Is it "douzo" or "dozo"?

"Wait, is it douzo? In the book it says dōzo..."

It's both. And it's neither!

In beginner classes I use often rōmaji (English letters) to write Japanese in class. This is to give you a head start in learning to speak.

Some people think you shouldn't use rōmaji at all, because it will give you bad pronunciation.

That might be true if you're studying by yourself.

But if you have a teacher to teach you how to pronounce Japanese words correctly, and correct your mistakes, you can learn Japanese correctly using rōmaji.

There are different systems for writing Japanese in the English alphabet. Depending on which system is being used, a word could be spelled differently.

どうぞ　(do-u-zo) means "here you are" / "go ahead".

Some romanisation systems use a macron (that’s a horizontal bar over the letter) to write the long vowel sound: ā ī ū ē ō.  Using the macron, the word would be written "dōzo".

Another method is to spell out the long vowel sound using double letters: aa, ii, uu, ei, ou. That gives us "douzo".

Both "dōzo" and "douzo" are correct.

Sometimes, the long vowel isn't written in: "dozo". Technically, this is wrong!

You might also see ee and oo used instead of ei and ou: "doozo".

Personally I think "doozo" is just asking for trouble. That's not how the word is spelled in Japanese (it's どうぞ  do-u-zo).

Of course, the truly correct way to spell the word is to write it in Japanese characters: どうぞ.

But if you’re writing in rōmaji, both "dōzo" and "douzo" are fine too. Just don't forget the long vowel!

First published Nov 2017; updated Sept 2021

"Does Japanese Have Plurals?"

After the excitement of our first school Summer Barbecue (back in 2017), I spent the day in bed watching one of my favourite films in Japanese.

It wasn’t a Japanese film though. I watched Hot Fuzz (or to give its Japanese title ホット・ファズ -俺たちスーパーポリスメン "Hot Fuzz: We Are The Super-Policemen!")

Watching British comedies dubbed into Japanese might not be the "purest" way to listen to Japanese. But if you enjoy it, it's definitely worth doing. Dubbed films are easy to watch, too, assuming you've seen the film before and know the plot already.

Anyway, there's a little scene in the Hotto Fazzu dub that's a nice example of Japanese plurals in action, so I thought I'd share it with you.

Angel and Danny are in the corner shop, and the shopkeeper asks them:

殺人犯たち捕まらないの？

satsujinhan tachi tsukamaranai no?

"No luck catching them killers then?"

"Killers" is translated as 殺人犯たち satsujinhan-tachi. You take the word 殺人犯 satsujinhan (murderer) and add the suffix たち (tachi)  - which makes it plural.

See? Japanese does have plurals! ... when it needs them.

Danny doesn't notice the shopkeeper's slip-up (she knows more than she's letting on), and replies:

人しかいないんだけど。

hitori shika inai n da kedo.

"It's just the one killer actually."

PC Angel, of course, mulls over the shopkeeper's words, and realises their significance: there's more than one killer on the loose.

It's a turning point of the movie, and it rests on a plural. Yay!

You can use たち like this when you need to indicate plurality:

私たち watashi-tachi we, us (plural)

あなたたち anata-tachi you (plural)

ジョンたち jon-tachi John and his mates

It's not that common, but it does exist. Keep an eye out for it! You never know, you might just solve a murder case.

First published 8th Sept 2017
Updated 11th Dec 2020

Tadoku - Let's Read! Course Introduction Video (and transcript)

Tadoku (多読), also called Extensive Reading, is the practice of learning a foreign language by reading lots of easy books. It's a really fun way to explore the Japanese language, without feeling pressure to understand every word.

This footage is from the 2019 Tadoku Summer Course at Step Up Japanese in Brighton, UK. In summer 2020, we also held our first Online Tadoku course.

Thanks to Daniel Sheen for making this video!

Watch the video, or scroll down to read a transcript. Click "CC" to turn on the subtitles 👍

What is Tadoku?

David: Tadoku is the practice of reading lots and lots of books, with the focus being on skipping things you don’t understand.

Fran: I think that lack of pressure’s really important, isn’t it? Skipping things, and… it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand everything.

