Learn Japanese w/ Manga Sensei

Learn Japanese: Nai De ないで

08 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Learn Japanese: Na な

07 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

な (na) is used when the speaker orders an inferior not to do something. This is very harsh and informal, so it’s inappropriate to use な on someo...

Learn Japanese: Summary of Onomatopoeia

06 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Giseigo 擬声語 Animal and human sounds.Giongo 擬音語 Actual sounds made by inanimate objects and nature.Gitaigo 擬態語 Describe conditions an...

Learn Japanese: For Markus

06 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Hey Markus, Here is the answer to your email and question.-John

Learn Japanese: Iraira いらいら

03 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today is the last day of this installment of the Onomatopoeia series. I hope you have found it helpful. We will be doing this again soon, but until th...

Learn Japanese: Nakanaka なかなか

02 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

While many onomatopoeia are indeed sound-words like, animal sounds and sound effects, many of these words also have powerful intrinsic meanings. This ...

Learn Japanese: Emphatic Onomatopoeia

01 Aug 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This episode was really fun to record because Onomatopoeia are extremely interesting and silly. I really enjoyed this podcast and I ope you do too.-Jo...

Learn Japanese: Guzen 偶然

31 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Continuing our talk about Japanese onomatopoeia and how they are created and used. Being able to understand the form and function of the individual pa...

Learn Japanese: TamaTama 偶々

30 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Tamatama is a Japanese onomatopoeic phrase used to express chance. This week we will be talking quite a bit about the special power of onomatopoeia a...

Learn Japanese: How to use this podcast

29 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

How do you use the Manga Sensei podcast? MAybe framing it like this might help: How in the **** do I even learn this language?!Instagram: https://www....

Learn Japanese: Base Te Adjectives

27 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In case you are listening to over 300 episodes in a row, you may want to know what Bate Te is. Learn more via the Manga Sensei challenge. @ manga-sens...

Learn Japanese: Base Expanded

26 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

If you are not familiar with the verb bases check out my 30 day Japanese Challenge: manga-sensei.com/30daysToday we will be talking about the history,...

Learn Japanese: Stacking adjectives

25 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

She is pretty and cute, He is strong and clever, they are nice and cool. When using adjectives sometimes one is not enough. Which is why you need to l...

Learn Japanese: Tai / B2 + たい

25 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Base 2 plus Tai is a way to express wanting to verb. Remember however that is turns the verb into an adjective and is conjugated justly.Instagram: htt...

Learn Japanese: B1 + Naku Naru なくなる

24 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This phrase expresses the situation where something stops happening, or a state ceases to occur anymore. It is important to note that in order to use ...

Learn Japanese: Don't Lie To Yourself

23 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is not to make anyone feel bad. This episode is meant to help you learn Japanese. Really. Be honest about your Japanese ability. If liste...

Learn Japanese: Manga Sensei meets Shota Sensei

22 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today I talk to my friend and fellow Japanese teaching entrepreneur: Shota Sensei. This dude is a polyglot, language teacher, world traveler and all a...

Learn Japanese: Useful Fillers

21 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Umm... Well... Like... Etc. This works are important if you want to transfer your thoughts and personality to your Japanese. Today we talk about three...

Learn Japanese: Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu よろしくお願いします

19 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

After more than 300 episodes I have avoided this word because of the various meanings. Today we are going to keep it simple and talk about Yoroshiku i...

Learn Japanese: Introductions cont.

19 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Raising your diction and improving your ability to be polite to higher member of society is very important in Japanese linguistics and culture. Today’...

Learn Japanese: Improving 自己紹介

18 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

When introducing yourself in a foreign language it is very easy to become rigid and overly structured when it comes to introducing yourself. Today's p...

Learn Japanese: An Intro to John-Sensei

16 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Self-introductions. The first thing we ever really learn in Japanese, that it becomes something wrote and kinda corny sounding if we are not careful. ...

Learn Japanese: How to learn Kanji

16 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This is taken from our livestream on how to start learning Japanese Kanji.

Learn Japanese: Zara wo enai ざるを得ない

14 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

ざるを得ない (zaru wo enai) expresses that even though something is undesirable you have no choice but to do it. ざるを得ない is more of a...

Extra: Our Comic

13 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I try not to brag a whole bunch, but we are really stoked about his new version of our comic. Manga-sensei.com/comic

Learn Japanese: Ni Chigainai に違いない

12 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

に違いない (ni chigainai) is a phrase that is derived from the verb 違う (chigau), “to be different” or “to vary.” 違いない is a ne...

