# Japanese, anyone~? ください  TT_TT



## Nightmares (Sep 3, 2015)

Does anyone speak / anyone learning Japanese? 
I've tried starting kanji but I am so stuck. ;_; 
Does anyone have any tips on how to learn it? Any good books or websites? 
ください ください ください

ありがとう~!


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## mirukushake (Sep 3, 2015)

Have you tried using the textbook Genki? That's what most people use. 
http://genki.japantimes.co.jp/index_en


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## Nightmares (Sep 3, 2015)

mirukushake said:


> Have you tried using the textbook Genki? That's what most people use.
> http://genki.japantimes.co.jp/index_en



I'll check it out! どうも ありがとう ございます！


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## visibleghost (Sep 3, 2015)

i learned hiragana and started learning katakana but i've forgotten a bit. i don't really feel that motivated to learn but i know a bit and definitely undarstand more than i can speak

it's p cool that i could read and understand what u wrote tho :>

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japanese grammar is a pain tho i don't get it ):


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## Nightmares (Sep 3, 2015)

lencurryboy said:


> i learned hiragana and started learning katakana but i've forgotten a bit. i don't really feel that motivated to learn but i know a bit and definitely undarstand more than i can speak
> 
> it's p cool that i could read and understand what u wrote tho :>
> 
> ...



The particles confuse me. Do I use "ga" or "wa" or "wo"??
And yeah, its awesome when I can read sentences and stuff >.<


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## Hatori (Sep 3, 2015)

mirukushake said:


> Have you tried using the textbook Genki? That's what most people use.
> http://genki.japantimes.co.jp/index_en



I second this! I use their Genki textbooks as well. I found it very helpful using their CD and reading/listening along through the textbook. 
They have a self-study room with flash cards, quizzes, and listening guides for Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji, grammar, and vocabulary! 

がんばって！


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## matt (Sep 3, 2015)

私は非常に多く、このような興味深い言語であなたに話すことができるように義務付けられています。私の日本語は素晴らしいではありませんが、私は自分の能力に非常に自信を持って感じています。


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## Aestivate (Sep 3, 2015)

matt said:


> 私は非常に多く、このような興味深い言語であなたに話すことができるように義務付けられています。私の日本語は素晴らしいではありませんが、私は自分の能力に非常に自信を持って感じています。



I would try to get rid of using the word 私 constantly. It expresses a bit of arrogance and is mostly used by superior people. Other than that I spotted some particle mistakes but over all it's definitely not bad.

@L Cocoabean, I sent you a vm with the question if you're interested in getting some help from me


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## Nightmares (Sep 3, 2015)

どうも ありがとう ございます、みな！  

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matt said:


> 私は非常に多く、このような興味深い言語であなたに話すことができるように義務付けられています。私の日本語は素晴らしいではありませんが、私は自分の能力に非常に自信を持って感じています。



0-0 You're so good omfg 

google translate ftw


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## Celestefey (Sep 3, 2015)

Hi, I can help you with any kanji if you want me to, although my knowledge of kanji is also somewhat limited. I learned Japanese at school for 4 years so I'd like to think I'm somewhat good at it... ^^"

To be honest, the best way of learning kanji is writing it out over and over and over. Memorising it. Find ways you can remember it. Japanese is a very visual language, kanji characters are like little pictures that describe the character or word. So you could try to look at the kanji character like it is a picture, and memories it from that. For example...

The kanji for mori/forest (もり) is actually 森. Notice how they look a little bit like trees? Also, there's three of them, which signifies how there's multiple trees, which you would usually find in a forest. Just try to look at kanji characters like pictures, it makes it a lot easier.

Like the others have mentioned, online resources are also very helpful. You can try finding memory games to play online to help you with reading kanji and understanding it. 

Good luck! Or should I say, がんばってください！

(And also, ください literally translates to "Please give me". If you want to say please you should say "おねがい（します）". You can use kudasai with verbs but you should translate the verb into te form first. For example:

"かいてください" = please write.

