506,33471,33473],{},"さすが日本の役所。手続きが面倒くさい。",[103,33469],{"src":33470,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすが日本の役所。手続きが面倒くさい。.mp3",[292,33472],{},[26,33474,33475],{},"That's the Japanese city hall for ya. The paperwork is so annoying.",[307,33477,33478,33479,506,33482,33484],{},"さすが政治家だ。役立たず。",[103,33480],{"src":33481,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすが政治家だ。役立たず。.mp3",[292,33483],{},[26,33485,33486],{},"Classic politician. He can't do anything.",[45,33488,33490],{"id":33489},"やはり-yahari-a-japanese-word-some-learners-confuse-with-さすが","やはり (yahari), a Japanese word some learners confuse with さすが",[11,33492,33493,33494,33497,33498,33501],{},"さすが has some overlap in meaning and usage with the phrase やはり ",[103,33495],{"src":33496,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-やっぱり.mp3"," (or やっぱり ",[103,33499],{"src":33500,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-やはり.mp3"," in casual speech).",[11,33503,33504],{},"やはり normally translates to \"as I thought,\" \"as expected,\" or \"in the end\" in English... similar to さすが. Indeed, when it means \"as I thought\" or \"as expected,\" it overlaps with さすが and the two can be interchanged, although the nuance is different.",[320,33506,33507],{},[11,33508,33509],{},"When さすが is used, there is an uplifting feel to the sentence—as discussed, it usually introduces a compliment. But with やはり, that positive feeling does not exist: you're just plainly stating that your expectations were met.",[11,33511,33512],{},"In fact, やはり can have a sort of negative, almost disappointed feeling to it, depending on the context. In the sentences below, the meaning is essentially the same, but there is a slight difference in nuance.",[304,33514,33515,33526],{},[307,33516,33517,33518,506,33521,33523],{},"さすが日本製品だ。",[103,33519],{"src":33520,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすが日本製品だ。.mp3",[292,33522],{},[26,33524,33525],{},"That's Japanese-made products for ya!",[307,33527,33528,33529,506,33532,33534],{},"やはり日本製品だ。",[103,33530],{"src":33531,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-やはり日本製品だ。.mp3",[292,33533],{},[26,33535,33536],{},"As I thought: Japanese-made products.",[11,33538,33539],{},"Note the positive tone of the sentence that uses さすが. It's almost like one person said \"wow, this is good!\" and the other person says \"Yep! It's Japanese, after all!\" Conversely, in the sentence with やはり, the speaker is simply confirming that their prediction of the product's origin was correct—Japanese, for better or worse.",[11,33541,33542],{},"Moving on.",[11,33544,33545],{},"The other use of やはり is to communicate something like \"in the end.\" In this case, さすが can be used, too, but the nuance is quite different:",[304,33547,33548,33559],{},[307,33549,33550,33551,506,33554,33556],{},"リバイはやはり辞めました。",[103,33552],{"src":33553,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-リバイはやはり辞めました。.mp3",[292,33555],{},[26,33557,33558],{},"Levi quit in the end.",[307,33560,33561,33562,506,33565,33567],{},"リバイはさすがに辞めました。",[103,33563],{"src":33564,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-リバイはさすがに辞めました。.mp3",[292,33566],{},[26,33568,33569],{},"Levi, as expected, quit.",[11,33571,33572],{},"The first sentence merely states that someone named Levi quit while the second sentence implies that others anticipated his quitting beforehand––that it was something inevitable.",[45,33574,33576],{"id":33575},"how-to-disambiguate-the-various-meanings-of-さすが","How to disambiguate the various meanings of さすが",[11,33578,33579],{},"We're not going to lie: さすが is hard to get right. Its breadth of nuances include some things that seem pretty contradictory.",[11,33581,33582,33583,33585],{},"The thing is, this isn't necessarily something you need to work out logically ",[26,33584,4563],{},". As you spend more time interacting with Japanese, you'll see さすが used in context, and that context will enable you to gradually work out what's going on.",[11,33587,33588,33589,33594],{},"For example, say you're watching ",[15,33590,33593],{"href":33591,"rel":33592},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=O7WRSynTnDE&t=160s",[971],"this video about a girl who drove 800 kilometers (~497 miles) to eat tuna"," for... reasons.",[50,33596],{"src":33597,"width":33598,"height":33599,"alt":33600},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-sasuga-meaning-plug1.jpeg",1742,1246,"A screenshot of a YouTube video enhanced by Migaku, enabling you to click on subtitles to see what they mean",[11,33602,33603,33604],{},"Well, at about 2:45, you're going to hear her say something: ",[26,33605,33606],{},"It's OK. I can go (continue on\u002Fmake it).",[11,33608,33609],{},"Now, she's obviously an adult and has a license, so why would she feel the need to go out of her way to confirm that she's good to keep on driving?",[11,33611,33612,33613],{},"Bam! There's さすが. ",[26,33614,33615],{},"It's tough without sleep—dangerous, even.",[11,33617,33618,33619],{},"She's acknowledging the fact that it's dangerous to drive without having enough sleep, but at the same time as she accepts that fact, she's saying ",[26,33620,33621],{},"but I'm going to keep on driving, anyway.",[11,33623,33624],{},"This happens to be a beautiful example sentence, so you can just whack that orange button in the top-right corner to make a flashcard which includes a screenshot and audio from the show:",[50,33626],{"src":33627,"width":24535,"height":31331,"alt":33628},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-sasuga-meaning-plug2.jpeg","A screenshot of Japanese flashcards that Migaku automatically made from a YouTube video",[11,33630,33631],{},"And, just like that, you're a step closer to making sense of さすが.",[11,33633,33634],{},"As you continue to explore your interests, you'll stumble into more situations where さすが is used, and, with time, you'll gradually pick up on the things that these scenes have in common, what kind of sentences that さすが gets inserted into, and what sort of statements follow or precede it.",[11,33636,33637,33638,33640],{},"Eventually, you'll ",[26,33639,24506],{}," what it means, even if you can't quite put it into words.",[674,33642],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,33644],{},[45,33646,33648],{"id":33647},"migakus-writers-are-pros-but-さすが-even-they-dont-know-how-to-end-this-article","Migaku's writers are pros, but さすが even they don't know how to end this article",[11,33650,33651,33652],{},"And there you go: one well-written article about Japanese's best compliment! (さすが Migaku writers!) But seriously, hopefully you've learned about the powerful nuances built into this widely-used phrase. Use it wisely to compliment your colleagues, bosses, and ",[26,33653,33654],{},"senpai!",[11,33656,33657],{},"And always remember:",[320,33659,33660],{},[11,33661,5934,33662,415],{},[26,33663,994],{},[11,33665,33666],{},"Great job reading this far! (さすが you!)",[674,33668],{"href":17,"text":3633},[11,33670,33671],{},[26,33672,33673,33674],{},"P.S. — remember how we said that さすが is sometimes written out as 流石? The kanji literally mean \"a current\u002Fflowing\" and \"stone\", which is completely out of left field, right? ",[15,33675,33678],{"href":33676,"rel":33677},"https:\u002F\u002Fskdesu.com\u002Fen\u002Fwhat-really-means-asuga\u002F",[971],"It's a whole story.",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":33680},[33681,33682,33686,33693,33694,33695],{"id":33010,"depth":707,"text":33011},{"id":33049,"depth":707,"text":33050,"children":33683},[33684,33685],{"id":33071,"depth":1016,"text":33072},{"id":33114,"depth":1016,"text":33115},{"id":33172,"depth":707,"text":33173,"children":33687},[33688,33689,33690,33691,33692],{"id":33205,"depth":1016,"text":33206},{"id":33269,"depth":1016,"text":33270},{"id":33311,"depth":1016,"text":33312},{"id":33408,"depth":1016,"text":33409},{"id":33458,"depth":1016,"text":33459},{"id":33489,"depth":707,"text":33490},{"id":33575,"depth":707,"text":33576},{"id":33647,"depth":707,"text":33648},"さすが (sasuga) is a handy Japanese word that can be used for both compliments and contradictions. Learn about its meaning, usages, and nuances in this article.",{"timestampUnix":33698,"slug":33699,"h1":33700,"image":33701,"tags":33706},1750396253119,"sasuga-meaning","さすが (Sasuga) Senpai! Making Compliments in Japanese",{"src":33702,"width":33703,"height":33704,"alt":33705},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-sasuga-thumbnail.jpeg",2360,1586,"A photo of the Anki icon and the flag of Spain, as this is a blog post about Spanish Anki decks!",[8649,3670],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-sasuga","---\ntitle: 'さすが (sasuga) | The Japanese Word for Compliments, Expectations, and Contradictions'\ndescription: 'さすが (sasuga) is a handy Japanese word that can be used for both compliments and contradictions. Learn about its meaning, usages, and nuances in this article.'\ntimestampUnix: 1750396253119\nslug: 'sasuga-meaning'\nh1: 'さすが (Sasuga) Senpai! Making Compliments in Japanese'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-sasuga-thumbnail.jpeg'\n width: 2360\n height: 1586\n alt: 'A photo of the Anki icon and the flag of Spain, as this is a blog post about Spanish Anki decks!'\ntags:\n - discussion\n - grammar\n---\n\nEver wonder how to compliment your boss or coworkers in Japanese without sounding like a creep? Or maybe you want to just express your lack of surprise at a particular moment. Perhaps you wish to simply state that something went exactly as you thought it would. All of these feelings can be easily expressed with a single expression in Japanese: さすが.\n\nYou'll learn many such useful words on your journey to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), so without further adieu, let's get down and dirty with this one:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## What does さすが (sasuga) mean?\n\nOccasionally written in kanji as 流石, if you look up さすが on [Jisho](https:\u002F\u002Fjisho.org\u002Fsearch\u002Fsasuga), you'll see a very concise and tidy definition:\n\n> As one would expect\n\nAnd, in a very general sense, this is correct: when you use さすが, you are indicating that you had a pre-conceived expectation, and those expectations were somehow met or contradicted. We admit that this is a somewhat wishy-washy definition: There isn't really a reliable way to translate it into English. The word is very nuanced.\n\nCase in point, if you look it up in [a _Japanese_ dictionary](https:\u002F\u002Fdictionary.goo.ne.jp\u002Fword\u002F%E6%B5%81%E7%9F%B3\u002F), you'll see a much lengthier definition:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese-sasuga-meaning.jpeg\" width=\"1432\" height=\"1158\" alt=\"A screenshot of the definition of sasuga according to a Japanese dictionary, which is much longer\" \u002F>\n\nSo, today, we're going to walk through several examples of how you'll see さすが used in Japanese sentences:\n\n## Using さすが as a compliment\n\nAs per [Goo's dictionary](https:\u002F\u002Fdictionary.goo.ne.jp\u002Fword\u002F%E6%B5%81%E7%9F%B3\u002F), the first and most common usage of さすが is as a compliment:\n\n> 評判や期待のとおりの事実を確認し、改めて感心するさま。なるほど、たいしたもの。\u003Cbr> _Feeling impressed once again with something or someone upon confirming that it lives up to its reputation or meets expectations._\n\n### さすが, for when the situation speaks for itself\n\nThis phrase can be just blurted out if you see something impressive done in front of you by a friend or colleague. Pretend your friend Kazu just landed a backflip off a wall onto the ground right in front of you on his first attempt. You wish to compliment his obvious abilities so you could just shout:\n\n- さすが！ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすが.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _'Atta boy!_\n\nUsing さすが implies some sort of reputation––there is an expectation that the person in question can or _should_ be able to perform the action in question. You knew Kazu could perform backflips and the fact that he landed a dangerous one warranted some sort of praise. Just note that, when used in this way, it can seem a little kiss-up-y. Close friends may not use it so much with each other in such a positive way since the intent is to genuinely lift someone up or make them feel good about their accomplishment. It is commonly heard, however, towards bosses, senpai, co-workers, or towards little children.\n\nIt can also be used with だ／です, in which case the meaning is similar.\n\n- よく出来ました。さすがです！ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-よく出来ました。さすがです！.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> _You did well. As expected (of you)!_\n\n### さすが（は）X だ, to compliment a specific person or thing\n\nさすが can also be used in a more sentence-like construction rather than as a stand-alone exclamation. The nuance is the same as the previous usage: complimenting someone or something when they do something that meets everyone's expectation or when they live up to their reputation.\n\nThe difference is that, this time, you explicitly state the thing or person being complimented.\n\n- さすがは X だ。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすがはなになにだ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n\nNote that the ending word (です／だ／nothing) will depend on the formality of the situation. Also, X in the above model must be a noun––the thing being complimented. And finally, the は after さすが can be (and often is) omitted.\n\n- さすが大谷だ！\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすが大谷だ！.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_That's our Otani!_\n\n- さすがはドイツの車です。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすがはドイツの車です。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_As expected of German cars._\n\n- さすがリサちゃん！ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすがリサちゃん！.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_That's my Lisa-chan!_\n\n---\n\n## Using さすが to indicate expectations and contradictions of expectations\n\nさすが is also commonly used to state that things have gone exactly as expected or predicted. In this case, you'll see it translated as something like \"naturally\" or \"of course\".\n\n> 予想・期待したことを、事実として納得するさま。\u003Cbr> _Accepting a prediction or expectation as reality._\n\nIn some cases, however, it can be used ironically to emphasize that something has _not_ met expectations. Goo 辞書 defines this meaning of さすが as follows:\n\n> あることを一応は認めながら、一方でそれと相反する感情を抱くさま。あることをそのままは容認できないさま。\u003Cbr>_The state of reluctantly accepting something while also harboring conflicting feelings about it. The state of being unable to fully accept something as it is._\n\n### さすがに, when expectations are confirmed\n\nThe most common usage of さすがに is to emphasize the fact that something went as expected or that something naturally should occur\u002Fexist in a certain way. Structure-wise, you can include it almost anywhere in a statement (so long as it's before the final verb) because it functions as an adverb _(tacking に onto the phrase makes it function as an adverb)_.\n\nIn the most basic sense, you'll use it like this:\n\n> さすがに statement 。\n\nHere are a few examples that highlight this affirmative aspect of さすがに:\n\n- 田中さんはアメリカに 10 年住んでいたので、さすがに英語が上手です。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-田中さんはアメリカに10年住んでいたので、さすがに英語が上手です。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_Because Mr. Tanaka has lived in the United States for 10 years, naturally he is good at English._\n\n- 3 時間ずっと座りっぱなしだから、さすがにお尻が痛くなってきました。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-3時間ずっと座りっぱなしだから、さすがにお尻が痛くなってきました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_Because I was sitting the whole time, naturally my butt hurts._\n\n- 浮気が判明したとき、さすがに何も言えなかった。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-浮気が判明したとき、さすがに何も言えなかった。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\u003Cbr>_When his cheating came to light, I was left speechless._ \u003Cbr> _(So, the idea here is that you were aware of someone's flirtatious tendencies, but you didn't think they'd go further than that. Then they did. Now, you're standing here speechless, in a \"should have known better\" way.)_\n\nNote that context has been provided to show why the speaker thinks the outcome is \"naturally\" the case.\n\n### さすがに, when expectations are contradicted\n\nAlthough not as common as the affirmative usage of さすがに, it can also be used to emphasize a contradiction to one's expectations or prediction. In English, the word \"even\" is often used to communicate this nuance. Used in the same way as its affirmative case, here are some examples of さすが used to show contradiction:\n\n- プロの彼でも、さすがにあの状況では対応できなかった。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-プロの彼でも、さすがにあの状況では対応できなかった。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_Sure, he's a pro, but even he couldn't handle that situation._\n\n- いつもは冷静なスミスさんですが、さすがにあのときは怒っていました。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-いつもは冷静なスミスさんですが、さすがにあのときは怒っていました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_Even Mr. Smith, who's always calm, got angry that time._\n\n- あの映画、評判は悪かったけど、さすがにここまでひどいとは思わなかった。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-あの映画、評判は悪かったけど、さすがにここまでひどいとは思わなかった。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_That movie had a bad reputation, but I didn't think it'd be this bad._\n\n### さすが X だけあって／に, a more advanced way to communicate that something is as expected\n\nThere are some advanced usages of さすが that utilize either the だけある or だけに markers.\n\nだけある can be used by itself to create a simple statement:\n\n- さすが（は）X だけある。\n\nBut だけに is only used when joining two clauses together:\n\n- さすが（は）X だけに、statement 。\n\nLastly, だけある can _also_ join two clauses together, but must first put into the て-form (だけあって):\n\n- さすが（は）X だけあって、statement 。\n\nIn these constructions, は can be (and often is) omitted. Also, X can be any of the following:  noun, noun + だった,  i-adjective, i-adjective (past-tense), na-adjective + な, na-adjective + だった, verb (plain non-past tense), verb (plain-past tense), or subordinate clause. These constructions typically become something like, \"As expected of X, …\"\n\nHere are a few examples:\n\n- さすがプロの選手だけある！\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすがプロの選手だけある！.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_As expected of a pro athlete!_\n\n- さすがはアップルだけあって、新しいスマホはとても丈夫だそうです。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすがはアップルだけあって、新しいスマホはとても丈夫だそうです。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_As expected of Apple, the new smartphone is apparently very durable._\n\n- さすが忙しいだけに、彼のスケジュールはびっしり詰まっている。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすが忙しいだけに、彼のスケジュールはびっしり詰まっている。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_As expected from his busyness, his schedule is completely packed._\n\n- さすが何回もやっただけあって、もう一回やるのは朝飯前だ！ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすが何回もやっただけあって、もう一回やるのは朝飯前だ！.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\u003Cbr>_As expected from having done it so many times, doing it one more time is as easy as pie!_\n\n- さすが有名なだけに、彼の発言はすぐニュースになった。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすが有名なだけに、彼の発言はすぐニュースになった。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_As expected of such fame, his comments quickly made the news._\n\n### さすがの X も, a weirder one that praises people by putting them down... kind of\n\nThere is a special construction involving さすが that takes on an \"even this person\" meaning. Normally used with exceptional people, the overall feeling is kinda negative and usually used to indicate a contradiction to everyone's expectations of the person in question (all the while still lifting them up). The basic form is as follows:\n\n- さすがの person も statement 。\n\nAnd here are a few examples to drive the point home:\n\n- さすがのハリー・フーディーニもあの刑務所からは逃げられません。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすがのハリー・フーディーニもあの刑務所からは逃げられません。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_Even the great Harry Houdini cannot escape from that prison._\n\n- さすがの父も年齢には勝てません。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすがのエリザベス女王もトイレを使う時があったよ。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_Even my father, as remarkable as he is, cannot win against age._\n\n- さすがのエリザベス女王もトイレを使う時があったよ。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすがの父も年齢には勝てません。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_Even the esteemed Queen Elizabeth had times when she had to use the bathroom ya know._\n\n### さすが in sarcastic expressions\n\nさすが can be used sarcastically to emphasize some aspect of the thing being commented on. This is usually said to oneself or towards one's close friends but it can be seen as crude and distasteful. As a result, this sarcastic usage of さすが is not commonly heard.\n\n- さすが日本の役所。手続きが面倒くさい。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすが日本の役所。手続きが面倒くさい。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_That's the Japanese city hall for ya. The paperwork is so annoying._\n\n- さすが政治家だ。役立たず。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすが政治家だ。役立たず。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_Classic politician. He can't do anything._\n\n## やはり (yahari), a Japanese word some learners confuse with さすが\n\nさすが has some overlap in meaning and usage with the phrase やはり \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-やっぱり.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> (or やっぱり \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-やはり.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> in casual speech).\n\nやはり normally translates to \"as I thought,\" \"as expected,\" or \"in the end\" in English... similar to さすが. Indeed, when it means \"as I thought\" or \"as expected,\" it overlaps with さすが and the two can be interchanged, although the nuance is different.\n\n> When さすが is used, there is an uplifting feel to the sentence—as discussed, it usually introduces a compliment. But with やはり, that positive feeling does not exist: you're just plainly stating that your expectations were met.\n\nIn fact, やはり can have a sort of negative, almost disappointed feeling to it, depending on the context. In the sentences below, the meaning is essentially the same, but there is a slight difference in nuance.\n\n- さすが日本製品だ。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-さすが日本製品だ。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_That's Japanese-made products for ya!_\n\n- やはり日本製品だ。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-やはり日本製品だ。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_As I thought: Japanese-made products._\n\nNote the positive tone of the sentence that uses さすが. It's almost like one person said \"wow, this is good!\" and the other person says \"Yep! It's Japanese, after all!\" Conversely, in the sentence with やはり, the speaker is simply confirming that their prediction of the product's origin was correct—Japanese, for better or worse.\n\nMoving on.\n\nThe other use of やはり is to communicate something like \"in the end.\" In this case, さすが can be used, too, but the nuance is quite different:\n\n- リバイはやはり辞めました。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-リバイはやはり辞めました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_Levi quit in the end._\n\n- リバイはさすがに辞めました。\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-リバイはさすがに辞めました。.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr>_Levi, as expected, quit._\n\nThe first sentence merely states that someone named Levi quit while the second sentence implies that others anticipated his quitting beforehand––that it was something inevitable.\n\n## How to disambiguate the various meanings of さすが\n\nWe're not going to lie: さすが is hard to get right. Its breadth of nuances include some things that seem pretty contradictory.\n\nThe thing is, this isn't necessarily something you need to work out logically _right now_. As you spend more time interacting with Japanese, you'll see さすが used in context, and that context will enable you to gradually work out what's going on.\n\nFor example, say you're watching [this video about a girl who drove 800 kilometers (~497 miles) to eat tuna](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=O7WRSynTnDE&t=160s) for... reasons.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-sasuga-meaning-plug1.jpeg\" width=\"1742\" height=\"1246\" alt=\"A screenshot of a YouTube video enhanced by Migaku, enabling you to click on subtitles to see what they mean\" \u002F>\n\nWell, at about 2:45, you're going to hear her say something: _It's OK. I can go (continue on\u002Fmake it)._\n\nNow, she's obviously an adult and has a license, so why would she feel the need to go out of her way to confirm that she's good to keep on driving?\n\nBam! There's さすが. _It's tough without sleep—dangerous, even._\n\nShe's acknowledging the fact that it's dangerous to drive without having enough sleep, but at the same time as she accepts that fact, she's saying _but I'm going to keep on driving, anyway._\n\nThis happens to be a beautiful example sentence, so you can just whack that orange button in the top-right corner to make a flashcard which includes a screenshot and audio from the show:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-sasuga-meaning-plug2.jpeg\" width=\"1524\" height=\"1254\" alt=\"A screenshot of Japanese flashcards that Migaku automatically made from a YouTube video\" \u002F>\n\nAnd, just like that, you're a step closer to making sense of さすが.\n\nAs you continue to explore your interests, you'll stumble into more situations where さすが is used, and, with time, you'll gradually pick up on the things that these scenes have in common, what kind of sentences that さすが gets inserted into, and what sort of statements follow or precede it.\n\nEventually, you'll _feel_ what it means, even if you can't quite put it into words.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## Migaku's writers are pros, but さすが even they don't know how to end this article\n\nAnd there you go: one well-written article about Japanese's best compliment! (さすが Migaku writers!) But seriously, hopefully you've learned about the powerful nuances built into this widely-used phrase. Use it wisely to compliment your colleagues, bosses, and _senpai!_\n\nAnd always remember:\n\n> If you consume media you enjoy in Japanese, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. _Period_.\n\nGreat job reading this far! (さすが you!)\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Try Migaku for free\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n_P.S. — remember how we said that さすが is sometimes written out as 流石? The kanji literally mean \"a current\u002Fflowing\" and \"stone\", which is completely out of left field, right? [It's a whole story.](https:\u002F\u002Fskdesu.com\u002Fen\u002Fwhat-really-means-asuga\u002F)_\n",{"title":32992,"description":33696},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-sasuga","DfZUFaDdxGg2j9o9jc2ABjDjH6Bo7mPHXdeGNK4txng","June 20, 2025",{"id":33714,"title":33715,"body":33716,"description":34355,"extension":717,"meta":34356,"navigation":730,"path":34364,"rawbody":34365,"seo":34366,"stem":34367,"__hash__":34368,"timestampUnix":34357,"slug":34358,"h1":34359,"image":34360,"tags":34363,"_dir":736,"timestamp":34369},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-software.md","Best Japanese Language Learning Software: How Migaku Transforms Your Japanese Skills",{"type":8,"value":33717,"toc":34335},[33718,33731,33749,33754,33757,33760,33762,33764,33766,33770,33773,33776,33779,33793,33796,33807,33814,33817,33820,33834,33837,33840,33843,33846,33848,33852,33855,33869,33872,33876,33882,33885,33890,33896,33899,33912,33915,33918,33921,33925,33931,33937,33946,33949,33956,33961,33964,33970,33978,33981,33984,33988,33994,33997,34000,34003,34009,34012,34015,34019,34022,34025,34028,34032,34035,34055,34061,34067,34070,34074,34077,34080,34083,34086,34091,34098,34109,34116,34119,34122,34127,34131,34134,34137,34141,34144,34188,34191,34195,34198,34201,34224,34228,34231,34237,34240,34244,34247,34280,34283,34285,34289,34295,34302,34305,34308,34310,34314,34323,34329,34332],[11,33719,33720,33721,33723,33724,33728,33729,415],{},"Japanese language learners find themselves in a unique situation: there are almost ",[26,33722,8166],{}," many app and software options available to choose from. In another blog post, ",[15,33725,33727],{"href":33726},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-kanji#tools-and-resources-for-kanji-learning","we looked at about ten resources ","... and those were just to learn ",[26,33730,1032],{},[11,33732,33733,33734,33736,33737,33739,33740,33745,33746,33748],{},"If you go to Reddit and ask for the best Japanese language learning software, you'll get a bunch of different opinions. Use ",[26,33735,23204],{}," for kanji, use ",[26,33738,5890],{}," for grammar, ",[15,33741,33744],{"href":33742,"rel":33743},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=O6AoilGEers",[971],"go watch Dōgen to learn about this thing called pitch accent",". It's overwhelming, frankly, and quickly gets expensive. It's almost like people can't decide if they want to ",[15,33747,18],{"href":17}," or collect resources.",[11,33750,33751,33752,415],{},"Enter ",[1090,33753,12314],{},[11,33755,33756],{},"A Chrome browser extension, Migaku turns your favorite online content into interactive, Japanese-learning gold. You watch or read things in Japanese, and you learn Japanese. It's fun. It's also effective. If you're still a beginner, we also offer structured courses that cover everything from vocabulary and grammar to kanji to listening comprehension and pronunciation.",[11,33758,33759],{},"Here’s why Migaku stands out among Japanese language learning tools and how it can be a game-changer on your journey to fluency.",[11,33761,3701],{},[39,33763],{},[42,33765],{},[45,33767,33769],{"id":33768},"what-is-migaku","What is Migaku?",[11,33771,33772],{},"At Migaku, we believe that languages are learned by being interacted with. If you consume content you enjoy and largely understand, and you continuously learn new things from that content, you will make progress.",[11,33774,33775],{},"The thing is, it's difficult to interact with the language you're a beginner.",[11,33777,33778],{},"To solve this problem, we built a language learning platform that helps you do four things:",[304,33780,33781,33784,33787,33790],{},[307,33782,33783],{},"Build a foundation in the language you’re learning",[307,33785,33786],{},"Transition to learning your language by consuming content in that language",[307,33788,33789],{},"Remember the things you learn",[307,33791,33792],{},"Keep track of your growth over time",[11,33794,33795],{},"To do that, we use three main tools:",[304,33797,33798,33801,33804],{},[307,33799,33800],{},"A Chrome browser extension that adds functionality to foreign language text",[307,33802,33803],{},"A mobile app that replicates some of the extension's functionality on your phone",[307,33805,33806],{},"A flashcard app, located within the mobile app",[45,33808,33810,33811,33813],{"id":33809},"how-languages-are-really-learned","How languages are ",[26,33812,19069],{}," learned",[11,33815,33816],{},"Different people have used different tools and taken different approaches to learn languages. What all successful language learners have in common, however, is that they got a massive amount of exposure to their target language (the language they were learning). We think this is super important.",[11,33818,33819],{},"Language, like any other skill, is something you learn by doing:",[304,33821,33822,33825,33828,33831],{},[307,33823,33824],{},"To get good at reading Japanese books, you need to read a lot of books",[307,33826,33827],{},"To get good at watching anime, you need to watch a lot of anime",[307,33829,33830],{},"To get good at speaking, you need to have a lot of conversations",[307,33832,33833],{},"To get good at writing, you need to write a lot",[11,33835,33836],{},"Unfortunately, most apps don't push you to spend time doing these things—the things that actually lead to progress.",[11,33838,33839],{},"At Migaku, we give you tools that enable you to consume the Japanese content you're personally interested in and also to take advantage of the learning opportunities presented by that content—even if you're not very good at Japanese yet.",[11,33841,33842],{},"As you consume content you love in Japanese, and understand the messages within that content, you will learn Japanese.",[11,33844,33845],{},"It's that simple.",[42,33847],{},[45,33849,33851],{"id":33850},"migakus-4-step-approach-to-learning-japanese","Migaku's 4-step approach to learning Japanese",[11,33853,33854],{},"Condensing the above, we think that learning Japanese boils down to four key steps:",[344,33856,33857,33860,33863,33866],{},[307,33858,33859],{},"Quickly establish a foundation that enables you to consume content you enjoy in Japanese",[307,33861,33862],{},"Consume content you enjoy in Japanese",[307,33864,33865],{},"Identify learning opportunities within that content, and follow up on them",[307,33867,33868],{},"Find another interesting and level-appropriate piece of content to consume",[11,33870,33871],{},"To reach step two, you need a foundation of about 1,500 vocabulary words and a few hundred grammar points. Once you've done that, all you need to do to learn Japanese (or any other language) is repeat steps two through four.",[847,33873,33875],{"id":33874},"building-a-foundation-of-japanese-vocabulary-and-japanese-grammar","Building a foundation of Japanese vocabulary and Japanese grammar",[11,33877,33878,33879,415],{},"We go into this in detail in our post ",[15,33880,33881],{"href":1199},"the best way to learn Japanese vocabulary",[11,33883,33884],{},"The key point—and what most language learning courses get wrong—is that words are not equally valuable. Whereas there are 124,000 unique words in Netflix's Japanese subtitles, some words appear much more frequently than others.",[320,33886,33887],{},[11,33888,33889],{},"You only need about 1,500 words to recognize 80% of the words that will appear in a randomly selected sentence from any of the shows on Netflix.",[11,33891,33892,33893,33895],{},"With this in mind, if you're a beginner in Japanese, you shouldn't set out to learn just ",[26,33894,28647],{}," words in Japanese. You'll get much more value if you focus on the words that make the content you're interested in accessible.",[11,33897,33898],{},"So we did just that.",[304,33900,33901,33907],{},[307,33902,33903,33904,33906],{},"Our ",[1090,33905,20555],{}," course teaches you to read and correctly pronounce the hiragana and katakana, and prepares you for Migaku Academy",[307,33908,33903,33909,33911],{},[1090,33910,20561],{}," course teaches you the ~1,500 words that appear most commonly on Netflix, plus a few hundred common grammar points",[11,33913,33914],{},"These courses are condensed into a deck of flashcards. You can work through them anytime, anywhere. To make sure you remember everything, we schedule each flashcard for review in the future, based on your performance. The learning curve is also super smooth: each \"next\" flashcard contains only one new piece of information.",[11,33916,33917],{},"The result is that, even if you know literally nothing about Japanese, by giving Migaku 20–30 minutes of daily effort for 6 months or so, you'll have learned what you need to learn to make Japanese Netflix accessible.",[11,33919,33920],{},"And that leads to our core functionality.",[847,33922,33924],{"id":33923},"consume-and-learn-from-content-you-enjoy","Consume (and learn from) content you enjoy",[11,33926,33927,33928,33930],{},"Migaku doesn't have a secret method or a gimmick to sell you. All we want you to do is spend a lot of time doing things you enjoy in Japanese. We believe that people learn languages by consuming (and understanding) content they're interested in—and ",[26,33929,19222],{}," why improving comprehension is such a big focus of our product.",[11,33932,33933,33934,415],{},"Let's say that you finished our Migaku Academy course, so you now know ~1,500 vocabulary words and a few hundred grammar points, and now you're ready to live the dream: watching Gundamn, ",[26,33935,33936],{},"in Japanese",[11,33938,33939,33940,33945],{},"You install ",[15,33941,33944],{"href":33942,"rel":33943},"https:\u002F\u002Fchromewebstore.google.com\u002Fdetail\u002Fmigaku-really-learn-langu\u002Flkhiljgmbeecmljiogckofcalncmfnfo?hl=en",[971],"the Migaku Chrome extension",", and then boot up Gundam on Netflix.",[11,33947,33948],{},"It's surprisingly accessible! You don't understand everything, but you know enough words that you can make sense of most sentences.",[11,33950,33951,33952,33955],{},"... And then you stumble into ",[98,33953],{"lang":100,"syntax":33954},"神秘[しんぴ]",", a new word that's got you completely confused.",[50,33957],{"src":33958,"width":24535,"height":33959,"alt":33960},"\u002Fassets\u002Fjapanese\u002FwelcomeExtension.png",878,"A screenshot of a Netflix show, with its subtitles enhanced by Migaku.",[11,33962,33963],{},"So you click on it, and now you see this:",[50,33965],{"src":33966,"width":33967,"height":33968,"alt":33969},"\u002Fassets\u002Fjapanese\u002FwelcomeDictionary.webp",638,456,"A screenshot of the Migaku Dictionary, showing the definition of the Japanese word 'shinpi'.",[11,33971,33972,33973,33975,33976,6066],{},"And before the line of dialogue has even finished, you now know that ",[98,33974],{"lang":100,"syntax":33954}," means \"mysteriousness\" or \"profound secrets\". The main hole in your knowledge is filled, and you continue on watching Gundam (",[26,33977,33936],{},[11,33979,33980],{},"This functionality is minimally invasive, but incredibly powerful. It lets you consume content—videos with subtitles, Tweets, ebooks, web pages, anything with text—almost as if you knew all the words in your target language.",[11,33982,33983],{},"And it gets better.",[847,33985,33987],{"id":33986},"turn-that-content-into-personalized-japanese-learning-materials","Turn that content into personalized Japanese learning materials",[11,33989,33990,33991,33993],{},"So, that word ",[98,33992],{"lang":100,"syntax":33954}," up there?",[11,33995,33996],{},"Let's say you found this word to be cool. (\"Profound secrets\" are, indeed, pretty cool). Or maybe this is the fourth time you've seen the word in Gundam, and you're getting sick of looking it up.",[11,33998,33999],{},"Just click that orange button in the top-right corner of the pop-up definition.",[11,34001,34002],{},"Doing so will automatically create a flashcard that looks like this:",[50,34004],{"src":34005,"width":34006,"height":34007,"alt":34008},"\u002Fassets\u002Fjapanese\u002FwelcomeCardFront.webp",388,840,"A screenshot of the front of a Migaku flashcard for the word 'shinpi'.",[11,34010,34011],{},"It contains the word you've selected, the sentence that word appeared in, and an audio recording of the sentence being read.",[11,34013,34014],{},"If you flip it over, you'll see this:",[50,34016],{"src":34017,"width":34006,"height":34007,"alt":34018},"\u002Fassets\u002Fjapanese\u002FwelcomeCardback.webp","A screenshot of a the back of a Migaku flashcard for the word 'shinpi'.",[11,34020,34021],{},"Yeah.",[11,34023,34024],{},"It's beautiful, and it took about three clicks. You can make a flashcard without leaving your content, or you can take a breather to customize them to your liking.",[11,34026,34027],{},"These flashcards can be sent to Migaku Memory, our proprietary flashcard application, or to Anki, an open-source flashcard application, meaning that you can continue studying these flashcards even if you stop using Migaku.",[847,34029,34031],{"id":34030},"follow-migakus-personalized-learning-plan","Follow Migaku's personalized learning plan",[11,34033,34034],{},"If you're like most students, myself included, school probably went like this for you:",[304,34036,34037,34040,34043,34046,34049,34052],{},[307,34038,34039],{},"You don't pay that much attention",[307,34041,34042],{},"The test comes up",[307,34044,34045],{},"You spend three hours cramming the night before the test",[307,34047,34048],{},"You remember enough things to pass the test",[307,34050,34051],{},"Two days later you move on to the next unit and never touch that old stuff again",[307,34053,34054],{},"Three years later, you realize that you've got absolutely no idea what you learned in geometry class",[11,34056,34057,34058,34060],{},"The thing is, learning doesn't ",[26,34059,23037],{}," to be that way.",[11,34062,34063,34064,19403],{},"Whenever you learn something in Migaku, the algorithm will look at your performance (whether you got a flashcard right or wrong, and if you've gotten it right or wrong several times) in order to schedule it for review in the future. You'll initially review new words quite often, but as time goes on and you get the card right a few times, you'll be asked to review that word less often. In this way, you slowly but surely transfer words you learn into your long-term memory. (This process is called ",[15,34065,5907],{"href":11524,"rel":34066},[971],[11,34068,34069],{},"You don't need to plan or organize any of this. Simply watch the content you enjoy, make flashcards that seem useful, and then open Migaku Memory each day and work through the lesson plan our algorithm has prepared for you.",[847,34071,34073],{"id":34072},"figure-out-what-youre-going-to-watch-next","Figure out what you're going to watch next",[11,34075,34076],{},"There's more to Japanese than Gundam.",[11,34078,34079],{},"Eventually, you're going to be ready to move on.",[11,34081,34082],{},"Migaku keeps track of words as you learn them so that, when the time to find the next piece of content comes, you're ready.",[11,34084,34085],{},"Check this out:",[50,34087],{"src":34088,"width":19054,"height":34089,"alt":34090},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-ano-natsu.jpeg",1714,"A screenshot from the anime Ano Natse de Matteiru, showing three characters conversing.",[11,34092,34093,34094,34097],{},"So far, I've told Migaku that I know about 1,600 words. The anime ",[26,34095,34096],{},"Ano Natsu de Matteru"," looked interesting to me, so I booted it up. Migaku tells me:",[304,34099,34100,34103,34106],{},[307,34101,34102],{},"I've learned 1,568 Japanese words so far",[307,34104,34105],{},"These words will enable me to understand 84% of this episode of Ano Natsu de Matteru",[307,34107,34108],{},"This episode contains 48 sentences that could make good flashcards",[11,34110,34111,34112,34115],{},"Here, I've stumbled into the word ",[98,34113],{"lang":100,"syntax":34114},"危険[きけん]"," (danger). It's a super common word that I don't know yet, and it's the only word in the sentence I don't know, so Migaku has highlighted it for me.",[11,34117,34118],{},"I have an \"excellent\" comprehension score of 84%, and this is at the top of my to-watch list, so I'm in luck! I'm watching it. (Actually, I'm on episode 11\u002F12 as of the time of writing this post.) But if I had a lower comprehension score, I would have chosen to try something else on my to-watch list.",[11,34120,34121],{},"In the future, Migaku will use your \"word's known\" count and your interests to recommend you content that's appropriate for your current level.",[11,34123,34124],{},[26,34125,34126],{},"(P.S. — I have Migaku configured to only show English subtitles when I hit the \"pause\" button, but you could also choose to have them always visible, visible if a sentence contains a new word, or blurred until you hover your mouse over them.)",[45,34128,34130],{"id":34129},"an-overview-of-migakus-core-features","An overview of Migaku’s core features",[11,34132,34133],{},"In the above section we talked about Migaku's core learning loop, showing how you can make an interactive learning experience out of pretty much any content on the web.",[11,34135,34136],{},"Here's a slightly more in-depth look at some of the features we glossed over.",[847,34138,34140],{"id":34139},"instant-definitions-of-unknown-words","Instant definitions of unknown words",[11,34142,34143],{},"After parsing a piece of content, you can hover over any word to see:",[304,34145,34146,34152,34158,34164,34170,34176,34182],{},[307,34147,34148,34151],{},[1090,34149,34150],{},"Definitions"," — Definitions of the words from various dictionaries",[307,34153,34154,34157],{},[1090,34155,34156],{},"Translations"," — A translation of the sentence the word appears in",[307,34159,34160,34163],{},[1090,34161,34162],{},"AI Explanations"," — An AI explanation of what it means in this particular sentence",[307,34165,34166,34169],{},[1090,34167,34168],{},"Grammar breakdowns"," — An AI breakdown of each element of the sentence, including grammar points",[307,34171,34172,34175],{},[1090,34173,34174],{},"Example sentences"," — Other example sentences in which this word appears",[307,34177,34178,34181],{},[1090,34179,34180],{},"Audio recordings"," — Audio recordings of this word made by native speakers",[307,34183,34184,34187],{},[1090,34185,34186],{},"Images"," — Images of this word or concept",[11,34189,34190],{},"You'll know that your content is parsed because, as shown in the images above, the text within it will become interactable and, depending on your settings, may turn different colors.",[847,34192,34194],{"id":34193},"japanese-specific-support-features","Japanese-specific support features",[11,34196,34197],{},"Migaku doesn't just support people who want to learn Japanese: the above features are available for several languages.",[11,34199,34200],{},"Here are two features that specifically support people learning Japanese:",[304,34202,34203,34215],{},[307,34204,34205,34211,34212,34214],{},[1090,34206,34207],{},[15,34208,34210],{"href":11308,"rel":34209},[971],"Furigana",": Furigana are little hiragana characters that appear above kanji, showing how a word should be pronounced. Migaku lets you choose to have furigana always appear, to appear for unknown words, or to never appear.",[292,34213],{},"\nYou control furigana (small hiragana above kanji for pronunciation), making it easier to gradually learn kanji without always relying on phonetic guides.",[307,34216,34217,34223],{},[1090,34218,34219],{},[15,34220,34222],{"href":22519,"rel":34221},[971],"Pitch accent coloring",": Each Japanese word follows one of four pitch patterns. Migaku can color code words according to their pitch accent, helping you to develop a more natural accent.",[847,34225,34227],{"id":34226},"one-click-flashcard-creation","One-click flashcard creation",[11,34229,34230],{},"We already showed what the default flashcards you create on Migaku look like above.",[11,34232,34233,34234,34236],{},"The thing is, your flashcards don't ",[26,34235,23037],{}," to look like that.",[11,34238,34239],{},"You can add all of the information shown above on your flashcards in order to customize them to your liking. For example, I prefer to not have any English in my flashcards. Instead, I include a Japanese definition of the flashcard's target word (the word you're creating this flashcard to learn.) I also usually include a few audio recordings of the word being pronounced, so I can hear how it sounds when different people say it.",[45,34241,34243],{"id":34242},"support-for-popular-streaming-platforms","Support for popular streaming platforms",[11,34245,34246],{},"We made Migaku to help you (and us) immerse in Japanese media, so we've gone out of our way to make sure our software is compatible with several streaming platforms. That means you can:",[304,34248,34249,34255,34264,34269,34274],{},[307,34250,34251,34252],{},"Enjoy a classic Studio Ghibli movie on ",[1090,34253,34254],{},"Netflix",[307,34256,34257,34258,1466,34261],{},"Binge-watch a new J-Drama on ",[1090,34259,34260],{},"Disney+",[1090,34262,34263],{},"Viki",[307,34265,34266,34267],{},"Watch a Let's Play on ",[1090,34268,31381],{},[307,34270,34271,34272],{},"Culture yourself with some dank Japanese memes on ",[1090,34273,32679],{},[307,34275,34276,34277],{},"Doomscroll through Japanese ",[1090,34278,34279],{},"X (Twitter)",[11,34281,34282],{},"More generally speaking, we support any website that has some sort of text available. We even offer an OCR tool so you can read manga with Migaku.",[42,34284],{},[45,34286,34288],{"id":34287},"why-choose-migaku-for-japanese-language-learning","Why Choose Migaku for Japanese Language Learning?",[11,34290,34291,34292,415],{},"We'll be honest: there are a lot of Japanese learning apps and resources on the market. A quick Google search will probably reveal thirty seven apps, and ",[15,34293,34294],{"href":20504},"we've even reviewed several Japanese textbooks ourselves",[11,34296,34297,34298,34301],{},"The thing is, virtually all of those resources ",[26,34299,34300],{},"stop"," at being a Japanese course. They promote some \"special\" way to learn Japanese, and they don't really want you to make any meaningful progress, because then you'd stop needing their app and cancel your subscription.",[11,34303,34304],{},"Migaku is different: we're just a toolbox that helps you consume Japanese content much sooner than would normally be possible. Eventually you'll grow enough that you no longer need Migaku to enjoy Japanese content... but many of our users stay subscribed (or buy our lifetime plan) because our tools enable you to spend less time looking stuff up and more time enjoying your favorite content in Japanese.",[11,34306,34307],{},"You'll learn Japanese faster and you'll have fun while doing so. The worst case scenario is that you'll end up reading a bunch of books, watching a lot of anime, or doing whatever it is that you're excited about doing in Japanese.",[674,34309],{"href":17,"text":676},[45,34311,34313],{"id":34312},"putting-all-that-together","Putting all that together",[11,34315,34316,34317,34319,34320,34322],{},"Migaku lets you turn your favorite Japanese content into a learning resource. This ensures that you don't waste your time or effort: you'll learn the things ",[26,34318,13558],{}," need to do the things that ",[26,34321,13558],{}," find interesting or meaningful. It's a very natural way of learning.",[11,34324,34325,34326,34328],{},"So, if you’re ready to move beyond textbooks and start learning through actual Japanese media, then this is for you. ",[1090,34327,12314],{}," is the best Japanese language learning software for those serious about achieving fluency.",[11,34330,34331],{},"After all—learning a language should be fun.",[11,34333,34334],{},"(If you're pretty far along with your studies, that's OK. You can transfer a list of words you already know into Migaku to teach our parser the words you already know, thus picking up right where you left off with your previous approach.)",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":34336},[34337,34338,34340,34347,34352,34353,34354],{"id":33768,"depth":707,"text":33769},{"id":33809,"depth":707,"text":34339},"How languages are really learned",{"id":33850,"depth":707,"text":33851,"children":34341},[34342,34343,34344,34345,34346],{"id":33874,"depth":1016,"text":33875},{"id":33923,"depth":1016,"text":33924},{"id":33986,"depth":1016,"text":33987},{"id":34030,"depth":1016,"text":34031},{"id":34072,"depth":1016,"text":34073},{"id":34129,"depth":707,"text":34130,"children":34348},[34349,34350,34351],{"id":34139,"depth":1016,"text":34140},{"id":34193,"depth":1016,"text":34194},{"id":34226,"depth":1016,"text":34227},{"id":34242,"depth":707,"text":34243},{"id":34287,"depth":707,"text":34288},{"id":34312,"depth":707,"text":34313},"Looking for the best Japanese language learning software? Discover how Migaku's interactive tools, flashcards, and immersive features make mastering Japanese easier and more enjoyable.",{"timestampUnix":34357,"slug":34358,"h1":34359,"image":34360,"tags":34363},1731297341627,"best-japanese-software","Best Japanese Language Learning Software: Why Migaku Stands Out",{"src":34361,"width":14100,"height":1723,"alt":34362},"\u002Fassets\u002Fjapanese\u002FtwitterAfter.webp","A screenshot showing how Migaku makes Japanese content accessible to learners.",[4107],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-software","---\ntitle: 'Best Japanese Language Learning Software: How Migaku Transforms Your Japanese Skills'\ndescription: \"Looking for the best Japanese language learning software? Discover how Migaku's interactive tools, flashcards, and immersive features make mastering Japanese easier and more enjoyable.\"\ntimestampUnix: 1731297341627\nslug: 'best-japanese-software'\nh1: 'Best Japanese Language Learning Software: Why Migaku Stands Out'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fjapanese\u002FtwitterAfter.webp'\n width: 1302\n height: 846\n alt: 'A screenshot showing how Migaku makes Japanese content accessible to learners.'\ntags:\n - resources\n---\n\nJapanese language learners find themselves in a unique situation: there are almost _too_ many app and software options available to choose from. In another blog post, [we looked at about ten resources ](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-kanji#tools-and-resources-for-kanji-learning)... and those were just to learn _kanji_.\n\nIf you go to Reddit and ask for the best Japanese language learning software, you'll get a bunch of different opinions. Use _this_ for kanji, use _that_ for grammar, [go watch Dōgen to learn about this thing called pitch accent](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=O6AoilGEers). It's overwhelming, frankly, and quickly gets expensive. It's almost like people can't decide if they want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese) or collect resources.\n\nEnter **Migaku**.\n\nA Chrome browser extension, Migaku turns your favorite online content into interactive, Japanese-learning gold. You watch or read things in Japanese, and you learn Japanese. It's fun. It's also effective. If you're still a beginner, we also offer structured courses that cover everything from vocabulary and grammar to kanji to listening comprehension and pronunciation.\n\nHere’s why Migaku stands out among Japanese language learning tools and how it can be a game-changer on your journey to fluency.\n\nJump to:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## What is Migaku?\n\nAt Migaku, we believe that languages are learned by being interacted with. If you consume content you enjoy and largely understand, and you continuously learn new things from that content, you will make progress.\n\nThe thing is, it's difficult to interact with the language you're a beginner.\n\nTo solve this problem, we built a language learning platform that helps you do four things:\n\n- Build a foundation in the language you’re learning\n- Transition to learning your language by consuming content in that language\n- Remember the things you learn\n- Keep track of your growth over time\n\nTo do that, we use three main tools:\n\n- A Chrome browser extension that adds functionality to foreign language text\n- A mobile app that replicates some of the extension's functionality on your phone\n- A flashcard app, located within the mobile app\n\n## How languages are _really_ learned\n\nDifferent people have used different tools and taken different approaches to learn languages. What all successful language learners have in common, however, is that they got a massive amount of exposure to their target language (the language they were learning). We think this is super important.\n\nLanguage, like any other skill, is something you learn by doing:\n\n- To get good at reading Japanese books, you need to read a lot of books\n- To get good at watching anime, you need to watch a lot of anime\n- To get good at speaking, you need to have a lot of conversations\n- To get good at writing, you need to write a lot\n\nUnfortunately, most apps don't push you to spend time doing these things—the things that actually lead to progress.\n\nAt Migaku, we give you tools that enable you to consume the Japanese content you're personally interested in and also to take advantage of the learning opportunities presented by that content—even if you're not very good at Japanese yet.\n\nAs you consume content you love in Japanese, and understand the messages within that content, you will learn Japanese.\n\nIt's that simple.\n\n---\n\n## Migaku's 4-step approach to learning Japanese\n\nCondensing the above, we think that learning Japanese boils down to four key steps:\n\n1. Quickly establish a foundation that enables you to consume content you enjoy in Japanese\n2. Consume content you enjoy in Japanese\n3. Identify learning opportunities within that content, and follow up on them\n4. Find another interesting and level-appropriate piece of content to consume\n\nTo reach step two, you need a foundation of about 1,500 vocabulary words and a few hundred grammar points. Once you've done that, all you need to do to learn Japanese (or any other language) is repeat steps two through four.\n\n### Building a foundation of Japanese vocabulary and Japanese grammar\n\nWe go into this in detail in our post [the best way to learn Japanese vocabulary](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary).\n\nThe key point—and what most language learning courses get wrong—is that words are not equally valuable. Whereas there are 124,000 unique words in Netflix's Japanese subtitles, some words appear much more frequently than others.\n\n> You only need about 1,500 words to recognize 80% of the words that will appear in a randomly selected sentence from any of the shows on Netflix.\n\nWith this in mind, if you're a beginner in Japanese, you shouldn't set out to learn just _any_ words in Japanese. You'll get much more value if you focus on the words that make the content you're interested in accessible.\n\nSo we did just that.\n\n- Our **Migaku Fundamentals** course teaches you to read and correctly pronounce the hiragana and katakana, and prepares you for Migaku Academy\n- Our **Migaku Academy** course teaches you the ~1,500 words that appear most commonly on Netflix, plus a few hundred common grammar points\n\nThese courses are condensed into a deck of flashcards. You can work through them anytime, anywhere. To make sure you remember everything, we schedule each flashcard for review in the future, based on your performance. The learning curve is also super smooth: each \"next\" flashcard contains only one new piece of information.\n\nThe result is that, even if you know literally nothing about Japanese, by giving Migaku 20–30 minutes of daily effort for 6 months or so, you'll have learned what you need to learn to make Japanese Netflix accessible.\n\nAnd that leads to our core functionality.\n\n### Consume (and learn from) content you enjoy\n\nMigaku doesn't have a secret method or a gimmick to sell you. All we want you to do is spend a lot of time doing things you enjoy in Japanese. We believe that people learn languages by consuming (and understanding) content they're interested in—and _that's_ why improving comprehension is such a big focus of our product.\n\nLet's say that you finished our Migaku Academy course, so you now know ~1,500 vocabulary words and a few hundred grammar points, and now you're ready to live the dream: watching Gundamn, _in Japanese_.\n\nYou install [the Migaku Chrome extension](https:\u002F\u002Fchromewebstore.google.com\u002Fdetail\u002Fmigaku-really-learn-langu\u002Flkhiljgmbeecmljiogckofcalncmfnfo?hl=en), and then boot up Gundam on Netflix.\n\nIt's surprisingly accessible! You don't understand everything, but you know enough words that you can make sense of most sentences.\n\n... And then you stumble into \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"神秘[しんぴ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>, a new word that's got you completely confused.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fjapanese\u002FwelcomeExtension.png\" width=\"1524\" height=\"878\" alt=\"A screenshot of a Netflix show, with its subtitles enhanced by Migaku.\" \u002F>\n\nSo you click on it, and now you see this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fjapanese\u002FwelcomeDictionary.webp\" width=\"638\" height=\"456\" alt=\"A screenshot of the Migaku Dictionary, showing the definition of the Japanese word 'shinpi'.\" \u002F>\n\nAnd before the line of dialogue has even finished, you now know that \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"神秘[しんぴ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> means \"mysteriousness\" or \"profound secrets\". The main hole in your knowledge is filled, and you continue on watching Gundam (_in Japanese_).\n\nThis functionality is minimally invasive, but incredibly powerful. It lets you consume content—videos with subtitles, Tweets, ebooks, web pages, anything with text—almost as if you knew all the words in your target language.\n\nAnd it gets better.\n\n### Turn that content into personalized Japanese learning materials\n\nSo, that word \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"神秘[しんぴ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> up there?\n\nLet's say you found this word to be cool. (\"Profound secrets\" are, indeed, pretty cool). Or maybe this is the fourth time you've seen the word in Gundam, and you're getting sick of looking it up.\n\nJust click that orange button in the top-right corner of the pop-up definition.\n\nDoing so will automatically create a flashcard that looks like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fjapanese\u002FwelcomeCardFront.webp\" width=\"388\" height=\"840\" alt=\"A screenshot of the front of a Migaku flashcard for the word 'shinpi'.\" \u002F>\n\nIt contains the word you've selected, the sentence that word appeared in, and an audio recording of the sentence being read.\n\nIf you flip it over, you'll see this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fjapanese\u002FwelcomeCardback.webp\" width=\"388\" height=\"840\" alt=\"A screenshot of a the back of a Migaku flashcard for the word 'shinpi'.\" \u002F>\n\nYeah.\n\nIt's beautiful, and it took about three clicks. You can make a flashcard without leaving your content, or you can take a breather to customize them to your liking.\n\nThese flashcards can be sent to Migaku Memory, our proprietary flashcard application, or to Anki, an open-source flashcard application, meaning that you can continue studying these flashcards even if you stop using Migaku.\n\n### Follow Migaku's personalized learning plan\n\nIf you're like most students, myself included, school probably went like this for you:\n\n- You don't pay that much attention\n- The test comes up\n- You spend three hours cramming the night before the test\n- You remember enough things to pass the test\n- Two days later you move on to the next unit and never touch that old stuff again\n- Three years later, you realize that you've got absolutely no idea what you learned in geometry class\n\nThe thing is, learning doesn't _have_ to be that way.\n\nWhenever you learn something in Migaku, the algorithm will look at your performance (whether you got a flashcard right or wrong, and if you've gotten it right or wrong several times) in order to schedule it for review in the future. You'll initially review new words quite often, but as time goes on and you get the card right a few times, you'll be asked to review that word less often. In this way, you slowly but surely transfer words you learn into your long-term memory. (This process is called [spaced repetition](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSpaced_repetition).)\n\nYou don't need to plan or organize any of this. Simply watch the content you enjoy, make flashcards that seem useful, and then open Migaku Memory each day and work through the lesson plan our algorithm has prepared for you.\n\n### Figure out what you're going to watch next\n\nThere's more to Japanese than Gundam.\n\nEventually, you're going to be ready to move on.\n\nMigaku keeps track of words as you learn them so that, when the time to find the next piece of content comes, you're ready.\n\nCheck this out:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-ano-natsu.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1714\" alt=\"A screenshot from the anime Ano Natse de Matteiru, showing three characters conversing.\" \u002F>\n\nSo far, I've told Migaku that I know about 1,600 words. The anime _Ano Natsu de Matteru_ looked interesting to me, so I booted it up. Migaku tells me:\n\n- I've learned 1,568 Japanese words so far\n- These words will enable me to understand 84% of this episode of Ano Natsu de Matteru\n- This episode contains 48 sentences that could make good flashcards\n\nHere, I've stumbled into the word \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"危険[きけん]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (danger). It's a super common word that I don't know yet, and it's the only word in the sentence I don't know, so Migaku has highlighted it for me.\n\nI have an \"excellent\" comprehension score of 84%, and this is at the top of my to-watch list, so I'm in luck! I'm watching it. (Actually, I'm on episode 11\u002F12 as of the time of writing this post.) But if I had a lower comprehension score, I would have chosen to try something else on my to-watch list.\n\nIn the future, Migaku will use your \"word's known\" count and your interests to recommend you content that's appropriate for your current level.\n\n_(P.S. — I have Migaku configured to only show English subtitles when I hit the \"pause\" button, but you could also choose to have them always visible, visible if a sentence contains a new word, or blurred until you hover your mouse over them.)_\n\n## An overview of Migaku’s core features\n\nIn the above section we talked about Migaku's core learning loop, showing how you can make an interactive learning experience out of pretty much any content on the web.\n\nHere's a slightly more in-depth look at some of the features we glossed over.\n\n### Instant definitions of unknown words\n\nAfter parsing a piece of content, you can hover over any word to see:\n\n- **Definitions** — Definitions of the words from various dictionaries\n- **Translations** — A translation of the sentence the word appears in\n- **AI Explanations** — An AI explanation of what it means in this particular sentence\n- **Grammar breakdowns** — An AI breakdown of each element of the sentence, including grammar points\n- **Example sentences** — Other example sentences in which this word appears\n- **Audio recordings** — Audio recordings of this word made by native speakers\n- **Images** — Images of this word or concept\n\nYou'll know that your content is parsed because, as shown in the images above, the text within it will become interactable and, depending on your settings, may turn different colors.\n\n### Japanese-specific support features\n\nMigaku doesn't just support people who want to learn Japanese: the above features are available for several languages.\n\nHere are two features that specifically support people learning Japanese:\n\n- **[Furigana](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FFurigana)**: Furigana are little hiragana characters that appear above kanji, showing how a word should be pronounced. Migaku lets you choose to have furigana always appear, to appear for unknown words, or to never appear.\n You control furigana (small hiragana above kanji for pronunciation), making it easier to gradually learn kanji without always relying on phonetic guides.\n- **[Pitch accent coloring](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_pitch_accent)**: Each Japanese word follows one of four pitch patterns. Migaku can color code words according to their pitch accent, helping you to develop a more natural accent.\n\n### One-click flashcard creation\n\nWe already showed what the default flashcards you create on Migaku look like above.\n\nThe thing is, your flashcards don't _have_ to look like that.\n\nYou can add all of the information shown above on your flashcards in order to customize them to your liking. For example, I prefer to not have any English in my flashcards. Instead, I include a Japanese definition of the flashcard's target word (the word you're creating this flashcard to learn.) I also usually include a few audio recordings of the word being pronounced, so I can hear how it sounds when different people say it.\n\n## Support for popular streaming platforms\n\nWe made Migaku to help you (and us) immerse in Japanese media, so we've gone out of our way to make sure our software is compatible with several streaming platforms. That means you can:\n\n- Enjoy a classic Studio Ghibli movie on **Netflix**\n- Binge-watch a new J-Drama on **Disney+** or **Viki**\n- Watch a Let's Play on **YouTube**\n- Culture yourself with some dank Japanese memes on **Reddit**\n- Doomscroll through Japanese **X (Twitter)**\n\nMore generally speaking, we support any website that has some sort of text available. We even offer an OCR tool so you can read manga with Migaku.\n\n---\n\n## Why Choose Migaku for Japanese Language Learning?\n\nWe'll be honest: there are a lot of Japanese learning apps and resources on the market. A quick Google search will probably reveal thirty seven apps, and [we've even reviewed several Japanese textbooks ourselves](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fbest-japanese-textbooks).\n\nThe thing is, virtually all of those resources _stop_ at being a Japanese course. They promote some \"special\" way to learn Japanese, and they don't really want you to make any meaningful progress, because then you'd stop needing their app and cancel your subscription.\n\nMigaku is different: we're just a toolbox that helps you consume Japanese content much sooner than would normally be possible. Eventually you'll grow enough that you no longer need Migaku to enjoy Japanese content... but many of our users stay subscribed (or buy our lifetime plan) because our tools enable you to spend less time looking stuff up and more time enjoying your favorite content in Japanese.\n\nYou'll learn Japanese faster and you'll have fun while doing so. The worst case scenario is that you'll end up reading a bunch of books, watching a lot of anime, or doing whatever it is that you're excited about doing in Japanese.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n## Putting all that together\n\nMigaku lets you turn your favorite Japanese content into a learning resource. This ensures that you don't waste your time or effort: you'll learn the things _you_ need to do the things that _you_ find interesting or meaningful. It's a very natural way of learning.\n\nSo, if you’re ready to move beyond textbooks and start learning through actual Japanese media, then this is for you. **Migaku** is the best Japanese language learning software for those serious about achieving fluency.\n\nAfter all—learning a language should be fun.\n\n(If you're pretty far along with your studies, that's OK. You can transfer a list of words you already know into Migaku to teach our parser the words you already know, thus picking up right where you left off with your previous approach.)\n",{"title":33715,"description":34355},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-software","nJc00-O1M9P5LOPUePk7mgYq1Udec9I4j0jwYALQk98","November 11, 2024",{"id":34371,"title":34372,"body":34373,"description":35873,"extension":717,"meta":35874,"navigation":730,"path":35884,"rawbody":35885,"seo":35886,"stem":35887,"__hash__":35888,"timestampUnix":35875,"slug":35876,"h1":35877,"image":35878,"tags":35883,"_dir":736,"timestamp":35889},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-solo-leveling.md","Use Solo Leveling to Level Up Your Japanese | Migaku",{"type":8,"value":34374,"toc":35853},[34375,34382,34388,34394,34399,34401,34403,34411,34416,34437,34443,34450,34474,34482,34486,34492,34517,34522,34525,34531,34535,34544,34557,34563,34566,34569,34577,34580,34583,34591,34598,34603,34605,34613,34622,34628,34633,34646,34660,34663,34666,34692,34695,34701,34705,34717,34731,34734,34737,34776,34782,34787,34803,34816,34830,34839,34845,34850,34853,34871,34884,34890,34894,34910,34913,34916,34930,34939,34965,34972,34978,34983,34992,35006,35009,35015,35041,35044,35050,35053,35056,35059,35454,35457,35671,35673,35679,35682,35708,35711,35716,35722,35725,35730,35733,35736,35742,35745,35762,35768,35770,35776,35782,35789,35818,35824,35830,35833,35836,35846],[11,34376,34377,34378,34381],{},"If you’ve been hooked by the intense action and stunning visuals of ",[26,34379,34380],{},"Solo Leveling",", you’re not alone. Or maybe you’ve been waiting until you know a bit more Japanese to jump into the fantastical world of dungeon raiding and monster fighting? Either way, this hit anime can be a powerful tool for learning Japanese.",[11,34383,34384,34385,34387],{},"Most importantly, combining your language goals with gripping anime series like ",[26,34386,34380],{}," makes studying feel a lot less like homework. It can reduce the mental pressure of “learning” by making it fun, and honestly… that’s key to keeping yourself motivated.",[11,34389,34390,34391,34393],{},"We’ll explore how anime can help you ",[15,34392,18],{"href":17},", introduce key vocab straight from the show, and show you how tools like Netflix and Migaku can help you on your Japanese journey.",[11,34395,34396,34397,8737],{},"Ready? Step into the world of ",[26,34398,34380],{},[39,34400],{},[42,34402],{},[45,34404,34406],{"id":34405},"what-is-solo-leveling",[1090,34407,34408,34409,2937],{},"What is ",[26,34410,34380],{},[50,34412],{"src":34413,"width":34414,"height":22887,"alt":34415},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-what-is-solo-leveling.jpeg",1536,"An image of the protagonist of Solo Leveling",[11,34417,34418,34420,34421,34424,34425,34430,34431,34436],{},[26,34419,34380],{}," is a South Korean web novel, ",[26,34422,34423],{},"manhwa"," (Korean comic), and now also an anime. It falls into the genres of action, fantasy, and adventure, often described as part of the \"",[15,34426,34429],{"href":34427,"rel":34428},"https:\u002F\u002Ftvtropes.org\u002Fpmwiki\u002Fpmwiki.php\u002FMain\u002FGameSystem",[971],"system-based leveling","\" or \"",[15,34432,34435],{"href":34433,"rel":34434},"https:\u002F\u002Ftvtropes.org\u002Fpmwiki\u002Fpmwiki.php\u002FMain\u002FDungeonCrawling",[971],"dungeon hunter","\" sub-genre.",[11,34438,34439,34440,34442],{},"It was first published between 2016–2018 by Chugong as a web novel. Following its popularity, it was illustrated by Jang Sung-rak (Dubu) of Redice Studio as a ",[26,34441,34423],{}," (Korean comic)—also known as a “webtoon”—between 2018-2021.",[11,34444,34445,34446,34449],{},"Now, ",[26,34447,34448],{},"Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadow"," is the anime that’s taking the world by storm. Developed by A-1 Pictures and first premiering on Crunchyroll in January, it’s broken multiple anime records:",[304,34451,34452,34468],{},[307,34453,34454,506,34457,34459,34460,34463,34464,34467],{},[1090,34455,34456],{},"Most-rated anime:",[26,34458,34380],{}," took the top spot from ",[26,34461,34462],{},"One Piece"," (596,000 reviews) and ",[26,34465,34466],{},"Demon Slayer"," (586,000 reviews) as the most-rated anime on Crunchyroll, surpassing 600,000 reviews.",[307,34469,34470,34473],{},[1090,34471,34472],{},"Fastest episodes to 100k likes:"," Multiple episodes have reached 100k likes in under two hours.",[45,34475,34477],{"id":34476},"where-can-i-watch-solo-leveling",[1090,34478,34479,34480,2937],{},"Where can I watch ",[26,34481,34380],{},[50,34483],{"src":34484,"width":1998,"height":11559,"alt":34485},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-watch-solo-leveling-learn-japanese.jpeg","A screenshot of one of Solo Leveling's antagonists",[11,34487,34488,34489,34491],{},"You can watch ",[26,34490,34380],{}," on:",[304,34493,34494,34506],{},[307,34495,34496,506,34503],{},[15,34497,34500],{"href":34498,"rel":34499},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.crunchyroll.com\u002Fseries\u002FGDKHZEJ0K\u002Fsolo-leveling?srsltid=AfmBOoq829NQMlllNUz9gFVSPGaXYlitJBTN0eotLmK0TUCiQs9Xw-zX",[971],[1090,34501,34502],{},"Crunchyroll",[1090,34504,34505],{},"(outside of Japan)",[307,34507,34508,506,34514],{},[15,34509,34512],{"href":34510,"rel":34511},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.netflix.com\u002Fbrowse?jbv=81749761",[971],[1090,34513,34254],{},[1090,34515,34516],{},"(within Japan)",[11,34518,34519,34520,16161],{},"While you may be reading this from outside Japan, and therefore have access to multiple languages, you’re going to choose the original Japanese voice acting—perfect for training your listening skills—and either the subtitles of your native language ",[26,34521,30428],{},[11,34523,34524],{},"Or, if you watch with Migaku, you can use subtitles in both languages simultaneously!",[45,34526,34528],{"id":34527},"can-you-really-learn-japanese-from-anime",[1090,34529,34530],{},"Can you really learn Japanese from anime?",[50,34532],{"src":34533,"width":1998,"height":11559,"alt":34534},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-learn-japanese.jpeg","A screenshot of the protagonist of Solo Levleing after he's leveled up a bit",[11,34536,34537,34538,34540,34541,34543],{},"You might be wondering… “This is great, and ",[26,34539,34380],{}," sounds interesting, but can I ",[26,34542,19069],{}," learn Japanese from anime?”",[11,34545,34546,34547,34550,34551,34556],{},"The short answer is ",[26,34548,34549],{},"yes","! As you might already know from our article on ",[15,34552,34553],{"href":1199},[1090,34554,34555],{},"mastering Japanese vocabulary",", the best way to work towards fluency in any language is to increase the range of words you know and understand by consuming content you enjoy.",[11,34558,34559,34560,34562],{},"But ",[26,34561,11137],{}," words should you learn?",[5025,34564],{"src":34565},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FTh4sh5iHyY8?si=LPTKX7vQYXVfyawx",[11,34567,34568],{},"As it turns out, different words are used more or less often in different scenarios. \"Spatula\" is a useful word to know if you enjoy cooking and reading recipes in other languages, but it's not super useful outside of that context. The same concept can be applied to most vocabulary words, beyond the most common few thousand.",[320,34570,34571],{},[11,34572,34573,34574,34576],{},"With this in mind, if you want to watch anime, it's really important to learn the sort of words that frequently get used in anime. The best way to do this is by ",[26,34575,22356],{}," anime.",[11,34578,34579],{},"As you watch your favorite series, encounter that show's vocabulary words more often, and perhaps make flashcards out of those words—you'll learn them. (Naturally, you'll also learn lots of everyday Japanese words, too.)",[11,34581,34582],{},"In fact, that’s another important aspect of language learning: The more you see a word, the more likely you are to remember it. *Spaced repetition systems (SRS)**, such as Migaku Memory or Anki, automate this process—essentially ensuring that you'll eventually remember anything you make a flashcard out of.",[11,34584,34585,506,34587],{},[1090,34586,1983],{},[15,34588,34590],{"href":34589},"\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fspaced-repetition-language-learning#the-awesome-science-behind-spaced-repetition-systems","How Spaced Repetition (SRS) Can Help You Learn a New Language",[11,34592,34593,34594,34597],{},"Put both of these things together and you’ll soon realize that you’re beginning to understand the characters in your favorite anime. Though it may begin with simple greetings and “",[26,34595,34596],{},"ogenki?","” (お元気?), it won’t be long before you’re starting to piece together longer sentences, seeing words you recognize, and picking out different characters’ unique ways of speaking.",[11,34599,34600],{},[1090,34601,34602],{},"So long as you're using Japanese to do something you enjoy, and understanding some of what you see or hear, you'll make progress.",[42,34604],{},[45,34606,34608],{"id":34607},"japanese-vocab-you-can-learn-from-solo-leveling",[1090,34609,34610,34611],{},"Japanese vocab you can learn from ",[26,34612,34380],{},[11,34614,34615,34616,34618,34619,34621],{},"While we’re going to list out ",[26,34617,2006],{}," the useful and interesting phrases you could learn even just from the first episode of ",[26,34620,34380],{}," (no spoilers, of course!), we’re going to highlight a few common words and expressions you can expect in action or fantasy-based anime like this.",[847,34623,34625],{"id":34624},"noun-weapon-兵器-へいき-heiki",[1090,34626,34627],{},"Noun: Weapon | 兵器 | へいき | Heiki",[50,34629],{"src":34630,"width":2696,"height":34631,"alt":34632},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-weapon.jpeg",898,"A screenshots of soldiers firing their weapons",[11,34634,34635,506,34638,34641,34642,34645],{},[1090,34636,34637],{},"兵器",[103,34639],{"src":34640,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-兵器.mp3",", or ",[1090,34643,34644],{},"weapon",", is made up of two kanji:",[304,34647,34648,34654],{},[307,34649,34650,34653],{},[1090,34651,34652],{},"兵:"," Soldier, army, warfare",[307,34655,34656,34659],{},[1090,34657,34658],{},"器:"," Container, utensil, instrument",[11,34661,34662],{},"Literally, a weapon is an “instrument of warfare.”",[11,34664,34665],{},"Understanding 兵器 opens the door for new vocab found in news, anime, films and more:",[304,34667,34668,34680],{},[307,34669,34670,506,34673,34676,34677],{},[1090,34671,34672],{},"核兵器",[103,34674],{"src":34675,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-核兵器.mp3"," | かくへいき | Kaku-heiki | ",[1090,34678,34679],{},"Nuclear weapons",[307,34681,34682,506,34685,34688,34689],{},[1090,34683,34684],{},"化学兵器",[103,34686],{"src":34687,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-化学兵器.mp3"," | かがくへいき | Kagaku-heiki | ",[1090,34690,34691],{},"Chemical weapons",[11,34693,34694],{},"Although you hopefully won’t need either of these words in daily life, can’t you already see how just picking up 兵器 as “weapon” begins to give you a better understanding of what a word might mean?",[847,34696,34698],{"id":34697},"noun-magic-魔法-まほう-mahou",[1090,34699,34700],{},"Noun: Magic | 魔法 | まほう | Mahou",[50,34702],{"src":34703,"width":2696,"height":34631,"alt":34704},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-magic.jpeg","A screenshot of a character receiving a healing spell",[11,34706,34707,506,34710,34641,34713,34716],{},[1090,34708,34709],{},"魔法",[103,34711],{"src":34712,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-魔法.mp3",[1090,34714,34715],{},"magic",", is another common word that comes up in anime:",[304,34718,34719,34725],{},[307,34720,34721,34724],{},[1090,34722,34723],{},"魔:"," Witch, demon",[307,34726,34727,34730],{},[1090,34728,34729],{},"法:"," Method, system",[11,34732,34733],{},"Literally, magic is a “witch’s method.” So, magic, or a spell.",[11,34735,34736],{},"Again, this opens a portal to a new world of words:",[304,34738,34739,34751,34763],{},[307,34740,34741,506,34744,34747,34748],{},[1090,34742,34743],{},"魔法使い",[103,34745],{"src":34746,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-魔法使い.mp3"," | まほう-つかい | Mahou-tsukai | ",[1090,34749,34750],{},"Witch, wizard, magician",[307,34752,34753,506,34756,34759,34760],{},[1090,34754,34755],{},"魔法陣",[103,34757],{"src":34758,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-魔法陣.mp3"," | まほうじん | Mahou-jin | ",[1090,34761,34762],{},"Summoning circle",[307,34764,34765,506,34768,34771,34772,34775],{},[1090,34766,34767],{},"魔法瓶",[103,34769],{"src":34770,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-魔法瓶.mp3"," | まほうびん | Mahou-bin | ",[1090,34773,34774],{},"Thermos, flask"," (Lit. A magic bottle!)",[847,34777,34779],{"id":34778},"verb-to-appear-出現する-しゅつげん-する-shutsugen-suru",[1090,34780,34781],{},"Verb: To appear | 出現する | しゅつげん する | Shutsugen suru",[50,34783],{"src":34784,"width":2696,"height":34785,"alt":34786},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-portal.jpeg",895,"A passive of a massive magical portal opening up in the middle of Seoul",[11,34788,34789,506,34792,34795,34796,1466,34799,34802],{},[1090,34790,34791],{},"出現",[103,34793],{"src":34794,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-出現.mp3"," is a noun that means ",[1090,34797,34798],{},"appearance",[1090,34800,34801],{},"arrival"," by itself.",[11,34804,34805,506,34808,34811,34812,34815],{},[1090,34806,34807],{},"する",[103,34809],{"src":34810,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-する.mp3"," means “",[1090,34813,34814],{},"to do",",” and is likely one of the very first verbs you’ll learn when you start Japanese.",[11,34817,34818,34819,34822,34823,34826,34827,415],{},"Put the two together and you make a verb that means “",[1090,34820,34821],{},"to appear",".” However, though it uses the active する (to do) and not the passive される (to be done) ",[103,34824],{"src":34825,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-される.mp3",", it stills takes on a passive tone of \"",[1090,34828,34829],{},"having appeared\" (by itself)",[11,34831,23201,34832,34834,34835,34838],{},[26,34833,34380],{},", the context of this verb is that the gates linking the real world to another dimension “have appeared.” No one ",[26,34836,34837],{},"made"," them appear, but they appeared all the same.",[847,34840,34842],{"id":34841},"verb-to-pass-through-潜る-くぐる-kuguru",[1090,34843,34844],{},"Verb: To pass through | 潜る | くぐる | Kuguru",[50,34846],{"src":34847,"width":2696,"height":34848,"alt":34849},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-kuguru.jpeg",893,"A screenshot of a portal gate—the sort of thing you'd be passing through if you were an adventurer!",[11,34851,34852],{},"In a world with portals and gates, you’re going to need to know the verb for passing through such a thing, aren’t you? Well, here you go!",[11,34854,34855,506,34858,34811,34861,34864,34865,506,34868,415],{},[1090,34856,34857],{},"潜る",[103,34859],{"src":34860,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-くぐる.mp3",[1090,34862,34863],{},"to pass through (something)",".” In this case, passing through a portal and into the confines of a ",[1090,34866,34867],{},"洞窟 どうくつ (dungeon)",[103,34869],{"src":34870,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-洞窟.mp3",[11,34872,34873,34874,34641,34877,34880,34881,34883],{},"It can also be used for ",[1090,34875,34876],{},"diving into (or under) water",[1090,34878,34879],{},"to evade or slip past (something)",". And just like that, you know a verb that might be used in ",[26,34882,3500],{}," different ways!",[847,34885,34887],{"id":34886},"sound-roar-bellow-咆哮-ほうこう-houkou",[1090,34888,34889],{},"Sound: Roar, bellow | 咆哮 | ほうこう | Houkou",[50,34891],{"src":34892,"width":2696,"height":16238,"alt":34893},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-roar.jpeg","A screenshot of a giant beast, roaring",[11,34895,34896,34897,34899,34900,506,34903,34906,34907,415],{},"If you’re watching an anime with monsters, goblins, and fantastical creatures, you’re going to see this one a ",[26,34898,4778],{},". Normally seen between brackets to clarify that it’s a sound being heard, rather than dialogue, ",[1090,34901,34902],{},"咆哮",[103,34904],{"src":34905,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-咆哮.mp3"," can refer to multiple sounds, including a ",[1090,34908,34909],{},"roar, bellow, howl, or yell",[11,34911,34912],{},"Though the sound itself varies, you can be sure that anything making this sound is rarely human; it’s some kind of beast, and it’s mad.",[11,34914,34915],{},"The two kanji making up 咆哮 are:",[304,34917,34918,34924],{},[307,34919,34920,34923],{},[1090,34921,34922],{},"咆:"," Bark, roar, get angry",[307,34925,34926,34929],{},[1090,34927,34928],{},"哮:"," Roar, howl, growl, bellow",[11,34931,34932,34933,34938],{},"Technically, ",[15,34934,34937],{"href":34935,"rel":34936},"https:\u002F\u002Fdetail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp\u002Fqa\u002Fquestion_detail\u002Fq1342577968",[971],"both characters can be used in standalone words"," to represent similar sounds:",[304,34940,34941,34954],{},[307,34942,34943,506,34946,34949,34950,34953],{},[1090,34944,34945],{},"咆える",[103,34947],{"src":34948,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-咆える.mp3"," | ほえる | Hoeru | ",[1090,34951,34952],{},"To roar"," (emphasis on the grittiness of the voice)",[307,34955,34956,506,34959,34949,34961,34964],{},[1090,34957,34958],{},"哮える",[103,34960],{"src":34948,":type":149},[1090,34962,34963],{},"To howl"," (emphasis on the loudness of the voice)",[11,34966,34967,34968,34971],{},"But if you see them together, think “",[26,34969,34970],{},"big mad",".”",[847,34973,34975],{"id":34974},"sound-rumble-in-the-ground-地鳴り-じなり-jinari",[1090,34976,34977],{},"Sound: Rumble (in the ground) | 地鳴り | じなり | Jinari",[50,34979],{"src":34980,"width":2696,"height":34981,"alt":34982},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-rumble.jpeg",899,"A screenshot of a few adventurer bros, nervous as the ground rumbles",[11,34984,34985,506,34988,34991],{},[1090,34986,34987],{},"地鳴り",[103,34989],{"src":34990,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-地鳴り.mp3"," is made up of two kanji:",[304,34993,34994,35000],{},[307,34995,34996,34999],{},[1090,34997,34998],{},"地:"," じ (ji), meaning “earth” or “ground.”",[307,35001,35002,35005],{},[1090,35003,35004],{},"鳴り:"," なり (nari), meaning a sound, ring or echo.",[11,35007,35008],{},"Together, think of a low rumbling sound, as if an earthquake is taking place, a large cavern is about to collapse, or a large swarm of ants are heading your way for a fight.",[11,35010,35011,35014],{},[1090,35012,35013],{},"鳴り"," is also often used for animal or crying sounds, such as in:",[304,35016,35017,35029],{},[307,35018,35019,506,35022,35025,35026],{},[1090,35020,35021],{},"鳴く",[103,35023],{"src":35024,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-鳴く.mp3"," | なく | Naku | ",[1090,35027,35028],{},"To call, to cry, to chirp (Verb)",[307,35030,35031,506,35034,35037,35038],{},[1090,35032,35033],{},"鳴き声",[103,35035],{"src":35036,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-鳴き声.mp3"," | なきごえ | Naki-goe | ",[1090,35039,35040],{},"Cry, roar, tweet, whine (Noun)",[11,35042,35043],{},"You’ll see this one a lot, often used with loud or whiny sounds. Get ready!",[45,35045,35047],{"id":35046},"more-japanese-vocab-from-solo-leveling",[1090,35048,35049],{},"More Japanese vocab from Solo Leveling",[11,35051,35052],{},"Those words appear all the time in fantasy anime... but they're also not words you'd encounter in a textbook. There's a place for formal learning, but if you want to get good at watching anime, you really need to spend time actually watching anime.",[11,35054,35055],{},"Here are just a few Japanese words you could pick up from the very first episode of Solo Leveling—many of which will continue to appear throughout the series, meaning you’ll pick them up through repetition in no time!",[11,35057,35058],{},"First, here's a table of nouns you'll see if you watch Solo Leveling in Jpaanese:",[67,35060,35061,35081],{},[70,35062,35063],{},[73,35064,35065,35069,35073,35077],{},[76,35066,35067],{},[1090,35068,3918],{},[76,35070,35071],{"align":78},[1090,35072,18161],{},[76,35074,35075],{"align":78},[1090,35076,85],{},[76,35078,35079],{},[1090,35080,1279],{},[87,35082,35083,35100,35117,35133,35150,35167,35183,35200,35217,35234,35251,35268,35285,35302,35319,35335,35352,35369,35386,35403,35420,35437],{},[73,35084,35085,35091,35094,35097],{},[92,35086,35087,35088],{},"艦長 ",[103,35089],{"src":35090,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-艦長.mp3",[92,35092,35093],{"align":78},"かんちょう",[92,35095,35096],{"align":78},"Kanchou",[92,35098,35099],{},"Captain (of a ship)",[73,35101,35102,35108,35111,35114],{},[92,35103,35104,35105],{},"通常兵器 ",[103,35106],{"src":35107,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-通常兵器.mp3",[92,35109,35110],{"align":78},"つうじょうへいき",[92,35112,35113],{"align":78},"Tsuujou-heiki",[92,35115,35116],{},"Conventional weapon",[73,35118,35119,35124,35127,35130],{},[92,35120,35121,35122],{},"兵器 ",[103,35123],{"src":34640,":type":149},[92,35125,35126],{"align":78},"へいき",[92,35128,35129],{"align":78},"Heiki",[92,35131,35132],{},"Weapon",[73,35134,35135,35141,35144,35147],{},[92,35136,35137,35138],{},"群れ群れの N ",[103,35139],{"src":35140,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-群れ群れの.mp3",[92,35142,35143],{"align":78},"むれ むれの N",[92,35145,35146],{"align":78},"Mure Mure no [noun]",[92,35148,35149],{},"Pack (e.g. of dogs) Swarm (of insects)",[73,35151,35152,35158,35161,35164],{},[92,35153,35154,35155],{},"異次元 ",[103,35156],{"src":35157,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-異次元.mp3",[92,35159,35160],{"align":78},"　いじげん",[92,35162,35163],{"align":78},"Ijigen",[92,35165,35166],{},"A different dimension",[73,35168,35169,35174,35177,35180],{},[92,35170,35171,35172],{},"魔法　",[103,35173],{"src":34712,":type":149},[92,35175,35176],{"align":78},"まほう",[92,35178,35179],{"align":78},"Mahou",[92,35181,35182],{},"Magic",[73,35184,35185,35191,35194,35197],{},[92,35186,35187,35188],{},"魔力 ",[103,35189],{"src":35190,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-魔力.mp3",[92,35192,35193],{"align":78},"まりょく",[92,35195,35196],{"align":78},"Maryoku",[92,35198,35199],{},"Magic power",[73,35201,35202,35208,35211,35214],{},[92,35203,35204,35205],{},"要求 ",[103,35206],{"src":35207,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-要求.mp3",[92,35209,35210],{"align":78},"ようきゅう",[92,35212,35213],{"align":78},"Youkyuu",[92,35215,35216],{},"Demand, (firm) request, desire",[73,35218,35219,35225,35228,35231],{},[92,35220,35221,35222],{},"嫁 ",[103,35223],{"src":35224,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-嫁.mp3",[92,35226,35227],{"align":78},"よめ",[92,35229,35230],{"align":78},"Yome",[92,35232,35233],{},"Wife (though it used to mean “daughter-in-law”)",[73,35235,35236,35242,35245,35248],{},[92,35237,35238,35239],{},"生業 ",[103,35240],{"src":35241,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-生業.mp3",[92,35243,35244],{"align":78},"なりわい",[92,35246,35247],{"align":78},"Nariwai",[92,35249,35250],{},"Occupation, livelihood",[73,35252,35253,35259,35262,35265],{},[92,35254,35255,35256],{},"実力者 ",[103,35257],{"src":35258,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-実力者.mp3",[92,35260,35261],{"align":78},"じつりょくしゃ",[92,35263,35264],{"align":78},"Jitsu-ryoku-sha",[92,35266,35267],{},"Influential person, powerful person",[73,35269,35270,35276,35279,35282],{},[92,35271,35272,35273],{},"別名 ",[103,35274],{"src":35275,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-別名.mp3",[92,35277,35278],{"align":78},"べつめい",[92,35280,35281],{"align":78},"Betsumei",[92,35283,35284],{},"Alias, pseudonym",[73,35286,35287,35293,35296,35299],{},[92,35288,35289,35290],{},"戦利品 ",[103,35291],{"src":35292,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-戦利品.mp3",[92,35294,35295],{"align":78},"せんりひん",[92,35297,35298],{"align":78},"Senrihin",[92,35300,35301],{},"Spoils of war, booty",[73,35303,35304,35310,35313,35316],{},[92,35305,35306,35307],{},"鉱脈 ",[103,35308],{"src":35309,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-鉱脈.mp3",[92,35311,35312],{"align":78},"こうみゃき",[92,35314,35315],{"align":78},"Kou-myaku",[92,35317,35318],{},"Vein (of ore)",[73,35320,35321,35326,35329,35332],{},[92,35322,35323,35324],{},"洞窟 ",[103,35325],{"src":34870,":type":149},[92,35327,35328],{"align":78},"どうくつ",[92,35330,35331],{"align":78},"Doukutsu",[92,35333,35334],{},"Cavern, cave",[73,35336,35337,35343,35346,35349],{},[92,35338,35339,35340],{},"命拾い ",[103,35341],{"src":35342,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-命拾い.mp3",[92,35344,35345],{"align":78},"いのちびろい",[92,35347,35348],{"align":78},"Inochi-biroi",[92,35350,35351],{},"A narrow escape from death",[73,35353,35354,35360,35363,35366],{},[92,35355,35356,35357],{},"獲物 ",[103,35358],{"src":35359,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-獲物.mp3",[92,35361,35362],{"align":78},"えもの",[92,35364,35365],{"align":78},"Emono",[92,35367,35368],{},"Prey, catch, kill, game Spoils, loot",[73,35370,35371,35377,35380,35383],{},[92,35372,35373,35374],{},"多数決 ",[103,35375],{"src":35376,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-多数決.mp3",[92,35378,35379],{"align":78},"たすうけつ",[92,35381,35382],{"align":78},"Tasuuketsu",[92,35384,35385],{},"Majority decision, majority vote",[73,35387,35388,35394,35397,35400],{},[92,35389,35390,35391],{},"失踪 ",[103,35392],{"src":35393,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-失踪.mp3",[92,35395,35396],{"align":78},"しっそう",[92,35398,35399],{"align":78},"Shissou",[92,35401,35402],{},"Disappearance, running away",[73,35404,35405,35411,35414,35417],{},[92,35406,35407,35408],{},"老若男女 ",[103,35409],{"src":35410,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-老若男女.mp3",[92,35412,35413],{"align":78},"ろう-にゃく-なん-にょ",[92,35415,35416],{"align":78},"Rou-nyaku-nan-nyo",[92,35418,35419],{},"men and women of all ages",[73,35421,35422,35428,35431,35434],{},[92,35423,35424,35425],{},"有望　",[103,35426],{"src":35427,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-有望.mp3",[92,35429,35430],{"align":78},"ゆうぼう",[92,35432,35433],{"align":78},"Yuubou",[92,35435,35436],{},"Good prospects, promising",[73,35438,35439,35445,35448,35451],{},[92,35440,35441,35442],{},"N の瀬戸際　",[103,35443],{"src":35444,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-何々の瀬戸際.mp3",[92,35446,35447],{"align":78},"せとぎわ [N]のとぎわ",[92,35449,35450],{"align":78},"[Noun] no setogiwa",[92,35452,35453],{},"The brink of [noun]",[11,35455,35456],{},"And here's a bunch of Japanese verbs you'll encounter in the show:",[67,35458,35459,35479],{},[70,35460,35461],{},[73,35462,35463,35467,35471,35475],{},[76,35464,35465],{"align":78},[1090,35466,3918],{},[76,35468,35469],{"align":78},[1090,35470,18161],{},[76,35472,35473],{"align":78},[1090,35474,85],{},[76,35476,35477],{},[1090,35478,1279],{},[87,35480,35481,35498,35518,35535,35552,35569,35586,35603,35620,35637,35654],{},[73,35482,35483,35489,35492,35495],{},[92,35484,35485,35486],{"align":78},"託す ",[103,35487],{"src":35488,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-託す.mp3",[92,35490,35491],{"align":78},"たくす　",[92,35493,35494],{"align":78},"Takusu",[92,35496,35497],{},"To entrust, to place under someone's care (an important task)",[73,35499,35500,35506,35509,35512],{},[92,35501,35502,35503],{"align":78},"任せる ",[103,35504],{"src":35505,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-任せる.mp3",[92,35507,35508],{"align":78},"まかせる",[92,35510,35511],{"align":78},"Makaseru",[92,35513,35514,35515,35517],{},"Also “to entrust something to someone” ",[292,35516],{}," (but with less emphasis on how important the task is)",[73,35519,35520,35526,35529,35532],{},[92,35521,35522,35523],{"align":78},"伏せる ",[103,35524],{"src":35525,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-伏せる.mp3",[92,35527,35528],{"align":78},"ふせる",[92,35530,35531],{"align":78},"Fuseru",[92,35533,35534],{},"To cast your eyes down, lie face down, retire to bed (with an illness)",[73,35536,35537,35543,35546,35549],{},[92,35538,35539,35540],{"align":78},"突っ走る ",[103,35541],{"src":35542,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-突っ走る.mp3",[92,35544,35545],{"align":78},"つっぱしる",[92,35547,35548],{"align":78},"Tsuppashiru",[92,35550,35551],{},"To run swiftly, to dash",[73,35553,35554,35560,35563,35566],{},[92,35555,35556,35557],{"align":78},"N に覚醒 ",[103,35558],{"src":35559,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-何々に覚醒.mp3",[92,35561,35562],{"align":78},"N にかくせい",[92,35564,35565],{"align":78},"[Noun] ni kakusei",[92,35567,35568],{},"To awaken [noun]",[73,35570,35571,35577,35580,35583],{},[92,35572,35573,35574],{"align":78},"粘る ",[103,35575],{"src":35576,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-粘る.mp3",[92,35578,35579],{"align":78},"ねばる",[92,35581,35582],{"align":78},"Nebaru",[92,35584,35585],{},"To persevere (literally \"to be sticky\")",[73,35587,35588,35594,35597,35600],{},[92,35589,35590,35591],{"align":78},"込められる ",[103,35592],{"src":35593,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-込められる.m4a",[92,35595,35596],{"align":78},"こめられる",[92,35598,35599],{"align":78},"Komerareru",[92,35601,35602],{},"To be put into, to be imbued",[73,35604,35605,35611,35614,35617],{},[92,35606,35607,35608],{"align":78},"採掘する ",[103,35609],{"src":35610,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-採掘する.mp3",[92,35612,35613],{"align":78},"さいくつ する",[92,35615,35616],{"align":78},"Saikutsu suru",[92,35618,35619],{},"Mining, to mine",[73,35621,35622,35628,35631,35634],{},[92,35623,35624,35625],{"align":78},"死にかける ",[103,35626],{"src":35627,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-死にかける.mp3",[92,35629,35630],{"align":78},"しにかける",[92,35632,35633],{"align":78},"Shi-ni-kakeru",[92,35635,35636],{},"To be dying, to be close to death",[73,35638,35639,35645,35648,35651],{},[92,35640,35641,35642],{"align":78},"閉じ込める ",[103,35643],{"src":35644,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-閉じ込める.mp3",[92,35646,35647],{"align":78},"とじこめる",[92,35649,35650],{"align":78},"Toji-komeru",[92,35652,35653],{},"To imprison, to lock up",[73,35655,35656,35662,35665,35668],{},[92,35657,35658,35659],{"align":78},"隙をうかがう ",[103,35660],{"src":35661,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-隙をうかがう.mp3",[92,35663,35664],{"align":78},"すきをうかがう",[92,35666,35667],{"align":78},"Suki wo ukagau",[92,35669,35670],{},"To watch for an unguarded moment",[42,35672],{},[45,35674,35676],{"id":35675},"learning-japanese-with-anime-migaku",[1090,35677,35678],{},"Learning Japanese with anime & Migaku",[11,35680,35681],{},"Ready to start leveling up your own Japanese? All you need is two things:",[304,35683,35684,35692],{},[307,35685,35686,35688,35689,35691],{},[1090,35687,34254],{}," (Japanese subs) or ",[1090,35690,34502],{}," (English subs)",[307,35693,35694,35696,35697,35700,35701],{},[1090,35695,12314],{},"—or at least our ",[15,35698,35699],{"href":17},"10-day free trial",", just to get you started!