When learning a language, it is important to
* immerse yourself
* use a variety of learning tools.
This can't be stressed enough: if you don't immerse yourself, but instead try to learn on a now-and-then basic, you won't make fast progress. Try to study every day, or certain days a week. If you burn out on one tool, try others to keep you engaged and studying.
Each learning tool has its strengths and weaknesses. Use a variety of tools to gain a broad understanding of the language you want to learn.
Language Learning Tools
* Rosetta Stone: this deservedly popular system teaches you a new language *in that language* cutting out the middle man by eg not using any English when teaching you Japanese. This is useful to drill certain vocabulary and concepts directly into your brain: you learn how to talk about small and large hats of various colors worn by different people. However (at least in the early lessons,) it is not very conversational; how often does the size of someone's hat come up in conversation?
* Pimsleur: offers a great set of recordings to learn Japanese. The native speakers sound out each phrase the first time you hear it, but then proceed to speak at full native speed. Great for learning practical conversation and for practicing your listening. However in early lessons uses a lot of English, so it is not quite a immersive as Rosetta Stone.
* JapanesePod101: also available for other languages. A series of podcasts targetted to different skill levels. Tend to go deep on a few word or phrases; particularly the Survival Series which teach you a few word and many ways to exploit those words even if you don't have any other vocabulary. Lots of cultural and pratical tidbits thrown in, so it is worth listening to even if you already know a bit about the words or topics being covered.
Lanuage web pages
Many people have created resources on the web for language learning: grammer, vocab, drills, etc.
A brief web guide to the language
http://www.timwerx.net/home/index.htm
http://www.nihongoresources.com/
http://www.unilang.org/wiki/index.php/Japanese
Before you can start, need to learn pronunciation. Ignoring accent, dialect, and slang the rules are simple and without exception. This is a good place to start.
http://www.timwerx.net/language/bitlang/index.htm
As soon as possible, learn the two syllabaries (phonetic alphabets).
This quiz is a good way to learn, one consonant at a time. There is a quiz after each consonant. Continue the quiz until
http://www.japanesepod101.com/
I just use the free audio lessons. You have to sign up with email, and they try to convince you to pay for premium service. But, the lessons are nice, they spend a long time showing different ways to use a few words, you hear different people pronounce the same words, they get touch on cultural topics. Look for the "survival phrases" and "newbie" lessons.
http://kimallen.sheepdogdesign.net/Japanese/index.html
An amazing, somewhat technical, examination of the japanese language. Read it early and often. Each time I go back and reread it, more of it makes sense.
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/beginners/hiragana
Learn "hiragana" the phonetic alphabet for native japanese words. Find a mnemonic for each character. You learn one consonant at a time, with a quiz for each. Open each quiz in a new tab. Pratice the first quiz (vowels) until it is boring. Learn K. Practice the K quiz until it is boring, then go back and review the first quiz. Learn the next consonant, then after mastering that quiz review the first and second again.
http://www.tamarillo.net.au/hiragana/learn_hiragana_game.html
Once you learn the basic characters, this is the best way to practice. Just type in the romaji. As you learn the full 104 variations you can switch this from "beginner" to "advanced" mode to practice the full set.
http://learn-hiragana-katakana.com/
"Hiragana reviewer" and "complete hiragana reviewer" (towards bottom of page) are similar, with a different font. Good to practice with different fonts - some characters can vary a lot (depending whether the brush drags between strokes). Try and complete as fast as possible.
http://www.thejapanesepage.com/beginners/katakana_lessons
Learn katakana, the phonetic alphabet used for foreign words (and sometimes even native words to be cool). Katakana's angular characters are easy to recognize, and 95% of katakana is English words transliterated into Japanese syllables so you can understand it if you sound it out. The lessons aren't quite as good as the hiragana ones, but they get the job done.
http://learn-hiragana-katakana.com/
"katakana reviewer" and "complete katakana reviewer". Also review the hiragana to make sure you don't forget.
