Your bonus tip is called circumlocution. You don't know the word for mailman, so instead you describe the man who brings the mail. Your conversation partner might then use the word for mailman and you've learned a new word without breaking the flow of conversation
That’s exactly how I learned to speak English. It’s really underrated. You used the vocabulary you already know to you learn new vocabulary in the process, you create new words associations in your brain and you remember new words better this way.
I appreciate the RUclipsrs who share their experiences and methods to become fluent in a relatively short period of time. What I don't appreciate is that seemingly every video on this subject contains at least one method that is practically impossible for me, at least. They suggest methods such as "I live in Japan" or "I married a Japanese person." That's great for them, and I am envious, but they must know that very few people will have the same opportunities. So, please don't include it in your list, especially when the video title makes it sound like there are realistic methods for everyone.
The point about online language school, I partly disagree with it. Actually, this really depends on WHAT type of language school you are talking about. I am currently following a Japanese language school lessons and they don’t use English at all. (Well, sometimes for the meaning of one single specific word but that’s it. If we have like 2 or 3 English words in 4 hours of lessons, that’s already a lot). You didn’t have the appropriate experience but it doesn’t mean it’s this way everywhere. I’d rather recommend people to check about this specific point before getting involved into it ^-^
Definitly, as i learned english, one time i said „I have to become a girlfriend first.“ What i wanted to say was „I have to get a girlfriend first.“ BTW, i did this misstake, cause i am german and the german word for get is „bekommen“ and idk why, but my brain thought „Hey, these words are so similar, it has to mean the same thing!“ Yeah, long story short, i got some very amused friends and a new insider out off it. Oh and i learned something.
I used a small online language school and had a better experience. The teachers never spoke English but they did have English explanations (and Japanese ones) in the textbooks or slides they prepared. I thought this was a good way teach grammar while getting Japanese speaking and listening practice. Honestly, the teachers couldn’t speak English well anyway so they were embarrassed to.
I am currently studying japanese as my minor and have been through soooooo many youtube japanese teachers that obviously just make content for views and not to actually help people. That being said this is the BEST channel i have found for helping me learn japanese, Andy does a great job explaining grammar and he’s probably the only reason I havent failed yet lol
@Blaine Thomas yes I was just thinking about her cuz she explains so well and probably the first time I actually had some progress in studying japanese
I'm learning japanese for 2 years now, at first I was like " this is impossible" but look at me now, I'm getting ready for n4 exam. what I mean through this, dont give up, it may be hard but not impossible. 頑張ってね！
Learning vocab through sentences and phrases instead of lists/flashcards is definitely something worth emphasizing and repeating in the language learning community. While reviewing a list can be helpful, it's best to apply the language and put it into practice..always be moving forward! Immerse!
If you're looking for video ideas and to generate hits, doing a more in-depth review of what Tae Kim does right and where he goes astray would be a good one.
I feel like most of these tips only work if you are living in Japan and are forced to speak Japanese in situations... I can't find a way to speak to native speakers without inconveniencing them with my low level of JP, unless I am paying them... which I can't afford
Try hello talk, and you should probably take this guys statement with a pinch of salt of being “conversationaly” fluent there’s no way he actually was that in 6 months, if he went to a bar and they started talking about baseball on the weekend and going into depth about the game he wouldn’t understand at most this guy could order food and ask people about what they are doing and hold that conversation. He probably had basic conversation skills
language exchange is not inconveniencing the other person. especially if you are likable. But yeah, living in a country where you are exposed to the language all the time obviously gives a lot more opportunities to learn. If you're looking for help to talk yourself out of learning Japanese, here it is: it's hard, it wont seem as interesting when you've learned it and it is useless outside Japan. translations are good enough and sometimes better if they mask some awkwardness of really understanding the original. On the other hand, there is a sense of reward to improving at a language, so if you crave that (as polyglots do) being in the country is not a requirement. learning a language to watch TV IS dumb tho lol
I live in Japan and it's really easy to avoid speaking Japanese, especially if you work in the English-teaching sector. I've picked it up, stopped, picked it back up again, and just ugh. The biggest advice I can give is you really have to want to be fluent. It's a big commitment.
I have been studying Japanese for about 7 months now. Even though I have learned a lot, it has been really hard to concentrate on Japanese for the last few months. I guess the whole pandemic situation is at fault. Anyhow, thank you for another cool video, Andy! If it wasn’t for your Genki videos, I would have never learned the “te” form and the adjectives!
@@Army-uy9yr @Army idunno if this helps but...it's not about memorizing it, it's more like you ingrained it into your mind to the point that when you speak it it just second natures or it becomes a habit :DD (I was raised in a city that's trilingual and I'm also currently learning Japanese so yeh...xD) Keep saying Japanese expressions out loud like (tatoeba- for example) (kyo wa- today) (nani-what) (matte kudasai- please wait) (Mendokusai- Ughh annoying) xD this is what I always say when my parents gives me chores hahahha
FOR PEOPLE WHO GAME: Pokémon is a great thing to play when learning Japanese! The recent games have a Japanese setting, with both Kanji and Kana only options!
Good tips!!! I'm learning both English and Japanese by myself (My Native lenguage is Spanish) I can almost speak fluent English (not like a native tho) read and comprehend conversations, I can read Hiragana, now I'm trying Katakana then I will go for Kanji!! 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
はじめまして！ I’m Japanese and taking class to become Japanese language teacher now. I didn’t know how Japanese language can be when you learn it until taking this course. I’m very proud of you, how you did it! すごいよ！ Enjoy living in beautiful county Japan. I miss my country, people, culture, manner, tradition, food and おんせんthe most. 😍
Very useful video!! Thank you :D Edit: helpful, useful - both 😂 also just realized how applicable these tips are to other languages that I’m learning. here’s more thanks!! :)
I learned hiragana and katakana first Then started Genki (still am) I also changed my phone to Japanese and I only listen to Japanese music and Japanese shows (not anime). I have to speak English tho I’m still in highschool
"What a waste it would be to live here for 2 or more years without learning Japanese" Me: **cough** 11 years in Japan and still incapable of learning the language...flm
its not easy. many different strategies for learning japanese and managing communication. i did a little of everything. i hate classes but have done them. i learned a lot from drinking and karaoke. i want to do all the advanced grammar stuff now but it just feels like memorizing stuff for jlpt tests.
Learn a new hobby in my target language???...🤯😲 I'm enjoying the entire video, but this is my favorite tip. Now I just need to figure out what I want to learn.
The most effective way is to speak the language, really - conversation. The sad thing is that there is no one to talk Japanese to in my neighborhood. Therefore, people might think I'm insane for talking to myself in Japanese while there's nobody in the room. 🥺
I think it's useful to learn Japanese culture and how it relates to language. As an American, and a English speaker, the way we typically communicate is direct, where we don't typically want the listener to read between the lines. Also the way we address people older or superior hardly changes our patterns. However Japanese expressions are not direct, they usually want listeners to infer meaning from your indirectness, whether it's because the speaker is superior or it's just a form of politeness where you don't demand things from people. A common way to tell someone to be quiet is to say "urasai!". Literally you're saying "noisy!" but the listener will understand you're saying "to shut up!" This goes with Andy's point about learning sentences instead of single words because your expectation of how to say something in English is very different from how Japanese will express themselves.
Taking a few notes from how I learnt English: Tip #1: Don't just watch videos of people teaching Japanese. Watch content you like *in Japanese*. This will train your ear and see how other natives speak and structure their sentences. You will most definitely witness slangs, puns, sarcasm, expressions of joy, anger and jokes in Japanese - it'll broaden your knowledge. You can do the same with games you already played and films without subtitles Tip #2: Take your time. Everyone learns at different paces and different methods. Don't feel discouraged if it's taking long, just remember that you're taking initiative and that's more important than learning fast (unless you have a Tinder date, then my friend you done goofed)
@@Xgil2Play Not everyone can learn like that though. Japanese is an especially hard language for English native speakers. I can tell you that it doesnt take me long to pick up Spanish when I'm surrounded by it but I've been immersing myself in Japanese for literally 8 years actively trying to learn for the past 5 years and only very basic grammar and phrases has stuck with me thus far. No matter how much I listen to Japanese music, watch Japanese shows and movies, and even listen to Japanese podcasts I still dont pick it up from listening like I can Spanish. Even though through immersing myself in the language it comes easier to me than Spanish and I can speak it better. But picking up words through listening and picking up pronunciation and stuff through listening are two different things. Am I better at Japanese than Spanish? Yes. I know about slightly more basic Spanish but I am in fact better at Japanese and find Japanese easier than Spanish at this point. But I definitely can't pick up words and stuff like I can just listening to Spanish. Mainly because Spanish is very easy for an English speaker to learn. It's much more comparable to English than Japanese which has almost no similarities whatsoever. The same can be said when it comes to Spanish speakers learning English. My friend literally learned English from playing Minecraft lol Everyone is different of course but you should keep in mind picking up stuff from a language is in fact affected by whether that language is similar to your native tongue or not.
