There was an error when I sent this message earlier. Apologies if you're getting this twice.
I hope this message finds you all in good health. Covid seems to be keeping a firm hold on all of our lives. My native country of Holland just entered another full lockdown, making it difficult to visit friends and family during a season in which we crave connection the most.
In these times, I feel especially grateful for your continued support. In particular, I want to express my gratitude to those who have donated, and continue to donate, generously to the newsletter. I plan on setting up some new features next year. Not everything will be literature related, but all of it will have to do with Japanese language learning. (I have always loved kanji, so expect more content on that…). These additions would not have been possible without your enthusiasm, so I really appreciate the fact that so many of you are engaging with the platform on a daily basis.
I’m also planning another reading challenge for the first week of the new year, so stay tuned. I promise it’ll be much more doable than our last text.
It has been a while since we’ve done a Q&A, so I thought we’d do one today. Please feel free to ask me anything, or share how you’re doing, either in general or in your language studies. I’m curious to hear what you guys are doing to keep motivated and keep your spirits high.
It's been a while since I last commented on your Q&A and I hope you've been staying safe and healthy! Just wanted to give an update on my progress :) I've been able to make small progress reading native material and your newsletter! It use to be such an overwhelming challenge that I would dread seeing your newsletter pop up in my email. However, I took the dive into native material and immersion and it has worked wonders! I'm slowly making my way through N3 but I'm really happy with how things are progressing. Thank you again for this free resource and showcasing new authors for me to check out. Have a happy holiday and great new year!
Hi Kat, thanks so much for the update! Haha I'm glad to hear you stuck with the newsletter and that seeing it pop up in your inbox no longer stresses you out. It's so great that you were able to keep motivated and make progress despite the difficult circumstances. Which materials are you using to practice? Slowly is the best way to make progress! Do you have any plans for taking the JLPT? Let me know if there are any authors you want to read, perhaps I can include them in the daily posts. Hope you have a great Christmas :)
Thank you for the kind words! :) I've finished Genki 1 and 2 and now am attempting to use Tobira Gateway to Advanced Japanese to take me through N3. I've also started to read through the Tadoku Graded Readers and the Stories to Read in 10 Minutes series (１０分で読めるお話). My current goal is to read a short novel or passage without the need for a dictionary. I think my next goal would to be to attempt the JPLT once I've reached an N2 or N1 level :)
As for authors I'd like to read, I'm very interested the mystery, horror, thriller, and true crime genre. I'm not sure which authors are famous in Japan for this genre.
Thank you so much for the reply, hoping to hear from you again next time :) !
Hi Kat, I have also read １０分で読めるお話, those books are great. I like that they are in clear and relatively large font size, with furigana to help you out. We have the same goal, although you are at a higher level. I would love to be able just to read without a dictionary. I have learnt that it is not necessary to have to understand everything and that it important to focus on the plot and be able to follow the general storyline. Doing this help me to let go of a dictionary more, though it is temping to look every word up. I just finished Genki 1 and I'm going to start with Genki 2. How is Genki 2? Is it difficult? Good luck with your goal and let me know how it goes please.
Hello Koppa-san! Apologies for a late reply but I hope you've been doing well and enjoying the holidays.
I agree, those books are great for us beginners since the content is short but also challenging at our level. I like your approach and am attempting to do the same with native material. It's hard to sit through an entire sentence and decipher it piece by piece, but if you take the general gist of the sentence and understand bits of context it becomes a lot easier to manage.
I think if you did well in Genki 1 and enjoyed the way it was structured, Genki 2 is exactly the same. I haven't attempted to go through the workbook but the textbook examples are fairly easy to follow along and learn from. I think the biggest challenge is going from Genki to a textbook like Tobira where the examples aren't as easy to understand and so far from what I've done, it seems to be completely in Japanese so there's that challenge of trying to understand what to do in Japanese and doing it in Japanese!
Goodluck with your goals too Koppa and I'm excited to hear how well you do, let's do our best together! :)
Thank you for your reply. A good idea not to use the workbooks, because somehow they held me back, many times you have to translate from English into Japanese and I don't really like that. I have just started with Genki 2 and indeed is fairly easy. Tobira might be to much of a challenge for me, but I think if you can a book completely in Japanese is a good way to get you thinking in that language. Let me know how it goes. Thank you for wishing me goodluck, I also wish you the very best and together we can do achieve our goals.
That sounds like a very well rounded curriculum! A great mix of textbooks and native materials. I'm sure you'll reach both your current and future goals in no time. And you actually gave me a great idea for the reading challenge I mentioned so thank you! Typically 松本清張 and 江戸川乱歩 are famous for their mystery/detective type novels. I'll pick one from Ranpo's oeuvre. Btw let me know if you'd like any help with your readings. I'd be happy to assist where I can.
