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[ys45]

Hey guys I came across that Ken Cannon guy on Youtube who sell Japanese course for $500 (Japanese through Anime) .
While I have no intention to pay for that, I was curious about what do you guys think about this ? Is it working or is it a scam ?

I know there is no easy way to learn Japanese and it take dedication and lot of study (which is what I'm currently doing)

 

[Kansoku]

- Find some flashcard program and drill vocab decks. Use Anki to drill common, practical, everyday vocabulary. There are decks that focus on this, right?

Yep, Anki's Core 2k/6k Deck is great.

Also, I would suggest music as well. It's been helpful to me since I'm always listening to music. And they have plenty of different vocab.

 

[justjustin]

Yep, Anki's Core 2k/6k Deck is great.

Also, I would suggest music as well. It's been helpful to me since I'm always listening to music. And they have plenty of different vocab.

Thanks for the deck suggestion. I've never used Anki before but I'll see if I can get it all up and running. And music? Sounds good to me, I'll explore that too. I think I'm at least at the level where I won't get tripped up or form bad habits based on lyrics' poetic nature.

 

[urfe]

News is the best way to learn vocab IMO.

Amazon.co.jp user reviews are also great for specialized Japanese on things you're interested in.

 

[eot]

I think 右 and 左 are different due to the direction of the third stroke.

That makes a lot of sense and matches with all the examples I know so far.

Does anyone have tips for actually practicing the grammar you learn? Besides doing textbook activities. Was thinking maybe of writing a short simple diary or just putting grammar forms into a smaller flashcard deck and making myself use them...

I am reading a bit, but I was thinking more about the usage of stuff

You can always try translating random sentences from news, music, movies, whatever, you'll never run out of those.

 

[darkside31337]

So I just picked up an iPad for the first time this week and was wondering if there were any useful apps on iOS? Bought the Remember the Kanji app which kind of sucks and definitely not optimized for an iPad but I've been doing RtK everyday so its more of a tip jar type of thing. Still the stroke animations are super useful and having them along with stories on hand at all times is great too.

Also downloaded the Tae Kim Grammar app which is fantastic. And its free too. Just wondering if anyone had any general recommendations.

 

[nny]

So I just picked up an iPad for the first time this week and was wondering if there were any useful apps on iOS? Bought the Remember the Kanji app which kind of sucks and definitely not optimized for an iPad but I've been doing RtK everyday so its more of a tip jar type of thing. Still the stroke animations are super useful and having them along with stories on hand at all times is great too.

Also downloaded the Tae Kim Grammar app which is fantastic. And its free too. Just wondering if anyone had any general recommendations.

There is imiwa?, fantastic (free) dictionary.

 

[CornBurrito]

It hits you at some point that "starting" isn't some grand hours-long thing you need to commit to mentally. Learning to read (kana and kanji) is so tedious and sessions can be as short and effortless as you want. Pick up Anki for 10 minutes every day, you may not make crazy progress but it's still a thousand times better than sitting and waiting until you're "ready to go at it".

You just need to get to that point where you can take a glimpse at one of your interests (say, one a page of a manga or a video of a game) and it's smooth sailing from there.

Can I consider actively listening (as in trying to pick out words I don't know, listening for grammar structures I know) to Japanese shows a form of practice?

 

[eot]

I saw this example sentence:
何を着て行こうかな
translated as "what shall I wear?", but I'm confused about the 行 part.
Wouldn't 何を着るかな on its own be "what shall I wear?"?
行こう is "let's go" right?

Does the volitional form apply to the first verb as well the way tense does, for example would:
食べて行こう
be, let's eat and (then) go?
Because 食べて行った is "I ate and went" (or something).

I don't know if I'm even making sense at this point.

 

[I'm an expert]

hint: 何を着るかな - why would this be "what shall i wear" when there's no "shall"

 

[CornBurrito]

How do you say "in exchange" in Japanese?

