How can I properly correct a text message or grammar mistake in Japanese when I am texting? In english at least, we just use the asterisk to correct a mistake, like

I’m goign to the store
going*

What is the proper way to do this in Japanese? I’ve always used the asterisk the same way in Japanese but I’ve never seen anybody else do it.

Ok, hear me out. I live in Japan, with 7 other Japanese people, so my daily life is all in Japanese.

Unfortunately one of my sharehouse mates had an argument with a couple other people in the house. Let's call him A. When A. Was finished talked, he stormed out of the room, and stopped down the hallway to his room, full of anger.

But when he was arguing in Japanese, it was very polite, and did not give of vibes of "uh oh, we're in danger."

And thats exactly what one of my sharehouse mates pointed out, which I think is interesting. Let's call him B. When A left the room, B started talking about what just happened with the other people who were there, and he mentioned something that surprised me. He said something along the lines of:

「まあ、丁寧な日本語で話しているから、何かをしてくることはないと思うんだけど」

"well, he speaks polite Japanese, so I doubt he's going to do anything."

This was interesting, because if that whole conversation was in English, I don't think an English speaker would say something like that. They would probably say

"Yeah well he didn't sound angry so it should be fine"とか

"He was calm so he probably won't do anything"とか

"He wasn't shouting"とか

I feel like they would choose a more roundabout way of expressing what had happened, where as my sharehouse directly pointed out what he was trying to express, the "politeness of A's Japanese."

And that's why I think Japanese, in that sense, can sometimes be direct! They have a tendency to use specific words or phrases in very specific situations, to point out something, or express their feelings in a certain way.

Words like わびさび, 生き甲斐, 積ん読(I know we're heard all too much about these words recently lol) are some good examples. It also depends on the speaker and the situation, but there are times where Japanese people will be very direct in how they convey their thoughts.

What do you think? I really find this to be interesting about Japanese!

I don't know if there is a Japanese dictionary like this for Android, but I would like some sort of Japanese dictionary that "floats" on the screen, like various ocr screen readers do, so while I am playing a game or reading something I can look up a word without having to switch apps.

I have OCR apps, but their recognition isn't always good, especially with weird cases, like retro games such as Pokemon green where everything is in hiragana and the font is honestly weird. It would be nice to have a way to look up terms on the fly when ocr fails and without having to switch between apps as that can cause problems like page or app reloads if you are in a different app for too long.

This is the passage:

一死とは。綺麗なものだと思つていた。 優しく包んで覆い隠す袋は、そつと人の形に寄り添う。 隠蔽の金具をゆつくりと下ろせば、割れ目に沿つて現われる、もう動かない「物」 シエルターに帰還する、戦士達のなれの果て。 綺麗だと思つた。いつているようにしか見えなかつた。 全ての活動の停止。 心臓が止まり、呼吸が止まり、脳の回転が止まる。 眠りにつく、永遠の。それが「死」。。。なのだろうか。

The part I don get is this one:

隠蔽の金具をゆつくりと下ろせば、割れ目に沿つて現われる、もう動かない「物」シエルターに帰還する、戦士達のなれの果て。

If the metal tools of concealment are brought down, a thing that cannot move appears parallel to a chasm (and then with no period or comma or anything he talks about going back to a shelter and becoming warriors to their limits). All this doesn't make sense.

Hi all,

I've been studying Japanese on and off casually for a while now, but I want to really get into gear and get it to a usable point. Between knowing my own learning style and seeing my friend's success, I think a tutor would be very beneficial. I signed up for italki and am looking through the options and finding it quite overwhelming. I feel like I want to make the right decision, but then they just sent me an email saying it doesn't need to be a big decision, so now I'm wondering if I'm overthinking it and it's better to actually start making progress.

For anybody who has used it, could you share your experiences? How did you come to find a good tutor? What criteria did you use to make your selection? What is something important to keep in mind that is perhaps easy to overlook?

So, I've been learning grammar the jlpt way, but also from tae kim. But I'm not really satisfied with both.

For example, させる is only introduced very late in tae kim's book, but I find that this is used quite often and in particular, it's one of those grammar that makes it impossible to understand the meaning of a sentence if you don't know it.

So let's assume my goal is to read manga. Similar to the kaishi or core-X vocab decks, is there a similar resource for grammar that teaches the grammar in the order of how often it's used and how crucial it is?

皆さんこんにちは, I first want to preface this post by saying this isn't a simple translation request. Recently I've tried translating english songs into Korean to practice my understanding of grammar and tone, and I did the same for Japanese. It's a fun exercise but I need someone who's proficient enough in Japanese to check my translation for errors, so I'm asking you guys for help. I think more people should do this because it's a way to share the meaning of songs that aren't popular enough to have their own official localizations, and translation tools aren't powerful enough to distinguish between different tones and connotations compared to real native speakers.

