Today I thought I'd try a Q&A session. Feel free to ask anything, from personal questions to general questions about learning and learning strategies, or specific issues concerning grammar, kanji, JLPT prep, etc. Drop a comment below and feel free to reply to each other's questions, as well.
1. At first, I picked the books at random. I have a large collection at my apartment (actually most of the space in my tiny apartment is taken up by books) so in the beginning I just picked a random book off a shelf and read a few pages to find a passage. Now, as more of you are joining these discussions (which I absolutely love btw!) I often get inspired by your comments. Sometimes readers will send in a request which I'll try to accommodate.
2. My reading speed depends on the book, but on average I read about 1 bunkobon page in 2-3 minutes. I can keep doing that for about 2 hours until I get tired. If the language is dense I'll read slower, if it's lighter literature I'll read faster.
3. Your reading speed is already so impressive!!! My answer to your question is boring: keep on reading. If you are really aiming for speed you might want to set a time limit to read a page or a chapter. Get a baseline of your current level first, then aim for a few seconds quicker every day. Having said that, I would say that enjoyment is more important than speed when it comes to reading literature. If you're studying for a reading comprehension test, this might be a way to do it...
Thank you so much for the great reply as always! I'm trying to go through as many books as I can before I start college this summer (ofc enjoying them also xD) But thank you for the tip, I will keep that in mind when I'm reading :)
Hi Bunsuke, first of all, thanks so much for the newsletter. My main goal of learning Japanese has always been reading so the newsletter is such a godsend to me. Really appreciate your efforts in putting it all together! On to the question, I'm one of those anxious readers who need to find out the meaning of a new word right away and, as you can imagine, this habit sort of disrupts the overall reading experience, at times turning it into a chore. How should I get around this mental obstacle? Thanks in advance!
Hi Chanun, I'm really happy to read that the newsletter is helping you!! It gives me energy to keep the platform going.
I know what you mean, and still do this now (but fortunately I don't have to look up as much as I did when I just started out). I would say, divide your reading sessions into "looking up sessions" and "reading sessions". In the former, you look up what ever you want. In the latter, you force yourself to keep reading no matter what. You can even set a timer and alternate between the two. I think both skills (looking up words tenaciously AND maintaining your reading speed even if you don't understand every single detail) are important.
Hi João! What a great question! I think I would simply see if there are any native speakers who either live in my area or find someone online to speak with. Conversation is the best way of improving your speaking and listening skills. Find someone who is patient and willing to listen through your mistakes and correct them if necessary. Let go of any shame or hesitation you might feel, just talk. Otherwise I would watch dramas or other series and repeat some of the speech patterns that come up. I would also recite those to myself when I'm alone (it sounds like I'm a crazy person, but talking to yourself out loud is also a good way to practice when there's nobody around).
Hi and thanks so much for your newsletter. It's been a wonderful addition to my daily study. Do you have any recommendations in terms of vocabulary-building resources and recall techniques? I'd still consider myself a beginner and have the most difficulty in recalling the Japanese word(s) I want to say when speaking. Strangely I don't really have that problem in the other direction, such as when listening or reading Japanese. Any tips you have would be gratefully received :)
Hi Jim, thanks for joining in! I want to start off by saying that this is completely normal. I also experienced this when I was starting out. I assume you have this with words that are similar to each other and mix up in conversation, or you simply cannot find the word you know you know, but cannot recall it in the moment? I myself am a very visible person, so whenever I would mix up words in conversation or couldn't remember a specific word, I would make a list of those words and remember them visually. For some reason, I found that they were more readily available to me the next time I had a conversation with somebody. Otherwise, it's just about practicing and repeating.
1. Your first question is short, but intimidating! Entire books have been written about the difference between は and が. The most simple answer is that は is a topic marker (if you translate it literally it's something like "as for...".) whereas が marks the grammatical subject of a sentence. But there are many other nuances. For instance, if someone asks 誰が辞書が必要ですか? the answer should be 私が辞書が必要です, (and not 私は辞書が必要です). The former answers the question "who?" by emphasizing "I" in the reply. The latter is simply a general remark. In English, it would be the equivalent to "who needs a dictionary" → "by the way, I need a dictionary". Grammatically it's a correct sentence, but it's not a reply to the question. Moreover, in comparisons (Aは…だけど、Bは…だ) you always used は, never が.
There are so many other facets to this issue of は and が, that I cannot write them out here.
2. This is basically dependent on context. Nanori is only used in names of people and places (and then still it is sometimes unclear how to read it). As for on-yomi vs. kun-yomi, the only thing you can do to get a better feel for this is practice and experience. If you're ever in doubt, shoot me (or the community) a message!