Also, your advice isn't exactly bad or untrue. You're correct in what you said. But I dont think you should only rely on training your ear. Watching videos teaching Japanese can be just as beneficial. I know I would NOT have any clue about Japanese grammar if I wasnt taught it. Using multiple ways to learn, especially when you have free resources available, is ALWAYS beneficial
And lastly, when it comes to being taught. . .I'm a native English speaker but I wouldn't be able to teach English as well as someone who studied it as a second language until they became fluent. This is because I grew up speaking English and learning it from the time I was an infant and cannot relate to those studying it. So, when learning Japanese I've found that foreigners that have passed the N1 exam are excellent teachers. They have amazing advice and great methods. They know how to teach because they know how they learned. Listening to native speakers is crucial and beneficial but when it comes to actual lessons on the subject I would say its better to learn from someone who knows what its like to learn. There are still definitely good Japanese teachers out there lol I just think that you can better understand a foreigner and relate to them when they teach. Sometimes that is the best way. Sorry for all the super long paragraphs lol
In short, just start learning JAPANESE! Instead of wasting your time planning, searching and in the end you did nothing/didn't learn anything. What I'm saying is if you started learning japanese, you will start to develop your own way of learning, what method works for you. Just remember that when learning something, it takes time. Enjoy the process, be mindful of slow growth, do not rush. 1% everyday is the key :)
I've learned japanese in high school once. then again for the 2nd 102 course in college. since then I haven't touched a lesson but still listen to music and watch anime/video games in japanese. any tips on where to start? I would like to read and listen well. ^-^ speaking would be fine as well.
damn bro. ive lived here for five years and i didn't bother in studying. it made me kind of sad. but just now i started learning. my biggest weakness is consistency i always fell like i cant remember stuff also "study thing you enjoy" i hate studying as a whole lol
I was so impressed with your Japanese as a Japanese language teacher! it is always my dream to help others! This video will help lots of people☺️I hope you will be successful in Japan✨I would love to help as many people as I can!頑張って下さい！
Thanks for taking the time to make this video. You've given me some additional food for thought as I continue with my own Japanese learning experience. Your Genki overview videos are so helpful, and I look forward to more content from you in the future.
You know me my friend I want to learn as much Japanese as possible this year. I think as of right now i will focus more on reading and listening based off of the resources i have right now. So far I am: -On GENKI 2 Lesson 17 and watching your videos to review GENKI 1 -Going to read through the Tobira textbook -Listening to Japanesepod101 and watch anime everyday and I’m starting to here more words and phrases -Learning kanji from Remembering the Kanji and learning -Learning more grammar from the Elementary/Beginner Grammar Dictionaries Do you have more advice for Learning Kanji
Learn vocabulary along with their kanji, especially if you already know them from Remembering the Kanji. This will help you learn how to read them. Thanks for watching!
i always procrastinate learning japanese since 2009 and had the time to do it now. luckily for me, i was able to apply my learnings on hiragana already during those times. although i only know how to identify them in a flash card rather than reading it with a full sentence with hiraganas. that's my progress so far
duolingo helps for practicing recall and hearing how words are pronounced but yeah for learning japanese id recommend buying a book or find some free pdf versions of them and get to reading and writing lol
Duolingo.. it's possible to learn stuff there, but after spending *a lot* of time there I'm certain I could have used that time better. Much better. As in "ignore Duolingo, find something better". The method is in the name itself - learning through translation. I don't think that's the best method, and that's just one of the problems with Duolingo. And with the update they did some months ago you can't even trust the pronunciation.
I’m a Chinese living in the uk and study Japanese as a hobby. I replaced most tv watching to be in Japanese, gaming to be language app/Japanese games, chatting with friends to be chatting with language friends. That’s helpful.
Took N2 some 10 years ago and passed it. Then failed N1 by like 10 points. To this day, can barely speak, but I’m pretty good at reading. I can read and understand newspaper articles for the most part and most manga are no problem. I practice writing any words I don’t see all the time as I read. Not very efficient, but it’s got me far over the years.
From my own experience, and from input from others, I'll recommend that you learn Hiragana and Katakana *at the same time*. It's just much harder to "get" Katakana if you learn it later - you start confusing things. Think of learning Hiragana+Katakana at the same time as if you are learning the alphabet like so: Aa Bb Cd Dd Ee Ff Gg and so on.
I use "one word" flashcards, but not in the traditional and inaccurate way of L2 word > L1 word (and vice-versa). Last year I read "Fluent Forever" (Gabriel Wyner), and have experimented with the author's suggestion of using L2 word (Japanese or whatever is your target) on the front, and then one or multiple images on the back (absolutely no English or L1 anywhere). In addition, I add the pitch accent markings to the kana reading, as well as adding a voice sample (taken from the NHK pitch accent dictionary or OJAD, or Forvo if necessary). I've been using this system for words and kanji compounds, and it makes the review fun and challenging in that it's never too easy, and engages multiple parts of the brain: audio, visual, text, etc. Also, I can make them pretty quickly, spending only about a minute or two in preparing the card - allowing me to make many per day. Of course I use sentence cards too, and I generally make them for the words I have already added using the method described above. Usually I use the "cloze deletion" in which I try to recall the correct particle or auxiliary word, or sometimes the target word itself. Anyway, the book I mentioned goes into greater detail.
These are some great tips that aren’t the same ones you hear on all the typical language learning blog posts.. I’m studying other languages now but hope to get to Japanese soon enough, thanks!
I think I’m gonna have to graduate highschool before being able to full time study Japanese. I HAVE to expose myself to both French and English everyday. I’ll be able to take this more seriously once I graduate in June
You can still study. I had to expose myself to English every day when I was studying as well, since I was an English Teacher after all. =) It's still doable.
Oh god this is a saving grace,,,, I’ve been learning Japanese in high school for 5 years now. It took me until year 3 to actually start making any progress with it, and I only learned about the existence of pitch accents this year through my own research 😭😭
I'm so surprised about not learning about the pitch accent - that was something that came up in the very beginning when I started learning. Not sure where it came from.. but I was also surrounded by Japanese native speakers at the time, and they had me repeat sentences until they were happy with the pronunciation. And I ran into words where the pitch difference was the only difference between two different meanings (bridge and chopsticks, or oysters and persimmons..). But my own language has pitch accent as well, so maybe that's why I paid attention.
Great channel. My experience with the “immersion” method wasn’t great. Having the teachers only speak in Japanese and all the explanations in japan was detrimental to me. I really wanted to know 100 % what they were talking about. Other than that great content and I agree with everything else!
Must say that is a great attitude Not trying to bring culture or race but you can know so little and likely still get ppl help in a friendly way in Asia as a westerner than another way around Obviously there will still be differences and also the location ur in ( big city vs further out ..etc )
I’ve been using wanikani for kanji and vocab, along with some other studies, so when I heard you say 山登り, I was pretty excited because I knew what that meant without much second thought, even though you were talking about it prior🤣
I put a Spongebob game in the Japanese language (cuz you know I want to learn the language and all). Btw, it was very funny because everytime I saw a hiragana I would know, I would be like あ! A! お O! etc. And man, despite the fact I didn't know anything, it still made me happy, gave me comfort to see the language so close to me. Because when I was growing up, games that release where I live came out in English, Spanish, etc, but not Japanese. Of course, unless the game was made by Japan. Gotta admit after finishing playing the game. My brain hurt like hell. But my journey didn't ended there, I decided to get myself a VPN and push my language journey further. I put some japanese tv on my computer. And went to sleep with it on (I obviously put on a shutdown timer). Btw, Im currently learning Hiragana. I started like two days ago and Im hooked. Its so much fun despite the fact that it is a complex journey. It satisfies me to persue it.
