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)
2025.07.07 Mon #454: Didn't they come?
来たんじゃない？
Kita n ja nai?
Didn't they come?
A「もうみんな集まった？」 B「来たんじゃない？」
A: "Is everyone here already?" B: "Didn't they come?"
"Kita n janai?" is a casual way to suggest or confirm that something has happened, inviting agreement or response from the listener.
2025.07.06 Sun #453: I don't know
わかんない
Wakannai
I don't know
A「これどうやって使うの？」 B「わかんない。」
A: "How do you use this?" B: "I don't know."
"Wakannai" is the casual contracted form of "wakaranai" (I don't know). It's used in quick, informal replies and can sound a bit blunt depending on tone.
2025.07.05 Sat #452: Sorry, sorry
ごめんごめん
Gomen gomen
Sorry, sorry
A「あれ？ドア閉めた？」 B「ごめんごめん、閉めてくるね。」
A: "Did you close the door?" B: "Sorry, sorry, I’ll go close it."
"Gomen gomen" is a casual, friendly way to apologize. Repeating it softens the tone and shows you don't want the other person to feel bad.
2024.07.04 Fri #451: I wish that were true...
だったらいいけど...
Dattara ii kedo...
I wish that were true...
A「明日は晴れるかな。」 B「だったらいいけど…」
A: "Do you think it’ll be sunny tomorrow?" B: "I wish that were true..."
"Dattara ii kedo..." expresses a wish mixed with uncertainty. The lack of certainty softens the statement.
2024.07.03 Thu #450: That's not true / No way
そんなことないって
Sonna koto nai tte
That's not true
A「私、何やってもダメなんだよね。」 B「そんなことないって！」
A: "I feel like I fail at everything." B: "That's not true!"
"Sonna koto nai tte" gently denies someone's negative statement and offers encouragement. It's common in close conversations.
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)
