31 Posts found for Source: Tofugu

It Sometimes Sounds More Polite, But… That’s Not All

Author: Kanae Nakamine | Source: “Tofugu” | Subjects: Language Study, Vocabulary / Phrases

How do you describe what you just did in Japanese? Maybe you just brushed your teeth, or you just bought a car. How can you describe those past activities that have just happened? Well, you’ve got two great options: ばかり and ところ.

Authors: Emily Suvannasankha, Kanae Nakamine, Sarah Bush | Source: “Tofugu” | Subject: Vocabulary / Phrases

Come inside and learn when 中 and 内 are the same and when they’re different

Authors: Jenny Stainton, Mami Suzuki | Source: “Tofugu” | Subjects: Language Study, Vocabulary / Phrases

My Sensei Said I Should Never Use あなた, So Why Did I Learn It in the First Place?

Author: Kanae Nakamine | Source: “Tofugu” | Subjects: Language Study, Vocabulary / Phrases

A Word That Is Not “As You Expect.”

Author: Kanae Nakamine | Source: “Tofugu” | Subjects: Grammar, Language Study, Vocabulary / Phrases

よ is for new information and ね is for shared information.

Authors: Mami Suzuki, Moeko Norota | Source: “Tofugu” | Subjects: Grammar, Language Study, Vocabulary / Phrases

How To Address and Refer to “Others” in Japanese

Author: Kanae Nakamine | Source: “Tofugu” | Subjects: General, Language Study, Vocabulary / Phrases

Do な-adjectives “always” take な? The answer is の (Pun Intended).

Authors: Cameron Lombardo, Moeko Norota | Source: “Tofugu” | Subjects: Grammar, Language Study

When you first start learning Japanese, you most likely start out with romaji. Romaji is using an alphabet you already know to write and read Japanese.

And when you get started out, romaji is great! “Pff, I don’t need to learn kanji,” you might think, “This romaji stuff is easy!”

Slow down there, sparky! Romaji might be easy for a while, but it’s just a matter of … [ Read more ]

Author: Hashi | Source: “Tofugu” | Subjects: Language Learning Tips, Language Study

You can’t learn a language just by studying vocabulary and grammar. There has to be something you give a damn about understanding in the long run. The sooner you grapple with the stuff you love in the original language, the better. Sure, it may feel like beating your head against a wall sometimes but here are some tricks to help, and also some warnings about … [ Read more ]

Author: Linda Lombardi | Source: “Tofugu” | Subjects: Language Study, Video / Audio

If you’re an independent soul and would like your time in Japan to be flexible and adventurous, a working holiday could be your best option. What follows is the full guide—from applying for your visa, to work and housing options, and even how to convert to a standard working visa if you want to stay in Japan—all from someone who has done it. I’m British, … [ Read more ]

Author: Julia Mascetti | Source: “Tofugu” | Subject: Employment / Career

Tofugu Review:

There are tons of Japanese reference and learning apps out there, so if this one looks familiar to you, don’t worry. That’s because it isn’t new at all. It’s been around on iOS since 2008.

But Japanese has undergone some major changes recently and is now the shiny, new version 4!

This app has a ton of new content:

• Built-in Japanese-English dictionary with

… [ Read more ]

Sources: “Renzo Inc.”, “Tofugu” | Subjects: Apps, Language Study, Miscellaneous | Other, Translate

Tofugu Review:

Pulling material from both NHK News and Hukumusume, TangoRisto allows users to make the most of their reading experience with unique features, customizable vocabulary lists, and easy Japanese dictionary lookup.

When you open the app, you’re given a few options to choose from:

1. NHK News Easy
2. Top NHK News
3. Hukumusume.

NHK News Easy is Japanese news written for kids – think … [ Read more ]

Author: Javier Artiles | Source: “Tofugu” | Subjects: Apps, Language Study, Reading Material, Vocabulary / Phrases

In this series, Tofugu asks learners what Japanese learning resources and methods they use to study and why. Today, we talk to Jonathan Kirk, the guy who made the popular kanji learning app, *Kanshudo*. Jonathan focused on building up his reading skill first (which led him to create his kanji learning system). So if you want to boost your Japanese reading ability, pay attention.

Editor’s Note: … [ Read more ]

Author: Jonathan Kirk | Source: “Tofugu” | Subjects: Language Learning Tips, Language Study, Software / Tools

The kanji methods war is broken up into several camps, which I will be naming the following:
– Repetition
– Vocabulary & Context
– Reading Reading Reading
– Heisig’s
– Mnemonics With Readings

As I go through each “Way Of The Kanji,” I’d like to look at the positives, negatives, and history of each (if possible).

Source: “Tofugu” | Subject: Kanji

Koichi at Tofugu offers up an excellent primer on identifying unknown kanji characters and lists some useful resources. Even more useful resources are mentioned in the comments, so check them out as well.

Source: “Tofugu” | Subject: Kanji

Looks like a non-Japanese (aka USA, for now) Amazon Kindle store now stocks books in the Japanese language. This opens up some huge opportunities for study, though it does currently have its share of problems. Koichi spent the weekend reading terrible books and trying things out, though, so he’d be able to share them with you.

Source: “Tofugu” | Subject: Reading Material

Since it’s normally pretty hard for beginners to find reading resources, Tofugu put together a list of resources for beginners to study with, listing them with a little bit about each including some suggestions on how to study with them.

Source: “Tofugu” | Subject: Reading Material

Is Japan really as expensive as people say it is? Ashley Thompson has discovered many ways to save money, both as a resident and as a traveler. Some are fairly standard, but others were learned through trial and error.

Source: “Tofugu” | Subject: Travel & Tourism

Koichi at Tofugu has come up with a list of ten things he really wishes he had known during the days of his youth that would have made my Japanese-learning life so much easier.

Source: “Tofugu” | Subject: Language Learning Tips