Learn Japanese Pod

Have you been scratching your head trying to work out what “Yappari” means? Well, scratch your head no more! In this podcast Ami sensei and I (Alex) attempt to explain what Yappari means. We teach you the three main meanings of Yappari and how to use it naturally and fluently in conversation with your Japanese friends. For more information keep reading, listen to the podcast and download the show notes. What does Yappari mean? 1. Yappari – I knew it! One common use of yappari expresses the fact that your assumptions or predictions were proved to be correct. It also means you were not surprised by a particular outcome. It might be translated into English as “I knew it”, “As I suspected…” or “…but of course…” Another way to think of it is as a phrase that emphasises IS or WAS, as in “It WAS you” or “He IS the culprit!” Here’s an example of how it can be used in conversation. Dialog 1 A: ねえ、最後のクッキー食べた？ Ne, saigo no kukkii tabeta? Hey, did you eat the last cookie? B: え… E… Um… A: ほら！何これ？クッキーでしょう？！ Hora! Nani kore? Kukki deshō?! Look! What’s this? It’s a cookie isn’t it?! B: だって、お腹減ってたから。 Datte, onaka heteta kara. But, I was hungry. A: やっぱり。 Yappari. I knew it! B: ごめんね。 Gomen ne. Sorry.   Here are some other examples that express the yappari in the same way. 彼が犯人だとずっと思ってて、やっぱりそうだった。 Kare wa hannin da to zutto omottete, yappari sō datta. I thought he was the criminal, and I knew it, he was.   もう一度やってみたけどやっぱり無理だった Mō ichido yatte mita kedo, yappari muri datta. I tried one more time, but as I suspected, it was impossible.   やっぱり彼女来なかった。 Yappari kanojo konakatta. I knew it, she didn’t come. 2. Yappari – Indeed it is! Another use of yappari emphasises the strength of your opinion. For example, I really do think that something is true. やっぱり温泉が好き Yappari onsen ga suki means I really do indeed love hot springs. English translations might include “indeed” or “of course”. Dialog 2 A: 日本で何が一番好き？ Nihon de nani ga ichiban suki? What do you most like about Japan? B: やっぱり温泉が好き。あみは？ Yappari onsen ga suki. Ami wa? I really do love hot springs. How about you Ami? A: たこ焼きかな。 Takoyaki kana? Takoyaki I guess. B: やっぱりね。 Yappari ne. I knew it.   Note: In this conversation we have two different examples of how yappari is used. Yappari onsen ga suki is the 2nd use of yappari which emphasises the point that the speaker does indeed like hot springs. After Ami says she likes Takoyaki, the reply is yappari which in this case is means “I knew it” as we learned with dialog 1. Here are some more examples of how yappari is used to mean “indeed” or “of course”: 2.1 やっぱり毎日日本語を勉強しなきゃ。 Yappari mainichi nihongo o benkyō shinakya. Of course, you have to study Japanese everyday.   2.2 やっぱり彼女が好き。 Yappari, kanojo ga suki. I DO like her / I do indeed like her / Of course, I like her.   2.3 和食と言えばやっぱり刺身。 Washoku to ieba yappari sashimi. If you are talking about Japanese food, of course it’s gotta be Sashimi. 3. Yappari – Ah, you know what? I changed my mind. The final use of yappari is used when you change your mind. It means something like “Ah, you know what? I changed my mind” or “Actually, let’s not”. Here’s an example in dialog form: Dialog 3 A: 明日なにする？ Ashita nani suru? What are you doing tomorrow? B: 公園に行くよ。やっぱりやめる。明日雨だ。 Kōen ni iku yo. Yappari, yameru. Ashita ame da. I’m going to the park. Actually, I won’t. It’s going to rain tomorrow.   Here are a couple of other examples: 3.1. やめようかな。やっぱりもうちょっと頑張る。 Yameyō kana. Yappari, mō chotto gambaru. I give up. You know what? I’ll try a little more.   3.2. ケーキ食べたい。やっぱりやめる、ダイエットしなきゃ。 Keeki tabetai. Yappari yameru, dietto shinakya. I want to eat a cake. Nope, I need to diet.   Random Phrase of the Week In every podcast we tech a random phrase to amuse and delight your Japanese friends. Here is this week’s random phrase: ウケる – Ukeru – That’s so funny. Ex.1 あのテレビ番組超ウケる Ano terebi bangumi chō ukeru. That TV program is so funny.   Ex. 2 あの漫才ウケる Ano manzai ukeru That comedy duo is so funny.