Let’s take a look inside a Tadoku class at Step Up Japanese (filmed in 2019):

Fran: What did you read today? How was it? What was your favourite part? What was your least favourite part?

Snippets from students’ conversations about books:

A: I work in a publishing company – we make books – and this is from my publishing company.

B: Oh really?

A: And that one, yeah.

C: She’s actually a ghost! Oh no! And he’s really scared.

What do you like about Tadoku?

Sara: It’s quite nice just to kind of come back from work and just sit and you’re getting your practice in but it doesn't feel quite so much like practice, because you are focusing on the story, and I quite like the whole rules of the whole thing, which is like, you know, don’t sit there looking words up, just try and work it out from the context of it all, but yeah, I do actually sit and enjoy little stories more, that way.

David: I enjoy Tadoku, as it gives me the opportunity to read Japanese, without the pressure of understanding every single word.

Fran: I really like that experience as well, like you’re reading a book and then like a couple pages on you’re like “Oh, that’s what that word means!” – you didn’t need to look it up.

Sara: It’s like a little gold star for yourself as well, like: “Oh, I did know that!”

Would you recommend Step Up Japanese?

David: I would recommend Step Up Japanese to friends and family, and have. I really enjoy classes, I really enjoy the teacher, I really enjoy all of the students as well, it’s just like a really friendly bunch, and I’d like for more people to be part of the Step Up Japanese family.

Your First Ever Beginner Japanese Class

You've signed up, bought the textbook and are on your way to class. The day is here! It's your first ever Japanese lesson!

So, what are we going to do? What are you going to learn?

Your first class can be exciting, but also a bit daunting. I've taught lots of first-ever Japanese classes to beginners over the years. Here's what to expect from your first lesson at Step Up Japanese.

A brief introduction to the Japanese writing system

Lots of people are really interested in the Japanese writing system, and it's a bit complex. So I usually start with a quick rundown of the three "alphabets" used in Japanese.

The main reason I start with this is that it helps you with pronunciation.

Pronouncing words in a new language can be difficult. Especially when those words are as long as:

Hajimemashite. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

"Nice to meet you."

Understanding the sounds of Japanese from the start will help you pronounce words correctly.

Introduce yourself!

Next, we learn to introduce ourselves in Japanese:

• "Nice to meet you!"

• "My name is..."

• "I'm from..."

• "I'm a teacher / engineer / lawyer, etc."

You'll learn to say your job, of course - not just the generic ones in the textbook. This is important.

By this point, you've learned to introduce yourself politely. And to tell a Japanese-speaking person something about yourself. Awesome.

Time for a break, and a cup of ホットコーヒー (hot coffee) from the reception cafe.

Question time!

Next up, we learn some questions:

• "What's your name?"

• "Where are you from?"

• "What's your job?"

We'll practice them over and over, until they're glued into your brain. 

Depending on how much time we have, we might practice introducing each other:

"This is Agnes. She's from Poland. She's a structural engineer."

With lots and lots of practice, that's probably all we have time for. But look what you'll have learned in one lesson!

Hopefully, you'll go home with your head full of new phrases, ready to test out on the dog.

(Pictured: graduating Beginner class students, 2016-17)

Useful Phrases for Your First Online Japanese Lesson

Can you say “can you hear me?” in Japanese?

In some ways, a Skype lesson isn’t that different from a face-to-face Japanese lesson. But all new situations need some new vocabulary! And when you start having one-to-one lessons online, you might need some new words and phrases you haven’t come across before.

1) もしもし　moshi moshi

“Moshi moshi” is another way to say “hello”, but it’s usually only used on the phone.

When you answer the phone in Japanese, say “moshi moshi”.

You can also say “moshi moshi?” if the line cuts out and you want to check that the other person can hear you.

2) 聞こえますか　kikoemasu ka

“Kikoemasu” means “to be heard” or “to be audible”. So in the context of a phone call or Skype lesson, “kikoemasu ka” means “Can you hear me?”

It’s a good way to check your mic is working at the start of a lesson!

3) 見えますか　miemasu ka

If you have Japanese lessons via Skype, it’s important that you can see the teacher, and they can see you!

