How I learned Japanese - Reading/Writing

[EnchanetdSomething]

Thanks for the Tips Tom. I'll be heading to Japan later in the year and appreciate helpful ways to get ahead before i do so.

I should actually look at buying an electronic dictionary online, or when i get there maybe.

Anyway, thanks and greetings from.. probably just down the street:P (fellow queenslander)

[DanielGClapp]

you seem cool

[patsybob]

This makes me really want to learn Japanese, Even if it is just the basics!

[pwnsocks]

What are the difference between Hiragana, Kanji and Katakana? Which do you recommend learning and why?

[JonWal21]

@pwnsocks Hiragana is like the cursive part of English, Katakana is like print. You should learn both, they are equally important. You should learn Kanji last. Kana is a term that puts Katakana and Hiragana together.

[MaikeruInJapan]

Some nice tips here, Tom! I have been learning Japanese for 8 years now, but I still don't think I am near fluent >_< Doing homestay in Japan for 6 months, I had to speak it every day..but I am not sure if I just got better at using bad Japanese, or better overall haha. At least, I was not worried about making mistakes anymore!

Anyway like others have said, 'Kotoba' for iPhone and iPod Touch is also a really good and convenient electronic dictionary (if you carry those devices around already) :D

[NatsuNiku]

im really interested in buying the kanji flash cards so i visited the white rabbit press site to check them out. but the only thing thats holding me back is that i can't seem to find romaji in any of the cards. How did you learn to read them out without romaji?

[pipster06]

Thanks for the pointers Tom. I find Kanji very difficut, but I also heard even some Japanese people find it hard to learn too, is this true?

Don't Japan use Hiragana in small writing above the Kanji in a lot of their signs now?

I'd love to propler get stuck into learning Japanese, I'll have to get some flashcards.

[ayendal]

White Rabbit Express just made $30 bucks from me ;)

[kingyoBAM]

@01miguel0122 Sorry if i offended you in any way :s... i am interested in learning japanese as well and i didn't know the difference between hiragana and kanji. But i read a book on it today and i just found out that hiragana was the alphabet. I didn't know ;; :\

[masterlink99]

As far as translators go, how accurate are translating programs like Google translate and yahoo when it comes to phrasing? I've heard of people learning a language solely through those types of free programs where they will type in the phrase they wish to learn in English, and have the translator do the rest. Might be a stupid question, but I'm not looking to be fluent in Japanese, just maybe enough to get by if I ever visit. Plus I'm broke.

[maltaethiron]

I was glad to hear you say that you're not that great at kanji, because that's honestly my biggest sticking point in learning Japanese.

[wilric01]

kotoba for iphone is also a sweet dictionary!

[MrKurisuDesu]

@wilric01 I use kotoba all the time! :D It's really useful isn't it?

[Nyocurio]

I wrote all my flashcards myself.. hugely helped me remember them

[KirstieXoXo]

Do you remember where you got the electronic dictionary from? Like Dick Smith or Harvey Norman perhaps??

[AkitaTom]

@KirstieXoXo Yamada Denki - Japan. They don't sell those kind of dictionaries outside of Japan/China/Korea etc. If you want something similar, you'd have to look online and get it shipped to your country :)

[KirstieXoXo]

@AkitaTom Ahhh I see Thankyou very much! :D x

[technotropism]

Take your shirt off! Love Elliot

[AkitaTom]

@technotropism You first!

[yozo217]

damn. i really want to buy the electronic dictionary. but why does it have to be so expensive? -_- do you know if there are any cheap ones out there?

[SamuraiGenkai]

Well im from Denmark, and getting japanese dictionaries and grammar books in danish is a pain in the ass, U have to contact the ministry of education to get those. I have a kanji book called kanji no manga and that has helped me alot. And yeah im 22 years old to and I cant exchange to japan because im to old, that sucks. So now I have to go to university to sturdy japanese, and thats what in working on now. still im surprised that it only takes 2 years to learn a good amount of everyday japanes

[Bpro64]

Good video. What is your opinion of Minna no Nihongo?

[AkitaTom]

@Bpro64 Thanks! I actually used Minna no Nihongo when I first started learning Japanese, they're pretty good! :)

[dongtian00]

I suck nuts at Kanji lol. I better get a Japanese dictionary then :S thanks for the suggestion!

Btw I thought you'd be advanced level not intermediate O_O

[AkitaTom]

@dongtian00 I wouldn't class anyone as 'Advanced' unless they could pass JLPT 1, and I'm not there just yet!

[justinprovido]

yo tom. is it too late for me to learn the language? I know quite a number of words. the basic ones etc. I'm 22 years old btw. how many years will it take for me to learn the language? I love japan and fell inlove with the culture so learning would be fun and absolutely not a chore.

[AkitaTom]

@justinprovido Definitely not! I know some people who have started learning Japanese in their 40's! How many years it will take depends on a two main factors, you yourself and how good you want to become at it. To get to a point where you can understand and contribute to day to day conversations, I would say it would probably take most people around 1.5 years of studying everynow and again, or 6 months in Japan. Like I said though, it all depends on the person. Best of luck!

