Zoe
Member
It's really not necessary. A university class will stop using romaji after the first week or so.
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The Big Ass Superior Thread of Learning Japanese
- Thread starter RevenantKioku
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It's really not necessary. A university class will stop using romaji after the first week or so.
shanshan310
Member
Eh, its not that bad an idea. You'll be off the romaji crutch soon either way, better to make sure you understand the grammar than have it in hiragana and not understand it.
Angelus Errare
Banned
Grabbed this one, I can do weekly write ups on any bugs, pros and cons and sent it to you via email if you want.
Any bug requests are welcome, as are feature requests (no matter how insane they might be). 1.2 is currently with Apple for approval which adds and fixes various things you may spot in the current version. As I don't want to hog the thread, please feel free to PM with any bugs etc.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Shit. I just realized that adding the Chinese - Traditional (handwriting) keyboard to your set of keyboards on the iPhone gives you an extremely well-made Kanji dictionary when paired with Google. Perfect for when you run into a Kanji you don't recognize.
Count Dookkake
Member
Grammar quiz on Monday.
Midterm coming up on Wednesday.
Hoping to maintain that A.
Midterm coming up on Wednesday.
Hoping to maintain that A.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Don't really want to make a thread for this, but here's some practice for ya'll. I got these with some headphones I ordered, can anyone tell me what they are? I'm guessing the small packet is tea, no idea what the other things are.
First three:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umaibō
Last one:
http://www.itoen.com/oi-ocha.html
but in tea bag form...
Don't really want to make a thread for this, but here's some practice for ya'll. I got these with some headphones I ordered, can anyone tell me what they are? I'm guessing the small packet is tea, no idea what the other things are.
うまい棒
edit: beaten
Bomber Bob
Banned
Thanks!
Don't really want to make a thread for this, but here's some practice for ya'll. I got these with some headphones I ordered, can anyone tell me what they are? I'm guessing the small packet is tea, no idea what the other things are.
As for the flavors:
Corn Potage - Tonkatsu Sauce - Salted Beef tongue i guess? (The actual thing tastes better than it sounds!)
Mmmm~
Sweet, thanks. I'ma try them now.
Damn, can't say I've ever had beef tongue so it'll be interesting to see what it tastes like.
shanshan310
Member
Well, something with "e" would be a more short, abrupt sound. Say kennel, and then take away the "knnel". That's the sound. "ei" is more like this sound but obviously not long and silly as in that video
Its really just saying "e" and "i" together, fast.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Well, something with "e" would be a more short, abrupt sound. Say kennel, and then take away the "knnel". That's the sound. "ei" is more like this sound but obviously not long and silly as in that video
"ei" is like "yay!" without the first "y".
Are there regional differences in the pronunciation of "yay"?
For my (Irish Education System here) Japanese exam I have to describe 1 of 4 pictures for 2-3 mins. Culture information is mainly what they want. Very basic stuff, I mean basic, like はらじゅくには やすくて かわいい おみせが おおいんだよ. I have some info, but would like some more. I'd rather speak for 5 than 1 minute.
These are the 4 pictures.
can anyone help me out? Anyone good phrases, websites I should know of.
These are the 4 pictures.
can anyone help me out? Anyone good phrases, websites I should know of.
お花見 (Ohanami)　http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanami
From March to April, Japanese get drunk all day under cherry blossoms.
放課後の掃除 (Houkago No Souji)
Generally, students clean their class room after school.
竹下通り (Takeshita doori)　http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harajuku
???
A gaijin san female gives some speech in a Japanese style room...I have no idea about this one. You don't wear shoes in a room in Japan...maybe.
I have two questions
1. What do you call 震度 in English?
2. What do you call 絵文字/顔文字 stuff in English like the below?
　　　　>:|　　orz　　でつ　　( ´3`)　　(´・ω・`)　　(`・ω・´)
And also, what does <3 mean, kiss?
