Japanese

Basic animal counters in Japanese How should I count this animal in Japanese...? You might feel it’s difficult to count animals in Japanese because the counter changes with the type of animal. However, there is a simple rule for counting animals in Japanese. We’ll share the basic counters: 匹(hiki), 頭(tou), 羽(wa) in this article. With these counters, you can learn how to count animals from mise to whales. Let’s begin! ～匹（hiki/piki/biki） The most common and useful Japanese counter for animals is the 匹(hiki) counter. It is used for small animals like dogs, cats, mice, sheep, fish, and insects. The animals ...

You need to learn lots of difficult grammar rules when you are studying Japanese. In particular, learning Japanese counters is hard because Japanese has hundreds of counters. But it’s not necessary for you to know all the counters. It is enough in daily life conversation to know the basic Japanese counters. We’ll share Japanese counters that native speakers usually use in daily conversation in this article. Learning points Basic Japanese counters (つ、個、枚、本、台) Right words for each Japanese counter Real usage The most common Japanese counters ~つ(tsu) つ(tsu) is one of the most common counters in Japanese. It is mostly used ...

Many Japanese learners get confused about how to use the に particle because Japanese has particles like で that are similar in meaning. Each Japanese particle has a meaning and concept. Understanding the concepts and meaning helps you correctly use Japanese particles. The に (ni) particle can be mostly used for describing a place, time, and action with some verbs. The concept of the に particle is "point" and "direction," which we will explain later in the article! Learning points The concept of the に (ni) particle Verbs that are used with the に (ni) particle  Example phrases and pronunciation ...

Particles like で, に, を, は are some of the most difficult grammar points for Japanese learners. Many Japanese learners in upper levels still get confused about how to use particles correctly. But you don't have to be too worried. The key to understand particles is to grasp the concept of each particle. Let’s understand the basic concept of で (de) and use it like a native Japanese. で (de) particle で (de) is one of the basic Japanese particles and is mainly used for four types of expressions. The basic concept of the で (de) particle is “a boundary.” ...

Some people say that Japanese people apologize more than people in other countries. You probably have heard your Japanese friends say sorry a lot. This is because the Japanese respect good manners and value courtesy in their culture. Since Japanese people have solidified good manners in their culture from long ago, there are many expressions that mean “I’m sorry” in Japanese now.  It’s going to be so much help for your good communication with Japanese people to learn some expressions of apologizing. We’ll share various phrases on how to apologize in this article, and we hope it will help you ...

When someone says "thanks" to you, you say “you’re welcome” or “no problem” in English. When you want to say “You’re welcome,” in Japanese, you say  “どういたしまして (douitashimashite).” This is a basic word to reply to a thank you, but you rarely hear this word in a real conversation. Contrary to popular belief, Japanese people don’t say douitashimashite very often. So, is it not good to say どういたしまして (douitashimashite) when you reply to a thank you? The answer is “yes, it's fine." But there is a rule of using どういたしまして(douitashimasite). We will share about the natural way to say どういたしまして ...

Thank you is "Arigatou (ありがとう)" in Japanese. Many people know "Arigatou (ありがとう)" but maybe there are few people who can say "thank you for (something)" Just saying "arigatou" is totally fine, but you can express your thanks more to someone if you can say what you're thankful for in Japanese. For Japanese beginners, saying your thanks specifically is the next level! We will share how to say "thank you for ..." in Japanese in this article. You'll learn the correct expressions for each situation. If you haven't read our previous post, check out Seven phrase to say thank you in ...

Saying "thank you" is fundamental when learning Japanese. Many learners may already know "arigatou" or "arigatou gozaimasu" but there are some other ways to say "thank you." We will share seven basic ways to say thank you, including "arigatou," as well as explanations about when to use them. It'll be easy to understand even for non-Japanese leaners! You will be able to say a "thank you" that is suitable for every situation and for every person. Seven phrases to say "thank you" in Japanese Arigatou gozaimasu / Thank you The most common way to say thank you in Japanese is ...

Boiled egg is called ゆで卵(たまご) (yudetamago) in Japanese. ゆでる(yuderu) is a verb meaning “to boil.” When you want to say boiled food in Japanese, the structure of phrase is same as English: boiled+food name, ゆで(adjective meaning boiled)+たまご(food name). Various ways to say boiled egg. Different people have different preferences for the hardness of their boiled eggs. Some people might like soft-boiled eggs, and other people like hard-boiled eggs. We will share about how to express the hardness of a boiled egg and various ways to say boiled egg! Soft-boiled egg/半熟(はんじゅく)ゆで卵(たまご) Boiled egg with a soft yolk is called 半熟(はんじゅく)ゆで卵(たまご) (hanjuku-yudetamago) ...

In Japanese, fried egg is called 目玉(めだま)焼(や)き (medamayaki). 目玉(めだま) means “eyeball.” It’s called that because the yolk of the egg is round like an eye. Japanese people think of fried egg as breakfast or an easy lunch. 目玉焼き There are a lot of ways to fry an egg. In English, people have their eggs sunny side up, over-easy and over-hard. These words illustrate whether a person likes to have one side fried or both sides, or the yolk soft or hard. Today we’ll share how to say fried egg in various way! Different ways to say "fried egg." When you say ...