http://www.gyford.com/japanese/
Another online quiz. Hits the server for every answer (lame) but has a nice crisp font, and allows you to study hiragana and katakana mixed together.
http://www.unilang.org/wiki/index.php/Japanese_question_words
nan/nani - what
nannin - how many people
nanban - what number
nanji what time
itsu when
Itsu hirugohan o tabemasu ka When do you eat lunch
ikura how much
kono shinbun wa ikura desu ka How much is this newspaper? (cost)
doko where
[noun] wa doko desu ka where is something
dochira where (polite)
dono which (of several)
donna what kind of
donna ongaku ga suki desu ka what kind of music do you like
dou how
tenki wa dou desu ka how is the weather
ikaga how (polite)
naze why, for which reason
doushite why
nande why
douyatte how, by what means
douyatte gakkou ni ikimasu ka how do you get to school
http://www.unilang.org/wiki/index.php/Japanese_days
1. Translations: Monday: 月曜日 [getsuyoubi] = moon day
2. Translations: Tuesday: �?�曜日 [kayoubi] = fire day
3. Translations: Wednesday: 水曜日 [suiyoubi] = water day
4. Translations: Thursday: 木曜日 [mokuyoubi] = wood day
5. Translations: Friday: 金曜日 [kin'youbi] = gold day
6. Translations: Saturday: 土曜日 [doyoubi] = earth day
7. Translations: Sunday: 日曜日 [nichiyoubi] = sun day
http://www.unilang.org/wiki/index.php/Japanese_months
1. translations: January: 1月/一月 [ichigatsu]
2. translations: February: 2月/二月 [nigatsu]
3. translations: March: 3月/三月 [sangatsu]
4. translations: April: 4月/四月 [shigatsu]
5. translations: May: 5月/五月 [gogatsu]
6. translations: June: 6月/六月 [rokugatsu]
7. translations: July: 7月/七月 [shichigatsu]
8. translations: August: 8月/八月 [hachigatsu]
9. translations: September: 9月/九月 [kugatsu]
10. translations: October: 10月/十月 [jūgatsu]
11. translations: November: 11月/十一月 [jūichigatsu]
12. translations: December: 12月/十二月 [jūnigatsu]
http://www.unilang.org/wiki/index.php/Japanese_quantity_words
沢山 [takusan] many, a lot, much
迚も [totemo] very
�?��?�り [kanari] considerably, rather, quite
少�?� [sukoshi] a little, a few
�?�ょ�?��?� [chotto] a little
Only used in negative sentences:
余り [amari] not very (can only be used as an adverb)
全然 [zenzen] wholly, completely, not at all
http://www.unilang.org/wiki/index.php/Japanese_frequency_words
Basic vocabulary
�?��?�も [itsumo] always
常�?� [tsuneni] always (more formal than 何時も;used primarily in writing)
よ�?? [yoku] frequently
時々 [tokidoki] sometimes, now and then
�?��?� [tamani] occasionally, once in a while
全然�?�り�?��?�ん [zenzen arimasen] never
�?��?��?��?� [taitei] usually
�?��?��?��?� [tabitabi] often
�?��?��?��?� [shibashiba] often
Note: �?��?��?��?� and �?��?��?��?� are interchangeable.
Example sentences
彼女�?��?��?�も�?�?�微笑ん�?��?�る。(kanojo wa itsumo hohoende iru) She is always smiling to me.
彼�?�よ�??メモを�?�る。(kare wa yoku memo wo toru) He frequently fills in the memo.
