Japanese Made Easy — Learning Path

In this first lesson, Greg shows that learning Japanese quickly results from applying the proper method, not from innate talent. You’ll start with words you already recognize — ピザ (pizza), ケーキ (cake), クッキー (cookie), コーラ (cola), and コーヒー (coffee) — and see how many English-Japanese cognates you already know. Then you’ll learn the verb ある, meaning “to exist,” and its polite form あります, along with the friendly sentence ending よ. With just these pieces, you can say natural sentences like ピザあるよ (“There’s pizza”) or コーヒーありますよ (“There’s coffee”).
You’ll also meet your first particle, が, used when pointing out or bringing something to someone’s attention. Greg explains how it’s spoken in polite speech but often dropped in casual conversation, and how learning from context helps you remember new patterns effortlessly. Tip of the Day: learn a few words from context, use them in sentences, then briefly think about something else before recalling them — that pause helps lock them into long-term memory. By the end, you’ll comfortably use が ある to mention what “exists” around you in both casual and polite Japanese.

This lesson builds on Episode 1 by adding a second key verb: いる, used to say that living things exist. You’ll learn how ある / あります apply to objects, while いる / います apply to animals and people — and how both work with the particle が when pointing something out. You’ll hear natural examples like 犬いるよ (“There’s a dog”) and 吉川さんがいますよ (“Mr. Yoshikawa is here”), while reinforcing the same friendly sentence-ending よ and polite vs. casual contrast.
The Tip of the Day explains why you should never try to memorize every use of a Japanese particle at once. Just as you wouldn’t teach every rule for “a” and “the” in one go, mastering one clear usage at a time prevents overwhelm and confusion. You’ll also learn how to ask simple existence questions — 犬がいますか？ (“Is there a dog?”) or コーヒーある？ (“Is there coffee?”) — and reply naturally with うん、あるよ or はい、ありますよ. By the end, you’ll be comfortable pointing out and asking about both living and non-living things in Japanese using がある and がいる.

This lesson builds on what you’ve learned so far with がある / がいる, then expands your vocabulary with country names that are easy cognates: カナダ (Canada), アメリカ (America), and メキシコ (Mexico). You’ll learn how to form nationalities by simply adding 人 (jin), as in カナダ人 (Canadian) or アメリカ人 (American), and you’ll get more practice using ある / いる for non-living and living things. Greg also introduces the new particle と (to) meaning “and,” so you can now link words naturally—ピザとコーラ (pizza and cola), 猫と犬 (a cat and a dog)—and use it both in casual and polite speech.
The Tip of the Day reminds you not to fear mistakes. Greg shares two funny real-life mix-ups in Japan to show that even big errors can lead to a good laugh and better learning. The key is participation—speak, experiment, and don’t hold back. By the end of this episode, you’ll be confidently combining vocabulary and nationalities with と, distinguishing between ある and いる, and naturally linking ideas in Japanese without worrying about perfection.

You’ll extend the がある／がいる pattern by flipping it to the negative: ない for things (テレビない／ドーナツない) and いない for living beings (小川先生いない). In polite speech, you’ll hear ありません／いません (サンドイッチがありません／アメリカ人がいません). Along the way you add two new countries and their nationalities—オーストラリア／オーストラリア人, ニュージーランド／ニュージーランド人—plus two handy tech cognates: テレビ and モニター. You’ll also keep using と (“and”) to list items and people naturally in both casual and polite Japanese.
Tip of the Day: Think in constructions—high-frequency fill-in-the-blank patterns (like “There is/There isn’t ___”). Mastering a construction with varied vocabulary builds fluency faster than memorizing rules. By the end, you’ll comfortably point out both existence and non-existence in real contexts: ピザある／ない, 犬いる／いない, and their polite versions with が.

