Learn Japanese Pod

Welcome to the Fun Friday edition of the Learn Japanese Pod podcast — the show where we sit down with cool people doing cool things in Japan. In this episode, I talk with Wes Lang about the recent rise in bear encounters and attacks across Japan: the latest stats, what’s causing them, and what Japan is doing to prevent future incidents. We also dive into Wes’s long experience as a master hiker. He was the first American to complete the Hyakumeizan, and he shares practical advice on how to prepare for the unlikely event of meeting a bear on the trail — including what to do, what not to do, and some useful bear-related vocabulary in Japanese. I learned a lot from this interview with Wes, and I now feel slightly more prepared to go hiking — and hopefully avoid any battles with bears! Wes is the creator of hikinginjapan.com, an authoritative resource with detailed information on hundreds of hikes and mountains across Japan. If you love hiking, Japanese nature, or just a good story, you won’t want to miss this one.

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  

In this podcast, Ami Sensei and Alex teach you useful motivational phrases in Japanese. For more Japanese language learning podcasts visit Learn Japanese Pod

In this lesson you’ll learn common useful Japanese phrases used to cheer up and motivate your friends. Everyone struggles from time to time and a word of encouragement can always mean a lot to someone. And in Japan, where teamwork is seen as a virtue, motivating other members in your group to do their best is an important part of building relationships. You’ll find motivational phrases in manga, anime, J-pop and also in casual conversation with your friends. So check out the dialogue and extra phrases in this lesson. Main Dialogue (Japanese) A:　どうしたの？元気なさそうだね。 B:　最近日本語が全然上達しないんだ。 A:　日本語上手じゃん！ B:　いや、思うように話せないんだよね。もうだめだ。 A:　大丈夫、大丈夫。塵も積もれば山となる、だよ。 B:　それどういう意味？ A:　少しずつ頑張って行けば願いは叶うという意味だよ。 B:　わかった！頑張るよ！ Main Dialogue (Pronunciation) A: Dōshita no? Genki nasasō da ne. B: Saikin, Nihongo ga zenzen jōtatsu shinain da. A: Nihongo jōzu jan! B: Iya, omou yō ni hanasenain da yo ne. Mō dame da. A: Daijōbu, daijōbu. Chiri mo tsumoreba yama to naru da yo. B: Sore dōiu imi? A: Sukoshi zutsu gambatte ikeba negai wa kanau toiu imi da yo. B: Wakatta! Gambaru yo! Main Dialogue (English) A: What’s the matter. You don’t seem very well/happy. B: Recently my Japanese hasn’t improved at all. A: Your Japanese is great! B: No, I can’t express myself the way I want to. It’s no good. A: It’s OK, it’s OK. Even dust when piled up becomes a mountain. B: What does that mean? A: It means if you try little by little you can realize your dreams. B: Got it. I’ll give it a shot! Extra Motivational Phrases Here are some extra motivational phrases. These phrases are featured in both the main podcast lesson and the extra drill audio file. Check out Learn Japanese Pod to download the podcast and extra drill audio. 1. 頑張って！ Gambatte! Do your best. 2. ファイト！ Faito! Come on, you can do it! 3. 元気出して。 Genki dashite. Cheer up! 4. 大丈夫、大丈夫。君ならできるよ。Daijōbu, daijōbu. Kimi nara dekiru yo. It’s OK. You can do it. 5. 前向きにね。Mae muki ni ne. Be positive. 6. 焦らないでね。少しずつね。Aseranaide. Sukoshi zutsu. Don’t rush. Do it little by little. 7. 願えば叶うよ。 Negaeba, kanau yo. If you wish it, it will come true. Random Phrase of the Week なんとかなる – Nan toka naru Things will work out somehow 今の会社を辞めてもなんとかなるよ – Ima Kaisha o yamete mo nan toka naru yo Even if you quit your job things will work out そんな心配しないで、なんとかなるさ – Shinpai shinai de, nan toka naru sa Don’t worry, things will work out you know. Learn

In this podcast, Ami and Alex teach you about Aizuchi or phrases you can use to interject in conversation to show interest in the speaker. For more Japanese language learning podcasts visit Learn Japanese Pod