First of all thank you very much Bunsuke for giving us also the opportunity to share our thoughts, our journey and problems we encounter when studying Japanese. I loved reading about your journey. I still can hardly read a full sentence in a novel, when there is kanji in I don't know without looking it up. I have also struggled with the kun and on-yomi alot. I found this youtube link helpful:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri9LU_Nm3A0 You can put subtitles on in Japanese and in English if you want. The following book: "The Kanji Code by Natalie Hamilton helped me a lot in with the on- yomi. You start to recognize the sound elements so you can guess the on-yomi better." I now just learn vocabulary and not the reading separately. The newsletters are a great help in learning the vocabulary and kanji in context. I do try to learn the kun-yomi first and deal with the on-yomi when I came across it. At first I also thought you had to be able to write every kanji, but seeing even Japanese people can't write not to complicated kanji by hand and you can look it up, and type it in the computer and stopped doing this. I stopped writing the kanji over and over again, it was counterproductive. I learnt the kanji and forgot it the next day. Now I write it once and try to think of the elements the kanji is made up of and try to write it by memory. Then I will forget about it and see Bunsuke's newsletter and remember I learnt that kanji, but have forgotten how to pronounce it, but he next time I see this kanji any I often do remember. I'm glad I'm not alone in my struggles, because it is, so hard sometimes. I sometimes feel I can't read and speak so little, though it is like others said, it's has also to do with the textbooks we use, all not really natural native, daily spoken or written Japanese.I look forward to your course Bunsuke. Often we have to translate a sentence from English into Japanese and my mind often go's blank. I want to think in Japanese and translations (not yours way the way, yours Bunsuke are excellent) but often translations don't feel right. I think when studying we must maybe take a more passive approach. It sometimes feels like you have to study grammar and vocabulary, but having fun in the process is so important. I do origami can I knew the word in kanji long before I started studying Japanese. When I watch video's entirely in Japanese about this subject I do understand more and have fun watching them. This is so important, you learn and remember more when you are relaxed.
This is great, it sounds like you found a method of study that works for you. Keep doing what you're doing, you'll be reading books more fluently in no time!
Hi Rafay, thanks for you comment. I'm glad you're having fun with the newsletter and that it's helping you in your daily studies.
I started this newsletter because a few of my students indicated that they wanted to keep reading literature in Japanese, but didn't know where to start or that the idea of reading an entire book was too daunting. I noticed that most people simply give up after some time, as it's such a long road to being able to read a novel fluently. I wanted to create something for them to keep them motivated and to lower the barrier a bit. I'm really overjoyed to see that so many people are finding this a helpful resource (I had no idea it would grow this much in such a short amount of time).
And I also do it because my country has been in lockdown for the longest time and wanted to devote some time and energy to my passion in between my regular working hours, just to keep myself energized and to relax, as we have to be inside for most of the day. But now that I've started this, I'm having so much fun. Hopefully I can devote more and more time to creating great content for all of you.
Hello Bunsukeさん :3 I started learning Japanese seriously at the end of last summer and have slowly been picking away at kanji and grammar after finally making friends with kana. It's been a longterm goal to work up to reading a full novel, so I'm really thankful for the range and accessibility of your newsletter. I'm on a gap year right now, which means my days are pretty free, so I decided to get a little more serious with studying. However, my days are so free right now that I often lose structure - it's really an endless summer holiday (albeit with worse weather). Two constants I have for daily study are Wanikani and now this - I'm also following the Minna textbooks (opinion pending) and have a younger brother (who's also interested of his own volition!!) to bully into practising 会話 with me. There's no shortage of great resources, it's just hard to find an optimised way to structure them... Might you have any advice for the time management of studying Japanese over the short and long term? Whether it be daily habits, longterm structure, etc... (for daily habits, I must say flick typing has definitely helped me 'think in kana'.)
Also - I often write out/annotate lyrics by hand when I'm trying to learn them - I know grammar can be looser in music but tying it to something very familiar to me really helps cement grammatical structures in my head. (I just saw in a reply to another comment you recommend learning kanji via working back from something you already enjoy, and I completely agree!) For reading a novel, I wonder what a good way to read it is...? I'd love to read physical books but reading off a screen is easier for me right now (since you can c+p unknown kanji) - maybe it's a little early but this week I started 銀河鉄道の夜 on aozora bunko (I enjoyed a translation a while back). When I recognise a grammatical structure in context, I'm really pleased haha. It's also very gratifying to see kanji being used in different vocab and saying, 'hey, I recognise that! So it can also be used here!' (Recently, it happened with 違) So my second question is, are there habits you have/recommend when reading (esp a new text for the first time)?
(吾輩は猫である's been on my want-to-read since before I started studying seriously so it made me really happy to see it featured in a post a while back! There's a lot to I need to osmose about Japanese literature and culture before I can fully digest a novel, がんばりましょう!)
Hi Wei Wei, thanks so much for your extensive contribution and great questions! It's really cool to read that you've only picked up learning Japanese fairly recently but are already venturing into reading literature in the original! (It's also good that you're bullying your little brother into studying with you; what else are they there for ;-))
As for your questions:
1. The best thing I can recommend is - and I think you used the right term here - create a consistent, daily reading habit. This means that you have to find a pace at which you can keep yourself motivated without burning yourself out. Start slow (perhaps 15 min. per day) and build from there. If you feel yourself losing momentum, or growing tired, take a step back and dial down the amount of time you spend reading per day. The point is that you keep doing it, but that it doesn't feel like a chore. This is the entire idea behind this newsletter.
2. When you start reading a text, allow yourself to get lost (both in the story and in the language). It's alright if you don't understand everything at first, just keep reading for a few minutes. Then go back and start looking things up to make sense of the content. If you start looking up words before you finish your first sentence, you're not reading, you're just looking up words. If you feel like your drowing at first, you're doing it right. You can go back after swimming in the deep end of the pool after a while.
Over time, these two approaches will give the best results. Doing it a little bit at a time makes your short-term daily goals less overwhelming, and the consistency will get you the best results in the long run.
Hope this helps!
And about Minna no nihongo: I don't like the approach, which is why I'm in the process of creating my own courses. There are other ways of approaching language, that are more difficult in the beginning, but much more beneficial for your understanding of the language in the long run (especially when you outgrow these kinds of integrated methods).
