how do u learn japanese?

[natsu d]

in wat ways do u guys get the meanings of the words or try 2 learn the language???!!!!!!!:laugh::laugh::cool::cool:

[Jasanime]

I use as many different tools as possible. I started with a 12 month beginner course. Now I'm doing an online course called 'Japanese Through Anime'. I find flash cards work well. I also like to draw things as I memorize the words for them. Text books are good, and I have some children's books written in Hiragana but I need to learn more vocab before I tackle them.

Also, ALWAYS watch your anime SUBBED.

[inazuma raiden]

well... i m reading learn japanese in a month since 1 yr......
n still i haven't learnd it :(
tryin my best !

[ParaParaJMo]

In school LOL

I strongly discourage using anime as a source for your learning. It is a good motivator, but the worst kind of resource for language study. I learned this the hard way.

[harariyuki]

I've learned and am currently learning Japanese in High school. Available resources would be Rosetta Stone, Japanese Kanji dictionaries, and workbooks. :)

[ParaParaJMo]

http://www.tofugu.com/2013/03/21/four-things-you-can-do-to-improve-your-japanese/

funny i did all the opposite

[deryogan]

hi. i'm an international student in japan. anime is a good way to learn but i think japanese songs are even better. try listening to your favorite songs while reading the lyrics in kanji. see how much can you understand.

[Unkawaii]

Actually going to school and learning it.

Anime and manga, as well as music, are actually the worst ways to learn japanese. The best way is to study it properly.

[ParaParaJMo]

Yeah, anime is the worst way to legitimately trying to learn. As motivation, that's one thing, as a source of learning, hell no. I learned that the very hard way.

[Yuki457]

I have learned the language using Anime and Manga, but I got the scripts of the episodes and followed along, I ripped the audio tracks of my favourite episodes and listened to them on the drive to and from work and I learned the songs for the openings / endings.

Pick something simple like Bottle Fairy and watch it raw, try and write the script yourself through listening and pausing then translate it line by line. For Kanji learn the SKIP Code system for easy identification (components are all well and good but some are hell). The original Pokemon series is pretty enjoyable raw and has fairly easy language and the characters speak clearer and more concisely than you would get from say Lucky Star *shudder*.

I used Genki (1-2) and Japanese for Busy People (1-3) to provide grammatical explanations and picked up the rest from what I heard / read.

This last year I have been using Video Games to reinforce my Kanji and more colloquial grammar (See Barret in FF7 for infinite examples...)
Amazon.co.jp has a tonne of video game guides really cheap or you can get scans online.

The Legend of Zelda games (particularly Majora's Mask) are a great entry point with the Final Fantasy series (X is really good for learning) while more challenging, even more rewarding.

You should also consider the pokemon games (the new ones let you switch between kana and kanji), you can pick up a lot of prefixes and suffixes this way. eg (I think it's a fire-type because it sounds like one). I was 6 when Pokemon first came out and I feel that it contributed a lot to me learning english components eg "char-" and "-mander" in charmander being associated with fire and lizard.

A great vocabulary adventure is the Harvest Moon series, where due to mass repetitive usage you pick up a tonne of vocab quite quickly.

When I was playing through FF7 I screenshotted every dialogue and built a PDF document out of them so every now I would sit down for 5 minutes and then I could "read" the game. This kind of immersion and consistency is what you really need to properly learn a language.

While I agree if you just sit on the likes of crunchyroll watching subbed Anime all the time you will have one hell of a hard time picking up the language, the subliminal listening skills you develop (just identifying "that's a verb! and it's past-negative!" or "that's a word, that's a particle!") is useful as you build up the "rhythm" of the language, Anime as a learning tool is only as effective as you make it.

[ParaParaJMo]

I say j-dramas or a game like Shenmue is a more realistic representation of Japanese language usage. If I resort to using Japanese that I learned from anime and manga, people look at me all weird. The songs I use are Yamashita Tatsuro, Max, and classic jpop songs like Tsubasa wo Kudasai and Tabidachi no Hi Ni

[The Ace RailGun]

For me I use all my notes, which have the katakana/Hirigana charts, and then I also use a few different apps mainly for grammar, and also raw Manga are the best for practicing character translation. I find those in various places. And I do agree that using drama instead of anime is a lot better. And games are definitely a good and fun :) way to practice as well. I'm using the steins;gate VN myself, should probably do FF though.

