r/Japaneselanguage • • Jul 22 '26

[重要なお知らせ]ネイティブと騙る悪質なスパムに注意!

31 Upvotes

There has been an increase in new users claiming to be native speakers creating "I'm Japanese, do you have any questions?" and "I'll teach you Japanese" posts. However, these come with the risk of the posters trying to scam people, or even steal their personal information, and we ask that we all remain vigilant.

Likewise, to prevent duplicate topics and karma farming, we ask that you do not create these posts for the time being.

最近、ネイティブを騙る新規ユーザーらによる「日本人だけど質問ある?」や「日本語教えます!」的な投稿が相次いでいますが、中には授業料をだまし取る、個人情報搾取といった悪質な行為もあるため、注意を願い申し上げます。

同時に悪質なスパムやカルマ稼ぎ抑制の為、こういった類のポストの作成、投稿をしないようにお願いします。

Failure to comply may result in a ban at the moderator's discretion.

従わない場合は管理者の判断でBANに処される可能性もあります。


r/Japaneselanguage • • Apr 14 '26

[MEGATHREAD] -Personal Promotion/Projects-

13 Upvotes

Welcome to the Personal Promotion/Projects Megathread for r/Japaneselanguage!

This is the place to ask for help/thoughts on your own personal projects or promote yourself.

What to Post Here

Use this thread if you want to show off:

  • Apps - Lots of new apps are coming out these days and we want to give people a place to show them off.
  • Youtube Channels - For many, reciting topics as if teaching someone is the best way to learn them and the best way for people to find out what parts you've got wrong.
  • Websites - Just like apps, websites are everywhere and its hard to bring attention to your own.
  • Anki study decks or similar - While these can be posted in the main subreddit, posting them here is fine too!

How to Ask/Show Off!

To get the best help, include:

  • Clear name and how to find the promotion - While direct links, unless they are to Youtube, are not allowed, be able to explain how people can get to the project and view/use it. Another option is posting the link in the Description Box of the video!
  • Context - What exactly is expected out of the app/what the Youtube video is about.
  • What you'd like thoughts on.
  • Is it a paid service? - While this will turn many away, they will appreciate if you give them the information beforehand.

Important Notes

  • People will try to help you by pointing out mistakes. Do not take them personally as they are usually constructive criticism. If the promotion seems to be spammed or linked to a virus, banning might happen.
  • For non-posters - BE CAREFUL - The mod team will not be checking ever single post brought here so use caution before downloading or visiting any suspicious websites.

What Not to Post

  • NO LINKS
  • Spam

r/Japaneselanguage • • 14h ago

Does Japanese have a native word originally containing a final consonant n?

51 Upvotes

You may find Japanese words with the final n, most of them are chinese loanwords (on'yomi or sino-japanese)

漢字 kanji

千 sen

ご飯 gohan (go is native but han is a chinese loan)

睡眠 suimin

安全 anzen

天 ten

損 son

there are native Japanese words with final n but ones I found are all shortened forms of another word which does not contain a final n.

なにですか -> なんですか

さま -> さん ちゃん

あなた -> あんた


r/Japaneselanguage • • 8h ago

Do you guys learn and remember how to write kanji?

9 Upvotes

I'll use myself as an example

Whenever I see a new word,I learn and try to remember the kanji in it

Usually I write it down on my notebook and the stroke order and stuff

But I never actually remember how to write the kanji. I know it when I see it in words but not how to write it

I used to get really frustrated about this. When I still knew only about 30 kanji and only remembered how to write 私,今,月 and other easy ones (mostly less than 10 strokes)

What do you guys do?


r/Japaneselanguage • • 8h ago

「V」なくと?

10 Upvotes

There is this song from Morning Musume (そうじゃない) that contains the following lyrics: 
クラスじゃ目立たなくとも ここじゃそんなの関係ない

I don't think I've ever come accross this grammar construction, I know 「V」なくても (even if you don't ...) and 「V」ないと (if you don't... / you have to ...), and in this case it seems closer to なくても in meaning.

