# Learning to Read & Speak Japanese



## dancingalone (Dec 7, 2010)

Anyone ever tried to do this?  I have a lot of free time right now and I think this would be a useful skill to pick up.  I am more interested in learning how to read than speak...And the focus would be on reading martial arts writings. A friend of mine living in Japan was kind enough to purchase a large collection of karate books and magazines for me, but unfortunately I can't read the text (yet).

If anyone has some pointers on how to start down this path, I would appreciate it.


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## Brandon Fisher (Dec 7, 2010)

I am actually do that very thing.  With the use of translation tools I am doing translation work, some kanji I recognize fairly easily now but the hiragana and katakana are much slower for me.  I am learning phrases slowly also so eventually I hope to become more comforable with speaking japanese even if just basic conversation.  I did ok while in Okinawa and in Tokyo at the Airports so I am not doing to terrible I guess.

I would truly pursue it if I were you.


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## Omar B (Dec 7, 2010)

I went about it ina whole differnt way.  My sebsei was a traditionalist who taught mostly in japanese then when I was 22 my ex got a job in Japan for 6 months and I went along.  So the months leading up we studied together.

Best teaching too ever is tv.  Every country has the equivalent of Sesame Street where you can learn counting, phrases, numbers is the wAy children learn, through song and stuff like that.  Then graduate to the news channels.


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## David43515 (Dec 8, 2010)

There`s a Japanese chain of bookstores called "Kinokuniya" (it`s the store`s named not a type of store). They have branches in New York, and a few west coast cities. Get thier catalog of books on learning Japanese. They stock far more books and dictionaries than even Amazon.http://nymag.com/listings/stores/kinokuniya-bookstore/

Begin with basic vocabulary. Then move onto grammar. You have to learn basic language before you can concentrate on a specific subject like MA. Omar`s right, kids shows are great. So are shows that teach Englich to Japanese speakers.Youtube has a few places that can teach you basic phrases. Learn hiragana so you can use a dictionary. Japanese electronic dictionaries allow you to look things up phonetically or by character. (Unfortunately you may need a japanese friend to translate the instructions`cause most companies don`t print them in English, but it`s worth it.)

And I`m happy to help anyone who has questions if I can. I teach junior high and high school English in Japan.


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## Omar B (Dec 8, 2010)

Yeah dude, my ex got a job teaching English in school there too.  Children's programing has always been one of my favorite resources for language learning.  Correct pronunciation, they explain things slowly and repeat enough for even a non speaker to catch on, things tend to rhyme or have music or some sort of device to help you remember.  

The news is also great because they speak properly and clearly.

Oh just noticed all the bad spelling in my previous post.  I should stop posting from my smart phone when I'm not home.


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## Tez3 (Dec 8, 2010)

Omar B said:


> I went about it ina whole differnt way. My sebsei was a traditionalist who taught mostly in japanese then when I was 22 my ex got a job in Japan for 6 months and I went along. So the months leading up we studied together.
> 
> Best teaching too ever is tv.* Every country has the equivalent of Sesame Street where you can learn counting, phrases, numbers is the wAy children learn, through song and* *stuff like that*. Then graduate to the news channels.


 
That's exactly how I picked up some Dutch and German! Watching Sesame Straat and Sesame Strasse when we lived in Germany. Dutch television at the time imported a lot of British and American programmes and subtitled them so I could watch the programmes and get the written Dutch as well, it sort of sunk in. children's books and comics are good as well.


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## Omar B (Dec 8, 2010)

Das ist, wie ich Deutsches zu in den meisten Fällen erlernte.


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## CoryKS (Dec 8, 2010)

Took some classes when I was stationed in Okinawa and was able to manage pretty well with the locals.  It was mostly speaking, though, it didn't delve too deeply into the writing.  I had a big book of kanji and would wander around town figuring out what the signs said.  Recently pulled my books out for a fresh start, but without the practice of daily interaction it's hard to retain the knowledge.


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## MA-Caver (Dec 8, 2010)

Rosetta Stone program is supposedly the best to learn a new language. Also immersion into the culture and people (i.e. living there) is another quick way to learn.


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## Bruno@MT (Dec 8, 2010)

Doing that.

