Learning Japanese

[TheLastKnight]

I'm trying to learn Japanese. I took the beginner courses in college so I can pronounce all Hirigana and some Katakana. But, the Chinese Kanji is just beyond me.

It's one of the hardest foreign languages to learn that I know of. Chinese would also be extremely difficult. I'm starting to recognize some words and grammar they use in Japanese anime, but I'm obviously no where near fluent.

If you learned Japanese, how long did it take you and what was your experience like? Or, if you're still learning it like I am, are you taking classes or learning from some program? Which do you think would be better? Discuss what your feelings are towards the language and the difficulty or easiness you've had so far.

 

[iWin4Prep]

I've tried. Quit. Tried again. Quit again. When I have more time I will go at it with more passion. What kind of methods do you use to learn Japanese besides school?

 

[Nyangoro]

Been studying for about four years now. Currently working towards JLPT Level 2 this December. Went to Japan this summer and was able to communicate just fine (not perfectly, of course, but I could understand and be understood). I studied a little by myself senior year in high school, and have studied it for three years in college (my university actually has the second largest Japanese program, next to the state university). Beyond those classes, you can find a lot of programs on iOS or Android devices. In particular, I like to use a program called Obenkyo. It's got a lot of kanji and vocab that you can study, organized by either JLPT level or Japanese grade level. You can find Tae Kim's Japanese grammar guide on their as well, along with number and particle practice.

First, before going any further, get katakana down just like you did with hiragana. Getting those two syllabaries down is essential. Japan has implemented a ton of loan words into their language, so knowing katakana is just as important as hiragana.

Yes, kanji is a bitch and seems particularly daunting at first. But to an extent, it actually gets easier the more you learn. Kanji isn't random. They're all put together with similar parts (radicals), and each of those parts has a meaning. Figuring those little things out as you go will begin to make it easier to remember them beyond rote memorization (though, obviously, that's still a big part of it).

Ultimately, though Japanese is definitely a challenging language to learn, it's just like any other language. You've got to keep at it.

One last note, be careful when using anime to study Japanese. You can pick up some vocabulary and grammar concepts from it, but Japanese dramas are better for learning how Japanese people actually speak the language. Anime are Japanese cartoons, after all; and while the diversity of content is greater in anime than in American cartoons, the manner of speaking between the two is actually pretty similar. Both use an exaggerated style of speaking a lot of the time; and though anime that more accurately represents natural Japanese speech exists, Japanese dramas are a much more reliable means to that end.

 

[TheLastKnight]

That's awesome. I'll try out that program^ Thanks for the advice. How was your (and anyone else who's been there) experience in Japan?

I use something on my ipad, I think it's called Kana (My ipad is dead, can't check if that's the real name). I also use a dictionary on my ipad for vocabulary.

And yeah I don't use anime to study it at all. I learned that lesson long ago. You're right, it uses very exaggerated language and probably some Japanese slang.

 

[Nyangoro]

Japan was great. Would definitely not be opposed to living there (Tokyo's a bit too much though). Got lucky though. We had some great people showing us around. Without them, we would have only seen maybe a third of the things that we did.

 

[Zephyr]

So far I've taken three semesters of Japanese in college since they don't offer anymore higher levels. I do seek to take more in the future in other institutions. I've also done a lot of independent studying with plenty of resources along with the translations I've been doing for KHInsider. I personally think of Japanese and rephrase the misconception as "It's more time consuming than it is difficult". While it is still difficult, don't trick yourself to think it's more harder than it actually is. Try to relax and take it positively.

Spoiler Show

Typing in Japanese
Google IME

Reading Japanese News with Furigana
NEWS WEB EASY

Grammar Guide
Tae Kim's Guide

Searching Unfamiliar Kanji
http://kanji.sljfaq.org/
Rikaikun for Google Chrome
Rikaichan for Firefox

Searching up Kanji Strokes
RomajiDesu

Japanese Dictionary
Denshi Jisho

Learning Philosophy/General
All Japanese All The Time
Tofugu

There may be more useful resources besides these so if anyone knows more, please do share like Nyangoro's Obenkyo.

 

[scubasteve]

no one ever needs to know this language ever

 

[TheLastKnight]

no one ever needs to know this language ever

I'd like to go to Japan someday and speak with other people and not need a translator or anything. So yeah, I kinda need to learn it.

 

[Jadentheman]

I am also learning. It is difficult, but I am getting along. One of my goals is import and fully understand KH3 by the time it comes out.