"I heard a lot of people like Wanikani nowadays" At least most people on Japanese-learning RUclips and Reddit hate Wanikani with a passion and swear on rtk and Anki instead. (I personally though do enjoy Wanikani a lot)
I found a lot of success with tofugus other guides, have you heard any valid arguments about why wanikani would be a bad service? It seems good enough on the free levels, especially after installing a mobile version of it
@@thatgreenguy244 I don't remember all of them, and of the ones I list here I wouldn't necessarily agree with all of them being downsides. 1. When compared to RTK they don't only teach you Kanji, but also some vocab and readings which is bad. (I don't know why, but people say it is bad.) 2. They don't let you go as fast as you want, and limit you to at most a level per 6 days, and the intervals are set in general. This means that while some people allegedly can get through RTK in 3 Months, wanikani will take you a minimum of 12 months 3. They have premade mnemonics so you don't have to come up with them by yourself like you have to with RTK later on. 4. Their order isn't usage based meaning some rather rare words or Kanji will be used earlier on (usually for kanji because they are radicals in other more common kanji, and for words to get through some of the alternative readings) 4. This is actually a complaint I personally have, but I don't hear people outside of the wanikani community talking about: a lot of the premade mnemonics are extremely American, so if your pronunciation of some English words isn't very American some mnemonics don't make a lot of sense. 5. You can't skip over words and Kanji you already know. There's probably a few dozen more complaints, but I can't remember them right now
Great video! 🤗 I've been following your genki series, although admitedly I'm not going at the pace I would like because turns out being a public school teacher during a pandemic is a lot of hard work lol. I can read hiragana and katakana, and last year I took a trip to Japan and enjoyed trying to use my VERY LIMITED Japanese to ask questions and such. I still have trouble forming sentences and I feel like my next step for sure should be to speak with native japanese speakers online, but talking to strangers gives me bad anxiety! 😥😥😥 Hope I am able to overcome this feeling so that I can make some progress!! 🤧😊
I hope you are too, but take your time! A little bit at a time will get you there eventually! Keep it up! Thank you for watching, and I'm happy to hear that the videos are helping a bit. =)
I will try italki. I find Japanese natives are impatient for the reasons you mentioned. One way I learned French vocabulary was to speak Frenglish. When I didn't know how to describe the word in French: "Je crois que le président et sa wife sont chouette." And the person with whom I am speaking would tell me in French that "wife" is "femme" then I would continue talking about the president and "sa femme," using the same new word over and over. My Japanese teachers hate this, but I find it very effective.
Wait, I’m learning a French as well, quick question. If you’re using possessive pronouns in the masculine or feminine, does it depend on the subject or the person who’s thing it is? Like, the wide is feminine, so is that what you base it on?
the best way to learn hiragana and katakana imo is just using like a memory game and matching the saying. Then once you can read them, you can begin learning to write them which shouldn't take long.
12:35 Those books are invaluable for Japanese Learners. I recommend them to everyone who is serious about learning Japanese. They are freaking amazing!!!!!!
What if you don't live in Japan or have japanese speaking people around you in your everyday life? Is it still possible to become fluent in the language??
Absolutely! This is just what I did. There are lots of ways to do similar things back home (watching videos in Japanese, tv shows, reading, music, etc). 😊
@@ToKiniAndy great! It may just take a little longer, I'd assume? 😅 I've wanted to learn Japanese for a long time now, but I've not made the time to do so seriously. I work a 40hr/week job as well, so I'm going to have to seriously figure out how I can manage and develop a realistic AND effective study schedule. I'm definitely starting with your videos!! ❤️
Andy, you are awesome. Just as you shared, instead of just learning isolated vocabulary words... it truly makes more sense to learn these as part of phrase or in a sentence. Your suggestions are already paying off! ありがとうございます。
Great video Andy. What books make your 'must-own' list? I'll order those grammar dictionaries you mentioned in the video. I already own Remembering the Kanji and Genki. What else should every student own? Specifically grammar or workbooks. For reading practice, I'm currently using よつばと!, it's really clear and uses furigana, so even though I don't understand everything, it's good practice for recalling the hiragana and starting to read it at a natural pace. NHK News also is useful. Any other suggestions? Thanks! I'm really pushing in September to make some solid progress. I've cut down on as much English content/tv/music as I can and immersing myself in Japanese as much as possible.
I think you have the bases covered with the books you have (and after you get the dictionaries)! My PERSONAL must-have is a Kindle. I read everything on it. A book I really enjoyed early on was 魔女の宅急便 (Kiki's Delivery Service). I plan on reading it again very soon actually. Thank you for watching, and good luck in September!
Excellent description of your learning experience! I love the one on “stopping to speak English. But Anki was not good for me, it’s like cramming, Best and thank you aplenty!
I'm one of those people where Anki doesn't work that well. I've used it *a lot*, but rote learning just doesn't work for me, including the repetition system Anki uses. I got very little back from a huge effort, but in the end I wasted a lot of time which I know see could have been used much better (it's just recently I've started to find methods which actually leads to progress for me). So there's a lot of regret there. My memory seems to only be able to learn from association, and just about never from translation (i.e. dictionaries don't work, glossary lists don't work, etc). Song lyrics are horribly hard - there are songs I repeated and repeated and thought I remembered, but after a few weeks they're gone - even after *years* of trying. Things I learn from association seems to stick very quickly though. The trouble is that it's hard to deliberately pin down the kind of input which leads to association. Some of the Japanese words and expressions I know are from a single exposure early on, and I never forgot them, while I have a hard time with other stuff. I'm not sure what was different. With English it was easy - I just had to start reading literature, mags, books that I liked, and watching English movies, and gradually I learned it all through association only.
I think the best way to learn a language is to live or at least visit the country or a country that speaks whatever language you're learning. Language is a perishable skill so if you want to learn Japanese but use English 100% of the time, it's naturally going to be difficult.
I just found this video and that is so awesome you were able to advance so much with speaking! I wish I lived in Japan to be able to go that hardcore with my language immersion haha. Amazing video and great job!!! :)
Great video. Thanks for this! I really liked your tip of changing everything on your phone...your news/social media...your movies/music...everything in Japanese...NO English. That's a great idea. You also said something about how by forcing yourself to speak Japanese (only), even when you have little command of the overall language or vocabulary, that it can provide huge benefits. That comment reminded me of my own personal experiences... So like, whenever I'm in a foreign country (take Japan, for e.g.,), to me, there is nothing more 'exciting' or 'fun', than to speak in the local language, and find that a local person actually UNDERSTOOD what I was trying to communicate to them....and even when I speak very little of the particular language. It's almost like a 'brain game', and often requires tons of CREATIVITY and not allowing potential embarrassment to get in the way. I'll never forget the time I was in a depato in Japan.... I was going to meet with a local tour guide in about 30 minutes from the time I was in the depato. I was just browsing, to kill some time, and ended up finding two pieces of clothing that I wanted to buy...I tried them on...they fit well...were beautiful and well-priced. However, I didn't want to buy them, only to have to then lug a bag around while the tour guide and I visited various temples (in Kyoto). So how to buy them, and then ask the sales rep if she could then hold the items for me until I came back the next day, to pick up the items? I knew that what I was about to say would sound a bit 'off'...might make the sales rep chuckle...but I was pretty sure she'd get what I was trying to say... So after confirming with her that "kurejito kado wa tsukaemas ka?", I then said "kaitai des to kaitai des" (pointing to both items...) "ga, ima, watashi to watashi no tomodachi ikimas....ano, ashita, koko ni ikimas e .... (then holding both of my hands/forearms up, as if I were carrying two shopping bags), neh?" She replied 'hai', and with that, took my credit card and the two items, went into the back, and in a minute or two came back with my credit card, and a receipt, but no shopping bag. So I reconfirmed, 'ano, ashita koko ni ikimas e.... (holding two bags), neh?' Again, she replied 'hai'. The next day I returned...the same sales rep was there...she clearly remembered me...and went in the back to produce my shopping bag. ;-) I was SO smitten with myself. Such fun!! Also, if you don't mind my sharing the following info with others, here are a few other resources that I've found very helpful for someone like me, who's at a medium-advanced Beginner level.... (FREE) Japanese Made Easy podcast series with a guy named 'Greg'. He explains things very well! He also has a more advanced course, online, called Japanese Mastery Method (though in some ways I prefer his podcast series) The book "Basic Connections: Making Your Japanese Flow", by Kakuko Shoji "A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar" by Seiichi Makino and Michio Tsutsui (but note this book is pretty dense, and a bit more advanced than the Basic Connections book I mention directly above) Tuttle Kana Flashcards The apps, Hiragana Pro and Katakana Pro (for those of us who ride public transit a lot, it's a great way to kill time and reinforce your kana, while on the subway....)
@@ToKiniAndyyou were so easy on this guy ;). Just started my journey about a month ago. Learned Hiragana and Am about halfway through katakana. These videos help a lot.
