Tomoko Nagai

Tomoko Nagai is a native Japanese speaker and bilingual Japanese–English writer who helps beginners learn to speak Japanese naturally. Through language exchange on HelloTalk and Tandem, she has worked closely with around 10 Japanese learners from Australia, the US, France, the Czech Republic, Germany, and South Korea, helping them with natural nuance, pronunciation, and building confidence with everyday conversations.

Helping people communicate across languages has been a thread throughout Tomoko's career. At a traditional machiya inn in Kyoto and a four-star hotel in Japan, she welcomed international travelers, assisted with bookings, shared local recommendations, and handled unexpected situations. During a working holiday in Australia, she also ran a Japanese-language desk for travelers, handling bookings and interpreting in emergencies. Having studied English at university and learned to speak it confidently as an adult, Tomoko knows firsthand how hard it can be to go from studying a language to actually speaking it. Today, she does content writing and reviews at tech companies.

• October 22, 2026

  How to Speak Japanese for Beginners: Where to Start

  Start speaking Japanese with the words you already know, the sounds that matter most and simple sentence frames, from two native Japanese speakers.