But if you don't know this yet that's okay, te form is kind of confusing. x3 Even I struggle with it. I'm not an expert!!)


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## himeki (Sep 3, 2015)

I'm trying to, but it's really hard!
じゃね！See ya!
みず、おねがい！Water, please!
めぬ、おねあぐ！Menu, please!
あくま Demon/Devil
はい Yes
しに Death
がみ God
わたひわえっゔぃえです！ I am Evvie!


aaaand that's all I know
*typed in romaji with Apple Japanese keyboard lol *


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## Nightmares (Sep 3, 2015)

Celestefey said:


> Hi, I can help you with any kanji if you want me to, although my knowledge of kanji is also somewhat limited. I learned Japanese at school for 4 years so I'd like to think I'm somewhat good at it... ^^"
> 
> To be honest, the best way of learning kanji is writing it out over and over and over. Memorising it. Find ways you can remember it. Japanese is a very visual language, kanji characters are like little pictures that describe the character or word. So you could try to look at the kanji character like it is a picture, and memories it from that. For example...
> 
> ...



Oh lol TY! xD
I did start making kanji flash cards but I wasn't sure if that would be effective enough or whatever.
I've heard of associating the kanji with pictures and that seems like a helpful idea 
Thanks so much! 

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MayorEvvie said:


> I'm trying to, but it's really hard!
> じゃね！See ya!
> みず、おねがい！Water, please!
> めぬ、おねあぐ！Menu, please!
> ...



Haha that's what I do 
And don't you know hello or goodbye??  shame on you!

Also, I hope you don't mind me correcting you but it should be: わたし は [name] です。 

(And theres a couple more mistakes too but whatever)


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## mirukushake (Sep 3, 2015)

MayorEvvie said:


> I'm trying to, but it's really hard!
> じゃね！See ya!
> みず、おねがい！Water, please!
> めぬ、おねあぐ！Menu, please!
> ...



Water please: おみずください
Menu please メニューください
death: し
god: かみ or かみさま
I am Evvie わたしはエッヴィエです！

You're so close! Just be careful of your "tenten", the little dots on the side of your characters.



I live in Japan and do freelance Japanese-English translation on the side. So feel free to ask me any questions


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## himeki (Sep 3, 2015)

L CocoaBean said:


> Oh lol TY! xD
> I did start making kanji flash cards but I wasn't sure if that would be effective enough or whatever.
> I've heard of associating the kanji with pictures and that seems like a helpful idea
> Thanks so much!
> ...



I do!
こにちわ！
さよなえあ！


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## matt (Sep 3, 2015)

L CocoaBean said:


> どうも ありがとう ございます、みな！
> 
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> 
> ...



Yes
I'm a pro
I use Google translate I don't really speak Japanese


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## Nightmares (Sep 3, 2015)

MayorEvvie said:


> I do!
> こにちわ！
> さよなえあ！


I'm sorry to break it to you but it's こんにちは and さようなら 
Basically the same so well done lol


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## Meron-chi (Sep 3, 2015)

I started learning Japanese at the start of Summer. I'm still at a very very basic level. I've just learnt Hiragana and Katakana and some basic grammar rules. Does anyone have any suggestions for someone who is trying to self learn and still at a very basic level?


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## Shimmer (Sep 3, 2015)

For a total beginner, it is recommended to learn romaji first and then work on katakana and hiragana? Or skip romaji and do the other two?


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## visibleghost (Sep 3, 2015)

do not start learning japanese w/o lesrning at least hiragana. you'll habe to relearn lots of stuff if u learn in romaji and it's gonna be a pain, also u won't really be anle to use it if u dont know st least hiragana...


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## mirukushake (Sep 3, 2015)

Shimmer said:


> For a total beginner, it is recommended to learn romaji first and then work on katakana and hiragana? Or skip romaji and do the other two?



Definitely skip romaji. There's a ton of different ways people write romaji, so it's just easier to start with hiragana and katakana.