This podcast teaches useful phrases to start conversations in Japanese. They discuss learning German, inventions, dresses, and making money. They break down a dialogue and discuss grammar points. They also talk about Japanese conversation starters and the meanings of 'so don't'. They address the concept of 'natsubate' and summer exhaustion. They explore conversation starters about the weather and the usage of 'yapari'. They discuss their music projects and invite listeners to join their online courses.

This podcast episode is about various phrases you can use to start up a conversation in Japanese. It is important to remember that each conversation is unique and how you start one depends on who you are talking to and the situation. However, in this episode you will hear some of the most common phrases you are likely to hear used by Japanese people. One final thing to remember is that this episode focuses on casual conversations between friends. Here is a full vocabulary list taken from the podcast Japanese Pronunciation English 久しぶり Hisashiburi Long time no see 元気？ Genki? How you doing? 相変わらず Aikawarazu …as usual バタバタしてる Batabata shiteru Really busy / hectic 夏バテ Natsubate Exhaustion from the summer つらい Tsurai Tough 最近どう？ Saikin dō? How’ve you been? すごく暑い Sugoku Atsui Very hot すごく寒い Sugoku Samui Very cold 熱中症 Necchūshō Heat stroke 風邪をひいちゃった Kaze o hiichatta I caught a cold インフルエンザ Infuruenza Influenza 気をつけてね Ki o tsukete ne Take care   Podcast Dialog 1 A: 久しぶり元気？ Hisashiburi genki Long time no see, you good? B: 元気だよ。あみは？ Genki da yo. Ami wa? I’m good. And you Ami? A: 相変わらずバタバタしているよ。最近どう？ Aikawarazu batabata shiteru yo. Saikin dō? Busy as usual. How’ve you been? B: そうだね。ちょっと夏バテがつらい。 Sō da ne. Chotto natsubate ga tsurai. Well, I’ve been suffering due to the summer heat. A: 最近はすごく暑いよね。熱中症にならないように気をつけてね。 Saikin wa sugoku atsui yo ne. Necchūshō ni naranai yō ni ki o tsukete ne. It’s been really hot recently hasn’t it? Be careful not to get heat stroke. B: はーい！ Haai Sure. Dialog 2 A: 久しぶり元気？ Hisashiburi genki Long time no see, you good? B: 元気だよ。あみは？ Genki da yo. Ami wa? I’m good. And you Ami? A: 相変わらずバタバタしているよ。最近どう？ Aikawarazu batabata shiteru yo. Saikin dō? Busy as usual. How’ve you been? B: そうだね。ちょっと風邪をひいちゃったよ。 Sō da ne. Chotto kaze o hiichatta yo. Well, I caught a cold. A: 最近はすごく寒いよね。インフルエンザにならないように気をつけてね。 Saikin wa sugoku samui yo ne. Infuruenza ni naranai yō ni ki o tsukete ne. It’s been really cold recently hasn’t it? Be careful not to get influenza. B: はーい！ Haai Sure.