Ex. "My roommate took me out to dinner. In exchange, I treated him to breakfast."

 

[Kilrogg]

How do you say "in exchange" in Japanese?

Ex. "My roommate took me out to dinner. In exchange, I treated him to breakfast."

代わりに　（かわりに）？

ルームメイトが夕食に連れて行ってくれた。その代わりに、私が朝食をごちそうしてあげた。
or
ルームメイトが夕食に連れて行ってくれた代わりに、私が朝食をごちそうしてあげた。

My Japanese is a bit rusty though, so feel free to correct me wherever I may have made a mistake.

 

[CornBurrito]

代わりに　（かわりに）？

ルームメイトが夕食に連れて行ってくれた。その代わりに、私が朝食をごちそうしてあげた。
or
ルームメイトが夕食に連れて行ってくれた代わりに、私が朝食をごちそうしてあげた。

My Japanese is a bit rusty though, so feel free to correct me wherever I may have made a mistake.

From googling around, it seems that 代わりに is closer to "instead of" in meaning.

Ie. "In exchange for a red sweater, I bought a blue one."

That's not quite the meaning I am going for. I am more going for "because he does X for me, I return the favor by doing Y".

 

[Kilrogg]

From googling around, it seems that 代わりに is closer to "instead of" in meaning.

Ie. "In exchange for a red sweater, I bought a blue one."

That's not quite the meaning I am going for. I am more going for "because he does X for me, I return the favor by doing Y".

Well, there's 引き換えに, but it seems more formal to me. I'm going with my gut feeling though, so I may be wrong.

Also, 代わりに means instead of most of the time, but I get some results for "in exchange" too, including example sentences that match what you're asking.

Anyone wanna weigh in?

 

[I'm an expert]

here's a tip, unless you're googling in japanese and reading actual written japanese to derive meanings from, you are doing yourself a huge disfavor by hoping you get an exact translation of something you want. by now im sure you realize japanese<->english just doesnt work like that. even if you take jim breen definitions at face value youre going to get shit that just isn't practically correct. kilrogg answered your question.

 

[CornBurrito]

here's a tip, unless you're googling in japanese and reading actual written japanese to derive meanings from, you are doing yourself a huge disfavor by hoping you get an exact translation of something you want. by now im sure you realize japanese<->english just doesnt work like that. even if you take jim breen definitions at face value youre going to get shit that just isn't practically correct. kilrogg answered your question.

Well yes I know. I'm not proficient enough to google in Japanese and understand entire grammar explanations written in Japanese.

 

[I'm an expert]

I didnt mean grammar explanations in Japanese, or any grammar explanations/definitions/anything like that at all. Just see how the stuff you want to learn about is actually used in a normal, native context and learn from that.

 

[CornBurrito]

I didnt mean grammar explanations in Japanese, or any grammar explanations/definitions/anything like that at all. Just see how the stuff you want to learn about is actually used in a normal, native context and learn from that.

Well I try to see that by googling my Japanese sentences with " " marks around them and then seeing how often they are used and then clicking the top results and seeing what contexts they are used in. But I'm not too confident in that method sometimes.

 

[Kilrogg]

It's only natural. I wasn't confident that I was right either (thanks for confirming my gut feeling, I'm an expert!), I was just going by the fact that &#24341;&#12365;&#25563;&#12360;&#12395; seemed quite a long, factual kind of word to use in casual conversation. I just learned that&#12288; &#20195;&#12431;&#12426;&#12395; can in fact mean 'in exchange'§ The more you know.

FYI I use the ALC website a lot: http://www.alc.co.jp/?utm_source=fxx&utm_medium=eowbtn&utm_content=top

The text box on that page gives you eng > jp/jp > eng translations with actual, real examples. It's tremendously useful. I use it all the time.