Thank your Bunsuke for your Season’s Greetings. Hereby mine, wishing you all the best for 2022 in English, Japanese and Dutch. I have been quiet lately with posting messages, because I have been very busy, but I’m also reading (trying to read) 海辺のカフカ (Kafka on the shore) by Murakami Haruki. There is improvement, due it’s still a struggle. Would be nice to hear if and what you are all reading in Japanese? Bunsuke is there a way to reach you personally by email? I can’t wait to see the new features and posts, they are truly amazing. Kanji is also a great topic, because it is so difficult, but also makes reading, remembering vocabulary so much easier when you know more kanji. My knowledge still is limited, but learning kanji with the book: “Kanji in context” and then picking up “Kafka on the shore” in combination of reading your posts all together helps a great deal. First I just pick up kanji as I came across them but “Kanji in Context” gives me the structure I need. I also like the order in which the Kanji are presented.
Hope you like my poem in three languages. Any comments and corrections are welcome.
Hi Koppa, glad to hear you're doing well! End of year tends to be chaotic and busy, so I know how you feel. Fantastic that you're making your way through a full Murakami novel. That is a long one too, so it must be a challenge. Small steps, no rush...slow and steady wins the race. I think I own a copy of kanji in context actually! I remember it being quite good too. I'm glad that it's giving you the structure you need. Perhaps I can find some old materials that I can share with you as well. And yes, you can always get in touch by replying to any of the emails you receive from me. I'm the only one that reads them, so you can get in touch with me directly that way. Enjoy the holidays!
Thank you for your reply. Good to know I can contact you if necessary. It would also be lovely to meet one day, but for now this is also a fine way to communicate. Glad you like the poems. Please take care, stay safe and healthy, and I look forward to reading your new posts.
Hello Bunsuke-san,
It's been a while since I last commented on your Q&A and I hope you've been staying safe and healthy! Just wanted to give an update on my progress :) I've been able to make small progress reading native material and your newsletter! It use to be such an overwhelming challenge that I would dread seeing your newsletter pop up in my email. However, I took the dive into native material and immersion and it has worked wonders! I'm slowly making my way through N3 but I'm really happy with how things are progressing. Thank you again for this free resource and showcasing new authors for me to check out. Have a happy holiday and great new year!
Hi Kat, thanks so much for the update! Haha I'm glad to hear you stuck with the newsletter and that seeing it pop up in your inbox no longer stresses you out. It's so great that you were able to keep motivated and make progress despite the difficult circumstances. Which materials are you using to practice? Slowly is the best way to make progress! Do you have any plans for taking the JLPT? Let me know if there are any authors you want to read, perhaps I can include them in the daily posts. Hope you have a great Christmas :)
Hello Bunsuke-san,
Thank you for the kind words! :) I've finished Genki 1 and 2 and now am attempting to use Tobira Gateway to Advanced Japanese to take me through N3. I've also started to read through the Tadoku Graded Readers and the Stories to Read in 10 Minutes series (１０分で読めるお話). My current goal is to read a short novel or passage without the need for a dictionary. I think my next goal would to be to attempt the JPLT once I've reached an N2 or N1 level :)
As for authors I'd like to read, I'm very interested the mystery, horror, thriller, and true crime genre. I'm not sure which authors are famous in Japan for this genre.
Thank you so much for the reply, hoping to hear from you again next time :) !
Hi Kat, I have also read １０分で読めるお話, those books are great. I like that they are in clear and relatively large font size, with furigana to help you out. We have the same goal, although you are at a higher level. I would love to be able just to read without a dictionary. I have learnt that it is not necessary to have to understand everything and that it important to focus on the plot and be able to follow the general storyline. Doing this help me to let go of a dictionary more, though it is temping to look every word up. I just finished Genki 1 and I'm going to start with Genki 2. How is Genki 2? Is it difficult? Good luck with your goal and let me know how it goes please.
Hello Koppa-san! Apologies for a late reply but I hope you've been doing well and enjoying the holidays.
I agree, those books are great for us beginners since the content is short but also challenging at our level. I like your approach and am attempting to do the same with native material. It's hard to sit through an entire sentence and decipher it piece by piece, but if you take the general gist of the sentence and understand bits of context it becomes a lot easier to manage.