\n",[304,35702,35703],{},[307,35704,35705],{},[26,35706,35707],{},"Note: Migaku does not currently support Crunchy Roll. To watch Solo Leveling with Japanese subtitles, you can connect to Japanese Netflix via a VPN.",[11,35709,35710],{},"Here’s how easy it is to start learning Japanese with anime.",[11,35712,35713,35714,415],{},"Choose whichever anime you’ve had your eye on (but been too nervous to start because of the language barrier). In this case, let’s say it’s ",[26,35715,34380],{},[50,35717],{"src":35718,"width":35719,"height":35720,"alt":35721},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-screen.jpeg",2396,1006,"A screenshot taken from the anime of Solo Leveling",[11,35723,35724],{},"If you watch it on Netflix via Migaku, the subtitles will become interactive. When you come across a word you don’t know, you can tap directly on the word and your class in Japanese from anime begins!",[50,35726],{"src":35727,"width":35728,"height":16634,"alt":35729},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-dictionary.jpeg",2408,"How the same scene from the anime looks when parsed by Migaku",[11,35731,35732],{},"You can see a definition of the word you've clicked on, an AI breakdown of how it fits into this particular sentence, a translation of the dialogue to a language of your choosing... and more.",[11,35734,35735],{},"Now let’s say that you've come across 任せる a few times and have decided you want to learn it. Tap that orange button you see in the top-right corner of the pop-up dictionary to automatically create a flashcard that looks like this:",[50,35737],{"src":35738,"width":35739,"height":35740,"alt":35741},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-flashcards.jpeg",2264,1272,"A screenshot showing the flashcards Migaku automatically made from an episode of Solo Leveling",[11,35743,35744],{},"The card contains:",[304,35746,35747,35750,35753,35756,35759],{},[307,35748,35749],{},"The word itself",[307,35751,35752],{},"A definition",[307,35754,35755],{},"The sentence the word was being used in the anime",[307,35757,35758],{},"A snippet of the audio of this sentence's audio",[307,35760,35761],{},"A variety of other things you can manually tweak or configure to be one automatically",[11,35763,35764,35765,35767],{},"By testing yourself on these Cards over time, you’re sure to build up your vocabulary even faster, making future episodes of ",[26,35766,34380],{}," (and any anime!) easier to understand and enjoy.",[674,35769],{"href":17,"text":676},[45,35771,35773],{"id":35772},"more-fantasy-anime-you-might-like",[1090,35774,35775],{},"More fantasy anime you might like",[11,35777,35778,35779,35781],{},"Once you’ve picked up enough action, fantasy, and dungeon-related vocabulary from ",[26,35780,34380],{},", why not give a few other fantasy anime a try? You might find that you’ve already picked up enough relevant Japanese that you can actually keep up with slashing and spell-casting a little easier.",[11,35783,35784,35785,35788],{},"To jump into a few more ",[26,35786,35787],{},"isekai"," (new worlds) with anime, try watching:",[304,35790,35791,35797,35803,35809],{},[307,35792,35793,35796],{},[1090,35794,35795],{},"Sword Art Online",": Perhaps the biggest action-fantasy anime out there.",[307,35798,35799,35802],{},[1090,35800,35801],{},"Frieren: Beyond Journey's End:"," An elf journeys with a band of warriors, all doomed to die before her.",[307,35804,35805,35808],{},[1090,35806,35807],{},"Delicious in Dungeon (Dungeon Meshi)"," A ragtag group delves into dungeons, turning creatures into delicious meals as they go.",[307,35810,35811,35814,35815,35817],{},[1090,35812,35813],{},"So I’m a Spider, So What?"," Join a weeb reincarnated as a spider in a fantasy world. She crawled so ",[26,35816,34380],{}," could run.",[11,35819,35820,35821,3691],{},"Or, to try another angle, try ",[15,35822,35823],{"href":22863},"learning Japanese through manga",[45,35825,35827],{"id":35826},"conclusion-learning-japanese-with-anime",[1090,35828,35829],{},"Conclusion: Learning Japanese with anime",[11,35831,35832],{},"Though jumping into a new language by diving right into a show might seem scary at first, it’s much like a dungeon… With each new word you learn—and each new creature you slay—you’ll level up.",[11,35834,35835],{},"What once was an unknown word becomes a new skill in your inventory, leading you deeper into the dungeons of a language and culture you once yearned to understand.",[320,35837,35838,35841,35843],{},[287,35839,35840],{"bold":289,"underline":289},"\nThe golden rule of language learning\n",[292,35842],{},[287,35844,35845],{},"\n If you consume Japanese media, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you'll make progress. Period.\n",[11,35847,35848,35849,35852],{},"With Migaku by your side, keep your motivation sharp and before you know it, ",[26,35850,35851],{},"you’ll"," be the final boss.",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":35854},[35855,35857,35859,35860,35869,35870,35871,35872],{"id":34405,"depth":707,"text":35856},"What is Solo Leveling?",{"id":34476,"depth":707,"text":35858},"Where can I watch Solo Leveling?",{"id":34527,"depth":707,"text":34530},{"id":34607,"depth":707,"text":35861,"children":35862},"Japanese vocab you can learn from Solo Leveling",[35863,35864,35865,35866,35867,35868],{"id":34624,"depth":1016,"text":34627},{"id":34697,"depth":1016,"text":34700},{"id":34778,"depth":1016,"text":34781},{"id":34841,"depth":1016,"text":34844},{"id":34886,"depth":1016,"text":34889},{"id":34974,"depth":1016,"text":34977},{"id":35046,"depth":707,"text":35049},{"id":35675,"depth":707,"text":35678},{"id":35772,"depth":707,"text":35775},{"id":35826,"depth":707,"text":35829},"Can you learn Japanese through anime? See how you could be watching Solo Leveling to learn Japanese—with Migaku by your side. Find out more…",{"timestampUnix":35875,"slug":35876,"h1":35877,"image":35878,"tags":35883},1747720134938,"solo-leveling-japanese","How to learn Japanese by watching Solo Leveling",{"src":35879,"width":35880,"height":35881,"alt":35882},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-learn-japanese-solo-leveling.jpeg",2000,1416,"A screenshot of the landing splash page of Solo Leveling, which is about to become an awesome resource to help you learn Japanese.",[9426],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-solo-leveling","---\ntitle: 'Use Solo Leveling to Level Up Your Japanese | Migaku'\ndescription: 'Can you learn Japanese through anime? See how you could be watching Solo Leveling to learn Japanese—with Migaku by your side. Find out more…'\ntimestampUnix: 1747720134938\nslug: 'solo-leveling-japanese'\nh1: 'How to learn Japanese by watching Solo Leveling'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-learn-japanese-solo-leveling.jpeg'\n width: 2000\n height: 1416\n alt: 'A screenshot of the landing splash page of Solo Leveling, which is about to become an awesome resource to help you learn Japanese.'\ntags:\n - contentrecs\n---\n\nIf you’ve been hooked by the intense action and stunning visuals of _Solo Leveling_, you’re not alone. Or maybe you’ve been waiting until you know a bit more Japanese to jump into the fantastical world of dungeon raiding and monster fighting? Either way, this hit anime can be a powerful tool for learning Japanese.\n\nMost importantly, combining your language goals with gripping anime series like _Solo Leveling_ makes studying feel a lot less like homework. It can reduce the mental pressure of “learning” by making it fun, and honestly… that’s key to keeping yourself motivated.\n\nWe’ll explore how anime can help you [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), introduce key vocab straight from the show, and show you how tools like Netflix and Migaku can help you on your Japanese journey.\n\nReady? Step into the world of _Solo Leveling_:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## **What is _Solo Leveling_?**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-what-is-solo-leveling.jpeg\" width=\"1536\" height=\"864\" alt=\"An image of the protagonist of Solo Leveling\" \u002F>\n\n_Solo Leveling_ is a South Korean web novel, _manhwa_ (Korean comic), and now also an anime. It falls into the genres of action, fantasy, and adventure, often described as part of the \"[system-based leveling](https:\u002F\u002Ftvtropes.org\u002Fpmwiki\u002Fpmwiki.php\u002FMain\u002FGameSystem)\" or \"[dungeon hunter](https:\u002F\u002Ftvtropes.org\u002Fpmwiki\u002Fpmwiki.php\u002FMain\u002FDungeonCrawling)\" sub-genre.\n\nIt was first published between 2016–2018 by Chugong as a web novel. Following its popularity, it was illustrated by Jang Sung-rak (Dubu) of Redice Studio as a _manhwa_ (Korean comic)—also known as a “webtoon”—between 2018-2021.\n\nNow, _Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadow_ is the anime that’s taking the world by storm. Developed by A-1 Pictures and first premiering on Crunchyroll in January, it’s broken multiple anime records:\n\n- **Most-rated anime:** _Solo Leveling_ took the top spot from _One Piece_ (596,000 reviews) and _Demon Slayer_ (586,000 reviews) as the most-rated anime on Crunchyroll, surpassing 600,000 reviews.\n\n- **Fastest episodes to 100k likes:** Multiple episodes have reached 100k likes in under two hours.\n\n## **Where can I watch _Solo Leveling_?**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-watch-solo-leveling-learn-japanese.jpeg\" width=\"1280\" height=\"640\" alt=\"A screenshot of one of Solo Leveling's antagonists\" \u002F>\n\nYou can watch _Solo Leveling_ on:\n\n- [**Crunchyroll**](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.crunchyroll.com\u002Fseries\u002FGDKHZEJ0K\u002Fsolo-leveling?srsltid=AfmBOoq829NQMlllNUz9gFVSPGaXYlitJBTN0eotLmK0TUCiQs9Xw-zX) **(outside of Japan)**\n- [**Netflix**](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.netflix.com\u002Fbrowse?jbv=81749761) **(within Japan)**\n\nWhile you may be reading this from outside Japan, and therefore have access to multiple languages, you’re going to choose the original Japanese voice acting—perfect for training your listening skills—and either the subtitles of your native language _or_ Japanese.\n\nOr, if you watch with Migaku, you can use subtitles in both languages simultaneously\\!\n\n## **Can you really learn Japanese from anime?**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-learn-japanese.jpeg\" width=\"1280\" height=\"640\" alt=\"A screenshot of the protagonist of Solo Levleing after he's leveled up a bit\" \u002F>\n\nYou might be wondering… “This is great, and _Solo Leveling_ sounds interesting, but can I _really_ learn Japanese from anime?”\n\nThe short answer is _yes_\\! As you might already know from our article on [**mastering Japanese vocabulary**](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary), the best way to work towards fluency in any language is to increase the range of words you know and understand by consuming content you enjoy.\n\nBut _which_ words should you learn?\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FTh4sh5iHyY8?si=LPTKX7vQYXVfyawx\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\nAs it turns out, different words are used more or less often in different scenarios. \"Spatula\" is a useful word to know if you enjoy cooking and reading recipes in other languages, but it's not super useful outside of that context. The same concept can be applied to most vocabulary words, beyond the most common few thousand.\n\n> With this in mind, if you want to watch anime, it's really important to learn the sort of words that frequently get used in anime. The best way to do this is by _watching_ anime.\n\nAs you watch your favorite series, encounter that show's vocabulary words more often, and perhaps make flashcards out of those words—you'll learn them. (Naturally, you'll also learn lots of everyday Japanese words, too.)\n\nIn fact, that’s another important aspect of language learning: The more you see a word, the more likely you are to remember it. \\*Spaced repetition systems (SRS)\\*\\*, such as Migaku Memory or Anki, automate this process—essentially ensuring that you'll eventually remember anything you make a flashcard out of.\n\n**Find out more:** [How Spaced Repetition (SRS) Can Help You Learn a New Language](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fspaced-repetition-language-learning#the-awesome-science-behind-spaced-repetition-systems)\n\nPut both of these things together and you’ll soon realize that you’re beginning to understand the characters in your favorite anime. Though it may begin with simple greetings and “_ogenki?_” (お元気?), it won’t be long before you’re starting to piece together longer sentences, seeing words you recognize, and picking out different characters’ unique ways of speaking.\n\n**So long as you're using Japanese to do something you enjoy, and understanding some of what you see or hear, you'll make progress.**\n\n---\n\n## **Japanese vocab you can learn from _Solo Leveling_**\n\nWhile we’re going to list out _all_ the useful and interesting phrases you could learn even just from the first episode of _Solo Leveling_ (no spoilers, of course\\!), we’re going to highlight a few common words and expressions you can expect in action or fantasy-based anime like this.\n\n### **Noun: Weapon | 兵器 | へいき | Heiki**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-weapon.jpeg\" width=\"1600\" height=\"898\" alt=\"A screenshots of soldiers firing their weapons\" \u002F>\n\n**兵器** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-兵器.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, or **weapon**, is made up of two kanji:\n\n- **兵:** Soldier, army, warfare\n- **器:** Container, utensil, instrument\n\nLiterally, a weapon is an “instrument of warfare.”\n\nUnderstanding 兵器 opens the door for new vocab found in news, anime, films and more:\n\n- **核兵器** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-核兵器.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | かくへいき | Kaku-heiki | **Nuclear weapons**\n- **化学兵器** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-化学兵器.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | かがくへいき | Kagaku-heiki | **Chemical weapons**\n\nAlthough you hopefully won’t need either of these words in daily life, can’t you already see how just picking up 兵器 as “weapon” begins to give you a better understanding of what a word might mean?\n\n### **Noun: Magic | 魔法 | まほう | Mahou**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-magic.jpeg\" width=\"1600\" height=\"898\" alt=\"A screenshot of a character receiving a healing spell\" \u002F>\n\n**魔法** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-魔法.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, or **magic**, is another common word that comes up in anime:\n\n- **魔:** Witch, demon\n- **法:** Method, system\n\nLiterally, magic is a “witch’s method.” So, magic, or a spell.\n\nAgain, this opens a portal to a new world of words:\n\n- **魔法使い** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-魔法使い.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | まほう-つかい | Mahou-tsukai | **Witch, wizard, magician**\n- **魔法陣** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-魔法陣.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | まほうじん | Mahou-jin | **Summoning circle**\n- **魔法瓶** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-魔法瓶.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | まほうびん | Mahou-bin | **Thermos, flask** (Lit. A magic bottle\\!)\n\n### **Verb: To appear | 出現する | しゅつげん する | Shutsugen suru**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-portal.jpeg\" width=\"1600\" height=\"895\" alt=\"A passive of a massive magical portal opening up in the middle of Seoul\" \u002F>\n\n**出現** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-出現.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is a noun that means **appearance** or **arrival** by itself.\n\n**する** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-する.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> means “**to do**,” and is likely one of the very first verbs you’ll learn when you start Japanese.\n\nPut the two together and you make a verb that means “**to appear**.” However, though it uses the active する (to do) and not the passive される (to be done) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-される.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, it stills takes on a passive tone of \"**having appeared\" (by itself)**.\n\nIn _Solo Leveling_, the context of this verb is that the gates linking the real world to another dimension “have appeared.” No one _made_ them appear, but they appeared all the same.\n\n### **Verb: To pass through | 潜る | くぐる | Kuguru**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-kuguru.jpeg\" width=\"1600\" height=\"893\" alt=\"A screenshot of a portal gate—the sort of thing you'd be passing through if you were an adventurer!\" \u002F>\n\nIn a world with portals and gates, you’re going to need to know the verb for passing through such a thing, aren’t you? Well, here you go\\!\n\n**潜る** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-くぐる.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> means “**to pass through (something)**.” In this case, passing through a portal and into the confines of a **洞窟 どうくつ (dungeon)** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-洞窟.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>.\n\nIt can also be used for **diving into (or under) water**, or **to evade or slip past (something)**. And just like that, you know a verb that might be used in _three_ different ways\\!\n\n### **Sound: Roar, bellow | 咆哮 | ほうこう | Houkou**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-roar.jpeg\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" alt=\"A screenshot of a giant beast, roaring\" \u002F>\n\nIf you’re watching an anime with monsters, goblins, and fantastical creatures, you’re going to see this one a _lot_. Normally seen between brackets to clarify that it’s a sound being heard, rather than dialogue, **咆哮** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-咆哮.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> can refer to multiple sounds, including a **roar, bellow, howl, or yell**.\n\nThough the sound itself varies, you can be sure that anything making this sound is rarely human; it’s some kind of beast, and it’s mad.\n\nThe two kanji making up 咆哮 are:\n\n- **咆:** Bark, roar, get angry\n- **哮:** Roar, howl, growl, bellow\n\nTechnically, [both characters can be used in standalone words](https:\u002F\u002Fdetail.chiebukuro.yahoo.co.jp\u002Fqa\u002Fquestion_detail\u002Fq1342577968) to represent similar sounds:\n\n- **咆える** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-咆える.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ほえる | Hoeru | **To roar** (emphasis on the grittiness of the voice)\n- **哮える** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-咆える.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ほえる | Hoeru | **To howl** (emphasis on the loudness of the voice)\n\nBut if you see them together, think “_big mad_.”\n\n### **Sound: Rumble (in the ground) | 地鳴り | じなり | Jinari**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-rumble.jpeg\" width=\"1600\" height=\"899\" alt=\"A screenshot of a few adventurer bros, nervous as the ground rumbles\" \u002F>\n\n**地鳴り** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-地鳴り.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is made up of two kanji:\n\n- **地:** じ (ji), meaning “earth” or “ground.”\n- **鳴り:** なり (nari), meaning a sound, ring or echo.\n\nTogether, think of a low rumbling sound, as if an earthquake is taking place, a large cavern is about to collapse, or a large swarm of ants are heading your way for a fight.\n\n**鳴り** is also often used for animal or crying sounds, such as in:\n\n- **鳴く** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-鳴く.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | なく | Naku | **To call, to cry, to chirp (Verb)**\n- **鳴き声** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-鳴き声.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | なきごえ | Naki-goe | **Cry, roar, tweet, whine (Noun)**\n\nYou’ll see this one a lot, often used with loud or whiny sounds. Get ready\\!\n\n## **More Japanese vocab from Solo Leveling**\n\nThose words appear all the time in fantasy anime... but they're also not words you'd encounter in a textbook. There's a place for formal learning, but if you want to get good at watching anime, you really need to spend time actually watching anime.\n\nHere are just a few Japanese words you could pick up from the very first episode of Solo Leveling—many of which will continue to appear throughout the series, meaning you’ll pick them up through repetition in no time\\!\n\nFirst, here's a table of nouns you'll see if you watch Solo Leveling in Jpaanese:\n\n| **Japanese** | **Hiragana** | **Romaji** | **Meaning** |\n| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | :--------------------: | :-------------------: | ----------------------------------------------- |\n| 艦長 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-艦長.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | かんちょう | Kanchou | Captain (of a ship) |\n| 通常兵器 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-通常兵器.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | つうじょうへいき | Tsuujou-heiki | Conventional weapon |\n| 兵器 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-兵器.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | へいき | Heiki | Weapon |\n| 群れ群れの N \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-群れ群れの.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | むれ むれの N | Mure Mure no \\[noun\\] | Pack (e.g. of dogs) Swarm (of insects) |\n| 異次元 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-異次元.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | 　いじげん | Ijigen | A different dimension |\n| 魔法　\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-魔法.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | まほう | Mahou | Magic |\n| 魔力 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-魔力.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | まりょく | Maryoku | Magic power |\n| 要求 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-要求.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ようきゅう | Youkyuu | Demand, (firm) request, desire |\n| 嫁 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-嫁.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | よめ | Yome | Wife (though it used to mean “daughter-in-law”) |\n| 生業 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-生業.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | なりわい | Nariwai | Occupation, livelihood |\n| 実力者 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-実力者.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | じつりょくしゃ | Jitsu-ryoku-sha | Influential person, powerful person |\n| 別名 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-別名.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | べつめい | Betsumei | Alias, pseudonym |\n| 戦利品 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-戦利品.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | せんりひん | Senrihin | Spoils of war, booty |\n| 鉱脈 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-鉱脈.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | こうみゃき | Kou-myaku | Vein (of ore) |\n| 洞窟 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-洞窟.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | どうくつ | Doukutsu | Cavern, cave |\n| 命拾い \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-命拾い.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | いのちびろい | Inochi-biroi | A narrow escape from death |\n| 獲物 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-獲物.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | えもの | Emono | Prey, catch, kill, game Spoils, loot |\n| 多数決 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-多数決.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | たすうけつ | Tasuuketsu | Majority decision, majority vote |\n| 失踪 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-失踪.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | しっそう | Shissou | Disappearance, running away |\n| 老若男女 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-老若男女.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ろう-にゃく-なん-にょ | Rou-nyaku-nan-nyo | men and women of all ages |\n| 有望　\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-有望.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ゆうぼう | Yuubou | Good prospects, promising |\n| N の瀬戸際　\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-何々の瀬戸際.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | せとぎわ \\[N\\]のとぎわ | \\[Noun\\] no setogiwa | The brink of \\[noun\\] |\n\nAnd here's a bunch of Japanese verbs you'll encounter in the show:\n\n| **Japanese** | **Hiragana** | **Romaji** | **Meaning** |\n| :-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :------------: | :-----------------: | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| 託す \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-託す.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | たくす　 | Takusu | To entrust, to place under someone's care (an important task) |\n| 任せる \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-任せる.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | まかせる | Makaseru | Also “to entrust something to someone” \u003Cbr> (but with less emphasis on how important the task is) |\n| 伏せる \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-伏せる.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ふせる | Fuseru | To cast your eyes down, lie face down, retire to bed (with an illness) |\n| 突っ走る \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-突っ走る.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | つっぱしる | Tsuppashiru | To run swiftly, to dash |\n| N に覚醒 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-何々に覚醒.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | N にかくせい | \\[Noun\\] ni kakusei | To awaken \\[noun\\] |\n| 粘る \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-粘る.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | ねばる | Nebaru | To persevere (literally \"to be sticky\") |\n| 込められる \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-込められる.m4a\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | こめられる | Komerareru | To be put into, to be imbued |\n| 採掘する \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-採掘する.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | さいくつ する | Saikutsu suru | Mining, to mine |\n| 死にかける \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-死にかける.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | しにかける | Shi-ni-kakeru | To be dying, to be close to death |\n| 閉じ込める \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-閉じ込める.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | とじこめる | Toji-komeru | To imprison, to lock up |\n| 隙をうかがう \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-隙をうかがう.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | すきをうかがう | Suki wo ukagau | To watch for an unguarded moment |\n\n---\n\n## **Learning Japanese with anime & Migaku**\n\nReady to start leveling up your own Japanese? All you need is two things:\n\n- **Netflix** (Japanese subs) or **Crunchyroll** (English subs)\n- **Migaku**—or at least our [10-day free trial](\u002Flearn-japanese), just to get you started\\!\n - _Note: Migaku does not currently support Crunchy Roll. To watch Solo Leveling with Japanese subtitles, you can connect to Japanese Netflix via a VPN._\n\nHere’s how easy it is to start learning Japanese with anime.\n\nChoose whichever anime you’ve had your eye on (but been too nervous to start because of the language barrier). In this case, let’s say it’s _Solo Leveling_.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-screen.jpeg\" width=\"2396\" height=\"1006\" alt=\"A screenshot taken from the anime of Solo Leveling\" \u002F>\n\nIf you watch it on Netflix via Migaku, the subtitles will become interactive. When you come across a word you don’t know, you can tap directly on the word and your class in Japanese from anime begins\\!\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-dictionary.jpeg\" width=\"2408\" height=\"1030\" alt=\"How the same scene from the anime looks when parsed by Migaku\" \u002F>\n\nYou can see a definition of the word you've clicked on, an AI breakdown of how it fits into this particular sentence, a translation of the dialogue to a language of your choosing... and more.\n\nNow let’s say that you've come across 任せる a few times and have decided you want to learn it. Tap that orange button you see in the top-right corner of the pop-up dictionary to automatically create a flashcard that looks like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-solo-leveling-flashcards.jpeg\" width=\"2264\" height=\"1272\" alt=\"A screenshot showing the flashcards Migaku automatically made from an episode of Solo Leveling\" \u002F>\n\nThe card contains:\n\n- The word itself\n- A definition\n- The sentence the word was being used in the anime\n- A snippet of the audio of this sentence's audio\n- A variety of other things you can manually tweak or configure to be one automatically\n\nBy testing yourself on these Cards over time, you’re sure to build up your vocabulary even faster, making future episodes of _Solo Leveling_ (and any anime\\!) easier to understand and enjoy.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n## **More fantasy anime you might like**\n\nOnce you’ve picked up enough action, fantasy, and dungeon-related vocabulary from _Solo Leveling_, why not give a few other fantasy anime a try? You might find that you’ve already picked up enough relevant Japanese that you can actually keep up with slashing and spell-casting a little easier.\n\nTo jump into a few more _isekai_ (new worlds) with anime, try watching:\n\n- **Sword Art Online**: Perhaps the biggest action-fantasy anime out there.\n- **Frieren: Beyond Journey's End:** An elf journeys with a band of warriors, all doomed to die before her.\n- **Delicious in Dungeon (Dungeon Meshi)** A ragtag group delves into dungeons, turning creatures into delicious meals as they go.\n- **So I’m a Spider, So What?** Join a weeb reincarnated as a spider in a fantasy world. She crawled so _Solo Leveling_ could run.\n\nOr, to try another angle, try [learning Japanese through manga](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Flearn-japanese-with-manga#how-to-learn-from-manga-manga-recs)\\!\n\n## **Conclusion: Learning Japanese with anime**\n\nThough jumping into a new language by diving right into a show might seem scary at first, it’s much like a dungeon… With each new word you learn—and each new creature you slay—you’ll level up.\n\nWhat once was an unknown word becomes a new skill in your inventory, leading you deeper into the dungeons of a language and culture you once yearned to understand.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>The golden rule of language learning\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\u003CCenteredText> If you consume Japanese media, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you'll make progress. Period.\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\nWith Migaku by your side, keep your motivation sharp and before you know it, _you’ll_ be the final boss.\n",{"title":34372,"description":35873},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-solo-leveling","psytAqvWzzb_R1u7xhGUOdtIv-UfvtbNxuGdjZTPijI","May 20, 2025",{"id":35891,"title":35892,"body":35893,"description":36650,"extension":717,"meta":36651,"navigation":730,"path":36661,"rawbody":36662,"seo":36663,"stem":36664,"__hash__":36665,"timestampUnix":36652,"slug":36653,"h1":36654,"image":36655,"tags":36660,"_dir":736,"timestamp":36666},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-swears.md","Japanese Swear Words: A Guide to Curse Words and Expressions",{"type":8,"value":35894,"toc":36636},[35895,35898,35904,35907,35910,35916,35918,35920,35924,35930,35933,35972,35975,35984,35986,35990,35993,36150,36152,36156,36162,36165,36173,36176,36179,36183,36186,36197,36204,36207,36259,36261,36271,36273,36277,36280,36283,36286,36290,36293,36380,36384,36387,36471,36475,36478,36501,36504,36510,36513,36518,36520,36524,36527,36530,36536,36550,36553,36556,36558,36562,36565,36568,36571,36574,36579,36582,36599,36606,36608,36610,36614,36617,36620,36630,36633],[11,35896,35897],{},"When most people think of the Japanese language, images of bowing, polite keigo (formal speech), and a society deeply rooted in respect likely comes to mind.",[11,35899,35900,35901,415],{},"But you, my friend—you straight up Googled ",[26,35902,35903],{},"Japanese swear words",[11,35905,35906],{},"Nice.",[11,35908,35909],{},"As it happens, behind Japanese's stereotypically polite veneer, a treasure trove of \"colorful\" language just waiting for you to stub your toe on it. While perhaps not as explicit in nature or quite as widely used as in other cultures, the language does have its fair share of fascinating, nuanced, and occasionally eyebrow-raising curses.",[11,35911,35912,35913,35915],{},"Here, we'll cover all of the bad words we think a person might want to know—whether they want to ",[15,35914,18],{"href":17}," or not.",[39,35917],{},[42,35919],{},[45,35921,35923],{"id":35922},"why-learn-japanese-curse-words-anyway","Why learn Japanese curse words, anyway? ",[11,35925,35926,35927],{},"Before we actually share our first glorious bits of Japanese profanity, let’s take a minute to justify ourselves: why should you bother with swear words if you're learning Japanese? After all, you don’t need them to get through your day. Right? ",[26,35928,35929],{},"(Right?)",[11,35931,35932],{},"Well, here’s the thing:",[344,35934,35935,35943,35955],{},[307,35936,35937,35940,35942],{},[1090,35938,35939],{},"They help you understand native content",[292,35941],{},"If you’re consuming pretty much any Japanese media, you're going to run into profanity. These are real Japanese words that real Japanese people say. If you aren't up to speed on your rude derogatory language, you're occasionally going to miss emotional context and nuance. That would be unfortunate.",[307,35944,35945,35948,35950,35951,35954],{},[1090,35946,35947],{},"They reveal some sort of interesting cultural insights",[292,35949],{},"The things a language chooses to blaspheme with gives you a peek at what they consider sacred, and you can gain similarly interesting insights from taking a moment to consider the things they find demeaning or insulting. This likely won't ever be ",[26,35952,35953],{},"useful"," knowledge to you, but it's interesting food for thought.",[307,35956,35957,35960,35962,35963,35968,35969,35971],{},[1090,35958,35959],{},"They help you avoid offending people",[292,35961],{},"This one needs some context. Research has shown that, when speaking a second language, ",[15,35964,35967],{"href":35965,"rel":35966},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.researchgate.net\u002Fpublication\u002F237444929_The_Emotional_Force_of_Swearwords_and_Taboo_Words_in_the_Speech_of_Multilinguals",[971],"our depth perception for the offensiveness of curses is dulled",". If you don't take a moment to look into how bad a bad word ",[26,35970,22198],{}," is, you might end up inadvertently saying something much ruder than you expected.",[11,35973,35974],{},"We thus present you with this golden rule:",[320,35976,35977],{},[11,35978,35979],{},[1090,35980,35981],{},[287,35982,35983],{"bold":289},"Know, but don't use.",[42,35985],{},[45,35987,35989],{"id":35988},"common-japanese-swear-words-a-crash-course","Common Japanese Swear Words: A Crash Course",[11,35991,35992],{},"Here’s a list of some of the most common Japanese swear words, their meanings, and when they’re used.",[67,35994,35995,36008],{},[70,35996,35997],{},[73,35998,35999,36001,36003,36005],{},[76,36000,3918],{},[76,36002,85],{},[76,36004,1279],{},[76,36006,36007],{},"Notes",[87,36009,36010,36030,36050,36067,36084,36104,36127],{},[73,36011,36012,36018,36021,36024],{},[92,36013,36014,36015],{},"くそ ",[103,36016],{"src":36017,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-くそ.mp3",[92,36019,36020],{},"Kuso",[92,36022,36023],{},"Shit \u002F Damn",[92,36025,36026,36027,36029],{},"Literally means \"poo\", and used to express anger or frustration, just like in English. ",[292,36028],{},"Often combined with other words as a prefix, a la \"kuso gaki\" (spoiled brat, literally \"poo kid\")",[73,36031,36032,36038,36041,36044],{},[92,36033,36034,36035],{},"バカ ",[103,36036],{"src":36037,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ばか.mp3",[92,36039,36040],{},"Baka",[92,36042,36043],{},"Idiot \u002F Stupid",[92,36045,36046,36047,36049],{},"Probably the most famous Japanese swear word. ",[292,36048],{}," Just like in English, can be playful or offensive depending on the context or tone of voice.",[73,36051,36052,36058,36061,36064],{},[92,36053,36054,36055],{},"あほ ",[103,36056],{"src":36057,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-あほ.mp3",[92,36059,36060],{},"Aho",[92,36062,36063],{},"Moron",[92,36065,36066],{},"Milder than \"baka\" in the Kansai area, harsher than \"baka\" everywhere else",[73,36068,36069,36075,36078,36081],{},[92,36070,36071,36072],{},"ちくしょう ",[103,36073],{"src":36074,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ちくしょう.mp3",[92,36076,36077],{},"Chikushou",[92,36079,36080],{},"Damn it!",[92,36082,36083],{},"A quite mild exclamation you can use when you're frustrated.",[73,36085,36086,36092,36095,36098],{},[92,36087,36088,36089],{},"うざい ",[103,36090],{"src":36091,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-うざい.mp3",[92,36093,36094],{},"Uzai",[92,36096,36097],{},"Pain in the ass",[92,36099,36100,36101,36103],{},"Short for うざったい. ",[292,36102],{}," This is a slangy and informal way to say that something is so annoying you can't stand it.",[73,36105,36106,36112,36115,36118],{},[92,36107,36108,36109],{},"てめえ ",[103,36110],{"src":36111,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-てめえ.mp3",[92,36113,36114],{},"Temee",[92,36116,36117],{},"You (rude)",[92,36119,36120,36121,36123,36124,36126],{},"Even the normal way to say \"you\" (あなた) is considered rude in Japanese. ",[292,36122],{}," This more aggressive and disrespectful variant is basically like addressing someone as \"you bastard\". ",[292,36125],{}," Common in manga and anime, but only used in real life when people are actually fighting.",[73,36128,36129,36135,36138,36141],{},[92,36130,36131,36132],{},"死ね ",[103,36133],{"src":36134,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-死ね.mp3",[92,36136,36137],{},"Shine",[92,36139,36140],{},"Die \u002F go to hell",[92,36142,36143,36144,36146,36147,36149],{},"Literally the command form of 死ぬ (shinu, \"to die\"). ",[292,36145],{}," Considered to be one of Japanese's most rude expressions. ",[292,36148],{}," Again, this is another fighting word.",[42,36151],{},[45,36153,36155],{"id":36154},"swearing-101-tone-context-and-japanese-culture","Swearing 101: Tone, context, and Japanese culture",[11,36157,36158,36159,36161],{},"As in English, when you're swearing in Japanese, it's not just about ",[26,36160,28102],{}," you're saying.",[11,36163,36164],{},"Consider the following situations:",[304,36166,36167,36170],{},[307,36168,36169],{},"You beat your friend in a match of Super Smash Bros. As you deliver the KO, he laughs and says \"go to hell, man\"",[307,36171,36172],{},"You call a friend you haven't seen in a long time and ask if they want to hang out. In a voice dripping with venom, they say \"Go to hell\" and then hang up.",[11,36174,36175],{},"Hits different, doesn't it?",[11,36177,36178],{},"The context in which a curse is uttered, and the tone with which it is said, has a big impact on how offensive it is. This is as true in Japanese as it is in English: whether or not バカ sounds playful or rude has a lot to do with your delivery.",[847,36180,36182],{"id":36181},"focus-on-the-situation-and-intent-not-the-word-itself","Focus on the situation and intent, not the word itself",[11,36184,36185],{},"Now, think about the difference between these three expressions:",[304,36187,36188,36191,36194],{},[307,36189,36190],{},"Shut up",[307,36192,36193],{},"Shut the hell up",[307,36195,36196],{},"Shut the fuck up",[11,36198,36199,36200,36203],{},"They all mean the same thing, but adding curse words ",[26,36201,36202],{},"intensifies"," the expression. While we often use curse words like this in English, you don't necessarily need curse words to get the same effect in Japanese.",[11,36205,36206],{},"Below are a few common English expressions and the most common translations I saw when skimming articles explaining English swear words for Japanese people:",[304,36208,36209,36224,36239],{},[307,36210,36211,36212,36214,36215,506,36218,36220,36221,36223],{},"What the hell did you just say? ",[292,36213],{}," 今何って言ったんだ？ ",[103,36216],{"src":36217,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-今何って言ったんだ？.mp3",[292,36219],{}," いまなんっていったんだ？",[292,36222],{}," Note: There is no word that corresponds to \"hell\". This is literally just \"what did you say\" in casual\u002Finformal language.",[307,36225,36226,36227,36229,36230,36233,36235,36236,36238],{},"What the fuck are you doing? ",[292,36228],{}," 一体何をしているんだ？ ",[103,36231],{"src":36232,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一体何をしているんだ？.mp3",[292,36234],{}," いったいなにをしているんだ？",[292,36237],{}," Again, there's no word that directly corresponds to \"fuck\" here. This could also be translated as \"what the heck are you doing?\".",[307,36240,36241,36242,36244,36245,36248,36249,36252,36253,36256,36258],{},"What the fuck? ",[292,36243],{}," なんだって！？ ",[103,36246],{"src":36247,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-なんだって！.mp3"," \u002F なんじゃそりゃ！ ",[103,36250],{"src":36251,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-なんじゃそりゃ！.mp3"," \u002F なんてこった！ ",[103,36254],{"src":36255,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-なんてこった！.mp3",[292,36257],{}," Again, none of these words correspond to \"fuck\". All three translations are just expressions of surprise.",[11,36260,26495],{},[320,36262,36263],{},[11,36264,36265,36266,36268,36270],{},"Worry less about how to translate a specific English swear word into Japanese. ",[292,36267],{},[292,36269],{}," Worry more about what Japanese people say in the situations where you would use a particular swear word in English.",[42,36272],{},[45,36274,36276],{"id":36275},"busu-and-yarou-a-bit-of-gender-specific-profanity-and-insulting-words","Busu and Yarou: A bit of gender-specific profanity and insulting words",[11,36278,36279],{},"As with most languages, Japanese has its fair share of gendered insults. Again, for an interesting thought experiment, take a moment to think about the ways that men are insulted, how that differs from how women get insulted, and why that difference exists.",[11,36281,36282],{},"While on the topic of gender—note that, in Japanese culture, women who swear are judged more harshly than men who swear.",[11,36284,36285],{},"Anyway, here's a short list of stuff you might hear:",[847,36287,36289],{"id":36288},"japanese-insults-directed-at-men","Japanese insults directed at men",[11,36291,36292],{},"Here are some colorful expressions that you may hear directed at men:",[67,36294,36295,36307],{},[70,36296,36297],{},[73,36298,36299,36301,36303,36305],{},[76,36300,3918],{},[76,36302,85],{},[76,36304,1279],{},[76,36306,36007],{},[87,36308,36309,36326,36346,36363],{},[73,36310,36311,36317,36320,36323],{},[92,36312,36313,36314],{},"野郎 ",[103,36315],{"src":36316,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-野郎.mp3",[92,36318,36319],{},"Yarou",[92,36321,36322],{},"Jerk \u002F bastard",[92,36324,36325],{},"Often この野郎, or combined with other insults, such as 馬鹿野郎 (baka yarou).",[73,36327,36328,36334,36337,36340],{},[92,36329,36330,36331],{},"クズ男 ",[103,36332],{"src":36333,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-クズ男.mp3",[92,36335,36336],{},"Kuzu otoko",[92,36338,36339],{},"Loser \u002F scumbag",[92,36341,36342,36343,36345],{},"The type of man who lies and does things like borrow money without returning it. ",[292,36344],{}," They're probably rude to women and may be a cheater or stalker.",[73,36347,36348,36354,36357,36360],{},[92,36349,36350,36351],{},"ハゲ ",[103,36352],{"src":36353,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-はげ.mp3",[92,36355,36356],{},"Hage",[92,36358,36359],{},"Baldy",[92,36361,36362],{},"A jab at a man's physical appearance.",[73,36364,36365,36371,36374,36377],{},[92,36366,36367,36368],{},"クソジジ ",[103,36369],{"src":36370,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-クソジジ.mp3",[92,36372,36373],{},"Kuso jiji",[92,36375,36376],{},"Old bastard",[92,36378,36379],{},"An insult directed at older men.",[847,36381,36383],{"id":36382},"japanese-insults-directed-at-women","Japanese insults directed at women",[11,36385,36386],{},"And here are some less than polite words and phrases you may hear directed at women:",[67,36388,36389,36401],{},[70,36390,36391],{},[73,36392,36393,36395,36397,36399],{},[76,36394,3918],{},[76,36396,85],{},[76,36398,1279],{},[76,36400,36007],{},[87,36402,36403,36420,36437,36454],{},[73,36404,36405,36411,36414,36417],{},[92,36406,36407,36408],{},"ブス ",[103,36409],{"src":36410,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ブス.mp3",[92,36412,36413],{},"Busu",[92,36415,36416],{},"Ugly woman",[92,36418,36419],{},"An insulting way to say that a woman is less than attractive.",[73,36421,36422,36428,36431,36434],{},[92,36423,36424,36425],{},"デブス ",[103,36426],{"src":36427,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-デブス.mp3",[92,36429,36430],{},"Debusu",[92,36432,36433],{},"Fat ugly woman",[92,36435,36436],{},"A combination of デブ (fatty) and ブス.",[73,36438,36439,36445,36448,36451],{},[92,36440,36441,36442],{},"アバズレ ",[103,36443],{"src":36444,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-あばずれ.mp3",[92,36446,36447],{},"Abazure",[92,36449,36450],{},"Bitch",[92,36452,36453],{},"A strong insult with sexist overtones.",[73,36455,36456,36462,36465,36468],{},[92,36457,36458,36459],{},"ババア ",[103,36460],{"src":36461,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ババア.mp3",[92,36463,36464],{},"Babaa",[92,36466,36467],{},"Old hag",[92,36469,36470],{},"An insult directed at older women. Often クソババ.",[45,36472,36474],{"id":36473},"a-few-more-aggressive-swears-for-good-measure","A few more aggressive swears for good measure",[11,36476,36477],{},"If you’ve watched any action-packed anime, you’ve likely heard things like this:",[304,36479,36480,36487,36494],{},[307,36481,36482,36483,36486],{},"だまれ (Damare) ",[103,36484],{"src":36485,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-だまれ.mp3"," : “Shut the hell up.”",[307,36488,36489,36490,36493],{},"くたばれ (Kutabare) ",[103,36491],{"src":36492,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-くたばれ.mp3"," : “Drop dead.”",[307,36495,36496,36497,36500],{},"ふざけるな (Fuzakeru na) ",[103,36498],{"src":36499,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ふざけるな.mp3"," : “Don’t fuck with me.”",[11,36502,36503],{},"The thing is, you likely won't hear much of them in real life.",[11,36505,36506,36507,36509],{},"It's not that Japanese people ",[26,36508,11540],{}," swear, or that these words are fake. Rather, there just aren't really that many situations where you're realistically going to tell somebody to go to fucking hell in real life. (Really, when was the last time you said that in English?)",[11,36511,36512],{},"Even when you think about anime, dramas, or movies—the character's aren't necessarily just swearing without abandon. They're in life or death situations, being cheated on, and stuff like that—situations in which it's perfectly understandable that a person would be genuinely angry and use confrontational language... and situations that you hopefully don't often find yourself in.",[320,36514,36515],{},[11,36516,36517],{},"Basically: unless you're drunk and picking a fight with the other drunk guy outside of 7\u002F11, you probably won't find good situations to use words like てめえ or 死ね.",[42,36519],{},[45,36521,36523],{"id":36522},"how-do-you-learn-japanese-profanity-if-no-textbooks-teach-it","How do you learn Japanese profanity if no textbooks teach it?",[11,36525,36526],{},"Let's be real: Genki ain't gonna teach you this shit.",[11,36528,36529],{},"Neither is your Japanese teacher.",[11,36531,36532,36533,36535],{},"Migaku ",[26,36534,8720],{}," 💪 ‼️ 🤫",[11,36537,36538,36539,36542,36543,36546,36547,36549],{},"To be clear— while we don't ",[26,36540,36541],{},"teach"," you to swear like a drunken ",[26414,36544,36545],{},"sailor"," salary man, we ",[26,36548,10834],{}," give you the tools you need to learn how to do so, if you feel that you must.",[11,36551,36552],{},"You see, all you have to do is watch (or read) Japanese content. People are eventually going to swear. I mean, check this out—it's a kindly-looking middle-aged woman who runs a cooking channel on YouTube. She thought she'd found a killer recipe for lemon pudding... but then, shortly after doing the taste test, she drops a ちくしょう.",[11,36554,36555],{},"Good students with innocent ears that we are, we don't know what that means.",[11,36557,14107],{},[50,36559],{"src":36560,"width":5082,"height":19055,"alt":36561},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-swears-demo.jpeg","A japanese woman expressing her frustration with ちくしょう",[11,36563,36564],{},"Migaku parses Japanese text on places like YouTube and Netflix (and basically anywhere with text you can highlight) to make it interactive. After Migaku has parsed a page, you can simply click on a word in subtitles or a paragraph to bring up a dictionary definition of what the word means. If it isn't in our dictionary, you can instead get an AI explain what it means, given the context of your sentence.",[11,36566,36567],{},"So let's say that you decide that ちくしょう looks like a useful word to learn.",[11,36569,36570],{},"Just click on that orange button in the top-right corner of the Migaku dictionary.",[11,36572,36573],{},"We'll automatically make you a flashcard like this:",[50,36575],{"src":36576,"width":36577,"height":2249,"alt":36578},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-flashcard-chikushou.jpeg",1184,"A flashcard that Migaku automatically created to help you learn the meaning of ",[11,36580,36581],{},"To make that flashcard, Migaku automatically combined several things:",[304,36583,36584,36587,36590,36593,36596],{},[307,36585,36586],{},"Your target word (ちくしょう) and the sentence it appeared in were copied",[307,36588,36589],{},"A screenshot was taken of the scene where ちくしょう was uttered",[307,36591,36592],{},"An audio snippet of the line of dialogue where ちくしょう appeared",[307,36594,36595],{},"A dictionary definition of ちくしょう",[307,36597,36598],{},"An example sentence of the word being used in context, just in case",[11,36600,36601,36602,36605],{},"It's kinda beautiful. What's more, that flashcard gets dropped right into ",[15,36603,36604],{"href":5906},"Migaku's spaced repetition software",", ensuring that you eventually remember it.",[674,36607],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,36609],{},[45,36611,36613],{"id":36612},"listen-up-baka-some-closing-words-about-rude-words","Listen up, baka: some closing words about rude words",[11,36615,36616],{},"The way you learn Japanese swear words is by consuming Japanese content you enjoy, encountering them in context, and learning them as you go.",[11,36618,36619],{},"The thing is, that's actually how you should learn normal Japanese, too.",[320,36621,36622],{},[11,36623,36624,36625,36627,36628],{},"The way we ",[26,36626,19069],{}," make progress in a foreign language is by interacting with its media and understanding the messages within that media. If you consume Japanese content, and understand that content, you'll get better at Japanese. ",[26,36629,705],{},[11,36631,36632],{},"You've now learned a good handful of Japanese swear words, but that's only half the battle. Now you need to see a lot of examples of them being used so you can get a feel for the weight they carry and when Japanese people say them.",[11,36634,36635],{},"Basically: Know, but don't use. (Yet).",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":36637},[36638,36639,36640,36643,36647,36648,36649],{"id":35922,"depth":707,"text":35923},{"id":35988,"depth":707,"text":35989},{"id":36154,"depth":707,"text":36155,"children":36641},[36642],{"id":36181,"depth":1016,"text":36182},{"id":36275,"depth":707,"text":36276,"children":36644},[36645,36646],{"id":36288,"depth":1016,"text":36289},{"id":36382,"depth":1016,"text":36383},{"id":36473,"depth":707,"text":36474},{"id":36522,"depth":707,"text":36523},{"id":36612,"depth":707,"text":36613},"We don't know why you're googling for swear words in Japanese but we've put a handy guide together for you 💪 Learn everything from バカ to くたばれ",{"timestampUnix":36652,"slug":36653,"h1":36654,"image":36655,"tags":36660},1739864802000,"japanese-swears","🇯🇵🚨 Japanese Swear Words You Totally Should(n't) Use 🚨🇯🇵",{"src":36656,"width":36657,"height":36658,"alt":36659},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-swears-header-decoponkann.jpeg",1232,861,"A Japanese girl about to swearing with her fingers, sourced from @decoponkann on X",[9427,5086],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-swears","---\ntitle: 'Japanese Swear Words: A Guide to Curse Words and Expressions'\ndescription: \"We don't know why you're googling for swear words in Japanese but we've put a handy guide together for you 💪 Learn everything from バカ to くたばれ\"\ntimestampUnix: 1739864802000\nslug: 'japanese-swears'\nh1: \"🇯🇵🚨 Japanese Swear Words You Totally Should(n't) Use 🚨🇯🇵\"\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-swears-header-decoponkann.jpeg'\n width: 1232\n height: 861\n alt: 'A Japanese girl about to swearing with her fingers, sourced from @decoponkann on X'\ntags:\n - listicle\n - vocabulary\n---\n\nWhen most people think of the Japanese language, images of bowing, polite keigo (formal speech), and a society deeply rooted in respect likely comes to mind.\n\nBut you, my friend—you straight up Googled _Japanese swear words_.\n\nNice.\n\nAs it happens, behind Japanese's stereotypically polite veneer, a treasure trove of \"colorful\" language just waiting for you to stub your toe on it. While perhaps not as explicit in nature or quite as widely used as in other cultures, the language does have its fair share of fascinating, nuanced, and occasionally eyebrow-raising curses.\n\nHere, we'll cover all of the bad words we think a person might want to know—whether they want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese) or not.\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## Why learn Japanese curse words, anyway? \n\nBefore we actually share our first glorious bits of Japanese profanity, let’s take a minute to justify ourselves: why should you bother with swear words if you're learning Japanese? After all, you don’t need them to get through your day. Right? _(Right?)_\n\nWell, here’s the thing:\n\n1. **They help you understand native content**\u003Cbr>If you’re consuming pretty much any Japanese media, you're going to run into profanity. These are real Japanese words that real Japanese people say. If you aren't up to speed on your rude derogatory language, you're occasionally going to miss emotional context and nuance. That would be unfortunate.\n\n2. **They reveal some sort of interesting cultural insights**\u003Cbr>The things a language chooses to blaspheme with gives you a peek at what they consider sacred, and you can gain similarly interesting insights from taking a moment to consider the things they find demeaning or insulting. This likely won't ever be _useful_ knowledge to you, but it's interesting food for thought.\n\n3. **They help you avoid offending people**\u003Cbr>This one needs some context. Research has shown that, when speaking a second language, [our depth perception for the offensiveness of curses is dulled](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.researchgate.net\u002Fpublication\u002F237444929_The_Emotional_Force_of_Swearwords_and_Taboo_Words_in_the_Speech_of_Multilinguals). If you don't take a moment to look into how bad a bad word _actually_ is, you might end up inadvertently saying something much ruder than you expected.\n\nWe thus present you with this golden rule:\n\n> **\u003CCenteredText bold>Know, but don't use.\u003C\u002FCenteredText>**\n\n---\n\n## Common Japanese Swear Words: A Crash Course\n\nHere’s a list of some of the most common Japanese swear words, their meanings, and when they’re used.\n\n| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning | Notes |\n| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------- | ---------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| くそ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-くそ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Kuso | Shit \u002F Damn | Literally means \"poo\", and used to express anger or frustration, just like in English. \u003Cbr>Often combined with other words as a prefix, a la \"kuso gaki\" (spoiled brat, literally \"poo kid\") |\n| バカ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ばか.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Baka | Idiot \u002F Stupid | Probably the most famous Japanese swear word. \u003Cbr> Just like in English, can be playful or offensive depending on the context or tone of voice. |\n| あほ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-あほ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Aho | Moron | Milder than \"baka\" in the Kansai area, harsher than \"baka\" everywhere else |\n| ちくしょう \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ちくしょう.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Chikushou | Damn it! | A quite mild exclamation you can use when you're frustrated. |\n| うざい \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-うざい.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Uzai | Pain in the ass | Short for うざったい. \u003Cbr> This is a slangy and informal way to say that something is so annoying you can't stand it. |\n| てめえ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-てめえ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Temee | You (rude) | Even the normal way to say \"you\" (あなた) is considered rude in Japanese. \u003Cbr> This more aggressive and disrespectful variant is basically like addressing someone as \"you bastard\". \u003Cbr> Common in manga and anime, but only used in real life when people are actually fighting. |\n| 死ね \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-死ね.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Shine | Die \u002F go to hell | Literally the command form of 死ぬ (shinu, \"to die\"). \u003Cbr> Considered to be one of Japanese's most rude expressions. \u003Cbr> Again, this is another fighting word. |\n\n---\n\n## Swearing 101: Tone, context, and Japanese culture\n\nAs in English, when you're swearing in Japanese, it's not just about _what_ you're saying.\n\nConsider the following situations:\n\n- You beat your friend in a match of Super Smash Bros. As you deliver the KO, he laughs and says \"go to hell, man\"\n- You call a friend you haven't seen in a long time and ask if they want to hang out. In a voice dripping with venom, they say \"Go to hell\" and then hang up.\n\nHits different, doesn't it?\n\nThe context in which a curse is uttered, and the tone with which it is said, has a big impact on how offensive it is. This is as true in Japanese as it is in English: whether or not バカ sounds playful or rude has a lot to do with your delivery.\n\n### Focus on the situation and intent, not the word itself\n\nNow, think about the difference between these three expressions:\n\n- Shut up\n- Shut the hell up\n- Shut the fuck up\n\nThey all mean the same thing, but adding curse words _intensifies_ the expression. While we often use curse words like this in English, you don't necessarily need curse words to get the same effect in Japanese.\n\nBelow are a few common English expressions and the most common translations I saw when skimming articles explaining English swear words for Japanese people:\n\n- What the hell did you just say? \u003Cbr> 今何って言ったんだ？ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-今何って言ったんだ？.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u003Cbr> いまなんっていったんだ？\u003Cbr> Note: There is no word that corresponds to \"hell\". This is literally just \"what did you say\" in casual\u002Finformal language.\n\n- What the fuck are you doing? \u003Cbr> 一体何をしているんだ？ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-一体何をしているんだ？.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\u003Cbr> いったいなにをしているんだ？\u003Cbr> Again, there's no word that directly corresponds to \"fuck\" here. This could also be translated as \"what the heck are you doing?\".\n\n- What the fuck? \u003Cbr> なんだって！？ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-なんだって！.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u002F なんじゃそりゃ！ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-なんじゃそりゃ！.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \u002F なんてこった！ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-なんてこった！.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\u003Cbr> Again, none of these words correspond to \"fuck\". All three translations are just expressions of surprise.\n\nIn other words:\n\n> Worry less about how to translate a specific English swear word into Japanese. \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr> Worry more about what Japanese people say in the situations where you would use a particular swear word in English.\n\n---\n\n## Busu and Yarou: A bit of gender-specific profanity and insulting words\n\nAs with most languages, Japanese has its fair share of gendered insults. Again, for an interesting thought experiment, take a moment to think about the ways that men are insulted, how that differs from how women get insulted, and why that difference exists.\n\nWhile on the topic of gender—note that, in Japanese culture, women who swear are judged more harshly than men who swear.\n\nAnyway, here's a short list of stuff you might hear:\n\n### Japanese insults directed at men\n\nHere are some colorful expressions that you may hear directed at men:\n\n| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning | Notes |\n| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| 野郎 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-野郎.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Yarou | Jerk \u002F bastard | Often この野郎, or combined with other insults, such as 馬鹿野郎 (baka yarou). |\n| クズ男 \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-クズ男.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Kuzu otoko | Loser \u002F scumbag | The type of man who lies and does things like borrow money without returning it. \u003Cbr> They're probably rude to women and may be a cheater or stalker. |\n| ハゲ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-はげ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Hage | Baldy | A jab at a man's physical appearance. |\n| クソジジ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-クソジジ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Kuso jiji | Old bastard | An insult directed at older men. |\n\n### Japanese insults directed at women\n\nAnd here are some less than polite words and phrases you may hear directed at women:\n\n| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning | Notes |\n| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |\n| ブス \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ブス.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Busu | Ugly woman | An insulting way to say that a woman is less than attractive. |\n| デブス \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-デブス.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Debusu | Fat ugly woman | A combination of デブ (fatty) and ブス. |\n| アバズレ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-あばずれ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Abazure | Bitch | A strong insult with sexist overtones. |\n| ババア \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ババア.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Babaa | Old hag | An insult directed at older women. Often クソババ. |\n\n## A few more aggressive swears for good measure\n\nIf you’ve watched any action-packed anime, you’ve likely heard things like this:\n\n- だまれ (Damare) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-だまれ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> : “Shut the hell up.”\n- くたばれ (Kutabare) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-くたばれ.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> : “Drop dead.”\n- ふざけるな (Fuzakeru na) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ふざけるな.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> : “Don’t fuck with me.”\n\nThe thing is, you likely won't hear much of them in real life.\n\nIt's not that Japanese people _don't_ swear, or that these words are fake. Rather, there just aren't really that many situations where you're realistically going to tell somebody to go to fucking hell in real life. (Really, when was the last time you said that in English?)\n\nEven when you think about anime, dramas, or movies—the character's aren't necessarily just swearing without abandon. They're in life or death situations, being cheated on, and stuff like that—situations in which it's perfectly understandable that a person would be genuinely angry and use confrontational language... and situations that you hopefully don't often find yourself in.\n\n> Basically: unless you're drunk and picking a fight with the other drunk guy outside of 7\u002F11, you probably won't find good situations to use words like てめえ or 死ね.\n\n---\n\n## How do you learn Japanese profanity if no textbooks teach it?\n\nLet's be real: Genki ain't gonna teach you this shit.\n\nNeither is your Japanese teacher.\n\nMigaku _will_ 💪 ‼️ 🤫\n\nTo be clear— while we don't _teach_ you to swear like a drunken ~~sailor~~ salary man, we _do_ give you the tools you need to learn how to do so, if you feel that you must.\n\nYou see, all you have to do is watch (or read) Japanese content. People are eventually going to swear. I mean, check this out—it's a kindly-looking middle-aged woman who runs a cooking channel on YouTube. She thought she'd found a killer recipe for lemon pudding... but then, shortly after doing the taste test, she drops a ちくしょう.\n\nGood students with innocent ears that we are, we don't know what that means.\n\nThat's where Migaku comes in.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-swears-demo.jpeg\" width=\"2800\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A japanese woman expressing her frustration with ちくしょう\" \u002F>\n\nMigaku parses Japanese text on places like YouTube and Netflix (and basically anywhere with text you can highlight) to make it interactive. After Migaku has parsed a page, you can simply click on a word in subtitles or a paragraph to bring up a dictionary definition of what the word means. If it isn't in our dictionary, you can instead get an AI explain what it means, given the context of your sentence.\n\nSo let's say that you decide that ちくしょう looks like a useful word to learn.\n\nJust click on that orange button in the top-right corner of the Migaku dictionary.\n\nWe'll automatically make you a flashcard like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-flashcard-chikushou.jpeg\" width=\"1184\" height=\"1236\" alt=\"A flashcard that Migaku automatically created to help you learn the meaning of \" \u002F>\n\nTo make that flashcard, Migaku automatically combined several things:\n\n- Your target word (ちくしょう) and the sentence it appeared in were copied\n- A screenshot was taken of the scene where ちくしょう was uttered\n- An audio snippet of the line of dialogue where ちくしょう appeared\n- A dictionary definition of ちくしょう\n- An example sentence of the word being used in context, just in case\n\nIt's kinda beautiful. What's more, that flashcard gets dropped right into [Migaku's spaced repetition software](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fspaced-repetition-language-learning), ensuring that you eventually remember it.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## Listen up, baka: some closing words about rude words\n\nThe way you learn Japanese swear words is by consuming Japanese content you enjoy, encountering them in context, and learning them as you go.\n\nThe thing is, that's actually how you should learn normal Japanese, too.\n\n> The way we _really_ make progress in a foreign language is by interacting with its media and understanding the messages within that media. If you consume Japanese content, and understand that content, you'll get better at Japanese. _Period._\n\nYou've now learned a good handful of Japanese swear words, but that's only half the battle. Now you need to see a lot of examples of them being used so you can get a feel for the weight they carry and when Japanese people say them.\n\nBasically: Know, but don't use. (Yet).\n",{"title":35892,"description":36650},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-swears","w0i954Nj7bPt1wM4f0F1aDyrYzmV8-ekryPtJhtGzFU","February 18, 2025",{"id":36668,"title":36669,"body":36670,"description":37696,"extension":717,"meta":37697,"navigation":730,"path":37707,"rawbody":37708,"seo":37709,"stem":37710,"__hash__":37711,"timestampUnix":37698,"slug":37699,"h1":37700,"image":37701,"tags":37706,"_dir":736,"timestamp":37712},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-textbooks.md","The Five Best Japanese Textbooks for Beginners",{"type":8,"value":36671,"toc":37676},[36672,36678,36681,36684,36686,36690,36693,36724,36728,36731,36734,36740,36743,36756,36762,36765,36773,36776,36778,36784,36790,36795,36798,36801,36808,36811,36814,36855,36858,36930,36936,36942,36945,36983,36986,36989,36995,37004,37010,37014,37017,37024,37041,37044,37053,37056,37059,37122,37125,37172,37176,37182,37185,37188,37191,37215,37224,37226,37234,37240,37243,37246,37283,37286,37289,37376,37380,37390,37397,37401,37405,37414,37417,37424,37428,37432,37441,37448,37452,37456,37462,37468,37471,37494,37497,37501,37504,37512,37515,37518,37522,37525,37528,37544,37547,37550,37571,37574,37577,37580,37587,37590,37622,37629,37633,37636,37643,37646,37650,37656,37659,37667,37673],[11,36673,36674,36675,36677],{},"At around the intermediate level you'll be ready to ",[15,36676,18],{"href":17}," by doing the things you're interested in, but when you're first starting out, finding the right textbook to learn Japanese is important.",[11,36679,36680],{},"Everybody has different goals, but we think a great Japanese textbook should offer dialogues, vocabulary lists, grammar explanations, exercises, and kanji practice.",[11,36682,36683],{},"In this article, we'll share some textbooks we've reviewed so that beginner Japanese learners can find the best option for them.",[39,36685],{},[45,36687,36689],{"id":36688},"top-suggestions-at-a-glance","Top suggestions at a glance",[11,36691,36692],{},"We'll explore each of these resources in more detail, but here are some recommendations at a glance:",[304,36694,36695,36701,36707,36713,36718],{},[307,36696,36697,36700],{},[1090,36698,36699],{},"GENKI: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese"," is a standard recommendation for beginners and lower-intermediate level learners. If you study Japanese at an English-speaking university, you'll probably use this textbook.",[307,36702,36703,36706],{},[1090,36704,36705],{},"Minna no Nihongo"," is for more serious learners with practical conversational needs: the dialogues reflect real conversations and the book is entirely in Japanese.",[307,36708,36709,36712],{},[1090,36710,36711],{},"Japanese from Zero","! was designed for self-study and takes a fun, gradual approach. It's a good option if you don't want to pay for a teacher and are quite busy.",[307,36714,36715,36717],{},[1090,36716,12314],{}," is an app designed for self-learners. It begins with a flashcard-based course that takes learners from zero, then provides tools that enable users learn Japanese by consuming content they enjoy.",[307,36719,36720,36723],{},[1090,36721,36722],{},"Marugoto Japanese Language and Culture"," is a textbook designed by the Japanese government and focuses on helping foreigners currently living in Japan build the practical skills they need to navigate life in Japan.",[45,36725,36727],{"id":36726},"whichever-textbook-you-choose","Whichever textbook you choose...",[11,36729,36730],{},"We should address the elephant in the room before we get too far along.",[11,36732,36733],{},"Students around the world study foreign languages in school, but most people don't make meaningful progress in the classroom. I personally took five years of Spanish... but when I graduated, I wasn't able to do much more than conjugate present-tense verbs and ask if I could go to the bathroom.",[11,36735,36736,36737,36739],{},"Unfortunately, there are a ",[26,36738,4778],{}," of people with stories like mine.",[11,36741,36742],{},"After living abroad for ten years and passing advanced tests in two foreign languages, here's something I've learned:",[320,36744,36745],{},[11,36746,36747,36748,36750,36752,36753,36755],{},"You won't learn a language to fluency just by following a textbook. ",[292,36749],{},[292,36751],{},"A textbook's job is simply to help you build the basic skills necessary to begin using your language to do things that you find meaningful or enjoyable. The real learning comes ",[26,36754,24745],{}," the textbook stage, when you begin reading books, watching j-dramas, listening to podcasts, and so forth.",[11,36757,36758,36759,36761],{},"That's it. Your textbook doesn't need to be perfect, and you don't need to be a perfect student. We'd love to convince you to sign up for Migaku, but the truth is that people have successfully learned Japanese by using all of the below resources. All of them will work, so long as ",[26,36760,13558],{}," put in the work.",[11,36763,36764],{},"Once you make your choice, periodically ask yourself these two questions:",[344,36766,36767,36770],{},[307,36768,36769],{},"What would I be doing in Japanese if I were already fluent?",[307,36771,36772],{},"Does it seem like my current routine is bringing me closer to being able to do those things?",[11,36774,36775],{},"If the answer to #2 is yes, then keep up the good work! If not, take some time to think about what you need to do to align your study efforts with your desired outcomes.",[11,36777,26495],{},[36779,36780],"warning",{"title":36781,"description":36782,"cta-text":36783,"cta-href":21918},"You’re here because you’re looking for a textbook. You’re looking for a textbook because you want to learn Japanese. What if I told you that a textbook wasn't the best way to learn Japanese?","Considering the technology we have today, using a textbook realistically means choosing to take years longer to learn Japanese than necessary.","Why textbooks won't help you learn Japanese →",[45,36785,36787],{"id":36786},"genki-the-go-to-textbook-for-beginners",[1090,36788,36789],{},"Genki: The go-to textbook for beginners",[50,36791],{"src":36792,"width":36793,"height":12948,"alt":36794},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-genki.jpeg",1662,"A photo of the cover of the Genki I textbook.",[11,36796,36797],{},"For those starting with Japanese, Genki is a top choice globally. Each chapter starts with a dialogue, and that dialogue contains the key vocabulary words and grammar points you'll learn in the chapter. The content is quite dry and some learners will feel the pace is slow, but the upside to this is that the series generally has a very smooth, comfortable learning curve.",[11,36799,36800],{},"There are two Genki textbooks, and each one comes with a companion workbook designed to give you hands-on practice with a particular chapter's grammar points. The workbooks do not contain answer keys, so if you are learning independently, you'll also need to buy the teacher's edition of the work.",[11,36802,36803,36804,36807],{},"So far as functionality is concerned, the main complaint about Genki is that it doesn't provide ",[15,36805,36806],{"href":3817},"a structured format for kanji learning",". New characters are introduced in each chapter, and it's on you to figure out how to learn them.",[11,36809,36810],{},"I personally used Genki in college—as did most people who studied Japanese in college—and by the time I finished the second book, I felt ready to begin faceplanting my way through simple Japanese novels.",[11,36812,36813],{},"Some links:",[304,36815,36816,36823,36830,36843],{},[307,36817,36818],{},[15,36819,36822],{"href":36820,"rel":36821},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fplaylist?list=PLT12i1gB38HGAc-zjgFA4YcJA2Z3gVZTL",[971],"A YouTube course following Genki",[307,36824,36825],{},[15,36826,36829],{"href":36827,"rel":36828},"https:\u002F\u002Ft-nagano.com\u002Fprojects\u002FJapaneseGenki3rdEdAudio\u002F",[971],"The audio files to each Genki chapter",[307,36831,36832,36837,36838],{},[15,36833,36836],{"href":36834,"rel":36835},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FGENKI-Integrated-Elementary-Japanese-English\u002Fdp\u002F4789014401",[971],"Genki I textbook ($48.00 new)"," | ",[15,36839,36842],{"href":36840,"rel":36841},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FGenki-Vol-1-Workbook-3e-ed\u002Fdp\u002F4789017311",[971],"Genki II textbook ($24.00 new)",[307,36844,36845,36837,36850],{},[15,36846,36849],{"href":36847,"rel":36848},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FGenki-Integrated-Elementary-Japanese-English\u002Fdp\u002F4789014436\u002F",[971],"Genki II textbook ($48.00 new)",[15,36851,36854],{"href":36852,"rel":36853},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FGenki-Integrated-Elementary-Japanese-Multilingual\u002Fdp\u002F4789017338",[971],"Genki II workbook ($26.00 new)",[11,36856,36857],{},"Since Genki is the most popular textbook, here's a quick comparison of how it stands with other well-known textbooks:",[67,36859,36860,36878],{},[70,36861,36862],{},[73,36863,36864,36866,36869,36872,36875],{},[76,36865,12928],{},[76,36867,36868],{},"Cost (USD)",[76,36870,36871],{},"Target Audience",[76,36873,36874],{},"Distinct Features",[76,36876,36877],{},"Drawbacks",[87,36879,36880,36897,36913],{},[73,36881,36882,36885,36888,36891,36894],{},[92,36883,36884],{},"Genki",[92,36886,36887],{},"~$144 (4 books)",[92,36889,36890],{},"College Students",[92,36892,36893],{},"Well-structured grammar explanations, audio CDs, workbook",[92,36895,36896],{},"Dry for some users, lacks integrated kanji",[73,36898,36899,36901,36904,36907,36910],{},[92,36900,36705],{},[92,36902,36903],{},"~$380 (18 books)",[92,36905,36906],{},"Serious learners",[92,36908,36909],{},"Comprehensive practice exercises, supplementary books",[92,36911,36912],{},"May be too intense for some users",[73,36914,36915,36918,36921,36924,36927],{},[92,36916,36917],{},"Japanese from Zero! (JFZ)",[92,36919,36920],{},"~$150 (5 books)",[92,36922,36923],{},"Self-Learners",[92,36925,36926],{},"Entertaining, YouTube support",[92,36928,36929],{},"Lacks depth",[45,36931,36933],{"id":36932},"minna-no-nihongo-in-depth-learning-for-serious-students",[1090,36934,36935],{},"Minna no Nihongo: in-depth learning for serious students",[50,36937],{"src":36938,"width":36939,"height":36940,"alt":36941},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-minna-no-nihongo.jpeg",1906,1074,"A photo of the cover of the Minna no Nihongo textbook series.",[11,36943,36944],{},"Whereas Genki was designed for western audiences, Minna no Nihongo (MNN) is the most popular Japanese textbook in Japan and throughout Asia. It's entirely in Japanese, and broken into four levels:",[304,36946,36947,36965],{},[307,36948,36949,36957,36958],{},[1090,36950,36951,36954],{},[98,36952],{"lang":100,"syntax":36953},"初級[しょきゅう]",[103,36955],{"src":36956,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_初級.mp3",": Beginner 1 and Beginner 2\n",[304,36959,36960],{},[307,36961,36962],{},[26,36963,36964],{},"Each level contains 5 books: a textbook, workbook, kanji practice book, sentence structures book, and grammar notes in translation",[307,36966,36967,36975,36976],{},[1090,36968,36969,36972],{},[98,36970],{"lang":100,"syntax":36971},"中級[ちゅうきゅう]",[103,36973],{"src":36974,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_中級.mp3",": Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2\n",[304,36977,36978],{},[307,36979,36980],{},[26,36981,36982],{},"Each level contains 4 books: a textbook, workbook, vocab workbook, and grammar notes in translation",[11,36984,36985],{},"Immediately evident is that this is a lot of textbooks. Why are there so many?",[11,36987,36988],{},"The series features a unique approach: the main textbook is entirely in Japanese (even the first one), and then there's an optional second book that summarizes each chapter's key ideas and provides grammar notes in English (or several other languages). Adding the supplementary textbooks in, you're left with a comprehensive, structured, and immersive learning experience.",[11,36990,36991,36992,36994],{},"Whether Minna no Nihongo is for you basically boils down to how comfortable you feel with the idea of diving into Japanese. You ",[26,36993,10834],{}," eventually need to switch over to Japanese, and proponents of MNN love that it immerses them right into real Japanese conversations. If you're ready for that, you'll love the series. If you want a more gentle introduction to Japanese, you probably won't.",[11,36996,36997,36998,37003],{},"You can purchase the books and see samples of each one at ",[15,36999,37002],{"href":37000,"rel":37001},"https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fpages\u002Fminna-no-nihongo",[971],"OMG! Japan",". The textbooks are about $35.00, and the supplementary workbooks are in the $15.00–$30.00 price range.",[45,37005,37007],{"id":37006},"japanese-from-zero-jfz-a-textbook-for-people-who-hate-textbooks",[1090,37008,37009],{},"Japanese from Zero! (JFZ): A textbook for people who hate textbooks",[50,37011],{"src":37012,"width":36939,"height":36940,"alt":37013},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-japanese-from-zero.jpeg","A photo of the cover of the Japanese from Zero textbook series.",[11,37015,37016],{},"Japanese from Zero is a top pick for those new to learning on their own—especially those who might have tried and failed to learn Japanese in the past. The series contains five books in total, and they're designed to be enjoyable reads and super accessible.",[11,37018,37019,37020,37023],{},"What does ",[26,37021,37022],{},"accessible"," mean?",[11,37025,37026,37027,37029,37030,37033,37034,37037,37038,37040],{},"The first chapter of the first book is entirely in romaji. You learn a few ",[15,37028,1033],{"href":1082}," in each chapter, and the book begins using them as you learn them. As a result, you end up seeing things like \"の ru\", whereas these other textbooks would instead say \"のる\" or \"",[98,37031],{"lang":100,"syntax":37032},"乗る[のる,の]","\" ",[103,37035],{"src":37036,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_乗る.mp3",". Book two introduces ",[15,37039,1034],{"href":3811},", and you don't see any kanji until book three.",[11,37042,37043],{},"The book also does a good job of recognizing that people who are interested in learning Japanese are also likely interested in Japanese culture. Instead of just teaching you how the language works, there are lots of \"Culture Clips\" that explain things you'll need\u002Fwant to know if you end up moving to Japan. Some of these detours are of practical use (do's and don'ts for bowing), others are simply interesting (why Japanese elevators skip floor 4).",[11,37045,37046,37047,37052],{},"Unlike Minna no Nihongo, you don't need to buy five separate books, either. Each of the five books contains an integrated workbook and writing