Learning Japanese

[Calyrica]

One thing I found that was really helpful if you just want to start off with a bit of vocabulary and writing the hiragana and katakana - there's a Nintendo DS program/game/thing called My Japanese Tutor. It was really helpful with the writing. As I progressed, though, I found that it doesn't really teach making sentences very well. A lot of the exercises come with a set of about 10-15 premade sentences, so you get used to the same sentences and don't really learn much.

As my new job has about a 30 minute commute each way, I've taken to using the Pimsleur CDs. While I may not learn writing or even how things are spelled, I feel like I'm still doing something more productive than sitting in a car listening to the same songs over and over. As I do already know hiragana and katakana and can write many words, I can usually guess at how words are spelled, though, so that really helps. The CDs are probably expensive if you buy them, though, so... I don't know if I'd recommend them or not.

Also for learning the kana - I haven't used it since I learned hiragana many years ago and then katakana on the DS, but there is a free kana workbook... somewhere. I think I have it on my hard drive but I'm not sure where I found it. I'm willing to upload it for anyone who's interested.

Is anyone taking any classes and would recommend a textbook? I've heard Genki is pretty good... I would love to take a formal class but there aren't any in my area.

[Fayharn]

Two of the most useful resources for learning Japanese would be Jwpce and Rikaichan. The first is a Japanese Word Processor and the second is a add-on for Firefox. If you see some Kanji you don't recognize then all you'd have to do was enter it into a text box and you'd get the answer. While not perfect, if you have a understanding of Katakana and Hiragana, they are invaluable.

really helpful~

[Utsuho Lazy]

Best thing I've read since started learning Japanese: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_is_the_ ... guage_from

[Fayharn]

Best thing I've read since started learning Japanese: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_is_the_ ... guage_from

I wonder who asked that~

[L-Voss]

Best thing I've read since started learning Japanese: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Where_is_the_ ... guage_from

I believe (s)he meant to ask 'what are the origins of Japanese'... though perhaps I'm being too naive...

[奈落天魔]

I am studying Japanese harder than I ever have before. My goal is to be excellent by the end of the summer time AT3 comes out here in the US and I will do anything to reach my goal, blockades be damned. I already have a ton of materials and focus to do it too. Watch me grow!

[Utsuho Lazy]

Okay so how am I supposed to translate this sentence I have no idea.

[Kensou77]

i can't believe i missed this topic..... if you want to learn japanese, use the rikai website or any related browser plugins such as polar's rikaichan etc... google chrome has an extension that i tried relatively recent and it's been working wonders. it's not a translation tool but an active mouse-over dictionary that is very much so complete. if it senses a compounded word, it will not just show the full compound, but each character on their own as well so you can learn how it might be combined or how to read it on its own etc...

[L-Voss]

Okay so how am I supposed to translate this sentence I have no idea.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/7004/yoku.png

Spoiler for suggestive language:  [ Open ]

Selfishness. Desire for pleasure. Passion. Avarice. Desire for an act. Self-interest. Desire for enjoyment. Desire for smell. Desire for taste. Desire for touch. Greed. Evil desire. Carnal desire. Sexual desire. Sexual apetite. Lust for the flesh.

[Utsuho Lazy]

Spoiler for suggestive language:  [ Open ]

Selfishness. Desire for pleasure. Passion. Avarice. Desire for an act. Self-interest. Desire for enjoyment. Desire for smell. Desire for taste. Desire for touch. Greed. Evil desire. Carnal desire. Sexual desire. Sexual apetite. Lust for the flesh.

Lol, you actually translated them all

欲 sure is a nice kanji, capable of creating a bunch of compound words like that.

[L-Voss]

Spoiler for suggestive language:  [ Open ]

Selfishness. Desire for pleasure. Passion. Avarice. Desire for an act. Self-interest. Desire for enjoyment. Desire for smell. Desire for taste. Desire for touch. Greed. Evil desire. Carnal desire. Sexual desire. Sexual apetite. Lust for the flesh.

Lol, you actually translated them all

欲 sure is a nice kanji, capable of creating a bunch of compound words like that.

Some of them seem to be made-up, though.

[Not_me]

Does anyone know how to pronounce Japanese "r" properly ? I can't pronounce it similar to both English "l" and "d".

[L-Voss]

Does anyone know how to pronounce Japanese "r" properly ? I can't pronounce it similar to both English "l" and "d".

Um, just hit the place where you normally pronounce 'l' with your tongue once, maybe with a small slide. No vibrating (unlike German 'r'), no long slides (unlike English 'l'), be sure to touch the palate (alveolus, to be more precise) (unlike model English 'r', where the tongue doesn't make any contact).

[Utsuho Lazy]

Does anyone know how to pronounce Japanese "r" properly ? I can't pronounce it similar to both English "l" and "d".

It's pretty much impossible to explain, nor can you hear it clearly using recordings, so the only way is to actually ask a native speaker to pronounce it for you.

Also, ninja'd.

[L-Voss]

Does anyone know how to pronounce Japanese "r" properly ? I can't pronounce it similar to both English "l" and "d".

It's pretty much impossible to explain, nor can you hear it clearly using recordings, so the only way is to actually ask a native speaker to pronounce it for you.

Yeah, and it's kinda hard to describe without being able to demonstrate (so I'm not sure my explanation did any good). And I'm afraid not even asking a native speaker to pronounce it would help much, unless you watched their mouth and tongue closely.

[Utsuho Lazy]

And I'm afraid not even asking a native speaker to pronounce it would help much, unless you watched their mouth and tongue closely.

I mean exactly that - watch their mouth, and, if necessary, pry open their mouth to observe.

/shot

[L-Voss]

And I'm afraid not even asking a native speaker to pronounce it would help much, unless you watched their mouth and tongue closely.

I mean exactly that - watch their mouth, and, if necessary, pry open their mouth to observe.

/shot

Or use an X-ray.

/murdered

[Not_me]

And I'm afraid not even asking a native speaker to pronounce it would help much, unless you watched their mouth and tongue closely.

I mean exactly that - watch their mouth, and, if necessary, pry open their mouth to observe.

/shot

Or use an X-ray.

/murdered

Take a picture of their mouth for me.
To pronounce Japanese "ra", I hit the roof of my mouth with my tongue and then say English "la". Is this correct ?

[Kensou77]

you won't be too wrong if you only pronounce the english "L" for any of the japanese "R-" syllables. the sound primarily consists of the "L" sound anyways. but yeah, it has "L, R, D, T"

[L-Voss]

And I'm afraid not even asking a native speaker to pronounce it would help much, unless you watched their mouth and tongue closely.

I mean exactly that - watch their mouth, and, if necessary, pry open their mouth to observe.

/shot

Or use an X-ray.

/murdered

Take a picture of their mouth for me.
To pronounce Japanese "ra", I hit the roof of my mouth with my tongue and then say English "la". Is this correct ?

I think yes, it's quite correct, though I would have to hear it to be sure. Unfortunately, the academic year has already ended for me (finally!) so I can't take any pictures of my Sensei's mouth.