Learning Japanese is tough~

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Riley01

New Member
Sep 3, 2012
9
0
I don't even know the basics so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on some books or videos that I could start with. I'm starting classes soon and I want to get a head start!:study:
 

aquamarine

I Know Better Than You
Mar 19, 2007
4,556
127
Books: Japanese For Busy People and 'Genki' seem to work well for many.
 

CodeGeek

Akiba Citizen
Nov 2, 2010
5,181
1,864
Books: Japanese For Busy People and 'Genki' seem to work well for many.

You mean this 2 books?
Japanese for Busy People I: Romanized Version 1 CD attached [Paperback]
GENKI I: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese [With CDROM] (Japanese Edition) (English and Japanese Edition) [Paperback]

I started to attend some Japanese evening lessons. The speed is very slow. But that isn't bad as I'm a slow learner is aspect of languages. I also bought some books before. But it is hard to keep it up because of the inner temptation. In my case it is better to learn in a group because there is more pressure. If you are disciplined and/or good at learning language you maybe will have a faster progress if you learn for yourself from books and audio CDs.
 

Riley01

New Member
Sep 3, 2012
9
0
Thanks a bunch guys! hopefully I will be able to have conversations with you all in nihon soon! Nihon = japanese?:stress:
 

aquamarine

I Know Better Than You
Mar 19, 2007
4,556
127
try buying some flash cards, as learning kana/kanji. the sooner the better.

I agree with 1/2 of this.
Flash-cards can help for memorizing. Learning your Hiragana and Katakana will be super helpful to you. However unless you have a real need, don't bother with Kanji. It's difficult, annoying and lets not forget that even Japanese adults often needs WordTank (electronic dictionary devices) to assist them in reading the morning newspaper.

Study Kanji if you are getting into business here in JP, otherwise it's unnecessary as most Japanese (that you will most likely encounter) will never write anything in kanji to/for you.
 

Rhinosaur

Outside Context Problem
Sep 23, 2007
2,008
614
I agree with 1/2 of this.
However unless you have a real need, don't bother with Kanji. It's difficult, annoying and lets not forget that even Japanese adults often needs WordTank (electronic dictionary devices) to assist them in reading the morning newspaper.
We have a lot of dinner parties and it's incredible how often a chunk of the evening is spent discussing and deciphering Kanji, especially when we have some elders amongst us and been bombing back the pinot!

For me, whilst I did possess some reading material and which was certainly a very helpful starter, nothing beats learning from immersion. Just be sure to learn how to ask, "I'm sorry, could you speak a little slower, please?"
I probably familiarised myself with around 100 Kanji just from riding the train and reading magazines left on the seats.
 

CodeGeek

Akiba Citizen
Nov 2, 2010
5,181
1,864
日本語はむずかしですが、おもしるいです。 :exhausted:
 
Aug 25, 2010
89
0
Japanese for Busy People plus a tutor will get you up to speed in no time. Don't worry about the kanji until you are ready for it though.
 

ishiibrad

New Member
Jan 4, 2007
6
0
You spend a good chunk of your dinner nights with guests talking about Kanji..really?
Yeah,I wanna party with you dude! I could bring my bottle cap collection and make a whole night of it .
 

aquamarine

I Know Better Than You
Mar 19, 2007
4,556
127
A little brash but I swear, ishiibrad's post made me chuckle out loud here in the middle of McDonalds in Shinjuku!
 

Rhinosaur

Outside Context Problem
Sep 23, 2007
2,008
614
You spend a good chunk of your dinner nights with guests talking about Kanji..really?
Yeah,I wanna party with you dude! I could bring my bottle cap collection and make a whole night of it .
No, I said it was incredible how often at dinner parties I hold and attend, the guests, who regularly happen to be Japanese, end up talking about Kanji and their different meanings/interpretations! My bad, I probably should have included more pictures in my post for the contextually challenged. Anywho, you and your bottle cap collection are more than welcome to join us anytime, Brad, and if you get bored with the caps my son would be happy to lend you his crayons!
 
Oct 6, 2007
405
9
meet international students and/or people that are Japanese (or even foreigners who grew up in Japan)

Books will teach you the basics but when it comes to talking Japanese and sounding natural it's better to learn from the source.
 

MXS-

Active Member
Jan 6, 2009
196
34

How do you meet japanese people? They are hard to find cause they are generally quite shy and introverted alot of the times. Ok, this is a generalization of the asian culture in general, but they tend to stick within their own circles and generally not too social. Maybe its because i live in calgary, but I am part of the japanese meetup groups and associations. I've also been to the festivals and am taking japanese classes. I have my own shyness and other issues, but damn, i can't seem to make any japanese friends!! It is so damn hard learning this language, all I can really hope to be is 1/2 fluent. Has anyone encountered this road block or plateau in learning japanese??? The possibility that you will never learn it.....
 

aquamarine

I Know Better Than You
Mar 19, 2007
4,556
127
Well if you're Canadian, get a working-holiday visa and come to Japan. It's not that hard, buddy. Shit, I took one semester of Japanese in grade 9 WAYYYYY back in the day and that was enough to get me through hiragana. A very long time after that I moved to Japan and just picked up the rest as I went.
 

MXS-

Active Member
Jan 6, 2009
196
34
I'll go to japan for sure, just not sure when. I would also like to see if i can make some acquaintances beforehand. I've met some japanese here in calgary, we are a very small portion of the population but were here. I don't know how smart you are aquamarine, but learning japanese is extremely difficult for me and many many others i've talked to and in my class. Plus its hard to study and stay focused here with all the things going on in our lives. Japanese seems to take a backseat. If you picked it up fast its likely you have some natural language talent along with a desire to learn and in your case, being forced to learn it while your there.

Anybody else out there that can offer up their experiences further???