Best way to learn japanese?

[Magedark]

Flash cards would probably work in learning Hiragana and Katakana, as well as the Kanji. It's hard, but if you're going to give up early in learning you won't have a chance to learn it. Just, take it day by day, something everyday.

[fujifruit]

Edit nvm

Whats a good site/text book for learning things besides Kanji


Also " * 俺 【おれ】 (pn,adj-no) (male) I; me (rough or arrogant-sounding first-person pronoun, formerly also used by women); (P); EP"
May sound stupid but example (male) is this another meaning err...
and I; me (Rough or arrogant) I dont understand that..

[Nameraka]

Japanese has levels of politeness when speaking to other people. You have one form for speaking to your boss, another for your family, another for your subordinates, etc.

俺 is one way to refer to yourself, but you should not be using that term in polite society; it's placing yourself higher than the person you're speaking to and it's sort of a rude term, hence the "rough or arrogant" in the definition. (Someone more familiar would be able to explain better, but that's the gist of it.)

[Asceai]

俺 and 僕 are both very informal ways of referring to yourself (chiefly used by males, although there's exceptions in both cases) and should not be used. 私 is the first person pronoun to use in polite company. I don't feel 俺 really carries that much of a tone of arrogance but it's definitely not polite.

EDIT: Piece of trivia; in eroge, girls that use 僕 are often known as '僕っ子' (bokukko) and girls that use 俺, 俺っ子 (orekko). You'll encounter bokukko but orekko are very, very rare. I keep a file listing all the orekko I encounter and it has like 4-5 names on it, including one 俺様* (out of hundreds of eroge) - mind, reverse-traps and children don't count so I've skipped over both a few times.

*while 俺 might not be so arrogant, 俺様 is as arrogant as you can get. The most famous user of this pronoun is Rance from AliceSoft's Rance series.

[Magedark]

Well, it's usually males who refer to themselves using 俺, so that clears that up. Nameraka has it on the spot really. It's kind of like a "tough guy" kind of feel to it. (I could be wrong, but that's how I see it.)

To learn hiragana, I've been copying groups of them onto individual post-it-notes along with the romaji, and leaving them around the house. I try to pay attention to them as I walk around and eventually I start to recognize them. Once I decide I know that group, I make another set and distribute those. I'll do the same once I move onto katakana.

I had a stroke a couple years ago and learning anything new is difficult. I simply don't create new memories very well anymore. This type of repetitive exposure is the best way I've found so far to retain specifics.

R-

[fujifruit]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

To learn hiragana, I've been copying groups of them onto individual post-it-notes along with the romaji, and leaving them around the house. I try to pay attention to them as I walk around and eventually I start to recognize them. Once I decide I know that group, I make another set and distribute those. I'll do the same once I move onto katakana.

I had a stroke a couple years ago and learning anything new is difficult. I simply don't create new memories very well anymore. This type of repetitive exposure is the best way I've found so far to retain specifics.

R-

Thanks for the info guys

@Unregistered great idea man!

Its making me frustrated
Example : (n,n-suf) child; (ね) (n) first sign of Chinese zodiac (The Rat, 11p.m.-1a.m., north, November); SP

Okay so whats the 11pm there for and 1 am,north,november);sp
>_>?

[Ae772]

子.

The common use meaning is child.

It can also refer to the first sign of the Chinese zodiac, and it's also the (archaic) name for the time period of the modern equivalent of 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.*, refers to the direction of north, and the month of November.

Generally speaking, you don't need to worry about the more obscure / archaic meanings to a character, but they do still come in use sometimes.

Also note the difference in reading when you are using it as "child" (ko) and the rest of that bunch (ne)

*Back in ancient China, days were divided into 12 2-hour periods rather than 24 1-hour periods. (Presumably, this was also true for Japan?) Each of these 2 hour periods have names associated with them. (You just happened to stumble upon the name for "11 pm to 1 am")

[fujifruit]

Originally Posted by Ae772

子.

The common use meaning is child.