Learn Japanese: Yaru やる

11 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

[verb] やる (yaru) can be considered another way to say する. The main difference is やる is used exclusively for physical action . Another diff...

Learn Japanese: Ni Suru にする

10 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

にする (ni suru) is used to indicate that something has decided upon something. This can work with nouns and nominalized (words and phrases that ha...

Learn Japanese: Don't Just Pray for Hiroshima

10 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I try to stay off some topics. But in light of this terrible disaster, I had to say something.

Learn Japanese: BTe Miseru みせる

07 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I will show you!! *angryface* Have you ever wanted to show someone that you can really do something? I will show you in this episode exactly how to sa...

Learn Japanese: B5 to suru ようとする

07 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I will try to speak Japanese. I will try and learn this language. I will try. I am trying. These are common phrases that seem to throw people off. How...

Learn Japanese: Ni Iku に行く

03 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

[Phrase]When you want to say that you or someone else is going to or went somewhere, the simplest way is to say:Noun (the target location) にいく (...

Learn Japanese: Ichiban 一番

03 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

[noun] 一番 means the ‘number one’ or ‘first place’ of someone or something. This is often used in idiomatic phrases to indicate when someon...

Learn Japanese: Everyone Screws Ups...

02 Jul 2018

Contributed by Lukas

So I was at the store and I made a total fool of myself. Which is why today we are talking about screwing up. Which I tend to do everyone once and a w...

Learn Japanese: Usso! (Slang)

29 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

No f***ing way?! Dude? For real?! Because people want to know how to say some very important and often colorful things, I bring you a little more info...

Learn Japanese: Formality and Hierarchy

29 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Learning Japanese can be confusing. Particularly when it comes to hierarchy and the levels of formality. I often have questions about how this exactly...

Learn Japanese: Maji まじ

28 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s episode is dedicated to something kinda fun. I won’t spoil it, just give it a listen. It is freaking fun and cool.Manga-sensei.com

Learn Japanese: Nanishiro 何しろ

26 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

何しろ (nani shiro) is used when someone feels very strongly about some unusual or extreme situation. It is different from 本当に because 本当...

Learn Japanese: Ikanimo いかにも

26 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

いかにも (Ikanimo), similar to 本当に (hontou ni), is used when you want to express that you really believe what you say. Difference between th...

Learn Japanese: Honto(ni) 本当に

23 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This is REALLY REALLY important. That is HontoNi is really, like literally really. Really?! Really.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themangasensei...

Learn Japanese: Ni Yoru による

22 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today's sexy Japanese lesson is all about expressing "through" things. ことによる (koto ni yoru) is used when you want to be specific about what...

Learn Japanese: Wo Tooshite を通して

21 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

を通して (wo tooshite) shows that something is done through some means, or happens through some time period. On the surface it is quite similar to...

Learn Japanese: Yatto やっと

20 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today's awesome grammar point it やっと (yatto) is used to express that what the subject wanted has “finally” been achieved, or that it was jus...

Learn Japanese: TouTou とうとう

19 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today we are talking about a 'fun' yet sad words called Toutou. とうとう (toutou) Something that the speaker or subject has been expecting “fina...

The 30 Day Challenge is Back!

18 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

For all those people wondering. It is back up! The 30 day Japanese Challenge, the challenge to learn the basics of Japanese in 30 days is back in full...

Learn Japanese: Kyle from Tokyo Munchiez

17 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today I interview my friend Kyle from Tokyo Munchiez! This is a feelgood fun episode where we talk about food in Japan, culture, candy, and Kyle is an...

Learn Japanese: The Last Koto

15 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today was a good day. This episode we finish up talking about koto and mono the two SUPER useful nominalizers. These two grammar points should open al...

Learn Japanese: Koto こと/事

14 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Koto and Mono are two very popular nominalizers, but powerful opposites. Now that we know what mono is, we are ready to discuss the more common and ma...

Learn Japanese: Mono pt. 2

13 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

While mono is a thing, like we talked about yesterday there are somethings that we need to clear up about this incredibly common and useful "thing" th...

Learn Japanese: Mono もの/物

12 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This thing is the thing that makes things things. That's right that was a completely accurate sentence. This is an EXTREMELY important episode for und...

