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Grammar

Learn more about japanese language fundamentals

A windswept mountain village with swirling clouds, pine trees bending in the wind, and small human figures walking along a path.

GRAMMAR

Introduction to Japanese Particles

A fundamental guide to understanding how particles function in Japanese grammar.

An ukiyo-e print depicting two travelers walking a mountain path with Mount Fuji visible in the distance, a tea house with cherry blossoms nearby, and additional travelers on the path.

GRAMMAR

Introduction to Japanese Adjectives

Learn how to describe the world with い and な-adjectives by mastering their conjugations for tense and polarity to create rich, descriptive sentences.

A close-up view of Japanese calligraphy on white paper, resting on a tatami mat. The text shows vertically written kanji characters with varying stroke widths characteristic of brush writing.

GRAMMAR

The Japanese Writing System

Everything about Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji.

A bustling traditional Japanese marketplace where merchants display various goods at different distances from the customers.

GRAMMAR

The Ko-So-A-Do System Japanese Demonstratives

Learn how to point out objects, places, and people using the Japanese demonstrative system, based on their distance from the speaker and listener.

GRAMMAR

Hiragana

The foundational phonetic alphabet of the Japanese writing system

A vintage bronze alarm clock showing the time on a wooden surface, with a blurred background of autumn maple leaves and traditional Japanese architecture at golden hour.

GRAMMAR

Reading the Clock

Learn how to express time in Japanese using hours, minutes, and AM/PM markers.

A person in traditional clothing walking down a bustling Edo-period street, reading a scroll while carrying a paper umbrella.

GRAMMAR

Expressing Simultaneous Actions with ながら

Learn how to use the ながら form to describe doing two things at the same time, such as eating while watching TV or studying while listening to music.

Two scholars in traditional robes observing a single floating lantern on a misty river at dusk, each pointing at it from a different angle.

GRAMMAR

Differentiating Passive and Potential Forms

Learn how to distinguish between the passive and potential verb conjugations, understand the overlapping forms, and see when context blends their meanings together.

A confused traveler in Edo-period clothing stands at a crossroads with a map, before a wooden signpost with four contradictory directional arms pointing in different directions. A traditional Japanese landscape with Mount Fuji is visible in the background.

GRAMMAR

Forming Questions in Japanese

Learn how to ask questions in Japanese using the particle か, question words like 何 and 誰, and the right intonation for both polite and casual situations.

A samurai traveler sitting by a campfire at night, unrolling a long scroll filled with maps and memoirs of his journeys.

GRAMMAR

Expressing Past Experiences with ことがある

Learn how to talk about things you have done or experienced using the grammar pattern ことがある and ことがない.

A colorful display of traditional Japanese food items being counted: sushi rolls arranged in rows, pairs of chopsticks, stacked plates, and small bowls of soy sauce arranged neatly on a wooden counter.

GRAMMAR

Counting things in Japanese

An introduction to Japanese counter words and the rules for counting different types of objects.

An ukiyo-e style illustration of a person successfully balancing on a tightrope stretched between two cherry blossom trees, with a crowd watching below.

GRAMMAR

Expressing Ability with the Potential Form

Learn how to say 'can' and 'cannot' in Japanese by conjugating verbs into their potential form. This guide covers rules, particle usage, and common expressions.

A traditional Japanese room where a person is sliding open a shoji screen door, while another screen door across the room stands open by itself, letting in a gentle breeze.

GRAMMAR

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

Understand the difference between actions you do to something and things that happen on their own in Japanese.

GRAMMAR

Katakana

The phonetic script for foreign loanwords and emphasis

A traveler staring longingly at a steaming bowl of udon noodles outside a bustling Edo-period tea house.

GRAMMAR

Expressing Desire with the たい-Form

Learn how to conjugate verbs into the tai-form to express what you want to do, and understand the difference between wanting actions and wanting things.

A man sitting under a pine tree by a river, simultaneously fishing with one hand while eating an onigiri with the other, with Mount Fuji in the background.

GRAMMAR

Connect ideas with the て-Form

Learn how to conjugate verbs, adjectives, and nouns into the te-form to link ideas and build complex sentences.

