Did you know that you can learn Japanese online with our videos at Youtube? We have posted 75 videos for learning Japanese. You can learn how to read hiragana and katakana. We have video lessons to teach you Japanese words and phrases. We have samples our our products as well.

In this video lesson you will learn about “housework”. Don’t forget to write a comment.

家事　－　かじ

Key phrases:

せんたくを　しました              -　I did the washing.

そうじきを　かけました       – I vacuumed the floors

せんたくものを　ほしました   – I hung out the washing

トイレを　そうじしました          – I cleaned the toilet
Learning Japanese online is cheapest and most effective way to learn Japanese. I think it is even better than taking private Japanese lessons. There is lots of free quality content, including Japanese podcast lessons, video lessons and lots of blogs and sites teaching Hiragana and Katakana. Start learning Japanese today.

Studying Japanese grammar isn’t always fun, but you have to know your grammar. In the next three post we shall look at the importance of particles. When I studied for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test I spent quite a lot of time learning particles and how to correctly use them. Particles in Japanese are called じょし . An easy way to remember them is  てにをは – after the て form verb and the three quintessential particles に, を and は. In short particles  give grammatical meaning to words or phrases that precede them.

You will find learning and using particles quite challenging. As the Japanese language  divides the perception of processes and states in a drastically different way to western languages, particles are very different. Some particles do correspond to western prepositions and postpositions. However,  there are particles which don’t just have one translation, but translate to many different things in western language. Learning these particles and all their applications can chew up your study time.

Without knowing a certain number of prepositions it is reasonably safe to say that you cannot use Japanese to any real extent. Simply put you have got to know how to use particles correctly.   If you don’t you won’t be able to hold anything that comes even close to a consistent short and simple conversation. We are going to take a look at 10 all important particles. Almost all Japanese particles have several meanings.  You must know at least the first meaning of each of these particles.

Let’s have a look at  が – the subject marker.

This particle denotes the subject of an operative word (regardless of whether the operative is actually explicitly used in the sentence). Simple sentences that illustrate this use are:

だれが来ましたか。　－　Who came [here]?
コーヒーが好きです。－　[I] like coffee.

In these sentences が links the subjects, respectively [who] and [coffee], to their
operatives [come] and [like]. An important general rule to remember is whenever something not-yet-talked-about is being mentioned in a conversation, が is used. Also, when asking questions in relation to something unknown, が is used because this too
is something new.

A second use of が is as a weak “but”:

すみませんが、今何時ですか。Excuse me but, what time is?

In contrast, but acts more like a gentle in-sentence conjugation particle, gluing the two pieces together with only a moderate level of contrast at best.

Here is a Japanese video lesson on common questions. These are the top ten questions Japanese ask foreigners in Japan. The first question might surprise you, but it was definitelty the question I was most asked by Japanese.  Japanese generally think that most foreigners are American.  It can be a little frustrating or annoying  if you are not American, when the people around you assume you are American all the time.  So, if you go to Japan expect to be asked this question all the time.

My Japanese uncle in-law even gave a speech about his idea of American lifestyle how it related to my wife and I on an important family occasion.  He thought he was doing me a great favor with his speech. I was somewhat frustrated and wanted to tell him how ignorant he was. Even though he knew my nationality, Australian, he just amsumed we shared the same culture. I certainly don’t have anything against Americans. I have many good friends who are American. I just got sick are being asked if I were American by almost every Japanese I met for ten years.

Japanese will also speak to you s if you are new to the country. This can be a little annoying, too, if you are a long term resident.  You end up having the same conversations all the time. I would occassionally avoid conversations with the locals just to have a break from the top ten questions you will hopefully memorize.

Hey there,

We have just been through the worst heatwave in Melbourne and Victoria. Two weeks ago, we had three days of 43 degrees in a row. Then, last Saturday we reached 47  degrees. You may have heard about the terrible bush fires in Victoria. Devastating stuff – probably over 200 dead, 750 homes destroyed and whole communities lost. And to think some of the fires were lit on purpose. How could someone go out and intentionally light a  fire knowing the possible destruction it could cause. So please spare a thought or two for the many people who lost family, friends and just about everything else.

In  this post we have a short video lesson on “commenting on the weather”.

If you are not living in Japan or have no Japanese friends learning how to converse in Japanese is quite a challenge. It is quite easy to learn how to read and write kana and kanji, to study grammar and to learn lots of words by yourself. Conversation is different – you need a Japanese person to speak to. In this post we will look at a simple conversation. Hopefully you will learn something new.