Can someone enlighten me?


r/Japaneselanguage • • 14h ago

Recently ive gotten into writing things in japanese. Im not very good but any advice would be great

6 Upvotes

いつもの車の揺れに身を任せ、窓からの西日でオレンジ色に染まった席と懐かしい音楽の上に聞こえる両親の笑い声。何百回も通ってきた道だが、なぜ今日は切なさを感じる。向こうのレストラン、仕事から疲れた人たち、塾から帰っている子供、全てが一つに溶ける。今は現実かどうかわからなくなる。消えそうな火のように疲れた瞼が重くなり、僕の世界も黒くなる。行ったり来たりする意識だけど、その笑い声は一切消えない、同じ曲も流れるが、温かい空がだんだん暗くなる。温度もほんのちょっとだけ寒く感じる。
やがて車が止まる。遠くから聞こえるだれかの鳴き声も耳に入る。いつも頼りにしている父の両手に包まれ、僕は無重のように運ばれる。思い瞼の隙間から母の優しい笑顔を見て心の底まで癒される。扉を開けるとワクワクしている犬が跳んでくる。落ち着いたらそっと僕をベッドに寝かせる。薄暗い部屋の中に僕は独りだ。明日の心配もない、昨日の後悔も。ドアの隙間から入ってくる光の帯とまた聞こえる同じ笑い声だけが今の世界に存在している。
今までどんな人生を送ったか関係ない。誰をがっかりさせた、愛した、怒らせたかも関係ない。ただ空っぽの手を持って僕の世界がもう一度暗くなる。

The theme is death. I kinda saw a video about how someone wished death would be like how in their childhood their father would carry them from the car to their bed and i was like woah.


r/Japaneselanguage • • 1d ago

I built a basic chart to reference and learn Hiragana and Katakana

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22 Upvotes

r/Japaneselanguage • • 6h ago

Best online classes to learn Japanese from India? 🇯🇵

0 Upvotes

Hi everyone!
I’m from India and want to start learning Japanese from scratch. I’m looking for good online classes with a live teacher who can teach in a structured way.
I’d appreciate your suggestions on:
Which online classes or institutes are best for beginners?
Are there any affordable or free online classes with live teachers?
Is it better to join an Indian institute or learn from a Japanese teacher?
Which courses would you recommend for preparing for the JLPT N5 and eventually N4?
What has been your personal experience with online Japanese classes?
I’m looking for something affordable that I can manage alongside my full-time job.
Please share your recommendations and experiences. Thank you! 🙏


r/Japaneselanguage • • 18h ago

N3 Playing Person 3

2 Upvotes

As the title suggests I’m just coming back from Japan and wanted something cool to immerse myself with, and after finishing p5 in English I thought persona in Japanese would be sick.

I will say it’s WAY out of my level, but I’m genuinely having a lot of fun with it. I pick up around 50-100 words every time I play the game which I run through ChatGPT to continue building a personal vocabulary deck on Anki for me.

I think the various speaking styles you encounter and the different situations you’re put in can lead to a very unique learning experience! It’s absolutely not an optimal way to study (or at least I think most people would view it that way) but I love games and learning Japanese, so this is a win win for me :)


r/Japaneselanguage • • 18h ago

日本の野球選手はなぜ返信が 遅いのですか?

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0 Upvotes

r/Japaneselanguage • • 21h ago

Any official grammar that natives cite and use as their referent? (Anything in English?)

1 Upvotes

G'day. I am from a Spanish speaking country where the Real Academia de La Lengua Española regulates use of the language having its own official dictionary, grammar and stuff.

Are these the日本語の文法(上) and 闘本語の文法(下) written by 国立国語研究所 the official grammar?

https://doi.org/10.15084/00001829 https://doi.org/10.15084/00001830

I see they have 22 volumes with knowledge about the language and even about their policies about how to teach it:

https://www2.ninjal.ac.jp/past-publications/publication/catalogue/jflreference/index.html

But as I'm just trying to learn the language and can barely pronounce texts with Furigana while barely recognizing vocabulary, doing an OCR and an automated translation does not seem helpful.

