grammar

How to make nouns from adjectives in Japanese Japanese people make nouns from adjectives by using the suffixes, "sa" and "mi". These can work in very similar ways that English suffixes like "-ness", "-tion", and the like do. In this blog post, I will explain how to use them to make nouns from adjectives in Japanese. …

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What is Japanese te form? To tell the truth, Japanese native speakers do not know what the te form is. They don’t learn the Japanese language in the same way as Japanese learners do. In general, however, when we say “te form”, it refers to a combination of a verb and the conjunctive particle, “te”, or a combination …

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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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