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PDF Workbook (volume 1, 2, and 3) is available from
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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)
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visit the A.E.A.D. (An Expression A Day) page:
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2026.09.15 Tue #888: Since we're here...
せっかくだから
Sekkaku dakara.
Since we're here...
A「この近くに有名な和菓子屋があるよ」 B「じゃあ、せっかくだから寄っていこうか」
A: There's a famous Japanese sweets shop near here. B: Since we're here, we might as well stop by.
'Sekkaku dakara' is used when speakers recognize that a situation or opportunity already available to them would be a waste not to make use of, and they decide on an additional action as a result. 'Sekkaku' assigns value to the current opportunity or circumstances. That value may come from the rarity of the opportunity or from the time and effort already spent reaching the present situation. 'Dakara' then turns that valued situation into a reason for what the speaker proposes to do next. The expression therefore involves an immediate reevaluation of the current circumstances: since this opportunity is already available, it would be a shame not to make use of it. In the example, the speakers are already in the area when they learn that a famous Japanese sweets shop is nearby. B treats being there as an opportunity and immediately proposes stopping by. Depending on the situation, English may use expressions such as 'since we're here,' 'since we have the chance,' or 'we might as well,' rather than a single fixed equivalent for 'sekkaku dakara.'
2026.09.14 Mon #887: Oh, scratch that.
あ、今のなし
A, ima no nashi.
Oh, scratch that.
A「じゃあ、明日の3時に...あ、今のなし。4時だった」
A: Okay, then tomorrow at three..., oh, scratch that. It was four.
'A, ima no nashi' is used when speakers realize immediately after speaking that what they have just said contains a mistake, misunderstanding, inappropriate remark, or other problem, and they withdraw that utterance on the spot. 'A' marks the moment when the speaker detects the problem, often as a result of hearing their own utterance. 'Ima no' points to the utterance that has just been produced, while 'nashi' indicates that it should no longer be treated as valid in the ongoing interaction. The expression therefore displays a clear temporal sequence: an utterance is produced, a problem is detected, the utterance is revoked, and a correction may follow. In the example, the speaker first says 'three,' immediately realizes that this is wrong, cancels it with 'A, ima no nashi,' and then replaces it with 'four.' The expression can be expanded into a complete sentence such as 'I withdraw what I just said,' but 'A, ima no nashi' functions independently as an immediate act of revoking the preceding utterance rather than merely as an incomplete version of a fuller sentence.
2026.09.13 Sun #886: Just in case
念のため
Nen no tame.
Just in case.
A「資料、メールで送ったよね？」 B「うん。でも、念のためUSBにも入れておく」
A: You sent the materials by email, right? B: Yeah, but I'll put them on a USB drive too, just in case.
'Nen no tame' is used when speakers believe that things are probably fine but do not completely exclude the possibility of an unexpected problem and therefore take an additional precaution. The possible problem does not need to be stated explicitly because it can usually be inferred from the preceding conversation or immediate situation. For example, even if materials have already been sent by email, a speaker may also save them on a USB drive in case of a communication problem or file issue. The speaker is not necessarily predicting that something will go wrong. Rather, the expression responds to a small remaining uncertainty: things will probably be fine, but they are not completely certain. 'Nen no tame' therefore turns a slight reservation about the current situation into an additional preventive action.
A: Do you think my father will get angry when you ask for permission to marry me? B: Well, normally he would. A: Huh? My father's started dancing. B: Oh, that kind of reaction.
'A, socchi ne' is used at the moment when speakers realize that, among several possibilities, the relevant object, topic, interpretation, reaction, or development is different from the one they had initially assumed. 'A' marks the instant of recognition and switching. 'Socchi' is originally a demonstrative referring to a direction or object away from the speaker and toward the listener, but in conversation it can point not only to physical directions but also to discourse alternatives, interpretations, and even possible directions in which events may develop. 'Ne' accepts the newly identified alternative as something now shared between the speakers. For example, if the speaker assumes that 'what happened yesterday' refers to a meeting but is then told that it refers to another matter, 'A, socchi ne' switches the discourse referent. In the example here, however, the speakers expect the father to react angrily to a request for permission to marry, but he unexpectedly starts dancing. 'Socchi' does not refer to a physical object or topic; it points to an alternative direction of reaction: delight rather than anger. The expression can therefore mark an immediate switch from expected development A to actual development B. In this use, it can also carry a lightly humorous sense of recognizing and accepting an unexpected turn of events.
2026.09.11 Fri #884: More than I expected
思ったより
Omotta yori.
More than I expected.
A「ここまで来るの、時間かかった？」 B「いや、思ったより早く着いたよ」
A: Did it take you long to get here? B: No, I arrived here earlier than I expected.
'Omotta yori' is used when speakers evaluate an actual result by comparing it with an expectation they had beforehand. The content of 'omotta' is usually left unstated: what the speaker expected and to what degree are recovered from the situation and from the expression that follows. For example, 'omotta yori hayaku tsuita' implies that the speaker had expected the journey to take longer. Upon arriving, the speaker recognizes a difference between that prior expectation and the actual result and evaluates the arrival as earlier than expected. The expression therefore involves a temporal sequence: an earlier expectation, an actual experience, recognition of the difference between them, and a present evaluation. 'Omotteta yori' is the conversational form of 'omotte ita yori' and is especially common in everyday speech. In English, the comparative changes according to what is being evaluated, as in 'earlier than I expected,' 'more useful than I expected,' or 'easier than I thought,' whereas Japanese can place 'omotta yori' before a wide range of evaluations such as 'hayai,' 'benri,' or 'kantan.'
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)
