I booked with a unique travel agency. When it's time to depart they'll send me a TABBY cat THATS going to lead the way

Person を Event に 誘う→To invite a person to an event

Eg: ジョンさんはマリさんを映画に誘いました。→John invited Mary to the movies.

Event に 遅れる→To be late for an event
Eg: 授業に遅れてはいけません
→You cannot be late for class.

You に (need) to be here AT 12!

Just for information, へ / に are used to MARK location. They are locations where the action is GOING. Whereas で is used where the action is HAPPENING/TAKING PLACE.

逃げる - escape physically

逃れる - escape physically/metaphorically (escape bad situation, responsibility etc.)

抱える is used more for holding a feeling or dream etc. like having something in you

Whilst 抱く has a meaning towards living things as in holding in arms or even “hug”

Per Hi Native:

抱く (daku) example: to embrace (concrete)
抱く (idaku) example: to embrace (abstract) ← to harbor
抱える (kakaeru) example: to hold with both hands (concrete, abstract) ← books, head, problems

ド レ ミ ファ ソ ラ シ are all 階名

OI (おい), DENNY (デニ), if you don't stop *being* so narcissistic (ナル), you're not gonna get *to come* along!

兵器 is more of bigger, militaristic weapons like tanks, bombs, missiles, used by soldiers 兵隊

武器 is more of personal weapons like guns, swords, spears used by individuals

They don't use weapons in kaBUKI performances.

The BOOGI (ぶぎ) man has lots of weapons.

The bookkeeper ぶき isn't a actually bookkeeper, he's a weaponkeeper...

Basically pronounced "o" in this context

Person を Event に 誘う→To invite a person to an event

Eg: ジョンさんはマリさんを映画に誘いました。→John invited Mary to the movies.

Pronounced as 'O', not as 'Wo'. The sound is actually extremely close to that of お.
But to write を on a Japanese keyboard based on the English layout you will need to type 'wo'.

A bit about the "indicates an area traversed" (sense 3) use of を: Here it marks the space you move through / along — usually with motion verbs like 歩く, 走る, 通る, 渡る, etc.

公園を歩く = walk through the park
森を走った = ran through the forest

"O" is for "Object".

Pronounced as O, (apparently), but think of it as a man on a surfboard!
"WOw!! I can surf!!!!"

A long time ago in a land far, far away (Nara period, which wasn't that long ago) (in Japan, which isn't particularly far because plane), this was once pronounced /wo/, similar to わ. Over many (actually just nine) centuries, this slowly merged with /o/ (お) to become the を we know today around the Edo period.

It's still を when used as a particle, though every case that was once /wo/ was replaced with お when Japan decided to standardize kana.

捨てる is used for discarding things in a more practical or general sense. 見捨てる implies emotionally charged abandonment, often directed toward people or causes, with a sense of giving up on someone or leaving them behind.

Throw the stale (すてる) bread out!

Throw your trash down the *stairs* SUTERU.

It's wonderful (すてき) to see you properly throw your trash away.

If you dump your trash I'll stare すてる at you till you pick it back up

"Suteru" sounds like "stare."

Imagine if you started throwing away trash on the street—people would definitely stare at you! Their intense gazes remind you that suteru means "to throw away."

Sounds like suit tear. Once your suit tears, you need to throw it away.

SUITE YOUR ROOM and throw away the trash.

Throw it away down the garbage shute(ru).

throw away the SWEATERU/SUIT with a TEAR

Rue is walking around Japan holding rubbish because she can't find a bin to throw it away in. The locals all SuTe (stare) at Rue wondering if she's going to be a bad tourist and throw it on the ground!

Don't throw away or abandon a good suit (suteru)!

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).

Only used before nouns

I found some really funny candies (おかし)

I’ll mimic her MANNERisms

To mimic someone is to copy their MANNERS

Various verbs for putting things on one's body (unrelated senses not mentioned):
- 着る: To wear upper body or full body clothing, usually through arm sleeves. It is used more generally when used with clothing in general e.g. 服を着る, when used in compounds such as 着こなす, 着込む, etc., in certain collocations, and other cases.
- 履く: To wear on the feet, such as shoes and socks.
- 穿く: To wear lower body clothing, such as pants and skirts. Usually kana.
- 掛ける: To hook/hang something on one's body, such as glasses, bags, pendants. Usually kana.
- 被る: To wear on/cover the head/face, such as hats and masks.
- 嵌める: To put on something that envelops, such as rings and gloves. Usually kana.
- 羽織る: To wear items not through sleeves, but e.g. by putting on one's shoulders and fastening buttons, such as coats and gowns. See 羽織.
- 着ける: To wear something, encompasses 着る, はく, etc. and includes accessories (glasses, necklaces, rings, etc.). Often in kana or as 付ける.
- 身に着ける: Essentially the same as 着ける. Often with つける in kana or with 付ける.
- 着する: Essentially the same as 着ける, though more formal.
- 着用(する): Essentially the same as 着ける, though more formal.
- する: To wear accessories (glasses, necklaces, rings, etc.), to be showing an expression, to have a certain quality, etc.
- 纏う: To wrap or wear something around the whole of or part of one's body. Usually kana.

