Starting to self learn Japanese, any tips/tricks would be appreciated

[sub-zer0]

So I got this sudden urge to learn Japanese recently, I don't exactly know why, maybe because i have a lot of spare time to waste, so I decided I wanted to learn some Japanese. The motivation was so that I can fap to all those delicious Nukiges out there  , but jokes aside, my goal is pretty ambitious.......I want to read VNs made by the company:Light, and I know it is going to be a really long and tough road to the goal, but I'm prepared and ready. I love action packed VNs, and the language barrier is always strong with action VNs, and as far as I know, Light makes the best of them, so that is my final goal right there. 

 

Here are the advantages I have: 1. I am fluent in Mandarin Chinese, so I know a lot of Kanji , huge+ right there, 2. I have watched anime for a couple of years now, and I can understand common daily Japanese terms when spoken verbally, as in I can understand the words when someone else speaks them, but I can't read the Japanese characters. 

 

i'm currently using this guide, So if you guys have any suggestions and/or tips and tricks you are willing to enlighten me with, I would appreciate it, also if there are groups learning Japanese/ other resources or anything like that, please do tell, because I don't know much about these kinda stuff considering how I spend most of my time in The Coliseum 

 

Lastly, a quick couple of questions: approximately how long would it take to reach my goal? do we have any native speakers on the forum? how would you learn the Jargons? 

 

[Down]

I got a thread full of resources pinned in the General Discussion board, although I should update a lot of it.

 

Other than that... Focus on getting the basic grammer down at first, watch your anime raw, and read, read, read. Being hyped for certain eroge/LNs helps getting motivated.

[Yuuko]

Yeah reading helps a lot. When you know the basics, try reading an easy VN with text hooking. I learned a lot from doing that.

[sub-zer0]

I got a thread full of resources pinned in the General Discussion board, although I should update a lot of it.

 

Other than that... Focus on getting the basic grammer down at first, watch your anime raw, and read, read, read. Being hyped for certain eroge/LNs helps getting motivated.

 

Thanks, I'll look into the thread, and the hype does help motivate you 

Yeah reading helps a lot. When you know the basics, try reading an easy VN with text hooking. I learned a lot from doing that.

I might start reading an easy VN once I get the basics down ,thanks for sharing your experience,now I have something planned for the next step. 

[Zalor]

One thing I remember finding a bit annoying when I first started out (which was a year ago), is that there as so many slightly different ways to learn. And different people learn more efficiently doing slightly different things. Lol, I remember one person I spoke to on this site told me that with only rudimentary understanding of the language he read a lot of Untld Nukiges for an entire year, and eventually found himself able to read more complicated VNs. I found that to be an interesting (not to mention extreme) answer. I can impart you with some advice from my personal experience. But please keep in mind that my level is around advanced beginner and intermediate learner. 

 

As everyone has been pointing out, basic grammar is a must. I highly recommend Tae Kim and reading through Basic Grammar, Essential Grammar, and Special Expressions (you can save Advanced Topics for later). Personally I read each section a first time somewhat quickly to acquaint myself with the material, then I would reread that section thoroughly and take notes. Once I finished the section a second time, I would review the key points (usually various conjugations), and then finally move onto the next section. Once you feel you have comfortable knowledge of necessary Japanese grammar, then I recommend to start reading (preferably something simple).

 

By reading (with the help of ITH and Translation Aggregator) you will not only gain vocabulary through repeated words, but more importantly at this stage; you will be training your brain to understand Japanese grammar in it's native habitat. Before with Tae Kim you learned grammar on a theoretical level, now your knowledge is put in practice. Once I felt reasonably comfortable with Japanese grammar in practice I started placing more importance on vocabulary acquisition. At first I used the old fashioned approach with flashcards. I wrote down the words that were either frequently used, or that my dictionary told me were N5, N4, or N3 level vocabulary. However, flashcards got really annoying. Not to mention reviewing words that are stripped from the context felt pointless to me. Eventually I ditched them and started putting my vocabulary words on post-it notes and attaching them to my wall. That way, when I read something, and a word seems familiar; I'll check my wall first before checking the dictionary. Admittedly a bit of a weird method, but for me at least it has been way more effective than using flashcards (either digital ones like Anki, or physical ones).

 

So yeah. I definitely recommend getting advice from people who have already achieved full literacy in the language. But I hope I provided useful advice for the earlier stages of learning. Also, regarding how long it will take to reach literary fluency. That answer honestly varies from person to person, but the method I've modeled my learning style from (Aaeru's method) is scheduled to take around 2 years.   

[Deep Blue]

that web has the best tools for learning jap like anki, memrise, kanjidamage, etc etc All you need is pretty much there. and you have a huge advantage, knowing all the kanji beforehand because many of them have the same meanings in jap and chinese! Maybe you don't know the onyomi and kunyomi but actually knowing the meaning is really important.

My recommendation is start learning the kana<----katakana and hiragana then the grammar which is the most important thing and then vocab, with memrise or anki start learning jplt 5 then 4 and so on

[sub-zer0]

One thing I remember finding a bit annoying when I first started out (which was a year ago), is that there as so many slightly different ways to learn. And different people learn more efficiently doing slightly different things. Lol, I remember one person I spoke to on this site told me that with only rudimentary understanding of the language he read a lot of Untld Nukiges for an entire year, and eventually found himself able to read more complicated VNs. I found that to be an interesting (not to mention extreme) answer. I can impart you with some advice from my personal experience. But please keep in mind that my level is around advanced beginner and intermediate learner. 

