Self-taught Japanese…conversation?
Musings and hints on the difficulties of learning conversation in a foreign language, inspired by a twitter post of someone who was struggling to learn conversation in Japanese without a teacher.
Category Archives: Japanese Study: Beginner
“Mai”: a Japanese word with a variety of meanings (マイ、まい、舞、毎、枚)
As I confirmed myself a few years ago, Japanese has a large number of homonyms––words that have the same sound but different meanings. Personally I’m divided on the efficacy of teaching the various meanings of a single word together, since it can confuse language learners, but sometimes it can be good to know all the… Read More »
Japanese learning app review: Skritter
In this post I review Skritter, an app designed for learning how to write in Japanese (as well as Chinese). Although I highlight a bunch of nitpicks, overall Skritter is a useful app that is worth checking out.
Japanese vocabulary: the power of 力 (“chikara”)
In this article I’d like to go over the Japanese kanji 力 (which can be read “chikara”, “ryoku”, or “riki”), including some compounds that are made with it. This kanji has a bunch of meanings, but the majority of them can be categorized as “power”, “force”, or “energy”. But before we get too far I… Read More »
50+ Introductory Phrases in Japanese
In this post I give over 50 introductory phrases, with translations. that can be used as starting blocks to build Japanese sentences.
Japanese Writing Lab #7: A fun event or trip
Having trouble finding opportunities to practice writing in Japanese? In this post I wrote in Japanese about a fun experience I had. I ask you to try doing the same, and in exchange I’ll give my feedback on your writing. Japanese learners of any level are invited, and there is no length requirements on the result.
The Compound Verb 着替える (kigaeru) and a Question of Particles
Japanese is rife with compound verbs, which are generally composed by taking the verb stem (what I like to call the ‘pre-masu form’) of one verb and attaching it to a second verb. For example 食べ終わる (“tabeowaru”) which is comprised of the verb stem of 食べる (“taberu”, meaning “to eat”) and 終わる (“owaru”, meaning “to… Read More »
10 Japanese Expressions Involving Cats
I put together a list of 10 expressions in Japanese that involve our favorite furry friend––the cat.
50 Hints for Learning Japanese
I’ve made a list of 50 hints for learning Japanese based on my own experience, covering everything from kanji, listening, and grammar to study habits and other topics.
Japanese fairy tale translation: “The Crane’s Flute” (鶴の笛) by Hayashi Fumiko
In this post I’ve translated Hayashi Fumiko’s classic fairy tale “The Crane’s Flute” (鶴の笛) in full, a simple story that touches upon important topics.