Learn Japanese The Easy Way P5 - Advanced Level

2/23/2017 09:06:00 PM Unknown 0 Comments

Table of links for "Learn Japanese The Easy Way":
part1:  Start
part2:  Self-Learning Method
part3:  Beginner Level
part4:  Intermediate Level
part5:  Advaned Level
part6:  End / Motivation

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1. Linking with crazy photos

a. This method is a good way to remember words. All you do here is take the syllable of each word 
and link it to a word or words that sounds similar to each other. Then connect those 
syllable sounds with the word definition in a form of a phrase. After that, attach a memorable photo to it and add it to anki so it'll be reviewed later on.  The crazier the photo, the better.  Examples:

I) 深刻 = しんこく = shinkoku = serious
a) Syllables of word: shin + koku
b) Syllable sound similarities: shinkoku sounds like 'seen coke'
c) Phrase: I've 'seen coke' do some 'serious' stuff to pepsi.

II) 高価 = こうか = kouka = high-price
a) Syllables of word: kou + ka
b) Syllable sound similarities: Kouka sounds like 'coke'
c) Phrase: The white powder 'coke' is sold at a 'high-price' to barbie.
III) 戦場 = せんじょう = senjou = battlefield
a) Syllables of word: sen + jou
b) Syllable sound similarities: 'sen + jou' sounds like 'send' + 'your'
c) Phrase: 'Send yo' mama to the 'battlefield.


IV.) 値 = あたい = atai = value, worth
a) Syllables of word: 'a' + 'tai'
b) Syllable sound similarities: 'a + tai' sounds like 'a tire'
c) Phrase: 'A tire' killing itself has lost its 'value.'




b. Be sure to write in anki how you remembered each of the these (especially the phrase). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. If you read the は (topic particle) first and read a Japanese sentence backwards, it makes sense in English. Use this trick to check your translations.

-クリスは、毎日宿題をやらずに、つまみを食べながら、部屋でアニメを見るだけなんだ。
-Translation read backwards (starting at the end of this japanese sentence): As for Chris, he just watches anime in his room while eating snacks without doing his homework everyday.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.Translate favorite raw manga / anime / VN / etc. page by page and compare your translation with fansubs. Manga: Citrus

-Raw:


-English Translation:


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-For anime, here's a site that releases the actual Japanese subtitle for currently airing anime. Find English subs to go along w/ the Jap. subs, slowly translate each line, and compare to Eng. version.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. Write the actual Japanese anime subtitle script down from scratch before looking at the actual Japanese subtitles first (link above). I suggest using VLC player which contains a feature to slow down the video speed in 1/4 or 1/2 so you can listen carefully to the words just by pressing the minus sign (-). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5. Some kanji have common base characters that have same sounds. Once you know the base kanji's onyomi, it usually has same onyomi in the more complex characters like in the following:

a. Base: 奇 / Onyomi: き -> 寄、騎、崎、埼、碕

b. Base: 白 / Onyomi: はく -> 箔、伯、拍、泊、舶、栢、迫

c. Base: 各 / Onyomi: かく -> 格、客、閣、挌、喀

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6. An extra 15 ways on remembering words.

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7. When learning a new word, try to add 2-3 multiple variations of that word based off prefixes and suffixes.

a. For example, you want to learn 漫画 (まんが) = manga. Other variations of 漫画:

i. 漫画家 (まんがか) = manga artist
ii. 漫画字 (まんがじ) = comic font
iii. 漫画映画 (まんがえいが) = cartoon
iv. 続き漫画 (つづきまんが) = serial comic

b. By knowing the prefixes and suffixes, you can get several cracks 漫画.  In this case, you'll see 漫画 5 times in your reviews. It will feel like you see it everyday. Very useful when having lots of words already in anki.

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8. Reading complex sentences (relative clauses)

a. Just read the sentence literally as it appears and visualize each word.

-Use a firefox addon called Rikaichan to instantly look up any Japanese word by hovering over it.

-Some examples:

i. すしを食べる猫はたまです。
Correct Translation: The cat that's eating sushi is tama.
Literal Translation: Sushi eating cat is tama.

ii. 日本語が話せる人はジョンの友達です。
CT: The person who can speak Japanese is john's friend.
LT: Japanese-speakable person is John's friend.

iii. コーラを飲む人はポールのいとこです。
CT: The person who drinks coke is Paul's cousin.
LT: Coke drinking person is Paul's cousin.

iv. バーガーを食べている人は彼の友達です。
CT: The person eating the burger is his friend.
LT: Burger eating person is his friend.

v. いつも宿題をする学生は私です。
CT: The student who always does their homework is… me!
LT: Always homework doing student is me.

vi: 友達が働いているレストランに行きました。
CT: I went to a restaurant my friend works at.
LT: Friend works restaurant, I went there.

vii. にこりと軽やかな笑みを浮かべる僕.
CT: Me who expresses a grinning light smile.
LT: Grinning light smile expressing me.

