N4

ところだ(Tokoro Da) If you have been studying Japanese for a while, you’ve probably reached that frustrating plateau whe...

〜という is used to define, name, or describe something. Think of it as a way to say "called," "named," or "the thing that is..." in English.

Feeling that something is taking much longer than it should? Then you are already familiar with the spirit of the Japanese grammar point なかなか〜ない (Nakanaka~nai).

~なさい is the imperative form of the honorific verb なさる (nasaru), which is the polite version of する (suru). However, it has evolved into a "soft imperative."

In English, 〜にくい (~nikui) is "hard to do" or "difficult to handle." In Japanese, however, there is a very specific point for these exact situations.

Unlike other conditionals, ~nara is used when you are picking up on a topic that someone else mentioned, or a situation that has just become apparent.

〜にする (ni suru) translates most to "to decide on" or "to make it [something]." It’s the grammar used when we have options in front of us and we are picking one.

"node" (ので) is used to connect a reason to a result. It is "because", however, unlike its cousin から, ので places the emphasis on the objective circumstances.

In English, "even though," "despite" or "although." But in Japanese, there is a specific grammar point that carries a much heavier emotional weight: 〜のに (noni).

〜のは〜です is a way to turn a whole phrase or a verb into a noun so that you can talk about it as the subject. In English, we call this a "cleft sentence."