A great way to practice your Japanese speaking skills and to get to know people in Japan is to talk about free time and hobbies. In a casual setting you may be asked what you do in your free time by Japanese people. So this lesson will teach you the basics of how to ask and answer questions about hobbies. But first of all, listen to the audio podcast which goes through all the points in this lesson. For more fun Japanese language podcasts visit http://learnjapanesepod.com

A great way to practice your Japanese speaking skills and to get to know people in Japan is to talk about free time and hobbies. In a casual setting you may be asked what you do in your free time by Japanese people. So this lesson will teach you the basics of how to ask and answer questions about hobbies. But first of all, listen to the audio podcast which goes through all the points in this lesson. You can also listen to the audio drills which include just the Japanese dialogs without English to practice your listening and speaking skills. Podcast Dialogs for talking about hobbies Here are four example dialogs from the podcast that give you various examples on how to hold a conversation in natural Japanese about hobbies and free time. Hobbies Dialog 1 A: 趣味は何？ Shumi wa nani? What’s your hobby? B: そうだね、ギターかな。 Sō da ne. Gitaa kana. Well…guitar I guess. A: そっか。最初のきっかけは？ Sokka. Saisho no kikkake wa? Really? How did you get in to it? B: ロックを聴くことが好きだからやってみようかなと思って。 Rokku wo kiku koto ga suki dakara yatte miyō kana to omotte. I like listening to rock so I thought I would give it a go. A: どのぐらいやってる？ Dono gurai yatteru? How long have you been doing it? B: ２０年。 Ni jū nen. 20 years. A: すごいね。しょっちゅうやってるの？ Sugoi ne. Shocchū yatteru no? Wow, do you do it often? B: 毎日。 Mai nichi. Every day. A: へえ～。 Heh. Really? Hobbies Dialog 2 A: 趣味は何？ Shumi wa nani? What’s your hobby? B: そうだね、ジョギングかな。 Sō da ne. Jogingu kana. Well…jogging I guess. A: そっか。最初のきっかけは？ Sokka. Saisho no kikkake wa? Really? How did you get in to it? B: 運動することが好きだからやってみようかなと思って。 Undō suru koto ga suki da kara yatte miyō kana to omotte. I like exercising so I thought I would give it a go. A: どのぐらいやってる？ Dono gurai yatteru? How long have you been doing it? B: 1年。 Ichi nen. 1 year. A: すごいね。しょっちゅうやってるの？ Sugoi ne. Shocchū yatteru no? Wow, do you do it often? B: 週に２回。 Shū ni ni kai. Two times a week. A: へえ～。 Heh. Really?   Hobbies Dialog 3 A: 趣味は何？ Shumi wa nani? What’s your hobby? B: そうだね、読書かな。 Sō da ne. Dokusho kana. Well…reading I guess. A: そっか。最初のきっかけは？ Sokka. Saisho no kikkake wa? Really? How did you get in to it? B: 本を読むことが好きだからやってみようかなと思って。 Hon o yomu koto ga suki da kara yatte miyō kana to omotte. I like reading books so I thought I would give it a go. A: どのぐらいやってる？ Dono gurai yatteru? How long have you been doing it? B: ６ヶ月。 Rokka getsu. 6 months. A: すごいね。しょっちゅうやってるの？ Sugoi ne. Shocchū yatteru no? Wow, do you do it often? B: 時間がある時に。 Jikan ga aru toki ni.   When I have time. A: へえ～。 Heh. Really?   Hobbies Dialog 4 A: 趣味は何？ Shumi wa nani? What’s your hobby? B: そうだね、カメラかな。 Sō da ne. Kamera kana. Well…photography I guess. A: そっか。最初のきっかけは？ Sokka. Saisho no kikkake wa? Really? How did you get in to it? B: 写真を撮ることが好きだからやってみようかなと思って。 Shashin o toru koto ga suki da kara yatte miyō kana to omotte. I like taking photos so I thought I would give it a go. A: どのぐらいやってる？ Dono gurai yatteru? How long have you been doing it? B: 一ヶ月。 Ikka getsu. 1 month. A: すごいね。しょっちゅうやってるの？ Sugoi ne. Shocchū yatteru no? Wow, do you do it often? B: 毎週末。 Mai shūmatsu Every weekend. A: へえ～。 Heh. Really?   Sentences patterns to talk about your hobby in Japanese Let’s start off with some simple and casual examples of how to talk about hobbies in Japanese. Japanese Pronunciation English 趣味はなに？空手。 Shumi wa nani?Karate What’s your hobby?Karate. 趣味はなに？ジョギング。 Shumi wa nani?Jogingu What’s your hobby?Jogging. 趣味はなに？テニス。 Shumi wa nani?Tenisu What’s your hobby?Tennis. 趣味はなに？サッカー。 Shumi wa nani?Sakkaa What’s your hobby?Football If you want to say it more politely you would say: Japanaese Pronunciation English 趣味はなんですか。趣味は空手です。 