Read the full Momotaro story in easy Japanese for JLPT N4–N3 learners. This lesson note includes vocabulary, quiz questions, and cultural explanations. Use it together with the podcast episode.

Do you say 「午後10時」 for 10 PM? It is grammatically correct, but it sounds strange. Discover why native speakers prefer 「夜10時」 and how Japanese time expressions really work.

Japanese people almost never use 「あなた」 to address the person in front of them. In this article, we will look at the history and meaning of 「あなた」 and explain why modern Japanese speakers usually avoid it.

What are Japanese sentence connectors (接続助詞)? Japanese sentence connectors (接続助詞) are a part of speech you need to speak fluently in Japanese. They are used to connect one sentence to another. If you only speak in short, separate...

Japanese prefixes (接頭辞) don’t change grammar — they change nuance. This N5–N4 guide explains what prefixes really are, how お〜 / ご〜, 大〜 / 小〜, and 超〜 work, and why some words that look like prefixes are not treated as such in real Japanese.

There is no fixed deadline for saying “明けましておめでとう.” For N5–N4 learners, this article explains how long Japanese people actually use New Year greetings, how timing and relationships matter more than dates, and how to choose natural expressions from casual to formal.

Japanese has two expressions for “hard to do”: にくい and づらい. This article takes a deeper look at how they differ in meaning, emotion, and grammatical stability — and why each sounds natural (or unnatural) in different contexts.

2026 is the Year of the Horse—but why is it written as 午年, not 馬年? This article explains the Japanese zodiac (干支, eto), the meaning of 午, and how the zodiac system survived as culture rather than fortune-telling.

At Level 6, は and が are no longer about rules or correctness. They show the speaker’s intent, attitude, and distance from emotion. This article explores how particle choice becomes a personal decision in Japanese.

Learn how は and が work across sentences in Japanese (Level 5). This article explains how context and focus shape particle choice in real conversations with natural examples and explanations.

At Level 4 (N2), は and が are no longer just about new or known information. Learn how they express contrast, generalization, limitation, and emphasis—and what speakers really mean behind the sentence.

A beginner-friendly guide to Japanese verb negatives. Learn how to form negative verbs by Group 3, 2, and 1, and how to use them naturally in sentences with から / ので / が / けど.

Learn how to form negative sentences in Japanese with clear, beginner-friendly explanations. This guide covers nouns, na-adjectives, and i-adjectives, common mistakes, and natural examples.

Confused about と・ば・なら・のに・ため? This intermediate guide (N3–N2) explains how Japanese sentence connectors really work, with clear rules, common mistakes, and natural examples.

Learn the difference between は and が at Level 3 by focusing on new and known information. Using the Momotarō story and real conversations, this article explains how Japanese naturally switches from が to は.

In Level 2, learn the difference between は and が by focusing on what is already shared and how to identify who someone is. A beginner-friendly guide for N5–N4 learners.