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Meron-chi said:


> I started learning Japanese at the start of Summer. I'm still at a very very basic level. I've just learnt Hiragana and Katakana and some basic grammar rules. Does anyone have any suggestions for someone who is trying to self learn and still at a very basic level?




My suggestion is still to use the textbook Genki, haha.


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## pastellrain (Sep 14, 2015)

Um...

私のなまえはパステルです。私の誕生日は二月４日！虹と猫がだいすき！

My Japanese is quite rudimentary I know D:


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## Vida (Sep 14, 2015)

I just started learning Japanese last week! I am currently learning Kana and I am using the app "Ja Sensei" which I find recommendable. 

Do you guys have a suggestion how not to mix hiragana and katakana up? For example, hiragana's "shi" looks a lot like katakana's "re" and there are a few others that look very similar, at leat to a beginner.


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## Rasha (Sep 14, 2015)

I thought you were asking if there were any japanese tbt members..

I know a few ransom japanese words but I don't know how to exactly write them.
I know yatta, coninchiwa, ni hao, hai and of course kawaii desu. I don't watch anime so I didn't learn much


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## Aestivate (Sep 14, 2015)

Bahamut said:


> I thought you were asking if there were any japanese tbt members..
> 
> I know a few ransom japanese words but I don't know how to exactly write them.
> I know yatta, coninchiwa, ni hao, hai and of course kawaii desu. I don't watch anime so I didn't learn much



Ni Hao is mandarin... Also, it's writtin konnichiwa

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Vida said:


> I just started learning Japanese last week! I am currently learning Kana and I am using the app "Ja Sensei" which I find recommendable.
> 
> Do you guys have a suggestion how not to mix hiragana and katakana up? For example, hiragana's "shi" looks a lot like katakana's "re" and there are a few others that look very similar, at leat to a beginner.



Start reading hand writings. I'm not even kidding, every person writes characters different so it's good to just practice and get used to the alphabets.


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## King Dorado (Sep 14, 2015)

hey, i have a question- do japanese gamers typically know "omg," "lol," "afk" and other American internet slang?  (is it all global intent slang at this point?)


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## Aestivate (Sep 14, 2015)

King Dad said:


> hey, i have a question- do japanese gamers typically know "omg," "lol," "afk" and other American internet slang?  (is it all global intent slang at this point?)



Most do not. The only internet slangs most Japanese people know are there own such as 'www'


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## Dinosaurz (Sep 14, 2015)

Oh god... Japenese. I don't know any. I just like the kawaii pictures and anime.


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## visibleghost (Sep 14, 2015)

i'll try
don't judge )x

ぼくのなまえわオィヴェルです。
びくわ15さいです。
ぼくわどおぶつの森がすきです。
idk if my name is right lol i know like 2 katakana so i just wrote oliver into my japanese keyboard on my phone and let it do its thing.


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## mitzelflx (Sep 14, 2015)

Weird question for you guys? Can any of you translate this?


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## supercataleena (Sep 14, 2015)

L CocoaBean said:


> The particles confuse me. Do I use "ga" or "wa" or "wo"??
> And yeah, its awesome when I can read sentences and stuff >.<



o_o

I took a semester of Japanese in college, so I kinnnnnd of know it lol. (I got a B TT^TT, but that was because I was lazy! I had the best sensei who was generous with my grade)
TAKE MY ADVICE WITH A GRAIN OF SALT
Ga deals with questions. You put ga at the end of the sentence. It works like a question mark.

I never mastered the wo, but it has to deal with an indirect object or something? Or a place? 

Wa is practically used in everything /o/ safe bet is wa 
do the wa wa wa wa


Our sensei had us learn hiragana first. He believes one day kanji will become obsolete because of how difficult it is to learn kanji. So that alone should tell you to learn hiragana and master it first. He had us learn hiragana, then we could learn katakana if we want(we had to master if we wanted to go to J2), then he gave us some kanji to remember. It was basic kanji like money, forest, water, etc. You should start slow. Learn how to make basic sentences. Don't focus on kanji first thing!! Also, hiragana is way more important that katakana. Katakana is used for foreign words!!

