I've always wanted to learn Japanese and I've finally taken the plunge. After asking around I'm currently memorizing hiragana and katakana off the bat to get the simple aspects of the alphabet out of the way. This weekend I'll be traveling to my local community college used book store to see what Japanese language textbooks the have for starters.
After I get the main part of the alphabet down, what should be my next step? I've been told to start memorizing kanji, i've been told to start working on grammar particles and syntax, and i've been told to go pick up some -more- text books because you can never have enough.
So in your opinion, where should I head from here?
Btw, I'm learning the language on my own. If it doesn't pan out there's always JR college language classes I could take, but I'd really like to try it on my own first.
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Anonymous2010-03-02 11:48
>>3 After I get the main part of the alphabet down, what should be my next step?
It's not an alphabet, it's a syllabary. And there's no "main part", all of the characters are important.
I've been told to start memorizing kanji
As an absolute beginner it's way too early for you to start learning kanji. Wait at least until you ay least know your は from your が.
i've been told to go pick up some -more- text books because you can never have enough
You'll just get overwhelmed, and if your interest in the language wanes, you'll be stuck with a huge load of useless textbooks. It's best to stick to one textbook.
i've been told to start working on grammar particles and syntax
This is really the most sound piece of advice.
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Anonymous2010-03-02 12:58
語尾は、「ぞ」と「ぜ」と言うのは、違いが何でしょうか？
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Anonymous2010-03-02 14:49
What's a good pace to learn kanji? 10 a day? 20 a day?
15 a day is a good start, and this is the schedule you should probably follow
5 in the morning
5 early afternoon
5 late afternoon
Before you go to bed, try and see if you have them all memorized. Doing this before bed allows you to retain the information more because you're doing it before you hit REM sleep. Studies have shown that people retain much more information if they study before bedtime.
Where would be a good place to study the grammar then?
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Anonymous2010-03-02 15:36
A fatal error occured!
Please post threads less often!need recent pics please nancy drew my child wifu Tracy Ryan in fox kids http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRNsLQ1OGeoPowered by Shiichan 3955 + 4chan 20080608.
Hey, /lang/,
I asked /jp/ this and they referred me to /adv/ because none of them know enough about Japanese language and culture to help me, but I got no replys on /adv/ and only trolls on /b/, so I come here with this.
I have been dating a Japanese girl for a little over a year now and I am ready to pop the question, but I know it is customary in their culture to get permission from the father first. Unfortunately, her father doesn't know any english.
So, what I am asking is how do I ask her father for permission to marry his daughter in Japanese? I know how to use an online translator, I just want to know how to ask in a respectful way, how to phase it, and what to do when asking (bow, etc.).
The Genki books teach you grammar right? So if I complete both Genki books 1-2, should I be able to move onto just learning kanji after that? I heard that Japanese grammar is pretty simple, so I shouldn't worry much about it...but maybe I'm wrong.
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Anonymous2010-03-06 7:19
>>21
So you want to complete two textbooks and still not be able to read shit? Do yourself a favor and start with kanji early.
You could try Remembering the Kanji, 1-2 hours per day for 2-3 months and all your fear of kanji will be completely obliterated. It really pays off in the long run, at least it did for me but I know it is not everyone's cup of tea.
Where did you study your kanji from? Which text books or internet resources? I'm picking up the Genki books sometime next week and currently using taekim's website to brush up on grammar and particles. Just don't know where to get some kanji!
Remembering the Kanji is a book by James Heisig. There's 3 of them but you'll only want the first one. RTK2 and 3 are a complete waste. You can get it for free in pdf format with some googling. You'll also want a SRS like Anki. As a plus Anki comes with a complete Heisig deck.
Note that RTK will not teach you any japanese at all. Only how to recognize, distinguish, and write kanji. It will also teach you stroke order, which is very important if you ever want to be able to use an electronic dictionary.
Not everyone agrees with Heisigs method though, so try it out for a while and if it doesn't work for you maybe you'll have to try something else.
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Anonymous2010-03-07 3:58
I have been studying Japanese for close to 2 years now (At the University and i'm in Japan studying right now). I have this problem where i can't seem to get a decent understanding of the word order and sentences overall. I can usually understand most of the words in the texts i'm reading right now, but i have huge problems actually understanding what the final sentence means in the end.
Does anyone have any advice on how to get better at this? Just reading stuff all the time does nothing for me as i never know what the correct meaning would be anyway. Any advice on how YOU overcame this obstacle would be greatly appreaciated.
Thanks
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Anonymous2010-03-07 5:52
>>23
Basic Kanji Book (Vols. 1 & 2) and Intermediate Kanji Book (Vols. 1 & 2) by Chieko Kano et al. are very good books to learn kanji from. Much better than that Heisig crap >>24 recommended to you (you should stay away from it as it really doesn't teach you any Japanese per se).
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Anonymous2010-03-07 6:01
>>25
I overcame it by reading a lot and so developing a sense of the language. However, one active thing you could do is analyzing sentences. A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar by Seiichi Makino and Michio Tsutsui has a section on analyzing sentences in Japanese, titled "Toward Better Reading Comprehension: Analyzing Sentences Accurately", and it has been of great help to me.
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Anonymous2010-03-07 11:15
Are there any good browser based chat games for Japanese?
Kinda like habbo etc.
If you're a methodical person you might prefer kanjidicks like I do. You can even skip the mnemonics if you're a visual learner.
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Anonymous2010-03-08 6:01
>>27
Thank you, i have the first beginner book which is amazing, i don't understand why they didn't add a section for understanding sentences in the beginners book though :S
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Anonymous2010-03-08 12:47
I'm reaching the end of the first genki book, does it cover everything needed to sit the JLPT4 exam?
I heard someone say it's good to supplement kanjidicks with something else and I think he was implying there were some errors with it. Anyone know more about that?
Would it be a bad idea to study this instead of using textbooks? I'm thinking of just reading through this guide then moving on to kanji from there instead of using textbooks that focus on mainly polite Japanese.
I'm reading through Elementary Japanese vol 1 and Genki I, but I have trouble remembering the majority of the information. If I can't apply it, as in write out the sentences or do other exercises, I forget. In the Elementary Japanese book, all I do is read read read. It's just continuous walls of text with no exercises except for writing out kanji. I take notes but it's still confusing since I'm getting bombarded with a shitload of information. I can understand the sentences just fine, but if I try to write something out myself I have no idea what to do. That's my main problem.
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Anonymous2010-03-13 9:38
>>34
The genki books are great.
My only guess is that you are going too fast.
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Anonymous2010-03-13 16:35
>>29
They keep disconnected because I only know how to talk about penises.
Got redirected here from /jp/, but I suspect there is no satisfactory answer to my question.
Is there any non-katakana way to say "programming" or otherwise refer to writing code, software design, etc in Japanese? Google translates 計画法 as "Programming", and it seems to be the common denominator in programming-related compounds, but I can't find any confirmation of it being used by itself. Alternatively, any kanji terms for programmer/developer, or other programming-related activities like 'to compile', would be appreciated. In other words, something other than プログラムする, コンパイルする, etc.
I'll fully admit this is just because I want something that will look cool that I can put on a headband or shirt (no, shame isn't a problem), not for regular conversation. I do know some Japanese (I took two years of classes... I didn't do well, but I took them), but I'm hoping there's some jargon terminology I'm just not familiar with.