Learn Japanese: Does Japanese Study Suck?

11 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

John Sensei goes off on a little bit of a rant. Not kidding, it may be a little harsh, but then again he is really passionate about this topic. So hop...

Learn Japanese: Slang (Because You Asked)

08 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

While this week we have been talking about greetings I have had alot of people requesting that I teach a little bit of colloquial slang, and though I ...

Learn Japanese: Coming Home

08 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Did you know your greetings change when you come home or leave your house? Well... have we got a fun episode for you then. Check it out! (Also the sit...

Learn Japanese: Greetings To Use When Visiting

06 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We continue our visiting and greeting grammar. This is a really fun and heartwarming episode that will hopefully make you Japanese better and help you...

Learn Japanese: How to Say "Bye" in Japanese... Correctly

05 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Much like yesterday, we are talking about how to make Japanese more fluent even though it is very simple. Saying "Goodbye" in Japanese can be alot mor...

Learn Japanese: How to say "Hello" like a Japanese

05 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

People tend to get confused about how to actually say hello in Japanese. They often confused how you spell Konnichiwa and Konbanwa, not to mention the...

Learn Japanese: How to think about Japanese

03 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Are there ways to think about learning a language? There are more than one way to attack a language, and many ways to think about one. This META episo...

Learn Japanese: Gizmo/ 東京浪人

02 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today we interview the guy who you here at the beginning and end of each episode. You're boy, Gizmo. The Man from Kuro Kouch. This dude is awesome and...

Learn Japanese: Bte Itadaku 頂く

01 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Would you please... Would you mind... Would you... All those wonderful things are in today's ultra mega awesome itadaku podcast. Enjoy.Instagram: http...

Learn Japanese: Meishi (Business Cards)

01 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about this important part of Japanese culture with ya’ll before moving to other grammar points. Have you ever h...

Learn Japanese: De vs. De gozaru

31 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is to clear up anything that may have been confusing about the predicate desu. This is also a day of spicing up your conjunction and maki...

Learn Japanese: Desu です

30 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What is Desu? I've talked previously about the levels of formality of desu like predicates, but I was surprised I have never really gone into Desu unt...

Learn Japanese: Masu

29 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Base 2 + masu. What is masu? Masu is a way to raise your respect and diction to the person to which you are speaking. In this episode, we dive into th...

Learn Japanese: An Introduction to Japanese Job Interviews

28 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Thinking about getting a job in Japan? Have a job but want a better one?Have a job interview scheduled but completely freaking out because this is you...

Learn Japanese: Interview w/ Grammar Gamer

27 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Wanna learn Japanese through playing pokemon and Legend of Zelda? I know just the guy. Tom's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8UqIZlupjIQ3vx...

Extra: a Manga Sensei PSA

26 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

So.... Somethings happened this week. We wanted to tell you about things and come clean on why we didn't post all that much. Warning, it has been a lo...

Learn Japanese: Mono da ものだ

23 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This is not 物 or 者. This is a Hiragana Mono and is used to describe an action or a state of something. This must be followed a predicate and modif...

Learn Japanese: No Moto De のもとで

22 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

While mostly written in hiragana, this advanced grammar point is about explaining how and what something is predicated upon or under. This is a more a...

Learn Japanese: Instagram Livestream

21 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today I answer Japanese Questions live on Instagram!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themangasensei/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/thema...

Learn Japanese: Interview w/ Eve Kushner of Joyokanji.com

19 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This was a lovely interview with a world-renowned Kanji expert and very kind person Eve Kushner from Joyokanji.com. She is not only a researcher but b...

Learn Japanese: Your Japanese Resume 2

18 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today we touch on the first little things that you will put on your Japanese Resume. How to make it work and some other little tips that should help y...

Learn Japanese: The Letter of Introduction

17 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Part two of the resume. The letter of recommendation. While this is nice to have in the states other countries, in Japan, you really need to get on th...

Learn Japanese: Resume PR

16 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The Japanese resume is a three-part ordeal. Today we talk about the first part. The fancy thing called a Pr. This is a great tool to let people get to...

Learn Japanese: Your Japanese Resume

15 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

That's right Manga Seitous. We are talking about writing your Japanese resume this week. This episode I give a little intro on how to create, prepare ...

Learn Japanese: Bridging the language gap

14 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This was inspired by a comment by an amazing comment I got on Instagram. This episode is dedicated to breaking through that gap between intermediate a...