This episode introduces a new action verb: 行く (iku) — “to go.” You’ll use it with familiar place words like スタバ (Starbucks), マック (McDonald’s), コンビニ (convenience store), and スーパー (supermarket) to say where you’re going in both casual (スタバ行く) and polite (スタバに行きます) Japanese. Greg also explains the に (ni) particle, showing how it marks the target location of an action. You’ll practice this through real examples and learn how particle dropping often depends on the length or clarity of the sentence.
Tip of the Day: When learning Japanese, focus on both polite and casual forms side by side. Don’t choose one over the other — they’re two halves of the same skill. Greg also introduces the idea of a Super Literal Translation (SLT): replacing a particle with its core meaning to understand it deeply (for example, “Canada is the target location of go”). By the end, you’ll be able to say where you’re going — from マクドナルドに行きます (“I’m going to McDonald’s”) to 京都に行く (“I’m going to Kyoto”) — and understand how に connects actions naturally in Japanese.

You learn the question word どこ (“where”) and the core pattern X は どこ？／どこですか？ for asking locations—casual with particles often dropped (リモコンどこ？), and polite with は kept for clarity (すみません、ノートパソコンはどこですか？). Greg gives SLTs so the grammar “clicks”: は ≈ “regarding” (コーヒーメーカーはどこですか？ → “Regarding coffee makers, where are they?”) and reviews に as “target location of the action” for 行く (スタバに行きます). New, high-use vocab: リモコン, コーヒーメーカー, マヨネーズ, ケチャップ, パソコン, ノートパソコン. You also meet sentence-ending の in casual questions to seek clarification or explanation: どこ行くの？ (“Where are you going?”), and see と working as “with” (恵子とスタバに行く).
Tip of the Day: Build fluency with constructions—practice one correct frame and swap words: 出口はどこですか？／駅はどこですか？／パソコンはどこですか？ Greg’s “power-phrase” mnemonic ties sound to meaning: “Where are you going? Don’t go → どこ.” By the end, you can ask and answer “where” naturally in both styles (サンドイッチどこ？／サンドイッチはどこですか？), and use の questions, は + どこ, に + 行く, and と = with with confidence.

You shift last lesson’s casual patterns into polite Japanese: X は どこですか？ for “Where is X?” (リモコンはどこですか／小川先生はどこですか), and the explanatory question 〜んですか for “Where are you going?” (どこに行くんですか？), contrasting it with casual どこ行くの？. You add countries フランス／スペイン／ロシア and build nationalities with 人 (e.g., フランス人がいます / ロシア人がいません), keep using と for “and/with” (恵子と行く), and practice confirming with 〜の？ plus natural replies うん／そう. A key grammar upgrade is switching 行く → 行った (“went”) and the polite 行きます → 行きました, then asking in polite past: 東京に行きましたか？.
Tip of the Day: Always learn the Super Literal Translation (SLT) alongside the normal English meaning—it’s the shortcut to “thinking in Japanese.” Examples: すみません → “Sorry to have bothered you in some way,” どうぞ → “Please do the implied action.” By the end, you can ask and answer “where” in both styles, confirm destinations and companions (誰と？), talk about past trips (日本に行った／行きました), and comfortably mix は + どこ, に + 行く／行った, 〜んですか, と, and 人 in real conversations.

This lesson introduces the を (wo) particle — used when doing something to something — along with three core verbs: 飲む (nomu – to drink), 見る (miru – to watch/see), and 食べる (taberu – to eat). You’ll hear natural examples like コーヒーを飲む, テレビを見る, and ピザを食べます, and learn how を marks what receives the action. Greg explains when it naturally drops in short, casual sentences (ドーナツ食べる) and how it always stays in polite ones (ドーナツを食べます). You’ll also strengthen earlier patterns using と both for “and” and “with”: コーヒーとオレンジジュースを飲みます and 真由美とトーストを食べます.
Tip of the Day: Use visual associations and Power Phrases to make words stick. Greg describes memorizing あたま (head) by picturing a tiny red car (“auto-mobile… a-ta-ma”) sitting on his head — a vivid image he still remembers years later. Combining audio, imagery, and context locks new words into memory faster. By the end of the lesson, you’ll confidently use を for direct objects, pair it with verbs like 食べる, 飲む, and 見る, and build smooth, natural sentences like テレビと映画見る and 真由美とトーストとドーナツ食べる.

