- 24 May 2004
- 1,033
- 12
- 48
Since I've found out I want to be the best and learn japanese the correct way, and be the best speaker/writer/and reader of it I can be, I've decided since grammar is fundamental to understanding the language (especially later on I've heard) I've decided to get a better understanding of it. I bought Japanese Demistified by Eriko Sato. It seems like a great book, even better than my "Dummies" book. I heard good things about its grammar when I did some research on inexpensive grammar books.
It's comprehensive I think , it has kanji, and kana writings as well as written in romaji. I'm surprised I'm able to understand written japanese at mid beginner level, but with speaking and especially writing I'm severely lacking. I'm even more lacking in understanding grammar, fundamentally and every aspect of it and how all the particles relate and don't relate.
Also the book has a good vocabulary, dictionary, glossory and index as well as a test after grammical usage and of each chapter, as well as writing excerises, speaking ones and reading ones as well and also has a final quiz of everything you've learned all together as a final close-book test at the end. I really like it.
With the Japanese for busy kana workbook people I was given by a member here, Japanese For Busy people (kana verison.Vol1. It's a good book,I disliked how simple it was and lack of grammical structures, but it has a great CD For speaking it, and listening) and my Japanese Demistified, and i got an app for my android on the go called JA Sensei. Even the free verison is pretty nice. It teaches you proper stroke order on writing and all kana and alot of kanji. It even lets you draw the kana/kanji and quizzes you on proper drawing usage, and grades you. I try to match each kanji/kana up exactly to the drawing, making sure the proportions as correct as I can get and taking careful note of stroke order (I heard thats important).
I learned how to write Miru (to see) and have it memorized and well down pat, and the stroke order. I also know how to wrote dog (inu). That's it for kanji. I have only 1,800 more to go! heh. But I have all the hiragana (almost all) down pat now with writing, I think I write them OK, but it's hard without a proper teacher to guide me. All I can do is take note of stroke order and right each one as well as I can according to the ones I see in the kana workbook. I had a japanese friend take a look at them through a webcam, he said I drew them well though. I also posted a few images of them here on the Japanese section. Also I made a friend on Lang 8. I post my japanese there (even though its flawed grammically, most of the time they understand it). I made a friend and we can talk on skype through my phone for free. She lives in japan and is learning English. I can't wait to talk to her in japanese, and we can teach each other. She's learning alot like me. It may be tough to communicate everything i want to say in japanese. But I'll give it a shot. I think it's good to be able to speak and hear it. I don't get to much.
Also, I had a question, and wanted to see if I understood the grammical usage properly of "wa" or as written "ha".
I know it's prounouced wa and written as "ha."
I always thought of this just as a particle to introduce new things. But once I read this book, I realized why I didn't understand it right. Because the book mentions, when you're already talking about a topic, you use the particle "wa" to bring up NEW information on that topic, that isn't know. This makes more sense to me for some reason.
For example,
Nihongo ga benkyou shimasu.
(I'm) studying japanese.
Mai gatsu wa benkyou shimasu.
Every month (I'm) studying japanese.
I don't know if I wrote the second sentence correct or not, but my point is (hopefully I wrote it correct)
that (wa) at least my understanding is, it seems to be used when the topic (japanese) is already known, and I want to bring up something new about that topic. So maybe in the first example, I'm studying japanese. But in the second, perhaps the new info is that Every month, I'm studying it. So I may use "wa" right? Because it's new information about a already known topic.
At least thats what the book said, it used different examples, which are correct, when mine most often isn't.
I wish I could get this grammar down. I know I can and will do it with time, I'm not giving up on this, until I understand it, even then i won't give up after, but it's frusterating. It's really frusterating. I feel I can never get it right. Sometimes I do, but alot I don't.
Thank you!
Kevin (Goldcoinlover /GCL)
Maichi
It's comprehensive I think , it has kanji, and kana writings as well as written in romaji. I'm surprised I'm able to understand written japanese at mid beginner level, but with speaking and especially writing I'm severely lacking. I'm even more lacking in understanding grammar, fundamentally and every aspect of it and how all the particles relate and don't relate.
Also the book has a good vocabulary, dictionary, glossory and index as well as a test after grammical usage and of each chapter, as well as writing excerises, speaking ones and reading ones as well and also has a final quiz of everything you've learned all together as a final close-book test at the end. I really like it.
With the Japanese for busy kana workbook people I was given by a member here, Japanese For Busy people (kana verison.Vol1. It's a good book,I disliked how simple it was and lack of grammical structures, but it has a great CD For speaking it, and listening) and my Japanese Demistified, and i got an app for my android on the go called JA Sensei. Even the free verison is pretty nice. It teaches you proper stroke order on writing and all kana and alot of kanji. It even lets you draw the kana/kanji and quizzes you on proper drawing usage, and grades you. I try to match each kanji/kana up exactly to the drawing, making sure the proportions as correct as I can get and taking careful note of stroke order (I heard thats important).
I learned how to write Miru (to see) and have it memorized and well down pat, and the stroke order. I also know how to wrote dog (inu). That's it for kanji. I have only 1,800 more to go! heh. But I have all the hiragana (almost all) down pat now with writing, I think I write them OK, but it's hard without a proper teacher to guide me. All I can do is take note of stroke order and right each one as well as I can according to the ones I see in the kana workbook. I had a japanese friend take a look at them through a webcam, he said I drew them well though. I also posted a few images of them here on the Japanese section. Also I made a friend on Lang 8. I post my japanese there (even though its flawed grammically, most of the time they understand it). I made a friend and we can talk on skype through my phone for free. She lives in japan and is learning English. I can't wait to talk to her in japanese, and we can teach each other. She's learning alot like me. It may be tough to communicate everything i want to say in japanese. But I'll give it a shot. I think it's good to be able to speak and hear it. I don't get to much.
Also, I had a question, and wanted to see if I understood the grammical usage properly of "wa" or as written "ha".
I know it's prounouced wa and written as "ha."
I always thought of this just as a particle to introduce new things. But once I read this book, I realized why I didn't understand it right. Because the book mentions, when you're already talking about a topic, you use the particle "wa" to bring up NEW information on that topic, that isn't know. This makes more sense to me for some reason.
For example,
Nihongo ga benkyou shimasu.
(I'm) studying japanese.
Mai gatsu wa benkyou shimasu.
Every month (I'm) studying japanese.
I don't know if I wrote the second sentence correct or not, but my point is (hopefully I wrote it correct)
that (wa) at least my understanding is, it seems to be used when the topic (japanese) is already known, and I want to bring up something new about that topic. So maybe in the first example, I'm studying japanese. But in the second, perhaps the new info is that Every month, I'm studying it. So I may use "wa" right? Because it's new information about a already known topic.
At least thats what the book said, it used different examples, which are correct, when mine most often isn't.
I wish I could get this grammar down. I know I can and will do it with time, I'm not giving up on this, until I understand it, even then i won't give up after, but it's frusterating. It's really frusterating. I feel I can never get it right. Sometimes I do, but alot I don't.
Thank you!
Kevin (Goldcoinlover /GCL)
Maichi