📄️ Apologising with すみませんでした
If you would like to apologise for something you have done in the past, then the phrase to use is すみませんでした. Understandably, this phrase is in the polite form, to convey that you are actually sorry.
📄️ Ending Sentences with ね and よ
ね and よ are two of the most commonly used sentence-enders in Japanese. They are used to change the emphasis of a sentence's meaning and both can be used in both polite and plain speech.
📄️ Expressing Gratitude with おかげで
おかげで is used to construct phrases which give thanks to someone or something when things turn out as planned. The literal translation in English would be 'Thanks to X, Y happened'.
📄️ Male and Female Speech
In Japanese, there are subtle differences between female and male speech patterns. These differences are not so great that if you use the "female form" as a male, or the "male form" as a female you will be misunderstood, but it's important to bare in mind that many native speakers will pick up on these differences.
📄️ Courtesy Titles in Japanese
The Japanese language has a number of different courtesy titles which are dependent on occupation, setting and context. Some of these translate well into English, and others have no direct translation.
📄️ Personal Pronouns
This article introduces some of the personal pronouns in Japanese, of which there are many. Personal pronouns in Japanese change with person and with the formality of the situation
📄️ Thanking Someone For Doing Something
If you would like to thank someone for doing a particular action, you can use the phrase てくれてありがとう. It literally translates to 'thank you for doing X'
📄️ Using んです
んです is added to both statements and questions to change the tone of the sentence. In essence, んです indicates that the speaker is either explaining something or seeking an explanation for something.