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PODCAST

How to Japanese Podcast

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.

education language learning

All Episodes

49:49

Episode 69 - 謎

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2025/10/19

謎です。 This is all you need to get a laugh in Japanese, given the right situation. Listen to learn more about how to use this funny phrase, and to dig into the career of comedian Katagiri Jin who acted in a comedy short that went viral on the internet outside of Japan in the late 2000s. See more on the newsletter and blog. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com. You can also follow How to Japanese on the newsletter, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

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37:22

Episode 68 - いただき

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2025/09/28

Re-orient yourself in receiver-oriented expressions of thanks! If that sounds complicated, it's not, I promise. Essentially, I show you how to replace your くださって with an いただき and take a look at some interesting language trends that I hope actual linguists are looking into. I've also got a beer recommendation and a way for you to get rid of stuff for free in Japan. See more on the newsletter and the blog. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com. You can also follow

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32:05

Episode 67 - ということです

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2025/08/30

This month I wrote about one of the very first topics I ever covered on the blog: How do you convey reported information in Japanese? And how does it differ from conveying information in English? ということです is a super convenient way to do so, as long as you do the work of setting up clear context. Take a look on the blog or on the newsletter, which is now at newsletter.howtojapanese.com. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com. You can also follow How to Japanese on

en

49:00

Episode 66 - 奇数・偶数

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2025/07/27

This month I'm taking a look at another set of "impossible pairs." Except this time, they aren't homophones. I've also got soup recommendations, details on the Osaka Expo, and some rambling about 商店街 (shōtengai) shopping arcades. Head to the newsletter and blog for more. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com. You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

en

34:37

Episode 65 - なんです

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2025/06/28

なんです！ What is it? What does it mean? How do I use it? Listen in to learn a couple simple patterns that will make your spoken Japanese more natural by adding in this small little piece of language at the end of your clauses. Check out the newsletter and blog as well. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com. You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

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25:00

Ep 64 - 五月雨式

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2025/05/18

This month I wrote about the word 五月雨式 which has a really interesting history. Unless you already know the word, I bet you don't know how it's pronounced. It's a very useful word in business situations, so add these example sentences into your list of sentences to review regularly. I've also got tourist recs, and there are still spots open in the USJETAA Japanese Coaching sessions I'm helping with. Check out the newsletter and blog as well. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事

en

48:11

Episode 63 - 例文

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2025/04/25

This month I wrote about how to authenticate new Japanese phrases/words that you've never encountered before by doing a search for 例文 (reibun, example sentences). Stick around for Kyoto recommendations this month, and I also talk about the volunteering I'm doing for USJETAA: We're offering Japanese coaching sessions four times a year for anyone who needs advice on how to proceed with their studies. Check out the newsletter and blog as well. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事

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51:48

Episode 62 - 筋

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2025/03/24

This month I wrote about the word 筋 (suji), which has a huge range of literal and figurative meanings. One of these is closely related to Osaka geography. Stay to the end to hear me give Osaka travel recs and tell a funny story about my wedding this month. Full Osaka recs on the blog, and more about 筋 on the newsletter. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com. You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

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34:02

Episode 61 - あとになってわかったこと

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2025/02/10

This month is all about acquisition. Specifically the appraisal and acquisition of new Japanese. I argue that a "collector's mindset" can help benefit students. It's how I recently acquired the new phrase あとになってわかったこと. Listen in to learn about what it means. And check out the blog here, and the newsletter here this month. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com. You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

en

27:20

Episode 60 - 状態・状況

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2025/01/14

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 Pokemon. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com. You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack,

en

35:35

Episode 59 - のです

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2024/12/16

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 clauses and sentences. Check out the blog and newsletter for links to some of the essays I wrote about, including the review of drinkable

en

40:32

Episode 58 - 修飾

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2024/11/25

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 neglected to include in last month's episode. Check out the blog and newsletter as well. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to

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01:14:43

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

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2024/11/13

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 reviews and to the one I wrote. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com. You can

en

40:32

Episode 56 - 伺う

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2024/10/21

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 the episode a listen and let me know what your own keigo experience has been like! Feel free to reach out with any questions

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36:31

Episode 55 - 確か・確かに

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2024/09/23

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 my Japanese reading group. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com. You can also follow How to

en

29:42

Episode 54 - 確認

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2024/08/05

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 with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com. You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Twitter, Instagram,

en

26:56

Episode 53 - 日記

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2024/07/21

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 might have weighed. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com. You can also follow How

en

24:47

Episode 52 - 聖地巡礼

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2024/06/22

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 marketing. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com. You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Twitter,

en

29:05

Episode 51 - 文壇 (The Japanese Literary World)

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2024/05/18

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 free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com. You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Twitter,

en

36:41

Episode 50 - Sentence Diagramming

How to Japanese Podcast ·

2024/04/19

How do you improve your ability to understand Japanese sentences on your own? And to craft structurally sound Japanese sentences? I have a theory that sentence diagramming is a great step along the way, and I wrote about it this month in the newsletter. Plus, I provide a great way to increase your exposure to trending news articles in Japan. Read more over at the blog. Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com. You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack,

en

72 results

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