practice section. If you dislike textbooks, you can also opt to learn on ",[15,37048,37051],{"href":37049,"rel":37050},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fromzero.com\u002F",[971],"the From Zero website"," ($13.00\u002Fmo) instead, which enhances the original textbook with videos, textbooks, and simple games.",[11,37054,37055],{},"Basically: if you want a relaxed learning program that lets you go at your own pace, you'll like JFZ. If you're a more serious learner, you probably won't.",[11,37057,37058],{},"Here's a quick comparison of JFZ vs Genki:",[67,37060,37061,37073],{},[70,37062,37063],{},[73,37064,37065,37068,37071],{},[76,37066,37067],{},"FAQs",[76,37069,37070],{},"Japanese from Zero!",[76,37072,36884],{},[87,37074,37075,37086,37097,37108],{},[73,37076,37077,37080,37083],{},[92,37078,37079],{},"Japanese displayed in...",[92,37081,37082],{},"Romaji; hiragana and katakana gradually introduced",[92,37084,37085],{},"Hiragana and katakana from the start",[73,37087,37088,37091,37094],{},[92,37089,37090],{},"Pacing",[92,37092,37093],{},"Slow and steady progression",[92,37095,37096],{},"Faster-paced, ideal for classroom settings",[73,37098,37099,37102,37105],{},[92,37100,37101],{},"Workbook?",[92,37103,37104],{},"Integrated into main book",[92,37106,37107],{},"Sold separately",[73,37109,37110,37113,37119],{},[92,37111,37112],{},"Additional Resources",[92,37114,37115,37116],{},"Videos, podcasts, games on",[15,37117,37051],{"href":37049,"rel":37118},[971],[92,37120,37121],{},"Books include several two-person activities",[11,37123,37124],{},"Currently, JFZ offers five textbooks:",[304,37126,37127,37135,37143,37150,37157,37165],{},[307,37128,37129,37134],{},[15,37130,37133],{"href":37131,"rel":37132},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FJapanese-Zero-Techniques-Students-Professionals\u002Fdp\u002F0976998122",[971],"Japanese from Zero 1"," ($10.00 on Kindle \u002F $28.00 paperback)",[307,37136,37137,37142],{},[15,37138,37141],{"href":37139,"rel":37140},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FJapanese-Zero-Techniques-Students-Professionals\u002Fdp\u002F0976998114\u002F",[971],"Japanese from Zero 2"," ($10.00 on Kindle \u002F $30.00 paperback)",[307,37144,37145,37134],{},[15,37146,37149],{"href":37147,"rel":37148},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FJapanese-Zero-Techniques-Students-Professionals\u002Fdp\u002F0976998130\u002F",[971],"Japanese from Zero 3",[307,37151,37152,37134],{},[15,37153,37156],{"href":37154,"rel":37155},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FJapanese-Zero-Techniques-Students-Professionals\u002Fdp\u002F0989654508\u002F",[971],"Japanese from Zero 4",[307,37158,37159,37164],{},[15,37160,37163],{"href":37161,"rel":37162},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FJapanese-Zero-Continue-Mastering-Integrated\u002Fdp\u002F0989654559\u002F",[971],"Japanese from Zero 5"," ($10.00 on Kindle \u002F $29.00 paperback)",[307,37166,37167,37171],{},[15,37168,37170],{"href":37049,"rel":37169},[971],"The Japanese from Zero Website"," ($13.00 a month \u002F $130 a year)",[45,37173,37175],{"id":37174},"migaku-a-flashcard-based-course-for-people-who-love-japanese-media","Migaku: A flashcard-based course for people who love Japanese media",[50,37177],{"src":37178,"width":37179,"height":37180,"alt":37181},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-migaku.jpeg",1514,1056,"A screenshot showing some of the content in Mikgaku's Japanese Fundamentals and Japanese Academy courses.",[11,37183,37184],{},"A fundamental problem shared by every textbook is that they contain the things that somebody else thinks you need to know to learn Japanese, and those things may or may not align with the things you actually need to know based on what's important to you.",[11,37186,37187],{},"This is problematic because words aren't created or used equally. If you're learning Japanese because you want to read shounen manga, some structures and vocabulary words are going to be much more important to you than someone studying Japanese to read academic articles about robotics. In an ideal world, you'd both take a significantly different route through Japanese.",[11,37189,37190],{},"Migaku, more or less, is our attempt to create that ideal world. We're built around:",[344,37192,37193,37199,37209],{},[307,37194,37195,37198],{},[1090,37196,37197],{},"Japanese Basics"," — You start off by learning the hiragana and katakana (via Migaku Fundamentals), then move on to cover ~1,800 super frequent vocab words and 400 common grammar points (via Migaku Academy) that will be useful no matter what your goals with Japanese are",[307,37200,37201,37204,37205,37208],{},[1090,37202,37203],{},"Good flashcards"," — Our courses are flashcard-based, so as you learn the basics of Japanese, you also learn about what good flashcards look like, why ",[15,37206,5907],{"href":11524,"rel":37207},[971]," is the key to remembering Japanese words, and where Japanese can fit into your daily routine",[307,37210,37211,37214],{},[1090,37212,37213],{},"Making the world your textbook"," — Upon finishing these basics—or perhaps earlier—you'll begin consuming Japanese content of your own choosing; we'll pick out level-appropriate sentences from that content and let you turn them into flashcards with one click",[11,37216,37217,37218,37220,37221,37223],{},"This approach ensures that you learn the things that ",[26,37219,13558],{}," need to enjoy the books, j-dramas, anime, and content ",[26,37222,13558],{}," are interested in, whatever that happens to be.",[674,37225],{"href":17,"text":676},[45,37227,37229],{"id":37228},"marugoto-a-textbook-for-people-in-japan-now",[1090,37230,37231,37232],{},"Marugoto: A textbook for people in Japan ",[26,37233,19724],{},[50,37235],{"src":37236,"width":37237,"height":37238,"alt":37239},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-marugoto.jpeg",1680,534,"A photo of the cover of the Marugoto textbook series.",[11,37241,37242],{},"Most textbook series are designed for high school or college students taking a semester-long Japanese course. As such, topics focus on student life, there's a sequential progression from chapter to chapter, and the books are written around the assumption that a professor will be explaining things.",[11,37244,37245],{},"Marugoto does things differently in several ways:",[304,37247,37248,37261,37264,37267,37273],{},[307,37249,37250,37251,37256,37257,37260],{},"Books are graded according to Europe's ",[15,37252,37255],{"href":37253,"rel":37254},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FCommon_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages",[971],"CEFR"," (A1–C2) framework, not Japan's ",[15,37258,3823],{"href":11313,"rel":37259},[971]," (N5–N1) framework",[307,37262,37263],{},"Each chapter is more or less standalone—you can jump between topics that interest you",[307,37265,37266],{},"The books are dialogue based and focus on practical things that will help you navigate daily life in Japan",[307,37268,37269,37270,37272],{},"The books are designed for use on the go: you ",[26,37271,1150],{}," buy a textbook, but you can also cover the same content on a phone, tablet, or computer",[307,37274,37275,37276,37279,37280,37282],{},"The first few levels each feature two textbooks: a Katsudō (",[26,37277,37278],{},"activity",") book which focuses on natural learning via speaking\u002Flistening, and a Rikai (",[26,37281,27607],{},") book which focuses on traditional learning via reading\u002Fwriting",[11,37284,37285],{},"The downside to Marugoto's approach is that the books assume you'll be practicing the content in groups (or in daily life). Several chapters cover things that are important to know if you're living in Japan but may not be so important if you primarily care about consuming Japanese media abroad.",[11,37287,37288],{},"Currently, Marugoto offers 6 levels:",[304,37290,37291,37310,37327,37344,37352,37360,37368],{},[307,37292,37293,37294,37298,37299,37304,37305],{},"Marugoto A1: ",[15,37295,12928],{"href":37296,"rel":37297},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Japanese-Coursebook-communicative-competences\u002Fdp\u002F4384057539\u002F",[971]," ($22.00)| ",[15,37300,37303],{"href":37301,"rel":37302},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Japanese-Coursebook-communicative-activities\u002Fdp\u002F4384057520\u002F",[971],"Activity book"," ($25.00) | ",[15,37306,37309],{"href":37307,"rel":37308},"https:\u002F\u002Fa1.marugotoweb.jp\u002Fen\u002F",[971],"Companion website",[307,37311,37312,37313,37317,37318,37322,37323],{},"Marugoto A2 1: ",[15,37314,12928],{"href":37315,"rel":37316},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Japanese-language-culture-Elementary\u002Fdp\u002F3875487141\u002F",[971]," ($43.00) | ",[15,37319,37303],{"href":37320,"rel":37321},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Elementary1-Coursebook-communicative-activities\u002Fdp\u002F4384057547",[971]," ($26.00) | ",[15,37324,37309],{"href":37325,"rel":37326},"https:\u002F\u002Fa2.marugotoweb.jp\u002Fen\u002F",[971],[307,37328,37329,37330,37334,37335,37339,37340],{},"Marugoto A2 2: ",[15,37331,12928],{"href":37332,"rel":37333},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Japanese-language-Beginner-Understanding\u002Fdp\u002F4384057571",[971]," ($27.00) | ",[15,37336,37303],{"href":37337,"rel":37338},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Japanese-language-Beginner-Activity\u002Fdp\u002F4384057563\u002F",[971]," ($23.00 | ",[15,37341,37309],{"href":37342,"rel":37343},"https:\u002F\u002Fa2-2.marugotoweb.jp\u002Fen\u002F",[971],[307,37345,37346,37347,37351],{},"Marugoto A2\u002FB1: ",[15,37348,12928],{"href":37349,"rel":37350},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Pre-Intermediate-%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E3%81%AE%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8%E3%81%B0%E3%81%A8%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96-coursebook-JF%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%83%B3%E3%83%80%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E6%BA%96%E6%8B%A0%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9%E3%83%96%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF\u002Fdp\u002F438405758X",[971]," ($24.00)",[307,37353,37354,37355,37359],{},"Marugoto B1 1: ",[15,37356,12928],{"href":37357,"rel":37358},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Intermediate2-%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E3%81%AE%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8%E3%81%B0%E3%81%A8%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96-coursebook-JF%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%83%B3%E3%83%80%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E6%BA%96%E6%8B%A0%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9%E3%83%96%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF\u002Fdp\u002F4384057601\u002F",[971]," ($32.00)",[307,37361,37362,37363,37367],{},"Marugoto B1 2: ",[15,37364,12928],{"href":37365,"rel":37366},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Japanese-language-culture-Intermediate\u002Fdp\u002F3875488539",[971]," ($34.00)",[307,37369,37370,37371],{},"Each book also comes with a variety of ",[15,37372,37375],{"href":37373,"rel":37374},"https:\u002F\u002Fmarugoto.jpf.go.jp\u002Fen\u002Fdownload\u002F",[971],"downloadable supplementary materials",[45,37377,37379],{"id":37378},"some-honorable-mentions","Some honorable mentions",[11,37381,37382,37383,37386,37387,37389],{},"Japanese is a hard language—",[15,37384,37385],{"href":28779},"we talked about what makes it difficult in another post","—but it's also unique in that there are ",[26,37388,23783],{}," of unique and useful resources created by and for Japanese learners.",[11,37391,37392,37393,37396],{},"Analysis paralysis is a thing, so we really wanted to keep this post to five resources... but, since we're already here, here's a few other things that ",[26,37394,37395],{},"almost"," made it into the blog post. We won't cover them in as much detail, so if they look interesting to you, please feel free to explore them in further detail.",[847,37398,37400],{"id":37399},"tae-kim-a-free-japanese-textbook","Tae Kim, a free Japanese textbook",[50,37402],{"src":37403,"width":19054,"height":12778,"alt":37404},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-tae-kim.jpeg","A screenshot of the first chapter of Tae Kim, 'the problem with conventional textbooks'",[11,37406,37407,37408,37413],{},"It's hard to complain about Tae Kim: it's 350 pages long, covers dozens of grammar points, and is chock full of practical example sentences. There have even been ",[15,37409,37412],{"href":37410,"rel":37411},"https:\u002F\u002Fankiweb.net\u002Fshared\u002Finfo\u002F911122782",[971],"some Anki decks"," built to complement it.",[11,37415,37416],{},"I found the deck difficult to follow when I tried it because the learning curve is kind of jagged: each new unit dumps a lot of new vocabulary words, so you'll have your work cut out for you keeping up. Nevertheless, if you're just beginning to think about studying Japanese and aren't sure you want to drop money on this whole foreign language thing yet, you can't go wrong with Tae Kim.",[11,37418,37419,37420,415],{},"You can check out the textbook ",[15,37421,3756],{"href":37422,"rel":37423},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.guidetojapanese.org\u002Fgrammar_guide.pdf",[971],[847,37425,37427],{"id":37426},"imabi-a-free-online-grammar-dictionary","Imabi, a free online grammar dictionary",[50,37429],{"src":37430,"width":19054,"height":12778,"alt":37431},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-imabi.jpeg","A screenshot of Imabi's first lesson, an introduction to Japanese.",[11,37433,37434,37435,37440],{},"As a writer myself, I have major respect for the creator of Imabi. His website is ",[15,37436,37439],{"href":37437,"rel":37438},"https:\u002F\u002Fimabi.org\u002F",[971],"over 450 pages of textbook-style entries",". It starts from hiragana and the basics of pronunciation, covers everything worth covering about grammar, and then finishes with 30 pages of material introducing classical Japanese.",[11,37442,37443,37444,37447],{},"The website is thorough (perhaps too thorough at times) and doesn't try to sell you anything. It's simply an excellent resource. You probably won't be able to ",[26,37445,37446],{},"learn"," Japanese sheerly by following Imabi, but if you ever find yourself struggling with any aspect of Japanese grammar, you can probably find an answer on Imabi.",[847,37449,37451],{"id":37450},"tobira-a-textbook-for-those-struggling-with-the-intermediate-hurdle","Tobira, a textbook for those struggling with the intermediate hurdle",[50,37453],{"src":37454,"width":19054,"height":12778,"alt":37455},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-tobira.jpeg","A photograph of the Tobira textbooks, showing their progression",[11,37457,37458,37459,37461],{},"At Migaku, we feel strongly that learners should seek to graduate from textbooks as soon as possible. The ",[26,37460,5914],{}," learning happens when you use Japanese to consume content you enjoy: to entertain yourself in Japanese, and have learning happen as a happy byproduct of spending hundreds of hours in Japanese.",[11,37463,37464,37465,37467],{},"But maybe ",[26,37466,13558],{}," don't feel that way.",[11,37469,37470],{},"If you've finished Genki but don't quite feel ready to jump into native content, look into these three resources:",[304,37472,37473,37480,37487],{},[307,37474,37475],{},[15,37476,37479],{"href":37477,"rel":37478},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FQUARTET-Intermediate-Japanese-Language-Expression\u002Fdp\u002FB08X9ZY7HR",[971],"QUARTET Intermediate Japanese",[307,37481,37482],{},[15,37483,37486],{"href":37484,"rel":37485},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FIntegrated-Approach-Int-REV-Akira-McGloin\u002Fdp\u002F4789013081",[971],"An Intermediate Approach to Intermediate Japanese",[307,37488,37489],{},[15,37490,37493],{"href":37491,"rel":37492},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FJpn-Tobira-Japanese-English-Mayumi-Oka\u002Fdp\u002F4874244475",[971],"Tobira: Gateway to Advanced Japanese",[11,37495,37496],{},"QUARTET is the easiest, the next one holds your hand a little less, and Tobira is more of a pre-advanced textbook than an intermediate one. Nevertheless, they're all structured similarly: each chapter contains readings and dialogues, you read them, and then explore the grammar they contain.",[847,37498,37500],{"id":37499},"cure-dolly-grammar-lessons-for-people-who-hate-textbooks","Cure Dolly, grammar lessons for people who hate textbooks",[5025,37502],{"src":37503},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FlYvIOi8Q3I8?si=5lgKVRTNvhyaAzQW",[11,37505,37506,37511],{},[15,37507,37510],{"href":37508,"rel":37509},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=pSvH9vH60Ig&list=PLg9uYxuZf8x_A-vcqqyOFZu06WlhnypWj",[971],"Cure Dolly"," is a YouTube channel that claims to teach Japanese in a more \"organic\" way than textbooks. There are YouTube videos for a variety of concepts, and they're all narrated by an animated figure that I personally find off-putting.",[11,37513,37514],{},"What Cure Dolly does right, though, is point out something important: English linguistics and Japanese linguistics don't always look at things the same way, and some problems get created for learners when we try to force an English perspective onto Japanese.",[11,37516,37517],{},"If you're frustrated with traditional textbooks, or if there's a grammar point you just can't wrap your head around, check to see if Cure Dolly has a video on it. You just might get a \"fresh\" perspective that helps connect dots you didn't realize you were missing.",[847,37519,37521],{"id":37520},"read-real-japanese-for-people-who-want-to-read-books-in-japanese","Read Real Japanese, for people who want to read books in Japanese",[5025,37523],{"src":37524},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002Fif4Excj_1ow?si=i2oSabzAnmyv6mSS",[11,37526,37527],{},"This series contains two books:",[304,37529,37530,37537],{},[307,37531,37532],{},[15,37533,37536],{"href":37534,"rel":37535},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FRead-Real-Japanese-Fiction-Contemporary\u002Fdp\u002F1568366175",[971],"Real Real Japanese: Fiction",[307,37538,37539],{},[15,37540,37543],{"href":37541,"rel":37542},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FRead-Real-Japanese-Essays-Contemporary\u002Fdp\u002F1568364148",[971],"Read Real Japanese: Essays",[11,37545,37546],{},"And each of them is worth their weight in gold.",[11,37548,37549],{},"Both of them are laid out in similar fashion:",[304,37551,37552,37558,37565,37568],{},[307,37553,37554,37555,37557],{},"You'll see a ",[26,37556,5914],{}," Japanese short story or essay, presented in the original",[307,37559,37560,37561,37564],{},"Every kanji is shown with ",[15,37562,11309],{"href":11308,"rel":37563},[971]," the first time it appears",[307,37566,37567],{},"Every right-side page is Japanese; every left-side page is a loose English gloss of that Japanese: enough to help you out in a pinch, but not enough to understand the story without also reading the Japanese",[307,37569,37570],{},"The second half of the book is a running grammar glossary which contains explanations of all the grammar points more advanced than ~the second half of Genki II",[11,37572,37573],{},"If you want to read things in Japanese, but you're lacking a bit of self confidence, you'll love these books. (And if you love these books, know that Migaku lets you put any reading material into a very similar format).",[847,37575,20694],{"id":37576},"jlpt-test-prep-books",[5025,37578],{"src":37579},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F6yRxQB7R99Q?si=at-Kdju-f3KLSAq5",[11,37581,37582,37583,37586],{},"There are quite a few book series that aim to help learners prepare for specific levels of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). While not exactly a ",[26,37584,37585],{},"textbook",", these books can fulfill a similar purpose in that they organize grammar points of similar difficulty\u002Frarity and put them in one place.",[11,37588,37589],{},"My favorites are:",[304,37591,37592,37602,37612],{},[307,37593,37594,37601],{},[1090,37595,37596],{},[15,37597,37600],{"href":37598,"rel":37599},"https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fpages\u002Fnihongo-so-matome",[971],"Nihongo Soū Matome"," — These are organized into weekly lessons and have built-in reviews, so you don't need to do any planning yourself",[307,37603,37604,37611],{},[1090,37605,37606],{},[15,37607,37610],{"href":37608,"rel":37609},"https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fcollections\u002Ftry-jlpt",[971],"Try! JLPT"," — These are crosses between workbooks and reference books, and give you a relatively structured way to explore grammar points in detail",[307,37613,37614,37621],{},[1090,37615,37616],{},[15,37617,37620],{"href":37618,"rel":37619},"https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fpages\u002Fshin-kanzen-master",[971],"Shin Kanzen Master"," — These are very thorough and have 5 books for each JLPT level (grammar, vocab, kanji, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension); I personally found the grammar books to be a bit too much but appreciated the reading\u002Flistening comprehension ones",[11,37623,37624,37625,37628],{},"I have mixed feelings about these sorts of resources. I loved them, but I think that I loved them because I spent a few years focusing just on just consuming Japanese, and ",[26,37626,37627],{},"then"," I went through these sorts of prep books casually, doing whatever I could do in the 10 minutes after returning to my desk from lunch. They helped me consolidate a lot of things that I understood, in theory, but couldn't put my finger on or clearly articulate if pressed.",[847,37630,37632],{"id":37631},"nihongo-no-mori","Nihongo no Mori",[5025,37634],{"src":37635},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F1FdjVHZi9Rk?si=cHpYKf7Sry24OXQA",[11,37637,37638,37642],{},[15,37639,37632],{"href":37640,"rel":37641},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=flfi38e0NKk&list=PLl0ZxLaD0xhLge6txBBbdegSLorM6RtSm",[971]," is a YouTube channel that covers all of the grammar you need to know to pass the JLPT N3, N2, and N1. The videos are made by college students studying to become Japanese teachers. They're quirky, entirely in Japanese, and helpful.",[11,37644,37645],{},"If you've tried watching j-dramas or listening to podcasts in the past but found those things to be a bit too difficult, give these a shot. You'll be impressed by how much you can understand. They're personally the first things I binge watched in Japanese—it's a really exciting feeling to realize that you're consuming something in another language, even if the content itself is kind of dry.",[45,37647,37648],{"id":27677},[1090,37649,27678],{},[11,37651,37652,37653,37655],{},"Picking the right textbook is the first step to learning Japanese... but it's only the ",[26,37654,19688],{}," step. Any of the resources we've listed above contain the basic information you need to get your feet under you in Japanese—and if none of them sound great, you can also cobble a learning path together by yourself.",[11,37657,37658],{},"Whatever you end up choosing, remember these two things:",[344,37660,37661,37664],{},[307,37662,37663],{},"Most any textbook will probably be OK—just be consistent and get through it",[307,37665,37666],{},"Your end goal probably isn't to become a Japanese linguist, so don't be a perfectionist; just get the gist of each book, and focus on doing what you need to do to get into your first piece of Japanese content",[11,37668,37669,37670,415],{},"... and on the off chance that you've already gone through a few textbooks and are feeling like you're ready to start easing into real Japanese content, ",[15,37671,37672],{"href":17},"Migaku can help you with that",[674,37674],{"href":21918,"text":37675},"why textbooks won't help you learn Japanese →",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":37677},[37678,37679,37680,37681,37682,37683,37684,37686,37695],{"id":36688,"depth":707,"text":36689},{"id":36726,"depth":707,"text":36727},{"id":36786,"depth":707,"text":36789},{"id":36932,"depth":707,"text":36935},{"id":37006,"depth":707,"text":37009},{"id":37174,"depth":707,"text":37175},{"id":37228,"depth":707,"text":37685},"Marugoto: A textbook for people in Japan now",{"id":37378,"depth":707,"text":37379,"children":37687},[37688,37689,37690,37691,37692,37693,37694],{"id":37399,"depth":1016,"text":37400},{"id":37426,"depth":1016,"text":37427},{"id":37450,"depth":1016,"text":37451},{"id":37499,"depth":1016,"text":37500},{"id":37520,"depth":1016,"text":37521},{"id":37576,"depth":1016,"text":20694},{"id":37631,"depth":1016,"text":37632},{"id":27677,"depth":707,"text":27678},"Looking for the best Japanese textbooks? This guide compares top picks like Genki, Japanese From Zero, Minna no Nihongo, and Tobira to help you find the perfect one for your learning journey.",{"timestampUnix":37698,"slug":37699,"h1":37700,"image":37701,"tags":37706},1742895951000,"best-japanese-textbooks","Top Picks: Best Japanese Learning Textbooks",{"src":37702,"width":37703,"height":37704,"alt":37705,"position":23495},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-header.jpeg",7360,4912,"A photo of a young woman holding several textbooks; the header image for a blog article about Japanese textbooks.",[728,4107],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-textbooks","---\ntitle: 'The Five Best Japanese Textbooks for Beginners'\ndescription: 'Looking for the best Japanese textbooks? This guide compares top picks like Genki, Japanese From Zero, Minna no Nihongo, and Tobira to help you find the perfect one for your learning journey.'\ntimestampUnix: 1742895951000\nslug: 'best-japanese-textbooks'\nh1: 'Top Picks: Best Japanese Learning Textbooks'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-header.jpeg'\n width: 7360\n height: 4912\n alt: 'A photo of a young woman holding several textbooks; the header image for a blog article about Japanese textbooks.'\n position: 'top'\ntags:\n - fundamentals\n - resources\n---\n\nAt around the intermediate level you'll be ready to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese) by doing the things you're interested in, but when you're first starting out, finding the right textbook to learn Japanese is important.\n\nEverybody has different goals, but we think a great Japanese textbook should offer dialogues, vocabulary lists, grammar explanations, exercises, and kanji practice.\n\nIn this article, we'll share some textbooks we've reviewed so that beginner Japanese learners can find the best option for them.\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n## Top suggestions at a glance\n\nWe'll explore each of these resources in more detail, but here are some recommendations at a glance:\n\n- **GENKI: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese** is a standard recommendation for beginners and lower-intermediate level learners. If you study Japanese at an English-speaking university, you'll probably use this textbook.\n- **Minna no Nihongo** is for more serious learners with practical conversational needs: the dialogues reflect real conversations and the book is entirely in Japanese.\n- **Japanese from Zero**! was designed for self-study and takes a fun, gradual approach. It's a good option if you don't want to pay for a teacher and are quite busy.\n- **Migaku** is an app designed for self-learners. It begins with a flashcard-based course that takes learners from zero, then provides tools that enable users learn Japanese by consuming content they enjoy.\n- **Marugoto Japanese Language and Culture** is a textbook designed by the Japanese government and focuses on helping foreigners currently living in Japan build the practical skills they need to navigate life in Japan.\n\n## Whichever textbook you choose...\n\nWe should address the elephant in the room before we get too far along.\n\nStudents around the world study foreign languages in school, but most people don't make meaningful progress in the classroom. I personally took five years of Spanish... but when I graduated, I wasn't able to do much more than conjugate present-tense verbs and ask if I could go to the bathroom.\n\nUnfortunately, there are a _lot_ of people with stories like mine.\n\nAfter living abroad for ten years and passing advanced tests in two foreign languages, here's something I've learned:\n\n> You won't learn a language to fluency just by following a textbook. \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>A textbook's job is simply to help you build the basic skills necessary to begin using your language to do things that you find meaningful or enjoyable. The real learning comes _after_ the textbook stage, when you begin reading books, watching j-dramas, listening to podcasts, and so forth.\n\nThat's it. Your textbook doesn't need to be perfect, and you don't need to be a perfect student. We'd love to convince you to sign up for Migaku, but the truth is that people have successfully learned Japanese by using all of the below resources. All of them will work, so long as _you_ put in the work.\n\nOnce you make your choice, periodically ask yourself these two questions:\n\n1. What would I be doing in Japanese if I were already fluent?\n2. Does it seem like my current routine is bringing me closer to being able to do those things?\n\nIf the answer to #2 is yes, then keep up the good work! If not, take some time to think about what you need to do to align your study efforts with your desired outcomes.\n\nIn other words:\n\n\u003Cwarning title=\"You’re here because you’re looking for a textbook. You’re looking for a textbook because you want to learn Japanese. What if I told you that a textbook wasn't the best way to learn Japanese?\" description=\"Considering the technology we have today, using a textbook realistically means choosing to take years longer to learn Japanese than necessary.\" cta-text=\"Why textbooks won't help you learn Japanese →\" cta-href=\"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-problem-with-textbooks\">\u003C\u002Fwarning>\n\n## **Genki: The go-to textbook for beginners**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-genki.jpeg\" width=\"1662\" height=\"1240\" alt=\"A photo of the cover of the Genki I textbook.\"\u002F>\n\nFor those starting with Japanese, Genki is a top choice globally. Each chapter starts with a dialogue, and that dialogue contains the key vocabulary words and grammar points you'll learn in the chapter. The content is quite dry and some learners will feel the pace is slow, but the upside to this is that the series generally has a very smooth, comfortable learning curve.\n\nThere are two Genki textbooks, and each one comes with a companion workbook designed to give you hands-on practice with a particular chapter's grammar points. The workbooks do not contain answer keys, so if you are learning independently, you'll also need to buy the teacher's edition of the work.\n\nSo far as functionality is concerned, the main complaint about Genki is that it doesn't provide [a structured format for kanji learning](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-kanji). New characters are introduced in each chapter, and it's on you to figure out how to learn them.\n\nI personally used Genki in college—as did most people who studied Japanese in college—and by the time I finished the second book, I felt ready to begin faceplanting my way through simple Japanese novels.\n\nSome links:\n\n- [A YouTube course following Genki](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fplaylist?list=PLT12i1gB38HGAc-zjgFA4YcJA2Z3gVZTL)\n- [The audio files to each Genki chapter](https:\u002F\u002Ft-nagano.com\u002Fprojects\u002FJapaneseGenki3rdEdAudio\u002F)\n- [Genki I textbook ($48.00 new)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FGENKI-Integrated-Elementary-Japanese-English\u002Fdp\u002F4789014401) | [Genki II textbook ($24.00 new)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FGenki-Vol-1-Workbook-3e-ed\u002Fdp\u002F4789017311)\n- [Genki II textbook ($48.00 new)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FGenki-Integrated-Elementary-Japanese-English\u002Fdp\u002F4789014436\u002F) | [Genki II workbook ($26.00 new)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FGenki-Integrated-Elementary-Japanese-Multilingual\u002Fdp\u002F4789017338)\n\nSince Genki is the most popular textbook, here's a quick comparison of how it stands with other well-known textbooks:\n\n| Textbook | Cost (USD) | Target Audience | Distinct Features | Drawbacks |\n| ------------------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |\n| Genki | ~$144 (4 books) | College Students | Well-structured grammar explanations, audio CDs, workbook | Dry for some users, lacks integrated kanji |\n| Minna no Nihongo | ~$380 (18 books) | Serious learners | Comprehensive practice exercises, supplementary books | May be too intense for some users |\n| Japanese from Zero! (JFZ) | ~$150 (5 books) | Self-Learners | Entertaining, YouTube support | Lacks depth |\n\n## **Minna no Nihongo: in-depth learning for serious students**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-minna-no-nihongo.jpeg\" width=\"1906\" height=\"1074\" alt=\"A photo of the cover of the Minna no Nihongo textbook series.\"\u002F>\n\nWhereas Genki was designed for western audiences, Minna no Nihongo (MNN) is the most popular Japanese textbook in Japan and throughout Asia. It's entirely in Japanese, and broken into four levels:\n\n- **\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"初級[しょきゅう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_初級.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>**: Beginner 1 and Beginner 2\n - _Each level contains 5 books: a textbook, workbook, kanji practice book, sentence structures book, and grammar notes in translation_\n- **\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"中級[ちゅうきゅう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_中級.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>**: Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2\n - _Each level contains 4 books: a textbook, workbook, vocab workbook, and grammar notes in translation_\n\nImmediately evident is that this is a lot of textbooks. Why are there so many?\n\nThe series features a unique approach: the main textbook is entirely in Japanese (even the first one), and then there's an optional second book that summarizes each chapter's key ideas and provides grammar notes in English (or several other languages). Adding the supplementary textbooks in, you're left with a comprehensive, structured, and immersive learning experience.\n\nWhether Minna no Nihongo is for you basically boils down to how comfortable you feel with the idea of diving into Japanese. You _do_ eventually need to switch over to Japanese, and proponents of MNN love that it immerses them right into real Japanese conversations. If you're ready for that, you'll love the series. If you want a more gentle introduction to Japanese, you probably won't.\n\nYou can purchase the books and see samples of each one at [OMG! Japan](https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fpages\u002Fminna-no-nihongo). The textbooks are about $35.00, and the supplementary workbooks are in the $15.00–$30.00 price range.\n\n## **Japanese from Zero! (JFZ): A textbook for people who hate textbooks**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-japanese-from-zero.jpeg\" width=\"1906\" height=\"1074\" alt=\"A photo of the cover of the Japanese from Zero textbook series.\"\u002F>\n\nJapanese from Zero is a top pick for those new to learning on their own—especially those who might have tried and failed to learn Japanese in the past. The series contains five books in total, and they're designed to be enjoyable reads and super accessible.\n\nWhat does _accessible_ mean?\n\nThe first chapter of the first book is entirely in romaji. You learn a few [hiragana](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-hiragana) in each chapter, and the book begins using them as you learn them. As a result, you end up seeing things like \"の ru\", whereas these other textbooks would instead say \"のる\" or \"\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"乗る[のる,の]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\" \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_乗る.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>. Book two introduces [katakana](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-katakana), and you don't see any kanji until book three.\n\nThe book also does a good job of recognizing that people who are interested in learning Japanese are also likely interested in Japanese culture. Instead of just teaching you how the language works, there are lots of \"Culture Clips\" that explain things you'll need\u002Fwant to know if you end up moving to Japan. Some of these detours are of practical use (do's and don'ts for bowing), others are simply interesting (why Japanese elevators skip floor 4).\n\nUnlike Minna no Nihongo, you don't need to buy five separate books, either. Each of the five books contains an integrated workbook and writing practice section. If you dislike textbooks, you can also opt to learn on [the From Zero website](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fromzero.com\u002F) ($13.00\u002Fmo) instead, which enhances the original textbook with videos, textbooks, and simple games.\n\nBasically: if you want a relaxed learning program that lets you go at your own pace, you'll like JFZ. If you're a more serious learner, you probably won't.\n\nHere's a quick comparison of JFZ vs Genki:\n\n| FAQs | Japanese from Zero\\! | Genki |\n| ------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |\n| Japanese displayed in... | Romaji; hiragana and katakana gradually introduced | Hiragana and katakana from the start |\n| Pacing | Slow and steady progression | Faster-paced, ideal for classroom settings |\n| Workbook? | Integrated into main book | Sold separately |\n| Additional Resources | Videos, podcasts, games on[the From Zero website](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fromzero.com\u002F) | Books include several two-person activities |\n\nCurrently, JFZ offers five textbooks:\n\n- [Japanese from Zero 1](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FJapanese-Zero-Techniques-Students-Professionals\u002Fdp\u002F0976998122) ($10.00 on Kindle \u002F $28.00 paperback)\n- [Japanese from Zero 2](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FJapanese-Zero-Techniques-Students-Professionals\u002Fdp\u002F0976998114\u002F) ($10.00 on Kindle \u002F $30.00 paperback)\n- [Japanese from Zero 3](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FJapanese-Zero-Techniques-Students-Professionals\u002Fdp\u002F0976998130\u002F) ($10.00 on Kindle \u002F $28.00 paperback)\n- [Japanese from Zero 4](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FJapanese-Zero-Techniques-Students-Professionals\u002Fdp\u002F0989654508\u002F) ($10.00 on Kindle \u002F $28.00 paperback)\n- [Japanese from Zero 5](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FJapanese-Zero-Continue-Mastering-Integrated\u002Fdp\u002F0989654559\u002F) ($10.00 on Kindle \u002F $29.00 paperback)\n- [The Japanese from Zero Website](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.fromzero.com\u002F) ($13.00 a month \u002F $130 a year)\n\n## Migaku: A flashcard-based course for people who love Japanese media\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-migaku.jpeg\" width=\"1514\" height=\"1056\" alt=\"A screenshot showing some of the content in Mikgaku's Japanese Fundamentals and Japanese Academy courses.\"\u002F>\n\nA fundamental problem shared by every textbook is that they contain the things that somebody else thinks you need to know to learn Japanese, and those things may or may not align with the things you actually need to know based on what's important to you.\n\nThis is problematic because words aren't created or used equally. If you're learning Japanese because you want to read shounen manga, some structures and vocabulary words are going to be much more important to you than someone studying Japanese to read academic articles about robotics. In an ideal world, you'd both take a significantly different route through Japanese.\n\nMigaku, more or less, is our attempt to create that ideal world. We're built around:\n\n1. **Japanese Basics** — You start off by learning the hiragana and katakana (via Migaku Fundamentals), then move on to cover ~1,800 super frequent vocab words and 400 common grammar points (via Migaku Academy) that will be useful no matter what your goals with Japanese are\n2. **Good flashcards** — Our courses are flashcard-based, so as you learn the basics of Japanese, you also learn about what good flashcards look like, why [spaced repetition](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSpaced_repetition) is the key to remembering Japanese words, and where Japanese can fit into your daily routine\n3. **Making the world your textbook** — Upon finishing these basics—or perhaps earlier—you'll begin consuming Japanese content of your own choosing; we'll pick out level-appropriate sentences from that content and let you turn them into flashcards with one click\n\nThis approach ensures that you learn the things that _you_ need to enjoy the books, j-dramas, anime, and content _you_ are interested in, whatever that happens to be.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n## **Marugoto: A textbook for people in Japan _now_**\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-marugoto.jpeg\" width=\"1680\" height=\"534\" alt=\"A photo of the cover of the Marugoto textbook series.\"\u002F>\n\nMost textbook series are designed for high school or college students taking a semester-long Japanese course. As such, topics focus on student life, there's a sequential progression from chapter to chapter, and the books are written around the assumption that a professor will be explaining things.\n\nMarugoto does things differently in several ways:\n\n- Books are graded according to Europe's [CEFR](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FCommon_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages) (A1–C2) framework, not Japan's [JLPT](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese-Language_Proficiency_Test) (N5–N1) framework\n- Each chapter is more or less standalone—you can jump between topics that interest you\n- The books are dialogue based and focus on practical things that will help you navigate daily life in Japan\n- The books are designed for use on the go: you _can_ buy a textbook, but you can also cover the same content on a phone, tablet, or computer\n- The first few levels each feature two textbooks: a Katsudō (_activity_) book which focuses on natural learning via speaking\u002Flistening, and a Rikai (_understanding_) book which focuses on traditional learning via reading\u002Fwriting\n\nThe downside to Marugoto's approach is that the books assume you'll be practicing the content in groups (or in daily life). Several chapters cover things that are important to know if you're living in Japan but may not be so important if you primarily care about consuming Japanese media abroad.\n\nCurrently, Marugoto offers 6 levels:\n\n- Marugoto A1: [Textbook](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Japanese-Coursebook-communicative-competences\u002Fdp\u002F4384057539\u002F) ($22.00)| [Activity book](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Japanese-Coursebook-communicative-activities\u002Fdp\u002F4384057520\u002F) ($25.00) | [Companion website](https:\u002F\u002Fa1.marugotoweb.jp\u002Fen\u002F)\n- Marugoto A2 1: [Textbook](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Japanese-language-culture-Elementary\u002Fdp\u002F3875487141\u002F) ($43.00) | [Activity book](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Elementary1-Coursebook-communicative-activities\u002Fdp\u002F4384057547) ($26.00) | [Companion website](https:\u002F\u002Fa2.marugotoweb.jp\u002Fen\u002F)\n- Marugoto A2 2: [Textbook](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Japanese-language-Beginner-Understanding\u002Fdp\u002F4384057571) ($27.00) | [Activity book](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Japanese-language-Beginner-Activity\u002Fdp\u002F4384057563\u002F) ($23.00 | [Companion website](https:\u002F\u002Fa2-2.marugotoweb.jp\u002Fen\u002F)\n- Marugoto A2\u002FB1: [Textbook](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Pre-Intermediate-%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E3%81%AE%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8%E3%81%B0%E3%81%A8%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96-coursebook-JF%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%83%B3%E3%83%80%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E6%BA%96%E6%8B%A0%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9%E3%83%96%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF\u002Fdp\u002F438405758X) ($24.00)\n- Marugoto B1 1: [Textbook](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Intermediate2-%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E3%81%AE%E3%81%93%E3%81%A8%E3%81%B0%E3%81%A8%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96-coursebook-JF%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%83%B3%E3%83%80%E3%83%BC%E3%83%89%E6%BA%96%E6%8B%A0%E3%82%B3%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9%E3%83%96%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF\u002Fdp\u002F4384057601\u002F) ($32.00)\n- Marugoto B1 2: [Textbook](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FMarugoto-Japanese-language-culture-Intermediate\u002Fdp\u002F3875488539) ($34.00)\n- Each book also comes with a variety of [downloadable supplementary materials](https:\u002F\u002Fmarugoto.jpf.go.jp\u002Fen\u002Fdownload\u002F)\n\n## Some honorable mentions\n\nJapanese is a hard language—[we talked about what makes it difficult in another post](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fthe-most-difficult-language)—but it's also unique in that there are _tons_ of unique and useful resources created by and for Japanese learners.\n\nAnalysis paralysis is a thing, so we really wanted to keep this post to five resources... but, since we're already here, here's a few other things that _almost_ made it into the blog post. We won't cover them in as much detail, so if they look interesting to you, please feel free to explore them in further detail.\n\n### Tae Kim, a free Japanese textbook\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-tae-kim.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1716\" alt=\"A screenshot of the first chapter of Tae Kim, 'the problem with conventional textbooks'\"\u002F>\n\nIt's hard to complain about Tae Kim: it's 350 pages long, covers dozens of grammar points, and is chock full of practical example sentences. There have even been [some Anki decks](https:\u002F\u002Fankiweb.net\u002Fshared\u002Finfo\u002F911122782) built to complement it.\n\nI found the deck difficult to follow when I tried it because the learning curve is kind of jagged: each new unit dumps a lot of new vocabulary words, so you'll have your work cut out for you keeping up. Nevertheless, if you're just beginning to think about studying Japanese and aren't sure you want to drop money on this whole foreign language thing yet, you can't go wrong with Tae Kim.\n\nYou can check out the textbook [here](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.guidetojapanese.org\u002Fgrammar_guide.pdf).\n\n### Imabi, a free online grammar dictionary\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-imabi.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1716\" alt=\"A screenshot of Imabi's first lesson, an introduction to Japanese.\"\u002F>\n\nAs a writer myself, I have major respect for the creator of Imabi. His website is [over 450 pages of textbook-style entries](https:\u002F\u002Fimabi.org\u002F). It starts from hiragana and the basics of pronunciation, covers everything worth covering about grammar, and then finishes with 30 pages of material introducing classical Japanese.\n\nThe website is thorough (perhaps too thorough at times) and doesn't try to sell you anything. It's simply an excellent resource. You probably won't be able to _learn_ Japanese sheerly by following Imabi, but if you ever find yourself struggling with any aspect of Japanese grammar, you can probably find an answer on Imabi.\n\n### Tobira, a textbook for those struggling with the intermediate hurdle\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-tobira.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1716\" alt=\"A photograph of the Tobira textbooks, showing their progression\"\u002F>\n\nAt Migaku, we feel strongly that learners should seek to graduate from textbooks as soon as possible. The _real_ learning happens when you use Japanese to consume content you enjoy: to entertain yourself in Japanese, and have learning happen as a happy byproduct of spending hundreds of hours in Japanese.\n\nBut maybe _you_ don't feel that way.\n\nIf you've finished Genki but don't quite feel ready to jump into native content, look into these three resources:\n\n- [QUARTET Intermediate Japanese](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FQUARTET-Intermediate-Japanese-Language-Expression\u002Fdp\u002FB08X9ZY7HR)\n- [An Intermediate Approach to Intermediate Japanese](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FIntegrated-Approach-Int-REV-Akira-McGloin\u002Fdp\u002F4789013081)\n- [Tobira: Gateway to Advanced Japanese](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FJpn-Tobira-Japanese-English-Mayumi-Oka\u002Fdp\u002F4874244475)\n\nQUARTET is the easiest, the next one holds your hand a little less, and Tobira is more of a pre-advanced textbook than an intermediate one. Nevertheless, they're all structured similarly: each chapter contains readings and dialogues, you read them, and then explore the grammar they contain.\n\n### Cure Dolly, grammar lessons for people who hate textbooks\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FlYvIOi8Q3I8?si=5lgKVRTNvhyaAzQW\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n[Cure Dolly](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=pSvH9vH60Ig&list=PLg9uYxuZf8x_A-vcqqyOFZu06WlhnypWj) is a YouTube channel that claims to teach Japanese in a more \"organic\" way than textbooks. There are YouTube videos for a variety of concepts, and they're all narrated by an animated figure that I personally find off-putting.\n\nWhat Cure Dolly does right, though, is point out something important: English linguistics and Japanese linguistics don't always look at things the same way, and some problems get created for learners when we try to force an English perspective onto Japanese.\n\nIf you're frustrated with traditional textbooks, or if there's a grammar point you just can't wrap your head around, check to see if Cure Dolly has a video on it. You just might get a \"fresh\" perspective that helps connect dots you didn't realize you were missing.\n\n### Read Real Japanese, for people who want to read books in Japanese\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002Fif4Excj_1ow?si=i2oSabzAnmyv6mSS\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\nThis series contains two books:\n\n- [Real Real Japanese: Fiction](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FRead-Real-Japanese-Fiction-Contemporary\u002Fdp\u002F1568366175)\n- [Read Real Japanese: Essays](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FRead-Real-Japanese-Essays-Contemporary\u002Fdp\u002F1568364148)\n\nAnd each of them is worth their weight in gold.\n\nBoth of them are laid out in similar fashion:\n\n- You'll see a _real_ Japanese short story or essay, presented in the original\n- Every kanji is shown with [furigana](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FFurigana) the first time it appears\n- Every right-side page is Japanese; every left-side page is a loose English gloss of that Japanese: enough to help you out in a pinch, but not enough to understand the story without also reading the Japanese\n- The second half of the book is a running grammar glossary which contains explanations of all the grammar points more advanced than ~the second half of Genki II\n\nIf you want to read things in Japanese, but you're lacking a bit of self confidence, you'll love these books. (And if you love these books, know that Migaku lets you put any reading material into a very similar format).\n\n### JLPT test-prep books\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F6yRxQB7R99Q?si=at-Kdju-f3KLSAq5\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\nThere are quite a few book series that aim to help learners prepare for specific levels of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). While not exactly a _textbook_, these books can fulfill a similar purpose in that they organize grammar points of similar difficulty\u002Frarity and put them in one place.\n\nMy favorites are:\n\n- **[Nihongo Soū Matome](https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fpages\u002Fnihongo-so-matome)** — These are organized into weekly lessons and have built-in reviews, so you don't need to do any planning yourself\n- **[Try! JLPT](https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fcollections\u002Ftry-jlpt)** — These are crosses between workbooks and reference books, and give you a relatively structured way to explore grammar points in detail\n- **[Shin Kanzen Master](https:\u002F\u002Fomgjapan.com\u002Fpages\u002Fshin-kanzen-master)** — These are very thorough and have 5 books for each JLPT level (grammar, vocab, kanji, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension); I personally found the grammar books to be a bit too much but appreciated the reading\u002Flistening comprehension ones\n\nI have mixed feelings about these sorts of resources. I loved them, but I think that I loved them because I spent a few years focusing just on just consuming Japanese, and _then_ I went through these sorts of prep books casually, doing whatever I could do in the 10 minutes after returning to my desk from lunch. They helped me consolidate a lot of things that I understood, in theory, but couldn't put my finger on or clearly articulate if pressed.\n\n### Nihongo no Mori\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F1FdjVHZi9Rk?si=cHpYKf7Sry24OXQA\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n[Nihongo no Mori](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=flfi38e0NKk&list=PLl0ZxLaD0xhLge6txBBbdegSLorM6RtSm) is a YouTube channel that covers all of the grammar you need to know to pass the JLPT N3, N2, and N1. The videos are made by college students studying to become Japanese teachers. They're quirky, entirely in Japanese, and helpful.\n\nIf you've tried watching j-dramas or listening to podcasts in the past but found those things to be a bit too difficult, give these a shot. You'll be impressed by how much you can understand. They're personally the first things I binge watched in Japanese—it's a really exciting feeling to realize that you're consuming something in another language, even if the content itself is kind of dry.\n\n## **Conclusion**\n\nPicking the right textbook is the first step to learning Japanese... but it's only the _first_ step. Any of the resources we've listed above contain the basic information you need to get your feet under you in Japanese—and if none of them sound great, you can also cobble a learning path together by yourself.\n\nWhatever you end up choosing, remember these two things:\n\n1. Most any textbook will probably be OK—just be consistent and get through it\n2. Your end goal probably isn't to become a Japanese linguist, so don't be a perfectionist; just get the gist of each book, and focus on doing what you need to do to get into your first piece of Japanese content\n\n... and on the off chance that you've already gone through a few textbooks and are feeling like you're ready to start easing into real Japanese content, [Migaku can help you with that](\u002Flearn-japanese).\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-problem-with-textbooks\" text=\"why textbooks won't help you learn Japanese →\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n",{"title":36669,"description":37696},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-textbooks","aPo_wFGg04FJpxASRno55HI08rVI1P-XdatVu_qCKGc","March 25, 2025",{"id":37714,"title":37715,"body":37716,"description":38613,"extension":717,"meta":38614,"navigation":730,"path":38622,"rawbody":38623,"seo":38624,"stem":38625,"__hash__":38626,"timestampUnix":38615,"slug":38616,"h1":38617,"image":38618,"tags":38621,"_dir":736,"timestamp":27741},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-textbooks-taekim.md","Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar: Is It the Right Resource for You?",{"type":8,"value":37717,"toc":38579},[37718,37724,37727,37730,37733,37736,37741,37743,37745,37749,37752,37757,37760,37763,37767,37770,37781,37784,37797,37800,37803,37806,37810,37813,37830,37833,37838,37843,37856,37861,37865,37868,37879,37885,37891,37894,37908,37921,37925,37928,37935,37939,37942,37946,37949,37956,37959,37963,37966,37970,37973,37979,37997,38000,38010,38016,38019,38021,38025,38028,38032,38040,38046,38058,38061,38064,38067,38071,38074,38080,38083,38086,38092,38095,38097,38100,38104,38115,38118,38120,38124,38127,38130,38133,38137,38140,38150,38153,38156,38159,38162,38167,38173,38179,38183,38186,38189,38192,38198,38205,38210,38213,38218,38221,38224,38231,38238,38244,38251,38254,38256,38260,38263,38266,38270,38273,38300,38303,38314,38318,38321,38344,38347,38349,38353,38356,38360,38366,38377,38380,38384,38392,38395,38401,38404,38410,38414,38422,38429,38432,38437,38440,38443,38447,38450,38471,38474,38479,38482,38484,38490,38494,38503,38506,38511,38521,38525,38533,38536,38539,38544,38551,38553,38557,38560,38563,38577],[11,37719,37720,37721,37723],{},"Tae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese—a totally free textbook written for beginners learning Japanese. You don't need to enter your email to use it and Tae Kim doesn't try to upsell you anything—he's literally just dropping knowledge for free, trying to help you ",[15,37722,18],{"href":17}," out of the goodness of his heart.",[11,37725,37726],{},"It sounds too good to be true.",[11,37728,37729],{},"It's not.",[674,37731],{"href":37422,"text":37732},"Click here to read Tae Kim's textbook",[11,37734,37735],{},"The guide offers an accessible introduction to Japanese grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structures. It's well-known for a reason. It's pretty cool.",[11,37737,37738,37740],{},[26,37739,27401],{}," guide will help you decide if it's the right Japanese textbook for you to start with, and will cover:",[39,37742],{},[42,37744],{},[45,37746,37748],{"id":37747},"what-is-tae-kims-guide-to-learning-japanese","What is Tae Kim’s guide to learning Japanese?",[11,37750,37751],{},"Well, for starters, it looks like this:",[50,37753],{"src":37754,"width":19054,"height":37755,"alt":37756},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-textbook.jpeg",1798,"A screenshot of the cover of Tae Kim's Japanese textbook",[11,37758,37759],{},"It's a 353-page .pdf that introduces you to the basics of Japanese grammar, and then some.",[11,37761,37762],{},"More specifically, the guide is broken into six sections:",[847,37764,37766],{"id":37765},"_1-introduction","1. Introduction",[11,37768,37769],{},"Tae Kim explains why he doesn't like \"traditional\" textbooks:",[344,37771,37772,37775,37778],{},[307,37773,37774],{},"They focus on polite Japanese",[307,37776,37777],{},"They hold your hand and make you wait to learn kanji, which he feels is detrimental",[307,37779,37780],{},"They teach you how to express English ideas in Japanese, instead of just focusing on how Japanese works",[11,37782,37783],{},"And Tae Kim, in his guide to Japanese grammar, will be taking a different approach. He says:",[320,37785,37786],{},[11,37787,37788],{},[26,37789,37790,37791,37793,37794,37796],{},"The solution to this problem is to explain Japanese from a Japanese point of view. Take",[292,37792],{},"\nJapanese and explain how it works and forget about trying to force what you want to say in",[292,37795],{},"\nEnglish into Japanese.",[11,37798,37799],{},"At Migaku, we can get behind that. We've actually got an entire video on the problems with traditional approaches to language learning:",[5025,37801],{"src":37802},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FVcfrinKCvC4?si=mLn_I_4QrmvjtgVo",[11,37804,37805],{},"The rest of Tae Kim's introduction explains how to use the book and how he thinks you should go about learning Japanese.",[847,37807,37809],{"id":37808},"_2-the-japanese-writing-systems","2. The Japanese writing systems",[11,37811,37812],{},"Japanese has three writing systems:",[304,37814,37815,37820,37825],{},[307,37816,37817,37819],{},[15,37818,18161],{"href":1082},", which are used (mostly) in grammatical structures and alongside kanji to make words",[307,37821,37822,37824],{},[15,37823,16121],{"href":3811},", which are used (mostly) to write foreign words and sometimes for emphasis",[307,37826,37827,37829],{},[15,37828,82],{"href":3817},", literally \"Chinese Characters\", which are used to write Japanese words",[11,37831,37832],{},"And he introduces them like this:",[50,37834],{"src":37835,"width":37836,"height":21565,"alt":37837},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-hiragana.jpeg",1482,"A screenshot from Tae Kim's Japanese textbook, showing a table and introduction to the hiragana",[11,37839,37840],{},[26,37841,37842],{},"(And then this is followed by further sections where he breaks the table down, but I'm not going to print the entire book here, am I?)",[11,37844,37845,37846,3814,37851,415],{},"After introducing each script and how they work, he directs you to a ",[15,37847,37850],{"href":37848,"rel":37849},"http:\u002F\u002Fwww.guidetojapanese.org\u002Fpdf\u002Fhiragana_trace_sheet.pdf",[971],"hiragana practice sheet",[15,37852,37855],{"href":37853,"rel":37854},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.guidetojapanese.org\u002Fpdf\u002Fkatakana_trace_sheet.pdf",[971],"katakana practice sheet",[320,37857,37858],{},[11,37859,37860],{},"As early as this chapter, you get a feel for what sort of resource Tae Kim is: practical, to the point, and expecting that you'll figure things out yourself. Some people hate that, others love it.",[847,37862,37864],{"id":37863},"_3-basic-japanese-grammar","3. Basic Japanese Grammar",[11,37866,37867],{},"Here you can see the basic format of all of Tae Kim's lesssons:",[304,37869,37870,37873,37876],{},[307,37871,37872],{},"First, you'll get a list of new Japanese vocabulary words",[307,37874,37875],{},"Next, you'll see a concise explanation of a grammar point or concept",[307,37877,37878],{},"Finally, you'll see a few example sentences combining those vocabulary words and grammar points",[50,37880],{"src":37881,"width":37882,"height":37883,"alt":37884},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-basic-grammar2.jpeg",1704,1364,"A screenshot from Tae Kim's Japanese textbook, showing how he teaches grammar",[50,37886],{"src":37887,"width":37888,"height":37889,"alt":37890},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-basic-grammar.jpeg",1496,462,"A screenshot from Tae Kim's Japanese textbook, showing his example sentences",[11,37892,37893],{},"True to the goals Tae Kim stated in the introduction:",[304,37895,37896,37899,37905],{},[307,37897,37898],{},"You start off with casual Japanese",[307,37900,37901,37902],{},"You see sentences wth a mix of hiragana (and katakana, if I recall) right from the first lesson—absolutely no romaji ",[26,37903,37904],{},"(writing Japanese with the English alphabet)",[307,37906,37907],{},"You work with some pretty literal translations—Tae Kim doesn't over-translate his sentences to sound nice in English",[11,37909,37910,37911,37916,37917,37920],{},"The basic Japanese grammar section consists of 12 units that are broken up into about 50 sections, starting with だ (",[15,37912,37915],{"href":37913,"rel":37914},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FCopula_(linguistics)",[971],"the Japanese copula","), moving onto ",[15,37918,37919],{"href":1986},"a few basic Japanese particles",", then covering the basics of Japanese verbs and sentence structure.",[847,37922,37924],{"id":37923},"_4-essential-japanese-grammar","4. Essential Japanese Grammar",[11,37926,37927],{},"The essential Japanese grammar section is a continuation of the basic Japanese grammar section. Here, you'll continue learning important Japanese grammatical structures, like the polite form of verbs or how numbers work, in the same \"vocabulary→explanation→example sentences\" structure as before.",[11,37929,37930,37931,8737],{},"Below you can see Tae Kim's explanation of ",[15,37932,37934],{"href":37933},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-verb-volitional-form","the volitional form of verbs",[50,37936],{"src":37937,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":37938},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-volitional.jpeg","A screenshot from Tae Kim's Japanese textbook, showing his explanation of Japanese volitional verbs",[11,37940,37941],{},"This section is by far the longest of the book, consisting of 18 units that are broken up into about 100 sections over nearly 150 pages.",[847,37943,37945],{"id":37944},"_5-special-expressions","5. Special expressions",[11,37947,37948],{},"This section of the book introduces stuff that—well, I'll just let Tae Kim explain it himself:",[320,37950,37951],{},[11,37952,37953],{},[26,37954,37955],{},"I have decided to call this next section \"Special Expressions\" only because with the exception of the first few lessons, most of the grammar here applies to more specific areas than the grammar we have covered so far. These special expressions, while individually not vital, are, as a collection, necessary for regular everyday conversations.",[11,37957,37958],{},"It's still pretty much the same stuff as the previous two grammar sections—you're now just seeing stuff that's slightly rarer. Stuff you'll come across in every episode of anime you watch or every chapter of a book you read, but not necessarily in every other sentence, like much of the stuff Tae Kim has covered so far.",[847,37960,37962],{"id":37961},"_6-advanced-topics","6. Advanced topics",[11,37964,37965],{},"This section is short enough that I can actually just include screenshot of what it covers:",[50,37967],{"src":37968,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":37969},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-advanced-topics.jpeg","A screenshot from Tae Kim's Japanese textbook, showing what he's dubbed the 'advanced topics' section",[11,37971,37972],{},"And, honestly, I'm not quite sure how to describe it. It's an eclectic mix of stuff.",[11,37974,37975,37976,37978],{},"Some of the stuff is very much ",[26,37977,10642],{}," advanced:",[304,37980,37981,37989],{},[307,37982,37983,37984],{},"Using 「はず」to describe an expectation → ",[15,37985,37988],{"href":37986,"rel":37987},"https:\u002F\u002Fjlptsensei.com\u002Flearn-japanese-grammar\u002F%E3%81%AF%E3%81%9A%E3%81%A0-hazu-da-meaning\u002F",[971],"this is an N4 grammar point",[307,37990,37991,37992],{},"Using 「べき」to describe actions one should do → ",[15,37993,37996],{"href":37994,"rel":37995},"https:\u002F\u002Fjlptsensei.com\u002Flearn-japanese-grammar\u002F%E3%81%B9%E3%81%8D%E3%81%A0-beki-da-meaning\u002F",[971],"this is an N3 grammar point",[11,37998,37999],{},"Some of the stuff, like べからず, I pretty much only see in signs with messages like this:",[304,38001,38002],{},[307,38003,38004,38007,38009],{},[98,38005],{"lang":100,"syntax":38006},"芝生[しばふ] に 入[はい]る べから[,べから]ず{。}",[292,38008],{},"\n Keep off the grass!\n",[11,38011,38012,38013,415],{},"And some of the stuff, like そばから, I've literally only ever seen in the materials I used while preparing for ",[15,38014,38015],{"href":27599},"the JLPT N1, the highest level proficiency test of Japanese",[11,38017,38018],{},"I don't necessarily think that all of these grammar points belong in the same section (N4 to N1 is a pretty big range!), but they're indeed all things that would be good to at least be aware of.",[42,38020],{},[45,38022,38024],{"id":38023},"why-learners-like-tae-kims-guide","Why learners like Tae Kim’s guide",[11,38026,38027],{},"I think that seeing the book laid out above should give you a pretty good idea of if Tae Kim is right for you or not, but if you're still on the fence, here's what people like about Tae Kim:",[847,38029,38031],{"id":38030},"its-free-duh","It's free, duh",[11,38033,38034,38035,38039],{},"I'm not sure how I can put this more clearly—Tae Kim is free. Like just literally ",[15,38036,38038],{"href":37422,"rel":38037},[971],"click here"," and the .pdf file will open in your browser.",[11,38041,38042,38043,415],{},"And, you know, that's kind of incredible. There's no subscription. You don't need to enter an email, give away your phone number, or sign away the wages of your first born child. You just click the link and get the book and can even download it if you want to. It covers basically the same stuff as you'd see in Genki I and Genki II... ",[26,38044,38045],{},"for free",[11,38047,38048,38049,38051,38052,38057],{},"Tae Kim's textbook ",[26,38050,25025],{}," available ",[15,38053,38056],{"href":38054,"rel":38055},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FGuide-Japanese-Grammar-approach-learning\u002Fdp\u002F1495238962",[971],"on Amazon"," as a $5.00 Kindle purchase or a ~$20.00 physical book, but you won't see that mentioned in the guide. He has a blog, but doesn't do affiliate marketing or sponsorships or anything like that.",[11,38059,38060],{},"Everything Tae Kim offers, he offers for free.",[11,38062,38063],{},"If you find it helpful, you can choose to support him.",[11,38065,38066],{},"Naturally, people like that.",[847,38068,38070],{"id":38069},"simple-to-the-point-explanations","Simple, to-the-point explanations",[11,38072,38073],{},"Most textbooks are written by academics and, for lack of better words, the way they think language stuff should be explained sometimes just isn't how us normal folk need stuff to be explained to us.",[11,38075,38076,38077,38079],{},"As a more advanced learner, I now realize that textbook authors tended to go into way too much detail in some places and brush straight over stuff they thought was common sense (which wasn't) in others. As a beginner, that frustrated me to no end—I thought I was too stupid to understand how a certain Japanese grammar point worked, and I didn't realize that the ",[26,38078,5914],{}," issue was simply that the Genki explanation of that grammar point wasn't super great.",[11,38081,38082],{},"So, yeah. You know what to expect from textbooks, and you probably expect that when you open up Tae Kim for the first time.",[11,38084,38085],{},"And then you see stuff like this:",[50,38087],{"src":38088,"width":38089,"height":38090,"alt":38091},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-to-be.jpeg",1154,660,"A screenshot from Tae Kim's Japanese textbook, showing his explanation of the Japanese copula",[11,38093,38094],{},"\"Use だ to declare that something is so and so\".",[11,38096,34021],{},[11,38098,38099],{},"Tae Kim isn't winning any literary prose awards—but, in the world of textbooks, that's a plus. His explanations are intuitive. Easy to follow. It feels like he's talking to you. It's really just kinda nice.",[847,38101,38103],{"id":38102},"the-community-generally-approves-of-tae-kim","The community generally approves of Tae Kim",[11,38105,38106,38107,38110,38111,38114],{},"The internet is full of haters, but if you spend a few days hanging out on ",[15,38108,3836],{"href":32677,"rel":38109},[971],", a ",[15,38112,38113],{"href":28600},"Japanese learning discord",", or pretty much anywhere else Japanese learners congregate—you're probably going to see at least one person recommend Tae Kim.",[11,38116,38117],{},"Now, the reception isn't totally positive. We'll get to that in the next section. At the end of the day, though, Tae Kim has been online for like 20 years; it hasn't been abandoned or pillaged, and people still recommend it. How many other resources can you say that about?",[42,38119],{},[45,38121,38123],{"id":38122},"where-tae-kims-guide-falls-short","Where Tae Kim’s Guide falls short",[11,38125,38126],{},"I personally like Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide.",[11,38128,38129],{},"...but it's not perfect.",[11,38131,38132],{},"We've been pretty positive so far, so now let's take the gloves off and talk about why Japanese learning guides don't unanimously begin with \"First, go do Tae Kim.\"",[847,38134,38136],{"id":38135},"its-literally-just-a-book-of-grammar-explanations","It's literally just a book of grammar explanations",[11,38138,38139],{},"As mentioned up in the third bullet point of \"What is Tae Kim's guide to learning Japanese\", every unit of Tae Kim follows the same format:",[304,38141,38142,38145,38148],{},[307,38143,38144],{},"List of vocabulary words",[307,38146,38147],{},"Brief explanation of a grammar point",[307,38149,34174],{},[11,38151,38152],{},"And then you move on.",[11,38154,38155],{},"There's no interactive elements, no quizzes, no media, no audio, no sample dialogues or reading material. It's literally just a compilation of brief textual explanations.",[11,38157,38158],{},"And, oftentimes, that's not quite enough.",[11,38160,38161],{},"Now, to be clear:",[320,38163,38164],{},[11,38165,38166],{},"We learn languages by interacting with them, not by reading a textbook. If you consume media in Japanese, and understand the sentences within that media, you will make progress. Period.",[11,38168,38169,38170,38172],{},"So I don't necessarily think it's Tae Kim's job to do ",[26,38171,1181],{}," for you, but I agree with the general Internet concensus: to learn Japanese, you're going to need more than Tae Kim.",[11,38174,38175,38176,38178],{},"Bookmark Tae Kim's guide as a quick and dirty grammar reference, but understand that it's really ",[26,38177,600],{}," a quick and dirty grammar reference.",[847,38180,38182],{"id":38181},"some-of-tae-kims-takes-arent-so-great","Some of Tae Kim's takes aren't so great",[11,38184,38185],{},"So, Tae Kim is a Korean learner of Japanese. He's not Japanese, nor a Japanese teacher. According to lore, Tae Kim's guide to Japanese was initially just his personal notes about Japanese grammar points. They got pretty extensive, and he decided to polish them up a bit and make them available to other learners. I have no idea if that's true or not, but having gone through the textbook, I'd believe it.",[11,38187,38188],{},"On one hand, and I want to stress this, I absolutely admire people who put themselves out there and make something for the good of others.",[11,38190,38191],{},"On the other hand, this—let's call it an intentional lack of polish—sometimes leads to things like this showing up in Tae Kim's book:",[50,38193],{"src":38194,"width":38195,"height":38196,"alt":38197},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-japanese-uhhtake.jpeg",1174,1144,"A screenshot from Tae Kim's Japanese textbook, showing a discussion about Japanese sentence structure",[11,38199,38200,38201,38204],{},"And I mean that's ",[26,38202,38203],{},"technically"," true, but like—well:",[320,38206,38207],{},[11,38208,38209],{},"Like this an English sentence I could, too, write.",[11,38211,38212],{},"Grammatically speaking, that's a valid English sentence!",[11,38214,38215],{},[26,38216,38217],{},"But people don't talk like that.",[11,38219,38220],{},"I don't want to dwell on negativity, so I'll simply say that there are a number of sections like this throughout the book—some takes that are kind of weird, some where he's overly abstracted or simplified a concept, and some where he's kinda just wrong.",[11,38222,38223],{},"Unfortunately, as a beginner, you likely won't be able to tell when Tae Kim is being brilliantly intuitive and when he is missing the mark.",[847,38225,38227,38228],{"id":38226},"it-doesnt-hold-your-hand-at-all","It doesn't hold your hand ",[26,38229,38230],{},"at all",[11,38232,38233,38234,38237],{},"I'm looking at page 47 right now—Tae Kim just dumps 23 new vocab words on you and is like ",[26,38235,38236],{},"here remember this stuff",". The next unit begins on page 50, we get 7 new words, and it's just assumed that you remember those words from page 47—they start appearing in example sentences.",[11,38239,38240,38241,38243],{},"So, in addition to Tae Kim, you're going to need to be using a tool or practicing on the side in order to keep up with Tae Kim. You won't be able to learn Japanese ",[26,38242,600],{}," by reading through the guide.",[11,38245,38246,38247,38250],{},"This is true for most textbooks, of course, but most textbooks also include things like dialogues so that you at least get ",[26,38248,38249],{},"some"," practice with vocab words and grammar points before moving on. With Tae Kim, if you don't put in the legwork to keep up, you'll be left behind. Fast.",[11,38252,38253],{},"Again, that's not necessarily a bad thing. If you have a vocab-learning system that works for you, you might even like Tae Kim's hands-off-ness. It's just something you should be aware of, and something that I think a lot of beginners might not be ready for.",[42,38255],{},[45,38257,38259],{"id":38258},"ok-fine-but-if-i-want-to-learn-japanese-should-i-use-tae-kim","Ok, fine, but if I want to learn Japanese, should I use Tae Kim?",[11,38261,38262],{},"As a blanket statement, Tae Kim is an excellent tool to have in your tool box, but I don't think it's what most people should use as their primary Japanese resource.",[11,38264,38265],{},"But, to be more specific:",[847,38267,38269],{"id":38268},"yes-use-tae-kim-to-learn-japanese-if","Yes, use Tae Kim to learn Japanese if...",[11,38271,38272],{},"I feel totally comfortable recommending Tae Kim to a few sorts of people:",[304,38274,38275,38281,38294],{},[307,38276,38277,38280],{},[1090,38278,38279],{},"Total beginers",", as the book is totally free, meaning you can get started with Japanese without having anything to spend anything but time",[307,38282,38283,38286,38287],{},[1090,38284,38285],{},"Independent learners"," who don't mind using additional technologies and putting in legwork to make up for some of Tae Kim's weaknesses ",[26,38288,38289,38290,3892],{},"(for example, if you're using Tae Kim, you probably want to use ",[15,38291,38293],{"href":37410,"rel":38292},[971],"this Anki deck",[307,38295,38296,38299],{},[1090,38297,38298],{},"People who are already using a mix of resources",", as Tae Kim is a great tool to pull out when the grammar explanations you're seeing elsewhere are just a bit too dense\u002Fscholarly and you want to see something explained in everyday English",[11,38301,38302],{},"Basically, I think Tae Kim is great to use as a \"trial\" resource:",[304,38304,38305,38308],{},[307,38306,38307],{},"If you're not sure you want to commit to Japanese, try Tae Kim! It will get you going and has enough content to keep you busy for awhile",[307,38309,38310,38311,38313],{},"Once you decide that you really ",[26,38312,10834],{}," want to learn Japanese, and it isn't just a passing impulse, you're probably going to want to move on to a different resource",[847,38315,38317],{"id":38316},"no-dont-use-tae-kim-to-learn-japanese-if","No, don't use Tae Kim to learn Japanese if...",[11,38319,38320],{},"I would not recommend Tae Kim to a few sorts of people:",[304,38322,38323,38329,38338],{},[307,38324,38325,38328],{},[1090,38326,38327],{},"New language learners",", as Tae Kim expects you to manage a lot of the learning process on your own, and that adds a lot of additional stress\u002Fchallenges if you don't already know what you're doing",[307,38330,38331,38334,38335],{},[1090,38332,38333],{},"Super anal people",", as Tae Kim's grammar explanations focus on intuitiveness above all else, including accuracy, and may often leave you going, ",[26,38336,38337],{},"\"yes, but...\"",[307,38339,38340,38343],{},[1090,38341,38342],{},"People expecting an all-in-one resource",", as Tae Kim simply isn't that",[11,38345,38346],{},"Basically, Tae Kim was designed to do one thing—provide brief but intuitive explanations of grammar points. It does that pretty well, but learning a language is much more than making sense of grammar points. If you don't feel comfortable juggling Tae Kim with other resources, I wouldn't recommend using it.",[42,38348],{},[45,38350,38352],{"id":38351},"a-few-tae-kim-alternatives","A few Tae Kim alternatives",[11,38354,38355],{},"If you like the idea of a practical grammar reference as opposed to a traditional textbook, but don't quite think Tae Kim is for you, you might prefer one of these alternatives:",[847,38357,38359],{"id":38358},"a-few-japanese-textbooks-for-beginners","A few Japanese textbooks for beginners",[11,38361,38362,38363,38365],{},"This article is already getting kind of long, so I'm not going to talk about it here, but we've actually got an entire article devoted to ",[15,38364,27669],{"href":20504},". In it, we talk about:",[304,38367,38368,38370,38372,38374],{},[307,38369,36884],{},[307,38371,36705],{},[307,38373,36711],{},[307,38375,38376],{},"More!",[11,38378,38379],{},"So if you've read this far and decided that you need a bit more than \"just\" a grammar reference book, head over to that blog post and see which textbook would be a better fit for you 💪",[847,38381,38383],{"id":38382},"imabi-a-super-comprehensive-japanese-reference","Imabi, a super comprehensive Japanese reference",[11,38385,38386,38387,38391],{},"If Tae Kim's strength is in its concise and casual explanations, ",[15,38388,38390],{"href":37437,"rel":38389},[971],"Imabi"," is exactly the opposite: it goes into incredible detail and most of its ~500 entries contain literally dozens of example sentences.",[11,38393,38394],{},"Like Tae Kim, Imabi is totally free and can be accessed online. Here's how Imabi goes about explaining the volitional form of Japanese verbs:",[50,38396],{"src":38397,"width":38398,"height":38399,"alt":38400},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-imabi-volitional.jpeg",1890,1670,"A screenshot of the Imabi Japanese grammar reference, showing an explanation of the Japanese volitional form",[11,38402,38403],{},"This entry is 2,000 words long... and it's only the first of three parts.",[11,38405,38406,38407,38409],{},"Generally speaking, I'd recommend that you first look up a grammar point in Tae Kim. If you feel like you need more information, ",[26,38408,37627],{}," look up the same grammar point in Imabi. You'll get all the information you ever wanted... and more.",[847,38411,38413],{"id":38412},"maggie-sensei-or-japanese-grammar-points-explained-via-cute-dog-memes","Maggie Sensei, or Japanese grammar points explained via (cute) dog memes",[11,38415,38416,38421],{},[15,38417,38420],{"href":38418,"rel":38419},"https:\u002F\u002Fmaggiesensei.com\u002F",[971],"Maggie Sensei"," is ran by Yukari, a Japanese language teacher, and Maggie, her French pit bull. They describe their approach to teaching with this introduction to why they didn't like the current (then 2008) world of Japanese-language education:",[320,38423,38424],{},[11,38425,38426],{},[26,38427,38428],{},"The books were full of difficult explanations and grammatical terms. And they weren’t just difficult. They were also really boring. Every time we opened a textbook, we would fall asleep.",[11,38430,38431],{},"So they decided to change that by creating simple and fun Japanese lessons (full of dog photos), such as the below explanation of the volitional form:",[50,38433],{"src":38434,"width":38435,"height":18084,"alt":38436},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-tae-kim-maggie-sensei-volitional-form.jpeg",1848,"A screenshot of Maggie Sensei's website about Japanese grammar, showing her explanation of the Japanese volitional form",[11,38438,38439],{},"As you can see, the lessons are heavily based around example sentences. The formatting of the explanations aren't great, but Maggie always goes out of her way to make sure that they're accessible even to total beginners.",[11,38441,38442],{},"If you like the brevity of Tae Kim but want something that's been vetted by a Japanese person, try Maggie Sensei!",[847,38444,38446],{"id":38445},"migaku-a-flashcard-based-course-to-learn-essential-japanese-grammar-and-vocabulary","Migaku, a flashcard-based course to learn essential Japanese grammar and vocabulary",[11,38448,38449],{},"Migaku offers the same kind of practical, to-the-point explanations as you'd see in Tae Kim's grammar guide, but we've also patched over many of Tae Kim's weaknesses:",[304,38451,38452,38459,38465,38468],{},[307,38453,38454,38455,38458],{},"The course is flashcard-based and ",[15,38456,38457],{"href":5906},"powered by spaced repetition",", so we solve the problem of figuring out what to learn and review when",[307,38460,38461,38462,38464],{},"All of our content has been reviewed by native Japanese speakers and been updated in accordance feedback from many learners, so our explanations are intuitive ",[26,38463,12357],{}," accurate",[307,38466,38467],{},"All of our flashcards feature audio recordings of native speakers reading natural Japanese sentences",[307,38469,38470],{},"Each \"next\" flashcard contains only one new word or grammar point, so our learning curve is super smooth",[11,38472,38473],{},"As is tradition, here's a peek at how we go about explaining the volitional form of Japanese verbs:",[50,38475],{"src":38476,"width":4974,"height":38477,"alt":38478},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-volitional-verbs-2.jpeg",844,"A screenshot of Migaku's Japanese Academy course, showing the volitional form.",[11,38480,38481],{},"So if you love Tae Kim but wish it had kept up with more modern resources, give Migaku a shot!",[674,38483],{"href":17,"text":676},[11,38485,38486,38487,415],{},"We're pretty sure that you'll be able to understand 80% of all Japanese media within ~6 months of using Migaku. ",[15,38488,38489],{"href":1199},"Here's why we're so confident",[847,38491,38493],{"id":38492},"pomax-another-super-long-pdf-about-japanese-grammar","Pomax, another super long .pdf about Japanese grammar",[11,38495,38496,38497,38502],{},"Pomax is another independent Japanese grammar guide in .pdf format that you can read in your browser ",[15,38498,38501],{"href":38499,"rel":38500},"https:\u002F\u002Fpomax.github.io\u002FnrGrammar\u002F",[971],"by clicking this link",". It's better formatted, and, unlike Tae Kim, doesn't shy away from using more technical language when describing Japanese grammar points. On the contrary, it gravitates toward it.",[11,38504,38505],{},"For reference, here's Pomax's explanation of the Japanese volitional form of verbs:",[50,38507],{"src":38508,"width":38509,"height":38399,"alt":38510},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-pomax-volitional.jpeg",2018,"A screenshot of the Pomax textbook of Japanese grammar, showing an explanation of the Japanese volitional form",[11,38512,38513,38514,3814,38517,38520],{},"So, uhh, yeah. We get words like ",[26,38515,38516],{},"cohortative",[98,38518],{"lang":100,"syntax":38519},"未然形[みぜんけい]"," that I'm honestly not even going to try to explain. If you've got some formal knowledge of linguistics, you'll probably like Pomax. If not, you probably won't.",[847,38522,38524],{"id":38523},"wasabi-an-online-japanese-magazine-for-learners-with-a-decently-robust-grammar-dictionary","Wasabi, an online Japanese magazine for learners with a decently robust grammar dictionary",[11,38526,38527,38532],{},[15,38528,38531],{"href":38529,"rel":38530},"https:\u002F\u002Fmy.wasabi-jpn.com\u002Fmagazine\u002Fjapanese-grammar\u002Fwasabis-online-japanese-grammar-reference\u002F",[971],"Wasabi"," is a kind of interesting mix of Tae Kim, Imabi, and Maggie Sensei. The Wasabi team consists of professional Japanese teachers, so their posts go into some detail and include many example sentences, but they've worked with enough students to know that more information isn't necessarily better.",[11,38534,38535],{},"Their grammar posts are quite thorough, in that they cover many usages, but each individual section is quite concise and dominated by helpful tables and practical example sentences.",[11,38537,38538],{},"Once again, here's the beginning of Wasabi's explanation of the Japanese volitional form:",[50,38540],{"src":38541,"width":38542,"height":32416,"alt":38543},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-wasabi-volitional-form.jpeg",1888,"A screenshot of the Wasabi's explanation of the Japanese volitional form",[11,38545,38546,38547,38550],{},"Wasabi's website is a bit outdated, and their table of concents is ",[26,38548,38549],{},"significantly"," shorter than all of the other alternatives we've listed—but if they have a listing for the grammar point you're looking up, it's worth checking out.",[42,38552],{},[45,38554,38556],{"id":38555},"tae-kim-japanese-textbook-worth-using","Tae Kim Japanese textbook: Worth using?",[11,38558,38559],{},"So, there you go! Tae Kim is a free resource that covers an impressive amount of information about Japanese grammar.",[11,38561,38562],{},"My personal stance as to if you should use it:",[304,38564,38565,38571],{},[307,38566,38567,38570],{},[1090,38568,38569],{},"Do"," check it out if you're just now thinking about learning Japanese; it's a great resource to get your feet wet and see how committed you are, and is also worth referencing when you stumble into new grammar points",[307,38572,38573,38576],{},[1090,38574,38575],{},"Don't"," make it your main resource if you decide that you really want to learn Japanese; you can probably find a better option that better suits your needs",[11,38578,19843],{},{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":38580},[38581,38589,38594,38600,38604,38612],{"id":37747,"depth":707,"text":37748,"children":38582},[38583,38584,38585,38586,38587,38588],{"id":37765,"depth":1016,"text":37766},{"id":37808,"depth":1016,"text":37809},{"id":37863,"depth":1016,"text":37864},{"id":37923,"depth":1016,"text":37924},{"id":37944,"depth":1016,"text":37945},{"id":37961,"depth":1016,"text":37962},{"id":38023,"depth":707,"text":38024,"children":38590},[38591,38592,38593],{"id":38030,"depth":1016,"text":38031},{"id":38069,"depth":1016,"text":38070},{"id":38102,"depth":1016,"text":38103},{"id":38122,"depth":707,"text":38123,"children":38595},[38596,38597,38598],{"id":38135,"depth":1016,"text":38136},{"id":38181,"depth":1016,"text":38182},{"id":38226,"depth":1016,"text":38599},"It doesn't hold your hand at all",{"id":38258,"depth":707,"text":38259,"children":38601},[38602,38603],{"id":38268,"depth":1016,"text":38269},{"id":38316,"depth":1016,"text":38317},{"id":38351,"depth":707,"text":38352,"children":38605},[38606,38607,38608,38609,38610,38611],{"id":38358,"depth":1016,"text":38359},{"id":38382,"depth":1016,"text":38383},{"id":38412,"depth":1016,"text":38413},{"id":38445,"depth":1016,"text":38446},{"id":38492,"depth":1016,"text":38493},{"id":38523,"depth":1016,"text":38524},{"id":38555,"depth":707,"text":38556},"Discover the pros and cons of Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar, one of the most popular tools for learning Japanese. Find out who it’s best suited for and how it can fit into your language-learning journey.",{"timestampUnix":38615,"slug":38616,"h1":38617,"image":38618,"tags":38621},1736494829682,"tae-kim-japanese-grammar-guide","Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar: A Comprehensive Review",{"src":38619,"width":37703,"height":37704,"alt":38620,"position":23495},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-header2.jpeg","A photo of the front cover of Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar.",[728,4107],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-textbooks-taekim","---\ntitle: \"Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar: Is It the Right Resource for You?\"\ndescription: \"Discover the pros and cons of Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar, one of the most popular tools for learning Japanese. Find out who it’s best suited for and how it can fit into your language-learning journey.\"\ntimestampUnix: 1736494829682\nslug: 'tae-kim-japanese-grammar-guide'\nh1: \"Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar: A Comprehensive Review\"\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-header2.jpeg'\n width: 7360\n height: 4912\n alt: \"A photo of the front cover of Tae Kim's Guide to Japanese Grammar.