Definitely takes Aestivate's advice about writing it over and over again! That's how I mastered hiragana! (although I'm getting a little forgetful now since I haven't used it >>) I literally had a notebook full of hiragana+katakana from rewriting it over and over again. I'd stay many hours at night in the library constantly rewriting hiragana.

I also played a japanese mmorpg before which helped somewhat know what hiragana is what. I played the game PSO2, although it has an english patch, there's lots of hiragana and katakana around.


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## xiaonu (Sep 14, 2015)

Okay I may be wrong but when using kudasai, it isn't used by Itself. It sounds out of place. 
In the OP, I think it would be more appropriate to say おねがい onegai for "please!"
It can be used when asking for favors or begging.


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## supercataleena (Sep 14, 2015)

xiaonu said:


> Okay I may be wrong but when using kudasai, it isn't used by Itself. It sounds out of place.
> In the OP, I think it would be more appropriate to say おねがい onegai for "please!"
> It can be used when asking for favors or begging.



You can use kudasai by itself, but as you said it's rude like begging lol. Onegai is the more polite form, but it's weird by itself. It's normally onegaishimasu. Almost everything with "masu" is the polite form.

But I feel the way she's using it is correct. I think it's cute! >w<


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## Benevoir (Sep 14, 2015)

Vida said:


> I just started learning Japanese last week! I am currently learning Kana and I am using the app "Ja Sensei" which I find recommendable.
> 
> Do you guys have a suggestion how not to mix hiragana and katakana up? For example, hiragana's "shi" looks a lot like katakana's "re" and there are a few others that look very similar, at leat to a beginner.


Hiragana has a more rounded edges and curves while majority of katakana characters has a sharp edge/curve. For example, if you look closely「し」has a round curve while「レ」has a sharp curve at the bottom.

This is how I differentiate the two when I was small so I hope this helps! Good luck learning Japanese! ^^



lencurryboy said:


> i'll try
> don't judge )x
> 
> ぼくのなまえわオィヴェルです。
> ...



ぼくのなまえはオリバーです。
With the 'wa' particle they don't use the actual 「わ」but replaces with 「は」instead. I'm not sure how your phone got「オィヴェル」from Oliver but it's actually「オリバー」lol.

(としは)15さいです。
Because it's in hiragana I'm not sure what you're trying to say with「びく」, but if you were saying "my age is..." you would use「とし」. The reason why it's in parenthesis is because it's not always necessary to include it. 

ぼくはどうぶつの森がすきです。

It's a great attempt so I wouldn't stress as much! Just keep practicing! c:



mitzelflx said:


> Weird question for you guys? Can any of you translate this?
> View attachment 147297


*Wendy:*
Hey, heey~!
Where are you going, leaving me behind~?
It's not over yet!

「イシシ」is her catchphrase and there's no particular meaning other than her laughing. Her laughter is a little different compare to the 'norm'. Kinda like how Santa laughs "ho ho ho" while everyone else is "ha ha ha"!


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## King Dorado (Sep 14, 2015)

Aestivate said:


> Most do not. The only internet slangs most Japanese people know are there own such as 'www'



dang, so somebody with a japanese AC cartridge might be just catfishing me, eh?


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## Lily. (Sep 14, 2015)

My sister use to know it.... She took it in college. She said it was really hard because there is like 3 different versions? I don't know what I'm talking about XD


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## Monster (Sep 14, 2015)

I went to Japan a month ago for the summer and I always had this language barrier between my cousins and I. This year, I strive to become fluent in Japanese... Now, how do I go about doing that? I used to be fluent in Japanese a while ago, but completely forgot everything  Curse my mom for not talking to me in Japanese when I was younger!


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## mirukushake (Sep 14, 2015)

King Dad said:


> dang, so somebody with a japanese AC cartridge might be just catfishing me, eh?



There are plenty of young Japanese who know American internet slang, especially ones who game. I know my students are always yelling "wtf!" when they think I'm not listening...