Keep reading, and let me know if I can help you with anything when you get stuck!
Thank you so much for your reply (and sorry for my late one). Lots of great advice here, especially the part about reading != looking up words Σ(;Φ ω Φ)
I'm excited to hear that you're working on your own courses! Do keep us informed, I think a lot of us here would love to see how they develop. (I was hesitant to start a textbook especially since I'm not studying in a classroom setting, but I wanted to be informed by some kind of structure/checklist. For deeper/contextual understanding, most useful has definitely been the internet - most questions have been asked before!)
Yup, I really enjoy reading literature in English as well and I can't believe I forgot to mention this earlier but I've been curious from the start about foreign language literary techniques (and whether this is studied in school in Japan at all?). Watching devices pop up across languages as well as finding devices specific to certain languages is fascinating (e.g. furigana sneakily being used with a double meaning). I haven't looked too deeply into this yet but I'm excited to explore it later on (=｀ω´=)
Haha I have lots of questions, so I'm looking forward to continue discussion in this community from now. よろしくお願いします！
Great! Just keep the questions coming. I look forward to reading your comments, and to getting to know you better over time. Please feel free to get in touch anytime. こちらこそよろしくお願いします！
(Aaa just a note: with the furigana example I saw it in a manga, I'm not sure how common this is in literature (I'm not sure generally how prevalent furigana is in literature), I just wanted to convey I think it's cool how Japanese can be used in different situations) Σ(;Φ ω Φ)
Hello Bunsuke! I have been really enjoying your newsletters and the variety of info alongside it, it has made studying Japanese much more interesting and informative with your translations and various grammar notes for the passages itself.
I'm curious to know if you have any advice or tips when it comes to translations. I find myself rather stumped often when it comes to translating from Japanese to English, whether the wording is awkward, being too literal, and missing various nuances from certain particles as well. Especially when there are multiple meanings to said particles that would still fit in the context of the sentences. How would you usually go about it translating it to English?
Hi Dorian, what a great question, thank you for this contribution!
It kind of depends on the specific passage, but in general, I'm of the opinion that the reader experience in the source language and the target language should be at least similar. I want the reader to have the same experience in Japanese as in English. Having said that, I'm not a fan of skipping details in the original simply because it sounds better in English. I always use three steps when I translate: first, I translate as literally as possible; second, I look at the translation and rewrite it into readable English; lastly, I check the new translation against the original and adjust where necessary.
It would be interesting if you have a concrete example of a sentence that you've been struggling with. Perhaps we can come to a translation together. Feel free to post something in this thread :)
Hi! Thank you for this awesome newsletter! You've got a fan here in Indonesia.
I was just wondering, how did you handle burnout or simply not having any motivation to learn on a given day? I'm learning three languages at the moment (Korean, Japanese, and French) and my Japanese is best among those three, but I'm afraid I've hit the intermediate wall and simply not progressing as much as I had before. It makes me lose the motivation to learn, even though I still love the language and the act of learning itself. I don't know what to do. Thank you in advance :)
Hi Ina, thanks so much for your kind words! Indonesia is high on my list of countries I want to visit when COVID is over.
I find it so impressive that you are learning three languages simultaneously! Incredible, I don't know how you do it. Hitting the proverbial wall is very normal. I've hit that wall many many times. The one thing that really helped is simply to take a break. I sometimes took a month off from studying all together. After a month I would feel refreshed and slowly start feeling motivated again. If it was a little wall, I would shift the emphasis of my studies: if I had been mostly reading, I would make an effort to go out more and focus on conversation or listening. Shifting the emphasis also means shifting the way you interact with people. Reading for long periods of time might feel lonely, but focusing on converstation is more social. Moving between different settings also helped to replenish my motivation.
Make sure you don't burn yourself out. It will do you no good in the long run. Take longer breaks if that's what is necessary. Rest is absolutely paramount. Often, you'll find a jump in motivation and an improvement in your skills after a period of rest. Be kind to yourself, it's the only way to really improve over time.
Hi Bunsuke! Found your blog through a Tofugu article and I am loving the daily extracts! I really want to get into reading full on books in Japanese (currently I just read the odd manga here and there online) and I'm struggling to find places to purchase books in Japanese that aren't at extraordinate prices. If you have any recommendations for websites that sell Japanese literature (and ship to the UK) it would be much appreciated!
Hi Hadiza, thanks for your contribution! It's great to hear that you're enjoying the daily snippets.
You make a great point. I always buy everything in bunkobon whenever I can. This is the cheapest format. But when I order from Japanese Amazon, the cost of shipping often exceeds the cost of the book itself. If you aren't against reading slightly older literature, you might want to check out https://www.aozora.gr.jp/index.html. This site publishes literature written by authors who have been deceased for either 50 or 70 years (depending on the author). I believe there are also apps to download these books onto your phone or tablet. You can also get most of these for free in the Kindle store of Amazon Japan if you have a Kindle. This is the cheapest way to get your hands on literature that I can think of. Otherwise, buy in bulk to offset the shipping cost from Japan.
Hey! I’m from Russia. I wonder, whether I should keep notes on new vocabulary or go straight to making flashcards in Anki? And I need an advice on learning kanji. Where should I start from, if I have some gaps in knowledge? Maybe start from kanji radicals and then it will be easier to learn more complicated ones?