彼�?��?��?��?��?�毎週日曜日�?��?�サッカーを�?�る。(kare wa taitei maishuu nichiyoubini sakkaa wo suru) He usually plays soccer on every sunday.
nande mo nai no reason
be as in equals (copula)
desu (polite)
da (plain)
inu desu it is a dog
[topic] wa [noun] desu
be as in exist
iru (animate)
inu ga iru ([there] is a dog)
aru (inanimate)
hon ga aru ([there] is a book)
to have
aru
negation of aru is nai
rajio ga nai - there is no radio OR i do not have a radio
suru - to do (when direct transitive verb)
nani wo suru ka what are [you] doing
suru - to decide on (indirect transitive)
nani ni suru ka what will [you] decide
tosuru - to consider something (eg important)
naru - to become
kakeru (transitive) - to begin to
kakaru (intr) to take / require
hi wo kakeru to start a fire
denwa wo kakeru to start a phone/call someone
jikan kakaru to take time (require)
tsukeru (tr) / tsuku (intr)
adjoin, attach, become part of, be one with
examples are vague
noun adjectives
to use a noun to modify another noun (but not in the 'A no B' sense) XXX then add 'na' to the modifying noun
shikaku square
shikakuna katasa square shape
TODO: section on ways to change parts of speech
-mono takes a transative verb (eg taberu to eat (something)) and resolves to the generic object of that verb (eg tabemono something to eat / some kind of food)
aruite iru hito walk-doing-person walker
aruite iru hitotachi
aruite iru hitobito walk-doing-person walkers
kosoado
used where pronouns would be used in english - but sometimes they require a noun
ko- this (speaker's proximity)
so- that (listener's zone)
a- that (yon - neither person's zone)
do- what (but not in the nani/doushito sense)
この[noun] - this [noun]
その[noun] - that [noun]
あの[noun] - that [noun] over there
どの[noun] - which [noun]
これ - this.
それ - that.
あれ - that over there.
どれ - which.
こんな[noun] - this kind of [noun]
そんな[noun] - that kind of [noun]
あんな[noun] - that kind of [noun] over there
どんな[noun] - what kind of [noun]
こちら - this direction/honourable person.
そちら - that direction/honourable person.
あちら - that direction/honourable person over there.
どちら - which direction/honourable person.
こっち - this direction/this person. (informal)
そっち - that direction/that person.
あっち - that direction over there/that person over there.
どっち - which direction/which person.
Finally, there is also a somewhat more classical series of which the こ- and そ-
are not used all that frequently anymore:
こなた - this person (I/me/you/him/he/her/she).
そなた - that person (him/he, her/she).
あなた - that person over there (you).
どなた - which person (who).
true pronouns
わたし
・ 私 , the gender-neutral, formality-neutral personal pronoun for "I' or "me".
ぼく
・ 僕 , literally meaning servant. Used predominantly by men, this personal
pronouns means you humble yourself in respect to the listener. While
predominantly used by men, it can be used by women too.
おれ
俺 , a boastful first person personal pronoun, which is used when you are
confident that sounding boastful is accepted. Predominantly used by men,
this can also be used by go-getting women.
"particles"
は marks a sentence topic. As a particle, this is always pronounced as わ
が marks the verb subject (for passive verbs) or actor (for active verbs).
を marks the verb direct object. As a particle, this is always pronounced as お.
に marks the verb's indirect object, and marks the destination of a targeted
verb action (there are actually more meanings for に, but these two are most
essential).
で marks the location at which a verb action is performed.
も marks cross-sentence similarity marker.
と marks closed noun listing particle. (eg and)
の denotes a genitive relation from the preceding part of the sentence to the
following part (see nouns section). (eg 's or 'of' with the order swapped)
postpositions/particles
・ に as (1) from above, it means "for" or "to", such as "I bought flowers for
my host", or "I gave the book to the clerk."
・ に as (2) from above, it means "to" similar to "We're going to Tokyo."
・ へ also translates to "to" in terms of "We're going to Tokyo", but is more
subtle. Instead of standing for the destination of a targeted verb, へ
stands for the general direction in which the action takes place. Thus, a
more accurate translation would be "We're going in the direction of
Tokyo." Also, as a particle this is always pronounced as え.