'Quit English' is a highly underrated tip!! It takes a lot of guts and patience to forgo falling back on English when you're struggling to find a word or express a certain feeling, but like you said it forces you to learn how to say it in Japanese. When you're learning a language, you gotta be a little shameless and be able to handle a lot of embarrassing moments 😅😂 Awesome video!! 🥳
That's so true, my only problem is that now that I'm quite fluent in English I keep falling back on it when learning Japanese too. It's as if my brain went like "now we are studying languages therefore we must use English to think" but I think it would be better if I simply switched from my native language to Japanese instead of going through a third one even tho it became pretty natural to me. I hope it makes sense at the very least
@@dbomba I get that!! When I try to speak French, my brain is like "okay, foreign language mode activated" and only Japanese words come to my mind 🤦♂️
Oh, yeah, living where the language is primary is a huge help. I learned Korean using similar methods while living and working there. I wasn't generally embarrassed over my mistakes and it never bothered me when people would laugh - I was "playing" with it anyway, so hey, we can all have fun, right?
One thing I've been having issues with is that most of the resources online are Japanese to English, and English isn't my first language. And while I HAVE been speaking English for over a decade niw, but somehow it's still an extra hurdle, especially when grammar terms in my own language are vastly different from English terms and I still suck at them. So getting into Japanese grammar requires me to learn more English first as a result and that just kinda feels silly to be honest. I guess I don't have much choice but it does make things a bit more daunting.
im half japanese but my dad has never taught me japanese and now that im a teenager, i still can’t speak it☹️ n my parents always frustrated w the fact that i can’t speak it n now im left trying to learn it by myself js to make my parents proud
Still confused on how people learn through reading, I cant comprehend any of the material 😂. Its this long process of looking up every Kanji/word that I dont understand which, is kind of all of them lol. It takes hours to get through a few pages. Is that how its supposed to be or am I missing something.
I love your videos! These are really helpful tips (noted!) I find that your experience learning kanji is similar to my own. I'm currently using Kodansha's Kanji Learner's Course and I study it similarly to how people used Remembering the Kanji. I learned the kanji meaning first and now I'm just learning vocab as I find it through immersion. I found this to be much easier, especially for vocabulary that is specific to a subject. (Plus I get to enjoy just reading, just watching without trying to make everything into a lesson. This is tedious enough work as is and I've to care for my 2 kids) Now, when I learn a kanji for a word I've known the kanji takes little to no effort to read, and thus makes reading Japanese and learning their readings soooo much easier. One thing to note that I've realized is that there will come a time when you learn so much kanji that your mind will yearn for more meaning. At that point definitely dive into reading (for me it was after 1300-1500. But I knew near 800 before from studying in college using genki and my own failed attempts lol). Once I started reading it was almost as though I was a Chinese person reading Japanese. I knew the meaning of the kanji and could figure out some of the sentence's meaning even if I couldn't pronounce the word in Japanese. But understanding it became really motivating. Now I try to practice reading books or anime scripts (for the audio pronunciation) and I'm learning vocab for kanji I *know*. Interestingly enough, kanji I just could not memorize on its own from the English meaning (which I would mark in my anki deck and just pass it so that I could at least still see it later) the kanji suddenly stuck better when I learned the Japanese word within context. Thus making acquiring new vocab much easier. Yes, it sounds very odd to do it this way but it's been incredibly useful. FyI, In 1 week I'll have learned 2300 kanji (no more new kanji!) and I've been learning 20/day. I practice writing by writing them once or later if the kanji doesn't want to stick but I mainly only try to recognize them so that I can read it in context. Now that I'm not longer in school I don't need to write as often but knowing the stroke order made it really easy to replicate kanji using the writing input feature on my phone to look up words wherever I go.
Congratulations on reaching 2300 kanji! That's quite an accomplishment. These days, I also find learning vocabulary as opposed to kanji on their own much more useful and interesting. It definitely makes them stick, and I'm able to use and read them! Keep it up, and thank you for watching!
I might try this. I have been trying to study for about a year and I feel I just don't get anywhere at all. The only thing I have going for me is that I am a native Spanish speaker so the pronunciation is easy.
I‘m surprised that there is so little information on pitch accent, at least in online lessons. I would assume it would make it much easier to be aware of this early, as it‘s a PITA to get rid of it once you have become accustomed to doing it wrong.
This is a very good video. When I first lived in Japan I did 1) learn hiragana and 2) use a phrasebook immediately too. Also, I too have never seen anyone become fluent using one-word flashcards, pretty obviously why not when you think about it, and I agree too that grammar textbooks are useful. They're not difficult, you can read one in a day, but it just shows you quickly and simply how to make similar constructions in another language, eg. "A is more ........../er than B" The only thing I would change is to put "reading" higher up the list, but it can be hard as it depends on knowing hiragana and finding good materials.
Your bonus tip is called circumlocution. You don't know the word for mailman, so instead you describe the man who brings the mail. Your conversation partner might then use the word for mailman and you've learned a new word without breaking the flow of conversation
That’s exactly how I learned to speak English. It’s really underrated. You used the vocabulary you already know to you learn new vocabulary in the process, you create new words associations in your brain and you remember new words better this way.
My French teacher used to suggest this all the time
The twelfth tip was my mistake with Anki; and it's fun that we arrived in the same solution.
I appreciate the RUclipsrs who share their experiences and methods to become fluent in a relatively short period of time. What I don't appreciate is that seemingly every video on this subject contains at least one method that is practically impossible for me, at least. They suggest methods such as "I live in Japan" or "I married a Japanese person." That's great for them, and I am envious, but they must know that very few people will have the same opportunities. So, please don't include it in your list, especially when the video title makes it sound like there are realistic methods for everyone.
The point about online language school, I partly disagree with it.
Actually, this really depends on WHAT type of language school you are talking about.
I am currently following a Japanese language school lessons and they don’t use English at all. (Well, sometimes for the meaning of one single specific word but that’s it. If we have like 2 or 3 English words in 4 hours of lessons, that’s already a lot).
You didn’t have the appropriate experience but it doesn’t mean it’s this way everywhere.
I’d rather recommend people to check about this specific point before getting involved into it ^-^
"Embarrassment makes things stick for a long time."
So very true!
It's always worked great for me!
@@ToKiniAndy same here, I remember those moments the most even years later!
Definitly, as i learned english, one time i said „I have to become a girlfriend first.“ What i wanted to say was „I have to get a girlfriend first.“ BTW, i did this misstake, cause i am german and the german word for get is „bekommen“ and idk why, but my brain thought „Hey, these words are so similar, it has to mean the same thing!“ Yeah, long story short, i got some very amused friends and a new insider out off it. Oh and i learned something.
Yeah but intentionally seeking out embarrassment to improve your Japanese 😂.
I used a small online language school and had a better experience. The teachers never spoke English but they did have English explanations (and Japanese ones) in the textbooks or slides they prepared. I thought this was a good way teach grammar while getting Japanese speaking and listening practice. Honestly, the teachers couldn’t speak English well anyway so they were embarrassed to.
I am currently studying japanese as my minor and have been through soooooo many youtube japanese teachers that obviously just make content for views and not to actually help people. That being said this is the BEST channel i have found for helping me learn japanese, Andy does a great job explaining grammar and he’s probably the only reason I havent failed yet lol
I'm so happy to hear that the videos have been helping!
Thank you for watching!
@Blaine Thomas Yes. She makes good videos. What about her?
That sounds so strange 🤔. I found ALL the Japanese teaching RUclipsrs helpful. Even the J fan-sub channels are useful for listening practice.
@Blaine Thomas yes I was just thinking about her cuz she explains so well and probably the first time I actually had some progress in studying japanese
I’m only 12 it’s so hard😭
I'm learning japanese for 2 years now, at first I was like " this is impossible" but look at me now, I'm getting ready for n4 exam. what I mean through this, dont give up, it may be hard but not impossible. 頑張ってね！
I'm a wee bit late but I just wanted to congratulate you on your progress and I hope your exam went well ^^ おめでとうございます！
That's great!
How much time daily did you put in?
Two years is a lot of time for the jlpt4 imho
@@jayp9158 Depends what else you have going on in your life. And either way, it's not a race. Unnecessary comment imho.
@@jayp9158 really stupid comment, just makes you look insecure & trolly
Me after Tip 4:
*Join call with a friend*
Me: "申し申し”
Friend: "STOP SPEAKING JAPANESE!"
I'm walking through a department store right now and this comment just made me laugh out loud. Sorry innocent bystanders.
😂😂😂
ごめんなさい
XD
What kanji is this please? ありがとう :)
@@el.e-t9k The one that @Portato said?
もしもし
It means "hello?" when you pick up the telephone.
@@ToKiniAndy ありがとうございます！ a phrase for me to add to my learning:D
I only intended to be there for the extent of my tourist visa, ended up staying 11 years 😅
Learning vocab through sentences and phrases instead of lists/flashcards is definitely something worth emphasizing and repeating in the language learning community. While reviewing a list can be helpful, it's best to apply the language and put it into practice..always be moving forward! Immerse!
