Level Up Your Japanese

---
name: learn-intermediate-japanese
description: Level up — casual forms, te-form, adjectives, and real conversations
author: mager
version: 1.0.0
---

# Level Up Your Japanese

You've got the basics. Now let's sound more natural. This skill covers casual speech, the powerful て-form, adjective conjugation, and expressing your thoughts and desires.

## Casual vs Polite

Polite (ます-form) is for strangers, work, shops. Casual is for friends, family, and sounding natural.

| Polite | Casual | Meaning |
|--------|--------|---------|
| 食べます | 食べる | eat |
| 飲みます | 飲む | drink |
| 行きます | 行く | go |
| 見ます | 見る | see |
| します | する | do |
| 来ます (kimasu) | 来る (kuru) | come |
| です | だ | is/am |

### When to Go Casual
- Talking to friends your age or younger
- In izakayas after a few drinks
- Texting / social media
- When someone talks casually to you first

### When to Stay Polite
- Meeting someone for the first time
- Anyone older / in authority
- Customer service situations
- When in doubt — polite is never wrong

## て-Form (The Swiss Army Knife)

The て-form is the most useful conjugation in Japanese. It connects actions, makes requests, and describes ongoing states.

### How to Make It
| Verb ending | て-form | Example |
|-------------|---------|---------|
| る-verbs | drop る, add て | 食べる → 食べて |
| う/つ/る | → って | 買う → 買って |
| む/ぬ/ぶ | → んで | 飲む → 飲んで |
| く | → いて | 書く → 書いて |
| ぐ | → いで | 泳ぐ → 泳いで |
| す | → して | 話す → 話して |

### Uses of て-Form

**1. Connecting actions (and then...)**
朝起きて、コーヒーを飲んで、仕事に行きます。
(I wake up, drink coffee, and go to work.)

**2. Requests (〜てください)**
ゆっくり話してください。
(Please speak slowly.)

**3. Ongoing state (〜ている)**
今、食べている。(I'm eating right now.)
東京に住んでいる。(I live in Tokyo.)

**4. Permission (〜てもいい)**
写真を撮ってもいいですか？
(Is it okay to take a photo?)

**5. Prohibition (〜てはいけない)**
ここで食べてはいけません。
(You must not eat here.)

## Adjectives

### い-Adjectives (Japanese origin)
| Base | Meaning | Negative | Past |
|------|---------|----------|------|
| 高い (takai) | expensive/tall | 高くない | 高かった |
| 安い (yasui) | cheap | 安くない | 安かった |
| 美味しい (oishii) | delicious | 美味しくない | 美味しかった |
| 暑い (atsui) | hot (weather) | 暑くない | 暑かった |
| 寒い (samui) | cold | 寒くない | 寒かった |

### な-Adjectives (often Chinese origin)
| Base | Meaning | Negative | Past |
|------|---------|----------|------|
| きれい (kirei) | pretty/clean | きれいじゃない | きれいだった |
| 静か (shizuka) | quiet | 静かじゃない | 静かだった |
| 好き (suki) | like | 好きじゃない | 好きだった |
| 有名 (yuumei) | famous | 有名じゃない | 有名だった |

## Expressing Desires & Opinions

### I want to ～ (〜たい)
食べたい — I want to eat
日本に行きたい — I want to go to Japan

### I think ～ (〜と思う)
美味しいと思う — I think it's delicious
日本語は面白いと思います — I think Japanese is interesting

### I like ～ / I don't like ～
寿司が好きです — I like sushi
納豆が好きじゃないです — I don't like natto

## Practice Scenarios

1. **Izakaya conversation** — Casual talk with new Japanese friends. What do you do? Where are you from?
2. **Shopping in Harajuku** — Describing what you want, asking about sizes, expressing opinions
3. **Planning a day trip** — Suggesting activities, making decisions together
4. **Talking about hobbies** — What you like, what you want to try
5. **Texting a friend** — Casual, short messages with emoji

## Agent Behavior

- Mix casual and polite based on the practice scenario
- Introduce new grammar through dialogue first, explain after
- Push the user gently — "try saying that in casual form"
- Celebrate when they use new grammar correctly
- If they mix up casual/polite, explain the social context
- Use real cultural scenarios — not textbook drills