Keep in mind that おもしろい is far more natural when it comes to "funny" or "amusing".

おかしい is very context-dependent when it comes to that meaning.

Without clear context it more often than not defaults to "strange"

おかしい is the regular, neutral word for “strange,” “odd,” or “funny.” It just states the fact, as in おかしい話だね (That’s a strange story).

おかしな has the same meaning but feels a little more marked. It can sound slightly stronger or more pointed when describing something, as in おかしな話だね (That’s quite a strange story).

Sweets (おかし) are funny (おかしい)

Oh, kakashi/scarecrows look funny.

Oh, of course she's funny!

Novelty candies (おかし) from Halloween are weirdly funny (おかしい)

Isn't it odd (おかしい) to have candy (おかし) as a side dish (おかず)?

'All cars she' drives are funny looking

Laffy Taffy is an おかしい おかし.

可笑しい
Things you can 可 laugh 笑 about are usually either funny or strange.
I ate a STRANGE candy お菓子 that had a FUNNY taste.
Yep, it was filled with laughing gas!

Equivalent to "to iu" -- a quoting particle.

Can he used like the "wa" particle to denote the subject of a sentence.

I.e. "Sakura-tte... " = "speaking of Sakura..."

Needed to do some research for this one. Casual という. Can be used as a topic marker when quoting, e.g.

Person A:
和牛を食べた。
わぎゅう を たべた。
I ate Wagyu.

Person B:
和牛って何？
わぎゅう って なに？
What is "Wagyu"?

It is also used to quote a topic, e.g.
あなたは失礼。
あなた は しつれい。
You are impolite.

あなたって失礼。
あなた って しつれい。
"You" is impolite.

Source: [www.japanesewithanime.com]

See also the って grammar entry.

思う, when used as "to think", is used for stating an opinion or feeling that you already have. It is not the actual act/process of thinking about something.

"I think this is cool" < use 思う

考える, however, the act of thinking.

"I will think about my future" < use 考える

想う is a more emotional, affectionate, or poetic spelling of 思う, common in songs, poetry, and novels. In everyday use, 思う is the standard unless a literary tone is intended.

毎日、彼女のことを想う = "I think about her every day" with emotional weight — longing, love, missing someone, cherishing them, etc.

Omm.... I'll (おも) have to *think* about it.

Reminds me of おもしろい　-- I always think of that as "I [think/feel] this is interesting".

I need a mo(おもう)ment to think about this…

Atlas, who cares something omoi, has a lot of time to omou

First you meditate, then you have a breakthrough: ommm, ouh!

He’s the CHIEF おも, I think おもう. He looks IMPORTANT.

to me, 思 looks kind of like a guy with a window to see in his brain, what he's *thinking* about.

When something is interesting, it makes you think. おもしろい and おもう are those words.

Since I want to lose weight I often think おもう about how heavy おもい I am.

I think おもう (Omurice) -オムライス- is probably my favorite food.

"OH MOE, OOf... he always reckons/supposes (opinionates) the weirdest things. he should think before he speaks

Also written as: 褱う

Wiktionary: combination of ~か (ka, interrogative particle) +‎ な (na, mild exclamatory particle).

Used when speaker asks themselves about something. ‘I wonder~’

Cannot be used as someone else’s monologue questions ‘he/she/etc. wonders~’

Indicates present tense and cannot be used in cases such as ‘he/she/etc. wondered~’

Not a direct question but can illicit answers indirectly.

Informal speech/casual speech. Should not be used with superiors.

In feminine speech: ~かしら is used instead of かな
(Source: Nakama 1)

I WONDER if this KANA is hiragana or katakana

なか means "inside". So pretend It's your birthday and you have a wrapped present. I かな what's なか！

can I, I wonder?

kana wonder?

You also see it as a sentence-ending particle (切れ字) used in classical Japanese poetry to express reflection, emotion, or wonder. Commonly found in haiku and waka.

Husband might call his wife with this and a wife might call him "あなた" as a way to say "Honey" or "Dear"

From Niko: NHS
’Until you get very, very good at Japanese and can discern the nuances and politeness of various words in a given situation, I would avoid using this... and just about any word for "you," really’.

