Trying to self teach Japanese :) but..

[Nae]

i always have the interest in learning japanese, but do not have the time to go for jap lessons :( thats why im trying to self teach through a book i bought whenever im free x.x

^^

i've a qn though,
may i know what is the difference in hiragana,katakana and kanji? :laugh:

[-akichan-]

Hiragana is the characters symblozing Japanese language, which I would suggest you to learn first before katakana and kanji. Katakana is the opposite of hiragana. It symbolizes foreign languages, such as your name, other country names, etc. So your name written in Japanese language would be in katakana. Kanji is the Chinese characters used in Japanese language. Kanji should be the last one to learn. You must know the correct strokes when writing in kanji. Kanji is actually amazing, because once you get used to writing in kanji, and know how the kanji character symbolizes a thing, you'll see how creative the person who invented kanji was.^^;

[LavaBug]

... because once you get used to writing in kanji, and know how the kanji character symbolizes a thing, you'll see how creative the person who invented kanji was.^^;

Or drunk :P

[Nae]

oic! thanks! :D
i've finished on hiragana already, and am starting on katakana.
not sure if i can handle kanji well x.x

[Sashikizu]

Yea, I know how ya feel, I'm done with Hiragana and Katakana, and kanji is a whole new story... but don't get discouraged!! ganbaru!! I still haven't figured out how to type in kana... >_<

[AF SUCKS]

i always have the interest in learning japanese, but do not have the time to go for jap lessons :( thats why im trying to self teach through a book i bought whenever im free x.x

^^

i've a qn though,
may i know what is the difference in hiragana,katakana and kanji? :laugh:

Traditionally speaking, Hiragana was the text that only men would write, Katakana was what women would write. There are approx. 50 charachters each (give or take a few). Kanji is the Chinese writing system that the Japanese "borrowed", there are 1,530 joyu kanji for everyday use that every kid has to know and another 1200 or so 'read only' kanji that are optional, these are the ones you'd see that little Hiragana "cheat" next to or above.

In modern times Hiragana is used for words that have a distinct Japanese origin, and Katakana is used for words of "borrowed meaning" of of foreign origins (i.e. kompyuuta).

[bluepenguin]

I still haven't figured out how to type in kana...

You need a Japanese input method editor for that. If you're using Windows, Microsoft's got one you can download from their site somewhere.

[AF SUCKS]

If you've got Vista it's built in.

Otherwise it's service pack 2 IME.

There's a downloadable word processor called J-Star, for those people that can't get the service pack to work, and with Microsoft's expert downloads sometimes that happens.

[drm0ney]

i always have the interest in learning japanese, but do not have the time to go for japanese lessons :( thats why im trying to self teach through a book i bought whenever im free x.x

A few more letters isn't that hard to type and gets rid of rude slang.;)

Now sense you've learned hiragana and katakana from the sounds of it i'd try learning kanji for a certain topic. Such as i dunno weather, food, travel, numbers, days of the week, etc. As well as the really common ones you keep coming across. 　私、人、好き、日本、語、are so really common ones i seem to come across.
My japanese is rather limited but if you want some help you can always PM me

Originally Posted by Sashikizu http://www.animeforum.com/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.animeforum.com/showthread.php?p=2232613#post2232613)
I still haven't figured out how to type in kana...


That is something you have to fiddle with in you're language bar. >.> i don't even remember how i figured it out...

[Yiuel]

I still haven't figured out how to type in kana... >_<

In Windows :

Control Panel -> Language and Regional Options

In it, you click on the "Keyboard and Language" tab, and click on the Change keyboards.

Now, in the window that will pop up, you look in the lower part, to the right, and you will click on "Add".

Then you select Japanese and its specific keyboard and click "Ok". Then, the window that had popped up, you click apply.

With Vista, you'll be done, but with other versions, you might have to use your Windows CD to install the data. Goes swiftly and well. And then you will be done.

I have to do this all the time, so I got used to it.

[Wio]

do not have the time to go for jap lessons
Wow. If you don't have time for lessons, how could you possibly have time to learn the language. I mean, are you going to spend 10 years trying to learn Japanese or what?
I'm taking lessons and studying a lot outside of those lessons, and my progress is still slow and steady. Why? Because the Japanese language has thousands of words, thousands of kanji, and hundreds of grammar rules/sentence structures which are different from the English language. It's going to take hundreds to thousands of hours to learn all this stuff.

Even trying to say something like "I'm thirsty" becomes "My throat became dry/thirsty" in Japanese. Even after you've learned the general grammar you'll still have to hear a Japanese person say a sentence before you can be sure it's legit.

Don't take this post as a discouragement no to study Japanese, but as encouragement to find the time to study more. It takes a lot of time so you're killing yourself by saying "I don't have time".