[xKMCK]

Actually, Japanese Manga and lyrics that are in Japanese help you as long as you have a dictionary and a Kanji Dictionary with you. If you find a class, listening to Japanese music helps you too because when you learn some of the vocabulary words and sentence structures, you will be able to identify it in the lyrics. But everyone's learning strategies are different, but this one works for me.

[WhyWorry]

I recommend supplementing anime and manga with live action/Jdorama/Japanese films because the dialogues, topics and even the grammar patterns are broader.
Also, I would second Yuki's suggestions. Genki and Japanese for Busy People are great books, even if you study on your own. I would also recommend getting a nice dictionary -- I used to have a Collier's and Langenscheidt but I now mostly rely on my iphone dictionary app (imiwa). If I am online, I use Jim Breen's Japanese page -- this is a great online dictionary.
There are also lots of free Japanese learning apps for grammar, vocabulary, Kanji learning and JLPT review, if you are into using smartphones as a study tool.
Personally, I studied in a specialized Japanese language school and have used books like Japanese for Busy People, Minna no Nihongo, J301, J501 and the Kanzen Master series. Now, I have finished all the courses there and I study for the JLPT on my own.

If you have questions, please let me know, I'd be happy to answer them if I can :)

[Ayu 「あゆ」]

I use as many different tools as possible. I started with a 12 month beginner course. Now I'm doing an online course called 'Japanese Through Anime'. I find flash cards work well. I also like to draw things as I memorize the words for them. Text books are good, and I have some children's books written in Hiragana but I need to learn more vocab before I tackle them.

Also, ALWAYS watch your anime SUBBED.

This really does always help. My understanding of Spanish got way better after always watching Family Guy en español lol.

[Rei]

Try to start from the beginning. Grammar might be the most difficult to grasp, so it might be good to start from that.

[Akiosama]

The key to finding good sources to use as learning materials comes from taking a good look at those materials. Not all anime is good, nor is it all bad - it does help the ear, to some extent, and does offer up some interesting vocabulary, but assuming people all speak like most anime series present is not the way to look at that material. Same with music - there are musical patterns and word choices (and contextual issues due to trying to make the lyrics fit the music) that make music a tough source for learning material.

(And in my experiences, the Japanese converse much faster than is presented on TV - anime or live action. It can be hard to keep up for a foreign speaker.)

Much like context is important in Japanese, context with your learning materials is extremely important. Thinking that people talk like Dragonball Z will give you a very skewed vocabulary and speech pattern. However, thinking that people might actually talk like some of the characters (not all, mind you - do your homework to determine which ones are the good characters to learn from) in, say Maison Ikkoku, Omoide Poroporo, or a more mature drama anime might not be totally off. My pronunciation and accent improved significantly due to my watching Maison Ikkoku while I was self-studying Japanese in early college. Just be sure to supplement it with other materials, as well.

Don't forget that there's more to Japanese than just what is said, but how it is said. There are different forms if you're male, female, speaking to a superior, speaking to an inferior, speaking to those you're familiar with, and speaking to those you're not familiar with, for example. It can be complicated, and definitely is different than English, and you shouldn't just assume how something is said because you saw it in your study materials - the entire situation may need to be examined to determine the proper way to say something.

The biggest drawback to learning Japanese through Manga and Anime is that the bulk of what is presented is dialogue. It makes learning to read prose (i.e. newspapers and books) difficult, as the linguistic form is very different, as is the word selection. Just try to read a novel, even a light novel, when you're used to dialogue, and you'll quickly see that it's a different beast.

Pop culture is not a wholly poor way to learn a language. Just recognize that it is pop culture and don't assume that it's the normal way people speak. Just like learning a language from a textbook - people don't sound like that, either.

My 2 yen,

Akiosama

[Rusty Blade]

I study Japanese at university. You can't learn anything from anime until you've built up a decent enough proficiency of the language to recognize patterns and words and such in a way that you can understand them. I still can only get the very basic gist of some sentences watching an anime raw. Same with songs. Sure I can pick out a few words or grammatical patterns but it's more like an affirmation that you are learning more of the language as opposed to actually teaching yourself. Also language used in anime is often so colloquial that it's almost useless in everyday Japanese unless you have very close Japanese friends.