Shumi wa nan desu ka?Shumi wa Karate desu. What is your hobby?My hobby is Karate. Another way to describe what you like doing in your free time is this: Your hobby + SUKI DESU which means you like doing something. Japanese Pronunciation English ジョギングが好きです Jogingu ga suki desu. I like jogging. ハイキングが好きです Haikingi ga suki desu. I like hiking. テニスが好きです Tenisu ga suki desu. I like tennis. サッカーが好きです Sakkaa ga suki desu I like football. More phrases to ask about people’s hobbies in Japanese Here are some extra phrases you can use to ask someone what their hobby is. Japanese Pronunciation English 趣味あるの？ Shumi aru no? Do you have a hobby? 暇な時に何をするの？ Hima na toki ni nani o suru? What do you do in your free time? 何をするのが好き？ Nani o suru no ga suki? What do you like doing? 最近ハマってることある？ Saikin hammatteru koto wa? Recently what are you into? Another useful pattern you can use to talk about your hobbies is this: 趣味は + NOUN + を + VERB + ことです。 SHUMI WA +NOUN + O +VERB + KOTO DESU. My hobby is doing something 趣味は本を読むことです – Hon o yomu koto desu –  My hobby is reading books. Hon is “book” and yomu is the verb “to read”. If you put KOTO after the verb it’s a little like an -ING verb in English. So 本を読む means “to read books” but 本を読むこと is a little like “reading books”. Here are some more examples: 趣味は映画を見ることです。 My hobby is watching movies. Shumi wa eiga o miru koto desu. 趣味は音楽を聴くことです。 My hobby is listening to music. Shumi wa ongaku o kiku koto desu 趣味は料理をすることです。 My hobby is cooking. Shumi wa ryōri o suru koto desu 趣味はスキューバダイビングをすることです。 My hobby is scuba diving. Shumi wa sukuuba daibingu wo suru koto desu. 趣味は絵を描くことです。 My hobby is painting pictures. Shumi wa e o kaku koto desu. Instead of 趣味は映画を見ることですyou can say 映画を見ることが好きです I like watching movies. So for example: 音楽を聴くことが好きです。 I like listening to music. Ongaku o kiku koto ga suki desu. 料理をすることが好きです。 I like cooking. Ryōri o suru koto ga suki desu. スキューバダイビングをすることが好きです。 I like scuba diving. Sukuuba daibingu o suru koto ga suki desu. 絵を描くことが好きです。 I like painting pictures. E o kaku koto ga suki desu. So this means when talking about hobbies you have two options, one being a noun phrase and the other using a verb linked to the hobby, for example: Option 1 Option 2 趣味は映画鑑賞です。Shumi wa eigakanshō desu My hobby is moviegoing. OR 趣味は映画を見ることです。Shumi wa eigo o miru koto desu I like watching movies. 趣味は水泳です。Shumi wa suiei desu My hobby is swimming. (noun) OR 趣味は泳ぐことです。Shumi wa oyogu koto desu. My hobby is to go swimming. (verb) 趣味は読書です。Shumi wa dokusho desu My hobby is reading. OR 趣味は本を読むことです。Shumi wa hon o yomu koto desu. My hobby is reading books. This is a list of some very traditional Japanese hobbies: 生け花 Ikebana Traditional Japanese flower arranging 書道 Shodō Japanese calligraphy 茶道 Sadō The tea ceremony 弓道 Kyūdō Japanese archery   Sports are usually written in Katakana: ジョギング Jogingu Jogging テニス Tenisu Tennis サッカー Sakkaa Football (Soccer) ハイキング Haikingu Haikingu Other hobbies written in Katakana include the following: ヨガ Yoga Yoga ダンス Dansu Dancing カラオケ Karaoke Karaoke スマホゲーム Sumaho geemu Playing games on your smartphone. ビデオゲーム Bideo geemu Video games ドライブ Doraibu Going for a drive   Japanese martial arts are written with Kanji:   柔道 Jūdō Judo 合気道 Aikidō Aikido 空手 Karate Karate   Here are some other hobbies that are written using Kanji: 水泳 Suiei Swimming 山登り Yamanobori Mountain climbing 音楽 Ongaku Music 映画鑑賞 Eigakanshō Watching movies 買い物 Kaimono Shopping 魚釣り Sakana tsuri Fishing 園芸 Engei Gardening 一人旅 Hitori tabi Solo trip / Traveling by yourself   Here is a list of some of the most popular pastimes in Japan now: 1 写真 Shashin Photography 2 自転車 Jitensha Cycling 3 読書 Dokusho Reading books 4 ランニング Ranningu Running 5 英会話 Eikaiwa Studying English conversation 6 ヨガ Yoga Yoga 7 登山 Tōzan Mountain climbing 8 株・FX取引 Kabu / FX torihiki Day trading / Buying and selling stocks 9 瞑想 Meisō Meditation 10 筋トレ Kintore Weight lifting

In this podcast Matthew and I talked about our favorite Japan travel tips, hacks and experiences. We discussed various topics including interesting places to visit, taking ferries in Japan, how to save money and the recent issues with AirBnb. Also, if you enjoyed this podcast, please consider making a donation to Matthew’s go Fun Me campaign to help with the costs of the current cancer treatment he is undergoing now. Any donation no matter how small is much appreciated. Please feel free to leave your comments, questions and ideas below.

