Let's study Japanese!

Hello, please call me Bites! I study Japanese and want to help you study too! Please check my about for more info (^^

[japanese-randomstuff]

Japanese listening practice for beginners - Youtube videos

“キッズボンボン for Children” channel

All of the videos on this list have Japanese subtitles. It is mostly in ひらがな and the words are separated. This and the fact that these videos are aimed for children, makes them great for beginners.

PEACH BOY - MOMOTARO (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

KINTARO (Japanese) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

USHIWAKAMARU (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

SHINING PRINCESS (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

THE TONGUELESS SPARROW (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

THE DANCING KETTLE (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

THE STORY OF THE MONKEY AND THE CRAB (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

CLACK CLACK MOUNTAIN (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

OLD MAN WITH THE LUMP (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

OLD MAN FLOWER (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

THE YOUNG MONK IKKYU (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

THE GRATEFUL CRANE (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

URASHIMA TARO (JAPANESE) / うらしまたろう - 浦島太郎（日本語版）Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

THE SNOW WOMAN (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

THE ROLLING RICE BALL (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy

INCH BOY (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

THE CHILD GODS (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

THE STORY OF THE ZODIAC (JAPANESE) Japanese classical stories | fairy tale

All of these videos have an English version on this channel. Search for them or click on this playlist. You can use both versions to study what’s being said.

SNOW WHITE (JAPANESE) fairytale | Folktales | bedtime stories

THUMBLINA (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories

JACK AND THE BEANSTALK (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories

PETER PAN (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories

A DOG OF FLANDERS (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories

PINOCCHIO (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories

PUSS IN BOOTS (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories

ALADDIN AND THE MAGIC LAMP (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories

THE WOLF AND THE SEVEN LITTLE GOATS (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories

CINDERELLA (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories

THE LITTLE MATCH SELLER | Folktales | bedtime stories

HE MERMAID PRINCESS | Folktales | bedtime stories

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD | Folktales | bedtime stories

THE THREE LITTLE PIGS (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories

THE ADVENTURE OF TOM SAWYER (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime

THE WIZARD OF OZ (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories

THE UGLY DUCKLING (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories

ALICE IN WONDERLAND (JAPANESE) | Folktales | bedtime stories

All of these videos have an English version on this channel. Search for them or click on this playlist. You can use both versions to study what’s being said.

[myjapanesebites]

Additional Vocabulary Used: ・日本　『にほん』ー Japan ・中国　『ちゅうごく』ー China ・歌　『うた』ー Song ・イスラエル ー Israel ・ボードゲーム ー Board game ・ミュージック ー Music Hiragana I forgot to include, sorry: ・見る　『みる』ー ・食べる　『たべる』ー ・聞く　『きく』ー

My personal feeling on this Japanese sentence structure is that you should learn and use it as early as possible if you want to have more natural conversations. Despite it being N3 for Japanese learners, it is very basic grammar in general. My host brother who was 7 years old at the time used it so much.

What it can look like in conversation: My host sister was really excited to take me to Daiso. It’s one of her favorite stores and I had only been in Japan for a month (she most likely assumed I had never been to one because she thought that they only existed in Japan) and it would be my first time going IN JAPAN. So she asks me:

妹：エンジェルちゃん、DAISOに行ったことがありますか？ 私：うん、行ったことがあります。 妹：えー！？行ったことがあるよ？ 私：うん、カリフォルニアに行く時、DAISOに行きました。だから、DAISOにもう行ったことがあります。

When I lived in Japan I used it often enough to remember and learn it without study aids. There are more in depth ways of using this grammar, of course. Such as if you were not to use a past form it would change the meaning:

ピーナッツを食べないことがありますか？  Are there times that you do not eat peanuts?

I am not a Japanese language teacher, nor am I fluent or professional. I am a learner and I merely share from my experience and studies. I explain things to help me remember better. :)

My learning style is “less explanation more examples.” Not everyone is like this so here are some other resources that explain ことがる:

maggiesensei is my favorite site, they speak about it in a similar way but they give a ton more examples.

