Japanese question words stay exactly where the answer noun would sit, keeping the same particle that noun would use. In ...

ここ is near the speaker, そこ is near the listener (or a place just mentioned), and あそこ is far from both of you. That one r...

これ points to what's near you, それ points to what's near the person you're talking to, and あれ points to something far from...

Drop the い from i-adjectives, or keep the na-adjective or verb stem as it is. Add そう to say something looks, seems, or i...

Attach すぎる straight onto a verb's ます-stem or an adjective's stem (drop い, leave な bare) to say something has crossed the...

Use より when you're weighing exactly two things against each other, and use 一番 when you're naming the single winner out o...

い-adjectives conjugate on their own (楽しい → 楽しくない → 楽しかった), while な-adjectives lean on だ/な/です the way a noun would (便利だ →...

Use つもりです for a decision you've made in your own head, 予定です once it's actually arranged with a date or booking, and つもりで...

Use ましょう when the plan's basically decided, ませんか when you're genuinely asking and want to leave room for "no," and ましょうか...

Use the short potential form (話せる, with が) in everyday speech, and switch to 〜ことができる (with を, unchanged) when the situat...