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Daniel Morales

Everyone learning Japanese needs a senpai - this podcast is your digital senpai. Join Daniel from HowToJapanese.com and guests to learn what strategies have been effective for them as they study, live, and work in Japan and using Japanese.

How to Japanese Podcast

This month I look at three paragraphs from an essay by Kakuta Mitsuyo. These three paragraphs have an interesting combination of 常体 (jōtai, direct style) and 敬体 (keitai, distal style), which gives me another opportunity to talk about written and spoken Japanese. And I also address のだ (no da)/のです (no desu), the little bit of language that comes at the end of clauses and sentences. Check out the blog and newsletter for links to some of the essays I wrote about, including the review of drinkable mayonnaise.
 
Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com.
 
You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Episode 59 - のです

This month I introduce another "Impossible Pair," which I first wrote about back in September 2024. The pair I introduce: the words 状態 (jōtai) and 状況 (jōkyō). One way to differentiate these is size, but the other is a time element. I think I've hit on an interesting way to think about these. Check out the newsletter for more, and the blog for how 状態 gets used with Pokemon.
 
Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com.
 
You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Episode 60 - 状態・状況

This month is all about acquisition. Specifically the appraisal and acquisition of new Japanese. I argue that a "collector's mindset" can help benefit students. It's how I recently acquired the new phrase あとになってわかったこと. Listen in to learn about what it means. And check out the blog here, and the newsletter here this month.
 
Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com.
 
You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Episode 61 - あとになってわかったこと

This month I wrote about the word 筋 (suji), which has a huge range of literal and figurative meanings. One of these is closely related to Osaka geography. Stay to the end to hear me give Osaka travel recs and tell a funny story about my wedding this month. Full Osaka recs on the blog, and more about 筋 on the newsletter.
 
Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com.
 
You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Episode 62 - 筋

This month I wrote about how to authenticate new Japanese phrases/words that you've never encountered before by doing a search for 例文 (reibun, example sentences). Stick around for Kyoto recommendations this month, and I also talk about the volunteering I'm doing for USJETAA: We're offering Japanese coaching sessions four times a year for anyone who needs advice on how to proceed with their studies. Check out the newsletter and blog as well.
 
Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com.
 
You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Episode 63 - 例文

This month I wrote about the word 五月雨式 which has a really interesting history. Unless you already know the word, I bet you don't know how it's pronounced. It's a very useful word in business situations, so add these example sentences into your list of sentences to review regularly. I've also got tourist recs, and there are still spots open in the USJETAA Japanese Coaching sessions I'm helping with. Check out the newsletter and blog as well.
 
Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com.
 
You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Ep 64 - 五月雨式

The How to Japanese Podcast launches next week! Check out this preview of the pod and hear the voices you'll get to know over the next ten weeks.
 
Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com.
 
You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

S01E00 - Season 1 Trailer

In the first episode of the How to Japanese Podcast, hear from Daniel McCalla, a translator based outside of Kobe. Learn reading and studying strategies, how to get started in translation, and how to track what you've read in Japanese.
 
At the top of the show, Daniel Morales reminisces about the brief heyday of the NFL on Japanese Twitter.
 
Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com.
 
You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

S01E01 - Daniel McCalla

Emily Balistrieri is a Russian translator in another universe. Fortunately for us, she's a Japanese translator in this one. Hear about Emily's translation projects past and present, study experience, and why Japanese eventually beat out Russian.
 
Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com.
 
You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

S01E02 - Emily Balistrieri

Brian MacDuckston is the brain and tastebuds behind Ramen Adventures. He's become one of the foremost ramen experts in Japan and has generously been collaborating with How to Japanese for many years. Learn how he got started in Japan, his study strategies, and his take on why Japan is so obsessed with great cuisine.
 
Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com.
 
You can also follow How to Japanese on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

S01E03 - Brian MacDuckston

In the newsletter this month, I looked at 伺う (ukagau) a broadly useful "humble" keigo verb, and on the blog I looked at the other kanji that help ukagau expand its meanings. On the podcast, I talked about keigo more broadly. It's often overcomplicated and intimidating. Students need an easy way in, and I think there's a way to create a simple binary for many keigo verbs. Give the episode a listen and let me know what your own keigo experience has been like!
 
Feel free to reach out with any questions or 悩み事 to howtojapanese@gmail.com.
 
You can also follow How to Japanese on Substack, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Episode 56 - 伺う

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