learning Japanese?

[simeon6669]

well i plan to goto japan in about a year and i know very little Japanese (ie stuff i've picked up from anime :giveup: ) And well i was hoping that you guys could suggest some books/programs/sites/shows so i can start learning Japanese.

 

[kbryc08]

i'd suggest taking courses at your local community college. That's the way to go for a beginner imo. You could try using Pimsleur Japanese as well.

I'm in the same boat as you (visiting Japan in less than a year). After taking 1 course I can pick up a lot more phrases when I watch raws since I know the basics of sentence structure and the like. I'm planning on taking more courses when I have a lighter schedule. :frozen2:

But what do I know, maybe a more enlightened person can fill us in? :casual:

 

[NoviceX]

For recognize Kanji character try this site => http://www.msu.edu/~lakejess/kanjigame.html
Online Dictionary => http://dict.pspinc.com/
Sorry for grammar learning site because I don't know the web site.

 

[kenyoo]

learning japanese would be awesome. on another forum I saw a thread just like this one. it points out some places to learn japanese in my country (nothing you should be curious about) :goodmood:

 

[cloud]

you guys need to thank me! lol, i got some software, for learning japanese!
holla me, im new tho

 

[Denamic]

I use a simple program called Kanatest to learn the alphabet.
First, I study the letters with the romanji translation on a printout, then use the program to quiz myself on it.

 

[legacydraco]

I suppose you should sart with Katagana/Hiragana until you can recognize them/read some word

<_< I've never taken Japanese class, though I felt slightly depress from remembering that I self-taught how to read Katagana/Hiragana purely with pokemon(back in green/red/blue days)

>_> I still feel grateful I did learn it though

 

[enlisteekid]

I suggest you get Heisig - Rembering The Kanji 1-3, But it dosen't have the Japanese words only the English translation. One Japanese to English Dictionary. And a book of 2000 Kanji.

This is what I use by the way.

 

[akibakenji]

i'd suggest taking courses at your local community college. That's the way to go for a beginner imo. You could try using Pimsleur Japanese as well.

Seconded. If you've got money to spare, then I highly recommend taking Japanese classes at your local community college. It's probably the most effective way to learn. If that's too expensive for you, then how about trying to find a Japanese tutor around your area? Might seem far fetched, but I know a few here in Seattle. If all else fails, check out a couple of Japanese study books at your local library, and start studying!

 

[shujin]

I'm here in Japan studying for my masters. I've been here a little over a year and a half and when I came I spoke basically no Japanese.

You'll be surprised how far you can get with "Hai" and "Wakarimasen"

Anyhoo, I speak it fairly fluently now (depending on the conversation) and this is a tool I found very helpful (although a little clunky).

Its called Wakan （和漢） and its used mainly for studying kanji but it includes a dictionary, a text editor that has inline dictionary functions, and lets you group words into lessons.

I found it useful espcially when reading manga, a great practice and source of new vocab since i could quickly look up the words as I went along and group them together by the book I was reading to review later.

Its Free!

 

[Apheleon]

get a japanese girlfriend!~ =p

I've been learning too for like 2 months. Too bad I can't make up sentences yet.
Nihongo ga sukoshi wakarimasu, demo mada jozu ja arimasen. Gomenasai. >.<"

Pimsleur's a good way to learn, but learning to identify the symbols is more important.

 

[shujin]

A Japanese girlfriend is a great aid, this is true. But its easier to get one if you can speak Japanese :bingo2:

My friends would never invite me to goukons before. But lately I've been a on a few. :flattered: While all Japanese people study English in school, the dont really speak it. Moreover, those that studied it fairly intesively are often embarrassed to speak it because they are self-concious about making mistakes.

Japanese girls feel far more comfortable if you speak Japanese.

So "ganbare" guys, a little goes a long way. ne:

 

[simeon6669]

thanks for all the suggestions guys well because I'm kinda poor I've decided to try and learn from books and the such, however im wondering should i study the kana at the same time or should i fully learn one and then start with the other?

 

[shujin]

Like Sinatra says, Nice 'n' Easy does it

Definately study hiragana and katakana together, since its the same pronuncitations and for the most part they are very similar. You may as well get them going. Learning to recognize them is not difficult. Being able to read quickly is something that will only come from learning lots of vocab and practice, so dont worry about that too much.

Also something I've found frustrating at times, even at my level, is words written in katakana. Its annoying that its a word you know, but have to read many times before you can figure out what it says. Theres no way around it, because often the pronunciation is very strange. So don't worry if thats troublesome.

