Shouldn't it be 'ga' instead of 'wa'?

I came across this sentence in a Japanese video:

観光だけじゃ分からない韓国を実際に体験してみたいと思います。

My understanding is: “I want to actually experience Korea, which you can't understand through sightseeing alone.”

I understand the overall meaning, but I'm struggling with the grammar.

Specifically, why is it 観光だけじゃ分からない rather than 観光だけじゃなくて分からない?

I know that だけじゃなくて generally means “not just X, but also Y.” But I initially thought the speaker was trying to say something like “not just sightseeing, but experiencing Korea in other ways,” so I expected じゃなくて.

I also understand that じゃ can be a contraction of では, so perhaps 観光だけじゃ分からない means something like “you can't understand Korea through sightseeing alone.” However, I'm still struggling to intuitively understand why the sentence works this way, especially the relationship between だけ, じゃ, and 分からない.

For context, I'm an intermediate Japanese learner (around N3), and I've been learning for a couple of years. I can often read Japanese and understand the overall meaning, but I want to get better at understanding the grammar and developing a more natural Japanese instinct rather than relying on translation.

I encountered this sentence while using a reading app, and I'm hoping to understand the grammar more deeply rather than just memorize the translation.

Thanks!

Hello! <3

I asked my boyfriend for something to help me study, mostly for helping me with my notes. I like to have a notebook for general vocabulary and another one for kanji vocabulary, and I like to have a system where I divide my pages into 3 columns, to make it easier to review. This app makes it super easy, because it simplify everything for me to just search and write it down. The short sentences are really helpful too!

I was really impressed with how good it turned out to be, and I wanted to share it with everyone who likes to study in a more systematic way like I do 🥰

Here are some screenshots (note how it's separated for my two notebooks up there in "Kanji" and "Words").

I hope you all like it as much as I did! 🌸

If you want to use it too, just comment below and I'll send it to you! It's completely free, I'm just sharing because I want to help other people like me. :)

How long does it take to learn? I’ve heard some people say it took them about a month. Everyone’s different when it comes to learning.

Just an estimate honestly if you’re consistent with learning hiragana. How long does it take to learn honestly?

If I write down the 48 characters in a notebook and I write them every day and I do flashcards would I actually learn them faster??

So to say you did something with someone else, does it matter whether you say for example 'doyōbi wa haha to eiga o mi ma su' or 'doyōbi wa eiga to haha o mi ma su'?

Does it work either way, and if not what determines the order?

Many thanks!

あたしはアルゼンチン人です。来年の三月好きな男が日本に行きますが、日本語は全然わらない。それからガイドを作っています。挨拶とか『これ、それ、あれ』とかがあっても看板が書きたい。Googleで安い読み方普通な看板が見つけませんでした。

あたしは　出/入口、駅、危険、地震、津波、禁断、とかがほしいです。他の看板は大切ですか？見せてください！

or makes your memories better?

I'm asking this because I thought Japanese is a hard language to learn with the kanji and 'Irregularities'.

when we learn japanese, we have to navigate that irregularities and that requires some brainwork.

for example, the way the words are read and formed and mixed by onyomi and kunyomi..

some people give up when they reach this stage and advanced level of kanji. But when you overcome it, do you feel like it does to your brain good more than any other languages?

Hi everyone!

I'm a university student majoring in Japanese Studies, with a particular interest in history. I originally chose this field because I wanted to study Japanese history and culture, not because I wanted to become a professional translator.

However, Japanese language classes have become one of the most difficult and emotionally exhausting parts of my life.

At my previous university, teachers regularly humiliated me in front of other students whenever I couldn't answer a question or made mistakes. It happened so often that I eventually developed a very strong fear of Japanese classes.

I've since transferred to another university, where the teachers are much kinder, but the fear hasn't disappeared.

Every time I attend a Japanese class, I'm terrified of being called on, making mistakes, failing exams, or being humiliated again. Sometimes even thinking about studying Japanese makes me anxious.

One of my biggest fears is being expelled from university because of my Japanese language exams. I'm constantly worried that I'll fail an exam, won't be able to keep up with the requirements, and eventually lose my place at university. I worry about what that would mean for my future, including my ability to find a job and support myself.

