#RoadToQuestCape + #roadtomaxcash
🎥 Speaking Japanese:
🧾 Intro / Reflection
Second time attempting Bronze 4 for Japanese and I passed! This week’s test felt much easier.
I definitely felt stronger forming sentences, especially with the -tari form, which I hadn’t practiced much before. I still need more work on sentence structure, especially for longer or more complex ideas, but that’ll come with time.
There were a couple of questions where I had to answer in a roundabout way for my test, which made my answers longer than necessary, but I’m glad I could still get the message across. That’s just where I am with my Japanese knowledge for now.
Like with Mandarin, I mainly used ChatGPT for conversation practice this week. It’s been super helpful, especially since I don’t know anyone who speaks Japanese. It gives corrections and explanations, which helps reinforce what I’m learning. I’m still tweaking how I interact with it to get better results, but it’s been a solid tool.
Also still make money online with those beermoney apps in the background, nice way to monetize my time, even if it’s just a few bucks here and there. 👇
💸 Earn While You Learn
I like to stack beermoney while I study languages, most of these apps are super low-effort and just give me a nice bonus on top of learning. It’s not job-replacement money, but it adds up, especially since I’ve become more introverted. 👇
💸 Beermoney Earnings – July
🎮 Justplay: $181.55
📝 Paidviewpoint: $62.85
📱 Inboxdollars: $25.00
📱 Surveyjunkie: $25.00
📱 Qmee: $20.00
📱 App Karma: $50.00
💰 Total: $364.40
👉 See my full earnings report
📚 What I Learned This Rank
✅ Bronze 4 Complete
| Category | Covered |
|---|---|
| Shopping phrases | ✅ |
| Directions | ✅ |
| Plans | ✅ |
| Clarifications | ✅ |
| Future tense | ✅ |
| Common prepositions | ✅ |
| Polite forms | ✅ |
🚶♀️ Scenario: Lost in a city, asking for directions to the train station.
👩💼: Sumimasen, dō shimashita ka?
🙋♂️: Sumimasen, Ano. Eki wa doko desu ka?
👩💼: Eki desu ne. Kono michi o massugu itte, migi ni magatte kudasai.
👩💼: Soko ni shingō ga arimasu. Eki wa sono tonari desu.
🙋♂️: So ka? Ano koko de toi desu ka?
👩💼:Īe, koko kara chotto arimasu. Aruite go-fun gurai desu yo.
👩💼: Mō ichido iimasu: massugu itte, migi ni magatte kudasai. Shingō no tonari desu.
👩💼: Daijōbu desu ka?
🙋♂️: Ah daijoubu desu, go fun ka? Arigato gozaimasu.
👩💼: Dōitashimashite! Kiotsukete ne. Itterasshai!
🙋♂️: Hai, sochira koso.
📝My Japanese notes
🛍️ Shopping Phrases
💬 Key Phrases
- Kore wa ikura desu ka? – How much is this? ✅ (Careful: it’s ikura, not “ikurai”)
- 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
💬 Asking & Giving Directions
- [Place] wa doko desu ka? – Where is [place]? ✅
- Massugu – Straight
- Migi – Right
- Hidari – Left
- 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?
📅 Talking About Plans (Future)
💬 Time + Action using polite verbs
- Ashita eiga o mimasu – I’m going to watch a movie tomorrow
- Raishuu kaimono ni ikimasu – I’ll go shopping next week
- Ashita wa tomodachi to au yotei desu – I plan to meet my friend tomorrow
- Getsuyoubi ni benkyou shimasu – I’ll study on Monday
- Raigetsu ryokou ni ikimasu – I’ll go on a trip next month
🟨 Test tip:
Tried:
“ashita, tomodachi to egia kan ni ite, cafe de tabete suru”
Correct version:
✅ Ashita, tomodachi to eigakan ni itte, cafe de tabemasu.
🙋 Asking for Help & Clarification
💬 Learn & Use These
- Tetsudatte kudasai – Please help me ❌ (skipped this in the test)
- Tetsudatte moraemasu ka? – Can you help me?
- Sumimasen, mou ichido onegai shimasu – Sorry, one more time please
- Dou iu imi desu ka? – What does that mean?
- Chotto wakarimasen – I don’t really understand
- Yukkuri hanashite kudasai – Please speak slowly ✅
🟨 Test Tip:
Tried:
sumisasen chotto hanasu motto osoide kudasi
Correct version:
✅ Sumimasen, mou sukoshi yukkuri hanashite kudasai.
🧭 Location Words (Prepositions)
🗺️ Use with: [thing] wa [place] no [location] ni arimasu
- 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
- Hon wa asoko desu – The book is over there ✅
🔧 Grammar Notes
✅ 1. Future Plans = Present Tense + Time Word
Use present-tense polite verbs (e.g., ikimasu, shimasu) with future time words:
- Ashita, Raishuu, Raigetsu, Getsuyoubi, etc.