Grammar is vital so text books or classes are the first step. Build up a decent vocabulary as you learn new grammar. At least maybe 200 words. Use them in sentence patterns and then substitute different words in so that you are not only learning the grammar but the words and their modifications too. As you get better learn another 100 or so words and work back from the beginning, using the new words in every pattern you know until you've got it all down. Also pay equal attention to plain and formal styles. I'd suggest avoiding kanji for the first few months. Build a strong foundation first and learn the grammar then focus on kanji.

When you do get up to learning kanji learn a mixture of the very basic characters and the more complicated characters built from them. As you work on the complicated characters you subconsciously review the easier ones and memorise them. Use flash cards as a way of helping you remember and find a kanji dictionary or something for reference and so you can see variations and extensions of each kanji.

But perhaps most important of all, find someone to speak to. Whether it be a tutor or friend or some random Japanese person working at a sushi shop, you need experience actually speaking with people. Even if it's only one sentence or two, the very act of engaging in conversation gets the wheels spinning in your head a little faster and when you get it right you feel much better about your progress.

And of course, don't give up. Japanese is one of the hardest languages an English speaker can possibly learn. You will stumble a lot. You will make a hell of a lot of mistakes. But stick with it. Eventually your mistakes will be at the very least educated mistakes.

[Sam17]

Well, the slowest way is probably by going to school. Text books are so boring.

Every good student needs the right tools. For reference dictionary programs like Kiten and StarDict are a good starting point.

Abiword and IBUS for writing in Kanji, hiragana and katakana.

Some kanji wallpaper for ones computer desktop.

Some manga that's not too difficult to read (maybe Kiniro Mosaic).

Then some online E-learning kanji quizzes for making learning kanji easier.

Access to lots of Japanese Anime with subtitles in English.

A collection of catchy Japanese tunes.

Ai Oboete Imasu ka

[星らぶ]

I took two years of lessons in a classroom of 10 people, I had to stop because I ran out of money, but what has helped me so far to keep in touch with the language is theatre, and tv shows with interviews and such. Without subs if more effective. Also my twitter TL is full of Japanese talking nonstop and sometimes I even try to talk to them (chaos :P ) talking with Japanese is the MOST effective way for me.

[Saint_Fighter]

Try this book
Japanese in MangaLand
from Marc Bernabe
http://www.nipoweb.com/producte.php?id=1&idioma=3
Im studying from the spanish version Japones en Viñetas and really do the work fine ... :sm_minako04:

[OhMyAmethyst]

Well, it's quite simple, really:

You get your lazy butt up

You either register for a class, go to a library, get some audio tapes (Rosetta Stone)

Have 2 working ears

Emthusiasm, consentration, patience, and determination

And you start

[ayameui]

There are a lot of ways to learn Japanese for I know this because I am Japanese, I use to teach it to some people on the internet.
Here's a few things you can do to learn Japanese quick and easy

1.you can get a Japanese for dummy's or a Japanese for busy people book
2.you can get an auto software for your computer/laptop
3.install or download an learn Japanese app.
4.do it online
5.take course
Or 6. Hire a personal language coach
If I was you the first thing I would do before getting into the language is learn about japan then when you think you know a little about japan then just take it slow no need to rush a language into. That's what I had to do to learn English

[*Tsuki*]

Go live in Japan.

[AmandaNerdBot]

This is an interesting question. I'm glad someone posted a thread on this subject!

[MegataKitsune]

Personally, I began watching unholy amounts of anime and listening to music, repeating the things I heard. Anime is good to a point but unless you know what you're doing, you can end up speaking like an anime character and people don't really speak like that ^^; Ufufu~ It's really useful for certain cultural points and more mundane/casual speech forms. Drama can be super useful if you can find one you like~
There are some really good ways to teach yourself online (TextFugu, Genki Japan, Youtube and plain ol' Google for instance) but you can only get so far on your own. Eventually you will need a teacher. If you can, a native speaker is generally best for beginning because of matters regarding accent and the subtleties of speech that can take a long time to pick up~ A small class or one on one is also best but that stands true for everything (^^)b I would also recommend a friend who already speaks the language you can practice with~
Above all, confidence is one of the biggest parts of learning any language. Everyone makes mistakes at the beginning and you can't let them stop you from speaking Japanese or practicing~ Our mistakes make us stronger! (^^)ノシ
Try to learn hiragana and katakana as soon as possible! Romaji can distort one's pronunciation and understanding of how words/sentences are formed~ Kanji come later so don't stress over them too much~ (←learned the hard way ^^; )
If you can, get a solid Japanese → English dictionary. Ones made for English speakers are best to begin until you have some kanji behind you~ This online dictionary is really, really great. If you click the 和英 (Wa-Ei) button, you can get English translations of Japanese words you enter into the search bar~ (英= Abbreviation of English which is 英吾 or Eigo while 和 is a character used to symbolize Japan) 英和 is the same thing but backwards (English → Japanese)
http://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/

Of things I wouldn't recommend; Rosetta Stone (it nearly killed my grammar!) and using only 1 textbook/source (if possible, use as many you can in order to make sure your learning is rounded because some sources are one sided). Though these are only personal opinions based on 6 years of study, different things work for different people.

