LOVE LOVE LOVE

hey; excuse me; used to get someone's attention (informal)

Hey, what's for dinner today?

An informal way to address someone or call for their attention. Similar to 'nee' or 'hey'.

why, how come, for what reason

Why are you studying Japanese?

Common way to ask 'why' in casual conversation. More informal than なぜ. Can express surprise or curiosity about reasons. Often used with の or んですか at the end.

amazing; incredible; very; great

That mountain is really tall.

A colloquial and more emphatic variation of 'sugoi'. Commonly used in casual conversation.

amazing, great, wonderful

That is amazing, isn't it?

Extremely common word used to express admiration or surprise. Can be used for both positive and negative extremes.

すき

like, favorite, fond of

I like music.

Na-adjective/noun expressing liking or preference. Takes the particle が to mark what is liked. Unlike English 'like', 'suki' is not a verb but an adjective/noun meaning 'is pleasing to'. Can be intensified with 大 (dai) to mean 'love/really like'.

copula particle for na-adjectives; negative imperative particle

Study in a quiet place.

な connects na-adjectives to nouns they modify. It's the attributive form of だ/です. Also used as negative imperative particle meaning 'don't' after dictionary form verbs.

thing, matter, fact, circumstance

Studying every day is necessary.

Used to nominalize verbs and adjectives. Also used to express abstract concepts, as opposed to もの which refers to physical objects. Often used in set phrases and formal writing.

just, only, merely; however, but; free (of charge)

There is just one problem.

ただ has multiple meanings: 1) 'only/just/merely' to indicate limitation or exclusivity. 2) 'however/but' at the beginning of sentences to introduce contrast. 3) 'free' when written as タダ or 只, meaning no cost. The meaning depends on context and position in the sentence.