Useful Japanese Lessons

A young woman with brown hair is standing in front of the flag of Japan. She is smiling and holding a red book that has Japanese characters on it that translates to "Japanese."

100 Essential Japanese Phrases and Words You WILL Use

May 19, 2022 • Orie Adams • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

These 100 Japanese phrases are a great starting point for communicating with people from Japan. Knowing these common …

Three young, Asian women walking in a park. One of the women in the foreground is seen laughing while facing the camera.

10 Funny Japanese Phrases That You Can Actually Use in Conversation

April 11, 2022 • Orie Adams • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

The Japanese language has many funny expressions to represent their feelings and ideas. These expressions are connected to …

A young, Asian woman dressed in a black chef's uniform holding a small Japanese flag in her right hand. Her left hand is making an "okay" sign and holding it in front of her left eye.

7 Different Ways to Say “No Problem” in Japanese

March 24, 2022 • Sara Ceasrine • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

One of the most common English phrases used when replying to someone is “no problem.” This is quite …

An overhead shot of 2 businessmen and 2 businesswomen sitting at a small wooden desk doing work. The two women are focusing on a notepad, while one man's right hand is holding a coffee, and the other man's hands are typing something on his silver laptop.

How to Say Because in Japanese: 5 Major Ways

March 23, 2022 • Orie Adams • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

There are many ways to say “because” in Japanese. One way is 何故なら (nazenara); however, 何故なら may be …

A black, stone-like, flat plate on a black background. On the right side, is a branch with white flowers. On the plate, the text, "おいしい (Oishii) What Does It Mean?" is displayed.

Useful Japanese: What Does Oishii Really Mean?

March 9, 2022 • Orie Adams • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

おいしい (oishii): delicious, yummy, tasty: can also mean attractive, favorable, or convenient The most common use for oishii …

A bowl of cooked, white rice in a porcelain-like bowl on top of a wooden mat with a pair of brown chopsticks in front of it and nori blurred in the background.

How to Say “Rice” in Japanese: Many Different Ways

March 9, 2022 • Sara Ceasrine • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

They say there’s nothing better than sliced bread, but as far as Japan is concerned, there’s nothing better …

An Asian woman in a black business jacket and blue checkered shirt holding out her right hand as if to say "stop." Her left hand is holding a white sight that has the text, "How to Say "Stop" in Japanese" on it.

How to Say Stop in Japanese: A Complete Guide

February 7, 2022 • Sara Ceasrine • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

The Most Common Ways to Say Stop in Japanese If we want to describe things stopping in English, …

A young Asian boy crouching down and picking up books for a young girl, also crouching down and smiling at the boy. Both are wearing a school uniform (white dress shirt with a blue tie and grey skirt/pants).

How to Say “Are You Okay?” in Japanese

January 7, 2022 • Risa • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

The simplest way to ask “are you okay?” in Japanese is 大丈夫ですか？ (daijōbu desu ka?) Although you can …

Houses that uses traditional Japanese architecture in the winter. The area and the houses themselves are covered by snow.

How to Say Snow in Japanese and More: The Master Guide to Winter in Japanese

December 22, 2021 • Sara Ceasrine • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

Winter plays an important part in Japanese culture, and the amount of winter-related words in the language reflects …

A young, Asian woman is relaxing in an outdoor hot spring, with trees and natured blurred in the background.

Super Useful Japanese: What Does Kimochi Mean?

December 9, 2021 • Orie Adams • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

In many Japanese conversations, movies, and anime, a very common word you’ll hear is 気持ち (kimochi). What does …

A young, Asian woman in a white shirt and brown skirt smiling towards the camera while extending both her hands to the side as if showing the size of something. The text on the image reads, "The Sa Particle in Japanese: A Complete Guide."

How to Use the さ (Sa) Particle in Japanese: A Complete Guide

December 1, 2021 • Sara Ceasrine • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

Understanding particles are essential for becoming good at Japanese. Each particle has its own connotation and grammatical function. …

A cute white cat with brown stripes and blue eyes on a tree branch surrounded by pink flowers.

How to Say Cat in Japanese: A Complete Guide

November 16, 2021 • Orie Adams • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

The basic word for cat in Japanese is: 猫 (neko). As you learn more Japanese, you’ll find that …

A man in a business suit kneeling on the ground and bowing, putting his hands and head to the ground to apologize in Japanese.

7 Ways to Say Sorry in Japanese and How to Use It Naturally

November 16, 2021 • Dallen Nakamura • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

Japanese has many different words which have the same meaning but a completely different nuance. For example, Japanese …

A close-up of a man’s hand giving a thumbs down. The man is wearing a button up black shirt with stripes which can be seen blurred in the background.

What Does “Dame” Mean in Japanese

November 6, 2021 • Sara Ceasrine • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

Dame (written as だめ in hiragana, ダメ in katakana, or 駄目 in kanji) is one of those Japanese …

A young, Asian woman in the center of the image holding her hands up to her ears. In the background, the city (Tokyo) with many tall buildings can be seen.

What Does Urusai Mean? Does It Really Mean Shut Up?

November 6, 2021 • Orie Adams • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

The word うるさい (urusai) in Japanese has a lot of meanings. It can be used to describe something …

A young male wearing trousers, a blue button up shirt and jacket leaning against a wall. He is also wearing sunglasses, a necklace, and a hat. He is starting off on something on this left, smiling.