Hi Daniil! Great that you're joining in! Honestly, I've never used flashcards, simply because I don't really believe in them. Even if I learn a word and its meaning from flashcards or vocabulary lists, I still don't know how the word is used in context. If you have the time, and learning is a long term goal, I would suggest you read the kinds of materials you like to read anyway, and look up words from those sources. This way, you can make lists (and even flashcards) while referring to a specific context in which the word is used. This is also how I learned kanji. I also wrote down kanji that looked similar (such as 壁 and 璧) so that I could easily spot the differenes, or different kanji with the same kun-yomi that all mean other things (such as 寝る and 練る). A good dictionary relating to this last point is『漢字の使い分けときあかし辞典』written by a famous kanji scholar called 円満字二郎. In short, if flashcards and wordlists work for you, make sure they come from a specific context, so that you know how the words are used. This makes it much easier to remember them.
Hi Peter, thanks so much for the compliment! Glad you're enjoying the content.
1. I would say yes! J-E dictionaries are sometimes limited in their explanations of words and their usage. You can also use both along side each other.
2. As soon as possible! In the beginning, you might want to look up a word in a J-E dictionary first, and then look up the same word in a J-J dictionary and see how far you get. This way you can ease into it.
First of all, you are a gem of the internet. I love reading your excerpts before I go to sleep. As for questions, I was wondering how long you have had studied Japanese before finishing your first book? And secondly, sometimes I feel intimidated by how little I know when I see a text, have you dealt with this before?
Hi CC GG, wow what a great compliment!! That one made my day :D
I read my first book over the summer after my first year of majoring in Japanese at university. I spent about 5 hours a day for three months straight. I think the first page of that book took me about 4 hours to read, because I had to look up every single word. After three months I only got half way, so I wasn't able to finish the book. Obviously, I felt that my hard work was for nothing and that I had wasted my summer holiday. But when I returned to university for my second year I noticed that my reading was much more fluent, quick, and accurate. In fact, I don't remember spending any time on studying for specific exams after that (of course, I read the materials, but it had somehow become easier for me due to my focused studies over the summer). I was also able to finish my second book in half the time, and that only got quicker as I progressed. It feels completely overwhelming and intimidating in the beginning (this ties into your second point) but by investing at least a few minutes a day every day consistently, you really make progress in the long haul, even if it doesn't feel like you are. This is also the reason why I created the newsletter and publish in this format every single day.
When you feel overwhelmed you know you're doing something right. The hard part is persisting even when you feel lost. Keep doing what you're doing and try to enjoy the process without focusing too much on the end goal. Things will improve over time!
When I did an MA degree in Japan I was the only foreigner in class full of Japanese graduate students reading and discussing modern Japanese literature. I was completely intimidated in the beginning. But after two years I was accepted in the group, reading just as fast and accurately as my classmates, and contributing to discussions. It's all possible, just keep going. We're all here to support each other, so if you're stuck, you can share it here.
Thank you for your very extensive reply! I really like how you mentioned in other answers that you would like to develop your own courses instead of ie using Minna no Nihongo. I used it years ago as it was the main book in my first year at uni, and only now I realised how terrible it has been for my Japanese development. We rarely used actual Japanese sources and only started using Japanese sources in our third year where it was expected of the students to know how to read a Japanese journal article. My Japanese was so terribly bad (and I am certain I am/was not the only one) that I often just cheated by using translators as I just had no time to actually enjoy/attempt to read Japanese because it was too overwhelming. I'm ashamed to say it did not occur to me to pick up Japanese books in my second year myself as I kept thinking that my Japanese was not good enough, so why bother? However, your comments here really help, even though I started learning years ago and saw little improvement, I think the step into simply reading daily, perhaps only one page for now, is truly helpful.
Hi Kazue, my week was very busy but great! But that is in large part thanks to all of you, because I love reading your comments and interacting with you about my passion! Really glad that you're enjoying the newsletter :) Hope you had a great week too!
Hi Angel, thanks for joining in! This is a great question, but very difficult to answer, because what is included in and excluded from a literary canon is always shifting. The first literary canon of modern Japanese literature is the 100-volume 現代日本文学全集 which started coming out in 1926. After that, the composition of this canon has been altered throughout time. More recently, there have been efforts to include more female writers, literature written by foreigners in Japanese, or by ethnic minorities, as well as literature from the peripheries such as Okinawan literature. There is also a big niche market for themed collected works these days. (e.g. "war literature"). It's difficult to give one definitive answer to your question, but loads to choose from if you're looking for your next read!
Hello Bunsuke, thank you for doing this! I have a question regarding to reading.
1. How do you pick the book for each day's excerpt?
2. How long does it take you to finish a book? (Say 300 pages)
3. How does one get faster at reading? (I take about 8 days (with 3-4 hours of reading per day) to finish a book and would like to cut the time down)
Hi Phuykong! It's my pleasure!
Glad you're enjoying the newsletter.
Here are the answers to your questions:
1. At first, I picked the books at random. I have a large collection at my apartment (actually most of the space in my tiny apartment is taken up by books) so in the beginning I just picked a random book off a shelf and read a few pages to find a passage. Now, as more of you are joining these discussions (which I absolutely love btw!) I often get inspired by your comments. Sometimes readers will send in a request which I'll try to accommodate.
2. My reading speed depends on the book, but on average I read about 1 bunkobon page in 2-3 minutes. I can keep doing that for about 2 hours until I get tired. If the language is dense I'll read slower, if it's lighter literature I'll read faster.
