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3 About Glossika
11 Grammar
at Glossika is to minimize the amount of planning and effort required and increase your
Since every language is unique and has its own set of difficulties, Glossika has developed
methods to sort this complexity in a way that is easy to learn and acquire for students like
yourself. We hope to level the playing field of difficulty between languages. By doing so
we’re able to present a wide variety of languages and make them accessible to any kind of
learner.
Japanese may feel at first like an insurmountable challenge. We hope that Glossika
becomes one of the most important tools in your toolbox for acquiring speaking and
listening fluency.
To take full advantage of all that Glossika has to offer, sign up and start training your
Japanese today!
ISBN: 978-986-9497-54-1
Copyright © 2017 Glossika. All rights reserved.
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Quick Intro to Japanese
1 Japanese Pronunciation:
Deceptively Easy
At first glance, Japanese has relatively few vowels and a handful of consonants that
connect to those vowels. These vowels are very easily romanized as {a, i, u, e, o} and
actually have different positions in the mouth than the same vowels in English, Spanish,
German, or Italian. With {u}, please be careful and don't over-pronounce it.
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Japanese tends to be written with a syllabary, meaning that each character is a single
syllable. With one caveat -- some of these syllables combine to make larger complex
syllables:
Japanese has relatively few, if any, consonant clusters -- this is a point of deception since
Japanese does in fact lose vowels in certain positions that in turn create clusters. We'll get
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Japanese Vowels
When we pronounce English vowels, we inherently pronounce them long: for example
when we describe what we write as {ee}, the long vowel "E," the part of the name labeled
"long" really has nothing to do with the method of pronouncing the vowel but rather the
articulation. Change the articulation and you get another vowel, for example a short "E."
"Long" is just a name. However, in reality, the method we use to pronounce all of our
vowels are "long." This means that our voice trails off.
So the question is, can we pronounce the same vowel "short" in English?
Yes, when this happens we need to close the syllable with an unvoiced consonant such
as in "meet." In this word, the long "E" has a short length rather than the long length
in the word "team." Stop and think about this difference for a moment, practice it and
understand it.
This long trailing off of vowels simply doesn't happen in Japanese. All vowels are
pronounced short and clip. The macrons you see over the vowels in names like "Tōkyō"
are what actually indicate when vowels are pronounced long. But even in this case, they
are just a double length of the short version and may still sound a bit unnatural to the
English or Chinese ear.
The vowels {a, i, e, o} are actually very close to their Spanish or German counterparts. Even
closer to Finnish if you happen to know it. The big difference is in the letter {u}.
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If we look at the IPA table, the letter {u} is actually positioned extremely close to the
English short "I". There's a fine line here between what English speakers will perceive as {i}
or {u} and this Japanese letter straddles that line. Listen carefully to native speakers and
practice it.
a あ ア [a]
i い イ [i]
u う ウ [ɯ]
e え エ [e]
o お オ [o]
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Japanese Consonants
Each of the vowels are paired with corresponding consonants, which in turn make up the
Japanese syllabary writing system. Most of these letters are the same as in English:
{k, s, t, n, h, m, y, w}
There are a few key differences from what we're familiar with as English speakers:
{si} is pronounced similar to English {shi} but with the tongue pressed against the lower
teeth. This is the same sound that appears in several other languages: Korean ( 시 ),
Likewise, {ti} is pronounced similar to English {chi} in the same manner as {si} above (with
the tongue pressed against the lower teeth). This same sound is also found in several
languages: Korean ( 지 ), Mandarin (ji), Polish (ćji), Croatian (ći), Russian ( чи), Sanskrit ( ).
The Japanese version will have slightly more aspiration than some of the other languages.
{f + u} is pronounced without the bottom lip touching the teeth. This is written in IPA as
/ɸ/. This letter appears with the other {h} letters and can be considered a rather strong {h}.
{r + a|i|u|e|o}: the closest resemblance in English or other European languages is the flap.
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{n} is normally found at the end of a syllable, but in Japanese can also stand for a syllable
all by itself (meaning, it's given the same time length as other syllables). The letter
sometimes sounds like [m], sometimes [n], sometimes [ŋ] as in English "sing". Its actual
IPA symbol is [ɴ] which means that it's pronounced farther back in the throat than [ŋ]. This
sound does not exist in English or neighboring languages Korean and Japanese, so it will
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Japanese Writing
Japanese is written with the following scripts:
to give the written word visual meaning. Kanji also serves the
To learn hiragana, katakana, and kanji, please visit the Glossika website and play the
games for the script that you want to learn. The algorithm presents the letters in the best
logical order so that you can save time and effort in learning to read Japanese.