I hope that was useful!! (^^)ノシ
頑張ってください！

[Albear]

MegataKitsune
RS nearly killed your grammar? This would mean that Rosetta Stone for Japanese study should not be distributed anymore because of constant complaints and such.. Which has not happened yet.. so yeah....

[BehaZ]

Start by learning the writing systems first, the hiragana, then the katakana and then the kanji. While you learn the kanji and their hiragana/katakana equivalents you will learn the words. You can learn pronunciation through anime or audio recordings and grammar from websites/books.

[Ai-no-Miko]

I was lucky that my high school offered Japanese and I liked the school setting myself. When I took it again in university I discovered that my year 1 class basically started at the beginning as well, but much more in depth. I think if you can find a community college or university that offers it, that's the way to go. Most language courses at colleges or universities don't require prerequisites, so it should be no problem there, but on the other hand, they can get costly.
Another member in this thread mentioned learning through Japanese songs, and I can stand behind that. When I was taking classes I would sing along to some of the J-Pop and JRock I had, and try to pick out the words I recognized and phrases I could translate. It helped a lot. Lastly though, if you can, FIND SOMEONE TO PRACTICE WITH. I've pathetically lost pretty well all I've ever known because I wasn't able to converse and practice with enough people. As the saying goes, "if you don't use it, you lose it." That's just my opinion though.

[Jasanime]

I'm actually thinking of buying Rosetta Stone. Any one else have experience with this software??

[tienphatvn]

I want learn JN ^^

[AtomicKitKat]

I recently picked up a book "Learning Japanese for Busy People" for $10 at a book fair. Best part is it even came with a CD(which I have yet to put into my PC to learn:redface:). That should hopefully reduce my deficiency with Hiragana. I found Katakana MUCH easier to learn, having come from a Chinese background(though my native Chinese is also embarassingly bad), so the characters being derived from segments of Chinese characters made for easier memorisation. That and working in a hobby shop, where the paints were all labelled in English(but the paint racks were listed in Japanese) allowed me to pick it up within a couple of months. Hiragana is taking frustratingly longer. I have a grasp of some kanji as well, again, due to the aforementioned Chinese background. To date, I think I've used Japanese maybe a half dozen times in the course of my work. Mostly giving the price in Japanese(if I know the person speaks it), as well as phrases like "Abenai!(Danger!)" to warn children, and simple directions(ue/up, shita/down, migi/right, hidari/left, koko/here).

[FireFox2000000]

I personally like to listen to slice-of-life anime and focus on listening to that and looking up words I don't know from there, or I just sit there and understand what's going on from context, as I put having fun as a priority. If I'm watching something with subs I'll play a game where I try to listen to see how literal the subtitles are to what's actually being said, while analyzing why it just translated like that.
I also translate and learn the vocab from songs I like to listen to, as well as play a rom of Pokemon in Japanese since it's all in Kana, as translate through that.
For me it's just a lot of translating practice, and if I don't understand something I usually leave it and eventually come back to it, having learned more and have random moments of "ohhh..." when the realization of how simple it turned out to be. It's funny how complex Japanese seems and how simple it actually it. I find that if something seems overly complex, you're probably translating it wrong. xD


Anime is good to a point but unless you know what you're doing, you can end up speaking like an anime character and people don't really speak like that ^^;
Really? The Japanese people I've talked to via Omegle said I talk just like a Japanese person (I suspect due to how casual I was speaking and how formal foreigners usually speak), or the time I did get compared to talking like I was from an anime, they said it was cute. :P

[lino49]

I'm french so I began to learn in a french site to learn Japanese
then, when I acquired a certain level, I began to listen to Japanese songs or to pay attention to what the anime character says and match it with the translation/sub-titles and step by step, I learned what I know now.

[Reshad]

natural powers