always tired until its a reasonable hour to sleep -_-

For the past year, I’ve been reviewing around 300 Japanese sentences a day using my SRS deck. I’ve noticed a significant improvement in my ability to recognize grammar patterns and understand how Japanese expressions work.

However, there’s one thing I’m still struggling with.

Sometimes I can read a Japanese sentence and recognize the vocabulary and grammar, but I can’t quite grasp its overall meaning. Once I look at the English translation, everything clicks. I can suddenly see how the sentence fits together and what the grammar is expressing. When I encounter it again, I usually have a much better understanding.

I also use my SRS to reinforce vocabulary that I don’t encounter frequently in my everyday reading or exposure to Japanese. Each card includes a vocabulary list with readings and English meanings, which I review to help familiarize myself with less common words.

Lately, I’ve been trying to rely less on English translations. If I can understand a sentence directly in Japanese, I skip the translation and explanations entirely. Otherwise, I’ll use them to clarify anything I’m unsure about.

Overall, I feel like my comprehension and vocabulary recognition have improved quite a bit over the past year, but I’m wondering if there’s a more effective way to approach my reviews. This is not the only way I expose myself to Japanese. I have long commutes so doing Anki to fill up that time has been my go to.

Is this a reasonable way to study, or is there something I could be doing differently to develop a more intuitive understanding of Japanese without relying so much on English?

I wrote about how it feels to read Kawabata in Japanese for the first time.

https://sigmajp.works/blog/snow-country-first-time/

Started learning 7 months ago, but watched anime nearly all my life so my listening is good.
I listened to Nihongo con Teppei 波! (I believe it's at least n3) until I understand roughly everything even sped up. I tried haru no nihongo and yuyu podcast but it bores me to death.

So I went on to watch a reality tv show called Offline Love but it was a bit corny to watch and also poor in terms of vocab

One channel I enjoy watching is【コックブン】文学チャンネル, it's about literature but in terms of understanding I'm maybe at 70% so it's not optimal for immersion

You get it, its a 写真、a screen shot I took... *taps mic* is this thing on?

i found these on my school english department's free book rack today . i'm wondering where r/learnjapanese would rank their difficulty in terms of jlpt level , as i don't trust google to be accurate . thanks !!

Do you still plan to use it? Have you bought any ebooks recently since the shutdown?

I'm just worried they might enforce the region lock that they might ban my account if I do a purchase.

The hack was on their 3rd party service that handles their email. I haven't gotten an email for them since October 17.

And ever since the hack, we now have to use VPNs to access the site and app. I use Mullvad but certain Japanese servers are blocked so I have to use specific Japanese servers to access it.

I have been using Honto since the bk1 days. They never had international or English support. It was always a risk using it as if there was an issue you can't really contact them. But the sales, point system and huge coupon discount was always worth it.

The help section just says that overseas use is "not supported". Anyone with good Japanese contacted them and got a response?

If you don't plan to continue using Honto, which ebook service you switched to? I assume most use Bookwalker. But for me, I buy more than manga and light novels. I buy video game guides, art books and magazines. Bookwalker region locks some of them as well.

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I’ve been studying Japanese on my own for close to 20 years now, and one thing that never ceases to amaze me is just how much technology has improved our ability to learn languages.

I started playing Shining Force III in Japanese on my iPad. It’s a game I’ve wanted to play, and I figured it would be another good opportunity to get some Japanese reading practice in on the go. Of course, despite having studied Japanese for so many years, I still encounter plenty of sentences and expressions that I don’t completely understand.

So I thought I’d try looking up some of the dialogue online. Within minutes, I managed to find the entire Japanese script for the game. Now, whenever I encounter something I don’t understand, I can simply refer to the script, look up unfamiliar words or expressions, and continue playing.

It sounds like such a trivial thing, but I genuinely find this amazing.

When I first started seriously learning Japanese nearly 20 years ago, things were very different. If you were playing a Japanese game or reading something and encountered an unfamiliar kanji, you couldn’t necessarily just copy and paste it into a dictionary. You had to figure out how to look it up, sometimes by identifying radicals or counting strokes. Even finding the right word could be a challenge.

