In this skill

There’s nothing new here — that’s the point. Every sentence below is built from pieces you already own: the four verb shapes (-masu, -masen, -mashita, -masen deshita), the -tai and -mashou endings, and the adjectives and nouns from the lessons.

What the lessons couldn’t give you — because a travel scene calls for -masu far more than -masen deshita, and because “the bus is slow” rarely fits a restaurant — is even exposure to all of it. Some shapes and words end up drilled a hundred times; others, once. This skill is the mixer: it recombines your owned pieces into fresh, useful sentences and drills them by ear, so the rare shapes (didn’t, want to, let’s) and the quieter words land as fast as the everyday ones.

Every card is a real sentence you might say or hear — nothing invented, no new grammar. And each one is spoken by a different voice — thirty in all — because in the field the words arrive in every timbre, and your ear shouldn’t depend on recognizing a narrator.

As always: tap, listen first, work out the meaning, then check yourself. Tap again as often as you like.

The drill: what didn’t happen (-masen deshita)

The negative past — the rarest shape, and the one the lessons could barely fit in. The no-form plus deshita: didn’t.

Kippu wa arimasen deshita.

Sumimasen. Wakarimasen deshita.

Sakana o tabemasen deshita.

Ocha o nomimasen deshita.

Takai desu. Dakara, kaimasen deshita.

Yoyaku ga dekimasen deshita.

The drill: what I want (-tai)

I want to ___ — first person, on more verbs than the lessons had room to show.

Ocha ga nomitai desu.

Kippu ga kaitai desu.

Hoteru ni kaeritai desu.

Kudamono ga tabetai desu.

Densha ni noritai desu.

The drill: let’s (-mashou)

The acceptance / proposal shape, spread past ikimashou.

Ocha o nomimashou.

Kudamono o kaimashou.

Menyuu o mimashou.

Basu wa osoi desu. Dakara, takushii de ikimashou.

Chikatetsu de kaerimashou.

The drill: sizing things up (the quiet adjectives)

The antonym pairs the lessons taught once and moved on from — fast, slow, long, short, near, small, few, and the rest — back on their feet.

Kono densha wa hayai desu.

Yoru wa nagai desu ne.

Konbini wa chikai desu.

Kono kaban wa chiisai desu. Are wa ookii desu.

Kyou wa hito ga sukunai desu.

Kyou wa hito ga ooi desu ne.

Mizu ga tsumetai desu. Oishii desu.

Koko wa abunai desu.

Nihongo wa muzukashii desu ne.

Kore wa totemo kantan desu.

Ano mise wa atarashii desu.

Yasumi wa mijikai desu.

The drill: every verb, in the past

The quieter verbs — pay, look-for, stay, call, use, show, wait, ride — most of which the lessons only ever showed in -masu. Here they take the past.

Konbini de haraimashita.

Kagi o sagashimashita. Demo, arimasen deshita.

Kono hoteru ni tomarimashita.

Takushii o yobimashita.

Kaado o tsukaimashita.

Densha ni norimashita.

Pasupooto o misemashita.

Basu o machimashita.

The drill: the shapes the lessons showed once

Three useful little frames the lessons introduced and then barely touched: there is (a person, an animal — ga imasu), I’d like (a thing you want — ga hoshii desu, always about yourself), and the soft invitation that’s really a question in disguise (won’t you…? / shall we…? — -masen ka).

Koko ni tomodachi ga imasu.

Ano mise ni hito ga imasu.

Fukuro ga hoshii desu.

Kagi ga hoshii desu.

Ocha o nomimasen ka.

Sushi o tabemasen ka.

The point isn’t these exact sentences — it’s the shapes. Once didn’t, want to, and let’s land as fast as -masu, you can build any of them on any verb you own, the instant you need it.

Checkpoint

Your exit exam, out loud. Each line below sets a scene built from your own pieces — say the Japanese before you tap; the tap plays the answer. Check yourself, repeat after the audio matching its pronunciation, rhythm, and speed. These are this deck’s speaking cards — in Anki they queue up after the listening cards, so you’ll always have heard a line before you’re asked to produce it.

You missed what they said, completely. Apologize — you didn't catch it. Sumimasen. Wakarimasen deshita.
Back from the market with no vase. Expensive — so you didn't buy it. Takai desu. Dakara, kaimasen deshita.
Bad news for tonight: you couldn't get a reservation. Yoyaku ga dekimasen deshita.
Long day, sore feet. Tell your friend you want to go back to the hotel. Hoteru ni kaeritai desu.
The bus queue is enormous. Say you want to take the train. Densha ni noritai desu.
Everyone is hungry and nobody has decided. Let's look at the menu. Menyuu o mimashou.
The bus is slow. Propose going by taxi instead. Basu wa osoi desu. Dakara, takushii de ikimashou.
Two bags on the shelf. Size them up — this one small, that one big. Kono kaban wa chiisai desu. Are wa ookii desu.
Shoulder to shoulder at the market. Remark on the crowd. Kyou wa hito ga ooi desu ne.
Your friend drifts toward the platform edge. Warn them — it's dangerous here. Koko wa abunai desu.
The desk asks about your key. You looked — but it wasn't there. Kagi o sagashimashita. Demo, arimasen deshita.
Immigration went fine. Say you showed your passport. Pasupooto o misemashita.
Hands full at the register. Say you'd like a bag. Fukuro ga hoshii desu.
Evening plans, your treat. Invite them — shall we get sushi? Sushi o tabemasen ka.

Anki deck

Drill the mixer anywhere: download The Mixer Anki deck. Every card is a real sentence in a fresh voice — hear it, work out the meaning, say it back. The speaking cards queue up after the listening cards.