Lang-8: Possibly the Best way to Practice Japanese Writing

[quakemaster789]

I can't read kanji so I struggle to read the kanji when I write a journal?

[Fenul]

@quakemaster789 don't write with kanji then. And if it's reading that you have a problem with, try Rikaichan :). It is a helpful extension.

[aimmaster18]

It's a great website! I strongly recommend it to everybody ;)

[tamagochita]

the symbol for infinity look like (oo)= 8 vertical.

Great post .. as usual

[nero2kewl]

the 8 is the symbol for the mobius loop, turn it on it's side and it means infinity.

[OMFGLAZERGUNPEW]

Lang - 8

Language Infinite. You have an unlimited amount of languages to learn.

[JenFromMaplestory]

ゴジラですか？

[JenFromMaplestory]

ゴジラですか？

[jns4chat]

What software did you use for the screen capture?

[smileyface109]

how long does it take for the invitation email to be sent? i tried joining lang-8 and i didnt get an invitation link yet........... T_T

[stonegolem55]

I am learning Japanese (started only a few months ago) and I don't really know enough kanji to be able to use them.

My question is, would it be Ok to just use kana? would they actually understand what I was typing or would I need to learn kanji to use this website?

[mydearcassandra]

@stonegolem55

I'm a Japanese. We can understand sentences written without kanji, though it would take a little bit pains or sometimes lead to misunderstandings.

Please don't hesitate to use kana.

In fact I'm not good at English even now.

But to be ABLE to write a language is more important than how you write it, I believe.

[stonegolem55]

@mydearcassandra So does that mean that if I only used kana it would be alright? I don't want people to be annoyed with having a hard time understanding or anything.

I am trying to learn kanji but it's hard to remember so much ^ ^

Anyway, thank you for the reply, I appreciate it a lot!

Thank you for

[mydearcassandra]

@stonegolem55 At least taking pains reading your Japanese is a duty for Japanese instructors.

In addition, if you type space word by word, it's not so hard to read as you think.

So it's OK to use only kana.

You can learn kanji little by little.

[stonegolem55]

@mydearcassandra Ok, thanks very much for your help!

[skj91]

@stonegolem55

Think of it like this; if i wrote the sentance "Fiive plus four equals nine." you'd have no trouble at all reading and understanding it, right? Even though it's faster, simpler and comprehended more instantaniously if I were to write 5 + 4 = 9 instead. Using kana is no different than spelling out each word of the equation. Obvious as to why the symbol version is preferred but no matter what, you can still spell it out and people will be able to read it.

[skj91]

@skj91 @skj91 Well except that with kanji not only Japanese speaking people but Chinese speaking (obviously), Korean, Viet Namese... pretty much "every Asiatic language there is" speaking people could also understand most of the kanji portions of the sentance, whereas with hirigana/katakana, only people who have learned how to read the hirigana and katakana alphabets (which are specific to Japanese) would be able to read it.

[stonegolem55]

@skj91 Ah right, I understand now. Thanks for the explanation, it really helped!

[skj91]

ya as long you know you're dealing with Japanese speaking (reading/writing) people then you can use only Hirigana and Katakana until you're more comfortable with the kanji.

[UndeadVanity3013]

if you have a english keyboard how do you get japanese letter?

[skj91]

@UndeadVanity3013 you download and install the Japanese language pack from microsoft then go into your control panel and:

Win7 or Vista go to control panel -> Clock, Language, and Region -> Region and Language -> click Keyboards and Languages tab -> click Change Languages button -> click Add button and select from list.

XP go to control panel -> Date, Time, Language, and Regional -> Add languages -> click the Languages tab -> click Details button -> click Add button and select from list

[skj91]

@UndeadVanity3013 in either case if you add the Japanese IME version available from microsoft then all you have to do is select Hirigana (or Katana, as neccessary) from the input style list on the language bar it's set to Japanese IME (click the little down arrow at the bottom right corner of the icon for the letter A to find the list) and from there all you have to do is type in the romanji and it will convert the type to hirigana every time you hit the space bar or enter key

[stargateheaven23]

I thought 8 meant infinite because it's the symbol for infinite (but on it's side..) but hey, who knows.

