Some tips for learning Japanese

[dreamhacker]

Gonna try to learn some Japanese at my spare time. Know some pages where I can learn, but what is the best way to be able to remember all those kana/kanji (starting with kana, as it's easier, and often a kanji also is written in kana with small letters next to it. At least it was in the Naruto manga, I think :p)?
Heard talk about flashcards and such, but don't know what that is :\

[Debitt]

If you haven't had any previous experience with Japanese, I'd definitely say use flashcards. Write the hirigana and katakana on the front, and the sound on the back. Once you've got the kana memorized, print out the kanji and write the meaning on the back, along with serveral of the common readings they are given and the words that the kanji can be used to form. Practice reading and writing often, and don't try to learn too many kanji at once. (I'm going at 10 a week at the moment, which is a manageable amount, but adjust that number to fit your needs)

You don't have to buy flashcards - usually you can copy and paste kana/kanji into Word and print from there.

[dreamhacker]

Well, in Japanese, when do you use the different alphabets?
And if someone would be so helpful, could they write the Japanese text on the left of this page in romaji, and the translation? Just for training, I translate all Japanese text I find, but not sure about all the kana there (it's katakana?)

The most difficult part is to learn writing the kana/kanji. You almost have to be a anime artist to be able to write it :p

[Azier the Swordsman]

You don't need artistic abilities to write Japanese. It's the same as writing our own alphabet. What you should worry about mostly in memorization.

http://www.yesjapan.com is the best place for online Japanese lessons, and for only $20 per month, they offer so much. It's the next best thing to actually attending live classes.

Definately learn the Kana before taking any lessons. When you begin lessons on YesJapan, you can set the lessons to all kana and begin immediate practice. (It's best to learn the kana first because your brain becomes more attuned to the correct sounds of the words when you read them.)

I highly recommend James Heisig's 'Remembering the Kana' for hiragana and katakana memorization.

After grasping the basics in course 1, you should begin learning the Kanji. Again, James Heisig's three part course, 'Remembering the Kanji' is excellent. (Although I prefer using 'Essential Kanji' by P.G. O'Neal.)

You should never attempt Kanji without a thorough knowledge of Basic Japanese.

You can find the above books on http://www.amazon.com or virtually any major bookstore.

[Kaligraphic]

Get a book of drawing paper, a small brush, and a bottle of ink.

Find a guide to the kana that includes stroke order. (or even, say, animated gifs of how to draw the character)

Practice with words or titles that you know. (makes them stick better)



At least, it works for me.

[termyt]

Hiragana is used for the basic Japanese language. You rarely ever see it in print though, since most words are expressed through Kanji.

Katakana (which is the alphabet used to write the stuff on the edge of the screen) is used for words imported from other languages.

Kanji are Chinese characters used to represent Hiragana. Each Kanji can have two or more different pronunciations and there are like 2000 characters officially recognized and many more in use (primarily in surnames).

Reading Japanese isn’t as hard as English (except for interpreting Kanji) because the characters always have the same basic sound. The “aâ€

[plutogrl03]

Heard talk about flashcards and such, but don't know what that is :\

Flashcards are just little index cards. You write whatever you are trying to learn on one side of the card and then put the answer on the other side. They don't have to be fancy and you can tailor your flashcards to suit your needs.

[dreamhacker]

Just one thing I wonder, what way do they write Japanese? Like, some manga I downloaded of the net seemed to be written downward. Is that right, or did I see wrong? And do they write from right to left, as the pages are like that?

EDIT: And is Japanese written with any special pens or something? Have only seen the kana/kanji as caligraphic looking (don't know if that's the right word)

[dreamhacker]

Anyone wanna answer?!

[Azier the Swordsman]

Japanese text in manga is read downwards. Each line is also read from right to left as well.

[Mithrandir]

If you are looking to practice with some easy flash cards, I have a program that I've written with some of the instructors at my college use. Check it out:

http://dlc.deanza.fhda.edu/

[termyt]

Japanese writing is a bit of an art form, some of it is done very ornately and the order of the brush strokes do matter. So there are special pens and brushes if you want to take that route. Otherwise you can write it with anything.

Basic Japanese is written as Azier says (and he would know). Traditionally, you read from top to bottom, right to left.

However, if the text is written horizontally, you would most likely read it from left to right, top to bottom. Not as common, but also a possibility.

[Mr. Rogers]

yesjapan.com

you should definately check this site out. it's the site I have been using for a year to learn japanese. they have lessons, grammar, vocab, kanji/kana (tought to you at just the right pace so you dont have to be overwhelmed), japanese teachers to answer your questions, and a community of people to help you out too. take a look. i wouldn't have been able to learn japanese without this site.