You’ll now learn how to talk about languages, introduce 今 (ima – now), and expand your mastery of the に particle. Starting with フランス語, スペイン語, ロシア語, 日本語, and 英語, Greg shows how easily country names convert into languages. You’ll also practice using 今 + に + いる to say where you are right now: 今、レストランにいるよ (“I’m at a restaurant right now”) and 今、イギリスにいるよ (“I’m in the UK right now”). The episode’s dialogue between Kenji and Mayumi brings everything together—questions like 今どこ？ and 誰と？ flow naturally, using に as “the target location of existence.”
Tip of the Day: Small words often carry many meanings. Greg shows how English “on” means different things in “on the table,” “on the train,” and “on Friday.” Japanese particles work the same way. Rather than memorizing fixed translations, learn each usage pattern through its Super Literal Translation (SLT)—for に, that’s “the target location of the following action.” By the end, you’ll comfortably switch between places (レストラン, デパート, 日本), times (今), people (誰と？), and languages (英語と日本語)—asking and answering naturally about where you are and what language you speak.

This “interpreter” episode pulls together everything from the first nine lessons through full-sentence translation practice. You translate back and forth between English and Japanese using familiar grammar patterns: がある／がいる for existence (コーヒーがありますよ – There’s coffee), はどこ(ですか) for location (マヨネーズはどこですか – Where’s the mayonnaise?), に行く／行った for going and having gone (スーパーに行きます – I’m going to the supermarket), and と for both “and” and “with” (啓介とバーガーキングに行くよ – I’m going to Burger King with Keisuke). You review dropping particles in short casual speech (コンビニない – No convenience store), polite vs. casual contrasts, and familiar vocabulary for people, foods, and places.
Tip of the Day: Pause during listening and treat every line as a construction template. Replace just one content word (like どこ in どこ行くの?) to generate new, natural sentences—スペインに行くの?, レストランに行くの?, etc. This habit multiplies your practice time without memorizing separate rules.
By the end of this “mid-term” you can confidently:
Ask and answer where things or people are (今どこにいる?),
Say what you’re eating, drinking, or watching (コーヒーとオレンジジュース飲む),
Talk about trips and companions (鈴木さんと京都に行きましたか?), and
Switch smoothly between casual and polite forms.
The downloadable homework flips the exercise: you’ll hear English and produce the Japanese yourself—solidifying every core structure from ある／いる, に, を, and と, through 行く, 見る, 飲む, and 食べる.

This episode adds a new word — 友達 (tomodachi – friend) — and introduces past tense verbs like 飲んだ, 食べた, 見た, and their polite forms 飲みました, 食べました, 見ました. You’ll learn to talk about what you did, where you went, and who you went with: 友達とデパートに行ったよ (“I went to the department store with a friend”) and 誰と行きましたか (“Who did you go with?”). Greg builds natural fluency through repetition and variation, shifting between casual and polite forms while reviewing key particles like と, を, and に. You’ll also practice new vocabulary for everyday life — トマト, バナナ, スポーツドリンク, コメディ, and ドラマ — all wrapped into short, natural sentences that build real conversational rhythm.
Tip of the Day: When watching Japanese shows or movies, hit pause whenever you hear something new and turn it into an instant practice pattern. For example, if a character says “I don’t want pizza,” try substituting your own words: I don’t want sushi, I don’t want a sandwich, and so on. Replaying and reusing new phrases immediately strengthens memory and recall. By the end of this episode, you’ll comfortably say what you did and ate, drank, or watched, ask what others did (何食べた？ 何見た？), and use both casual and polite past tense naturally in conversation.

You learn できる / できない (“can / can’t”) in natural, casual Q&A: スポーツできる？ — うん、できるよ / いや、できないよ. Lots of sports cognates (バスケ、ゴルフ、サッカー、テニス) get drilled, plus quick reviews of existence in past tense: （ノート）パソコンあった？— うん、あったよ / いや、なかったよ; living things past negative: 健司いなかった. New everyday words pop in (スマホ、パスタ). You also recycle past tense of core verbs (飲む→飲んだ、見た、食べた、行った) and the casual question ending の (バナナ食べたの？).
The big upgrade is the contrastive は + できる pattern: テニスはできますか？ implies “other sports aside, how about tennis?” Likewise 日本語はできますか？ / 英語はできますか？ signal “that language in particular.” Compare to no-は versions (plain ability): サッカーできる？ — うん、できるよ. You practice swapping between casual and polite without changing meaning, just nuance: できます / できません vs できる / できない.
Tip of the Day: Don’t chase giant vocab lists. Prioritize constructions and patterns (like X はできます, X あった？, X いなかった) and plug words in. That’s what transfers straight into real conversations.