[TheStagtimes]

If you don't want to spend a fortune on electronic dictionaries stick to Kotoba! :)

[Valdris1987]

Hey Akita, i`m kinda stuck with a problem. i know grammar really well, let`s say intermediate-high level, but when it comes to reading, let`s say, light novels in japanese, i have problems translating / understanding complex sentences. any info / tips? thanks

[AkitaTom]

@Valdris1987 Is that because you don't understand the individual words? Or because you don't understand what they mean when put together?

[Valdris1987]

@AkitaTom When i try to put them together, i always get confused. If it`s a short sentence i get the meaning, but longer ones always give me problems. I~m trying with this site to translate if it helps bauddha . net. Thanks for taking the time to answer.

[AkitaTom]

@Valdris1987 No problems. It sounds like you just need more practice with reading. There is also a Reading book in the Kanzen Master series that I showed in this video, maybe try getting something like that, that makes you dissect the information and answer questions about it! :) Best of luck!

[Valdris1987]

@AkitaTom amazing Akita! Yea, i need more practing in reading! Thanks a lot and i too with you all the luck for your future!

[TokyoAkiHara]

Yo Tom! I'm a long time sub on your channel :D

I'm also going to Japan next year in March to work as an ALT, most likely in the Saitama prefecture. (Including others such a Gunma and Nagano).

Where ya going to?

I was also a Vlogger like you once... until I took a virus to the ware (sorry jus had to say that xD). Gunna start vlogging again soon after I get myself a new camera.

Shud totally do some vlog collabs xD

I'm currently in NZ btw, howdy neighbour :)

[Reishoon]

Akitatom, sorry to get off the subject of the video, however do you still live in Japan or did you travel back to Australia or somewhere different, please reply.

[AkitaTom]

@Reishoon In Australia at the moment, going back to Japan next year~

[whodatb17]

dude, you're wearing a wet suit...in a hot tub...?

[TheTaweko]

Midori for the iPhone is my favourite Japanese/English dictionary and I've tried many on both Android and iPhone... It even has Kanji input

[rhysmuir]

if u have a smart phone... just download a eng-jap dictionary.. costs much less.. and are pretty good.

[AkitaTom]

@rhysmuir They are very good for general use, but i've found that when it comes to more technical things (medical/legal etc.) they just dont' cut it. For someone starting out thought they are great, except that you can't write Kanji.

[jesuisunearme]

Nice vid Tom ! keep filming and uploading stuff, is always great to know about you (y)

[R4F10]

anki is actually very helpfull! just study it daily and you will get any alphabet like katagana down perfectly in a week

[LittlePinky82]

And what about YesAsia? Do you think they'd sell materials for people? I know they sell a lot of media stuff.

[LittlePinky82]

I'd prob used the books if anything but sucks with no English though. And there are apps too I've seen on the ITunes app store that look pretty good for beginners. I follow a lot of Korean pop music and some of them have mentioned using drama's and watching them to help with their Japanese. Do you think that's any help too? (I love Japanese dramas sigh). I know my favorite Beast has tutors though and workbooks too. I kept waiting for you to drop something in the water lol.

[AkitaTom]

@LittlePinky82 I actually talk about that in the next video "How I learned Japanese - Listening/Speaking" :)

[LittlePinky82]

@AkitaTom I know for myself I'm now learning Spanish for my degree (didn't have to have foreign language in high school so having to take it now heh) and listening is definitely my biggest struggle. Reading, writing, speaking is always fine. So I'm sure it'd be the same with any other language heh heh.

[SALVATIONFROMBEHIND]

Goddd Damnnn!! the last time i saw your video was uhh you were in HS in Japan! Wow.......time goes by so fast, its scary. Anyway! Its good to you see again!

[MegaDavetastic]

It's a fucking miracle. A video ^_^

[zmans12345678]

Weird question, is that girl who has been in your videos a few times just a friend or is there something more to that?

[blondecrazygaijin]

This is so weird --in all my time in Japan I never saw a spa like that, nor a person clothed in any kind of spa, ahhahah

[AkitaTom]

@blondecrazygaijin Neither did I. This was filmed in Australia haha.

[hakashi71891]

What do you think about the japanesepod101 tom? Would you recommend it?

[01miguel0122]

@hakashi71891 :O i loved that site...If i could pay for the membership i would so buy it...on my week trial i learned alot and the PDF's and all that good stuff helped me so much

[rickyruffle]

why ya wearin' a surfing outfit? :P

[AkitaTom]

@rickyruffle As you can probably see, I'm so white that I've realised I'm probably a vampire from my elbows up. So, to save myself either A. Exploding or B. Sparkling on camera, I decided it would be best to wear a rashi! :D

[gsboss]

where did you get that hot tub?

[kingyoBAM]

did you learn hiragana?

[AkitaTom]

@kingyoBAM Yes. Both Hiragana and Katakana are essential for Japanese, in some ways even more so than Kanji, as they provide the building blocks that you need to not only learn pronunciation but also to be able to read Kanji.

[01miguel0122]

@kingyoBAM no offence but that's a stupid question...that's like asking in english Did you learn the alphabet?

[jvdthwip]

Any software you've used other than the software on your Sharp dictionary? Or have you exclusively used traditional methods described in this video (texts and such).

[will7788]

or what ever that hissing is.



[will7788]

damn cicadas



[icansplayguitar2]

Hot tub jacuzzi like a boss.