Learn Hardcore Japanese: konya ha nihongo no dorama wo zimaku nasi de mite mimasu. - Tonight I will try watching a Japanese drama without subtitles.

Using が here (今夜が) would be unnatural, because が normally marks the grammatical subject or focuses on something as “the one that…”, and 今夜 is not the subject; it’s just setting the time.

So:

今夜は日本語のドラマを～ = As for tonight, I’ll (try to) watch a Japanese drama…
Time expressions like 今日, 明日, 今夜 commonly take は or no particle at all, but not が, when they’re just setting the time:
- 今日(は)映画を見ます。
- 今夜(は)勉強します。

What’s the difference between 日本語のドラマ and 日本のドラマ?

日本語のドラマ = a drama in Japanese (language)
日本のドラマ = a drama from Japan / Japanese (country)

In this sentence, the important point is that the dialogue is in Japanese, because you’re going to watch it without subtitles to practice Japanese. So 日本語のドラマ is the natural choice.

日本のドラマ would emphasize that the drama is a Japanese production (made in Japan), which is a slightly different focus. Of course, in practice, many 日本のドラマ are also 日本語のドラマ, but the nuance is different.

Why is を used after ドラマ? Could I use が?

を marks the direct object of the verb – the thing that is being watched.

ドラマを見る = to watch a drama

Here:

ドラマ is what you will watch.
見る / 見てみます is the action.
So ドラマ takes を.

Using が (ドラマが見てみます) would be wrong here because が would mean “the drama is doing the seeing”, which makes no sense. For verbs like 見る, 食べる, 読む, the thing you look at / eat / read usually takes を.

What does 字幕なしで literally mean, and what is the role of で here?

Breakdown:

字幕 = subtitles
なし = “without / lacking / no …”
字幕なし = “without subtitles / no subtitles”
字幕なしで = “with (it being) no subtitles” → “without subtitles”

The particle で here marks the manner / condition in which you do the action:

箸で食べる = eat with chopsticks
日本語で話す = speak in Japanese
静かにしてで勉強する (ungrammatical) vs 静かなところで勉強する = study in a quiet place
字幕なしで見る = watch with the condition of there being no subtitles → watch without subtitles

So the pattern NOUN + なしで + VERB is a very common way to say “do VERB without NOUN”.

What exactly is なし? How is it different from ない or ありません?

なし is a noun / na-adjective-like word that means “absence / none / without”. It’s often used after another noun:

肉なし = without meat
牛乳なし = without milk
字幕なし = without subtitles

Main patterns:

NOUN + なしで + VERB
- 砂糖なしでコーヒーを飲む。 = drink coffee without sugar.
NOUN + なしの + NOUN
- 字幕なしの映画 = a movie with no subtitles.
Standalone: なしです = “there is none” / “not included”.

ない / ありません are verb/adjective forms:

字幕がない。 = There are no subtitles.
字幕がありません。 = There are no subtitles (polite).

So:

字幕なしで見る (noun-like pattern)
字幕がない状態で見る (verb/adjective pattern with ない)

Both are grammatical but 字幕なしで見る is shorter and more natural here.

Why is it 見てみます and not just 見ます?

見てみます uses the pattern ～てみる, which means “try doing (and see what happens / how it is)”.

見る = to watch
見てみる = to try watching (to test or experience it)
見てみます = polite form of 見てみる

Nuance difference:

今夜は日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見ます。
→ Tonight I will watch a Japanese drama without subtitles.
(Just stating the plan as a simple fact.)
今夜は日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見てみます。
→ Tonight I’ll try watching a Japanese drama without subtitles (to see if I can understand / how it goes).
(There is some experiment / challenge / curiosity.)

For a learner talking about challenging themselves, 見てみます is the natural, expressive choice.

Why is it 見てみます with みます in hiragana? Can I write 見て見ます?

You can write 見て見ます, and it’s not wrong, but it looks a bit heavy and less natural.

In Japanese, when a main verb is followed by an auxiliary verb like ～てみる, ～ておく, ～てしまう, it’s very common to:

write the main verb in kanji
write the auxiliary in hiragana

So:

見てみます
やってみます
読んでみます
食べてみます

This makes the sentence easier to read and also reflects that ～てみる works almost like a fixed grammar pattern meaning “to try doing”. So 見てみます is the standard way to write it.

Is 見てみます future tense? How do I know it doesn’t mean “I try watching” (present)?

Japanese doesn’t have a separate future tense like English. The so‑called non-past form (e.g. 見ます) can cover:

simple present: habitual, general truths
- 毎日映画を見ます。 = I watch movies every day.
scheduled / near future: plans and intentions
- 今夜映画を見ます。 = I will watch a movie tonight.

