The Difference Between 暑い vs 熱い vs 厚い (Atsui) ｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
Joy sweating [暑い], Joy holding hot coffee [熱い], Joy holding a thick book [厚い] “Today is Atsui.” “This coffee is Atsui.” “This book is Atsui.” They are all pronounced the same, but...
The Difference Between だけ (dake) vs しか (shika) ｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Joy with 3 apples [Dake] vs. Joy with only 1 apple looking sad [Shika]) “I have only 1000 yen.” Does this mean “1000 yen is enough”? Or “1000 yen is NOT...
The Difference betweenまで (made) vs までに (made ni)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Joy studying continuously [Made] vs. Joy submitting homework [Made ni]) “I study until 5:00.” vs. “I will finish the report by 5:00.” In Japanese, adding 「に」 (ni) changes the meaning completely! 〜まで...
The Difference Between のに (noni) vs けれども (keredomo)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Joy shocked by rain [Noni] vs. Joy comparing fruits calmly [Keredomo]) “I studied hard, but I failed.” Does this sentence sound just sad? Or are you complaining? In Japanese, the word for...
The Difference Between ParticleParticle 「が」 (ga) vs 「を」 (o)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Alt Text: Natural rain falling [Ga] vs. Making rain fall with a machine [Wo]) “The door opens” (Doa ga aku). “I open the door” (Doa o akeru). In Japanese, the particle changes...
The Difference Between Particle 「と」 (to) vs 「や」 (ya)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
( Joy showing all items [To] vs. Joy showing examples with more in bag [Ya]) “I bought an apple and a banana.” Did you buy anything else? In Japanese, the particle you...
The Difference Between「を」 (o) vs 「で」 (de)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Joy reading at a spot [De] vs. Joy walking through a path [Wo]) “I walk in the park.” In Japanese, do you use で (De) or を (Wo)? Usually, “Location” is marked...
The Difference Between「に」 (ni) vs 「へ」 (he)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Joy at Tokyo Station [Ni] vs. Joy heading towards Mt. Fuji [He]) “I go to Japan.” In Japanese, you can say 日本（にほん）に 行（い）く or 日本（にほん）へ 行（い）く. They are very similar, but they...
The Difference Betweenにぎやか (nigiyaka) vs さわがしい (sawagashii)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Joy enjoying a party [Nigiyaka] vs. Joy annoyed by noise [Sawagashii]) “This town is lively.” vs “The neighbors are noisy.” In Japanese, both describe places with sound and people, but the feeling...
The Difference Between やさしい (yasashii) vs かんたん (kantan)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Alt Text: Joy meeting a kind person [Yasashii] vs. Joy solving a simple problem [Kantan]) “This test was easy.” “He is an easy (kind) person.” In Japanese, やさしい (Yasashii) and かんたん (Kantan)...
The Difference Between 暑い vs 熱い vs 厚い (Atsui)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Joy sweating [暑い], Joy holding hot coffee [熱い], Joy holding a thick book [厚い]) “Today is Atsui.” “This coffee is Atsui.” “This book is Atsui.” They are all pronounced the same, but...
The Difference Betweenうれしい (ureshii) vs たのしい (tanoshii)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Joy crying with joy [Ureshii] vs. Joy dancing having fun [Tanoshii]) “I passed the test! I am Happy!” “This party is Happy!” In English, both can be “Happy.” But in Japanese, we...
The Difference Between「うれしい」と「たのしい」の違いJapanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Joy crying with joy [Ureshii] vs. Joy dancing having fun [Tanoshii]) “I passed the test! I am Happy!” “This party is Happy!” In English, both can be translated as “Happy.” But in...
The Difference Between入る (hairu) vs 入れる (ireru)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Joy entering a room [Hairu] vs. Joy putting a book in a bag [Ireru]) “I enter the room.” vs. “I put the book in the bag.” They use the same Kanji (入),...
The Difference Betweenうれしい (ureshii) vs たのしい (tanoshii)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Joy crying with joy [Ureshii] vs. Joy dancing having fun [Tanoshii]) “I passed the test! I am Happy!” “This party is Happy!” In English, both can be translated as “Happy.” But in...
The Difference Betweenよい (yoi) vs いい (ii)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Joy saying “Ii!” casually vs. Joy writing “Yoi” formally) “Today is a good day.” (Kyou wa ii tenki desu.) “Yesterday was a good day.” (Kinou wa ikatta… wait, yokatta?) Both よい (Yoi)...
The Difference Between きれい (kirei) vs 美しい (utsukushii)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Joy cleaning a room [Kirei] vs. Joy admiring a sunset [Utsukushii]) “This room is clean.” “The sunset is beautiful.” In Japanese, きれい (Kirei) is used for both “Pretty” and “Clean”. On the...
The Difference Between すごい (sugoi) vs すばらしい (subarashii)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Joy shouting “Sugoi!” casually vs. Joy saying “Subarashii” politely) “Wow! That’s amazing!” “That is a splendid idea.” In Japanese, すごい (Sugoi) is casual and energetic. すばらしい (Subarashii) is polite and refined. Using...
The Difference Between 静か (shizuka) vs しずかな (shizuka na)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Joy in a library [Shizuka desu] vs. Joy pointing to a quiet house [Shizuka na ie]) “This room is quiet.” (Kono heya wa shizuka desu.) “This is a quiet room.” (Kore wa...
The Difference Between うるさい (urusai) vs にぎやか (nigiyaka)｜Japanese Grammar (N5–N3)
(Joy annoyed by noise [Urusai] vs. Joy enjoying a lively street [Nigiyaka]) “Shut up!” vs. “What a lively party!” In Japanese, describing sound and people is tricky. うるさい (Urusai) means “Noisy/Annoying” (Negative)....