The resources I find online (of course in English, at least by now) seem to be superficial or way too simplified, with anything but the official names of categories and stuff.

While trying to grasp any understanding of it by watching videos (superficial and reduplicating material in order to keep producing content and that happened to be the first place where I tried and my departing point in ordering to complement), getting examples and tables from Wikipedia (both in English and automated translations from the japanese one), Wikicktionary, Jisho and other pages for foreign learners and trying to take notes from what I could read there and understand as I did so, it seems that what I have written by and for myself is particularly imprecise (according to an AI that has the two volumes on it that I cannot rely on since they like to invent inaccurate knowledge).

(What I have written by now only has the silabaries, some superficial departing notions of grammar, the six conjugations of verbs and adjectives and starting with the auxiliary verbs that do not work of not attached)

So what I'm asking for is the official reference material by the regulatory entities in order to have somewhere accurate to consult, and preferably something in English as I try to learn.

I know that this way of learning is particularly antiquated as communicative and actional approaches are used today, as far as the teacher regulates it, which I lack. But I seem kinda overwhelmed by the many material that doesn't deepen enough and that may be inaccurate.


r/Japaneselanguage • • 2d ago

Just reached 100 pages!!

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167 Upvotes

Currently reading 「さみしい夜にはペンを持って」 by 古賀史健!! The English translation is supposed to be releasing soon (November I believe) which is actually why I started finally committing to the Japanese copy I’ve had since my trip to Tokyo over a year ago. I’m super excited though!!
Some notes,
If you’ve been learning for a while and you’d consider yourself at N4-N3 or higher, I recommend this!! Is this book in my reading level? Absolutely not. Honestly. But it’s pushing me to learn new things and I don’t feel like a failure when I don’t know something because of course I wouldn’t. It makes it so much more rewarding when I can read a few full sentences back to back without having to look anything up!
I’ve definitely seen self improvement. I read in roughly 30min intervals with short breaks, reading a sentence without looking anything up the first time, doubling back to try and guess the kanji, then looking it up if I still can’t guess it correctly (checking my guesses by typing them in on my phone and seeing if the same kanji is suggested ww)

And I saw a post a little while ago on here from a Japanese person saying they’re skeptical when people claim to read something above their level in Japanese. That’s completely fair, I’m probably missing some nuance. I stand by the fact that it’s giving me a clear goal, plenty of learning opportunities, and a chance to reread it when I’m more fluent and see all the progress I’ve made! :D

Also I totally recommend this book. It’s actually pretty cute and makes you consider a lot, in a good way


r/Japaneselanguage • • 21h ago

Yoshida Institute of Japanese vs Arts Language Academy

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0 Upvotes

r/Japaneselanguage • • 22h ago

Hey guys!

0 Upvotes

I’m a french canadian looking for someone to teach me japanese, if that ever interests anyone please let le know! :)


r/Japaneselanguage • • 1d ago

How Should I Get Back Into Learning Japanese?

1 Upvotes

I started learning Japanese back in middle school and was pretty serious about it. I learned hiragana and katakana, although I struggled to stay focused at the time. In 10th grade, I started taking lessons with an actual Japanese teacher, who taught me how to count, the months, and basic phrases. Before I had to stop, I was just beginning to learn kanji.

Unfortunately, I had to put Japanese aside in 11th grade because I was taking two rigorous classes that required a lot of my time and attention. Another reason I struggled to continue was that I didn’t have anyone to practice Japanese with outside of my lessons. I could learn new things with my tutor, but I rarely had the opportunity to actually use what I was learning in conversations with other people, which was pretty discouraging.

Recently, though, I’ve been seeing more Japanese characters online and have noticed that I can still recognize and remember some of them. It’s made me consider picking Japanese back up!

If I do decide to start learning again, I’d love some advice on the best way to study. When I tried learning on my own in the past, my approach wasn’t very effective, so I’d like to find a better way to study consistently and actually make progress. I’d also love to find ways to practice speaking and have conversations with others, since that was something I struggled with before.