From March to April, Japanese get drunk all day under cherry blossoms.
放課後の掃除 (Houkago No Souji)
Generally, students clean their class room after school.
竹下通り (Takeshita doori)　http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harajuku
???
A gaijin san female gives some speech in a Japanese style room...I have no idea about this one. You don't wear shoes in a room in Japan...maybe.
I have two questions
1. What do you call 震度 in English?
2. What do you call 絵文字/顔文字 stuff in English like the below?
　　　　>:|　　orz　　でつ　　( ´3`)　　(´・ω・`)　　(`・ω・´)And also, what does <3 mean, kiss?
I have two questions
1. What do you call 震度 in English?
2. What do you call 絵文字/顔文字 stuff in English like the below?
And also, what does <3 mean, kiss?
1. I suppose it would be something like earthquake magnitude or intensity.
2. Emotes, emoticons, smileys
<3 is a heart (flipped on its side)
Count Dookkake
Member
Oh yeah, 95/100 on the oral midterm.
EDIT- I got a game request on FB for something Japanese, but I can't figure out what it means.
The name is spelled in katakana and reads: ma i ka re n ta -
What is this?
EDIT 2- Nvm. That ta is really a da. Now it makes sense.
EDIT- I got a game request on FB for something Japanese, but I can't figure out what it means.
The name is spelled in katakana and reads: ma i ka re n ta -
What is this?
EDIT 2- Nvm. That ta is really a da. Now it makes sense.
vas_a_morir
Banned
Sup guys.
Lately I've been trying my hardest to focus on speaking Japanese as close to native pronunciation as possible. So, lately in my spare time I've been repeating sentences using Anki's Core 6000 (Which I imagine is shamelessly stolen from smart.fm/iknow). The problem is the sentences are spoken too slowly and a bit overly pronounced. If you remember, smart.fm in it's free days had natural sounding fast-as-hell Japanese sentences. That content is gone. Do you guys know of anything I could use to practice native-speaker pronunciation through repetition?
I'm looking for a very specific thing, really. You basically read a sentence, and you hear a native speaker speaking it. The more complicated/useful the sentences, the better.
Lately I've been trying my hardest to focus on speaking Japanese as close to native pronunciation as possible. So, lately in my spare time I've been repeating sentences using Anki's Core 6000 (Which I imagine is shamelessly stolen from smart.fm/iknow). The problem is the sentences are spoken too slowly and a bit overly pronounced. If you remember, smart.fm in it's free days had natural sounding fast-as-hell Japanese sentences. That content is gone. Do you guys know of anything I could use to practice native-speaker pronunciation through repetition?
I'm looking for a very specific thing, really. You basically read a sentence, and you hear a native speaker speaking it. The more complicated/useful the sentences, the better.
vas_a_morir
Banned
That's a start.
News is sorta what I'm trying to avoid. I no longer live in Japan, so I don't hear the language often. I'm trying to recapture that East-Tokyo sound, you know? In other words, I want the speaker to sound almost like they resent having to record their voice. Bored out of their mind.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
It would probably be a good idea to how to slowly and carefully pronounce words like a native first. You can always speed up your speech later. Getting the basics right is important, in my opinion.
vas_a_morir
Banned
I'm not trying to learn the correct pronunciation of Japanese as much as I am trying to do all I can to eliminate my foreign accent as much as possible. Like a British actor trying to sound American, you know? It's a very subtle thing. Do you understand what I mean?
shanshan310
Member
I have a question about keigo. I'm trying to write a speech and I want to say something like "we appreciate/thank you for your understanding". Anyone clued in about this kind of stuff?
