I'm on lunch break again - Japanese study time!
I'm sometimes asked, is it really necessary to master Japanese in order to live in Japan? Is all the effort needed to learn Hiragana, Katakana and kanji really worth it?
Well, the answer to these questions could be yes or no, but your life in Japan will be very different depending on what you believe the answers are.
This past week I have restarted actively studying Japanese, and much of my spare time spent on the subway or walking to the shops is now spent with my iPhone, studying Japanese.
Why? Well, it's just over a year since I graduated from university (BA in Japanese Studies) and returned to Japan, and last week when watching a video I recorded last year I was shocked to notice that my Japanese is no better now than it was then.
The thing is, it is perfectly possible to live in Japan for years, and still not be able to speak Japanese. I have a friend who was here for 30 years, and when they left, they still couldn't manage much more than a 'konnichiwa'. They had chosen not to learn Japanese, and here in Tokyo it just wasn't an issue - so yes, you can live in Japan without any Japanese ability.
When I first came to Japan I spoke no Japanese. I lived with my girlfriend at the time who spoke perfect English. I was an English teacher. I hung out with friends who spoke English. I didn't need Japanese.
Five years later I returned to Japan once more - but this time I could understand and speak Japanese. And you know what? It was a different place! Gone was all the mystery and not understanding conversations that were happening all around me. I felt a part of what was going on. There were so many more opportunities. I could make so many more friends. I didn't have to rely on someone else translating for me.
Deciding to learn Japanese was the best thing I ever did.
It really has changed my life, and I would encourage anyone who is thinking of coming to Japan / living in Japan to learn it. Simple Japanese really isn't all that difficult. Hiragana and Katakana can both be learnt within a week. Whilst kanji may seem scary at first, they are actually amazing, incredibly helpful in letting you guess the meanings of words and phrases that you may never have seen before (although it's normal to have a love-hate relationship with them!) There are some great text books out there if you don't have the chance to meet Japanese people face-to-face, and of course now we have online tools like Edufire and Smart.fm, which make it a lot easier.
On the iPhone and Mac I'm using Anki (in the photo), a great spaced-repetition app that helps you learn new words and phrases really quickly.
I have so much more to learn, it's a never-ending effort, but there are so many benefits - it's all worth it.
So how about you? How do you study Japanese? Have you got any advice for others? Would love to hear!
Joseph
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Web Developer
http://kungfudiscomonkey.net
Anki is a good program and one I try to use every day. I really should try to pick up some manga or something that I could read. That could probably make studying more interesting.
Permanent Japanophile
I studied Japanese during university times by joining an interest club, we called it the Japanese Language Society. Didn't learn that much but did manage to pass JLPT level 4 with those. Just before my graduation I followed the club members on a homestay trip to Japan for a week, amazingly I could understand parts of their daily conversation although I cannot speak much of it. :D What fun!
Now I'm working full time without using any Japanese at work but I maintained my studies at a local Language school, will be taking JLPT 3 end of this year.
It is really nice to be able to read the little phrases and funny comments in Japanese within those translated manga as they sometimes do not translate every single thing. :D
I'm lovin' it!
Student
http://yellowguy89.blogspot.com/
ba-ra-ba-ba ba! im lovin' it!
as for me, I'm studying in my free time with smart.fm and anki as well.
Now...if only there was a place where they taught japanese for free.... >_>
I took classes at an evening school in the spring, and continuing that program from next week. It's been pretty basic so far, so I know the hiragana, some words and a little grammar.
over the summer if been playing around with the "Japanese Coach" for the DS.
master of woodchop
http://www.bookindian.wordpress.com
got "Japanese Coach" for my iPod Touch :D
It's a pretty decent program.. I'm looking for something different for my touch. I've got Kana Flip on it, but I don't really like it that much, it feels a bit random and unorganized.
CompE student who likes to draw mechs
http://plasmahawk.com
Danny, you should start up a section of the site to help those who want to move to Japan to learn Japanese! Perhaps something like livemocha but with more useful Japanese lessons or, heck, throw up a daily Learn some Japanese post. It's always hard to learn a new language unless you're immersed in it. Maybe a Japanese for newbies forum would help?
Software Consultant
http://kamlau.com
ah, good idea, I can definitely use some help and positive reinforcement :)
http://otakuposts.blogspot.com/
not every article is written by Danny here. you need to check out the author names too ^^
seen this mistake made by many peeps here.
CompE student who likes to draw mechs
http://plasmahawk.com
That makes so much sense now because 1.) I thought Danny already knew Japanese pretty well and 2.) posting this often with so much text would mean he wouldn't have any time to do actual work!
Podcaster and tech-otaku
http://www.tamegoeswild.com
I meant to say - Danny has a great article on how he learnt Japanese at
http://www.dannychoo.com/post/en/668/Learn+Japanese.html
check it out!
Noto fanatic
http://wifi.animeblogger.net
I took classes in University...and will continue to take them, but it only covers up until JLPT2 level...
