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.
2025.11.05 Wed #574: to be irritated / to be edgy
ピリピリしてる
piripiri shiteru
to be irritated / to be edgy
A「試験の前でピリピリしてるね」 B「うん、緊張して落ち着かないよ」
A: You're edgy before the exam, aren't you? B: Yeah, I'm nervous and can't settle down.
'Piripiri shiteru' is a colloquial expression used to immediately express a state of restlessness due to emotions such as nervousness or anxiety. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'piripiri' means 'irritated' or 'edgy', referring to a state of unease.
2025.11.04 Tue #573: to be irritated / to be annoyed
イライラする
iraira suru
to be irritated / to be annoyed
A「なかなか連絡が来ないね」 B「うん、イライラする」
A: They still haven't contacted us. B: Yeah, I'm getting irritated.
'Iraira suru' is a colloquial expression used to immediately express feelings of dissatisfaction or anger towards something. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'iraira' means 'irritated' or 'annoyed', referring to a state of unease.
2025.11.03 Mon #572: waste / futility
無駄
muda
waste / futility
A「この仕事、無駄じゃない？」 B「うん、時間の無駄だよね」
A: Isn't this work a waste? B: Yeah, it's a waste of time.
'Muda' is a colloquial expression used to immediately express that effort or time spent does not yield results. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'muda' means 'waste' or 'futility', referring to something that is worthless or meaningless.
2025.11.02 Sun #571: to be frustrated / to be impatient
やきもきする
yakimoki suru
to be frustrated / to be impatient
A「連絡まだ来ないね」 B「うん、やきもきする」
A: They still haven't contacted us. B: Yeah, I'm getting impatient.
'Yakimoki suru' is a colloquial expression used to immediately express feelings of anxiety or impatience while waiting. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'yakimoki' means 'frustrated' or 'impatient', referring to a state of unease.
2025.11.01 Sat #570: messy / disorganized
ごちゃごちゃ
gocha gocha
messy / disorganized
A「部屋、ごちゃごちゃしてるね」 B「うん、片付けないと」
A: Your room is messy, isn't it? B: Yeah, I need to tidy up.
'Gocha gocha' is a colloquial expression used to immediately describe a state where things are scattered or situations are disorganized. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'gocha gocha' means 'messy' or 'disorganized', referring to a state where things are placed haphazardly or situations are chaotic.
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)
