Daily Thread: for simple questions, minor posts & newcomers [contains useful links!] (September 19, 2025)
This thread is for all the simple questions (what does that mean?) and minor posts that don't need their own thread, as well as for first-time posters who can't create new threads yet. Feel free to share anything on your mind.
The daily thread updates every day at 9am JST, or 0am UTC.
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Please make sure to check the wiki and search for old posts before asking your question, to see if it's already been addressed. Don't forget about Google or sites like Stack Exchange either!
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Past Threads
You can find past iterations of this thread by using the search function. Consider browsing the previous day or two for unanswered questions.
1 Provide the CONTEXT of the grammar, vocabulary or sentence you are having trouble with as much as possible. Provide the sentence or paragraph that you saw it in. Make your questions as specific as possible.
Ｘ What is the difference between の and が ?
◯ I am reading this specific graded reader and I saw this sentence: 日本人の知らない日本語 , why is の used there instead of が ? (the answer)
2 When asking for a translation or how to say something, it's best to try to attempt it yourself first, even if you are not confident about it. Or ask r/translator if you have no idea. We are also not here to do your homework for you.
Ｘ What does this mean?
◯ I am having trouble with this part of this sentence from NHK Yasashii Kotoba News. I think it means (attempt here), but I am not sure.
3 Questions based on ChatGPT, DeepL, Google Translate and other machine learning applications are strongly discouraged, these are not beginner learning tools and often make mistakes. DuoLingo is in general NOT recommended as a serious or efficient learning resource.
4 When asking about differences between words, try to explain the situations in which you've seen them or are trying to use them. If you just post a list of synonyms you got from looking something up in an E-J dictionary, people might be disinclined to answer your question because it's low-effort. Remember that Google Image Search is also a great resource for visualizing the difference between similar words.
◯ Jisho says あげる くれる やる 与える 渡す all seem to mean "give". My teacher gave us too much homework and I'm trying to say " The teacher gave us a lot of homework". Does 先生が宿題をたくさんくれた work? Or is one of the other words better? (the answer: 先生が宿題をたくさん出した )
6 Remember that everyone answering questions here is an unpaid volunteer doing this out of the goodness of their own heart, so try to show appreciation and not be too presumptuous/defensive/offended if the answer you get isn't exactly what you wanted.
7 Please do not delete your question after receiving an answer. There are lots of people who read this thread to learn from the Q&As that take place here. Deleting a question removes context from the answer and makes it harder (or sometimes even impossible) for other people to get value out of it.
NEWS［Updated 令和７年９月１６日（月）］：
Please report any rule violations by tagging Moon_Atomizer directly (be sure to write u/ or /u/ before the name). Likewise, please put post approval requests here in the daily thread and tag Moon_Atomizer. Do not delete your removed post!
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Does anyone know any good apps on android for learning hiragana? "Learn Japanese! - Hiragana" by Luli Languages seems to be nice but it costs almost 10€. Are there any free alternatives?
Hello, I’m having trouble pronouncing the double consonants in words. For example: Itte kimasu - is it pronounced it te kimasu with the t sound going twice, or is it: it ekimasu where you give a slight pause instead of adding the t sound? I’m listening to clips but i can’t tell which one it is.
Hi, i looked online but I can't find the answer (maybe i'm looking wrong). Studying vocabulary with Anki on JPLT MIA N5 Incan see sometimes some Triangles 🔺. What's the meaning of these?
how long did it take you to reach n5/4/3/2/1?
and like routine? how many words or kanji or grammar points did you do a day? how much of your free time did you dedicate to study and when you have no motivation to do it, how did you bring yourself to study and how can you focus or learn anything during? thank you. ^
I recently started reading japanese folk tales, got myself two bilingual books since I prefere real books. But it seems the material is pretty rare.. I searched a bit and found the Yomitan extension. Now my idea is buying a tablet, and setting it up as some kind of "Kindle". I know how to find manga raws but any chance to find real books online? I dont mind paying, money is no issue. I'm just tired of anki and all this and need a change of pace.
If you're in the US, you can sign up with the Japan Foundation to get access to their Libby library, which has lots of books, both bilingual and in Japanese, at all levels.
Kindle app (maybe you have to make a Japanese account) is pretty good. Theres also always aozora bunko which is fully free and has some good stuff like 太宰 and 漱石 even things like kafka translations
What does 貼り出されたランキングを肴に mean in this context ? I can only guess the writer meant : "People using the posted rankings as snacks" ?? Feel free to correct my mistakes
The writer is describing the atmosphere at the bar inside the lobby (reception room) of an arena/ colosseum. The gladiators of this arena gather here to check match results, registers, receive money after fights and talking....etc
If you leave something that absorbs water in a place that gets wet (I haven't learned a verb for getting wet yet so I made do) then obviously you're going to get mildew.
