YAHHO! First Japanese with Kimi

“Shumi wa nan desu ka?” — “What are your hobbies?”

This is perfectly correct Japanese. But did you know that it can sometimes sound a little formal — and even a little like something you might ask at a marriage meeting? 😄

In everyday conversation, Japanese people often ask something more specific, such as:

Oyasumi no hi wa fudan nani o shimasu ka?
“What do you usually do on your days off?”

Then you can answer:

Yasumi no hi wa, yoku cycling o shimasu.
“I often go cycling on my days off.”

Tomodachi to eiga o mimasu.
“I watch movies with my friends.”

Kazoku ni ai ni ikimasu.
“I go to see my family.”

In this short episode, we’ll look at a more natural and conversational way to talk about hobbies and what you do in your free time.

And if you’re interested in private Japanese lessons, I also teach on italki:

⁠My italki teacher page

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/6340545?lv=1

#learnjapanese #japanese #studyjapanese #japaneselanguage #nihongo #japaneseconversation #japanesevocabulary #japaneselessons #japaneselistening #freetime

Do you sometimes say “taberu no toki” or “iku no toki” in Japanese? 🤔

In this short episode, we’ll look at one small but very common mistake with とき (toki), meaning “when” or “at the time.”

The basic pattern is simple:

食べるとき (taberu toki) — when I eat
食べたとき (tabeta toki) — when I ate
行くとき (iku toki) — when I go
行ったとき (itta toki) — when I went

You don’t need の between the verb and とき!

We’ll also look at examples like 学生のとき (gakusei no toki) and 若いとき (wakai toki), and briefly compare とき with ～たら (tara).

A short episode, but an important little point that can make your Japanese sound much more natural!

If you’re interested in private Japanese lessons, I also teach on italki:

⁠My italki teacher page

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/6340545?lv=1

#learnjapanese #japanese #studyjapanese #japaneselanguage #nihongo #japanesegrammar #japaneselessons #learnnihongo #japaneselistening #toki

You probably already know that Monday is getsuyoubi and Tuesday is kayoubi. But have you ever wondered why?

The Japanese days of the week have some surprisingly interesting meanings behind them! 🌙🔥💧🌳✨🌍☀️

The seven days are connected to the Moon, the Sun, and the planets. So instead of simply memorizing seven words, you can learn a little about the meaning behind the kanji, too.

We’ll look at:

🌙 月曜日 (getsuyoubi) — Monday
🔥 火曜日 (kayoubi) — Tuesday
💧 水曜日 (suiyoubi) — Wednesday
🌳 木曜日 (mokuyoubi) — Thursday
✨ 金曜日 (kinyoubi) — Friday
🌍 土曜日 (doyoubi) — Saturday
☀️ 日曜日 (nichiyoubi) — Sunday

You don’t need to memorize the history behind all of them. But once you know what the kanji mean, Japanese weekdays become a lot more interesting — and maybe a little easier to remember!

And if you’re looking for private Japanese lessons, I also teach on italki. You can find me here:

⁠My italki teacher page

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/6340545?lv=1

#learnjapanese #japanese #studyjapanese #japaneselanguage #nihongo #kanji #japanesevocabulary #japaneselessons

When a Japanese person asks you “Where are you from?”, do you know exactly what they mean? 🤔

In Japanese, there are several ways to ask this question, such as:

どちらから きたんですか？どの くにから きたんですか？しゅっしんは どこですか？

But here’s the tricky part:
どちらから きたんですか？ can sometimes mean “Where did you just come from?” — especially when you’re traveling around Japan.

So in today’s episode, we’ll look at how to understand the context, how to check what someone means, and what to say when your home country and the country you currently live in are different.

For example:

アメリカ しゅっしんです。いまは マレーシアに すんでいます。

This small difference can make your Japanese conversations much smoother!

If you’re planning a trip to Japan, try listening for these questions when you meet Japanese people. 🇯🇵

And if you’d like to practice speaking Japanese with me before your trip, you can book a private lesson on italki:

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/6340545?lv=1

Thanks for listening! 🌸

#LearnJapanese #JapaneseListening #JapaneseConversation #JapaneseForBeginners #StudyJapanese #JapaneseTravel #YAHHOFirstJapanese

Talking to someone you know? How do you start a conversation naturally in Japanese? 🇯🇵

In this episode, we’ll learn some simple, useful phrases for starting a conversation with friends, acquaintances, and people you haven’t seen for a while.

You’ll hear phrases like:

Genki? = How are you?
Genki shiteta? = How have you been?
Saikin dou? = How have you been lately?
Hisashiburi! = Long time no see!
1-shuukan buri da ne. = It’s been a week!
1-kagetsu buri da ne. = It’s been a month!

We’ll also look at the useful pattern:

〜wa dou? = How is ~ going?

For example:

Nihongo no benkyou wa dou?
How is your Japanese study going?

Jimu wa dou?
How’s the gym going?

These are simple phrases, but they can help you sound much more natural when you start chatting in Japanese.

I’ll also introduce a few polite versions, so you can choose the right phrase depending on who you’re talking to.

