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.
2025.12.17 Wed #616: No, that's not necessarily the case.
いや、そうとは限らないよ。
iya, sō to wa kagiranai yo.
No, that's not necessarily the case.
A「だいたいの人がこれでいいと思っている」 B「いや、そうとは限らないよ。」
A: Most people think this is fine. B: No, that's not necessarily the case.
'Iya, sō to wa kagiranai yo.' is a colloquial expression used to indicate a negative stance towards a certain opinion or assertion. It is employed when presenting a counterargument against subjective opinions or general perceptions.
2025.12.16 Tue #615: The reason is...
なんで...かと言うと、
nande... ka to iu to,
The reason is...
A「最近、元気がないね」 B「なんでかと言うと、仕事が忙しくて..」
A: You haven't been energetic lately. B: The reason is that I've been busy with work...
'Nande... ka to iu to,' is a colloquial expression used when explaining the reason or background of a certain matter or situation. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'nande' means 'why' or 'the reason is', and 'ka to iu to' means 'is because' or 'the reason for... is'.
2025.12.15 Mon #614: isn't .. really energetic?
今、..がすごい元気じゃないですか
ima, .. ga sugoi genki janai desu ka
isn't .. really energetic?
A「今、DTMが、すごい元気じゃないですか」 B「うん、素人でも簡単に作れるからね」
A: Isn't DTM really energetic now? B: Yeah, because even amateurs can easily create music with it.
'Ima, .. ga sugoi genki janai desu ka' is a colloquial expression used to confirm and express admiration for a person or thing that is very active and energetic. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'ima' means 'now' or 'lately', and 'sugoi genki janai desu ka' means 'isn't really energetic?' or 'is very active, isn't it?'. It is often used in relation to advancements or popularization in technical fields such as DTM (desktop music) or programming languages.
2025.12.14 Sun #613: even if...
〜たところで
〜ta tokoro de
even if...
A「言ったところで、意味がない」 B「そうかもしれないけど、伝えないと..」
A: Even if I say it, it has no meaning. B: That may be true, but if you don't convey it...
'~Ta tokoro de' is a colloquial expression used to indicate that even if a certain action or situation occurs, the result is not what is expected or is meaningless. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'ta tokoro de' means 'even if ~' or 'even though ~', indicating a concessive stance in relation to what the speaker has stated.
2025.12.13 Sat #612: not that..but...
〜じゃなくて、
〜janakute,
not that... but...
A「いいとか、悪いとかじゃなくて..」 B「でも、結局、したくないんでしょ」
A: It's not that it's good or bad... B: But in the end, you don't want to do it, do you?
'~Janakute,' is a colloquial expression used to negate a certain matter or situation while emphasizing another matter or situation. To explain the structure of this phrase in more detail, 'janakute' means 'not that... but...', indicating a negative stance in relation to what the speaker has stated.
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)