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## Izzy Reincarnated (Sep 14, 2015)

The grammar is actually really easy to me. I think it's because I'm already used to the SOV grammar.
日本語はすごい簡単だよ！安心してよ！


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## mitzelflx (Sep 14, 2015)

Benevoir said:


> *Wendy:*
> Hey, heey~!
> Where are you going, leaving me behind~?
> It's not over yet!
> ...


Thank you so much! <3


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## King Dorado (Sep 14, 2015)

mirukushake said:


> There are plenty of young Japanese who know American internet slang, especially ones who game. I know my students are always yelling "wtf!" when they think I'm not listening...



interesting, i take it you teach english abroad maybe?  how many yrs of study does it take students to become fluent in english over there?  man, the languages are so different, i can only imagine, it seems like a difficult undertaking.


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## Izzy Reincarnated (Sep 14, 2015)

King Dad said:


> interesting, i take it you teach english abroad maybe?  how many yrs of study does it take students to become fluent in english over there?  man, the languages are so different, i can only imagine, it seems like a difficult undertaking.



You have to learn it at a young age (lower than 7-8 years old) by just taking a class or living in the country for like a very short time, otherwise your opportunity becomes lost and you will have a couple years of studying to do in a textbook.


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## Benevoir (Sep 15, 2015)

Glad I can help mitzelflx! ^^



Monster said:


> I went to Japan a month ago for the summer and I always had this language barrier between my cousins and I. This year, I strive to become fluent in Japanese... Now, how do I go about doing that? I used to be fluent in Japanese a while ago, but completely forgot everything  Curse my mom for not talking to me in Japanese when I was younger!


I feel you, I really do. I've met my dad's relatives in Japan early last year for the first time and man our conversations were pretty awkward haha! I could only bond with my cousins by talking about anime (mostly SnK) and Pokemon, but otherwise I kinda struggled conversing with them. I think it's mainly because I'm self-conscious about my Japanese since even though I'm pretty fluent I have this bad habit of speaking in English whenever there's a word I forgot/don't know in Japanese. So my conversations tends to be a mix between English and Japanese, especially with my parents.

If you want to be fluent in Japanese speaking-wise I would suggest to encourage your mother to speak to you in Japanese more frequently, or if you like completely. Personally I find it the best way to improve is having a partner that you feel comfortable with and just practice your Japanese with them. If your mother is like mine you gotta be a little strict sometimes and make sure she doesn't start talking in English out of convenience. :')

If you like anime you should watch it in Japanese dub with no English subtitles (heck it might be even nice if it has Japanese subtitles!) and ask your mother if there's any word/phrases you don't understand. It doesn't have to be just anime either, if you can try watching variety shows, the news and other Japanese TV shows. Or if you like videogames and especially watching someone else play it with commentary, you can search on YouTube and find plenty of Japanese gaming channels. My personal favourite is 兄者弟者! They do play plenty of Western-released games like Witcher 3 for example, as well as some horror games like Resident Evil, Dement (I can't recall the English title atm...), etc.

It's never too late to be fluent in Japanese again! It's just going to take some time depending on how fast/how much you're learning so don't get frustrated if you find yourself struggling in the process. Try a different approach or focus on specific area (E.g. particles) if needed and mostly importantly - have fun!


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## D3athsdoppelganger (Sep 15, 2015)

No I Really Wanna learn it and how to speak it tho.


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## mirukushake (Sep 15, 2015)

King Dad said:


> interesting, i take it you teach english abroad maybe?  how many yrs of study does it take students to become fluent in english over there?  man, the languages are so different, i can only imagine, it seems like a difficult undertaking.



90% of students barely learn it at all, because the way they teach English sucks. They learn from Junior 1st to Senior 3rd (6 years) but it's taught like most other subjects like math or science, so students can kind of read and write but can't speak it at all. Only students who take the extra effort outside of school to learn English become good at it. But, that's same as any language. If you get only as much as you put in (exposure, study, etc.)