 

[Checkerboard]

I'm currently learning Japanese from Tae Kim's Complete Guide to Japanese and his grammar guide. Of all the online resources I've looked at, Tae Kim's stuff seems to be the most helpful. As for learning kanji, A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters by Kenneth G. Henshall is a really great reference for all the jouyou kanji.

Immersion is incredibly useful to help you learn faster. Even if you're not living in Japan, it's possible to "immerse" yourself by watching lots of Japanese television, reading books and playing games in Japanese, and by joining Japanese websites or forums.

This coming semester, I plan on taking courses for Japanese in my University and enrolling in the study abroad program. I think it's better to have a lot of different resources for learning something as complicated as a whole other language.

By the way, if you ever need someone to practice conversing with in Japanese, I'd be happy to help with that. I've been looking for someone else who's trying to learn the language so I can get some good practice in.

 

[dlppictures]

Due to varying events, I have to start my third year as a "First-year student" after summer. But I can live with that.
From personal experience, I would say, if at all possible speak with a friend/fellow japanese student. I live in an area, with no one around me, that studies japanese, and as such, I don't have many oppertunities to practice my speaking. And it really makes it quite difficult for me to reply when asked to say something in japanese if it ain't ありがとう、
さよおなら or すみません。

As for kanji. Each person learns differently, but my teacher teaches them through describing what they represent, going through previos incarnations (if any) and gives a whole speach about the history of them.

For instance 中（なか middle） represents the "old chinese" general/leader of army whose company is the middle one of three, where the flag carrier resides.
Or 雪（ゆき snow） made up of 雨 (あめ rain) and 羽 (はね feather.) The top line in rain is the sky. The three lines making a box is clouds. The horisontal line means downward, and the four dots are droplets. Together "Rain". Combining 雨 with 羽 thus gives us raining feathers. Or in this case, "Snow."

That has really helped me to learn the kanji I know. Of course there are instances where exact looking kanji is not the same, like the 日 (にち) in 朝 (あさ) is actually a window, and not a sun. But there would be no way of knowing that without someone telling you.

That has pretty much been my experience with the japanese language.

 

[Jadentheman]

I'm currently learning Japanese from Tae Kim's Complete Guide to Japanese and his grammar guide. Of all the online resources I've looked at, Tae Kim's stuff seems to be the most helpful. As for learning kanji, A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters by Kenneth G. Henshall is a really great reference for all the jouyou kanji.

Immersion is incredibly useful to help you learn faster. Even if you're not living in Japan, it's possible to "immerse" yourself by watching lots of Japanese television, reading books and playing games in Japanese, and by joining Japanese websites or forums.

This coming semester, I plan on taking courses for Japanese in my University and enrolling in the study abroad program. I think it's better to have a lot of different resources for learning something as complicated as a whole other language.

By the way, if you ever need someone to practice conversing with in Japanese, I'd be happy to help with that. I've been looking for someone else who's trying to learn the language so I can get some good practice in.

I like that site and that Obenkyo app too. One issue for me is the kanji/vocab it's so tedious. Though I guess that's the point. I have been watching Super Sentai as my immersion. Maybe some other stuff too and of course the KHFM PS2 games help.

I could use some conversational and writing practice too.

 

[noxious.sunshine]

I've attempted to learn Japanese.

I can -sing- in Japanese... Stuff from X-Japan & Dir en Grey to Hamasaki Ayumi & Utada Hikaru. And I've picked up a few words and phrases.....

Spanish is my 2nd language though. Or to be specific... Mexican. Is my 2nd language. I know how to speak in terms of "being proper", but most of what I know is how Mexican folk speak to each other in everyday life - which is largely slang/relaxed speak. Sure, I learned "Spanish" in high school, but none of it stuck with me really. I learned a lot of it when I moved to Phoenix - my ex's mom and dad spoke no English, so him and his sisters would translate for me and help me learn. Plus I was literally the only white person in a couple of 'hoods that I lived in, so I learned more that way. Then when I moved back to Nashville, I got a job working in ESL helping teach English. I picked up waaay more "Spanish" from my kids and then learned even more working at a Subway in a dominantly Hispanic neighborhood and then I've worked in 2 Mexican restaurants where I was literally the only white person working there and the majority of my co-workers spoke no English - only my managers (one of which is my last ex-boyfriend) spoke fluent English. The other servers know enough to take orders and repeat them back, but that's it.

that was off-topic I guess, but the point is... Immersion is the best way.

Also, Rosetta Stone. We used it in school to help our kids learn English (and how to use a computer), but it really does help.

I speak to my daughter in Spanish.. She -is- 1/2 Mexican after all. My boyfriend is Filipino and speaks Tagalog, which means he kinda knows Spanish, so it works out.