In this podcast lesson you’ll learn about 相槌 Aizuchi, which are words used to show interest during a conversation. In English you might say things like “Uh-huh” and “really?” during a conversation to show you are listening to the speaker. Japanese is no exception and has a lot of these Aizuchi which are used frequently in conversation. So if you can learn and use these when speaking to your friends, your conversations will go more smoothly and you’ll sound a lot more natural in Japanese.  Main Dialog (Japanese) A:　ね、お茶の入れ方教えてくれる？ B:　まず、急須に茶葉をいれる。 A:　うん B:　で、沸騰したお湯を湯呑みにいれる。 A: 　本当？湯呑みにいれるのか。 B:　そう、温度を下げるのがポイントだよ。 A:　そうなんだ。 B:　渋みがとれるから。 A:　ヘェ〜。 B:　次に湯呑みのお湯を急須にいれる。 A:　ふぅん。 B:　30秒後お茶を注ぐ。 A:　なるほどね。お茶って奥が深いよね。 B:　まあね。 Main Dialog (Pronunciation) A:　Ne, ocha no irekata oshiete kureru? B:　Mazu, Kyuusu ni chaba o ireru.  A:　Un. B:　De futtō shita oyu o yunomi ni ireru.  A:　Hontō? Yunomi ni ireru no ka. B:　Sō, ondo o sageru no ga point da yo.  A:　Sō nan da.  B:　Shibumi ga toreru kara. A:　Heeh. B:　Tsugi ni yunomi no oyu o kyuusu ni ireru. A:　Fuun. B:　Sanjuu byō go ocha o sosogu.  A:　Naruhodo ne. Ocha te oku ga fukai yo ne.  B:　Maa ne.  Main Dialog (English) A:　Hey, will you teach me how to make tea? B:　First put tea leaves in the teapot.  A:　Uh huh.  B:　Then put boiling water in the tea cups. A:　Really? You put it in the tea cups? B:　That’s right. The trick is to lower the temperature.  A:　Oh really.  B:　You can take away the bitterness.  A:　Ahh.  B:　Next, put the water from the cups into the teapot.  A:　Uh huh.  B:　Pour the tea after 30 seconds.  A:　I see. Tea’s really deep.  B:　Yeah, I guess so.   List of Aizuchi Here’s a list of the Aizuchi featured in this lesson. Use these phrases to show you are really listening to the speaker.  うん – Un – Uh huh 本当？ – Hontō – Really? そうなんだ – Sō nan da – Is that so? ヘェ〜 – Heeh – Ahh ふぅん – Fuun – Uh huh なるほどね – Naruhodo ne – I see

In this podcast I interview Katheryn Gronauer who is a coach specializing in cross cultural communication for foreigners living in Japan. She is the author of Confessions of a Yo Yo Dieter and runs ThriveTokyo a consultancy helping foreigners settle into their lives and work in Japan. For more podcasts, visit Learn Japanese Pod

In this podcast, Ami and Alex teach you how to have a conversation with your friends about a past trip to Japan. For more Japanese language learning podcasts visit Learn Japanese Pod

These are the dialogues for podcast #33 “Talking about a trip to Japan. In this lesson you will learn how to talk about a past trip to Japan with your friends. Main Dialog (Japanese) A: 日本の旅行はどうだった？ B: 超楽しかったよ。 A: 何をしたの？ B: 東京と京都で観光してきた。 A: 食べ物はどうだった？ B: 寿司が美味しかったけど… A: 高かった？ B: いや、そうじゃなくて、メニューが読めなかったんだよね。 A: 食べたい物に指差して、「これください」そう言えばいいじゃん。 B: そうだね。覚えとく。   Main Dialog (Pronunciation) A: Nihon no ryokō wa dō datta? B: Chō tanoshikatta yo.  A: Nano o shita no? B: Tōkyō to kyōto de kankō shitekita. A: Tabemono wa dō datta? B: Sushi wa oishikatta kedo… A: Takakatta? B: Iya, sō janakute, menyuu ga yomenakattan da yo ne.  A: Tabetai mono ni yubi sashite, kore kudasai sō ieba ii jan. B: Sō da ne. Oboetoku.    Main Dialog (English) A: How was your trip to Japan? B: It was so fun. A: What did you do? B: I did some sightseeing in Tokyo and Kyoto.  A: How was the food? B: The sushi was delicious but… A: It was too expensive? B: No, not that. I couldn’t read the menu you know.  A: Just point at the food you want and say “this please”. B: Right. I’ll remember that!

