When to use iru or aru?

There are a lot of differences in how the Japanese language is used compared to English. One of these differences is in the verb "to be". Lets take a look at how to use "to be", some confusions about using it, and some example sentences.

First, there are 3 different ways to say "to be" in Japanese:

Pronunciation: Consonants Part 3

This is part 3 of Pronunciation: Consonants. Tomorrow we will finish up with combined sounds. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave it in the comments section below or contact me via email. Good luck with your studying!

Pronuncation: Consonants Part 2

This is a continuation on pronouncing Japanese consonants. If you have any questions or feedback, you can leave it in the comments section or send me an email. Happy studies!

Pronuncation: Consonants Part 1

This section will be divided into 3 parts so that you have time to practice each sound. Japanese is very different from English in how consonants work because all their characters are phonetic. Also, all but one of their consonant characters end in one of the five vowel sounds. One very important thing to note about consonants and vowels in Japanese is vowels dictate the shape and movement of the lips, whereas consonants dictate the movement of the mouth and tongue. Try to be mindful of this when trying to say these sounds:

Pronuncation: Vowels

I think that before you begin to learn a language, it's best to learn what sounds it's capable of. Although English has many sounds, it does not use all of the sounds used in other languages. The same is true for other languages as well. Before I list any words for you to study, I would like to go over the sounds used in the Japanese language before posting any vocabulary. I will go over vowels first and then consonants in my next blog.