@punipunijapan ‘s explanation from their site.

Click Here to learn more about やる VS. する

[renshyuublog]

３０日９月２０１８年

今日、ちょっと遅く起きました。 昨夜、友達と電話をして、ビールを飲みましたから。 それは大丈夫ですが、昨日はとても楽しかったです。そして、仕事に行って、そこでハリーポッターのキャラクターのドビーの耳を見つけました。もちろん、私は友達とその耳をかぶりました。 仕事後で、おもちょ屋さんにパズルを買いに行きました。ディズニーのパズルはすごく難しいです。

メインブログは @myjapanesebites　フォローしてください。＜３ (Myjapanesebites is my main blog where I reblog, recommend and post other things in regard to Japanese study. I am also making a Japanese self study discord!) 

[myjapanesebites]

Maybe you could follow my Japanese dairy entry blog? Could be decent reading practice even if the grammar is not perfect. I’ll try to keep it fun and will even talk about my experiences in Japan.(о´∀`о)

[myjapanesebites]

こんにちは皆さん～！

Because I could not find a decent youtube video to do it for me, I will personally tell you about this little app called Hellotalk 

If you put it in simple terms, it is a language exchange app and an international Facebook without the commitment. You can like and comment on anyone’s post just as they can yours and it’s best to do this in your target language so that any mistakes you make can be correct by native speakers.

With this app you can:

Talk to native English, Arabic, Catalan, Danish, Esperanto, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, and Vietnamese speakers.

Correct and be corrected in your target language:

*As you can see my mistakes are crossed out and the corrections are in green making them stand out and see exactly where I went wrong and say that a correction was made that you did not understand. Well; you can message them about it and more often than not they are willing to explain, (sometimes they can only explain in Japanese which is great for you and I--the learners. However; if it is too difficult to understand, the app has a translator that truly rivals google translate, it is that good.) Here’s an example of me receiving a gracious explanation of a grammar point:

You can also send video and audio, and even call with those who speak your target language

You can also use the translator at the most convenient of times by clicking the translation button in the corner of messaging or by simply clicking a word, it’s that easy.

There is also transliteration. That’s right! This is truly any level friendly. If you can’t fully read your target language just transliterate the comment, reply, etc and you will have the sounds (romaji in the case of Japanese) of what was typed.

You can learn more about the app by visiting the app website which I linked above, so I will not go too deeply into but I want to share just a few tips on how you can really utilize it to improve your target language skills (which I will place under a readmore for the sake of length.)

Make a post everyday It’s not hard, and it doesn’t have to be long but make it, and do try not to take more than ten minutes. (depending on length) I say this because I know there are perfectionists out there who look through dictionaries, grammar books, google, etc to get “perfect” grammar because they are afraid of making mistakes. Well in this case; mistakes are your friend, one does not forget being corrected easily. You want to think quickly and use what you know. If you have to constantly look up what you are trying to say then try saying it simpler or talking more simply until you can grasp it easier.

If your level is there correct Japanese speaker’s English and explain your corrections in Japanese.

vise versa, ask a native speaker why they corrected you in Japanese so that they will explain it in Japanese. (You can pick up explanation words that way, it was how I learned.)

Call and talk with natives. Call and talk with natives. Call and talk with natives. Call and talk with natives. The calling system on hellotalk is easy and people want to randomly call all the time. It’s as easy as liking or replying to someone’s post that says something such as; “Who wants to call with me?” I have had several calls this way but I also have a partner who I call every Sunday and Monday. (Finding a partner, someone to chat with everyday is awesome.)

Ask questions on a public post or in private, either way you are likely to get a native answer that you can add to your studies.

Send audio messages/make audio posts when you can, this is really awesome for pronunciation practice because it will all boiled down to whether they understand your pronunciation.

“Favorite” the corrections that you are given for review and actually review them and even discuss them with other native speakers. You will not believe how many different ways there is to say some things and native speakers will have varying ways of correction and it is REALLY important to take that into account and remember that.