EDIT: So I found this great video entitled "shit Japanese students say". Anyone with experience in a Japanese school (or not) should get a laugh out of it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty7RmPCP7OI
EDIT: So I found this great video entitled "shit Japanese students say". Anyone with experience in a Japanese school (or not
) should get a laugh out of it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty7RmPCP7OIありがとうございます or 感謝します
ご理解いただき、ありがとうございます。
ご協力いただき、ありがとうございます。
ご理解に感謝します。
ご協力に感謝します。
ご理解に感謝しています
ご理解いただき、ありがとうございます。
ご協力いただき、ありがとうございます。
ご理解に感謝します。
ご協力に感謝します。
ご理解に感謝しています
Necromanti
Member
「げんき」という教科書を読んでしまったり、次はどんな教科書を使うのがいいですか。
（下手な文法を使ってすみませんでした。眠いし。）
I have one quarter left with my Genki 2 textbook. Since that seems to be the last book in the Genki series, what would people recommend that I would continue with after that? Are there any books that are similar?
（下手な文法を使ってすみませんでした。眠いし。）
I have one quarter left with my Genki 2 textbook. Since that seems to be the last book in the Genki series, what would people recommend that I would continue with after that? Are there any books that are similar?
Starting a japanese course this summer, two actually, at five weeks each. I'm not stoked on the time frames, but it's fairly intensive (5 days a week at 4 hours a day), so here's hoping. I'm also going onto my second semester of Spanish. The two shouldn't interfere with each other should they? I didn't figure there would be enough overlap for me to get confused.
Going back to Japanese, I want to get a head-start, but I'm worried about creating fossilized mistakes (my mom's an english teacher, which isn't the same I know, but she's taught ESL students and she says this is perhaps one of the biggest problems they face), seeing as I won't be with a sensei. Is there anything safe for me to start with? Or should I just wait it out?
Going back to Japanese, I want to get a head-start, but I'm worried about creating fossilized mistakes (my mom's an english teacher, which isn't the same I know, but she's taught ESL students and she says this is perhaps one of the biggest problems they face), seeing as I won't be with a sensei. Is there anything safe for me to start with? Or should I just wait it out?
So I'm trying to learn Japanese alone until I can find and sign up for a class. I'm trying to learn hiragana and katakana first which is going well, I'm only still on hiragana but if I see say a screenshot of some game I can recognize a few of the characters which feels really good. I saw an app on the iOS appstore called human Japanese, anybody know if it's any good? Anyways, one thing I noticed while just looking at some Japanese writing (yes more screenshots IIRC) is that there doesn't seem to be any spaces between the words? How do you know when one word ends and the next one begins? Is this common?
Zoe
Member
Kanji >>>>>>>>>>>> hiragana >>>>> katakana
I actually learned to read from Sailor Moon and Jpop lyrics on music shows.
Zoe
Member
Furigana goes above the kanji to tell you how to read it. You gotta be careful though cause it can be used stylistically and may not say the true reading of the kanji.
It's used less as the target age group goes up.
KidA Seven
Member
You can learn Japanese by yourself. Just use the grammar guide on this site.
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar
Whenever there is new vocab, there will be new kanji. Write the character down/stroke order in a notebook. Write the english meanings. Then write common words associated with that kanji (the vocab introduced should be good).
So essentially if they introduced the word 日（にち, write down in your kanji notebook:
日　(Then do stroke order steps)
1.day
2. Sun
3. Japan
4. Counter for days
Common words:
にほん-日本
にち-日
That's usually what I do for new kanji. I don't bother listing the readings. I learn kanji through vocab and learn the readings through vocab. This helps me keep track of what kanji I learn, and some vocab associated with each kanji.
http://www.guidetojapanese.org/learn/grammar
Whenever there is new vocab, there will be new kanji. Write the character down/stroke order in a notebook. Write the english meanings. Then write common words associated with that kanji (the vocab introduced should be good).
So essentially if they introduced the word 日（にち
, write down in your kanji notebook:日　(Then do stroke order steps)
1.day
2. Sun
3. Japan
4. Counter for days
Common words:
にほん-日本
にち-日
That's usually what I do for new kanji. I don't bother listing the readings. I learn kanji through vocab and learn the readings through vocab. This helps me keep track of what kanji I learn, and some vocab associated with each kanji.