In this episode, you start learning Japanese counters, beginning with the one for people: 〜人 (〜にん). You’ll hear how to ask and answer “How many people?” — 何人（なんにん）？, with special forms for one and two people: 一人（ひとり） and 二人（ふたり）. Greg shows how these fit naturally with いる and いた when talking about who’s present: 今、何人いる？ (How many people are here now?) and 七人いたよ (There were seven people). Afterward, you’ll add the new で particle, which marks the place where an action happens: 駅で寿司を食べました (I ate sushi at the station) and レストランでラーメン食べた (I ate ramen at a restaurant). Carol and Kenji return in short story scenes that make each new phrase easy to remember.
Tip of the Day: when practicing in Japan, try asking questions you already know the answers to. For example, ask a passerby where the nearest Starbucks is, even if you already know. Since you aren’t focused on understanding the content, you can relax and fully concentrate on how the person replies — their speed, rhythm, and phrasing. It’s an easy, low-pressure way to hear real Japanese in action. By the end of the lesson, you’ll comfortably count people, use で for where actions take place, and recognize how these fit smoothly into natural Japanese conversations.

This episode begins with だ, the casual form of “is.” You’ll hear how to make natural statements like トマトジュースだよ (“It’s tomato juice”) and トヨタだよ (“It’s a Toyota”). From there, Greg introduces a new, everyday use of の — not just for possession (誰のピザ？ – Whose pizza?), but for origin or source: どこのピザ？ means “Where’s the pizza from?” and アメリカのアニメだよ means “It’s American anime.” You’ll build this into phrases like イタリアのチーズだよ (“It’s Italian cheese”) and 日本の寿司？ (“Is this Japanese sushi?”), learning how this “from or of” meaning creates natural, native-style sentences.
Then comes a new counter, 〜個 (〜こ), used for small round or compact items — donuts, tomatoes, batteries, oranges, and more. You’ll practice natural Q&A patterns like ドーナツは何個食べたの？ – How many donuts did you eat? and 三個食べたよ – I ate three, plus polite versions such as オレンジは何個買いましたか？ – How many oranges did you buy? Greg connects this counter to real-life usage, showing how 個 fits perfectly with verbs like 食べた, 買った, and ある.
Tip of the Day: Master one usage of a particle or counter at a time instead of trying to memorize every possible rule at once. Greg reminds learners that fluency doesn’t come from collecting hundreds of definitions—it comes from confidently using one pattern until it’s automatic. By the end of this lesson, you’ll handle both だ and の naturally, and count everyday objects like a native speaker using 〜個.

This lesson adds two key time words — あした (tomorrow) and あさって (the day after tomorrow) — and introduces one of the most important Japanese verbs: する, the universal “to do.” You’ll practice full, natural sentences like あした京都に行く (“I’m going to Kyoto tomorrow”) and あさって広島でお好み焼き食べる？ (“Are you going to have okonomiyaki in Hiroshima the day after tomorrow?”). Greg shows how する combines with many nouns to form new verbs: メールする (to send an email), ゴルフする (to play golf), ドライブする (to go for a drive), and ボーリングする (to go bowling). You’ll also learn the polite forms (します・しません・しました) and see how casual vs. polite choices change the tone, not the meaning.
Tip of the Day: Greg shares a real-life travel story about nearly boarding the wrong train in Japan — a reminder to always double-check your ticket by showing it to someone and simply asking この電車ですか？ (“This train?”). The lesson closes by showing how 絶対 (zettai) adds emphasis or certainty, as in 絶対しない (“absolutely won’t”) or 絶対食べる (“definitely will eat”). By the end, you’ll be using する naturally in casual and polite Japanese to describe what you do, will do, or did — whether that’s playing sports, sending mail, or going snowboarding tomorrow or the day after.

