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.
2025.11.25 Tue #594: only / just / best
〜に限る
〜ni kagiru
only / just / best
A「夏の暑いとき、何が一番？」 B「やっぱり、冷たい飲み物に限るよね」
A: What's the best thing during hot summers? B: After all, it's best to have a cold drink.
'~Ni kagiru' is a colloquial expression used to emphasize that a certain choice or action is the most appropriate. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'ni kagiru' means 'only', 'just', or 'best', indicating the most suitable choice or action in relation to what the speaker has stated. Therefore, '~ni kagiru' has the same meaning as 'only ~' or 'just ~'.
2025.11.24 Mon #593: ...though...
〜けれども...
〜keredomo.
...though...
A「新しいレストラン、美味しいよ」 B「でも、高いんだよね、おいしいけれども...」
A: The new restaurant is delicious. B: But it's expensive, it's delicious though...
'~Keredomo...' is a colloquial expression used to add conditions or indicate contrast regarding a certain matter. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'keredomo' means 'but' or 'however', serving the role of adding something to what the speaker has stated or providing contrasting information. Therefore, '~keredomo...' has the same meaning as '...though...' or '...but...'.
2025.11.23 Sun #592: want to try to do
〜みたいなあ
〜mitai naa
want to try to do
A「スカイダイビングって楽しいらしいよ」 B「うん、一度、やってみたいなあ」
A: I heard skydiving is fun. B: Yeah, I want to try it once.
'Mitai naa' is a colloquial expression used to immediately express a desire or hope to do something. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, '~mitai naa' means 'I want to try to do ...' or 'I want to experience ...', emphasizing the speaker's desire or hope.
2025.11.22 Sat #591: that's all / only that much
それだけ
sore dake
that's all / only that much
A「今日の会議、どうだった？」 B「うん、重要な話はそれだけ」
A: How was today's meeting? B: Yeah, that's all the important stuff.
'Sore dake' is a colloquial expression used to emphasize that a certain matter or information is limited. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'sore' means 'that', and 'dake' means 'only' or 'just'. Therefore, 'sore dake' has the same meaning as 'that's all' or 'only that much'.
2025.11.21 Fri #590: that's what I keep saying to him/her / I've been telling him/her that
そう言ってるんですけどね
sou itterun desu kedo ne
that's what I keep saying to him/her / I've been telling him/her that
A「彼、また遅刻？」 B「うん、遅刻しちゃだめだよって、いつも、そう言ってるんですけどね」
A: Is he late again? B: Yeah, I always tell him, 'You shouldn't be late,' that's what I keep saying to him.
'Sou itterun desu kedo ne' is a colloquial expression used to emphasize that you have been conveying or explaining something to someone. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'sou itteru' means 'that's what I keep saying' or 'I've been telling', and 'n desu kedo ne' means 'but you know' or 'though'. Therefore, 'sou itterun desu kedo ne' has the same meaning as 'that's what I keep saying to him/her' or 'I've been telling him/her that'.
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)