In this podcast Ami and Alex teach you absolutely everything you need to know about the delicious Japanese street snack Takoyaki!

How to eat Takoyaki Delicious Takoyaki with toppings Food is one of our most popular subjects to talk about so in this podcast Ami sensei and I (Alex) introduce you to one of Kansai’s most loved street snacks, the honorable Takoyaki. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to order and prepare takoyaki yourself with the correct ingredients and utensils. We also talk about the history of takoyaki, why it became so famous plus our recommendations for the best Takoyaki restaurants in Japan. So get ready for a takoyaki extravaganza! Takoyaki Vocabulary Here is a full vocabulary list taken from the podcast Japanese Pronunciation English ご注文 Gochuumon Your order いかがでしょうか Ikaga deshō Is it OK? / Are you ready? たこやき Takoyaki Takoyaki (Octopus fry) お願いします Onegaishimasu Please かしこまりました Kashikomarimashita Certainly すみません Sumimasen Excuse me 作り方 Tsukurikata How to make something 教えて Oshiete Teach me いただけませんか Itadakemasenka Would you please? まず Mazu First その後 Sono ato After that その次に Sono tsugi ni Next 最後に Saigo ni Finally 生地 Kiji Batter 鉄板 Teppan Iron pan 入れます Iremasu Put in 他 Hoka Other 好きな Sukina Something you like 具材 Guzai Ingredients 焼きながら Yakinagara While cooking 千枚通し Senmaidooshi Long needle like implement for cooking takoyaki ひっくり返します Hikkuri kaeshimasu Turn something over 熱い Atsui Hot 気をつけて Ki o tsukete Take care 食べてください Tabete kudasai Please eat なるほど Naruhodo I see ありがとうございます Arigatō gozaimasu Thank you very much Takoyaki Conversation A: ご注文はいかがでしょうか。 Gochuumon wa ikaga deshou ka Are you ready to order? B: たこやきをお願いします。 Takoyaki o onegaishimasu I’d like takoyaki please. A: かしこまりました。 Kashikomarimashita Certainly. B: あの、すみませんがたこやきの作り方を教えていただけませんか。 Ano, sumimasen ga, takoyaki no tsukurikata o oshiete kudasai. Um, excuse me but would you mind telling me how to make takoyaki? A: まず、生地を鉄板に入れます。 Mazu, kiji o teppan ni iremasu. First put the batter in the iron pan. B: 生地を鉄板に入れます。 Kiji o teppan ni iremasu. Put the batter in the pan. A: そのあと、たこを入れます。 Sono ato, tako o iremasu. After that, put in the octopus. B: たこを入れます。 Tako o iremasu. Put in the octopus. A: その次に、他の好きな具材を入れます。 Sono tsugi, hoka no suki na guzai o iremasu. After that, put in the ingredients you like. B: 具材を入れます。 Guzai o iremasu. Put in the ingredients. What is Takoyaki? Takoyaki Ingredients Takoyaki is a speciality dish from Osaka and is usually eaten as a casual fast food. Imagine golf sized balls of baked dough, crispy on the outside and piping hot in the middle. What are the basic ingredients of Takoyaki? The dough is made from water, flour and eggs and you add dashi, salt and soy sauce to taste. It also has slices of tako which is octopus. Yaki means cooked or baked which is why we say we say Takoyaki. It kind of tastes a little like Okonomiyaki so it’s savory with a range of interesting flavors and umami. How do you cook Takoyaki? An electric Takoyaki set We start with a takoyaki teppan which is a hot plate to cook the batter in. The hot plate has semi spherical indents which you pour the batter into. You basically drown the whole plate in runny takoyaki batter. Then add those slices of tako. You then sprinkle on other ingredients including benishouga which is pickled red ginger, chopped green onions and tenkasu which are little scraps of tempura. Then as it starts to cook you use what’s called a 千枚通し Senmaidooshi to constantly flip over the batter as it turns into little