\"\n position: 'top'\ntags:\n - fundamentals\n - resources\n---\n\nTae Kim's Guide to Learning Japanese—a totally free textbook written for beginners learning Japanese. You don't need to enter your email to use it and Tae Kim doesn't try to upsell you anything—he's literally just dropping knowledge for free, trying to help you [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese) out of the goodness of his heart.\n\nIt sounds too good to be true.\n\nIt's not.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.guidetojapanese.org\u002Fgrammar_guide.pdf\" text=\"Click here to read Tae Kim's textbook\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\nThe guide offers an accessible introduction to Japanese grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structures. It's well-known for a reason. It's pretty cool.\n\n_This_ guide will help you decide if it's the right Japanese textbook for you to start with, and will cover:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## What is Tae Kim’s guide to learning Japanese?\n\nWell, for starters, it looks like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-textbook.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1798\" alt=\"A screenshot of the cover of Tae Kim's Japanese textbook\" \u002F>\n\nIt's a 353-page .pdf that introduces you to the basics of Japanese grammar, and then some.\n\nMore specifically, the guide is broken into six sections:\n\n### 1. Introduction\n\nTae Kim explains why he doesn't like \"traditional\" textbooks:\n\n1. They focus on polite Japanese\n2. They hold your hand and make you wait to learn kanji, which he feels is detrimental\n3. They teach you how to express English ideas in Japanese, instead of just focusing on how Japanese works\n\nAnd Tae Kim, in his guide to Japanese grammar, will be taking a different approach. He says:\n\n> _The solution to this problem is to explain Japanese from a Japanese point of view. Take\n> Japanese and explain how it works and forget about trying to force what you want to say in\n> English into Japanese._\n\nAt Migaku, we can get behind that. We've actually got an entire video on the problems with traditional approaches to language learning:\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FVcfrinKCvC4?si=mLn_I_4QrmvjtgVo\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\nThe rest of Tae Kim's introduction explains how to use the book and how he thinks you should go about learning Japanese.\n\n### 2. The Japanese writing systems\n\nJapanese has three writing systems:\n\n- [Hiragana](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-hiragana), which are used (mostly) in grammatical structures and alongside kanji to make words\n- [Katakana](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-katakana), which are used (mostly) to write foreign words and sometimes for emphasis\n- [Kanji](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-kanji), literally \"Chinese Characters\", which are used to write Japanese words\n\nAnd he introduces them like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-hiragana.jpeg\" width=\"1482\" height=\"990\" alt=\"A screenshot from Tae Kim's Japanese textbook, showing a table and introduction to the hiragana\" \u002F>\n\n_(And then this is followed by further sections where he breaks the table down, but I'm not going to print the entire book here, am I?)_\n\nAfter introducing each script and how they work, he directs you to a [hiragana practice sheet](http:\u002F\u002Fwww.guidetojapanese.org\u002Fpdf\u002Fhiragana_trace_sheet.pdf) and [katakana practice sheet](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.guidetojapanese.org\u002Fpdf\u002Fkatakana_trace_sheet.pdf).\n\n> As early as this chapter, you get a feel for what sort of resource Tae Kim is: practical, to the point, and expecting that you'll figure things out yourself. Some people hate that, others love it.\n\n### 3. Basic Japanese Grammar\n\nHere you can see the basic format of all of Tae Kim's lesssons:\n\n- First, you'll get a list of new Japanese vocabulary words\n- Next, you'll see a concise explanation of a grammar point or concept\n- Finally, you'll see a few example sentences combining those vocabulary words and grammar points\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-basic-grammar2.jpeg\" width=\"1704\" height=\"1364\" alt=\"A screenshot from Tae Kim's Japanese textbook, showing how he teaches grammar\" \u002F>\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-basic-grammar.jpeg\" width=\"1496\" height=\"462\" alt=\"A screenshot from Tae Kim's Japanese textbook, showing his example sentences\" \u002F>\n\nTrue to the goals Tae Kim stated in the introduction:\n\n- You start off with casual Japanese\n- You see sentences wth a mix of hiragana (and katakana, if I recall) right from the first lesson—absolutely no romaji _(writing Japanese with the English alphabet)_\n- You work with some pretty literal translations—Tae Kim doesn't over-translate his sentences to sound nice in English\n\nThe basic Japanese grammar section consists of 12 units that are broken up into about 50 sections, starting with だ ([the Japanese copula](\u003Chttps:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FCopula_(linguistics)>)), moving onto [a few basic Japanese particles](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles-guide), then covering the basics of Japanese verbs and sentence structure.\n\n### 4. Essential Japanese Grammar\n\nThe essential Japanese grammar section is a continuation of the basic Japanese grammar section. Here, you'll continue learning important Japanese grammatical structures, like the polite form of verbs or how numbers work, in the same \"vocabulary→explanation→example sentences\" structure as before.\n\nBelow you can see Tae Kim's explanation of [the volitional form of verbs](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-verb-volitional-form):\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-volitional.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot from Tae Kim's Japanese textbook, showing his explanation of Japanese volitional verbs\" \u002F>\n\nThis section is by far the longest of the book, consisting of 18 units that are broken up into about 100 sections over nearly 150 pages.\n\n### 5. Special expressions\n\nThis section of the book introduces stuff that—well, I'll just let Tae Kim explain it himself:\n\n> _I have decided to call this next section \"Special Expressions\" only because with the exception of the first few lessons, most of the grammar here applies to more specific areas than the grammar we have covered so far. These special expressions, while individually not vital, are, as a collection, necessary for regular everyday conversations._\n\nIt's still pretty much the same stuff as the previous two grammar sections—you're now just seeing stuff that's slightly rarer. Stuff you'll come across in every episode of anime you watch or every chapter of a book you read, but not necessarily in every other sentence, like much of the stuff Tae Kim has covered so far.\n\n### 6. Advanced topics\n\nThis section is short enough that I can actually just include screenshot of what it covers:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-advanced-topics.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot from Tae Kim's Japanese textbook, showing what he's dubbed the 'advanced topics' section\" \u002F>\n\nAnd, honestly, I'm not quite sure how to describe it. It's an eclectic mix of stuff.\n\nSome of the stuff is very much _not_ advanced:\n\n- Using 「はず」to describe an expectation → [this is an N4 grammar point](https:\u002F\u002Fjlptsensei.com\u002Flearn-japanese-grammar\u002F%E3%81%AF%E3%81%9A%E3%81%A0-hazu-da-meaning\u002F)\n- Using 「べき」to describe actions one should do → [this is an N3 grammar point](https:\u002F\u002Fjlptsensei.com\u002Flearn-japanese-grammar\u002F%E3%81%B9%E3%81%8D%E3%81%A0-beki-da-meaning\u002F)\n\nSome of the stuff, like べからず, I pretty much only see in signs with messages like this:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"芝生[しばふ] に 入[はい]る べから[,べから]ず{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> Keep off the grass!\n\nAnd some of the stuff, like そばから, I've literally only ever seen in the materials I used while preparing for [the JLPT N1, the highest level proficiency test of Japanese](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjlpt-n1-overview).\n\nI don't necessarily think that all of these grammar points belong in the same section (N4 to N1 is a pretty big range!), but they're indeed all things that would be good to at least be aware of.\n\n---\n\n## Why learners like Tae Kim’s guide\n\nI think that seeing the book laid out above should give you a pretty good idea of if Tae Kim is right for you or not, but if you're still on the fence, here's what people like about Tae Kim:\n\n### It's free, duh\n\nI'm not sure how I can put this more clearly—Tae Kim is free. Like just literally [click here](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.guidetojapanese.org\u002Fgrammar_guide.pdf) and the .pdf file will open in your browser.\n\nAnd, you know, that's kind of incredible. There's no subscription. You don't need to enter an email, give away your phone number, or sign away the wages of your first born child. You just click the link and get the book and can even download it if you want to. It covers basically the same stuff as you'd see in Genki I and Genki II... _for free_.\n\nTae Kim's textbook _is_ available [on Amazon](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FGuide-Japanese-Grammar-approach-learning\u002Fdp\u002F1495238962) as a $5.00 Kindle purchase or a ~$20.00 physical book, but you won't see that mentioned in the guide. He has a blog, but doesn't do affiliate marketing or sponsorships or anything like that.\n\nEverything Tae Kim offers, he offers for free.\n\nIf you find it helpful, you can choose to support him.\n\nNaturally, people like that.\n\n### Simple, to-the-point explanations\n\nMost textbooks are written by academics and, for lack of better words, the way they think language stuff should be explained sometimes just isn't how us normal folk need stuff to be explained to us.\n\nAs a more advanced learner, I now realize that textbook authors tended to go into way too much detail in some places and brush straight over stuff they thought was common sense (which wasn't) in others. As a beginner, that frustrated me to no end—I thought I was too stupid to understand how a certain Japanese grammar point worked, and I didn't realize that the _real_ issue was simply that the Genki explanation of that grammar point wasn't super great.\n\nSo, yeah. You know what to expect from textbooks, and you probably expect that when you open up Tae Kim for the first time.\n\nAnd then you see stuff like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-to-be.jpeg\" width=\"1154\" height=\"660\" alt=\"A screenshot from Tae Kim's Japanese textbook, showing his explanation of the Japanese copula\" \u002F>\n\n\"Use だ to declare that something is so and so\".\n\nYeah.\n\nTae Kim isn't winning any literary prose awards—but, in the world of textbooks, that's a plus. His explanations are intuitive. Easy to follow. It feels like he's talking to you. It's really just kinda nice.\n\n### The community generally approves of Tae Kim\n\nThe internet is full of haters, but if you spend a few days hanging out on [Reddit's r\u002FLearnJapanese](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.reddit.com\u002Fr\u002FLearnJapanese\u002F), a [Japanese learning discord](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fmigaku-japanese-learning-discord), or pretty much anywhere else Japanese learners congregate—you're probably going to see at least one person recommend Tae Kim.\n\nNow, the reception isn't totally positive. We'll get to that in the next section. At the end of the day, though, Tae Kim has been online for like 20 years; it hasn't been abandoned or pillaged, and people still recommend it. How many other resources can you say that about?\n\n---\n\n## Where Tae Kim’s Guide falls short\n\nI personally like Tae Kim's Japanese Grammar Guide.\n\n...but it's not perfect.\n\nWe've been pretty positive so far, so now let's take the gloves off and talk about why Japanese learning guides don't unanimously begin with \"First, go do Tae Kim.\"\n\n### It's literally just a book of grammar explanations\n\nAs mentioned up in the third bullet point of \"What is Tae Kim's guide to learning Japanese\", every unit of Tae Kim follows the same format:\n\n- List of vocabulary words\n- Brief explanation of a grammar point\n- Example sentences\n\nAnd then you move on.\n\nThere's no interactive elements, no quizzes, no media, no audio, no sample dialogues or reading material. It's literally just a compilation of brief textual explanations.\n\nAnd, oftentimes, that's not quite enough.\n\nNow, to be clear:\n\n> We learn languages by interacting with them, not by reading a textbook. If you consume media in Japanese, and understand the sentences within that media, you will make progress. Period.\n\nSo I don't necessarily think it's Tae Kim's job to do _everything_ for you, but I agree with the general Internet concensus: to learn Japanese, you're going to need more than Tae Kim.\n\nBookmark Tae Kim's guide as a quick and dirty grammar reference, but understand that it's really _just_ a quick and dirty grammar reference.\n\n### Some of Tae Kim's takes aren't so great\n\nSo, Tae Kim is a Korean learner of Japanese. He's not Japanese, nor a Japanese teacher. According to lore, Tae Kim's guide to Japanese was initially just his personal notes about Japanese grammar points. They got pretty extensive, and he decided to polish them up a bit and make them available to other learners. I have no idea if that's true or not, but having gone through the textbook, I'd believe it.\n\nOn one hand, and I want to stress this, I absolutely admire people who put themselves out there and make something for the good of others.\n\nOn the other hand, this—let's call it an intentional lack of polish—sometimes leads to things like this showing up in Tae Kim's book:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-japanese-uhhtake.jpeg\" width=\"1174\" height=\"1144\" alt=\"A screenshot from Tae Kim's Japanese textbook, showing a discussion about Japanese sentence structure\" \u002F>\n\nAnd I mean that's _technically_ true, but like—well:\n\n> Like this an English sentence I could, too, write.\n\nGrammatically speaking, that's a valid English sentence!\n\n_But people don't talk like that._\n\nI don't want to dwell on negativity, so I'll simply say that there are a number of sections like this throughout the book—some takes that are kind of weird, some where he's overly abstracted or simplified a concept, and some where he's kinda just wrong.\n\nUnfortunately, as a beginner, you likely won't be able to tell when Tae Kim is being brilliantly intuitive and when he is missing the mark.\n\n### It doesn't hold your hand _at all_\n\nI'm looking at page 47 right now—Tae Kim just dumps 23 new vocab words on you and is like _here remember this stuff_. The next unit begins on page 50, we get 7 new words, and it's just assumed that you remember those words from page 47—they start appearing in example sentences.\n\nSo, in addition to Tae Kim, you're going to need to be using a tool or practicing on the side in order to keep up with Tae Kim. You won't be able to learn Japanese _just_ by reading through the guide.\n\nThis is true for most textbooks, of course, but most textbooks also include things like dialogues so that you at least get _some_ practice with vocab words and grammar points before moving on. With Tae Kim, if you don't put in the legwork to keep up, you'll be left behind. Fast.\n\nAgain, that's not necessarily a bad thing. If you have a vocab-learning system that works for you, you might even like Tae Kim's hands-off-ness. It's just something you should be aware of, and something that I think a lot of beginners might not be ready for.\n\n---\n\n## Ok, fine, but if I want to learn Japanese, should I use Tae Kim?\n\nAs a blanket statement, Tae Kim is an excellent tool to have in your tool box, but I don't think it's what most people should use as their primary Japanese resource.\n\nBut, to be more specific:\n\n### Yes, use Tae Kim to learn Japanese if...\n\nI feel totally comfortable recommending Tae Kim to a few sorts of people:\n\n- **Total beginers**, as the book is totally free, meaning you can get started with Japanese without having anything to spend anything but time\n- **Independent learners** who don't mind using additional technologies and putting in legwork to make up for some of Tae Kim's weaknesses _(for example, if you're using Tae Kim, you probably want to use [this Anki deck](https:\u002F\u002Fankiweb.net\u002Fshared\u002Finfo\u002F911122782))_\n- **People who are already using a mix of resources**, as Tae Kim is a great tool to pull out when the grammar explanations you're seeing elsewhere are just a bit too dense\u002Fscholarly and you want to see something explained in everyday English\n\nBasically, I think Tae Kim is great to use as a \"trial\" resource:\n\n- If you're not sure you want to commit to Japanese, try Tae Kim! It will get you going and has enough content to keep you busy for awhile\n- Once you decide that you really _do_ want to learn Japanese, and it isn't just a passing impulse, you're probably going to want to move on to a different resource\n\n### No, don't use Tae Kim to learn Japanese if...\n\nI would not recommend Tae Kim to a few sorts of people:\n\n- **New language learners**, as Tae Kim expects you to manage a lot of the learning process on your own, and that adds a lot of additional stress\u002Fchallenges if you don't already know what you're doing\n- **Super anal people**, as Tae Kim's grammar explanations focus on intuitiveness above all else, including accuracy, and may often leave you going, _\"yes, but...\"_\n- **People expecting an all-in-one resource**, as Tae Kim simply isn't that\n\nBasically, Tae Kim was designed to do one thing—provide brief but intuitive explanations of grammar points. It does that pretty well, but learning a language is much more than making sense of grammar points. If you don't feel comfortable juggling Tae Kim with other resources, I wouldn't recommend using it.\n\n---\n\n## A few Tae Kim alternatives\n\nIf you like the idea of a practical grammar reference as opposed to a traditional textbook, but don't quite think Tae Kim is for you, you might prefer one of these alternatives:\n\n### A few Japanese textbooks for beginners\n\nThis article is already getting kind of long, so I'm not going to talk about it here, but we've actually got an entire article devoted to [the best Japanese textbooks for beginners](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fbest-japanese-textbooks). In it, we talk about:\n\n- Genki\n- Minna no Nihongo\n- Japanese from Zero\n- More!\n\nSo if you've read this far and decided that you need a bit more than \"just\" a grammar reference book, head over to that blog post and see which textbook would be a better fit for you 💪\n\n### Imabi, a super comprehensive Japanese reference\n\nIf Tae Kim's strength is in its concise and casual explanations, [Imabi](https:\u002F\u002Fimabi.org\u002F) is exactly the opposite: it goes into incredible detail and most of its ~500 entries contain literally dozens of example sentences.\n\nLike Tae Kim, Imabi is totally free and can be accessed online. Here's how Imabi goes about explaining the volitional form of Japanese verbs:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-imabi-volitional.jpeg\" width=\"1890\" height=\"1670\" alt=\"A screenshot of the Imabi Japanese grammar reference, showing an explanation of the Japanese volitional form\" \u002F>\n\nThis entry is 2,000 words long... and it's only the first of three parts.\n\nGenerally speaking, I'd recommend that you first look up a grammar point in Tae Kim. If you feel like you need more information, _then_ look up the same grammar point in Imabi. You'll get all the information you ever wanted... and more.\n\n### Maggie Sensei, or Japanese grammar points explained via (cute) dog memes\n\n[Maggie Sensei](https:\u002F\u002Fmaggiesensei.com\u002F) is ran by Yukari, a Japanese language teacher, and Maggie, her French pit bull. They describe their approach to teaching with this introduction to why they didn't like the current (then 2008) world of Japanese-language education:\n\n> _The books were full of difficult explanations and grammatical terms. And they weren’t just difficult. They were also really boring. Every time we opened a textbook, we would fall asleep._\n\nSo they decided to change that by creating simple and fun Japanese lessons (full of dog photos), such as the below explanation of the volitional form:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-tae-kim-maggie-sensei-volitional-form.jpeg\" width=\"1848\" height=\"1646\" alt=\"A screenshot of Maggie Sensei's website about Japanese grammar, showing her explanation of the Japanese volitional form\" \u002F>\n\nAs you can see, the lessons are heavily based around example sentences. The formatting of the explanations aren't great, but Maggie always goes out of her way to make sure that they're accessible even to total beginners.\n\nIf you like the brevity of Tae Kim but want something that's been vetted by a Japanese person, try Maggie Sensei!\n\n### Migaku, a flashcard-based course to learn essential Japanese grammar and vocabulary\n\nMigaku offers the same kind of practical, to-the-point explanations as you'd see in Tae Kim's grammar guide, but we've also patched over many of Tae Kim's weaknesses:\n\n- The course is flashcard-based and [powered by spaced repetition](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fspaced-repetition-language-learning), so we solve the problem of figuring out what to learn and review when\n- All of our content has been reviewed by native Japanese speakers and been updated in accordance feedback from many learners, so our explanations are intuitive _and_ accurate\n- All of our flashcards feature audio recordings of native speakers reading natural Japanese sentences\n- Each \"next\" flashcard contains only one new word or grammar point, so our learning curve is super smooth\n\nAs is tradition, here's a peek at how we go about explaining the volitional form of Japanese verbs:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-volitional-verbs-2.jpeg\" width=\"1206\" height=\"844\" alt=\"A screenshot of Migaku's Japanese Academy course, showing the volitional form.\" \u002F>\n\nSo if you love Tae Kim but wish it had kept up with more modern resources, give Migaku a shot!\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\nWe're pretty sure that you'll be able to understand 80% of all Japanese media within ~6 months of using Migaku. [Here's why we're so confident](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary).\n\n### Pomax, another super long .pdf about Japanese grammar\n\nPomax is another independent Japanese grammar guide in .pdf format that you can read in your browser [by clicking this link](https:\u002F\u002Fpomax.github.io\u002FnrGrammar\u002F). It's better formatted, and, unlike Tae Kim, doesn't shy away from using more technical language when describing Japanese grammar points. On the contrary, it gravitates toward it.\n\nFor reference, here's Pomax's explanation of the Japanese volitional form of verbs:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-pomax-volitional.jpeg\" width=\"2018\" height=\"1670\" alt=\"A screenshot of the Pomax textbook of Japanese grammar, showing an explanation of the Japanese volitional form\" \u002F>\n\nSo, uhh, yeah. We get words like _cohortative_ and \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"未然形[みぜんけい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> that I'm honestly not even going to try to explain. If you've got some formal knowledge of linguistics, you'll probably like Pomax. If not, you probably won't.\n\n### Wasabi, an online Japanese magazine for learners with a decently robust grammar dictionary\n\n[Wasabi](https:\u002F\u002Fmy.wasabi-jpn.com\u002Fmagazine\u002Fjapanese-grammar\u002Fwasabis-online-japanese-grammar-reference\u002F) is a kind of interesting mix of Tae Kim, Imabi, and Maggie Sensei. The Wasabi team consists of professional Japanese teachers, so their posts go into some detail and include many example sentences, but they've worked with enough students to know that more information isn't necessarily better.\n\nTheir grammar posts are quite thorough, in that they cover many usages, but each individual section is quite concise and dominated by helpful tables and practical example sentences.\n\nOnce again, here's the beginning of Wasabi's explanation of the Japanese volitional form:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-tae-kim-wasabi-volitional-form.jpeg\" width=\"1888\" height=\"1666\" alt=\"A screenshot of the Wasabi's explanation of the Japanese volitional form\" \u002F>\n\nWasabi's website is a bit outdated, and their table of concents is _significantly_ shorter than all of the other alternatives we've listed—but if they have a listing for the grammar point you're looking up, it's worth checking out.\n\n---\n\n## Tae Kim Japanese textbook: Worth using?\n\nSo, there you go! Tae Kim is a free resource that covers an impressive amount of information about Japanese grammar.\n\nMy personal stance as to if you should use it:\n\n- **Do** check it out if you're just now thinking about learning Japanese; it's a great resource to get your feet wet and see how committed you are, and is also worth referencing when you stumble into new grammar points\n- **Don't** make it your main resource if you decide that you really want to learn Japanese; you can probably find a better option that better suits your needs\n\nGood luck!\n",{"title":37715,"description":38613},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-textbooks-taekim","_zS6XHHVJhcstyiVxyqK_Fi4AcUtEgSe27bRbhdkWi8",{"id":38628,"title":38629,"body":38630,"description":39910,"extension":717,"meta":39911,"navigation":730,"path":39920,"rawbody":39921,"seo":39922,"stem":39923,"__hash__":39924,"timestampUnix":39912,"slug":39913,"h1":38629,"image":39914,"tags":39918,"featured":39919,"_dir":736,"timestamp":37712},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-textbooks-why-suck.md","Learning a Language in 2025 & The Problem with Textbooks",{"type":8,"value":38631,"toc":39881},[38632,38635,38642,38652,38655,38658,38660,38662,38666,38669,38675,38678,38681,38684,38690,38693,38696,38703,38706,38709,38712,38721,38727,38730,38738,38742,38745,38752,38755,38758,38765,38772,38775,38778,38789,38792,38795,38798,38801,38808,38811,38817,38820,38834,38837,38850,38852,38856,38863,38865,38867,38878,38881,38885,38888,38891,38897,38915,38919,38922,38928,38935,38937,38940,38943,38948,38951,38954,38957,38962,38967,38973,38976,38982,38985,38988,38991,38994,38999,39005,39011,39027,39031,39034,39039,39042,39053,39059,39062,39067,39070,39076,39079,39082,39085,39090,39097,39100,39112,39116,39119,39124,39127,39133,39136,39139,39143,39146,39152,39155,39159,39165,39168,39171,39183,39187,39190,39202,39205,39208,39213,39221,39224,39229,39232,39252,39255,39258,39261,39264,39276,39280,39283,39302,39305,39308,39313,39316,39318,39324,39327,39345,39352,39356,39367,39370,39378,39381,39386,39406,39412,39418,39424,39427,39438,39444,39447,39455,39458,39470,39473,39476,39491,39497,39504,39507,39518,39521,39531,39537,39557,39560,39564,39567,39592,39596,39599,39603,39608,39612,39615,39618,39626,39632,39634,39642,39646,39649,39652,39657,39666,39668,39671,39675,39678,39682,39685,39693,39696,39701,39704,39710,39714,39717,39720,39724,39727,39730,39734,39740,39744,39747,39753,39757,39763,39776,39779,39783,39786,39790,39793,39796,39801,39809,39814,39817,39821,39827,39833,39836,39847,39850,39855,39858,39860],[11,38633,38634],{},"Hi there!",[11,38636,38637,38638,38641],{},"I'm Suikacider. I've spent the last 10 years learning languages, have passed the highest-level Japanese proficiency test, and also wrote ",[15,38639,38640],{"href":20504},"Google's top-ranking review of Japanese textbooks",". If you're here, it's probably because you came from there.",[11,38643,38644,38645,38648,38649,415],{},"I was able to write that post because I went through a ",[26,38646,38647],{},"stupid"," amount of textbooks as a learner trying to get my foot in the door with Japanese. At least fifteen. Maybe more. I lost count. At that time in my life I lived next to a half-priced bookstore and I binged, baby. ",[26,38650,38651],{},"Binged",[11,38653,38654],{},"So, what's kind of awkward about calling that blog post \"the 'best' Japanese textbooks for beginners\" is that I never actually found a \"best\" one. Many were better or worse in certain ways, and I reflected that honestly, but they all suffered from a handful of fundamental problems that were deal breakers for me.",[11,38656,38657],{},"This post is about the problems I have with textbooks as a medium, and the issues you'll need to overcome if you buy one. Alas:",[39,38659],{},[42,38661],{},[45,38663,38665],{"id":38664},"what-phonographs-floppy-disks-and-textbooks-have-in-common","What phonographs, floppy disks, and textbooks have in common",[11,38667,38668],{},"Before we get too far along, take a second and look at this thing for me:",[50,38670],{"src":38671,"width":38672,"height":38673,"alt":38674},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbook-phonograph.webp",5016,3344,"A photograph of a phonograph, a monumental technological development that is now obsolete",[11,38676,38677],{},"This is a (modern) phonograph.",[11,38679,38680],{},"When it was originally invented in 1877, it was monumental. Earth-shattering, if you ask me. It took music from being something you could only hear in a concert hall and turned it into something you could just casually flip on when you got home from work in the evening.",[11,38682,38683],{},"Nobody uses them anymore because an iPhone fits in your pocket and does much more than play music.",[50,38685],{"src":38686,"width":38687,"height":38688,"alt":38689},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-floppydisk.webp",5500,3672,"A photograph of a floppy disk, a technological revolution that has fallen out of use",[11,38691,38692],{},"Here's another technological revolution.",[11,38694,38695],{},"Floppy disks made it possible for individuals to save files, install software, and move data between computers. They boasted anywhere from a whopping 100 kilobytes of storage space to 1.44 megabytes, and computing as we know it wouldn't exist without them.",[11,38697,38698,38699,38702],{},"Nobody needs floppy disks anymore now that the cheapest iPhone comes with 64 ",[26,38700,38701],{},"gigabytes"," of storage space and does much more than store information.",[50,38704],{"src":36792,"width":36793,"height":12948,"alt":38705},"A photo of the cover of a textbook, another outdated technology that was once groundbreaking.",[11,38707,38708],{},"And now I want to talk about textbooks.",[11,38710,38711],{},"It's hard to put into words what a quantum leap textbooks must have represented for education, way back when.",[11,38713,38714,38715,38720],{},"Like—think about it. You know Tchaikovsky? He wrote a textbook about music. ",[15,38716,38719],{"href":38717,"rel":38718},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bestmusicteacher.com\u002Fdownload\u002FTchaikovsky_HarmonyTextbook_Eng.pdf",[971],"You can read it for free",". It gives you direct access to the thoughts of one of the greatest musicians in history... despite the fact that he's no longer alive, and despite the fact that you couldn't afford to have him tutor you even if he was.",[11,38722,38723,38724,415],{},"That's ",[26,38725,38726],{},"mind boggling",[11,38728,38729],{},"But now I have a question for you:",[320,38731,38732,38735],{},[11,38733,38734],{},"If phonographs gave way to mp3 players and floppy disks gave way to CDs and now everybody just uses iPhones...",[11,38736,38737],{},"Why do we still see textbooks as the go-to way to learn a language?",[45,38739,38741],{"id":38740},"why-textbooks-should-go-the-way-of-the-phonograph-and-floppy-disk","Why textbooks should go the way of the phonograph and floppy disk",[11,38743,38744],{},"So, obviously, I'm not saying that textbooks suck.",[11,38746,38747,38748,38751],{},"Textbooks are a freaking ",[26,38749,38750],{},"incredible"," piece of technology.",[11,38753,38754],{},"They're just... well... a little outdated. A stepping stone that, for some reason, we decided not to move beyond.",[11,38756,38757],{},"I think it's time to take that step.",[11,38759,38760,8737],{},[15,38761,38764],{"href":38762,"rel":38763},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gatesnotes.com\u002F2019-Annual-Letter",[971],"So does Bill Gates",[320,38766,38767],{},[11,38768,38769],{},[26,38770,38771],{},"I read more than my share of textbooks. But it’s a pretty limited way to learn something. Even the best text can’t figure out which concepts you understand and which ones you need more help with. It certainly can’t tell your teacher how well you grasped last night’s assigned reading.",[11,38773,38774],{},"This random guy from YouTube is ready to move on, too:",[5025,38776],{"src":38777},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F2qhmxpfv620?si=GP7AkUYE3xEiOqBE",[11,38779,38780,415],{},[15,38781,38784,38785,38788],{"href":38782,"rel":38783},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.teachervision.com\u002Fcurriculum-planning\u002Ftextbooks-advantages-disadvantages",[971],"Even teachers and professors talk about how to teach ",[26,38786,38787],{},"despite"," textbooks",[11,38790,38791],{},"So, anyway—this isn't a fringe opinion or some marketing conspiracy.",[11,38793,38794],{},"Textbooks have some pretty obvious limitations.",[11,38796,38797],{},"The thing is, given the technology we have today, I don't think we should tolerate those limitations.",[11,38799,38800],{},"To give a few examples:",[45,38802,38804,38805,38807],{"id":38803},"_1-theyre-structured-but-probably-not-with-your-needs-in-mind","1. They're structured... but probably not with ",[26,38806,13554],{}," needs in mind",[11,38809,38810],{},"Here's the vocabulary taught in the first chapter of Genki I. Skim through it. As you do so, think about who these words would be useful for:",[50,38812],{"src":38813,"width":38814,"height":38815,"alt":38816},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-genki-vocab.jpeg",1530,1064,"A screenshot of the vocabulary list that corresponds with the first chapter of Genki I.",[11,38818,38819],{},"What jumps out to me are things like:",[304,38821,38822,38825,38828,38831],{},[307,38823,38824],{},"せんこう (senkou, \"university major\")",[307,38826,38827],{},"べんごし (bengoshi, \"lawyer\")",[307,38829,38830],{},"スウェーデン (suueeden, \"Sweden\")",[307,38832,38833],{},"じんるいがく (jinruigaku, \"anthropology\")",[11,38835,38836],{},"It's obvious that the vocabulary words you see here were picked solely because they seemed like they might be useful for students studying Japanese in a university classroom.",[11,38838,38839,38840,38843,38844,38849],{},"What's crazy about this is that there should be no doubt about which words a beginner should learn. Literally ",[26,38841,38842],{},"heaps"," of data about how often Japanese words do and don't get used is publicly available. For example, here's ",[15,38845,38848],{"href":38846,"rel":38847},"https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.google.com\u002Fspreadsheets\u002Fd\u002F15b3j9--RJ1K5hI9vz_2LXn2YNn7UWxWrRi58_Xykkp0\u002Fedit?gid=179864832#gid=179864832",[971],"a list of over 100,000 Japanese words "," organized by how commonly they show up in Netflix subtitles.",[11,38851,65],{},[50,38853],{"src":38854,"width":19054,"height":18009,"alt":38855},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-vocab-frequency.jpeg","A screenshot of a list of Japanese words organized by how commonly they occur in Netflix subtitles.",[287,38857,369,38858,369],{},[26,38859,38860],{},[15,38861,38862],{"href":1199},"Read more about the science behind vocabulary frequency here.",[292,38864],{},[292,38866],{},[11,38868,38869,38870,38873,38874,38877],{},"If you start from the top, you'll need to scroll through over ",[26,38871,38872],{},"27,000"," words before you get to 人類学 (jinruigaku, \"anthropology\"). It's just patently absurd to teach this word to a beginner. To put how ridiculous it is into perspective—to follow 80% of Netflix, you only need to know the most common 1,442 Japanese vocabulary words. Why the hell does Genki teach you ",[26,38875,38876],{},"anthropology"," instead of one of those objectively useful words?",[11,38879,38880],{},"I can't help but feel that a big part of the reason people think languages are hard to learn is that most textbooks and traditional resources are terribly organized.",[847,38882,38884],{"id":38883},"its-2025-man","It's 2025, man.",[11,38886,38887],{},"At Migaku, we believe that if learners put their time, money, and trust into the resource they end up buying, they should be able to trust that their efforts will be put to good use.",[11,38889,38890],{},"As such, we designed the Migaku Japanese Academy around teaching you the hyper-common ~1,700 words that data says you need to know to begin consuming Japanese media.",[50,38892],{"src":38893,"width":38894,"height":38895,"alt":38896},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-kanojo.jpeg",1764,1234,"A screenshot showing how the Migaku Japanese Academy teaches vocabulary.",[320,38898,38899,369,38904,369,38906],{},[287,38900,38901],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[1090,38902,38903],{},"Problem 1",[292,38905],{},[287,38907,38908,38909,38911,38912,38914],{},"\n Textbooks contain what a professor or some educational body thinks a typical student ought to learn. These things may not overlap with the things \n",[26,38910,13558],{},"\n need to learn in order to do the things \n",[26,38913,13558],{},"\n want to do in Japanese. \n",[45,38916,38918],{"id":38917},"_2-theyre-made-of-paper-and-theres-only-so-much-you-can-do-with-paper","2. They're made of paper, and there's only so much you can do with paper",[11,38920,38921],{},"Nobody expects a jumpscare in a blog post, but I've got something terrifying to show you:",[50,38923],{"src":38924,"width":38925,"height":38926,"alt":38927},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-forgetting-curve.jpeg",1984,1532,"A representation of the forgetting curve, or the lifespan of a piece of information we never review.",[287,38929,369,38930,369],{},[26,38931,38932],{},[15,38933,38934],{"href":5906},"Read more about the science behind how memory works here.",[292,38936],{},[11,38938,38939],{},"See that?",[11,38941,38942],{},"Humans forget.",[11,38944,38945],{},[26,38946,38947],{},"Constantly.",[11,38949,38950],{},"It doesn't matter how smart, motivated, or dedicated you are.",[11,38952,38953],{},"Within just hours of learning something, you're going to forget a massive chunk of it. Thankfully, this curse of forgetting has an easy cure: review. If you make a point to review the things you learn periodically, you'll eventually root them in your long-term memory.",[11,38955,38956],{},"The below chart blew my mind when I first saw it in my third year of college:",[50,38958],{"src":38959,"width":38960,"height":24413,"alt":38961},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FMigakuForgettingCurve.jpeg",1370,"A chart showing how the forgetting curve flattens out if you periodically review information, sourced from Wikipedia",[11,38963,38964,415],{},[26,38965,38966],{},"We've known this since the late 1800s",[11,38968,38969,38970,415],{},"Unfortunately, textbooks don't prompt you to practice good memory hygiene. They drop a massive list of vocabulary words on you (such as the one in the above section) or a dense grammatical explanation (such as the one in the next section) and say ",[26,38971,38972],{},"figure it by the quiz next Tuesday, bro",[11,38974,38975],{},"Now, I'm an ex-teacher. Let me tell you: if that's how I approached my lessons, I'd be choosing to fail my students. I'd be rightfully accused of negligence.",[11,38977,38978,38979,38981],{},"The thing is, a textbook is just a few hundred sheets of paper bound together. It ",[26,38980,17691],{}," build a review plan for you.",[11,38983,38984],{},"The fact that you need one does not change.",[11,38986,38987],{},"Which again leads me to say:",[847,38989,38884],{"id":38990},"its-2025-man-1",[11,38992,38993],{},"While sheets of paper can't curate a personalized review schedule for you, this is trivial work for an algorithm.",[50,38995],{"src":38996,"width":4834,"height":38997,"alt":38998},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-srs-visualization.webp",728,"A simple graphic showing a visualization of how spaced repetition works",[11,39000,39001,39002,39004],{},"Migaku will keep track of every single word you learn ",[26,39003,12357],{}," how well you remember them. We'll periodically nudge you to review each one. You'll spend more time reviewing the stuff you struggle with and less time reviewing the stuff you've got down.",[11,39006,39007,39008,39010],{},"Put differently: All you have to do to learn Japanese with Migaku is open the app each day and click ",[26,39009,12797],{},". We'll handle the rest.",[320,39012,39013,369,39018,369,39020],{},[287,39014,39015],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[1090,39016,39017],{},"Problem 2",[292,39019],{},[287,39021,39022,39023,39026],{},"\n Textbooks give you a list of stuff and say \n",[26,39024,39025],{},"figure this out somehow","\n. A lot of learners never do. Textbooks can organize information, but they can't learn or remember it for you. \n",[45,39028,39030],{"id":39029},"_3-they-assume-you-have-a-teacher-to-make-sense-of-things-for-you","3. They assume you have a teacher to make sense of things for you",[11,39032,39033],{},"Here's the beginning of the third chapter of Genki:",[50,39035],{"src":39036,"width":39037,"height":38815,"alt":39038},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-genki-conjugations.jpeg",1534,"A screenshot of how Genki I introduces the concept of verb conjugation.",[11,39040,39041],{},"That right there is a bona fide wall of text. It drops terms like:",[304,39043,39044,39047,39050],{},[307,39045,39046],{},"Conjugation classes",[307,39048,39049],{},"Verb stems",[307,39051,39052],{},"The traditional order of hiragana (which is related to Japanese's conjugation paradigm)",[11,39054,39055,39056,39058],{},"And they ",[26,39057,30580],{}," expecting your average Angus to know what all that stuff means. They've crammed it all into two pages because they're expecting you have a teacher who will break it down into digestible chunks and guide you through it.",[11,39060,39061],{},"This assumption is made more obvious in the workbook, shown below:",[50,39063],{"src":39064,"width":39065,"height":20580,"alt":39066},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-genki-workbook.jpeg",1372,"A screenshot of the Genki I workbook, showing the homework associated for verb conjugations.",[11,39068,39069],{},"The workbook is separate purchase from the textbook... and it doesn't contain an answer key. Why? Because Genki expects that you have a teacher who will check your homework and tell you if you're doing things right or not.",[11,39071,39072,39073],{},"I'm being facetious, but come on: ",[26,39074,39075],{},"Our explanations may not make sense to our target audience, and they have no way to check their understanding... but that's OK. Somebody will explain our explanations for us.",[11,39077,39078],{},"It's just a terrible design decision. As educators, we can and should do better.",[847,39080,38884],{"id":39081},"its-2025-man-2",[11,39083,39084],{},"Here's our promise: You'll be able to succeed with the Migaku Japanese Academy even if you're a total beginner, learning by yourself, and know literally nothing about linguistics or learning psychology.",[50,39086],{"src":39087,"width":39088,"height":2249,"alt":39089},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-verb-conjugation.jpeg",1760,"An excerpt from the Migaku Korean Academy, showing how we teach verb conjugation.",[11,39091,39092,39093,39096],{},"To make sure we live up to that expectation, we open ourselves to criticism in ",[15,39094,39095],{"href":28600},"our Discord community",". Anyone going through our courses can leave public feedback. We take that criticism, confusion, and praise to heart... and we're better for it.",[11,39098,39099],{},"Our explanations make sense because they've been stress tested by thousands of learners—not a roomful of people with PhDs who have forgotten what makes Japanese confusing.",[320,39101,39102,369,39107,369,39109],{},[287,39103,39104],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[1090,39105,39106],{},"Problem 3",[292,39108],{},[287,39110,39111],{},"\n Textbook explanations are often dense and unintuitive. At best, they're designed to be unpacked and broken down by an expert, not to be intuitive to a beginner. At worst, they were published without being tested on beginners at all. \n",[45,39113,39115],{"id":39114},"_4-theyre-boring","4. ... They're boring",[11,39117,39118],{},"I've included several screenshots from Genki. Here's one more:",[50,39120],{"src":39121,"width":2249,"height":39122,"alt":39123},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-genki-activity.jpeg",876,"A screenshot of the 'activity' section at the end of a Genki chapter.",[11,39125,39126],{},"They're black, white, and bland.",[11,39128,19219,39129,39132],{},[26,39130,39131],{},"of course"," they are.",[11,39134,39135],{},"Genki is a textbook. Textbooks aren't fun. Nobody learns Japanese because they're itching to get their hands on Genki. They put up with Genki because they hope it'll enable them to do fun things in Japanese later on.",[11,39137,39138],{},"But, again, I just can't help feeling like:",[847,39140,39142],{"id":39141},"its-2025-man-3","It's 2025, man!",[11,39144,39145],{},"And, sure. Sure. I get it. The primary goal of any learning activity isn't to entertain, so it's never going to be as fun as watching a movie or playing a video game.",[11,39147,39148,39149,415],{},"But that doesn't mean that the learning process needs to ",[26,39150,39151],{},"suck",[11,39153,39154],{},"Case and point:",[50,39156],{"src":39157,"width":39088,"height":38895,"alt":39158},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-memes.jpeg","A screenshot showing how Migaku uses memes to make the learning process a bit more entertaining",[11,39160,39161,39162,39164],{},"It's not ",[26,39163,5890],{}," difficult to make the learning process just a little more enjoyable.",[11,39166,39167],{},"All of us here at Migaku are normal people who happen to be successful language learners, not professors. As normal people, we appreciate that fun is good. It makes it easier to remember stuff, and it makes it easier to keep consistent.",[11,39169,39170],{},"To us, in addition to being effective, a good resource should make you smile once in a while, too.",[320,39172,39173,369,39178,369,39180],{},[287,39174,39175],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[1090,39176,39177],{},"Problem 4",[292,39179],{},[287,39181,39182],{},"\n Textbooks don't make you excited to wake up and spend time with Japanese. They make learning Japanese feel like work. \n",[45,39184,39186],{"id":39185},"_5-they-dont-actually-prepare-you-for-real-japanese-media","5. They don't actually prepare you for real Japanese media",[11,39188,39189],{},"Part of the reason I'm so bitter about this is that I did well in school. I liked learning, I got A's, and I saw homework as being something like my moral obligation as a student. I went every extra mile that my teachers put in front of me.",[304,39191,39192,39195],{},[307,39193,39194],{},"At a university in Akita, I worked through Genki I and Genki II",[307,39196,39197,39198,39201],{},"At a university in Okayama, I worked through the three ",[26,39199,39200],{},"Chuukyuu wo Manabou"," (CoM) books",[11,39203,39204],{},"I tested out of a class or two, so when I finished the last CoM book in what was the fourth semester of Japanese studies for me, I was actually preparing to go into a seventh-semester Japanese class.",[11,39206,39207],{},"So, anyway—I did what I was supposed to do as a student.",[320,39209,39210],{},[11,39211,39212],{},"If textbooks were going to work for somebody, they would have worked for me.",[11,39214,39215,39216,415],{},"It was about that time that I decided to try reading a book in Japanese. I picked a collection of short stories aimed at young adults—",[15,39217,39220],{"href":39218,"rel":39219},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.co.jp\u002FZOO-1-%E9%9B%86%E8%8B%B1%E7%A4%BE%E6%96%87%E5%BA%AB-%E4%B9%99%E4%B8%80\u002Fdp\u002F4087460371",[971],"Zoo 1 by Otsuichi",[11,39222,39223],{},"Guess what?",[11,39225,39226],{},[26,39227,39228],{},"I didn't understand a freaking thing.",[11,39230,39231],{},"Ok, that's somewhat hyperbolic, but:",[304,39233,39234,39246,39249],{},[307,39235,39236,39237,3808,39239,1466,39242,39245],{},"Words like ",[26,39238,38876],{},[26,39240,39241],{},"surfing",[26,39243,39244],{},"to sew"," didn't show up in Otsuichi's stories",[307,39247,39248],{},"Otsuichi's characters often spoke using colloquial verb forms my textbooks hadn't covered",[307,39250,39251],{},"The conventions of \"fictional Japanese\" just didn't really reflect the \"classroom Japanese\" I was familiar with",[11,39253,39254],{},"I'd reached the end of my \"formal\" Japanese education, but I still couldn't do anything I wanted to do in Japanese.",[11,39256,39257],{},"One last time:",[847,39259,38884],{"id":39260},"its-2025-man-4",[11,39262,39263],{},"The entire next section is a follow up to this point, so, real quick:",[320,39265,39266,369,39271,369,39273],{},[287,39267,39268],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[1090,39269,39270],{},"Problem 5",[292,39272],{},[287,39274,39275],{},"\n Textbooks give you information, but don't prepare you to use that information to do meaningful things in Japanese. \n",[45,39277,39279],{"id":39278},"how-i-eventually-actually-learned-japanese","How I eventually \"actually\" learned Japanese",[11,39281,39282],{},"Three sentence recap in case you skipped to this section:",[344,39284,39285,39292,39299],{},[307,39286,39287,39288,39291],{},"I \"graduated\" from a 7th-semester Japanese class in just 4 semesters, in ",[26,39289,39290],{},"Japan",", going through 5 textbooks",[307,39293,39294,39295,39298],{},"I saw ",[15,39296,39220],{"href":39218,"rel":39297},[971]," recommended as a \"good first book for Japanese learners\" on some blog",[307,39300,39301],{},"I bought the book and quickly concluded that it was way too difficult for me",[11,39303,39304],{},"And that hit me pretty hard. I love reading, and I was apparently going to go home after two years unable to read a book for young adults in Japanese. I felt like I had completely wasted my time.",[11,39306,39307],{},"I confided in a friend, who was better at Japanese than me, and he gave me what ended up being life-changing advice:",[11,39309,39310],{},[26,39311,39312],{},"\"The library has a book called Read Real Japanese. Go check it out. It's great.\"",[11,39314,39315],{},"They actually had two.",[11,39317,782],{},[50,39319],{"src":39320,"width":39321,"height":39322,"alt":39323},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbook-read-real-japanese.webp",2048,1446,"A screenshot of the two Read Real Japanese books, which I consider to be worth their weight in gold",[11,39325,39326],{},"And I still love these books, man.",[11,39328,39329,39336,39337,39344],{},[15,39330,3939,39332,39335],{"href":37541,"rel":39331},[971],[26,39333,39334],{},"essays"," book"," contains a collection of essays, and ",[15,39338,39340,39341,39335],{"href":37534,"rel":39339},[971],"the ",[26,39342,39343],{},"fiction"," contains several short stories. They're not boring graded readers: they're a compilation of stories and essays written by prominent Japanese authors, for Japanese people, and selected because of their accessibility.",[11,39346,39347,39348,39351],{},"But they had a few features that were ",[26,39349,39350],{},"way"," ahead of their time for 2008. Just take a look:",[50,39353],{"src":39354,"width":1998,"height":24785,"alt":39355},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-read-real-japanese-2.webp","A screenshot of the inside of Read Real Japanese: Fiction, showing how it makes real Japanese stories more accessible for readers",[304,39357,39358,39361,39364],{},[307,39359,39360],{},"Every right-hand page is the original text, the same one that Japanese people read, but the font size is larger and each word is accompanied by furigana the first time it is used",[307,39362,39363],{},"Every left-hand page contains a loose phrase-by-phrase gloss, helping you break down tricky sentences",[307,39365,39366],{},"The second half of the book is a running grammatical dictionary that breaks down any grammar too difficult for ~Genki II (~low N4)",[11,39368,39369],{},"I still remember finishing the first short story. It was a fireworks moment. The furigana made it easy to look up new words, and the grammar dictionary in particular was great. It introduced me to many \"literary\" grammar points I wasn't familiar with, and it contrasted similar grammar points as they came up.",[320,39371,39372],{},[11,39373,39374,39375,39377],{},"It turned out that, with a bit of support, I actually ",[26,39376,11958],{}," read cool stuff in Japanese",[11,39379,39380],{},"By the time I finished these two books, I'd built my confidence back up, and I was ready to try Otsuichi again.",[11,39382,1456,39383,39385],{},[26,39384,3500],{}," books, actually:",[304,39387,39388,39394,39400],{},[307,39389,39390,39393],{},[26,39391,39392],{},"Zoo 1",", a collection of short stories",[307,39395,39396,39399],{},[26,39397,39398],{},"Calling You",", a trio of novellas (long short stories)",[307,39401,39402,39405],{},[98,39403],{"lang":100,"syntax":39404},"暗黒[あんこく] 童話[どうわ]","\n (Black Fairy Tale), a novel\n",[50,39407],{"src":39408,"width":39409,"height":39410,"alt":39411},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-otsuichi-trio.jpeg",1946,930,"930",[11,39413,39414,39415,39417],{},"... and it wasn't actually that much easier, but now having gone through several Japanese stories and seeing that I ",[26,39416,11958],{}," do it, I decided to keep at it.",[11,39419,39420,39421,39423],{},"When I restarted ",[26,39422,39392],{},", I was moving along at the blazing speed of about half an hour per page. My mobile dictionary didn't have a \"scribble the kanji and we'll guess what you mean\" feature, so I had to look up characters I didn't know the \"traditional\" way—I'd select \"search by radical\", enter one component at a time, hope it was the kanji's radical (main component), and then scroll until I found it or gave up. If I didn't know at least one way to pronounce a character (thus enabling me to type it), it'd take a solid minute to look it up—and many Japanese words contain 2+ kanji. It was as tiring and miserable as it sounds.",[11,39425,39426],{},"But as I read more, three important things happened:",[304,39428,39429,39432,39435],{},[307,39430,39431],{},"My vocabulary got bigger (duh)",[307,39433,39434],{},"My reading speed increased",[307,39436,39437],{},"I learned how to lean into context to determine what role an unknown word played in a sentence, or even roughly what it might mean, enabling me to semi-regularly get by without needing to break out the ole' dictionary",[11,39439,39440,39441,39443],{},"By the time I finished ",[98,39442],{"lang":100,"syntax":39404}," my average reading speed had improved to \"just\" several minutes per page, and I went on to improve that by choosing not to read books if the first 10 pages contained an average of more than 4 unknown words per page.",[11,39445,39446],{},"... and then I just kept reading.",[11,39448,1456,39449,39454],{},[15,39450,39453],{"href":39451,"rel":39452},"https:\u002F\u002Fapps.apple.com\u002Ftw\u002Fapp\u002F%E5%A4%A7%E8%BE%9E%E6%9E%97\u002Fid299029654",[971],"a better dictionary"," and developed a system: if I looked up a word and found it useful, I would handwrite it and its definition in the margin of the book. After finishing the book, I'd skim through the pages one more time. If I had forgotten the word in the course of reading the book, and I still thought it was useful, I'd make a simple Anki flashcard out of it: Japanese word on the front, example sentence and Japanese definition on the back.",[11,39456,39457],{},"I read everything by Otsuichi, and then I read pretty much everything Murakami Haruki wrote, and then I went on to read about 100 novels and light novels.",[320,39459,39460,369,39465,369,39467],{},[287,39461,39462],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[1090,39463,39464],{},"Pro Tip",[292,39466],{},[287,39468,39469],{},"\n When you're just starting out, stick within a single genre or even author. You'll get used to the genre's key terminology and the author's style, and your life will become much easier. \n",[11,39471,39472],{},"I went on to pass the JLPT N1, the highest level of the Japanese Proficiency Test, about six years later (~eight years into my Japanese learning journey).",[11,39474,39475],{},"I could (should) have done that faster, but a few things held me back:",[304,39477,39478,39485,39488],{},[307,39479,39480,39481,39484],{},"I was really ",[26,39482,39483],{},"only"," interested in reading; I basically refused to watch TV or listen to podcasts, so my listening comprehension lagged bahind",[307,39486,39487],{},"I insisted on reading physical books, which made things way harder than they needed to be, even back in 2018—I literally had a Kindle",[307,39489,39490],{},"I moved to Taiwan in 2018 and basically quit Japanese to focus on Mandarin (I'd read 10–15 minutes per day day)",[11,39492,39493,39494,39496],{},"And that brings us to what you're ",[26,39495,19069],{}," here for:",[45,39498,39500,39501,39503],{"id":39499},"how-i-recommend-you-learn-japanese","How I recommend ",[26,39502,13558],{}," learn Japanese",[11,39505,39506],{},"On the off chance you just skipped right to this section, there have been three main takeaways so far:",[344,39508,39509,39512,39515],{},[307,39510,39511],{},"There are serious issues with textbooks as a medium that just shouldn't be tolerated in 2025",[307,39513,39514],{},"I only really began making progress in Japanese when I began consuming content in Japanese",[307,39516,39517],{},"Doing two years of university Japanese classes in Japan and finishing 5 textbooks didn't enable me to begin consuming content in Japanese",[11,39519,39520],{},"And that sucked, but it makes sense in hindsight.",[320,39522,39523],{},[11,39524,39525,39526,39528,39530],{},"Textbooks are written to help millions of people get started with Japanese as reliably as possible, not to help one specific person start consuming specific types of Japanese content as effectively as possible. ",[292,39527],{},[292,39529],{},"Put differently: a pair of shoes designed to fit everyone is going to comfortably fit no one.",[11,39532,39533,39534,39536],{},"So, if there's something specific ",[26,39535,13558],{}," want to do in Japanese, and you don't want to waste years of your life getting there, then I have two specific pieces of advice for you:",[344,39538,39539,39548],{},[307,39540,39541,39544,39545,39547],{},[1090,39542,39543],{},"Do a super lean crash course to learn the basics of Japanese"," → The real progress comes from consuming Japanese content, but you ",[26,39546,10834],{}," need to know a bit of Japanese to consume content in Japanese. Do a course, but 80\u002F20 it and minimize the amount of time you spend learning \"formally\".",[307,39549,39550,39553,39554,39556],{},[1090,39551,39552],{},"Transition from the course to real Japanese content as soon as possible"," → The only way to guarantee you learn the things you need to consume the content you enjoy is to create your own materials out of that content. Here, you'll consolidate the things you learned in that course, expand your knowledge, and begin seeing ",[26,39555,5914],{}," progress.",[11,39558,39559],{},"And now let's take a closer look at each of those things.",[847,39561,39563],{"id":39562},"step-1-crash-through-a-course-that-teaches-you-the-basics-of-japanese","Step 1: Crash through a course that teaches you the basics of Japanese",[11,39565,39566],{},"Migaku has been built expressly for this purpose, but:",[304,39568,39569,39585],{},[307,39570,39571,39572,39575,39576,39580,39581,3892],{},"If you're super opposed to spending money on hobbies, work through ",[15,39573,38293],{"href":37410,"rel":39574},[971]," that covers the grammar from ",[15,39577,39579],{"href":39578},"\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Ftae-kim-japanese-grammar-guide","Tae Kim Japanese Textbook"," and teaches ~1,500 words that commonly appear in anime (see: ",[15,39582,39584],{"href":39583},"\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fhow-to-use-anki","how to use Anki to learn a language",[307,39586,39587,39588,39591],{},"If you really insist on using a paper textbook, we can't stop you—but do yourself a favor and just ",[26,39589,39590],{},"skim"," it; don't try to memorize it from cover to cover",[3240,39593,39595],{"id":39594},"learn-hiragana-and-katakana","Learn hiragana and katakana",[11,39597,39598],{},"If you're a complete beginner, start off by doing the Migaku Japanese Fundamentals course. It covers everything you need to reliably read and correctly pronounce both hiragana and katakana.",[50,39600],{"src":39601,"width":28637,"height":39602,"alt":922},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-fundamentals.jpeg",1022,[320,39604,39605],{},[287,39606,39607],{},"\n It'll take about an hour per day (~23 flashcards per day), but you can actually finish this course during your 10-day free trial of Migaku.\n",[3240,39609,39611],{"id":39610},"learn-high-frequency-japanese-vocabulary-words-and-grammar-points","Learn high-frequency Japanese vocabulary words and grammar points",[11,39613,39614],{},"Next, work through our Migaku Japanese Academy 1 course. This spoonfeeds you the ~1,700 common vocabulary words you need to follow 80% of the subtitles on Netflix and the ~400 grammar points you need to string those words together.",[11,39616,39617],{},"The course can be done entirely via your phone, and is organized in an A:B format:",[304,39619,39620,39623],{},[307,39621,39622],{},"A → You'll read a detailed but accessible explanation of a specific grammar point",[307,39624,39625],{},"B → You'll learn (via flashcards) sentences which include that grammar point and contain one single word you don't already know",[11,39627,39628,39629,39631],{},"To ensure you actually remember those words, sentences, and grammar points, Migaku will build a personalized review schedule for you. You can read about how we do that ",[15,39630,3756],{"href":5906},", but the basic idea is that (a) we'll periodically ask you to review the things you learn and (b) we'll arrange these sessions so more of your practice time goes to things you struggle with and less is wasted on things you know well.",[50,39633],{"src":38476,"width":4974,"height":38477,"alt":38478},[320,39635,39636],{},[11,39637,39638,39639,39641],{},"If you learn 10 new words per day (~30 minute time commitment), this step will take you just about 6 months. It took ",[26,39640,7484],{}," four semesters at a university in Japan.",[847,39643,39645],{"id":39644},"step-2-if-you-like-to-read-start-reading-stuff","Step 2: If you like to read, start reading stuff!",[11,39647,39648],{},"I know that not everybody is a bookworm, so I'll keep this short and sweet.",[11,39650,39651],{},"Basically, just boot up a webpage you're interested in reading:",[50,39653],{"src":39654,"width":19054,"height":39655,"alt":39656},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-webpage-jp.jpeg",1700,"Migaku making text in a webpage interactive, enabling you to click on words and see what they mean",[11,39658,39659,39660,39665],{},"Alternatively, you can use an OCR software (",[15,39661,39664],{"href":39662,"rel":39663},"https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku.com\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Flearn-japanese-with-manga#how-to-learn-from-manga-manga-recs",[971],"instructions here",") to scan manga online or on your computer. Migaku will automatically detect that your system clipboard has been updated and paste its contents into the Migaku Clipboard, enabling you to read manga via Migaku:",[50,39667],{"src":19504,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":19505},[11,39669,39670],{},"You can do the same thing with an e-reader application like Kindle to transfer the content of an ebook page into Migaku. This takes half a second or so per page. if you click the big orange button in the bottom-right corner of the screen, Migaku will use a human-like text-to-speech service to narrate your text to you:",[50,39672],{"src":39673,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":39674},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-clipboard-tts-jp.jpeg","Migaku narrating an audiobook that it has imported from Kindle",[11,39676,39677],{},"You can even use our mobile app to take a picture of a physical book (or menu, or sign, etc) and then read it with Migaku:",[50,39679],{"src":39680,"width":8565,"height":33959,"alt":39681},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-mobile-ocr.jpeg","Migaku Mobile's 'Capture' feature being used to import a page from a physical book into the Migaku Clipboard",[11,39683,39684],{},"... and then just read stuff!",[304,39686,39687,39690],{},[307,39688,39689],{},"When you run into a word you don't know, click on it to see what it means or click the photo icon to see images of it",[307,39691,39692],{},"If you're having trouble figuring out how a sentence works, just click (?) to see a chunk-by-chunk breakdown of the sentence, or click 文\u002FA to translate it",[11,39694,39695],{},"It's hard to put into words how much of an improvement this represents for readers.",[320,39697,39698],{},[11,39699,39700],{},"Whereas I had to spend a solid minute looking up each word I didn't know manually, you can just click on it and get your answer within a second.",[11,39702,39703],{},"Back up in the \"how I learned Japanese section\" I said that the Read Real Japanese books were worth their weight in gold. Well, Migaku lets you turn every single book—physical or digital—into a Read Real Japanese style resource... but one that you have complete control over. It's incredible, frankly.",[11,39705,39706,39707,39709],{},"With Migaku, you can start reading real Japanese books and manga even if you're a a beginner who only knows several hundred basic words. ",[26,39708,13265],{}," how powerful it is.",[847,39711,39713],{"id":39712},"step-2-or-if-you-want-to-watch-watch-tvdramaanimeetc-start-watching-stuff","Step 2: Or, if you want to watch watch TV\u002Fdrama\u002Fanime\u002Fetc, start watching stuff!",[11,39715,39716],{},"If you're more of a watcher than a reader, you're in luck: Migaku extends the exact same capabilities we talked about above to the subtitles of shows from places like YouTube and Netflix.",[11,39718,39719],{},"So, boot up a YouTube video you want to watch on your phone:",[50,39721],{"src":39722,"width":21611,"height":18010,"alt":39723},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-mobile-mining-jp.jpeg","Migaku enhancing the subtitles in a mobile YouTube video, enabling Japanese learners to see definitions of words by clicking on subtitles",[11,39725,39726],{},"Our Chrome extension is even more powerful, giving you a significant amount of control over your subtitles. Here, the YouTube video I wanted to watch didn't have subtitles, so Migaku generated them.",[11,39728,39729],{},"Then, I'm currently working on my listening comprehension, so I've set my subtitles to \"recall\" mode—subtitles are hidden while the video is playing, but the video pauses after each line of dialogue and displays the subtitles. This enables me to get immediate feedback on whether I heard the dialogue correctly or not, and to check anything I didn't hear clearly.",[50,39731],{"src":39732,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":39733},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-recall-mode-jp.jpeg","A screenshot showing Migaku's subtitle settings",[11,39735,39736,39737,39739],{},"We also let you display two sets of subtitles at once. Below, I've configured Netflix so that Japanese subtitles are always displayed... but then, if a line of dialogue contains a word I don't know, to ",[26,39738,24362],{}," show English subtitles.",[50,39741],{"src":39742,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":39743},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-netflix-dual-subs.jpeg","A screenshot from Netflix, showing off Migaku's ability to display multiple subtitles at once ",[11,39745,39746],{},"Again, it's hard to put how convenient this is into words. The ability to click on words in subtitles and immediately see what they mean makes video content much more accessible—so accessible, in fact, that you can start watching and understanding Japanese content even as a beginner.",[11,39748,39749,39750,19403],{},"(As an aside, we've actually got an entire blog post on ",[15,39751,39752],{"href":27657},"how to learn Japanese with Netflix",[847,39754,39756],{"id":39755},"step-3-make-flashcards-out-of-the-useful-words-you-encounter-while-watching-or-reading","Step 3: Make flashcards out of the useful words you encounter while watching or reading",[11,39758,39759,39760,39762],{},"The ability to immediately look up unknown words is convenient, but, ideally, you want to go further than that: you want to reach a point where you don't ",[26,39761,11731],{}," to look up words anymore.",[11,39764,39765,39766,3814,39771,415],{},"This means that you need to be learning vocabulary words... and that means that you need to be doing flashcards. Here's ",[15,39767,39770],{"href":39768,"rel":39769},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=5lSNHoA0KN4",[971],"why",[15,39772,39775],{"href":39773,"rel":39774},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=6sgEbh6Zgmc",[971],"how",[11,39777,39778],{},"Anyway—Migaku makes this really simple. Say that you're watching Violet Evergarden on Netflix and stumbled into a word you don't know:",[50,39780],{"src":39781,"width":20579,"height":20580,"alt":39782},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-immerse2.jpeg","A screenshot showing how Migaku makes subtitles interactive for language learners",[11,39784,39785],{},"If you click that orange button in the top-right corner of the dictionary entry, the word you've looked up will be sent to Migaku's Card Creator:",[50,39787],{"src":39788,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":39789},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-card-creator-jp.jpeg","A screenshot showing the Migaku Card Creator",[11,39791,39792],{},"We automatically fetch a variety of data, such as a snippet of the audio for your line of dialogue, and send this to the card creator. You can manually tweak things to your liking—or you can pre-configure which information Migaku should take, then entirely skip this step.",[11,39794,39795],{},"The result is a flashcard like this, which can be reviewed on desktop or on our mobile apps:",[50,39797],{"src":39798,"width":39799,"height":12850,"alt":39800},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-immerse3.jpeg",1166,"A screenshot showing the flashcards that Migaku automatically made from Violet Evergarden on Netflix",[11,39802,39803,39804,39808],{},"As mentioned earlier, Migaku is actually a spaced repetition system. You can read about how it works ",[15,39805,3756],{"href":39806,"rel":39807},"https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku.com\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fspaced-repetition-language-learning",[971],", but the basic idea is that we will periodically ask you to review flashcards you create, and the amount of time you go between reviews will gradually get larger. These intervals are calculated separately for each card, creating a filtering process in which you review difficult things more often and easy things less often.",[50,39810],{"src":39811,"width":39812,"height":5899,"alt":39813},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-dashboard.jpeg",1458,"A screenshot showing Migaku's card study interface + review data stats",[11,39815,39816],{},"Skipping the complex discussion—this basically means that Migaku will schedule a few new things for you to learn and several old things for you to review each day. So long as you stay consistent, everything that makes its way into Migaku Memory will also make its way into your long-term memory.",[45,39818,39820],{"id":39819},"its-2025-man-the-next-quantum-leap-in-language-learning-is-here","It's 2025, man. The next quantum leap in language learning is here.",[11,39822,39823,39824,39826],{},"While learning Japanese isn't ",[26,39825,19322],{},", the whole process is actually very simple:",[320,39828,39829],{},[11,39830,5045,39831,415],{},[26,39832,994],{},[11,39834,39835],{},"Migaku makes this process super streamlined.",[344,39837,39838,39841,39844],{},[307,39839,39840],{},"You'll work through a super lean course to build your Japanese foundation",[307,39842,39843],{},"You'll begin consuming content you personally enjoy and making flashcards out of words you personally find useful—and our tools will enable you to do this, even as a beginner",[307,39845,39846],{},"Migaku will prepare a flashcard quiz for you each day, to ensure you commit the vocabulary words they contain to memory",[11,39848,39849],{},"It's kinda beautiful.",[11,39851,19219,39852,39854],{},[26,39853,19222],{}," why I can't recommend Genki, Minna no Nihongo, or any other textbook in good faith.",[11,39856,39857],{},"The future is here.",[674,39859],{"href":17,"text":3633},[320,39861,39862],{},[11,39863,39864,506,39867,39869,506,39871,506,39874,39876,506,39878],{},[26,39865,39866],{},"You've stuck with me for like 5,000 words at this point, and Migaku is totally free for ten days... so go ahead and click that button. You don't need to give us your credit card information or anything like that. Just download the app, boot up a show on YouTube or Netflix, and see how much Japanese you can understand with a bit of support.",[292,39868],{},[292,39870],{},[26,39872,39873],{},"The only possibilities are that nothing happens... or your life changes.",[292,39875],{},[292,39877],{},[26,39879,39880],{},"Personally, we're pretty confident that your life will be changed.",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":39882},[39883,39884,39885,39889,39892,39895,39898,39901,39902,39909],{"id":38664,"depth":707,"text":38665},{"id":38740,"depth":707,"text":38741},{"id":38803,"depth":707,"text":39886,"children":39887},"1. They're structured... but probably not with your needs in mind",[39888],{"id":38883,"depth":1016,"text":38884},{"id":38917,"depth":707,"text":38918,"children":39890},[39891],{"id":38990,"depth":1016,"text":38884},{"id":39029,"depth":707,"text":39030,"children":39893},[39894],{"id":39081,"depth":1016,"text":38884},{"id":39114,"depth":707,"text":39115,"children":39896},[39897],{"id":39141,"depth":1016,"text":39142},{"id":39185,"depth":707,"text":39186,"children":39899},[39900],{"id":39260,"depth":1016,"text":38884},{"id":39278,"depth":707,"text":39279},{"id":39499,"depth":707,"text":39903,"children":39904},"How I recommend you learn Japanese",[39905,39906,39907,39908],{"id":39562,"depth":1016,"text":39563},{"id":39644,"depth":1016,"text":39645},{"id":39712,"depth":1016,"text":39713},{"id":39755,"depth":1016,"text":39756},{"id":39819,"depth":707,"text":39820},"Traditionally, when people think of learning a language, their first thought is to get a textbook. Unfortunately, that's not actually a very good idea. Here's why.",{"timestampUnix":39912,"slug":39913,"h1":38629,"image":39914,"tags":39918,"featured":39919},1742895963000,"the-problem-with-textbooks",{"src":39915,"width":2696,"height":39916,"alt":39917},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-problem-thumbnail.png",1000,"A man sitting in a chair holding a Japanese textbook above his head, pages flying everywhere; it's a disaster",[8649],1,"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-textbooks-why-suck","---\ntitle: 'Learning a Language in 2025 & The Problem with Textbooks'\ndescription: \"Traditionally, when people think of learning a language, their first thought is to get a textbook. Unfortunately, that's not actually a very good idea. Here's why.\"\ntimestampUnix: 1742895963000\nslug: 'the-problem-with-textbooks'\nh1: 'Learning a Language in 2025 & The Problem with Textbooks'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-problem-thumbnail.png'\n width: 1600\n height: 1000\n alt: \"A man sitting in a chair holding a Japanese textbook above his head, pages flying everywhere; it's a disaster\"\ntags:\n - discussion\nfeatured: 1\n---\n\nHi there!\n\nI'm Suikacider. I've spent the last 10 years learning languages, have passed the highest-level Japanese proficiency test, and also wrote [Google's top-ranking review of Japanese textbooks](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fbest-japanese-textbooks). If you're here, it's probably because you came from there.\n\nI was able to write that post because I went through a _stupid_ amount of textbooks as a learner trying to get my foot in the door with Japanese. At least fifteen. Maybe more. I lost count. At that time in my life I lived next to a half-priced bookstore and I binged, baby. _Binged_.\n\nSo, what's kind of awkward about calling that blog post \"the 'best' Japanese textbooks for beginners\" is that I never actually found a \"best\" one. Many were better or worse in certain ways, and I reflected that honestly, but they all suffered from a handful of fundamental problems that were deal breakers for me.\n\nThis post is about the problems I have with textbooks as a medium, and the issues you'll need to overcome if you buy one. Alas:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## What phonographs, floppy disks, and textbooks have in common\n\nBefore we get too far along, take a second and look at this thing for me:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbook-phonograph.webp\" width=\"5016\" height=\"3344\" alt=\"A photograph of a phonograph, a monumental technological development that is now obsolete\" \u002F>\n\nThis is a (modern) phonograph.\n\nWhen it was originally invented in 1877, it was monumental. Earth-shattering, if you ask me. It took music from being something you could only hear in a concert hall and turned it into something you could just casually flip on when you got home from work in the evening.\n\nNobody uses them anymore because an iPhone fits in your pocket and does much more than play music.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-floppydisk.webp\" width=\"5500\" height=\"3672\" alt=\"A photograph of a floppy disk, a technological revolution that has fallen out of use\" \u002F>\n\nHere's another technological revolution.\n\nFloppy disks made it possible for individuals to save files, install software, and move data between computers. They boasted anywhere from a whopping 100 kilobytes of storage space to 1.44 megabytes, and computing as we know it wouldn't exist without them.\n\nNobody needs floppy disks anymore now that the cheapest iPhone comes with 64 _gigabytes_ of storage space and does much more than store information.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-genki.jpeg\" width=\"1662\" height=\"1240\" alt=\"A photo of the cover of a textbook, another outdated technology that was once groundbreaking.\"\u002F>\n\nAnd now I want to talk about textbooks.\n\nIt's hard to put into words what a quantum leap textbooks must have represented for education, way back when.\n\nLike—think about it. You know Tchaikovsky? He wrote a textbook about music. [You can read it for free](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.bestmusicteacher.com\u002Fdownload\u002FTchaikovsky_HarmonyTextbook_Eng.pdf). It gives you direct access to the thoughts of one of the greatest musicians in history... despite the fact that he's no longer alive, and despite the fact that you couldn't afford to have him tutor you even if he was.\n\nThat's _mind boggling_.\n\nBut now I have a question for you:\n\n> If phonographs gave way to mp3 players and floppy disks gave way to CDs and now everybody just uses iPhones...\n>\n> Why do we still see textbooks as the go-to way to learn a language?\n\n## Why textbooks should go the way of the phonograph and floppy disk\n\nSo, obviously, I'm not saying that textbooks suck.\n\nTextbooks are a freaking _incredible_ piece of technology.\n\nThey're just... well... a little outdated. A stepping stone that, for some reason, we decided not to move beyond.\n\nI think it's time to take that step.\n\n[So does Bill Gates](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gatesnotes.com\u002F2019-Annual-Letter):\n\n> _I read more than my share of textbooks. But it’s a pretty limited way to learn something. Even the best text can’t figure out which concepts you understand and which ones you need more help with. It certainly can’t tell your teacher how well you grasped last night’s assigned reading._\n\nThis random guy from YouTube is ready to move on, too:\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F2qhmxpfv620?si=GP7AkUYE3xEiOqBE\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\n[Even teachers and professors talk about how to teach _despite_ textbooks](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.teachervision.com\u002Fcurriculum-planning\u002Ftextbooks-advantages-disadvantages).\n\nSo, anyway—this isn't a fringe opinion or some marketing conspiracy.\n\nTextbooks have some pretty obvious limitations.\n\nThe thing is, given the technology we have today, I don't think we should tolerate those limitations.\n\nTo give a few examples:\n\n## 1. They're structured... but probably not with _your_ needs in mind\n\nHere's the vocabulary taught in the first chapter of Genki I. Skim through it. As you do so, think about who these words would be useful for:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-genki-vocab.jpeg\" width=\"1530\" height=\"1064\" alt=\"A screenshot of the vocabulary list that corresponds with the first chapter of Genki I.\"\u002F>\n\nWhat jumps out to me are things like:\n\n- せんこう (senkou, \"university major\")\n- べんごし (bengoshi, \"lawyer\")\n- スウェーデン (suueeden, \"Sweden\")\n- じんるいがく (jinruigaku, \"anthropology\")\n\nIt's obvious that the vocabulary words you see here were picked solely because they seemed like they might be useful for students studying Japanese in a university classroom.\n\nWhat's crazy about this is that there should be no doubt about which words a beginner should learn. Literally _heaps_ of data about how often Japanese words do and don't get used is publicly available. For example, here's [a list of over 100,000 Japanese words ](https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.google.com\u002Fspreadsheets\u002Fd\u002F15b3j9--RJ1K5hI9vz_2LXn2YNn7UWxWrRi58_Xykkp0\u002Fedit?gid=179864832#gid=179864832) organized by how commonly they show up in Netflix subtitles.\n\nBehold:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-vocab-frequency.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1794\" alt=\"A screenshot of a list of Japanese words organized by how commonly they occur in Netflix subtitles.\"\u002F>\n\n\u003CCenteredText> _[Read more about the science behind vocabulary frequency here.](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary)_ \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\u003Cbr>\n\nIf you start from the top, you'll need to scroll through over _27,000_ words before you get to 人類学 (jinruigaku, \"anthropology\"). It's just patently absurd to teach this word to a beginner. To put how ridiculous it is into perspective—to follow 80% of Netflix, you only need to know the most common 1,442 Japanese vocabulary words. Why the hell does Genki teach you _anthropology_ instead of one of those objectively useful words?\n\nI can't help but feel that a big part of the reason people think languages are hard to learn is that most textbooks and traditional resources are terribly organized.\n\n### It's 2025, man.\n\nAt Migaku, we believe that if learners put their time, money, and trust into the resource they end up buying, they should be able to trust that their efforts will be put to good use.\n\nAs such, we designed the Migaku Japanese Academy around teaching you the hyper-common ~1,700 words that data says you need to know to begin consuming Japanese media.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-kanojo.jpeg\" width=\"1764\" height=\"1234\" alt=\"A screenshot showing how the Migaku Japanese Academy teaches vocabulary.\"\u002F>\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>**Problem 1**\u003C\u002FCenteredText> \u003Cbr> \u003CCenteredText> Textbooks contain what a professor or some educational body thinks a typical student ought to learn. These things may not overlap with the things _you_ need to learn in order to do the things _you_ want to do in Japanese. \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n## 2. They're made of paper, and there's only so much you can do with paper\n\nNobody expects a jumpscare in a blog post, but I've got something terrifying to show you:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-forgetting-curve.jpeg\" width=\"1984\" height=\"1532\" alt=\"A representation of the forgetting curve, or the lifespan of a piece of information we never review.\" \u002F>\n\n\u003CCenteredText> _[Read more about the science behind how memory works here.](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fspaced-repetition-language-learning)_ \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n\u003Cbr>\n\nSee that?\n\nHumans forget.\n\n_Constantly._\n\nIt doesn't matter how smart, motivated, or dedicated you are.\n\nWithin just hours of learning something, you're going to forget a massive chunk of it. Thankfully, this curse of forgetting has an easy cure: review. If you make a point to review the things you learn periodically, you'll eventually root them in your long-term memory.\n\nThe below chart blew my mind when I first saw it in my third year of college:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002FMigakuForgettingCurve.jpeg\" width=\"1370\" height=\"1190\" alt=\"A chart showing how the forgetting curve flattens out if you periodically review information, sourced from Wikipedia\" \u002F>\n\n_We've known this since the late 1800s_.\n\nUnfortunately, textbooks don't prompt you to practice good memory hygiene. They drop a massive list of vocabulary words on you (such as the one in the above section) or a dense grammatical explanation (such as the one in the next section) and say _figure it by the quiz next Tuesday, bro_.\n\nNow, I'm an ex-teacher. Let me tell you: if that's how I approached my lessons, I'd be choosing to fail my students. I'd be rightfully accused of negligence.\n\nThe thing is, a textbook is just a few hundred sheets of paper bound together. It _can't_ build a review plan for you.\n\nThe fact that you need one does not change.\n\nWhich again leads me to say:\n\n### It's 2025, man.\n\nWhile sheets of paper can't curate a personalized review schedule for you, this is trivial work for an algorithm.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-srs-visualization.webp\" width=\"1200\" height=\"728\" alt=\"A simple graphic showing a visualization of how spaced repetition works\" \u002F>\n\nMigaku will keep track of every single word you learn _and_ how well you remember them. We'll periodically nudge you to review each one. You'll spend more time reviewing the stuff you struggle with and less time reviewing the stuff you've got down.\n\nPut differently: All you have to do to learn Japanese with Migaku is open the app each day and click _study_. We'll handle the rest.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>**Problem 2**\u003C\u002FCenteredText> \u003Cbr> \u003CCenteredText> Textbooks give you a list of stuff and say _figure this out somehow_. A lot of learners never do. Textbooks can organize information, but they can't learn or remember it for you. \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n## 3. They assume you have a teacher to make sense of things for you\n\nHere's the beginning of the third chapter of Genki:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-genki-conjugations.jpeg\" width=\"1534\" height=\"1064\" alt=\"A screenshot of how Genki I introduces the concept of verb conjugation.\"\u002F>\n\nThat right there is a bona fide wall of text. It drops terms like:\n\n- Conjugation classes\n- Verb stems\n- The traditional order of hiragana (which is related to Japanese's conjugation paradigm)\n\nAnd they _aren't_ expecting your average Angus to know what all that stuff means. They've crammed it all into two pages because they're expecting you have a teacher who will break it down into digestible chunks and guide you through it.\n\nThis assumption is made more obvious in the workbook, shown below:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-textbooks-genki-workbook.jpeg\" width=\"1372\" height=\"1068\" alt=\"A screenshot of the Genki I workbook, showing the homework associated for verb conjugations.\"\u002F>\n\nThe workbook is separate purchase from the textbook... and it doesn't contain an answer key. Why? Because Genki expects that you have a teacher who will check your homework and tell you if you're doing things right or not.\n\nI'm being facetious, but come on: _Our explanations may not make sense to our target audience, and they have no way to check their understanding... but that's OK. Somebody will explain our explanations for us._\n\nIt's just a terrible design decision. As educators, we can and should do better.\n\n### It's 2025, man.\n\nHere's our promise: You'll be able to succeed with the Migaku Japanese Academy even if you're a total beginner, learning by yourself, and know literally nothing about linguistics or learning psychology.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-verb-conjugation.jpeg\" width=\"1760\" height=\"1236\" alt=\"An excerpt from the Migaku Korean Academy, showing how we teach verb conjugation.\"\u002F>\n\nTo make sure we live up to that expectation, we open ourselves to criticism in [our Discord community](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fmigaku-japanese-learning-discord). Anyone going through our courses can leave public feedback. We take that criticism, confusion, and praise to heart... and we're better for it.\n\nOur explanations make sense because they've been stress tested by thousands of learners—not a roomful of people with PhDs who have forgotten what makes Japanese confusing.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>**Problem 3**\u003C\u002FCenteredText> \u003Cbr> \u003CCenteredText> Textbook explanations are often dense and unintuitive. At best, they're designed to be unpacked and broken down by an expert, not to be intuitive to a beginner. At worst, they were published without being tested on beginners at all. \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n## 4. ... They're boring\n\nI've included several screenshots from Genki. Here's one more:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-genki-activity.jpeg\" width=\"1236\" height=\"876\" alt=\"A screenshot of the 'activity' section at the end of a Genki chapter.\"\u002F>\n\nThey're black, white, and bland.\n\nAnd _of course_ they are.\n\nGenki is a textbook. Textbooks aren't fun. Nobody learns Japanese because they're itching to get their hands on Genki. They put up with Genki because they hope it'll enable them to do fun things in Japanese later on.\n\nBut, again, I just can't help feeling like:\n\n### It's 2025, man!\n\nAnd, sure. Sure. I get it. The primary goal of any learning activity isn't to entertain, so it's never going to be as fun as watching a movie or playing a video game.\n\nBut that doesn't mean that the learning process needs to _suck_.