learning japanese

[TrigunX89]

Yeah, I picked up a few curses in Japanese before anything else. ^_^;;

That's because it is. =) Chinese is the 2nd hardest language to pick up, after English. Especially the writing system, which is 100% "kanji", instead of the Japanese writing system which has kanji alongside the simplified hirigana and katakana.

*wonders what the #1 hardest is...*

Any idea how many kanji one has to learn?

[Debitt]

Around 6,000 is considered highly literate, I believe, and around 1,000-2,000 is considered proficient. Someone correct me there if I'm wrong.

I've also picked up a few curses, and I've let a couple slip before. ^^; Luckily not around my grandmother - she'd have laid the smackdown on me for sure. XD But remember, even though some words are necessarily "swear" words, they are considered incredibly rude. For example, I probably wouldn't use "kisama" or "teme" if I were you, unless you were looking to start a fight.

[Arnobius]

Presuming the Kanji question has to do with Japanese, Fluency is defined as knowing the 1954 kanji required by the time one leaves high school. Educated people know more.

In Chinese, 5-6000 are required for literacy

[Sennin]

But remember, even though some words are [not] necessarily "swear" words, they are considered incredibly rude. For example, I probably wouldn't use "kisama" or "teme" if I were you, unless you were looking to start a fight.

That's a very useful thing to know. Of course, I would never say any insult to a Japanese person unless my purpose was to start a fight or knew one was unavoidable. Another interesting thing I learned is that the offensiveness of certain curse words can depend on the area one says them. I quote from Japanese in Mangaland by Marc Bernabe:

"The dictionary considers the words baka and aho synonymous. However, in Osaka and its surroundings, aho is a rather non-offensive word, whereas baka is an explosive word. In Tokyo and its surroundings, we find exactly the opposite, so you must be careful with the usage of these words" (151).

[Kaori]

For learning kana, this site is helpful:

http://lrnj.com

It's an old-school style RPG that teaches katakana, hiragana, and kanji.

[Myoti]

Celebrate with me.

I KNOW ALL THE HIRAGANA!! XD

And it seems I knew more Katakana than I thought (not all, but quite a few).

For learning kana, this site is helpful:

http://lrnj.com

It's an old-school style RPG that teaches katakana, hiragana, and kanji.

I'm using that. Oh yesss...

[TrigunX89]

Congrats, Myoti!

And thank you, Kaori, for posting that link. It looks awesome. I just downloaded it, and am looking forward to trying it.

[ishy]

You are all welcome to visit Nihongo Forum. It is run by all CAA members.

And just over 3000 kanji are required to graduate from high school and be considered fluent.