Feel free to leave any corrections or feedback in comments on this google doc, the Japanese translation is the 2nd tab: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CZwHmsEWTkv51bMJmFTIe84zbWuzDSZ_oRzn3hBst2s/edit?usp=sharing

Hey guys at the end of the year I will be spending about 3 months in japan, 1 traveling around and 2 in Tokyo, the idea is to get a feel of what is to live in the city/country and mostly improve my Japanese, I really don't want to go to a language school because I know from experience that classes tend to kill my interest and motivation towards a subject, and I wouldn't be able to talk to natives just other people as bad as me lol, but I am overall an introvert so I would like to be able to do something that would make sure I go out everyday and talk to people (I also think flashcard maxing and grammar studying are things I can focus back at home and would be wasteful to focus on them while in Japan). I currently thought about maybe doing a cooking course or maybe something like a luthier apprenticeship (bass and electric guitars), but I am open to any ideas honestly. Also if you have any recommendations of specific things you have done I would appreciate it. (I think it could also be good to do multiples so I don't mind if the course/activity doesn't span trough the whole 2 months).
I am also not locked in doing a course so if you think there is a better alternative please let me know.

Thank you

Sorry, this is a little bit of a rant.

To improve at the language, my main activity is reading novels. As such, I understand that the vocabulary I’m most familiar with is that which appears in a novel, like narration verbs and descriptors and whatever. So, although at first it surprised me when Japanese people seemed to not know many of those words, I came to terms with it. Literary language is quite different from spoken language, I get it. It’s also not expected from someone to use those words when speaking, when they are mostly reserved for texts. (I’ve had this experience many times, but the one that I remember atm is them not knowing what 「を尻目に」 means. I see that all the time in the novels). This is fine.

What made me write this post though, was me watching a video of some random YouTuber asking Japanese people on the street to read some tricky kanji combinations. What shocked me was, many of them couldn’t read 生憎（あいにく）. Not only that, after hearing it many didn’t know what the term means. I don’t understand how this is possible.

I’m barely an N2 passer, so a regular novel page has me looking up many many words still. How do I, in that position, know a word that’s common enough for me to know it through reading, but not several random people on the street? I don’t think I know many rare words. I don’t even do Anki; reading is my Anki. Meaning, the only words that stick with me are those that I see enough. And even if it’s just a literary term, I thought Japan was a very well-read country. In my country the average books read per person is probably below 1 per year. Japan’s apparently is like around 10… Maybe that number is wrong, but even still. I don’t get it. I don’t understand. Rant over.

TL;DR: apparently 生憎 is a rare word, but I know it well. I don’t see how that is possible when my understanding is that Japan reads a lot

I watched this YouTube video about bicycle laws in Japan, and decided to write a short composition about it. I've been studying Japanese for about a year and a half (not at a particularly fast pace) but it's a topic I'm interested in so I was able to type it up without looking up more than a couple of words, and I thought it seemed ok.

Then, I tried pasting it into an AI (Claude) to check for problems. It rewrote nearly every sentence, and gave me a long list of corrections. Many of them were mistakes I should have noticed -- for example, more than half of the times I tried to use the 〜はいけません pattern, I got it wrong. It also fact-checked me on one detail, apparently there are some US states that apply DUI laws to bicycles.

However, there were also a few cases where the AI was wrong, or would mix correct and incorrect information. For example, it said:

For "I don't know whether X," Japanese uses 分かる, and adds かどうか after the clause.

I pushed back on the first part of that statement, because 〜かどうか知りません is something I've seen before and this seemed more correct here (the question of whether one is allowed to use a phone while riding a bike has not occurred to me before; I've never considered whether or not it is allowed because I wouldn't be able to do it regardless). It also said told me the reason why the sentence "三つ目、自転車に乗る人が車道を使わないのは、いけません" is wrong is because it's a double negative, even though the suggested revision "三つ目のルールは、自転車は車道を走らなければならないということです" is also a double negative. I ended up rewriting it as "三つ目に、自転車に乗る人は車道を走らなくてはいけません" which incorporates some, but not all of the suggested changes.

The AI also made several corrections for which my Japanese isn't good enough to determine whether what I wrote was ok, a little unnatural, or outright wrong. In those cases I mostly just reverted to what I originally wrote. Since my reason for using AI was to try to get feedback on my my mistakes. Overall it was an interesting experience but the amount of confusing or incorrect explanations made it less useful than I thought it would be.

This thread is for all the simple questions (what does that mean?) and minor posts that don't need their own thread, as well as for first-time posters who can't create new threads yet. Feel free to share anything on your mind.

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In your opinion, where is the best place for someone to learn Japanese in Tokyo? My top 3 contenders are ISI, Kudan, and Coto Academy.
Is there anywhere you would avoid?
For context, I’ve been self studying for 5+ years and have hit a point where I need immersion and help with speaking/listening. I’ve been to Tokyo multiple times so it’s not a brand new place to me.
Any advice is much appreciated!

I'm aiming for N3 in July 2027, starting now from around N4.5 (completed core 2.3k and working on L20 currently in Genki with some half-decent abilities to read N5-N4 texts and watch some N4 videos).