This episode tackles one of the most misunderstood topics in Japanese — the difference between が and を — showing that the real question isn’t “は vs. が,” but rather “を vs. が.” You revisit earlier uses of が like コンビニがある (“there’s a convenience store”) and expand into sentences where something happens on its own, such as ドアが閉まります (“the door will close”), 雨が降っている (“it’s raining”), and 雨が止んだ (“the rain stopped”). No one acts on these things — the door closes, the rain falls — so が marks the doer itself. In contrast, を marks when you act on something: ジュースを飲みました (“I drank juice”), ドアを開けた (“I opened the door”).
Greg drives home the pattern with vivid examples — from haunted houses and crying babies to lions escaping at the zoo (ライオンが逃げました). The key idea: が highlights actions or states that originate from the thing itself, while を shows direct action upon an object. Tip of the Day: Do short “native language integration” drills like Window が opened vs. I window を opened to feel the difference naturally before switching to Japanese. By lesson’s end, you’ll instinctively know when to use が and when to use を.

In this episode, Greg expands your understanding of the particle で by showing how flexible and useful it really is. You start with familiar uses — actions at a place (スタバでコーヒー飲んだ – “I drank coffee at Starbucks”) and actions using something (ペンで書きました – “I wrote with a pen”). From there, you learn a new and essential function: expressing the amount utilized — 百円で買いました (“I bought it for 100 yen”), 三百円で売りました (“I sold it for 300 yen”). The same “utilized” logic applies even when talking about quantities, as in 5リットルで町に着いた (“We made it to the next town on 5 liters”). You’ll also revisit かわいい, 気を付けて, and words for age like 何歳, 八歳, and 十歳, while building natural-sounding examples around everyday life.
Tip of the Day: Instead of overusing “you,” call people by name — it’s far more natural in Japanese (恵美ちゃん、英語できる？). Greg then introduces a closely related but less common use of で, meaning “at the age of (when something unusual happened)”: ３歳でピアノを弾いていた (“At age three, he was already playing piano”), or １２歳で演技に興味を持った (“At twelve, she became interested in acting”). This pattern highlights something surprising or out of the ordinary for that age. By the end, you’ll confidently use で to express location, means, price, and even standout moments in life — all with natural, native rhythm.

In this episode, Greg introduces a new counter and a foundational usage of the は (wa) particle. You start by learning how to count small animals using 匹 (ひき) — いっぴき, にひき, さんびき — and use it naturally in sentences like 犬を一匹飼っている (“I have one dog”) or 猫を二匹飼っています (“I have two cats”). You also learn how to ask 何匹飼っている？ (“How many do you have?”) and answer politely or casually. The verb 飼う (to keep or raise animals) replaces the English “have,” so in Japanese, you literally say “I keep one dog.”
Then comes a major grammar insight — the “stating simple facts” usage of は. Through examples like これはペンです (“This is a pen”), 2たす2は4です (“2 plus 2 is 4”), and マクドナルドはハンバーガーショップです, you see how は marks something as the topic about which you’re stating a simple, factual equivalency — “X is, in fact, Y.” You practice with native-language integration drills (e.g., “Her name は Jill です”) before moving into full Japanese examples: これはケーキですよ, 今日は火曜日だよ, and バレンタインは2月14日です.
Tip of the Day: Greg explains why all-audio formats have limits — since most people acquire language visually, adding video or visual context (like in the Japanese Mastery Method course) strengthens recall and understanding. By the end of the episode, you’ll confidently use は to make calm, factual statements (“This is chocolate,” “Today is Tuesday,” “My name is Greg”), and use 匹 to naturally count small animals — all while understanding how these patterns fit into the larger system of Japanese particles.

