✏️ Goal: Write a short diary entry in Japanese 🧠 Mini Lesson: Past tense (ました / ませんでした) To talk about the past in Japanese: ✅ Positive (did) Verb + ました mashita 行きます ikimasu → 行きました ikimashita (went) 読みます yomimasu→ 読みました yomimashita (read) ❌ Negative (did not) Verb + ませんでした masen deshita 読みます yomimasu → 読みませんでした yomimasen deshita (did not read) 運動しますundou shimasu → 運動しませんでした undou shimasen deshita (did not exercise) ✅ Beginner 週末はあまりよくなかったです。 Shūmatsu wa amari yokunakatta desu. The weekend was not very good. かぜをひきました。 Kaze o hikimashita. I caught a cold. ベッドにいました。 Beddo ni imashita. I stayed in bed. 本を読みませんでした。 Hon o yomimasen deshita. I didn’t read. 運動しませんでした。 Undō shimasen deshita. I didn’t exercise. 日本語を話しませんでした。 Nihongo o hanashimasen deshita. I didn’t speak Japanese. 今週はよくなると思います。 Konshū wa yoku naru to omoimasu. This week will be better. ✅ Advanced Versuon 週末はあまり調子がよくなくて、少し大変でした。 かぜをひいてしまい、ほとんどベッドで過ごしました。 本も読めず、運動もできず、日本語もあまり話せませんでした。 少し残念でしたが、今週はもっと良くなるといいなと思っています。 🫵 Your Turn Write 3–5 sentences about your weekend. Try using: 〜ました 〜ませんでした Example: 週末、本を読みました。でも、運動しませんでした。 Short and simple is perfect 😊

"Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still." — Chinese Proverb Follow the link, watch the video and learn along. Complete the work sheet. Write your hiragana on some paper. Writing helps you distinguish the characters and get them into your long term memory. Post your work. Show off your skills, receive feedback and get motivation from us sharing together. https://www.skool.com/japanese/classroom/78718867?md=f8c202c98c3f4ad2af7874e8bb1bc304 Please try your best (ganbatte kudasai)!!! Joe Sensei. @Leonardo Adoccimo @Ricardo Solomons @Kev Hear @Julia Stanley @Harry Lewis @Serdar San @Lydia Cox @Cecilia Parks @Barry Prescott P.S. Bonus Challenge. Which of the hiragana we've learnt so far can you see in the attached image of a Japanese YouTube thumbnail?

#JapaneseTopicTuesday What made you first interested in Japan/Japanese? In the photo, I'm the one between Batman and Robin. This is from kindergarten and I was wearing a Japanese happi from Edogawa and a kamikaze headband bought in Japan. I had a little sword too and thought I looked like a cool samurai. 😅 To be honest, I was borrowing them from my brother. He had been to Japan to play football (soccer) against Japanese high school boys his age. My brother got souvenirs and gifts from Japan and I thought they were so cool and fascinating. Everything from Japanese Coke bottles with cool writing on them and coins (with holes in them!), to toys like spinning tops and kendama. Then, we were lucky enough to host two Japanese boys from Japan as they visited Australia to play against my brother's team here. It was amazing to meet these kids from another country and culture. We couldn't speak much together not knowing each other's language, but we found a way to communicate and had so much fun, always laughing! That experience sparked my interest in Japan. It wasn't until university that I formally studied the language, but from meeting those Japanese boys and experiencing the generosity and kindness of their families too, I knew I always wanted to visit Japan. That was how I got interested in Japan and Japanese. How about you? Let me know in the comments!

🇯🇵 Sakura Falling Long ago, it is said that the samurai would gather beneath blooming cherry trees in the early days of spring. The trees were breathtaking — soft pink petals, perfect and full of life. But the samurai didn’t just admire their beauty. They saw something deeper. A blossom at its peak… falling suddenly to the ground. In that moment, the flower was at its most beautiful — and yet, it did not cling to the branch. It let go. For the samurai, this became a symbol of how to live: to live fully, to be ready to let go, and to accept that life is fleeting. Just like the blossoms, life could be short — but it could also be beautiful. And so, each year, people began to gather under the trees. Not just to see the flowers… …but to reflect. 🧠 Mini Lesson — Talking About Sakura 🌸 さくらがさきます。 Sakura ga sakimasu. Cherry blossoms bloom. 🌸 はながちります。 Hana ga chirimasu. The flowers fall. 🌸 さくらはきれいですが、みじかいです。 Sakura wa kirei desu ga, mijikai desu. Cherry blossoms are beautiful, but short-lived. 💬 Useful Question 🌸 さくらがすきですか。 Sakura ga suki desu ka? Do you like cherry blossoms? 👉 Example answers: はい、すきです。 Hai, suki desu. いいえ、すきじゃないです。 Iie, suki ja nai desu. 🫵 Your Turn Do you prefer things that last a long time… or things that are beautiful because they don’t last? Answer in English or Japanese 😊 See you next Friday for another Japan Fact Friday 🇯🇵✨

I learnt katakana last month, because I thought there would be some use of it later on. I see absolutely no use, and it doesn't even appear anywhere in this community or wani kani. Can someone please explain whats the use, how to use, and whether I should learn to read it better?