Learn Hardcore Japanese: watasi ha maisyuu nihongo no benkyouzikan wo nooto ni kirokusite imasu. - Every week I record my Japanese study time in a notebook.

は after 私 marks 私 as the topic of the sentence: “as for me…”.
In this sentence, the focus is not on who is doing the action (that’s already obvious), but on what you do every week. は is natural here.

You could technically say 私が毎週日本語の勉強時間をノートに記録しています, but that would sound like you are emphasizing I (and not someone else) do this, for example in contrast to other people. For a neutral statement about your own habit, 私は is the normal choice, and in everyday conversation you’d usually drop 私 entirely and just say:

毎週日本語の勉強時間をノートに記録しています。

What does 毎週 do in the sentence, and where can it go?

毎週 means “every week” and is an adverbial time expression. It tells us how often the action happens.

In Japanese, time expressions like 毎週, 毎日, 昨日 are fairly flexible in position. Common placements include:

私は毎週日本語の勉強時間をノートに記録しています。
毎週、私は日本語の勉強時間をノートに記録しています。

You can also place it later:

私は日本語の勉強時間を毎週ノートに記録しています。

All are grammatically fine. Putting 毎週 earlier usually feels a bit more natural and clear, but context and rhythm matter more than a strict rule.

What is the role of の in 日本語の勉強時間?

の here links 日本語 (Japanese language) and 勉強時間 (study time). It works like “of” or a possessive/attributive relationship:

日本語の勉強時間
→ “study time of Japanese” / “time spent studying Japanese”

So 日本語の勉強時間 is not “Japanese study” in general, but specifically the amount of time spent studying Japanese. の is used very broadly in Japanese to connect nouns this way: ownership, type, content, field, etc.

Why is 勉強時間 (study time) marked with を instead of 日本語 being marked with を?

を marks the direct object of the verb. Here, the verb is 記録する (“to record, to log”). The thing being recorded is not “Japanese (language)” itself, but your study time.

勉強時間を記録する
→ “record the study time”

日本語 is part of the larger noun phrase 日本語の勉強時間, so it’s already attached to 勉強時間 via の. You don’t mark 日本語 with を because 日本語 is not directly acted on by the verb — the 勉強時間 is.

If you wanted to say something like “I study Japanese every week,” then 日本語 would be the direct object:

私は毎週日本語を勉強しています。

What does ノートに express, and why に instead of で?

ノートに shows the destination / target location where something ends up: “into the notebook” or “in the notebook (as a result)”.

With verbs like 書く (to write) or 記録する (to record), に is often used to indicate where the written information is put:

ノートに書く – write in a notebook
カレンダーに予定を記入する – enter a plan on the calendar

で would express the place where an action happens, like “at / in (as a setting)”. For writing/recording, に is preferred because the important idea is that the data gets stored into something.

So:

ノートに記録する is “to record (something) in/into the notebook” (correct).
ノートで記録する sounds more like “to use a notebook as the tool/setting for recording”, which is not how this is normally phrased.

What exactly does 記録する mean, and how is it different from 書く or メモする?

記録する means “to record, to log, to keep a record of”. It’s a bit formal or technical and suggests systematic or accurate recording, like data, logs, or official records.

勉強時間を記録する → “to log/track your study time”

Compare:

書く – “to write”; very general.
ノートに勉強時間を書いています would mean “I write my study time in a notebook,” but it doesn’t emphasize the idea of systematic tracking as clearly.
メモする – “to jot down, to make a quick note.”
メモする often sounds more casual or temporary than 記録する.

Using 記録する here gives the sense that you are tracking your hours as data, not just casually scribbling something.

What does the 〜ている form in 記録しています mean here?

記録しています is 記録する in the 〜ている form plus the polite ます ending.

〜ている can have several uses; the two most common are:

Progressive / ongoing action
- “I am currently recording…”
Habitual / repeated action
- “I routinely record…” / “I (regularly) do this.”

In this sentence, because of 毎週 (“every week”), the main reading is the habitual meaning:

“I (as an ongoing habit) record my Japanese study time in a notebook.”

So it describes a repeated habit that continues up to now, not just a single action happening right now.

Why is it 記録しています instead of just 記録します?

Both are grammatically correct but have different nuances:

記録します
- Simple polite present/future.
- Often used for one-time, scheduled, or general statements: “I (will) record,” “I (usually) record.”
記録しています
- Emphasizes an ongoing state or habit.
- Sounds like “I am in the habit of recording / I have been recording (and still do).”

Because the sentence talks about something you do every week and suggests a continuing practice, 記録しています fits well. It feels more like “This is what I do as an ongoing routine.”

Could I drop 私 and still be correct and natural?

Yes. Japanese often omits the subject when it’s clear from context.

Full: 私は毎週日本語の勉強時間をノートに記録しています。
Natural everyday version: 毎週日本語の勉強時間をノートに記録しています。

In most real conversations, you would not say 私 unless you need to contrast with someone else or make it absolutely explicit who you’re talking about. Context usually makes “I” obvious.

Is ノート always a physical notebook, or can it be a digital note/app?

Traditionally, ノート refers to a paper notebook. However, in modern usage, people sometimes also use ノート for:

A note file in an app
A digital notebook (like in note-taking apps)

If you specifically mean a smartphone/PC app, you might say:

ノートアプリに記録しています。 – “I record it in a note-taking app.”
スマホのメモに記録しています。 – “I record it in my phone’s memo app.”

But if you just say ノートに記録しています, many people will assume a physical notebook unless the context suggests otherwise.

What is the difference between saying 日本語の勉強時間を記録しています and 日本語を勉強しています?

These sentences focus on different things:

日本語を勉強しています。
- “I am studying Japanese / I study Japanese.”
- The focus is on the activity of studying the language.
日本語の勉強時間を記録しています。
- “I record my Japanese study time.”
- The focus is on tracking how long you study, not the studying itself.

So, the original sentence is not saying “I study Japanese every week”; it’s saying “I record the amount of time I spend studying Japanese every week.”

Is the word order fixed, or can I rearrange some parts of the sentence?

Japanese word order is relatively flexible as long as you keep the verb at the end and the particles with their words. For example, all of these are grammatical:

私は毎週日本語の勉強時間をノートに記録しています。
毎週私は日本語の勉強時間をノートに記録しています。
私は日本語の勉強時間を毎週ノートに記録しています。
私は日本語の勉強時間をノートに毎週記録しています。 (less common but still possible)

However, some orders sound more natural than others. A common and smooth-sounding pattern is:

[Topic] + [Time] + [Object] + [Place/Target] + [Verb]
私は + 毎週 + 日本語の勉強時間を + ノートに + 記録しています。

So yes, there is flexibility, but the given word order is very natural and easy to process.