Learn the te form rule with just 13 words

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Here is my attempt at giving everyone a system to remember one of the most important grammatical rules in Japanese, the te form! As a bonus this can help you make the past form as well (of plain form verbs).

If you can remember all 13 words in this video, then every single verb in Japanese will be accounted for!
はなす
かく
およぐ
のむ
あそぶ
しぬ
かう
まつ
ある
たべる
する
くる
いく

The 13 words are broken down into some groups, broadly these are the three groups of RU, U and Exception Verbs.

By looking at the example word, you’ll see how a verb of the same type and ending will change into the te form.

RU Verbs

Pretty easy, there is only one entry, たべる goes to たべて

U Verbs

9 words in total in this entry, which are in 4 subgroups.

Subgroup 1

はなす goes to はなして

Subgroup 2

かく　かいて

およぐ　およいで

Subgroup 3

These end in む・ぶ・ぬ and result in those respective hiragana going to んで

のむ

あそぶ　

しぬ　

のんで

あそんで

しんで

Subgroup 4

These end in う・つ・る

かう

まつ

ある

かって

まって

あって

Exceptions

Only three items here, our usual suspects of する、くる and the extra inclusion of いく (to go). These just have to be memorised. If you consider いく, as it ends in く it would normally follow the U Verb Subcategory 2 example of かく, however as mentioned it is an exception so いって

する　して

くる　きて

いく　いって


Yosakoi Festival is amazing / よさこい祭りはすごいです！

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A chat with my friend Maki about a festival she participated in called Yosakoi Festival. I speak in the polite form with Maki speaking in the casual form so you get an opportunity to hear both.

I had never heard of this festival before and Maki does a great job explaining it. We also have a chat about calling Japanese people by different names and how you know when to call someone their first name, last name etc.

Japanese article read-through – セブンイレブン / ネッシーはうなぎ？!

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2 articles from NHK Easy. One about the 7/11 convenience store chain, and another offering some explanations about the Loch Ness Monster.

Send me an enquiry through the website if you’ve always wanted to learn Japanese but didn’t know where to start. I can teach you everything you need to know about speaking, listening, understanding, writing and cultural aspects so that you can ace Japanese just like me!

Tokyo Game Show 2019 article read-through – 5G and the future of gaming

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A detailed read-through of an NHK Easy article. This goes into the Tokyo Game Show and how technology is changing the face of gaming.

NHK Easy is a fantastic resource and Japanese students of all levels should check it out, even if you struggle reading hiragana. It is basically a news website but written in much simpler Japanese, with an option to turn on the kanji readings and have the piece read out to you.

The website can be found here.

Japanese through games: Hearthstone. ゲームで日本語をならいましょう。

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Another detailed breakdown of Japanese grammar and words from Hearthstone gameplay.

If you want to speak Japanese and understand media like this to the level I can, then don’t hesitate to contact me through the Contact link up the top. I can help YOU and my professional lessons are done online so all you need is an internet connection and some type of microphone.

Learning Japanese through Hearthstone Act 5 Heroic クリア

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No matter what the language, constant exposure to it is key to improvement alongside consistent study. Consuming Japanese media in the form of anime, TV shows, books, games will help to reinforce words you’ve learnt, practice your listening to a variety of accents, dialects, show you how words and grammar are used in context and finally help improve your concentration.

Games can be good if you’re used to them in English, as switching to Japanese is not as hard if you know the general gameplay mechanics, menus etc. I make an effort to switch everything to Japanese, including my phone, computer etc. I recommend you do the same!