Blog
Writing about learning Japanese.
Articles on learning Japanese: how long it takes, what to learn first, and a guide to each of the courses on the site.
How Japan celebrates Halloween: costumes, sweets and Shibuya
How Japan celebrates Halloween: costumes rather than trick-or-treating, limited edition snacks, theme park seasons, a quieter Shibuya, and what to say.
How Japan celebrates Christmas: Christmas Eve, cake and chicken
How Japan celebrates Christmas: a date night on Christmas Eve, fried chicken and strawberry cake, winter lights, the switch to New Year, and what to say.
Learn everyday Japanese in 90 days: what the course covers
A Japanese course for beginners, one ten-minute lesson a day. What the 90 days cover, how each lesson works, and what the first month gets you.
How to learn all 109 JLPT N5 kanji in 30 days
A 30-day plan for the JLPT N5 kanji: three or four a day, grouped by meaning, each with its parts, a memory hook, stroke order and writing practice.
Business Japanese for beginners: keigo, email and phone calls
What business Japanese involves: the three levels of keigo, office greetings, phone calls, meetings and email, and a 20-day course to learn them.
Learning Japanese from anime: what works and what to avoid
Anime can train your ear, but characters do not talk the way people do. Contractions, particles, pronouns, and a way to turn an episode into study.
How to read manga in Japanese: a beginner's guide
Reading manga in Japanese, from page order and furigana to vertical text and sound words, and how to choose a first manga you will actually finish.
Japanese numbers: counting, prices, time and counters
How Japanese numbers work: two ways to count to ten, why big numbers group in fours, prices, telling the time, dates and the counters you need daily.
How long does it take to learn Japanese? An honest answer
The numbers you have seen quoted are real, but they are measuring something different from what you probably want. Here is what each milestone actually costs.
Hiragana or romaji: which should you learn first?
Romaji feels like a shortcut and it is, but it is a shortcut that leads somewhere you do not want to be. Here is when it helps and when to put it down.
The best way to learn kanji, and three mistakes that waste months
Most people learn kanji in the order that feels natural and it is the wrong order. What works is components first, meaning before reading, and readings learned inside real words.