❌ “tabete suru” → ✅ tabemasu
❌ “nobite… suru” → ✅ nobotte… tabemasu
✅ 2. Polite Verb Forms
Always use -masu form at this level:
- Kaimasu – to buy
- Mimasu – to see/watch
- Ikimasu – to go
- Tabemasu – to eat
- Aimasu – to meet
- Shimasu – to do
❌ Don’t end with plain suru in polite situations.
✅ 3. “~te form + masu” for Multiple Actions
To say “do this and then this”:
- Itte, tabemasu – go and eat
- Nobotte, tabemasu – climb and eat
🗣️ Dialogue Practice
🛒 Shopping
A: Sumimasen, kore wa ikura desu ka?
B: 1500 en desu.
A: Ja, kore o kudasai.
📍 Directions
A: Sumimasen, eki wa doko desu ka?
B: Massugu itte, hidari ni magatte kudasai.
A: Arigatou gozaimasu!
📅 Future Plans
A: Ashita nani o shimasu ka?
B: Tomodachi to eigakan ni itte, cafe de tabemasu.
✅ Bronze 4 Japanese Test Results
💬 Question 1:
Ask someone where the bathroom is.
- “sumimasen, o-taerai wa doko desu ka?”
✅ Perfectly polite and natural!
Small romanization note: “o-taerai” → correct spelling is “o-tearai” (お手洗い).
Still, your intent and grammar are 100% clear. Nicely done.
💬 Question 2:
Say what you’re going to do after this.
- “ato, tomodatchi to asondari, piano wo shitari, ban gohan wo tabetari suru”
✅ Great use of the ～たり～たりする form for listing future activities.
Minor improvement: “ato” is a bit vague as a time marker. If you meant after this, you could say:
“kono ato” or “ato de”
Optional polished version:
“kono ato, tomodachi to asondari, piano wo shitari, bangohan wo tabetari shimasu.”
But overall — ✔️ pass.
💬 Question 3:
Ask someone politely to take a photo for you.
- “sumimasen, tetsudate mo ii desu ka? watshi no sashin wo toritai desu.”
⚠️ Very close! Just a few minor grammar corrections:
- “tetsudate” → should be “tetsudatte” (て-form of “tetsudau”)
- “watshi” → should be “watashi”
- Second sentence: “toritai desu” = “I want to take” → You probably mean to ask them to take the photo.
✅ Clean version:
“Sumimasen, watashi no shashin wo totte moraemasu ka?”
Or casually:
“Shashin wo totte kudasai.”
You get the structure and politeness — just need to clarify who’s doing the action. ✔️
💬 Question 4:
Say you want to buy a gift and ask where the store is.
- “puresento wo kaitai desu. o-mise wa doko desu ka?”
✅ Perfectly clear and natural. Polite, future-oriented, and practical. ✔️
💬 Question:
Describe where your phone is using a location phrase.
- “keitaidenwa wa heya no teberu no ue ni arimasu.”
✅ Excellent. Great use of a prepositional phrase.
Just one typo: “teberu” → “teeburu” (or “teeburu” if following romaji conventions). ✔️
💬 Question 5:
Ask someone to speak more slowly and repeat that.
- “sumimasen, motto yukkuri hanashite kudasai. mo ichido wo itte kudasai.”
⚠️ Very close:
- “mo ichido wo itte kudasai” → “mou ichido itte kudasai”
(“wo” doesn’t belong here — “itte” is already the verb form.)
✅ Corrected version:
“Sumimasen, mou sukoshi yukkuri hanashite kudasai. Mou ichido itte kudasai.”
But you’re clearly communicating: “Please speak slowly. Please say it again.” ✔️ pass.
💬 Question 6:
Say what you’re planning to do next weekend.
- “raishuu, tomodatchi no iie ni itari, eiga wo mitari, o-mise ni itari, suru”
✅ Really good!
You’re using ～たり～たりする correctly again to list casual future plans.
Minor polish: add “shimasu” at the end for polite form:
“…itari shimasu.”
✔️ Still a solid pass.
🏁 Final Verdict: ✅ Bronze 4 Achieved!
You nailed:
- Future tense / planning ✔️
- Asking for help and clarification ✔️
- Buying things & asking locations ✔️
- Using location prepositions ✔️
- Proper politeness with minor spelling/grammar slips ✔️
🎯 Next Steps / Goals
Basic conversations, everyday survival topics, repeated phrases, string short thoughts together. Slowly build up more on holding basic conversations.
📚 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.
💸 Beermoney Glossary:
Curious how much money you can realistically make online from surveys, games, ads, and small tasks? Check out my Beermoney Glossary page, where I break down every app and site I’ve tried with videos, payment proof, and my personal experiences. I always recommend doing beermoney while watching shows, anime, gaming, or handling small tasks around the house.
👉 Beermoney reviews
📈 Monthly Earnings Tracker:
Want to see exactly what I cashed out every month? My Monthly Earnings Tracker has screenshots of my app cashouts, plus updates on my trading and investment accounts, all in one place, month by month.
👉 Monthly earnings
🌍 Language Learning Glossary:
Curious what languages I’m learning? Check out my Language Learning Glossary for weekly progress updates. I post short speaking videos, track my progress, share my personal study notes, and break down the rank criteria I follow.
👉 Language progress