How to Japanese Podcast

Jan 14 2025 63 ep. 42 mins 132
How to Japanese Podcast artwork

Everyone learning Japanese needs a senpai - this podcast is your digital senpai. Join Daniel from HowToJapanese.com and guests to learn what strategies have been effective for them as they study, live, and work in Japan and using Japanese.

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Episode 60 - 状態・状況

Jan 14 2025 27 mins  
This month I introduce another "Impossible Pair," which I first wrote about back in September 2024. The pair I introduce: the words 状態 (jōtai) and 状況 (jōkyō). One way to differentiate these is size, but the other is a time element. I think I've hit on an interesting way to think about these. Check out the newsletter for more, and the blog for how 状態 gets used with Po

Episode 59 - のです

Dec 16 2024 35 mins  
This month I look at three paragraphs from an essay by Kakuta Mitsuyo. These three paragraphs have an interesting combination of 常体 (jōtai, direct style) and 敬体 (keitai, distal style), which gives me another opportunity to talk about written and spoken Japanese. And I also address のだ (no da)/のです (no desu), the little bit of language that comes at the end of claus

Episode 58 - 修飾

Nov 25 2024 40 mins  
This month I talk about the importance of giving up! (What!?) I also examine a sentence from a very difficult essay and talk about 修飾 (shūshoku, description/modification) and 主題 (shudai, topics). At the end I go over a few additional reviews of the English translation of Murakami's latest novel and discuss a usage of 伺う (ukagau, to ask/to hear/to visit) that I neglecte

Ep 57 - The City and Its Uncertain Walls - Review Redux

Nov 13 2024 74 mins  
Special Emergency Episode: The English translation of Murakami's The City and Its Uncertain Walls will be published on November 19, so I'm re-running my review episode of the Japanese version that I posted last year. I'm adding 20 minutes of additional content as an introduction to discuss a couple of the reviews that have already been published. Check out the blog for links to the

Episode 56 - 伺う

Oct 21 2024 40 mins  
In the newsletter this month, I looked at 伺う (ukagau) a broadly useful "humble" keigo verb, and on the blog I looked at the other kanji that help ukagau expand its meanings. On the podcast, I talked about keigo more broadly. It's often overcomplicated and intimidating. Students need an easy way in, and I think there's a way to create a simple binary for many keigo verbs. Give t

Episode 55 - 確か・確かに

Sep 23 2024 36 mins  
確か (tashika) and 確かに (tashika ni) seemed impenetrable to me when I first started studying; somehow they're nearly identical but meant the exact opposite? I found that I was able to crack the code by "brute forcing" this an other impossible pairs. Read more in the newsletter, and check out the blog for a link to the Kakuta Mitsuyo reading I mentioned and to find a link to

Episode 54 - 確認

Aug 05 2024 29 mins  
確認 (kakunin, confirm/check) is one of the most flexible words in the language. This month I go over all the different usages. Check out the newsletter for the prefixes/suffixes it connects with and how it's an extremely effective tool in work chats. On the blog, I've got more in depth discussion of 確認 and how it can set a template for conversations. Feel free to reach out w

Episode 53 - 日記

Jul 20 2024 26 mins  
It's been three years since I restarted my kanji study, and unfortunately it's languished over the past year. I take a look at the recommendations I made last year to see if they still hold up and provide an alternate method of creating your own manual spaced-repetition system. Check out the newsletter for the details and the blog for a look at how much a draft of Norwegian Wood mi

Episode 52 - 聖地巡礼

Jun 21 2024 24 mins  
Do you have an 推し? Do you do 推し活? Have you been on a 聖地巡礼 as part of this? Do any of the words I just wrote make any sense at all? If not, tune in for details on how the language of fandom is mutating into more mainstream topics. In the newsletter I look at how having an 推し is good for language study, and on the blog check out a very funny use of 推し活 in

Episode 51 - 文壇 (The Japanese Literary World)

May 17 2024 29 mins  
This month I looked at the 文壇 (bundan, literary world) and 文芸誌 (bungeishi, literary journals) thanks to the 120th anniversary issue of Shinchō. Murakami Haruki has a short story, but the real reason to pick up the issue is the 随筆 (zuihitsu, nonfiction essays/miscellaneous writing). Tune in to learn why, and don't forget to check out the newsletter and the blog. Feel