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## Nightmares (Sep 16, 2015)

xiaonu said:


> Okay I may be wrong but when using kudasai, it isn't used by Itself. It sounds out of place.
> In the OP, I think it would be more appropriate to say おねがい onegai for "please!"
> It can be used when asking for favors or begging.



Yeah, people have commented in this before >.< 
Thank you! 

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supercataleena said:


> o_o
> 
> I took a semester of Japanese in college, so I kinnnnnd of know it lol. (I got a B TT^TT, but that was because I was lazy! I had the best sensei who was generous with my grade)
> TAKE MY ADVICE WITH A GRAIN OF SALT
> ...


Woah so much info
Thanks very much ^.^


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## Applelicious (Sep 16, 2015)

Which is harder to learn learning how to speak Japanese or learning how to read kanji. Cause I have always wanted to learn how to speak Japanese and learn how to read kanji so I was wondering which of the two is the hardest to learn.


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## enchilada (Sep 16, 2015)

Someone here should volunteer to help teach those of us who would like to learn.


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## Aestivate (Sep 16, 2015)

Applelicious said:


> Which is harder to learn learning how to speak Japanese or learning how to read kanji. Cause I have always wanted to learn how to speak Japanese and learn how to read kanji so I was wondering which of the two is the hardest to learn.


Personally I would say, if we're speaking about being completely fluent speaking and completely knowing Kanji then Kanji is a lot harder. Kanji requires an enormous amount of memorize skills where as you can get used to pronounciation by practicing although fluent pronounciation will also take a a lot of time. Don't see me as an expert though since I'm not any fo the 2

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enchilada said:


> Someone here should volunteer to help teach those of us who would like to learn.


I actually think that's a good idea but there're also a lot of other platforms where you can find people to help you learn a language. I've been teaching a Brazillian guy Dutch just by sendings whatsapp messages for almost 6 months know and we met on yahoo.


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## mirukushake (Sep 16, 2015)

Aestivate said:


> Personally I would say, if we're speaking about being completely fluent speaking and completely knowing Kanji then Kanji is a lot harder. Kanji requires an enormous amount of memorize skills where as you can get used to pronounciation by practicing although fluent pronounciation will also take a a lot of time. Don't see me as an expert though since I'm not any fo the 2



I agree that reading can be a lot harder to learn than speaking, although it can depend on how and where you learned Japanese. I have lived in Hawaii and Japan, so I spoke Japanese much more than I read it, so becoming a fluent speaker was much easier for me. However, learning the kanji isn't particularly complicated in my opinion, it's just a lot of memorization, which can get pretty boring. But knowing kanji makes Japanese much easier, since each one represents an "idea" so even if you don't know the exact reading, if you know the idea you can (usually) guess the meaning of a word.


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## Nightmares (Sep 16, 2015)

enchilada said:


> Someone here should volunteer to help teach those of us who would like to learn.



0.0 that would be awesome


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## Applelicious (Sep 16, 2015)

You know I got an awesome idea I think some one should start a group on kik or on Skype that is dedicated on helping people to learn about the Japanese culture etc. And also to be able to help them out with their problems that they are having on Japanese culture like reading kanji or trying to learn how to speak Japanese etc or if they anything else about Japan.


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## Xerolin (Sep 18, 2015)

I'm 11 and I've learned hiragana and currently learning katakana and kanji. I use wanikani


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## Heyden (Sep 18, 2015)

I'm 13 and I'm very slooowwwly self teaching myself. I've memorised Hiragana, Katakana and all of 1st grade kanji, and I'm tackling sentence structure and particles right now ;P 
never use Google translate for sentences btw, it totally stuffs it up


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## Nightmares (Sep 20, 2015)

Applelicious said:


> You know I got an awesome idea I think some one should start a group on kik or on Skype that is dedicated on helping people to learn about the Japanese culture etc. And also to be able to help them out with their problems that they are having on Japanese culture like reading kanji or trying to learn how to speak Japanese etc or if they anything else about Japan.



Someone do this now 0.0 xD


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