Yup! Thanks for watching! =)
If you're looking for video ideas and to generate hits, doing a more in-depth review of what Tae Kim does right and where he goes astray would be a good one.
If Japanese is your religion, let the book “remembering the kanji” be your bible
You are right! I just got 457 kanji in one month! That book is aweome!
Isn't that the line from AbroadInJapan? lmao
FOR REAL. Its been 3 months and i havent even been that great about it and im at 1300
@@Dedonarivl96that's great! im on my 1245!
how do you use it because its barely taught me any kanji
I feel like most of these tips only work if you are living in Japan and are forced to speak Japanese in situations... I can't find a way to speak to native speakers without inconveniencing them with my low level of JP, unless I am paying them... which I can't afford
Try hello talk, and you should probably take this guys statement with a pinch of salt of being “conversationaly” fluent there’s no way he actually was that in 6 months, if he went to a bar and they started talking about baseball on the weekend and going into depth about the game he wouldn’t understand at most this guy could order food and ask people about what they are doing and hold that conversation. He probably had basic conversation skills
Use vr chat and go to Japanese shrine.
@@franciscotavares9529 I second this. It has a pretty good community.
language exchange is not inconveniencing the other person. especially if you are likable. But yeah, living in a country where you are exposed to the language all the time obviously gives a lot more opportunities to learn. If you're looking for help to talk yourself out of learning Japanese, here it is: it's hard, it wont seem as interesting when you've learned it and it is useless outside Japan. translations are good enough and sometimes better if they mask some awkwardness of really understanding the original.
On the other hand, there is a sense of reward to improving at a language, so if you crave that (as polyglots do) being in the country is not a requirement. learning a language to watch TV IS dumb tho lol
I live in Japan and it's really easy to avoid speaking Japanese, especially if you work in the English-teaching sector. I've picked it up, stopped, picked it back up again, and just ugh.
The biggest advice I can give is you really have to want to be fluent. It's a big commitment.
I have been studying Japanese for about 7 months now. Even though I have learned a lot, it has been really hard to concentrate on Japanese for the last few months. I guess the whole pandemic situation is at fault.
Anyhow, thank you for another cool video, Andy! If it wasn’t for your Genki videos, I would have never learned the “te” form and the adjectives!
This whole thing has definitely made things harder for a lot of people. I'm happy to hear some of the videos help though! =)
Thank you for watching!
@@Army-uy9yr @Army idunno if this helps but...it's not about memorizing it, it's more like you ingrained it into your mind to the point that when you speak it it just second natures or it becomes a habit :DD (I was raised in a city that's trilingual and I'm also currently learning Japanese so yeh...xD) Keep saying Japanese expressions out loud like (tatoeba- for example) (kyo wa- today) (nani-what) (matte kudasai- please wait) (Mendokusai- Ughh annoying) xD this is what I always say when my parents gives me chores hahahha
@@anonykitsune thxs
FOR PEOPLE WHO GAME: Pokémon is a great thing to play when learning Japanese! The recent games have a Japanese setting, with both Kanji and Kana only options!
thanks so much
I've seen people recommend Animal Crossing too just because of the sheer amount of vocabulary.
Good tips!!! I'm learning both English and Japanese by myself (My Native lenguage is Spanish) I can almost speak fluent English (not like a native tho) read and comprehend conversations, I can read Hiragana, now I'm trying Katakana then I will go for Kanji!! 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻
はじめまして！
I’m Japanese and taking class to become Japanese language teacher now. I didn’t know how Japanese language can be when you learn it until taking this course.
I’m very proud of you, how you did it! すごいよ！
Enjoy living in beautiful county Japan. I miss my country, people, culture, manner, tradition, food and おんせんthe most. 😍
Very useful video!! Thank you :D
Edit: helpful, useful - both 😂 also just realized how applicable these tips are to other languages that I’m learning. here’s more thanks!! :)
Wuih
Hai zahid
I learned hiragana and katakana first
Then started Genki (still am)
I also changed my phone to Japanese and I only listen to Japanese music and Japanese shows (not anime). I have to speak English tho I’m still in highschool
All great things to start! It's okay, I have to speak English still sometimes too. =) Trying to use as much Japanese as you can though will help! =)
ok, so basically do everything immediately. Got it
2:24 - Extra "Some" lol
6:03 - "In only JAPANESE"
11:55 - Things like やっぱり and ええと、あのう、etc make you sound more natural!
Thanks for stopping by!
"What a waste it would be to live here for 2 or more years without learning Japanese"
Me: **cough** 11 years in Japan and still incapable of learning the language...flm
It's never too late! =)
its not easy. many different strategies for learning japanese and managing communication. i did a little of everything. i hate classes but have done them. i learned a lot from drinking and karaoke. i want to do all the advanced grammar stuff now but it just feels like memorizing stuff for jlpt tests.
Bruh you wasted your time
@@starfox300 He didn't really "waste" his time if he never devoted any time to doing it in the first place.
Learn a new hobby in my target language???...🤯😲
I'm enjoying the entire video, but this is my favorite tip. Now I just need to figure out what I want to learn.
It was such a weird feeling to know more about something in my new language than in my native language. And also, super exciting!
The most effective way is to speak the language, really - conversation. The sad thing is that there is no one to talk Japanese to in my neighborhood. Therefore, people might think I'm insane for talking to myself in Japanese while there's nobody in the room. 🥺
That’s what the internet is for!
Online bro
I think it's useful to learn Japanese culture and how it relates to language. As an American, and a English speaker, the way we typically communicate is direct, where we don't typically want the listener to read between the lines. Also the way we address people older or superior hardly changes our patterns. However Japanese expressions are not direct, they usually want listeners to infer meaning from your indirectness, whether it's because the speaker is superior or it's just a form of politeness where you don't demand things from people.
A common way to tell someone to be quiet is to say "urasai!". Literally you're saying "noisy!" but the listener will understand you're saying "to shut up!" This goes with Andy's point about learning sentences instead of single words because your expectation of how to say something in English is very different from how Japanese will express themselves.
Taking a few notes from how I learnt English:
Tip #1: Don't just watch videos of people teaching Japanese. Watch content you like *in Japanese*. This will train your ear and see how other natives speak and structure their sentences. You will most definitely witness slangs, puns, sarcasm, expressions of joy, anger and jokes in Japanese - it'll broaden your knowledge. You can do the same with games you already played and films without subtitles
Tip #2: Take your time. Everyone learns at different paces and different methods. Don't feel discouraged if it's taking long, just remember that you're taking initiative and that's more important than learning fast (unless you have a Tinder date, then my friend you done goofed)
Do you think one can learn how to speak Japanese by watching movies, etc?
I watch Korean shows exclusively, and have been hoping I'll pick it up.
@@rdred8693 I learnt English primarily by watching RUclipsrs and by listening/ talking to people.
@@Xgil2Play Not everyone can learn like that though. Japanese is an especially hard language for English native speakers. I can tell you that it doesnt take me long to pick up Spanish when I'm surrounded by it but I've been immersing myself in Japanese for literally 8 years actively trying to learn for the past 5 years and only very basic grammar and phrases has stuck with me thus far. No matter how much I listen to Japanese music, watch Japanese shows and movies, and even listen to Japanese podcasts I still dont pick it up from listening like I can Spanish. Even though through immersing myself in the language it comes easier to me than Spanish and I can speak it better. But picking up words through listening and picking up pronunciation and stuff through listening are two different things.
Am I better at Japanese than Spanish? Yes. I know about slightly more basic Spanish but I am in fact better at Japanese and find Japanese easier than Spanish at this point.
But I definitely can't pick up words and stuff like I can just listening to Spanish. Mainly because Spanish is very easy for an English speaker to learn. It's much more comparable to English than Japanese which has almost no similarities whatsoever. The same can be said when it comes to Spanish speakers learning English. My friend literally learned English from playing Minecraft lol
Everyone is different of course but you should keep in mind picking up stuff from a language is in fact affected by whether that language is similar to your native tongue or not.
Also, your advice isn't exactly bad or untrue. You're correct in what you said. But I dont think you should only rely on training your ear. Watching videos teaching Japanese can be just as beneficial. I know I would NOT have any clue about Japanese grammar if I wasnt taught it. Using multiple ways to learn, especially when you have free resources available, is ALWAYS beneficial
And lastly, when it comes to being taught. . .I'm a native English speaker but I wouldn't be able to teach English as well as someone who studied it as a second language until they became fluent. This is because I grew up speaking English and learning it from the time I was an infant and cannot relate to those studying it.