Stroke order is another question I have, does it actually matter? I mean if the end result of the character is the same, does the order in which you write it out really have an effect? I thought it was just a matter of a person's way of writing, for example I had a teacher who would write a 3 from bottom to top instead of top to bottom as it's usually done.
KidA Seven
Member
Also, kanji becomes easier to write after your first 100 or so. You'll start to recognize certain characters and you won't even need to write out the whole stroke order (in kanji notebook that I talked about). It will just be automatic.
Arctic Feather
Member
You might want to look in to learning Kanji with the Heisig method. Some people like it and some people don't, but it can be very useful for those who do.
The book is called "Remembering the Kanji" and you can download a sample for free which includes the first couple of chapters or so with an explanation on how it works.
It takes a long time to work through it all, but it's worth it if it's a method that works for you. And now would be the best time to start it.
The book is called "Remembering the Kanji" and you can download a sample for free which includes the first couple of chapters or so with an explanation on how it works.
It takes a long time to work through it all, but it's worth it if it's a method that works for you. And now would be the best time to start it.
Zoe
Member
Heisig method really isn't compatible with taking a formal course though.
shanshan310
Member
kanji really seems to be the make or break point for learning japanese i've found (my experience and others). i attempted to learn japanese twice (once at night school when i was about 18, once in first year university at 23 - failed the second semester). you just have to be super disciplined and WANT to do it, and that's where people like me just either burn out and/or give up. i think in my case it was both, in addition to just being overwhelmed with so much (in my class we were learning about 25 kanji a week, + vocab/everything else + all my other non-jp subjects inc my major). eventually i just lost interest in learning it, but i still remember some (realistically i can read about 80, write less than 15 haha).
ironically, i'm planning to go to japan again for trip #3 at the end of this year so maybe i'll give it another go when i'm 30 or something (25 now)...
ironically, i'm planning to go to japan again for trip #3 at the end of this year so maybe i'll give it another go when i'm 30 or something (25 now)...
shanshan310
Member
If written Japanese doesn't work for you, and you find that you are speaking it more than reading it, you could always just learn conversational Japanese - and skip the writing. If it allows you to learn the language, why not?
I have a real love-hate relationship with kanji. I find writing and practicing it to be incredibly relaxing, just doing the strokes over and over etc. When I can understand, its very empowering. When I can't understand, I get so frustrated and feel like an idiot.
I have a real love-hate relationship with kanji. I find writing and practicing it to be incredibly relaxing, just doing the strokes over and over etc. When I can understand, its very empowering. When I can't understand, I get so frustrated and feel like an idiot.
Yeah, Japanese in university is no joke. I got a bit overwhelmed with the pace at times because my other more important units kinda took over. Also got a little discouraged since everyone else in the japanese class was on top of everything since japanese was their major. But, I got through it with the help of the overly nice japanese teachers at uni
Question: anyone familiar with any intensive Japanese courses in Japan? I thinking like something similar to that intensive chinese program at Pecking University type thing.
Question: anyone familiar with any intensive Japanese courses in Japan? I thinking like something similar to that intensive chinese program at Pecking University type thing.
Question for Tokyo/Japan GAF (I know it might not be the best thread to ask about, sorry): I *might* be having an interview next week for a possible job in Tokyo, so I would need any tips/advice on how to behave, what to do and especially what I *shouldn't* do.
The interview shouldn't be in Japanese (I've been pretty clear with them saying that I'm far from being fluent in spoken Japanese) and *could* potentially be awesome (or horrible).
Thanks for the help!
The interview shouldn't be in Japanese (I've been pretty clear with them saying that I'm far from being fluent in spoken Japanese) and *could* potentially be awesome (or horrible).
Thanks for the help!
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