Other verbs:
- 佩く: To affix to one's hip, such as a sword. Usually kana.
- 帯びる: To wear, to carry, usually of a sword on one's hip or an insignia.
- 提げる: To hang from the shoulder or waist or hold hanging from the hand. Also as 下げる.
- 突っかける: To slip on, to quickly wear shoes, slippers, etc.
- 召す: Honorific (尊敬語) form for 着る, e.g. 和服をお召しになる.

Sources:
- 使い方の分かる 類語例解辞典
- 大辞林
- 明鏡国語辞典
- Tofugu

"to cause to become", transitive counterpart to なる

行う is basically similar to する but 行う sounds more formal and stiff.
The more formal the situation is, the more likely 行う is chosen.
It can also be used in sentences where it usually sounds grandiose.
It can also appear in casual conversations.
There is also a verb 執り行う which sounds even stiffer and is only used with big ceremonies such as wedding ceremonies.

To wear small items (necktie, watch etc.)

する is one of the two irregular verb conjugations. To conjugate into this present form you would use します.

I have things suru(to do).

Monkey (さる) see, monkey do (する)

Mr. Sulu has a lot To Do on board the Enterprise.

Suru sounds like sudo, a Linux codeword that means "Super User DO."

To conjugate する, I like to think that it’s a godan and an ichidan verb at the same time. So to conjugate the stem the ichidan would do する -> す and the godan would do す -> し. Then I know that the stem of する is し.

撃つ（うつ）a concrete action of firing. It focuses on the physical act itself.
放つ（はなつ）to release, let loose, send forth, emit. The focus is on something leaving the source and going outward. It often sounds more literary, dramatic, or expressive than 撃つ.

When you hit (utsu) ball you shoot it forwards

Oo, two! (うつ) two bullets were used to shoot that thing.

な↑ぞ↓い

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]

In it’s “also/in addition to” role, あと can be placed at the start of a casual sentence, almost like saying “by the way”.

あfとr (after) that, we will go あとside (outside) to play a made up game called あと

i told (ato) you that he would finish behind me

What do you have BEHIND your back? Come on, show me.

A TOE?!? Why do you have a severed toe?!?

Don’t give me that look! You know you’re not supposed to take things from the morgue. Put it back right now.

When you drive an AUTOmobile, you'll constantly be using REAR view mirrors.

WWE will go outdoors (あと) after you finish your homework.

In mahjong, atozuke (後付け) means you are opening your hand up with the intention of leaving the completion of a yaku for later.

See also 跡/あと (what one leaves behind as one moves on)

Apart from the meaning ‘to turn towards’, it might be useful to pay attention to the meaning ‘to be suited for’ as well.

医者 に 向かない。I’m not suited to be a doctor. (adapted from an example sentence)

大人向け の 映画 = movies suitable/aimed for adults
(I believe 向け here is actually from 向ける)

向く means "to face (something)". In other words, the subject of the verb turns to face in a particular direction.

前を向く "to face forward"

向ける means that the subject of the verb turns something else towards something.

目を上に向ける "to cast one's eyes upwards"

向かう means "to head towards". Whereas 向く is a single action, with 向かう you're actually continually heading in a certain direction.

北へ向かう "to head north"

When it rains (ふる) you get wet and start to shiver

When the amounts of rules (ルール) increase (増える), you shiver from fear. (it has る twice and is similar to ふえる)

Also written as: 慄える

Also used as an imperative "shut up" (だまれ)

They say it's better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. So unless you want to appear dumber (だまる), you should be silent.

It’s dame (not good) to be damaru (silent)

Your silence is damning(damaru)

The baby said "DAda", then "MAma", then "ROOk to queen 3", {だまる} and everyone was so shocked by that, they "were silent".

In the presence of the Da-lai La-ma it might be ru-de to speak, better be silent

I will shut up, 'cause if I talk I know I'll do some DAMAge.

With a black だま(ball) in her mouth my dog will stay silent.

The meaning of くる isn’t really “come” but rather “come here” (as opposed to 行く “go there”). It’s always either a literal or metaphorical approach TO the speaker’s current location/timeframe/situation/state of mind etc. By contrast, in English we can also use “come” alone when we as a speaker really mean “leave my current location and go elsewhere”, such as: “I will come to you”.

He CAME here by car-くる(ま)

Doesn't く look like a boomerang? Boomerangs always COME BACK.

I have come to the con KURU sion (Conclusion) of the story.

The hens CAME home to roost with sunglasses on. cool く roost る !

Coo-roo! Pigeons always come home.

To conjugate くる, I like to think that it’s a godan and an ichidan verb at the same time. So to conjugate the stem the ichidan would do くる -> く and the godan would do く -> き. Then I know that the stem of くる is き.

He came to the cool room (ku-ru) because it was hot outside.

or Everbody comes to the cool room because it’s cool.

"Kuruma, come to me!" as Naruto summoned his nine-tailed beast in order to support him.

Could Rue come back already? It’s getting late

The way you say "come" sounds like "cu", so its "cu"+verb aka kuru.