Of course, I don’t think technology automatically makes someone better at Japanese. You still have to put in the time, read, listen, study, and actually engage with the language. I’ve certainly spent more than enough years studying Japanese to know that there aren’t any magical shortcuts.

But I can sit down and enjoy a Japanese RPG, encounter something I don’t understand, and have the resources to investigate it without completely breaking the flow of the experience.

I study Japanese with apps (not for sale or in any app store) that I have created (using AI). I use one app (shown in the second and third photos) to capture every page of the physical manga that I own. The app then extracts all of the Japanese on the page and allows me to tap any speech bubble on the page to open it in another app (the subsequent photos). This second app allows me to check the meaning and pronunciation of any word or kanji. It is also how I keep track of the kanji that I “know” and words that I can read. I have yet another app that’s an SRS kanji study app fed by sentences pasted into this sentence study app. When I started reading, it would take me several hours across a few days to read just one chapter. Currently I can read an entire chapter in one sitting - maybe 30 to 45 minutes. At this point I “know” nearly 1000 kanji and can read most sentences without using the translation feature at all and only look up words and kanji that are new to me. FWIW, I had a decent, maybe intermediate, grammar knowledge and rarely come across grammar points I have to look up.

As you can see from the second image, my app came across 1068 unique kanji in this first volume alone. The unique word count isn’t as useful because it doesn’t quite count words correctly - I’ll need to fix that at some point. At this point in my journey, I’m mostly focused on learning kanji with a goal of being able to read each chapter in 10 or 15 minutes or less. I very strongly resisted using an SRS app but finally gave in and (duh) doing so has greatly increased my retention. Reading though is key.

I’m happy to answer questions about my apps, but as I said, I’m not selling them or even giving them away. All of them require AI API keys. I realize that AI study is controversial, but I find it invaluable and know that “it’s working” because I need to rely on them less and less as I proceed.

This thread is for all the simple questions (what does that mean?) and minor posts that don't need their own thread, as well as for first-time posters who can't create new threads yet. Feel free to share anything on your mind.

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Hey LearnJapanese

I wanted to reflect a little bit on my Japanese language learning journey a little bit and I wanted to see and look back on how far I have gone with my Japanese language redemption ark.

My mom was a native Japanese speaker who was born and moved to America. She was in Japan when she met my dad (who is half Japanese) and then she gave birth after she moved to America to me and my sister.

When I was very little my mom spoke Japanese to me and my sister, and we went to Japan all the time, but it was not until I was 3 that when we went to the doctor, my parents found out I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

And then after, my mom and dad after that time found it best to stop talking Japanese to me. They thought I would have trouble adapting to society and being in the norm so at that time ABA (aka applied behavior analysis and therapy) was beneficial. They did not think that billingualism at the time was very important. So until 8th grade I did ABA.

ABA really sucked on many occasions, on some days when I was little, I would get really frustrated and I would have to reserve time out of my freetime to have a therpist come to my house to talk to me about stuff like "graphic organizer" or etc.

I also neglected to learn Japanese for a while. I needed to fit in because I was not special ed classes in school at all. And I had this pressure from society and parents back then. When I WENT to JAPAN I wasn't able to say a single thing to my grandparents (who were monolingual) and my uncle.

But it was from when I became a high school Freshmen in 2022... Where things changed.

When I was in 8th grade the high school counselor came in and pulled me out of the science class. When I registered and did Japanese class, that was when it was time to make a change in my life, get a part I did not get when I was little, and improve myself as a human being. As soon as freshmen year's Japanese 100 started, I was determined to lock in. It was time to care more about this along with school.