“Miemasu ka” means “Can you see me?” Use this phrase if you want to check with your teacher that your video is working ok.

4) もう一度お願いします　mou ichido onegai shimasu

“Mou ichido” means “once again”, and “onegaishimasu” means “please”.

So “Mou ichido onegai shimasu” means “please say that again.”

Perfect for if you didn’t quite catch what your teacher said.

5) わかりますか　wakarimasu ka

“Wakarimasu ka?” means “do you understand?” Your teacher may ask you this.

You can answer this question with “wakarimashita” (I understand; I got it). Or “wakarimasen” (I don’t understand).

6) ＿＿＿＿はわかりません。 ＿＿＿＿wa wakarimasen.

This phrase means “I don’t understand [word].” For when you need to say exactly what you don’t understand!

You could also ask “[word] wa eigo de nan desu ka” (“What is [word] in English?”)

For example:

Teacher:　週末はどうでしたか。Shuumatsu wa dou deshita ka? (How was your weekend?)

Student: …「どう」はわかりません。…”Dou” wa wakarimasen. (…I don’t understand “dou”.)

Teacher: 「どう」は英語で”how”です。 “Dou” wa eigo de “how” desu. (“Dou” means “how” in English”)

Student:　ああ、わかりました！ Aa, wakarimashita! (Ah, I got it!)

If you can get a few of these phrases under your belt, you should be ready to face any new situation you encounter during your first online Japanese lesson!

But remember, you don’t need to be perfect before your first lesson… lessons are for practising, and making mistakes so you can learn as much as possible.

Click here to find out more about Japanese lessons via Skype, or contact me to arrange a free consultation.

"You Said, I Did": Using Your Feedback To Improve Classes

Student feedback is super useful - it lets me know what I'm doing right, and what I can improve about our classes.

Here are some of the main points from February 2017's mid-course feedback, and the action I took based on it in the Summer term. It's what "you said", and what "I did"!

You said...

"Listening is difficult. Can we do more listening?"

I did:

Now we do listening practice in class every three weeks. It's on the course outline, so that I don't forget.

You said...

"We should have to ask questions in Japanese and not use English."

I did:

In all classes next year, we'll learn some key questions like "How do you say...in Japanese?"

And then - this is the key point - I'm going to remind you all to actually do it!

You said...

"I like the fun and friendly atmosphere (including the drawing and singing and games)."

I did:

I've included even more singing, videos, drawing, and some board games too. Learning should be fun!

You said...

"I learn visually, and by repetition. Using more visual aids in class would help me remember."

I did:

I've tried to bring more picture flashcards. It's good to be reminded that people learn in different ways.

Photo by Bob Prosser

You said...

"Could we have a review week every month where we go over everything?"

I did:

We actually already do this every four weeks, so I obviously haven't explained that well enough!

I started the summer term by explicitly telling students about review week and explaining what it's for.

You said...

"We'd like more one-on-one conversation with the teacher."

I did:

I've worked to make sure not every activity is pair work. I try to include myself in speaking activities too, so we can talk one-on-one.

You said...

"The class size is good - it gives us an opportunity to discuss complexities of the language."

I did:

I've set a maximum class size of 12 people.

You said...

"Can we do more "Step Up" questions? I like having the chance to say something a bit more complex, and more exposure to more complicated sentences."

"Step Up!" is the bit on your homework where I ask you to freestyle a bit. "Write about you" or "Write about your weekend plans". It's optional, but I highly recommend it. It's often my favourite bit of your homework to mark!

I did:

Since April, I've tried to put a Step Up! question on the bottom of every piece of homework.

You said...

"Sometimes we’d like a bit more explanation and time to absorb the more complicated aspects of the grammar."

I did:

I've added in more time in my lesson plans for you to absorb new ideas before I ask you to apply them - especially when we're covering something new and complex.

Photo by Bob Prosser

You said...

"I'd like to speak more about everyday stuff - go off piste, and have more opportunity to just talk amongst ourselves in Japanese."

I did:

I've introduced fortnightly "Free Talk" sections where we talk only in Japanese for 10 to 20 minutes.

Thank you so much for your feedback - it helps me work to keep making things better!

P.S. Thought of anything else? Click here to get in touch.