[Yiuel]

Wow. If you don't have time for lessons, how could you possibly have time to learn the language. I mean, are you going to spend 10 years trying to learn Japanese or what?
I'm taking lessons and studying a lot outside of those lessons, and my progress is still slow and steady. Why? Because the Japanese language has thousands of words, thousands of kanji, and hundreds of grammar rules/sentence structures which are different from the English language. It's going to take hundreds to thousands of hours to learn all this stuff.

Yet, I studied Japanese outside any formal class first. I took no class, no lesson, I just bought myself a small set of grammar books about the Japanese language. I remember all of them very well, and they were the best part ever in my studying.

I took a few minutes a day to read in them. I remember taking one of them and reading it whenever I was staying still somewhere. Even in the washroom. Even if it was only a few minutes now and then, within two years, I gained a lot.

Only then did I enter a formal class, at university. My teacher, seeing how good my Japanese was, wished me to skip at least the first two sessions and go directly into intermediate Japanese. For better or for worse at that time, I refused, and it maybe proved to be the best choice I ever made.

I then studied two years. The first year was very easy. It really was a mix of new things (like the のどが渇いてる example you give us) with a larger amount of revision and formal practice. At the end of that year, I was pretty fluent in reading Japanese, even handwritten (and how ugly Japanese can write their language!). The second year brought more complications, especially towards the end, but I was still in some sort of revision process, so it had great effects.

At the end of that year, my teacher didn't debate my skills and was happy to grant me the only exchange programm which focussed on Japanese language learning. Which I finally did. In the end, my Japanese teacher in my host university in Japan said I was more than ready to pass the 1-kyuu test (and that it would actually be easy for me).

So I think that, what he plans to do is no waste of time. Actually, I would argue that studing a language first at one's own pace is the best thing to do, to get a feel of the language. When you feel ready to jump into formal classes, you then can profit from the feeling you acquired, not feeling alien to the language.

(My only recommendation that I would add to that is try to listen to RL Japanese show, for they will show you actual usage a lot more than anime (something I unfortunately did not do, but a friend of mine did). And, for practicing pronounciation, sing along any Japanese song that you like. Had great results on my Japanese pronounciation.

After 5 years, I could fool a Japanese into thinking I had lived for over a decade in Japan fully integrated socially i.e. having a Japanese wife.)

[Wio]

You had a kind teacher. Mine doesn't acknowledge me at all.

[Yiuel]

You had a kind teacher. Mine doesn't acknowledge me at all.

I maybe was lucky, but I was their best student at that time... We were only around 50 students so that wasn't difficult.

[AF SUCKS]

Yet, I studied Japanese outside any formal class first. I took no class, no lesson, I just bought myself a small set of grammar books about the Japanese language. I remember all of them very well, and they were the best part ever in my studying.

This is interesting to me.

I've been self studying for some 6 years now and all the while debating if I should take a class (there are several options to consider) or keep up the status quo. Personally, I think I've gotten pretty far but there are certain obsticles and stumbling blocks that make it really frustrating at times. I'm grateful for all the Japanese friends I've made becasue they have truly been the best teachers.

One thing that I've found HAS NOT helped is having a Japanese girlfriend ( or 2, or 8 :P ). The current one does teach me things, slangs mostly, but I found I'm teacher her more English that she's teaching me Nihongo.

[Yiuel]

This is interesting to me.

I've been self studying for some 6 years now and all the while debating if I should take a class (there are several options to consider) or keep up the status quo. Personally, I think I've gotten pretty far but there are certain obsticles and stumbling blocks that make it really frustrating at times. I'm grateful for all the Japanese friends I've made becasue they have truly been the best teachers.

One thing that I've found HAS NOT helped is having a Japanese girlfriend ( or 2, or 8 :P ). The current one does teach me things, slangs mostly, but I found I'm teacher her more English that she's teaching me Nihongo.

It really depends on what you want to do after. If you have plans to fo to Japan and live there, like I did at one point (and I am still wondering yet), you better take some class. Don't be afraid of going through the basics again, it will serve you for the rest of your life.

If you do not have any plan like that, than, I cannot say. Since Japanese doesn't have much use outside Japan, if you don't have any plan to live there, even if only for a few years, I hardly see any purpose of going through the assholes of classes, except for fun. It would be like learning English and then never intend to use it. Sounds a bit silly. Still, if you have a specific purpose, you still can do it, and after, you can still decide whether you want to persue things a little further or not.

As for the girlfriend, I don't know, my only girlfriends were French ones :)

[Kaya-Kum12496]

Okay what I suggest is you get the DS game called My Japanese (I can't spell it) Couch (a type of teacher mostly for sports sorry I am 13 and I can't spell very well)

[Mavericker]

Is it easier to learn from a computer or from books?

