grammar

Confusing verbs: "suru" and "yaru" I know that Japanese learners quite often confuse the two widely-used verbs: "suru" and "yaru". Both are very similar and, in fact, can be used interchangeably in many cases. Yet, they are not the same. So, in this blog post, I will explain their differences with examples. Honestly …

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What does "da" mean in Japanese? Honestly speaking, the Japanese auxiliary verb, "da", doesn't have any big impact on a meaning of a sentence. Certainly, we can use it to make a declarative sentence. Often, however, a sentence with this auxiliary verb has the same meaning as a sentence without it. So, Japanese …

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What does "kono" mean in Japanese? Japanese people often say "kono" to mean 'this' in Japanese. It works as a determiner before a noun which refers to a thing close to the speaker. In this blog post, I will explain this word and how to use it though example sentences. Let's get started! Contents Definition …

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What does "ano" mean in Japanese? Japanese people often say "ano" to mean 'well', 'hey', or perhaps 'excuse me' in Japanese. It is an interjection. In this blog post, however, I will focus on it as a determiner. It can work before a noun in the same way as the English determiner, "that", does. I will explain it and …

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What is "o" in Japanese? Japanese native speakers often use "o" as a prefix to make its following word polite. This prefix can precede a noun, verb, adjective, or even phrase. In this blog post, I will explain this prefix in detail together with example sentences. Let's get started! For the case particle, …

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