Do not be afraid to make mistakes. YOU WILL make mistakes.

Have fun and make friends. Get comfortable using Japanese (or whatever language you’re learning really.) Nothing will make your Japanese more natural than actually being comfortable when you speak it, and this app has such a friendly user interface with users who do not forget what the app is really for. 

All in all, this is not a sponsored post (you can tell with how rushed it is) this app is just awesome and one I use daily and I have legitimately seen improvement in my Japanese since using it. This is just one of the many things that you can do FOR FREE in order to improve your language skills. So just give it a try. Good luck!

[strawblondiestudies]

N5 verb list

会う　（あう）- to meet

開く　（あく）- to become open

開ける　（あける）- to open

上げる　（あげる）- to give

遊ぶ　（あそぶ）- to play, to make a visit

あびる - to bathe, to shower

洗う　（あらう）- to wash

ある - to be, to have (inanimate)

歩く　（あるく）- to walk

言う　（いう）- to say

行く　（いく）- to go

居る　（いる）- to be, to have (animate)

要る　（いる）- to need

入れる　（いれる）- to put in

歌う　（うたう）- to sing

生まれる　（うまれる）- to be born

売る　（うる）- to sell

起きる　（おきる）- to get up

置く　（おく）- to put

教える　（おしえる）- to teach, to tell

押す　（おす）- to push, to stamp

覚える　（おぼえる）- to remember

泳ぐ　（およぐ）- to swim

降りる　（おりる）- to get off, to descend

終わる　（おわる）- to finish

買う　（かう）- to buy

返す　（かえす）- to return something

帰る　（かえる）- to return, to go back

かかる - to take time or money

書く　（かく）- to write

かける - to call by phone

貸す　（かす）- to lend

借りる　（かりる）- to borrow

消える　（きえる）- to disappear

聞く　（きく）- to hear, to listen, to ask

切る　（きる）- to cut

着る　（きる）- to put on 

曇る　（くもる）- to become cloudy/dim

来る　（くる）- to come

消す　（けす）- to erase, to turn off

答える　（こたえる）- to answer

コピーする - to copy

困る　（こまる）- to be worried

咲く　（さく）- to bloom

差す　（さす）- to stretch out, to raise

散歩する　（さんぽする）- to stroll

死ね　（しね）- to die

閉まる　（しまる）-  to close, to be closed

閉める　（しめる）- to close something

締める　（しめる）- to tie

知る　（しる）- to know

吸う　（すう）- to smoke

住む　（すむ）- to live in

する - to do

座る　（すわる）- to sit

掃除する　（そうじする）- to clean, to sweep

出す　（だす）- to put out

立つ　（たつ）- to stand

頼む　（たのむ）- to ask

食べる　（たべる）- to eat

違う　（ちがう）- to differ

使う　（つかう）- to use

疲れる　（つかれる）- to get tired

着く　（つく）- to arrive at

作る　（つくる）-to make

つける - to turn on

勤める　（つとめる）- to work for someone

出かける　（でかける）- to go out

できる - to be able to

出る　（でる）- to leave, to go out

取る　（とる）- to take something

撮る　（とる）- to take a photo or film

鳴く　（なく）- to chirp, roar, croak etc

無くす　（なくす）- to lose something

習う　（ならう）- to learn

並ぶ　（ならぶ）- to line up, to stand in line

並べる　（ならべる）- to line up, to set up

なる - to become

脱ぐ　（ぬぐ）- to take off clothes

寝る　（ねる）- to sleep, to go to bed

登る　（のぼる）- to climb

飲む　（のむ）- to drink

乗る　（のる）- to ride, to get on

入る　（はいる）- to enter, to contain

はく - to wear, to put on trousers

始まる　（はじまる）- to begin

走る　（はしる）- to run

働く　（はたらく）- to work

話す　（はなす）- to speak

貼る　（はる）- to stick

晴れる　（はれる）- to be sunny

引く　（ひく）- to pull

弾く　（ひく）- to play an instrument

吹く　（ふく）- to blow (wind)