Be sure to download the Glossika infographics which introduce each of the letters of these
Japanese scripts. They will be sent to your inbox when you’ve completed each game.
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2
Introduction to Japanese
Grammar
Japanese is essentially a language isolate. This means that according to linguists and
scientists who study language, there is not enough evidence available today to prove the
On the surface, Japanese resembles Korean in many ways, both syntactically and
stylistically. These two languages are theoretically grouped with a larger language family
called “Altaic,” which includes Turkic languages and Mongolian. For anybody who knows
Turkish, you'll probably find a lot of grammatical similarities with Japanese. However, as
linguists point out, there isn't enough evidence to prove that a relation exists.
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Japanese is different from
is misleading. Although
For example, our sentences may introduce you to pronouns about who is doing what,
as well, as there is no marking of who does an action on the verb (verbs don't conjugate
in the European sense). Stylistically speaking, the doer of the action is supposed to be
Therefore, in many of the sentences that you learn, much of the identifying information
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To learn to speak Japanese properly means that you need to start thinking about how
the Japanese construct a sentence from their way of thinking. We find that this is true for
most East Asian languages, including Chinese, which is just as different from Japanese as
it is from English. Because of this, it's important to learn Japanese by example as a native
speaker would speak rather than constructing what you think would be a valid Japanese
sentence. Saying something that you believe is a complete idea (both logically and
semantically) that a Japanese person may not be used to or may not have heard before
Rather than translating from your native language to Japanese, you'll have to "translate"
your translation into a Japanese way of speaking. This is why we recommend learning
through example sentences until you have a better sense of the grammar structure.
As a foreigner coming into contact with Japanese for the first time, a basic level of respect
would be expected -- after all, this is the first time you've met the person and feelings
can be offended quite easily with the wrong choice of words. A major difference with
how most western languages are becoming less and less formal: people are opting for
the informal you (tu, du, ty, ты ) over the formal you (Usted, vous, Lei, Sie, vy, Вы ) as
quickly as possible when meeting someone. Take note: this is not a trend that you'll want
to continue in Japan. It is best to stick with the person's name followed by -san instead of
using "you".
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Despite these hurdles, let's start taking a look at how to construct basic sentences in
Japanese:
A Japanese sentence is in the order of Subject - Object - Verb and it prefers postpositions
Various things can be attached to the ends of sentences, and even make the whole
previous clause as part of a new embedded clause for something that is coming up.
To make a sentence into a question at the end of the sentence add "-ka"
"-ka" in casual speech will make the sentence sound sarcastic. The "-ka"
End a sentence with "-ne" ね as a tag question like "right?" or "isn't it?"
Try to get into the habit of thinking about which particle every word will take.
This adding of postpositions means that every noun in a sentence is marked by some
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Nouns
The agent (usually the subject) gets the ending: "-ga" が .
The topic (of what you're discussing) gets the ending: "-wa", spelled " は " in
hiragana.
The direct object gets the ending: "-o", spelled " を " in hiragana.
The indirect object gets the ending: "-e", spelled " へ " in hiragana.
The direction you're going towards also gets the ending: "-e." This is also used for
The method or way in which you do something (by…) also gets the ending: "-de."
The genitive (belonging/possession) particle gets the ending: "-no" の . This has multiple
uses. The particle can replace the position of an unknown noun after a verb to create
a phrase meaning "thing" or "the thing is that..." This particle can also be followed by
All of something uses: "-mo" も . To indicate "none" of which, simply change the sentence
into negative. You can also attach this to -ni, -wa, -de particles.
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Link multiple nouns together (inclusion) in a sentence with: "-to" と . Also use -to to
indicate "with" whom you did an activity. A separate particle "-ya" や is used when the
included articles are vague and the list is not necessarily complete. The colloquial version
of -ya is "-toka" とか .
The location from which something comes gets the ending: "-kara" から . This is also attached
You can change -kara into -node の で (softer form) when there is no explicit reason for
something happening.