\n\nCase and point:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-memes.jpeg\" width=\"1760\" height=\"1234\" alt=\"A screenshot showing how Migaku uses memes to make the learning process a bit more entertaining\"\u002F>\n\nIt's not _that_ difficult to make the learning process just a little more enjoyable.\n\nAll of us here at Migaku are normal people who happen to be successful language learners, not professors. As normal people, we appreciate that fun is good. It makes it easier to remember stuff, and it makes it easier to keep consistent.\n\nTo us, in addition to being effective, a good resource should make you smile once in a while, too.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>**Problem 4**\u003C\u002FCenteredText> \u003Cbr> \u003CCenteredText> Textbooks don't make you excited to wake up and spend time with Japanese. They make learning Japanese feel like work. \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n## 5. They don't actually prepare you for real Japanese media\n\nPart of the reason I'm so bitter about this is that I did well in school. I liked learning, I got A's, and I saw homework as being something like my moral obligation as a student. I went every extra mile that my teachers put in front of me.\n\n- At a university in Akita, I worked through Genki I and Genki II\n- At a university in Okayama, I worked through the three _Chuukyuu wo Manabou_ (CoM) books\n\nI tested out of a class or two, so when I finished the last CoM book in what was the fourth semester of Japanese studies for me, I was actually preparing to go into a seventh-semester Japanese class.\n\nSo, anyway—I did what I was supposed to do as a student.\n\n> If textbooks were going to work for somebody, they would have worked for me.\n\nIt was about that time that I decided to try reading a book in Japanese. I picked a collection of short stories aimed at young adults—[Zoo 1 by Otsuichi](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.co.jp\u002FZOO-1-%E9%9B%86%E8%8B%B1%E7%A4%BE%E6%96%87%E5%BA%AB-%E4%B9%99%E4%B8%80\u002Fdp\u002F4087460371).\n\nGuess what?\n\n_I didn't understand a freaking thing._\n\nOk, that's somewhat hyperbolic, but:\n\n- Words like _anthropology_, _surfing_ or _to sew_ didn't show up in Otsuichi's stories\n- Otsuichi's characters often spoke using colloquial verb forms my textbooks hadn't covered\n- The conventions of \"fictional Japanese\" just didn't really reflect the \"classroom Japanese\" I was familiar with\n\nI'd reached the end of my \"formal\" Japanese education, but I still couldn't do anything I wanted to do in Japanese.\n\nOne last time:\n\n### It's 2025, man.\n\nThe entire next section is a follow up to this point, so, real quick:\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>**Problem 5**\u003C\u002FCenteredText> \u003Cbr> \u003CCenteredText> Textbooks give you information, but don't prepare you to use that information to do meaningful things in Japanese. \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n## How I eventually \"actually\" learned Japanese\n\nThree sentence recap in case you skipped to this section:\n\n1. I \"graduated\" from a 7th-semester Japanese class in just 4 semesters, in _Japan_, going through 5 textbooks\n2. I saw [Zoo 1 by Otsuichi](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.co.jp\u002FZOO-1-%E9%9B%86%E8%8B%B1%E7%A4%BE%E6%96%87%E5%BA%AB-%E4%B9%99%E4%B8%80\u002Fdp\u002F4087460371) recommended as a \"good first book for Japanese learners\" on some blog\n3. I bought the book and quickly concluded that it was way too difficult for me\n\nAnd that hit me pretty hard. I love reading, and I was apparently going to go home after two years unable to read a book for young adults in Japanese. I felt like I had completely wasted my time.\n\nI confided in a friend, who was better at Japanese than me, and he gave me what ended up being life-changing advice:\n\n_\"The library has a book called Read Real Japanese. Go check it out. It's great.\"_\n\nThey actually had two.\n\nThey look like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbook-read-real-japanese.webp\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1446\" alt=\"A screenshot of the two Read Real Japanese books, which I consider to be worth their weight in gold\" \u002F>\n\nAnd I still love these books, man.\n\n[The _essays_ book](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FRead-Real-Japanese-Essays-Contemporary\u002Fdp\u002F1568364148) contains a collection of essays, and [the _fiction_ book](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002FRead-Real-Japanese-Fiction-Contemporary\u002Fdp\u002F1568366175) contains several short stories. They're not boring graded readers: they're a compilation of stories and essays written by prominent Japanese authors, for Japanese people, and selected because of their accessibility.\n\nBut they had a few features that were _way_ ahead of their time for 2008. Just take a look:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-read-real-japanese-2.webp\" width=\"1280\" height=\"960\" alt=\"A screenshot of the inside of Read Real Japanese: Fiction, showing how it makes real Japanese stories more accessible for readers\" \u002F>\n\n- Every right-hand page is the original text, the same one that Japanese people read, but the font size is larger and each word is accompanied by furigana the first time it is used\n- Every left-hand page contains a loose phrase-by-phrase gloss, helping you break down tricky sentences\n- The second half of the book is a running grammatical dictionary that breaks down any grammar too difficult for ~Genki II (~low N4)\n\nI still remember finishing the first short story. It was a fireworks moment. The furigana made it easy to look up new words, and the grammar dictionary in particular was great. It introduced me to many \"literary\" grammar points I wasn't familiar with, and it contrasted similar grammar points as they came up.\n\n> It turned out that, with a bit of support, I actually _could_ read cool stuff in Japanese\n\nBy the time I finished these two books, I'd built my confidence back up, and I was ready to try Otsuichi again.\n\nI bought _three_ books, actually:\n\n- _Zoo 1_, a collection of short stories\n- _Calling You_, a trio of novellas (long short stories)\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"暗黒[あんこく] 童話[どうわ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (Black Fairy Tale), a novel\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-otsuichi-trio.jpeg\" width=\"1946\" height=\"930\" alt=\"930\" \u002F>\n\n... and it wasn't actually that much easier, but now having gone through several Japanese stories and seeing that I _could_ do it, I decided to keep at it.\n\nWhen I restarted _Zoo 1_, I was moving along at the blazing speed of about half an hour per page. My mobile dictionary didn't have a \"scribble the kanji and we'll guess what you mean\" feature, so I had to look up characters I didn't know the \"traditional\" way—I'd select \"search by radical\", enter one component at a time, hope it was the kanji's radical (main component), and then scroll until I found it or gave up. If I didn't know at least one way to pronounce a character (thus enabling me to type it), it'd take a solid minute to look it up—and many Japanese words contain 2+ kanji. It was as tiring and miserable as it sounds.\n\nBut as I read more, three important things happened:\n\n- My vocabulary got bigger (duh)\n- My reading speed increased\n- I learned how to lean into context to determine what role an unknown word played in a sentence, or even roughly what it might mean, enabling me to semi-regularly get by without needing to break out the ole' dictionary\n\nBy the time I finished \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"暗黒[あんこく] 童話[どうわ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> my average reading speed had improved to \"just\" several minutes per page, and I went on to improve that by choosing not to read books if the first 10 pages contained an average of more than 4 unknown words per page.\n\n... and then I just kept reading.\n\nI bought [a better dictionary](https:\u002F\u002Fapps.apple.com\u002Ftw\u002Fapp\u002F%E5%A4%A7%E8%BE%9E%E6%9E%97\u002Fid299029654) and developed a system: if I looked up a word and found it useful, I would handwrite it and its definition in the margin of the book. After finishing the book, I'd skim through the pages one more time. If I had forgotten the word in the course of reading the book, and I still thought it was useful, I'd make a simple Anki flashcard out of it: Japanese word on the front, example sentence and Japanese definition on the back.\n\nI read everything by Otsuichi, and then I read pretty much everything Murakami Haruki wrote, and then I went on to read about 100 novels and light novels.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>**Pro Tip**\u003C\u002FCenteredText> \u003Cbr> \u003CCenteredText> When you're just starting out, stick within a single genre or even author. You'll get used to the genre's key terminology and the author's style, and your life will become much easier. \u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\nI went on to pass the JLPT N1, the highest level of the Japanese Proficiency Test, about six years later (~eight years into my Japanese learning journey).\n\nI could (should) have done that faster, but a few things held me back:\n\n- I was really _only_ interested in reading; I basically refused to watch TV or listen to podcasts, so my listening comprehension lagged bahind\n- I insisted on reading physical books, which made things way harder than they needed to be, even back in 2018—I literally had a Kindle\n- I moved to Taiwan in 2018 and basically quit Japanese to focus on Mandarin (I'd read 10–15 minutes per day day)\n\nAnd that brings us to what you're _really_ here for:\n\n## How I recommend _you_ learn Japanese\n\nOn the off chance you just skipped right to this section, there have been three main takeaways so far:\n\n1. There are serious issues with textbooks as a medium that just shouldn't be tolerated in 2025\n2. I only really began making progress in Japanese when I began consuming content in Japanese\n3. Doing two years of university Japanese classes in Japan and finishing 5 textbooks didn't enable me to begin consuming content in Japanese\n\nAnd that sucked, but it makes sense in hindsight.\n\n> Textbooks are written to help millions of people get started with Japanese as reliably as possible, not to help one specific person start consuming specific types of Japanese content as effectively as possible. \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>Put differently: a pair of shoes designed to fit everyone is going to comfortably fit no one.\n\nSo, if there's something specific _you_ want to do in Japanese, and you don't want to waste years of your life getting there, then I have two specific pieces of advice for you:\n\n1. **Do a super lean crash course to learn the basics of Japanese** → The real progress comes from consuming Japanese content, but you _do_ need to know a bit of Japanese to consume content in Japanese. Do a course, but 80\u002F20 it and minimize the amount of time you spend learning \"formally\".\n2. **Transition from the course to real Japanese content as soon as possible** → The only way to guarantee you learn the things you need to consume the content you enjoy is to create your own materials out of that content. Here, you'll consolidate the things you learned in that course, expand your knowledge, and begin seeing _real_ progress.\n\nAnd now let's take a closer look at each of those things.\n\n### Step 1: Crash through a course that teaches you the basics of Japanese\n\nMigaku has been built expressly for this purpose, but:\n\n- If you're super opposed to spending money on hobbies, work through [this Anki deck](https:\u002F\u002Fankiweb.net\u002Fshared\u002Finfo\u002F911122782) that covers the grammar from [Tae Kim Japanese Textbook](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Ftae-kim-japanese-grammar-guide) and teaches ~1,500 words that commonly appear in anime (see: [how to use Anki to learn a language](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fhow-to-use-anki))\n- If you really insist on using a paper textbook, we can't stop you—but do yourself a favor and just _skim_ it; don't try to memorize it from cover to cover\n\n#### Learn hiragana and katakana\n\nIf you're a complete beginner, start off by doing the Migaku Japanese Fundamentals course. It covers everything you need to reliably read and correctly pronounce both hiragana and katakana.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-fundamentals.jpeg\" width=\"1468\" height=\"1022\" alt=\"A few screenshots from Migaku's Japanese Fundamentals course.\" \u002F>\n\n> \u003CCenteredText> It'll take about an hour per day (~23 flashcards per day), but you can actually finish this course during your 10-day free trial of Migaku.\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\n\n#### Learn high-frequency Japanese vocabulary words and grammar points\n\nNext, work through our Migaku Japanese Academy 1 course. This spoonfeeds you the ~1,700 common vocabulary words you need to follow 80% of the subtitles on Netflix and the ~400 grammar points you need to string those words together.\n\nThe course can be done entirely via your phone, and is organized in an A:B format:\n\n- A → You'll read a detailed but accessible explanation of a specific grammar point\n- B → You'll learn (via flashcards) sentences which include that grammar point and contain one single word you don't already know\n\nTo ensure you actually remember those words, sentences, and grammar points, Migaku will build a personalized review schedule for you. You can read about how we do that [here](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fspaced-repetition-language-learning), but the basic idea is that (a) we'll periodically ask you to review the things you learn and (b) we'll arrange these sessions so more of your practice time goes to things you struggle with and less is wasted on things you know well.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-volitional-verbs-2.jpeg\" width=\"1206\" height=\"844\" alt=\"A screenshot of Migaku's Japanese Academy course, showing the volitional form.\" \u002F>\n\n> If you learn 10 new words per day (~30 minute time commitment), this step will take you just about 6 months. It took _me_ four semesters at a university in Japan.\n\n### Step 2: If you like to read, start reading stuff!\n\nI know that not everybody is a bookworm, so I'll keep this short and sweet.\n\nBasically, just boot up a webpage you're interested in reading:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-webpage-jp.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1700\" alt=\"Migaku making text in a webpage interactive, enabling you to click on words and see what they mean\" \u002F>\n\nAlternatively, you can use an OCR software ([instructions here](https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku.com\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Flearn-japanese-with-manga#how-to-learn-from-manga-manga-recs)) to scan manga online or on your computer. Migaku will automatically detect that your system clipboard has been updated and paste its contents into the Migaku Clipboard, enabling you to read manga via Migaku:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-crystal-hunters-clipboard.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A demonstration of how to read manga using an OCR software and Migaku's clipboard.\" \u002F>\n\nYou can do the same thing with an e-reader application like Kindle to transfer the content of an ebook page into Migaku. This takes half a second or so per page. if you click the big orange button in the bottom-right corner of the screen, Migaku will use a human-like text-to-speech service to narrate your text to you:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-clipboard-tts-jp.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"Migaku narrating an audiobook that it has imported from Kindle\" \u002F>\n\nYou can even use our mobile app to take a picture of a physical book (or menu, or sign, etc) and then read it with Migaku:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-mobile-ocr.jpeg\" width=\"1252\" height=\"878\" alt=\"Migaku Mobile's 'Capture' feature being used to import a page from a physical book into the Migaku Clipboard\" \u002F>\n\n... and then just read stuff!\n\n- When you run into a word you don't know, click on it to see what it means or click the photo icon to see images of it\n- If you're having trouble figuring out how a sentence works, just click (?) to see a chunk-by-chunk breakdown of the sentence, or click 文\u002FA to translate it\n\nIt's hard to put into words how much of an improvement this represents for readers.\n\n> Whereas I had to spend a solid minute looking up each word I didn't know manually, you can just click on it and get your answer within a second.\n\nBack up in the \"how I learned Japanese section\" I said that the Read Real Japanese books were worth their weight in gold. Well, Migaku lets you turn every single book—physical or digital—into a Read Real Japanese style resource... but one that you have complete control over. It's incredible, frankly.\n\nWith Migaku, you can start reading real Japanese books and manga even if you're a a beginner who only knows several hundred basic words. _That's_ how powerful it is.\n\n### Step 2: Or, if you want to watch watch TV\u002Fdrama\u002Fanime\u002Fetc, start watching stuff!\n\nIf you're more of a watcher than a reader, you're in luck: Migaku extends the exact same capabilities we talked about above to the subtitles of shows from places like YouTube and Netflix.\n\nSo, boot up a YouTube video you want to watch on your phone:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-mobile-mining-jp.jpeg\" width=\"1248\" height=\"872\" alt=\"Migaku enhancing the subtitles in a mobile YouTube video, enabling Japanese learners to see definitions of words by clicking on subtitles\" \u002F>\n\nOur Chrome extension is even more powerful, giving you a significant amount of control over your subtitles. Here, the YouTube video I wanted to watch didn't have subtitles, so Migaku generated them.\n\nThen, I'm currently working on my listening comprehension, so I've set my subtitles to \"recall\" mode—subtitles are hidden while the video is playing, but the video pauses after each line of dialogue and displays the subtitles. This enables me to get immediate feedback on whether I heard the dialogue correctly or not, and to check anything I didn't hear clearly.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-recall-mode-jp.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot showing Migaku's subtitle settings\" \u002F>\n\nWe also let you display two sets of subtitles at once. Below, I've configured Netflix so that Japanese subtitles are always displayed... but then, if a line of dialogue contains a word I don't know, to _also_ show English subtitles.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-netflix-dual-subs.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot from Netflix, showing off Migaku's ability to display multiple subtitles at once \" \u002F>\n\nAgain, it's hard to put how convenient this is into words. The ability to click on words in subtitles and immediately see what they mean makes video content much more accessible—so accessible, in fact, that you can start watching and understanding Japanese content even as a beginner.\n\n(As an aside, we've actually got an entire blog post on [how to learn Japanese with Netflix](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Flearn-japanese-with-netflix).)\n\n### Step 3: Make flashcards out of the useful words you encounter while watching or reading\n\nThe ability to immediately look up unknown words is convenient, but, ideally, you want to go further than that: you want to reach a point where you don't _need_ to look up words anymore.\n\nThis means that you need to be learning vocabulary words... and that means that you need to be doing flashcards. Here's [why](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=5lSNHoA0KN4) and [how](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=6sgEbh6Zgmc).\n\nAnyway—Migaku makes this really simple. Say that you're watching Violet Evergarden on Netflix and stumbled into a word you don't know:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-immerse2.jpeg\" width=\"2160\" height=\"1068\" alt=\"A screenshot showing how Migaku makes subtitles interactive for language learners\"\u002F>\n\nIf you click that orange button in the top-right corner of the dictionary entry, the word you've looked up will be sent to Migaku's Card Creator:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-card-creator-jp.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"A screenshot showing the Migaku Card Creator\" \u002F>\n\nWe automatically fetch a variety of data, such as a snippet of the audio for your line of dialogue, and send this to the card creator. You can manually tweak things to your liking—or you can pre-configure which information Migaku should take, then entirely skip this step.\n\nThe result is a flashcard like this, which can be reviewed on desktop or on our mobile apps:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-textbooks-immerse3.jpeg\" width=\"1166\" height=\"1226\" alt=\"A screenshot showing the flashcards that Migaku automatically made from Violet Evergarden on Netflix\"\u002F>\n\nAs mentioned earlier, Migaku is actually a spaced repetition system. You can read about how it works [here](https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku.com\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fspaced-repetition-language-learning), but the basic idea is that we will periodically ask you to review flashcards you create, and the amount of time you go between reviews will gradually get larger. These intervals are calculated separately for each card, creating a filtering process in which you review difficult things more often and easy things less often.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-dashboard.jpeg\" width=\"1458\" height=\"1152\" alt=\"A screenshot showing Migaku's card study interface + review data stats\" \u002F>\n\nSkipping the complex discussion—this basically means that Migaku will schedule a few new things for you to learn and several old things for you to review each day. So long as you stay consistent, everything that makes its way into Migaku Memory will also make its way into your long-term memory.\n\n## It's 2025, man. The next quantum leap in language learning is here.\n\nWhile learning Japanese isn't _easy_, the whole process is actually very simple:\n\n> If you consume Japanese media you enjoy, and you understand the sentences and messages within that media, you will make progress. _Period_.\n\nMigaku makes this process super streamlined.\n\n1. You'll work through a super lean course to build your Japanese foundation\n2. You'll begin consuming content you personally enjoy and making flashcards out of words you personally find useful—and our tools will enable you to do this, even as a beginner\n3. Migaku will prepare a flashcard quiz for you each day, to ensure you commit the vocabulary words they contain to memory\n\nIt's kinda beautiful.\n\nAnd _that's_ why I can't recommend Genki, Minna no Nihongo, or any other textbook in good faith.\n\nThe future is here.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Try Migaku for free\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n> _You've stuck with me for like 5,000 words at this point, and Migaku is totally free for ten days... so go ahead and click that button. You don't need to give us your credit card information or anything like that. Just download the app, boot up a show on YouTube or Netflix, and see how much Japanese you can understand with a bit of support._ \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr> _The only possibilities are that nothing happens... or your life changes._ \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr> _Personally, we're pretty confident that your life will be changed._\n",{"title":38629,"description":39910},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-textbooks-why-suck","iwwM7-XhB6YNgvfpT05TlnGYuhbFPe2DojUftP-0S-w",{"id":39926,"title":39927,"body":39928,"description":40330,"extension":717,"meta":40331,"navigation":730,"path":40340,"rawbody":40341,"seo":40342,"stem":40343,"__hash__":40344,"timestampUnix":40332,"slug":40333,"h1":40334,"image":40335,"tags":40339,"_dir":736,"timestamp":23502},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-thank-you.md","7 Essential Ways to Say Thank You in Japanese, From Casual to Formal",{"type":8,"value":39929,"toc":40320},[39930,39938,39941,39943,39945,39949,39952,39972,39990,40002,40015,40026,40028,40032,40039,40057,40075,40087,40105,40116,40118,40122,40129,40148,40154,40156,40160,40169,40207,40209,40213,40220,40238,40240,40244,40247,40250,40252,40256,40259,40265,40268,40273,40279,40287,40290,40293,40295,40297,40301,40304,40307,40314,40317],[11,39931,13,39932,39934,39935],{},[15,39933,18],{"href":17}," and you clicked on our page in the Google results! ありがとうございます！",[26,39936,39937],{},"(See what I did there? 👀)",[11,39939,39940],{},"Anyway, funny business aside—the ability to thank someone is fundamental in any language. Japanese is no different... though it may be a bit more complex than in other languages. Depending on the context, level of formality, and the relationship between the speaker and listener, there are various ways to say 'thank you.' To become fluent, understanding these differences and knowing when to use each phrase is an important step. Let's go over the most common ways to say 'thank you' in Japanese and how to use them.",[39,39942],{},[42,39944],{},[45,39946,39948],{"id":39947},"_1-ありがとう-arigatou-the-most-common-way-to-say-thank-you","1. ありがとう (Arigatou) — The most common way to say \"thank you\"",[11,39950,39951],{},"This is the most common and informal way to say “thank you.” It’s versatile and can be used in a wide variety of casual settings.",[304,39953,39954,39962,39967],{},[307,39955,39956,506,39959],{},[1090,39957,39958],{},"Pronunciation:",[103,39960],{"src":39961,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fありがとう.m4a",[307,39963,39964,39966],{},[1090,39965,5134],{}," When thanking friends, family, or peers.",[307,39968,39969,39971],{},[1090,39970,5126],{}," thank you; thanks",[11,39973,39974,39975,39978,39979,39982,39983,13399,39986,39989],{},"To make ありがとう (",[26,39976,39977],{},"arigatou",") more polite, you can add ございます (",[26,39980,39981],{},"gozaimasu","), which elevates the level of formality. ありがとうございます (",[26,39984,39985],{},"arigatou gozaimasu",[103,39987],{"src":39988,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fありがとうございます.m4a"," is often used in professional or respectful settings, or when talking to people you are not close with.",[304,39991,39992,39997],{},[307,39993,39994,39996],{},[1090,39995,5134],{}," When talking to strangers, superiors, or in formal situations.",[307,39998,39999,40001],{},[1090,40000,5126],{}," thank you",[11,40003,40004,40005,40007,40008,13399,40011,40014],{},"Lastly, ありがとうございます (",[26,40006,39985],{},") can also be turned into its past tense form ありがとうございました (",[26,40009,40010],{},"arigatou gozaimashita",[103,40012],{"src":40013,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fありがとうございました.m4a",". This form conveys thanks for something that has already been done or received.",[304,40016,40017,40022],{},[307,40018,40019,40021],{},[1090,40020,5134],{}," When thanking someone for a past action, often at the end of a transaction, event, or service.",[307,40023,40024,40001],{},[1090,40025,5126],{},[42,40027],{},[45,40029,40031],{"id":40030},"_2-どうも-doumo-a-more-casual-thanks","2. どうも (Doumo) — A more casual \"Thanks!\"",[11,40033,40034,40035,40038],{},"どうも (",[26,40036,40037],{},"doumo",") can also serve as a quick and casual \"thanks.\" It’s informal and often used in passing for minor favors.",[304,40040,40041,40048,40053],{},[307,40042,40043,506,40045],{},[1090,40044,39958],{},[103,40046],{"src":40047,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fどうも.m4a",[307,40049,40050,40052],{},[1090,40051,5134],{}," In casual conversations for small gestures or when you’re in a hurry.",[307,40054,40055,39971],{},[1090,40056,5126],{},[11,40058,40034,40059,40061,40062,40064,40065,13399,40068,40071,40072,40074],{},[26,40060,40037],{},") can also be added to ありがとう (",[26,40063,39977],{},"), forming どうもありがとう (",[26,40066,40067],{},"doumo arigatou",[103,40069],{"src":40070,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fどうもありがとう.m4a",", which makes the expression a bit stronger, roughly translating to “thank you very much” or “thanks a lot.” It’s still relatively informal. When used in this way, you can think of どうも (",[26,40073,40037],{},") as strengthening the word that comes after, similar to \"much.\"",[304,40076,40077,40082],{},[307,40078,40079,40081],{},[1090,40080,5134],{}," In casual situations when you want to express extra gratitude.",[307,40083,40084,40086],{},[1090,40085,5126],{}," thank you very much",[11,40088,40089,40090,40092,40093,40095,40096,13399,40099,40102,40103,6066],{},"In the next step どうも (",[26,40091,40037],{},") can also be added to ありがとうございます (",[26,40094,39985],{},"), resulting in どうもありがとうございます (",[26,40097,40098],{},"doumo arigatou gozaimasu",[103,40100],{"src":40101,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fどうもありがとうございます.m4a",", which again, is a more formal version of どうもありがとう (",[26,40104,40067],{},[304,40106,40107,40112],{},[307,40108,40109,40111],{},[1090,40110,5134],{}," In formal settings, or when showing deep appreciation to a superior or someone you don't know well.",[307,40113,40114,40086],{},[1090,40115,5126],{},[42,40117],{},[45,40119,40121],{"id":40120},"_3-すみません-sumimasen-something-like-you-shouldnt-have","3. すみません (Sumimasen) — Something like \"You shouldn't have!\"",[11,40123,40124,40125,40128],{},"While すみません (",[26,40126,40127],{},"sumimasen",") is often translated as “excuse me” or “I’m sorry,” it can also be used to say \"thank you,\" particularly when you want to express gratitude for someone’s inconvenience or kindness toward you.",[304,40130,40131,40138,40143],{},[307,40132,40133,506,40135],{},[1090,40134,39958],{},[103,40136],{"src":40137,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fすみません.m4a",[307,40139,40140,40142],{},[1090,40141,5134],{}," When thanking someone for going out of their way to help or when acknowledging that you’ve troubled them (e.g. someone holding the door open for you).",[307,40144,40145,40147],{},[1090,40146,5126],{}," thank you; you shouldn't have",[50,40149],{"src":40150,"width":40151,"height":40152,"alt":40153},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fbusiness-people-conducting-etiquette-training.webp",6536,4358,"Three Japanese business people in formal attire, with two bowing while one places a hand on a colleague's shoulder, possibly during etiquette training for saying thank you.",[42,40155],{},[45,40157,40159],{"id":40158},"_4-お疲れ様です-otsukaresama-desu-thank-you-for-your-hard-work","4. お疲れ様です (Otsukaresama desu) — \"Thank you for your hard work\"",[11,40161,17872,40162,6933,40165,40168],{},[98,40163],{"lang":100,"syntax":40164},"お疲れ様です[おつかれさま] です",[6474,40166,40167],{},"otsukaresama desu",") is often used in work settings as a way to acknowledge and thank someone for their effort or hard work. It’s a culturally embedded way of expressing appreciation for someone’s contribution.\n",[304,40170,40171,40178,40183,40188],{},[307,40172,40173,506,40175],{},[1090,40174,39958],{},[103,40176],{"src":40177,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fお疲れ様です.m4a",[307,40179,40180,40182],{},[1090,40181,5134],{}," Commonly used between colleagues or at the end of a workday.",[307,40184,40185,40187],{},[1090,40186,5126],{}," thank you (for your hard work)",[307,40189,40190,40192,40193,6933,40196,40199,40200,6933,40203,40206],{},[1090,40191,5152],{}," Can be shortened to ",[98,40194],{"lang":100,"syntax":40195},"お疲れ様[おつかれさま]",[26,40197,40198],{},"otsukaresama",") or even ",[98,40201],{"lang":100,"syntax":40202},"お疲れ[おつかれ]",[26,40204,40205],{},"otsukare",") in informal settings.",[42,40208],{},[45,40210,40212],{"id":40211},"_5-誠にありがとうございます-makoto-ni-arigatou-gozaimasu-formal-thank-you-very-much","5. 誠にありがとうございます (Makoto ni arigatou gozaimasu) — (Formal) \"Thank you very much\"",[11,40214,40215,40216,40219],{},"This is one of the most formal ways to say \"thank you,\" often used in business settings or in very polite conversation. The word 誠 (",[26,40217,40218],{},"makoto",") adds an extra layer of sincerity.",[304,40221,40222,40229,40234],{},[307,40223,40224,506,40226],{},[1090,40225,39958],{},[103,40227],{"src":40228,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F誠にありがとうございます.m4a",[307,40230,40231,40233],{},[1090,40232,5134],{}," In formal letters, speeches, or when showing profound appreciation.",[307,40235,40236,40086],{},[1090,40237,5126],{},[42,40239],{},[45,40241,40243],{"id":40242},"cultural-note-a-quick-note-on-bowing","Cultural note + a quick note on bowing",[11,40245,40246],{},"In Japan, how you express gratitude goes beyond just words. Body language, tone, and context matter greatly. When thanking someone, it’s customary to bow, especially in formal settings. The depth of the bow can vary depending on the level of respect you’re showing; a deeper bow implies greater respect.",[11,40248,40249],{},"Then, exactly how you'll say \"thank you\" in Japanese often depends on context, formality, and your relationship to the receiver. This will become second nature eventually, but you'll need to keep it in mind for now.",[42,40251],{},[45,40253,40255],{"id":40254},"how-to-say-thank-you-in-japaneseplus-1500-other-words","How to say thank you in Japanese—plus ~1,500 other words!",[11,40257,40258],{},"Thank you is a good word to know in Japanese. There's no doubt about it.",[11,40260,40261,40262,40264],{},"The thing is, if you want to do much of anything in Japanese, there's about 1,500 ",[26,40263,23433],{}," words you'll need to know, too.",[11,40266,40267],{},"Enter the Migaku Japanese Academy:",[50,40269],{"src":40270,"width":16129,"height":40271,"alt":40272},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-humble-language.jpeg",1150,"A screenshot from the Migaku Japanese course, showing how we help users learn Japanese vocabulary and grammar",[11,40274,40275,40276,8737],{},"We sifted through a Mount Fuji-sized pile of subtitles, organized words by how frequently they occur, and ",[15,40277,40278],{"href":1199},"discovered something very interesting",[304,40280,40281,40284],{},[307,40282,40283],{},"There are over 200,000 unique words in the subtitles of Japanese netflix",[307,40285,40286],{},"To have an 80% chance of recognizing any random word you put your finger on, you only need to know about 1,500 words",[11,40288,40289],{},"That's a massive amount of bang for your buck, so we built a flashcard-based course to spoonfeed these hyper-frequently-occurring 1,500 words to you. You'll read about a grammar point and then commit it to memory by learning practical sentences that include that grammar point. Furthermore, each sentence includes just one unknown word, so the learning curve is super smooth.",[11,40291,40292],{},"It's pretty cool, and you can try it totally free for ten days.",[674,40294],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,40296],{},[45,40298,40300],{"id":40299},"japanese-thank-you-out-golden-rule-of-language-learning-in","Japanese thank you out, golden rule of language learning in",[11,40302,40303],{},"That about covers it!",[11,40305,40306],{},"On the off chance you're here because you're trying to find your way through Japanese—I'd like to impart a golden rule upon you. It's the only way you'll ultimately learn Japanese—regardless of what tool or approach you end up using.",[320,40308,40309],{},[11,40310,40311,40312,415],{},"If you consume media you enjoy in Japanese, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you'll make progress. ",[26,40313,994],{},[11,40315,40316],{},"So, read up on stuff like this 💪",[11,40318,40319],{},"But make sure you spend a bit of time today doing something cool in Japanese, too.",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":40321},[40322,40323,40324,40325,40326,40327,40328,40329],{"id":39947,"depth":707,"text":39948},{"id":40030,"depth":707,"text":40031},{"id":40120,"depth":707,"text":40121},{"id":40158,"depth":707,"text":40159},{"id":40211,"depth":707,"text":40212},{"id":40242,"depth":707,"text":40243},{"id":40254,"depth":707,"text":40255},{"id":40299,"depth":707,"text":40300},"Discover various ways to say \"thank you\" in Japanese, from casual phrases like \"arigatou\" to formal expressions such as \"makoto ni arigatou gozaimasu,\" and learn the cultural nuances behind them.",{"timestampUnix":40332,"slug":40333,"h1":40334,"image":40335,"tags":40339},1726714805858,"thank-you-in-japanese","Japanese Gratitude Guide: Perfecting Your Thank You Phrases",{"src":40336,"width":40337,"height":20579,"alt":40338},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-thank-you.webp",4096,"A Japanese martial artist bowing, expressing his thanks.",[728,8650,5086,5984],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-thank-you","---\ntitle: '7 Essential Ways to Say Thank You in Japanese, From Casual to Formal'\ndescription: 'Discover various ways to say \"thank you\" in Japanese, from casual phrases like \"arigatou\" to formal expressions such as \"makoto ni arigatou gozaimasu,\" and learn the cultural nuances behind them.'\ntimestampUnix: 1726714805858\nslug: 'thank-you-in-japanese'\nh1: 'Japanese Gratitude Guide: Perfecting Your Thank You Phrases'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-thank-you.webp'\n width: 4096\n height: 2160\n alt: 'A Japanese martial artist bowing, expressing his thanks.'\ntags:\n - fundamentals\n - culture\n - vocabulary\n - phrases\n---\n\nYou want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese) and you clicked on our page in the Google results! ありがとうございます！_(See what I did there? 👀)_\n\nAnyway, funny business aside—the ability to thank someone is fundamental in any language. Japanese is no different... though it may be a bit more complex than in other languages. Depending on the context, level of formality, and the relationship between the speaker and listener, there are various ways to say 'thank you.' To become fluent, understanding these differences and knowing when to use each phrase is an important step. Let's go over the most common ways to say 'thank you' in Japanese and how to use them.\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## 1. ありがとう (Arigatou) — The most common way to say \"thank you\"\n\nThis is the most common and informal way to say “thank you.” It’s versatile and can be used in a wide variety of casual settings.\n\n- **Pronunciation:** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fありがとう.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- **Usage:** When thanking friends, family, or peers.\n- **Meaning:** thank you; thanks\n\nTo make ありがとう (_arigatou_) more polite, you can add ございます (_gozaimasu_), which elevates the level of formality. ありがとうございます (_arigatou gozaimasu_) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fありがとうございます.m4a\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> is often used in professional or respectful settings, or when talking to people you are not close with.\n\n- **Usage:** When talking to strangers, superiors, or in formal situations.\n- **Meaning:** thank you\n\nLastly, ありがとうございます (_arigatou gozaimasu_) can also be turned into its past tense form ありがとうございました (_arigatou gozaimashita_) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fありがとうございました.m4a\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>. This form conveys thanks for something that has already been done or received.\n\n- **Usage:** When thanking someone for a past action, often at the end of a transaction, event, or service.\n- **Meaning:** thank you\n\n---\n\n## 2. どうも (Doumo) — A more casual \"Thanks!\"\n\nどうも (_doumo_) can also serve as a quick and casual \"thanks.\" It’s informal and often used in passing for minor favors.\n\n- **Pronunciation:** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fどうも.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- **Usage:** In casual conversations for small gestures or when you’re in a hurry.\n- **Meaning:** thank you; thanks\n\nどうも (_doumo_) can also be added to ありがとう (_arigatou_), forming どうもありがとう (_doumo arigatou_) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fどうもありがとう.m4a\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, which makes the expression a bit stronger, roughly translating to “thank you very much” or “thanks a lot.” It’s still relatively informal. When used in this way, you can think of どうも (_doumo_) as strengthening the word that comes after, similar to \"much.\"\n\n- **Usage:** In casual situations when you want to express extra gratitude.\n- **Meaning:** thank you very much\n\nIn the next step どうも (_doumo_) can also be added to ありがとうございます (_arigatou gozaimasu_), resulting in どうもありがとうございます (_doumo arigatou gozaimasu_) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fどうもありがとうございます.m4a\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, which again, is a more formal version of どうもありがとう (_doumo arigatou_).\n\n- **Usage:** In formal settings, or when showing deep appreciation to a superior or someone you don't know well.\n- **Meaning:** thank you very much\n\n---\n\n## 3. すみません (Sumimasen) — Something like \"You shouldn't have!\"\n\nWhile すみません (_sumimasen_) is often translated as “excuse me” or “I’m sorry,” it can also be used to say \"thank you,\" particularly when you want to express gratitude for someone’s inconvenience or kindness toward you.\n\n- **Pronunciation:** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fすみません.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- **Usage:** When thanking someone for going out of their way to help or when acknowledging that you’ve troubled them (e.g. someone holding the door open for you).\n- **Meaning:** thank you; you shouldn't have\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fbusiness-people-conducting-etiquette-training.webp\" width=\"6536\" height=\"4358\" alt=\"Three Japanese business people in formal attire, with two bowing while one places a hand on a colleague's shoulder, possibly during etiquette training for saying thank you.\" \u002F>\n\n---\n\n## 4. お疲れ様です (Otsukaresama desu) — \"Thank you for your hard work\"\n\n\u003Cp>\n \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"お疲れ様です[おつかれさま] です\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (\u003Ci>otsukaresama desu\u003C\u002Fi>) is often used in work settings as a way to acknowledge and thank someone for their effort or hard work. It’s a culturally embedded way of expressing appreciation for someone’s contribution.\n\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n- **Pronunciation:** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fお疲れ様です.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- **Usage:** Commonly used between colleagues or at the end of a workday.\n- **Meaning:** thank you (for your hard work)\n- **Note:** Can be shortened to \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"お疲れ様[おつかれさま]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (_otsukaresama_) or even \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"お疲れ[おつかれ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (_otsukare_) in informal settings.\n\n---\n\n## 5. 誠にありがとうございます (Makoto ni arigatou gozaimasu) — (Formal) \"Thank you very much\"\n\nThis is one of the most formal ways to say \"thank you,\" often used in business settings or in very polite conversation. The word 誠 (_makoto_) adds an extra layer of sincerity.\n\n- **Pronunciation:** \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002F誠にありがとうございます.m4a\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>\n- **Usage:** In formal letters, speeches, or when showing profound appreciation.\n- **Meaning:** thank you very much\n\n---\n\n## Cultural note + a quick note on bowing\n\nIn Japan, how you express gratitude goes beyond just words. Body language, tone, and context matter greatly. When thanking someone, it’s customary to bow, especially in formal settings. The depth of the bow can vary depending on the level of respect you’re showing; a deeper bow implies greater respect.\n\nThen, exactly how you'll say \"thank you\" in Japanese often depends on context, formality, and your relationship to the receiver. This will become second nature eventually, but you'll need to keep it in mind for now.\n\n---\n\n## How to say thank you in Japanese—plus ~1,500 other words!\n\nThank you is a good word to know in Japanese. There's no doubt about it.\n\nThe thing is, if you want to do much of anything in Japanese, there's about 1,500 _other_ words you'll need to know, too.\n\nEnter the Migaku Japanese Academy:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-humble-language.jpeg\" width=\"1652\" height=\"1150\" alt=\"A screenshot from the Migaku Japanese course, showing how we help users learn Japanese vocabulary and grammar\" \u002F>\n\nWe sifted through a Mount Fuji-sized pile of subtitles, organized words by how frequently they occur, and [discovered something very interesting](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary):\n\n- There are over 200,000 unique words in the subtitles of Japanese netflix\n- To have an 80% chance of recognizing any random word you put your finger on, you only need to know about 1,500 words\n\nThat's a massive amount of bang for your buck, so we built a flashcard-based course to spoonfeed these hyper-frequently-occurring 1,500 words to you. You'll read about a grammar point and then commit it to memory by learning practical sentences that include that grammar point. Furthermore, each sentence includes just one unknown word, so the learning curve is super smooth.\n\nIt's pretty cool, and you can try it totally free for ten days.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## Japanese thank you out, golden rule of language learning in\n\nThat about covers it!\n\nOn the off chance you're here because you're trying to find your way through Japanese—I'd like to impart a golden rule upon you. It's the only way you'll ultimately learn Japanese—regardless of what tool or approach you end up using.\n\n> If you consume media you enjoy in Japanese, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you'll make progress. _Period_.\n\nSo, read up on stuff like this 💪\n\nBut make sure you spend a bit of time today doing something cool in Japanese, too.\n",{"title":39927,"description":40330},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-thank-you","uXjHOs7su87ZS0Us0JDBqe8eORymVFxyEfxoyvFCAUc",{"id":40346,"title":40347,"body":40348,"description":41093,"extension":717,"meta":41094,"navigation":730,"path":41104,"rawbody":41105,"seo":41106,"stem":41107,"__hash__":41108,"timestampUnix":41095,"slug":41096,"h1":41097,"image":41098,"tags":41103,"_dir":736,"timestamp":41109},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-verbs-volitional.md","Japanese Verb Volitional Form: A Guide to Conjugation and Usage",{"type":8,"value":40349,"toc":41074},[40350,40356,40359,40370,40380,40382,40384,40386,40398,40402,40409,40429,40432,40435,40440,40444,40447,40450,40453,40460,40463,40465,40479,40486,40489,40491,40505,40515,40519,40522,40536,40540,40543,40546,40561,40563,40567,40570,40715,40788,40832,40838,40840,40844,40847,40850,40854,40857,40876,40879,40882,40896,40900,40903,40917,40924,40927,40940,40944,40951,40954,40972,40975,40985,41002,41006,41013,41024,41032,41037,41040,41051,41054,41056,41058,41062,41065,41071],[11,40351,40352,40353,40355],{},"The Japanese volitional form of verbs. Boy, that's a mouthful. Nevertheless, if you want to ",[15,40354,18],{"href":17},", it's something you'll need to figure out.",[11,40357,40358],{},"To break it down:",[304,40360,40361,40364,40367],{},[307,40362,40363],{},"Volition (in linguistics) refers loosely to expressing your intent or inclination to do something",[307,40365,40366],{},"In Japanese, it's indicated by ~よう\u002F~ましょう after a verb",[307,40368,40369],{},"It generally (but not always) translates to \"let's ___\" or \"shall we ___\" in English",[11,40371,40372,40373,40376,40377],{},"Anyway, ",[98,40374],{"lang":100,"syntax":40375},"始[はじ]めましょう","！",[26,40378,40379],{},"(Let's get started!)",[11,40381,22281],{},[39,40383],{},[42,40385],{},[320,40387,40388,40390,40392],{},[287,40389,24690],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[292,40391],{},[11,40393,1074,40394,1079,40396,415],{},[15,40395,1078],{"href":10726},[15,40397,1083],{"href":1082},[45,40399,40401],{"id":40400},"what-is-the-volitional-form-in-japanese-grammar","What is the volitional form in Japanese grammar?",[11,40403,29105,40404,40408],{},[15,40405,40407],{"href":4871,"rel":40406},[971],"volition"," refers to whether the doer of an action was proactively inclined to do that thing or not. Practically speaking, so far as Japanese grammar is concerned, you'll use the volitional form to express:",[304,40410,40411,40417,40423],{},[307,40412,40413,40416],{},[1090,40414,40415],{},"Inclusive suggestions"," — Suggestions directed at a group that includes you (e.g., \"Shall we eat here?\")",[307,40418,40419,40422],{},[1090,40420,40421],{},"Inclusive commands"," — Commands directed at a group that includes you (e.g., \"Let's go!\")",[307,40424,40425,40428],{},[1090,40426,40427],{},"Intent"," — Emphasizing your personal intent or determination to do something (e.g., \"I'll study harder!\")",[11,40430,40431],{},"Japanese sentences that include volitional form verbs often get translated to \"let's ___\", but don't have to be. Volitional sentences occupy a kind of weird space between commands and suggestions, so when you look at them in English, they can be take on a bunch of different forms.",[11,40433,40434],{},"Don't worry about completely understanding the volitional form right now—just get the gist of what it does. Over time, as you consume content in Japanese and see the volitional form used in a variety of different contexts, you'll naturally come to figure out how it works.",[50,40436],{"src":40437,"width":24785,"height":40438,"alt":40439},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-volitional-kanpai.gif",648,"A gif that demonstrates one common example of the volitional: 'let's drink!'.",[45,40441,40443],{"id":40442},"conjugation-rules-for-the-volitional-form-of-japanese-verbs","Conjugation rules for the volitional form of Japanese verbs",[11,40445,40446],{},"Japanese is a quite regular language, and conjugating a verb into its volitional form is straightforward once you understand how it works.",[11,40448,40449],{},"It may be a little bit difficult at first because Japanese actually has a few different types of verbs, but the telltale sign you've encountered the volitional form is that the verb you're looking at ends in a よう sound (or {consonant}おう, such as ~こう or ~そう).",[11,40451,40452],{},"Anyway, here's how to make the volitional form in Japanese:",[847,40454,40456,40457,3892],{"id":40455},"_1-godan-verbs","1. Godan Verbs (",[98,40458],{"lang":100,"syntax":40459},"五段[ごだん] 動詞[どうし]",[11,40461,40462],{},"These verbs are also known as う verbs because they end with either an う sound or a consonant + う combination, such as く or す. To make the volitional form of these verbs, replace the final う with おう.",[11,40464,13595],{},[304,40466,40467,40473],{},[307,40468,40469,40472],{},[98,40470],{"lang":100,"syntax":40471},"行く[いく]","\n → change く (ku) to こう (kou) → 行こう = Let’s go.\n",[307,40474,40475,40478],{},[98,40476],{"lang":100,"syntax":40477},"飲む[のむ]","\n → change む (mu) to もう (mou) → 飲もう = Let’s drink.\n",[847,40480,40482,40483,3892],{"id":40481},"_2-ichidan-verbs","2. Ichidan Verbs (",[98,40484],{"lang":100,"syntax":40485},"一段[いちだん] 動詞[どうし]",[11,40487,40488],{},"These verbs are also known as る verbs because—you guessed it—they end in る. To make the volitional form of these verbs, simply replace the る with よう.",[11,40490,13595],{},[304,40492,40493,40499],{},[307,40494,40495,40498],{},[98,40496],{"lang":100,"syntax":40497},"食べる[たべる]","\n → replace る with よう → 食べよう = Let’s eat.\n",[307,40500,40501,40504],{},[98,40502],{"lang":100,"syntax":40503},"見る[みる]","\n → replace る with よう → 見よう = Let’s watch.\n",[320,40506,40507,40510,40512],{},[287,40508,40509],{"bold":289,"underline":289},"\nTake note\n",[292,40511],{},[11,40513,40514],{},"Some verbs that end in る fall into the る-verb category, while others fall into the う-verb category. There's no way to logically workout whether it's one or the other, so this is unfortunately just something that you're going to have to memorize.",[847,40516,40518],{"id":40517},"_3-irregular-verbs","3. Irregular verbs",[11,40520,40521],{},"Japanese has exactly two categories of verbs, and, somewhat serendipitously, exactly two verbs that don't fit into either category. They're also both irregular in a slightly different way, so you'll just have to remember them:",[304,40523,40524,40527],{},[307,40525,40526],{},"する → しよう = Let’s do (something).",[307,40528,40529,4177,40532,40535],{},[98,40530],{"lang":100,"syntax":40531},"来る[くる]",[98,40533],{"lang":100,"syntax":40534},"来よう[こよう]","\n = Let’s come.\n",[847,40537,40539],{"id":40538},"_4-polite-volitional-form-with-ましょう","4. Polite volitional form with ましょう",[11,40541,40542],{},"To make the volitional form polite, the process is the same for every kind of verb. Simply conjugate it to its polite ~ます form, then replace ~ます with ~ましょう.",[11,40544,40545],{},"Let's take a look at one verb from each category above:",[304,40547,40548,40553,40558],{},[307,40549,40550,40552],{},[98,40551],{"lang":100,"syntax":40471},"\n → 行きます → 行きましょう = Let’s go.\n",[307,40554,40555,40557],{},[98,40556],{"lang":100,"syntax":40497},"\n → 食べます → 食べましょう = Let’s eat.\n",[307,40559,40560],{},"する → します → しましょう = Let’s do (something).",[42,40562],{},[45,40564,40566],{"id":40565},"verb-conjugation-cheat-sheet","Verb conjugation cheat sheet",[11,40568,40569],{},"Now that we've walked through the logic behind how to make the volitional form of each verb type, here's a handy reference that puts everything in one place:",[67,40571,40572,40587],{},[70,40573,40574],{},[73,40575,40576,40579,40582,40585],{},[76,40577,40578],{},"Godan Verbs",[76,40580,40581],{},"Volitional Form",[76,40583,40584],{},"Polite Volitional Form",[76,40586,4063],{},[87,40588,40589,40603,40617,40631,40645,40659,40673,40687,40701],{},[73,40590,40591,40594,40597,40600],{},[92,40592,40593],{},"買う（かう）",[92,40595,40596],{},"買おう",[92,40598,40599],{},"買いましょう",[92,40601,40602],{},"Let's buy",[73,40604,40605,40608,40611,40614],{},[92,40606,40607],{},"立つ（たつ）",[92,40609,40610],{},"立とう",[92,40612,40613],{},"立ちましょう",[92,40615,40616],{},"Let's stand (up)",[73,40618,40619,40622,40625,40628],{},[92,40620,40621],{},"話す（はなす）",[92,40623,40624],{},"話そう",[92,40626,40627],{},"話しましょう",[92,40629,40630],{},"Let's talk",[73,40632,40633,40636,40639,40642],{},[92,40634,40635],{},"走る（はしる）",[92,40637,40638],{},"走ろう",[92,40640,40641],{},"走りましょう",[92,40643,40644],{},"Let's run",[73,40646,40647,40650,40653,40656],{},[92,40648,40649],{},"歩く（あるく）",[92,40651,40652],{},"歩こう",[92,40654,40655],{},"歩きましょう",[92,40657,40658],{},"Let's walk",[73,40660,40661,40664,40667,40670],{},[92,40662,40663],{},"泳ぐ（およぐ）",[92,40665,40666],{},"泳ごう",[92,40668,40669],{},"泳ぎましょう",[92,40671,40672],{},"Let's swim",[73,40674,40675,40678,40681,40684],{},[92,40676,40677],{},"死ぬ（しぬ）",[92,40679,40680],{},"死のう",[92,40682,40683],{},"死にましょう",[92,40685,40686],{},"Let's die †",[73,40688,40689,40692,40695,40698],{},[92,40690,40691],{},"飛ぶ（とぶ）",[92,40693,40694],{},"飛ぼう",[92,40696,40697],{},"飛びましょう",[92,40699,40700],{},"Let's fly",[73,40702,40703,40706,40709,40712],{},[92,40704,40705],{},"飲む（のむ）",[92,40707,40708],{},"飲もう",[92,40710,40711],{},"飲みましょう",[92,40713,40714],{},"Let's drink",[67,40716,40717,40730],{},[70,40718,40719],{},[73,40720,40721,40724,40726,40728],{},[76,40722,40723],{},"Ichidan Verbs",[76,40725,40581],{},[76,40727,40584],{},[76,40729,4063],{},[87,40731,40732,40746,40760,40774],{},[73,40733,40734,40737,40740,40743],{},[92,40735,40736],{},"食べる（たべる）",[92,40738,40739],{},"食べよう",[92,40741,40742],{},"食べましょう",[92,40744,40745],{},"Let's eat",[73,40747,40748,40751,40754,40757],{},[92,40749,40750],{},"見る（みる）",[92,40752,40753],{},"見よう",[92,40755,40756],{},"見ましょう",[92,40758,40759],{},"Let's look\u002Fwatch",[73,40761,40762,40765,40768,40771],{},[92,40763,40764],{},"起きる（おきる）",[92,40766,40767],{},"起きよう",[92,40769,40770],{},"起きましょう",[92,40772,40773],{},"Let's wake up",[73,40775,40776,40779,40782,40785],{},[92,40777,40778],{},"出る（でる）",[92,40780,40781],{},"出よう",[92,40783,40784],{},"出ましょう",[92,40786,40787],{},"Let's go out",[67,40789,40790,40803],{},[70,40791,40792],{},[73,40793,40794,40797,40799,40801],{},[76,40795,40796],{},"Irregular Verbs",[76,40798,40581],{},[76,40800,40584],{},[76,40802,4063],{},[87,40804,40805,40818],{},[73,40806,40807,40809,40812,40815],{},[92,40808,34807],{},[92,40810,40811],{},"しよう",[92,40813,40814],{},"しましょう",[92,40816,40817],{},"Let's do (something)",[73,40819,40820,40823,40826,40829],{},[92,40821,40822],{},"来る（くる）",[92,40824,40825],{},"来よう（こよう）",[92,40827,40828],{},"来ましょう（きましょう）",[92,40830,40831],{},"Let's come",[11,40833,40834,40835],{},"† ",[26,40836,40837],{},"Note: I would have liked to use a different verb as an example, but there is unfortunately only one Japanese verb that ends in ぬ.",[42,40839],{},[45,40841,40843],{"id":40842},"usage-of-the-volitional-form-in-context","Usage of the volitional form in context",[11,40845,40846],{},"The volitional form is an important part of everyday Japanese—after all, it'd be hard to have any sort of conversation without being able to make suggestions!",[11,40848,40849],{},"We briefly covered the main usages of the volitional form above, and here we'll provide example sentences and look at each usage in a bit more detail.",[847,40851,40853],{"id":40852},"_1-making-an-inclusive-suggestioninvitation","1. Making an inclusive suggestion\u002Finvitation",[11,40855,40856],{},"The first usage of the volitional form is pretty straightforward—use it to suggest things to do together as a group or couple. These can be serious suggestions, ideas you're tossing out there, or even questions:",[304,40858,40859],{},[307,40860,40861,40862,40865,40866,6155,40869,40871,40872,40875],{},"さあ、",[98,40863],{"lang":100,"syntax":40864},"今日[きょう]","はどこに",[98,40867],{"lang":100,"syntax":40868},"\u003Cu>行こう[いこう]\u003C\u002Fu>",[292,40870],{},"So, where ",[2191,40873,40874],{},"shall"," we go today?",[11,40877,40878],{},"Of course, the word \"shall\" seems kind of stilted to our modern ears. Language is a flexible thing and we have multiple ways of making suggestions in English, so volitional phrases may be translated in a variety of ways.",[11,40880,40881],{},"For example, consider this sentence:",[304,40883,40884],{},[307,40885,40886,40889,40891,40892,40895],{},[98,40887],{"lang":100,"syntax":40888},"お腹[おなか] も すい[,すく]た し{、}そろそろ お昼[おひる] ご飯[ごはん] を \u003Cu>食[た,たべる]べ に 行[い,いく]こう\u003C\u002Fu> か な{。}",[292,40890],{},"\nI'm getting hungry, so \n",[2191,40893,40894],{},"\nmaybe\n","\n it's about time for lunch?\n",[847,40897,40899],{"id":40898},"_2-making-an-inclusive-command","2. Making an inclusive command",[11,40901,40902],{},"Sometimes, especially when they come from people who are higher in status than you, suggestions are really more like a polite command. For example, consider that you arrive early to a meeting and are chatting with colleagues. The chatter goes on for awhile, and then your boss says:",[304,40904,40905],{},[307,40906,40907,40910,40912,40913,40916],{},[98,40908],{"lang":100,"syntax":40909},"それでは{、}始[はじ,はじめる]め\u003Cu>ましょう\u003C\u002Fu>{。}",[292,40911],{},"\nWell then, \n",[2191,40914,40915],{},"\nlet's\n","\n get started.\n",[11,40918,40919,40920,40923],{},"The word \"let's\" makes this look like a suggestion, but it's actually a command. The boss isn't merely ",[26,40921,40922],{},"suggesting"," that people stop talking and getting on with business, but issuing a soft command that it's time to get started.",[11,40925,40926],{},"This usage isn't limited to formal settings. You can also use it between friends, and it has pretty much exactly the same feel as using \"let's\" to initiate an action in English. It's a command, but not pushy.",[304,40928,40929],{},[307,40930,40931,40934,40936,40939],{},[98,40932],{"lang":100,"syntax":40933},"食[た,たべる]べ\u003Cu>ましょう\u003C\u002Fu>{！}",[292,40935],{},[2191,40937,40938],{},"\nLet's\n","\n eat!\n",[847,40941,40943],{"id":40942},"_3-expressing-intent-or-determination","3. Expressing intent or determination",[11,40945,40946,40947,40950],{},"The final main usage of the volitional form is to express your personal resolve to do. Whereas the other previous two examples are for nudging a ",[26,40948,40949],{},"group"," to do something, this usage instead presents your own personal inclination to do something.",[11,40952,40953],{},"You'll commonly see this structure used in sentences that involve somehow doing or becoming better:",[304,40955,40956,40964],{},[307,40957,40958,40961,40963],{},[98,40959],{"lang":100,"syntax":40960},"もっと 勉強[べんきょう]しよう{！}",[292,40962],{},"\nI'll study harder!\n",[307,40965,40966,40969,40971],{},[98,40967],{"lang":100,"syntax":40968},"明日[あした] から{、}ダイエット しよ[,する]う{。}",[292,40970],{},"\n I'll start a diet from tomorrow.\n",[11,40973,40974],{},"You'll also see this used when nobody is taking action, then one person in a group steps forward:",[304,40976,40977],{},[307,40978,40979,40982,40984],{},[98,40980],{"lang":100,"syntax":40981},"じゃあ、私[わたし] がやろう{。}",[292,40983],{},"\nI'll do it!\n",[320,40986,40987,40989,40991],{},[287,40988,1427],{"bold":289,"underline":289},[292,40990],{},[11,40992,40993,40994,40997,40998,41001],{},"As shown here, you'll often see the subject marked with the particle が in this kind of sentence. We discuss this more in the が section of ",[15,40995,40996],{"href":27154},"our beginner's guide to Japanese particles",", but the general idea is that, here, が is emphasizing ",[26,40999,41000],{},"who"," amongst a group of people will do something—almost like you're pointing a finger and specifying one thing amongst a group of things.",[45,41003,41005],{"id":41004},"wondering-how-youll-ever-learn-the-volitional-form","Wondering how you'll ever learn the volitional form?",[11,41007,41008,41009,41012],{},"I still haven't figured out a good way to say this, but Japanese is one of Migaku's main languages, so we've naturally reviewed a lot of Japanese textbooks. When I say \"a lot\", I mean that we've literally got an entire article about ",[15,41010,41011],{"href":20504},"Japanese textbooks for beginners",". The article introduces like ten different textbooks aimed at beginners of Japanese.",[11,41014,41015,41016,41019,41020,41023],{},"The bad news ",[26,41017,41018],{},"(spoiler alert)"," is that ",[26,41021,41022],{},"every single"," textbook has the same problem: they teach you what somebody else thinks is important to know, and those things may or may not overlap with the things you actually need to know in order to do the things you want to do.",[11,41025,41026,41027,41031],{},"We found this so annoying that ",[15,41028,41030],{"href":969,"rel":41029},[971],"we spent like 10,000 hours building our own flashcard-based Japanese course",". You can see how it looks below (but it looks much nicer on your phone...):",[50,41033],{"src":41034,"width":41035,"height":41036,"alt":38478},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-volitional-verbs.jpeg",1930,998,[11,41038,41039],{},"The beauty of the course is that it's curated and data-driven (and awesome, but we're being professional here).",[344,41041,41042,41048],{},[307,41043,41044,41045,41047],{},"We dig into the math in our post on ",[15,41046,24596],{"href":1199},", but the course is pretty lean: it teaches you the most common ~1,800 words and ~350 grammar points you need to know to understand 80% of anything you read or hear in Japanese",[307,41049,41050],{},"The course has been painstakingly arranged so that every next flashcard contains only one new word or grammar point",[11,41052,41053],{},"The result is a super smooth learning curve that helps you quickly build the foundation you need to begin consuming the Japanese media you're interested in (which is actually our product's main focus).",[674,41055],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,41057],{},[45,41059,41061],{"id":41060},"wrapping-up","Wrapping up",[11,41063,41064],{},"The volitional form of Japanese verbs is important—it lets you make suggestions and invitations, among other things. So far as Japanese verb conjugations go, it's also pretty straightforward to make: the Japanese volitional form of every verb will end in an ~おう sound.",[11,41066,41067,41068],{},"With that out of the way, ",[98,41069],{"lang":100,"syntax":41070},"頑張りましょう[がんばりましょう]{！}",[11,41072,41073],{},"(See what I did there? 😉)",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":41075},[41076,41077,41085,41086,41091,41092],{"id":40400,"depth":707,"text":40401},{"id":40442,"depth":707,"text":40443,"children":41078},[41079,41081,41083,41084],{"id":40455,"depth":1016,"text":41080},"1. Godan Verbs ()",{"id":40481,"depth":1016,"text":41082},"2. Ichidan Verbs ()",{"id":40517,"depth":1016,"text":40518},{"id":40538,"depth":1016,"text":40539},{"id":40565,"depth":707,"text":40566},{"id":40842,"depth":707,"text":40843,"children":41087},[41088,41089,41090],{"id":40852,"depth":1016,"text":40853},{"id":40898,"depth":1016,"text":40899},{"id":40942,"depth":1016,"text":40943},{"id":41004,"depth":707,"text":41005},{"id":41060,"depth":707,"text":41061},"Understand & Master the Japanese verb volitional form with our comprehensive guide! Learn how to express volition using 〜よう and 〜ましょう, and say \u003Clet's> or \u003Cshall we?> effortlessly.",{"timestampUnix":41095,"slug":41096,"h1":41097,"image":41098,"tags":41103},1735195335451,"japanese-verb-volitional-form","Understanding the Japanese Volitional Form of Verbs",{"src":41099,"width":41100,"height":41101,"alt":41102},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-volitional-verbs-header.jpeg",4898,3265,"A group of friends sending a selfie to someone, as if to say 'come on, let's go somewhere!'",[728,10700,4238],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-verbs-volitional","---\ntitle: 'Japanese Verb Volitional Form: A Guide to Conjugation and Usage'\ndescription: \"Understand & Master the Japanese verb volitional form with our comprehensive guide! Learn how to express volition using 〜よう and 〜ましょう, and say \u003Clet's> or \u003Cshall we?> effortlessly.\"\ntimestampUnix: 1735195335451\nslug: 'japanese-verb-volitional-form'\nh1: 'Understanding the Japanese Volitional Form of Verbs'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-volitional-verbs-header.jpeg'\n width: 4898\n height: 3265\n alt: \"A group of friends sending a selfie to someone, as if to say 'come on, let's go somewhere!'\"\ntags:\n - fundamentals\n - verbs\n - conjugation\n---\n\nThe Japanese volitional form of verbs. Boy, that's a mouthful. Nevertheless, if you want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), it's something you'll need to figure out.\n\nTo break it down:\n\n- Volition (in linguistics) refers loosely to expressing your intent or inclination to do something\n- In Japanese, it's indicated by ~よう\u002F~ましょう after a verb\n- It generally (but not always) translates to \"let's \\_\\_\\_\" or \"shall we \\_\\_\\_\" in English\n\nAnyway, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"始[はじ]めましょう\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>！_(Let's get started!)_\n\nIn this article, we'll get into:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Forewarning\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\n>\n> This article assumes that you can already read hiragana. If not, we applaud your go-getter spirit. Before you read this article, you may want to take a detour to first check out [what hiragana is used for](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-alphabets), then read this article while referencing [our hiragana cheat sheet](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-hiragana).\n\n## What is the volitional form in Japanese grammar?\n\nIn linguistics, [volition](\u003Chttps:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FVolition_(linguistics)>) refers to whether the doer of an action was proactively inclined to do that thing or not. Practically speaking, so far as Japanese grammar is concerned, you'll use the volitional form to express:\n\n- **Inclusive suggestions** — Suggestions directed at a group that includes you (e.g., \"Shall we eat here?\")\n- **Inclusive commands** — Commands directed at a group that includes you (e.g., \"Let's go!\")\n- **Intent** — Emphasizing your personal intent or determination to do something (e.g., \"I'll study harder!\")\n\nJapanese sentences that include volitional form verbs often get translated to \"let's \\_\\_\\_\", but don't have to be. Volitional sentences occupy a kind of weird space between commands and suggestions, so when you look at them in English, they can be take on a bunch of different forms.\n\nDon't worry about completely understanding the volitional form right now—just get the gist of what it does. Over time, as you consume content in Japanese and see the volitional form used in a variety of different contexts, you'll naturally come to figure out how it works.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-volitional-kanpai.gif\" width=\"960\" height=\"648\" alt=\"A gif that demonstrates one common example of the volitional: 'let's drink!'.\" \u002F>\n\n## Conjugation rules for the volitional form of Japanese verbs\n\nJapanese is a quite regular language, and conjugating a verb into its volitional form is straightforward once you understand how it works.\n\nIt may be a little bit difficult at first because Japanese actually has a few different types of verbs, but the telltale sign you've encountered the volitional form is that the verb you're looking at ends in a よう sound (or {consonant}おう, such as ~こう or ~そう).\n\nAnyway, here's how to make the volitional form in Japanese:\n\n### 1. Godan Verbs (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"五段[ごだん] 動詞[どうし]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>)\n\nThese verbs are also known as う verbs because they end with either an う sound or a consonant + う combination, such as く or す. To make the volitional form of these verbs, replace the final う with おう.\n\nFor example:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"行く[いく]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> → change く (ku) to こう (kou) → 行こう = Let’s go.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"飲む[のむ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> → change む (mu) to もう (mou) → 飲もう = Let’s drink.\n\n### 2. Ichidan Verbs (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"一段[いちだん] 動詞[どうし]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>)\n\nThese verbs are also known as る verbs because—you guessed it—they end in る. To make the volitional form of these verbs, simply replace the る with よう.\n\nFor example:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"食べる[たべる]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> → replace る with よう → 食べよう = Let’s eat.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"見る[みる]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> → replace る with よう → 見よう = Let’s watch.\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Take note\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\n>\n> Some verbs that end in る fall into the る-verb category, while others fall into the う-verb category. There's no way to logically workout whether it's one or the other, so this is unfortunately just something that you're going to have to memorize.\n\n### 3. Irregular verbs\n\nJapanese has exactly two categories of verbs, and, somewhat serendipitously, exactly two verbs that don't fit into either category. They're also both irregular in a slightly different way, so you'll just have to remember them:\n\n- する → しよう = Let’s do (something).\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"来る[くる]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> → \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"来よう[こよう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> = Let’s come.\n\n### 4. Polite volitional form with ましょう\n\nTo make the volitional form polite, the process is the same for every kind of verb. Simply conjugate it to its polite ~ます form, then replace ~ます with ~ましょう.\n\nLet's take a look at one verb from each category above:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"行く[いく]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> → 行きます → 行きましょう = Let’s go.\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"食べる[たべる]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> → 食べます → 食べましょう = Let’s eat.\n- する → します → しましょう = Let’s do (something).\n\n---\n\n## Verb conjugation cheat sheet\n\nNow that we've walked through the logic behind how to make the volitional form of each verb type, here's a handy reference that puts everything in one place:\n\n| Godan Verbs | Volitional Form | Polite Volitional Form | English |\n| -------------- | --------------- | ---------------------- | ---------------- |\n| 買う（かう） | 買おう | 買いましょう | Let's buy |\n| 立つ（たつ） | 立とう | 立ちましょう | Let's stand (up) |\n| 話す（はなす） | 話そう | 話しましょう | Let's talk |\n| 走る（はしる） | 走ろう | 走りましょう | Let's run |\n| 歩く（あるく） | 歩こう | 歩きましょう | Let's walk |\n| 泳ぐ（およぐ） | 泳ごう | 泳ぎましょう | Let's swim |\n| 死ぬ（しぬ） | 死のう | 死にましょう | Let's die † |\n| 飛ぶ（とぶ） | 飛ぼう | 飛びましょう | Let's fly |\n| 飲む（のむ） | 飲もう | 飲みましょう | Let's drink |\n\n| Ichidan Verbs | Volitional Form | Polite Volitional Form | English |\n| ---------------- | --------------- | ---------------------- | ---------------- |\n| 食べる（たべる） | 食べよう | 食べましょう | Let's eat |\n| 見る（みる） | 見よう | 見ましょう | Let's look\u002Fwatch |\n| 起きる（おきる） | 起きよう | 起きましょう | Let's wake up |\n| 出る（でる） | 出よう | 出ましょう | Let's go out |\n\n| Irregular Verbs | Volitional Form | Polite Volitional Form | English |\n| --------------- | ---------------- | ------------------------ | -------------------- |\n| する | しよう | しましょう | Let's do (something) |\n| 来る（くる） | 来よう（こよう） | 来ましょう（きましょう） | Let's come |\n\n† _Note: I would have liked to use a different verb as an example, but there is unfortunately only one Japanese verb that ends in ぬ._\n\n---\n\n## Usage of the volitional form in context\n\nThe volitional form is an important part of everyday Japanese—after all, it'd be hard to have any sort of conversation without being able to make suggestions!\n\nWe briefly covered the main usages of the volitional form above, and here we'll provide example sentences and look at each usage in a bit more detail.\n\n### 1. Making an inclusive suggestion\u002Finvitation\n\nThe first usage of the volitional form is pretty straightforward—use it to suggest things to do together as a group or couple. These can be serious suggestions, ideas you're tossing out there, or even questions:\n\n- さあ、\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"今日[きょう]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>はどこに\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"\u003Cu>行こう[いこう]\u003C\u002Fu>\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>か\u003Cbr>So, where \u003Cu>shall\u003C\u002Fu> we go today?\n\nOf course, the word \"shall\" seems kind of stilted to our modern ears. Language is a flexible thing and we have multiple ways of making suggestions in English, so volitional phrases may be translated in a variety of ways.\n\nFor example, consider this sentence:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"お腹[おなか] も すい[,すく]た し{、}そろそろ お昼[おひる] ご飯[ごはん] を \u003Cu>食[た,たべる]べ に 行[い,いく]こう\u003C\u002Fu> か な{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>I'm getting hungry, so \u003Cu>maybe\u003C\u002Fu> it's about time for lunch?\n\n### 2. Making an inclusive command\n\nSometimes, especially when they come from people who are higher in status than you, suggestions are really more like a polite command. For example, consider that you arrive early to a meeting and are chatting with colleagues. The chatter goes on for awhile, and then your boss says:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"それでは{、}始[はじ,はじめる]め\u003Cu>ましょう\u003C\u002Fu>{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>Well then, \u003Cu>let's\u003C\u002Fu> get started.\n\nThe word \"let's\" makes this look like a suggestion, but it's actually a command. The boss isn't merely _suggesting_ that people stop talking and getting on with business, but issuing a soft command that it's time to get started.\n\nThis usage isn't limited to formal settings. You can also use it between friends, and it has pretty much exactly the same feel as using \"let's\" to initiate an action in English. It's a command, but not pushy.\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"食[た,たべる]べ\u003Cu>ましょう\u003C\u002Fu>{！}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>\u003Cu>Let's\u003C\u002Fu> eat!\n\n### 3. Expressing intent or determination\n\nThe final main usage of the volitional form is to express your personal resolve to do. Whereas the other previous two examples are for nudging a _group_ to do something, this usage instead presents your own personal inclination to do something.\n\nYou'll commonly see this structure used in sentences that involve somehow doing or becoming better:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"もっと 勉強[べんきょう]しよう{！}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>I'll study harder!\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"明日[あした] から{、}ダイエット しよ[,する]う{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr> I'll start a diet from tomorrow.\n\nYou'll also see this used when nobody is taking action, then one person in a group steps forward:\n\n- \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"じゃあ、私[わたし] がやろう{。}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\u003Cbr>I'll do it!\n\n> \u003CCenteredText bold underline>Note\u003C\u002FCenteredText>\u003Cbr>\n>\n> As shown here, you'll often see the subject marked with the particle が in this kind of sentence. We discuss this more in the が section of [our beginner's guide to Japanese particles](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-particles-guide#the-case-particles-%E3%81%8C-%E3%81%AE-%E3%82%92-%E3%81%AB-%E3%81%B8-%E3%81%A8-%E3%81%A7-%E3%81%8B%E3%82%89-and-%E3%82%88%E3%82%8A), but the general idea is that, here, が is emphasizing _who_ amongst a group of people will do something—almost like you're pointing a finger and specifying one thing amongst a group of things.\n\n## Wondering how you'll ever learn the volitional form?\n\nI still haven't figured out a good way to say this, but Japanese is one of Migaku's main languages, so we've naturally reviewed a lot of Japanese textbooks. When I say \"a lot\", I mean that we've literally got an entire article about [Japanese textbooks for beginners](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fbest-japanese-textbooks). The article introduces like ten different textbooks aimed at beginners of Japanese.\n\nThe bad news _(spoiler alert)_ is that _every single_ textbook has the same problem: they teach you what somebody else thinks is important to know, and those things may or may not overlap with the things you actually need to know in order to do the things you want to do.\n\nWe found this so annoying that [we spent like 10,000 hours building our own flashcard-based Japanese course](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=gFvZMZlUYfc). You can see how it looks below (but it looks much nicer on your phone...):\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-volitional-verbs.jpeg\" width=\"1930\" height=\"998\" alt=\"A screenshot of Migaku's Japanese Academy course, showing the volitional form.\" \u002F>\n\nThe beauty of the course is that it's curated and data-driven (and awesome, but we're being professional here).\n\n1. We dig into the math in our post on [how to learn Japanese vocabulary](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary), but the course is pretty lean: it teaches you the most common ~1,800 words and ~350 grammar points you need to know to understand 80% of anything you read or hear in Japanese\n2. The course has been painstakingly arranged so that every next flashcard contains only one new word or grammar point\n\nThe result is a super smooth learning curve that helps you quickly build the foundation you need to begin consuming the Japanese media you're interested in (which is actually our product's main focus).\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## Wrapping up\n\nThe volitional form of Japanese verbs is important—it lets you make suggestions and invitations, among other things. So far as Japanese verb conjugations go, it's also pretty straightforward to make: the Japanese volitional form of every verb will end in an ~おう sound.\n\nWith that out of the way, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"頑張りましょう[がんばりましょう]{！}\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\n\n(See what I did there? 😉)\n",{"title":40347,"description":41093},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-verbs-volitional","TCC__8xz3amr1BCbEE7r4Kq0FOsf_EzN5-FyPPSVW1M","December 26, 2024",{"id":41111,"title":41112,"body":41113,"description":41915,"extension":717,"meta":41916,"navigation":730,"path":41924,"rawbody":41925,"seo":41926,"stem":41927,"__hash__":41928,"timestampUnix":41917,"slug":41918,"h1":41919,"image":41920,"tags":41923,"_dir":736,"timestamp":41929},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-vocabulary.md","The Best way to learn Japanese Vocabulary: The Frequency Approach with Migaku",{"type":8,"value":41114,"toc":41894},[41115,41118,41124,41133,41136,41139,41141,41143,41150,41155,41158,41166,41175,41181,41190,41237,41240,41245,41248,41265,41268,41288,41291,41295,41304,41311,41314,41317,41327,41330,41336,41345,41353,41370,41373,41381,41387,41391,41397,41405,41412,41415,41421,41424,41428,41431,41436,41445,41451,41454,41532,41535,41548,41551,41562,41565,41568,41571,41579,41582,41584,41587,41595,41604,41610,41614,41617,41625,41633,41636,41638,41641,41647,41659,41679,41682,41688,41691,41704,41707,41710,41713,41719,41722,41728,41734,41766,41769,41780,41783,41787,41791,41794,41819,41825,41831,41839,41847,41855,41861,41864,41881,41884],[5025,41116,369],{"src":41117,"loading":56},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FTh4sh5iHyY8?si=kZwscvwQU20fVGv8",[11,41119,41120,41121,41123],{},"So you've decided you want to ",[15,41122,18],{"href":17},". That's great!",[11,41125,41126,41127,41132],{},"One of the big things standing between you and fluency is a mountain of vocabulary: Japanese researchers find that ",[15,41128,41131],{"href":41129,"rel":41130},"https:\u002F\u002Farchives.bukkyo-u.ac.jp\u002Frp-contents\u002FKG\u002F0021\u002FKG00210L001.pdf",[971],"the average 20 year old Japanese adult knows ~50,000 words",". What a number! Do you need to learn all those words if you want to be fluent in Japanese? That's 10 words a day, every day, for about 14 years.",[11,41134,41135],{},"Fortunately, if that statistic made you gulp, there's a good chance that you're taking the wrong approach to learning Japanese.",[11,41137,41138],{},"To explain why, we'll talk about:",[39,41140],{},[42,41142],{},[45,41144,41146,41147,41149],{"id":41145},"what-is-a-word","What ",[26,41148,25025],{}," a word?",[11,41151,41152],{},[26,41153,41154],{},"(Yes, I'm being serious.)",[11,41156,41157],{},"If you search for \"word\" in the dictionary of a Macintosh computer, you'll see the following:",[320,41159,41160],{},[11,41161,41162,41165],{},[1090,41163,41164],{},"Word",": A single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing, used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sentence and typically shown with a space on either side when written or printed.",[11,41167,41168,41169,41174],{},"Alternatively, if you were to crack open the most recent version of ",[15,41170,41173],{"href":41171,"rel":41172},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002Fdp\u002F0877792011",[971],"Webster's New International Dictionary (Unabridged)",", you'd find some ~500,000 listings.",[50,41176],{"src":41177,"width":41178,"height":41179,"alt":41180},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-vocab-surprised-cat.webp",3072,1562,"A photo of a surprised looking cat, referencing the fact that English supposedly contains over 5,000 vocabulary words.",[11,41182,41183,41184,41189],{},"... but if you had time on your hands and were super curious, like ",[15,41185,41188],{"href":41186,"rel":41187},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wgtn.ac.nz\u002Flals\u002Fresources\u002Fpaul-nations-resources\u002Fpaul-nations-publications\u002Fpublications\u002Fdocuments\u002F1990-Goulden-Voc-size.pdf",[971],"Robin Goulden, Paul Nation, and John Read in 1990",", you might begin to wonder what actually counts as a \"distinct and meaningful\" unit of speech. It turns out that dictionaries contain an incredible amount of redundancy:",[304,41191,41192,41210,41227],{},[307,41193,41194,41201,41202,41205,41206,41209],{},[1090,41195,41196],{},[15,41197,41200],{"href":41198,"rel":41199},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FLemma_(morphology)",[971],"Lemmas"," — When we reduce ",[26,41203,41204],{},"eat, eats, ate, eaten, and eating"," into ",[26,41207,41208],{},"eat"," and remove names, ~500,000 words turn into ~248,000",[307,41211,41212,41219,41220,41205,41223,41226],{},[1090,41213,41214],{},[15,41215,41218],{"href":41216,"rel":41217},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FRoot_(linguistics)",[971],"Base words"," — When we condense ",[26,41221,41222],{},"drama, dramatic, dramatically, etc",[26,41224,41225],{},"drama"," and remove homographs (bow as a verb vs noun), ~214,000 words turn into ~54,000",[307,41228,41229,41236],{},[1090,41230,41231],{},[15,41232,41235],{"href":41233,"rel":41234},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.lextutor.ca\u002Fmorpho\u002Ffam_affix\u002Fbauer_nation_1993.pdf",[971],"Word families"," — When we condense those base words into groups that include all derivations of a given word, ~54,000 words turn into ~28,000 groups.",[11,41238,41239],{},"And this redundancy actually works in a learner's favor! If you understand:",[304,41241,41242],{},[307,41243,41244],{},"Athlete, athletic, athletically",[11,41246,41247],{},"Then you also understand the derived forms of all these words:",[304,41249,41250,41253,41256,41259,41262],{},[307,41251,41252],{},"Drama, dramatic, dramatically",[307,41254,41255],{},"Economy, economic, economically",[307,41257,41258],{},"History, historic, historically",[307,41260,41261],{},"Problem, problematic, problematically",[307,41263,41264],{},"System, systematic, systematically",[11,41266,41267],{},"Meaning you learn 5 words but understand 15.",[11,41269,41270,41271,3814,41274,41277,41278,41281,41282,41287],{},"Now, this doesn't always work perfectly—",[26,41272,41273],{},"energy",[26,41275,41276],{},"energetic"," have quite different usages. Additionally, the studies also filtered out compound words like ",[26,41279,41280],{},"high school",", and we're completely missing ",[15,41283,41286],{"href":41284,"rel":41285},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FMultiword_expression",[971],"multi-word expressions",". Nevertheless, it's fair to say that memorizing the dictionary suddenly seems like a more manageable task. 28,000 is a lot better than 500,000.",[11,41289,41290],{},"This good news actually gets better:",[45,41292,41294],{"id":41293},"do-native-speakers-know-every-single-word-in-their-language","Do native speakers know every single word in their language?",[11,41296,41297,41298,41303],{},"Before we start talking about Japanese, take a moment and skim this passage from a white paper about ",[15,41299,41302],{"href":41300,"rel":41301},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.securewirelessworks.com\u002Fdatasheets\u002FWP_Tech-Guide-to-Wi-Fi-6E.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOorbPjjR93KbeaKB4c_BbrlSSGIxAQv0yIiRmo9TKWEFeao1KCht",[971],"Dynamic Frequency Selection"," that happens to reveal an important truth about language learning:",[320,41305,41306],{},[11,41307,41308],{},[26,41309,41310],{},"The actual power level (EIRP) for LPI APs is not defined in absolute dBm, as for the lower bands, but at 5 dBm\u002FMHz, adding 3 dB for every doubling of channel bandwidth, which gives 18 dBm EIRP for a 20 MHz channel, and up to 27 dBm for a 160 MHz channel. The FCC can apply this rule because incumbent links are generally narrow band compared to Wi-Fi channels. It is advantageous to the Wi-Fi network because background noise increases proportionally with bandwidth, so the SNR for a Wi-Fi receiver will be constant for different channel widths, given maximum transmit power levels.",[11,41312,41313],{},"You see, most of you reading this are native English speakers, and you (like me) have basically no idea what this English excerpt is talking about.",[11,41315,41316],{},"So, why have I asked you to read a technical and completely random paragraph about wireless communication and networking in an article about learning Japanese?",[11,41318,41319,41320,41323,41324,41326],{},"You're a native English speaker, ",[26,41321,41322],{},"but you don't know all of the words in English",". This is a huge thing to understand. You don't ",[26,41325,11731],{}," the word \"incumbent link\" to effortlessly navigate life in English. This word is only important if you happen to work in the field of wireless communication and networking.",[11,41328,41329],{},"The takeaway here is that not all words are equally useful.",[45,41331,41333],{"id":41332},"how-the-frequency-approach-makes-learning-japanese-vocabulary-97116-easier",[1090,41334,41335],{},"How the frequency approach makes learning Japanese vocabulary 97.116% easier",[11,41337,41338,41339,41344],{},"All languages abide by what's known as ",[15,41340,41343],{"href":41341,"rel":41342},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FZipf%27s_law",[971],"Zipf's Law"," (commonly dubbed the 80\u002F20 rule): the first word occurs twice as often as the second, three times as often as the third, four times as often as the fourth, and so forth.",[11,41346,41347,41348,41352],{},"To better show the implications of this, ",[15,41349,41351],{"href":20521,"rel":41350},[971],"here's a list of all the words that appear in the Japanese subtitles of Netflix",". There are 124,000 unique words (used a total of ~110 million times), and here's where things get interesting:",[304,41354,41355,41358,41361,41364,41367],{},[307,41356,41357],{},"To recognize 99% of all the words in Netflix's subtitles, you'd need to know 37,247 words",[307,41359,41360],{},"To recognize 95%, you'd need to know ~12,041 words",[307,41362,41363],{},"To recognize 90%, you'd need to know ~5,243 words",[307,41365,41366],{},"To recognize 85%, you'd need to know 2,688 words",[307,41368,41369],{},"To recognize 80%, you'd need to know 1,442 words",[11,41371,41372],{},"And, to me, there are two super interesting observations to be made here:",[304,41374,41375,41378],{},[307,41376,41377],{},"1,442 words represent 80% of all of the words that occur in Netflix's subtitles",[307,41379,41380],{},"87,000 words represent less than 1% of all the words that occur in Netflix's subtitles",[11,41382,41383,41384,41386],{},"So, to answer the question posed in the introduction, ",[26,41385,7195],{},": you don't need to learn the 50,000 words that a Japanese adult knows before you can watch Netflix. You only need to learn ~1,500 words to get started.",[847,41388,41390],{"id":41389},"two-very-important-caveats","Two very important caveats",[11,41392,41393,41394,41396],{},"First, know that you can't just learn ",[26,41395,28647],{}," 1,500 words. Frequency is a double edged sword. If you went about this in the worst way possible, you'd end up learning 86,753 vocabulary words before you understood 1% of Netflix's subtitles. That'd be pretty miserable. Since our time and effort is limited, we want to focus on learning the most common words—the ones that are most likely to be used, and thus the most likely to be useful to us.",[11,41398,41399,41400,8737],{},"Second, even if you learn the perfect set of 1,500 words, your job isn't done yet. ",[15,41401,41404],{"href":41402,"rel":41403},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sinosplice.com\u002Flife\u002Farchives\u002F2016\u002F08\u002F25\u002Fwhat-80-comprehension-feels-like",[971],"Here's what it feels like to understand 80% of the words in a text",[320,41406,41407],{},[11,41408,41409],{},[26,41410,41411],{},"“Bingle for help!” you shout. “This loopity is dying!” You put your fingers on her neck. Nothing. Her flid is not weafling. You take out your joople and bingle 119, the emergency number in Japan. There’s no answer! Then you muchy that you have a new befourn assengle. It’s from your gutring, Evie. She hunwres at Tokyo University. You play the assengle. “…if you get this…” Evie says. “…I can’t vickarn now… the important passit is…” Suddenly, she looks around, dingle. “Oh no, they’re here! Cripett… the frib! Wasple them ON THE FRIB!