Japanese with Hikari's Blog

Have you ever felt relieved when someone tells you,
“You don’t have to do that,” or “It’s okay if you don’t”?

In English, it feels like a gentle permission like…

“You don’t have to go,”
“You don’t need to finish it today,”
“It’s okay if you don’t eat ...

Have you ever had a moment when you had to make a choice like picking a drink, deciding dinner, or choosing today’s plan…and thought,
“Ahh! How do I say this in Japanese?”

That’s when にする (ni suru) becomes your best friend!

にする means “to choose,” “t...

Have you ever had a moment when someone asked you something like,
“Are you ready?” “Did you finish?” or “Has it started yet?”

And you thought…
“Hmm… not yet.” or “It’s still going on.”

That’s when まだ (mada) becomes your best friend!

まだ is a super ba...

You’ve probably heard that Japanese has many polite ways of speaking. And it’s true! Even small changes can make your words sound softer and more respectful.

One of the simplest examples is the little prefixes お (o) and ご (go).

Have you ever notice...

Imagine you’re with a friend and you want to say something like:

“Let’s go!”
“Let’s eat!”
“Let’s take a break!”

Or maybe you’re in class and the teacher says:
“Let’s begin.”

These everyday “let’s” moments appear all the time in Japanese. And the expr...

Have you ever wanted to say “only this!” or “as much as I want!” in Japanese?
Then today’s grammar is perfect for you…it’s だけ (dake)!

You’ve definitely seen だけ before. It shows up in conversations, textbooks, anime, everywhere.
But here’s the fun part...

Have you ever noticed how often Japanese people say ね (ne) at the end of a sentence?

You hear it in cafes, on the train, in anime, and even when people talk to their pets.
It’s just one small sound… but it plays a big role in making Japanese communic...

Have you ever wanted to talk about your day in a relaxed, natural way, like saying “I went shopping, watched a movie, and did a few other things”? Or maybe you want to describe your weekend plans without listing every single detail?

In Japanese, one...

Have you ever wanted to invite someone in a polite, friendly way, like asking a friend after school, “Do you want to go to karaoke?” or inviting a coworker, “Shall we grab a drink?”, without sounding pushy or rude?

In Japanese, one of the simplest a...

You step into your favorite lovely cafe in Tokyo.
Soft jazz is playing, and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee tickles your nose. Then, wait, there’s a fluffy black cat outside the window. Another one is walking toward you...
You notice someone tryin...

Alright everyone, today’s grammar is one of the absolute basics!

We’re talking about だ／です (da / desu), the small but mighty words that mean “to be” (am, is, are) in Japanese.

You’ll hear です all the time, it’s the sentence-ending marker that pops up...

You studied really hard for your Japanese test, but still got a tricky question wrong.
Or maybe someone invited you to karaoke, but you were too shy to sing.

In English, you’d use “but” or “although”, and in Japanese, that’s けど (kedo)!
It’s one of th...

I’m sure many of you reading my blog have experienced this before...
Maybe you’ve watched a Japanese anime or movie, or tried ramen, or a sweet matcha dessert at a Japanese restaurant in your country.

In Japanese, when we talk about something we’ve ...

You’re walking down a street in Japan for the first time, everything feels new and exciting!

You spot a bright sign and gasp,
“Oh! There’s a konbini (convenience store)!”

You walk in and look around
“There’s an onigiri corner! There’s a sandwich cor...

Seasons change, people change, even your Japanese skills will change, and all of that can be expressed with one simple word: なる (naru)!

なる means “to become” and shows a change of state, when something or someone turns into a different condition or s...

Have you ever wanted to politely ask someone to do something in Japanese?
Not just in daily life, but especially when you visit Japan, you’ll find yourself in so many situations like… “Please wait a moment,” or “Please say it again”?

In Japanese, we ...

If you want to make your Japanese sound more natural and colorful, mastering adjectives is a must!
In Japanese, there are two main types of adjectives: い-adjectives and な-adjectives.

In this article, we’ll focus on い-adjectives, the ones that always...

If you’ve already learned about い-adjectives, great job!
Now, let’s look at the other half of the adjective family, な-adjectives.

In Japanese, there are two main types of adjectives: い-adjectives and な-adjectives.
Unlike い-adjectives, な-adjectives do...

Have you ever said things like, “I’m going to eat ramen!” or “Let’s go shopping!” in Japanese?
Then you’re going to love this grammar pattern, に行く (ni iku)!

It means “to go (somewhere) in order to do something.”
This expression combines a verb (in it...

Here we go again with another tiny but mighty Japanese particle!

If you’ve ever heard Japanese questions ending with か (ka), like
「元気ですか？」(Genki desu ka?) or 「これは何ですか？」(Kore wa nan desu ka?),
you’ve already met one of the most important building block...

Here we go again with another Japanese particle!

Have you ever wanted to say “until,” “up to,” or even “as far as” in Japanese?

Maybe you’re planning your trip and want to say, “The museum is open until 6 p.m.”
Or you’ve just finished a long walk an...

When you want to give someone a choice in English, you say “or”, like “coffee or tea?”

In Japanese, we use the particle か (ka) for the same purpose. Super simple, right?

Think about situations like..

“Do you want sushi or ramen?”
“Shall we go to ka...

Here we go again with another Japanese particle!
This time it’s all about から (kara). It’s got multiple super handy meanings, and it shows up everywhere in daily conversation.

Sometimes から marks the starting point of time or place, like “from” or “si...

When you start speaking Japanese, or imagine traveling to Japan, don’t you find yourself thinking, “I want to do this, I want to try that”?

Like…
“I want to see the brilliant autumn leaves!”
“I want to enjoy sweets and matcha at a local café (and of ...