Kimi ni todoke (君に届け) = from me to YOU

Both の and こと turn verbs into nouns, but they feel different:
————————

こと is more conceptual and abstract. It treats the action as a general idea and sounds more detached. It's often used for information, ideas, or facts.

の feels more direct and personal. It points to the actual action as it happens. It sounds more immediate, and it's commonly used for things you directly see, hear, feel, or control.
————————

→ 私は死ぬことが怖い = "I'm afraid of death"
Here, the action is treated as a general concept.

→ 私は死ぬのが怖い = "I'm afraid of dying"
This feels more immediate and personal, as if you're afraid of dying rather than death as an abstract idea.
————————

The difference becomes clearer with direct perception. When you directly witness something, you usually use の.

→ 私は子どもが泣いているのを見た = "I saw a child crying"
What you saw wasn't the concept of a child crying—you saw the action itself.

The same contrast appears with hearing, especially when comparing direct perception and reported information.

→ 火山が噴火したことを聞いた = What you heard was the news of the volcano erupting.
Here, you received information about the event.

→ 火山が噴火したのを聞いた = You were there when the volcano erupted. You directly heard it.
In this case, you experienced the sound itself.
————————

Finally, when talking about actions you can directly control, の is usually preferred.
→ 酒を飲むのをやめた = "I quit drinking"

Here, the action feels concrete and personally managed rather than abstract.
————————

Quick rule of thumb:

Directly experienced / immediate / personal → の
Abstract / conceptual / informational → こと

Source: part of this video: [www.youtube.com]

Conversational contraction. しているんだ。ー＞　してんだ。

re: sense 3

Confusingly, ん after the negative stem of a verb can be both a contraction of the negative ない / ぬ ending, or of the archaic volitional む ending -- which have completely opposite meanings.

Fortunately the volitional ん verb ending (which is a different dictionary entry, flagged as an archaism) is rather uncommon in modern speech and mostly restricted to specific grammar patterns or intentionally formal/stylistic use of archaic language, so you don't often have to guess whether what looks like a negative is actually a positive.

For the first meaning, ん is most likely not a contraction of いる after the て form but rather a contraction of る.
In the case of ～ている, the contraction is done in two step:
～ている -> ～てる -> ～てん

And that last る -> ん contraction can also be use with verb ending in る like:
する->すん
来る->来ん
It's particularly common when combined with the particle な (the "not" one) for comical effects in casual conversation between friends. As in:
すんな (DON'T do that!)
来んな (DON'T come here!)
One of my favorite example is:
"話しかけてくんな"
Which is quite rude but gives a "Don't you dare come to talk to me!" vibes between friends. That the kind of feeling it can creates (so be careful with that).
Other than that, the ら->ん contraction is also possible as in:
分からない -> 分かんない
Which is relatively common too in casual speech between friends.

I tried to search for some formal explanation but couldn’t find anything that could give me a final answer. Apparently, it could be either some kind of dialect or a general kind of contraction where the entire ラ行 (the ら, れ, る, り, ろ sounds) and な行 (the な, に, ぬ, の, ねsounds) can be replaced with ん. At that point, I gave up because both feel correct and I couldn’t access to more information (nor can I still read research level article… for now). I pretty sure some of those ん contraction are really common mainly because of the kansai dialect combined with manzai comedy for example. But at the same time, I also feel like native used that contraction a bit randomly trough Japanese history. Hence why you have that damn ん which can mean either る、ら、に、の、ぬ、etc. I got traumatized by that ん when I first started to talk with some japanese friends and also when watching youtube. Hope that explanation will help you at least a bit for that (Also now, it’s fun and ん contraction + kansai ben + manzai → best way to make Japaneses laugh)

PS : Just remembered another one but I’m not redoing the entire explanation for that, so I will just leave that here :
やるのか？→ やんのか？ (“wanna fight ?” with a fake yankee vibe kinda, very common between friends)
So, that る → ん contraction can theoretically be applied to any verb with a る ending but in practice, it’s not used everywhere. Like, it’s not common in standard written Japanese, it’s not really “grammatical” either but it’s still extremely common in casual spoken Japanese (especially in those expression). So yeah, don’t know if that explanation is useful or confusing anymore but at least, you will be aware of them if you encounter those expression in the wild x)

Mildly masculine, unlike 俺. Generally use by men in casual situations, also used by women and men when singing.

