BlogHandwriting
How to Keep a Japanese Diary: What to Write When You Are a Beginner
A Japanese diary is one of the best daily habits for a learner. Here is how to start with three sentences a day, a simple template, and how to get your mistakes corrected.
Tap a highlighted Japanese word to see its reading and meaning.
In this article (7)
A diary turns Japanese from something you study into something you use. It does not need to be long or perfect. Three sentences a day is enough to start.
The short answer
Write three simple sentences about your day in Japanese, by hand, every day. Use only grammar you already know. Once a week, get someone to correct it and learn from the corrections.
Why a diary works
- You choose the topic, so the words matter to you.
- You produce Japanese, not just recognize it. That is the skill most learners lack.
- It is short and regular. A few minutes a day builds more than a long session once a month.
- Handwriting slows you down and helps you remember characters. See why handwriting helps.
A simple template
Use this order: what you did, what you ate or saw, and how you felt.
はとを見ました。 はラーメンを食べました。 とても楽しかったです。
Today I watched a movie with a friend. I ate ramen for dinner. It was a lot of fun.
Words and patterns to use first
- Time: 今日, 昨日 (yesterday), 今朝 (this morning)
- Past polite verbs: 〜ました (I did), 〜ませんでした (I did not)
- Feelings: 楽しかった (it was fun), 疲れた (I was tired), うれしかった (I was happy)
- Opinions: 〜と思いました (I thought that…)
If you do not know a word, look it up once and write it. Do not translate whole English sentences. Choose a simpler idea you can say in Japanese.
How to avoid common problems
- Do not write in your head in English first. Think in short Japanese ideas.
- Do not copy long sentences from a translator. You will not learn from them.
- Do not wait until it is perfect. Mistakes are what you learn from.
- Keep it small. If you skip days, reduce the goal to one sentence.
Getting corrections
A diary helps even alone, but corrections make it much more powerful. You see which words you chose, and which sound natural. You can ask a teacher, a language partner, or use a service built for it.
Diary Exchange
This is why we created Diary Exchange. You write a diary entry by hand, send us a photo, and Ken writes a handwritten reply with corrections and natural phrases, which we send back as a photo. The trial costs $1.
If you also want to practice writing characters, see how to practice writing kanji by hand.