Is it "douzo" or "dozo"?

Is it "douzo" or "dozo"?

"Wait, is it douzo? In the book it says dōzo..."

It's both. And it's neither!

In beginner classes I use often rōmaji (English letters) to write Japanese in class. This is to give you a head start in learning to speak.

Some people think you shouldn't use rōmaji at all, because it will give you bad pronunciation.

That might be true if you're studying by yourself…

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2021 Student Summer Picnic!

2021 Student Summer Picnic!

Thank you to everyone (including those not pictured) who came to our student picnic at the weekend!

We had fun meeting up outdoors, drinking tea, eating Japanese snacks and talking about Japan-related (and non-Japan-related) things.

It was so good to see students in person after such a long time!

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What's The Difference Between Tabemono and Ryouri?

What's The Difference Between Tabemono and Ryouri?

"Why does this homework say the Japanese word for food is ryouri? I thought you said the word for food was tabemono?"

I love it when students ask questions like this. It shows you’re really thinking about the language.

So, what’s the difference between ryouri and tabemono? Consider the following:

Potatoes are tabemono, but they're not ryouri.

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The One Million Meanings of Yoroshiku

The One Million Meanings of Yoroshiku

So, you’ve learned different ways to say "Nice to meet you!" in Japanese. One way to say “nice to meet you” is “yoroshiku onegai shimasu”.

But yoroshiku onegai shimasu isn't just for the first time you meet someone. It has a whole host of different uses.

Let's look at the main different meanings of this magical, multipurpose Japanese word.

1. Yoroshiku means "Please!"…

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"Does Japanese Have Plurals?"

"Does Japanese Have Plurals?"

After the excitement of our first school Summer Barbecue, I spent the day in bed watching one of my favourite films in Japanese.

It wasn’t a Japanese film though. I watched Hot Fuzz (or to give its Japanese title ホット・ファズ -俺たちスーパーポリスメン "Hot Fuzz: We Are The Super-Policemen!")

Watching British comedies dubbed into Japanese might not be the "purest" way to listen to Japanese. But if you enjoy it, it's definitely worth doing. Dubbed films are easy to watch, too, assuming you've seen the film before and know the plot already.

Anyway, there's a little scene in the Hotto Fazzu dub that's a nice example of Japanese plurals in action, so I thought I'd share it with you.

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What's the Difference Between Mina and Minna (And Why Does It Matter Anyway?)

What's the Difference Between Mina and Minna (And Why Does It Matter Anyway?)

If you watch Japanese TV or anime (or are paying attention in class) you've probably come across the Japanese word mina-san (皆さん) meaning "everybody".

But what's the difference between mina and minna? What's mina-sama all about? And ... does it actually matter?

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How to Learn Hiragana and Katakana using Mnemonics

How to Learn Hiragana and Katakana using Mnemonics

I finally got around to going through the mid-course feedback from my students and drawing up plans to incorporate some of what you asked for into the rest of the course. Several learners mentioned the importance of learning the kana early on.

Learning to read Japanese can be a daunting task. The Japanese language has three distinct "alphabets" (four if you count romaji!) and learning kanji is a task that takes years. You can learn the kana (hiragana and katakana) pretty quickly, though, if you use the most efficient way to memorise them - mnemonics.

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