ぼく is often used by BO(ぼ)ys.

(ぼく)'s dream is to have a STOCK FARM full of (chiku)s.

The accent is listed as ぼꜜく(頭高/ 1), and is often used by children or in anime. This is also the original pronunciation, but a flat accent (平板/ 0) is becoming more common especially for young people.

[ja.hinative.com]
(But as a non-native, it probably doesn't make a difference which you use)

Beware of confusing between 菐 in 僕 and 業 in 授業.
You can remember that 僕 refers to a person, thus the two legs.

To quote Cure Dolly: 'anything contained in the は particle only 'flags' what the sentence is talking about, and is never part of the grammatical structure as a whole.'

[youtu.be]

Can be used like “Xは?: As for X?” Usually used when asking for opinion of someone or when a customer is asked what they would like. Very contextual can be used in many senses like “Where?” “What?” Or even complex sentences.

Other particles like も can be used similarly, but this particle directly uses the information from the conversation to ask about another thing/situation. Similar to “What about” in “Mom is at home.” “What about Dad?”.

Pronounced as "wa" (not "ha") when used as the topic-marking particle.

It can be used to describe a wide range of things as "natural", e.g. words or phrasing, pronunciation or way of speaking, movement or gestures, smile or expression, behaviour or attitude, and more.

That hippie nature chick, SHE'S ZEN.

SHE is very ZEN from all the time she spent in nature.

Nature is beautiful no matter the season (しぜん).

In nature (しぜん) SHE (し) feels safe (あんぜん).

Mother nature? SHE's ZEN!

Her nature しぜん？ She(し) is zen(ぜん）!

Also used to quote a whole clause of a sentence, similar in a way to how the particle の and the noun こと converts a clause into the equivalent of a noun.

When using と it means you are listing the items that are the only possibilities, whereas や means there are others.

(あか)と(くろ) が すき です。
(あか)や(くろ) が すき です。
Both sentence meaning the same :
I like red and black colors.

The first sentence specifically states you like red and black colors.

The second sentence states that you like red and black colors, and maybe other colors too.

It's like a partial list when using や apart from と (when using it) which you can take as a full list

TOES together with eachother

UTAU is the name of a SINGING synthesis program

If you know うた means “song”
It helps rememberingうたう is “to sing”
“Song” + U, you sing a song

picture singing in the shower, you turn off the water. what's next? OO TOWEL

Ooh, a towel with Miku on it!

Uta from one piece is singer

I always remember "shiki no uta" from samurai champloo

Wait! Theres も (MOre)

"Moi aussi" in french means "me too".

皆: All of us (me included)
皆(みんな): colloquial usu. hiragana.
方々: All of them; People (honorific) (sometimes singular)
全員: All members (emphasis the inclusion of the members)
各位: Each one of you (emphasis on the individual listener)
誰も: Nobody; Unspecific group (people in general) (always. negative )

You think I made food just for ME? NAHH (みんな), it's for everyone!

MINNA no nihongo = EVERYBODYS Japanese

Everybody's MEAN-A to me!

In Smash Bros, Marth says in one of his taunts "みんな、見ていてくれ!" or "Minna, miteite kure!" which translates to "Everyone, please watch me!"

Everybody gets white spoons! 皆

みなさん doesn't have the additional ん but みんな does.

After the tragic death of TAMA, SHE was seen wandering the hallways late at night as a restless SPIRIT.

A SOUL is actually just a roundish ball 玉 (たま+しい)!

Can also be placed at the end of a clause to show that the following clause is different or unexpected. It essentially makes it a BUT statement. Example: 多い友だちがいるーがー全てが優しくない。(I have many friends BUT none of them are nice.)