3. Your reading speed is already so impressive!!! My answer to your question is boring: keep on reading. If you are really aiming for speed you might want to set a time limit to read a page or a chapter. Get a baseline of your current level first, then aim for a few seconds quicker every day. Having said that, I would say that enjoyment is more important than speed when it comes to reading literature. If you're studying for a reading comprehension test, this might be a way to do it...
Great questions!
Thank you so much for the great reply as always! I'm trying to go through as many books as I can before I start college this summer (ofc enjoying them also xD) But thank you for the tip, I will keep that in mind when I'm reading :)
Hi Bunsuke, first of all, thanks so much for the newsletter. My main goal of learning Japanese has always been reading so the newsletter is such a godsend to me. Really appreciate your efforts in putting it all together! On to the question, I'm one of those anxious readers who need to find out the meaning of a new word right away and, as you can imagine, this habit sort of disrupts the overall reading experience, at times turning it into a chore. How should I get around this mental obstacle? Thanks in advance!
Hi Chanun, I'm really happy to read that the newsletter is helping you!! It gives me energy to keep the platform going.
I know what you mean, and still do this now (but fortunately I don't have to look up as much as I did when I just started out). I would say, divide your reading sessions into "looking up sessions" and "reading sessions". In the former, you look up what ever you want. In the latter, you force yourself to keep reading no matter what. You can even set a timer and alternate between the two. I think both skills (looking up words tenaciously AND maintaining your reading speed even if you don't understand every single detail) are important.
That's an awesome idea, thanks so much!
You're very welcome!
Hey man! So if you had to go back in time and do it from the start, what would your strategy be if you wanted to get good first at speaking/listening?
Hi João! What a great question! I think I would simply see if there are any native speakers who either live in my area or find someone online to speak with. Conversation is the best way of improving your speaking and listening skills. Find someone who is patient and willing to listen through your mistakes and correct them if necessary. Let go of any shame or hesitation you might feel, just talk. Otherwise I would watch dramas or other series and repeat some of the speech patterns that come up. I would also recite those to myself when I'm alone (it sounds like I'm a crazy person, but talking to yourself out loud is also a good way to practice when there's nobody around).
Hi and thanks so much for your newsletter. It's been a wonderful addition to my daily study. Do you have any recommendations in terms of vocabulary-building resources and recall techniques? I'd still consider myself a beginner and have the most difficulty in recalling the Japanese word(s) I want to say when speaking. Strangely I don't really have that problem in the other direction, such as when listening or reading Japanese. Any tips you have would be gratefully received :)
Hi Jim, thanks for joining in! I want to start off by saying that this is completely normal. I also experienced this when I was starting out. I assume you have this with words that are similar to each other and mix up in conversation, or you simply cannot find the word you know you know, but cannot recall it in the moment? I myself am a very visible person, so whenever I would mix up words in conversation or couldn't remember a specific word, I would make a list of those words and remember them visually. For some reason, I found that they were more readily available to me the next time I had a conversation with somebody. Otherwise, it's just about practicing and repeating.
Hello! I have had two questions that would be great if you could answer.
1) Difference between が and は particle
2) When to know to read between kun-yomi, on-yomi, and nanori.
Thanks!
Hi Willy! Thanks for joining in!
1. Your first question is short, but intimidating! Entire books have been written about the difference between は and が. The most simple answer is that は is a topic marker (if you translate it literally it's something like "as for...".) whereas が marks the grammatical subject of a sentence. But there are many other nuances. For instance, if someone asks 誰が辞書が必要ですか? the answer should be 私が辞書が必要です, (and not 私は辞書が必要です). The former answers the question "who?" by emphasizing "I" in the reply. The latter is simply a general remark. In English, it would be the equivalent to "who needs a dictionary" → "by the way, I need a dictionary". Grammatically it's a correct sentence, but it's not a reply to the question. Moreover, in comparisons (Aは…だけど、Bは…だ) you always used は, never が.
There are so many other facets to this issue of は and が, that I cannot write them out here.
2. This is basically dependent on context. Nanori is only used in names of people and places (and then still it is sometimes unclear how to read it). As for on-yomi vs. kun-yomi, the only thing you can do to get a better feel for this is practice and experience. If you're ever in doubt, shoot me (or the community) a message!
For は and が explanation, I would recommend this video https://youtu.be/pSvH9vH60Ig
Thanks for sharing this!
First of all thank you very much Bunsuke for giving us also the opportunity to share our thoughts, our journey and problems we encounter when studying Japanese. I loved reading about your journey. I still can hardly read a full sentence in a novel, when there is kanji in I don't know without looking it up. I have also struggled with the kun and on-yomi alot. I found this youtube link helpful:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri9LU_Nm3A0 You can put subtitles on in Japanese and in English if you want. The following book: "The Kanji Code by Natalie Hamilton helped me a lot in with the on- yomi. You start to recognize the sound elements so you can guess the on-yomi better." I now just learn vocabulary and not the reading separately. The newsletters are a great help in learning the vocabulary and kanji in context. I do try to learn the kun-yomi first and deal with the on-yomi when I came across it. At first I also thought you had to be able to write every kanji, but seeing even Japanese people can't write not to complicated kanji by hand and you can look it up, and type it in the computer and stopped doing this. I stopped writing the kanji over and over again, it was counterproductive. I learnt the kanji and forgot it the next day. Now I write it once and try to think of the elements the kanji is made up of and try to write it by memory. Then I will forget about it and see Bunsuke's newsletter and remember I learnt that kanji, but have forgotten how to pronounce it, but he next time I see this kanji any I often do remember. I'm glad I'm not alone in my struggles, because it is, so hard sometimes. I sometimes feel I can't read and speak so little, though it is like others said, it's has also to do with the textbooks we use, all not really natural native, daily spoken or written Japanese.I look forward to your course Bunsuke. Often we have to translate a sentence from English into Japanese and my mind often go's blank. I want to think in Japanese and translations (not yours way the way, yours Bunsuke are excellent) but often translations don't feel right. I think when studying we must maybe take a more passive approach. It sometimes feels like you have to study grammar and vocabulary, but having fun in the process is so important. I do origami can I knew the word in kanji long before I started studying Japanese. When I watch video's entirely in Japanese about this subject I do understand more and have fun watching them. This is so important, you learn and remember more when you are relaxed.