You can change -node into -noni のに to mean despite (of doing) something. Other forms
that show this opposition in a sentence (where we might usually use "but" in English) are
Many nouns (especially of Chinese origin and consisting of kanji) can be made into verb
Verbs that become nouns and then attach to another verb in the sentence end in "-i" (the
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Verbs
Formality Levels
As a foreigner learning Japanese, it is safe to always use polite forms of speech without
being necessarily over-formal. There are also honorific and humble forms as well. All of
these forms usually appear at the end of the verb (at the end of the sentence) and they're
not difficult to switch between. In other words, everything else in the sentence will be the
same.
Several parts of speech can be considered a state of being. Take a look at the following
I want to be an engineer.
He is confident.
In this case, Japanese uses "desu ( です )," where the final {u} is usually silent.
For example:
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Japanese adjectives can end in either -i or -na, and they have different conjugations:
-i adjectives
Change the stative verb to past tense: change -i to -katta desu かったです .
Change the negative stative verb to past tense: change -kunai desu to -kunakatta
desu くなかったです .
-na adjectives
Change the adjective into a stative verb: change -na to -ka desu かです .
Change the stative verb to negative: change -ka desu to -ka janai desu かじゃな
Change the stative verb to past tense: change -ka desu to -ka deshita かでした .
Change the negative stative verb to past tense: change -ka janai desu to -ka
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Action Verbs
All other verbs are action verbs, and these can be transitive (with an object) or intransitive
(without an object).
To change endings, remove -ru る from the verb and add the ending (such as
-masu ます ).
For other verbs, remove the -u ending and add -i (for example: -gu ぐ becomes
Change a verb to past tense: change -masu to -mashita ました . (the -i- is silent)
To chain verbs together (for example continuous tense), change the past tense
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Modal Verbs
To express ability "can", change -ru to -rareru and -u to -eru. Important
exceptions: suru becomes dekiru, and kuru becomes korareru. These verbs
don't have direct objects, so you should change what you assume to be the
To express "must not" use -ikenai but change to -naranai for policies. For things
that you "must" do, simply negate the previous verb, in other words say: must
not - not do. It is quite common to use "-nakereba ikemasen." The informal and
much more common way to express these are "nakucha" (the -u- is silent) and
"nakya."
To describe volitional "let's," use -mashou as a verb ending. This changes to -you
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Pronouns
Pronouns are a tricky subject in Japanese. To avoid sounding rude, it is best to avoid using
pronouns as much as you can. When Japanese do use pronouns, there is a great number
of them that differ in usage between men, women, children, and the elderly. They also
differ depending on your relation and age difference with the person you're speaking to.
When speaking to another person, avoid using "you," and instead use the person's name.
It may feel like you're speaking in the 3rd person which sounds indirect, but this is what is
socially expected.
The very act of asking and answering questions between people usually means that the
question implies "you" and the answer implies "I." When this is the case, pronouns are
unnecessary.
You may use "kare" and "kanojo" for "he" and "she," but again it is best to keep using
people's names.
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Adjectives
We have already discussed adjectives (as predicates) under stative verbs.
The other kinds of adjectives are those that precede nouns which maintain their -i and -na
To chain adjectives or nouns together, add -de to the noun or na-adjective, and
Things that you "like" and "want" are actually adjectives in Japanese. Something that is
liked is "suki" (the -u- is silent), and want is "hoshii". You can add -hoshii to the end of a
In English, relative clauses usually begin with ...that... or ...which... followed by a separate
clause. In Japanese, this whole clause becomes an adjective of the noun it is describing.
Sometimes this clause will end with a verb ending (-u or -ta), which you follow directly
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Other Common Particles
-te aku: do something in advance for the future
Clause (A) -to Clause (B): condition + result (using "if" in English)
Clause (A) -nara Clause (B): assumed context + result (using "if that's the case" in
English)
result)
-to iu: meaning to refer to something, is also an abstract term frequently used
done.
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3 Extend Your Learning
with Glossika
Sounds good.
いい です ね。
ī desu ne.
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Most learners traditionally spend a lot of time on a single sentence trying to get it
right, trying to figure out the grammar or the patterns, even memorizing all its parts
and vocabulary. This requires lots of memorization and written puzzles and quizzes.
This doesn’t necessarily lead to fluency because all of this work doesn’t automatically
internalize into an audio pattern that you can recognize or even say.