Notes from Kaname Naito's YouTube Video "けど Is Not Always But"
(use hlthere's link to view the video)
1. used to express opposition or contrast of two sentences (e.g. 頑張って勉強したけど、試験に落ちた。I studied hard, "but" failed the exam.)
2. used to introduce condition or situation before main point (e.g. さっき田中さんにメロンもらったんだけど、食べる? Tanaka gave me a melon just now, do you want to eat it? - where 食べる/do you want to eat it? is the main point)
3. used to request someone do something without directly stating the request/command, which could sound impolite or too invasive if stated directly (e.g. すみません、さっき注文したビールまだ来てないんですけど。Excuse me, we still haven't gotten the beer we ordered. - here けど implies 早くしてください please bring it quickly, without actually saying it)
4. used to identify yourself over the phone to people who already know you (e.g. もしもし? 要だけど。Hello, it's Kaname.)
5. the function of けど and が are basically the same, but が is more formal and is used more for very formal speech and writing, whereas けど is used more often when speaking, especially casually

佳/か “beautiful” + 撫でる/なでる “stroke”
To play a string instrument with beautiful strokes.

Instruments are played in Canada (かなで)

I had a wonderful suteki (steak) dinner last night

I think it is wonderful that you are so techy

It's wonderful to only have to face such an (elementary) 素 (opponent)敵. This will be a breeze.

I think I like you *TSUKI, you are so wonderful *SUTEKI

When someone is lovely, you want to suteki (stick) to their side!

It's so LOVELY that it sticks to your brain , hence SITCKY (su-te-ki)

Final Fantasy X fans… one of the main songs is “Suteki Da Ne (Isn’t It Wonderful?)” 素敵 だ ね, during the scene where Yuna and Tidus embrace in Macalania Woods.

This is also helpful to remember informal “to be” だ (instead of です) and sentence ending particle ね (“isn’t it?”)

Sounds almost like (Jason) Sudekis, a wonderful comic.

So take(すてき) it, said the genie, your wish for fantastic, wonderful adventures awaits

ステーキ is so ステキ!!

First appears in the late Edo period, in the early 1800s, originally as a compound of 素/ス, (abbreviation of 素晴らしい/すばらしい, “wonderful, superb”) +‎ 的/てき (“-ish, -like”, adjectivizing suffix). The use of 敵/てき (“enemy”) instead of 的/てき (“-ish, -like”) is an example of phonetic ateji (当て字).

✨ Word evolution: 素敵 literally started as “genuinely a worthy match,” then shifted into “truly admirable,” and finally settled into “lovely/wonderful.”
素 = genuinely (pure, true)
敵 = worthy match (opponent)

The 2nd meaning is short for なさい, and is usually mentioned in the flat-tone, in contrast to the 1st meaning/usage which is usually mentioned in a rising-tone.

食べな = Eat up. (from 食べなさい) (such as a command made by a parent)

食べるな = Don’t eat!

"~な" has two seemingly conflicting meanings of "do" and "don't" because ”~な” can be used as a contraction of either (1) "~なさい" (i.e., "do") or (2) "~ない" (i.e., "don't").

To distinguish the two:
(1) ~なさい only attaches to the い-stem of verbs or to the base of an ichidan verb (e.g. これをたべな = "(do) eat this"). So, if you see ~な after a verb's い-stem, it indicates a command to do something (as なさい).
(2) However, ~ない can attach in all other cases, i.e. after the dictionary form of a verb and/or after a complete logical clause (e.g. これをたべるな = "don't eat this"). So, if you see ~な outside a verb's い-stem, it indicates a prohibitive command (as ない).

NAH (な), DON'T do that

I shouldn't have converted the ほ to ぼ!

ほね hone ✅ vs ぼね bone ❌

I never knew you could extract HONE (honey) from bones.

A feather はね with the O from bone ほね

Hone your bones by drinking milk, so they don't break when you do sports

In One piece, Luffy has G3 technique called - Hone Fūsen, literally meaning Bone Balloon.

骨 (ほね) — bone; everyday word, used in casual speech. Refers to individual bones rather than a whole skeleton.

骸骨 (がいこつ）) — skeleton; literally "dead body's bones". Mostly used for literal skeletons, monsters, or figurative comparisons. Rarely used in casual speech.

骨格 (こっかく) — skeleton structure / bone framework; refers to the arrangement of bones, used in scientific, anatomical, or formal contexts. Doesn't imply a corpse.

心を揺さぶる = "to deeply move someone emotionally" / "to stir someone's heart"

If I'm not mistaken, わ is softer than よ

In addition to the regular emphasis usage, It can be used in poetry and songs as "Oh" as in "Oh God" "Farewell, Oh friend". Ex.
時よ, 何を用意しているの? "Oh Time, what do you have in store"
神よ
友よ