What's the hardest part of Japanese for you? For me, it's understanding old fellas (おじいさん・おじさん). I have so much respect for them and genuinely want to learn from them, but gosh, it's tough — the accents, the mumbling, the old-school grammar and slang they use that you'll never find in a textbook. You get one sentence in and you're already lost, nodding along like you understood every word 😅 It's a good reminder that "understanding Japanese" isn't just one skill — textbook Japanese, anime Japanese, young people's Japanese, and old fella Japanese can almost feel like different languages. What's the part of Japanese that trips you up the most? Listening? Kanji? Keigo (polite speech)? Regional accents? Drop it in the comments — let's compare notes and maybe help each other out 👇

Read my entry. Compose your own. I'll be so glad to give you feedback on your writing. You don't have to be perfect, you have to use your Japanese skill and get stronger!!! 3 sentences about your weekend is perfect! 🇯🇵 Japanese 最近、仕事がとても忙しくて、このコミュニティであまり活動できませんでした。すみません！でも、これからはもっと積極的に参加したいと思っています。みなさんと一緒に日本語を勉強するのを楽しみにしています！ 金曜日は今学期の最後の日でした。12年生の卒業を見ることができて、とても嬉しかったです。みんな本当によく頑張りました。先生として、みんなのことをとても誇りに思っています。 土曜日は友達の40歳の誕生日パーティーに行きました。みんなでたくさん話して、笑って、踊りました。とても楽しい夜でした！ 日曜日の一番楽しかったことは、妻と一緒に相撲を見たことです。相撲はとても迫力があって、面白いです！ちょうど大会の最後の日だったので、とても盛り上がりました。みなさんは相撲を見たことがありますか？今週も一緒に頑張りましょう！ 🔤 Romaji Saikin, shigoto ga totemo isogashikute, kono komyuniti de amari katsudō dekimasen deshita. Sumimasen! Demo, kore kara wa motto sekkyokuteki ni sanka shitai to omotte imasu. Minasan to issho ni Nihongo o benkyō suru no o tanoshimi ni shite imasu! Kin'yōbi wa kon gakki no saigo no hi deshita. Jūni-nensei no sotsugyō o miru koto ga dekite, totemo ureshikatta desu. Minna hontō ni yoku ganbarimashita. Sensei to shite, minna no koto o totemo hokori ni omotte imasu. Doyōbi wa tomodachi no yonjussai no tanjōbi pātī ni ikimashita. Minna de takusan hanashite, waratte, odorimashita. Totemo tanoshii yoru deshita! Nichiyōbi no ichiban tanoshikatta koto wa, tsuma to issho ni sumō o mita koto desu. Sumō wa totemo hakuryoku ga atte, omoshiroi desu! Chōdo taikai no saigo no hi datta node, totemo moriagarimashita. Minasan wa sumō o mita koto ga arimasu ka? Konshū mo issho ni ganbarimashō! 🇦🇺 English Recently, I’ve been very busy with work and haven’t been very active in this community. Sorry about that! But from now on, I want to be much more involved. I’m looking forward to studying Japanese together with everyone! Friday was the last day of school for the term. I was very happy to see the Year 12 students graduate. They all worked really hard, and as their teacher, I’m very proud of them. On Saturday, I went to my friend’s 40th birthday party. We all talked, laughed and danced together. It was a really fun night!

✏️ Goal: Write a short diary entry in Japanese 🧠 Focus: Talking about hobbies ✅ Beginner / N5 (with romaji + English) 週末にボードゲームコンベンションに行きました。 Shuumatsu ni boodo geemu konbenshon ni ikimashita. On the weekend, I went to a board game convention. 家族や友だちとボードゲームをすることは、私のしゅみの一つです。 Kazoku ya tomodachi to boodo geemu o suru koto wa, watashi no shumi no hitotsu desu. Playing board games with family and friends is one of my hobbies. とても楽しかったです。 Totemo tanoshikatta desu. It was a lot of fun. 新しいゲームをしました。 Atarashii geemu o shimashita. I tried some new games. 妻と遊ぶために、相撲のカードゲームを買いました。 Tsuma to asobu tame ni, sumou no kaado geemu o kaimashita. I bought a sumo card game to play with my wife. ✅ N3 Version 週末にボードゲームコンベンションへ行きました。 家族や友だちとボードゲームで遊ぶことは、私の大好きな趣味の一つです。 いろいろな新しいゲームを遊んで、とても楽しい時間を過ごしました。 妻と一緒に遊ぶために、相撲をテーマにしたカードゲームも買いました。 🫵 Your Turn What is one of your hobbies? あなたのしゅみは何ですか。 Anata no shumi wa nan desu ka? I'd love to hear about it! 😊

This week’s fact is about one of Japan’s most beautiful summer traditions. 🎋 Tanabata: The Star Festival Every year on 7th of July, Japan celebrates 七夕 (たなばた / Tanabata). According to legend, there were once two lovers: Orihime (織姫), a princess who wove beautiful cloth, and Hikoboshi (彦星), a hardworking cowherd. After they fell in love, they became so happy together that they neglected their responsibilities. Orihime stopped weaving. Hikoboshi stopped looking after his cattle. Seeing this, the Heavenly King separated them on opposite sides of the Milky Way. The lovers were heartbroken. Moved by their sadness, the king allowed them to meet just once each year, on the seventh day of the seventh month. But there was one condition. If it rained, the river of stars could not be crossed, and they would have to wait another year to see each other. For this reason, many people still hope for clear skies on Tanabata night. A Festival of Wishes Today, people celebrate Tanabata by writing wishes on colourful paper strips called 短冊 (たんざく / tanzaku). They hang these wishes on bamboo branches, hoping their dreams will come true. You might see wishes for: passing an exam travelling to Japan happiness and good health becoming better at Japanese Language Lesson 願い事があります。 Negai-goto ga arimasu. I have a wish. 日本に行きたいです。 Nihon ni ikitai desu. I want to go to Japan. 日本語が上手になりたいです。 Nihongo ga jōzu ni naritai desu. I want to become good at Japanese. Your Turn If you could write one wish on a Tanabata tanzaku, what would it be? Try writing it in Japanese if you can! 🇯🇵 Arigatou, Joe Sensei.

✏️ Goal: Write a short diary entry in Japanese 🧠 Focus: Past tense + looking forward to something ✅ Beginner / N5 (with romaji + English) 今週はずっと家にいました。 Konshuu wa zutto ie ni imashita. I was at home all week. 本を読みました。 Hon o yomimashita. I read books. ゲームをしました。 Geemu o shimashita. I played video games. 妻とテレビを見ました。 Tsuma to terebi o mimashita. I watched TV with my wife. たくさん笑いました。 Takusan waraimashita. We laughed a lot. でも、家を出るのを楽しみにしています。 Demo, ie o deru no o tanoshimi ni shiteimasu. I'm looking forward to leaving the house. ✅ N3 Version 今週はずっと家で過ごしました。 本を読んだり、ゲームをしたり、妻とテレビを見たりしました。 たくさん笑って、楽しい時間を過ごせました。 でも、そろそろ外に出たいです。家を出られる日を楽しみにしています。 🫵 Your Turn What did you do this week? 今週は何をしましたか。 Konshuu wa nani o shimashita ka? Write 3–5 sentences about your week! 😊