…” BEEP! the assengle parantles. Then you gratoon something behind you…",[11,41413,41414],{},"See what I mean?",[11,41416,41417,41418,41420],{},"You can understand what sort of thing is being said—you're not ",[26,41419,21272],{}," lost—but you don't quite understand what, exactly, is being said, either. Nevertheless, it's a massive improvement over understanding literally nothing.",[11,41422,41423],{},"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this small core vocabulary of ~1,500 frequent words is the foundation you need to start understanding most conversations, shows, and texts.",[45,41425,41427],{"id":41426},"if-1500-common-words-make-up-80-of-japanese-what-about-all-the-other-words","If 1,500 common words make up 80% of Japanese... what about all the other words?",[11,41429,41430],{},"Remember that paragraph I made you read about wireless networking and communications?",[11,41432,41433,41435],{},[26,41434,13265],{}," all the other words.",[11,41437,41438,41439,41444],{},"There's a core subset of common words—2,000 or so—that occur pretty much everywhere, whether you're watching a slice-of-life anime or reading ",[15,41440,41443],{"href":41441,"rel":41442},"https:\u002F\u002Fja.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002F%E5%9B%BD%E8%AA%9E%E5%9B%BD%E5%AD%97%E5%95%8F%E9%A1%8C",[971],"a brief history of how the appearance of Japanese kanji has changed over time",". Then, there's another subset of ~3,000 words that come up regularly enough to notice.",[11,41446,41447,41448,41450],{},"Go much further than that, though, and ",[26,41449,2006],{}," the words become much less common. Every type of content you might consume is its own little world, and certain words that are essential to navigate one world may be completely useless to navigate another world.",[11,41452,41453],{},"To show you what I mean, here's the 10 most common Japanese words according to netflix (if we skip the grammatical particles):",[344,41455,41456,41462,41469,41476,41485,41492,41500,41507,41514,41523],{},[307,41457,41458,41459,41461],{},"する ",[103,41460],{"src":34810,":type":149}," — \"to do\"",[307,41463,41464,41465,41468],{},"ない ",[103,41466],{"src":41467,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ない.mp3"," — \"not\u002Fdoesn't exist\"",[307,41470,41471,41472,41475],{},"いる ",[103,41473],{"src":41474,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-いる.mp3"," — \"to exist [animate things]\u002F~ing\u002Fneed\"",[307,41477,41478,369,41481,41484],{},[98,41479],{"lang":100,"syntax":41480},"何[なに]",[103,41482],{"src":41483,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-何.mp3","\n —\"what\"\n",[307,41486,41487,41488,41491],{},"ある ",[103,41489],{"src":41490,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ある.mp3"," \"\"to exist [inanimate objects]\"",[307,41493,41494,369,41497,41499],{},[98,41495],{"lang":100,"syntax":41496},"私[わたし]",[103,41498],{"src":22379,":type":149},"\n —\"I [standard\u002Fpolite word]\n",[307,41501,41502,41503,41506],{},"そう ",[103,41504],{"src":41505,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-そう.mp3"," — \"that way\u002Fit seems\u002Flike that\"",[307,41508,41509,41510,41513],{},"なる ",[103,41511],{"src":41512,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-なる.mp3","— \"become\"",[307,41515,41516,369,41519,41522],{},[98,41517],{"lang":100,"syntax":41518},"人[ひと]",[103,41520],{"src":41521,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-人.mp3","\n —\"person\"\n",[307,41524,41525,369,41528,41531],{},[98,41526],{"lang":100,"syntax":41527},"俺[おれ]",[103,41529],{"src":41530,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-俺.mp3","\n — \"I [masculine\u002Finformal]\n",[11,41533,41534],{},"Those first 9 words are über common. They'll probably appear within the first few dozen lines of any frequency list you can find.",[11,41536,41537,41538,3814,41543,415],{},"But things get interesting with that tenth word. Do me a favor and open ",[15,41539,41542],{"href":41540,"rel":41541},"https:\u002F\u002Fdrive.google.com\u002Ffile\u002Fd\u002F1HEdf46vx_TxgGod82gWMapRDE6jZipVB\u002Fview",[971],"this list of the most common words in the Asahi Shinbun newspaper",[15,41544,41547],{"href":41545,"rel":41546},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wiktionary.org\u002Fwiki\u002FWiktionary:Frequency_lists\u002FJapanese2022_10000",[971],"this list of the most common words on Wikipedia",[11,41549,41550],{},"Notice something? The word 俺 is:",[304,41552,41553,41556,41559],{},[307,41554,41555],{},"The 10th most common word on Netflix",[307,41557,41558],{},"The 2522nd most common word on Wikipedia",[307,41560,41561],{},"Outside of the top 10,000 most common words in the newspaper",[11,41563,41564],{},"What gives?",[11,41566,41567],{},"The word 私 and 俺 both mean \"I\". While 私 is a more polite term, 俺 is informal and can be seen as rude in some contexts. In real life, most adult men refer to themselves as 俺.",[11,41569,41570],{},"With this in mind:",[304,41572,41573,41576],{},[307,41574,41575],{},"It's no wonder that 俺 appears so commonly on Netflix—it's the primary pronoun used by men in speech",[307,41577,41578],{},"It's no wonder that 俺 rarely appears in the newspaper—it would be inappropriate for such a formal register",[11,41580,41581],{},"In other words, simply changing the content medium has taken 俺 from being one of Japanese's top ten words and turned it into something you could pretty safely skip.",[847,41583,4076],{"id":4075},[11,41585,41586],{},"The good and bad news about vocabulary is that this kind of thing happens constantly. If you're reading a book on fiscal policy, there will be a subset of words that occur disproportionately often in articles about fiscal policy... and rarely, if ever, occur elsewhere.",[304,41588,41589,41592],{},[307,41590,41591],{},"This is good news if you are interested in fiscal policy. As you read your first several articles, you'll pick up the key topic-specific vocabulary words, and your reading comprehension will increase quite quickly.",[307,41593,41594],{},"This is troublesome news if you read quite widely. Every time you change mediums, genre, topic, and even author you'll have to overcome a learning curve: new topic-specific vocabulary, new sentence structures, and a new style of writing.",[11,41596,41597,41598,41600,41601,41603],{},"The key takeaway here is that you are much closer to being able to do ",[26,41599,627],{}," in Japanese than you are to being able to do ",[26,41602,1181],{}," in Japanese. The fastest way to become capable of doing something interesting in Japanese is to determine what \"your thing\" is, and then make sure that all of your efforts bring you closer to that goal.",[45,41605,41607],{"id":41606},"step-by-step-guide-how-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary-for-beginners",[1090,41608,41609],{},"Step-by-step guide: How to learn Japanese vocabulary for beginners",[847,41611,41613],{"id":41612},"_1-learn-the-first-1500-most-common-words-via-spaced-repetition-with-migaku-academy","1. Learn the first ~1,500 most common words via spaced repetition with Migaku Academy",[11,41615,41616],{},"If you're new to Japanese, we recommend that you initially focus entirely on learning the 1,500 most common Japanese words. This will take Japanese from being a completely foreign language and make it something that appears quite familiar to you: in any random sentence you see, you'll recognize most of the words. You won't be fluent, but Japanese will suddenly seem accessible.",[11,41618,41619,41620,41624],{},"We've actually prepared ",[15,41621,41623],{"href":969,"rel":41622},[971],"a flashcard-based course"," that will:",[304,41626,41627,41630],{},[307,41628,41629],{},"Teach you the ~1,800 most common words on Netflix",[307,41631,41632],{},"Teach you the ~400 most common grammar points",[11,41634,41635],{},"You can see a sample of it in that YouTube video, but it's pretty cool. Every flashcard includes a vocab word and example sentence, an image, and an audio recording from a native Japanese speaker. Best of all, we've very carefully curated the sentences so that each \"next\" sentence contains only one piece of new info",[674,41637],{"href":17,"text":676},[11,41639,41640],{},"If you don't yet know how to read Japanese, we have a prep course for Migaku Academy (called Migaku Japanese Fundamentals) that will teach you everything you need to know to start it.",[847,41642,41644],{"id":41643},"_2-use-migakus-chrome-extension-to-work-towards-5000-words",[1090,41645,41646],{},"2. Use Migaku's Chrome extension to work towards 5,000 words",[11,41648,41649,41650,41652,41653,41658],{},"Now that you've got a foundation under you, you're ready to leave textbooks behind and get into ",[26,41651,5914],{}," Japanese content. Pick anything you're interested in. ",[15,41654,41657],{"href":41655,"rel":41656},"https:\u002F\u002Fchromewebstore.google.com\u002Fdetail\u002Fmigaku-really-learn-langu\u002Flkhiljgmbeecmljiogckofcalncmfnfo",[971],"Migaku's Chrome Extension"," will support you in a few main ways:",[304,41660,41661,41667,41673],{},[307,41662,41663,41666],{},[1090,41664,41665],{},"Interactive text"," —— Any text on a webpage (subtitles, paragraphs, etc.) becomes interactive. Click on any word to see a dictionary definition, an AI breakdown of how the word fits into this particular sentence, and more.",[307,41668,41669,41672],{},[1090,41670,41671],{},"Recommended vocabulary"," —Migaku will tell you if a word is among the most frequently occurring 2,500 or 5,000 Japanese words. If you stumble into such a word in a useful looking sentence, you can click a \"flashcard\" button to automatically make a flashcard which includes a screenshot of your show, a snippet of the audio, the target word, and the sentence where the target word came from.",[307,41674,41675,41678],{},[1090,41676,41677],{},"Automatically make flashcards"," — Flashcards you make get sent to Migaku Memory (or Anki), where a spaced repetition algorithm will build a personalized learning schedule for you that constantly adjusts based on your performance, ensuring that you remember any word you make a flashcard for",[11,41680,41681],{},"We recommend focusing mostly on the top 5,000 vocabulary words for now, but of course you can (and should) make flashcards of terms that appear frequently in the content you enjoy, or anything else you think would be good to remember.",[847,41683,41685],{"id":41684},"_3-follow-your-interest-to-learn-the-rest-of-the-words",[1090,41686,41687],{},"3. Follow your interest to learn the rest of the words",[11,41689,41690],{},"5,000 words is a pretty significant milestone. You now recognize ~90% of the words you see, which means that you'll be able to follow most types of Japanese content, including shows, books, and conversations, so long as you know the key words.",[11,41692,41693,41694,41699,41700,41703],{},"As discussed in ",[15,41695,41698],{"href":41696,"rel":41697},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.researchgate.net\u002Fpublication\u002F245539173_Lexical_threshold_revisited_Lexical_text_coverage_learners_vocabulary_size_and_reading_comprehension",[971],"this research paper (Laufer 2010)",", rarer words tend to be more information dense. In other words, if you don't understand a sentence, it's often going to be because you're missing that one infrequently-appearing key word. For example, consider a sentence like \"_I put your bag on the ___",[26,41701,41702],{},"\": you know 6 of the sentence's 7 words, but lack the most important piece of information, which is where the thing actually _is",". As you're overcoming the intermediate hurdle, you'll run into a lot of sentences like this.",[11,41705,41706],{},"For this reason, it's extremely important to follow your interests. You are a unique person with specific interests and goals, and this has dramatic implications on what your vocabulary pool will end up looking like. If you're a gearhead into Yamaha motorcycles, 50 terms about mechanical tools and motorcycle parts will do you better than 1,000 random terms from other niches.",[11,41708,41709],{},"This stage is long, but it's also a ton of fun. There's still a lot you don't know, but you now have the skills to start filling in those blanks. Consuming Japanese content becomes an enjoyable activity in itself, so all you're really doing is going along for the ride, picking up useful words and expanding your mental database of Japanese sentences.",[11,41711,41712],{},"As your interests take you from point A to point B, you'll eventually cover all of the words and structures you need to effortlessly do the things that matter to you.",[45,41714,41716],{"id":41715},"tips-for-effective-learning-without-specialized-tools",[1090,41717,41718],{},"Tips for effective learning without specialized tools",[11,41720,41721],{},"So, I get it. Technology can be a headache, and you might not be at a point where you're ready to drop a subscription on a Japanese learning tool yet. That's OK.",[11,41723,41724,41725,41727],{},"I personally ",[26,41726,28487],{}," use any fancy tools when I learned Japanese. I'm not especially good with technology, and I really like the feel of paper books; there's just something about sitting on a bench next to a lake and reading, you know? (Plus, I started learning Japanese in 2014, and a lot of the cool tools available now didn't exist back then.)",[11,41729,41730,41731,41733],{},"So, here's how ",[26,41732,6107],{}," learned Japanese vocabulary:",[344,41735,41736,41743,41753,41760,41763],{},[307,41737,41738,41739,41742],{},"I picked ",[15,41740,41741],{"href":20504},"a beginner Japanese textbook"," and gave it about 15 minutes per day, gradually learning grammar points over time",[307,41744,41745,41746,41752],{},"I downloaded a dictionary on my phone (",[15,41747,41748,41749],{"href":33726},"ctrl+f this post for ",[26,41750,41751],{},"miscellaneous resources"," to see my recommendations)",[307,41754,41755,41756],{},"I learned the first ~2,000 words via a ",[15,41757,41759],{"href":11779,"rel":41758},[971],"free vocabulary deck on Anki's public Japanese flashcards page",[307,41761,41762],{},"I'd download book samples or skim the first pages of physical books, selecting my reading material according to two criteria: (a) there had to be a max of ~5 unknown words per page, which was simply the point where lookups became annoying to me, and (b) I had to find the book at least somewhat interesting",[307,41764,41765],{},"I read over 100 books",[11,41767,41768],{},"I didn't make flashcards or anything like that for a long time. Instead:",[344,41770,41771,41777],{},[307,41772,41773,41774,41776],{},"I looked up unknown words as I encountered them, figuring that I would eventually learn them from exposure alone if they were really ",[26,41775,5890],{}," important",[307,41778,41779],{},"If I looked up a word and found it useful, I wrote it and its definition (in Japanese) in the margin of the book, figuring that the additional attention would help me remember it",[11,41781,41782],{},"And that worked for me! I passed the JLPT N1, at least, and today I can just pick up and read most things I'm interested in. We learn languages by getting input—consuming native content that's interesting to us and understanding the messages it contains—and you can do that without using specialized tools or spending money.",[320,41784,41785],{},[11,41786,34602],{},[847,41788,41790],{"id":41789},"challenges-with-my-low-tech-approach-to-learning","Challenges with my low-tech approach to learning",[11,41792,41793],{},"I ran into two main hurdles with my approach to learning.",[304,41795,41796,41813],{},[307,41797,41798,41801,41802,3814,41807,41812],{},[1090,41799,41800],{},"Randomness"," — I used the Core 6K, a flashcard deck based on the words that appear most commonly in the Asahi Shinbun newspaper, but I was interested in reading ",[15,41803,41806],{"href":41804,"rel":41805},"https:\u002F\u002Fbookwalker.jp\u002Fauthor\u002F1051\u002F",[971],"YA horror short stories by Otsuichi",[15,41808,41811],{"href":41809,"rel":41810},"https:\u002F\u002Fbookwalker.jp\u002Fseries\u002F19939\u002F",[971],"light novels from the Kino no Tabi series",". A lot of the things I learned in that vocabulary deck didn't help me to read the things I was interested in.",[307,41814,41815,41818],{},[1090,41816,41817],{},"Manual word lookups"," — Multiple times per page, I'd get stuck on a new word or kanji, stop to put my book down, open my dictionary app, try to draw the kanji I saw, forget how it was drawn, check my book again, look the character up, then scroll through list of options till I found the word I was looking for. It took a solid 30 seconds per lookup, and that adds up... especially when you're in a good part of the story.",[11,41820,41821,41822,41824],{},"Both of those problems are eliminated by Migaku, so if I could go back in time, I wouldn't start with physical books like I did. But you ",[26,41823,11958],{},", and it's possible.",[45,41826,41828],{"id":41827},"faqs-common-questions-about-the-frequency-approach",[1090,41829,41830],{},"FAQs: common questions about the frequency approach",[11,41832,41833,41836,41838],{},[1090,41834,41835],{},"Q: What is the frequency approach in language learning?",[292,41837],{},"\nThe frequency approach involves focusing on the most commonly used words first, enabling you to quickly reach a point where you can understand and engage with the language.",[11,41840,41841,41844,41846],{},[1090,41842,41843],{},"Q: Can I use the frequency approach without Migaku?",[292,41845],{},"\nYes! While Migaku simplifies the process with spaced repetition and frequency scores, you can still manually apply the method by using frequency lists and creating your own flashcards.",[11,41848,41849,41852,41854],{},[1090,41850,41851],{},"Q: Should I go out of my way to learn kanji?",[292,41853],{},"\nWe have an entire article about learning kanji. You may find a link to it at the bottom of this post. You'll likely need to learn a couple hundred kanji to get a feel for how they work, but as much as possible, we recommend learning kanji through vocabulary words, instead of learning kanji in isolation. An immediate benefit of this is that it ensures you only learn the kanji you need, rather than spending time learning characters you may never actually encounter.",[45,41856,41858],{"id":41857},"in-closing-why-frequency-matters-for-japanese-fluency",[1090,41859,41860],{},"In Closing: Why Frequency Matters for Japanese Fluency",[11,41862,41863],{},"However you end up going about vocabulary, remember that vocabulary is a means to an end. We really have two goals here:",[344,41865,41866,41872],{},[307,41867,41868,41871],{},[1090,41869,41870],{},"Understand most of the words you hear",", so that you can more effortlessly understand the content you are consuming",[307,41873,41874,41877,41878,41880],{},[1090,41875,41876],{},"Make out the words you don't understand",", so that even if you ",[26,41879,10834],{}," miss something, you can easily look it up and resolve your confusion",[11,41882,41883],{},"You'll eventually hit both of these milestones, after you learn enough of the vocabulary that occurs in the content you regularly consume. Migaku's frequency approach ensures that you hit these milestones faster by guiding you through the most common Japanese words and then providing you the tools you need to make flashcards out of (and thus learn) the useful words you come across.",[11,41885,41886],{},[26,41887,41888,41889,415],{},"P.S. — If you're interested in this topic, I highly recommend looking through ",[15,41890,41893],{"href":41891,"rel":41892},"https:\u002F\u002Fpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Farticles\u002FPMC4965448\u002F",[971],"this meta analysis from 2016",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":41895},[41896,41898,41899,41902,41905,41910,41913,41914],{"id":41145,"depth":707,"text":41897},"What is a word?",{"id":41293,"depth":707,"text":41294},{"id":41332,"depth":707,"text":41335,"children":41900},[41901],{"id":41389,"depth":1016,"text":41390},{"id":41426,"depth":707,"text":41427,"children":41903},[41904],{"id":4075,"depth":1016,"text":4076},{"id":41606,"depth":707,"text":41609,"children":41906},[41907,41908,41909],{"id":41612,"depth":1016,"text":41613},{"id":41643,"depth":1016,"text":41646},{"id":41684,"depth":1016,"text":41687},{"id":41715,"depth":707,"text":41718,"children":41911},[41912],{"id":41789,"depth":1016,"text":41790},{"id":41827,"depth":707,"text":41830},{"id":41857,"depth":707,"text":41860},"Discover the best way to learn Japanese vocabulary with Migaku. Understand how the frequency approach can lead you to fluency by focusing on the most common words. Watch our video to learn effective strategies and techniques for mastering Japanese.",{"timestampUnix":41917,"slug":41918,"h1":41919,"image":41920,"tags":41923},1730082959020,"how-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary","Mastering Japanese Vocabulary: How Learning Common Words Leads to Fluency",{"src":41921,"width":1998,"height":1999,"alt":41922,"previewOnly":730},"https:\u002F\u002Fi.ytimg.com\u002Fvi\u002FTh4sh5iHyY8\u002Fmaxresdefault.jpg","A surprised man who has just realized that he took the wrong approach to memorizing Japanese vocabulary.",[5086,728,8649],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-vocabulary","---\ntitle: 'The Best way to learn Japanese Vocabulary: The Frequency Approach with Migaku'\ndescription: 'Discover the best way to learn Japanese vocabulary with Migaku. Understand how the frequency approach can lead you to fluency by focusing on the most common words. Watch our video to learn effective strategies and techniques for mastering Japanese.'\ntimestampUnix: 1730082959020\nslug: 'how-to-learn-japanese-vocabulary'\nh1: 'Mastering Japanese Vocabulary: How Learning Common Words Leads to Fluency'\nimage:\n src: 'https:\u002F\u002Fi.ytimg.com\u002Fvi\u002FTh4sh5iHyY8\u002Fmaxresdefault.jpg'\n width: 1280\n height: 720\n alt: 'A surprised man who has just realized that he took the wrong approach to memorizing Japanese vocabulary.'\n previewOnly: true\ntags:\n - vocabulary\n - fundamentals\n - discussion\n---\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FTh4sh5iHyY8?si=kZwscvwQU20fVGv8\" loading=\"eager\" \u002F> \u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\nSo you've decided you want to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese). That's great!\n\nOne of the big things standing between you and fluency is a mountain of vocabulary: Japanese researchers find that [the average 20 year old Japanese adult knows ~50,000 words](https:\u002F\u002Farchives.bukkyo-u.ac.jp\u002Frp-contents\u002FKG\u002F0021\u002FKG00210L001.pdf). What a number! Do you need to learn all those words if you want to be fluent in Japanese? That's 10 words a day, every day, for about 14 years.\n\nFortunately, if that statistic made you gulp, there's a good chance that you're taking the wrong approach to learning Japanese.\n\nTo explain why, we'll talk about:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## What _is_ a word?\n\n_(Yes, I'm being serious.)_\n\nIf you search for \"word\" in the dictionary of a Macintosh computer, you'll see the following:\n\n> **Word**: A single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing, used with others (or sometimes alone) to form a sentence and typically shown with a space on either side when written or printed.\n\nAlternatively, if you were to crack open the most recent version of [Webster's New International Dictionary (Unabridged)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.amazon.com\u002Fdp\u002F0877792011), you'd find some ~500,000 listings.\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-vocab-surprised-cat.webp\" width=\"3072\" height=\"1562\" alt=\"A photo of a surprised looking cat, referencing the fact that English supposedly contains over 5,000 vocabulary words.\" \u002F>\n\n... but if you had time on your hands and were super curious, like [Robin Goulden, Paul Nation, and John Read in 1990](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.wgtn.ac.nz\u002Flals\u002Fresources\u002Fpaul-nations-resources\u002Fpaul-nations-publications\u002Fpublications\u002Fdocuments\u002F1990-Goulden-Voc-size.pdf), you might begin to wonder what actually counts as a \"distinct and meaningful\" unit of speech. It turns out that dictionaries contain an incredible amount of redundancy:\n\n- **[Lemmas](\u003Chttps:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FLemma_(morphology)>)** — When we reduce _eat, eats, ate, eaten, and eating_ into _eat_ and remove names, ~500,000 words turn into ~248,000\n- **[Base words](\u003Chttps:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FRoot_(linguistics)>)** — When we condense _drama, dramatic, dramatically, etc_ into _drama_ and remove homographs (bow as a verb vs noun), ~214,000 words turn into ~54,000\n- **[Word families](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.lextutor.ca\u002Fmorpho\u002Ffam_affix\u002Fbauer_nation_1993.pdf)** — When we condense those base words into groups that include all derivations of a given word, ~54,000 words turn into ~28,000 groups.\n\nAnd this redundancy actually works in a learner's favor! If you understand:\n\n- Athlete, athletic, athletically\n\nThen you also understand the derived forms of all these words:\n\n- Drama, dramatic, dramatically\n- Economy, economic, economically\n- History, historic, historically\n- Problem, problematic, problematically\n- System, systematic, systematically\n\nMeaning you learn 5 words but understand 15.\n\nNow, this doesn't always work perfectly—_energy_ and _energetic_ have quite different usages. Additionally, the studies also filtered out compound words like _high school_, and we're completely missing [multi-word expressions](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FMultiword_expression). Nevertheless, it's fair to say that memorizing the dictionary suddenly seems like a more manageable task. 28,000 is a lot better than 500,000.\n\nThis good news actually gets better:\n\n## Do native speakers know every single word in their language?\n\nBefore we start talking about Japanese, take a moment and skim this passage from a white paper about [Dynamic Frequency Selection](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.securewirelessworks.com\u002Fdatasheets\u002FWP_Tech-Guide-to-Wi-Fi-6E.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOorbPjjR93KbeaKB4c_BbrlSSGIxAQv0yIiRmo9TKWEFeao1KCht) that happens to reveal an important truth about language learning:\n\n> _The actual power level (EIRP) for LPI APs is not defined in absolute dBm, as for the lower bands, but at 5 dBm\u002FMHz, adding 3 dB for every doubling of channel bandwidth, which gives 18 dBm EIRP for a 20 MHz channel, and up to 27 dBm for a 160 MHz channel. The FCC can apply this rule because incumbent links are generally narrow band compared to Wi-Fi channels. It is advantageous to the Wi-Fi network because background noise increases proportionally with bandwidth, so the SNR for a Wi-Fi receiver will be constant for different channel widths, given maximum transmit power levels._\n\nYou see, most of you reading this are native English speakers, and you (like me) have basically no idea what this English excerpt is talking about.\n\nSo, why have I asked you to read a technical and completely random paragraph about wireless communication and networking in an article about learning Japanese?\n\nYou're a native English speaker, _but you don't know all of the words in English_. This is a huge thing to understand. You don't _need_ the word \"incumbent link\" to effortlessly navigate life in English. This word is only important if you happen to work in the field of wireless communication and networking.\n\nThe takeaway here is that not all words are equally useful.\n\n## **How the frequency approach makes learning Japanese vocabulary 97.116% easier**\n\nAll languages abide by what's known as [Zipf's Law](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FZipf%27s_law) (commonly dubbed the 80\u002F20 rule): the first word occurs twice as often as the second, three times as often as the third, four times as often as the fourth, and so forth.\n\nTo better show the implications of this, [here's a list of all the words that appear in the Japanese subtitles of Netflix](https:\u002F\u002Fdocs.google.com\u002Fspreadsheets\u002Fd\u002F15b3j9--RJ1K5hI9vz_2LXn2YNn7UWxWrRi58_Xykkp0\u002Fedit). There are 124,000 unique words (used a total of ~110 million times), and here's where things get interesting:\n\n- To recognize 99% of all the words in Netflix's subtitles, you'd need to know 37,247 words\n- To recognize 95%, you'd need to know ~12,041 words\n- To recognize 90%, you'd need to know ~5,243 words\n- To recognize 85%, you'd need to know 2,688 words\n- To recognize 80%, you'd need to know 1,442 words\n\nAnd, to me, there are two super interesting observations to be made here:\n\n- 1,442 words represent 80% of all of the words that occur in Netflix's subtitles\n- 87,000 words represent less than 1% of all the words that occur in Netflix's subtitles\n\nSo, to answer the question posed in the introduction, _no_: you don't need to learn the 50,000 words that a Japanese adult knows before you can watch Netflix. You only need to learn ~1,500 words to get started.\n\n### Two very important caveats\n\nFirst, know that you can't just learn _any_ 1,500 words. Frequency is a double edged sword. If you went about this in the worst way possible, you'd end up learning 86,753 vocabulary words before you understood 1% of Netflix's subtitles. That'd be pretty miserable. Since our time and effort is limited, we want to focus on learning the most common words—the ones that are most likely to be used, and thus the most likely to be useful to us.\n\nSecond, even if you learn the perfect set of 1,500 words, your job isn't done yet. [Here's what it feels like to understand 80% of the words in a text](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.sinosplice.com\u002Flife\u002Farchives\u002F2016\u002F08\u002F25\u002Fwhat-80-comprehension-feels-like):\n\n> _“Bingle for help!” you shout. “This loopity is dying!” You put your fingers on her neck. Nothing. Her flid is not weafling. You take out your joople and bingle 119, the emergency number in Japan. There’s no answer! Then you muchy that you have a new befourn assengle. It’s from your gutring, Evie. She hunwres at Tokyo University. You play the assengle. “…if you get this…” Evie says. “…I can’t vickarn now… the important passit is…” Suddenly, she looks around, dingle. “Oh no, they’re here! Cripett… the frib! Wasple them ON THE FRIB!…” BEEP! the assengle parantles. Then you gratoon something behind you…_\n\nSee what I mean?\n\nYou can understand what sort of thing is being said—you're not _completely_ lost—but you don't quite understand what, exactly, is being said, either. Nevertheless, it's a massive improvement over understanding literally nothing.\n\nIt wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this small core vocabulary of ~1,500 frequent words is the foundation you need to start understanding most conversations, shows, and texts.\n\n## If 1,500 common words make up 80% of Japanese... what about all the other words?\n\nRemember that paragraph I made you read about wireless networking and communications?\n\n_That's_ all the other words.\n\nThere's a core subset of common words—2,000 or so—that occur pretty much everywhere, whether you're watching a slice-of-life anime or reading [a brief history of how the appearance of Japanese kanji has changed over time](https:\u002F\u002Fja.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002F国語国字問題). Then, there's another subset of ~3,000 words that come up regularly enough to notice.\n\nGo much further than that, though, and _all_ the words become much less common. Every type of content you might consume is its own little world, and certain words that are essential to navigate one world may be completely useless to navigate another world.\n\nTo show you what I mean, here's the 10 most common Japanese words according to netflix (if we skip the grammatical particles):\n\n1. する \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-する.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — \"to do\"\n2. ない \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ない.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — \"not\u002Fdoesn't exist\"\n3. いる \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-いる.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — \"to exist \\[animate things]\u002F~ing\u002Fneed\"\n4. \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"何[なに]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-何.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> —\"what\"\n5. ある \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-ある.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> \"\"to exist \\[inanimate objects]\"\n6. \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"私[わたし]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-私.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> —\"I \\[standard\u002Fpolite word]\n7. そう \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-そう.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — \"that way\u002Fit seems\u002Flike that\"\n8. なる \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-なる.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>— \"become\"\n9. \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"人[ひと]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-人.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> —\"person\"\n10. \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"俺[おれ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja-俺.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> — \"I \\[masculine\u002Finformal]\n\nThose first 9 words are über common. They'll probably appear within the first few dozen lines of any frequency list you can find.\n\nBut things get interesting with that tenth word. Do me a favor and open [this list of the most common words in the Asahi Shinbun newspaper](https:\u002F\u002Fdrive.google.com\u002Ffile\u002Fd\u002F1HEdf46vx_TxgGod82gWMapRDE6jZipVB\u002Fview) and [this list of the most common words on Wikipedia](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wiktionary.org\u002Fwiki\u002FWiktionary:Frequency_lists\u002FJapanese2022_10000).\n\nNotice something? The word 俺 is:\n\n- The 10th most common word on Netflix\n- The 2522nd most common word on Wikipedia\n- Outside of the top 10,000 most common words in the newspaper\n\nWhat gives?\n\nThe word 私 and 俺 both mean \"I\". While 私 is a more polite term, 俺 is informal and can be seen as rude in some contexts. In real life, most adult men refer to themselves as 俺.\n\nWith this in mind:\n\n- It's no wonder that 俺 appears so commonly on Netflix—it's the primary pronoun used by men in speech\n- It's no wonder that 俺 rarely appears in the newspaper—it would be inappropriate for such a formal register\n\nIn other words, simply changing the content medium has taken 俺 from being one of Japanese's top ten words and turned it into something you could pretty safely skip.\n\n### The point\n\nThe good and bad news about vocabulary is that this kind of thing happens constantly. If you're reading a book on fiscal policy, there will be a subset of words that occur disproportionately often in articles about fiscal policy... and rarely, if ever, occur elsewhere.\n\n- This is good news if you are interested in fiscal policy. As you read your first several articles, you'll pick up the key topic-specific vocabulary words, and your reading comprehension will increase quite quickly.\n- This is troublesome news if you read quite widely. Every time you change mediums, genre, topic, and even author you'll have to overcome a learning curve: new topic-specific vocabulary, new sentence structures, and a new style of writing.\n\nThe key takeaway here is that you are much closer to being able to do _anything_ in Japanese than you are to being able to do _everything_ in Japanese. The fastest way to become capable of doing something interesting in Japanese is to determine what \"your thing\" is, and then make sure that all of your efforts bring you closer to that goal.\n\n## **Step-by-step guide: How to learn Japanese vocabulary for beginners**\n\n### 1\\. Learn the first ~1,500 most common words via spaced repetition with Migaku Academy\n\nIf you're new to Japanese, we recommend that you initially focus entirely on learning the 1,500 most common Japanese words. This will take Japanese from being a completely foreign language and make it something that appears quite familiar to you: in any random sentence you see, you'll recognize most of the words. You won't be fluent, but Japanese will suddenly seem accessible.\n\nWe've actually prepared [a flashcard-based course](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=gFvZMZlUYfc) that will:\n\n- Teach you the ~1,800 most common words on Netflix\n- Teach you the ~400 most common grammar points\n\nYou can see a sample of it in that YouTube video, but it's pretty cool. Every flashcard includes a vocab word and example sentence, an image, and an audio recording from a native Japanese speaker. Best of all, we've very carefully curated the sentences so that each \"next\" sentence contains only one piece of new info\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\nIf you don't yet know how to read Japanese, we have a prep course for Migaku Academy (called Migaku Japanese Fundamentals) that will teach you everything you need to know to start it.\n\n### **2\\. Use Migaku's Chrome extension to work towards 5,000 words**\n\nNow that you've got a foundation under you, you're ready to leave textbooks behind and get into _real_ Japanese content. Pick anything you're interested in. [Migaku's Chrome Extension](https:\u002F\u002Fchromewebstore.google.com\u002Fdetail\u002Fmigaku-really-learn-langu\u002Flkhiljgmbeecmljiogckofcalncmfnfo) will support you in a few main ways:\n\n- **Interactive text** —— Any text on a webpage (subtitles, paragraphs, etc.) becomes interactive. Click on any word to see a dictionary definition, an AI breakdown of how the word fits into this particular sentence, and more.\n- **Recommended vocabulary** —Migaku will tell you if a word is among the most frequently occurring 2,500 or 5,000 Japanese words. If you stumble into such a word in a useful looking sentence, you can click a \"flashcard\" button to automatically make a flashcard which includes a screenshot of your show, a snippet of the audio, the target word, and the sentence where the target word came from.\n- **Automatically make flashcards** — Flashcards you make get sent to Migaku Memory (or Anki), where a spaced repetition algorithm will build a personalized learning schedule for you that constantly adjusts based on your performance, ensuring that you remember any word you make a flashcard for\n\nWe recommend focusing mostly on the top 5,000 vocabulary words for now, but of course you can (and should) make flashcards of terms that appear frequently in the content you enjoy, or anything else you think would be good to remember.\n\n### **3\\. Follow your interest to learn the rest of the words**\n\n5,000 words is a pretty significant milestone. You now recognize ~90% of the words you see, which means that you'll be able to follow most types of Japanese content, including shows, books, and conversations, so long as you know the key words.\n\nAs discussed in [this research paper (Laufer 2010)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.researchgate.net\u002Fpublication\u002F245539173_Lexical_threshold_revisited_Lexical_text_coverage_learners_vocabulary_size_and_reading_comprehension), rarer words tend to be more information dense. In other words, if you don't understand a sentence, it's often going to be because you're missing that one infrequently-appearing key word. For example, consider a sentence like \"\\_I put your bag on the \\_\\_\\__\": you know 6 of the sentence's 7 words, but lack the most important piece of information, which is where the thing actually \\_is_. As you're overcoming the intermediate hurdle, you'll run into a lot of sentences like this.\n\nFor this reason, it's extremely important to follow your interests. You are a unique person with specific interests and goals, and this has dramatic implications on what your vocabulary pool will end up looking like. If you're a gearhead into Yamaha motorcycles, 50 terms about mechanical tools and motorcycle parts will do you better than 1,000 random terms from other niches.\n\nThis stage is long, but it's also a ton of fun. There's still a lot you don't know, but you now have the skills to start filling in those blanks. Consuming Japanese content becomes an enjoyable activity in itself, so all you're really doing is going along for the ride, picking up useful words and expanding your mental database of Japanese sentences.\n\nAs your interests take you from point A to point B, you'll eventually cover all of the words and structures you need to effortlessly do the things that matter to you.\n\n## **Tips for effective learning without specialized tools**\n\nSo, I get it. Technology can be a headache, and you might not be at a point where you're ready to drop a subscription on a Japanese learning tool yet. That's OK.\n\nI personally _didn't_ use any fancy tools when I learned Japanese. I'm not especially good with technology, and I really like the feel of paper books; there's just something about sitting on a bench next to a lake and reading, you know? (Plus, I started learning Japanese in 2014, and a lot of the cool tools available now didn't exist back then.)\n\nSo, here's how _I_ learned Japanese vocabulary:\n\n1. I picked [a beginner Japanese textbook](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fbest-japanese-textbooks) and gave it about 15 minutes per day, gradually learning grammar points over time\n2. I downloaded a dictionary on my phone ([ctrl+f this post for _miscellaneous resources_](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-kanji#tools-and-resources-for-kanji-learning) to see my recommendations)\n3. I learned the first ~2,000 words via a [free vocabulary deck on Anki's public Japanese flashcards page](https:\u002F\u002Fankiweb.net\u002Fshared\u002Fdecks?search=japanese)\n4. I'd download book samples or skim the first pages of physical books, selecting my reading material according to two criteria: (a) there had to be a max of ~5 unknown words per page, which was simply the point where lookups became annoying to me, and (b) I had to find the book at least somewhat interesting\n5. I read over 100 books\n\nI didn't make flashcards or anything like that for a long time. Instead:\n\n1. I looked up unknown words as I encountered them, figuring that I would eventually learn them from exposure alone if they were really _that_ important\n2. If I looked up a word and found it useful, I wrote it and its definition (in Japanese) in the margin of the book, figuring that the additional attention would help me remember it\n\nAnd that worked for me! I passed the JLPT N1, at least, and today I can just pick up and read most things I'm interested in. We learn languages by getting input—consuming native content that's interesting to us and understanding the messages it contains—and you can do that without using specialized tools or spending money.\n\n> So long as you're using Japanese to do something you enjoy, and understanding some of what you see or hear, you'll make progress.\n\n### Challenges with my low-tech approach to learning\n\nI ran into two main hurdles with my approach to learning.\n\n- **Randomness** — I used the Core 6K, a flashcard deck based on the words that appear most commonly in the Asahi Shinbun newspaper, but I was interested in reading [YA horror short stories by Otsuichi](https:\u002F\u002Fbookwalker.jp\u002Fauthor\u002F1051\u002F) and [light novels from the Kino no Tabi series](https:\u002F\u002Fbookwalker.jp\u002Fseries\u002F19939\u002F). A lot of the things I learned in that vocabulary deck didn't help me to read the things I was interested in.\n\n- **Manual word lookups** — Multiple times per page, I'd get stuck on a new word or kanji, stop to put my book down, open my dictionary app, try to draw the kanji I saw, forget how it was drawn, check my book again, look the character up, then scroll through list of options till I found the word I was looking for. It took a solid 30 seconds per lookup, and that adds up... especially when you're in a good part of the story.\n\nBoth of those problems are eliminated by Migaku, so if I could go back in time, I wouldn't start with physical books like I did. But you _could_, and it's possible.\n\n## **FAQs: common questions about the frequency approach**\n\n**Q: What is the frequency approach in language learning?** \nThe frequency approach involves focusing on the most commonly used words first, enabling you to quickly reach a point where you can understand and engage with the language.\n\n**Q: Can I use the frequency approach without Migaku?** \nYes\\! While Migaku simplifies the process with spaced repetition and frequency scores, you can still manually apply the method by using frequency lists and creating your own flashcards.\n\n**Q: Should I go out of my way to learn kanji?** \nWe have an entire article about learning kanji. You may find a link to it at the bottom of this post. You'll likely need to learn a couple hundred kanji to get a feel for how they work, but as much as possible, we recommend learning kanji through vocabulary words, instead of learning kanji in isolation. An immediate benefit of this is that it ensures you only learn the kanji you need, rather than spending time learning characters you may never actually encounter.\n\n## **In Closing: Why Frequency Matters for Japanese Fluency**\n\nHowever you end up going about vocabulary, remember that vocabulary is a means to an end. We really have two goals here:\n\n1. **Understand most of the words you hear**, so that you can more effortlessly understand the content you are consuming\n2. **Make out the words you don't understand**, so that even if you _do_ miss something, you can easily look it up and resolve your confusion\n\nYou'll eventually hit both of these milestones, after you learn enough of the vocabulary that occurs in the content you regularly consume. Migaku's frequency approach ensures that you hit these milestones faster by guiding you through the most common Japanese words and then providing you the tools you need to make flashcards out of (and thus learn) the useful words you come across.\n\n_P.S. — If you're interested in this topic, I highly recommend looking through [this meta analysis from 2016](https:\u002F\u002Fpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Farticles\u002FPMC4965448\u002F)._\n",{"title":41112,"description":41915},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-vocabulary","APR-zKLpTP049VyiwseCj5MvM3atXM9Wv5TpcIp1KFQ","October 28, 2024",{"id":41931,"title":41932,"body":41933,"description":42736,"extension":717,"meta":42737,"navigation":730,"path":42747,"rawbody":42748,"seo":42749,"stem":42750,"__hash__":42751,"timestampUnix":42738,"slug":42739,"h1":42740,"image":42741,"tags":42746,"_dir":736,"timestamp":42752},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-why-learn.md","Is Learning Japanese Worth It?: 10 Amazing Reasons to Learn Japanese",{"type":8,"value":41934,"toc":42723},[41935,41938,41950,41956,41962,41964,41966,41970,41973,41978,41981,41987,42000,42003,42006,42012,42016,42031,42034,42041,42044,42049,42053,42056,42059,42062,42065,42068,42088,42091,42094,42100,42103,42233,42242,42246,42259,42315,42318,42321,42324,42331,42334,42337,42341,42344,42349,42352,42354,42357,42360,42372,42376,42385,42389,42392,42395,42401,42404,42408,42411,42414,42420,42437,42443,42446,42452,42459,42462,42467,42471,42474,42477,42480,42486,42489,42492,42497,42500,42508,42517,42541,42550,42553,42557,42560,42563,42566,42569,42576,42588,42591,42598,42601,42604,42606,42609,42611,42614,42616,42620,42627,42630,42636,42639,42642,42668,42677,42680,42683,42685,42689,42692,42698,42713,42716],[11,41936,41937],{},"Ten years ago, I was sitting in a cafe in Akita, Japan preparing for the trimester final exam of my Japanese 101 class.",[11,41939,41940,41941,41944,41945,415],{},"Today, I'm sitting in a cafe in Taiwan, having passed ",[15,41942,41943],{"href":27599},"the JLPT N1",", and am waiting for work to end so I can go back to reading ",[15,41946,41949],{"href":41947,"rel":41948},"https:\u002F\u002Flearnnatively.com\u002Fbook\u002F2dcc66eae4\u002F",[971],"あん (Sweet Bean Paste)",[11,41951,41952,41953,41955],{},"So, take it from me—",[26,41954,34549],{},", learning Japanese is worth it. Whether you want to study Japanese for a career change, you're interested in Japanese culture, or you just feel like trying something new, the Japanese Language has something for you.",[11,41957,41958,41959,41961],{},"So, if you're near the beginning of your journey and are wondering why you should ",[15,41960,18],{"href":17},", here are a few reasons for you:",[39,41963],{},[42,41965],{},[45,41967,41969],{"id":41968},"_1-learning-japanese-will-make-you-a-better-communicator","1. Learning Japanese will make you a better communicator",[11,41971,41972],{},"Try something for me real fast:",[320,41974,41975],{},[11,41976,41977],{},"Explain how to get from where you are now to the nearest convenience store. You're not allowed to use any words that contain the letter R.",[11,41979,41980],{},"That was surprisingly hard, wasn't it?",[11,41982,41983,41984,41986],{},"Remember that feeling, because this is what basically ",[26,41985,2006],{}," of your first conversations in Japanese will feel like.",[11,41988,41989,41990,26964,41995,41999],{},"You see, ",[15,41991,41994],{"href":41992,"rel":41993},"https:\u002F\u002Fpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Farticles\u002FPMC5400288\u002F",[971],"even a 5-year-old native speaker of English knows about 10,000 words",[15,41996,41998],{"href":41891,"rel":41997},[971],"A typical 20 year old knows ~42,000 lemmas",". That's a lot of words! For as long as we can remember as native speakers, we've been able to open our mouths and literally say whatever pops into our head.",[11,42001,42002],{},"When you first try to speak Japanese, you won't be able to do that. You'll have a very limited vocabulary and understanding of Japanese sentence structures, so you often won't be immediately sure how to say whatever it is that you want to say.",[11,42004,42005],{},"By the time you reach an intermediate level of Japanese, this practice of taking a moment to reflect on what you really want to say and considering the various ways you could try to express that idea will have become second nature.",[11,42007,42008,42009,42011],{},"You can do this in your native language, too, and it's kind of a super power. A lot of the times, it's ",[26,42010,39775],{}," you say something that makes all the difference.",[45,42013,42015],{"id":42014},"_2-learning-japanese-can-open-up-new-career-paths","2. Learning Japanese can open up new career paths",[11,42017,42018,42019,42024,42025,42030],{},"It's no secret that Japan is an industrious place: it has ",[15,42020,42023],{"href":42021,"rel":42022},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.worldometers.info\u002Fgdp\u002Fgdp-by-country\u002F",[971],"one of the highest GDPs in the world"," and also submits ",[15,42026,42029],{"href":42027,"rel":42028},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FWorld_Intellectual_Property_Indicators",[971],"the 3rd most patent applications annually",", behind the US and China.",[11,42032,42033],{},"Then, whereas most international business is done in English, Japanese companies (understandably) prefer to communicate in Japanese. As such, speaking Japanese can give you a leg up—especially if you're in Japan-dominated industries like automotive vehicles, electronics, or robotics.",[11,42035,42036,42037,42040],{},"What these kind of surveys miss, in their aggregate statistical nature, is that learning a language ",[26,42038,42039],{},"isn't"," just a flat % increase in salary. It's more of an all-or-nothing thing. You simply won't be eligible for some positions unless you speak Japanese, and the act of learning Japanese may put you in certain situations where you'll find opportunities that you would have missed if you hadn't gone down this rabbit hole in the first place.",[11,42042,42043],{},"So if you're living in Japan or are simply interested in working with a Japanese business, learn some Japanese! You just might be surprised where that path leads you. I have been, at least.",[11,42045,42046],{},[26,42047,42048],{},"(P.S. — some major Japanese companies that are household names: Toyota, Sony, Panasonic, Nintendo, and Canon)",[45,42050,42052],{"id":42051},"_3-japanese-music-is-awesome","3. Japanese music is awesome",[11,42054,42055],{},"Yeah, yeah, I know. When you think of Japanese, you probably think of anime and manga.",[11,42057,42058],{},"We'll get to that.",[11,42060,42061],{},"First, music.",[11,42063,42064],{},"Most Western pop music follows what's called a I–vi–IV-V chord progression. You don't need to know what that means. Just check out the below video and notice that you can literally play hundreds of songs by looping these same four chords over and over again—everything from Frozen to Don't Stop Believing to No Woman No Cry.",[5025,42066],{"src":42067},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F5pidokakU4I?si=G2pW19ZlPIb97UyB",[11,42069,42070,42071,42076,42077,42081,42082,42084,42085,42087],{},"Well, as it would happen, ",[15,42072,42075],{"href":42073,"rel":42074},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FRoyal_road_progression",[971],"Japanese has its own \"default\" chord progression, too",": It's IV",[42078,42079,42080],"sup",{},"M7","–V",[42078,42083,220],{},"–iii",[42078,42086,220],{},"–vi. Looks more complicated, doesn't it! Now we have fancy superscript characters tossed into the mix.",[11,42089,42090],{},"Anyway, check it out. It's pretty snazzy.",[5025,42092],{"src":42093},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F6aezSL_GvZA?si=qXosewqrrtX_dBEJ",[11,42095,42096,42097,42099],{},"So if you've got a favorite anime or video game song that you swear just hits different—that's because it ",[26,42098,12250],{},". This chord progression was first used in 1975, it rocked Japan, and permanently altered the \"gravity\" of Japan's musical world. When you listen to Japanese music, it's almost like you're entering an alternate universe where music evolved in a different direction.",[11,42101,42102],{},"And if you by some chance have managed to live your entire life without every being exposed to a single Japanese song, here's some stuff for you to check out:",[304,42104,42105,42115,42125,42135,42145,42155,42165,42175,42185,42195,42204,42213,42223],{},[307,42106,42107,10768,42110],{},[1090,42108,42109],{},"Acoustic, female voice",[15,42111,42114],{"href":42112,"rel":42113},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=AabAbM_Lmuo&t=33s",[971],"Mika Nakashima, Boku ga shinou to omottanowa",[307,42116,42117,10768,42120],{},[1090,42118,42119],{},"Heavy metal",[15,42121,42124],{"href":42122,"rel":42123},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=Nl4Z5f4QwEY",[971],"Soko ni naru, Gou ni moyu",[307,42126,42127,10768,42130],{},[1090,42128,42129],{},"Poppy J-rock",[15,42131,42134],{"href":42132,"rel":42133},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=PDSkFeMVNFs",[971],"Radwimps, zenzenzense",[307,42136,42137,10768,42140],{},[1090,42138,42139],{},"Something I don't know how to describe",[15,42141,42144],{"href":42142,"rel":42143},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=Ae6gQmhaMn4",[971],"Gesu no kiwami otome, Watashi igai watashi janaino",[307,42146,42147,10768,42150],{},[1090,42148,42149],{},"Pretty heavy J-rap",[15,42151,42154],{"href":42152,"rel":42153},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=onTKv0A44PA",[971],"Ryofu Karuma, Ore no katte",[307,42156,42157,10768,42160],{},[1090,42158,42159],{},"More mainstream j-rock",[15,42161,42164],{"href":42162,"rel":42163},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=6YZlFdTIdzM",[971],"ONE OK ROCK, Clock Strikes",[307,42166,42167,10768,42170],{},[1090,42168,42169],{},"An indie artist who got huge",[15,42171,42174],{"href":42172,"rel":42173},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=SX_ViT4Ra7k",[971],"Yonezu Kenshi, Lemon",[307,42176,42177,10768,42180],{},[1090,42178,42179],{},"A modern take on traditional Japanese music",[15,42181,42184],{"href":42182,"rel":42183},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=-zQWavER7to",[971],"Shimabukuro Yu, Umi no koe",[307,42186,42187,10768,42190],{},[1090,42188,42189],{},"The original girl band",[15,42191,42194],{"href":42192,"rel":42193},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=q6T0wOMsNrI",[971],"Perfume, Flash",[307,42196,42197,10768,42200],{},[1090,42198,42199],{},"These happy vibes",[15,42201,42203],{"href":3888,"rel":42202},[971],"Unlimited tone, Try try try",[307,42205,42206,10768,42209],{},[1090,42207,42208],{},"Something quirky",[15,42210,42212],{"href":13840,"rel":42211},[971],"FREDERIC, Odd loop",[307,42214,42215,10768,42218],{},[1090,42216,42217],{},"J-pop",[15,42219,42222],{"href":42220,"rel":42221},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=m34DPnRUfMU&t=30",[971],"Mrs. GREEN APPLE, Ao to natsu",[307,42224,42225,10768,42228],{},[1090,42226,42227],{},"Old school metal, unplugged",[15,42229,42232],{"href":42230,"rel":42231},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=PNi9Zq7VZLQ&t=37",[971],"MUCC, Heide",[11,42234,42235,42236,42241],{},"And as a shameless plug, here's my personal favorite Japanese song: ",[15,42237,42240],{"href":42238,"rel":42239},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=BqFftJDXii0",[971],"Yamazaki Masayoshi, One more time, one more chance",". It's a ballad written by a Japanese singer-songwriter who lost his wife to the 1995 Kobe earthquake.",[45,42243,42245],{"id":42244},"_4-learning-japanese-will-help-you-to-understand-japanese-culture-and-thus-make-more-sense-of-japanese-media","4. Learning Japanese will help you to understand Japanese culture (and thus make more sense of Japanese media)",[11,42247,42248,42249,42252,42253,42258],{},"Japan is what's known as a ",[15,42250,4940],{"href":4938,"rel":42251},[971],", meaning that Japanese people tend to prefer more indirect means of communication. As people don't usually put their thoughts or desires explicitly into words, it's necessary to \"",[15,42254,42257],{"href":42255,"rel":42256},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FBa_no_kuuki_wo_yomu",[971],"read the air","\" to effectively navigate Japanese conversations.",[8421,42260,42262,42273,42276,42283,42289,42292,42295,42298,42301,42312],{"heading":42261},"Story time",[11,42263,42264,42265,42272],{},"During my second year in Japan, I moved into share house. I lived with an Australian, a British guy, and Japanese guy, and, as much as I love Japanese food, found myself with a terrible hankering for Mexican food. I began getting people together to have tacos on Tuesday nights. I'd tell people to make themselves at home. Some people chilled near the kotatsu ",[26,42266,11127,42267,3892],{},[15,42268,42271],{"href":42269,"rel":42270},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FKotatsu",[971],"aka heaven",", other people pitched in and helped me make homemade tortillas.",[11,42274,42275],{},"One of my regulars was a Japanese guy from a lower floor of the share house. He'd show up each week, I'd ask if he wanted anything, he'd politely decline, and the night would go on. It was a whole routine. That was our weekly ritual.",[11,42277,42278,42279,42282],{},"Then, one day, my Japanese roommate (who had done a year abroad in America and basically became a redneck) pulled me aside and asked me when I was going to stop being a {rude word here}. I was shocked. ",[26,42280,42281],{},"What","? I responded.",[11,42284,42285,42286,415],{},"My roommate explained that I shouldn't ask if the guy wanted anything. Instead, I should say ",[26,42287,42288],{},"tea, soda, or milk",[11,42290,42291],{},"So I tried.",[11,42293,42294],{},"And, wouldn't you know it, the Japanese guy asked for a Coca Cola.",[11,42296,42297],{},"What was going on?",[11,42299,42300],{},"It turned out that there was a clash of cultures.",[304,42302,42303,42306],{},[307,42304,42305],{},"My attitude was \"he knows where the fridge is\"",[307,42307,42308,42309,42311],{},"His attitude was, apparently, that I would ",[26,42310,11492],{}," that he was going to politely decline the first time, so I should follow up and be insistent",[11,42313,42314],{},"And this left us at an impasse that was troublesome for both of us.",[11,42316,42317],{},"As odd as it might seem to my American ears, as I was raised to say what I mean and mean what I say, Japanese communication makes a virtue out of basically the opposite. Very clearly stating your thoughts is seen as being kinda rude because it is seen to imply that you think the person you are talking to is so daft they won't be able to put two and two together themselves.",[11,42319,42320],{},"You might be thinking \"that probably leads to a lot of misunderstandings,\" and you'd be right.",[11,42322,42323],{},"There's actually an entire genre of humor called 勘違いコント (kanchigai konto, \"misunderstanding sketch\") in which one person thinks they're talking about one thing, a second person thinks they're talking about another, and this misunderstanding leads to chaos.",[11,42325,42326,42327,42330],{},"For example, here's a skit in which a detective receives a tip as to the names of three people running a drug ring. He writes their names vertically on a white board. A second detective walks into the room and reads their names ",[26,42328,42329],{},"horizontally","—from which perspective, the text reads, \"Actually, I wear a wig...\"",[5025,42332],{"src":42333},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002Fn5JfsbM89v8?si=eu31Pluthg31QmyG",[11,42335,42336],{},"All this is to say that as you learn Japanese and get a better feel for the Japanese approach to communication, you just might find that there's a bit more to your favorite Japanese shows than initially met the eye.",[45,42338,42340],{"id":42339},"_5-anime-and-manga-need-i-say-more","5. Anime and Manga. Need I say more?",[11,42342,42343],{},"I'll keep this section short because it's an obvious one. Japanese anime and manga has won the hearts of people all over the world. Can you even find somebody who doesn't know what Pokémon is?",[320,42345,42346],{},[11,42347,42348],{},"If you love Japanese media, too, then know that Migaku was made for people like you.",[11,42350,42351],{},"Whereas other apps are basically gamified textbooks, Migaku teaches you Japanese by letting you do things like this:",[50,42353],{"src":34088,"width":19054,"height":34089,"alt":34090},[11,42355,42356],{},"Yeah. You just click directly on the subtitles and see a definition of what that particular word means. It's cool—and it turns out that we learn faster when we're having fun.",[11,42358,42359],{},"If that sounds a little too good to be true, check out:",[304,42361,42362,42367],{},[307,42363,42364,42366],{},[15,42365,22752],{"href":27657}," (or any video content, really)",[307,42368,42369],{},[15,42370,42371],{"href":24580},"How to learn Japanese with manga",[45,42373,42375],{"id":42374},"_6-learning-japanese-will-make-your-trip-to-japan-better","6. Learning Japanese will make your trip to Japan better",[11,42377,42378,42379,42384],{},"So, I've just typed in \"",[15,42380,42383],{"href":42381,"rel":42382},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch?num=10&sca_esv=09d50bc19946cdf1&sxsrf=ADLYWIIDsyjMuMQ9dvkEwFMmD0AHjMLWCQ:1733393995564&q=trip+to+japan&udm=2&fbs=AEQNm0DoBPfZYovsqcfybhzCmiKHbv9xvl3JqQujnEFbPqmJwqmli2Yxm8zeFAS7mXlqEjYOO-KubGVNGOhFhQvuGOLvWQ23Dbsm1xUQ2QKReJ8oWr3ixo4m2HkOPuBZjNJK3I1wNLl9SnPtlJ5DcsbDX_d4ivSs9xFhmpwwpY8OYQ3jo2lbtxPpbIdAQhiuhNItWhRzj_ELrY3OxTGe_sjx7RWNSWsg39X1lBeMdLFDUGgZp4fewWQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi_z_Hqs5CKAxW7ZvUHHSPvE_IQtKgLegQIHxAB&biw=974&bih=875&dpr=1.8",[971],"trip to Japan\""," into Google, and this is what I see:",[50,42386],{"src":42387,"width":19054,"height":19055,"alt":42388},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japan-trip.jpeg","What Japan looks like, according to Google Images",[11,42390,42391],{},"Man! Isn't that pretty. The pink of the sakura trees, the orange of the Shinto shrines, Mount Fuji in the background. Gorgeous.",[11,42393,42394],{},"It's also kinda fake.",[11,42396,42397,42398,42400],{},"You see, whenever you look at pictures of Japan on Google or Instagram, you're not seeing the ",[26,42399,5914],{}," Japan. You're looking at a very carefully curated slice of Japan that some marketer somewhere has decided would probably make them money if tourists see it. In other words, somebody is trying to sell you something. You'll certainly find these places if you take a trip to Japan, but they'll be full of other tourists taking pictures, bored Japanese people selling overpriced things, and stuff like that.",[11,42402,42403],{},"On the other hand, if you know a bit of Japanese, you can take a bus or rental car to get off the beaten path and see the \"real\" side of Japan—the one that Japanese people actually live in.",[45,42405,42407],{"id":42406},"_7-learning-japanese-will-give-you-a-major-head-start-learning-chinese","7. Learning Japanese will give you a major head start learning Chinese",[11,42409,42410],{},"When you start learning a new language, it's natural to start learning from the writing system. The writing system presents an ideal starting point in that it's a relatively straightforward task, there's (usually) only a few dozen things to learn, and—importantly—you can't really do anything in a language if you don't know the alphabet.",[11,42412,42413],{},"The basics are called ABCs for a reason, you know.",[11,42415,42416,42417,42419],{},"Learners of Japanese, however, are in for something of a surprise: the language has ",[26,42418,3500],{}," writing systems.",[304,42421,42422,42427,42432],{},[307,42423,42424,42426],{},[15,42425,18161],{"href":1082},", of which there are 46",[307,42428,42429,42431],{},[15,42430,16121],{"href":3811},", of which there are also 46",[307,42433,42434,42436],{},[15,42435,82],{"href":3817},", of which there are thousands",[11,42438,42439,42440,415],{},"Yeah, you read that right. ",[26,42441,42442],{},"Thousands",[11,42444,42445],{},"If you want to confidently read a newspaper in Japanese, you'll need to know over 2,000 kanji.",[11,42447,42448,42449,42451],{},"We're not going to spend time talking about how kanji work or how to learn them here—that's covered extensively in the ",[26,42450,1032],{}," article, linked above. Instead, I just want to give you a bit of good news:",[11,42453,42454,42455,506,42457,10743],{},"The word \"kanji\" (",[98,42456],{"lang":100,"syntax":10739},[103,42458],{"src":10742,":type":149},[11,42460,42461],{},"While there are some stylistic differences, Chinese languages use the same Chinese characters that Japanese does. This means that if you learn Japanese and then later decide to start learning Mandarin, Cantonese, or one of the other Chinese languages, you'll enjoy a massive head start. Pretty much all of the Japanese characters also exist in Chinese, and many Japanese words can be ported directly into Chinese, too.",[11,42463,42464],{},[26,42465,42466],{},"(As a small side note, while we're talking about other languages—Japanese grammar and Korean grammar almost perfectly overlap. So if you're more into Korean culture, learning Japanese will allow you to make some headway into Korean, too.)",[45,42468,42470],{"id":42469},"_8-learning-japanese-opens-up-a-new-world-of-literature","8. Learning Japanese opens up a new world of literature",[11,42472,42473],{},"My other hobby is writing fiction, so let me let you in on a secret:",[11,42475,42476],{},"Publishers don't like losing money.",[11,42478,42479],{},"A big part of querying as a new author comes down to convincing a publishing house that your story is similar to a few other books that performed well but also somehow different in a better, special way. In other words, you have to convince them that they can probably sell your book because something similar is already selling well.",[11,42481,42482,42483,415],{},"This is what you call ",[26,42484,42485],{},"bias",[11,42487,42488],{},"The wild success of books like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter means that, when an English speaker thinks of fantasy, they think of things like knights and dragons or wizards and wands. Publishers know that readers like this kind of stuff, so they look to publish books that can scratch the same itch from a slightly different angle. The massiveness of these literary giants exerts a sort of gravity, affecting the trajectory of everything else published in the same genre.",[11,42490,42491],{},"Now, here's the fun question:",[320,42493,42494],{},[11,42495,42496],{},"What if Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings didn't exist?",[11,42498,42499],{},"Enter the world of Japanese literature.",[11,42501,42502,42507],{},[15,42503,42506],{"href":42504,"rel":42505},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.visualcapitalist.com\u002Fvisualized-which-countries-publish-the-most-books-in-each-region\u002F",[971],"Japan is the #2 market for books globally",", and they have their own giants—the \"classic\" stories that drag everything else within the genre in a certain direction.",[11,42509,42510,42511,42516],{},"Here's a list of ",[15,42512,42515],{"href":42513,"rel":42514},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FList_of_best-selling_light_novels",[971],"the top light novels (by sales) in Japanese history",". You'll notice trends:",[304,42518,42519,42527,42534],{},[307,42520,42521,42522,3892],{},"Japanese fantasy has slimes, not elves (thanks, ",[15,42523,42526],{"href":42524,"rel":42525},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FDragon_Quest",[971],"Dragon Quest",[307,42528,42529,42530,3892],{},"Japanese fantasy often involves characters moving to another world (thanks, ",[15,42531,35795],{"href":42532,"rel":42533},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSword_Art_Online",[971],[307,42535,42536,42537,42540],{},"Samurai culture has had a heavy influence on Japanese fantasy—",[26,42538,42539],{},"somebody"," somewhere will have a sword",[11,42542,42543,42544,42549],{},"For example, check out ",[15,42545,42548],{"href":42546,"rel":42547},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.novelupdatesforum.com\u002Fblogs\u002Fthe-guin-saga-book-6-prologue-with-a-brief-summary-of-important-info-from-books-1-5.399\u002F",[971],"Guin Saga",", the OG of Japanese fantasy, featuring a powerful warrior who has woken up in another world wearing a tiger mask that he cannot remove.",[11,42551,42552],{},"Even if you're not into books, know that this same \"freshness\" permeates every aspect of Japanese media, from J-dramas to anime to variety TV shows to manga. There'll be something new for you, and it'll be cool.",[45,42554,42556],{"id":42555},"_9-japanese-has-the-coolest-apps-and-resources-of-any-language","9. Japanese has the coolest apps and resources of any language",[11,42558,42559],{},"I've lived in six countries, dabbled in eight languages, and learned four to a high enough level that I could forget English and continue my life mostly as normal.",[11,42561,42562],{},"So, as someone who has been there and done that, let me tell you—so far as apps and resources go, Japanese is on another level. For whatever reason, the language (or culture) just seems to attract the type of people who like making awesome tools. There are more resources for learning Japanese available than resources for all of the other languages I've learned combined. It's ridiculous, to be honest.",[11,42564,42565],{},"Like, if you decide you want to study Russian, you'll find yourself with no other option as a beginner but to drill grammar exercises that haven't been updated since the 1960's.",[11,42567,42568],{},"If you decide to learn Japanese, Migaku is an all-in-one platform that can take from you from zero to fluent.",[11,42570,42571,42572,8737],{},"When first starting out, you'll work through ",[15,42573,42575],{"href":969,"rel":42574},[971],"our two beginner's courses",[344,42577,42578,42583],{},[307,42579,42580,42582],{},[1090,42581,20555],{},", shown below, which teaches you how to pronounce and read Japanese",[307,42584,42585,42587],{},[1090,42586,20561],{},", which teaches you ~380 essential grammar patterns and the ~1,800 vocabulary words you need to understand ~80% of all Japanese media",[50,42589],{"src":42590,"width":33598,"height":12850,"alt":922},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-fundamentals-course.jpeg",[320,42592,42593],{},[11,42594,42595],{},[26,42596,42597],{},"In the above picture, from right to left: explanation → front of flashcard → back of flashcard",[11,42599,42600],{},"Our courses can be done via our iOS or Android app on mobile, or via our website on the computer.",[11,42602,42603],{},"By the time you finish the courses, you'll be able to take advantage of Migaku's main functionality, shown below:",[50,42605],{"src":22822,"width":22823,"height":22801,"alt":22824},[11,42607,42608],{},"If you see a word you'd like to learn, just click on that orange button in the top-right corner of the dictionary. We'll automatically make you a flashcard that looks like this:",[50,42610],{"src":22886,"width":22887,"height":21682,"alt":22888},[11,42612,42613],{},"To learn Japanese with Migaku, all you have to do is read or watch your favorite content and click on words you don't know.",[674,42615],{"href":17,"text":676},[45,42617,42619],{"id":42618},"_10-learning-japanese-will-help-you-understand-english","10. Learning Japanese will help you understand English",[11,42621,42622,42623,42626],{},"The cool thing about our native languages ",[26,42624,42625],{},"(I'm assuming yours is English)"," is is that we just kind of grow into them. We go from crying to babbling to spurting out words here and there and then, before you know it, we're five or six years old expressing unique and interesting thoughts about the world.",[11,42628,42629],{},"And that kinda just... happens.",[11,42631,42632,42633,42635],{},"Native speakers don't really know how their native language works—they just know what sounds natural. They ",[26,42634,24506],{}," it.",[11,42637,42638],{},"Part of the reason that learning a second language is so hard is that, if you're older than ten or so, it just doesn't work that way anymore. Learning a language takes conscious effort, and you'll inevitably spend time mucking about in the weeds of linguistics and grammar.",[11,42640,42641],{},"To speak Japanese, for example, you're going to learn about concepts like:",[304,42643,42644,42651,42657],{},[307,42645,42646],{},[15,42647,42650],{"href":42648,"rel":42649},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_conjugation",[971],"Verb conjugation",[307,42652,42653],{},[15,42654,42656],{"href":25503,"rel":42655},[971],"Passive vs active voice",[307,42658,42659,3814,42663],{},[15,42660,42662],{"href":25541,"rel":42661},[971],"Causativity",[15,42664,42667],{"href":42665,"rel":42666},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FTransitivity_(grammar)",[971],"transitivity",[11,42669,42670,42671],{},"The thing is, all this stuff actually exists in English, too. You just hadn't been aware of it. ",[26,42672,11127,42673,19403],{},[15,42674,42676],{"href":42675},"\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fwhy-english-is-hard","English is hard, man",[11,42678,42679],{},"I won't ramble because I'm a nerd and I know it, but I promise you—if you learn Japanese, and you reach an intermediate level or so, you'll start noticing stuff about English that you'd never noticed before.",[11,42681,42682],{},"And that's kind of cool.",[42,42684],{},[45,42686,42688],{"id":42687},"so-should-you-learn-japanese","So, should you learn Japanese?",[11,42690,42691],{},"Duh, of course.",[11,42693,42694,42695],{},"This article is like 3,000 words long. I wouldn't have written that much if I was just going to say ",[26,42696,42697],{},"nah, learn Spanish instead.",[11,42699,42700,42704,42705,42712],{},[15,42701,42703],{"href":42702},"\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fthe-most-difficult-language#the-most-difficult-languages-to-learn-for-english-speakers","Japanese is hard","—I won't lie—but, really, ",[26,42706,42707],{},[15,42708,42711],{"href":42709,"rel":42710},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=ZXsQAXx_ao0",[971],"do it",". You won't regret it. If you put in the time to learn the language well enough to do things you enjoy in Japanese, it will pay your effort back in dividends. You can literally enjoy the language for your entire life, and it just might change your life.",[11,42714,42715],{},"But you don't have to take my word for it.",[11,42717,42718,42719,42722],{},"Click that big purple button at the bottom of this page to ",[15,42720,42721],{"href":28600},"join Migaku's Discord server"," and ask thousands of other learners why they think learning Japanese is worthwhile.",{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":42724},[42725,42726,42727,42728,42729,42730,42731,42732,42733,42734,42735],{"id":41968,"depth":707,"text":41969},{"id":42014,"depth":707,"text":42015},{"id":42051,"depth":707,"text":42052},{"id":42244,"depth":707,"text":42245},{"id":42339,"depth":707,"text":42340},{"id":42374,"depth":707,"text":42375},{"id":42406,"depth":707,"text":42407},{"id":42469,"depth":707,"text":42470},{"id":42555,"depth":707,"text":42556},{"id":42618,"depth":707,"text":42619},{"id":42687,"depth":707,"text":42688},"Wondering if learning Japanese is worth it? Explore 10 compelling reasons why learning Japanese can boost your career, enrich your life, and help you immerse in Japanese culture. Discover how Migaku makes learning Japanese more effective and enjoyable.",{"timestampUnix":42738,"slug":42739,"h1":42740,"image":42741,"tags":42746},1733880729314,"why-learn-japanese","Why Learn Japanese? 10 Reasons From a Guy Who Did It",{"src":42742,"width":42743,"height":42744,"alt":42745},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-why-japanese-header.webp",4650,3100,"A photo of a Japanese temple with Mount Fuji in the background",[728,8649],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-why-learn","---\ntitle: 'Is Learning Japanese Worth It?: 10 Amazing Reasons to Learn Japanese'\ndescription: 'Wondering if learning Japanese is worth it? Explore 10 compelling reasons why learning Japanese can boost your career, enrich your life, and help you immerse in Japanese culture. Discover how Migaku makes learning Japanese more effective and enjoyable.'\ntimestampUnix: 1733880729314\nslug: 'why-learn-japanese'\nh1: 'Why Learn Japanese? 10 Reasons From a Guy Who Did It'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-why-japanese-header.webp'\n width: 4650\n height: 3100\n alt: 'A photo of a Japanese temple with Mount Fuji in the background'\ntags:\n - 'fundamentals'\n - 'discussion'\n---\n\nTen years ago, I was sitting in a cafe in Akita, Japan preparing for the trimester final exam of my Japanese 101 class.\n\nToday, I'm sitting in a cafe in Taiwan, having passed [the JLPT N1](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjlpt-n1-overview), and am waiting for work to end so I can go back to reading [あん (Sweet Bean Paste)](https:\u002F\u002Flearnnatively.com\u002Fbook\u002F2dcc66eae4\u002F).\n\nSo, take it from me—_yes_, learning Japanese is worth it. Whether you want to study Japanese for a career change, you're interested in Japanese culture, or you just feel like trying something new, the Japanese Language has something for you.\n\nSo, if you're near the beginning of your journey and are wondering why you should [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese), here are a few reasons for you:\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## 1. Learning Japanese will make you a better communicator\n\nTry something for me real fast:\n\n> Explain how to get from where you are now to the nearest convenience store. You're not allowed to use any words that contain the letter R.\n\nThat was surprisingly hard, wasn't it?\n\nRemember that feeling, because this is what basically _all_ of your first conversations in Japanese will feel like.\n\nYou see, [even a 5-year-old native speaker of English knows about 10,000 words](https:\u002F\u002Fpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Farticles\u002FPMC5400288\u002F). [A typical 20 year old knows ~42,000 lemmas](https:\u002F\u002Fpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\u002Farticles\u002FPMC4965448\u002F). That's a lot of words! For as long as we can remember as native speakers, we've been able to open our mouths and literally say whatever pops into our head.\n\nWhen you first try to speak Japanese, you won't be able to do that. You'll have a very limited vocabulary and understanding of Japanese sentence structures, so you often won't be immediately sure how to say whatever it is that you want to say.\n\nBy the time you reach an intermediate level of Japanese, this practice of taking a moment to reflect on what you really want to say and considering the various ways you could try to express that idea will have become second nature.\n\nYou can do this in your native language, too, and it's kind of a super power. A lot of the times, it's _how_ you say something that makes all the difference.\n\n## 2. Learning Japanese can open up new career paths\n\nIt's no secret that Japan is an industrious place: it has [one of the highest GDPs in the world](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.worldometers.info\u002Fgdp\u002Fgdp-by-country\u002F) and also submits [the 3rd most patent applications annually](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FWorld_Intellectual_Property_Indicators), behind the US and China.\n\nThen, whereas most international business is done in English, Japanese companies (understandably) prefer to communicate in Japanese. As such, speaking Japanese can give you a leg up—especially if you're in Japan-dominated industries like automotive vehicles, electronics, or robotics.\n\nWhat these kind of surveys miss, in their aggregate statistical nature, is that learning a language _isn't_ just a flat % increase in salary. It's more of an all-or-nothing thing. You simply won't be eligible for some positions unless you speak Japanese, and the act of learning Japanese may put you in certain situations where you'll find opportunities that you would have missed if you hadn't gone down this rabbit hole in the first place.\n\nSo if you're living in Japan or are simply interested in working with a Japanese business, learn some Japanese! You just might be surprised where that path leads you. I have been, at least.\n\n_(P.S. — some major Japanese companies that are household names: Toyota, Sony, Panasonic, Nintendo, and Canon)_\n\n## 3. Japanese music is awesome\n\nYeah, yeah, I know. When you think of Japanese, you probably think of anime and manga.\n\nWe'll get to that.\n\nFirst, music.\n\nMost Western pop music follows what's called a I–vi–IV-V chord progression. You don't need to know what that means. Just check out the below video and notice that you can literally play hundreds of songs by looping these same four chords over and over again—everything from Frozen to Don't Stop Believing to No Woman No Cry.\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F5pidokakU4I?si=G2pW19ZlPIb97UyB\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\nWell, as it would happen, [Japanese has its own \"default\" chord progression, too](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FRoyal_road_progression): It's IV\u003Csup>M7\u003C\u002Fsup>–V\u003Csup>7\u003C\u002Fsup>–iii\u003Csup>7\u003C\u002Fsup>–vi. Looks more complicated, doesn't it! Now we have fancy superscript characters tossed into the mix.\n\nAnyway, check it out. It's pretty snazzy.\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002F6aezSL_GvZA?si=qXosewqrrtX_dBEJ\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\nSo if you've got a favorite anime or video game song that you swear just hits different—that's because it _does_. This chord progression was first used in 1975, it rocked Japan, and permanently altered the \"gravity\" of Japan's musical world. When you listen to Japanese music, it's almost like you're entering an alternate universe where music evolved in a different direction.\n\nAnd if you by some chance have managed to live your entire life without every being exposed to a single Japanese song, here's some stuff for you to check out:\n\n- **Acoustic, female voice** — [Mika Nakashima, Boku ga shinou to omottanowa](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=AabAbM_Lmuo&t=33s)\n- **Heavy metal** — [Soko ni naru, Gou ni moyu](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=Nl4Z5f4QwEY)\n- **Poppy J-rock** — [Radwimps, zenzenzense](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=PDSkFeMVNFs)\n- **Something I don't know how to describe** — [Gesu no kiwami otome, Watashi igai watashi janaino](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=Ae6gQmhaMn4)\n- **Pretty heavy J-rap** — [Ryofu Karuma, Ore no katte](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=onTKv0A44PA)\n- **More mainstream j-rock** — [ONE OK ROCK, Clock Strikes](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=6YZlFdTIdzM)\n- **An indie artist who got huge** — [Yonezu Kenshi, Lemon](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=SX_ViT4Ra7k)\n- **A modern take on traditional Japanese music** — [Shimabukuro Yu, Umi no koe](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=-zQWavER7to)\n- **The original girl band** — [Perfume, Flash](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=q6T0wOMsNrI)\n- **These happy vibes** — [Unlimited tone, Try try try](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=wCBaR4qsaz4)\n- **Something quirky** — [FREDERIC, Odd loop](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=PCp2iXA1uLE)\n- **J-pop** — [Mrs. GREEN APPLE, Ao to natsu](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=m34DPnRUfMU&t=30)\n- **Old school metal, unplugged** — [MUCC, Heide](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=PNi9Zq7VZLQ&t=37)\n\nAnd as a shameless plug, here's my personal favorite Japanese song: [Yamazaki Masayoshi, One more time, one more chance](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=BqFftJDXii0). It's a ballad written by a Japanese singer-songwriter who lost his wife to the 1995 Kobe earthquake.\n\n## 4. Learning Japanese will help you to understand Japanese culture (and thus make more sense of Japanese media)\n\nJapan is what's known as a [high-context culture](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FHigh-context_and_low-context_cultures), meaning that Japanese people tend to prefer more indirect means of communication. As people don't usually put their thoughts or desires explicitly into words, it's necessary to \"[read the air](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FBa_no_kuuki_wo_yomu)\" to effectively navigate Japanese conversations.\n\n\u003Caccordion heading=\"Story time\">\n\nDuring my second year in Japan, I moved into share house. I lived with an Australian, a British guy, and Japanese guy, and, as much as I love Japanese food, found myself with a terrible hankering for Mexican food. I began getting people together to have tacos on Tuesday nights. I'd tell people to make themselves at home. Some people chilled near the kotatsu _([aka heaven](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FKotatsu))_, other people pitched in and helped me make homemade tortillas.\n\nOne of my regulars was a Japanese guy from a lower floor of the share house. He'd show up each week, I'd ask if he wanted anything, he'd politely decline, and the night would go on. It was a whole routine. That was our weekly ritual.\n\nThen, one day, my Japanese roommate (who had done a year abroad in America and basically became a redneck) pulled me aside and asked me when I was going to stop being a {rude word here}. I was shocked. _What_? I responded.\n\nMy roommate explained that I shouldn't ask if the guy wanted anything. Instead, I should say _tea, soda, or milk_.\n\nSo I tried.\n\nAnd, wouldn't you know it, the Japanese guy asked for a Coca Cola.\n\nWhat was going on?\n\nIt turned out that there was a clash of cultures.\n\n- My attitude was \"he knows where the fridge is\"\n- His attitude was, apparently, that I would _know_ that he was going to politely decline the first time, so I should follow up and be insistent\n\nAnd this left us at an impasse that was troublesome for both of us.\n\n\u003C\u002Faccordion>\n\nAs odd as it might seem to my American ears, as I was raised to say what I mean and mean what I say, Japanese communication makes a virtue out of basically the opposite. Very clearly stating your thoughts is seen as being kinda rude because it is seen to imply that you think the person you are talking to is so daft they won't be able to put two and two together themselves.\n\nYou might be thinking \"that probably leads to a lot of misunderstandings,\" and you'd be right.\n\nThere's actually an entire genre of humor called 勘違いコント (kanchigai konto, \"misunderstanding sketch\") in which one person thinks they're talking about one thing, a second person thinks they're talking about another, and this misunderstanding leads to chaos.\n\nFor example, here's a skit in which a detective receives a tip as to the names of three people running a drug ring. He writes their names vertically on a white board. A second detective walks into the room and reads their names _horizontally_—from which perspective, the text reads, \"Actually, I wear a wig...\"\n\n\u003Ccustom-iframe src=\"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002Fn5JfsbM89v8?si=eu31Pluthg31QmyG\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-iframe>\n\nAll this is to say that as you learn Japanese and get a better feel for the Japanese approach to communication, you just might find that there's a bit more to your favorite Japanese shows than initially met the eye.\n\n## 5. Anime and Manga. Need I say more?\n\nI'll keep this section short because it's an obvious one. Japanese anime and manga has won the hearts of people all over the world. Can you even find somebody who doesn't know what Pokémon is?\n\n> If you love Japanese media, too, then know that Migaku was made for people like you.\n\nWhereas other apps are basically gamified textbooks, Migaku teaches you Japanese by letting you do things like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-ano-natsu.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1714\" alt=\"A screenshot from the anime Ano Natse de Matteiru, showing three characters conversing.\" \u002F>\n\nYeah. You just click directly on the subtitles and see a definition of what that particular word means. It's cool—and it turns out that we learn faster when we're having fun.\n\nIf that sounds a little too good to be true, check out:\n\n- [How to learn Japanese with Netflix](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Flearn-japanese-with-netflix) (or any video content, really)\n- [How to learn Japanese with manga](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Flearn-japanese-with-manga)\n\n## 6. Learning Japanese will make your trip to Japan better\n\nSo, I've just typed in \"[trip to Japan\"](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.google.com\u002Fsearch?num=10&sca_esv=09d50bc19946cdf1&sxsrf=ADLYWIIDsyjMuMQ9dvkEwFMmD0AHjMLWCQ:1733393995564&q=trip+to+japan&udm=2&fbs=AEQNm0DoBPfZYovsqcfybhzCmiKHbv9xvl3JqQujnEFbPqmJwqmli2Yxm8zeFAS7mXlqEjYOO-KubGVNGOhFhQvuGOLvWQ23Dbsm1xUQ2QKReJ8oWr3ixo4m2HkOPuBZjNJK3I1wNLl9SnPtlJ5DcsbDX_d4ivSs9xFhmpwwpY8OYQ3jo2lbtxPpbIdAQhiuhNItWhRzj_ELrY3OxTGe_sjx7RWNSWsg39X1lBeMdLFDUGgZp4fewWQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi_z_Hqs5CKAxW7ZvUHHSPvE_IQtKgLegQIHxAB&biw=974&bih=875&dpr=1.8) into Google, and this is what I see:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japan-trip.jpeg\" width=\"2880\" height=\"1800\" alt=\"What Japan looks like, according to Google Images\" \u002F>\n\nMan! Isn't that pretty. The pink of the sakura trees, the orange of the Shinto shrines, Mount Fuji in the background. Gorgeous.