Hello! Minasan! Welcome to "Dictation for Every Day" (D4E: version 5) a.k.a. Mainichi no Kikitori
Workbook
PDF Workbook (volume 1, 2, and 3) is available from
[here]!
It includes the notes of words, phrases and grammars.
News and Story
2024.07.14: Volume 3, episode 101-150 starts.
An episode is updated every day.
A.E.A.D. (An Expression A Day)
If you want to learn Japanese expressions more,
visit the A.E.A.D. (An Expression A Day) page:
AEAD Search.
2025.12.06 Sat #605: I told you so...
って言ったのに
tte itta no ni
I told you so...
A「忘れ物しちゃった」 B「だから、忘れるよって言ったのに」
A: I forgot it. B: I told you you'd forget it.
'Tte itta no ni' is a colloquial expression used to point out when previously conveyed information was not followed or when things did not go as expected. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'tte' is a particle indicating quotation, and 'itta no ni' means 'I told you so'. Therefore, 'tte itta no ni' has the same meaning as 'I told you so...' or 'I did mention that earlier.' It is generally used to criticize the other person, so be cautious when using it; in fact, it might be better not to use it at all, unless it's in a joking context.
A: In rugby, do they play games regardless of the weather? B: Yeah, they play even in the rain. Yeah, regardless of it.
'~Toka kankei naku?' is a colloquial expression used to immediately express indifference to a certain matter or situation, or that one is not influenced by it. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'toka' means 'regardless of' or 'without worrying about', and 'kankei naku' means 'without concern for' or 'ignoring conditions'. Therefore, '~toka kankei naku?' has the same meaning as 'regardless of ...?' or 'without worrying about ...?'.
2025.12.04 Thu #603: hardly / scarcely / almost not
ほとんど...ない
hotonndo...nai
hardly / scarcely / almost not
A「週末、遊びに行く？」 B「うーん、ほとんど行かない」
A: Are you going out on the weekend? B: Hmm, I hardly go.
'Hotonndo...nai' is a colloquial expression used to emphasize that a certain matter or action occurs very infrequently or is almost non-existent. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'hotonndo' means 'hardly', 'scarcely', or 'almost not', and 'nai' indicates negation. Therefore, 'hotonndo...nai' has the same meaning as 'hardly ...' or 'scarcely ...'.
2025.12.03 Wed #602: not very / not much / not so
あんまり...ない
anmari...nai
not very / not much / not so
A「料理、する？」 B「うーん、あんまり」
A: Do you cook? B: Hmm, not really.
'Anmari...nai' is a colloquial expression used to emphasize that a certain matter or action is not done very often or is of low degree. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'anmari' means 'not very' or 'not much', and 'nai' indicates negation. Therefore, 'anmari...nai' has the same meaning as 'not very ...' or 'not much ...'.
2025.12.02 Tue #601: worthless / trivial / silly
下らない
kudaranai
worthless / trivial / silly
A「この映画、下らないよね」 B「うん、でも、その下らないところがいいんじゃない」
A: This movie is silly, isn't it? B: Yeah, but isn't that silliness what makes it good?
'Kudaranai' is a colloquial expression used to indicate that something is worthless or unimportant. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'kudaranai' means 'worthless', 'trivial', or 'silly', indicating a negative evaluation in relation to what the speaker has stated. Therefore, 'kudaranai' has the same meaning as 'worthless', 'trivial', or 'silly'.
Let's practice every day!
Let's learn Japanese through dictation practice!
PDF Workbook (volume 1 and 2) is available from
[here]!
It includes the notes of words, phrases and grammars.
This is the dictation practice site operated by Japanese Language Teaching Section, Tokyo Institute of Technology.
This practice involves a variety of natural expressions in daily conversation.
You can practice 10 sentences a day depending on your language ability.
It's a very simple exercise. You just follow the audio you hear and type in Roman letters.
Your comments and bug reports are very welcome. Please submit from here.
Zen and the Art of Dictation
Let's learn Japanese through drill and practice!
You will practice 10 sentences in an episode.
It's a very simple exercise.
You just follow the audio you hear and type in roman letters.
The first objective is to learn the basic Japanese sounds
and hiragana/katakana combinations.
You can practice as many times as possible.
The more you practice, the better you will get.
Please regularly contribute your time to this practice.
It is important to practice every day rather than to practice a lot at once.
The following is the psychological evidence of the importance of regular practice:
Figure 1: The forgetting curve described by Hermann Ebbinghaus.
Here, b represents 'Savings' expressed as a percentage, and t represents time in minutes, counting from one minute before end of learning. The constants c and k are 1.25 and 1.84 respectively. Savings is defined as the relative amount of time saved on the second learning trial as a result of having had the first. A savings of 100% would indicate that all items were still known from the first trial. A 75% savings would mean that relearning missed items required 25% as long as the original learning session (to learn all items). 'Savings' is thus, analogous to retention rate.
Drill for Every Day (D4E: V5)
