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Casual Nihongo

Rating 3.5
Price:

Free

Summary

Nあ~ Casual Nihongo is a podcast and website that teaches you how Japanese is used in casual contexts. Most of the episodes feature short, spontaneous conversations between two people, recorded in a public setting. On the Casual Nihongo website, you can find full transcripts of these dialogues with notes on how to use new phrases in context. After March 2020, there are fewer transcriptions of the full dialogues, but you can still find notes on key questions and phrases. The sound quality varies in each of the episodes — sometimes the voices are difficult to make out because of the background noise. Depending on your goal, this could be good training for listening comprehension, or it could be a little frustrating. Although Dai, the creator, touches on a few different topics, such as gambling and job-hunting in Japan, most of the episodes focus on dating, which might not appeal to all audiences. However, if you want to learn some slang and familiarize yourself with casual conversations, Causal Nihongo could be an enjoyable, free option. Alternatively, you can also check out Japanese With Noriko or Small Talk in Japanese, which are both podcasts that cover a wide range of topics.