Japanese Week 4 — Bronze Rank 4 Failed- Shopping, Directions, Plans, Clarifications 💰 Earn & learn

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🎥 Video update:

🧾 Intro / Reflection

Didn’t pass Bronze 4 this week for Japanese. I already knew most of the vocab, but sentence structure still messes with me, Japanese can get confusing with all the little nuances.

I’m glad I’ve been watching YouTube videos to learn grammar, though. Japanese has so many different conjugations for specific sentence structures, kind of like how English adds -ing for present continuous or -s for plurals. But in Japanese, there’s a lot more variety, even at basic levels.

This week, I struggled with conjugations, messed up vocab for “slower,” and forgot how to properly list things. Normally you use the -tari form, but I blanked, I vaguely remember you can use the -te form for lists too, I’ll double-check that with videos this week.

I’m sure I’ll pass next week after some focused practice. Meanwhile, I’m still stacking a little cash with online money making beermoney apps, helps make the grind feel worth it, even if it’s just a few extra bucks. 👇

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📚 What I Learned This Rank
✅ Bronze 4

Category	Covered
Shopping phrases	❌
Directions	✅
Plans	✅
Clarifications	❌
Future tense	❌
Common prepositions	✅
Polite forms	❌

🧠 Examples of What I Can Say Now

kore wa ikura desu ka? – how much does this cost?
O-mise wa doko desu ka? Chikai desu ka? – where is the store? Is it close?
Ashita tomodatchi to asondari, terebi wo mitari, piano wo hitai, suru. – tomorrow I will hang out with friends, watch T.V., and play piano.

📝My Japanese notes

✅ What You Can Do (Goal)

Ask for help politely
Buy things at stores
Ask for and give simple directions
Talk about plans for tomorrow or near future

🛒 Skills & Topics to Learn

🛍️ Shopping Phrases

kore wa ikura desu ka? – How much is this?
takai desu – It’s expensive
yasui desu – It’s cheap
chotto takai desu ne – It’s a bit expensive, huh
kore o kudasai – I’ll take this one
mou sukoshi ookii no wa arimasu ka? – Do you have a slightly bigger one?
shichaku shite mo ii desu ka? – Can I try it on?
okaikei onegai shimasu – I’d like to pay, please

📍 Directions

[place] wa doko desu ka? – Where is [place]?
migi – right
hidari – left
massugu – straight
kado – corner
tsugi no kado o migi ni magatte kudasai – Turn right at the next corner
koko kara chikai desu ka? – Is it close from here?
eki made dou ikimasu ka? – How do I get to the station?
konbini wa doko desu ka? – Where is the convenience store?

📅 Plans (for tomorrow / future)

ashita eiga o mimasu – I’m going to watch a movie tomorrow
raishuu kaimono ni ikimasu – I’m going shopping next week
ashita wa tomodachi to au yotei desu – I plan to meet my friend tomorrow
getsuyoubi ni benkyou shimasu – I will study on Monday
raigetsu ryokou ni ikimasu – I will go on a trip next month

❓ Asking for Clarification

sumimasen, mou ichido onegai shimasu – Sorry, please say that one more time
dou iu imi desu ka? – What does that mean?
chotto wakarimasen – I don’t really understand
yukkuri hanashite kudasai – Please speak slowly
kore wa nan desu ka? – What is this?

🔧 Grammar Structures

✅ 1. Future Tense / Plans

Japanese uses the present tense to talk about the future. You show it’s the future with time words.

Example:

ashita kaimono o shimasu – I’ll shop tomorrow
raishuu gakkou ni ikimasu – I’ll go to school next week

✅ 2. Common Prepositions

ue – on, above
shita – under
naka – inside
soto – outside
mae – in front
ushiro – behind
tonari – next to
chikaku – near

Example:

hon wa teeburu no ue ni arimasu – The book is on the table
ginkou wa konbini no tonari desu – The bank is next to the convenience store

✅ 3. Polite Forms (needed for this level)

Use -masu form for verbs + polite words like desu, onegaishimasu, kudasai.

Examples:

kaimasu – to buy
ikimasu – to go
mimasu – to see
tabemasu – to eat
onegai shimasu – please (for requests)
kudasai – please (for giving/asking)

🗣️ Mini Dialogue Examples

Shopping Example:
A: Sumimasen, kore wa ikura desu ka?
(Excuse me, how much is this?)
B: 1500 en desu.
(It’s 1500 yen.)
A: Ja, kore o kudasai.
(Okay, I’ll take this.)