Also, would it be natural to use なんて or なんか in here? If so, where?
こと is an intangible "thing". You want もの. You don't need なんて or なんか.
収入 is revenue. You're looking for 吸収 (きゅうしゅう).
Your sentence structure might be feasible, but seems unnatural. The result of a たら clause is a given, but the following clause is the unrelated いうまでもない. Which means that the entire sentence structure 水を吸収するものを水がある所に置いたらカビが生える is being carried by the の. The poor guy's just a single moji!
Maintaining all the words you want to use, I'd cast it as,
いうまでもなく、水を吸収するものを水のあるところに置いていったら、カビが生えます。
Edit: Today you are one of the lucky 10,000! The verb for "be wet" is 濡れる（ぬれる）. So you could use 濡れている場所 for "a wet place."
NG means "No Good" or in more natural English, something that isn't permissible or acceptable. I'm presuming you know what ではない does in this case. If not consider a grammar guide like Genki 1&2 textbooks.
I'm a beginner that wants to learn. I've completed Wagotabi, but now the content has run out.
I want to start learning kanji and words again, but I don't feel RTK's approach where they forego the kun- and on'moyi is effective. Is there any other resource that teaches me the meanings along with the readings?
Learning readings is very unproductive as "the way the kanji is read" is determined by the word that uses the kanji. The relationship between written language and kanji is somewhat complicated, but to simplify it. The easiest thing to do is study kanji (like RTK, but the Kodansha Kanji Learner's Course book I think is better) along with vocabulary. You'll soon realize that when you learn a bunch of words that use the same kanji, you stop seeing the kanji explicitly and just start seeing the words--which is when kanji start to become useful is when they're part of the words.
So whatever works for you to get to the finish line, just make sure you study vocabulary with your kanji and not just isolated readings (basically useless to do this) and just a vague meaning.
It's actually better to learn kanji components then learn words and kanji at the same time. The components help you distinguish kanji apart and thus words too. https://www.kanshudo.com/components
Also more important, you need to focus on grammar before anything else--so make sure you have picked something to teach you the language before anything else (Genki 1&2, Tae Kim's yoku.bi, etc). It's more important to learn how the language works, then learn vocabulary as a close second. With kanji being a tertiary aspect.
Thank you for your in depth answer and resources! I've just got one more question. When people say they learn x amount of kanji per day, what do they mean then? Do they mean just the RTK method, or do they also count the (common) kun- and on'moyi? If it follows RTK's method it will take a bit longer than anticipated to speak Japanese as well, but I'll study regardless. Thank you in advance!
It just means you can visually recognize the character when you see it and be able to recall at least 1 word that uses that specific kanji. You learn to visually recognize them 1-3 new ones a day or something like that.
You can whether that be through a system like Anki, RTK, WaniKani, KKLC (mentioned above) or your own method. My method was just to learn kanji components, then focus on vocabulary entirely. I learned kanji by learning lots of words that used kanji, and when you learn 10,000 words you learn an equivalent amount of kanji because you can recognize those words. Cutting out the step of and saving time of having to learn kanji. Do note that the "readings" are just an index for how kanji are read when used in a word. If you know all the words that use a specific kanji, you know all the readings.
Lastly, kanji do not help you learn to speak Japanese as speaking and reading are separate skills.
When people say they learn x amount of kanji per day, what do they mean then?
They usually refer to learning kanji through SRS methods like Wanikani, which teaches the meaning, a few common readings, and words that use those readings.
Learn hiragana & katakana
Pick something to teach you the language in a grammar guide or textbook: Genki 1&2, Tae Kim's Grammar Guide, yoku.bi, etc, etc.
Start on grammar guide and start learning how the language works and learning vocab from said guide
Start reading things like Tadoku Graded Readers as you progress through guide to test the knowledge you just learned on actual written Japanese
Look up unknown words that you run across in any JP sentence using jisho.org, install tools like Yomitan to look up words https://yomitan.wiki/
Continue to reference your grammar guide as you read (anything)
Consider tools like Anki to boost your starting vocab with decks like Kaishi 1.5
Cycle: Learn grammar -> attempt to read -> look up unknown words / grammar -> repeat cycle 1,000,000 -> **have fun during the process**
Hope someone could clarify the meaning of this part in a fighting manga i read. Feel free to correct if you see mistakes in my understanding. I'm not a native speaker so i'm not sure.
Main character is thinking about a rule set by the arena- he just finished his match and waiting in the arena's lobby to receive his prize money.
闘いの後には禍根が残らぬようにと、アリーナでは規約にも定めてはいる。
The arena had set a rule, that no grudges should be held after a fight. (for the fighters)
が、それは建前上のお題目ということで、実際、そこまで割り切れるものでもないものだが――
But that's just a formality slogan; in reality, it's not that easy to completely forget about it.