Learn Japanese: Interview w/ Ben Everett

12 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Professional Boy Scout, Translator, Interpreter, and master beard grower, Ben Everett is one of my favorite people. He seems to be the guy that things...

Learn Japanese: Day periods vs. Days of the month

12 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Day periods vs. Days of the month. This is often a place where intermediate learners can often get confused. Today I talk about tips that can help you...

Learn Japanese: Days & Diction

11 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today we take things a little more formal, grammatically that is. Today we talk about ways to express day by raising your diction. We have also been w...

Learn Japanese: Mai 毎

10 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today we discuss what may be the most common Japanese Prefixes in Japanese. Mai, which means 'every' is used with time and days to express every day e...

Learn Japanese: Time periods

09 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Days of the week, done. Today, it is time periods that are built into the Japanese language. If you would like to see this episode with your own eyes ...

Learn Japanese: Days

07 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This may be a somewhat simple episode, but don't worry all you advanced speakers out there we will have more advanced stuff coming up this week. Howev...

Learn Japanese: Days and this week's plan

07 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

For our newer listeners of this show, this episode is to explain all the different things that are going on and all the things that we will be talking...

Learn Japanese: Sneak peaks

06 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This is kinda like a sneak peek and an exclusive look had a baby. This is our first track for the video that we never released. We have thrown around ...

Learn Japanese: Time pt. 4

05 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The last day of our time week. Make sure to check out the comic and everything going along with it on our website. Using the AM and PM is extremely us...

Learn Japanese: Time pt. 3

04 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

One more day in the books but it is the hours that we are talking about. Today we learn some things to help us remember the exceptions in hours of the...

Learn Japanese: Time pt. 2

03 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This week we keep the Time theme moving by talking about exceptions in minutes and making sure we have the correct pronunciation. This is very importa...

Learn Japanese: Time pt. 1

02 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

It is time! The podcast has shifted and we are now doing the podcast episodes on a weekly theme. This week's theme is time. Also today our comic final...

Learn Japanese: Those Darn Long sounds

01 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This is it. The last day before the comic release, and also the last day of the Kodoasaur. Yes it is finally over. While it may have been a little bit...

Extra: Comic Release UPDATE!

30 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We are stoked to bring you some great news. This Tuesday it launches!Learn Japanese through reading manga. 100% Japanese and translations provided. I...

Learn Japanese: Interview w/ Kazue from Learnjapanese123.com

29 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This episode was a complete treat. Kazue is a blogger, business owner, cultural ambassador and all around lovely woman. You may know her from the Lear...

Learn Japanese: Kodoasaur Nna

28 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We are almost through with the Kodoasaur, just a little bit more and then you will be awesome kodoasamurai. I’m hilarious. Today we discuss a super ...

Learn Japanese: Kodoasaur Cchira

27 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Direction in Japanese can get quite confusing and っちら and ちら two kodoasaur suffixes that we will be dealing with today.Manga-sensei.com

Learn Japanese: Kodoasaur KO

25 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Location and all that fun stuff as we start to learn more about this mythical beast: the Kodoasaur.Manga-sensei.com

Learn Japanese: Kodoasaur NO

24 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

We continue our talks from yesterday, farther investigating the power of the kodoasaur, as well as the suffix No. These combine to make what is called...

Learn Japanese: Kodoasaur RE

23 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This week we will be going over what I commonly refer to as the Kodoasaur, or the sounds Ko, So, A and Do that make up a large part of Japanese gramma...

Learn Japanese: Finals

22 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Hi all you kids that are about to take your Japanese finals. Never fear, I have some tips for you as you get ready to embrace those evil tests.music b...

Learn Japanese: My Wife Interviews Me...

21 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Now the moment that you have all been waiting for, Ladies and Gentlemen, My Wife Christine interviews me. For a little while now people have been aski...

Learn Japanese: Chotto pt. 2

20 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Today we continue our little talk on Chotto, but this time we will dive more into the grammar and use of this peculiar adverb. The trick is just to re...

Learn Japanese: Chotto pt. 1

19 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This is the first episode of a two-part explanation of Chotto. Chotto is most likely the most overused word in the Japanese lexicon. It has high cultu...

Learn Japanese: Kekko 結構

18 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Kekko, which has three unique meanings all seem to come from the same root. This grammar point expresses that something exceeds the speaker’s expect...