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Which is which?

Riette

後輩
3 May 2007
18
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I really want to learn Japanese and I would like to ask, would learning the language first or learning how to read and write make the learning process easier? I can understand the basics of Japanese though, I've been reading some verb and adjective conjugations at the moment. But I never got around to learning how to write it. And, how important is kanji for a beginner?

:oops: Thanks for your help in advance!
 
From what I've been told (also a beginner), first learn hiragana, then katakana, then kanji.
 
She's asking if learning how to speak it is easier than learning how to write it, which it is, but it's a communal effort... Try to learn both... understand how Japanese is pronounced, how it sounds, naturally... Reading is less important at first, for beginers, and a completely different type of type of learning... but in any good coursework--- you will learn a rudimentary approximation of both.
 
a51ts4:
ah. thanks so much! 👍

yukio_michael:

actually, I was asking which one should I learn first. I know that it'll be hard both ways. right now, I'm working on using the language by simple construction of sentences then going on to more complicated ones. So I'll learn how to read and write it later. Is that okay to start? 😅
 
a51ts4:
ah. thanks so much! 👍

yukio_michael:
actually, I was asking which one should I learn first. I know that it'll be hard both ways. right now, I'm working on using the language by simple construction of sentences then going on to more complicated ones. So I'll learn how to read and write it later. Is that okay to start? 😌
You're text is really tiny... I just got my eyes checked, and they're pretty good, but you might want to change that because it makes it a bit difficult to read.

I gathered that you're trying to chose which to learn, but I think it's important to know the difficulties in learning one part of the language (speech) vs another (writing).

It depends on what your purposes are for studying in the first place--- if you are going to be speaking to Japanese speakers, (or say, wanting to learn how to watch anime without the subtitles)* learning to speak Japanese is a natural good start, if you want to learn how to read manga, or how to write to friends in Japanese, learning the writing system is paramount... but again, learning both at the same time really is key... there are a lot of ways to do it that won't overwhelm you.

I recommend getting a good book, like Minna no Nihongo, or Genki, you need something structured... I've seen a lot of people try to learn Japanese in little bits at a time, and the end up being more confused because what they encounter sometimes wasn't introduced to them previously...

A fun way to start learning the basics of Japanese sentence construction, without getting to far into coursework, are with books like Manga the Japanese Way, and both editions of Basic Japanese through comics, all three of these publications are produced by either the people directly behind the magazine Mangajin (now out of print), or in the case of the first book, worked as the translation editor of Mangajin.

Whatever you do learn, you need to use it in order to reinforce it, so if you're learning to speak the language, you need to find ways to practice it, listen to the podcasts at japanesepod101.com (it's free), and try to repeat the way the speakers pronounce it... out loud!

Japanese can be very intimidating, because there is quite a lot to learn, that's why I recommend a structured coursework, which will give you a good understanding of grammar and gradually introduce you to the writing system... Before you start any coursework, I recommend that you learn the hiragana writing system, that's a must.

If you have any more questions, or questions about anything I've said, feel free to ask, and I'll be happy to answer.

*Learning Japanese to watch anime without subtitles is probably going to take you a lot more than just casual learning, as anime is fairly full of colloquialisms, and not-so natural speech--- you won't be using this sort of speech to talk to others in Japanese... But it can be good fun for listening comprehension practice. Basically, you have to devour whatever you can get your hands on. Have fun with studying and you'll learn to love it.
 
:( Ah. Sorry for the text. I have this fetish for small texts.

Okay, so I want to learn Japanese so that I can watch videos or jdoramas without the need for subtitles. And then, I'm hoping that I could translate japanese songs to english. So far, that is my goal.

Oh, and since you suggested a book, I think I'm going to buy one soon. Although I'm not familiar with the titles you mentioned, I'll look for something similar.

And, I took a visit to japanesepod101.com. thanks for the suggestion, i'm starting with the trial. :)

i'll somehow find a way I can practice it, either finding someone to talk to or chat with or probably translating simple english sentences to japanese. is that okay? i can somehow understand the speeches in jdoramas i watch, so it's good. but since i don't really know 'how' it was formed, then as you say, sentence construction first is best!
arigato gozaimasu!
 
I agree with Yukio, a combination of reading and listening works quite well.
When I was in Okinawa I picked up some basketball magazines at a used book store for 100yen each. It's important that the material you're trying to learn from interests you, or it can lead to snooze city (in my case anyway).

It's a little easier to find something fun to watch to help you learn, thanks to Youtube and the like. Hours worth of great shows there :)
 
I agree with Yukio, a combination of reading and listening works quite well.
When I was in Okinawa I picked up some basketball magazines at a used book store for 100yen each. It's important that the material you're trying to learn from interests you, or it can lead to snooze city (in my case anyway).

It's a little easier to find something fun to watch to help you learn, thanks to Youtube and the like. Hours worth of great shows there :)

Thanks! 👍 I watch jdoramas with subtitles, and most of the time i try to understand what they're saying without looking at the subs. :)

I have an idea, since I really don't have anyone, japanese literate, to talk to, maybe you guys can give me simple sentences (for now) then I'll try to translate it in japanese. Just to test what I can do. Ii desu ka?
 
I don't have an IME on this computer. Roumaji instead.

These sentences are not neccessarily ones that would be used every day, or maybe never. But the grammatical structure helps with other sentences that are used.

anata no namae wa nani desu ka.
watashi wa ii desu ne.
ano wa ikura desu ka.
watashi no oniisan wa chotto warui dewa arimasen.
watashi wa kawaii desu.
watashi wa oneesan arimasu
watashi wa kyuuketsuki desu.
watashi wa nippon ikimasu.

Enough for now... Have fun. I will post some more up when I have time.
 
i want to study how to 'construct' the sentences. it's good that it's romaji, i can't read any characters yet. you can post those sentences then how about i try to translate it, and then you correct me if i'm wrong.

anata no namae wa nani desu ka.
-what is your name?

watashi wa ii desu ne.
-i'm fine/good.

ano wa ikura desu ka.
-how much is that?

watashi no oniisan wa chotto warui dewa arimasen.
-(eh, i'm having a hard time on this one ;_;)

watashi wa kawaii desu.
-i am cute

watashi wa oneesan arimasu
-i have a sister (not sure with this one, heh)

watashi wa kyuuketsuki desu.
-i'm a vampire

watashi wa nippon ikimasu.
-i'm going to japan

tell me if there's something wrong. :) this way i can also remember conjugations!
 
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