japanese learning steps

[marmora]

i've started learning japanese by a vn and ith and ive learnt all the letters and some kanji it was suggested to me to read a manga or some thing and i was thinking about trying a vn without ith but when i tried reading although the kanji is written beside it in hirigana i cant understand even one sentence from whats written what should i do?


it was suggested to me the website wanakani.com and its method is very good and ive learnt some radicals from it however its two levels only then u have to pay for it and here in egypt (my country) we cant do so

what should i do???????

 

[~dreamer~]

wanikani is only good for learning kanji. you still need to learn the Japanese grammar to make sense of what's written.
Tae Kim's guide is arguably the best resource for grammar, and is free (legally)
Japanese grammar

 

[marmora]

thank u is there anything i should do other than this to be able to read japanesse????

 

[~dreamer~]

you should also have a dictionary or two handy, in case you need to look up words you don't know.
dictionary is your best friend when learning the language. you'll use it quite often, especially in the beginning.
online japanese dictionary
or any dictionary you feel comfortable with. ideally, it should show the meaning and also give example sentences

 

[K Y U]

Is kanji all you're trying to learn? Hirigana is quite easy and i have a good method if you want

 

[marmora]

Is kanji all you're trying to learn? Hirigana is quite easy and i have a good method if you want

im trying to do jeneral reading i can read hirigana and katana and little kanji the proplem is that i cant understand most of kanji and and even the words written in hirigana in other word i can read a little but i dont understand any thing i just know very little of wrods that were repeated alote in anime

 

[pingtoryan]

This may not be the place for me to say anything as I study Japanese formally, but...

...yes, you need to understand Japanese grammar to make sense out of the Japanese sounds and words you make out. Unlike English where merely stringing words together at least make some sense, Japanese has a lot of things that are used here and there that are needed to be understood to make sense of sentences...and at times, even single word phrases.

 

[marmora]

whaa dont make it sound so hard :(

 

[~dreamer~]

whaa dont make it sound so hard :(

don't worry, the Japanese grammar is pretty straight-forward (at least before you get into passive/honorifics stuff). The hard part is arguably the kanji and memorizing new words.

 

[Trinity]

I think you ought to work on your English grammar and spelling before attempting to learn Japanese...

Seriously, if you want people to give you advice at least make it look like you put some effort into your messages.

As for learning Japanese, here is how I did it:

1. Work through "Remembering the Kanji" by James Heisig. Use a program called anki to review and get the deck.
2. Download the core vocabulary decks via anki and cover all grammar with Tae Kim's guide.
3. After you have 1000-2000 words memorized start reading really basic VNs (nukige tier).
4. Add new and useful words to your own, self-made anki deck
5. Profit

After that just immerse yourself and read a lot of VNs, watch anime/drama's and you'll improve naturally. It will take an awfully long time and a lot of effort. If you're not the type that can obsess over something you're probably better off not trying.

 

[marmora]

I think you ought to work on your English grammar and spelling before attempting to learn Japanese...

Seriously, if you want people to give you advice at least make it look like you put some effort into your messages.

As for learning Japanese, here is how I did it:

1. Work through "Remembering the Kanji" by James Heisig. Use a program called anki to review and get the deck.
2. Download the core vocabulary decks via anki and cover all grammar with Tae Kim's guide.
3. After you have 1000-2000 words memorized start reading really basic VNs (nukige tier).
4. Add new and useful words to your own, self-made anki deck
5. Profit

After that just immerse yourself and read a lot of VNs, watch anime/drama's and you'll improve naturally. It will take an awfully long time and a lot of effort. If you're not the type that can obsess over something you're probably better off not trying.

first of all thanks for you advise but i wanna tell you that i have my english grammer and spelling are 100% mastered its just that because here at the site and all i write quickly and some time dont even check it so that would the reason
and when i wanted to learn Japanese i knew it would be hard and harder on my own but i posted for advise since I'm serious but your post is help full so thank you

but may i ask which deck should i use ???

 

[marmora]

dreamer :D thank you your giving me hope its just what im worried about that this year and the next one i have college exams so im worried if i leave japanese for a while to forget every thing i learn

im moving with the motto every little thing u do bring you nearer to your goal :D

 

[pichu655889]

Like pingtoryan, I learn Japanese formally, and if it is vocabulary that you want to expand (kanji and all that) then the best way is to read... For starters I found that looking at song lyrics in Japanese and then in English, and picking up one or two words while watching anime helps. A dictionary on a touchscreen device might help (so you can write out the characters instead of searching for them by strokes in a print version) too. Good luck with your college exams and in learning Japanese!

 

[marmora]

arigato :D thats a big help

 

[pichu655889]

頑張りましょうね! :D

("Ganbarimashou ne", in case you didn't know)

 

[ryuta]

I'm glad that you are interested in Japanese.
To tell the truth, there are many kanji that even native japanese child can't read it. Don't worry. We learn kanji used in novels and magazines about 12 years at school.
The first what you shoud do is learning hiragana and katakana completely(the pronouncings are important too). When you could do that, you can learn kanji by using textbook used in Japan.

 

[pichu655889]

My teacher also told me that when learning new languages (2nd language, 3rd language, etc.) we tend to make links with our first language so that may be of help as well. Just saying.

 

[marmora]

i know how to read and pronounce well its just i don't know words

well in my case japanese will be my 4th language ^-^ so if i would link i would do with English? ( my 2nd language)

 

[pichu655889]

You can link with whatever language that works with you! For me, I link with both English and Chinese - English being my first language and Chinese because of similar characters. I guess it is about imagery and about what helps in remembering the words... Anything that helps would work!

(Wow, 4 languages... is it difficult managing between the 4? I sometimes confuse my Chinese with my Japanese because of the similar characters :P )

 

[marmora]

well in that case i guss linking with english will be good
:D

well i do confuse some languages with each other arabic is my first i some times use english words (my 2nd) in my germany class (3rd) and coptic (4th) though japanese charters are nothing like those so i shouldn't confuse them :P