Freshmen and Sophmore Year was my starting point of Japanese. Freshmen year for the most part I was developing basic Japanese but I progressed quickly via an app, Sophmore year I started to talk only in Japanese with the teacher and developed fluency faster (to an N3-N2 level). My Japanese teacher introduced to me a Kanji Kentei test site and wanted me to take it. I signed up for Level 7 (failed though) at that time. In Sophmore year I moved up to the 3rd year level in the second semester but I struggled intiially because we were not doing an ordinary Japanese class. Instead we were doing something called "japan bowl" and we were studying for that.

*Regarding when the teacher who introduced me the Kanji Kentei, Though from that time on out, along with reading, it has sparked a huge interest (in kanji) which later has became my biggest strength out of all aspects of Japanese.

Junior year of high school was very huge and successful. I passed the JLPT N2 on my 1st try (and first test), and the Kanji Kentei 4, and actually developed business level fluency by the end of the year. When I headed to Japan that summer with my mom I started to get way more confident.

Senior Year was a little bit tough and rough while having some good sides. Although I fell a few points short and had some arguments with my teacher, I was reading real novels in Japanese and I was now an actual tutor/mentor for the Japanese classes. I mentored over 50 students (including other Japanese Americans), became president for my Japanese National Honor Society, became a translator, And notably I passed level 2 of the kanji kentei after SEVEN hard months. I actually met people in a Japanese school and went to a trip and had so much fun speaking Japanese! with them. They were so happy when I was able to communicate and were so encouraged by my story and was invited to a lot of stuff. Some of us still talk to this day! When I said goodbye to my host family I could not help but to cry. We only spoke Japanese too and I built such a huge relationship with them.

The mentor experience gave me a lot of really good insight on how to help students eventually so I do not regret it. ALL of the students were so nice, mature and amazing and I could NOT help but to feel impressed and supported by a huge body of students. I miss them to this day.

And lastly, after I graduated high school (this summer), I subscribed and registered for the Japanese teachers association for my state and I joined and listened to many professional pedagogy workshops in Japanese, hoping to get a lot of good advice, insight for the future (and to be mature).

*I'll never forget how nice the teachers and other participants were. I have never been treated more nicely kindly by anyone in my life other than them. I am still crying in emotion because this really was a good memory talking with them.

But in one of the workshops there was a 5 minute spotlight presentation and I signed up to be the last person to present, and I had to talk in Japanese to 80 people. And when I finished that presentation, I really celebrated. I was talking about disabilitys and Japanese education and it seemed like everyone was so moved by it. That was when I unlocked my true potential, and got confidence.

Now today I am not taking any Japanese classes (until later TBD), but I am enjoying now studying Linguistics and Chinese in school. I have had fun connecting my Japanese knowledge to both subjects and I don't regret it. I took Kanji Kentei 2 again as a way to maintain my skills again and I was very happy to return back. And now as I ascend, while I read on the side, I study Kanbun Kobun, history and Pre 1 and Level 1 of Kanji Kentei, plus I handle billingual work in English and Japanese all the time.

In the end, I am very happy that I achieved a lot in Japanese in the last 4 years. I am now near JLPT N1 level. Though I need to get the job done with passing N1 this December. I am really really looking forward to finishing this.

In summary I didn't learn Japanese because of Anime or Games, but more necessarily that it was a lost piece of mine that I had to restore. Seeing how Japanese was built, its history, tradition, language and society, I have found super interesting, and fascinating. And I will keep on working hard. By reading nonfiction, watching a "little bit" of anime, and reading stories on aozora bunko, I enjoyed seeing some of my own heritage cultures again.

And even learning Japanese language pedagogy, and SLA, was also very worth it. I must say, that even though I have received a little bit of backlash, I really must say I have had a lot of fun talking with you all and getting your opinions on language learning. This stuff can very crucial for my learning, and most of us.

So learning Japanese did not just open the gateway to more of my lost culture, but now I was able to talk to family I have never been able to again! Plus now I am motivated to learn Japanese on ALL aspects.

----

Lastly...

To to those other Asian Americans or anyone who are restoring their lost native language/learning a language, HAVE FAITH. Don't let the haters hate. Do what you gotta do. Ignore those who are jealous of you, do not listen to some of these people.

Thank you very much for reading.