My teacher is writing a course on learning Japanese. I am the guinea pig, 1 chapter at a time. I have learned hiragana and katakana and some basic grammar and vocabulary. With each chapter I get some new grammar and vocabulary, and this chapter I am learning kanji and the use of adjectives.

It is very interesting and rewarding.
And I work on it whenever I have some time, like when I am sitting in the cafeteria when my daughter is having swimming lessons or gymnastics, or waiting for something or other.


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## David43515 (Dec 8, 2010)

When I first started I found tons of children`s books in Japanese. The words and grammar are basic, and if they had kanji the pronuciation was written next to it in hiragana. It was a big help and I was using words everybody could understand.Sometimes just looking a word up in the dictionary gives you an equivalent Japanese word that is correct, but it`s not the term they use in daily conversation. I`ve used words that I assumed were everyday conversation, and even the natives had never heard them or had to look them up.


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## MA-Caver (Dec 8, 2010)

Bruno@MT said:


> Doing that.
> 
> My teacher is writing a course on learning Japanese. I am the guinea pig, 1 chapter at a time. I have learned hiragana and katakana and some basic grammar and vocabulary. With each chapter I get some new grammar and vocabulary, and this chapter I am learning kanji and the use of adjectives.
> 
> ...



I've learned how to say Thank you in Chinese (mandarin), Korean and Japanese because we get a lot of Asians on our tours where I work. Problem is being able to tell the difference between the three, when asked "where are you all from" they usually name some city in the states... in halting english (or is that engrish?). :lol: 
Either way it's nice to see the smile on their faces when I get it right and they appreciate the effort of learning at least a few words in their native language. 
I'd love to learn Japanese and the other languages... provided I can find the time to devote to the study.


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## David43515 (Dec 8, 2010)

I first learned to speak when I did missionary work for my church in the late 80`s. After I returned home to Ohio I figured I`d never use it again because I lived in such a small town. Boy was I wrong! Once you learn a new language iopportunities to use it seem to jump out at you every time you turn around. Maybe they were there before and I never noticed it, but they were sure thaere after I got home. Pretty soon I had lots of new friends I wouldn`t have met if I didn`t know thier language, and a few years later I had a beautiful bride and a new life 10,000 miles from home.


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## Bruno@MT (Dec 9, 2010)

I just asked a Japanese friend of mine to send me a selection of second hand kids books. They're really cheap if you can get someone to buy them locally. If you want to buy them on amazon you're paying through the nosefor them.

Long time agao I've found with the English language that once you reach a certain point where you understand the basics, you can make enormous progress by reading. And since I like reading (a lot) that is my goal. A long time ago I said that I would like to be able to read yoshikawa's 'musashi' in Japanese  Yeah I know it is ambitious


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## Mark Jordan (Dec 9, 2010)

Japanese is difficult because you have to learn the characters. The best way to learn this is to live in Japan.  If that's not possible you can also try learning first the Katakan alphabet - it has 46 symbols then listen to Japanese Language CDs.


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## Bruno@MT (Dec 9, 2010)

Imo, you first need to learn hiragana and katakana. That takes time, but it allows you to understand the language. After that, it's just grammar, vocabulary and kanji 
The characters are difficult, to say the least, but grammatically it is much simpler than Dutch.


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## oaktree (Dec 9, 2010)

www.interpals.net this site lets you talk to native from their country as a language exchange it is free. If you have a Skype account you can talk in real time to practice and learn from.

You can search on Youtube and learn as well some of the stuff is actually pretty decent.
 If you have an Iphone there are some apps you can use that are not to bad for the price.

Most books teach you some phrases and come with an audio cd that is ok but really not worth the money in my opinion.

Rosetta stone sucks for the price it cost you are better off taking a course at your local college which is cheaper and you can learn how to read and write with it.

www.mysoju.com is a website that has asian drama shows. You can watch it listen to it as a way of immersion watch to much and you will start thinking in the language.

Learn Hiragana first Katakana second then Kanji third. 

If you have a nintendo ds they have a myJapanese coach it is actually not to bad considering it is a video game and $20. It speaks to you and teaches you grammar,hiragana,katakana and most important how to make a sentence.

There are some good books out there as David said some decent ones at the book store.
 The 3 I would suggest are 1.a phrase book 2.a grammar/vocab book 3.a Hiragana/Katakana book.

You can find some things at your local library some not so good some pretty decent.

Gambatte


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