I think if you did well in Genki 1 and enjoyed the way it was structured, Genki 2 is exactly the same. I haven't attempted to go through the workbook but the textbook examples are fairly easy to follow along and learn from. I think the biggest challenge is going from Genki to a textbook like Tobira where the examples aren't as easy to understand and so far from what I've done, it seems to be completely in Japanese so there's that challenge of trying to understand what to do in Japanese and doing it in Japanese!
Goodluck with your goals too Koppa and I'm excited to hear how well you do, let's do our best together! :)
Thank you for your reply. A good idea not to use the workbooks, because somehow they held me back, many times you have to translate from English into Japanese and I don't really like that. I have just started with Genki 2 and indeed is fairly easy. Tobira might be to much of a challenge for me, but I think if you can a book completely in Japanese is a good way to get you thinking in that language. Let me know how it goes. Thank you for wishing me goodluck, I also wish you the very best and together we can do achieve our goals.
That sounds like a very well rounded curriculum! A great mix of textbooks and native materials. I'm sure you'll reach both your current and future goals in no time. And you actually gave me a great idea for the reading challenge I mentioned so thank you! Typically 松本清張 and 江戸川乱歩 are famous for their mystery/detective type novels. I'll pick one from Ranpo's oeuvre. Btw let me know if you'd like any help with your readings. I'd be happy to assist where I can.
I'm sorry for the three posts, but I think it might be easier to read.
Thank you for this poem, and the great translations!!!
野ドミニ二千二十二 (Anno Domini 2022)
2022年はより良い年になるだろう。
私たちは再び楽しむことを学びました。
盛大なパーティがなくても
自由とは、どんな状況であっても
幸せであることだと感じました。
どんなことが起こっても
何が起こっても、すべてに対処することができます。
精神的にも強くなったので
ウィルスと同じように、私たちも適応します
そして、科学は止まっているわけではないことを
覚えておいてください。
メリークリスマス、そして
新年おめでとうございます
Anno tweeduizend twee en twintig
2022 kan alleen maar beter gaan.
We leerden weer genieten
zonder grote feesten,
voelen wat vrijheid is,
gelukkig zijn ongeacht
de omstandigheden.
Wat er ook gebeurt,
we kunnen alles aan,
daar we nu mentaal
sterker staan.
Net als het virus passen
we ons aan en bedenk dat
de wetenschap niet stilstaat.
Prettige feestdagen
en een gelukkig Nieuwjaar.
Anno Domini two thousand and twenty-two
2022 can only be better.
We learnt to enjoy again,
without big parties,
felt what freedom means
being happy no matter what
the circumstances are.
Whatever happens,
we can cope with everything,
because mentally we are
stronger now.
Just like the virus we also adapt
And keep in mind science doesn’t
stand still.
Merry Christmas and
a happy New Year!
Thank your Bunsuke for your Season’s Greetings. Hereby mine, wishing you all the best for 2022 in English, Japanese and Dutch. I have been quiet lately with posting messages, because I have been very busy, but I’m also reading (trying to read) 海辺のカフカ (Kafka on the shore) by Murakami Haruki. There is improvement, due it’s still a struggle. Would be nice to hear if and what you are all reading in Japanese? Bunsuke is there a way to reach you personally by email? I can’t wait to see the new features and posts, they are truly amazing. Kanji is also a great topic, because it is so difficult, but also makes reading, remembering vocabulary so much easier when you know more kanji. My knowledge still is limited, but learning kanji with the book: “Kanji in context” and then picking up “Kafka on the shore” in combination of reading your posts all together helps a great deal. First I just pick up kanji as I came across them but “Kanji in Context” gives me the structure I need. I also like the order in which the Kanji are presented.
Hope you like my poem in three languages. Any comments and corrections are welcome.
Hi Koppa, glad to hear you're doing well! End of year tends to be chaotic and busy, so I know how you feel. Fantastic that you're making your way through a full Murakami novel. That is a long one too, so it must be a challenge. Small steps, no rush...slow and steady wins the race. I think I own a copy of kanji in context actually! I remember it being quite good too. I'm glad that it's giving you the structure you need. Perhaps I can find some old materials that I can share with you as well. And yes, you can always get in touch by replying to any of the emails you receive from me. I'm the only one that reads them, so you can get in touch with me directly that way. Enjoy the holidays!
Thank you for your reply. Good to know I can contact you if necessary. It would also be lovely to meet one day, but for now this is also a fine way to communicate. Glad you like the poems. Please take care, stay safe and healthy, and I look forward to reading your new posts.
来たけりゃ
↳Whats this? uncontracted?
It's 来たければ
ah... so whats ければ？
st to do w/ 蹴る？
no it's 来る+たい→来たい (I want to come/visit) in the izenkei form + ば.
😧😧😧😧
ありがとう！
izenkei ey?