Use 習う for learning a skill or subject from someone who teaches it.
The idea
The learner is the subject; mark the subject or skill with を and the teacher with に or から. 習う is a godan verb: its polite form is 習います and its て form is 習って.
Examples
- 私は先生に日本語を習っています。I am learning Japanese from a teacher.
- 子供のころ、祖母から料理を習いました。As a child, I learned cooking from my grandmother.
- 妹は毎週ピアノを習います。My younger sister takes piano lessons every week.
- 田中さんに書道を習いたいです。I want to learn calligraphy from Tanaka.
- 父に泳ぎ方を習って、海で泳ぎました。I learned how to swim from my father and swam in the sea.
- 来月から友達とダンスを習います。Starting next month, I will take dance lessons with a friend.
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Watch out
勉強する means to study and does not itself imply a teacher. With 習う, と can mark a fellow learner, as in 友達と, rather than the teacher.
Try it yourself
＿。（習う→ます）
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習います
習います is the polite non-past form; context can refer to a regular lesson or the future.
＿。（習う→て）
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習って
習って is the て form: the final う changes to って.
先生＿日本語を習います。（に／を）
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に
に marks the teacher; を marks the subject being learned.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
＿。（習う→ます）
＿。（習う→て）
先生＿日本語を習います。（に／を）
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write a sentence about a skill you learn from someone, then change it to the polite past.