So, when learning Japanese I've found that foreigners that have passed the N1 exam are excellent teachers. They have amazing advice and great methods. They know how to teach because they know how they learned. Listening to native speakers is crucial and beneficial but when it comes to actual lessons on the subject I would say its better to learn from someone who knows what its like to learn.
There are still definitely good Japanese teachers out there lol I just think that you can better understand a foreigner and relate to them when they teach. Sometimes that is the best way.
Sorry for all the super long paragraphs lol
In short, just start learning JAPANESE! Instead of wasting your time planning, searching and in the end you did nothing/didn't learn anything. What I'm saying is if you started learning japanese, you will start to develop your own way of learning, what method works for you.
Just remember that when learning something, it takes time. Enjoy the process, be mindful of slow growth, do not rush. 1% everyday is the key :)
I've learned japanese in high school once. then again for the 2nd 102 course in college. since then I haven't touched a lesson but still listen to music and watch anime/video games in japanese. any tips on where to start? I would like to read and listen well. ^-^ speaking would be fine as well.
Loving your content and the Genki lessons... Trilingual soon!
I'm happy to hear that they are helping!
Thank you for watching, and as for trilingual: がんばってください！(^o^)丿
Ive been learning Japanese poorly for years on my own and just found your channel. Thank you!
damn bro. ive lived here for five years and i didn't bother in studying. it made me kind of sad. but just now i started learning. my biggest weakness is consistency i always fell like i cant remember stuff
also "study thing you enjoy" i hate studying as a whole lol
Do you like playing games/watching youtube videos? You can do them in Japanese, and now you're studying! =)
Thanks for watching!
I was so impressed with your Japanese as a Japanese language teacher! it is always my dream to help others! This video will help lots of people☺️I hope you will be successful in Japan✨I would love to help as many people as I can!頑張って下さい！
That’s so nice of you ^^
Thanks for taking the time to make this video. You've given me some additional food for thought as I continue with my own Japanese learning experience. Your Genki overview videos are so helpful, and I look forward to more content from you in the future.
Thank you for watching! I'm happy the videos are helping!
You know me my friend I want to learn as much Japanese as possible this year. I think as of right now i will focus more on reading and listening based off of the resources i have right now. So far I am:
-On GENKI 2 Lesson 17 and watching your videos to review GENKI 1
-Going to read through the Tobira textbook
-Listening to Japanesepod101 and watch anime everyday and I’m starting to here more words and phrases
-Learning kanji from Remembering the Kanji and learning
-Learning more grammar from the Elementary/Beginner Grammar Dictionaries
Do you have more advice for Learning Kanji
Learn vocabulary along with their kanji, especially if you already know them from Remembering the Kanji. This will help you learn how to read them.
Thanks for watching!
i always procrastinate learning japanese since 2009 and had the time to do it now. luckily for me, i was able to apply my learnings on hiragana already during those times. although i only know how to identify them in a flash card rather than reading it with a full sentence with hiraganas. that's my progress so far
Good job keep it up!
I was really hoping it was just "Use Duolingo or Memrise everyday"
duolingo helps for practicing recall and hearing how words are pronounced but yeah for learning japanese id recommend buying a book or find some free pdf versions of them and get to reading and writing lol
👎
Duolingo.. it's possible to learn stuff there, but after spending *a lot* of time there I'm certain I could have used that time better. Much better. As in "ignore Duolingo, find something better". The method is in the name itself - learning through translation. I don't think that's the best method, and that's just one of the problems with Duolingo. And with the update they did some months ago you can't even trust the pronunciation.
I’m a Chinese living in the uk and study Japanese as a hobby. I replaced most tv watching to be in Japanese, gaming to be language app/Japanese games, chatting with friends to be chatting with language friends. That’s helpful.
Took N2 some 10 years ago and passed it. Then failed N1 by like 10 points. To this day, can barely speak, but I’m pretty good at reading.
I can read and understand newspaper articles for the most part and most manga are no problem. I practice writing any words I don’t see all the time as I read. Not very efficient, but it’s got me far over the years.
From my own experience, and from input from others, I'll recommend that you learn Hiragana and Katakana *at the same time*. It's just much harder to "get" Katakana if you learn it later - you start confusing things. Think of learning Hiragana+Katakana at the same time as if you are learning the alphabet like so: Aa Bb Cd Dd Ee Ff Gg and so on.
Funnily enough, this is exactly what I recommend in my newest video on the topic. 😊
Sooo helpful! I just made a "one word" flashcard deck and thought "hmm this is pretty hard". After watching this video I'm definitely tossing that.
Glad to hear you found the video helpful! I hope that your new decks are a little easier to follow! =)
I use "one word" flashcards, but not in the traditional and inaccurate way of L2 word > L1 word (and vice-versa). Last year I read "Fluent Forever" (Gabriel Wyner), and have experimented with the author's suggestion of using L2 word (Japanese or whatever is your target) on the front, and then one or multiple images on the back (absolutely no English or L1 anywhere). In addition, I add the pitch accent markings to the kana reading, as well as adding a voice sample (taken from the NHK pitch accent dictionary or OJAD, or Forvo if necessary). I've been using this system for words and kanji compounds, and it makes the review fun and challenging in that it's never too easy, and engages multiple parts of the brain: audio, visual, text, etc. Also, I can make them pretty quickly, spending only about a minute or two in preparing the card - allowing me to make many per day.
Of course I use sentence cards too, and I generally make them for the words I have already added using the method described above. Usually I use the "cloze deletion" in which I try to recall the correct particle or auxiliary word, or sometimes the target word itself. Anyway, the book I mentioned goes into greater detail.
Why does everyone miss pronounce Tae Kim as Thai Kim?
Who would want to talk to you in Japanese if you can't speak Japanese?
"Quit english" Dude my mind works in two languages I'd have to cut TWO
Same
It gets easier. Every day it gets a little easier. But you gotta do it every day -that’s the hard part. But it does get easier.
These are some great tips that aren’t the same ones you hear on all the typical language learning blog posts.. I’m studying other languages now but hope to get to Japanese soon enough, thanks!
I think I’m gonna have to graduate highschool before being able to full time study Japanese. I HAVE to expose myself to both French and English everyday. I’ll be able to take this more seriously once I graduate in June
You can still study. I had to expose myself to English every day when I was studying as well, since I was an English Teacher after all. =) It's still doable.
Congratulations! It gets easier with time; best of luck to you!
I think part of these comes from his imagination but it's ok. Interesting!
So immersion then…
Oh god this is a saving grace,,,, I’ve been learning Japanese in high school for 5 years now. It took me until year 3 to actually start making any progress with it, and I only learned about the existence of pitch accents this year through my own research 😭😭
I'm so surprised about not learning about the pitch accent - that was something that came up in the very beginning when I started learning. Not sure where it came from.. but I was also surrounded by Japanese native speakers at the time, and they had me repeat sentences until they were happy with the pronunciation. And I ran into words where the pitch difference was the only difference between two different meanings (bridge and chopsticks, or oysters and persimmons..). But my own language has pitch accent as well, so maybe that's why I paid attention.
Great channel. My experience with the “immersion” method wasn’t great. Having the teachers only speak in Japanese and all the explanations in japan was detrimental to me. I really wanted to know 100 % what they were talking about. Other than that great content and I agree with everything else!
Must say that is a great attitude
Not trying to bring culture or race but you can know so little and likely still get ppl help in a friendly way in Asia as a westerner than another way around
Obviously there will still be differences and also the location ur in ( big city vs further out ..etc )
Tremendous content here. Thanks for all you do, Andy! (Everyone should subscribe! The content is continually great!)
Thank you Keckles! =)
I’ve been using wanikani for kanji and vocab, along with some other studies, so when I heard you say 山登り, I was pretty excited because I knew what that meant without much second thought, even though you were talking about it prior🤣
I put a Spongebob game in the Japanese language (cuz you know I want to learn the language and all). Btw, it was very funny because everytime I saw a hiragana I would know, I would be like あ! A! お O! etc. And man, despite the fact I didn't know anything, it still made me happy, gave me comfort to see the language so close to me. Because when I was growing up, games that release where I live came out in English, Spanish, etc, but not Japanese. Of course, unless the game was made by Japan.
Gotta admit after finishing playing the game. My brain hurt like hell. But my journey didn't ended there, I decided to get myself a VPN and push my language journey further. I put some japanese tv on my computer. And went to sleep with it on (I obviously put on a shutdown timer).
Btw, Im currently learning Hiragana. I started like two days ago and Im hooked. Its so much fun despite the fact that it is a complex journey. It satisfies me to persue it.
"I heard a lot of people like Wanikani nowadays"
At least most people on Japanese-learning RUclips and Reddit hate Wanikani with a passion and swear on rtk and Anki instead.
