Learn Japanese! (comments)

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Hiromi
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Re: Learn Japanese! (comments)

Post by Hiromi »

I'm taking private lessons from a Japanese guy I know (He was a teacher in New York) and he made me copy all....109? Hiragana characters 20 times for my first homework assignment.... (ToT)...I CAN read Hrigana, now, though, lololol!
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solwyvern
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Re: Learn Japanese! (comments)

Post by solwyvern »

Thanks for the new lesson^^ ...must be quite a handful.
I've been keeping up with the thread, and I've found it to be quite helpful.
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I still have no easy way of memorizing thick Kanji since they all look very much the same -only memorized some of the easy ones (and some of them are pronounced differently when combined which can be confusing at times )
..and my understanding of sentence formation is still clear as mud. ><;
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As for next lesson... I think days of the week would be great^^
Especially the Kanji used for days, months, etc.. I'm not familiar with all of them yet.
Like ( correct me if I'm wrong) :
今 = now (ima)
日 = day (nichi)
Putting them together would be:
今日 = today (kyou)

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*I came across this list of commonly used kanji -might be useful
http://www.manythings.org/kanji/q/
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Smithy
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Re: Learn Japanese! (comments)

Post by Smithy »

I noticed Fuu-chan posted some numerals/counters. Might already be a good spot to say that the Japanese have a lot (really a lot of different) counters that can be written and pronounced differently depending on what you are trying to express (or count).
The ひとつ、ふたつ、みっつ, counters are mostly used for undefined object counts (or those that don't fit any specific category). If you're counting flat objects like paper, CD's, folded clothing,... you'd use the 一枚、二枚、三枚, counter... cilindrical objects, floors, people, etc... all have specific counters.
So maybe keep that in mind that you'll eventually have to learn more counters to express specific things.
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Fuwari
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Re: Learn Japanese! (comments)

Post by Fuwari »

solwyvern wrote:Like ( correct me if I'm wrong) :
今 = now (ima)
日 = day (nichi)
Putting them together would be:
今日 = today (kyou)
Yep, that's absolutely correct. However, 今日 is one of those strange compounds... for example, 今日は can be read as きょうは or こんにちは (in both cases, は is used as a particle). This is due to [history mode] the fact that the Japanese writing system came about long after the language had been used for speaking, and words were attached to kanji that were similar in meaning, even if the kanji were not normally pronounced that way. 今 (normally いま alone or こん in compounds) + 日 (normally ひ or にち, depending on what meaning you're looking for) should be こんにち. But since きょう was already in the Japanese lexicon for 'today', it was attached to the compound 今日 since the compound was similar in meaning. [/history]
Smithy wrote:So maybe keep that in mind that you'll eventually have to learn more counters to express specific things.
Yep, Smithy is also absolutely correct. I used the generic one because I don't want to give you too much information at once, but it is good to keep in mind that there are a lot of other counters you'll see over the course of learning Japanese.
solwyvern wrote:*I came across this list of commonly used kanji -might be useful
http://www.manythings.org/kanji/q/
Yay, more links! I think this one is a bit advanced for the vast majority of people here, but it should be quite useful for some of the more advanced. Which reminds me, I need to find a place to put all the study links here.
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Re: Learn Japanese! (comments)

Post by yurie~hime` »

The lessons are really good~! Itsumo Arigatou, Fuwari-san~ and to everyone who contributed~.
I'm still struggling with Hiragana & Katakana though..xD
Thanks for the links in the other thread~! They helped me remember the characters~! ^^
A japanese teacher arrives next week! @__@ He will aid our teacher, i guess.
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Minasan
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Re: Learn Japanese! (comments)

Post by Minasan »

I have just started taking Japanese classes and have set-up a basic flashcard program on my website.

http://abstrusa.com/soga

It has some basic vocabulary and sentences for translation based on the textbook Basic Functional Japanese.

As for memorizing hiragana and katakana, and now kanji. I take a sheet of paper and write what I want to learn down the left side:

あいうえお
かきくけこ
...

Next, I cover it up with another sheet of paper, write it out again, check my work, and repeat across the page.

For me, this is the easiest way to memorize things.

As an aside, I would also recommend that people head down to their local library or book store and check out a book on improving your memory. It sounds kind of hokey, but there are a number of memory techniques I wish I would have know when I was in school. (And yet, I still use the most rudimentary of these techniques.)
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Re: Learn Japanese! (comments)

Post by yurie~hime` »

Yay~! Kanji for Days of the Week! Last Wednesday, we learned the Days of the Week, too. But not the Kanji. Just the Japanese word for the days. But this will be helpful if we reach our kanji lesson. Itsumo arigatou, Fuwari-san~! ^^/
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Re: Learn Japanese! (comments)

Post by Quenlin »

ありがとう ございまそう ふわりーせんせい. You know, a friend of mine is learning it from a teacher, but for some odd reason, he twitched when I said "こんばんは ケビン.おげんき ですか?”. Yes, I know you don't need the ?, but who the Hell studies Japanese without learning how to say "How are you?"
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Re: Learn Japanese! (comments)

Post by Mysterious_Neko »

Hey! I am learning how to speak common Japanese but im useing Rosetta Stone. Maby I can help some =)
You wont progress unless you keep on walking. Until you get to the Stop sign of Death!!! I Drew this >< but once i get the tablet program Ill probably be better =)
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Quenlin
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Re: Learn Japanese! (comments)

Post by Quenlin »

Can the date also use a kanji for the number? Like 十月 for October?

Stupid question, I know. At least now I have the kanji for Sensei, I actually couldn't find it. XP

Edit: Oh yeah, here's a Kanji dictionary I've had for a while. Really useful.
http://www.saiga-jp.com/cgi-bin/dic.cgi ... 5134_25389
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Fuwari
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Re: Learn Japanese! (comments)

Post by Fuwari »

Quenlin wrote:Can the date also use a kanji for the number? Like 十月 for October?
Fuwari wrote:今日は2008年10月2日 - Today is October 2nd, 2008.
Alternatively, you can write it completely in kanji if you want.
今日は二零零八年十月二日
二○○八年神無月二日
etc.
Already ahead of you. =P
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Quenlin
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Re: Learn Japanese! (comments)

Post by Quenlin »

Note to self: Don't drink and learn things at the same time.
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Re: Learn Japanese! (comments)

Post by Ararara-ra »

If you have Japanese IME in your PC, I am more than sure there is a handwritten kanji recognition program build into it.

If you know how it looks but not what it means or how it sounds or are unable to find it in the dictionary.

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EDIT: The drop down windows appears when you click on the option which name begins with IME
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Fuwari
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Re: Learn Japanese! (comments)

Post by Fuwari »

Ararara-ra wrote:If you have Japanese IME in your PC, I am more than sure there is a handwritten kanji recognition program build into it.
I actually wrote a tutorial on how to use that a while ago... though it was lost in the forum upgrade. Perhaps I should make a new one? >_<;;
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Re: Learn Japanese! (comments)

Post by anonymous_object »

Unfortunately, the IME handwritten recognition program is not included in XP x64 which is what I use...
e-shuushuu!
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