Ocha and Chat is our weekly live call for using our Japanese and for social study. 🗓️ Topic: Where you do things (で) For this week’s Ocha & Chat, we’ll practise talking about where you do things in Japanese. This is super useful for everyday conversation: - where you eat - where you study - where you relax 🧠 Mini Lesson: で (Place of Action) We use で to show where an action happens. Pattern: Place + で + Verb Examples カフェでコーヒーを飲みます。Kafe de kōhī o nomimasu.I drink coffee at a café. 図書館で本を読みます。Toshokan de hon o yomimasu.I read a book at the library. 学校で日本語を勉強します。Gakkō de Nihongo o benkyō shimasu.I study Japanese at school. 📍 Common Places カフェ — kafe — café レストラン — resutoran — restaurant 学校 — gakkō — school 図書館 — toshokan — library 公園 — kōen — park 家 — ie — home 会社 — kaisha — company / office 海 — umi — sea ショッピングセンター — shoppingu sentā — shopping centre 🗣️ Practice Questions どこで勉強しますか。Doko de benkyō shimasu ka? Where do you study? どこでごはんを食べますか。Doko de gohan o tabemasu ka? Where do you eat? 🫵 Before the Call Write one sentence: ＿＿＿で＿＿＿ます。 Example:カフェで勉強します。 We’ll practise speaking these together during Ocha & Chat ☕🇯🇵 Can you join 10 am, Sunday Sydney time?

Frequency adverbs tell us how often something happens. They usually come before the verb in a sentence. よく (yoku) often Example: よく日本語をべんきょうします。 Yoku Nihongo o benkyō shimasu. I often study Japanese. ときどき (tokidoki) sometimes Example: ときどき映画を見ます。 Tokidoki eiga o mimasu. I sometimes watch movies. たまに (tamani) occasionally Example: たまにコーヒーを飲みます。 Tamani kōhī o nomimasu. I occasionally drink coffee. ふつうに (futsū ni) normally / usually Example: ふつうに７じにおきます。 Futsū ni shichi-ji ni okimasu. I normally wake up at 7. あまり〜ません (amari ~masen) not very often Example: あまりテレビを見ません。 Amari terebi o mimasen. I don’t watch TV very often. ぜんぜん〜ません (zenzen ~masen) not at all / never Example: ぜんぜんお酒を飲みません。 Zenzen osake o nomimasen. I never drink alcohol.

ようこそ！Youkoso!!🙇‍♂️ Welcome to all our new members over the last week. This community is for us to learn Japanese together. There is a lot to master, but if we support each other in going step by step, we can do it! This week's question is: お寺か買い物か？⛩️🛍️ おてらかかいものか？ otera ka kaimono ka? Temple or shopping? Spiritual reflection, or retail therapy? This question is open to all! Bonus points if you explain your choice! Arigatou, Joe Sensei. Welcome: @Karasu Arts @David Vegt @Matthew Peil @Lo Origel @Julia Stanley @Rd Purno @Jonas Carvalho de Araujo @Serdar San @Michael Walsh @Dimitar Penkov @Yash Goyal

It's sakura season! 🌸 Let's be inspired by their beautiful blooms and their fleeting charm to master hiragana in just 10 days. The last time we did a hiragana challenge, students were able to jump-start their Japanese journey and develop a strong habit of studying while mastering the writing system. If you'd like to join the challenge, let me know in the comments. We'll start in a few days and you will be a master of hiragana before the last cherry blossom falls.

Here are the day 7 highlights: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/sumo/tournament/202603/day7.html Day 8 will be streamed in 2 hours and 45 minutes. 🎌Sumo Fact: The Gyōji (Referee) In sumo, the referee is called a 行司 (ぎょうじ / gyōji). The gyōji stands inside the ring and directs the match, announcing the wrestlers and signalling the winner. They wear colourful traditional robes that resemble clothing from Japan’s samurai era. During the match, the gyōji shouts instructions to keep the action going. One common call is: 「はっけよい！」Hakkeyoi! Meaning something like “Keep going!” or “Fight!” If the wrestlers stop moving, the gyōji may shout: 「のこった！」Nokotta! Which means “You’re still in!” These loud calls help maintain the rhythm and intensity of a sumo bout.