\n\nIt's also kinda fake.\n\nYou see, whenever you look at pictures of Japan on Google or Instagram, you're not seeing the _real_ Japan. You're looking at a very carefully curated slice of Japan that some marketer somewhere has decided would probably make them money if tourists see it. In other words, somebody is trying to sell you something. You'll certainly find these places if you take a trip to Japan, but they'll be full of other tourists taking pictures, bored Japanese people selling overpriced things, and stuff like that.\n\nOn the other hand, if you know a bit of Japanese, you can take a bus or rental car to get off the beaten path and see the \"real\" side of Japan—the one that Japanese people actually live in.\n\n## 7. Learning Japanese will give you a major head start learning Chinese\n\nWhen you start learning a new language, it's natural to start learning from the writing system. The writing system presents an ideal starting point in that it's a relatively straightforward task, there's (usually) only a few dozen things to learn, and—importantly—you can't really do anything in a language if you don't know the alphabet.\n\nThe basics are called ABCs for a reason, you know.\n\nLearners of Japanese, however, are in for something of a surprise: the language has _three_ writing systems.\n\n- [Hiragana](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-hiragana), of which there are 46\n- [Katakana](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-katakana), of which there are also 46\n- [Kanji](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fhow-to-learn-kanji), of which there are thousands\n\nYeah, you read that right. _Thousands_.\n\nIf you want to confidently read a newspaper in Japanese, you'll need to know over 2,000 kanji.\n\nWe're not going to spend time talking about how kanji work or how to learn them here—that's covered extensively in the _kanji_ article, linked above. Instead, I just want to give you a bit of good news:\n\nThe word \"kanji\" (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"漢字[かんじ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_漢字.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>) literally means \"Chinese\" (漢) \"character\" (字).\n\nWhile there are some stylistic differences, Chinese languages use the same Chinese characters that Japanese does. This means that if you learn Japanese and then later decide to start learning Mandarin, Cantonese, or one of the other Chinese languages, you'll enjoy a massive head start. Pretty much all of the Japanese characters also exist in Chinese, and many Japanese words can be ported directly into Chinese, too.\n\n_(As a small side note, while we're talking about other languages—Japanese grammar and Korean grammar almost perfectly overlap. So if you're more into Korean culture, learning Japanese will allow you to make some headway into Korean, too.)_\n\n## 8. Learning Japanese opens up a new world of literature\n\nMy other hobby is writing fiction, so let me let you in on a secret:\n\nPublishers don't like losing money.\n\nA big part of querying as a new author comes down to convincing a publishing house that your story is similar to a few other books that performed well but also somehow different in a better, special way. In other words, you have to convince them that they can probably sell your book because something similar is already selling well.\n\nThis is what you call _bias_.\n\nThe wild success of books like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter means that, when an English speaker thinks of fantasy, they think of things like knights and dragons or wizards and wands. Publishers know that readers like this kind of stuff, so they look to publish books that can scratch the same itch from a slightly different angle. The massiveness of these literary giants exerts a sort of gravity, affecting the trajectory of everything else published in the same genre.\n\nNow, here's the fun question:\n\n> What if Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings didn't exist?\n\nEnter the world of Japanese literature.\n\n[Japan is the #2 market for books globally](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.visualcapitalist.com\u002Fvisualized-which-countries-publish-the-most-books-in-each-region\u002F), and they have their own giants—the \"classic\" stories that drag everything else within the genre in a certain direction.\n\nHere's a list of [the top light novels (by sales) in Japanese history](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FList_of_best-selling_light_novels). You'll notice trends:\n\n- Japanese fantasy has slimes, not elves (thanks, [Dragon Quest](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FDragon_Quest))\n- Japanese fantasy often involves characters moving to another world (thanks, [Sword Art Online](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSword_Art_Online))\n- Samurai culture has had a heavy influence on Japanese fantasy—_somebody_ somewhere will have a sword\n\nFor example, check out [Guin Saga](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.novelupdatesforum.com\u002Fblogs\u002Fthe-guin-saga-book-6-prologue-with-a-brief-summary-of-important-info-from-books-1-5.399\u002F), the OG of Japanese fantasy, featuring a powerful warrior who has woken up in another world wearing a tiger mask that he cannot remove.\n\nEven if you're not into books, know that this same \"freshness\" permeates every aspect of Japanese media, from J-dramas to anime to variety TV shows to manga. There'll be something new for you, and it'll be cool.\n\n## 9. Japanese has the coolest apps and resources of any language\n\nI've lived in six countries, dabbled in eight languages, and learned four to a high enough level that I could forget English and continue my life mostly as normal.\n\nSo, as someone who has been there and done that, let me tell you—so far as apps and resources go, Japanese is on another level. For whatever reason, the language (or culture) just seems to attract the type of people who like making awesome tools. There are more resources for learning Japanese available than resources for all of the other languages I've learned combined. It's ridiculous, to be honest.\n\nLike, if you decide you want to study Russian, you'll find yourself with no other option as a beginner but to drill grammar exercises that haven't been updated since the 1960's.\n\nIf you decide to learn Japanese, Migaku is an all-in-one platform that can take from you from zero to fluent.\n\nWhen first starting out, you'll work through [our two beginner's courses](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=gFvZMZlUYfc):\n\n1. **Migaku Fundamentals**, shown below, which teaches you how to pronounce and read Japanese\n2. **Migaku Academy**, which teaches you ~380 essential grammar patterns and the ~1,800 vocabulary words you need to understand ~80% of all Japanese media\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-fundamentals-course.jpeg\" width=\"1742\" height=\"1226\" alt=\"A few screenshots from Migaku's Japanese Fundamentals course.\" \u002F>\n\n> _In the above picture, from right to left: explanation → front of flashcard → back of flashcard_\n\nOur courses can be done via our iOS or Android app on mobile, or via our website on the computer.\n\nBy the time you finish the courses, you'll be able to take advantage of Migaku's main functionality, shown below:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_netflix_word_lookup.jpeg\" width=\"1725\" height=\"1015\" alt=\"A screenshot showing how Migaku enhances subtitles,letting you click on a word to see its definition.\"\u002F>\n\nIf you see a word you'd like to learn, just click on that orange button in the top-right corner of the dictionary. We'll automatically make you a flashcard that looks like this:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku_netflix_flashcards.jpeg\" width=\"864\" height=\"922\" alt=\"A screenshot of the front and back of a flashcard, as automatically generated by Migaku.\"\u002F>\n\nTo learn Japanese with Migaku, all you have to do is read or watch your favorite content and click on words you don't know.\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n## 10. Learning Japanese will help you understand English\n\nThe cool thing about our native languages _(I'm assuming yours is English)_ is is that we just kind of grow into them. We go from crying to babbling to spurting out words here and there and then, before you know it, we're five or six years old expressing unique and interesting thoughts about the world.\n\nAnd that kinda just... happens.\n\nNative speakers don't really know how their native language works—they just know what sounds natural. They _feel_ it.\n\nPart of the reason that learning a second language is so hard is that, if you're older than ten or so, it just doesn't work that way anymore. Learning a language takes conscious effort, and you'll inevitably spend time mucking about in the weeds of linguistics and grammar.\n\nTo speak Japanese, for example, you're going to learn about concepts like:\n\n- [Verb conjugation](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FJapanese_conjugation)\n- [Passive vs active voice](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FPassive_voice)\n- [Causativity](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FCausative) and [transitivity](\u003Chttps:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FTransitivity_(grammar)>)\n\nThe thing is, all this stuff actually exists in English, too. You just hadn't been aware of it. _([English is hard, man](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fwhy-english-is-hard).)_\n\nI won't ramble because I'm a nerd and I know it, but I promise you—if you learn Japanese, and you reach an intermediate level or so, you'll start noticing stuff about English that you'd never noticed before.\n\nAnd that's kind of cool.\n\n---\n\n## So, should you learn Japanese?\n\nDuh, of course.\n\nThis article is like 3,000 words long. I wouldn't have written that much if I was just going to say _nah, learn Spanish instead._\n\n[Japanese is hard](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fthe-most-difficult-language#the-most-difficult-languages-to-learn-for-english-speakers)—I won't lie—but, really, _[do it](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=ZXsQAXx_ao0)_. You won't regret it. If you put in the time to learn the language well enough to do things you enjoy in Japanese, it will pay your effort back in dividends. You can literally enjoy the language for your entire life, and it just might change your life.\n\nBut you don't have to take my word for it.\n\nClick that big purple button at the bottom of this page to [join Migaku's Discord server](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fmigaku-japanese-learning-discord) and ask thousands of other learners why they think learning Japanese is worthwhile.\n",{"title":41932,"description":42736},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-why-learn","X4mBRukLHGuH98mDj954SI-AC0gD8mlTLRO2DxF7OT4","December 11, 2024",{"id":42754,"title":42755,"body":42756,"description":43331,"extension":717,"meta":43332,"navigation":730,"path":43342,"rawbody":43343,"seo":43344,"stem":43345,"__hash__":43346,"timestampUnix":43333,"slug":43334,"h1":43335,"image":43336,"tags":43341,"_dir":736,"timestamp":43347},"content\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-yes.md","Japanese Basics: How To Say \"Yes\" in Japanese",{"type":8,"value":42757,"toc":43311},[42758,42763,42766,42768,42770,42774,42808,42815,42819,42831,42833,42835,42837,42848,42852,42858,42861,42881,42889,42891,42895,42971,42975,42982,42985,42989,42996,43032,43040,43044,43057,43061,43068,43070,43074,43142,43146,43155,43176,43189,43196,43201,43207,43223,43227,43233,43236,43245,43247,43251,43254,43257,43260,43263,43276,43279,43281,43283,43285,43292,43300,43303,43309],[11,42759,42760,42761,415],{},"\"Yes\" is one of the first things you'll learn in any language, so it's naturally a solid first step if you're looking to ",[15,42762,18],{"href":17},[11,42764,42765],{},"No big intro here. We're going to cover several of the most common ways to say yes, have a jolly good time, and be on our way.",[39,42767],{},[42,42769],{},[45,42771,42773],{"id":42772},"はい-hai-the-simplest-way-to-say-yes","はい (hai), the simplest way to say yes",[67,42775,42776,42789],{},[70,42777,42778],{},[73,42779,42780,42782,42784,42786],{},[76,42781,23225],{"align":78},[76,42783,23228],{"align":78},[76,42785,85],{"align":78},[76,42787,42788],{"align":78},"Direct or Indirect",[87,42790,42791],{},[73,42792,42793,42799,42802,42805],{},[92,42794,42795,42796],{"align":78},"はい ",[103,42797],{"src":42798,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_はい.mp3",[92,42800,42801],{"align":78},"Yes",[92,42803,42804],{"align":78},"hai",[92,42806,42807],{"align":78},"Direct",[11,42809,42810,42811,42814],{},"The most straightforward and common way to say \"yes\" in Japanese is ",[98,42812],{"lang":100,"syntax":42813},"はい[;a]"," (hai). It can be used in almost any situation, whether formal or informal. You can use はい when you're answering a question, agreeing to a statement, or simply as a verbal acknowledgement that you're listening to someone. You can't really go wrong with はい: it's a versatile and polite response.",[847,42816,42818],{"id":42817},"how-do-you-write-yes-in-japanese","How do you write \"yes\" in Japanese?",[11,42820,42821,42822,42825,42826,3808,42828,42830],{},"Japanese juggles ",[15,42823,42824],{"href":10726},"three alphabets at once",": the ",[15,42827,1033],{"href":1082},[15,42829,1034],{"href":3811},", and kanji (Chinese characters). Thankfully, はい is pretty straightforward: it consists of two hiragana characters, shown below:",[6440,42832],{"code":7228},[292,42834],{},[6440,42836],{"code":6468},[11,42838,42839,42840,42843,42844,42847],{},"If you're new to Japanese, you can recognize that these are hiragana characters because they are so curvy. Katakana (",[98,42841],{"lang":100,"syntax":42842},"カタカナ[;n2]",") are much more angular, and kanji (",[98,42845],{"lang":100,"syntax":42846},"漢字[かんじ;h]",") are much more complex and blocky.",[847,42849,42851],{"id":42850},"how-to-say-yes-in-japanese","How to say yes in Japanese",[11,42853,42854,42855,42857],{},"If you don't care too much about pronunciation, it's enough to know that ",[98,42856],{"lang":100,"syntax":42813}," sounds pretty close to English's \"hi\". When you want to say yes in Japanese, just say \"hi\" and Japanese people will understand you.",[11,42859,42860],{},"If you want to pronounce it more accurately, here are a few little details to help you sound more natural:",[344,42862,42863,42869,42875],{},[307,42864,42865,42868],{},[1090,42866,42867],{},"The \"ahh\" vowel"," — The \"i\" in English's \"hi\" is actually a diphthong, meaning that two vowels are smooshed together. If you stand in front of a mirror and say \"hi\" slowly, you'll be able to see when you transition from the \u002Fa\u002F sound to the \u002Fi\u002F sound. Practice isolating these two sounds a little bit.",[307,42870,42871,42874],{},[1090,42872,42873],{},"Rhythm"," — Whereas we often blend letters together in English, Japanese speakers give each syllable of a word an equal \"beat\" of time. When you speak Japanese, instead of mushing the \"ai\" vowel together like we do in English, make a very crisp transition from \"ha\" to \"ee\".",[307,42876,42877,42880],{},[1090,42878,42879],{},"Pitch accent"," — This word has an \"atamadaka\" pitch pattern, meaning that the first syllable (\"ha\") is higher in pitch and the second syllable (\"ee\") is lower in pitch.",[11,42882,42883,42884,506,42886,42888],{},"Listen to the recording of ",[98,42885],{"lang":100,"syntax":42813},[103,42887],{"src":42798,":type":149}," a few more times, each time doing your best to focus on one of the above points. The first step to improving your accent in a foreign language is simply learning to listen!",[42,42890],{},[45,42892,42894],{"id":42893},"four-more-casual-ways-to-say-yes","Four more casual ways to say yes",[67,42896,42897,42909],{},[70,42898,42899],{},[73,42900,42901,42903,42905,42907],{},[76,42902,23225],{"align":78},[76,42904,23228],{"align":78},[76,42906,85],{"align":78},[76,42908,42788],{"align":78},[87,42910,42911,42926,42941,42955],{},[73,42912,42913,42919,42922,42924],{},[92,42914,42915,42916],{"align":78},"うん ",[103,42917],{"src":42918,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002F\u002Fblog\u002Fja_うん.mp3",[92,42920,42921],{"align":78},"mhm\u002Fuh-huh",[92,42923,3085],{"align":78},[92,42925,42807],{"align":78},[73,42927,42928,42933,42936,42939],{},[92,42929,41502,42930],{"align":78},[103,42931],{"src":42932,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_そう.mp3",[92,42934,42935],{"align":78},"That’s right",[92,42937,42938],{"align":78},"sou",[92,42940,42807],{"align":78},[73,42942,42943,42949,42951,42953],{},[92,42944,42945,42946],{"align":78},"ええ ",[103,42947],{"src":42948,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_ええ.mp3",[92,42950,42801],{"align":78},[92,42952,6477],{"align":78},[92,42954,42807],{"align":78},[73,42956,42957,42963,42966,42969],{},[92,42958,42959,42960],{"align":78},"もちろん ",[103,42961],{"src":42962,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_もちろん.mp3",[92,42964,42965],{"align":78},"Of course",[92,42967,42968],{"align":78},"mochiron",[92,42970,42807],{"align":78},[847,42972,42974],{"id":42973},"うん-un-the-japanese-mmhmm","うん (un), the Japanese mmhmm",[11,42976,42977,42978,42981],{},"Next, ",[98,42979],{"lang":100,"syntax":42980},"うん[;a]"," is an informal and colloquial way to say \"yes.\" It's similar in meaning to はい, but is used in casual conversations, especially among close friends or family members.",[11,42983,42984],{},"This is a great word to know, and so long as you avoid using it in the workplace or with strangers, you should be fine!",[847,42986,42988],{"id":42987},"そう-sou-thats-right","そう (sou), \"that's right\"",[11,42990,42991,42992,42995],{},"When you want to confirm that something is correct or that you agree with what someone else has said, say ",[98,42993],{"lang":100,"syntax":42994},"そう[;a]",". This nuance in mind, it's often employed in response to statements, but not in response to direct questions.",[11,42997,42998,42999,43002,43003,3814,43006,43009,43010,43013,43014,43016,43017,43019,43020,43022,43023,43028,43029,43031],{},"You may also hear ",[98,43000],{"lang":100,"syntax":43001},"そう[;h,a] です[;a]"," (sou desu) ",[103,43004],{"src":43005,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_そうです.mp3",[98,43007],{"lang":100,"syntax":43008},"そうですね[;a]"," (sou desu ne) ",[103,43011],{"src":43012,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_そうですね.mp3"," . Both of these words mean pretty much the same thing as ",[98,43015],{"lang":100,"syntax":42994},", but their nuance is slightly different. The addition of です makes ",[98,43018],{"lang":100,"syntax":43001}," more polite than ",[98,43021],{"lang":100,"syntax":42994},", and the ",[15,43024,43027],{"href":43025,"rel":43026},"https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSentence-final_particle#:~:text=%E3%81%AD%20ne%3A%20agreement.",[971],"sentence-ending particle ね"," in ",[98,43030],{"lang":100,"syntax":43008}," just adds a stronger feeling of agreement.",[11,43033,43034],{},[26,43035,43036,43037,43039],{},"Note: ",[98,43038],{"lang":100,"syntax":42994}," appears in several grammar points, so you might sometimes see it in the middle of a sentence or somewhere you don't expect.",[847,43041,43043],{"id":43042},"ええ-ehh-a-more-casual-yes","ええ (ehh), a more casual yes",[11,43045,43046,43047,43050,43051,43053,43054,43056],{},"Perhaps the easiest one on the list, ",[98,43048],{"lang":100,"syntax":43049},"ええ[;a]"," is slightly less formal than ",[98,43052],{"lang":100,"syntax":42813}," and is often used in casual conversations. ",[98,43055],{"lang":100,"syntax":43049}," conveys a relaxed and agreeable tone, making it suitable to use with friends, family, and in less formal settings.",[847,43058,43060],{"id":43059},"もちろん-mochiron-certainly","もちろん (mochiron), \"certainly\"",[11,43062,43063,43064,43067],{},"Finally, ",[98,43065],{"lang":100,"syntax":43066},"もちろん[;n2]"," (mochiron) is used when you want to strongly affirm something, expressing that the answer is obvious or a given. It’s a confident and sometimes emphatic way to say \"yes\", akin to saying \"of course\" in English.",[42,43069],{},[45,43071,43073],{"id":43072},"three-more-nuanced-ways-to-say-yes","Three more nuanced ways to say yes",[67,43075,43076,43088],{},[70,43077,43078],{},[73,43079,43080,43082,43084,43086],{},[76,43081,23225],{},[76,43083,23228],{},[76,43085,85],{},[76,43087,42788],{},[87,43089,43090,43109,43124],{},[73,43091,43092,43100,43103,43106],{},[92,43093,43094,506,43097],{},[98,43095],{"lang":100,"syntax":43096},"了解[りょうかい]",[103,43098],{"src":43099,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_了解.mp3",[92,43101,43102],{},"I understand",[92,43104,43105],{},"ryoukai",[92,43107,43108],{},"Indirect",[73,43110,43111,43117,43120,43122],{},[92,43112,43113,506,43115],{},[98,43114],{"lang":100,"syntax":23371},[103,43116],{"src":23374,":type":94},[92,43118,43119],{},"Alright",[92,43121,23380],{},[92,43123,43108],{},[73,43125,43126,43134,43137,43140],{},[92,43127,43128,506,43131],{},[98,43129],{"lang":100,"syntax":43130},"構[かま,かまう]わない",[103,43132],{"src":43133,":type":94},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_構わない.mp3",[92,43135,43136],{},"I don't mind",[92,43138,43139],{},"kamawanai",[92,43141,43108],{},[847,43143,43145],{"id":43144},"了解-ryoukai-a-more-professional-way-to-say-yes","了解 (ryoukai), a more professional way to say \"yes\"",[11,43147,43148,43149,43152,43154],{},"The phrase ",[98,43150],{"lang":100,"syntax":43151},"了解[りょうかい;h]",[292,43153],{},"\nis often used in professional or formal settings to indicate that you've understood a command, instruction, or request and will comply with it. It’s akin to saying \"Roger\" or \"understood\" in English, and it carries a sense of acknowledgment and agreement.",[11,43156,43157,43158,43161,43162,1466,43165,43168,43169,43172,43173,43175],{},"Given that this is a more formal expression, you can also expect to hear ",[98,43159],{"lang":100,"syntax":43160},"了解[りょうかい;h] です[;a]"," (ryoukai desu) ",[103,43163],{"src":43164,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_了解です.mp3",[98,43166],{"lang":100,"syntax":43167},"了解[りょうかい;h] し[,する;h]ました"," (ryoukai shimashita) ",[103,43170],{"src":43171,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_了解しました.mp3",", which mean the same thing as ",[98,43174],{"lang":100,"syntax":43151}," but are a little more polite, and are thus suitable for use with colleagues.",[11,43177,43178,43179,43182,43183,43186,43187,415],{},"If you are talking with your boss or somebody much older than you, you can instead say ",[98,43180],{"lang":100,"syntax":43181},"畏[かしこ,かしこまる;k4]まりました"," (kashikomarimashita) ",[103,43184],{"src":43185,":type":149},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_かしこまりました.mp3",", which is an honorific phrase that means the same thing as ",[98,43188],{"lang":100,"syntax":43151},[847,43190,43192,43193,43195],{"id":43191},"大丈夫-daijoubu-a-phrase-that-can-mean-yes-and-no","大丈夫 (daijoubu), a phrase that can mean yes ",[26,43194,12357],{}," no",[11,43197,43198,43200],{},[98,43199],{"lang":100,"syntax":23371}," is a versatile word that can be used to reassure someone or to indicate that something is acceptable.\n",[11,43202,43203,43204,43206],{},"This word literally means something like \"I'm fine\", so depending on the situation, it can actually mean yes ",[26,43205,30428],{}," no.",[304,43208,43209,43215],{},[307,43210,43211,43214],{},[1090,43212,43213],{},"When it means yes"," — when somebody asks if you're OK, if something is alright, or any sort of question asking how you feel",[307,43216,43217,43220,43221,3691],{},[1090,43218,43219],{},"When it means no"," — if somebody asks if you want something (such as dessert at a restaurant), saying this is literally saying \"I'm fine (as I am, without the dessert)\" ... so if you want that pie, be sure to say ",[98,43222],{"lang":100,"syntax":42813},[847,43224,43226],{"id":43225},"構わない-kamawanai-a-stiffermore-distant-confirmation","構わない (kamawanai), a stiffer\u002Fmore distant confirmation",[11,43228,43148,43229,43232],{},[98,43230],{"lang":100,"syntax":43231},"構[かま,かまう;k2]わない"," is used to express that something is okay or acceptable with you. It has a nuance of giving someone permission to do something, or telling them not to worry. Translating the word literally, you're saying that something of no concern to you or that you're indifferent to the result.",[11,43234,43235],{},"This is a normal expression and is perfectly OK to use when you want to express that something is OK or that you don't care — such as if someone asks if they can sit next to you on the train. \"Yeah that's fine \u002F I don't care.\"",[11,43237,43238,43239,43241,43242,43244],{},"Just like in English, though, you have to be careful with ",[98,43240],{"lang":100,"syntax":43231},". If you're in a rough situation with your partner and, upset, they ask if they should stay or go, and you say ",[98,43243],{"lang":100,"syntax":43231},"... well, that's going to hurt.",[42,43246],{},[45,43248,43250],{"id":43249},"a-beginners-course-that-will-bring-you-from-zero-to-netflix-in-six-months","A beginner's course that will bring you from zero to Netflix in six months",[11,43252,43253],{},"I'm assuming here, but if you're googling how to say yes in Japanese, you're probably thinking about learning Japanese.",[11,43255,43256],{},"It's convenient that you're here, because we've got what users pretty consistently praise as the best Japanese course on the market. It's a flashcard-based course, and you can see it below:",[50,43258],{"src":43259,"width":30386,"height":5899,"alt":23442},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-yes.jpeg",[11,43261,43262],{},"What makes our course special is unfortunately under the hood and thus not visible in this picture, but to be brief:",[344,43264,43265,43268,43273],{},[307,43266,43267],{},"We teach the specific 1,500 words you need to make sense of 80% of any Japanese sentence you encounter",[307,43269,43270,43271],{},"You'll learn these words by learning practical sentences that include them—every sentence includes only one new word, and every flashcard is backed by ",[15,43272,5907],{"href":5906},[307,43274,43275],{},"The sentences you learn were very carefully curated to expose you to around 300 common grammar points: if you learn the sentence, you'll also pick up the grammatical structure it contains",[11,43277,43278],{},"Oh, and that picture in the bottom right isn't a fluke. We literally hired a dude to stack our course with memes. It's great... and you can try it totally free for ten days:",[674,43280],{"href":17,"text":676},[42,43282],{},[45,43284,682],{"id":681},[11,43286,43287,43288,415],{},"I started studying Japanese back in 2014, and I've been abroad pretty much ever since. I've met hundreds of people learning language in that time, and as time went on, ",[15,43289,43291],{"href":43290},"\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002F3-things-to-learn-a-language","a pattern emerged",[11,43293,43294,43295,43297,43298,16161],{},"The most common reason people fail to learn Japanese is that they spend all their time learning ",[26,43296,19105],{}," Japanese, instead of spending time ",[26,43299,16160],{},[11,43301,43302],{},"So, however you end up learning Japanese, if I could give you one piece of advice, it would be this:",[320,43304,43305],{},[11,43306,5934,43307,415],{},[26,43308,994],{},[11,43310,16179],{},{"title":289,"searchDepth":707,"depth":707,"links":43312},[43313,43317,43323,43329,43330],{"id":42772,"depth":707,"text":42773,"children":43314},[43315,43316],{"id":42817,"depth":1016,"text":42818},{"id":42850,"depth":1016,"text":42851},{"id":42893,"depth":707,"text":42894,"children":43318},[43319,43320,43321,43322],{"id":42973,"depth":1016,"text":42974},{"id":42987,"depth":1016,"text":42988},{"id":43042,"depth":1016,"text":43043},{"id":43059,"depth":1016,"text":43060},{"id":43072,"depth":707,"text":43073,"children":43324},[43325,43326,43328],{"id":43144,"depth":1016,"text":43145},{"id":43191,"depth":1016,"text":43327},"大丈夫 (daijoubu), a phrase that can mean yes and no",{"id":43225,"depth":1016,"text":43226},{"id":43249,"depth":707,"text":43250},{"id":681,"depth":707,"text":682},"Learn the most common ways to say yes in Japanese. 8 essential words if you want to sound like a native.",{"timestampUnix":43333,"slug":43334,"h1":43335,"image":43336,"tags":43341},1728437706062,"yes-in-japanese","Eight different ways to say \"yes\" in Japanese",{"src":43337,"width":43338,"height":43339,"alt":43340,"position":23495},"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-yes.webp",7934,5292,"Several people with their thumbs up, showing the global signal for \"yes\"",[8650,5086,5984],"\u002Farticle\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-yes","---\ntitle: 'Japanese Basics: How To Say \"Yes\" in Japanese'\ndescription: 'Learn the most common ways to say yes in Japanese. 8 essential words if you want to sound like a native.'\ntimestampUnix: 1728437706062\nslug: 'yes-in-japanese'\nh1: 'Eight different ways to say \"yes\" in Japanese'\nimage:\n src: '\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-yes.webp'\n width: 7934\n height: 5292\n alt: 'Several people with their thumbs up, showing the global signal for \"yes\"'\n position: 'top'\ntags:\n - culture\n - vocabulary\n - phrases\n---\n\n\"Yes\" is one of the first things you'll learn in any language, so it's naturally a solid first step if you're looking to [learn Japanese](\u002Flearn-japanese).\n\nNo big intro here. We're going to cover several of the most common ways to say yes, have a jolly good time, and be on our way.\n\n\u003Ctoc>\u003C\u002Ftoc>\n\n---\n\n## はい (hai), the simplest way to say yes\n\n| Expression | English Meaning | Romaji | Direct or Indirect |\n| :-------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :-------------: | :----: | :----------------: |\n| はい \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_はい.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Yes | hai | Direct |\n\nThe most straightforward and common way to say \"yes\" in Japanese is \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"はい[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (hai). It can be used in almost any situation, whether formal or informal. You can use はい when you're answering a question, agreeing to a statement, or simply as a verbal acknowledgement that you're listening to someone. You can't really go wrong with はい: it's a versatile and polite response.\n\n### How do you write \"yes\" in Japanese?\n\nJapanese juggles [three alphabets at once](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-alphabets): the [hiragana](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-hiragana), [katakana](\u002Fblog\u002Fjapanese\u002Fthe-japanese-language-katakana), and kanji (Chinese characters). Thankfully, はい is pretty straightforward: it consists of two hiragana characters, shown below:\n\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:ha\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\u003Cmnemonic code=\"hiragana:i\">\u003C\u002Fmnemonic>\n\nIf you're new to Japanese, you can recognize that these are hiragana characters because they are so curvy. Katakana (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"カタカナ[;n2]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>) are much more angular, and kanji (\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"漢字[かんじ;h]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>) are much more complex and blocky.\n\n### How to say yes in Japanese\n\nIf you don't care too much about pronunciation, it's enough to know that \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"はい[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> sounds pretty close to English's \"hi\". When you want to say yes in Japanese, just say \"hi\" and Japanese people will understand you.\n\nIf you want to pronounce it more accurately, here are a few little details to help you sound more natural:\n\n1. **The \"ahh\" vowel** — The \"i\" in English's \"hi\" is actually a diphthong, meaning that two vowels are smooshed together. If you stand in front of a mirror and say \"hi\" slowly, you'll be able to see when you transition from the \u002Fa\u002F sound to the \u002Fi\u002F sound. Practice isolating these two sounds a little bit.\n2. **Rhythm** — Whereas we often blend letters together in English, Japanese speakers give each syllable of a word an equal \"beat\" of time. When you speak Japanese, instead of mushing the \"ai\" vowel together like we do in English, make a very crisp transition from \"ha\" to \"ee\".\n3. **Pitch accent** — This word has an \"atamadaka\" pitch pattern, meaning that the first syllable (\"ha\") is higher in pitch and the second syllable (\"ee\") is lower in pitch.\n\nListen to the recording of \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"はい[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_はい.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> a few more times, each time doing your best to focus on one of the above points. The first step to improving your accent in a foreign language is simply learning to listen!\n\n---\n\n## Four more casual ways to say yes\n\n| Expression | English Meaning | Romaji | Direct or Indirect |\n| :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------: | :-------------: | :------: | :----------------: |\n| うん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002F\u002Fblog\u002Fja_うん.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | mhm\u002Fuh-huh | un | Direct |\n| そう \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_そう.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | That’s right | sou | Direct |\n| ええ \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_ええ.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Yes | ee | Direct |\n| もちろん \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_もちろん.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Of course | mochiron | Direct |\n\n### うん (un), the Japanese mmhmm\n\nNext, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"うん[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> is an informal and colloquial way to say \"yes.\" It's similar in meaning to はい, but is used in casual conversations, especially among close friends or family members.\n\nThis is a great word to know, and so long as you avoid using it in the workplace or with strangers, you should be fine!\n\n### そう (sou), \"that's right\"\n\nWhen you want to confirm that something is correct or that you agree with what someone else has said, say \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"そう[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>. This nuance in mind, it's often employed in response to statements, but not in response to direct questions.\n\nYou may also hear \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"そう[;h,a] です[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (sou desu) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_そうです.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> and \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"そうですね[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (sou desu ne) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_そうですね.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> . Both of these words mean pretty much the same thing as \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"そう[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>, but their nuance is slightly different. The addition of です makes \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"そう[;h,a] です[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> more polite than \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"そう[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>, and the [sentence-ending particle ね](https:\u002F\u002Fen.wikipedia.org\u002Fwiki\u002FSentence-final_particle#:~:text=%E3%81%AD%20ne%3A%20agreement.) in \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"そうですね[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> just adds a stronger feeling of agreement.\n\n_Note: \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"そう[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> appears in several grammar points, so you might sometimes see it in the middle of a sentence or somewhere you don't expect._\n\n### ええ (ehh), a more casual yes\n\nPerhaps the easiest one on the list, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"ええ[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> is slightly less formal than \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"はい[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> and is often used in casual conversations. \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"ええ[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> conveys a relaxed and agreeable tone, making it suitable to use with friends, family, and in less formal settings.\n\n### もちろん (mochiron), \"certainly\"\n\nFinally, \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"もちろん[;n2]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (mochiron) is used when you want to strongly affirm something, expressing that the answer is obvious or a given. It’s a confident and sometimes emphatic way to say \"yes\", akin to saying \"of course\" in English.\n\n---\n\n## Three more nuanced ways to say yes\n\n| Expression | English Meaning | Romaji | Direct or Indirect |\n| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------- | --------- | ------------------ |\n| \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"了解[りょうかい]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_了解.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | I understand | ryoukai | Indirect |\n| \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"大丈夫[だいじょうぶ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_大丈夫.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | Alright | daijoubu | Indirect |\n| \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"構[かま,かまう]わない\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_構わない.mp3\" :type=\"0\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> | I don't mind | kamawanai | Indirect |\n\n### 了解 (ryoukai), a more professional way to say \"yes\"\n\nThe phrase \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"了解[りょうかい;h]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>\nis often used in professional or formal settings to indicate that you've understood a command, instruction, or request and will comply with it. It’s akin to saying \"Roger\" or \"understood\" in English, and it carries a sense of acknowledgment and agreement.\n\nGiven that this is a more formal expression, you can also expect to hear \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"了解[りょうかい;h] です[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (ryoukai desu) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_了解です.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio> or \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"了解[りょうかい;h] し[,する;h]ました\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (ryoukai shimashita) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_了解しました.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, which mean the same thing as \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"了解[りょうかい;h]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> but are a little more polite, and are thus suitable for use with colleagues.\n\nIf you are talking with your boss or somebody much older than you, you can instead say \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"畏[かしこ,かしこまる;k4]まりました\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> (kashikomarimashita) \u003Ccustom-audio src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fja_かしこまりました.mp3\" :type=\"3\">\u003C\u002Fcustom-audio>, which is an honorific phrase that means the same thing as \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"了解[りょうかい;h]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>.\n\n### 大丈夫 (daijoubu), a phrase that can mean yes _and_ no\n\n\u003Cp>\n\u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"大丈夫[だいじょうぶ]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> is a versatile word that can be used to reassure someone or to indicate that something is acceptable.\n\u003C\u002Fp>\n\nThis word literally means something like \"I'm fine\", so depending on the situation, it can actually mean yes _or_ no.\n\n- **When it means yes** — when somebody asks if you're OK, if something is alright, or any sort of question asking how you feel\n- **When it means no** — if somebody asks if you want something (such as dessert at a restaurant), saying this is literally saying \"I'm fine (as I am, without the dessert)\" ... so if you want that pie, be sure to say \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"はい[;a]\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>!\n\n### 構わない (kamawanai), a stiffer\u002Fmore distant confirmation\n\nThe phrase \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"構[かま,かまう;k2]わない\">\u003C\u002Ftypo> is used to express that something is okay or acceptable with you. It has a nuance of giving someone permission to do something, or telling them not to worry. Translating the word literally, you're saying that something of no concern to you or that you're indifferent to the result.\n\nThis is a normal expression and is perfectly OK to use when you want to express that something is OK or that you don't care — such as if someone asks if they can sit next to you on the train. \"Yeah that's fine \u002F I don't care.\"\n\nJust like in English, though, you have to be careful with \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"構[かま,かまう;k2]わない\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>. If you're in a rough situation with your partner and, upset, they ask if they should stay or go, and you say \u003Ctypo lang=\"ja\" syntax=\"構[かま,かまう;k2]わない\">\u003C\u002Ftypo>... well, that's going to hurt.\n\n---\n\n## A beginner's course that will bring you from zero to Netflix in six months\n\nI'm assuming here, but if you're googling how to say yes in Japanese, you're probably thinking about learning Japanese.\n\nIt's convenient that you're here, because we've got what users pretty consistently praise as the best Japanese course on the market. It's a flashcard-based course, and you can see it below:\n\n\u003Cimg src=\"\u002Fassets\u002Fblog\u002Fmigaku-japanese-academy-yes.jpeg\" width=\"1642\" height=\"1152\" alt=\"A screenshot from Migaku's Japanese course, showing how we help users learn Japanese vocabulary and grammar\" \u002F>\n\nWhat makes our course special is unfortunately under the hood and thus not visible in this picture, but to be brief:\n\n1. We teach the specific 1,500 words you need to make sense of 80% of any Japanese sentence you encounter\n2. You'll learn these words by learning practical sentences that include them—every sentence includes only one new word, and every flashcard is backed by [spaced repetition](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002Fspaced-repetition-language-learning)\n3. The sentences you learn were very carefully curated to expose you to around 300 common grammar points: if you learn the sentence, you'll also pick up the grammatical structure it contains\n\nOh, and that picture in the bottom right isn't a fluke. We literally hired a dude to stack our course with memes. It's great... and you can try it totally free for ten days:\n\n\u003Cprose-button href=\"\u002Flearn-japanese\" text=\"Learn Japanese with Migaku\">\u003C\u002Fprose-button>\n\n---\n\n## The most important thing to remember if you want to learn Japanese\n\nI started studying Japanese back in 2014, and I've been abroad pretty much ever since. I've met hundreds of people learning language in that time, and as time went on, [a pattern emerged](\u002Fblog\u002Flanguage-fun\u002F3-things-to-learn-a-language).\n\nThe most common reason people fail to learn Japanese is that they spend all their time learning _about_ Japanese, instead of spending time _in_ Japanese.\n\nSo, however you end up learning Japanese, if I could give you one piece of advice, it would be this:\n\n> If you consume media you enjoy in Japanese, and you understand some of the messages and sentences within that media, you will make progress. _Period_.\n\nGood luck, friend 💪\n",{"title":42755,"description":43331},"article\u002Fjapanese\u002Fjapanese-yes","kmTRg7NyGfHAlZiv3C-Wz8j0u0HyPVZsXH7m7e0pP4Q","October 9, 2024",{"approximate_member_count":43349},20289,[43351,43366,43378,43390,43402,43413,43425,43438,43449,43460,43471,43484,43496,43507,43517,43529,43541,43553,43566,43578,43590,43601,43612,43624,43635,43647,43658,43669,43680,43691,43703,43715,43726,43737,43749,43760,43770,43782,43792,43805,43818,43832,43843,43855,43866,43876,43887,43899,43911,43924,43937,43949,43961,43974,43987,43998,44008,44021,44032,44044,44056,44069,44081,44094,44106,44118,44131,44143,44155,44167,44179,44191,44204,44216,44227,44239,44251,44263,44275,44286,44297,44308,44319,44331,44342,44353,44364,44375,44387,44400,44411,44423,44435,44447,44459,44471,44483,44495,44507,44519,44530,44542,44554,44566,44577,44589,44601,44612,44623,44634,44646,44658,44669,44680,44692,44704,44716,44728,44738,44749,44761,44773,44784,44796,44807,44819,44831,44843,44855,44867,44878,44890,44902,44915,44925,44937,44949,44961,44973,44985,44997,45008,45020,45032,45043,45054,45066,45076,45088,45100,45112,45123,45135,45146,45157,45168,45180,45192,45204,45216,45227,45238,45250,45262,45273,45285,45296,45308,45319,45331,45343,45354,45364,45375,45387,45399,45410,45421,45433,45444,45455,45467,45479,45491,45502,45514,45526,45537,45549,45560,45571,45583,45595,45607,45619,45631,45643,45655,45667,45678,45690,45702,45714,45726,45738,45750,45761,45771,45782,45793,45804,45815,45827,45838,45849,45860,45872,45884,45895,45906,45917,45928,45940,45951,45962,45974,45986,45998,46009,46020,46031,46042,46053,46064,46076,46087,46099,46110,46122,46134,46145,46157,46169,46180],{"id":43352,"documentId":43353,"slug":43354,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43356,"description":43357,"image":43358,"tags":43363,"timestampUnix":43364,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},144,"qyg4yctqnq00um0m9kx5mv9a","anime-japanese-history",null,"Learn About Japanese History With These 10 Anime | Migaku","Love Japan's history? Anime offers an engaging window into Japan's rich past, and here are the best anime for learning about Japanese history.",{"alt":43359,"src":43360,"width":31881,"height":43361,"previewOnly":43362},"A photograph of a samurai, perhaps one of the well-known figures in Japanese history, and many of which will be featured in the below anime recs","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fmigaku_japanese_anime_history_thumbnail_2f7332c5c6\u002Fmigaku_japanese_anime_history_thumbnail_2f7332c5c6.jpeg",1525,false,[9426],1757563560000,0,{"id":43367,"documentId":43368,"slug":43369,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43370,"description":43371,"image":43372,"tags":43376,"timestampUnix":43377,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},146,"ckbmw3f83ze4xrjtos96yeth","basic-japanese-phrases","100+ Must-Know Basic Japanese Phrases","Have an upcoming trip to Japan? Here's all of the Japanese phrases, words, and questions you need to get by.",{"alt":43373,"src":43374,"width":2478,"height":43375,"previewOnly":43362},"The front of a Japanese cafe, exactly the sort of place where you might go to try some of the basic Japanese phrases within this article!","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fmigaku_basic_japanese_phrases_thumbnail_726aba7ae7\u002Fmigaku_basic_japanese_phrases_thumbnail_726aba7ae7.jpg",1278,[5086,5984,9427],1758183060000,{"id":43379,"documentId":43380,"slug":43381,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43382,"description":43383,"image":43384,"tags":43388,"timestampUnix":43389,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},149,"axk6gcungeioznzrlvr2eblt","cool-japanese-words","Cool Japanese Words | Easy Guide","Ready to learn cool Japanese words and phrases? Here are some of the most beautiful Japanese concepts worth knowing.",{"alt":43385,"src":43386,"width":2478,"height":43387,"previewOnly":43362},"A picture of many Japanese figures, metaphorically representing the army of cool Japanese words you're about to learn","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fmigaku_cool_japanese_words_thumbnail_98d1eedb2c\u002Fmigaku_cool_japanese_words_thumbnail_98d1eedb2c.jpg",1281,[5086,9427],1758806400000,{"id":43391,"documentId":43392,"slug":43393,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43394,"description":43395,"image":43396,"tags":43400,"timestampUnix":43401,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},131,"lofd8qlotl61g5wrult9c493","itadakimasu-meaning","What Does Itadakimasu Mean in Japanese?","いただきます (itadakimasu) is used when receiving things and has a rather humble feel to it. Whether it be meals, gifts, or favors, this phrase can be used to express gratitude in a multitude of situations.",{"alt":43397,"src":43398,"width":12865,"height":43399,"previewOnly":43362},"Two women eating food—exactly the time when you would say itadakimasu in Japanese!","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fmigaku_itadakimasu_thumbnail_4e4586c038\u002Fmigaku_itadakimasu_thumbnail_4e4586c038.jpeg",1836,[5086,5984],1758012300000,{"id":43403,"documentId":43404,"slug":43405,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43406,"description":43407,"image":43408,"tags":43411,"timestampUnix":43412,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},727,"jzo5sc76o8hl64a8xfflvyzj","jlpt-n3-overview","JLPT N3 Overview: How to Pass the JLPT N3 Exam","Complete JLPT N3 guide: kanji and vocabulary requirements, test sections, study plan, and preparation strategies. Everything you need to pass the JLPT N3.",{"alt":43409,"src":43410,"width":1998,"height":22250,"previewOnly":43362},"woman thinking","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fheader_1280x_af20260c4a\u002Fheader_1280x_af20260c4a.jpg",[8649],1763696400000,{"id":43414,"documentId":43415,"slug":43416,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43417,"description":43418,"image":43419,"tags":43423,"timestampUnix":43424,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},97,"y7j88uxukc092d65b3who6u7","introduction-to-keigo","Japanese Keigo: An Overview of the Honorific and Humble Forms","Japanese keigo giving you trouble? Here’s a brief overview of the honorific and humble forms of keigo, what they mean, and how you can make sure you’re being polite!",{"alt":43420,"src":43421,"width":43422,"height":37882,"previewOnly":43362},"Two salaryman exchanging business cards, a situation in which you'll definitely hear some Japanese keigo","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fmigaku_keigo_thumbnail_66a59c1287\u002Fmigaku_keigo_thumbnail_66a59c1287.jpeg",2556,[8650,3670],1757920860000,{"id":43426,"documentId":43427,"slug":43428,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43429,"description":43430,"image":43431,"tags":43435,"timestampUnix":43437,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},206,"g0vi7szry4xcif4cvd63q68j","how-a-university-student-learns-japanese","A University Student's Plan to Learn Japanese in 100 Days | Migaku Case Study","The story of how a university student is using Migaku to learn Japanese: how he got started, what he'd do differently, and his rush to 5,000 vocabulary words.",{"alt":43432,"src":43433,"width":43434,"height":13851,"previewOnly":43362},"One Migaku user's story: feeling controlled by their flashcards on day 1 to feeling on top of things on day 100","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fmigaku_japanese_case_study_1_thumbnail_89e33e14e1\u002Fmigaku_japanese_case_study_1_thumbnail_89e33e14e1.webp",1817,[43436],"successstory",1760430000000,{"id":43439,"documentId":43440,"slug":43441,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43442,"description":43443,"image":43444,"tags":43447,"timestampUnix":43448,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},151,"fmf0rge626b34ee8wo2avbrm","anime-manga-business-japanese","9 Manga, Anime & Dramas to Learn Business Japanese | Migaku","Need to brush up on your ビジネス日本語? Here’s how you can learn business anime with anime, manga & J-dramas (with a helping hand from Migaku).",{"alt":43445,"src":43446,"width":2478,"height":1998,"previewOnly":43362},"A group of four Japanese salaryman at an izakaya—the place you go to immerse in Japanese after you've managed to learn business Japanese","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fmigaku_japanese_business_manga_anime_c1187f9edd\u002Fmigaku_japanese_business_manga_anime_c1187f9edd.jpeg",[9426,9427],1757527500000,{"id":21731,"documentId":43450,"slug":43451,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43452,"description":43453,"image":43454,"tags":43458,"timestampUnix":43459,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"mcjmidlulo5bcm8huzcbjc75","japanese-quotes","Memorable Japanese Quotes & Proverbs","Embrace perseverance, wisdom, and mindfulness with these impactful Japanese quotes and proverbs.",{"alt":43455,"src":43456,"width":23122,"height":43457,"previewOnly":43362},"Autumn leaves in Japan","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fimage4_1638dce9cc\u002Fimage4_1638dce9cc.png",780,[8650,5984,9427],1761649200000,{"id":43461,"documentId":43462,"slug":43463,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43464,"description":43465,"image":43466,"tags":43469,"timestampUnix":43470,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},208,"zykmaqoulck12ac7tt43i9av","kanji-onyomi-vs-kunyomi","Onyomi vs Kunyomi: Remember These 4 Rules to Read Kanji Correctly","What’s the deal with all these different readings for kanji?You’re not alone in your confusion! Let’s take a look at the difference between onyomi and kunyomi readings, and the best way to learn Japanese kanji.",{"alt":43467,"src":43468,"width":2696,"height":38815,"previewOnly":43362},"A wall covered in pieces of paper with calligraphic Japanese characters on them.","https:\u002F\u002Fimages.unsplash.com\u002Fphoto-1505940545481-2cac7ae15782?q=80&w=4140&auto=format&fit=crop&ixlib=rb-4.1.0&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D",[8649],1758447420000,{"id":43472,"documentId":43473,"slug":43474,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43475,"description":43476,"image":43477,"tags":43481,"timestampUnix":43483,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2225,"pnccyn0bff2u6p1suxjj9a3s","anki-language-learning-guide","Anki Language Learning: How to Use It (and Better Options)","Anki, SRS, flashcards... What are they for language learning? Find your answer here. Plus, discover why Migaku offers a more integrated approach in 2026.",{"alt":43478,"src":43479,"width":39916,"height":43480,"previewOnly":43362},"How to learn languages using Anki, and why Migaku is better - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fanki_in_language_learning_b4b42f2abb\u002Fanki_in_language_learning_b4b42f2abb.png",600,[4107,8649,43482],"comparison",1769916900000,{"id":43485,"documentId":43486,"slug":43487,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43488,"description":43489,"image":43490,"tags":43494,"timestampUnix":43495,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},140,"ux4aexey8u3l1dc1xjxhy5ti","japanese-days-of-the-week","Master the Days of the Week in Japanese | Easy Guide","Learn the days of the week in Japanese! It's easier than you think, especially with our Japanese Days Easy Guide. Find out more inside...",{"alt":43491,"src":43492,"width":43493,"height":3667,"previewOnly":43362},"A calendar in a Japanese restaurant, showing the days of the week and the month of the yaer","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fmigaku_japanese_weekdays_thumbnail2_3c3784cb63\u002Fmigaku_japanese_weekdays_thumbnail2_3c3784cb63.jpeg",1910,[728,5086],1757783640000,{"id":43497,"documentId":43498,"slug":43499,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43500,"description":43501,"image":43502,"tags":43505,"timestampUnix":43506,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},195,"sib68p9n2sfaxm52emxwan2o","order-food-in-japanese","How to Order Food in Japanese","Everything you need to know to order food in Japanese. Includes dozens of useful phrases, an overview of the different situations you'll encounter dining in Japan.",{"alt":43503,"src":43504,"width":2478,"height":1998,"previewOnly":43362},"A photo through the window of a Japanese cafe, showing several people sitting behind a window eating their food","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fmigaku_japanese_restaurants_thumbnail_e65e85378a\u002Fmigaku_japanese_restaurants_thumbnail_e65e85378a.jpeg",[8650,5984,9427],1759936200000,{"id":21473,"documentId":43508,"slug":43509,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43510,"description":43511,"image":43512,"tags":43515,"timestampUnix":43516,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"r6e91c4ukiqt6tspi2d4j1qf","goodbye-in-japanese","Leaving Like a Local: How to Say Goodbye in Japanese","There are a number of handy ways to say goodbye in Japanese besides さようなら (sayonara). From formal farewells to casual see ya's, this article covers the more popular ways to bid someone adieu.",{"alt":43513,"src":43514,"width":2478,"height":1998,"previewOnly":43362},"Two people walking away into the distance down a train station—precisely what you might see after telling someone goodbye in japanese","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fmigaku_japanese_goodbye_thumbnail_af12c646f8\u002Fmigaku_japanese_goodbye_thumbnail_af12c646f8.jpg",[728,5086],1760945400000,{"id":43518,"documentId":43519,"slug":43520,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43521,"description":43522,"image":43523,"tags":43527,"timestampUnix":43528,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},189,"ehey6kor43pzdt4djcy9vvem","months-in-japanese","Learn the Months in Japanese | Easy Guide","Learn the Japanese months, including pronunciation, sample sentences, cultural context and more. This is your Migaku guide to the months in Japanese.",{"alt":43524,"src":43525,"width":39321,"height":43526,"previewOnly":43362},"Someone walking through Japan on a rainy day—perhaps June, as per the stories behind the traditional Japanese months of the year","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fpexels_pixabay_315191_581a6e10af\u002Fpexels_pixabay_315191_581a6e10af.jpg",1362,[728,5086],1759245120000,{"id":43530,"documentId":43531,"slug":43532,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43533,"description":43534,"image":43535,"tags":43539,"timestampUnix":43540,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},175,"ulhvfbcgod61cxic114ipo5i","japanese-phone-greetings","Japanese Phone Greetings｜From “Moshi Moshi” to Business Etiquette","Japanese phone greetings explained: from casual phrases like “moshi moshi” to business etiquette, messages, and polite endings—everything you need in one guide.",{"alt":43536,"src":43537,"width":2696,"height":43538,"previewOnly":43362},"A woman using the phone, a prime opportunity to make use of any Japanese phone greetings you may know","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fmigaku_japanese_phone_greetings_thumbnail_3e2c404cd6\u002Fmigaku_japanese_phone_greetings_thumbnail_3e2c404cd6.jpeg",1066,[5086,8650,9427],1759401000000,{"id":21541,"documentId":43542,"slug":43543,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43544,"description":43545,"image":43546,"tags":43551,"timestampUnix":43552,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"s86bgtxsasc832swgvuuoxgk","manga-for-begniners","The Best Manga for Beginners to Learn Japanese","Want to learn Japanese so you can read manga? What if I told you can learn Japanese by reading manga? It's true! Here are our top picks and best tips to have fun while studying Japanese.",{"alt":43547,"src":43548,"width":43549,"height":43550,"previewOnly":43362},"A collection of manga on a bookshelf—you might be ready to start your own, after discovering a few of the best japanese manga for beginners","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fmigaku_beginner_manga_thumbnail_96347425c7\u002Fmigaku_beginner_manga_thumbnail_96347425c7.jpg",1918,1306,[9426],1758369420000,{"id":43554,"documentId":43555,"slug":43556,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43557,"description":43558,"image":43559,"tags":43564,"timestampUnix":43565,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},295,"y5uymt33a5nnyvqicdfyjs33","heisig-remembering-the-kanji-review","Remember the Kanji - A Radical Review of Heisig's Method","Do you remember the kanji you learned a week ago? Learning Japanese characters can be difficult, but with Heisig's Remembering the Kanji, it's easy!",{"alt":43560,"src":43561,"width":43562,"height":43563,"previewOnly":43362},"traditional Japanese saké barrels","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fpexels_gabriele_donofrio_2150198707_31174249_1407c492fd\u002Fpexels_gabriele_donofrio_2150198707_31174249_1407c492fd.jpg",6240,4160,[4107],1761380400000,{"id":43567,"documentId":43568,"slug":43569,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43570,"description":43571,"image":43572,"tags":43576,"timestampUnix":43577,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1774,"wgtwko4pif0c2uxr1n4onece","understanding-spoken-japanese","Understanding Spoken Japanese: Tips to Comprehend Natives","Practical strategies for understanding spoken Japanese from native speakers. Improve listening comprehension with real content, not just textbooks.",{"alt":43573,"src":43574,"width":39916,"height":43575,"previewOnly":43362},"Tips for understanding native speakers - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_09_085017_bcfe61e1cf\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_09_085017_bcfe61e1cf.png",549,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767927660000,{"id":43579,"documentId":43580,"slug":43581,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43582,"description":43583,"image":43584,"tags":43588,"timestampUnix":43589,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},689,"qs5djcd145jepj12hw1wwklr","japanese-conditional-form","Japanese Conditional Forms: と, たら, ば, なら Explained","Master Japanese conditional grammar with と, たら, ば, and なら. Learn which form to use, common mistakes, and how to conjugate each conditional in Japanese.",{"alt":43585,"src":43586,"width":21550,"height":43587,"previewOnly":43362},"japanese-girl","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F4770230_442b_3_ca27d0b5ba\u002F4770230_442b_3_ca27d0b5ba.webp",422,[8649],1763338800000,{"id":43591,"documentId":43592,"slug":43593,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43594,"description":43595,"image":43596,"tags":43599,"timestampUnix":43600,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},646,"rq5ajgd8jkont1ltwdq7eu35","best-japanese-learning-apps","Best App to Learn Japanese: What Actually Works in 2025","Most Japanese learning apps were built for Spanish. Here's what actually works for developing real Japanese language skills, based on research and real learner results.",{"alt":43597,"src":43598,"width":4834,"height":16238,"previewOnly":43362},"Japanese cartoon","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F3000_4428e9568a\u002F3000_4428e9568a.webp",[8649],1761967200000,{"id":22800,"documentId":43602,"slug":43603,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43604,"description":43605,"image":43606,"tags":43610,"timestampUnix":43611,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"vlmxovibtmsz3vyazlat3ysc","excuse-me-in-japanese","Excuse Me in Japanese: Sumimasen, Shitsurei & More","Say excuse me in Japanese with sumimasen, shitsurei shimasu, and casual alternatives. Pronunciation, context, and usage tips included.",{"alt":43607,"src":43608,"width":39916,"height":43609,"previewOnly":43362},"Different ways to say excuse me - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_07_042551_19d241e862\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_07_042551_19d241e862.png",521,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767213900000,{"id":43613,"documentId":43614,"slug":43615,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43616,"description":43617,"image":43618,"tags":43622,"timestampUnix":43623,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},569,"jpfw1gefb9du1h3b7ivgzduw","how-to-learn-japanese","How to Learn Japanese: Beginner's Guide That Works","Learn Japanese effectively as a beginner. Master hiragana, katakana, kanji, and grammar through real content - not boring textbooks. Start learning today.",{"alt":43619,"src":43620,"width":22250,"height":43621,"previewOnly":43362},"Girl using tablet to study","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fyoung_girl_using_tablet_with_education_icons_1308_77958_b3ebcf7d1f\u002Fyoung_girl_using_tablet_with_education_icons_1308_77958_b3ebcf7d1f.avif",532,[8649],1762746000000,{"id":43625,"documentId":43626,"slug":43627,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43628,"description":43629,"image":43630,"tags":43633,"timestampUnix":43634,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},3484,"cw780ghdgkufkfl158aynmis","japanese-love-confessions-how-to-confess","Japanese Love Confessions: How to Confess in Japanese","What's 告白 (kokuhaku) in Japanese culture? Get love confession phrases, cultural tips, timing advice, and how to handle responses authentically.",{"alt":43631,"src":43632,"width":39916,"height":1999,"previewOnly":43362},"How to confess your feelings in Japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F2518194_1feb9d6fc6\u002F2518194_1feb9d6fc6.jpg",[5086,5984],1772499600000,{"id":43636,"documentId":43637,"slug":43638,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43639,"description":43640,"image":43641,"tags":43645,"timestampUnix":43646,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},3485,"zx803ayjrphetcb489z75bya","japanese-internet-slang","Japanese Internet Slang: Popular Terms and Expressions","From 草 to Gen Z phrases, understand the texting abbreviations and Japanese internet slangs on social media.",{"alt":43642,"src":43643,"width":39916,"height":43644,"previewOnly":43362},"Popular Japanese internet slang and online expressions - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_03_03_090514_fecf11b071\u002FScreenshot_2026_03_03_090514_fecf11b071.png",326,[5086,8650,5984],1772506860000,{"id":11688,"documentId":43648,"slug":43649,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43650,"description":43651,"image":43652,"tags":43656,"timestampUnix":43657,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"fkjohwt6jlehgo2afcbla8e9","how-long-does-it-take-to-learn-japanese","How Long Does It Take to Learn Japanese? Real Timelines","Honest breakdown of Japanese learning timelines from beginner to fluent. FSI estimates 2,200 hours, but your timeline depends on study methods and goals.",{"alt":43653,"src":43654,"width":3666,"height":43655,"previewOnly":43362},"japanese writing","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F414747_l_scaled_24e3ef2cdd\u002F414747_l_scaled_24e3ef2cdd.jpg",1707,[8649],1765041900000,{"id":43659,"documentId":43660,"slug":43661,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43662,"description":43663,"image":43664,"tags":43667,"timestampUnix":43668,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},783,"yotcyltuhtxcn8dk1zanv0u0","japanese-te-form","Japanese Te-Form: Master This Essential Verb Conjugation","The Japanese te-form is the most-used verb conjugation. Learn the conjugation rules, main grammar patterns, and how to use te-form naturally in Japanese.",{"alt":43665,"src":43666,"width":1998,"height":11559,"previewOnly":43362},"girl learning japanese","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fjapanese_books_133289ba_dde329e077\u002Fjapanese_books_133289ba_dde329e077.jpg",[3670],1763950800000,{"id":43670,"documentId":43671,"slug":43672,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43673,"description":43674,"image":43675,"tags":43678,"timestampUnix":43679,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},755,"x7awzi26w00v574xy4roy7ex","japanese-passive-form","Japanese Passive Form: Grammar Guide for Verbs & Usage","Master the Japanese passive form with conjugation rules for every verb type. Learn when to use passive, particle に vs によって, and how Japanese passive differs from English.",{"alt":43676,"src":43677,"width":22250,"height":43480,"previewOnly":43362},"doraemon cute image","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fdoraemon2_6cf5bd7996\u002Fdoraemon2_6cf5bd7996.jpg",[8649],1763864400000,{"id":43681,"documentId":43682,"slug":43683,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43684,"description":43685,"image":43686,"tags":43689,"timestampUnix":43690,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},850,"lxvj09kin7tae30pqzqe58wy","japanese-causative-form","Japanese Causative Form: Grammar Guide to Make vs Let Verbs","Master the Japanese causative form and causative verb conjugation. Learn when させる means \"make\" or \"let someone do something\" with clear examples and particle rules.",{"alt":43687,"src":43688,"width":2696,"height":39916,"previewOnly":43362},"japanese girl studying","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FJapanese_Government_Passes_Law_to_Help_Foreign_Residents_Study_Japanese_88d77da28a\u002FJapanese_Government_Passes_Law_to_Help_Foreign_Residents_Study_Japanese_88d77da28a.jpg",[],1764469200000,{"id":43692,"documentId":43693,"slug":43694,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43695,"description":43696,"image":43697,"tags":43701,"timestampUnix":43702,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1816,"two1rln1w7qhi66zil00nw9n","jlpt-n4-overview-complete-guide","JLPT N4 Overview: Complete Guide to Passing in 2026","Everything you need to know about the JLPT N4: exam structure, pass marks, vocabulary, grammar, kanji requirements, and study strategies that actually work.",{"alt":43698,"src":43699,"width":39916,"height":43700,"previewOnly":43362},"Complete guide to JLPT N4 - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_13_013917_10b5c2fcdb\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_13_013917_10b5c2fcdb.png",448,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768258860000,{"id":43704,"documentId":43705,"slug":43706,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43707,"description":43708,"image":43709,"tags":43713,"timestampUnix":43714,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2602,"oq5m3n5j06e9d5a5lnt8cp2d","how-to-learn-katakana","How to Learn Katakana Fast (Memorize It in Days)","Finish katakana learning in 2-5 days using mnemonics, charts, handwriting practice, and quizzes. The fastest method to memorize for beginners.",{"alt":43710,"src":43711,"width":39916,"height":43712,"previewOnly":43362},"The fastest way to memorize katakana - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FKatakana_text_982766c3ce\u002FKatakana_text_982766c3ce.jpg",470,[728,5086],1770562800000,{"id":3583,"documentId":43716,"slug":43717,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43718,"description":43719,"image":43720,"tags":43724,"timestampUnix":43725,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"zstb8afw9wxuwj4rco5gk1w6","japanese-time-expressions","Japanese Time Expressions: Complete Grammar Guide","When to use particle ni with time words? How to tell time, and express schedules naturally in Japanese? Clear rules with practical examples.",{"alt":43721,"src":43722,"width":39916,"height":43723,"previewOnly":43362},"Expressing time in Japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_07_161006_c7dd94074d\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_07_161006_c7dd94074d.png",495,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767212220000,{"id":43727,"documentId":43728,"slug":3662,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43729,"description":43730,"image":43731,"tags":43735,"timestampUnix":43736,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1729,"kkybojlc2ehre2wbmjkhd1xq","Japanese Counters Guide: Master 個, 枚, 本 & More","Learn Japanese counters with this complete guide covering 個, 枚, 本, 人, 匹, and more. 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Learn when to use で vs に and see real examples from native Japanese.",{"alt":43766,"src":43767,"width":1998,"height":11559,"previewOnly":43362},"japanese keyboard","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Ftyping_hiragana_bfaa6da5_4922610d5c\u002Ftyping_hiragana_bfaa6da5_4922610d5c.jpg",[8649],1764717060000,{"id":43771,"documentId":43772,"slug":43773,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43774,"description":43775,"image":43776,"tags":43780,"timestampUnix":43781,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},958,"h3lerlcd18htt5pw3p7wraoe","jlpt-n4-overview","JLPT N4 Overview: Pass the Test with Real Japanese Study","Everything you need to know about JLPT N4: vocabulary, kanji, grammar requirements, study hours, test format, and what actually works for passing the exam.",{"alt":43777,"src":43778,"width":4834,"height":43779,"previewOnly":43362},"man studying for jlpt","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F1755486533phpft_Fqc_U_48923e6dc0\u002F1755486533phpft_Fqc_U_48923e6dc0.jpeg",675,[8649],1765074000000,{"id":4201,"documentId":43783,"slug":43784,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43785,"description":43786,"image":43787,"tags":43790,"timestampUnix":43791,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"jhxwg5crip0wc0nhbccrvips","japanese-business-vocabulary","Japanese Business Vocabulary: Essential Office Terms Guide","Essential Japanese business vocabulary for meetings, emails, and professional settings. 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Real examples, no fluff.",{"alt":43812,"src":43813,"width":43814,"height":43815,"previewOnly":43362},"learn japanese","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fjapanese_language_2_a717af063c\u002Fjapanese_language_2_a717af063c.webp",620,414,[8649],1765686600000,{"id":43819,"documentId":43820,"slug":43821,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43822,"description":43823,"image":43824,"tags":43829,"timestampUnix":43831,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1521,"qwlmqkq65fdhku01o3nge2rl","joyo-kanji-complete-guide","Complete Guide to the 2,136 Joyo Kanji for Japanese Learners","Here's everything about the 2,136 joyo kanji: grade-by-grade lists, readings, stroke counts, and practical study strategies for mastering essential Japanese characters.",{"alt":43825,"src":43826,"width":43827,"height":43828,"previewOnly":43362},"Guide to the 2,136 joyo kanji - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2025_12_29_133714_f93939100f\u002FScreenshot_2025_12_29_133714_f93939100f.png",883,583,[728,5086,43830,3670],"pronunciation",1766923680000,{"id":43833,"documentId":43834,"slug":43835,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43836,"description":43837,"image":43838,"tags":43841,"timestampUnix":43842,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1103,"vojak2ew0av5790ufk4xqrg1","japanese-verb-conjugation","Japanese Verb Conjugation Guide: Conjugate Verbs Like a Pro","Master Japanese verb conjugation with this complete guide. Learn godan, ichidan, te form, and every tense you need to conjugate Japanese verbs naturally.",{"alt":43839,"src":43840,"width":1998,"height":1999,"previewOnly":43362},"japanese verb","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fmaxresdefault_3_a23c56113a\u002Fmaxresdefault_3_a23c56113a.jpg",[8649],1765680600000,{"id":43844,"documentId":43845,"slug":43846,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43847,"description":43848,"image":43849,"tags":43853,"timestampUnix":43854,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1523,"tevip9povrskvkc2c3o0ks9x","kanji-mnemonics","Kanji Mnemonics: Memory Techniques That Actually Work","Learn kanji faster with mnemonic techniques, radical breakdowns, and spaced repetition. Practical guide covering RTK, WaniKani, Anki, and proven methods.",{"alt":43850,"src":43851,"width":21682,"height":43852,"previewOnly":43362},"Memory techniques for learning kanji - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2025_12_31_084439_72b0e13538\u002FScreenshot_2025_12_31_084439_72b0e13538.png",488,[728,5086,43830,3670],1766921820000,{"id":43361,"documentId":43856,"slug":43857,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43858,"description":43859,"image":43860,"tags":43864,"timestampUnix":43865,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"aqs30hufk085365ucqvi4t2k","katakana-words","Common Katakana Words: Essential Loanwords for Learners","Learn common katakana words and Japanese loanwords. 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Covers verb conjugation, social rules, and how to avoid sounding rude or overly formal.",{"alt":43883,"src":43884,"width":39916,"height":43613,"previewOnly":43362},"When to use casual forms - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_08_020911_29804d37f4\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_08_020911_29804d37f4.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1767180360000,{"id":43888,"documentId":43889,"slug":43890,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43891,"description":43892,"image":43893,"tags":43897,"timestampUnix":43898,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1743,"ttionu0cdlx5iexx6b52c07u","japanese-travel-phrases","Essential Japanese Travel Phrases for Your Japan Trip","The must-know Japanese travel phrases for getting around, ordering food, and connecting with locals. Includes pronunciation guides and cultural tips.",{"alt":43894,"src":43895,"width":39916,"height":43896,"previewOnly":43362},"Essential phrases for travelers - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_08_024711_5a6b0b0055\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_08_024711_5a6b0b0055.png",468,[728,5086,5984,43830],1767178860000,{"id":43900,"documentId":43901,"slug":43902,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43903,"description":43904,"image":43905,"tags":43909,"timestampUnix":43910,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1744,"s50rkpsx0z943gwy8rd9nmu1","japanese-family-words","Japanese Family Words: Complete Guide to Family Terms","Basic Japanese families words with kanji, hiragana, and romaji. Covers immediate family, extended relatives, and usage rules in Japanese culture.",{"alt":43906,"src":43907,"width":39916,"height":43908,"previewOnly":43362},"Family member terms in Japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_08_033247_2a592b5765\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_08_033247_2a592b5765.png",479,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767164460000,{"id":43912,"documentId":43913,"slug":43914,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43915,"description":43916,"image":43917,"tags":43922,"timestampUnix":43923,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1587,"f6ewq7mj3s7p6e5l1i5on5jf","best-japanese-anki-decks","Best Japanese Anki Decks for Beginners to Advanced (2026)","Find the best Japanese Anki decks for vocab, kanji, and JLPT prep. Covers Core 2000, Kaishi 1.5k, RTK, and more with honest reviews for every level.",{"alt":43918,"src":43919,"width":43920,"height":43921,"previewOnly":43362},"Best Japanese Anki Decks - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_02_083546_4f21e54c66\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_02_083546_4f21e54c66.png",621,454,[728,5086,5984,3670],1766257200000,{"id":43925,"documentId":43926,"slug":43927,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43928,"description":43929,"image":43930,"tags":43935,"timestampUnix":43936,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1588,"k190pmd8l3kzkfvectpr8hq0","japanese-restaurant-phrases","Japanese Restaurant Phrases: Order Food Like a Local","Master essential Japanese restaurant phrases for ordering food, from entering to paying. Learn the basic formula and cultural etiquette.",{"alt":43931,"src":43932,"width":43933,"height":43934,"previewOnly":43362},"Japanese Restaurant Phrases - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_02_092412_962749b667\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_02_092412_962749b667.png",1082,559,[728,5086,5984,3670],1766142000000,{"id":43938,"documentId":43939,"slug":43940,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43941,"description":43942,"image":43943,"tags":43947,"timestampUnix":43948,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1746,"koayp52qbz9tj2wfu7x12dcp","japanese-keigo","Japanese Keigo: Understanding Honorific Language Forms","Japanese keigo (honorific language) with clear explanations of sonkeigo, kenjougo, and teineigo. Understand when to use respectful speech.",{"alt":43944,"src":43945,"width":39916,"height":43946,"previewOnly":43362},"Understanding keigo (honorific language) - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_08_045107_7771e99408\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_08_045107_7771e99408.png",483,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767150000000,{"id":38926,"documentId":43950,"slug":43951,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43952,"description":43953,"image":43954,"tags":43959,"timestampUnix":43960,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"uywio03zw2blcllpeq7q9xvx","duolingo-japanese-review-does-it-work","Duolingo Japanese Review: Does It Actually Work in 2025?","Honest Duolingo Japanese review covering what works, what doesn't, and whether it can actually make you fluent. Plus better alternatives for serious learners.",{"alt":43955,"src":43956,"width":43957,"height":43958,"previewOnly":43362},"Is Duolingo good for Japanese? - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2025_12_31_110048_b2ff7e67ef\u002FScreenshot_2025_12_31_110048_b2ff7e67ef.png",962,690,[728,5086,5984,3670],1766767620000,{"id":43962,"documentId":43963,"slug":43964,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43965,"description":43966,"image":43967,"tags":43972,"timestampUnix":43973,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1533,"vrjnnrrqr9rxthkt8toawiju","how-to-write-in-japanese","How to Write in Japanese: Complete Beginner's Guide","Learn how to write in Japanese with this guide to hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Covers stroke order and practical writing strategies for beginners.",{"alt":43968,"src":43969,"width":43970,"height":43971,"previewOnly":43362},"Guide to Japanese writing - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2025_12_31_122638_dae485f9a7\u002FScreenshot_2025_12_31_122638_dae485f9a7.png",923,577,[728,5086,5984,3670],1766767440000,{"id":43975,"documentId":43976,"slug":43977,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43978,"description":43979,"image":43980,"tags":43985,"timestampUnix":43986,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1354,"nahnqof0dffp06wtxrt2um76","japanese-particle-mo","Japanese Particle も: Complete Grammar Guide for Beginners","Master the Japanese particle も (mo) with this clear guide. Learn when も means \"also,\" \"too,\" \"even,\" or \"neither\" — plus common mistakes to avoid.",{"alt":43981,"src":43982,"width":43983,"height":43984,"previewOnly":43362},"japanese language","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F52_picture_study_japanese_in_singapore_22b6250024\u002F52_picture_study_japanese_in_singapore_22b6250024.jpeg",500,375,[8649],1766370000000,{"id":13080,"documentId":43988,"slug":43989,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":43990,"description":43991,"image":43992,"tags":43996,"timestampUnix":43997,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"gf10mf002lzizv5u4z05jqc0","japanese-spaced-repetition","Japanese Spaced Repetition: SRS for Learning Vocabulary","How will the spaced repetition systems help you memorize Japanese vocabulary efficiently? Practical SRS strategies that work for language learners.",{"alt":43993,"src":43994,"width":39916,"height":43995,"previewOnly":43362},"Using SRS for Japanese learning - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_12_015947_9ff0000cba\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_12_015947_9ff0000cba.png",584,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768172460000,{"id":39037,"documentId":43999,"slug":44000,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44001,"description":44002,"image":44003,"tags":44006,"timestampUnix":44007,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"rlzc9mnum22jamlb5dnmh067","japanese-sentence-structure","Japanese Sentence Structure: Understanding SOV Word Order","Learn how Japanese sentence structure works with SOV word order, particles, and verb-final placement. Clear examples and practical tips for beginners.",{"alt":44004,"src":44005,"width":39916,"height":43983,"previewOnly":43362},"Understanding SOV word order in Japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2025_12_31_133528_ab1f209732\u002FScreenshot_2025_12_31_133528_ab1f209732.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1766746860000,{"id":44009,"documentId":44010,"slug":44011,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44012,"description":44013,"image":44014,"tags":44019,"timestampUnix":44020,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1592,"pk4wxw4gs4qhifq0ye8b3pbc","japanese-desu-masu-form","Japanese Desu Masu Form: Complete Guide to Polite Japanese","Learn how to use です (desu) and ます (masu) forms in Japanese. Clear explanations, conjugation rules, examples, and common mistakes for polite speech.",{"alt":44015,"src":44016,"width":44017,"height":44018,"previewOnly":43362},"japanese desu masu form - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_02_101522_fa01aba19f\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_02_101522_fa01aba19f.png",927,636,[728,5086,43830,3670],1765833600000,{"id":44022,"documentId":44023,"slug":44024,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44025,"description":44026,"image":44027,"tags":44030,"timestampUnix":44031,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1568,"nnyj78lb1rvnbh84252l95vj","how-to-speak-japanese","How to Speak Japanese: Real Guide for Beginners (2025)","Learn how to speak Japanese with actionable steps: master kana, practice pronunciation, and start conversations fast. No fluff, just what works.",{"alt":44028,"src":44029,"width":39916,"height":43852,"previewOnly":43362},"How to Speak Japanese Guide - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_01_085820_c0756ac2f4\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_01_085820_c0756ac2f4.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1766228400000,{"id":44033,"documentId":44034,"slug":44035,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44036,"description":44037,"image":44038,"tags":44042,"timestampUnix":44043,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1539,"lxvt938em14deuckf4ytxmwt","jlpt-n2-overview","JLPT N2 Overview: Complete Guide to Format, Study & Passing","Everything you need to know about JLPT N2: exam structure, scoring, study tips, and real-world applications. 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Master hiragana, katakana, and kanji with proven strategies that actually work. Start reading real content faster.",{"alt":44338,"src":44339,"width":39916,"height":44340,"previewOnly":43362},"how to read japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_01_145604_3dbd561534\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_01_145604_3dbd561534.png",482,[728,5086,5984,3670],{"id":44343,"documentId":44344,"slug":44345,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44346,"description":44347,"image":44348,"tags":44352,"timestampUnix":44020,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1608,"bsksuylblq1wiangnrhzpj7v","how-are-you-in-japanese","How Are You in Japanese: Formal, Casual & Everything Between","Learn how to ask \"how are you\" in Japanese with formal phrases like ogenki desu ka, casual versions like genki, plus cultural tips for every situation.",{"alt":44349,"src":44350,"width":44351,"height":40438,"previewOnly":43362},"How Are You in Japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_03_073218_ec9652d0e9\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_03_073218_ec9652d0e9.png",903,[728,5086,5984,3670],{"id":12849,"documentId":44354,"slug":44355,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44356,"description":44357,"image":44358,"tags":44362,"timestampUnix":44363,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"gtlzj369ztnimtzqigywc493","japanese-negation","Japanese Negation: How to Make Negative Sentences","Japanese negation has clear conjugation rules for verbs, adjectives, and nouns. Here are informal nai, formal masen, past tense, and common mistakes.",{"alt":44359,"src":44360,"width":39916,"height":44361,"previewOnly":43362},"How to make negative sentences - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_09_042101_f57e2f7531\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_09_042101_f57e2f7531.png",505,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767121200000,{"id":952,"documentId":44365,"slug":44366,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44367,"description":44368,"image":44369,"tags":44373,"timestampUnix":44374,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"hw7lljurju7tw8gj5h2xd7nn","japanese-speaking-practice","Japanese Speaking Practice: Speak Japanese via These Methods","Discover effective Japanese speaking practice methods for beginners and intermediate learners. Apps, language exchange tips, and daily techniques that build fluency.",{"alt":44370,"src":44371,"width":39916,"height":44372,"previewOnly":43362},"Methods for practicing speaking - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_12_062816_edfdc7fec4\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_12_062816_edfdc7fec4.png",461,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767985260000,{"id":44376,"documentId":44377,"slug":44378,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44379,"description":44380,"image":44381,"tags":44385,"timestampUnix":44386,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1612,"vl1jnxpfx53eaw6jhnmy52cn","japanese-immersion-learning","Japanese Immersion Learning: Real Methods That Work","Learn Japanese through immersion with practical methods that actually work. Get timelines, tools, and strategies for fluency from beginner to advanced.",{"alt":44382,"src":44383,"width":44317,"height":44384,"previewOnly":43362},"Japanese Immersion Learning - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_03_081325_8b124dcb46\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_03_081325_8b124dcb46.png",493,[728,5086,5984,3670],1766271600000,{"id":44388,"documentId":44389,"slug":44390,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44391,"description":44392,"image":44393,"tags":44398,"timestampUnix":44399,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1686,"fpjwexp9d8oyjm35b6gzqsxi","japanese-months-guide","Japanese Months: Modern & Traditional Names Guide","Learn all 12 Japanese months with kanji, pronunciation, and traditional names. Complete guide to gatsu system and wafū getsumei for language learners.",{"alt":44394,"src":44395,"width":44396,"height":44397,"previewOnly":43362},"Months of the year in Japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_05_014232_3ecc9d7196\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_05_014232_3ecc9d7196.png",1053,700,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767420120000,{"id":44401,"documentId":44402,"slug":44403,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44404,"description":44405,"image":44406,"tags":44409,"timestampUnix":44410,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1687,"oem57e54tgbh4qzxky1wyrhx","congratulations-in-japanese","How to Say Congratulations in Japanese: Complete Guide","Learn congratulations in Japanese with omedetou, formal phrases, and occasion-specific expressions. Includes pronunciation, usage, and cultural tips.",{"alt":44407,"src":44408,"width":22250,"height":44372,"previewOnly":43362},"Expressing congratulations - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_05_024022_a24671cf0c\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_05_024022_a24671cf0c.