ウェブサイトとは何ですか？

aoi.japanese

Daily short Japanese lessons for beginners.
(28)

If you want to enjoy learning Japanese with me, Please check my learning app & community “Onigiri Anki” 🍙 👇
https://onigiri-anki.com?ref=LXZ4WBTZ

Learn Japanese step by step together!

30/07/2026

How long have you been learning Japanese? 🇯🇵

For me, the answer is: since I was born. 😂

I was born in Japan, so I have been surrounded by Japanese my entire life. But that does not mean I have finished learning it.

Japanese people study hiragana, katakana, kanji, classical Japanese, classical Chinese texts, honorific language, onomatopoeia, grammar, and many other forms of expression at school.

We also learn that the way we speak can change depending on the situation, our relationship with the other person, our social position, age, gender, and level of formality.

And then there is 敬語（けいご）—honorific Japanese.

敬語 is not just one polite form. There are several levels and categories, and the appropriate expression changes depending on who is speaking, who is listening, and who is being discussed.

Even Japanese native speakers sometimes wonder:

“Is this the correct敬語?”
“Do people actually use this expression?”
“Did I learn this at school and then never see it again?”

I have studied Japanese throughout my life, but there are still many kanji I cannot read, words I do not know, and expressions I am not completely confident using.

Sometimes even I do not know how much Japanese a person is supposed to know.

Of course, once you can communicate in a language, learning another language can open up an entirely new world. But Japanese is so deep and interesting that it also feels a little wasteful to stop exploring the language I was born with.

There is always another word, nuance, reading, expression, or cultural detail to discover.

That is one reason I want to continue sharing the interesting parts of Japanese with you.

29/07/2026

Most Japanese learners translate 出す (だす) as “take out.”

But that’s only one meaning.

The same verb is used in many completely different situations:

☕ お茶を出す → Serve tea
🪑 椅子を出す → Bring out a chair
🚗 車を出す → Bring the car around
💪 力を出す → Do your best
💰 お金を出す → Pay / Cover the cost

So... why does Japanese use the same verb for all of these?

The core idea of 出す is bringing something out or making it available.

Tea is brought out and served.
A chair is brought out for someone to use.
A car is brought out and made ready.
Your strength is brought out and put into action.
Your money is brought out to pay.

Instead of memorizing five separate expressions, try understanding the image behind the verb. Once you do, many Japanese expressions become much easier to remember.

Which use of 出す surprised you the most? Let me know in the comments! 👇

🍙 I save useful Japanese words and phrases like these in Onigiri Anki, my flashcard app. You can create your own flashcards, import ready-made decks, and review everything with spaced repetition so you’re less likely to forget what you’ve learned.

Save this post so you can come back to it later!

29/07/2026

What time is it now? ⏰
今、何時ですか？

In Japanese, there are several natural ways to say the time.

🌅 午前10時です。
It’s 10 a.m.

🕞 15時半です。
It’s 3:30 p.m.

🌇 午後5時です。
It’s 5 p.m.

🌙 20時です。
It’s 8 p.m.

☀️ 朝の6時です。
It’s 6 in the morning.

Japanese can use both the 12-hour system and the 24-hour system.

午前 means “a.m.”
午後 means “p.m.”

The 24-hour system, such as 15時 or 20時, is especially common for schedules, reservations, business hours, transportation and written information.

In everyday conversation, people may also say:

15時半 → 午後3時半
20時 → 午後8時
午前6時 → 朝の6時

They express the same time, but the most natural choice can change depending on the situation.

Also, 半 means “half,” so:

3時半 = 3:30
10時半 = 10:30

Save this video and practice answering:

今、何時ですか？
What time is it now?

You can also save useful Japanese words and phrases as flashcards in Onigiri Anki 🍙

Onigiri Anki helps you review your cards repeatedly using a spaced-repetition system based on the forgetting curve. You can create your own cards or study with existing decks.

How would you say the current time in Japanese? 👀

28/07/2026

Have you ever noticed that Japanese has two common ways to say “to pay”?

💴 お金を払う and お金を出す can both be translated as “to pay,” but they don’t always feel exactly the same.

A simple way to think about it is:

✅ 払う often focuses on the act of making a payment or paying money that is owed.

* 家賃を払う (pay the rent)
* 税金を払う (pay taxes)

✅ 出す often focuses on covering the cost or paying for someone.

* ここは私が出します。 (It’s on me.)
* 彼女のランチ代を出した。 (I paid for her lunch.)

That said, this isn’t a strict rule.

Both expressions are natural in many situations, and native speakers don’t consciously think about these nuances every time they speak. Context, personal preference, region, and the situation can all influence which expression someone chooses.

So don’t worry about memorizing a complicated rule. Think of this as a helpful pattern that you’ll start to notice as you hear more Japanese.

🍙 If you’re looking to build your Japanese vocabulary and remember what you learn, check out Onigiri Anki! It’s a flashcard app that uses spaced repetition, so you can review words and phrases efficiently over time.

Have you ever heard 出す used this way?

27/07/2026

Do you know the difference between 歩く and 歩きます?

They both mean “to walk,” but they’re used in different situations.

歩く is the dictionary (plain) form.
You’ll see it in dictionaries, casual conversations with friends, and when verbs are combined with other grammar patterns.