[xXdemonicdevilXx]

I love watching the videos.. and I guess its kinda weird.. but Ive never had anytrouble learning japanese... at all.. not even grammatically.. and then I just never forget it.. ._.

[mackerman11]

the infinity symbol in mathematics is similar to an 8 on its side

[SilverGunZoO]

in my country tongue and language are the same word xP

limba

so let's kiss with language xD

[witchyLuna]

infinity because its like 2 circles who keep going round and round

[superninjaducky]

hey koichi what is your name on lang-8?

[akezora]

Lang-8 is favorite WEB service!!

[broetchenkoenig]

I love lang-8 <3 It's really helpful.

I always thought the 8 stood for "aid". O_o

[xXnimitsXx]

how do you write japanese characters??

i don't have a keyboard for it...does it translate it for you? ¬.¬? or do you have to google-translate it urself?

[Digitbig]

There's a great guide on how to type Japanese characters available tinyurl(dot)com/ybkce3d

[Abeguy2]

go onto control panel, select Clock, Language and Region. Then go to the language part. Select the keyboards and languages Tab and click change keyboards. then click add and find Japanese......

hope i helped! (^w^)y

[abbyxoxo10]

I just recently found out..Go to control then change keyboard..:)

[borugani]

I thought the 8 stood for imitating the sound of -guage at the end of the word language.

その動画は本当に面白かった。ありがとうございます。

I learned about this tool only a couple of days ago. Japanesepod101 のお蔭様で。

[Alvin202]

ありがとう

[Redrum267]

Because if you turn the 8 sideways...it becomes the infinite symbol.

[poolenjop]

I can not write in Hiragana or Katakana where can I get the software ?? also my Compuiter isn't able to read the Japanese signs I got firefoxx please could anyone help me pls ;) I would love to start writing Japanese :D

[Forsaken87]

8-(rotate)->∞ (infinity)

[Bog493]

Thank you very much,Koichi! ^__^

It `ll help me a lot in learning English and Japanese.

[Tenki09]

めちゃめちゃ便利ですよね～。

[XxzEmozKidzxX]

how do u write in those characters cuz it seems i dont know how to write that way= / i can only write normal letters thats all...

[xFxAxIxTxHx]

I joined it :D

and helped someone<2+1.

[xshadex0]

the 8 in lang8 is a vertical infinity symbol if no one else has noticed haha.

[FlorinTheGrave]

thx Koichi, lang-8 rocks!!!

[xxhiyu]

thank you!

it is so useful *o*

[videomonkey10]

8 looks similar to the infinity sign which is like a sideways 8

[uptoCHINAtown]

If u want to try and write somthing in japanese on this website ...would u need a japanese computer becouse i have a keyboard with the enlgish lettre not japanese letters

[ww92films]

If you are on a PC, right click your toolbar and highlight the toolbar cascade, then enable the 'Language Bar'. There should be an 'EN' on your toolbar now if you are in english. Right click the 'EN', then click 'add' to add a language. When you want to change your language, left click the 'EN' button and select your language and means of input. I recommend 'Hiragana' for input. Hope this helps

[XxzEmozKidzxX]

umm i cant find Hiragana anywaeres for input >.>

[studogbignose3]

Thanks lot for the tip, I am now addicted to it.

[mickmouse13]

Great review. i dont know much Japanese but im working on trying to learn it again.. this would definitely help me a lot.. my Q to you is how to you type in Japanese? im about to go online to try and find virtual keyboards but do you use a special keyboard? or a virtual one thats in the comp?

[MatrixOfDynamism]

just goto the control panel and add a japanese keyboard then use the Language bar to change the keyboard

[mickmouse13]

yeah i got it now =) thanks anyway though

[TOOTHFAAIREE]

Oman, I will totally try this! Thanks Koichiben!

