A lot of people want to study Japanese but think it’s too hard and that they will never succeed. That is really a myth, though. Here is why Japanese is actually easy.
1. All verbs are regular, there are only 2 exceptions
If you know French, this must sound like a dream to you. In other languages [like French] there seem to be more irregular verbs than regular ones. Not in Japanese, though. There are 3 groups of verbs, the first 2 being regular and very easy to conjugate. The third group consists of only 2 irregular verbs!
2. Easy pronunciation
Japanese doesn’t have any exceptionally hard to pronounce letters. Unlike Arabic, German or Finnish, Japanese should be quite easy to pronounce for English speakers. Also, Japanese isn’t a tonal language like Thai or Chinese.
3. No genders, plural or articles
Anyone who studies a romance language [and many other languages that have that] knows how frustrating it can be when you use the wrong article or verb ending. In Japanese, it doesn’t even exist, so nothing to worry!
4. Grammar is easy!
That’s true. It’s just completely different from English, but that doesn’t make it hard. After a while, it will feel completely normal. The best part about the grammar is that you can build a whole sentence with just one word. For example, if you wanted to ask somebody in English if they did their homework, you’d say ‘did you do your homework?’ Kind of long, isn’t it? In Japanese, you can ask by using only the verb ‘to do, can, be able to’ - like this: ‘done?’ Also, spoken, you can drop many words if you don’t really need them, especially particles! So if you’re not sure what particle to use, chances are you can just easily leave it altogether without the sentence losing its meaning. It’s easy to build sentences that seem to end in ‘…’, but that’s completely normal in Japanese and everyone will understand.
5. Tons of resources
Sadly, there are some languages people don’t really care about or not a lot of people want to study/ are interested in. Japanese is not one of those languages. There are hundreds of books about Kanji alone! And so many courses for every level. Also, it doesn’t matter what you’re interested in - anime, manga, books, movies, game show, video games, dramas, music - it’s all out there and super easy to find, so you definitely will find something you can listen to or read to practice your skills.
6. Kanji/the writing systems are hard?
No. They aren’t. It’s just a huge workload, it takes time and effort, but they are not hard.
At first, having to learn 3 writing systems will seem exhausting. But believe me, later, when you start reading, you will be so glad! You can detect if a text has a lot of foreign words at one glance if it has a lot of Katakana, for example, and you could say a lot more on twitter because of the syllabaries!
So actually, the 3 systems put together makes everything easier to read!
So please, just start studying and go at your own pace, and have fun studying every day ⭐︎
While I personally don’t agree with the statement that Japanese is easy or learning a language is easy, I think that this post has some really great points for you guys to keep in mind while studying!
昼寝「ひるね」 afternoon nap うたた寝「うたたね」 napping (in some awkward places) 二度寝「にどね」 going back to sleep again after waking up 寝坊「ねぼう」 oversleeping, sleepyhead 寝癖「ねぐせ」 bed hair 寝落ち「ねおち」 dozing off in the middle of doing something 寝違える「ねちがえる」 to sleep in awkward position and wake up with a crick 眠り込む「ねむりこむ」 to fall asleep 居眠り「いねむり」 nodding off while sitting or standing
寝返り 「ねがえり」 turning over while sleeping 「ねぶそく」 lack of sleep 寝溜め「ねだめ」 catching up on sleep 不貞寝「ふてね」 sulking in bed 冬眠「とうみん」 hibernating 安眠「あんみん」 peaceful sleep 爆睡「ばくすい」 deep sleep, sleeping like a log
Hey guys, I haven’t been very active recently as I’ve had a lot of stuff to do in my personal life recently and now my final semester at uni has started as well! I’ve got two courses left for my TESOL graduate certificate which I’m pretty excited about. I need to start looking into work experience and volunteering. So much to do, so little time. Anyway, thanks to a lovely anon I’m going to do a post on useful expressions to use when visiting the コンビニ in Japan!
コンビニ is the Japanese abbreviation for ‘convenience stores’ and there are thousands all over Japan! They’re usually open for 24 hours and you can get really cheap and yum meals and snacks at convenience stores, as well as a variety of hot and cold drinks, manga, magazines, and daily necessaries. Convenience stores also like to bring out seasonal products and limited edition items and food products for their customers. They usually always have ATMS so you can get cash out (this is probably one of the best places for foreigners to go to get cash out when in Japan and using an overseas credit card), but you can also pay for your bills there too.
The major convenience store chains in Japan are 7-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart. Check out this article for more information regarding what services are available at convenience stores in Japan! You guys should also check out this video I found on basic expressions at a convenience store! It shows both the Japanese and English translation in the video so you can take notes.
Below are some vocabulary and expressions that you might come across or need to use while at a コンビニ! I’ve tried to list the most common or popular foods and items that you’ll come across at convenience stores, but of course this is just my opinion! So feel free to reblog this post and add to it.
Bread・パン Calpis・カルピス Coffee・コーヒー Cup noodle・カップヌードル Eggs・卵・たまご French croquette・コロッケ Fried pork cutlet sandwich・トンカツサンド Fruit・果物・くだもの Hi-chew・ハイチュウ Jagariko・じゃがりこ (my favourite Japanese chips) Japanese boxed lunch・弁当・べんとう Milk・牛乳・ぎゅうにゅう Milk tea・ミルクティー Omelette rice・オムライス Pork bun・肉まん・にくまん Rice ball・御握り・おにぎり／お結び・おむすび Ramen・ラーメン Seaweed・海苔・のり Spanish flan・プリン Vegetables・野菜・やさい Yakisoba・焼きそば・やきそば
Expressions: Certainly.・かしこまりました。 Check, please.・お会計お願いします。・おかいけいおねがいします。 Do you want it warmed up?・温めますか。・あたためますか。*** How much is it?・いくらですか。 I’ll take this.・これ下さい。・これください。 I will pay with ~~.・～～で払います。・～～ではらいます。 Next customer please.・お次のお客様。・おつぎのおきゃくさま。 Please wait a moment.・ちょっと待って下さい・ちょっとまってください。* Then, please.・それからお願いします。・それからおねがいします。** Thank you.・ありがとうございます。 Welcome!・いらっしゃいませ！ We hope to see you again.・またお越し下さいませ。・またおこしくださいませ。 What are you looking for?・何をお探しですか。・なにをおさがしですか
Notes:
* can be said when you need a moment to get your change together, and once you’ve got your change ready and place it down you can say **.
They usually have a small plate on the counter where you should place your cash. You shoudn’t give it to them in their hand directly.
It’s unncessary to reply when a staff member greets you with “いらっしゃいませ”, but if you feel awkward not saying anything back you could simply reply with “こんにちは” and bow your head slightly. You don’t have to say things like “hello” and “goodbye” during these types of transcations. Just make sure to thank them when you leave!
*** = If you purchase something that can be heated up then the staff will ask you if you would like it heated up. They might ask it about things that could surprise you too, like おにぎり！