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9. Japanese accent marks in compound kanji (a.k.a. dakuten or dots: ﾞ and handakuten or maru [circle]: °)

-The marks are usually applied in compound kanji.  The kanji that receives the accents is usually the 
second one (not so much for 3 or more kanji).  For example:

a.
手 + 振り = 手振り
て + ふり = てぶり [2nd kanji gets accent]
hand + shake = movements or gestures of hands or arms

b.
戸 + 締まり = 戸締り
と + しまり = とじまり [2nd kanji gets accent]
door + close = locking the door

c.
減 + 法 = 減法
げん + ほう = げんぽう [2nd kanji gets accent]
reduction + method = subtraction

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10. Best way to remember the onyomi / kunyomi for each kanji is just to know more words and 
variations of that word. Apply the linking method and photos & store them to anki for review.

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11. Kanji compounds that have [っ]: this is usually used when the last syllable of the first kanji and the first syllable of the second kanji have the same first letter.  You'd then add [っ] + [common syllable character].  For example:

a.
黙 + 許 = 黙許
もく + きょ = もっきょ [uses っき]
silent + permit = silent approval

Last syllable of 1st kanji: く
Ffirst syllable of 2nd kanji: き
Both syllables start with a 'K' sound letter, so both are combined with っき.

b.
学 + 科 = 学科
がく + か = がっか [uses っか]
study + department = course of study

Last syllable of 1st kanji: く
First syllable of 2nd kanji: か
Both syllables start with a 'K' sound letter, so both are combined with っか.

c.
欠 + 点 = 欠点
けつ + てん = けってん [uses って]
lacking + point = weak point

Last syllable of 1st kanji: つ
First syllable of 2nd kanji: て
Both syllables start with a 'T' sound letter, so both are combined with って.

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-This trick works most of the time but beware that there are exceptions to this rule such as:

a.
物 + 価 = 物価
ぶつ + か = ぶっか
things + price = prices (of goods)
-> [has つ + か]

b.
出 + 張 = 出張
しゅつ + ちょう = しゅっちょう
leave + lengthen = business trip
-> [has つ + ち]

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12. Advanced grammar needed to survive visual novels / novels

-The best way to review a tremendous amount of words, kanji, and grammar points at a time is to read (preferably visual novels, novels, manga, etc).

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13. Sing along out loud with the lyrics of your favorite music. Really helps in solidifying words and gets you to use them.

14. If at all possible, find someone who knows Japanese in real life and practice talking with them. This is probably the fastest way to learn, but it's kinda hard finding someone like this.

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15. Firefox add-ons

a. Rikaichan: hover over Japanese words and look them up instantly.

b. Furigana inserter: add furigana to kanji.

c. Characterizer - takes the keyword from RTK, matches it up with the same keyword on the internet page your viewing, then transforms the first letter into the kanji of that same keyword. For example, if you see words like Read, write, continue, walk… you would see, 読ead, 書rite, 続ontinue, 歩alk.



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Learn Japanese The Easy Way P4 - Intermediate Level

2/23/2017 07:01:00 AM Unknown 0 Comments

Table of links for "Learn Japanese The Easy Way":
part1:  Start
part2:  Self-Learning Method
part3:  Beginner Level
part4:  Intermediate Level
part5:  Advaned Level
part6:  End / Motivation

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1. Kanji (Chinese characters)
a. Remember The Kanji - contains stories for each kanji to assist your memory. Just enter the unknown character in the search box and pick the best ones that'll help you remember.  Of course, you'll need to start on #1 or you won't understand how each one is connected. Might also need to read multiple stories to get what parts of the kanji is being mentioned.
Here's the .pdf file that goes with Remember The Kanji. Use it to understand how the people in this site come up with these stories and how each character is formed.

On another note, don't learn kanji randomly. Learn them from unknown words that you encounter from your favorite study material because it's easier to remember stuff that's in a story versus no story at all.
b. Here are some easy examples:

i. 月 (moon) = cresent moon
ii. 品 (goods) = 3 boxes of goods
iii. 工 (craft) = 'I' beam for crafting buildings
iv. 大 (big) = big person, arms & legs stretched out
v. 川 (stream) = stream going downward
vi. 中 = inside = stick 'inside' a mouth
vii. 見 = see = seashell with legs that can 'see' you
viii. 具 = tool = seashell with legs ripped off by a horizontal 'tool'
ix. 女 = woman = 'woman' doing a curtsy
x. 小 = little = 'little' penguin with its wings at its side
xi. 多 = many = "2 many" crescent moons
xii. 火= fire = pictograph of 'fire'
xiii. 炎 = inflammation = 2 fire kanjis can cause 'inflammation'
xiv. 淡 = thin = water over "2 fire kanjis or "inflammation" will 'thin' things out
xv. 牛 = cow = pictograph of a 'cow' ran over by a truck
xvi. 立 = stand up = vase that is 'standing up'
xvii. 音 = sound = standing on the sun will make u scream 'sounds'
xviii. 亡 = deceased = pictograph of coffin
xix. 己 = self = invert 'S' for "self"
xx. 妃 = queen = 'women' think of 'themselves' as 'queens'
xxi. 羊 = sheep = 'sheep' run over by a steam roller
xxii. 洋 = ocean = 'sheep' stranded in the 'waters' of an ocean
xxiii. 心 = heart = pictograph of a heart
xxiv. 爪 = claw = pictograph of claw
xxv. 田 = rice field = pictography of a rice field divided into 4 parts

c. Repeat this process by going into RTK & finding which stories best fit your style all the way up till you reach a total of 2136 kanji. Remember to store them into anki.

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Learn Japanese The Easy Way P6 - End / Motivation

2/23/2017 07:00:00 AM Unknown 0 Comments

Table of links for "Learn Japanese The Easy Way":
part1:  Start
part2:  Self-Learning Method
part3:  Beginner Level
part4:  Intermediate Level
part5:  Advaned Level
part6:  End / Motivation

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When you feel like giving up on Japanese, try: / 日本語を諦めたい気持ちになる時、試して:

1. Doing the reasons you wanted to study Japanese.

2. Finding epic Japanese music on the internet that will make you cry (good tears).
3. Reading other people's comments / profiles on how passionate they are about anime and you realizing that they don't even know Japanese at all. What? They say they don’t have the time to study the language yet they post hundreds of comments on the net on a certain anime? At least you're trying to reach the other side while they are just talk.

4. Watching a show in another language you don’t already know (like Chinese) and losing yourself in that. Get confused as hell as you're listening. Then after 5 mins, watch some subbed anime. Notice how you can understand some words here and there a little better. Japanese won't sound completely foreign compared to the other language you listened to. You'll feel closer to it.

5. Thinking how long it takes for a series to get an English dub (if you like to watch English dubs, that is). It takes around 1 - 4 years or more for a dub to be released. If you wait 1 - 4 years, you could've obtained some knowledge of Japanese. Then waiting another 1 - 4 years for another dub… you could've been fluent by then.

6. Listening to the voice of your favorite character from an anime, game, etc. Fall in love with their voice and believe you can understand them one day.

7. If anime, games, manga etc. are your hobbies, then learning Japanese is clearly obvious. At the times you quit studying and go back to those hobbies, you'll have no choice but to be inspired by those same hobbies to study once again.

Once you slowly start unraveling each unknown thing and begin to actually hear and recognize those words you learned from anime, manga, etc, your world really opens up. Let these kinds of moments break through those difficult walls. Feed on those emotions.  This is the way to learn - Learning in the places you want to be in.

頑張って!

Learn Japanese The Easy Way P3 - Beginner Level

2/23/2017 06:58:00 AM Unknown 0 Comments

Table of links for "Learn Japanese The Easy Way":
part1:  Start
part2:  Self-Learning Method
part3:  Beginner Level
part4:  Intermediate Level
part5:  Advaned Level
part6:  End / Motivation

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1. Anki
a. Anki is a flashcard software that schedules and spaces out your review over a certain period of time so that you can store those words in your long term memory. Once a card has become "mature" from after correctly guessing each card right 4 times straight, you can say that you've mastered that word for now. It's a good way to know you're making progress and so you don't get lost.
b. Whatever unknown word, grammar point, or phrase you encounter, put it all in anki so you won't forget what you learned. Seeing how there's 10,000+ things to remember, anki will schedule review times for each item.

c. Here's a youtube tutorial on how to create an anki deck. Might be necessary to watch more tutorials to get the basics down.
d. Once you get here, make 2 decks: one for words and the other for kanji. Later on, you might need to make mutliple decks for words as having 200 words in one deck can be a handful.

