Japanese with Hikari's Blog


Your sensei's tips about Japanese culture and language

JLPT N3 - Grammar 🌟 だらけ darake

Ever opened an attic that hasn’t seen the light of day in years?
Or walked into your room and thought, “Ugh, everything’s covered in dust…”?
Maybe you’ve glanced at a test paper and sighed, “Wow… it’s just mistake after mistake.”

In Japanese, the go-t...

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JLPT N3 - Grammar 🌟たとえ〜ても tatoe~temo

Life is full of “even if” moments, right?

Even if it rains, we still go out.
Even if you fail once, you can try again.
Even if it takes a lot of time and money, I want to study abroad in Japan.

In Japanese, the phrase for this is たとえ〜ても (tatoe ~ temo...

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JLPT N3 - Grammar 🌟 例えば tatoeba

When you explain something, it’s tough to make it clear without giving examples, right?
If I had to write a blog without using “for example,” I’d be stuck… and I bet you’d agree with me!

That’s where the magic word 例えば (tatoeba) comes in.

It usually...

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JLPT N3 - Grammar 🌟 しかない shikanai

Sometimes in life, we just don’t have a choice.

Maybe your train is delayed and you have to walk.
Maybe the restaurant is full, so you can only wait in line.
Or maybe your teacher gave you homework, so… you just have to do it!

In Japanese, the perf...

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JLPT N3 - Grammar 🌟 ばよかった bayokatta

Have you ever thought, “Ahh, I should have done that…” or “It would have been better if I hadn’t done this…”?

Like when you eat too much dessert:
“I shouldn’t have had that extra cake…” 

Or when you forget your passport before going on an overseas t...

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JLPT N3 - Grammar 🌟 なぜなら nazenara

Have you ever been asked, “Why do you like Japan so much?”
And you wanted to give a clear reason, something like:

“Because the food is delicious!” 
“Because I like their culture!” 
“Because the people are kind!” 

In Japanese, when you want to clearly ...

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JLPT N3 - Grammar 🌟 おかげで okagede

Sometimes in life, things go well not just because of your own effort, but also thanks to someone or something else.

For example:
Thanks to my teammates, we achieved outstanding results.
Because of the beautiful weather, we had a romantic picnic date!...

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JLPT N3 - Grammar 🌟 ところで tokorode

Have you ever been chatting with a friend, suddenly remembered something you wanted to ask for a while, and felt like changing the topic?

Or maybe at work, you’re talking with a colleague and you think, “Oh, right, didn’t he say he was traveling thi...

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