ak_wolf2024
Registered
- 11 Apr 2023
- 23
- 22
Hi Snow and welcome to the forum.
Have you mastered the reading and writing of hiragana and katakana?
Step two: Have you studied one textbook from cover to cover? If it is a multiple volume series, have you studied all volumes cover to cover?
I appreciate the support.Yes. Start immediately. Ask us lots of questions about things in the textbook. Give us frequent updates as to how it is coming along.
What is your first question about something in your textbook? (There are many Japanese speakers on this forum who would be more than happy to answer your questions.)
I wasn't hanging things on walls or flipping through flash cards, but I was scribbling down kanji in my spare time, and counting each kanji I had memorized, until it got to the point where the new kanji I was learning were just combinations of roots and radicals from kanji I had already learned, so I stopped counting. It wasn't a very methodical approach, but it sort of worked. Well, it worked until I realized I still couldn't read a newspaper or follow the Japanese subtitles in movies. That took a few more years of practice.
I don't recommend Google translate, because if Google is doing your thinking for you, it's not going to help you. I don't recommend picking up random manga and trying to translate them, because manga often uses slangy expressions and contractions, and its best to learn proper phrasing and expressions first, and then learn how to deconstruct those depending on your audience.
I highly recommend an analogue approach to learning Japanese, which is: use textbooks or materials developed for Japanese schoolkids, so that you can build a proper foundation. There are a many paths to achieving Japanese proficiency, however, so find one that works for you, that you can stick with.
One thing that I did a lot and still do to some extent is have an inner dialog. Hold conversations in my head or think about what I want to say. It helps me realize what I may not know and then I look it up. I use this for both grammar and vocabulary.
Snow,
In order to answer your question about Anki decks, I want to ask some questions. Do you work better with paper decks or digital decks on a PC or iPhone screen?
Also, the way to drill kanji (if drilling is what you want to do) is to get 3 or 4 people together and play a kanji game. Would you rather do this in person or online?
I am not familiar with Anki decks. Can you download Anki decks with all 2100+ joyo kanji?
There's a really funny YouTube channel I watch of someone playing minecraft. Or I might watch a drama/anime. I have a ton of raw manga, I even have some books that are in Japanese that teach you Japanese.@snowwolf_212 welcome aboard, and sounds like you're off to a good start
Along with studying to gain a logical understanding of Japanese, it's important for you to expose yourself to as much Japanese as possible, so you can acclimate to the cadence of the spoken language. Listen to as much as you can, see what you can understand, and see if you can write down what you can't and find it in the dictionary to make sure you're hearing it correctly (and get some writing practice). Use plugins to see multiple sets of subtitles so you can check your understanding in real time, and get practice reading Japanese while you listen along.
So, what kind of Japanese media have you been consuming? Music? Movies (fiction? TV shows (news/variety)? Youtube channels?
It's deceptively simple. If you try to achieve the fluency of an adult with the knowledge of honorific and humble language and being able to switch and know exactly how and when to use them you'll find it's not simple at all. But the good news is that even if you talk like an elementary school student or a youtuber everybody will give you a pass because you're not expected to be that fluent and situationally aware.Only real hard part about reading japanese is all the kanji, besides that it's a very basic simple language IME.
how that would work, anki drilling with 3 or 4 people.
I am actually making my own deck from scratch
it's less physical resources
deceptively simple XD maybe that's right though. japanese people get really impressed with just a little bit of japanese you know! I spoke to one jap over a language exchange app on the phone and he thought I was REALLY good, but I barely know that much XD XD I mean enough to feel comfortable.It's deceptively simple. If you try to achieve the fluency of an adult with the knowledge of honorific and humble language and being able to switch and know exactly how and when to use them you'll find it's not simple at all. But the good news is that even if you talk like an elementary school student or a youtuber everybody will give you a pass because you're not expected to be that fluent and situationally aware.
You have some great ideas dude! I like the kanji game idea. Yeah it's zoom that's what it is that replaced skype.The idea is to use cards that kanji are printed on and play a game. It would require cards with a kanji written/printed on one side and info about that kanji written on the back side of the card. Pull one card from the deck, with the kanji side up. Each person gets one point for giving the meaning(s) (some kanji have many meanings), onyomi pronunciation(s), kunyomi pronunciation(s), and giving kanji combinations where that kanji is used. Whoever gets the most points wins. (I do not see how this could be done any way but with paper cards.) It would be necessary to note which are kanji 1-100, 101-200, 201-300, and only use cards with kanji that all players have studied (have written at least ten times). Or group them into first grade kanji, second grade kanji, etc. This is a very effective way to study kanji, and is a lot more fun than just writing columns and columns of kanji by yourself.
I think Skype still works just fine, but I think the latest is Zoom.
Anything works as long as you are writing out each stroke of each kanji. Just cutting and pasting kanji computer images is a huge mistake.
I don't think a pack of blank cards is that expensive, and it is a good investment in your Japanese studies. I also strongly recommend buying a set of printed kanji flash cards similar to the ones in this link. Professionally printed cards like this were a big help back when I was learning kanji.
Vintage Box of Japanese / English Flash Cards - Etsy
Lovely little lot of Japanese / English flash cards in their little cardboard storage box. I havent counted the cards - I would estimate around 300. I have pictured just a few of the cards to give you an idea. Good vintage condition. Some minor age wear but no rips, tears or bends. The cardswww.etsy.com
Another thing about buying blank paper cards and writing all of these things out by hand is that you will learn a lot by doing it.
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I want to give some advice. Divide your study of Japanese into three areas: (1) learning kanji, (2) learning "textbook Japanese" or "good Japanese", and (3) learning conversational Japanese (which, when you have learned the basics, you can move right into listening and speaking practice). (A lot of conversational Japanese is not "grammatically correct," for example, the first greeting everyone learns is こんにちは, which doesn't make any sense when analyzed from a grammatical point of view, but it is what it is, and we have to learn all of the conversational structures.) When you sit down to study Japanese, decide which of these three you will study and only study that one area, do not try to to study 2 or 3 at the same time.
When you are ready to start practicing listening and speaking Japanese, let me know. I have lots of ideas.
Are you ready to do a language exchange, in person or online, with a Japanese person? The way it works is, you spend 20 minutes helping them with their English, then you spend 20 minutes with them helping you with your Japanese. I have lots of ideas on what to do during a language exchange. (I also have ideas on how you can practice listening and speaking Japanese with your English-speaking friends.)
Yes it's a trope. The minute you say はじめまして you'll hear 日本語が上手ですね。Btw, while it's a natural abbreviation, "jap" has a history as a derogatory term and best to avoid.deceptively simple XD maybe that's right though. japanese people get really impressed with just a little bit of japanese you know! I spoke to one jap over a language exchange app on the phone and he thought I was REALLY good, but I barely know that much XD XD I mean enough to feel comfortable.
Avoid jap gotcha! Kinda like 外人 huhYes it's a trope. The minute you say はじめまして you'll hear 日本語が上手ですね。Btw, while it's a natural abbreviation, "jap" has a history as a derogatory term and best to avoid.
Sort of but it was worse way back when. Check the poster in this article.Avoid jap gotcha! Kinda like 外人 huh
I actually do langauge exchange daily with the apps Tandem and HiNative. Are these options you would be recommending or did you have other ideas?
I read somewhere newspapers and stuff use beyond the 2000 kanji?
Kinda like 外人 huh