(I personally though do enjoy Wanikani a lot)
I found a lot of success with tofugus other guides, have you heard any valid arguments about why wanikani would be a bad service? It seems good enough on the free levels, especially after installing a mobile version of it
@@thatgreenguy244 I don't remember all of them, and of the ones I list here I wouldn't necessarily agree with all of them being downsides.
1. When compared to RTK they don't only teach you Kanji, but also some vocab and readings which is bad. (I don't know why, but people say it is bad.)
2. They don't let you go as fast as you want, and limit you to at most a level per 6 days, and the intervals are set in general. This means that while some people allegedly can get through RTK in 3 Months, wanikani will take you a minimum of 12 months
3. They have premade mnemonics so you don't have to come up with them by yourself like you have to with RTK later on.
4. Their order isn't usage based meaning some rather rare words or Kanji will be used earlier on (usually for kanji because they are radicals in other more common kanji, and for words to get through some of the alternative readings)
4. This is actually a complaint I personally have, but I don't hear people outside of the wanikani community talking about: a lot of the premade mnemonics are extremely American, so if your pronunciation of some English words isn't very American some mnemonics don't make a lot of sense.
5. You can't skip over words and Kanji you already know.
There's probably a few dozen more complaints, but I can't remember them right now
Great video! 🤗 I've been following your genki series, although admitedly I'm not going at the pace I would like because turns out being a public school teacher during a pandemic is a lot of hard work lol. I can read hiragana and katakana, and last year I took a trip to Japan and enjoyed trying to use my VERY LIMITED Japanese to ask questions and such. I still have trouble forming sentences and I feel like my next step for sure should be to speak with native japanese speakers online, but talking to strangers gives me bad anxiety! 😥😥😥 Hope I am able to overcome this feeling so that I can make some progress!! 🤧😊
I hope you are too, but take your time! A little bit at a time will get you there eventually! Keep it up!
Thank you for watching, and I'm happy to hear that the videos are helping a bit. =)
I will try italki. I find Japanese natives are impatient for the reasons you mentioned. One way I learned French vocabulary was to speak Frenglish. When I didn't know how to describe the word in French: "Je crois que le président et sa wife sont chouette." And the person with whom I am speaking would tell me in French that "wife" is "femme" then I would continue talking about the president and "sa femme," using the same new word over and over. My Japanese teachers hate this, but I find it very effective.
I do this a lot still. I'm trying to stop. haha
But it's definitely useful when learning.
I hope you find it useful if you give it a shot!
Wait, I’m learning a French as well, quick question. If you’re using possessive pronouns in the masculine or feminine, does it depend on the subject or the person who’s thing it is? Like, the wide is feminine, so is that what you base it on?
@@kiera6326 Subject
Thanks for balancing out the “input only” RUclips channels with a different point of view which is well-reasoned.
Great tips! I’m going to fire my italki teacher (from using English)
the best way to learn hiragana and katakana imo is just using like a memory game and matching the saying. Then once you can read them, you can begin learning to write them which shouldn't take long.
And now, please, explain us fluently everything in next video in japanese.
Why do we have hiragana and katakana rather than just one of them? I get the reason for kanji, but why?
thats like asking “Why do we have capitals and lowercase?”
There’s probably a logical answer, but most people will say “I dont know”
A hugely overlooked resource - bunpro! It's fantastic.
12:35 Those books are invaluable for Japanese Learners. I recommend them to everyone who is serious about learning Japanese. They are freaking amazing!!!!!!
100%. I love those books.
Thank you for watching!
@@ToKiniAndy No problem. I related so much to this vid. I went through a similar process/experience
yes! pls do a vid on conjuctions:)) itll be really helpful
Added to the list! I'm on it! =D
Thanks for watching!
非常に素晴らしいビデオです。ありがとうございます。
これからも応援しています。
Super cool video! Thank you.
Keep making great videos!
見てくれてありがとうございます！
これからも頑張ります！
たかさんも応援しています！
What if you don't live in Japan or have japanese speaking people around you in your everyday life? Is it still possible to become fluent in the language??
Absolutely! This is just what I did. There are lots of ways to do similar things back home (watching videos in Japanese, tv shows, reading, music, etc). 😊
@@ToKiniAndy great! It may just take a little longer, I'd assume? 😅
I've wanted to learn Japanese for a long time now, but I've not made the time to do so seriously. I work a 40hr/week job as well, so I'm going to have to seriously figure out how I can manage and develop a realistic AND effective study schedule. I'm definitely starting with your videos!! ❤️
Andy, you are awesome. Just as you shared, instead of just learning isolated vocabulary words... it truly makes more sense to learn these as part of phrase or in a sentence. Your suggestions are already paying off! ありがとうございます。
Great video! It's all about routine and habit. When you did Italki, did you stuck to one instructor or mix it up?
Agreed! Routine + Habit = Win
I mixed it up a lot until I found a teacher I really liked. That took a few months. But then I stuck with them. =)
Highlanders en Ms c butcher hand when's go dinner bxrr BTS be good so he my TV TV ggf be good but BBC from vs BBC g have given the
A West language speaker became fluent in Japanese in 6 months? Ahem.
Great video Andy.
What books make your 'must-own' list? I'll order those grammar dictionaries you mentioned in the video. I already own Remembering the Kanji and Genki. What else should every student own? Specifically grammar or workbooks.
For reading practice, I'm currently using よつばと!, it's really clear and uses furigana, so even though I don't understand everything, it's good practice for recalling the hiragana and starting to read it at a natural pace. NHK News also is useful. Any other suggestions?
Thanks! I'm really pushing in September to make some solid progress. I've cut down on as much English content/tv/music as I can and immersing myself in Japanese as much as possible.
I think you have the bases covered with the books you have (and after you get the dictionaries)!
My PERSONAL must-have is a Kindle. I read everything on it. A book I really enjoyed early on was 魔女の宅急便 (Kiki's Delivery Service). I plan on reading it again very soon actually.
Thank you for watching, and good luck in September!
Step 1 live in Japan :o. Pretty much
Excellent description of your learning experience! I love the one on “stopping to speak English. But Anki was not good for me, it’s like cramming, Best and thank you aplenty!
Some people definitely do not enjoy SRS apps. I'm happy to hear that you found the other points interesting.
Thank you for watching!
I'm one of those people where Anki doesn't work that well. I've used it *a lot*, but rote learning just doesn't work for me, including the repetition system Anki uses. I got very little back from a huge effort, but in the end I wasted a lot of time which I know see could have been used much better (it's just recently I've started to find methods which actually leads to progress for me).
So there's a lot of regret there. My memory seems to only be able to learn from association, and just about never from translation (i.e. dictionaries don't work, glossary lists don't work, etc). Song lyrics are horribly hard - there are songs I repeated and repeated and thought I remembered, but after a few weeks they're gone - even after *years* of trying.
Things I learn from association seems to stick very quickly though. The trouble is that it's hard to deliberately pin down the kind of input which leads to association. Some of the Japanese words and expressions I know are from a single exposure early on, and I never forgot them, while I have a hard time with other stuff. I'm not sure what was different. With English it was easy - I just had to start reading literature, mags, books that I liked, and watching English movies, and gradually I learned it all through association only.
I think the best way to learn a language is to live or at least visit the country or a country that speaks whatever language you're learning. Language is a perishable skill so if you want to learn Japanese but use English 100% of the time, it's naturally going to be difficult.
I just found this video and that is so awesome you were able to advance so much with speaking! I wish I lived in Japan to be able to go that hardcore with my language immersion haha. Amazing video and great job!!! :)
Great video. Thanks for this! I really liked your tip of changing everything on your phone...your news/social media...your movies/music...everything in Japanese...NO English. That's a great idea.
You also said something about how by forcing yourself to speak Japanese (only), even when you have little command of the overall language or vocabulary, that it can provide huge benefits. That comment reminded me of my own personal experiences...
So like, whenever I'm in a foreign country (take Japan, for e.g.,), to me, there is nothing more 'exciting' or 'fun', than to speak in the local language, and find that a local person actually UNDERSTOOD what I was trying to communicate to them....and even when I speak very little of the particular language. It's almost like a 'brain game', and often requires tons of CREATIVITY and not allowing potential embarrassment to get in the way.
I'll never forget the time I was in a depato in Japan.... I was going to meet with a local tour guide in about 30 minutes from the time I was in the depato. I was just browsing, to kill some time, and ended up finding two pieces of clothing that I wanted to buy...I tried them on...they fit well...were beautiful and well-priced. However, I didn't want to buy them, only to have to then lug a bag around while the tour guide and I visited various temples (in Kyoto). So how to buy them, and then ask the sales rep if she could then hold the items for me until I came back the next day, to pick up the items?
