JapanesePod101.com Blog

わや*！That was a hard decision to make Kyushu? Okinawa? South Korea? Taiwan? No… I made it to Hokkaido and have to start this article by talking about Salmon Ikura Don (raw salmon with salmon fish eggs on rice that I ate in Sapporo), in honor of the best dish I’ve ever eaten. First, If you want to travel in Japan and don’t know where to start, I suggest you to take a look at this list: here So...why Sapporo? Well, my two closest Japanese friends are living there... What better reason to fly north? First of all, I love big cities. Tokyo is massive and I enjoy it. However, I’m still a Swiss girl from the Alps… So I was actually really excited about this trip. The image I had of Sapporo is pretty similar to the one foreigners can have... Show more

Hello Listener, We want to thank you. JapanesePod101 has reached 500 MILLION lesson downloads – that’s HALF a BILLION since we began in 2005! You’ve downloaded and you’ve learned with us. As you can imagine, we’re celebrating this milestone. And what better way to celebrate than to reward the people who helped – members like you! At JapanesePod101, you learn Japanese with real lessons by real teachers – with 370+ hours of audio and video lessons – but now it’s even more affordable too! 500 Million Celebration: Get 30% Off ALL Premium and Premium PLUS plans! 500 Million Celebration! Get 30% OFF Premium and Premium PLUS! (Only 500 spots available for this huge discount) Premium Plan for Just $7/Month or $0.23/Day! ... Show more

Hello Listener, How easy is it to forget new Japanese words and phrases? First you learn ‘em. Two days later, you forget ‘em. Stopping to note them down takes a lot of time. You can write every word down on 100s of flashcards or in a notebook. That’s the time-consuming part of the battle. But wait! You STILL have to review them all! So here are 5 ways to never forget new Japanese words with the Word Bank. It’s your personal, ever-growing collection of vocab. Come across a new word in a JapanesePod101 lesson? Want to master specific vocab list? Save ‘em with 1 click and review ‘em in 1 spot – the Word Bank. And it’s just been updated with new features! If you’re a Premium user, be sure to check it out! If not, take... Show more

Speaking is usually the #1 weakness for all Japanese learners. This is a common issue among language learners everywhere. The reason for this is obvious: When language learners first start learning a language, they usually start with reading. They read online articles, books, information on apps and so on. If they take a class, they spend 20% of their time repeating words, and 80% of the time reading the textbook, doing homework or just listening to a teacher. So, if you spend most of your time reading instead of speaking, you might get better at reading but your speaking skills never grow. You get better at what you focus on. So if you want to improve you speaking skills, you need to spend more of your study time on speaking. Here are... Show more

プレゼント (purezento): gift This is the Japanese word for "gift." Here are some gift ideas by our users: A plane ticket to Tokyo and 30,000 yen to spend. Latest manga books and a one week free trip to Tokyo. What gift do you want the most for the upcoming holiday season? Click here to share your gift! P.S. Get Your Daily Dose of Japanese with 1-Minute Mini-Lessons The Daily Dose of Japanese is a Calendar that gives you new, 1-minute lessons every day. Why? Because learning a little every day is easy, strengthens your habits and motivation and you improve your Japanese over time. Lessons range from culture and holidays to grammar, slang, phrases and more. Find it in the Japanese Resources menu or in the Quick Links... Show more

理想 (risō): ideal Here are some answers from our users: 日本人ように親切な人。(Someone kind, understanding and generous just like the Japanese people.....) 合うことができる人。(Someone easy to get along with.) So what's your ideal type of person? Click here and leave your answer! P.S. Get Your Daily Dose of Japanese with 1-Minute Mini-Lessons The Daily Dose of Japanese is a Calendar that gives you new, 1-minute lessons every day. Why? Because learning a little every day is easy, strengthens your habits and motivation and you improve your Japanese over time. Lessons range from culture and holidays to grammar, slang, phrases and more. Find it in the Japanese Resources menu or in the Quick Links menu on your Dashboard. Click here to... Show more

理解することはまあまあできるけど、話すのは難しい！ Understanding is alright, but speaking is hard! Hi, my name is Noemi and this is what I have been saying for over a year whenever someone asks me about my level in Japanese. I have tons of learning books, and I think they are all good but just too heavy to carry. My Japanese friends are helping me, but it is impossible to remember everything they are teaching me, especially in a more casual context. I also took Japanese classes for 2 years, and those are generally a great option, but not so much for my wallet. In other words: I was stuck at my let’s say lower intermediate level and this needs to change. I am in Japan now, so it’s time to learn. Basically, what I need is something light and... Show more

仕事 (shigoto): job, work When you want to know what the other person's job is, you can simply use this phrase. 仕事 job は topic marking particle 何ですか。 what is.. Here are some ways to answer the question. 教師です。(I'm a teacher.) 会社員です。(I'm a company employee.) 弁護士です。(I'm a lawyer.) So what do you do? Click here and leave your answer! P.S. Get Your Daily Dose of Japanese with 1-Minute Mini-Lessons The Daily Dose of Japanese is a Calendar that gives you new, 1-minute lessons every day. Why? Because learning a little every day is easy, strengthens your habits and motivation and you improve your Japanese over time. Lessons range from culture and holidays to grammar, slang, phrases and more. Find it in... Show more

Hello Listener, You’ll want to know about these 3 new Japanese learning tools and features. They’re great for reviewing, motivation and progress and learning consistently with easy 1-minute lessons. One is an unofficial sneak peek. So what are they? The brand new Achievement Badges, the Daily Dose of Japanese and the Word Bank! And... if you want to master Japanese, unlock our proven learning system at 26% OFF and get a Bonus 6.5-hour Audiobook! In this month’s newsletter: 72 Hours Left! Click here to get 26% OFF + FREE 6.5-Hour Audiobook New Feature! Achievement Badges Now Available for Premium PLUS Sneak Peek: Save & Review Vocab with this Study Tool New! Easy 1-Minute Lessons with the Daily Dose of Japanese ... Show more

There are plenty of destinations where you can get by with English, but sometimes you want to do better than just ‘get by’. Here are 6 reasons you should learn the basics of the language of your next trip destination. 1. You will be able to discover your destination better than other tourists. Getting by is one thing, but actually experiencing a trip abroad is quite another. No amount of guidebooks and online research can compensate for a basic lack of language ability. Speaking the language of your destination permits you to explore that destination beyond the regular tourist traps. Your language skills will not only allow you to dig into all the hidden gems of your destination, but they will also allow you to mingle with the... Show more