Q: Hey! I’m a big fan of this site, I’m really learning alot from here! But I just got one question; How do you ask “where is the bathroom?” in Japanese?-  Rebecca

A: Hi Rebecca, glad you like the site!  In Japanese, just like in England or Australia, if you ask “Where’s the bathroom?” （浴室はどこですか？　yo ku shi tsu wa do ko desu ka?) they’ll actually show you the room that has the bath!

If you want to use the toilet, then you’ll ask “トイレはどこですか？( to i re wa do ko desu ka?).  You sometimes also see the word 手洗い　(te a ra i)  which means “hand washing” but is actually a toilet.  You might also want to see this post:Women & Mens Bathrooms in Japanese

Be genki,

Richard

Q: I really like your site especially the video songs. My question is that I am looking to buy an English to Japanese electronic dictionary. My main goal is to hear the pronunciation of Japanese words. Please let me know what are your thoughts. Thanks, Jerry

A: Hi Jerry, thank you very much for the nice words!  As I wrote in my how to get fluent in Japanese page I’d totally 100% absolutely recommend getting an electronic dictionary.  It’s probably the single biggest thing that made the biggest difference to my Japanese.

I used to use a really old Canon Wordtank, which was great then, but now there are so many out there that I have a tough time keeping up with them, never mind writing reviews.   So I’d say try and head out to a big electrical store and try a few out.  If you find a good one please let me know and we can share it with everyone here!

Similarly, if anyone else has a good electronic dictionary to recommend, please put it in the comments below!

Be genki,

Richard

Q: Can you please tell me what the japanese alphebet is so i can write to my fried in Tokyo! thanx-  Chelsea

A: Hi Chelsea,

Here’s some information about the Japanese Symbols & Alphabet.  But it’s usually better to start speaking first, then figure out how to write it.  So I’d say the best thing to do is to simply Skype your friend!
Be genki,

Richard

Q: I heard that it is correct to use the fingers for some parts of a sushi meal. Please could we receive some guidance for which kind of pieces it is correct to use the fingers for?

A: Here you go!

Q: are their alphabet songs and sounds? - destiny

A; There are indeed here’s the katakana alphabet song and the hirgana alphabet song.  And here are the katakana and hiragana sounds.

Q: how do you say moon in japan -   mercedes

A: Moon is 月　tsu ki.  It’s supposed to look like a picture of the moon.   You also use it when writing months of the year e.g. January is ichi gatsu 一月　(using the alternative reading of 月)

Q: Hi! I was just wondering, when writing japanese, do you use kanji, katakana or hiragana?? Or all three? -  John

A: All three!   There are rules as to which one to use where, and you just learn these with lots of reading practice.

Q: Is there a word for Gerbil in Japanese and what is it and what is the script for it?  - Sophie

A: To be honest I don’t think I’ve ever used the word gerbil in Japanese before.  So I just did a quick dictionary check and it comes out as アレチネズミ a re chi ne zu mi (”nezumi” is mouse).   But there’s also a description of what it means so I don’t think anyone would understand what you mean even if you used the Japanese.   Maybe you could pretend it’s a hamster (ハムスター　ha mu su taa) as everyone knows what they are!

Q: Is there a place I can get all of these Hiragana sheets in a handy pdf like the wonderful Katakana ones that came in my purchase of your mp3 folder?

A: Thanks for the suggestion, I’ve now put the katakana sheets in the download pack as well!  ( And sent you a complimentary copy for making such a good suggestion!)

Please make some more stuff available. I would like to see songs about different members of the family (including grandparents and parent siblings), colors, animals, and plants.

Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll see what I can do!

This adds a perfect candy coating to some of the more dense Japanese audio I have to study!
Helps the workday pass too! Chaarii

That’s what it’s there for! If it’s fun it’s easier isn’t it!

Q: Hi im also trying to learn japanese your pages help a lot thanks another way i’m learning is by watching dramas and animes with subtitles it really fun and you eventually catch on and im gettin pretty fluent at it now.

A: Cool, keep going and good luck!