[LimTaeyon]

I think is 8, 'cause the 8 number is like the infinite symbol, and Lang is for languages. (infinite languages)

[nattokirai2009]

I tried it out but then had a problem with some Japanese dude with a wicked English complex. He was pulling the clueless 知らん振り　act on me. I told him where "to go" and then deleted my account. Typical Japanese BS.

[JakAndDaxFanatic]

Ah, this site seems really interesting. Hopefully it will come in handy! I just started learning Japanese this school year, so I'm not so good. I was about to sign up for the site and it said you had to be over 16.. Well, in a couple years I will be better and it will be of more help, I guess. I'm glad that I heard about the site!!! (I love all of your videos).

[IndigoLynx]

I use this, it's great ^_^

I've made loads of friends to that I speak to on Skype

[Hannadzor]

Thank you for showing me this, Tofugu: I have been a member for a while, but just posted my first entry. All the comments were so helpful! One said at the end (in all Japanese): "Nice to meet you! Let's do our best! ^^" Another said, "Hi, good job, Hannah!" I think that anyone who is learning a language should join!

(p.s. You made my day when I watched this video :3)

[grammarnazixx]

it stands for "language"

the site isn't only for japanese

[Memorandumi]

This site is almost exactly like myhappyplanet com. You get helped by people who are native speakers; they correct your grammar by editing your messages to them just like it, then send it back for your benefit. It also puts new members on the front page, showing what languages they need to learn and what languages they know (what level they have in each).

For those learning japanese, should probably give both sites a try!

[abigailjcharles]

what do the different colors and stuff mean when you correct it?

[JaCkMiChEaLs0n]

ew a mac

[IXIDAN]

im helping ppl out but i dont no haw to wright japanese soo im not getting no help

[shiHo1613]

aww...you could start out with studying hiragana. that's the basic writing system. forget those kanji. once you learn t write hiragana, you'll feel you're getting to being fluent in japanese better. study kanji later, when you have mastered hiragana and katakana.

BTW, we're on opposite. i'm having difficulty with the "spoken" part. haha

[ALYCIAZU]

lol you dont even know how to write in english..

[zizikelizike]

ppl make such mistakes cuz they don't live in america/uk

-.- I can speak 6 languages (more speak than write:D) so I know what I'm talking about

[ALYCIAZU]

why do people forget about canada when they think of native english speakers...

[zizikelizike]

meeeeeh canada has french 2 ...

I like canada more than the usa though ^^

[ALYCIAZU]

so just because Canada has French and English as our "native" language we aren't considered English speakers?

[zizikelizike]

hey man peace I didn't want to offend ya xD

I never said something like that!!

[a27jeri]

You don't either.

[synterlu]

the infinity stands for infinite lenguages to learn!

[Badheadphones101]

GYAAHHH! I wrote something down after translating it, but i can't make heads or tails out of it now!!!! -_-

[MannyKimchi]

8 on its side= ∞ which is symbol for eternity. haha

[RelVleDy]

This is definitely a resource I'll use in the future, but therein lies the problem.... it really can only be used by people with a fairly firm grasp on Japanese.

For beginners, all we can type in is わたしは type comments, tell time, count, describe locations, etc. Unfortunately, that's not enough to type diaries or reviews.

Definitely something I'll check on when I'm better, but for now, yea not much help =D.

[xinlo]

good point

[Ladida555]

I have to agree because i still cant even read that or access hiragana on my computer that i know of. And if your going to the Japanese one, and if you look for Japanese help they all write like that so i need alot of help before that site. But it really seems like a good idea to go on that and use it.

[Fenul]

@RelVleDy I am at a beginner level and on the contrary, think it helps a lot. If you can get past the shyness and the fact that most people will be reading your posts out of kindness rather than interest, it does wonders. Forcing yourself to write out sentences and ideas, even if you do it with mistakes, can really help improve your grasp of the language. Learning from your mistakes is also the best way to surpass them, if you ask me.

[tokyoafterglow]

ありがとう、こいちさん～

[Doomsdesire360]

the 8 stands for infinity because its a infinity sign flipped on its side

[lewkus87]

do you know genkijapan that is where im learing japanese to check it out

[HaHalolProductions]

what would be ur pw on my accont like is it my email or my security thingy..... wat?!

