Japanese vocabulary

I've been studying Japanese grammar for about half a year. I would really like to read Japanese texts and watch shows without subs and stuff but there are too many words that I've not seen or heard before. Are there any suggestions as for what should I do to improve my Japanese vocabulary? I tried learning the joyo kanji but it felt really pointless learning the kunyomi and onyomi for each kanji because in the end i wouldn't know which pronunciation to use when it comes to a word.

Should I carry on with the joyo kanji or should I change to just reading random Japanese texts/songs and check the dictionary for every kanji I don't recognize?

Definitely don't bother with learning readings out of context, or all the joyo kanji. However if you've been studying for six months it's not surprising that you're struggling with reading-- completely normal, you're not doing anything wrong.

I used 漢検 (kanji test for native speakers) material up to a certain point and it was useful for building up vocabulary - the focus is mostly on being able to read/write kanji in appropriate context e.g. given a sentence, can you give the kana readings of the kanji words.

Kanji Odyssey is another good series:
Learning Materials of Japanese Language - Kanji

For reading, I suggest focusing on one area at a time. If you skip around with a lot of random texts, you're likely to hit a new set of vocab each time - e.g. sports manga vs. scifi vs. historical fiction vs the politics section of the newspaper. Pick something you have an interest in and read about that.

You can start with graded readers. The White Rabbit series are easy, though not inexpensive.

I'm working on some parallel text readers now, though it's a bit of a tough slog since the grammatical difficulty is significantly higher than the level 1 and 2 White Rabbit graded readers I was reading. It is gratifying, though, to read actual literature by established authors.

I tend to remember vocabulary far more easily if I read it in context.

WonkoTheSane said:

You can start with graded readers. The White Rabbit series are easy, though not inexpensive.

I'm working on some parallel text readers now, though it's a bit of a tough slog since the grammatical difficulty is significantly higher than the level 1 and 2 White Rabbit graded readers I was reading. It is gratifying, though, to read actual literature by established authors.

I tend to remember vocabulary far more easily if I read it in context.

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Actually learning through reading is a great idea! I would love to learn new vocab through context as well but the price on those white rabbit graded readers is really expensive.. are there any good and inexpensive graded readers out there?

nekojita said:

Definitely don't bother with learning readings out of context, or all the joyo kanji. However if you've been studying for six months it's not surprising that you're struggling with reading-- completely normal, you're not doing anything wrong.

I used 漢検 (kanji test for native speakers) material up to a certain point and it was useful for building up vocabulary - the focus is mostly on being able to read/write kanji in appropriate context e.g. given a sentence, can you give the kana readings of the kanji words.

Kanji Odyssey is another good series:
Learning Materials of Japanese Language - Kanji

For reading, I suggest focusing on one area at a time. If you skip around with a lot of random texts, you're likely to hit a new set of vocab each time - e.g. sports manga vs. scifi vs. historical fiction vs the politics section of the newspaper. Pick something you have an interest in and read about that.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! I think will just pick a specific area and just pick up the words i dont know. As for 漢検, is there a link for it?

Hytherion said:

Actually learning through reading is a great idea! I would love to learn new vocab through context as well but the price on those white rabbit graded readers is really expensive.. are there any good and inexpensive graded readers out there?

Click to expand...

I've found good and inexpensive to be mutually exclusive...

You could look at 'Breaking Into Japanese Literature' and the Read Real Japanese series. Less expensive, but more advanced. I'd honestly recommend starting with graded readers instead. Nothing is as expensive as quitting using a resource out of frustration.

Hytherion said:

As for 漢検, is there a link for it?

Click to expand...

Here's pdf files of all of the actual tests and answers in 2014.
(１級 = level 1(difficult)~１０級 = level 10(easy))
問題例 | 漢検の概要 | 日本漢字能力検定

And you can check your reading(読み) and writing(書き取り) skills more easily in the following site.
【漢検】漢字検定ＷＥＢ問題集

Does anyone recommend on memorising the joyo kanji, commonly used kanji, JLPT kanji etc?

A number of people do say things like that. Frankly: I passed N1 without ever worrying about the joyo or how many kanji I "knew", and I think they're talking ****.

There isn't such a thing as JLPT kanji, btw, the JLPT no longer issues vocab/kanji specifications. If you're doing N2/N1 and you're still learning mostly off lists your priorities are skewed imo.

It depends what you mean by memorise, that's the problem. With 漢検 and similar stuff (I mostly used DS games, like なぞっておぼえる), you quickly learn that it's quite easy to recognise all the kanji in front of you but not the word or how it is read.

It is also important to know what the joyo is: it's a list put together by the Ministry of Education. It is used primarily as a guide for what is taught and tested in school. There are politics that constrain what is put on the list, and what gets left off.

It is not: the X number of most common kanji, the only kanji used in newspapers/books (newspaper publishers actually have their own separate guidelines), or at any point made with foreign learners in mind.

This isn't to say "don't learn kanji". But learning kanji isn't the goal in and of itself, it's a thing you need to do to read/write Japanese. There's definitely a point at which you need to step away from other people's lists and look at what you want to do with the language and what vocab/kanji you personally need to do that stuff.

Hytherion...what are your interests? Hobbies? Things you find fascinating? If you're into a certain manga/anime, then read that manga or find scripts for that anime. If you're into sword making, find a book or text about sword making. Martial arts? ditto.

Yes, there will probably be some very esoteric, topic-specific words that you'll never use, BUT I bet about 80% of what you read and absorb (and remember more easily, because it's a topic that fascinates you) will be useful in everyday Japanese as well.

When I use my textbooks, there's always inevitably a vocab section in each chapter. I have a flashcard app on my iPad (can be on a phone too I guess). I create separate sets for words - one side the word in kanji, the other side the hiragana reading and meaning. With persistent practice, I've learned and have begun to recognize SO many words. It is time consuming, but at my best, I do those sets daily, sitting down to not only test myself but also write the word repeatedly.

This way, I have learned MANY kanji/words and gotten more confident with vocabulary over a very short period of time.

I agree with above posters that trying to memorize kanji and pronunciations is futile. But learning words in-context goes far.