EVERYDAY FOOD JAPAN
ここで — here, in this place
ここで たべます。 connects a familiar place word, ここ, with a real action. Treat it first as a practical phrase you can recognise and use.
ここで たべます · I’ll eat hereFoundation · Hiragana 09 · IJ-0011
Japanese begins to move.
ら・り・る・れ・ろ
You can already recognise thirty-eight basic hiragana. Today you unlock five more — and begin using Japanese to describe simple actions in the world around you.
TODAYら・り・る・れ・ろ
LANGUAGEActions come at the end
REAL JAPANEating · drinking · everyday exchanges
MILESTONE43 / 46 hiragana
New sounds
Five new hiragana. One important Japanese sound.
Listen before you analyse. The Japanese R-row uses a light tongue tap — softer and quicker than a strong English R.
ら
RA
り
RI
る
RU
れ
RE
ろ
RO
ら り る れ ろ
Hear the complete row at careful teaching speed.
Sound Spotlight · the Japanese R-row
Do not force a heavy English “R.” The tongue makes a brief, light contact near the ridge behind the upper teeth. Aim for a relaxed tap. Accuracy grows through listening and repetition, not tension.
Kana Writing Studio · 書いてみよう
One character at a time.
Select a kana. Play the stroke order once. Watch, trace, then write it yourself.
Ready.
ら
Keep the movements light and balanced. Let the character breathe rather than pressing the strokes together.
Words you can begin to read
The new row is already inside everyday Japanese.
Read the Japanese first. Romanisation is now only a small support.
そら
SORA
sky
とり
TORI
bird
よる
YORU
night
これ
KORE
this
しろ
SHIRO
white
うしろ
USHIRO
behind / back
Read without rushing
Forty-three characters begin working together.
Keep earlier kana active while the new row settles into memory.
そら とり よる これ しろ うしろ
あさ えき ここ そと なつ はな まど やま ゆき
Language discovery
Japanese puts the action at the end.
You met this idea earlier in the Foundation journey. Now it becomes useful. Japanese often tells you the important action after the thing connected to that action.
みずwater
→
をobject marker · use now
→
のみますdrink
THING を ACTION
Natural English: “I drink water.” / “I eat sushi.”
Use now · decode fully later
You have not formally learned を yet — that comes in the next Foundation step. For now, meet it inside a useful complete pattern. You do not need to master every grammar label before you can use Japanese.
Actions in everyday Japan
See the action. Hear the Japanese.
Do not translate every word mechanically. Connect the whole Japanese expression to the action you can see.
みずを のみます。
WATER + OBJECT MARKER + DRINK
I drink water.
すしを たべます。
SUSHI + OBJECT MARKER + EAT
I eat sushi.
ここで たべます。
HERE + ACTION PLACE + EAT
I’ll eat here.
ここで のみます。
HERE + ACTION PLACE + DRINK
I’ll drink here.
Another “use now” particle: で
In ここで たべます, で helps connect the action with the place where it happens. For now, learn the whole expression naturally. We will unpack で properly later.
Mini conversation
A small exchange that already feels like real life.
The page shows only A and B. Listen line by line, then play the complete conversation.
Listen to the relationship, not only the words.
Short Japanese exchanges are often enough to complete an ordinary everyday interaction.
A
ここで たべますか。
Will you eat here?
B
はい、ここで たべます。
Yes, I’ll eat here.
A
みずを のみます。
I’ll drink water.
B
はい、どうぞ。
Certainly / Here you are.
A
ありがとうございます。
Thank you very much.
B
どういたしまして。
You’re welcome.
Life in Japan
“Here” or “to go” is a real-life decision, not a grammar exercise.
At cafés, food counters and other everyday settings, the place where you will eat or drink can matter. This Foundation step gives you one useful expression before asking you to study the particle in depth.
SHORT EXCHANGES
Useful Japanese can be small
You do not need a long conversation to function politely. Listening for the key question and answering with a short clear phrase is already meaningful communication.
はい、ここで たべます。Real Japan mission
Look at the scene. What is happening?
Use Japanese as an observation tool. Choose the sentence that matches the visible action rather than translating from English first.
The goal is to connect Japanese directly to life around you.
Listening laboratory
Hear the action before you read it.
Careful → natural
Hear the same useful sentence first from the tutor, then at a more natural speed.
Listen & choose
Play the word, then choose what you heard.
Contrast & retrieve
Listen without looking first. Can you retrieve the words?
とり · うしろ
Cumulative kana review
Forty-three basic hiragana are now unlocked.
Only three remain. Keep every earlier character alive while the new ら-row settles in.
あ
い
う
え
お
か
き
く
け
こ
さ
し
す
せ
そ
た
ち
つ
て
と
な
に
ぬ
ね
の
は
ひ
ふ
へ
ほ
ま
み
む
め
も
や
ゆ
よ
ら
り
る
れ
ろ
43/ 46 BASIC HIRAGANA
What I can do now
I can recognise actions — and Japanese is beginning to feel alive.
Recognise 43 basic hiragana.
Write ら・り・る・れ・ろ in stroke order.
Read words such as そら・とり・これ・しろ.
Recognise the pattern THING + を + ACTION.
Understand ここで たべます as a useful real-life expression.
Hear the Japanese R-row as a light tap rather than a heavy English R.
Next · IJ-0012
Only three remain.
IJ-0012 completes all 46 basic hiragana — then brings everything together in a practical mini-conversation and reading milestone.
PREVIOUS · IJ-0010
や・ゆ・よ
Return to the previous Hiragana row
YOU ARE HERE · IJ-0011
ら・り・る・れ・ろ
Hiragana · actions in everyday Japanese
NEXT · IJ-0012
わ・を・ん
Complete the 46 basic Hiragana