[MournfulDemon]

thank you very much

[Trixfire]

Wow you use mac

[MT12XD]

more than 2000 common use kanjis, learn jap is impossible

[smacl61]

It it possible. I'm just starting to learn. First of all you only need 1300 Kanji to read a common newspaper. Much less for starting conversation. Second, dont learn by memorizing each one! Only by using kanji regularly in emails or messages, you will learn by familiarization. Eventually they will sink in. Using an editor like JWPCE to help out, you can easily exchange messages with Kanji, using the conversion tools and dictionary. It's easy.

[xinlo]

then why are you watching?

and how could it be impossible, thats like saying english (a much more complex language) is impossible

persevere

[MT12XD]

you can talk english properly using less than 500 words, but you cant do that thing with jap, you must learn all hiragana, katakana, and 2000 kanji first, and then learn words and expressions, you must have a lot of memory to learn all those symbols :S .

[xinlo]

i will admit that english is a more efficient language word wise, thats a given

but remember that you didnt have to write in english to learn how to speak it. when you were little, learning a new word was hard because you could not correspond the meaning to anything, like a word on paper.

if you learn the speaking language and the hiragana and katakana (not so hard), then the kanji is probably your biggest challenge

i dont want to troll, but just remember why you started to study the language

[ShuyaSan]

nice inspirational speech

[xinlo]

oh yes thank you

i thought so

[DeathStrawberry15]

Learning all the kana AND 2000 kanji will make you MUCH more proficient in Japanese than 500 words will for English. Your comparison is not fair. By the time someone learns 2000 kanji, they're very close to fluent. 500 words in English is nowhere near fluency.

[FullmetalAlcheemist]

Thx.. the problem is.. it's freaking impossible to learn all those symbols :<

[MournfulDemon]

i can assure you, it is not. It just takes practice like everything else

[KyuchiBeri]

Thanks sooo much!

[jomann18]

how do you not understand! 8 sideways = ∞ = infinity!

[TocoLaPiano]

I give you credit for getting actual symbol.

[ausrov1]

Wow, thanks for introducing me to this website! :)

[EricOfBodomMan]

firefox!

[djhoody18]

A sideways 8 is the symbol for infinity.

[midori1]

Thanks for the suggestion!

[mastergaara117]

theres something wrong with lang-8 it wont let me login at all and i know the e-mail and password are right.

[ca280491]

do i have to speak japanese to practice my writting ?

[Jake2T]

im guessing you would have to have a basic understanding of the written language to be able to use the site fully

[Redmeddle]

I was curious if anyone knew if I learned Japanese would I be able to talk to many groups of Asians? So I guess what I mean is, if I learn Japanese could speak to people in China and at least semi-understand what they are saying?

[jellotime91]

Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese), and Korean are all completely different, as well as all other Asian languages.

If you speak Japanese to someone who doesn't speak Japanese, they're not going to understand you regardless of their race.

[Redmeddle]

Thanks I figured, I had a small hope that I could explore Asia if I learned one Asian language. It makes sense I meant no offense to Asians I do not classify, I am trying to learn how to tell the difference between you guys. I can tell if you are Chinese or Japanese or Korean, but I don't know the rest.

[CyborgAkemi]

Be proud of how far you have come! Your video is on the homepage of language infinite! Cool!

[syntheticxsierra]

I'm very interested in learning the Japanese language. But by using this site, you would need to have the Japanese letters on your keyboard, correct?

[hikarugirl13135]

if you go to your control panel and go to languages, you can add japanese to your computer.

[EricOfBodomMan]

what does it do?

[firmlygraspit]

the only thing i no about the japanese language is 2 write in kana i just need 2 memorise whwt each charter means

DO U HAVE ANY TRICKS

[serchsk8]

i think you ment kanji instead kana, anyway to learn kanji i recommend you to try this web j-talk(dot)com it has a flashcard system to learn kanji, i think it will be helpful.