Also, playing Weiβ Schwarz helps a little in making me read the card abilities, though it's usually the same few things ^_^;
student
http://zephi-san.deviantart.com/
It was great going to Japan and being able to say what I wanted, and also understand the language.
Being able to read signs was a huge help too.
I was unable to continue studying Japanese at uni this semester, but I'm still practicing by:
Reading Japanese... by going to Japanese websites and reading Japanese Tweets.
Listening... by watching anime.
Speaking Japanese... is still my weak point as I don't get much of a chance to speak it with others.
Kanji takes a LONG time to learn, but it definitely pays off, can learn Chinese in the process lol. I can read more kanji than I can write it... because I use Perapera-kun firefox addon to read a lot of Kanji which I don't know, and eventually I can identify it by memorising some radicals in it.
Magi 2nd network assistant
My brother is fluent in chinese mandarin, everytime I come up with a kanji reading he doesn't know too much and asks for the ideogram. Much of the time he gets it right, and I hear all the time "it's the same hanzi in chinese" or "it's the traditional writing for that...".
If you know chinese to some extent japanese kanjis are easy.
He lives and works in China, so he has some advantage for revising the language :)
http://xcomprandomness.co.uk/
For the majority of Kanji, yes - They have the same meaning or at least classic meaning. But not all are... No offence but you could ask your brother what Kanjis such as daijoubu (大丈夫), sasuga (流石), benkyou (勉強) and takusan (沢山) means.
Bottom line, don't rely on Chinese unless the context seems right. Should always double-check just in case ;)
Magi 2nd network assistant
None taken, if I can make him a jackaxx nothing ain't too good!
He knows them because he studies japanese as well, he wants to take jlpt3 this year (although he didn't know sasuga. If you have others to ask :) don't refrain please).
As a mean of revenge I asked a japanese friend to write the kanjis for "rose", embarassed he had to check on his mobile phone. Life is wonderful! :)
I've started the free trial of japanesepod101, so far I like it.
http://otakuposts.blogspot.com/
I use Anki too but on windows. still trying the grade 4 kanji (on and off instead of everyday) and some good grade 4 vocabulary too. i'm searching for some free software where i can just type or draw in the kanji and learn what it is. I come across a lot of new kanji everyday watching anime or reading some raw manga online (can read only the kana) and dont know what they mean and can only guess.
readthekanji.com is a good place for beginners. quite hard if you are not familiar with vocabulary though.
http://www.stefkov.com/
Initiall I used 'Kanji Flip' in the ipod. I sat down with it and learned a few kanji.
Then I found 'Japanese' made by codefromtokyo. It's the most expensive ipod app I've bought but it's brilliant. A full dictionary plus it has the features of Kanji Flip. I'm waiting until I get an iphone before properly using my apps, carrying around my ipod touch became tiresome.
I've been wondering for a while now whether I want to learn Japanese at University or learn something else so I get a technical degree and then have Japanese as a side thing. It's a tough decision and I was wondering if anyone could help?
http://otakuposts.blogspot.com/
get a tech degree. you can learn japanese after college too.
Mad scientist clone (my first account broke)
I agree. You should pick an education which gives you the needed skills for the kind of jobs you want to do. Learning a language can be done outside the education system while getting a technical degree is tricky outside the educational system -_^
Also while a technical degree has little to do with languages you can pick foreign languages as extra/optional classes (at least I could). My problem was that they added Japanese and made a poster about the option about it and I saw this new poster when I went to an administration office because I had finished all my classes. Talk about poor timing :P
I once searched the language department for Japanese because I needed credit for a little more, but I couldn't find any fitting technical classes, which fitted my schedule. Due to lack of Japanese I considered another foreign language, which were (technical) English, but I decided against it. After all I find my English skills quite decent considering it's a foreign language and I didn't want to write essays all the time.
As for learning Japanese now. Well I went to Japan Times and they use google ads and it picked an ad for a Japanese language school in my own backyard (well compared to the size of the world everything found randomly on the internet within 30-45 minutes commute time is in your back yard). I didn't know this school, but now I consider using it eventually ^^
Professional geek
http://www.npng.org/blog
Seconded. "Japanese" app is just wonderful. Probably the best thing you can put your money into if you're learning Japanese and own an iPhone.
IT Business Analyst + Test Analyst + Undergrad Uni Student
http://www.crepuscular.asia
no, I dont think so... quite a few Japanese friends of mine said, even though they had never took the JLPT before, but they had seen the questions, JLPT2 is already pretty hard...
and if you look @ the JLPT required to study @ a Japanese uni as a foreigner, they only require you to pass JLPT2, even for top Japanese university like Todai
hmm...i trying it..
