Japanese with Hikari's Blog

Have you ever talked to yourself in your head, like…

“I wonder if it’s going to rain today.”
or “Maybe I should study… or maybe take a nap first.”

In Japanese, we have a perfect little word for those soft, inner thoughts, かな (kana).
It’s an N4 gramm...

“Did you do your homework?”, “I’m busy(playing a game)! I’ll do it later.”
I think that’s a universal conversation in households all around the world, right? (lol)

And it’s not just homework, “I’ll call you later,” or “Let’s talk after this meeting.”...

Sometimes in life, it’s the little things that make us say,
“I’m glad that happened” or telling someone, “I’m glad for you.”

Like when you remembered to charge your phone before going out, or when your friend passed their driving test and you say, “I...

Have you ever wanted to take an action word, a verb, and turn it into a thing so you can talk about it?
In English, we do this all the time with -ing. This process is called a verb nominalizer, it changes a verb into a noun-like form.

Think about it...

You know that great feeling when you finally finish doing something?
Like when you finish your homework, or when you finally finish watching a long anime series.

In Japanese, we use the verb 終わる (owaru).

This verb actually has two main uses.

1. To ...

Starting something new is always exciting, right?

Like when you first dive into studying Japanese, start a new job or part-time gig, pick up a fun hobby, or even just hit play on a brand-new anime episode, there’s always that fresh energy at the beg...

Sometimes, all it takes is one small thing to make a big difference.
Like when you say, “Just hearing your voice makes me happy,” or “I understood it just by looking at the picture.”

Or on the flip side, you might have seen those sketchy ads like, “L...

You know how Japanese people often speak kind of softly, without making strong statements?
Well sometimes you do want to sound sure, right?

Like when you’re thinking, “I’m sure that…” or “It must be true!”
Or maybe even, “No way, that can’t be right!...

Have you ever wanted to say “I think…” in Japanese?
Like, “I think tomorrow will be sunny”, or “I don’t think this train is going to stop here”.

That’s when the super useful phrase と思う (to omou) comes in!
It’s an N4 grammar point, but you’ll hear it ...

If you asked me,
“I want to visit Japan, but where do you recommend?” 

I’d probably answer something like this:

“If it’s your first trip to Japan, then Tokyo or Osaka area is the easiest to explore.”

“If it’s your second time or more, then I’...

Have you ever had one of those days when it feels like you’re doing nothing but one thing?

Like…

Eating snacks all the time

Watching Netflix non-stop 

Or recently… maybe studying Japanese all day?! 

In Japanese, when you want to say “on...

Have you ever wanted to say “looks like” or “seems like” in Japanese?
For example: “Her smile is like the sun” or “It seems like he’s feeling down because work isn’t going well.”

This expression is also super useful when you forget or don’t know t...

Let’s be honest, we all love making comparisons, right?

“That anime was more exciting than the last!” or “My onigiri is bigger than yours!”. 

Of course, no need to compare yourself, but when it comes to food, travel spots, or anime characters, J...

Did you know that KitKat(キットカット), one of the most popular Japanese souvenirs, is also considered a good luck charm for students taking exams? 🍫✨

This comes from a play on words. In the Kyushu dialect, people say 「きっと勝つとぉ」 (kitto katsu to~), which me...