P.S.(for tofugu): maybe you could make a post about that website, it would be nice.

[Darkwagon]

HAHAHHAHAHAH At 4:04~ 4:16 at the top it says You bastard! LOL

[Hannadzor]

どうもありがとう、こいち！！！＾０＾

[XBokuNoKuroiMayuX]

ありがとうございますね(＾ー＾)ノ

[Sian103]

Oo :o Cool, thanks Koichi! :D

[sintaks]

If you take the 8.... and turn it on its side... you get the infinity symbol. LANGUAGE INFINITY!

[neoguy9090]

Unfortunately I'm not old enough. Looks really great though. すぐ使ってみたい！

[444Riku]

thanks alot ^.^

[ontayloro20]

Thank you for telling us about this, after just a few weeks my japanese has improved MASSIVELY!

どもありがとう！

[ButterflyNightmare89]

Thank you so much for putting this video up. Did you say it was free? I am trying really hard to learn Japanese. So maybe after I leanr some Japanese I will use this site. Once again thank you!

[marcmendonca]

こんにちは! I have just started to learn Japaneses because I hope to one day teach English in Japan. Your videos have helped me a lot, so thank you for that. I have two questions for you and it would be greatly appreciated if you respond back. I know you have probably had this asked a million times, but how did you learn Japanese (speaking and writing), and if you used books can you give me the name and author? My second question is in regards to Lang-8. Is it Kanji, Hiragan, or Katakana?

[Ch0tt0Ch0tt0]

Not really sure about how Koichi-san learned Nihongo in the first place,must be practising reading and writing,but Lang-8 uses all three forms of Japanese in writing as Nihongo is frequently written in all three.Hope it helps though probably you already found out.

[windsoffate4]

Is this site free?

[windsoffate4]

Ahh nevermind after a bit of extra searching i found my answer.. lol anyway thank you for sending me towards a good language website because i have been ionteresting in finally taking the time to learn japanese ^^

[DeamonSun]

wow, what capture software are you using?

[Bucklenok]

Wow, this website is so cool! I barely know hiragana though, so I think I'll just do Spanish (which I've been studying for 5 years now) Oh, how I'd love to study more Japanese, but right now I'm already studying French over the summer so I can take French 2 next year.

Ah, well, there is college too if I still want to learn Japanese (which I do, 'cause I want to be an ALT in Hokkaido or something) =)

[rikufan14]

hey tofugu,

you dont know me but i have watched most of your videos for some time and i have liked what you have made on japanese. So, about a couple days ago i made a video recommending you to users. Although that i said that you were more for encouragement, although that isn't true and i made this while seeing only seeing one of your videos so im sorry for that mistake i added an annotation correcting this. Anyway i have a question...Do u have to have friends on lang-8 for them to correct you?

[SywenArk]

That is amazing. Never heard of it. I joined it immediately... just ... italian is a missing language there. Really really a great info. Thank you so much.

[Angelroxsox15]

Thanks for the info. I actually do the same thing on Hatena and start threads saying I want to learn Japanese or what not. It is really helpful to be able to have a native speaker correct you. Thanks again!

[tomdom21]

But there is one thing I don't correct ANY entires because No one write in my native language

[tomdom21]

no one want to correct my entires 0_o

[tomdom21]

I made an acount. It's realy helpful but it's takes a while to saw what's going on. I made 2 reviews yet. And I am positive suprised How many mistakes I made. ^^ About one in every sentence ^^. But I will keep working. There is many pages similar you should make videos about them too .

[LeylaRandomness]

that's really cool!

thank you for sharing

[alucarddied]

thank you so much ive been looking all over for a good reliable site to learn from. you rule!

[harkkimo]

i havea account there now!

[catdemonninja]

I feel like I'm being rude when I correct people.

[RandomMocker]

It depends on the manner you correct them, you can be condescending which is bad - but people are there to learn, corrections are appreciated.

[aafrophone]

hey koichi, is you name japanese?

[dominicanlincoln]

This is great, thanks Koichi, very cool website.