This lesson centers on the “point-in-time” use of に: 月曜日に行きます (“I’m going on Monday”), ７時に会いましょう (“Let’s meet at seven”), and even age as a time marker (２歳に歩き始めた – “started walking at two”). You review all seven weekdays with vivid mnemonics, then plug them into natural sentences like 木曜日に東京に行きます. Greg also shows how casual Japanese can drop particles (金曜日沖縄行くよ), and you learn the inviting pattern は + どう(ですか) for suggestions—ピザはどうですか？ (“How about pizza?”), スタバはどう？ (“How about Starbucks?”)—plus the simple どう？ (“How is it?”), as in trying なっとう. The Tip of the Day features Greg’s funny driving-school story in Japan, illustrating how old habits—like English word order—fade with time and practice.
In the second half, you meet the volitional ～ましょう form (“let’s ...”)—飲みましょう, 食べましょう, 買いましょう, 会いましょう—and combine it with time and place markers: ４時半にスタバで会いましょう (“Let’s meet at Starbucks at 4:30”) and ５時半にスタバに行きましょう (“Let’s go to Starbucks at 5:30”). By the end, you’ll be comfortable using に to mark when and where things happen, suggesting plans politely, and keeping time words in natural Japanese order.

In this milestone episode, Greg shows how to turn polite ～ましょう (“let’s…”) forms into their natural, casual equivalents. You start by reviewing verbs you already know — 飲みましょう, 食べましょう, 買いましょう, 行きましょう, 会いましょう, 見ましょう, しましょう — and then convert them into everyday Japanese: 飲もう, 食べよう, 買おう, 行こう, 会おう, 見よう, しよう. Along the way, you practice “construction branching,” a fluency-building technique where you make one small change at a time — adding a day (金曜日に), a person (健司と), or a place (デパートで). This method helps internalize Japanese word order and keeps sentence-building smooth and natural without overload.
Once comfortable with the polite base, you move into conversation-style Japanese. You learn to turn suggestions into friendly questions with ～か or rising tone (サラダ食べようか？) and agree naturally with うん、食べよう. You also revisit どう？ (“How is it?”) and replies like 美味しい (“Delicious”) and かわいい (“Cute”). The Tip of the Day: don’t memorize endings mechanically — repeat them until they feel right. With enough practice, your “let’s” verbs, from カラオケしよう to 東京タワーで会おう, will flow effortlessly, setting the stage for truly natural conversation in Japanese.

In this episode, Greg reviews familiar counters and expands your toolkit with the verb 切る (“to cut”), showing how it applies broadly — トマト切った？ (“Did you cut the tomatoes?”), ピザ切った？ (“Did you slice the pizza?”), and polite versions like サンドイッチを切りました. You also practice 電話する (“to make a phone call”) in both casual and polite forms — 小太郎に電話した？ and 丸山さんに電話しましたか？. The examples reinforce how particles like に and で fit naturally into real conversation.
Tip of the Day: Greg continues his driver’s-license story in Japan — after acing the “sanity test,” he instantly fails the road test by turning into the wrong lane. The takeaway: pause to confirm understanding before acting; asking a quick clarifying question can prevent big mistakes.
The episode’s highlight is a vocabulary-expansion technique that reveals how Japanese words are built from meaningful parts. You learn that 電 (den) carries the idea of “electric,” as in 電話 (electric + talk = telephone), 電車 (electric + vehicle = train), 電池 (electric + pond = battery), 電子レンジ (electric + range = microwave), and 電球 (electric + sphere = lightbulb). Similarly, 球 (kyū) means “ball” or “sphere,” appearing in 野球 (field + ball = baseball) and 地球 (earth + sphere = planet Earth). By noticing these building blocks, you can decode new vocabulary naturally — and even confirm meaning in conversation by asking, 「電車の電ですか？」「野球の球ですか？」. This technique transforms word memorization into discovery.