Directions Example:
A: Sumimasen, eki wa doko desu ka?
(Excuse me, where is the station?)
B: Massugu itte, hidari ni magatte kudasai.
(Go straight, then turn left.)
A: Arigatou gozaimasu!
(Thank you very much!)

Plans Example:
A: Ashita nani o shimasu ka?
(What will you do tomorrow?)
B: Tomodachi to eiga o mimasu.
(I’ll watch a movie with a friend.)

❌ Bronze 4 Mandarin Test Results

🧪 Your Responses + Feedback

“sumimasen, eki wa doko desu ka?”
✅ Perfect.
Polite, natural, and clearly shows understanding of asking for directions.

“ashita, tomodachi to egia kan ni ite, cafe de tabete suru.”
⚠️ Almost there — a few grammar slips and verb forms are off:

“egia kan” → eigakan (movie theater)
“ite” → probably meant “iku” (to go)
“tabete suru” → mismatched; “taberu” is not something you follow with “suru”

✅ Clean version:
“Ashita, tomodachi to eigakan ni itte, cafe de tabemasu.”
(“Tomorrow, I’ll go to the movies with a friend and eat at a cafe.”)

You knew what you wanted to say — your structure just needed polish.

(Skipped?) – You didn’t include a sentence for: “Please help me” / “Can you help me?”

❌ Example of what you could’ve said:
“Tetsudatte kudasai.”
or
“Tetsudatte moraemasu ka?”

No problem, we’ll factor that into the final verdict.

“kore wo ikurai desu ka?”
⚠️ Close! Just a slight error:

“wo” should be dropped, and “ikurai” → “ikura”

✅ Correct version:
“Kore wa ikura desu ka?”
(“How much is this?”)

Still understandable, and you’re showing knowledge of polite shopping speech.

“hon wa asoko desu”
✅ Great! This is natural and correct. You used a clear location word.

“sumisasen chotto hanasu motto osoide kudasi”
⚠️ Points for trying, but multiple small errors:

“sumisasen” → sumimasen
“hanasu” (to speak) should be in polite form: hanashite
“motto osoide” → mou sukoshi yukkuri
“kudasi” → kudasai

✅ Correct version:
“Sumimasen, mou sukoshi yukkuri hanashite kudasai.”
(“Excuse me, please speak a little more slowly.”)

You’re clearly thinking like a learner who wants to navigate real-world convos. Just need cleaner grammar.

“kotoshi wa fuji ni nobite, ramen wo tabete, tomodachi to asonde, suru.”
⚠️ Great ambition here — but “kotoshi” = this year, not weekend.

Also, again you’re mixing up “suru” at the end when it’s not needed.

✅ Cleaner version:
“Konshuu no shuumatsu wa, Fuji ni nobottari, ramen wo tabetari, tomodachi to asondari shimasu.”
or more simply:
“Shuumatsu wa Fuji ni nobotte, ramen wo tabemasu.”

🔚 Verdict: Almost There… But Not Quite Bronze 4

You’re very close. Here’s a breakdown:

Skill	Pass?	Notes
Asking for help	❌	You skipped this prompt.
Shopping & price phrases	⚠️	Understandable but had errors.
Giving/asking directions	✅	Solid!
Talking about future plans	⚠️	Sentence structure needed polishing.
Using location phrases	✅	Nailed it.
Asking for clarification	⚠️	Great intent, but grammar was broken.
Polite/formal structures	⚠️	Showing effort, but inconsistently used.

🟡 Final Verdict: Almost Bronze 4 – Needs Minor Cleanup

You have the right intent, right structures, and real-world focus, but minor grammar errors are stacking up. Just revisit:

Polite verb endings (shimasu not suru in polite speech)
Correct question words (ikura, not ikurai)
Clarification phrases (yukkuri hanashite kudasai)

🎯 Next Steps / Goals
Review -tari form, shopping and price, clarification, polite forms, will do more practice sentences and conversations to review and cement things

📚 Resources I Used

ChatGPT (for sentence practice + explanations + tests)
YouTube (for pronunciation + listening)
Google Translate (for fast checks)
My language language learning structure (coming soon)

🌍 Bonus Resources You Might Like

🧠 Duolingo – decent for language base, I personally don’t like it.
💬 r/languagelearning – check their FAQ for app lists and learning resources. I rarely browse, but it’s a popular hub.

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🌍 Language Learning Glossary:

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👉 Language progress