It can also refer to the first sign of the Chinese zodiac, and it's also the (archaic) name for the time period of the modern equivalent of 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.*, refers to the direction of north, and the month of November.

Generally speaking, you don't need to worry about the more obscure / archaic meanings to a character, but they do still come in use sometimes.

Also note the difference in reading when you are using it as "child" (ko) and the rest of that bunch (ne)

*Back in ancient China, days were divided into 12 2-hour periods rather than 24 1-hour periods. (Presumably, this was also true for Japan?) Each of these 2 hour periods have names associated with them. (You just happened to stumble upon the name for "11 pm to 1 am")

Haha thanks.


I'm finding it hard to remember this stuff
I seriously need a teacher >.<"

[Magedark]

It takes a lot of repetition to get to learning these, so don't fret too much.

[fujifruit]

Originally Posted by Magedark

It takes a lot of repetition to get to learning these, so don't fret too much.

Haha thanks XP

Although this forum is geared towards visual novels, my recommendation is to start with manga. Get a good, short series in raw Japanese, maybe one that's been translated so you can look at that for reference. Depending on where you live, you can buy those small volumes (tankobons) for relatively cheap.

Be sure to get a series that uses furigana, which is where the kanji have little hiragana/katakana next to them to indicate the reading; this will help you with looking things up as you get to learn the kana better. In general, you'll do better with young adult series since they often use kanji with furigana and tend to have fewer adult situations (e.g. politics and tax law). Children's books are not a good idea since they have very little kanji - since you don't already know how the language is spoken, they can end up being even harder to read!

I don't know what your story preferences are, but "Mint na Bokura" is a good, untranslated (officially in English), short shoujo series with furigana, that does a great job of depicting how people talk, social conventions, and more typical vocabulary (as opposed to giant robots and aliens and a lot of jargon). It will show you how 俺(ore) is used in context, for example. Plus it has twins :)

But really, the most important thing is to find something you want to read, so that learning the language is enjoyable for you. It's just best to start with something that isn't too difficult as a starting point.

Good luck,
Mion (Sonozaki Futago-tachi)

[fujifruit]

Originally Posted by Sonozaki Futago-tachi

Although this forum is geared towards visual novels, my recommendation is to start with manga. Get a good, short series in raw Japanese, maybe one that's been translated so you can look at that for reference. Depending on where you live, you can buy those small volumes (tankobons) for relatively cheap.

Be sure to get a series that uses furigana, which is where the kanji have little hiragana/katakana next to them to indicate the reading; this will help you with looking things up as you get to learn the kana better. In general, you'll do better with young adult series since they often use kanji with furigana and tend to have fewer adult situations (e.g. politics and tax law). Children's books are not a good idea since they have very little kanji - since you don't already know how the language is spoken, they can end up being even harder to read!

I don't know what your story preferences are, but "Mint na Bokura" is a good, untranslated (officially in English), short shoujo series with furigana, that does a great job of depicting how people talk, social conventions, and more typical vocabulary (as opposed to giant robots and aliens and a lot of jargon). It will show you how 俺(ore) is used in context, for example. Plus it has twins :)

But really, the most important thing is to find something you want to read, so that learning the language is enjoyable for you. It's just best to start with something that isn't too difficult as a starting point.

Good luck,
Mion (Sonozaki Futago-tachi)

Haha thanks. Around here finding japanese stuff is hard...

So I'll use BookWeb.

[Nameraka]

Mion has a good suggestion. You'll get good reading comprehension practice that way, and you'll also pick up vocabulary faster than just memorizing tons of word lists.

You need to have your grammar basics first, though; otherwise, it's an exercise in frustration, even with YA series. (Been there, done that.)

How much Japanese do you already know?

[fujifruit]

Originally Posted by Nameraka

Mion has a good suggestion. You'll get good reading comprehension practice that way, and you'll also pick up vocabulary faster than just memorizing tons of word lists.

You need to have your grammar basics first, though; otherwise, it's an exercise in frustration, even with YA series. (Been there, done that.)

How much Japanese do you already know?

Well I have not started yet I still have to pick up a text book.