Tips & Tricks

Some random things I picked up on the internet... ∑d(°∀°d)

The "Zoom In" Approach

Japanese sentences are usually structured to "zoom in" on a person, action or main point. Example:

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Text Elements

English sentences
zoom out
Japanese sentences
zoom in
"I watched
YouTube videos
at home
yesterday."
"Kinou ie de
YouTube douga o
mimashita."

Note

When the "who" is clear, there is no need to add it, therefore the Japanese sentence above does not contain "I". Also, due to particles, the word order in Japanese is very flexible!

Other Examples:

Nested sentences: The reason comes before the main part, e.g., "My grandmother always walks very slowly, because her legs are weak" becomes "祖母は (topic)、足が悪いので (reason)、いつもとてもゆっくり歩きます (main point)。"
Time: 今は、２０２４年7月20日、午後3時30分です。
Addresses: Zip Code / Prefecture / City / Area / Number