An ukiyo-e style illustration of a traditional Japanese artisan meticulously carving wood in a sunlit workshop, surrounded by tools and wooden artifacts.

GRAMMAR

Expressing Ongoing States with ている

Learn how to use the ~ている (te-iru) form to express ongoing actions, habitual behaviors, and resulting states in Japanese.

A person holding a broken umbrella while standing in heavy rain with a disappointed expression.

GRAMMAR

Expressing Actions with the Passive Form

Learn how to use the Japanese passive form to describe actions done to you, including the uniquely Japanese suffering passive.

A merchant deeply bowing and respectfully serving a well-dressed customer inside a traditional shop with sliding doors and tatami mats.

GRAMMAR

Japanese Honorifics Sonkeigo and Kenjougo

Learn how to navigate formal situations by using respectful and humble language to show appropriate politeness and social distance.

Two people sitting near a mountain path. One person is looking intently at distant travelers, while the other leans in closely to listen to a story, capturing the themes of observation and hearsay.

GRAMMAR

Expressing Hearsay and Appearance with そうです

Learn how to use そうです to express both what you have heard from others and what things look like based on your own observation.

Travelers standing at a crossroads at dusk, pointing towards a distant mountain pass as if deciding on their next destination together.

GRAMMAR

Expressing Intention with the Volitional Form

Learn how to use the Japanese volitional form to express your intentions, make suggestions, and state your future plans.

A traveler looking thoughtfully at a fork in a misty mountain road

GRAMMAR

Expressing Uncertainty in Japanese

Learn how to say 'maybe', 'probably', and 'I think' using common grammar patterns like kamoshirenai, darou, and tabun.

An older woman in a traditional kimono guiding a young girl's hand in Japanese calligraphy, practicing kanji characters with a brush.

GRAMMAR

On/Kun Readings

Understanding On'yomi and Kun'yomi in Japanese

A traveler on a winding path with four different forks leading to different landscapes

GRAMMAR

Japanese Conditionals たら, ば, なら, and と

Learn how to use たら, ば, なら, and と to express conditions, suggestions, and natural consequences in Japanese.

An older figure pointing at a wooden desk while a younger apprentice diligently writes on a paper scroll, with a serene garden visible through an open shoji screen.

GRAMMAR

Making and Letting with the Causative Form

Learn how to conjugate verbs into the causative form to express making or allowing someone to do an action.

A wise elder figure giving guidance to students in a traditional Japanese setting surrounded by blooming cherry blossoms.

GRAMMAR

Permission and Prohibition in Japanese

Learn how to express rules, obligations, permissions, and lack of necessity using common N5 and N4 grammar patterns.

GRAMMAR

Kanji

An introduction to the logographic characters of the Japanese writing system

A scene of two people exchanging gifts under a cherry blossom tree, one bowing slightly.

GRAMMAR

Giving and Receiving Verbs Ageru, Kureru, Morau

Understand the crucial social dynamics of Japanese giving and receiving verbs (あげる, くれる, もらう) and how they reflect in-group and out-group relationships.

Elderly hands using a traditional Japanese soroban (abacus) with dark wooden beads on a rustic wooden table.

GRAMMAR

Numbers in Japanese

Rules to build numerals

An ukiyo-e style illustration of two sumo wrestlers facing off, with a referee holding a fan between them.

GRAMMAR

Making Comparisons in Japanese

Learn how to compare things using より (yori), ほうが (hou ga), and 一番 (ichiban). This guide covers basic comparisons, superlatives, and asking comparative questions.

A traveler resting on a dirt path under a large pine tree, watching the sun set over a distant mountain range.

GRAMMAR

Introduction to Japanese Tenses

Learn how Japanese handles time with just two basic tenses: the non-past and the past.

A calico cat sitting on a low wooden table in a traditional Japanese room, with a folding screen, tatami mats, and Mount Fuji visible through open shoji doors behind it. The cat's fur is patterned with traditional Japanese textile motifs.

GRAMMAR

When to use ある vs いる

This guide covers when to use ある (aru) vs いる (iru), conjugation, sentence patterns, and common exceptions for animate and inanimate objects.