 

[Checkerboard]

I like that site and that Obenkyo app too. One issue for me is the kanji/vocab it's so tedious. Though I guess that's the point. I have been watching Super Sentai as my immersion. Maybe some other stuff too and of course the KHFM PS2 games help.

I could use some conversational and writing practice too.

Learning each kanji can be frustrating in that way, I agree. It does seem to get easier as you go along, though. I also find it helps to learn kanji by trying to read things in Japanese on the internet and copy-pasting all the characters I don't know into jisho.org (or you can use the rikaichan plugin for firefox for an instant dictionary).

Speaking of using the KH series to help with Japanese, lately I've been watching all the Chain of Memories cutscenes from the 1.5 remix. It kind of makes me wish I had just gone ahead and ordered the Japanese version just for the listening/reading practice.

Feel free to send me a message if you want to practice with me, and this goes for anyone here.

 

[ChibiHearts249]

I took about a year of Japanese in a short class at this random school. I saw the flyer for "every Wednesday, 5-8" and was like, "sure, why not?" I was really the only one of the 10 of us who actually paid attention, and even then I hardly retained any of it. Our sensei used the book "Japanese for Busy People" and it had useful group activities in it. But I only remember basic stuff and Hiragana. We never made it to Katakana. I know how to ask for food and the bathroom tho, so I'm all set in MY book! :3

 

[Annoyance]

To get where I am now which is... alright, and as lazy as I am, I have used the following [and have starred the ones that are actually legit useful]:

Anime [don't do this]
Music lyrics [don't do this either]
*My Japanese Coach on the DS [Which was VERY useful in teaching me the kana and grammar, vocab, etc. It's a very useful tool]
Rosetta Stone [I personally hated it for Japanese]
*Pimsleur audio books [Very good at teaching you grammar and pronouciation but you really need to be prepared to look silly talking back to whatever you're listening to and all if you're around people...]

And then a gigantic collection of Japanese books. I don't know what happened.
*3 Childrens books:
Milo and the Magic Stone [Miro to mahou no ishi] (A story book given by a friend), Words of Study [kotoba no benkyou] (A vocabulary book with labels everywhere and a slight story about bears)
2 hiragana books meant for children with stickers and stuff
A work book to an audio CD I don't have because library sales are like that
Basic Japanese through comics [Not exactly HELPFUL but actually really interesting to read through]
*Japanese for Busy People [cheaper vers. of the genki books, used for classes and stuff]
Japanese for Dummies [doesn't go through characters, just general THIS IS HOW JAPANESE WORKS and it's alright]
*Two Kanji books, I'm more fond of A Guide to Reading & Writing Japanese, and used it to study the kanji that I do know. The other is Essential Kanji
*A Japanese to English Dictionary
*Oxford Japanese Grammar and Verbs
*Another small Japanese grammar book
And then Dirty Japanese [slang is fun.]

Japanese childrens books are actually very useful, and getting a story book like Milo I think is good if you want to start trying to translate simple things and whatnot, but I don't know maybe that's just me. The vocab book I have is only useful once you know hiragana.

But yeah I guess, that's kind of a good shopping list for you to look into?

 

[Moonlight Aqua]

I don't where to start to even learn Japanese... I went to Ebay and Amazon for some books, but Idk which ones are good...

 

[Annoyance]

I don't where to start to even learn Japanese... I went to Ebay and Amazon for some books, but Idk which ones are good...

COUGHCOUGHLOOKATMYPOSTIHAVETOOMANYCOUGHHACKCOUGH

Uh
Also the Genki textbooks are widely proclaimed to be some of the best learning tools.


I also forgot to mention FIND SOMEONE TO SPEAK JAPANESE WITH. Even in text form it's good to practice grammar and junk. I usually can only get away with speaking the nihongo when I get drunk... ._.

 

[SugarToppedLove]

I've been learning since 7th grade, off and on.
Best advice I can give you is this:
1)Find out a comfortable way of learning the language
if that means self teaching or getting a tutor or online.
I wasted 3 years learning it with a bunch of classmates,
when could have done it myself

2)RESOURCES!!!
Genki textbooks are super helpful, I use living languages
books and inter actives, and it's wonderful, try
JapanesePod101.com if your serious

3) Practice
interpals is a site where you can train with Japanese natives,
they will want to learn English and you Japanese it's a great
mix. Anime, music, media are also great

4)Motivation
You can't really learn something if your not motivated to
remember and keep it in your head.

Best of luck ^-^

 

[Deleted member 81617]

Learning the full language would be so kick as-s. I know a few words that I picked up from anime and I think I'd be able to mime the rest of what I was trying to say..haha