Japanese relative clauses: phrases before nouns
Learn to describe people and things with Japanese relative clauses, using plain verbs before the noun.
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Japanese の and こと: turning actions into nouns
Learn how Japanese の and こと turn actions into nouns, and choose the right form for likes, decisions and ability.
Read and practiseJapanese はず: expectations based on evidence
Learn to express a reasoned expectation with Japanese はず, including verbs, adjectives, nouns and negative clauses.
Read and practiseJapanese みたい: resemblance and inference
Learn how Japanese みたい expresses resemblance or a conclusion from clues, with forms, examples and practice.
Read and practiseJapanese すぎる: expressing excess
Learn how Japanese すぎる expresses too much with verbs and adjectives, and practise its past and negative forms.
Read and practiseJapanese やすい and にくい: easy or hard to do
Learn how Japanese やすい and にくい attach to verb stems to express ease or difficulty, with examples and practice.
Read and practiseJapanese ながら: doing two actions at once
Learn how to use Japanese ながら to describe simultaneous actions, form verb stems, and identify the main action.
Read and practiseJapanese 間に: an event during an interval
Learn how Japanese 間に places an event within a period, and how it differs from an action lasting throughout that period.
Read and practiseJapanese ばかり: only and just completed
Learn how Japanese ばかり expresses doing only one thing or an action the speaker feels happened recently.
Read and practiseJapanese ときに vs たら: expressing timing
Learn how Japanese ときに sets a time frame and たら connects an event to what happens afterward.
Read and practiseJapanese に足る: worthy of an action
Learn N1 に足る to judge whether a person, claim or work merits trust, attention or consideration.
Read and practiseJapanese に堪えない: unable to bear
Learn N1 に堪えない for unbearable sights and sounds and for formal expressions of profound gratitude or sorrow.
Read and practiseJapanese と言わんばかり: as if saying
Learn how と言わんばかり conveys an implied message through a gesture, expression or scene, with N1 examples and practice.
Read and practiseJapanese にひきかえ: striking contrast
Learn how N1 にひきかえ contrasts people, situations and periods, and practise connecting nouns and clauses naturally.
Read and practiseというものではない: not necessarily
Learn how というものではない challenges a general assumption in Japanese, while leaving room for exceptions.
Read and practiseJapanese に至る: reaching an outcome
Learn how に至る describes reaching an outcome or stage after a process, and practise its formal patterns.
Read and practiseJapanese にほかならない: nothing other than
Learn how N1 にほかならない identifies a cause or character with conviction, and practise its formal patterns.
Read and practiseJapanese と相まって: factors acting together
Learn how と相まって links two contributing factors to a shared result in formal Japanese, with examples and practice.
Read and practiseJapanese と言える: drawing qualified conclusions
Use と言える to draw a reasoned Japanese conclusion, state its limits and distinguish it from an absolute claim.
Read and practiseJapanese を禁じ得ない: unable to suppress a feeling
Learn the formal N1 pattern を禁じ得ない to express feelings you cannot suppress, with examples and practice.
Read and practiseJapanese にかかわらず: regardless of
Learn how にかかわらず expresses an outcome that stays the same regardless of a condition or whether something happens.
Read and practiseJapanese に限り: limited to a specified case
Learn how formal Japanese に限り restricts an offer or rule to particular people, dates or circumstances.
Read and practiseJapanese をめぐって: disputes and debate
Learn N2 をめぐって and をめぐる to describe disputes, negotiations and discussions centered on an issue in Japanese.
Read and practiseJapanese に基づいて: based on evidence
Learn how に基づいて links an action to its basis, and use に基づき and に基づく in formal Japanese.
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