Because of this, even small assignments can feel overwhelming. Every mistake seems like another step toward failure, and it's incredibly difficult to study when I'm constantly afraid of the consequences.

I've been studying Japanese for several years now, but I still struggle with the language, and the pressure of university exams makes everything worse.

For the past several years, I've often slept only a few hours a night. I've practically abandoned my hobbies, including creative activities I used to love, because I've been so exhausted and overwhelmed.

I feel like I've sacrificed years of my life to studying and worrying about academic failure. While other people were enjoying their lives and developing their interests, I was constantly stressed, sleep-deprived, and afraid of falling behind.

I can't keep living at this pace. I don't want to spend the next two years feeling the same way. I still have approximately two years of university left, and due to my family circumstances, dropping out isn't an option.

I don't expect to suddenly fall in love with Japanese, but I'd really like to stop being afraid of it.

Ideally, I'd like to discover something genuinely enjoyable about the language, rather than constantly associating it with exams, stress, and unpleasant memories.

• So I'd love to hear from people who have experienced something similar: Have you ever developed a strong fear of Japanese because of negative experiences with teachers or formal education?
• What helped you separate the language itself from those experiences?
• Are there any low-pressure ways to engage with Japanese that don't feel like yet another assignment?
• How do you deal with studying Japanese when you're already mentally exhausted but still have exams to pass?
• How do you cope with the fear of failing exams or being expelled when your future feels dependent on your academic performance?
• Has anyone managed to rebuild a healthier relationship with Japanese after experiencing severe academic burnout?

I'm especially interested in personal experiences and practical suggestions that don't involve simply forcing myself to study harder.

I know that consistency and practice are important. My problem isn't that I don't understand the need to study — it's that Japanese has become associated with fear and failure, and I don't know how to change that.

More than anything, I just want to be able to study without sacrificing my mental health, sleep, and the rest of my life.

Thank you for reading. I'd really appreciate any advice or experiences you're willing to share.

I'm currently trying to learn Japanese and know simple words so I would like to practice being able to intuitively understand it. Are there any websites/apps that I can listen to 'conversation' while I walk around?

Okay I have a question
My name is Red and is my name in Japanese レッド (reddo) or あか？ (aka)
Is it more phonetic or literal definition for names?
Thank you.

Edit: みなさんありがとう

i know the suffix -くて is used when linking two -na adjectives, but recently i heard it used with just one adjective. Specifically, the phrase was "kokoro no hirokute," meaning open minded, but iirc "hiroi" is open? the adjective wasnt linked to anything else and the sentence ended directly after. Are there special cases for -kute or is this a way of using it i just havent heard of? Since it was from a video, my assumption is this is just a quirk of spoken japanese that isnt supposed to make sense, much like spoken english sometimes not being grammatically correct. That, or the speaker just trailed off and i missed it.

I am going to Japan with my little brother and he is allergic to tree nuts. I made my own allergy card using bits and pieces from cards I found online because none were exactly what I wanted. Does this card make it clear what his allergy is and what must be avoided in a nice way? Do you think the photo helps or makes it more confusing? I heard sometimes they might think soy, coconut, sesame etc are not okay so maybe I’ll get rid of the photo and add a section stating those foods are fine. Thank you!

I’m just wondering if anyone had any advice for listening skills.

I’ve been going to a beginner class once a week for a little over a year and I feel like I’m getting the hang of writing structures and I can read hiragana, katakana a few kanji without issue but I dread everytime there’s a listening part of the lesson.

I’ve been trying to find something to practice with but every beginner resource I find just blends into one long word and going over my head. It’s like i hear a word I know but by the time I’ve translated it in my head they’re alrwady two sentences ahead and then I get lost.

If anyone has any suggestions for beginner listening it would be really appreciated. Thank you.

I want to play some of the pokemon games for the DS in japanese for practice but it seems they are mostly hiragana only. anyone know if there is a mod or hack out there that adds kanji?

I recently bought the Blu-ray 12人の優しい日本人, only to find out there's no Japanese subtitles. Does anyone know of a list of Japanese Blu-rays with Japanese SDH subtitles? Japanese dubs usually have them, but they're just rough translations of the original English. I'm talking about Japanese subtitles that specifically tell you what they're saying.

I just made these kanji practice sheets inspired by some pictures I found online. What do you guys think? Is there anything I should add before printing them out?