See you 👋 じゃね！
Its original form is:
では、また会いましょうね
well then… see you again
- では can be shortened to じゃ, it’s common in Japanese speaking
- また会いましょう part is often omitted because it’s implied
- ね adds a softness to the tone
So it becomes:
じゃね or じゃあね
てもらう and てほしい timeline
While talking about てもらう, my teacher asked me what’s the difference between てほしい 🤔
I was mentioning that てほしい sounds demanding if you’re asking someone to do something for you. If it’s asking someone for a favor and I’d use てもらう. This feels more like てほしい vs. てもらいたい instead.
We talked more on the aspect of “timeline of events happening”.
Basics
- てほしい – Expresses my wish/desire
- てもらう – Focuses on me “receiving” the favor
Timeline of events
- Nothing has happened yet, it’s only me hoping in my head
お母さんに今日の夕ご飯を作ってほしい。 - Asking mom for the favor
お母さん、今日の夕ご飯を作ってもらえますか？ - After mom agrees, I tell my brother that mom will be making dinner
お母さんに今日の夕ご飯を作ってもらいます。
Notes
If still would like someone to do something with てほしい, usually people will add んですが to make it softer
レポートを確認してほしいんですが…
で vs. では
I was talking about how I like the nostalgic websites on Neocities.
I initially said: Neocities でみんな90年代スタイルのウェブサイトを作っています。
My teacher suggested: Neocities では、みんな90年代スタイルのウェブサイトを作っています。
で
Simply states where the action is happening. The word is neutral.
If I had to translate the sentence it would be like:
Everyone is making 90s-style websites on Neocities.
では
は is the topic marker, so it gives emphasis to the place.
So it sounds more like:
On Neocities (as opposed to other platforms), everyone is making 90s-style websites.
One more example
学校で勉強します。
I study at school. (neutral)
学校では勉強しますが、家ではゲームをします。
I study at school, but I play games at home. (contrasts between school and home)
Check out my Neocities site and join the Tamagotchi community if this is also your thing. The site is kinda playable too ❤️
Ways to ask for a word’s meaning
Ordered by formality:
- 「大晦日」とはどういう意味ですか。
- 「大晦日」はどういう意味ですか。
- 「大晦日」の意味は何ですか。(every day)
- 「大晦日」ってどういう意味ですか。(って is casual, friends)
Asking what this is in general:
- 「大晦日」とは何ですか？
- 「大晦日」って何ですか？
I’ve been using this the most:
「大晦日」は何ですか？
This is more of asking what 大晦日 is in general.
If I specifically want to ask what is the word in English, adding 意味 would make it more clear.
Apps/sites for learning Japanese
Can’t believe how high quality these free resources are!
Last updated: 2025-01-05
コース
Minato
Free high-quality interactive self-guided courses.
It also has live courses (I haven’t tried it yet).
Preview
TUFS Language Modules
From Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
The English version currently only has the pronunciation and dialog modules, so I’m studying the Traditional Chinese version.
Features
辞書
Kakimashou
Features
- Stroke order
- Tone
Preview
Jisho
Super clean interface
Features
- Tone
- Has JLPT tags
- Lots of sentence examples
アプリ
Miraa
The Miraa app makes it easy to listen and repeat (the shadowing/echoing technique).
It has a paid version, but I find the free version to be good enough
Features
- Can directly paste links from YouTube
- Can ask AI for an explanation of words/sentences you don’t understand
- Has search built in to search for podcasts in Japanese
renshuu
Also available as a web app
その他(た)のツール
Google – Text-to-Speech AI
Useful for reading out my transcripts. It already sounds much more natural than I do, so I can import it to Miraa and shadow my writings.
10ten Japanese Reader (Rikaichamp)
This is a Chrome extension that I use. I used to use Yomichan and then Yomitan after Yomichan sunsetted. But I personally like 10ten’s UI.
Preview
Ways to describe a lot of people
Today in class we talked about New Year’s Eve, and I noticed I’ve always been using たくさんの人
Time to add some other versions to my vocabulary!
多 (おお) くの人
like たくさんの人
多くの人が電車を待っています。
Many people are waiting for the train.すごい人数 (にんずう)
overwhelming number of people
駅にすごい人数が集まっていた。
There was an overwhelming number of people gathered at the station.大勢 (おおぜい) の人
refers to crowds or large gatherings of people
- Can only be used for people
- Often used for events, concerts, or public spaces
コンサートには大勢の人が集まっていた。
A large crowd gathered at the concert.人混 (ご) み
crowded places or areas, situations where you need to navigate through crowds, like the New Year’s Eve countdown event
駅の人混みを通りました。
I went through the station crowd.—
One fun fact I learned was the New Year’s Eve countdown is called 大晦日 (おおみそか) のカウントダウン
Always fun to realize when I cannot find a word for that in Japanese, all I need to do is just Katakana-ize the English word 🤣
Transcript:
昨日、さやさんの授業で、おおみそかのカウントダウンについて話した。
「大勢の人」や「人混み」と言いたかったけど、いつも「たくさんの人」ばかり使っていた。
他の言葉を考えたけど、思い浮かばなかった。
だから、覚えるために、新しいTumblrの投稿を書いた。
Vocabulary:
思い浮(う)かぶ – to recall
Ways to describe a lot of people
Today in class we talked about New Year’s Eve, and I noticed I’ve always been using たくさんの人
Time to add some other versions to my vocabulary!