In this podcast Ami and Alex teach you how to make dinner plans with a friend. For more Japanese language learning podcasts visit Learn Japanese Pod  

These are the dialogues for podcast #32 “Making dinner plans with a friend” In this lesson you will learn the following: How to make dinner plans with a friend How to talk about a restaurant you regularly frequent Introduction In this podcast you will learn how to make dinner plans at a restaurant you regularly frequent. You’ll learn some natural phrases for making plans that native speakers commonly use. Check out the dialogue and grammar notes below for a detailed explanation. Main Dialog (Japanese) A: もしもし B: もしもしアレックス、明日夜ご飯食べに行かない？ A: ごめん、明日はちょっと無理なんだ。土曜日なら行けるよ。 B: じゃあ土曜日の７時にいつものお寿司屋さんで！ A: あみは本当にお寿司飽きないねー！ Main Dialog (Pronunciation) A: Moshi moshi B: Moshi moshi, Arekkusu, ashita yoru gohan tabe ni ikanai? A: Gomen, ashita wa chotto muri nan da. Doyōbu nara ikeru yo. B: Jaa, doyōbi no shichi ji itsumo no osushi ya san de. A: Ami wa hontō osushi ni akinai ne. Main Dialog (English) A: Hello? B: Hi, Alex, do you wanna go out to eat dinner tomorrow? A: Sorry, tomorrow’s not possible. If it’s Saturday I can go. B: OK then, Saturday at 7 o’clock at the usual sushi place. A: Ami, you never get sick of sushi do you!? Grammar point and drills Here is a breakdown of the main grammar pattern featured in the dialogue: 土曜日の７時にいつものお寿司屋さんで Doyōbi no shichiji ni itsumo no osushiyasan de (Let’s meet on) Saturday at 7 o’clock the usual sushi place. Here are some more example drills: 1) 金曜日の６時半にいつものラーメン屋さんで。 Kinyōbi no roku ji ni itsumo no raamenyasan de. (Let’s meet on) Friday at 6 at the usual ramen place. 2) 日曜日の６時にいつものイタリアンで。 Nichiyōbi no rokuji ni itsumo no itarian de. (Let’s meet on) Sunday at 6 at the usual Italian place. 3) 木曜日の８時にいつもの居酒屋で。 Mokuyōbi no hachiji ni itsumo no izakaya de. (Let’s meet on) Thursday at 8 at the usual Izakaya. 4) 土曜日の７時にいつものカラオケで。 Doyōbi no shichiji ni itsumo no karaoke de. (Let’s meet on) Saturday at 7 at the usual Karaoke place.   Random Phrase of the Week The random phrase of the week is where we teach you a random Japanese phrase to make your friends laugh and ask “where did you learn that from?!” 行き当たりばったり – Ikiatari battari Meaning: unplanned and making decisions on the fly / Playing it by ear. It’s generally used in a negative way but there are some exceptions Example sentences: 1) 行き当たりばったりでなんでも決めちゃう。 Ikiatari battari de nandemo kimechau. To make decisions in a random or unplanned way 2) 行き当たりばったりな旅だった。 Ikiatari battari na tabi datta It was an unplanned trip. 3) 行き当たりばったりにレストランを選んだ。 Ikiatari battari resutoran o eranda. I randomly chose a restaurant. For more podcasts on how to learn to speak natural fluent Japanese visit Learn Japanese pod

This is the Fun Friday edition of Learn Japanese Pod. This is where we speak to cool people doing cool things in Japan. In this episode I talk to Japan veteran Andy about life in Japan during the Coronavirus. For more podcasts visit http://learnjapanesepod.com  

In this podcast Ami and Alex teach you some useful Japanese phrases you can use when visiting a convenience store. For more podcasts visit http://learnjapanesepod.com  