This is great, it sounds like you found a method of study that works for you. Keep doing what you're doing, you'll be reading books more fluently in no time!
Thank you so much. Your encouragement means a lot!
Do you have a list of learning resources that you would personally recommend? What did your trek consist of?
Hi Yin! Thanks for joining the Q&A! Sure, what kind of materials are you looking for, and what is your level?
Hello Bunsuke, thank you for your hard work.
I want to ask what insipired you to start this newsletter. 2. I been using this and having fun I really am grateful.
Hi Rafay, thanks for you comment. I'm glad you're having fun with the newsletter and that it's helping you in your daily studies.
I started this newsletter because a few of my students indicated that they wanted to keep reading literature in Japanese, but didn't know where to start or that the idea of reading an entire book was too daunting. I noticed that most people simply give up after some time, as it's such a long road to being able to read a novel fluently. I wanted to create something for them to keep them motivated and to lower the barrier a bit. I'm really overjoyed to see that so many people are finding this a helpful resource (I had no idea it would grow this much in such a short amount of time).
And I also do it because my country has been in lockdown for the longest time and wanted to devote some time and energy to my passion in between my regular working hours, just to keep myself energized and to relax, as we have to be inside for most of the day. But now that I've started this, I'm having so much fun. Hopefully I can devote more and more time to creating great content for all of you.
Hello Bunsukeさん :3 I started learning Japanese seriously at the end of last summer and have slowly been picking away at kanji and grammar after finally making friends with kana. It's been a longterm goal to work up to reading a full novel, so I'm really thankful for the range and accessibility of your newsletter. I'm on a gap year right now, which means my days are pretty free, so I decided to get a little more serious with studying. However, my days are so free right now that I often lose structure - it's really an endless summer holiday (albeit with worse weather). Two constants I have for daily study are Wanikani and now this - I'm also following the Minna textbooks (opinion pending) and have a younger brother (who's also interested of his own volition!!) to bully into practising 会話 with me. There's no shortage of great resources, it's just hard to find an optimised way to structure them... Might you have any advice for the time management of studying Japanese over the short and long term? Whether it be daily habits, longterm structure, etc... (for daily habits, I must say flick typing has definitely helped me 'think in kana'.)
Also - I often write out/annotate lyrics by hand when I'm trying to learn them - I know grammar can be looser in music but tying it to something very familiar to me really helps cement grammatical structures in my head. (I just saw in a reply to another comment you recommend learning kanji via working back from something you already enjoy, and I completely agree!) For reading a novel, I wonder what a good way to read it is...? I'd love to read physical books but reading off a screen is easier for me right now (since you can c+p unknown kanji) - maybe it's a little early but this week I started 銀河鉄道の夜 on aozora bunko (I enjoyed a translation a while back). When I recognise a grammatical structure in context, I'm really pleased haha. It's also very gratifying to see kanji being used in different vocab and saying, 'hey, I recognise that! So it can also be used here!' (Recently, it happened with 違) So my second question is, are there habits you have/recommend when reading (esp a new text for the first time)?
(吾輩は猫である's been on my want-to-read since before I started studying seriously so it made me really happy to see it featured in a post a while back! There's a lot to I need to osmose about Japanese literature and culture before I can fully digest a novel, がんばりましょう!)
Hi Wei Wei, thanks so much for your extensive contribution and great questions! It's really cool to read that you've only picked up learning Japanese fairly recently but are already venturing into reading literature in the original! (It's also good that you're bullying your little brother into studying with you; what else are they there for ;-))
As for your questions:
1. The best thing I can recommend is - and I think you used the right term here - create a consistent, daily reading habit. This means that you have to find a pace at which you can keep yourself motivated without burning yourself out. Start slow (perhaps 15 min. per day) and build from there. If you feel yourself losing momentum, or growing tired, take a step back and dial down the amount of time you spend reading per day. The point is that you keep doing it, but that it doesn't feel like a chore. This is the entire idea behind this newsletter.
2. When you start reading a text, allow yourself to get lost (both in the story and in the language). It's alright if you don't understand everything at first, just keep reading for a few minutes. Then go back and start looking things up to make sense of the content. If you start looking up words before you finish your first sentence, you're not reading, you're just looking up words. If you feel like your drowing at first, you're doing it right. You can go back after swimming in the deep end of the pool after a while.
Over time, these two approaches will give the best results. Doing it a little bit at a time makes your short-term daily goals less overwhelming, and the consistency will get you the best results in the long run.
Hope this helps!