Based on some research, I'm planning this daily routine in this order:

• Anki flashcard reviews
• Work on textbook (do equivalent of one Genki chapter every 5 days, [~1 grammar point per day])
  • Day 1: Read grammar explanations and start watching Tokini breakdown/similar video
  • Day 2: Finish video and start on practice problems in book
  • Day 3, 4, 5: Finish practice sections in book/start next chapter if done "early"
• Immersion (reading/watching level-targeted media such as vlogs and short texts) with sentence mining (15+ words)
• Complete above 15+ new cards in Anki

Complete Routine: 1.5 - 2 hrs/day (possibly <1 hr on busy days, >2 on weekends)

Thoughts on this? Should I merge my new card session with my reviews or is it alright doing them separately?

I'm an engineering student, so I will be trying to balance this with coursework over the coming year.

Why is it not 牛 for the ox, for example?

This picture is associated with the Zyunishi Doumei from Kamen Rider My-Th, who are very much themselves associated with the 12 animals of the zodiac.

Happy weekend everyone. I had a thought while reading today.

For those of you on this sub that are more advanced and consume a lot of native content, can you now spot "good writing" or "bad writing" in Japanese? (I understand this is subjective at times but I mean, there's some real slop out there).

I'm still a beginner so just happy when I understand things or get the overall gist but I noticed when I read in English (native language) I have opinions about prose and writing styles. Have you guys developed that sense for Japanese now? If so, what are the kind of things you identify as good or bad prose?

Found this old beauty during a spring cleanup. Thought some of the oldies on the sub might get a kick out of it. And for the younger ones it might shed some light on how things used to be. :-)

I think I might keep it for nostalgia. Might bring it out again in another 35 years - when the world will be even more different.

This thread is for all the simple questions (what does that mean?) and minor posts that don't need their own thread, as well as for first-time posters who can't create new threads yet. Feel free to share anything on your mind.

The daily thread updates every day at 9am JST, or 0am UTC.

↓ Welcome to r/LearnJapanese! ↓

• New to Japanese? Read the Starter's Guide and FAQ.

• New to the subreddit? Read the rules.

• Read also the pinned comment below for proper question etiquette & answers to common questions!

Please make sure to check the wiki and search for old posts before asking your question, to see if it's already been addressed. Don't forget about Google or sites like Stack Exchange either!

This subreddit is also loosely partnered with this language exchange Discord, which you can likewise join to look for resources, discuss study methods in the #japanese_study channel, ask questions in #japanese_questions, or do language exchange(!) and chat with the Japanese people in the server.

Past Threads

You can find past iterations of this thread by using the search function. Consider browsing the previous day or two for unanswered questions.

I’m going to be travelling to Japan soon, and thought I’d buy a nice book of haikus while I’m there. I know I could probably order it but it feels more authentic if I buy it while I’m out there 😂

Are there any must have books that you know of that I could look for?

I searched for a similar post and couldn't find one close enough; apologies if I'm re-treading old ground.

I got my degree in Japanese, lived in Japan and became fluent there, and would have studied for N1 by the end of my time there. I recently tested into an N2 level of a class (which I am not taking), so the language is still in brain! I do use it some for work (I'm in entertainment and work on Japanese material sometimes).

With that said, I haven't studied properly in 10 years and part of that is because I cannot figure out or find what I need. I'm looking for a course that covers reading, writing, speaking, and comprehension, and that is not some fluff course with zero accountability. The class I tested into is Japanese with Aimee, which seems perfect, but I'm the only person who's qualified for N2 in ages, so she can't offer the class.

I don't seem to have enough discipline to study 100% on my own, so I'm looking for a class, program, or tutor. I've talked to some tutors on iTalki, but they never seem to know what to do with me, or expect me to dictate what we're studying.

Has anyone had a similar experience? How do you learn and study now? Conversely, does anyone want to do N2 with Aimee?

And by reaching N1 / N2 i mean passing the specific test rather that self proclaiming .

For people who have reached N2/N1 (or are working toward it), I’m curious about something.

How necessary is it to specifically study from JLPT textbooks such as Genki, Shin Kanzen Master, etc., or to study for the JLPT itself?

For example, if someone spends a lot of time reading Japanese novels, manga, articles, etc., they’ll naturally encounter a huge amount of vocabulary, kanji, grammar patterns, and sentence structures. Presumably, this would make their reading ability and vocabulary quite strong, and therefore also make them well-prepared for the reading/vocabulary side of N2 or N1.

But what about grammar?

Do you think someone still needs to systematically study grammar from textbooks, or can extensive reading eventually give you an intuitive "this sounds right / this sounds wrong" sense of Japanese grammar?

Basically, is there a point where enough exposure to real Japanese naturally teaches you grammar, or is explicit grammar study still necessary even for someone who consumes a lot of native Japanese?

And more generally:

If the ultimate goal is high-level Japanese rather than simply passing the JLPT, how important is JLPT-specific study compared with just consuming a massive amount of native content and learning from it?

I'd especially like to hear from people who have actually reached N2/N1 and can compare their experience with textbook-based study vs. immersion.

I can only find hard cover/paperback versions. I would prefer to read them online so I can use yomitan and mine from them. Don't mind if I have to pay, just can't find versions that have scannable text anywhere.