Answers to Questions on "Learning Japanese"

[StrrawberryBunny]

would you have to learn ''yoon'' kana to know how to read japanese?

[qpae123]

Is something wrong with the camera ...or ur eyes are way to big?:D Must be the Manga effect on u :P

[aAnomalyOfAutumn]

i love your hair! it really suits you in this video !  and i would kill for all that manga in the background , there are no ''book offs'' in the UK :( manga is like 6 pounds a book and i dont have a job yet :/ so my collection is growing really slowwwly haha i love your japanese dolls in the background too XD

[sandlmull]

I see there hasn't been a video since 2010, but I just recently watched these. If you ever want to do another one I would love to see one of your dolls or a manga collection update.

[PolishCutie93]

thanks for taking the time

[BrutalFates]

Has anyone ever said you look a bit like Mary Elizabeth Winstead? Though you do have nicer eyes then her.

[ultraali453]

The method you are suggesting is somewhat how i learned English. Except i watched TV.

[OtakuCasper]

Wouldn't you have to learn to speak japanese first, or at least to understand it so that when you read a word and, know what it said, you would know the translation to english. Because if you could just read it surly you would not understand? or does that come with learning it?

[rss313]

People ask me similar questions. I always tell people the following--

1) The piecemeal way seems to be THE ONLY way to fluency. There is no 'best book' for learning Japanese. Step by step, forced purchase by forced purchase of books/cards is the best way to learn. 2) Romaji is a huge crutch and get away from it as soon as you can. Memorize the phonetic alphabets. Most recommend hiragana first but I found doing katakana first easier. 3) Don't fear kanji. Look into the Heisig method!

[girchick107]

i have a question~! if you have a manga in original japanese and the same one only in english, can you use the english one to see what the japanese mean and then memorize the japanese words?

[tokirocket]

@girchick107 No, the English translations in the bookstores are not going to be reliably the same as the original (they sometimes change wording on joke, they sometimes censor information, and they sometimes move text around between different talk bubbles). A more reliable option would be the "bilingual" manga, where they have some English along with the original Japanese. I do not recommend them, however, as they are a crutch and would slow down learning progress.

[rockel1986]

:o) @ 1:52 - good informative video.

[xSliinkzZ]

You have beautiful eyes :)

[silentk1987]

could you explain the best way to learn kanji and how long did it take you to read write and speak fluently, and would it be okay to just memorize the english term for the kanji, or is that a bad idea.

[tokirocket]

@silentk1987 Well firstly, I'm not fluent! lol (reading is the easiest thing for me) I was actually closer to fluency ten years ago (because I was using Japanese on a daily basis). Later on I stopped having places to use Japanese, and got rusty. Using flash cards, or smart flash cards (like Anki, or the "Kanji Flip" app for iphone) are the best way to memorize the kanji. Yes, at first you will use then English words to memorize the meanings, eventually it will come naturally.

[Gameguy1100]

i love manga only have english VS but i dont think i would be able to learn =(

[tokirocket]

@Gameguy1100 That's ok... you could get one or two Japanese manga and try it out and see how you feel. If you watch my #5-2 video it explains where to find manga, and cheap manga in Japanese.

[4039cameron]

@tokirocket You are speaking at a perfectly normal speaking speed.

[silenthillmaster755]

aa year and a half later

[mekaneco]

where do you even buy the japanese versions at?

[tokirocket]

I forgot to add (to the comment by the person saying "I'll just read in English") ... you actually might miss things that are changed or left out... like original tone and certain jokes, cultural references, and themes (there is also sometimes censorship that occurs between the original Japanese and the English). If you don't care about that and you don't have an interest in Japanese, then by all means, stick with English. (I will add this topic to a future video).

[tokirocket]

Do you all think I talk too fast? Let me know... lol

[FinalFantasyFan92]

@tokirocket

No not at all. Perfect pace actually.

[Konata1zumi]

@tokirocket No you were talking at a normal pace ^^

Like if you talked slower it could get boring or faster hard to comprehend xD

[WickedFairyEssence]

@tokirocket Nope, I understood you really well. :)

[hallowarum]

I dont learn japanese by reading manga but I find it an interesting idea. =) maybe i will try it