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1767294060000,{"id":44412,"documentId":44413,"slug":44414,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44415,"description":44416,"image":44417,"tags":44421,"timestampUnix":44422,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1689,"oje0vobgsrcrumhk32jk5yv0","japanese-direction-words","Japanese Direction Words: Essential Navigation Vocabulary","Learn essential Japanese direction words, phrases, and grammar for asking and giving directions. Includes vocabulary lists, example dialogues, and practical tips.",{"alt":44418,"src":44419,"width":44065,"height":44420,"previewOnly":43362},"Directions and locations - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_05_034352_0cf80e9bf6\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_05_034352_0cf80e9bf6.png",469,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767391080000,{"id":44424,"documentId":44425,"slug":44426,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44427,"description":44428,"image":44429,"tags":44433,"timestampUnix":44434,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1691,"k4usyl7x5r44xqqktv4zwfg0","japanese-emotions-vocabulary","Japanese Emotions Vocabulary: Express Feelings Naturally","Learn essential Japanese emotions vocabulary from basic feelings to nuanced expressions. Discover how to describe happiness and unique emotional states.",{"alt":44430,"src":44431,"width":39916,"height":44432,"previewOnly":43362},"Expressing feelings and emotions - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_05_050153_38c111c373\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_05_050153_38c111c373.png",465,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767380460000,{"id":44436,"documentId":44437,"slug":44438,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44439,"description":44440,"image":44441,"tags":44445,"timestampUnix":44446,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1692,"k5nknd1aczxil1cwodcor81j","japanese-shopping-phrases","Japanese Shopping Phrases: Essential Guide for Tourists","Learn essential Japanese shopping phrases for asking prices, trying clothes, and making purchases in Japan. Practical phrases with romaji for tourists.",{"alt":44442,"src":44443,"width":44444,"height":43995,"previewOnly":43362},"Phrases for shopping in Japan - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_05_072249_ee78786f93\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_05_072249_ee78786f93.png",911,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767332520000,{"id":44448,"documentId":44449,"slug":44450,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44451,"description":44452,"image":44453,"tags":44457,"timestampUnix":44458,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1693,"zimallm53o7rk1zdzxc1wnni","japanese-weather-vocabulary","Japanese Weather Vocabulary: Essential Terms for Learners","Learn essential Japanese weather vocabulary including tenki, seasons, and forecast terms. Complete guide with kanji, romaji, and practical phrases.",{"alt":44454,"src":44455,"width":44456,"height":825,"previewOnly":43362},"Weather-related terms - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_05_083021_f2d9298cd7\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_05_083021_f2d9298cd7.png",929,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767331380000,{"id":44460,"documentId":44461,"slug":44462,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44463,"description":44464,"image":44465,"tags":44469,"timestampUnix":44470,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1695,"zg55rdc5vlkj0q2o2w2say0e","japanese-body-parts","Japanese Body Parts: Complete Vocabulary Guide for Learners","Learn essential Japanese body parts vocabulary from head to toe. Complete guide with romaji, kanji, and English for all skill levels.",{"alt":44466,"src":44467,"width":22250,"height":44468,"previewOnly":43362},"Body part vocabulary - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_06_004546_a8630a6bf0\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_06_004546_a8630a6bf0.png",472,[728,5086,5984,43830],1767327420000,{"id":44472,"documentId":44473,"slug":44474,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44475,"description":44476,"image":44477,"tags":44481,"timestampUnix":44482,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1828,"y8ffwh0wnusox18bru9rb2c7","japanese-verb-kuru","Japanese Verb Kuru (来る): Conjugation & Usage Guide","Learn how to conjugate and use the irregular Japanese verb kuru (来る) correctly. Complete guide with conjugation charts, te-form usage, and examples.",{"alt":44478,"src":44479,"width":39916,"height":44480,"previewOnly":43362},"Using the verb 来る (kuru) correctly - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_13_092242_b743059777\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_13_092242_b743059777.png",607,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767048360000,{"id":44484,"documentId":44485,"slug":44486,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44487,"description":44488,"image":44489,"tags":44493,"timestampUnix":44494,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1804,"ycqtmav41belyr1yc9mlv4dn","japanese-pitch-accent","Japanese Pitch Accent Patterns: A Practical Guide","Learn the four Japanese pitch accent patterns and why they matter. Discover when to study pitch accent, which resources to use, and how to sound natural.",{"alt":44490,"src":44491,"width":39916,"height":44492,"previewOnly":43362},"Understanding pitch accent patterns - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_12_070825_884f1fc17c\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_12_070825_884f1fc17c.png",553,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767956460000,{"id":44496,"documentId":44497,"slug":44498,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44499,"description":44500,"image":44501,"tags":44505,"timestampUnix":44506,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1805,"xsw58m8l7fa9y4y2pzuxf1ji","japanese-word-order","Japanese Word Order: Basic to Advanced SOV Grammar Guide","Master Japanese word order from basic SOV structure to advanced patterns. Learn particles, flexibility, and practical sentence building with clear examples.",{"alt":44502,"src":44503,"width":39916,"height":44504,"previewOnly":43362},"Basic to advanced word order rules - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_12_091706_d798842890\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_12_091706_d798842890.png",535,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767049200000,{"id":44508,"documentId":44509,"slug":44510,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44511,"description":44512,"image":44513,"tags":44517,"timestampUnix":44518,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1823,"tb9o3i80gjslabm97h3lxwhl","best-japanese-youtube-channels","Best Japanese YouTube Channels for Learners (2026 Guide)","Discover the best Japanese YouTube channels for every level. From JLPT prep to native content, find channels that help you learn Japanese effectively.",{"alt":44514,"src":44515,"width":39916,"height":44516,"previewOnly":43362},"Best YouTube channels for learners - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_13_060100_abe46cb96f\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_13_060100_abe46cb96f.png",372,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768201260000,{"id":44520,"documentId":44521,"slug":44522,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44523,"description":44524,"image":44525,"tags":44528,"timestampUnix":44529,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1827,"v85cl7t3u7ep57yv9tzlad1m","japanese-adjective-conjugation","How to Conjugate Japanese Adjectives (Complete Guide)","Japanese adjective conjugation for i-adjectives and na-adjectives explained. Guide with tense forms, te-form, irregular いい, and practical examples.",{"alt":44526,"src":44527,"width":39916,"height":23948,"previewOnly":43362},"How to conjugate Japanese adjectives - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_13_085108_84406ea2c3\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_13_085108_84406ea2c3.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1767048420000,{"id":44531,"documentId":44532,"slug":44533,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44534,"description":44535,"image":44536,"tags":44540,"timestampUnix":44541,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1771,"old5xyp45as5mbh1mv1ugumo","japanese-question-words","Japanese Question Words: How to Ask Questions in Japanese","Learn essential Japanese question words like nani, doko, and itsu with particles, examples, and usage rules. Start asking real questions today.",{"alt":44537,"src":44538,"width":39916,"height":44539,"previewOnly":43362},"How to ask questions in Japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_09_071504_5189caf445\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_09_071504_5189caf445.png",544,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767049440000,{"id":39655,"documentId":44543,"slug":44544,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44545,"description":44546,"image":44547,"tags":44552,"timestampUnix":44553,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"qv5go6wl5eorhx7fqy7bflrr","japanese-colors","Japanese Colors: Complete Guide to Color Words in Japanese","Learn all Japanese color words with kanji, hiragana, and romaji. Covers traditional terms, loanwords, grammar, and cultural meanings for language learners.",{"alt":44548,"src":44549,"width":44550,"height":44551,"previewOnly":43362},"All color words in Japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_06_015552_7bcef47b27\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_06_015552_7bcef47b27.png",904,603,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767326340000,{"id":44555,"documentId":44556,"slug":44557,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44558,"description":44559,"image":44560,"tags":44564,"timestampUnix":44565,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1703,"boxzwni8qm5gu6pn7fp37zpo","happy-birthday-in-japanese","Happy Birthday in Japanese: Complete Guide (2026)","Learn how to say happy birthday in Japanese with formal and casual phrases, pronunciation, cultural tips, and real conversation examples.",{"alt":44561,"src":44562,"width":43579,"height":44563,"previewOnly":43362},"Birthday greetings and phrases - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_06_034332_76f40ef08c\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_06_034332_76f40ef08c.png",518,[728,5086,5984,43830],1767259800000,{"id":37882,"documentId":44567,"slug":44568,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44569,"description":44570,"image":44571,"tags":44575,"timestampUnix":44576,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"ywtar9vyayv448fzeo1vlo16","nice-to-meet-you-in-japanese","How to Say Nice to Meet You in Japanese (Hajimemashite Guide)","Learn how to say \"nice to meet you\" in Japanese with hajimemashite and variations for formal and casual situations. Includes pronunciation.",{"alt":44572,"src":44573,"width":44574,"height":44116,"previewOnly":43362},"Greeting someone for the first time - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_06_045117_833a63a6a0\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_06_045117_833a63a6a0.png",842,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767244860000,{"id":44578,"documentId":44579,"slug":44580,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44581,"description":44582,"image":44583,"tags":44587,"timestampUnix":44588,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1705,"g8z0kfahh041t1e7cn3n2v59","see-you-later-in-japanese","See You Later in Japanese: Casual Phrases That Sound Natural","Learn how to say see you later in Japanese with casual phrases. Includes pronunciation, context, and what Japanese people actually say daily.",{"alt":44584,"src":44585,"width":39916,"height":44586,"previewOnly":43362},"Casual farewell phrases - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_06_064232_0757568afa\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_06_064232_0757568afa.png",464,[728,5086,5984,43830],1767239940000,{"id":44590,"documentId":44591,"slug":44592,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44593,"description":44594,"image":44595,"tags":44599,"timestampUnix":44600,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1706,"xiy7fnjwkqtn0nh4cfasqtdh","good-night-in-japanese","How to Say Good Night in Japanese: Complete Guide","Learn how to say good night in Japanese with oyasumi, oyasuminasai, and romantic variations. Includes romaji, usage contexts, and cultural tips.",{"alt":44596,"src":44597,"width":39916,"height":44598,"previewOnly":43362},"Evening greetings - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_06_072136_90e8ae297f\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_06_072136_90e8ae297f.png",680,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767237960000,{"id":43655,"documentId":44602,"slug":44603,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44604,"description":44605,"image":44606,"tags":44610,"timestampUnix":44611,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"zzwr0891y0kd0jnb3tivwfxh","good-morning-in-japanese","How to Say Good Morning in Japanese: Beginner's Guide","Learn how to say good morning in Japanese with ohayou gozaimasu, casual variations, pronunciation tips, and cultural context for proper usage.",{"alt":44607,"src":44608,"width":44444,"height":44609,"previewOnly":43362},"Morning greetings - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_06_075445_2736f6ab77\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_06_075445_2736f6ab77.png",613,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767230640000,{"id":44613,"documentId":44614,"slug":44615,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44616,"description":44617,"image":44618,"tags":44621,"timestampUnix":44622,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1702,"pj57b5zh6hhokf9xuweueq8j","good-luck-in-japanese","How to Say Good Luck in Japanese: Ganbatte & More","Learn how to say good luck in Japanese with ganbatte and other essential phrases. Includes cultural context, formal\u002Fcasual variations, and real examples.",{"alt":44619,"src":44620,"width":44550,"height":24147,"previewOnly":43362},"Wishing someone good luck - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_06_025632_a7199f6145\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_06_025632_a7199f6145.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1767322860000,{"id":44624,"documentId":44625,"slug":44626,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44627,"description":44628,"image":44629,"tags":44632,"timestampUnix":44633,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1718,"zkdn7ccc8uhe1uuuskytkmpj","japanese-seasons","Japanese Seasons: Essential Vocabulary & Expressions Guide","Unlock Japanese seasons vocabulary from haru to fuyu, including cherry blossom terms, cultural events, and expressions Japanese people actually use daily.",{"alt":44630,"src":44631,"width":39916,"height":43971,"previewOnly":43362},"Seasonal vocabulary and expressions - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_07_003840_1b1fb68a67\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_07_003840_1b1fb68a67.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1767726060000,{"id":44635,"documentId":44636,"slug":44637,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44638,"description":44639,"image":44640,"tags":44644,"timestampUnix":44645,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1773,"swbz9v347lz63e39u02s014c","japanese-podcast-recommendations","Best Japanese Podcast Recommendations for Every Level","Discover the best Japanese podcasts for beginners, intermediate, and advanced learners. Get specific recommendations plus strategies to actually improve.",{"alt":44641,"src":44642,"width":38815,"height":44643,"previewOnly":43362},"Best podcasts for Japanese learners - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_09_080011_eb67663a7a\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_09_080011_eb67663a7a.png",629,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767942060000,{"id":44647,"documentId":44648,"slug":44649,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44650,"description":44651,"image":44652,"tags":44656,"timestampUnix":44657,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1722,"yvocbuerlkjtmdo1vu6jrcfn","youre-welcome-in-japanese","You're Welcome in Japanese: 12 Ways to Respond to Thank You","How to say you're welcome in Japanese beyond \"dou itashimashite\"? Master casual and formal responses to \"arigatou\" with pronunciation and cultural context.",{"alt":44653,"src":44654,"width":39916,"height":44655,"previewOnly":43362},"Responding to thank you - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_07_020800_30b7f8e415\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_07_020800_30b7f8e415.png",426,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767222000000,{"id":44659,"documentId":44660,"slug":44661,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44662,"description":44663,"image":44664,"tags":44667,"timestampUnix":44668,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1723,"uscal9lh5awpfjxt26ak40qa","please-in-japanese","How to Say Please in Japanese: Kudasai vs Onegaishimasu","Say please in Japanese with kudasai, onegaishimasu, and douzo. Understand when to use each form based on context and formality level.",{"alt":44665,"src":44666,"width":39916,"height":44248,"previewOnly":43362},"Using please correctly - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_07_024600_c3e92a721d\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_07_024600_c3e92a721d.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1767220620000,{"id":4973,"documentId":44670,"slug":44671,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44672,"description":44673,"image":44674,"tags":44678,"timestampUnix":44679,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"xuutevhgtq1ksxz8xtgp1tn4","sorry-in-japanese","How to Say Sorry in Japanese: Complete Apology Guide","Here's every way to say sorry in Japanese, from casual gomen to formal moushiwake arimasen. Master when to use sumimasen vs gomen nasai with real examples.",{"alt":44675,"src":44676,"width":44677,"height":37238,"previewOnly":43362},"How to apologize in Japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_07_033130_dd68ca2300\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_07_033130_dd68ca2300.png",916,[728,5086,5984,43830],1767219240000,{"id":44681,"documentId":44682,"slug":44683,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44684,"description":44685,"image":44686,"tags":44690,"timestampUnix":44691,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1839,"nrarnaq156m0fuwkociq5oeh","japanese-social-etiquette","Japanese Social Etiquette: Real Guide to Customs & Manners","Japanese social etiquette with practical tips on bowing, dining manners, chopstick rules, onsen customs, and business protocols. Avoid common mistakes.",{"alt":44687,"src":44688,"width":39916,"height":44689,"previewOnly":43362},"Social customs and manners - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_14_013725_506acb5a52\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_14_013725_506acb5a52.png",398,[728,5086,5984,43830],1768345260000,{"id":44693,"documentId":44694,"slug":44695,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44696,"description":44697,"image":44698,"tags":44702,"timestampUnix":44703,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1845,"t91qrwxzabviw1lfxj22z40l","jlpt-practice-tests","Where to Find JLPT Practice Tests (N5 to N1 Resources)","Find the best JLPT practice tests for all levels. Official samples, free online tests, and mock exams to prepare for N5, N4, N3, N2, and N1.",{"alt":44699,"src":44700,"width":39916,"height":44701,"previewOnly":43362},"Where to find practice tests - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_14_030031_81fe16390c\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_14_030031_81fe16390c.png",541,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768302060000,{"id":44705,"documentId":44706,"slug":44707,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44708,"description":44709,"image":44710,"tags":44714,"timestampUnix":44715,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1842,"d6oeudzalvqlzt59l0s6si56","japanese-business-etiquette","Japanese Business Etiquette: Essential Customs Guide","Master Japanese business etiquette with this practical guide to meetings, business cards, bowing, hierarchy, and customs that build respect in Japan.",{"alt":44711,"src":44712,"width":39916,"height":44713,"previewOnly":43362},"Essential business customs - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_14_022046_941df6f369\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_14_022046_941df6f369.png",443,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768330860000,{"id":44717,"documentId":44718,"slug":44719,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44720,"description":44721,"image":44722,"tags":44726,"timestampUnix":44727,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1846,"k5lmaffkavf2mby6ewtv2ck1","jlpt-grammar-points","JLPT Grammar Points by Level: N5 to N1 Complete Guide","Complete breakdown of JLPT grammar points across all five levels (N5-N1) with examples, study tips, and what you actually need to know for each test level.",{"alt":44723,"src":44724,"width":39916,"height":44725,"previewOnly":43362},"Grammar points for each level - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_14_033710_fa0566fc1d\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_14_033710_fa0566fc1d.png",566,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768287660000,{"id":44729,"documentId":44730,"slug":44731,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44732,"description":44733,"image":44734,"tags":44737,"timestampUnix":44482,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1851,"b6gnxdpyi05g1qc1gkifhqgo","japanese-verb-suru","Japanese Verb Suru: How to Use する Correctly","How to use the Japanese verb suru (する) correctly? Here are conjugation tables, example sentences, and practical tips for forming suru verbs from nouns.",{"alt":44735,"src":44736,"width":39916,"height":23802,"previewOnly":43362},"Using the verb する (suru) correctly - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_14_073212_45e9858b17\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_14_073212_45e9858b17.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],{"id":44739,"documentId":44740,"slug":44741,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44742,"description":44743,"image":44744,"tags":44748,"timestampUnix":44482,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1852,"ezhj0e990p2s2fg492kfumik","japanese-verb-aru","Japanese Verb Aru (ある): Usage Guide for Beginners","Learn how to use the Japanese verb aru (ある) correctly. Covers aru vs iru, conjugation, sentence patterns, polite forms, and common mistakes for beginners.",{"alt":44745,"src":44746,"width":39916,"height":44747,"previewOnly":43362},"Using the verb ある (aru) correctly - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_14_082617_9cff01d228\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_14_082617_9cff01d228.png",368,[728,5086,43830,3670],{"id":44750,"documentId":44751,"slug":44752,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44753,"description":44754,"image":44755,"tags":44759,"timestampUnix":44760,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1850,"rxmosisrkr839e6lptd9yto0","jlpt-vocabulary-lists","JLPT Vocabulary Lists: Essential Resources for N5 to N1","Complete JLPT vocabulary lists for all levels. Learn essential words, kanji, and study strategies to pass N5 through N1 with reliable word lists and practical tips.",{"alt":44756,"src":44757,"width":39916,"height":44758,"previewOnly":43362},"Essential vocabulary for each level - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_14_063925_7675e9e2bf\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_14_063925_7675e9e2bf.png",340,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768273260000,{"id":44762,"documentId":44763,"slug":44764,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44765,"description":44766,"image":44767,"tags":44771,"timestampUnix":44772,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1948,"ixnlyrqgxh5rypafwbjd2lee","japanese-particle-yo","Using the Japanese Particle よ (Yo) Correctly","Learn how to use the Japanese particle よ (yo) to add emphasis, share new information, and sound natural without being pushy. Includes examples and comparisons with ね.",{"alt":44768,"src":44769,"width":39916,"height":44770,"previewOnly":43362},"Using the particle よ (yo) correctly - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_19_070722_c540f8b861\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_19_070722_c540f8b861.png",404,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768690860000,{"id":44774,"documentId":44775,"slug":44776,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44777,"description":44778,"image":44779,"tags":44782,"timestampUnix":44783,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1949,"kv1ggqa7d3hrzkwyuq66i7i6","japanese-particle-ne","Japanese Particle ね (Ne): How to Use It Correctly","The Japanese particle ね (ne) is for agreement, confirmation, and connection. Learn this expression with examples, comparisons with よ, and practical tips.",{"alt":44780,"src":44781,"width":39916,"height":44655,"previewOnly":43362},"Using the particle ね (ne) correctly - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_19_075750_ea5eb7f135\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_19_075750_ea5eb7f135.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1768676460000,{"id":44785,"documentId":44786,"slug":44787,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44788,"description":44789,"image":44790,"tags":44794,"timestampUnix":44795,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1872,"z2yd62j1g0f09it6gq9g94n2","japanese-pronunciation-mistakes","Japanese Pronunciation Mistakes Every Learner Makes","Careful with the most common Japanese pronunciation mistakes that trip up learners, from vowel length to pitch accent. Fix these and sound more natural.",{"alt":44791,"src":44792,"width":39916,"height":44793,"previewOnly":43362},"Common pronunciation errors - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_15_023629_4b682cecb2\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_15_023629_4b682cecb2.png",550,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768431660000,{"id":44797,"documentId":44798,"slug":44799,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44800,"description":44801,"image":44802,"tags":44805,"timestampUnix":44806,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1983,"ns4yevoup25iflhm9ql9op7z","japanese-particle-to-complete-guide","Japanese Particle と (To): All the Patterns You Need to Know","How to list the two main characters in your favorite anime? Learn how to use the Japanese particle と (to) for listing, quoting, and conditionals.",{"alt":44803,"src":44804,"width":39916,"height":34006,"previewOnly":43362},"Using the particle と (to) correctly - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_21_042241_4140082e76\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_21_042241_4140082e76.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1768546860000,{"id":44808,"documentId":44809,"slug":44810,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44811,"description":44812,"image":44813,"tags":44817,"timestampUnix":44818,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1950,"pvuhlfk0tssf2kugxw0g0qxi","japanese-particle-made","Japanese Particle Made (まで): Complete Usage Guide","Read this post to learn how to use まで (made) correctly for time, location, and extent. Includes examples, comparisons with までに, and common patterns.",{"alt":44814,"src":44815,"width":39916,"height":44816,"previewOnly":43362},"Using the particle まで (made) correctly - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_19_084330_e93fc5fa5b\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_19_084330_e93fc5fa5b.png",358,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768647660000,{"id":44820,"documentId":44821,"slug":44822,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44823,"description":44824,"image":44825,"tags":44829,"timestampUnix":44830,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1982,"ykxa3iwfk9wi1lf5rch2672w","japanese-particle-mo-usage-guide","Japanese Particle も (Mo): Complete Usage Guide","I'd like to learn Chinese, also Japanese! But how to say that in Japanese? Here covers basic \"also\u002Ftoo\" meanings, particle usages, and question patterns.",{"alt":44826,"src":44827,"width":39916,"height":44828,"previewOnly":43362},"Using the particle も (mo) correctly - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_21_033518_7fcc5242ab\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_21_033518_7fcc5242ab.png",370,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768561260000,{"id":44832,"documentId":44833,"slug":44834,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44835,"description":44836,"image":44837,"tags":44841,"timestampUnix":44842,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1879,"twpv0l3ghf28bw82snidtsn8","japanese-addressing-people","Japanese Addressing People: Complete Honorifics Guide","How to address people in Japanese correctly? Learn honorifics like san, sama, kun, and chan. Avoid awkward mistakes in business and social settings.",{"alt":44838,"src":44839,"width":39916,"height":44840,"previewOnly":43362},"How to address people correctly - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_15_072253_fe81dc5de2\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_15_072253_fe81dc5de2.png",634,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768359660000,{"id":44844,"documentId":44845,"slug":44846,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44847,"description":44848,"image":44849,"tags":44853,"timestampUnix":44854,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2029,"yhevreot0s6ok80ifott9ggr","japanese-homonyms-words","Japanese Homonyms: Words That Sound the Same Explained","Confused by homonyms that sound exactly the same? Learn why homophones like hashi, kami, and sake sound identical but mean different things.",{"alt":44850,"src":44851,"width":44852,"height":44551,"previewOnly":43362},"Words that sound the same but have different meanings - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_23_102849_126f02ffad\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_23_102849_126f02ffad.png",1096,[728,5086,43830,3670],1769065200000,{"id":44856,"documentId":44857,"slug":44858,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44859,"description":44860,"image":44861,"tags":44865,"timestampUnix":44866,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2071,"u7tv3xyjbhk699zdqwgymrp9","medical-japanese","Medical Japanese: Essential Healthcare Phrases Guide","How to talk to doctors in Japan? Learn essential medical Japanese vocabulary for doctor visits, describing symptoms, and more in Japan.",{"alt":44862,"src":44863,"width":39916,"height":44864,"previewOnly":43362},"Medical vocabulary and phrases - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_26_111110_917f15099f\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_26_111110_917f15099f.png",606,[728,5086,5984],1769324400000,{"id":44868,"documentId":44869,"slug":44870,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44871,"description":44872,"image":44873,"tags":44877,"timestampUnix":44482,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1880,"g9cnn2yet7c3rzi08fj1jfpe","japanese-transitive-vs-intransitive-verbs","Japanese Transitive vs Intransitive Verbs Explained Simply","What is the difference between Japanese transitive (他動詞) and intransitive (自動詞) verbs? Find answers here with clear examples and recognition patterns.",{"alt":44874,"src":44875,"width":39916,"height":44876,"previewOnly":43362},"Differences between transitive and intransitive verbs - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_15_080339_f79f49d5c3\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_15_080339_f79f49d5c3.png",570,[728,5086,43830,3670],{"id":44879,"documentId":44880,"slug":44881,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44882,"description":44883,"image":44884,"tags":44888,"timestampUnix":44889,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1987,"tigdbd9y09yix0bf15onq606","rosetta-stone-japanese-review","Rosetta Stone Japanese Review: Honest Take for 2026","Honest Rosetta Stone Japanese review covering what works, what doesn't, pricing, and better alternatives. Real talk about whether it's worth your money in 2026.",{"alt":44885,"src":44886,"width":39916,"height":44887,"previewOnly":43362},"Rosetta Stone Japanese review - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_21_070137_1d8e106daf\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_21_070137_1d8e106daf.png",353,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768446060000,{"id":44891,"documentId":44892,"slug":44893,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44894,"description":44895,"image":44896,"tags":44900,"timestampUnix":44901,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2013,"ymj27cxbida8eisx38iymeiq","japanese-house-vocabulary","Japanese House Vocabulary: Rooms, Furniture & Home Words","Learn essential Japanese house vocabulary for rooms, furniture, and traditional home elements. Complete word list with romaji and pronunciation tips.",{"alt":44897,"src":44898,"width":39916,"height":44899,"previewOnly":43362},"Home and furniture vocabulary - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_22_073633_1d7e938710\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_22_073633_1d7e938710.png",460,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768964460000,{"id":44903,"documentId":44904,"slug":44905,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44906,"description":44907,"image":44908,"tags":44913,"timestampUnix":44914,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2031,"web3lmb3nknj1ct2xo52wc7n","japanese-handwriting","Japanese Handwriting Tips: Write Neat Hiragana, Katakana & Kanji","Japanese handwriting is a completely different challenge from English handwriting. Master stroke order, spacing, and practice methods with useful advice.",{"alt":44909,"src":44910,"width":44911,"height":44912,"previewOnly":43362},"Tips for neat Japanese handwriting - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_23_114122_4e78a3f6f5\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_23_114122_4e78a3f6f5.png",980,576,[728,5086,43830,3670],1769108400000,{"id":44916,"documentId":44917,"slug":44918,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44919,"description":44920,"image":44921,"tags":44924,"timestampUnix":44482,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1881,"r4wdvh01up72b8udqdqwuw5f","japanese-verb-stems","Japanese Verb Stems: How They Work and Why They Matter","Form and use Japanese verb stems for conjugation. Covers godan, ichidan, irregular verbs plus practical uses like -tai, -mashou, and compounds.",{"alt":44922,"src":44923,"width":39916,"height":43995,"previewOnly":43362},"Understanding verb stems and their uses - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_15_084345_9f920d0adf\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_15_084345_9f920d0adf.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],{"id":44926,"documentId":44927,"slug":44928,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44929,"description":44930,"image":44931,"tags":44935,"timestampUnix":44936,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1958,"o3w5zw3mnvemex9eq51aowlx","japanese-giving-and-receiving-verbs","Japanese Giving and Receiving Verbs: Ageru, Kureru, Morau","Learn when to use ageru, kureru, and morau correctly. Master Japanese giving and receiving verbs with clear explanations, particle patterns, and practical examples.",{"alt":44932,"src":44933,"width":39916,"height":44934,"previewOnly":43362},"Using あげる, くれる, もらう correctly - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_20_022131_cc528fd7dc\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_20_022131_cc528fd7dc.png",428,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768820400000,{"id":44938,"documentId":44939,"slug":44940,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44941,"description":44942,"image":44943,"tags":44947,"timestampUnix":44948,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1957,"x09ktgxghkaarsjrjigq68se","japanese-modality","Japanese Modality: How to Express Must, Should, May, Might","How does Japanese modality work to express must, should, may, and might? Understand epistemic vs deontic modality with practical examples you'll actually use.",{"alt":44944,"src":44945,"width":39916,"height":44946,"previewOnly":43362},"Expressing must, should, may, might - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_20_013406_aeb0febe6a\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_20_013406_aeb0febe6a.png",289,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768849260000,{"id":44950,"documentId":44951,"slug":44952,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44953,"description":44954,"image":44955,"tags":44959,"timestampUnix":44960,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2015,"ttz1h4xrojzc9n85sauyh811","japanese-false-friends","Japanese False Friends: False Cognates That Trick Learners","What are \"false friends\" in language learning? They are words that look familiar but have completely different meanings than you'd expect. Full guide here!",{"alt":44956,"src":44957,"width":39916,"height":44958,"previewOnly":43362},"Words that look similar but mean different things - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_22_085643_0ab2cb7f3c\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_22_085643_0ab2cb7f3c.png",441,[728,5086,5984,43830],1769050860000,{"id":44962,"documentId":44963,"slug":44964,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44965,"description":44966,"image":44967,"tags":44971,"timestampUnix":44972,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2040,"a4dyg7tng4ycw1g311pholtw","japanese-tutors-guide","Finding Japanese Tutors: How to Pick and Work With One","Looking for Japanese tutors? Learn where to find affordable tutors online, how to pick the right one, and combine tutoring with self-study.",{"alt":44968,"src":44969,"width":39916,"height":44970,"previewOnly":43362},"Finding and working with Japanese tutors - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_23_163930_07088e6427\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_23_163930_07088e6427.png",641,[728,4107,8649],1769137200000,{"id":44974,"documentId":44975,"slug":44976,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44977,"description":44978,"image":44979,"tags":44983,"timestampUnix":44984,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2077,"qmajuso8a65c9a1xvynm754c","japanese-dialects-regional-overview","Japanese Dialects: Regional Variations Explained","Discover the major Japanese dialects from Kansai to Tohoku. Learn how regional variations differ from standard Japanese and which dialect you should study.",{"alt":44980,"src":44981,"width":39916,"height":44982,"previewOnly":43362},"Overview of regional dialects - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_26_153150_eef1fd8415\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_26_153150_eef1fd8415.png",525,[728,8650,8649],1769281200000,{"id":44986,"documentId":44987,"slug":44988,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":44989,"description":44990,"image":44991,"tags":44995,"timestampUnix":44996,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1944,"uwcvuojslv1cjgalonv60ihy","japanese-passive-form-conjugation","Japanese Passive Form: Conjugation Rules & Usage Guide","How to say the plants are watered? 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Answers lie in the historical context!",{"alt":45004,"src":45005,"width":39916,"height":44165,"previewOnly":43362},"Standard Japanese vs Tokyo dialect - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_26_115850_358fab4633\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_26_115850_358fab4633.png",[728,5086,8650,8649],1769310000000,{"id":45009,"documentId":45010,"slug":45011,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45012,"description":45013,"image":45014,"tags":45018,"timestampUnix":45019,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1945,"u4mrni3hfnme035ampo4dzvh","japanese-potential-form","Japanese Potential Form: Express Ability in Japanese","Use the Japanese potential form to express \"can\" and \"able to.\" This post covers conjugation rules for all verb types, particle usage, and common mistakes.",{"alt":45015,"src":45016,"width":39916,"height":45017,"previewOnly":43362},"Expressing ability with potential form - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_19_061952_031cb735e1\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_19_061952_031cb735e1.png",413,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768762860000,{"id":45021,"documentId":45022,"slug":45023,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45024,"description":45025,"image":45026,"tags":45030,"timestampUnix":45031,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2081,"fwboqcnlu29crlbmdf1ko2zc","japanese-bowing","Japanese Bowing: When and How to Bow Properly in Japan","Do you know there are three main types of Japanese bowing? Master eshaku, keirei, and saikeirei etiquettes with practical tips.",{"alt":45027,"src":45028,"width":39916,"height":45029,"previewOnly":43362},"When and how to bow in Japan - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_26_163821_9fed406af5\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_26_163821_9fed406af5.png",542,[728,8650,8649],1769223600000,{"id":45033,"documentId":45034,"slug":45035,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45036,"description":45037,"image":45038,"tags":45041,"timestampUnix":45042,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1873,"xfjohgzvusvzilxwvq5a9v95","difficult-japanese-grammar","Difficult Japanese Grammar Explained (Particles, Verbs, Keigo)","The hardest Japanese grammar concepts broken down: particles (wa\u002Fga), verb conjugations, keigo, and SOV structure. Real explanations that actually help.",{"alt":45039,"src":45040,"width":39916,"height":44840,"previewOnly":43362},"Hardest grammar concepts explained - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_15_031139_4d9be9a468\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_15_031139_4d9be9a468.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1768417260000,{"id":45044,"documentId":45045,"slug":45046,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45047,"description":45048,"image":45049,"tags":45052,"timestampUnix":45053,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1875,"svkvue2xqev3ckw2h2v3j3tv","similar-japanese-words","Similar Japanese Words That Confuse Every Learner","Commonly confused Japanese words and homophones that trip up learners. Practical examples with kanji, pronunciation tips, and context clues.",{"alt":45050,"src":45051,"width":39916,"height":44091,"previewOnly":43362},"Commonly confused Japanese words - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_15_040746_9d4229d91c\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_15_040746_9d4229d91c.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1768388460000,{"id":45055,"documentId":45056,"slug":45057,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45058,"description":45059,"image":45060,"tags":45064,"timestampUnix":45065,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1878,"rno0vjy9vptlgynms5gjrg2i","japanese-vs-english-grammar","Japanese vs English Grammar: Key Differences Explained","Discover how Japanese and English grammar differ in sentence structure, writing systems, and more. Learn what makes Japanese hard for English speakers.",{"alt":45061,"src":45062,"width":39916,"height":45063,"previewOnly":43362},"Key differences between Japanese and English - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_15_050639_e17a1ea277\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_15_050639_e17a1ea277.png",564,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768374060000,{"id":45067,"documentId":45068,"slug":24656,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45069,"description":45070,"image":45071,"tags":45074,"timestampUnix":45075,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2260,"bl2vul88hwd0cz7bynazr69q","Japanese Onomatopoeia: Common Sound Words & Their Meanings","Common Japanese onomatopoeia helps you understand anime and manga better. Discover gitaigo and giongo sound words and their expressive culture.",{"alt":45072,"src":45073,"width":39916,"height":44305,"previewOnly":43362},"Common sound words and their meanings - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_22_035624_df94c2f912\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_22_035624_df94c2f912.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1768993260000,{"id":45077,"documentId":45078,"slug":45079,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45080,"description":45081,"image":45082,"tags":45086,"timestampUnix":45087,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1895,"oteqr5jzj0ub09l22j957x6l","anki-vs-wanikani","Anki vs WaniKani: Which Kanji Learning Tool Wins for 2026?","Comparing Anki and WaniKani for learning kanji. Honest breakdown of SRS systems, mnemonics, pricing, and which tool fits your learning style best.",{"alt":45083,"src":45084,"width":39916,"height":45085,"previewOnly":43362},"Comparing kanji learning tools - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_16_024631_aa092e3fc3\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_16_024631_aa092e3fc3.png",267,[728,5086,43830,3670],1768518060000,{"id":45089,"documentId":45090,"slug":45091,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45092,"description":45093,"image":45094,"tags":45098,"timestampUnix":45099,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1897,"w3p7n5w2uk01qwcud3x707hj","genki-vs-minna-no-nihongo","Genki vs Minna no Nihongo: Which Japanese Textbook Wins?","Honest comparison of Genki and Minna no Nihongo for learning Japanese. Find out which beginner textbook actually works for self-study in 2026.",{"alt":45095,"src":45096,"width":39916,"height":45097,"previewOnly":43362},"Comparing popular textbooks - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_16_034556_d83c4c277b\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_16_034556_d83c4c277b.png",504,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768503660000,{"id":45101,"documentId":45102,"slug":45103,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45104,"description":45105,"image":45106,"tags":45110,"timestampUnix":45111,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1908,"vilrkuvlcjwesraxz1pmm9lq","japanese-verb-conjugation-complete-guide","Japanese Verb Conjugation: Complete Beginner's Guide","Complete guide to Japanese verb conjugation with this complete guide covering godan, ichidan, plus te-form, masu form, and essential conjugation patterns.",{"alt":45107,"src":45108,"width":39916,"height":45109,"previewOnly":43362},"Complete guide to Japanese verb conjugation - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_16_183211_f383d729b7\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_16_183211_f383d729b7.png",587,[728,5086,5984,3670],1767044460000,{"id":45113,"documentId":45114,"slug":45115,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45116,"description":45117,"image":45118,"tags":45121,"timestampUnix":45122,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1976,"z0hbso5tqfc2vk8vsp2vn2og","japanese-clothing-vocabulary","Japanese Clothing Vocabulary: Essential Fashion Terms","Ready to shop for clothes and explore fashion in Japanese? Here is your complete guide that covers essential Japanese clothes vocabulary.",{"alt":45119,"src":45120,"width":39916,"height":43984,"previewOnly":43362},"Clothing and fashion terms - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_21_013543_43bc2dc8ba\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_21_013543_43bc2dc8ba.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1768950060000,{"id":45124,"documentId":45125,"slug":45126,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45127,"description":45128,"image":45129,"tags":45133,"timestampUnix":45134,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1899,"lymp99fw6fd41rb6ykc6whiq","pimsleur-japanese-review","Pimsleur Japanese Review: Is It Worth Your Money in 2026?","Honest Pimsleur Japanese review covering pronunciation, pricing, vocabulary limits, and better alternatives. Find out if this audio program actually works.",{"alt":45130,"src":45131,"width":39916,"height":45132,"previewOnly":43362},"Pimsleur Japanese review - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_16_043144_b6baa06a89\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_16_043144_b6baa06a89.png",234,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768474860000,{"id":2697,"documentId":45136,"slug":45137,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45138,"description":45139,"image":45140,"tags":45144,"timestampUnix":45145,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"qwawq8ykhxd8nl5z8nh6kuwq","japanese-for-business","Business Japanese: Essential Phrases & Etiquette Guide","Master business Japanese with essential keigo phrases, meeting etiquette, and cultural protocols. Learn what actually works in Japanese workplaces.",{"alt":45141,"src":45142,"width":39916,"height":45143,"previewOnly":43362},"Business Japanese essentials - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_16_052022_a0dfeb6195\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_16_052022_a0dfeb6195.png",359,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768532460000,{"id":45147,"documentId":45148,"slug":45149,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45150,"description":45151,"image":45152,"tags":45155,"timestampUnix":45156,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1903,"qgqgu1rmyvk96xcb6fisyfvx","babbel-japanese-review-alternatives","Babbel Japanese Review: The Truth + Real Alternatives (2026)","Babbel doesn't offer Japanese. Here's why, what Babbel actually does well, and the best Japanese learning apps that work in 2026 (with honest reviews).",{"alt":45153,"src":45154,"width":39916,"height":44655,"previewOnly":43362},"Babbel Japanese review - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_16_062046_cc87acd466\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_16_062046_cc87acd466.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1768460460000,{"id":45158,"documentId":45159,"slug":45160,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45161,"description":45162,"image":45163,"tags":45166,"timestampUnix":45167,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1905,"dqn3biimd1d6t2bpbumpkp7h","japanese-te-form-conjugation","Japanese Te-Form: Complete Conjugation Guide","Conjugate Japanese verbs into te-form with clear rules for all verb groups, plus practical examples for requests, progressive tense, and more.",{"alt":45164,"src":45165,"width":39916,"height":44958,"previewOnly":43362},"Understanding and using the te-form - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_16_083353_5ca196708f\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_16_083353_5ca196708f.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1767048300000,{"id":45169,"documentId":45170,"slug":45171,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45172,"description":45173,"image":45174,"tags":45178,"timestampUnix":45179,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1937,"pvs9f1ep9r7657j0mxp0qr77","japanese-imperative-form","Japanese Imperative Form: Command Conjugation Guide","Conjugate and use the Japanese imperative form for commands. 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Master conditionals naturally.",{"alt":45187,"src":45188,"width":39916,"height":45189,"previewOnly":43362},"Using conditional forms (ba, tara, nara, to) - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_19_022002_ff5801f582\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_19_022002_ff5801f582.png",343,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768734060000,{"id":45193,"documentId":45194,"slug":45195,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45196,"description":45197,"image":45198,"tags":45202,"timestampUnix":45203,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1943,"m9ajqyv58jgtygic8emypij0","japanese-causative-form-guide","Japanese Causative Form: How to Make and Let in Japanese","Use the Japanese causative form to express making or letting someone do something. Includes conjugation rules, particles, causative-passive, and examples.",{"alt":45199,"src":45200,"width":39916,"height":45201,"previewOnly":43362},"How to use the causative form - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_19_032513_8d774898d0\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_19_032513_8d774898d0.png",360,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768719660000,{"id":45205,"documentId":45206,"slug":45207,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45208,"description":45209,"image":45210,"tags":45214,"timestampUnix":45215,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1979,"hxczi509t2yki6wqgxglp89t","japanese-relative-clauses","Japanese Relative Clauses: How to Build Complex Sentences","It's just like kids' building blocks. Here is how to build complex sentences in Japanese by modifying nouns with verb phrases, no connecting words needed.",{"alt":45211,"src":45212,"width":39916,"height":45213,"previewOnly":43362},"Creating relative clauses in Japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_21_022304_b95a131687\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_21_022304_b95a131687.png",318,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768935660000,{"id":1096,"documentId":45217,"slug":45218,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45219,"description":45220,"image":45221,"tags":45225,"timestampUnix":45226,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"o978x1d4h84ubk3g2h3q4tzt","japanese-conditionals-explained","Japanese Conditionals Explained: と, たら, ば, なら Guide","Become well-versed in all four Japanese conditional forms (と, たら, ば, なら) with clear explanations, conjugations, and examples.",{"alt":45222,"src":45223,"width":39916,"height":45224,"previewOnly":43362},"All conditional forms explained - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_20_031105_13c4da6f6c\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_20_031105_13c4da6f6c.png",453,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768806060000,{"id":45228,"documentId":45229,"slug":45230,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45231,"description":45232,"image":45233,"tags":45236,"timestampUnix":45237,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1961,"q81xyst5k3xrpvoo1gxwg1m3","sonkeigo-vs-kenjougo","Sonkeigo vs Kenjougo: Japanese Respectful vs Humble Language","Key differences between sonkeigo and kenjougo in Japanese keigo are here. Understand when to elevate others or humble yourself.",{"alt":45234,"src":45235,"width":39916,"height":44294,"previewOnly":43362},"Differences between respectful and humble language - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_20_035019_5372237a45\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_20_035019_5372237a45.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1768791660000,{"id":45239,"documentId":45240,"slug":45241,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45242,"description":45243,"image":45244,"tags":45248,"timestampUnix":45249,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2130,"vkp92clbnhns7w7uscccab1x","jlpt-reading-section-preparation-guide","JLPT Reading Section: Complete Prep Guide for N5 to N1","Master the JLPT reading section with strategies for all levels. Learn question types, timing, scoring, and how to prepare for reading comprehension.",{"alt":45245,"src":45246,"width":39916,"height":45247,"previewOnly":43362},"Preparing for JLPT reading - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_27_043944_0713381d95\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_27_043944_0713381d95.png",403,[728,5086,4107,5984,8649,3670],1769684400000,{"id":45251,"documentId":45252,"slug":45253,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45254,"description":45255,"image":45256,"tags":45260,"timestampUnix":45261,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1963,"w7jc39pr6js2hzpfv1fonbd4","japanese-particle-kara","Japanese Particle から (Kara): Kara Particle Meaning & Usages","Master the Japanese particle から (kara) with clear explanations of its uses: from\u002Fbecause, starting points, sources, and more. Includes examples and common mistakes.",{"alt":45257,"src":45258,"width":39916,"height":45259,"previewOnly":43362},"Using the particle から (kara) correctly - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_20_043514_eaa6595433\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_20_043514_eaa6595433.png",335,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768633260000,{"id":31389,"documentId":45263,"slug":45264,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45265,"description":45266,"image":45267,"tags":45271,"timestampUnix":45272,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"atxgiab65txu5cpbr7fepdlf","japanese-particle-ya","Japanese Particle や (Ya): Complete Usage Guide","Learn how to use the Japanese particle や (ya) correctly in lists, understand the difference from と (to), and master this essential N5 grammar point.",{"alt":45268,"src":45269,"width":39916,"height":45270,"previewOnly":43362},"Using the particle や (ya) correctly - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_20_060406_9532846860\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_20_060406_9532846860.png",252,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768618860000,{"id":45274,"documentId":45275,"slug":45276,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45277,"description":45278,"image":45279,"tags":45283,"timestampUnix":45284,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1965,"czvoppnn67g9qd88x3zf6tg9","japanese-particle-e-guide","Japanese Particle へ (E): How to Use It Correctly","The Japanese particle へ (e) is for direction and destination. Learn it with clear examples, comparison with に, and practical usage with motion verbs here.",{"alt":45280,"src":45281,"width":39916,"height":45282,"previewOnly":43362},"Using the particle へ (e) correctly - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_20_080149_1a43f3cc70\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_20_080149_1a43f3cc70.png",355,[728,5086,5984,3670],1768604460000,{"id":45286,"documentId":45287,"slug":45288,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45289,"description":45290,"image":45291,"tags":45294,"timestampUnix":45295,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},1966,"nitr2upa86oflnjqniovpse3","japanese-particle-ka-usage-guide","Japanese Particle Ka (か): Complete Usage Guide","Wonder how to ask questions? Use the Japanese particle ka (か) correctly in questions, as \"or,\" with indefinite pronouns, and in casual speech. 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Learn essential Japanese idioms with translations, cultural context, and practical usage tips.",{"alt":45315,"src":45316,"width":39916,"height":34006,"previewOnly":43362},"Common Japanese idioms explained - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_22_021804_fd641a24dc\u002FScreenshot_2026_01_22_021804_fd641a24dc.png",[728,5086,5984,3670],1769036460000,{"id":45320,"documentId":45321,"slug":45322,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45323,"description":45324,"image":45325,"tags":45329,"timestampUnix":45330,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2010,"z2b1vqlmrwhgvrbp3z8ssex2","japanese-animals-vocabulary-guide","Japanese Animals: Learn Animal Names in Japanese (2026 Guide)","Japan's rabbit island is quite the place to feel the fluff! 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Features, pricing, SRS algorithms, and why immersion-based tools beat both for real fluency.",{"alt":45474,"src":45475,"width":39916,"height":45476,"previewOnly":43362},"duocards vs anki and how migaku is better than both for language learning - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_02_02_085838_692b49af3b\u002FScreenshot_2026_02_02_085838_692b49af3b.png",508,[5086,4107,5984,8649,43482],1769917020000,{"id":45480,"documentId":45481,"slug":45482,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45483,"description":45484,"image":45485,"tags":45489,"timestampUnix":45490,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2218,"zc2ic9dhwucirc5omz7x0p7p","how-to-make-anki-cards","How to Make Anki Cards: Complete Guide for Beginners","Making Anki cards is known to be time-consuming. 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Breaking down tones, writing systems, grammar, and which language matches your goals better.",{"alt":45498,"src":45499,"width":39916,"height":43896,"previewOnly":43362},"Comparing Chinese and Japanese for language learners - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_02_16_022802_921dd6f364\u002FScreenshot_2026_02_16_022802_921dd6f364.png",[728,8649,43482],1771138800000,{"id":45503,"documentId":45504,"slug":45505,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45506,"description":45507,"image":45508,"tags":45512,"timestampUnix":45513,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2828,"sb8r0fw1f7d9do9f0ccfks0v","japanese-grammar-n4-complete-jlpt-guide","Japanese Grammar N4: Complete JLPT Study Guide","Master all 100+ JLPT N4 grammar points with clear explanations, examples, and study tips. Learn conditionals, particles, and verb forms to pass the test.",{"alt":45509,"src":45510,"width":39916,"height":45511,"previewOnly":43362},"All the grammar points you need for JLPT N4 - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_02_16_023828_44732cd90e\u002FScreenshot_2026_02_16_023828_44732cd90e.png",367,[728,3670],1771153200000,{"id":45515,"documentId":45516,"slug":45517,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45518,"description":45519,"image":45520,"tags":45524,"timestampUnix":45525,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2829,"b1x86tnh85ta3hojmj36zspa","japanese-grammar-n3-complete-guide","Basic Grammar Points You Need for JLPT N3 (Complete Guide)","Pass Japanese N3 with this breakdown of the basic grammar patterns, study strategies, and practice tips for JLPT N3 learners.",{"alt":45521,"src":45522,"width":39916,"height":45523,"previewOnly":43362},"All the grammar points you need for JLPT N3 - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_02_16_024013_73716e18db\u002FScreenshot_2026_02_16_024013_73716e18db.png",316,[728,3670],1771160400000,{"id":19128,"documentId":45527,"slug":45528,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45529,"description":45530,"image":45531,"tags":45535,"timestampUnix":45536,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},"ydxlzhy24qujzbtis73kuzmg","japanese-particles-cheat-sheet","Japanese Particles Cheat Sheet: Quick Reference Guide","Complete japanese particles cheat sheet with meanings, examples, and usage tips. Learn は, が, に, を, で and more with clear explanations that make sense.",{"alt":45532,"src":45533,"width":39916,"height":45534,"previewOnly":43362},"Quick reference guide to all Japanese particles - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_02_16_024156_02a8ff48ad\u002FScreenshot_2026_02_16_024156_02a8ff48ad.png",409,[728,5086,5984,3670,9427],1771167600000,{"id":45538,"documentId":45539,"slug":45540,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45541,"description":45542,"image":45543,"tags":45547,"timestampUnix":45548,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2834,"lrkhxfak4ddgzwya8igwwz32","japanese-respectful-language-sonkeigo","How to Use Japanese Respectful Language Sonkeigo","How to express politeness in Japanese? Learn sonkeigo verb conjugation, honorific prefixes, and when to use Japanese keigo in business and formal settings.",{"alt":45544,"src":45545,"width":39916,"height":45546,"previewOnly":43362},"How to use Japanese respectful language sonkeigo - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_02_16_024358_ed0dfcf0ff\u002FScreenshot_2026_02_16_024358_ed0dfcf0ff.png",311,[728,5086,5984,3670],1771174800000,{"id":45550,"documentId":45551,"slug":45552,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45553,"description":45554,"image":45555,"tags":45558,"timestampUnix":45559,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},3602,"cb3e3ea3d1mqv03u2q3b59ss","japanese-compound-verbs","Japanese Compound Verbs: How They Work and Common Patterns","Japanese compound verbs combine two verbs to create specific meanings. Understand the construction and common patterns with real examples.",{"alt":45556,"src":45557,"width":39916,"height":19628,"previewOnly":43362},"Understanding Japanese compound verbs - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F152310_rooftops_rain_Japan_826382f946\u002F152310_rooftops_rain_Japan_826382f946.jpg",[728,5086,3670,10700],1772571660000,{"id":45561,"documentId":45562,"slug":45563,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45564,"description":45565,"image":45566,"tags":45569,"timestampUnix":45570,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2891,"r3yk7hfm3a2cdtaxx40xp2tf","japanese-humble-language-kenjougo","Japanese Humble Language Kenjougo: How to Use It Right","New to the Japanese polite language? 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Essential shortcuts for natural conversation.",{"alt":45685,"src":45686,"width":39916,"height":45687,"previewOnly":43362},"Common Japanese abbreviations and shortened words - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F9_d9ac5d6783\u002F9_d9ac5d6783.jpg",801,[5086,8650,5984],1774897260000,{"id":45691,"documentId":45692,"slug":45693,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45694,"description":45695,"image":45696,"tags":45700,"timestampUnix":45701,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},2898,"aqc1pvvwnk6ekl24h0fehob3","japanese-family-vocabulary","Japanese Family Vocabulary: Complete Guide to Kinship Terms","Vocabulary of Japanese families features a clear distinction in reference vs. address terms, formal vs. casual usage. 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Honest breakdown to help you choose your first language.",{"alt":45709,"src":45710,"width":39916,"height":45711,"previewOnly":43362},"Comparing Japanese and Korean for language learners - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_02_17_013602_2049ced641\u002FScreenshot_2026_02_17_013602_2049ced641.png",407,[8649,12474],1771275600000,{"id":45715,"documentId":45716,"slug":45717,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45718,"description":45719,"image":45720,"tags":45724,"timestampUnix":45725,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},3607,"cdhen6fgztc21ve7xl69wsvn","japanese-mimetic-words-gitaigo-guide","Japanese Mimetic Words: Gitaigo & Sound Symbolism Guide","Japanese mimetic words like gitaigo and giongo are more than just words that imitate sounds. 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Here are a few things that make the Japanese language hard to learn—plus some things that work in your favor.",{"alt":45757,"src":45758,"width":2478,"height":43387,"previewOnly":43362},"awesome alt text","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fmigaku_japanese_hard_thumbnail_cd679338e5\u002Fmigaku_japanese_hard_thumbnail_cd679338e5.jpeg",[8649],1758522900000,{"id":45762,"documentId":45763,"slug":45764,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45765,"description":45766,"image":45767,"tags":45769,"timestampUnix":45770,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},3623,"kbsdixa5yhuwrpnxh04bji9f","japanese-months","Month in Japanese: Learn How to Say Months of the Year","Learn how to say months with this guide to gatsu, kagetsu, and pronunciation. Master how to count months in Japanese and avoid the 3 irregular readings.",{"alt":43597,"src":45768,"width":44022,"height":44911,"previewOnly":43362},"https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fcover_image_6820662bae\u002Fcover_image_6820662bae.webp",[8649],1762138200000,{"id":45772,"documentId":45773,"slug":45774,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45775,"description":45776,"image":45777,"tags":45780,"timestampUnix":45781,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},3532,"inh3gh981v4zb0s6zf1qcxwc","japanese-new-year-vocabulary","Japanese New Year Vocabulary: Essential Oshogatsu Terms","Build your Japanese New Year vocabulary: greetings, traditional cuisine, decorations, and customs. 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Vocabulary lists of greetings, family, and daily life.",{"alt":45822,"src":45823,"width":39916,"height":45824,"previewOnly":43362},"Japanese cultural vocabulary every learner should know - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F0ec1f71c_3137_46ff_b881_4b5982d72c74_1_14d4057d29\u002F0ec1f71c_3137_46ff_b881_4b5982d72c74_1_14d4057d29.jpg",601,[5086,8650,5984],1772535660000,{"id":45828,"documentId":45829,"slug":45830,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45831,"description":45832,"image":45833,"tags":45836,"timestampUnix":45837,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},3548,"lppa9x8zz6aav49a6mxz3qr2","japanese-school-vocabulary","Japanese School Vocabulary: Essential Words for Education","Japanese school vocabulary covers classrooms, subjects, supplies, and daily school life. 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Complete breakdown of grammar points and study strategies.",{"alt":45879,"src":45880,"width":39916,"height":45881,"previewOnly":43362},"All the grammar points you need for JLPT N2 - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F20150928_JLPT_N2_341cd68e60\u002F20150928_JLPT_N2_341cd68e60.jpg",519,[4107,8649,12474],1772463600000,{"id":45885,"documentId":45886,"slug":45887,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45888,"description":45889,"image":45890,"tags":45893,"timestampUnix":45894,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},3474,"rwg2aloc9fs7gaq24akwu6gg","japanese-grammar-n1-complete-guide","Japanese Grammar N1: Complete Guide for JLPT N1 Success","There are 200 Japanese grammar N1 points you need for JLPT N1. Get study tips, grammar lists, and examples for formal expressions, kanji, and vocabulary.",{"alt":45891,"src":45892,"width":39916,"height":45723,"previewOnly":43362},"All the grammar points you need for JLPT N1 - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fjlpt_n1_books_9b20dfa9f6\u002Fjlpt_n1_books_9b20dfa9f6.webp",[4107,8649,12474],1772470800000,{"id":45896,"documentId":45897,"slug":45898,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45899,"description":45900,"image":45901,"tags":45904,"timestampUnix":45905,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},5497,"tfgrxbikypruw1380kmipxx9","jlpt-study-schedule-guide","JLPT Study Schedule: How to Plan for Each Level (N5 to N1)","Build a realistic JLPT study schedule for any level. Get daily routines, hour estimates, and mock test strategies to pass the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.",{"alt":45902,"src":45903,"width":39916,"height":43480,"previewOnly":43362},"How to create a study schedule for each JLPT level - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fjapan_test_0c38efed29\u002Fjapan_test_0c38efed29.png",[8649,12474],1774983660000,{"id":45907,"documentId":45908,"slug":45909,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45910,"description":45911,"image":45912,"tags":45915,"timestampUnix":45916,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},3475,"u7khyq09tx0n5992ua56ndt8","japanese-conjunctions-connect-sentences","How to Use Japanese Conjunctions to Connect Sentences","The first step of forming long sentences - learn the conjunctions! Get the common Japanese conjunctions like dakara to connect sentences naturally.",{"alt":45913,"src":45914,"width":39916,"height":45580,"previewOnly":43362},"How to connect sentences with Japanese conjunctions - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fcolorful_knot_ropes_connection_intertwined_unity_photo_13b438c441\u002Fcolorful_knot_ropes_connection_intertwined_unity_photo_13b438c441.jpg",[728,5086,3670],1772478000000,{"id":45918,"documentId":45919,"slug":45920,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45921,"description":45922,"image":45923,"tags":45926,"timestampUnix":45927,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},5791,"mghyyz4xqti9ey9umxvv14n4","japanese-weather-forecast-vocabulary","Japanese Weather Forecast Vocabulary Guide for Learners","Learn essential Japanese weather forecast vocabulary, from basic conditions to typhoon warnings. Understand forecasts, apps, and daily weather conversations in Japan.",{"alt":45924,"src":45925,"width":18824,"height":45488,"previewOnly":43362},"Understanding Japanese weather forecasts and reports - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fjapanese_words_for_sun_1024x683_9f15277e13\u002Fjapanese_words_for_sun_1024x683_9f15277e13.jpg",[5086,8650,5984],1775523600000,{"id":45929,"documentId":45930,"slug":45931,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45932,"description":45933,"image":45934,"tags":45938,"timestampUnix":45939,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},3478,"q9damhb854x91y6q1x5g2ii7","japanese-compliments-how-to-give-receive","Japanese Compliments: How to Give and Receive Them Naturally","Japanese compliments work differently in its cultural context. Master cultural etiquette, common phrases, and avoid awkward mistakes when praising others.",{"alt":45935,"src":45936,"width":39916,"height":45937,"previewOnly":43362},"How to give and receive compliments in Japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FTop_10_phrases_to_compliment_someone_in_Japanese_Language_23338cc9a2\u002FTop_10_phrases_to_compliment_someone_in_Japanese_Language_23338cc9a2.jpg",667,[5086,5984],1772485200000,{"id":45941,"documentId":45942,"slug":45943,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45944,"description":45945,"image":45946,"tags":45949,"timestampUnix":45950,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},3483,"hx7fz94m6merzz1zzcukrg97","japanese-apology-phrases","Japanese Apology Phrases: Different Ways to Say Sorry","Discover when to use sumimasen and master the cultural nuances of saying sorry. Find out useful tools to learn to say sorry in Japanese.",{"alt":45947,"src":45948,"width":39916,"height":19627,"previewOnly":43362},"Different ways to apologize in Japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FGetty_Images_173806909_5792bbe55f9b58173bdf1d3c_31b8f70be2\u002FGetty_Images_173806909_5792bbe55f9b58173bdf1d3c_31b8f70be2.jpg",[5086,5984],1772492460000,{"id":45952,"documentId":45953,"slug":45954,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45955,"description":45956,"image":45957,"tags":45960,"timestampUnix":45961,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},3597,"n8q8p0stvchm0948ir285fvs","japanese-numbers-kanji-guide","Japanese Numbers Kanji: How to Read and Write Them","Japanese numbers consist of three writing systems. Learn Japanese numbers in kanji, from 1-10 to larger numbers. Includes stroke order and pronunciation.",{"alt":45958,"src":45959,"width":39916,"height":21550,"previewOnly":43362},"How to read and write numbers in kanji - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fs_cf815f6f4d\u002Fs_cf815f6f4d.jpg",[728,5086,5984,729],1772564460000,{"id":45963,"documentId":45964,"slug":45965,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45966,"description":45967,"image":45968,"tags":45972,"timestampUnix":45973,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},5513,"pycvy4ibabbqlr3oa1srnm73","japanese-train-station-vocabulary","Japanese Train Station Vocabulary Guide for Travelers","Learn essential Japanese train station vocabulary to navigate Japan's rail system confidently. Covers tickets, platforms, train types, and practical phrases.",{"alt":45969,"src":45970,"width":39916,"height":45971,"previewOnly":43362},"Essential vocabulary for Japanese train stations - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FJapanese_train_station_Osaka_Hankyu_Nakatsu_Japan_trains_travel_photos_2_5feedbbd96\u002FJapanese_train_station_Osaka_Hankyu_Nakatsu_Japan_trains_travel_photos_2_5feedbbd96.webp",975,[5086,5984],1775077200000,{"id":45975,"documentId":45976,"slug":45977,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45978,"description":45979,"image":45980,"tags":45984,"timestampUnix":45985,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},5105,"piuwdvfjy5qwwy91fpf3voaj","japanese-texting-slang","Japanese Texting Slang: How Japanese People Actually Text","Learn Japanese texting slang, abbreviations, and internet slangs like wwww, おつ, and WKTK. Understand how Japanese people actually text in 2026.",{"alt":45981,"src":45982,"width":39916,"height":45983,"previewOnly":43362},"How Japanese people text and common abbreviations - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_03_27_014734_509b6e948e\u002FScreenshot_2026_03_27_014734_509b6e948e.png",390,[5086,5984],1774551660000,{"id":45987,"documentId":45988,"slug":45989,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":45990,"description":45991,"image":45992,"tags":45996,"timestampUnix":45997,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},6396,"c22fgyaopm9ve40ndy6xaes7","japanese-interview-keigo","Japanese Interview Keigo: Essential Phrases & Etiquette","Master keigo for Japanese job interviews with practical phrases, common questions, proper responses, and etiquette tips to impress interviewers.",{"alt":45993,"src":45994,"width":39916,"height":45995,"previewOnly":43362},"Formal Japanese specifically for job interview situations - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fjob_interview_japan_dcfe649247\u002Fjob_interview_japan_dcfe649247.jpg",533,[5086,5984],1774177200000,{"id":45999,"documentId":46000,"slug":46001,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46002,"description":46003,"image":46004,"tags":46007,"timestampUnix":46008,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},5846,"q6j9qy3whoetrn9x84kd4wkl","japanese-weather-phrases-daily-conversation","Japanese Weather Phrases for Daily Conversation","Learn common Japanese weather phrases for everyday conversations. Master essential vocabulary like sunny, rainy, and temperature descriptions with examples.",{"alt":46005,"src":46006,"width":39916,"height":22250,"previewOnly":43362},"Common Japanese weather phrases for daily conversation - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F890940_ea2b811b0b\u002F890940_ea2b811b0b.jpg",[5086,5984],1775617200000,{"id":46010,"documentId":46011,"slug":46012,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46013,"description":46014,"image":46015,"tags":46018,"timestampUnix":46019,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},5833,"ju31ldo0rgx0rblcs5mp8wdh","japanese-drinking-culture-phrases","Japanese Drinking Culture Phrases for Bars and Izakayas","Learn Japanese drinking culture phrases for ordering drinks, toasting, and navigating izakayas and nomikai. Practical vocabulary with cultural context.",{"alt":46016,"src":46017,"width":39916,"height":44598,"previewOnly":43362},"Japanese phrases for bars izakayas and nomikai - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F274035db_9f29_4efb_bce0_f9efc5ae1e38_835f25ba_1b880d344b\u002F274035db_9f29_4efb_bce0_f9efc5ae1e38_835f25ba_1b880d344b.webp",[5086,8650,5984],1773486000000,{"id":46021,"documentId":46022,"slug":46023,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46024,"description":46025,"image":46026,"tags":46029,"timestampUnix":46030,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},5002,"y2j0mobh53gbgg2rkct5dv9r","japanese-summer-festival-vocabulary","Japanese Summer Festival Vocabulary: Essential Matsuri Words","Learn essential Japanese summer festival vocabulary for matsuri season. From hanabi fireworks to yukata clothing, master the words you'll actually use.",{"alt":46027,"src":46028,"width":39916,"height":44677,"previewOnly":43362},"Japanese vocabulary for summer festivals and matsuri - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F62b97da95e9c8_62b97c3bd82e4_1472710715_ebadd0b17f\u002F62b97da95e9c8_62b97c3bd82e4_1472710715_ebadd0b17f.webp",[5086,5984],1774465200000,{"id":46032,"documentId":46033,"slug":46034,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46035,"description":46036,"image":46037,"tags":46040,"timestampUnix":46041,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},5573,"z61waeowl3dlrd5s8t2ik305","japanese-shopping-vocabulary","Japanese Shopping Vocabulary for Stores and Markets","Learn essential japanese shopping vocabulary for stores, markets, and convenience stores. Practical phrases for asking prices, trying clothes, and paying.",{"alt":46038,"src":46039,"width":39916,"height":4834,"previewOnly":43362},"Shopping and market vocabulary in Japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F8_Marui_Annex_Dreamstime_73207789_9087bd6e45\u002F8_Marui_Annex_Dreamstime_73207789_9087bd6e45.jpg",[5086,5984],1775163600000,{"id":46043,"documentId":46044,"slug":46045,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46046,"description":46047,"image":46048,"tags":46051,"timestampUnix":46052,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},5677,"jy71m26k3vyfxh0v7tggeamy","japanese-banking-vocabulary","Japanese Banking Vocabulary: Essential Terms for Transactions","Master Japanese banking vocabulary for ATMs, accounts, and transactions. Learn the essential terms you'll actually use at banks in Japan with practical examples.",{"alt":46049,"src":46050,"width":39916,"height":45723,"previewOnly":43362},"Japanese vocabulary for banking and financial transactions - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F424783350_1_cf02746bd0\u002F424783350_1_cf02746bd0.avif",[5086,5984],1775257200000,{"id":46054,"documentId":46055,"slug":46056,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46057,"description":46058,"image":46059,"tags":46062,"timestampUnix":46063,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},108,"mh9vn98owjatr5awsgcmhxml","best-horror-anime","10 Best Horror Anime to Learn Japanese | Migaku","Looking for the best horror anime of all time? Be careful what you wish for! Here's everything from Tokyo Ghoul to Death Note—plus some you likely haven't heard of.",{"alt":46060,"src":46061,"width":1998,"height":2478,"previewOnly":43362},"A very scary scene—the sort of thing you'll see in some of the horror anime recommendations in this article!","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fmigaku_japanese_horror_anime_recs_thumbnail_feda2d9363\u002Fmigaku_japanese_horror_anime_recs_thumbnail_feda2d9363.jpeg",[9426,9427],1756702959598,{"id":46065,"documentId":46066,"slug":46067,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46068,"description":46069,"image":46070,"tags":46074,"timestampUnix":46075,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},5275,"tdr072toylctrxtqvi5yiz2k","japanese-social-media-vocabulary","Japanese Social Media Vocabulary: Slang and Terms You Need","Learn the japanese social media vocabulary, slang, and abbreviations Japanese people actually use on Twitter, LINE, and TikTok. Go beyond textbook Japanese.",{"alt":46071,"src":46072,"width":39916,"height":46073,"previewOnly":43362},"Japanese vocabulary for social media platforms - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_03_30_025435_68948d6731\u002FScreenshot_2026_03_30_025435_68948d6731.png",406,[5086,5984],1774638060000,{"id":46077,"documentId":46078,"slug":46079,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46080,"description":46081,"image":46082,"tags":46085,"timestampUnix":46086,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},5287,"c8n4b90237uhtk63lrpt60bh","japanese-classroom-phrases","Japanese Classroom Phrases: Essential Student & Teacher Terms","Learn essential Japanese classroom phrases for students and teachers. Get practical expressions with romaji and kanji for greetings, questions, and instructions.",{"alt":46083,"src":46084,"width":39916,"height":2479,"previewOnly":43362},"Common Japanese phrases used in classroom settings - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FHighres_Screenshot000041920_1920x1080_9639ac3099969105ec2817be41dae221_80b0575271\u002FHighres_Screenshot000041920_1920x1080_9639ac3099969105ec2817be41dae221_80b0575271.jpg",[5086,5984],1774724400000,{"id":46088,"documentId":46089,"slug":46090,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46091,"description":46092,"image":46093,"tags":46097,"timestampUnix":46098,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},5298,"ij3d4a683v70n128qjhlwywn","japanese-seasonal-greetings","Japanese Seasonal Greetings for Every Month of the Year","Learn Japanese seasonal greetings from spring cherry blossoms to winter snow. Formal and casual phrases with romaji, translations, and cultural context.",{"alt":46094,"src":46095,"width":39916,"height":46096,"previewOnly":43362},"Seasonal greetings and phrases used throughout the year - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fshutterstock_2310917627_1_1536x1046_1647ee4b07\u002Fshutterstock_2310917627_1_1536x1046_1647ee4b07.jpg",1046,[5086,8650,5984],1774810800000,{"id":46100,"documentId":46101,"slug":46102,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46103,"description":46104,"image":46105,"tags":46108,"timestampUnix":46109,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},5693,"oppye87nlpi12u4x5vtb0f5o","japanese-nature-vocabulary","Japanese Nature Vocabulary: Essential Outdoor Words","Learn essential Japanese nature vocabulary from mountains and forests to flowers and weather. Discover how these words connect to Japanese culture and language.",{"alt":46106,"src":46107,"width":39916,"height":20579,"previewOnly":43362},"Nature and outdoor vocabulary in Japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F43616_755e04dd51\u002F43616_755e04dd51.jpg",[5086,5984],1775343600000,{"id":46111,"documentId":46112,"slug":46113,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46114,"description":46115,"image":46116,"tags":46120,"timestampUnix":46121,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},5707,"teuv5pirp5rt5zcdvmfh28sy","japanese-hospital-vocabulary","Japanese Hospital Vocabulary: Medical Terms You Need to Know","Learn essential japanese hospital vocabulary for doctor visits, symptoms, medicine, and emergencies. Practical phrases to navigate Japan's healthcare system.",{"alt":46117,"src":46118,"width":39916,"height":46119,"previewOnly":43362},"Japanese medical and hospital vocabulary - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F496890_6ececf90f3\u002F496890_6ececf90f3.jpg",979,[5086,5984],1775430000000,{"id":46123,"documentId":46124,"slug":46125,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46126,"description":46127,"image":46128,"tags":46132,"timestampUnix":46133,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},5900,"f2o45r1q13caqr4rlq02jhhl","japanese-alphabet-guide-hiragana-katakana-kanji","Japanese Alphabet Guide: Hiragana, Katakana & Kanji Explained","Learn how the Japanese alphabet actually works. Complete guide to hiragana, katakana, and kanji with practical tips for mastering Japanese writing systems.",{"alt":46129,"src":46130,"width":39916,"height":46131,"previewOnly":43362},"Understanding the Japanese writing system - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FScreenshot_2026_04_13_014615_3eddd837e9\u002FScreenshot_2026_04_13_014615_3eddd837e9.png",626,[728,43830,3670],1776027660000,{"id":46135,"documentId":46136,"slug":46137,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46138,"description":46139,"image":46140,"tags":46143,"timestampUnix":46144,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},5902,"k0tiak2anqr7f8lhfhc6rl4p","japanese-politeness-levels-casual-polite-formal","Japanese Politeness Levels: Casual, Polite, and Formal","Understand the three Japanese politeness levels (casual, polite, keigo), how verbs change, when to use honorifics, and tips to practice.",{"alt":46141,"src":46142,"width":39916,"height":43480,"previewOnly":43362},"Understanding casual polite and formal Japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FPoliteness_f9a921851a\u002FPoliteness_f9a921851a.webp",[8650,12474],1773982800000,{"id":46146,"documentId":46147,"slug":46148,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46149,"description":46150,"image":46151,"tags":46155,"timestampUnix":46156,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},6440,"eg1aciolrxihqcyh5zbal0wi","japanese-dating-vocabulary","Japanese Dating Vocabulary: Essential Phrases for Romance","Learn Japanese dating vocabulary for asking someone out and confessing feelings. Practical phrases for compliments and relationships you'll actually use.",{"alt":46152,"src":46153,"width":46154,"height":45063,"previewOnly":43362},"Japanese vocabulary for dating and relationships - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002F306525_Pic_1_1918d1bffa\u002F306525_Pic_1_1918d1bffa.webp",939,[5086,5984],1774263600000,{"id":46158,"documentId":46159,"slug":46160,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46161,"description":46162,"image":46163,"tags":46167,"timestampUnix":46168,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},6073,"k8rglfng345q2fyroos4rkr8","japanese-apartment-vocabulary","Japanese Apartment Vocabulary: Essential Terms for Renting","Practical Japanese apartment vocabulary for house hunting and renting in Japan. Covers fees, room types, agents, and phrases you'll use.",{"alt":46164,"src":46165,"width":18824,"height":46166,"previewOnly":43362},"Japanese vocabulary for apartment hunting and renting - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Fimage5_27_1024x681_jpg_dad45135a1\u002Fimage5_27_1024x681_jpg_dad45135a1.webp",681,[5086,5984],1773984240000,{"id":46170,"documentId":46171,"slug":46172,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46173,"description":46174,"image":46175,"tags":46178,"timestampUnix":46179,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},6138,"t4kyrojag773t50kom5plzgu","japanese-writing-systems-explained","Japanese Writing Systems Explained: Hiragana, Katakana & Kanji","Learn the three Japanese writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Understand their origins, usage, and which to learn first for reading Japanese.",{"alt":46176,"src":46177,"width":39916,"height":44396,"previewOnly":43362},"The three Japanese writing systems explained - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002FJapanese_Writing_System_d6c8fa4b_d6c0_4e29_b016_423f201c4ca2_7c98c01af0\u002FJapanese_Writing_System_d6c8fa4b_d6c0_4e29_b016_423f201c4ca2_7c98c01af0.jpg",[728,8650,12474],1776272460000,{"id":46181,"documentId":46182,"slug":46183,"category":736,"lang":43355,"title":46184,"description":46185,"image":46186,"tags":46190,"timestampUnix":46191,"featured":43365,"locale":-1,"_dir":736},6151,"six3o9yc41ptvjs7jgdsjhax","japanese-office-vocabulary","Japanese Office Vocabulary: Essential Workplace Terms","Learn essential Japanese office vocabulary for working in Japan. Job titles, keigo, business phrases, and workplace culture terms you actually need.",{"alt":46187,"src":46188,"width":44164,"height":46189,"previewOnly":43362},"Office and workplace vocabulary in Japanese - Banner","https:\u002F\u002Fmigaku-cms-assets.migaku.com\u002Flycs_architecture_U2_BI_3_G_Mn_SSE_unsplash_scaled_1_73f36145d0\u002Flycs_architecture_U2_BI_3_G_Mn_SSE_unsplash_scaled_1_73f36145d0.jpg",1708,[5086,5984],1774018800000]