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🎥 Speaking Japanese:
🧾 Intro / Reflection
Passed Silver 1! I had actually learned Japanese past tense before starting my ranking system, so this week wasn’t too heavy. I don’t think past tense is very difficult in Japanese, you mainly change the end vowel “-e” to an “-a”. Essentially, you go from te-form (request form) to past tense, so the main challenge is memorizing how each verb ending converts into te-form.
On the test, I made a couple minor mistakes, mostly mixing up some time markers and a few other little slips. Overall, though, it went smoothly. It’s still one of my weaker points since I don’t really have anyone to practice with, but I’m glad I can get more practice with it.
Next week, I’ll be focusing on comparisons, opinions, and explaining why, adding more depth to sentences.
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📚 What I Learned This Rank
✅ Silver 1
| Category | Covered |
|---|---|
| What happened in your day | ✅ |
| Retell basic events | ✅ |
| Past events | ✅ |
| Weekend plans | ✅ |
| Past tense | ✅ |
| Time markers | ✅ |
| Sequencing words | ✅ |
📅 Scenario:
📝My Japanese notes
Recommend learning Te form (request form) and Past tense form. Feel free to read my grammar pages:
👉 Te form (request form) (romaji only)
👉 Past tense form (verbs) Pt. 1 (romaji only)
👉 Past tense form (i-adjectives) Pt. 2 (romaji only)
👉 Past tense form (na-adjectives) Pt. 3 (romaji only)
1. Past tense verbs
- Ru-verbs (ichidan): drop -ru, add -ta
- taberu → tabeta (ate)
- miru → mita (saw)
- U-verbs (godan): change final syllable to -ta (or -da depending)
- kau → katta (bought)
- iku → itta (went)
- yomu → yonda (read)
- kaku → kaita (wrote)
- Irregulars
- suru → shita (did)
- kuru → kita (came)
- Negative past: nai → nakatta
- tabenai → tabenakatta (did not eat)
2. Time markers
- kinou = yesterday
- ototoi = the day before yesterday
- senshuu = last week
- isshuu kan mae = a week ago
- sengetsu = last month
3. Sequencing words
- sorekara = then / after that
- soshite = and then
- ato de = afterward / later
- sore de = so, therefore
4. Basic sentence pattern
[Time marker] + [place] de + [object] o + [verb (past)]
Examples:
- Kinou kouen de tenisu wo shita. (Yesterday I played tennis at the park.)
- Senshuu eiga wo mita. (Last week I watched a movie.)
5. Combining actions (narratives)
Use sequencing words or just stack sentences:
- Kinou gakkou e itta. Soshite, tomodachi ni atta.
(Yesterday I went to school. And then, I met a friend.) - Senshuu watashi wa umi e itta. Sorekara sakana o tabeta.
(Last week I went to the beach. Then I ate fish.)
📝 How to Build Sentences
- Set the time → kinou, senshuu, etc.
- Say the action → verb in past form.
- Add sequencing → sorekara, ato de.
- Repeat to tell a mini-story.
Core Past Tense Verbs (Romaji)
- taberu → tabemashita (ate)
- nomu → nomimashita (drank)
- iku → ikimashita (went)
- suru → shimashita (did)
- miru → mimashita (watched/saw)
- kiku → kikimashita (listened)
- kau → kaimashita (bought)
- benkyou suru → benkyou shimashita (studied)
- asobu → asobimashita (played, hung out)
- neru → nemashita (slept)
Time Markers
- kinou = yesterday
- senshuu = last week
- kyou = today
- shuumatsu = weekend
- maiban = every night
- asa = morning
- gogo = afternoon
✅ Silver Japanese Test Results
Part 1 – Past Tense Basics
Translate into Japanese (romaji only):
- I ate sushi yesterday.
- Last week I went to the park.
- I watched a movie and then went home.
✅ Part 1 – Past Tense Basics
- I ate sushi yesterday.
- Your answer: kino, sushi wo tabeta / tabemashita
✔️ Correct. Both casual (tabeta) and polite (tabemashita) are fine.