 

[CornBurrito]

It's only natural. I wasn't confident that I was right either (thanks for confirming my gut feeling, I'm an expert!), I was just going by the fact that &#24341;&#12365;&#25563;&#12360;&#12395; seemed quite a long, factual kind of word to use in casual conversation. I just learned that&#12288; &#20195;&#12431;&#12426;&#12395; can in fact mean 'in exchange'§ The more you know.

FYI I use the ALC website a lot: http://www.alc.co.jp/?utm_source=fxx&utm_medium=eowbtn&utm_content=top

The text box on that page gives you eng > jp/jp > eng translations with actual, real examples. It's tremendously useful. I use it all the time.

Wow. Thanks a bunch! Bookmarked that site.

 

[Kilrogg]

Do you guys know anything about voice placement in Japanese? Where should you speak from (inside your mouth) if you want to sound natural in Japanese?

(I'm asking cause I took an accent reduction class for American English, and I was basically told that we the French speak from the front of the mouth and lips, but the sounds have to come from deep down the throat if you want to sound natural in American English)

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Do you guys know anything about voice placement in Japanese? Where should you speak from (inside your mouth) if you want to sound natural in Japanese?

(I'm asking cause I took an accent reduction class for American English, and I was basically told that we the French speak from the front of the mouth and lips, but the sounds have to come from deep down the throat if you want to sound natural in American English)

I've heard this same thing said about English except from Japanese people talking about English pronunciation.

You hear a lot about "Eigo-Nodo" from people like this guy here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74xJbULwBH0

I think Japanese is definitely closer to French in that you need to focus more on the movement of the mouth and lips.

 

[MissDeviling]

I've been following Tae Kim's grammar guide and it's very helpful, but I'd like an actual workbook or app to practice the theory. Also, I'm only at the N4 level of kanji but I'd like to start reading very simple materials to piece everything together (like children's media). Any recommendations for me?

 

[muteki]

I've been following Tae Kim's grammar guide and it's very helpful, but I'd like an actual workbook or app to practice the theory. Also, I'm only at the N4 level of kanji but I'd like to start reading very simple materials to piece everything together (like children's media). Any recommendations for me?

I have been reading White Rabbit Press Graded Readers and have been enjoying them. Level ~2 is about N4. They are pricey but I like having a physical book when learning most of the time.

 

[Kilrogg]

I've heard this same thing said about English except from Japanese people talking about English pronunciation.

You hear a lot about "Eigo-Nodo" from people like this guy here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74xJbULwBH0

I think Japanese is definitely closer to French in that you need to focus more on the movement of the mouth and lips.

Thanks for the link.

You're probably right about French placement being close to Japanese placement, but the funny thing is I still got called out by my Japanese friend about being too throaty in Japanese. Kinda ironic considering how 'unthroaty' French is already supposed to be in the first place. I guess it goes too show that Japanese is the king of front-mouth placement.

 

[MissDeviling]

I have been reading White Rabbit Press Graded Readers and have been enjoying them. Level ~2 is about N4. They are pricey but I like having a physical book when learning most of the time.

Yeah, it's a bit expensive. I took a look at it and they seem to be a collection of stories. Is that all there is to it, or do they have supplementary material too?

 

[Fugu]

From googling around, it seems that &#20195;&#12431;&#12426;&#12395; is closer to "instead of" in meaning.

Ie. "In exchange for a red sweater, I bought a blue one."

That's not quite the meaning I am going for. I am more going for "because he does X for me, I return the favor by doing Y".

In case you were still wondering about this, as far as my understanding goes you can use &#20195;&#12431;&#12426;&#12395; for the use case you're describing. It's a fairly diverse construction.

 

[muteki]

Yeah, it's a bit expensive. I took a look at it and they seem to be a collection of stories. Is that all there is to it, or do they have supplementary material too?

