Learn Japanese Pod

In this podcast, Ami and Alex teach you how to make suggestions to your friends in natural, fluent Japanese. Check out the dialogues and show notes to practice and improve your Japanese. For more podcasts visit Learn Japanese Pod

In this lesson you will learn how to make a suggestion to your friends in natural sounding Japanese. It’s better to be indirect with your language as being too pushy can make you come off as being arrogant or rude. But don’t worry, we have you covered. Just check out the main dialogue and extra example sentences and you should get a good idea of how to give your ideas and advice to other people. Main Dialog 1 – Making a suggestion (Japanese) A: いや〜もうだめだ。 B: どうしたの？ A: 彼女と喧嘩したんだ。まだ怒ってるみたい。 B: じゃあ、花でもプレセントしたらどう？ A: そうだね。そうしよう。 B: 彼女きっと喜ぶよ。 A: わかった、じゃあ、そうしてみるよ。 Main Dialog 1 – Making a suggestion (Pronunciation) A: Iyaa, mō dame da! B: Dō shita no? A: Kanojo to kenka shitan da. Mada okotteru mitai. B: Jaa, hana demo purezento shitara dō? A: Sō da ne. Sō shiyō. B: Kanojo kitto yorokobu yo. A: Wakatta, jaa, sō shite miru yo. Main Dialog 1 – Making a suggestion (English) A: Argh, this sucks. B: What happened? A: I had a fight with my girlfriend. It seems she’s still angry. B: How about giving her flowers as a present? A: Right. I’ll do that. B: I’m sure she’ll be happy. A: Got it. I’ll give that a try. Extra sentence examples: Example 1 A: 頭痛いな。 Atama itai na – I have a headache B: 薬飲んだらどう？ Kusuri nondara dō? – How about taking some meds? A: そうだね。そうするよ。 Sō da ne. Sō suru yo. – Right. I’ll do that. Example 2 A: いいアイデアが思い浮かばないな Ii aidea ga omoi ukabanai na – I can’t think of any good ideas. B: 少しやすんだらどう？ Sukoshi yasundara dō? – How about taking a break? A: そうだね。そうするよ。 Sō da ne. Sō suru yo. Right. I’ll do that. Example 3 A: 肩凝ってるな。 Kata kotteru – I’ve got stiff shoulders B: マッサージ受けたらどう？ Massaaji shitara dō? – How about getting a massage? A: そうだね。そうするよ。 Sō da ne. Sō suru yo. – Right. I’ll do that. Example 4 A: お腹が空いたな Onaka ga suita na – I’m hungry B: おやつ食べたらどう？ Oyatsu tabetara dō? – How about having a snack? A: そうだね。そうするよ。 Sō da ne. Sō suru yo. – Right. I’ll do that. Example 5 A: 退屈だな。 Taikutsu da na – I’m bored B: 映画みたらどう？ Eiga mitara dō? – How about watching a movie? A: そうだね。そうするよ。 Sō da ne. Sō suru yo. – Right. I’ll do that.

In this Fun Friday edition of the podcast, Andy and Alex answer listener questions about living in Japan, its culture and tips on learning Japanese. For more Japanese language learning podcasts visit Learn Japanese Pod  

In this podcast, Ami and Alex teach you how to use the verb Kureru naturally in Japanese conversation. Kureru is a verb you can use to ask people to do things for you. It’s used casually between friends and family and very common in everyday conversation. Check out the podcast and show notes to learn how to use it naturally in conversation. For more Japanese learning podcasts check out Learn Japanese Pod