多 (おお) くの人
like たくさんの人
多くの人が電車を待っています。
Many people are waiting for the train.
すごい人数 (にんずう)
overwhelming number of people
駅にすごい人数が集まっていた。
There was an overwhelming number of people gathered at the station.
大勢 (おおぜい) の人
refers to crowds or large gatherings of people
- Can only be used for people
- Often used for events, concerts, or public spaces
コンサートには大勢の人が集まっていた。
A large crowd gathered at the concert.
人混 (ご) み
crowded places or areas, situations where you need to navigate through crowds, like the New Year’s Eve countdown event
駅の人混みを通りました。
I went through the station crowd.
—
One fun fact I learned was the New Year’s Eve countdown is called 大晦日 (おおみそか) のカウントダウン
Always fun to realize when I cannot find a word for that in Japanese, all I need to do is just Katakana-ize the English word 🤣
帰っていく vs. 帰ってくる (0926 レッスンメモ)
This is an extension of the grammar ていく and てくる
Quick recap
- ていく – moving away from the speaker
- てくる – moving towards the speaker
For example, when I am the speaker:
彼は帰っていきます。
He is going home (to his home and moving away from me).
彼は帰ってきます。
He is returning home (I am at home, and he is moving towards me).
Reference
8 uses of 気 (0412 レッスンメモ)
気が乗らない – Not feeling up to it; lacking enthusiasm.
気が乗らないお見合いで、運命の人に出会った。
I met the person of my destiny at an arranged marriage meeting I wasn’t enthusiastic about.
お見合い (おみあい) – a meeting that is setup with the goal of potential marriage / 相親
気に掛ける – To be concerned about; to care for.
彼女は心優しい人で、いつも悩んでいる人を気にかける。
She is a kind-hearted person who always cares about those who are troubled.
心優しい (こころやさしい) – kind-hearted
悩んでいる (なやんでいる) – troubled
気を付ける – To be careful; to pay attention.
相手に失礼のないように気をつけてください。
Please be careful not to be rude to the other person.
気が重い – Feeling heavy or burdened; feeling down or depressed.
やらなくてはならないことが多かったので、私は気が重い。
There were many things I had to do, so I feel burdened.
やらなくてはならない – must do / 不得不做
気に食わない – To be displeased or irritated by something.
あなたの口答えの仕方が気に食わない。
I don’t like the way you talk back.
口答え (くちこたえ) – talk back
気に入る (いる) – To be pleased with; to like; to be satisfied with.
今の部屋は気に入ってるので、まだ引っ越したくない。
I like my current room, so I don’t want to move yet.
気になる – To be concerned about; to be on one’s mind; curious about.
近所に新しくできたケーキ屋が気になる。
I’m curious about the new cake shop that opened in the neighborhood.
近所 (きんじょ) – neighborhood
気がする – To have a feeling or intuition about something.
なんだか宝くじにあたる気がする。
Somehow, I feel like I’m going to win the lottery.
宝くじ (たからくじ) – lottery
宝くじに当たる (あたる) – win lottery
「気にならない」 と 「気にしない」 はどう違いますか？
気にならない – simply don’t care
A: Did you see the news?
B: Nah, I don’t care.
気にしない – Usually used as a reply when someone says sorry to you. I don’t mind it.
0329 レッスンメモ
Vocabulary
- 仕方がない (しかたがない) – “It can’t be helped” or “There’s no way around it” This expression is used when a situation is out of one’s control and must be accepted.
- 一応 (いちおう) – “Just in case,” “For now,” or “Tentatively” Use this word to indicate that something is being done provisionally or as a precaution.
- 壊れる: 自動詞; 壊す: 他動詞
テレビが壊れた。 (てれびがこわれた。) – The TV broke.
子供がおもちゃを壊した。 (こどもがおもちゃをこわした。) – The child broke the toy.
Grammar
- Noun + に基づいて (にもとづいて) – “Based on” or “According to” This grammar point is used to express that an action or decision is made in accordance with a specific standard, rule, or information. Example sentences:
- 法律に基づいて行動する (ほうりつにもとづいてこうどうする) – To act based on the law.
- 彼の意見に基づいて計画を立てた (かれのいけんにもとづいてけいかくをたてた) – I made a plan based on his opinion.
- んです (んです) – Providing an explanation or reason Use this grammar point in both questions and answers to seek or give more information.
Q: なぜ遅刻したんですか? (なぜちこくしたんですか?) – Why were you late?
A: 電車が遅れたんです。 (でんしゃがおくれたんです。) – The train was delayed.
Raw notes