降る　（ふる）- to fall (rain, snow)

勉強する　（べんきょうする）- to study

曲がる　（まがる）- to turn, to bend

待つ　（まつ）- to wait

磨く　（みがく）- to brush teeth, to polish

見せる　（みせる）- to show

見る　（みる）- to see, to watch, to look

持つ　（もつ）- to hold

休む　（やすむ）- to rest

やる - to do

行く　（ゆく）- to go

呼ぶ　（よぶ）- to call out, to invite

読む　（よむ）- to read

練習する　（れんしゅうする）- to practice

分かる　（わかる）- to be understood

忘れる　（わすれる）- to forget

渡す　（わたす）- to hand over

渡る　（わたる）- to go across

[learnjapanesewithme]

The Ultimate Guide To: は vs が

[nyahongo]

I love Misa’s channel, it’s excellent! She has a really great video explaining relative clauses, with which I struggled a bit.

[writeitdownmaka]

ASKING ABOUT JAPANESE (IN JAPANESE)

****If there are corrections or additions I should make to this list, please send me a message!****

So I just started using HelloTalk for Japanese, and found out pretty quickly that asking people to help you IN Japanese gets you MUCH better answers so long as you’re up to the challenge of figuring out slightly more complicated explanations! Here are some ways to do that:

THINGS TO ASK

Can I ask you a question?

ちょっと質問していいですか？

How do you say “_____” in Japanese?

「＿＿＿」は日本語で何と言いますか？

日本語で「＿＿＿」はどうやって言いますか？

What does “_____” mean?

「＿＿＿」の意味はなんですか？

「＿＿＿」って、どういう意味ですか？

Could you please correct my sentences/check them for errors?

文章を直してください/くれませんか/もらえませんか

間違いがあるかどうかチェックしてもらえますか？

What is the difference between “__” and “__”?

「＿＿」と「＿＿」の違いは何ですか？

Which one sounds more natural?

どちらがもっと自然に聞こえますか？

どちらの方が自然ですか？

What kind of situation should I use it in?

どんな場合に使いますか？

Is there another way to say it?

日本語で同じような言い回しがありますか？

How would you say it?

___さんなら、これを何と言いますか？

Do people normally use this word/phrase?

このフレーズ/言葉を普段使いますか？

How do I use (this word/phrase)

「＿＿＿」をどうやって使いますか？

Is it similar to/Is it like “_____,” for example?

「＿＿＿」という事ですか？

「＿＿＿」と同じような意味ですか？

AND IF U DIDNT REALLY GET THEIR CORRECTIONS/COMMENTS:

I’m sorry, I didn’t really understand “_____.” Could you explain it to me?

（すみません、「＿＿＿」はよく分からなくて）、ちょっと説明してもらえませんか？

I’m sorry, would you mind explaining your corrections?

すみません、訂正を説明してもらえませんか？

OTHER TIPS

Say thank you afterward!

The sentences above are mostly starting points. The more you talk to people, the more you’ll notice how people ask things like “Oh, can you explain that thing on the bottom?” or “So it’s okay if I say this instead of this?” etc. etc. But these sentences will help you get on your feet!

What I sometimes like to do if they’re using really complicated Japanese to explain to me, it try to explain it in my own words and then add っていうことですか？ to find out if I’m understanding right!

Challenge yourself by answering Japanese-speakers’s questions in Japanese! You’d be surprised how much you can learn about explaining just by reading explanations!

Good luck! Please let me know if you have any questions! <3 頑張ってください！皆さん何か聞きたいことがあったら、何でも聞いてくださいね！<3

-Maka

[writeitdownmaka]

//typos fixed!

[lonelyhanami]

Grammar Lesson: の, the explanatory particle

Are you a student? - 学生ですか？ You’re a student? -　学生ですか？

Here we have a problem with 日本語 as a language, we want to ask a question that: Shows our surprise that they’re a student Subtly asks for more info on them being a student But there isn’t really a way to structure a sentence that conveys this.