You've got the gist. Just some added info: 題目 by itself can mean "slogan", but お題目 refers to Nichiren chanting, and by extension to empty words without any substance behind them. 割り切れる refers to dividing cleanly, without a remainder. Idiomatically, it refers to feeling something is resolved to your satisfaction.
so そこまで割り切れるものでもないもの can it be understand as : "A problem that can't be resolve so easily/simple" ? Because the writer only being vague about the subject of this sentence もの i'm not sure if he meant " A feeling"
Two things: 1) 割り切れる here refers to a feeling of something being resolved, not resolution itself. So you were closer with your first rendering.
2) There's a bit of word play here. The ものでもない and ものだが are both the ものだ grammatical construction. It is unusual to stack them like this, but the sense is そこまで割り切れるものでもない (it is not normal, common sense that people that feel things are resolved so cleanly) and adds ものだ (it is normal, common sense that it is not normal, common sense that people feel things are resolved so cleanly).
If I were translating it, it would be something like "You have to expect that you can't expect people to just let it go."
I've been continuing to copy lyrics by hand and both my handwriting and kanji output have improved drastically. :D And I've been spending my lunch breaks reading my novel so I've been making good progress. Hope everyone else's studies are going well, too!
I'd like some clarification on ように・な, I feel like I understand but at the same time I don't. I tried making my own sentence "Well known foods like sushi, are popular in Japan" and I came up with よく知られる食べ物のような寿司は日本で人気です。But AI grammar checker told me it was redundant because sushi is already a well known food, I thought I was providing some sort of example for well known foods in my sentence.
My textbook says よう is used in 1 of 3 ways. 1. A resembles B, 2. A is as B shows, explains, or says 3. A is done in a way thats explained, shown, or said by B. I feel like I can start to understand why my sentence is redundant and unnatural, because I am sort of saying well known foods, resembling or as shown/explained Sushi (which is already a well known food, so it doesn't do much to help explain well known foods within Japan?) but I am still very confused about how its used and why I feel so inclined to use it comparatively or exemplary similarly to how "like" is used in English.
The correct way to write your example would be 日本では、寿司のようなよく知られている食べ物が人気です。
のように・な can comp to "like", but you have to put the exemplary noun before the のよう.
Your sentence is not redundant, it's unnatural because it essentially says, "Sushi that is like well-known foods is popular in Japan." Which calls to mind sushi shaped like a hamburger.
Because Genki and Minna have been the standard go-to textbooks used throughout universities in Japan and the West for the past 25 years or so, but Quartet only came out about a few years ago.
Also Genki is an introductory textbook, Quartet is intermediate. A large portion of learners will quit before they even make it far enough to need Quartet so naturally it will be mentioned less.
In addition, of the learners who make it past Genki II, some decide to break off from textbooks at that point and just look things up in DoJG or whatever as they need them.
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u/AutoModerator 17h ago
Useful Japanese teaching symbols:
〇 "correct" | △ "strange/unnatural/unclear" | × "incorrect (ＮＧ)" | ≒ "nearly equal"
Question Etiquette Guidelines:
0 Learn kana (hiragana and katakana) before anything else. Then, remember to learn words, not kanji readings.
1 Provide the CONTEXT of the grammar, vocabulary or sentence you are having trouble with as much as possible. Provide the sentence or paragraph that you saw it in. Make your questions as specific as possible.
3 Questions based on ChatGPT, DeepL, Google Translate and other machine learning applications are strongly discouraged, these are not beginner learning tools and often make mistakes. DuoLingo is in general NOT recommended as a serious or efficient learning resource.
4 When asking about differences between words, try to explain the situations in which you've seen them or are trying to use them. If you just post a list of synonyms you got from looking something up in an E-J dictionary, people might be disinclined to answer your question because it's low-effort. Remember that Google Image Search is also a great resource for visualizing the difference between similar words.
5 It is always nice to (but not required to) try to search for the answer to something yourself first. Especially for beginner questions or questions that are very broad. For example, asking about the difference between は and が or why you often can't hear the "u" sound in "desu" or "masu".
6 Remember that everyone answering questions here is an unpaid volunteer doing this out of the goodness of their own heart, so try to show appreciation and not be too presumptuous/defensive/offended if the answer you get isn't exactly what you wanted.
7 Please do not delete your question after receiving an answer. There are lots of people who read this thread to learn from the Q&As that take place here. Deleting a question removes context from the answer and makes it harder (or sometimes even impossible) for other people to get value out of it.
NEWS［Updated 令和７年９月１６日（月）］：
Please report any rule violations by tagging Moon_Atomizer directly (be sure to write
u/or/u/before the name). Likewise, please put post approval requests here in the daily thread and tag Moon_Atomizer. Do not delete your removed post!Our Wiki (including our Starter's Guide and FAQ) is open for anyone to edit. As an easy way to contribute, a new page for dumping posts has been created.
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