Grammar

May 24th, 2011

One of the (many) mistakes I made when I began learning Japanese was not to listen to anyone actually speaking the language. If your current Japanese study plan doesn’t include any listening comprehension, then it’s time to make the change and stop being deaf to Japanese.

Just remember…..

May 6th, 2011

Sometimes I hit the wall and learning Japanese becomes a chore. It doesn’t happen every week or even every month but lack of motivation hits us all at some point. However, it’s the people who push through that wall and continue their studies that will eventually become a Japanese ninja. ^_^

Tenses: Past and Present

April 7th, 2011

Tenses are an important part of your Japanese arsenal. They give you the ability to describe the past, present and future. It is sunny today, it was sunny yesterday and it will be sunny tomorrow.

App Giveaway: Japanese 101 Particles

July 9th, 2010

CLOSED! To celebrate the iOS4 update for Japanese 101: Particles, Harvey from japannewbie.com has kindly offered zonjineko.com readers the chance to win one of 5 free codes for his superb iPhone app. Don’t worry if you miss out on the free codes as the app is also on sale from Friday 9th July to Monday 12th July 2010 at US$3.99 – close to 40% off!

App Review: Japanese 101 – Particles

June 3rd, 2010

Let’s face it, if you’re reading this then you, like me, think that learning Japanese is great fun. However, there are certain aspects of the language such as particles that can test even the most ardent Japanophile. Surprisingly there are very few iPhone apps that cover this area of the market and even fewer that do it well. This is where Japanese 101: Particles steps in to fill the void.

Japan Signs: Tokyo Fruit Juice Bar

April 23rd, 2010

I stumbled on this juice bar at a train station in Tokyo and thought it would make a perfect image for my Japan Sign series. There’s a great mixture of hiragana, katakana and kanji although I’ll mainly be looking at the katakana in today’s example. First up on the left we have Banana Juice (バナナジュース), which is entirely in Katakana. Banana is written as バナナ (ba-na-na) and juice is ジュース (ju-u-su).

Japan Signs: Soup Nazi Barber

April 7th, 2010

I found this small ¥1,000 barber shop hidden somewhere in the back blocks of Ueno Station in Tokyo. The whole concept highlights the Japanese predilection for hyper-efficiency and I must admit that is exactly what I love about Japan. Although the love doesn’t extend far enough to get my haircut for ¥1,000. I’d assume you get one style here – salaryman standard.

Use Twitter To Improve Your Japanese

January 25th, 2010

The ubiquity of Twitter means you can connect to the Twitterverse in so many different ways.

Having the ability to always connect to Twitter on the run means you essentially have a free Japanese resource available to you at any time and wherever you happen be.

Should You Take The JLPT?

December 7th, 2009

The JLPT is over for another year. Some of you attended, some may have missed it, others didn’t know it was on and the rest. Well, care factor = 0.

If you spend any time reading around the interwebs this time of year, you’ll notice the great unwashed coming out of their caves and denouncing the JLPT as a waste of money and/or time.

JLPT 4: Top 50 Adjectives Worksheet

December 3rd, 2009

So it’s only days away from the 2009 JLPT test and if you don’t know a good number of these i-adjectives by now, you’ll either need a case of RedBull to pull a few all-nighters or just resign yourself to guessing your way through the multiple choice questions.