Each volume is a collection of 4-5 short stories about 20 pages each with audio. When I was about N4 I had been through Genki 1+2 and Tae Kim and had a lot of discrete grammar and vocab knowledge but was starving for material that tied it all together in a longer format than example sentences and short passages in text books. I ran across these and liked them because they were Japanese only with no translation offered but were at a level and length that was challenging and interesting but not impossible for my level. There are other graded reader sets out there too that are cheaper and I have also started doing Subs2srs decks for easy anime and that has given me some material to work with as well.

If you have only been exposed to Tae Kim then any of the commonly used texts will offer quite a bit of material to work with, but they can get a bit dull after a while.

 

[MissDeviling]

Each volume is a collection of 4-5 short stories about 20 pages each with audio. When I was about N4 I had been through Genki 1+2 and Tae Kim and had a lot of discrete grammar and vocab knowledge but was starving for material that tied it all together in a longer format than example sentences and short passages in text books. I ran across these and liked them because they were Japanese only with no translation offered but were at a level and length that was challenging and interesting but not impossible for my level. There are other graded reader sets out there too that are cheaper and I have also started doing Subs2srs decks for easy anime and that has given me some material to work with as well.

If you have only been exposed to Tae Kim then any of the commonly used texts will offer quite a bit of material to work with, but they can get a bit dull after a while.

Thanks. I think I will invest in the graded readers and maybe a grammar workbook or two because I've had no exposure to grammar outside of Tae Kim's lessons (my kanji is fine though). I went through the really short demo they had on their site and it's definitely something I feel is perfect for a foreigner learning Japanese. I appreciate your help!

 

[m3r4]

An exceptionally good online dictionary [... that was apparently recommended only 10 pages ago. Sorry for spam. I've been using it for work translations and it works like a charm, so I felt the necessity to share it with the people of this thread.]: http://ejje.weblio.jp

For when you're not on your Apple device.

 

[Splash Wave]

I have some extraordinarily basic questions in regard to asking someone their country of origin/language fluency.

Q: Dochira kara desu ka? - Where do you come from? (essentially)
A: Watashi wa/no Amerikajin desu. (which is it--wa or no? and why?)

How does this differ from "O-kuni wa?" What about "Nani jin desu ka?" And would these all get a similarly structured answer?

Also, I'm a little confused when it comes to stating you speak multiple languages with varying proficiency. For example, if I were to say I could speak English, Spanish, and Japanese I'd say...

Eego to nihongo to supein go ga dekimasu.

But what if I wanted to say English and "a little bit" of Spanish and Japanese?

Eego ga dekimasu.
Nihongo to supein go [sukoshi] dekimasu.

Am I putting "sukoshi" in the right spot? And is there no way to say all of that with one sentence?

 

[CornBurrito]

I have some extraordinarily basic questions in regard to asking someone their country of origin/language fluency.

Q: Dochira kara desu ka? - Where do you come from? (essentially)
A: Watashi wa/no Amerikajin desu. (which is it--wa or no? and why?)

How does this differ from "O-kuni wa?" What about "Nani jin desu ka?" And would these all get a similarly structured answer?

Also, I'm a little confused when it comes to stating you speak multiple languages with varying proficiency. For example, if I were to say I could speak English, Spanish, and Japanese I'd say...

Eego to nihongo to supein go ga dekimasu.

But what if I wanted to say English and "a little bit" of Spanish and Japanese?

Eego ga dekimasu.
Nihongo to supein go [sukoshi] dekimasu.

Am I putting "sukoshi" in the right spot? And is there no way to say all of that with one sentence?

I'm still a beginner, but I can answer a few of your questions.

1. Watashi wa America-Jin desu. You use the wa particle here, not the no particle. The no particle is usually used for possessives. Ie. Watashi no inu desu would mean "(that) is my dog."

X wa Y desu means "X is/has the quality of being Y."
Saying Watashi no America-Jin desu would mean something like "that's my American person."

"O-kuni wa?" literally just means "As for your country?" The O serves as a politeness marker, and the wa in that phrase sets "country" as the topic for discussion.

