ジョン は 日本 で 空手 を 習って いました。zyon ha nihon de karate wo naratte imasita.
Jon was learning Karate in Japan

……
Breakdown of zyon ha nihon de karate wo naratte imasita.
はha
topic particle
日本nihon
Japan
をwo
direct object particle
でde
location particle (for events and actions)
ジョンzyon
John
習うnarau
learn
Learning through practice and repetition, often with a teacher or in a formal setting.
空手karate
karate
〜て いる〜te iru
grammar for indicating an ongoing state or action
More from this lesson
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“How do verb conjugations work in Japanese?”
Japanese verbs conjugate based on tense, politeness, and mood. For example, the polite present form adds ‑ます to the verb stem, while the past tense uses ‑ました. Unlike English, Japanese verbs don't change based on the subject — the same form works for "I", "you", and "they".
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning JapaneseMaster Japanese — from zyon ha nihon de karate wo naratte imasita to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions