美貌はただ気を引くだけです。人格は心を掴みます。/ bibou wa tada kiwo hiku dake desu.jinkaku wa kokoro wo tsukami masu. / "Beauty only gets attention. Personality is what captures the heart."
他人の幸せを見るのが耐えられない人がいる。/ tanin no shiawase wo miru noga taerare nai hito ga iru. / "Some people can not stand to see the happiness of others."
今寝れるのを明日にとって置くな。/ ima nereru nowo asu ni totte okuna. / Do not leave what you can sleep now for tomorrow.
人間のことを知れば知るほど、ベッドが好きになる。/ ningen no koto wo shireba shiru hodo, beddo ga sukini naru. / The more I know humans, the more I love my bed.
雨降ったし空きれいやわ！ / ame futta shi sora kirei yawa / The sky is beautiful after rain !
Will you take a picture of me? Would you take my picture? Will you take a picture for me? Would you mind taking my picture? Shasin wo totte morae masu ka?
Hiii, here’s how I have been learning Japanese these past couple of weeks!
I have been learning my kanji with The Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Course. I learn 2+ kanji a day, along with a corresponding vocabulary word for each one. I think this is nice because I am killing two birds with one stone by learning a reading of the kanji and the vocabulary word at once!
First, I review the previous day’s kanji by writing it down. I will review up to a week’s worth of kanji sometimes.
Then, I write down the new kanji I learn at the back of my notebook. I will include the words and stroke order beside them.
The next day, IN A DIFFERENT NOTEBOOK, I write the previous day’s vocabulary words (which are made up of the kanji) review. The second day notebook is what I use as a “I should probably know this or at least be somewhat familiar with this” kind of thing. Side note: If I learn 2 kanji a day, I should be able to finish the book (and learn a lot of vocabulary!) in under 10 months.
I have also been using WaniKani. I don’t know how to feel about it yet. I have however been taking words I struggle to remember and putting them on sticky notes and placing them on what I call my “focus wall” beside my desk. None of those words should be lying dormant on the wall for more than a week. I add them to a corresponding “focus” flashcard set on the Shirabe Jisho app to give them extra attention
I use the Shirabe Dictionary app for a lot of things, but mostly last minute kanji and vocabulary refreshers. It’s PACKED with value because it offers example sentences, stroke order, built in flash card sets (and an SRS system for them), word lists and kanji lists, etc. You can customize your own sets too if you want. The only thing is, don’t rely on the audio for the vocabulary. It’s not great. Still, I’m shocked that it’s free.
I’ve also been using HelloTalk. I actually quite love the listening they offer on there because it isn’t too difficult for beginners but there are intermediate options as well. They offer vocabulary and grammar explanations with listening that is suited for my level, which I really found most other podcasts to be lacking. Note: Another fun thing is just texting native Japanese speakers on there. It’s rly useful for learning their common phrases, especially because there’s a translation feature. It also kind of has the same features as HiNative, so I find it to be better in my opinion.
I found that I struggle with reading enough example sentences, so I scurried to my genki textbook to look at the fundamentals. I also use Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication. I like it, but the Romaji is quite annoying. Other than that, I find the example sentences to be pretty extensive!
Any other grammar I’m learning comes from a mixture of Cure Dolly (don’t binge her videos after the 4th episode, you will quickly regret it. It adds up too fast. Try to supplement her videos with beginner articles or other videos on the topic, then PRACTICE and EXERCISE making sentences before moving on), various blog articles (Ie. Tofugu) and my textbook (Genki).
So yeah. I also sometimes practice reading with the book Japanese Short Stories for Beginners by LingoMastery. I really like it, especially because it also includes vocabulary to learn with the stories. It’s written pretty formally so it will complement the traditional western learning style textbooks nicely.
Anyway, that’s how I’m studying lately. For me, I find the Kanji and their vocabulary to be daily, listening practice to be almost daily, and WaniKani almost daily. My weakness is reading and speaking. I usually speak when i’m imitating native speakers or the lessons from HelloTalk, but I’m not quite good enough to actually talk to native speakers yet.
Anyway, I’m off to sleep. Hope this helped! お休みなさい！
Here’s a list out of the first chapter of a book I’m reading:
違う(ちがう) different
少ない(すくない) not many
不思議に思う(ふしぎにおもう) to wonder
もうすぐ just around the corner, soon
目の前 in front
一緒に(いっしょに) together
眺める(ながめる) to look, to stare
前に before
一生懸命(いっしょうけんめい) to try very hard
降りる(おりる) to get off (ie. train)
急いで(いそいで) hurriedly
声(こえ) voice
がっかりする to be disappointed
着く(つく) to arrive
字幕(じまく) subtitles
耳が不自由(みみがふじゆう) deaf
Ahhhhhh so many words but I already feel familiar with a lot of them so it’s okay. I’m gonna do a mass vocab review tonight! Then write down my journal corrections and watch grammar videos :) ^-^
Hi guys! I am really going all over the place with this vocabulary, but I decided that I want to start learning the vocabulary for the podcast “Let’s Learn Japanese from Small Talk!” so I can listen more easily :) I will be making my vocabulary lists based off of textbook words, JLPT words, conjunctions, and the wordlists from the podcast!
addiction中毒(ちゅうどく)
self-introduction自己紹介(じこしょうかい)
program演目(えんもく)
last month 先月(せんげつ)
so, thereforeだから・なので
by the way ところで
for example 例えば(たとえば)
because何故なら(なぜなら)
butけど・けれども
disgusted with; to dislike 嫌い(きらい)
quiet静か(しずか)
very fond of; to love 大好き(だいすき)
livelyにぎやか
To really solidify my learning, I’m gonna take the words from these lists and make them into a big flashcard set with the Shirabe Jisho dictionary app! I’ll study it today too of course :)
I’m frustrated because I’m not learning my textbook words fast enough but we r trying… I’m gonna take a break to work on my new server :3
This is one of many Japanese 四字熟語、yojijukugo, idioms written with four kanji characters. Some of them were adopted from existing Chinese cousins, but lots are unique to Japanese.
晴耕雨読seikouudoku, literally means to be “working in the fields during the good weather and reading during rainy weather,” but is interpreted to mean “dividing time quietly between your labors and intellectual pursuits/a quiet sort of life.”
I love finding idioms in languages I’m trying to learn, especially ones like these which are written in a certain way, because it almost feels more like memorizing little poems which you can recite in conversation.
This particular one comprises of the four kanji:
晴：read as せい sei;literally meaning, “clear up,” containing the radicals for “sun, daylight” and “blue;” it appears in many pleasant phrases referring to cheerful, refreshing, beautiful weather
耕：read as こうkou; literally meaning, “to till, cultivate,” made up of the radicals for “ploughing” and “town or community, or (sometimes) well;” exists mostly in compounds relating to agriculture
雨：read as うu; literally meaning, “rain;” the character itself is classified as a pictogram
読：read as どくdoku; literally meaning, “to read,” uses the radicals for “to say, tell” and “to sell;” although primarily meaning to read literally, as in books or written material, it may also suggest “reading someone’s heart, to predict or divine”
If anyone can add about how this is used, please do!!
