Japanese with Hikari's Blog

Have you ever wanted to say, “It’s okay if you…”, but in a super polite, professional way?

That’s where ても差し支えない (temo sashitsukaenai) comes in!
It means “it’s okay if…” or “you can…”, and it’s an N1-level expression often used in business or formal ...

Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to say “I can’t,” but saying it directly felt too harsh?

In Japanese business or formal situations, you can’t always just say できません, it can sound too strong or blunt.

That’s when かねる (kaneru) comes...

Imagine this: you’re at work, and suddenly the ground starts shaking, it’s an earthquake!

An announcement comes through the speakers:
“Get under your desks!” No time to think, just act immediately.

In Japan, where earthquakes and other natural disas...

Do you ever catch yourself doing the same little bad habits over and over again?
Like forgetting your keys (again!), showing up just a bit late, or catching colds whenever the weather changes?

In Japanese, there’s a perfect word for those “oops, I d...

Have you ever wanted to say “That’s true” or “You’re right about that” in Japanese?

That’s where 確かに（たしかに / tashika ni) comes in.
It means “surely,” “certainly,” or “indeed,” and it’s used when you want to recognize something as true or undeniable.

Have you ever been in a situation where you needed to ask,
“Can I pay by card?”
“Can I take a photo here?”
or “Can you speak English?”

In Japanese, when you want to ask or say what someone can or is able to do, we use ことができる (koto ga dekiru).
It’s an ...

Have you ever made a plan or schedule and wanted to say it naturally in Japanese?
Like, “I plan to travel to Japan next month,” or “The meeting is scheduled for Friday”?

When you come to Japan, locals might even ask you,
“What are you planning to do o...

Have you ever been stuck in a long line that just wouldn’t move?
You wait and wait, but… “It’s just not moving!”

In Japanese, we use なかなか〜ない (nakanaka ~ nai) to express this kind of feeling,
when something doesn’t happen easily, or takes longer than e...

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...

Have you ever had something that never seems to go well, no matter how many times you try?

Like, you promise yourself, “This time, I’ll wake up early!” … but somehow, you’re always hitting the snooze button again.
Or every time you cook pasta, it al...

There are some things in life we simply can’t do without, right?
Like... coffee on Monday mornings, or Wi-Fi when you’re traveling!

In Japanese, when you want to express that something is absolutely necessary in order to achieve or maintain something...

Have you ever had one of those moments where you think,
“Ah, it’s finally warm and sunny!” … and then suddenly it starts raining?

Or maybe you were relaxing at home, thinking you could finally take a break… and your boss sends you a message: “Can we ...

Imagine meeting an old friend for the first time in ten years.
You’re both excited, maybe a little nervous, and then, the moment you see them, you realize… they haven’t changed at all!

In English, you might say, “You haven’t changed a bit!”
In Japanes...

Have you ever had moments when no matter what you do, nothing seems to change?

Like when you study Japanese for hours, but kanji still slip away from your memory...
Or when you explain something again and again, but your friend still doesn’t get it.

Have you ever had a moment where someone says one thing… but does the complete opposite?

Like a coworker who never contributes to the team but always complains,
or someone who pretends to know everything even though it’s obvious they don’t.

In Japan...

Have you ever wanted to describe frequency in Japanese, like saying “every three days,” “every two weeks,” or “every other seat”?

For example, maybe you go jogging every other day, or take your medicine every six hours because timing really matters....

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...

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...

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...

Have you ever tried something with all your energy… only to realize it was completely pointless?

Like spending hours cooking a fancy dinner, but your friends ate all the snacks beforehand and said, “I’m already full.”
Or cleaning your whole room per...

Have you ever seen a scandal on the news where not just one person, but the whole company was involved? Or maybe a story where an entire community worked together on a big project?

That’s the feeling behind the Japanese expression ぐるみ (gurumi).
It co...