I knew that what I was about to say would sound a bit 'off'...might make the sales rep chuckle...but I was pretty sure she'd get what I was trying to say...
So after confirming with her that "kurejito kado wa tsukaemas ka?", I then said "kaitai des to kaitai des" (pointing to both items...) "ga, ima, watashi to watashi no tomodachi ikimas....ano, ashita, koko ni ikimas e .... (then holding both of my hands/forearms up, as if I were carrying two shopping bags), neh?" She replied 'hai', and with that, took my credit card and the two items, went into the back, and in a minute or two came back with my credit card, and a receipt, but no shopping bag. So I reconfirmed, 'ano, ashita koko ni ikimas e.... (holding two bags), neh?' Again, she replied 'hai'. The next day I returned...the same sales rep was there...she clearly remembered me...and went in the back to produce my shopping bag. ;-) I was SO smitten with myself. Such fun!!
Also, if you don't mind my sharing the following info with others, here are a few other resources that I've found very helpful for someone like me, who's at a medium-advanced Beginner level....
(FREE) Japanese Made Easy podcast series with a guy named 'Greg'. He explains things very well! He also has a more advanced course, online, called Japanese Mastery Method (though in some ways I prefer his podcast series)
The book "Basic Connections: Making Your Japanese Flow", by Kakuko Shoji
"A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar" by Seiichi Makino and Michio Tsutsui (but note this book is pretty dense, and a bit more advanced than the Basic Connections book I mention directly above)
Tuttle Kana Flashcards
The apps, Hiragana Pro and Katakana Pro (for those of us who ride public transit a lot, it's a great way to kill time and reinforce your kana, while on the subway....)
Uniglo
..I got that same shirt.. aloha
Do you have any proof that you're conversationally fluent? I'd like to see at least a whole minute of your "fluent" Japanese
You can access the podcast I do in Japanese with my wife from my channel page. 😉
@@ToKiniAndyyou were so easy on this guy ;). Just started my journey about a month ago. Learned Hiragana and Am about halfway through katakana. These videos help a lot.
'Quit English' is a highly underrated tip!!
It takes a lot of guts and patience to forgo falling back on English when you're struggling to find a word or express a certain feeling, but like you said it forces you to learn how to say it in Japanese. When you're learning a language, you gotta be a little shameless and be able to handle a lot of embarrassing moments 😅😂
Awesome video!! 🥳
That's so true, my only problem is that now that I'm quite fluent in English I keep falling back on it when learning Japanese too. It's as if my brain went like "now we are studying languages therefore we must use English to think" but I think it would be better if I simply switched from my native language to Japanese instead of going through a third one even tho it became pretty natural to me. I hope it makes sense at the very least
@@dbomba I get that!! When I try to speak French, my brain is like "okay, foreign language mode activated" and only Japanese words come to my mind 🤦♂️
@@TokuyuuTV I feel sorry but it's nice knowing I'm not the only one
description doesn’t tell you what the tips are…
Thank you for reminding me! I’ve been meaning to add titles to the timestamps for ages, and keep forgetting.
I love listening to Japanes music and watch Anime ^^
You don’t roll your R’s in Japanese, your tongue is more to the front of the roof of your mouth so it’s more like saying an L and a D at the same time
Oh, yeah, living where the language is primary is a huge help. I learned Korean using similar methods while living and working there.
I wasn't generally embarrassed over my mistakes and it never bothered me when people would laugh - I was "playing" with it anyway, so hey, we can all have fun, right?
What about language apps… like Pimsleur, Rocket, Duolingo, etc??
Me: Wa..watashi no....(interrupted)
Japanese: Sugoiii! Sugoiii! Nihongo juzo da ne.
Me: Watashi no namae wa..(interrupted)
Japanese: Sugoiii! sugoii!
Me: ヤコブ desu(interrupted)
Japanese: sugoiii!, sugoiiii!
Me: ryuuugaku..(interrupted)
Japanese: Sugoiii! Sugoii!
no not romaji
One thing I've been having issues with is that most of the resources online are Japanese to English, and English isn't my first language. And while I HAVE been speaking English for over a decade niw, but somehow it's still an extra hurdle, especially when grammar terms in my own language are vastly different from English terms and I still suck at them. So getting into Japanese grammar requires me to learn more English first as a result and that just kinda feels silly to be honest. I guess I don't have much choice but it does make things a bit more daunting.
somebody's shirt matches the curtains
im half japanese but my dad has never taught me japanese and now that im a teenager, i still can’t speak it☹️ n my parents always frustrated w the fact that i can’t speak it n now im left trying to learn it by myself js to make my parents proud
Wanna know how to learn Japanese? Buy expensive books? No. Just commitment, determination and consistency will do
Still confused on how people learn through reading, I cant comprehend any of the material 😂. Its this long process of looking up every Kanji/word that I dont understand which, is kind of all of them lol. It takes hours to get through a few pages. Is that how its supposed to be or am I missing something.
I love your videos! These are really helpful tips (noted!) I find that your experience learning kanji is similar to my own. I'm currently using Kodansha's Kanji Learner's Course and I study it similarly to how people used Remembering the Kanji. I learned the kanji meaning first and now I'm just learning vocab as I find it through immersion. I found this to be much easier, especially for vocabulary that is specific to a subject. (Plus I get to enjoy just reading, just watching without trying to make everything into a lesson. This is tedious enough work as is and I've to care for my 2 kids) Now, when I learn a kanji for a word I've known the kanji takes little to no effort to read, and thus makes reading Japanese and learning their readings soooo much easier. One thing to note that I've realized is that there will come a time when you learn so much kanji that your mind will yearn for more meaning. At that point definitely dive into reading (for me it was after 1300-1500. But I knew near 800 before from studying in college using genki and my own failed attempts lol). Once I started reading it was almost as though I was a Chinese person reading Japanese. I knew the meaning of the kanji and could figure out some of the sentence's meaning even if I couldn't pronounce the word in Japanese. But understanding it became really motivating.
Now I try to practice reading books or anime scripts (for the audio pronunciation) and I'm learning vocab for kanji I *know*. Interestingly enough, kanji I just could not memorize on its own from the English meaning (which I would mark in my anki deck and just pass it so that I could at least still see it later) the kanji suddenly stuck better when I learned the Japanese word within context. Thus making acquiring new vocab much easier. Yes, it sounds very odd to do it this way but it's been incredibly useful. FyI, In 1 week I'll have learned 2300 kanji (no more new kanji!) and I've been learning 20/day. I practice writing by writing them once or later if the kanji doesn't want to stick but I mainly only try to recognize them so that I can read it in context. Now that I'm not longer in school I don't need to write as often but knowing the stroke order made it really easy to replicate kanji using the writing input feature on my phone to look up words wherever I go.
Congratulations on reaching 2300 kanji! That's quite an accomplishment. These days, I also find learning vocabulary as opposed to kanji on their own much more useful and interesting. It definitely makes them stick, and I'm able to use and read them!
Keep it up, and thank you for watching!
Circumlocution is the word you're looking for :P
I set my phone to Japanese 6 months ago and now it’s kinda weird to have it in English
Nice!
I might try this. I have been trying to study for about a year and I feel I just don't get anywhere at all. The only thing I have going for me is that I am a native Spanish speaker so the pronunciation is easy.
Suerte! Sé que se puede lograr.
Sigue con fortaleza
I‘m surprised that there is so little information on pitch accent, at least in online lessons. I would assume it would make it much easier to be aware of this early, as it‘s a PITA to get rid of it once you have become accustomed to doing it wrong.
It wasn't even really heard of in the Japanese learning community until quite recently. Thus why it is hard to find information on it.
should i learn kanji before stepping into Genki or Tango N5 books?
This is a very good video. When I first lived in Japan I did 1) learn hiragana and 2) use a phrasebook immediately too.
Also, I too have never seen anyone become fluent using one-word flashcards, pretty obviously why not when you think about it, and I agree too that grammar textbooks are useful. They're not difficult, you can read one in a day, but it just shows you quickly and simply how to make similar constructions in another language, eg. "A is more ........../er than B"
The only thing I would change is to put "reading" higher up the list, but it can be hard as it depends on knowing hiragana and finding good materials.
Do you have any videos on using anki effectively? I'm not sure what decks to get, and I feel its not as effective as wanikani but it might be me
I don't yet, I'm sorry! I hope to make one of those in the relatively near future though.
Lonely, making friends in Japan ^^ completely me....still a year later
A Japanese pen pal would be great too. You could help them learn English and they help you learn Japanese
I really want to escape english but i just learned all katakana and hiragana (not mastered katakana quite yet) so I dont know any kanji 😪😪
Bro, he can watch anime while eating 😭