Imagine you are at a train station wanting to go to Shibuya. You have forgotten your watch. You ask a stranger for the time and the time of the next train.

A: すみません。　いま　なんじですか。
B: じゅういちじはんです。
A: すぎのでんしゃ　なにじに　きますか
B: ごふんにきます
A: ありがとう　ございます
B: いいえ

In the above conversation すみません is said to get the strangers attention. Remember すみません can also mean “Thank you” or “I’m sorry” depending on context. In this case it means “Excuse me”.

To ask for the time in Japanese the set phrase なんじですか is used.

なん (what) 　じ (time)　ですか (question particle). いま　means “now”.

If you have studied Japanese numbers you will know that じゅういち is 11. So じゅういちじ　means 11 o’clock. はん means half past. So じゅういちじはんです means “It is 11:30”. です is just the sentence ending particle. Depending on context it can mean “It is”, “They are” and so on.

Let’s have a look at the next line, すぎのでんしゃ　なんじに　きますか. Again this is a time question

すぎ のでんしゃ – means next train. The のis just the possessive particle.

なんじに – What time…

きますか – Come? Here we have the ますform of the plain verb くる, which means “come”. By adding か the sentence becomes a question..

What time does the next train come? – すぎのでんしゃ　なにじに　きますか

Now, for the answer; ごふんにきます. As both the speaker and listener know the subject (the next train) it doesn’t need to be stated in the reply. This is very typical of Japanese. So the answer is something like this – (the train) comes in 5 minutes.

ごふん meaning 5 minutes and the verb きます meaning come.

ごふんにきます　- It comes in 5 minutes

ありがとう　ございます of course means “thank you” and いいえ means “Don’t mention it.”

Here is the conversation in English

A: すみません。　いま　なんじですか。
B: じゅういちじはんです。
A: すぎのでんしゃ　なにじに　きますか
B: ごふんにきます
A: ありがとう　ございます
B: いいえ

A: Excuse me. What time is it?
B: It is 11.30
A: What time does the next train come?
B: In 5 minutes
A: Thank you
B: You’re welcome

If you are in the unfortunate situation where you can’t find a native Japanese speaker to help you with your studies there is one alternative – Japanese TV, particularly dramas. Watching Japanese television dramas is an excellent way to pick up words and learn Japanese conversation dynamics. Japanese converse very differently to westerners. If you watch dramas you can see how Japanese converse in fairly natural every speech. Movies are usually too difficult and the story lines unrealistic. So buy some drama sets on e-bay or get on to youtube and start watching dramas.

Speaking Japanese is a challenge, like an endless battle with small victories and many defeats. However, learning Japanese is stimulating and incredibly rewarding. The best way to start speaking Japanese quickly is to learn verbs. In fact the most important thing you can do in order to speak Japanese is start learning verbs. If you can understand verbs you will make great progress with your Japanese in a short period of time. The reason why is in real everyday spoken conversation Japanese speakers more often than not drop the subject and object of sentences leaving just the verb. In colloquial speech Japanese can almost have entire conversations just using verbs if the subject and object is understood by both the speaker and listener. Understanding who or what is being spoken about can be very confusing unless you know and understand verb forms.

Japanese verbs are complex requiring a lot of practice and study to understand them in written Japanese and spoken Japanese. Learning verbs is difficult because there are so many conjugations. However, Japanese verbs don’t have forms to indicate gender, number or person (first, second or third person). This is good as a beginner, but as you progress you will need to work out from context what is being spoken about when among native speakers.

I have noticed that a lot of confirmation is involved in Japanese conversations. A speaker will say something a bit ambiguous or vague and the listener will have to ask a few questions to get to the point of what the speaker wants to say. You may find this frustrating and illogical as you progress with Japanese. By culture Japanese like to avoid confrontation and don’t want to cause trouble for people . As a result they are very careful about what they say and how they say things. To westerners it does feel somewhat childish and time wasting, but it is something you have to adapt to. So you must also learn that you need a great deal of patience with not only learning the Japanese language, but with actually speaking to Japanese.

So here are two tips for learning to speak Japanese; start learning verbs and understand that there is an art to Japanese conversation that requires patience and cultural understanding on your part. Also, be aware that the Japanese language is changing and evolving or some might say desintergrating. What you might be learning in a text book may not be useful in Japan. The way young people speak is adding a new aspect to the language. I relate it to a verbal representation of the booming pop cultures of Japan. It is amazing how quickly Japanese come up with new words and expressions. More for you to learn.