And about Minna no nihongo: I don't like the approach, which is why I'm in the process of creating my own courses. There are other ways of approaching language, that are more difficult in the beginning, but much more beneficial for your understanding of the language in the long run (especially when you outgrow these kinds of integrated methods).
Keep reading, and let me know if I can help you with anything when you get stuck!
Thank you so much for your reply (and sorry for my late one). Lots of great advice here, especially the part about reading != looking up words Σ(;Φ ω Φ)
I'm excited to hear that you're working on your own courses! Do keep us informed, I think a lot of us here would love to see how they develop. (I was hesitant to start a textbook especially since I'm not studying in a classroom setting, but I wanted to be informed by some kind of structure/checklist. For deeper/contextual understanding, most useful has definitely been the internet - most questions have been asked before!)
Yup, I really enjoy reading literature in English as well and I can't believe I forgot to mention this earlier but I've been curious from the start about foreign language literary techniques (and whether this is studied in school in Japan at all?). Watching devices pop up across languages as well as finding devices specific to certain languages is fascinating (e.g. furigana sneakily being used with a double meaning). I haven't looked too deeply into this yet but I'm excited to explore it later on (=｀ω´=)
Haha I have lots of questions, so I'm looking forward to continue discussion in this community from now. よろしくお願いします！
Great! Just keep the questions coming. I look forward to reading your comments, and to getting to know you better over time. Please feel free to get in touch anytime. こちらこそよろしくお願いします！
(Aaa just a note: with the furigana example I saw it in a manga, I'm not sure how common this is in literature (I'm not sure generally how prevalent furigana is in literature), I just wanted to convey I think it's cool how Japanese can be used in different situations) Σ(;Φ ω Φ)
Hello Bunsuke! I have been really enjoying your newsletters and the variety of info alongside it, it has made studying Japanese much more interesting and informative with your translations and various grammar notes for the passages itself.
I'm curious to know if you have any advice or tips when it comes to translations. I find myself rather stumped often when it comes to translating from Japanese to English, whether the wording is awkward, being too literal, and missing various nuances from certain particles as well. Especially when there are multiple meanings to said particles that would still fit in the context of the sentences. How would you usually go about it translating it to English?
Hi Dorian, what a great question, thank you for this contribution!
It kind of depends on the specific passage, but in general, I'm of the opinion that the reader experience in the source language and the target language should be at least similar. I want the reader to have the same experience in Japanese as in English. Having said that, I'm not a fan of skipping details in the original simply because it sounds better in English. I always use three steps when I translate: first, I translate as literally as possible; second, I look at the translation and rewrite it into readable English; lastly, I check the new translation against the original and adjust where necessary.
It would be interesting if you have a concrete example of a sentence that you've been struggling with. Perhaps we can come to a translation together. Feel free to post something in this thread :)
Hi! Thank you for this awesome newsletter! You've got a fan here in Indonesia.
I was just wondering, how did you handle burnout or simply not having any motivation to learn on a given day? I'm learning three languages at the moment (Korean, Japanese, and French) and my Japanese is best among those three, but I'm afraid I've hit the intermediate wall and simply not progressing as much as I had before. It makes me lose the motivation to learn, even though I still love the language and the act of learning itself. I don't know what to do. Thank you in advance :)
Hi Ina, thanks so much for your kind words! Indonesia is high on my list of countries I want to visit when COVID is over.
I find it so impressive that you are learning three languages simultaneously! Incredible, I don't know how you do it. Hitting the proverbial wall is very normal. I've hit that wall many many times. The one thing that really helped is simply to take a break. I sometimes took a month off from studying all together. After a month I would feel refreshed and slowly start feeling motivated again. If it was a little wall, I would shift the emphasis of my studies: if I had been mostly reading, I would make an effort to go out more and focus on conversation or listening. Shifting the emphasis also means shifting the way you interact with people. Reading for long periods of time might feel lonely, but focusing on converstation is more social. Moving between different settings also helped to replenish my motivation.
Make sure you don't burn yourself out. It will do you no good in the long run. Take longer breaks if that's what is necessary. Rest is absolutely paramount. Often, you'll find a jump in motivation and an improvement in your skills after a period of rest. Be kind to yourself, it's the only way to really improve over time.
Hi Bunsuke! Found your blog through a Tofugu article and I am loving the daily extracts! I really want to get into reading full on books in Japanese (currently I just read the odd manga here and there online) and I'm struggling to find places to purchase books in Japanese that aren't at extraordinate prices. If you have any recommendations for websites that sell Japanese literature (and ship to the UK) it would be much appreciated!
Hi Hadiza, thanks for your contribution! It's great to hear that you're enjoying the daily snippets.
You make a great point. I always buy everything in bunkobon whenever I can. This is the cheapest format. But when I order from Japanese Amazon, the cost of shipping often exceeds the cost of the book itself. If you aren't against reading slightly older literature, you might want to check out https://www.aozora.gr.jp/index.html. This site publishes literature written by authors who have been deceased for either 50 or 70 years (depending on the author). I believe there are also apps to download these books onto your phone or tablet. You can also get most of these for free in the Kindle store of Amazon Japan if you have a Kindle. This is the cheapest way to get your hands on literature that I can think of. Otherwise, buy in bulk to offset the shipping cost from Japan.
Hey! I’m from Russia. I wonder, whether I should keep notes on new vocabulary or go straight to making flashcards in Anki? And I need an advice on learning kanji. Where should I start from, if I have some gaps in knowledge? Maybe start from kanji radicals and then it will be easier to learn more complicated ones?