Blue Suit Sapien with White Helmet
http://conrad501.wordpress.com/
surprizingly, i only watched tons of fansub anime (repeatedly over some phrases), read a couple of dictionaries, listen to tons of JPOP and asked people who spoke japanese for a little help and the result was i managed to survive my 10 days trip to Tokyo.... who would have thought of that eh....?? :P ...but unfortunately reading the restaurant menu was out of the question....hehehehe
Student
http://www.tabetaiii.wordpress.com
I study it by reading my senior highschool japanese textbooks+Kanji cards from White rabbit press
I plan to go to a japanese language school to converse with other peoples
advice to others, learn a few kanji or even one a day!
Student
http://payuki.deviantart.com/
I did play some game to learn basic japanese signs, katakana i think.
You were a warrior going to rescue the princess, and in battles you had to write the righ pronouniation of the katakana. Fun but I dont remember the name of the game :p
I want to learn enough to understand a game. Is it hiragana in games? lol I dont know much ^w^
NEET
http://austrianotaku.com/
Always wanted to learn Japanese, but I'm a lazy guy. Tried some Apps and such but what bugs me is that all of them are English-Japanese. Maybe it's just me but learning a difficult, completely different language via a foreign language looks little bit weird too me^^
Does anyone know any good German Japanese-learning apps?
http://xcomprandomness.co.uk/
I used to pick up new vocabulary by translating my favourite songs or reading short articles. But the main method is finding penpals and as words and patterns are repeated, I just naturally remember them... Fairly much how I learned Kana and Kanji instead of trying to stare and memorise a table.
Of course, if you were in Japan it should be easier being exposed to the langauge everyday, lol.
Pharmacy Assistant
http://www.decentnonsensical.blogspot.com/
I'm learning Japanese on an OTOT (Own Time, Own Target) basis. Learning grammar from Tae Kim's Japanese guide and using Mnemosyne Spaced Repetition software to help me memorized Kanji.
It's a bit frustrating at time especially when people around me keep asking me why am I wasting so much time learning Japanese. But to tell the truth I find it kinda fun. XD
Student, ACG Fans
http://modvisc.blogspot.com
well currently in learning Japanese, but still very basic level.
どエロエロ星人
I wish I knew that I want to live in Japan abit earlier, then I would've taken BA Japanese Studies instead of my current degree... :(
**sigh**
Mad scientist clone (my first account broke)
I agree. While I'm far from able to just sit down and read kanji I do get the idea in the system and at first I hated it, but after thinking about it for a while I have grown to really like it. Not only can you write compact texts (uses less "chars" than hiragana), it's also a more logical system if you ask me. The fact that it discards the sounds of the worlds and describes the meaning means reading it uses a different part of the brain. Not only should it make it easier to read and faster if you are used it it, the different usage of the brain is a "workaround" for dyslexia. I read that Japanese studies reveals that people with dyslexia in Japan have problems with kana, but not kanji and this fascinates me.
As for learning Japanese... well at the moment I do it "for fun", which means I have to give it less priority than some important tasks and I currently I completely stopped trying to learn more (I studies something else). I noticed that since I never really mastered the kana fully (knowing them and mastering them are two different things) and didn't study them on a daily basis I started to forget them again D:
Do anybody have a good idea on how to learn them and remember hiragana for a long time? So far I have been writing them on paper over and over and while it helped to get to know them it's a fairly boring task. While it improved my hiragana handwriting skills it didn't really trigger the right parts of the brain to make the images stay there.
Maybe it's possible, but personally I wouldn't be able to live in a country where I can't turn on the TV and understand what goes on in say the news. Sure if I moved to Japan I wouldn't understand the news, yet I would accept it as I would have a plan on correcting this issue. Also doing anything less than that would be having double standards as I expect people of foreign origin, who settles permanently in my neighbourhood to actually learn the local language on a usable level. A usable level doesn't mean 100% perfect where you can't hear it's a foreigner, but it means that people can go to say a doctor or a dentist without the need of a translator.
Art/Media
http://sgallen.wordpress.com/
Ah yes yes, Smart.fm is a great place to study the basics ans usefull Japanese language. I also tried out LiveMocha.com which takes a different approach to learning Japanese. Not too thorough, I guess most of the juicy bits are in the paid learning materials. :)
Livemocha has some nice learninng materials, but its definitely Smart.fm to start at. :)
I myself self taught learning to read Kana, but I lose hope in writing them ^^; I need to learn to structure sentences . . . grammar and the like. ^_^
I use Mnemosyne for my language studies. What I really needed was a way to learn on the go with my iPhone/iPod touch, so I decided to write a Mnemosyne compatible app called iSRS. Check out the links below and let me know what you think.
iSRS Lite
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=332350042&mt=8
iSRS
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=332352818&mt=8
Also, for learners of Japanese and other languages, I definitely recommend checking out the blog All Japanese All The Time (http://www.alljapaneseallthetime.com).
JR. College Student
http://npc.talkingincircles.net/
Well this really motivates me to learn it now, I've always been on the fence but I think I'm 100% going to take Japanese next semester. Bring it on!