takoyaki balls. And then finally you garnish it with mayonnaise, Takoyaki sauce which is like Worcestershire sauce, aonori which is green laver and Katsuo bushi which is dried flakes of bonito fish. But there are other flavours too, sometimes they’ll add cheese or mochi. When do you usually eat Takoyaki? You usually pick them up as a snack from a takoyaki stand on the street. But you can also order them in Izakayas with other food. Some restaurants let you make them yourself using the takoyaki teppan which is fun. But usually you’ll get them at a food stall at a matsuri and they usually come in sets of 6 or 8. Where can you buy Takoyaki? The Dotonbori area of Osaka If you are in Japan, you could buy Takoyaki in almost any city. However, if you want to do it in style, in the home of the Takoyaki, I would recommend the Dotonbori area of Osaka. It’s a very popular tourist destination packed with amazing restaurants, Izakayas and bars. It’s famous for its huge colourful illuminated signs, entertainment and nightlife. All the shops run along the Dotonbori canal where it gets its name. So it’s great for food and just strolling down the river. There are hundreds of places where you can get Takoyaki but one place I really like is くれおー る They’re actually a chain of restaurants that serve famous Osaka dishes including Okonomiyaki. I would recommend going to the Dotonbori shop as it has seats overlooking the river. It’s a little touristy but if you can get a good seat, the view of the river is really nice especially at night. And the Takoyaki themselves are perhaps some of the best I’ve ever had in Japan. According to the website they supply various hotels with their speciality Takoyaki which isn’t surprising because they really are that good. To get to the Dontonbori area from Osaka station, get on the Midosuji line and get off at Namba. It’s then a 5 or 10 minute walk north to the river. And you’ll know you’re there when you see a giant plastic animated Crab and also the neon Glico man sign on the river next to Ebisu bridge. Anyway check out the link in the show notes and on the website. What is the history of Takoyaki? A street vendor making takoyaki As you probably know, rice, fish and vegetables have been the traditional staple diet of Japan. Takoyaki which is made from flour and water was a relatively new food type in Japan. It has it roots in the 1600s when battered food and other French cuisine started to be eaten in Japan. Fast forward to the Tokyo earthquake in 1923 which left the kanto area with huge food shortages. The government started experimenting with flour and water to make cheap filling food. It wasn’t that popular but it kept people from starving. Then in 1935 a street vendor in Osaka called Tomokichi Endo started experimenting with flour and water batter with seafood. There was a big cheap supply of octopus which he mixed with the batter to create the first Takoyaki. It took off and became a success. In the years after the 2nd world war, wheat flour was sent to Japan as relief aid. And that’s when Takoyaki started to get really famous throughout Japan. It’s another one of those things in Japan that had a foreign influence but then changed into something uniquely Japanese.

Learn different ways to express 'must' in Japanese, along with the pronunciation and meaning of 'mechi teddle'. The hosts also discuss the casual use of 'teddle' and express appreciation for listeners. They announce a new travel Japanese course and mention future lessons on Osaka dialect.

