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 […]
How to Nominalize Verbs in Japanese with の Read More »
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
How to Link Actions in Japanese with the て-Form Read More »
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
How to Say “For the First Time in…” in Japanese with ぶりに Read More »
If you have web push notifications turn on, you can customize how frequently and when you receive these notifications. Table of Contents Notification Frequency Notifications are a great way to remember to study and stay consistent with learning Japanese, but we also understand that too many notifications and be disruptive and annoying, so Kotoba Kards
Web Push Notification Frequency Read More »
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, consistency is the key to fluency! But life is busy, and it can be hard to be consistent with studying. Reminders can help with that, but only if you can turn them on! If the web notifications button in your settings is currently greyed out (disabled),
Web Push Notifications Disabled Read More »
Kotoba Kards lets you set your own pace for learning Japanese. You get to decide how many new vocabulary or grammar words you learn a week. But how many should you learn a week? What do you pick? Table of Contents Short Answer – What You Can Comfortably Handle What you should pick will vary
Learning Preferences – What Should I Pick for Max New Vocab/Grammar? Read More »
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;
しか (shika) Meaning – How to Say “Only” in Japanese Read More »
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
だけ (dake) Meaning – How to Say “Just” in Japanese Read More »
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
ほしい (Hoshii) Meaning – How to Say “Want” in Japanese Read More »
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
～たい (-tai) Meaning – How to Say “Want To” in Japanese Read More »