For this, we use the の particle.

学生 -がくせい- Student

あの - That (over there)

男の子 -おとこのこ- Boy

人気 -にんき- Popular

I’m going to remove everything except the 学生 to keep it in the impolite form, as this is simpler than polite. 学生？ - Are you a student? 学生なの？－You’re a student? Remember the な is added because 学生 is a noun, and in generally you add な before a particle if you’re talking about a noun or na-adjective. Here’s an example using an i-adjective, you don’t add な. かわいいの？- You’re cute? (笑) You can actually use の as a way of explaining yourself, or to answer a question. If someone asks “That boy is popular?” You can say: あの男の子人気なの？ - (That boy is popular?) かわいいの。 - (It is that he’s cute.) For the polite form, you should replace の with ん. 学生んですか？ - You’re a student? If you see any errors please DM me :) Try practicing it in the replies^^

[learnjp]

Have to, Need to, Must || 必要がある・なくてはいけない Hey guys! In the past we’ve had a look at when you want something or want to do something as well as the conditionals if/when (something happens). Today we’re gonna look at how to say that you really have to, need to, or must do something! The two important phrases for this lesson are;

～必要がある・ひつようがある・Need

～なくてはいけない・Must

However you can often see these phrases as being translated as “have to do”. An easy way to understand the difference or when to use which phrase, would be to consider that 「～必要がある」has a more formal and instructional tone to it, while「～なくてはいけない」has a more casual and personal tone to it. You could also look at the difference between these two phrases as being 「～なくてはいけない」implies that you should do this in order to move forward, while 「～必要がある」implies that you have to do this in order to move forward. Take for example the definitions given by the online dictionary Jisho:

必要・necessary; needed; essential; indispensable e.g. 私達が生きていくためには衣食住が必要です。 We need food, clothes and a home in order to live.

なくてはいけない・cannot do without something; indispensable; absolutely necessary e.g. 君はもう大人なんだから、もっと分別がなくてはいけない。 Now that you are grown-up, you ought to know better.

Other examples: クレーンを操縦するのには、勿論、免許が必要です。 Of course, a license is needed to operate a crane. そのボルトに嵌合するナットが必要です。 We need a nut that will fit that bolt. トランプをするのにもう一人必要だ。 We need another person to play cards. 宿題をしなくてはいけません。  I have to do my homework. でもさ、母を連れて行かなくてはいけないんだ。 But, I have to take my mother. 彼は時計を修理しなくてはいけない。 He has to repair the clock.

[myjapanesebites]

“Most people when they study, they are very passive. They are reading things and they are listening to things but they aren’t actually practicing on PRODUCING the language.”

This youtuber is my biggest inspiration and why I’m starting Japanese from zero with Genki I revision. These are such good tips and I highly recommend taking her advice. 

[myjapanesebites]

Going to attempt to start this blog up from zero starting with Hiragana and Katakana charts from tofugu (a site with an abundance of Japanese language resources.)

Practice Charts for Hiragana:  http://happylilac.net/hiragana-50.html

Practice Charts for Katakana (Scroll down a bit):  https://print-kids.net/print/poster/katakana-aiueo/

Practice with games! http://www.mybenkyo.com/hiragana-games/

Sound chart for pronunciation: Click this sentence to access maggiesensei’s dot come online audio chart

Tips (Feel free to share your own!): Some people say not to write them but in my opinion it is best to do so and not only get it out of the way but it had helped me remember faster when I wrote them and even in Japan children practice through written and verbal repetition. These practices include the stroke order, do not waste your time writing them out if you plan to dismiss the stroke order which can be seen in the practice charts in the links provided.

The five a day method is great and effective but slow paced, feel free to bring it to ten a day and learn even quicker. Play some of the games in the links above to have fun with your learning.

https://www.memrise.com/ has an abundance of flash cards for not only hiragana and katakana but for grammar and kanji as well. I highly recommend you use it in your studies.

