LLearn Japanese

Daily Thread: for simple questions, minor posts & newcomers [contains useful links!] (September 30, 2025)

  • September 30, 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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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.

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13 comments

  3. Are these the only sounds needed to speak Japanese fluently? I can’t pronounce [ɴ] (characters with brackets are in IPA)

    [p], [b],

    [t], [d], [r]

    [k], [ɡ]

    [m], [n]

    [h]

    [s], [ts], [ʃ], [z], [dʒ],

    [w], [l], [j]

  4. Has anyone else found themselves tuning into random Japanese people livestreaming on TikTok? It’s good listening practice and it’s fun to interact with people 🙂

  5. Short question: Types of experiences that a solo tourist in Japan can do that involves lots of two way conversation in Japanese?

    Long version:
    So after a couple days of feeling great (which I posted about) I feel like I’ve hit a wall. I easily get struck with nerves and usually conversations don’t last long enough before the other party gives up on me and switches to English. I’m thankful when someone doesn’t know English nor has a tablet to bring out, meaning we actually get to tough it out.

    I need something that will give me the face to face practice so that the words can better flow into my ears and out of my mouth while under immediate social pressure.

    At this point it’s worth about any price. I’m in Sendai right now, heading north in my loop around Honshuu. Still a good seventy-some days remaining. Any recommended activities? (Japanese terminology included)

    p.s. I keep forgetting to pretend to be Portuguese in situations where I’m not showing a passport lol…

  6. Is there a more masculine way of saying だよね/そうね? I tried searching it up anf the closest thing I found was a Reddit post asking how feminine そうね was.

  7. Just wanted to share a fun idiom I learned today from a drama. One of the characters said the phrase 「煮え湯を飲まされた。」which of course means “I was made to drink boiling water.” I was confused so after some Googling I found out this is an idiomatic phrase for “I was betrayed.” I found it interesting to imagine what situation would have created this idiom, like someone offers you some water to drink, but instead of fresh cold water it’s boiling hot instead, thus being a “betrayal” event? Have any of you come across this phrase?

  9. What’s the difference between 置く(おく) and 設ける(もうける)?Jisho gives both the definition “to set up/establish” but I can’t seem to find anything online explaining the difference in meaning/nuance. It feels like I’m somehow missing out on something that clearly differentiates the two.

    I understand 置く also means “to put” and is used as an auxillary verb to mean “doing something that prepares/readies/leaves in a state”, but not sure about 設ける.

  10. I’ve been learning Japanese for about 4 months now and finding my progress has been slow in regards to speaking.

    Does anyone have any tips on how to cross the bridge from not speaking to being able to communicate at low levels?

    I have got my head around kana pretty well and I’ve got 100 or so words under my belt but I just can’t seem to get past this block of actually speaking and using it with my partner (who is Japanese). I feel like im lacking the words I want to use and if I have them, I can’t string them together properly, does anyone have an tips to help me cross this threshold…?
    Thank you anyone who has the time to give me a bit of advice

  11. First time coming across this as a pun in a manga I’m reading and it surprised me. Apparently “kanpai” can be either the obvious 乾杯 meaning “cheers”, or it can be 完敗 meaning “total defeat”.

    In the manga it was something like “It looks like I’ve suffered a total defeat (完敗), or rather I should say to you, cheers (乾杯).

    I just thought it was a neat pun and had no idea of the other kanji for kanpai. Is this a relatively known pun? Does it occur with any regularity?

  12. Ok it’s not exactly a query but a kind request:

    Please help me with the source and conversion table for forms like 〜て、~た and so on!! I am really confused about the conversation of verbs into forms!!

  13. when does 昼寝 occur usually? When do people do it? is it strictly at 12 noon and until before 6:00pm or is it only around 12pm to 3pm?

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