Episode 22 locks in two everyday power verbs and a flat-things counter. You learn つける (“turn on / attach”) used with 電気 (electricity) to mean turning on lights, appliances, AC, TV, coffeemaker—e.g., 電気をつけた？／テレビをつけた。／エアコンをつける. Its partner 消す (“turn off / extinguish / erase”) covers switching things off—エアコン消した？／うん、消したよ—with quick polite swaps like つけます／つけました and 消します／消しました. There’s a mini refresh on で for tools (スマホで電話した), and a crisp contrast between casual particle-dropping and polite full forms so you hear where を/に/で naturally sit.
New counter time: 枚（まい） for thin, flat items—一枚、二枚、三枚、四枚—and the question 何枚ある？ → 三枚あるよ／あ…ごめん、二枚だった. You also reinforce 個（こ） for small objects (電池は何個ある？ → 一個あるよ) and the super-natural negative pattern ない／いない—電池ないよ (things) vs. フランス人いないよ (people). Tip of the Day wraps Greg’s driving-test saga with a win-by-persistence moral: keep showing up, keep practicing, and don’t be shy about (politely) pushing through—your Japanese (and your license) will follow.

Episode 23 packs in practical time expressions and clears up confusion about the particle に. It starts with a quick review of verbs from last time—つける (turn on) and 消す (turn off)—as you hear natural examples like エアコンつけようか？ (“Shall we turn on the air conditioner?”) and テレビを消しましょうか？ (“Shall we turn off the TV?”). You then learn to ask 何枚買った？ (“How many tickets did you buy?”) using the flat-object counter 枚（まい） and to answer naturally with 四枚買ったよ.
Greg then introduces the “sen, kon, rai” rhythm to master time words:
先週 (last week), 今週 (this week), 来週 (next week), and 週末 (weekend), plus the parallel set for months — 先月, 今月, 来月. You also review all twelve months and learn when Japanese requires the に particle (“specific times,” like 月曜日に会いましょう or 10月に行きましょう) and when it doesn’t (“general times,” like 明日行きましょう or 来週行きましょう).
Tip of the Day: Don’t rush through new material—listen repeatedly until phrases come to mind automatically, even first thing in the morning. That’s when they’ve really sunk in. The episode wraps with a neat kanji insight: every day of the week comes from a natural element—moon, fire, water, wood, gold, earth, and sun. Learning these gives you seven new kanji readings and a fun memory hook: “I want to go skiing on the moon someday.”

Episode 24 deepens your feel for は and が with two powerful new uses. You first learn いつ (“when”) through natural examples like バレンタインはいつ？ and 恵美ちゃんの誕生日パーティーはいつ？, matching the familiar pattern ～はどこ？ (“Where is…?”) to form ～はいつ？ (“When is…?”). You also see how these “wa + question word” patterns work identically whether you’re asking about where, when, or what time.
Then comes the major new pattern built around 好き (すき) — “to like.” You hear how Japanese handles this idea not as a verb, but as an adjective: ロックは好き？ うん、レッド・ツェッペリンが好きだよ。 Literally, “Rock, regarding it, do you like?” / “Yeah, Led Zeppelin is liked.” The episode shows how は introduces the general topic (“rock”) while が picks out the specific thing within that category (“Led Zeppelin”), giving the nuance of “from all the options, this one is liked.” You’ll practice both polite and casual forms — ピザは好きですか？ → はい、ペパロニが好きです — and learn why が好き sounds right only when specifying something inside a broader group. Tip of the Day: Take short recall breaks after each new section. Review later without notes, and practice pattern-based repetition instead of grammar memorization — it’s the fastest way to make Japanese flow naturally.

Episode 25 brings everything together, showing how は and が work side by side in real conversation. You review the familiar は好き and が好き patterns, then move on to the ultra-common “何が…?” constructions used for everyday questions: 何が好き？ (“What do you like?”), 何がいい？ (“What would be good?”), and 何が欲しい？ (“What do you want?”). You’ll also learn 例えば (“for example”) to expand answers naturally, plus how が marks the specific thing being liked, wanted, or chosen within a broader category.
Greg then introduces one of the most practical expressions you can use in Japan: いいですか？—literally “Is it good?” but meaning “Is it okay?” or “May I?” Whether you’re asking to sit down, take a pamphlet, or sample cheese at the store, this short phrase is indispensable. The episode ties together key “what-ga” patterns and reinforces that Japanese often leaves “I” unstated: 私はジャズが好きです simply becomes ジャズが好きです. By the end, you can comfortably ask what’s liked, what’s good, and what’s wanted—all with the smooth, natural rhythm of real Japanese.