The difference between Hiragana & Katakana is one of the questions I most frequently receive from my students, so I’m going to touch base with it in this post. Hiragana & Katakana – What’s different? Both Hiragana and Katakana are derived from Chinese characters (Kanji). They are both phonetic letters, meaning they tell you how […]
Say your age in Japanese
Do you know how to say your age in Japanese? Can you tell me how old you are? In this lesson, let’s learn how to say your age in Japanese and what you need to be careful with when you say “years old.” Learn Numbers 1 to 10 First you need to know how to […]
Japanese Vocabulary – 5 Tips to Remember Them!
Building vocabulary is the key to success in language learning. How are you learning and remembering your Japanese vocabulary? Today, I want to share with you some tips to remember vocabulary that worked for me as an English learner and for my students as they learned Japanese. 1. Use Japanese vocabulary in context You can […]
Sukiyaki Song – Lyrics in Japanese & English
Do you know this Japanese song – Sukiyaki Song? The original title of the song in Japanese is 上を向いて歩こう（うえをむいてあるこう）”Ue o muite arukou” by Kyu Sakamoto. ⠀ The Sukiyaki Song “Ue o muite arukou” was released in 1961 in Japan. It reached the top of the Billboard charts in the US in 1963.⠀ This is such […]
Katakana Reading Practice – Can you read these?
Have you learned all the Katakana letters? Great! Now is the time to try Katakana reading practice. Let’s see how well you can read Katakana words. What’s the bar “ー” for? You may sometimes see a Katakana word with a bar like this. The bar indicates long vowels (double vowels). So, in the example above, […]
Months in Japanese, がつ or つき or かげつ?
Months in Japanese is a little confusing. There are three ways to say month which are がつ Gatsu, つき Tsuki, and かげつ Kagetsu. The difference is as follows. がつ (月 in Kanji) Gatsu … for the name of each month (January, February, etc.) つき (月 in Kanji) Tsuki … for counting months with traditional Japanese […]