Here, 今夜 (tonight) clearly indicates future time, so 見てみます is understood as “I’ll try watching”.

So:

The form 見てみます is just “non-past”.
The time expression (今夜) tells you it is in the future.

Can I rearrange the word order, like 今夜は字幕なしで日本語のドラマを見てみます。? Is that still correct?

Yes, that’s perfectly correct and natural.

Japanese word order is relatively flexible as long as you:

Keep the verb at the end.
Keep each particle attached to the right word.

Some natural variations:

今夜は日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見てみます。 (original)
今夜は字幕なしで日本語のドラマを見てみます。
日本語のドラマを今夜は字幕なしで見てみます。 (more emphasis on the drama)

The meaning stays the same; the nuance of emphasis can shift slightly depending on what you put earlier, but all of these are acceptable.

Why isn’t there a subject like 私は in the sentence?

In Japanese, the subject is often omitted when it is clear from context. English normally requires “I”:

(私は) 今夜は日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見てみます。
→ “(I) will try watching a Japanese drama without subtitles tonight.”

In a conversation about your own plans, it’s obvious that the subject is you, so 私は is usually dropped. Native speakers avoid repeating pronouns (私, あなた, 彼, etc.) unless they are needed to avoid confusion or for emphasis.

You can say 私は今夜は…, but:

私は
- 今夜は has two は, which can sound contrastive (As for me, as for tonight…).
More natural is to omit 私は: 今夜は…見てみます。

What’s the difference between 今夜, 今日の夜, and 今晩?

All three can mean “tonight”, but usage and nuance differ slightly:

今夜 (こんや)
Common in both speech and writing. Slightly more neutral or standard-feeling.
今晩 (こんばん)
Very common in everyday speech. In many contexts, it’s almost interchangeable with 今夜.
- 今晩は映画を見ます。
今日の夜 (きょうのよる)
Literally “this day’s night / tonight”. Feels a bit more descriptive or explanatory; sometimes used when emphasising “today” as the day.

In your sentence, you could say:

今夜は日本語のドラマを…
今晩は日本語のドラマを…
今日の夜は日本語のドラマを…

All are understandable; 今夜 or 今晩 is most typical.

Why is it just 字幕 and not something like 字幕たち to show “subtitles” (plural)?

Japanese usually does not mark plural on nouns unless it’s needed for clarity or emphasis. 字幕 can mean:

“subtitle”
“subtitles”
“the subtitles”

Depending on context. English forces you to choose singular/plural; Japanese doesn’t.

So:

字幕がない。
= There is no subtitle / there are no subtitles.
(In practice: “There are no subtitles.”)

Adding たち doesn’t work here; たち mainly marks people or sometimes animate things as a group (e.g. 子どもたち = children). You don’t normally say 字幕たち.

Could I say 字幕がないで見てみます instead of 字幕なしで見てみます?

No, 字幕がないで is ungrammatical.

To express “without subtitles”, you have a few natural options:

字幕なしで見てみます。 (most natural and concise)
字幕がない状態で見てみます。 = I’ll watch it in a state where there are no subtitles.
字幕をつけないで見てみます。 = I’ll watch it without turning on subtitles.

The pattern ～ないで + VERB is valid, but it attaches directly to a verb or adjective, not to the が-marked noun like 字幕がないで.

Correct example with ないで:

字幕をつけないで見る。 = watch without adding subtitles.

How would I say this casually to a friend, instead of the polite 見てみます?

To make it casual, switch ます-form to plain form:

今夜は日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見てみる。

Other natural casual variations:

今夜、日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見てみるよ。
今夜は日本語のドラマ、字幕なしで見てみる。

Core changes:

見てみます → 見てみる
You can optionally drop は or add sentence-ending particles like よ, ね depending on nuance.

What nuance would 見ようと思います have compared to 見てみます?

見てみます = “I’ll try watching (and see how it is / whether I can understand).”
Emphasizes experiment / attempt.
見ようと思います = “I intend to watch / I’m thinking of watching.”
Emphasizes intention / plan rather than the “try and see” aspect.

So:

今夜は日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見てみます。
→ Tonight I’ll try watching a Japanese drama without subtitles (see how I do).
今夜は日本語のドラマを字幕なしで見ようと思います。
→ Tonight I’m thinking of watching a Japanese drama without subtitles. (Says you plan to do it, but doesn’t highlight it as an experiment as strongly.)

Both are natural; for a learner “testing themselves”, 見てみます is more expressive of that challenge/experiment feeling.