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2. Hiragana / katakana
a. These are the basic alphabet of Japanese, containing 46 characters each. Master these before going on to kanji and grammar.

b. Here's an easy way to learn: they basically look like fancy English characters if you bend your imagination.

-Hiragana / ひらがな:
i. い = i = 'i' with the dot at right side
ii. ろ = Ro = resembles a (Ro)cket
iii. の = No = 'n' and 'o' fused together
iv. ら = Ra = looks like a (Ra)bbit
v. お = O = looks like an 'o'
vi. え = e = lower case 'e'
vii. き = ki = car 'keys'
viii. そ = so = backwards 'S' with 'o' at bottom
ix. つ = tsu = 'tsunami' wave going to the right
x. と = to = 'toe' with nail jammed in it
xi. ん = n = fancy 'n'
xii. せ = se = someone 'seated' at steering wheel

-Katakana / カタカナ:
i. イ = i = weird shaped 'i'
ii. ク = ku = holding a fancy 'kup'
iii. コ = ko = dead end 'korner' in a maze
iv. サ = sa = horse 'saddle'
v. ス = su = bowl of 'soup' that has a leak
vi. ト = to = 'toe' of a messed up chicken
vii. ユ = yu = 'yu' with the 'y' laying on its left side and the 'u' inside the 'y'
viii. ヨ = yo = one side of a 'yo'-yo
ix. ラ = ra = bowl of 'ramen' with steam floating over the bowl
x. リ = ri = 'ri' rotated 180 degrees to the right
xi. レ = re = 'rear' when seated on a weird seat

d. I suggest watching anime openings / endings, music lyrics, or read along with the Japanese subtitles of any show for review. Also, don't forget to write down how you remembered each of the characters on each anki card as it's easy to forget.

e. To type hiragana & katakana on your pc, here's a short vid to show you how.

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3. Basic Grammar
-Now that you can read hiragana & katakana, try and learn the basic grammar. From the link above, I've summarized the main points below, but it won't make any sense unless you've at least looked at each of the links listed in each section. After that, only learn more grammar when encountering the unknown so you don't learn useless stuff (to save yourself time). You will see these basic grammar points in almost every sentence.

i. だ and です = to be
ii. じゃない = isn't
iii. じゃなかった = wasn't

i. は = topic marker
ii. も = also
iii. が = indicates sentence subject (sometimes object). Most of the time, the thing marked with が will end up doing the verb that follows [another link for が].
 
i. な adjectives = acts as noun, but to use it as an adjective, you need to add な after it.
ii. い adjectives = words that end in い are usually adjectives.
 
i. Most words that end in る or う are verbs.
 


i. る verbs = drop る and add -ない.
ii. う verbs = replace u-vowel sound with a-vowel equivalent and add ない.
 


i. る verbs = drop る and add -た.
ii. Other forms in chart (gets complicated).
 

i. を = direct object (receives action)
ii. に = in, to, on
iii. へ = to (only used for destinations)
iv. で = at (used for place of action)
 

i. Transitive = verbs that do actions to direct objects (を) [Ex.  I eat an apple].
ii. Intransitive = verbs that don't use direct objects [Ex. The book falls]. 

-Relative clause: Adds additional information to noun.  Goes before nouns in Japanese.
i. と = and
ii. や, とか = lists vague items [etc…things like…stuff like…]
iii. の = possessive particle [My stuff, his stuff, her stuff]

 
i. ね = agreement, emphasis
ii. よ = indicates certainty
iii. よね = dontcha

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4. Assuming you've completed the previous steps, you can venture off in anime, music, manga, etc. and start learning from your favorite stuff. Just remember to add those words to anki so you don't forget, and try to accumulate 6000 words and 2136 kanji that you will eventually add if you intend to go this route. Or if you're ready for the next step, then proceed.

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Learn Japanese The Easy Way P2 - Self-Learning Method

2/23/2017 06:54:00 AM Unknown 0 Comments

Table of links for "Learn Japanese The Easy Way":
part1:  Start
part2:  Self-Learning Method
part3:  Beginner Level
part4:  Intermediate Level
part5:  Advaned Level
part6:  End / Motivation

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When learning stuff, most websites usually just tell you what something is and how it's formed. But what they mostly lack are ways to remember those ideas. On this page, I've written tricks on how to remember words, chinese characters, etc. Also, all links provided here are free, so you don't need to waste lots of money on tedious Japanese classes when the knowledge is already all entirely on the internet, especially on youtube.  Hopefully this will smooth out your journey.

