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How to Say “Have Done” in Japanese with ことがある
Have you ever traveled to Japan? Have you ever eaten sushi? In Japanese, there’s a specific way to ask and answer questions about past experiences. The phrase ことがある is used to express whether you have ever done something before. This grammar point is frequently used in everyday conversations, especially when discussing past experiences, trying new things, […]
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How to Say “As Expected” or “No Wonder” in Japanese with わけだ
Ever discovered something that suddenly made everything make sense—like realizing your device isn’t turning on because the batteries are dead? In English, we’d say, “No wonder it won’t work!” In Japanese, this same feeling is captured with the phrase わけだ. This grammar point is great for expressing realizations, conclusions, or things that are naturally expected based […]
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How to Nominalize Verbs in Japanese with の
In English, we often say things like “Reading is fun” or “Swimming is difficult.” That “-ing” turns the verb into a noun—a process called nominalization. In Japanese, one of the ways to do this is with の. の is used to turn verbs into nouns when you’re describing something you see, hear, feel, or experience. It’s […]
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How to Link Actions in Japanese with the て-Form
When speaking in Japanese, you often need to connect multiple actions in a sentence. Instead of saying, “I went to the store. I bought milk,” you can make the sentence more natural by saying, “I went to the store and bought milk.” In Japanese, this is done using the て-form of verbs. て-Form Linking Actions […]
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How to Say “For the First Time in…” in Japanese with ぶりに
Time passes quickly, and sometimes, you realize that you haven’t done something in a long time. Whether it’s studying, meeting an old friend, or visiting a favorite place, ぶりに is the perfect way to express “for the first time in [X time]” in Japanese. This phrase helps indicate how long it has been since something […]
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しか (shika) Meaning – How to Say “Only” in Japanese
Japanese has three different expressions that can be used to not only mean “only” or “just,” but that also explain how we feel about the situation. In this lesson, we’ll be covering way to express “only” or “just” with a feeling of disappointment or an implication that something is lacking, missing, or insufficient. しか Only; […]
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だけ (dake) Meaning – How to Say “Just” in Japanese
Japanese has three different expressions that can be used to not only mean “only” or “just,” but that also explain how we feel about the situation. In this lesson, we’ll be covering the most neutral way to express “only” or “just.” だけ Only; Just JLPT Level: N5 Understanding it once is only the first step […]
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ほしい (Hoshii) Meaning – How to Say “Want” in Japanese
There are primarily three different expressions that can be used to express wants. In this lesson we’ll be covering two of those ways: 1) When you or others want a thing and 2) when you want somebody else to do something. 欲(ほ)しい Want JLPT Level: N5 Understanding it once is only the first step With […]
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～たい (-tai) Meaning – How to Say “Want To” in Japanese
There are primarily three different expressions that can be used to express wants. In this lesson, we’ll be covering how to say when you want to do something. ～たい Want To JLPT Level: N5 Understanding it once is only the first step With spaced review, personalized example sentences, and targeted grammar questions, Kotoba Kards helps […]
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について (Ni tsuite) Meaning – How to Say “About” in Japanese
Prepositions in English are words that are used to connect to link a word or phrase to other words or phrases. One of the common prepositions in English is “about”, which is typically used when wanting to specify the subject of something or what something is concerning. In this lesson, we’ll be covering how to say “about” in Japanese.