2. Last week I went to the park.
- Your answer: raishuu koen ni ita / ikimashita
⚠️ Careful: raishuu = “next week,” not “last week.” For last week you need senshuu.
Also, ita = “was (there),” not “went.” Correct form:
👉 senshuu koen ni itta / ikimashita
3. I watched a movie and then went home.
- Your answer: eiga wo mite iie ni ikimashita
⚠️ Two small fixes: - “iie” = “no,” you need ie (house/home).
- Better flow with sequencing: eiga wo mite, sono ato ie ni kaerimashita (“watched a movie, after that went home”).
Part 2 – Short Narrative
Answer in 3–4 sentences (romaji only):
👉 Tell me what you did yesterday. Use kinou, at least one verb in past tense, and one sequencing word (soshite or sono ato).
✅ Part 2 – Short Narrative
Your answer:
Kino, hachi ji ni okimashita, sono ato asa gohan wa, tamago to pan wo tabemashita. gakko ni ita, ato de tomodatchi ni aimashita. Tomodatchi to restaurant de hiru gohan wo tabeta. ie ni keate bangohan wo tabemashita.
✔️ Great length and sequencing! Just some fixes:
- “gakko ni ita” = “was at school,” you probably mean gakko ni ikimashita (“went to school”).
- “ie ni keate” → typo, should be ie ni kaette (“returned home and then…”).
Corrected version:
👉 Kinou hachi ji ni okimashita. Sono ato, asa gohan ni tamago to pan wo tabemashita. Gakko ni ikimashita, ato de tomodachi ni aimashita. Tomodachi to resutoran de hiru gohan wo tabemashita. Ie ni kaette bangohan wo tabemashita.
Part 3 – Weekend Plans
Translate into Japanese (romaji only):
4. This weekend I will study and after that meet my friend.
5. Yesterday it rained, but today it is sunny.
✅ Part 3 – Weekend Plans
4. This weekend I will study and after that meet my friend.
- Your answer: shuumatsu wa, benkyou suru, ato de tomodatchi to aimasu
✔️ Good. To make it smoother: konshuumatsu wa benkyou shite, sono ato tomodachi to aimasu.
5. Yesterday it rained, but today it is sunny.
- Your answer: kino ame ga futa, demo kyo heya ga arimasu.
⚠️ Small mistakes: - “fura” is the past tense stem, but should be furimashita (“rained”).
- “heya ga arimasu” = “there is a room.” You mean hare desu (“it is sunny”).
👉 Correct: Kinou ame ga furimashita, demo kyou wa hare desu.
Part 4 – Retell a Small Story
Write 3–4 sentences (romaji only):
👉 Imagine last week you went shopping. Describe what you bought, what you did after, and how you felt.
✅ Part 4 – Retell a Small Story
Your answer:
kino, o-mise ni itari, tamago to, pan to, tori to, mizu wo kaitari shimashita. ato de shigoto ni ita, restaurant ni ikimashita. ie ni kaite nemashita.
✔️ Very good effort with itari / tari shimashita! Just a few small fixes:
- “o-mise ni itari” → sounds like “did various things like go to the store.” Probably meant o-mise ni itte.
- “shigoto ni ita” → should be shigoto ni ikimashita (“went to work”).
- “ie ni kaite” → typo, should be ie ni kaette.
Corrected version:
👉 Kinou, o-mise ni itte, tamago to pan to tori to mizu wo kaimashita. Sono ato shigoto ni ikimashita. Resutoran ni ikimashita. Ie ni kaette nemashita.
🌟 Overall Evaluation
- Past tense: You can form -ta / -mashita pretty well, just a couple slips (ita vs itta, furimashita).
- Time markers: You used kinou and shuumatsu well, just mixed up raishuu vs senshuu.
- Sequencing: You used sono ato / ato de correctly. Nice variety.
- Narratives: You wrote full multi-sentence answers—definitely Silver 1 level.
✅ Verdict: You pass Silver 1.
🎯 Next Steps / Goals
Onto Silver 2! Expressing opinions, simple emotions, preference comparisons, basic agreement and disagreements.
📚 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