You need to have clear reasons on why you want to learn because you will hit lots of walls with this language. Make a list of reasons, and when you do hit a wall, do those reasons listed. For me, it's anime. Everytime I want to quit, I take a break and watch an episode or two. After that, I feel like I can keep going.  You've got to love your reasons and let those drive you to the end.

My reasons to study Japanese / 日本語が勉強する俺の理由:

Next, your ultimate goal is to master the top 6000 commonly used words  & 2136 commonly used kanji.

You'll be at an advanced level once you complete these two gigantic tasks. Don't worry, this isn't a competition. Go at whatever pace you feel like. As long as you love your reasons for studying (anime, manga, etc.), that passion will determine your pace for you.

Translation:  I'm so moved that you love me so much, Maho-nyan!

1. Jump inside your favorite material (anime, manga, visual novel... etc.) and start learning words / kanji / grammar from there. Whatever you don't know, look it up and add it to anki to study later.

2. Kanji: break the kanji up by searching for each one from http://kanji.koohii.com/ and write the stories that helped you remember the kanji in the same anki card you're analyzing.

3. Words: use the methods listed in the Advanced Level section to help remember words (specifically linking / photos) and store them in each anki card. Review all words and kanji in anki until a majority are matured.

4. Grammar: once you get a gist of a certain grammar point, search for a lot of examples of that certain grammar point and write all of them together so you can see it; Use grammar points yourself: Write it down / Review it in anki over time / Speak it / Think about it. The more you use it, the better chance you'll remember.

5. Repeat steps 1-4 until you get to 6000 words and 2136 kanji. Once you've matured about 90% of words and kanji in anki, you'll have reached a competent level in Japanese.

Note: The best way to review a tremendous amount of words, kanji, and grammar points at a time is to read (preferably reading visual novels, novels, manga, etc).


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Learn Japanese The Easy Way P1 - Start

2/12/2017 09:50:00 PM Unknown 0 Comments

Before diving in, be sure to subscribe to my youtube channel as I post translations of untranslated visual novels / manga / songs / and more that most fansub groups don't touch as a way to study Japanese:   http://tinyurl.com/Subscribe2SeeMore

Table of links for "Learn Japanese The Easy Way":
part1:  Start
part2:  Self-Learning Method
part3:  Beginner Level
part4:  Intermediate Level
part5:  Advaned Level
part6:  End / Motivation

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Name's Chris. I'm quite laid-back, easy-going, and a little lazy, but when it comes to studying Japanese, I'm very motivated. My drive to study comes from loving anime and games from a young age. The stories, music, voice acting, graphics, character personalities that are presented are much better than the stuff airing on real TV. One main reason to study is so I can surpass English subtitles in anime. My eyes are always looking down at the subs and rarely at the main scenes. That reason alone was the final push I needed to actually study the language because those Japanese characters just looked so hard from the start.
One of my study tools is watching my favorite anime airing as of now with the actual Japanese anime subtitles. It's interesting trying to translate what they're saying and seeing if the professional / fan English translation was correct by having the english subs right above the japanese subs as I'm watching anime.
Another study tool of mine is translating raw manga and comparing my version with fan translations to see if I was close to the actual meaning:

Manga: Citrus

-Raw:


-English Translation:
 

My ultimate way of studying Japanese is reading untranslated visual novels (that will or will never get a translation). I wasn't too fond of this method at the start because it'd put me to sleep, but when you think about it, reading is just a good way to review a hell load of vocabulary, kanji (chinese characters), and grammar all at the same time. As the words suggests, 'visual novels' contains lots of visuals and dialogue, which definitely kept my interest 
I've been studying japanese on my own for about 6 years on and off. Right now I've completed Japanese Core 6000, which teaches the most common 6000 words used in Japanese. I can honestly say that I'm still not fluent yet.  Even when I'm translating Japanese subs to English, there's always a few words here and there that are unfamiliar. Knowing 10k doesn't seem like enough, but once you're past the 6k mark, it's very easy to pick up words.

At this point it might appear despairing to study Japanese. But everytime I watch anime and get to those climactic moments, I can't help but fall in love with the language even more. Even if I have to learn 10k+ words, I believe this feeling I have will help me break through that barrier and reach a point where I can truly turn off the subtitles for good.

I'm a huge couch potato and usually hanging out by myself. If you need any type of help, just leave a comment below and I'll see what I can do. よろしく！

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