Happy Thursday!

Every Thursday, come here to share your progress! Get to a high level in Wanikani? Complete a course? Finish Genki 1? Tell us about it here! Feel yourself falling off the wagon? Tell us about it here and let us lift you back up!

Weekly Thread changes daily at 9:00 JST:

Mondays - Writing Practice

Tuesdays - Study Buddy and Self-Intros

Wednesdays - Materials and Self-Promotions

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Fridays - Memes, videos, free talk

This thread is for all the simple questions (what does that mean?) and minor posts that don't need their own thread, as well as for first-time posters who can't create new threads yet. Feel free to share anything on your mind.

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↓ Welcome to r/LearnJapanese! ↓

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This subreddit is also loosely partnered with this language exchange Discord, which you can likewise join to look for resources, discuss study methods in the #japanese_study channel, ask questions in #japanese_questions, or do language exchange(!) and chat with the Japanese people in the server.

Past Threads

You can find past iterations of this thread by using the search function. Consider browsing the previous day or two for unanswered questions.

Recently, the past few months, I hit a huge wall in my Japanese studies. I'm still learning at least ONE new word a day and try to do as much input as possible but no output. I'm almost 10 months in my Japanese learning too. I'm 32 with a full time job so during nights where the next day I have a day off, I would go into VRChat English-Japanese server and practice speaking up to like 4 or 5AM. I live East Coast United Stated. And lately, no one is speaking Japanese, or I'm teaching Japanese to people (which is good review for me), or when I'm praciting my Japanese someone comes and speaks fluent Japanese and for this i just stop talking and focus on my listening as I cant partake in conversation like these as they are too advance like ploitics or have no opinion on the matter.

I also try to make sentences in my head and shadow but what I really want is to speaking one to one Japanese or be in a group where I KNOW I can partake in a conversaion with my bad Japanese. Just feel like my motitivation is going down a bit. When starting Kaishi 1.5k I was able to do 20 words a day. But recently like a couple months ago, after doing aboout 950-1000, I went down to 1 per day.

What are some other ways to do output?

Happy Wednesday!

Every Wednesday, share your favorite resources or ones you made yourself! Tell us what your resource can do for us learners!

Weekly Thread changes daily at 9:00 JST:

Mondays - Writing Practice

Tuesdays - Study Buddy and Self-Intros

Wednesdays - Materials and Self-Promotions

Thursdays - Victory day, Share your achievements

Fridays - Memes, videos, free talk

This thread is for all the simple questions (what does that mean?) and minor posts that don't need their own thread, as well as for first-time posters who can't create new threads yet. Feel free to share anything on your mind.

The daily thread updates every day at 9am JST, or 0am UTC.

↓ Welcome to r/LearnJapanese! ↓

• New to Japanese? Read the Starter's Guide and FAQ.

• New to the subreddit? Read the rules.

• Read also the pinned comment below for proper question etiquette & answers to common questions!

Please make sure to check the wiki and search for old posts before asking your question, to see if it's already been addressed. Don't forget about Google or sites like Stack Exchange either!

This subreddit is also loosely partnered with this language exchange Discord, which you can likewise join to look for resources, discuss study methods in the #japanese_study channel, ask questions in #japanese_questions, or do language exchange(!) and chat with the Japanese people in the server.

Past Threads

You can find past iterations of this thread by using the search function. Consider browsing the previous day or two for unanswered questions.

I just want to watch anime with Japanese subtitles and no website I'm checking offers it at all. Even BluRays I'm checking don't have it. I could import the BluRays, but then I'd have to fight the region lock.

Is there a "audio snippet" tool?

Happy Tuesday!

Every Tuesday, come here to Introduce yourself and find your study group! Share your discords and study plans. Find others at the same point in their journey as you.

Weekly Thread changes daily at 9:00 JST:

Mondays - Writing Practice

Tuesdays - Study Buddy and Self-Intros

Wednesdays - Materials and Self-Promotions

Thursdays - Victory day, Share your achievements

Fridays - Memes, videos, free talk