Hi Daniil! Great that you're joining in! Honestly, I've never used flashcards, simply because I don't really believe in them. Even if I learn a word and its meaning from flashcards or vocabulary lists, I still don't know how the word is used in context. If you have the time, and learning is a long term goal, I would suggest you read the kinds of materials you like to read anyway, and look up words from those sources. This way, you can make lists (and even flashcards) while referring to a specific context in which the word is used. This is also how I learned kanji. I also wrote down kanji that looked similar (such as 壁 and 璧) so that I could easily spot the differenes, or different kanji with the same kun-yomi that all mean other things (such as 寝る and 練る). A good dictionary relating to this last point is『漢字の使い分けときあかし辞典』written by a famous kanji scholar called 円満字二郎. In short, if flashcards and wordlists work for you, make sure they come from a specific context, so that you know how the words are used. This makes it much easier to remember them.
Hey, loving the content I was wondering if you had anything to say about looking up new words:
1. Is it important to switch to using a J-J only dictionary?
2. When is it a good idea to start using a J-J dictionary?
3. Do you have any recommendations of sites for finding good definitions in Japanese + 例文?
Hi Peter, thanks so much for the compliment! Glad you're enjoying the content.
1. I would say yes! J-E dictionaries are sometimes limited in their explanations of words and their usage. You can also use both along side each other.
2. As soon as possible! In the beginning, you might want to look up a word in a J-E dictionary first, and then look up the same word in a J-J dictionary and see how far you get. This way you can ease into it.
3. I always use this online J-J dictionary: https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/jn/
Thank you very much! Love what you’re doing! Please keep it up!
You're very welcome! I'm thinking of expanding the content a bit, so stay tuned ;)
Yes it's great method using a J-J dictionary, when you become fluent stop using a J-E dictionary, you don't need it anymore, start using a J-J one.
Exactly!
First of all, you are a gem of the internet. I love reading your excerpts before I go to sleep. As for questions, I was wondering how long you have had studied Japanese before finishing your first book? And secondly, sometimes I feel intimidated by how little I know when I see a text, have you dealt with this before?
Hi CC GG, wow what a great compliment!! That one made my day :D
I read my first book over the summer after my first year of majoring in Japanese at university. I spent about 5 hours a day for three months straight. I think the first page of that book took me about 4 hours to read, because I had to look up every single word. After three months I only got half way, so I wasn't able to finish the book. Obviously, I felt that my hard work was for nothing and that I had wasted my summer holiday. But when I returned to university for my second year I noticed that my reading was much more fluent, quick, and accurate. In fact, I don't remember spending any time on studying for specific exams after that (of course, I read the materials, but it had somehow become easier for me due to my focused studies over the summer). I was also able to finish my second book in half the time, and that only got quicker as I progressed. It feels completely overwhelming and intimidating in the beginning (this ties into your second point) but by investing at least a few minutes a day every day consistently, you really make progress in the long haul, even if it doesn't feel like you are. This is also the reason why I created the newsletter and publish in this format every single day.
When you feel overwhelmed you know you're doing something right. The hard part is persisting even when you feel lost. Keep doing what you're doing and try to enjoy the process without focusing too much on the end goal. Things will improve over time!
When I did an MA degree in Japan I was the only foreigner in class full of Japanese graduate students reading and discussing modern Japanese literature. I was completely intimidated in the beginning. But after two years I was accepted in the group, reading just as fast and accurately as my classmates, and contributing to discussions. It's all possible, just keep going. We're all here to support each other, so if you're stuck, you can share it here.
Thank you for your very extensive reply! I really like how you mentioned in other answers that you would like to develop your own courses instead of ie using Minna no Nihongo. I used it years ago as it was the main book in my first year at uni, and only now I realised how terrible it has been for my Japanese development. We rarely used actual Japanese sources and only started using Japanese sources in our third year where it was expected of the students to know how to read a Japanese journal article. My Japanese was so terribly bad (and I am certain I am/was not the only one) that I often just cheated by using translators as I just had no time to actually enjoy/attempt to read Japanese because it was too overwhelming. I'm ashamed to say it did not occur to me to pick up Japanese books in my second year myself as I kept thinking that my Japanese was not good enough, so why bother? However, your comments here really help, even though I started learning years ago and saw little improvement, I think the step into simply reading daily, perhaps only one page for now, is truly helpful.
You're very welcome. I'll keep you posted on the courses!
Hello Bunsukeさん!
How was your week?
I've been doing pretty great. I'm gonna say it again and again that I really love your newsletters haha...
Hi Kazue, my week was very busy but great! But that is in large part thanks to all of you, because I love reading your comments and interacting with you about my passion! Really glad that you're enjoying the newsletter :) Hope you had a great week too!
Hi Angel, thanks for joining in! This is a great question, but very difficult to answer, because what is included in and excluded from a literary canon is always shifting. The first literary canon of modern Japanese literature is the 100-volume 現代日本文学全集 which started coming out in 1926. After that, the composition of this canon has been altered throughout time. More recently, there have been efforts to include more female writers, literature written by foreigners in Japanese, or by ethnic minorities, as well as literature from the peripheries such as Okinawan literature. There is also a big niche market for themed collected works these days. (e.g. "war literature"). It's difficult to give one definitive answer to your question, but loads to choose from if you're looking for your next read!