 

As everyone has been pointing out, basic grammar is a must. I highly recommend Tae Kim and reading through Basic Grammar, Essential Grammar, and Special Expressions (you can save Advanced Topics for later). Personally I read each section a first time somewhat quickly to acquaint myself with the material, then I would reread that section thoroughly and take notes. Once I finished the section a second time, I would review the key points (usually various conjugations), and then finally move onto the next section. Once you feel you have comfortable knowledge of necessary Japanese grammar, then I recommend to start reading (preferably something simple).

 

By reading (with the help of ITH and Translation Aggregator) you will not only gain vocabulary through repeated words, but more importantly at this stage; you will be training your brain to understand Japanese grammar in it's native habitat. Before with Tae Kim you learned grammar on a theoretical level, now your knowledge is put in practice. Once I felt reasonably comfortable with Japanese grammar in practice I started placing more importance on vocabulary acquisition. At first I used the old fashioned approach with flashcards. I wrote down the words that were either frequently used, or that my dictionary told me were N5, N4, or N3 level vocabulary. However, flashcards got really annoying. Not to mention reviewing words that are stripped from the context felt pointless to me. Eventually I ditched them and started putting my vocabulary words on post-it notes and attaching them to my wall. That way, when I read something, and a word seems familiar; I'll check my wall first before checking the dictionary. Admittedly a bit of a weird method, but for me at least it has been way more effective than using flashcards (either digital ones like Anki, or physical ones).

 

So yeah. I definitely recommend getting advice from people who have already achieved full literacy in the language. But I hope I provided useful advice for the earlier stages of learning. Also, regarding how long it will take to reach literary fluency. That answer honestly varies from person to person, but the method I've modeled my learning style from (Aaeru's method) is scheduled to take around 2 years.   

 

Thanks for that detailed explanation, you really opened up what I knew so far about the Japanese language, I thought I could just learn hiragana and katakana and go straight to reading, but apparently my delusions skipped some very important details that you pointed out. I hope you didn't take that Nukige joke seriously,lol, because learning japanese with woman moaning obscene sounds would probably not help with my learning. 

that web has the best tools for learning jap like anki, memrise, kanjidamage, etc etc All you need is pretty much there. and you have a huge advantage, knowing all the kanji beforehand because many of them have the same meanings in jap and chinese! Maybe you don't know the onyomi and kunyomi but actually knowing the meaning is really important.

My recommendation is start learning the kana<----katakana and hiragana then the grammar which is the most important thing and then vocab, with memrise or anki start learning jplt 5 then 4 and so on

Thanks for the recommendation, that's what i'm going to do right now, trying to learn the alphabet of the japanese language, It is kind of frustrating in a way considering how you have like 3 tables instead of one table with 26 letters...so I will admit it is a lot more difficult that what I expected. Even though I know the meaning behind the kanji,the pronunciation is different so I still have to learn about it to get the way it sounds,can't avoid all of it sadly.    

[rainsismyfav]

Good luck, and have fun!

[melo4496]

Looks like you have basic grammar but you should check this out. http://forums.fuwanovel.net/topic/8720-official-rains%E2%80%99-japanese-grammar-livestream-youtube/

[Getsuya]

Someone else mentioned it but KanjiDamage is my #1 recommendation for learning kanji. The person who organizes it has found such a great system for organizing and teaching the kanji that I can't even imagine trying to memorize them any other way.

 

Of course learning Japanese is about more than just memorizing kanji, but trust me when I say that it will be a huge part of your studies, especially if you're wanting to be able to read VNs.

[Deep Blue]

Thanks for that detailed explanation, you really opened up what I knew so far about the Japanese language, I thought I could just learn hiragana and katakana and go straight to reading, but apparently my delusions skipped some very important details that you pointed out. I hope you didn't take that Nukige joke seriously,lol, because learning japanese with woman moaning obscene sounds would probably not help with my learning. 

Thanks for the recommendation, that's what i'm going to do right now, trying to learn the alphabet of the japanese language, It is kind of frustrating in a way considering how you have like 3 tables instead of one table with 26 letters...so I will admit it is a lot more difficult that what I expected. Even though I know the meaning behind the kanji,the pronunciation is different so I still have to learn about it to get the way it sounds,can't avoid all of it sadly.    

you already know a lot of kanji, learning hiragana (this is the most important one) and katakana(to be honest this one is not that important for reading a vn) is going to be really easy for you

 

this tool helped me a lot when i was learning kana (I tried with a book and just couldnt do it)

[sub-zer0]

Good luck, and have fun!

Thank you, though having fun might a bit tough....

 

Looks like you have basic grammar but you should check this out. http://forums.fuwanovel.net/topic/8720-official-rains%E2%80%99-japanese-grammar-livestream-youtube/

Thanks for the link, funny how the video is posted by rain, but he didn't mention it above,lol

 

Someone else mentioned it but KanjiDamage is my #1 recommendation for learning kanji. The person who organizes it has found such a great system for organizing and teaching the kanji that I can't even imagine trying to memorize them any other way.

 

Of course learning Japanese is about more than just memorizing kanji, but trust me when I say that it will be a huge part of your studies, especially if you're wanting to be able to read VNs.

Thanks for the resource, a more efficient way to learn kanji will surely increase my output and the rate at which I learn at.

 

you already know a lot of kanji, learning hiragana (this is the most important one) and katakana(to be honest this one is not that important for reading a vn) is going to be really easy for you

 

this tool helped me a lot when i was learning kana (I tried with a book and just couldnt do it)

Thanks for the tool, I'm starting to fluster a little bit over the hiragana, but i'm almost done with it, Katakana looks a lot easier by comparison, but it only applies to foreign words.

[Deep Blue]

a bit later, sorry just saw the reply

katakana is used mostly for foreign words but not always, it is also used when you want to give some impact or emphasis to a word for example the word アイツ (he she) クソ / クソクラエ(shit or eatshit as insults) or the really known phrase ナンダコレハ I saw many words that normally are in hiragana in katakana.