These are the Japanese dialogues for podcast #31: Convenience Store Japanese. Introduction  In this podcast you will learn useful Japanese phrases for shopping at a convenience store. Understanding the polite language used by convenience store staff can be a little confusing at first. However, if you learn common set phrases it’s not that hard to understand.  Main Dialog (Japanese) A: いらっしゃいませ、お次の方どうぞ. B: ファミチキを一つとハッシュポテトを一つお願いします。 A: こちら温めますか。 B: はい、お願いします A: お箸をお付けしますか。 B: はい、お願いします。 A: 袋お分けしますか。 B: 大丈夫です。 A: ポイントカードはお持ちですか。 B: はい。 A: 1500円になります。1万円からでよろしいですか。 B: はい A: ありがとうございました Main Dialog ( Japanese pronunciation) A: Irasshaimase, otsugi no kata dōzo. B: Famichiki o hitotsu to Hasshu potato o hitotsu onegaishimasu. A: Kochira atatamemasu ka. B: Hai, onegai shimasu. A: Ohashi o otsuke shimasu ka. B: Hai, onegai shimasu. A: Fukuro owake shimasu ka. B: Daijōbu desu. A: Pointo kaado wa omochi desu ka. B: Hai. A: Sen gohyaku ni narimasu. Ichi man en kara yoroshii desu ka. B: Hai A: Arigatō gozaimasu. Main Dialog (English) A: Welcome, next customer please. B: One Famichiki (fried Family Mart chicken) and one hashed potato please. A: Would you like it heated? B: Yes, please. A: Would you like chopsticks with that? B: Yes, please/ A: Would you like to use seperate bags? B: No, that’s fine. A: Do you have a point card? B: Yes. A: That’ll be 1500 yen. Shall I give you change from this 10,000 yen bill? B: Yes. A: Thanks. Extra Phrases Saying Yes and No  To recap, when talking to Konbini staff you’ll mostly say: はい、お願いします – Hai, Onegai shimasu – Yes please 大丈夫です – Daijōbu desu – No, it’s OK Ordering stuff One useful phrase is これ一つお願いします Kore o hitotsu onegai shimasu – which means I’ll have one of that. When you aren’t sure of the name for something, you can point and say that. So usually at the register or レジ reji – there’ll be a glass case with hot food such as fried chicken, potato and other foods. Sometimes the kanji can be hard to read so just point and say これ一つお願いします Kore o hitotsu onegai shimasu Bags One thing you’ll definitely be talking about is plastic bags. Here are some useful phrases: 袋にお入れしますか Fukuro oire shimasu ka. Do you need a bag? 袋お分けしますか Fukuro owake shimasu ka. Shall I put these in separate bags? このままでよろしいでしょうか Kono mama de yoroshii deshō ka Do you want it just like this. You don’t need a bag right? 袋は結構です Fukuro wa kekkō desu No, I don’t need a bag. Asking if you want chopsticks and other cutlery Another thing you will almost definitely be asked is if you want chopsticks, a spoon, a straw etc. お箸はご利用ですか Ohashi wa goriyō desu ka Will you be using chopsticks お箸をお付けしますか Ohashi o otsuke shimasu ka Do you want chopsticks? (Shall I add chopsticks?) スプーンをお付けしますか Supuun o otsuke shimasu ka Do you want a spoon? ストローをお付けしますか Sutoroo o otsuke shimasu ka Do you want a straw? Point card Another thing that might throw you off is point cards. Many konbini have customer loyalty point cards which allow you to build up points every time you make a purchase. So they’ll usually say: ポイントカードはお持ちですか Pointo kaado wa omochi desu ka Do you have a point card? Random Phrase of the Week 居留守 Irusu – To pretend to not be at home or 居留守を使う Irusu o tsukau – To pretend to not be at home You use this when someone rings on your doorbell and you pretend to not be in. You can also use it for the telephone when someone rings and you don’t answer.     

In this podcast Ami and Alex teach you some useful phrases and dialogues to talk about you plans for the year in natural, fluent Japanese. For more podcasts go to http://learnjapanesepod.com