歩きます is the polite form.
It’s the form you’ll use most often when speaking to people you don’t know well, coworkers, teachers, or anyone you want to be polite to.

The good news? ✨

Many Japanese verbs follow predictable patterns, so once you learn how they change, you’ll be able to make hundreds of polite verbs on your own.

Try these:

✅ 話す → 話します
✅ 食べる → 食べます
✅ 行く → 行きます

Which one did you already know? 👇

🍙 Onigiri Anki helps you remember patterns like these with flashcards that use spaced repetition, so you review just before you’re likely to forget. You can also import ready-made Japanese decks or create your own as you learn.

27/07/2026

🚨 How many of these Japanese words did you already know?

These words all begin with 無 (む / mu).

In many words, 無 means “without”, “no”, or “un-”.

Here’s what each one means:

🚫 無銭飲食（むせんいんしょく）
Eating or drinking at a restaurant and leaving without paying.

🚫 無賃乗車（むちんじょうしゃ）
Using a train, bus, or other public transportation without paying the fare.

🚫 無免許運転（むめんきょうんてん）
Driving without a valid driver’s license.

🚫 無断駐車（むだんちゅうしゃ）
Parking without permission on someone else’s property or in a restricted area.

🚫 無断侵入（むだんしんにゅう）
Entering private property or a building without permission.

Learning kanji patterns makes it easier to guess the meaning of new words. When you recognize 無, you’ll often know that the word is about something being done without permission, payment, or something required.

Want to learn more real Japanese vocabulary? 🍙
Try Onigiri Anki to save and review the words you actually want to remember.
Which of these words was new to you?

26/07/2026

Where are you right now? 📍

When someone asks you on the phone or in a message:

「今どこにいますか？」
Ima doko ni imasu ka?
“Where are you now?”

You can answer with:

家にいます。
I’m at home.

会社にいます。
I’m at work.

スーパーにいます。
I’m at the supermarket.

学校にいます。
I’m at school.

レストランにいます。
I’m at a restaurant.

In casual conversation, Japanese people often shorten the question to:

「今どこ？」
“Where are you now?”

The particle に marks the place where a person or thing is located.

家にいます。
＝ I am at home.

会社にいます literally means “I’m at the company,” but in natural English, “I’m at work” is usually the better translation.

You can replace the location with almost any place:

駅にいます。
I’m at the station.

ホテルにいます。
I’m at the hotel.

日本にいます。
I’m in Japan.

Save the phrases you actually want to use in Onigiri Anki 🍙

Onigiri Anki is a flashcard app that helps you review Japanese phrases repeatedly using a spaced-repetition system based on the forgetting curve.

You can create your own cards, import existing decks, and ask native Japanese speakers questions in the community.

Where are you right now?
Try answering in Japanese in the comments 👇

25/07/2026

In Japanese, you can’t count everything with 一個（いっこ）.

Japanese uses special counter words depending on the object’s shape, type, or how it is handled.

✏️ ペンが一本
One pen

🧻 タオルが一枚
One towel

🚗 車が一台
One car

👟 靴が一足
One pair of shoes

📚 本が一冊
One book

👕 シャツが一着
One shirt

☕ コーヒーが一杯
One cup of coffee

🥢 箸が一膳
One pair of chopsticks

The counter changes depending on what you are counting:

本（ほん）is often used for long, thin objects.
枚（まい）is used for flat objects.
台（だい）is used for vehicles and machines.
足（そく）is used for pairs of footwear.
冊（さつ）is used for bound books and notebooks.
着（ちゃく）is used for clothing.
杯（はい）is used for cups or glasses of drinks.
膳（ぜん）is used for pairs of chopsticks.

But don’t worry—saying 一個 will often still be understood in casual conversation, especially when the meaning is obvious.

That does not mean 一個 is always the most natural choice. Native speakers usually select the appropriate counter automatically, so learning the common ones will make your Japanese sound more precise and natural.

Also, counters can change pronunciation:

一本 → いっぽん
一冊 → いっさつ
一足 → いっそく
一着 → いっちゃく
一杯 → いっぱい

You don’t need to memorize every Japanese counter at once. Start with the objects you use in everyday life and learn them as complete phrases.

Save phrases such as「ペンが一本」or「コーヒーが一杯」in Onigiri Anki and review them repeatedly using its spaced-repetition system. Learning the noun and counter together makes it much easier to use them naturally in real conversations. 🍙

Which Japanese counter is the hardest for you?

24/07/2026

You will see this kanji a lot in Japan 👀

金 can be read as:
kane, kin, gon…

For example:
お金 = okane = money
金曜日 = kinyoubi = Friday
黄金 = ougon = gold / golden

Same kanji, different readings.
That’s Japanese kanji 😳

Want to remember Japanese words better?
Try Onigiri Anki 🍙
Save the words and phrases you want to remember, and review them with flashcards.

24/07/2026

The particles “wa (は)” and “mo (も)” look similar but serve different roles.

👉 は (wa) marks the main topic of the sentence.
Ex: 私は学生です。= I’m talking about myself.

👉 も (mo) means also or too.
Ex: 私も学生です。= I’m a student too.

💡Tips:

Use “は” to start a new topic.

Use “も” to add or show similarity.

It’s a subtle but important difference that makes your Japanese sound natural.

Review and master these with Onigiri Anki 🍙 — link in my profile!

住所

Taito-ku, Tokyo