Time Counters
Time Counters These are the units of time, used to count a span of time. There are some sound changes, so see the chart below. Years – Number + 年（ねん）- Same as date. Months...
Category: N5 Grammar
Calendar dates
Calendar Dates In English, January 1st is read as January first, and not January one. Calendar dates in Japan also get a different pronunciation. Please note, however, that these are not ordinal (sequence) numbers...
Sentence Conjunctions
Basic Sentence Conjunctions This page explains four common sentence conjunctions: その上 – On top of that. Must both be good or both bad. それで – “because of that” “therefore” AそれでB – A caused Bそれに –...
Quantity Modifiers
Quantity Modifiers This page explains some common quantity modifying adverbs and adjectives. Quantity Adverbs Quantity Adverbsたくさん: a lot of Xすこし: A little of Xちょっと: A little X たくさん (a lot) and すこし (a little)...
Comparisons
より and ほう ～より Rather than A Aより～ より means “rather than” ; However it is not typically used alone. It is a particle; it attaches directly to Adjectives, nouns and verbs. Because it means...
Verb Nominalization
Verb Nominalization ～の ~ing (Noun)Dictionary form + の The の particle can nominalize the dictionary form of verbs; that is, to make them into nouns. This the gerund (noun) “ing” in English. Examples 勉強するの...
ましょう and ませんか
Volitional The volitional is one of the most widely used verb forms in Japanese. It is usually said to mean “let’s”, and is usually used as an invitation. However, what it actually expresses is...
ぜんぜん and あまり
Special Adverbs ぜんぜん and あまり are special adverbs that refer to quantity and are almost always used with negative verbs or adjectives. ぜんぜん ぜんぜん + NegativePresent Negative – At allPast Negative – Didn’t at...