A: How should we solve this problem? B: Well, let's do it this way. First, let's investigate the cause, and then we can think about the countermeasures.
'Ja, kou shiyou.' is a colloquial expression used to make a suggestion or share a decision. 'Ja' means 'well', and 'kou shiyou' means 'let's do it this way'.
2026.04.04 Sat #724: Eh, no way...
えぇ、そんなぁ...
Ee, sonna...
Eh, no way...
A「ここの支払い、よろしく！」 B「えぇ、そんなぁ...」
A: You're paying for this one. B: Oh, no way...
'Ee, sonna...' is a colloquial expression used to convey surprise or share a negative emotion about something. 'Ee' is an interjection that expresses surprise, and 'sonna' means 'that's...' and is used when something is unexpected or feels unacceptable.
2026.04.03 Fri #723: I don't like it.
いやだなぁ。
Iya da naa.
I don't like it.
A「明日、試験だよね！」 B「そうなんだよ、いやだなぁ」
A: The exam is tomorrow, right? B: Yeah, I know. I don't like it.
'Iya da naa.' is a colloquial expression used to convey a feeling of dislike or reluctance towards something. 'Iya' means 'dislike', and 'da naa' is a sentence-ending particle that emphasizes the emotion behind the statement.
2026.04.02 Thu #722: So, you see,
そうするとですね、
Sou suru desu ne,
So, you see,
そうするとですね、この方法が最適だと言うことですか。
So, you see, are you saying that this method is the best?
'Sou suru desu ne, ...' is a colloquial expression used when starting an explanation or developing a story. 'Sō suru' means 'to do so', and 'desu ne' is a sentence-ending particle used to seek agreement from the listener.
2026.04.01 Wed #721: Anyway,
なにはともあれ、
Nani wa tomo are,
Anyway,
なにはともあれ、健康が第一だよね。
Anyway, health is the most important thing, right?
'Nani wa tomo are' is a colloquial expression used to shift the topic or state a conclusion. It has the same meaning as 'tonikaku', which emphasizes that something is important regardless of what happens.
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)