If you’re studying Japanese and want to practice speaking with me, you can also book a private lesson on italki:

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/6340545?lv=1

Thanks for listening! 🌸

#LearnJapanese #JapaneseConversation #JapaneseForBeginners #JapaneseListening #StudyJapanese #JapanesePodcast #YAHHOFirstJapanese

Talking about the weather is one of the easiest ways to start a casual conversation in Japanese! ☀️🌧️

In this episode, we’ll learn some basic weather words like:

Hare = sunny
Ame = rain
Kumori = cloudy
Kaze ga tsuyoi = windy
Taihuu = typhoon

But instead of just memorizing vocabulary, we’ll look at how Japanese people actually use these words in conversation.

You’ll learn natural phrases like:

Kyou wa ii tenki desu ne.Kyou wa kaze ga tsuyoi desu ne.Ame ga sugoi desu ne.Ashita, taihuu ga kuru sou desu yo.

These are simple phrases, but they’re useful for everyday small talk and when you’re traveling in Japan. 🇯🇵

If you’re planning a trip to Japan and want to practice speaking Japanese with me, you can also take a private lesson with me on italki:

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/6340545?lv=1

Thanks for listening! 🌸

#LearnJapanese #JapaneseListening #JapaneseConversation #JapaneseForBeginners #StudyJapanese #JapanesePodcast #YAHHOFirstJapanese

Have you ever tried all-you-can-eat or all-you-can-drink in Japan? 🇯🇵

Today, let’s talk about two useful Japanese words you may hear when traveling in Japan:

Tabehoudai = all-you-can-eat
Nomihoudai = all-you-can-drink

You can find tabehoudai at yakiniku, shabu-shabu, hot pot restaurants, and many other places. Nomihoudai is especially common at izakaya and karaoke.

I’ll also talk about how these plans usually work, time limits, different drink plans, and why they can be a fun option when traveling in Japan.

And if you’re visiting Japan, you may come across restaurants with tablets in English and even robots bringing food to your table! 🤖

Have you ever tried tabehoudai or nomihoudai? What did you think?

Thanks for listening! 🌸

If you’d like to practice Japanese conversation before your trip, you can also take a private lesson with me on italki:

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/6340545?lv=1

Can you understand this short Japanese conversation? 🇯🇵

Today, I have a little Japanese listening challenge for you!

I’ll speak Japanese for a short time, and then explain in English what I said.

If you can understand most of it, maybe you’re ready to try my new Kimi’s Japanese Podcast Intermediate!

It’s a Japanese-only podcast where I talk for about 10 minutes in each episode.

I also have a little update about YAHHO! — from now on, I’ll probably alternate between YAHHO! and my Intermediate podcast, so YAHHO! episodes may come out about every other day.

Give today’s challenge a try and see how much you can understand!

Kimi’s Japanese Podcast Intermediate is linked in the show notes.

https://open.spotify.com/show/4dSCEBI9el9pWGyl87NsYC?si=1bftDVipTuW3zxLCXT4jGA

Thanks for listening! 🌸

⁠Kimi's Japanese Podcast Intermediate

#LearnJapanese #JapaneseListening #JapanesePodcast #JapaneseForBeginners #StudyJapanese #YAHHOFirstJapanese

Want to sound more natural when speaking Japanese?

Sometimes, it’s not about using complicated Japanese.
It’s about the little reactions you use while listening.

In this short episode, I’ll show you a few simple reactions Japanese people use all the time:

Hee. (へえ。)
Hee, sou nanda. (へえ、そうなんだ。)
Ah, sou nanda. (あ、そうなんだ。)
Ah, shiranakatta. (あ、知らなかった。)
Un un. (うんうん。)

I’ll also connect these with the surprised reactions we learned in the last episode, like sou nano?, eh?, and uso?

These little reactions can make your Japanese sound much more natural and conversational.

Start with just one, and try using it in your next Japanese conversation!

I also teach private Japanese lessons on italki:

⁠italki – Japanese lessons with Kimi

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/6340545?lv=1

#LearnJapanese #JapanesePodcast #JapaneseConversation #JapaneseForBeginners #SpeakJapanese #YAHHOFirstJapanese

How do Japanese people react when they’re surprised? 😲🇯🇵

In this episode, we look at some very common Japanese reactions you’ll hear in everyday conversations, dramas, and real life.

You’ll learn expressions like:

Ehh? (えー？) = What? / Really? / No way?
E? (えっ？) = Huh? / What!?
Uso!? (うそ！？) = No way!? / Really!?
Sugoi! / Sugo! (すごい！/すご！) = Wow! / Amazing!
Honto? (ほんと？) = Really?
Maji de? (マジで？) = Seriously? / Really?
Maji desu ka? (マジですか？) = Really? / Seriously?
So nano? (そうなの？) = Really? / Is that so?

We’ll also look at some natural combinations like E, uso desho!? and the different levels of casualness in expressions like maji de?, maji ssu ka?, and maji desu ka?

The goal isn’t to memorize everything at once. These are reactions, so the more you hear them and actually use them, the more naturally they’ll come to you!

I also teach private Japanese lessons on italki.
If you’d like to practice Japanese with me, you can find my profile here:

⁠italki – Japanese lessons with Kimi

https://www.italki.com/en/teacher/6340545?lv=1

Thanks for listening! 🌸

#LearnJapanese #JapanesePodcast #JapaneseForBeginners #JapaneseConversation #SpeakJapanese #YAHHOFirstJapanese #JapaneseReactions #StudyJapanese