In this lesson you are going to learn how to say “must” in Japanese. Here’s the problem. There are a confusing number of ways to say it. Just look at this list of phrases which all mean the same thing: しなければなりません Shinakereba narimasen しなければいけません Shinakereba ikemasen しなくてはいけません Shinakute wa ikemasen しなくちゃいけません Shinakucha ikemasen しなきゃいけません Shinakya ikemasen しないといけません Shinai to ikemasen しなくちゃ Shinakucha しなきゃ Shinakya しないと Shinai to Not only that but each way of saying “must” in Japanese has a different level of politeness associated with it for different social situations. It’s also quite common for Japanese schools and textbooks to only teach the formal way of saying of “must”. However, in daily life in Japan, you will notice that most of the time, people tend to use the casual form. But fear not dear student of Japanese, Learn Japanese Pod will help you to navigate this linguistic confusion. We are all about teaching you the most useful and natural Japanese for daily life in Japan. Therefore, this lesson will exclusively focus on the casual form which in my experience is the most useful form to know. But before we do, let’s briefly study the grammar and a little of the culture behind this. Grammar: How to say “must” in Japanese One of the most formal and common ways you will be taught “must” in Japanese is: しなければなりません Shinakereba narimasen This is made from two parts “Shinakereba” which means “If I do not” and “Narimasen” which means “It is not allowed”. So this literally means, “it is not allowed if I do not do it” or “It will be bad if I don’t do it”. This two part form is used for most levels of politeness If I don’t do it It will not be allowed Shinakereba Narimasen Shinakereba Ikemasen Shinakya Ikemasen There is no direct way of saying must in Japanese so this indirect double negative form is used. This roundabout way of saying “must” in Japanese perhaps reflects the way Japanese shy away from direct language and confrontational statements. The most common way to say “must” in Japanese As you will discover when you come to Japan, most people in daily conversation use the common form. Instead of using the tongue twisting “Shinakereba narimasen” you can drop the -nakereba narimasen and simply add -kya to give you shinakya – I must do something. The formal way of saying I have to clean the house is: 掃除しなければなりません – Sōji shinakereba narimasen – I have to clean (the house) However, the more common and easy way to say that is 掃除しなきゃ – Sōji shinakya –  I have to clean How to construct the casual form of “must” in Japanese To say you must do something using other verbs using the casual form, simply follow these steps: Step 1) Take the negative casual form of a verb, for example: しない Shinai Don’t do 行かない Ikanai Don’t go 食べない Tabenai Don’t eat 買わない Kawanai Don’t buy Step 2) Replace the -i at the end of the verb with -kya しなきゃ Shinakya I must do (something) 行かなきゃ Ikanakya I must go (somewhere) 食べなきゃ Tabenakya I must eat (something) 買わなきゃ Kawanakya I must buy (something) Finally, there are three common casual forms: 1) しなきゃ Shinakya 2) しなくちゃ Shinakucha 3) しないと Shinai to Sometimes people will add いけない to the end of these forms to make: しなきゃいけない しなくちゃいけない しないといけない You can use any of these forms in a casual setting to say you must do something. This lesson will focus on using just shinakya. Main Dialog A: ごめん、もう行かなきゃ。 Gomen mō ikanakya. Sorry, I have to go. B: え？なんで？ E? Nande? Eh? Why? A: 明日早く起きなきゃ。 Ashita hayaku okinakya. Tomorrow I have to wake up early. B: 何かあるの？ Nani ka aru? Do you have something? A: 明日色々しなきゃいけないんだよね。 Ashita iroiro shinakya ikenain da yo ne. Tomorrow I have to do various things. B: 何を？ Nani o? What? A: まず部屋が汚いから掃除しなきゃ。後、彼女が来るから料理作らなきゃ。じゃあ… Mazu, heya ga kitanai kara sōji shinakya. Ato, kanojo ga kuru kara ryōri o tsukuranakya. Jaa… First, as my room is dirty I have to clean. Then because my girlfriend is coming I have to make some food. Right… B: ちょっと待て、お会計は？ Chotto matte, okaikei wa? Wait, what about the bill? A: そうだった、お金払わなきゃね。 Sō datta, okane harawanakya. Oh right. I have to pay! Other examples of saying I must in Japanese Here are some more examples of how you can say you must do something: １） 明日5時に起きなきゃ、めどくさい。 Ashita goji ni okinakya, mendokusai Tomorrow I have to wake up at 5am, what a hassle. ２） まずいけど薬飲まなきゃ。 Mazui kedo kusuri nomanakya It doesn’t taste good but I have take (drink) this medicine ３） あ、買い物忘れちゃった、買わなきゃ！ A, kaimono wasurechatta, kawanakya! Ah, I forgot the shopping. I have to buy something! ４） もう時間だ。行かなきゃ！ Mo jikan da. Ikanakya! It’s time. I have to go. ５） この部屋超汚い、掃除しなきゃ！ Kono heya chō kitanai, sōji shinakya. This room is super dirty, I have to clean it. ６） 明日テストがあるから勉強しなきゃ。 Ashita tesuto ga aru kara benkō shinakya. Tomorrow I have a test so I have to study. ７） 東京がゴジラに攻められてるから逃げなきゃ。 Tōkyō ga gojira ni semerareteru kara nigenakya. Godzilla is attacking Tokyo so we have to run! Random Phrase of the Week 飯テロ Meshi Tero This is used to make fun of people post pictures what they are eating on social media. It also refers to the way your friends are “terrorised” by the these pictures especially when they are hungry.