It comes down to getting enough exposure to the spoken sounds of the language. This
is a trees vs forest problem. Instead of seeing the big patterns (the forest) you may be
stuck on analyzing a single leaf on one of the trees. Why spend so much time on a single
anomaly?
If you look at hundreds and thousands of leaves in a forest, you begin to see patterns,
you begin to differentiate old vs young leaves, you even get an idea of the kinds of trees
they grow on. And then you start to wonder how to explain the details you often see in
common among all the leaves, things you may have never noticed by just looking at a
single or even a dozen leaves. The more you do, the more of the general patterns become
obvious, and the more you want to know about the details.
This becomes a positive feedback loop fulfilling your desire to fill in the details of your
knowledge. You become more and more of an expert without having to memorize
anything.
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Guaranteed 3-Step Method to Fluency
Imagine a situation where all the patterns in a foreign language have already been
prepared and laid out for you in an easy to learn order. You’d be hard pressed to find this
1
Now even if you did find such a resource, you’d definitely want to have all
the examples ordered by difficulty in a way that it would make it easy for you
to pick up. Once you have all the data entered into a computer you could
either pick apart the grammar of each sentence or do some other tricks and
try to program it yourself. But this may be way too much work, especially if
2
Once you’ve got all the data in the right order, you’ll want a native speaker
who could sit patiently and train you to say each sentence until you could
say them equally as fluently. But finding such a person with this amount of
You could ask your tutor or teacher to say all of the examples so that you
could record them for later practice. You’d want to get the recordings done
Next, you’d want a really advanced spaced repetition program that could
3 deliver this content to you at the right pace, the right speed, and could even
adjust to your specific needs by adding and deleting content as you provide
feedback. You’d probably want it all available on your mobile device so that
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If the foreign language is written in a different script like Chinese, you have extra hurdles
to deal with: how do you get all of the text transcribed into its exact pronunciations? Is
This is the solution that Glossika has already built. Glossika has thought about every pitfall
you may encounter along the way. Not only have we curated and recorded all the content
across dozens of languages, but we have machine learning algorithms sorting the data,
delivering the data through spaced repetition, and adjusting to your learning speed.
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Speak First, Read Later
The amazing part is, with Glossika you can actually learn how to speak a language before
even learning how to read it. We can train you to speak everything completely through
audio. Besides, learning how to read is a breeze once you already know how to speak a
language. It’s much more of a challenge to learn how to speak by reading first.
If you’re about to start a college course, or start working with a teacher, you’d be at a
considerable advantage of getting lots of audio training done on your own time. The next
time you meet for class, you can spend that time wisely by getting great explanations
from your teacher about the tough parts you don’t understand yet, or just plain getting
lots of conversation practice. The best part about having a real person talk to you is that
it’s real life conversation. And that drives better results than a teacher explaining so much
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Speak First, Grammar Falls into Place Naturally
So how does Glossika deliver grammar then? If you’re used to speaking a certain way,
then the grammar flows naturally. Let’s take for example the last sentence: “if you’re used
to speaking”. How do you know that “used to” has “ed” or is past tense, or why don’t you
say “if you’re use to spoken” -- why do you say that one particular way and no other way?
Does it come out naturally when you speak English, or do you think about adding the “ed”
and the “ing”? How do you know these things. Ask a six or seven year old child. How do
they know? And do they say it right? Every time? So what is grammar?
Grammar is simply describing something that already happens: how people already talk.
Grammar didn’t come first. The talking did. Everybody speaks a certain way, therefore we
What Glossika does is introduce you to phrases like “used to speaking” in foreign
languages and you practice saying that to the point where you say it naturally and easily
with all the grammar intact. In fact, you didn’t even have to learn any grammar to say it
correctly. All you need to do is mimic.
Eventually the patterns emerge out of hundreds and thousands of these examples to the
point where you have complete control and manipulation over every sentence you want
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Start Saving Your Valuable Time
You could think about going back to your classes and doing everything the old way.
Memorizing lots of vocabulary and having your teachers explain all the concepts one by
Or you could make a decision to focus on audio patterns and learning how to say each
one until you’re comfortable. It really only takes a few months of your time practicing for a
Think about the massive difference this could make in your life, and how soon you could
be achieving your goals with Glossika. It’s so easy to get started. Sign up now and get
1000 reps (sentence practice) and 7-day access to premium features for free!
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