For kanji, my suggestion is to find a site (for example Yosida) that displays them based on their jlpt groupings (Japanese Language Proficiency Tes) and study about 10 at a time or so. Play close attention to the stroke pattern. It doesnt seem very important at first, when kanjis are like 3 and 4 strokes, but when you get into the kanjis that are 10 or 15+ strokes, using proper stroke order makes them easier to draw.

Kanjis are all well and good, but I think more important is building a good vocabulary. If you use the Wakan I recomended a few posts back, you can build your own vocab lists to study and also download the jlpt lists. Taking a few of those in groups is good too. I like to go through and make lists of the words I don't know in whatever manga I happen to be reading to review later.


Obviously best of all is getting a good private tutor, but they still haven't found a money tree, so you gotta do what you gotta do!

 

[discosupafly]

Ultimately I'm sure you don't wanna hear it, but studying inside the country of origin is the best way to get to a really decent level.

No matter for how many years one might study using books, a language partner, girlfriend or what have you - you won't realise just how very much you suck at Japanese until you spend time living over there. Having to face problems and talk them out with people on a daily basis forces you to get good quick.
Any ol' fool can order sushi at a restaurant, ask a girl out on a date or introduce themselves, but when you have to go to a city ward to register something or perhaps explain to a police officer why you didn't commit a crime - then you'll see just how lacking your skills really are.

Hiragana and katakana are the absolute basics. Kinda like how a baby learns to crap its pants before it can get a driver's licence. Get the basics done and done well as quick as you can, then move on to at least basic kanji (up to 2nd year primary school level). If you can, focus on increasing your vocab after that. Use flash cards, computer programs - do what you must, but if your vocab is lacking then you'll look like what you are - a slow gaijin who can't communicate for the life of him.

Yes it's daunting. Yes it's near impossible. But the day will come when everything just kinda falls in place for you, and you only need to study a few words a day to keep your skills fresh. That, my friend, is a most rewarding accomplishment indeed.

 

[Denamic]

Kinda like how a baby learns to crap its pants before it can get a driver's licence.

Analogy of the week.

...

*license
Couldn't help myself.

 

[desioner]

Hello simeon6669,
well the first thing I might ask you is what part of the language would you like to master? Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing or have a kinda well balanced knowledge of all? Mind you we could also group reading & writing / Speaking & listening together. In the 4 years that I've lived here I've seen many different people master different parts with little or no knowledge of others. And some others have did very well with all parts. There have been some good ideas put forth by others.

Pimsleur's a good way to learn.

This is true for listening and if you use it at home speaking to an extent. talking aloud to ones self is a little strange for the Japanese.
A few members have also stated what they recommend for learning the writing systems Hiragana (original Japanese) & Katakana (phonetic for foreign words). And they are a basic necessity for reading but you'll honestly not find a lot in Japan. The third part of written Japanese is Kanji (Chinese characters) and these are a real pain, unless your a hard core linguist or do a lot of writing on a daily basis.

get a japanese girlfriend!~ =p

And lots of people do get help this way. I however speak to my wife 95% in English and 5% in Japanese. When we use Japanese it's all usually quite basic and she's not a very good Japanese teacher. I had taken classes for a good 3 years and those were a great help but it really boils down to this one point. You will only get as good and any skill as the amount of time you put into using it.
Best of luck to you.
desioner

 

[davenuci]

here is the list of links to better study Nihingo (katakana/hiragana/kanji)... one of these links helped me alot when I came to Japan on tour . When I came back I had myself enrolled on a cheap nihongo school...its cheaper than most because its backed by the Japanese Embassy.
Sa minnasan, ishyoni nihongo　wa benkyoshimasu soshite moichido nihon e ikkimasu :hurry:

http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/japanese.html

http://www.freedict.com/onldict/jap.html

http://linear.mv.com/cgi-bin/j-e/dict

http://tsunamichan.phpwebhosting.com/japanese/index.html

http://www.thejapanesepage.com/readarticle.php?article_id=2

http://www.kanacards.com/

http://www.ichigo.se/kanaflash/kana.swf

http://www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/~ts/japanese/javatest.html

http://pupp.edgeemu.com/kana.swf

http://www.guidetojapanese.org/

http://www.excite.co.jp/world/english/

http://pepper.idge.net/japanese/

http://web.uvic.ca/kanji-gold/

http://www.mlcjapanese.co.jp/

http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~grosenth/jwpce.html

http://www.griffith.edu.au/school/lal/japanesemain/JP_Res/JP_Res_control/
grammar_frame.html

 

[Ollin2027]

Well i know someone else asked for information on this topic, but i must say thanks since i would also like to learn japanese, so thanks everyone

 

[chickensaw]

That should be "nihongo WO benkyo shimasu" or..."nihongo WO benkyo shimashou."