grammar

What does "nai" mean in Japanese? Japanese native speakers use "nai" mainly in the two different ways: as an auxiliary verb to add the meaning of 'not' to its preceding word; as an i-adjective to deny the existence of a thing. In this blog post, I will explain these two types of "nai". And also, I will explain how …

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Is there any plural in Japanese? It's very hard to answer this question. Normally, Japanese native speakers do not differentiate the plural nouns from the singular. In other words, the border is very, very ambiguous. This fact would be surprising and perhaps confusing to Japanese learners, especially those who are …

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Nai form in Japanese Japanese native speakers use nai forms to make negative expressions and to ask questions. Denying and asking are an important part of any language; naturally, nai forms are important in the Japanese language. In this blog post, therefore, I will explain how to make nai forms of a verb, …

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What does "iru" mean in Japanese? Japanese native speakers use "iru" mainly in the three different ways: as a verb to express the presence of a thing; as a verb to express the necessity of a thing; as an auxiliary verb to express the continuity of an action. In this blog post, I will explain these three roles in …

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Wrong pronunciations are not always wrong Correct pronunciations are important. This is not unique to Japanese. In any language, we need to know correct pronunciations to avoid possible misunderstandings. In this blog post, however, I will focus on wrong pronunciations of Japanese words. Sometimes, they, rather …

[Read more...] about Japanese Pronunciations: Wrong Ones Are Not Always Wrong