[artmachine2008]

Thanks Kouichi! I never would have thought to look for a site like that. This definitely wasnt funny like your usual posts but still well worth the watch :)

Keep it up bud, love the vids.

[opop1155]

I'm using the same.

Good software.

[macboy1337]

hey he's using Firefox 3.....Firefox 3 ftw

[dominicanlincoln]

so what?

[SmileyShigure318]

I just signed up. Except, i can't see the japanese that is on the website. Something wrong with my computer. everything that is not in the roman alphabet looks like, ?????????? ??????

how do i fix that?

[artmachine2008]

you have to enable/install asian languages/japanese onto your pc, search google for guides on how to do it there's plently.

If you're studying japanese already and don't have that installed yet, you should really get on that...

[Necromortis61]

Just signed up! Although I'm not confident enough to string together a sentence I like helping others, great advice, thanks Ben

[Tacos25n28]

8 sideways is infinity in math. The Isha Upanishad of the Yajurveda (c. 4th to 3rd century BC)where the first to use it. But Japanese seem to take it over and think its a Japanese letter... It is a hard one to write in Japanese because your using a paint brush that is made to make hard lines.

[kimberlykohen]

sweet

[JoshHull1994]

im on that site right now

[mafurock33]

Forgive me for asking you something kind of irrelevant, but what kind of software did you use to do the screen motion capture?

[tofugu]

screenflow

[opop1155]

COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL....!!!

[SumireIsrafel]

Thanks so much for letting us know ( I wouldn't ever have found this on my own -_-;)!! This really sounds great.

[chubbychibi]

I want your shirt. where can i get one?

[iTakashii]

I really wanna use this but I can't write about anything in Japanese

all I can basically write is what I've learned in

"Japanese for busy people 1"

I wish I could use this site :[

[nrhodes2026]

Thank you SO much for this video! I'm sure this will be such a help to me with my Spanish and soon with Japanese as well. I think I'll also see if all my Japanese and Korean friends know about it. I'm a new subscriber. I really enjoy ya'll's videos! Keep up the good work!

[supersuggs]

Thank you! I will use this next year, during AP Japanese.

[potterfreak0515]

I love Lang-8! I don't know enough Japanese to write journal entries yet, but I use it to practice my French.

[chickendawg]

I'm not sure if someone else has posted this already, but the 8 stands for infinity because it's more or less the sign for infinity rotated. It's the only way you can type it in a URL friendly way.

[biripipi]

Can the person who correct in lang-8 give you a reason why they did it?? Or explain you your error?? Because I need to understand my errors to learn

[tofugu]

yeah, they can do what they want :)

kind of up to the person correcting

[tomdom21]

I am not so good in Japanese to Write something. My japanese is bad at all but some other web page (I don't want to spam) can find you a frend from other countries to learn you their language.

[biripipi]

I was looking for someone from my country but in lang I don't now how....

[Phlynx251]

now i can learn the greek russian and japanese alphabet

[stoopidxemilie]

This is so cool! Thanks for the review.  I could sure use something to practice Spanish .. I'm not committed enough to try to learn to write Japanese lol D:

[BartSimpson1987]

早速、lang-8を使ってみましたが、日記を書いたり、人の日­記を直したあとに"post"のボタンを押しても、投稿できませ­ん。どうしたらいいんでしょうか？

字数が長すぎるわけではないと思うんですが・・・

(せいぜい10行程度です。)

[aafrophone]

koichi!! i got your postcard!!!

[tofugu]

awesome! join the contest!

[th4n4t0s25]

let's go people !!!

[uei08]

thankyouuuu!!

[zombieszombiesz]

wow they have sentence by sentence help? I'll have to try it... it seems to be hard to find Japanese focused language sites.

[Namatok]

eight(8) turned on it's side is the infinity sign

[th4n4t0s25]

speaking of correcting, wouldnt it be ...''on its side''?

[wolfpupgal]

Excellent video! Awesome and informative! I'm on my way to sign up now! Thanks for the postcard by the way! I got mine last week! Keep up the videos!