単語 (たんご) Frequency Adverbs

not much 余り (あまり)

not at all 全然 (ぜんぜん)

usually 大抵 (たいてい)

sometimes 時々 (ときどき)

often; much よく (良く)

at about… ぐらい

Frequency Adverb Grammar

Frequency adverbs are added to a sentence to describe how often you do something.

I sometimes go to a coffee shop.

私はときどききっさてんに行きます。

Negative frequency adverbs anticipate a negative verb form at the end of the sentence. Therefore, you cannot use ぜんぜん or あまり with a positive verb form such as ます to communicate their meanings here. They would have to be used with ません!!

Ie. 私は全然テレビを見ません。

I do not watch TV at all.

Genki Vocabulary

Here are some words from chapters six through eight :)

もちろん of course

良かったら if you like

太る（ふとる) to gain weight

速い（はやい) fast

すぐ right away

背が低い（せがひくい）short

つける to turn on

着る（きる）to put on clothes above waist

短い（みじかい）short in length

おりる to get off

勤める（つとめる）to work for

親切 （しんせつ）kind

閉める（しめる） to close something

やせる to lose weight

知る(しる) to get to know

遅く（おそく）late

結婚する（けっこんする）to get married

はく to put on (items below your waist)

長い (ながい) long

出かける to go out

やさしい easy (problem)

にぎやか lively

荷物（にもつ）baggage

夜（よる）evening; sunset

大変（たいへん）tough situation

返す（かえす）to return (item)

使う（つかう） to use

手伝う（てつだう）to help

持つ　（もつ）　to carry; to hold

降りる（おりる）to get off

借りる（かりる） to borrow

閉める（しめる）to close something

つける to turn on

電話をかける（でんわをかける）to make a phone call

連れてくる（つれてくる）to bring a person (irregular verb)

持ってくる（もってくる）to bring a thing (irregular verb)

遅く（おそく） (do something) late

会社（かいしゃ）company

家族（かぞく）family

兄弟（きょうだい）siblings

国（くに）country

食堂（しょくどう）cafeteria

眼鏡（めがね）glasses

背が高い（せがたかい）tall

背が低い（せがひくい）short

短い（みじかい）short (length)

親切（しんせつ）kind

便利 （べんり）convenient

かぶる to put on a hat

知る（しる）to get to know

知っています I know

知りません I do not know

はく to put on (items below your waist)

太る（ふとる）to gain weight

太っています to be on the heavy side

CHAPTER 8

空気（くうき）air

今朝（けさ）this morning

黒板（こくばん）blackboard

今月（こんげつ）this month

大学生（だいがくせい）college student

天気予報（てんきよほう）

所（ところ）place

夏（なつ）summer

何か（なにか）something

パーティー party

はし chopsticks

冬（ふゆ） winter

毎週 (まいしゅう）every week

来月（らいげつ） next month

上手（じょうず）skillful; good at

下手　（へた） clumsy; poor at

有名（ゆうめい）famous

My new learning system ~

Hiii, here’s how I have been learning Japanese these past couple of weeks!

I have been learning my kanji with The Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Course. I learn 2+ kanji a day, along with a corresponding vocabulary word for each one. I think this is nice because I am killing two birds with one stone by learning a reading of the kanji and the vocabulary word at once!

First, I review the previous day’s kanji by writing it down. I will review up to a week’s worth of kanji sometimes.

Then, I write down the new kanji I learn at the back of my notebook. I will include the words and stroke order beside them.

The next day, IN A DIFFERENT NOTEBOOK, I write the previous day’s vocabulary words (which are made up of the kanji) review. The second day notebook is what I use as a “I should probably know this or at least be somewhat familiar with this” kind of thing. Side note: If I learn 2 kanji a day, I should be able to finish the book (and learn a lot of vocabulary!) in under 10 months.

I have also been using WaniKani. I don’t know how to feel about it yet. I have however been taking words I struggle to remember and putting them on sticky notes and placing them on what I call my “focus wall” beside my desk. None of those words should be lying dormant on the wall for more than a week. I add them to a corresponding “focus” flashcard set on the Shirabe Jisho app to give them extra attention

I use the Shirabe Dictionary app for a lot of things, but mostly last minute kanji and vocabulary refreshers. It’s PACKED with value because it offers example sentences, stroke order, built in flash card sets (and an SRS system for them), word lists and kanji lists, etc. You can customize your own sets too if you want. The only thing is, don’t rely on the audio for the vocabulary. It’s not great. Still, I’m shocked that it’s free.