Say them aloud when ever possible.

Stay consistent be intent in your study and learn effectively~

[myjapanesebites]

Well, it was a little more than three but anyway-I’d be surprised if any of you actually remember this blog and it’s purpose but just as a refresher; I go by Bites, I am 21 years old and I started this blog when I was 16 years old in order to learn Japanese and help others learn it with me. (I did not know I would be going to Japan at the time, I just LOVE Japanese and wanted to learn.)

As you can tell by looking through the blog, I wasn’t very good at helping but boy was I enthusiastic!

This was the description of my blog when I first started it: “Hello I am learning Japanese! I am a big beginner! I am now focusing on Kanji, and speaking (grammar) please correct me if I make any mistakes. If you'd like you can join me!^u^ I also would love to help in anyway that I can! よろしく！” And I still can’t believe that it’s me because last year, I returned from a year long high school exchange in Japan!(There is a strange story as to how I went as a 19 year old ha ha) That’s right, I lived in Japan and after taking a year long break from all things Japanese, I have come to realize that I am forgetting soooo much Japanese!  In the time that I have been gone, my Japanese level had reached that of N3! Even I cannot believe it. Now however, I have forgotten too much and I am determined to become fluent so I must study harder than ever before.

Now, I am reviewing all of my textbooks. That’s right, starting with Genki I and if you’d like, you can join me! Follow this blog or be sure to keep an eye on the tag jpdiscordserver in the near future for a discord server that will change the way you see Japanese self study. There are no gimmicks or fees, all I ask is that you join with the desire to truly learn/study Japanese, no matter your level (It does lean more towards beginner friendly though.)

I am proof that if you study you can achieve, just cut the excuses and go go go!

[myjapanesebites]

I am also learning Japanese. I am still on ひらがな。I have an android device. Are there any blogs, websites, apps, etc that you could recommenced? ありがとう！

I have no idea how late this is. I am never notified of messages but I useAnki(droid)Memrise (for hiragana and katakana and stuff this would really help i think!!!!)JEDObenkyouOCR (take pics of Japanese words like Kanji finds kanji 90% of the time)And Teak Kim's guide to learning JapaneseI also have androidどうたしまして～頑張ってね

[sweetieslearnjapanese]

Bed and bath!!

English        Progressive       Hiragana/Katakana      Kanji +

pillow                     makura                     まくら                 枕

bed                        beddo                     ベッド                ベッド

futon                      futon                       ふとん                布団

blanket                   moufu                       もうふ                毛布

towel                      taoru                      タオル              タオル

bath                       ofuro                        おふろ               お風呂

soap                       sekken                     せっけん             石けん

toothbrush               haburashi                 ハブラシ             歯ブラシ

mirror                      kagami                     かがみ               鏡

window                    mado                       まど                  窓

[fuckyeahnativejapanese]

お化け「おばけ」| goblin; ghost 魔女「まじょ」| witch 怖い「こわい」| scary 夜「よる」| night お化け屋敷「おばけやしき」| haunted house 殺人「さつじん」| murder ハロウィーン | Halloween ゾンビ | zombie 血「ち」| blood 死「し」| death

[koto-mi]

[facets-and-rainbows]

Six more common radicals to go with the first round of common radicals! If you see these shapes in a kanji, they can help you guess the meaning:

日 (usually on the left of the kanji but can go anywhere)= sun, day, time of day, time

月 (usually on the left, sometimes the bottom)= either “moon” or an abbreviation for 肉 “meat”(organs, body parts, etc.)

糸 (left or sometimes bottom)= thread, string, rope, tie together

土 (usually left or bottom)= dirt, earth, land

⻌ (bottom left)= going, path, road, movement

艹 (top)= small plants (Not trees. Trees use the radical 木)

Examples under the cut for anyone who wants to practice guessing kanji meanings based on the radicals. I tried to mix up the font styles a bit because some radicals (looking at you, ⻌) can look pretty different in different fonts.

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