・ から means "from" such as in "We came from New York", or "I will be
available from 10 p.m."
・ まで means "up to"/"until" such as in "We're going up to Tokyo" or "We'll
be busy until 3 o' clock."
・ より is used to indicate a comparison where the clause preceding より is
less [something] than the clause following it.
・ しか expresses "save", such as "save for church, I didn't go anywhere
today."
・ だけ expresses "only", such as "I only went jogging today."
nominalizers
ばあい
・ 場合 turns a phrase into a component meaning "every time ..."
はず
・ 筈 turns a phrase into an expectancy, such as "I expect the bus to arrive at 2".
たび
・ 度 turns a phrase into a component meaning "when ..."
とき
・ 時 turns a phrase into a component meaning "at the time that/of ..."
わけ
・ 訳 turns a phrase into a component meaning "it is the situation that ..."
48
よう
・ 様 turns a phrase into a component meaning "it would appear to be that ..."
honorific
One of the most used prefixes is probably 御, pronounced either "o", "go", "mi",
"on", or "gyo" (お, ご, み, おん, ぎょ), depending on what it's used for:
・ The reading お is used to make words in Japanese reading honorific.
・ The reading ご is used to make words in Chinese reading honorific.
・ The reading み is used for imperial and Shinto terms, as well as to make
words sound more poetic.
・ The reading おん is rarely used and is mainly a classical prefix. It is a
very formal way to say the same as お.
・ The reading ぎょ is also rarely used, and indicates an imperial term.
GAG: mimizu
Negating prefixes
There are also various common prefixes that negate, void or otherwise create a
counter-concept word when used.
み
When "mi", 未, is used, it expresses a "not yet"/"has yet to come" aspect, as can be
seen from the following example words:
みらい
mirai, 未来 - future ("not yet arrived")
みかん
mikan, 未完 - incomplete ("not yet finished")
みこん
mikon, 未婚 - unmarried ("not yet married")
みせいり
miseiri, 未整理 - pending ("not yet arranged")
mihatsu, 未発 - prior ("not yet taken off")
ふ
When "fu", 不, is used, it expresses a negative, similar to the English "un-", "im-",
"a-" or "de-." Examples of this prefix are:
ふかのう
fukanou, 不可能 - impossible ("no possibility")
ふけいき
fukeiki, 不景気 - [economic] depression ("no business")
ふじゅうじゅん
fujuujun, 不従順 - disobedience ("no obedience")
ふち
fuchi, 不知 - ignorance (no knowledge)
む
When "mu", 無, is used, it expresses a non-existential, similar to "non-", "not ..."
or "without" in English. Examples of this prefix are:
むきめい
mukimei, 無記名 - unsigned ("without signature")
むこう
mukou, 無効 - invalid ("without validity")
むしんろん
mushinron, 無神論 - atheism ("without deity")
むだん
mudan, 無断 - unauthorized ("without permission")
ひ
Finally, when "hi", 非, is used, it indicates "non-." Examples of this prefix are:
ひえいりてき
hieiriteki, 非営利的 - non-profit ("not commercial")
ひげんじつてき
higenjitsuteki, 非現実的 - unrealistic ("not realistic")
ひじょう
hijou, 非常 - emergency ("not usual")
ひたいおう
hitaiou, 非対応 - incompatible ("not compatible")
ぜん
・ 全 - "all ..."
まい
・ 毎 - "every ..."
しん
・ 新 - "new ..."
だい おお
・ 大 / 大 - "big"
こ しょう
・ 小 / 小 - "small"
さい
・ 再 - "re-"
さい
・ 最 - "most ..."
たい
・ 反 - "anti-", "counter-"
はん
・ 半 - "semi-", "demi-", "incomplete"
い
・ 以 - indicates a boundary or limit
まっ
・ 真 - an intensifying prefix (remember that the っ becomes ん when it
precedes な-column or ま-column syllables)
moichi - mo (also) + ichi (1) - one more
