Japanese (basic) — cards
0 due · 11 new · 16 total
Demo date: 9/21/2026, 11:11:20 AM
Ask for cards in plain English. The tool loop writes the rows; the table is the source of truth.
Cards (16)
due dates relative to 2026-09-21| id | prompt | answer | notes | state | due | reps | lapses | last evidence | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How do you thank someone in Japanese? | ありがとうarigatou | Politer form is ありがとうございます (arigatou gozaimasu) — use that with a shop assistant. If they only manage "arigato", accept it and model the long "ou". | new | 2026-09-21 | 0 | 0 | — | history |
| 2 | How do you say "water"? | 水 みず mizu | Everyday word; the kanji 水 is also the "water" radical. In a café you would ask for お水 (o-mizu) with the polite お. | review | 2026-09-24 | 1 | 0 | Goodbackstop: The learner initially said "mes" and "miseres", then produced "水です。" and asked "これは水ですか?". | history |
| 3 | Say "I am a student", marking "I" as the topic. | 私は学生です わたしはがくせいです watashi wa gakusei desu | は is the topic marker: "as for X". It is written は but pronounced wa. If they stall, ask "what goes straight after 私?" | review | 2026-09-24 | 1 | 0 | Good私は学生です | history |
| 4 | Ask me, in Japanese, whether this is water. | 水ですか みずですか mizu desu ka | か goes at the very end and turns a statement into a question — no word-order change. If they say "mizu desu?" with rising tone, ask what goes on the end. | review | 2026-09-28 | 1 | 0 | Easyこれは水ですか? | history |
| 5 | Say "it is water", politely. | 水です みずです mizu desu | です is the polite copula — "is / am / are" — and it closes the sentence. The plain form is だ (da), which is too casual for a café. | review | 2026-09-24 | 1 | 0 | Good水です。 | history |
| 6 | Say "I drink water", marking what is drunk. | 水を飲みます みずをのみます mizu o nomimasu | を marks the direct object of the verb. Written を, read "o", and it is only ever the object marker — never a normal "o" inside a word. | review | 2026-09-23 | 1 | 0 | Hardbackstop: When prompted to say "水を飲みます", the learner omitted the particle and said "水飲みます。". | history |
| 7 | Order tea politely: "tea, please." | お茶をください おちゃをください ocha o kudasai | The pattern is noun + を + ください. "Ocha kudasai" would be understood, but を is what this card practises, so prompt for it once before grading. | new | 2026-09-21 | 0 | 0 | — | history |
| 8 | Count from one to three in Japanese. | いち、に、さんichi, ni, san | Bare ichi/ni/san is for reciting numbers. Counting actual things needs a counter on the end, e.g. 二枚 (ni-mai) for two flat sheets. | new | 2026-09-21 | 0 | 0 | — | history |
| 9 | How do you say "person"? | 人 ひと hito | On its own it is hito; in compounds it is read -jin, as in 日本人 (nihonjin), "a Japanese person". | new | 2026-09-21 | 0 | 0 | — | history |
| 10 | How do you say "book"? | 本 ほん hon | The same kanji also means "origin": 日本 (nihon) is literally "sun origin". 本 doubles as the counter for long thin things. | new | 2026-09-21 | 0 | 0 | — | history |
| 11 | Give me the dictionary form of the verb "to eat". | 食べる たべる taberu | A ru-verb. Dictionary form is what a dictionary lists; the polite form is 食べます (tabemasu). If they offer tabemasu, ask for the plain form. | new | 2026-09-21 | 0 | 0 | — | history |
| 12 | Greet me politely, first thing in the morning. | おはようございますohayou gozaimasu | Drop ございます with close friends. From late morning on, switch to こんにちは (konnichiwa). | new | 2026-09-21 | 0 | 0 | — | history |
| 13 | Get a waiter’s attention politely. | すみませんsumimasen | Does triple duty: "excuse me", "sorry", and "thanks for the trouble". It is the normal way to flag down staff in a café. | new | 2026-09-21 | 0 | 0 | — | history |
| 14 | Say yes, then say no. | はい / いいえhai / iie | はい often just means "I am listening" rather than strict agreement. Declining an offer is more often 大丈夫です (daijoubu desu) than a flat いいえ. | new | 2026-09-21 | 0 | 0 | — | history |
| 15 | Ask me to wait, politely. | 待ってください まってください matte kudasai | Te-form + ください. 待つ (matsu) becomes 待って (matte). If they say "matsu kudasai", the te-form is the thing to teach. | new | 2026-09-21 | 0 | 0 | — | history |
| 16 | Introduce yourself: "I am Sam." | 私はサムです わたしはサムです watashi wa Samu desu | Once the topic is obvious Japanese drops 私は entirely. Foreign names go in katakana, so Sam is サム. | new | 2026-09-21 | 0 | 0 | — | history |
Hear a card answer — ja
- How do you thank someone in Japanese?ありがとう
- How do you say "water"?水
- Say "I am a student", marking "I" as the topic.私は学生です
- Ask me, in Japanese, whether this is water.水ですか
- Say "it is water", politely.水です
- Say "I drink water", marking what is drunk.水を飲みます
- Order tea politely: "tea, please."お茶をください
- Count from one to three in Japanese.いち、に、さん
- How do you say "person"?人
- How do you say "book"?本
- Give me the dictionary form of the verb "to eat".食べる
- Greet me politely, first thing in the morning.おはようございます
- Get a waiter’s attention politely.すみません
- Say yes, then say no.はい / いいえ
- Ask me to wait, politely.待ってください
- Introduce yourself: "I am Sam."私はサムです