What methods, resources, or study routines would you recommend for someone getting back into Japanese after taking a break?


r/Japaneselanguage • • 1d ago

Need help with deciding which Textbook should i choose for getting back into actively learning

2 Upvotes

I have been learning Japanese since from 2021 till middle of 2024 in language school with teacher and i got N5 certificate in 2022 and then i started learning N4 and as i remember i got pretty average N4, but then after life circumstances i had to give up active learning and from 2024 till now i was doing only Anki card that I had just so i dont loose knowledge completely . Now I have time to get back into learning.I checked my level and luckily i did not lose any of the N5 and start N4, as i remember my teacher was teaching me mix of Genki and Minna no Nohingo but I read that these text books are pretty outdated and dont really teach you real life Japanese. So my question is, which textbook should i choose or other means to learn Japanese.

Any advice is appreciated!


r/Japaneselanguage • • 1d ago

How to remember the meanings of directional words (Kochi, sochi, achi, dochi) as an Eng speaker ?

0 Upvotes

r/Japaneselanguage • • 1d ago

Just another Japanese learning add-on

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0 Upvotes

r/Japaneselanguage • • 2d ago

Reading about Japanese customs & culture

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74 Upvotes

r/Japaneselanguage • • 2d ago

Hiragana, Katakana, or Kanji?

16 Upvotes

I am having a little difficulty with something, I am working on a painting in remembrance to my late grandmother whose name is Misa Takahashi. My question is what would be the appropriate script to use out of the three? I am not sure if it matters but she was from Hachinohe-shi, Aomori. Any help is greatly appreciated.


r/Japaneselanguage • • 1d ago

On People's View of Kanji

0 Upvotes

My oppinion about it evolved quite a bit the more I learned, but I still don't agree with the simplistic view of it.

Basically, Imo the view that, Kanji is necessary because of *niwa ni wa niwa niwatori ga iru* is way wrong, and yeah, I haven't to this date been presented a valid reason for not using spaces. Even in many official sources I seen people's names separated with spaces since well, japanes folk can't read names...
Kanji is useful because you can glance at it and immediately know what the text is about is a good take, but not the ultimate truth and justify it being used imo

Kanji isn't necessary is a terrible take too, one of mostly revolted young learners, but it doesn't mean kanji is a good system and here's why

Kanji and Chinese characters are a flawed and exclusionary system, and it’s no coincidence that Japan created hiragana and katakana and many places in China adopted Simplified Chinese (which boosted literacy rates in those countries)

Finally, my current view is: Kanji is necessary, not because you can't comprehend a sentence due to lack of spaces, but mainly because due to the ammount of homophones in Japanese to distinguish and most importantly. conjugate them. It would be a nightmare for instance to conjugate ichidan and godan verbs without kanji.


r/Japaneselanguage • • 2d ago

I almost didn’t learn anything 😭

3 Upvotes

I enrolled to an N5 course and the lesson is almost done but it seems that I cannot answer the exam yet without cheat sheet 😢

How did you guys do it?

2 hours per day every weekdays. Maybe 30mins to 1 hour answering the assignment since Im still googling the grammars and vocabularies. Then I don’t have more time than that to review more or study. What should I do?


r/Japaneselanguage • • 2d ago

Learning from conversation with a Native speaker

4 Upvotes

How would you do it?
Sounds stupid, but I have a hard time learning from the conversations.

Should my partner correct me every time? I heard about crosstalk, but maybe y‘all have some good strategies.

I believe I’m almost N4. Of course, I still try to immerse myself in podcasts and learn with SRS, but I rarely find time for this these days. I want to learn more by speaking.

Thank you all!


r/Japaneselanguage • • 1d ago

Is it normal to flunk when speaking Japanese?

0 Upvotes

I've been learning Japanese recently, and whenever I actually try to speak it, my brain just stops working.

Like I wanted to say if card payment was accepted, but my mind just went blank when I called the person.


r/Japaneselanguage • • 2d ago

Pitch accent in verbs

2 Upvotes

What verbs in dictionary form that are down step type verbs, have their downstep occur at the third from the last mora instead of the second to last mora ?