[AF SUCKS]

It really depends on what you want to do after. If you have plans to fo to Japan and live there, like I did at one point (and I am still wondering yet), you better take some class. Don't be afraid of going through the basics again, it will serve you for the rest of your life.

If you do not have any plan like that, than, I cannot say. Since Japanese doesn't have much use outside Japan, if you don't have any plan to live there, even if only for a few years, I hardly see any purpose of going through the assholes of classes, except for fun. It would be like learning English and then never intend to use it. Sounds a bit silly. Still, if you have a specific purpose, you still can do it, and after, you can still decide whether you want to persue things a little further or not.

As for the girlfriend, I don't know, my only girlfriends were French ones :)
On the contrary, Japanese has much use for me here in NYC as a good number of my friends are Japanese and do prefer conversing in their native language.

Oh, and I would never be planning on living there. My sister did for three years.

Let's just say she didn't find it all that exciting after the first few months.
I think at this point school might be a reenforcement of what I already know, but at the same time be horribly boring. Also, since I'm working there isn't much free time in my life.

[Yiuel]

On the contrary, Japanese has much use for me here in NYC as a good number of my friends are Japanese and do prefer conversing in their native language.

Oh, and I would never be planning on living there. My sister did for three years.

Let's just say she didn't find it all that exciting after the first few months.
I think at this point school might be a reenforcement of what I already know, but at the same time be horribly boring. Also, since I'm working there isn't much free time in my life.

I didn't say there wasn't any use for Japanese outside Japan, just "not much". And to most people I know, talking in their native language is something of a preference. So nothing knew, I had the same problem in Japan, being the only one around who spoke my language.

Most places aren't that great. It all depends on what you want. I know that, in terms of daily services and all, I'd be happier to live in Japonesia than where I live presently. They're just better. But that's pretty much it, I know it's not that different from home, and that it's not that great.

Otherwise, then, it is your own choice. But if you feel it would be boring, do not engage : boredom is the best path to ultimate failure.

[AF SUCKS]

When I went to Japan 6 years ago I didn't speak a word. I also didn't have a problem finding people that spoke English.

Now I'm getting ready to go back for a longer trip, armed with a better working knowledge of the language and a ton of friends to see and run around with. I attribute all of this to the friends I've made here in the city. My learning Japanese has always been a choice, I speak Russian too but that was like an accident since I'm saturated with that language on a daily basis. Seem I have a talent, one that my 7 language speaking sister has too.

Too bad I didn't decide on this earlier in my life, but better late than never.

[-akichan-]

Wow. If you don't have time for lessons, how could you possibly have time to learn the language. I mean, are you going to spend 10 years trying to learn Japanese or what?
I'm taking lessons and studying a lot outside of those lessons, and my progress is still slow and steady. Why? Because the Japanese language has thousands of words, thousands of kanji, and hundreds of grammar rules/sentence structures which are different from the English language. It's going to take hundreds to thousands of hours to learn all this stuff.


Not exactly...People may have time at home to study a language as part of an after-school life. And there is no specific numbers of how many kanji and grammar structures in Japanese. People don't have to take lesson outside to be successful in the subject. As long as there is interest put into the subject, that should be a big help.

Now there's a debate going on whether the years of study helps or not...in my opinion, I think it is important to know if the person is into the language or not. People has different learning skills, learning styles, and different amount of time needed to acknowledge in a subject. Some people learn quickly, and some doesn't. I knew a few kids in my Japanese class back in high school, we took Japanese 1 and 2 together, and they admitted that they suck. It's true that interest is important, but somehow I find that the learning skill is important too. Some people learn quickly because they are interested in the subject and be more focus on the lessons, or additionally study more at home. Some people find learning is hard, they'd automatically give up on it, or be careless about it.

Years of study may be an affect, but not big~

[Haru-Chan77]

I am also trying to self teach japanese but i'm not sure what book to get....I took notes from some websites that helped but i don't know what books to get. Suggestions? Tasukete

[LOVE STUFF]

I am also trying to self teach japanese but i'm not sure what book to get....I took notes from some websites that helped but i don't know what books to get. Suggestions? Tasukete

I don't much about where to get some japanese self-taught book but I found a website that might help.Click Here (http://www.vistawide.com/japanese/japanese_books.htm)

(this goes to any one who want to learn Japanese,Also)
Can I give you an advice?When you are studying japanese,at first you might think it's really difficult but don't give up because then you will understand the Japanese language.So,Good luck and don't give up!.Im also studying something (English).To me that's difficult but I won't give because I wont to be better in english.

If anyone have comments or question
please ask me or anyone