I’ve also been using HelloTalk. I actually quite love the listening they offer on there because it isn’t too difficult for beginners but there are intermediate options as well. They offer vocabulary and grammar explanations with listening that is suited for my level, which I really found most other podcasts to be lacking. Note: Another fun thing is just texting native Japanese speakers on there. It’s rly useful for learning their common phrases, especially because there’s a translation feature. It also kind of has the same features as HiNative, so I find it to be better in my opinion.

I found that I struggle with reading enough example sentences, so I scurried to my genki textbook to look at the fundamentals. I also use Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication. I like it, but the Romaji is quite annoying. Other than that, I find the example sentences to be pretty extensive!

Any other grammar I’m learning comes from a mixture of Cure Dolly (don’t binge her videos after the 4th episode, you will quickly regret it. It adds up too fast. Try to supplement her videos with beginner articles or other videos on the topic, then PRACTICE and EXERCISE making sentences before moving on), various blog articles (Ie. Tofugu) and my textbook (Genki).

So yeah. I also sometimes practice reading with the book Japanese Short Stories for Beginners by LingoMastery. I really like it, especially because it also includes vocabulary to learn with the stories. It’s written pretty formally so it will complement the traditional western learning style textbooks nicely.

Anyway, that’s how I’m studying lately. For me, I find the Kanji and their vocabulary to be daily, listening practice to be almost daily, and WaniKani almost daily. My weakness is reading and speaking. I usually speak when i’m imitating native speakers or the lessons from HelloTalk, but I’m not quite good enough to actually talk to native speakers yet.

Anyway, I’m off to sleep. Hope this helped! お休みなさい！

JLPT N5 Grammar - てください

Are you using it right??

How do you ask someone to do something without sounding like a teacher? Hint: not like this!

————-

Welcome to Benkyogo!

In our ぶんぽうご Real Japanese Grammar series, Nani and Mani are deep diving into the textbook grammar required for the JLPT, throwing out the stuff you’ll never use, and teaching you how to speak authentically whilst expressing your own personality.

⭕️ You WILL:

- Understand grammar in real life context- Be told when and where to forget the BS - Get to listen to 2 random people free-talking about Japanese grammar

❌ You WON’T:

- Sound boring when talking to your Japanese friends - Say anything rude to your Japanese boss - Speak like you’re fresh outta your favourite anime

We don’t claim to be experts, we’re just 2 Japanese speakers (one native, one second language) chatting about the DO’s and DON’T’s of Japanese grammar in the 21st century. Keep up, textbooks!!

————-

Check out https://benkyogo.co.uk/ for detailed hints, tips and resources to self-study Japanese.

⛩Check out our store at https://www.etsy.com/shop/benkyogo

JLPT N5 Grammar -　でも

Are you using it right??

でも seems like a great way to say “but” BUT… there’s a big but. There are politer (and more native-sounding) ways to say BUT. Learn about all the buts on this episode of Bunpogo!

————-

Welcome to Benkyogo!

In our ぶんぽうご Real Japanese Grammar series, Nani and Mani are deep diving into the textbook grammar required for the JLPT, throwing out the stuff you’ll never use, and teaching you how to speak authentically whilst expressing your own personality.

⭕️ You WILL:

- Understand grammar in real life context- Be told when and where to forget the BS - Get to listen to 2 random people free-talking about Japanese grammar

❌ You WON’T:

- Sound boring when talking to your Japanese friends - Say anything rude to your Japanese boss - Speak like you’re fresh outta your favourite anime

We don’t claim to be experts, we’re just 2 Japanese speakers (one native, one second language) chatting about the DO’s and DON’T’s of Japanese grammar in the 21st century. Keep up, textbooks!!

————-

Check out https://benkyogo.co.uk/ for detailed hints, tips and resources to self-study Japanese.

⛩Check out our store at https://www.etsy.com/shop/benkyogo