Talking about your plans for the year In this podcast you will learn how to talk about your New Year’s resolutions, your plans and goals for the coming year. Check out the main dialogue to learn natural phrases and vocabulary for this lesson. Vocabulary from the podcast 新年の抱負 Shinnen no hōfu New Year’s resolution 日本語 Nihongo Japanese (Language) 上達 Jōtatsu Improve 本を読む Hon o yomu To read books 後 Ato Also / As well / After that もっと Motto More 読みたい Yomitai I want to read 健康的 Kenkōteki Healthy なりたい Naritai Want to become 音楽活動 Ongaku katsudō Musical activities 頑張りたい Gambaritai I want to do my best やる気 Yaruki Motivation なんでもできる Nandemo dekiru You can do anything よし Yosh(i) Let’s do this Main Dialog (Japanese) A: ね、新年の抱負はなに？ B: そうだね。やっぱり、日本語を上達させたいからもっと本を読むよ。後、もっと健康的になりたいな。あみは？ A: 私も本をもっと読みたい！後、音楽活動をもっと頑張りたいな。 B: なるほどね。 A: やる気があれば、なんでもできるよ。 B: よし！ Main Dialog ( Japanese pronunciation) A: Ne, shinnen no hōfu wa nani?  B: Sō da ne. Yappari, nihongo o motto jōtatsu sasetai kara motto hon o yomu yo. Ato, motto kenkōteki ni naritai na. Ami wa? A: Watashi mo motto hon o yomitai! Ato, ongaku katsudō o motto gambaritai na.  B: Naruhodo ne.  A: Yaruki ga areba nandemo dekiru yo. B: Yosh!  Main Dialog (English) A: Hey, what’s your New Year’s resolution? B: Well, let’s see. I guess I want to improve my Japanese and read more books. Also, I want to be more healthy. How about you Ami? A: I also want to read more books. Also, I want to go for it with my music.  B: I see. A: If you have motivation you can do anything.  B: Let’s do this! Grammar Drills Let’s drill a really useful phrase for talking about you goals for self improvement. Here’s the basic sentence structure: [The activity or goal] + [もっと頑張りたいな] I want to go for it (Lit. I want to try harder) Drill 1 音楽活動をもっと頑張りたいな。 Ongaku katsudō wo motto gambaritai na. I want to go for it with music Drill 2 仕事をもっと頑張りたいな。 Shigoto wo motto gambaritai na. I want to go for it at work Drill 3 日本語の勉強をもっと頑張りたいな。 Nihongo no benkyō wo motto gambaritai na. I want to go for it with my Japanese studies Drill 4 運動をもっと頑張りたいな。 Undō wo motto gambaritai na. I want to go for it for working out Drill 5 ダイエットをもっと頑張りたいな。 Daietto wo motto gambaritai na. I want to go for it for my diet   Random Phrase of the Week This week’s random phrase is… 奥が深い – Oku ga fukai  This means something like it’s hard than you think or it’s deep or there’s more than meets the eye.  Examples: 日本語は奥が深い Nihongo wa oku ga fukai Japanese is a deep language / Japanese is a deep language   この本は奥が深い Kono hon wa oku ga fukai This book is deep / There’s a lot more to this book than meets the eye   「七転び八起き」ということわざは奥が深い Nana korobi ya oki to iu kotowaza wa oku ga fukai The saying “fall seven times, stand up eight” is very deep in meaning.

In this Fun Friday episode of Learn Japanese Pod, I interview Miku Sensei of Miku Real Japanese. Miku Sensei is a prolific creator of fun, educational Japanese language learning videos on Youtube and Instagram. She is an international traveler and linguist who speaks fluent English and Spanish. Through her travels she has discovered her own effective techniques for teaching and learning languages. In the podcast we talk about her journey to become a Japanese teacher and her advice on how to become more fluent in Japanese.

In this podcast, Ami and Alex teach you useful phrases and dialogues to help you talk about your job in natural Japanese. For more fun Japanese language podcasts visit http://learnjapanesepod.com

Main Dialog 1 – Talking about your job (Japanese) A: お仕事は何をしてるの? B: ウェブデザインの仕事してるよ。 A: そうなんだ。楽しい? B: そうだね。毎日大変だけど楽しいよ。 A: 楽しいのはよかったね。何年ぐらいやってるの? B: 7年ぐらいかな。 A: ヘェ〜、すごいな。俺はすぐ転職しちゃうからさ。 B: まじで?! Main Dialog 1 – Talking about your job (Pronunciation) A: Oshigoto wa nani o shiteru no? B: Uebu dezain no shigoto shiteru yo. A: Sō nan da. Tanoshii? B: Sō da ne. Mainichi taihen dakedo tanoshii yo. A: Tanoshii no wa yokatta ne. Nan nen gurai yatteru no? B: Nana nen gurai kana. A: Hee, sugoi na. Ore wa sugu tenshoku shichau kara sa. B: Maji de?! Main Dialog 1 – Talking about your job (English) A: What do you do for work? B: I do web design work. A: Really? Is it enjoyable? B: Well, everyday is tough but it’s fun. A: That’s good it’s enjoyable. How long have you been doing that? B: About 7 years I guess. A: Wow. I’m always changing jobs. B: Seriously?!

In this podcast, Ami and Alex teach you some useful phrases and dialogues for talking about the weather in natural, fluent Japanese. For more fun Japanese language podcasts visit http://learnjapanesepod.com