"But what if I wanted to say English and "a little bit" of Spanish and Japanese? "

There are probably a lot of ways to say it. At the level I am at now I'd probably do:

Eego ga dekimasu. Spaingo mo Nihongo mo sukoshi dekimasu.

As for making it one sentence, I think you could use the -te form.


Eego ga dekite, Spaingo mo Nihongo mo sukoshi dekimasu. Which I think translates to "I can speak English, and I can speak a little Spanish and Japanese."

 

[Splash Wave]

^Wonderful, thank you! This is exactly what I needed.

 

[Cranzor]

Can someone help me with a translation? I found this on Shigesato Itoi's twitter and wanted to post it on my blog.

&#12300;&#12431;&#12375;&#12399;&#12356;&#12414;&#12300;MOTHER&#12301;&#12398;&#12501;&#12449;&#12531;&#12392;&#12375;&#12390;&#30693;&#12426;&#21512;&#12387;&#12383;&#12522;&#12531;&#12472;&#12540;&#12398;&#32080;&#23130;&#12398;&#12362;&#31069;&#12356;&#12395;&#12365;&#12390;&#12427;&#12424;&#12290;&#12301;

(https://twitter.com/itoi_shigesato/status/530949228160225281)

The best I could come up with is...

"I met Lindsay as a MOTHER fan, but now I've come to wish her congratulations for her marriage."

Not sure if that's entirely accurate.

 

[m3r4]

I'd keep it simple:

I am attending the wedding party of Lindsay, who I have got to known as a MOTHER fan.

 

[muteki]

I started reading Tobira again, after trying early this year and being a bit overwhelmed. I was just coming off Genki/Tae Kim and it was a bit of a leap to get into Tobira, which contains less english in comparison for examples and explanation. I have since done much more reading on my own and got through the Japan Time's Intermediate book, which I picked up used years ago and had never read.

It's nice to come back to something after some time and seeing your improvement. At this time it is sometimes difficult to measure progress. If I can get through half of Tobira by the end of the year I think I will be happy. Ultimately I would like to be done with Tobira and Core 10k by mid next year, but that is a bit optimistic I think.

 

[Cranzor]

I'd keep it simple:

I am attending the wedding party of Lindsay, who I have got to known as a MOTHER fan.

Thank you!

 

[eot]

I was eyeing A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar on Amazon because I'd heard a lot of good things about it. Turns out I already own it but didn't know it. Bought it in Japan years ago and didn't recognize the cover because they always wrap books in paper and I leave it on, heh. Quite a nice surprise!

 

[CornBurrito]

Sent in my JET Application. Probably won't get in, but here's hoping.

 

[eot]

I saw this on the back of a bottle (and was happy I understood it!)
&#20351;&#12387;&#12383;&#12354;&#12392;&#12399;&#12522;&#12469;&#12452;&#12463;&#12523;
but I was wondering about &#12354;&#12392;&#12399;, is it the same as &#12354;&#12392;&#12391; or is there some subtle difference?

 

[flatearthpandas]

I apologize if this is (almost assuredly) a repeat, but this thread is huge.

I've been kind of brute forcing my way through &#31379;&#12366;&#12431;&#12398;&#12488;&#12483;&#12488;&#12385;&#12419;&#12435; and I'm making progress and I know this will work for me, but I think it is a little above where I should actually be at. Can someone recommend something similar but just a little easier that may be easier to cut my teeth on?

Dragon Quest VII has been awesome for this, but there's a lot of times where I'd rather just read a book than play a videogame for this type of thing.

 

[urfe]

I saw this on the back of a bottle (and was happy I understood it!)
&#20351;&#12387;&#12383;&#12354;&#12392;&#12399;&#12522;&#12469;&#12452;&#12463;&#12523;
but I was wondering about &#12354;&#12392;&#12399;, is it the same as &#12354;&#12392;&#12391; or is there some subtle difference?