In this lesson you’ll learn how to use the verb kureru. Kureru is a verb you use when asking someone to do something for you. It translates roughly as do something for me. Check out the main dialogue on the next page to see how it is used naturally in conversation in Japanese. Main Dialog 1 – Kureru A: あのね、ちょっとお願いしていい B: 何 A: 今日晩御 作ってくれる B: え また A:  料は僕が って来るから B: まあいいけど、次は作ってね A: はああい Main Dialog 1 – Kureru (Pronunciation) A: Ano ne, chotto onegai shite ii? B: Nani? A: Kyō bangohan tsukutte kureru? B: Eh? Mata? A: Shokuryō wa boku ga katte kuru kara! B: Maa, ii kedo, tsugi wa tsukutte ne! A: Haai! Main Dialog 1 – Kureru (English) A: Hey, can I ask a favor? B: What? A: Can you make dinner tonight? B: Eh? Again? A: I’ll buy the ingredients. B: Well, OK but next time you make it. A: Yes! Kureru – Grammar break down When asking to do something for you, using the verb くれるkureru is really helpful. Here are a few examples of how you can use it. 1) Noun + kureru = Please give me something Simple say the thing you want followed by kureru like this: a) 水くれる – Mizu kureru – Could you give me some water? b) 本くれる – Hon kureru – Could you give me the book? 2) Noun + shite kureru You can create a lot of verbs using a noun + shite. For example, sōji means cleaning but sōji shite means, do the cleaning. Add kureru to the end and you can ask people to carry out actions for you like this: a) 掃除してくれる – Sōji shite kureru – Could you do the cleaning for me? b) 予約してくれる – Yoyaku shite kureru – Could you make a reservation for me? c) 注文してくれる – Chuumon shite kureru – Could you order for me? d)  い物してくれる – Kaimono shite kureru – Could you do some shopping for me? 3) ~TE form verbs + Kureru You can use the TE form of a verb + kureru to ask people to do things for you like this: a) 作ってくれる – Tsukutte kureru – Can you make it for me? b)  ってくれる – Katte kureru – Can you buy it for me? c) やってくれる – Yatte kureru – Can you make it for me? Note: Don’t forget: 1) Using kureru is casual 2) It should be used between friends and family 3) If you are using kureru to ask someone to do a favor for you, remember to make the intonation of your voice go up at the end to show it’s a question.

In this podcast, I talk to Andy, a good friend and veteran of Japan. We discuss how the Coronavirus, travel restrictions and curfews have effected Japan and how we think things will develop from here. This is the Fun Friday edition of the podcast where we put down our textbooks and talk to interesting people doing interesting things in Japan. For more podcasts check out Learn Japanese Pod

In this podcast, Ami and Alex teach you some useful phrases to describe people’s appearance in Japanese. Listen to the example dialogue to hear how this is done in natural and fluent Japanese. For more Japanese podcasts visit Learn Japanese Pod

These are just the Japanese dialogues from podcast #36 “Describing people’s appearance in Japanese”. Main Dialog 1 – Describing people’s appearance A: ね、私の家族の写真見る? B: 見る見る! A: これはおじいちゃん。背が高いんだよね。 B: ほんと、スマートでかっこういいね! A: そうだけど、反対におばあちゃんは私に似て背が低いんだよね。 B: へえー。彼女は誰?お姉さん? A: そう!最近髪をショートにして金髪に染めたの! B: 顔がそっくりだね!それに家族みんなお洒落だよね。 A: ありがとう! Main Dialog 1 – Describing people’s appearance (Pronunciation) A: Ne, watashi no kazoku no shashin miru? B: Miru miru! A: Kore wa ojii chan. Se ga takain da yo ne. B: Honto, sumaato de kakkō ii ne. A: Sō dakedo, hantai ni obaa chan wa watashi ni nite, se ga hikuin da yo ne. B: Heh. Kanojo wa dare? Onee san? A: Sō! Saikin kami wo shooto ni shite kinpatsu ni someta no! B: Kao ga sokkuri da ne. Sore ni kazoku minna oshare da yo ne. A: Arigatō. Main Dialog 1 – Describing people’s appearance (English) A: Hey, do you want to see photos of my family? B: Yes! A: This is my grandpa. He’s tall isn’t he? B: That’s true. He’s tall and good looking. A: That’s right but on the other hand my grandma looks like me and she’s short. B: Ah. Who is she? Is she your older sister? A: Yes. Recently she cut her hair short and dyed it blond. B: Her face looks just like yours. Your family is very stylish. A: Thank you.

In this episode, I interview Niko from NativShark, a comprehensive Japanese language learning app. In this episode we talked about Niko’s journey to becoming fluent in Japanese, why a lot of Japanese study materials suck and the art of making flash cards and other topics. If you are interested in trying out the NativShark app for yourself check out this link for a free 2 week trial. NativShark Free Trial For more podcasts on Japan and learning Japanese go to: Learn Japanese Pod  

Exploring motivational phrases in Japanese and their cultural significance. Discussing the meaning and usage of phrases like 'do stan o, ginki nasa sa', 'sike, ni hong bōgā zin zin, jō tatsu shinai', and 'dame dó'. Sharing personal stories of motivation with the word 'fight-doh'. Explaining phrases like 'ginky doste' and 'daijobu, kimi nada de kirio' for cheering someone up. Discovering traditional Japanese relaxation methods and the recommended Adimon-sen hot spring complex. Delving into stone saunas, karaoke, and the phrase 'Nantoko Naru' for uncertain situations. Learning about online courses for studying Japanese.