What Does 格好いい (Kakkoii) Mean and How Do You Use It?

November 6, 2021 • Andrew Garrison • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

“He’s so cool!” This kind of comment is common in many different cultures, including Japanese. But, how do …

A young Asian man and woman sitting down next to each other at a bar counter holding wine/champagne glasses, talking in the background. Another young Asian female is seen in the foreground standing and holding a wine/champagne glass, looking at a male (whose back is facing the camera) who is also holding a wine/champagne glass.

The Best Japanese Pick-Up Lines You Need to Remember

November 6, 2021 • Kazuko Otsuka • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

Are you finally ready to leave your 2-D waifu or husbando and enter into the 3-D dating scene …

The words "WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? WHY? HOW?" written in white on a grey background. In the middle is a crumpled up ball of yellow paper, with white lines drawn around it and under it to look like a light bulb.

Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How in Japanese: A Complete Guide

October 26, 2021 • Andrew Garrison • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

You may remember studying the “5ws” (and how) in English class at some point. These words are essential …

An Asian family having a picnic. There is a mom, dad, grandpa, grandma, and a young girl and boy in the picture.

How to Say Family in Japanese (and Family Members)

October 25, 2021 • Sara Ceasrine • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

It’s no secret that Japan is a very family-oriented culture. Japanese strongly value bonding with their blood relatives, …

A wooden background with the words "YES NO MAYBE" written on it with arrows flowing and connecting the words to one another.

Kamoshiremasen: How to Say Maybe in Japanese

October 6, 2021 • Margherita Pitorri • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

How do you say “maybe” in Japanese? One expression that you will use hear and often use is …

A close-up of a woman's mouth wearing red lipstick with her tongue curled length-wise and sticking it out.

10 Japanese Tongue Twisters That Will Challenge You

October 6, 2021 • Risa • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

Tongue twisters are a fun way to get familiar with a new language. In this article, I will …

A young Asian girl walking away from a man. She is turning towards the man and waving goodbye and smiling.

How to Say Goodbye in Japanese: 6 Different Ways

September 27, 2021 • Yuka Fujiwara • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

Many of you already know that the word “sayonara” means goodbye in Japanese, but did you know that …

Silhouettes of two men can be seen bowing towards each other. They are in a building with glass windows, and in the background, other tall buildings can be seen.

What Does すみません (Sumimasen) Mean and How Do You Use It?

September 11, 2021 • Andrew Garrison • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

The word すみません (sumimasen) is one of the first words you learn in Japanese class. It is an …

In the background, people can be seen crossing the street with a crosswalk in what appears to be Tokyo, but they are blurry. The foreground as text that reads, "Shitsurei Shimasu Essential Japanese Etiquette."

Understanding Shitsurei Shimasu: Essential Japanese Etiquette

September 10, 2021 • Erin Himeno • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

失礼します (shitsurei shimasu) is a staple phrase in Japanese work and school environments. It’s used to excuse oneself …

Two young, Asian women dressed in colorful (one in blue the other in purple) Japanese yukata outfits. They are walking arm-in-arm, on a path with sakura trees on both sides. The woman on the left is pointing at something in the distance.

Mastering the と (To) Conditional in Japanese

September 3, 2021 • Andrew Garrison • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

There are multiple ways to form conditional statements in Japanese, often known as “if” statements in English. One …

The katakana character "o" is shown on the left side of the image. On the right, a girl's hand can be seen writing the katakana characters "a, i, u, e, o" in different colors of ink with a pen on the right.

The Complete Guide to Learning Katakana Step-By-Step

August 27, 2021 • Momoko Hoyt • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

カタカナ (katakana) is one of the fundamental components of the Japanese writing system. ひらがな (hiragana) and 漢字 (kanji) are the other two Japanese …

An Asian woman wearing a white tank-top sitting up in her bed with both her hands grabbing her hair, as if resenting getting up or is frustrated.

What Does Mendokusai Mean?

August 14, 2021 • Risa • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

Although there is no literal translation to it, 面倒くさい (mendokusai) means something like “burdensome” or “troublesome.” Mendokusai is …

A close-up of a blackboard with someone's hand holding a piece of white chalk in the right-hand corner of the image. The text on the backboard reads, "Wait a moment"

What Does Chotto Matte Mean?

August 10, 2021 • Margherita Pitorri • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

ちょっとまって (chotto matte) means “wait a moment,” and it’s used in a wide variety of situations, from everyday …

An illustration of a woman to the left and a man on the right, both wearing white shirts (woman is wearing a grey skirt and the man is wearing grey pants). They are facing each other and bowing to each other.

What Does よろしくお願いします (Yoroshiku Onegai Shimasu) Mean?

July 30, 2021 • Andrew Garrison • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

One of the most famous phrases in Japanese is the greeting よろしくお願いします (yoroshiku onegai shimasu). よろしくお願いします is commonly …

An image of a man (only his torso is visable) wearing a suit and tie holding a red balloon. There are buildings in the background and a comic speech bubble that has text that reads, "LET'S PARTY"

How to Use the Volitional Form in Japanese

July 15, 2021 • Satoko Kakihara • No Comments • Useful Japanese Lessons

The volitional form of a verb in Japanese expresses an invitation or suggestion. In English, the volitional form …

Useful Japanese Lessons Archive