Japaneseexplorer

Filler Words: How They Make Your Japanese Sound More Native

People with a certain mastery over a language typically use a lot of filler words without realising it. For instance, you may hear English speakers say things such as “um” and “like” several times in a sentence. These words serve as space fillers and are extremely useful for maintaining the flow of a sentence when

Level Up From Vocab Drills: 4 Tips To Study Japanese Sentences

Using flashcards for vocabulary drills or any other spaced repetition system is common knowledge for anyone taking a Japanese lesson in Singapore. After all, it is among the core ways to progress with your Japanese skills. However, most people do not know that there is a next step to this: transitioning from simple vocabulary to

The Whys And Hows Of Improving Your Japanese Accent

It is a common goal among many students enrolled in a Japanese lesson in Singapore to become so fluent in speaking the language that they can easily blend in with native speakers. Of course, this challenge is best tackled last as it is more important to overcome the fundamentals such as grammar, kanji, and so

Levelling Up: 4 Tips To Progress Beyond Beginner Japanese

There is much debate in the Japanese language learning community regarding the definition of specific proficiency levels, as the guidelines themselves can be quite vague. For one, some say that passing N2 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test means you are intermediate in fluency, while others say that passing at least N3 is enough to

4 Veteran Tips To Make Your Early Japanese Learning Easier

Learning is a lifelong journey, even when you are tackling languages. Although goals are key to measuring progress, there is no end when it comes to fluency since there is always something new to learn. As such, even veteran Japanese language learners constantly seek ways to improve their skills and reflect on their past mistakes.

Grasp These 6 Communication Habits To Up Your Japanese Fluency

Japan’s ever-growing popularity continues to attract people from various backgrounds — piquing their interest in the country’s culture and encouraging them to learn Japanese to better understand it. Being exposed to such an array of new customs is undoubtedly fun and exciting, but it can also be confusing and intimidating. Nonetheless, if you still wish

4 Tips To Up Your Listening Skills And Grasp Spoken Japanese

Every language learner attending a Japanese lesson in Singapore will eventually have to become proficient at understanding verbal Japanese to reach fluency. If you intend to take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) exams, you may find the listening part of the test extremely difficult if you only ever hear Japanese in the classroom. This

4 Proven Methods To Approach Writing Japanese Characters

For those just starting to learn Japanese in Singapore, writing kanji may seem unnecessary in this digital age where most interactions occur online and physically writing things is becoming less common. But in truth, writing is a key step in learning the 2,000 jōyō or general-use kanji necessary to master the Japanese language. Many studies

3 Tips To Increase Efficiency In Your Japanese Studies

When learning a new language like Japanese, it is common to make significant progress at the start and feel like you’re speeding along toward mastery. But sooner or later, it is inevitable for many to plateau in their studies, and it feels like their improvement has come to a crawl. Worse yet, some may feel

Why You Should Include Katakanizing English In Your Studies

Ironically, the Japanese words that even advanced learners of the language have a hard time pronouncing are those borrowed from their native tongue. Loan words that come from English and are turned into Japanese via katakana almost always throw off native English speakers. This is because it is inherently difficult to unlearn the phonology of