No expert, but I say this is &#12354;&#12392; with the particle &#12399;, while &#12354;&#12392;&#12391; is more a set word meaning later. The &#12399; is used here to make it a general statement (as opposed to a particular).

I'd use &#12354;&#12392;&#12395; to make it particular, and it's be possible to construct something with &#12354;&#12392;&#12398;, but with &#12354;&#12392;&#12391; I can only see it as an answer to when you will recycle it.

Not an expert though, just going by feeling.

 

[eot]

No expert, but I say this is &#12354;&#12392; with the particle &#12399;, while &#12354;&#12392;&#12391; is more a set word meaning later. The &#12399; is used here to make it a general statement (as opposed to a particular).

I'd use &#12354;&#12392;&#12395; to make it particular, and it's be possible to construct something with &#12354;&#12392;&#12398;, but with &#12354;&#12392;&#12391; I can only see it as an answer to when you will recycle it.

Not an expert though, just going by feeling.

Makes sense, thanks.

I feel like I'm spamming this thread because there aren't many people posting, but I have another question regardless!

I saw someone write something like:
&#35501;&#12435;&#12391;&#12356;&#12390;&#27005;&#12375;&#12356;&#12391;&#12377;
Is that the same as:
&#35501;&#12435;&#12391;&#12356;&#12427;&#12398;&#12399;&#27005;&#12375;&#12356;&#12391;&#12377;

Thanks!

 

[muteki]

Makes sense, thanks.

I feel like I'm spamming this thread because there aren't many people posting, but I have another question regardless!

I saw someone write something like:
&#35501;&#12435;&#12391;&#12356;&#12390;&#27005;&#12375;&#12356;&#12391;&#12377;
Is that the same as:
&#35501;&#12435;&#12391;&#12356;&#12427;&#12398;&#12399;&#27005;&#12375;&#12356;&#12391;&#12377;

Thanks!

I'll take a stab at it:

My interpretation would be the &#12390; form in the former acts like "~, and then ~" whereas the second is saying "as for ~, it is~", a statement about reading in general.

"I'm reading and it is fun" vs. "reading is fun"

For me it seems understanding the meaning is easier than trying to translate the nuance sometimes.

 

[eot]

Again, that makes sense!
Thank you.

 

[SmokeMaxX]

Any help on pronouncing r sounds in Japanese? I went to Japan a few years ago but still couldn't figure out the best way to do it. I tried mashing an r and l sound together but I'm sure that's not what I'm supposed to be doing.

 

[urfe]

Any help on pronouncing r sounds in Japanese? I went to Japan a few years ago but still couldn't figure out the best way to do it. I tried mashing an r and l sound together but I'm sure that's not what I'm supposed to be doing.

R's are with your tongue in the back not touching the top of your mouth, and Ls are in the front touching.

Japanese R is in the middle, touching, and not a sound you can hold, the flickingness of it can make it sometimes sound like a D.

I'd say it's much closer to an L than an R.

 

[KidA Seven]

Any help on pronouncing r sounds in Japanese? I went to Japan a few years ago but still couldn't figure out the best way to do it. I tried mashing an r and l sound together but I'm sure that's not what I'm supposed to be doing.

Try to say harry potter in a Boston accent. The r in potter has this rolled sound to it.

 

[SmokeMaxX]

R's are with your tongue in the back not touching the top of your mouth, and Ls are in the front touching.

Japanese R is in the middle, touching, and not a sound you can hold, the flickingness of it can make it sometimes sound like a D.

I'd say it's much closer to an L than an R.

Try to say harry potter in a Boston accent. The r in potter has this rolled sound to it.

Thanks guys! I'll work on it

 

[DeliciousDoc]

I'm making a blog about learning Japanese for games if you guys are interested. I'm not planning to get into grammar because the topic is too vast (although I do have an article on polite levels) but I put a list of common kanji and some learning tips. Let me know what you think about it.

https://gamekamiwaza.wordpress.com/learning-guide/